#did not drop it when I panic ran off into the little creek

[harpsicalbiobug]

Ok, so! Normally my nightmares are pretty convoluted and arise out of the mishmosh of daily stressors, and they aren’t very plot driven. They’re usually a little gory and existentially awful and there’s not much to learn from them, but yesterday while reading at the marshy state park campsite we were staying at, I looked up from my book and made direct eye contact with a cow moose and her cinnamon perfect baby calf who were ambling straight towards me and were, at that point, less than 15 feet away.

“Oh, fuck, what?” I said intelligently. Dimly, I thought how moose are my least favorite species to encounter on the trail and much louder my brain asked what one does when pleistocene megafauna enter your campsite and calmly flick an ear in your general direction while you and your squishy primate body are within trampling range. Strangely, I felt less fear than indecision, as my stupid brain took in the fact that the 900 lb calf defender was currently calm, so of course she’d remain calm, obviously, that’s how wildlife work (it is not).

Then my partner yelled at me to get in the car and I bolted. The moose and calf ignored me. The cow delicately sniffed an open can of Wild Basin Hard Seltzer™ (Yumberry flavor, it tastes ok) and the baby peed in the beautiful sunset grass, while my partner set off the car alarm on purpose and I alternated yelling, “MAMAM PLEASE LEAVE,” and barking (? I think I was reaching for a scary non-human noise?) at her to try to startle her away. No startles were achieved. Eventually the pair walked off into the brush, but it was with the reluctance of animals that are far far too habituated to humans Later we learned from other campers that these moose had been eating trash off other people’s campsites (this is why you don’t leave out food or food smelling items folks, Leave No Trace, a Fed Bear Moose Is A Dead Bear Moose, etc) and then even later on it it was the middle of the goddamn night and I had to use the bathroom. Except the moose came by, cracking sticks under hooves, and looming in and out the dark shapes that I struggled to differentiate between waving foliage and wandering moose. I kept my headlamp off and opted to let my partner sleep through another close encounter of the cervid kind. The pair did leave eventually but I needed to get to the pit toilet down the road and I had no idea how far off they had gone. This will be fine! I lied to myself. I will be on the road in a populated campsite, which will of course dissuade the human acclimated trash eaters. I’ll walk real loud! I thought, as I put sandals over my socks and flipped on the headlamp. Headlamps always throw weird shadows. The foreground of your vision ends up looking like a photo where you’ve left on the flash, while the background is full of shadows that jitter with your head movement. It’s great for avoiding tripping when out at night. It’s not great for a pattern sensitive visual primate who is now jumpy about deer of unusual size. I did walk loud. I walked scritchy scrapping my sandals across the gravel road, kicking up puffs of dust that wavered in the headlamp light. It’s only eight campsites up, I thought. The shadows bounced among the living and beetle killed lodgepole pines with each step, and the LED light bounced back from parked cars at each campsite.  The baby moose calf moved like a cinnamon teddy bear on spider legs. I saw it unfold in a second and lurch into the trees. I made a sound that was more groan than scream and sprint stumbled into the ditch in the opposite direction. I did not turn but listened for cracking branches, the animal movement of the mother charging, as I stared into the dry dead trees hoping I could climb or at least shelter in any of them. There was no crash of maternal protection. It was quiet, and the calf was gone, and the stars were still overhead. I stood in the muddy ditch, ruining a little freshwater habitat with my feet. My socks are soaked through, I finally registered. I still need to get to the pit toilet, I thought. The return trip was nerve wracking but uneventful. My shoes dried outside the tent. I watched the shadows outside the tent until I fell asleep. So! It turns out I can have plot driven and specific nightmares! The rest of the night I did not have gory, byzantine dread filled nightmares. Instead, I dreamt of one thing: a cow moose, pursuing me at all costs. Up concrete stairs, charging after high speed cars, lunging out of the woods, hooves slipping on linoleum as she emerged from elevators, head lowered and ears tucked in threat, rushing at me.

She was relentless. My brain made her relentless. These few moments of alarm and environmental context mixed with my risk assessment and subconscious made me dream a terminator moose to re-enforce that I Should Avoid Moose. A lesson I had already fully learned, but that some part of me decided needed a little reinforcement, given barrage of moose encounters I was clearly not avoiding. Avoid Moose. Thanks brain.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Hue and Cry XX

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series), trauma, mentions of death, some elements untagged.

This is dark!medieval!Bucky Barnes x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: After weeks on the road, there isn’t much time left to prepare for what comes next.

Note: I typed Chapter 20 and I’m like huh? I never really expected or intended this to be more than a self-indulgent smut fic but one thing led to another and another and another and ... you know what I mean. Anyways, you all have been wonderful with you support and I’m not too cautious to say that this fic has brought me back to the days of Tapestry ;)

Thanks to everyone and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

MASTERLIST

You, Zemo, Peter, and Elina were joined by only several servants in the single cart. Your luggage was sparse, with more gold and food than anything as the baron promised you would have all you needed at your destination.

Ulrich was sent off every other night to seek out news of any repercussions which had come of the scene left at Tower Zemo. All you’d heard since your departure was what you already knew; the castle had been abandoned by its natural occupants and the visiting duke was found unconscious in his bed.

Heinrich’s Creek was jarringly serene after your hectic weeks on the road. Your small party had finally made it up the mountain roads and woven around to the lakeside manor hidden in the sprawling forests. You were met by guards hidden in the wilderness who recognized your leader and let him past without conflict.

Finally still, you helped Melinda and Tess unpack what little you had brought along from the castle as Zemo put Elina to bed. It was only just afternoon but you were all worn from the road. You could take a breath after looking over your shoulder for all that time.

You went to the lake to bathe, the cool water cleansed you of the dust and stench of your journey. The same dress you’d worn that day you face Lord Rogers laid piled on the shore, flecks of his blood melded with the stains of your own sweat. You decided you would burn it as you limped through the dirt and wrapped yourself in the pale robe provided by your host.

You sat on the rock and played with your cane, tracing the carved lines with your thumb. You heard a step but did not turn. You stared instead at the calm ripples in the water and the distant drop off that flowed over the side of the mountains. The shadow neared and you saw Peter’s distorted reflection in the lake. His hair was dirty and mussed, his face streaked as yours had been.

“How did you do it?” he asked.

You spun the cane and crossed one arm across your stomach as you sighed, “I didn’t plan it. He did. I was ready to die.”

He didn’t say a word as he stepped closer to the water. He sat and pulled off his boots and socks. He shoved his feet into the shallows and closed his eyes. He held his head as he thought. As long as you had been on the road, there hadn’t been time to talk. You were all too concerned with going as fast as you could.

“I meant it, Peter, it wasn’t your fault,” you said softly, “I shouldn’t have ever made you think it was.”

“You say that but I can’t believe it,” he opened his eyes and leaned back on the heels of his hands, “I still see the pain in you. I saw it, I heard it when you went after Rogers. It’s in your step, written in your scars…”

“They did that, not you,” you insisted, “if I had any grudge against you, you’d meet the same as Rogers.”

He tapped his fingers in the dirt and chewed his lip. He wiggled his toes in the water as his thoughts wrinkled across his forehead, “how did it all begin?”

You swallowed and felt your throat tighten. You tried not to think of that day. It was so long ago but it was so plain in your mind that it felt as if you could shut your eyes and be back in that castle, pinned between Barnes and the hearth, your hand crawling over the mantle.

“I don’t… know,” you gripped your cane and rested it over your lap, “I never could figure out what I did--”

“You think it was your doing?” he asked.

“No, but… how can you even know what they did?”

“I can guess,” he shrugged, “I can imagine it and it makes my heart clench and my head pound. It makes me want to kill them and do just as bad to myself for being so naive and just thinking I could walk away--”

“It was never your problem, Peter,” you dropped the butt of your cane onto the ground and pushed yourself to your feet, “you were kind to me when I needed it. You did more than you think.”

You bent and grabbed your clothing from the dirt and slipped your feet into your clogs. He watched you sullenly and pulled his feet up as he leaned his arms on his knees.

 “If it had been different, could you have loved me?” he asked.

Your heart pulsed and you considered him, “could you have loved a simple maid?”

“That isn’t what I saw and that won’t change,” he said, “so?”

“I think I could have,” you hugged the bundle of clothing against your side, “if it had been different.”

“If,” he said and turned back to the water, “you might not think it, but I owe you and I will pay that debt. That little girl deserves it.”

“Thank you,” you uttered, “I’m sorry--”

“No, don’t be. Ever,” he said, “life never goes as you expect it and we have to live with what could have been, but we can’t change what is.”

“You can still go home--”

“I can’t. Rogers saw me there with you, I fled with you,” he rubbed his palms together, “and I don’t want to live among those wolves.”

You smiled grimly and backed away. You left him to watched the water and wash away his own worries. You made your way back up to the stone manor as you mulled over all that swirled around in your mind; the memories, the fears, the uncertainty.

And you returned again to that day when everything changed. You thought of the story you never told. A story none would know unless you did. A story your daughter deserved; that he deserved.

You put your clothes by the pit just outside the back entrance of the lakeside manse. You carried on into the dim kitchens and through the corridors to the front room where you’d left Zemo. He wasn’t there but the place was too big to go searching. You sat instead by the tall arched windows and looked out onto the blowing grass and swaying trees.

You didn’t know how long it was before he came. You barely heard him as he sat in the armchair to the other side of the sofa and you turned to look at him. He was freshly washed and plaintive. His dark eyes were tired but alert.

“Elina is still fast asleep,” he assured you, “I swear she even got bigger on the road here.”

“She’s growing quickly,” you said as you dropped your legs off the couch and folded your hands.

“You were waiting for me,” he affirmed and you nodded, “you have something to say?”

“I have to tell you… Elina has to know one day, even if I am gone, even if they are too, she has to know,” you felt the dampness in your eyes and inhaled deeply, “and I want you to know.”

He was sombre as he sat and watched you. He steepled his fingers before his lips and inclined his head to show he was listening. You thought of the men who’d never heard you, who never wanted to.

“I was just a chambermaid. You know that. It was… one night I did not see to his chambers and I sent one of the elder maids as she had difficulty with the broom. He found me, he did not like change. Rather, he never liked to feel out of control, I realise that now,” you blinked away tears and shifted on the sofa, “he waited and I thought nothing on it until…”

You sniffed and wiped your eyes in frustration, “I did not want to cry.”

“If you resist, it will be worse,” he stood slowly and came to you, cautiously as if he thought he would hurt you, “here.” He handed you a handkerchief and sat beside you, “go on in your own time.”

You blotted away the tears and gathered yourself, “when he acted on… his lust, I ran. I had to, I had struck him with a vase and I was terrified. I spent weeks in that forest…”

You went on, pausing as you were overwhelmed with bouts of anger, of despair, and panic. He was patient as he listened and you were not so embarrassed of your emotion. When you were done, when you go to all that he already knew, that he’d witnessed, you sat back and hid your face.

“Your tears do not make you weak,” he said, “you are brave to have said it aloud. I admire you, I always have.”

“I told you because I know that I won’t have another chance to tell anyone,” you lowered your hands and leaned back on the sofa, “I know you have your plan and I’m certain it will work but when it comes down to it, I will not stop until he is dead.”

His eyes searched your face. He knew what you meant, he knew what it would entail and that he could not stop you. And he was sad for it.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” you asked, “vengeance.”

“I do not think I truly weighed the cost,” he said as he hung his head and sagged against the couch beside you, “I do not think I stopped to think on what I--”

“Pardon,” Peter appeared from the corridor, “I’m not meaning to disturb but I thought to retire for the night and have not yet a place to do so.”

“Ah, yes,” Zemo regained his veneer in an instant as he spine straightened and he sat up, “I will have Tess--”

You all paused as you heard hooves and listened as they grew closer and closer. Zemo stood and looked out the window. He frowned and turned back to slip by Peter as he went to the front door. You rose with your cane in hand and watched as he let in Ulrich, the armoured guard was breathless from his ride.

“What is it?” Zemo asked pointedly.

“I… I have word that--”

“By the gods, sit,” Zemo ushered the man inside and offered him a stool. 

The man sat and drained the last of his skin before he steadied his breath. He pushed back his sweaty pale hair and leaned back against the wall as he looked between the three of you.

“They sent a messenger ahead. Quicker than the rest of the party,” he spoke carefully, “Lord Rogers cannot ride astride so they make slow progress but we have our men along the border and at court. King Lars has kept his own spies busy.”

“Lars knows I did not act out of foolery. He is a wise king, not daft enough to cast me out,” Zemo waved his hand at the thought, “but you have heard something?”

“Yes, I did confirm it with the king’s men, is what I’m saying,” Ulrich went on, “King Samuel received word of the assault on his man but a second messenger was sent.”

“And?” Zemo prodded.

Ulrich glanced at Peter who wore the same confusion that filled your core. “You are Lord Parker?”

“I am,” Peter answered.

“The second messenger went to Lord Barnes. On his way, he was given orders by Lord Rogers to seize a Benjamin Parker,” he shook his head and was overcome with pity, “the Lord Barnes did have him killed.”

“Killed?” Peter reeled as he grabbed his chest in shock, “No--no--”

“There is more,” Ulrich continued despite Peter’s dismay, “there is this.”

He untucked a folded page from his pocket and held it out. Barnes seal was broken on it and Zemo took it roughly.

“I had the messenger read it after we shackled him,” Ulrich explained, “in case… well, we cannot be certain in these times.”

“You did well,” Zemo said as he read and lowered the parchment. He handed it to Peter as he sighed, “Lord Barnes has taken Parker’s wife. He will keep her alive if we deliver… the maid.”

“I--” Peter stared at the letter and squinted in pain, “I--”

“I won’t let you--” Zemo began.

“I’ll go,” you said, “I’ll go. This is the way.”

“No,” Zemo turned to you, “I have a plan--”

“A plan that will take too long. Me and Peter, we’ll go, I’ll get his aunt,” you said, “I’ll do what I have to to keep Elina safe.”

“You think you truly can--”

“I don’t know what happens after but I know this is what I must do,” you turned to him and grabbed his arm to make him face you, “and I know you will keep our daughter safe.”

You pressed yourself against him and he met your lips in surprised welcome. He held you as you clung to the front of his tunic and drank you in eagerly, reluctant to part as you sensed the gazes of the other men.

“I am ready to go,” you let your hand trail down his tunic longingly as you raised your chin, “this will end. It has to end.”

[negandarylsatisfaction]

[SUMMARY: Negan deals with Lucilles r*pe.]

TW: mention of r*pe, aggressive assault

Fluffy smut

Negan and Lucille.

Negan walked in after being gone most of the night, his shirt bloody, his face and hands filled with blood.

“You’ve been out for a long time.” You spoke softly as he turned to you, his bat in his hand. You could see the pieces of flesh hanging off it, it always disgusted you.

“I had to take care of something.” He responded coldly making you sigh.

“I hate when you do this stuff, was it really necessary?”

Negan looked down at the bat before taking a deep breath and throwing it to the side.

“Lucille, baby..I have to do what I have to do to protect us from what’s out there. I’d rather be safe than sorry.” You looked away from not agreeing with what he had been doing lately.

“I’m just afraid you might come across someone...with more defense than we can handle. I-“

“We are not handling anything. I am and I told you not to worry about it. End of discussion.” Negan left to the bedroom to clean up and change. He seemed to think he was invincible when he was out there and you were always worried about something happening to him.

The two of you sat together to eat dinner after he cleaned up. There were no words exchanged and he knew why, he knew how you felt about the bat. You hated the day he ever made the damn thing. After you both finished you stood up to clean the table when he stood up beside you and pulled you in against him.

“Come here.” He whispered holding you close.

“You know I don’t like it when you stay mad at me.” You looked up at him and sighed before you got distracted with something on his face.

“What is it?” He frowned noticing the changed look in your eyes.

“You...you still have blood on your face.” You turned away from him picking up the plates and taking it to the sink.

“Lucille you know why I have to do this.”

“No actually. I don’t. So many groups you come across, you’re not afraid of it backfiring one day? Someone following you back here?”

“If someone breaks the damn rules, I need to do what has to be done. If not, these as shoes will take advantage.” He began to raise his voice only angering you.

“No it doesn’t have to be done-“

“So do you expect me to let other assholes kill our men one by one, you want to give them that chance?”

“There’s other ways this can be handled, Negan.”

“Listen baby, just leave this to me.”

Constantly you were afraid of who Negan could come across. He never give you much information on what happened when he left the sanctuary as he knew you didn’t like hearing it and he didn’t want to worry you.

A couple days later you over heard a few of the men speaking about Negan making something even. The sound of it made you nervous, the men hadn’t seen you at the top steps over hearing their conversation.

A little while later Negan came back into the bedroom as you brushed your hair. He kissed you gently on the cheek as he took off his leather jacket before you caught him off guard with a question.

“Where are you going tomorrow?”

He slowed down looking over at you confused.

“Did someone say I was going somewhere?” You knew he wasn’t being honest and you didn’t have the patience for it.

“What do you have to make even, Negan?” You asked as you stood up turning to him.

“Woah woah woah, who said I was getting even with anyone?”

“Negan.” You placed your hands on your hips as he frowned staring down at you.

“Who told you something, Simon?”

“No one told me anything, Negan. I’m not deaf I hear things around me.” He sighed looking away, he didn’t want you to know of this, he didn’t want you to worry.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Damn it, Negan I’m tired of this already. I just want to be at peace with you here with me. I’m constantly worried about something happening to you.” Negan looked down at you gently taking your face in his hands.

“Baby don’t you know you’re with a man that knows how to handle shit. I’m here every night with you but in order to keep it that way I have to keep others away. You trust me, don’t you?”

You nodded knowing he was only trying to protect his life with you. You hated how he went about it but what more could you say?

The next day you watched as your husband and his men packed their belongings. He promised he would be back tonight but gave you no other information about the situation.

He leaned in for a kiss before hopping in the truck and being driven off with Simon.

Negan had faced many different people, they all feared him and he drove off their fear, until he met this last group. This last group was giving him more trouble than the others, they had actually killed two of his men from another campsite. Negan had never told you this as he didn’t want to upset you, but attempting to get even he was only able to kill one man from their side. He made a promise he would return to kill another.

An hour had now passed since Negan left, he left one guard at the entrance named Benny to be on watch. He knew he wouldn’t be gone long. But Benny didn’t realize they were already being watched by two men apart of the very group Negan was going after. For the past couple of weeks the sanctuary had been under close observation. They studied the sanctuary figuring out a way inside without going through the entrance. They saw Negan and they would see you. At first you weren’t of importance to these men but as they watched they realized you were someone important to Negan.

You were now their target.

The sun was going down now as you looked out the window, you sat on the corner of the bed in your favorite pink silk robe Negan had found for you. You thought to yourself how things were and how long they were going to be this way. Taking a deep breath feeling relaxed you had no idea the men had made their ways in. They knew exactly where to find you. As one of the men waited by the entrance of where you stayed to keep watch, the other man slowly snuck his way inside. You heard the floor of the hall creek making you quickly look up before brushing it off turning towards your dresser. Your door was half open making it easy for the man to sneak inside your room without making a sound. Humming to yourself, your back was to the door as the man pulled out a knife slowly getting closer to you. Again you heard the sound of the floor creek behind you making you frown in confusion.

“Negan?” You turned and before you could scream a man charged towards you covering your mouth and pointing a knife to your face.

“I’ve been waiting for this.” The man had a black ski mask on and all you could see was his piercing dark eyes. You whimpered as he slid the knife down to your neck and looked down at what you were wearing. A sadistic smile forming on his face.

“This is nice.” He pealed one side of your robe aside with the knife as you began to cry making him look back up at you.

“Shut up.”

“Please-“ you cried with his hand still over your mouth making him laugh before he slowly let go just to hear you beg.

“Why are you doing this?” You whispered in tears.

“Why? Well your husband...see..he did something that pissed me off. He killed someone that was...important to me.”

The man explained that Negan had killed his cousin. Yet, this man was not honest on why Negan had ever killed one of them in the first place. You had no idea these people had butchered two of your very own from the other campsite. You closed your eyes as the tears fell from them, you knew this day would come. You knew eventually someone would make their way back to get even with your husband.

“Just...don’t let me turn...kill me in a way that my husband won’t have to find me..like that.” You whispered when he tilted his head in a confused manner.

“Who said I was gonna kill you?”

You opened your eyes confused looking up at him.

“I’m gonna hurt your husband in the worst way I can.” He began to laugh before suddenly turning you around and slamming your face against the wall, you felt him pushing your robe up and you began to panic.

“No please! Please don’t this this!” You fought as hard as you could turning back to him before he smacked you in the face. You screamed as he pulled you by the hair and threw you face first on the bed. You cried trying to get up when he suddenly put his arm around your throat and you felt the tip of the knife against your skin.

“You’re gonna do what I say unless you want me to wait patiently here for that husband of yours to return so I can kill him myself. Do you want him dead? It’s your choice.” You shook your head in tears knowing what this meant. He threw you back down on the bed as you heard him begin to unzip his pants, you cried in silence praying that it would be over soon and everything would be fine as long as Negan stayed alive.

After some time Benny caught the sight of something strange at the entrance of your door. The man on watch hid in the corner waiting for him to get closer. Benny frowned as he walked towards it slowly, his gun in hand ready for fire.

“Lucille?” Benny called out when the man came rushing out towards him making him drop the gun. The two of them fought when the man yelled out for the other.

“Jose!” After making sure Benny was down the two men ran out and quickly left the sanctuary.

It felt like the man had been in there with you forever. Still shaking you pushed yourself off the bed in a state of shock. Looking down at your robe you found it ripped apart, you cried trying to cover yourself as glimpses of what this man had just done to you replayed in your head.

“Oh shit....Lucille-“ Benny ran in out of breath as you quickly tried to cover every part of yourself.

“Get out!” You screamed as he stayed staring at your disheveled clothes. He froze for a moment before you ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

“Shit..” he whispered, he knew how protective Negan was of you and he knew there was going to be a massive problem when he returned.

Negan arrived to the group with his bat over his shoulder. One of the men had a slick look on his face knowing the two guys were at his sanctuary at that very moment.

“Wipe that damn smirk off your face.” Negan spoke heading his way before Simon ran up to him.

“Hey, Negan is it? I have a question for you.” The man responded as Negan ignored Simon and stepped closer to him intrigued by the nerve this man had to continue speaking.

“How’s that wife of yours?” Negans whole demeanor changed at the mention of you. How the hell did they know about you at all?

“Negan, I double counted. There’s two missing.” Simon whispered close to Negan who began to put two and two together realizing this was all a set up.

“Son of a bitch.” Negan ran to the truck ordering Simon and his men to watch the rest of the group.

Negan drove speeding through the road, he was eager to get back to you. His body was tense, his hands clenching the steering wheel, the thought of anything happening to you drove him insane.

Holding yourself in the bath tub you hadn’t come out, you didn’t want to. Benny went to get your friend Abigail to talk to you, you could hear her knocking on the door but you didn’t want to deal with anyone. You knew Negan would be returning soon, the damage that man would do once he’d find out what happened was something you didn’t want to be around for.

Negan arrived at the sanctuary, running to where you were and found Benny right outside. The look of fear in his eyes at the sight of Negan charging towards his direction.

“Where is she?” He yelled as Benny ran beside him.

“Sir, I didn’t see those men come in I swear. I was in the front the whole time-“ Negan suddenly stopped and turned to Benny and grabbed him by the collar.

“What the hell happened to my wife?”

“I...I don’t know....she’s in the bathroom...I couldn’t get them. They ran out.” Negan pushed him aside before continuing to make his way to you. He stopped and looked at the bedroom, rage building in him at the sight of things broken and thrown around...anger taking over knowing it was you who was in that very room.

“Lucille please open, I just want to see if you’re ok.” Negan turned hearing Abigail call out to you in the bathroom.

“I got it from here.” He muttered low to your friend who quickly got up and left the room.

“Lucille-“ your heart stopped at the sound of Negans voice, you didn’t expect him back so soon.

“Lucille, baby..it’s me. Please open the door.”

The sound of his voice made you cry, you couldn’t see him, not like this. You could hear him turning the knob trying to open the door but it wouldn’t budge. Slowly pushing yourself up and covering yourself the best you could you walked towards the door and slowly opened it. Looking away from Negans eyes you didn’t see the way his eyes darkened at the sight of you. With deeply furrowed brows he looked down at your body and noticed your robe had been ripped apart. A twitch of anger above his lip as he noticed the marks on your body. His hands forming into tight fists, his knuckles turning white from how hard he squeezed. A death stare forming in his eyes, he did his best not to act on impulse, he knew you needed him in that moment. How could anyone hurt a woman like this, he thought to himself, let alone his woman. You quickly wiped away a tear and crossed your arms. All he wanted to do in that moment was destroy the house, yet for your sake he held his anger in. Without saying a word Negan began taking off his jacket and slowly placed it over you. You struggled to hold your tears and you couldn’t any longer, once he got close to you, you suddenly grabbed onto him tightly and began to cry. Negan closed his arms around you, he felt a knot in his throat develop at the sound of your cries. In all the years he had been with you never had he heard you this way.

“I promise you, I’m gonna fucking get him.” He whispered. Slowly you looked up at Negan, meeting with his eyes for the first time.

“I...I tried to stop him. I thought he was going to kill me..-“ you cried as you explained what happened.

“Did you see his face?” Negan asked looking down at you, you quickly shook your head in response.

“Jose. He came with another guy and the guy called him Jose. He told me this was a message to you.” You could see the the fury in his eyes, you knew they would feel his wrath. He took a deep breath and looked away not wanting to show you his aggression.

“Come on, let’s get you changed.”

You held onto his jacket around you looking at the floor as Negan walked you past the bedroom making you panic.

“No!” You screamed pushing past Negan as he caught your arm turning to you.

“I’m not going back in there, I’m not going in there-no.” You cried in a panic making him reach behind him and close the bedroom door.

“Ok, we’ll set up another room.” Negan bought you down the hall to another spare bedroom and had got you new clothes to put on. You felt exhausted all you wanted to do was lay down and sleep, but not alone. Negan stood awkwardly in the room as you stood silently staring at him with the clothes in your hand.

“Can I change alone..please?” Never had you felt uncomfortable to undress in front of your husband but he understood.

“Of course, baby.” Negan walked out closing the door behind him. His hands brushing through his hair as anger slowly took over him. Abigail knocked on the main entrance door making Negan look up.

“Is she ok?”

Negan shook his head in silence.

“I need you to stay with her while I take care of something.”

“Of course.” She responded walking towards your door before Negan quickly walked out. Negan didn’t want to waste any time in finding the man who did this. After making sure you were safely secured he got back in his truck and drove back to where Simon was.

Negan walked right in charging straight for the man who spoke to him before he left. He grabbed the man by the collar dragging him as Simon watched on. In all the men he had witnessed Negan kill, never had he seen him so angry.

“Where’s your friend Jose?” Negan held him against the wall looking down at him with a menacing look.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man responded making Negan slam him against the wall harder.

“Listen you little fuck, I’m not in the mood for any games-“

“Negan there’s someone coming in back here!” Simon yelled out to him before running towards the two men making their way in. Negan pulled out his knife and without warning slit the mans throat before walking off. The rest of the group being held captive by the Saviors, Simon made the two men drop to their knees. Negan slowly approached them with his bat over his shoulder. Taking a deep breath he stopped before them as Simon stood behind them with guns to their heads.

“Which one of you pricks is Jose?”

One of the men smiled giving Negan his response.

“See....I have a rule I make clear to every man I come across. We do not rape. One of you pricks decided to go against that rule, you decided to hurt a woman. A woman very fucking important to me.” His nostrils flared as he gripped his bat tightly, he wanted to rip this man to shreds. He slowly walked up to him then looked down at his bat before throwing it to the side.

“Get up.” Negan spoke in a low voice. Jose chuckled making Negan pull him by his shirt roughly.

“You think this is fucking funny?” Negan looked at him in rage as the other man looked down in fear.

“Not as funny as your wife calling for you.” Negans expression turned dark, the thought of you calling for him and him not being around felt like a plunge to his heart.

“What the hell did you just say to me?” Just as Jose went to speak Negan punched him in the face knocking him to the ground. Simon watched on in silence. Usually Negan would end it with a bat but a bat wasn’t enough for him today, he wanted to destroy Jose with his bare hands. Thinking of the way he found you and the sound of your cries gave him adrenaline to keep going after him. Punch after punch, kick after kick Negan grunted hitting with full force. A pool of blood forming around him as he moaned in pain, Negan stared down at him out of breath with a grin.

“What’s a matter asshole? Not as tough as you thought you were?” Negan got down and looked at him in disgust before wrapping his hands around his throat and strangling him. Jose shook struggling to breath as Negan pressed down harder waiting until he no longer move.

“You should’ve never fucking touched my wife.” He spoke under his breath feeling the man die in his hands. He stood up out of breath not taking his eyes off him.

“What do you wanna do with this one?” Simon asked making Negan look up.

“Shoot him.” The man began to yell when Simon shot him in the eye.

Negan returned to the sanctuary stopping at your bedroom door. Abigail and you were talking when you became distracted by the sight of him.

“I’ll leave you guys alone.” Abigail whispered before quickly getting up and leaving the room.

“Where were you?” You whispered as Negan stared down at you in silence. The look of guilt in his eyes before he looked away. He couldn’t help but think over how many times you begged him to just stay home. How many times you asked him to not do certain things and for him not listening, it came back and hurt you...at least that’s how he thought of it. He blamed himself.

“Lucille....I’m sorry.” His words making you tear up as he sat beside you on the bed.

“I should’ve never left-“

“It’s not your fault, Negan.”

“It is.” He spoke low looking at the ground, his hands together when you looked over and noticed his bruised knuckles. You gasped making him look back at you.

“What did you do?” Negan hesitated for a moment looking at his hands.

“I did what had to be done. I promise I’ll never let anything happen to you again. Ever.” And Negan meant exactly what he said.

Seven long months had gone by, Negan remained by your side as you struggled to heal through the trauma. Seven months without you being intimate with him. It was hard, some days you’d cry, you couldn’t stop replaying certain things in your head. You could see the pain in Negans eyes every time you woke up from a nightmare. Some nights you’d wake up screaming, he hated seeing you this way. A part of you felt guilty for not being able to be intimate with Negan but you were thankful with how understanding he was.

Standing in the kitchen you thought to yourself how you did miss your husbands touch. Taking a sip of your water you heard Negan step inside the room.

“Baby.” His voice made you smile, he learned you didn’t like anyone coming to you from behind. He always made sure that you heard his voice whenever he enterted a room so you wouldn’t jump. You appreciated his considerate ways.

“Ready for bed?” You turned to him with a smile, he took your hand and led you to the room.

Negan took off his shirt and lay beside you, his arm over you he held you close. Nervously, you looked over at him with his eyes closed, hesitant to say anything.

“Negan?”

“Mm?” He raised his brows taking a deep breath.

“Make love to me.” His eyes shot open meeting yours he was speechless at first.

“Please.” You whispered, you felt your body ready, most importantly you felt your mind ready. Negan lifted his head up, looking down at you silently before leaning in for a soft kiss. The feel of your soft lips against his sent shivers down his spine. As he kissed you his hand moved under the covers, slowly going under the his shirt you wore, his hand was in between your thighs. You gasped loudly pushing him back making him quickly move his hand away.

“It’s me.” He whispered before gently taking your hand and kissing it.

“It’s me, Lucille.”

“I need to see you.” You whispered looking up at him, feeling his face. You smiled as he slowly got on top of you and between your legs. The only thing separating his skin against yours was your panties and his boxers. He instantly became aroused being so close to you, closer than he had been in months. You felt him grow hard against you, he wanted more but your comfort was his main concern.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked softly, you nodded in response. He kissed your jaw line and your neck as you felt him begin to thrust against you. Slowly he began to arouse you, his touch easing you so much that you closed your eyes. Without you noticing at first, Negan pushed down his boxers.

“Negan..” you whispered in between kisses making him stop and look down at you out of breath.

“Lucille, you just say the god damn word and I’ll stop. You hear me?” You nodded quickly in response.

“I don’t want you to stop, Negan.” He looked down at you and smiled before kissing you some more. As he did he reached in between the two of you and slowly pushed your underwear to the side. He felt you begin to shake beneath him as you felt the tip of him begin to enter. He looked you straight in your eyes holding you close.

“It’s me, baby. Look at me.” Negan thrust forward groaning deeply. You held your breath until you fully felt him in you and breathed slowly. You could see the strain in his expression as he felt you, all of him just wanted to dive into you hard. His desire for you was strong. He continued to move, his arms shaking as he did his best to control himself from moving in full force. You held onto him as he began to move a little faster, a soft moan escaping your lips making him look down at you.

“Talk to me-“ you moaned closing your eyes as he moved faster. He was making you feel something you never pictured yourself feeling again. The view of you enjoying yourself sexually was something he had been wanting to see for so long.

“Fuck-“ Negan could barely form words, his grunts turning you on more than you already were. You looked up at him and ran your hands up his chest and over his shoulders bringing him closer to you.

“Lucille..” every touch from you sent him to the edge. It had been so long since he felt you this way, everything in him built up intensely, and with one last thrust he cried out roughly against you. His body collapsed against yours, you didn’t want to let him go.

“Negan...” you could hear him out of breath against your ear before he lifted up his head and kissed your shoulder.

“I’m sorry for-“

“What are you sorry about? You were perfect.”

His words made you smile, you could always count on Negan to make you smile.

[swiss-cheeze]

French Road, East || Spencer Reid

Request: YES/NO: Hi! Do you take requests?? If you do, can I please request a Spencer x Reader (Including the BAU), where they are dating and the reader is a year or so younger than spencer, but just as smart and very loved by the team, and one day she has to save the team from an unsub and gets really hurt and after everyone is safe they are all really worried about her?? Idk if that made sense at all. Love you work!

A/N: OKAY SO, myself and a few other tumblr accounts got sent this exact same request from the same requester. I have spoken with all of the accounts i know of that have gotten the request and we have all mutually agreed that we will continue with our own fics in our own way on the basis/sense of ‘every writer is different and it's cool to see how others interpret the same request’, please go check out their fics too but please also dont message any of us about this little thing thats happened or saying one was better than the other because that's not what we’re doing here.

We write because we love writing and we love making worlds and being creative, this is a mutual agreement, yes we’re not too pleased with this happening but we are fine with going ahead with both of our fics.

Thank you.

A/N: I also got a little carried away with this little thing and kind of forgot about the ‘they get hurt’ part and instead left the end open for angst purposes; possibly a second part if requested? I don't know. This is also 10 full pages on Google Docs.

Words: 5727

Gender: they/them, none.

Warnings: descripton of people being beaten, kidnapping, mention and use of drugs, previous trauma of the BAU team brought to light, mentions of sexual abuse and assualt, mentions of possible rape.

Description: when 6/8 of the BAU team gets kidnapped, it's up to you and Garcia to find them before it's too late, but what happens when an old nightmare may consume someone's life again?

PART 2: https://snitchthewitch.tumblr.com/post/626602019637149696/french-road-east-apartment-23-spencer-reid

------

Spencer had slept over at Dereks after they had both consulted over their paperwork while you had gone to yours and Spencer's apartment alone, normally you two would arrive at work together with coffee ready for the day but today it just felt...off. Coffee in hand you entered the elevator and checked your work phone for any missed messages.

Derek Morgan phone (4)

Derek Morgan imessage (6)

Spencer Reid phone (2)

Spencer Reid imessage (4)

Okay, that was a bit weird. They normally called once, maybe twice, had your phone shut down last night? As you entered onto level 6 you stepped off to the side of the opening on the hallway, out of people's way, as you opened your phone for the messages, Derek first.

‘Going out with Spence and Pen’

‘Spencer misses you’

‘Pen says she wants to hug you’

‘We’re fucjlkeddd’

‘I don't think somethings okay’

‘Pick up’

Fuck, okay, maybe they just encountered a mugger? Spencer next.

‘mISS YOUUU’

‘Derek ssaysys he doeessdnt frrl ojay’

‘Someoned follow us’

‘French road, east’

What the fuck? So apparently they got followed? And then? What the hell is french road east? Was it an actual road to the east? Maybe the voice messages would help.

“HEY (Y/N/N)!” its Derek, “WE’RE HAVING OUR BEST TIME! WISH YOU WERE HERE!” the music was as loud as Derek was shouting in your ear, you couldn't help but smile.

“(Y/N)!” Spencer, “I MISS YOUUU!” you laughed at his drunk talking, “SHOTS!” and it finished.

“Hey (Y/n), we’re uh,” a laugh, it's Derek, “we’re walking back to my place now, with Pen and Pretty Boy over here,” you heard a faint shout of your name before laughter and the call ended. There was one voice message left, “someones following us. Under six foot, black clothes and looks disarmed but I can't tell from where we are and it's dark. I'll update you later (Y/n), i'll keep Pretty Ricky safe. I promise” and that was it. You brought your phone away from your ear and looked at it skeptically, Derek's story was backed up by Spencer because they both said they were being followed, Garcia hasn't messaged you though, she probably got cut off from her phone before anything happened, probably in Derek's pants pocket. Maybe they were playing a prank? No they wouldn't, Derek’s voice was too certain to be a prank. You shook your head from the thoughts before walking into the Bullpen and dumping your bag at your desk and looking around, Anderson, Mike, Daffey, even Esmerelda was at work today and yet you couldn't spot a single one of your teammates.

Okay, maybe they all slept in? You walked up to Hotch's office and knocked before putting your head through the door; looks the same as it was left. Funny. Hotch was always the first one in, if he ever left at all. You walked to Rossi's office and yet this was the same as Hotch’s; untouched and unmoved. Okay, this was a little scary, you made your way to the conference room with quick feet as the creek of the door being opened sent a shiver down your spine as no one was waiting for a case or even grabbing coffee, but you did notice the one folder that sat alone in the middle of the table. Cautiously, you made your way over to the file, picked it up and opened it, the photos inside the folder almost made you throw up.

Hotch, Emily, Derek, Spencer, JJ and Rossi were all sitting against a wall, beaten, bruised and dirty, arms positioned behind their backs. Underneath the photo was a piece of paper with bold red writing, almost blood like.

YOU WERE WRONG.

Your throat constricted as your breathing increased, you started hyperventilating as you heard the click clack of a certain pair of heels.

“(Y/N)!” Garcia yelled, she was running as quickly as she could with her platform, a file and laptop in her arms, “the-the team they've” she took a breath, “they've been taken, captured, abducted!” it took Garcia a few seconds to realise that you were close to fainting. Garcia put her things down on the table as she directed you to sit in a chair, got you a cup of water and started the breathing exercises that she remembered Spencer teaching her, he taught everyone tricks to help those when having a panic or anxiety attack as its something they would definitely encounter during their time with both agents, victims and unsubs, a few minutes passed and you finally calmed down.

“T-they, they tried to contact me” you said quietly as you looked at Garcia who was red eyed.

“And i was there (Y/n), they dropped me off home and where going back to Dereks, i didn't know if they made it or not because i had already past out by the time my head hit the pillow” Garcia reminded you, it took you a moment to realise but you where both in the same situation, and you nodded as the plan started coming together in your mind.

“Okay,” you stood up as Garcia opened her laptop, “when did you find out?” you asked, you needed to determine how long each of you knew the team was missing.

“I unlocked the batcave and I had the same file on my desk, when I saw the photos I ran up here and then to you,” you nodded as Garcia spoke.

“Okay, I want cameras of every place each of our team members have been, bars, apartments, anything and everything. See if there are any recurring cars or bikes or vans that drive past the streets, do facial recognition on anyone following them like with Reid and Morgan, see if it's happened to all of them.” you took a breath as you called in someone from the bullpen and handed them both the files you and Garcia had been given, “Get this to the lab for fingerprints, this is top priority; we have a team missing” you'd told them, they nodded slightly scared and confused before walking off as Garcia started talking.

“I've got the filters on and they're searching but it's going to take some time,” Garcia said sadly.

“Look up previous cases the BAU has had including the words ‘you were wrong’, ‘French Road’ and ‘East’, possibly other words like ‘it was wrong’, ‘they are/were wrong’ that type of thing, date it back to Rossi's days,” you ordered Garcia.

“(Y/n), a lot of those files are physical if you go back to Rossi,” the tech analyst reminded you.

“I know but still, set filters for that and go as far back as you're able, tell me if you get any hits, i'm going to go down to the file room and i'm going to go back as far as Rossi's days for the physical copies until he started going digital,” you told Garcia, she looked reluctant to let you go so you moved to where she was sitting and you gave her a large hug, “we’ll find them Pen, i promise” you mumbled into her cherry scented hair.

“What about Spencer?” she asked softly as the two of you let go of each other.

“He sent me a message saying ‘french road east’, that has to mean something,” you smiled, “i'm going to try and find that road through all of DC and if there's a hit i'm going to go there and see what's up with it, it might be where they were taken or a street Spencer noted as an important thing for us to know” Garcia nodded and quickly sat back down and started typing on her laptop as you left.

God only knows what your teammates are going through right now.

-----

“YOU SON OF A BITCH” Derek yelled as J.J. was dragged to the middle of the floor and repeatedly beaten.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT” Hotch yelled as J.J. started to whimper, the people stopped at Hotch's comment and left J.J. on the floor, Emily and Spencer scrambling with their hands bound to get to their teammate, making sure she was okay.

“What do we want? We want you guys on our side!” one of the people said, he was happy, how could this make anyone happy?

“FBI agents in our group? We’d rule the world!” another one exclaimed as the rest of the group laughed.

“It obviously took a lot of time and planning didn't it? To capture all of us” Hotch said cooly, though on the inside he was boiling.

“Six months,” someone said, it was a new voice that came from the entrance of...the sewers? Poor Spencer was probably having an attack with all these germs.

“Hey boss! We got ‘em” another one said, god there was too many to remember.

“I can see, you missed two though” the Boss said as he looked at the team, a few of his men dragged Emily, Spencer and J.J. back to the wall they all sat at, “genius's lover, and the black guy's girlfriend” the man noted as his men became eerily quiet.

“The blonde girl was with that skinny guy,” a man pointed to Spencer, “And that one,” he pointed to Derek, “but they kept going to crowded places and bumping into people that we couldn't get them, and the other...one”

“The sexy one?” the boss's voice rang out with a grin.

“YOU LEAVE (Y/N) OUT OF THIS YOU BAS-” Spencer yelled before one of the men kicked him in the stomach, causing him to cough harshly.

“Shut it druggie” the Boss said, the looks on the teams faces gave him all the pleasure, “oh yeah, we know all about you guys; how Hotchner lost his wife, Rossi has had 3 divorces, Morgan was sexually abused, Prentiss has had an abortion at 15 and J.J., sweet little J.J. had a miscarrige” snickers from the men could be heard as the team looked away, embarrassment? No, just confused as to how these people knew such intimate things about them.

“And that little lover of yours, genius?” another voice questioned, the voice came toward Spencer, gripped the poor boy's hair and ripped his head up to look up at him as a pained expression came over the doctor, “they’re in for it big!” he cackled, “gonna have a lot of fun with them when we get them later,” and with that he threw Spencer against the wall, Spencer groaned as a few of his teammates called his name but he didn't register it, only the pounding in his ears and the feeling of blood rushing down his head. And with that, the men and their boss left, the door to the sewer room shut and the click of a lock echoed around the room, the silence the team heard afterwards was loud, deafening.

------

“What’ve we got Garcia?” you asked the analyst as you walked back into the room, placing 3 files on the table in front of her.

“Okay, very few cases including those words you gave me, a lot of the cases were only one unsub or two and I highly doubt there were only two unsubs so I crossed them off and? I got nothing,” the girl sighed as she got rid of the tabs to continue working, “the facial recognition software and car registration is still going, i've got hits for all of our friends being in the places that they mentioned, all of them had unfortunately been walking at the time but they go from one camera to another and then suddenly they're gone,”

“So our unsubs are sophisticated, this definitely took time to plan and get the right things for,” you mumbled as you looked at the victim board Garcia had hastily made up on the clear plastic, each member of your team's faces were up there along with a few other colour pieces of paper for the unsubs, and that's it.

“I haven't gotten any hits on the cars either” Garcia mentioned softly, you nodded.

“Okay well, i've got three cases here that all mention those words from before. First one is a group of five unsubs from Rossis and Gideons days but a lot of them are in jail if not all of them, the second is a cult group from Missouri and the last one is a gang of over thirty people; and not all of those thirty people had been found, prosecuted, jailed, killed and etcetera you get it” you fanned out the files and opened each of them.

“Which one do we think it is?” Garcia asked, we had no leads of which one it really is, so you took a breath and read over the files.

“Okay well, the five unsubs are all in jail and only two have been let out of prison in the last six months and it wouldn't be them because they only have two people in their gang, they’re loyal so they wouldn't start a new group without the originals” you closed the file and pushed it away and moved onto the other one, “the cult is rather big but they’re based in Missouri and i don't think they’d travel all the way over here to kidnap agents. This isn't religious or anything and they are so, definitely not them” you closed the file and landed on the last one, “okay, this one,” you looked over the file as Garcia started typing away, “fifteen have gotten out of jail in the past 2 years, five where never found and the rest are still in jail” you looked to Garcia, “this could be it”

“AH HA!” Garcia exclaimed, “i have a hit on three of those people who are in the system and they are following our lovely friends” Garcia typed another second as multiple video cameras came up showing your friends walking (or stumbling depending on who it was) along with one of three people following behind them a few feet.

“It has to be them then,” you said, “i'll go back down and find the rest of the files, Garcia i want you to find every bit of land, buildings, warehouses and houses they have ever bought, i want to know what they ate for breakfast on the third of january last year, i want to know what plumbing system they used in 2016; i wante everything” you said, albeit forcefully, as you walked out of the room and towards the file room again as Anderson walked back into the conference room and handed Garcia a few papers.

“Thank you Anderson,” Garcia mumbled as he looked over the paper, and sure enough there was fingerprints that matched one of the people who followed your teammates, Garcia then pulled up the video surveillance of the BAU and the facial recognition was quick to find the man enter the room, place the folder down with glove-less hands before walking out, he had a visitors pass.

-------

The scraping of metal against the floor awoke each member of the team slowly as a few people walked into the room, placed food trays on the ground in front of each team member, uncuffed the team and then walked out. The team looked to each other as a voice floated through a P.A. system above them.

“It isn't poisoned, and if you don't eat it then that's up to you but you will starve,” and the system shut off with a harsh beep.

“Hotch?” Derek asked.

“Eat unless you want to die,” was all their unit chief said before he moved forward and started eating the sandwich he had. Emily followed suit and gave a throaty moan as she drank the water from the goblet on the tray, the others soon followed.

-------

“There's nothing,” Garcia said as you entered the room again, “they don't have any land or anything,”

“Well find something then,” you said harshly, Garcia jumped slightly at your harsh tone but started typing again as you pinned up photos of each of the members out of the prison, “have you done a deep search on each person that's out of prison and that wasn't found?” you asked Garcia.

“Yes! Yes, five of the fifteen have alibis from the night our friends got taken and i can't find the rest nor can i find those other five that were never found, they really are off the grid (Y/n)” Garcia said as her fingers flew fast against the keyboard, you looked at the clock on the other side of the room.

“Ten hours,” you muttered, “god only knows what they’re going through,” you rubbed your hand over your face and paced slightly, “we have 15 persons of interest and we can't find them, do the ones with alibis have addresses?”

“They all do, three have work and home and the other two dont work and are stay-at-home-dads, all of their names and addresses have been sent to your phone” Garcia told you as a ping from your phone sounded.

“Okay, i'm going to go and check out that place Spencer gave me before he got taken, i'm gonna grab a few other people to go to other addresses because it'll save time and then regroup back here,” you said as you pulled your phone to your ear and started calling a few people.

~

You parked the car and made your way to French Road which was, as Spencer did say, to the east of the FBI headquarters. It looked like any other little street, a few cafes and a few empty blocks, it wasn't in the city but it wasn't in the suburbs; it wasn't deserted but it wasn't crowded, you noted this. Spencer and Derek weren't taken from here because they were in the middle of the city at the time of abduction, so there has to be something here that Spencer saw to make you come here. You looked in every alleyway on both sides of the street, doing a shallow dig in the dumpsters, opening a few cafe doors and asking a few questions but ending up with nothing. You let out a huff as you looked up and down the street again, until you realised something.

This was a dead end street. The end was a large circle so cars could do a U-turn and go the opposite way, stationed at the end of the street is a path to some sort of forest/secluded jogging track, this had to be a lead, it has to be. The leaves and sticks crunched as you walked along the track, your gun positioned next to you in your hand, ready for action whenever needed, that's when your phone made a large shrill and scared you half to death.

“What is it Mike?” you asked into the receiver after realising it was the other team who was out asking questions.

“We have a lead for the group from one of the stay-at-home-dads; they’ve been planning this for awhile but haven't put effort into it except for the past six months. We couldn't get a name because the guy was too loyal and was convinced they’d come after him but he did tell us that they tried to get in contact with him to regroup, he obviously refused but they left him alone after that, one phone call and nothing else,” Mike said, you could hear the slam of a car door as he got into one of the SUVs with his partner.

“Okay, that's good Mike, get that to Garcia and see if she can try and trace that call and what tower it's pinged from,” and with that you hung up as you heard Mike say ‘got it’ before the line went dead. You looked as far down the path as you could from where you stood but didn't go any further, if this was a lead then you would need backup and probable cause as to why you're there.

~

“All five of those men checked out with the same story, they each got a call asking them to rejoin the team and they refused, the caller disconnected right after that but they haven't gotten any threats since then. Unfortunately i couldn't find a tower it was pinging from and the number was from five different burner phones too,” Garcia said as you looked over the victim board.

“Background searches with those ten we had earlier?” you asked, “found anything else?”

“Um one, he's only 26 and but its a loose thread,” the picture came onto the screen, the man looked like he could pass as 16, “James Micheal, 26, the only thing i could find was that his credit card has weird transactions over the past six months so it fits our timeline however, i can't find the account it's going to so it must be a bugged one or fake or something similar” Garcia said as she brought up the transactions.

“Found him on the streets?” you asked, Garcia grinned and brought up a video feed, and upon further inspection, plus audio, you now had a profile.

-------

“Right-o,” a voice said, the metal door screeched open causing the team to wince as he and 2 other men stepped in, “who wants to go first?” he questioned, the sickening grin could be heard through his speech as the sewer was way too dark to see 3 feet in front of them.

“Grab the kid, he had the addiction,” another voice muttered before the men moved forward.

“HEY FUCK OFF,” Spencer yelled as two of the men tried to pin him down, Derek started scrambling towards Spencer to help but after a nasty blow to the jaw he backed away with guilt.

“Get the needle,” one of them said, this caused Spencer to tense, fuckfuckfuckfuck, this can't be happening, no way are they gonna inject him again.

“Look nerd, it's your old friend!” the first man said as he shook a small clear bottle in the slim stream of light from the roof, and sure enough there was a label with the one word that caused Spencer's fight or flight to make its appearance, Dilaudid.

“NO, DON'T YOU D-” a punch to the jaw caused Spencer to splutter and breath heavily as his arm was grabbed roughly, tied and the needle entered into his skin and vein, he sobbed. The team heard Spencer whimper as he felt the liquid inject into his veins and bloodstream, the telltale shortness of breath was quick to take its mark along with the immediate drowsiness as the men walked out without saying another word.

“SPENCE” J.J. exclaimed as the man in question fell into a slumber and the team crowded around the twitching boy, it was just like last time.

“Protect him,” Hotch said, “don't let them take him in this state, fight, bite, kick, i dont give a single shit,” the team looked at Hotch and nodded as they all took a silent oath to protect their friend.

------

“Our unsubs are up to ten people, possibly fifteen or more if they have recruited new people,” you started the profile with Garcia standing next to you, “we have one person of interest as of right now, James Micheal, we have video evidence and audio evidence of him speaking to each member of the BAU team trying to proposition them, as you all know a few of our team members would have ignored him, and a few would have talked or said a simple no; those who didn't say anything he continued to walk next to and annoy until that team member said something,” you took a breath, “we have evidence of James stalking the BAU team for the past 4 months from their work, to their home, to where they go for dinner on a special night or the bar; this includes both myself and Garcia in this stalking pile, we have added extra security to our own homes.”

“James has been making up to five thousand dollar transactions to some bugged account for the past six months and another two thousand dollars to a seperate account 2 months prior to those first six months,” Garcia was now delivering the digital trail, “this means he has been with this team for at least eight months, possibly more, he is most likely new, shy and unsure of what he is doing. James is being used and he knows he is but he has no way out as our unsubs keep saying things like ‘ill kill your family’, ‘you're nothing without us’, stuff like that,” Garcia used her hands to talk as she also pointed to the victim board to the photo of James’ driver's license.

“This team on unsubs are highly dangerous and we must proceed with caution around and with them, they all have gotten out of jail in the past 2 years and they obviously have a vengeance plan, please remember this. We also have a lead to where this team of unsubs could possibly be hiding but until we have James we cannot infiltrate the area. There is a fake missing person report out for James so we can hopefully get him into questioning, thank you,” and with that the people around you filtered away back to where they were meant to be going. You turned to Garcia.

“Do you think that was enough? What if we don't get to them wh-”

“Garcia stop, we cant think like that, we are the best of the best even without the team, okay?” you held Garcia enough to ground her as she nodded and wiped her tears.

“SSA (L/n)?” a new voice asked, you looked to the glass doors and sure enough, James Micheal was waiting there.

“James,” you said as you walked towards him.

“I saw the flyers and I just have one proposition,” James said, his voice was deep and definitely didn't match his face.

“What is it?” you asked as you walked to the interrogation room and allowed James to sit down in front of you with your back to the mirror, Garcia and Anderson were already standing in the small room before the interrogation room.

“I want protection until those guys are back in prison, i don't want them anywhere near me and i don't want them to find me,” James said, his voice was ridden with anxiety, you nodded.

“We can do that James, it's alright,” you reassured the man in front of you, “can you tell us who is in this group? Where are they staying?” you asked, James nodded.

“There's ten in the group, they're off the beaten track down some street in the east-”

“French Road?” you questioned, James nodded.

“Yeah, yeah that one,” he agreed, that was everything you needed from the previous encounter, “they don't have a lot of security but they’re pretty sophisticated with what they have on hand. They know everything about all of that team though,” Jack mentioned, “Emily got an abortion and that Red dude?”

“Reid” you corrected.

“Reid, they know of his Dilaudid thing and Hotch and his wife - they know everything,” Jack was shaking now, “they-they said they were going to use that against the team, the addiction, the trauma all of that”

“They’re going to dose Reid?” you asked with your shaken voice, that wasn't a good thing. Jack nodded as he looked to the clock.

“Most likely have already,” he whispered, you looked to the clock, 12 hours since the disappearance. Fuck. You nodded.

“You’ll be taken by another agent to a safe house and let out when this team is apprehended,” was all you said before walking out of the room and letting the door shut behind you. Your throat tightened and you couldn't breath as you sunk to your knees, Garcia and Anderson rushing to you.

“Breath (Y/n), breath” Garcia reminded you, “breath with me my sweetness” she said, Garcia made more effort to show her breathing as you tried to copy her, a few minutes passed before you had finally calmed down, tears streaked your eyes as you bumbled your words.

“I-its French road, Spencer was onto something,” you mumbled softly, “th-they know everything, from Reid's addi-addiction to Emily, and Hotch's wife,” you took a deep breath, “I-I want S.W.A.T. stationed with me, w-we’re going to infiltrate that place with the hel-lp of Jack and his direction-ns, possibly a map,” you looked to Anderson who nodded and walked out while taking out his phone to call for S.W.A.T., “Garcia i dont want you there,” you said, looking at the girl, she nodded in understanding as you stood up and started walking towards the way of the S.W.A.T. team.

------

J.J, Derek, Emily, Hotch and Rossi all whimpered as each member got kicked, punched, pulled, twisted and everything in between, Spencer was only just coming to from the drugs.

“N-no, dont,” Spencer whimpered, he was weak and could barely open his eyes but soon slipped back into a slumber.

“Y-you won't get away with this,” Emily whispered as one of the men gripped her jaw, her voice hoarse and scratchy.

“Oh darling, we will,” the man grinned as he threw the girl to the floor as the others piled the team on top of the others, all groaning and silently crying.

In retrospect, (Y/n) was rather glad that all members of the team were in the room when the door was busted open.

“FBI, PUT YOUR HANDS UP,” you yelled, the words echoing around the room, the men snickered as S.W.A.T. trained their guns on the men.

“It’s alright boys,” the boss said, your eyes trained towards the voice.

“Let. My team. Go,” you said calmly, gun now cocked, the man laughed.

“Go on boys,” the men moved out of the room but the boss stayed standing.

“Grab the team,” you said to S.W.A.T. behind you, the men walked in slowly and trusted you with your trained gun as they started carrying or walking out your team members, one having to cradle Spencer bridal style, “ambulance,” you said into the mic on your vest, “we need an ambulance for a poentional OD, Dilaudid was used, possibly a cocktail of other drugs but its unknown. Dont use other narcotics and if i find out you do i will be going to jail due to murder of doctors and nurses,” the sirens wailed in the distance.

“You’ve got tendencies too,” the boss said in front of you, “murder, killing, everything” you scoffed.

“Everyone does, its whether we have the empathy and understanding of ‘that's wrong’, which is why we don't do it unlike you people,” you seethed through your teeth, “hands up, you are under arrest for the kidnapping and torture of six FBI agents,” the man stayed silent for a moment.

“(Y/n) (L/n),” the man said, “pathetically in love with Agent Spencer Re-”

“It’s Doctor,” a voice said behind you, the cock of a gun could be heard before the tell-tale sound of a bullet being fired next to you, your natural reflexes made you dive to the right (as the bullet came from the left) as the boss was hit in the forehead and fell to the floor. You looked to the gun carrier.

Spencer Reid.

Gun held out straight, no tremble and a stern look.

Spencer looked to you and tears immediately spilled from his eyes as you stayed stone against the floor, “i see you got my message,” Spencer said softly with a smile before he collapsed to the floor in a heap of limbs, the gun clattering to the floor as paramedics rush to Spencers aid.

It seemed to go in slow motion, everything whizzed past you as other paramedics helped you to your feet, your eyes glassy and vision blurred as you got brought to the back of an ambulance. Around you each member of your team was being attended to, brought to a stretcher and taken in another ambulance, eight ambulance’s in total.

It was okay, you got all of the men, all of your team was safe.

Except.

“HES FLATLINING”

“We need to get him to the hospital NOW!”

“HE'S GOING TO O.D.”

[aliendes]

Natural Borns - Chapter 8

Banner by @thebannershop​

Series info/genre: Angst, fluff, smut (NSFW) *this chapter is SFW

Pairings: ot7 x fem reader (eventual)

Warnings: cursing, mxm hints, anxiety and panic, overall sad bois, finally some kissing, but that’s it.

Description: In the year 2613, over half of the world’s population are what scientists consider ‘designer babies’. YN is a small town girl who is a true natural born, someone born naturally without he help of a lab or gene splicing. Her DNA is greatly sought after, but what is she willing to do to protect it?

Word count: 5.2k~

A/N: I’m sorry for the shit chapter.

He didn’t even have a chance to tell you before you left the warehouse earlier, despite how badly he had wanted to, and now he has to deal with the possibility that he’s lost both of you. 

Crunching leaves, wet foot steps, and falling rain whizzing by your face was all you heard. You were hyper focused on looking ahead of you, not risking looking at your feet, or behind you, as you and Jungkook ran as fast as you could away from Jimin and Teahyung’s location. The warmth of Jungkook’s hand in your own helped ground you and that mixed with the heavy pounding of your own heart momentarily stopped the tears from falling. Though at that point, you couldn’t tell the difference between the rain and the tears, together becoming a wet mixture on your face. 

The sounds of the forest were starting to close in on you as the two of you sprinted through what seemed like an endless sea of trees and shrubbery. Dripping water as the rain picked up, the hum of insects that were just beginning to wake up, the rustling of leaves and twigs on the forest floor, were all way too loud mixed with the sound of yours and Jungkook’s heavy breathing. You could feel your chest start to tighten. You clench your teeth, lips slightly parted, as you squeeze Jungkook’s hand even tighter. If he feels your oncoming panic, he doesn’t mention it, instead pulling you harder to the right, veering off your initial path and towards a clearing in the trees. 

Once you made it past a large cluster of trees, you broke into an open meadow where the rain was even louder than before. It sounded like you were in a tin can, rain echoing off all sides of you. When the two of you made it to the center of the clearing, you both came to an abrupt stop, spinning around, hands still clasped together, as you searched the dark tree line for danger. The sound of the rain hitting the ground around you was deafening, like a white noise rattling inside your head as your eyes searched for someone, something that was following you. You had no idea if anything actually was following you, but this open field offered you a perfect opportunity to search your surroundings. When you couldn’t find anything lurking in the shadows, you started to calm as you looked up at the young man standing with his back against yours, searching for the same things you were. 

Jungkook’s chest was heaving up and down from exertion. You could feel the solid muscles of his back tensing with every inhale he took. You slowly turned against him, looking up towards his wet face, a mixture of sweat, rain, and tears, eyes brimmed red. The two of you shared a look of desperation, a meaningful look that said, we did it, but at what cost?

Breaking the stare, you looked around you one last time before collapsing onto the soggy ground, a crack sounding when your knees hit the dirt. Jungkook watches you crumple onto the ground and slowly follows, kneeling carefully in front of you, arms hung at his side, face hanging down as he lets the rain soak his body further.

“Did we lose them?” you murmur, barely audible over the heavy rainfall, looking up at him through wet strands of hair.

“Yeah,” he whispers. Neither of you say anything else yet, focusing on your breathing and wondering what exactly you had gotten yourselves into. 

All you could hope was that whoever was following you, whoever saw you in the forest, wouldn’t track the others -

“Jungkook!” you startle him, causing his puffy eyes to dart to yours, “Your phone!”

His eyes soften at your realization, something broken replacing the look of bewilderment. “It’s dead,” he mutters, a look of embarrassment crossing his features, “it was so low, it was about to die when we were close to Tae and Jimin. I’m an idiot and didn’t think to charge it before we left. Jin-hyung warned me, and I didn’t listen.”

Jungkook shoulders drop even further, and you’re reminded just how young the man in front of you can act sometimes. “Kook,” you whisper, reaching out to grab his hand, “you aren’t an idiot. We’ll figure this out, okay?” The sound of rain and cracking thunder was drowning out your voices, making it hard to hear. 

He nods, but doesn’t meet your gaze, instead focusing on your hand now grasping his, a look of wonder in his eyes. “We need to get out of the rain,” you said, tugging his hand lightly to let him know you want him to stand. Slowly, he obliges, standing with you as you rise. You wince as your knees start to buckle, but Jungkook’s strong hands are on your elbows, supporting you so you don’t fall. Worry creases his brow as he looks down at you, guilt racking his brain at putting you in a situation where you wouldn’t be found by the others. His own stupidity and inability to listen to Jin would be the reason you would be lost out here with no one to find you. He didn’t care at all about himself, something inside him burning to protect you, a feeling he’s never felt before. Usually it was Jin taking care of him, not the other way around. He’s never felt this overwhelming feeling to keep someone safe before. As he watched you right yourself and stand again, he couldn’t take his eyes off your face, studying you for any indication you were in pain, anything letting him know you needed him. 

When you felt like you could stand again, you looked up at Jungkook, “T-thanks…” you trailed off when you caught the intense way he was staring at you. Brow furrowed, eyes zeroed in on yours, you’ve never seen Jungkook look like this. “Are you okay?” you ask quietly, bringing your own hand up to place on top of his that was still on your other arm. 

Jungkook shook his head lightly, whatever spell he was under seemingly broken, the puppy dog look returning to his eyes. “Y-yeah, fine,” he murmurs, eyes blinking rapidly for a second as he pulls away from you. “Let’s g-go.”

You nod your head and look around you, trying to get your bearings and figure out where to go. The rain was starting to lighten a bit, but was still very much coming down. The both of you were soaked, dripping with water. Even though it was the beginning of summer, the early morning chill was freezing you both to the bone. You could see the slight blue tint that was threatening to take over Jungkook’s perfect lips. Wait. You shook your head. Those are not the thoughts to be having right now. Shivering, you point towards a slight opening in the trees, “That way is West. Should we keep heading that way?”

Jungkook thinks for a minute, lips pursed in a thin line as his body shakes from the cold. “I think the hyungs wanted to head North, towards the city, after reaching Jimin and Tae, maybe we should head that way…” he sounded unsure, but you wanted to trust him. After all, he knew more about the others and their plans than you did. 

Mustering up the best smile you could in your current situation, you take Jungkook’s hand in yours. “North it is, then.”

The two of you walked for what seemed like hours, the clouds in the sky blocking most of the sunlight and making it hard to tell what time of day it was. The rain had stopped a while ago, but the forest was still wet and a light fog was starting to roll in from the West, making it hard to see farther than ten feet in front of you. It felt like you were wading through a swamp with how wet and humid your boots were. You were sure Jungkook wasn’t faring much better. 

The summer humidity and heat were starting to bear their teeth as the day grew on, making the air around you hot and heavy. You weren’t sure what the plan was for you two, but you knew if you didn’t stop and rest soon, you both wouldn’t make it much farther. You were exhausted from all the running you’ve done all night without a break, starving from not having eaten anything in nearly twenty four hours, and mentally collapsing from the stresses you’ve both been put through. 

“YN,” Jungkook’s soft voice brought your thoughts to an abrupt halt as you stopped in your tracks to turn and look at the younger man. The sight shouldn’t have been surprising, but the paleness of the boy’s face, the sweat dripping down his temples, and the steady rise and fall of his chest were all indicators that you needed to take a break. 

Doubling back and walking towards Jungkook, you grab his hand and tug him over to a small overhanging of rock, a little nook of land within the cavern of trees. Nestled in between a couple of firs and bushes, was a small creek, surrounded by tree stumps and logs. It was almost too serene, too out of place, that at first you thought your exhaustion was getting to you, but when you knelt down near the water and splashed your hand in it for a moment, you realized you weren’t hallucinating. 

It was still extremely foggy, and while you couldn’t see very far, or breath very deep, sitting next to Jungkook on the forest floor, you felt at peace for a moment.

Without any further thoughts, you start taking off your boots and socks, laying them on a nearby fallen tree trunk to air out. The bandages Jin had wrapped around your feet yesterday were long destroyed, wet and soggy and no longer serving their purpose. Taking them off, you roll them up and set them next to your boots. Surveying your poor feet, you notice that your wounds were slightly swollen, and quite possibly infected now that you had walked for hours in waterlogged shoes. You wince as you touch the tender spots around the soles of your feet. 

You were so caught up in actually getting to sit down and relax, that you don’t notice Jungkook rustling around in his bag beside you. A few moments later, you feel his presence next to you, also lacking socks and shoes, with his jeans rolled up to his knees. It also looks like he’s put on a different shirt, though it’s still damp, his duffel not having been completely safe from the rain.

Taking in his appearance for a moment, you realize you’ve never seen him look so… mature. He looks his age for the first time since you’ve met him. When your scrutinizing gaze travels to his face, he’s wearing a warm smile and soft, deep brown eyes that you swear you can see galaxies in if you stare hard enough. The sharp jawline he sports and perfectly carved lips and cheekbones, a sharp contrast to his bunny like smile and personality. Your eyes travel up a little farther, and you’re met with a tiny man bun sitting on top of his head, his dark curls, even darker from being wet, tied up haphazardly in a black hair tie. If he notices the way you’re ogling him, he doesn’t mention it, nor does he shy away like you expected him to. He’s crouched down next to you, holding something in his hands as he shakes his head a couple times to get the stray hairs out of his face. 

“Can you stand?” he asks quietly, not wanting to disturb whatever thoughts you were lost in right now. Slowly, you nod, taking the hand he offers you and rising up with a slight wince. Jungkook wordlessly walks you over to the log that houses his duffel bag and sits you down and hands you something. 

Looking at the small package in your hand, you realize it's a bag of dried fruit. “Jungkook,” you start, but you’re cut off by him shaking his head as he grabs a few more things out of his bag. 

“I have more, just eat, please,” his shyness coming back as he urges you to eat something, “I have a shirt you can, uh, c-change into, too.” A small smile crosses your lip as you tear into the bag and start picking at the small pieces of fruit inside. 

“Can I?” Jungkook asks shyly, looking down at the forest floor in front of you. It takes you a  moment to realize that he’s actually looking at your feet, and self consciously you pull them closer to you, before you notice he’s holding a small first aid kit. It’s your turn to be shy, as you stop chewing to nod your head lightly, pursing your lips as Jungkook sinks to the floor and opens the first aid kit.

“You don’t have to,” you start, watching as Jungkook carefully and hesitantly starts to wrap your feet up again. You can tell he’s nervous by the slight shake of his hands, but he’s trying to hide it, so you don’t mention it. “I can do it.”

“P-please, YN,” he stutters, still wrapping your foot and not daring to look up at you, “please let me take care of you.” His voice was so soft and genuine that you didn’t push further. Instead, you continue to eat your fruit, watching as Jungkook wraps your feet up securely, tighter than Jin, but with more support and cushion so you could stand easier. When he’s done he packs away the kit and takes a damp, but clean, black t-shirt out of his bag and shakes it out a few times before handing it to you with a rosy blush on his face. “H-here,” he whispers, looking away as you take it from him, “I wont look.”

 You know he’s telling the absolute truth, but much like with Jin, you feel safe with Jungkook. Though you don’t want to push the shy boy, you want to let him know exactly how you feel. “It’s okay Kook,” you start, pulling off the drenched cardigan and ringing it out, “I feel safe with you.”

Jungkook’s head whips around so fast you’re worried he might have whiplash. “Y-you,” he sounds nervous again, “really?” The surprise in his voice shocked you. Did he really think you wouldn't feel safe with him?

You furrow your brows as you set the cardigan to your side, Jungkook walking over and picking it up to shake out as he stares you down. “Of course, Kook,” your voice is quiet, almost drowned out by the soft babbling of the water a few feet from you, “you’re caring, and kind, and you’ve never done anything that has made me uncomfortable, and I don’t think you would do so purposely.”

“No, of course not,” he says with a conviction you haven’t really heard from him before, “I- I really, r-really care about you, YN.” His voice pitters out to a whisper as he looks away from your face, deciding to fold up the cardigan and stuff it into his bag. 

When you don’t say anything for a moment, Jungkook panics, looking up to see a wide smile spreading across your face at his admission, your eyes crinkling in a way that makes his heart stutter. He doesn’t get these weird fluttery feelings in his heart and in his stomach with his hyungs - well, maybe Jimin - so why is he feeling it right now, with you, in a situation like this? 

Disregarding his duffel, he sits down next to you on the log and smiles softly back at you. He doesn’t know it, but your heart is doing the same fluttery thing as his is as you reach out hesitantly and place your hand atop his on the tree bark.

 Jungkook can’t take his eyes off yours as you scoot closer to him, but his hands have a mind of their own as one reaches around your shoulders, pulling you into him, while the other comes up to brush a stray piece of hair away from your face. This isn’t the closest the two of you have been by any means. He literally carried you through a forest on his back, you’ve held tightly onto each other’s hands more times than you can count in the last few days, and earlier this morning you were hugged to his chest so tightly you felt like you were melting into him, but something about this closeness right now, was different. 

There was a mutual understanding in the air as you brought the hand that wasn’t resting on the log up to his chest, gently grasping the fabric of his shirt and pulling him closer to you. The closeness resembling that of the one you shared with Seokjin only a day ago, but what felt like an entire lifetime ago now, making your smile falter. Jungkook notices, and lightly runs the tips of his fingers against your cheekbone, his eyes, deep as the ocean, staring back at you with what you can only describe as wonder. You hoped that your eyes were telling him the same thing his eyes were telling you right now, you’re safe with me. 

Jungkook’s gaze flits down to your lips for just a moment, but it’s enough for you to notice, making you nod your head once in permission. The soft smile he wore earlier was replaced with a slight pout as he descends on you, his plush lips pressing lightly into yours in a sweet kiss as both of your eyes slip closed. Your first kiss. You idly wonder if this is his first, too, deciding that it probably isn’t. With the way the boys act around each other, you’d be stupid to assume otherwise. 

The kiss only lasts a few moments, never deepening into anything more than a chaste press of lips. When Jungkook pulls away, your eyes stay shut, fingers coming up to push against your bottom lip in awe of the tingly feeling his lips left there. Jungkook smiles down at you in amusement, watching as your eyes slowly flutter open and find his. A giddy smile spreads across your face as he leans forward, placing another quick peck to your pouty lips. 

How poetic that your first kiss would take place on a foggy morning in a storybook esque forest, next to a babbling brook. It was like your childhood fantasy, formed by outlandish princess stories and movies, was coming true. You smile to yourself at the thought of seven year old you cheering twenty three year old you on right now, jumping up and down in her pastel pink princess dress, sporting that plastic crown you adored so much. The memory only lasts a minute, and soon you’re brought back to the present and reminded of what exactly you’re doing in this forest in the first place. It wasn’t some epic adventure with prince charming that led you here, and the thought makes your eyes close as you suck a breath in through your nose, hot, wet air entering your lungs and grounding you again.

Jungkook’s hand moves down your shoulder, rubbing against your arm as he takes your hand in his. “Are you okay?” he asks, pulling you even closer to him and placing a kiss to the top of your head. You wince at the feeling, assuming your hair is probably a disgusting mess right now. Jungkook doesn’t care though, and he won't mention it.

“Yeah,” you whisper into his shoulder where you rest your forehead, “I’m okay. Thank you.” Jungkook doesn’t say anything for a moment, just rubbing his hand up and down your spine in a calming motion. 

“You should change,” he says finally, pulling away from you and grabbing the t-shirt from earlier. Surprisingly, it’s dried a little bit and sounded way more appealing than the sticky, wet shirt you currently had on. Gripping the hem of your shirt, you pull it up and over your head, setting it on the ground and taking the shirt from Jungkook’s grasp.

Jungkook is considerably less anxious than he was about you changing only minutes ago. Instead, he watches your face to make sure you really are okay, before bending over to fold your shirt up and stuff it away in his bag. 

Both of you sit there for a few minutes longer, basking in the morning warmth, trying to dry yourselves off a bit more before venturing further. While the sun still isn’t fully visible beyond the fog and clouds, the air is considerably warmer. 

“Do you know where we are?” you ask, looking over at the dark haired boy whose eyes are closed, head hanging back and pointed up at the canopy of trees above, the epitome of ethereal. 

Without opening his eyes, he nods, “Kind of.” He stays quiet for a second before sitting up and looking at you with a fondness that has your stomach twisting in a delightful knot. “I’ve been trying to keep track of how far we’ve walked. We stayed mostly North, slightly East, and we’ve walked about six miles.” The details he provides shocks you. It’s not that you didn’t think he was capable of tracking, he just seemed lost in his own world while you walked, not offering up much information as you went along. He must notice the shock on your face, “Yoongi-hyung teaches me a lot,” he chuckles airily, the sound like bells in your ears, “if we head to the East a few miles, we may cross paths with the others. Hopefully.”

You nod along as he speaks, letting you know how long he thinks it will take to get to the others, if they’ve even started walking. He hopes that they haven’t backtracked, or tried to search for you back there. He talks himself out of it, knowing Yoongi and Namjoon would be thinking tactically, like he is right now. He just hoped the others would listen, especially Jin. 

“We should get moving soon,” he utters as he stands and walks over to start packing his bag up again. You make a noise of affirmation, standing up as well.

Before you could stand completely straight, you hear a whizzing sound next to your ear. You whip your head to the right to look at Jungkook who seems blissfully unaware of the strange noise you just heard. “Jung-” before you could fully call his name, you hear it again, only this time it’s followed by a sharp, burning pain in the front of your neck. Stunned, you reach your hand up to your throat, feeling a small piece of metal sticking out of it. Your head is swimming, a sudden feeling of lightheadedness taking over as you try to step towards Jungkook, but failing as you fall to the ground. 

“YN!” You think you hear Jungkook’s muffled voice, maybe feel his large hands on your body as you feel yourself floating. Or are you being carried? Your eyelids feel heavy, you're unable to keep them open, or really decipher what is going on around you at all. You feel a sour warmth spread through your veins, and when it reaches your fingers and toes, it feels like your entire body has been set alight. 

“YN! No, fuck!” Jungkook is frantic, holding your limp body close to his chest as he pulls the small metal dart from the front of your neck. He’s not sure exactly what was in it, but he can feel your body temperature raising and your heart rate pick up, and he’s panicking. He’s lightly shaking you, trying to keep you conscious, but he can tell you’re slipping fast. He tries to support your head as he lifts you up bridal style, spinning in place to figure out where the dart had come from, but it’s no use when he’s surrounded by thick, white fog. “Hold on,” he whispers, “I’ve got you.” 

Jungkook takes off running to the East, hoping beyond all hope he would cross his hyungs before whoever was following you caught up to him. He couldn’t let anything happen to you, you told him you felt safe with him. He wasn’t going to let anyone take you. 

Before he can get very far, he feels a searing pain in his left shoulder, then his right. He knows he’s going to go down soon, but he pushes through for as long as he can. When the third dart hits the back of his exposed neck, he drops to his knees, an overwhelming feeling of weight taking over his limbs. It feels like he’s trying to wade through quick sand as he slowly slips into unconsciousness. “No, no, no,” he whispers, his throat dry and scratchy, “no, YN. I-I’m sorry.” He sobs quietly, eyes slowly closing. Before he lets the darkness completely wash over him, he lays you gently in front of him, careful not to harm you, and lays beside you, one arm thrown over your body protectively.

“Check again,” Jin urges once more. 

“I just checked, Jin-hyung. It’s not going to change. Just relax, we will find them, okay?” Yoongi says as calmly as he can, though it’s hard to bite back his annoyance, he understands why Jin is so distraught. 

The six of them had set out a few hours ago, once they had completely dried off and changed in the safe house. Well, aside from Seokjin, who was still wearing his drenched clothes and shoes. He had refused to change, just wanting to get out and look for Jungkook and you. He insisted that the two of you wouldn’t have been able to have the same luxuries they all had access to, and insisted he would wait until he found you both. 

The others tried to get him to rest and eat, telling him he would be no good to Jungkook and you if he was sick and tired, but he refused, sulking at the kitchen table while the rest of them figured out what to do.

Eventually, Yoongi and Namjoon had decided that Jungkook would probably take the two of you North if you had gotten lost. Yoongi had taught Jungkook enough that he would know where North was, even in the thick morning fog that was overtaking the forest right now. But something in Yoongi’s gut told him you weren’t lost. Jungkook would’ve been able to find his way here, especially when you were so close in the first place. Something happened that made you veer off path purposely. He didn’t want to dwell on what that could be, instead instructing the group to head North, towards Seoul, which is likely where Jungkook would be heading. 

The rest agreed, and were now traveling North, in search of the two of you. It was difficult to see anything in the fog, and the heat of the late morning sun that was just starting to peak out from between the clouds was making it hard for them to move quickly. Seokjin wasn’t deterred, though, constantly checking with Yoongi to see if Jungkook’s phone had pinged again since before the safe house. The answer was always the same, but hearing the answer helped push him forward in search of his other half and the girl who already held such a large part of his heart. 

“Jin!” 

At the sudden shout of his name, Seokjin is halting his steps and turning towards the owner of the voice. Jimin is standing about a hundred yards in front of the others, crouched down near a small grouping of bushes. Without hesitation, Jin sprints towards the younger man. 

When he reaches the golden haired boy, he drops to his knees as soon as he realizes Jimin is crouched over what looks to be a sleeping Jungkook, laying face down in the dirt behind the bushes. Oh god, he hopes he’s sleeping. 

“Kookie? Kookie, it’s Jinnie,” Jin sobs, picking up the young man and turning him over gently. 

“These were in his back, Jin,” Jimin says, holding his hand out and presenting three small, metal darts. They looked like tranquilizer darts at first glance, but Jin is too preoccupied with making sure Jungkook is okay to care all that much.

Jin carefully picks Jungkook up bridal style, a feat in itself, considering how muscular the younger man is, making him one of the heaviest in their small group, and moves into a sitting position. Letting Jungkook’s body rest on his lap, Jin brushes his messy hair from his face, briefly noticing how he had tied his hair up into a cute bun atop his head, had this been any other time, he would’ve cooed at the sight. Jungkook’s lips are slightly parted and Jin can see from the slow rise and fall of his chest that he’s breathing. Letting out a sigh of relief, Jin drops his forehead to rest on Jungkook’s, letting go of the tears that had been threatening to fall. In his rush to get to Jungkook, he hadn’t yet realized that you weren’t anywhere to be found. 

The other men, aside from Jin and Jimin, were searching the area, letting the two closest to Jungkook have their moment. “What do you think happened?” Jimin whispered, moving closer to wrap his arm around Jin and brush his other hand against Jungkook’s forehead. He looked so peaceful, though Jimin knew whatever he had experienced was probably far from it. 

“I don’t know,” Jin sniffled, letting Jimin wipe a stray tear from his face, “w-wait. Where’s YN?”

Jin’s momentary peace at finding Jungkook was wiped away when he realized you were still missing. 

“We can’t find her,” Hoseok spoke, leaning down to place a hand on Jin’s shoulder, “we’ve looked everywhere in the area, but, she’s gone.”

“No,” Jin shook his head quickly, “no, we have to find her! We-”

Jin’s panic was quickly cut off as he felt Jungkook shift in his arms, letting out a long groan as his forehead pinched in pain. The younger man bared his teeth, sucking in a sharp breath as he tried to open his eyes. “J-Jin-hyung?” he blinked his eyes open carefully, a hand coming up to rub at the sore spot on the back of his neck.

Jin’s tears started to fall again, “I’m here, Kookie.” Jimin and Hoseok watched on as the rest of the boys started to gather around them. 

Once Jungkook was coherent enough to remember where he was, he tried to sit up abruptly, his muscles smarting at the sudden movement, making him let out a growl from the pain. Jin reached out, trying to keep him laying down but Jungkook resisted. “No, YN. Where is YN?!” Jungkook frantically searches around him, leaning backwards on his hands, as Jimin and Jin share a worried look, “She was right here with me. Jin-hyung,” Jungkook’s eyes were panicked and Jin’s heart cracked at the sight, not remembering a time when Jungkook had been so passionate about something, the weight of his words settling in his own chest, “They took her.”

[buckysnumberonegirl]

Flash forward- Finders Keepers

Part 7

Read parts 1-6here

Warnings: plot development, fluff, angst

Parings- past!Hugh Drysdale x Reader, Gabe Jones x reader

Hi hi everyone who's reading this, I know this series is a long one and I appreciate everyone being patient with me as time passes. I’m quite happy with this chapter

Word count 1.4K

You weren’t sure what time it was when you got to Base camp. Walking into the building you ran into Howard who told you how sorry he was for your loss. “I met James a few times, he was a good soldier and a great man” Howard patted you on the back, excusing himself.

Gabe and the other commandos were all sat together having a drink. He stood and walked over to you when he saw you enter their room “Y/N what are you doing here are you okay?” As soon as he said it he regretted the question.

“Of course you’re not okay I’m sorry for even asking, come sit down with us” he walked you over to the table where the rest of the men were, pulling you onto his lap. You put an arm around his neck as the men all talked about your cousin. You thought back to when you were children.

With little wooden guns you ran around your grandmother's backyard, on a top secret mission no one really knew the point of. Bucky took the lead as you crossed the log that fell across the creek. Running up into the woods the three of you giggled. You heard Bucky “ come on Steve you can’t slow down or we’ll get caught!”

‘Bucky he needs to breath’ you rubbed Steve’s back before he shot up “I can do this all day” he took off deeper into the woods. The three of you made your way into the old treehouse, hidden deep within the woods, a safe haven for you. You all sat on the floor pushing aside leaves and dust that had settled. Bucky gave you a wicked grin as he pulled out a pocket knife “ I read in a book once this thing called a blood pact, I think we should do one” he looked between you and Steve. “How do we do it?” Steve seemed nervous about the whole thing, he looked at you and you blushed. “Well we cut our finger and then we shake hands and say a saying or something that we’ll be together forever”

‘I like it let’s do it!’ You reached for the pocket knife making a small cut on both your index fingers, Bucky and Steve followed suit the three of you shook hands together giggling about what you were doing. “I know what our saying should be guys, I’m with you till the end of the line”

You and Steve repeated the phrase and you all agreed. You pulled a tiny first aid kit from out of your pocket handing everyone two little bandaids. You heard your grandmother calling, so the three of you scurried down the later before taking off. Bucky shouted like a war cry “the three of us! Till the end of the line!”

You looked down at your hands, they were folded in your lap. Holding out your two index fingers a tear fell as you saw the small white lines that matched up.

You wondered if Steve could see the same thing.

‘Gabe honey I should get going’ you kissed him before sitting up waving goodbye to the rest of the group. They met you with a chorus of goodbyes and condolences. “I’ll walk you home Y/N, it’s late.”

You didn’t argue, walking silently through London. When you got to your apartment game kissed you goodnight “are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” He looked into your eyes, and for a moment you felt the weight of the sadness you carried lift. ‘I’m sure, go home Gabe, I’ll come by in the morning’ you kissed his cheeks and smiled at him as he walked away.

You twist the knob to your apartment doorways to slide your key into the lock, but it pushes open.

You walk inside, an aching feeling washing over you along with a sense of dread. Something is wrong. You go to flip on a light when you see a dark figure sitting at your table. “You know Dove I’m hurt that you’d move on so fast”

The voice was dark but you knew ‘Hugh what are you doing here’

“Oh please, You were mine first” he spat on your floor. “How many night has he been here Y/N. I can’t believe I believe you when you said you wanted to wait until marriage. I hope he was worth it” you felt panic rise in your throat. You remember Peggy telling you there was a button installed under your kitchen counter, if you could get to it you would alert base camp that something was wrong. ‘Hugh I don’t know what your talking about, Gabes spent the night but we never’

Hugh shot up from the table, walking over you in less than 4 strides. “Don’t lie to me dove, it’s unbecoming of a woman” he walked into your kitchen, opening the cabinet he pulled out two wine glasses. You took this as your opportunity, walking into the kitchen with him and hitting the button while he reached into the fridge for a bottle of wine.

When you slid your finger off the button it made the tiniest click.

Hugh looked up at you and sighed, pouring the wine and handing you a glass “drink with me dove we don’t have long now until your friends get here” he took a sip from his glass. “What did I just say, drink” his voice was angry. You took a sip, Hugh grabbed the bottom of the glass and tipped it up forcing you to finish it.

“You know my plan was to keep you here, my own little pet as the world fell into place. We captured your cousin to use him as motivation for you when you stepped out of line but of course your captain America saved him. Had I known that I would have picked a different location. You see little dove you never had any control over this. We needed you and your cousin to weaken the Captain. But you, you have exceeded my expectations by also getting one of the commandos to fall in love with you. The team will fall apart when you go missing” he stopped speaking, your head felt like it was full of water. You dropped the wine glass and felt Hugh grab you. “What a shame that your lover will get here to find you gone. But do not worry my little dove I don’t plan on killing you, just hiding you away until we get rid of some of our problems”

You passed out shortly after that. Hugh carried you to his car and watched the outside of your building with glee. Steve arrived first, running at an almost inhuman speed into the building. Followed by a car with Peggy and Howard. Peggy jumped out gun in hand and ran in only to come out seconds later Steve following her. In Steve’s hand was the note Hugh had placed.

Hydra is always one step ahead Captain Rogers. Give up now and the girl will remain safe.

You woke up in a cold room. Your clothes had been changed and you were alone. You had no idea how long it had been but you knew everything felt wrong. Hugh walked into the room, smiling. “Your captain is Dead my dear, gone from this world after his plane crashed.”

You screamed hitting Hugh in the chest with your fists until he grabbed you, pushing you against the wall of the room. “ Do not test me girl I am the only reason you are alive, anger me and they will kill you” a gunshot rang throughout the room. Hughs weight fell against you three men entered the room two of them lifting Hughs body and carrying him away. You looked at the trail of blood and felt tears stream down your face.

The man in the room offered you a tissue. “ I apologize my dear, he was a poor representation of what we are, although he is correct in that your Captain has been dealt with.” You looked at the red skull embroidered on his suit... Hydra. Another man entered the room looking at you. “What should we do with her sir”

The man who had given you a tissue gave you a smile “she knows too much I’m afraid, but she will be helpful in controlling the wolf…” he paused “put her on ice and bring her to Serbia we will use her if Soldat gets out of hand”.

You were grabbed and dragged down the hall. You screamed and begged to be let go but there was nothing. They restrained your wrists and placed you in a small glass cylinder, it was cold enough that the touch of the metal stung where it touched you. You felt it get colder and colder within a matter of seconds you could no longer move. Just before everything went dark you swore, that soldier looked just like Bucky. A thought crossed your mind as you felt the knives of ice press into you you smiled a faint almost peaceful smile, So this was the end of the line. Then, everything went black.

[thiswasinevitableid]

82, Sternclay, NSFW if possible? Ty so much for all your great fics <3 -☀️

You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy the fill. It’s NSFW, and involves mating cycles, because my A03 stats suggest a lot of y’all like that.

82. you knock on my door at 2 in the morning because your very white cat got out and you need help trying to find them in the three feet of snow we have

He has no one but himself to blame. 

Stern is always so careful about shutting the doors in this cabin, as the old hinges and worn frames can send them swinging open when coupled with a strong wind. He thought he had that same care when he came in with more firewood from the basement, which can only be accessed through by going out of the house and then down to the locked door. 

Apparently not. At one, he went to check on Yeti and found the back door open and the faintest shape of feline paws leading into the darkness. 

They’ve got two feet of snow on the ground, with another foot forecasted to fall by morning. And Yeti is sleek and snow-white.

He’s wandered the perimeter of the house, left her favorite blanket out on the covered porch, and tried in vain to follow the tracks, filled in by the falling snow. He’s been outside for an hour now, with no sign of her. Not even the jingle of her collar in the cold air. He’s shivering, but he can’t stop the search; Yeti is out here, cold and scared and it’s all his fault. 

As he’s crunching through the snow, warm light spills onto the trees. His neighbors  (a loose term out here) house. He couldn’t stand waking Barclay up to help him, but if he’s already awake…

Stern raps on the door, and four seconds later it opens, his neighbor looking like a lumberjack centerfold given life, even in his sweatpants and brown sweater. 

“Joe? Is something wrong?”

“It’s Yeti, she got out without me noticing and I can’t find her, I’ve been out here an hour and there’s no sign. I, um, I know it’s a stretch but can you help me look for her? We can cover more ground that way.”

Barclay gives a small, worried smile as he nods, “Yeah, of course, lemme get enough on so that I don’t freeze and I’ll join you.” 

He waves Stern inside, passes him a box of tissues before disappearing upstairs. Here he’d hoped the tears from his brief panic and self-blame spiral hadn’t left evidence. He’s good in a crisis, has handled much more stressful incidents with grace and calm. But for some reason every time he musters up those emotions, gult rips them to shreds. Yeti is his to look after, he’s supposed to keep her safe, and one careless move has her out in the woods, in freezing weather, with predators, or thin ice, or, or, or-

His brain is excellent at generating contingency plans on the fly, but tonight it directs that ability to making him think about all the bad things his error could cause. 

“Okay, got my headlamp so I can keep my hands free. You got a light?”

Joe holds up his flashlight.

“C’mon, let’s go find the Yeti.” They set off side by side in the snow, “where do you want to look?”

“Fan out near the creek, I think. The snow isn’t as deep there, so she might have gone that way because it was easier to move.”

“She’s a climber, right? So how about this; we go on either side of the creek, you look on the ground and I’ll look in the trees?”

“That makes sense.” 

It’s slow going, both of them being meticulous, shining their lights on every branch or under every bush. Stern’s always appreciated how careful Barclay is; he assumes it comes with a profession where being messy slows you down, but the first time he saw his well-organized kitchen his heart did a little dance of delight. 

In the month and a half he’s lived here, the cook invites him over at least twice a week to try out a recipe. He works at Amnesty Lodge in the nearby town of Kepler, and spends some of his nights there. Still, he’s at his cabin often enough that Stern’s been able to invite him over some evenings. Though it’s odd he’s up so late on a work night.

“Do you not have to go in tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m taking this week off. I have some vacation time and when I get back it’ll be the holiday break rush until New Years. I got caught up in the latest Agent X novel and didn’t see how late it was until you knocked. How about you, staying up researching again?”

“Yes. I was trying to keep the fire going because it’s nice to work in that little living room but, um, going out to get the wood is how she got out. If I’d just gone to bed-”

“Whoah, hey, none of that.” Barclay stops, turning to face him, “shit happens, even when you’re careful. This isn’t your fault, Joe.”

“I know. It still feels that way.” He starts forward again, feet freezing in spite of his snowboots (chosen for optimal weight to insulation ratio). Part of him wants to keep talking, because Barclay is interesting to talk to, his years playing “Lodge dad” giving him endless anecdotes and the ability to be honest without being cruel. 

It helps that his baritone voice makes Stern think of brown sugar; rich, complex, just the right kind of sweet. 

After a solid hour of searching, Stern is so cold he’s having trouble getting words out. Barclay sets a big hand on his shoulder, guiding them towards Sterns cabin.

“Joe, you’ve gotta take a break. Worried your lips are gonna go as blue as your eyes, and then tonight will really suck.”

“But I haven’t found her.”

“And you won’t if you freeze to death or get so chilled you can’t think straight. At least sleep for a few hours.”

Stern’s about to protest as they reach the door, but then his knees buckle and he slumps against a broad chest.

“I’ll do one more spin into the deeper woods on my way home, and leave some blankets out on the porch in case she makes her way to me. She’s smart, just like her owner; I think she’ll get home okay.”

“Right. Okay. We’ll be okay.” 

Barclay hesitates mid motion, then pulls Stern into a hug. Stern is not small, and at Six feet zero inches he’s used to being the tallest person in a room. Barclay always feels like he’s dwarfing him, though right now that’s the most comforting sensation in the world. 

“I’ll check by in the morning.”

“Thank you, for everything.” He mumbles into Barclay’s scarf.

“Any time, Joe.”

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

Barclay waits until Joe is inside and the upstairs light switches on to leave the back porch. God, it’s so fucking cold tonight. He doesn’t blame Yeti for getting curious, but she could’ve picked a less awful time to do it.

He’s glad the other man came to him for help; he hates the idea of Joe out here alone and stressed, searching carefully and kicking himself the whole time. He’s glad Joe took the suggestion to sleep. 

He’s glad the other man came to be his neighbor. 

Ironically, they’d met when Joe came over and asked to borrow a cup of sugar. The dark-haired man was short on what he needed to cook, and Barclay was happy to supply it. It’s not everyday a cute guy asked him for some sugar. 

They ran across each other in town, and Joe even came to eat at the Lodge, usually at off hours where Barclay had a chance to talk. That’s how he learned Joe was here to research a recent Bigfoot sighting. 

“I used to be in the FBI, investigating the same thing. Then I got so frustrated, no one really believed in the possibility of unknown creatures, and the few who did saw them as having some sort of use to the department of defense. Great idea, find something so rare it’s existence is unproven, and then lock it away or blow it up.” The sip of coffee is more aggressive than usual. 

“Won’t they get mad if you spill their secrets?” It was only half a joke. 

“I doubt it. They weren’t too interested in my theories when I worked there; odds are they’ll keep an eye on me a little while and then ignore me. Unless I find Bigfoot, of course, in which case they may want me back. I’m not interested, from now on I monster hunt in the name of science.”

Barclay hopes Stern never finds Bigfoot and stays in his cabin, writing and researching and consulting and coming over to Barclay’s for dinner twice a week. He has a whole menu in his mind titled, “foods for seducing Joe” that he’s going to whip out in the next few weeks, he swears it. 

He’s been swearing it for two weeks. 

Joe is sophisticated, smart, has really good taste in books and food, and Barclay feels so listened to when they talk. Barclay starts blushing whenever Joe smiles at him, which would be embarrassing except Joe does the same thing whenever Barclay drops his voice a little. Besides, he likes it when Joe smiles. 

Barclay would give anything to make Joe smile tonight. Which is why he’s tromping into the spot where they lost the last of Yeti’s footprints. He stands, listening for any sign of human life. 

Then he slips the woven bracelet off his hand, and his foot-prints almost double in size. 

It’s a bad idea, he’s not all that far from other houses or the road, but in this form his sense of smell is twice as strong and his night-vision a bit sharper. It’s also the reason he’s taking this week off work. Yes, he likes to rest up before the winter rush; but his heat, which comes ever fourteen years, is due in the next few days. He’s actually a little worried turning into his Sylph self will make his brain fuzzy enough to forget his mission. So he reminds himself, as he tromps through the growing blizzard, that he is doing this for the person he’d most like to impress in this world, and that does the trick. 

A whiff of the same, non-human scent he stole a noseful of when hugging Joe catches his attention. He follows it to a disused burrow, gets down on his belly, and finds reflective eyes blinking back at him. 

The animal hisses. 

“Man, please be Yeti and not a bobcat. Duck’s gonna fucking kill me if I harass the wildlife.” He reaches into the burrow and hears a telltale jingle. Yeti, surrendering to her fate, goes limp in his hold. When he puts her against his chest she chirps, curiously sniffing him. As soon as the bracelet is on she blinks once, then purrs as he bundles her into his coat. She’s cold and damp, but she’s in one piece. 

“C’mon cousin, let’s get you home.”

The lights are all still one, and the front door is wedged open the exact amount a cat would need to get inside. He steps in, kicks the wedge free and shuts the door. The fire is low, and there’s no sound of anyone moving around. 

“Joe? Whoa, careful Yeti, I know you wanna get warm but we should show him your okay.”

“Mew!” Yeti bites the fringe of his scarf. 

He tries again, “Joe, you still up? Got someone for you?”

A scuff and groan from the kitchen, “Huh? Oh, shit, I fell asleep, one second”

Yeti shifts her focus while Barclay is distracted. In one graceful leap she rips his bracelet away, lands, and bounds to the kitchen.

“Yeti! Thank the lord, there you are my little cryptid, I was so worried about you, don’t ever do that again, thank god you’re okay.” Joe’s voice goes muffled, as if he’s holding the cat to his face and talking into her fur. Barclay is frozen, not wanting to be seen but even less wanting to have Joe spot Bigfoot dashing into the trees. 

“What do you have--Yeti, it’s rude to take things from the man who saved you from being-” Joe rounds the corner, cat in his arms, and gasps. Yeti, uninterested in the unfolding drama, tumps to the floor and scampers upstairs. Joe’s hands fly over his mouth the instant she’s no longer in them. 

“Hey” Barclay waves.

“What the fuck?”

“I’m, uh, I’m Bigfoot.”

“What the fuck?” Joe isn’t moving, and Barclay decides now is his best chance. 

“I’m just, uh, gonna go get my bracelet back.”

“No, you’re going to explain everything.” 

“I really, really can’t, some of it isn’t mine to explain. I mean, uh, I can explain some bits later-” He creeps toward the stairs. Joe steps in front of him. 

“Barclay, this can’t wait. You, you’ve been him the whole time, my entire world view is simultaneously being proven and flipped over, would you please just talk to me?”

“Mew?” Yeti is halfway down the stairs, watching them with the bracelet still in her mouth. Without breaking eye contact, Joe reaches up and out, plucking it from her teeth.

“You’re not getting this back until you explain.”

“Babe, please, I promise we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“No, wait, what did you call me?”

“Uhhhh” Barclay lunges for the bracelet instead of answering. Stern twists out of the way, sprinting for the kitchen. Barclay gets an arm around his waist and yanks backwards, sending them both over the back of the couch. Joe elbows him and scrambles up. Barclay only just manages to block him from going up the stairs, stalks him back onto the rug and tackles him. It succeeds in bringing the man down and keeping him pinned. 

It also sends the bracelet flying onto the floor, where Yeti snatches it up and disappears up the staircase. 

Barclay realizes he’s growling, stops so that he won’t frighten Joe, only for it to start up again as a reflex.

“Barclay, I swear, if you hurt my cat-”

“I won’t, I, that’s what not that noise is for. Or, uh, I mean I’m pissed you played keep-away with something I need, but I also have some bad news about Sy--uh, Bigfoot biology. Uh, so, first thing: I have a heat, which is why I was trying to stay away from people. Second thing: my kind uses a very intense game of, uh, chase as part of courtship.”

Stern shifts his thigh, “That explains what I’m feeling.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry. Look, can you go get the bracelet and then we can, like, have some tea and talk about this? I’m sorry, I feel so bad for making you deal with this.” The growl rumbles up again. He gears up another apology when he notices Joe’s blue eyes getting wider.

“Is this, um, only because of your heat? I mean, if you tackled some passerby, would the same thing be happening?”

“No.” Barclay squeaks. 

“Then I’m not seeing how this is a bad thing, big guy.” He grinds his thigh up, making Barclay yip and pin him to the rug while touching as little of him as possible. 

“Joe, this doesn’t make me like, mindless or anything, but if you say you want this you are signing up for several days of as much fucking as I can manage.”

“I don’t have any deadlines.” Joe’s eyes remain fixed on Barclays crotch. 

“I’m serious, if you say stop I will, but if you don’t you won’t be able to get out of bed for days. And, uh, I can put my disguise back on, you don’t have to fuck me like this, I know it’s weird.”

“Barclay, I built my life’s work on weird.” Joe pets his arm.

“Yeah but not on fucking it.”

“How do you know? Lots of my time with the UP is classified.”

“Joe…” it’s a warning, the heat in  his brain suggesting a dozen things to do so the human can’t be touched by another cryptid ever again.

“I want you, Barclay. In both forms. As long as you promise we’ll talk after, I’m okay with doing this first.”

“I promise”

“Good, because otherwise I was going out to see if there’s another bigfoot in the area who was interested.” Joe smiles, moves to pull off his shirt. He doesn’t get to; Barclay snarls possessively and drops onto him, biting his neck and ripping his clothing into a flurry of fabric scraps. The human moans, gasps when Barclay makes short work of his own pants and reveals what’s waiting beneath. Barclay doesn’t give him time to process, shoves his legs as far apart as they’ll go, and finally sinks into him.

“JesusfuckingCHRIST, ohfuck, ohmyfuckinggodAH!”

His cock is more thick than long, splitting the human open while bottoming out on every thrust. Joe’s fingers knot into the rug, his words morph into sharp, ecstatic sounds. Every creature in the forest can probably hear him. 

Barclay clamps his hand down over the humans mouth, “shut up babe, don’t want anyone else in the woods getting any ideas about how good a fuck you are. You’re fucking mine.”

A muffled moan and, when he pulls his hand back, “Y-you really think I, fuck, I can keep quiet when you fuck me like this?”

“Thought they taught FBI agents discipline” he drags his claws across Joe’s chest, relishing the shaky, happy noise that gets him. 

“There’s discipline and, AAHnnn, there’s inhuman restraint.”

Barclay slams the hand down again and growls, pleased, when Joe’s posture turns submissive.

“Here’s the deal; you keep quiet and take it like a good mate, and after I cum in you, can be as loud as you fucking want, because anyone who gets near you’ll know belong to me. I mean” he jerks his hips, “they’ll be able to tell that from the fact I’m balls-deep in you too, babe.”

Joe nods, replaces Barclays hand with his own as the Sylph hooks his knees over his shoulders. The next minute goes in a heat haze, his brain and body united in the desire to cum in Joe, to claim him,  while the human stifles his screams and grows slicker with each thrust. 

He tips his head back with a howlgrowlpurr as he cums, leaving faint clawmarks in Joe’s legs as he holds them open to make sure he takes every bit.

“Lord almighty” Joe’s hand falls to the floor, “that, that was amazing, why on earth were you acting like this isn’t something I’d waaAAAAAntohgod.” He whimpers as Barclay starts up again, fucking his cum up into him.

“Shoulda known you’d like it; you’re perfect, Joe.”

A blush and a shy moan, and he leans down to kiss him gently.

“You are. You’re the perfect man, the perfect mate, and we are gonna have so much fucking fun together.”

“And fun fucking?” He looks pleased with the wordplay.

He snorts, “Glad to know that sense of humor sticks around when I’m filling you up, oh, ohfuckyeah” another orgasm hits, milder this time. 

“Are they near constant when you’re in heat?” Joe eyes the trail of cum sliding back down Barclay’s cock.

“No, just easy to have. So” he flips the human over, squeezing his ass appreciatively, “let’s try it from  behind this time; wanna find out how it feels to cum in you while I get you off.” He slips his hand over Joe’s thigh and between his legs, “and you better fucking do it too, of I’ll drag you outside and fuck you against a tree so anyone passing by can see how fucking eager you are for me.”

“Please, we’ve spent so much time outside tonight.”

He thinks as kisses along Joe’s shoulders, “You’re right. I’ll fuck you against the door instead.”

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

When Stern wakes up, snow is falling in the grey light and his clock reads 2:30 P.M. Downstairs there’s a homey clink of pots and pans, and the smell of coffee winds it’s way to him. 

He fell asleep around five, he thinks, when the cumulative exhaustion of his day overpowered the thrill of being with Barclay. Honestly, he’d have kept going, but Barclay was adamant he rest. So they finished with him fucking Stern’s slack, sleepy mouth, before the cryptid bundled him into bed and snuggled up to him with those deep, rumbling purrs that Stern now loves.

The bracelet is gone from the nightstand (Yeti didn’t eat it, thank god), so the chef must be making breakfast in his human form. Now would be a good time to go down and talk. 

“Mew” A weight lands on his chest as Yeti kneads the blankets, purring when he reaches you and rubs her head.

“You know, little monster, this almost makes the heart attack you gave me worth it.”

“Mew?” The cat stares hopefully out the windows. 

“Not a chance. I can’t take that stress again. Besides” he scoops her up, “we need to unbox that new toy I ordered. Barclay and I need some time to ourselves today.”

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

Love Isn’t Always On Time Part Forty Four

Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist Notes: Not Beta-Read. I hope everyone’s having a good week! Warnings: Cursing; canon-typical violence; semi-graphic fight scene Summary: Bucky had given up on being subtle almost a month ago.

“I’m almost offended that you haven’t named a goat after me,” I said. Bucky laughed on the other end of the phone. “I don’t think you’d want me callin’ a goat your name, babydoll. ‘Sides, once you get down here, you’re not gonna know which one’a you I’m talking to, you or the goat,” He pointed out. I smiled, adjusting the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I reached out to turn the stove off. Bucky had been out of cryo for nearly two months, and he’d adjusted better than any of us could’ve ever hoped. “Have you named one after Stevie?” I asked. “Well there’s one really stubborn one that I named ‘Grant’, so technically, yes.” I giggled. “I bet he loves that.” “He doesn’t say anything about it, just gets that look, you know.” I did know. I stung with knowing. “...How is he?” I asked. “Could just ask him yourself,” Bucky said pointedly, “Even easier to ask if you were here.” Bucky had given up on being subtle almost a month ago. Steve and I had communicated exactly once, when I’d texted to wish him a happy birthday. He’d thanked me, and that had been it. “Alright, wise guy,” I grumbled, getting a plate down from the cabinet. “Oh, so I point out something perfectly logical and suddenly I’m a wise guy?” Bucky asked. “I think the goats are making you cocky.” “Well then I guess you gotta down here and put me in my place.” There was an edge to Bucky’s voice, something warm and flirty that I hadn’t heard in a long time. I felt my stomach flutter at it. “Maybe in a bit, sweetheart, okay?” I said quietly. I heard Bucky sigh on the other end. “When?” Bucky pressed. It was the first time he’d pushed me to put a hard date on it. I thought for a few moments. “In a month?” I offered. “A month is practically a year,” Bucky whined. “It’s not a year, babe. If it was a year then it would be a year and not a month.” “Three weeks.” “You’re seriously trying to negotiate me down right now?” I laughed. “Two weeks,” Bucky countered. “You’re not good at this,” I said. I thought before adding, “Three weeks.” “Promise?” “I swear.” --

When I woke up, my room was pitch-black, and my heart was pounding out of my chest. Something was wrong. I had this feeling running down my spine that I was being watched. My hand tightened around the gun under my pillow, taking a deep breath. I was just paranoid. Nothing was wrong. I closed my eyes again, taking another deep breath. Then I heard the floorboard by my bed creek. I whipped the gun out from under my pillow, firing at the source of the sound. I heard a groan of pain and I knew that I’d hit my mark. A hand grasped my ankle and I flailed, kicking furiously at it as I twisted to get out of my sheets, losing hold of my gun in the process. I rolled out of bed, ducking as an assailant grabbed for me. I gripped around their waist, lifting and throwing them over my shoulder. I slammed my body back and letting go as we reached my window. They tumbled out, and I heard them slam onto the dumpster in the alley below. I barely managed to duck out of the way of an oncoming punch. I saw the glint of a blade just a moment too late - I felt a searing pain rip through my side and I gasped. Against my better judgement, I leaned back against the broken window, bracing my arms against the walls and bringing my leg up to kick the assailant away. My hand flailed for the light switch and I managed to flick it on in time to see them coming at me again. I ducked out of the way, pressing a hand between their shoulder blades and catching hold of them by the back of their mask. I slammed their head into the wall once, twice, three times before they dropped to the ground. I looked down at them, heart pounding. I crouched down, pulling their mask up and recognized them instantly. They were one of Ross’ agents. A chill ran through me. How the hell had they found me? I pulled their mask back down, looking around. I had to move, and fast. -- I had my clothes packed up in twenty minutes; I ripped my hard drive out of my laptop, wiped my phone and had a plan to ditch it overboard once I got on the cruise ship. It was just a two hour drive to Alexandria. Ross probably wouldn’t be expecting me to travel by boat. I tied up and taped over the mouth of the knocked out agent. Someone would come looking for them sooner or later, but I didn’t want them to be able come after me as soon as they were up. The cut on my side was deep, but I didn’t have time to stitch it up properly. I’d have to deal with that later. --

Ambushed. Traveling. Will reach out when able. That was the last message I sent to Bucky and Steve from my phone before I wiped it. I had their numbers memorized and programmed them into the burner phone I’d bought and paid for with cash. It was a comparatively short  I’d be able to lay low, heal, and recover. I wanted to know if the rest of the team was facing the same problem, but I was too nervous about reaching out to any of them to find out. If Ross managed to get a lock on my again, it could lead him right to them, and that was the last thing they needed. I pulled my cap down to shield my eyes further under my sunglasses as I headed for my cabin. It was just over a day’s journey between ports. That gave me a little time to clean my wound, rest, and work out where I’d be staying. -- “Where are you.” Steve’s voice was harsh through the phone. I had called Bucky; I hadn’t heard from Steve in a while, and his voice had stunned me. “I-- Somewhere in the Mediterranean?” I offered, “Couldn’t pin-point it, I don’t think, if you’re looking for specifics.” “Goddamnit,” Steve mumbled on the other end of the phone. Shame rolled through me, and I couldn’t pinpoint why. I looked down at the floor of my cabin. “Are you alright?” Steve asked. “Fine,” I fibbed, “Just... A little rattled, I guess. Is everyone else okay?” “I checked in with all of them, nothing’s seemed off. They said they’ll keep an eye out.” “Okay. Good,” I nodded. We sat in silence for a while. “So Bucky named a goat after you, huh?” I asked, unsure of what else to say. “Don’t,” Steve said flatly. “Sounds like someone’s in a ba-aaad mood,” I added, bleating as I said ‘bad’. I heard Steve laugh in spite of himself.  “You drive me crazy, you know that?” He asked. “I know,” I nodded. “You worked out somewhere to stay yet?” Steve asked. “Working on it now.” “Let me see what I can figure out.” “I’ve got it handled, Steve.” “Right, cause you handled it so well last time.” I clenched my jaw in irritation, careful not to snap back at him. We were already in a bad enough place. “... I’m sorry,” Steve mumbled. “Whatever, Steve,” I shook my head, “I’m gonna go now.” “Let me know when you get to port.” “Yeah,” I agreed before I pulled my phone away from my ear, hanging up. I wanted to call back and talk to Bucky-- hell, at this point I’d take Natasha telling me that I was being an idiot. But I sure as hell wasn’t going to take it from Steve ‘Jump-Out-of-A-Plane-Without-A-Parachute’ Rogers.

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[queenxxxsupreme]

If you take request I feel like this one could be cute (Witcher dads with kid that randomly wanders off at times) added bonus (kid wonders off and brings back a creature with violent tendencies that just likes to chill with the kid). I realize now that’s a lot, but I enjoy they way you writes Witcher dads!! They do cute and wholesome and everything those Witchers deserve!!

A/N: Aww thank you babe!!! I hope you like this even though I did just Eskel this time. I want to get around to doing the others but I hope this is enough for now :) Here is my masterlist in case you want anymore dad!witchers content!

***

Eskel thought he could handle anything life threw at him. He was a witcher after all, trained from a young age to be prepared for anything and everything. 

Nothing could prepare him for having to watch his four-year-old daughter alone.

You had to take a trip south to Cidaris to be with your sister. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy and you wanted to help her and her husband in any way you could. You were hesitant to go so far and be gone for so long, but Eskel insisted that he and Nadia would be fine. You knew she was safe with him, you just couldn’t help the worrying. 

Eskel was beginning to think he had made a bad decision. It was only day two of your absence and already, the poor witcher lost control of Nadia. 

The quiet infant grew into an energetic whirlwind of energy. She liked to talk so much that Eskel was sure she liked to hear her own voice. 

“It’s a bad habit she got from her uncle.” He recalled telling you as you glanced across the table to Lambert. 

Eskel loved to listen to Nadia talk and sometimes, she’d sing too. But her talkative nature combined with her inability to sit still for more than a minute made her a struggle to handle alone. He was glad Geralt volunteered to stay with him and Nadia while you were gone. The witcher wanted to lay low for a while anyways and you felt better having someone there to help Eskel.

The two witchers currently sat at the table in Eskel’s home, listening to Nadia dancing and singing around the living room with one of her dolls Eskel had gotten in Toussaint. They were discussing a potential contract not too far from their location. Eskel, of course, wouldn’t be doing the contract, but he wanted to help with what he could. So the two wolves found themselves leaning over the table, carefully searching a map for any locations that had the potential to house a basilisk.

Eskel looked at Nadia for a few seconds, smiling a little as the four-year-old pranced around the room. Then he brought his attention back to the map. 

“There’s a little cave just west of here. Falls along the creek about here.” He pointed to a section of the creek that was no more than thirty minutes away. “A few years ago, there was a group of nekkers living there.”

“Is the cave big enough for a basilisk?”

“I haven’t gone too far in, but it’s pretty big.” Eskel nodded. 

Nadia had fallen silent, which was very odd and slightly alarming. 

He looked back to where she had been just seconds ago, only to find that the girl was gone.

“Where is she?”

Geralt lifted his head, yellow eyes quickly doing a sweep of the room. 

“She couldn’t have gotten very far.”

Eskel moved away from the table, panic settling into his bones. 

“Nadia!” He called out. “Nadia! Come here, love!”

“Does she do this often?” Geralt asked as he surveyed the room. He couldn’t hear Nadia’s breathing. 

“She likes to wander.” Eskel ran a hand through his hair then down over his face. “I-I’m going to go outside. She almost always ends up outside.”

“I’ll come with you.” Geralt said. 

The brunet witcher’s mind was going a million miles a second and his heart was beating just as fast. 

What if Nadia got hurt? What if she got lost? What if she was in trouble? 

All Eskel could think about was his little girl being lost in the woods, afraid and alone. 

Oh gods. What would you say? How would you react to him losing your daughter? Would you hate him?

“Eskel.” Geralt called his name. “Calm down. I can’t hear anything over your heartbeat.”

“Geralt, what if she’s-,”

“No. You aren’t starting down that road.” Geralt shook his head. “Remember your training. You panic, and you die.”

Eskel nodded, knowing Geralt was right. He took a deep breath to focus and settle his nerves. 

He listened carefully to everything going on around him. Aside from Geralt, Eskel could hear the animals that lived on the property. The three goats, dozen or so chickens, one goose, and two horses. He tuned them out, hands curling into fists by his sides. 

Nadia had to be nearby. She couldn’t have gotten that far in just a few minutes. 

“There!” Geralt pointed to something behind Eskel. 

He turned to see Nadia waddling out of the bushes with something in her arms. She carried a black cat in her grasp, her arms wrapped underneath its front legs. 

“Nadia!” Eskel breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Daddy!” Nadia squealed happily. The cat’s tail flicked and it rubbed its head back on her chest. 

“Eskel, that’s not a cat.” Geralt spoke quietly, his hand reached out to grab Eskel so he would remain still. 

Just behind Nadia, the bushes trembled and shook. Out stepped a large panther, licking its lips. Its golden eyes were focused on the two witchers. 

Eskel’s heart dropped to his stomach. 

“Nadia, put the cat down.” Eskel made sure to keep his voice down so he wouldn’t spook the panther, which was probably the mother to the cub Nadia held.

“Daddy! It’s a kitty!” Nadia giggled, moving towards Eskel. She stumbled a little and Eskel moved forward as if to catch her before she could fall. But Geralt was keen on keeping his brother where he stood, His hand held Eskel’s bicep with a vice-like grip. 

The cub fell from Nadia’s arms. Nadia decided to sit down and mess with a few flowers growing among the grass. The cub hissed at Eskel and then proceeded to turn around and climb into Nadia’s lap.

“Look, daddy!” Nadia giggled, petting the cub between its ears. “Her name is Sophia.”

“Nadia, I need you to come to me now, love.” Eskel slowly knelt down to be more at Nadia’s level but the grown panther didn’t like that. She hissed and stepped closer to Nadia, even going as far as to put herself between Nadia and Eskel.

“Ah, fuck.” Geralt muttered. 

“Nadia, I need you to come to me right now.” Eskel carefully patted his knee, hoping she’d come to him. 

“Can I bring Sophia?”

“No you can not.”

Nadia frowned, still petting the cub. 

“But daddy, I love her.”

“I know, love, but it’s dangerous out here. I need to take you inside.”

“Can we feed Sophia?”

“Yes, we can feed Sophia. We just have to get inside first.” Eskel was willing to agree to anything if it meant getting his daughter to safety. 

Nadia kissed the cub on the head and then stood up. The panther mother watched Nadia closely, curious. 

Eskel almost lost his cool when Nadia kissed the full grown panther’s nose. That was all the little girl could reach. 

“Bye, Sophia!” Nadia waved to the cub and moved towards Eskel. 

The second she was within reach, Eskel snatched her up. The panther bared her teeth, ears pressing flat to her skull. 

“Go.” Geralt told Eskel, his eyes staying on the animal. 

Eskel slipped past his brother with Nadia tucked safely into his arms. 

***

The second Geralt closes the door to the house, Eskel can finally let out the breath he had been holding for so long.

“Daddy!” Nadia grunted. “You’re squishing me!”

“M’sorry, love.” He kissed the side of her head and took a moment to bury his nose in her hair. “You just scared daddy.”

“I scared you?”

“You can’t wander off by yourself.” He placed her down on the edge of the table. “You have to tell daddy or Uncle Geralt, okay?”

“Okay, daddy.” She nodded her head. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead. “Don’t be scared. I’m alright.”

Eskel smiled a little and helped her down from the table. From there, she padded to where her dolls were laying on the floor. 

Eskel ran his hands over his face, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. 

“I can’t wait until Y/N gets back.”

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[i-will-physically-fight-you]

If you're still doing the fic prompts could I please have; "It’s over. They’re not going to hurt you again.” Virgil being his best protective boi to Remy?

Title: Ivory Tower

Summary: There’s a tale about a terrible dragon witch who kidnaps a prince and locks him up away forever from his betrothed in a tower. People consider the ending to be a tragic one. The prince himself considers it to be a happy one.

Word-Count: 1k

Pairing: Sleepxiety

Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Crying, Death Mention, Implied Abuse

Hi, I wrote this instead of going to bed at a decent hour rip

-

After hours on end of tossing and turning, Remy gives up sleeping for the night. He climbs out of his windowsill, onto the precarious sloped siding and up above to the very top of the tower. He sits there, legs tucked tightly against his chest. Just as he has for the past week. Crickets chirp. An owl hoots in the distance. Frogs croak in the nearby creek. 

He doesn’t hear any of that. He hears screeching, screaming, slapping, smacking, sobbing. Right now, sobbing. Someone is sobbing. It can’t be Remy himself. Crying is weak. It’d ruin his cool, sassy tough-guy persona.

A hand touches his shoulder. On instinct, Remy shoves it away, fleeing it’s grasp. 

“Fuck off!” He growls, raising his arms over his head to shield them from the impending blow. His heart beats loudly in anticipation for a blow that never happens.

“Whoa, hey,” A gravelly voice murmurs, “It’s me, Remy. I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m sorry.”

Remy doesn’t trust it, shaking his head erratically, “No, no, no! I’m not trusting those words. Not this time.”

The other person doesn’t respond right away. This both angers and terrifies Remy. He’s never been known for his patience so he snaps, “Out with it! Tell me your bs about how it was an accident and you won’t ever hurt me again.”

“The hatchlings heard you crying,” The person says, the subject completely jarring Remy, “Both Remus and Roman were convinced a bogeyman from under the bed frightened you. They wanted to fight it off but I convinced them to stay behind and protect Logan.”

Remy peeks over his fingers. Virgil is there, not them. He crouches several feet away, flattening himself low to the ground to be as nonthreatening as possible. Which is rather a hard thing to be when you are an eight foot tall fire-breathing Dragon Witch with horns, wings and a tail to boot. 

“Virgil, I--” Remy chokes. He can’t hide behind a snarky flippant remark here and both of them know it. He’s tired. He hasn’t slept in days. That’s his only excuse for breaking down and hurling towards Virgil with breakneck speed. Virgil jolts backward, as if expecting a punch. Still, he draws his arms around Remy’s trembling form---a protective wall of muscle. 

“It’s over, Remy,” Virgil says softly, “They’re not going to hurt you ever again.”

Remy sniffles. He’s vaguely aware that he’s getting snot all over Virgil’s favorite frock but he doesn’t care at the moment.

“You promise?”

An indiscernible look passes over Virgil’s visage. He adjusts his hold, pulling something out of his pockets. He hands it over. Remy squints, examining it close in the dim moonlight. A ring. Not any ring--but his betrothed's. He almost drops it upon recognition, nausea clenching hold of him.

“It’s--where did you get this?”

“From their smoldering corpse,” Virgil says, fury brewing in his words, “I came across them when I went hunting a few days back. That cut on my torso? It wasn’t from a manticore-chimera. It was--”

“--them,” Remy finishes, “why didn’t you tell me?”

He can’t believe it. He can’t conceptualize the idea that they can no longer hurt him. That they aren’t seconds away from scaling up the tower and snatching him away. Still, he doesn’t doubt Virgil’s words.

“I was looking for a good time to tell you,” Virgil’s gaze drifts away, “or at least what I told myself.  I mean, the hatchlings love you, I also lo--care about you a lot. But you no longer have any reason to remain under my guardianship, now that they’re dead. I apologize for withholding that information. It was selfish and stupid and--and I understand if you’re angry at me, you have every right to be.”

Remy stares back, mouth slightly agape. All his life, he’s been told how to walk, talk and think. He’s fought tooth and nail, breaking all the rules to express himself. Never before has someone freely allowed him that ability without any strings attached.

“I’m not mad,” Remy says slowly, “I mean, I’m a little mad. I might royally kick your ass in chess later for thinking I wouldn’t want to stay.”

“W-wait, really?” Virgil asks, his turn to look shocked, “you’d stay?”

“Well, of course,” Remy rolls his eyes, “Someone has to keep the tower from burning down, don’t they?”

“I had that under control.”

“Did you? Because if I recall correctly, you were a second away from a panic attack as Remus gleefully ran through the flames.”

“I wasn’t freaked. H-he’s immune to fire, I knew he’d be fine!”

“Uh-huh sure.”

It took one shared look before both of them burst out laughing. A harmonious sound that grew discordant as one turned into a wailing, wretched sound. Remy gasps for breath, his lungs threatening to cave in on him.

“I’m sorry, I don’t--”

“It’s okay,” Virgil tells him, “Don’t be like me--you don’t have to hold it all in. It’s okay to let go. I’m here.”

Remy lets go. Not all of it, because a hurt like that is hard to heal in one night’s time. But he does let go of a significant chunk of it just then. 

The hatchlings find them in the morning, lying peacefully on the rooftop asleep. They pounce on them begging for breakfast. Virgil grouses at them for waking them up at sunrise. Remy doesn’t mind--he gleefully tells Virgil they’re his problem and not his own (although they very much at this point are his problem). 

Remy catches a half hour more of rest before strolling down for breakfast. Virgil is there, trying to convince a petulant newly hatched Logan to eat his porridge. Remy coaxes him into eating within seconds. Virgil looks at Logan with faux betrayal and Remy laughs. And so their lives continue onward.

[loki-hargreeves]

Kylo Ren x Reader - He Saves You

Warnings: angst, being chased/fearing for your life, death, mild gore, fluff (I guess) Word Count: 2,5K Summary: Someone is chasing you and you’re running for your life. The only person in sight is Kylo Ren. Unknowing of his true nature, you run to him for help. Author’s Note: Please enjoy! Also, to anyone that comments and/or reblogs, I owe you my heart <3 

THIRD POV

Sand was gathering in the air, flying with the wind all over the place and making it a challenge to see far past it. A storm was coming, that was clear for Kylo who had just landed on the desert planet of Tatooine. He had one goal on his mind: to find the merchant who stole something very valuable from him. In Kylo’s eyes, the merchant was a lousy criminal who had a death wish. Who dared steal from Kylo Ren?

Not too far away from where Kylo Ren had landed was Y/N. She was tired of her life on the planet. Long ago, she was sent to Tatooine after her kidnapper had sold her to a merchant, the very same man who Kylo Ren was after. At first, Y/N had tried to escape several times. But after failing and getting punished for it, she stopped trying. Or so they thought. For what had felt like forever, she had waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to leave. Y/N had discovered a spaceship that was stranded on the outer skirts of the village, hidden safely behind a sand dune.

The sandstorm outside was only growing stronger and more dangerous. For her, it meant she could escape. Hopefully, the sand would hide her from the merchant’s sight. With her bag now full of parts she could use to fix the spaceship and valuables she could trade for money, she was ready. Y/N’s heart was pounding harder than ever as she grabbed her daggers that she had also stolen from the workshop. She covered her head with the hood of her dark cloak, and she covered her mouth and nose with a scarf. Breathing in the sand didn’t sound too tempting to her.

It was time to go.

Y/N left the workshop in a hurry and headed right towards the exit of the village. Most people were inside, sheltered from the storm. But of course, it wouldn’t be too easy. A guard noticed her, “Hey! Where do you think you’re going? You’ll die out there!” The cruel man walked up to Y/N in order to stop her.

Fear spiked Y/N’s nerves, but she was determined to leave the sand planet. She hated the sand that had crept into every creek of her mind. Even the scent of it made her sick. “I’m going to collect parts,” She lied.

The guard laughed at her, knowing that no one was stupid enough to collect parts in a storm like this. “Nice try, but don’t think I’ve forgotten about your escape attempts, young one. You’re lucky you haven’t been executed!”

That made Y/N’s blood turn into ice. Did he imply they were thinking about executing her? She was not going to stay around to find out. Before the guard could grab her, Y/N decided to run.

“Come back here!” The guard growled and quickly began to chase her through the storm. His stern voice alarmed the merchant whose workshop was nearby. The man looked outside and noticed Y/N running away.

He couldn’t let his best worker escape. Anger filled his every cell as he witnessed what was happening. The merchant grabbed a blaster and decided to join the chase, having no clue where Y/N would lead them.

She didn’t look behind her as she ran as fast as she possibly could. With each heavy step she took, her feet sank into the warm sand which slowed her down, but it slowed down the guard as well. Her vision was tunnelled. The only thing she saw was what was in front of her nose and she could only focus on running. If the guard caught her, it could be over. This time, she was afraid they would execute her if she got caught.

                                      Kylo had barely taken ten steps as he heard people nearing him. He narrowed his eyes and looked beyond the dune. Even with his mask on, the sand made it hard to see what was going on. He heard a woman. She was panting. She seemed exhausted and terrified for some reason. There were two men tailing her. Kylo sensed something familiar with the other man. It must’ve been his lucky day because the merchant he was looking for was coming right his way.

Preparing to catch the merchant, Kylo grabbed his lightsaber and turned it on. It hissed as the sand flew into the laser and burned away. He was furious and he wanted the man to be scared for his life before Kylo would eventually take his life away. It was only right for a scumbag such as him.

Y/N noticed a man in the distance. He wore a dark hood and he had a lightsaber! It had to be one. Y/N had only heard of them in tales. When she was little, her mother would tell her about the Jedi. Was the man a Jedi? Y/N wasn’t sure, but she believed he could help her. Instead of continuing to the spaceship, she now ran directly towards the man in dark. “Help! Please… they’re going to kill me!” Y/N cried loudly, hoping the man could hear her. The closer she got, the better she saw him. He was wearing a mask which made it impossible for her to see his expression. Something deep inside her told her she could trust him. Y/N wasn’t sure what it was, but she decided to trust her gut feeling.

Kylo was dumbfounded as he heard the woman. Did she have any idea who he was? Why would anyone in their right mind run to him for safety? It made him feel strange. The panic and pure terror in her voice let him know that she wasn’t joking. She truly hoped her life could be saved if she trusted him, Kylo Ren, out of all the people in the galaxy.

Perhaps it was her lucky day as well because Kylo was planning to kill at least one of the men that chased her. She’s just lucky, Kylo thought, refusing to believe he would step out of his way to save some pathetic human. It was just business, nothing else.

“Please…good sir, I will do anything! Please help me, t-they are going to kill me!” The woman stumbled in the sand right by Kylo’s feet and that’s when he noticed she was sobbing. He could only see half of her face, but it revealed a deep bruise. It became clear that she wasn’t coming from ideal living conditions. Something strange within Kylo’s guts twisted. Somehow, he felt like he knew this woman who he had never met before. There was a very familiar aura all around her existence. He ignored the odd feeling and tried to focus on his target instead.

Cursing under his breath, Kylo walked towards the two men who were now frozen on their spots. They stared at Kylo with terror written all over their faces. At least someone recognized him! - unlike that woman.

The merchant knew that Kylo Ren was after him. “Hey! Hey…Kylo Ren, let’s calm down. I’m sure we can negotiate-“The man tried to calm down the enraged man. He sounded horrified and incredibly nervous. How pathetic.

“Shut up!” Kylo growled as he closed the distance between them. Before he got too close, the merchant pointed the blaster at Kylo.

“If you take another s-step, I will shoot you!” He threatened Kylo, but his shaking voice and body made it seem like child’s play. How could anyone take such a coward seriously?

Kylo extended his arm and grabbed the blaster with the force, yanking it out of the man’s hand and throwing it far away into the distance. The sight made the guard turn around as he attempted to run away. Kylo grabbed the guard with the force and dragged him right into his palm so Kylo’s hand was wrapped tightly around the man’s neck. The guard tried to yell out in fear, but Kylo’s death grip made it so no sound left his lips. “You shouldn’t have stolen from me,” Kylo spat harshly and then dropped the man on the ground. He couldn’t breathe as a coughing fit took him by surprise.

The guard tried to get up but failed when Kylo Ren sank his crimson lightsaber deep inside his chest, surely piercing his heart. Just like that, the guard was dead, and the poor merchant was frozen in fear and shock. He could’ve tried to run to make it interesting, but it seemed like the merchant knew it would be useless.

“Sir! Please…you can have your stuff back! Uh- I’ll even gift you my finest worker…Y/N! She’s all yours. Please, don’t kill me,” The merchant seemed to have lost his dignity. Y/N? So, the woman they were ready to kill was called Y/N. It was clear that the merchant was ready to lick Kylo’s boots clean in order to survive. As fun as it would’ve been, Kylo couldn’t agree to it. If he allowed someone to steal from him and survive, what kind of message would he send to other criminals who were practically waiting in line to steal valuables from the dark side?

Y/N’s entire body was trembling from fear. She was trying to catch her breath as she sat on the sand and followed the situation closely. She saw Kylo Ren from behind and noticed how tall and broad he was. His cape made him look elegant and his right side was illuminated red because of his lightsaber. The merchant was barely visible from her view, but she sure as hell heard him. When he offered to gift her to this man, she felt sick. Once again, she felt how a man ripped her humanity away and spoke of her like she was a piece of junk. It made her angry and she wished she could’ve hurt him back somehow.

Finally, Kylo Ren raised his lightsaber and the scream to terror ringed in Y/N’s ear as the merchant realized he would face his doom. With one swing of his lightsaber, Kylo had beheaded the merchant and gotten his revenge. At the same time, he had saved that woman, Y/N, without really meaning to. Realizing he had saved someone made him feel odd. It was something he would’ve done as Ben Solo, not as Kylo Ren. The right thing to do would’ve been to kill Y/N too, but his instincts told him not to.

Kylo turned around and looked at the woman who slowly got up from the sand, brushing some of it off her cloak. Her tears had stopped streaming down her injured face. Instead, she looked at him with deep gratitude.

Kylo knew he could’ve turned around and continued his mission. He should’ve reached the merchant’s workshop by now, but here he stood, looking at the woman he just saved from certain death.

“You…you saved my life. Thank you so much,” Y/N walked closer to Kylo fearlessly. Even the sight of his red lightsaber didn’t spark worry in her.                  

He wanted her to go away, but at the same time, he didn’t. It almost felt like the force kept him from hurting her. There was certainly something about her that made her life valuable and Kylo became awfully curious. “I was going to kill them anyway.”

“But you saved me while doing so. How could I ever repay you?” Y/N wondered. The storm was getting worse and she knew she would have to hurry if she wanted to reach the spaceship safely. But she knew she couldn’t leave her saviour without hearing his wishes. She owed him that at least.

If she worked for the merchant, she might’ve known where he kept what he had stolen from Kylo. Doubting she could actually help, Kylo tested his luck anyway. “The man you worked for stole something from me.”

“What did he steal from you?” Y/N wondered. She would help him find it, no matter what. Yes, returning to the village seemed dangerous, but if she returned with him, she would feel safe.

“A map,” Kylo revealed to her with a blunt voice. Kylo believed the map would lead him closer to Luke Skywalker who had been hiding for too long. He had searched for the old Jedi master for a long time now. Several maps had led him to dead ends, but how could he not explore every clue they got? “It’s within a small metal piece with a carving on it.”

Y/N was surprised that this man had gone through so much trouble over a map. But she knew exactly the map he was talking about - or so she hoped. The merchant had bragged about it when he brought it to her, ordering Y/N to polish it. The map was inside a small information bank that needed to be plugged into something in order to view it. In fact, it was one of the valuables Y/N had taken with her. She had assumed it would be worth a lot if the merchant had praised it so much. With a small smile of relief on her face, Y/N opened her bag and tried to find it. After taking out some metal parts, she found it and she took it out. “Is this what you’re looking for?” Y/N wondered as she handed the piece to Kylo.

He couldn’t believe his luck. What were the odds that everything would fall into his hands today? Silently, Kylo grabbed the small metal piece that hid the very map he searched for and he felt relieved. He put it in his pocket where it would be safe and then he put his lightsaber safely into its place, hanging from his belt. He had expected his day to be longer on Tatooine, but he was already ready to leave.

“You should seek shelter before the sandstorm gets too bad – that is, unless you wish to be taken away by it,” Kylo warned her as he turned around and began to walk towards his spaceship, a TIE fighter.

Just like that, he was leaving. Y/N watched as he got into his ship and disappeared from her sight. As his ship beamed up into the sky, sand blasted everywhere around it and made her turn around in order to avoid it ending up in her eyes. 

She knew the odds of her ever meeting him again were slim, but oddly enough, it was what she wished. They had only met for a brief moment, but the man had done more to her than anyone else in her life. It almost felt like she knew him from before. A past life, perhaps? Y/N had no clue, but she knew she would never forget Kylo Ren. As she began to run towards the spaceship she had discovered before, she found herself wishing ever so dearly that their paths would cross again.

A/N: I hope you liked it! I got this idea from a dream I had and I couldn’t ignore it. I’m a sucker for ‘evil’ characters saving people, whether or not it’s intentional.

[starswornoaths]

Prompt 2: Sway

This is the story of how Serella Arcbane died. And how she got back up again.

(this is a tale of the Calamity, and what Serella was doing when it happened. Vesh is her pre-Calamity chocobo, and though she’s not referenced in recent post Calamity fics, rest assured Vesh is okay)

Word count: 2,788

Dalamud was falling.

The skies turned red. Creeks once flowing and brooks once babbling had turned ruddy, darkened by soot and blood. Even lacking a breeze, the Twelveswood seemed to sway even in the stillness as the world held its breath.

Gridania seemed to exist in constant contradiction in the days of darkness. Stillness and constant motion. The forest teemed with life, but the air was heavy with the scent of death. Few dared to leave the city-state for the Twelveswood out of fear of the voidesent that flooded it.

Dalamud was falling, and time was at a standstill.

Serella thought on her brother, gone to Limsa Lominsa years ago now, and prayed that he kept his head about him. She had no faith in the Twelve, but she begged them to keep him out of Carteneau. Her prayers contradicted the truth she knew, in her heart of hearts: he was a warrior down to his marrow. He was a helper. Provided he was as hale and healthy as his last letter had indicated, though he did not say so, she knew as surely as she knew the moon was falling, that he was on the battlefield.

Dalamud was falling, and her brother was at war.

A part of her hated that she wasn’t there. But there was no sense in her going, not when there were people here that needed help. Not for the first time, she had to remind herself that though she had learned much in her years under the tribe’s tutelage, she was hardly a soldier. The bow at her back wasn’t going to do much on the front lines. So she focused on what she could do here and now. Supply lines needed escorts, people needed tending, errands and messages needed to be ran. She did what she could of the thankless work, because she knew it was what kept the heroes going.

Dalamud was falling, and she was not enough.

Then the battle at Carteneau escalated. Fires began to spread throughout the forests. Already largely trapped in the city-state proper as so many were, it felt as though they were cornered animals watching their hunter close in. People cracked under the pressure, began to panic, began to try and flee into the flames.

Dalamud was falling, and the Twelveswood burned.

Serella, and many other adventurers, did what they could to ferry water— she and her own chocobo hauled much of it toward the brushes, wetting them against the flames and trying to douse what embers she could. It was not enough. It was not enough. The wood burned all the same.

What Adders remained in the city were clearly not made for risk taking. Those civilians that ran into the forests were largely left to die. Voidsent were only barely held back by the adventurers that were skilled enough to slay them. It was not enough.

“Please! My son!” Serella heard a woman cry. 

Scrubbing soot from her eyes, she turned to see the wailing Elezen, clinging to the arm of a Serpent lancer who seemed desperate to shake her off.

“I told you—” He tried to growl.

“He’s just a little boy, he’s scared! Please, you have to save him!” She begged. 

"I'm sorry, but he is lost to the wood."

Serella watched. And listened. This wasn’t the first person to beg for help from the Adders, was not the only one begging now. Help us, help our families. We’re scared. Help us, they begged of their protectors. 

What a fitting name, the Adders, she thought bitterly, and spat into the dirt. Snakes, the lot of them.

Dalamud was falling, and Gridiania did not care.

But Serella did. And she had water. And a cloth to douse and cover her mouth. And a bird swift enough to make it in and out.

She was moving toward the weeping mother before she had even made a conscious thought to act. Every muscle in her body pulled taught, a low roiling anger burned within her, but she had never been one to let herself be idle in her rage. Not when she could put it to good use. She could, so she must.

“Quickly, miss.” She called to her, and scrounged up every bit of softness she could manage to usher her to a nearby bench. “Your son. Tell me his name, what he was wearing, and which way he went.”

“T-Tam!” The woman replied, and when she began to sway from the stress, Serella helped her sit down. “He was wearing a yellow shirt, brown pants. He fled south from here, r-right through those trees!”

“My thanks.” Serella nodded to her. “I will try to find him.”

She had to be quick. With some of the water she had gathered, she soaked a bandana for herself and her trusty bird, and hastily tied them around face and beak alike.

“Vesh, let’s be swift, yeah?” She patted the bird’s neck.

Vesh trilled and bumped her forehead against Serella’s in answer.

She mounted her bird and took off into the burning brush before any of the Adders could even attempt to stop her. Ducked low against her galloping companion, eyes squinted against the smoke, she scanned the trees for any signs of anyone— she knew there were many that had run to try and get away. When she was deep enough in that she couldn’t make out where the city was, she pulled on Vesh’s reigns to make her stop.

“Anyone out there?” Serella called at the top of her lungs. “Tam? Anyone?”

A scream echoed to her right. She spurred Vesh to chase the sound. It took little time to find a young woman running from a voidsent, swaying and stumbling as she maneuvered around the charred forest remains.. 

“To me!” Serella shouted, and drew her bow.

She had seen many of these particular type of voidsent in recent days— wraiths with leathery wings, ashen scales, and fearsome claws. They looked more akin to gargoyles than living things. It shrieked, jaw distended as it bore its fangs, hungry for the woman’s aether.

The arrow she fired connected with the voidsent’s chest as the woman staggered toward her. It shrieked again, in agony this time, and dissipated before it could fall to the ground. 

“I’ve got you!” She reassured the woman, hauling her up onto Vesh’s saddle in front of her.

Retracing the path they had tore through the burning brush, Serella dropped the woman off at the safest edge of the wood, in clear view of the city. Once she saw her stagger toward the awaiting Adder, Serella wetted their cloth masks and was off into the fire again.

She felt a strange calm amongst the flames, the chaos. It wasn’t the soft, warm days full of birdsong, the kind where villages could be eradicated, and the birds would still sing through the destruction. This was some strange equal opposite to her trauma. She had never felt more aware of herself and her surroundings than she did in that moment.

Maybe that was the real reason why she kept going back in. Back and forth, back and forth, she would ferry what people she could find. Still, there was no sign of a little boy in yellow and brown.

Dalamud was falling, and Serella was on the move.

On the fifth run in, just when she thought she had run out of people she hadn’t failed, she was proven wrong.

“Help!” Cried the voice of a man. 

She followed his call, shouting at him to keep calling out to her, until she found a small group of people: three of them, two children, and a man, huddled together. One of the young ones— a boy in yellow and brown— stared at her in horror as she dismounted. 

“It’s alright, I’m here to get you out!” She reassured them. “Tam, is that you? Your mother sent me. Let’s go home, yeah?”

“B-but…” Tam wheezed, and when he stepped aside, she saw a chocobo egg almost as big as the boy who had shielded it. “We can’t leave it behind—” 

His words tapered weakly on a cough. The others were faring no better, and it was clear they wouldn’t last long breathing in this smoke. She tore bits of her own shirt off, wet them, and passed them around. 

“Here, cover your mouths, come now, that’s it!”

“There are others!” The man cried, even as she helped him atop Vesh’s saddle. “I...I tried to find them—!”

The man dissolved into coughing fits.

“You tried, and that’s what matters. I promise you, I’ll look for them.” She reassured him. “Come, we have to get out of here.” 

She scooped the little girl up with one arm, once she realized the poor little ones could only sway in shock and horror, and handed her to the man to situate on the saddle. Hastily, she plucked little Tam up in one arm and cradled the chocobo egg in the other, and once Tam was situated behind the little girl— Bev, she had croaked her name out— she slipped the chocobo egg in the soft, fur lined saddlebag for safekeeping.

Serella had intended to lead Vesh away on foot, back to Gridania, but they must have tarried too long. What glowing light there was from the fire became eclipsed in creeping shadows made solid, manifesting around them. Vesh tossed her head, startled, even as Serella’s grip on her reigns tightened. 

Dalamud was falling, and the voidsent hungered.

These were greater numbers than ever before. More than she knew she could handle. More than she knew Vesh could outrun, burdened as she was even without Serella. She would have to stay behind to buy them time, even knowing what it would cost her.

She didn’t even need to think on it. Fortunate, then, that she had no time to.

“Get them out of here!” She ordered the man still astride her bird. “I’ll cover your escape!”

Vesh tossed her head again, letting out a wark of despair.

“Hush now, Vesh. It’s alright. Go on. Keep them safe for me.” She patted her bird’s face affectionately before she hardened herself for what she knew was coming. “Go on now, go!”

They didn’t need to be told twice. As Vesh thundered off, wailing out a mournful cry of farewell as she went, Serella turned to the rapidly solidifying darkness. The swarm of voidsent. They clustered so closely she couldn’t discern their shapes, so she instead counted the eyes. Ten sets of them. More of them than anything she had ever fought. 

Dalamud was falling, and so, too, would she.

There was a strange calm to knowing death was approaching— but Serella refused to revel in it. Honing her focus, she quickly nocked an arrow and fired into the collective shadow.

Two eyes vanished. Nine voidsent left. The swarm descended. 

She fired a second arrow, nearly dancing to the rhythm of her hammering heart. Though her lungs burned and her eyes stung, she persisted. 

Two more eyes vanished. Eight left. They grew near enough to nearly grab her, but she leapt back to keep the distance and fired a third arrow as she landed on her feet again.

Seven left, but the flames were closing in. She was out of room to move. 

Her bow would do little here, with them coming so close. She glanced down when a glint caught the corner of her eye— a fallen Adder she had not seen before, with his blade stuck in the ground beside him. 

She had only ever seen the Wood Wailers train with them from afar. Though she would die flailing, at least she could buy them more time.

The blade's hilt was slick with blood, but she redoubled her grip and swung it upward as she ripped it from the earth. When the edge of the sword connected with the first voidsent, she nearly dropped her blade at the unexpected resistance she met: she had thought them less solid. Nevertheless, she had to rip the blade through and complete the arc. She caught two of them in her path. Five remaining.

One of them sunk it's scythe appendage into her arm, and she cried out at the stinging pain as it dug into her bicep.

At least it was her off hand, she mused darkly, and stabbed its black heart.

The motion left her vulnerable for another attack, however, and with another lunge, one of the remaining monstrosities slashed across her back. Shallow enough to keep her standing but deep enough to make her bleed. A cry of agony tore from her throat as she slashed wildly outward, and caught a two more in the stroke.

The last two voidsent, however, had her pinned. Diving in from either side, they swooped, graceful as black swans, and dug a bladed arm each into her chest. The impact stole the breath from her lungs, and she shuddered with the want to breathe. Even as her chest felt sticky and wet, she did not dare look down, knowing of the blood she would see.

Her mind and body hadn't quite caught up with what just happened, and with another swing of her limp arm to line up the beasts, and a strike with her blade, she'd managed fell them both with the last of her strength.

Her legs stopped working, and she sank to her knees in the blood soaked earth. As she lurched forward and managed to catch herself, just barely, by digging the blade into the earth and leaning on it, she wondered in dark humor whether or not this was how the blade's last bearer had died.

It didn't matter. Vesh got away with the civilians. That was enough. She made that enough.

Dalamud fell, and so, too, did she.

When the scent of smoke and brimstone filled her nose, Serella had, at first, presumed she'd been condemned to one of the seven hells. Opening her eyes and taking in the smoke filled skies, the brittle, burned trees, and the near foot of ash that coated everything, she wasn't entirely sure she was wrong in that assumption.

Then she looked down. She lay centered in a perfect circle of preserved grass, unburned, untarnished, and verdant beneath the ashes. Peering down at herself, she lacked wounds to speak of the horror she endured, and yet, the blood still stained her clothes deeply. The tears, the holes, every other marker of her injuries remained on everything but her. 

She lifted her weary eyes, staring at the blade that had served her in the bitter end, still embedded in the grass. Her senses slowly returned to her, and she could hear the faint crooning of crows off in the distance, but little else. Her father's bow and pack slung on her shoulders were a familiar weight, and she drew comfort in that.

Her hand was enclosed around something, she realized. Confused, she looked at it and turned her palm up.

A bright, glowing blue crystal. Deep as the fathomless sea, bright as the surface of the ocean at midday, it was cool against her fingertips, and almost impossibly smooth. Every gleaming facet seemed to hold reflections of a face she almost thought she recognized, though they were all a little different from the others.

This is me. Some part of her whispered, and her mind lurched at the implication.

Hear...feel...think… a soft voice cooed from somewhere within her.

Serella decided she had done enough of all of those things for the moment. She had important things she had to do, if hell was too scared to take her now. She had to try and find Vesh, first. Gods willing, she could then take Vesh to track down her tribe again— Mina had taken them north, closer to Coerthas. She knew the path well. She had to know if they made it through this hellish nightmare, and if there was anyone that she could turn to with this weird...crystal, and this strange, intrusive voice in her head, it was Mina. 

After that, come what may...she needed proper training. She had to learn how to properly protect people. The Adders weren't  going to do it, and she wasn't about to hold her breath and expect anywhere else to really look out for their people, either. Someone had to be their shield.

Oh, huh. A shield would have been handy back there, she thought in a daze, brushing the ashes off of her clothes as she hauled herself up in a fit of sneezing and coughing. Something to look into. That's step four-or-so.

Dalamud had fallen, and in its ashes, Serella stood tall.

[lovely-little-whumpee]

I suggest a slow burn whump, drawn out gradual onset of extreme fatigue. Like caretaker carrying feverish/delirious/injured whumpee on their back towards medical care, but the trek is many miles. Bonus points if when they get to the medical facility, it is for some reason abandoned (could tie in to main storyline idk), forcing the exhausted caretaker to also provide whumpee medical care using the hospital's resources^^

Ooh, this is a good one. I think I got a little carried away with it sorry~ 

“Whumpee, come on!” The Caretaker shouted as Whumpee’s legs gave out underneath them, the hand that had been staunching the blood flow flying down to catch themselves before they hit the ground face first. Whumpee groaned, trying to push themselves up onto their hands and knees, but their body disobeyed their commands. “Whumpee, get up! We don’t have any—” Caretaker cut themselves off when they saw the Whumpee unmoving on the ground. 

“I don’t— I don’t think…. I can go on anymore,” Whumpee’s words were weak and slurring, blood loss finally catching up to them. It had been a little over a day since Whumpee and Caretaker had fled from the Whumper’s house— barely escaping with their lives in Whumpee’s case. 

“Don’t say something like that. We’re going to make it.” Caretaker dropped to their knees and rolled Whumpee over, quickly tearing off a piece of their shirt and using it to tightly bind the Whumpee’s torso, the gunshot having clipped Whumpee’s side as they had been escaping. Whumpee whimpered as the wound was disturbed, but was coherent enough not to try and stop the Caretaker. “We shouldn’t be too much farther now. From the map I saw at Whumper’s, there should be a small medical base about another day’s away. We can get the people there to patch you right up when we get there. But we need to move.” Caretaker maneuvered Whumpee’s limp body onto their back, Whumpee barely conscious enough to wrap their limbs around Caretaker. 

Caretaker continued through the dense forest, narrowly avoiding slipping and falling several times. Whumpee remained barely conscientious the whole time, sometimes muttering things that Caretaker was sure didn’t make any sense. Fever talk Caretaker had heard people call it. Several times, Caretaker had to stop and let Whumpee off their back, desperately needing a break. By the time night came, their limbs were heavy with exhaustion, hands trembling no matter how hard Caretaker tried to get them to stop. Still, they had to stay awake to ensure that Whumpee didn’t succumb to their wounds and do their best to keep the wound from being infected. 

Eventually, once dawn broke, Caretaker knew that it was time to get moving again. They moved towards where Whumpee lay, trapped in a feverish nightmare. Gently placing their hand on Whumpee’s cheek, Caretaker began to mumble their name. Owlishly, Whumpee opened their eyes, and although Caretaker could see that Whumpee’s eyes were glazed and partially unseeing, it seemed the Whumpee recognized the Caretaker. 

“...’areta’er?” The slurring of Whumpee’s words became worse overnight, and Caretaker could barely recognize their own name. Pushing down the panic, they forced their voice to remain calm. 

“C’mon, we need to move. You can get on my back again,” Caretaker said as they helped maneuver Whumpee into a sitting position. It was a slow process— everything was. On the way to the medical base, Caretaker had almost fallen into a small creek. Using the opportunity when they found one, they drank enough water to fill their empty stomach, before prompting Whumpee to drink as well. Caretaker then did their best to clean off Whumpee’s wound, trying to ignore the bit of pus that was seeping out, before tearing off another piece of their shirt and rebinding Whumpee’s wound.

They had no food, and Caretaker was by no means capable enough to start picking things up and determine whether they were poisonous or not. 

“I… I thin’ you sh—should just ‘eave me behin’.” Caretaker paused at Whumpee’s words, before shaking their head almost violently, ignoring the way the world swayed for a moment. 

“I’m not leaving you. We’ll be there in a few hours, hold on until then.” Caretaker’s words left no room for disagreement, and soon enough, Whumpee was back on their back and they were trudging through the forest once more. Sweat ran thickly down Caretaker’s face and neck, but they couldn’t wipe it away from their eyes because of the weak grip Whumpee had on Caretaker. Caretaker knew that if they were to let go for a single moment, Whumpee would slide off and fall. 

“Whumpee c’mon, talk to me,” Caretaker said, needing confirmation that the precious person on their back was still alive. It took a few moments of gentle coaxing, and Whumpee didn’t seem to be all there in the end. 

“When… When we ge’ ou’, we need ‘o ge’ cheeseburgers,” Whumpee said, and Caretaker knew that if Whumpee had the strength, they’d be smiling.

“Cheeseburgers sound good. With some fries and a soda. How about that?” Caretaker knew that the doctor wouldn’t approve, but Caretaker knew that they’d probably sneak it to Whumpee anyway. Caretaker was whipped for them after all. Whumpee didn’t respond, but Caretaker could feel reassuring huffs of breath on the back of their neck, and it was proof enough that Whumpee was still alive. 

Continuing forwards, they could only hope that they were going in the right direction. Caretaker ignored the aching in their arms and the strain in their legs, the way the world swayed every few steps and how they couldn’t quite catch their breath. The only thing that mattered was getting Whumpee the medical attention they needed.

It was approaching night time again when Caretaker finally reached the medical base, and they could’ve laughed with relief if they had the energy for it. The base was small and inconspicuous, blending into the background— only detectable by those who were specifically looking for it. Caretaker approached the door, not knowing who would be waiting inside, but hoping they’d be kind enough to help Whumpee. 

Caretaker opened the door, which creaked ominously and hinted at years of disuse. It was dark when they entered, but after some groping around, Caretaker found a lightswitch and flipped it. After several flickers, a faint buzz filled the base as the lights slowly filled with life, and Caretaker was able to see everything around them. After setting Whumpee down on the bed in the center of the room, Caretaker then trudged on to find the medical help they needed. 

“Can someone help me?! I— my friend got shot and they need medical attention!” Caretaker called out, but their words simply echoed back to them. They entered every room there was, and their sinking suspicions had been confirmed. The place was empty. There had been signs of it’s disuse: the creaking door, the flickering lights, overgrown moss in some areas. Caretaker had hoped that it was just poorly run. 

Steeling their nerves, Caretaker looked around the room once more, this time searching for supplies. They had no medical background of any kind, but their mom had used to sew, and it was basically the same for human flesh, right? “Okay, you can do this. Just disinfect the wound. The bullet cut a clear path, and Whumpee would have bled out by now if it had hit a nerve or something like that. Just clean the wound and patch it up. It’ll be nothing.” Caretaker’s words did little to help them, but they were able to find most every they needed; save for anesthesia of any kind, which was arguably the most important part. 

Walking back into the room Whumpee lay, Caretaker could see their friend weakly gripping the wound on their side. “Whumpee? Whumpee, are you with me?” After a weak nod from the other, Caretaker continued speaking. “I’m gonna have to patch you up myself, the place we entered is abandoned. You’ll be fine though.” Caretaker was surprised to hear Whumpee’s laughter at this, no matter the fact that it was weak and raspy. 

“I’m gonna die.” Caretaker then couldn’t stop themselves from laughing.

“I was hoping you’d have a bit more confidence in me, considering I got you here and all.” Caretaker set the supplies on the chair next to them, knowing that they weren’t going to be able to sit for what they were going to do. Lifting Whumpee’s shirt, Caretaker then untied the hasty bandage they had put there hours before. Caretaker nearly gagged at the sight of the wound, holding their breath as they grabbed a swab of clean cotton and drenched it with the antiseptic they’d found. 

Mumbling an apology, they pressed the soaked cloth to the wound, holding down on Whumpee’s torso with their free hand as the other began thrashing and screaming. “Whumper! Whumper I’m sorry— I’ll be good, I’ll be good I swear!” Caretaker’s heart ached at the reminder of the abuse Whumpee had suffered, and they wanted nothing more than to take the Whumpee into their arms and comfort them. Sadly, they had Whumpee’s wound to attend to, and could only offer verbal assurances.

“Whumpee, they’re not here. It’s just you and me, you’re safe now. They can’t hurt you,” Caretaker continued speaking in the most soothing voice they could as the thoroughly cleaned Whumpee’s infection, and despite their best efforts, it was only after Caretaker finished that Whumpee’s screams died down. 

Caretaker pressed their forehead to Whumpee’s, carding soothing fingers through the other’s hair. “It’s okay Whumpee, you did good. You did really good. Now, I need you to be brave for this next bit, okay? It’s gonna hurt a little, but I need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?” With little hesitation, Whumpee nodded, their breaths heavy and ragged in their throat. “Good, that’s really good.” Caretaker pulled back from Whumpee and placed the needle over the lighter they had found, thoroughly disinfecting it. They then threaded the needle, ignoring the fierce way their hands shook. 

They needed to be calm for this. Whumpee’s life was riding on it. Nevermind the spinning world and growing headache. Whumpee needed them, there was no one else to do this. With that thought, Caretaker bent down some, examing the injury and the best place to start. They’d never seen this done before, and only had movies to reference. Caretaker took a deep breath, doing their best to relieve all their tension along with it. 

Pinching the skin lightly, it was surprisingly easy to get the needle through the flesh of Whumpee. Pulling the thread taught and therefore sealing a small amount of the injury caused Whumpee to whimper, but they didn’t scream like last time, and stayed relatively still. “Good job Whumpee, this will all be over with soon,” Caretaker promised as they threaded the needle through Whumpee’s skin once more, and then again. 

A total of twelve stitches went to the front side of the injury, and both Caretaker and Whumpee were panting with exhaustion by the time Caretaker had finished. Caretaker placed a gauze bandage over the injury, making sure that it was properly secured before carefully turning Whumpee over onto their back. Whumpee seemed barely conscious through the pain, and Caretaker didn’t know whether or not to be thankful. They knew that their exhaustion was settling in though, as they blinked away dark spots several times as they were stitching up the back of Whumpee. 

Whumpee twitched slightly when Caretaker placed the gauze over the back of Whumpee’s torso, the other side having needed eighteen stitches. “Alright, done.” As soon as the words left Caretaker’s mouth, they collapsed into a gangly heap upon the ground, oblivious to the world around them as they lost consciousness.

[scribbling-stiks]

Puppets - XXI - Hearing Voices

The six personifications sit quietly for a few moments before the states begin conversations amongst themselves. Texas and Louisiana talk loudly, and Massachusetts occasionally throws in his commentary.

Russia is finally able to relax, if only slightly, surrounded by allies. Luckily for his group, most of the rips were easily fixed without any additional fabric, so Ute makes quick work of mending their bags and ripped clothes. Once Ute patches a good amount of the ripped clothes, Russia and Canada take a few handfuls of dirty garments down to a nearby creek to clean off the dust, pine needles, and mud that got through the bags. The stream is within the site of anyone sitting in the campsite, so they felt safe enough to go without the states being put in danger.

They pile the dirty laundry together on the streamside, and Russia pulls out one of Massachusetts' shirts from the pile and dunks it into the stream of cold water. He is a little surprised at the water's temperature, but he isn't bothered by the chill that envelopes his hands. He plucks any pine needles he can see out of the fabric before rubbing the cloth together to scrub off any extra debris.

It takes a few tries before the article began to look clean. Russia pulls it up and rings out any extra water before he hung it up on a nearby tree branch to dry. He continues to clean more clothes the best as he can, occasionally returning to the campsite to retrieve more items.

Once most of the clothes are thoroughly rinsed out, Canada tells Russia to return to the campsite with some of the drier items to hang somewhere else to make more room for the remaining articles. Russia agrees and begins extracting pieces of clothing off the trees, brushing off any needles stuck to the fabric. His hands fill quickly, and he wishes Canada farwell. Canada waves him off without turning away from the creek.

Russia hums a familiar tune while walking the short distance back to the camp, and he notices that Ute and Massachusetts have left the tents. Louisiana is sitting on a branch high in one of the trees, and Texas is leaning against the trunk of another nearby evergreen.

"Where did the others go?" He asks the remaining states.

"Massy thought that we was still missin' some stuff, so he went with Ute to look around," Texas answers.

"Y'all want some help with that?" Louisiana asks from her perch.

"Yes, please," Russia replies.

Louisiana hops down from her position and falls a short distance before hitting the ground, her clothes fluttering out around her. She walks over and takes around half of the clothes, helping Russia lay them out in sunny areas around the campground.

Russia thanks her for her help. He notices Texas perk up. He looks over curiously, but before he can ask, Texas swiftly stands from the tree and begins scanning their surroundings with narrowed eyes.

Some nearby movement causes Russia to turn, and he sees Canada approaching, arms full with dripping wet backpacks.

"Somethin' wrong, Tex?" Louisiana asks. Texas shushes her and backs up toward Russia, his arm out, guiding Louisiana to do the same.

"I heard something weird. Sounded like screamin', but something was wrong with it," Texas hurriedly explains, his voice low.

Russia reaches instinctively for his crowbar, only to realize that he doesn't have it. 'I must have lost it last night,' he thought, clenching his hands into fists.

Russia listens and notices that the forest around them is silent. It is as if all the animals have halted alongside him. Then, Russia feels his hair stand on end, and he looks around, expecting to see a pair of eyes peering around one of the trees.

He sees nothing in the dark shadows that stand as a background to the greenery. Russia decides, weapon or not, he is not going to let the states get hurt. He moves to shield the states from the treeline.

Canada seemed to have a similar idea, as he stands facing the creek.

"I wish I had my gun," Texas mumbles.

Then, the brush begins moving, and Russia can hear someone rushing through it. Russia prepares himself for a fight, and Massachusetts bursts from the bush, holding broken wood and bent metal in clenched fists.

"Are..all of you...alright? F***," Massachusetts huffs, hands falling to his sides.

"Yes, for now. Come here," Russia responds stiffly, fighting the urge to run over and herd Massachusetts behind him. Massachusetts hurries over and hands Canada the wood, and Russia a bent up a piece of black metal. It takes Russia a moment to recognize it as the remains of his crowbar.

"I was going to fix it, but Ute saw something and sent me running back here," Massachusetts says quietly, looking back to the trees, "he said he was right behind me."

There is a brief pause before a blood-curdling scream erupts from somewhere behind the trees. Russia jerks and fights the instinct to run into the trees to help. He hears the states shuffle around behind him as if getting ready to bolt into the trees. Russia reaches one arm around to prevent them.

"Ute?" Canada calls into the trees.

"Over here!" Ute calls back. Canada moves to run to the voice, but Massachusetts stops him.

"Canada, wait. Something doesn't feel right," Massachusetts warns, gripping onto Canada's arm, and Canada pulls away.

"He could be in trouble!" Canada protests.

"Or it could be a trap. Stay here," Russia demands, staring at Canada until the country relents.

"Ute?" Russia calls.

"Over here!" Ute's voice calls from the trees.

Russia stands still, trying to place why the tone of voice sounded so wrong. His eyes narrow. "Ute?" he calls again, trying to keep any suspicion out of his voice.

"Over here!"

The voice is coming from the same location each time, but it sounds off. Russia tries to figure out what's wrong when it clicks. The calls sound like a recording being played to imitate a response, with slight distortions and an identical tone.

"It sounds like a recording," Russia says in a hushed whisper.

"You're right," Texas mutters in surprise.

"What do we do?" Louisiana asks in a whisper.

"We stay together and wait for Ute," Russia replies quietly, and Canada doesn't object.

They draw closer together, and Russia points the sharper end of the mangled crowbar at the trees.

"Over here! Over Here! OvEr HEre!" something shouts from the forest. The voice swells in volume, and any resemblance between it and Ute's dissipates. The static undertone took a tighter hold of the words, distorting them further.

Russia feels the ground beneath him shiver as something advanced on their camp. Looking to the horizon, he observes single trees sway in the windless, blue sky. With every tree, the distance between the source of the movement and Russia is rapidly growing smaller.

Russia's knuckles grow white due to his tightening grip on the dented metal.

"YeAh, and yOu almost ran off a cliff," Texas' voice echos from the trees in front of Russia.

"What?" Texas mumbles from behind Russia horrified.

"What the F*** are you?!" Massachusetts shouts from behind Russia.

"What the F*** are you?!" it echos.

"How are we going to fight this?" Canada asks, his voice shaking.

"I've still got my knife," Louisiana volunteers.

"I don't think that will do much," Russia says cautiously, shifting his feet to be shoulder length apart, eyeing the trees.

Then he sees it—a gaunt, dog-like face several meters above the ground, peeking around a tree trunk. Long, skeletal fingers grip the tree trunk. It opens its mouth, and from its throat, erupts a familiar shout.

"RUSSIA," it plays from its open mouth in Texas' tone, identical to the night before.

Its maw slides closed, and its spindly body emerges from the treeline. Its beady, black eyes stare at Russia with the intelligence of a wild animal. Its body is covered in a thin, spotty coat of brown fur, but Russia can see its rib cage under its stretched skin. Its chest is about the size of a small child's, and its legs made up most of its height, bending like pillars about to break. Each limb looks like slim trees. Its feet are adorned with wolf-like paws that meet the ground. Its arms stretch beyond its knees, and its long fingers curl slightly, much like human hands. As it walks, its fingers brush the dirt.

It takes fast, full paces, approaching them swiftly. Russia stares up in horror as its shadow overtakes the sun. The thing huffs and smells the air before grabbing Louisiana. Louisiana shrieks in terror and slashes at its wrist. It shrieks in a pitch that nearly makes Russia's ears bleed.

It drops her and screeches again. Russia took his opportunity to rush at the thing's legs, and he slams his crowbar into the front of its calf.

It didn't break like he was hoping. Instead, the thing shrieks and grabs Russia is a tight grip, pinning Russia's arms to his sides. The crowbar clatters to the ground. Russia squirms, but its grip is too crushing to escape from.

It brings Russia up to a dizzying elevation, and its mouth opens. Russia looks down and sees rows of sharp, canine teeth gleaming back at him.

"No! Let me go! NO!" Russia screams in panic, desperately trying to escape its hand, but it felt fruitless. Its palm wrapped around Russia's arms, and it extended down to his thighs, and its fingers wrap around him tightly, securing him in place. The only parts that aren't bound in its grip are his head and his legs below the knee.

"Russia!" Canada screams, and Russia can see Canada rush forward and try to beat the monster's legs with a broken hockey stick. 

The states scramble back toward the stream, staring up at Russia. Then he sees Texas reach at Louisiana before running beneath the monstrosity and out of Russia's sight.

Just before Russia is decapitated by its knarled teeth, the thing shrieks and lowers its arm, dropping Russia. He falls a couple of meters before hitting the ground. He scrambles to his feet and sees Texas slashing at its legs with Louisiana's knife. He turns around and sees Massachusetts surrounded by faint green light, chanting.

Suddenly, Ute comes rushing out from the underbrush, holding a few items in his hands. Russia runs toward him, and Ute hands him Texas' gun. The firearm is scuffed, but Russia can't see any outstanding damages to the weapon. So, he spins back and fires at its torso. It shrieks and stumbles back. Now, it bled sluggishly from its chest, leg, and wrist. It lets out one final cry before it turns around and disappears at frightening speed into the trees.

"Howdy, Ute! Nice of you to join us," Texas calls, handing his sister her knife before running over to Russia and Ute.

Russia hands Texas his gun back, and Texas takes it with a grin. "You're quite a good shot," he comments.

Everything takes on a light green tinge as Massachusetts casts a massive spell that resembles a shield. As soon as it solidifies around the camp, the color dissipates, and Massachusetts leans over.

"That should protect us for now," Massachusetts says before yawning, "I'm going to take a nap."

Massachusetts disappears into the tent he had emerged from that morning, and Russia is left wondering what they were going to do now.

~

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[thewalkingdead-fan101]

In This Hell Daryl Dixon X Reader Part 3/??

Hey guys!  Part 3 is finally here! I hope you guys like it. Not a lot happens in this part, its kind of a fill-in. :) Warnings- Blood, Descriptions of injuries, talk of miscarriage? swearing.

Finishing the 7th chapter of my book, I decide to put it down, save something for later. I can’t help but let my mind wander to what Jenner had told me.

What if I carried the baby so far along and it dies in the womb and turns? My baby, clawing it’s way out of me, tearing me apart. What would happen if I died during this pregnancy? Would I still be an incubator for the baby until it dies and rips it’s way out of my decaying body?

I heard a small tap. "Hey, are you ok?" I looked up and saw Glenn smiling at me. I nodded my head. "I’m great, thank you.” "Please, come out and sit with us all." I nodded my head and followed Glenn out. "Hey" Shane said to me, moving over for me to sit next to him. "Hey y'all" I said taking the seat next to him. We all shared greetings.

"What are we doing?" I asked Shane and Andrea. "We are cleaning our guns. YOU are watching." Shane chuckled. Shane looked back at Andrea, explaining how her gun works. "Oh jeez." Dale said We all looked to what he saw. I stood up and walked over. "Oh my god." I sighed. Dale pulled up.

Trucks flipped over. Cars packing both sides of the highway. I saw Daryl driving back toward the RV, and he pulled up. "See a way through?" Dale asked. Daryl nodded his head, and motioned us to follow. We slowly started to follow. "Uhh... Maybe we should just go back. There's an interstate bypass..." Glenn stated. "we can't spare the fuel." Dale answered. We stayed quiet. "Jeez." Glenn said after looking back at the cars. "Can we even get through here?" Glenn asked.

Dale pulled to a halt as smoke raised from the bonnet. He got up and slammed the door open, the rest of us trailing behind. "I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water." Dale exclaimed. "Problem Dale?" Rick asked. "Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of no where with no hope of..." Dale answered watching daryl rummage through the back of a car. "Okay, that was dumb." He said regarding his earlier comment. "If you can't find a radiator hose here.." Shane started. "There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl cut in. "I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-dog smiled walking forward. "Maybe some water." Carol said "Or food." Finished Glenn "This is a graveyard." Lori spoke. We all looked at her for a second. " I don't know how to feel about this" she sighed. "All right, all right. Here we go. " T-dog started. "Okay y'all, look around. Gather what you can." We all split up. Daryl helped siphon the fuel. Carol and Lori were looking for anything with the kids and Glenn was fixing the RV, Dale on watch above the RV as Rick patrolled the ground. "(Y/n/n)! Come over here!" Lori called out. I walked over. "Did you guys want me to take the stuff to the RV?" I asked "No ill do it with the kids." Carol smiled taking a few cases with her the kids carrying food and water with drinks and torches. They made their way to the RV.

"Look, I never told you something." Lori said. "Tell me if you'd like." "Before Rick came back, Shane and I-" "You snuck around. I know." "Wait what?" "It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.. You both went in the same direction a little while after one another." I smiled. "Oh.." I looked and saw Andrea go into the RV. "I’ll be back, I'm going to help Dale." "Ok." Carol and the kids returned as I left. I made my way to the RV. "Dale! Can I come up?" "Sure!" He called down. I got up and Rick looked at Dale. "It's all good." Dale confirmed. We both looked to where Shane was at the truck full of water.

I turned around. My stomach dropping, my heart pounding against my ribcage as I realise what’s about to happen. "Dale...Look." He turned and looked at the direction I was facing. I looked at rick, he looked at me, I pointed, making him look through the scope on his gun. "Shit.. There's a horde." I stated. "Get down quietly" Dale instructed. I quickly got down. We laid there in pure silence as the moans passed us. Realisation hit me. "Dale!" I softly whispered. He looked at me. "Andrea is inside." His eyes widened. We waited. We heard the screams of Andrea coming from the bathroom. Dale looked down and broke the netting and gave her the screwdriver. The RV shook along with the trouble happening on the inside. Dale and I watched as Andrea fought off the walker that was attacking. the RV stopped moving as she drove the screwdriver into its skull repeatedly.

After minutes of waiting I sat up as I heard Sophia screaming. I saw her run into the woods, followed by two walkers. I watched helplessly as Rick ran in after her. I looked around the RV before making my way to the ground. My eyes darted around, looking to see if anyone in our group was missing other than the girl.. I watched Shane and Glenn come out from under the water truck, Lori and Carol, huddled together watching the forest  line, Dale still on the RV, Andrea inside , Carl with Lori and Carol... But I couldn't see Daryl or T-dog anywhere. I ran to Lori and Carol.

"(Y/n)! My baby! She is alone!" Carol cried. "Carol. Honey... She will be okay. I saw Rick run after her." I said softly. After 5 minutes, I still hadn't seen Daryl, Rick, T-dog or Sophia. Carol and Lori were sitting down. "Screw this...” I whispered. “Carl. No one can know that I'm going out there." I said to him as he nodded. I waited until no one was watching when I ran into the forest. I ran toward the line where creek bed was.. I couldn't see or hear anything. I heard a snap behind me, making me shoot around. I hugged Rick when I realised it was him. "Where's Sophia?" He shook his head. "I told her to go back to the highway." I nodded, we both ran and when we got back to the highway Carol ran to us. "(Y/n/n)! I didn't know where you went!" Lori exclaimed. "Did you find my baby?!" Carol asked. My eyes widened and I looked at rick. "I thought she was here. I told her to come back." Carols eyes began to tear up.

"I'm going back in." I stated. "No, no you're not." Rick answered me. "Im taking, Glenn, Shane and Daryl." "Has Daryl been seen?" I asked hopefully. "He dragged T-Dog to the RV before, he might be there." Lori answered I nodded my head and started to walk to the RV, no Daryl. I was about to turn when I saw him exit the RV. My eyes spotted blood on his arms, my eyes widened. I rushed over to him. "Who's blood is that? We're you.." "I wasn't bit, it's T-dogs blood." He answered. I smiled and kissed his cheek. He put his arms around my waist and hugged me. "Daryl! Come on." Rick called out. I let go and watched him leave... At least his ass is a nice view.. I entered the RV, to see T-dog sitting at the table, his arm covered in blood, with a soaked in red bandage. "what happened to you?" I asked, sitting across from him. "I was hiding from the geeks, and then I sliced my arm open on a lifted up piece of metal from a car." "didn't they smell the blood?" "One did, then daryl killed it, and pushed me over, throwing its dead corpse over mine, then pulling one over himself, we blended Into the many dead ones laying down." I smiled softly. "Smart and the walkers didn't suspect you at all?" "Not one." I nodded, slightly leaning forward. T-dog stood up quickly. "Are you alright?" "Yeah." I said quickly. "Come on." He put his arm around me and led me to one of the beds. "Lay down, I'll get one of the others to keep check on you." "Thanks T-dog." He walked out and I rolled over, now facing a window, softly closing my eyes.

My eyes shot open when I heard a bang. I got up and ran towards the door. "They're moving cars so we can turn the R.V around to leave." "We've found Sophia?" I asked turning around to see T-dog, looking at his soaked bandage. "No." "Right." I walked back to the room, and grabbed the first aid kit, making my way back to where T-dog was. "Give me your arm." "What why?" "Theodore, give me your arm." He gave his arm across to me. "What are you doing?" "Putting a fresh bandage on your arm." He nodded. Once the bandage was off, I looked at the cut. "Well, you didn't miss anything when you did this." He laughed softly. I got some new gauze and a little bit of antiseptic ointment that I had found in one of the abandoned cars. "Where’d you find that?” “In that little silver car on the left side of the RV. I cleared It out, there’s nothing in it. I’m lucky to have seen this.” I placed the gauze on to his arm, before getting the tape and taping it up. "Done, now we need some antibiotics." "They're back." We heard Glenn say.

I got up and put the first aid kit away, then followed T-dog out. We walked to the forest line, where the rest of our group were. "You didn't find her?" Carol asked, almost bawling. "Her trail went cold, we'll pick it up again at first light." "You can't leave my daughter out there on her own, to spend the night alone in the woods." "Out in the dark's no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost." "But she is 12. She can't be out there on her own…” “You didn't find anything?" "I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there." "And we tracked her for a while." "We have to make this an organised effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to over see this." "Is that blood?" She started to breathe uneasy. "We took down a walker." "Walker? Oh, my god." "There was no sign it was anywhere near Sophia." "How can you know that?" Andrea asked. There was a brief moment of silence. "We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure." Daryl nodded his head in confirmation.

Carol sat down, Lori next to her and I sat on the opposite side. "Oh, God." She looked up, now not upset but hurt and angry. "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?" "Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was her best chance." "Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane stepped in. "How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child, she's just a child." She said tearing up. Rick fell to his knees and looked at her. "It was my only option. The only choice I could make." "I'm sure nobody doubts that." "My little girl got left in the woods." I hugged Carol and so did Lori. While everyone else stood there. After a second Andrea came and joined the hug. “We will find her Carol.” I softly told her, rubbing circles on her back. “I need a moment alone.” She sniffed walking to the RV.

“I think we should make a start on looking for supplies in these cars, do a perimeter check. Rig up some cans. Before it gets too dark. We have about 20 minutes left until sundown.” Shane sighed arms crossed. “I’ll see if I can get us some squirrel or rabbit. Even keep an eye out for that girl.” Daryl responded, bringing his bow off his back, returning to the forest line. “Carl, you stay close to me. I need eyes on you at all times.” Lori spoke. “I’ll get started on some more cars. See what we can use.” I walked towards a dark green wagon. I had a peek through the grimy tinted windows. Grabbing my knife, I slowly opened the door. It was clear. No geeks. No people. No corpses. Opening the glovebox, papers fell out, revealing a small handgun. I pulled it out, checking that the safety was on and checking the magazine, leaving them seperate before putting them In my bag, turning to check the back I see a small suitcase.

Leaning forward through the middle I grab the suitcase and turn it so I can open it. It was full of clothes, digging through the clothes I found nothing. Checking the middle compartment, I found an energy bar, a pack of gum and pepper spray, once again opening my bag and putting the items in. I got out of the car walking to the trunk, opening it and spotting climbing gear and some rope. I grabbed the rope and gave it to Shane. “This might help with the cans.” “Hey, are you alright? How you holding up?” “I’m fine, I’m holding up good. It’s Carol I’m worried about, and that poor girl.” “She will be fine.” “We don’t know that Shane. I’m praying that we will find her, and I’m praying that she is in good health, that she is safe and okay. But what if she isn’t ?” “Look. We will find this girl and bring her back. Don’t worry.” “I’ll always worry. I feel like I could be out there helping.” “It’s already dark, it’s only going to get darker we will not find her like this. Look, I’m going to go out and look first thing in the morning.” I nodded turning around and leaving.

Noticing everyone huddled up near the RV, I join them all. “I found a few cans of food that we can eat.” Glenn said putting three cans in the middle of the group. “I found an energy bar.” I added it to the pile. “There’s some food in the RV, we can add that to the pile and we can all eat.” Dale commented, going inside and grabbing the food. “This is great for tonight, tomorrow morning we will continue to search for Sophia. We will loot the cars and vehicles tomorrow.” Rick sighed, rubbing his right hand over his face.

We all sat down, starting to eat. Shane was keeping an eye out for any threats. We ate in silence before another presence joined us.

Looking over I see Daryl grab a small can and sit next to me, pulling me into his side while he opened his food. “Couldn’t find the girl. Didn’t bother to look for squirrels or rabbits.” “I was worried about you.” I said softly. “You know ya don’t need to.” He gave my thigh a small squeeze. “You can’t stop me.” “I know you’re a pain in my ass.” He joked. I softly laughed, shoving his arm away before cuddling into his side, his arm resting behind me with his hand resting over my abdomen.

We’re going to be okay. All of us. We will find Sophia and we will find a safe place for us to set up a camp... We will. We have to.

Series Masterlist Next Part

[punkrockmads]

One More Thing

Unspoken Words part 3

Sarah searches her room frantically, moving another pillow off of her bed. Much to her dismay, her beloved Gus isn't there. She refuses to stop until she finds the misplaced stuffed sheep. She decides to ask if any of her family members have seen him. She walks to Joel's room, faded black socks padding lightly against the wooden floor. She knocks, waiting for an answer.

"Dad?" She calls through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah!" Joel calls back from somewhere in the room. Sarah opens the door, finding Joel sitting on the end of his bed with a guitar in his lap. Joel glances up at her with a smile before going looking back to the guitar he's cleaning. It's been a month since that night Sarah forgave him. A month since she's started calling him dad. He's overjoyed, to say the least.

"Have you seen Gus anywhere?" Sarah asks. "I had him last night during movie night, but now I can't find him. I looked everywhere."

Joel glances down, scratching his beard as he thinks. "Did you check in the couch cushions?" He asks, looking back up at her. Sarah's face lights up.

"Of course!" She grins. "He has to be there. Thanks!" With that, she rushes out, closing the door behind her as Joel chuckles. Sarah heads downstairs, turning to go into the living room only to bump into someone. The two fall back from the force, both letting out frustrated groans.

"What the fuck!" The person yells. Sarah opens her eyes, realizing she ran into Ellie. Ellie glares at her, annoyed.

"Sorry, Ellie." Sarah apologises, fighting back a smile. Ellie does the same, but she's unable to hold back her laughter. Sarah laughs with her as she stands, offering Ellie a hand. Ellie takes it, standing up.

"You're in a hurry." Ellie teases. "Aren't you supposed to be on patrol with Jesse in a bit?"

"Yeah, but I can't find Gus." Sarah explains. "Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Oh, yeah!" Ellie says. "You dropped him last night when you got scared by that creepy ghost girl in the movie." Sarah rolls her eyes at Ellie's playful grin. Ellie turns around, walking into the living room and picking Gus up off of the windowsill. She hands him to Sarah.

"How did I not notice that?" Sarah groans, taking the little sheep from her.

"I mean, that movie was pretty scary." Ellie chuckles.

"It was!" Sarah agrees. "But it was really cool, too." Sarah pauses for a moment. "Hey, don't you have farming duty today?"

"Yep." Ellie sighs. "Me and Dina."

"Good luck." Sarah chuckles. Farming is one of the more difficult tasks, but it's important. It's a lot of responsibility. "Oh shit! I gotta get going!" Sarah exclaims, putting her shoes on and grabbing her gear by the front door.

"Stay safe." Ellie says, walking over to give Sarah a hug.

"Always." Sarah grins. And with that, she leaves to join Jesse for patrol.

"Hey, Sarah!" A little girl with long brown hair calls from inside the stables.

"Hey, Judith!" Sarah calls back, walking into the stables. She leans on one of the wooden gates, fidgeting with a few strands of hair that fell out of her loose ponytail. "Jesse here yet?"

Judith shakes her head. "Nope." she says. "Are you guys going on patrol again?"

"Yeah." Sarah nods. "Creek trails this time, so it'll take a bit longer." Judith bites her lip, adjusting her Sherriff's hat. It was a gift from her father. "What is it, Judith?" Judith tugs at the hem of Sarah's black tank top. Sarah crouches down to Judith's level. Judith can be shy when it comes to asking for things. Sometimes, she asks Sarah or Jesse to bring her simple mundane things they find on their patrols. She trusts them and looks up to them. Judith cups her hands around Sarah's ear, leaning in.

"Can you bring me back some flowers?" She whispers. Sarah chuckles as Judith leans back.

"I can do that." Sarah nods with a smile, standing up. Judith's eyes light up with glee. Sarah turns to look at the entrance to the stables, growing impatient with Jesse. "Where is that dork?"

"Do you love Jesse?" Judith asks suddenly, catching Sarah off guard.

"I- wha- no!" Sarah's eyes go wide, face turning red. "Why would you ask that?"

"He loves you." Judith states simply; as if she's reading a fact from a textbook. "I can tell." At this, Sarah's curiosity grows.

"How can you tell?" Sarah asks her, wondering how this eight year old could assume such a thing.

"I just can." Judith shrugs. Just as Judith is about to continue, Jesse walks into the stables.

"Speak of the devil." Sarah jokes, smiling at Jesse.

"What, you two were talkin' about me?" Jesse asks with a playful grin.

"Yeah, we were wondering why you were taking so long!" Sarah says before Judith can tell him what they were really saying. Judith catches on, playing along with Sarah's teasing. Sarah punches Jesse's bicep.

"Ow!" Jesse laughs. "I was grabbing us lunch from the diner! And I... might've slept in..."

"That sounds like you." Sarah laughs. "Okay, we gotta go." Jesse looks down at Judith, giving her a kind smile and patting her head before following Sarah to their horses.

Water splashes as the horses walk through the creek, leaving water droplets on Sarah's arms and cooling her down. The hot summer sun beats down on them.

"Hey, Jesse!" Sarah calls behind her. "How about we get out of this sun for a bit?"

"Secret spot?" Jesse suggests, catching on.

"Secret spot." Sarah confirms with a grin.

Jesse and Sarah's hideout has definetly changed a bit. The door to the hair salon has been shut and locked but not boarded up. The two moved a couple chairs from the salon into the room and even found a cool rainbow colored rug they managed to clean up. Using the extra paint Jesse had left after painting the galaxy on the ceiling, Sarah painted a bunch of purple and black roses on the wall in the far left corner. Jesse took the liberty of signing his name in the opposite corner so Sarah decided to sign hers right above one of the flowers.

The two crawled through the hole into the Employee Bathroom after tying their horses up inside the bar.

"Remind me to grab some wildflowers for Judith on our way back." Sarah says as Jesse unlocks the door to their secret spot.

"Sure." Jesse says, opening the door. He walks into the room, holding the door open for Sarah. Sarah gives him a thankful smile, walking in and sitting on the desk. "You know we have four perfectly good chairs in here, right?" Jesse teases, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Sarah laughs. "But I like my desk." Jesse sits down in the office chair, moving to prop his legs up on the desk beside Sarah.

"Oh, I brought something." Jesse says, taking his backpack off and sitting it in his lap. Sarah takes her backpack off, setting it on the floor beside the desk. Jesse pulls out a folded red cloth. "This is why it took me so long to leave the diner." He says, folding back the corners of the cloth to reveal two small pastries Sarah hasn't seen before.

"What the hell is that?" Sarah asks, staring at them with confusion.

"These..." Jesse began, handing Sarah one. "Are coconut macaroons. Made by our very own Ms. Edna."

"Edna made these?" Sarah studies the macaroons, smelling the coconut. "How?"

"Her nephew found a recipe." Jesse says. "Trust me, they're good." Sarah splits her macaroon into two halves, taking a small bite out of one of them. She experiences an overwhelming taste of coconut and sugar immediately, making her pause for a moment before she continues chewing. Jesse chuckles at her puzzled expression.

"What do you think?" He asks, taking another bite of his macaroon.

"It's good." Sarah says, nodding. "Very sweet." She laughs lightly, smiling at Jesse. She puts the other half back in the cloth, carefully folding it up. "I'll save this half for Judith."

"Good idea." Jesse says, taking his last bite. "She'll love it." Sweets and pastries are hard to come by so, whenever Sarah finds any, she likes to share them with Judith and sometimes Ellie. They make dark, gloomy days seem a bit brighter. Sarah leans her head back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. She counts the tiny stars Jesse painted, sitting in comfortable silence.

"Do you think aliens exist?" Sarah asks, glancing at Jesse. He looks at her fondly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I dunno." Jesse answers. "Maybe."

"I just don't think we can be the only planet with life." Sarah says. "There's gotta be more out there." She sits up, shifting to sit with her legs crossed over Jesse's before leaning back against the wall once more.

"You're starting to sound like Ellie." Jesse chuckles. Sarah laughs with him.

"Maybe that crazy Battle Ghosts book she used to love finally got to me." Sarah says, recalling the book Ellie had mentioned a million times a couple of years ago.

"What would you say if you could talk to an alien?" Jesse asks, watching Sarah with butterflies in his stomach.

"Uhm..." Sarah pauses, clearing her throat. She furrows her brows, her throat feeling scratchy and slightly tight. "It depends. Are they trying to kill me or be friends?" Sarah coughs, gently touching at her neck. Jesse spots the redness right away.

"Hey, you okay?" He asks, growing worried for Sarah.

"Yeah." Sarah answers, trying to stop her coughing. "Something's just stuck in my throat." But Jesse can tell something else is wrong. He's seen something similar before with a little kid who was allergic to peanuts. He stands up, trying not to panic and worry Sarah.

"Hey, we need to get you back." Jesse says, grabbing his and Sarah's things. "I think you're having an allergic reaction." Sarah's eyes go wide.

"What?" Sarah asks, starting to freak out. "How bad?" She stands beside Jesse, taking her backpack from him.

"You're gonna be fine. We just gotta get you to the infirmary. C'mon." Jesse ushers her out into the bar. Sarah notices it's slowly getting harder and harder for her to breathe. 'Don't panic.' she thinks to herself. 'It'll be okay.' Jesse walks right beside her out to the horses, keeping a close eye on her. He notices her chest rise and fall with every deep breath she takes.

"Okay, c'mere. Let's get you on Cobalt." Jesse says, reaching for Sarah's hand. Sarah pulls away.

"I'm not leaving Ponyo." Sarah says, moving to untie her horse.

"Sarah, you can't ride. It's too dangerous." Jesse reasons, wondering if Sarah's lost her mind.

"I don't have to. She'll follow." Sarah explains, turning to Ponyo. She reaches up and puts a hand behind one of Ponyo's ears. "Ponyo, on me." She says. The horse lets out a small huff. Sarah pats her once before letting Jesse help her onto Cobalt. Hesitantly, Jesse climbs in front and starts forward. Ponyo follows close behind. Trusting that Ponyo will follow, Jesse takes off, going as fast as he can to get Sarah home. Sure enough, Ponyo stays right on their tail, following her rider all the way home.

Sarah is almost gasping for air by the time they make it back, her body pressed against Jesse's. Jesse wastes no time leaving the horses with a few people at the stables and carrying Sarah to the infirmary. He lets a young woman working there know what's happening and she rushes off to find what she needs as Jesse lowers Sarah onto one of the beds. He sits at the foot of her bed, grabbing her hand tightly and fighting to hide his panic. Sarah's in tears, horrified by the suffocating feeling. Air. She needs air.

"Sarah, look at me." Jesse says, taking her other hand in his. Sarah looks at him in fear. "You're gonna be fine. Okay, you're gonna be just fine. Deep breaths, baby. You're alright." Seconds later, the woman comes back with a syringe. Sarah keeps her eyes on Jesse's while the woman sticks the needle in her arm, providing her with the one thing that will save her life. Immediately, Sarah notices it's easier to breath. It's only a slight change but it is there and Sarah is extremely relieved. The woman tells Jesse that the medication won't go into full affect for a couple hours to which Jesse simply nods, not looking away from Sarah's gaze. The woman leaves them be. Sarah moves to sit up, desperately wanting to leave the infirmary and go home.

"Woah, hey!" Jesse grabs her shoulders, gently laying her back down. "It's okay. Just rest. They aren't gonna let you leave, yet." Sarah lets her head fall back with a huff. "Try and get some sleep. I'll stay right here, okay?" Jesse puts a hand on Sarah's knee, giving her an assuring smile. Sarah hesitates before nodding. She can't deny, she's exhausted. Jesse stays beside her as she drifts off, carefully monitoring her; watching as if he's afraid she'll die if he leaves even for a second. This was too close. He could've lost her. In a way, he feels guilty; as if he intentionally did this to her.

"Jesse?" A little voice from behind him makes him jump, turning to see Judith standing there with worried eyes. She glances at Sarah before looking back up at him. "Is she okay?" Jesse holds his hand out for the little girl, letting her know she can come closer. Judith takes his hand, moving to stand next to him.

"She's gonna be just fine." Jesse says, fighting back tears. He was terrified of losing Sarah. And he almost did.

"What happened?" Judith asks in a hushed voice, not wanting to wake Sarah.

"She had an allergic reaction." Jesse explains. "It just means she can't eat certain foods or she'll get really sick." Judith nods, accepting Jesse's minimal explanation. She'll ask him more about it another time. "Do you know where Joel is?"

Judith nods. "He's at the diner with Tommy." She says.

"Can you tell them where we are, please?" Jesse asks, his eyes locked on Sarah's smaller hand in his.

"Because you don't wanna leave Sarah?" Judith asks, already somewhat aware of the answer. Jesse simply nods. "Have you told her yet?"

Jesse looks at Judith, tears threatening to spill. "Not yet." He says, putting a hand on her head. "But I almost lost my chance and I'm not gonna lose it again." He looks back at Sarah. With that, Judith runs off to get Joel. In only ten minutes, Joel rushes to Sarah's side.

"What the hell happened? Is she okay?" he asks, looking down at his daughter. "What gave her an allergic reaction?"

Jesse puts a finger to his lips, silently pleading for Joel to keep his voice down. "She's gonna be fine." he assures. "She's allergic to coconut."

Joel lets out a sigh of relief, a tiny smile appearing on his face. "You're telling me, out of all the things that could kill my daughter, coconut is one of them?" He chuckles a bit. "God dammit." He leans forward, pressing a kiss to Sarah's temple. "Don't scare me like that, kiddo." he mumbles more to himself.

"This is my fault." Jesse mumbles, not realizing he's speaking out loud. Joel looks at him, brows furrowed.

"This ain't your fault." Joel says, putting a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "You couldn't 've known. Actually, you saved her life by knowing what was happening and bringin' her back."

"I thought she was gonna die." Jesse looks up at Joel, tightening his grip on Sarah's hand. "She almost... what if I didn't get back in time? What if she-"

"But you did bring her back." Joel cuts in. "And she's right here. She's safe." At this point, he's reassuring Jesse and himself. He's reminding himself that his daughter is safe and sound beside him. "Don't blame yourself, kid." Jesse nods, rubbing Sarah's knuckles with the bad of his thumb. "How long till she can go home?"

"Hour and a half." Jesse answers. "I'm not leaving her." Joel nods, knowing what Sarah means to Jesse. He won't try to make him leave. It honestly comforts him, knowing Jesse is watching over her. Joel stands up, placing a hand on Sarah's shoulder for a moment before giving Jesse a thankful nod and leaving the infirmary.

About twenty minutes later, Sarah begins to shift in her sleep. The redness on her neck has faded almost completely and she's breathing a lot easier, something that fills Jesse with relief. She lays on her right side, facing the wall and crossing her arms over her chest in an 'X'; a thing she does when something frightens her in her sleep. Jesse notices her slight discomfort in the way her brows furrow. He scoots closer, gently placing a hand on her arm.

"Shh, Sarah." he says softly. "I'm still here. I won't leave you." Sarah relaxes, a small sigh escaping her lips. She's still breathing. She's here. She's okay. Jesse keeps reminding himself she's okay. Sarah's eyelids flutter open, blue, watery eyes locking with Jesse's almost instantly. "Hey." Jesse smiles at her. "Feel better?" Sarah nods, sitting up. She sits cross legged facing Jesse, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She goes to speak but her voice is scratchy and dull. "Hang on." Jesse says, turning around to reach into his backpack. He pulls out a water bottle, handing it to Sarah. Sarah takes it gratefully, taking a few small sips before handing it back to him. Jesse watches with relief as she takes full, steady breaths.

"How long did I sleep?" Sarah asks. Hearing her voice, Jesse can't hold back anymore. He pulls Sarah into his arms, holding her close. Sarah doesn't hesitate to hug him back.

"You scared the shit out of me." Jesse chuckles, letting a tear slip and fall onto Sarah's shoulder.

"Sorry." Sarah mumbles, feeling bad for making Jesse worry. Jesse pulls away, cupping Sarah's face in his hands.

"No, don't be sorry!" Jesse laughs. "I'm just glad you're okay." Despite desperately wanting to kiss Sarah, Jesse knows he has to take her home. "Hey, you ready to head home?" Sarah nods, taking one of Jesse's hands as he lets go of her face. He grabs their bags off the floor, helping Sarah stand carefully. "How're you feelin'?"

"A lot better." Sarah sighs, walking beside Jesse.

"Sarah-" Just as Jesse is about to confess, Judith comes running down the road toward them.

"Sarah!" The little girl yells, her little cowboy boots thudding against the ground. Sarah bonds down, kneeling with her arms open for Judith. Judith runs into her arms, the two immediately embracing each other. "You're okay!"

"Of course I am." Sarah chuckles. "Can't get rid of me that easily." She holds Judith close, a warm smile on her face. Jesse can't help but grin, seeing two of his favorite people happy. Sarah pulls away. "Hey. I couldn't get you flowers but... Jesse has something for you." Sarah looks up at Jesse as he rifles through his backpack before handing Judith the other half of Sarah's Macaroon. Judith pulls back the cloth, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the pastry.

"Thank you." Judith says to both of them. "Oh shoot! I'm supposed to be helping Edna!" And with that, she runs off again, waving goodbye to Sarah and Jesse.

"That little girl adores you." Jesse says as Sarah stands up. Sarah just rolls her eyes, the two of them walking home in peaceful silence.

"Wanna stay over for dinner?" Sarah asks as they walk up to her front door. "As a thank you for saving me?"

"Okay, first of all, you don't need to thank me. I didn't do anything." Jesse pauses. "Second of all, if Joel's cooking, you know I'm gonna stay."

Sarah chuckles, reaching for the door. "Alright." Just as Sarah is about to continue, she's tackled into a bear hug by Ellie and Dina. "Woah!"

"Thank God you're okay." Ellie sighs, squeezing Sarah tightly.

"I won't be if you strangle me to death." Sarah teases. Ellie and Dina laugh, letting the girl go.

"Joel told us what happened." Dina says. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Sarah assures, smiling at the two. Ellie looks at her skeptically. "Really! I'm totally fine!"

"Okay..." Ellie says, hesitantly. "Oh, Tommy's here. He's in the living room with Joel." Sarah nods, setting her stuff down by the door to take upstairs later. Jesse follows her lead, setting his stuff down before following her into the living room. Tommy and Joel are sitting on the couch arguing over which movie to watch. Joel turns around and stands up as soon as he sees Sarah.

"Hey, kiddo." Joel greets her, pulling her into a hug.

"Hey, dad." Sarah replies. "Jesse can stay for dinner, right?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not." Joel says, giving Sarah one last squeeze before letting her go. "It's in the oven now. Tommy and I are tryin' to pick a movie."

"I already picked one." Tommy calls, starting some random western movie.

"Dammit." Joel sighs. He walks back over to the couch, sitting beside Tommy. Sarah sits on the floor in front of the second couch where Ellie and Dina are sitting. Even though there's plenty of room, Sarah prefers the floor. Jesse sits beside her and she rests her head on his shoulder. They sit through the movie quietly, not wanting to tell Tommy that it's awful. Nobody wants to deal with his shit.

"Sarah?" Jesse says, turning to look at her. Sarah looks up at him with a soft smile. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

Slightly confused, Sarah nods. "Yeah, c'mon." She stands up, taking Jesse's hand and leading him into the kitchen. She stands in front of him, facing him with her arms crossed. Jesse stands there in silence for a minute. "What-"

"I'm in love with you." Jesse blurts out. "And seeing you hurt... it- it terrified me. I thought I was gonna lose you and I realized, if I don't say this to you now, I might not ever-" before Jesse can finish his rant, Sarah presses her lips to his. Without a moment of hesitation, Jesse kisses back, his eyes closing and his hands moving to cup Sarah's face once more. This is it. Everything he's felt for years is now confirmed; solidified. Finally, after waiting for what felt like decades, he has the love of his life in his arms.

"I love you, too." Sarah says after they pull away.

"Oh my God, finally!!" Ellie yells from the kitchen entryway, making the two jump, turning to see her, Dina, and Joel standing there with huge grins on their faces. "Shit. Sorry." Ellie apologizes, chuckling. "Now, come on! You're missing the movie!"