#and i was standing there paralyzed and shaking like a tiny dog

[hauntedwoman]

this entire trip back to texas for the wedding i have realized my dad is so autistic and that's literally the only thing wrong with him

[brittscafe]

PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ WRITE FOR ZOMBIE HITSUGAYA HE HAS NO RIGHT TO BE THAT FINE

Agreed, so here you go! <3

Your eyes lock onto Toshiro standing a few feet across from you, eyes darken and dead. Not a single bit of remorse behind his eyes or any emotion for that matter.

"Ah, what the hell?" you sigh out, lowering your sword to your side.

"Do you like my new creation?" Mayuri asks, standing behind you and you shrug your shoulders.

"Um, not really. I'm staring at my dead, not dead boyfriend right now and he does not look very happy," you comment, scoffing quietly.

"He's not himself. His mind is taken over and he just sees us as the enemy," Mayuri points out, shrugging his shoulders.

"And how do we stop that?" you ask curiously.

"I can de-zombifiy him, but I'm gonna need your help," Mayuri speaks with a cheeky tone.

"Say less. What do I have to do?" you ask.

"Kiss him and then pop this pill inside of his mouth. It'll paralyze his body and give me time to work," Mayuri demands and your mouth gapes open.

Mayuri opens his hand and a tiny blue pill rests in the palm of his hand.

"Easy enough, right?" you mumble out, taking the blue pill from his hand.

"Come here, Toshiro!" you call out, eagerly. Mayuri crosses his arms over his chest and scoffs quietly.

"He's not a dog, y/n. You'll have to approach him," Mayuri demands and you gulp.

"Right," you nod your head, slowly stalking over to your boyfriend. His skin looks dead and deprived of any signs of life. You guess that's the effects of being a zombie or whatever.

You grab onto Toshiro's wrist and pop the pill inside of your mouth.

"This won't hurt one bit," you smile warmly, before pressing your lips to his.

Toshiro feels the life coming back to his body and he shakes his head, trying to pull away from it. Toshiro's eyes widen and his lips slightly part open against yours, giving you an open to drop the pill inside of his mouth.

You pull away from Toshiro's lips and his wide eyes lock onto yours. He slowly stumbles back and collapses on the ground with a thud. A quiet gasp leaves your throat and you gather by his side.

"Will he be okay?" you ask, fingers running through his silver hair and tucking it behind his ear.

"Of course, my dear. I'll take care of him," Mayuri smirks widely, kneeling beside Toshiro and throwing him over his shoulder. You nervously chew on your fingernails as Mayuri marches off with Toshiro hanging over his shoulder.

He better fix Toshiro, you're not entirely sure if you could date a zombie for the rest of your life...

[paralyze-fic]

Paralyze.

Chapter 17

We all started to run back to the bus, but Pixie Bob made the earth shake and shift, making us all fall down the cliff. My fall wasn't as hard as I thought but the rest was groaning and rubbing their bodies in pain. Mineta took off running with his hand on his crotch, and I remembered him saying something about having to go to the bathroom.

But a loud roar made us tense. A big beast appeared in front of the tiny grape boy. Koda ran up to it yelling, but it didn't work, the animal wasn't obeying his words.

Then Izuku said something about them being made out of dirt, so I scoffed loudly. Great for me.

"Oi, asshole." I turned to look at Bakugou, who was staring at me with a frown on his face. "You can use me."

Blink... blink... blink blink blink.

Nosebleed.

"Shit," I turned my head away from him at the misinterpretation of his words. That sounded too sexy, fuck, I have issues.

"Huh? What the fuck are you on about?" Bakugou dragged me to him and charged at one of the dirt beasts. "Use me!"

After I swallowed my spit, I kept my eyes on his left arm, activating my quirk and stopping his muscles, then enhanced my own arm.

This was going to be a hard task.

//////

Slowly, panting and worn out, we all walked towards where we could see the building we were staying in. Mandalay, Pixie Bob and Aizawa were here... also that little kid again. The grumpy look on his face reminded me of someone.

I wonder who... my eyes moved to my right, where Bakugou was walking and I snickered at my own thought. He looked at me with an annoyed face.

"How can you laugh? Aren't you tired?" I sighed and my shoulders dropped.

"I'm so tired I'm about to die, but I still have my humour, Bakuboy." He growled at me and walked faster.

"Don't call me that, shithead."

A growl of my own resonated inside my chest, how dare he? He's the one giving us all shitty nicknames.

"What do you mean three?!" I heard somebody exclaim, most likely recalling the woman's words.

"That's the time it would have taken us. I'm sorry." Mandalay explained.

"So you just wanted to show off how good you are? That's mean." Sato replied.

"I'm hungry! I'm dying!" And now Kirishima yelled still sitting on the ground.

"But honestly, we thought it would take you all longer. You didn't have as many problems with my dirt beasts. Especially... you five over there." Pixie Bob pointed at us five; Iida, Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki and I. "You could attack thanks to your experience?" Pixie Bob licked her lips. She jumped at us pursing her lips and yelling something about how she was going to wait for us to graduate to marry us. I slowly backed away from her, and Izuku was gonna say something related to age, but the blonde woman rested her paw on his face, threateningly saying 'What about it?'

That was when Izuku mentioned the little boy standing beside Mandalay, who introduced him to us.

"Oh, he's my cousin's son. Come on, Kota. Greet them. You'll be with them for a week." Well, Izuku walked up to him introducing himself, but Kota punched his balls.

The sight made me flinch and instinctively, hide my dick with my hands. "That hurts..." I mumbled to myself, as Iida ran up to poor Midoriya who had gone a pale white colour, and yelled at Kota.

"Midoriya-kun! Savage kid! How dare you do that to Midoriya's scrotum?!" Iida's voice made me stiff a chuckle and I decided to walk up to the poor male in pain to help him. I used to my advantage Bakugou's yelling at Todoroki, because he wouldn't have let me go.

"You okay, Izuku? Let me help you." I picked him up bridal style and he curled up against me, whimpering in pain. "Let's get you an ice pack, alright?" He nodded and kept his eyes closed shut, hiding on my chest.

"Eh?! Where did that fucker go?! (L/N)! Get back here, bitch!" I growled at Bakugou's screaming and glanced at him over my shoulder.

"I'm not your dog, hedgehog! I can go wherever I want!" He turned to stare at me, and I swear, I saw fire in his eyes. He was stomping towards us, but I just kept on walking. "I'm gonna be with Izuku for a while, go with Eijiro or someone else." I went inside the building, and set Izuku down on a nearby couch, stepping off to get an ice pack.

While looking for it, my mind was racing. Thinking back to lots of moments I had spent with Katsuki.

I have to distance myself a bit, otherwise, I would end up really hurt.

I grabbed the ice pack once I found it closed the fridge, walked out of the kitchen and made my way to Izuku, he was still in pain as I handed him the ice and everybody started walking inside.

It has been a while since I've talked to the boy so I thought I could take this opportunity to do it. I sat down by his side.

"How've you been Deku? We haven't talked in a while." He chuckled and let the ice rest on his crotch.

"I've been fine, and if we didn't talk was because of Kacchan," I laugh with a nod.

We talked for a while, and I also told him about all those fights I've had against Bakugou, he seemed surprised to hear that every time we fought, I won.

"I'm surprised that he still talks to you, usually he hates those who win against him," I sweatdropped at his statement and looked down.

"He tells me he hates me at least twice a day, though, so I guess he does." The smile on my face was a fake one, I was hurt at the mere thought of Bakugou hating me. Izuku seemed nervous and tried to fix what he said.

"No, that's not what I..." he stopped and relaxed after some seconds in silence, and I looked at him. "He seems comfortable around you, and since you two met he had been yelling less at me and also seemed less angry." My cheeks heated up a bit.

"He seems the same to me," he chuckled and shrugged.

"Well, I've known him since we were kids, so I noticed the change in his behaviour." Izuku looked at me in the eyes and smiled brightly at me, "Thank you, (M/n), for being a good friend to Kacchan."

//////

Now, after we ate dinner, here we were.

All the boys were at the hot springs, and I was freaking out.

Why! Can't I just take a normal shower and go to bed?! I don't want to be there, in that pool, naked, with everybody around me! I'm shy!

My eyes were staring down at the cold floor underneath my feet, hearing everyone chatting and walking to the hot water. At the moment, my mind wasn't functioning properly.

"(M/n)-kun, are you okay?" Izuku's voice made me flinch and stare at him, only for me to cover half my face and look away. He's so close.

"Uh- eh, no, actually I..." I hunched over my body by my waist, making my voice groggy, "I feel a bit nauseous, maybe it was something I ate. I'll go to sleep early." I turned around, ready to leave, when I felt a hand on my back, rubbing it softly.

"Really? You want me to take you to the room?" Frantically, I shook my head and moved my hand away to smile reassuringly at him.

"I can go on my own, you go and enjoy the hot spring." He seemed unsure but nodded nonetheless.

"Call me if you need something," I hummed an affirmative 'huh uh' and walked out.

The very moment the door closed behind me, my body leaned on the wall beside it, a relieved sigh leaving my lips.

I'll have to bathe at some point, right? Just not now, and not with all the boys here.

With that thought, I walked to the big bedroom all the boys were sharing, changed into my sleeping wear and plumped down on my futon, closing my eyes and drifting off into a deep slumber.

[my2phetaliaheadcanons]

It’s Weird It Happened Twice Part 1

A short, chubby, 5-year-old girl followed behind her mother like a yellow, fluffy duckling through the various aisles of the local grocery store. Together they filled a silver cart with shiny bags of snacks and boxes of green produce until the buggy contained a great tower of foods and goods.

As they crossed the checkered tiles to the self-checkout bullpen, our tiny heroine stopped. Gasping with wide eyes at the display case full of colorful candies. Everything from her favorite chocolates to the sourest of gummi worms was all softly chatting to her. Calling for her by name, begging to be consumed in the animalistic way only a child could.

“Maisy. Maisy!”

When her silence continued, a hand joined the new, louder voice to shake Maisy from the sweets’ siren song. She finally jumped and turned to see her mother standing there with a quirked brow and an amused smile.

“Whatcha lookin at Daisy-Maisy?”

Pointing to the large display, Maisy spoke with a smile and big puppy dog eyes. “Momma, can we get some? Pretty please?”

“I’m sorry sweetheart, but candy isn’t in the budget this week. Maybe we could make some cookies instead?”

Maisy pouted and questioned why. Every other time they came to the store she got candy, what made today any different?

Sighing, her mother gave her a gentle push forward. “I promise you that cookies will taste infinity times better than those.”

Huffing, Maisy turned her head to make one more attempt. “But, momma I feel icky and candy could make it go away!” Her arms crossed over her belly as she curled inward to emphasize the severity of her sudden ‘disease’.

Chuckling, her mother shook her head. “If it's that bad maybe a doctor with a shot would do you better. They could make sure that the pain will never come back.”

“No!! I’m fine momma. See!” Maisy jumped up and down before showing her ‘muscles’ to show her health.

Heartily her mother laughed before ushering her forward again to the checkout. “Alright, I believe you.”

As cows herded toward a new pen, Maisy and her mother fell into the long line. Maisy rocked on her toes between steps as she heard the high-pitched, monotone beeps of the registers. As they slowly made their way to the line’s front, and with a quick nod from the apathetic employee they pulled up to the open blue and silver register.

Her mother was quick to follow her predecessors by continuing the patterns of shrill beeps, but Maisy paid it no mind.

For her old tempter was back once more. The cheap checkout candy display cast its spell, this one feeling stronger than the one minutes prior.

As the low-quality candy sang, she smelt something that made her young mind think of burnt eggs and smoke. A deep voice from her right spoke saying, “Take it.”

Squeaking, Maisy stumbled backward closer to the cart. Her mouth dropped in shock at the figure before her.

He was tall with blond hair that would have made him appear normal, and handsome even if it wasn’t for the sharp, black, ram horns protruding from his head, the dark, bat wings on his back, and the long spade tail.

“Hey, darlin.” He smiled lazily with a mouth full of fangs as he lowered himself to Maisy’s level. “Heard you weren’t feelin too hot. Do you still need that candy cure?”

Maisy stuttered, and questioned who he was, as she felt paralyzed by his wild, blue eyes.

Chuckling, with snake-like motions the demon used his tail to push the unsteady child closer to the shelves. “It doesn’t matter, but come on sweetheart. Just take one.”

“But,” Maisy glanced back to her mother. Noting that she seemed unaware of her daughter’s dilemma “Momma said that I can’t.”

“Well, Momma doesn’t need to know. After all, you would only gonna take one,” His smile somehow grew even bigger. “right?”

Blinking Maisy asked how she would do that. Moms know everything.

Moving to squat beside her, he gestured her closer. “I’ll let you in on a little secret.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Moms don’t know everything. Besides she can’t even see me and that should be proof enough that I’m right.”

As he pulled back, Maisy looked at her mother once more, watching her having scanned and bagged most of the cart.

“Also, wouldn’t your pockets hold a candy bar better than those cookies she promised?”

“I guess your right,” Maisy said as her stare returned to the cheap display.

Her tiny hand reached out to grasp the silver and red chocolate bar. Small fingers grazed the smooth, papery wrapper when a large, tanned hand grasped her own.

Maisy gasped and snapped her head to the left. Startled to see another man, this one had appeared somewhat similar with the same face and build as the demon, but at the same time, he was different. Blue eyes were now red, his hair a copperish crimson, and instead of bat wings, the stranger had shining, white, and silver eagle wings. Finally, a sparkly halo sat on his head instead of the evil-looking horns.

The new creature ignored her stare as his fiery glare was fixed on the other. “What do you think you’re doing Alfred?”

The now-dubbed Alfred stood to his full height. Smile tight as he leaned forward. Hand gesturing to Maisy. “Curing this child of her sudden illness, Al~.”

“By convincing her to steal?!”

“Her mother failed, so I’m stepping up.”

Forcing a rush of air out of his nose, Al kneeled before Maisy. His body softened as he pulled her closer before releasing her hand. “Did that piss head hurt ya, pigeon?”

Maisy quickly shook her head no while blinking her eyes owlishly. Before a quick tug moved her away from Al and back to Alfred.

“Allen, you can’t use that language around a child!”

He scoffed as he reached for the child again. “I will use it as I please. Especially” Allen dragged Maisy back to him. Wrapping his tattooed arms around her. “If it helps get the damn message through their thick ass skulls faster.”

“ALLEN!”

Ignoring the flustered demon as his black wings flapped, Allen forced Maisy to look him in the eye.

“You love your mother?”

Maisy nodded with a little hum.

“Then do you know what happens to mothers when you steal?”

Wide-eyed Maisy shook her head no again.

“They get sad. Like so sad that you can hear their hearts shatter like that prick’s ego.”

“Is that loud?”

“Very.”

For the second time that day, Maisy softly ohed as she looked at the candy behind the angel. Her lips pouted and then trembled as she realized how she could have broken her mother’s heart. Her eyes filled with tears at the fear of her mother dying because a broken heart sounded deadly to her young mind.

The blue-eyed demon gritted his teeth as he pushed the angel over and onto the dirty tile. “Now, look what you’ve done! She’s crying, how is she gonna steal if she’s in tears!”

Grinning Al stood and pushed Alfred back before spreading his arms in an ‘I win’ gesture.

Maisy's sobs went ignored as the two continued to shove each other. Getting more aggressive and throwing in insults before Al had enough and tackled the demon. Causing them both to fade like the text on a PowerPoint.

Now feeling alone Maisy’s cries became hysterical as she ran back to her mother. Crashing into her legs as she begged her mother not to die.

Shocked her mother pulled her into her arms. Shushing her and muttering calming phrases as she urged Maisy to explain the reason behind her tears.

Maisy hiccupped as her emotions finally calmed. She sought out additional comfort by burying herself deeper into her mother’s embrace. Repeating her pleas for her not to die.

With a confused giggle, her mother promised that she wouldn’t. Asking if she was ready to go home and make some cookies.

With a sleepy yes, Maisy was carried out of the store as the cart squeaked. The warmth of her mother chasing away the memory of the demon and angel for now.

 Before anyone asks, I have dubbed this AU already. It is Ornery Angels because that can be the only true opposite of the Sweet Devils. And part 2 is already in the work, hopefully I can get it out soon.

[lavenderwhore444]

Ok so idk if ur into hybrids or monster fucking so apologizes if these made u uncomfortable so what if Shiggy went to capture a reader that has a tentacles like quirk to give it to AFO but instead just gets fucked with a bunch of tentacles right in the ass ( don’t worry he actually enjoys it)

My morals are very flexible, so don't worry. It honestly sounds pretty neat. 😌

If I had tentacles, there's a 90% chance I would offer to fuck him with them, tbh. 😫🥵

If you want to use interactive fics, it's easy and makes reading fics SO much better. First, you download the Google Chrome extension. You'll see it in the top right corner of your screen. Next, you enter your name in the first box. If you want to change something other than y/n, please click on the text that says “want to change something other than y/n?” here, you can change any word you want to a different word. When I talk about your quirk, I will use y/q

InteractiveFics

Master List

Warnings: the reader has tentacles. Like anon said, Shiggy gets absolutely demolished with them, kidnapping, still consensual in the end, don’t worry, the tiniest bit of bondage like it probably doesn't even qualify.

Thanks to Shimeji, I wrote this fic while tiny Shigarakis goofed around on my screen. I would highly recommend it because it’s so cute.

“Let me go! ” you yelled, struggling with the ropes tied around you.

“No can do, sensei wants you for a nomu, ” Shigaraki said.

“A what?” you asked.

“The scary monsters you see on the news, ” he said.

“What? No way I'm not letting you turn me into one of those!” You protested.

“I'm afraid that you don't have a choice, ” Shigaraki said, “besides they're only using your quirk you won't even be conscious...I think, ”

“No! Let me go!” you screamed trying to kick his seat.

“Don't fucking do that. You'll make us crash, ” he snarled.

“The fuck do I care? I'd rather die, ” you said.

“Just shut up. You'll be fine. Probably. If we're being real here, I have no idea how those things are made. So good luck. Not that I care, ” he said.

You just couldn't take the thought of turning into one of those monsters, you started crying.

“Fuck, ” he groaned, “will you please just shut up, ”

Nothing Shigaraki said registered in your brain. You were paralyzed with fear and couldn't stop the tears streaming down your face.

“Y’know what, fine! Fine! y/n, there is another option, but I don't know if you'll like it, ” he said.

“Please, anything, I'll do anything, ” you pleaded.

“You've got tentacles right?” Shigaraki asked.

“Yeah, ” you sniffled.

“I’ll keep you around if you fuck me with them, ” he offered.

“Excuse me if I what?” You said, shocked.

“I said, ” he repeated, annoyed, “if you're so fucking scared of being turned into a nomu, I’ll keep you around if you use your tentacles to fuck me, ”

You thought for a minute weighing your options.

“Ok, ” you whispered, “I’ll do it. Just don't turn me into a nomu, ”

He chuckled, “sounds great to me. I've got a phone call to make, ”

You nodded, “thank you. Even though you're horrible, thank you for not turning me into a monster, ”

Shigaraki had already picked up the phone, though the smirk on his face told you he had heard you loud and clear.

“Hey, change of plans I'm keeping her....to play with, we’re gonna have some fun....no, sorry, I know she would've been useful, but I just can't pass this up....sure see you later, ” he looked back at you, “we’ll be there in five, ”

You nodded, anxiety bubbling up inside of you. Five minutes felt like nothing as Shigaraki helped you out of the car and into the ‘empty’ building. He sat you inside of his room.

“You're tired, ” he said, “you're sleeping here. My bed is cold anyways, ”

He tugged you into the bed, so you were by the wall. He turned you to face him and wrapped his arms around you.

“I’m only doing this so you won't escape, ” he muttered.

You didn’t sleep much, but Shigaraki slept like a baby until he woke up from a nightmare. He clung onto you as he shook, hyperventilating into your hair.

Against your better judgment, you whispered, “Hey, are you ok?”

“Fine, ” he muttered, turning his back to you.

The rest of the night was silent even though it was obvious neither of you slept. When morning came, he fed you breakfast.

“Don't want you to starve, ” he said, bringing in a plate of food.

He brushed the hair out of your face and brought the fork up to your mouth.

“I can feed myself, Shigaraki, ” you said.

“I don't trust you. Be thankful you're getting food. I'm doing a lot for you y/n, ” Shigaraki said.

He was right, so you let him feed you the rest without complaint. He smiled to himself. He’d had a dog before, and while this was quite different, you did remind him of having a pet. He left you alone for a couple of hours to attend some meetings. He walked back into his room, took his shirt off, and untied you.

“Ready?” he asked, “I might be a villain but I'm not gonna rape you,”

“Gee, thanks, ” you said.

“You sound a lot like someone who wants to be a nomu y/n. Are you ready or not?” he said.

“Ready, ” you muttered, conjuring a few tentacles that sprout from your lower back.

“Take your clothes off, ” he ordered.

You stripped, and he did the same, leaving his gloves on. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking nervous. You sighed and sat next to him, running your hands through his hair. You pressed light kisses to his neck, trying your best to enjoy your time with him. Your hands ran up and down his chest, resting at his hips.

“Hands and knees, ” you whispered.

He nodded and crawled to the middle of the bed.

“Don’t half-ass it, ” he snapped.

You ran your hands up and down his thighs, kneeling behind him.

You sighed, “I've never done this before. I don't know what you want me to do, ”

“Me neither, ” he said, turning to face you.

He took you by surprise and pulled you into a rough kiss, as well as pulling you on top of him. You were on top of him as he let his hands run over your back.

“Please just touch me, ” he whispered.

You took control of the kiss. You stroked his cock a few times, and he started to harden. You kept kissing him, getting rougher with him as you realized he wanted you to take control. You moved to his neck, biting and sucking at it, satisfied with the sounds he was making. You spread his legs, seeing the bottle of lube on the nightstand.

“Do this often?” you teased, squirting some onto your fingers.

“Shut the hell up and fuck me, ” he said.

“Fine! Fine!” you said, pressing a finger inside of him.

Not long after, you were able to press a second finger into him. You curled them inside of him, thrusting them as you did. He moaned and moved against your fingers, pressing his face into your shoulder.

“Y/n, ” he moaned, “I'm ready. Please fuck me, ”

The most powerful villain in the world was not only moaning under you but said, ‘please.’

“Sure, babe, ” you said, accidentally letting the pet name slip from your lips.

You let two tentacles hold his legs up, and one slid between them. You looked at him, and he nodded. You started to press one in.

“Fuck, ” you groaned, “I didn't think it would feel good for me, but holy shit, Shigaraki, ”

You shoved another one into him as his back arched. He pulled you down to kiss you, and you pressed both tentacles into him further. You moaned into each other's mouths, and his hands moved into your hair. You started thrusting one inside of him letting your head fall into the crook of his neck. The other wiggled around, providing a different form of stimulation that left him shaking and crying in pleasure.

“Fuck, ” you moaned, “so fucking tight, ”

All he could do was whimper and tug and tug at your hair. You kept moving in inside of him until he rasped out a quiet “right there y/n, ” You kept fucking him there, watching him lose his mind over it. He was moaning loudly and thrashing around.

“Stay fucking still, ” you said, restraining his arms.

You started thrusting harder adding just one more. You felt him somehow manage to get even tighter around you and bite his lip to draw blood.

“Y/n, ” he cried, “I'm close, please baby, please let me cum, ”

“Yeah? You need to cum?” you cooed.

He nodded, unable to form coherent words. You fucked him as hard as you could, smiling down at the wrecked boy underneath you. His body went rigid, and cum shot out of his dick.

“Y/n, ” he cried as he came.

“Right here with you, baby, ” you moaned as you came.

He looked up at you, “no cum?”

“What do you mean? I just came, ” you said.

“Yeah. But there's no cum, ” he pointed out.

“Shigaraki, girls don't make cum. Why would you think I do?” you asked.

“I dunno... the tentacles?” he responded.

“Sorry to disappoint, ” you muttered.

“It's okay, ” he said, running his hands through your hair and pulling you close to him.

“Is this so I can't escape?” you teased.

“No. Cause I want you here with me, ” he whispered, tightening his hold on you.

You nodded, leaving another kiss on his neck. He was so vulnerable, so honest.

“What does your little group even stand for?” you asked.

“I’ll tell you later. You might agree with it y/n, ” he said, petting your hair, “you’d be a valuable member, ”

“I'm honored you think that, ” you said.

“Sleep, ” he grunted, turning so he was laying on you.

“Don't you need a blanket?” you asked.

“No. You're warm, ” he said.

You sat in silence for a while.

“I had a bad dream last night, ” he whispered.

You rubbed his back, “tell me about it, ”

[anauthore]

Escape From Halloweentown {Jack Skellington x Reader} CHAPTER 2

Summary: When a game of hide-and-seek goes wrong, you find yourself lost in the woods without a way home. Whether it be fate, or just dumb luck, you suddenly find yourself in a far bigger predicament than you ever thought you would be- and it’s not just because you can’t seem to find your little brother.

Pairing: Reader / Jack Skellington. A very slow burn fic.

NOTE: This is a full-length fanfic! If you don’t want to read chapter by chapter on tumblr, please use the following links to read in a different format / on a different website!

Wattpad | Quotev | AO3

Fic Below the Cut | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

A skeleton. 

Or, at least, something not at all human.

Your eyes didn’t move from the creature at all, paralyzed to his tall, thin form and rounded skull with empty black holes for eyes. You could just make out his vertebrae peeking out from his suit’s collar, fused at the ends in what seemed more like a neck of bone rather than a spine.

He spoke, his voice not at all what you were expecting, his ‘lips’ parting to reveal yellowed, rotting teeth with yet another black void to make up his mouth. 

“Why, hello! And who may you be, miss?”

His politeness stirred something up within you, although the primal fear you were experiencing was far stronger than any other emotion you’d ever felt in all 17 years of your life. You were stuck to the edge of the couch, feet spread so that if you had to, you could jump up and make an escape.

“Can you-” Jack turned to Prince, quieting his tone so that it wasn’t as menacing. “Can she hear me okay?” His brow bone was raised in what you read as concern which only confused you more.

Prince nodded, speaking in that scratchy voice of his that sent shivers down your back. “Yes, she can. She’s a human, you know- She shouldn’t be here.”

The other vampires agreed, nodding their heads. You realized that these vampire-obsessed ‘people’ probably weren’t people either, considering the monster that was Jack standing before you. Your heartbeat quickly and you felt more and more like a caged animal as every aching second passed.

“I know.”

They all turned to look at you, and you couldn’t control your breathing any longer. The fear you’d pushed down suddenly bubbled up and you could feel it turn into tears that threatened to spill from your lids.

“What are you gonna do?” You had to focus really hard to keep your lip from trembling. Your parents had taught you how to stand up to a predator, or a kidnapper, but never to a real-life monster. You imagined the worst and had forgotten everything you knew about self-defense. Right now, you were running on the ever building adrenaline and instinct in your body.

“We’ll just have to figure that out, won’t we?” His lips turned upward in a smile, and you couldn’t help but think that this must be what mice feel when they get put into a cage with a hungry snake. You couldn’t think of anything else to say, so you sniffed back your tears and kept quiet while you were in the spotlight of everyone’s scrutinous gaze.

You did the only thing you could do besides listening to their plans on what to do with you; you took in every detail you possibly could, from the bony hands and odd dress wear the men had to the interior decoration of the living room you were sitting in. You went as far as to describe the smell of the musk and mold in your head, just in case that would at all be important for a future investigation.

Your mind started to wander back to your brother. Had these monsters taken him, too? Oh, God, what did they do with him?

You bowed your head and let strands of your hair fall forward. You were ashamed to find yourself in this situation. You were ashamed to have even lost your brother in the first place. And now, you were ashamed to be stuck in a room with people you didn’t know, possibly a future murder case. You let a few stray tears run down your cheek, your chest aching and your nails digging into your thighs.

The floor creaked as someone moved, and your head jerked up to watch what they were doing. You stopped crying out of fear, though the blood had already begun to rush to your face and your eyes had started to swell.

Jack stepped forward, his spider-esque legs all you could see directly in front of you as he towered over your hunched form. He bent over so that he was face-to-face with you and extended a bony hand for you to take. You didn’t know whether you should take it or not, and so you didn’t.

His brow bone crooked upward and he put the hand on his hip, posing as if he were an angry teen girl. You would’ve found this humorous had you not been so scared.

“C’mon, now, don’t be so stubborn.” He reached out his hand once more, this time with more of an exaggerated flick of his wrist, and this time you took it, timidly placing your palm into his cold digits. He grasped your wrist, though it felt less like fingers and more like tiny, stone snakes curling around you. He pulled you up and put an arm around your shoulder, nudging you toward the door with his phalanges loosely wrapped around your flesh. “Out we go!”

The door opened again and he said goodbye to his partners in crime, walking you to a destination unknown. You had half of a mind to run- after all, the houses were as still as when you’d arrived, and there didn’t seem to be an extra step in the dirt anywhere. Still, you imagined that there were more menacing monsters out there besides Jack and the vampires, so you obeyed the skeleton man and went wherever he wanted you to go.

You passed the familiar fountain and he nudged you toward a road opposite of where you’d come in. You’d noticed it, sure, but you hadn’t given it a second glance. You regretted that now, because if you had, you might’ve had a better chance at planning your next escape- whenever that would be, if it would even have a chance to happen.

His pace quickened, his long legs using little to no effort at all as he walked next to you, who was struggling to keep up with him. He pushed you along gently- if you could call his bones prodding into your back gentle- and gave you very little time to look at the buildings that lined the street. You looked down at your feet most of the time, trying not to trip on a loose brick or stone.

When Jack stopped, you kept going, and he had to grab you by the hood of your jacket to keep you from running into a gate very similar to the one that you’d passed in the graveyard. You wheezed at having been nearly choked and stepped back, watching as he raised a brow and pursed his lip at you. You cleared your throat and apologized quietly, still very obviously afraid of him.

With one hand he gripped your sleeve and with the other he made a skeleton key seemingly appear from thin air. He unlocked the gate- black iron shaped to look like a jack-o-lantern- and pushed it open with his back as he pulled you along. You, of course, followed, glancing upward to realize that he was leading you toward the tower you had seen nearly from the forest.

It looked as if it were balanced precariously on the edge of the long line of steps that lead up to it. Your fear grew as now you weren’t only scared of Jack, but also about the possibility of this building collapsing under the weight and pressure it was put under. It must’ve been old- the windows looked like they belonged in a church and the wood was cracked and peeling. When you walked up the stairs, they creaked under your weight. You spotted numerous screws and nails loosened and sticking out from the sides- which were completely open and almost beckoning you to fall over the side to the ground. 

The climb had your knees weak and your legs shaking as you struggled not to think about the steep drop you’d encounter had you tried to leave at this point. Your captor didn’t seem at all bothered- he opened up his front door just fine and pushed you inside the doorframe, which was stretched to accommodate his unusual height. 

Immediately, the living room threw you for a loop. There was a single loveseat in the middle of the room, which connected to what you thought was a kitchen. Why a skeleton needed to eat, you didn’t know, but you hoped his diet didn’t consist of human. 

He shut the door behind you both and continued to push you to the corner of the living room. There were yet another set of thin, precarious stairs that you climbed, leading to a spiral staircase enclosed in tube-like walls. Only when you reached the top was there a railing, decorated as every other railing in this town seemed to be. There were windows spanning the entirety of the wall all around you, save for where the fireplace and bookshelves were. Around there was normal décor; a telescope, playing cards and stuffed animals sitting on a desk with a chair neatly pushed into it, a dog bed, and a small, round rug that occupied one corner of the room. The only thing that stood out to you entirely was the electric chair replica opposite of where you stood. You wouldn’t put it past Jack for it to be the real thing, and you didn’t really want to find out, but you doubted that you had a choice.

He must’ve noticed your wide eyes taking in everything because he grabbed your shoulders and waved an arm in front of you in a grand gesture. “Now, I know this may be a lot to take in, but I promise this place is very accommodating.” He then positioned himself in front of you so that you had to look at him and smiled.

He moved around behind you and nudged you further, toward the chair that you had just been hoping you didn’t have to interact with at all. You froze up, looking back and forth between what you could see of him and the chair.

He patted the seat gently, as if it were a horse or a leather couch, obviously wanting you to sit. You started to shake your head, but he interrupted you once again with words.

“C’mon now, it doesn’t bite. It isn’t even plugged in! I know how fragile humans are, believe it or not. It’s comfortable, you’ll see.”

You still didn’t want to sit, and if you could, you’d avoid it at all costs. “No. I won’t sit.”

He paused, and for a moment you were afraid that you’d pissed him off. “Excuse me?”

You cleared your throat again, trying your best to focus on his eye-holes. “I said no. I’m not sitting in an electric chair. Please.”

He stood up and tilted his head, as though you’d offended him by not sitting down. “Very well then. I don’t think the floor is very comfortable, but if you’d rather make yourself at home there, then I won’t stop you.”

And just like that, the subject was dropped. He didn’t seem angry, or like he wanted to punish you. In fact, he seemed about as confused at your behavior as you were at his. Your mind was running rampant with possible explanations, none of which fitting the puzzle piece you needed to figure this endeavor out.

After another aching moment of silence, decorated by the sound of the wind against the glass outside, you asked what’s been on your mind since he’d arrived at the vampires’ house.

“What are you going to do with me?”

Jack sighed, and sat in the electric chair himself with a hand placed under his chin and his legs spread out so that he was comfortable. 

“Well,” he stalled, making you think that he didn’t know what he was to do at all, “you’re staying with me.”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes, anger bubbling up within you. You had just been kidnapped, and all he could tell you was something completely obvious? You opened your mouth to retort, but you thought better of it. You still couldn’t put your finger on him.

He tilted his head to look at you, and you licked your lips out of nervous habit. The wind had made them dry, and you were starting to feel thirsty. Jack definitely had a keen eye, because his next sentence was right on par:

“Are you hungry? Or perhaps thirsty?”

You slowly nodded, walking on eggshells as to not trigger his back-and-forth nature. You were still afraid of him, and his kindness made you think about the very real possibility of becoming a sufferer of Stockholm Syndrome.

He stood from the chair and started to step forward to you. You took a step back and craned your neck to look up at him, hoping that you didn’t look as scared as you felt. He stopped and looked away from you.

“I-” he took in a breath and stared you down, his demeanor back to the way it was when you’d first met him. His voice boomed with authority now, his soft side (or whatever it was he’d shown you in the first minutes when you’d been introduced to his observatory) now completely gone. “I can’t leave you up here alone. You have to sit in the chair.”

You shook your head. Between everything, you’d gained some of your fighting spirit back, and so you spoke your mind. “No.”

He furrowed his brows and nodded. “Fine then.” He turned on his heel and reached into a box near the dog bed you were both standing next to. You didn’t give it a second thought until now- you didn’t see a dog, or even another animalistic creature, around him at all. Did he expect you to be his pet? Was this what this man got off on?

Your fears were confirmed when he held a collar already attached to a leash in his carpals. You stepped back once more, glancing behind you to make sure you weren’t cornered, and shook your head. “No. I am not going to be your pet.”

“I can’t trust you. This is necessary- stop making it harder than it needs to be. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Adrenaline pumped through you once more and you were ready to run. You didn’t care about the stairs or the fall anymore- you just wanted out. He unclasped the collar and stepped toward you, closing a good amount of the distance between the two of you with one step. You scrambled to action, turning and starting to run before you were yanked back by your hood, again. Your hands instinctively reached to your throat and you pulled to loosen the fabric, struggling to slide out of your coat and break away once again.

Jack was one step ahead of you. You pulled in your arms and he wrapped his own around your middle, pulling your hoodie over the top of your head and locking the collar around your neck with one swift motion. He let you go and yanked the end of the leash, fastening it to a hook on the chair that you had been avoiding this whole time. You stumbled backward and landed on your rear, sliding slightly on the tiles. In such a small amount of time, you’d been outsmarted and caged, unable to escape even if you tried. 

You heaved out, pulling at the collar but to no avail. You ran your fingertips around the entrance of a keyhole, not having noticed a key on Jack other than his front door key. You glanced around from where you sat on the floor, defeated, and finally met Jack’s sockets. He didn’t say anything to you. He didn’t stand there, triumphant, nor did he bend down to hand you your discarded jacket from the floor near him. He was just stoic, an unreadable expression plastered on his features.

He finally broke your gaze and walked down the staircase, and somewhere at the bottom, you heard a door shut.

You didn’t want to cry. You didn’t want to even believe you were stuck here, quite literally on a leash, but this had quickly become your uncanny reality. 

You reached for your hoodie and crumpled it up on your legs, burying your head in it and letting loose. You whimpered like a dog, sobbing into the fabric. It was your only connection to home now.

It was the only connection you had left, at this point, to your brother.

[let-the-dream-begin]

In My Daughter’s Eyes Chapter 7: Trust

Chapter 6

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Jamie was sitting in front of her apartment building, fingers incessantly tapping the steering wheel. He’d been sitting there for a solid minute now, though he couldn’t exactly put a name to the feeling that was paralyzing him.

 He finally got himself to move by remembering that Faith had likely not stopped screaming since their phone call, and keeping them waiting any longer because he was something akin to nervous would be rather selfish of him. He swiped the wee horse off the passenger seat and departed his car, his pulse quickening with every step up to her second-story apartment. He could hear the screaming before he even reached the top step, and he clenched his jaw, his heart going out to Claire.

 He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Before he could even take his hand away from the door, it swung open, revealing a red-faced, swollen-eyed Claire. Watching the relief wash over her was like watching a devastating fire be put out, and Jamie finally released the breath he’d been holding.

 “Come in, come in,” Claire said, waving him inside and shutting the door. “Faith, darling, look who it is. It’s Mister Jamie, lovie. And look who he’s brought.”

 Jamie crouched down beside the wailing little girl and held up the stuffed horse. “Hallo, Faith. It’s alright now, Horsie is home. See?”

 Faith’s wailing abruptly ceased, quieting to little sobs and snuffles as she reached for the horse. She hiccuped and sniffled as she rubbed the toy on each of her cheeks over and over, and then squeezed it to her chest.

 “See? It’s alright, now. D’ye remember our big breaths, Faith?” Jamie said gently, taking a big heaving breath. “In and out. Remember? Can ye do that fer me? In,” he breathed in again, and Faith breathed in as well. “And out. Good lass. That’s it. One more time. In…and out. Good girl, Faith. There we go.”

 With a few more deep breaths, Faith was no longer shuddering or gasping for air, and aside from the tear tracks on her face, one would never know she’d been crying.

 “Faith…?” Claire’s voice sounded behind him, and Jamie felt his heart leap into his throat all over again. In calming Faith, he’d nearly forgotten that her mother was standing right behind him.

 “Are you alright now, baby?” Claire stepped around Jamie and knelt beside her. “All better now that Horsie is home?” Faith gave a tiny nod. “Good girl. Can you give Mummy a hug?”

 Faith melted into her mother’s arms, and Claire exhaled shakily, wrapping her arms tightly around her. She stroked the back of her head and kissed her temple, whispering to her as she rocked her back and forth.

 Jamie felt like he was intruding on a very private moment, but at the same time, he knew if he stood up and moved away, he’d be interrupting. So, he remained crouched on the floor of Claire Beauchamp’s apartment, watching her cling to her daughter for dear life. She was hanging on by a thread, he could tell, fighting the urge to burst into tears.

 He was overwhelmed by that feeling, that need. To stop her pain, to ease her mind, protect her from the hardships that life kept throwing her. Christ, had today really only been the third week since he’d first met her? How was that possible? It felt like those sad, longing eyes had been haunting him for years, keeping him awake at night with ways to make her sadness go away.

 After a few minutes, Claire pulled away and smiled warmly at Faith, stroking her wee cheeks. “Go put Horsie to bed and then we’ll have our dinner. Okay?”

 Faith obediently slipped away to her room and Claire looked startled, apparently having forgotten Jamie was there, just as he’d forgotten she was there earlier.

 “I really can’t thank you enough,” she said, standing up.

 “No trouble at all.” Jamie stood up as well.

 “Really, you didn’t have to do this…I feel ridiculous for having called you in the first place.” She crossed her arms over her stomach, making herself smaller. “Eventually she’d have to fall asleep and she’d wake up completely fine, albeit a little hungry…but I just couldn’t see that before…I was…”

 “It’s hard to think straight when they’re carrying on. Ye dinna have to explain yerself to me, Sassenach.” Jamie’s heart skipped a beat to see the corners of her mouth twitch up at the sound of the nickname she’d been unwillingly bestowed with.

 “Are ye…are ye alright, then?” Jamie began hesitantly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He did not want to overstep, but he could not shake that immediate uneasiness in his gut when he first saw her earlier today. “Other than all this, I mean?”

 She blinked at him for a few seconds, in what he could only perceive as shock. Was it really that surprising to her for someone to ask if she was alright?

 “Um…yes, I’m…I’m fine,” she said softly, not meeting his eye. “Just a long day.”

 Jamie didn't say anything; he could tell there was more she wanted to say, but she was stopping herself. He gave her the time she needed to work up the nerve to say it.

 “I lost a patient today.” It spilled out of her like a leak in a dam, and he got the sense that she wanted to clamp her hand over her mouth to stop the break from growing any wider. “For the first time. He was too young. A father, a husband. It was…hard. That’s all.”

 Jamie’s jaw hardened, and his chest tightened. He was slammed with a wave of pity for her. To have a heart so big that one could be so greatly affected by hardships and losses that were not their own must be a great burden to carry.

 “I’m sorry, lass,” he said gently. “I’m sure ye did everything ye could.”

 She folded her arms tighter over herself, nodding silently.

 “Claire,” he said pointedly, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Ye canna beat yerself up over it. The patient…or yer daughter either.”

 For the smallest moment, she held his gaze, and he could see all the way through her in those eyes. He could see her fear. Fear of what? Of him? Of herself, her shortcomings?

 Christ, Sassenach. If ye only knew how worthy ye are.

 Faith burst from her room just then, more than ready for the dinner that had been delayed almost an hour. She swiped the happy meal off the coffee table and skipped off to the kitchen. The moment was gone, and that ghost of a smile returned to Claire’s face, as did the ache in Jamie’s chest.

 “Do you want anything?” she said briskly. “Tea? Coffee?”

 “No, no, I’m fine. Thank ye.”

 “Well, uh, thank you again. Really, you saved my life tonight.”

 “ ’Twas nothing.”

 “No, it really wasn’t nothing,” she insisted. “You saw how she was before you got here.”

 “Aye, I did.” He nodded, allowing a tight-lipped smile.

 “Listen.” She wet her lips and inhaled deeply. “I swear I won’t use your number ever again,” she said, fidgeting with a hangnail on her thumb. “It really was inappropriate of me to use your personal phone number like that.”

 “Sassenach, I told ye, I was happy to help.”

 “Still. It won’t happen again.”

 He allowed his grin to grow wider, unable to suppress a chuckle at how serious she was being. “Alright, lass. Whatever ye say.” He made his way to the front door, shaking his head.

 “Well, goodnight then,” she said, smiling sheepishly as she opened the front door.

 “Goodnight. Tell Faith I said goodbye.”

 Her smile widened. “I will.”

 Jamie gave a curt nod before turning around and departing down the stairs to his car. As he settled into the seat and started the car, he caught sight of a warm light coming through the windshield, and he looked up to discover its source. He nearly jumped clean out of his skin upon realizing that Claire still hadn’t closed her front door. She was standing in the doorway, and he caught her eye, only for her to jump and quickly close the door.

 Jamie gawked for a moment through the windshield before shaking his head and driving away, his head spinning.

 ——

 He arrived at the stables at nine-thirty that following Monday, a half-hour before they opened. Toni was already at her desk, starting up the computer and sorting through some papers.

 “Morning, Jamie,” she sighed.

 “Morning, Toni.” He brandished one of the two coffee cups in his hand, and Toni practically moaned.

 “Oh my God, I love you.” She took the cup in her hands and took a careful sip. “How did you know I needed this today?”

 Jamie shrugged. “Ye’re always hungover on Monday mornings.”

 “Ha-ha,” Toni said wryly, but she had no argument to make. He wasn’t wrong. “Oh,” she said, setting the coffee down. “Do you know what happened to the little horse in the lost and found bin?”

 Jamie blanched.

 “I think it’s Faith’s, right? It was there when I left on Friday but now it’s gone, and I’m worried it went home with the wrong kid.”

 “Ah, well, that’s a funny story actually.”

 Toni’s face screwed up as she picked up the coffee again. “Um…okay?”

 “Well, uh, she called me. Claire, that is.”

 “You mean Miss Beauchamp?” Toni said pointedly, but he could already see the smug grin spreading across her face.

 “Och, aye, the verra same.” Jamie rolled his eyes. “She called me and told me Faith was beside herself wi’out the wee horse. Wouldna stop crying or eat her dinner.”

 Toni stared at him incredulously. “So you drove back to let her in to get it?”

 “Ah, no.” Jamie felt his face get hot, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I, uh, drove it to her.”

 “You went to her apartment?” she was practically shouting now.

 “Will ye hold yer wheesht?” Jamie hissed.

 Toni suddenly burst out laughing.

 “Fer Christ’s sake…” Jamie grumbled, running a hand through his curls.

 “I’m sorry! You’re just killing me this morning! I can’t handle it when you go all Scottish on me…” She wiped away tears of laughter before continuing. “Jesus Christ, Jamie! You actually went to her home? You sly dog!”

 “Fer the love of God, Toni, I didna do it fer any reason other than to help her.”

 “Oh, I don’t doubt that.” She took another sip of her coffee. “You’re too damn soft for your own good. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a sly move, James.”

 He sighed in frustration. “I’m never bringing ye coffee again.”

 “No, no, no, no, I take it back,” she said quickly, giggling through her panic. “Come on, I was teasing! Jamie!”

 Jamie muttered something rather crude in Gaelic as he strode out the back door and toward the stables.

 That was the last time he told her anything.

 ——

 Claire couldn’t help but notice something was off the next time she brought Faith to the stables.

 Not in a bad or foreboding sense by any means, just…strange. Toni was grinning smugly at Jamie when she arrived, and he looked like he was torn between reaming her out and fainting. Jamie was hovering over them as they checked in, something that even Erica seemed to find a bit odd.

 “Alright,” Claire said the moment they were outside. “Now what was all that about?”

 “What’s that?” Jamie said.

 “All that side-eye with Toni,” Claire chuckled.

 “Ah.” He flushed red a bit. “She found out about…Horsie,” he said carefully, purposely not being direct in front of Erica.

 Claire blanched. “Oh! Christ, did you get in trouble? Jamie, I’m so — ”

 “Dinna fash, Sassenach,” Jamie chuckled heartily. “I’m no’ in any trouble. Toni is just…”

 “Nosy,” Erica finished for him.

 “Aye, that she is. She likes teasing me, is all. No’ to worry.”

 “Oh…alright.” Claire relaxed. As they reached the stables, all conversation was dropped as Faith’s excited humming reached maximum volume.

 She likes teasing him…what was there to tease about…?

 There was no time to contemplate, however, as Claire became lost in watching Faith enjoy herself, as she always did. Jamie let Erica take the reins on getting Faith set up and leading her to the riding hall, and Jamie hung back with Claire.

 She knew he was amiable, and kind, and had a big heart, but it struck her just how easy it was to talk to him. Perhaps some wall she didn’t know existed had been knocked down when he’d entered her home, or perhaps she was just getting used to him. He’d proven over and over that he would make leaps and bounds to help Faith, and even to help Claire. She was really beginning to see him as somewhat of a friend, despite how inappropriate it may seem to refer to her daughter’s hippotherapist as such.

 She watched all of Faith’s little victories from behind the fence, her cheeks sore from smiling, clapping along with Erica and Jamie when they did so. This one hour a week of peace, joy, and accomplishment was something that Claire cherished above anything else in her life right now. And she could just tell that Faith felt exactly the same.

 Claire’s mind wandered back to something Erica had said the first day she met her:

 “I really wouldn’t be anything I am today without this place.”

 Claire could see now what she meant, and she could see in a few years, or even months, that she and Faith would be in a completely different place than they were right now.

 As usual, the hour was over much too soon, and Claire was reluctant to drag Faith away from her beloved Pippi. They arrived back at the welcome center, and as Claire was making payments and checking next week’s schedule, her phone started buzzing. She looked down and saw that it was the hospital.

 “Shoot, I’m sorry, I have to take this, it’s work.”

 Faith chose that exact moment to start bouncing in that all too familiar way. She had to use the bathroom. She began groaning and pulling on Claire’s arm.

 “I can’t take you right now, baby, please hold it…”

 Panicking slightly, Claire accepted the call. “Hello, Doctor Beauchamp, one moment, please.” She muted herself on the phone and desperately looked at Toni. “Could you please take her to the bathroom? Just hold the stall closed and make sure she washes her hands…”

 “Oh, of course. No problem at all.” Toni quickly maneuvered around her desk and took Faith’s hand. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s go potty.”

 Claire fumbled to unmute herself and brought the phone back to her ear. “Hello, Doctor Beauchamp.” It was Doctor Moore, unfortunately, briefly confirming a switch in hours for the following week, and the call was over in under a minute.

 “Insufferable woman,” Claire groaned to herself, returning her phone to her purse.

 “Everything alright, Doctor Beauchamp?”

 Claire looked up to see Jamie leaning against the counter, giving her a lopsided grin.

 “Yes, just fine.” She smiled back, leaning against the counter as well.

 “Doctor, aye? Stony Brook, I assume.”

 “Right. Just a residency, though. I only just finished medical school.”

 “Ah, I see.” He nodded. “Came all the way from England fer a residency?”

 “I suppose. But also for this program. And to get away.”

 Claire hoped he wouldn’t press any further on that last bit, and he didn’t.

 “What about you? What’s a Highlander doing all the way out here in the Long Island suburbs?” Claire continued.

 “Same as you, really. Not doctoring, I mean, but the program. They have them in Europe, but no’ as many, and they’re overcrowded. Besides, none as good as this one. I did my research after I graduated, ye ken.” He smirked.

 Claire chuckled. “What made you want to pursue this? Something so specific, child psychology and horses?”

 “Well, I always had a way wi’ the horses, ye ken,” he said fondly. “I wanted to be a jockey as a lad. I, ah, grew to be much too tall as ye can see.”

 He chuckled, and Claire giggled.

 “But, I also always wanted to work wi’ special needs children, early on as I can remember. This line of work seemed to just fall into my lap, I suppose.”

 Claire smiled warmly. “That’s wonderful. How did you know that’s what you wanted to do from such a young age?”

 He briefly averted her eyes and bit his bottom lip. “My brother had special needs, so I grew up seeing him in his programs, helping at birthday parties, meeting kids wi’ all sorts of disabilities. My mam always said I was very natural wi’ ’em.”

 “You are,” Claire confirmed, smiling. “You say he had special needs? Was he…well, I don’t know how to phrase this any better…did he have something…curable?”

 “Ah, no.” His gaze dropped again. “He died when I was eight.”

 Claire immediately blanched, her tongue feeling like sandpaper. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” she stammered. “That was so incredibly insensitive and ignorant of me — ”

 “It’s alright, Claire,” Jamie said gently, though he still avoided looking at her.

 “No, it really isn’t. I’ve no right to…”

 “It’s alright.” He said again, finally looking her in the eye again. She did not miss how his eyes had misted over. “He had cerebral palsy. Had those wee crutches to help him walk, was developmentally behind fer his age. But he was a good lad. He was my best friend.”

 Claire felt her own throat constricting, her heart positively breaking for him. She gently touched his forearm in sympathy. She said nothing; he did not have to go on if he didn’t want to.

 “His uh…immune system was weak from the CP. Even the common cold was dangerous fer him. But he always came out of it just fine as long as we got him to the hospital.” He blinked rapidly, no doubt trying not to cry. “When he was eleven, he got strep throat. His body couldna fight it off no matter what the doctors did and the fever carried him away in three days.”

 “Jamie…” Claire squeezed his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

 “ ’S’alright.” He shrugged, sniffling. “It’s been a long time.”

 “A loss that great never leaves you.”

 He looked up at her then, a silent question in his eyes. No, she would not unburden her own losses onto him, not after she’d practically forced this story out of him.

 “What’s his name?” Claire asked softly instead.

 A little smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “William. Willie.”

 Claire smiled back. “Good name.”

 “Aye. ’Tis.” He nodded slightly, and she could see him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

 “I’m sure he’s very proud of the man you’ve become,” Claire said carefully. She did not want to overstep, but he had to know: “It’s…it’s beautiful that you’ve chosen to honor him this way. By helping children like him.”

 He exhaled with a shaky laugh. “Aye…I like to think he’s proud.”

 Claire blinked back her own tears. “He is.”

 Jamie suddenly moved the arm that she’d been absently touching so that he could slip his hand under hers.

 “Thank ye, Claire.” He gently squeezed her hand.

 “Thank you for sharing that with me.” She squeezed back.

 For a moment, they stood there silently, each reveling in the gentle assurance of the other’s touch. Jamie’s thumb moved slowly, back and forth, over her knuckles, such a simple, innocent gesture, and yet neither of those things at all. Claire looked up from their hands to see that he was giving her that look again, that stare. She wanted to look away, to make some stupid joke to break whatever this was…but she found herself unable to stop staring back at him.

 And then a door opened, and his hand immediately darted away and stuffed into his pocket.

 “Alright! All good to go! Hands washed and everything!” Toni emerged from the back room holding Faith’s hands.

 Claire forced a smile that might have looked rather frantic. Her face felt hot, and she could only imagine how red it was. Why did she feel this way? Like she’d been…caught. 

 Caught doing what…?

 “Alright, Faith,” Claire said, taking her hand. “Say goodbye, now.”

 “Bye-bye, wean,” Jamie said warmly, but subdued. He looked sadder than Claire had ever thought possible.

 “Bye, Beauchamp gals! See ya!”

 Faith waved jovially, and Claire triple-checked that she was holding Horsie in the hand that wasn’t holding onto Faith. When Faith was fastened in her carseat, Horsie in her lap, and Claire settled into the driver’s seat, she was surprised at the tears that lingered on her cheeks. She hurriedly wiped them away and sniffled.

 Christ, why did that conversation just break her heart?

 She was as pained as she’d been when Paul Castano had died before her eyes, as she’d been when the elderly Henrietta Nolan hadn’t survived her stroke this week. She’d never met little Willie, didn’t even know what he looked like. All she knew was that he was someone that Jamie loved. And someone that Jamie lost.

 Why does that thought hurt so badly?

 She chalked it up to her bleeding-heart and her doctor-brain, and started the car. She drove away from the stables, shaking Jamie Fraser, his pained face, his tight voice, and his tears, out of her mind.

[spicycreativity]

Intertwined - Chapter 7

Chapter: 7/8

Content warnings: Blood, respiratory distress, mentions of alcohol and use (no depictions)

Add'l Notes: Patton is a sweet, gentle bear, Janus is a scheming, diabolical manlet, I'll die on this hill, etc etc.

This was getting unbearable. Janus buried his face in his handkerchief and coughed and coughed. His blood was warm against his tongue and lips, streaking the blooms dark red. His chest burned constantly now, his throat always irritated and raw.

To top it all off, Patton had disappeared without a word of warning, leaving Janus with no answers. If anything, he had more questions than ever before. The vase of poppies on Patton's dresser could not have been a coincidence, but there was just no way this was Patton's fault.

So Janus was saddled with a mystery, with flowers in his lungs, and with Remus' awkward attempts at support.

"I'm just saying, you can't rule it out until you try it," Remus said, pausing in his pacing to give Janus a doe-eyed pout.

"For the last time, Remus, I'm not going to huff weed killer." Janus threw his head back against the couch cushions and tried his best to sigh. The effect was somewhat muted by the sputtering coughs that followed.

"I can tell you want to scream," Remus said.

He was right, though Janus would never admit it. "Yes, I think that--" Breathe, breathe, breathe-- "that'll fix me." What Janus really wanted, disgusted as he was to admit it to himself, was Patton. Not that Patton would be able to do anything that Remus couldn't do, but Janus missed him. Quite terribly, if he was being honest with himself. Maybe he would feel better if he cried, not that he'd ever allow himself to do that. He'd have to be out of his mind on hypoxia and poppy seeds.

"I just wish there was something I could do," Remus said, dropping hands to his sides. "Other than just sit here and watch."

Janus hadn't told him about the flowers in Patton's room. He kept things close to his chest by nature, determined to solve his problems on his own. He didn't ask for help. Even if he would have dearly liked another perspective on this mystery, he couldn't put that responsibility on Remus. It would only make him feel worse if he failed.

"You can make me ginger tea," Janus said, forcing a smile. It wasn't right seeing Remus fret like this. "With honey."

A teacup appeared on the coffee table alongside a bottle of whiskey. So much for occupying Remus with busywork. "What I should do," Remus said, brandishing his morningstar, "is go maul Roman until he agrees to fix you."

"As entertaining as that would be, I'm not so sure that's the most efficient course of action, per se." Janus shifted, trying to work out how to leave Remus without making him feel abandoned. He just wanted to go check on Patton, but didn't feel at all up to the task of refereeing whatever confrontation would result in Patton and Remus sharing space. He could always just get up and leave with no explanation…. But Remus didn't deserve that.

In the end, he decided to wait until Remus got bored. There was no guarantee he was even going to find Patton. He had been AWOL for the past two days and Janus had had a near run-in with Virgil last night when he'd gone to look for Patton, an experience he was not keen to repeat.

And if Janus expedited the process of ditching Remus by pretending to fall asleep, well, he'd never tell.

Patton had a distinctly hungover look about him, with his glasses missing and his hair sticking up in the back. He blinked at Janus, bleary-eyed, and Janus' heart started to jackhammer in his chest. How utterly cute, how endearing. He wanted to smooth Patton's hair down and kiss him on the forehead, though he'd have to stand on his tiptoes to reach. Damn the subconscious for making him tiny.

"Where have you been?" Janus asked, planting himself in the middle of the hallway. Patton's door disappeared into white ether, a fact which Janus filed away to think about later.

"Sleeping," Patton said, holding up a bottle of NyQuil.

Well, that explained why he didn't smell like alcohol despite the obvious hangover. "And here I thought you were avoiding me," Janus teased. Despite the awful sting all up and down his chest, Patton's mere presence seemed to lighten the burden and ease his fears. He could bear this as long as he had Patton by his side.

"No," Patton mumbled, dragging hands down his face. "Coffee. Then talk."

He swayed a little, steadying himself on the wall. Janus held out his hand. "Come here, let me help."

Patton nodded and let Janus lead him to the kitchen. Not trusting Patton with high chairs at the kitchen island, Janus instead led him to the table and turned a chair out for him so they could face each other. Patton coughed behind closed lips and a spike of fear paralyzed Janus' heart. He was already fighting for breath and this new bolt of adrenaline made him dizzy. He took deep breaths (as well as he could, with his lungs all entangled and bleeding) and forced himself to make coffee step-by-step. It was the one thing he regularly did by hand instead of just imagining it to completion, a ritual and a reward.

"I hope you didn't catch what I have," Janus said. Maintaining the lie.

"Doubt it," Patton mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Janus narrowed his eyes. What did that mean? Was Patton coughing up poppies, too? Suddenly, the drip-drip-drip of coffee into the pot, the rich, reassuring smell of the grounds, seemed unimportant. Janus imagined the coffee done percolating, imagined two mugs on the table. He pushed one toward Patton. "Cheers."

"What time is it?" Patton asked before downing half the contents of the mug in one long swallow.

"Around noon, I think." Feeling his diaphragm seize, Janus turned away, shaking his handkerchief out of his sleeve, and gave in to the fit. It was getting harder and harder to swallow the pain. Inhaling was not just uncomfortable now; it hurt like clenched fists around his lungs. But Janus was a practiced liar and tucked the pain away behind a velvet curtain. "I haven't seen you in two days."

"Sorry," Patton said, looking fractionally more alert now. "I was trying to sleep off this… Cold, I guess."

"Mm," said Janus, taking a sip of coffee to keep from having to answer properly. He couldn't decide how he wanted to pursue this, if he wanted to pursue this. What did it matter if Patton was coughing up poppies or daisies or African violets? It brought Janus no closer to solving the puzzle.

"You sound really bad," Patton said. He finished his coffee and blinked hard. "Oh! I'm sorry, but I don't think it's Roman."

"You're sure?" Janus asked, blood running cold.

But a lot of things seemed to be hitting Patton all at once with the introduction of caffeine to his system; he whipped his head up to look at Janus with something akin to panic. "I wanted to thank you, and-- Oh." He looked at their coffee mugs with obvious dismay. "I did it again."

"Did what?"

"I… I let you take care of me," Patton said in a small voice.

"Oh, Patton," Janus sighed, unable to help himself. The breath that ghosted across his lips tasted like blood and black coffee. He wondered if Patton would mind terribly if Janus kissed him anyway. "I really haven't been." That was true. Janus had been deliberately holding himself back from giving himself over to Patton. How little support did he get from the others, that Janus' minor attempts at friendship felt so significant?

"You have!" Patton insisted. "Right from the start. You've been right by my side through all of this, reminding me to take care of myself, spending time with me. You even helped me with that dog puzzle."

"I don't understand," Janus said. These were normal friendship behaviors. Had he been too obvious? Did Patton suspect? "Wouldn't the others have done the same?"

"They would," Patton said. "If I had asked."

"Oh," said Janus, blinking away a wave of dizziness. Even he couldn't begrudge the others their lack of understanding. It wasn't their fault they couldn't give Patton what he hadn't asked for. But what did it say about him that he had?

"You've been a really good friend to me, Janus. Even though I don't deserve it."

"Don't talk about my friend like that," Janus said, nudging Patton in the ribs. It was a soft, familiar gesture, something he'd done to Remus a hundred times before. It was the first time Janus had touched Patton without announcing it, getting permission.

Patton smiled at him, and then they both ruined the moment by dissolving into twin coughing fits.

Janus' lasted longer; he felt Patton's eyes on him as he repeatedly tried and failed to get himself under control-- Was that an entire flower in his throat? What did that mean? He banished it with difficulty, trying to master the animal impulses screaming it hurts it hurts it hurts as if to drown out his rational thought. He should leave, but he didn't want to. So he straightened up and washed away the taste of blood in his mouth with another swallow of coffee.

"Ohhh," Patton whispered. "You really don't sound good."

"I'm fine," Janus said, reflexively bringing out an old standard. It was the one lie everybody told.

"You didn't believe me when I said I was fine," Patton said. "Why should I believe you?"

"There's not really anything to be done about it," Janus said, hating the shallow breaths he had to take between every few words. If he stayed, he would have to pretend he wasn't in agony. But hadn't he been doing that this whole time? It was agony, being so certain that Patton could never want Janus the way Janus wanted Patton, yet unable to crush that sliver of hope that never died out.

Patton brandished the NyQuil bottle and Janus forced himself to laugh. Patton smiled at him, so soft and gentle and honey-sweet. "Why don't you sit with me?" Janus blinked and they were on the couch with two fresh cups of coffee. Patton had left no space between their bodies. "Is this okay?"

It wasn't, really. Janus burned with the contact, burned all over until he could feel it in his face and had to hide behind a cooler mask, though he was sure this one was still pale and pinched with pain. It wasn't fair at all, this horrible parody of romance. It shouldn't have been a problem. He should have been satisfied with friendship, like he was with Remus. It was nothing to sit in Remus' lap or play with his hair because they were both happy with the arrangement. But this? This made Janus want to put a fist through the wall. So of course, he said "Yes" and took his hat off in case he worked up the courage to rest his head on Patton's shoulder.

"Are we still gonna be friends the next time Thomas needs us for something?" Patton asked.

"So it's just a given that we're going to disagree?"

"Janus."

"Okay, okay." Janus sighed as deeply as his strangled lungs would allow. "I promise."

Patton beamed and didn't even question him. He just took it at face value now, that Janus wasn't lying about this. "Oh, good."

"So what are we doing?" Janus asked. "Going to drink coffee and gossip like a couple of old ladies?"

"Whatever you want, really," Patton said.

"Oh, good," Janus said drily. "I want to take shots and play strip poker." Patton blinked at him. "Kidding."

"Oh!" said Patton, shaking his head. "Sorry. Guess the NyQuil hasn't worn off yet."

"How about we watch something?" Janus asked. It was probably a little too early in the friendship to force Patton sit down and watch Perry Mason with him, but then again… He was a practiced hand at being selfish. The TV flashed to life and Janus sat his mug down on the coffee table before leaning back to watch.

"Ha," said Patton, apparently recognizing the show. "Should have guessed."

"Oh, enlighten me," Janus said, feigning innocence. "What's so funny?"

"I should have guessed you'd be into courtroom dramas," Patton said.

Janus would have ribbed him further, had his lungs not decided to turn themselves inside out. He barely got his handkerchief in front of his mouth in time before blood started spilling over his lips. God, this was miserable. His resolve was cracking, he was starting to doubt he could make it much longer without vocalizing the pain. "Maybe I will take that NyQuil," he said, the words feeling like coarse grit sandpaper as they dragged themselves up his throat. He took it from Patton before Patton could take the cap off-- He still had his pride even if he wouldn't have his voice for much longer. The thought loomed so terrifying in his mind that denial smacked it down to nothing before it could get out of control. Janus poured out half a dose of NyQuil. Everything would be fine. He would be okay. The subconscious would set him straight before the flowers could completely take over his respiratory system.

Beside him, Patton coughed a little too, and Janus sincerely hoped that he wasn't suffering the same ailment. Patton didn't deserve that.

The NyQuil kicked in gently, drawing Janus so subtly toward sleep he only noticed he was drifting off when his head touched Patton's shoulder.

[equallyloyalandlethal]

Thiam Drabble #6

What’s Enough?

The air around Theo thickened as he stepped back from the hospital bed, hands curling into white-knuckled fists at his side. He hated being here. Everything was clinically sterile, but the sharp  smell and fear that couldn’t be washed out or masked just due to the sheer volume saturating every inch of the building. 

“I’m—I’m sorry. I'm not who you need,” he said, shaking his head again.

This whole situation was his fault. He knew it, and so did everyone else. Everyone except Liam. Stupid, infuriating, forgiving Liam who rivaled Scott’s tendency for seeing the better side of people. This should have finally woken Liam up enough for the wolf to tell him to fuck off and put the kibosh on whatever this thing was between them. Unfortunately, he overestimated the level of rationality he was capable of. That and and Liam’s engrained stubbornness far exceeded what Theo could talk around with the state his animals were in. 

The coyote was still screaming for blood, itching to track down the idiot who landed the blows and rend him limb from limb, while his wolf wanted nothing more than to plant himself next to Liam and not move again. They were ripping him in two in a way he hadn’t felt for a long time. Merging their desires wasn’t hard, most of the time. Survival was the coyote’s main instinct, which was easy enough to twist around when he needed to. The wolf was harder. Those instincts screamed about pack and connection louder than anything else. Before he was thrown in Hell he could manipulate it well enough. But since then… 

He huffed, dreaded the moment both of them got on the same page, what with his self-control reserves at an all time low.

"But you're who I want. Isn't that enough?” Liam’s question was so quiet, he wouldn’t have thought he had said it at all if he wasn’t in the room. 

 He shrank back a step, turning his head away as his eyes started to prickle. Where was the chimera that murdered his friends without a care, who schemed his way into a pack by breaking up a lifelong friendship? Hot tears gathered at the corner of his eyes, damn near burning his skin the longer he let them sit there. Wiping them away would mean acknowledging them, which he was not about to do. He had a reputation to maintain. 

“Theo scrunched his face, hating the sharp sourness  leeching into Liam’s scent, his chest clenched, like a vise-grip was tightening around, knowing he caused the hurt. “Besides, it’s not like I ever really belonged here anyway.”

“Wait.” Liam sat up so abruptly Theo cringed internally at the thought of how the stitches had to have pulled. “You’re leaving?”

The way his voice nearly broke, straining to get the words out before the pain and fear overtook the ability, made Theo flinch. This was supposed to keep Liam from being hurt, not make it worse. It’s all I’m good at, he grumped to himself, teeth grinding. It didn’t matter how much he changed in Hell, he would never be good or even good enough. Failure was the name of his game, and there was no changing it. 

 “Yes,” he said as he forced his head to turn and lifted his eyes.

Regret zinged through him as Liam met his gaze. Instead of the rough, volatile anger he was ready to battle against, he found soft brows and pained, glassy eyes. He took a breath to steady himself, only to be gut-punched by the sharp tang of Liam’s pain. 

Tears rolled down both their cheeks. 

“Theo, please—”

“You almost died because I’m a freak of nature, because I couldn’t step up, because I—” He grimaced as words caught in his throat, hating how it let him think about the words that nearly flew out of him. 

Silence stretched between them, grating at his nerves more than the tears he couldn’t stop. His wolf and coyote were howling in unison, damn near screaming their want for the human version of sunshine laying in the hospital bed. He couldn’t listen to them, not this time, not after the woods.

“The best thing I can do is leave,” he said, turning to the door.

“That’s absolute bullshit,” Liam snapped, the growl in his words making Theo stop and look back at him. “You’re afraid and you’re running the other direction, just like with the Ghost Riders.”

He bit at the inside of his lips, trying to stop himself from back sliding the small distance he had managed to put between them. The hurt puppy-dog eyes Liam was giving him were decidedly not helping his resolve in the slightest. 

“You put on a brave face, convincing everyone you’re happy on your own, but the truth is you’re terrified of any emotional connection.” Liam paused as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, wincing and letting out a near inaudible squeak.

“Get back in bed before Melissa tranqs you.” Theo meant to say it as a threat, but the awkward tightness in his throat made it sound more like he was pleading.

As usual, Liam threw caution to the wind, white-knuckling the bed as he stood, never dropping his eyes from Theo’s. “Do you even know what love feels like?”

He couldn’t stop the snarl that ripped from him as his eyes flashed gold. Of course he knew! That’s why this whole mess was killing him. If he didn’t, nothing would have changed. Everything he was now started with that stupid emotion.

“When would I have had the chance to learn about it, huh? Between them shoving needles in my arms and opening my chest over and over and over again? When they praised my initiative for tearing out a failing chimera’s throat for the first time with no prompting? After I lied to yet another kid they conned into their clutches and told them it’d all be okay, despite the stench of death leaking out along with their black blood?”

His heart tightened at the memory of the sweet little girl, too young and innocent for such a wretched end. It was the only time his sister’s heart roared to life in all his years with the Doctors. She was so gentle. Too much so. 

A roaring snarl ripped out of Theo as he shoved away her last moments, ignoring how his scar burned where her tiny fingers had grazed the skin. “I think I’m in love with you, but I’m not good enough. I never will be,” he said, turning away again. “And that sc—” He stumbled over the word, grinding his teeth, fighting against finishing the sentence. “It terrifies me, okay? It makes me shit bricks every time you go near a fight and paralyzes me when I think about losing you because I don’t want to go back to classic Theo but I don’t know how else I’d survive without you.” 

For a moment he stood there, frozen. Those words had barely been given shape as thoughts. They weren’t supposed to leap out so readily! He shrank back, arms cinched across his chest like he could hold himself together through sheer force of will as he fought against his shoulders rolling forward. 

He jerked back, claws and fangs dropping in a blink, as something touched his cheek. Luckily his head caught up in time to not rip through the already injured Liam standing right in front of him. Right in front, less than an arm’s length between them, with a soft smile he only ever saw once directed at someone that was definitely not him. 

“Li—”

“No talking. Just listen, okay?” Liam moved his thumb to sit on Theo’s lips, effectively silencing the chimera. “I don’t care what you think of yourself, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. You came back from so much trauma, shit that most people won’t even experience a sliver of in their whole lives, and you’ve been trying to do better every single day since I brought you back. There’s not a person alive, or dead, that I could ever feel safer with or more in love with than you, Theo.”

One second stretched into two, silent except for their erratic heartbeats. For once, his head was as quiet as the room, no instincts screaming at him to act differently. Instead, his inner wolf was damn near purring, overjoyed at the warm hand on his cheek, and the coyote was begrudgingly admitting that it agreed with this turn of events. Of all the times for you two to agree, he huffed, slowly closing his eyes and leaning into Liam’s touch. 

Even he couldn’t argue how right it felt, but that didn’t mean his stomach knotted itself any less or the tremors in his hand subsided in the least. Letting positivity in had yet to end well for him or anyone else involved, and Liam was a positive in his life. The most positive thing, actually. The man was sunshine incarnate, just like that stupid princess movie he made them watch the other day. If whoever she was could help a shifty, no-good thief redeem themselves, maybe he could trust his sunshine to do the same.

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28894329

[excelsi-or]

just a little sweeter (pt.3)

Hi friends~~ I hope you guys all had a good relaxing weekend! I am back with more Jihoon & baby times. :D

BIPOC time: if you guys can, please check out this linktree by antiracismdaily on IG. It has links to donate for Jacob Blake, who was unarmed and shot by police in the back and is now paralyzed from the waist down, and the Milwaukee Freedom Fund. As well as a link to demand justice for Jacob.

w.c. 2.3k (domestic fluff, this is one of my faves)

pt. 1; pt. 2

Over the next few weeks, every time someone drops a coffee off at his desk, Jihoon can’t help but think about the woman standing behind the counter who made it. She’s helped him out more than once on a hard day with Eunha, and he hasn’t even properly thanked her for either incident. He’s taken Eunha to the café after work a few times, when he doesn’t know what to make his daughter for dinner. She hasn’t been there, but the employees are always happy to see him.

“You should really feed her better,” Seungkwan says. He brought Eunha soup when Jihoon said he’d forgotten to pack either of them a lunch.

“I know,” Jihoon sighs, still focused on finishing up one of the last few songs for the album. “All I’ve been able to really think about is all our deadlines.”

“I told you that if you wanted, we could go to a cooking class so you could learn quick recipes.”

“And I said that would be a bad idea.”

“Eunha doesn’t have to come,” Seungkwan reminds him. He looks over at Jihoon. “Besides, you can’t keep her hidden forever. The staff at the café know you have a child. How long until that gets out?”

“If they haven’t said anything already, considering how often I go, I’m guessing I have some time,” Jihoon says.

“We’re out of here earlier tonight. Soonyoung hyung said that we should rest a bit,” Seungkwan scoffs. Eunha grabs his wrist to remember to feed her. “So maybe you should cook this little on dinner, hmm?”

Eunha giggles.

“Yeah, yeah. Sure.”

But Jihoon does listen to him. The younger man is right; his daughter should eat better. As she is slowly starting to prefer walking to being carried, she has her hand clasped around his finger. It takes a little longer to make it to the store near the studio, but they get there with only one near fall.

Jihoon stands at the front of the produce section, already overwhelmed.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Jihoon turns at the voice. He recognizes her immediately. “Hey. It’s late.”

She nods. “One of my girls was having issues with her boyfriend, so there was no one to watch her kid until her mom got back from a doctor’s appointment.” She waves it off. “Gotta cook myself dinner.”

Jihoon hums. “They want us to rest for once,” he chuckles. “So I thought that I would cook the little one dinner.”

She crouches down and holds a hand out for a high five. “Hello.”

“I guess I’ve never introduced you. This is Eunha.”

She glances up at Jihoon. “She looks like you.” Her eyes fall to Eunha who still has a hand pressed to hers. She wraps Eunha’s tiny hand in hers. “Are you excited for daddy to cook you dinner?”

Eunha pulls a face. Jihoon’s learned that his daughter understands much more than she can speak, so she answers with facial expressions. Most of which she’s learned from Seokmin and Soonyoung.

“Oh,” she laughs. She straightens. “I guess you’re not much of a cook.”

“Never really had to learn until now,” Jihoon admits.

She looks around and shrugs. “How healthy are we trying to go? Or are you just going quick and easy?”

“Quick and easy,” Jihoon answers. “And if you can write down all the instructions, that would be great.”

“I could show you if you’d like.”

Jihoon tilts his head.

“You and Eunha can come to my place for dinner and I’ll show you how to make it. It’s always easier than words on paper. Then you’ll also know what it should look like.” 

He can’t say no to an offer like that. He also doesn’t want to tell this woman no.

Jihoon trails after her as she begins to fill her basket with produce.

“That seems like a lot of stuff.”

“Most of it is for me,” she laughs. “The recipe I’m thinking of, I have most of the ingredients at home.”

“Oh. Do you want to meet at the front then?”

She looks over at him with a tomato in her hand. “Do you have other things you need to grab?”

“Well, no. I just don’t want you to feel pressured or annoyed that we’re around.”

She laughs. “If I thought that, Woozi-ssi, I wouldn’t have invited you over.”

“Woo-zi,” Eunha repeats.

“Call me Jihoon.” Jihoon taps Eunha’s head. “And you call me Dad.”

She smiles at the exchange and introduces herself in kind. They wander through the store. She picks up snacks, and asks Jihoon what sort of snacks he likes. “I know you’re coming for dinner, but everyone likes to snack while they cook.”

Jihoon asks about her work and how she got into it. In turn, she asks about Eunha and her personality. As Eunha is currently Jihoon’s favourite topic of conversation, he doesn’t mind sharing.

By the time they’re in the check out line, Jihoon feels comfortable. Eunha appears to be as well, because without hesitation, she grabbed this stranger’s hand when Jihoon offered to carry the grocery basket. With a reuseable bag each, she leads Jihoon in the opposite direction of his apartment.

“I heard you’ve been coming in more often.”

Jihoon hums. “When I don’t have time to cook her dinner, ironically enough, I’ll head into the café.”

“And here I thought you’d never step foot into my establishment. The members said you’re a hermit.”

“I don’t usually go anywhere, because…” He nods his head towards Eunha, who is walking between them. Her hands are clasped around each of theirs. “Not great for the idol image if I suddenly have a child and no mother.”

“You never mention her mother.”

Jihoon hesitates. This is further in the conversation than he wanted to go.

“We don’t have to talk about her. I’m pleased you come in and like my food.”

“The dinosaur sandwiches are a nice touch,” Jihoon admits, relieved that she can read the situation well. Every situation well. Each time Jihoon has felt uncomfortable, she’s changed the topic of conversation.

“It must be hard to have to take her everywhere.”

“The job allows it and the members are great with her. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better set up.”

She gives Eunha’s hand a light tug towards an apartment and they walk up the steps. She drops Eunha’s hand and fumbles for a key in her bag to let them in. They take the elevator up to the third floor, and almost immediately, Jihoon is hit with a whiff of… dog.

“Sorry,” she mutters when Eunha claps a hand over her nose. “One of the neighbours has four dogs and doesn’t bathe them often enough. When it rains, it really makes the smell permeate.”

Jihoon scoops Eunha up with one arm, so they can hurry down the hallway. As soon as they step foot into her apartment, the smell shifts to something lighter. It smells like clean laundry in her home and Eunha sighs in relief. Jihoon sets her down and his daughter slips out of her shoes. She stands at his side, eyes peering curiously into the darkened living room.

“Come here, Eunha,” she beckons. She leads them into the living room, flicking on the light. She disappears into one of the bedrooms and reemerges with a basket of toys. She sets it down on the floor and Eunha is all over them. There is a colouring book that the little one gravitates towards and Jihoon notices the desk with art supplies on it when she grabs a cup of crayons. She sets it down on the rug and Eunha lies stomach down and quickly begins colouring a page.

Jihoon squats down next to his daughter and runs a hand over her hair. “Do you want water?”

“No,” she says.

“Okay, we’ll be in the kitchen.” Jihoon kisses the top of her head before heading to the kitchen. “The toys?”

“My little brother,” she chuckles as they unload the groceries. “It doesn’t make sense to bring all his toys here every time, so I have a box of them.” She shrugs. “I try to get us out of the house, so he can use up his energy. But on rainy days, we make do.”

Jihoon pulls products out so she can put them away. Once everything appears to be put away, she pulls ingredients out and Jihoon can already guess what they’re making. “We’re making kimchi and bacon mac and cheese.”

She grins at him. “I told you it was easy.”

“Is it bad that I don’t know how to make it?”

“And that’s why you’re here.”

Cooking is easy and Eunha does stumble in a few times looking for something to eat. Jihoon hands her a few snacks, but tries to pay as much attention as he can while she explains how to make the mac and cheese. It seems so straightforward, but when they sit down to eat—Eunha sat on five cushions—Jihoon is surprised at how good it tastes. Eunha happily eats with a hand and a fork.

She chuckles as she stands and returns with a bib. She ties it gently around Eunha’s neck. “There you go, kiddo. Go crazy.”

Eunha stares down at the dinosaurs on the bib and smiles wider.

“I can’t help all the mess on her face,” she apologizes.

Jihoon shakes his head. “You’ve done more than enough.”

“Do you let her eat sweets?”

Jihoon’s eyes widen, but when he looks to Eunha, she’s so focused on dinner that she doesn’t hear anything.

“Judging from your reaction, I’m going to assume you try not to,” she laughs. “Hyper?”

“Intensely so.”

“Do you let her eat the sweets alone?”

“Usually. I mean, I don’t eat when she eats.”

She nods her head thoughtfully as she pops some food in her mouth.

“Should I be?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s my own idea of parenting.” She rests her cheek in her hand. “And I’m not a parent.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“You’re doing just fine, Jihoon.” She gives him a light kick under the table. “Look at her. She’s gorgeous and healthy. Aren’t you, kiddo?”

Apparently, Eunha only listens if she’s talking, because her large doe eyes turn to her as soon as she hears the nickname. Just her looking makes Eunha smile widely.

“So, don’t stress much.”

Jihoon scoffs at the praise. “Back to the topic of feeding.”

She snorts. “Right.” She brushes some of Eunha’s hair out of her face, but it continues to fall into the girl’s mouth. She stands and pulls the pieces around Eunha’s face up into a little ponytail and ties with the elastic around her wrist. “There we go.”

She sits back down and gives Jihoon her full attention. If she can see the fondness in his eyes, she doesn’t acknowledge it. “Right. Feeding. You should eat with her. It will make her want to eat, you get to eat, and why would eating together ever be a bad thing?”

“Because then I also have to feed her.”

She looks from him to Eunha, who hasn’t needed any assistance except to get her hair out of her face.

“I think she can manage feeding herself.”

Jihoon hums. “I guess you’re right.” Maybe he hasn’t realized how big his little one has gotten.

She chews a mouthful. “When my little brother comes over, he makes the biggest mess. My parents hate it, but…” she shrugs, “throw everything in the wash, wipe it down with a towel, and everything is the same. He gets to learn how to do things on his own and I don’t have to coddle him all the time.”

“And you feed him dessert?”

She finishes the last of her mac and cheese. “I usually give him fruit. Ice cream if I have it.”

Eunha says nothing, but looks to her expectantly.

“But I don’t have it today,” she apologizes. “Do you like fruits, kiddo?”

“Strawberry,” Eunha says.

Jihoon lifts an eyebrow. That’s news to him.

“Hmm,” she hums.  She peers into her fridge and says, “Well, I don’t have strawberries, but…” She brings out a peach and crouches down next to Eunha so they’re eye level. Then she holds the peach in her palm. “How about this?”

Eunha tips her head.

“Peach,” she states.

Eunha sounds out the word. “Pee-each.”

Grinning, she nudges it into Eunha’s hands. “I’ll let your dad cut it for you, hmm?”

Eunha holds the fruit between her hands, her thumbs running over the fuzz. Then she holds it out to Jihoon when he has a knife.

“You keep your peaches in the fridge?”

“Only for when my little brother is going to eat it. For whatever reason, he prefers it cold.”

“You’re saying she cooked you dinner?” Seungcheol asks down the line.

Jihoon hikes Eunha up higher. She’d fallen asleep after dinner and Jihoon didn’t want to keep her any longer. “Yeah. Well mostly Eunha, but we ate it too.”

“And she just… invited you to her house.”

“Yeah. Is it weird?”

“Jihoon. The woman is interested in you.”

“Well…” Jihoon can’t exactly argue that. With a daughter, he’s suddenly become very adept at reading people. He can tell when a woman is interested in him. Maybe it’s because he has to think about Eunha too now. “Yeah, I know.”

“Well, my next question is going to be are you interested in her?”

“Eunha loves her.”

“I’m asking about you.”

“I don’t know,” Jihoon admits. “I think I like the help.”

“What if you just ask her out on a date?”

“And do what with my daughter?”

Seungcheol snorts. “Obviously we can watch your daughter.”

Jihoon pauses. As great as Seungcheol and Jeonghan are with Eunha, Jihoon feels significantly better asking Seungkwan to watch her. And he says as much.

“Well, bring her to their dorm then,” Seungcheol snorts. “All I’m saying is that asking the woman on one date isn’t going to make you burst into flames.”

[pagingevilspawn]

You Said You’d Grow Old With Me

again, another one-shot that i never posted on tumblr, only the link, so yeah! im also pretty sure this fic makes no sense, but my 4 am brain wrote it so...

____

"thought we had the time, had our lives, now you'll never get older, older"

~*~

TW// major character death

takes place some time after 16x15, before 16x16.

____

Jo was laying in her bed. Their bed. The bed that felt too cold. The bed that felt too empty. The bed that felt too big. After crying she felt better, having Link comfort her while she broke down. She wanted him back. She wanted him to answer her calls. She needed to know if he was okay. If he left her like she thought he did she at least needed to know if he was okay. One call. One text. Thats all she was asking for.

Except she wouldn't be satisfied with that. The five different positive pregnancy tests to the side of her were an example. She was pregnant. They were pregnant. How the hell did that happen? She was just pranking him about having a baby a two months ago, and now she really was going to have one? And at the best of times too. Right when her husband decides to go MIA.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there for, staring blankly into the distance, her body incapable of feeling anything. Numb. Thats how she felt. She felt like she was bathing in a tub of ice and all her sense and nerves had just shut down. Numb.

She'd only been numb once before, after seeing Paul for the first time in five years. Bu this was worse, oh this was so much worse. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't talk. She couldn't do anything, she was just numb.

She wishes she could say she was startled by the sound of knocking her door, but she wasn't. She'd gotten used to Meredith and Link coming over at random hours of the day. Sometimes to rant about anything, or sometimes to just talk with her.

Maybe it's Alex, she thinks, and with that thought she gets up from the too big bed and makes her way to the loft's wooden door.

Please be you please be you.

The door opens and the sight she sees is one she wishes she didn't.

In one second she knew that her whole world was about to crumble under her feet. Oh god, how badly she wished she stayed in bed, how badly she wished she was at the hospital.

"Ma'am is this the home of Alexander Karev?" the officer asks, looking up from his notepad, his partner standing next to him dutifully.

Jo gulps visibly, already feeling the tears burning in her eyes. "Y-yes, he's my husband, i'm his wife."

The two officer share a sympathetic glance. "We're afraid there's been an accident.

____

After a short phone call with Meredith and one plane ride to some place in Oregon, Jo is standing outside some hospital she's never heard of, Meredith right by her side, holding her hand so tightly, like it was a life-line. Because it was. They knew nothing. All they knew was that Alex was involved in a ca accident that involved a drunk driver, and they hadn't been able to identify him for the past two weeks. They didn't know anything. Was he alive? Was he dead? Had they simply only contacted her so they would know what to do with his body? Was he seriously just okay and he was in a medically induced coma? Did he have amnesia? Did he not remember who he was?

For two weeks her husband had been just another John Doe. One that they see in the pit nearly every day.

He wasn't Doctor Alex. He was even a doctor. He wasn't her husband. He wasn't a best friend, a companion, a lover. He wasn't a surgeon who saved the lives of tiny humans. He wasn't a guy who made little kids less scared of the hospital. He was just another meaningless John Doe, taking up space in the ICU.

But oh, she felt guilty. So guilty. She was worried that he was having some kind of secret affair while he was really just in the hospital.

Meredith squeezes her hand, "You ready?" she croaks out, her red rimmed eyes string up at the hospital in front of her. Meredith wasn't ready. She wasn't ready for what stood behind those doors. She wasn't ready.

"No." Jo shakes her head, a few stray tears already coming down her cheek. She hadn't gotten them to stop. She physically couldn't get them to stop. Ever since those six dreadful words came out of the officer mouth.

Meredith sighs in understanding, "I know." she says, stepping forward and taking the first steps, Jo following behind her robotically.

No, not robotically. Numbly.

How naive she was, thinking that what she felt earlier was numbness, this was a whole new level. This was paralyzing. This was frightening. This was feeling her body start to disintegrate piece by piece.

Without knowing it she was standing on the sixth floor, the ICU. Meredith leans over the nurses station, asking for the room number for Alex Karev.

Jo doesn't see the sad, sympathetic smile the nurse gives the two, but Meredith does. And that's when she knew that things weren't going to be alright. Nothing was going to be bright and shiny and happy with unicorns and rainbows.

Somehow, they end up on the other side of the Alex's room, but Jo had yet to look up from her gaze on the floor. She's never noticed how white the linoleum of hospital floor were. They were shiny too. So shiny that she could see her reflection.

It was when Meredith lets out a soft sob that she finally decides to look up, not at all prepared for the sight in front of her.

The sight of her husband, the love of her life, lying in a bed, tubes sticking out of every possible place in his body.

It was then she felt her whole world crash down. Crash down and burn. A gut wrenching sob escapes her throat, a hand coming up to cover her mouth as the tears come down her face. They come down so fast she cant even wipe them away until her face is soaked again.

"Mer I-i," she chokes out, feeling her breathing start to pick up as she tries and fails to form her words.

Meredith nods, "Go in." she whispers brokenly, watching as a doctor makes his way towards.

The doctor holds out his palm to the blonde, "Hi i'm Doctor Kelsey, i'm the neurosurgeon on Mr. Karev's case-"

"It's doctor." she interrupts him. "Doctor Karev. Doctor Alex Karev." she says slowly.

The man nods, "Okay, Dr. Karev has been here for fifteen days now. There was an MVC on the 45 with a drunk driver and he ended up getting very severely injured-"

She cuts him off again, "I'm sorry, let me introduce myself. I'm Dr. Meredith Grey."

She watches as the man's eyes widen in surprise. He was standing in front of Meredith Grey? The Meredith Grey? Catherine Fox Award Meredith Grey? Daughter of two time Catherine Fox recipient Ellis Grey?

"W-wow. I-its an honor to meet you Doctor Grey, i'm a big fan." he says, smiling brightly.

Meredith jolts back in shock, eyes narrowing at the man who was about ten years older than her. "It's an honor to meet me?" she hisses, watching as the fellow surgeon's smile falls as quickly as it appeared.

"I-its an honor to meet me? That's what you have to say? You have the audacity to say that, as i stand here, outside of the room of my best friend, who is alive because of tubes and vents? It's an honor to meet me, when the only reason i'm here if because my best friend, my person, is lying there, unable to move or breathe, or talk? It's an honor to meet me?" Meredith yells , tears escaping her eyes, earning the attention from the others in the ICU, but she didn't care.

The man nods furiously, "O-of course, i'm so sorry Doctor Grey, that was very disrespectful of me." he says, going on to explain the extent of Alex's injuries.

___

Jo stumbles into the room lifelessly, seeing the unmoving body of her husband lying on the bed.

The sight causes a whole new round of tears to spring into her eyes and down her cheeks, "Oh Alex," she chokes out, grabbing ahold of his left hand, clasping it firmly in her palm.

it was cold. Way too cold. Normally his hands were warm. Not sweaty or clammy, they were just warm and soothing, perfect for her's to slip into at any time of the day.

She feels the cold band of his wedding ring touch her fingers and that's when she lets the sobs take over.

The gut wrenching, heart breaking, deep sobs as she collapses on the side of his bed and onto her knees, completely ignoring the chair next to her.

She couldn't hold herself up. its like her legs could not longer support her, like they had turned into helpless piles of water, "Alex please." she begs, lips trembling as she places kiss over kiss on his hand.

She wasn't stupid, she was a doctor. She knew what all the tuning and the wires and the ventilators meant.

"Please tell me this is just some joke. Some really mean, really awful joke. Please Alex. Please." she cries.

"Please tell me this is just a nightmare, an awful, awful nightmare. Please tell me this isn't real Alex. Please." she begs, holding his hand so tight as her body shakes with sobs.

She shakes her head, laughing softly at first, then louder and louder, "Oh god." she sobs, her laughter coming to a halt. "This is real." she whispers, feeling as her tears drop from her eyes to the floor.

"No Alex. you don't get to die on me alright? Because, because i cant live without you okay? You-you need to know that. If you, if you die, i die." she says, taking both of her palms and clasping her tiny hands around his big one.

She shakes her head, "No Alex. You don't get to do this to me. You don't get to leave me. We-we meed to grow old a and grey, and we need to have kids. So many kids. We need to have at least three kids. We need to get a dog a-and travel the world. We still need to do that Alex."

Jo sniffles, "But it's not only you that needs me Alex, this baby needs you too." she sobs, standing up and sitting down on the bed, taking Alex's hand and placing it over her stomach, hoping that this would be enough. That this would be enough for him to wake up, to defy all medical standards and wake the hell up.

"Please Alex, this baby needs you." Jo sobs, "Because, i sure as hell can't do this without you. Y-you're the peds surgeon Alex, you were practically born to be a dad." she wipes her tears to no avail, since they just kept coming. "You need to hold this baby in your arms, you need to be there with me to tell them about how we had sex in a shed next to a corpse on our wedding on their wedding day. You-you need to see them grow up and graduate Alex."

"Y-you need to be there Alex. I need you, Mer needs. Zola and Bailey and Ellis, they need you. The tiny children that you save all the time need you. They need Doctor Alex. I need Doctor Alex."

"I-i need you to get so overprotective if it's a girl when she has her first boyfriend. I need to watch you teach our baby how to wrestle if he's a boy. Or a girl, i'm not judging." she chuckles soft'y, holding his palm against her still flat abdomen.

She lays down beside him, laying there in silence for a long time. She lets the thoughts roam in her mind.

Jo sighs, "I hated you at first." she starts, absentmindedly threading her fingers though his hair like she had done so many time before. 'Like seriously, you were one of the biggest assholes I ever met." she chuckles softly.

"And then there was the teen mom who was just going to abandon her baby that i went al crazy on, rightfully so by the way." she smiles slightly, knowing that if he could somehow hear her he was probably rolling his eyes. "And then suddenly, i told you my whole life story, just like that. I'd never done that with anyone before." she sighs, glancing back down to her stomach, where she had her hand clasped in his in a hold over her stomach. "I'd never opened up to someone so easily before. It was like... my heart knew I could trust you before any other part of me could."

"I know i know, you're laughing at me. I sound like something out of a cheesy lifetime movie." she smiles softly. "And then came Ben and Bailey's wedding, and then, before i knew it, you were my best friend."

She starts to trace his fingers, something she always did to calm her down, "And then, one day, i was drinking a beer at Joe's with Jason, and all i could think was that i would rather be with you, on the couch that I bought, and watching action movies with you. That's when i realized i was i love with you." she whispers, some new tears building in her eyes.

"And then we wen through crap. So much crap Alex. That's why this can't be the end. Thats why this can't be the end of us okay? Because we've been through too much crap to let a drunk driver end us."

"Please Alex, i'm begging you, come back." she sobs, starting to pound her fists on his chest.

"Come back! Come back you son of a bitch! Come back!" Jo cries, unable to atop the steady flow of water coming down her face.

"Please Alex." Jo begs, her eyes so red and puffy that they looked like she had been crying for years. "You-you have my whole heart Alex. And i-if you die, you will crush it, and I wont make it. I cant live without you okay? You hear me? I need you Alex. I- i cant breathe. I cant breathe, ii cant exist in a world without you in it, okay?" she sobs, hyperventilating as she trues to get her words out, which only came out in barely audible sobs.

Somewhere along the way she cries herself to sleep, waking up a nearly a whole day later to a view of Meredith, Amelia, Tom, Jackson, Arizona, Callie, Link, Cristina, Bailey, and Richard standing outside the ICU.

And for one second, before she opens her eyes, she forgets everything, simply snuggling into the body and the scent she missed so much, a combination of aftershave and spearmint.

And then she remembers.

And oh god, she just wants to die.

She feels like a knife is being driven through her heart, stabbing her again and again and again, with absolutely no intention to stop.

Eventually Meredith breaks her out of her trance by knocking on the door, in which Jo responds by a head nod, letting her know that it was okay to come in.

The blonde enters, flowed by Amelia and Tom. "I called them. I wanted them here to consult, look at all his scans, everything." Meredith mutters, her voice hoarse and broken from trying to hold in her tears.

Jo looks up at the two, a small glimmer of hope shining in her eyes, "P-please." she stutters out, her voice high pitched and squeaky, sounding more broken than they'd ever heard her before, "tell me you guys can do something."

Amelia takes a deep breath, letting a few drops of water pool in her eyes, "Jo-"

"No," she sobs, shaking her head. "It took me twenty-seven years to find him, longer to realize i loved him, and even longer to be able to marry him." she starts to shake, trying to take in every detail of his face.

His overgrown stubble.

The soft creases around his eyes.

The slight wrinkles etched into his forehead.

"Jo, we can't bring him back. I'm so sorry." Tom says, trying to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, which she shakes off.

She slowly nods, unconsciously mumbling something about how she was going to let everyone say their goodbyes before she said hers.

So thats what she did. One by one the said their tearful, heartbroken goodbyes, still i denial that the man they loved would soon be gone.

Jo goes in one last time, lying down next to him, holding his figure in her arms. "I love you." she sobs.

"I haven't said that enough. I love you Alex. God, I love you so much jerkface. I didn't know it was possible to love someone as much as i love you." she cried, her tears an endless flow into a river. "I love you, i love you, i love you."

"And, please, please love me enough to come back." she begs him, still holding onto that tiny bit of hope.

"You said we'd be together forever Alex. You and me. Please, please let there be forever." she pleads with him one last time, giving him a soft kiss on his cheek.

With one deep breath she gives a nod to the nurse, who slowly begins to remove the ventilator. Then she unplugs him from all the machine.

She lays her head on his heart, feeling as he breathes one last time under her.

And then, she places a kiss on his lips, one last time

and all of a sudden,

he was gone.

"we had plans, we had visions, now i cant see ahead. We were one, were golden, forever you said."

"didn't say goodbye now I'm frozen in time getting colder, colder. "

"One last word. One last moment. To ask you why, you left me here behind."

"You said you'd grow old with me."

[granddaughterogg]

The day Death forgot something - part 1

Soo, guys, this was supposed to be a short story. Ya know, an itty bitty one. But it has grown to such a degree that I see no point in putting it here in its entirety. After all no one wants to read my long-ass posts.

This is mostly domestic fluff with a slice of life feel to it. Found family, sibling interactions, Reader being both Death and War’s girlfriend (not yet Strife’s, it’s Complicated) as a background and all that jam. Includes my headcanon that War hates spiders, because I find it hilarious. Perfectly SFW.

It seems that whichever chaotic deity stood behind those incidents, they’ve saved their best for War. 

It all started with a leaky roof.

The Four have bought themselves - and you - a house. They did so with coinage looted in countless different realms. You'd always treasure the facial expression of the bank clerk. Poor guy squirmed in his seat while explaining to four freakishly tall, fiery-eyed, fully armoured individuals that Makers' hacksilver (mere 26 pounds apiece) doesn't register as "money" in those parts. 

Most interesting day in his career, that's for sure.

The house in question was old.

Not dilapidated; just run-down enough to justify the low price. It has soon become obvious that it will have to be torn down and then rebuilt to fit the non-standard sized tenants. Poor War always felt so despondent among tiny human doorframes, their pitifully brittle walls and dainty knickknacks, prone to shattering at the slightest nudge. 

You know, like tables and such.

Strife could navigate among those just fine; despite being the noodle of the pack, he’s got the proprioception of a seasoned ballerina. Still claimed that all this hunching makes his back hurt. 

Death and Fury could fit into a human-sized environ without much problem. 

Yet she bristled at the thought of wearing lower heels, and your beloved would loathe admitting that he’s a short Nephilim. One thing is to know something; another altogether is to put it into words. 

Death has a recurring problem with this sort of thing.

So you didn’t make him. This house needed revamping anyway.

And it has been done. After countless trips to the local Home Depot, after summer weeks full of construction work - while you lived in a tent in the overgrown garden and the Four camped under the stars like they’re accustomed to. After amazing feats of Horseman cooperation and as much squabbling (Strife and Death had opposite opinions on anything), the house has been finally ready to be lived in. 

Under the latter’s lead, your boys displayed adeptness at carpentry, even if they didn’t pay much heed to the decorative side of things. War etched some protective sigils into the walls, the doorstep and the ceiling joist - and that was it. You had no idea what those exactly mean, but they sure glowed pretty in the dark. 

The house turned out to have a raw, pioneer aesthetic. There was a rustic stone hearth and lots of stained wood everywhere. You thought this starkness to be rather fetching.

Fury - who couldn’t be bothered to work with wood, but did care about them comforts and frills - made Death undertake another shopping trip. This time towards IKEA.

You enjoyed your first night spent in a proper bed like nobody’s business. Only partially because this was also Death’s bed.

And then the roof started to leak.

It was a slow leak at first. One morning Strife would drag his long ass down the stairs for breakfast, yawning and scratching, tendril hair pointing every which way, and claimed that he’s woken up to water splashing on his face.

„Maybe a bird relieved itself on you”, said Death flatly.

„In my own bed?!”

„Must have been a dedicated bird”, was the uncharitable response, followed by a swig of coffee. (Black, no sugar.) Fury rolled her eyes to high heavens but said nothing. You on your part couldn’t help but titter; even War’s dour Morning Expression gave way to a snort. Strife shot him a side-eye. 

„Don’t you neigh, my square-shaped brother. Birds don’t poop on your head cuz they can’t find it.”

The Big Guy harrumphed and focused on his cereal. Strife slumped on a chair with an annoyed puff, stuffing his face with two toasts at once.

Next time is was Fury who fell prey to the stealthy leak. One day you dropped by to chat. She was brushing that awe-inducing mane of hers while sitting in front of a large mirror. Fury had a proper vanity installed in her bedroom; a sturdy, antique-looking affair, covered with lots and lots of little bottles. As far as you knew, all of them contained some sort of magic. Fury took this whole beautifying thing to the next level.

So there she was, styling her coif with a self-indulgent smoulder when – PLOP! - something fell from the ceiling and landed precisely on the top of her head.

Fury shrieked.

„WET!” she cried out, eyes bulging, hands frantically pawing the ruined hairdo. „What was that, Little One? WHAT WAS THAT?!”

You suspected that the disgrace of having bird droppings touch her precious hair would cause someone as vain as Fury to shave it all off. And to remain bitterly bald while never, ever disclosing the reasons for doing so.

So it was with relief that you could state what you just saw:

„Oh, it’s just water.”

„Water?” She eyed the ceiling suspiciously, both hands still submerged inside the fluttering blue flame (Ice Hollow was the look du jour). „But...how?...”

Both of you glared upwards like two paranoid magpies. Still, nothing else has happened.

It seems that whichever chaotic deity stood behind those incidents, they’ve saved their best for War. 

It happened during dinnertime, too. You’ve just cooked a new dish – garlic butter shrimp pasta – and proudly displayed it to the Horsemen. The twins were already munching in abandon. Death excused himself politely. He seldom ate at all but would stay at the table nonetheless, sipping his extra bitter coffee or as unforgiving tea. You knew he did this entirely for your sake.

Meanwhile, the established big eater of the bunch seemed to have his reservations.

You watched the Red Guy pin his eyes to the full plate in front of him, fighting to retain his stony expression. The corner of his mouth twitched.

„What is it, baby?” You teased. „The shrimps are well and truly cooked. They ain’t gonna pounce at you.”

War exhaled. „Don’t misunderstand me, Little One...” he said, eyeing the dish with comic seriousness. „I would never dare to question your, eh, cooking abilities. I am just not that fond of food with tiny legs. It reminds me of many a thing I had to slay...”

„War’s afraid of spiders!” Strife chimed in, his mouth full.

The Big Guy sputtered in indignation. 

„I am not afraid of anything”, he stated, accosting his enfant terrible of a brother with a glare. „I just don’t like things that...walk like that.” He made a crawling gesture with his good hand.

„Too bad”, Strife licked his long fingers. „This shit’s delicious!”

War crinkled his wide nose and said nothing.

„So it’s about the visuals, huh?” you said, struck by an idea. „Would it be okay for you to try it just a little bit - if you couldn’t see it ?”

„Huh?” War clearly didn’t follow.

„Please don’t make our brother eat with his eyes closed”, murmured Fury between slurping in more pasta. „He makes a fair mess as it is.”

„Wouldn’t dream of it”, you grinned. „What I mean is: just close your eyes and I’ll hand feed you.”

„...Okay.”

Death cocked an eyebrow - his lip curving upwards - but he said nothing.

„Uh-oh,” said Strife. „Here comes the lovey-dovey stuff. Excuse me while I go and puke.”

„And put all this food to waste?” Fury taunted.

The gunslinger shrugged in defeat and went back to munching.

You picked a decent amount of food on the fork, lifted it and smiled at War, who stared you in the face with that endearingly earnest expression. He must’ve really hated arthropods in any shape or form, you thought. Yet he was willing to overcome his disgust. 

For you.

„Close your eyes.” He did, and suddenly there was much less light at the table. „Open wide!”

That he also did. You placed the shrimp inside his mouth with a jeweller’s precision. Strife sniggered.

„...Well?”

War’s snowy eyelashes fluttered while he pressed his jaws together, focusing on the taste. You saw his Adam’s apple bob a little.

You loved this big lug of a man so much.

„How is it?”

„Mmm. Good.” Those lightning blue eyes were looking at you again, wide and smiling. „This was really good.”

„Well then, ready for another round?”

War nodded, pressed his eyelids together and gaped, willing and trustful in that childlike way of his which always turned your cynical heart into jelly.

PLOP.

Suddenly many things happened at once. 

Strife howled with laughter, while Fury’s face became a picture of slack-jawed bewilderment. Death, always the quickest to react, was already standing up, one hand pushing his chair aside and the other outstretched protectively towards War. Who was clearly choking.

You watched the Big Guy wheeze and gurgle as if glued to your seat, paralyzed, motionless, the shellfish on your fork like some absurd sceptre.

You didn’t do this.

Death kicked War’s chair out of the way and held his brother in some Nephilim rendition of a Heimlich Maneuver, shaking him unceremoniously through the coughs until the latter went slack in his grasp. 

Finally, War stopped wheezing and did a dog shake.

Only then you were finally able to move.

„Oh, fuck. War. Are you all right?”

„I seem to be.” The Big Guy shot you a dizzy half-smile. Flyaway strands of hair covered his reddened face.

Death cautiously let him go and taxed you with a somewhat less-than-tender stare.

„I didn’t do this!” It hit as hard as a spoken accusation. You waggled the fork with the shrimp still on it. „I didn’t do anything!”

„Then what in the Nine Hells was that?” Fury wanted to know.

„Water”, gasped War, pointing upwards. „A lot of water fell into my mouth at once...I think.”

The four of you suspiciously eyed the ceiling.

Except for the lanky one, who was still guffawing.

„Strife. Did you see that happen?” Death’s voice was perfectly level. Focusing on the task at hand. You felt relief washing all over you; the Reaper clearly didn’t think that you just tried to choke his favourite brother.

Which was a good thing...your bond notwithstanding.

And out of the Four D might’ve been the fastest to react, but it was the gunslinger who had the perfect eyesight.

„Y-yeah!” Strife wiped the tears of mirth away. „Like, at least half a litre at once – boom! Hilarious.”

„What is so damn funny?” You could do with less of Strife’s sense of humour right now.

„Aw, come on there, pumpkin pie. It’s not like he could die from that. Or from anything else.”

You rethought this statement. „Right...yet D reacted!”

„Death used to do this all the time when we were kids”, Fury said softly, tilting her head in your direction. „We’d choke on anything, really. And back then, before we were anointed Horsemen we could have actually died, you know.”

„I guess old habits die hard”. Strife put on his shit-eating grin.

War nodded at his eldest and that was it. The whole „thank you for caring” compressed into one curt gesture. 

You smiled at War and then at Death. He caught your kind, appreciative stare, pressed his lips together and looked away.

PLOP!

(to be continued)

[saelwen]

Your Witcher

Dark!Geralt of Rivia x Shy!Reader

Chapter Five

Masterlist

Summary: You were a shy girl that worked on the tavern of your town, serving drunken men that came to drown all their problems in alcohol. On one of your busy days on the tavern, you grabbed the attention of a certain witcher. In which resolve you being taken away by the white-haired witcher. (Sorry I´m bad at summaries 😂)

Warnings: Angst, Smut, Dom/sub

Words:2,300

The cold water hit your face like tiny needles piercing your skin as you rode into the dense forest. All you could hear was the loud howls that the strong wind made between the tall trees, shaking them violently. Roach didn´t stop for a minute, running like your life depended on it...and it did.  

Pulling the reins up, you stop roach from running anymore since you could feel her breath coming in little puffs as she has been running for almost all night. “Let´s rest for a little bit,” you said with a small voice, patting gently on her long neck. You climb off from roach´s back and look around, seeing nothing but trees around you.  

An annoyed sigh fell from your lips as you notice that you don´t know where were you. Grabbing roach´s reins, you lead the tired horse to a beautiful cozy tree. Her form was like small hiding, her trunks and their dense leaves didn´t let the heavy rain get in.  

Securing roach´s reins to a thick trunk, you sit down on the base of the cozy tree, wrapping your arms around your soaked and cold body. You curse under your breath for not having brought something warmer than a simple light dress as a gush of cold wind pass by your shivering body.  

Tears start running down your cheeks again as you bury your face between your knees. You try to get some rest, to let your e/c eyes close for a little bit but your mind didn´t let it, alert to every shadow and sound that you saw and heard around you. You didn´t know this part of the woods so your body was full of adrenally, ready to run if some creatures appear of all a sudden.  

A loud growl came from your stomach, making rub your hand against. It´s been a while since you have eaten and your body is starting to lose strength.  

Whimpering, you curl in a ball on the cold ground, letting your body shut down for a bit.

                                                  /// \\\

A hiss falls from Geralt´s mouth as he finishes clean his wound and wrapping in some clean cloth. How could he be so stupid?! He should have seen the lie on Y/n´s eyes! He could have sensed it with his mutations but he let his emotions get in the way.  

Standing from the wooden chair by the fireplace, he starts putting his armor on. He looks to the window seeing the storm was still strong. “She didn´t go far... I may catch her by the sunrise.” his voice dark and deep, full of rage and mischief.  

Walking to the dining table, he grabs his swords and put them on his back, securing them tightly. Geralt walks outside, the cold rain hitting on his face. “Don´t worry, princess... I going to get you!” with that he walks into the dense forest, following roach´s tracks.

                                                /// \\\

The sound of a stick breaking woke you up, making you shot up from your place. Looking around, you only see the shadows of the trees that the little moonlight provided. Another sound grabbed your attention, it was a growl and come from the dark side of the forest.  

Turning back, you saw two large red orbs shining in the darkness, looking at you with hunger. Roach let out a loud neigh and starts backing away, ripping her reins from the trunk.  

Suddenly there was a huge thunder in the dark sky each you wished not had happened for what you saw made more tears fall from your eyes. The gigantic creature that was in front of you made your body paralyzed in fear. The beast had a form of humanoid with a wolf, full of beautiful red fur with some ugly scars here and there. He let out another growl, baring his large and sharp teeth to you.  

You took a step back but fall when your foot got stuck on the root of the tree. A squeal escapes from your lips and looks quick to the beast, seeing it walking closer to you. Pushing your body backward, you try to escape from his sharp teeth but after some small steps, your back hits the tree.  

The large beast comes closer, his growls and snarls become louder. So, this is how you die? Eaten by a werewolf? Alone in the woods, being chased by a witcher, who had kidnapped you and rape you?!  

Lifting your muddy arms, you put them in front of your face and close your eyes, ready for the beast to end your awful life. Maybe you could find peace in death. Maybe this beast will free you from the witcher.  

You feel the beast snout touching your bruised ankle, licking gently the wound that the chains had done. You yelp and jump a little, moving away your ankle from the beast´s mouth.

“I finally found you, Y/n!” a familiar delicate voice sounded in front of you, making you open your e/c eyes. The beast sits before you and gave you a small smile. “W..What?...” you said in confusion, your voice tiny and full of fear.  

The werewolf moves slowly closer to you, putting a clawed hand on your soaked cheek, cupping gently. “It´s okay, Y/n... you are safe now.” the beast voice was soft and feminine, a voice that you remember so well. Looking better at the red werewolf, you notice that its frame was large but delicate and on its chest was two small breasts cover in red fur. A female werewolf?  

“W..Who are y..you?” your voice came out weak. The beast took a deep breath and look down, you notice her eyes were less red than before and were changing to a lovely blue color.  

“It´s me...Alice.” a loud gasp fall from your lips as you hear her words. “W..What?...How?” you almost couldn´t form words as you look to her with wide eyes, shocked by the news.  

Her large hand stroke gently your cheek, spreading a comfortable warmth on your body. “It´s a long story...i will tell after get you out of here! I know that the witcher is not far behind!” she said while picking you up gently, carefully for not to hurt you more than you already are. You wrap your arms around her fluffy neck and bury your face on her soft fur, feeling warm and safe on her embrace.  

“How did you find me?” you ask her as she starts walking towards her house. Alice let out a growl and shook her large head. “That fucking witcher appeared on the town, buying supplies...when I got closer to him, I caught your scent on his clothes.” she pauses and looks down to you, kissing softly your head. “After that, I follow him... I´ve heard the things he did to you... he will pay for raping my daughter!” her last sentence was full of venom and hatred.  

There was a long silence as you two walked in the dark woods. The rain was calmer now, only falling small drops. You cuddle your head into her neck and let out a relieved sigh.  

“So... this why you never worked on full moons,” you said quietly. She chuckles, making you smile as you feel the vibrations from her laugh. “Yes... On full moon nights, I would go deep in the forest and hunt,” she said gently. You look to her with your eyes full of awe and fear. “I've never harmed any human if it's what you are thinking,” she said with a smirk on her strange lips.  

Suddenly Alice stops and jumps to the side. Confused, you look to the tree beside you and saw a dagger there. “Fuck off, Witcher! She is not yours!” Alice snarl, her voice was dark and full of rage.  

Turning your head to the side, you saw Geralt standing there fully armored. The look on his face made you shiver in fear. His eyes were black as the night which made you panic even more. His skin was paler than before, with some black veins around his face.

Geralt took a step forward and point his silver sword to Alice. “Give me Y/n and you may leave with life.” his voice came out like an animal growl.  

Alice put you down and told you to hide. She turns to him and straightened her back, showing him how big she was. “You will pay for you have done to her!” with that Alice starts running towards him. She lifts her hand and starts trashing, trying to pierce her sharp claws on him.  

Geralt and Alice begin fighting, almost looking like they were dancing. All you could hear was his sword and her claws clashing together and their growls and snarls.

You put your hands on your ears, trying to muffle the sounds of the battle occurring in front of you but you still heard everything. Closing your eyes tightly, try to sing your mother lullaby.  

As you were singing, a loud painful howl broke through the cold air in the forest. Opening your eyes, you saw Geralt piercing his sword on Alice´s thigh. There was blood everywhere, making you vomit your empty stomach.  

Geralt grabs Alice's head and hits it hard with the handle of his sword. She falls on the cold ground unconscious, her breath came out in little puffs. You stood there, looking to her with teary eyes. Geralt takes out from his bag a long silver chain and walks to her. “NO!...P..Please! Don´t kill her!” you plead while standing up. He stops beside her and looks to you with a smirk. “I´m not going to kill her... She will be a perfect watchdog,” he said while wrapping the chain around Alice´s neck. “With the proper spell, she will obey me like a true loyal dog!” he drags her to Roach, who standing behind him with her head down, and put her on the brown mare´s back.  

When he was finished putting Alice on roach´s back, he turns around and walks to you. His eyes still dark like obsidian, shining with the light of the moon. “You have been a bad girl, Y/n.” a shiver runs down your spine as he said your name and not your nickname that he gave you.  

He strokes gently your cheek, putting an h/c lock behind your ear. He leans down and captures your lips with his, kissing gently. He pulls away and rests his forehead on yours, cleaning some tears from your eyes. “You should have listened to me, princess! Now...Now I have to punish you!” he said as his large hand wrap around your neck and push your back into the tree.  

A small whimper falls from your lips as you feel his other hand pushing your dress up. He puts his leg between yours so his hand could cup your soft folds, his skillful fingers playing with your sensitive pearl. “It seems your body has missed my touch, princess,” he whispers against your ear. You close your eyes and turn your face to the side, feeling betrayed by your own body.  

“Look to my eyes, Y/n!” he growls warningly, his hand on your neck squeezing gently. Opening your eyes, I stare to his obsidian ones. “Good girl...” he said with a wicked smile. Another whimper escapes from you when you feel his large member rub against your wet slit. “Since we have a long trip to our lovely home, I will have my fill with you here,” he said with a sultry voice.  

You gasp when he suddenly moving inside, thrusting hard and fast, not giving you time to adjust. You wrap your legs around his strong waist as his hand grabs your ass, squeezing tightly. Your hands claw his leather armor as he bounces you on his cock, forcing moans and whimper fall from your lovely lips.  

The familiar feeling starts forming on your belly and he notices as he moves his hand from your neck to your slit, rubbing gently your clit. You bite your lower lip as you feel your orgasm coming closer, making your toes curl. “Bad girls don´t get to cum, princess.” with his words, your eyes shot open, looking to him in fear.  

Geralt smirks down to him and pulls his cock out of your warm slit, pushing you down to your knees. He starts stroking himself, groaning and moaning as he looks down at you. The ache between your legs made a discomfortable feeling spread through your body, the need to cum was to big.  

Slowly, you move your hand between your legs, touching gently your clit. Sighing in relief, you start rocking your hips but Geralt kick your hand away from your wet slit. “Don´t. Touch. Yourself!... Bad girls don´t get to cum.” he growls to you, baring his teeth.  

Nodding gently, you look to his large member, seeing some pre cum dripping down. His strokes begin going faster and his breath was caught on his throat. Suddenly, white strikes came out from his cock, coating your face and dress with his warm seed. He rubs the tip of his cock on your lips and sighs as you wrap your lips around his head. He tastes bitter and sweet at the same time, you clean him up as he comes down from his orgasm.  

Closing his pants, he picks you up and walks to roach. He puts you on the roach´s back and then climbs up, sitting behind you. He gave you a sweet kiss on your head and leans down to your ear. “I hope you are ready for your punishment, My sweet princess,” he whispers with wicked voice while ordering roach to move forward.  

You close your eyes and nod. “Yes, sir...” you whisper quietly, making a disgusting smirk on Geralt lips

Hey Guys!!! New chapter here. So, what do you think? I hope you like it and feel free to comment and tell me what you think!!

Also, taglist is open. Click right HERE

XOXO

Taglist: @burningcoffeetimetravel​ | @crazyxreader​ | @uncoolcloudyhead​ | @supernaturalvikingwhore​ | @ellallheart​ | @notyouraveragemochii​ | @lucia-leno03​ | @bloo-moon-freak​ | @viyamystic​ |  @decaffeinatedwolfbouquet-8655385 | @mikariell95​ | @notavintagecliche​ | @rynabarnesrogers​ | @salliebley​ | @fraeuleindurcheinander​ | @majicbamana​ | @debonaire-princess​ | @comfortingcreature​ | @nati-epic-jelly​ | @toxic-quenn​ | @alwayshave-faith​

[dianakennery]

Scott and Sparkles Part 2

Sparkles felt like she could still hear the din of the party before everything went dark and she was plunging face first into shallow water. It was deep enough that she didn’t touch the bottom when she fell but when she sputtered herself rightways she found she was able to stand. 

Miraculously, she was wearing a headlamp.

“How did…?” she reached up to contraption strapped to her head, no memory of how it got there. She tentatively removed it, bringing it down to study it but she turned to look at Scott before she did, he was standing under a lamppost in shallower water.

“Straight boy?” Her words still slightly slurred and drenched in confusion.

He waved slowly, still high, “Hi Sparkles.”

“I’m like a miner or something.” She held up the headlamp. Still tremendously confused.

Scott frowned and then pointed to the lamppost. 

“I found a lamppost.”

They were silent for nearly a full minute.

“We were just at the party right?” Scott’s voice was pained and muddled.

Sparkles nodded ferociously and waded over to him.

“What happened?” She strapped the headlamp back on and looked out at the water surrounding them.

“I don’t know.” Scott drawled slowly, “I don’t think it’s good though.”

“It doesn’t seem good.” Sparkles nodded, “But we don’t know! It could be good!”

Scott held up his hands in defense.

“It could be!” He looked behind them at the lamppost. “Maybe it's Narnia.”

“Isn’t there a lion in Narnia?” Sparkles tried to recall the books from childhood, “And a witch?”

Scott walked over to the lamppost, deciding to get a closer look.

“And a wardrobe…” Sparkles continued quietly to herself before following him.

“This lamp post.” Scott pointed to it as Sparkles drew near. “This lamppost is submerged in water.”

Sparkles nodded, quite certain that much was obvious.

“And I have to admit I can’t quite remember why but that science doesn’t add up.” Scott finished quite confidently.

Sparkles’ gasped softly, “It doesn’t.”

They both looked around them, taking in the lamppost, the water, and the darkness.

“So what the fuck happened?” Sparkles tried to keep her growing anxiety from entering her voice.

“I have no idea.” Scott looked up into the darkness as though he might see Roger standing above them, as if they had simply fallen from the party.

The pair quickly made inventory of all that they knew which amounted to neither of them having any indication of what they may be experiencing, though they both settled on a bad trip being the most likely explanation. After a quick discussion Sparkles suggested they set out from the lamppost through the shallow water to see what they could find. Unable to come up with any alternative but unwilling to split up Scott agreed.

They walked for a few minutes in silence, the effects of the pill still swirling within them.

Scott studied his companion, realizing he knew so little of her. 

“So… uh, are you single?” Scott grimaced, hating that he had any conversational talent.

“Oh yeah.” She smiled at him devilishly. 

“Very nice.” He noticed her gaze drift away and her smile fade, “Are you… do you think you’ll change that?”

Sparkles frowned and shut her eyes.

Scott winced, knowing he might have crossed a line.

“I would like a relationship actually,” she sighed and grinned at him, “I mean, yes, I do love being single but I do also get lonely. I’ve been single for a few years… feel like I’m ready… just…” she stopped and stared down.

“Can’t find her.” Scott finished for her, his own singledom weighing on him.

“It's not the same.” she groaned, unwilling to share her plight with this moron.

“Ok no, maybe not even a little bit… but a tiny little bit?” He held his fingers a millimetre a part and gave her a goofy puppy dog look.

Sparkles shook her head but sighed at his earnest expression, “A tiny, tiny, tiny, miniscule bit.”

Scott grinned, “We are best friends.”

“Oh my god.” She rolled her eyes at the corniness of it all but smiled genuinely and forged ahead of him. After a minute she stopped and took a couple steps back and then stepped forward again.

Scott stood beside her as she stared out into the vastness before them.

“It’s getting deeper.” Her voice was low.

A chill ran up Scott’s spine.

“Should we go back?” She looked behind them, her eyes alighting on the lamppost.

Scott turned back to the light and then looked into the darkness. 

“Maybe…” He stared ahead of them, a feeling of dread filling him as the black water moved gently.

Sparkles spun around again, the head lamp illuminating the water ahead of them and nothing else. 

The delirious high they felt earlier had all but worn off, both Scott and Sparkles now left with unease and fear.

Scott closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. He couldn’t begin to analyze the situation now, or think too hard about it. The truth was he was terrified. And his feet were cold and wet. He tried not to focus on the fact that it was water surrounding him. The soft sound of small ripples and waves slowly eroding away at what little bit of calm he had.

“Scott!”

Scott opened his eyes and was immediately blinded by the light of Sparkles’ head lamp.

“Jesus!” He shielded his eyes.

“Oh sorry,” she sheepishly turned away from him, “But it’s gone!” the urgency returned to her voice, “Scott the lamp post is gone!”

Scott’s stomach plummeted. He looked back the direction they came from, and sure enough there was only darkness. He took a few hurried steps in the dark.

“Maybe it just went out…” he kept going but stopped after a few more steps. There was nothing before him. No dim outline, nothing. The lamp was gone. Suddenly Scott realized that the water he was standing in was above his knees. “Sparkles… is it… is it still getting deeper that way?”

Sparkles spun the light in the opposite direction and walked further, “Yeah, less and less shallow as it moves on.”

Terror flooded Scott’s nerves.

He took a few coming breaths.

“It’s getting deeper this way too.”

The light spun back towards him. 

“Well fuck.” Sparkles was truly at a loss. She felt a wave of panic coming.

“Yeah, it's definitely rising all over.” Scott made his way to her.

They stood there. Silently coming to terms with the situation. 

“I’m sorry Sparkles. I don’t know what this is but I think we’re at the end.” The fear and despair in his voice was so thick it seemed to rest on the water’s surface.

Another dark moment passed as the water level rose.

The silence was broken by Sparkles’ scoff.

“No! Okay no. Alright, let's think about this. 1. We are tripping, logically we’re probably still on the couch, maybe someone spilled a drink on us or something I don’t know. Or 2! We’re literally here. I mean physically, consciously, occupying this space here somehow. And it's some sort of weird fucked up Truman show or something. Or 3, it is beyond our understanding. Something is happening here and it's impossible for us to know what because we simply do not have the facts. So, way I see it. We keep going, we keep riding and we just brace ourselves for whatever is coming.” She looked down into the water. “Wait…”

Sparkles took a few steps deeper, the water now rising quickly above her thigh.

Scott winced as she went deeper, “Careful, you’re going to lose your footing!”

Scott could just make out the smirk under her headlamp.

“So are you, my friend. But don’t worry there's a light down there.” She gestured ahead and below of them. 

Scott squinted to make sense of a dim light far beneath the surface ahead.

“That's way too deep.” Scott was shaking with anxiety.

Sparkles shrugged. “Maybe.” she dove in.

Scott’s mouth dropped open as he stared at the little light that was getting further from him. The surrounding darkness was so consuming he could barely breathe. After a moment of paralyzed terror Sparkles turned and began to swim back up to the surface.

She broke the water and took in a deep breath.

“Ok, this has to be it. I think we’re supposed to follow the lights. And there's a current down there… I actually kind of think we’re just going to get pulled right in, I know that sounds scary but I don’t know why... I just think that's what we're supposed to do. Scott we’re going to do this, we’re gonna make it through. Just hold my hand okay?”

Scott was still frozen. 

“I can’t.”

Sparkles smiled at him warmly.

“We’re gonna be okay, you can do this… I think this is part of it too… something in me is telling me we need to stick together.”

Scott shook his head, “The water.”

Sparkles looked down at the water and frowned.

“Yeah… not a great situation… are you…” she studied him from behind her head lamp, “Do you have trouble with water?”

Scott could not move.

“I never used to. But now…” 

The water continued to rise.

“I’m so sorry Scott.” Her voice was low and serious, she hoped he could hear how genuinely she felt for him at that moment, “Lets try once, we can always swim back up!”

Scott looked to her, terrified. Something deep within him told him they would not have the chance to swim back up.

He was correct.

[i-miss-balthazar]

Dean’s Not Fine

Warnings: Mentioned child abuse, some graphic imagery regarding Dean’s death in season 3, panic attacks

Rating: Teen

Pairing: I guess you can read it as Destiel if you wanted?

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

A demon hunt shouldn’t have been a big deal. It wasn’t like they were taking out a really powerful one, it was supposed to be simple. By all means, it should’ve been simple. 

Sam wasn’t with him when he’d encountered the demon. Cas was, but Sam had gone to interrogate witnesses while Dean checked the scene. It was an abandoned warehouse, because when isn't it an abandoned warehouse? They didn’t think the demon would be there, but there she was. They had cornered her, when she smirked and whistled. 

Click. Click. Click. 

Dean felt paralyzed. His limbs could work, yes, but he forgot how to use them. His lungs must’ve shrank, because he could only exchange tiny gasps of air. Dean’s eyes darted around, trying to figure out where the beast was, but his vision got blurry, and he wasn’t sure if it was from tears or the fear that made him feel like he was trying to swim in whipped cream; too thin to float, too thick to swim in. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t convince his legs to move, he was just stuck. 

In an instant, the scenery around him changed. Dean was back in the motel. He could hear his heart racing in his ears, and it felt as though it would explode from his chest. 

“Dean…” Cas began, concern in his tone, but his voice faded in the ringing of Dean’s ears. He was probably still talking, but it was all too much, Dean couldn’t handle it. Then he felt Cas’s arms wrap around him, and that's when he broke. His knees buckled, and he started sobbing. All he could think about was the gnashing of teeth, and hearing his skin rip under the dog’s claws as the beast drug him down to hell. The terror was overwhelming, and just knowing the hellhound was there… it brought it all back. 

Dean wasn’t sure how long he’d remained there, so lost in the fear, Castiel’s arms the only thing reminding him he was safe. It must’ve been awhile, though, because the light glimmering through the window had faded into the soft gold rays of dusk. Hesitantly, Dean pulled away from Cas, wiping the tear tracks off his face. 

“Are you okay, Dean?” Cas asked softly. 

“Fine.” Dean dismissed, grabbing a beer from the mini fridge. 

“You just had a panic attack, Dean, don’t brush this off!” Cas scolded. Dean just opened his beer, taking a sip. “Has this happened before?” Castiel interrogated, crossing his arms. Dean finished his sip. 

“Couple times when I was little.” Dean dismissed. Back then it was about Dad. Dad had a temper, and Dean was often the victim of his outbursts. Dean would do something wrong, and John would yell at him loud enough to make the walls shake. He would even hit Dean whenever he did something bad enough. Dean was so scared of what his father would do when he started to yell, he’d stand like a deer in the headlights, nodding ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir’ when applicable;  his brain went on autopilot so Dad wouldn’t yell more while his mind shrivelled up in a fit of panic. Dean knew crying would just get him in more trouble, so when John finished and left for the bar, he’d lock himself in the bathroom, sitting in the motel tub, sobbing until it hurt, and the trembles faded. When his head stopped hurting, and his dizziness subsided, he’d slink out, and lie to Sam and say it was fine-

 Cas’s hand gently caressing his face drew him back from his thoughts. 

“It has…” Cas inferred, a sad look in his eyes. “How often?” The angel asked. Dean looked away, and Cas sighed softly. “Have you ever gotten tested for panic disorder?” Dean gave him an incredulous look, and Cas sighed. “You should. You can get medication to help.” He urged. 

“I’m not going to a shrink.” Dean stated. 

“Dean. Just humour me?” Cas asked. Dean rolled his eyes, before making the mistake of making eye contact with him. Falling victim to the pleading blue paradise, Dean couldn’t find it in him to say no. 

“Fine. I’ll go once, okay?” He groaned.  

“Thank you, Dean…” Castiel sighed, pulling him into his arms. And Dean let him.

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Representation Week Tag List:

@misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @specialagentrin @peanutbutterandgrapejelly @all-or-nothing-baby @petrichoravellichor @i-know-like-four-things @fantastikitty7 @is-jus-me @hexlorde

Author’s Note: This is an idea I developed after having my first panic attack last Christmas. Projecting myself into Dean really helped me process and understand what happened, so yeah! Healing!

[shall-we-imagine]

Together we go. (Werewolf!Caesar Raphael x Reader *AU*)

Lol it's never late to request I'm always late to write tho

Requested: 34. "Please don't do this." + 45. "I can't imagine this world without you." From this prompt list.

Genre: Raw angst 😂💯 happy ending though cuz I’m weak

Strap yourselves in cuz this is dramatic as shit and also I’m lowkey rusty sooooo yeah 😂

(First point of view)

Everytime our eyes meet, my insides twist in guilt. I can barely hold his gaze for longer than a few seconds.

“Can we please get some ice cream first?” Caesar gives me his usual puppy eyes- aka the most effective puppy eyes one could ever encounter. I can almost see his tail wagging behind him in excitement.

I giggle at the cute nature of the scene. “Of course.”

He grins, immediately grabbing my arm and rushing to the ice cream truck. I do my best to keep up with him and not break my face on the asphalt.

It was Caesar’s first time at a theme park, and he was overflowing with happiness to say the least; he genuinely resembled a large puppy. 

Though Caesar always insists that the puppy/dog comparisons I make are only because I knew of his identity, I'm pretty sure it's way beyond the fact that he's a werewolf. Caesar just behaves like an oversized puppy, whether he believes it or not.

"Mmhm! It's so good!" Caesar's eyes widened at the sweet flavour of his chocolate ice cream. Part of me was worried he'd collapse and I'd have to rush him to the hospital, but from the looks of it, werewolves can apparently eat chocolate. "How's yours?" He smiled at me. God that smile kills me.

"O-oh, it's nice!" I took the spoon into my mouth, unnecessarily trying to prove my statement.

His stare lingered, but before I could ask him about it, he sheepishly spills out a question. "Can I..um..can I try it?" He pointed to the paper cup in my hand.

Giggling in awe, I immediately scooped up the ice cream into my plastic spoon. "Sure." I moved my hand closer to him, expecting him to take the spoon, but instead, he leaned his head closer, taking the spoon into his mouth directly. My cheeks heat up at the small gesture, and I subconsciously start looking around to make sure we haven't attracted anyone's attention.

"Oh! It's really good too! What is this one?" Caesar's eyes gleam in fascination, as if discovering a whole new world, which in a way he was. He'd already explained how strict the pack is about interacting with humans and their world, hence his isolation from the pack after violating that rule. To be with me. And there I was, refusing to give up my group's approval.

"(Y/N)? Why do you keep zoning out today? Is something wrong?" His eyebrows furrow in concern, further engraving the guilt onto my heart.

"I'm just a little tired; don't worry about it." I do my best to give him a reassuring smile, but I suspect that only made him even more worried. "Come on, let's get in line for the ferris wheel." I pull him towards the giant ride.

Caesar stares upwards, "Woah."

"You're not scared of heights, are you?" I smile.

"I've never been that high before," he points to the top of the wheel, "but it does look a bit scary."

"Don't worry; it'll be fun." I take his hand in mine, giving it a small, reassuring squeeze.

By the time we reach the front of the line, we were both done with our ice cream and were just anticipating the ride.

The blond helps you onto the wobbly cabin and climbs inside after you're seated.

The second the small doors shut behind him, the colourful cabin moves upwards, causing Caesar to lose balance. He screams and drops to the ground, curling into a ball in fear.

I softly place a hand on his shoulder, "Caesar, it's fine. It...does that." I chuckle.

His expression softens. Sure enough, he lets me help him off the floor and onto the seat, where he's finally able to take a look at the view beneath us.

His beautiful green eyes widen in admiration, "It's not scary at all. It's very...pretty...just like you." He turns to smile at me, but I immediately avert my gaze shyly.

He takes my hand in his, "I love being with you; you make me happy."

The sincere look in his eyes drew me in, and before I knew it, my bottom lip starts quivering. "I- yeah, me too."I gulp, gluing my eyes elsewhere. I could no longer hold his gentle gaze.

Silence follows for a few moments.

Softly taking place beneath my chin, fingertips guide my face towards their owner, "(Y/N)? Why won't you look at me?" His concerned gaze almost burns holes in my face.

I let out a nervous laugh and take his hand in mine, "What do you mean? I'm just enjoying the view. Look; you can see the ocean from here!"

Caesar forces a weak smile, "Yeah, it's nice."

________

"(Y/N), are you sure we're not lost? I can't hear any cars ahead of us..." After walking through the woods for a bit, Caesar starts getting suspicious about whether we're actually using a shortcut to the bus station.

Hesitation and guilt take turns abusing my mind and heart. "Y-yes, Caesar. Just keep following me." I try to control my breathing rate and calm down.

The closer I get to the spot, the heavier my feet feel, the harder it is to push myself forward. "I can't do this." I drop to the ground and pull out my pocket knife.

"What do you mea-(Y/N), what the fuck are you doing?!" His statement was cut off by his own terrified yell. He drops to the ground and tries to pull away my weapon.

Having already dug the sharp edge into my forearm, I was disappointed by how difficult it is to actually find the tracking device. "Tracking device, Caesar! They'll find us; I need to take it out!" I kick the blond away, as I continue to search through my own flesh for the tiny device. The pain was unbearable, but it wouldn't compare to losing Caesar.

Blood dripped everywhere, making it even harder to see. "Fuck." I pant.

"It's not working." Tears hinder my vision, "Caesar, get out of here! As quick as you can!" The confusion on his face screamed in my face that it's my fault- all of it. "Please..." my voice cracks.

"No, (Y/N), I'm not going anywhere without you. Who are we running from? What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything!" He snatches the knife away and stuffs it in his pocket, the blood making a mess of his clothes in the process.

I push him away with my uninjured arm, "There's no time; please, just leave." Desperation hung at every word, yet he remained unmoved.

"Get up. We're leaving together." He tries to help me up, but I pull my arm away.

"They'll track us down, Caesar! The device is still in there!" I yell. "Please, I'm begging you; just leave before it's too late." I push him again, but he doesn't budge.

"(Y/N), we either leave together or die together; I'm not going anywhere without you whether you like it or not." The serious expression on his face is one I've never seen on him before; he's determined and stubborn, and I knew it.

I shake my head, "No, Caesar, you don't understand; I-"

"Was supposed to kill me, but you felt guilty; I know." He finished my statement, leaving me in a state of shock and shame.

"How- what? You know?" Realizing his lack of resistance, I fall into more confusion, "Well...why did you follow me here? You didn't know I'd feel guilty; I could've killed you!"

"But you didn't." Smirking, he shrugs.

"Caesar, I'm serious..." I stare at him with pleading eyes.

He sighs, "Well, I figured if the person I love the most wants to kill me then that's it; that's how I go."

"You came with me knowing you'll die?!" I cry.

"Well, I had hope you'd change your mind; I knew the love I'd felt with you wasn't fake. I felt your love...And well, I dunno about you humans, but wolves don't go killing wolves they love." He chuckles. "And if you'd killed me, well, I'd still choose that over escaping. I can't imagine this world without you."

"You're such a dumbass." I laugh lightly, but my smile drops at the sight of of something hitting Caesar’s neck.

And before I realize what's happening, He is hyperventilating as he grasps his neck, eyes terrifyingly wide; if I dIdn't know better, I'd think he was choking himself.

I rip out the tiny needle from his neck in panic, but it doesn't stop him from gasping for air, drool trickling down his chin uncontrollably. His eyes start to roll back, but he seems to be trying to hold onto what's left of his conscious mind, "Caesar! Caesar, stay with me!" Sobbing, I begin to shake him violently, but it takes mere moments before he drops to the ground.

The sound of footsteps slowly approaching hammers realization into my terrified brain, "W-why?"

"Girl, he's not dead yet; he's temporarily paralyzed." Kate rolls her eyes, but a warning follows through gritted teeth, "We're making the killing easier for you, so don't make this any harder for us."

"He's not a monster..." I shake my head, desperately pleading for his life, "He doesn't even belong to a pack; he's harmless!"

"Take out your knife, (Y/N)." She warns while the rest of the hunters watch me expectantly.

I look down at Caesar, whose eyes barely held any life in them. No way is he getting up any time soon, and my left arm has already gone limp. We stood no chance. This is it; this is how we die. And it's all my fault.

More warnings follow, but my eyes spot a tall man hiding nearby; he was clearly watching the conflict unfold.

When our eyes met, he put his index finger to his lips, telling me to keep quiet, which I do. I was gonna die anyway; I have nothing to lose, listening to random forest man.

Smirking at my obedience, he gracefully spreads his hand open in the direction of the hunters.

Within a second, they all drop their weapons to clutch their head in their hands, blocking their ears like they couldn't stand a very loud sound. A loud sound you can't hear.

Eventually they all fall to the ground, hands still covering their ears. That's when the stranger decides to step out of his hiding spot.

He slowly makes his way towards me and Caesar. I don't know if it's the blood I've lost or the intense gaze of the man, but everything begins spinning before going completely black.

________

"Did you hear me?! I said shoot him!" Kate screams.

Confusion consumes my every inch, "W-what?"

"Are you deaf?" She holds up her gun, aiming at my head. "Shoot him."

I slowly turn to look at where she motioned with a slight tilt of her chin. My shaky hands were clutching a gun aimed at a terrified Caesar on the ground. "Caesar?"

"Please, don't do this." Trembling, he shakes his head. "I love you. I would never hurt you; you know that." His teary eyes were hypnotizing; I couldn't look away for a reason I couldn't explain. I just stood still- and stared.

“I...I don’t understand...” I lower the gun I knew I didn’t even have on me before.

“Please, I’m begging you.” Caesar pleads.

I observe my surroundings in utter bewilderment. The number of hunters bacame overwhelmingly threatening; I didn’t know there were that many of them. So many faces I couldn’t recognize.

Before I could plan my next move, the sound of a gun shot rips through the air.

My head snaps towards Caesar. His fear-stricken, watery eyes stare back into mine lifelessly. 

My lips quiver, as I scan his body for the wound.

Till I found it where I didn’t expect to.

Hot, thick liquid trickles down my face, blurring my vision in the process. My fingers reach for my forehead, allowing me a chance at comprehending the situation. 

I’d been shot.

As if the realization was my cue, I watch everything spin out of focus till I completely lose consciousness.

_________

I gasp, immediately shooting out of bed, almost slamming my head against the stranger’s.

“Jeez, the potion sure is quick.” The man mumbles to himself.

“Potion?” I wipe my forehead, just to see a gooey, yellow substance dripping off my fingers. It was a dream?

“(Y/N)!” I find myself engulfed into a warm, tight embrace.

“Caesar.” I breathe out in relief, giving into the hug.

“Wait! The tracking device-” Before I could fully push away Caesar, the man speaks up.

“Already planted it on a rat; it’s gone forever.” He gives a smile I could only interpret as him being proud of his own intelligence.

“I don’t know how to thank you...How do I return the favor? Ask me for anything!” 

“It’s a bit funny for you to think I’d need anything from you.” Seemingly offended, the man rolls his eyes and sips his tea.

“He’s a bit...uh...timid?” Caesar whispers to me, hinting he’d already tried to thank the man while I was out of it.

“I already put a healing spell on your arm; there will be no scarring, but I’d rather you keep the bandages for a few more hours.” He glances down at my bandaged arm.

“Thank you...again.” I nod. “A healing spell though...are you a wizard?” My eyebrows furrow in confusion.

The stranger sighs. “Surely you can’t be that dense.”

“I think that’s a yes.” Caesar looks at me in slight uncertainty.

Another sigh. “Azusa Kuze, wizard from Hinomoto, nice to meet you. Anything else you wanna butt into?” He uses a slightly high pitched, cheery voice to ensure we understood he was mocking us.

“Uh, no, we’re good I think.” Caesar chuckles nervously, scratching the back of his head.

“Good.” He diverts his attention to the huge book on his wooden dining table.

“Um, well, I guess we’ll be going now, right, Caesar?” 

“Uh, yes. Thank you again, Mr. Hinomoto Wizard Azusa Kuze.” Caesar bows.

The wizard scowls but shakes his head dismissively “Yeah, um, you’re welcome.”

The second we step outside the small cottage, we both let out breaths we didn’t seem to know we were holding. 

“Well, that was a strange day.” I state.

“Yeah.” Caesar nods. “Wanna get some more ice cream?”

I grin, “You know it.”