#big brother virgil

[connorsnothereeither]

Hi Bound SMP Tumblr, specifically Virwood people…

Have y’all ever thought about the X-Files? 🧍

I’m shaking the silly 90’s monster of the week show so hard and Virgil is so Mulder coded your honour and Elwood is very Scully and I simply chew on it

(also bonus Pietro and Virgil Winchester brothers doodle because the silly 00’s monster of the week show had also infested my brain)

[laughing-moonlight]

Scott: Today I realised I'm old

Grandma: Oh? How so?

Scott: I slipped and fell in the kitchen and instead of laughing, all my brothers came running to see if I was ok

Jeff: *laughing*

Scott: I saw fear in their eyes

[edorazzi]

Some Thunderbirds Are Go comics I’ve been working on over the last few weeks! Sorry to everyone but I’m completely obsessed with this show lately. Love these boys so much.

Feat. Scott getting some dopamine from Virgil, Gordon and Alan getting creative (inspired by a Distractible clip) and John forgetting how gravity works. I’ve got the scribble bug so lots more of these are on the way! 💖

[edutainer2022]

So it's done! The little story that tidied me over this week of missile hellfire and long stretches of power outages. Jeff is back from Oort Cloud and is forced to question his strengths and aptitudes when things go unexpectedly very, very wrong very fast. All boys get to feature, eventually, but Scotty is having the worst time of all. Many thanks to @janetm74 for cheering me on through brief patches of power going up.

GRAVITY

Some days were worse than others. Some days the heady rush of pure JOY and BLISS of being back with his beloved boys, his Ma, in his own home, back on his own PLANET, beneath the blue skies, breathing unprocessed air... were not enough to tide him over the bone deep weariness. Days, when the bustling world around was suddenly too much effort. Too much, period.

That morning he woke up, gruff and bleary, feeling every ounce of gravity amplified weight down to his marrow. He didn't remember sleeping a wink, but he knew he was late. The corner of the blanket peeled away, catching on his stubble, revealed a silhouette perched on the side of his bed. Scott. Already dressed to the nines in a suit that looked like it was shipped straight from the Milan runway. It probably had been. His son's aftershave was fancier and more expensive than he could ever afford or had any clue to choose at that same age. Predawn light was casting a grey hue over Scott's features, gleaming in silver highlights, making him look older. Tired. His eldest looked hauntingly like Jeff felt, sagging under the crashing weight, stretched thin, even put together all sharp like that, bright and early. The sudden heartache of that thought came out as a hoarse groan.

They were supposed to meet several executives first thing in the morning to get Jeff up to speed a bit more. To get the company brass reacquainted with the Tracy Patriarch too. There had been many new promotions and appointments over the past eight years. But Jeff could barely keep his eyes open. The thought of getting up and moving gave him a shiver, which, in turn, deepened the worried frown on Scott's face. The taut lines in the corners of his son's eyes and mouth became prominent. Much as the pallor and dark circles, belying a sleepless night. Scott took a call out in One, right off the roof of Tracy Tower. It was the fastest and most expedient option, regardless of Virgil's protests. That's how Jeff remembered most of his sleep being drained by nightmares - One screeching off and him spending eight endless years calculating and hoping (praying) the rocket plane made it out of the Zero-X launch blast radius in time, taking his son to safely far enough. He winced at the memory and squinted against a nauseating headache. Scott's worry was obviously reaching the red zone.

A firm hand landed on his shoulder, then moved to press for the pulse. His boy's fingers were uncharacteristically cold, but maybe Jeff was just catching space chills.

"Dad, are you alright? I will cancel the morning! I'll get you to the hospital right now, then Virgil will fly Grandma in!"

The on the go plan was all IR Commander, but blue eyes blown up twice the usual size in panic was Scotty at any given time Dad was about to disappear. Again. He hated the treacherous frailty that got his unwavering boy so scared. As much as he hated the very idea of hospitals, enthusiastically shared by all his children.

"It's okay, Bluejay! No need to worry! Just one of those days. I'll sleep it off. You go ahead with the meeting and I'll rise and shine to have brunch with you, deal?"

Between the Zero-XL assembly under wraps, the possibly one-way mission to the middle of the galactic nowhere, and Jeff's subsequent laborious rehabilitation, the Tracy Industries senior executives really needed some quality face time with the Tracy-in-charge. So they would have it. Jeff was under no illusion he was in any shape to be that, anymore. Scott was, still. But that would have to change maybe sooner, than they both wished, if mornings like that became a recurrent thing.

Scott didn't appear entirely convinced and there was definitely a ping being sent up to Five to monitor Jeff's space-addled sleeping hunk extra closely. However, the anxious scowl softened into warm mirth as Scott smiled down at Dad's rugged face. Cool fingers moved from the pulse point to brush away the matted grey curls from Jeff's forehead. The gesture was definitely well practiced on any and all of the younger brothers, but in that moment all Jeff could see in the slight tilt of the head and a special, radiant fondness in the blue gaze, was the boys' mother. He nearly choked on a sob and covered his eyes, feigning a fit of cough. Scott moved immediately to give him a glass of water from the bedside table. Once done blinking away the stinging moisture, Jeff caught the tail end of a hastily covered wince in the boy's features. If he were operating at full capacity, he would have probably dug to the bottom of it with proper insistence. As it were, Jeff settled for a squeeze of the premium wool clad bicep:

"How're you holding up, son? Tough night?"

"I'm okay, Dad! You don't need to worry! A couple of bruises here and there. Mostly my ego, as I landed in a heap when the jetpack gave out. I'll never hear the end of it from everyone!"

The edges of Scott's "cheeky flyboy" smile were tighter than Jeff should have been placated with. But gravity was already pulling his lids down.

***

He marginally remembered a quick tender peck on his forehead, or maybe he dreamt it up, conflating the endless years of longing for his mother and for his wife even before that. The scent of his eldest's aftershave, laced with a familiar wiff of One's fumes, lingered and calmed him down. He came to think of it as home and hope over the past months. Jeff next woke up to an anxious face of a different son.

John's hologram practically vibrated with anguish, bouncing on the bedside comm unit. Eyes wide and wild, John looked all too much like an Alan Jeff last remembered - eight years old and left at the Warton boarding school for the very first time.

"Dad!!! What's going on!?!! Are you alright?!!!"

Jeff's headache still didn't agree with the yell, audible practically from orbit. He didn't master much but an incoherent grumble to that.

"Somebody called 911 to the TI Conference Room for Mr. Tracy! I can't get through to Scott's comm! You were supposed to have a meeting first thing today! Are you okay!?"

Words rushed and stumbled one over the other, so unlike John's usually impeccable, professionally honed articulation. It took an extra moment for John to compute Dad's state of underdress - a testament in and of itself of the ginger's distress.

"Dad? Are you still in bed?"

Awareness was catching up with him and with it the heavy drag of gravity and dread. His ginger spaceman was still faster on the uptake, his own overwhelming horror finally pinned on a name:

"SCOTT!!!"

The only Mr. Tracy at the TI Conference room at that moment. It all was coming to Jeff in bits of a disjointed puzzle - the overnight rescue, Scott's ashen paleness he chalked up to lack of sleep, the stifled painful grimace his son wasn't quick enough to hide. And Jeff wasn't there for him!

***

If the younger employees of Tracy Tower were secretly looking forward to meeting the Resurrected Space Outcast, Founder of Tracy Industries and International Rescue, Hero of the Century and a Living Legend - Jeff Tracy - it was probably not barefoot and clad in pink flamingo print pijamas, sporting a bedhead and an overnight shadow, stumbling his way down the hallway at an alarming speed with a formidable assistance of the wall and an occasional doorknob. Jeff practically flung himself into the Conference room and nearly toppled over several people in expensive suits, crowded over a prone body on the floor. He shoved somebody's shoulder aside with enough force and less ceremony than was maybe appropriate.

His knees hitting the floor gave a jaw-jiggling rattle and it remained to be seen if he'd be able to make it back up unassisted, but he didn't give a damn. Scott was still and sheet white against the navy blue of the carpeting. Somebody had the presence of mind to loosen his tie and unbutton the shirt. Scott's face and chest were wet as someone apparently tried to sprinkle water on him to ease the fainting. To obviously no effect. Jeff might have noticed a shadow of bruising on the toned torso, but his eyes were on the beloved yet lifeless waxy face. He cupped Scott's cheek and shifted the other hand to rub his sternum forcefully .

"C'mon, Bluejay! Give me those eyes! Time to wake up!"

Either the father's voice or the strenal rub had the effect - Scott eyelashes fluttered and a sliver of blue became visible. Jeff felt encouraged, thankful the baffled and paniced executives were giving him a wide berth.

"There you go, Scotty! Open them up for me, eh? Dad is here, Bluejay!"

Jeff moved his palm from Scott's chest to grab a cold limp hand and squeeze. His other hand never left the son's cheek, the thumb caressing cool clammy skin carefully. Give the boy a sensory anchor.

"Stay with me, kiddo! It's alright!"

Blue eyes were still cloudy and unfocused, eyelids heavy. Scott seemed to have just then noticed Dad's presence.

"Dad? Yu'came?"

Jeff's chest constricted. Of course, they were supposed to be in that meeting together. But Jeff succumbed to weakness and left Scott alone. Again.

"I'm right here, Bluejay! Dad is here!"

The pained, far-away gaze still didn't land on him.

"Yu'never come... Only Mom comes... I call'n'call an'yu'never come..."

He was feeling cold sweat and shivers raking his own body, his head was swimming from strain and fear, but he had to keep Scott conscious and talking.

"Dad is right here! I'm with you, Scotty! Just look at me! Can you do that for Dad?"

Scott seemed to have made an effort to look at him, the brilliant blue almost black with strain.

"Yu'never come when I'm dying..."

With that Scott's eyes rolled back into his head and a thin rivulet of blood trickled down the corner of his lips. Jeff couldn't tell if his son's skin went colder to his touch as his own hands went icy numb. There was a distant sound coming through the pounding in his ears - an animal-like wail of Scott's name in a voice Jeff didn't recognize as his own. Space shifted around him, bodies shuffling urgently as more people entered the room. Multiple hands were prying him away from Scott's unmoving body, but they would need a crowbar. Jeff was putting up a fight to stay latched to his son, or so he thought. In the middle of a vicious flail he was suddenly tipping sideways some distance away, Scott completely obscured from view by a wall off luminicent lined uniforms of paramedics. And Jeff's world went black.

***

[Lucy, please! I know you miss him, love! Oh my God, I KNOW, baby! I know you're all alone there! Please, don't take him! PLEASE! He hasn't lived yet! Our boy, Luce! I let him down so much! I'm so sorry! I asked so much of him, and he gave up everything! I screwed up! Take me, hon! If you absolutely must, take me instead! I'll watch over them all with you, dear! But you can't take him! You won't! I know you won't let him! He needs to live! Please, don't let him stay with you, Lucy! PLEASE!]

***

He started awake yet again with his eldest son's name on his lips, voice hoarse like he'd been shouting over the ocean surf, crashing on the island shore. Caramel eyes were startled by his roar that time. Gordon was quick to collect himself and put on a smile.

"Hey, Dad! You're awake!"

Not unlike Scott's early that morning (was it still the same day?), Gordon's grin was thin, taut, not bright enough to cover the shadows visible on tanned skin. Jeff tried again, putting a worth of questions into the name:

"Scott?"

Gordon's smile faltered and Jeff felt the heady rush of weightlessness, his mind slipping away from the tether of sanity.

"Scotty's in surgery, Dad! There was internal bleeding and he crashed in the Conference room. The paramedics said he coded there, but they got him to the hospital on time! They're working on him now!"

Coded. Scott died on his watch. Because Jeff wasn't there. He took a breather, let his boy take over his slack and his duty. Again. Scott was paying with his life when Jeff was unfit to deal. Again.

He shifted in what appeared to be a hospital bed, but the range of his movement was limited by the IV line, now pulling at his hand. Gordon stopped him from getting up, hands, weighing his shoulders back on the mattress, a lot stronger than he remembered.

"Whoa, Dad! Nah-uh! Stay put! Your BP tanked and you blacked out there too!"

That probably explained the dizziness and the hospital ward spinning slowly around him. Jeff took a cautious look around the room, but for the monitor tracing his vitals it was empty. Gordon read the question in his gaze.

"Allie got so worked up with worry - he threw up. John's with him, helping to clean up. Grandma's watching the surgery and consulting in the OR gallery. They actually let Virgil in the OR! Those puppy eyes are a menace! Or maybe Johnny-boy donated the hospital a research lab or something. Anyhow, they let him stay with the anesthesiologist - you know how Scooter's body eats through painkillers! Freakish metabolism and all! So they wouldn't want him wake up mid surgery,  and Virgie knows the dosage and his stats by heart. It's good, right? Scotty's not all alone in there!"

Gordon was rambling, not pausing for air, and Jeff knew that to be the boy's primary tell for intense anxiety. He reached for his second youngest hand to ground himself as much as to offer comfort.

The door hissed open and Alan waded in, followed by a mile of ginger topped blue. Allie's face was blotchy and ashen, fresh tear tracks marking the skin. John was gripping the boy's shoulder with one hand. He had a tablet clutched to his chest with the other.

"Dad!"

Alan sounded so young Jeff's heart ached. He lifted the IV bound arm and Alan was quick to tuck himself to Dad's side, lanky teen limbs curled into a ball. The boy was not bothering to be discrete about crying again. Gordon flopped over Jeff's legs, uncharacteristically lost for words and craving contact too. Jeff waited till John walked around and perched by his shoulder. The ginger was engrossed by the video feed on his tablet. The live stream from the OR Jeff was not sure the hospital authorized or even knew about. He didn't care. He was dying to ask how the surgery was going, for how long, but Jeff wasn't sure how much John had clued the Tinies in. So he craned his neck to better see the screen and waited. Silence stretched. Virgil's massive form in sterile scrubs, cap and mask was visible, hunched over Scott's face, his fingers drumming lightly over the brother's bare shoulder. Jeff couldn't tell if Virgil was tapping in Morse code or playing out a mute tune. Either way it was definitely a way to reach through to big brother and not to disrupt the doctors. The surgery site was a hustle of frantic activity Jeff didn't dare follow too closely. At some point John's eyes went almost sea-green dark and the grip on the tablet turned his knuckles white. Jeff squeezed his shut, hugging Alan's trembling shoulder closer.

[Please, Lucy! No! Please!]

Time stretched further without meaning in perfect silence. John finally shifted to get up and announced:

"They closed him up! He'll be wheeled to Critical Care now."

Turquoise met caramel across the ward and it occurred to Jeff the statement was addressed more Gordon's way, as the blond was on his feet immediately. There was a LOT of communication between his family going right over his head. Maybe they didn't trust his strength that day. Or maybe they were just too used to not factor him into the synergy of their tightly knit world. Either way, it hurt more than he could ever let them know.

Gordon got his cue and was peeling Alan up and away from Jeff's side.

"C'mon, Al! Let's go find Grandma before she instills fear of hell into the nurses! And maybe grab some snacks for everyone! On my word, Dad DOESN'T want the local variety of green jell-o!"

Alan, as well as everyone else in the room, knew it for what it was worth - a diversion tactics to get him away. Allie could be stubborn with the best of them, and he wasn't a kid anymore, despite a widely acknowledged belief, but he knew there would be no real talk of Scott's post op prospects with him around. Not right then at least. Besides, the boy looked veritably drained by fear and all the uncertainty, and could use a change of scenery.

Shortly after Gordon chaperoned Alan out the doors to Jeff's ward hissed again. Virgil appeared like a giant ghost, swaying on his feet. He shed the surgical mask, gloves and cap, but was still in the OR scrubs. Drenched through with sweat. John was by his brother's side in one long stride. The boys leaned into each other for a long moment, their foreheads touching. Jeff longed to envelope his sons into a massive hug and let them draw strength from their father, as should be. He longed to rush to Scott's side and hold on to him as tightly as he knew how, not letting the boy slip away. He longed to console the Tinies and shoo away the haunted desperation from their eyes. He longed to ascertain them all they were not loosing Scott. Because they couldn't. HE couldn't. But he was marooned by the stupid IV, bedridden by gravity, exhausted by dread and guilt, eating him alive. Not for the first time that day Jeff felt redundant and useless, a fragile husk rolling around, causing mere nuisance.

Virgil heaved a breath to center himself and John stepped around him to head out. But not before giving his brother another quick fierce hug. Virgil seemed to be gathering his bearings, his mind booting up, previously lost in whatever he saw and felt going on in that OR.

"John, wait! Scott is critical. They won't let you in!"

John's face was a chiseled mask, a shade paler yet, if it were at all possible.

"I just bought this hospital equipment enough to research immortality. I'm going to be with my brother!"

With that he was gone through the door. Virgil seemed lost for a moment, lonely in the middle of the room. Chocolate eyes landed on Dad and just like that - the dam broke. The tidal wave of years worth of fear and pain, and toll of anticipatory grief as well as the actual one, for reasons Jeff only began to piece together, breached through defenses and Virgil collapsed into his father's eager arms, sobbing.

***

Maybe it was fitting he only got to do his vigil bid by Scott's side after all his kids, and his Ma, had exhausted themselves. Maybe it was his turn to step up, finally. Or maybe he wasn't ready before. How could he be? No amount of bracing himself could prepare Jeff for seeing Scott in the Critical Care unit - translucent and perfectly still - machines doing breathing for him, pumping blood for him, doing all the living for him. Even after That Place there was more life in his son's body, more tangible reality beneath the gossamer skin. His son's spirit was nearly unmoored, yet Jeff felt like he was the one needing life support. A lifeline. So he reached for the one that had yanked him from the brink more than once, led him out of cosmic limbo, sure and true - his son's hand. And held fast.

***

[I'm right here, Bluejay! Dad is here! I never come when you're dying, because you're NOT! I'm right beside you! Mom will show you the way home! I'll be waiting right here, son! I'm not going anywhere, I promise!]

[employee052]

Edgar and Virgil on their way to destroy content farms and spread positivity, IN-

THE BOYS: POG TOGETHER

[Coming Soon, 2025]

/J /SILLY /LH

[Edgar and the #ITGETSPOG2025 logo is from @bucketfullofstrawberries. thank you for fueling my shitposting /pos]

[For Context]

[flyboytracy]

he can close his eyes now, his kids will still be there when he opens them

[gumnut-logic]

Scott had blood on his hands.

It wasn’t a new thing. It happened far too often to really be anything out of the ordinary. But it was different when it was his brothers’.

Oh, so different.

Technically, his hands were clean. After all, between his uniform gloves and the first aid gloves, his skin was sanitary.

But it wasn’t.

He could feel it.

Virgil woke the moment his ‘bird’s engines flared up. It was almost predictable. It was actually a good thing. But he hadn’t been coherent, stuck in the moment he last remembered. Gordon was his entire concern and it took every reassuring word and action Scott could think of to calm his brother down.

And behind him, Gordon had slipped into unconsciousness.

Fortunately, the trip was ever so short and within minutes they were on the ground again.

Virgil was still fretting. Scott had to strap his head down to prevent him from moving it, but his brother wasn’t aware enough to realise why.

His distress broke Scott’s heart.

Gordon’s silence just scared him.

But now they were both in expert medical hands. The fact Scott knew the doctor on duty was both a reassuring and ridiculous thing.

But now, alone in the waiting room, he only had himself for company and the images and the beating of his overtaxed heart thudding in his ears.

There were a multitude of things he should be doing - checking in with the GDF, following up on the danger zone, checking in with John, Grandma...Alan.

But for one moment, just one, he let himself sit down on one of those blasted plastic waiting room chairs he hated, and dropped his head into his hands.

It was far from the exemplary conduct of the Commander of International Rescue. His uniform grated against his skin, but he needed to clear his head, calm the panic and reset to face it all again.

A gentle hand on his shoulder startled him enough to gasp.

Familiar and kind aquamarine eyes caught his as John crouched down beside him. “Hey.”

Scott let out a breath. “Hey.” He straightened and sat back in the chair giving himself space. “They’re going to be okay.”

Voice soft. “I know.” John unfolded again and sat in the chair next to him. “How about you?”

“Me? I’m not injured.”

“No. But it hurts anyway.”

Scott’s lips thinned, but he didn’t answer that. There was no purpose in answering. It was acknowledged, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Instead, he pushed off from the chair and threw himself to his feet.

He had things to do.

That hand caught his arm. “Scott, wait.”

He turned to watch John stand up and face him. Quiet and calm. “Stay. Eos is managing the rescue. Aunt Val is managing the GDF component. Grandma is on her way.”

Scott looked down at the floor a moment. He needed to be doing something. Virgil’s cries were still bouncing back and forth in his head and Gordon’s silence was echoing. Blood and metal and mud.

But most of all it was the senselessness. He was willing to give his life to save others. He knew his brothers felt the same.

But this?

No one was saved. It was a random fluke of nature. A mindless tornado that could have taken everything as easily as it took the lives of the people they were trying to help.

And no one had been rescued.

His brothers hadn’t even had a chance to start.

It reminded him of an equally mindless avalanche, oh, so long ago.

The blood was sticky on his hands.

“Why don’t you get cleaned up?” John’s voice was soft as always, calm as always. This was why he was the Thunderbird he was. Why Thunderbird Five worked as well as she did. His brother was his ‘bird.

John’s hand shifted from Scott’s arm to wrap around his shoulders. Hell, the man was still getting taller. Scott wasn’t used to looking a brother directly in the eye and god forbid he have to look up.

He was the eldest, after all. It was fit he be the tallest.

“C’mon, I’ll keep you company.”

And before Scott could protest, John herded him out to Thunderbird Two and her ample bathroom facilities. A shower and his mud and blood-spattered uniform was replaced with a red flannel shirt and a pair of jeans both too big and too short at the same time.

He had Virgil poking him for not restocking his spare clothes since London three days ago.

He idly wondered if the rest of his brothers sported a Virgil voice in the back of their heads.

Scott knew that his, at least, never neglected a smart-assed word at any appropriate moment.

Today he almost welcomed them.

But the shower and the fresh clothes helped clear his head and slow his thudding heart. It didn’t clean the blood off his hands and he still had the urge to scratch them raw. He curled his hands into fists.

Returning to the cockpit he was confronted by the missing hover stretchers, but worse was the hologram playing in front of John.

Obviously, Two’s external camera, he watched as nothing other than a combine harvester attempted to kill his brothers. John played with the controls, flipping the scene back and forth obviously attempting to ascertain exactly how his brothers were injured.

But Scott’s eyes just latched onto that massive airborne machine. A killing machine that tried to take his brothers.

Holographic pixels measured out how close.

Ever so close.

“Shut it off.” His voice was sharp and cold.

John jumped as if caught with his hands in the till and the hologram vanished. “Sorry.”

Scott bit the inside of his cheek. “I’m going back to the hospital.” He didn’t bother to wait for an answer. He just lowered himself through the hatch and strode ever so fast back into the building that held his injured brothers.

-o-o-o-

Two Birds with one Stone

[halfhissandwich]

I like the dark sides being a family haha

[theeverythingfanofeverything]

Been thinking of these 3 assholes all day <3

[plaquerat]

i wanna know more about virgil and phantom? since it's been mentioned in passing 👀

yaaaaaaay i love to think about them yaay

So I've talked about it a little and it's brought up in my writing, Phantom is Virgil's big brother (ie he was summined very young and was pretty much raised by Copia, a few years later Virgil was born) So it's like. "Me (deacon). My dad (papa). My brother (rat demon)."

He's really sweet to them. Kind of doesn't quite see them as an adult sometimes. He looks at them and is like Thats A Little Guy :) Half the band thinks his sibling is like 10 when they're 26 and work here.

Initially I wanted them to be a little grown apart but like. Nah I like when siblings are still close as adults. I envy people that are, haha. They have movie nights and they hate eachother's taste in movies but they have fun.

mnnnn he's definitely less serious than Virgil is but he likes to listen to them talk about stuff. They like when he tells them about band stuff. Neither understands what the other is talking about very well but they're having communication.

As I write this I'm hit with "they have a bunk bed" and I Know Phantom is on the top bunk and hits his head so much. He's fine. In theory they Could have separate rooms but also Virgil is terrified of storms and Phantom has the Ghoul Protective Instinct™️ so he prefers being there in case he needs to scuttle down and curl up with them.

[brain-deadx0]

Virgil's Origin

Summary: How Patton ended up with Virgil in New Big Brother

Warnings: child abandonment, hypothermia, hospitals, let me know

Note: Would've finished this a while ago but unfortunately the original got wiped from existence somehow and I didn't have the energy to rewrite it after that. But now I do! So ta-da! Child endangerment!

Ao3

-

Patton smiled as he drank the last bit of hot chocolate from the bottom of the cup.

As the snowflakes falling around him grew bigger and the wind blew colder he was, admittedly, beginning to regret walking all the way to the café for a cup, but they had the best hot cocoa.

He snuggled deeper into his coat as he began to look for a garbage on the walk back to his apartment. He thought about calling Janus when he got home, he had only moved back out of his older brother's house recently and Janus was… struggling. Not that he wanted anyone to know.

Another biting gust of wind and snow coated glasses caused Patton to stop for a brief moment.

He quickly cleared the snow away and happened to catch sight of a dumpster in the alley next to him. Patton smiled at the small bit of luck before walking over.

Patton lifted the lid to toss his empty cup in, but as he went to close it something caught his eye.

Amongst the black bags was what looked to be a balled up old towel. He wouldn't have thought much of it had he not seen the small fingers poking out of the folds.

Patton felt a new surge of cold as the blood seemed to freeze in his veins. He braced himself for the worst as he moved some of the towel to reveal the baby's face. He cried as he carefully pulled the bundle out of the dumpster. What was one supposed to do in this situation? He- he should call the police right?

Just as he was about to reach for his phone the bundle shifted ever so slightly.

A spark of hope and fear rushed through him as he quickly pulled off his glove and placed a finger by the baby's nose. By some miracle he felt a small whisper of breath against it.

Without thinking Patton pulled the baby closer and ran into the street.

He nearly cried harder when a car pulled over almost immediately at his frantic waving.

"Everything alright?" The person asked after partially rolling down their window.

"Please I need to get to the hospital!" Patton blurted, "I found a baby in the dumpster and I think they're dying."

The person quickly unlocked the doors and told Patton to get in.

As they sped to the hospital, Patton unzipped his thick coat and carefully placed the bundle inside and held it close.

The minutes it took to get to the hospital felt like hours as Patton's heart pounded in his ears. He barely waited for the car to stop in front of the hospital before jumping out and rushing inside.

Within seconds of telling the nurse what was going on the baby was taken away and rushed deeper into the hospital leaving Patton standing alone in the middle of the lobby.

It wasn't long however before the receptionist came over and asked him if he'd be willing to fill out some paperwork before the police came.

A few minutes later the person who had driven him walked in and asked about what happened. They apologized for not being able to stay with him but asked to exchange numbers so they could find out what happened.

When he sat down to wait for news he decided he should probably call his brother.

"Hello?"

"Janus?"

"Patton, what's wrong?" Janus asked at the clear distress in his voice.

"I'm at the hospital."

"Are you alright, what happened?" Janus asked quickly as he moved around on the other end of the phone.

"I'm alright I'm not hurt I promise." Patton told him, "I really wanted some hot chocolate but I didn't want to make it so I went to that nice café down the road but-but on the way back," Patton sniffled as he remembered the baby's freezing skin when he held it.

"I'm on my way," Janus said from the other end, "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Ok," Patton told him before looking up at the door, "I gotta go now though the police are here."

He vaguely registered Janus’s concerned voice as he hung up the phone.

…

Janus did his best to stay calm as he carefully made his way to the hospital. Patton was ok. He said so himself. Janus was the only one in the car right now and the boys were safe at the neighbors house. Today would be fine.

Everything would be fine.

…

"Patton!" A very relieved voice called.

Patton looked over to see Janus rushing through the door, "Janus?" He glanced at the clock and confirmed it hadn't been long since he'd called, "Did you drive here?! Are you ok?"

"Yes well I didn't have much choice considering my little brother called saying he was at the hospital and the police were coming." Janus snapped.

"Sorry, it's just…"

Janus took a deep breath, "I know, I'm sorry, it's… I'm just still on edge from the drive. Now will you please tell me what's going on?"

"Mr. Sanders." A nurse called.

"Yes?" Patton asked quickly.

"The baby's stable now. Would you like to see him?"

"Yes," he said with a relieved sigh, "Please."

As they followed the nurse through the halls Patton explained what happened.

"- I went to throw my cup away and he was just there." He told Janus, "I thought for sure it was too late, but then he moved a bit and…"

Janus put a comforting hand on his shoulder and Patton leaned into it.

"He's in the incubator right now to be safe but you're welcome to reach in if you like." The nurse told them.

Patton felt tears spring to his eyes again as he looked at the small body laying in the box. He was so tiny.

Patton barely breathed as he carefully opened the small window and stuck his hand inside. For the first time since finishing his cocoa a warm feeling spread in his chest when the baby's tiny fingers wrapped tightly around his own.

"Hi, baby." He whispered.

As if in response he felt the small hand squeeze his finger slightly.

-

Janus watched his brother stare at the bundle as if breathing too hard would cause them to shatter, he could guess what would happen next.

"Janus." Patton practically breathed.

Janus looked between Patton and the infant before sighing, "I'm not a family lawyer, Pat."

"I know-"

"But," Janus held up a finger, "I will see what I can do."

Patton smiled and probably the only thing keeping him from tackling him right then and there was the little hand attached to his.

Janus smiled and put a hand on Patton's shoulder. He was still a bit angry about the uninformative phone call, but that could wait.

Later he would make some calls and see if one of his friends in social services could help. But for now he just wanted to sit with his brother.

He supposed he was an uncle now.

[judes-hoe]

Monaco air ~ TAA66

Parrings ~ Trent Alexander Arnold x reader

Summary ~ you go with Trent to the Monaco gp!!!

Warnings ~ teasing, other than that fluff

A/N ~ HIS ARMSSS MONACO AIR BLESSED US

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something in the Monaco air had done something to Trent! He looked so good it took everything in you to not jump on him. You were happy to accompany Trent at the Monaco Grand Prix with his brother. It was fun going into the garage and learning stuff. Especially since you liked f1 and watched when you could.

The first night you were there you and Trent went out on a dock. You sat with you feet dangling next to Trent. Watching as the sun went down. The sky turning into a beautiful pink, purple, and orange color.

The next day was when you went feral over him in the outfit he chose. The wife-beater with the overalls. His arms exposed looking big and juicy. “Trent you can’t wear that in public!” You tell him minutes before leaving to go to the paddock. “It’s hot as hell out though!” He complained. “Okay fine, but if anyone hits on you I won’t hesitate to make sure they know your mine.” You spoke in a grumpy like tone. “I know you will love.” He said with a smile.

When you got to the paddock Trent had his arm around you the whole time, his hand would mess with the noodle strap to your greenish blue sundress. “I have the hottest boyfriend.” You tell him once you got a moment to yourself. “Yeah, you sure do don’t ya sweetheart?” He teased and lean down close to your face. “And I have a very beautiful girlfriend.” He said and kissed your lips. “You’re a tease.” You mumbled as he only gave you a quick kiss and not what you wanted.

The day was sun you ran into Virgil and talking to him with Trent for a few minutes. Finally the race started and your sat next to Trent watching the race rambling about it.

“I hope Charles wins his home race this year, I’ll be so happy for him, he deserves it, have you heard of the rumors were Daniel did bad in the Monaco race and two years later he won the Monaco race, o think the same with happen with Charles, he did bad two years ago in the Monaco race and here we are two years later, do you think he’ll win?” You ramble to Trent and he just shush’s you. “Yes sweetheart.” He said just wanting you to stop rambling.

Not that he didn’t like it. He always thought it was cute how you’d ramble about something when you were passionate about it.

The whole race you and Trent sat next to each other just keeping the other company. Talking here and there, Charles ended up winning the race and you told Trent out you think the allegations are true.

It was later that night, you and Trent were at the same dock watching the sunset again. Just as the pink, purple sky look beautiful Trent pulled out something from his pocket. “I want to give you this, we’ve been together for almost a year and I love you so much, this relationship and what we have.” He said opening this small box that had a promise ring in it. “Can I?” He asked mentioning to grab you hand.

You happily let him grab your hand and put the promise ring on. You smile and look at it as he puts it on and kisses it. “I love you.” He said looking at you. “I love you too Trent.” You said giving him a loving kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: sorry this took so long to get out lol!!!

[trentione]

Trent is running to the referee to argue and Virgil, like a big brother, is pulling him away😭

[hazelsmirrorball]

Undercover Spider-Woman II. | Hazel Callahan

Spider-woman! Hazel Callahan x Villain! Reader Summary:  Green Goblin has a love hate relationship with Spider-Woman Warnings: english isn’t my main language, not proof-read,fighting, daddy issues a/n: Thank you so much for reading the first part. I hope you enjoy it!

part one

Y/n always wanted to please her dad. Maybe it was her daddy issues or the fact that he was the only thing she had left, both her mother and brother tragically passing away a few years back. They only had each other. He was the only person she could call family so she made it her mission to always keep him happy or at least somewhat. Y/n was deadly afraid of her father, never wanting to be on his bad side. She knew about his other persona and it scared her. 

Doctor Norman Virgil Osborn was a regular rich dude, founder and CEO of Oscorp which specialized in military research. Y/n’s father always wanted power so that’s what he got. He had created a powerful yet unsuitable performance enhancer, that was intended to enhance strengths to individuals but as he tried it on himself his superhuman levels increased giving him artificially enhanced physiology, superhuman durability, reflexes, regenerative healing factor, speed, stamina, agility and strength. But everything has its consequences making him develop a dissociative identity disorder, that’s when the chaotically sadistic psychopath Green Goblin was born. 

But that didn’t stop him, he wanted more so he involved his daughter, Y/n. Y/n could care less about her dad’s evil plans so when he had gotten a hold of another syringe full of that performance enhancer, things started to change. He had done several researches on it, perfecting the formula that he had used on himself, not waiting for his daughter to go insane as he was, he cared at least a little.

So in sophomore year, Y/n had become Green Goblin 2.0. Y/n at first  wasn’t completely convinced of the idea of having to be a psychopathic villain but her dad was finally proud of her, so she sucked it up. Having the performance enhancer made her powerful and her dad had managed to fix some of the flaws that he had suffered from. But she still had the Green Goblin inside of her. She found herself acting on anger and impulsiveness. So maybe she was caught up with being a true villain. 

Y/n walked as fast as she could, feeling as if someone was following her. She turned around scanning her surroundings knowing that tonight she was in for a treat. Having so much energy left from the fight club and building tension from the almost kiss with Hazel made her go into a little frenzy, throwing a little mischief in the city here and there. Nothing too big or problematic but something that would make Spider Woman's life a little difficult. She jumped on the lid of the dumpster pushing the window of the abandoned building open, slipping her body in with ease inside. 

Her dads evil lair, a stupid abandoned building in the middle of nowhere. She didn’t have a damn car so she found herself walking every dad to that dumpster in God  knows where. It was supposed to be their hideout, not too extravagant and a way from them to keep things on the low but she found this place being her second home, not wanting to face her dad when he was on the brink of insanity she decided to take the evil lair as her own. 

“Well at least I can somewhat relax a little” Y/n said to herself, quickly taking her shoes off. In an attempt to take them off while holding all her things she slammed her foot on the wall. “For fucks sakes” she yelled in pain as she rubbed the affected spot trying to ease the pain. Y/n found it quite difficult due to the fact that she was still holding all her things so she angrily threw her things on the floor and quickly held onto her left foot. While doing so her right foot got caught on her bag making her fall face first onto the floor. Y/n screamed onto the floor clearly frustrated, she dragged her body against the wooden floor, her laziness and  anger taking over. 

When she finally got a hold of the couch she reached forward gaining balance to stand up from the floor. Y/n looked towards the refrigerator as she hopped towards it, in an attempt to get some ice. When she finally reached it, she looked in the freezer only noticing a bag of peas and sighed, fight club was really taking a toll on her. She desperately wanted to take her mask off but before she did she heard someone clear her throat behind her, making her turn around.

And there she was in all her glory. Spider Woman hanging from the ceiling staring at her with her mask covering her face. She waved her hand slowly, like she was trying to taunt her in some way. She could bet she was smiling under that damn mask. Had she seen Y/n miserably drag herself on the floor? Or how she hit her leg? God, this was so embarrassing.   Too many things were going through the woman's head; she didn’t even notice Spider-Woman had started talking.

“Do I have to repeat myself?” She asked again, standing up and walking towards her, her  demeanor overpowering hers. Y/n closed the freezer groaning as she gripped on the counter in front of her. She didn’t have the energy to do this, not today.

“I know we don’t get along and what not but breaking into my place? That’s a new low, even for you. I thought Superheroes knew what boundaries were. ” Y/n said as she took a deep breath, gaining her composure and sending a fake smile towards Spider-Woman's way. 

“Wanted to know what your evil lair looked like in real life. I thought it was going to be all dark and evil, maybe a knife collection on the walls, torture devices here and there. But this? I wasn’t expecting this. It’s quite homey, I didn't expect you to have such a warm and welcoming house.” Spider- Woman said as she sat down on the counter while crossing her arms, a joking tone evident in her voice.

“ First of all, who said we didn’t hide the knife collection in the guest bedroom.  Plus dad studied interior design” she said sarcastically, while moving Spider–Woman’s legs off the counter. 

“Really?!” She exclaimed excitedly jumping off the counter. Y/n rolled her eyes, while shaking her head annoyed out of her mind. 

“No! Why the hell would he study that? Now let’s just cut to the chase. Listen, I really don’t give a damn of what you’re going to say or do. I’ve known you for years now and I know all your moves, I do something you think is “bad” then you confront me about it and put on your little show “taking me down” and blah blah blah. Today the last thing I want to do is deal with your shit. So, I believe you know the exit, it’s the same one you came in. Now do me a favor and leave.” She said getting face to  face with her  and pointing at her chest several times. 

“Explain to me what did you expect to happen when you decided to fuck around the city? A kiss and praise?” She asked while putting her head to the side inspecting her up and down. Her eyes ending on top of her also covered eyes. 

“Well, I can assure you, I expected more than  a kiss” Y/n responded without breaking the “stare down” getting closer towards her. 

“You do know I can take you down right now?” Spiderwoman said in a low voice making Y/n let out a chuckle. 

“You don’t even stand a chance” Y/n replied with a smirk leaning her hand on the wall behind Spider-Woman trapping her against the wall.

“Wanna bet?” She asked while getting inches closer to her, their foreheads almost touching.

“ I would like to see you t…” Her voice got cut by Spider-Woman pinning her up against the wall, her breathing getting unsteady from the harsh impact on her back. She pinned Y/n’s arms against the wall, making her groan angrily. 

“I like having you gasping for air, makes me proud that I’m doing my job right”

“ Are you sure about that?” She said while kicking her in the knees making her fall straight towards the ground. Y/n took the opportunity and straddled her pushing her head towards the floor in an attempt to keep her down.

“You know, I like the new changes to your suit, helps the evilness shine out”

“Makes me glow even more now that I’m winning” she said with a small smirk, making Spider-Woman groan. They both knew she could move at any time, Y/n knew it, Hazel  knew it. Y/n believe Spider-Woman never “busted” her because she liked having her around. She wouldn’t deny she had fun messing with her too, it actually made her day. Moments like this made her keep waiting to do her dad’s dirty work, because her dirty work also included Spider-Woman.

“Got lost in my beauty?” Spider-Woman asked while attempting to raise her head from the floor. Y/n pushed her down one again letting out a scoff. 

“Possibly. Now your time is up, get out. It’s time to go”  Y/n said while getting up, Spider-Woman quickly followed her actions and got up, standing dangerously close.

“That soon? I thought we were having fun?” Spider-Woman replied in a whiney voice following Y/n. 

“We were but I have things to do and places to be so how about you be a good girl and leave ” she said while putting her hand on her cheek and tapping it softly.

Hazel felt it. Like some source of power told her to leave, so she did. But not before doing the thing she had originally come here to do. 

“Don’t miss me too much” Spider- Woman grins as she shoots her spider webs sticking her hands on the counter. With ease she headed towards the freezer placing the bag of pees on her foot. “Same time next week?” She continued while taking the stash Y/n had stolen the past week. Shewaving the bag in the air and slipped out of the window. Y/n slammed her head against the counter pissed out of her mind but her eyes quickly adverted to her phone, which continuously vibrated next to her. 

“Dad is so going to kill me” Y/n slammed her head against the counter pissed out of her mind but her eyes quickly adverted to her phone, which continuously vibrated next to her. Before she could even attempt to see who was texting her due to the fact that her hands were glued onto the table her dad stumbled in a cynical look on his face. 

“What the hell dad ?!” She exclaimed, scared shitless at his sudden appearance. 

“You have to be alert, pumpkin. You can’t expect the good guys to give you a heads up before killing you” her dad responded in a bored tone while taking a mug and placing it  in front of her. He took a look at her as he sat down on the stool in front of her making himself  comfortable while Y/n stayed still looking at the mug. Why was he being nice? What did she do? Was he going to kill her? How did he find out about spiderman so quickly? 

“I thought you said, you weren’t going to be here today” She responded awkwardly shifting side to side. Her gaze turned to everywhere but her dad.  while sitting down on the couch she brought the coffee towards her lips but was met with nothing.

“Well I thought so too. I wanted to enjoy my time in the lab  but I saw through the security cameras you were almost kissing Spider Woman and decided it was time for me to come back.” He said while taking the mug in his hand while taking a sip. 

“Oh,  please dad. We weren’t flirting with each other. We are literal arch nemesis, I can’t stand her. How could I even flirt with her?  ” Y/n  muttered while looking at the sticky mess in her hands attempting to take it off. 

“Didn’t you have a crush on someone from your school? Mabel?” Her dad replied, placing the mug down. Y/n could feel her face turn red as she looked towards.

“It’s Haze..You know what it’s not important. That clearly isn’t the reason you’re here so please go on and tell me. What was the big plan you had for us?”

“We are going to kill Spider Woman” He responded nonchalantly while looking around the house.  

“What?” Y/n looked at him in shock, she had never killed anyone in her life. She wasn’t that type of criminal barely reaching  that high of a crime in their crime schemes.

“But before we do that I need your help” He responded shortly, looking at his daughter. Y/n let out a sigh turning to look at him. 

“You always do, dad”  

“I want you to find her real identity. Find it, become her friend, gain her trust and bring her to me so I can kill her. You’ll become the greatest sidekick known to mankind” He said while standing up from the chair. 

“I’m not your sidekick,” She muttered. “And to prove it, I’m taking this week off. I’m busy with school” Y/n replied as she watched her dad walk towards the door. 

“Well, when you come back you better find who’s Spider- Woman” he replied before slamming the door, leaving her alone with her thoughts. 

“How’s your day? Did you enjoy school? Did you eat?” She said to herself as she imitated her dads voice. 

She didn’t know what her dad’s fascination with Spider-Woman was. But part of her wanted to find out who she was and uncover it. She would get all the rep around the city for revealing her  identity . Y/n L/n  was going to uncover who she was even if it was the death of her. Her dad would be her sidekick. If Spider-Woman died it was going to be in her hands, that's for sure.

Before she could even finish fantasizing over killing Spider-Woman her phone vibrated once again making her turn towards it, reading the flashing messages. 

Hazel: 

Sorry for bothering you so late. But just wanted to know if you still want to do the project together. If not I can do both parts together, it’s no problem. 

Hazel: 

By the way, it’s Hazel. 

part one

...

thank you for reading

[logan-the-artist]

Hii I have a request {and you 100% don’t have to if you want to!!!} but maybe a lil doodle of Virgil and/or Remus ? Thank you ❤️

Remus is like Virgil’s big brother and i love them.

[genderfluid-insomniac]

“Wait for me” dead!Macaque x living!reader (1.5k words)

A/N: I know I’m mixing pantheons but I’ve been back on a musical hype and this time around it’s been Hadestown. I love the musical too much and it came to mind when listening to “Wait for Me (reprise)” that the Orpheus and Eurydice characters would work for Macaque and another person. Although terribly angsty I must fulfill my heart's desires.

The reader is currently walking up to the living world after convincing the god of the underworld to go on a trial to get their lover the Six-Eared Macaque back home with them. The trick is that if they look back at Macaque before they reach the surface he has to go back to the underworld.

otherwise known as the Orpheus and Eurydice myth from the author Virgil and/or Ovid

This story is told from the reader’s perspective who knew, met, and fell in love with Macaque before his confrontation with Wukong. So it might seem that they’re being too hard on Wukong for killing his sworn brother when they yell at him but they don’t know everything that happened between them. ***Only the rumors of Sun Wukong from local towns and what Macaque told them.*** So I just wanted to make that clear.

Although you knew you had begun the trial and Macaque must have been behind you, you couldn’t hear him and yet still you walked. Step after step of hoping you weren’t tricked by them. All you wanted to be back in his arms, dancing in the moonlight and counting the stars until dawn arrived. You remembered it as clear as day. You were just on a walk with him, strolling through the woods and laughing about a forest spirit you had run into who mistook you as being kidnapped only to apologize when it was clear you both were in love.

It was calm and quiet as most days were but Macaque heard something, someone, someone who he once called his brother. They hadn’t seen each other in centuries and the last they saw of one another wasn’t pleasant. At least that’s all that Macaque had told you and insisted that it was too painful to talk about which you respected. You both trusted each other more than anything and you hoped it’d get you through everything.

You didn’t know what caused that fight or whether it was fate or a coincidence that they saw one another that day after almost a thousand years. Flashes and shouts could be heard as they both clashed against one another. For a demon, the fight would be easier to see but you could only catch bits and pieces of the battle, seeing both celestial primates create big craters in nearby mountains and strong gales whipping across the land surrounding them.

Truthfully you were terrified for your life a couple of times as trunks of big trees were flung your way and when gales of wind threatened to carry you off the ground. Through all of it, your eyes desperately searched for Macaque in hopes of seeing anything pointing to his survival. That moment almost froze in time as someone whom you now recognized as Sun Wukong “Great Sage Equal to Heaven” stood over your lover. Before you knew it you raced to where they both were and ignored the scrapes and cuts you got from recklessly running through a battleground.

Sure you heard the rumors of the Monkey King traveling west from folks in nearby towns or villages but the demon you saw before was nothing like you had heard and you saw him raise his staff high. You wanted to cry out, scream, do anything to get him to stop to your voice failed to obey you. He fiercely growled before yelling and striking Macaque who lay at the bottom of a crater covered in severe injuries with his staff. Most notably three large gashes over his right eye, the blood hadn’t clotted yet and you doubted it would even if he came out alive.

You let out a sob as you thought about those last couple of words. “if he came out alive”. Catching his gaze for a second those few seconds held a thousand words. Despite the shadow of death inches away from ending his life, he still smiled with so much love in his eyes and hoped that you could continue to live your life with the promise of finding joy in the smallest things. He wished that you could forgive him for leaving you so soon when he’d assured you so much love and happiness in your future.

Both of you wanted time to stop, for anything to stop the inevitable, a miracle to happen. You couldn’t though. The last thing you would ever see of him would be through your warped teary vision, his midnight black fur caked with thick blood and deep cuts decorated his strong-built body. His beloved scarf that he treasured so much lay on the ground torn severely and a mix of blood and dirt obscured parts of his beautiful vibrant six ears; now partially covered in small cuts on the edges of each colorful lotus petal-shaped ear. Although one of his eyes had been badly damaged surely beyond repair you could see his gold shining eye meeting yours and sharing one last glance before the red powerful staff came down on Macaque.

Sun Wukong had light tears falling down his cheeks and slowly approached the now-still demon’s body with shaking hands, letting his staff fall from his grip and clattering to the ground. There was so much conflict in his expression and hesitation as to whether he should even touch his fallen brethren but you rushed in. Dirt, blood, and bruises clung to you as you tumbled into the crater and collapsed on your lover, sobbing harshly at the reality now hitting you and gripping the soft torn yellow and black fabric of his layered hanfu. You cried out in pain not caring about the outside world because if something happened to you then at least you’d be reunited with one another.

A firm hand gripped your shoulder and tried to pry you off to no success, his insistence on getting you to safety and pressing the message that no mortals should be here fell on deaf ears. You didn’t care about the things you said getting up weakly and shoving the Monkey King’s chest with shaky hands. “I don’t care! You killed him! You bastard! He told me you were once close.” you shouted and raised a hand, slapping the left side of his face hard and seeing him hiss through his teeth when you hit a deep cut on his cheekbone.

The world was silent. Not a leaf fell or animal chittered. Only when you turned around to go back to mourning the death of someone you loved so much and knew they loved you just as much did you hear the footsteps of others. Probably the Great Sage’s companions who came to see who the victor was. You could feel 5 pairs of eyes on you and guessed the dozens of questions they had of why a random mortal was crying over a powerful demon’s corpse. One of the travelers came towards you as you cradled Macaque in your arms, an unkempt pig demon walking towards you and gleefully shouting, “Don’t cry beautiful mortal. You’re saved from the horrible demon that kidnapped you, and his power is gone! Let us help-” he was cut off by Sun Wukong tugging him back before he could touch you.

You did your best to hold in the sobs and despair you had, forcing yourself to look up and focus on the demon responsible for all of your pain. “Go. Go and live knowing you not only killed someone close to you but broke the heart of his lover. I’m sure he’s resting peacefully now.” you spat. After a few tries you managed to pick Macaque up with his head resting on your chest and carefully walked back near to where you both lived. You didn’t bother to see Sun Wukong’s expression when to told him who you were to Macaque and how it cracked into shock and anguish.

That had been almost 2 months ago until you’d finally found a local mountain god that accepted your offering in exchange for information about how to get to the underworld and after you made your trek through hell you bargained with King Yan for your lover’s soul. Another rock bounced off your shoe and hit the gravel path. You couldn’t hear his footsteps or voice or breath and you questioned if he was even behind you at all. Memories of the good times you both shared pooled in your mind and allowed a soft smile to sneak up on your face. How you had both first met because of him mistaking you for an easy victim. Safe to say he failed to do anything because you fought back decently.

Your meetings were always by surprise at first but then Macaque began to show up regularly and seemed more curious about what you did and who you were. It was obvious he could do something else rather than “wasting” time on someone he failed to kill but you caught his interest. The same game was played fairly often until a week passed when he disappeared and you thought that was it. You were happily surprised when you went to your regular sight to gather herbs and saw sizable bundles of each herb you usually picked tied up all in a basket. Macaque ended up rising from the shadow of a nearby Rainbow Gum tree and apologizing for disappearing but offering to repay you. That night he confessed underneath the stars looking at the moon while he told you stories he heard during his travels.

A bright light blinded you in the dark tunnel that was now slowly opening into the base of the mountain you entered hours ago and you fought through the tight v-shaped opening until you reached the edge where obsidian-shaded gravel met the healthy forest floor. You couldn’t tell if it was you or Macaque who let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re here.”