#at least my Shepard got the Big Goodbye with him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hellsfanatic · 2 years

Text

darry’s birthday :)

characters: darry, pony, tim (mentions of others like parents and curly)

words: 985

I’ve always kept the letters I was sent. Letting go of something someone spent time to send to me or even just to give me wasn’t right. You wouldn’t toss a beautiful drawing your sister sent you after glancing over it would you? No, you wouldn’t. So I kept each one I got.

They sat in a box up at the corner of my closet, collecting dust until Christmas or my birthday came around and a couple new additions would be added. Usually it was just Grandma and Grandpa, plus whatever my parents gave me. They wouldn’t be giving me a card this year. On birthdays there was a chance you’d get one from a friend, so hope wasn’t at all lost of using that box. Plus, Pony usually threw a handmade one together. Just a piece of paper folded in half with whatever he wanted to say.

So one of those days came along. My birthday. A pretty average day now, my childhood was long gone and it took those parties and time set aside for gifts with it. I didn’t mind much, really. I woke up, got ready, grabbed something to eat, and was on my way to work. Just like any other day. Work came and went. Just like any other day. I came home to chatter in the house. Just like any other day.

Two of the Shepard’s stopped by, not unusual by any means, just not a day to day thing. Curly’s voice paired with Pony’s conversation from the small crack left in his bedroom door. A little more usual. Tim didn’t look like he’d been around the house very long, he was just looking around. Maybe he was checking on his brother. Beats me.

“Darry,” he said with a grin, turning to face the door—and me. “Happy birthday babe.” He tugged me to his side with an arm around my shoulder.

Leaning in a bit more, I let myself smile. I didn’t even remember when he would’ve found out my birthday. At a time he’d care enough to remember at least. “Thanks Tim.”

Most people had gone elsewhere by 10:30 tonight, they’d given some happy birthdays and we hung around for a while, but they had other things to do too. My brothers and the two Shepard’s were left, and Tim was making his way to the door. He’d said his goodbyes to me and said something to his brother, who was still in Pony’s room and was staying.

Once the door shut and Tim was gone, Pony’s door opened. His eyes darted around the room, landing on me just before he started coming towards me.

“Hey Pone,” I looked up at him from my spot on the couch.

He handed a card to me. “Happy birthday Dar.” He sat down next to me, watching as I parted the folded paper and skimmed the words. The front of the card was awful pretty too. He didn’t like a big blank page as an opener, he never left it empty. There was this gorgeous scene on a snowy and iced-over winter lake on this one. The prettiest shades of blue scattered across the page and grays paired with them.

I showed a smile, looking to him from the card. “How long did you spend on this Pony?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. I worked on it when I was bored. Do you like it?”

“Yeah, thanks bud.”

And he was off to his room again. I had another card for the box.

I pulled the box down later on in the night when everyone was asleep, or at least was away in their rooms until morning. Cards from last year’s birthday—the one from Mom and Dad specifically—laid on the top. God, that was really the last one. I didn’t even know it at the time.

Letting out a breath, I sat on the edge of my bed and picked up the card from the box. I stared at the cover, probably longer than I had to, before I was ready to look back into the past with them. Mom’s cursive letters covered the white background, telling me all about how proud she and Dad were and how they loved me. She told me about my sixth birthday and all the memories she had with me on it. She said she hoped that birthday was just as good and that she already couldn’t wait for the next. She’d have to wait an eternity before she could even think about spending any day with us. The last thing, at the bottom corner, their signatures. The whole card was Mom’s writing, but that little mark from Dad brought it all together.

Small trembles from my hand made it harder and harder for me to reread the card. I hated remembering all of it. I hated how it hurt. I hated that I couldn’t have these two people love their son like they did while they wrote that card. I hated that they couldn’t love me anymore. Not in any way I’d know.

I poured the box out on my bed, picking up each one and remembering more. Hating more. Loving more. I read them all. Over and over and over. All until the tears threatening my eyes weren’t threatening anymore but rather going freely in hard, silent sobs. Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, some old friends that would hate who I am now. Memories from when I was someone I would hate now. They were all written in ink, lead, hell even some in wax from crayons. I wanted to keep reading until dawn, I wanted to read until the sun burned into my still-sobbing eyes, I wanted to read until they felt real. No amount of looking back could bring them here for next year, but that wouldn’t stop me from trying to make it feel like they were here.

#the outsiders #darrel curtis #tim shepard #ponyboy curtis #curtis parents #the outsiders fanfiction #my writing

25 notes · View notes

jaycewrites-192000 · 3 years

Text

Growl: Chapter 4

Warnings: None.

Tags: @theravencawsatmidnight @etroman

As you were walking to school, you decided to mentally make a list of things to remember to do during the practice match. It was a bit overwhelming, even though you weren't the one in the game, you were still going to be surrounded by lots of new people. You sighed and clutched onto your bag tightly. "Calm down. Talking to people isn't that bad..." You lie to yourself. Talking to people was the worst, especially when you preferred to just keep to your own little circle. But you didn't really have a choice now, you were a team manager. Talking to people was part of your job now. As you approached the gate of the school, a certain someone caught your eye. "Oh really?" You mutter. It was Mad Dog. Great. Now you have to deal with awkwardness on top of anxiety.

"H-hey." You greet him. He only glances at you briefly before continuing to walk. Since you were both heading in the same direction, you decided to walk beside him. Not too close though, you didn't want to make this weirder than it already was. "I'm uh, sorry for walking in on you last night. I thought you and the others were gone already."

Mad dog shrugs it off, as if it didn't phase him. "You...you don't talk a lot do you?" You question. He of course didn't respond to this. Walking in awkward silence was killing you. Glancing at him, you noticed something hanging from his bag. It was a dog key chain. "You like dogs?" He nods. "Me too." You smile slightly. "I think my favorite kind of dog has to be (dog type). I just love them." Mad dog nods again.

"They're cool." He finally says. His voice shocked you, it was deeper than you thought it would be. "Y-yeah." Again, you both walked in silence until you were inside the school. You waved him off as you both parted ways to your respective class rooms.

"Hey L/n-Chan!" Oikawa greets. "How can you be so energetic in the morning?" You mutter while taking your seat. "Well we have a big day ahead of us! Haruki's volleyball team is paying us a little visit." You leaned on your hand and stared out the window. "Haruki huh? Never heard of that school." Oikawa shook his head with a sigh. "Would it kill you to do your research? You'll be meeting them as well as us." He was right, you would have to get to know the other team, especially their manager. They would know best about what they're doing, and they could possibly help you. "I guess so." You say with a shrug. "You can be so impossible sometimes L/n-Chan!" Oikawa whines. "Just like Iwa-Chan"

"What was that?" Iwaizumi growls.

Before Oikawa could make a good argument for himself, the teacher walked in and began class. The entire time all you could think about was how the practice match would go. And maybe every now and then, Mad Dog would pop into your mind. When he wasn't glaring daggers into you, he was pretty decent. 'I guess if I want to be friends with him I should start using his real name.' You think. What was it again? Kyotani Kentaro? Pretty cool name. And at least you two had one thing in common, that you could both appreciate how wonderful and good dogs were. He had to have had a pet dog of his own. You wondered what breed it was. Maybe one that matched him perfectly. Like a Pit Bull or a German Shepard.

Great, now you had no idea what was happening in class. Not that you really cared, it was just some stupid math thing. You could always just team up with Oikawa and beg Iwaizumi to help you study if a test was coming up. You had a feeling that he would be more helpful towards you though.

After class was over, you, Oikawa, and Iwaizumi made your way to the gym.

Your P.O.V

As always the gym was spotless and as fancy as always. At least we didn't have to worry about cleaning it. Now all that was left was getting the net set up and the volleyballs ready. "I'll go and get the uniforms before the others show up." I say as you walked to the storage rooms. "Alright. Me and Lazykawa will set up the net while you do that." Iwaizumi said as he dragged Oikawa along. I entered the storage room and folded each uniform. Finally came across number 16. Kyotani's number. Like a creep, I stared at it for a bit longer than I thought I would. I felt a tinge of heat rise to my cheeks, the memory of seeing Kyotani shirtless entered my mind. Quickly I folded it and carried it out with the others. Just as I left, the other team mates entered the gym. Just in time. "Hey guys." I greet them as I hand out their uniforms. I'm surprised that I managed to remember everyone's numbers so quickly. Once I got to Kyotani my hands started to tremble. I swallow down my nerves and hand him his uniform. His hands brushed against my own as he took it. "Thanks." He muttered before slinging his uniform over his shoulder and walking to the changing rooms with the others.

"L/n-Chan's face is red!" Oikawa teases. "Shut it Shittykawa!" I snap at him.

Soon the volleyball team of Haruki High arrived. Their light green track suits they wore matched the green and white volleyball uniforms their wore underneath. The words, "Haruki", were written on the back of their suits. "Thank you for having us!" The team bows their head before entering. Oikawa was the first to speak to the team. "Welcome to Aoba Johsei. Let's have a good match." He held out his hand for the Haruki captain. He smiles warmly and meets Oikawa's hand with his own. 'Since when does Oikawa act friendly with any other team? Cheap trick Shittykawa.' I think with a slight scowl. And with that, the two teams began the match.

While the match went on, my attention slowly slipped from what was going on, to the other team's manager. She was fairly tall with short light brown hair and teal eyes. She held a clipboard in her hand, writing down something every now and then. Maybe she was writing down our team's moves or keeping track of their team's mistakes. Should I be doing that too? I turn my attention back to the match. Our team seemed to be winning at the moment. And as always, Kyotani was aggressive. He nearly landed a shot right into the other player's face. It could have broken his nose. "Yikes." I mutter.

The match was over as soon as it started, our team won, as expected I assumed. Words were being exchanged between teams, congratulations, tips, and just casual conversation. So I took this opportunity to talk to Haruki's manager. "Hello there." I wave. "Hello." She smiles softly. "This team sure is seething. We'll have to work harder if we want to keep up. My name is Shinozaki Camie."

"I'm L/n Y/n. Nice to meet you." I smile. "I was wondering if I could ask for some advice." Camie nods and placed her hands on her hips. "Sure thing. Fire away."

"Ok, well I'm kinda new at this whole manager thing. And I don't really know what I'm doing, but I watching you during the match and you seemed so focus on both teams at once. What were you writing anyway?" I asked. "Oh just your team's moves. I'm curious to know what would happen if my team could learn them. Maybe we can get half as good as these guys. Why do you ask?"

"Should I be doing something like that? I'm not to experienced at volleyball nor was I too fond of it before but, since I'm here I do want to try my best." I tell her honestly. Camie pats my back. "Well! You're already half way there. Just you wanting to try harder is already telling on how good of a manager you'll be. But yeah, you can try what I did. And remember, communication is key. Ask around with your teammates. Maybe they can help you more than you think." She had a point, even after becoming manager I didn't really speak with the team as much as I should have been. "Thank you Shinozaki-San. I'll do my best." Camie gave me a thumbs up before waving goodbye. She returned to her team who thanked Seijoh before leaving. I walk back to the team and hurried to hand out water. "Uh, good work you guys. You really uh...showed them?"

"Aw look at who's actually talking to the team! You're a little awkward but still-" Iwaizumi elbows him in the side. "Thank you L/n." I nod and hand out towels as well. "I'm going to start trying harder. I know how much volleyball means to you guys, though I don't really get it. So I'm going to try to be the best manager I can be for you all." I say determined. "L-L/n-Chan!" Oikawa says, still in pain from Iawazimi's hit. The rest of the team were very appreciative of my words, it was little weird but I had to get rid of that feeling. I meant what I said, I'm going to do my best, I want to make them proud.

I'm going to be the best manger Seijoh has ever had!

Previous | Next

#kyotani kentaro x reader #kyotani kentaro #haikyuu kyotani kentaro #haikyuu kyoutani #mad dog #haikyū!!

19 notes · View notes

ramblinganthropologist · 3 years

Text

MER Week 5 - We are Family

Summary: Visiting family can be tough sometimes, especially when your job involves being the only fucking hope for humanity. Alistair’s never sure what to tell his sister when he sees her, but at least he’s got Bo to remind him he’s an idiot when he gets back. Don’t you just love family?

(ME 2 setting)

---

“So… uh… how are things going?”

Ah, the question he had been dreading for the last hour had finally shown itself. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Worst of all, his exit was cut off. No way out but through it…

Fuck.

Normally, Alistair Shepard didn’t mind going to see his sister Anora. After all, they had a lot of catching up to do what with 11 years of separation and all between them. However, they usually had his niece as a buffer. Kelly was great for that sort of thing, especially if she wanted to hear parent-approved stories. Unfortunately, her father had custody that weekend. So, it was just the two of them, sitting on the couch and making awkward small talk.

Did he mention it was awkward? Because it was so fucking awkward. Fuck, maybe he should’ve taken a preventative anxiety dose…

The Spectre took a tentative sip of his tea just to have something to do – gross. His sister liked this variety of tea bag that he just couldn’t stand, but she was trying. That was enough to make a good try of things as she watched him over her own cup. What she was thinking, he had no clue.

It was hard to read his sister. Maybe it was because he was so used to military types?

“I mean… it’s going?” He put the cup down. “We were on Illium before we got back to the Citadel.”

Yeah, he had been hunting down an assassin and a justiciar to add to his crew in order to survive killing a shit ton of Collectors. Thane was great – he lived in Life Support so he didn’t die before the Collectors killed them. He hadn’t even mentioned Samara and her centuries of baggage, that was the best part. Reflecting on that, he knew it wasn’t exactly something you told your older sister over really shitty tea. So, he kept mum on the details.

Most of his stories wound up like that. Was that bad?

“Illium… well, at least you’d be easy to spot among the asari with your hair and all.” Anora took a cautious sip. “Did you… need armor for that one?”

Need armor – that was their codeword they’d come up when he hadn’t been sure what to call what he did. Anora had a weak stomach, and he didn’t exactly want to drag up the gory details of his job. Though, was it technically a job at that point? They had literally brought him back from the dead for it – that was nearly a calling. More than that, he wasn’t really getting paid. Cerberus was in a weird gray area…

Either way, it was a useful code.

“Yeah. It got heated at points, but nobody died.” Well… nobody on his side anyway. There were plenty of dead mercs thanks to both his crew and his own two hands. This was something else he wouldn’t tell Anora, mostly to keep her mind at ease. Apparently, hearing your younger brother was really good at killing people tended to put people off.

Civilians, couldn’t live with them… kind of turned into a war crime if you accidentally shot them.

“Oh… that’s good. I know it…” she paused, frowning. “I know you’ve had it rough lately. I saw you on the news with your friend Garrus and it looked like half of his face was missing.”

Alistair took another sip of his nasty tea to give him time to think of how to best phrase his possible boyfriend taking a rocket to the fucking face after a goddamn siege. It wasn’t exactly polite dinner conversation as he made the mental edits.

“Yeah… kind of. The implants are healing, though. At least the mandible is still attached and all.”

Judging by the look his sister gave, that probably wasn’t the right answer.

“Omega is not a fun place.” Was his only justification as he took another sip. “I definitely don’t recommend the Terminus system for Kelly’s spring break.”

Another wince – he was just knocking it out of the park with today’s visit. Maybe he should just close his stupid mouth and drink his tea before he gave her a coronary…

Anora at least didn’t drop her cup. Concern was written all over her face though as she rolled it between her palms. There were probably a thousand thoughts running through her mind, and he just had to wait on the final decision. Lucky for him, he was good at waiting.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” A judicious answer. She sipped from her mug, face unreadable. “So… where are you going next?”

To hell in a fucking hand basket, or a least close enough when they managed to get through Omega-4. However, it wasn’t exactly something you shared over tea, especially with your older sister.

When he glanced away, Anora sighed. “Right… top secret Spectre business, then?”

“Something like that.” He frowned. What little good feeling between them was starting to wear down. Soon there would be nothing left but awkward questions and long pauses full of questions neither of them could answer. No doubt it would be time for him to go soon.

Lucky for him, his omni-tool started to beep. Someone was trying to communicate with him. Without thinking, he hit the button and his sister’s living room was soon filled with the sound of the Normandy’s cockpit. If he strained, he could hear EDI softly beeping in the background.

“Commander, you there? Sorry to break up the family visit, but we’re getting a message from Admiral Hackett. I think you’re going to want to hear this.”

Alistair could already feel his forehead throbbing at the thought. “I swear, he just bothered us…”

“Yeah, tried to mute him but you know how he does that thing to get it through anyway.” Joker was priming the Normandy for takeoff in the background. “You should probably get back to the Normandy in case we need to head out.”

Sweet relief.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in twenty. Knowing the admiral, we’re going to be in the ass end of nowhere, so start checking the relays.” He paused, sighing. “Thanks, Joker. See you soon.”

The call ended not long after. He finished his tea in one long swallow. Anora was watching him, impossible to read. She had long since abandoned her tea – it was growing cool on the table. Talk about a bad sign.

“Admiral Hackett contacts you directly?”

Alistair sighed a ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m kind of his go-to for confidential stuff he doesn’t want to do. Call it first human Spectre privilege I guess.”

Anora didn’t exactly look impressed. “I’m guessing armor is going to be needed then.”

“Probably.” He sighed again. “I should go. They can’t exactly leave the Citadel without a CO on deck, can they?”

His cup clinked softly as he placed it back down on the table and stood. Anora stood as well and walked him to the front door. There they hovered, neither really saying anything, eyes not really meeting.

It always ended like that. It was why he preferred Kelly there to help soften things between them.

Her hand reached out – maybe to squeeze his shoulder – but it didn’t make contact. Instead, it fell back to her side, limp. It was hard to read the emotion in her face then, but then again it always was. When it came down to it, Anora was a bit of a brick wall he wound up hitting his head against.

“Well… be safe. I’ll see you when you’re back on the Citadel?”

He nodded, already planning his route back to the ship. “Yeah. Thanks for the tea. Tell Kelly I said hi.”

She nodded, and that was it. No hug goodbye, nothing more than an awkward wave as he walked down the path. Then the door shut, and it was back to work. Maybe he felt bad about the relief that he felt as he turned to leave, like a weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. The more he walked, the easier it was to forget.

He had to anyway – he had work to do.

“Wonder what the fuck Hackett wants this time…” Alistair grumbled to himself as he aimed for the port that would get him back to the docking bay he had left earlier that day. By the time he got there, the Normandy would be ready to leave. Within the hour, he’d be shooting towards the relay. Then – who knew. With Hackett, anything was possible.

“Seriously? He wants something AGAIN? Didn’t we risk our collective asses for him last week?”

Probably because he’d be lost in his thoughts, but Alistair realized he was standing in shadow. He glanced up, unsurprised to find red eyes and a bored expression. Without much thought, he shifted his pace. He needed to – otherwise he couldn’t keep up.

Bo had a bag of snacks in her arms that jingled as she walked. From the looks of things, Joker had paged her during a grocery run. Hopefully she had managed to get the citric acid he had asked for – he was starting to run low, and without it he’d just be eating sugar. That was a line even he wouldn’t cross.

It wasn’t a big line, but every man needed one.

“Yeah, I have no idea what. Joker couldn’t tell me; I was still with Anora.”

His adopted sister winced. “So, which one would you rather have faced: her or first contact?”

“I’d say I’d rather see a turian’s face pointing a gun at me.” He winced at his own bluntness. “Sorry… have to watch my tongue around her. You know she worries.”

Bo rolled her eyes at this as she handed him a smaller bag to carry. From the looks of things, there was a massive container of citric acid inside, buried next to a candy bar he was definitely going to destroy within a few hours of achieving FTL flight. It was nice to have someone who thought of him.

“You’re a fucking N7 level marine, I think she can figure out you’re winding up in some pretty fucked up shit.”

That was another wince on his part. “Yeah, but… I don’t exactly have to tell her how I stood in the line of sight for Garrus’ rifle, now do I?”

His answer got him quite the shove forward – it was a miracle he didn’t hit the ground face first as Bo continued on ahead, bag still jingling. “I’m pretty sure she knows you’re a dumbass with a martyr complex, don’t worry.”

Ah, someone was still sore about that. Well, excuse him for using his head…

Still, attempted face plant aside, Alistair had to admit he felt a lot more at ease as he and Bo continued their walk back towards the Normandy and their continuing fight against Admiral Hackett’s to-do list. Maybe he should have felt bad about that, but he had enough actual bad things to worry about. Something like this, he’d be happy to let slide for the moment. It could get him later, when he was in bed and couldn’t sleep.

“Gee, thanks. Love you too.”

Bo flipped him the bird as he caught up to her. “Can’t help I have a dumbass for a commanding officer brother, now can I?”

“He didn’t shoot…”

“You still got in the fucking way of a sniper rifle, you moron. The ghost of Alec Ryder is going to chew your ass out when you go to bed tonight, and I’m pretty sure that bastard’s still alive.”

The last thing he wanted was Alec Ryder, corporal or otherwise, near his ass. No thanks. That was enough to give him a lifetime of nightmares…

His adopted sister nudged him again as they got closer. “Next time just… don’t be a fucking hero. I don’t even know why I’m saying it, I know you will, and it’ll piss me off and then we start all over again.”

Despite the lecture, he chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”

“No, you won’t. You’re a fucking boy scout and it’s the worst.”

At least they had at last reached the Normandy. The yellow still needed painting over, but it was a sight for sore eyes nonetheless. Alistair was happy to hop aboard as decontamination hissed around him. It was humming to life beneath his feet, almost as if it was welcoming him back.

He loved this part.

“Commander Shepard and Commander Shepard have returned. Agent Miranda stands relieved.”

EDI’s robotic voice echoed as they stepped out of decontamination. Off to the side, Joker swiveled around in his chair to greet them. His grin only got wider as he spotted the bag hanging from Bo’s arm, almost reminding Alistair of a kid in a candy store.

“Did you get it?”

Bo snorted as he pulled out a smaller bag and handed it over. “You’re worse than Saren when it comes to snacks.”

“Hey, leave my hamster out of it. Saren is a gentleman.” Alistair still chuckled as he looked out at the Citadel dock from the Normandy’s front window. Soon, it would all be the blackness of space rushing out to meet them.

“Well, can’t be too bad if I’m getting compared to that.” Joker swiveled back around, already starting the procedure for takeoff. “Hackett’s message is ready when you are, Commander.”

Right… ugh. Just thinking about it gave Alistair a headache as he watched Bo head off to distribute her snacks. Still, it was a headache he could tolerate as he felt his mind shifting back to mission mode. At least here, he was in his element.

“Go ahead and play it. Might as well find out what ass end of nowhere we’re heading to…”

And just like that, it was business as usual. Admiral Hackett needed help, and the Normandy was the only ship he could get to do it. Soon, Alistair would be back in armor and ready to face whatever hell awaited them.

In a weird way, it was good to be home. But how fucked up is it that home was a fucking bootleg Alliance frigate hotwired by Cerberus?

#merweek2021 #Alistair Shepard #Bo Peep Shepard #ft his older sister Anora #If you get the joke with their names I have zero regrets

4 notes · View notes

crqstalite · 3 years

Text

ghosts.

to be entirely honest, i got overly ambitious with this one. another wip i started earlier this year and decidedly didn’t finish. you’ll probably be able to tell where the original ended i picked it back up -- but i liked the concept, so here it is.

f!shenko. post-alchera, post-me1. mention of major character death.

"I've never liked attending funerals, mourning people in general. Reminds me of everything I failed to do, and if I couldn't do anything, then that I should've been able to," Her eyes bore into his, head in her hands, "It's so many should'ves, and not enough 'dids'."

"You did all you could."

She's just out of reach, eyes downcast at the gardens of the Presidium. Still smoking, still mangled. She'd always said she hated the color black, hated mourning, but had worn it anyway. He's not sure what to do, looking at her standing there, but he reaches out for her anyway, "Did I?"

"Kaidan?" He retracts his hand from where he'd reached, pushing his elbows off the railing to face Liara. Dressed in black, accepting the human tradition though looking uncomfortable. Tired, not all there with dark circles etched underneath her eyes, "Tali is looking for you."

It takes him a moment to find his voice as Shepard disappears, Liara taking her place, "Why?"

"She...wanted to say goodbye before returning to the flotilla." Her voice is quiet, hoarse. The Asari hadn't been taking the death well, one of the more affected crewmates after the tragedy. He doesn't know why, but it isn't as if she didn't care for Shepard as well.

"So soon?" It'd only been a few weeks since Alchera, not even a full month yet. He hadn't expected anyone to stay if they didn't want to, the investigation against Saren had been over for months now. And they had only been here for Shepard regardless. Now, they didn't have any reason to be together, much less on the same ship. He didn't expect to become so attached to all of them, watching them go wasn't something he wanted to do.

"She didn't give any reasoning to her departure, if you were wondering," Liara answers, "Possibly, she isn't interested in staying."

"Is there anyone staying?"

"Garrus mentioned wanting to return to Citadel Security. I believe Wrex will return to either his mercenary lifestyle, or to Tuchanka," She pauses, turning her big blue eyes back to him. It was odd to think she was still just on the cusp of becoming a young adult in Asari culture, yet at times, times like these, was when her younger nature came through. The whites of her eyes were a bloodshot red, puffy. She'd been crying again.

"I trust Liara. She's a bit naive, but she's brilliant. Wish I was like that when I was her age -- or however that translates to us humans," Shepard's voice again, as if she's standing behind him. Her fingers ghosting over his own, her head on his shoulder, "Poor girl though. Losing her mother. Can't imagine how much that hurts. She doesn't talk about it, little worried she's deflecting from the problem entirely."

"I met her family today. They were very kind, and expressed their gratitude that I'd been a friend of her's. They didn't seem surprised, but I suppose when one dies, no one acknowledges the fact you're Asari. Only that you knew them in their life, and they cared about you enough to tell those they cared about who you were," Liara continues, snapping him out of his thoughts as Shepard's presence fades, "Losing their daughter though, that must've been devastating for them. She was a lovely person."

"It never gets easier," He responds in agreement. He hadn't had the heart to talk to Captain Shepard when he'd seen her around. He's almost glad he hadn't seen the youngest Shepard daughter milling around, after having met her after Shepard's first near death experience, Kaidan doesn't think he could find any other words to comfort her with, "I can't imagine what they're going through."

"I understand you were close to her, Lieutenant. I will not pry, but I offer what condolences I can," She offers him a gentle smile, pulling at the corners of her mouth while a tear slides down her cheek, lip quivering, "I did not expect for her to become so much to me so quickly. Why I find myself more upset about this than the events of Noveria, I'm surely broken."

"You're not broken, Liara. It's natural to grieve."

"For someone you knew for a few months instead of the woman who raised you?" Liara questions, "I think about this, some days. Had she not come to find me on Therum, whether I'd even be here today. How even though I was an alien to her, that she still cared for me as a friend. She did not mind me, in fact enjoyed my company. She did not poke fun at me when I didn't understand human mannerisms. She taught, she guided. Answer me this, Kaidan, why was she so important? Why is it impossible to stop thinking about her?"

I wish I knew, "She was a friend. Inspired a lot of people. She appreciated everyone, gave them purpose. It's normal for us to miss her, she gave her life so the rest of us could get off the Normandy," He answers, "There aren't a lot of people like her. Doubt we'll meet another Shepard in our lifetimes."

"Ashley gave her life to save ours, Kaidan. Maybe it was because of us, maybe I will feel horrible about it for the rest of my life, but I don't think I made the wrong decision, if that's what you're asking. I...would've switched places with her in a heartbeat, if it meant both of you would live. But fate doesn't work that way, and I chose you."

She'd been a mess then. Angry, frustrated, sad. Pacing around the mess late at night when she couldn't get to sleep -- he'd watched her fall apart. Losing Ashley had destroyed her, and yet she somehow made it sound like the right decision. It echoes in his head.

He still wonders if she chose right. He wonders if he chose right, going ahead to the escape pod instead of stubbornly staying with Shepard and forcing her along with him.

Now he'd never know.

"I suppose," She says shakily, gently wiping away rogue tears with delicate hands, "Ah, you are right. Still, she is someone I will not forget easily, but grief is finite. It is better we see her for how she was in life -- someone we were lucky to meet."

"That's all we can do," He agrees. And he echoes the sentiment, maybe it had been luck that drew them together. Maybe circumstance, he can't quite place it, "You know Shepard, she wouldn't have wanted us to wallow in that sadness."

"I do not believe Shepard intended to die," Liara gives him a quizzical look at the comment, before a gleam of understanding flashes through her eyes, "Oh. No, I suppose not. I do hope that where she's gone, that she's at least at peace for once. She's done so much for the galaxy, it is only fair that she finally rests."

"Vancouver, you said?" Liara grows quiet while Shepard's presence fades back, "I like the idea. Never been up there, but after this cruise, we'll carve a little time out for us. How's that sound?"

Her grin isn't really there, nor is the kiss that she'd pressed to his cheek just a moment after the sentiment was made. None of her is, "Yeah. It's only fair."

Liara takes her leave a little while later, the silence beginning to suffocate the both of them. The procession begins to thin out sometime after that, but he's still struggling to wrap his head around it. And he shouldn't be, not after she's already been gone so long. A part of him misses her more than he can verbalize, or even really rationalize.

What he'd give to have her back.

"The galaxy didn't end after Virmire, as much as I was convinced it would. Ash’s mom even called me once. I thanked her daughter for her service, and we talked for a while. Didn’t rip in to me for it, even though I deserved it," Soft, yet firm. He remembers how she'd leaned against a railing similar to this one, a lazy half-grin on her face before turning to him, "If anything happens to me, no one sets the galaxy ablaze. That's how we get villain origin stories."

He should move on, he hasn't even known her that long, and yet she's all that he can think about.

He's not sure he wants to live in a galaxy without her.

#kodelyn shepard #f!shenko #oc #original character

16 notes · View notes

catlynhoss05 · 4 years

Text

Home Sweet Home Ch. 1: The Start of Something New

Pairing: OC!baureader x Emily Prentiss x Criminal Minds

~Series starts in season 4~ (check out Remi’s work shoes link on HSH masterlist)

Chapter Summary: Remi is new to the BAU and to Hotch’s team. She has MAJOR hots for one SSA Emily Prentiss and her the same. Remi’s first case with the team takes them to her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.

Remi has been working with the BAU for about a month and a half now. She never expected to feel so at home with her job and with the team. She hasn’t talked much about her family life back home in Nashville and made sure that her file was kept confidential from the team, besides BAU Section Chief Erin Strauss and Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. She wanted to make sure that the team liked her for who she is and not for what she was to the rest of the world.

Since growing up on a 1200-acre farm, Remi’s used to waking up pretty early in the morning to do the usual morning chores that are required to do on such a large farm. However, since she had moved to Quantico, Virginia and had went from living on a farm to living in the city, her ‘normal’ routine had to be changed some. She still got up at a quarter to 4 a.m., went on a 2-mile run with her 2 year old German Shepard, Louisa, and then took a quick shower when she got home. Even though it was only 4:20 a.m. and she didn’t have to be at work until 9 a.m., she made herself some of her famous cheesy scrambled eggs and made sure that she filled up Louisa’s food and water bowls. After Remi had finished eating her breakfast, she cuddled with Louisa for awhile before having to finish getting ready for work. Remi pulled on her shoes, grabbed her jacket and gear for work, said goodbye to Louisa, grabbed her skateboard and went out the door to go to work.

Remi had gotten to work about a half an hour before any of the others would start coming into the office. She was sitting at her desk that was behind Spencer’s desk that also faced Hotch’s office. She was busy texting her twin brother, Harris, and wasn’t aware that Derek and Spencer had come in. Derek had peeked over her shoulder to see what was making his coworker smile so much. “Who’s ‘Harris T-Bro B11′?” He asked, scaring Remi. “Geez, Morgan. You scared me. And, nosey much?” She asked. “I just asked you a question and I didn’t mean to scare.” He chuckled. “It’s okay..... And, if you must know, Harris is my older twin brother and he keeps a-asking me ab-about....” Remi trailed off when she saw one SSA Emily Prentiss with JJ and Rossi coming through the glass doors and into the office.

The whole team, including Strauss, knew about how Emily and Remi felt about each other, but both of them were clueless about that. Emily, JJ and Rossi had walked by Remi and Derek and made their way to their desks, or office, before going into the break room for some much needed coffee. While Emily was making her coffee first, JJ and Rossi came up next to her with shit-eating grins on their faces while starring at Emily. “What? Why are you guys looking at me like that for?” She asked, trying to act clueless. “You know exactly why we’re looking at you like this. Remi was hardcore checking you out as we walked by her and Morgan and you know it. When are you gong to make your move and finally ask her out?” JJ asked and Rossi agreed by nodding his head. “She was not checking me out and I think you two are going crazy.” Emily smiled and sat down at the break room table with her coffee.

However, currently in the bullpen, Derek was trying to get Remi’s attention by waving his hand in front of her face. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” She asked, carding her hand through her hair. "I didn't say anything. You were talking and then stopped because a certain BAU agent had walked by." Derek leaned over and nudged her shoulder while smiling like a dork. He laughed when she shoved him back. "Shove it, Morgan. But by the looks of it, we may have a case." She stated, referring to Hotch coming out of his office. "Everyone meet in the conference room. We got a case." Hotch announced so everyone could hear him. Derek and Remi walked into the conference room together, followed by JJ, Emily and Rossi. Remi had accidentally dropped her pen and when she bent over to pick it up, Emily and JJ were right behind her and Emily was checking out her ass. "Nice Calvin Klein waistband you have there, Remi. Don't you think so, Emily?" JJ asked, making both Emily and Remi blush a deep red.

Remi had stood up quickly and fixed her shirt to cover up the waist band to her underwear. "Geez, JJ." She huffed as she went to her usual spot between Rossi and Morgan and waited for Penelope to start the briefing. "Okay, my lovely crime fighters. Our case is located and taking all of you, and myself, to Remi's hometown of Nashville, Tennessee." Penelope stated. "Wait? Are you sure?" Remi asked, earning a nod from Penelope. "Yeah. Is that an issue?" Rossi asked, sounding concerned. Remi pinched the bridged of her nose and sighed before answering. “No, it’s not an issue. It's just...... All of my brothers are home for a few weeks to help our parents with the farm because the farm is really busy this time of year. And, they had called me last night to ask when I'll be coming home to visit for a little bit." She explained.

“How many brothers do you have and how big of a farm does your parents have?” Spencer asked. “Way to many. Why, you want a few?” She joked, earning a rare chuckle from Hotch. “And it’s a 1200-acre farm. Usually only a few of my brothers that live close to them work on the farm regularly. But it’s kind of busy right now with the animals. Anyway, we have a case to focus on.” “She’s right. Go on, Garcia.” Hotch said, matter-of-factly. “A group of misfit teenagers found the body of 9 year old, Trisha Walters, in a ditch beside the highway close to downtown Nashville.” Penelope explained as she showed the team the slide show of crime scene photos of the little girl. “However, there were two other 9 year old little girls, Alexis O’Conner and Georgia McConnell, were also found in the same ditch but, they were all about a half a mile away from each other.”

“Looks like they were all bound around the ankles to keep them where ever the unsub had kept them.” Derek pointed out. “And they were also face down when they were found, but it looks to me like they were all killed differently though. What would be the unsub’s motive to take and kill these little girls?” Remi asked. “Well, there is a big ‘UH OH’, as I like to say. After the first girl was taken, the other two little girls were taken exactly 48 hours in between each girl. However, it seems like the bad guy had disposed of their little innocent bodies at the same time each night, but 48 hours after each dump. The other big ‘UH OH’ is that the third little girl was found around 5 a.m. this morning, BUT, we have a fourth victim on our hands.” Penelope said in a very sad tone.

“Who’s the fourth victim?” JJ asked. “9 year old, Joyce McKnight. She was taken this morning around 7:15 a.m. when she was walking by herself to school that was only about 10 blocks away from her house. And, get this. All four little girls went to the same school.” Penelope sighed sadly. “What’s his angle here? What does he want from these little girls? I mean, he’s gotta at least have either lost his 9 year old little girl or lost someone who was close to him when he was either at that age or that someone who was close to him was 9 years old and female.” Remi suggested. Everyone was silent and thinking about what Remi had said. “She’s got a very good point and the crime scene photos from each crime scene points to some, but not much, abuse, but yet held captive. Fed some, but not much. But, they all look like they were tortured more than anything.” Emily explained her views of the case.

“Wheels up in 20.” Hotch spoke up, dismissing the team. Everyone, including Penelope, gathered there stuff up and made their ways out of the conference room. Penelope went to her bat cave to grab her stuff while everyone else went to their desks to grab what they needed as well as their gear. Strauss had made sure that the team was given strict orders to three weeks off with pay, of course, after they finished up the current case. She also said that she will fly Will, Henry and Jack to Nashville on the jet once they are all settled and done with the case. So, the whole team, including Penelope, have packed enough clothes and essentials for the next few weeks they’re going to spend in Nashville.

Penelope had locked up her bat cave after she had grabbed her stuff that she needed for the case and for the next few weeks. She made her way into the bullpen where the rest of the team was and walked up to where Remi’s desk. “So...” Penelope spoke up, scaring Remi a little bit. “So.... what?” Remi questioned the bright and colorful tech genius. “Do you think we’ll be able to meet your family?” Penelope asked. “Ooh yeah, could we meet them?” JJ asked, speaking up from where she was standing at her desk. “Maybe. Having all of my brothers, and myself, under one roof is quite chaotic. Hell, my brothers ARE chaotic when it’s just them under one roof.” Remi chuckled, grabbing her go-bag and stood up as she grabbed her back pack as well.

Hotch and Rossi both had come out of their offices with their bags in their hands as they headed to the elevator to go to the jet. The rest of the team had followed close behind the two older agents and everyone piled into the elevator. Remi was in the back of the elevator and was standing in between Emily, who had JJ to her right, and Penelope who was standing to Remi’s left. Remi stood at height of 5′7″, just an inch shorter than Emily was. While JJ was smiling like a goofball and wiggling her eyebrows at Emily, Penelope was doing the same to Remi. “So, Remi. You never did say how many brothers you have. Or that you have a twin brother.” Emily spoke up, just as the elevator doors had opened on their designated floor.

“Yes, I have a twin brother. His name is Harris and he’s four minutes and fifteen seconds older than I am.” She paused as the team exited the elevator. “I am also the only girl and the youngest of twelve.” Remi explained. Everyone, except for Hotch and Rossi, were all looking at Remi with shocked expressions and mouths agape. Remi looked around at the team that all stopped in front of her. “What? Honestly, I’m the youngest of twelve. I have a total of eleven older brothers..... Now, let’s discuss this subject on the jet.” Remi said, trying and getting the agents to get a move on. They took two separate vehicles so it would be easier for everyone instead of everyone driving separately to the tarmac.

Once everyone had gotten onto the jet, Hotch and Rossi were sitting in the two single seats that were facing each other, and could also swivel. Derek and Spencer sat on the couch while JJ, Emily, Penelope and Remi sat at the four seater with the table. Emily had a window seat with JJ sitting to her left while Remi had the other window seat facing her with Penelope sitting to her right. The plane ride from Quantico to Nashville is about an hour and a half and the team had talked a little more about the case while waiting for the jet to take off. Once the pilots were ready and it was time to start getting a move on and to finally take off. After taking off and everyone had agreed to relax for the plane ride to Nashville, everyone was doing their own things quietly. “So, Remi. What was it like growing up with 11 older brothers?” JJ asked curiously, gaining the teams attention because everyone was curious to know.

“Very chaotic and hectic... And WAY to much testosterone. Just imagine 11 Derek Morgan’s, and that will give you my brothers.” Remi described, causing everyone, including Derek, to erupt in fits of laughter. “Okay, okay. I gotta know and probably everyone else wants to know as well. What are your brothers names?” Penelope wondered. “Well, there’s the identical triplets; Benjamin, Oliver and Nolan who are 42, Ryker who’s 41 and then Sawyer who’s 40. Then it’s the identical twins; Asher and Elijah and they’re 38. Then Wyatt is 37, Colten is 36, Dallas is 35 and then it’s Harris and myself and we’re 34.” Remi explained.

The whole team was quiet, especially Spencer who was usually the one to be spitting out facts that no one even knew about or would even think of. Remi looked around at everyone as they all stared at her like she had just insulted them or something. “What? Did I say something wrong?” She asked. “No, you didn’t. So there’s identical triplets, identical twins AND fraternal twins? Triplets and TWO sets of twins?” Emily asked dumbfounded. “Yes ma’am.” Remi smirked. “Oh wow. And you all are really close in age as well?” Rossi asked. “That’s right.” She chuckled. “Is Remi short for something or is it just Remi?” Emily asked, leaning forward and resting her arms on the table and her chin in one of her hands.

“Remi is actually short for Remington. As in I was thought to be a boy when my mama was pregnant with Harris and I. The doctors, I guess, thought I was a boy as well, but surprise. I’m a girl. So, I’m technically named after my papaw Remington Montgomery, but I obviously have a different middle name then he does.” She chuckled, earning a smile from Emily. JJ and Penelope had shared a look with each other after they noticed how both Emily sitting while talking to Remi. JJ could see from where she was sitting, and ever since Remi had joined, was absolutely, head over heels, falling in love with Emily from the moment that the two had met. It was actually quite obvious to the whole team; including Strauss. However, the two agents were COMPLETELY oblivious about the other ones feelings.

When the jet had landed in Nashville, the team made their way off of the jet and into the airport so Hotch could rent out 2 vehicles for the team for the next few weeks. After getting the rental cars, everyone piled into them and made their way to the hotel that they’re supposed to be staying at. The team was sitting on the couches and chairs as they waited -for what seemed liked forever- for Hotch as he talked to the receptionist. JJ and Emily sat together on one of the loveseats in the lobby while Penelope and Remi sat on the other loveseat across the way from them. Remi had her feet up on the coffee table that was in between the loveseats while she was checking Emily out. And, of course, her actions didn’t go unnoticed by the infamous Penelope Garcia. Before Penelope could say anything, Hotch came back over to where the team was at and he didn’t look very pleased.

“They have no more rooms left for us to stay in.” He sighed, earning a few groans from the team. “So where are we going to stay then?” Reid asked. “We can stay at my parents place. Even though my brothers are home, there’s still plenty of room for all of us and even for Jack, Henry and Will when they come.” Remi suggested. “Are you sure they won’t mind us staying there and working from there as well?” Hotch asked. “No, they won’t mind at all. Honestly, they’ve been begging to meet you guys.” She chuckled. “Well, let’s go then.” Hotch smirked.

#emily prentiss #emily prentiss fanfic #emily prentiss x oc #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #home sweet home

19 notes · View notes

ramble-writes · 4 years

Text

Shitty Holidays

The idea for this is based from art @ywwywwy did of Frank at a table sitting on one end as his foster family is at the other. As for how Frank is, it’s this idea of Frank as a wolf because hey, why not? lol. So here it be!

There was light flakes of snow drifting within the wind outside. There was the squeals of two kids filled the house along with the gentle voices of a mother and a father trying to get their children to calm down. But... There’s a third, sitting quietly at the other end of the table as yellow eyes glance from the food on his plate to the chatty family on the other side of the table.

Frank Morrison, age 16, was sitting there as the family chatted away. Keen ears picked up a chuff of a dog under the table. Honestly, the dog being a German Shepard, was the only good thing out of this new foster family. Though at first he and the dog didn’t get along, it was a day alone he got to have the house to himself and, like usual, the dog would growl and bark at him every time he took one step outside. That ended quick when he had shifted and he established dominance.

That aside, the family themselves didn’t really pay attention to him. For sure when they agreed to have him that they were twitchy on the idea of his skull jester tattoo with flames and baseball bats. He found it cool. The previous couple was ok with him having one since they had tattoos like sleeves, on the legs, small ones, and various others. The only problem in the end with that family was the constant arguing and they fact that the two were having a divorce. That was two months ago and here he is with this family that were just iffy with him in general.

“Frank, are you going to eat?”

The voice made him jump a bit. He focused his gaze to the father looking at him as the mother does her best to calm down the two maggots. The brother kept trying to steal his sister’s food and she would throw her balled up napkin at him. Yellow eyes blinked as he got his mind back to the present.

“If you don’t eat up, you can go to your room.”

His “room” being what is the little girl’s room with a bed that at least he is left with sleeping propped up or with his feet hanging off the edge. Frank glances down to the food sitting there that he can smell is loosing its heat and how the strong scent is fading. He stifled the whimper that wanted to rise up. There’s no denying that he’s hungry, that the wolf deep down was starving. He just.. There’s too much moving around homes that he lost appetite. It doesn’t help that the mother took her time to make this dinner for Thanksgiving (second Monday of October), and he’s sitting here having not even touched it.

“Louis, leave him be. We only have him for a month or so till they can find better housing for him. Or if his parents-”

“They don’t want shit to do with me..” He couldn’t contain the slight growl to his voice. He hates it how every family he’s been with when they talk about the time they have with him that they mention “if his parents want him back.” Bullshit, he would say all the time. They left him for a reason. Over a stupid fuckin’ reason. So what if he’s a late shifter? They didn’t even bother with him further! Not his fault that also their marriage fell apart.

“Oi! Watch your language *garçon,” Louis said firmly. Frank didn’t know French, nor did he care. If it was an insult, fuck this guy. Fuck this. Fuck all of this. He’s sick and tired of the constant moving, families one moment saying they’ll take him in and then the next moment doing shit that hurts that either he calls up the foster home or the family does, blaming him for shit he didn’t do.

Frank stands up, slamming down the fork and knife in his hands down onto the table with a clatter. His breathing picked up, his jaw felt strained with feeling his teeth get bigger along with his body. It wants to expand, to let the wolf raging inside out to maul the stupid Frenchy.

“Yeah? Well you try being only 5 years old when your parents not only want you, but procced to go through a divorce as well that they throw you into foster care because of you! You try bouncing around home after fucking home from abusive families, from groomers, from cultists. You try going through a family who honestly wanted you and were denied of adopting you that it fucks you up.”

This made Louis stand up enraged with his face going red. “Go to your room!”

“That ain’t even my fuckin room!”

“Boys! Please calm down! It’s Thanksgiving and we should be happy and-”

The dog barked. A loud sharp one. Cheder, as the dog is named, stands and comes out from under the table with a growl. He sensed Frank’s anger and was ready to act on it. To protect him. This pissed off the man further.

“Cheder, come here.”

“I don’t think he wants to listen.”

“*Tais-toi. Cheder. Come. Here.”

The German Shepard still didn’t move. He just walked backwards to stand next to Frank. Pack mentality. In all honesty, he and the dog did grow to have a bond with the time he’s been here ever since shifting. Boy, Frank couldn’t help the shit-eaten grin that spread across his face.

“That’s it. I’ve had it with your attitude! We’ve tried being nice to you and-”

“Nice?! Ha! You did nothing but ignore me! You didn’t do shit to stop Cheder from snapping at me the first few times he was inside the house! When it came to shopping for clothes for school you picked out shit for me! You let Maggie and Wayne pick out their outfits, but didn’t let me do shit. We won’t get on the topic of the tattoo, but oh how I fuckin hate it when you won’t even look at me when you talk to me like a fucking man.”

This made everyone go quiet. Even Cheder. Maggie looks to her father with tears pricking at the corner of her eyes.

“Papa.. I’m scared...”

Louis hushed her gently, but by this point Frank had enough. With a scoff, he turned on his heel and headed for the back door to the backyard. He needed to run, get it out of his system. He could hear Louis mutter about calling the Alberta Foster Care to get him in the morning, but again, he didn’t care. He heard the mother coming after him, calling his name as he headed out into the cold night. He knew Cheder followed, but over the fence the dog couldn’t.

Frank didn’t care that he heard the mother become frantic quick at seeing him hop the fence. Once up and over, he broke out into a run, wanting to get far from them. Wanting to get as deep as he could before shifting mid run. Dark brown fur took over what was once fair skin was along with a lighter tone underside. Two legs and arms popped and changed to being four legs and paws as big as his hands. Everything from his chest, shoulders, thighs, and head enlarged. Face extended out to a muzzle and a wet nose. Every human tooth grew and sharpened to that of a wolf as the final touches of ears and tail sprouted.

There standing in the place of where a boy was, was a Brown Timber wolf, but bigger due to him being a werewolf than a shapeshifter. Fully formed, Frank wasted no time sprinting deep into the forest till it was just him and the surrounding trees with what little snow flakes got through the thicket of the pine branches. Out here, he’s free. Far from the grasp of any human, far from the grasp of the foster system. It’s out there where the wind blew through his fur that he felt better with the cold nipping at the pads of his paws and his nose, the breeze making him blink a few times over. It’s out there where he spent the rest of the night, curled under some upturned roots of a tree.

By morning, he woke to the sound of his name being called. Multiple voices ranging from male to female. Some he even recognized as the trees made their voices echo down to where he is. He didn’t want to move, didn’t want to go back. But fate isn’t his to decide. With a sigh, Frank stood up and shook himself out and stretched before shifting back to himself. A sigh left him as he made his way towards the voices.

The person assigned to helping him find a foster family was there, the parents Louis (reluctantly) and Hanna were there along with an officer or two. Upon seeing him, Hanna just rushed at him and pulled him in for a tight hug. He didn’t reciprocate it. The adults talked as they headed back to the house. He wasn’t surprised to see all his stuff packed up.

Not a word was spoken as Frank grabbed it and headed out to the waiting running car. In an instant, Cheder came rushing out after him with loud whines and practically shoved his head into Frank’s stomach. This made him sigh as he bent down to pet the dog, lowering his head to place on Cheder’s with a hand going through thick fur. If he could, he would’ve taken Cheder with him. But he can’t. It was like the German Shepard knew his thoughts because the dog backed away despite still whining, then turned to head back into the house with head and tail low.

There was no goodbyes as he got into that car to head back to the foster home, no glances back. Nothing. The person that drove tried to ask him questions on what happened, but he didn’t answer, didn’t want to as his eyes watched houses change as they made their way back to the major town of Alberta. Frank was just tired of all of this, tired of the changes and faces he doesn’t bother to remember. Sleep sounded like the better option for now. Getting himself as comfortable as possible, he let his eyes drift shut with the cold window to his forehead, letting himself let go and doze off with not wanting to think what the next family would be like.

#frank morrison #frank dbd #legion dbd #wolf frank #ywwywwy #inspo #my writings #long post

14 notes · View notes

swaps55 · 4 years

Text

Since I’ve written a bunch of prompts and one shots in the past few weeks as a continued coping mechanism for [gestures] everything, here’s an aggregate post of the new stuff. As always, the main master fic post is pinned to the top of my blog.

This is all Sam & Kaidan [shocker] with a few special guest appearances by the likes of Jack, Garrus and Anderson.

You Just Might

The N program hadn’t covered teenagers.

David Anderson has only been alone with the kid for an hour, and he already has a new respect for the parenting skills of Daniel Shepard. He’s not sure a dreadnought would be a big enough space to contain Sam, and here they are stuck in the cramped passenger compartment of an Alliance shuttle with two hours to go before they reach Ares Station.

Little Spoon

“So why are you anti-birthday? I thought humans loved commemorating their ages.”

Shepard grimaces. “How fucking old am I, Garrus?”

Garrus blinks. “Shepard, I have no fucking idea. I don’t have your file memorized. Ok, I may have your blood pressure memorized. And your typical heart rate, both in and out of combat. Oh, and after that incident on Korlus I got to learn all about human blood sugar. Specifically yours. But not your age.”

(#Team Kaidan Is The Big Spoon)

routine kisses where the other person presents their cheek/forehead for the hello/goodbye kiss without even looking up from what they’re doing

Jack never figured Shepard as the kind of guy who would commune with fucking nature, not after listening to him bitch about the humidity the entire time they were on Zorya. But this giant tree farm Alenko’s roped him into is about as nature as you can get. The closest civilization is about twenty kilometers away.

There’s a lot of fucking fruit trees out here.

starting with a kiss meant to be gentle, ending up in passion

Sometimes no matter how hot you’re willing to burn the candle there’s nothing to burn it for. The Perseus Veil is about as remote as it gets. For Joker it means bitching for the next two days about all the relay jump calcs he gets to make.

For Shepard it means…this. Stopping. Holding still. Or, as still as he can get. To the naked eye he is still, but the hairs on Kaidan’s arm prickle as Shepard toys with the gravity well, dipping into it, sending out invisible ripples in the same way someone might chew on a pen cap or tap their foot.

The galaxy had never felt so still as it had when Kaidan stopped sensing that constant shift in dark energy.

kisses meant to distract the other person from whatever they were intently doing

Kaidan glances down at him briefly and smiles, but dammit now he has even more reading to do than he planned. He runs his hand over the curve of Shepard’s shoulder. “I should go upstairs. I think this is gonna take a while.”

He even starts to get up, but wouldn’t you know it, Shepard’s head gets about thirty pounds heavier when he tries.

Drunk

The room weaves a little as Garrus kicks back another shot. This wasn’t what he intended when he came into Port Observation, but you don’t really argue with Shepard when he’s looking for a drinking partner, and no one else is stupid enough to try and keep up with his Cerberus metabolism.

Garrus shouldn’t be this stupid. He has at least three years of experience to make him smarter than this.

#mass effect #mshenko #my fic #these stories make me happy

21 notes · View notes

spaceskam · 4 years

Text

our fainted thrill carries on (1/13)

and the season 2 fix it is here! warning for anxiety, ptsd, canon referenced violence (aka mentions of jesse), etc!

ao3

Michael watched Isobel drag Max’s body across the ground.

She was yelling at him to help, Liz was arguing with her, Kyle was trying his best to subdue the situation, and Rosa had left the cave pretty much the moment he entered to get away from Isobel. It was all too much for him on top of all the other bullshit he was already feeling.

His hand throbbed, aching with a dull handprint with nothing on the other side. He was attached to nothing. He supposed this was the true feeling of emptiness. The worst part was that he was still pissed at Max. He was pissed at him for being selfish, for shooting at him, for healing him, for acting like his problems didn’t matter. But wasn’t he the dick for hating a guy who was dead in front of him?

“Michael! Help me!” Isobel spat.

“That pod’s broken,” he offered limply. They all gave him their attention for some reason.

“What do you mean it’s broken?” Kyle asked. He seemed to be the only one with a level head which made sense. He was a doctor and all. Plus, he’d been slightly less likely to die in the last 48 hours than the rest of them. Felt fair that he played the calm guy.

“You put him in that thing and he gets fucked up like Noah.”

Isobel gave an irritated, mournful whine and then started tugging Max’s body in the other direction. How much did Max weigh? Over 200lbs? Probably. He was tall and he worked out, so over 200 made sense. How did alien BMI work?

“Michael! Why are you just staring?! Help me!” Isobel spat, dragging him out of his thoughts. Or, kind of. He tried to focus, he really did. It didn’t seem to work, his mind drifting away soon after she got his attention.

He didn’t like this feeling, this emptiness. It brought him back to nights alone in the airstream when Max was always busy being a cop and Isobel was always busy with everything she could get her hands on. Bringing him back to those moments brought him back to missing Alex. It ripped that band-aid off, pushing him towards that crash landing like always. He hated it. But in the moment? In the moment it felt good. Maybe he could figure out a way to have both…

“Guerin,” Kyle suddenly said, right in front of him. He genuinely looked concerned which was strange. “Are you alright? Are you in shock or are you having a panic attack? Or something else? Are you sleep-deprived?”

Michael blinked a few times and then looked around. Liz and Isobel had gotten a blanket and were in the process of getting Max’s body in that blanket to make him easier to carry since Michael was useless.

“I’m fine,” he said. Kyle gave him a look.

“Go home,” he said. Which didn’t sound right and apparently his face betrayed that. “You’re not in a good state of mind and you’re not going to help anyone, especially not yourself, if you stay here. So go home and get some sleep. Can you drive?”

Michael nodded, “I can drive.”

And drive he did.

Alex eventually gave up waiting outside Michael’s trailer, realizing that he wasn’t coming home.

He tried not to jump to conclusions about why. He knew Michael had to be going through some shit on top of what happened the day before if that little moment he’d seen him said anything. He could give him some space until he was ready.

Or, at least that’s what he thought until he entered his cabin and found Michael sitting on his couch in the dark.

“Hey,” Alex said when he saw him, locking the three locks on his door behind him. Michael didn’t look up at him, face just so painstakingly sad as he stared at the coffee table. Alex dropped his keys in the bowl beside the door and just waited for him to say something or do something.

“Max is dead,” he whispered, voice breaking, “My mom is dead and Max is dead and Isobel told me I need to move on and I tried, but I… I don’t know why I’m here.”

Alex slowly walked towards him, deciding the best option was to treat him like a wounded animal. He didn’t ask any questions as he made himself known by stepping in his line of sight. He wasn’t sure if he could actually see him, but he was trying his best. Alex noticed his hand was no longer scarred, a glowing layer on top of his skin. He ignored the mixed feelings that stirred in his stomach at the sight.

“You’re always welcome here, okay? No questions asked, no matter what you do or need,” Alex promised. Michael blinked slowly and his eyes drifted slowly to meet Alex’s, his current state of mind portraying how much he didn’t believe him. “I’m not going to be another person you lose, alright? It’s not happening. Tell me what you need.”

Michael was silent for a moment and then another before Alex realized he didn’t have an answer. He didn’t know what he needed. He wondered if anyone had actually ever asked him that before. So, he stepped a little closer and slowly but surely pulled him into a hug. They didn’t hug often, but he needed it. Honestly, they both did.

What Alex didn’t say was that he was thankful he was here. Caulfield was all too fresh on his mind and, even someone as great at compartmentalizing as he was, it was hard when it involved someone he loved and that someone was not doing well in its aftermath. It was just more shit and he knew if he felt like that, Michael must’ve felt it even more. So he wasn’t going to add to it, he was going to take some away.

“I’m gonna go get you a blanket and you can sleep on the couch. I’ll call Liz or Kyle and have them fill me in, you sleep,” Alex whispered to him, trying his best to be some form of comfort. Michael held onto him for a little bit longer before eventually letting go.

Alex did as he promised, fetching a blanket from his bedroom as well as a pillow. Michael pulled off his boots and curled up on the couch while Alex covered him up. He watched him for a moment, watched him cocoon himself for some semblance of comfort. Alex’s heart ached for him, but he couldn’t just watch him all night, so he went to his room and got his phone.

He called Kyle and grabbed a notebook, taking notes as he got filled in so he’d be able to order his thoughts better. Max was dead, Rosa was alive, Isobel had insisted they work on bringing Max back, and Liz was refusing to acknowledge the facts.

“Okay, what do you need me to do?” Alex asked, drawing a line under the top half of his notes and starting his first bullet point.

“Um, I-I guess we’re going ahead and trying to fix Max,” Kyle said, his voice hesitant and unnerved. Which made sense. In the margin of the page, Alex scribbled ‘make Kyle talk about Caulfield’. “So if you can help me find a space to make a lab, I guess?”

“I can do that,” Alex agreed, “Guerin’s here by the way. I know you don’t care, but I figured Isobel might.”

“Okay, good, good. I’ll tell the girls,” Kyle said. Some rustling sounded on his end and then he spoke again in a hushed voice, “I, uh, also need to talk to you about your dad.”

Alex sat up straight, his eyebrows furrowing. His heart skipped a beat involuntarily and he grabbed the remote on his bedside table, turning on his TV that showed a screen of all the cameras he had around his house. No one was trespassing outside, the doors were all locked (though he’d double-check before he took his prosthetic off), and Michael was still in a ball on the couch.

“He tried to shoot me,” Kyle said, voice still soft but he was clearly on edge.

“Excuse me?”

“I was wearing a vest and I put him in a medically induced coma. I just got him in the hospital when Liz called me, so I know where he’s at and he’s incapacitated as of right now, but this isn’t forever. We need to move Project Shepard headquarters soon or it’s going to get bigger than this,” Kyle warned. Alex decided not to tell him that it already was bigger than this.

“Okay, I’ll work on shifting everything I’ll work on finding a lab space. Hopefully in the same building and we’ll see what we can do. We can talk more about the specifics tomorrow, I guess. Are you good, though?” Alex asked.

“I’m as good as I can be. Sore, a little confused on how to be a brother all of the sudden,” Kyle sighed, “Look, I gotta go. Liz is trying to fill Rosa in on a decade of information, so I’m gonna try to help or something. Fuck.”

“Okay, take care of yourself. Call me if anything goes bump during the night,” Alex told him.

“I will.”

They hung up without saying goodbye.

“Michael.”

Michael sighed and looked up from the car he was working. Isobel stood a few feet away, face cleaned up and dressed almost regal as if that would cover up the fact that Max died last night. He was dead. Dead, dead, dead.

“What?” he asked. She scoffed, shaking her head.

“What is going on with you? That was so uncharacteristic for you to just leave and then I find out you went to Alex’s? After everything you said yesterday?” she laid out, not wasting any time. He didn’t respond right away. He didn’t really know how to. There wasn’t much to say. He’d hit his limit.

“What do you want me to say, Isobel? Nothing happened between us, I just ended up there because…”

“Because you love him,” Isobel filled in. Michael turned his focus back to the car. “And I know nothing happened because there’s something wrong with you and I don’t know Alex that well, but I know enough that he wouldn’t do anything when you’re... like this. You were off before Max decided to play martyr. So, what happened? Tell me.”

His jaw clenched, gripping the hood of the car until his hands ached. His left hand had a glove on it, hiding the handprint that felt like a taunting reminder of everything, but it still seized up far too fast. It’d been hurting all night and now all day and Michael had to wonder what exactly Max did to him if he didn’t heal it.

“Michael,” Isobel said firmly.

“What? What do you want me to say?” he demanded, “If you knew I was so off, why didn’t you say anything when we were talking yesterday? I thought my relationship problems weren’t that big a deal compared to yours?” Her eyes narrowed at him.

“This isn’t a relationship problem,” she said, scoffing, “It feels closer to the way Max felt after he brought back Liz. Like something is literally wrong inside your head, you’re on edge.” Michael scoffed, slamming the hood and turning to face her. “I didn’t say anything then because I didn’t feel it as strong until Max’s went out. Liz thinks that since my connection to him is shut down, the one I have with you is stronger.”

He felt something hit him deep in his gut. How was she doing that? How was she talking about Max dying as if it was just a small inconvenience? Hell, he barely even liked Max half the time and it felt like much more than an inconvenience.

“Okay,” Michael said, waiting for her to go on. Waiting for her to give him more of a reason to speak.

“What is wrong with you?” she said, ordering him like always.

“Honestly, Iz, none of your business.”

He pushed past her, heading towards the airstream so he could try to order his thoughts. But she followed because of course she did.

“I reported Noah missing this morning,” she said, dropping the subject of him. That got him to stop walking. This was too much. As many times as they’d been involved with a murder, they never had been so close to that person when they were alive. Reporting him missing meant it was real, meant they were going to find him, meant they were on the radar. Isobel stepped closer, lowering her voice. “I did it so I wouldn’t be as suspicious, I need to play the part of a grieving widow and I need your help.”

“Need my help? For what?” Michael sighed. He was tired again. He’d slept so hard at Alex’s, how was he so tired already?

“Liz is going to be working on the science-y part of bringing Max back,” she said. He furrowed his eyebrows.

“What does that have to do with you playing widow?”

“I need you to help me work on my powers and work on the science part with her,” Isobel said. He still stared at her, wondering how overworking him meant helping her play a role. “But, when the time comes, I need you to be on your best behavior, okay? People know I’m friends with you and I don’t need them thinking one of us killed Noah to be together.”

Michael stared at her for a little while before nodding. What else was he supposed to do except agree? Still, she took it as a positive and hugged him.

“Also, I think I’ll have to keep some space from Liz and Rosa. Rosa kind of wasn’t happy about me staying at Max’s last night and looking at Liz kind of pisses me off right now.”

“Iz…”

“I know, I know. It’s not her fault Max did what he did, but I’m still working on that, I’ve only had a few hours,” she said. Michael nodded and she again gave him that look. “When you’re ready to talk, I’ll listen, okay?”

He wasn’t sure if he could believe that.

“So Rosa’s good and my dad’s stable?”

“Yeah, I did tests on both of them. Max literally healed her completely, like any sign that she’d ever abused narcotics are gone. Guy gave her a brand new brain,” Kyle said, rolling his eyes. Alex couldn’t help but give a little smile. “And, like I said, I’ll make sure to keep your dad under until you’re ready for it. It’ll be hard since Flint is technically his medical power of attorney, but I’m already breaking rules for worse shit, so.”

“Thank you, man, I really appreciate it,” Alex said, sipping on his beer. Kyle gave a warm smile.

“Rosa said she wants to see you, by the way,” Kyle said, sipping on his beer. Alex tilted his head. “Yeah, she told me she asked Liz to tell you, but I honestly don’t think Liz is on par with where Rosa is. Like, Rosa isn’t really adjusting to having everyone back in her life, just the time jump, so she wants her friends around and Liz is… struggling.”

“I mean, I don’t blame her. It’s gotta be hard,” he agreed. Kyle gave me a look that said ‘you have no idea’ and then took a large swig of his drink. “But, yeah, I’ll make time and I can go see her tomorrow morning.”

When Alex had woken up that morning, Michael wasn’t there anymore. However, his dirty clothes were and he’d stolen some of Alex’s because they were apparently on the level of relationship where he did his fucking laundry. Besides that, though, he made a pot of coffee before he left and Alex was content enough.

“Speaking of, uh,” Alex said, eying Kyle, “Are you good? It’s been a rough couple days. Where’s your head at?”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Alex Manes, are you trying to talk about feelings with me?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, I’m trying to be a good friend or whatever the fuck. Nevermind.”

With a laugh, Kyle said, “I’m okay, I’m just a little more paranoid which isn’t a bad thing considering. Are you okay, though? You and Guerin cut it close getting out of there.”

Alex shifted in his seat. He’d slept twice since Caulfield, but he could already tell he had a brand new shade of red added to his nightmares. Hell, the only thing that got him back to sleep the night before was seeing that Michael was safe on his couch through the cameras. Part of him wanted to ask Guerin to keep coming back every night, but he didn’t want to sound needy.

“I’ll be okay. I’m more worried about him though,” Alex admitted. Maybe he had too much to drink or too little to eat or both. Kyle didn’t say anything. “He was so shaken up.”

“Where’s he at now?”

“Knowing him? Drinking and fucking with shit to pretend like he’s fine,” Alex sighed.

“Pretty sure Liz is doing the same,” Kyle said, tilting his beer bottle behind him. Sure enough, Liz was a few seats away talking to Maria and taking shots. She didn’t seem to notice that they were there.

“He did what?” Liz said, her face twisted in response to the tequila and doing a fantastic job at hiding the fact her boyfriend just died and that she was harboring a zombie.

“He just left without telling me why and now he won’t respond!” Maria groaned, rolling her eyes, “Boys are so stupid.”

“I can’t believe he was even here yesterday,” Liz laughed. Alex couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows, listening a little closer.

“Yeah, it was honestly kinda romantic before he left. He came in after the storm and just kissed me then played guitar for me, we kissed some more,” Maria said, giving an overexaggerated pout, “But then he ruined it by ignoring me, so.”

“Give him some time. I’m sure he had a good reason,” Liz said. Maria leaned a little closer.

“You know what was weird though? I noticed when he was playing‒his hand was healed. Like, I know it wasn’t like that two days ago, that’s weird, right?”

Alex felt his heart drop, confusion tying knots in his stomach. He kissed Maria. He went to Maria after he promised he would meet Alex, but then chose to go to him after Max died. What the hell did that mean? Was he too embarrassed to be sad in front of her? And to think he almost bought that she would actually step away.

But they weren’t together. Even if Caulfield happened, even if he tried to get his point across, even if he threw his dirty jeans in with his uniform that morning. They weren’t together.

Alex cleared his throat and tried to focus back on Kyle who was already watching him.

“You wanna go?” Kyle asked before he could even try to act like that hadn’t thrown him for a loop.

“Yes, actually.”

“Got it.”

“Oh, shit, you got buff.”

“Don’t tell him that.”

Alex grinned nonetheless, rolling his eyes as Rosa felt his biceps during their hug. He’d forgotten how much he missed her. It felt weird, hugging her and being reminded that she had been his idol back in the day. He’d wanted so badly to be like her when he was young, but now she was still 19 and he had grown out of everything she taught him.

“He already thinks he’s hot shit,” Kyle added once they pulled away.

“As if you don’t think you’re hot shit,” Alex shot back.

“Boys, boys, don’t fight, you’re both pretty,” Rosa insisted. They both let out soft laughs, sitting on the couch of Max Evans’ house like it was normal. But he supposed it would have to become normal.

“Where exactly is Liz?” Kyle asked, “I mean, I know they found Noah’s body this morning, but I thought she’d be here with you.”

“She left this morning to go to work and I think she has plans to meet up with the aliens to discuss what to do with the white savior,” Rosa explained. Alex snorted, folding in his lips to suppress a laugh.

“So, just a question, who all knows about this alien bullshit? Like who am I allowed to talk to?” Rosa asked, “Because the idea of being stuck here forever with just Liz and Isobel Evans dropping by kinda makes me want to scream.” Alex laughed, rubbing his leg mindlessly as he readjusted on Max’s stiff couch.

“Um, I think you’re all caught up on who knows. Me, Kyle, Michael, Isobel, Liz. That’s it, I think,” Alex said. He was technically leaving out a couple people, but that was territory he wasn’t in the mood for. Besides, those were the only people that mattered.

“What about Maria?”

“Why do you know, but not Maria?” Rosa asked, gesturing to Alex. That confused him and he looked to Kyle as if trying to understand why that had anything to do with anything. However, it became a little more clear when he remembered just how much of a package deal they’d been at one point in life.

“So, I don’t really wanna get into all the gritty details, but my dad was involved with alien shit. I found out through that and I’ve been using my military clearance to make sure no one gets caught when they do things like resurrect dead girls,” Alex pointed out, giving a teasing smile. Rosa snorted.

“You went into the military?”

“Air Force,” he said. She scoffed and leaned back into the couch, shaking her head at him.

“No wonder Liz thinks you’ve changed.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow. “She said that?”

“I mean, yeah,” Rosa said, “I asked if you could come over, but she acted like you weren’t the same person that you were when I saw you last and I had to ask Quarterback here to even get in touch with you.” Alex tried to not let that hit so hard. It made enough sense. It must’ve been hard to like him now that he wasn’t so nice, right? He shifted in his seat and Rosa, of course, spotted it immediately. “But fuck that, you know? I know Alex and you still own a room, so you’re still there.”

“He definitely does more than own a room now though,” Kyle jumped in. Rosa made a face like she didn’t have to be convinced to believe that.

“What about your music, though? Or boys? C’mon, give me all the gossip, I’ve missed out on a decade of boy drama. Spill.”

“Okay, I can’t really help on this topic, so I’m gonna raid the kitchen,” Kyle decided, earning laughs from both of them as he exited. But Rosa just leaned forward, eager for whatever he had to say.

“I don’t have much boy drama, sorry to disappoint,” he said, smiling sweetly. She rolled her eyes.

“Bullshit, you’re a fine piece of ass and you always have been,” Rosa insisted. Laughter bubbled out of Alex easier than it had in weeks. “At least what about Michael? He’s still around, so, like, something happened.”

Alex smiled a little sadly as she brought him up. He’d almost forgotten that she was the only one who knew, mainly because she was the only one who could see it from a mile away. He didn’t have to tell her anything, she just knew. She felt like his only safe space for so long and it was strange to remember that maybe, just maybe, he could have that back.

“Well, to shorten a long story, we’ve been kinda on and off since high school. We’re both just… It’s hard to be with someone when their family literally hunted your entire family, you know? I don’t blame him for not wanting me anymore,” he blurted. Rosa tilted her head, looking at him without a single ounce of pity. He loved her for it.

“Alex, fuck that. You’re a good person and if he doesn’t get that, then fuck him,” she said. He smiled and tossed his head back on the couch, groaning slightly.

“No, no, it’s just a lot. We keep just fucking up around each other. I push him away, he pushes me away, we never seem to be on the same page,” Alex tried.

“Then get on the same damn page,” she insisted. He looked over to her.

“How?”

“Alex, I know this sounds scary, but you speak to him.”

He huffed a laugh, glossing over how terrifying that actually sounded.

Talking with Rosa again felt like a certain type of therapy he didn’t know he needed, even if it was weird to throw Kyle in the mix. She was always able to unscramble things in his brain in a way that he understood. Even if right now, they were simply talking about what she’d missed over the last decade and they were skipping the serious stuff. This felt good.

A few hours passed and they’d agreed to hang out more until they could figure out what they were actually going to do about her. Honestly, it felt like the first conversation Alex had had in a while that wasn’t life or death. It was casual. And you know what?

Alex felt better.

The night before, after Alex had gotten back from the bar, Michael had shown up and let himself inside.

He was wearing his own clothes, the ones he stole from Alex nowhere to be seen, and crawled onto the couch without a word. Alex had watched in silent amazement as he re-locked the door without looking. He hoped one day he wouldn’t be so impressed every time Michael used his telekinesis. It would have to happen one day. Today wasn’t that day, though, and they shared no words as Alex let him sleep there. As confused as he was, he promised him a safe space and he wasn’t going to take that away.

If he slept a little better that night having Michael so close, no one had to know.

Tonight, Michael did the same thing. Alex, however, feeling a little more confident after his talk with Rosa, walked over to the back of the couch. With a mug of tea in his hands, he peered down at the man he loved more than anything in the world. He looked rough and sad, but equally adorable as he had the blanket pulled up to his nose. Eventually, he felt eyes on him.

“Is this your way of telling me to go?” Michael asked, his voice set like he expected this to happen despite the fact he never opened his eyes. Alex shook his head.

“No, I said you’re welcome and I meant it,” Alex told him, “But I do want to make it clear that I meant what I said before that too. I want to feel like myself and I want to stop fighting stupid battles and work on separating myself from my father. That means if we’re going to be around each other, things have to be different. We can’t repeat. We need to be completely open with each other so I can help you and your siblings.”

Michael opened his eyes, looking up at him with skepticism. He was always so skeptical of Alex unless they were fucking. What did that say about them as people?

“What if I don’t want your help?”

“Well, too bad. I’m doing it for more than just you. Which means I’m re-enlisting and I’m finding a space for you, Kyle, and Liz to use as a lab while working on whatever the hell Isobel is trying to do with Max that’ll be under military-grade protection,” Alex said honestly. Michael sat up so quick he almost fell off the couch. “But that being said, I would like your permission to look into your mother for just you.”

“Alex, I can’t let you‒”

“I want to.”

They stared at each other for a moment, letting the words sink in.

“Okay. Only if you want to,” Michael said, clearly still processing everything despite his words. Alex licked his lips and took a sip of his tea.

“And I know that you kissed Maria the other day,” Alex said boldly. Michael’s eyes flickered back up to him, frozen like he expected that to be the moment he was kicked out. “We’re not together, so I can’t be mad. But I’m letting you know I know.”

Michael just stared at him, not knowing what to say. That felt good. No wonder Michael left him speechless all the damn time. The power that held made him feel like he had control for once in his damn life.

“You’re still welcome here,” Alex told him before saying his goodnight and letting him curl back up on the couch.

Because, as honest as Alex was feeling, he couldn’t tell him how much he needed him only a few feet away.

#malex #malex fic #michael guerin #alex manes #roswell new mexico #my fic #our fainted thrill carries on #season 2 fix it

84 notes · View notes

ripley95 · 4 years

Text

Echoes of Old Embers

Chapter 12

Pairing: F!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko

Rating: T

Chapter length: 3.6K

Story Synopsis:

After surviving the war, one of Shepard’s biggest regrets was rejecting Kaidan at Apollo’s. Fate has a way of bringing Jane and Kaidan back into each other’s lives. A misunderstanding with his family makes Kaidan and Shepard relive old history and question where they stand.

Link to Chapter 1 on AO3

Chapter Synopsis:

It’s time for the reception, and nothing seems to go right. The memories of what Shepard used to have with Kaidan are becoming too painful, leading her to make a difficult decision.

Read to Chapter 12 on AO3

Tumblr Links:

Read the chapter here below the cut:

The wedding ceremony concluded and went off without a hitch. Shepard had never seen Libby happier. Granted, she’d only known Libby for a few days, but it was still a nice change to see that she was no longer stressed out or upset. She was finally enjoying this special day that she had worked so hard on, and it brought a smile to Shepard’s face as much as she was suffering on the inside for her own reasons.

After the ceremony, there was a brief period reserved for professional photos, which Shepard hadn’t really expected. Admittedly, she hadn’t actually gone to a wedding before, so she didn’t know what to expect, but she couldn’t help wishing she was more prepared for this particular event. She was glad the Alenko’s would all have these treasured memories, of course. She could imagine these photos being added to the datapad full of other family photos as a treasured memory.

What she wasn’t so fond of, was the fact that she had inevitably been roped into being included in more of them than she cared for. The Alenkos inclusivity and kind gestures were something she typically admired, but in this particular moment, she couldn’t help but think it was a flaw. She figured that she and Kaidan would be parting ways after this wedding. Knowing that, these pictures with her in them would be a sour spot on these otherwise happy memories. Part of her wanted to scream that she and Kaidan weren’t together to get them to stop once and for all, but that would have completely defeated the purpose of her keeping a low profile throughout the wedding. Instead, she stood right next to Kaidan, close enough to feel the heat of his body as she eyed him with the sadness of knowing their goodbye was coming soon. She forced a smile before each click of the camera and hoped it was convincing enough to not ruin Libby’s photos.

Time passed quickly, at least. It was perhaps the only small mercy she’d been granted this whole time. Before she knew it, the reception was already happening. Again, she didn’t know much about what to expect from a wedding, but it was her general understanding that it would be much more relaxed compared to the rest of the day’s events and that seemed to be the case. However, Shepard couldn’t help but feel that something had changed with Kaidan the entire time. He was more quiet and she wasn’t used to it. They shared a comfortable enough dinner passing conversations, but she couldn’t help but think that maybe this misunderstanding was getting to him more than she thought. It was one thing when she was the only one being tortured by the confused feelings and memories of what they used to be. She didn’t know if she could handle him being so hurt about it now too. She didn’t want to put him through that, especially when he was supposed to be celebrating.

She was supposed to be staying with him for the rest of the week until his vacation time was over, but all she could think about now was leaving. Her circumstances hadn’t changed. She still wasn’t about to be assigned housing anytime soon, but she’d done nothing but cause problems the entire time she was here. She didn’t think she could personally take much more of this. Surely she could think of a believable excuse to leave, making sure Kaidan’s family didn’t feel bad about her going on such short notice.

Dinner went by just about as quickly as everything else. Before she knew it, they were all standing to watch Libby and Derek have their first dance as a married couple. Shepard envied the way they looked at each other. Happy. Like having each other was the only thing that mattered. As soon as they were done, the music changed to something more upbeat, encouraging other couples standing on the sidelines to make their way to the dance floor. Shepard and Kaidan stood awkwardly by the edge, watching the fun, barely engaging each other.

“Do you want a drink?” he finally asked.

“Uh, yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” she said.

He led them over towards the bar.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

“I’ll take a whiskey,” Kaidan said.

“Make that two,” she amended, appreciating that it was something strong.

“Here you go,” the bartender said, handing them each one.

They turned to leave and started watching the crowd that was now enjoying themselves on the dance floor. They both started nursing their drinks.

Maisie walked up to them, moving to the beat as she made her way from the dance floor.

“What, you guys aren’t going to dance?” She asked with a beaming grin on her face.

Even if this was an ideal situation and she and Kaidan were somehow together, she would have had a good excuse for getting out of this one. She may as well have been a ballerina in the battlefield, but she had absolutely no rhythm when it came to dancing. Unless she wanted to make a mockery of herself, she wasn’t about to go out there. It was one thing in privacy with her crew. Under normal circumstances, she might not even mind letting loose here, but it would have been one more thing to draw attention to her. For the most part, Libby’s already had her magical night, but she still hated the potential to steal it from her, and opted to want to stay on the sidelines.

“I’m afraid I’m a horrible dancer,” Shepard said.

“What?” Maisie asked incredulously, stopping dead in her tracks. “You can’t be serious. You?”

“Oh, she’s telling the truth all right,” Kaidan said from beside her with a snort.

“Hey! You’re one to talk. I seem to remember you making finger guns at that party in my apartment,” she said with a big grin on her face.

“Hey, now, this conversation isn’t about me. Maisie’s already well aware of my dancing abilities.”

“Uh-huh,” Shepard said with a smile that she couldn’t help thinking would wane the moment that Maisie left them alone again.

“It’s true, I know he’s got no game on the dance floor. You, on the other hand, are not allowed to say that without a show,” she said, all but ready to drag Shepard into the middle of the crowd when Shepard pulled back.

“Maisie, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t want to draw attention to myself,” Shepard tried to say in a lowered voice.

Maisie huffed out a laugh at her. “Well, if that’s your goal, maybe you should reconsider. Have you taken a good look at that crowd?” she asked, turning to look at everyone dancing. “Everyone’s making a fool of themselves. Only ‘Commander Shepard’ would have a complex about this. If you ask me, I think standing on the sidelines is probably drawing more attention to you than however bad your dancing must be.”

Shepard looked out into the crowd. Sure enough, it was full of people just letting loose. No one cared about how they looked, though she still thought her skills were subpar to everyone out there. At the same time, she probably wasn’t bad enough to draw attention away from everyone else who was just out there having fun.

Shepard turned to Kaidan then, “Shit. She has a point, doesn’t she?”

“I’m afraid she might,” Kaidan said with a smirk.

“Yes! You know I’m always right,” Maisie said with a smile.

“You don’t have to rub it in,” Kaidan said, holding his hand out to Jane. “Shall we?”

“Can’t wait to see this,” Maisie said with a smirk.

Maisie took their glasses and Kaidan gave her the tiniest of glares before he and Shepard made their way out onto the dance floor.

“So, do you have a buzz going yet?” Kaidan asked.

Shepard looked at him, slightly amused. “A bit,” she answered.

“Good, because I think it’ll at least help us not be so self-conscious out here,” he said with a smile as he started dancing.

Maybe it was because she was teasing him about it moments before, but it seemed like he would be leaving his finger guns holstered for the evening. His rhythm was almost as bad as hers. In fact, it was as bad as hers. It brought back memories of them dancing in that casino on the Citadel when they were trying to figure out who stole her identity. Before they even knew she had a clone. They had the exact same dance style then too… And somehow she was always the one that got flack about it from the crew. It made her wonder how security at the casino never thought they were suspicious, because who would want to be seen dancing like that out in public? Shepard had to laugh at the memory of it.

“What?” he said, in mock offense as he stopped dancing immediately, thanks to her outburst. “You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s not that,” she said, grabbing his arms to get him to start bopping them again. “It’s just that, I’d say we’re two peas in a pod or something.”

She started mimicking his moves. Not that she was trying to match him or anything, but more because she legitimately didn’t know any other way to dance. She never knew what to do with her arms. Or her legs for that matter... or where to look. Practically nothing came naturally to her about dancing, but then again, she rarely ever had a partner. Today, she had Kaidan as a distraction and it was easier to let go of the insecurities, already knowing that she looked ridiculous, because he looked ridiculous too. They looked into each other’s eyes. It made both of them laugh some more as they kept dancing.

She didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the dancing, but the night’s tension finally started to feel like it was easing away. She liked seeing Kaidan let loose a bit. It wasn’t something that was typically easy for him either.

Before they knew it, they danced through song after song, and the tempo suddenly changed to something much slower. That made them both stop and catch their breath as they looked to each other again, wondering what to do.

Kaidan saw everyone else around them starting to dance, so he looked back towards her with a smile, holding his hands out in question for her to join him. “I guess we probably should.”

Shepard looked around her, realising the same thing. “Right,” she said as she put her hands in his, and he pulled her closer.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or their lack of experience for dancing, but she thought it was a bit closer than most people typically got as they were slow dancing. So close that their torsos were touching and they couldn’t even see each other unless they pulled their faces apart. Shepard was so naturally inclined to want to rest her head on his shoulder. She wanted to fall into him and let his comfort take away the stress of the last few days as she nestled into him.

She pulled away slightly. “For appearances sake,” she said, remembering that they didn’t want to make this rumour about them being together get any deeper. She had to get a hold of herself. She was doing exactly what she knew she would when she agreed to come out here. It was so easy for this to feel real and she was finally letting that get the better of her.

“Right,” Kaidan muttered. “For appearances,” he said, with a smile that clearly felt forced to Shepard. She had already gone and made it awkward again. Just another reason that her plan to leave tomorrow was becoming more tempting by the minute. She was getting too close, not only to Kaidan but to his whole family now and that wasn’t fair to any of them.

After the song finished, the band got on the microphone. “All right, everybody, before we continue the dancing, we have to do one of the most important parts of the wedding,” they said in an excited tone. “We still have a bouquet toss to do!” they yelled into the mic, clearly trying to get the crowd riled up.

Shepard took that as her opportunity to pull away, leaving her with a pang of guilt, knowing she shouldn’t have let it get that far in the first place. “Do you want to get another drink?” she asked, trying to distract herself from the pain of it.

“All of the people hoping to get a ring on that finger soon, come make your way to the dance floor,” the announcer said.

Kaidan looked back to Shepard. “Yeah, I think that would be a good idea,” he said as they both made their way back to the bar.

“Two more whiskeys,” Kaidan said as they walked up to the bartender again.

He promptly handed them both a glass. Shepard couldn’t help but notice Kaidan taking a big swig of his. She followed suit.

“Jane, what the hell are you doing?” Maisie asked, startling them both to turn around. “This includes you, you know! Come on!” she said, pulling Shepard into the crowd of single people wanting to catch the bouquet.

“Maisie, that’s really not—” Shepard said, trying to protest the action, not wanting to be part of this.

“Don’t be silly, it’s just for fun.”

Shepard didn’t want to fight her or cause a scene by protesting. She relented, and let Maisie pull her out into the crowd. The two of them stayed in the front up close, which was even worse. Shepard would have preferred to blend into the background somewhere, but now she was on display. It would look weird if she wasn’t jumping to grab it, wouldn’t it? Even weirder if she purposely dodged out of the way of it as though it were a grenade. She figured she’d grab it if it headed directly at her, but she wouldn’t be going out of her way to catch it either.

Libby stood at the edge of the dance floor. She turned around so that her back was facing the crowd anticipating her throw. Libby gave them one last glance before she tossed the bouquet. She threw it high, but short, so it wasn’t going to reach the crowd. Everyone was lunging forward in an attempt to catch it.

As the crowd moved forward, they pushed Shepard with them. As much as she was trying to hold herself back, it wasn’t working with everyone else encroaching behind her. She stopped even keeping an eye on the bouquet, just trying not to fall over from the horde of people when it suddenly hit her square in the face. Reflexes took over as she caught it.

That wasn’t good. She gathered that it was only a silly tradition and didn’t really mean anything, but it still left her feeling sullen. It was a symbol for something that wouldn’t be happening with her, at least not with the person she wanted. Not to mention that she didn’t want to add to whatever weird feelings there was with Kaidan now. He’d been through enough with the misunderstandings. Even though it was silly and insignificant, he didn’t need that reminder on top of everything.

Shepard heard clapping from behind her and turned to look. Maisie was jumping up and down, clapping her hands.

“Yay! Maybe you really will be my sister-in-law!” Maisie said excitedly.

Shepard wanted to let out a hard sigh of frustration, but knew better than to make a scene. Instead, she turned back towards the bar where Kaidan was standing. She couldn’t help but think he looked somewhat dejected. He was immediately distracted by his mother talking into his ear over the noise of the party.

The bouquet-seeking crowd dissipated and Shepard saw Raiya make her way over to her.

“You sure look like a deer caught in headlights.”

“Uh… yeah, I guess you could say that. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been to a wedding before. I didn’t really expect something like that to be taken so seriously.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s still just for fun. Don’t let it get to you.” Raiya said.

“Wait, yes, let it get to you!” Maisie jumped in. “I want a sister-in-law. Especially this one,” she said, pointing to Shepard.

Raiya scoffed. “It’s not like some magical spell. It’s not going to miraculously make them get married.”

“No, I know that, but I thought maybe if Kaidan could see her looking happy after catching it, something might click in his brain to make him consider it more. I like her. I want her to be permanent.”

“You can’t play with people’s emotions like that, Maisie. Just let them have their space. They’re clearly trying to figure things out. They don’t need the added pressure. You know, I bet it’s this kind of stuff that made Kaidan not bring anyone home before now.”

“All right, already, I get the point,” Maisie said. “I’m sorry, Jane. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“It’s okay,” Shepard said, knowing the sentiment was innocent enough. “It’s kind of sweet to know you care about me that much already,” Shepard said with a genuine smile, not wanting her to feel bad about it.

“Yeah, well, you’re pretty cool. Plus, it’s nice to think of Kaidan being happy.”

Shepard just smiled at her, appreciating the gesture, though she knew deep down that Kaidan was anything but happy right now.

“Well, now I went and made this awkward. I think I hear the dance floor calling my name, so I’ll just give you some space. I really didn’t mean to add pressure, though,” Maisie said.

“It’s fine. Go have fun,” Shepard said, waving the bouquet towards the crowd that had picked up the dancing again.

Maisie took that as permission to leave. Now it was just her and Raiya.

“Try not to take stock in any of that. Not that I wouldn’t want you in our family if that’s the way you guys are naturally headed,” Raiya quickly amended. “But I just know how much pressure that kind of thing can be on a relationship. I know there’s complicated history there, so don’t let it be a burden on that. Maisie’s just really excitable and grasps onto anything that holds her interest for even a minute.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Shepard said with a laugh that Raiya returned.

“But seriously, just don’t let it get to you. It can be overwhelming to meet a family like ours when you guys are still trying to figure out exactly what you are. I think my talk with you earlier probably didn’t help with that. I can see that you care about Kaidan and I don’t think you’d do anything to purposely hurt him. You’re a good person, Jane. I just want you both to do what’s best for you,” Raiya said, looking like she genuinely cared for her, too. It was nice and an important gesture from her after being so protective.

“Thanks for understanding,” Shepard said genuinely.

That made her look back to where Kaidan was previously standing, only to notice that he was gone. Maybe their dance and her catching the bouquet hurt him even more than she feared. She couldn’t blame him after everything that had happened.

“Can you give this back to Libby,” Shepard said, handing the bouquet over to Raiya. In truth, she had no idea what she was supposed to do with it, if she was supposed to keep it or not. Was it bad form to give it back? She didn’t know, but she was also sidetracked, wanting to make sure Kaidan was okay. “I should probably go find Kaidan.”

“Yeah, sure,” she said, taking it back.

Shepard headed towards the bar, where he had been standing before this whole debacle and looked through the crowd everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found. She figured that a lot of the night’s events probably upset him, but she felt awful that she might have made him feel bad enough to miss out on the celebration. She’d rather talk to him now about her plan to leave so he could still get some enjoyment out of the night.

As she turned through the crowd one last time, she finally saw Ada heading towards her.

“Well, don’t you look like a chicken with its head cut off,” she said with a laugh. “If I had to venture a guess, you’re probably looking for Kaidan, aren’t you?”

“That obvious, huh?” Shepard said with a forced smile.

“Very,” she said teasingly. “I sent him to go get a bottle of wine from the cellar. It’s something I wanted to give to Libby and Derek as a gift, but I forgot to grab it earlier.”

That was actually perfect. Maybe she’d catch him while he was still there and they could have a moment to talk alone away from the crowds.

“Thanks,” Shepard said with a smile of gratitude.

“Don’t mention it,” Ada said with a warm smile.

Shepard took that as her opportunity to leave, exiting the barn, heading towards the house for the cellar. Finally, she’d have her chance to end this misery.

#f!Shenko #f!shepard/Kaidan Alenko #f!Shepard #Kaidan Alenko #mass effect #fanfiction #mass effect fanfiction #mini slow burn #friends to lovers #angst #accidental dating #my writing #my fic on tumblr

18 notes · View notes

meloncholor · 5 years

Text

Writing Masterlist (10/28-11/1)

Hello everyone! So this is the first edition of my big huge masterlist. I will post every week on Fridays with all the new updates and old content, this is just so I have an accessible record of all my work and I will be putting a link in my blog description every Friday morning of the new list.

Blog Exclusives

Trevor, You’re an Idiot - Trevor and Sypha try and name their first child.

Christmas Memories (Part 1) - (Prompt) A fluffy story about Trevor, Adrian, and my Bloodborne character name Ezio giving each other simple presents for Christmas and talking about their lonely past.

Reading - Trevor Reading over Sypha’s shoulder to annoy her.

Come to Bed - Sypha is an early riser and Trevor is a lazy boi; Sypha snores and it sounds like purring

Please Put Me Down - Trevor can speak french; Sypha gets injured and Trevor has to carry her

Remembrance - Trevor opens up to Sypha emotionally.

Mi Oso - Sypha tries to teach Trevor Spanish

Dog Days - Sypha brings in a stray German Shepard because it’s scruffy and soft and it reminds her of Trevor.

Magic Spider - Trevor and Sypha have to decide who kills the spider.

Birthday With the Dirty Boy - Trevor’s birthday.

Star Children - Sypha and Trevor looking at the stars.

Winter’s Bounty - Trevor makes a cloak like his for Sypha.

Your Laugh is Funny - Sypha is ticklish.

Goodbye, I Guess - Trevor visits his parents’ graves with Alucard and Sypha.

Castlevania Mafia AU - Just what the title says.

Osito - Trevor asks why Sypha calls him that.

Birthday Girl - Trevor celebrates Sypha’s Birthday

Finish - Carmilla and Godbrand hate s*x. (Lemon)

In Bed Alone - Trevor isn’t feeling great.

A First - Elinore’s first words.

Singer - Trevor asks Sypha to sing for him.

Destino - Trevor likes Sypha’s singing.

Echo: Undaunted Warmup #1 - Echo is a bit touch starved.

Castlevania Warmup #1 - Elinore goes hunting.

House Call - Lisa treats a young Trevor.

Archive of Our Own

General

Warm - Trevor and Sypha share a moment by the fire. (Lemon)

A Snowy Relief - Sypha and Trevor have fun in the snow

Thunderstorm Blues - Sypha gets hurt by a night creature, Trevor is left to watch over her

An Unexpected Fortune - Trevor and Sypha have to share one bed at an inn. (Lemon)

A Few Drinks Together - Sypha insists on coming with Trevor to the bar. (Lemon)

A Cottage In The Woods - Alucard pays a visit to the Belmonts after a long time away.

You’re a Mean One, Ms. Carmilla - Carmilla calls on Hector when she’s bored (Lemon) (TW: R*pe/Non-con)

One Lie -Trevor nearly drinks himself into a coma

Old Friends - Trefor visits the new home of Leon Belmont

Castlevania 2185 - The gang breaks into Vlad Inc.

The Hanged Man’s Prize - You are hired by the famous crime lord Vlad Tepes, and his interests start to reach far beyond the scope of your duties. (Lemon)(Incomplete)

Echo: Undaunted - Isaac's biological sister struggles in undoing the evil Carmilla has wrought. (Incomplete)

Hidden Charms - Alucard likes SOME things about Trevor. (Incomplete)

Grace - Trevor saves you from a witch-burning and you are left with the aftermath of what you’ve seen.

Indulgences - Trevor is a filthy dirt man who only functions on spite, even when it's to his detriment. Alucard fixes this.

Fifty Shades of Carmilla - Hector and Carmilla have a tit for tat relationship

Belinda and Leandra Belmont - Exploring Trevor’s parentage

Light Reading - Sypha finds a book on vagina spells.

Mother Dearest - Sypha finds a journal on Trevor’s Grandmother.

Blog Exclusives

Tone Deaf - Kyoka/Bakugo AU where they’re musicians

Seeing Stars - BNHA boys smoking weed and girls dropping acid.

Dancing Queen - Todomomo trying to learn to salsa dance.

I Didn’t Know - All Might forces Endeavor to reconnect with his family.

Torment - Students find a bottle of Aizawa’s scotch.

An Early Morning - Emi and Aizawa’s morning with Kiwa.

Please Stop Asking Me - Emi is the first to push for kids.

Bakugo’s Lament - Bakugo explains why he didn’t become a villain.

Unpolished Kiribaku Warmup - The family goes shopping.

BNHA Kyoka/Kaminari Warmup - They’re hanging out.

Little Wonders - Ochako and Izuku in their home.

Parent-Teacher Conference - Emi and Aizawa are asked to come to Kiwa’s school.

Save Me - All Might almost drowning, based on the scene from Aladdin.

A Forgotten Memory - Enji and Yagi before everything changed.

Archive of Our Own

Two Bros in a Hot Tub and They’re Definitely Gay - Kirishima visits the number 2 hero Bakugo in his expensive home (Lemon)

Mom Swap - Katsuki and Izuku switch moms, that’s it.

Mom - Mitsuki visits her son in the hospital

Tired - She hasn’t seen Shoto in a while

Is this a Porno? - Izuku doesn’t think Mei has a medical degree… (Lemon)

Holding a Vigil - Momo waits for Shoto

Alice in Wonderland - Izuku has conflicted feelings when he sees Hitoshi at a strip club. (Lemon)

A Memory Preserved - Toshinori and Enji have passed their times in the limelight, it's time for them to finally talk about what happened.

Blog Exclusives

Spoken through Pen Strokes - Charthur fluff.

Just a Little Bit Longer - Jovier Fluff.

Sunny Days (Part One) - Charthur Fluff

Happy Valentine’s Day Arthur - Albert pays a visit.

What Once Was - Arthur finding out about his ex-wife and son.

Dance With Me - Dutch asks Hosea to Dance.

Charthur Warmup - Pure Fluff.

Wasted Opportunity - John is an idiot.

Archive of Our Own

Two Sides of the Same Coin - Albert Mason is a fool.

She’s All I’ve Got - Hosea has to save Dutch from her brothers.

Soaked to the Bone - John takes Javier fishing.

Starry-Eyed - Arthur gets distracted while Charles is tracking animals.

Blog Exclusives

Anwar and Nadia Warmup - Nadia tries serving traditional Haitian food.

Muriel and Lillian Short - She likes playing in his hair.

Trouble in Paradise - Lucio isn’t paying enough attention to Ophelia.

Noise - Lillian has a panic attack.

Archive of our Own

General

Mala - Lillian takes Muriel to her favorite shop, and then she meets a new friend.

A Short Reprieve - Lucio and Ophelia are late for a banquet.

Here in the Garden - Julian has to walk through the woods to get home, and on his way intrigues the interest of the woman who makes her home there.

Arcana Thirst

Let My Love Adorn You - Ophelia's sanctuary is invaded. (Lemon)

Greeting the Sun - Anwar and Nadia spend the morning together. (Lemon)

Deviating Divination - Avina gets home late with her supplies. (Lemon)

Sanctuary - Lillian wants to give something to Muriel. (Lemon)

Archive of Our Own

The Gift of a Sword

A Lone Sword - Alistair and Leliana have a short conversation about their leader.

Sharing - Sten wants to give the Warden a small gift for returning his sword.

Gift of a Sword - Valmiro finds out what Kadan means (Incomplete)

Archive of Our Own

Romantic Philistine - Catria and Lukas sneak away from camp (Fire Emblem: Echoes)

Shhh... - Python and Forsyth forgot to be quiet. (Fire Emblem: Echoes)(Lemon)

Apples - Catria and Lukas share breakfast. (Fire Emblem: Echoes)

Black Wine and Good Times - Genji is escaping the mansion for at least a little while, he meets a stranger in a bar. (Overwatch)

Missing You - Genji finds out Jesse is coming home. (Overwatch)

Sickness - Carol is a bit unsettled when she couldn't grant wishes for a period of time, she goes to Strange for help. (MCU)

The Entrance - Grim is waiting in jail, he gets saved by an elf and he really likes what he sees (Kingdoms of Amalur)

Spookfest 2019

Halloween Prompt #1 - Ophelia and Lucio go for a walk.

Halloween Prompt #2 - Donovan gives an autumn gift to Julian.

Halloween Prompt #3 - Symone and Elinore freak out over losing a grimoire.

Halloween Prompt #4 - Lillian has a bad habit of bringing home animals.

Halloween Prompt #5 - Izuku and Bakugo go to a haunted location.

Halloween Prompt #6 - Emi surprises Kiwa

Halloween Prompt #7 - Avina gets flustered.

Halloween Prompt #8 - Charles and Arthur go hunting.

Halloween Prompt #9 - Sam tricks Dean and Cas

Halloween Prompt #10 - Dean doesn’t realize what he’s done. (TW: Gore).

Dire Discomfort - Echo braids Trevor’s hair.

10 notes · View notes

kenshi-vakarian7 · 5 years

Text

MERweek2019 - Day 4 - Gifts

Event hosted by @cactuarkitty with fanfic prompts by @vorchagirl

Today’s Prompt - What monster doesn’t like getting a present? But who knows what’s inside of that box, and what it might lead to…

---

“A Token of His Promise”

Within the quiet confines of the Captain's Quarters, Miranda Lawson felt at peace, at least for the moment. She tried hard not to think about the fact that the time she had left with Commander Marc Shepard was getting shorter with every second that passed. The Normandy would soon land on Illium, where she would say her goodbyes before they went their separate ways. And then, he would head for Arcturus to face the Alliance and receive whatever punishment they deemed fitting after what happened in the Bahak System.

During these last few nights, they've had silly talks of leaving everything behind and starting someplace new, someplace where they wouldn't be found. They even considered jumping onto one of the ships leaving very soon for the Andromeda galaxy. They weren't serious of course, but even if they were, Shepard knew he'd be wracked with guilt if he chose to leave the Milky Way. Because the truth was the Reapers were coming, and his kind heart couldn't bare the thought of leaving behind the innocent people who were not at fault over the politics and lack of preparation of what was to come.

He was already so wracked with guilt after what happened in the Bahak System that he was willing to turn himself in to the Alliance at their request. In times likes these, Miranda both loved and hated his nobility.

Things were uncertain as it were ever since they destroyed the Collectors. And now between Miranda deflecting from Cerberus, Shepard turning himself in, and the impending war against the Reapers, it was hard to tell what would become of them. Will thyey both make it through the fire alive? Will only one of them survive the end? Or would they both meet their demise before it was over?

No matter what the future held, Miranda planned to spend these last few moments with Shepard until they reached Illium.

It really wasn't fair. Shepard was this kindest, smartest, and bravest man she had ever known. He was selfless, caring, and only wanted the best for everyone. He didn't deserve to have his loyalty to the Alliance thrown back in his face. He didn't deserve to be called a raving lunatic while trying to convince politicians what was coming. And he certainly didn't deserve to be turned into a convient scapegoat just because he was forced to sacrifice over three-hundred thousand batarians in order to delay the inevitable war against the Reapers.

He deserved so, so much better than any of this.

The remaining squad had already been dropped off at the Citadel. Aside from the two of them, the only others who remained on the Normandy were Joker, Dr. Chakwas, and the skeleton crew who were willing to give the Alliance dirt on Cerberus in exchange for immunity. There was also EDI, but that didn’t really need to be said.

Since then, Shepard and Miranda remained in his cabin, where they simply talked about whatever came to their minds, or made love over and over until they were beyond satiated. At some point, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

When Miranda woke up in the middle of the Normandy's night cycle, she found Shepard sitting at the edge of his side of the bed and rummaging through the top draw of the nightstand. Miranda shifted and left out a soft hum, alerting him to the fact that she was awake.

Shepard slightly turned his head just enough to see her. “Sleep well?” he asked, his voice slightly croaked and tired.

Miranda couldn't help the small smile that etched her face. “I did,” she replied. Her eyes spied the draw again. “What are you looking for?”

As she said that, Shepard found what he was searching for and took out a palm-sized object before closing the draw. He didn't answer her right away as he quietly gazed at the item, and Miranda simply stared as she waited patiently for a response.

After what seemed like a long time, Shepard turned his attention back to her. “I have something for you,” he mentioned.

Miranda tilted her head with curiosity as he leaned back against the bed and scooted a little closer to her. “What is it?” she questioned.

She got a better look at what Shepard was holding in his hand... a squared, dark blue velvet box. For whatever reason, she couldn't help but think of the fact that the box was too big to contain a ring... not that she expected him to propose to her this soon into their relationship or anything. A bracelet, maybe? It was honestly hard to tell, but she waited patiently nevertheless.

Shepard stared at the box as he slowly drew in a breath. Miranda frowned a little at that as she realized that he suddenly seemed... unsure, especially as his face seem to fall sullen.

“You know about my life before the Alliance,” he started, his voice barely a whisper. “Back when I was in a gang...” Another sigh escaped his lips. “During that time, and even after joining the military, I just...” He slightly shook his head. “I just had a sense of... not feeling like a human being. I always felt like I was much more than a street thug, but... I never felt like I wasn’t even close to being remotely worthy of my humanity. There were exceptions, but... even with my IQ, impressive test scores, and everything I've accomplished in my first four years as a soldier, a part of me felt like I was nothing more than an experiment in regards to my intelligence, or an expendable soldier who existed as nothing more than a warm body to throw into the fire for someone behind a desk somewhere on Earth.”

Miranda somehow felt sad for him upon hearing his words. She knew from looking up Shepard's old records during the Lazarus Project of all the things he achieved in his career. The records showed not just how intelligent he was, but it also seemed to show that he was simply doing his job. Of course, these records never tell the story of how he actually felt about all this. To hear him share his true thoughts so candidly with her really gave Miranda a different perspective of his experiences.

She wondered if he ever shared these thoughts with anyone else before her.

Miranda noted how Shepard gently rubbed his thumb over the velvet box in his hand, and his blue eyes seemed thoughtful as he recalled these old memories. He drew in another breath, and the exhale that followed was subtle but shaky.

“Then one day,” he proceeded. “I was transferred to the SSV Stockholm... my first ship posting. My CO on that ship was pretty much the first officer to not see me as expendable. He never just asked for status reports. He always asked how you were, how you felt about the latest mission, and he actually let his squad question the mission – and even him – without the threat of insubordination. Because he actually appreciated feedback simply because he wanted to be the best he can be for those who worked under him.”

Miranda couldn't help but smile. “Sounds familiar.”

That got a small hum of amusement from Shepard. “Yeah... he did have an influence on me, huh? In any case, he was the first CO who treated me like a person. I just never saw it at the time... not until Elysium. That was when I realized how much his teachings had a profound effect on me, how much faith he had in me, and how he managed, without trying, to break the barrier between myself and those I initially kept at arm's length. As you figured out already, he was the reason I became the leader I am today...”

Miranda recalled that part of Shepard's records. The CO he mentioned, Major Derek Maderas, a dedicated officer with his own impressive list of achievements and commendations, was KIA within the first hour of the Skyllian Blitz on Elysium. His death was why Shepard found himself taking on what would end up being his first experience in leadership. Shepard was a Corporal then, but somehow ended up being the highest ranking soldier in his small group, protecting the civilians within the confines of a shopping plaza. It was Shepard who would rally his allies, assisted the civilians to help them fight back, and kept the pirates – at one point single-handedly – from breaking through the barrier that protected everyone.

Miranda finally understood where the once quiet and reserved Shepard found his ability to lead others – because of the simple fact that someone in command saw him as a human being despite his own doubts. Someone who believed in him...

She and him really did have much in common...

Almost carefully, Shepard took Miranda's hand in his, turned it over so that her palm was facing up, and placed the box in her hand. “Open it,” he encouraged.

Miranda took a moment to feel the velvet texture of the box underneath her fingertips before she flipped the lid open. A soft gasp escaped her throat as she recognized the object that was within.

It was a medal – more specifically, the Star of Terra.

She knew what this medal was, of course; it was only given to Alliance soldiers who showed courage and bravery, and who went above and beyond the call of duty. It was an award that was rarely given out. Those who received it, like Shepard, were considered heroes of humanity, which was why the award was such a big deal.

“When I was awarded this,” Shepard said as Miranda stared at the medal in awe. “I felt like a worthy human for the first time for far too long. I've received many other awards and commendations over the years since Elysium, but this one... this one means to me more than any other. More than becoming an N7, and even more than becoming a Spectre.

“The point I'm trying to make, Miri, is that when I'm giving this to you, I'm not doing so lightly...”

Upon hearing this, Miranda couldn't help the tears that stung her eyes, but she quickly managed to blink them away. “Why?” she found herself asking as she brushed a finger over the medal. “You don't need to... you don't have to do this. I shouldn't-”

“I want to,” Shepard cut in. He lifted a hand to her face and gently turned her head so that she was looking into his eyes. “I want to give this to you for two reasons. One, I need you to keep it safe while I'm on Earth. Two, think of it as a token of my promise.”

Shepard leaned closer to press his forehead against Miranda’s, his eyes never leaving hers. “I promise you, Miranda. I promise you that as soon as I get my first chance to leave Earth, I will find you. And when I do, and the war with the Reapers is over, we're going to find a nice, quiet corner of this galaxy and live out the rest of ours days in peace together.”

Promises were a sacred thing for both of them. Promises were never made unless they meant it. Miranda wanted to believed him... she really did... but she couldn't help but have doubts about the future. It was already bleak as it was already.

“Don't make promises you can't keep,” she murmured sadly.

He frowned a little at that, but he pressed on nevertheless. “Then keep this close to your heart,” he asked as he placed a hand over hers, the one holding the box, to empathizes his point. “Because no matter what happens, I'll come back for this. And only then will nothing separate us ever again.”

Miranda tried to speak, but found her emotions starting to overtake her. To clamp it down before she burst into tears, she cupped Shepard's face into her hands before she pressed her lips roughly to his. He returned the kiss with equal fervor and pulled her tightly to him before they laid back down on the bed, and made love once more.

Through the many months after, and through the Reaper War, Miranda never once let Shepard's medal stray far from her as it was a reminder that, someday, he would come back for it – and for her. Only then would they be reunited for good.

#merweek #merweek2019 #kv7 ocs #mass effect #shiranda #marc shepard #miranda lawson #fanfic

19 notes · View notes

lilithhawthorne · 5 years

Text

It’s time for me to share what I created for the reverse MASS EFFECT BIG BANG hosted by @mebigbang!! I was lucky enough to get the amazing art of @jubberry and inspiration for a story where a Shepard who never left the Reds has a run in with everyone’s favorite C-Sec detective. I had a few personal issues that meant I wasn't able to finish in time, so I hope you don't mind that I will be posting the THRILLING conclusion next week. I thought this was a better option than rewriting something that had a rushed ending.

BUT ANYWAYS, here is CHAPTER ONE (of two) of

[Cross Posted on AO3]

Skulking. The shop keeper said they had been skulking, and when he had gotten the call from dispatcher Omega Schebler she had shaped the word skulking into a concussive round that said your punishment isn’t over. That’s why Garrus Vakarian, the detective with egg on his face so fresh it could have been salvaged to make an omelet, got the call and not a beat cop who had the time.

“Be nice to the old lady,” his partner quipped as Garrus called up a patrol car. “The Citadel can be a scary place for lonely old ladies, and you know groups of humans are never a good thing.”

Garrus opened his omnitool while Dix blathered on behind him, the human’s self-deprecating jab avalanching into a series of anecdotes from his first days working the Wards. The skycar flashed a green light, accepting his authorization code, and the door lifted with a gentle hiss. Stale cigarette smoke and the stench of unwashed bodies, of all kinds, permeated from the worn upholstered seats.

“I thought they were required to clean these things out more often,” Garrus muttered. With only Dix around, he didn’t bother to suppress the ire in his voice.

Dix stuck his head in the open door and took four open-mouthed and rapid breaths, his stomach caving in and billowing out beneath his shirt. “I don’t smell nothin’,” he said. “But, hey, I only got this human nose.”

His omnitool beeped, an automated reminder that it had been 10 minutes since the call had been logged scrolling rapidly across his screen. With a click, he sent a response that he was en route. He turned back to look at his partner before folding himself into the car. Whoever had sat it in last must have been human, and his bony knees chaffed against the dash before he could adjust the seat. “No one has a nose like you, Lemley. I hear they’re thinking of making it a Citadel Monument, the thing is big enough to direct traffic.”

“Oh har har.” Dix looked over his shoulder to make sure no one from the office was in the lot before raising his middle finger in response. “Have fun on your petty crimes beat, Detective Vakarian.”

Garrus bristled in response, his mandibles pulled tight and his talons splayed across his lap. The joke soured between them. After a moment, Dix leaned close, his hand pressed against the sensor to keep the door from bumping his head on the way down. His brows knitted together and his voice dropped. “Hey, look, it’ll be a lil’ bit longer, so what? Someone will fuck up sooner or later, and Boomie will forget all about - “

“Yeah,” Garrus interrupted, “sure.” It had been said before, by everyone at least once, and by Dix at least once a day since he had been called into Captain Baumvi’s office. That had been two weeks ago, and the captain seemed disinclined to forget anytime soon.

Dix puffed his cheeks up and squinted at Garrus, his not-so-subtle indication that he was hurt Garrus wouldn’t let himself be comforted. “Fine,” he said, letting his mandibles loosen in a display of affable good-faith. “I’ll tell the captain that you and Seegmiller call her Boomie behind her back, that’ll put me in her good graces again.”

“Ehhh that’s the spirit. Okay now fuck off and go wrangle those errant skulking humans.” Dix stepped back from the car, rapping the window with his knuckles as goodbye. Garrus entered the coordinates of the store, and the patrol car lifted off into the orderly flow of Citadel traffic.

Garrus stopped himself from pinching his mandibles, but he couldn’t keep the warble of frustration from his voice. “So you didn’t see them do anything?” he asked Orsant Varana for the second time.

“Well, they were - “

He raised a hand in the air, halting the shop keeper before she launched into another diatribe about what the humans she saw were planning to do. “Again, it’s a yes or no question. Did you see the group of humans do anything besides skulking?”

The salarian blinked up at him, her large eyeballs audibly moist. He wasn’t an expert in xenoculture, but he guessed her body language suggested she was very angry with him. Her tiny frame hunched before him, eyes blinking rapidly, he recalled Captain Baumvi’s warning: I don’t give a fuck who you are, who you think you are, or what you think you bring to the team. Cut the attitude - you’re a detective, not a Spectre.

Keeping a trill of frustration buried beneath his subvocals, he made a conscious effort to uncross his arms. “Orsant,” he tried again, using her first name in a bid to come off as friendly, “I can’t arrest a group of tourists on the Citadel for being in one place for too long. Believe me, I would if I could “ - he broke off and forced a laugh, his arms splayed in a suggestive display that he hoped she would appreciate. Tourists are the worse, his carefree laugh said, I hate them, too!

Orsant looked unimpressed.

“Ahem, anyways.” He looked back at his omnitool, paraphrasing from her extensive complaint. “Despite the fact that they were all wearing red and looked suspicious, I can’t do anything about it unless they actually commit a crime. Did you see them do anything illegal?”

“You can never trust humans who have a uniform, especially when they are in groups,” she warned.

“Yes, well, I’ve never heard that saying,” he replied slowly, hesitant to say that she was wrong because, well… she wasn’t. “But other than that….” He trailed off, hoping she would supply him with the kernel he needed to take her complaint seriously.

She didn’t take the hint. “Mark my words,” she intoned aggressively, gesturing with a long finger up at him, “they’ll be back! They’ve been outside the store every day for a week! They’ll be back!”

Garrus excused himself and exited her store, his omnitool ringing the captain as soon as he was out of earshot of the shop keeper. He was required to check in with her whenever he wasn’t at the station, a condition of his punishment that inconvenienced both of them and kept her angry.

“What is it?” she barked into the line.

“Hey, Captain.” His greeting fell flat and was unreturned, so he rushed to fill the silence. “I’ve just spoken to the shop keeper, Orsant Varana. The group of humans she called in about, although annoying, haven’t done anything.

“Her initial report said they come back every day. Have you seen them yet?”

“Well, no, but - “

“Great. Pull up a seat. Wait ‘em out.”

Silence dipped between them as Garrus searched for something to say. A stakeout? For a group of tourists? She was trying to kill him with boredom.

“Is there anything else you need, Detective Vakarian?” Her voice was almost cruel over the line, and he was glad it was only voice so she couldn’t see his mandibles flare in frustration.

“No, captain, that’s all.”

Baumvi disconnected the line without saying goodbye. He thought about sending an update to Dix, but committing the idiocy of his detail in writing would only further irritate him. Instead, he turned the display off and looked across the sprawl of shops in search of a suitable spot to begin his watch. Across the way, impeded only by a few benches and a shallow pond, he saw a volus cafe with more than half the tables empty.

There was a vidscreen behind the counter playing a news station with CITADEL: ALL NEWS, ALL THE TIME emblazoned in the corner of the screen. The volume was distracting, and Garrus raised his voice to compete with the newscaster. “Do you have any dextro drinks?” he asked, eyeing the menu with trepidation. There were many variations of lattes.

“Just one,” the volus breathed back.

“I’ll take it.”

The volus went to work making his drink, a complicated whir of machinery and shakers adding to the cacophony that overtook the small cafe. There were four others, scattered across three tables, and only the couple in the corner seemed unaware of the ruckus. They seemed oblivious of anything that existed outside the circle of their intertwined arms.

He took a seat close to the door, the spotless glass walls allowing him full view of the gift store across the way.

The news program had shifted stories, a cheerful asari talking over a picture of two humans in matching armor. Garrus’s gut heaved as if he had just been thrown across the room. It was the newest Spectres, a team of humans that the council had entrusted to go after Saren Arterius. He focused on what the asari was saying, although he already knew the story. He had read it every day since the story had debuted just under a month ago.

“ - Kaidan Alenko and Ashley Williams, humanity’s first Spectres, unexpectedly encountered their rogue counterpart on Virmire. Although the total number of casualties has not been confirmed by the STG, sources close to the battle suggest that the numbers would have been higher had the two Spectres not been present. Leaked footage shows Spectre Williams facing off against a charging krogan! The two could not be reached - “

Garrus slammed his fists down on the table, startling the volus who had approached from behind with his drink.

“You will be charged for anything you break,” she warned, placing the glass cylinder in front of him with extreme care.

“Can you turn that off?” He motioned to the news, the asari still gushing about the fine work of humanity’s greatest assets.

The volus shrugged and lowered the volume, but the screen stayed on.

“Not a fan of the news?” a voice from behind inquired.

There was a leaden ball bouncing beneath his carapace, and the question irked him more than it should. “Tired of hearing about their exploits,” he responded with venomous disdain.

“Tell me about it. Blah, blah, blah, we get it, they’re saving the world. Let me know when it’s about to blow up, that’s all I care about.”

With a huff of amusement, Garrus turned in his chair, his eyes connecting with a human woman sitting the table over. Her feet were propped on a chair across from her, a crumpled jacket and bag thrown across the other two. A little human taking up a lot of space. Typical. But her smile was easy and engaging, and she seemed keen on conversation.

“I’m Shepard,” she supplied without him asking. She stuck a hand out, leaning forward to reach across the table. Hunched over, he could see the couple in the corner table, an asari and a human man, were sitting knee to knee and staring intensely into each other’s eyes.

Garrus took the offered hand, focusing back on the least weird of the strange things in the cafe, and gave it a stiff pump, up and down, before letting go. Dix was also a fan of handshakes, he handed them out everywhere they went, but they felt strange to Garrus. Maybe it was because humans had such small, soft hands, and even with gloves on, he could feel how fragile they were. Yet he had witnessed Dix attempt to shake not one but two krogan’s hands. “Vakarian.”

Dead silence filled the space between them. Shepard smiled blithely, unaware or uncaring that his introduction was wooden. She gestured to his drink and asked, “What’s that?”

“Uh.” He looked at the untouched beverage in front of him, then took stock of the four empty glasses in front of Shepard. “Dextro, I don’t think you’d like it.”

“Ah, right.” She nodded, a curly red ponytail bobbing behind her, and tapped her temple with a finger as if she had been given the missing piece to a puzzle. “Different biology.”

“Very.”

The volus was busy behind the counter helping a new guest, her machines chugging away as she ripped open fridge doors and slammed them back shut. The amount of noise she was making seemed impossible.

Shepard smiled wide enough to bare her teeth, and she jerked her chin towards the volus. “She’s always like that. This place, too. Super loud, impossible to have a conversation. Or concentrate. Forget about making plans,” she said with a laugh as if she came here often to make plans.

Then why are you trying? he thought, but he managed to say, “Must be bad for business.”

“Could be why it’s so slow.” The human shrugged and readied herself to say more, but a beep from her omnitool cut her short. Her brow furrowed for a moment, but she looked back up at him with another quick and easy grin. “That was work. I’ve got to run.”

Garrus tensed his mandibles as she began to gather her things, but nodded as if he understood her rush. He thought about his own work, the monotonous task that brought him to the cafe in the first place and had by extension trapped him in an awkward conversation.

The woman breezed past his table, her unfolded jacket revealing a brilliant crimson geometric pattern on the back. “It was nice meeting you, Detective Vakarian.” She paused mid-step to glance back at him, her smile morphing into something wicked. “It’s usually better to make your calls to the captain in private. Never know who could be listening.”

Shit.

He rose to his feet, but before he could make it around the table, she had pitched her bag at him. He raised his arms, expecting something hard to pelt him, but instead, the limp fabric bounced off his carapace and clumped at his feet. A crude but efficient distraction; it bought her enough time that she had made it out the door, pushing through a crowd at a full sprint.

The volus yelled something after him, but he was out the door in pursuit. Even at this hour, the Citadel was crowded, and he could see Shepard fighting her way through a crowd near the stairwell.

“Citadel Security!” he shouted, his voice carrying over the din of conversations. “Stop that human woman!”

Shepard had just worked her way through the crowd and was rocketing down the less congested stairwell. She jumped down the last few steps, stumbling before correcting herself and turning the corner, descending out of sight.

“Hey, officer, which human?” someone shouted back as he ran by.

“Forget it,” he hissed between clenched mandibles.

He made the stairwell in half the time she had, his long legs carrying him a greater distance and making it easy for him to vault down double the steps. The floor below was slightly less crowded, but the red-headed human was nowhere in sight.

That’s not a problem, he thought. He opened his omnitool and turned on the pathway that allowed his visor to pick up bio-signs. Not strictly legal and not something the captain would be happy about if she found out. He had promised to use it only with prior authorization. Baumvi claimed it amounted to illegal use of monitoring equipment, but he had a point to prove.

Tiny heat signatures flooded his field of vision, and with a few more taps he had limited the readings to include those that belonged to “xenobiology: human,” increased heart rate, and perspiration. The pinpoints of activity reduced to a more manageable number.

He took a brisk but controlled tour of the floor, matching the signatures to anyone he could see. There were a lot of sweaty humans, but only one he was interested in.

His tour stretched past the show floor and into what should have been an employees-only loading dock. It contained the back product and newest arrivals for all the stores, restaurants, and cafes in a specific floor range. The door was coded, but the friendly green light indicated this one had been unlocked recently. And just inside the room, no more than a few feet from the door, a panting, sweating human.

Got you.

Garrus wasn’t interested in a shoot out - though he had no idea if she had a gun - and wrestling with a suspect never looked good. The room would be full of crates and shelves, and though she looked low to the ground, he couldn’t tell what she was behind, or how much stood between them. There were too many unknowns, even if it was just one human. He opted for the more peaceful route, rapping the back of his hand on the wall before hollering, “If you come out now, all I’m going to do is ask you a few questions!”

The signature bobbed, a sign that she was shifting her position in some way, but the distance remained fixed. She wasn’t coming out and she wasn’t running.

“I’m going to come in,” he warned, and after a pause, he stepped into range of the automatic doors.

A few things happened all at once, but before she smacked into him, he noticed with unease that the room was empty. There had been nothing between her and the door, and as soon as it opened, she lunged at him, her arms wrapping around his waist and her legs dropping between his. She was falling to the ground and taking him with her.

He was dense and under normal circumstances, she shouldn’t have been able to take him down, but she had the element of surprise. He was unsteady on his feet from the shock, and she dragged him down before he could correct his stance and stand firm.

“Ooof.” The fall knocked the wind out of Shepard, and she lay still beneath him, a look between mild amusement and frustration playing across her features.

“Didn’t think that out did you?” Garrus rose quickly to his feet, alleviating some of the pressure she was feeling. She had managed to take him down alright, but she hadn’t been prepared for the weight of a turian.

She regained her composure quickly and rejected his offered hand. “No,” she admitted as she stood, her knees still a little shaky, “but I thought it was worth a shot. Did the job well enough.”

He didn’t take his eyes off her as he unholstered his weapon. “Did what job well enough?” he inquired. Though it was all beginning to make sense.

She took a few steps away from him, her lips pinched together as she eyed the gun in his hands. Then her face relaxed, the now familiar grin pulling at the corners of her lips, only this time he saw how fake it was. “I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. You’ll get a notice that there’s been an armed robbery, and it will be awful embarrassing when it turns out you were at the scene of the crime, chatting away in a cafe.”

“We were talking for two minutes,” he spat. Two minutes was all it would take for professionals, he knew that, especially if they had already started by the time he sat down. It was just enough time for them to slip out, and even without alarms, he would have clued in on a group of humans leaving. Would have looked enough to know that something was up even before the alert was sent.

Shepard knew what he was thinking, and the grin reached her eyes as she looked up from the gun, her chin tilted back in defiance. “Plenty of time,” was all she said.

I’m never going to hear the end of this.

A quick sweep of the room confirmed that they were alone, but there was nothing more he could do with her here. He was going to have to take her in and face the wrath of the captain. “Alright,” he began, holstering his gun again and pulling out a pair of handcuffs. “You’ll be coming with me.”

The ease with which she submitted should have raised a few alarm bells. If not that, then the toothy grin she offered up as the handcuffs tightened over her wrists. Everything pointed to a reckoning. But all Garrus could think about was how angry Captain Baumvi was going to be.

Orsant was right; groups of humans couldn’t be trusted.

#fshakarian #mass effect #mass effect big bang #mass effect fanfic #mass effect fanfiction #garrus vakarian #jubberry

79 notes · View notes

starlightwrites · 5 years

Note

42 for either lola and mac or rae and garrus~

Hello @sumomoblossom77!

For the Angst/Fluff Prompt List!

Shopping

Officially, they were there to resupplyafter spending some time tracking down information for the Crucible.Officially.

Unofficially, Rae had received a comm fromJack, who happened to be in Citadel space on leave from training her babybiotics, and had immediately taken the lift down to the CIC and approachedJoker in her pajamas to tell him to turn the rig around. Apparently, the pilotwas more than happy to steer them towards shore leave instead of some far-flungrock in the middle of an asteroid field. Garrus leaned in the doorway as shebuilt her argument, having followed her thinking something might be wrong. Raedid not often stop to explain what she was doing or why. Either way, Jokerwasn’t going to argue and even EDI seemed on-board. By the time they went backto bed, they were on course, and when he rolled over in his sleep to feel hermissing, he woke up to Rae standing in the middle of her cabin in a towel,digging through her closet for a set of civvies.

(Continued under the cut!)

She bumped his hip with her own as theydisembarked and headed for the Silversun strip. Apparently, Jack had alreadymade plans for herself and Rae. They said goodbye outside one of thestorefronts and Rae took off, practically skipping. It wasn’t every day shetook some down time to see a friend. Nice to see her smile like that.

Garrus took the elevator to the refugeecamps set up on the docks. The Turian camp wasn’t holding up too poorly. Duringhis last visit, he had sent requisition lists to the Turian embassy, and itlooks like the supplies had made it. Mostly medigel and those modular temporaryhousing units, but it was better than nothing. His contact in the docks,Kyrdos, assured him that they were finding space for everyone. Still, in theshort time Garrus was there, the community on the docks accepted three newrefugees—two from Palaven and one from Epyrus.

He decided to give himself a littlebreather as well, since the camp was in good shape and Rae was still with Jack.Figured he’d earned it, given all the overtime he’d been putting in fighting Reaperson-foot and running back and forth across the Galaxy. Besides, he’d better takehis own advice, or he’d never convince Rae that running herself into the groundwas a bad idea.

The Zakera Ward was still half underconstruction, but it was in far better shape than anything on the Tayseri Ward,and at least the café he liked was still up and running. After the attack, itwas one of the few places that still had halfway decent Palaveni food. Not likeTurians were known for their cuisine, but sometimes it was just nice to get alittle taste of home.

He snagged lunch and took off for the Commonsto browse the shops. That was one of the things he’d forgotten he’d liked.Sometimes, it was just nice to browse the stores on the citadel and look at allthe newest mods and tech. Besides—practical applications. He wouldn’t buyanything he wouldn’t use, and tuning up his gear would be a nice way to winddown back aboard the Normandy. Alittle treat, since there was almost never time to tinker anymore.

Kassa Fabrications had the same crapinventory they’d had the last time he’d stopped by and checked, so that was abit of a bust. Nos Astra had a couple of Rosenkov armor mods that lookedpromising, but weighing out the specs, there really wasn’t a vast differencebetween the mod he was eyeing and the one already installed on his chestplatethat boosted his shields, so it wouldn’t be worth the price, especially notsince shortages had made supplies so damned expensive. He did pick up a littlesomething for his rifle at the Cipritine Armory, but they didn’t have anythingelse that really caught his eye. In fairness, Rae’s entire crew was routinelyoffered gear either before or right as it hit the market, so he was ahead on alot of the trends already. Afterall, everyone wanted the Shepard team to havethe latest tech; how else could she be expected to pull off the impossibleevery other week? He shouldn’t be disappointed, but still. Some part of himmissed the long hours spent building, repairing, and modding. Quiet, except forthe whir of the ship in the background. Rae had suggested that he take uppuzzles. Maybe he would.

He didn’t have high hopes for AegohrMunitions, but he stopped by anyways, just in case. Their catalogue had reallybeen hit by the shortages; it looked like most of their side-arms had beensold-out completely, and they only had one low-end scope in stock. He was aboutto walk away from the kiosk when he spotted it. The Kuwashii Visor. Fullycustomizable, average battery life of eighty hours (Palaven time, though hecould figure out the conversions to Earth time she asked), multi-window readoutwith enough memory to store a library of vids and presets to track heatsignatures, heartrates for up to twenty targets, environmental factors,radiation signatures…you name it, the Kuwashii can trace it. At least, that’swhat the advertisements said. The screen panel was a little big for his tastes,but Rae. Rae had been looking for one. She’d been eyeing it for weeks—saving upwhatever pay the Alliance sent whenever she could. With the lines ofcommunication all shot to hell, though, she hadn’t gotten much. The Normandy tended to get by becauseeveryone was willing to fund the Shepard crew now that they finally believedher, but that didn’t leave a lot of credits left over to buy herself thespecific gear she wanted. For now, they were getting by on donations half thetime.

The human model was a little more expensivethan the Turian model (figures), but still affordable. He wouldn’t have muchleft over after, but what else would he spend it on anyways? This was tooperfect to pass up.

He asked the Salarian behind the counter ifhe could have it gift-wrapped, but he wasn’t surprised the answer was “no.” Nota concern. He’d gotten good at making-do.

Garrus beat Rae back to the ship andscrounged around in her cabin, looking for something to wrap the box in. It wasan Earth custom, something Rae had showed him. Humans liked to cover theirgifts to each other in brightly-colored paper. All they did was tear the paperapart, but if it made her happy, he’d do it.

She didn’t have much. Paper was an Earthexport, and Earth wasn’t in a place to be exporting frivolous junk, so heimprovised and wadded the box up in a clean towel. Close enough.

It was late enough anyways where he decidedto stay on the ship and wait for her to return. Besides, that gave him some timeto tweak the barrel on his rifle with the newest mod he’d snagged. He spent afew peaceful hours by himself before she pinged his omni. Universal message tothe whole crew. Returning to ship. Departurein Tminus 1 hour. All aboard. Liara sent back affirmative. James messaged andif I’m running late? Shepard’s second message to the crew read Anyone running late can join the Keepers. Hearthey’re looking for people to clean the vents. James messaged back On my way.

At least everyone was in good spirits.

He waited patiently for her to make it upto her cabin, sitting way too stiffly on her couch. She probably made therounds first. Check to make sure everyone makes it back aboard safely, set acourse with Joker, check her messages with Traynor. Sure enough, right as theywere taking off again, the door to her cabin slid open and she stretched, yawningwidely as she kicked off her boots.

“Did you have a good time?”

She grinned at him softly when she droppedonto the couch.

“I did,” she said. Rae looked like she wascovered in at least eight new bruises, just based on what he could see of herarms. “Remind me to take you to Arimax at some point.”

“The arena?”

“Yeah. They let us go a few rounds forfree.” Rae slumped and exhaled at the same time and for a second, it lookedalmost like she was deflating. Still, even with her eyes half-closed, nothingcould have wiped that contented grin off her face.

“How’d you do?”

“High score! Jack used her biotics to breakoff a panel from the arena and use it as a shield while we were running. It wasbrilliant! Probably not a legal maneuver, but brilliant!”

Warmth spread through the pit of his gut asshe described it, grinning widely to show all of those blunt little teeth. Thrilled.Rae was absolutely thrilled. She detailed all eight bouts in a meticulousplay-by-play. Every step, every strike, every high-five. There was nothingbetter in the world than hearing her laugh hysterically through a descriptionof how she drop-kicked a broken turret into a mock Cerberus mech and blew it topieces.

Next to seeing Jack, his present was goingto fall a little flat, but regardless, once she settled a bit and after shetold him all about the match where they faced a team of computer-generated Shepards,he pulled out the little box from under the coffee table and set it on her lap.

For a second, she just stared. Then,realizing that there was a box under the mound of towel he’d given her, shelaughed hysterically. Not the reaction he’d expected, but still good.

“Is this my face cloth?”

“Well,” he sighed. “You said humans wrappresents, but I couldn’t find any paper.”

That sent her into another spiral ofgiggles, and she laughed so long he was a little concerned he’d done somethingwrong. When she finally calmed down and swiped the tears from the corners ofher eyes (a good sign, she assured him; a good cry, not a bad cry), she peeled thetowel back from the visor. It took her a minute to read, her eyes dartingback-and-forth as she skimmed all four paragraphs of text on the side of thebox. One she set it down, though, she pushed herself up into his arms andkissed his mandible.

“You got this for me?”

“This is the one you wanted, right?”

“Yes!” She turned the box over in herhands, grinning like her face would split in two. “This is the exact one I wanted.How did you remember?

“I’m a genius, clearly.”

“Garrus.” Her arms wrapped around his neck,pulling him down far enough where she could press her forehead to his. “Thankyou for thinking of me.”

“Well. No problem,” he said. Garrus brushedsome hair back from her face. The pad of his thumb brushed over her constellationof freckles—tiny splotches sprinkled over her cheeks and nose. “You’re alwayson my mind.”

#asked and answered #Prompts!#Mass Effect #Garrus Vakarian #garrus/femshep #Rae Shepard #I just love the idea of Garrus being an aggressively practical shopper and gift-giver #Anywho! Thank you so much for asking!!! <3 <3 <3 #Much love!

3 notes · View notes