#but thinking about how Henry always told them to put each other first… it’s giving ‘too much of a good thing’

[nat-without-a-g]

Lowkey terrified that the oak twins are going to end the show with nothing but each other and ultimately that might be the worst if not most suiting horrific twist of fate

[piratefalls]

welcome back to the latest edition of biweekly fic recs! as always, mind the tags, if you can't leave a nice comment don't leave one at all, and happy reading!

masterlist.

There's No Problem That San Diego Can't Solve by @historicallysam

Alex doesn’t even bother knocking; he simply twists the knob on the door and shoves it open. His eyes narrow as the door bangs against the wall and he sees Henry on the phone. Maybe (definitely) it’s rude but his blood is fucking boiling so he doesn’t really care.

All the Ocean was Sleeping by @sparklepocalypse

The worst part about being a siren in the modern era, Henry ponders as yet another ship flies past his cove at a speed that he knows will disturb the anemone gardens below, is the yacht bros. Between the sound of their vessels’ motors and the dissonant noise the humans call music, Henry’s singing has no chance of attracting anyone’s attention.

cause you're a classic, and i'm reckless by @firenati0n

“I've, actually, uh. I've never done this before.” At this, Henry stops short, takes a second as his gaze moves up and to the left, trying to recall something. “I've seen your films. You most certainly have done intimate scenes.” Alex clears his throat. He hopes his nerves aren't completely obvious, the slight waver in his voice about to give him away. “Yeah, well. Never with a man, so. Not at this scale, anyway.” “Would it help to, er, practice?" Henry winces a little as he says it, which does not inspire confidence. But Alex is shocked nonetheless. What the fuck?

Over Land and Sea by SatinBirds

Alex and Henry come from very different worlds, and still, they manage to find each other.

Clean Slate by smc_27

“Henry.” Pez comes over, puts both hands on Henry’s cheeks and looks him dead in the eye. “You are not a sad man who’s gotten dumped. You’re in the prime of your life, and I quite desperately need you to act like it.” “The prime of my life,” Henry scoffs, more incredulous than questioning. “I’ve just gotten out of a 15 year relationship, endured a divorce, am suffering an almost impressive case of writer’s block, and your hands are like bloody icicles.” Pez grins, doesn’t take his hands away. “Explain to me how this is my prime. Please.” Pez tilts his head, and sounds entirely serious when he says, “Literally anything can happen from here.”

in bloom by stutteringpeach

Yoo, can u hook me up with some flowers?? It's the busiest day of the year for florists. Alex texts Henry with a last minute request.

here is a map (with your name for a capital) by @alasse9

That day at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Alex comes across the very same Prince Henry who just dismissed him having a panic attack in a bathroom. The choice Alex makes then has ripple effects neither of them could have ever expected. What's the story like, when they actually are friends all along? “So, you’re going back to England tonight, and you’ll spend the next three days pretending you two are the closest and best of friends until we can put this mess behind us.” And there are reasons he hasn’t told anybody this, good reasons, even though he’s sure June and Nora saw through him ages ago. Faced with his mom’s disappointment, though, and with the realization that the entire world apparently thinks he hates Henry and would willingly shove him into a fucking cake, he can’t stay quiet. “But we are friends,” he says, vehement and serious. “We have been for years. He’s—he’s probably my best friend, actually, along with Nora.”

thoughts of you consume by yrsonpurpose

Henry sees Alex appear on the red carpet in a blue suit that screams sex on legs and is ready to throw away all attempts at concealing their secret relationship in the name of dropping to his knees at the first available opportunity.

eyes on me by matherine

Alex’s hips buck back against Henry’s mouth the moment his tongue does more than tease, and Henry squeezes his hip in gentle consternation. But before he can say anything, Alex is already rambling. “Sorry, I’m — I’m sorry, I know you said not to move, and I’m trying, I — I’m trying to be good, I promise,” he blurts, voice shaking ever so slightly from something that certainly doesn’t sound like pleasure, resolutely refusing to turn his head so that he can meet Henry’s gaze from where he’s positioned behind him. Henry’s heart aches. “Alex — love, it’s alright. Where’s your mind?” Or: Sometimes, Alex needs a distraction. Something to take the edge off, to scrub away at the stress of the day. Some days, it works better than others. 

the evolution of intimacy by Poutini

There’s no spontaneity anymore. One might think this boring. That the novelty had worn off. The spark snuffed. Absolutely not

Want Me by OrchidScript

Henry had always been weak for a nice smile, but his was impossible to ignore. Blame it on summer heat and a fresh flush in his cheeks. Blame it on sunset painting the outdoor bar sweltering, romantic colors. Blame it on two healthy glasses of albariño thrumming in his bloodstream, or the good music floating on the air. Henry could blame it on anything liked if he thought long and hard about it, but that didn’t change much at the end. The core remained the same: he had been gone from the jump. -- Henry and Alex hook up on a vacation in Spain. Henry falls a bit deeper.

fill my lungs with sweetness by @priincebutt

Henry George Edward James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor wakes up at 3 AM on his birthday to an empty bed. What could Alex possibly be getting up to at 3 AM the night before his birthday? The possibilities are endless.

got myself in quite a tangle by coffeecatsme

"It seems I've gotten myself in quite a tangle." "Tangle?" Henry's voice is hoarse, eyes darkened as they travel over Alex's body. They stop at his crotch, and Alex can see it even under the dim lights—Henry's growing hard too, a visible bulge pushing at his sweatpants. Alex's cock gives a desperate twitch. "Y'know, I was trying to put them around the tree," he starts, gesturing at the plain tree at the corner. It's clear he didn't even attempt to touch it. "And somehow I've managed to completely trap myself. Can't even move my hands." Henry makes a desperate noise at the back of his throat as his eyes snap up to Alex's face. Alex flashes him a suggestive grin, teeth biting down on his lip. "Seems I'm completely at your mercy."

The Forces of Chance and Coincidences by @stellarm

Bad weather leads to a late flight that leads to no one being where they wanted to be, but maybe everyone was where they needed to be.

I've never felt safer (than when I'm with you) by viciouslyqueer

Alex takes the bag and opens it slowly, careful not to rip it, and gasps quietly as he sees what’s inside. “H, you didn’t…” Strong arms wrap around his waist from behind, Henry’s chest warm against his back. “Do you like it?” Henry asks in a whisper, resting his chin on Alex’s shoulder. Alex doesn’t know what to say. Gingerly, like he might ruin it with even the smallest touch, he takes out the silky fabric and holds it up in front of them. It’s a gorgeous dress, fancy too, in a deep red color with thin straps and an open back. It’s long, almost touching the floor even as Alex holds it up and has a slit on the left side that would probably end a little above Alex’s knee.

An Amateur's Guide to Professional Gift-Giving by anincompletelist

Alex, a former-law-student-taking-some-time-off turned professional part-time gift giver, is tasked with finding a gift for the most high profile client he's ever worked with, both in and out of the world of law. It turns out finding the perfect gift for the Prince of Wales might be easier than he'd anticipated.

Love At First Bark by everwitch

“I still don’t know your name, do I?” Henry watches Alex where he’s crouched down in front of David and gently scratching David below his chin. David absolutely loves Alex. Henry can relate. “It’s David,” Henry supplies. “Cool,” Alex says. “And what’s the dog’s name?” Henry blinks at him. “... David?” “What?” Alex exclaims. He looks from David to Henry and then back at David again. “Wow, okay, that is a choice.” Henry wants to sink through the earth and never come back up again.

don't let me get drunk again by headabovethewater

Alex had never wanted to cancel plans as much as he had while watching Henry pull a pair of light wash, tight jeans over his stockinged legs and bare ass. Christ, he’s getting hard thinking about it now.

The Beginner's Guide to Floristry by clottedcreamfudge

As if there's anything romantic about it; as if it's not the most humiliating death Alex can imagine. This is why he doesn't do relationships. This is why he never will. The risk, as far as he fucking sees it, is too great. -- Hanahaki Disease is a fictional disease where the victim of unrequited or one-sided love begins to vomit or cough up the petals and flowers of a flowering plant growing in their lungs, which will eventually grow large enough to render breathing impossible.

Everything you take, you make it better. So go on, take forever by @hgejfmw-hgejhsf

It's 2024, and nobody knows they're engaged. But they will, just as soon as Alex can decide what to wear to his birthday dinner. Henry has an idea and a special gift to match.

false pretenses by rizcriz

Henry spins around, glaring at Alex. “For christs sake,” He hisses, holding a hand out between them. “Can we just not? I do not have the capacity to pretend to hate you today.” Alex splutters as Henry turns on his heel and starts to walk away. He stares after him helplessly. “Pretend?” After a beat, he starts to follow after him, “What the fuck do you mean pretend?” Three years of breathing down each others necks, fighting every time they come in contact with each other. And if Henry is saying every single thing on his end has been pretend, Alex Claremont-Diaz is going to have a fucking breakdown. Because he has been harboring this stupid fucking crush and burying it beneath false antagonism, meeting Henry where he’s at, for three years, and if Henry is implying that they’re both faking it— -- or, Alex learns better.

turn the desert to glass (you would be the one) by @taste-thewaste

Henry and Alex's domestic bliss has lead to some changes in Henry's body. Henry doesn't really mind being a little chubby, but he wonders if Alex does. Alex, it turns out, does not. Not one bit. He does not mind one bit, and he is more than eager to prove it.

coming on fast like good dreams do by cricketnationrise

When Henry recovers from his unexpected factory reset, he still can’t really breathe properly and somehow Alex is still standing in front of him with a hopeful and excited expression on his face. “Run that by me again?” he asks faintly. “I need your help.” “Right…” “I need you to edge me. Like a lot,” Alex says with a shrug. Nope, it’s not any clearer a second time around.

as always, let me know if you want to be tagged in future lists, whether you're a reader or writer!

tagging @starkfridays @stilesgivesmefeels @midnightsfp @sarahjswift @enablelove

[rxttingsblog]

ೃ⁀➷ Notes ೃ⁀➷

Summary: Reader is a mute and reserved test subject at Hawkins Lab. No one knew what her voice sounded like. She only communicated by using a notebook and always came off as “emotionless” but one night, someone catches her sobbing in her room alone because of a disastrous incident that occurred. Will anyone be there to comfort her?

—Peter Ballard/Henry creel x fem!crybaby!mute!Reader

(Reader is 18+ obviously)

______________________________________

Warning: age-gap, yandere!peter, mentions of m*rder, abuse, angst, pure fluff tbh, dark themes inside Hawkins lab.

•••

It’s not that you were stubborn, you just couldn’t speak. You refused to socialize with anyone else around you. Even with the other test subjects who were kindhearted towards you. Not a single word escaped your mouth. There were only some occasions where you debated on interacting but at the end of the day you still remained as quiet as a mouse.

This obviously took a toll on your life. Papa said you had to communicate. He said you wouldn’t make it anywhere in life if you just stayed mute for your entire life but you never gave a shit. Why did life matter? You were going to be stuck in this prison forever anyway, so it never mattered to you in the first place. But because of Brenner’s toxic behavior you had to communicate in some way. That’s when you decided to communicate through a notebook. Papa was never too keen on the idea but at least you were “opening up.”

But despite having the notebook, you barely put it to use. You still never socialized with any human being. Sometimes you used the notebook, sometimes not at all. No one even cared to talk to you anyway. You couldn’t name anyone who cared at the top of your head. So that’s why you had barely put the notebook to use.

However, there was only one. This one certain person who actually did talk to you. A person who took a liking towards you. Someone who found you to be rather intriguing. It shocked you to your core because you’ve never experienced this much kindness before. Sure, maybe some of the other test subjects were nice but it would always end up with them thinking you’re weird at the end of the day. This caused you to develop trust issues. You even were hesitant about trusting the young man who talked to you almost everyday.

His name was Peter, or Mr. Ballard. The other patients referred to him as Mr. Ballard. He was the only one who didn’t think you were weird. At first you were shy around him since you weren’t expecting an orderly to socialize with you but later on you opened up which he was very glad about. But even he didn’t even hear your voice and you weren’t planning on revealing it to him anytime soon. You weren’t sure why he was so interested in you. Was it because you were different? He always told you that you were different but he reminds you that it was in a good way. It confused you to no end.

But even though you didn’t trust him that much due to your mental health. You still had great respect for him. You could even say that the two of you were friends. It was still awkward because you never understood the meaning of friendship nor how it worked. While others talked and laughed with each other you only talked to your one friend by writing the conversation out. When you wrote, Peter responded verbally. But he never made fun of you, maybe he secretly liked that you were never loud and obnoxious like some of the other patients here.

Peter seemed to be quite hostile towards everyone else besides you. He was always there to give you a hand. If he ever witnessed you getting bullied, he would protect you and turn in the bullies to his boss. Papa would usually handle them accordingly since bullying was permitted in the laboratory. But even after all of that, you’d remain as emotionless as can be. It even surprised Peter.

He never met someone who was so void of emotion. Until that one night that changed everything..

—

“So even after all of this you still remain silent?” Taunted Papa, he loomed over your collapsed body that lied on the cold tiled floor.

The day was going by smoothly before Papa called you in. At first you assumed that the two of you were going to have a private lesson not a lesson where he tortured you. Papa explained to you that this was a punishment for being non-verbal.

Visible scars, burns, scabs, and even bruises were engraved into your once soft skin. You weren’t even expecting this to happen. All of this madness just because you had trouble speaking. You were fighting back the urge to cry. But only Papa could tell you were about to break. A smug smile spread across his crusted lips.

“Still nothing, hm?” Brenner chastised with his grin growing wider. His smile made you want to punch him in that moment.

Your body remained motionless on the ground. All you could do was stare up at him with intense fear that kept increasing. Papa was a very cruel and ruthless man. This was his dark side.

Only you had seen this side of him and it’s not like anyone would believe you if you were to expose him. Expose the things he has put you through. He made you crave the sweet embrace of death. You remember you’d always ask the same questions in your head; “Why does this have to happen to me? Did i deserve this?”

“Alex, please escort 004 back to her room.” Ordered Papa.

The orderly nodded and approached you. He commanded for you to get up but you were far too weak to even stand on your own. Alex scoffed in annoyance before aggressively pulling you up by your wrist. You tried not to yelp out in pain.

Alex escorted you back to your room. It was common for patients and orderlies to walk hand in hand. Papa said it was one of the main rules. You thought it was childish and you always resented it. But rules are rules despite how stupid they can be. The pain on your feet increased the more you walked. Alex practically dragged you since your feeble walking pace aggravated him.

After a few agonizing seconds, you made it back to your room in one piece. Alex locked the door behind you. Then again, it was common for that as well. The subjects had zero freedom and always kept the doors locked during the night. The orderlies on night shift would usually do checks in the room. In order to make sure no one escaped and that no one was awake. The rules here were always very uptight. That was another thing that annoyed you to no end.

When you could no longer hear Alex’s foot steps. That’s when you broke down into a crying fit. You had the tendency to sob hysterically when you were extremely upset. You were a master at faking your emotions so getting by in the lab without passing a single feeling was going off without a hit. But behind closed doors was when you were your truest self. That’s when you showed emotion.

It was hard not to cry too hard. After all, you couldn’t draw attention. And god forbid if anyone actually heard you. You wouldn’t be surprised if the people here punished you for having literal emotions. If someone were to ever cry here they’d get in trouble. Just another reason you lacked public emotion.

Your soft sobs grew louder so you had to shut yourself up by clasping a hand over your mouth as you lied down in bed. You were doing everything in your power to not strengthen your sadness. But being in this cold room seemed to make everything feel beyond impossible.

So here you were, with your body curled up on the bed, a hand over your mouth in order to subside your sobbing, and racing thoughts that never left your brain. You grabbed the pale covers and pulled them over your head. You feared that one of the mean guards would punish you if they heard you since at this point your crying was becoming louder. It was to a point where you were hyperventilating.

It’s not that you were emotionless, you just acted. In front of other people you pretended to be normal. But not that it helped from the way you were mute and used a damn book to communicate with. Everyone thought you were even stranger.

Who could even want to associate themselves with a screw up like you? A deep part of you inside was wishing someone would comfort you but as always comfort was one of the main things forbidden. To summarize it, love was forbidden. Not that it was a shocker though.

The clock finally hit 9:00 PM. That’s when night shift would be on patrol. Peter was one of the few orderlies who often took that shift. They would all frequently do checks. But this was something you weren’t aware of. You were far too busy crying to even care. Peter was on shift with one of the other orderlies. He had been wanting to talk to you all day before you were ripped away from him by Papa. Peter couldn’t express his anger towards that old hag.

Before you got punished, Peter and you were having a lovely conversation in the rainbow room. He would usually tell you about his kinship towards black widow spiders. You’d always listen to him because something about him was comforting. Especially his voice. Peter knew almost every aspect of you. But catching you crying caught him off guard.

As Peter made his way down the depressing corridor he could make out just the sound of faint crying. Normally, this is something he wouldn’t care about. But the crying came from your room. You were the only person he actually cared about. The both of you shared a deep connection. You weren’t like the others since you were the only one who was actually born with this gift. Unlike the others who were cheap rip-offs of him. Peter’s heart sank at the thought of you crying.

He didn’t want you to be upset. It honestly shocked him to hear you crying though. Usually you were the most reserved person ever. A smile never on your face, your eyes no longer magnetic and now empty. Lacking empathy 24/7. Never enthusiastic or interested in anything at all. You were also very insecure which is something he never understood. Peter always thought you were gorgeously exotic.

Peter knew the risk he was about to take, he knew he would get in trouble (lots of trouble) for this but he didn’t give a damn anymore. It honestly wouldn’t matter in the future anyway because he was going to kill everyone in this lab. As soon as he did, that’s when you two would finally escape together. Peter would provide you with the love you deserved. He only liked being your caretaker not anyone else’s. He only wanted you to talk to him and him alone.

“(Y/n), may you please let me in?” Peter asked after knocking on your door.

Your heart suddenly dropped, he knew you had been crying. You felt bad for not letting him in but why should you? All the orderlies torture you so what if he was like them? You wouldn’t even be surprised. Whenever something good happened something bad always lurked around the corner.

When you didn’t answer, Peter took it upon himself to let himself in by force. So he pulled out his key card to open the door. All orderlies had access to the patients rooms. They could let themselves in whenever they pleased. Giving you yet another reason to be afraid.

When you heard the door swing open you remained hidden under the covers. But Peter was no fool. He was able to make out the outline of your figure that was hidden under the blanket. He let out a brief sigh but it wasn’t one of those sighs out of annoyance. As he approached you, your heart pounded out your chest. The rising fear that he was going to harm you like everyone else in this hellhole. You wished you weren’t so scared.

Peter sat on the edge of your bed right next to your hidden body. Without trying to startle you he pulled the blanket off your head but as if on command, you subconsciously jumped and snatched the blanket from out his grasp. Peter held his hands up in surrender and indicated that he meant no harm. He only wanted to know what was wrong with you. He did truly care, no lying intended.

“Hey, hey, sweetness. I’m not going to hurt you..” Peter gently reassured, with another attempt to remove the blanket that was over your head.

His heart sank when he saw your tears, your glossy eyes, and puffy pink lips. Peter frowned at the sight of it. You pulled your gaze away from him and faced the other side of the wall. You felt humiliated. You kept the other part of the blanket over your body. Not wanting to show your fresh injuries. He’d most likely interrogate you if he saw them.

“Do you mind telling me what’s wrong? I promise it’ll only stay between the two of us.” The orderly soothed, while gently running his slender fingers through your hair. He then cupped his hand under your chin so that you’d meet his gaze. His fingers brushed off your tears the more they cascaded down your face.

Peter probably wouldn’t believe you but it didn’t hurt to try. With the blanket still wrapped around you, you hastily reached for your notebook and pencil and began to write. Peter watched you closely while you were in the process of writing.

“Papa hurt me because i’m always so quiet.” Is what you had wrote down. Peter analyzed it closely, understanding every word. The anger he felt couldn’t even be described. If he didn’t have that soteria implanted in his neck none of this would be happening. He couldn’t wait to escape with you.

“What did he do to you?” Peter asked next, wanting to know what type of injuries you had. At first you hesitated but at the end went with it. You slipped off the blankets that were over your body and showed him your injuries. His icy gaze went wide while looking at this.

You felt more tears welling up in your eyes as it ached to fight them back. For some reason when someone comforted you it made you cry even more. You let out small sobs as you begun to cry again but Peter was quick to react.

“Hey.. come here, doll.” Peter gave his lap two firm pats. Beckoning for you come over. You gave into your instincts and crawled into his lap. Your arms draped around his torso while his hands snaked around your waist to pull you all the way up into his lap. You sobbed into his chest as he whispered nothing but sweet praises into your ear. An attempt to calm you down.

“Shhh, it’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here now. You’re doing so good for me, darling. I promise we’ll get out of here one day. Just the two of us.” He continued to soothe you. Peter removed one hand from your waist so that he could gently caress your hair. His shirt felt so soft against your face, your tears did leave a damp spot on his white uniform though. Hopefully he doesn’t kill you for that. You then felt Peter place a long kiss on top of your head. Your body shuddered in response.

You wondered what this feeling was. Something about the way Peter comforted you didn’t feel like it was in a friendly way. More of a romantic way?But love was a word you never fully understood. All you knew is that it ended in heartbreak.

You remember Peter once explained to you how Papa was overly strict with him too. This led you to overthink. He was risking his life for you and you hated it. Peter shouldn’t risk this for you. The amount of guilt you’d feel afterwards if you ever got him in trouble. Without warning, you squirmed away from his embrace. Peter furrowed an eyebrow at you, he didn’t like that you pulled away from him.

“Honey, what was that for? Why’d you pull away?” He inquired, worry residing his raspy voice. His conflicted gaze fixated on you.

You just shook yourself and wrote something inside your notebook again. The only thing that could be heard was the ongoing scribbling from your dull pencil.

“Why are you doing this? You’ll get in trouble. I’m not worth your time. I don’t want you in trouble.” The paper read, Peter examined it once more and only hummed in response. A hum that told you he disagreed with your statement.

“Oh, sweetheart.. you do know i’m already well aware of that? I know what i’m risking. I’m choosing to do it. I don’t care what happens to me.” Peter stated matter of factly. You only shook your head, you still felt guilty.

Peter only chuckled in response and shuffled his body closer to yours, “Now how about you let me hold you? What type of caretaker would that make me if i left you alone in a state like this?”

To be blunt, you wanted him to comfort you. Actually no, you needed it. But you still didn’t want him to get in trouble.

Now your stubbornness was coming out, you huffed in response and plopped back down onto the bed. Curling up into a ball. Peter only rolled his eyes and crawled into bed next to you. He lied next to you and looked deeply into your eyes.

“Why are you being so stubborn, hm?” He asked with a little hum. You felt so small under his intense staring. He tucked a stand of hair behind your ear.

Peter knew how hard communication was for you. But that didn’t matter because it’s like he could read your thoughts out loud. You and Peter were the complete opposite in a way. He’s stronger, more clever and persistent. While you were vulnerable and could crack at any given second. 

You just felt like crying again, you did anything in your power to avoid direct eye contact with him. Peter didn’t like that so much. He wanted to make sure he had your full attention.

“Look at me,” Peter suddenly demanded, but his voice remained soft. He could never be upset with you. He did however want your attention.

He got your attention by guiding your face back to his so that you could look right into his eyes. Peter stared longingly into your e/c eyes. Like he was staring right into your very soul. His soft hand stroked your delicate face. Peter was very handsome, it was dark in your room but you were still able to make out his sharp jawline, his soft golden locks, and ocean blue eyes.

“You’re so beautiful..” Peter complimented, your face flushed at his words. You wondered if he could feel your face heating up. The power he had over you was unreal.

Without warning, Peter wrapped his large arms around you and pulled you into his chest. His fingers ventured up so that he could play with your hair once more. As you rested against his chest you could hear his steady heartbeat. The caressing of your hair slowly subsiding your sniffling and lulling you to sleep.

For the first time in your life, you felt safe, at ease, no papa, no more bullying. Peter was your home. You took great solace while being in his embrace. If only this night could last forever. You knew for a fact he would be gone in the morning and it filled you with unwanted dread. But work must come first. Oh how you just despised the cycle of life.

“I promise i won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.” Was the last thing Peter whispered in your ear before you finally drifted off to sleep.

It wasn’t a lie that Peter loved you. He’d do anything in his power to protect you. He was going to love you no matter what. Even if you refused to reveal your voice to him. Peter would find out what you sounded like sooner or later. For now he cherished this one spectacular moment of you sleeping peacefully in his arms.

There was no need to worry about pain anymore because this would all be over soon. Peter would make sure of it. And that is a promise he made to you and only you.

(a/n: hi! this is my first time writing on tumblr so please be nice! if y’all have any suggestions or requests i’d love to hear them! i hope you enjoyed this story. i’m sorry if my english is bad btw!)

[noxexistant]

FLUFFY NEWSIES THOUGHTS

:D oh, i would be more than happy to provide

specs’ eyes get strained/tired easily, since his glasses aren’t exactly the right prescription, so sometimes when he says as much, boots and splasher will insist on reading to him like he reads to them. they’re not especially good at reading, and more often than not just end up making stuff up to fill the gaps in what they can’t read or understand, but specs finds that far more fun to listen to than the real plots of the dime novels the boys manage to get their hands on and share amongst themselves. (most of them are jack’s, and about cowboys.)

the bowery beauties all know all the newsies that come in often - though they rarely speak with them - and will ask after someone if they haven’t been coming for a while. albert finds out one of the girls asked after him and won’t shut up about it for weeks. (he omits that, as finch told him, the girl called him “the little red-haired one”.)

les is a terrible teacher, but is adamant that he’s going to teach the newsies how to read regardless. he really does do his best, even though his teaching is largely “um, just…look at what the letters say and put them together and read the word!”. some of the other newsies, in turn, help les with his schoolwork - elmer loves doing maths with him, and finch loves studying poetry. if he mentions particularly liking a poem, davey will copy it out for him and give it to him to keep. sometimes, finch will then give them to albert if they’re ones he thinks al will like too.

mike and ike have their own secret made-up language. they share a bunk, and whenever they’re sat together on one of their mattresses at night before they go to sleep, they can be heard talking animatedly in that nonsense tongue. they’ll never tell anybody what any of it means (but they’ll sometimes whisper to the kids if they ask. reveal that they just called race some silly childish name, or that they’re gossiping about jack and davey.)

katherine brings the newsies little treats whenever she can - sweets and pastries. henry helps her choose them by saying things he remembers trying and loving, and he’s as delighted for the opportunity to try them again as he is for the opportunity for everyone else to try them for the first time. also, jack really does always deliver the morning paper to her personally - he buys his papes and stops by her place first thing.

crutchie ties the laces of the newsies that don’t know how. they lift their legs up for him since he can’t crouch down, and he ties them up quick and efficient with steady hands. (he’s also tied morris’ laces for him before. they were at the circulation office and oscar was busy serving the last of the newsies, and crutchie could just see morris staring with mounting distress at his laces which had apparently come loose. so he just marched over and silently tapped the low wall to direct morris to put each leg up in turn, and tied them with the same efficiency he uses for the kids. morris ducked his head and mumbled his thanks, shyer than crutchie thought he was capable of being. crutchie’s so smug about it.)

stray will tell any and all of the newsies about stray animals she met that reminded her of them. this ranges from telling crutchie how she met the most tenacious little cat with a bum leg who was adamant on climbing a wall (which it succeeded in doing, eventually, though she watched just to make sure), to telling sniper she met a cat that was a total asshole and swiped her across the nose with effortless accuracy.

[ouatsnark]

thank you for answering all my asks and translating all the stupid from antis. the oldish new one i keep seeing is how emma eventually said yes because "hook wore her down" (*eye roll)*, he moved on from one obsession to the other (revenge to emma), he was purchasing her with the ship trade (seriously?), he tried to kill her twice (who cares THEY WERE ENEMIES) and how it's unrealistic how he fell in love with her so quick, oh and that he never did anything good unless it was for emma.

The fact that the people who say this ship SwanQueen, SwanFire or Rumbelle makes me roll my eyes even more because NONE of those shippers have a right to speak on CaptainSwan, especially with their fanon nonsense, when their ships are canon toxic as abuse.

CLAIM: Hook wore Emma down

This is an old one and I’ve touched on it before but it’s so easy to debunk. How? How did he “wear her down”? The answer is always “he didn’t take “no” for an answer”. To which I ask, “when did Emma say the word “no” to him? She never tells Hook “no” but she does stand up Neal after Hook backs off to give them a chance. It’s canon fact that Emma encourages Hook to think of her and then when they return after the curse it is canon fact that she calls him for things including watching Henry. So it was Emma keeping that connection between them. It was also Emma that kissed him first, asked him out first and asked him to move in. They want to make Emma out to be a badass but in the next breath treat her like she has no mind of her own.

CLAIM: Hook moved from one obsession to another

Honestly, shocked they didn’t bring up his fanon obsession with rum here. If Hook was obsessed with Emma in an unhealthy way then he wouldn’t have encouraged her to let him die in Camelot nor encouraged her to leave the UnderWorld. If he was obsessed with Emma then he’d have begged her to make him the dark one, do whatever she had to do including stay in the UnderWorld with him. But he was not obsessed with Emma in an unhealthy way. He was in love with her, though. The same way David is in love with Snow. Are David and Snow obsessed with each other? Why do I never hear complaints about that? I mean Snow didn’t want to leave the island without David.

Hook purchased Emma by trading his ship

I THINK this is an old one but worded in a way I’ve never seen before! They threw in the word “purchased” to make it sound sinister which just shows you how much CaptainSwan haters have to reach!

So apparently Killian trading his ship to get to Emma so she can save her family and friends is toxic because… drum roll… it’s a grand gesture and Killian did it for Emma! Of course this logic only applies to Killian. I mean Regina takes Belle’s heart and uses her like a puppet to supposedly save Emma from Rumple (but come now, it was to save Robin for her own self) and that’s just fine and dandy. Hypocrites.

Yes, Killian traded his ship for Emma. And that isn’t a bad thing! Copied from another one of my blog posts:

Remember when he said he would win her heart not because of any trickery but because she wanted him? He had several chances to do so but he waited. He didn’t use that gesture to sway her opinion of him. He let her find her way to him on her own. So if Hook was intending to use his grand gesture to win her… he’d have told her this the first time she asked which I think was in NY Serenade. The fact that he waits is so significant. He waits until she’s had time to realize that he is there for her. He is going to be the one person that is never going to walk away. That he will be there to dry her tears and offer encouragement. That is what she discovered during their journey back in time.

CLAIM: Hook tries to kill her- twice!

He did? When? Do they mean the sword fight? Oh yeah, he was really trying there, man. And by trying I mean barely trying. Like putting in minimum effort and even stopping to crack a few crass jokes. Hook wasn’t trying to kill Emma. Do they mean when he left her in the cell? Did he really think she would die there? That’s debatable. Oh I bet they mean in S2 when he sailed away with the bean. To which I answer them: you might want to check with your queen on that one. It was her kill switch after all and she only decided to help when she had no choice and Henry’s life was on the line meanwhile Hook turned around after having a true change of heart.

But what about SwanQueen? Regina tried to kill Emma as an infant. Regina then attempted like 3-4 more times over the course of two seasons to get rid of Emma. So what does that say about SwanQueen? Oh, let me guess, that’s OK because 1) it’s Regina and she’s a woman and they claim Regina really loved her and 2) because it was for Henry! Well, bull shit is what I have to say to that.

SwanFire shippers that say this have no right to criticize either. While Neal may not have ever been in a sword fight with Emma, he is guilty of worse since he is the reason Emma built her walls. Neal was someone Emma trusted and loved and he broke that trust, abandoned her and sent her to prison for his crimes.

OutlawQueen can shut the hell up to because the only reason they are together is because Regina killed Marian in the first timeline and is absolved of that murder thanks to the show ignoring that and focussing instead on blaming Zelena and Emma.

Rumbelle can also sit down because while Rumple never tried to kill Belle he’s kept her prisoner.

CLAIM: Hook fell in love with Emma too quick

Quickly, ask them to define “too quick”! Was Snow and Charming “too quick”? Because that happened pretty fast. Was Rumbelle “too quick” because I mean she was his prisoner and all of the sudden there’s an attempted and failed TLK! Was Snow forgiving Regina of EVERYTHING one episode after Regina admits she’s a psychopath that doesn’t regret ruining Snow’s life and murdering her father and separating her from her daughter because Regain got what she wanted “too quick”? Please tell me how long it should have taken????

I have always thought that Emma and Killian were attracted to each other from the start but Killian doesn’t even act on that attraction until S3. And neither of them realize how deep that attraction runs until their first kiss which rocks both of them. That kiss is when they realize there’s more between them. Now, Killian embraces that while Emma runs behind her walls … but there was definitely build up and them getting together officially doesn’t happen until s4.

CLAIM: Hook never did anything good unless it was for Emma

If this was even true… so? Regina didn’t do anything good until she realized that the only way to keep Henry and get her happy ending was to join team hero. But that’s fine, isn’t? Everything Regina does is self-serving but Killian doing things out of love for Emma is bad? Why?

I actually covered a lot of this on my 99 problems with this Killian hate fest and can be found under Red Flag Claim #8, 9 &10. but to sum it up: Love is a powerful motivator and shouldn’t be looked down upon. Yes, Killian did things for Emma but it wasn’t only for Emma. Emma was a leader who inspired Killian much like his brother did as a leader. When Hook helps Ursula, Liam, Belle, Meg, Ashley, the faeries, David and even Neal he is not doing any of that for Emma. He is doing that because he wants to be the man he was meant to be.

CLAIM: Hook only went to find Emma because of the memory potion therefore it was self-serving

Yeah sure cause trading his home and outrunning a curse was a walk in the park? He did it because her family needed her. I think this is pretty evident, not only because he says that when he shows up but because of everything he did for David in Neverland. He went against Pan, an enemy he admits to being the worse he’s ever faced. And he does this to spare Emma pain. He also wanted to make sure Neal was really alive before causing Emma unnecessary pain if it ended up being another trick. So no, I reject the idea that Killian’s only motivation there was himself. He did not want Emma to lose people she loved.

And I think it also had to do with freeing her from a life that was a lie. And yes, he hoped he would be someone she missed but that was not the only reason he did what he did. It was the right thing to do. He says that too.

But as you say, no one else was doing anything! And I think it’s pretty telling that Neal knew to send the potion to Killian because if anyone would find a way to help Emma it was him.

CLAIM: Emma got exasperated when Hook tried to turn her asking him to babysit into a sexual thing

The CaptainSwan haters clutch their pearls every time Hook flirts or even looks at Emma but their fave does much worse and they swoon! Like how they try to make the line from Regina “taste my forbidden fruit” into something sexual and Regina is trying to kill Emma there. Like save your fake outrage people because I know it’s only due to Hook being with Emma and not your favorite. And if its from a Neal fan well give me a break there too because that jerk thought he was entitled to a second chance with Emma.

And as you say, Hook gets serious fast and then gives her the most encouraging heartfelt speech. Besides, Emma is just hiding behind her walls. If she really didn’t want to see Hook she wouldn’t be calling on him.

[abeinginsand]

ooh also 💝👻 for Glenn for the headcanon ask game!

Hi again!! ooo Glenn hc time!! :D Sorry I took awhile, this one ended up longer than expected

Hcs Ask Game

--- 💝 A headcanon about their love language I will say that I have two ideas here that might contradict each other but regardless-- Glenn loves being held, around the waist, by the hand, in a hug, the rare piggy back or bridal carry etc. He loves feeling someone's weight, their warm presence against him. His mind chanting subconsciously: Show me you're here. Show me I'm not alone

However, he never knew how much he enjoyed physical affection given how lacking it was growing up until falling for one amazing Morgan Freeman. She always loved hooking their arms together as they walked or weaving a hand through his hair when they rested together. They took turns carrying each other down the aisle even! It was overwhelming at times though and they eventually talked about it. She was good at that--making talking about things and setting boundaries a little more fun and little less like nails on a chalkboard (the sentimental weed helped too of course).

And when she.... well he found himself being affectionate like she had in some ways even after he couldn't hold onto her anymore. Hugs Nick close when they head to bed for the night, even though neither sleep that well anymore. He puts an arm around Darryl's shoulder and leans in to talk to him. Let's Henry braid his hair at the campfire when his friend needs something for his trembling hands to do. Teaches Ron about a proper fist-bump and high-five. Childishly getting into poking/elbowing sessions with Jodie (the usual sibling bickering (tm)) Eventually, gathers the courage to ask for hugs sometimes too. As a goodbye at first, planning to head into Hell, but after, too, when they all still kept meeting up. When Nicky was still small enough, he'd pick him up and spin him around sometimes or they'd fly around together. All while said teen groaned dramatically or laughed... --- On the other hand, something Glenn has always done without influence is use his voice as an instrument of love in itself. He'd never explain it like that though since that sounds pretty cheesy. The musician enjoys giving people nicknames/petnames and absolutely adores making up little songs for loved ones. He had a little song he sang with Bill when he was kid though he only remembers the tune and not the lyrics when he gets older. He made new lyrics and sang it as a lullaby instead. For the songs lyrics themselves...nothing that his band would play nor anything for a radio station--more so a minute or two of short tunes based on mundane stuff. Singing a clean-up song to motivate little Nick to help him and Morgan clean up his toys for example. Back when Morgan was still working at Disneyland, he had this 'finally off work' song he'd serenade her with when he picked her up from work or when she came back home to find him holding a snoozing kiddo on the couch. Though there were plenty of other spicier songs for Morgan too to which she was entertained and plenty flustered about, she called him kitten as usual but also a menace (affectionate) ;] So in summary, wants to be held, will not ask unless you've known him for years, will happily sing and create cheesy songs for people though ---- 👻 A headcanon about what scares them ...Hmm, first thought was not being recognized by people he cares about. Now I don't know much about Christine and sorry if this sounds like slander but... I think she'd be the origin of this particular fear. When things were good between his parents, they spent time together all the time. Huddled up on the couch with 'Glenny' in the middle to watch his mom's favorite shows. Or stroll around town or the park and be told stories about how how much the city changed since Bill was a kid ("see, used to be a big-ol dog statue over here but it got sold for a charity or somethin'. Now there's rose bushes over there. Tell me, what you would have put there, kid?"). To which he excitedly said 'a statue of meatball' (his canonical pet goldfish) and Bill gave him a round of applause and a fist bump while Christine softly patted his hair with a soft smile. But after the divorce/separation, mom moved out fast, and his parents swapped him from home to home every few weeks. Well there's the line during the court case that's something like "mom taught me rules and dad told me how to break them." Eventually, Christine didn't recognize her son anymore--he seemed so much more Bill every year and it...well she wished it didn't annoy her but oh boy it did. She found herself distancing herself from both Bill and Glenn especially after seeing her side of the parenting undone every month. At some point, Bill gets Glenn into some trouble as a teen and he tries for once to ask his mom for help. And she lets the resentment get the best of her in the moment, the feelings having built up. Says something like "I told you to stop listening to him. You're not my son, you're his. I couldn't fix him and I can't help you." They don't meet up in person after that, only the occasional text or once a month call.

He can't win back his mom, but darn does he try to be whatever people want him to be after that. To keep them around because he's always afraid he'll become a 'stranger' to avoid again.

Unfortunately, this also leads to letting his son be his friend and desperately hoping to impress him at all times.

[roamwithahungryheart]

Look out! It's only part two of The Crimlette's bat mitzvah! (ft. Tedbecca)

Read the rest of Scenes From Another Life here.

Ira had repeatedly insisted all morning that it was going to rain, so it came as a pleasant surprise when the sun slowly crept out from behind the clouds as everyone filtered into the synagogue.

Henry walked in front of Ted, scanning the vast, intricate walls in awe. Formal occasions usually bored Henry. But this one was different - he didn’t have to wear a stiff, uncomfortable suit. He just had to look smart. 

Ted stopped Henry at the first row of pews and furrowed his brow. He waved at Trent and signaled him over. “Hey, uh, Trent? I don’t really know what the rules are - do we just sit anywhere or do you need us to go sit somewhere specific?”

Trent smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Ted. The synagogue may be Orthodox, but I’m not. Sit wherever you like.” He walked a few steps, then turned back to Ted, pulling his glasses down onto the bridge of his nose conspiratorially. “Please don’t tell my mother I said that.”

Ted held up a hand. “Scout’s honor.”

Trent hurried off again, watching his parents fawn over Ruth and Batsheva. He smiled sadly to himself, remembering his own bar mitzvah and how proud his parents had been. They didn’t know then that their beloved son would end up having to come out twice in order for them to believe him. And a third time to Rabbi Kellner ‘just to make sure’, whatever that meant.

Trent was a skinny and anxious eighteen year old when he told him he no longer wanted to live the Orthodox lifestyle if it meant his parents wouldn’t accept him - if Rabbi Kellner wouldn’t accept him. This man had all but raised him alongside Helen and Ira. He was just as much a member of his family as anyone else, and the thought of being completely rejected terrified him. But Rabbi Kellner understood. Trent was forever grateful for that. 

It was then that Rabbi Kellner seemed to materialize out of thin air. He was relatively young when he’d started to serve the community, but he’d always looked older. Now, he looked ancient.

“Trent! Shabbat shalom. Is everyone ready?”

“The children, yes. The adults? No. I remember standing up there myself, now my niece is old enough to do it. Time flies.”

“Indeed it does.” Rabbi Kellner’s eyes softened. “I’ll go and tidy the bimah to give everyone a few more minutes to get ready.”

In the pews, Henry shifted in his seat and swung his legs a little. The creak of the wood made Ted very aware of his own movements. He still hadn’t quite shaken off the awkwardness of walking into Paul Welton’s funeral late, all eyes on him because of how loudly the door had shut behind him.

“Henry, come on now, hush your butt. Sit tight buddy.”

“Sorry Dad.”

Ted put an arm around his son and gave his shoulder a light squeeze. “It’s okay. Just try and keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.”

“You got it, Davy Crockett!”

“Ted?” 

His head jerked in a double take as he turned to see Rebecca leaning over their pew. As he looked at her, something rumbled inside him - and it definitely wasn’t Mae’s full English breakfast from an hour ago. As good as he was at bottling his emotions, sometimes his face betrayed him. This was, rather unavoidably,  one of those times. His face lit up as he greeted her - in fact, they both looked at each other with a great deal of warmth. It was as though no time had passed at all.

“Hey Rebecca! How the heck are ya?” 

In spite of how much her body had relaxed when he greeted her, her face was suddenly a little strained. “Good, thank you, Ted. You?”

“Yeah, good, yeah. Y’know, I don’t think you two have ever met - this is my son Henry.” He nudged Henry’s shoulder.

Henry shook Rebecca’s hand. “Nice to meet you Miss Welton.”

Rebecca raised her eyebrows, shooting Ted a surprised look. Ted bobbed his head a little, the smallest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Henry knew exactly who she was, even though they’d never met. Ted talked about her more than he was willing to admit. The fondness he held for Richmond had never faded. Coming back, even for just a few days, felt like coming home again.

A tall, bulky man appeared behind Rebecca, followed by a shy little girl. He pressed his palm to the small of Rebecca’s back, and she jolted.

“Oh, Ted, this is Matthjis.” She gestured between them. “Matthjis, this is Ted Lasso, my former colleague.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Matthjis’ handshake was firm. Perhaps a little too firm for Ted’s liking. “This is my daughter Jelka.” He gently pressed Jelka’s shoulders, encouraging her forward. She was fixated on Henry, obviously much more comfortable in the company of other children. Henry smiled back awkwardly.

“We should probably go and sit down, otherwise we’ll hold up the service.” Rebecca half-laughed.

Ted nodded. “Nice to see ya.”

Rebecca replied with a hum and headed off to the opposite pew with Matthjis and Jelka, who snuggled in between them. Ted couldn’t help casting a glance at the three of them. His face had fallen now. His palms were a little sweaty. He didn’t quite know what to do with himself.

Henry studied his father’s face for a moment. He knew something was wrong, but didn’t ask what it was. He knew that sometimes it was better not to ask.

[boseobrien]

The Chapa and Miles pairing is alot more layered then people think.

Chapa and Miles have such an interpersonal chemistry. Miles seems to be the only one who isn't put off my Chapa's hard-core personality, he isn't scared of her like the other are and in fact I feel like he enjoys her company at lot more. We all know how Chapa loves zapping things or people who get her on nerves even for the smallest reason and you would think since her and Miles bicker the most she would have zapped him by now. Now done with season one and Miles was the only person who chapa didn't electrocute, that's a big deal if you look at the context of things. Miles is the only person she hasn't purposly tried to harm. They way she stuck up for Miles in 'Miles has visions' was  unexpected because her character is usually the one with the idgaf attitude.  They perfectly even each other out considering Miles can handle Chapa when she goes on her little tantrums. He always matches her energy and I think Chapa might like the fact that someone actually challenges her. They even seem to compare when it comes to rage, like their random out burst. Also i've noticed the way they tend to finished each other's sentences or thoughts without even knowing it. It's like their opposites but then they're like the same person at times which really seals the deal.

Now In more depth of Chapa and Miles caring for each other/ Chapa altering her hard-core personality [ To be revised]

In prank wars, Chapa stumbles into the mans nest in a cheer uniform making her look 'cheery'. She is alramed and disturbed, Miles gets to her first wrapping a blanket to cover her even though she wasn't wet nor seemed to be cold) so i conclude he did it because he knows how much Chapa hates looking cheery;  which is later confirmed in the next scene. Chapa falls into Miles arms and he catches her.

But before she fell back she told them to avenge her. Miles in return is the one to declare war on Rivilaton.

• This scene marks Chapa and Miles relationship especially because it was the first scene we see Chapa vulnerable and knowing who she is, she would most likely never let anyone hold her like Miles did willing. Miles being the one to call war to avenge Chapa is him showing great care for her.

In Miles has visions, Miles starts to see things from the future and since no one knows what it is everyone is freaked out and worried the timer jerker is in his head

This is where Volt gets worked up and says "well I say we go down and tell this time which to stop messing with my friend Awols head".

• Empathizes on the MY, she could have said OUR but her referring to him as if he was only her friend shows this attack against Awol was personal to her.

In a Henry among us, Volt and Shoutout are kidnapped and Miles is determined to find them while everyone else is side tracking the mission and don't seem as worried as Miles was.

• Which makes it that he holds Chapa more dearly then the then others.

"What about Mika?" Well yeah, he especially cared about finding her because she's his sister and loves her the most.

In where's my man buggy, Chapa accidently zapped Miles and he cries out in pain. Chapa immediately goes to check if he's okay mouthing an apology.

• Which was really sweet of her considering she doesn't aplogize or seemed to care about what or who she zaps, she usually has a 'get over it' attitude.

In Power Problems part 2, [ Chapa's speech to Miles ]

Chapa's character is described as ' a powder keg of emotion - dark, cynical, and quick to get in a fight'

Miles's character is described as 'Calm and philosophical, Miles is always looking at things from a different perspective, often offering an insightful take on the situation'

Really different right?

In power problems part II, Chapa and Miles are hiding from big beard; not sure how they can handle the situation any longer. [Miles is seen as wise, so he doesn't give up so easily because he believes he's destined for greatness and the being a superhero was what he was meant to do.] However, Miles wants to call it quits which debunks his philosophical trait. Not having a superpower leaves him feeling helpless and in the moment he's at his lowest and defeated. Unexpectedly, Chapa, who doesn't look on the bright side often, tells him " You think having powers makes you a superhero? Because I know a guy named miles, and what really makes him super is his strength, and determination and his knitting game".

•  In that scene, Chapa stepped into his shoes for a little while and knew what to say to give Miles this boost of confidence. She made it about who Miles was as a person, separating him from his alter ego Awol. Which is important because it means she recognizes these core traits of his and it holds value to how she sees him.

[0perfectimperfections0]

Reborn: Part 5

The dolls didn't say anything in greeting. There was a tense silence in the air that none of them seemed keen on breaking. Sensing their caution, the man walked forward, pretending not to notice how they stepped back in fear. The older gentleman kneeled down before them, one arm resting on his knee and the other outstretched toward Mandy. "May I?"

She was about to deny him with a sharp word, but Nolan put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Only for inspection. I want him back when you're done," she demanded. The man nodded, and she then relinquished her hold on Lou to place him gently in the man's hand.

Lou was handled with more care than Mandy chose to acknowledge. The man gently tilted Lou's head to either side. He looked back to the dolls. "He went through the recycling to do this?" They nodded. He sighed, running a hand down his mouth.

"Ruined all of my work," the younger male growled. He was still leaning back against the desk, arms crossed.

"I'm a little more concerned over the fact he was willing to commit suicide," the older man's voice had a sharp undertone to it. "You're supposed to be monitoring his mental state, Greyson."

"The inputs read as fine on the computer," Greyson brushed off the accusatory tone. "It was being stupid, that's all."

"His name is Louis, and I highly doubt the readings have come out perfect. How has he been responding to the environment?"

"It is a doll and the same as always. It wants to disobey orders by going near that portal after I told it not to."

Nolan noticed Lou beginning to stir. The effects were wearing off. "S-Sir?" He called out meekly. The others looked at Nolan and then at Lou, seeing his head move from side to side drowsily.

The man didn't hear him. "Disobey orders? You make it sound like a crime! If he wants to go near the portal, let him. I don't see a problem with it."

"It states clearly in the rulebook-"

"You and that stupid rulebook, Greyson! You're micromanaging him is what you're doing! If he's going to be stuck in that Institute, let him at least have the freedom to do what he wants."

"It wants to leave, Henry! Why do you think it killed itself! The freedom I do give it, it uses to spite me!"

"It sounds to me like he's trying to escape you," Henry said lowly. There was a shift in his hand, and he looked down to see Lou had awoken, wide heterochromatic eyes staring at Greyson. Lou's breathing had picked up speed again, and he attempted to scramble back on Henry's hand. Henry cupped his other hand around Lou's back. "It's alright, Louis-"

"He's scared," Nolan reached his arms up toward Henry, "let us try and calm him down." The man seemed a bit pained at that. The fact that he was scaring Lou as well. Carefully, he lowered his hand, and Nolan slid his arms beneath Lou's legs and back to pick him up. Blue and brown eyes still stared at Greyson, waiting for the man to do something. "Hey," Nolan leaned to catch Lou's gaze, "you're okay." He lowered his voice then, "We won't let him do anything to you, I promise."

"He's afraid of you," Henry stood to face Greyson eye-to-eye.

"It shouldn't be feeling anything in the first place. Another problem I plan on fixing today." His blue eyes landed on Lou again and the doll tensed in Nolan's arms. Ox and Wage moved to stand in front of them protectively.

"You're not laying a hand on him. I'll do the procedure. He needs to be calm during the ordeal, so he stays asleep."

"You don't have the guts to do what needs to be done," Greyson hissed.

"And you don't have the heart to do this humanely. Now get out."

The two stared each other down for a few heartbeats before Greyson straightened his suit and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Lou had started trembling in Nolan's arms. The brunette did his best to calm him down. Lou gripped the front of Nolan's shirt, voice quiet and watery. "P-Please...I d-don't wanna be here."

Nolan was beginning to have his own doubts about all of this. As endearing as Henry seemed to be toward Lou, knowing that the other man was still here didn't give him any peace of mind. They didn't have any other choice, though. "We have to," Nolan whispered back, "you'll die if we don't get you back the way you were."

"Then l-let me die, p-please!" Lou begged quietly. Tears had filled his eyes, trickling down freckled cheeks.

Nolan shook his head, face pinched in pain, "You know I can't let that happen."

"Y-Yes, you can," Lou looked down where he was desperately clinging onto Nolan's shirt. "Y-You won't even know I'm gone! Think of--of everything I did to you--to everyone! It'll be for the good of everyone that I'm gone-"

"Lou, stop it!" Nolan whispered harshly. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let that happen. It doesn't matter what you've done. None of that deserves death, you hear me? I don't know what the man's done to you to feel this way, but I want to fix it. I want to help you-"

"If you want to help me," Lou let out a shaky breath, "then let me die."

[atopearth]

Ikemen Vampire Part 11 - Osamu Dazai Route

Dazai is sexyy, dangg that first CG loll! What a sight to wake up to for the heroine🤣 He's probably trying to distract and cheer her up since she was "copying" him standing in the rain hoping it would wash away her sadness at not being able to go back to her era and home. Nice to know he's seen everything already lolll, but I'm glad he saved her because it could have been very dangerous for her in terms of the cold, and having fainted in the middle of the street as a woman in this time. Anyway, Dazai seems to like joking as much as Arthur and them, so it's pretty cute. It was actually pretty hilarious how Dazai kept mixing and matching the different folktales like Momotaro whilst the heroine kept interjecting to try and tell the kids a proper version loll. Ooh how interesting that each folktale had different "versions" where authors and Dazai himself wrote, so there is actually a Momotaro who is mean and lazy lol!

I think it's really cute and sweet how Dazai kinda pretends to be annoying to Isaac and Mozart in order to help them get out of their worries or slumps. It's like he can't help but try to help them whenever he sees them troubled, and tries his best to make them relax to focus on their goals properly. I liked how Dazai brought the heroine to a place with hydrangea flowers to tell her that it's okay to think about Japan and wanting to go home, and I love how he even purposely bought a hydrangea hairpin to put on her🥺 ooh, does that mean Dazai came back to life as a vampire because he thought that dying was "easier" and less painful than he thought, so he wants to live again to suffer "properly"? Lmaoo at Dazai being worried about the heroine so he follows along on her date with Charles-Henri, and they end up having a three person date, what a dream🤣

I found it really saddening to hear about Dazai's past. He always felt like a clown acting how people wanted him to act, and that's how he became so good at knowing and understanding people and what they want, since he's been observing them to essentially live his life. But the most saddening thing was him saying how when he and that girl met, they found comfort in each other but no salvation, and I think that part really hit me. Once upon a time, I really liked someone too, but I always felt like there was something "wrong" with liking him and I think it was this, we both found a sense of "peace" playing games together but never really felt like we could change for the better being beside each other, I guess it felt like we were just dragging each other down, and even though I knew it was toxic, I could never give up on this time we spent together until I actually couldn't take it anymore lol. But yeah anyway, Dazai's words reminded me of that, it's just terrible that when he finally thought he would like to feel and be more "human" to this girl struggling to live, he instead hurt her in her last moments as she chose to kill herself. It's not his fault at all, since saving another person is difficult and really requires the person themselves to want to be saved, but it doesn't change the fact that he probably feels survivor's guilt for lying to her that he would die with her when he didn't and instead tried to "force" her to live. I can't imagine how he must have felt reading her letter after he woke up thinking everything would be okay now, when she knew he lied, and therefore decided that she would just die alone instead then. Hearing how he continued to "live" whilst suffering, and thinking that death was too kind of a "punishment" for him that he decided to live as a vampire to continue to live in suffering for his past mistakes was just tough to take.

Although it's sad Dazai is avoiding the heroine after she basically told him her feelings, I found it hilarious how the heroine nailed all the windows except one shut, waiting for him to come by, but he actually left through the front door for once in his life instead🤣🤣🤣 It's sad to see Dazai so insistent on pushing the heroine away, but it's understandable🥺 On the other hand, Charles-Henri is such a softie. Honestly, when we first met him in le Comte's route, I was like whatever to him but omg, I think I like him more than Faust right now, because he so genuinely likes the heroine and wants her to be happy, and he's carrying the pain and burdens of sending nearly 3000 people to the guillotine and personally beheading all those people, I can't imagine how terrible that must feel. Dazai feeling so sad but happy about how the heroine feels is just so painful to watch. He knows how happy he would be with her but because he knows that, he can't be with her since he doesn't "deserve" happiness and insists on carrying out his punishment of living in pain for what he's done. It's so sad to think that what Charles-Henri and Dazai share in common are both their desires to erase their past sins from history.

Ohh, I'm such an idiot, why did it not click to me that Dazai erasing his sins meant he was going to kill himself as a child so he could never come to be and cause pain to others? I find it weird how they phrase saving Dazai to basically mean "killing" an innocent girl when really, the girl chose to die, and Dazai was the one who got traumatised from it, if there's a victim, it would be him more than her because he had to carry the burden of her memory that continues to torment him to this day. Sad as it is to say, if she really wanted to die, he wouldn't have been able to stop her, and even if they don't meet, it doesn't mean that she won't die, because when they met, they were both already broken, so I feel like it's pretty unfair to make it seem like saving Dazai from killing himself will cause death upon people. I mean it'll probably cause misery especially after the girl died, but most of that misery was something he suffered himself. Charles-Henri being brought to tears because Dazai knows his pain so well was very saddening, I don't like seeing him so sad😭 I'm glad the heroine made it to stop Dazai from killing himself, and helping him realise that it was her choice whether she wanted to be with him or not regardless of it being miserable or happy, or both, because she's someone who will carry his pain with her and never give up on him. I'm just happy she finally got through to him. I'm glad he's finally listening and understanding that if he were to "disappear", her and many other people who have been saved by his books would have a gaping hole in their hearts. His "sins" and everything positive would also be destroyed, and how would his parents feel losing their child? He will only continue the cycle of pain in a different way with other people.

Overall, I liked Dazai but I think reading this alongside Licht’s route in Ikemen Prince was not a good thing because they’re both “sad boys” lol. I personally felt like I could feel for Licht’s story more, but when it comes to Dazai, I find it difficult to express how I feel for it haha. I think it’s mainly because Dazai’s story gives you this feeling of a “silent pain” where even though it doesn’t make me want to cry like I would for Licht, I just can’t stop thinking about how painful life was for Dazai and how tough it was to continue living whilst feeling like you’re “nothing”. I do feel like the romance was lacking with Dazai though, because I did like the hydrangea thing and how Dazai looked out for her and stuff, but I don’t feel like they really bonded well after that until the end when she told him how his existence also saved many people, which I liked. So yeah, it was an okay route, but not a favourite haha. However, I think I reallyyy like Dazai’s CGs! They’re sooo beautiful!! I love the one where he’s smoking, it’s on the lock screen of my phone now because it just looks so good lmao.

[lostonehero]

An emotional reaction shouldn't be the equilivant of a nuclear reaction but here we are

Also still no confession

Micheal entered the kitchen, and the smell of breakfast woke him up. Henry, no, not Henry his father was sitting at the head of the table. Food was piled in front of him, and it looked like Henry went over board. Micheal cleared his throat, grabbing his attention. "Good morning?"

William looked up from the plate of food. "Your uncle wants me to eat." He still had his hands in his lap. "I uh told him this was too much, and leftovers would be fine." He pauses. "He says good morning."

Micheal pulls a plate out of the cabinet and takes a few stripes of bacon and two pancakes off his father's plate. "There now it's broken into." He lets a smile loose as Henry's face mimicked his father's annoyed expression.

"Micheal, it's rude to take food without being offered." His tones sounded so off with Henry's accent.

Micheal smiles again, sitting down next to him. "I wouldn't have to if you weren't the same man I grew up with."

William sighs. "Ungrateful boy." He cuts into his food. He takes a bite, and soon, the plate is empty.

Micheal doesn't make a comment that he's crying. He takes the plate from him. "Where's Uncle Henry?"

"Here." He wipes his eyes, and the purple eye stops glowing. "Thank you, Micheal."

"Don't, Father has always been weird about food. He doesn't eat unless someone starts first." Micheal looks back to his uncle. "Did I embarrass him?"

"He went directly into his office when he put me back in control. He didn't hear you." Henry smiles softly. "Never noticed that behavior of his."

"That's because you treat food differently." Micheal shrugs. "There isn't a fear of moving when you aren't supposed to. You can just take and start eating." He starts on a pot of coffee. "Things were different with mom."

....

"Has Father come back out?" Micheal was staring at the mirror in the museum. It wasn't late enough that the kids were out, but it would be in an hour. He looked over to his uncle, who had just replaced the glass back around Ballora exhibit.

"Not since breakfast." Henry frowns. "Do you think I pushed him too hard?"

Micheal shakes his head. "I dont think he's used to someone being gental. I know I'm not." He frowns. "I love Jeremy, but I still have bad days. I can't just fix myself to..." He covers his face. "Exercising helps. Just beat off the excess energy until I'm too tired to think. I still haven't told him everything. Does that make me bad?"

Henry moves to the bench and pats the spot next to him. He sighs as Micheal sits next to him. "Recovering isn't a straight line."

Micheal looked over to Henry, who grabbed his hand.

"What I'm saying is that you don't have to tell each other, but if it has to come out." He pauses. "Make sure you're the one to speak it."

Micheal pauses, giving Henry a half hug. "Why does Evan forgive me?"

Henry ruffles his nephew's hair. "I don't think Evan was ever truly mad at you." He can feel a wet spot grow as Micheal sniffs, burying his face in his uncle's shoulder. "When I first found him, well, he was one of the first I found. He asked if I knew where you were."

In this moment, Henry sees the scared little teen shaking as he holds onto him. "Evan asked me every day as I kept getting more and more of the kids together. He was happy when I got Lizzie...." Henry stops. "I think Lizzie told him something after they saw each other again. He wouldn't leave fredbear."

"Lizzie is like mom." Micheal chokes out. "She doesn't understand how..." He stops as Henry runs his fingers through his hair.

"Evan kept looking for you, and when your father was here the first time, that was the first thing he asked the man. Of course, we thought you were dead. I saw the aftermath of Circus Baby's myself." Henry sighs, brushing Micheal's hair back.

"Evan really wanted to see you. He wasn't mad or upset. He just missed you." Henry smiles softly. "The mini Balloras, we never accounted for all of them, so Evan thought you would be in one we could never find. You're not obviously, but every day, he would ask if I found Mikey yet."

....

Neither were paying attention to how long the story was taking. Micheal finally sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Im such an awful brother."

"A terrible son on top of that. Tell me, do you still have that bloody shirt, or did you burn it with that fox mask." Ballora shifts from her posture and places both hands on the glass. "Such a coward -" She starts screaming as electricity shoots from within her animotronic body.

Henry hums, Micheal could have sworn he saw a sadistic glee in the older man's eyes. "You remember the controlled shocks? Yeah, it's such a simple installation." Henry hands Micheal the remote. "Here it will only work in the museum, however."

Clara slams against the glass hard enough to crack the paint on her hand but does nothing to the glass. "You have no right, you pathetic country boy."

Micheal watched his uncle's body stiffen, and he stood up he could see a reflection of a purple glow as he approached the glass. "Clara." Henry's thick accent has been layered over with a familiar British one. A purple light cracked around the eye like spiderweb cracks.

Henry holds his eyes as he steps back. He feels as if he was set alight. A white hot rage bloomed and hooked itself in his chest. William was furious, and he felt those flames lick the inside of his spirit, feeding his own beast. "Micheal." His voice cracked rough and dry. "Micheal, I..." his legs gave out, and Micheal rushed to grab him before he hit the ground.

....

"Daddy, wake up."

A voice Henry could hear from above him. He grimaced and opened his eyes. He felt like he went ten rounds with a bull. He forced his eyes to open familiar blue eyes stared above him.

"Uncle Henry?" Micheal asked cautiously.

"Daddy?"

"Mmh Charlie darling, I'm ok." His muscles felt like they were shocked with a cattle prod. "I think I want to stay on the floor."

Micheal, let's out a shaky laugh. "Uncle Henry?"

"Your father is a liar. Call me a damn live wire." He smiles. "Micheal, I don't think I can get up. It feels like.." He pauses William is floating above him his hair is up like he was shocked in a cartoon.

Henry chuckles. "You're a damn liar."

William blinks, staring down at Henry. "I may have lost my temper."

"May, have?" Henry's limbs felt like lead he couldn't even raise his arms up, let alone give his friend a certain finger.

Micheal has a look of concern etched on his face. "Uncle Henry?"

"Micheal." Henry sighs.

Micheal grimaced. He knew his uncle wasn't a skinny, but he also knew for a fact he has carried men twice his size without breaking a sweat. His uncle was solid muscle, which didn't help the fact that he was thrown over his shoulders.

"Micheal? Micheal put me down." Henry couldn't really move his body felt fried, but he didn't want to hurt his nephew.

Micheal had him in a fireman's carry. "Uncle Henry, I'm not going to leave you on the floor. I don't think Charlie would like that."

"Mikeys, right." She climbs higher to look down. "Where did you learn that?"

"Was a firefighter for a few years...." He helps Henry to the bench. "I mean, technically, I still am just not in this state."

William looks over his son, then back to Henry, who was laid out on the bench. "This is my fault."

Micheal cracked his back and sighed. "You look like you stuck a fork in an electrical socket."

"Wait, you were a firefighter?" Henry's eyes widen. "What kind of jobs did you have?"

"I mean, I did a little bit of everything. I have a lot of time on my hands." Micheal sighs and crouches down. "Are you ok?"

Henry smiles. "Just sore, but a day's rest will fix it."

Micheal sighs and looks to the mirror his father is in. "Thanks." He frowns, feeling familiar static around his ears. "Uncle Henry is fine, and so is Father.... yeah, I'm ok."

Henry smiles. "I think if you're able... I think I should go home."

"Mikey, take daddy home." Charlie jumps down. "We'll keep the place safe."

Micheal nods. "Yeah, where are your keys?"

Henry sighs. "Front right pocket, thank you, Micheal."

....

Henry doesn't recall falling asleep, but he knows he's in his mind. It's not a mess, thankfully, but he still isn't normal. He stares at his black claws and sighs. He needed to find William. He traced his steps through the quiet halls till he found the old door. It looked less put in place like it was growing hold in his mind. They were separate, but it didn't look like it was forced inside anymore. The idea alone made something flutter inside him that he wasn't quite ready to face.

The code was second nature as he punched in the numbers and opened the door. William's office felt relaxed more honey than it had before. His office part was shoved to a corner to make room for a bigger bedroom and kitchen area, and the couch sat neatly in front of the king bed.

"Sorry to impose..." Henry spotted William curled around his blankets in his bed. He swore he could have mistaken the man to be asleep until he saw him open his eyes.

"Well, join me." William sounded tired but relaxed.

Henry moved over, grabbing a chair to sit next to the bed. "Are you alright?"

William stretches. "Emotions are uh..." He sighs. "I don't recall ever being that angry before, but she was there, and Micheal, and you." He grips his blanket. "I knew I spent too long inside, I got overwhelmed this morning, and I just..."

"Emotions are the source of your power." Henry hums it wasn't a question more like a blanket statement. "Strong emotions equal your power use in a sense."

William nods, stopping himself from reaching out to his friend. "I got upset at Clara. I didn't hear most of it..."

"You heard enough." Henry stretches. "It was a shock to my system, but with this information, I can focus on it, and we can work on it." He doesn't say that this will help keep himself in check. He doesn't want to worry William with that.

William sits up. He's wearing a loose tank top. "Again?"

"William." Henry has a lecture tone in his voice. "I will not have my body breakdown every time you lose grip on your emotional state." He sighs. "What I mean to say is that you need to learn control, and I have to adapt to it. I don't know what I'm doing, and I would rather not scare my daughter or Micheal again."

William looks away, crossing his arms a light blush on his cheeks. "I don't know if I'm able to do it on command."

"I'm sure I can figure a way to rile you up." Henry pauses as William stares at him. "We've known each other long enough."

William sighs. "Fine, but we are talking to Micheal later. I'm worried about him. His mother is cruel, and even for a brief moment, I know it can get to him."

Henry smiles and nods. "But something tells me I'll be asleep for a bit, alarm be damned." He stretches. "Got room for one more. I think I would rather lay down." He pauses. "I should cover my claws and spider legs first."

William pulls away the blanket. "I think I can manage a few scratches. The bed is big enough for four men, let alone us two."

Henry chuckles and pulls himself next to William. "You always did like a soft bed."

"And you can sleep on rocks." William huffs.

"I can sleep when I'm tired." Henry huffs. "You are too used to luxury beds."

"Luxury? Henry, I like a soft bed. How is that luxury?" William lays back down and faces Henry.

"It's too soft." Henry rolls his eye.

....

It was 12 when Henry woke up. He can move, but his body felt like he was put through the ringer. He yawns as he sits up his whole body ached. He rubbed his eyes and then reached for his phone. "I don't think I've slept this late in years."

"Maybe you should." William reminded Henry of a cat stretched out and floating. His hair stuck up at odd angles. It didn't help his case either. He was wearing his purple tank top and soft looking shorts.

"I hope Micheal didn't strain anything carrying me back." Henry hums and nearly jumps at a new voice.

"I didn't." Micheal is standing in his doorway. "Honestly, not the heaviest thing I've carried, uh, no offense." His hair is put up in a loose braid, and he's wearing a loose t-shirt and cargo shorts. "I went back to the museum after bringing you home. The kids give their regards." He leans on the doorframe. "I cleaned up around here while you slept and turned off your alarms. Leftovers are in the oven, I can bring them up for you."

"That's very sweet of you, but I can get down just fine." Henry smiles, getting up his body cracking in protest.

Micheal shakes his head. "And that's where I draw the line. You need a rest day after last night. Father, I expect you to keep him in bed."

"Micheal, I am an adult, I don't need to be taken care of. I'll use my old cane if that will satisfy you." Henry is met with Micheal crossing his arms.

"I am not opposed to calling Aunt Jen to come take care of you." Micheal smirked as Henry returned to his bed.

"I suppose I can take the day to rest. I'll just answer emails and do some meetings in bed." Henry returns the blanket over him.

Micheal smiles. "I'll be back up with some food in a bit."

William chuckles. "He really is all grown up."

Henry sighs. "I guess he is."

"I wish I could have been there for when that happened." William sighs. "No use in dwelling on that."

Henry sighs, watching William's outfit shift to a hoodie and jeans. "Maybe you two can talk today. I won't be moving much."

William's eyes lingered on Henry before looking away. "If he wants to talk."

.....

Henry sighs, and he has long changed into comfortable clothes since he is on bedrest curdusty of Micheal. He hates being stuck, Micheal is doing laundry, so he isn't exactly watching him, but he does have his phone on him, so he could call his sister if he catches him up.

"Staring at the clock won't make time go by faster." William was floating lazily above Henry as he stretched. "I know you don't like doing nothing."

"If you didn't lose your temper, I wouldn't be in bedrest." Henry huffs, then he frowns. "Sorry, I shouldn't lash out at you."

William raises his brow and faces Henry floating above him. "It's alright to be mad at me. I did hurt you."

"Not on purpose." Henry pulls the blanket over his head. "Why did you flinch before?"

"Flinch? When did i.... oh, " William pauses, watching Henry poke his head from the blanket his glasses were all fogged up. "It wasn't your fault if you must know. I honestly didn't exactly mind that nest? Web? What do you consider that."

Henry removed his glasses and rubbed his face. "William, can we not talk about that?"

"You brought it up." William throws his hands up then crosses his arms. "Clara didn't exactly like it when I questioned things. She didn't like dumb questions. I normally don't ask questions. That just slipped out."

"Did you think..." Henry pauses, putting his glasses back on. "Did you think I would hurt you?"

William shrugs, crossing his arms. "I mean, I did deserve it." He stops and can see tears drip from Henry's eyes. "What? Why are you crying?"

"I wouldn't want to hurt you, not anymore." Herny rubs his eyes.

"Henry, I'm a child killer, and...." William stops and floats down till he can pretend to lay next to Henry. "Look, the stuff between me and Clara happened, and it's fine. I'm fine, I mean, I'm dead, but I'm fine."

Henry reached out for William, but his hand just went right through him.

"Henry, I'm in your head. You can't touch me when you're awake." William frowns. "Besides, why are you upset? Isn't that what you wanted? I did kill Charlie and those other kids. I'm the reason your little girl never grew up, right? So don't feel bad for me."

"Charlie's ok." Henry sniffs. "Charlie is happy now." He is still crying. "I don't want to hurt you anymore. Why do you think I want to hurt you?"

William shifts and floats standing by the bed. "Henry, I ruined your life. Why wouldn't you want to hurt me?" He nearly jumps hearing Henry get up. He doesn't understand why suddenly everything felt so on edge, why suddenly everything in his head felt tight. He flinched and floated backward.

Henry was sitting up legs over the side of the bed. "William?" He could feel dull shocks throughout his body as he felt William become more erratic. This was going to be a dumb decision. So much for self-control.

Henry blinked, and William was no longer in front of him.

....

William didn't scream, he know he didn't scream, but the laughter. That deep accented laughter maybe knew something he wouldn't admit. He was back in that webbed nest. It was softer, then he gave his friend credit for.

"Now it's not often I get permission to take what I want." That honey soaked accent, rough and deep, caught purple eyes. "Now rabbit, why am I being rewarded?"

William looked up in the dim light. Blood red suspenders stood out against the black fabric of his friend's shirt. The light tapping of spider legs against wood made him involuntary curl closer to himself. "Rewarded?" William nearly jumped as Henry leaped into the nest barely missing him. William swallows the tension. The sheer stress he felt before was gone.

"Rabbit?" Henry growls, leaning over William who just sat up.

William shut his eyes. It felt like his mind was swimming in molasses. "Punishment?" That wasn't the right answer as he felt Henry grab a fist full of his hair.

"Punish you?" Henry growls face close enough. William can feel the hot breath against his neck. "Rabbit, if I wanted that, I wouldn't have you in my nest."

William swallows eyes open, staring into the black shining pits of his friend's eyes. Henry was still pulling his hair, it felt... it felt nice. He didn't understand why it felt nice. It never felt good when Clara hurt him. He bites his lip when Henry releases him.

"Why so quiet?" Henry jumped back up to his stool hunched over, watching over William. He seems to be restraining himself, but William couldn't figure out why.

Henry narrowed his eyes, then then they doubled, and four black eyes stared down at William. His spider legs curled behind him as he leaned over his stool, staring down.

William swallows he tries to stand up, but the nest is too soft, and he falls back. He hugs his knees, looking up at Henry. "I..." He frowns. Did he want to leave? He knew this was deep in his friend's mind, and he didn't know why he was here to begin with. Why did he think Henry was going to hurt him? Henry isn't Clara.

Henry huffed. "Why so sad, Rabbit?"

William looked back up and covered his face. Did his friend's shirt get tighter? He can feel heat against his cheeks. "I'm not sad." He grits his teeth and lays on his back. He was wearing an oversized purple hoodie and sweatpants.

"Your outfit says otherwise, little rabbit." Henry hums summoning a metal nail file for his claws.

William rolled his eyes. "And how would you figure that?"

Henry laughed, and it made William shiver. "My little rabbit, aren't you supposed to be the smart one?" He lets a few sparks fly as he files his claws sharper. "Do you need me to spoon feed you?"

William huffed, sitting back up. "Don't..." He bites his lip. How strong were those claws? How did he come to look like this in his mind? William rubbed his head, Henry had thrown a small wrench at him. "What was that for?"

"Outfit." Henry had a mock innocent look on his face as he continued to sharpen his nails.

"Outfit?" William looked down, and he was wearing a button-up and black slacks. "What did you do?"

"I did nothing, little rabbit." Henry chuckles, leaping down and grabbing William by his shirt, pulling him up to face him.

William swallows again. He wasn't scared. When Clara got like this, she would.... he shook his head and was stopped when Henry put his thumb on his lip again.

"Come now, rabbit. What's with that scared look? Don't tell me you're scared of spiders." Henry removes his thumb, and William's shirt vanishes so he falls back to the nest.

William whines. "Enough of this." His face was red, and he was no longer in a shirt, just stripped down to his boxers. Something clicks, and he sits back up, furrowing his brows. His clothes shift to a purple t-shirt and black cargo shorts.

"Did the little rabbit figure it out?" Henry looms over him and starts to walk around him.

William tracks Henry as he paces around him. "I suppose I have." He shuts his eyes, and when he opens them, the light outside Henry's window was gone. It was night, and Henry was reading a book.

"I apologize, I uh didn't know what else to do." Henry shuts his book and sighs. "I didn't mean to drag you there again."

William smiles. "Is it a nest or a web?"

Henry covers his face. "William, I am not going to answer that."

Before William could ask another question, a knock on the door pulled both men's attention.

Jeremy was at the door smile on his face mirror in one hand. "Hey, Micheal left for the night shift, as you know, so I'm here."

"Hi Jeremy, I told Micheal I'm fine." Henry smiles.

"He's allowed to worry about his favorite uncle." Jeremy chuckles. "Oh, I also got you a few books." He pulls out two books from his pockets. "I hope you like romance."

William raises his brow and floats over. "Why are the covers blocked?"

"Romance is fine, Jeremy." Henry smiles. "How's the museum?"

"Everything is fine. Oh, everyone is excited about the night opening. People have made a little countdown." Jeremy hums. "How are you feeling?"

"Just a little sore now, but I'm fine." Henry shuts his eyes and sighs. "I'm going to work tomorrow."

"I figured as much." Jeremy places the books down on Henry's dresser and places the mirror. "Ah, did he figure out his outfits?"

William blinks and looks own at himself, then back up. "I suppose I have."

"Good for you, Mr. Afton." Jeremy hums. "So, how was your lazy day?"

"I much rather be working on something." Henry sighs. "But I suppose a rest day isn't a bad thing."

[rjcollinsauthor]

Chapter 5

With Randall all bruised up and worn down, that meant he was out seeking his own revenge against the guys who kicked his ass. Which told me he was going to be an idiot and slip up. I watched the past recordings each day to see if there was anything useable on them but no such luck. I was surprised that, As far as I knew, Noah hadn't said anything to any of his friends about me. I felt like it was only a matter of time.

I pulled out my revenge tablet and looked through Avery's section. I groaned, knowing that the only way to get to Avery was going to the club he always went to, to buy coke and snort it on stripper's asses. I set my tablet on the bed and walked over to my closet. I opened one of the bins that held my nonpreppy clothes in. I pulled out a sparkly red dress, high black heels, and a long purple wig.

I put on the dress and pulled on some sweats over it. I stuffed the heels and wig into my backpack along with some makeup. I walked out of my room and once again bumped into Jessica.

"We gotta stop meeting like this." she joked.

I gave her a blank stare. I had no right to be mad at her for doing everything in her power to help her mom, but that didn't mean I had to be her friend again.

I kept walking, and like she liked rejection, she followed after me.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out."

"Another part of your revenge plan?" she said way too loudly.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side of the hallway. There weren't many people in the dorm hallways this late at night, but I didn't want to take any chances.

"I already told you there isn't a revenge plan and if there was don't you think you shouldn't talk about it?"

Her eyes widenend in realiztion. "Right! I'm so sorry."

I didn't bother giving her a response and kept walking. I heard her once again following me.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"To help you. I know you think you can do this alone, but you can't. They're too powerful. They run this school, and they're only juniors!"

"I already told you I'm not alone, and I already know this. But how can they be leaders if they don't have followers?"

I kept walking, and she kept walking by my side as I walked out the dorm front doors and towards the parking lot. Henry had someone on his team deliver me a car. I would have gotten an apartment off campus, but I preferred to be on campus. Also, if things went south, I highly doubt they'd try and attack me with all these other people in the dorms.

"Is that why you got Randall beat up? So he'd lose some of his followers?"

"Randall got himself beat up. Maybe he shouldn't be sleeping with people's girlfriends. Also, some of those followers are on the football team, you know the one he plays on? Yeah, I doubt it's going well for him in the locker room."

I used my key to unlock my new G Wagon door and got inside. Jessica looked at me with shock and maybe even a hint of pride as she watched me drive away.

I made my way to the club, which was over an hour away. I parked away from the cars and got myself together when I got to the club. First, I put on overly done makeup to not look like me, then I braided my hair and put on the wig. I took off my sweats and switched my sneakers for heels.

I walked inside the club with my head held high. The bouncer let me in after giving him the fake name I put on the VIP list. I watched as eyes moved to me and made my way to the VIP section. My table was far enough to see Noah, Randall, Avery, and Scott's table but not close enough that they could see me.

A waitress came up to me and took my order. I ordered a gin and tonic, and she walked away. I watched as Avery talked to his friends for a bit before getting up and walking off to the corner of the club where the drug dealers hung out. You could tell by all the bottles of alcohol and how a couple of the dancers were around. I left my table and swayed my hips to the sound of the music as I walked over there. I stood far enough not to appear desperate but also close enough to be seen. It didn't take long for me to be seen.

"Baby, why don't you come join us?" one of the guys said.

I turned around and gave him my best smile, and walked over. When I was close enough, he pulled me into his lap. I listened and smiled as he told me how I was the prettiest girl in the room and all the other bullshit he probably thought would get him into my panties. I pulled my phone out and placed it against my side so it wouldn't be seen. I started recording and taking pictures of the drug deal going down in front of everyone. This wasn't the type of club you needed to be subtle in.

I watched as they did a quick laugh and handshake as if they were old buddies. The guy handed Avery a little packet of white powder and Avery gave him some cash, Instead of returning to the table, he went into the bathroom.

With enough evidence, I got up from the guy's lap despite his protest and walked back to my table. Just in time, the waitress brings me my drink.

"Excuse me," I said to the waitress as she was about to leave.

"Yes?"

"I think I saw one of the dancers walk inside the men's bathroom with a few guys."

She sighed. "Not again. Thanks for telling me I'll get the manager."

I nodded and sipped my drink as I sent the pictures and videos to one of my sources at one of those popular celebrity blogs. By this time, Avery Baldwin, the grandson of Charlotte Baldwin, who was preaching about anti-drugs during her campaign for her re-election as California's mayor, was now going to be a giant hypocrite. And hopefully, she'll lose, and someone who isn't in Blue Rose can get the position and actually make a change.

I got up from my table, walked over to Noah's table, and took Avery's empty seat.

They all looked at me.

"Well, hello there, gorgeous," Randall said with a charming tone that was in no way working on me. His face was also still swollen from his beat down.

"Hi, Randall."

He looked taken back.

"Lillian, what are you doing here?" Noah asked, glaring at me.

"It's Lena, and I'm clubbing." I took a sip of my drink and stared at the three of them.

Randall and Scott's eyes widen in realization.

"Lillian fucking Thompson. You dumb bitch." Scott started to get up like he was going to hit me, but Noah put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"I wouldn't talk to me like that."

"And why's that?" Noah asked.

"Because I haven't even started with you yet, and the worse you are towards me, the harder I come."

Noah smiled. "Oh, trust me, I already know that, sweetheart."

I rolled my eyes. Randall opened his mouth like he was about to say something when we all heard Avery shouting and being pulled out of the bathroom by a bouncer. He was yelling so loud, even with the club's music. He even still had white powder on his nose.

I looked back at the boys, who were all looking shocked and furious.

"You little snitch." Noah hissed.

I smiled. "Don't worry, Avery will be fine. His daddy will have him out in an hour. But I don't think Grandma Charlotte will be too happy with him."

"And why's that?"

"You'll see."

I watched in enjoyment as they threw him out of the club. Instead of going to their friend, they stayed sitting.

"If you know he's going to be out soon, what's the point?" Randall asked.

"The point is to show you that I can get to you anytime and anywhere, and I barely have to lift a finger." I sipped my drink again.

"You know this is only making me want you more. You know me, Lena. The longer you keep this up, the worse your punishment will be. Let's just save us all some time; you come back to the house, I'll chain you up and fuck you until the sun goes up. If we do that, I'll call us even." he said casually. "If not, you don't even want to know what I'll do to you if this doesn't stop here and now."

I wasn't fazed and shrugged my shoulders. "As tempting as that sounds." I said sarcastically, "I'll pass. Maybe if I was still Lillian Thompson, that would scare me, but your threats no longer faze me, Noah, because you have no power over me anymore. I'm not the poor foster girl who took any scrap of affection you gave her. I want your pain Noah, not your dick." I stood up. "This has been fun, boys. I can't wait for you to see what I have planned next."

I gave them a wink, walked back to my table, and gave the waitress a generous tip before leaving. I was on edge when I got home, but a thrill rushed through me. The little Lillian inside of me was screaming in joy and fear. This was a dangerous game I was playing, but I already knew that when I came here.

After I showered and slipped on my pajamas, I was about to get into bed when a knock sounded on my door. I walked over and opened it up, knowing it was most likely Jessica. But instead, Noah was standing there. I tried to close the door, but he was too strong and pushed his way inside.

[letarasstuff]

Introvert meets Extrovert

(A/N): This was requested by an anon. I hope you enjoy it, Sweetheart :)

Summary: How does life for Spencer look like with an extremely extroverted baby?

Warnings: mentions of drinking alcohol

✨Masterlist✨ ____________________________________

To Spencer, it was always clear as day that a child doesn’t inherit all, or even specific, character traits of their parents. After all it’s a complete new human being, not a shift+c shift+v programme line. Still, some things come out as a shock to him, now being the father to a one year old baby.

“Baby, are you excited to go to Auntie JJ’s for Henry’s birthday party? She told me at work that Micheal is thrilled to play with you again!” Spencer talks to his daughter and kicks her legs in the air to get a laugh out of her while changing her diaper. Even though they are in the middle of potty training and he already packed an extra set of clothes for her in case (Y/N) throws an (admittedly understandable) fit about wearing a diaper in the day, he wants to prevent any incidents and meltdowns because of wet clothes. After all, he still has to get her to go to the toilet and sit her down, because she may feel the need, but postpone it when she is busy playing.

“Yes”, she giggles and puts her balled fists into her mouth. Spencer smiles, adoration written all over his face. The bliss of moments like these remind him that the struggles he went through and will go through are all worth it. Worth to see her smile, hear her laugh, listen to her proclamation of love between baby gibberish.

The father puts a pair of her playpants on, which is essentially a pair of leggings that already has a few holes and various stains on them. It won’t be a problem if they get dirtier, he will just throw them out after this day. It’s not like his baby girl doesn’t have enough clothes, especially with Penelope Garcia as an aunt and Emily Prentiss as a godmother. You may not believe this, but going shopping for baby/toddler articles brings the agent more fun than she dares to admit.

Not long after putting (Y/N)’s last sock on, the small family is on their way to the party. Spencer tries to manage his way through the subway station with his little one in one arm and pushing a stroller at the same time. Somehow he gets onto a train without causing any altercations and sits down on a bank with a sigh. He puts (Y/N) back into her stroller and straps her in. Despite her age she can be a wiggly monster and when her father isn’t paying attention for a few seconds she may sit right next to him. It has to be some kind of magic.

“Ok Sweetheart. We are riding this train for five stations. Do you want your book for entertainment?” Excitedly the baby claps and makes happy noises. Smiling at her antics, Spencer fishes a child book from his satchel and puts it on the table attached to the stroller before cracking his own open.

While getting lost in it, little (Y/N) takes a look around and sees a few people throwing her smiley faces. Audience, that’s good. In a semi dramatic fashion she tries to clear her throat, just like the people who held these big speeches her father took her with him. Then she opens the book and begins to “read” it. In reality it’s just a bit of baby gibberish with a few short sentences the girl memorized from Spencer reading it over and over again to her. What can she say, it’s her favorite book.

“Excuse me”, a nice looking lady interrupts Spencer’s continuous page turning, “This little one of yours really is such a sweetheart. I’m sure she got that outgoing personality from her momma.” The father throws a glance towards his daughter, spotting her being the entertainer she is since day one.

He smiles at the mention of her mother. “Not really, nobody knows where she got that. Nonetheless, it brightens my day.” After a look at the sign that shows the next stops, he gives the woman an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry to cut this short, but we have to get off now.” She assures him that it’s fine and compliments his parenting before the train stops and Spencer maneuvers the stroller off.

On their way to the Jareau-LaMontagne house (Y/N) keeps herself entertained by singing rather loudly songs her babysitter taught her. Her father kind of ducks away under all of the “aaaws” and loving glances he gets. Getting this kind of attention is not something he enjoys, but endures because his daughter loves it.

Finally they arrive and the birthday party is in full swing. Spencer gets her out of the stroller and puts (Y/N) down at the first patch of grass. Immediately she crawls up to Micheal, while her father greets JJ, Will and the rest of his colleagues.

“Hello (Y/N)”, Emily gushes, kneeling down to be more on the same eye level with her goddaughter. “You got sooo big, can you please stop growing,” She throws the baby a dirty look, who squeals and goes up to her aunt. Of course the agent picks the child up and the little one strikes up a conversation out of baby gibberish and a few actual words while playing with her raven black hair.

Against everyone’s beliefs, Emily really is interested in what (Y/N) has to say, even though she doesn’t understand half the things. Still, she tries to engage in the conversation (Spencer also appreciates it, because it’s improving her speaking skills).

While all the kids, Henry and his friends as well as the two babies/toddlers, play, the adults prepare dinner and talk about the things that happened recently. Especially their children’s (or godchildren’s) milestones are swept between them and gushed at.

“I don’t know where she got it,” Spencer starts and tells the story of his daughter being an entertainer for everyone on the train. It’s always a good laugh around them hearing about the youngest Reid and her extrovertness.

“Maybe she was swapped at the hospital?” Derek muses before taking a sip from his beer. Another laugh. “That’s not possible”, Rossi counters, “Boy Genius over there watched her the whole time like a hawk. There is no chance she was mistaken. He was there every step the doctors took with that girl in their arms outside the room.”

“Also, she has so many of his character traits, there is no use in denying her, Reid”, Hotch says with his signature Small-Smile. Spencer laughs, knowing that his friends are right. “You know, something like that doesn’t have to be passed down genetically. It’s just how some kids are and I think it suits her. It makes (Y/N) (Y/N).”

Just as he ends his sentence, he spots his child playing with some of Henry’s friends, despite their age difference. This makes the father smile.

They may be two ends of the same stick, but that’s ok. Not everybody is the same and it makes them love each other even more.

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse @big-galaxy-chaos @jswessie187

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl @herecomesthewriterwitch @ash19871962 @ellyhotchner

Spencer Reid x child!reader:

@ilovetaquitosmmmm

[natsfirecat]

Cold

summary: r has always liked having pyrokinesis, but after getting into trouble, she leans onto natasha for support (i’m sorry that is an awful summary fhjkdsf)

Part Two

pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem reader

word count: 5k

warnings: swearing, needles, kidnapping, mentions of arson, lmk if i need to add any more!

A/N: this is gonna have multiple parts btw! i’m planning on 3 parts, but it could be more than that haha. also, since i’ve written a lot of pyrokinetic reader x natasha, feel free to imagine this taking place in any of those universes. preferably not the operation fire widow/bring you back universe. nat and r have been through enough there- but i imagine it in the you saved me universe!

You huffed out a sigh as you took in your surroundings. It was completely dark except for the small, irritating light in the corner. There was a pain in your arm, you felt a poke, and assumed it was an IV. 

You tried to use your powers to get out of here, you tried to create a light, you tried to burn the ropes holding you to the chair, but nothing worked. Probably a result of the IV.

You were here because of a stupid decision you thought was right at the time. 

You were fighting in the middle of the city, HYDRA decided that they wanted to make a scene. Mid-battle, you noticed a HYDRA agent carrying a child who was screaming and thrashing. No one else seemed to notice, they were all busy fighting. 

You couldn’t ignore it, you couldn’t let them take a child. So, you made a large blast of fire, hoping that would prevent anyone else from following and attacking you as you went after the kid. 

Looking back now, you should’ve at least gone on coms and told the team what you were doing. But you weren’t thinking straight at the moment. You just kept running until you reached them.

It wasn’t like you could send fire at them like you had before; you couldn’t risk hitting the kid.

So there you stood, coming up from behind to knock him down. 

As soon as you lay a hand on him however, you let out a gasp of pain as something sharp poked your neck. 

As your vision began to fade, you looked down to see the child staring at you with a guilty expression as he held the syringe. 

You fell to your knees, hearing nothing but laughter from the man.

That was two days ago. And that was what got you into this situation. You weren’t sure if anyone even saw you go after him, so for all they knew you just disappeared out of the blue. 

Guilt began to consume you as you thought about your girlfriend, Natasha. 

She knew you were strong and could look out for yourself, but that didn’t stop her from completely freaking out every time you were injured. You could only imagine what was going through her mind now.

-

At the compound, Natasha began pacing back and forth around the living room. Everyone was seated there, wanting to talk about the mission and your disappearance.

“How could none of us have seen her?” She asked, making eye contact with each and every one of her teammates.

“Where could she have gone?”

“Who took her?”

Before she could talk any more, Clint stood up and put his arms around her to stop her from pacing.

“We’re gonna find her, Nat,”

She let out a defeated sigh, collapsing onto her friend.

“I’ve got satellites looking, FRIDAY is hacking into every street camera, we will find her,” Tony assured her, standing up. 

She managed to give him a nod before leaving and making her way back up to her bedroom she shared with you.

Once the door closed, she collapsed onto the bed, clinging onto your pillow as tight as she could.

She had spent two nights without you by your side, she had barely gotten any sleep. 

She missed the feeling of wrapping her arms around you while you clung onto her like a koala. She missed waking up next to you, placing a few kisses on your forehead. 

She just missed you.

Of course, you had spent nights away from each other on missions and stuff. But this time, she had no idea where you were and when she would be waking up with you again. That just made everything worse.

One of the perks of having a pyrokinetic girlfriend was that she was never cold anymore. Sometimes you would hold your hands over hers, using your powers to warm them up. Or sometimes she would cup your cheeks to gather up the heat you were radiating. If she was really cold, you would wrap your arms around you as she would completely bury herself in you. Even after she was warmed up, it would usually just turn into a cuddle session of holding one another close. 

She hugged the pillow even tighter, so desperately wishing it was you. She didn’t even realize she was crying until she noticed how wet the pillow was. 

Letting out a long sigh, Natasha pulled all the blankets she had gathered over her, flipping the pillow over.

No matter how many blankets she had, none of them were able to give her the warmth you had.

Without you, she was just cold.

-

Another day passed before something finally changed. The lights were turned on, and you were given more water than before, and you were actually given some food. 

You noticed the person walking in was the boy you were trying to save, but ended up stabbing you with the needle.

“Hello,” he said, placing the food tray down next to you.

“Hi,” you replied flatly.

As he headed for the door again, he made eye contact. Your heart dropped at how apologetic he looked.

“What’s your name?” You asked.

“Henry,”

“What’s a boy like you doing here, Henry?”

He shrugged before turning back and taking a few steps closer to you.

“It’s just the life of someone who’s dad is big in HYDRA and decided to get full custody after killing your mom,”

Your heart dropped, this boy couldn’t have been more than 10 and he had already lost so much. 

“I’m sorry,” you told him.

“Why? It’s not like you killed her,”

You sighed before noticing the sadness in his eyes and the tears threatening to fall. 

“Do you want to talk about her?” You offered. He thought for a moment,

“Maybe, but I can’t right now, I have to leave. But I’ll come back tomorrow,”

“Okay, bye Henry.”

“Bye!”

-

As promised, he did arrive the next day. He came in with a smile on his face before setting your food down.

“Hello!”

“Hi,”

You reached out to grab food, but winced as you moved your arm, remembering the needle in your arm. So you reached over with your other hand instead.

“Do you know what the heck they’re putting in me?”

He shakes his head no,

“It takes away your powers, but that’s all I know. I did hear someone say that they plan on changing the needle tomorrow,”

“So what other stuff do you hear?”

“It’s just bits and pieces,”

You let out a sigh as he reached up to grab some of your food. You held your good hand up to stop him.

“Kid, I’m the hostage here. I know you’re getting fed better than me. So unless you plan on giving me some of your food in exchange, hands off,”

Henry sighed, then pulled his hand back and sat down again. 

“What’s it like?” He asked after a few moments of silence.

“What’s what like?”

“Everything. Being an Avenger, having powers, fighting people,”

You laughed at his excitement,

“Being an Avenger has its perks, it’s always nice saving the world every once in a while. The powers are nice too. I remember the first time I made fire appear in thin air, it was one of the best feelings in the world. I can make myself really warm, which works out perfect for Nat-” you stopped yourself as you thought about her.

Your face fell, thinking about your girlfriend and how much you missed her. 

He turned his head to the side at your expression. 

“Why are you sad?” He asked. “Do you miss your powers?”

“Yeah,” you answered quickly. “I just miss my pyrokinesis. Whatever you’ve got in here is really effective,”

“They’re still gonna make you go to sleep tomorrow, in case your powers come back when they change the needle. Why do they change needles anyway?”

“To prevent infections,”

“Oh,”

He sat there criss-crossed, holding his hands in his lap while moving his thumbs around. You noticed that he looked slightly happier today compared to yesterday. 

“Who’s your favorite Avenger?” He asked. 

“Black Widow,”

“Why? She doesn’t have any powers! She just fights,”

“Exactly. She’s just as important to the team as the rest of us without powers, that just makes her even more impressive. She holds us together, we would be lost without her,”

He gave you a mischievous smile as he observed the way you talked about her.

“Do you have a crush on Black Widow?”

You scoffed at the young boy. There was no way in hell you would be discussing your relationship status with him.

“What about you, Kid? Who’s your favorite Avenger?”

“Spider-Man. He’s so cool how he swings across buildings! And he has super strength!”

You smiled at him. You would most definitely be telling Peter about his young fan. 

“He’s pretty cool,”

He smiled for a few moments, before turning back around and facing the door.

“I should probably go,” he said, his voice dropping. “I don’t want him to find out. I’ll come by again after they change the needle!”

“Alright,” you said. You were sad he was leaving, you had been enjoying his company, but you completely understood his worries. 

He waved goodbye, then left the room feeling better than he had when he walked in. He would be back soon to talk with his new friend.

-

“I’ve got her!” Tony said as he stood up from his desk. “I know where she is!”

“I’ll get everyone ready,” Steve replied, leaving to make the announcement.

Natasha changed into her suit faster than she ever had before. Now that they knew where you were, she wanted to get to you as fast as they possibly could.

So she was the first to meet Steve and Tony outside the Quinjet. 

Her expression was emotionless, but they both knew she had so many thoughts and feelings running through her mind right now.

Wanda was the next one out, taking her spot in between Steve and Natasha. She was almost as nervous as Natasha.

Soon enough, the rest of the Avengers all made their way down and were ready to go.

Clint had to physically restrain Natasha to stop her from pacing mid-flight. He knew she was scared, but what she was doing wasn’t helping. 

She made eye contact with Wanda, then felt a few tears threatening to form. She took a deep breath in, then restrained her tears.

She finally let out the breath as she felt her best friend hug her. 

It would be okay eventually, but for now all that mattered was getting you back. 

-

“What’s that noise?” You asked, jerking up. 

“I’m not sure,” Henry said, looking up too.

As soon as the others left your room, he ran in and stayed by your side until you woke up. He was hoping for another day of fun conversations, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t be happening now. 

“You should get out of here, don’t let them catch you like this,”

He thought for a moment, then looked back out the door. An alarm went off, and he recognized the signal it was sending.

“Your friends are here for you,”

You let out a sigh of relief. 

“Do me a favor and pull the needle out? It’ll be better to have it out sooner now that they’re here,”

He hesitantly held his hand over the needle, his breath hitched as soon as he touched your arm.

“You can do it, Henry. Just pull it out as fast as you can,”

His breaths became shaky as he grabbed the tip of the needle.

“I’ll count down for you,” you said as he nodded. “One… two… three!”

Just as he pulled it out, he let out a scream at the sound of a gunshot from right outside the room.

The door opened, and there stood Natasha.

She no longer had the glow in her eyes, or the softness on her face she normally had around you. In fact, you would be terrified of her if she wasn’t here to save you.

Your face fell as you saw she still had her gun raised.

“Don’t hurt him!” You yelled, holding your hand out protectively over him.

She said nothing, but walked over to you, wrapping her arms around you while holding you up.

She brought a hand to your cheek, stroking it gently for a moment while keeping her other arm around your back.

You leaned forward, then rested your forehead against hers as she held you.

“Uh, guys,” Henry interrupted your moment. “You should probably get out of here,”

You nodded, then looked out the door Natasha came from.

“I’ll buy you some time!” He offered.

You thought for a minute, your gaze shifting between him and Natasha.

“I’ll come back for you,” you told him. “Be careful!”

“Don’t worry about me! Just go!”

You nodded, then completely leaned onto Natasha. Your arm was still sore, and your legs could barely hold you considering you had hardly moved them for a few days.

Luckily for you, your assassin girlfriend was really strong and had no problem picking you up and carrying you as you wrapped yourself around her.

She was easily able to run through the halls, holding you with one hand and holding her gun with the other. 

You buried your face in her neck, wanting to hide from everything going on around you. She heard you whimper, then tightened her grip on you. 

It felt like it had taken forever, but eventually you were outside again. You finally opened your eyes when you heard the familiar sound of the Quinjet engine. 

Natasha never left your side, keeping an arm wrapped around you as she set you down.

It had only taken a few minutes for everyone else to get back after Natasha told them she had you, taking out a few HYDRA agents along the way. 

Steve’s gaze softened when he saw the state you were in. He was about to say something before Natasha met him with a harsh glare. You needed to rest after what just happened. 

“It’s okay, baby,” she whispered to you, finally letting her softness return. “You can rest now. You’re okay.”

-

When you opened your eyes again, you were in a hospital bed back at the compound. Natasha sat in the chair next to you, one hand over yours while the other was holding her head up as she slept. 

On the other side, Bruce and Dr. Cho were talking to each other about your condition.

“Y/N,” Dr. Cho said as she met your eyes.

Her voice woke Natasha up, who immediately gave your hand a gentle squeeze.

You turned to face your girlfriend, extending both arms out to her.

“Lay with me,”

Natasha looked at the two doctors, as if asking for permission. Once they told her it was fine, she pulled the sheets down and crawled next to you. She began to completely drown their voices out as she ran her fingers up and down your arm, drawing small patterns on your shoulder. Ever so often, she would lean forward and plant a kiss on the back of your neck.

“How long was I out?” You asked.

“Almost 24 hours. The stress of the situation, plus what they were putting in you definitely called for rest.”

“So, am I gonna be okay?”

“Yes,” Bruce said. “However, we’re looking into what they were injecting you with. It definitely had to do with your powers, so it’s best if you don’t use them for a few days.”

You nodded, then turned back around to face Natasha.

“You’re cold,” she said as you wrapped your arms around her. “That’s a first,”

“Don’t worry,” Bruce assured both of you. “You’ll be warm and pyrokinetic again in no time.”

Later that evening, you were on Natasha’s lap with a blanket covering both of you. She hadn’t left your side the entire day, apart from when you needed to use the bathroom. Even then, she stood right outside the door waiting for you to come back out.

“Natty,” you said to her. She removed her lips from your neck, then planted a kiss on your cheek instead. She hummed, waiting for your response as she continued littering kisses all over your face.

“I don’t want to go back there,”

“You don’t have to. You never do,”

“Yes I do. I promised Henry I would come back for him.”

“The same boy who shoved a syringe in your neck?” She said, eyebrows raised. “Tony was able to get footage,”

You sighed as she kissed your neck once again.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that,” you began. “He told me all about how his dad is a big part of HYDRA, and he killed his mom.”

“Y/N, I love you, but you have to know that there’s a high chance he was lying about all that.”

“Then why would he tell us that he’d buy us time when he left?”

“Probably just saying whatever it took for me not to kill him. It’s awful, but he was probably recruited at such a young age so they use that to their advantage.”

“Oh come on, Natty,” you said. You turned around and straddled her waist so you could face her. “Shouldn’t you have more sympathy for him? Especially considering where you were at his age,”

She thought for a moment, then pulled the blanket up closer. 

“Maybe I’m a little biased because he’s part of the reason you were taken,”

You sighed, then leaned forward and rested your head on her chest. You’d get through to her eventually, but for now all you wanted to do was lay in her arms.

-

You huffed out a sigh as you pushed all the blankets off of you. That was something you definitely hadn’t gotten used to, and you couldn’t wait to take them all off the bed.

Natasha chuckled at your frustration, then sat up and smiled at you.

“Good morning, detka,” 

You grumbled again, but couldn’t help but smile at the way your girlfriend was looking at you. 

“It’s been three days of this shit,” you said as you sat up. “As soon as we go to Bruce today and get cleared, I will burn some of these. God, you have no idea how much I’ve missed setting things on fire,”

She laughed, then tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

“So my sweet little girlfriend just wants to go commit arson? Tell me again why you’re an Avenger?”

“You know what I meant!”

She laughed again, which prompted you to throw a pillow at her. 

“You’re gonna regret that, detka,”

“Will I?”

She stared at you for a few moments, a mischievous smile on her face as you smirked at her.

You let out a squeal as she suddenly pounced at you, knocking you back down. She placed several kisses on your face, but her hands also found their way under your shirt and onto your stomach. 

You let out another squeal as she began ticking you, moving her hands up and down as you began to let out uncontrollable laughter.

“Natty, stop!” You begged between giggles. 

She stopped for a moment, still smiling at you.

“Are you gonna throw a pillow at me again?”

You hesitated for a moment, and that was enough for her to move her hands again. 

You nearly screamed as she continued tickling you. This only made her smile more.

“How about now?” She asked. “Will you throw a pillow at me again?”

“No! I promise!”

She seemed satisfied, then removed her hands from your body as she gave your forehead a quick kiss.

“Let’s go get ready for your checkup,” she said, then smiled again. “And then my baby can get back her ability to commit arson with her mind,”

You rolled your eyes, but followed her out of bed. 

After getting changed, you held her hand as you made your way back to medical. You couldn’t help but feel nervous and anxious the entire walk there.

Bruce was waiting for you as you sat on the exam table. Natasha stayed standing, but kept her hand attached to yours.

“We’re gonna need to take a blood sample,” he told you. 

You nodded, but squeezed Natasha’s hand tighter. You had always hated needles, and your previous experience definitely didn’t help. 

As he inserted the needle in your arm, you closed your eyes and kept your tight hold on your girlfriend’s hand.

She hated seeing you like this. She hated that you even had to go through this in the first place. 

Her hand was beginning to hurt from the amount of force you were squeezing her, but she didn’t flinch at all. She just kept her eyes on you, making sure you were okay as Bruce got the blood sample he needed.

When he took the needle out and put a bandage on your arm, you finally opened your eyes again.

You didn’t even realize you had tears in your eyes until you saw how blurry your vision was. You tried to blink the tears away before anyone would notice, but you were too late. 

Natasha gave you a solemn look before bringing her other hand up to your face. She used her thumb to wipe the tears away, keeping her other hand attached to your own. 

She then sat next to you on the table, and wrapped an arm around you as you leaned into her. She reached her hand behind you, then gently stroked your hair as she held you close. 

“So will I get to use my powers again?” You asked Bruce. 

“We’ll find out in about five minutes,”

You nodded, then leaned further into your girlfriend. 

“How’s your arm feeling?” She asked as she continued stroking your hair. 

“Hurts,” you admitted with a light laugh. “Not too bad though, not as bad as the HYDRA needle. God that one burned.”

You looked up at her, then nuzzled your head in the space between her neck and shoulder.

“I can’t wait to be your personal human heater again,” you told her. 

She smiled, kissing the top of your head. 

“I’ve just been glad to have you back, detka, but I’m also looking forward to being warmed up by you,”

Bruce smiled at the two of you, but his face fell as the results appeared on the computer. 

“There’s still traces of what they put in your bloodstream,” he said. “Until it’s gone, you won’t be able to use your powers. I’m sorry, Y/N. We can check it again next week,”

Your heart dropped. You held your hands in your lap, looking down at them. You thought about all the times you made flames appear just from your palms. Now, you weren’t sure when you’d be able to do it again.

Natasha met your eyes, a neutral expression on her face. She was also sad about your powers, but she didn’t want to bring your spirits down even more. So, she interlaced her fingers with yours.

“Okay, so maybe a few more nights with blankets,” she said softly. “Then I get my favorite blanket back,”

You sighed, then stood up, keeping your fingers interlaced with hers.

You thanked Bruce, then walked out and went to the kitchen. 

One of the perks of having pyrokinesis was that it made cooking easier. Sometimes you would just heat up the food in your hand, or hold the pan until everything cooked. It took awhile to figure out how to get it right, resulting in accidentally setting the fire alarm off multiple times as you burned food to a crisp. But eventually you were able to get your powers to work as your own oven and microwave.

Now that you couldn’t do that, you chose cereal instead. As you swallowed your first bite, you shivered as the cold milk went down your throat. 

“I hate being cold,” you grumbled as you wrapped your arms around yourself. 

Natasha smiled sadly, then brought your non-dominant hand to her mouth as you kept eating. She placed lengthy, but soft kisses on the back of it.

“I can keep you warm now,”

You smiled at the gesture, then let out a small chuckle.

“Natty, I love you, but we both know you’re way too cold on your own to warm someone up,”

She rolled her eyes.

“I could totally warm you up,”

“Please, you’re literally an iceberg. Why do you think we go so well together?”

She laughed, then kissed your hand again.

“Well right now we’re both icebergs. I think we can keep each other warm if we stay close, y’know, sharing body heat,”

You sighed, then leaned forward before kissing her.

You intended for it to be a quick, short kiss. But she had other plans. 

She ran her tongue along your bottom lip, grinning as you allowed her entrance. Once you did, she grabbed your hips and pulled you onto her lap. 

“See?” She said with a grin. “You’re warmer already,”

“You’re right,” you said, cupping her cheeks. “We should keep each other warm more often,”

She smiled, then kissed you again. You deepened the kiss this time, keeping one hand on her cheek and wrapped the other around her neck. 

“That cereal is pretty good,” she said between kisses.

You laughed, then reconnected your lips. You stayed in her embrace, kissing her, for what was far too short in your opinion. You only stopped when you heard someone clear their throat from behind you.

You turned around to see Clint getting his own food.

“So what’s the news on your powers?” He asked. “Do we need to have fire extinguishers at the ready?”

Natasha glared at her friend, tightening her grip on you. He got his answer as soon as he saw her glare and noticed the way your face dropped. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. He was going to say something else, but decided not to as Natasha kept her glare. So he waved a short goodbye, then left.

“Can we just go back to our room?” You asked.

“Of course,”

After putting your bowl away, you followed your girlfriend back upstairs, fully intending on staying in bed all day.

You glared at the blankets, but reluctantly pulled them over you. 

You felt a little better once Natasha pulled you into her arms once again. You leaned back into her, holding onto her hands that lay around you.

“I love you,”

“I love you too,”

“I’m going to get my powers back,”

“Just focus on resting up for now, okay, detka?”

“Okay.”

-

A week later, you woke up ready to see Bruce again. You had been counting down the days, desperate to get your powers back.

Natasha gave a hesitant smile as you greeted her with a good morning kiss. She wanted you to get your powers back too, but she didn’t want you to be let down after your hopes had been so high. 

Of course, she did miss using you as a personal heater. But even more than that, she missed seeing the smile on your face as you would control the flames emitting from you. She missed the satisfied smirk you would give whenever you knocked down someone you were fighting with fire. She missed how you would squeal excitedly after your powers helped you successfully cook something.

You were practically bouncing in your steps as you walked down to Bruce. While you dreaded the needle from the blood sample, you tried not to focus on that. Instead, you focused on how amazing it would feel to make fire again.

You still held on tight to your girlfriend’s hand as the needle pricked your skin. She ran her thumb over the back of your hand as you let out a small whimper. 

Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath as the computer analyzed your blood. 

Natasha was almost as nervous as you. Her breath hitched when Bruce said the results were coming in. 

His eyes lit up as he read them.

“Your bloodstream is clean, Y/N,”

You smiled, then hugged Natasha out of happiness. 

He smiled at you, then you thanked him, still bouncing in your step.

“Alright, let’s go outside. I want this flame to be good,”

Natasha nodded, keeping her hand connected to yours as you led her out. Bruce decided to follow, just in case there was something he missed. 

Your smile grew even wider as you stood in front of the compound. 

Taking a deep breath, you gave both yourself and your girlfriend a reassuring nod.

You took a step away, then flicked your wrist. 

Nothing.

“What the fuck?”

You flicked it again. Still nothing.

Again. Nothing.

You flicked your other wrist, desperate to see the smoke rising from your palm. Once again, nothing.

“No,” you said, dropping to your knees. “Why don’t I have my powers?”

Natasha was by your side in a split second, putting an arm on your shoulder.

“I thought you said my bloodstream was clean!” You said to Bruce, feeling tears swell in your eyes. 

“It is,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry, Y/N, but if you still don’t have your powers even after it’s out of your system, then that means whatever they did to you took your powers. Unless there’s an antidote, they’re not coming back,”

You let out a sob, completely wrapping yourself around Natasha. Bruce took that as his cue to leave, walking back inside as you continued crying in your girlfriend’s arms.

“What do I do, Natty?” You said, your voice breaking. 

Her heart broke for you. She said nothing, but kept her hold.

“These powers, these abilities, controlling fire has been a part of me for such a long time,” you said as a few more tears fell. “And now… I’m just cold.”

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 125.4: Accidental Bonding (Part Four)

(You can start at Part One, if you’d like.)

"Come on," Harry begged, the following Friday. "Please come to dinner." The bond had only seemed to strengthen in the past eighteen days and Harry found his mind turning to thoughts of Draco almost constantly whether they were together or apart.

And touching the other man was almost second nature at this point. They spent all day every day touching the other without thinking; they sat with their ankles pressed together under their desks, hands brushed against shoulders and backs as they walked past each other, they frequently held hands without even talking about it first, and Harry couldn't remember the last time that he'd woken up without being wrapped around Draco's body or vice versa. Yes, the bond wasn't showing any signs of weakening.

"Your friends hate me, Potter," Draco reminded him as he pulled a wine glass down out of the cupboard.

Harry sighed, "But they wouldn't if they got to know you."

Draco leveled him with a glare, the kind that Harry had learned to recognize as a shield of sorts that the other man used when he was feeling insecure. "They have good reason to hate me," he said as he filled the glass.

"Not anymore," he protested.

The other man rolled his eyes and took a large swallow of his wine.

"Come on," he said again. "If you're there no one will flirt with me."

Draco face twisted in disgust, it was unpleasant for both of them if someone touched one of them with certain intentions.

"If they're rude, you can leave right away," he added.

"What's in it for me?" Draco asked.

He thought for a moment, "A foot rub," he offered, remembering the night that Draco had drunkenly been complaining that his feet hurt and Harry had drunkenly offered a foot rub. There'd been something immensely satisfying about it, he assumed it was something to do with the bond and not with the look of rapturous delight on Draco's face.

(Read more below the cut)

Draco's eyes narrowed, "And I can leave immediately if they're unkind."

"Yes."

"And you'll give me a long foot massage?"

He laughed, "Yes."

"Fine."

Harry grinned at him. "Excellent. Let's go then, they're meeting us at The Night Owl."

"How did you know I'd say yes?" he asked, looking affronted.

"I didn't," Harry lied, even he'd had a strong suspicion he could convince the other man. "They could eat there without us if you didn't want to go."

He didn't seem entirely convinced but he allowed Harry to take his elbow and he apparated them to the apparition point closest to The Night Owl.

Ron and Hermione were already sitting at a booth when they arrived, and Harry slid his fingers through Draco's as he headed over. "Hey," he greeted brightly.

His best friends both looked up, smiling at Harry before doing a double take when they saw Draco standing there beside him.

"Malfoy," Hermione said, eyebrows lifting. "What a surprise!" she said, glancing at Harry.

He could feel Draco's nervousness like it was a tangible thing. "Yeah," Harry said, widening his eyes meaningfully at her, "I told you he might be coming."

"Yeah," Ron said, "But we didn't think he actually would."

"Well," Draco said, detaching his hand from Harry's, "This has been fun but I'm going to-"

"No," Harry said, turning toward him and grabbing his hand again, "It's fine," he said, glaring at his friends, who he had told to be on their best behavior and to just give the other man a chance.

"Yes," Hermione piped up. "Stay, please. We were just surprised."

Draco looked at Harry for a long moment, obviously arguing with himself before nodding once and sliding into the booth.

Harry slid in next to him, the first (and hopefully largest) hurdle out of the way.

------------------

Dinner went surprisingly well. Hermione and Ron obviously struggled a bit but Harry had asked them to give him a chance and they seemed to be trying.

Everyone seemed to relax a bit once they'd had a few drinks and when Draco got up to use the loo, Harry turned to his friends, "So?" he said eagerly, "He's different, right?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other before Hermione said carefully, "I think it's too soon for me to tell."

"Yeah, mate," Ron agreed, "I know you've always had that thing for Malfoy but," he shrugged, "it's hard to know what's real and what's an act."

"You do know that he like cut ties from his parents, right?" Harry asked incredulously, "he believes that all of that pureblood nonsense is garbage."

"Does he though?" Hermione asked, "Or is that just what it behooves him to have you believe?"

"He lives in a tiny flat!" he protested. "He said that he was so compelled by your arguments about house elves that he couldn't bring himself to have one for his flat."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked, "Or does he just hide it from you? House elves are wicked good at magic."

"He knows how to cook," Harry said, "From scratch. And he knows cleaning spells," he added. "Why would he have to know cleaning spells?"

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully, "Maybe you're right-"

"Just give him a chance," he said. "You won't-"

"Better talk about something else," Ron interrupted, "He's headed this way."

"Well, I tried to get Lugnok to speak with me about the discrimination that Goblins have been facing for ages in the wizarding community, but he wasn't very forthcoming," Hermione started as Draco slid into the booth once again.

"Oh," Draco said as he pressed his shoulder against Harry's and they both relaxed into the pleasant hum thrumming through the bodies, beginning at their shoulders and radiating outward. "I read the last article that you published in The Daily Dilemma," he said excitedly. "It was fascinating," he added.

"Really?" Hermione asked, sounding surprised.

He nodded, "I always wanted to learn more about Goblin magic but good information is so hard to find. When I was young, I'd hoped that it was something they'd teach at Hogwarts-"

"Yes!" Hermione agreed emphatically. "I have been trying to convince Minerva of that for years."

"We don't know nearly enough about magic that other beings possess and honestly," he said, lowering his voice slightly, "I don't know why any other magical being puts up with us. I can't understand it." He shook his head, "I mean for all intents and purposes, their magic is stronger than ours and they've got better control of it. A house elf, for example," he said, "when they want to apparate somewhere it's just a snap of the fingers. And their blind apparation is loads better than ours," he shook his head, "And that's just one spell."

Hermione nodded, "It's never made sense to me."

Draco swallowed, "I'm sorry about that, by the way," he said, not quite meeting her eye, "for making fun of your organization." Then his mouth twisted, "For a lot of things, really," he continued. "Many that were worse than that."

"Thank you," Hermione said after a moment. "I appreciate your apology."

He nodded once. "You probably know this already, but Henri Laurence is a real advocate for changing the way we treat other magical beings. He could probably help your causes."

"Who?" she asked, brows furrowing as she tried to place the name.

"Henri Laurence," he repeated.

She shook her head, "I'm not familiar with that name."

"He works in transportation," Draco replied.

"Why would I talk to someone in transportation?"

He gave her a wry smile, "Henri works closely with a lot of department heads to schedule their trips. He's very amiable and everyone loves him," he added. "More than one political career has risen and fallen by his words. He also works with the Minister quite a bit, the Minister is quite fond of him."

"I never would have thought to start there. Thanks for the tip," she said, giving him a cautious half smile.

"Of course," Draco said automatically. "I'd be glad to give you names if you're ever wondering the best way to get things into people's ears. I'm afraid I can't do introductions, though," he said with a self depreciating laugh.

"Thank you," Hermione said, sounding genuinely grateful. "That would be so helpful."

Draco gave her a little smile and Harry felt hope bubbling merrily in his chest.

----------

As the evening drew to a natural close, Harry couldn't help but think that everything went exceptionally well.

Draco was still talking about Hermione's current project with the Goblins at Gringotts as Harry headed back toward the bedroom, Draco trailing along behind him. "It's invaluable," he said as he started to strip so he could put on his pajamas. "This research could change the way that we think about other beings. We could really have the opportunity to understand them better and then maybe we'd understand our own magic and our own limitations better."

Harry nodded, "You sound just like her. I thought you two might hit it off."

"Did you?" Draco asked curiously as he crawled into bed.

He nodded, sitting at the bottom and pulling Draco's left foot into his lap, pressing his thumbs up the curve of Draco's arch. "You're the only other person I know who likes to talk about Magic Theory."

He let out a low moan as Harry's thumbs rubbed the ball of his foot, "Potter, you are really good at that," he said, thoroughly distracted from the conversation they'd been having.

Harry laughed.

"I'm serious!" the other man protested. "If the whole saving the world, one idiot at a time thing fails, you can go into foot massages."

Chuckling, he shook his head, "Can you imagine?"

"Yes," Draco replied, closing his eyes and settling further into the mattress, "I'd come see you every day."

"Ah, in that case," Harry teased, "maybe I should think about it."

"You do that," he said, in that distant voice that meant he wasn't listening to him anymore.

"Read something," Harry said.

The other man opened one eye to look down at Harry, "What?"

"Read me something," he said. "Grab a book off your nightstand," he said, nodding to the pile, "And read. But don't pick something boring."

Draco reached over and plucked a slender book off the nigh stand, "I think you'll like this one. He gets everything wrong but it's delightful." He cleared his throat, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit..."

Harry listened as he read, a smile tugging at his lips, his chest filling with warmth.

This was nice, Harry couldn't help but think. Living with someone, sharing meals with someone, having someone in your bed when you went to sleep and when you woke up. It was nice to have the sound of someone else's voice and the feeling of someone else's hand in yours.

He wondered if he'd miss it when the bond ended in twelve days.

More importantly, he wondered if Draco would miss it.

--------------

Part 3 | Part 5

[babymetaldoll]

"Victory" (Spencer Reid/ Reader)

Requested: Yes

Summary: Spencer's daughter hates her father's girlfriend. But when he is in prison, life pushes them to finally get along.

Warning: Cursing, a little angst, a mean teenager, and fluff.

Word count: 5,4K

A/N: Hello, pretty people! How are you? I've missed you! Life has been a little messy and filled with angst, so writing hasn't come easy in the lastest weeks. Hope you like this story, and I hope I can bring you a new one soon 😉

Masterlist

»»————-　　————-««

Spencer's daughter hated her dad's new girlfriend. And she wasn't subtle about it. She hated that her father was now dating, 'cos she didn't want to share his love. So now she didn't even want to be around him anymore 'cos he was so happy, it was annoying.

It wasn't that she hated her father, 'cos she loved him. But she was never going to face the fact she was jealous. She didn't want to share Spencer with anyone because he was all the family she knew, and they were a team.

Victoria Reid was twelve years old. She had grown up alone with her dad 'cos her mother had ditched the two of them soon after she was born. Spencer had tried to explain to his daughter her mom had left 'cos she wasn't ready to deal with the responsibility of being a mother, which was true. He, on the other hand, was happy to know he was going to be a father, and he repeated over and over again she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

That was true.

When Spencer and his ex found out they were going to be parents, he was ecstatic. He couldn't wait to hold his baby in his arms and watch them grow. He didn't know his girlfriend had other plans, though, and soon after Victoria was born, she had left the two of them and never looked back.

Spencer wasn't going to lose the chance of being a dad. Even when he knew he was too young, Reid was ready to raise that baby on his own and give her all the love he had.

That's why he and Victoria were so close. Spencer was the only parent she had ever had. He was her world. And though Spencer was only 24 when Tori was born, he had given her his best.

Tori was the BAU's baby girl. Everybody in the team was a part of her life because she had grown up with them. Penelope was her best friend and godmother. Victoria would spend a lot of time with her while her dad was away on a case. Derek was her cool uncle. He helped her train to get into the basketball team and taught her how to dance. JJ was the closest to a mother figure in her life. Tori would spend time with her after school, playing with Henry. Spencer always said JJ was like a sister for him, and that's why they were all like family. Tori actually called Henry and Michel her cousins.

Emily was like her best friend. They could talk about anything, and at least twice a month, they would go out together shopping, just the two of them. Spencer always respected his daughter's relationship with his friend 'cos they were their little extended family. Tori called Rossi "Nono." He had taught her himself, and she loved going to his mansion, 'cos he always had new video games to play with her.

But then came (Y/N). She had joined the team when Victoria was only six years old, and for the first five years, they got along just fine. (Y/N) would come along shopping with her and Emily, sometimes she took Tori out for some pastries, and talked about bands, boys. Victoria loved her.

That until the incident.

She hated (Y/N) after the incident.

Victoria refused to talk to her after THE INCIDENT.

It was a warm spring afternoon, Spencer and (Y/N) had the afternoon off, and they were at his apartment... heavily making out on the couch. That's why they lost track of time.

(Y/N) and Spencer had started dating a few months before. They had been in love with each other for years. Still, neither of them had acted on it until Rossi's birthday party, when they had a little too many drinks and finally confessed their feelings. They wanted to take things slow, but when you make out in front of the whole team, it might be a little harder imagined.

But they had decided to wait for the right time to tell Victoria. But, unfortunately, the right time didn't come soon enough.

- "Dad!! I'm home!!"- Victoria opened the front door and froze in shock at the scene going on in front of her. The twelve-year-old had asked her best friend's mother to drop her home earlier when Penelope told her Spencer had already gone home. In Garcia's defense, she had no idea what was going on in Reid's residence, and if she had known, she would have never let Victoria know her dad was home.

(Y/N) widened her eyes and quickly grabbed a pillow to cover herself. She was shirtless, sitting on Spencer's lap. She still had her bra on (thank god), but anyone could tell that scene was leading to the bedroom in a few seconds.

- "Shit!"- Spencer whispered and closed his eyes as he realized what was going on. (Y/N) held her breath as she stared into the young teen's eyes. Victoria didn't know what to do or what to say, so she simply ran to her room and slammed the door.

- "Ok... so I think Tori knows about us"- (Y/N) tried to ease the mood and smiled at her boyfriend as she put on her shirt. But Spencer sighed and covered his face with both hands- "Oh, come on. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. Let me talk to her."

- "No, (Y/N), let me talk to her first."- Spencer stood up and kissed (Y/N) 's nose- "I know she is mad, and I should be the one dealing with her anger."

Reid knew his daughter well enough to anticipate her behavior. People had often told him he could be a little passive-aggressive when he was upset. And his daughter was just like him.

- "Victoria, open the door!"- he said and waited a few seconds after knocking.

- "Go away!"- the teenager yelled, laying on her bed. She felt betrayed and confused. But most of all, she felt angry that her father had decided to have a girlfriend. He had no right to do such a thing. He had to take care of her and her grandma. No one else.

- "Victoria, we need to talk about this!"

- "You seemed too busy with your girlfriend to talk to me, dad. So go away!"

- "Victoria Marie!"- Spencer knocked on the door but got no answer from his daughter. (Y/N) heard it all from the couch and tried to think of a way to fix things with the young girl.

Sadly, it wasn't going to be easy, and in the months that followed, everything was far from being normal again.

- "I hate her!"- Victoria huffed and left her book aside. Spencer was trying to explain to her why (Y/N) would stay with her and Diana while he took a short work trip for the weekend. But the girl didn't want to hear a word about it.

- "You used to get along with her just fine until we started dating."- Spencer tried to dialogue with his daughter. Still, it was honestly getting harder and harder each time they touched the subject.

- "Used to. You just said it. I have the right to change my mind about people. Why can't I stay with auntie Penelope for the weekend?"

- "Because I want you to make an effort and try to get along with (Y/N) again. Victoria, we've been through this before. I love you, and that's not going to change just because I am dating (Y/N)."

- "This is so unfair! I hate you!!"

Spence tried to stay calm, but after over four-month having the same argument almost every day, he was losing it. Victoria stormed out and slammed her bedroom door behind her back. Maybe it was better not to push it, Spencer thought, defeated, and called Penelope to ask her if his daughter could spend the weekend with her, 'cos he had to travel. Maybe Victoria and (Y/N) weren't going to get along if he forced them to spend time together.

Everyone had already tried to talk to her about what was going on: JJ, Emily, Penelope. But Victoria wasn't ready to give in. She wanted to hate (Y/N), and nothing was going to change that. Or so she thought.

The day Penelope showed up in Victoria's school and announced her something had happened to her dad was engraved in the girl's memory forever as the worst day of her life. Her father had been arrested in Mexico, but Garcia had assured her, the whole team was working to bring him home safe. Meanwhile, she would stay with her in her apartment (she was already there anyway), and Diana would stay home with her nurse.

Victoria's heart was broken. She was basically alone in the whole world. Her father was her anchor. Her protector. Her superhero. Her best friend. And now, all of a sudden, he was gone, and though everybody told her it was going to be ok, she knew it wasn't.

- "Hey,"- (Y/N) walked into Penelope's office and found Victoria doing her homework- "Pen told me you were here, and I thought maybe you'd like one of these."

The young SSA said and handed the girl a box of fresh chocolate frosted with sprinkled donuts and a strawberry milkshake. Her favorites.

But Victoria didn't reply. Instead, she looked at (Y/N) right in the eyes, not moving a muscle, and then returned to her homework.

It had been two weeks since Spencer had been accused of murder, and he had been transferred to Virginia. But the team was far from solving the case.

- "Ok, Tori, please stop this. I know you don't like me dating your dad, but this is not the right time to fight. I know..."- (Y/N) made a short pause and took a deep breath before resuming her idea- "I know how you feel."

- "No. You don't."- Victoria Reid's voice was loud and clear, like thunder, hitting earth with anger. So clear, in fact, (Y/N) widened her eyes when she heard her.

- "You have no idea how I feel. Your dad ain't in jail accused of killing some woman in Mexico. You have no right to tell me that!"

- "My boyfriend and best friend in the whole world is in jail right now, and it doesn't matter if I work myself to death 18 hours every single fucking day; I still can't find the way to help him. I feel lost and alone, and most of all, scared, 'cos I've come to realize I have no idea how to live without him anymore. I'm guessing that's very close to what you feel."

(Y/N) poured her heart with complete honesty to her boyfriend's daughter, fighting the tears back, though you could feel the desperation in her voice. She didn't know if it would be of any use, but she had to take that from her chest. She missed Spencer so much she felt she was going insane. She had no idea what to do.

Victoria stared at her, furrowing her eyes and pouting. She didn't want to cry in front of (Y/N) 'cos she didn't want her trying to console her.

- "Just because you are dating him doesn't mean you have to take care of me. I can take care of myself."- Tori said and looked at the donut. She was hungry, they looked delicious, but the teenager didn't want to accept any gift coming from (Y/N).

- "I am not here because you are my boyfriend's daughter. I thought you were a cool kid way before I fell in love with him."- (Y/N) tried to calm herself down and sat across the table from Victoria- "And I am not trying to steal him from you. I just wanna... make him happy."

- "We were happy,"- the teenager's comeback was like a slap on (Y/N) 's face, but she did her best not to take it personally. She knew it was useless fighting with a teenager.

- "I have a visit scheduled for tomorrow. If you'd like, we could go together."

Tori held her breath. She hadn't seen her father since he left for Mexico. Of course, Victoria wanted to see him and hug him. It was all she wanted in the whole world. But... she didn't want to be friendly with (Y/N).

- "If I go... it doesn't mean I like you."- the young girl whispered.

- "I know"- (Y/N) nodded, feeling already triumphant.

- "And it doesn't mean I'm ok with you dating him."

- "I understand. I just know you miss him, Tori. I really know how you feel, and I'm gonna help you whenever I get a chance."- Victoria didn't answer; she just sighed and grabbed a donut. (Y/N) tried not to smile, feeling she had a small victory.

Spencer couldn't believe it when he saw his little girl waiting for him sitting next to (Y/N) instead of his lawyer in the small grey room. Victoria stood up and ran to him the second the door opened and wrapped her arms around her father as tight as possible.

(Y/N) looked at the guards, thankful neither of them had tried to stop the teenager.

Spencer kissed his daughter's cheek a few times and whispered how sorry he was to put her under those circumstances. He didn't know what to do or what to say. He was speechless. A part of him hated the idea of his daughter visiting him in jail, but he also missed her too much to argue with (Y/N) for bringing her over.

- "I'll go fill a few forms. Be right back"- (Y/N) whispered and saw Spencer's warm smile as he mouthed "Thank you," still hugging his daughter. She whispered, "I love you," and walked outside the room. She knew Victoria would appreciate a few minutes alone with her father, and she didn't want to take that away from them. She really wanted to make Spencer and Tori happy, and spending time together was what they needed.

- "I know this is hard, peanut, but we'll get through it. I'll be out in a few weeks. I promise"- Spencer held his daughter's hands as they sat across the table.

- "I miss you"- her voice was a soft whisper, as she kept trying not to cry anymore. She didn't want to make him feel guilty, sad, or anxious.

- "Me too. How are you? How is living with aunt Penelope going?"

- "Ok... we watch a lot of movies."

- "And school?"- Tori shrugged.

- "Ok, I guess."

- "Victoria..."

- "I got a C on my history paper."

- "Baby..."

- "I know, I know, I should have tried harder, but I really didn't want to do it."

Spencer was torn between lecturing his daughter for getting a bad grade and actually telling her it was ok, 'cos they were going through a rough patch. It was obvious she might get bad grades, all things considered.

- "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you"- it was all Spencer managed to whisper.

- "Don't say that, dad. I'm sorry I slacked off."

- "You know, you could ask (Y/N) for help,"- Spencer suggested, but Tori just rolled her eyes, annoyed- "She has a master in the subject..."

- "Dad, please don't force me to talk to her."

- "I'm just saying... you don't have to be her best friend, just ask for help when needed, especially when it comes to school. Besides, it's clear she isn't a bad person if she brought you here today."

- "She just wants to win me over."- Tori mumbled and crossed her arms on her chest. But she knew her dad was right in one thing: (Y/N) had done a pretty good thing taking her to see her dad and letting them spend time together on their own.

Victoria thought she was losing her mind after three months had passed and her father was still in jail. It didn't matter that (Y/N) took her every Saturday morning to visit, played her favorite music, and bought her all the pastries she loved. She needed to live with her father again and do all the small things they loved: making breakfast together, playing scrabble, taking long walks in the park, eating ice cream. Tori even missed her father's annoying habits. She missed his rambling and how he always had an answer for everything, even for the things she didn't want to talk about with him.

Spencer was an amazing father, no questions asked, and Victoria Reid knew she couldn't ask for a better dad than him. She just wanted him back.

But things weren't going to improve soon.

When the team found out Diana Reid had been kidnapped, (Y/N) had to take a minute and lock herself in the bathroom to cry her heart out. She felt bad things were never going to cease, and she didn't want to tell Victoria. The girl had already been through so much, adding the abduction of her grandmother wasn't fair. Tori was just twelve. She shouldn't be going through all that.

- "Victoria?"

Prentiss decided she was going to be the one to tell the girl what was going on, and (Y/N) offered herself to look for her. She was in Rossi's office, reading a book curled on his comfy couch. That poor kid almost lived at the BAU by then.

- "My homework is done."- she replied, not taking her eyes from the page she was reading.

- "That's good. And what are you reading?"- Tori sighed and showed her the cover- "Something Wicked this way comes," I love that book"- (Y/N) smiled and took a look around.

- "Figured my father forced you to read it."

- "Actually, I read it when I was ten, and it's one of my favorite books."- (Y/N) looked at Victoria, but the teenager kept pretending to read, ignoring her- "Emily needs to talk to you."

- "And why are you here? Why didn't aunt Emily come? Are you her secretary?"- there was something about Victoria's attitude that reminded (Y/N) of Reid.

- "I wanted to see you, see how you were doing, and take you to the conference room"- Tori sighed and stood up. She hoped Emily had good news about her father, 'cos she was honestly going insane.

But of course, Prentiss didn't have any good news.

- "I'm sorry, Tori, but... you are going to have to stay here tonight"- the girl frowned, confused, and looked at the whole team around her. Everybody looked like they hadn't slept in days. Which, by the way, was very accurate.

- "Why?"

- "'Cos we are going to have to..."- Emily paused and held her breath, staring at her niece's eyes.- "I'm sorry, Tori, but this is the truth: the woman who framed your father has kidnapped Diana, and I'm scared she might try to get you too. So until we catch her, the safest place to be is here, at the BAU. With us."

Tori gasped and covered her mouth with both hands as tears filled her eyes in a second.

- "Nana? Is she ok?"

- "We don't know yet, but we are working to bring her home safe as soon as possible"- JJ caressed Tori's arm and tried to hold her, but she pushed her away mad frowned.

- "You keep saying that, you keep telling me you are working to bring my family home safe, but so far, you haven't done anything!! I am still alone! Dad is in jail, and everybody knows he is innocent! And now nana is gone too!!"

- "Baby, we know it is hard, but..."- Emily wanted to explain to Victoria everything was more complex than they had expected, but the girl covered her ears and shook her head, yelling as she stormed out of the room

- "I don't wanna hear you!! I want my dad!!"

It was painful to hear those things, 'cos the team was doing the best they could for Reid and his family, but they could understand the frustration and, most of all, the fear that little girl felt.

- "I'll talk to her,"- (Y/N) said and turned to Emily- "You guys continue what you were doing. I'll try to calm her down."

- "Are you sure you wanna go?"- Emily asked and cut (Y/N) a short smile.

- "Yeah, for once, she is mad at all of us, not just me."

The young SSA walked to Garcias's office, where Tori was hidden underneath a desk, crying.

- "Hey."

- "Leave me alone."

- "I know I'm the last person you wanna be with right now, and I am sorry I can't do anything to make you feel better. I can only promise you this: we are doing all we can to bring your dad and your grandmother back home safe." - (Y/N) whispered as she walked slowly towards the girl, who sobbed, whipping off the tears from her eyes.

- "Just leave me alone. I want to be alone,"- Tori mumbled and wrapped her arms around herself, sobbing.

- "I'm not gonna leave you alone, Tori. You are not alone here with us."

- "I am alone!! I want my daddy!! I need my daddy!!"- the girl continued crying her eyes out, hidden underneath the desk. (Y/N) kneeled next to her and sat on the floor.

- "Come here"- it was a bold move, 'cos (Y/N) knew the girl was going to reject her, but she didn't care. She couldn't deal with her sadness, and it scared her to think how bad the child was feeling. So, (Y/N) opened her arms and moved the teen closer to her.

Surprisingly, the girl didn't reject her. Instead, she cried against the fabric of (Y/N) 's sweater and sobbed, shaking, as (Y/N) caressed her hair carefully.

- "I swear, we are not gonna rest until he is free and until Diana is home."

- "I want my family back,"- Victoria mumbled and sighed.

- "You'll get it. I swear, I'll do everything I can to bring them back to you."

That was the first time since (Y/N) started dating Spencer that Victoria let her close. In the middle of the mess they were all lost into, it felt like a little break of peace. Another small victory for the young woman.

(Y/N) didn't mind spending the whole night awake going through an endless pile of files if it meant there was a chance to bring Spencer back home. Tori stayed in Rossi's office, where she made something that looked pretty much like a fort on the couch, with blankets and pillows, to hide from the rest of the world.

It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, looking at the girl hidden there, trying to read, trying to draw, trying to do anything to take her mind from reality. Penelope brought her something to eat, but she rejected it, saying she wasn't hungry. Emily and JJ had tried to talk to her, but Tori kindly said she wanted to be alone. Even Morgan had called her and announced to her he was taking a plane from Chicago to help the team looking for Diana.

None of that cheered Victoria up.

- "I bought you this,"

Around ten, (Y/N) opened Rossi's door and walked in, holding a box of frosted chocolate donuts with sprinkles.

- "They always cheer your dad up, so I'm counting they will do the trick with you too"- the young woman tried to joke but found Victoria crying quietly insider her fort.

- "Please, just leave me alone,"- she whispered and hid her face with both her hands. (Y/N) didn't pay attention and sat with her inside the fort.

- "Not a chance."

- "I really don't wanna do this now, just leave me alone,"- the girl sighed, defeated, and continued crying.

- "Come here, I told you, you are not alone."

- "I am alone, (Y/N)! My dad is in jail, my grandma is kidnapped, and my mother left me 'cos she didn't love me!"

- "No, baby, don't say that"- (Y/N) wrapped her arms around Tori and kissed the top of her head.

- "I know my mom didn't want to have me, and maybe she was right... maybe I am cursed, and all this is my fault."

- "Victoria Marie Reid, you are talking senseless" (Y/N) held the girl's shoulder and looked into her eyes.

- "You are an adorable young girl who deserves the best in the world. Why did this happen? I don't know, bad shit happens in life, and we must try to learn something from it. That's it. There's no reason or cause. Shit happens, baby, but we must raise stronger than before. You are an incredible young girl, and I know your dad is proud of you. I am proud of you, 'cos you've been so courageous and brave."

- "You are just saying that 'cos you are with my dad."

- "No. I would say that even if I hated your dad. You know why? 'Cos I am not lying, you are awesome, and I love you, get that into your head. And you are not alone, 'cos I am here, see?"- (Y/N) ran her thumb on Tori's cheek, whipping off a few of her tears- "I'm here even when you don't want me to be, so I don't know if you can tell, but you are doomed, you can't get rid of me now. I'm like a disease, but a good one... I don' know if there's a good disease. I'm sure your dad would have the answer for my random comment right now."

Both Victoria and (Y/N) chuckled at the same time, and the girl nodded.

- "He definitely would..."

- "He would also lecture me why I shouldn't give you sugar after dinner, but he is not here, and I am not telling him, so please don't tell him 'cos he is going to be mad at me... and at you."- (Y/N) handed Tori the box of donuts, and the girl smiled.

- "I won't tell him."

- "Great, we have our own little sugary secret. Eat all the donuts you want; I'm going to be with the team in the conference room. Emily has a meeting early morning with the judge."- (Y/N) kissed the top of Vitoria's head and stood up.

- "If you need anything, I'm across the hall."- the SSA said, and the girl nodded, chewing a donut.

- "Thank you, (Y/N)"

By the next day, the miracle had happened. Victoria couldn't stop crying when (Y/N) announced she was taking Spencer back home. Tori stood in front of his father's girlfriend and felt how the tears filled her eyes in less than a minute. Happy tears, for once.

(Y/N) smiled at her, glad to know the young girl was going to have her life back. It surprised her when Tori hugged her, wrapping her arms around her tight. (Y/N) stayed still for an instant, trying to understand what was happening. She hugged Victoria and kissed the top of her head. The child was crying, and suddenly, so was she. The nightmare was over. At least a part of it. They still needed to find Diana. But the fact they were going to have Reid back was already giving everybody the peace of mind they needed to finish the task.

(Y/N) held Spencer's hand tight all the way from the prison to the BAU. He kept his eyes locked on their hands, fingers tangled together. He couldn't believe it was actually happening. He couldn't believe he was a free man.

- "How's Tori?"- he whispered and turned to his girlfriend. Penelope and Luke were in the car with them, but somehow, Spencer could only register the presence of his girlfriend. Not because he didn't care about his friends, but because he could only take just a small amount of information at the time. It was all too much for him at that moment.

- "Good. She has been incredibly strong."

- "Did you tell her about mom?"- Spencer was afraid to ask but needed to know what was going on with his daughter. (Y/N) nodded and sighed.

- "We decided it was better if she knew what was happening, we had to keep her at the BAU, and she was going to get suspicious she couldn't go to Penelope's... sorry."

- "Don't be. You did what was best for her."- Spencer turned to his girlfriend and smiled at her for a second. It was a short, sweet smile. Almost shy. But it was enough to warm her heart and wake the butterflies in her stomach. She was so in love with Spencer Reid, everything he did fluster her.

Victoria thought her heart was about to burst as he waited for her father to arrive. Spencer looked at (Y/N) one last time, and she squeezed his hand kindly, smiling when the elevator door opened, and all he heard was:

- "Daddy!!"- Tori yelled and ran to hug Spencer as soon as she saw him. He couldn't even step out of the elevator when his daughter nearly tackled him, wrapping her arms around him tight.

- "My baby!"- he whispered and spun her in the air a few times- "Are you ok?"- he held her face with both hands and took a good look at her. She was crying but smiling as she nodded.

- "I'm so happy to see you, dad."

- "I missed you so, so much"- Spencer kissed the top of her head and sighed. (Y/N) smiled, and whipped off the tears from her eyes as she stared at the scene. Garcia and Luke stood next to her, enjoying a brief moment of happiness and peace.

- "Me more,"- Victoria whispered and hugged Spencer again- "I swear I'm never going to fight with you again."

- "I'm taking a mental note of that,"- he answered and felt her body shaking as she giggled. Spencer hadn't heard his daughter laugh, giggle, or even watched her smile in the three months he had spent away from her. And that sound was sweet and warm, like a balm to his soul.

- "I'm sorry, Spencer... but, we have to..."- Emily interrupted the moment and smiled at her friend. They all knew they still had to do one more thing before celebrating. They had to take Diana Reid back home safe and sound. Victoria let her father go and smiled at him.

- "I love you, dad."

- "I love you too, princess."

And as the team walked to the conference room to brief Spencer about the case and update him with the latest information, (Y/N) felt someone hold her hand.

- "Thank you,"- Victoria whispered and cut her a smile that warmed her heart.

- "Come here,"- she answered and turned around to wrap her arms around her for a second. Spencer looked at them, and for once, he didn't know what to say. Victoria and (Y/N) just stood in the middle of the hall, hugged for a few minutes, and Reid couldn't believe it. It was so heartwarming and emotional; he really didn't know how to react.

- "Come on, dad!! You are going to miss the movie!"- Victoria yelled and set the popcorn on the coffee table.

- "You can pause it!"- Spencer yelled from his desk, where he was finishing writing a letter for his mother.

- "Or you can hurry!"- Tori answered and sat on the couch.

- "Here's your tea, your highness"- (Y/N) walked to the girl holding a tray filled with cups and more snacks- "Come on, honey! We are not waiting for you!"

Three months after prison and life had never been so good for Spencer, Victoria, and (Y/N).

- "I had never seen you so eager to watch a Marvel movie, since when are you two fans of Thor?"- Spencer walked to the living room, hearing his girlfriend and daughter laugh.

- "Always, huge fan."- (Y/N) smiled and tapped on the couch. Reid sat between his two women and sighed.

- "I can smell the sarcasm in the air."

- "No, honey. We love Thor, right Tori?"

- "Yes! Big fans, huge, the biggest fans"- Spencer looked at his daughter and raised an eyebrow.

- "Ok, I'll buy it. Let's watch the movie."

(Y/N) and Tori giggled at the very same moments like they were sharing a secret joke Spencer couldn't understand, but he didn't really matter. He was happy, his heart was content, and there was nothing more perfect that minute, 'cos his family was all on the same couch, watching a movie, enjoying an afternoon together. Like he had always dreamt of.

----

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