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austarus · 4 years

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Harry Wells x Reader Amending Past Actions

**A/N: The picture/edit/gif does not belong to me. It belongs to @moonymartell

*Set Post-s4 but before s6, with the revelation of Harry’s cube message that Cisco and Caitlin had found in s6. I think that makes sense. Anyway, just humor me ok? I miss my grumpy and soft scientist.

Word Count: 3350

“Dad, we can’t just let that meta get away with Syberon Labs’ technoscope.” Jesse spoke in a hushed manner as to not let other wandering ears to hear her their conversation. The undergrad had trailed right behind her father as the taller Wells made his way to his office. Harry pressed his thumb on the fingerprint scan against the wall beside his door, unlocking the system to reveal an intricate pass-code sequence as well. Harry mused to himself that it’s a miracle he managed to re-learn and memorize the security code. The dark-haired man had to ensure that no one except him, you, and Jesse were able to enter his area of isolation and Time Vault if there were to be maliciously rampant around the city like Zoom. The young speedster paused until they had fully entered the office and closed the door. The dimness of the room brightened up due to the motion-sensory had had installed years ago. “We have to let the board understand the amount of damage that meta can cause even if the tech isn’t linked to their powers.”

“Jesse, while I do appreciate that you keep me around for your meta-hero work, in this case my hands are tied. I can’t speak on behalf of the science anymore.” Harry replied as he pulled off his bag from his shoulder to set it beside his desk. Long legs moved to take a seat at his workspace, Harry unbuttoned the black buttons of his suit jacket. He had an earlier demonstration pitch to make with speaking to him in his ear for the science-y parts. The not-so-genius CEO inwardly sighed at the amount of proposals on his desks. “I’m not what I once was.”

“What if you could?”

Blue eyes ceased scanning the stack of papers he held in his hand. Harry gently laid them back down the cool glassy surface. “… What are you saying?”

Jesse took a step forward in front of her father’s desk, taking a breath in to resist the urge to accidentally speed-talk her lightbulb moment whenever she got excited. “What if we enhance your neural firing up to the intricate speed that it was once at in each your nervous cells? Therefore, amplifying your neural functions to compensate for cognition and analytical/systematic processing within certain parts of your brain. We’d also have to certify that other areas of your brain are also matching the same speeds before the Enlightenment accident so that we don’t get an overcompensation of neural stimulation. If we increase the firing rate to the adequate speed without causing your body to overstimulate or overwork itself biochemically then we should be able to get your mind back to what it once was. That means we’d also have to know your body’s precise neural chemical levels to see if we need to inject increments in order to compensate for the firing rate values while balancing the fact that we’d have to scan your brain for any traces of dark matter or sub-particles. I’m sure you’d documented your initial firing rate along everything else before you did the tests on the Cerebral inhibitor back on Earth-1.”

That’s my Jesse Quick. Harry had watched his daughter with wide eyes as she spoke confidently. Pride swelled in his chest even though he found himself nodding to the gibberish that came out of her mouth. I should have been able to understand all of that… “Honey.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you-

“-I love you too, dad-”

“-but, and I can’t believe I’m saying this- but in English, please.” This is probably how Joe feels every time Barry and the others spoke with me about science and physics and all that.

“We’re going to speed up your brain back to what it once was.”

“No.”

Jesse blinked at her father’s sudden response. “What? Why?”

Harry stammered before responding, running a hand through his unusually groomed hair. No longer unruly without the anxiety from problem-solving each meta incident or the next big bad. “I’m not- I can’t do that again. Something’s going to go wrong and… I can’t put you through that like I put (Y/N) and the Team. I lost myself, Jesse. I can’t go through all of that- that helplessness again.” Jesse watched her father with a pained expression before casting it downwards, the subtle guilt of not being at her father’s side when all that had gone down. I could have prevented his pain. Was the one thought that rang within the depths of her mind each day.

“Dad, I refuse to accept the fact that there’s nothing that we can do.”

“Jesse-”

“(Y/N) will even be here to monitor your neural and physiological vitals. She’ll be the green light if things go smoothly.”

“Jesse-”

“Just let me try. I can fix you.”

“Jesse!” Harry slammed a hand down on the desk, the harshness of the impact caused a picture frame to fall and shatter. The older Wells rubbed his face before massaging his temples. Don’t give me hope from what I had sorrowingly lost. “Stop, please. It’s not going to work. I’m fine with everything as it is now.”

“But are you content?” Jesse asked with pleading eyes. Harry looked up at his daughter before tilting his head off to the side. Finally, his gazed locked back on her.

“It’s better than being a blank slate or dead.”

“But are you content, dad?” Jesse asked once more, stepping over to pick up the fallen and cracked picture from. It had been of him and you and Team Flash last Christmas. His first Christmas with them. She handed her father the frame with a sigh. “I’ve seen you… stay up late at night wandering the labs, picking up your old notes, and trying to rework things at home until the early morning. There’s nothing wrong with wanting your intelligence back.”

“My intelligence doesn’t define me, Jesse. You need to understand that. I’m balanced now, that’s good enough for me.” Is it though?

“It doesn’t define you, but it’s something you value, dad. You’re my dad. My badass dad, who fought in the War of the Americas. Who jumped breaches to find a way to save me from Zoom while trying to keep the others safe by dropping hints. Who’s stubborn and prickly but ended up making friends on Earth-1 that you now consider family more than ever and met the one other person you’d sacrifice everything in life for. (Y/N). Your skill, intelligence, and determination brought you up to that point. Brains and brawns always win the fight, brawns can’t do it alone. I just-I just want to make you happy.”

“…”

“Dad, do you trust me?”

“You know I do, Jesse.”

“Then let me try.”

“Okay,” Harry grumbled as he leaned back and cracked his stiff neck, he adorned a serious expression on his face. “But we keep this between us. I’m already receiving backlash from your hero group as it is just being present at my own Labs.”

“Don’t worry about them. Oh, and one thing.”

“Hm?”

“Did you tell Cisco and (Y/N) about my team?”

“Yes?”

“Did Cisco come up with a name? Did (Y/N) approve?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah! So did they?”

“He might have rattled off a few names. One of them was probably Jesse and the Quicksters.”

“Not bad, I like it.”

“Don’t get any ideas.” Harry lightly scolded Jesse, who cheekily grinned at him.

“I won’t, I won’t,” the young speedster observed her father carefully as he moved past her to a desk space. Unlocking it, the Earth-2 Wells pulled out various notes and finals a blueprint model. Jesse padded over to stand across her father as she eyed the papers. “What’s this?”

“These,” Harry started, “are all the notes and things I had with me about the Cerebral Inhibitor. The blueprints are of mine and Cisco’s as well as the ones I snagged from Marlize after she had left the labs, who made readjustments to regain my intelligence.”

Jesse had already picked up the up-to-date notes by Marlize then the blueprints. She wasn’t even going to ask her father why he even had those in his possession because some part of her felt that he had been contemplating this too. “This is some A-class sloppy work, no wonder you weren’t able to fully get everything back.”

“Think you can outdo her.” Harry quirked a playful eyebrow at his daughter, who only returned the gesture. Jesse’s mind already had been making mental notes on the kinds of improvements that needed to be done.

“Hell yeah I can. I’m a Wells after all.” The speedster grinned up at her father, taking a seat on a spare chair and already sifting through the baroque equations and mathematical language.

Nothing lifted Harry’s spirits more than having his daughter beside him, their relation had been sewn back together. Harry left his daughter to jot down and hypothesize the necessary medications needed. Knowing my daughter, she’ll want to create the Cerebral Inhibitor from scratch. Harry took a seat at his desk once more, taking up paper after paper and analyzing the business proposals sent in. He may not have his intelligence anymore, but that does not necessarily mean he can’t run the business side of STAR Labs. Jesse was currently managing the science and analytical research side. But is this really going to work?

***

Harry covered his yawn as he set down the paper packet and pen in hand. Glancing over, he noticed that he had been working away for nearly 3 hours. The war veteran reclined back on his comfy leather chair as he stretched his limbs. His eyes wondered over to Jesse hunched over, speedily working through the notes as sounds of furious scribbling filled the silent void of the office today. With every intention of getting up and taking a walk through the Labs to get the blood flowing, Harry stood up and loosened his collar.

Blue eyes widened as a breach opened. Jesse’s ears had instantly perked up and, like the speedster she is, she raced to be beside her father in a defensive position. Spluttering sounds emitted from the breach as a very disoriented Wolfgang Wells stumbled out and onto the ground. Jesse looked thoroughly confused as did Harry. The doppelganger cowered on the ground in fear as more spluttering sounds signaled another emerging traveler. Harry watched you pop out of the breach.

“Hi,” You sent a friendly wave to your boyfriend and his daughter along with a cute, innocent-looking smile.

“(Y/N)?”

“One sec,” you held out a hand to them before yanking Wolfgang up by the back of his collar with all your might. Instantaneously, you twisted the German man’s arm back tightly behind him and locked Wolfgang in place adorning a threating sort of smile on your face. Harry blinked a few times as to what the hell was going on while Jesse crossed her arms and observed in amusement much to Wolfgang’s chagrin. “Ok, so let’s try this again. What do we saw when we’re wrong about judging others and their misfortune?”

Wolfgang sneered at you when he had tilted his head make eye contact with you, “You’re joking, rechts?” Your smile dropped astonishingly at his response. A darker look in your eyes as you kicked the back of his knee causing the older man to yelp and fall to bend uncomfortably. Harry ‘tch’ed and winced at what he witnessed. Jesse covered her mouth and hid her laughs at your chosen course of action. “It was wrong for me to do that.” Sie wird mich töten!

“And?”

“Und vhat?” You kick the back of his other knee and dug your fingers in the pressure point of his shoulder muscle, allowing the man to succumb on the ground on his knees. He groaned out in pain. “Und I’m sorry for kicking you out of the Council.”

“What. Else.”

“I shouldn’t have laughed at your face for losing your intelligence. It was a horrible thing for me to do. Können Sie mich jetzt gehen lassen?” Bitte, erbarme dich.

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” You grinned a bit sadistically at him, letting him go and pulling the Breach Extrapolator. Once it was open you grabbed the flinching man and shoved him back into the breach to his Earth.

You turned around and your sweet disposition had returned, sunshine and all. As if the menacing persona you had adorned vanished in a matter of seconds when that breach had closed. Throughout the entire exchange Jesse had spared a glance at her father to literally see him making heart eyes at you and a gentle smile on his face. Harry won’t even deny that your entire gesture had warmed his heart with one thought running through his mind. That’s my wife. That you had gone through the trouble to do all of that for him. Harry’s twinkling eyes never left you and Jesse just rolled her eyes at her dorky father. A smirk had bewitched its way onto his face as he stepped away from his daughter and towards you. You felt heat crawl its way to your cheeks at the hidden look behind his eyes. His arms instantly wrapped around you, holding you tightly to himself as you reciprocated the gesture of affection. You kissed the side of his head, your insides ballooning to maximum capacity.

Pulling away, Harry couldn’t help but tease you, “To what do I owe the great pleasure of Persephone coming all this way to visit my humble abode.”

“I’m so telling Cisco that you’re using his nerdy mythology reference for us.”

“Humor me this one time, will you?”

“You do know that Persephone means Destroyer of Light, right?” You gave him a quirky look, your arms loosely wrapped around him.

“I know, but it seems like the Destroyer of Light has a particular soft spot for a man like me.” Harry just wiggled his eyebrows at you causing the both of you to giggle like dorks. You leaned up and rubbed your nose with his.

“Ugh, you guys are gross. Sickeningly cute, but still gross. Just kiss already so I can give hugs.” Jesse pipped up with a gagging expression. Harry chuckled with pink cheeks and leaned down for a quick kiss, much to your disappointment before Jesse shoved her father away from you. You gave the young speedster the biggest of hugs because you truly did miss her presence and enthusiasm. “(Y/N), that was badass. I didn’t know you could even get that angry. And like, not just anger that my dad normally has when he gets frustrated that something’s not working- silent anger. I’ve been told that’s the worst and most malevolent kind of anger.”

You rubbed the back of your neck when the both of you had turned away, a sheepish laugh falling off your lips. Music to Harry’s ears obviously. “It usually takes a lot to get me that made.”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side. I may be a speedster and everything, but ‘hell hath no wrath than a woman scorned’.”

“I don’t think that’s really possible for you to do, Jesse.”

“Jesse?” Harry interrupted before the speedster could go on rattling off, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

“Yeah?” Her father gave her a pointed look before signaling with his head simultaneously towards the direction of the door. “Right, yes. I have to go… review a few projects for class. 3 Majors and all- Anyway don’t do anything I wouldn’t do and always use protection kids-” You blinked, and Jesse was gone in a flash of yellow-green lightning. Your cheeks as well as Harry’s lit up at her last statement before she left the office.

“Man, I really wish I had superspeed,” you sighed at her rushed exit, leaning into Harry’s side. He rubbed your arm gingerly.

“Really?”

“Well yeah, think of all the things Barry normally gets done.”

“Yet, he still manages to get his ass handed to him by metas. Every time.”

“True.”

You moved your gaze up and locked eyes with those beautiful azure ones. “You breached over just in time.” Harry took your hand gently and brought you over to the couch. The dark-haired man dimmed the lights in the room, mentally knowing that he deserves a break right now and obviously he wasn’t going to waste time working when you’re currently in the same vicinity as him. You sat close to one another, just automatically cuddling together in each other’s arms on the couch-bed. Harry took one of your hands once more and kissed the back of it before moving to peck each fingertip on your hands. You raked your teeth over your bottom lip as you eyed him with a half-lidded gaze. “We need to talk, babe.” He whispered softly.

“You think so? If anything, I also think I came at the right time. I actually get to see you in a suit again.”

Harry paused with a confused look. “You don’t like my usual casual look.”

“No, I do. I love it, really. I’m just…”

“Just?”

“Really I think you’re sexy in a suit but in reality, you’re handsome in literally anything you wear especially when you roll up your sleeves when you work on something and all that jazz.”

Harry blinked a couple of times, trying to process your rapid-fire rambling response. A soft smile graced his face and he shook his head at you. “I assume that my suit shirts will also be on the list of things you steal from me this time around before leaving to Earth-1.”

“I don’t steal. I borrow.”

“Uh huh. Then can you return those sweaters that you borrowed.”

“That depends, will you actually be sleeping over at my place this time around?”

“Well, that depends on what’s in it for me.”

You kissed Harry’s nose before winking at him. “I was thinking of cooking dinner together. Jesse included as well and- I don’t know- go out for a walk in the city and then we can come back home and do stuff…”

“Do stuff?”

You nodded shyly under his smug face, before switching the conversation. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Jesse believes she can fully restore my intelligence. Not just basic necessities to be a functioning and thinking human being.” Harry ran his fingers through your hair. Confusion crossed your features momentarily as you pulled back to fully look at your boyfriend. You opened your mouth, but Harry beat you to it. “Don’t ask me about the details but- She thinks she can speed up my brain to properly retain its normal function. Before Devoe…” Harry trailed off and you saw the pain flash through his eyes.

You took in a breath and contemplated your next words. “If this is what you want, then I will be here. Every step of the way. If Marlize couldn’t do it, Jesse can.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. I believe in Jesse, she’s your daughter after all. Brilliance, character, and tenacity.”

His strong jaw had softened as his lips turned up into a beautiful smile with mesmerizing blue eyes. The sight caused your heart to beat harder in your chest. “You really are the Persephone to my Hades.” You felt jittery under his heated gaze.

“Harry, I would eat as many pomegranates just to stay by your side, oh great kind of the Underworld.”

“Is that your way of saying ‘yes’ if I were to propose?”

You held your breath in the tender moment before breathing out your response. “Yes.”

Blue eyes sparkled at your response. Harry peppered your face with kisses as giggles left your lips and small acts of adoration were exchanged. “Then as long as you’re in my life, I will be content.” You cupped his face and planted a sweet kiss on his anticipating lips. Harry smiled against your mouth and nipped gently at your lips. The tiny dark velvet box didn’t seem to bear as much weight as it initially had a few months ago in Harry’s pocket anymore.

German Translation:

Rechts?- Right?

Sie wird mich töten - She is going to kill me!

Bitte, erbarme dich. – Please, have mercy

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hermywolf · 3 years

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ranking my favorite characters about random shit part 5

ranking my favorite characters (clarke griffin, dean winchester, fox mulder, rose tyler, newt, kaz brekker, samwise gamgee, charles xavier, bill denbrough, lord asriel, steve rogers, scott mccall, anna milton and barry berkman) about random shit. this is entirely self-indulgent

Part 5: How they’d react to a breakup (i’m imagining a completely random oc as the one breaking up with them because if i start thinking of the people i ship them with breaking up with them i WILL cry)

1- NEWT

he’s the sweetest man on earth he’d want to talk about it and understand his partner’s reasons and he’d be so kind and understanding even though he’d be sad lemme tell you this man is a SAINT

2- STEVE ROGERS

sweet understanding KING. absolute TREASURE. he’d be so confused and sad at first but he’d be SO understanding UGH i am in love with this man

3- SCOTT MCCALL

remember when allison sorta kinda broke up with him and he was all sweet and kind about it and said that he believed they would find their way to each other again eventually. yeah. iconic behavior. king shit

4- SAMWISE GAMGEE

he’s the PRESIDENT of ‘let’s stay friends!’ squad he’ll definitely stay in touch with all his exes they’re all his absolute besties

5- CHARLES XAVIER

mr telepath mindreader therapist teacher man absolutely sees it coming from a thousand miles away and he might even be the one to bring it up so that his partner doesn’t worry about it. he will be sad but he gets over it in a healthy way because he’s (MOSTLY) in touch with his feelings

6- ANNA MILTON

for a fallen angel with a bit of a god complex she’s surprisingly well adjusted. i think she’s the kind to definitely stay friends with her exes except like two of them which she’s got five different plans to murder each. all in all if it’s a healthy breakup they stay friends if it involves cheating she’s out to get you motherfucker and you know what you deserve it i mean who the FUCK would cheat on ANNA MILTON of all people istg

7- DEAN WINCHESTER

whoever thinks dean is emotionally constipated enough to be the ‘i didnt like u anyway’ kind has NOT seen spn 1x13 road 666 like GUYS. he pretends to be this no-chick-flick-moments and no-attachment kinda dude but we all know he actually cares SO much and if you look at his relationship with cassie or lisa he’s actually pretty open and communicative and sincere and he geniunely tries to talk about shit with them?? so he does have a constructive and heartfelt conversation and says he understands but he also WILL cope by either going on more hunts to distract himself or by locking himself in his room with pizza and movies in his hotdog pants and send noods socks, s14 style. TONS of ice cream. he’ll ghost his ex for a while when he’s coping with it but then later on they do end up being besties (yes i AM on the team dean-becomes-bff-with-all-his-exes don’t mind me just spreading my dean being besties with anna, cassie, lisa,amara, benny and crowley agenda)

8- BILL DENBROUGH

he’s pissed and sad and offended and grumpy and confused he just feels a LOT of shit at the same time like he’s having a full breakdown inside but from the outside his reaction is pretty much ‘what. oh. ok’

9- LORD ASRIEL

he does not, and mark my words on this one, give a single fuck. he IS what kaz pretends to be and what ketterdam thinks he is. asriel does not give a FLYING FUCK he’s like ‘well ok then see you around i guess’ and then just moves on. he was probably cheating on his partner anyway if we’re being honest here, he’s just that terrible. god why is he my favorite character again- oh right he’s insanely hot and wants to murder god right right that tracks

10- FOX MULDER

he’s extremely sweet and compassionate and understanding but then he disappears for like five months to chase down an alien in guatemala or some shit and then comes back pretending as if nothing happened at all

11- CLARKE GRIFFIN

she’s NOT happy about it and gets all grumpy and pouty and will angrily rant about it to her friends for ages but then once she’s over it she’s like. OVER over it. she completely moves on, like full on flip the switch and the feelings are GONE

12- ROSE TYLER

full breakdown in her room with tubs and tubs of ice cream wondering what she did wrong and then probably gets offered by a friend to go throw eggs at their house or some dumb shit. rose says no but she ALMOST did it. she keeps asking if there’s someone else even when it’s very clear that there’s NOT.

13- KAZ BREKKER

allow me to introduce you to the pettiest bitch on EARTH. he will definitely not hurt his ex in any way but he’ll do his absolute best to show them how much they’re missing. like he’s PETTY about it he’ll hold a gruge months, no year, no DECADES after it happened. he shows absolutely no emotions whatsoever you’d barely notice there’s been any change in his behavior, he’s not, like, sad or angry or anything, he’s just suddenly VERY devoted to the fact that everyone must know how AMAZING he’s doing and how rich and powerful and feared he is and how much a hypothetical ex-partner is missing. like this bitch probably has a full twenty pages long plan about what to do in case he gets dumped so that his ex will regret it terribly. and the worst is that kaz is a smart bitch who knows people’s weaknesses and how to exploit them so it WORKS it works and he absolutely loves it, jesper is like ‘dude how come every single time you got dumped they came back asking you to get back together only for you to reject them EXACTLY five months later’ and kaz hiding the twenty pages long binder with his elaborated plan behind his back as if it wasn’t carefully calculated and just shrugging like ‘idk i guess im a catch’ he makes everyone SO angry and honestly good for him!

14- BARRY BERKMAN

two words: murder spree. healthy coping mechanisms WHO we don’t know her in this house he’s sad and angry and he’s going to make it YOUR problem. guns out angry bill hader face ON baby. pew pew motherfucker it’s murder time. bam thirty casualties. rip to them. and he doesn’t even feel better after it either he’s crushed by guilt and having ANOTHER breakdown which will result in MORE ptsd and more sadness and anger and eventually ANOTHER breakdown and ANOTHER murder spree. its a lose-lose situation for everyone. except for his partner who’s free of his shit now i guess so true of them

#hermy posts #ranking my favorite characters about random shit

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exasperatedmoron · 5 years

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5+1 times Barry says he has a boyfriend and the 1 time they realized he wasn’t kidding

*1*

Cisco walked into the lounge with his arms full of chocolate, movies and those sappy scented candles. It was Valentine’s Day and him, Barry and Caitlin had a tradition of spending it together since they all had very, very miserable love lives.

“Who’s ready to cry over a dying dog!”

Caitlin was already sitting on one of the beanbags Barry placed in front of the mini-movie screen. She raised her glass of wine towards Cisco, already dressed in her sweats without makeup on. Barry, however, was dressed up in a maroon button down and hair gelled up. He was setting the stereotypical ‘ILY’ teddy bears on Cisco and Cait’s beanbags.

“Why do you look like you’re going on a date, Sonic?”

“Erm. Cause I am?”

“With who?” Cisco tried to think back to anyone Barry has interacted with recently, assuming it was someone new. The only new friends he’s made so far were Ralph and Julian. “Oh no. It’s not Ralph, is it? You always seemed to be in each other personal spaces”

Barry looked affronted, even holding up his hand to his chest. “Cisco, no! I- What- Cisco!” Barry’s face contorted as he tried to come up with words. “It’s not him! It’s... someone you guys know. But that’s all I’m saying!”

Barry stood his ground and seemed very insistent on keeping quiet, but Cait and Cisco were invested now. Barry’s last crush was on Iris and that ended years ago before she and Eddie got married. In those years, Barry has only gone on two dates - with Patty and Linda - and both didn’t work out so well. But even in those cases, Cisco and Caitlin were updated (like best friends were supposed to be).

Huh. “Why didn’t you tell us about this date?” “It was very last minute. I didn’t even know he was in town today. Turns out he was so... yea.”

“So, he travels out of town?” “Yeah, he does.”

“Huh. What’s his job?” “Oh, you know. A little bit of this and that. He deals with... uhm... artefacts? and... problem... solving?”

Wow. Pinocchio would be disappointed.

“Okay. Have fun on your date.

Barry nearly stumbled on his own two feet getting out of there, yelling a ‘Bye Cait! Cisco!”. Cisco picked up a beer from the chiller and sat beside Cait as she pressed ‘play’ on the remove.

“He doesn’t really have a date, doesn’t he?”

“Nope.”

*2*

Iris barged into Barry’s apartment, hands full of take-out and ice cream. Normally, she’d pick the lock to get in, but for some reason, Barry upgraded his lock. It was the same as before, so she could still use her key but it couldn’t be picked so easily anymore. Barry must have listened to her, for once.

“Barry! Eddie and I are fighting so I need to have a Disney marathon! Get your lazy ass out of bed!”

Iris heard him squeak, followed by a ‘thud’ as he fell out of his bed. She smiled to herself and placed the take out on the table, knowing that the speedster would be less grumpy once he saw the food. She made her way to the kitchen to put the ice cream in the freezer for later when he saw that his freezer wasn’t empty. Her eyebrows scrunched up as she opened the fridge and saw that it filled too.

Barry never had a filled fridge. Not even a half-filled fridge. Even before he was a speedster, he survived of ramen and pizza. The most his fridge would contain was leftovers from his junk or from whatever meal Iris brought over. It was even worse when he became a speedster, almost causing his fridge to be obsolete.

“Iris? Why are you staring at my fridge?”

Iris snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to stare at her foster brother with bed hair. “Since when did you have food?”

Barry looked confused for a second, eyes going from her to the fridge. As soon as his eyes saw the contents of it, a small smile grew on his face. “Oh. My boyfriend must have left some last night.”

Iris’s thoughts on food and Eddie were completely pushed back. “Boyfriend? Bartholomew Henry Allen, are you having secret rendezvous with a man and not telling me?” “Geez Iris, you’re almost as dramatic as he is. And no, I told you about him, remember?”

Now it was Iris’ turn to be confused. “When?” “On Valentine’s Day? I asked you to fill my place with Cait and Cisco since Eddie had work and I had a date?”

Ohhhh. “Barry. You don’t need to use your imaginary boyfriend as an excuse to have your fridge stocked. You could just say it as it is. You finally decided to act like an adult instead of a bachelor.”

“What? What do you mean bachelor? Wait - What do you mean imaginary?”

“Cisco and Caitlin told me you made up a fake boyfriend so that it’d hurt less when you stood them up. It’s fine though, they took pity on you so they aren’t mad.”

“Fake?! I-Wha-They-”

“Barry relax. Come on, heat up your ‘boyfriend’s’ leftovers. I wanna taste it while telling you about how much of an overprotective husband Eddie is being again.”

Hours later, the two were stretched over the couch with cartons of ice cream balancing on their torsos while watching Singin’ in the Rain.

“I really do have a boyfriend, you know?”

“Sure you do.”

*3*

Barry was late for work (again) and Joe had to cover for him (again). He needed the results for a case so he sat on Barry’s chair and waited for the CSI to arrive. Soon enough, said CSI ran into the lab, clutching onto his messenger bag and a mini-cooler.

Julian took one look at him and snorted, “You sure that’s enough food, Allen? I can call a caterer if you’d like.” “Shut it, Jullian.”

“Joe! Hey I -” “You woke up sick, so I sent you to a doctor to get you checked up. I’m assuming you’re feeling better and ‘bout to give me the results for the Williams case I needed two hours ago?”

Barry nodded and tossed his bag to his chair as he frantically sifted through his desk, ignoring Julian’s comment about tidiness. He plucked out a file from the bottom of the clutter and passed it to Joe. “Thanks Barr. Now, why were you really late? Mugging? Little ol’ lady bein’ robbed?”

Barry started to scratch the back of his neck, face turning a light shade of pink as he avoided eye contact with Joe. “Ah. Actually, I overslept. I stayed over at my boyfriend’s place last night so... yeah.”

Joe’s eyes went wide, almost popping out of his head, “Boyfriend?”.

“Dear Lord, not this again,” Jullian mumbled from behind Joe as he continued writing his report. Joe turned around to look at Julian with an incredulous look. “You knew Barry had a boyfriend?”

“I knew Barry had an imaginary boyfriend. Cait told me about the Valentine’s Day Ditch.”

“Imaginary - What?! And seriously? You guys are putting a name to it?!” Barry nearly dropped the things he was holding on the floor.

“Ah. Iris told me about him too.”

“Joe, I really - “

“Barry, if you overslept, that’s fine. You didn’t need to lie. We know you’re workin’ hard on Flash duties anyway.”

“No, Joe. Really I-”

Barry was interrupted by Captain Singh’s appearance at the door, spurring the three back to work. Before Joe left though, he patted Barry on the back.

“You gotta work on your lying skills. Caitlin, Cisco and Iris saw right through you.”

Barry sighed.

*4*

Felicity and Barry were watching a movie marathon in the Arrow cave while Oliver was busy doing mayor stuff. The team needed Barry’s help with a meta who moved to Star City, so Barry ran over and even after the threat was cleared, he stayed for a while to catch up with his best friend.

Barry was finally starting to relax until Felicity just had to bring up a certain topic. “So what’s this I hear about you making up a fake boyfriend to get out of situations?”

Barry groaned into the popcorn.

“He’s not fake,” Barry asserted. “They just think he is because I won’t give out any details.”

“And why not?”

“Because he... well... it’ll be a disaster.”

“Okay,” Felicity sighed, setting down her popcorn, “I’ll play along. Why would it be a disaster?”

“They... Well, he doesn’t have the best reputation?” “Uh huh. And what kind of ‘reputation’ does he have?” Felicity leaned forward, eyes staring into Barry, trying to get him to slip.

“Well. You know, it depends. A bad but good one. But to some people, it’s a good one with a little bit of bad. He’s in the middle of good and bad? Or kinda like a see-saw, what side he’s on depends on the day.”

“Barry, this is why people don’t believe you.” "Not again.”

“You either need to work on your lying skills, or give out details that aren’t so vague.”

Barry groaned. He was so done. He picked up his popcorn and tossed one piece to Felicity’s head.

“Just eat your popcorn.”

*5*

Captain Singh was reading a report when Barry knocked on his door. “Come in, Allen.”

Barry walked into the office and placed a file on David’s desk. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and turned to David. “Captain?” he asked.

“Yes, Allen?” “Can I request for a day off on the 18th?” David checked the calendar on the desk and saw that most of the other CSIs will be in.

“Okay, submit a proper request and I’ll approve it. If I may ask, why do you need to take it? Albert seems to be less of a pain as he was before.”

Barry chuckled as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “Actually it’s my boyfriend and I’s one and a half year anniversary. Our one year didn’t end well, so I wanted to make it up to him.”

David sighed and removed his glasses, turning to face Barry properly. “Barry, I’ve known you for over 10 years now. I think by now, you would know that excuses like that wouldn’t work on me.’’

Barry looked confused and a little bit upset at his words. “Sir? I...’’

“If it didn’t work on Joe, Iris, or your other friends, it won’t work for me too. I know you’re the Flash, Barry. You didn’t need to come up with an elaborate fib like that.” Barry looked like he was about to protest or deny any allegations, but his shoulders just slumped. Barry looked like he wanted to roll his eyes at the world. He nodded and turned again to walk out when David mentioned something.

“Also, if you ever used that excuse again, one year anniversary sounds more believable than one and a half.”

“Of course. Sure thing, Captain.”

Since Joe found out Captain Singh knew about Barry being the Flash, he decided to let his old friend around the labs, re-introducing him to Cisco and other members of the team. David was slightly surprised at how many people he knew were in the team (”Albert and Dibny? You guys are involved in this?”). He was surprised at their involvement, but at the same time, he wasn’t. Barry had the type of personality that just drew people in.

Just as he was talking to Caitlin in the med bay, a series of beeps emitted from the computers in the cortex. “What’s that? Is that some kind of Flash alert?” he asked as him and Caitlin walked into the cortex where the rest were in, excluding Barry, who was patrolling the city.

“Nah, that just means the waverider landed on the roof. The Legends will probably stop by here to say hi before visiting their families.” Cisco answered as he had another lollipop in his mouth. Caitlin scowled at him and he removed the sweet from his mouth, not wanting her to go into another tirade about dental health.

Minutes later, a group of nine walked into the cortex, exchanging pleasantries with team Flash.

“Didn’t know the Captain of the CCPD is now on team Flash.”

David turned away from his conversation with Ray Palmer and saw Leonard Snart leaning against a wall, smirking. Beside him was his partner Mick Rory, who was being fussed over by Caitlin (”You keep letting your burns heal like that and I’ll cover it in ice until it reaches your bones.”) “Leonard Snart. Didn't know you played on the hero’s side now.”

“Well, I tend to swing both ways.” He turned and sauntered off to Cisco, but not before giving David one last smug look, causing him to think that there was a double meaning behind what Snart said.

“Hey, where’s Barry?” Sara asked Joe, who was catching up with Stein. “He’s on patrol. I can call him back.” Joe went over to the computers and patched in through Barry’s comms.

“Hey Barr, the Legends are here. Come over and say hi.” “The Legends?” Barry sounded excited, but team Flash thought it was because he got to catch up with his friends. The Legends, on the other hand, gave Len a quick look before returning to their conversations.

Five seconds later, a figure appeared in the middle of the cortex, followed by a lightning trail. “Barry!” Sara exclaimed as she threw her arms around the speedster, still in his Flash regalia. “Hey Sara, how was the 1800s?” “Sexist. But I kicked some bigots into a river, so I’d say it went well.” Barry and Sara exchanged a few words before someone in the corner coughed.

“Lenny!” Barry exclaimed and sped over to the reformed criminal. He kissed the thief in front of both their teams, unaware of the heart attack he gave to the members of his own team.

“Bartholomew Henry Allen!” Iris shrieked, causing everyone in the room to wince at the octave she reached, “Since when were you dating Captain Cold?!”. Barry opened his mouth to respond when Nate beat him to it.

“What the hell, man? You didn’t tell your team about it? It’s been years!” Barry sighed and put his head on his hands. Len’s arms were still around his waist, his back leaning on Len’s front. “No. I did. Multiple times. No one believed I had a boyfriend.”

The Legends half of the group burst into hysterical laughter while team Flash was still frozen in disbelief. “Wait a second. Your ‘fake’ boyfriend is Leonard Snart?!” Joe pointed from Barry to Len, taking a moment to process it. He wasn’t as mad as he thought he’d be, but definitely surprised.

“To be fair, they aren’t dating anymore.”

That caused the team to snap out of their stupor. “What do you mean they aren’t dating anymore?” Cisco questioned, trying to comprehend how this all happened. “Did you guys break up?” Caitlin asked from her position beside Mick, who was laughing so hard that he held onto her shoulder for support.

Barry blinked at all his friends and family, asking himself how massive of a situation this led to. He shook his head and removed his gloves, taking Len’s hand and doing the same.

“Guys. I've been wearing a ring for the last 2 months. I haven't been hiding."

"We thought it was part of your... psuedo boyfriend scheme..."

Captain Singh was the first to get over the shock of everything and put all the information together. "So. For the last 2 years, you actually do have a boyfriend. Who's Leonard Snart. And not only did you tell us you were dating someone, you also flaunted your ring around, showing us you're engaged, and we didn't even believe it."

"Most people think the superspeed is what's unbelievable about me..."

#barry allen #coldflash #coldflash drabble #leonard snart #leonard snart/barry allen #cisco ramon #caitlin snow #joe west #iris west #david singh #felicity smoak #julian albert #and others i guess

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iit-s-kitty · 4 years

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CHAPTERS: 1/1 FANDOM: Descendants (Disney Movies), Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan & Related Fandoms, Peter Pan (1953), Disney - All Media Types RATING: Teen And Up Audiences WARNINS: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage Relationships: Harry Hook/Reader, Harry Hook/Original Female Character(s), Harry Hook/Angelica Darling, Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants) CHARACTERS: Harry Hook, Original Child(ren) of Jane Darling, Original Female Character(s), Jane Darling, Wendy Darling (Peter Pan), Captain Hook, Mal (Disney), Ben (Disney: Descendants), Evie (Disney) ADDITIONAL TAGS: Friends With Benefits, Harry Hook Flirts, Pining Harry Hook, Implied Sexual Content, The Darling women are all grumpy nerds, Loneliness, Teenagers, teenage romance, Underage Sex, Consensual Underage Sex, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Angelica is a dork who doesn't notice they're in love with her, not that Harry helps anyway, Post-Descendants 2, Post-Descendants 3, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Banter, Harry Hook's Voice, Seriously Thomas' voice was the reason I made this Series: Part 1 of now we are the kids from yesterday

SUMMARY:

Angelica Darling had a gift to see changes and small details in the most unexpected of places, or in Harry Hook's case, the most unexpected of people. And Harry being Harry, he is more than eager to show them to the little Darling girl.

OR— Angelica Darling is a big oblivious mess that has sex with Harry and even then doesn't notice he is into her.

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jessiewre · 4 years

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Day 51

Mon 24th Feb

🎉 🎈 🥳 PHILS BIRTHDAY 🎁 🎂 🍰

As he’d warned, Phil woke up with the birthday demand that we head straight to the sea to be the first ones in. I slightly rolled my eyes as he woke me up from my slumber but it was his birthday. Then of course as you’d expect, it was actually awesome. There were only a few people milling around walking up the beach or opening up their businesses and the sunrise in the bay looked amazing. It was super quiet & calm, the perfect way to start the day.

As we walked back, we swung by the restaurant as they set up for breakfast and they gave us some hot milk with coffee sachets & mugs etc so we could have coffees on our balcony as the sun rose. ROMANTIC OR WHAAAT. Once back in the room, I offered to go and get more sachets - classic secret agent cover - and ran back to the restaurant to help Wendy set up the table as planned. She was collecting petals from the floor when I arrived and revealed she’d decorated the table once already but the fan had blown it all away. Nightmare 🌸🌺.

I helped prep and decided not to correct her spelling as she laid the petals on the table.

JES 💓 FIL

Another lady who worked there came over to see if she could help and saw me trying to prep the presents. My plan was to wrap them in napkins and hide them around the room, but I had stuffed them all into a small bag to hide them over the last week and this had resulted in some extreme creases. She looked at this pile of creased material and scrunched up her face

‘Are these Phil’s presents?’ she asked, clearly very unimpressed by my presentation. She insisted on taking them away to iron them for me and hey, who was I to argue.

I eventually completed by napkin-wrapped treasure hunt now with ironed goods 😏 and went back to the room with coffee sachets with a solid cover story.

‘You’re not gonna believe this, they had run out of coffee. Someone had to go get some from a nearby hotel’

I think he actually believed me too. It’s both impressive and worrying how good I am at lying and how easily Phil believes me when I do.

As we walked towards the restaurant, I got a phone out to film Phil’s reaction and he began to get really awkward and nervous as he imagined a group of dancers and singers were ready and waiting for him - but then he saw the table was the surprise and was really happy. Not as happy as Wendy though who was SO excited. I can appreciate that for many people, organising surprises is actually way better than receiving them yourself.

The 1st gift of the skittles were in a bowl on the table and the English mustard was proudly placed above a plate they had decorated with the words:

‘35th Happy Birthday Philly G’.

In that order.

Then Phil began his treasure hunt. Phil found presents in the plants, hanging out of windows, on chairs, behind lamps, all while awkwardly walking around the restaurant amongst other guests. I enjoyed it very much.

So, opening the presents. Crunch time. Well he absolutely LOVED the shorts and put the first pair on immediately. Knew that would happen. Then the bracelets went down an absolute treat too! He donned his Boy Bangle with great pride.

Now onto the shirt. I must admit I was sweating slightly when he opened the shirt. He made a bit of a Geraldine noise of ‘Mm hmm’ at first and I thought Uh ohh. Then he was like ‘Oooooh, wow!’ which again had a real McCusker-ness about it - but THEN he was like ‘Wow its really great!’.

I couldn’t believe it - he loved it. The mustard shirt was a win!

The head band was a winner too and his card was the ultimate the cherry on top - one night in a luxury Maasai lodge where we could do spear throwing and he could have a massage. PLUS it was booked for when his mate Chet would be visiting us for a week! He was SO happy and I had just completely won birthdays.

We enjoyed our breakfast and just when Phil was a really relaxed, the clinking of the cutlery started faintly in the distance. Phil looked at me with a face full of nerves and a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. I smiled like the evil genius I am.

The kitchen door opened and closed again as the staff assessed the room, god the anticipation was building, and then the good ol’ Kenyan conga began! The group of 10 or so staff included the gardeners, the waiting staff, the chefs and more and they sang for Phil like he was a close member of their family. One of them was carrying a huge cake decorated in green, orange and white (#IRELAND4EVA) with the Happy 35th Birthday Philly G message on and then when they sang happy birthday, some of them even said Philly G. It was hilarious 😂. There was a section where they sang How old are you now and Phil would chip in with ‘35’! It was so great.

After what seemed like a very long time, the performance stopped and Phil thanked everyone, cutting the cake up to share around the room with the other guests. We then went to the kitchen in the back to share it out with all the staff and make sure everyone got a piece.

It was a pretty fun packed morning and Phil was thrilled with it all while I was relieved to have my agent duties completed. We went to the pool where the good vibes continued, playing some sick games with the space hopper and doing a lot of handstands like the adults we are. Barry rocked up (it wouldn’t be a happy birthday without an special guest appearance from Barry) and he’d been shopping. Time for the full low down. He’d decided to get some gifts for friends back home but some chump tried to charge him $7 per sarong and Barry knew it should be $5 - so he weren’t ‘appy about that and he took his business elsewhere.

The good news is he found somewhere to buy his 5 sarongs for his hareem of women but the even better news was still to come when Phil asked him what else he got.

‘I got a kilo of turmeric for $4, half for me half for my mate’

Phil and I were slightly shocked by this announcement, but a little impressed too. Phil asked him what he was planning to do with it.

‘Juice in the morning. Yeah, you blend it, makes a hell of a mess of the blender though, stain wise, awful.’

You know what. At this moment, I decided I was going to really miss Barry.

We asked him why he had it and he said ‘Health init. I try. When it runs out I won’t bother though’.

Good old Barry and his turmeric juice. Good luck to the guy.

Phil chose the Swahili restaurant for his birthday lunch (minus Barry I’m afraid) and they kindly gave him a slice of cake as a starter to celebrate. Then as we left, they gave us ANOTHER slice of cake as well as 3 sweet donut balls! They realllly love a birthday in Kenya! Might start saying its Phil’s birthday a bit more often. We walked to the supermarket to get birthday beers and I gave a bit of cake to the grumpy supermarket till lady who very nearly smiled.

At 17:30 we were about to leave our room for a trip to the beach in the cooler evening sun when our room phone rang. Turned out Agatha on reception had made the dinner reservation I asked for the day before - but we were meant to be there at 17:30. Oops...we asked her to delayed it and went to the beach to enjoy a swim in the sea with a beer before heading off to get ready.

Phil’s mustard shirt made its premier appearance and it was then Phil noticed the pocket was a little skewiff. By skewiff, I mean it was practactically under his armpit. Oh well, he wore it anyway and we headed for dinner at Hemingways, the most luxury resort in the area, with Phil’s cash firmly safe in the depths of his armpit.

It was a beautiful setting. The food however was SO disappointing.

Phil went rogue and ordered crispy squid as a starter and the dish had far more tentacles than he was anticipating. My bruschetta starter was ok.

But the worst bit was our mains. Phil’s mushroom risotto was SUPER bland and my ravioli was so poor I didn’t finish it. The waiter asked if everything was ok and much to his surprise I told him No. We’d had a laugh with him up until that point so he went and got us two chocolate mousse desserts to apologise.

Well he shouldn’t have bothered, cos they tasted like cooking chocolate from the 90s mixed with a bit of Nutella. Phil took a giant spoonful and dared himself to eat it in one to avoid having to leave so much of it on the plate.

We asked the restaurant to sort us out a tuc tuc but then we refused to pay $3 for the one they offered out of principal as it was double what we’d paid to get there!) Then we ended up walking along the main road in the dark to find a tuc tuc. The joke of it all was that after paying $55 for the meal and it suddenly dawned on us that we were now sweating and walking for the sake of $1.50. We had to laugh about it.

Despite the dung food & tuc tuc fun, we had a great day and Phil went to bed a happy 35 year old, with the agreement that we would work out when we were leaving Watamu tomorrow...

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shieldsurf · 4 years

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i dont know any pokemon game characters do like your top 3-5 faves for the headcanon thing (i also do not know how MANY characters there are i think there are more than 5)

haha ok these will be shorter than my longass Wally post because im doing more than 1

1. Red - (a LOT of my character hcs for red and the other kanto/johto trainers are shamelessly ripped from inspired by @clefairytea on ao3. i highly reccomend her pokemon fanfic series, Peaks & Valleys. go read it its my go-to when i wanna read some good pkmn fic) Red is publically regarded as a mysterious lone wolf figure, notorious for making barely any public appearances and going out of his way to remain out of the public eye. that, combined with his unreal strength as a trainer and near-flawless coordination with his pokemon, as well as his work dismantling team rocket during his journey, makes him one of the most famous trainers in the pokemon world. he's practically the standard other trainers are compared to.

He hates it.

Red's just a dude who really, really loves pokemon and knows a hell of a lot about them. he's not silent for the sake of being cool and mysterious, he's just autistic and nonverbal. he isn't a stone-cold grump like most people seem to think, he's actually pretty friendly, he's just not very expressive and really does not give a fuck about the rules of socialization (he's aware of them, he just doesn't really care). he's blunt, observant, and kind of just does his own thing. he also has the most bizarre, deep-fried-in-irony sense of humor. he lives in kanto for the most part but travels all over with his boyfriend, Blue, and lived with him in alola for a brief stint on Kukui's invitation, heading up the battle tree. he's not really a social butterfly, but he knows a lot of trainers from different regions. his closest friends are Lyra, Green, and, surprisingly, N. he's also pretty good friends with Cynthia and Lucas. bizarrely, he seems to rather like Blue's old mentor, Professor Sycamore (he finds him and the deep-seated admiration Blue has for him but refuses to admit very amusing). this got really long because Red is my fave lol

2. Lucas - im writing this and realizing that i tend to characterize my protagonists as quiet and relatively serious, with the exception of, like, Lyra and May. oops. anyways.

Lucas is kind of a grumpy asshole. he's pretty snarky and prefers to be left alone. those that are close to him, however, know that he's a big softie and can be a huge cornball at times. he likes Pokemon, and enjoys working with them, but his real passion is reading & writing (primarily nonfiction). he devours books, and when he gets older, he can often be found at the canalave library when he isn't at the league (Cynthia is training him to be her official successor). he works pretty closely with Professor Rowan and his apprentice, Dawn, often going on research trips with Dawn or hunting down rare research papers for the prof. he's a hard worker with fierce determination. he starts dating barry, but their relationship is pretty low-key because he's a private person. they live together in his villa at the resort area - Lucas isn't a very luxurious person, but he got it for free, so why not? he's good friends with Dawn and often goes to see her contests, and he's very close with his mentor, cynthia. he almost always accompanies her on trips and loves talking about history & archeology with her over tea.

3. May - May isn't very famous internationally, but within hoenn, she is the definition of a celebrity. she was already well-known for being one of the youngest trainers in hoenn to enter the hall of fame, but it was her contest prowess that really launched her into stardom. she was roped into contests randomly by Lisia, and ended up taking to them like a fish to water - she dazzles attendees with her excellently choreographed moves and meticulously maintained pokemon. in private, though, she's a huge dork. she's awkward, and impulsive, and her brain runs a little faster than her mouth, meaning she often kind of puts her foot in it (she has Big adhd). she had a massive crush on Lisia from the start, and, eventually, they start dating as young adults, becoming a power couple that takes the contest world by storm. she's very good friends with Brendan, Wally, and Steven. outside of hoenn, she also knows Dawn (they kind of hate each other a little bit, and have an intense rivalry, but they care about each other deep down. really, really deep down. i swear.). her strangest friendship is probably with Winona, who, despite being much older than her, clicked w May very well. they balance each other out very nicely and often meet up for lunch or tea. Wallace likes May but is bitter because he still can't beat her in a contest.

#oh god this got long.....#pkmn #ask #shut up

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steakout-05 · 21 days

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in love with this new official multiplayer art someone posted as a screenshot in the jj discord

two of them!!! two barrys!!!! i LOVE how grumpy the right one is, lookat him he's so angy, grumpy little guy <3

#barry steakfries #jetpack joyride #i love how whenever a new piece of jj art involving barry is made i'm immediately on it like ''guys have you seen this???''#and i'm just obsessed with it for several days #grumpy barry my beloved #i love seeing him express a wider range of emotions #i think this multiplayer thing is just something they're rolling out or testing #i don't have it yet #i think this does explain how the jj download page sometimes has two barrys on the screen in its screenshots #it was foreshadowing #imagine barry just like cloning himself #it would be extremely disastrous #australia would be in shambles #he's already got like two other versions of himself running around #having a whole army of barrys would destroy the world #''i cloned myself this morning'' - barry #barry freaking clones himself #barry you violated international law by cloning yourself!!!#oneyplays ref no one with sanity over 90 will get #anyway grumpy little australian guy my beloved <3

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here-there-be-nerds · 6 years

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Single Dad Taako 6

( 0 ) ( 1 ) ( 1.5 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ) ( 8 ) ( 9 ) ( 10 ) ( 11 )

Thank you to all of you that suggested dates! I’ll be adding more in the next one.

___________________________________________________

While everything had been pretty settled during the quest the boy's ended up calling Crystal Kingdom for the obvious joke it turns out there were a few loose ends Kravitz wanted to go over. Taako was more than delighted to take on the task on meeting up with Kravitz. He wasn't a fool though, despite the stupid shit he got up to, he arranged to meet the reaper somewhere more public to control the scene lest things go south.

The Chug N' Squeeze was the big new thing that just opened up on the moon base where the Bureau of Balance did most of its business and its launching. This establishment was known for its fine wine selections and entertaining pottery classes. Have a drink, make a pot, have a fun night.

This is where Kravitz found himself awkwardly walking into, of all the places to meet Taako to discuss something that could potentially take the elf to the Astral Plane. Kravitz says potentially, but he had already discussed the case with the Raven Queen and she found it a sound mistake, she also said that Lady Istus explained the situation and cleared the matter. So really this was no longer necessary but...Kravitz found himself intrigued by Taako.

Kravitz found Taako easily enough and took a seat at the pottery wheel next to him as he greeted him. As he looked around the room he noticed all the stations were set in pairs and everyone in attendance seemed enamored with each other. They were all couples certainly.

"Hey homie~" Taako greeted as he sat down.

They both worked on pottery as they discussed the issues of Refuge, arguing the concept of the boy's being special edge cases and not just the run of the mill souls to worry over. Taako insisted on making a fine bowl despite the theme of the night being vases, it was incredibly endearing. The more they spoke the more Kravitz couldn't understand Taako.

"If you don't me asking, but why are you doing all this? Risking your life and putting yourself in known dangerous situations?" Kravitz asked.

"Because I'm afraid no one else would have me." Taako responded without missing a beat.

The phrasing haunting familiar to Kravitz in a way he wasn't prepared for, he felt like that was something he should recall with but couldn't place it. He was far too unnerved in the blatant honest, it was disarming.

"Wow." Kravitz said blindsided. "That was a very honest answer; I have to admit I'm a bit shocked."

"Well, I mean, it is the truth. And if I can't be honest in the...in the Chug N' Squeeze, where can I, my man?" Taako said with restrained laughter with how absurd that must sound.

They spoke more of personal things after that, Kravitz had even shared his dreams of when he was alive of being a conductor for an orchestra. Taako told a tale of how he had lived out his dreams of being a traveling celebrity chef for a few years but dodged when asked why he stopped.

During things Taako had slid his chair closer to Kravitz's station as he showed signs of struggling with his piece. Taako placed his hands over Kravitz’s, having to move behind him some and pressing against his shoulder.

"Ah, hatchi matchi, those are clammy." Taako said as he discovered the icy feel of the reaper’s skin, he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised.

Taako noted how flustered Kravitz had become and smiled secretly to himself as he assisted in the shaping of Kravitz's vase. If he shared with the reaper a half lidded look that was rather sensual, well, that was how Taako do.

Taako giggled as Kravitz began to go skeletal in the middle of things and finally backed off, oh yes, this was going to be interesting.

That had been their first date, something to this day Kravitz had been thrown off by. Their second had been a more official affair that Taako allowed Kravitz to plan. The man did not disappoint.

While inter plane rift traveling was something that would be something to get used to it was the best way to find yourself literally anywhere.

Where Kravitz had taken him was breath taking to say the very least, it was a stunning lake that went on for miles that at first he thought it was the ocean. Kravitz couldn't have known this, but the beach had been a special thing for Taako, he and his family had spent an entire month out on the beach front because...well that was another story. So Taako's heart clenched pleasantly as he watched the sun sparkle like diamonds crashing against the shore.

Kravitz cool hand slipped into Taako's and it drew him out of himself as he saw a smile grace the reapers face. It felt like Taako was caught up in the waves the way Kravitz looked at him, like the man was seeing a sunset for the first time. It was like the world shifted as Kravitz lead Taako down the shore.

They abandoned the idea of wearing shoes in favor of holding them as they rolled up their pants and allowed the cold waters to wash over their feet. Taako was delighted to see buttoned up Kravitz in such a relaxed state.

The venture had lead them a good ways from where they had started, Taako didn't mind at all as he looped arms with Kravitz and they chatted through the journey. Taako had teased him relentlessly for being so cliché and loving how incredibly easy it was to fluster the Grim Reaper.

They came upon a blanket in the middle of the beach that was strewn with a simple picnic set up and a wine bottle set in a bucket of ice.

"What...did you really?" Taako asked as he turned to Kravitz.

"Too cliche again?" Kravitz asked, almost genuinely concerned.

"Well..." Taako leaned more into Kravitz as he looked over the blanket. "It’s classic for a reason, my dude, it's...sweet."

When they settled in and Kravitz served Taako up a plate he sheepishly admitted he hadn't made of it and actually had to find a vendor to pick it up from.

"I don't think I've been in a kitchen for a few decades and that was still for work." Kravitz said with a nervous laugh.

"No worries, can't all be five star chefs." Taako said as he took the plate of boneless chicken and sides of coleslaw and mashed potatoes. "Did you go to Fantasy KFC?" He snorted.

"No?" Kravitz said puzzled. "Would have you preferred that?"

"Hell no." Taako scrunched up hoax nose. "None for Taako, thanks. Nah, this does look much better, less greasy."

It wasn't half bad and the real treat was watching Kravitz try to figure out how to eat a drum stick. The man ended up using a fork and knife insisting he didn't want to get it all over his hands. Taako could hardly stifle his laughter despite his best efforts.

It had been a simple thing but it had Taako on cloud nine when he came home. Angus was probably in bed by now, grumpy that Taako had Barry and Lup watch him.

Taako sighed dreamily to himself, ignoring how silly it was to feel like this after just a few dates but after all the shit in his life? He felt he deserved some school kid gushing over the cute boy that actually wanted to keep seeing him. Kravitz was a sap, Taako could already see that. He was so cheesy but it was so attractive? He treated Taako like he hung the moon, it was hauntingly familiar but at the same time utterly unique.

Taako's ears flicked as he heard small sounds down the hall and he silently moved to catch Angus hiding in the hall.

"Ah!"

"Ah!" Taako mocked, rolling his eyes playfully. "What are you doing up, squirt?"

"I...I just wanted to make sure you were home." Angus stammered, flustered at being caught.

"Yea, just ol'Taako." Taako said, ruffling Angus' hair as he passed him on his way to his room. "Hit the hay, kiddo, its late."

"Okay..." Angus mumbled and it stopped Taako in mid reach for his door.

"You okay?" Taako asked looking back at the boy.

Angus shifted his weight from foot to foot; his gaze down and Taako realized he was wearing his glasses. He'd been up for a while.

"Sleep over?" Taako asked softly.

Angus nodded a little and went into his room to retrieve a pillow and joined Taako into his room.

"Did you have fun hangin with your nerdy aunt and uncle?" Taako asked as he started getting ready for bed and Angus got under the covers.

"Yes...but I don't need babysitters when you go out on missions and stuff." Angus huffed haughtily as he sunk under the covers. "I'm almost ten years old now, sir; I can take care of myself."

"You can barely reach the cupboards." Taako pointed out as his disappeared into the master bath to change into his pajamas.

"I...I have a stool!" Angus protested.

"Anges, it just makes /me/ feel better." Taako said as he came back out. "Knowing people who can reach the food are here."

Angus hid a smile under the covers, Taako may have had him a year and something now, but it always funny to watch the elf try to act like he didn't care about the little things. It was something Angus learned about quick and he saw right through it and it always made him really happy as strange as it was. Because it meant Taako /cared/ about /him/. It meant a lot, these moments.

Taako had swung some pretty baller tickets if he did say so himself~ It was actually something that had been a bit difficult and he had a bit of a time about it but Taako could be quite Charming when he wanted to be. It wasn't like that guy was gonna be there night of anyway.

It also gave him the perfect excuse to go all the fuck out wardrobe wise, he finally got to slip into that sleek navy gown that fit him like a glove, dust off his pearls and his finest heels.

A night at the opera, usually not Taako's thing, but Kravitz was going to lose his mind. They met at the theater and instantly Kravitz dropped his jaw, had he been in skeleton mode it literally would have fallen to the ground, Taako would have loved to see that.

"Ready babe?" Taako smirked pleased with himself beyond belief.

"I...you...wow." Kravitz swallowed, something Taako was sure wasn't something the reaper needed to do, but he had been picking up some mortal traits the longer he kept up a physical form. A form Taako dug.

"Yea, this ole thing." Taako unfurled his hand fan to cover his shit eating grin. "Bout time I got some use out of it."

"You...you look astounding." Kravitz breathed as he looked Taako in the eyes and it sent pleasant fluttering through the elf.

That wasn't something he was used to, his dates usually said things like that looking a little further south and the honesty of it had Taako resisting to squirm. What the fuck?

"Could say the same, but you always look killer." Taako snorted. "Maybe not the best turn of phrase, but works all the same."

Kravitz smiled as he chuckled and offered his arm which Taako graciously took.

"I had no idea you were interested in Riley Switz's work." Kravitz said as they made their way inside.

"Oh yea, for sure, he's totally the best, never go unless it's my dude Switz." Taako said as he pressed into Kravitz side.

"You've never heard of her have you?" Kravitz lifted a brow good-naturedly.

"I've never heard of them." Taako admitted, grinning slyly.

"You're in for a treat; she is a very talented composer." Kravitz said.

Kravitz went on and on about his favorite pieces by this whoever as they handed over their tickets and found their box. Yes, box, Taako didn't half ass a fancy ass date. Kravitz was ecstatic and the way his lit up at the view was worth the gold spent and how he jabbered on this that went straight over Taako's head made the elf bite his lip to keep smiling like a dope.

The show started and Kravitz took Taako's hand in his own and the cool touch was really starting to feel nice in his hands. Kravitz was like a child when he watched the opera unfold, getting to the edge of his seat at parts, covering his mouth at the dramatics, squeezing Taako's hand along with every emotional reaction.

It was stunning; Taako almost missed most of the performance because of the better show he had up here in the box they shared. Kravitz really was something else, always surprising him.

After the show, Kravitz was on another high of rambling as they went back down. So focused on discussing his favorite parts that he hadn't noticed that Taako had been leading him back stage.

"You wanna tell them that?" Taako asked as he jerked his head in the direction of the members of the orchestra that was finishing up packing their things.

Kravitz focused on where they were and gasped, unnecessary for a man that doesn't require to breathe. How could Taako get more of these reactions?

"I, we, what?" Kravitz sputtered.

"Got back stage access, baby~!" Taako bragged as he grinned.

Kravitz looked at Taako and the elf gripped his clutch bag tightly, he was looking at Taako like he had been the performance the whole time. Like he was the dazzling lights, the stunning costuming, the rise and fall of music perfectly executed. It was flooring to be so adored by a single person.

"You did all this...for me?" Kravitz asked astonished.

"Yea, it's whatever." Taako shifted his gaze, it was too much. "I know you like this music crap so I was like what the hell, y'know?"

Taako started as Kravitz took his hands despite the clutch in his way, squeezing gently and Taako looked at him. Breath taking, fuck, Kravitz was over the moon right now and Taako put that look on his face.

"Thank you." Kravitz said softly.

The words so simple so common, but Kravitz's eyes spoke volumes more. It swept Taako away in emotions he hadn't felt in years and also never at all. These were original and untainted. The reaper might as well have said the big three and maybe in a way he had?

"It's...n-nothin'." Taako stammered as he tried to maintain his aloof allure.

Kravitz's smile shifted into something more knowing and pleased. Well fuck.

They spent the rest of their time at the theatre speaking with the band members, Taako's arm lopped with Kravitz as the reaper asked question after question. When he wasn't asking he was complimenting them all like the huge nerd he was. It was a great night.

At the end of the night Kravitz dropped Taako off at the moon base dorm he was staying at for an upcoming mission, that and Taako hadn't wanted Angus to be uncomfortable with a stranger around the house. That was a different thing for a different time.

"I had...the most amazing time." Kravitz said as they stood outside of Taako's door, a strange formality for a man who can rip open rifts to anywhere.

"It was pretty bitchin'." Taako agreed, biting his lip as he looked into Kravitz's adoring eyes. "Let's do it again sometime?" Taako restrained himself from clenching his hands, shoving his insecurities off the side of the moon base.

"I'll try to live up to this level of entertainment." Kravitz joked without pause, no hesitation, already planning their next date in his head.

Taako relaxed and smoothed out the tension in his shoulders with a shrug.

"No worries, kemosabe, not everything can get up to the hype of a Taako event. Anything is chill." Taako said casually and it had been honest, Taako didn't need flare from Kravitz, just his company would be enough. Taako tried to ignore how sappy that was.

"Still, I already can't wait." Kravitz said as he stepped into Taako's personal space, looking flushed as he gazed into Taako's eyes, possibly his soul.

"May I? Uh, may I kiss you?" Kravitz asked so politely Taako wanted to laugh but he couldn't find it in him to do it.

"Yea, lay it on me." Taako blushed lightly despite his flippant response.

Kravitz didn't seem to mind, he didn't seem to mind so much about Taako. He seemed thrilled and delighted in the elf's very existence; it was something to get used to.

Kravitz placed a cool hand on Taako's hip and held them flush against each other as his other hand cupped Taako's cheek as if he was delicate fine china. Looked at him like he was a precious thing meant to be cared for and Taako was swept away and they hadn't even kissed yet!

Their lips meet in a softness Taako wasn't used to. Rough, sharp, with demanding hands handling him with the intention to break, hell yea; that was the usual for ol'Taako. But not Kravitz, he was so gentle in his affection as they slotted together, as if Taako was his prized possession that he took the upmost care of least it get damaged. Except...Kravitz would never think of Taako as a possession but a gift to be near, the way he kissed Taako, giving the elf every opportunity to pull away at any time.

It was so overwhelming that Taako had almost not noticed how cold Kravitz's lips were. Sure it was a bit weird at first, but he delighted in it, it was so Kravitz. When they parted Taako couldn't open his eyes for a few moments, he didn't even know where he was for a second.

"I...fuck." Taako sputtered as he opened his eyes to see that adoring face. "Like...damn. How were you ever single?"

Kravitz stared at him perplexed for a beat before laughing boisterous and unrestrained. Oh no, Taako was done for, for sure.

They shared another, shorter kiss before they parted for the night. Taako pressed his back against his door once he was inside.

Was it possible to fall in love this quickly? In this short of time? The one thing people in love rarely have enough of? Oh boy, he was in it now.

___________________________________________________

( 0 ) ( 1 ) ( 1.5 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ) ( 8 ) ( 9 ) ( 10 ) ( 11 )

Thanks for reading and hey....I love you guys.

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harriscofics · 5 years

Text

'Large Black Coffee. Hot.'

by ReformedTsundere

Words: 4571, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Cisco Ramon, Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Barry Allen, Caitlin Snow, Hartley Rathaway, Earth-3 Jay Garrick, Leonard Snart (mentioned), kendra saunders (mentioned), Jesse "Quick" Wells

Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, (for Cisco anyway), Everyone is aged down about 5ish years, Cisco is a Barista, Harry is still a grumpy scientist, Enemies to Friends to More, Yall there are so many cliches in this, I promise, It's probably very pradictable, little angst, just a dash

from AO3 works tagged 'Cisco Ramon/Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells' https://ift.tt/2KCsX1P

#harrisco

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terreisa · 6 years

Text

The Savior and The Scoundrel: Crash Into Me

Emma has had a few titles attributed to her in her life: princess, captain, pirate but none sat so heavily on her shoulders as Savior. When fate forces her to step into the role prophesied before her birth the only saving she wants to do is to bring back the man she loves. Fulfilling the Prophecy along the way is an additional reward. Sequel to A Crown and A Captain.

Prologue, Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10

ff.net, AO3

“She’s a marvel, isn’t she lass?”

Emma flicked her gaze to Killian for only a moment before it was drawn back to everything around her. It was easier to let herself be awed by the speed at which the scenery whizzed by or the unnatural glow of the helm in front of them than to try and converse with the man beside her.

The car sounded like an animal, even from the inside, as it roared down the roadway. In all the questions they’d asked Regina about the vessels none of them had thought to ask what it was like to travel in one. Emma didn’t exactly understand what made it move but she could still sense that Killian handled it as well as he captained a ship. It also seemed he hadn’t allowed the loss of his hand to hinder him in any way. She didn’t dare observe him long enough to find out.

“Restored her myself,” Killian continued, a proud lilt to his voice. “Hard to find the parts for a ‘74 Firebird in the middle of nowhere Maine but the Jolly’s well worth it. That’s what I named her, Jolly, from-”

“It’s a pirate ship,” Emma blurted out, amused despite herself.

The Jolly Roger was a famed ship in their realm but had been sunk by the Dark One over two hundred years before. She looked over at Killian to see if there was any spark of recognition at all and found him beaming at her.

“Fan of Captain Hook are you?” He asked gleefully with an arch of his brow. His hook tapped the helm sharply, “I hope you weren’t fooled by the waxed mustache and permed buffoon of the Disney ilk, lass. The man Barrie described is a far more dashing rapscallion if I do say so myself.”

Emma hummed noncommittally as she once more looked out at the passing scenery. She didn’t know what a disney or a perm was and suspected that Barrie was some kind of writer but she didn’t want to expose her ignorance by commenting about it. The last thing she wanted was Killian thinking she was a simpleton.

“Now,” he said easily, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen between them, “Should I ask you about your seeming vendetta against Mayor Viridans or where you’ve been this past week? How about that injured shoulder or how you found yourself in the company of the town pariah? Or we could start easier and you can tell me where you’re from.”

“I’m from nowhere special,” she said with a huff, trying to quell the panic his questions had stirred.

“Well, that could mean one of two things: either you’re from a small somewhere that even I couldn’t find on a map or it’s exactly as you say, nowhere,” he said thoughtfully, hook tapping a disjointed rhythm on the helm. “Caught up in the system were you? Would explain the ability to disappear and reappear as you do, your hesitance around me, might also explain some of your ire towards Viridans.”

“And you’ve figured me out so easily?” Emma grumbled, risking looking at him again.

“You’re something of an open book, lass,” he said with a careless shrug.

“Am I?” She asked, uneasily.

“Quite-” he flashed her a halfhearted grin. “You’ve got that look in your eye of someone that’s been left alone, orphaned. Abandoned. I know it well.”

“What about your brother?” Emma asked before she could stop herself.

Killian stiffened, his knuckles going white with the fierceness of his grip on the helm. She hadn’t intended to bring up the brother he had mentioned to Robin but she was intensely curious how that part of his life had been changed. It also served as a way to pull the focus away from herself for the time being.

“And here I thought I’d managed to avoid this conversation altogether,” he said with a forced laugh. The tapping of his hook became almost erratic, “It’s not an especially winsome tale, lass. I’d hate to scare you off.”

“You won’t,” Emma said quietly, aching to touch him and soothe away the pain she could both see and hear.

“My brother was a stubborn ass who got himself killed because he crossed the wrong people,” Killian growled. “We weren’t close and at each other’s throats more often than not but he was blood. I promised myself I’d bring his killers to justice one way or another.”

“Is that why you were upset with Archer?” Emma asked, remembering the animosity Killian had shown towards Robin.

“I have every right to be upset when the sheriff’s office is firmly in the pocket of the one who ordered my brother to be killed,” he spat out angrily, almost loud enough to drown out the roar of the car.

“What was his name?” She asked softly, taken aback by his rage but not afraid of it.

“Thomas, but everyone called him Tommy.”

Emma dug her nails into her thigh but kept any other physical reaction from showing. It was awful enough that Zelena had stripped everything from him but that she had further twisted his already painful memories of Thompson’s death was too much. She struggled to keep her breathing even, not wanting Killian to sense her distress and think that he was the cause.

“You may not have been close but I can tell that you loved him very much,” she murmured once she was certain her voice would remain steady.

“And it’s brought me nothing but misery,” Killian said gruffly. He brought them to a rough stop and pointed out past her shoulder, “Granny’s Diner as requested.”

Looking out to where he pointed Emma saw a somewhat tall stone building with tables out front hedged in by a small green fence. Through the large windows could see a few people sitting inside. As she watched two people walked out and she caught a glimpse of even more people sitting at a bar top. It looked similar to a tavern but much cleaner and without the rabble that was usually found in them. She turned back to Killian and was somewhat shocked to see that he wasn’t watching her as he had been every other moment he had been free to.

“Are you- are you not joining me?”

He barely spared her a glance, “I never said that I would.”

“Oh. Right.”

Emma could feel the heat of a blush at her assumption and the realization that she had stumbled upon a deep wound of his. It only grew hotter as she realized she had no idea how to escape from the car. She hesitantly reached toward one of the few metal attachments on the door when Killian’s arm reached across her and pulled at the one slightly above it. The door clicked open and she could feel the cool morning air seeping in.

“Thank you,” she said embarrassed, pushing the door open further.

“These older models are a bit tricky,” Killian said with an odd tone.

She looked back and saw that he was watching her again. He quickly turned forward, the corner of his mouth twitching towards a frown.

“I-” stopping short Emma shook her head and stepped out onto the walkway. She bent down to look back into the car, “I guess I’ll be seeing you around, Jones.”

“Quite,” he said succinctly, his gaze focused ahead of him.

With a sigh she shut the door, stepping back quickly when he sent the car shooting forward almost immediately. She watched him disappear around a corner with a squeal and silently berated herself for sticking her foot in her mouth, no matter how inadvertent it had been. Her only hope was that he would seek her out again, if only to get the answers the questions that she had so far avoided answering.

The sound of tinkling bell had her turning back to the building where a couple was laughing together as they left. Emma looked curiously at the impossibly bright, glowing signs proclaiming all manner of things but the one posted above the door clearly showed that despite Killian’s irritation at her he had brought her to the right place. Gathering up her courage she walked under the words ‘Granny’s Diner’ and stepped up to let herself into the establishment.

She stopped just inside the door to take in her new surroundings when she realized several things at once: the smells of several different foods wafting together was nearly overwhelming, it was far too warm without a hearth or stove in sight, and nearly every person she saw was someone she recognized. Two of the dwarves, Grumpy and Sleepy, were sitting at opposite ends of the bar, Little John was scowling over a bowl of porridge at a tiny two person table, her mother’s loyal knight Lancelot was sitting alone at a large table in the corner reading a book, and King Thomas and Princess Ella’s daughter Princess Charlotte was weaving between them all serving food and taking orders. Then, pushing out of a swinging door leading to the back, Emma saw Red and had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out or simply launching herself into her arms.

Red was wearing the same clothing as Charlotte was, severely shortened red pants and a crisp white buttoned shirt, but with a dark burgundy knitted sweater worn open over it. Her lips were painted a red, not dissimilar to the pants she had on, her long brown hair was pulled back into a severe, twisted coil at the back of her head and there were red rimmed spectacles perched on her nose. Altogether it made her appear as though she was trying to look youthful but maturity had snuck upon her anyway.

“Are you staying or are you going girly? I ain’t paying the bill to heat up half of Main Street,” Red barked at her.

“Sorry,” Emma said meekly as she stepped fully into the room, aware that all eyes had turned to her.

“Sit wherever you like,” Charlotte said with a wave of her hand. She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “Just not near Leroy, he’s a big crank when he hasn’t had his third cup of coffee yet.”

“I heard that, sister,” Grumpy growled, not looking up from his plate of rashers.

“See?” Charlotte giggled. “Go on, I’ll bring you a menu.”

Emma walked in a daze to a table near the back. She eyed the fixed bench seats with apprehension before sitting on the side facing the door, not wanting to be caught by surprise by another familiar face. Charlotte approached with an overly large shiny pamphlet in her hands just as she was trying to figure out what the stiff cushion at her back was made of with her elbow.

“We serve the whole menu all day if you’re not feeling in a breakfast-y food kind of mood. We are out of the chicken fried steak until later so sorry ‘bout that,” Charlotte said as she placed the pamphlet in front of her. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Uh-” Emma looked down at the pamphlet quickly and saw only amazingly realistic drawings of bizarre looking food drawn across it. She balked and asked for something that nearly every tavern had for their morning patrons, “Tea?”

“Sure,” Charlotte said with a nod, “Iced or hot?”

“Er, hot?” she asked confused even further by the other option.

“Cool. I’ll be back with that in a jiff. Oh, my name’s Becca if you need anything!”

“Thank you,” Emma mumbled.

She surreptitiously glanced around the room and was relieved that no one was paying her any mind. There were a few other people that she didn’t recognize, her gaze sliding over them as though they weren’t there at all. As much as she tried not to she found herself watching Red as she moved to and fro behind the bar. Gone was the lupine grace Emma had always envied and instead she was limping slightly, as though she was favoring one leg over the other. Also missing was her ever present smile, replaced instead by a grim frown.

“Here ya’ go,” Charlotte said, blocking her view as she placed a mug of hot water, a small, open box of paper sachets and a saucer with two slices of lemon and a container of what looked to be honey in front of her. “Ready to order?”

Emma quickly looked down at the menu. She was perplexed by the various offerings: things called burgers, lasagna, omelettes and the pictures were of no help. Thinking back to what she’d seen Little John eating she was about to order a porridge for herself when someone slid onto the bench across from her. Looking up she couldn’t help but scowl at the fact that Killian had once again caught her unawares, this time with a grin on his face.

“Two grilled cheese, fries for me and onion rings for her. Didn’t order a drink for me lass?” Killian asked with a mock pout. He winked at her before turning to Charlotte, his grin back in place, “A coffee for me, darling, and I want it from the pot crotchety ol’ Lucas makes for herself, not the swill she serves the rest of us.”

“Um, okay,” Charlotte mumbled looking wide-eyed and pale.

“Hook, stop terrorizing my waitress,” Red growled out from behind the bar, glaring at him.

“Apologies, Lady Lucas,” Killian drawled.

He casually draped his arms across the back of his bench, clearly sensing there was no bite behind Red’s bark. Charlotte skittered away without another word. Emma was left seething and Killian’s cavalier grin just angered her more.

“I can order for myself,” she hissed, leaning towards him so her voice wouldn’t carry.

“Undoubtedly,” he remarked with a shrug. “But I wager you were going to order something other than onion rings and I already told you they’re the best in the state.”

“You scared off the wai-waitress,” Emma said, stumbling over the unfamiliar word but letting her annoyance push her through any embarrassment.

“The girl could use a dose of fear now and then. From what I understand she has a bit of a rebellious streak,” Killian whispered conspiratorially, dropping his arms to the table and leaning towards her. “I’d bet you had quite the rebellious streak yourself, lass.”

“You left,” she said instead of responding to his taunt.

“I-” Killian stopped short, his grin slipping off his face. He sat back and blew out a breath, “Poor form that when you’re such a babe in the woods.”

“Excuse me!” Emma snapped indignantly

“Don’t misunderstand me lass and just listen to what I have to say for the moment.”

Emma gave him a terse nod and sat back as well, keeping a wary eye on him. He seemed almost surprised she agreed so quickly as his eyes widened and he scratched at the back of his neck with his hook. With the movement she realized that he wasn’t wearing his coat and wondered if perhaps she should take off hers as well. Then she noticed that his right cuff was undone and his shirtsleeve was pushed back enough to show the dark markings of a tattoo, one that definitely hadn’t been there when he’d been taken from their realm. She was staring at it curiously when he cleared his throat.

“How about a proposal, lass?”

She tried not to blush at his turn of phrase, steadying herself before answering with narrowed eyes.

“What?”

“An answer for an answer,” he said easily, his hook fiddling with the opposite sleeve. He paused as Charlotte brought his coffee and then left them again, his eyes never leaving her, “You know I have questions for you and I’m sure you have some of your own. I propose that we ask our respective questions but for every answer not given the other is afforded the same courtesy. Sound fair?”

It sounded more than fair to her. She was being given the opportunity to not only find out about his cursed life but to finally find out where his allegiances lied. With her decision so quickly she set about making her tea to not seem so eager. What she didn’t count on was trying to figure out exactly how to make her tea with the sachets instead of the loose leaf or bricks of tea she was used to.

“Need help?” Killian asked, laughter in his voice.

“I’ve got it,” she muttered as she picked one of the sachets up and cautiously peeled the paper open to reveal another smaller fine net sachet inside that held her tea. She pulled the tea filled sachet out and dropped it in her still steaming mug, “I agree but on one condition.”

“And what’s that lass?”

She looked up at him and made sure to catch his gaze with her own, “If I think you’re lying we’re done. Even if you think it’s for my own good. Understand?”

“Completely. The same goes for you as well.”

At that moment Charlotte returned with their meals. She quickly set down the two plates of what looked like toasted, buttery breads with browned rings of some sort on hers and golden sticks on Killians. Emma poked dubiously at the rings.

“It’s food, you eat it,” Killian said in the same odd tone he’d used when he’d let her out of his car.

“Obviously,” she said with a roll of her eyes, picking up the bread instead. She was surprised to see melted cheese between the slices, “Do you want to ask first or should I?”

Killian contemplated her as she took her first bite. She had to stop herself from taking a second, larger one as the flavors rolled over her tongue. As it was she was already wondering if she could convince Grace to make it for supper later that night.

“Where are you from?”

Emma coughed, the question taking her off-guard as she was swallowing. With watering eyes she took a small sip of her tea and tried in vain to come up with a reasonable answer.

“Somewhere far from here,” she finally answered honestly if not completely truthful.

“Not quite a lie but I’ll let it slide, lass,” he tsked.

“How long have you lived here?” She shot back.

“Nigh on 15 years. Every time I planned my escape something kept me here like an anchor around my neck. How did you get here?”

“A ship,” she said with a grin, happy to give him a truthful answer. She took another bite of her bread and cheese and spoke around her mouthful, “And yes that’s where I’ve been staying.”

“Not fair, lass, now you’re a question up on me,” Killian said with an exaggerated frown, grabbing four of the sticks on his plate and eating them all at once.

“Should I go easy on you, then?”

Killian raised his brow before giving her a salacious grin, “I think you’ll find I prefer a challenge. Go on lass, ask what you’d really like to know.”

Emma didn’t want to risk upsetting or offending him by asking the wrong thing but her mind kept circling around to the same two questions. It was a matter between her heart or her head but she wanted to know about his wife and needed to know about his dealings with Zelena. She absentmindedly ate two of the rings on her plate as she contemplated what to ask before realizing it was a cooked onion that she was eating.

“This is the best? It’s onions!” She half whispered, not wanting Red to think she was criticizing the food.

“It’s an onion ring,” Killian said with an amused chuckle. Then his smile faded, “I have a question, lass, but I won’t go out of turn. Ask me yours.”

She dropped her eyes to her plate but quickly looked back up at him. She needed to see his eyes when she asked her question.

“Who ordered your brother to be killed?”

Killian flinched but his gaze didn’t waver, “The same woman I stopped you from attacking the last time we met. Mayor Viridans.”

“How are you planning on getting your revenge?” She asked cooly, even though she wanted nothing more than to jump up and crow that she had been right all along.

“By any means necessary,” he growled. Then, somehow, he focused even more intently on her, “My turn, where are you from and why are you after Viridans?”

Emma winced harder than Killian had and found she couldn’t keep eye contact with him as she answered only one of his questions, “She took someone from me and she has to pay.”

“Then it appears we’re bound together in this endeavor, lass,” Killian said solemnly. She looked up and found he was leaning towards her again, “If you’ll have me of course.”

“I-” she stopped short, swallowing thickly.

It was her chance to be near him, to help find himself again and she couldn’t believe she was hesitating. Then she saw the hopeful, warm look in his eyes and she remembered the other questions she’d had. The ones regarding his wife and their life together under the curse. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to let him down, even if it meant putting shackles on her heart.

“I don’t want attention drawn to me or what we’re doing,” Emma said fiercely in a low voice. “That woman has taken nearly everything from me and won’t be satisfied until she takes it all. Understand?”

“Perfectly,” Killian said with a nod, his eyes darting quickly around the room and then back to her. He opened his mouth, then closed it before seeming to argue with himself for a moment and then asked, “Why won’t you tell me where you’re from?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I did-” she gave him what she knew was a heartbroken smile and focused on eating more of her food.

He eventually followed suit and they ate in silence. Emma worried that she’d lost whatever ground she’d made with him as she sipped her tea sullenly. With no magic whatsoever in the town she knew any mention of portals, curses, and different realms would have him thinking she was mad and could not be trusted. She’d rather have him suspicious of her motives than not believing her at all.

“One day, lass, I’ll get you to trust me,” Killian said suddenly.

“You think I don’t trust you? I promise you that I trust you,” Emma said vehemently. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “There are things I can’t tell you now but I will, in time. I just need you to trust me.”

She startled as she felt the warmth of his hand wrap around hers. Opening her eyes she found him looking at her with a seriousness she had yet to see from him in his cursed life.

“I can’t explain it and I know we barely know each other but I do trust you. I think I have from the moment you threw yourself at me down at the docks-” he squeezed her hand and she found it suddenly hard to breathe. “You can have your secrets for now. I can be patient.”

“Thank you,” she breathed out unsteadily. Casting about for anything to ease the tightness in her throat she once again noticed the ink stained onto Killian’s arm. She flipped over his hand and tapped at his wrist, “What’s this?”

“A fairly recent acquisition,” he said with a gentle grin, as though sensing her need to change the subject. He pushed his sleeve up with his hook to reveal what looked like stars arranged into a constellation she didn’t recognize along his entire forearm, “Got it on a drunken whim not long after I lost my hand. Had no rhyme or reason for picking this constellation but I quite like it all the same.”

“What constellation is it?” She asked, barely able to keep herself from tracing the pattern the stars made.

“Cygnus-”

“The swan,” she said brokenly.

Emma felt her lower lip begin to tremble as tears gathered in her eyes. She hastily pulled her hand out of Killian’s grasp and clenched her hands in her lap, focusing on them as she tried to get ahold of herself. Even with his memories of her lost to the curse it was clear that some part of him still sought out a piece of her. It took everything in her to not spill their story to him right then and there.

“What have you done to upset the girl Hook?”

Emma looked up and found Red standing at their table, glaring at Killian. He was scowling right back but when he looked at her it was with concern in his eyes.

“He didn’t do anything,” Emma assured her. Her eyes flit over Red as she tried to take in any changes their year apart had brought, “I, uh, was just reminded of something. It had nothing to do with him.”

“I’d keep my distance from him if I were you,” Red warned, still glaring at Killian. “I can tell you’re new in town and probably haven’t heard that Hook here is the last person you should associate with.”

“Then I guess you haven’t heard that I’m here to help him find his brother’s murderer,” she snapped back, angry despite herself. Red had been the one pushing her towards Killian in the first place and to hear her speaking so vehemently against him was too much to bear, “So unless you have something to tell me about that I think you should keep your opinions to yourself.”

Red trained her glare on her, nostrils flaring. Emma glared right back. She had spent her entire life at the receiving end of that glare for one reason or another and no longer quailed beneath it. With a huff Red stalked away from their table leaving Emma smirking in her wake.

“I’m impressed!” Killian chuckled. Looking at him she saw him smiling widely at her in awe, “There are few in this town who would stand up to Ruby Lucas and even fewer who would do it while sitting in her diner eating her food. I’d wager you’re a bit of a rebel.”

“Pirate actually,” she mumbled under her breath all while grinning slightly at his praise.

“And seeing as how you’ve defended my honor the least I can do is offer to pay for your meal. Of course it might also go towards making up for ordering for you in the first place.”

Killian’s brows lifted in amusement as he downed the rest of his coffee. He produced a small, folding leather pouch from somewhere on his person and pulled out several green pieces of parchment, tossing them on the table. Emma was left wondering how anyone could pay for things with something that looked as though it could easily be forged with some paint and ink when she realized Killian had gotten up from their table and was pulling his coat back on. She stood as well, glancing around the room only to notice everyone turning quickly back to their meals or companions, acting as though they hadn’t been staring. Only Charlotte and Red continued to watch them from their places behind the bar.

“Don’t go minding them now, lass,” Killian whispered from behind her. “Between your run in with the altruistic Archer and putting the gossipy Lucas in her place the whole town will have a measure on you. Best keep up with appearances.”

Emma felt her stomach turn to lead. She had broken nearly every promise she’d made when she’d proposed returning to shore. There was almost no doubt that Zelena would not only hear about the commotion her and Regina had created at the docks but also the way she had back talked to Red when it seemed no one else had the gall to do so. Her only hope was that she and Regina would be back on the Jewel before Zelena started sweeping through the town looking for her.

She let Killian lead her out the door and out on to the walkway, ignoring the feeling of being watched. Trying not to give into paranoia she casually began walking in a direction she hoped lead away from the docks. There weren’t many people out but she eyed them warily nonetheless, not knowing who would talk to whom about her movements through the town. It was only a slight comfort to have Killian walking at her side.

“Why did she call you Hook?” Emma asked after a few moments.

“Ah, still going with the questions are we?” Killian said with a resigned smile. He brought his hook up, opening the pinchers twice before lowering it again, “A bit obvious that one.”

“No,” Emma chided, fixing him with a serious eye, “Why did she call you Hook?”

“I’m afraid that’s the answer you get for now, lass,” he answered, though not unkindly. “Consider it an equal for not telling me where you’re from.”

“Fair enough,” she said with a shrug.

“But that will have some answers for you.”

He nodded at something across the roadway. Emma looked and saw a clocktower looming over the street. She instantly knew it was the one Regina had said hadn’t moved until they’d arrived. What she didn’t understand was why Killian thought it would give her answers.

“I don’t remember asking what time it was,” she quipped, crossing her arms looking pointedly at him and then back at the clock.

“It’s what’s underneath, lass,” Killian said with a roll of his eyes.

He strode across the roadway without waiting for her. Emma caught up with him as he pulled open a door that was directly beneath the clock tower. Stepping inside she found herself in a vestibule of sorts with a large metal door on one side, a waist high counter on the other and an open doorway directly ahead of her. She could just make out what looked like shelves full of books when Killian let the door close behind him with a bang.

“Booth! I’ve got something for you!”

From the depths of the other room a very familiar voice called back, “Dammit Hook you were supposed to be here two hours ago. I can’t keep covering for you when-”

Pinocchio stepped into the room with several books under his arm looking cross when he stopped short at the sight of them. His eyes widened and then narrowed as he took her in before crossing behind the counter and slamming the books down. Emma for her part was beyond pleased to have found him so easily but schooled her features into a look of mild curiosity.

“I told you I’m done being set up by you,” Pinocchio grumbled.

“Ah, no,” Killian said quickly. His ears turned red as he scratched at the back of his neck, “Eva here is looking for some answers.”

“Really?” Pinocchio said in disbelief. He looked back at her with newfound appreciation, “Nice to meet you Eva. I’m August, town librarian and amateur town historian, what can I help you with?”

“Uh, I guess anything you can tell me about the town to start?” she asked, looking helplessly at Killian, unprepared to talk to Pinocchio at such a moment’s notice.

“Particularly anything to do with how our overlord came into power,” Killian continued. He leaned over the counter and started poking at a thin black box, “Perhaps you’ve a book or two about private detectives, true ones not your ridiculous pulp novels. Let’s see, any county, state and federal laws concerning wrongful deaths, missing persons, and go ahead and throw in kidnapping for fun. Also a copy of Peter Pan if you will.”

“Peter...” Pinocchio closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I thought I said I was done trying to help you with your goddamn crusade to pin Tommy’s death on Viridans, Hook. You have no proof.”

“I have plenty of proof,” Killian growled. He looked back at Emma for a moment and then took a deep breath as he faced Pinocchio again, “Eva’s here to help me finally prove it to everyone else. The books, if you please.”

Pinocchio stared between the two of them, as though trying to read the truth in their eyes. Finally he shrugged and motioned for them to follow him back the way he had entered the room. Killian motioned for her to go before him with an encouraging nod.

As she entered the room that housed the library Emma had a thousand and one questions flying through her mind. Unlike Red or Charlotte Pinocchio seemed to be a friend of sorts to Killian even though he too called him Hook. He also moved with a quickness and ease she hadn’t seen from him since they were much younger. It left her wondering at the encompassing power of the curse that it could completely mask his own personal curse and the pain it had constantly caused him.

The library was small, no more than twenty or so short rows of books. A couple of large tables ran down the middle of the room separating one set of bookshelves from the other. With a quick look down one of the rows Emma was shocked to see a surprising number of half filled or completely empty shelves. She turned to make a comment about it to Killian but saw him running his fingers fondly across the spines of books on a small cart to his right. It was a dizzying reminder of all the times she had found him idling away his hours reading in Sherwood Forest or trying to track him down in the immense ice library in Arendelle’s castle.

“Have a seat,” Pinocchio said, rapping one of the tables with his knuckles.

He darted off down a row leaving her with a chuckling Killian.

“How do you know him?” Emma asked as she sat. It was one of the few questions that was relatively harmless to pose.

“Went to school together,” he said, shaking his head. He gave her reassuring smile, “We didn’t really move in the same circles but Storybrooke High is small and it’s impossible not to know everyone in your class. Don’t worry, you can trust him.”

“I know,” she said simply, reveling in the pleased look he gave in return.

“You know you can Google half this shit right?” Pinocchio grumbled as he strode out from a different row than he’d disappeared down with a few books already under his arm.

“Perhaps, but we prefer the hard stuff,” Killian said with a waggle of his eyebrows at her.

Both her and Pinocchio rolled their eyes at him. A pang struck Emma as she remembered similar exchanges between the three of them back in their land. Her melancholy was tempered however by the clear camaraderie Killian and Pinocchio had with each other. If nothing else she was glad they’d had each other’s backs in some way under the curse.

Pinocchio set down the books he was holding and dashed away again, effectively preventing her emotions from getting the better of her. She sat and pulled the pile of books towards her. They appeared to be the books about the laws of the land and she wrinkled her nose at the dry sounding titles. Killian snorted above her, clearly reading over her shoulder and being amused at her reaction to them.

“Not the most titillating of reads but I find it’s easier to get away with breaking the law when you know exactly which ones you’re breaking,” he boasted. She looked up at him with narrowed eyes and he gave a shrug, “Come now lass, you know perfectly well you weren’t throwing your lot in with a saint.”

Emma wasn’t sure what a saint was but understood the general meaning behind the word. She hummed something that wasn’t a complete acknowledgement that he was right and turned back to the books. Killian chuckled and pulled out the chair next to her when a voice called out from the vestibule.

“Booth, come out of those dusty shelves! I need a word!”

She was about to ask Killian who it was when things started moving faster than she could keep up with. Pinocchio came running out of the stacks, haphazardly dropping all the books in his hand but one on the table before walking quickly but calmly towards the vestibule flapping his free hand at them from behind his back. Killian had grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip when Pinocchio had run by and he was frantically tugging at her to get her attention. When she looked at him she saw his jaw ticking in agitation and a fire in his eyes.

“I don’t have time to explain but I can’t be seen anywhere near here,” he said quickly and in a low voice that wouldn’t carry, “I trust August with my life, he’ll look after you. You’ll be okay.”

Before she could utter a sound he snuck away leaving her behind, stunned and confused. With a huff of annoyance she stood from the table and as quietly as she could she crossed back to the open doorway, keeping care to stay out of sight.

“-just couldn’t find money in the budget for a new computer. Maybe you should focus on getting more donations next year instead.”

Emma recognized the voice as the one belonging to the man Walsh that had been at Regina’s cottage. She pressed herself closer to the wall and listened all the more carefully.

“How magnanimous of you Sheriff to come down here to tell me this instead of having the budget committee give me a call or even send an email. Which they did, after their meeting, yesterday. Unless of course you’re here to do more than deliver a message I’ve already received. Come to check on things? Burn some books perhaps?”

To anybody that didn’t know him Pinocchio sounded as though he were merely annoyed, his tone mocking but Emma knew better. They had been friends for all of her life and she could hear the scalding fury beneath his words. She marvelled at how quickly Walsh had been able to strike a nerve in only the few minutes he had been talking to Pinocchio.

“As long as you aren’t checking out any of the books on the school district’s banned list to the students again you should be fine,” Walsh intoned blandly. “I just came here to let you know about the budget.”

She heard what sounded like a double tap of a hand on wood and hard-heeled footsteps walking away from her position. Then they stopped.

“By the way, you haven’t happened to come across any visitors have you?”

“Visitors?” Pinocchio said so flatly it was barely a question.

“Yes, anyone saying they’re from out of town or-” Emma could hear the footsteps begin again, walking slowly toward her, “-someone you’ve never seen before. Strangers if you will.”

“Why would they come here? The Visitor’s Center is at City Hall.”

Pinocchio’s voice sounded too calm, almost rehearsed. She cursed under her breath at the chances that even with different life in his head he still couldn’t lie.

“A library is a place to gather information, is it not?”

Walsh’s voice was close, too close. Emma held her breath and hoped he wouldn’t take another step.

“Maybe ten years ago,” Pinocchio said drolly, but much less wooden. “Everyone has a phone to look up all that crap now. The only people who come here are the old folks from Sunset Storybrooke and they’re not coming back until next week.”

“And you want a new computer?” Walsh’s voice became just the slightest bit quieter and Emma hoped he had turned back towards the door leading out. “Now I can see why the budget committee keeps denying you the funds. If you see anyone you’ll let me know?”

“Oh, of course,” Pinocchio said snarkily.

The footsteps started up again, leading away from her hiding spot, “By the way the school board voted in favor of expanding the banned book list. You’ll find that one right at the top.”

The sound of the front door opening and closing had her noisily releasing the breath she’d been holding. Her head swam as black spots danced before her eyes. When her vision cleared Pinocchio was standing in front of her frowning slightly.

“Am I going to end up in jail because of you?”

“Not if I can help it,” she promised, looking him in the eye to show how serious she was.

“Well then-” he sighed, rocking back on his heels, “I guess that’s as good as it’ll get. Here, I guess it won’t matter if this isn’t on the shelves for a while.”

He handed her a book before brushing past her back into the library. She watched him go, aching to talk to him as she had all her life about everything that had happened and everything that was happening. Instead she sighed sadly and looked at the book in her hands.

It appeared to be a book meant for children, the illustration on the cover was colorful and it didn’t have an overabundance of pages. The title was written with fake gold leaf on an equally fake leather cover. Turning it over in her hands she was at a loss as to why Killian wanted her to read a book titled Peter and Wendy. Returning to the table the books Pinocchio had retrieved for her she resolved to ask him as much. Whenever their paths happened to cross again that was.

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Tagging: @teamhook, @galadriel26

#cs ff #cs ff au #cs au ff #captain swan #ouat ff au #savior and scoundrel

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