#being on such short notice and he replies forty minutes later (meaning my 6 am scheduling strategy WORKED but anyway) saying absolutely just

[pallases]

every time my ap lit teacher tells me he thinks i am the most voracious reader he’s met i feel like the world’s biggest fraud </3 i have read a total of three (3) books since the new year and he says he read 50 last summer like i WISH i still had that kind of discipline

[slutforbuck]

Traveling Soldier Part 4 -- Bucky Barnes x Reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 Part 6

“I’m going Steve. You and Sam have been so helpful helping me adjust, but I have to find him.” Steve hugged you, “I know you do. Please be careful. We don’t know what all he’s capable of and if he’s even stable. You have this phone now, keep in touch.” You pulled away and squeezed his arm. “You know I will. I love you Steve.” You turned to Sam and held your arms out, “You know I’m a hugger Wilson.” He laughed and hugged you tight, “Be careful. You know I worry about the elderly.” You laughed and softly punched his arm, “This old woman can take care of herself. I’ll be in touch boys.” You grabbed your bag and waved as you walked out the door.

As you walked down the street, you saw a museum advertising the WWII exhibit. You had heard Sam talking about this, it’s where they had the uniforms for Steve’s team the Howling Commandos. You smiled, remembering Bucky’s smile and how excited he was to be serving. You decided to duck in, just for a minute to reminisce. You slowly walked the halls, stopping in front of the display of the Commandos uniforms. The middle mannequin stood bare, and you assumed that it was where Steve’s uniform had come from. You looked next to his and there was Bucky’s face. You stared up at the painting of the men, your eyes resting on the familiar steel blue eyes of the man you had fallen for so many years ago. Your fingers reached out and you gingerly grazed the pants of Bucky’s uniform. Your eyes began to well with tears again, remembering the uniform being the last thing that you had seen him in. You leaned in, hoping that there would still be a faint smell of citrus, vanilla, and musk. You inhaled, and got a slight whiff of musky vanilla. Your eyes widened knowing that the smell wasn’t coming from clothes that were over seventy years old. You quickly turned, scanning over the small crowd trying to find the source of the smell. Your eyes landed on a man wearing a dark jacket and a black baseball cap, standing next to the glass memorial that told Bucky’s story. You weaved your way through the crowd, zoned in on only the man in front of you. You stood an arm’s length away from him and stared at the memorial. They used such a wonderful picture of him. You stared, trying to make the image stick in your mind. His short hair, slightly mussed, his eyes tight in concentration. You could tell his jaw head been clenched when they took the photo. Your eyes finally rested on his full lips, remembering how they felt against yours. Lost in thought, you raised your fingers to softly touch your lips. The man next to you had turned by this time and was watching you intently, his eyes pulled together in concentration. “I know you.” His voice jerked you back to reality. You jumped and pressed your hand to your heart. “Oh you scared me!” You turned to see who the voice came from, and immediately turned pale. You took a small step back. This is exactly who you had set out to find, why were you so afraid of him? Absentmindedly, your hand found its way to your throat, softly holding where his hands had last been. He stepped forward, concern and worry spreading across your face, “Please don’t go. I know I hurt you when we last met, but please let me explain.” He looked to you with hopeful eyes. Stepping back to him, you turned to look at the memorial. “You were an amazing man,” whispering you softly touched his shoulder. “A good soldier yes, but you were always more than that. James Barnes was a good man. I loved that man.” You turned to look at him, seeing something in his eyes, something that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. “Do you know who you are Bucky?” He looked to you, then to the memorial. His eyes finally found their way to the floor. “I know my name is James Barnes. That’s about all I know, other than what I’ve read from this.” He looked to you with hopeful eyes, “I want to know who I am. I need to know.” Smiling you reached for his hand, “Let me help you Bucky. Please.” He hesitated, then took your hand.

You sat across from Bucky at your kitchen table. “You were always my protector Bucky. There was one day at school, we were maybe ten at the time.” Smiling you remembered the day, “There was this total jerk messing with me. Pulling my pigtails, trying to trip me, the usual. I hit him, and ended up breaking his nose. While he was all bloody he started yelling at me and trying to hit me back. Now I wasn’t one that was scared of a fight, but you just couldn’t take it. You stepped in and knocked him down. You got detention for a week, but you told me it was worth it. That you would always be there to protect me.” You glanced up at the man sitting stiffly across from you. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly into a small smile. “You said that you loved me. When did that happen?” He pressed his hands into his thighs and leaned slightly forward. “When we first met. I knew then that I loved you, but I didn’t anticipate just how much. It was years later when we where maybe sixteen when I realized how deep that love actually was.” He leaned back in his chair and chuckled, “Surely you aren’t talking about that picnic we had, right?” You sat straight up, eyes wide, jaw dropped. “Bucky I thought you didn’t remember anything!” The laughing stopped and he locked eyes with you, “I guess you're jogging some memories. That one is hard to forget.” “I honestly thought you were going to let us drown that day! Mom was so mad that you had ruined my nice shirt with all the water from the river.” He took your hand, “That was another day that the punishment was worth it. I remember the smile you had when I pulled you in the water. It was so hot that day, why you had the idea for a picnic I have no idea.” You smirked, “You know I could have been on a date that day. I chose you and almost drowning instead.” Pushing your chair back, you stood. “I’m going to start on supper.” You shyly looked back at him, “I don’t know where you’ve been staying, but you are more than welcome to stay here. I can take the couch if that would make you comfortable.” Standing in front of the stove, you leaned over the cooking chicken, inhaling the steam and spices. You closed your eyes hoped that more memories would begin returning.

Peeking into the dining room, you saw that Bucky was still sitting where you had left him. You quietly made your way to the table with two full plates. Setting one down in front of him, you slipped into your chair. You watched as he ate like he hadn’t had a meal in weeks. He finished before you were a quarter of the way finished. “Are you sure you would want me to stay here?” He looked to you, searching your eyes for fear, resentment, or regret. “I would love for you to stay Bucky. I know things aren't going to immediately be what they were before…” You deeply inhaled, “Before you left. But it may help you to adjust and remember being with a semi-familiar face.” A warm smile was sent in Bucky’s direction, hoping he would agree to stay. “You take the bed. I would rather sleep on the floor, and I don't want you to not be comfortable.” He followed you to the kitchen while you began cleaning up for the night. “Buck would you really be comfortable on the floor?” Propping against the counter he replied, “I’m used to sleeping on the ground. That’s where we slept in the war. With HYDRA I was either frozen or sleeping on the floor during missions. I feel like I’ll suffocate if I sleep on a bed.” Finishing up, you led him to your bedroom where you pulled multiple blankets and pillows from the bed and the closet. “If you’re sleeping on the floor, then I’m on the couch. Just in case. It can be like when you, Steve, and I were little and you would stay over. You and Steve would pull the cushions off the couch and make pallets on the floor to sleep on.” He smiled at how excited you sounded. He took blankets from you and laid down on the floor. Settling into the couch, you looked down at him, “Good night Buck.” “Goodnight y/n.”

When you woke the next morning, you felt something on your hand. You sat up and looked, and saw Bucky holding onto just your fingers. His face looked tight and troubled. You could only imagine the torture he was going through in his mind. You reached over and softly caressed his cheek. You noticed his expression soften. Smiling you wrapped the blanket around you as you went to make breakfast. “Good morning.” “How did you know I was here?” Bucky leaned against the doorway, carefully watching you float around the kitchen cooking breakfast. “I have exceptional hearing. Also, I know how you smell. That’s one thing that hasn't changed since the forties.” You smiled over your shoulder at him, then gestured for him to sit. He watched you as you handed him his plate and sat across from him. “You aren't eating.” You leaned back, “I ate while I was cooking. Did you sleep okay?” Bucky nodded as he continued to eat. You wondered if he had been eating anything at all the past few weeks. Soon he finished, and you cleared the table. “The bathroom is in my bedroom if you’d like to shower,” you called out to him as you slipped into the kitchen. You busied yourself with cleaning the kitchen, then moved into the living room to begin folding the blankets and putting away the pillows from the night before. As you walked through your dining room, you noticed a small piece of paper on the table. “Went out. Be back soon. —Bucky” You sighed, hoping that he would be okay. Sitting down on your bed, you pulled out the small phone that Steve had given you. You slowly dialed his number and listened to the ringing in your ear. “Hello?” You smiled as you heard Steve’s voice, “Hey Steve, it’s me. Bucky is out so I figured I would give you a call to check in.” “What do you mean he’s out? You sound like he’s staying with you.” You heard your brother laugh and you closed your eyes with a loud sigh. “Well. He kind of is Steve. He’s starting to remember things. I’m sure he will be okay for a little while alone. He’s been alone for weeks.” “Y/n you have basically invited a stranger into your house. He tried to kill you TWICE.” The sternness in Steve’s voice was beginning to irritate you. “Steve you realize that not only am I older than you, but I have the super soldier serum in me too right? You realize that I have been taking care of myself for much longer than that too right? It’s Bucky, Steve. He isn’t the Winter Soldier anymore. He’s lost, you can see the fear in his eyes. I love this man, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to help him.” You heard Steve sigh, and you knew that you had won the argument. “Call me if anything happens. I love you.” “Love you too Steve.” Steve hung up, and you got to your feet. Just as your feet hit the floor, you heard a knock at the door. Wondering who it could be, you made your way to the door. Opening the door just enough to see through the crack of the doorway, you saw Bucky. “Can I come in?” His voice was soft, almost too quiet to hear. You pulled the door open to see Bucky standing with a bag of plums in one hand and flowers in the other. Stepping aside, you let him inside the apartment. He put the bag of plums on the table and turned to you, “I..I saw these. I remembered how much you loved them.” He looked down as he handed you the bouquet of baby pink and white dahlias. You felt your heart swell as you took the bouquet in your hand. “Bucky these are beautiful. You didn’t have to get these.” You looked up into his eyes, and saw the blue sparkling. “I remembered.” You heard the pride in his voice. “I remembered how you loved these, and how Steve and I would go to every shop in Brooklyn trying to find them for you on your birthday.” The edges of his lips were curved up, and you remembered your last birthday that the boys brought you the dahlias.

*1942*

“Where are we going? I swear if you two have done anything stupid…” You trailed off as Steve uncovered your eyes. “Coney Island? Really? We haven’t been here in years!” You laughed and pulled the boys in for a hug. “Oh one more thing!” Bucky pulled a bouquet from behind his back, “Your favorite.” Your eyes lit up as you took the dahlias from his hand. “I looked everywhere for those. You have the rarest taste in flowers you know.” You turned to Steve and gave him a peck on the cheek, “But you wouldn’t have it any other way. You boys go have fun, I’m going to walk around for a while.” Smiling, you watched as the boys went off in search of rides. You walked down the pier, took off your shoes, and sat on the edge. The water gently moved in waves, and you closed your eyes and listened to the ocean. You were lost in a daydream when someone sat down next to you. Opening your eyes, you saw Bucky sitting with you. “Where’s Steve?” “Oh. He uh…he went to get lunch.” You looked at him with your eyebrows raised, knowing he was trying to come up with a lie. “Buck, where did you leave him?” He turned looking out over the water, “He’s still riding I think. I wanted to come check on you.” You glanced at him with confusion on your face, “You know I’m fine. What’s going on with you Bucky?” He just smiled and pulled you to your feet, “Come on, let’s go find Steve.”

*present*

“I remember that day. You looked so beautiful sitting there.” He looked to you, again with a look in his eyes you just couldn’t place. Blushing you looked away from him, “I’m glad you’re beginning to remember things Bucky.” Stepping closer to you he whispered, “I’m glad I’m remembering you.” Your heart skipped a beat, and you stared at him, not knowing what to say. He placed a hand on the side of your face, pulling it up to look at his. You searched his steel blue eyes, looking to see what he was doing. Leaning in, the smell of vanilla and musk made you dizzy. Or was it Bucky being so close to you? He leaned in closer, his full lips parting. “I..Do you mind if I..?” Nervousness showed in his voice, but he seemed so confident. You closed the gap between your faces, pressing your lips against his, draping your arms around his neck. His free arm snaked around your waist, pulling you flush to his body. You finally pulled away, tears in your eyes. He looked at you, eyes wide with fear, and pulled away. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn't ha—“ You pressed a finger to his lips. “Bucky. Stop. It’s fine. I swear. I just..I wasn’t expecting that. I haven’t..I didn’t..” You didn’t know how to tell him you were worried you had somehow taken things too far, or that you were worried you had somehow taken advantage of him. “I see the worry on your face. You never were that good at hiding your emotions.” You sighed and walked to the couch. “I’m sorry Buck. I shouldn’t have..I don’t want to take advantage of you. You barley remember who you are, much less me and our relationship.” Bucky sat next to you and took your hand in his. “You have sparked more memories in the past day and a half than I was able to find in the past few weeks alone. I know who I am, I know who you are, and I know that I’m still in love with you.” You felt like your heart had stopped as you looked to the tall, dark haired man next to you. “I love you Buck.”

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: This isn’t a rom-com 6/?

Wordcount: 3156

Warnings: lots of fluff! someone is still oblivious, the other not so much.

Previous Chapters:

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

It might be a cliché, but Keanu hadn’t felt like this over a person in years. He cared about everyone he ever dated of course. However, thinking about them constantly, wondering what they were doing, feeling this urge to see them and talk to them every day? That didn’t happen all that often anymore and it was both wonderful and terrifying.

And it was so stupid because he and Lilah weren’t even dating. They were friends. Just friends. And Keanu was ok with that. As a matter of fact, it was probably for the best that they were just friends.

For one, Keanu would have to go back to Los Angeles when John Wick’s principal photography ended in a couple of months. New York was Lilah’s home. Besides, no matter how much he enjoyed her company, the age difference between the two of them would give the press a field day.

So it would probably be for the best if he took a step back from this, avoid getting even more involved. Except Keanu didn’t seem to have full control of his own mouth anymore whenever he was around Lilah, because he always ended finding ways to see her again. Now here he was, after shooting fight scenes all night and a considerable part of the day, getting ready to go meet her.

Keanu was exhausted, sore and stiff from exertion and he knew that Lilah wouldn’t really mind if he scheduled, but Keanu couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was almost as if he was addicted to her and couldn’t go long periods of time without seeing or speaking to her, especially not now that they were talking on the phone every day.

Most of the time, it wasn’t even anything important. Just silly stories of their routine or comments on Scanner Darkly. But whenever his phone beeped with a new message his heart did a flip on his chest and Keanu hurried to pick up and call back.

Keanu popped two painkillers as he changed into a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt, startling a little when his phone rang. Once again, his heart sped up, but it wasn’t Lilah. It was his sister Kim.

“Hey, I’m heading out. Can I call you tomorrow?” he asked as he put on his coat.

“Sure. Where are you going?” Kim asked, tone curious.

“Just meeting a friend,” he replied after a moment of hesitation.

Keanu had very deliberately kept this entire thing with Lilah from his family and the rest of his friends with the exception of Chad. They were always ended getting way too excited whenever he was dating again. Not that he was dating Lilah. But still…

“What was that?” she asked, and he could almost hear her smirk. “That pause? Who are you meeting?”

“You don’t know them.” Keanu tried to be as vague as possible, but it was Kim and she knew him way too well.

“Are you going on a date? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

“It’s not a date. We’re just friends and I really gotta go,” Keanu said, walking towards his bike.

“Ok, but I wanna hear all about it when you get back,” Kim declared, voice giddy. “I don’t care how late it is. Call me!”

She didn’t wait for his reply, just hung up before he could tell her no and Keanu sighed, slipping his phone on his pocket. He knew there was no escaping now. Kim would prod until he told her everything. Maybe that could be a good thing. He needed a second opinion about this entire thing. But that was something to think about at another moment.

Right now, he was standing outside her door, heart pounding on his chest as he knocked. A moment later, Lilah pulled it open, flashing him a wide smile, as she talked on the phone in a different language.

She stepped aside so he could walk in and silently asked for a second before she disappeared inside her bedroom. Keanu closed the door behind himself, took off his shoes and hung his coat, before settling on the couch, rolling his shoulders to try to loosen the muscles, grimacing at the sharp pain that shot through his back. Maybe he might be getting too old for this kind of work schedule.

“Are you ok?” her voice startled him, making his eyes snap open and he didn’t even realize he had closed them. “You look dead on your feet.”

“Gee, thanks,” he shot back with a mock glare and Lilah chuckled as she joined him on the couch.

“That’s not what I mean. You look good, of course. You always look good…” she trailed off with an embarrassed wince and Keanu grinned. He loved when she did that.

“Likewise,” Keanu said, sneaking a quick once over.

She had on an oversized sweater and a pair of denim shorts, her hair pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head, exposing her long neck. Lilah flashed him a smile, a hint of color tinting her cheeks.

“Thanks. I just meant that you look tired.”

“It was a long day, but I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?” she asked, catching her bottom lip between her teeth and Keanu couldn’t help but watch her mouth. “I understand if you wanna head home…”

“I really am fine, Lilah,” Keanu assured taking her hand, squeezing lightly.

She still hesitated, watching him with narrowed eyes and Keanu could see the hint of worry in her frown. It made him smile. Even if he was exhausted, there was nowhere he would rather be right now.

“So, what are we watching tonight?”

“Right, so…” Lilah started with a sheepish expression. “I totally understand if you don’t wanna watch this one. I should’ve checked before I invited you.”

“Why wouldn’t I…” Keanu trailed off when she showed him the cover. “This is for your research, you say?”

“Yeah, I'm reviewing 25 rom coms with biggest box office in the last twenty years to analyze what kind of behavioral rules they establish for women. Something's Gotta Give is number 18 in my list.”

Keanu wasn’t really surprised that her research involved movies, Lilah seemed to love everything that had anything to do with storytelling.

He took a moment to consider since he didn’t rewatch his movies all that often. If they were on, depending on what it was, Keanu might stop and watch it, take a trip on memory lane. This wasn’t the case and he felt a little self-conscious to do with Lilah, but he still hadn’t really learned how to say no to her.

“Then I don’t mind watching it. Can’t get in the way of science, after all,” Keanu replied and Lilah grinned wide, jumping to her feet to set it up. He took a moment to examine the DVD case, noticing the absence of a rental logo. It made him smirk. “I thought you hated rom-coms?”

“I do,” Lilah replied distractedly.

“So this belongs to one of your friends?” he asked with an arched eyebrow. Lilah flushed bright red as she sat next to him again, taking back the DVD case.

“No. It’s, uh, mine,” she confessed in a low voice, avoiding his gaze. “I might own a few of your movies. Is that weird?”

“That you like my movies? No, it’s fine… I mean, unless you have posters of me and other shit in your bedroom. Then I might have to leave…” he joked with a goofy grin, making like he was about to stand up and Lilah pulled him back, chuckling.

“No posters. I promise.”

Keanu chuckled too, enjoying the way she kept her arm hooked around his even after he sat back next to her. She started the movie, shifting a little, searching for a comfortable position. After about a minute of that, he gave her a pointed look.

“Sorry, I’m just used to stretching my legs over the couch.”

“Go ahead, I don’t mind,” he replied with a shrug and after a minute of hesitation, Lilah leaned back on the couch’s arm, resting her legs over his.

And maybe Keanu should’ve thought this through because now he had her bare calves over his thighs, her skin looking silky soft and tempting him into running his fingers up her knees and thighs and into her shorts…

He cleared his throat and looked back at the screen, feeling too warm, his jeans a little tighter than before. He prayed that Lilah hadn’t noticed it and fought to keep his focus on the movie. but his gaze kept traveling back to Lilah, watching as she chewed on her pen, eyes on the screen with a cute little frown of concentration. Every once in awhile, she would press pause, to make a notation.

It was only because Keanu was watching her instead of the movie that he noticed the shift on her expression, her knitted brow relaxing and her expression changing into a wide smile. When he glanced back at the movie, he saw a twelve years younger version of himself on the screen.

“Ok, how come you haven’t aged a day?” Lilah asked with a teasing grin. “I mean, with the exception of growing a beard, you look exactly the same.”

“Trust me, I don’t,” Keanu replied with an uncomfortable snort. His aching muscles told him exactly how things had changed.

“It makes you wonder…” Lilah continued as she sat up, pulling her legs away from his lap. “If the internet might be right.”

“About?” Keanu asked with an arched eyebrow.

“You being immortal.”

There was a mischievous glint in her eyes and there was the only reason Keanu wasn’t annoyed about it. He really hated all the comments of how young he looked for his age as if it was some kind of special merit.

“So, how’s the movie so far?” Keanu asked as a way of shifting the conversation.

“Well, it technically passes the Bechdel's test, which is a good start,” Lilah explained. “The protagonist is over forty, with a stablished career that she doesn’t give up on at the end, also good. And the age gap between the main couple isn’t too big,”

“What would be a too big age gap?” Keanu asked, feeling a knot in his throat.

“Anything over 10 years would already be a bit problematic,” Lilah replied, glancing over her shoulder. “I made hot chocolate. Want some?”

“Yeah.” He had to force his voice to work, his mind flashing to the fact that he was 20 years older than Lilah.

“Why?” Keanu asked because apparently, he was a masochist.

“Why is it problematic?” Lilah questioned, returning to the couch and offering him a mug. “Well, for one it tells women that they only attractive and desirable while young.”

“Not all relationships are about looks” He knew he should stop and keep his mouth shut but he couldn’t help himself.

“You still have a guy that’s already stable on his job, probably have been through a previous marriage, against a woman who’s figuring herself out, probably really insecure… There’s just a bigger chance for power imbalance in the relationship…”

“So, you’re saying an older man’s gonna try to control a younger woman? Every time? Isn’t that a little dark? Jaded?” Keanu asked with a frown. If she really thought that then it was no wonder she couldn’t see him as anything more than a friend.

“I’m not saying he would do it on purpose,” she said, maybe picking something on his expression because she was frowning too. “But yeah… Bigger chance of him being paternalist too.” Lilah paused for a moment, chewing on her lip. “Can we just go back to the movie, please?”

Keanu just nodded, turning his focus to the screen but the uncomfortable tension lingered as they avoided looking at each other and any point of physical contact that existed only moments ago was gone.

“The fact that the male protagonist is a womanizer that needs to be reformed is pretty bad,” Lilah said breaking the awkward silence.

Keanu looked her way, catching her hesitant but sort of hopeful look. It almost as if she was silently asking him if they could move on from this.

“Why is that?” He relented with a sigh.

“Because it suggests women are required to fix their significant others in the name of love. That not only sends a terrible message, but it’s also lazy writing!”

Her voice went a little squeaky with her irritation and despite the turmoil of thoughts going through his head, he couldn’t help but smile at that. It was cute.

“Also, if you’re trying to convince me they fell in love for each other after a weekend, give me something better than damn pancakes and beach stones!” Lilah rolled her eyes with a snort of derision.

“You know, you’d probably make a great screenwriter,” Keanu commented.

“Thanks,” she replied, ducking her head to hide her shy smile. “I thought about it when I was seventeen. Going to film school, I mean.”

“Why didn’t you?” he asked turning to face Lilah with a curious look. Keanu was always interested in learning a little more about her.

“Because I needed something that could actually pay the bills,” Lilah declared with the kind of certainty that only came from a rehearsed speech. Those were words she repeated quite often even if she didn’t really believe them. “Just something my dad used to say.”

“It pays my bills just fine,” Keanu pointed out and Lilah snorted.

“That’s because you’re very good.”

There was a different kind of certainty in her tone this time. It was almost matter-of-factly. Almost as if to her, that statement was as obvious as something like the sky was blue.

“A lot of people wouldn’t agree with you.”

“Because they’re morons!” Lilah declared with an eye-roll. “I mean, you can go from airhead with heart of gold like Ted, to emotionally stunted jerk like Constantine to complete sweetheart like Julian. That’s a lot of range, ok? And sure, you’ve made some sketchy choices throughout the years with some weird indie movies that I couldn’t bring myself to watch, but overall your movies are awesome, you’re very talented and anyone who says otherwise deserves to be punched in the face.”  

For a moment, Keanu didn’t know what to say or do. He knew despite the bad reviews he received, a lot of people enjoyed his work. But he never had the chance of hearing such passionate speech about himself. It was humbling and heartwarming and he could feel himself blushing with a mix of pleasure and embarrassment.

Not to mention he caught that same glint of excitement in Lilah’s eyes, the one that always appeared whenever she talked about something she loved.  

“Sorry. Too much?” she asked.

“No… it’s…” he stuttered, glancing at her with a hesitant smile. “Thank you.”

“I mean every word. Even before you were my friend,” she said, bumping her shoulder against his and Keanu sighed, trying not to let his disappointment show. There it was again. that damn word. “And anyway, I like psychology just fine. Film school was just a stupid teenage dream.”

“Doesn’t have to be,” he said because Lilah was like an open book sometimes. He could see right through her attempt of a brave face.

“It’s too late, Keanu. I’m not gonna throw away ten years of work for some pipe dream,” Lilah declared with a sigh, avoiding his gaze.

“Is that another thing you father says?” The words escaped his lips before Keanu could contain them and Lilah’s expression quickly shifted into a scowl of irritation.

“You don’t know anything about my father or my family, ok? You don’t get to talk about them.” She grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. “Maybe you should go.”

“Lilah…” Keanu started, wanting to kick himself. “I’m sorry.”

“Whatever,” she breathed out, sounding a little like a petulant child.

“Please look at me,” he asked and after a moment, Lilah reluctantly shifted her gaze to him. Keanu took her hand in his. “That was a shitty thing to say. I had no right. I’m sorry.”

“I know…” she sighed, shoulders dropping, turning her hand up so she could entwine their fingers together. “It’s just a touchy subject.”

“I really am sorry,” he repeated because the thought of Lilah being upset with him made something in his chest hurt.

“I know. You’re forgiven.” Lilah flashed him a small smile.

Keanu nodded, relief washing over him and in an impulse, he brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles and her smile grew, her fingers coming to his cheek, caressing his jaw and he sighed in pleasure, leaning against her touch and all he wanted was to kiss her.

“I should go…” he whispered and Lilah grimaced.

“I didn’t really mean that… we can finish the movie.” she urged,

And Keanu wanted to say yes and stay with her for as long as Lilah wanted him, but he couldn’t. Not when he could feel the words on the tip of his tongue. The longer he stayed, the harder would it be to keep them at bay. The second they were out Keanu knew it would ruin everything. And he was already too far in love with her to handle not having her in his life. Even if only as a friend.

“I guess I’m a lot more tired than I first thought.” He smiled at the way she pouted at him. “But we can do something this weekend, how about that?”

“Yeah, ok.” Lilah grinned and strangely this time it made his heart settle in his chest instead of speeding up. Almost as if making her happy relaxed him.

Lilah walked him to the door and waited as Keanu put on his coat and shoes. As he bent down to kiss her goodnight, Lilah got up on her tiptoes to do the same and they ended up bumping noses and giggling.

Keanu held her chin and met her gaze for a moment, before he brushed his lips against her cheek, way too close to the corner of her mouth.

“Bye, Lilah,” Keanu said almost reluctantly before walking away from her.

When Keanu arrived at home, he knew he should head to bed. He had been awake for over sixteen hours and needed to be on set 6:30, but instead, he took his laptop and did a quick search on screenwriting programs.

He found a master's program that seemed very good at the New York Film Academy. They were still taking applications for the first term of 2014 on both campuses: New York and Los Angeles.

He texted Lilah the link with a quick message, before lying back on his bed. And if Keanu tried hard enough, he could pretend he didn’t send that one with a secret hope that Lilah would choose the LA campus.

(tbc)

go to part 7

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[thunderbirdcarebear]

Back Story

That rock slide while rescuing Kat Kavanaugh has left Scott with more than just bruises...

So basically, I've been suffering with my own back for over 6 weeks so I've decided to inflict my pain on poor Scotty cos he let those rocks fall on him.

Why are these things never noticed at the time? Is it because of adrenaline perhaps? Maybe it was there at the time and I just didn’t notice? I mean, I noticed pain, but nothing out of the ordinary, considering my line of work. Whatever the reason, I’m certainly noticing it today.

It was easy to trace the cause. Rescuing Kat. It had to be. When those rocks fell, I leaned over her without even thinking twice. She was injured and was therefore unable to move when the slide occurred, so I moved to protect her. I’m not even sure how many of them hit me, but it definitely hurt.

Back at the ranch, Virgil checked me over while John and Brains performed a final few tests to confirm the Thunderbirds were safe to use. Apparently, I was moving stiffly and he didn’t like it, so took me from the den to my bedroom. Turns out I’ve got a lot of bruising over my back and a few cuts and scrapes. I wasn’t surprised, to be honest, it was sore, but I’ve been through worse. I let him clean me up and dress the wounds before heading back downstairs. Just in time for him to leave to take Ms Kavanaugh to the hospital in town.

Not that town is particularly local to Grand Roca. Even in Thunderbird Two, it had taken a forty-five-minute round trip to relocate her.

The ranch was strangely quiet after that. I think we were all trying to process what had happened that day, between the rescue and the intruder. Even after the others had gone to bed, I was still sat in the window, watching the stars and wondering how on Earth the Mechanic had gotten through our defences without us realising. That fact more than anything filled me with dread, that he could get so close to us without any of us being aware. I didn’t notice how much time had passed without my moving, until John, unable to settle into a normal sleep pattern, had come downstairs for a drink and found me sat in the dark and still staring out the window.

I’d been sat so still for so long, I found it a bit difficult to fully straighten at first. I put it down to being cramped up in the corner of the window seat.

But now, the morning after, I’m lying in bed, wondering if I can even sit up. My back is spasming painfully and I can just about roll onto my sides, but that’s it. I try to sit up but I can barely move before it’s hurting me. It's frustrating and I don’t like it at all. Not least because of the pain but also because, the way it’s feeling right now, I wonder if I’m going to need help just to get out of bed. My morning run is certainly out of the question.

Gritting my teeth, I managed to roll closer to the side of my bed, glad it’s only a single, and manage to manoeuvre my feet down to the floor. I’m still leaned forward over my knees at this point and I’m not certain I can sit up. And even if I can, do I want to? The pain is pretty bad.

A deep breath later and I manage to force myself upright, though it involves me pushing my hands against my knees and more than a few curses I’d scold Alan for using.

However, now that I’m upright, it feels so much worse, like someone is compressing my spine with something sharp and hot.

I manage to stagger to the unit near my bed, bracing myself against it to help me remain standing. This isn’t going to be a good day if this is how I feel now. I have my suspicions that Virgil will tell me no rescues until I can move more freely. I’m inclined this once to just agree. I’m not entirely sure I’m going to be able to leave my room, let alone get to Thunderbird One.

A sudden spasm has my knees jerking and my hand clamping on the edge of the unit to stop me tumbling to the floor. It takes me a moment of confusion, wondering why it’s suddenly dark before I realise my eyes are screwed shut. I manage to slowly prise them open and look around. I’m not too far from the drawers I keep my clothes in. I can do this. I can get that far, right?

It’s slow going and each step is tremendously painful but I finally manage to get to the drawers. I find I have to lean on them to get my breath back. This is ridiculous. How am I going to get anything done today? And what if we get a call?

I can feel my shoulders dropping. I hate this, knowing that I’m going to be of no use to my brothers should we have a situation. Even worse, I’m going to be a burden to them if there’s little I can do without help.

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I give myself a mental shake. I’m a Tracy, I’ll get through this.

I hope.

It’s around thirty minutes later that I hear a knock on my door. I’ve managed to get as far as a fresh shirt but pants and socks are proving to be an issue. I look at the door as I hear another knock. I quickly assess whether I’m in a position to invite the visitor in. I’m decent, still wearing my old track shorts I wear to bed. It’s only a matter of time before the others come looking for me anyway. “Come in,” I call out, annoyed with myself that my voice is betraying the pain I’m feeling.

The door opens and Virgil walks in. “I came to see how you’re feeling this morning,” he says, eyeing the way I’m holding myself, or rather, how I’m using the furniture to hold myself. “Don’t even try to apply your poker face, Scott. I can already tell you’re hurting. Don’t you dare tell me you’re fine.”

I shake my head, feeling utterly dejected. “Not going to,” I mutter. “I can barely move, Virgil. Took me all of half an hour to put my shirt on. Not sure I can bend far enough for my socks.”

“Your back?”

I nod, gritting my teeth against another spasm that has me twitching sideways with the ferocity of it.

Virgil is by my side in three long strides, his hand on my arm. “I had a feeling you’d be struggling this morning after that rock slide but I hadn’t anticipated it’d be this bad.”

“I guess I’m lucky to have gotten away with it this long,” I admit, looking up at him. “Dad suffered with his back and so did Grandpa, so it runs in the family. And in the heat of a rescue, I don’t always consider manual handling, I just react.”

“I’ve noticed,” Virgil says.

“So now I pay the price. Reckon the rock slide was the, uh, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“Or yours.” Virgil sighs. “You’re not gonna like me saying this, but you know you’ve gotta keep moving as much as you can, right? It’ll seize up entirely if you don’t move it.”

I nod again. “I know. It’s just trying to actually make my back do what I want it to.”

“I know. So, you’re trying to get dressed, right? Take your clothes back to your bed and sit down rather than trying to bend. You might find that easier.”

“If I can get back over there, that is,” I point out.

“Take it slowly, Scott, just don’t stop yourself from trying to move, you’ll only make it worse. You gotta find the balance. Too much isn’t gonna help, but nothing will definitely be bad. But, here, let me take your clothes for you. Knowing you, you’ll drop something and trip over it.”

“Oh don’t,” I moan at him, handing them over. “Don’t tempt fate.”

Virgil takes them, holding his hands up. “Alright, alright. Just take it easy. Push yourself a little, not your usual standards of pushing, please.”

I look from him to my bed, sure it was further away than usual. “Alright,” I tell myself. “I can do this.”

The steps are painful but the more I move, the easier it feels, until finally I’m back at my bed. I sit on the edge, feeling exhausted, the pain in my back beginning to radiate from my lower spine to my hips.

“You okay?”

“I’ll let you know in a minute,” I reply, breathing deeply, shifting slightly on the mattress as I try and find a comfortable position. Difficult really, seeing as it’s hurting so much. I look at the clothes Virgil has put on the bed beside me and turn to pick up the socks, but the act of twisting to reach them sends another spasm up my spine. I straighten quickly, withdrawing my hand.

“Easy, Scott, easy,” I hear Virgil soothing me as he sits down. “Try not to turn your back right now. See if you can reach them by leaning.”

I do as he suggests, leaning to the side to extend my reach, picking up the garment. “This is ridiculous, Virgil,” I groan, disgusted at myself for how pitiful I sound.

“Scott, you just gotta give yourself time. It will get better. Remember what Dad was told once? Back problems are like bruises. If you keep whacking a bruise in the same place it’ll never get better. You’ve gotta rest enough that it can recover which means you have to slow down.”

“It did feel a bit easier once I’d been moving a bit,” I admit. “The hardest part so far is sitting and lying.”

“You’ll possibly find standing in one position too long won’t be nice if you’re anything like Dad,” Virgil offers.

“Wonderful.”

“Scott, it could be a lot worse considering how many rocks landed on your back yesterday. It was a pretty bad slide.”

“Right now, I’m not sure how it could be worse,” I say, feeling my face contort as another spasm jolts through me.

“I know, Scott,” Virgil says, his tone still attempting to soothe me. “Just try and get dressed and I’ll help you downstairs if you need me to.”

“I’ll let you know.”

Virgil smiles at me, trying to look sympathetic. “I’ll go get you some painkillers.”

“Okay.”

He pats me on the shoulder gently as he stands up. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Alright,” I say, watching him leave before I look back at the socks in my hand. “Okay, I can do this.” I’ll keep telling myself that. I will do this.

When Virgil returns I’ve managed to finish getting dressed and I feel a sense of achievement, like a toddler clothing himself for the first time without the aid of his parents. I’m aching, but I did it.

Virgil smiles at me as he walks over, tablets in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “Grandma was grilling me when I went down. Prepare yourself.”

“I’d anticipated that, to be honest,” I tell him.

“Hmm, yeah, she was wondering why you haven’t been down for breakfast yet.”

“Not sure I want anything,” I mutter. The pain was definitely robbing me of my appetite.

“You need to try and eat something, especially with painkillers, you know.”

I nod. “Yeah, I know.” Bracing myself for what I know will be yet more discomfort, I lift myself from the bed again. “Ugh, Virgil, why did I allow myself to become target practice for rocks?”

“Would you really have let them fall on Kat? Even if you’d known what would happen?”

“I guess not,” I reply, my movement juddering as I attempt to straighten up again.

Virgil is at my side again, holding out the medication. I look at it in his hand before I sigh, taking it from him. “This gonna be part of my diet for a while I suppose.”

“If you’re in so much pain you can’t even stand up without jerking like a puppet, then yes, Scott, I think you’re gonna need to take some. I’d suggest taking one in the morning to stop you tensing so much. That’s what’s making it that much worse. You need to let it relax.”

“Easier said than done.” I look at the medication once again before putting the tablets into my mouth, swallowing them with the water. “Ugh, those things taste disgusting.”

Virgil shakes his head at me. “Just drink a little more water, wash the taste away. Breakfast will help with that, too.”

With a nod I follow Virgil from my room, grudgingly accepting his help to get down the stairs.

It’s slow going, each step feeling like a red-hot poker has been stuck between my vertebrae and by the time I’m at the bottom, I’m in agony, leaning heavily on Virgil.

“Scott?”

“Give me a minute,” I mumble, my eyes screwed shut. I’m breathing deeply as the intense pain lessens now I’m not descending the stairs before finally it’s back to the more manageable ache I’ve been experiencing between spasms.

Virgil waits a few moments longer before addressing me again. “You up for breakfast now?”

“We’ll find out,” I answer, following him through to the kitchen. I’m glad that the dining chairs are the old scrubbed wooden ones, the hard surface of them being far preferable to the squashy armchairs of the den and the support they provide my back feels good as I sit down.

“Scott? You okay?”

I turn at the sound of a small voice and see Alan heading over, having just entered the room, no doubt to investigate why I wasn’t with the others for our morning meal.

“I’m alright, Al,” I reply to him, offering a smile, though it feels fatigued. “Just not firing all thrusters today.”

“He’s hurt his back,” Virgil clarifies as I knew he would. “Those rocks that fell while we were helping Kat seem to have done more damage than we first thought.”

“Damage? Scott, are you broke?” Alan asks as he sits down next to me, his bright eyes full of worry as he looks at me.

“Yeah, think I am,” I say, grunting as yet another spasm jerks me into a more upright position.

“Scott?”

“I’m okay, Al,” I assure him. “Just a bit more painful at times.” I look around for some kind of distraction. “Hey, uh, where are the others?”

“John’s with Brains looking over ways to improve security here, oh and so’s Kayo. And Gordon’s with Grandma. I left them in the den when I heard you coming downstairs.”

“I see,” I mutter. I then realise my mistake. If I’m supposed to be having something to eat, I should have gone straight to prepare it. As it is, now I’ve sat down, I’ve got to face trying to stand again. But before I can even consider working up the motivation to try and move my aching body, a bowl of cereal is placed in front of me with a glass of orange juice.

I look up and see Virgil smiling down at me. “I wasn’t exactly going to let you struggle, was I?”

“It’s been known to happen,” I reply, grinning back at him thankfully.

“Not when you’re in this much pain, I wouldn’t,” Virgil retorts seriously.

I sigh, looking down into my bowl. “I know.”

“Don’t get used to it, though. You still need to keep as mobile as you can. I just thought I’d help you out this time.”

My smile returns as I nod. “Yes, sir,” I say, picking up my spoon.

“You seen any TV this morning?” Alan asks, watching me carefully.

I can’t help but smile at him. I know he’s waiting for an opportunity to come up in which he can offer to help with something. Most likely it’ll be to take my empty bowl or glass. “I, uh, I haven’t really had the chance yet, Al,” I tell him.

“Oh, no, I guess not.”

“Why do you ask?” I add, experimentally trying a spoonful of my cereal. For something so simple, it’s one of my favourite breakfasts. Basic cornflakes with slices of banana. But it’s serving as a distraction from the pain, if nothing else.

“Kat seems to have recorded that report she said she was gonna do from her hospital bed.”

“Really?” I almost drop my spoon as I turn to face him. This news surprises me. I know she’d said she was going to go ahead with the report. I just didn’t expect it to come so soon.

“She is a reporter, Scott,” Virgil reminds me as he sits down with a mug of coffee. I look over at him, jealous of the smell of his morning brew and had been about to ask if there’s any left in the pot when he pushes another mug forward. I smile gratefully as I take it from him.

“Thanks,” I say, taking a sip of the warm coffee. “And I guess you’re right. She did say she had a deadline.”

“Actually, that’s one of the things she’s mentioned,” Alan says. “The report should have gone out last night.”

“I see.” I look down at the cereal, the flakes starting to become soggy. I’m not certain I’m hungry anymore. I know what Kat said she’d say, but I still can’t help but wonder if she would go with her original theories for the sake of ratings.

“Alan, maybe you should show him,” Virgil suggests.

I watch as Alan goes over to the projector, tapping the switch that’ll turn it on and selecting the report.

“This is Kat Kavanaugh, unfortunately not reporting live today. I must apologise to you all that my report didn’t arrive last night as promised, but in my desperation to try and incriminate International Rescue in the affairs of the Hood or the Mechanic, I ended up needing their services after falling foul of a rock slide. Despite the things I’d been saying about them, International Rescue still turned up to save me. And I can’t even claim they hadn’t seen the report because it was clear they had. Yet they didn’t hold it against me. They were professional and courteous and incredibly efficient. I can now confirm with full certainty that they are not working with either of the aforementioned criminals after some of their number were put in danger when the Mechanic infiltrated their base. And considering what I’d been saying, I fully expected them to leave me to help their own when they learned of the Mechanic’s involvement but they didn’t. They still rescued me. And took care of me. One of them even protected me with their own body to stop more sliding rocks from landing on me. So now, I’m here, in a hospital room having treatment for two broken legs and a whole lot of bruising. My report is not live, but it’s still being recorded because International Rescue saved me. And, if you’re watching, I want you to know, I regret all the things I implied about you in my previous report. There’s no way you could be working with them, I saw the look of genuine outrage when you realised the Mechanic was involved in the issues you’d been facing. So, thank you, International Rescue, and please forgive me. This is Kat Kavanaugh, signing off.”

As the image fades off again, I look between my two present brothers, smiling a little. “I’ll be honest, I was worried about what she might say.”

“I could tell,” Virgil replies. “But she was true to her word in the end.”

I nod, looking back down at my breakfast. I try a few more mouthfuls but I’ve left it too long. “I’ll sort this out then I’d better go look over the reports from yesterday.”

“Alright,” Virgil agrees.

“Want me to take that for you, Scott?” Alan asks.

“No, it’s alright, Alan,” I insist. “Thanks for the offer, but you’ve got stuff you need to do, right?”

“Only that homework Grandma set me.”

“Exactly,” I reply. “The sooner you get it done, the sooner you can do other stuff.”

“I guess,” he mumbles.

“Go on, Alan,” I say, hoping my tone is reassuring. “It’s not the usual amount of work she’s set you, is it?”

“Well, no, it’s just, I thought being out here I wouldn’t get any.”

“We’re not out here for a vacation, you know,” I remind him. “That’s why the Thunderbirds are here, too.”

“I know,” he sighs. “Alright.”

“Good man,” I say. “Soon as you’re done, come find me and we can go over some specs together. See how up to speed you are on our equipment. How’s that?”

Alan’s dejected expression turns into a more hopeful one. “Really?”

“Sure, why not? It’s technically still working.”

“Yeah, but the equipment specs are far more interesting.”

“There you go then. You have an incentive to get your homework done sooner.”

Alan grins. “Alright, Scott!” he says, running off.

I chuckle slightly as I watch him then lean forward to get up, wincing as my back reminds me we’re not friends today.

“Need a hand up?” Virgil asks.

“No, I got this,” I insist, leaving my bowl and glass on the table. I decide instead of trying to stand with things in my hand, I’ll first see if I can succeed in getting out of my chair before picking the items up. I can feel my back groaning against the tension of movement again and I grit my teeth before finally I’m upright again. “There,” I say, a little breathless.

Virgil just inclines his head. “Keep it up,” he says. “Need anything? Brains wants me to look over those old hoverbikes with him. We were wondering if it might be something we could resurrect for general use.”

“You go ahead. I’m only washing these up then heading to the training room.”

“You’re not gonna have another go with those gecko gloves, are you?” Virgil teases, smirking at me.

“You know normally I’d win in a race to the top,” I retort then shake my head. “No, I just want to go in and check the reports, remember? Easier to use Brains’ console.”

“Alright, but don’t forget to take some more meds later.”

“I’m sure my back will frequently remind me,” I grumble, wincing at another spasm. “Like it has right now.”

Virgil’s smile is sympathetic. “There’s not really much else I can do for you, I’m afraid. You’re just gonna have to persevere with this.”

I nod, sighing. “I know.” I pick up my bowl and glass, leaving my coffee mug on the table for now, and take them to the sink to wash them out as Virgil leaves the room.

I rinse the articles out, washing them slowly as I watch the wind blow dust around outside and not expecting to hear anything besides the running of the water. So, when I hear a voice behind me, a voice belonging to a person I didn’t even hear approach, it’s not surprising when I jump. The sudden movement really doesn’t help my already disagreeable back and I have to cling to the edge of the sink to remain upright, my eyes screwing shut again. This is seriously beginning to not only frustrate me, but I swear it feels like the pain is getting worse.

“Whoa, Scott, I’m sorry!”

There’s a pair of hands on my arms and the owner of the voice, who I belatedly work out is John, helps me stand up again.

“It’s alright,” I say through my gritted teeth.

“Well, it’s clearly not,” John points out as he releases my arms. “I didn’t mean to make you jump like that. I thought you’d heard me approaching before I said hello.”

“I guess I was in my own world.”

“So it would seem. Virgil advised me of your want to check on the reports. I thought I’d join you.”

“To keep an eye on me?” I ask, feeling slightly more frustrated now. Were they going to hover round me?

“Well, no, I mean, I can if you need, but, no, I was just going to offer my assistance,” John answers, sounding flustered. “Are you alright?”

I look up at him. It’s hard to be mad at John, even when he’s asking stupid questions.

“I mean, I can see you’re clearly not. Is it your back?”

I sigh and nod. So, it would appear the rapidity of information spreading through the family isn’t up to its usual standards. I would have expected Alan or Virgil to have mentioned something to the others by now. “Yeah,” I mutter. “Yeah, it’s, um, it’s kinda painful.”

“Scott Tracy, ever the master of understating,” John says, raising an eyebrow. “The look on your face just now would suggest it’s more than just kinda painful.”

“Well, mostly it’s manageable when it’s not spasming on me like it just did. I twisted when you made me jump.”

John looks awkward now. “I’m sorry, Scott,” he says quietly. “I didn’t realise you not noticing my arrival would have that effect on you.”

I shrug slightly. “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. To be honest, standing in that one position while I washed my bowl didn’t really help.”

“I suppose not,” John replies. “Is there, uh, is there anything I can do to help?”

“Right now? Is a replacement spine possible?”

John smiles softly. “Not sure that’s something I can accommodate, Scott.”

“I figured,” I reply, carefully making my way back over to the table to pick up my coffee mug.

“It’s bad enough to affect your mobility?”

“At first. If I’ve just had a spasm it seems to be worse, but it’s better to keep moving and it loosens up. But sitting or standing in one position too long isn’t great.” I take a sip of my coffee, frowning and screwing up my nose when I realise it’s gone cold. “Typical.”

“Cold coffee?”

“Mmm hmm,” I mumble, looking into the mug. I look up at John as he takes it from me. “Hey!”

“Scott, it’s cold. You’ve got to let it go. I’ll make you a fresh one while you make your way to the training room.”

“Not gonna tell me to take it easy or anything?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Why? You just told me movement is beneficial.”

I smile at him. “Thanks, John,” I say, turning to make my way down to the training room.

When I finally get there, I’m feeling a bit better. Although my back still aches, I’m also still moving which is a bonus.

I head over to the console and log in, accessing the reports and the video records of the previous day’s training. I wonder if I can spot something in the background, some clue as to how the Mechanic could have been onsite while we were here and yet not one of us notice anything wrong.

John returns, handing me my coffee. “Want some help?”

“No, it’s alright. I got this,” I reply, taking the beverage. “Thanks.”

“Well, I’ll be with Brains if you need me.”

“Thanks, John,” I say, smiling at times I put the mug down again.

I start the recording as John leaves and step back, watching it on the screen slightly above me, my arms linking behind my back.

As I watch, my arms fall loose at my side before reaching out so I can grasp the back of the chair in front of me. Before I can even realise what I’m doing, it seems, I’m holding onto the chair for support, my focus on the recordings lost.

“Scott?”

I hear my grandmother’s voice but my back feels like it’s locked up with this spasm, my knees buckling slightly from the intensity, and I find I can’t turn. My knuckles are turning white from my grip on the chair.

The next thing I feel is her gentle hand on my shoulder, the other trying to loosen my fingers. “It’s alright, Scott,” she says, her tone soothing. “It’s alright. Virgil explained what’s happened, but don’t forget to breathe.”

I realise with her reminder that I have been holding my breath through the pain and release it shakily, finally letting go with the hand she’s been trying to free and grasp hers.

“I know, Scott,” she whispers. “I know it’s hurting, but you gotta breathe.”

I nod, screwing my eyes shut. I’m embarrassed to feel tears filling behind my eyelids. I don’t want her to see that.

The hand on my shoulder slides down to rub my back gently. “It’s alright, Scott,” she says quietly. “We’re alone in here. You let out what you need to. Don’t be ashamed of tears.”

I open my eyes and look at her, though my vision is blurry now as those tears are released. “I’m sorry,” I mutter.

“Whatever for?”

I attempt to shrug but that was a bad idea, pulling on my already tortured back. I groan at the pain, which feels like it’s radiating into my hips again and even as far as down to my knees this time. I shake my head, frustrated and fed up as more tears spill down my cheeks.

“Scott, you can’t help the way you’re feeling. You just need to get through it.”

I sigh, my breathing still shaky from the ferocity of this spasm. My hand, the one not holding Grandma’s, is still clamped tightly on the back of the chair.

“Let go of the chair, Scott,” Grandma says. “You need to move. You’ve been stood still too long.”

“Was watching the recordings,” I mumble, trying to release my fingers but each time I do I feel like I’m going to fall down.

“I know, Scott,” Grandma replies. Her tone is so reassuring and gentle. “And I’ve got you, Scott. You can let go. I won’t let you fall. I might be older, but I can still help my boy.”

I look round at her. I want to wipe my eyes but both my hands are busy right now.

“Let go, Scott,” she says again, the hand on my back moving so her arm is round me.

I take a deep breath and force my hand to let go on the chair. My knees give way slightly, fresh tears fall, but Grandma is there, holding me up.

“Easy, Scotty, I got you,” she says. With one arm round my back and the other holding my hand she helps me take a few steps away from the console. Between us, we manage to do a circuit round the room and slowly my back begins to feel a bit better. At the very least, I can feel myself relaxing, the tension leaving me as it eases.

“Hey, Grandma, did you find him?”

I freeze at the sound of Gordon’s voice approaching and look at my grandmother. I’m not sure I want him to see me like this, probably red faced and a mess from crying.

“He won’t tease you, Scott,” she assures me. “You know that. Out of all your brothers, Gordon will understand the most.”

That thought hadn’t occurred to me. Of course he’d understand. He’s suffered with his back since he was a teenager due to that hydrofoil incident. I nod, relaxing again.

“Yeah, I found him, Gordon,” she calls out.

“What you doing down here?” he asks as he enters the room. “Ah, shoulda known.” He’s looking at the console still repeating the recordings, but then turns his focus on me and his expression changes. “Hey, Scott, you don’t look so good.”

I shake my head. The spasm has left me feeling so tired.

“That rock slide yesterday,” Grandma says.

“Ah, of course,” Gordon answers, nodding. “I wondered.” He steps closer, his hand on my arm. “Looks like you’re going through a pretty bad one right now, yeah?”

I nod. “It’s passing though,” I manage to say.

“That’s good,” Gordon replies. “I know just the thing to help you.” He slips an arm round me, Grandma stepping out the way.

I’ve never quite realised how strong Gordon is, but he’s supporting me now, helping me remain upright when all I want to do is let my knees give out.

“I’ll take him from here, Grandma,” he says.

“Alright, Gordon,” she replies. “You’re in good hands, Scott, you know that, right?”

I nod again. “Yeah, I know,” I answer, letting him steer me through the training room and deeper into the underground complex.

Our progress is slow, but the movement is helping. Though I’m not entirely sure where we’re going.

Gordon leads me on, remaining quiet as he goes. I’ve helped Gordon through instances like this in the past, on the days when he’s pushed too hard and it’s put his back out, or even just the days when for whatever reason, his back just decides it’s having a bad day. I’ve always understood how hard it is for him. It’s easy to see, though he does his best to mask the pain. But now, going through it myself, I realise that, actually, I didn’t have a clue how bad it is. My respect for him has increased. He has days where the pain leaves him immobile, despite wanting to move around to ease it, and yet here I am, wet faced having cried like a baby in front of my grandmother and probably not going through anywhere near as much as he does.

“That’s it, Scott, easy does it. We’re going in here,” he finally says, stopping at a doorway I don’t often go through.

“Locker room?”

“I thought I was the only one who ever comes down here,” Gordon says, smiling at me. “I think I’ve seen you in here once and that was when we were practicing life saving techniques.”

I look from him, back to the door as my memory catches up with me. “The pool?”

“The pool,” Gordon repeats. “It helps me. Aside from for training purposes, I think Dad had it installed in this facility because of me. Swimming is soothing because the water supports me.”

I manage to smile. “Alright,” I reply, letting him help me inside. “Not sure I have much energy left though.”

“I’m not surprised,” Gordon says. “The look on your face suggests it was a bad one, right?” I nod. “Then don’t worry about actually swimming. If you feel you can, great. If not, just float and let the water do the rest.”

I nod again as we go over to the benches. He’s being so understanding, I can’t even bring myself to feel embarrassed when I need assistance changing. Obviously, there are some things I won’t ask him to help me with, I struggle through by myself, but between us, I’m soon ready to go in the pool.

“Alright, give me a minute to change and I’ll come in with you,” he says, going back to his own locker.

I nod then return my attention to the pool, lowering myself carefully to sit on the edge. The air is warm and humid but the water my feet are hanging in is cool and refreshing. I can vaguely hear the sound of the ventilation working around me, but it’s a relatively quiet system so my focus is mainly on the sounds of the water rippling as I move my feet.

“Ready then?”

I look up as Gordon returns to my side. “Yeah.”

“Are you gonna be able to slip off the side?”

I brace myself against my hands and lean a little, judging if I can do it. I hiss in a breath as I feel my back protesting so shake my head.

“It’s alright,” Gordon says. “We’ll go to the ladder.”

He helps me up and takes me over, getting in first to help me down. As soon as I’m in the water, the cooling pressure on my skin, I sigh deeply. It’s feeling better already.

“Nice, huh?” Gordon says, smiling at me.

I nod and begin to wade in. At this end the water only comes up to my chest. I want to go deeper, where I can’t feel the bottom.

When I finally feel like I’m swimming more than walking, I stop and let myself float upright, treading water. I’m so tired though. It’s taken a lot of effort to get this far in.

“It’s alright, Scott,” Gordon assures me. “Honestly. Lie on your back and just float. It doesn’t take as much energy as trying to remain upright.”

I nod and allow myself to tip backwards. I let out a tired sigh as I feel the water taking my weight.

“Stay here as long as you need, Scott,” Gordon says. “I’ll stay with you.”

“Thanks, Gordon,” I reply. I lie there, looking up at the ceiling, Gordon floating nearby. He occasionally reaches out a hand so I know he’s still there. I know I’m not going to be of much use to them over the next few days at the very least, but at least I know that they’re here for me when I need them.

[wildriverinthesky]

MY BEST FRIENDS SISTER

Andrew had asked him to come over and stay the weekend at his place. Darien was disappointed that he wasn't able to come up with a good enough excuse why he couldn't on the fly. He was regretting that. Andrew's place was the last spot in the world he wanted to be headed to right now. He lamented that his friend's house was no longer a haven for him. Now that she lived there, he had tried to stay away.

As he drove towards Andrew's home, he reflected that there was a time when "Serena" was just any other name. Andrew had told him quite a bit about her. Darien was even excited for Andrew when he told Darien that his sister was moving in with him. Oh, if he only knew then what he knew now.

He knocked on the door and prepared to spend the weekend pretending that she didn't affect him in the slightest. He was determined to hide his desire from her like he always did.

Andrew opened the door and welcomed him in. He said, "I am so glad you could come! You have been so busy lately, and we don't get to spend nearly enough time together."

Darien felt a little guilty. He didn't relish hurting his only friend.

"I have missed spending time with you." He replied. He was about to say more when Serena came into the room.

"Darien, it's great to see you! It has been a while." Without waiting for any response she looked at Andrew and said, "I am going to get ready. I am getting together with the girls tonight."

Darien breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He would be able to relax without her around the house, popping up and putting his body on edge.

Forty-five minutes later, she popped into the room to tell Andrew goodbye. He regretted his relief. She was dressed in a tight blue dress. It was incredibly short and low cut showing off her gorgeous breasts. She had on silver heels that made her long legs look even longer. Desire flared inside of his gut. Desire and horror. She was going out like that, and he knew she would draw attention. Who wouldn't be drawn to her? He wanted every man to stay away from her. He had to remind himself that she wasn't his. He had no justification to be getting upset.

Andrew scoffed and said, "Serena, you can't be going out like that." Darien mentally cheered his best friend on.

Serena rolled her eyes and said, "You aren't our father. When I moved in, you agreed that you wouldn't try to be."

"Yes, but I know how guys think. You can't wear that out." Andrew insisted. Darien knew he was making great sense. She should stay home wearing that dress. Wait, no. That would be bad.

"I am heading out with the girls. You know Raye can beat up any man. I am always careful too." she pointed out. "Plus, this dress gets me free drinks."

"You should never accept a drink from a guy!" Andrew yelled.

She scoffed, "I'm not stupid. They have the bartender make it for me, and I accept it directly from him or a waiter."

Darien chanced to speak, "You aren't even old enough to be drinking."

"In this dress, you can't tell that." she winked at him.

Darien's breath caught. He tried to help his friend. Well, he also didn't want to picture her dancing with other guys. "What kind of friends take you out drinking?"

"The fun kind. Not everyone wants to stay home and play video games like you two. Have fun being boring." she wiggled her fingers at them in goodbye.

Andrew sighed audibly, "Is this because of him?"

Serena froze, "Him?"

"The mystery guy that you are interested in. I didn't mean to overhear you the other day talking to one of your friends. You said he never sees you. Is this to get him to look at you?" Andrew asked.

She looked him straight in the eye and didn't deny that there was a guy. What she said was, "I guarantee you this outfit wouldn't make him see me. You don't have to worry about him."

When Serena got to the base of the temple stairs, she took off her heels and carried them up as she ascended. When she got to Raye's room, she tossed her shoes in the corner and collapsed on the bed.

Mina looked at her, "Well?"

"Unimpressed. He didn't even check me out." Serena sighed and tossed her clutch in the corner to join her shoes. "Raye, can I borrow something to wear? This dress really won't work for our movie night."

As Raye got her some pajamas, Mina voiced her anger, "What a jerk! You are objectively hot! I mean he doesn't have to even be interested to look. You are sexy in that dress."

Serena shrugged and tried not to let them know how much it bothered her. She failed. They knew her too well.

By the end of the evening. Serena was in better spirits. She was with her two closest friends, and they had her laughing by the end.

When it was time to go, she put her dress back on and ruffled her hair. "There. Does it look like I had fun?"

Raye laughed and Mina said, "I could give you a hickey. That would be more convincing."

Serena burst out laughing and shook her head at her friend. "Thank you for the laugh."

She carried her shoes down the steps of the temple. She had gotten less clumsy as she grew into her body over the years, but she still didn't trust her balance that much.

She unlocked and opened the door to her brother's place and came up short. Sitting on the couch, in the dark, was Darien. In the low light from the street lamp, she could tell his arms were crossed. She couldn't make out his expression.

"Are you drunk?" was the gruff question that greeted her.

She rolled her eyes, but he couldn't see it. "No, I'm not. Not that it's any of your business."

"Your brother deserves better than this." he said.

She kicked off her heels and walked towards him, "My brother told you he was upset?"

"No, but how could he not be?!" Darien huffed.

"So, you have decided he should be upset, even though he hasn't told you he is. And, you waited up for me to berate me about it? Did I get that right?" she was pissed. Since when did he give a damn? That was when she realized that must be the problem. He didn't look at her because he disliked her. There was something about her he strongly disapproved of. She deflated.

Darien hadn't sensed her mood change and responded to her anger. "If you were my sister, I wouldn't let you go out dressed like that. Guys can't be trusted!"

"I'm tired." she responded. Meaning it from the very depth of her heart. She was feeling exhausted and worn down.

She bent over to pick up her shoes. She didn't notice Darien's eyes on her breasts as she did it, but she did hear him suck in a breath. "What?"

He rubbed his hand through his hair and said, "Nothing."

She shrugged and turned to leave, stopping at the last moment and saying, "You should go to bed too. I don't know why you waited up for me." She then walked up to her room, shutting the door and dropping her shoes. She buried her face in her hands and sighed.

After that, she quickly came to a decision. She changed into a pair of shorts and a blouse and packed a weekend bag. She would call Raye on her way to her place. She would let Serena stay the weekend. She couldn't stay under the same roof as him.

She grabbed her bag, opened her door, and walked downstairs. As she opened the front door, she heard, "Where are you going?"

Serena jumped, startled and said, "I thought you went to bed. I am going to Raye's. I will text my brother that I'm there."

"I thought you just got home. Why leave again?" he asked.

She shut the door and turned to face him. She dropped her bag and hissed, "Because you can't stand me. I want Andrew to have a nice weekend with his friend, and it doesn't seem like that can happen with me here! I don't know what I did to make you hate me, but I am dealing with it the best way I know how."

Darien's eyes grew wide and he said, "I don't hate you. That's just ridiculous!"

"Bullshit! You have criticized everything I have done since you have gotten here." she said.

Darien's lips thinned and he said, "I didn't mean to come off that way. I just didn't want to think of other guys seeing you in that dress."

She stomped her foot and said, "You fussed about that dress, but you didn't even like it!"

"You looked so fucking sexy in that dress. What in the hell are you talking about?!" he demanded to know.

"No, you said I looked inappropriate in that dress." she countered. Her heart couldn't take the word sexy coming from him.

"No, I never said anything about that dress. I said you shouldn't be drinking." he insisted.

She bent down to pick up her bag again and said, "I just can't do this anymore. I need to get out of here." She looked at him while she held her bag.

Darien raked both hands through his hair and said, "Shit! And, this was why I didn't want to come. I knew I was going to make everything awkward."

"Wait, you didn't want to come and see my brother?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes, "No, I didn't want to come and see you!" Her hand tightened on her bag, and she turned to leave. "I didn't mean it that way! Dammit, I am in love with you!"

Serena felt like the whole world screeched to a halt. The bag fell from her limp hand and she turned to look at him. Her face perfectly showed her shock. "You're in love with me?"

He dropped his hands to his sides and just nodded.

She swiftly moved across the room to him and into his arms. He wrapped her in his arms as soon as she made contact with him. It was like his body reacted all on it's own. He just clung to her. He looked down at her in shock, and he saw her perfect lip. He slowly leaned down to kiss her. He wanted to give her time to say no. His whole body desperately wanted her to accept his kiss.

When their lips met, he moved to deepen the kiss. He tried to show her his passion for her. He wanted her to accept him, to give him a chance. He heard her moan into his mouth, and it filled him with pride.

When they broke the kiss, both panting for breath, he quickly moved to kissing her neck. He spoke in between his kisses, "You looked so good in that dress. I am jealous of every guy who danced with you tonight. Each one who held you. I want that, I want you."

She pressed herself against his body and relished the feeling of being in his arms. She admitted, "I put on that dress for you."

He pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. "You tortured me, for me?"

She chuckled and said, "I put that dress on in an attempt to get your attention. I thought I failed miserably. I did have someone offer to give me a hickey, but it was Mina."

Now he was even more turned on and confused, "Mina?"

Serena nodded and said, "I didn't go out dancing tonight. I put the dress on to try to finally get your attention. Even a little bit. I went to Raye's and hung out with her and Mina. I borrowed some clothes, we watched movies and joked around."

"You have had my attention ever since I met you. I almost combusted when you walked in wearing that dress." He ran his hands down her body and continued, "I definitely desire you."

"You also said you love me. Did you mean it?" She looked up at him with such an open expression. He could tell that she wanted the answer to be yes. That gave him hope.

"Yes, I am in love with you." he whispered into her ear. "I am in love with everything about you."

"I love you too." she responded.

Darien felt like he had just been given the world. "Please, be my girlfriend. I want that more than anything."

"Yes. I will be your girlfriend. I am hoping you want a bit more than that though." She ran her hands down his back and grasped his butt. "I was hoping for a little relief. I have been so turned on by you for so long. I was hoping you could help me with that." She ground against him.

Darien prided himself on his intelligence. The moment she said that, it felt like all of his brain cells melted out of his ears. The only ones left were shouting at him to touch her. Touch her everywhere, and make her moan. He didn't care that he was in his best friends house, and that this was his best friend's sister. He was going to give her everything she wanted.

She tugged his hand and had him follow her to her room. He gulped and stepped over the threshold.

That night, he finally made love to the woman of his dreams. It had been better than any fantasy he had ever had.

[abadoodlesss]

Sometimes The Job’s Worth It - Supernatural Fic

Summary: The boys are on a case and meet a young girl named Jane who helps them but what will happen when the case isn't as cut and dry and the boys anticipated?

I’ve always loved the idea of the Winchester’s having a little sister (which is why I’m so obsessed with @winchesters-favorite-girl ) So I wrote this! May turn it into a series because I have some ideas :) but who knows.

I did turn it into a series! Read the rest of the chapters here

Next chapter

“Up and at ‘em, Dean.” Sam bellowed holding a cup of coffee in each hand, extending one to his groggy brother.

Dean peeked his eyes open, immediately blinded by the light pouring in from the motel’s window. Dean glanced over at the clock reading 6:36 am. Dean threw his pillow over his head with a long groan, ready to return to his dream, but the pillow was ripped away from him.

“Let’s go.” Sam said, ripping the blankets off the bed for good measure.

“C’mon Sam, giving five more minutes isn’t gonna kill you.” Dean complained, stubbornly staying in the bed.

“I found a case three states over in Massachusettes.” Sam explained, taking a seat at the small table right in front of the window. Dean reluctantly sat up and joined Sam at the table, taking a swig from the cup.

“We just finished a case, Sam, what’s the hurry?” Dean questions through a yawn as Sam opens up his laptop. Sam turns the laptop around to reveal an article recounting four murders occurring within the last two months in a small town in Eastern Massachusetts.

“Four murders in two months.” Sam repeated.

“Unfortunate, but what makes you think this our kind of problem?” Dean asks, taking another sip of his coffee.  

“Well get this, the girlfriend of the prime suspect claims he was with her during the times of all four murders, ‘he couldn’t have been in two places at once’ she said. Sound familiar to you?” Sam said.

“How could I forget?” Dean replied, sighing and rolling his eyes as he remembered the eerily similar case they dealt with back when Sam first started hunting again with him. “So it’s a shapeshifter?”

“What else could it be?” Sam questioned, packing up his laptop.

Dean downed the rest of his coffee, making a mental note to grab another soon or else he’d fall asleep behind the wheel. “Let’s hit the road.”

Almost ten hours later the boys made it to the small town of Hadley. Wasting no time, they headed for the local police station, suited in their Fed outfits.

They sat in the office of Officer Tanner, posing as FBI agents to gain information.

“Two places at once, huh, strange.” Dean said, trying to gauge Officer Tanner’s reaction.

“It just doesn’t make any sense.” Officer Tanner said, furrowing his thick white eyebrows. “I knew Daniel well,” he continued. “that boy just isn’t capable of committing murder, let alone four times. And don’t get me wrong, the boy wasn’t some idiot, but there’s no way he was clever enough to get away with it the first three times.”

“Well, you think you know a person.” Dean mused. Sam shot him an agitated look. 

“Anyways, Officer Tanner, was there any connection between Daniel and the victims or anything the victims had in common with each other?”

“It’s a small town, Agent Ulrich, everybody knows everybody. We all go to the same schools and the same stores. We’re all connected.”

“Certainly, but the victims must have something in common, or else why target them?”

“The rest of the damned case doesn’t make sense, why should a motive?” Officer Tanner mumbled. “Sorry Agents, I just can’t make sense of anything.”

“That’s what we’re here for, we’ll get to the bottom of this.” Dean assured.

“Is there any way we could talk to Daniel’s girlfriend? There are a few questions we’d like to ask her.”

“Of course.” He said, giving them a name and an address. “She’s staying with the Owens’s, close family friends.”

And with that, the boys were off.

Climbing out of the Impala once more, Sam and Dean arrived at the Owens’s home, a big blue with nicely trimmed green grass and blooming flowers lining the walkway, a two door garage, and a basketball hoop out front.

Walking up the white stone steps, Dean knocked on the door. Quickly a woman in her early forties answered the door.

“Mrs. Owens?” Sam started. She gave a quick nod. “I’m Agent Ulrich and this is Agent Hetfield.” Both boys showed their fake badges to the woman.

“Is there a Mia Sanchez inside, we’d like to ask her a few questions.” Dean added.

“Of course, right this way, agents.” She said, stepping aside.

Mrs. Owens brought them to a living room where a young blonde girl with frizzy curly hair sat, watching the news on the television. There was an anchor reporting on Daniel’s case.

“Mia, don’t bother with those stories, Daniel is innocent.” Mrs. Owens said, snatching the remote away and turning off the television.

Sam and Dean stood before Mia as Mrs. Owens walked into the kitchen.

“Miss Sanchez, we’re from the FBI. We’d like to ask you a few questions.” Dean explained.

“I already talked to the police.” She said curtly.

“Yes, but for our investigation, we need to question you ourselves. It’s protocol.” Sam interjected.

“Fine, what do you want to know?” Mia asked, leaning forward obviously annoyed.

“Did you and Daniel live together?”

“Yeah, we got an apartment four months ago just a few streets away.”

“So you two spend a lot of time together?” Dean continued.

“I’m his girlfriend, of course we did.” She responded a little hostilely

“Did you notice anything strange about Daniel in the past two months? Was he acting differently?”

“No.”

“He didn’t ever seem-.”

“Look, Danny was exactly the same because he didn’t do anything. He wasn’t acting guilty because he’s innocent.” She said, cutting Sam off.

“Can you tell us more about the nights that Daniel supposedly committed the murders?” Dean said, unaffected by her outburst.

“April 16th, we were out on a date. April 25th, we were at his parent’s house. May 3rd, we were having a movie night and May 12th, we were shopping. He was with me all day those days, he couldn’t have possibly committed four murders.”

“Miss Sanchez, we understand that this is hard for you,” Sam began. “But I need you to give me honest and unbiased answers. We want to find who really did this.” Sam continued gently.

“I told you all I know. He has an alibi and he wasn’t acting strange and there’s no motive. Daniel didn’t kill anybody.”

“Well he was found at the crime scene covered in the victim’s blood so, it seems to me he was involved.” Dean said a little too cruelly.

“I told you all I know, are we done here?” Mia asked, crossing her arms.

With a sigh, Sam admitted defeat. They weren’t going to get anywhere with Mia and they were wasting time here.

“Thank you for your time, Miss Sanchez.” Sam said, heading towards the door with Dean in tow.

“Well, that was helpful.” Dean muttered under his breath.

Sam had his hand on the doorknob when he heard “psst” coming from somewhere behind him. Turning they saw a young girl, couldn’t have been much older than sixteen, peering from around the doorframe leading into the dining room. She beckoned them over with one finger.

Sam and Dean shared an incredulous look before slowly stalking over to the girl.

The girl had brown hair going down to her waist and big green eyes staring up at the two men. She was short, (though everyone was in comparison to the Winchester brothers) so short she had to crane her neck a bit just to make eye contact with Dean.   

“Who are you?” She asked.

“I’m agent Hetfi-” Dean started.

“No, who are you really?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.” Sam said a bit warily. There’s no way this girl could know who they were, is there?

“Hetfield and Ulrich? Like the guitarist and drummer from Metallica?” She questioned with an air of arrogance around her that Dean found a little humorous. She tried looking sassy but her size made everything she did quite adorable.

“You’re a Metallica fan?” Dean asked, going in for a fist bump which she ignored, keeping her arms crossed over her chest. Dean pulled back awkwardly, looking at Sam.

“My dad is, but that’s beside the point. You aren’t FBI agents so who are you?”

“We really are it’s just-” Sam started, hesitating as he tried coming up with a quick excuse. Luckily, Mrs. Owens peaked into the dining room.

“Is everything alright in here?”

“Yeah mom, the agents were just wondering how to get to the nearest motel.”

“Oh, I could write out some directions for you boys.”

“No need ma’am, I think we’ve got it, thank you.” Sam said, waiting until she returned to the kitchen before heading to the door as quickly as they could to avoid the girl.

The girl grabbed onto Sam’s sleeve, tugging him back.

“Who are you?” She repeated, trying to sound sterner. 

“We aren’t with the FBI, but we are trying to figure out who’s behind these murders. We don’t think it’s Daniel, he being framed.”

“You’re wrong. It was Daniel.” She said matter-of-factly.

“It was?” Sam asked, intrigued as to how she was so sure.

“He’s been acting funny the past two months, and Mia, she’s lying.”

This immediately intrigued the boys. The girl grabs a notepad and pen from the table next to her scribbling something down.

“I doubt Mia will be too happy if you come back, so meet me there tomorrow .” She said, handing Dean the paper with an address on it. “There is a motel on Riverside street, by the way, it’s about a five-minute drive. And my name’s Jane. Hopefully, you’ll tell me your real names tomorrow.” She said leading them to the door, opening it for them, watching them walk to their car, no doubt with confused faces.

The next day Sam and Dean came to the address Jane had written for them. Pulling into the parking lot of a small diner, Dean could see Jane sitting at a table by herself from the window.

Heading in, they sat across from a very relieved looking Jane.

“I’m glad you actually came, agents.” Jane said, sarcasm coating their fake title.

“I’m Dean, this is my brother Sam.” Jane eyed them suspiciously. “I swear those are our real names.” Dean said with a chuckle.

A waitress came over to their table and placed a strawberry milkshake before Jane, making her eyes light up. Both of the brothers watched her with smiles on their faces. In their line of work, they don’t often get to interact with kids, unless they’re possessed or in the middle of a tragedy. It was nice to just see a kid enjoying life, even very simple things like strawberry milkshakes.

The waitress asked Sam and Dean if they wanted anything to which Dean questioned her about their burgers and ordered one, plus a side of fries and a large coke. Sam decided he’d pass on the greasy fried food.

“So I know your names, still don’t know what you were doing pretending to be FBI agents.”

“You know all you need to know.” Dean said.

“In case you forgot, impersonating law official is against the law. I am not above telling old Officer Tanner on you boys.”

“You’re gonna blackmail us?”

“I just want to know who I’m giving my information to.” There was a small moment of silence. With wide eyes, Jane leaned in “You’re not part of the mafia, are you?” She asked in a whisper but she sounded more fascinated than scared, gaining another chuckle from the boys.

“We’re self-employed bounty hunters.” Dean replied.

The waitress came back with Dean’s meal and he went to town, leaving Sam to question Jane.

“So, you said Daniel was acting funny the past two months?” Sam said, getting down to business.

Taking another sip of her milkshake, Jane explained that Daniel just wasn’t acting like himself.

“And by that you mean?”

“It was like he had amnesia or something. He was still him but he didn’t remember things he should have. Daniel and Mia and her parents come for dinner every Sunday and Mia had to remind him to even show up. I was sitting on the couch with him and he asked me about the show we were watching but we’ve watched that show for as long as I can remember. He didn’t show up to take me to school like he does every Wednesday and when he took me out for lunch afterward to apologize, he didn’t remember my order, I get the same thing every time! It just wasn’t my Daniel, it was like he was a clone or something.”

“That is pretty strange.” Sam mused. “When did this start?”

“A day before the first murder was reported.”

“And you said something about Mia lying as well.”

“Yesterday, when she was telling you where she and Daniel were the nights of the murders, it was different from what she told the police. She told Officer Tanner that they were having a picnic in the local park on May 3rd and they were babysitting her niece on Apil 16. I don’t know if she just got mixed up or if she’s hiding something, but she’s not telling the truth.”

“Well, this has all been helpful. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.” Sam promised as Dean pulled out a few bills to pay for his meal.

“I hope you do.” Jane said, pulling out her white wallet with a little ladybug charm hanging off the zipper, pulling out a five to cover her milkshake.

“Uh uh, put that away, kid.” Dean said, taking out his own money to pay for Jane’s shake.

Jane hesitantly put her wallet away, saying a thank you and goodbye before she headed out of the diner.

“I’m not sure we’re dealing with a shifter.” Sam said.

“What why? Daniel didn’t kill those people, you heard Officer Tanner, kids not capable.”

“But he should have remembered taking Jane to school and the TV show. Shifters get the memories of whoever they shift into.”

“I mean in the first few days, maybe it didn’t download all the memories.” Dean suggested.

“Maybe, but we gotta figure out who it’s shifted into now and where it is.” Sam said as the two walked to the Impala.

They saw Jane arguing with someone on the phone in the parking lot. She sighed, obviously annoyed, and hung up the phone.

“Jane!” Dean called, as they stood next to Baby. “You alright?”

Trotting her way over Jane explained “I didn’t exactly tell my mom that I was meeting with two fake FBI agents because you know, that’s weird, so I told her I was going to my friend Emma’s house. Emma was supposed to pick me up and then drive me home from here but she’s busy so looks like I’m walking.”

The walk was only 20 minutes but it was getting dark out.

“Climb in the back, kiddo.” Dean said, heading over to the driver’s side.

The three sat in the Impala, Dean blasting “Enter Sandman”, one of Mr. Owens’s favorites. 

“Me and my dad love this song!” Jane exclaimed, causing Dean to turn it up even louder. Dean sang loudly, playing air guitar when they came to red lights, Jane drumming on the back of the front seat while Sam feigned annoyance. Both Dean and Jane noticed Sam rolling his eyes so they began singing as loud as they could.

Soon they came to Jane’s house, pulling into the driveway. Mrs. Owens and Mia were standing on the front deck. Dean instantly noticed Mia’s angry glare directed right at Baby. He got a very strange vibe instantly.

“Thanks for the ride.” Jane said scooting out of the backseat.

“Hold on a second.” Dean said scribbling out his phone number on a napkin. “Call us if you notice anything else strange going on, no matter what time, alright?”

“Got it.” Jane said, grabbing the napkin and heading up to the deck.

“The agents drove you home from Emma’s?” Mrs. Owens questioned her daughter.

“Yeah, I was walking home and James and Lars were passing by, said they could give me a ride.” Jane explained, Dean, suppressing a laugh when he heard which names she used. 

“Oh first name basis with the Feds, Janie?”

“Thank you!” Mrs. Owens called to Sam and Dean as she ushered Mia and Jane inside.

Later that night in their hotel room, Dean sat in front of the small television with a beer in his hand. He kept glancing over at his cell phone on the bed beside him.

“Dean, if she needs to call, she will.” Sam said, noticing his brother’s strange behavior.

“I know, I just got a weird vibe dropping her off. Can’t really explain it.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“I know.” Dean said again. “I just- I hope she doesn’t get wrapped up in this mess.”

“You got a soft spot for the kid already? Dean, you don’t even like kids, remember?”

“She’s just a nice girl Sammy, which is rare for teenagers. Normally they’re all bent on not listening to authority or obsessing over boy bands.”

Sam laughed into his bottle as he went to take a sip.

Just then, Dean’s phone started ringing. His eyes widened as they met Sam’s before he lunged for his phone.

“Hello? Jane?” He asked.

“Dean? Sam?” Jane whispered.

“We’re here baby girl, why are you whispering.”

“I’m hiding.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but Mia isn’t Mia.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“Mia has called me Bug since I was three years old, she has not called me Jane since and she’s been calling me Janie all day which she knows I hate being called. Then she started asking what we were having for dinner when we talked about it right before I left for the diner. We were talking about Daniel and she called him David. She’s not remembering basic stuff, just like Daniel”

“Jane that’s no-” Sam started.

“No, I haven’t even told you the worst part. Her eyes- I swear I just saw her eyes-.”

The line went all staticky and Dean couldn’t make out the rest of her sentence but she must have seen the shapeshifters eyes in the light.

“We’re coming sweetheart.” Dean said, hoping Jane could still hear him. He hung up the phone and ran out of the motel room.

Sam and Dean bust open the front door of Jane’s house minutes later, guns in hand, loaded with silver bullets. The dining room to the right was a horrendous scene. Five bodies lay on the ground, bloody and disfigured. Dean gagged a bit and quickly looked away. Sam surveyed the bodies, none of them were Jane.

The boys crept towards the kitchen where a light was on. Turning the corner quickly they saw Jane with a blade to her throat held by Mia. Jane had tears running down her face as she gripped Mia’s arm, trying to keep her from slitting her throat right then and there. The sight made Dean’s heart pang but he aimed his gun at Mia.

“Oh you know that won’t do anything to me, Dean.” Mia spoke. “Plus you don’t want to risk hitting little Janie here.” Jane physically cringed at the use of that nickname.

“Let her go, demon bitch” Dean growled, putting the pieces together that this was no shapeshifter.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“What do you want from us?” Sam asked.

“Well I would say your souls but you throw those around so often they’re practically worthless now.” She said, trailing the blade up and down Jane’s cheek. “No, you know I think I’ll just watch how broken you’ll be about not being able to save them all. Such a shame though to have to kill this one, so innocent and confused. She’s adorable.”

“Stop! Stop! What’s the point in hurting her?” Dean cried out.  

“What’s the point in killing her entire family in front of her? What was the point of possessing Daniel to kill all those people and leave him to rot in jail? It’s what demons do, we wreak havoc.” She said digging the tip of the blade into Jane’s neck, a trail of blood rolling down her neck as Jane clenched her teeth.

“Please Mia, it’s your little bug. You don’t want to kill me.” Jane pleaded.

“Mia’s gone sweet pea. You’ll join her soon enough, don’t worry.”

“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica-” Sam started but Mia lifted a hand, sending Sam flying into the wall.

“Not so fast Sammy.”

Jane, taking advantage of the fact that Mia’s attention was on Sam to try to get out of her grip. Jane held on tight to the wrist of the hand Mia was holding the knife with and elbowed her as hard as she could in the stomach. As Mia doubled over, Jane twisted out of her grip. Jane grabbed Mia’s head and drove it into her bent knee.

Mia extended a hand towards Jane and threw her into the hutch holding all of the family’s fine china. Dean pounced on the demon, straddling her as he took an iron blade out of his back pocket and held it to her throat, burning the skin as a shower of glass came down on Jane.

Sam yelled the rest of the exorcism as he finally caught his breath. Mia’s mouth opened wide as she screamed, the black smoke of the demon coming out of her mouth.

Dean climbed off Mia and rushed over to Jane, laying on the ground covered in shattered glass. He called for her as he knelt down, not caring about the shards of glass cutting into his knees. Brushing the glass away from her face and body.

“Are you alright?” Dean asked, helping her to sit up.

“Physically? Could be better. Mentally? Probably won’t be for a while.” She said shaking.

“Understandable.” Sam said, just coming back from raiding the bathroom for a pair of tweezers and some hydrogen peroxide and a few band-aids. Dean picked her up bridal style out of the pile of broken glass and placed her up on the countertop of the island in the middle of her kitchen.

Sam began picking pieces of glass off of Jane, using the tweezers if there was a particularly stubborn piece.

“So I assume you have some questions.” Dean said.

“Yeah actually, uh pardon my language, but what the fuck just happened.” She asked crudely.

Sam and Dean knew they had a lot of explaining to do so that’s what they did. Telling Jane how all the monsters she heard about as a child, all the things that go bump in the night, really exist and how they hunt them. She took it surprisingly well, better than they expected.

“I really want to say you’re crazy but I know no human could do what Mia and Daniel did.” She said, wiping at her ever-flowing tears.

“Well, you’re all cleaned up.” Sam said, putting down the tweezers, helping her off the countertop. “Is there anyone we can call for you?”

Jane’s parents, her grandmother, Mia and her parents were laying in the dining room and Daniel was in jail. All the people she loved and called her family were gone. It took her a moment to feel confident enough to speak without bursting out in tears.

“Everyone I had left in the world is gone. There’s no one left to call.” She said bitterly. “I’m sure Officer Tanner will figure something out for me.”

Sam shed his jacket and placed it around Jane’s shoulders. “Go sit on the deck, we’ll take care of everything in here.” Jane nodded and left the kitchen without a word, looking at the ground as she went.

The moment she was out of earshot Dean said, “We are not leaving that girl here.”

“Dean, we can’t just kidnap her. The police are going to have to handle her.”

“We are not leaving that girl here.” Dean repeated, pausing between each word.

“We’re going to drag this girl around the country with us? Make her live out of the back of the Impala. Give the monsters we fight someone to use against us?” Sam reasoned.

Dean knew Sam had a point, hell, several points, but he didn’t care.

“You might be right Sam, but we are not leaving that girl here. I can’t do it.” Dean said sternly as he headed towards the deck.

“Jane?” Dean asked, sitting beside her. She looked up at him with her big green eyes all puffy and red. “Sammy and I have a proposal for you.” Sam trotted down the stairs and stood before them. “You get to choose. We could call Officer Tanner for you and he can make the judgment on what’s best for you or you could come with us. We have a place in Kansas that is literally the safest place on the planet. You could come with the two of us there, maybe join us on a few cases.” Sam twitched a little at Dean’s promise of letting such a young, inexperienced girl join them on hunts.

 “It’s up to you, Jane.”

Sam and Dean drove off in the Impala, listening to the steady rumble of Baby as they left Jane’s town.

“I hope we did the right thing.” Dean said.

“Me too.” Sam said with a sigh.

Sam looked at his brother then glanced in the rearview mirror at a sleeping Jane, her head rested on Sam’s wadded up jacket, her legs bent awkwardly around the luggage she packed. She looked so peaceful in her sleep even though her cheeks were still wet with tears. She had been through so much in such a small amount of time and Sam felt responsible for her, just like Dean did, but because he felt so responsible he didn’t want her getting dragged into the life he and Dean led. It was dangerous and full of tragedy and loss, things that Sam didn’t want Jane to have to experience again. He knew they shouldn’t have taken Jane, but he was secretly thankful she decided to come with them. Not only because was he going to have someone other than Dean to spend time with or because he had always secretly wanted a little sister, but because Jane was a reminder to him. A reminder of why they do what they do. Why they hunt things. Why they save people. Why Sam joined the family business. Sure the job was hell, but when they get to save people, people like Jane, sometimes the job’s worth it.

“Me too.” He repeated, the Impala driving off into the night. 

[kirishwima]

The one in all caps + Klance

Here ya go~ ((It’s a med school AU btw because I’m trash for university aus lol))

*****

“WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT FILL UP A “SUPER BIG GULP” CUP WITH 5 HOUR ENERGY AND CHUG THE WHOLE THING. MY HEART HAS EITHER STOPPED COMPLETELY OR IS BEATING SO FAST THAT I CAN’T FEEL MY OWN PULSE.”

He blinked owlishly, trying to let his tired mind comprehend the scene before him.

Lance was staring, eyes wide as he was sitting cross legged on their apartments floor, his pyjama sleeves rolled up whilst he held markers of various colours in each hand. He situated himself across a wall of their living room, scribbling on it what was…was that a brain crudely drawn on there?!

Keith squinted, his mind yelling all sorts of curses at him for the wild awakening. How did he get into this mess anyway?

He had settled in for bed, his warm and comfortable boyfriend snuggling up to him with a grin, Lance’s hand wrapped around his waist, before drifting off into a cozy sleep. A sleep that was interrupted no more than an hour or two after, by a loud thud outside their bedroom door.

By pure instinct he grabbed the knife he kept under the bed, much to Lance’s disagreement, and made haste out of the bedroom in quiet steps. He walked through the hallway, peeking across the door and into the living room, where he found the source of the sound.

Lance was just sitting there, humming and frantically drawing something on the wall, something that Keith had now identified as the nervous system of the human body, all whilst papers with Lance’s handwriting and anatomy books were scattered all around him.

“Lance…what the hell.”

He doubted the humming boy even heard him, far too deep in his own world to pay mind to any outside source of noise.

After another quick scan, Keith noticed the massive plastic cup and empty energy drink bottles scattered besides the lanky boy, both long empty by now.

He sighed and leaned closer, tugging Lance’s shoulder to get his attention.

Even then the boy barely registered his presence, merely turned around with red bloodshot eyes and grinned manically, mumbling a ‘Hey sweet thing!’ before returning to casually destroying their apartment’s walls.

“Lance.”No response.

“Lance what the fuck are you doing.”No response.

He clicked his tongue, bringing a hand to loudly smack against the door beside him, finally rousing Lance from his work with a start.

“Keith! My dude! My bro! The mullet that’s only second to David Bowie’s! My-”“Lance. Explain. Now.”

He really wanted to remain calm in this situation, really, truly did, but it was three in the morning and his boyfriend was talking a thousand words a minute and he did not have the patience for all this right now.

After a lot of cooing and persuading, he managed to get out of Lance that after Keith fell asleep, he suddenly remembered that he’d be doing a presentation on the brain and nervous system for the second-years of their university’s medical faculty the next day, only, he hadn’t even realised that that’d mean he’d have to go fully prepared with a presentation and impeccable knowledge in case any student tried to corner him with obscure questions.

Keith sighed, realising how…Lance-like the whole situation was.

“What do the coloured markers and our wall have to do with this?”

“What wall? I was just writing on the computer a moment ago-“He stared in awe at the markers in his hands, evidently wondering how they got there.

“Keith! I was-no-where’s my computer?!”

He took Lance’s hands in his own the moment the boy stood up from his position on the floor, directing him to the couch and tugging him down, hoping he’d stay still long enough for him to bring a blood pressure meter to estimate in how bad of a situation his boyfriend put himself in this time.

He returned to find the boy perched onto the corner of the couch, his computer on his lap and fingers furiously attacking the keyboard.A quick peek at the screen reassured him he was, indeed, writing everything that came to mind without even a single space or comma in-between the words.

“Lance. Give me your hand.”

“Mm. Just-“

“Lance. Hand.”

“Hand. Multiple innervations. Sixth cervical for thumb, seventh cervical for index and middle finger, eight cervical for ring finger and pinky. Sensitive innervations-“

He took one of his hands and tugged it to him, willing the boy to stay still with a glare.

For a minute he complied, letting Keith place the machine around his arm before turning it on and letting it measure his blood pressure, watching the way Lance squinted at it as if it had personally offended him, trying to hide his grin at the sight.

“140 to 90. That’s not good.” he sighed when the machine beeped, signalling it’s done measuring, “But you’ll survive. It should drop when you digest that monstrosity of a thing that you drunk. I’ll get you some antihypertensives if not, though that probably won’t be necessary.”

“I won’t die?”Keith shook his head.

“Then why am I seeing a pretty angel in front of me right now?”  he questioned, nodding to Keith’s direction, “Or are you always this pretty?”

He smiled at the baffled look his boyfriend gave him and ruffled his hair, getting up to go put the machine back in place.

“Alright that’s enough flirting you nerd. Come here, you tell me what you want to write and I’ll type for you.”

The grin Lance gave him was worth the disruption of his sleep.

*****

An hour later and the effects of the energy drink hadn’t worn off. Lance was firing out information even Keith hadn’t known, despite studying for his neurology exam just last week. He made a mental note to look up experimentation on energy drinks, lack of sleep, and human knowledge, though he doubted he’d find any results on the matter.

His boyfriend was pacing around the apartment, stilling for but a moment to start jogging in place, laughing all the while.

At some point he put on music, letting their mixed playlist of Beyonce and Fall Out Boy play whilst he danced around to one song after another.

Keith couldn’t help but laugh and take a quick snapchat video to send to their friends, adding the time stamp on it to let them know of the situation.

Pidge responded within the minute, sending him a text that simply stated ‘You’re the one that wanted to live with him. Now face the consequences, you cryptid kink butt.’.

Hunk must’ve been asleep, his snapchat being the only one not opened yet, whilst Shiro called him immediately after seeing it, worriedly asking what on earth was going on in there.

“Look Shiro, whilst my boyfriend is very very sweet and very lovable-“

“To the point Keith.” he chastised, quickly following it with a yawn.

“Yeah while he’s very cute, he’s also a big idiot. The type of idiot that chugs a massive bottle of an energy drink of questionable origin and tries to write up a presentation on the human brain whilst his isn’t fully working yet.” he said in a monotone voice, “Also he’s on the first stage of hypertension if his blood pressure is anything to go by.” he added after a moment of silence.

He heard Shiro hum before replying in a slow quiet tone.

“Should you maybe…take him to the hospital?”

“Shiro. We’re fifth year medical students. I’d take him if I thought he was in danger.”“No no I know but…” he mumbled, “shouldn’t you maybe talk with a doctor, just in case?”

There was a short pause.

“Shiro. You are a doctor.”

He heard the slow hum of recognition, shaking his head at the thought of his friend’s current expression, fully grinning when he looked up to find Lance trying to fit his face by his side, murmuring hellos to Shiro across the phone.

“Do you think I should come over, make sure he’s alright? Maybe-“

Shiro never got to continue his sentence before Keith heard shuffling across the line, another voice coming to greet him on the phone.

“Keith, just give him some warm milk with honey, a slap on the face from me for being a reckless kid, and go to sleep. Now.” were the last words he heard before the line cut off, leaving him with the familiar beep of an ended call.

“Goodnight to you too Allura”, he mumbled to no one in particular before dropping the phone and returning his attention to Lance and the computer screen.

*****The sky was already turning pink by the time they were done with the presentation, even going so far as to look for videos and pictures to accompany it.

Per Lance’s stubborn request, he even added a video of Pinky and the Brain singing about parts of the brain, as well as memes of oddly specific humour that he knew Lance would regret the next morning.

He shut off the computer with a pleased sigh, dropping his head over Lance’s, the boy comfortably nestled onto the crook of his neck as they sat on the couch, the energy drinks’ effects slowly wearing off.

“Done. We can get like…” he peeked at his phone, glaring at the brightness of the screen “forty minutes of sleep. An hour if you don’t mind being fifteen minutes late to class, which you always are either way.”

“I’m presenting at 8 am Keef.” he mumbled onto Keith’s skin, making the boy huff a laugh.

“Well, it’s 6 am right now. Might as well go make yourself presentable rather than risk oversleeping.”

“Mm” Lance mumbled, shifting his weight onto Keith’s body, tugging the boy beneath him as he moved to lay on the couch, ending up in a tangle of limbs and Lance’s head on his chest. “Just…just five minutes.”

Keith laughed into Lance’s hair. “That’s what you say every morning, and we always end up late. I swear, I’m never waiting for you again.”

“You say that every time.” He felt Lance smile, grin stretching further when Keith brought a hand to rub circles on his back.

“You say that every time but you still always wait for me y’know? No one’s forcing you to. You don’t have to wait for me. But you do anyway.”

Keith scrunched his nose, wondering where this conversation was headed, Lance’s voice slurring the closer he came to the bliss of sleep.

“You wait for me ‘cause you love me. And though you nag and complain all the time, you still wait. And I whine right back and say perfection takes time, but I’d much rather be late and hear you whine than get there early but alone, because you love me and I love you and, if you were the one that was late, I’d also wait for you.”

He moved, shifting his head to face Keith’s widened eyes under thick eyelashes.

“I’d wait for you forever because-because you’re my soulmate. And I love you. And also you’re very, very pretty.”

There was a pool of red flushing Keith’s cheeks, his mouth agape until Lance leaned in for a chaste kiss before flopping back onto his chest.

“Wuv you” he muttered onto the material of Keith’s shirt.

It took him a minute to compose himself, letting his heartbeat be the only thing breaking the silence of daybreak.

“You know I whine and nag at you, and tell you you’re nerd or whatever, but I never really met anyone like you. I’d rather spend an entire lifetime waiting on you and being perpetually late at anything and everything than spend a moment without you.”

He tucked his head closer to the top of Lance’s.

“I love you too Lance.”

He was expecting a huff, a smile, a kiss, something.

What he hadn’t expected, was a loud snore to shatter the romantic scenery and his boyfriend’s previous love confession.

Yet one look at his sleeping face made him think that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t so bad after all.

****

I had to google what a Super Big Gulp cup is and all I have to say is…americans are scary. 

Hope you like it! :D