#desperate for the wormhole and for space and for someone to understand them

[hirokiyuu]

thinking abt sols. if i had to pick a word for each it’d be

cold > distant > manic > too-charming > transcendent > heroic > fainthearted > feral > awkward > insecure > thoughtless > desperate > disconnected > rambunctious > greedy

[cutekittenlady]

So based on that poll you all were so kind to respond to HERE, it seems you guys might like to see the idea of Eelektross in Hisui developed further.

So, to begin with I have little to no idea how Eelektross ends up in Hisui other than it's likely the same way Ingo ended up there. Perhaps there's a part in the Nimbasa City underground that inexplicable is prone to wormholes opening up. Perhaps the "rift" in Hisui has caused smaller "rifts" to randomly open and close at other points in space-time and Ingo and Eelektross just fell through.

Whatever the actual cause, Eelektross, a pokemon non-native to Hisui and completely domesticated finds itself trapped in an enviornment it's unused to and desperately seeks help from the one place it's gotten it in the past.

Humans.

Unfortunately, while the humans of Hisui have gotten more comfortable with the pokemon NATIVE to the region having (what appears to them to be) a giant eel monster popping out of the waterways and chasing after them doesnt really put them in a mood to be understanding/helpful. This, sadly, means Eelektross not only gains no help but gains the reputation of a monster in the eyes of the people of Jubilife and maybe even the clans.

While Ingo appearing would likely pour more light on this, if only because Eelektross seemingly obeys him in a way he doesnt anyone else, he's not assigned to this problem and instead Akari, Prof. Laventon, and maaaaaybe Rei end up with the job of having to hunt down this "monster."

Laventon (given he has an oshawott and has likely been to unova) is eventually able to identify Eelektross' species which, sadly, does Eeletross few favors as the understanding of his species behavior at this time is likely VERY dim and even in the most generous accounts from unova paint Eelektross as territorial, highly aggressive, and DANGEROUS.

Laventon wants to capture him alive and, hopefully, tame him but if they can't well... Someone might take things into their own hands. Eelektross doesnt make this easier as he is a trained and "owned" pokemon who has no intention of being "caught" again by anyone even if pokeballs dont work on him. A fact that comes as a shock to the people of hisui who might not have learned about the whole "you cant catch an owned pokemon" thing yet.

That is, assuming not being able to catch an "owned" pokemon is a natural side effect of the balls and not something that was later programmed in.

I'm open to thought on this, so if you have any suggestions, ideas, or questions hit up my ask box.

[mightynonagesimus]

15 Minutes (What If I Told You)

ANGST WITH AN UNHAPPY ENDING. DO NOT READ FOR A GOOD TIME. This is a supercorp oneshot I wrote after I hear the title song. Very Angsty, you are warned. Trigger Warning : Angst, mentions of suicidal thoughts, depression, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. Obiviously. This is pre-apocalypse.

11:27,

Monday, July 13th

Lena's Loft,

National City.

It was very unnoticeable at first. Solar flares from a nearby galaxy far enough that they didn't think much of it. A few explosions a couple galaxies down hardly warranted the DEO's involvement. Besides, Earth had different things to worry about. The Team had different things to worry about. Probably. Lena wouldn't know anymore, would she? After the Fortress, she had taken extra precautions to block every single one of them out of her life. She didn't need anyone. She just needed to save the world.

And to be honest? Lena was ashamed it took her that long to figure it out. It wasn't like her. The  Prodigy of her generation. The CEO of one of the biggest Tech Corporations in America. The sister of Earth's most infamous criminal mastermind.

If she had just gotten out of bed, checked any of her projects, called her secretary back. But she was too numb, too empty. Lying in bed, unable to move or think. Wishing to die. She couldn't even muster up the energy to lift a hand, it was just... pathetic.

After a week, Jess had had enough. It took Sam flying over from Metropolis to even get Lena out of bed. Sam had no idea about Kara, of course. But it didn't take long for her to march over to Alex's apartment and threaten her friend until the truth spilled. Lena had never seen that furious. Over Lena, of all people.

She didn't deserve Sam.

***

Sam had been pestering her all week. Bringing over food and staying with her every night. Lena felt like an asshole, taking up so much of her time. That was the main reason she returned to L-Corp after a week That was when she found out about the satellite malfunctions. Some radioactive signature was messing with their signals. That was fine, this was a problem Lena could fix, right? Easy.

Wrong. Turns out the signature was something her systems could recognize. Kryptonite. A giant chunky piece of Kryptonite and debris about the size of a small moon. A Krypto-Comet that was hurtling at half the speed of light from deep space, directly towards Earth.

Mondays, right?

Of course, she contacted the DEO immediately. They were horrified. For a Secret Government Agency handling the extraterrestrial, they had some shockingly bad tech. She wasn't really surprised.  Also, they might have been slightly distracted with Leviathan. Lena had spent the next three days cooped up in a lab with Brainiac 5 desperately trying to come up with a way to deflect it or destroy it, or anything really. Usually, an Anti-Kryptonite suit and Supergirl would have taken care of the problem real quick, but considering the size of the comet and the excessive amount of Kryptonite on it, it just wouldn't be possible. There was no time to call for back-up from Argo City either, with the satellites malfunctioning.

The last five days were utter chaos. Naturally, the news hit the public hard. It was pandemonium, but how could you keep a goddamn meteorite impact from them? The skies were already turning purple.

Lena however, was still in her lab. Over the course of three days, a complete whirlwind of people checked in and out of her lab. People she had never met before. People she had never even heard of. Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow. A scientist named Raymond Palmer with some very interesting ideas on molecular structure and shrinkage. Felicity Smoak. Alex pulled her aside during lunch to explain about the Multiverse.

What. Even. What.

Okay.

It felt like her brain was exploding, but she was their best chance of saving the planet. She had to pull it together. She can't show any weakness.

Alex called for another excruciating meeting the second day.

"Attention! I have some news." Alex exhaled slowly. "Sara?"

"I'm sorry guys, but it's bad. We were unable to prevent this event from not occurring. It happens rarely, but this can't be prevented by modifying the timeline. It's inevitable. We have to find other ways."

"What if we move your population to our Earth?" Harry? Larry? The guy in red spandex asked.

"More than half out Earth's population have doppelgangers in yours. It will mess with the balance of your universe. We can't move them. How about finding an empty universe?"

"Kara is out looking for one, but every Earth we found was either ruined or full. That's too long a shot, I don't think we'll find one in time."

"Well, theoretically-" Brainy hesitated - "My ancestors had a way of...dealing with planets that disagreed with them. They would shrink them down and have them as trophies."

"We can't shrink the planet, the gravitation of the solar system would collapse and we would fall into the sun." Lena muttered distractedly, fiddling with her pen.

"Let's not do that. Any luck contacting Superman?"

"Radio silence. The radiation is messing with communications."

"We could push it through a wormhole, or a portal, but-"

"The comet will be here before we could begin to build it. What if we transport our people to a different planet?"

"Seven billion people on a different planet without nearly enough food and water?"

"Or maybe into a space station?"

"We have four days. To transport seven billion people. And essential items."

"Yeah, that's not gonna work either."

"Okay, let's keep at it guys." Alex clapped her hands together. "There IS a way, we just don't know it yet."

***

Yeah, there was no other way. The days went by in a whirl. They came up with theory after theory, but it was too late. Their world was going to end. Nothing can stop it.

During the last day, Alex ordered every non-Earth-38 person off the universe. And even though there was some resistance, everyone sombrely agreed it was the best move.

A surprising lot of friendships were made that week. World-ending threats tend to do that, apparently. Lena personally never wanted to experience Nia and Zari Tarazi try to cook a pizza together ever again. They almost blasted the dough halfway across the DEO building and into the miniature Nuclear Reactor.

Lena would never, not in a million years, ever admit it; but she wanted what they had.

She couldn't fathom that comfort, that mutual understanding of trust that Nia shared with Zari. How did they build it? How could they rely on it, when they had been strangers only a week ago? How could you share your secrets, yourself, with someone who could potentially turn against you, someone who could be lying through their teeth like Eve was, someone who might hate you just because of a name that you can't change?

Not that anything could be done now. It was too late.

They were gathered at the DEO training facility off-city to say their final goodbyes, except Lena was at L-Corp. It took her a while to accept it, but this time it was real. There was no hail mary, no high stake final masterplan left in her. She was going to die, along with her planet.

So it was the perfect time to break out her finest bottle of scotch.

The L-Corp building was deadly silent. Any other day, Lena would have enjoyed it. The building was almost never fully empty, with the security team and the journalists and the interns who never sleep. Today it put her on edge.

Because she did this. Lena caused all this, it was Lena's fault. She was the reason-

'Alex.'

The tiny blue screen lit up on her desk, ringing insistently. The tech mogul was almost relieved that something interrupted.

The silence. Interrupted the silence.

Lena brought it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Lena!? Where the hell are you?" For a second, Lena relished the panic in Alex's voice. Of course, it probably was over the world ending, but she wanted to pretend that it was over Lena. That Alex actually cared about her.

"What do need me to do, Director Danvers?" Her voice was meant to be posh and clipped as always, but it came out slightly more drunk than she wanted it to.

"Wha-Nothing! I just couldn't find you anywhere so I thought I'd check up on you." Aww, Alex. You don't need to pretend, everything is gonna go to shit anyway.

"Is Sam still there?"

"Uh- Yes. Yeah, she's here. Do you want to talk to her?"

"Nooo." Lena considered it. "No, definitely not."

"Lena, are you drunk?"

Lena exhaled loudly. "Why did you call me, Director?"

"Because the universe is ending!" Lena cringed away from the phone. That was too loud for her sleep-deprived brain.

"I don't see your point." She huffed back.

"Goddammit. Look, Kara and I will keep looking for a solution, you don't need to worry, okay? You know she never gives up. Nia and the others-"

"Please just stop." Lena begged.

"I-Stop?" Lena could picture Alex's face. She hated that she did.

"I don't care! About anything, anymore. Just leave me alone. Goodbye, Alex."Sorry I pulled so much shit.

Lena switched it off and chucked it across the room, onto her couch. It bounced over the cushions and fell over.

She was alone, now.

"Hope?"

"Greetings, miss Luthor. What can I do for you today?" Hope was always here. Lena's only constant companion through everything. Even if it did wear the face of her traitor friend.

"You understand that this will be the last day?"

"Yes, miss Luthor-"

"Lena. Call me Lena."

The robot cocked its head to the side. Why did Lena program it so life-like?

"Lena. Would you like for me to call anyone else?"

"No, thank you. How long is it now?"

"Seventeen minutes and three seconds."

Lena cradled her head. It felt like her brain was swimming in the alcohol. At least she won't have to feel this tomorrow.

"Execute terminal orders and shut down, please."

"Executed. Goodbye, Miss Luthor."

The hologram blinked off. Lena swirled the last of the scotch in her glass. It didn't taste nearly as good as she hoped. She set it down in distaste.

God, this was all her doing, wasn't it?

If only Lex could see her now, pushing everyone away, alone and lonely on top of the empire that was built by her psychopathic family. Everything he said that day was true.

And it was all Lena's fault. Because she chose to trust Kara. She chose her new family. She wanted that. She craved that. Even when she knew she could never have it. She's always craved that. This wonderful 'family' she could love with all her heart. They would have been her people, they would love her no matter her last name. They would support her through hell and back. She fucking fantasized about how they would be there for her every birthday, about how she would shower them with love and affection, about game nights and road trips. She didn't give a shit about romantic, platonic, she just wanted someone to be there at the airport when she comes back from month-long expeditions through Europe.

It all seems so naive now. She was still here, on top of an empty building, because of her choices. Because of her stupid, stubborn pride. She must have chosen this, right? This is what she wanted. To be alone. Sixteen minutes from the world ending. She had chosen to be alone, bitter, angry at herself for doing what she had done.

Fuck, no.

But it was too late. Too late to accept her family, too late to enjoy them. Too late to save the world. Too late to apologize.

Too-fucking-late.

Fuuuuuuck, she messed up. What she wouldn't give to go back in time, find her younger self and...eughh. Berate her? Explain? Mug her? Lena had no idea.

This scotch tastes like shit.

Why is time so slow?

Tick.

Tock.

Her life is shit. She would like a refund.

Tick.

The alcohol is really getting to her brain, cause she found that funny.

Toc-

The entire floor rattled when the door flies open behind her. *

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Oh hey, Sam. You did come.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She crossed her arms, raising one brow at her CFO.

"Lena, no." Sam stomped over and wretched the glass away from Lena.

"Goddammit, leave me alone, Sam!" Why I am so shitty all the time Sam?

"No." She repeated firmly.

"What?"

"No. I should have done this a long time ago when I first got back here. I'm not leaving you alone, I'm not letting you drink yourself to death. I'm not let you wallow in your misery when the world is fucking ending and you still stubbornly refuse to put down your pride. I'm not leaving!"

She walked over to Lena's hidden break room and poured the scotch down the sink.

"But I-"

"No. Listen, you dumbass. You've been through some horrible, messed-up shit. Your brother almost destroyed the world multiple times. Your mother was a narcissistic fucking psychopath. I cannot even begin to understand how you feel most of the time. Having every move scrutinized by the world, feeling like you can't trust anyone."

"I trust you."

Sam paused. "I-What?"

"I trust you, Sam. You may be the only person who I can be myself around right now. And-And I know that isn't fair to you, me having constant breakdowns. I keep you from your life and Ruby and I hate it-"

"Lena!" Sam takes her hand. "You can always tell me about it. Everything. And I won't lie, helping you through your trauma isn't easy, especially since you refuse to meet a therapist. But that doesn't mean you can keep everything to yourself. It means that your pain, it matters to me. It is a piece of you that you have shared with me, and it isn't going to fucking evaporate the second I know about it. You matter. Your trauma matters. To me, and to everyone at the DEO. I want to help you." She inhaled deeply.

"And I can't promise that everything is going to be fine, I don't even know if we'll exist an hour from now, but I can tell you this. You don't deserve all this pain. That doesn't mean you don't have it. You are not responsible for what your family did, and you are not responsible for your mother's death. You don't deserve to die alone and at odds with everyone you love."

"Sam, but I-"

"And I'm sorry, I know Kara and the others messed up. But they love you. They are your family now. And I can't watch you punish yourself over this. Lena, it's time to let go."

Tears lined Lena's eyes. "I can't do it, Sam!"

"You can."

"I can't! I trusted Kara with everything. I shared every piece of me with her. Love and family were supposed to cure me! I made myself completely powerless, I was vulnerable, and she threw it back at my face. I cannot make that mistake again!"

"It's not fucking magic, Lena! Love isn't a cure-all. It doesn't mean everything bad that ever happened disappears! It only means that you aren't alone in your fight. Family and friendship, it  takes work! You have to see them, and they have to see you. And Kara and the others, they love you!"

"If they fucking love me so much, why do they keep hurting me? Why am I the only one who gets lied to?!"

"It not that fucking simple! Everyone there has their own stuff. We're fucking terrified all the time. And now everything we ever feared is happening, and we can't even fucking be together!"

"What, now you're on their side?!" Lena heard the words spill out her head as messily as she felt, drenched in bitterness and insecurity. "Should've known that you would turn on me too."

Regret fills her immediately, but Lena drops Sam's hand like a searing pan.

Fuck.

"How can you think that?" Sam's voice was quiet now. Her eyes, Lena realized, were also filled with tears.

This is it. This is the moment I chase away the last person who's ever cared for me. One last screw over that will be wiped after the comet hits. One more mistake in my endless list.

Sam raised her arms. Lena reflexively leaned back, her heart hammering against her chest. Shit. She knew how this goes. She's seen enough fights between Lillian and Lionel end. She could hear the resonating crack from almost two decades ago. Lionel might have loved Lena, but he wasn't all that kind to Lillian.

You deserve this. You failed. You failed to protect yourself,  failed to protect the universe. You are never going to be enough. You failed both your families, you failed yourself.

Warmth burst around her. Sam wrapped her arms around Lena.

What in the world... why was Sam hugging her?

Shit, this feels nice.

"Sam?"

"There are no sides, Lena. That's the whole point. You are a part of this family, and we will fight like hell to keep it that way." Sam stroked her hair. "We aren't perfect, we are flawed, we hurt each other. But we aren't alone. We love fiercely, and we have each other's back. We take care of our own. And you are one of us. We love you. We are here if you accept us."

Lena sniffled against Sam's shirt. A fierce rush of gratitude rushed through her. Sam has always been her rock, her constant for almost six years now. She's had her back so many times. Her best friend.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Sam." Lena sobbed. "Shit, it's too late. I can't fix everything. I messed up. I messed the whole thing up-"

"Hey. There's still time." Sam drew back and swiped at her eyes. "You can still call Alex. We have... seven minutes left."

Lena nodded, biting her lip.

"Thank you, Sam."

She shakily dialed her phone.

"Alex?"

***

"Hi! Aunt Lena!" A little bundle of joy crawled into Lena's lap and gave her a hug.

Ruby.  She always meant a lot to Lena. Maybe because Lena never really had an aunt while she grew up. Maybe because her hugs were made of pure love; because Ruby is the most wonderful little human Lena ever met. Maybe because there was no tension, no tears involved. Ruby felt like hugging Lena, so she did.

It was the first time Lena cracked a smile in over a year.

"Hello, little monkey. Did you eavesdrop our whole fight?" She mussed her hair.

"Hey! I'm fourteen now. Not so little anymore." She carefully flattened her hair down. "And I know what swear words are, Auntie."

"Do you, now?"

"Yes!" She huffed. "Mom said she's making Mac and Cheese. She said your fridge was full of atrocious rabbit fodder and she hid about seventy percent of your kale." Ruby's voice dropped low and she whispered conspiratorially. "It's behind the eggs, don't tell her said that. Not that we'd be needing it anymore." She glanced sadly at the red skies.

"Are you okay, little monkey?"

"Aunt Lena, is there really no way to destroy the comet?" Ruby asked her.

Lena's heart broke. At that moment, she would've given anything to be back in her lab three weeks ago when they first found the comet. To have found a way out of this catastrophe.

She smiled sadly at Ruby. "I'm sorry, monkey. There's nothing we can do."

How do you tell a child that you failed her, that the entire world was gonna burn? That they were all going to die?

"It's okay, Aunt Lena. I love you." She kissed Lena on the cheek.

The elevator bell dinged and Lena could hear the doors open with a hiss. Her's mouth got just a little dry.

"I'm going to go help mom with the cheese. You should talk to them."

"Wait, Ruby-" she was gone. Great.

Lena exhaled shakily and got to her feet.

Here goes. Oh god. Why did I do this? This is a bad idea, shit. Shit, shit, shit. They still hate me why did I call them, they- Alex.

It was Alex. Suddenly, it wasn't the monsters that she was facing. It was Alex and Kelly and Nia and Brainy. Her family.

Alex stumbled forward first. "Lena, I-" She interrupted herself by crashing into Lena-"I'm so fucking sorry. I should've told you when the whole thing with Reign happened, but then Kara told me that she had to work things out between you and Supergirl, and then I lost my memories for a while-" Lena realized with a jerk that Alex was sobbing against her shoulder.

"-I feel like such an awful friend." Alex's voice cracked.

"Ale-Alex! Hey, it's okay." And for the first time, Lena really meant it. "I'm sorry too. I just felt-"

"Betrayed. I know. I'm sorry." She repeated, stepping away from Lena. She gave Lena a small smile. Smaller, but much like the one she gave Lena the first time they met in Kara's apartment. Tired, but it gives off so much warmth that Lena could feel it. It reminded Lena of all the times they spent together. All the days when they made small explosions in her lab and teamed up for game night.  When Alex took her to self-defense classes and showed her fancy tricks with her guns. She was Lena's best friend. She is.

"Brainy, Nia." God, it felt good to- Lena couldn't even describe it. She missed this. Her friendship with Brainy was one of the few things she treasured most in the world. He was the only one who could ever match her intellect, her best lab partner. Her friend. And to the lonely twelve-year-old genius from the Luthor family, that was everything. And Nia was one of the bravest people Lena knew, unafraid to be herself and face the world. Fighting every day for the greater good. And she was more than that, she was the one who taught Lena that she didn't have to hide who she was. Lena will be a Luthor her entire life. She just had to embrace it. Or as Nia had framed, quite eloquently; 'own it.'

Kelly, and her crazy therapy skills. Lena regretted not spending more time with her. She was such a wonderful person. Kelly was the silent rock of their group, Lena could see that now. She was always there and she knew exactly what to say. In Lena's eyes, she was magical. So determined in supporting her friends through everything. The sweetest, most bad-ass person out of them all.

Shit, Lena was crying now.

"No more little boxes, Lena." Brainy whispered in her ear, and she giggled. Even Lena was surprised by that.

He was right. No more boxes. She has three minutes left to live and she wasn't going to crush herself with the weight of her stupid boxes.

There was still one more person-

"Kara. I'm sorry Lena, she- couldn't make it." Alex squeezed her shoulder. "Barry's Earth- they don't have a Kara. She can live there and not disintegrate. I told her to go with him. I'm sorry, Lena."

Lena's lungs filled with lead.

"Yes, of course." Lena's voice sounded far away even to herself. "She deserves to live there, in peace. I'm sorry, excuse me."

Something akin to panic swelled over her. Anxiety? Sorrow? Feelings were not Lena's strong suit. Panic attacks, unfortunately, she's already dealt with. She backed away from the room, almost knocking Sam over in the process. "Uh- Bathroom."

The door slammed behind her, and Lena splashed her face with cold water.

She would never get to apologize, she would never even get to see Kara again. Her best friend. Her soulmate. And now, she would die without Kara knowing- knowing that-

Because Lena only ever hated herself. She could never,ever hate Kara.

She curled into a ball on the floor, trying to physically hold herself together so she didn't fall apart. She couldn't fall apart, not right now. Her heart was racing and her breathing was short and distressed.

"Lena? Open the door." Alex's voice, carried in through the door.

"I-I'll be right out!" Even Lena knew they won't buy it. She could hear her voice crack with emotion.

"Lena? You don't have to go through this alone, I just told you that." Her voice was soft, and Lena chose to listen.

"I know it's hard. I know you miss her, and I can't imagine what it must feel after everything that happened between you and Kara. It was difficult for me too. I'm leaving her alone, just like everyone else in her life. I'm leaving her and her world is ending again, and we can't do anything about it. I hate it. I broke my promise. She doesn't deserve this pain, and you don't either."

The door creaked open. Suddenly it was Alex surprised by the hug.

"Alex, I'm so sorry."

"Lena." Alex wrapped her arms around the small brunette. "Trust me, she knows. She knows that you love her."

Lena sniffed and pulled back.

"That's just it, Alex." Lena's voice grew softer. "She doesn't know that I'm in love with her."

"You're in love with me?" A small, hopeful voice echoed from the back of the room.

The blonde superhero stepped forward with the sunny smile Lena loved. "Sorry I'm late but, I bought emergency Potstickers." She waved a bag at the rest of them.

"Kara-" The word was out of her mouth before she realized it, but then it was Lena in Kara's arms and nothing else mattered. She buried her head in the Kryptonian's shoulders.

"Hey." Kara tucked a strand of hair behind Lena's mismatched eyes, and Lena fucking melted.  "You know, I've been doing some research." Her voice was low and breathy.

"Oh yeah?" Lena's eyes shined as bright as the red skies outside. Kara thought she could see the whole galaxy in her them.

"I think I finally know what Quantum Entanglement means." She rested her forehead against Lena's and smiled softly.

Lena's heart was racing. She reached up and caught Kara's lips in hers.

"I love you too, Lena."

***

"System error. Terminal order simulation failed."

Lena gasped and fell to her knees.

"Redirect operations to internal systems." She gasped, tears streaming down her face.

Just a few more, a few more minutes. Please. I need to hold her. I need to be held by her.

"Simulation failed."

"No! No, no, no. Please. Try again." Lena fumbled with her screen.

"Simulation failed."

"TRY AGAIN, GODDAMMIT." Lena cried, her voice full of raw emotion.

"Simulation failed. Shutting down. Thirty seconds left in final countdown."

"NO! I SAID FUCKING TRY AGAIN!"

"Twenty-five seconds."

The air was getting hotter. She could already see the streaks of green and red raining down from above outside Kara's window.

"Nooo." She sobbed. "Please, I need to see them. I need to hold her. Please." She crumpled on the floor, holding Kara's green hoodie in her hand. The last piece of her Lena had. The worst part is, Kara wasn't dead. Just lost forever, to Lena.

"Ten seconds."

"Please."

"Five seconds."

"I don't want to be alone." She whispered.

.

.

.

Here's my twitter, go yell at me. https://twitter.com/Keroessa24

[glamrockmonarch]

The Land That Our Grandchildren Knew (B!Reader x Brian May)

THIS WORK IS PART OF THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE

Requested: NO

Type: SFW, FLUFF ?, ANGST.

Summary: A little glance at life back to normal after Brian and B!Reader get over the cheating scandal.

Warnings: None.

A/N: So this came out of nowhere in my mind. I have struggled with being creative for a while and I just do not know why(?) but here we are! I hope someone out there enjoys reading this one.

*For anyone who does not remember (lol it has been a while): B!Reader (often B!R) is "Brian!Reader", and R!Reader (or R!R) is "Roger!Reader".

“The one thing he did not know was how much I loved him. In a previous life, in a time when things were so much more complicated. When war was splitting us apart and leaving us breathless. Motionless in a world of aggressive turmoil. There was little we could do when everything was amiss. All around us things were blowing up, giving in upon themselves the buildings fell, and the cities died along with their lights and spectacles.

“The love I grew and nurtured for him was the last reminding power of the old Earth, scattered through the cosmos like dust as I searched for him in a ridiculous journey. I did not meet a king in a tiny planet, and I never saw a rose grow on the dry lands of the foreign space countries. We had each other but time made it so that I was here today while he was here yesterday. Today was never ours, today was a promise we believed and ate up and followed with blind eyes until the moment when the sound of truth, deafening and cruel, locked us out of each other’s life. And still, forever, my love for him is true and enduring. Out there, I know he will feel my presence in the air, see me in the clouds, savour me in the smell of rain and grass. He will miss me when the night is cold, and the sound of wind reminds him of my voice… Yes, he will be empty when he hears the silence, the way I will always feel too when I look back at Earth and regret every second spent away from the one who called me Venus.”

The crowd claps and smiles and I see the people in the front look at the books in their hands with expressions of confusion and deep thought. A good reason to write something is to make people wonder, so for B!Reader this one was a success. She had taken so long to finish the manuscript, not that she was being lazy; with the scandal of Brian cheating and the twins taking sides, it was hard to focus on this. This book was not what she intended on writing when she began doing research for it. It started with the Irish War of Independence, she went around Britain meeting historians with much better understanding and knowledge on the topic. It soon turned upside down when the news appeared on every single form of media… Brian’s stunt. She would call it what it was now; he had cheated.

It was hard to get over it. B!Reader took time off with her mother in Scotland, she had taken the kids with her, much to Brian’s displeasure, but he was in no position to complain. When she came back home, she was still defeated by the details. Brian’s lame explanation sounded more like an excuse but even she had to admit that her husband did not have the best track record when it came to women. She was probably the one he had been the most loyal to at that point – even when he had cheated on her once.

So, she tried. They sought professional help. A therapist. First couple’s therapy, and then one-on-one sessions alone. She hated every second of it, which could not have been fun to hear for their therapist. Nothing seemed to be helping, in fact B!Reader talked to a lawyer in secret… but her career was also on the line at that point, and she was desperate for ideas, desperate to reconnect with the only man she ever truly and completely loved. Her manager had the idea, “read some of Brian’s stuff, maybe ask him about his PhD work, maybe he will inspire you and if he doesn’t at least you will have spoken to each other… it’s worth a try”. And so B!R did that, although not in the way her manager had meant. She was stirring her on the direction of reading some of his lyrics not his space dust thesis… Nevertheless, the story began there.

B!R could not understand much, and she wound up spending a lot of time talking about physics and space with her husband. Brian was a patient teacher, she already knew that, but it was now being confirmed to her. He was also happy to be able to go on and on for hours, the topics where his cup of tea, and they had numerous cups of tea too while B!R took notes and began toying with a historical fantasy mix for her next book.

Today she was reading from her favourite chapter in the book. It had been a massive hit; one she could not quite understand. If she was being honest, the book was more like therapy for her than her actual therapy sessions had been. She cried while writing it and poured a lot of emotion into it, which she rarely did. Her writing had always been more …impersonal, presented almost as a sort of biography of fictional characters rather than real moving parts of the imaginary world they were living in.

She had never written such an odd story before, with time skips and a weird space journey concepts implanted in the middle of 1920 Ireland.

“You did great, mum.” A proud Fred wrapped his arm around her middle.

Even though the teen boy was still that, a teenager, he managed to already stand a couple centimetres taller than his own mother.

“Thank you love, did you get anything of that?” She wondered, wrapping her arm around him in the familiar way a mother does.

Arm around his shoulder, soft play of the tender fingers on the dark curls on the back of the head of her “little boy”.

“Nothing at all,” he smiled and shrugged, honesty dripping in shameless glee from his tone. “But that’s the cool part, I don’t think anyone gets it.” The younger of the twins looked at his mother up and down in her bright blue dress. “Except Dad. Was that the point?”

B!Reader looked at her son and inhaled a deep long breath, which she held for a moment. Her brows furrowed and her mouth moved like that of a fish.

“Maybe.” She conceded.

“Hey mum, would you sign my book?” Harry interrupted, bringing along Jazz and a peculiarly uninterested Max.

Harry gave his mother a wide smile and put a copy of her own book in her hands.

“For Harry, please.”

“Dork,” Max rolled his eyes.

He was the only one to admit he had not finished the book yet the previous weekend when Fred mentioned his mother was doing a reading at a local bookstore while they sat by the Taylor’s pool. And he rushed to get through it. Max was not dumb, and he managed to grasp some of the concepts in the complicated plot, although he did not let on to any of his friends.

“Loved the wormhole bits Mrs May.” Max said once Harry had his signed copy reading for Harry with Love. “That dark hole and the speed of dark and light near the end were mind-blowing. I never thought of you as a fantasy writer!”

B!Reader nodded and blushed at the compliments. Max was a lot like Roger in that he did know how to make a girl blush with what appeared to be little effort.

“I am glad you liked it,” she said, a trace of pride in her voice.

“I really wish Darragh and Conor had ended up together,” Jazz voiced from around Harry’s tall lean and awkward teen figure. “They were obviously meant for each other.”

Fred had been in tears when he read the ending of the book. Of course, he would have hoped for his mother’s first queer paring to end together but what that did was echoing life.

“You have to be the eighth person who’s said that to me today.”

R!Reader, Roger and Brian were in a conversation of their own next to the long table B!Reader was about to sit before to meet some fans and sign as many copies of her book as time allowed.

She eyed the silver hair on her husband’s hair, she had been discreet when describing Darragh in her book. A tall, talented, middle-aged, idealist Irish man. A man born in a difficult time. A man who fell in love by mistake, with Conor. A young man described often as immature, who enjoyed a quiet life on board of a spaceship when he got caught up in a black hole and wound up going back hundreds of years and miles into the past. Conor had almost been killed in his attempts of helping his beloved Darragh in fighting what he considered to be hiswar. The battles gave their relationship meaning, although it was never spoken about between them. The adoration was always palpable and present to the last page. Down to the moment when Conor acknowledges that his lover cannot come with him once he finds the way back into his ship, and then it turns into a matter of will. Darragh is revealed to have a similar story, only that… he was left stranded in 1905 with no way back to his ship. “The voice of Venus” was really a metaphor for B!Reader. A complicated one, as her feelings were when she had to love the man who broke her heart. She felt lost the way Conor felt, but she could tell Brian had been lost for a while before the entire ordeal – defeated in the same manner as Darragh. And it was fitting, he was older, he was educated. He should have known better than to play in the physics lab with those dangerous materials. Brian should have known better than to play with that old woman. Conor could have turned his back on Darragh, he knew he was of no help now that he was so invested in the past – now their present. He knew Darragh and himself would never be able to be together if he stayed and they would most likely get killed if they marched on. So B!Reader made them split. She was about to leave Brian when she started writing her book, so it made sense. And when she realised, she did not want to end her marriage, she still wrote it that way because this was the ending she had seen coming for herself before – one she fortunately managed to evade, which still was the ending for many couples.

B!Reader watched the teens as they began discussing the book, Max and Jazz were defending the plot, Fred joined in and the three of them seemed to be getting passionate about proving Harry wrong. The eldest of the group was stubborn about his stance on Conor being right to leave Darragh.

His mother could not help but remember that same stubbornness from the first few weeks after the story broke. Harry had been the one to take it the hardest. When they packed for Scotland, she had to stop him from shattering his project guitar, the yellow guitar he and Brian had been working on for a while. “I don’t want it! I do not want anything from him! He is a liar!” He had yelled, with the side of his face still reddened from a slap he received from Brian. She still could not believe she managed to stay impartial at that moment after the mess that had happened in the kitchen when Harry insulted his father – earning a slap from him.

“It’s alright,” B!Reader placed her arm around the twins’ shoulders. “Conor had to go back anyway. He had a family in the spaceship.”

“What?” Jazz was the first one to open her mouth.

With a laugh, the young writer looked at the confused faces around her. “He could never stay…” She shrugged.

Harry’s expression flashed with a difficult emotion, which both Jazz and his mother noticed.

The short girl flipped her long blonde hair and checked the time on her phone, “no wonder I’m hungry! Who’s coming?” Her blue eyes searched around in an almost innocent manner.

“You got to be joking, we JUST ate.”

Max stepped back from his sister and Fred followed, “sorry, I told dad I’d get lunch with him.”

Blue eyes flipped onto Harry’s figure. B!Reader gave him a squeeze and let go, the sigh he let out being enough of an answer for Jazz to show a large smile, reaching out to grab his hand and pull her to her side. It almost seemed a pass of the baton.

The boy walked taller than Jazz and still, it looked like he was the smaller child. She was sure they had been doing a good job as parents, although that slipdid a number on Harry. The curly haired boy pulled the glass door open and let Jazz go first, only to have her childishly cling on to his arm once they were outside, a smile breaking his serious expression when his young friend told him something – they were too far for B!Reader to make out what Jazz said.

“Where are those two going?” Brian walked up to her.

He had a cardboard cup of coffee in his hand, which he offered to her. With a mumble she took it and had a testing sip – it was too bitter, but it would do. “Nando’s. Probably.” She gave her husband a soft smile.

Brian nodded in silence, a reflective look on his face.

“He needs some time, Bri.” She guessed what he was thinking about.

“It’s been a year,” he said with caution.

“He is getting over it, love.” She took a step closer to Brian and whispered, “he’s picked up the guitar again.” They shared a look before someone called for B!Reader and she left her husband with a peck on the cheek.

[let-it-raines]

your wonder under summer skies (13/18)

Summer in Storybrooke, Maine means one thing for its residents: tourist season. This year, for Emma Swan and Killian Jones, it means relationships ending and friendships changing all the while they attempt to figure out just what their relationship is. It’s somewhere straddling the line between friends and lovers, and there’s no guarantee of a soft landing if they fall into new territory.

rating: mature

ao3: beginning | current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 

-/-

“Okay, so I would recommend doing a buffet. I know a lot of people stupidly think that’s tacky, but it’s not. That way you have a constant flow of food and people aren’t sitting down waiting. The one thing you don’t want is people tapping their foot waiting for you two to be done with pictures so they can eat.”

“Do pictures take that long?” Liam asks.

“Oh my God, Liam,” Anna sighs through the phone, “we have been over this. Yes, pictures do take that long. This is a special day, and you’re going to want to remember it from every possible angle. Plus, you have to have pictures with family and friends, and it’s not a simple thing with a one, two click. Don’t you ever listen? I feel like you have to listen. You better be listening when my sister is trying to talk to you. She deserves a man who listens.”

“Anna, take a breath,” Elsa sighs.

“I don’t know how you’re planning a wedding with this man. I feel like I have to keep repeating myself.”

“You know,” Emma murmurs, rolling her eyes at Elsa, “there is also the option to have all of the pictures done before the actual ceremony. A lot of couples are doing that now. You can have private time with each other so that Liam isn’t seeing Elsa for the first time in front of all of these people, and it can also streamline the time between the ceremony and the reception.”

“But that first look during the ceremony is so special!” Anna whines. “You don’t want to miss out on that!”

Elsa looks up from her phone to look at Liam, and they seem to have some kind of silent conversation. Emma meets with different couples several times a week, sometimes several times a day, and while she’s used to there being questions and disagreements, she’s not used to have the bride’s professional event planner sister asking a million and two questions over FaceTime.

It’s fine, really. Anna is lovely, but she’s a lot to deal with. Emma is so used to spending time with Elsa and it being calm and soothing, so this is throwing her for a bit of a loop.

At least Liam is being nice. He’s been…kinder lately. Emma should question it when he usually likes to be a bit of an ass to her, but she’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Why did she just think that phrase?

Why is that even a phrase to begin with? Who is look a horse in the mouth? Why is it a gift?

“I think taking pictures before the actual ceremony sounds nice,” Elsa finally says, “and so does the buffet. Do you have servers or is it self-serve?”

“We have servers so people aren’t sticking their hands in the food.”

“Perfect. Can you remind me again of the contingency plan for if it rains?”

Elsa and Liam spend another forty-five minutes talking about different options and scenarios with Emma, most of that time spent talking with Anna and listening to plans, but eventually, they’ve covered everything they can and are ready to leave. Emma’s got an appointment with another couple in fifteen minutes, so when Elsa and Liam walk out of her office, she expects them to walk away and go back to work.

She decidedly does not expect Liam to linger around.

“Did you forget something?” Emma laughs, leaning against her doorframe.

“Oh, nothing big. Elsa simply forgot to ask if you were going to bring a date. Anna’s got her obsessing over making sure the envelopes are all addressed correctly, and for some reason she was tripping up over yours.”

“I promise you that I will not be weirdly offended if you guys give me an envelope that says Emma Swan instead of Emma Swan and guest. And tell her not to stress about that stuff. If someone gets offended over how an envelope is addressed, you probably don’t want them at your wedding to begin with.”

Liam chuckles and leans down against the arm of the chair that sits outside she and Mary Margaret’s office. “So, no date?”

“Eh, I don’t know. I’ve still got a month. Maybe I’ll magically fall in love again. Or at least meet a cute guy who would look good on my arm. Or, hey, maybe I can take Killian. He’s a good dancer, would be a hell of a wedding date. I feel like we should probably be each other’s default wedding dates at this point, you know?”

Liam’s smile falters, but it’s just for a second. If she wasn’t used to having to try to read him, she wouldn’t have noticed because just as quickly as it falters, the smile reappears. “He’s seeing someone, you know, so who knows? He might take her.”

“The same someone?” Emma asks before she can stop herself.

“I think so. You still don’t know who she is? I mean – you know, never mind. I told Killian I would stop interfering with his personal life, and I meant it. I can’t keep going behind his back and trying to get information from his friends.”

Emma arches a brow, and she takes a deep breath. Her heart is racing all of the sudden, and she desperately needs it to calm down.

Is this why Liam is being nicer? Because he and Killian had some kind of talk about Liam being too much into Killian’s business? She knew they got into an argument, but how does that translate to her?

Fuck.

Did Killian tell Liam that she was the one he was sleeping with?

No, no, that wouldn’t make sense. Then Liam wouldn’t be asking her if she knew who it was. He can be invasive, but he’s not about to go all FBI or something on her. And Killian wouldn’t do that. It’s against their rules.

“I think that’s probably a good idea on your part,” Emma sighs, pushing off the doorframe. “I don’t know if I’m bringing a date or not yet. Tell Elsa to stop freaking out over the little things, and if Anna gets to be too much, I’m always here to talk about the practical side of things.”

“Thank you for all of this, by the way.”

“It’s my job, but I’m happy to do it. Now go, Elsa is waiting on you, and I’m sure Killian is tired of manning the office by himself.”

“Please,” Liam laughs, “he and Skipper are probably enjoying the silence.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t going to say that. I’m technically supposed to keep my clients happy. Once I’m off the clock, though, all bets are off.”

“I understand. Goodbye, Emma.”

“Bye.”

Emma waves him away, and as soon as he turns the corner down the hall, she sees her next couple. They’re early. They almost always are, and she thinks they might have the same enthusiasm as Anna does…if not more since they ask for yet another tour of the entire grounds because they’re just not sure of what exactly it is that they want yet.

It takes some kind of herculean strength not to scream since this is the fifth tour she’s given them, and their wedding isn’t until next July.

That’s a year that she has to deal with them.

A year.

Why does she do this again?

Oh, yeah, because most days it’s not that bad, and she usually doesn’t go down the wormhole that is thinking the entire wedding industry is a sham and wondering why people get married in the first place.

Is it for the wedding or the actual marriage?

For at least half of her clients, it’s only for the wedding. She’s obviously not some kind of expert on healthy relationships and only does this because she isn’t qualified to do much else that will pay her this well, but at least she knows that it’s fucked up.

When she finally gets the Taylors out of the club, Emma sighs in relief.

And her stomach growls.

It’s the middle of the afternoon, but she hasn’t eaten all day. Damn, she could go for whatever it is they served for lunch in the dining halls today, even if it’s probably cold right now. Emma checks her phone to make sure she doesn’t have any emails or last-minute appointments, and then she heads down the hallways and through the nearly empty main dining room to get to the kitchen.

Her phone dings in her hand, and she stops walking to look at it.

Killian: Why is my brother asking you if you’re bringing a date to his wedding?

Emma: He said something about Elsa being worried about how to address the envelope.

Emma: Wait. How do you know about that?

Emma: Did he tell you that I said I was bringing you? Because I was joking? Kind of. I don’t actually have a date or plan on having one, but you would technically be the most fun date of anyone in the city.

Killian: Why, Swan, are you asking me out?

Emma: Shut up.

Killian: I would love to go with you, for what it’s worth. I promise I’ll be a better wedding date than your last one.

Emma: That’s not much of a bar you have to leap over.

Emma: Do you want to get dinner tonight? I get off at seven.

She waits for the little bubbles to pop up immediately like they have been, but they don’t. Emma doesn’t think anything of it and stuffs her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and starts walking toward the kitchen again only to see Neal and his dad sitting at the table closest the kitchen entrance.

Dammit.

She should have gone through the back doors, but this way was closer.

What the hell is he doing here?

This is where she works.

Yeah, it’s a public place (if you pay a ridiculous member’s fee, which they unfortunately pay), but something being a public place doesn’t mean he can show up whenever he wants to.

This is her space, not his. They broke up, and there’s got to be some kind of unwritten rule that he simply doesn’t show up to her place of work.

He’s already always at Granny’s, which is bad enough, and then there was the fair and the one time she saw him when she had to go to Target for some new pillows.

But this? This is different?

They could have lunch at fifty different places, and the asshole knows it.

He also knows that she’s just spotted him because he’s staring right at her.

Shit.

Does she turn around and walk away or does she walk straight toward them, ignore them, and then head into the kitchen where she hopes Neal has the decency not to follow her in?

Emma doesn’t really get to make the choice, though, because Neal is standing from his chair and walking right toward her, the smile she used to love plastered on his face.

Was it always that disturbing? Did it always look so much like his dad’s?

“Emma,” he calls out. She bites her tongue. She cannot say anything dumb here. It could get her fired. His family are members here, and she doesn’t think Regina is going to give her a pass because of her personal business with them. In fact, she knows that she won’t. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Wonderful,” Emma says. It’s not a lie. She’s not doing wonderful at this particular moment, but in general, she’s a lot better than she was the last time she was this physically close to him. “Are you enjoying your lunch? Is there anything that I can get you?”

His head tilts to the side, and his smile widens. “Oh, come on, Ems, you don’t have to be in work mode with me. We’re friends.”

Emma grits her teeth and takes another deep breath. She’s sure everyone in Storybrooke can hear them. Her dentist is going to be thrilled. “We are not friends, Neal. You ended any chance of that when you started sleeping with someone else and started working with your dad again. We’ve been over this, and I really don’t feel like repeating myself again.”

“You’re not still mad about that, are you?”

Seriously.

How is this the same man that she fell in love with? Was she blind to all of this? To how absolutely inconsiderate he is about so much?

“I don’t let you take up that much space in my head anymore, but you can’t honestly believe that I’m just going to forgive you for all that you did.”

His eyes roll. They actually roll.

He’s the one who fucked up, and he’s the one who is trying to act like they’re friends. Yet he’s also the one who’s exasperated by her pushback.

What an asshole.

“It’s not like you waited around long after you ended things before you started fucking Jones? And come on, you always told me there was nothing going on between the two of you, but that’s obviously bullshit.”

What the hell?

How does he…no, there’s no way that Neal could know. No one knows, and there’s no way Neal, who never paid any attention to the little things in her life, could know.

“I’m not sleeping with Killian,” she lies, “and even if I was, it would be none of your business since it would have happened after I left you.”

“I saw you two walking around at the fair, and he got fucking defensive over it when I suggested it to him. He didn’t say it, but come on, it’s pretty damn obvious.”

Emma swallows the lump in her throat so she can focus on her breathing. It’s the only thing she can focus on right now so she doesn’t punch Neal and knock all of his teeth out.

What an asshole.

How dare he confront Killian like that? Why did Killian not tell her?

You know what? It doesn’t matter why Killian didn’t tell her. What matters is that Neal is the worst.

“Neal,” she says slowly, her teeth grinding, “you lost any right to know who I am or am not sleeping with the moment you fucked someone else, so please, unless you need something from the club that only I can give to you, leave me the hell alone.”

He blinks, almost like he’s taken aback by her, and his smile falls.

Good.

“You don’t have to be a bitch about it.”

She opens her mouth, a curse at the tip of her tongue, but there’s a voice in the back of her mind that’s telling her this isn’t worth it. He’s not worth it. She’s got to stop letting him take up so much space in her head like she said she’s not. He doesn’t deserve it.

So, not for the first time, she walks away from Neal.

She walks away, knowing there’s only a half of a chance that he’ll bother to follow him, and she heads toward the kitchen. It means that she has to pass Neal’s dad, and she can feel his eyes on her.

The thing is, she doesn’t care.

That part of her life is over, and she’s not going to lie to herself and say that a part of her doesn’t still hurt and won’t hurt when she has to see Neal and Tamara, but she can’t keep dwelling on it.

This summer has been strangely good, and maybe it’s not all that strange since she’s cut Neal out of her life.

“Emma,” Harry, their head chef, exclaims when she walks into the kitchen, her heartbeat racing, “I’m just about to start dinner. Do you want something in particular?”

“What did we have for lunch? I can’t remember the schedule.”

“Pasta salad.”

“Do we have any of that left?”

“In the fridge. Feel free to help yourself.”

Emma picks up a cookie from the half-empty platter next to her. “You know that I will.”

“A cookie before dinner? Are we celebrating something?”

Emma laughs and takes another bite. “Just having a good day is all.” “Well, kid, I hope that continues for you.”

-/-

“Hello?” Emma calls out as she pushes open the front door of Jones Brothers’ Boating. The obnoxious as hell bell goes off, so everyone downstairs should be able to hear that someone has come inside, but no one comes out of any of the offices, not even Skipper.

Huh.

“Killian,” she says as she starts walking down the hallway. “KJ! Are you around?”

There’s still no answer, and when Emma checks the back offices, there’s no one in any of them. She decides to walk up the stairs to the apartment, but when she tries to turn the knob, she realizes that it’s locked.

She’s got a key, could easily let herself in, but if the apartment is locked, that means no one is home.

Where the hell are they?

Emma pulls her phone out of her back pocket and hits Killian’s name. It rings once, twice, several more times, and then his voicemail message comes up.

Well, damn.

This is probably why she should have called first, but Killian never texted her back about the two of them getting dinner. He’s almost always free, and if he isn’t, they’re usually plans she can join in on, but he’s obviously MIA tonight.

Emma swipes through her phone again and calls Elsa.

“Hello?” Elsa questions.

“Hey, Elsa. Have you heard from Killian today?”

“He’s in the back of the ice cream shop. Do you need him?”

“Why is he in the back?”

Elsa groans, and then Emma hears some kind of curse that definitely didn’t come from Elsa. “One of my machines broke today, and when Leroy couldn’t fix it, Killian said he’d give it a go. I don’t think it’s working out for him. Hold on. Let me get him for you.”

“Oh, you don’t have – ”

“Killian,” Elsa yells, her voice booming through the speakers, “Emma is looking for you.”

“Fuck,” he mumbles.

Well, that sounds pleasant.

“I’m pretty sure she could hear that,” Elsa laughs.

“Aye, I know. I didn’t text her back about dinner. Give me the phone.” There are a few hushed murmurings, and then Killian’s voice comes in clearer. “Sorry, love. I’m afraid I can’t get dinner tonight.”

“Oh, well, that’s okay. I’ll pick something up and bring it to Elsa’s.”

She hears him click his tongue, and she’s probably imagining things, but she swears that he’s silent for a few seconds too long. “You don’t have to do that. We can do it another night.” “It’s really not a problem. I’m at your place right now, anyways. I can get us salads from Zoey’s. Does that sound good to you?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s fine. I’m not really sure when I’ll have time to eat.”

“Well, maybe my brain power will help us figure out how to fix the machine.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“You okay?” Emma asks, suddenly worried she’s overstepping here.

Does he not want her to come over?

No, that would be ridiculous.

“I’m perfect, love,” Killian sighs, his voice audibly more upbeat now. “I’ll see you when you get here, aye?”

“Yeah, see you when I get there.”

-/-

Elsa’s store is a mess.

Well, the front is still perfect. All of the round tables are clean and perfectly in their spots, the black and white as classic as it always is, and Elsa is still serving customers and doing custom orders for cakes and birthdays. She’s on the phone when Emma walks in, but she smiles and nods to the door that leads to the back of the store.

It is decidedly not perfect.

Mostly because it looks like Killian has taken one of Elsa’s machines apart piece by piece and he has no idea how to put it back together.

His hair is pushed off his forehead, sticking in at least thirty-seven different directions, and his t-shirt is sticking to his skin from his sweat.

He might be the only person to ever sweat here since it’s usually the coldest place in town.

Elsa’s air-conditioning bill must be insane.

“Hey,” Emma greets, putting their salads down on the table and walking up to Killian, pressing up on her toes to kiss him. He doesn’t kiss back at first, but then he’s there, his lips softly sliding over hers while his hand settles on her hip, squeezing her. “I’ve come to your rescue with food and another set of hands.”

“You’re my savior, love.”

“I know.” She kisses him again, this time much briefer, before sitting down on one of the chairs Elsa keeps back here. “Where’s Liam? Why is he not helping?”

“I’m better with fixing things. He’s manning the shop.”

“No one was there when I stopped by.” “What time was that?”

“A little after seven.”

Killian nods and pulls his salad out of the bag. “He was taking Skipper out. Thanks for this, by the way.”

“Not a problem. You think you’re going to be able to fix this?”

“I think I’m nearly there. I’ve tested it out a few times, but it’s all been for naught. Elsa is going to bloody kill me if I keep giving her hope and then take it away.”

Emma pulls their salads out of the bag, taking the lid off hers and pouring some dressing on before putting the lid back so she can shake it. “She’s got the other machines, though. Can’t she still make flavors?”

“Aye,” Killian sighs as he starts tinkering with the machine, “and she’s got a pretty good stock of all of the flavors. It’s not an emergency, but she wanted me to look at it before she called someone to come fix it. It apparently does not come cheap.”

“Look at you coming to the rescue. Getting those brownie points.”

“And access to the freezer.”

“That will balance well with our salads.” Emma stabs some lettuce with her fork. “You will never guess who was dining at the club today.”

“Cindy Crawford.”

“What?” Emma laughs as she takes a bite. “Why would Cindy Crawford be there? Also, that is the most random guess.”

Killian pokes his head out from behind the machine. “You said to guess. You didn’t say it had to be reasonable.”

“Okay, a reasonable guess then.”

“August Booth.”

“No, but that would be interesting. Is he back in town?”

“I have heard the rumor. So, who was dining at the club today?”

“Neal.”

Killian drops whatever tool he’s using, and it bangs against ice cream maker before clattering against the floor and landing near her foot. “Fuck.”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Emma laughs, kicking the screwdriver back to him. “But, you know, it wasn’t that bad. He was an asshole, of course, but it felt kind of good telling him to fuck off. He told me he thought we were sleeping together, which he apparently told you at the fair.”

“Uh, yeah, he did mention that. I denied it, of course.”

“He was always jealous of you. I don’t know why, but he hated when we spent time together.”

“Well, love, I am devilishly handsome. That’s bound to make any man jealous.” Emma rolls her eyes. She can’t see Killian’s face, but she just knows he’s smirking. “None of our actual friends have picked up on it, so there’s no way in hell Neal actually would. He doesn’t pay enough attention to me, never has.” Emma takes another bite and slams her hand down on the table. “But you know what? I don’t care. He can do whatever he wants, because I’m moving on. I’m happy and busy and life is pretty damn good even if I do have to take you as my date to your brother’s wedding.”

She keeps eating, waiting for Killian to say something, to tease her really, but she just hears him muttering to himself as he keeps working.

“You’re still cool with that, right? I know you said you’d love to, but you know, if you start dating someone else, go with her. I don’t mind going by myself.”

Killian pops out from behind the machine and walks toward her, leaning over the table and placing a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead. “There is no one I’d rather go with than you, love.”

“You don’t have to. Seriously. You know our deal.”

His beard scratches over her forehead, and he pulls away. “I know. I’d still be honored to go with you.” He sits down across from her as he opens up his salad. She gets distracted watching him. The lighting in here is all fluorescents, and it shouldn’t be flattering, but Killian’s tan still shows up, his eyes are still ridiculously blue, and there’s still something so charming about his smile. She watches it as it falls into a flat line, almost curving down into a frown, but then she sees the curve tick upward. “I’m glad you’re happy, Emma. I’ve always wanted that for you.”

She nods, unsure of what to say. “You too, KJ. You know what would make me extra happy?”

“What?” “If you could steal me some of Elsa’s birthday cake ice cream later.”

“Your heart’s desire, love. That’s all I want you to have.”

-/-

-/-

tag list: @qualitycoffeethings​ @mrtinski​ @klynn-stormz​ @scarletslippers​ @jonirobinson64​ @snowbellewells​ @therealstartraveller776​ @thejollyroger-writer​ @sherifemma​ @galadriel26​ @galaxyzxstark​ @idristardis​ @karenfrommisthaven​ @teamhook​ @spartanguard​ @searchingwardrobes​ @jamif​ @shireness-says​ @ultimiflos​ @nikkiemms​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @onepunintendid​ @bluewildcatfanatic​ @superchocovian​ @killianswannn​ @carpedzem​ @captainkillianswanjones​ @mayquita​ @mariakov81​ @jennjenn615​ @onceuponaprincessworld​ @a-faekindagirl​ @scientificapricot​ @xellewoods​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @stahlop​ @kmomof4​ @tiganasummertree​ @singersdd​ @tornadoamy​ @cluttermind​ @lfh1226-linda​ @andiirivera​ @elizabeethan​ @captain-emmajones​ @csalltheway​ @itsfabianadocarmo​

[tothestarsandbackmoved]

Rant about interstellar

i have before but ill do it again!

interstellar touches me for many many reasons.

first off, the entire premise and setting and the world building in it. the dust storms, the failing crops. the protagonist does say at one point- "humanity was born on earth. they were never meant to stay here" and that just,,, hits me you know? presently we've seen the emergence of no human exploration besides the probes and the ISS. there are plans but the same curiosity just seems dead. interstellar stretches that and shows us what would happen when human curiosity and the desire to explore would die. we'd kill everyone on the planet and soon starve ourselves. the blights- the illnesses- the dead medicare- that's a very bleak future, but a very real one. the movie does both its part about scaring the viewer about it- as well as giving us hope about wormholes and quantum data and singularities and how we'd save ourselves. you can see that the old generation is talking about their days and how better or worse it would be. in the end, on the cooper satellites, you see the interviews being played- and it really breaks me. that was a generation that thought it was the end. the end of human life. the final descent and that was it. and then they see the five dimensions and getting lifted and their lives are essentially turned around. this isn't just the older people though. we see that the gen z then, like cooper's son have also mostly been brought up to *live*. we see that he tries to get into school and actually get into uni and find a job in one of the remaining sectors of the world which still offer something other than farm corn- raise family. You see that the teachers also say this? they teach them to fight blights and sustain crops because they’re losing more and more to disease each year. Humanity’s slowly being packed up and demolished and they aren’t seeing it coming. at all.

then there’s the quote which is recurring throughout the movie:

“do not go gentle into the good night”

the professor says this all the time. as they’re leaving- his last few dying words- as they’re preparing. and you know what? i’ll say it. this is where the next important theme comes in. Desperation. When he initially sends them out- he hasn’t solved gravity yet, and he knows he never will. Not without the quantum data from a black hole- something again, he can never get. Which is why he implies that there’s a Plan B and cooper can see murphy again (this is also very important- scroll down for this). He breaks all their trust- and he knows he’ll die before seeing the end of the mission- and you can’t die with guilt, not really. He knows that he can’t be held accountable because he’s dead. He’s well aware that his plan is a hail mary- and it wouldn’t have worked anyways. He’s counting on Plan B, and that’s all there is to it. He uses the quote as a reminder to himself- because he’s torn too. He isn’t inherently evil, at all. He’s the precarious thread the entire mission dangles by- but he’s willing to risk that too. He’ll be long, long dead before humanity dies- or moves- and this is his last try.

Now for the second part of this quote. As I talked about before- the quote feels more like a reminder to himself- and not actually something that inspires hope in the crewmates. But ironically, it ends up becoming what guides murph. As the professor is dying, she tells him “you’ve been doing this with both your arms tied behind your back”- that’s actually when she finds out about his whole plan. This is the failure of the professor- but at the same time, it becomes the moment he passes the torch to murph. The professor died, knowingly sending his own daughter into the reaches of space. He prioritized his need to save humanity over the love for his own daughter. But, murph isn’t like that. When she finds out about this, she remembers the promise her dad made to her.

“I’ll be back when you’re the age I am now”

and now, she knows he’s lied. But he hasn’t done it on purpose. and she understands that. She makes it HER goal that they don’t go gentle into the good night. She knows that this is probably futile, but she’s going to try. and she’s not going to try thinking that she’ll probably fail- like the professor did (in resignation for plan B)- she’s going to try to bring cooper back.

Third, coming back to desperation. A bold, bold act of desperation is what dr mann did. (I have some qualms about the actor playing estranged astronauts- anyways). Him sending out that sensor- knowing that it will bring humans back to him, while simultaneously jeopardizing the entire mission, and possibly the fate of humanity. He knows what he has done- but he has gone insane alone- and he’d betray his entire cause to see a human face again. This movie really says something about what humans are willing to do. On one hand, you have a woman who singlehandedly saves them all- for human love, and on the other, a man who is willing to commit genocide (that’s what i think it is, dont ask) to see someone else. He messes up everything, deliberately, and goes from “the greatest and bravest man to walk the earth” to a “cold and desperate villain”. This theme has a lot to do with what is happening right now too. Forgive the activism, but we do have people who knowingly exploit and burn and ravage the earth, for their own good- and they’re insane to the point that they genuinely can’t see right from wrong. Sure, you could argue that he was motivated by the need to preserve your own life. But if you give his cause *any* context, you see how wrong he is. This is flailing human desperation, pure and simple.

Now, approaching the themes that actually make it as good as it is. Dr Brand is easily my favourite character in the movie. We get to see her as a brilliant scientist initially, and her arc- is perfect, honestly. For example, take the wormhole handshake- as their going through interdimensional space- where time isn’t linear and your brain gets fried if you try to comprehend it- she recognizes a *being* in that space. If you recall that scene, she reaches out, and meets *them*- someone she knows is otherworldly and entirely above humans (we later learn it is Cooper in the matrix- and i have things to say about that too) and makes contact. She suggests, as both a human- and a scientist- that it may be love that transcends dimensions. She makes first contact with beings that may be their salvation- or destruction- and i think that is definitely the peak of human existence.

She argues that love may be what connected the crew to higher dimensions, and I'll dare to say that she’s right. Love is what made Cooper try to contact murph. Love is what made them dare to save humans. Love was what got her there. She tells them to go to Edmund's planet- not just because she loves him, but because she also makes relevant points AND her gut. It might be stretching it to say that was why she was right- but it is worth introspection. Dr Brand represents the best of humanity and she does carry it, doesn’t she? She settles on the planet for ‘the long nap’ in the end. She tries to save everyone- like on the mountain planet- and she loves. She hopes and she trusts and is unwaveringly honest and courageous. This could become a Dr Brand stan blog for all I care.

Moving on

We have the ‘them’. These are the mysterious threads that tie all parts of the movie together. A black hole to a little girl’s bookshelf. Worlds galaxies apart. A very important thing to note here is that the characters recognize that this is humanity, just very, very far out. And most importantly, wise. This is a civilization who has surpassed the ordinary dimensions, and *mortal* time. They could’ve easily saved all of humanity and given them the planet they were looking for. But their entire ineffable plan, and only putting things where they were needed- was what made them greater than just someone who helps others. Only being able to get binary signals through an intergalactic wormhole, building bookshelves that become a huge metaphor for humanity trying to claw at knowledge- and actually slowly pushing the books forward. The ‘them’ weren’t ordinary humans at all. They definitely hinted and gave me a brief, fickle glance beyond what humans could be- raw possibilities.

Then, we have cooper. This makes it hard to write for him- and do his character justice- but I will try. His character, essentially, is brought down to selflessness, love, a brutal, brutal sense of humour- and the courage- the heavy, heavy courage to sacrifice himself. He’s also the polar opposite of what Dr mann stands for. 

His first important point- in my opinion- is when the movie is starting. I didn’t walk in expecting this from him, not really. You see a dying earth- and this man is (alone in his fight, NASA doesn’t count yet) fighting the system alone. He fights for his son, tries for his father in law, and then the most important relationship- his daughter. He’s seeing an earth where not even *children* are curious, or willing, or interested in anything greater. He sees this in his daughter, though. Hence, the bookshelf- the gravity, and the plain curiosity. 

I’ll dare to say that at this point, humanity’s a dying, dying flame. And what he sees in his daughter, what we see in his daughter, is a rebirth of potential. She has the human spark, so to speak. He sees that, and he makes promises, and is willing to bring the world to its knees to protect her. And he knows he might not be there when Murph burns strong, and bright, and becomes the saviour of humanity- but he hopes.  An important element is the promise, which I mentioned earlier, but it defines their relationship. The promise that he’ll be back when they’re the same age. They both know that it’s not true. They can see the lie, but that promise also empowers them to do what they did when their paths diverge.

Cooper goes to Mann's planet with the vague hope that he’ll be back in time. Murph does most of what she does because she thinks that it’ll bring her father back. Even towards the end, when Cooper willingly jumps into gargantua, a supermassive black hole- which is the literal heart of darkness, he does it in the attempt to save his daughter, and hopes she can get the quantum data at the cost of his life. 

About Murph, we mostly see her through the eyes of Cooper in the beginning. A curious and lovable and stubborn tween who just wants to grow up with her dad and do their science experiments. Her perseverance is phenomenal- she loses her dad despite her warnings and asking- and realizes that her loss is something undefinable, but there. In a way, she grows to understand both her responsibility and her part to play, and why her father did what he did. The ‘ghost’ is another plot device- a mysterious figure who messes with the gravity and knocks her books down. And she sees a message there. She tells him about ‘don’t go’ and i can’t begin to describe how beautifully poetic and heartbreaking it is that they realize the significance of that at the same time, and how it ties together. It is hard for me to fathom that scene really- cooper is in an interdimensional matrix, inside a supermassive black hole, and he tries to tell his daughter two things. (a) trying to stop himself from going out and on the mission, which he knows is deemed to fail and (b) sending the quantum data, because that is what mattered in the end, anyways. The ghost comes full circle- and also says what he had to say, when it was most important. And for those who’ve seen the movie, i just really have to put this quote out there:

‘It was you. It was always you. You were my ghost, dad’

And in that, the movie completes itself. It talks about unfailing love, the peak and fall of humanity, and the potential of curiosity.

In this essay I will...

[angisam]

Challenge Zimtober

Day 17. Home

Day 1

Previous <—> Next

Here we go. the beginning of the future arc and the incredible experience that Dib had

Oko belong to @owosa and thanks for tranlated it <3

Dib awoke to the strident sound of an alarm. His ship's alarm to be precise.

Confused and with a racing heart, the first thing he did was fall out of bed in a mess of blankets as he desperately tried to get to his feet. When he managed to free himself, he went running to navigation to see what happened. The red lights and the sound of the alarm didn't help reduce his panic.

-"... Holy shit" It was the only thing he could express when he saw the dark mass with an aura of distortion around him. A wormhole was in front of him and his ship was being drawn straight into the center of it.

This was normally not a problem, many ships were designed to use those as shortcuts to travel between the universe. Too bad his ship wasn't one of those ships designed for hyperspace travel.

He knew there was no turning back, the hole was going to suck him in and the chances of the ship not disintegrating were particularly slim but he wasn't going to give up that easily, HA! of course not. He took the controls of the ship and tried to divert its course by turning the power of the thrusters to the maximum. He only managed to win just two seconds before the hole swallowed him completely.

...

The ship stood still, dancing through space aimlessly, slowly but surely moving away from the wormhole where it had emerged just seconds before. It had all happened too fast to even think other than that for some reason, his ship endured the journey.

Dib was too stunned to congratulate himself on a good job building the ship, so he just sat in his seat about to throw up. It was an indescribable sensation,as he got back to his senses.

We can guess that molecularly separating to rejoin was not a pleasant thing.

He sincerely thought that possibly he had some fused organ.

He approached the commands to find out where the hell he had appeared only to discover that he had run out of power. Well, all was not lost, he simply had to wait for the energy to recharge again…

Oh well, nothing to do anymore. He went back to his small room at the back of the ship and got himself into bed. He had no control over the ship until it reloaded. If he was going to die, let him do it well rested.

Upon awakening, the lights were on which meant that the ship simply reactivated itself. He didn't know what else to do but take pride in building a ship capable of withstanding hyperspace travel without even realizing it. Hah!

He once again went to navigation to locate in which coordinates he was now.

….

The universe would have to be laughing at him, he was in the damn Milky Way fortuitously close to the solar system, HIS solar system. He literally could have ended up anywhere in the HUGE universe and he had to end up right in the last place where he vowed not to return.

He was just about to change course when he stopped short. Perhaps he could take this opportunity to pay someone a visit. The thought of it left a bitter feeling in him for a bit and made him feel guilty to the point of simply wanting to go ahead with his plan to turn around, but his sister's words echoed in his memories and he resisted the urge. He breathed in and out strongly setting course for planet Earth.

The trip was short and he was easily able to locate the area of ​​the planet where he wanted to land. Everything was going pretty normal until he entered the exosphere and noticed that something was wrong. The atmospheric stabilizer was not responding, SHIT. Which meant that the appropriate speed had to be manually managed to penetrate the ozone layer and well the problem with that was the possibility of bouncing if it did not reach the appropriate speed or that the ship would scorch a bit if it was overshot and the option of go back was no longer available. Well, surely the ship would survive although the landing would be… well rough at best. The decision was made by putting on whatever seatbelt the pilot's seat had.

Sure enough, the landing was horrible but at least it survived the impact and he hoped the ship had suffered no more than he had in mind. Although the biggest surprise was received when he got off the ship.

Before hitting the ground, the only thing he saw was

dense vegetation, so the last thing Dib expected was an immense empty city under that vegetation. Actually that was a lie, the LAST thing he expected to find was a pack of dogs surrounding his ship.

-"....wtf" he said simply, his mind still trying to connect the loose ends. A huge black Great Dane that was almost as high as Dib approached the human and cocked his head to one side as a clear gesture for him to follow in the indicated direction. He stepped back in distrust. Several dogs approached Dib and began to direct him, some chewing on his clothes and others at him.

They pushed insistently with their heads for him to follow.

"Hey! Stop! What are you doing?! " For every step the dogs tried to take with Dib, he took another two backwards, the absurd struggle going on for a while until the Great Dane looked closely into his eyes as a warning growl escaped his throat. He raised his hands in somewhat uncomfortable surrender to have this beast so close to him. After the canine victory, the Great Dane turned around, resuming his march.

It was there that he discovered PAK.

...wait what?!

A closer look made him realize that all the dogs had a PAK. An Irken PAK.

Oh no, it couldn't be true, the earth had been invaded by the irken armada and they used dogs to dominate humans. Dogs, human’s great and only weakness!. HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?!

WAIT. Perhaps there were other simple explanations for this, what about humans? Where were them? It was flat daylight and the street was empty…. They were slaves working in mines drawing resources! And this city was just abandoned! It must be that! If not, why were there dogs with PAKS in an empty city?.

They made him get into a vehicle, leaving the dogs behind except the Great Dane, who sat next to him. During the whole journey he did not move an ear. Dib forgot what it was like to be uncomfortable in a quiet room with someone else, even if he was with this...thing, and spent the whole way fiddling with his hands in an attempt to focus his attention on something.

The fragrant sunlight was replaced by the grim, artificial light from the tunnel they entered. They didn't know where they were taking him but he would be prepared for anything.

The car stopped and without him being able to argue much, Dib was taken out of there, being accompanied by the dog-thing to a large room where there was… By Jupiter. In front of him was an immense irken Control Brain.

His knees trembled and he fell to the ground as he slammed a fist on the ground dramatically.

DAMMIT! THEY DID. THEY CONQUERED EARTH! He was only a couple of years off the planet and they took advantage of his absence to conquer it without him knowing.

Without him noticing, several mechanical arms began to scan him and when they finished, a small holographic figure appeared in front of Dib, that due to his small dramatic act, did not immediately took notice.

"...OKO ?!" And then it all made sense. "YOU HAVE INVADED THE PLANET WITH YOUR DOGS?!"

Oko's hologram tilted her head slightly. "Invading Was Never My Duty." she answered calmly with the same monotonous tone that he remembered.

"Oh... Then why are there ghost towns ?!" There was a moment of silence in which Oko tried to understand what the human in front of her was referring to.

“I Detected A Ship With Various Irkens Elements Approaching The Planet. I Ordered The Humas To Stay On Their Home To Protect Them When I Calculated Where You Would Crash.”

“… Oh well, that also made a lot of sense”…wait a second “Why should humans even listen to you?!"

"Because It Is My Duty" The hologram sensed the growing confusion of the human and there was a movement behind her. In one of the screens of the room, several images began to appear, which left the man stunned.

Happy walking families, futuristic structures, vast plains of vegetation among much more.

"No way... it’s that...the Earth?"

“Yes, Human-Dib. I've Been Taking Care Of It For More Than 7 Centuries.”

“Wha- Wait!…. 7 centuries?! How is it possible?!, it can't be true, I-... "

“I win~"

A spark ran through his

shoulder and he quickly turned his neck towards the voice he had just heard. There she was, leaning on his shoulder, half lying in the air. Alma.

"ALMA?!" In an instant, her face full of pride and glee was replaced by sheer disbelief

"DIB?!"

Dib also began to make faces of utter disbelief as she tried to utter words that she didn’t know how to choose or could express. He looked at Oko while pointing at Alma, but she made no sign of understanding what was wrong with him. He went back to the Floating Alma and she just shrugged.

After the day he was having so far and for the sake of his sanity, he just shut up and let it go for now.

"Your Arrival Is Certainly Unexpected And Clearly Interesting. This May Be An Important Chance To Convince Your Paternal Unit To Stop Exploiting Resources Of The Planet In An Unsustainable Way.”

Was his father still alive?! Well, at this point he didn’t know why he continued to be surprised.

The talk with “Control Brain” Oko had been intense, he still had too much to assimilate, too ...he still didn't know if all this could even be real. Either way, Dib was following a dog named BFT 222750 who was taking him to his new apartment until a few days passed and Oko determined that everything was in order with him.

Great, he was going to be quarantined.

"So ... can you see me?" Alma had appeared next to Dib, moving in the air in time with him. There was also that.

"Are you real?" he asked.

"I think so, are you?” Dib pinched his nose with his fingers and sighed.

"I don't know, I'm still trying to get out of the shock of all this to think about it...” Dib looked at the specter of his friend. She looked just how he remembered her.

"You are dead?”

"Did you expect me to be alive after more than 700 years?" He could hear a slight laugh coming from the ghost and for a second, the stress of the whole crazy day was gone.

"Welcome home, Dib"

[triangularjuice]

Remember? -A Pokémon Story-

Chapter 18: The Diagnosis

Your stomach drops as the words leave his mouth. You can feel your dad's hand softly grab your arm as he steps in front of you, protectively.

Neutralize?

Does he mean..?

"What do you mean 'neutralize'?" Ash questions, his innocence showing.

"Terminate, eliminate, eradicate, nullify," Dulse lists with a metallic voice. Ash has a confused look on his face, not understanding.

"(Y/N) cannot live anymore. Her existence is destructive," Phyco says coldly. Ash looks stunned; fear is evident on his face. Professor Kukui puts his arm in front of Ash, protectively pushing him behind. Your dad's grip tightens as he shields you from their view. This movement unfortunately catches the attention of one of the men. He looks over at you, noticing your attempts to remain hidden. You peek over your dad's arm, looking up at the man, and he stares deep into your eyes. You can't see any life in them. They look cold and dead.

"We would very much appreciate your cooperation," he says, lacking emotion. Cato lets out a low growl from beside you, but the men pay no attention to him.

"Will you come quietly?" Dulse asks you flatly. You tense up as their cold eyes bore into your skin.

"She's not going anywhere," your dad says, answering for you. Phyco and Dulse straighten up, their facial expressions hardening.

"(Y/N) will be taken back to Ultra Megalopolis for extermination," Dulse says with a lower voice.

"Over my dead body," your dad spits back, holding onto you even tighter. Phyco stares at him with a dead look in his eye.

"We do not wish to increase the death toll in order to preserve the balance, but we will do whatever it takes," Phyco says, his voice laced with venom. In that moment, a huge jolt of pain shoots through your head, causing you to cry out as your legs give out from underneath you. Clutching your head, you curl up into a ball on the floor. You can hear your dad frantically calling your name, but it sounds like it's underwater. You feel his hands on your arm, trying to give you some sort of comfort. Your heart races, and with each beat, a throbbing pain beats through your skull. You groan, holding your head in your hands. Your entire body starts aching. Everything feels hot. It's like your blood is literally boiling in your veins. The hot pain spreads all over the inside of your body, making you cry out as your limbs convulse, your back arching up off the ground.

"She's farther along than we initially thought," one of the men state coldly. Cato whines and nudges his head against your hair.

"What did you do to her?!" you hear Kukui shout, causing an extra jolt to stab through your skull.

"Nothing," you hear a metallic voice say, "This is the work of the universe fixing itself."

"I swear to Arceus if you don't tell us what's going on I'm going to kick your a-"

You cry out and interrupt your dad's threat, the searing pain blossoming in your body worsening.

"Ultra Beast DNA is incredibly toxic to any creature that comes into contact with it. The longer it sits in (Y/N)'s bloodstream, the more it poisons her," you hear Phyco roughly explain. "The added problem of excess electricity in her veins from UB-03 Lighting, aka 'Xurkitree', just makes things worse for her, since the human body isn't capable of withstanding that much electricity," Phyco says, "the combination of the two is basically burning her body from the inside out."

"If (Y/N) comes with us, she will be neutralized quickly and painlessly. But, even if she doesn't, she will still die. And trust me when I say it will be a very long and painful end," Dulse says, letting the last few words roll off his tongue slowly for emphasis.

"Plus, the longer you wait it out, the more unbalanced the universes becomes. Eventually, it will get to the point where she will cause permanent damage, even after she dies," Phyco adds. You take in his words, trying to wrap your head around them. It's weird listening to someone explain in great detail how you are going to die. You open one eye to see your dad above you, clutching your arm. He looks down and you can see tears brimming in his glossy eyes. Despite the pain, you sit up, leaning on one arm to keep your balance. You cough a few times, feeling your dad's arms around your shoulders. You look up at the men, wincing.

"What kind of damage will I cause?" you sputter. Phyco looks down at you, coldly.

"Enough to change the way of life for everybody," he starts, "Ultra Space will become unstable, causing realities to crack, destroying basic laws of physics, and disrupting nature. People and Pokémon will perish because of you."

You look to the side, guilt wracking your mind.

"And there's no way to get it out of her?" your dad pleads, his voice cracking at the end.

"Negative. If there was, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Dulse states. You look up to your dad. He's staring at the ground, mouth slightly open, and his eyebrows are furrowed. He's desperately trying to find a way out of this that doesn't involve your death.

"What if something stronger is injected into her blood to cure the poisonous DNA?" he asks, his scientific mind already searching for some way to save you. The two men falter for a moment, but quickly return to their confident stances.

"It would have to be incredibly strong, more powerful than an Ultra Beast, and finding that would take too long. We are already out of time," Phyco says.

"But-" your dad starts, however, he's interrupted by a shrill whine and a powerful gust that appears out of nowhere. You look up to see a wormhole open behind Phyco and Dulse. The gust strengthens and your dad's grip on you starts to loosen, pushing him away. The two men make their way towards you, unfazed. Looking over your shoulder, you see the wind push your dad away, tearing you from his grasp.

"(Y/N)!" you hear your dad shout. A cold set of hands grabs you under your armpits, picking you up. Dulse roughly carries you in his arms, turning to exit through the wormhole. You can hear everyone calling out to you from behind. Tears prick the corners of your eyes. You flail weakly in his arms, unable to break free. You lift your head and reach out behind you.

"Dad!" you scream out, frightened. You can see him and Cato frantically trying to push against the wind, along with the others, but it's too strong.

"(Y/N)! I'll find y-" he says, but his words are cut off. Everything spins, and it feels like you're falling. The wormhole colors are blinding, and the intense pressure makes everything worse. The burning pain becomes too much, and you can feel yourself slipping away. The colors bleed around you, and the familiar cold of the unconscious wraps around your mind, pulling you into the darkness.

***

Chapter 19: Beginning of the End

[motherfuckingtozier]

prompt: richie with braces and eddie's reaction please

Oh my god this is such a cute concept! I hope you like it, it got much, much longer than I intended, I mean it has an actual plot and everything. You can read it on Ao3 here.

Operation Make Richie Smile

Eddie loved Richie’s smile. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone, because loving your best friend’s smile so much it hurt was probably not normal, especially when said friend’s smile was not exactly picture perfect. Richie had always been insecure about his teeth, which were crooked and oddly spaced. In elementary school people called him “Bucky Beaver” and Richie hated it. He always had some snappy comeback but Eddie noticed the way he would self-consciously cover his mouth afterwards.

As they got older Eddie started to appreciate Richie’s smile more and more. There was something charming about the way his teeth fell into each other at odd angles, and Richie impressed and entertained all the Losers with his ability to whistle between the gap in his front teeth. But what Eddie really loved about Richie’s smile was how his whole face shone with it. His eyes would glint and the skin around them would crinkle, his whole face softening. It was breathtaking, and Eddie missed it.

When Richie had announced that he would be getting braces he seemed excited. His parents had been saving up for years, and now that Richie was going into high school they decided he could be trusted to maintain them properly. Richie kept going on and on about how he would be a “certifiable babe” once his teeth were fixed. Of course Eddie just rolled his eyes and reminded him that even if his teeth weren’t crooked his awful personality would still be enough to scare any girl away. Richie pouted and made a big show of being heartbroken, falling against Eddie’s chest as he flung his arm across his forehead. Eddie pushed him off and tried desperately to stop the flush from spreading across his face.

The first few days after Richie got his braces were filled with his complaints. 

“They hurt Eds, why do they hurt so much?” Richie whined, dramatically flopping down face first onto Eddie’s bed.

“Maybe because they are literally pushing your teeth around in your mouth, dumbass. Did you think they would just magically straighten your teeth without you feeling anything?” Eddie honestly felt kind of bad for Richie, but the pain would pass. And Richie had made fun of Eddie when he complained about his cast, so this was karma.

“I guess I didn’t put much thought into it Dr. K. Not all of us have strangely extensive medical knowledge.” Richie’s voice was muffled by the mattress, so he sat up, turning to face Eddie again. “But I guess it’s true what they say, beauty is pain.” Richie winks and smiles, but Eddie notices that it’s only with his lips.

Eddie thought it was just that Richie was getting used to the braces, but after a few weeks he still wasn’t fully smiling, or if he did he covered his mouth with his hand or ducked his head down. Eddie knew it was because of the braces. Richie had even commented a few times on how ugly having a “metal mouth” was, joking about how his food needed a password to get past the gate. 

Eddie felt like he was in mourning every time Richie hid his smile, but he didn’t know how he could talk to Richie about it. It was definitely weird to tell your friend that you missed seeing their smile so much it kept you up at night. Eddie was determined to make Richie properly smile again. And anyway, Eddie thought the braces were kind of adorable. They made Richie look softer and drew attention to every little thing Richie did with his mouth, like chewing on his pencil (which was objectively disgusting considering all the germs it must have on it, but for some reason was endearing when Richie did it).

So Eddie initiated Operation Make Richie Smile. It was not a great success. Eddie tried everything, but no matter what he did Richie never forgot to hide his mouth. Eddie even made a dick joke! Richie had laughed about it for at least 5 minutes but by the time he looked up from where he was clutching his stomach to comment on how red Eddie’s face was his smile was close-mouthed. Eddie felt like screaming.

It had been a month since Richie got braces, and Eddie was at his wits end. He hated how insecure they made Richie. He had never seen Richie lack confidence so much that he hid something before, and it made him want to rant and rave at Richie about how beautiful he was until he believed it. As embarrassing as that would have been, it might have been better than what he actually did.

They were sitting on Eddie’s bed, studying for a history test they had the next day when Richie cracked some joke about everyone being horny for George Washington. Eddie, understandably, started expounding upon the numerous reasons that was gross and disrespectful, and Richie started smiling, but he was covering it with his hand.

Eddie’s reaction was automatic, his hand shooting up and snatching Richie’s wrist, yanking it down abruptly.

“Stop that!” He admonished sternly.

Richie for his part looked entirely surprised, staring at where Eddie’s hand was holding his wrist with wide eyes.

“Stop what?” The smile was gone now, replaced with a look of pure confusion.

“Stop covering your fucking mouth every time you smile! It’s annoying!” Eddie feels the heat start in his cheeks as his mind catches up with his mouth. What the fuck was he doing?

“Oh, I-uh…sorry, I guess?” Richie looks back down to where Eddie’s hand is still gripping his wrist. Eddie feels the heat start radiating down his neck and he knows his skin is tomato red. He immediately drops Richie’s wrist, desperately looking for a way to backpedal.

“You don’t have to be sorry, I just… I don't… you shouldn’t cover your smile.” Eddie is looking very hard at the book spread out before him, praying a wormhole will open up and transport him to a time before he decided to make everything weird.

“I didn’t even realize I was doing that, to be honest. The braces are just…ugly. They draw all kinds of attention to my teeth which are still fucked up and they look really dorky. I guess I just covered it without thinking about it.” Richie’s tone conveys an unspoken question. It asks why Eddie even cares.

“The braces aren’t ugly, and neither are your teeth. You…you have a really nice smile.” Apparently Eddie wasn’t done embarrassing himself, but he can’t help it. He hates that Richie thinks that way about any part of himself. Richie’s cheeks start to turn red as he processes what Eddie said.

“Aww Eds, you think I’m beautiful.” Richie coos at him, and he smiles, his hands twitching slightly before staying where they are in his lap.

“That’s not what I said asshole!” Eddie shoves him, but he feels himself start to smile too. God he’d missed seeing Richie look so unabashedly happy. He didn’t notice he was staring until Richie’s smile started to falter, his cheeks burning brighter red.

“You didn’t disagree.” Richie says, and it’s much quieter, less teasing.

“No, I guess I didn’t.” Eddie’s voice came out softer than he expected, his hands fidgeting a bit.

“Y'know I uh…I think you’re beautiful too.” Richie looks really nervous as he says it, like he’s waiting for Eddie to say “sike” and laugh about the whole thing.

“Is that a genuine compliment from Richie Tozier? Pinch me, I must be dreaming.” Eddie says, laughing even as his heart races in his chest.

“At least I’m not the one who gets all hot over braces.” Richie says, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m not hot for braces!” Eddie’s voice comes out shrill and he feels himself flush even more.

“Oh, so then it’s me who gets your engine revving? Y'know there’s no shame in that, I am incredibly hot it’s no wonder you–” Whatever Richie was going to say is muffled by Eddie’s lips pressing into his. It’s not a great kiss, Eddie’s mouth smacking into Richie’s with more force than he intended. Eddie pulls back after a couple of seconds, wide eyed and breathing shakily from nerves.

Richie slowly raises his hand to his lips, looking dumbstruck. He pulls his finger back and Eddie sees a smudge of blood.

“Fuck, did I do that?” Eddie asks, frantically moving forward to grab Richie’s face so he can inspect the damage.

“It was my braces, Eds. You came in a little hard and it knocked my lip into them, I’m fine.” And this time it’s Richie’s hands grabbing Eddie’s wrists. He’s smiling again, his lip stinging where it stretches around the cut.

“Just couldn’t wait to jump me, could you? Man I know I’m sexy but you are an animal Eds.” Richie is laughing again and Eddie is mortified.

“I just wanted you to shut up you jerk!” Eddie snaps back.

“I will gladly let you shut me up like that any time. In fact, I wouldn’t mind giving my voice a break right about now.” Richie is waggling his eyebrows, leaning closer to Eddie.

“Ew, no Richie. Not when you’re bleeding! Do you know how unsanitary that is?!” Eddie pushes Richie away, and he starts to pout.

“Well then come on Dr. K, patch me up. It’s impolite to cut someone’s lip and not kiss it better.” Richie is already standing, pulling Eddie towards the bathroom to get supplies.

Eddie shakes his head as he gets pulled along, grinning at the thought of kissing Richie’s beautiful smile again.

Send me prompts!

[mckinlily]

shalluraweek day 4: horizon/beyond

Summary: horizon/ beyond  Shiro and his relationship with the beyond

read on ao3

“There just—there just has to be something beyond this, right?” Shiro gestures to the stars, lying on his back next to his boyfriend having snuck out of the Garrison once again.

Beside him, Adam snorts. “Sometimes it’s really unbelievable that you’re like this sober. Are you sure you didn’t sneak a sip, Takashi?”

Shiro huffs. “I have to fly us back, Adam.” He might not be totally sure of what it takes to be a good boyfriend, but he’s pretty sure not killing your significant other with drunk flying is bare minimum.

“Sure, sure. Be all responsible, Shirogane.”

“I’m the one who snuck us out,” Shiro reminds him. “You hadn’t figured out how to get around the security cameras.”

Adam just grumbles and settles himself more firmly against Shiro’s shoulder.

“I just…I want to find it. You know? I don’t know what it is, but it’s out there and I want to be the one to find it.”

Adam hums, and Shiro thinks that he understands.

Two years later, Shiro finds out that Adam really, really didn’t.

And then Shiro is being carried past row after row after row of alien prison cells on an alien ship that glows sickly purple and green, and he’s finally got a glimpse of what hides (fights, expands, destroys) beyond the stars, and he almost wishes he hadn’t.

* * * * *

Shiro’s in the head of a machine that is beautiful, marvelous—and semi-sentient. The last year of his memories of been scraped clean and replaced some gooey, dark mess. The Black Lion is powerful under his hands, though it is hard to tell if it’s good or bad. There is some part of the Lion that’s not quite…it's jagged and dark, it's…

(Traumatized, Shiro will realize someday. But that is not until much later.)

Whatever the Black Lion is, Shiro doesn’t have time to give it more than a passing thought because all he has been able to think about is the four teenagers he’s responsible for since they went through that wormhole and keeping them alive. The Lions and the alien princess and her advisor all come second to that. Shiro will work with the tools he’s given and process later.

But there might not be a later.

They have the Lions but no clue how to use them.

The tractor beam from the Galra ship is pulling them in.

They’re going to be captured. And Shiro doesn’t remember what happened to him, but he remembers how it felt and—

No! No no no no no. They’re going take him again. They’re going to take his TEAM—

They need something more. The impossible. They need Voltron. And Shiro shoves everything he has—his will, his determination, his fear—into his Lion and out toward his teammates that he barely knows but will already die for. He pushes until he finds some flicker of beyond and then he yanks it together into being—

(Later, much later, Shiro will learn Voltron isn’t supposed to work like this. Voltron works much better, is much more powerful, when its weight is distributed evenly among its parts, not held together solely by the will and spine of the Black Paladin. Later, Shiro will learn that what he has been doing is supposed to be impossible. Later, his team will step up and demand to do their parts.

But that is later, not now. Now his team is in danger. Now they need a paragon, so a paragon is what he will be. Possible doesn’t even factor into it.)

* * * * *

There are layers to Voltron beyond what even they’ve seen. Shiro catches a glimpse of this when he is thrown into the astral plane with Zarkon.

And then he gets far more than a glimpse when he is trapped in it indefinitely.

The stars and nebula and massive, glowing eclipse are beautiful but haunting. Shiro stands (sits? kneels? floats?) on a glass surface that seems to change without warning. The rules seem strange and different here. Constantly doing and undoing. Thoughts drift by as light flares or comets or ripples in the fabric of space, and they feel like they should be familiar but they’re off. Written in a code he doesn’t understand, unfolding in a plane he doesn’t have access to. Everything seems wrong, disconnected from anything he understands.

Shiro is losing himself. He can’t tell it it’s the astral plane that’s being made and unmade or if that’s him. Sometimes he looks to his right and sees part of himself miles away. Sometimes he looks down and sees nothing at all. He’s losing track of what he is.

The Black Lion appears on the plane with him, huge and consuming, it’s her thoughts that are the comets and ripples in this strange place. When that doesn't comfort him, she creates an avatar of a more familiar lioness—if lionesses were pitch black and three times the size he is. The Black Lion curls around Shiro when the plane starts to waver, and Shiro buries his face in her flank. She feels like the impression of fur, the idea of flesh and blood. Not quite the real thing, but all he has. When he closes his eyes, he sees pinpricks of light in her fur, like stars in a polluted sky. She wraps around and around him, holding him tight, the only thing keeping him together.

Time doesn't have meaning beyond too long in this place. Until it does. His hand glows first—his right hand, the one that was taken from him, that he shouldn’t even be able to feel—red and warm and tingly, like gentle flames licking up his palm and onto his forearm. And then there’s tickling of grass against his fingers, movement and flickering green and vines climbing up his bicep. In one leg, he feels blue, push and pull, and cool, refreshing adaptability of water while he feels the prickling of sand against his toes in the other and solid strength of rocks building on top of each other. The sensations grow until each of his limbs glow, circling his dark and empty torso.

Empty—for now. As Shiro looks down, he sees light spark and grow, like an exploding star around his heart. It burns brighter, expanding through his chest and then covering his whole body, filling him with light and life and feeling—

(Love. Five very different flavors but it’s all love.)

—and Shiro’s back in his body again. There are strong arms around him, moonlight hair brushing his face, and voices and hands brushing over him—“We found you”—“He’s back”—and his name—

“Shiro. Shiro, Shiro, Shiro…”

* * * * *

He’s back. And he’s scared. He was scared when he went to Kerberos (excited, nervous, anticipatory). Scared when they first formed Voltron (desperate, terrified, determined). Scared in the nights when the night terrors hit him and he couldn't sleep (terrified, self-hating, horrified, violated). But now he’s scared in a brittle way. Like the fear that used to come and go has hardened into jagged plastic. He feels like the dried up mudflats in the desert, rigid and fragile, like the smallest touch could crumple him. He holds himself together with pure will and the knowledge that he has to. There’s a war to be fought and he refuses to not be apart of it.

He just isn’t sure what there is for him beyond that now.

* * * * *

Allura finds him curled up against the view screen of the observation deck. Shiro isn’t entirely surprised someone has come looking for him or that she’s the one who was assigned to find him. He’s both grateful and embarrassed that she’s the one who has to see this.

She crosses her legs as she sits down—the diplomatic dress rarely makes an appearance in these days of constant battle—and settles down beside him.

“The others are worried about you. Apparently you said some things in Voltron that were… concerning.”

They’ve gotten better at utilizing Voltron in the passing months, which includes a greater amount of synchronicity between their minds. And, consequently, access to a level of Shiro’s thoughts that he’d rather they didn’t have access to.

“I’m not suicidal.”

“You are not?” Allura’s voice is carefully non-judgmental.

“I don’t want to die,” says Shiro fiercely. “I won’t if I don’t have to. I’ve just accepted the inevitable.”

Shiro’s made a deal with the universe: his life for the life and safety of his paladins. He’s aware the universe doesn’t work like that, so he will make it make good on that deal. He refuses to accept anything less.

“I understand,” says Allura. “Coran was worried about that in me as well.”

Shiro believes her. He wishes he didn’t because if Allura understands, that means she knows the pain and darkness he’s fighting against every day, and he doesn’t want anyone to have to know that, let alone someone he deeply cares about. But Allura does know and does understand, and Shiro suspects that’s why she’s the one who came here in the first place.

Allura cups his jaw. Shiro doesn’t flinch as she brushes her thumb over the stubble on his cheek. Her expression is filled with some kind of emotion that Shiro is scared to put a name to. But words aren’t necessary because she leans forward and presses her lips against his.

“Allura,” breathes Shiro as she pulls back, just a little. Her hand is still cradling his jaw.

“Coran told me I needed something to live for beyond the war,” she says. “That’s what it is for me.”

She says it simply, like she isn’t worried at all, but Shiro knows her too well to believe that completely.

“I…” Shiro reaches up and covers her hand with his. She’s so beautiful. And strong and brave and flawed but somehow that just makes him love her more.

(Shiro’s not sure when he decided he loved her, but it’s a truth that has beat in his heart for so long, it’s hard to imagine it was anything but a foregone conclusion.)

“I don’t think… Allura, my head’s still such a mess. I’m not—I don’t think I can.”

Shiro doesn’t think he could manage a relationship right now. Even if he wants to. There’s so much right now. So much stress and demands on his (their) time. And so much he needs to work through before he can open himself up to another person the way he knows he would need to.

“I know,” says Allura, still so calm. If he were anyone else, he might miss the water gathering in her eyes.

Shiro takes her hand, folds his fingers over hers, and presses it close to his heart. Then he leans forward and kisses her back, just as gently and lovingly as she did him. “It’s not you.”

When he pulls back, Allura’s lips are trembling. He wishes he could pull her into his arms, comfort her, brush all the sadness away, but there’s too much storming—inside him, outside them, in the universe.

“Maybe…” He hesitates, cognizant of promises he can’t keep.

But Allura reads him anyway. “...Later? After the war?”

Shiro swallows. He rubs his thumb over her knuckles, still holding her hand close.

Allura’s fingers dig into his shirt as she leans forward. “Then after,” she says, her intensity giving away her emotions. “You’re right—there’s too much going on right now. But after, when we have time. We can try then.”

Shiro wants—he aches with how much he wants. But he shakes his head. “I don’t think that either of us are capable of keeping that promise.”

“Then I protect you, and you protect me,” says Allura. “We keep each other safe.” She glances down, voice softer. “I never want to lose you again.”

Shiro’s heart falls. He squeezes her hand, assurance that he can’t guarantee. “I don’t want to lose you either.”

Allura looks up at him. “So…until then? Promise?”

They’re dancing around what they should say. And, Shiro realizes, on Allura’s end at least it’s deliberate.

Shiro will absolutely regret it if he dies before he can tell her he loves her. By setting this boundary, she’s saying he has to survive (they both do) until he can.

Shiro gently sets her hands back in her lap. And then he presses a lingering kiss to her forehead because even if he can’t say it, she has to know she’s loved. And by him.

“Okay. Promise.”

* * * * *

The war doesn’t end neatly in a final battle against Zarkon. Or Hagar. Or Lotor. There’s Sendak and other generals. And then there’s warlords. And unrest caused by the sudden power vacuum. And rebuilding an inter-galactic political system. There’s pockets of Galra control scattered across the universe that may take decades to eradicate completely.

But gradually…things slow down. They aren’t constantly watching their back anymore. There are other forces besides Voltron fighting for good. The universe isn’t on the brink of destruction, and Shiro makes the call it’s time to bring the paladins home.

(They’ll go back out there, they all know. There’s still so much work to be done, and Shiro knows his team too well to assume they’ll be satisfied letting someone else do it. But for the time being, they’ve earned a break.)

Emotions are high and bright and excited as they travel to Earth’s the solar system. Lance is chattering a million words a minute. Pidge has both her father and her brother around her, projecting a map tracking their distance to Earth. Hunk is excitedly listing the foods he missed, and even Keith looks excited, though he seems wary of Lance’s promise to introduce him to every single member of his family. Coran is practicing his “earthling slang” and almost certainly getting it wrong on purpose. Traveling will take at least a day, and they are all gathered together in the kitchen to wait it out. Shiro slips out and makes his way to the bridge.

Allura is there alone. She has charts up, monitoring the wormhole’s progress and documents listing out trade agreements. Useful stuff, but certainly not urgent.

“Hey,” says Shiro.

Allura jumps like she wasn’t expecting anyone to find her, and when she smiles, it’s small. “Hello.”

Shiro’s heart hurts. This is hard for her, he knows, even if she tries to hide it. He wishes he could make it better, but he doesn’t know how. He can’t keep his paladins from their families, and he knows Allura would never ask them to. But the fact of the matter is, they get to go home, and she never will. He doesn’t know how to make that not hurt.

But true to form, Allura quickly pulls herself together. She scrolls through one of her screens though Shiro would be surprised if she actually read any of it.

She offers Shiro a glance as he approaches her. “The war is over.”

“True,” says Shiro.

There’s awe and a little bit of shock coloring both their voices. Astonishment that it finished, and they’re both still here.

Allura smiles at him against, and it’s barely stronger than the first time. “You finally get to go back to Earth.”

“Yes,” says Shiro, stepping in front of her. “But that’s not what I’m looking forward to.”

“It’s not?” Allura finally dismisses her screens and gives him her full attention.

Shiro steps onto the dais with her. He feels nervous—it’s been so long since their conversation in the observatory—but he forces himself forward. There’s a lock of hair that’s fallen in front of Allura’s face. Shiro catches it and tucks it behind her ear, fingers lingering against her skin.

“No. It’s not.”

In hindsight, Allura’s reaction is exactly what he should have expected. For a moment, she’s frozen, staring at him mouth partly open. And then she explodes into him, arms wrapping around his neck, kissing him like she’s been waiting her entire life for this. Shiro holds her close and kisses her like the same is true for him. Maybe it is.

They still don’t know what the future holds or who they are beyond the war, but that’s okay because they have each other. They made it through.

And now they’ve got all the time in the universe to figure it out.

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 15

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 15 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 15/? SUMMARY: Elise Smith is now a teenaged Timelord. In addition to losing the Ponds, the fields of Trenzalore are calling. But first they have to figure out exactly who Clara Oswald is.

[A/N - I thought I’d be nice and give you another chapter for being so nice and understanding.]

“Please don’t do this,” Elise begged the Doctor.

“She's right. You don't have to be in there. We can do this remotely,” Kate told him.

“Remotely isn't my style. See you after.” He kissed his hand and hit Amy on the head.

Elise grabbed onto his jacket and silently begged him with her eyes not to do this. He took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze before letting go.

He went inside the room as the number went down to two. He sat down and spun the cube. It went down to one and finally hit zero.

It switched off and opened up.

“What's happening?” Kate asked.

The Doctor peered inside the cube.

“Well? What's in there?” Amy asked.

“There is nothing in here,” the Doctor said.

“Er, well, that's good. It's not, it's not bombs, it's not aliens.”

“Why? Why is there nothing inside? Why? It doesn't make any sense.” The Doctor came out of the small room and walked over to the researcher at the computer bay. “Glasses, is it the same? Is it the same all around the world?”

“They're empty,” Kate said, “We're safe, right?”

“Ah, no, no, no, we are very far from safe. All along, every action has been deliberate. Why draw attention to the cubes if they don't contain anything?”

“Doctor, look,” Amy said, looking at one of the screens.

People walking down the street grabbed their chests as they came near the cubes.

“They're CCTV feeds from across the world. They're showing the same,” the researcher said.

Elise covered her mouth in horror as she watched the people die.

“People are dying,” Kate said, shocked.

“What? They can't be dying. How? How are they dying?” the Doctor asked.

“I want information on how people are being affected.”

“The cubes brought people close together. They opened and then…” The Doctor cried out in pain and grabbed his chest.

“Dad!” Elise said, rushing to his side.

“Doctor, what's the matter?” Amy asked.

The monitor started beeping.

“I don't know!”

“Hospitals are logging a global surge in heart failures. Cardiac arrests,” the researcher explained.

“That's it.” The Doctor cried out in pain, hitting himself on the chest. “Only one heart. Other one's not working.”

“Okay, I'm going to get you to the hospital!” Amy yelled.

“Oh, no, no, no, no. Just a short circuit. Tell me, show me. Ten seconds after the cubes opened, show me the patterns in their electrical currents.”

A heartbeat signature appeared on the screen.

“See?” the Doctor asked, “The power cut. They zapped the power and then…” The Doctor cried out in pain again. “They're signal boxes. People leaning in, wham. Pure electrical surge out of the cube targeted at the nearest human heart. The heart, an organ powered by electrical currents, short-circuited. How to destroy a human? Go for the heart. Ow. Crikey Moses.”

“Doctor, the scan you set running. The transmitter locations. It's found them,” Kate told him.

“And look at them all, pulsing bold as brass. Seven of them, all across the world.” The Doctor hit himself on the chest again. “Seven stations, seven minutes. Why is that important?” The Doctor cried out in pain, grabbing his chest.

Elise wished she could help him.

“How do you people manage? One heart, it is pitiful,” the Doctor snapped, “A wormhole, bridging two dimensions. Seven of them hitched onto this planet, but where's the closest one? Glasses, zoom in.”

The program zoomed in before stopping.

“It's the hospital where Rory works,” Amy said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Doctor lumbered down the hallway, leaning on Elise for support. “How many deaths have been recorded?” he asked Kate.

“We don't know. We think it could be a third of the population.”

“Kate, I have to find the wormhole, but the attacks could still happen. Tell the world. Tell them how to deal with this. The world needs your leadership right now.”

“I'll do my best.”

“Of course you will. Good luck, Kate.” The Doctor cried out in pain and stagger over to the wall to hold himself up.

“Okay, how long are you going to last with only one heart?” Amy asked.

“Not much longer. I need to locate the wormhole portal.”

Elise pulled out her sonic screwdriver, scanning the area.

They walked past a little girl, who was throwing off odd signals. The girl’s face glowed blue.

“Oh, my God,” Amy said.

“Outlier droid, monitoring everything. If we shut her down, we can…”

Elise soniced her neck area and the girl went down.

The Doctor caught her and lowered her onto the ground. “It's all right, it's all right.” The Doctor collapsed. “I can't, Amy. I can't do it. I need both hearts!”

Amy grabbed a defibrillator. “All right. Desperate measures.”

“What? No. No, no, no. That won't work. I'm a Time Lord!”

Amy opened the Doctor’s shirt and charged the defibrillator. “All right, clear!” She shocked the Doctor and he shot up.

He jumped to his feet. “Welcome back, lefty! Whoa-ho! Two hearts! Woo! Back in the game.” He grabbed Amy’s face and kissed her head. “Never do that to me again.”

Elise and Amy followed him to a lift.

“Ah, portal to another dimension in a goods lift?” Amy asked.

“The energy signals converge here. Does seem a bit cramped, though.”

They entered the lift, Elise unsure about the whole thing. After all, she didn’t have good experiences with lifts.

The wall shifted in front of their eyes.

Amy smiled at the Doctor.

“Through the looking glass, Amelia? Elise?” he whispered.

Amy took one hand and Elise took the other.

They stepped out into a spaceship.

“Where are we?” Amy asked.

“We're in orbit. One dimension to the left,” the Doctor told them.

“Rory!” Amy ran over to him. He was laying on a slab next to Brian.

Elise was having “black spot” flashbacks. She wondered how Captain Avery and his son Toby were doing.

The Doctor pulled out a small vial from his jacket. “Soborian smelling salts. Outlawed in seven galaxies.”

Amy waved it under Rory’s nose and he shot up.

Someone started shooting at them. Go figure.

“What kind of a welcome do you call that? Get them out of here. You too. Now!” the Doctor yelled.

“What are you going to do?” Amy asked.

“Absolutely no idea. Get him to the portal. Elise go with them.”

“No. I’m not leaving you.”

The Doctor stared at her for a moment before snapping, “Fine!”

Brian started to wake as Amy and Rory started to move him.

The alien shot at them again. “So many of them crawling the planet, seeping into every corner.”

Amy, Rory, and Brian managed to get away now that the alien’s attention was on the Doctor and Elise.

The alien disappeared and reappeared in front of a bunch of monitors.

The Doctor and Elise stepped in front of them on the other side.

“It's not possible. I thought the Shakri were a myth. A myth to keep the young of Gallifrey in their place,” the Doctor said.

“Who?” Elise asked.

He looked at her. “Didn’t your parents ever…? Nevermind.” Although the Doctor didn’t know much about her biological family, it didn’t seem like they ever cared for the small Timelord.

“The Shakri exist in all of time, and none. We travel alone and together. The Seven,” the alien told them.

“The Shakri craft, connected to Earth, through seven portals and seven minutes. Ah, but why?”

“Serving the word of the Tally.”

“Why the cubes? Why Earth?”

“Not Earth, humanity. The Shakri will halt the human plague before the spread.”

“Erase humanity before it colonizes space. We thought the cubes were an invasion. The start of war.”

“The human contagion only must be eliminated.”

“Who are you calling a contagion?” Amy asked, appearing behind the two Timelords with Rory.

“Oi! Didn't I tell you two to go?” the Doctor said.

“You should have learned by now,” Rory told him.

“Yeah, and what is this Tally anyway?” Amy asked.

“Some people call it Judgment Day, or the Reckoning,” the Doctor explained.

“Don't you know?”

“I've never wanted to find out.”

“Before the Closure, there is the Tally. The Shakri serves the Tally,” the alien said.

“The pest controllers of the universe, that's how the tales went, isn't it?”

“Wow. That's some seriously weird bedtime story,” Amy commented.

“You can talk. Wolf in your grandmother's nightdress?” The Doctor clapped his hands and approached the alien.

“So, here you are, depositing slug pellets all over the Earth, made attractive so humans will collect them, hoping to find something beautiful inside. Because that's what they are. Not pests or plague, creatures of hope, forever building and reaching. Making mistakes, of course, every life form does. But, but they learn. And they strive for greater, and they achieve it. You want a tally. Put their achievements against their failings through the whole of time, I will back humanity against the Shakri every time.”

The alien chuckled. “The Tally must be met. The second wave will be released.”

“What does that mean?” Amy asked.

“It's going to release more cubes to kill more people,” the Doctor said.

“The human plague breeding and fighting. And when cornered, their rage to destroy. You're too late, Doctor. The Tally shall be met,” the alien said, before vanishing.

“He's gone?” Amy asked.

“He was never really here. Just the ship's automated interface, like a talking propaganda poster,” the Doctor said. He ran over to the computers and started sonicing them. “I can stop the second wave. I can disconnect all the Shakri craft from their portals, leave them drifting in the darkspace. Ah, but all those people who were near the cubes, so many of them will have died.”

“I restarted one of your hearts,” Amy reminded him.

“You'd need mass defibrillation,” Rory said.

“Of course. Ah, beautiful. But, Ponds, Ponds. We are going to go one better than that. The Shakri used the cubes to turn people's hearts off,” the Doctor told them, “Bingo! We're going to use them to turn them back on again.”

“Will that work?” Amy asked.

“Well, creatures of hope. Has to.” He soniced the alien computer. “Thirty seconds. Don't let me down, cubes, you're working for me now.”

The ship started shaking.

“Oh dear. All these cubes. There's going to be a terrible wave of energy ricocheting around here any second. Run.”

They took off running and just managed to go back through the portal before the spaceship blew up.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After saying goodbye to Kate and UNIT, they met back up with Amy, Rory, and Brian for dinner.

It was getting late and the Doctor checked his watch. “Dear me. I'd better get going. Things to do, worlds to save, swings to swing on.”

Elise and the Doctor got up and started to walk towards the TARDIS.

The Doctor turned around and walked back towards Amy and Rory, throwing his arms around their shoulders. “Look, I know, you both have lives here. Beautiful, messy lives. That is what makes you so fabulously human. You don't want to give them up. I understand.”

“Actually, it's you they can't give up, Doctor. You and your wonderful daughter. And I don't think they should,” Brian said.

Amy and Rory looked at Brian.

“Go with him. Go save every world you can find. Who else has that chance? Life will still be here.”

“You could come, Brian.”

“Somebody's got to water the plants. Just bring them back safe.”

Amy and Rory changed, said goodbye to Brian, and they were off again.

[queenbirbs]

the way home | Ch. 2 | Edward x MC

Pairing: Edward Mortemer x MC

Word count: 1,977

Summary: In which traveling to the past is only half the battle; or: Elena finds her way back.

Warnings: language, some violence 

Read from the beginning or continue on Read on AO3

Tag list: @writinghereandthere

------

Throngs of people breeze through the streets of the port town, unfazed by the stacks of boards and pallets of bricks that block sections of the main route. 

The hurricane’s damage is much more obvious this close: swatches of roofs torn away, replaced with makeshift sheets of tin, the steeple of a nearby church gone, with only splinters remaining. Elena recalls the story about how she saved her home from a hurricane and hopes that she hasn’t arrived too late. Having wasted time doubling back to her buried bag and stowing away the clothes she arrived in, she hurries through the packed streets as best she can. The new boots pinch at her feet with every step. It would be nice, she bemuses, if she could keep her clothes with her when she travels back in time. 

“Would’ve saved me a fortune,” she mutters, navigating around two men haggling on the price of a goat. 

Complaints aside, she loves the feel of the silk vest against her skin, of the fresh leather across her hip where her new sword gleams in its holster. She even bought a cavalier hat, excusing its purchase with the protection from the sun it offered. 

It’s nice to be back, to resume her role as Elena McTavish, infamous pirate. The years of holing up in her sister’s apartment or Robert’s hotel rooms, scouring documents and scrolling through endless message boards for time-traveling artifacts was no life to call her own. The occasional trip to Calgary or Edinburgh or New Orleans to hunt down a lead was the closest she ever came to a real adventure back home.  

Up ahead, she spots the tavern and winds her way through the crowd to reach it. The inside is as dimly lit as any other pub she’s been to, no matter the century. Ignoring the jeer of a drunken man near the door, she makes her way to the table Robert has commandeered near the back. His new attire fits him well, colored dark as to blend in with the shadows -- just as he likes. He slides a mug to her before launching into his update. 

“I found us a ship. Decent crew. They need four extra hands.”

Elena sips at the ale and raises her brow. “Did you tell them that the two of us are just as good as four men?” 

“Aye, that I did.” A smirk flashes behind his mug. “They agreed to take us aboard. I told ‘em that we’re interested in finding an associate who’s likely to be farther north. As it so happens, that’s where they’re headed for a trade route.”

“Did they know anything about--”

“You know as well as I do that Edward has made enemies -- none as big as the Admiral, but enemies nonetheless. I thought it wise to keep mum about who exactly we’re looking for, especially when they’re our ride out of here.”

Elena frowns, though she dips her head in acknowledgement to his point. “I asked the ladies in the shop, but they didn’t recognize his name. This port gets its fair share of traffic.”

“Aye, we’ll have better luck with the smaller islands.” After a subtle glance at the other patrons, Robert leans over the table and drops his voice to a mumble. “I managed to find a few of my old contacts. Both of them said the same thing: that he’s offering a bounty of sorts for information on you.”

She takes a slow sip of her drink and attempts to act nonplussed. “When did they hear about this bounty? Recently, or…?” 

“Within the last three months. So, that tells us that he’s in the area.”

“Yeah,” she sighs, unable to hide the daunting weight to her words, “the area of one million square miles.” 

“Oi.” He nudges her arm, bringing her sour gaze up from her mug and back to him. “The hardest part is over. We made it back -- and this time, hopefully, for good. Don’t beat yerself up. I told you that I’d stick with you until we find him, and I will.” 

Elena settles in her chair, holding back the relieved sigh that’s building in her chest. She doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much that means to her. 

On their first return, he’d all but left her in the dust when the wormhole they used spit them out in a church in Salvador, down on Brazil’s coast. When their time ran out and they were both sucked back to the future a few weeks later, the leopard had changed its spots, so to speak, and Robert admitted his own faults with trying to go at it alone. 

“How do you manage to slip back into the accent so well?” she asks, unsubtly changing the topic at hand. 

“Helps if you learned to do so in the first place. When you first showed up, you hardly attempted to assimilate. Didn’t help you any when you waved yer mobile about.”

“Says the man who stuffed gunpowder into little tubes and tried to pass it off as an original idea? And it’s not my fault that I ended up being put on trial! Edward was the one who broke the Code by letting me come aboard.”

Robert shrugs off her point, hiding his grin behind the glass. 

“We would’ve shot you first, if that’s any consolation.” 

“Honestly, as someone who swam half a mile in a dress, it is.” 

 ------

Adjusting the sails alongside Rhodes, the ship’s boatswain, Elena looks out across the deck of the Little Death and to the green spot on the horizon. 

The ragtag crew welcomed them with somewhat open arms, more desperate than anything else to have help running their sloop. It didn’t hurt, of course, that Elena and Robert knew their way around boarding and pillaging merchant ships. On their journey from Santo Domingo’s port, they manage to pin down two ships along Hispaniola's southern shore, and then another as they pass by Tortuga, long abandoned by the buccaneers that ran it during the mid-seventeenth century. After stopping briefly in the West Indies to gather more crew, they head north into Great Britain’s territory. The islands here are smaller, clustered together within twenty to sixty nautical miles of each other.  

“Sail ho!” someone cries from up in the crow’s nest. “Got a brig comin’ ‘round to starboard!” 

Along with everyone else, Elena eagerly searches the expanse of water. The Red Duster flag fades into view soon enough. She frowns at the British merchant vessel, turning the ugly flare of disappointment into fierce determination when she boards it twenty minutes later. 

The merchant crew is really no match, she finds, after tying several of the men together with their own twine. Captain Delaney, a chiseled man without a single ounce of humor in his entire body, gets right to business with giving his crew orders on what to plunder. 

“Montgomery and Lear, supplies!” he shouts. 

Snapping into action, Elena and Robert disappear down the ladder and into the ship’s hull. It had been his idea, of course, to use fake surnames. There was no need for their temporary crew to know their real names, especially with the rumor of a reward for--

“McTavish!” a voice blurts from the darkened corridor. 

Her step falters; she knocks her shoulder against the wall before righting herself.

“Keep moving,” Robert hisses in her ear, brushing past to hide her from immediate line of sight. 

“Shut up!” Rhodes demands over the sickening slap of skin on skin. 

“What if it’s--”

“It’s not,” Robert cuts her off, bending down and shoving a crate of supplies into her lax hold. “If it were, they’d call you by yer given name.” He moves about the room as he speaks, pitching his voice below whoever is outside calling for her. “Don’t look at them. Make them think they’re just confused.” 

Shifting the crate in her grip, Elena nods her head. “Got it.” 

“C’mon.” He dumps a smaller box on top of hers in an effort to hide her face. “If the captain wants more’n this, he can send down another--”

“Elena McTavish!” the voice cries again when they exit the room. “I know it’s you -- it’s me, Doyle! Officer Doyle! Please, you can’t let them kill me!” 

Behind her mountain of supplies, Elena rolls her eyes at his begging. Robert’s nudge at her back urges her to ignore the man. Their path is blocked by other members of the crew waiting their turn to return to the deck, leaving her at the mercy of Doyle’s pitiful wails. “I -- I have a family, now, a wife and a little boy. Please, you have to tell them to let me go!” 

“Oi!” Rhodes knocks him back against the wall with a kick to his ribs. “What did I say?” 

“I’m sorry, please, I’ll -- I just -- Elena, please, I helped you when--”

“For god’s sake, shut up!” she snarls. She turns on her heel to face him, but Robert blocks her with his own bulky crate. “We aren’t going to kill you, you idiot. And my name isn’t McTavish. I’ve never met you before in my life.”

“I don’t understand. Please, Elena, you’re my only hope! You can vouch for--”

“Rhodes?” she calls down the corridor. 

The sharp thunk of skull meeting wood echoes through the small space. Her lungs seize, unable to see the damage for herself as guilt races through her. 

“You’ve a soft heart, Rhodes,” another of their crew says with a smirk. “I woulda done more’n knock him out.” 

Elena clenches her jaw against the grating noise of laughter. Robert joins in, adding his own insult that gets them going once more. Adjusting his load, he reaches down and pats her arm, nodding at the question in her eyes. She welcomes the breath of relief that fills her lungs. 

After they leave the merchant ship behind, Rhodes approaches her out on the deck. He drapes his arm around her shoulder in a casual gesture. Elena decides to ignore the gaze he seemingly has trained on her breasts. 

“I thought your name was Elena Montgomery?”

“It is,” she scoffs. “Moron mistook me for some poor lass, I guess.”

“Hmm. Poor lass indeed,” he agrees. 

Glancing up, his face tightens around a grimace before his smirk springs back. His hand squeezes her shoulder for a beat before he moves off with a wink.

“God, could he be any more obvious?” she asks without bothering to look up from her task.

Robert grunts in agreement, chuckling under his breath.

“Aye, he’s probably considering what he could buy himself with that many pieces of eight.” 

“How many, exactly?” Elena questions, curious. 

“Six-hundred, according to my contacts.” 

Her jaw drops a fraction before she snaps her mouth closed. “The same payout as losing an arm, depending on a ship’s Code. Which is, I imagine, what Edward’ll do if Rhodes here threatens you to get that coin.”

“That’s…” she trails off, still trying to move past the sum. 

“Not his best play, I’ll give you that.” He tips his head to the side in consideration. “But it keeps mouths moving, keeps people looking.” 

Finishing off her last knot, Elena shifts to lean against the railing. She could corner Rhodes when night comes and threaten to slice his balls off if he tells anyone else -- but then that would be all the convincing he would need. Keeping her head down is probably the best way to go about it, but that runs the risk of him feeling brave enough to pull a stunt on her down the line. 

“Dead men tell no tales,” she recites in a sing-songy tone. 

Robert steps up to join her at the railing and crosses his arms, glaring out over the deck at the man in question. 

“Leave him to me.”

[oddeyecadia]

back to square one

read on ao3

Pidge was stubborn.

She was not supposed to enter the Garrison with uneven chopped off hair, her brother's glasses and her mother's confidence then change her name and create a new identity for it was technically against the law.

But she did.

When she finally got a lead into finding her brother, all logic was immediately thrown away as she hopped onto green without hesitation. For practicality and her own safety, Shiro suggested that she shouldn't go alone.

But she did.

Allura's sacrifice left the universe safe but broke the hearts of many. Though, no one was as broken as Lance who mourned alone and specifically told everyone that he wanted to be alone as he tried his hardest not to let anyone break his walls.

But she did, just like what he did to hers when they were only cadets.

A lot could change in three years. Feelings even.

The world had stopped, his feet on the sand and view of the sun setting completely forgotten as he stared at another sunset colored view. Whoever decided that brown wasn't as gorgeous as the other eye colors were either blind or just a whole idiot. All of Lance's life he used to think sunset was the most beautiful view but seeing Pidge's eyes, the sun had some competition.

Their faces were so close that he could see every little freckle on her face. He felt her breath touch his lips and he shivered. His voice came out softer than it should, "I'm still a mess, Katie. You shouldn't."

But she did, he was glad she did.

The team found a way to possibly bring Allura back. Laws of physics were hard to battle with but if being a part of Voltron ever teach them anything other than becoming stronger, it was that everything fictional can be turned into reality. So, they figured it out– time travel.

It required several complicated technology. First, a wormhole, then a power crystal, a lot of patience, and some other parts that he completely missed because of so many thoughts clouding his mind.

They were getting Allura back. Seeing her smile wouldn't only just be limited to his dreams now. The thought filled his chest with a familiar warmth, though it felt a little different. It wasn't as strong as when he last had it.

After everything was built, there was one last thing that they needed in order for the plan to succeed.

A team. The standard Garrison flight team, a group of three who would go into the wormhole and execute the plan, travel back in time in their own universe and prevent Allura from sacrificing herself.

A highly dangerous task, not only because they were going to be meddling with the laws of space and time, but also because there was only an 80% chance that the teludav would work. Sure, the Holts have stabilized earth teludavs for travel when it came to distance, but time was another thing. There was still a 20% chance that whoever would enter it may never come back.

No one in the Atlas even bat an eye when Shiro volunteered to be in the mission first. Some showed a look of concern, but there weren't any look of surprise in sight. Then, he asked Keith to come with him, in which he accepted without hesitation. A lot could change in five years, some dynamics stayed the same, though. Lance chuckled to himself.

When Shiro's eyes fell on him, a sense of understanding came through. It made sense for Lance to be a part of the team, he was the closest to Allura next to Coran. He knew what to do and what not to do in order for the mission to succeed.

Out of the corner of his eyes, a familiar small figure stood up before he could even move.

His breath stopped. Most of the time, Pidge showing her daring personality would make butterflies fill Lance's stomach up to his chest. Right then, it made the butterflies tear down his organs.

"Pidge, don't." He begged, desperately.

But she still did it.

Her calloused hands lacked warmth, but he provided, holding it gently as he watched her chest rise and fall continuously. The cold metal seat beside her bed was rather uncomfortable, but he couldn't care less. Nothing but the humming of machine filled the silence of the infirmary.

God, he missed her voice. He would do anything to hear her laugh, rambles, even her snarky yet endearing remarks again.

The moment they turned on the teludav, his gut immediately told him to try and stop the team's shuttles to enter it. He did not listen to it, unfortunately.

When the shuttles entered slowly, chaos occurred faster than what his eyes could see. All he could remember was the teludav shutting down, horrified shouts of panic as the wormhole released an insane amount of power and almost destroyed Pidge's shuttle, almost destroyed her.

Red. Everything was red.

Tightening his hold of her hand, the memory of her pale and almost lifeless body in his arms flashed through his mind. An uncomfortable shiver ran down his spine. It had been almost a week,  a week of him watching a stupid machine count her heartbeat, hoping that her eyes would open with every rise of her heart rate. It was kind of ironic how just a month ago, he was practically begging her to take a nap.

"It's 2 am, Pidge."

"And?" Her hand continued to type something on her tablet before zooming in on a picture of the plant in front of her. Scanning it carefully, her eyes blinked slowly once, twice.

Lance let out a sigh. "Sleep. Please?" He wrapped his arms around her from the back, resting his head on top of hers and his chin almost hitting the bobby pins he put on her hair earlier. "Come on, I'll let you hog both blankets tonight." He never restricted her from hogging any blanket ever. Why they had two was the result of Pidge hogging their blanket multiple nights, they decided to get another so they could have one each. She ended up hogging both of them.

Putting down her tablet, she seemed to ease up, melting into his embrace. "Play with my hair until I fall asleep and you got yourself a deal."

Kissing her head, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Anything for you, hermosa."

His eyes never left her petite form, he was so focused, desperately looking for signs of her awaking that he didn't even notice someone had entered the room.

"Lance, you should eat." He recognized the voice without looking.

"Maybe later, Veronica."

"You said that earlier." The sound of footsteps approached him. A hand then reached his shoulder but he didn't flinch. "Come on, she'll be okay."

They both knew it wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. Earth healing pods did so little to help her heal. All her physical bruises and cuts were nowhere to be seen, making her look like she was just taking a nap after a long day, but internal damages were still there and no one was sure when or if she would wake up.

"I don't want her alone when she wakes up."

His sister sighed. "She'd want you to chose your health over her, you know?"

He flinched at her words.

Everyone was working hard to perfect everything for the mission, but Lance was working harder than anyone. He made sure to help in building the teludav in any way he could. He stayed up all day and night helping Coran and Shiro plan everything out as if the idea of rest did not exist. He would get frustrated whenever there was a day without progress, blaming himself for not trying hard enough, for letting Allura sacrifice herself in the first place. If he had only held her tighter, made her happy enough to stay.

He was back to square one.

He was losing himself and the people around him again.

Even the one he cared about the most.

"You don't understand, Pidge!" Lance swung his arm like a mad man.

"I do understand! We all want Allura back and we're doing everything we can as fast as our bodies can handle." She stepped closer, trying to soften her tone but failing miserably after the first word. "You're the one who used to tell me all the time that overworking is bad and shit while yours here obviously need some fucking rest. Stop being a hypocrite, Lance, you don't need to torture yourself like this!"

It was supposed to be a peaceful night. She invited him to her lab to help with some last minute adjustments for the mission. In the middle of progress, she suggested for them to take a break, get some sleep and continue tomorrow for a day was enough to get everything settled. On normal days, he would be relieved to know that his overworked significant other finally understood how important taking breaks were.

That night, he was the one who refused. One thing led to another and then they were screaming at each other as if they weren't five feet apart.

"You just don't want all of this to work, not as much as I do!" His voice cracked.

"Wha– May I remind you that this mission was my idea! I'm the one working my butt off just to mimic an altean teludav, why the quiznack would you think I don't want this to work?"

"I don't know, maybe because once Allura's back, you're afraid I'm gonna choose her over you?"

Pidge froze.

The look of pure shock on her face calmed him down, but the tears forming in her eyes was what made him finally come to his senses. Realization hit and regret washed over him.

"Katie..." He breathed, voice shaking, "That's not what I meant."

Her hands clenched so hard, nails could mark her skin. It looked like she was about to scream but took a deep breath instead. Fists slowly opening, her eyes softened, trying to blink away the tears but ending up making them fall down her cheek. A lump formed in his throat.

All he wanted to do right then was cup her face and wipe all her tears away. So he did. His heart dropped to his stomach when she immediately pulled away from his touch.

"Don't worry, I've already accepted my faith as a fucking consolation price. What am I compared to your first love, right?" She held herself tightly the way she would whenever she was missing her family or losing hope during the war. The urge to embrace her got stronger but he held himself back.

When he finally found his voice again, it came out unbelievably weak. "Consolation price? What, you think I'm using you as a rebound?"

"Am I not?" She scoffed.

"No!" The anger somehow came back. This time, it wasn't at her, but purely at himself and he couldn't do anything but scream it out. "Dammit, Katie, you think I would go that low? You're not a rebound! I've never–"

"Well, it doesn't feel like it! You barely talked to me these past few weeks and when you do, it's either about this mission or nothing else." Her voice cracked as well as something in his chest. Her shoulders were trembling then, more and more tears fell from her expressive eyes. "I trust that you wouldn't do something like that, Lance, I do. I just couldn't help but feel like I'm fifteen again, pining over a friend who couldn't fucking see me even though I'm right in front of them the whole time. It's like I'm back to square one and it sucks!"

An uncomfortable, heavy silence filled the room. Lance opened his mouth but nothing came out of it.

She was feeling like that all this time and he didn't even notice. Even the small changes, were the bags under her eyes always that big? Why was her hair messier than usual? Oh, right. He would usually fix it for her whenever he would catch her at her lab during lunch time. When was the last time he had checked up on her? His chest got heavier as he realized that he couldn't remember.

Pidge was not a consolation price. She was his everything, but he hadn't been treating her like she was and that made him sick. He didn't even realize he was crying until he looked down and the tears finally dropped.

She broke the heavy silence with another humorless scoff. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you do end up choosing her. I'm more concerned about you choosing her over your damn self again." A beat. "You're important too, Lance. You don't have to break yourself."

Pidge aggressively rubbed her nose on the sleeve of her lab coat before walking away. Lance couldn't do anything but watch her back, leaving him feeling emptier than a void.

"It's my fault"

"No." Veronica pulled a chair beside her brother and looked him dead in the eye. "We talked about this. It wasn't your fault the teludav was unstable."

"Still, I shouldn't have let her go to that mission. I should have tried harder to reason with Shiro to let me join the team instead but I didn't!"

"Lance, listen to me, it is not your fault she chose to be a part of it."

His eyes started to sting. "It is. She knew the teludav wasn't a hundred percent safe, she knew Shiro would pick me to be on the mission, she knew and she took my place. God, I should have told her to stay when we met at the hangar–"

"There was no other choice, she knew every part of the shuttles and the teludav more than any of us. We all knew it wasn't a hundred percent safe and it would never be because of how primitive earth technology is, that's why we only put three people in the mission. We had to take risks."

Risking her life for another wasn't worth it, even if it was Allura. The Princess sacrificed herself just for them to live, it would go against everything that she did for the universe if even one of them give up their life. He would rather have all his efforts go to waste than lose Pidge. Not once did he not regret how it took him almost losing her just for him to realize this.

Minutes before the mission, Lance found himself walking to the shuttle's hangar. It could be his imagination but his feet were heavier than usual.

Still, he wanted to see her.

It was only yesterday when they had their big fight but that didn't mean their little tradition shouldn't be done. It was kind of their thing whenever one of them was part of a mission or just having a trip, whether out of town or out of earth, they would do something sappy. If they were in a public place like an airport, the one getting left behind would have to create a scene, pretending like they haven't confessed their feelings and they got to before the other could get on the plane, just like in every classic 2000s romcom which both Lance and Pidge were a fan of. Though, Pidge just liked them only because they were easy to make fun of.

Whenever they were alone, though, they would just give each other see you later kisses until one of them really had to go.

Perhaps they wouldn't be able to do that right then because of their recent misunderstandings, but he at least wanted to wish her a safe flight.

Pidge in her old Voltron uniform was the first thing he saw when he entered the hangar. Earth armors were no where near as advance as the Altean ones so the former paladins had the smart decision to keep theirs in case of highly dangerous missions like this happening.

His heart skipped a beat at the sight. It was weird yet somehow nostalgic seeing her in that green armor again. In a way, she looked different yet still wonderfully the same. She grew a little taller, had a little more figure, but she still had those big curious eyes and short hair, though, a little less choppy. Many have praised her "glow up," saying things like late puberty really turned her from an ugly duckling to a swan. This claim had always confused Lance because for him, she had always been beautiful.

"Hey."

She turned to him, helmet in hand, with wide eyes as if his presence was unexpected. "Lance, hi."

"Everything settled?" He took a careful step closer.

"Mhm. Just waiting for Shiro's command."

For the the first time in forever, Lance was at lost for words. Usually, this would be the time he would give her a big hug and kiss her everywhere, but the atmosphere was telling him otherwise. The fight was still fresh for both of them and he could tell just by the way she was avoiding eye his eyes. They weren't screaming, though, that was a good sign.

He found his voice again after a moment. "You're not gonna tie your hair back?"

At this point, he was just desperate for any conversation to happen. His question was genuine, though. After the war, Pidge specifically chose to keep her hair short. She tried growing it out the first few months of post Voltron but with all the Garrison work and the stress of rebuilding earth, she really didn't have time to take care of her hair.

Whenever she wouldn't have the time to chop it off, she would just stick to tying it half up half down. Sometimes, Lance would help her out and play with her hair, doing small braids and styling which both of them enjoyed. He'd usually style it in a way that her bangs wouldn't bother her.

Pidge blew her bangs away from her face. "I mean, it would get messed up by the helmet anyway."

"You sure? You're not gonna throw a tantrum once your bangs fall on your face in a difficult situation?" He was already searching his pockets for bobby pins. There was two.

She let out a hearty laugh for the first time since yesterday and he never felt so blessed. "That I won't guarantee."

"Can I?"

"Yes, please."

Lance then grabbed a bobby pin and carefully put her bangs away from her face. He used his teeth to open up a pin before securing it on her hair. "There." He said, gently tucking a side of hair to her ear.

Their eyes met. "Thanks." She said softly.

For a moment, he though she was going to say something. Lance himself was hesitant to even move even though he was dying to kiss her right then and there. If only the weight of yesterday's argument could be thrown away even just for a second, he would hold her tight in his arms and tell her how sorry he was, but something was telling him that it wasn't the time... or was it? "Katie..."

"5 minutes before take off! Team, time to get on the ship." Shiro's voice bombarded the speakers in the hangar.

Pidge took a deep breath. "Well, I better go." She gave a small smile.

"Y–Yeah. Yeah, of course."

After a beat, she gave him a nod and immediately turned back. Lance's hand itched, he wanted nothing more but to grab her hand and pull her in his arms but she was already walking away. She wasn't gonna turn back and his heart sunk at the thought.

His fist clenched. Perhaps the atmosphere wasn't right, the fight was still clear in their heads but they were adults god dammit, they were better than this, Lance was better than this. If he wanted to say something then he would.

He was about to open his mouth when she suddenly stopped. Dropping her helmet, Pidge ran to his arms, wrapping her short ones around his neck. He held her with all his strength, burying his face onto her shoulder.

It was just like the movies but better. Maybe they weren't gonna break tradition after all.

"You couldn't resist me, huh?" He asked fondly and felt her chuckle.

"Obviously"

A moment later, they finally pulled away yet stayed so close as if it would be a sin to move away even just a little.

"I'm gonna bring her back." Pidge said, looking straight into his eyes. There was determination in her voice and it somehow scared him for a reason he couldn't tell.

He cupped her face tenderly. "Just promise you'll come back safely too, yeah?"

"Lance..."

"Please."

A heavy sigh, then a nod. "If– When I come back, we're gonna fix this, fix us, okay?"

Lance kissed her forehead as a subtle promise. "We will."

"I love you, Katie." He didn't say it the last time and it was another thing to add to Lance's list of biggest regrets.

He tightened his hold of her hand. Lance was both quite vocal and physical when showing affection to someone, but with Pidge, it was a little different. They had this unspoken rule that I love yous would only be said during intimate moments and never used as an indirect good bye. Not once did they said it during their sappy see you later shenanigans.

She wanted their I love yous to be special and he respected that. Sometimes though, he really just wanted scream it to the world. In this case, say it to her multiple times in hopes of her getting annoyed unconsciously and waking up to maybe pout at him. He really was desperate.

They were alone once again. Veronica left a while ago to get some food. It took a lot of convincing, but he eventually agreed to at least have some snack only because Hunk was back on earth and was preparing some food for everyone. Hunk knew about what happened prior to his visit and was as- or even more -devastated as everyone. He went to check on Pidge three days after the incident and of course, a few tears were shed, but immediately forced himself to get his crap together because he believed- knew she would be okay. Lance had been telling himself the same thing over and over again. For the first few days, he was full of hope but as the days passed, it started to fade slowly.

Lance gave her hand a soft kiss. "I love you so much. Please, hermosa, wake up and say it back."

Pidge was stubborn.

Every doctor said the chances of her waking up after the incident was little to none. Her heart rate wasn't supposed to rise, she wasn't supposed to move and open her eyes, weakly hold his hand back and call out his name softly.

But she did, he was glad she did.

For Lance, it felt like they were back to square one and surely this time, he would use this fresh start to do everything that he wasn't able to.

Starting with loving her better.

[marvelousmarvelimagines]

Five Times You Caught Tony Stark’s Eyes

Pairing - Tony Stark x Avenger!Reader

Summary - It’s not easy to grab the attention of the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, but here’s five times that you did. 

Word Count - 3,138

Warnings - Language, and also some slightly smutty situations. 

Tony Stark had seen a lot of things in his forty years of life. From a burrito flying through the air into a car window, to a wormhole leading into space, he had seen a lot.

But he had never seen anything like you.

The fire blazing in front of him was reflected in your eyes, creating a barrier between you and the rest of the team. That wasn’t the only thing reflected in them though. It was a look Tony recognized well. It was fear. You put on a brave front, but he could see right through it. The bravado you put on was all an act from a woman trying to hide that she had no idea how to control this thing inside of her. You were scared to death. Tony knew at that exact moment every single incident that got you on the Avengers radar must have been accidental. How could someone that looked that terrified be a murderer?

Surprising everyone, even himself, he stepped closer to you. He could hear the team’s warnings, as well as his AI’s, echoing in his ears, but as usual, he paid them no mind. How could he focus on anything other than you as your eyes widened.

“Stay away!” You yelled at him, but your voice lacked the authority it had earlier held, and Tony stepped forward again.

Your arm thrust up, but you seemed too panicked to do anything, scrambling backwards toward the wall behind you. Tony could see the sweat gleaming on your skin, the trembling of your hand as your gaze darted around trying to find a way out. You looked like a small mouse that had been cornered by a large cat with no escape in sight.

Tony deactivated his mask, revealing his face to you. That grabbed your attention and you focused once more on him instead of the fire surrounding you. “Mr. Stark, you need to get away! Leave me alone!” This time there was another tone in your voice, one of pleading as you looked at him. You didn’t want to hurt him.

“No can do, kid. We just want to help you.” He tried to reassure you as he continued forward. “Can you let me through?” Tony asked once he reached the edge of the fire.

You shook your head, “please,” you gasped, “stay away . . . I can’t -” Your whole body seemed to be trembling with terror as he stared at you. “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone else.” You said.

“You won’t,” Tony tried to reassure you. “I would say we’re pretty damn near indestructible, but Cap here has weak legs,” he said, gesturing to the super soldier over his shoulder.

His humor was rewarded with a little smile, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.

“I can’t control it.” You told him.

Tony leaned down so that he would be level with you. The heat from the fire caressed his skin, but he didn’t notice it. Your eyes were locked on his, filled with a multitude of emotions ranging all over the place. You were scared, you were powerful, but most of all, you were desperate. While you might not be asking for it, Tony could see you needed help. “We’re good with that. If I can build an iron suit in a cave surrounded by terrorists, I think I can help you out with this.”

It felt like hours, hours of staring into each other’s eyes, while all around the fire continued to blaze. Tony’s gaze was filled with awe and sincerity, while yours was filled with pain and uncertainty trying to figure out if you could trust him. Then, your hand started to lower, hesitating for a moment. “You promise?” You whispered so low he almost couldn’t hear it over the crackle of the flames.

“Promise,” Tony replied.

The flames lowered.

⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊

Appreciating the little things had never been a priority in Tony Stark’s life. Why should it when there were much finer things to be appreciated in reach of his fingertips? Any piece of the latest technology he could have. Say he wanted some pizza from Italy? Easy, take his plane and go there. Stopping and smelling the roses? Please, there were artificial scents for that he could order and have at the tower in under an hour.

Not you though.

He had never seen someone so fascinated by such simple things before. Everything you did was like you were doing it for the first time. He couldn’t count the amount of times he had found you laying on the roof enjoying the sun. Then there was this little smile of relief you got every time that someone greeted you or left you with a hug. It was like it made your day. Also your obsession with animals. At the rate you were going, Tony didn’t think that there would be a cat in New York City that hadn’t been pet by you. It seemed so . . . easy to make you happy. Coming from the girl that half a year ago had been sobbing and helpless on the ground surrounded by a fire she couldn’t control, it was the most impressive turnabout Tony had ever seen.  

This might take the cake though.

Tony couldn’t stop staring. Rain poured down from the skies as you moved around the roof of the tower, your clothes so drenched your button up hung off your shoulder, your curled hair falling in waves around your face, but yet, you still danced, a soft smile on your face as you embraced the downpour. He had thought he had gone unnoticed even though he had no idea how long he had been standing there.

“I can feel your judgement from here.” You called out to him.

Tony started, but recovered before it became too awkward. “I thought fire and water didn’t get along?”

You shook your head, opening your eyes and turning your smile to him. “Common misconception.” Once again, Tony watched every step that you took as you moved closer, stopping mere feet in front of him. His chest tightened as you held out your hand to him. “Join me?”

“Uh, bad idea, see this shirt is about the cost of saving several mountain gorillas, and I have to get to a Gala in -”

“When has something being expensive ever stopped you?” You asked him, lifting an eyebrow.

Tony thought about it for a minute. He knew the fancy gala would be starting soon, but it was already in his reputation to be late. Why start changing now? Besides, he wouldn’t mind spending some alone time with the mystery that was you. “Two conditions.”

Your smile widened as if you expected nothing less. “I’ll hear them and take them into consideration.”

He took a step closer to you, right at the edge of the door as he spoke. “Number one, I expect round the clock care when I inevitably get sick from this little venture.” He told her, holding up one finger.

She laughed and Tony found his breath leaving him at the sound. God how was a laugh so attractive? Nobody was supposed to have an attractive laugh. “Agreed as long as it doesn’t involve foot massages.” She told him, scrunching up her nose.

Tony bit his bottom lip as if considering her counter, but then nodded. “Number two, not my type of music. JARVIS, cue something from my playlist would you?” The Steelheart song his AI had selected, ‘I’ll Never Let You Go’, began playing and Tony had to fight the urge to roll his eyes.

“I’m impressed. I thought for sure it would be some AC/DC.” You pointed out.

“Me too,” he looked at her and stepped out into the rain, tugging her close. “Guess we’ve just got to play the cards we’ve been dealt sometimes.”

If you hadn’t been pressed against him, he would have missed your sharp intake of breath as your bodies met, because your face didn’t change a bit, your smile still in perfect place. He watched as a single raindrop dripped from one of your eyelashes and slid down your cheek. “Isn’t that the truth.” You said, wrapping your somehow still warm arm around his neck and pulling him even closer as you both moved in circles in the pouring rain.

⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊

It was hypocritical of him, he had known that from the very beginning. You had known that too, but you hadn’t questioned him. You had told him once that you trusted him more than anyone in the world. He had responded by telling you that was a mistake. You had replied that he hadn’t let you down yet.

This time he felt like he had.

“Just for a few days. As soon as all of this has blown over I’ll bring you back and you can sign the accords like you wanted.” Tony told you, sitting on the porch of the small cabin that he had rented out for you.

“I don’t understand why I can’t sign them now. It’s not like the government doesn’t know of my existence. Doesn’t signing them -” You paused, and Tony knew right away that you had come to the same conclusion he had as soon as this whole idea was brought up. “You think they’ll prosecute me.” You said, your voice so low Tony almost missed it.

“I don’t know that -”

“Why wouldn’t they?” You stood up and Tony watched as you began to pace around the porch, your hands trembling with emotion. “I’ve killed innocent people. I’m a murderer. I killed my own boyfriend, Tony. I should be locked up. They could make a good example out of me too. Show that superheroes aren’t above the law.”

“That was not your fault.” Tony said in a stern tone, punctuating every word with emphasis. “He was abusing you, Y/N. Your powers were new and out of control. You were defending yourself.”

You turned back to look at him, tears streaming down your face. “Historically, women who murder their own abusers don’t do well in court. You know that as well as I do.”

Tony had never been one for physical affection, but he made an exception for you, pulling you so tight against his chest he could feel your heartbeat, pounding and erratic with emotion against his own chest. “Then I’ll make a deal. I just need time. I promise nothing’s going to happen to you.”

He watched from a distance, taking in everything about you. The way your tan skin glowed in the flames you were creating in the fire pit. The tips of your fingers moving around in a dance as you manipulated them. Your white dress contrasting with the black night surrounding you, making you stand out even more in his tired eyes. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen. God you were a sight for sore eyes. He took a step forward, a branch cracking under his feet.

You glanced up, finding Tony in the darkness and letting out a gasp at his appearance. Now that he thought about it, he might should have cleaned up the blood a bit before coming to see you. “Tony . . .” You ran over to him, your hands covering your mouth in shock at the wounds on his face as you stopped a few feet away.

A sarcastic comment was on the tip of his tongue, but he continued looking at you, and he couldn’t do it. He was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and he couldn’t keep up his usual facade. Not with you. “I fucked up.” He croaked out.

He didn’t have to say anything else. You hugged him close, one arm wrapped tight around his middle while the other pulled his face into your neck. You didn’t have any words to say, but he didn’t need them. He just needed to be close to you.

⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊

It was a rare night that Tony Stark got to sleep all the way through it. Even more so when it wasn’t in his own bed, but Tony woke up feeling refreshed that morning. He could hear the wind blowing through the open windows, the white curtains flowing with it. The sun was rising, painting the sky in purples, oranges and yellows, a sight he normally only saw through tower windows after he had been up all night tinkering. He had to admit, it was nice to see from the comfort of a bed.

A soft sigh turned his attention away from the windows, and he glanced down at the woman curled on her side against his front. Your whole body was relaxed and warm as always. Your hair was a gentle wave against the pillows between the two of you, a serene look on your face with your lips parted, still deep in sleep. Then his eyes landed on your bare shoulder, and he couldn’t resist.

Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to your skin, followed by another, then another, all the way to the spot behind your ear that he knew drove you crazy. He was rewarded with another sigh as your back arched into him. “It’s way too early for you to be kissing me like that.” You mumbled into your pillow.

“Is it?” He asked, a hint of a smirk on his lips as he splayed his hand across the smooth skin of your lower stomach. “I’m not used to normal waking hours. I can stop if you want.” He said, turning his attention to your earlobe, nibbling on it softly.

This time you whined, pressing your ass back against him. “If you do I’ll set you on fire.” You replied, half joking.

Tony paused at that, his hand massaging your inner thigh with tender circles. “Now are you talking about the good kind of fire such as, ‘dear god I have to do terrible things to this awful man right now, or the bad kind of fire in which you’re thinking, ‘dear god I have to do terrible things to this handsome man right now?’” He asked, nipping at your neck.

At this point, you seemed to be almost awake, and rolled over on top of him, hips floating above his just enough to where they were almost touching, hands resting on either side of his head. “You know, those both kind of sound the same to me.”

“Did they? Seemed to have distinct differences to me.” He replied before sliding his hands up to grip your hips and pull you down to his hard length.

He couldn’t miss the way your arms tensed, and he knew you were gripping the sheets tight. As if it was second nature, you rolled your hips down on him, causing a slight groan to leave his mouth. He loved how your body reacted to him and his teasing. Even in the most inappropriate of situations, you always responded. In fact, he recalled fondly how angry you had gotten at him during one of your previous press conferences with the rest of the Avengers when he had kept a hand under your skirt the whole time while you all sat at the table. Nevertheless, within seconds of the press conference ending you had him pulled into a broom closet where he had fucked you against the door. You may deny it, but you couldn’t resist him. He enjoyed you attempting to though. “You’re walking on thin ice, Stark. I don’t start my mornings this early without coffee. You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“What can I say? I like playing with fire.” Tony replied.

You laughed, so deep in your belly that Tony could see it with your breath, the sight making him smile. God he loved you like this. Carefree and happy, adorable and yet alluring at the same time. Most importantly, with him. “You’re lucky I love you, or I’d hit you for all the fire puns.”

“Now, that’s an interesting idea. What do you say -”

He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. When you started kissing down his chest, he found himself rather occupied doing other things.

⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊⎊

“I need another drink.”

“You do not need another drink. As your best man, I am not going to allow you to get drunk before the most important day of your life.” Rhodey told him, clapping him on the shoulder. “Especially in front of an actual priest.” He muttered under his breath while smiling at the man in question.

Tony’s fingers tapped against his Tom Ford clad leg in no particular rhythm. “Drinking in front of a Priest is hardly the worst thing I’ve ever done.”

“No, but drinking on your wedding day might be. She would set your suit on fire. You realize that right?” Rhodey told him.

The thought of that had a fond smile appearing on Tony’s face. “Yeah, yeah I do.”

Then the violins started. An instrumental version of Sweet Child O’ Mine was the song both of you had ended up agreeing on after you had flat out refused You Shook Me All Night Long several times. Now, watching your Maid of Honor, Carol Danvers, walk down the aisle to it, sending a little wink to Rhodey as she did, he had to admit you were right.

As the music swelled, he could feel his heart rate getting faster and faster to an almost painful level. If he didn’t know any better, he would say he was having a panic attack. But then the doors opened and he saw you.

Gorgeous, lovely, pretty, ravishing, stunning, breathtaking, ethereal, a fucking knockout. Tony struggled to come up with a word that fit your description at that moment, but there was none in the English language. Head to toe in white lace, with a smile that left him breathless, you were every bit the angel he teased you were. At that moment, he wanted to run down the aisle, grab you close and marry you as soon as possible, but he didn’t, taking every second to memorize how you looked to implant in his mind forever. Finally, you reached the bottom of the stairs where he was waiting. It was then that he noticed the fire red detailing on the back, an ode to the both of you and how you had met.

If there had ever been a doubt in Tony’s soul that you were not meant for him, this moment stomped it. It wasn’t until you reached up with gentle fingers to brush a tear away that he realized he had been crying. “Did you ever think we would get here?” You asked him, your smile still blazing and your eyes shining with love.

“From the moment I laid eyes on you.” Tony replied.

[sserpente]

Mischief and Ice (Chapter 6)

Synopsis: Thanos’ cruel attempt to wipe out half of the universe failed and the titan is dead; but his actions came with grave consequences. Tears and cracks in the universe, all across space and time, formed wormholes within the nine realms and beyond, giving some old enemies a vicious opportunity to strike again. When the Jötuns invade Earth and the Avengers assemble to defend the planet once again, it is the help of none other than the former war criminal Loki they are reliant upon to drive the icy warriors back into their own realm. But then the God of Mischief encounters a young woman abandoned in the cold—your body mangled and altered with Jötun blood, a lab rat to the Frost Giants. He decides to take you with him and nurse you back to health, unable to comprehend the confusing affection he begins to harbour for you.

Find all chapters on my masterlist!

You had been sleeping for two days—to Loki, it felt like an eternity. With every calm and exhausted breath you took in your slumber, he felt his heart beating so fast he feared for it to jump right out of his chest. But the blood and his seidr seemed to come to fruition. Your blood levels were improving slowly but promisingly and very fortunately, you had, as of yet, not come down with a fever. Loki took it as a good sign. He refused to leave your bedside whenever he was not needed downstairs with the Avengers. Even if you were not awake—it felt like an invisible but strong force pulled him towards you, keeping him close to you as if it would hurt to leave you behind. Whatever it was, it was a kind of sorcery he did not understand.

The doctors had organised infusions which would provide you with all necessary nutrients and water for as long as you slept. Loki had watched reluctantly how they had placed a catheter in you and connected your body with a strange, bleeping device he could not name but which visualised your steady heartbeat. He spent hours sitting next to you, watching your motionless form and listening to the constant beeping in the background, indicating you were alright; so far.

He could witness the changes of your body. Your physical wounds, at least, had healed almost completely by now, the dark blue ridges underneath your skin had diminished considerably. Though you were still cold to the touch, Loki was starting to hope your body would manage to fight the Jötun blood and reject it completely, keeping you human and innocent. He longed for you to open your eyes and for him to see their true colour, without the threatening and outright repulsing hint of red gleaming in them.

He would have to be patient. For now, while the Avengers came up with the most aggressive solutions to defeat the Whitewalkers, as Stark had now decided to call them for some dubious reason, one of which included absurd amounts of fire. It would have been amusing, had it not been for the very real threat lurking in the ice. As of now, they were preparing for another battle and Loki had no doubts they would succeed in driving the Jötuns back to where they came from.

He himself had spent the last forty-eight hours using his seidr and all he had learned from handling the Tesseract to locate the pathway he needed to reach Jötunheim—with success, of course. Now all he had had to do was wait for the right moment. He would leave tonight.

Loki looked up, alarmed, when he heard your quiet whimper. You were frowning in your sleep, your lips slightly parted and your fists clutching at the white bed sheets. His hand came up almost immediately to stroke your head soothingly while you pressed your legs together as if in a desperate attempt to stop someone from prying them apart forcefully.

You were dreaming. A nightmare. Behind him, the bleeping of the machine he could not name increased.

Loki shushed you, holding your hand firmly but gently.

Oh, how much he bathed in the chivalry and pride his chest was filled with now that he had saved you, a defenceless damsel in distress. You were all his. He doubted you would ever raise your voice against him once you had regained your strength. It made him feel good to care for you—and that feeling was so foreign and strange he wanted, no, needed it to stop. It made him vulnerable, uncontrollable inside. One of his best traits was it to hide his fear, hide his emotions while they tore him apart inside out and now… all thanks to a little mortal his composure was going out of the window? He could not let that happen, now could he?

Loki sighed, closing his eyes. Your heartbeat was still rapid. Glancing down at you compassionately, he covered your forehead with his palm and cast a simple spell that would scare the nightmare away.

Was it his mother, perhaps, who had sent you to him to unfreeze his tainted heart? She would know what to do, what to do with those confusing feelings. He snorted quietly. He had spent the last two days at your bedside, refusing to leave you and he hardly even knew you. By the Norns, he did not even know your name. Either way, this was more than lust. Loki longed to remove those white bed sheets, lift the hideous gown the doctors had put you in and bury his length deep inside your core… he thought about it. Every day, every night—and yet he also wished to cradle you in his arms and comfort you like you had let him in the quinjet.

He had no idea trust could feel so good.

The door opened soon after your breathing had finally normalised again. Agent Hill appeared in the threshold, crossing her arms defiantly.

“What have you found?” He started without greeting him. She only rolled her eyes in response. “Now?”

“Her fingerprints didn’t match any of our records so we sent them to our associates in Iceland. Her name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N), (Y/A) old and only survivor of a pretty small family. Both her mother and brother were killed in the Jötun attack.”

Loki pursed his lips. (Y/N)… the name suited you. You were young—younger compared to him, anyway—and you were all alone. Once you woke up… there was no one left for you. No one but him. His heart skipped a beat.

Eventually, he nodded. “There is something I have to take care of. If she wakes, you call me immediately. Thor will know what to do.”

Agent Hill opened her mouth to object but before she had a chance to utter even a word, Loki had already rushed out of your room.

Jötunheim was as repulsive as he remembered it. Cold, drab and sordid, the ice crawled towards the landscape, snow covering every inch of the frozen ground. It was awfully quiet when he set one foot in front of the other.

Last time he was here Thor had slaughtered at least two hundred Jötuns and nearly gotten them all killed. Granted, Loki had played his part in that but it was his oaf of a brother who had ended Odin’s peace treaty with his sworn enemy. One of his sworn enemies, anyway.

He could feel their presence, they were close. Smirking triumphantly despite the hatred and disgust spreading in his guts, he moved closer and cloaked himself with his seidr. They were many. The amount of Frost Giants who had invaded Earth was ridiculously little compared to the amount that was still hiding out here in Jötunheim.

Tilting his head, Loki stepped closer and took a determined breath. It was time to demand answers.

“It is a rather cold night, is it not?”

The Frost Giant next to him jumped when he revealed himself with his hands clasped behind his back calmly, a dagger made entirely of ice materialising in his hands.

“Now, now… there is no need for violence. I merely came to talk. Where is your leader? Surely, you must have one.”

“To talk? You have come a long way to talk. A long way to die.” Another Jötun suddenly spoke up. It was the moment Loki drew all the attention to himself. Soon, he was surrounded by vicious Frost Giants all of which were only all too happy to drive their swords and daggers right into his heart.

“Your threats are getting old, I am hardly impressed.”

“Do not flatter yourself, Asgardian.”

“Traitor of our blood.” Another whispered. Loki smirked once more. If only they knew he had killed their king himself. It was going well. Thus far, no one had attempted to strike. He would have to work with the small pleasures.

“Traitor? Hardly.”

“No? And where have you been all this time? Hiding away, with Odin, with the slayer of the realms, our mortal enemy!”

“Ah… but you seem to be forgetting I was taken as an infant, during the end of a long and brutal war. My true heritage was kept from me until the day my witless brother Thor started a reckless brawl in your home.” He paused, lifting his chin. “Be it as it may. I came with a… proposition.”

The Frost Giant snorted.

“Last time you said this, our king was killed.”

“Last time the Alfather was still alive.” Loki argued, his smirk never faltering. “Would I offer to return as your king and help this place to bloom again if I had sworn my alliance to him? Why would you take meagre Midgard instead?”

“You failed our people once, Laufeyson.”

“I never failed you.” He snapped. “I was failed. Why Midgard?”

The Frost Giant shrugged. “Our population is shrinking. Our realm on the brink of destruction.” Ah… an act of desperation then?

“What did you do to (Y/N)?”

“Who?”

“The young woman we found in one of your so-called ice palaces in Iceland. She was half frozen, her body had been altered with Jötun blood.”

The Frost Giant frowned, dismissing his reproach with a wave of his hand.

“Her? A failed attempt to turn and make her one of us… a shame… a plaything at most.”

“I see…” Loki gnashed his teeth, reminding himself to keep his composure and not lash out at them. “You are trying to build an army. Populate the Earth with your kind.”

“Our kind. You are one of us, Laufeyson.”

Loki glared at him.

“Why not let more Frost Giants enter the planet through the wormhole you found?”

“They die. Not all of us are still strong enough travel through space and time.”

The God of Mischief shook his head slowly. “You are wasting your time and your warriors. Midgard is well protected. They know how to defend themselves.”

“They seem to have been fairly successful thus far.”

“That was before you alarmed the Avengers.” He interrupted him sharply.

“Ah yes. We have heard of them. We will kill them.”

It was then Loki’s smirk returned. A small gesture giving away his growing impatience.

“More powerful beings than yourself have attempted to do so and they all failed.” He glanced up strictly, his blue eyes glistening scornfully. If looks could kill, Loki would have returned to Earth a murderer. “What is it that you desire? A new hope for your… our race? A new leader with power and knowledge?”

The Frost Giant was boiling. Clenching his fists, sharp and deadly ice forming in his hands.

“All that I can give you. Leave Midgard and avoid bloodshed and I will offer you peace.” There was a moment of eerie silence.

“We decline.”

Loki’s eyes widened when he lunged out at him, aiming to slash his chest. The cold blade went right through him, making his illusion flicker and disappear. He growled when the Jötuns screamed upon realising they had been fooled but had already stepped through the pathway before they could figure out where he had been hiding.

A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter I would be flattered if you supported me on KoFi! kofi.com/sserpente

[trisshawkeye]

Mímisbrunnr

Mechanisms Tribute Week, Day 4 - The Bifrost Incident

(Odin’s side of an event mentioned in Fearsome Engines, though it’s not required reading to understand this fic.)

Odin is haunted by her dreams. She can’t quite remember where the original idea came from—some throwaway comment about a wormhole transportation system by someone, somewhere, maybe. Only that one night she dreamt about it, and from then on could not shake the desire to make it a reality. 

It wasn’t hard to justify the Bifrost project to herself or to the rest of the administration of Asgard. A dominion spanning a star system needed ever more sophisticated methods of transportation, after all, and its development would continue to cement Asgardian supremacy into the inhabitants of the Yggdrasil planets. But if she was honest with herself, she knew that it was something deeper and far more personal that drove her into this project, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

It worried at her, for a long while. While outwardly she presented the composed, determined and absolutely immoveable front she always did, both with the public and with Baldur and Loki assisting with the project, she found herself continually questioning and second-guessing herself. That wasn’t like her at all, but the truth was that while she had the strongest of conviction in every other part of her life, her dreams were just… dreams. No matter how compelling they seemed to her in the moments after waking, it just didn’t seem reasonable to stake so much on something so random and fallible as dreams. Even if all of her dreams were of the same thing.

All of that changed with Mimir.

Until then, while wormholes had been a mathematical reality for centuries, no one had yet invested sufficient funds and expertise into trying to construct one that was bigger than an atom and lasted for longer than a microsecond. Her uneasiness regarding her dreams aside, Odin could be confident in the leaps and bounds she was responsible for in the fields of mathematics, theoretical physics, and gravitational engineering. Through the resources at her disposal as head of Asgard and her sheer force of will, in a matter of years the cutting edge of the field moved from the transportation of a single atom through a short-lived tunnel a micron across, to the first ever stable wormhole to be created.

It was the Mimir experiment, and consisted of the creation of precise, identical gravitational warps within two large, heavily shielded containers in one of Odin’s more secure laboratories. The warps successfully connected and a test weight was experimentally transferred between them, disappearing from one chamber and reappearing in the other. It emerged twisted and warped into a strange, fractal-like shape with too many spikes and not enough edges, but the experiment was still a wild success. Academic journals exploded with articles, the press resounded with glowing praise, and the project felt real to Odin for the first time. 

Once she’d had a glimpse of the shifting light within the wormhole, her dreams took on a rainbow hue, and she was overcome with the urge to see more. Very little could be seen of the wormhole itself through the small viewing screens outside of the Mimir chambers, but when Odin closed her eyes at night, she found herself stood before the twisting maw of its opening, looking into its depths and seeing… what, she never could remember when she woke. And she knew it was folly, but the desperation wore her down until one night she entered her lab alone. 

She was under no illusions as she removed the safety shielding and disabled the barriers one by one—she knew that she would likely suffer great harm, if it did not kill her outright. But she also knew, with a strange certainty deeper than any she had felt before, that looking into Mimir would grant her a true understanding of it, all of the knowledge she needed to bring about the Bifrost itself. And if that knowledge demanded sacrifice to obtain, then she would sacrifice herself to herself for it. 

The last of the barriers trembled as she wrenched them open, space around the now-unshielded mouth of the wormhole warping unsteadily. And then she was before it, standing enraptured as she stared down the mouth of that swirling rainbow well. For a moment, she could see the lab and the back of her own head through the tiny observation window within the other chamber. Then a movement in front of her eyes caught her attention—a few tiny shards of metal from her hurried disassembly of the shielding were drifting in the vicinity of the wormhole opening, the twisting of gravity no longer pulling them towards the ground but rather into its mouth. Odin watched, enthralled, as they wobbled and oscillated in the ever-increasing chaotic field into which they fell, bending and stretching beyond their natural shape until some final instability turned three-dimensional shards into one-dimensional beams—and mangled reality shot to infinity and pierced her through her eye.

Odin heard herself scream, and the echo of it, and its echo, repeated through descending frequencies, stretched longer and longer and louder and louder and all overlaid in the creation of a single eternal red noise of suffering. The rainbow was all that she could see through the burning agony of her sight, and the rainbow was everything. The roiling folds of infinitely twisted space opened themselves to her in endless cosmic churning. Transfixed, she could do nothing but watch the coiling ribbons of all that she knew reality to be unfold before her vision. And then a second beam pierced her side.

Gravity broke down entirely in an instant—every part of her body reported a different direction as up and she felt her very being stretch impossibly through every dimension—she was an infinite plane, she was the angular vortex of a bismuth crystal, she was a tesseract in rotation, she was a kaleidoscope, she was a mandelbulb, she was everything and nothing, and through it all she was suspended by lancing pain over the inevitable finality of a twisting rainbow void beyond sanity, the constancy of the torment the only thing holding her sense of self together. She hung there, and saw the Yggdrasil system far below her—a faint smudge, mere wisps of matter held together by thread, shadow puppets against the prismatic radiance searing itself into her mind. 

Hours passed, then days passed—nine of them, if Odin’s own estimate through her turmoil had any meaning. The swirling rainbow was everything, all she knew and could ever know, the dread truth behind the veil of reality—and then it was gone. All was darkness and void and a dizzying sickness, like the blurring of vision before passing out, until Baldur’s worried face resolved itself above her and she found herself on the floor of her lab only hours after she had entered, the memory of her experience already slipping away from her frantic grasp, leaving strange new fragments of knowledge behind in its wake. It was all she needed. As medics and technicians swarmed in to retrieve her from the mangled ruins of the lab and ferry her to a hospital she began to laugh. 

Odin’s dreams are louder now, clearer, more strange and more beautiful. She still does not know what they mean. But she knows now—she has everything she needs to see her mission through. And she no longer doubts a thing.