#barely an hour. all that's left of scott is 30 minutes of an hour that refuses to end. he'd wanted that time so bad. he's so sick of it now

[martynsimp69]

Hello there martynsimp69 I hope you’re alive after the Events

im coping <- this is a lie

[tubbytarchia]

the final day. of the 30 day hardcore series. jimmy aka solidaritygaming has gone live. the final day is upon us. (although theres actually like 1 day 23 hours left. so idk what hes on about. if it were just him id say its cuz he doesnt stream on weekends but martyns title says final day too. theyre all a bunch of liars) ITS A LONG ONE GET READY

anyway. he logs on and immediately gets up to gay shit

anyway he sees martyn and they start going ITS COOOOOOMING HOME ITS COOOOOOOMING HOME because theyre both football nerds. then sausage and mog comes over. martyn has a censor/beep on his soundboard and he says something with it and jimmy gets annoyed so martyn tells jimmy to **** himself. off to a great start

jimmy starts attacking him with a bow and martyn keeps pressing the button. martyn traps himself in an obsidian box.

sausage and mog are thinking about bringing the ender dragon to the overworld. idk how to do that but i wouldnt put it past them. they all want to do a raid too.

THERES FINALLY AN EXPLANATION FOR THE CHICKENS. martyn has a thing on his ship that fires out chicken eggs. they keep trying to guess when its going to fire by counting down. they keep saying theyre going to kiss each other if they get it right. ?? sure. then they start trying to get it to hit them on the head

riveting content. they do this for like 10 minutes. they start gambling using martyns on-stream tamagotchi thing. its like a higher or lower thing using a roulette table. u say red or black then if its the right colour martynll say like... "red 7 higher or lower" then u have to guess if the next spin will be a higher or lower number?? i have no idea whats going on. but jimmy got the highest streak so WOOOO

it hits martyn. low quality martyn getting hit with an egg.

THE DISCS ARE MISSING. someone has taken the discs. theres some in both sausages and martyns base. jimmy challenges martyn to a 1v1 (if they both survive the raid) and jimmy then turns to say if he survives he'll challenge sausage next.

sausage says theyre all going to kiss after the raid and jimmy says he does not kiss thieves.

they start to prep for the raid and jimmy gets a trident. he immediately starts attacking cpk who starts attacking him with his mace. jimmy gets his ass beat as sneeg and sausage start attacking him with their maces too. he calls out for martyn to save him.

when martyn does not come to rescue him scott logs in so he runs to scotts house. its actually really sweet do not talk to me.

j: SCOTT?! SCOTT THEYRE BULLYING ME :(

s: whats new though? you normally get bullied.

j: no theyre really- theyre coming for me.

s: ah. are they being extra mean today?

j: theyre being very mean. very mean.

s: aw im sorry. (he says something else idk what he said though)

FULL CLIP/TIMESTAMP CUZ I DONT WANT TO. TRANSCRIBE IT ALL its so sweet. dont talk to me ever.

theyre doing the raid at the disc. sneeg brings a bunch of villagers out of... somewhere AND IT STARTS!!! the raid gang/everyone online is jimmy, martyn, sausage, sneeg, scott, mog, and cpk.

jimmy realises on wave 2 that he doesnt have a shield?? surely this wont go wrong. he keeps "accidentally" hitting sneeg with his trident. good thing it barely even does half a heart per hit.

martyn calls jimmy a potato/spud then says something like "you look like one of andys toys mr tater head" and jimmys like you know thats a sore subject. and martyns like oh i genuinely did not even think of that. then jimmy goes searching through cpks chests and martyn breaks them so back to normal.

jimmy gets a shield :) then he goes to sort out cpks chests because hes nice like that. he then threatens to kill martyn. hes THEN LIKE "im the bigger man arent i chat. tell me i am."

jims worried he missed the whole raid then he looks over and theres just. a ravager. so hes like okay nvm and goes back to the group. he immediately starts trying to kill martyn and i think its really funny that nobody really tries to stop jimmy. however neither of them kill each other so.

jimmy/cpk/scott get distracted trying to shoot sneeg then jimmy turns around AND THE ENTIRE NEXT WAVE IS BEHIND THEM so he just. screams.

jimmy flees to mogs base in the middle of the water and just starts shooting at anything that moves. mostly sneeg.

MARTYN KILLS JIMMYS DOG. HONK IS GONE. jimmy is setting up a pvp arena he is so desperate to kill martyn.

sneeg wants to mess with his mace so scott holds a totem and sneeg hits him. he gets the achievement for doing 50 hearts of damage in one hit so.

anyway arena is ready. sneeg takes jimmy off to the side and gives him a god apple.

martyn burns all the discs he has on him and they start fighting. its kind of pathetic. jimmy DOES kill martyn but he has a totem so. cpk tries to give jimmy a totem BUT HIS INVENTORY IS FULL so martyn picks it up. he has like 3 totems on him now.

martyn says to call the fight quits. as soon as jimmy agrees martyn tries to attack him again. MOG COMES IN WITH THE STEEL CHAIR

scott starts attacking jimmy (if he dies you have to die :( SHUT UP SCOTT) and jimmy takes a moment before he defends himself. he was not expecting martyn to die. theyre all bickering about it THEN JUST,, SAUSAGE YOU MOTHERFUCKER PUT YOUR MACE DOWN. THEN SNEEG KILLS MOG.

im genuinely so emo about this ending btw do not talk to me. do not. if u do get the time/energy i so recommend watching the vod im so. oh my god. WHATEVER!!!

anyway stream ends soon after. among us video tomorrow. roblox channel video sunday. monday stream maybe at 6pm bst (an hour late since hes recording roblox with katherine). do not talk to me ever again ok bye im gonna be thinking about this for weeks.

HATE. HATE ON THIS PLANET HATE AND WAR. GRRRRRRAA ok starting from the beginning

Seapeekay get away from him. I don't trust you anymore. Not since the "I'm killing myself if you don't come to me fast enough" incident

YAYYY JIMMY ATTACKING PEOPLE WOOOOOOOOO ATTACK MORE PEOPLE YAYYYYYYY the way Martyn doesn't really retaliate either ugh. My property police...

I fucking love that "low quality Martyn getting hit with an egg" screenshot this is the best content I could ask for

"I do not kiss thieves" is terribly ironic but um. Jimmy saying to Sausage that he will not kiss him IS SO GOOD GO JIMMY GO YEAH!!!!!! Stop letting this sex pest get away with his sex pestery. Every other exchange Sausage has with Jimmy is seriously just "oooo let's be gay" or "oooo sex joke". I seriously don't get it. If it's ship bait then it's obnoxious. Tell him off Jimmy

HELL YEAH JIMMY ATTACKING PEOPLE WOOOOO wait but this time 3 people dogpile on him. Why. Stop that. Martyn didn't do that. And yet Seapeekay, Sausage and Sneeg start dogpiling him. Leave him alone. And he calls out for Martyn..?? STOPPP this is making so genuinely sad and upset NOOOOOOO!! This is awful!!!! Martyn please... where are you Martyn...., AND THEN SCOTT LOGS IN JUST TO SAVE JIMMY? AND THEY HAVE A REALLY NICE AND PLEASANT EXCHANGE? WHat the fuckk mannn. It's awesome I do like this but knowing Scott I KNOW this will come back to bite me in the ass and make me even more sad later

Jimmy "you know that's a sore subject" to Martyn basically calling him a toy noooo THIS IS MAKING ME SAD THIS IS MAKING ME UPSET!!!!!!!!!! At least Martyn didn't mean to get at Jimmy from that angle but mmgh...

"I'm the bigger man aren't I chat. Tell me I am." NOOO WHY'D HE SAY THIS! THIS MAKES ME SAD TOO!! Awwghh man he needs the confirmation... You ARE the bigger man Jim you have been... Go be awesome...!! But at the same time maybe you don't need to try and kill Martyn for like the 3rd time Jimmy it's okay... Tensions been high, few misunderstandings, it's okay Jimmy...

The way Jimmy starts attacking Martyn (oh well :( )and nobody stops him?? Oh but when he attacked Seapeekay then he got dogpiled by 3 people what. Are they like "Oh yeah that's just what Martyn and Jimmy do" or something. Huh. Ough I hate to see them fighting at a time like this though... But at least neither of them die... and then Martyn kills Jimmy's dog?? NOOO ARE YOU KIDDING ME NOOOO Honk... Honk shoo now...

And then... And then Martyn and Jimmy fight in the arena... And Jimmy wins, and Martyn says to call it quits, and then he immediately attacks Jimmy again??? man all of this is no property police banter this is malice. Property police is on pretty rocky ground to begin with but I didn't think it'd come to this wow... They are just straight up fighting. Hatred and war on planet earth. And yet, when Mog comes in swinging and kills Martyn, he chokes up... Jimmy hadn't expected Martyn to just die so soon... Oh Boatemboys oh it's getting really miserable. And he fails to defend himself in time when SCOTT STARTS ATTACKING HIM? AND SAUSAGE GETS THE FINAL HIT? Oh Scott and Sausage oh I am. Putting you in a box and shipping you to Madagascar

And Scott's reasoning for attacking Jimmy "If Martyn dies you have to die" oh so Scott suddenly cares about Martyn huh. He suddenly doesn't care so much about Jimmy even though he makes a flower husbands reference like every SMP. Suddenly Jimmy has to die because Martyn died, huh. Did that cute little conversation earlier mean nothing to you Scott. I am so upset right now. I am so fucking upset.

I need to watch this VOD for sure sometime but wow. What I've gotten from this is: - further Sausage dismay - I do not trust Seapeekay - I do not trust Sneeg - Scott is Scott - Property Police had a lot of very nostalgic and nice moments and then they started fighting each other with malice like I've never seen before. (Also Martyn killing Jimmy's dog kinda symbolic to me. Big dogs...)

The only truly good thing here is MOG I LOVE MOG YAYY Mog is AWESOME Mog even came in to defend Jimmy from Martyn. Mog has done nothing wrong ever. He especially didn't deserve to die to Sneeg. The only thing well and good in this SMP is Mog which is funny because I have two nickels now (cough cough SOS SMP) (This SMP wasn't trying to be anything it wasn't though so I'm very much not putting it on the same level as SOS but where SOS was just kinda lame to me, This SMP just made me really upset from the characters' perspective so Mog ends up being one of the only truly positive aspects both times)

[joannaliceevans-fanficblog]

This came to me while I was at work. This has NOTHING to do with these real world events. So don't come to me and complain.

Warnings: Just angst. No happy ending here, nor a second part.

Ps: This isn't proofed, there for mistakes are on me.

**

You stood in your shared walk-in closet, pulling all the clothes you had. Your 6 month old Aria sat next to you, playing with her toys and Dodger babysitting. Her clothes already packed as well.

For the past 3 months you and Chris have been fighting. What started of with a silly argument, turned into something more personal. He's hasn't been home much, in which you can understand. He's a hot shot and you were the lucky one. Or so you thought.

It got to the point, where your heart and your mind can't take it anymore. Chris left the house the other day, without a word. He left for Atlanta, to finish off the filming with Emily Blunt.

You knew he would be home in few hours, and it's the day that you needed to leave. The weeks of planning and having your friend Simu and Diana to drive your car to San Francisco, from Los Angeles. Your original plan was to leave from Boston to LAX and the drive to your home retreat in Lake Taho.

You knew also, that taking the one thing that kept you and Chris together, would kill him. But you don't have any other choice. A busy man, with a 6 month old?

It hurts, it really does hurt when you thought about it. But couldn't stay another day, with fighting? Ever since he left for Atlanta, he barely called. A text would come in, asking how's his little munchkin is.

You sighed, as you looked over the final preparations. You had Aria's clothes ready, and yours. Dodger knew what's up, and that too hurt as well. Scott would be coming by, in a few to take you to the airport.

He's he only one that knows.

The front door opened and you knew it was Scott. Dodger jumped off and sat at the front of doorway. You looked over to see Scott standing there.

**

You sat in the back seat, as Scott drove down the long winding driveway of your home. Aria fell a sleep, as you placed her down. The moment Scott made a left turn, a familiar black Escalade came driving the opposite way. You knew it was him, but you didn't bother to look.

You gave Chris a few hours, or even 30 minutes to figure it out. Until then, you sat back and closed your eyes.

By the time you got into the plane, your phone was ringing. He was 3 hrs late, but you ignored it. The ringing stopped and your message tone came through.

Babe,

Where are you? Half of your closet is gone? Aria is with you? Please call me back, if this is about everything? I'm sorry, I want to talk about it, I just want to work this out.

I know I was a jerk to just leave without a word. That's not like me.

I love you.

You sighed, as you looked at the screen in front of you. You can tell he's upset, but so you really think, its going to change over night? Sighing once more.

You switched Aria to your other shoulder, the pressing firmly onto the buttons, and letting the screen go black.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

That's My Girl

Sinfully Sweet Kinktober 2021

~ The men were hauled down to the station and you are left waiting at home for them to be released. When Steve is first to arrive back, he is quick to assure you that you had nothing to worry about. (Warnings- face sitting) 1.3k

Kinktober Masterlist

High-count thread sheets were soft against your bare skin while you turned in the bed, glancing at your phone to read the time.

2:30 AM.

And neither one was back, you sighed a bit as your head fell back to the pillow. Worried. Steve and Bucky had been collected by the police when they raided the club. You didn't think they were actually arrested as they were never cuffed, never read there rights. Just simply escorted out. You had rushed off the stage catching Steve just before he was led outside. “Go home Y/N.”

His tone left for no argument. You merely nodded and drew back. Scott Lang, the club manager stepped up behind you while resting your jacket over your shoulders.

“Come on, let me take you home.”

Now you were here, alone waiting for anything. A phone call, a message, for your men to come bursting through the bedroom door with diabolical grins that they once again got the best of the authorities. Anything.

But the minutes ticked by with nothing.

It was several hours later when barely their light started to filter in the room with the rising sun when one of them finally came home. Steve pushed open the door to the bedroom, muttering to himself while unbuttoning his shirt, eyes narrowing on you as you moved to sit up. “Oh thank god Steve… where's Bucky? Why did they want you two?”

Steve chuckled deeply while approaching the bed, cupping your face to place a kiss on your lips, drawing you into him with promise before he released you to continue undressing. “James is still in question for now. But they have nothing Sweetheart. All word of mouth. You know we don't keep anything at the club.” He winked and shucked out of his slacks to fall on the mattress next to you. Patting his chest he demanded. “Come over here Pretty Girl.”

You were quick to slide from the sheet you had been using and straddled him. Your hands sliding up his chest and tracing the tattoos he had accumulated over the years. “Well maybe not, but I was still worried. What if something happened to you two?”

Steve's eyes crinkled in the corners while his hands slid along the tops of your thighs and around your hips to grasp handfuls of your ass to massage.

“Worried about what's gonna happen to you if we get arrested Sweetheart?” He teased and you scoffed, glaring down at him.

“Hardly Sir. You know I care about you two.” You pouted out your bottom lip a bit sadly and Steve reached up to wrap his hand around the back of your neck to bring you down to meet him, nipping at your lips.

“I know Doll, trust me when I say everything will be okay. Nothing you need to worry about. Now tell me, you gonna give me a taste this morning?” The muscles in his arms flexed while gripping your ass tighter, rocking your hips so your pussy rubbed against his toned stomach. You tilted your head as if thinking about it while he released you to rock on your own, using his muscles beneath you for friction, already feeling your arousal start to spread on him, digging your nails into his pecs the more you moved, loving the feel it spiraled in your belly. "I don't know Sir… you had me up all night worrying."

That made Steve scowl up at you and his hands moved to grasp your hips, making you squeal a bit in surprise and laugh while he easily lifted you to slide you closer till your knees fell into the pillows on either side of his head. “You're dripping and telling me you don't know? Good thing you don't make the decisions here Little Girl.” He snickered as he pressed his palms against the tops of your thighs to make you lower over his face.

You grasped the headboard to keep your balance while Steve sucked on your folds before driving his tongue through them to lap at your taste which made you shudder at the sensation it caused.

A heated spiral curling in your belly with excitement. His moans even more so as your toes curl, feeling the vibrations through your pussy and making you clench. “Oh so good.” He muttered muffled underneath you, his fingers biting harshly into the tops of your thighs as he pressed you more onto his face, kitten lapping right at your core that was dripping for him.

Just the touch had you keening above him, rocking your hips slightly to feel that burn of his beard against the most sensitive part of you, knowing that your skin would be red burned for days afterward. His grasp tightened to keep you from being able to pull away, his entire face pressing into your heat.

Steve was a man starved. After a long night being questioned, having to remain quiet as they threw random accusations at him. He was cool on the inside and raging on the inside trying to pinpoint which fucker would have ratted on them. But he just waited it out, knowing that he would be coming home to his girl. That you would be straddling his face and he gets those panting little ‘fuck me’ moans when he could suck on your clit, which he dragged his tongue up to do, you would be crying his name in that way that made you soaked. Just how he liked you.

You started to moan his name and move faster, bucking your hips when he sucked on your clit and he tapped his hand sharply against your thigh to remind you to be still. “Stop wiggling so much.” He growled out and you whined out.

“Can’t, feels too good Sir- Ahh.”

He speared your entrance, harsh laps pressing along your velvet walls and you gripped the headboard tighter to hold yourself still.

“And you taste just as good sweetheart, just wanna keep eating you out.” Squelching laps from your pussy made you squeeze heatedly with pleasure, moving quicker, rubbing your pussy all over his chin and mouth, thighs quivering on either side of his head that he forced to stay spread while he continued to eat you.

“Fuck Sir, I'm gonna cum.” You warned him and he muttered between your drenched swollen lips.

“Well, what the fuck you waiting for.” A hard demanding drag of his tongue from your entrance to your clit made you cry out hoarsely. You glanced down to see his blue eyes sparking in challenge up at you and you grabbed a fistful of his hair and started riding his face, looking for your ending.

“That’s my girl.” Steve praised and you arched up sharply with a gasp, pulling harshly at the roots of his hair while coming all over his face, Steve rutting his own hips upwards as his own erection felt ready to burst through his black boxer briefs, cleaning you before you sagged forward, your arm braced against the headboard and you took gasping breaths. Steve pushed you down enough to settle on his chest, sliding his hands up your body to cup your breasts, which were still heaving up and down as you dragged in air. He was sure to pinch your nipples just a bit to make you squirm against him, easing back further and lean against his chest.

“You drive me crazy, you know that.” You nuzzle his chest as he wraps his arms around you, snickering.

“Yet you can't get enough.” He said proudly while hauling you up so he could kiss you heatedly, making you clutch your fingers at his shoulders as he dominated your mouth, rolling so you were pinned beneath him. On the nightstand nearby his phone went off, and he yanked away from you making you whine impatiently while he reached to get it. You flushed your lips down his neck with nips of your teeth. “Bucky be home soon Sweetheart. Ready for another round?”

You whined underneath him as he ground his hips against yours, making you nod eagerly.

[burning-omen]

Peace Was Never An Option

Request by @salc0re​: aa, hi! I just read some your xmen stuff and it's so good! I was wondering if I could request something with needy Peter Maximoff but reader is busy and has been ignoring himso he's basically been irrating and teasing them all day? Smut or fluff, I don't mind! Thanks xx

Summary: Reader needs to work but Peter needs attention

Peter Maximoff x Male!Reader

Warning: Fluff with a lil angst

Peter wasn’t easily frustrated- Well, that’s not true at all but he isn’t usually easy to push to a point of extreme frustration.

He loves you, so he tries to be patient when you're working out of basic respect but after not saying a word to you for three days he didn’t think he could handle being separated from you any longer. So he went out and searched for you.

Running all throughout X-mansion before finally finding you in the infirmary, bandaging Remy’s left arm, an abundance of minorly hurt X-Men standing in a loose line all leading to the desk you and Remy were both leaning on. You looked up at him for a moment, flashing a brief smile before looking back down. You pushed the gauze down gently, making it stick to itself. Remy winced a bit, pulling his arm to himself quickly.

“Sorry, just making sure it stays..” you told him, patting him on the shoulder as he stood up and walked away.

Muttering a quick “Hey Peter,” as he slid passed him by the door.

Peter only hummed in response. Leaning against the door frame, his cheeks a bright red color as he watched you greet Scott as he sat leaned next to you, telling you about the stitches on his side coming undone again.

He grew more and more frustrated the longer Scott spoke to you. Peter doesn’t think he’s the possessive type but it’s been days. You’re talking to people you hardly know(that’s not true, you’re very accustomed to almost all of the X-men.) more than you’re talking to your own boyfriend. And he oh so desperately wanted to pull you away for his own selfish needs but you were busy and people were hurt. 

So he watched as you took patient after patient, writing something he couldn’t see on a paper in between. 

By the time you were done he was sitting on the ground with him back against the wall, staring lazily at you as you walked Bobby to the door, telling him to be more careful next time. He nodded, glancing down at Peter then up at you before leaving, closing the door behind him. 

Peter stood in a moment, wrapping his arms around you quickly and resting his head on your shoulder.

“(Y/n), I missed you…” he mumbled quietly.

You smiled down at him, hugging him back tightly.

“I know I’ve been...absent lately, I’ve just been busy. I still am, I have a shit ton of paperwork to fill out-” you heard him groan into your shoulder, gently hitting his head against it. “-I know, it’ll only take a few minutes, 30 at the very most, can you wait a little bit longer? Please?”

He groaned again. Holding onto you tightly but not saying a word as he relaxed against you.

After a few seconds of quietly holding each other he spoke.

“Maybe… but I’m not going to make this easy for you!”

You grinned down at him, giving him a quick peck on the lips before letting him go and walking back to your seat. Peter followed after you, sitting on the floor next to you while resting his head on your thigh. 

“Really, Peter?”

He nodded, gesturing for you to continue your work.

You rolled your eyes with a soft smile then looked to the list of names you’d created while helping the others. You needed to take a note about what was wrong with each of them so it could go in their files. Before you could even start the first one you felt a quick jolt against your leg, meaning Peter had gone, done something, and came back all in less than a second.

“Peter?”

He just hummed against your thigh.

“What did you do?”

“Just a little something to the cameras…”

The security cameras, they were in every public room, including this one. You looked up at the only to see them both horribly wrapped with bandages. You groaned then looked down at Peter, who was grinning up at you.

“Peter, I need those..”

He let out a quiet laugh but, surprisingly, said nothing.

You continued working, looking at the first name on your list.

‘Kurt Wagner: Sprain tail???’

You wrote down the things he told you and what you did to help on a blank sheet of paper before sitting it to the side. You repeated this process for the next 5 names and would have kept going if Peter hadn’t interrupted.

He stood suddenly, not saying a word as he turned to you. Before you could ask him what’s wrong he was in your lap, his arms and legs wrapped around your torso as he gripped your lab coat tightly. Only letting go for a quick moment to pull your coat farther around both of you. Not so effectively hiding himself in it. You could hear him giggling to himself.

He was warm, he always was. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, Peter was always warm. Sometimes unreasonably so. But not now. You missed him, a lot. You wanted to push your work to the side and just be with him but you couldn’t, you had to do the work now or you wouldn’t do it at all. 

So instead of giving in to his warm embrace you readjusted so you could keep working. You could feel it, his unbridled frustration. Even though you couldn’t see him you knew he was doing his cute little angry face at you.

You got through a few more names like that, but his peace didn’t last long, especially when he was being ignored.

You didn’t get a chance to react to the frustrated groan he gave before you were suddenly being touched. Peter reached under your shirt and gently drew little circles on your back, then your sides but stopped at your chest. Placing his hand flat on you before slowly dragging it downward.

“Peter, baby, I’m still working..”

He placed a kiss in the center of your chest, the tips of his fingers tracing, just barely dipping under, your waistband. He pulled back, still holding your shirt up with one of his hands. He sighed softly, looking up at you with a flicker of desperation in his eyes.

“Come on, Y/n.” He muttered before leaving a long trail of kisses and small bites on your chest.

“Peter, just give me a few more minutes and I swear I’ll make it up to you.”

He sighed again, dropping your shirt and laying his head on your chest. He yanked your lab coat back closed, hiding himself again. You started writing again, Peter lightly tapping his feet against your back from the strange position he’d gotten himself into under your coat. When you were finally done you leaned back in your chair. Pulling your coat open you looked down at Peter and, just as you thought he would, he stared up at you with a clearly frustrated face. You grinned down at him, which only upset him further.

“Stop it..” he muttered, turning to hide his face in your shirt.

“You wanted my attention and now that I’m done, you have it.”

Peter immediately perked up, pulling back to look at you, a wide grin breaking out on his face.

“Really?”

You nodded and his smile only got wider. 

“No secret, surprise extra work you’re not telling me about?”

“None, I’m yours and yours alone for the next few days.”

The way his face lit up when you told him that would stay in your mind for a very, very long time.

Hank would be taking over for you while you took a short break from doctoring to relax and spend some more time with Peter.

You hooked your arm under him and lifted him up as you stood. He was light, which was mildly concerning seeing as he definitely wasn’t this light last time you picked him up.

“You haven’t been keeping up with your metabolism, have you?” you muttered quietly in his ear.

He laid his head on your shoulder

“I’ve been busy.”

“Oh really? Busy doing what?”

‘Laying around your room, waiting for you to come back’ 

“...Nothing important..”

By the time you carried Peter back to your room (much to his embarrassment) you were ready to drop. Being one of the X-men’s only doctors was a tiring job and after having to sit in an uncomfortable and cheap desk chair the entire time you figured you were done for the day.

Kicking the door closed behind you, walked over to your shared bed and dropped him on it. You watched him squirm and roll around for a moment, he’d semi effectively covered himself up. You sighed, letting yourself fall forward, landing next to him on the bed.

After a few moments of silence passed you turned to him, resting your head on your hand.

“So..you wanna talk about what happened today?”

He turned to you, a confused look on his face.

“What happened?”

“You don’t usually mess with me while I’m at work. What changed today?”

Peter may be a troublemaker but he knew not to bother you at work. He knew he should’ve bothered you today, but he did despite his better judgment.

“I just…” he took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before speaking. “...I missed you. A lot.”

“Peter, I could be standing right next to you and you’d miss me..”

“No! Not like how I normally miss you! Recently it’s just felt like work has been the most important thing to you. You work all day and when you come home you're too tired to even talk to me. It’s like you're not even here…”

He stopped, pulling his cover over his head with a frustrated groan.

“Peter…”

He didn’t respond. 

You moved so that you could wrap your arms around him, pulling him on top of you, you held him tightly.

“Baby, can you hear me?”

You saw the cover he’d swaddled himself in move in a way that looked like a nod.

“Okay, I know I haven’t said this enough recently but you are the most important thing in my life. You mean more to me than anything else in this world and on any other world out there. I know I’ve been busy and I know I haven’t been talking to you, it's why I’m taking some time off. I want to be here with you. I’m going to try and take a few less hours, alright? I’ll be less tired that way and I’ll have more free time. Then I swear that I’ll show you how much I love you.”

You felt Peter move on top of you. He stuck his head out of the blanket, staring back at you with a soft smile.

“Promise?”

You held up you hand, holding out you pinky to him.

He gasped dramatically.

“Pinky promise!?”

“Yes, this pinky is for you.”

He laughed. Wrapping his pinky around yours and shaking them before letting go.

“Now you have to, or I’ll bite off your pinky!”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Bet!”

With that he attempted to attack your hand, his attempts soon turned into a tickling-with-a-dash-of-biting fight which ended with all of you pillows and covers on the floor and you and Peter giggling happily at each other.

After you’d settled down you’d turned back to Peter, when he looked over at you you took this as an opportunity. Cupping his cheek gently you pulled him closer, laying a soft kiss on his lips. He kissed back, Finn feeling that gentle happiness he’d been kissing rise in his chest as he kissed you, again and again and again.

He felt content, and loved.

And after a moment of silently holding each other you asked him a question.

“So why did you cover the cameras in my office?”

He laughed. “I really, really didn’t want whoever was on security to see me attempt and seduce you into coming home with me..”

“Oh, and here I thought you were completely shameless.”

“I am...sometimes..”

“Yeah, I know..”

He sighed happily, finally settling in your arms.

After a long moment of silence he’d drifted off to sleep, you followed soon after.

[copper-dragon-in-disguise]

I have something to say.

And some people might not like it but whatever. I was scrolling through Pinterest and found this.

Here's the article link if you want to read it.

It's true. They're right. We need a break.

For context: I'm a middle schooler in her early teens, American. Public school my entire life. LGBTQIA+; Anxiety; ADHD; Social Anxiety; and a very bad understanding of social cues sometimes. I'm 2e (Or 'Twice-Exceptional), meaning I'm academically gifted but also have what qualifies as a learning disorder (ADHD). I'm a nerd and don't fit society's definition of normal.

When I was in kindergarten I loved it. Patterns? Easy. Red, Blue, Red, Blue. Writing letters? Sure my handwriting sucked but I understood it. Making clay snowmen in Art class? Fun as hell. Library? The best thing ever. Teacher? She was incredible. Other kids? Yeah, I was social. Foreign concept to me now but I was friends with almost everyone.

But you know what I miss the most?

Naptime.

An hour or so after lunch where you could sit on the floor, with a blanket, and relax. I never actually slept but gods, I got scolded so many times for whispering with the person next to me. I didn't get stressed then. I loved school back then.

First grade? I had mixed feelings. Lot of issues from then.

Second? Enh. Okay- Ish.

Third? If I hadn't had the teacher I had I would not be as okay as I am now.

In 3rd me and my parents looked at a private school. All girls, the entry test thing was amazing. I went there for a visit and there were people skipping- SKIPPING!- because they were happy with their education. But it was an hour away from us and we needed financial assistance. If it had been one or the other I would have gone there in a heartbeat. I loved it.

Fourth? PSSAs are hell, my best friend is on the other side of the school district in a different elementary school because her parents divorced, and I'm stuck with her cousin that doesn't really like me (The feeling was mutual), so I spend the entire year alone because I only ever had two friends. I also had two 15 minitue recesses and that was barely enough to keep me sane but at the same time too much time that made my loneliness even more visible.

Fifth? Ten minutes of break the entire day. Lunch was 30 minutes. The wait in the lunch line was between 5-15 (ish) minutes. My family thinks I eat too fast. I don't. Not for that. I don't have many memories of that year. I repressed them because I was bullied horribly the entire year. It's the first and only time I've ever cried in school. That summer was the last time I cried. I haven't cried in two years. I've repressed the memories to the point that I don't know if it was actually me doing the bullying or if it was her. That's how messed up my brain is. My few memories say it was her bullying me but I don't know. I really don't.

Jean? And her cousin? I didn't really fit with them anymore, but I stayed with them because I had no one else. I should have left. Made friends with Scott or someone else who understood me slightly. yes, I had my parents, but I just never told them because they were already so stressed about other shit. I didn't tell any teachers; they didn't know until it ended in a shouting match in the very beginning of my (tail end of her's) math class. I think my ELA teacher knew though. Or suspected, at least. He never gave me points for reading in class. For a year (two) my only support system was books and I had no actual friends. I didn't have any actual friends until I moved and now I have one.

Sixth? The same (Minus part of the bullying, she wasn't in my classes, mostly), except a pandemic halfway through. I sat with people I barely knew who really didn't get me at all at lunch because I was terrified of being alone, of any potential for being seen as a target ever again. I still am.

Seventh? I moved. No Gifted Program. Middle of a Pandemic. Get back to me in a month, when it's over.

My point is that I grew up too fast. I lost my childhood. I have more of the symptoms of a emotional abuse survivor than I should. I'm not comparing myself to those people; I'm not saying what happened to me is anything like whatever happened to them.

I'm just saying that I went through what, to me, was hell and some of it could have been avoided if I had had the social-emotional learning skills to make a friend.

If school had taught me what it should have maybe I wouldn't be so broken now.

If school had given breaks and less homework maybe I wouldn't be so stressed now.

If I had a chance to breathe in those years maybe I would be different now.

I can't remember the last time I was properly relaxed. The closest I get is when I'm writing; when I'm crafting a story that's all my own.

I don't really know where I'm going with this post. I'm not even sure why I wrote it. But...

I just needed to tell someone and if they- if you ignore me I'll never know.

I don't know if I was the villian. I don't know if I was the victim. All I know is I am broken; touch starved; blaming myself for everything bad that ever happened to me; and I really, really want to cry but I can't.

Sorry its so long and doesn't really connect to the picture at all.

Thank you, if you're still here.

[spurgie-cousin]

WHW In Memoriam: Unarmed, Murdered Black Americans from History

(Content Warning: Violence, murder, abuse, racism)

So this is definitely not the same kind of ‘weird’ history I usually post about (and it’s not Wednesday quite yet), but in light of the George Floyd verdict I thought it was important to take a moment to remember some of the unarmed, murdered black Americans throughout our history, most of whom have never received justice. Whether their lives were taken by the police or violent, racist vigilantes, their memories should always be a reminder that though we’ve come a long way, we still have a long, long way to go. 

This is in no way a comprehensive list, in fact I start at Emmett Till because the *known* lynchings pre-1955 are too numerous to include in one, two, ten posts. I know I will not have room to include even everyone post 1955 (god there are so many) but please know that all of them, from the unknown to the infamous, from our country’s beginning to today, matter the same.

“History, despite it’s wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” - Maya Angelou

 1. Emmett Louis Till

Born: July 25, 1941, Chicago, IL Died: August 28, 1955, Money, MS

Emmett Till was a 14 year-old child from Chicago visiting relatives over his summer break in August of 1955. Unfamiliar with the strictly racist social codes in the American south, he spoke to a white woman at a grocery store, and was accused of flirting with her. A few nights later her husband and his brother abducted Till, brutally beat and mutilated him, and then shot him before letting his body sink into a river. When he was found, his body was barely recognizable even to his mother. 

In an act of grief and defiance, his mother held a highly-publicized, open casket funeral to show the brutality of what had happened to her child to the world. 

It’s believed that before her death, Carolyn Bryant, the woman from the grocery store, recanted key details from her original story, including that Till whistled or flirted with her. 

2. James Earl Chaney

Born: May 30, 1943, Meridian, Mississippi Died: June 21, 1964, Philadelphia, Mississippi

James Chaney was a 21 year old field/social worker working for Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). He was murdered along with two colleagues, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, by the Ku Klux Klan while they were in Mississippi investigating the burning of a church. The 3 were pulled over by a patrol car being followed by 2 cars full of Klan members, who shot Goodman and Schwerner, beat Chaney, and then shot him 3 times. 

3. Michael Donald

Born: July 24, 1961, Mobile, Alabama Died: March 21, 1981, Mobile, Alabama

Michael Donald was a 20 year-old who on March 21st, 1981 was walking down the street after purchasing cigarettes for his sister. He was chosen at random by a car full of Ku Klux Klan members, angry that a recent Klan members court case had been declared a mistrial. He was beat, hung, and his throat was slit, and was left hanging dead from a tree in a secluded, wooded area. 

Three Klansmen were convicted of Donald's murder. Henry Hays was sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair in 1997. James Knowles and Benjamin Cox were sentenced to life in prison. A civil suit against the United Klans of America caused their bankruptcy.

4. Yusef Kirriem Hawkins

Born: March 19, 1973, Brooklyn, NY Died:  August 23, 1989, Brooklyn, NY

Yusef Hawkins was a 16-year-old black teenager who was shot to death on August 23, 1989, in Bensonhurst, a predominantly Italian-American working-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Hawkins, his younger brother, and two friends were attacked by a crowd of 10 to 30 white youths, with at least seven of them wielding baseball bats. One, armed with a handgun, shot Hawkins twice in the chest, killing him. Hawkins and his brother were in the neighborhood to inquire about a used car. 

5. Nicholas Heyward Jr.

Born: August 26th, 1981 Died: September 27th, 1994

13-year-old Nicholas Heyward Jr. was playing cops and robbers inside the stairwell of a Brooklyn apartment building when officer Brian George mistook the boy’s toy gun for a real gun and shot him in the stomach, killing him. 

6. Amadou Diallo

Born: September 2, 1975, Liberia Died: February 4, 1999, NYC, New York

In the early morning of February 4, Diallo was standing near his building after returning from a meal. At about 12:40 a.m., officers Edward McMellon, Sean Carroll, Kenneth Boss and Richard Murphy were looking for an alleged serial rapist in the Soundview section of the Bronx. While driving down Wheeler Avenue, the police officer stopped his unidentified car and interrogated Diallo, who was in front of his apartment. When they ordered Diallo to show his hands, he supposedly ran into the apartment and reached into his pocket to show his wallet. Soon afterwards the four officers fired 41 shots with semi-automatic pistols, fatally hitting Diallo 19 times. Eye witness Sherrie Elliott stated that the police continued to shoot even though Diallo is already down and that McMellon is still shooting even though he is lying on the ground.

7. Kendra Sarie James

Born:  December 24, 1981 Died: May 5, 2003, Portland, Oregon

21-year-old Kendra Sarie James was shot and killed by Portland Officer Scott McCollister when she attempted to flee a traffic stop for a minor violation. Portland police initially said it appeared the car had run over the officer's foot but he did not receive medical attention at the scene or at Northeast Precinct. Police repeatedly refused to identify the alleged traffic violation that caused them to stop James and two companions in the car. Police had taken the driver out of the car and was checking his identity when they saw James slide into the Chevrolet’s driver’s seat. Both officers, while standing on the driver’s side of the car, struggled with James to stop her from driving away. One of them fired a taser gun at her to subdue her. McCollister fired a single round from his 9 mm service pistol at James, killing her.

8. Deaunta T. Farrow

Born: September 7, 1994, West Memphis, Arkansas Died: June 22, 2007, West Memphis, Arkansas

On the night of his death, Deaunta Farrow was walking with his 14-year-old cousin from Farrow’s home to the nearby Steeplechase Apartments where Nash lived.  Along the way the two made a stop at a gas station where they purchased soda pop and chips from the station’s convenience store, and continued down the street. Farrow and Nash turned up the street leading to Nash’s apartment.  At that point two undercover West Memphis police officers, Jimmy Evans and Sammis, who were on a stakeout in a narcotics investigation, appeared from a nearby dumpster.  According to some eyewitnesses, the two police officers confronted the young men and soon afterwards Sammis, noticed something bulging in the 12-year-old’s coat pocket.  As Farrow removed the item, Sammis shot and killed him.

9. Rekia Boyd

Born: November 5, 1989, Chicago, IL Died: March 21, 2012

On the night of her death, Rekia Boyd was hanging out with friends at Douglas Park on Chicago’s West Side at a party listening to music while having a few drinks. Around 1:00 am, Boyd and some of her friends walked to a nearby liquor store. Around the same time, officer Dante Servin was just finishing his shift on his second job. He was off duty, heading to a fast food restaurant for a hamburger, but Servin drove to Douglas Park after a citizen called police about a noise complaint. Servin saw Boyd and her friends and later claimed they were arguing in an alley. Whether Servin calmly approached Boyd and her friends or was rude and aggressive is still debated. One of Boyd’s friends, Antonio Cross, claimed that Servin attempted to buy drugs from the group. When Cross told Servin to “get his crackhead ass out of here,” Servin pulled a gun, stuck it out of the window of his car and fired into the group, hitting Boyd in the head. She was instantly killed.

10. Eric Garner 

Born: September 15, 1970, NYC, New York Died: July 17, 2014, NYC, New York

On July 17th, 2014, NYPD officers approached Eric Garner on suspicion of selling single cigarettes from packs without tax stamps. After Garner told the police that he was tired of being harassed and that he was not selling cigarettes, the officers attempted to arrest Garner. When Pantaleo placed his hands on Garner, Garner pulled his arms away. Pantaleo then placed his arm around Garner's neck and wrestled him to the ground. With multiple officers pinning him down, Garner repeated the words "I can't breathe" 11 times while lying face down on the sidewalk. After Garner lost consciousness, he remained lying on the sidewalk for seven minutes while the officers waited for an ambulance to arrive. Garner was pronounced dead at an area hospital approximately one hour later.

11. Breonna Taylor

Born: June 5, 1993, Grand Rapids, Michigan Died: March 13, 2020, Louisville, Kentucky

A narcotics investigation regarding suspected drug dealer Jamarcus Glover, led detectives to Breonna Taylor’s residence in the South End. Glover was a previous acquaintance of Taylor and she was under suspicion for using her home to his receive mail, hide his drugs, and stash money earned from his drug sales. Taylor, who was 26, at the time, lived in a Springfield Drive apartment with her 27-year-old boyfriend Kenneth Walker. Taylor and Walker were asleep in bed, on the night of March 13, 2020, when they were awakened by a loud banging at the front door. Taylor called out, asking who was there, but heard no response. Walker, a licensed and registered gun owner, armed himself and headed towards the front door, when it suddenly came off its hinges.

Under a “no-knock” search warrant, Louisville Metro Police Department Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, Detective Brett Hankinson, and Officer Myles Cosgrove, all in plainclothes, stormed into the apartment. Taylor’s boyfriend Walker, thinking this was a home invasion robbery, fired one shot in self-defense. Sgt. Mattingly was hit in the leg, and in response, the other officers opened fire, releasing more than twenty rounds into the apartment. Taylor was shot eight times and collapsed in the hallway of her apartment. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

12. Daunte Demetrius Wright

Died: April 11, 2021 (20 years old)

On April 11 of this year, Daunte Demetrius Wright was fatally shot by police officer Kimberly Ann Potter during a traffic stop and attempted arrest for an outstanding arrest warrant in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. After a brief struggle with officers, Wright was shot at close range by Potter, who had confused her gun with her taser. Officers pulled Wright out of his car and administered CPR, but were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

[disasterfandoms]

You Shouldn’t Be Alone || A Seal Team Story

(this is a horrible gif as this has nothing to do with Ray)

Summary: Amelia has a no good, terrible, very bad day; with heartbreaking results.

A/N: My brain wouldn’t shut up last night so it finished this story part of the story. This is a three parter, and it’s part of the ao3 series myself amd @bravo-four-seal-team created. This is set early season 1, before Clay joins the team. It’s mostly Naima, Amelia, and Ashley this chapter, with Trent coming in later.

TW: injuries, hospitals, mention of death, mention of people coding, mentions of health spiraling, implication of miscarriage, mention of grief, mention of pain meds

Taglist: @twentydavid @bravo-four-seal-team @a-kate3 @rebelwrites @chibsytelford @supervalcsi @jayhalsteadfan-2417 @thegirlwhoisalwayswriting @mrsmarvelous1995​ @velvetcardiganbucky​ @itsonautopilot​ @pinkrockstar19​ @galaxysanduniversesinmymind​ @abby-splace​

Amelia was just so, so tired of today.

Everything that could go wrong, did. The morning started with a minor argument with Trent, nothing they couldn’t handle, but still annoying. Then, a rude stranger ran into her, causing their coffee to spill all over her scrubs, resulting in her having to change into surgery scrubs when she got to work. 

Work was an absolute nightmare: back-to-back-to-back codes, rapids, anything that could go wrong did go wrong. She had a patient die, got another, then they died. 

And now she’s a patient in the ER.

Every breath she took included a sharp pain from her broken ribs resisting. Her left arm is in a sling, broken collarbone, apparently; her body littered with massive bruising. Swollen lip, stitches on her right cheek. Massive black eyes, a broken nose that was corrected a few minutes ago. Grade I concussion, so while the best-case scenario, still annoying. Her throat was sore from the hands trying to end her; that’s going to bruise badly later, she noted. The bruises, scratches on her arms will heal; they might be the least irritating injuries she sustained today. Her sore back and bruised pelvis from being slammed against the wall may be the most annoying. Her legs are in surprisingly good shape, a dislocated knee being the only injury that’s worth noting. Nothing came as close as devastating as to why she was bleeding, though. 

She shook her head, wincing as she did. She won’t go there; no one is to know about that one except for her, her medical team, and Trent. Fuck, Trent. He’s going to be devastated, or relieved; she honestly still can’t tell how he felt.

 That injury in itself would garner a lot of pity. She despises pity. Everyone around her was trying to do it, though, from her nurse, Naima, to her coworkers who keep coming down to check on her. She appreciates the concern, she does, but she’s okay; it could have been a lot worse. 

 Needs a new chain for her locket, once again, stupidly annoying. It’s her comfort blanket; it lets her have what’s special to her near her heart at all times. Again, nothing that can’t be fixed, but also stupidly annoying.

Naima threw the curtain back, came into her space, and then closed them to give the two nurses some privacy. 

“Dr. Mann would rather you stay overnight to make sure you’re stable, and that way Dr, Leigh can do the procedure in the morning.” 

Amelia shook her head, then winced again. She really, really needs to stop doing that! “No way in hell, Naima. I’m fine; I just got a little banged up! And I’ll come back in the morning for the procedure.”

Naima sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. God, her friend was stubborn. “Who’ll drive you? That sling stops you from even considering driving yourself.”

“So, you mean to tell me that I can’t drive home?”

 “Amelia Rose Carter! You know better than that. I’ll try to convince Mann to let you go, see if we can arrange a follow-up visit or something in the morning. I’ll call your emergency contact on file, see if they can come to pick you up.”

“No!” Amelia attempted to scream, but her voice still sounds strangled and barely came out above a whisper, “Please don’t call him. He doesn’t need to know, not yet.” Amelia, begging? This is something Naima hasn’t seen from the young nurse. She could swear she saw tears starting to form in the young woman’s eyes, whether from pain or the thoughts racing in her head.

Naima crossed her arms, walking over to lean on the stretcher beside Amelia. “Amelia, is your emergency contact someone you’re afraid of?”

Amelia would have smiled, laughed at the thought, even, had her lip not be swollen, and her throat didn’t feel like fire. “No, Naima. If you looked in my file, you’d see why. He’s just very protective of me, and while I love him more than I thought I could love anyone, his care will feel like suffocation. And now I sadly know what that feels like,” she paused and listened to Naima chuckle. The older nurse then apologized, but Amelia made a motion to stop that; she’s glad someone could laugh at her dark humor. “He’s going to be so pissed about in the morning, though. We were so close to telling everyone that we were-” she stopped, tears welling up in her blackened eyes again, but Naima got the point. She grabbed the battered woman’s uninjured hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

“Okay. So if not him, then who do you want to be called? I know you mentioned a brother?”

“Scott, yeah. He’s out in the field, I think. You wouldn’t want him here. He’d take one look at me and then want the name of the patient who did this and probably threatens to kill them.”

“Okay, so boyfriend and brother are off the list. Anyone else you can think of?”

“Boyfriend’s sister? I don’t know her that well, except for the times I helped take care of her last fall. She’d be able to drive me home, though, at the very least.”

“What’s her name, and do you have her number?”

“Ashley Sawyer, and her number is in my phone,” Amelia pulls up the number and continues to speak while Naima copies it down, “Be warned, she told me she doesn’t like hospitals. You may have to break HIPAA and mention my name for her to answer the second time.”

“Second time?”

“She’ll hang up once you get out that you’re a nurse at St. Samuel’s.” This made both women chuckle. 

“Okay, I’ll go try her cell, just rest for a while, okay? Need some more pain meds before I leave?”

“You know I hate pain medicine, especially morphine. Makes my head fuzzy,” Amelia declined, she definitely didn’t need that if she had to go home to her apartment.

“Okay. I’m gonna go call her, okay?”

“Good luck.”

Little did Naima know, she was going to need it. 

Getting back to the nurses’ station, she talked to the doctor, who agreed to discharge the stubborn nurse as long as Amelia came back to the ER if she was having any complications. While the Dr. worked on getting the discharge ready, Naima called the number she received and waited for a voice on the other end.

“What do you want?” The voice said snappily, clearly irritated by someone calling her.

“Ashley, this is Naima, I am a nurse at St. Samuel’s Ho-“

Click. 

Naima sighed, preparing to call the number again. Amelia at least warned her of this happening. She picked up the phone, dialed the number, and waited for a response. This time, the number went straight to voicemail. “Ms. Sawyer, this is Naima, a nurse at St. Samuel’s Hospital. A significant other of a family member has asked that we call you to come to pick them up when they’re discharged. Please call back at this number, thank you.”

She hung up the phone and hoped that Ashley would hear the message before too long. 

Within half an hour, the same phone rang again, Naima picked up the phone and answered, “St. Samuel’s ER this Naima speaking, how can I help you?”

“You called this number a half-hour ago?” “Is this Ms. Sawyer?” “Who else would it be?” “Ms. Sawyer, this is a hospital and this isn’t my personal phone here. I’m asking for clarification, as there are about 10 phone calls per hour on this phone alone.” “You called me for a reason, snap to it.” “Yes, your brother’s girlfriend, Amelia, has asked me to call on her behalf for you to come to pick her up upon discharge,” “Shit. Is she okay, and why me?” “She’s been injured fairly well, with several bruises, several broken bones, and a dislocated knee. The doctor asked she stay for tonight, but Ms. Carter is refusing. She requested you, claiming your brother would be ‘too suffocating’”

Naima heard the woman laugh on the other end of the phone. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing since it’s clear she’s banged up pretty well. Not wrong about Trent, though.”

Wait. No, that can’t be. Well, shit. Naima pieces together what she knows about her friend’s boyfriend. Oh, she’s so telling her husband about this.

“If you agree to pick her up and take her home, you can come at any time and I’ll come out to the waiting room and bring you back. I must warn you, though, she looks rough and shouldn’t be left alone tonight. She’ll probably ask you to take her apartment to leave her be. Don’t.”

“Shit, is it that bad?” “It’s not great. The concussion she sustained would be the main worry. That and god forbid she fell and no one was there to help her. She’ll need someone to bring her back in the morning, as well, and she’s incredibly stubborn about being able to drive herself,” “She got injured, and you all are going to make her come back to work the next day?” “What? No, ma’am, she has a procedure unrelated to her injury in the morning, and claims she’ll come in and do it outpatient instead of staying,” “She’s as stubborn as the rest of us, damn,” she paused, sighing into the phone, “I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

“Okay. Let the front desk know to alert me when you’ve arrived and I’ll bring you to her. Thank you, Ms. Sawyer.”

Click. 

Sighing, Naima went back to filling out the paperwork, figuring out how or when she’ll confront her friend about dating someone on her husband’s team. For now, she’ll finish the paperwork on another patient, waiting for Trent’s sister to arrive.

[eastertag]

Jasmine and Jade

@katblu42 gift for @bonsaiiiiiii

—

“International Rescue, we have a situation,” John’s holographic figure announced as the last echoes of the alarm died away.  Once he was sure he had the full attention of his brothers and sister he filled them in.  “An EPIRB device has been activated in a remote section of a national park in Vietnam. Local authorities have requested assistance.  The remote location combined with challenging terrain makes access to the area difficult.  There is also a weather concern.  Heavy rainfall expected to hit the area soon and continue over the next 12 hours will likely cause rock falls and mud slides as well as flooding in the cave systems.”

“How many people are we looking for?”  Virgil asked, already on his way to his launch chute.

“The EPIRB device is registered as belonging to a pair of visitors who entered the national park two days ago.”  John replied.  “This rescue could turn ugly quickly.  I suggest you take Alan and Gordon with you on this one.  Thunderbird 4 may be required to traverse the river system that runs through the caves and canyons.”

“FAB,” two voices responded as the youngsters raced off to suit up.

“I’ll head out there too,” Scott suggested.  “I’ll liaise with the local authorities and park rangers and co-ordinate on site.”

“FAB.”

And with that Kayo was left alone in the sunken lounge to wait and watch as her brothers took off towards Vietnam.

Jasmine was exhausted.  The fall had left her battered and bruised, scrapes and scratches all over her hands, knees, forearms and shins from her attempts at grabbing hold of something on the way down. 

Initially when they had cut the rope she thought she had a chance of making it to the top without the safety of Jade’s belay.  Then she’d heard the gunshot.  She hadn’t dared look down to where she could hear Jade yelling for her to get out and get help.  But when she’d looked up there was someone waiting for her, a stranger with a vicious grin and a gun. 

Fear had frozen her to the spot as she’d tried to figure out whether to go up or attempt to climb back down and help Jade.  In the end fate decided for her as her hand had begun to slip on rocks already slick from earlier rain.  Her attempt to adjust her hold failed and she slid several feet before hitting a protruding rock. Hard.  She’d jarred her right hip but managed to hold fast and catch her breath. 

She had caught sight of the canyon floor below her and seen Jade being dragged back toward the cave entrance by two men dressed like Indiana Jones wannabes.  She could hear a voice above her but she hadn’t thought he was talking to her – maybe the guys below that had Jade were talking to the guy above through some kind of radio.  Jasmine had tried to haul herself into a sitting position on the rock, but her foot had hit loose stones and she’d slipped again, this time bouncing and scraping down the cliff face until reaching the bottom. 

“You still alive down there?” a male voice had bellowed from the top of the cliff. 

Instinct told Jasmine not to answer.  Instead she had taken time to asses her injuries.  Nothing broken, so far as she could tell.  Her hip was complaining, there were tears in her clothing and blood stains beginning to appear in places, the cuts in her left leg needed dressing, but didn’t look too deep, and her right ankle was tender, but otherwise she considered herself very lucky. 

Taking stock of her surroundings she realised she had landed a few metres away from where her original ascent had begun.  Jade’s backpack was still lying on the ground next to the severed belay line.  When Jasmine attempted to retrieve the backpack another gunshot rang out, and the bullet ricocheted off the rocks a few feet to her left.  Looking up she spied the gunman far above her and her heart lurched in fear – for him.

“Get back from the edge!” she yelled up at him.  It was mere seconds later that the rock he stood on gave way and he was tumbling down the rockface.

Now she was sitting with her back against rocks, tired and sore, beginning to shiver as the cloud cover increased, trying to keep an unconscious, unknown enemy alive.  She had activated the EPIRB alarm from her own pack, and used the medical kit Jade had carried in hers to treat what she could of the man’s injuries as well as the cut on her own leg.  She had tried the man’s radio, but it seemed to have been broken in the fall.  She had considered leaving him and going after Jade, wondering why the other men had taken her, and what they might be doing to her, but staying put was safer.  She just had to trust that someone would come in answer to her beacon in time to find and rescue Jade.

The canyon was rapidly growing dark.  A look skyward confirmed the ominous threat presented by the gathering storm clouds.  Jasmine could hear the rumble of distant thunder as the rain began to pelt the surrounding rock and the surface of the river that ran through the canyon.  This was why she and Jade had given up on their quest for the next clue in the treasure hunt and decided to make their way back out of the canyon.  They were right on the edge of the rainy season, and once the rain began it would not take long for the water level in the river to rise.  The cave system was known to be prone to flooding.  Water would come at you from below, with the river and its network of creeks and streams winding through the various caverns, tunnels and caves, and from above trickling down through cracks, crevices and swallow holes in the rocks and earth overhead.  Rock and mudslides in these caverns and caves were common in heavy rain and Jasmine and Jade had stayed as long as they dared before this weather system had arrived.

Despite the cold and the rain and the intense worry about the wellbeing of her closest friend Jasmine must have fallen asleep.  She didn’t remember closing her eyes, but now she was struggling to open them.  She was aware that the distant and intermittent rumbles of thunder seemed to have become much louder, closer.  There was something not quite right about the deep rumbling sound reverberating through the canyon.  Between the loud cracking booms that came seconds after lightning the rumbling sound never completely died away, and instead of fading it seemed to be growing consistently louder.  It was the oddness of the sound that gave her the mental strength to drag her eyes open.  The river had moved closer to her – or rather the water level had risen significantly and she wondered how long she’d been asleep.  She could feel the rumble of the thunder now, vibrating through her bones, unceasing and growing in intensity.  The realisation that this wasn’t thunder came milliseconds before she saw the flash of blue and silver overhead.  Not thunder – a Thunderbird.

“Thunderbird 5, I’ve arrived at the coordinates and have a visual on two small all-terrain vehicles and what appears to be a campsite,” Scott reported.  “Commencing bioscan now.”

John was keeping a close eye on the weather.  His own scans were being hampered by the storm activity.  The topography of the area didn’t help either with the deep, narrow canyons surrounded by steep cliffs and rocky outcrops, and the complex cave system beneath the dense rainforest requiring complex 3D ground penetrating scans.

“John, I’ve got two biosigns.  Looks like they’re at the bottom of the canyon, just below the campsite.  There’s nowhere to land Thunderbird 1, so I’m going to jetpack down and take a closer look.”

“FAB Scott.  Be careful.  I’m detecting some unpredictable wind gusts in that area.”  John’s eyes flicked across the various projections of information before him.  “Thunderbird 2 should reach your location in 4 minutes.”  He knew that information would not stop Scott from racing into danger, but he hoped it would help moderate any risky behaviour.

Scott set Thunderbird 1 into a hover over the canyon, opened the floor hatch and swung down before launching himself out into the rain and wind.  Seconds later he was crouched beside a shivering young woman with a thick, long, dark braid protruding from her climber’s helmet, and deep-set dark brown eyes that seemed to take a second to focus on him.

“I’m from International Rescue.  Are you injured?”  As he spoke Scott was visually checking for obvious signs of injury, noting the bandaged leg and the paleness of the girl’s skin.

“I-international Re-rescue?”  The shivering affected her speech, and her trembling fingers tried to grab hold of Scott’s arm.  “Jade!  Y-you have t-to help Jade.  They took her. P-p-please find Jade!!”

“Woah, let’s look after you first.  What’s your name?”  Scott already had a med-scanner out and proceeded to check her vital signs.

“Jasmine,” she stated simply.  “But J-jade …”

“I promise we’ll take care of Jade, but we’re gonna need to get you somewhere dry and warm and look after that leg of yours.”  Scott looked over at the jumble of rocks and dirt to his right and asked “Who’s your friend there?”

“N-not my f-friend.  H-he’s one of them!”  Jasmine’s eyes were wide with fear or anger, Scott couldn’t tell which.  “He had a gun.”

Scott needed more information, but his primary focus at that moment was the unconscious man.  His injuries were many and severe.  He needed Virgil’s medical expertise, and an urgent evacuation.

“Thunderbird 2, what’s your ETA?”  Scott now had the med-scanner on the pasty white guy who was barely clinging to life.  “I’ve got a critically injured man here who needs immediate evac, and a second patient with minor injuries but showing signs of shock.”

“We’re about 30 seconds out, Thunderbird 1.”  Virgil’s voice seemed quiet beneath the roar of the rain and Thunderbird 1’s engines as she remained hovering above.  “I’ll send the cradle down and get you all safely aboard.”

By the time Virgil had finished speaking Thunderbird 2’s engines had been added to the symphony echoing through the canyon.  Scott adjusted his ‘bird’s position so Virgil could hover directly above them and lower the rescue cradle as close as possible.

“Thunderbird 5,” Scott almost shouted over the background noise, “we need to locate an unknown number of people who entered the caves from this location.  One was taken in there against her will.”

“FAB, Scott.  I’m scanning now.”

Scott helped Jasmine to her feet as Alan and Gordon descended from Thunderbird 2 aboard the lowered rescue cradle.  Virgil had to fight the wind gusts to hold Two steady and prevent the cradle swinging sideways too much.  As soon as the downward motion stopped Scott assisted Jasmine into one of the seats and secured her restraints, while Alan and Gordon readied the hover stretcher.

Jasmine watched from her seat as the three rescue operatives carefully transferred the man to a hover stretcher and secured him to the cradle.  The one all in blue and silver with the dimples and blue eyes had made sure she was aboard and safely harnessed before turning his attention to the other patient.  She knew they had to help the man, but everything in her was insisting that they needed to be looking for Jade. 

The instant the hover stretcher was locked into its secure position in the cradle they were ascending towards the belly of the great green beast above them.  Scott directed his attention back to Jasmine, placing a comforting hand over hers were it sat trembling on her knee.

“We are running search scans to try and locate your friend,” he assured her.  “We will find her.”

She was still losing herself in the depths of those blue eyes that spoke of hope and reassurance when the cradle came to rest inside Thunderbird 2 and the hatch was closed.  There was movement around her, Scott helped her out of the seat and over to a fold-down bed in what she assumed was some kind of medical bay, while others fussed over the stretcher.  She couldn’t be sure, but she thought one of the men who had come down into the canyon had been replaced by one she hadn’t seen before.  Voices seemed to float through the space around her, but her attention was still held by the man who had come to her rescue.  He handed her a towel and had dry clothes for her to put on and a blanket to wrap around her.  He checked her scrapes and bruises, removed the bloodied bandage from her left leg, cleaned and re-bandaged those cuts and even handed her something hot to drink.  Tea.  Weak and sweet, but importantly hot enough to warm her hands as she held the cardboard cup, and spread warmth through her with every sip.

On the other side of the medical bay Virgil was busy assessing the condition of the man who had fallen some 15 meters down a ragged cliff face.  Alan had assumed piloting duties, freeing Virgil to do what he could for the man, assisted by Gordon.  There was a great deal of frowning and mumbled phrases that might have been curses between instructions and medical jargon.

“Scott,” Virgil turned to address the commander, “we need to get him to hospital now!  I’ve stabilised him as much as I can, but he needs much more than I can provide here.”

Before Scott could answer a flickering of holographic blue light burst forth from Scott’s forearm.

“I have a probable location for your missing people,” John informed them.  As he spoke a map of the area appeared in hologram form.  Three little red dots seemed to indicate life signs.  “They appear to be well inside the cave system, quite deep beneath the surface and not making much progress.  I’m trying to map the caves and tunnels as best I can, but there are difficulties.  Thunderbird 4 has the best chance of being able to reach them, but you’ll need to head downstream of your current location to launch.”

John showed them the location they’d need to head to in order to deploy Thunderbird 4, some 4km downstream where the canyon was wide enough to lower the module.  He also showed them the location of a doline located upstream of the position of the three life signs where an explorer POD could gain access to the caves.

“The water level in the caves is rising quickly,” John said, reappearing where the map had just been displayed, “and I have detected some rockslides in the vicinity.  These people may not have much time.”

“FAB, John.”  Scott looked across at Virgil and Gordon, formulating a plan of action as he spoke, and checking that the comm channel to Alan was open.  “Alan, take us downstream for module deployment, Gordon you’re heading out in Four.”

“FAB,” the two youngsters replied as one, Gordon rushing out to prepare for launch.

“Virgil, can we safely transfer your patient to Thunderbird One so I can get him to hospital?  You’ll need to head to the doline and drop off Alan in the POD then stand by to assist with the rescue when we find our three cavers.”

“We should be able to make the transfer at the location where we drop the module to launch Thunderbird 4.”  Virgil’s reply was delivered with a frown as he mentally calculated risks and logistical practicalities.  “I’ll have to transfer some equipment with him or he’ll never make it, even taking One’s speed into account.  I’d prefer it if I could go with him, but under the circumstances, we have little choice.”

The two men exchanged a look of determined resignation and a nod.  Virgil’s eyes flicked across to Jasmine and back to Scott, a silent question.

“Jasmine,” Scott said softly as he returned to her side, “I’m going to take you to the hospital with me in Thunderbird One …”

“No, please!” she pleaded.  “Let me stay here.  I need to know what’s happening.  I want to be here when you find Jade.  Please!”

There was another silent conversation between the two men, seemingly conducted purely through eye contact and the smallest shrug from the shorter one with the green sash.  It was that one who answered, addressing her for the first time.

“Okay,” Virgil said.  “You can stay here, but I need you to tell me straight away if you’re not feeling well.”  She nodded emphatically.  He went on, listing symptoms she was to notify him of if she felt even a little.  His deep baritone voice was soothing and his warm brown eyes held so much concern she almost wanted to reach out and hug him.

The next few minutes were a blur of activity around Jasmine.  The aircraft she was in – Thunderbird 2 she had to remind herself – was able to land almost straddling the river as it lifted on its landing struts to let Thunderbird Four launch from the module.  The man on the stretcher was taken away, presumably so he could be securely loaded into Thunderbird One along with some complicated looking medical equipment the man with the green sash and gentle brown eyes removed from the medbay.  Minutes later she heard the rumbling of Thunderbird One’s explosive take off, and soon after that Thunderbird Two lowered back down around her module and made her own take off, with the green-sashed man at the helm.  The smaller man with the red sash rushed past her on his way to prepare the machine she’d heard them call a POD.

After a very short flight Jasmine felt as much as heard the changes in the ship’s engines as Thunderbird Two descended slightly, hovered for a moment, circled and landed.  Once again the ship rose up on its legs to allow a vehicle to exit the container they called a module, then settled back down into her natural turtle shape.  By the time all the mechanical clunking and whirring of pieces moving into place had ceased, leaving a few clicks of cooling, contracting metal and the dulled sounds of rain against the hull, the green-sashed pilot was approaching her.

“Hey, Jasmine,” he said softly as he took a seat beside her.  “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” she answered a little more emphatically than she perhaps really felt.  Those kind, gentle eyes were pinned on her and she was compelled to say more.  “A little shaky maybe.  Mostly I’m just really worried about Jade.  It’s so dangerous to be in those caves with the rain like this.  Jade knows that, but the men who dragged her in there …”  Words failed her and she took in a ragged breath.

“Who are they?”  Virgil prompted.  “You told Scott they forced your friend to go back into the caves, why would they do that?”

“I don’t know.  I don’t know who they are, and I’m not sure what they want but I guess it must have something to do with Patterson’s Treasure.”

“Patterson’s Treasure?”  The raised eyebrow gave him an expression of curious puzzlement, and Jasmine was reminded of the fact that not everyone in the world was as obsessed by treasure hunting as she and Jade were.

“A few years ago this rich guy named Manfred Patterson decided he wanted to give away a chunk of his fortune,” she explained.  “He was really into old pirate treasure stories and stuff, so he created this elaborate treasure hunt, promising that whoever could find and solve all the clues he’d hidden in some of his favourite places all over the world would be led to a mysterious hidden treasure worth a quarter of his net worth.”

“Oh, yeah.  I remember hearing something about that.  He released a set of navigational coordinates for the first clue and there was practically a stampede of nu- uh, people trying to find whatever he’d hidden there.”

“Nutcases.  You were going to say nutcases.”  She caught his guilty expression, and a hint of apology in the way he leaned his head sideways and shrugged.  She laughed.  “It’s okay.  I would have used stronger language.  A lot of them thought he’d hidden the treasure there rather than just a clue.  When they found out the coordinates led to a hidden data hotspot that revealed a cryptic clue a lot of those idiots gave up.  There is still a small but dedicated community of treasure hunters like me and Jade who have kept searching, but most of the money hungry get-rich-quick types lost interest a long time ago.  Seven clues have been discovered so far, but Jade and I are the only ones to have found the seventh.”

“How do you know that?”

“Patterson created a kind of online scoreboard.  Every time a clue is found for the first time its coordinates appear on the scoreboard.  When the hotspot at each location is activated it triggers a counter next to each clue’s location.  Clue seven’s counter still reads 1, so Jade and I are the only ones who have activated it.  You have to find the actual hotspot to access the clue though, those don’t appear on the website.  So If these men are after us because of the treasure hunt I don’t know how they knew to look here.”

Just then some kind of alarm pinged from Virgil’s comm.  He excused himself and moved back over to the ship’s cockpit to activate the holocomm there.  Jasmine could see the glow of the holographic light, but not the details of what was displayed there.

“I’ve detected vehicle activity not far from your location,” John reported, his eyes constantly darting and flicking between the numerous sources of information he was monitoring.  “Park rangers have reported that they don’t have anyone currently in the vicinity, and local search and rescue have recalled all vehicles due to the weather.”

“Could it be related to these mystery men who kidnapped Jasmine’s friend?” Virgil asked.

“That would be my guess.  The vehicle appears to have very similar markings to the ones Scott saw at the campsite.  Eos has already identified the markings on those vehicles and uncovered the company that manufactured them, and Kayo is on the way.”

“Kayo?”

“That’s my name,” the woman in question joined the conversation.  “Scott filled me in on the kidnapping and the fact that guns had been mentioned.  Neither of us like the implications of that, so I figured I’d be more use in the danger zone than sitting at home.  Does your victim have any information about what these guys are after?”

“Jasmine thinks it has something to do with Patterson’s Treasure,” Virgil replied.  “She and her friend Jade were here looking for the next clue.”

“A treasure hunt?”  Kayo sounded incredulous.  “What exactly is this treasure that makes it worth risking lives to go searching in caves?”

“That’s just it,” Virgil explained, “Jasmine says they were looking for another clue, not the treasure itself.  The odd thing is that no one else has the previous clue, so if the next clue is here its location hasn’t been revealed yet.”

An ominous rumble shook through the hull of Thunderbird 2 at the same instant warning signals started blaring at John, and both Alan and Gordon’s voices could be heard exclaiming in alarm over the comm.

“John?!” Alan’s voice was edged with panic.  “I suddenly have a lot of water and a bunch of rocks coming down in front of me!”

“We’ve got cave-ins down here!” Gordon shouted at the same time.

A view of the map John had been monitoring appeared in front of Virgil, highlighting the positions of Alan in the pod, Gordon in Thunderbird 4 and the three biosigns they were trying to reach.  Gordon was deepest in the layers of tunnels and caverns, but not far from the location of the three.  Alan was in a cave that ran closer to the surface and approaching a position that would be directly above them.  Thanks to the combined sensor information from Thunderbirds Four and Five the map now provided a fairly accurate and detailed picture of the labyrinthine subterranean landscape.

“Alan!  Are you clear of the rockslide?” John called out.

“Yeah, yeah.  I’m good, but that was close!” came the breathless reply.  “I’m gonna have to shift some of this stuff to get through though.  Gordon, what’s going on down there?”

“I’m fine Alan, but it looks like one of the side tunnels near here just collapsed.  John, tell me how much more use I can be down here.  This river’s getting to be a pretty tight squeeze.  I’ll need to leave Four here and continue on foot soon.  But I’d rather not do that if we’re gonna get more collapses like that one.” 

“We have a fairly detailed map of the tunnels and caves now,” John confirmed.  “Head back out to the canyon river, I’ll manage the rest of the topographical scanning without the additional information from Four’s scanners.  Get to safety, Gordon.”

“FAB.  You don’t have to tell me twice!”

“John?” Virgil interjected, needing to get John’s attention.  His voice was quiet but had an edge to it. His eyes were darting over the instrument panel checking readings from various sensors and visual feeds from outside his ‘bird.  “How close can I get to Alan’s location in Thunderbird Two, and where is that vehicle you mentioned earlier?”

“What’s on your mind, Virgil?”  John was also eyeing his various sources of information, looking for their mystery vehicle and wondering where his engineer brother’s concern was coming from.

“Sinkholes, unstable ground … and explosives.”  As if in answer to Virgil’s statement there was another rumbling tremor in the earth. He turned and looked straight at Jasmine, who had crept closer to see what was going on.  “You better come over here and strap in.  We’re taking off.”

Jasmine limped over to the nearest seat, just behind her pilot, sat and secured the restraint. 

“John?”  This time Virgil’s tone, low and almost menacing was a demand for information.

“I’m sending you coordinates.  Looks like you’re right about the sinkhole, and it’s close to the last known location of the mystery vehicle.  Alan’s position is slightly east of there and around 18 meters below the surface.”

Jasmine found herself rapidly overwhelmed by information coming in different voices and holographic images as Thunderbird Two roared into life around her and took to the air.  Female voices talked about custom modifications to vehicles which somehow meant they now knew the company the men that had Jade worked for.  The voice she associated with Thunderbird Five said something about a vehicle descending into the caves through the sinkhole.  Another voice – she thought it might have been the red-sash man – was reporting a cave collapse where it seemed the floor had dropped away a short distance in front of him, but the roof above him seemed unmoved this time.  There was a low throaty noise from the pilot in front of her, like a growl.

“They’re blasting their way out,” Virgil grumbled.  “Don’t they know how dangerous that is in these conditions?”

Jasmine’s heart leapt into her throat.  She knew how dangerous explosives in the caves would be right now, and Jade was down there with these idiots who had no idea what kind of problems they might create.

“Jade!” she gasped, barely realising she’d spoken aloud.  That earned her a concerned glance over the shoulder from the green-sashed pilot, but his attention was quickly torn away.

“Whoa!  What was that?  Did I just see a …”

“I saw it too Alan, and yes that was a small airborne vehicle that just shot out of the sinkhole.”

“I’m on it, Virgil!”

As the female voice spoke Jasmine could have sworn she saw something black streak across the sky in front of them, and heard the loud, close-by swoosh of jet engines.

“The GDF has been notified and are on their way, Kayo.”  John’s voice was calm amidst the chaotic flurry. 

“Hey, guys?  I’ve reached the edge of the hole in the floor here,” Alan reported.  “It’s a long way down to the bottom of that pit and the sides are still pretty unstable.”

“I’m still reading one biosign down there,” said John.  “Do you have a visual?”

“I’m doing my best, but it’s too far and too dark down there for me to see much.  What I wouldn’t give for one of Thunderbird One’s drones right now,” Alan lamented.

“I might be able to grant your wish little brother!”

Suddenly Thunderbird One was zooming in to hover close by Thunderbird Two, somewhere above the sinkhole that led down to Alan’s current depth below the surface. 

“Nice to have you back with us Thunderbird One.”  The pilot of Thunderbird Two seemed relieved to have the commander back at the scene.  Even from behind him Jasmine could not fail to notice his smile at the new arrival.

It seemed that in no time at all a drone had been launched into the hole, and the view from its camera was being projected in the cockpit of Thunderbird Two (and, Jasmine presumed, also in the vehicles the other International Rescue operatives currently occupied).  It was difficult for Jasmine to make out exactly what she was seeing at first.  The drone seemed to descend so quickly into the darkness of the cave tunnels.  She caught a glimpse of the yellow pod vehicle as the drone approached the pit it sat beside, then the drone was once again descending.  As the young man had said, it was quite a long descent.  The drone’s lights illuminated streaks of mud running down the slick, shiny rockface, and the occasional tumble of small stones dislodged by the dribbling water.  Then the lights hit the bottom of the pit.

Jasmine gasped.  There amid a jumble of rocks and dirt appeared an outstretched arm, a shoulder partially covered by a tangle of dark red curls emerging from beneath the back of a blue helmet, and a scratched and dirty leg that led to a sturdy hiking boot clad foot.

“It’s Jade,” Jasmine cried in sheer relief.  “Look, you can see the tattoo!”

Sure enough, there on the wrist of the extended left arm was a tattoo of an elaborate key attached to a chain.  Jasmine held out her own right wrist to show Virgil a tattoo that appeared to be a continuation of the same chain attached to an equally elaborate treasure chest.

“I’m going down there,” Virgil stated emphatically.  “Alan, I’ll come down to you via cable from Two.  Scott, can you come stay with Jasmine?  I’ll slave One’s controls so you can keep them both in the air from here.”

“You gunning for command, Virgil?” Scott asked with a laugh.  “I’m on my way over.  You have control of Thunderbird One.”

Once again Jasmine was struck by how fast International Rescue did things.  No sooner had decisions been made than things were set in motion.  A hatch above her was opened and the man with the blue eyes and dimples flew in by jetpack.  The green-sashed pilot with the gentle brown eyes vacated his seat and ran off past her, while the other man took his seat at the controls of Thunderbird Two.  It seemed like only seconds later she was watching vision of the man they called Virgil, who seemed to be attached to some kind of contraption that gave him mechanical arms, lowering into the hole below them on a cable which swung slightly in the wind and rain.

It was not long before he reached the pod vehicle and climbed aboard.  She listened along with the IR commander as the man in the mechanical suit gave navigational instruction to the pod driver.  Their progress was cautious, and there were some anxious moments as they descended deep into the earth. 

When they reached the bottom Jasmine waited with bated breath as they approached her unresponsive friend, and cried with relief when Virgil reported that she was alive.  He said they would have to be extremely careful digging her out, that her injuries were many, and some serious, but none life-threatening.

“She’s gonna be okay.”

Jasmine hadn’t noticed the commander of International Rescue muting the comm and coming to kneel in front of her.  She had jumped when he spoke.  He took hold of her hand and looked up at her with so much reassurance contained within the sparkling blue eyes and the soft smile.  She nodded and tried to smile back as tears trickled down her cheek.

“She has to be,” Jasmine choked out past the lump in her throat.  “I couldn’t … I don’t know what I’d do without her.  She’s my best friend, my closest – I mean closer than family.  She means – I mean, she’s my everything.  If I lost her …”

“You would feel lost,” Scott finished for her.  “I know that feeling.”

While Virgil and Alan worked at freeing Jade without causing more rock and rubble to fall around them, Scott kept Jasmine talking.  He was able to keep an eye on vital information about Jade’s condition and the progress of the rescue, as well as the occasional update from Kayo and John while he kept her distracted. 

Jasmine mostly spoke about Jade, detailing how they had met as young girls whose families shared an interest in geocaching.  The fun of following a geographical clue to find a little hidden gem had sparked something in each of them that they had never lost.  As they got older the two girls began creating little treasure hunts for each other, complete with clues and sometimes maps.  Then they had begun fostering each other’s love of outdoor adventure and exploration by learning about real treasures they might be able to hunt for, and setting out to track some down.  Patterson’s Treasure Hunt had come along at the perfect time for them, and they were determined to find and solve every clue, even if they weren’t the first to find the treasure.  It was enough for them both just to share the adventure of the hunt.

With a little prompting from Scott she explained the matching tattoos.

“We both always felt there was a bond between us, even when we lived far apart.  Right from when we were ten years old, anytime we were together we’d end up holding hands.  It was almost always my right hand and her left, like we were tied together.  When we finished high school we both took a year off to travel (and look for treasure) together before we would go our separate ways again for college.  Towards the end of that year together we decided to get the tattoos as a physical reminder that no matter how far apart we might be we are always tied together.  She’s the key to all the things I treasure, and she says I’m the most valuable treasure she ever found.”

A beeping sounded from Scott’s wrist and he unmuted his comm.

“We have the patient stabilised for transport and we’re on our way up,” Virgil reported. 

“Fantastic news, Virgil,” John chimed in from a new hologram popping into Scott and Jasmine’s view.  “Kayo has handed over the two men who kidnapped Jade, and the pilot of their rescue vehicle to the GDF.”

“I can’t take all the credit,” Kayo interjected.  “I had some, shall we say, creative help from Thunderbird Four!”

There was a giggle over the comm.  “You’re welcome, Kayo!”

“Do I wanna know?” Scott asked.

“Probably not,” Gordon replied.  “Now, can someone hurry up and give me a ride home?”

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll see what I can do,” Kayo responded.  “After all, one good turn deserves another.  You don’t mind being suspended beneath Thunderbird Shadow the whole way home do you?”

“Uh, no?  Not what I had in mind, but I’ll take it.”

“By the way, if you’re still wondering what these guys were doing in the caves, you’ll never believe it.  They’re not treasure hunters at all – they’re smugglers.  They were sent to collect a stash of goods that had been hidden in the caves.  They had a grid reference and a hand-drawn map, but once they got close they realised they needed a guide to get them through the caves,” Kayo explained.

“So they kidnapped Jade to act as their guide,” Scott surmised.

“And threatened to hurt Jasmine if she didn’t cooperate,” Gordon added.  “The victim you took to hospital earlier was meant to hold Jasmine hostage to make sure Jade stayed compliant.  The GDF have placed a guard at the hospital.  He’ll be arrested too, as soon as he’s well enough.”

“Great work you two.”

Soon after that the call came through to say the explorer POD had emerged out of the pit.  In some way that Jasmine didn’t understand Virgil took back control of Thunderbird Two, remote piloting from the where he was at the bottom of the sinkhole.  He expertly manoeuvred the big green plane into position above the sinkhole and launched a grapple claw to lift the POD vehicle out of the ground and back into the module.

Jasmine was up out of her seat as soon as the POD was secured aboard Thunderbird Two.  She watched the three men from International Rescue settle Jade into a drop-down bed in the medical bay.  Once she was securely strapped in for transport Jasmine watched the commander of International Rescue leave via the overhead hatch, firing up his jetpack to return to Thunderbird One, while the young man with the red sash took over piloting Thunderbird Two.

Virgil beckoned Jasmine over to a seat next to Jade’s bed, and Jasmine gratefully took it, strapped herself in and tentatively reached out to take Jade’s hand in hers.  Virgil smiled at her, briefly diverting his attention from monitoring scanner readings and administering IV fluids.

“I know it looks bad, but she’s gonna be okay,” he reassured her.

Jasmine’s eyes filled with tears.  “Thank you,” she said.  “For saving her.  For saving me.  Everything.”

She knew that without International Rescue, without these amazing men and women who had answered her call for help, she might have lost the greatest treasure she had ever found.

[raysreads]

Teen Wolf Character Scents

Okay this might sound weird, but I’ve been reading a lot of Teen Wolf fic lately and it always puts a heavy emphasis on what the character smells like. Because...werewolf senses and everyone has a natural scent. I personally love this so here are my headcanons for what each characters natural scent would be!!!!!

(I give reasons for why I went with those things but some of the reasons themselves are headcanons, and some just came to me and have no reason at all besides that fact that i love it that way)

So background info: I headcanon some scents are from birth, while some are added/change based on experiences, temperament and emotions. You have your own scent and it does its own thing, even when you’re human. Humans cant smell them since they aren’t necessarily real, they are more a smell supernaturals pick up that’s a cryptic reflection of ones personality.

Stiles: Gotta start with the main boi!!!! He smells like spicy chili peppers, honey and everything spicy. He is wild and loud and so so sharp. He uses cutting anger and snark and sarcasm as a defense mechanism, this reflects in a scent that burns your nose. But he cares and loves a lot and is super soft, hence the honey. If you focus on his scent too much your eyes water with the chili. When he gets angry he send tears down everyone’s faces and even reddens the cheeks and burns the tongues of the supernatural pack members in his anger, his scent becoming physical as his spark acts up.

Peter: He smells like cold. Like cold, and petrichor and mint toothpaste. He always has. He smells like the cold of ice, the cold you smell when you open a freezer in the cold isle of the grocery store and like Vick’s Vaporub but 10x as strong. As the left hand of the pack it was his job to kill, to eliminate threats, his job to bear all the blood on his hands, to have his hands permanently stained sticky red and his eyes glow blue, so that no one else in the pack has to live with the guilt of murder, even when justified. His first kill was at 8 years old and he would never forgive the fact that he had been given that burden. So he became unmovable ice and unending cold. With the thick smell of rain for the warmth he would always keep hidden.

Theo: His scent is that of fresh, right off the smoker, BBQ sauce-soaked ribs and apple juice. Its a scent he was born with, one that reflects the gooey warmth of his soul and his innocence before he was manipulated and tortured. His scent always throws people off since it usually reflects ones personality and he’s not a good person by any means, he is amoral and cruel; and such a warm, soft scent doesn’t make sense. But his soul (though no longer pure) would always hold his original innocence. The apple juice isn’t actually his scent, but his sisters, her heart such a part of him that his guilt manifested her soul in his scent. And if you focus hard enough, underneath all that you can find the sting of bleach. His time with the dread doctors (and the fact that he was surgically tortured into being a chimera) leaving part of his scent mangled and altered into the artificial tang of bleach. The fact that he forced his scent to remain mostly unchanged throughout his life (which was worse than hell on earth) is Very Very Impressive, even more so when in the beginning he wasn’t even supernatural.

Scott: Our ever-sweet true alpha. He smells like overly sweet pink and blue cotton candy and hot, buttered, movie theater popcorn. He’s literally sugar and spice and everything nice. His morals and warmth translating to the hot popcorn and his perpetual smiling and niceness coming though as cotton candy. He smells like fairgrounds and the laughter of children. Underneath all that he bears the subtle scent of rust,  a permanent reminder of his forced change to the supernatural and permanent resentment of the burden he must bear (and the guilt about that resentment)

Derek: He smells of Sandalwood, Patchouli, and Frankincense. He always smells like incense and spices, like the inside of a stereotypical fortune tellers shop. He becomes heat, warmth, and flame. Something that pulls at his soul since the fire. Something that is a comfort to the wolves around him. He also smells heavily of smoke (something that makes Peter unable to be in the same room as him for longer than 30 minutes unless forced) because of his never-ending guilt about his family, something that seared the event into his scent. When he’s angry (which is a lot) his scent gets stronger and the incense smell becomes extremely heady and makes his betas lethargic.

Lydia: She smells like metal, like your hands after handling handfuls of change. She smells like she bathed in pennies, her standoffish coldness bringing the bitter smell to her scent. Since she became a banshee she also smells strongly of spider lilies (also know as hell flowers), japans flower of death. You would think the contrast between bitter metal and floral scents, so strong you choke, would be bad but its actually strangely comforting. And while bitter its the only thing that can get Jackson to relax some days. The scent of the only person there for him for over a decade-and-a-half sometimes even more comforting than the scent of his boyfriend.

Isaac: His scent is of strong cologne even though he never wears any, he smells like he bathed in the Mahogany Teakwood candle from Bath and Body Works, or lived in an Abercrombie & Fitch for 50 years. He always had that smell, even as a child, but it just gets stronger the more confidence he gains. His childhood innocence and cleanliness of soul translates as a strong laundry soap smell. But hidden underneath there's an undertone of metal, plastic, and cold; that takes over his scent when he's scared and overwhelmes everything in a mile radius. It takes the Pack far too long to realize it smells like a freezer and metal chains.

Allison: She smells strongly of ozone and static (not rain though, never rain). Her anger and righteous fury making her scent like electricity and making the static-y-ness tingle in everyone's nose - sometimes making Scott sneeze. Nothing in her scent is pleasant or comforting to everyone's confusion. Its only when she feels negative emotions that she smells like roses and summer. Its like a warning but in reverse, the opposite of what it should be. Bad scents usually mean bad emotions or feelings or memories, and good scents mean good moods and positive things but for her its the opposite. Just like how she took the opposite path then what was laid out for her.

Jackson: He smells very very heavily of cherries, his scent so strong and sweet its like he took a bath in a hot tub filled with cherry cough medicine, chloraseptic cherry sore throat spray, cherry pie, cherry starburst, cherry Jell-O, and maraschino cherries. Its thick and sticky and strong enough to drown out the scent and stick for hours on anyone standing near him or touching him and it lingers on the Pack members even if they haven’t seen each other for years. Case-in-point: Jackson left for England after the kanima thing and Isaac left for France not long after. When Isaac came back 6 years later (2 years after Jackson came back) he still had the smell on him pretty strongly. Why cherries? No one knows. But its thick as hell and stronger than epoxy when it binds to things together forever. The Pack thinks it stems with his identity and abandonment issues, but once he claims you he wont let go, not even his scent. He is very self conscious and embarrassed about it so its never discussed, and he’s been friends with Danny for so long that his scent almost drowns out Danny’s own. 

Ethan: Ethan’s scent is subtle and barely there. He was the one who always stood in front of Aiden to protect them, and took the beatings when possible so his scent became as bland and barely-there as possible. The Pack can only smell his scent with intense focus and at least an hours meditation (unless you’re Aiden). He smells of freshly baked bread and homemade jam, comforting smells that easily calm Aiden down. In times of distress he smells of burnt toast, he scent twisting with negative memories. A reminder that all good things have eventually turned bad for him and his twin.

Aiden: Aiden on the other hand smells strongly like curry and lavender. An odd combination but one that speaks of his guarded- but angry, headstrong and stubborn- nature. The abuse left him angry and twitchy and paranoid, everything setting him off and his moods turning on a dime. His scent fluctuated wildly between spicy curry and calming lavender which indicated his mood and Ethan was the only one able to calm him down, doing so with a single touch between his shoulder blades where they merged.

Danny: Danny smells like he lived in a Eucalyptus oil factory for 50 years, the scent soothing and calm like he is. Its always the same and never changes, not even when his emotions do. It was concerning at first, since everyone else’s scents changed throughout the day, even when their mood didn't (the only other scent that barely changed was Peter’s but that was because the man hand an iron grip over his emotions, even in his scent. Which is super impressive). He was just that calm at all times, even when annoyed. The one time he got angry- and I mean really angry not just the pretenses he kept when ‘annoyed’ with Stiles who he more endeared with than anything- his scent overwhelmed the entire apartment complex ( the one Derek had bought out for his loft) with the horrible, strong, pungent scent of burnt rubber. No one angered him again.

But they did have a chat about his witch ancestry.

Erica: Her scent was that of a bonfire. A blazing bonfire, gasoline, and the smell of the world when it was so hot outside the air above the tar street shimmered. She was competitive, and fierce, and pure heat and burning. If she wanted something, she would take it she had always been that way, even when she was sick. And while her sickness may be gone she had a subtle distortion to her scent, one like poison, that made her always smell slightly sick. (Peter almost had a panic attack when he first met her because of her scent, he now never came within 10 feet of her).

Boyd: He smelled like a flower garden. He was so stoic that the floral scent took many by surprise. He had always smelled like soil and dirt, his down to earth personality manifesting as a calming and grounding scent. He also smelled like the ocean, like salt and brine, and waves. But that was all drowned out by the overwhelming smell of flowers, a scent that used to be his sisters, one that he subconsciously adopted after her death when he was still human. He empathized with Theo and would exchange heavy glances when the pack discussed their natural scents as a ‘pack bonding exercise’, they were both drowned in guilt for different reasons, but both over lost sisters. They never discussed it. That was all folks!!! Feel free to add on to this and/or use it as a fanfic reference!!! Do you agree??? What are your headcanons???

[everythingshawnmendes]

“Are you… making cookies at 3:30 AM?” and Bucky Barnes being the biggest teddy bear when it comes to going to bed

                                                    or

Bucky and Y/N’s night routine, plus some late night snacking

tooth rotting fluff, smut, fem! receiving oral

Y/N loved scrolling through her phone before going to bed. All her life, after a busy day, nothing would distract her mind like mindlessly going through social media. When she became an Avenger, nothing changed. Whether she was exhausted from a strenuous day of training, plotting, investigating or completing a mission, she loved escaping from it all mentally to see what was going on online. It wasn’t the best, she knew, all the blue light and whatever, but in her line of work, high quality deep sleep ran kind of thin anyway. Tony used to tease her about it, calling her a teenager, but he shut up rather quickly after she retorted that at least she didn’t pull 3 all-nighters in a row just to work on some suit. The rest of the Avengers laughed with her that day, as he walked away muttering something similar to “some suit that saves all of your asses-” under his breath.

The rest of the team used their cell phones differently. Steve could barely count as having a cell phone, that old flip phone that had the numbers key pad where you had to press 1 three times just to type out the letter ‘c’. He answered the group chat, just always 3 hours late with 1 sentence at most. Bruce and Tony both used their phones a lot, mainly for backing up their research. Tony actually left the group chat twice, annoyed at the spam of stupid “childish” memes, but agreed to be back again when Peter sent a link to an article explaining how Iron Man is the strongest Avenger. The memes, they were mostly sent by Scott and Thor. They were at first almost always followed by a concise paragraph from Nat, who broke down the meme for Steve and Bucky to understand. They got the hang of them at one point.

Bucky didn’t love technology, let alone social media. Before Y/N was in his life, his night routine was quite simple: lay down and wait for sleep to come. After all that time being manipulated and used as the Winter Soldier, sleep had lost its peacefulness. He would just lie there with his eyes closed and drift in and out of consciousness.

It changed with Y/N however, for the much better. Bucky looked forward to going to sleep now, because that meant he got to hold Y/N in bed, which made him all soft and warm, until they both drifted into sleep. With her, he slept like a literal baby, holding his favourite blankie. Y/N never previously slept better either, having her own big Bucky shaped body pillow. 

Tonight was no different than any other. The two were cuddled together under their blanket, Y/N’s head propped on Bucky’s chest, where his shoulder met his chest. Luckily for him, the arm under her was his metal one, and could barely feel the weight of her head. The whole squad had gotten home from an intense mission, and the second they got back to the compound, Bucky dragged Y/N into the shower so they could get into bed as quickly as possible. After Y/N not being able to resist having her fun with Bucky under the warm water and sinking to her knees to wrap her lips around his pretty cock, the two scrambled into bed and were officially tuckered out.

Y/N sighed happily, scrolling through Twitter. Bucky’s chest was so built, and thick and so comfy to rest on. Bucky’s eyes were shut, his head heavy. His nose was buried in the back of Y/N’s neck and the sweet smell of her hair was lulling him to sleep. Her back was pressed against his chest, and his hand wrapped around her waist squeezed her close against him. Y/N hugged the arm that was around her with her free arm, stroking his forearm softly with his fingers absent-mindedly as she read things on her phone. Occasionally she’d laugh out loud at something and tell Bucky, who chuckled back, kissing her head. Y/N felt so relaxed, so in bliss and the reason was so simple. She was just so happy to be this in love with someone. She shifted slightly and moved to turn onto her other side. Bucky, half-asleep, whimpered softly and pouted, but curved his lips upwards in a smile when Y/N settled back into him to face him. She looped a leg with one of his and rested her hand with the phone on his chest. Bucky flexed his pec, bouncing Y/N’s hand on top of him, sending the two giggling softly. 

“Heyyy.” Y/N whined, nudging him.

She kept scrolling slowly on her phone, Bucky’s heartbeat slowing down to a soothing pace underneath her. One of his hands reached up into her hair, playing with the strands gently.

“Wow-“ Y/N snickered. “Bucky, did you know you have a large fanbase of thirsting women?” Her thumb paused at a tweet. She felt Bucky’s chin move on the top of her head and craned her neck up to look at him smiling. He felt her eyes on her and opened his halfway. “Listen; one writes: If Bucky Barnes shoots me, do NOT prosecute him. He caught me slipping, that’s on ME.” Y/N laughed heartily and Bucky just shook his head, burying his face in Y/N’s head, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Oh, oh - wait, I have a fanbase of my own too. “Y/N Y/L/N is so damn fine, if she were to ever same from something, I’d die of a heart attack afterwards”. HA.” Y/N nodded, laughing harder. Bucky perked up at this and frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together adorably. He held her tighter against him, a sound almost like a “hmmph” leaving his mouth.

“Aww baby.” Y/N simpered amid her laughs, looking up at her pouty boyfriend. She loaded him with kisses, one on his chin, his lower lip, the crook of his neck. Bucky found his smile again and opened his eyes a bit to lower his lips onto hers.  

Y/N settled back into his side and felt her eyelids go heavier and set her phone away. A couple minutes later, she had fallen asleep. Bucky sensed her breathing get heavier, kissed her head through her hair and drifted off to deeper sleep as well.

Y/N awoke some time later, squinting her eyes open and stretching slightly. She looked at the clock which indicated 3:00 and looked up and down to see Bucky softly sleeping, his arm still loosely around her. She closed her eyes and opened them again, thinking of why she might be unable to sleep. She didn’t have to go to the bathroom, she wasn’t too hot or cold… Cookies. She wanted cookies. A craving that was so random, yet she couldn’t seem to quite shake it off. Fuck it, she thought. She slithered out of Bucky’s hold and out of bed. Looking around the room, she put on some socks and quickly threw on one of Bucky’s hoodies to cover her naked body. It wasn’t likely for anyone else to be in the kitchen at this hour, but she still didn’t need to run the risk of someone seeing her butt naked. Plus, expert-skilled assassin and all, she was still clumsy as fuck, and she felt like being naked was some kind of dangerous being around an oven. As if she had not taken on 7 armed guards single-handedly with only one gun the day before…

Bucky stirred in his sleep, turning onto his side, his arm reaching out. The empty space beside him confused him, as he slowly rose from his slumber. Still heavily tired, he palmed the bed, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. 

“Friday.” He grunted, his voice raspy with the sound of sleep coating the back of his throat. “Where’s Y/N?”

“Scanning. Miss Y/N is in the kitchen, sir.”

“M’kay, thank you.” He said, cracking his neck slightly. He fell back and closed his eyes again, the initial panic having subsided knowing Y/N was safe. He pulled the blankets to him and sighed. Clambering out of bed, he huffed and put on his pajama pants, setting off for the kitchen. He thought Y/N just needed some water, so he was not expecting the sight he entered upon.

There, in the middle of the kitchen, was Y/N spinning around, dancing to reach up to the counter for chocolate chips. Bucky recognized his hoodie on her slip up slightly, showing off most of her leg. His cheeks warmed. She turned around and spotted Bucky, nearly falling back out of fright.

“Jesus- baby, you scared me. Hi.” She walked towards him, cupping his cheek with one hand as she gave him a sweet kiss. Bucky joined his hands together at the small of her back, pouting down at her.

“You left me all alone in our room.” He said, pouting slightly, eyes squinting from the contrast of the open lights. Y/N’s gaze softened at his bright blue eyes, who were looking at her with equal tenderness.

“Aw, I’m sorry, you big softiee…” Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her and rocking softly from left to right. She relaxed in his frame as Bucky hugged her, his sleepy demeanor not yet fully shaken awake. Finally, he pulled his head back, scanning the room.

“Are you… making cookies at 3:30 AM?” He chuckled, running his hands up and down her back soothingly.

“Yeah! You wanna join me?” Y/N grinned at him, leading him to the counter. “I’m almost done.”

Bucky sat himself on the counter as he watched her tiptoe to get her big bowl of dough and set it down right beside him. He ripped two sheets of parchment paper to coat the trays.

“You’re so cute you know that, doll? Bucky eyed her. Y/N looked up at him and gave him a toothy grin and continued rolling out little balls of dough onto the baking sheet. “Especially in my sweater.” He reached his hand out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Y/N stepped in between Bucky’s legs, leaning on his beefy thighs. “And I’m not wearing anything under it.” She looked up at him, eyes wide. Bucky groaned, pressing his forehead to hers as his face winced slightly. She was really testing him…

He took her face in his hands, pressing his lips down against hers. Her hands snaked up his legs to caress his abdomen, Bucky capturing her lips between his and kissing her hungrily. He licked her lips, sliding his tongue in her mouth to run it against hers, sucking her lip into his mouth as she parts them slightly out of breath. Catching it, she brought a hand to the back of his neck, lowering him onto her lips once more. Bucky pet her neck softly with his cool, metal hand before wrapping it around softly, not too strongly to stop her breathing but slightly to assert himself. Y/N gasped at the feeling, both cold and hot at the same time, Bucky flicking his tongue into her mouth, and grazed his teeth along the soft flesh of her bottom lip. Y/N swallowed heavily and pulled back.

“We have to preheat the oven.” Y/N panted slightly, going to the oven to turn it on. Bucky ran his hands through his hair and leaned back on the palms of his hands. A tent had formed in his loose cotton pants and his cock gave a twitch as he watched Y/N prance around the kitchen with her lips slightly redder and her bare legs on display. She was floating in his hoodie and she looked so impossibly soft, a part of him wanted to hold her, squish her, cuddle her, nuzzle his nose into her neck but the other, wanted to run his hands underneath the fabric, trail kisses along her divine legs and suck pretty bruises on her neck.

Y/N returned to the counter and caught a glance of Bucky. Smooth contoured abs moving along with his breathing, his manhood standing up straining against the fabric of his pants, which were loosely hanging off his hips. His blue eyes were soft to her, his eyelids hooded probably from what hour of the morning it was.

“You’re pretty.” Y/N hummed. Bucky scoffed, curling his finger motioning for her to ‘come here’.

“You’re pretty, doll.” He answered.

Y/N picked up the bowl and the wooden spoon and stood beside Bucky, who was still sat on top of the counter. It’s crazy how even if she was standing, he was still taller.

“Personally, I like the raw dough much better than the actual cookies. Hmm?” Y/N picked at the spoon, then giving it to Bucky. He tasted a piece and nodded. 

“I still think that I prefer the actual cookies.” He gave her the spoon back.

She shook her head. “You’re wrong.” She said, bringing the spoon to her mouth. 

Bucky raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling a tingle trickle down his spine. Y/N ran her tongue up the back of the spoon, locking her eyes with his, and hollowed her cheeks to eat the cookie dough. She continued to lick along the head of the spoon, cleaning it off of any remaining dough. Bucky gulped. She saw his pants tighten even more and laughed against the spoon, lapping up the sweet mixture.

“Baby girl…” He said huskily in a low voice, sending heat to Y/N’s core. She knew that pet name, and that tone of voice.

Y/N bit her lip, eyes becoming pleading as his blue ones stared into hers, while he licked his own lips. 

Ding!

Y/N huffed, as she turned around to see the oven was ready. She looked at Bucky, who smirked at her.

“The oven’s preheated, doll.”

“I know.” She exhaled frustrated, and took the trays, turning on her heel and walking to the oven.

She bent forward to slide the cookies in. At the sight of that, Bucky was a goner. He slid off the counter and lunged toward her. A second after Y/N had closed the oven door safely, no later, Bucky’s hands were on her. 

Y/N gasped, and then moaned at the feeling of his big hands sliding up the back of her thighs all the way up inside her hoodie, pressing at her lower back and coming to reach in front of to her bare stomach. He spun her to face him, Y/N’s hands placing themselves on his broad chest while his toyed with the bottom of his hoodie on her, palming her ass. They backed up, taking big hurried steps until Y/N felt herself hit the counter behind. Bucky’s hands slipped from her butt to the back of her thighs, lifting her and placing her down on the countertop slightly roughly. She immediately spread her legs apart, letting Bucky stand between them. He looked down and groaned, his hoodie ridden so high up it exposed all of her thighs, barely covering what’s in between. 

“Should we feel how wet you are, baby?” Bucky kissed behind Y/N’s ear, licking along the lower of her earlobe. Her soft whimpers contained in her throat resonated in his ears deliciously. “Hmm?”

“S-so wet. So wet. For you.” Y/N panted, feeling Bucky’s hands explore everywhere under her shirt, kneading her breasts. He was everywhere, but she desperately needed him lower.

Bucky took pride in her “for you” and slid his flesh hand down, dipping his middle finger in her heat. He himself moaned at how warm and wet she was, Y/N desperately whimpering, bucking her hips for more. He brought the one finger back up and before he could do anything, Y/N took his hand in hers and directed his finger into her own mouth, sucking harshly making her way from his knuckle to the pad of his finger. Bucky chuckled a low laugh, coming from his abdomen.

“So you’re not going to let me taste you, doll?”

Y/N shook her head repeatedly.

“Because-“ Bucky began lowering his head, large palms rubbing up and down her thighs. He kneeled on the floor. “I’ve been eyeing these delicious legs of yours ever since I saw you in only my hoodie.”

He turned his head to one side, pressing his lips into the plushy inside of Y/N’s thigh. 

Y/N opened her legs for him, begging him to just, dive in to her. She knew Bucky was ever the tease, and she knew he was going to make her work for it. But, he was so close, he was right there, all he needed to was to lean forward.

“Yeah, open up for me baby girl. Let me see how pretty you are.” Bucky licked his lips, his blue irises darkening slightly at the sight of your bare core. Y/N whimpered at the praise, arms reaching up into the hoodie to touch her own breasts. 

“Here, let me.” Bucky said, standing back up. Nothing turned him on more than to rid Y/N of his own hoodie, the larger loose fit revealing her beautiful body concealed underneath it. He pulled it above her head, throwing it on the ground. “Gorgeous.” His eyes trailed up and down her body, drinking in the sight of her.

“Bucky, please.” Y/N whined, the way he looked at her got her dripping wet and she was grinding against the counter to get any type of friction going against her needing center. His eyes flicked to her face.

“But you’re so pretty begging for me doll, don’t you know that?” He sunk back onto his knees, prying Y/N’s knees open once more. He moaned at the sight. There, right in front of him was her glistening cunt, the folds noticeably coated in her arousal, her scent seeping into his nostrils. He had never seen anything more delectable.

“Mhmphn.” Y/N grunted, her face contorted in frustration. “Baby.” Bucky’s deep blue eyes turned upwards to look at her. 

“Please.” She begged, nudging her thigh against Bucky’s cheek.

“Please what, sweetheart?” He leveled his mouth to her clit and stuck his tongue out, giving the sensitive button a hard, slow, long lick.

Y/N arched her back, throwing her head back at the feeling, breathing out. That initial lick was not followed by others, though, as the oven ding’ed once again to signal the cookies were ready.

“Fuck!” Bucky swore, licking his lips. “I’m going to go get those goddamn cookies and after that sweet doll, I’m going to eat that pussy of yours until you forget your own name.” He squeezed her thighs roughly, before standing up violently, turning the oven off and opening the oven door, grabbing the cookie trays one at a time with his metal hand and chucking them aside on the stovetop.

He returned to his spot on the ground, opened Y/N’s legs gently with his flesh hand (he wanted to make sure his metal one had cooled off, scared to burn her), locked eyes with her one last time and stuffed his face into her pussy. They both moaned, Bucky’s tongue running up her slit a couple times to lap up all the slickness and fully taste it. He gave her clit a quick kiss before sucking on it, taking it in between his lips. 

“Fuck, r-right there.” Y/N breathed out, finally feeling an ounce of her desire fulfilled. She brought both her hands to his luscious hair, running her fingers through it. She swiveled her hips, opening her legs as she maintained his head in between them with her hands.

He licked sloppily at her clit, drawing wet circles with his tongue as his entire face was engulfed in her, her wetness dripping and coating his chin. He sighed contently, closing his eyes as he ate her out, his own cock plumping at the feeling of her hips and legs trembling against his head.

“Oh, Bucky, oh-“ Y/N moaned, face scrunched in pleasure. The coil in her abdomen wound tighter, she was getting closer and she tugged on his locks of hair, pulling him closer against her. Bucky groaned into her cunt, sending her clenching her thighs around his head. He loved it. 

He loved having all he can smell, taste and think about Y/N’s pussy. The slight pain at the root of his hairs from being pulled by her spurred him on further, suckling, licking up at her clit just to swivel down to her hole, a mix of her arousal and his spit lapping at her folds. Suddenly, Y/N let go of his head, her hands flying in back of her onto the counter to support her, as her entire body arched backwards.

“I-I’m close baby, baby, oh fuck, I’m gonna cum - I’m gonna cum-“

Normally, Bucky would have said something filthier to send her over the edge, he liked hearing his name come out of her mouth, but he didn’t dare take his mouth off her. He maintained his pace, lapping against her clit.

“Mhmhmn, Bucky.” She pursed her lips together hard to not scream out. Bucky looked up at her, his girl, saying his name while he made her cum… Y/N caught a glimpse of his deep blue orbs staring up at her and let go, falling back onto her elbows as her orgasm ripped through her.

What a sight, a vision. Bucky’s eyes glued to her, as her head was thrown back, he trailed his eyes from her jaw, breasts, shaking arms and hips, to the legs on both sides of his head. He slowed down the pace of his tongue until she sat back up, bringing him back up to his feet with her hand in his hair.

“Taste yourself.” He whispered through hooded eyelids as he kissed her lips. Y/N giggled tiredly. Bucky turned around to grab a paper towel, wiping the bottom half of his face clean. He leaned against the counter opposite Y/N, grabbed a cookie and grinned at her, who just merely looked at him from on top while catching her breath. 

“Are they good?” She finally managed to ask.

“I’ve had better desserts to eat.” Bucky picked up his hoodie to throw it on Y/N’s shoulders, settling in between Y/N’s legs. He brought a cookie up to her mouth.

“Mhmmm they are good.” Y/N gave a light moan, chewing. “Don’t look at me like that, you know exactly what sounds I make for you, just heard them.”

After cleaning up the counter, they set off to brush their teeth once again (Bucky insisted because “Cavities!”) and before they knew it, Y/N was settled comfortably back into his side, with her head on his chest.

Neither needed social media to fall asleep this time.

the mouth and eyes on him I’m——-

my first bucky fic!!! and first really nsfw!!! plz lemme know if u enjoyed it loves x

[ak47stylegirl]

Sick days: Chapter 11

Okay here’s chapter 11! XD 

Poor Allie isn’t having a good time at all 😞😟😭This cold is really being horrible to him, and he’s struggling to deal with it. (Partly because of his age, he’s still very much young child, the poor baby 😥)

Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! 😁

Rest of the chapters found here. 

---

Alan pov

He blinked his eyes open; his vision was blurry as he took in his room. It was still dark out, the sun having not risen yet. It was still night-time. He squinted at the digital clock on his bedside table, trying to see what time it actually was.

12:43 am  

He groaned in misery, rolling over to lay on his other side. He has been up for the last 30 minutes now, and no matter what he did, he couldn't get back to sleep! His head felt like a balloon about to pop, his horrible headache not going away for even a moment, and his nose would not stop running, so he needed to blow and wipe it frequently.

Which kept him up and made his nose burn like fire. 

His throat felt like someone had poured hot metal down it, and it hurt so, so much to breathe. And it seemed like he was solely breathing through his mouth, unable to get any air through his swollen nose. 

And that made it hurt so much more! He thought as he broke out into coughing fit, spluttering everywhere as he tried to sit up a bit to lessen the feeling that he was suffocating. His arms gave out beneath him, causing him to collide cheek first with his pillow. 

He whimpered, still coughing slightly. He didn’t feel well, not even a little bit, he thought as he rolled over again, this time onto his back. He felt like he was drowning in sweat, he felt so overwhelmingly hot and feverish he was surprised he hasn’t combusted into flames yet. 

But at the same time, he was also shivering from the cold; he felt so weird. He was cold, then he was hot, then he was freezing, then he was boiling, and it started all over again! 

His blanket was discarded at his feet as he had kicked it off a while ago and he just didn’t have the energy to...to-

He sneezed into the open air, watching with tired watery eyes as the sneeze particles floated in the air above him, before landing back down on his face. He sniffled damply, feeling another sneeze building before launching forward, catching it with his hand. 

Only to realise that he now had snot all over his hand and face, thick gunky snot running down to his chin. He moaned as he reached blindly for a tissue, wiping his nose with what felt like sandpaper. 

He blew into the tissue, making his ears pop and his head hurt. He could hear himself groan, even to his own ears, he sounded dreadfully sick and congested. 

Maybe if he could just fall asleep, he'd feel better, he thought as he rolled on to his side again, throwing the tissue off the bed. 

He didn’t care where it landed; he felt too sick to care about anything. He looked at the clock one last time.

12:57 am

He whimpered and closed his eyes tight, forcing himself to focus on sleep and not how terribly sick and tired he felt. He just needed to sleep; he felt so tired, he just wanted some sleep…

He felt himself drift off…

---

1:34 am 

He stared at the number, barely able to think straight as he continued to stare and stare. He had only been asleep for half an hour, and he couldn’t even really call that sleep. He had been constantly tossing and turning, on the edge of sleep, but his body refused to let him get there. 

He wailed softly, covering his eyes with his arms as he started to sob. He just wanted to sleep, why was that so hard?! Salty tears ran down his cheek and down the sides of his nose, causing his already sore and swollen runny nose to burn. 

He sniffled, his nose running so much that his upper lip was starting to get really sore as it was constantly moist. He wiped at his nose haphazardly, trying to stop the flow to no avail.

His breath caught, and he started to hitch, sneezing all over himself once again. For the next couple of minutes, all he did was sneeze and wipe his nose, falling into a foul trance of misery. 

He groaned, wet tissue held over his burning red nose. He hesitantly removed it and threw it away, thinking the sneezing fit was over for the moment, but then his nostrils flared, and his breath caught again, and the cycle started all over again. 

As he reached for another tissue, his eyes watering immensely, he saw the time on his clock. 

2:04 am. 

He stared, his hand frozen in mid-air just above the tissue box, his nose dripping relentlessly. 

He has been sneezing and wiping his nose for almost half an hour; he realised in horror as his nose started to protect not being tended to soon enough as it began to flare and twitch. 

An unbearable itch built in his nostrils, causing him to gasp and hitch as he desperately tried to grab a tissue and bring it up to his nose in time, but it was too late, he launched forward and sneezed all over himself and his side table. 

He groaned in misery, collapsing back down against his pillow, tissue held to his nose. This was going to be a long night…

---

He tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable no matter what he did. He felt so hot and bothered, but he also felt so cold, so he was constantly pulling his blanket back on or removing it. 

He sneezed into his pillow, which turned into a throat tearing coughing fit. He moaned as he wiped his nose, he just couldn’t win...

He coughed again and heaved himself up on his elbows, starting to cough so harshly he was almost gagging. He felt like he was going to be sick as his chest rattled with each painful cough, his elbows starting to shake and tremble beneath him.

All of his limbs felt like lead and were getting harder to move each minute he couldn’t get to sleep; he felt so light-headed and weak. His elbows finally gave way, causing him to slam suddenly into his pillow mid cough, making it one thousand times more painful. 

He glanced over at his clock and groaned, covering his eyes with his arms.

2:40 am

---

Just as he was about to fall slightly asleep, nature decided to call and complain that they haven’t talked since yesterday morning. In other words, he was bursting to go to the toilet, he thought with a groan, clenching his stomach.

He felt so exhausted and so, so very sick and out of it at this point that he was tempted to just go where he laid instead of getting up. It wasn’t like his brothers would be surprised by it because after all, he has a history of accidentally wetting the bed from time to time. 

And it was becoming a serious challenge just to hold it, he thought with a whimper, crawled up into a slight ball, his legs held tightly together. And he was sure if he didn’t get up soon, he would have an accident no matter what. 

It was only the fact that he would have to lay in his mess for the rest of the night, (Or get Scott and tell him he wet the bed, either way, he would still need to get up...) that made him slowly sit up and swing his legs off the edge of the bed. 

He pushed himself off the bed, and instantly regretted it, having stood up too fast. He latched onto the bedside table swallowing deeply as he suddenly felt dreadfully dizzy and nauseous. 

He swallowed deeply, almost having an accident there and then, but he was able to catch himself with only a little bit escaping, wetting his undies slightly. But unfortunately, it was wet enough to make the need to go even more intense. 

He whimpered, making his way out of his room the quickest he could, stepping out into the dark, empty hallway. His bare feet touched the cold wood floor, causing shivers to run down his spine. 

He didn't like the dark, and he was suddenly freezing, shivering where he stood. 

(which did not make holding his bladder any easier, his wet undies were freezing cold against his skin.) 

He clenched his door handle, scared to wander into the dark, but his need to go to the toilet overpowered his fear. 

He leaned heavily against the wall for support as he made his way to the toilet room, navigating the hallway the best he could in the state he was in. It was like every step he made seemed to drain his energy more and more, he thought with a little groan, turning left of Gordon’s bedroom and into a little mini hallway. 

The bathroom door was to his right, adjacent Gordon’s bedroom and the toilet room was right in front of him, at the end of the hallway. The momentary relief was almost instantly replaced with horror as his control over his bladder started to slip away at an alarmingly fast speed.

And what followed was a mad dash to turn the toilet room light on, close the door, lift the toilet lid, get his pants and undies down and do all that before he fully and thoroughly wet himself. 

After he finished doing his business, somehow just making it in time with his pyjama pants and undies only getting slightly wet. He stepped out of the toilet room feeling drained of all of his energy, the adrenaline-filled run having used all of it up.

His head was throbbing from the sudden light change, and now that his bladder wasn’t screaming at him anymore, all the other things that had been ailing him all night started to speak up, he thought with a congested sniffle, entering the bathroom. 

He turned the bathroom light on, whimpering slightly at the brightness of the room. The itch in his nose, which he had started to dread feeling, came back full force and left him sneezing multiple times into his elbow, the world spinning around him.  

He grabbed the door frame to steady him, for a second feeling like he was going to throw up. He sniffled damply, his nose dripping immensely, but he didn’t have any tissues on him, so he wiped his nose with his palm.

And almost started crying as his swollen red nose screamed at him, stinging so much that his eyes began to water even more. He sniffled, he just wanted to sleep….

He slowly made his way to the sink, pushing the little stool that normally stood to the side, in front of the sink. He needed the stool to reach the sink, as he was still too small to reach it on his own. 

He stepped onto the stool and turned the tap on, washing his hands with soap like his brothers’ taught him, the cold water feeling nice against his hot, feverish skin. He glanced up at the mirror in front of him and felt his shoulders drop; he looked just as sick and exhausted as he felt...

His eyes were red-rimmed and watery, with dark purple shallows developing under them. His skin was blotchy and covered in sweat, really pale in places but also flushed red from fever in other places, like his cheeks. And the thing that stood out the most, the thing that had been causing him the most misery, was his nose. 

It was rubbed raw, a bright irritated red that stood out against his otherwise pale skin; thick oozing snot hanging out of his inflamed nostrils.  

He stepped down from the stool and walked out of the bathroom, forgetting to turn the lights off as he made his way back to his bedroom in a daze, feeling too sick and exhausted for his brain to function correctly. 

He collapsed belly first onto his bed with a groan, crawling up to his pillow and crawling up into a ball of misery, catching a glimpse of the time.

3:38 am

---

The sun was taunting him! Because with every inch it crawled higher into the sky, lighting his room up, was another minute of possible sleep slipping from his fingers like sand. 

The sun rising was concrete proof of how little sleep he has gotten, and his sick body was struggling to function on so little sleep. His symptoms had steadily worsened as his body gave way to the cold virus that was wracking his system, unable to fight properly in its exhausted state. 

He coughed weakly, staring blankly up at his ceiling, his eyes glazed over with fever and fatigue. His nose decided it wanted in on the ‘fun’ and started to itch, his red nostrils getting damper by the minute. 

He brought his hand up as he hitched and gasped, the itch in his nose getting unbearable until-

He launched forward and sneezed into his hand, some of the stray missing his hand and floating in the air above him. He sniffled and instantly regretted it as that triggered another sneeze, this one bigger and more out of control than the last. 

Which was followed by another one, and another. By the time he was done sneezing, his nose was streaming relentlessly, and his hand and lower face was covered in snot. 

He groaned in agony, coughing slightly as he reached for a tissue. He gently wiped his nose and upper lip, whimpering as the tissue tore across his swollen nose like sandpaper. He threw the used tissue away and grabbed another one with a stuffy sniffle, being it up to his nose and blowing into it.

His ears popped and his head screamed, his headache worsening. He blinked wetly up at the ceiling, tissue still held over his nose, a couple of tears leaking out of the side of his barely opened eyes. He was so tired...

He sniffled into the tissue, his nose starting to feel irradiated and itchy again. His stomach churned at the sensation, dread filling his entire being as he began to hitch and gasp again, before launching forward and sneezing into the already soaked tissue.

Five more powerful and moist sneezes followed, each getting messier and more out of control. By the time he was finally finished sneezing, he was shaking, and tissue in his hand had almost pulp, completely soaked through.

He moaned as he dropped it off the bed, reaching for another tissue but his hand met thin air. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he sat up slightly and reached for the tissue box, spotting the time on his clock briefly.

4:25 am 

His tissue box was empty; he had no more fresh tissues, he realised as he stared down at the empty box, his nose starting to twitch and flare again as another sneeze built. He sneezed all over himself and all over the bedside table, unable to cover in time.

He swayed where he sat, feeling so awfully sick and light-headed, in desperate need of sleep but unable to get any. He collapsed back down onto his pillow with a groan, his bottom lip trembling as he tried to keep the tears away. 

His nose was running, and no amount of sniffling was going to stop it. And to make things even worse, he sneezed again, causing the snot to run even more. He rolled onto his side and spotted a scrunched up tissue lying near the edge of his bed; he grimaced as he reached for it, bringing it up to his nose.

Using the dirty tissue wasn’t pleasant; it was damp and soaked already, the moisture irritating his nose as it was rubbed across his nose. But It was better than using his hand, even if it still left his nose somewhat wet. 

---

He heard Scott get up for his morning run a while ago, which told him it was around five in the morning. And his clock confirmed that fact.

5:24 am 

He would have called out to Scott, (oh he so wanted to) but he just didn’t have the energy, and his throat felt like someone took a razor blade to it, and then poured molten tar down it, so he really couldn’t...

Everything hurt so much, he thought with a whimper, crawled into a ball facing his window. His nose was one hundred times worse now ever since he had to start using the dirty used tissues, his nose glistening with moisture as it glowed bright irritated red. 

He could barely keep his eyes open, and he was flashing in and out of sleep, never able to stay asleep for more than a couple of minutes at most. He could barely move, his limbs feeling boneless and immensely heavy, not wanting to work for him.

The whole act of reaching for a tissue and blowing/wiping his nose, was so exhausting, leaving him so drained. He felt so hot and bothered, his pyjamas soaked with sweat. But he was also getting cold chills, which left him shivering and shaking where he laid. 

One minute he was overwhelmingly hot, and then the other, he was freezing cold, wishing for his blanket which he had kicked off the bed.

He didn’t have the energy to sit up and get it; he barely had the strength to blow his nose, let alone do that, he thought as he broke into a coughing fit, his chest heaving and rattling with each cough. 

He just wanted to get some sleep, any sleep, he thought with a damp sniffle, a used tissue clenched in his hand. He sniffled again, before sneezing into his pillow. 

He brought the tissue up and dabbed at his nose, feeling too weak to do much else. The dirty tissue didn’t really work; it just spread the snot around instead of wiping it up. 

It felt like he was wiping wet sandpaper back and forth his sore nose. His upper lip was feeling the pain as well, seeing as his runny nose dripped onto it.

And he was breathing through his mouth, which was starting to chap and dry his lips out and in turn made them sore. 

He heard voices in the hallway, which sound like Scott and Virgil. Scott must have gotten back from his run, he thought, coughing as he glanced over at his clock. 

5:47 am 

Usually, six or six-thirty was the time Scott and Virgil would get them up for school, Scott getting up an hour earlier to fit in his morning run. John and Virgil woke up earlier than him or Gordon as well, but he knew for Virgil it was out of necessity, not a choice. 

He didn’t know if John was a morning person or not, he was normally gone by the time he woke up, as John had to catch a train into the city and be at his collage by eight at the latest. 

He sniffled, before starting to hitch, breaking into a loud and messy sneezing fit, which was followed by an equally violent coughing fit. 

The hallway went silent.

His bedroom door cracked open, causing him to look over with a sickly groan. Scott was standing in the doorway, his hair wet from his morning shower, with a concerned expression on his face.

“Allie, are you okay?” Scott asked softly, opening the door a little more. “You don’t need to be up yet sweetie..”

He blinked, his exhausted brain taking a while to realise that Scott, his big brother, was standing right there, but once it did? His face scrunched up, all of the night’s frustrations and sorrows rising to the surface. 

And he burst into tears, wailing loudly.

[tuesdayx]

So I thought it would be fun to do a song-by-song breakdown of our latest album Essential.

Essential started as some rough demos designated for a side project in late 2019, which then became our largest album to date in terms of song selection. Many of the themes deal with learning to cope with the changing world thanks to Covid, with a perspective of someone who had to keep working at an "essential" job with no option of self-quarantine. I was happy to continue working and being able to pay my bills over the past year, but there was always elements of stress, fear, and tension lingering over myself and everyone else in my position.

So here we go; starting from the top let's look at the Songs of Tuesday X's 6th album Essential.

1. Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams: the title was a reference to the 9/11 conspiracy memes, which as stated in the opening lines, "has nothing to do with this song." Written in January of 2020 before Covid had made any significant impact in the US, the song touches on many themes which happened to occur throughout the year, such as [another] Californian forest fire (Australia too), new diseases (Covid), a riot (the BLM movement over the summer, which I will state everything that movement has been fighting for is 100% justified and the United States is in desperate need of Police reform, as does our political system which has remained inherently racist to this day.), Civil War (and exaggeration for sure, but the civil unrest and political division in our country will soon split us apart further), more corporate giants(companies like Amazon profited more from this Pandemic than ever before and have helped further the gap between the American working class and the top 1%). Favorite line: "I won't get philosophical, I only wanted your attention."

2. The Only Difference Between You and Me is a Sense of Apathy and Your Brand New Nikes: This song is a blithing criticism of the American political system. Our two party system has left Americans with a choice between "the lesser of two evils" and allows politicians with no true interest in our needs to rise to power. The use of 3rd parties as an alternative is a overly simple compromise that would only just begin to alleviate the problems created in our political system. Both of our main parties are considered conservative parties to the rest of the world, and any progressive measures that would benefit society and reduce the effects of climate change are considered radical and preposterous by politicians with financial stakes in our crooked system where corporatations hold control and the people are treated as fuel for an otherwise worthless currency. Favorite line: "Listen to the radio, they played my favorite song. Now I'm bored and wanting more."

3. Blame it on the Elves: the title is a reference to an episode of the Podcast "Lore" by Aaron Menke (i can't recall which episode, but you should check it out anyway because it's great listen.) An instrumental interlude inspired by ragtime music of the 1920-30's, with an edge of course.

4. Class of Dropouts: This song was written when I was 16 during my sophomore year of high school and was originally featured on my now unavailable album "trees" before adopting the Tuesday X monicker. I brought it back 6 years later because I loved how raw and punk it was. The lyrics are dorky but I decided to leave them as is, it's a cool track for high school stoners to blare and let out their teen angst. Favorite line: "Walking in on my friends fucking."

5. Polaroids on My Bulletin Board: This is a song about growing up. As a 22 year old (now 23) who decided not to go to college straight out of high school, I felt isolated from my peers in a way. By going into the workfield right away I sometimes feel like I skipped a few years and missed out on a lot of opportunities. I regret not leaving my hometown sooner than I did and chasing my dreams of being a touring musician in a band. More often than not I reminisce of my youth playing shows and getting into trouble, as I now feel old and out of place in a scene I grew up in. Favorite line: "I know what it's like to be alive, I know what it's like to live a lie."

6. Labradoodle Underpass: Going back on the theme of growing up, this is about my recent experience with shows as an adult. When I was a teenager I felt ambitious and ready for anything, and I would drop literally everything to go to the nearest show. As an adult I feel introverted and constantly anxious about the world around me. I've missed out on a lot of great shows due to my own self doubt's and anxiety. Now that shows have been canceled for over a year I feel even more regret by not appreciating them more while I could. Favorite line: "23 years and a lingering fear that anything could happen, why am I here?"

7. Some Shit: This was me trying to be modest mouse lol jangly guitars and half talking/half singing vocals describing the world around me. I guess in a way it was an exercise in writing character description and setting, but otherwise it's just a chill track that almost feels aimless at parts. Favorite Line: "it's just some shit I learned from a friend. Just some shit I learned when I was trying to prepare."

8: Woe is the World: On the album this is a chorus snippet that barely a minute long (the full version is available as a bonus track on bandcamp, and it was actually a demo that turned out better than the final version.) I originally wrote this song when I was 15 with a different set of lyrics, but I came back to it while writing this album and re-wrote it to reflect my mental state and the world around me. Overall, just another melancholy track in a sea of melancholy songs. Favorite line: "you've never felt more alone than you do now, was everything worth it in the end?"

9. Then Why Was it Named Gideon?: the title is a reference to a line in Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour (my favorite series) and like the first track on this album doesn't have much to do with the song. "Gideon" is a simple love song, talking again about how growing up sucks but having the right person by your side can make all the shitty times worth it in the end. Favorite line: "it's time to move on, you're taking too long."

10. I am Here, I'm Looking at Her, and She is Beautiful: This song is entirely about the book "Perks of Being a Wallflower". That's it. Nothing else, let's move on. Favorite line: "Over Christmas I read them a poem about a brown paper bag and the boy who wrote it."

11. Try to Be a Filter, Not a Sponge: Like the previous song, this one is also mostly about "Perks of Being a Wallflower", but with elements of my own experience with toxic relationships. I like to think of it as the character Charlie's experience with Mary Elizabeth overall though. Favorite line: "She called my favorite book washed out trash, said I have no taste and I'm still too sad."

12. Lavender Spray Bottle: This instrumental dates back to 2017. I recorded the guitar part as a demo on my phone and forgot about it. Over time I forgot how to play the guitar part, so I used the demo as a basis and layered everything else on top of it. The title is a reference to a bottle of water with lavender essential oils mixed in that my ex used to fend away spiders in the house we lived in at the time.

13. Hindsight is 2020: I will admit, this is my favorite song on the whole album and was actually the last to be written and recorded. With a simple guitar part and layers of vocals, this song is a direct reflection of life during the peak of the pandemic. With curfews in place and rising case counts, I had to learn to cope with life at home during my late nights away from work. My partner was quarantined during this time and I reflected on the mental strain this put on her. Favorite line: "Don't go to work, you need the money but you're not happy when you're there. Sometimes life is so unfair."

14. I Don't Know How to Deal With Serious Emotions Without Turning Them into a Fucking Joke: the title came from a meme I found on my phone from high school. The song itself was about my own inability to handle serious emotions without coming off as sarcastic. In both the music and lyrics, the song starts as a simple confession before exploding into raw chaos. Favorite line: "it's so hard. I'm so scared, what have I become?"

15. Say Hello to My Little Friend: the last instrumental on this album. A short haunting tune that reflects the final two tracks. The title is probably a reference to Rambo or something, but I never watched it and I thought it fit the feeling of this song.

16. Minneapolis: What became one of the most emotional tracks on this song actually began as a joke. My partner was snap chatting a friend one night and they asked me to write them a song on the spot. So I improvised the first two verses and chorus of this song, referencing her going to school there at the time. I found I actually liked what I had written however, so I refined the track and changed it from a sassy country song into a melancholic lament of my experience in the twin cities and southern Minnesota. Favorite line: "I miss Camp Snoopy, and Paul Bunyon's log flume ride that went around the whole damn mall."

17. Before the Sunrise: the final song on the album is an intimate look at my relationship with my partner. Through past experiences i have become riddled with self doubt and always looking at improving myself as a person. With hopes that one day I'll be the person I'd like to be for mine and their sake, it's an optimistic tribute to my best friend. Favorite line: "the cycle ends until the sun rises again, you're my best friend."

Thank you all so much! Check out Essential and our other music on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple, and other places! I hope you all enjoyed this personal look at these songs that got me through the worst parts of 2020.

[strongerwiththepack]

Sensory Sunday: Touch

Whoops I’m a bit late but here’s my ‘touch’ fic for @gumnut-logic's new challenge. The boys weren’t cooperating with me today but I think it turned out alright in the end!

Hyperthermia vs. Hypothermia 

“Do you two coordinate your disasters just to irate me?” Virgil asked in exasperation as he warmed up another heating pad between his hands.

Scott just shrugged but Gordon grinned at him. “Just keeping you on your t-toes bro.”

The joke was kind of lost in the sound of chattering teeth so Virgil just rolled his eyes and placed the final heating pad onto Gordon’s chest. His little brother hissed slightly at the startling change in temperature. Virgil eyed him wearily, he was still pale and his lips had a slight blue tinge to them but at least he was shivering again which meant he was warming up.

He crossed the infirmary to examine how his other patient was doing. Scott, in complete contrast, had a cooling blanket draped over him with ice packs around his neck and armpits. Virgil removed the cold compress from his brother’s forehead and held his hand over it, cringing at the heat still coming off him.

Somehow Scott had come back from his rescue with severe heatstroke and then he’d had to go and pick up Gordon because he’d managed to get hypothermia. It was almost laughable. In fact he had laughed, and now he was regretting all his life choices as he yoyoed between heating and cooling treatments.

“You’re dehydrated, you need to keep drinking Scott.” He reiterated, eyeing the still full glass of water he’d left by his brother’s bed. “Don’t make me put an IV in.”

“Don’t even think about it.” Scott grumbled, grabbing the glass, a little too aggressively, and drinking a few sips.

Scott’s skin was sunburnt and irritated and Virgil could see it starting to peel at his hairline and cheeks. He’d already put cream on them so there wasn’t much more he could do.

“Don’t blame me, you were the one who decided not to wear your UV shielded helmet.” Virgil shot back with a hint of annoyance in his tone because this could all have been avoided if his older brother wasn’t such an idiot.

Scott just glared at him and Virgil rolled his eyes. He knew his brother was regretting that decision now that he was confined to the infirmary and off duty for 48 hours. He’d argued about the amount of time but Virgil was not budging on that one. He knew the dangers of heatstroke and he wasn’t risking his brother going out before he was ready.

“Hey V-Virgil, seeing as I kept my helmet on, do I w-win this one?” Gordon called.

“Seeing as you were at the bottom of the ocean, I’m glad you made that decision.” Virgil replied with a smile shaking his head.

Scott piqued up then, apparently putting the dots together. “How did you end up with Hypothermia anyway Gordon? Your suit should have protected you from those temperatures.”

Trust Scott to jump on the big brother train first opportunity he got. Gordon just grinned sheepishly.

“Well I said I kept my helmet on, I never said anything about the rest of my suit.”

“What!? Gordon, report.”

Virgil sighed. “Scott you’re supposed to be resting. You’re both supposed to be resting.”

Scott narrowed his eyes at Gordon.

“Fine.”  He said getting comfy on the bed. “Let’s call it a bedtime story then, on you go Gordon.”

Virgil frowned but didn’t stop Gordon as he dove into the story with all his usual dramatics. He was pretty curious as well, he’d only heard a condensed version from John earlier.

***

“I’ve just got one more to get John” Gordon told his space monitor brother as he prepared to swim across from Thunderbird 4 to the downed submersible once again.

John popped up looking slightly distracted. “Okay Gordon. Listen, Scott’s got himself in a bit of trouble, think you’ll be okay to navigate solo?”

“FAB John.”

Gordon felt some concern rising for his oldest brother, but John would’ve told him if it was serious. He turned his focus back to the rescue. 3 crewmen aboard a research submersible in the Arctic Ocean that had been hit by a Bowhead whale.

Gordon was familiar with the mammal, Bowhead whales have a massive triangular skull to help them break through the ice in these waters so its unsurprising that it was able to do so much damage to the tiny sub. The entire vehicle was flooded, luckily the crew all had dry suits and breathing apparatus. The problem was getting them from their vehicle to Thunderbird 4 through the strong currents in the water. Due to the unpredictable waters he wasn’t able to dock safely to the vehicle.

So, now he was free swimming across with the researchers but he had to take them one at a time in case the currents were too strong for them to make the swim. It was a fairly standard rescue. He should be done soon. John had directed him to the divers in the first place but he knew where to go now.

Gordon swam through the outer hatch once more, battling his way across to the submersible. These definitely weren’t recreational waters, the current was strong. He really had to pump through the water hard to get through. It was a cross current so he was swimming pretty much diagonally to where he wanted to go, pushing against the current while also propelling himself forward. It was slow work but his hand finally found a rung on the research vessel.

Pulling himself through the opening he’d made previously he swam through the flooded hallways to where he left the last researcher.

“Final call for dry land.” He called out as he turned the corner. Luckily the woman was right where he’d left her and she smiled gratefully.

“What would we do without you International Rescue.” She said in a relieved tone, her Icelandic accent coming though strongly.

“All in a day’s work ma’am” Gordon replied with a smile as he attached a line between them. It was always nice meeting kind people on the job. It was pretty rare when everyone you met was going through what was likely one of the worst experiences of their life so he usually shrugged off any unsavoury characters.

They were almost at the door when the compulsory disaster every rescue seemed to contain occurred. The whole station started to flip on its side and they were thrown into the wall. Gordon felt a searing pain in his side as a piece of bent metal cut into his suit. It was a shallow cut but that wasn’t what Gordon needed to worry about. He hissed as a flood of sub-zero temperature water flooded into his suit. It felt like daggers against his bare skin.

Okay. That puts a time limit on things.

He sucked in a sharp breath, trying to stop his heart racing from the shock of the cold water and turned to the researcher.

“Are you alright?” he gasped out.

“I’m fine.” She seemed a little dazed before noticing the tear in his suit and widening her eyes. “Your suit?”

“I’ll be fine.” He shrugged off. “Let just get you out of here.”

She looked at him with uncertainty but complied, nonetheless. Oxygen wasn’t an issue, he doubted it would leak into his helmet to that extent before they got back to Thunderbird 4. He wasn’t stupid though, he knew the risks in these temperatures but the best thing to do would be to just finish the rescue as quickly as possible.

He started swimming with the researcher swimming behind him. None of the research team would have made it through the currents alone, the connecting cable pulled taunt every time and he ended up propelling himself and his passenger through the water. It was what he expected though, the required level of swimming ability you needed to obtain an underwater vehicle license was pretty low.

The swim was definitely harder this time though, the cold seeping into his suit seemed to be burning his skin and his limbs were feeling sluggish. It didn’t help that the rip was near his chest, it would be reducing his core body temperature a lot faster. He was surprised John wasn’t already screaming at him.

His muscles were burning by the time he was able to latch on to his bird and he took a second to catch his breath before opening the outer hatch. He let the researcher in before him and gave a sigh as the water drained out of the compartment. Usually he’d be completely dry under the suit at this point but the soaked fabric clung to him and he shivered violently.

He secured the last researcher with her colleagues, leaving them with a reassuring smile, that probably wasn’t vey reassuring considering how bad his teeth were chittering, before heading to the cockpit and letting out a sigh. He was freezing.

“Thunderbird 4, your suit readings are showing a sharp decline in body temperature. What’s your status?”

John had popped up on the comm, his brow furrowed. Gordon was feeling pretty rubbish but he didn’t want to distract his brother if Scott still needed help.

“I’m okay Thunderbird 5, go help Scott.” He assured.

“Scott’s fine Gordon, he’s back on Tracy Island now. What’s your status?”

Gordon sighed in relief, realising he’d been holding on to some stress about his brothers situation subconsciously.

“My suit was compromised while in the water John.” He reported. “I may be in the beginning stages of hypothermia.” He replied sheepishly.

What he didn’t expect was an amused smirk from John and the questioning tone. “Hypothermia?”

Gordon was confused now, he was in the Arctic Ocean with a ripped dry suit, of course he was hypothermic. He must have let some of that confusion show on his face because John just shook his head and muttered. “It doesn’t matter, just know Virgil is not going to be happy.”

“Can you make it to the drop-off point?” John asked him, changing the subject.

Gordon was still confused at his brothers questioning but replied. “Yeah, I’m only 20 minutes off the port, but I may need a pick-up from there.”

“FAB Gordon, I’ll notify Virgil. Let me know if it gets any worse.”

“Thanks John.”

***

“And then Virgil came to rescue me and brought the warmth with him.” Gordon ended, snuggling down into his pile of blankets and heat pads.

“John called me exactly 30 seconds after I had got Scott settled and treated for heatstroke telling me that you had hypothermia and needed a picked up.” Virgil interjected shaking his head in mock disappointment.

“You know you love us.” Gordon grinned and Virgil was glad the colour seemed to be coming back to his cheeks. He repositioned the heat packs that had fallen out of place during his brother’s theatrical hand gestures.

Scott groaned. “Urghh, just looking at those heat pads is making want to throw up again.”

“Again? I think it’s story time for you now big brother.” Gordon piqued up.

Now it was Scott’s turn to look sheepish. “Wellll I was in Mongolia helping with earthquake evacuations and bear in mind here that this rescue took over 10 hours”

***

“Okay John, I’m moving on to Sector G now.”

“What? Scott you just finished searching Sector G.”

“Oh. Sector…” Scott had to do a quick run through of the alphabet to figure out what came next. “…H then. Sector H.”

John noticed the pause.

“There is no Sector H Scott. You’re done.”

“Uh…Great. I’ll head back to One then” Scott said looking around about him. He was glad to be done, he’d had a pretty bad headache for a couple of hours now but it had started to subside.

John frowned at him but replied anyway. “FAB Scott.”

Scott slowly made his way back to his bird. He was desperately looking forward to a nice long, cool shower when he got home. It had been a long day and he technically hadn’t needed to stay past the last aftershock but the local aid services just didn’t have the equipment they did. It was a much faster evacuation with him helping. He had been out in the sun all day though and he could feel the heat on his face.

Gordon was so going to laugh at him for getting burnt and he could already hear Virgil’s lecture on wearing sun cream.

“Scott, where are you going?” John questioned as he popped up on his watch.

Scott looked around himself. He had no idea where he was going. Huh.

“Uh, I might be a little lost Thunderbird 5.”

John frowned at him again. One of those frowns that said you’re acting weird.

“I’ll send through coordinates.”

“Thanks John.”

His brother signed off again. Scott knew Gordon was on another rescue so he didn’t bother his space-bound brother again, even though it took him way longer to calculate a path from the coordinates than it should have.

Finally setting eyes on his bird was a relief. The insulated metal encasing that promised a cool environment inside. Except when he did step inside, and the cool air hit him, all that greeted him was a strong feeling of nausea. He barely had time to grab a bin bag before he was emptying the contents of his stomach into it. He sank down onto his knees and heaved over the bag as the feeling failed to pass.

“-ott what’s wrong?” He finally registered.

Bringing his arm up he was met with a worried looking John which managed to shake him out of the nauseous daze he’d ended up in.

“John. M’fine.” He mumbled. It didn’t even sound convincing to himself.

He pushed himself off the floor but was met with worrying double vision before it tunnelled and he ended up on his knees again, slumping sideways into the wall of his bird, trying to blink the spots out of his eyes.

“You’re not fine, Scott. Stay down.” John ordered. “When did this start?”

Scott sighed, moving to sit with his back against the wall, resigned to his fate as John quizzed him. He was usually pretty good at pretending to be fine but not being able to stand up was a bit of a giveaway.

“I don’t know John. When I got to my bird, I just felt really ill.”

John’s lips pursed but his attention got pulled to something on his left.

“Hang on Scott, it’s Gordon.” He made to blink away but turned back warning. “Don’t move.”

Scott started to stand up as soon as his brother was gone. In his defence, he did take it very slow this time. He leaned heavily against the wall as he stood, breathing deeply to try and dispel the nausea. His skin was tight and irritated, he rested his cheek against the cool metal of his bird and sighed at the relief it provided. His skin was on fire. That probably gave him an indication of what was making him feel sick. Virgil was going to murder him.

He stumbled up to the cockpit and sat down heavily in the pilots chair. John popped up on the dash.

“Scott. What did I say?”

Scott just smiled innocently. “Sorry bro.”

John growled in annoyance. “It’s not funny Scott. You could have passed out and hit your head. And you are not flying home.”

“John I’m fine.” Scott tried to reassure. “It was just a dizzy spell.”

“Scott, I am remote flying One home and Virgil is going to be waiting for you at the other end to take you to the infirmary because we are pretty sure you have heatstroke.”

Yeah he was pretty sure on that as well so he just groaned and leaned his head back against the chair. He tried closing his eyes but the world spun around him every time he did so he focused on a spot on the roof and fought to keep the contents of his stomach as John flew him home.

***

“Ha! You’re way more of a screw up than me.” Gordon boasted as soon as Scott was finished. “I’m here because of an unavoidable accident whereas you’re here cause you’re just an idiot.”

Scott scoffed at the statement but Virgil just raised his eyes in amusement. At Scott’s look of betrayal he stated. “What? He’s not wrong.”

“Virgil I was busy!”

“Not too busy to take care of yourself. All you’ve accomplished is John having to monitor your sun exposure and water intake from now on.”

“John doesn’t have time for that.”

“Exactly! So, stop making it a necessity.”

Scott huffed in frustration but Virgil just glared at him. He could see Gordon out of the corner of his eye itching to break the awkward silence but he gave his brother a slight shake of his head. He was not letting Scott get away with this one. He could understand one mistake but this was not the first time this had happened. Scott needed a reminder that they were not invincible, especially to the forces of nature.

He was pretty sure that in Scott’s mind the only dangers were the stuff that could actually hit you. That’s why Virgil had to be the one that watched out for the more subtle heath concerns of their job but he was tired of Scott not listening to him.

“Okay.” Scott finally conceded. “I’m sorry, I was being stupid.”

“Good.” Virgil nodded, accepting the statement. He was pretty sure that was all he was going to get out of his stubborn eldest brother.

Scott flopped his arms over his eyes and Virgil winced, knowing Scott probably had a horrible headache at the moment.

“The ice in those packs has probably melted by now. I’ll swap them out.” Virgil reasoned heading to the door so he could replenish their supply of ice from the kitchen.

“Good idea, I feel like a furnace.” Scott replied, arms still covering his face and mumbling his words slightly.

“That’s it.” Gordon suddenly declared. “I’m coming over to cuddle.”

Scott deadpanned him. “We are not cuddling Gordon.”

Gordon was already climbing out of his own bed though, keeping one of his blankets clutched tightly around him as he shivered. “Too late. Gimme some of that heat”

Virgil just laughed as he swiftly made his exit. It honestly wasn’t the worst idea in the world. He could still hearing his brothers bickering as he walked down the hall though.

“Just so you know, I kick in my sleep.”

“Gordon get off my bed!”

[its-an-obsession]

Missing

Teen Wolf Masterlist | Full Masterlist

Liam Dunbar X-reader

Let’s just say I hated Beacon Hills. It wasn’t the people, it was the fact that the town leaked of supernatural beings. I was risking my life almost everyday. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, which probably wasn’t the best idea on my part. I ended up staying with my Aunt Kristin and Uncle Sam who live about an hour away from Beacon Hills. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why would I leave my hometown only to stay an hour away?

To answer your question. My Aunt and Uncle both believed in the werewolves and shit like that. They’ve put wolfs-bane and mountain ash all around the house. That way I was safe and sound. One day my Aunt Kristin got an anonymous phone call saying that I needed to come back to my home away from home. I had three suspects of who it could’ve been:

A. Liam

B. Scott

C. Stiles

Now, those are all pretty good choices. Ya see, Liam is my boyfriend. I know it was a stupid ass decision that I left the love of my life wondering where the hell his girlfriend is. Scott and Stiles are like brothers to me. All three of them treated me like family, but I just couldn’t bare to risk my life for them. Don’t get my wrong, I don’t want them to die. But I love my body parts attached to me too much to go prancing around in a town infested with monsters.

 I’ve made some great memories in Beacon Hills, I grew up there. My favorite memory is when I was six years old. My parents had just been introduced to Liam’s family. I remembered laughing because a cute boy with ‘Cooties’ was coming over to play. Liam and I lost contact throughout middle school, but since freshmen year we’ve close. I sat in the living room figuring what I should do. “I think you should go back,” my Aunt said as she walked down the stairs. I stood up from the couch, “What do you mean?”

“You’ve got a life there,” She said, “Look, I can’t keep lying to my sister saying I don’t know where you are!”

“I can’t go back,” I said. She sat me back down and held my hands, “Why?”

“Cause I like my body in one piece,” I countered. 

“Don’t be snarky with me,” She said. “Sorry,” I smiled weakly. 

“Listen,” She said, “Sweetie, there are people there that love you. I know that boyfriend of yours loves you deeply.” She nudged my shoulder then added, “I’ve already packed your stuff.” She pointed up the stairs. I rolled my eyes and went to the room to see that my backpack was stuffed with my belongings. I picked up the backpack and scanned the room one last time. I’m not sure when the next time I will be seeing this bedroom. 

I ran back downstairs with the heavy backpack and small purse hanging from my wrist. I noticed she had something in her hand. “I need you to have this,” she handed me a dagger then a pouch of something, “These are going to protect you. Your friends are probably already looking for you.” She kissed my forehead and practically shoved me out of the front door. I put my earbuds in and listened to some music to help me calm my nerves. I stared at my phone debating whether I should call Liam. I decided not to call him and just slipped my phone in my back pocket. It’s only been 30 minutes and my feet already felt like I walked through hell and back. It was starting to get dark soon, so I found a tree to sit against. I rummaged through my bag and eventually found a small blanket, two granola bars, and a large water bottle. 

I set the backpack in front of me and put a circle of mountain ash around my body. I leaned against the tree and closed my eyes. 

******

    It was still a little bit dark when I woke up. I checked my phone and saw that it 4:00 am. I silently brushed the mountain ash away and stepped over the leftover rim. I picked up my stuff and made sure I wasn’t really loud. I kept the silver dagger in one hand and my flashlight in the other. The cold air made an eerie noise as I walked. I should’ve left when it was still daylight, I began to regret my decision. Why didn’t I take a car? or had my aunt drive me? Too late now! I eventually grabbed a jacket to drape around my arms, but I was still freezing. Of course it had to be cold on a night that I venture into the forest to go back home. My phone then started to ring, “Shit!” I mumbled. 

“Hello?” I whispered, “Hello?” No answer, I hung up and continued to walk. I brought my focus back to not stepping on dead leaves and twigs. As I kept creeping I heard a snap pf a branch. I stopped walking and froze in fear. I could see flashlights in the distance, but who knows if they’re werewolves who somehow can hold flashlights while transformed into their beast like form. I rushed to hide behind a tree. I hugged my backpack and kept the dagger close, while my flashlight was completely off. The lights soon reached to where I was hiding. 

“Anyone here?” They called. I recognized the voice as a young boy. He was with three other people. “Hello?” a different boy called, “I can hear their heartbeat. They’re here!” My eyes widened. Well shit, I’m for sure dead meat now. I gripped the dagger and jumped out from my hiding spot. I kept my eyes shut, “I have a knife and I’m not afraid to use it!” The flashlight was shown in my face, which caused me to cower. 

“Y/n?” The boy asked. “How do you-” I opened my eyes to find my boyfriend standing there wide eyed (GIF Above). “Surprise!” I grinned. He dropped his flashlight and collapsed me into a hug, “I thought you were dead!”

He turned around to look at the people behind him, “We all did!” Stiles and Scott emerged from the darkness. “Where did you go?” Scott questioned. Liam let me go but preceded to carry my backpack and hold my hand. “My Aunt and Uncles house,” I answered, “They live about an hour away.”

“Why?” Liam brought my attention to himself. “I was scared, I wasn’t ready to sacrifice myself for people,” I said, “and I realize now that my decision was a stupid and selfish choice.” Stiles rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, “Yeah think?”

Scott glared at him then looked at me, “We’re just glad you’re okay!”

Liam put his hands on my face so I could focus on him, “Don’t ever do that ever again, you hear me?” I nodded and smiled shyly. 

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. He kissed my forehead then brought me in for another hug. Scott walked over and put a hand on my shoulder, “Let’s get you home. Your mom wouldn’t stop bombarding me with questions for the last month.” Liam and Scott put their arms around my shoulders as we waltzed to Stiles’ blue jeep.  

[scribbles97]

Left Behind - Chapter 30

PART 1 / PART 2

Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 / Chapter 24 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 26 / Chapter 27 / Chapter 28 / Chapter 29

TRIGGER WARNING - MENTION OF MISCARRIAGE

It was only out of convenience that she and Lee had agreed to share the twin room of the suite. After all, Sally had volunteered to take the single room and Hugh and Kyrano the other twin. It left the boys to top and tail in the two double rooms and John and Ridley to take the double room across the hall. 

It didn’t mean Val had to like it. 

Lee was insufferable when he was worried. 

She knew he meant well. Knew it was simply because he cared. Knew that he got scared that he would lose something more than what he had in the past. 

It was because of his and Lucy’s parents that International Rescue had been born. Jeff had seen the grief of the loss and how it had affected his wife and his best friend. He had been there when the blame had been thrown back and forth, if only someone had been there faster, if there had been something to dig through the snow quicker, if only one of them had gone with them.

She remembered the day well though, remembered how both Gordon and Alan had been fussing, Virgil had had the flu, and Scott, John, and Jeff had gone to the store simply to escape it all. Her parents in law had wanted to escape it too, suggested to Lee that they took a walk up the mountain for some fresh air before dinner. They had tried to insist that he go with them and leave Val and Lucy with the three moaning children that just wanted to play in the snow. 

She remembered how he had refused, insisted that he was going to make the most of the time with his wife before he headed to Mars just a matter of weeks later. 

Absentmindedly, she felt for the ring on her finger, the plain silver band still in place after all that time. 

She knew he didn’t really blame her for what had happened to his parents. It was just a case of hurt and unfortunate circumstances that everything bad that had happened to Lee had always happened whilst she was around. 

She had been the one to lose their baby after all. 

A rescue that only she knew she shouldn’t have been on. It had been all hands on deck, everyone needed to help where they could. There was a reason she hated earthquakes most of all. Aftershocks that nobody could ever quite predict and buildings already made unstable threatened further destruction. 

The stupid thing was she hadn’t even been inside when it had happened. When the aftershock had hit and the community centre had come down and a stray rebar hit her just in the wrong place. 

She knew immediately there was no hope for the baby she had been carrying, barely a clump of cells but already so much a part of her. 

It wasn’t until much later that she found out that there never would be a baby. It was a sacrifice the doctors had had to make in order to save her. 

Surrogacy and adoption had been thrown around as ideas too early on, when she and Lee had still been hurting and grieving for someone they had never even met. Perhaps she would have considered it, if only life hadn’t gotten so hectic, if five nephews and an adoptive niece hadn’t filled the hole left. 

Lee had gotten angry. Blamed her for being out in the field when she shouldn’t have been. Not only had she risked her own life and that of their baby, but others too. More what ifs had been thrown around, accusations that couldn’t be taken back even if only said in anger. 

She could pinpoint the exact day their marriage had ended, even if no papers had ever been signed. 

It was only a fear of being lonely that left them together. 

And it was only habit that they shared a drawer in the hotel room. 

Except when she came back from her shower, half the drawer was empty. Glancing around the room, she realised that a whole half of it was empty. No glasses on the bedside table, no dirty socks left at the bottom of the bed, and come to think of it, no toothbrush in the bathroom. 

No sign of Lee anywhere. 

She should have seen it coming, they were moving Lucy that day. Taking her home to the Island so that her family could be near her even in between rescues. 

Except Lee had disagreed, had insisted that she would be better off in hospital with real supervision and real equipment available. Virgil and Sally had quickly shot him down, insisting that Elliot was more than capable of monitoring Lucy and their equipment more than sufficient. 

With the rest of the family on side, there had been no competition. 

Pulling out her phone she set it to dial as she rubbed her cropped hair dry. 

“Val,” The accented voice of Kyrano answered, “I’m currently securing the airport.”

She sighed, rummaging through her bag with a shake of her head, “Lee’s running.”

Kyrano snorted, at least that was what it sounded like down the line, some noise of disapproval before he tutted. Val stayed silent, waiting for some confirmation that he at least wouldn’t get out of that airport without Kyrano knowing. 

“Have you spoken to him?”

Holding her phone to her ear using her shoulder as she fastened her bra she rolled her eyes. Everyone always left it to her to speak to Lee, some old assumption relating to the remains of their marriage no doubt. On occasion the duty would fall to Lucy, being the older of the pair there was a certain authority she held over Lee that she was willing to use when needed. 

Lucy was unavailable though, so it was clear who the job fell to. 

“Not yet.” She sighed, kicking her legs in the hope her jeans would pull on just that little bit easier, “I wasn’t sure if anyone might have spoken to him, didn’t want to scare him further away if I could help it.”

“He might not be running,” Kyrano reasoned, “He did alright after Jeff vanished.”

Vanished. The word still seemed wrong considering for so long they had been saying how he had died. 

When Jeff had vanished Lee had been there, had been the one that had tried to get Jeff off of the damn ship before it blew. He had been there to actively do something at the time of the accident. 

He hadn’t even known where Lucy was when she had been hurt. 

“This is different,” She murmured, “And you know it.”

Kyrano sighed again, “Alright, I’ll tell my people to keep an eye out but you need to find out for sure if he’s a definite flight risk.”

Val scoffed as she picked up her shirt from the pile, “I’ll find out alright.”

“Keep me updated.” Kyrano told her, “I’ll see you at the airport later.”

“F.A.B.” 

Throwing the phone onto her bed, she glared at it briefly as she found the arm holes of the top. Like they didn’t already have enough on that day with moving Lucy, no minor deal given the security in place and medical equipment required. 

Groaning in frustration as the shirt refused to pull on, she stopped for a minute, standing with the stretchy material over her head and only one arm in a sleeve. 

“Inconsiderate bloody bas--” She uttered, spying the label of the shirt in front of her and realising it was back to front. 

“Why?” She uttered to herself as she pulled her arm from the sleeve and twisted the material around over her head, “Why can’t he just think? Huh? We’re all bloody stressed and unhappy and-- Oh come on!”

Top twisted too far or not far enough, she wasn’t sure, but the label was still in front of her face. Yanking it off of her head she threw it on the bed alongside her phone, deciding that the tank top would do, even if the weather outside was on the cooler side.

She’d be in her car at least. 

Grabbing her phone and leather jacket from the bed, she turned for the suite door, pressing dial as she went and resisting the urge to curse at the busy tone that answered. 

“Aunt Val?” Alan called as she passed him on the sofa, “Where you goin’?”

She smiled, turning to the youngest nephew as she straightened her collar, “Just to talk to your Uncle, have you seen him?”

“Nah,” Alan sighed, “heard him go though, like early this morning.”

Frowning at him, she tilted her head, “It’s not like you to be up early?”

His eyes fell to his datapad as he locked the screen and tilted it towards himself. 

“Alan.” She warned, dropping her voice and narrowing her eyes at him. 

He pouted, sighing as he looked up to her, “Please don’t get mad?”

Shifting over to sit on the arm of the sofa, she folded her arms, “What have you been up to?”

Still watching the tablet in his lap, he sighed heavily, “I was playing on the simulators, seeing if I could beat John’s high score.”

Raising an eyebrow, Val tilted her head, “And did you?”

“Turns out I couldn’t actually find what his score was.” Alan huffed, “So, I don’t know.”

From what Lucy had been saying, and from what she had seen herself, it was entirely possible that Alan could have at least matched John’s score. 

Not that she was going to tell him that yet. 

“How about, when we get back home you and me will have a go on the full simulator?” She offered, “Show the others what you’re made of.”

He sat straighter immediately, “Really? We can?”

If he had have been younger she would have ruffled his hair, but Alan was too big for that now. Too old to be treated like the youngest without protest. 

“You’ll fly Three Kid, I’ll make sure of it.”

She didn’t add that if Lee didn’t pull his finger out it might have been sooner than any of them had expected. 

***

Anger had been the prominent feature on Scott’s face when she had arrived at the hospital and told him Lee was gone. 

That had quickly been followed by rushed, tense words and a show of storming out of the room with a promise to find him. 

Val had been left with Lucy, silently praying that her sister-in-law would forgive her for letting her little brother slip away as he had. She didn’t doubt her best friend would understand, Lucy had always said how stubborn and pigheaded he was. They had all clashed with him one time or another. 

He’d never gone completely off the grid before though. 

Never vanished off silently in the early hours without anyone noticing. 

“He must hate me Luce,” She sighed, “First your parents, then the baby, now you. What kind of wife is also a bad luck charm?”

A gentle tut from the doorway made her turn, Hugh nodded to her once as he stepped into the room, hair scruffier than ever but shirt ironed to perfection. 

“Tell her Luce,” He muttered as he eased down into the chair on the other side of the bed, “How could she ever be bad luck?”

She eyed him across the bed, Hugh knew the story, had sat and drunk whiskey with her over it one night when the weather had been cold and the memories painful. Both had shared their stories, been reminded that they weren’t the only one in the world to feel like they had been at fault for losing someone dear to them. 

“Lee’s gone, Hugh.” She uttered, “Without a trace.”

He nodded, leaning back in the seat and resting his feet on the edge of the mattress, “That’s not on you though.”

She could have disagreed, insisted that she should have seen it coming and should have spoken to him to stop it. 

Something on her face must have given her away.

“Val,” Hugh chided softly, “Lee has made his choice. Just because he feels differently from the rest of us isn’t an excuse for him to run away. Our focus here is Lucy.”

Looking back to the bed, she took a breath. Lucy was still pale, eyes black, burns hidden beneath the swathes of bandages. 

“Do you blame yourself?” She whispered, not looking to Hugh as she took her friends bandaged hand. 

“Every damn day.”

It was easy to guess as much, Hugh cared for Lucy, more than just as a friend. He had been there for her when Jeff had vanished and it seemed like since then he had never left her side, even if they did live on the opposite sides of the world.

Hugh wasn’t Jeff though. 

And Lucy wasn’t one for always listening to what others told her. 

“You shouldn’t,” She looked up to him, knowing that he would be watching Lucy, “Nothing would have persuaded her to get out of there.”

Val knew it was only easy for her to say because at the time she hadn’t been there and she hadn’t known what had been going on. She could guess that was equally part of the reason Hugh was blaming himself. 

“I should have dragged her out sooner, she could have died Val.”

She didn’t voice the thought that Lucy wasn’t out of the woods yet. Hugh no doubt knew that anyway. 

“She was desperate to know about Jeff,” Val countered instead, “My guess is that nothing would have got her out of there.”

Nothing but the answers she needed to hear. 

Hugh closed his eye as he shook his head, reaching out to rest his hand over Lucy’s as he sighed. Something that looked like pain crossed his features as he bowed his head. 

“Hugh? What is it?”

His lips pursed as he looked up to her, his eye dark and exhausted. She could see the fear there, the look of a man that had almost lost everything and was terrified of losing what he did have left. 

Val knew how to wear the exact same look. 

“We won’t lose her.” She assured, smile tight as she looked back to Lucy. 

Hugh snorted as he sighed again, “That’s the problem Val, I think I already have.”