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tiffyfoundsomething · 1 year

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I haven’t been excited by a new toy in a while, but MGA’s new Miniverse got my attention.

These are available everywhere, including Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GGeEIt

However, that’s not always a good thing. It’s not always a positive aspect of a toy that catches my eye.

The big “what???” of these is that they’re marketed to kids age 8 and up, and contain UV resin.

Now..... Resin is

well it’s

...

It’s not for kids.

Allergies to uncured resin are common (both 2-part epoxy and UV resins) and can be severe.

There are lots of warnings in the packaging. I didn’t read them.

You should wear gloves and a respirator when working with any resin, even in a well ventilated area. There aren’t many proper respirators that fit kids....

Froggy on YouTube was too afraid to open her resin and instead used tinted Mod Podge which worked just as well.

I, however, am old and experienced with both types of resin (though no expert), unafraid of the possible reaction I could endure (I’m familiar with resin allergy and how it can be, so a good test subject) so I figured I’d give these a look to see just how bad an idea they might be for kids.

I did NOT wear gloves or a respirator while working on these kits in the name of science.

My first order was 3x of the Diner balls (there are 3x of the Cafe ones on the way).

I wanted a blueberry cheesecake.

None of my three were any type of cheesecake. I got this strawberry and cake parfait, choco-hazelnut spread and strawberry toast, and key lime pie.

First warning on this one: When I opened the little plastic bag that contained the “vanilla cream”, it smelled of UV resin and left my finger sticky. Some resin must have gotten on the outside of the bottle before it was bagged. It did make me itch at the time, which I was like “oh no....” but I’ll get back to that. One of the other balls had the same experience, but not all three.

The positives: Wow this is cute. There are screened veins on the strawberries, the whole berries have painted leaves, and the cake cubes are textured. These are very nice little minis, if a little under-detailed and obviously plastic.

Excellent for doll houses.

Every tiny bottle of resin has a big DO NOT EAT THIS sticker on it with information if you peel it off and unfold it.

The negatives: resin

You get tools, but they’re insufficient. I’ll address that later, also.

The little fruit and cake packages are difficult to open and I tossed my cake cubes across the desk. I am clumsy.

The resin bottle is VERY difficult to open. While this is good to prevent leaks (presumably), it did result in me and various tools being covered in resin trying to get it open.

Most of these items are a good scale for 1/6th dolls (Mini Me is a Live Action Beauty and the Beast Belle head on a curvy Barbie body). That bread is kind of big, those are bulk peanut butter, and that’s a LOT of vanilla cream.

Speaking of the bread...

I am NEVER opening this. Never. It’s too cute as it is. There is a TINY. BREAD. TAB.

Never.

That freed up one kit’s stuff to mix with the others.

These limes are transparent like they’ve been baked.

The whipped cream tube opens and there are all of these dollops inside, but I’m not the only one that thought they looked like little garlic! With a little toasty-colored dry brushing they could also be meringues.

Anyway, this was my “I’ve done this before.” set up. I didn’t tape down my tape (that’s a vinyl flooring sample, it’s an excellent base for working on UV resin), but it was fine for this small project.

I like to work on baby wipes because the damp, rough texture stops things from rolling or sliding around (it’s especially handy if you’re playing with glitter) and I keep another on hand to wipe my tools or my fingers as needed with the container nearby because I do go through a lot of wipes. Negative to baby wipes is that they’re prone to dropping strings everywhere.

Back to the tools.

You don’t want to touch uncured resin. The tools that come with these kits are playscale. Imagine trying to dig the key lime pie goo out of this jar with that tiny knife (though that set comes with a spoon). You’re going to be covered in resin.

There’s only about 1/3 of the jar full.

I used my normal resin doing spoon which is long and still had to stop to wipe my fingers a few times because I am clumsy.

The same with the tweezers.

These longer ones are much safer.

Each of these three kits has a different texture of resin. This is the “Nutella” which is thick and spreadable. I was using it as chocolate sauce since I didn’t want to use the bread. The vanilla cream was runny, and the key lime pie goo was in the middle.

I was doing this at 5 am in the winter so there was no sun. I used my nail lamp, so I can’t say whether these would set properly in the sun.

Having experience with UV resin, I did the key lime pie in two layers, curing the lower layer of just lime goo first so that the pieces wouldn’t get pushed too deep into said goo, then adding a second, thinner layer to set the fruit into.

I got this all over myself even with my longer, more appropriate tools.

Because the deco is plastic you can’t hit the resin with a flame to get rid of bubbles. Sometimes you can get them to pop if you blow on it hard and fast (POOF!) but I didn’t bother.

Obviously I switched mine up and made a strawberry limeade pie instead, using some of the Nutella to make a chocolate dipped strawberry on top.

As for the parfait, I am disappointed that the cake cubes on the bottom are obscured by the resin. It is very runny, ran down and around and covered them right up.

I also did this one in layers. I was wondering if the white resin would be able to cure because sometimes opaque tinted UV resin, especially white, can’t cure and you end up with a thin, cured crust and then that can be easily broken and uncured resin comes out everywhere.

This white resin cured fine. It’s not opaque.

I’m wishing I’d skipped the whipped cream on the parfait because the bright white of the whipped cream makes the transparency of the vanilla cream resin more obvious.

And this is what I’m left with!

If I hadn’t put the big strawberry on the key lime pie, it all would have fit into the pie crust container.

I cured the mostly empty insides of the vanilla cream and key lime goo containers but not the Nutella because I might come back and use that some day.

Whipped cream bits are back into the can.

I didn’t want to have empty fruit packaging so I pulled out some polyclay canes and refilled them.

Final thoughts

If you were to do these kits as intended, you’d be throwing away most of them. There was a TON of plastic bags inside, three layers of plastic outside, the pie crust and fruit containers and resin bottles/jars would be empty, there are many, many papers inside telling how to use the resin and warnings and the checklist and MGA’s usual “Give us your toy ideas for free!” flyer they include in everything these days.

I didn’t put them in the pictures but each kit does come with a small table that can snap into the ball to use as a dust-free display, and a doily or place mat depending on what you’re making.

I DID get resin all over my fingers. The resin DOES smell, but not as strong as my usual UV resin and it doesn’t sting my nose like my usual UV resin. If I were allergic, I’d be in pretty bad shape right now. As it is, I just feel kind of gross even though I’ve gotten as much off of my hands as I can.

Washing your hands won’t get this off, you need rubbing alcohol, which is where baby wipes come in handy.

Are these for kids 8+?

I mean, it depends on the kid. I’ve seen kids that can outcook adults.

Giving this to me at that age or even as a teen would be a mistake. It would end up in my hair, up my nose, on the dog, in my mom’s purse somehow.... I am clumsy.

It depends on the kid, but in general, no. There are very few respirators that properly fit children.

This is for teens and adults who already know how to handle UV resin.

#mga miniverse #miniverse #uv resin #resin #bling bag toy #mga

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vulgarvixxen · 1 year

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Roman being a birthday whore

Tw: drugs, alcohol, suggestive drinks, sex, crying(the happy kind but it’s there), drunk/tipsy sex, orgy

It was his birthday and Roman had been invited to a concert by his twin who knew how much he wanted to see this new band but was too nervous to go alone.

The band had a masquerade theme, each member wearing a mask that hid half their face. The lead singer Emotions had a cat mask with light blue details, Logic wore a raven mask with indigo and dark blue highlights against the black feather and played the keyboard. The bassist, Anxiety, wore a mask that covered the bottom of his face in a creepy spider mouth in a deep purple, the drummer, who went by Deceit, had a snake tattoo on the left side of his face and a yellow and gold snake mask on his right half. They were really cool and their music was a mix of seductive melodies with thought provoking lyrics that got Roman’s creative side flowing.

Remus brought “Birthday Queen” and “Birthday Bitch” sashes for them to wear, they were corny but in the fun way that his brother could be when he wasn’t being a gore gremlin from work. (Being head of the special effects team for horror movies really warps one’s humor.) The club was more underground and you had to “know a guy” to get in, which both twins did but Roman had never taken advantage of the fact. Being a costume designer and inspiring actor didn’t leave him a lot of time to make friends let alone friends you’d take to a club that had a grungy “IDGAF” vibe and catered to mainly behind the scenes clientele.

The outside was a boring looking concrete structure and inside it stayed mostly concrete, the walls were graffitied in mixed of color that popped out in 3-D designs where the black lights hit them. And the floors were a checkerboard of colored concrete covered in epoxy, glitter and confetti that seemed to be mixed in or just stuck between layers. It was grungy and beautiful, Roman was blown away and so grateful that his brother brought him here at last!

When a bartender wearing shades saw Remus they waved the twins over, “Hey Babe, I got you those passes you wanted. Two VIPs and two drink bracelets, your sweet birthday asses get to meet the band and all your drinks are free.” They explained, clipping on a neon pink bracelet, reminiscent of old hospital bracelets, onto each of their wrists. Remus gave them one of his happy feral grins, “You’re the best, Remy! I’d blow you right now if you weren’t on the clock.” To that “Remy” got a devilish grin of their own, “Speaking of blow jobs, let’s start you cuties off with a bj shot.”

The drink was made with some kind of coffee liqueur that smelled way too good to be cheap, Irish cream, and a healthy squirt of whipped cream. One of the shots was topped with edible gold and the other with edible rainbow glitter, Remus pulled the shots closer to the edge of the bar, taking the gold one for himself and putting the rainbow one in front of Roman. “There’s rules for this drink Ro-bro, no hands allowed, you have to knock it back with your mouth alone.” And to show what he means, Remus leans forward and wraps his lips around the glass rising up to throw the shot back. The chaos twin winks at Remy as he sets the shot glass back down without touching it, Remy looked like he was not at all impressed but that could have been his neutral face. Taking a stance so he won’t fall over, Roman put his hands behind his back and tried to copy what his brother did. It wasn’t perfect but he was able to get his mouth around his shot eventually, the taste of sweet coffee pours over his tongue and he finds it covers any alcohol flavor. He can’t quite put it down like Remus so once the glass is empty he uses his hand to put it on the bar, “That was really good, thanks Remy.” Remy smiled at him, “No problem, Babe, go have a fun birthday.”

The first hour was full of local bands playing a song or two, never staying for long before the next one came one, most of them weren’t Roman’s taste but a few didn’t sound half bad. They ended up buying a shirt from a three person band that was called Rainbow Panic and reminded him of LaPeer, the girls all wore different pride buttons and looked pretty young to be already so talented. They asked the girls to autograph the shirts. Between bands they got more drinks and mingled with some of the regulars that Remus seemed to know, it was really feeling like a party by the time the main act, the reason they were there, The Guise!

Conversation quieted to barely a whisper as the band started playing their song ‘Façade’, a song about feeling like an imposter in your own life. It was one of Roman’s favorites and the reason he had sought out more of their music, he was mouthing along with it as he let it flow through him. He couldn’t be sure but it looked like Anxiety noticed because he was giving their table more glances than the rest…could just be the silly birthday get up though. The second on the playlist was another great song, probably their most popular, ‘Subterfuge’. This one was about how we’re lied to from childhood and how telling the truth is more deceptive in this day and age. The story is cool but the lyrics are so clever by using words with double meanings. The next few in the list are ‘Parody’, ‘Veneer, and ‘Strike A Pose’, each one was pretty good and Roman knew all the words still but he wasn’t in love with them like the first two. The last before the break was Roman’s current favorite, ‘Reproduce’, it was about how being creative could feel like making love or being screwed. It was both relatable and really sexy, Emotions and Deceit shared the microphone for this one and it did things to his insides.

The break saw Remus getting them some pretzels while Roman kept watch of their drinks, the line at the bar was long so he wasn’t expecting his brother for a while. So when someone sat next to him Roman was rightfully surprised, the guy was wearing a purple hoodie that hid most of his face in shadow that set him on edge. “Uh sorry, just wanted to say happy birthday. Hope it’s a good one.” And just as quickly as he arrived the hooded mystery man was gone back into the crowd.

Remus thankful got back in time for the last small band to still be playing and Ro could tell him everything about the mystery guy, “Ooh, sounds like you could end up having a happy ending to your happy birthday. Lucky.” Re teased, knowing that Roman wasn’t one to typically have one night stands. They ate their snack and clapped with the rest of the room when The Guise came back for their final half. ‘Four-Flush’ about a lover cheating, ‘Assume’ about assuming a persona and the assumptions made because of that persona, ‘Jubilee’ celebrating a success by aiming higher, ‘Holy Revelry’ a newer song about embracing your flaws because it makes you human, and lastly the song that cemented their popularity, ‘Masquerade’, all about coming out of the closet and facing the “red death” of being disowned. The queer community in Hollywood had fallen in love with the pure emotion that Emotion put into it, it had made Roman cry the first few times he heard it.

The show wraps up with Emotions and Deceit thanking the audience and a club worker saying that the live music for the night was over and that a DJ would be playing the rest of the night. This was when Remus nudged him and waved their VIP passes at him, “Let’s go meet the band Ro-bro!” Oh right, they had those, he had forgotten. O-M-G he was going to meet the Guise, this was the best birthday ever! Going to the door that the band went through was nerve wracking, the bouncers were super nice though and knew Re so that was comforting. In the back there was an area or closed doors probably for dressing rooms and a curtain that the bouncers had pointed them to. Behind it was the band sitting on various furniture, chilling and out of some of the more restrictive parts of their costumes. The smell of weed tickled Roman’s nose and he noticed Deceit and Logic passing a thin joint between them, Emotions was drinking a bright pink concoction that almost hurt to look at, and Anxiety was sitting on the arm of a chair wearing a familiar hoodie and fiddling with his mask.

“Hiya, you guys rock. I can see why my bro here is a huge fan.” Remus says as a way of announcing their arrival. Anxiety jolts from his task and Roman can see his eyes widen, that was the mysterious stranger! Emotions waves at them, “Hi, nice to have you here and also happy birthday!” His talking voice is higher but just as soothing to hear, it distracts Roman from his mini heart-attack realization. Remus shoves Roman onto an unoccupied couch and sits next to him, “Thanks, sorry if Roman stays quiet for a hot second, normally he’s a real talker but he’s all star struck. Give him a minute and he’ll probably have a good story about some celebrity he fitted for some movie or whatever.” Roman blushes at the mention of his work, he always forgot that he technically was around stars all the time.

Logic asks if Remus has any stories of his own, the gremlin talks about meeting the lead lady of horror herself Sigourney Weaver when he worked on the newest Halloween movie. That got Roman to speak up a little and add the part Remus had purposely left out, it was purposely because Remus would never forget a part of that story. The conversation started picking up from there and soon Roman didn’t notice Remus leaving with Remy after a drink drop-off. He did however notice when the guys started to take off their masks.

Logic and Emotions had the easiest to get off and they both switched out contacts for very similar glasses, Logic with black and Emotions with a sky blue. Anxiety had followed with his spider mask and put it in a bag by his chair, he put in a set of spider bites that shone a rainbow of colors. Deceit was the last to uncover his full face but he didn’t add anything, actually he removed something, his tattoo! It had apparently been a temporary one he used to obscure his identity. But now Roman had a new problem, they each were very pretty and giving him a lot of attention.

“You know,” Deceit purrs, “We were going to go out and unwind, you should come with us.” Emotions nods enthusiastically, causing Deceit to chuckle. Logic chimes in next, “I’m sure if you let your brother know that it won’t be a problem, he seems like the protective sort.” Roman nods, Remus had always been his physical protector while Roman stood up for Remus during conflicts of feelings. It was just how they balanced each other out. “Be sure to share your location too, safety and all that.” Anxiety adds. Could he? Should he? This was every real life horror story beginning but it’s not like he was stupid enough to not already know to share his location, not that he needed to with the twins having “track my phone” for each other. “I mean, I’d like that. Re would probably say I need to be more adventurous anyway…” he was already pulling out his phone and sending the texts.

After some late night greasy hole in the wall food the band takes him along to a coffee shop that was pretty close to his own apartment, he didn’t say anything but they all knew the menu so they must come often. It’s there he sees the signs that the guys are partners in more than just the band. Emotions is a touchy person so seeing him hang onto the others doesn’t register at first but then he kisses Deceit and that tracked, the duets had so much heat in them not to be from actual feelings. But then he kisses Logic and calls him Logie, it’s too sweet to be a nickname based on his persona so it must be from Logic’s real name. Next was Anxiety snuggling his face into Deceit’s neck, the act screamed “lovers”. So when Roman caught smaller hints it became obvious that the band was a polycule.

Emotions giggly held his hand as the group went to the apartment complex just around the block from his own, Anxiety was close enough to his other side that they bumped shoulders in a way that felt intentional. Logic led the way with Deceit bringing up the rear, Roman felt safe instead of crowded like he would have normally. Inside their place was extremely homey, lived in and filled with love, it reminds Roman of sharing a dorm with his brother and Emile in college. “I’m grabbing beers, requests?” Anxiety asks, heading to what was likely the kitchen. Logic asked for his “usual” and Emotions called for a “dark”, what’s brought in is some local brew, two light beers and two lagers. “I didn’t know what you liked so I grabbed extras of their stuff, but um, I could get you water if you want.” Anxiety offers. It was really nice of him but Roman was in the mood for a normal beer after all those mixed drinks. “Beer sounds good to me, thanks.”

After a few beers they accidentally let slip their names, Patton, Logan, Virgil, and Janus. Roman now had a lap full of Patton, the guy was playing with Roman’s sash and humming. The others were all talking quietly as not to disturb Pat’s bubble of sound, it was a surprise when suddenly there was a pair of lips kissing his neck. He must of made a noise because the other three had stopped talking, he should be stopping Pat, those were Patton’s partners and the poor guy probably was drunk enough to think he was one of them! He was going to say something when Janus chuckled, “Of course our dear Emotions would be the first to make a move.” With the silence broken Virgil adds in quickly, “You can say no, he won’t be upset, we won’t be upset. This is all so sudden and all.” Logan seems to agree with how he nods and puts a hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“W-what if I don’t want to say no?” Roman stutters, face burning. “Please.” Patton has quit giving him hickeys to give him the sexiest pair of puppy eyes. That was just unfair. Heart hammering Roman kisses those pouting lips, the next bit is a blur but eventually the five of them are in a bedroom with a California King with far less clothes on then they had on in the living room. Patton was kissing his neck again and Virgil had claimed his lips, he could see Logan or Janus but he could feel their hands all over him. Someone was taking off his pants but he couldn’t care less who, Virgil had just made the hottest whine into his mouth and he was kinda more focused on that. Whoever was taking pants off had done the same for Patton and making rounds, Virgil was rutting his hard-on onto Roman’s own. Patton switching places with Logan and slicked fingers entered him, “Good boy, so relaxed and willing to be filled” Janus hummed the praise from close by, Roman whimpered into Virgil’s kiss.

Logan had three fingers fully inside Roman when he pulled out, they were almost immediately replaced by Virgil’s dick. Roman figured it was him from the piercing and the way Virgil sighed at the same time he was filled. The pace started slow and built up, moans were mixed with praise and kisses from the others to both of them. All too soon Virgil had finished, pulling out quickly and falling into Janus’s waiting arms. “Aww, was our spiderling that pent up that he couldn’t even make it to our guest’s first time?” It was teasing but the tone made it sound like this was normal, Virgil was just like that.

Now Patton was back in front of him and had a happy grin on his cherub face, “Ro-Ro! It’s my turn, do you want my dick or my mouth?” Roman had always been more a bottom and when it came to oral he much preferred giving than receiving, “Your dick, please.” He answered, though quietly like he wasn’t already in their bed. “Aww, no need to be coy! You’re being so good using your words, you’re a very good boy.” God, Roman didn’t know why that pet name was affecting him more than ever before, was it because of who was saying it or how they said it like it was true? He couldn’t think about it long as Patton pushed in and Roman had to keep himself from screaming in pleasure. Emotions not only had a big heart but also a huge cock, thickening as it went and it just kept going! Logan rubbed one of his hips, helping him relax again and take more.

The pace Patton set was slow, he didn’t build up like Virgil had but kept perfect rhythm as he pushed deeper each time in. As this was going on Logan had moved on to just as slowly jacking Roman off, slick fingers playing with him like they had all the time in the world. When Virgil came back into the mix it was to litter his neck in soft kisses, from what Roman could see Janus was buried in Virgil and watching as the others played their parts. Something about that seemed so romantic and loving, so private that the blush on his cheeks traveled down to his chest. Looking at Logan or Patton didn’t help, they were looking at him like something precious. He spilled over Logan’s hand with a sob, Janus and Logan coo over him thinking it was just the orgasm but he couldn’t remember the last time he felt so loved. Patton came a few thrusts later, praise and “love you”s spilling out of him like a salve on a burn.

Janus and Logan kept up the coos as Patton and Virgil cuddled, dozing in and out as they watched for now. He was lubed up again by Logan as Janus took to kissing him, deeply and hotly. He didn’t notice when they started frotting but he was very aware when Logan entered him, the pace set was in sync with him and Janus. “You have been very good, Roman. Never impatient or demanding, you were even going to remind Patton that he wasn’t kissing one of us. So honest and humble, such a good boy.” Logan whispers into his ear, it has him whimpering into the kiss again and praying he isn’t crying. Janus breaks the kiss to add his own whispers, “Virgie showed you his face but you didn’t call him out backstage, you didn’t accuse me of being fake because of the tattoo either. How are you just so lovely, hmm? You could brag about working on movie sets but you got awe-struck by us, how did we go so lucky?” Roman is definitely close to tears now, hiding his face into Janus’s shoulder to hide his wet eyes and just bask in the moment.

Logan picks up his thrusts and ends up cumming next, not that Roman and Janus are far behind. Roman is pampered with kisses and more praises as the revived Patton gets washcloths to clean up with and Virgil has water bottles at the ready. Like outside Roman is in the middle of the group as they all settle down into a calm, he’s pretty sure Patton will be asleep soon and the rest of them are not going to last long either. He wonders as he starts to drift off if this will just be for tonight and he’ll have to treasure this night or if maybe, just maybe he has a chance to be part of this relationship.

In the morning he has several texts from Remus saying he was also going out, that he was staying with Remy, don’t wait up ;). Logan is awake and in the living room as Roman heads for the door, “Roman, a moment please.” He’s not sure what to expect from this, maybe a warning to keep quiet about their identities or not to contact them again, what he doesn’t think will happen is Logan adding his number to Roman’s phone or a promise of sending the rest of their numbers later in the day. “We normally date a new person first before taking them to bed but last night was an exception. I hope you will accept the offer.” The kiss goodbye was gentle and warm and Roman can’t help but smile all the way home.

#not safe for sanders #nsfs DLAMP #nsfs logan #nsfs virgil #nsfs roman #nsfs patton #nsfs janus #m/m/m/m/m #drugs tw #alcohol tw #minors dni #anon ask

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elephantbitterhead · 1 year

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A very long & tedious play in five acts: gross, uneven slab concealed under horrible carpet is then levelled, epoxy sealed, and covered with a vastly preferable wood floor. Final coat of hard wax oil will be done tomorrow & then we can stop living with our sofa on end in the main hallway. The floor is now flat & my lip balm will never roll off the end of the coffee table again.

Next up: built-in bookcases to cover that mess in the back corner! Then we can trim out the hearth & get some baseboards in there. This winter I will be sitting smugly in my lovely new room, enjoying my little fire & congratulating myself about how much nicer things are now.

#Over Hartside #those light dots in the last picture are sun coming through the shutters #no need to worry

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smaptain-smerica · 2 years

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Female Reader x Rooster

Time: Post-Top gun: Maverick

Y/n Blackwood - L/n, daughter of Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. Y/n took a strong interest in planes from a young age. Knowing her father was an esteemed pilot drew her even further into the navy. Quickly, she became one of the best solo pilots and graduating at the top of her class at Top Gun.

Her next mission? Return to Top Gun, Face certain death, romantic interests, and finally, her thought-to-be-dead, father.

This book contains strong language and sexual content that may be sensitive readers under the age of 18

This story was originally posted on Wattpad, follow me on there for faster updates. I have published a non-binary version of this story published there for those who do not identify as female or use she/her pronouns. It will follow the exact same story line. Link to Wattpad Account Link to the Non-Binary version

Master list

And War

Third Person Omniscient POV.

An alarm blared overhead along with a dramatic flashing light. Wolf jumps from her sleep, frantically looking around her room. The deep sleep she was risen from leaving her groggy.

"Holy shit." She announced at the realization that this was what Cyclone was talking about. This was the mission launch countdown. Wolf threw the covers off of her and reached for her uniform that was laying on the office chair at the desk and quickly slipped it on.

While tying her boots, she checked the time. 3:08 am. 'Well, guess I'll sleep when I'm dead.' She thought.

Before walking out the door, wolf grabbed a piece of gum from inside the desk. It wasn't brushing teeth but it would eliminate the morning breath. Wolf opened her door and looked up and down the halls. She watched as fanboy and Payback stumbled around the corner. Fanboy was still trying to put on his shoes as payback scolded him to hurry up.

She took that as her cue to follow. They jogged through the lengths of the halls, an increasing sound of boots thumping on the epoxy covered concrete floors. The two Admirals and Maverick were standing at the loading point, instructing their pilots onto their planes.

Wolf was loaded up into her plane. She adjusted herself into her seat, getting comfortable with the controls. Off to the right was an empty plane with the name "Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw" adorned under the window. She started to get worried, the 5 minute window was closing fast.

Wolf stood up from her plane seat and peered through the darkness. There wasn't any sign of him. Wolf checked her watch; 3:11 am. "Damnit." She cursed, remembering rooster was a heavy sleeper. Wolf crawled out of her plane and hit the ground with a thud. She took off sprinting down the tarmac with people yelling after her.

"Y/n! Get back here!" Maverick yelled.

"I need to get Bradley!" She shouted back at him. The cold air being sucked into her lungs stung as she made it back into the Hangar. She ran back down the halls, her feet echoing in thumps down the corridors. Soon those two echoing feet turned into four echoing feet.

Wolf stopped in her tracks to make sure what she was hearing was correct. Rooster rounded the corner and made eye contact with her as he kept running.

"Damnit Bradley." Wolf huffed out.

"I'm sorry, I slept through it a little." Rooster never stopped jogging right up until the moment he wrapped wolf in the tightest hug imaginable. He ducked his head into the nape of her neck and let out a sigh.

Wolf could feel could feel the tension in his body. The nervousness was radiating off of him. She could feel it in the racing of his heart and the shake in his knees. Wolf wrapped her arms around him in an attempt to release his tension.

"We'll be okay." She reassured him. Rooster let out a shaken breath of relief to try and calm himself. "You're with me. Which means we'll be okay."

Rooster pulled back from their intimate moment, taking a deep breath. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but we need to go."

"Alright." Rooster sighed. The two of them turned on heel and sprinted back towards the tarmac. Once they rounded to where the planes were there was shouting. Cyclone was scolding them, saying there would be repercussions for being late. Both the pilots ignored their admirals calls and ran for their planes.

"I'll give you a leg!" Rooster told wolf as they approached. Since wolf was previously in her plane, the ladder had already been stowed away. Wolf kicked one leg up and rooster grabbed her ankle and shin. They counted to three and rooster pushed wolf up into the cockpit before running over to his own plane and loading up.

'Nice of you two to join us.' Hangman's voice sneered in the radio.

'Dagger team one, ready for launch?' Ground control asked through the radio. The two pilot teams responded with their control updates and were cleared for launch. Within a few seconds, they were off.

Wolf could hear her heart beating in her head. She could feel the sweatiness of her palms through the thick gloves.

'Dagger team one has successfully landed on the aircraft carrier.' Coyote's voice announced to ground control.

'Ground control to Dagger team one, on your go.'

'Are you two ready?' Coyote asked his team.

'Ready.' Fanboy and payback replied.

'Dagger team one, taking off.' Coyote announced to ground control. Wolf wished she could see what was happening. She wanted desperately to know what her teammates were facing.

Each of them had been given a track to follow that lead directly to the SAM's locations. The goal was for the three teams of two to take out the SAM's so that the naval ships could launch a rain of missiles to destroy the underground base without any interruptions. This brief period that the nearby base would be empty was nothing short of a miracle. Intel relayed that they were switching out their planes on base which is why the base would be vacant for a small window of time. The dagger teams would have to be as swift and efficient as possible.

'Dagger team two cleared for takeoff.' Ground control instructed the next two pilots to take off. The second row of planes took off. Each rumble of an engine starting to life caused wolfs heart to beat faster. The nerves were finally settling in. She looked through the glass and over at roosters plane. He looked back over at her and nodded his head. He punched the glass twice on his plane and gave a thumbs up. This was a symbol to this team that everything was going to be alright.

'Dagger team two has landed on the carrier.' Hangman announced.

Wolf knew that their time to launch was soon. She strapped her oxygen mask to her face and grabbed the joystick.

"Dagger team three, clear for takeoff." Rooster and Wolfs engines roared to life as the took off down the runway. Their planes lifted gracefully off the ground as they began their travel towards the aircraft carrier.

"Ground control to Dagger team three, over."

"Ground control this is Dagger 6, over." Rooster replied.

"Dagger 6, dagger team two had some setbacks. Allotted time for you is 15 minutes. Over."

"Ground control this is Dagger 5, over." Wolf chimed in.

"Dagger 5, go. Over."

"Status on the other pilots please? Over."

'Dagger team one has successfully landed back home. Dagger team two is in route now. Over."

Wolf looked over at roosters plane. She pounded on the glass and gave him a thumbs up. He reciprocated the action back at her. The two were approaching the location of their first SAM. Wolf announced their approaching position to ground control and to her partner.

The SAM was poking out of the water, signifying that their time was coming to a close. Rooster and wolf approached the SAM and then split off in separate directions. The alarmed blared in each of their cabins at the indication of incoming approaching missiles. Wolf waited until the precise moment and then she let out the flares. One missile hit them and blew up. One down, one to go.

Wolf ripped her plane hard through the air trying to give herself the best possible angle to eliminate these missiles. She did exactly that, a few flares later and the missile was detonated.

"Rooster you good?" Wolf asked through her headset. Roosters grunts of struggle could be heard through the headset.

"We're good!" He responded, letting out a sharp breath into the radio. the team moved onto the next series of SAMS in the line. This one was like the last, easy. The third SAM is when it gets difficult. The team would have to shoot the missiles off the other ones trail with missiles of their own.

The team got down to the last missile that was on wolf's tail. She pushed the button to release the flares but only three came out of the plane. "Rooster I'm out of flares!" Wolf announced, panic in her voice at the warning alarms blaring in the cabin.

"I've got you, bank right!" Rooster instructed. Wolf followed her teammates instructions and pulled her plane hard to the right. Rooster lined up the missile lock and released his guns. Thankfully, they made contact. The missile blew up just behind wolfs cabin. The team leveled out next to each other.

"This is it. Last one." Wolf took a breath of relief. She looked down at her clock. They had about 3 minutes.

"Times running out Rooster."

"Let's turn and burn baby."

The team punched their jets forward. Wolf took the liberty of flying past the SAMs to activate them. The team had decided that her movements were more precise, she could keep the missiles on her tail more affectively without letting them hit her. Rooster was right there, protecting her from the incoming threat.

"Bank left!" Rooster instructed.

"Banking left!" Wolf replied.

Boom. One down, one to go.

"Up, climb up!" Rooster shouted.

"Climbing up!" Wolf replied through a strained grunt as she heaved the plane upwards. Rooster found missile lock, exploding the enemy bomb. It was now time for them to switch. If rooster flew directly through the line of sight for the missiles they would stop chasing wolf and start chasing him.

"Increasing speed." Wolf called out, pushing her throttle forward to take off at an incredible rate. Rooster dove down and flew between her and the missiles so they started to chase him. The plan was working perfectly.

Wolf flipped her aircraft around to now peruse Rooster.

"Bank right!" Wolf instructed.

"Banking right!"

Wolf took the small button and twisted it around, once the cabin alerted her to the lock and she fired. The missile was done for. One final missile and they would be heading home.

"Rooster. I'm going to get behind the missile. When I say now, brake and pass over me."

"What? Are you crazy? I've never done that before!"

"Just do it! I can't find a clear enough shot!"

Rooster did as he was told, he sped up along the straight away, his heart pounding the closer the missile got.

"Now!" Wolf yelled.

Rooster, despite all his instincts, punched the plane backwards. The underside of roosters plane now soared above wolfs. She fired her last missile and made contact. The explosion happened directly in front of her. Dramatically she flew through the smoke, relief flooding over her.

"Ground control, this is Dagger 5. The last SAM is down." Wolf announced happily into her radio. Rooster flew up beside her and looked over.

"See? I told you we'd be okay." Wolf teased him.

"Let's head home." Rooster replied as they both turned to make their way back to the aircraft carrier.

Wolf felt something was off. Something off in the distant sight line was moving, moving at an incredible speed. The object barreling towards them was moving so fast the water underneath it was splitting. Wolf widened her eyes in shock at the sight before her.

"Boogie boogie! 12:00!"

Rooster and wolf split their places at exactly the right time. The enemy plane cut the air in between them so fast it shook their cabins. Wolf leveled out her plane only to turn around and see the enemy aircraft turn on a dime and peruse after rooster who had headed towards the sky.

"Rooster on your 6!" Wolf warned.

"Where did this guy come from?" Rooster asked, jerking his plane back and forth to try and escape. This plane was new. It was faster, more agile, and harder to hit than any other plane wolf had ever encountered.

'Ground control to Dagger team three, Backup has launched."

"He's going to get lock on me! Wolf get him off!" The panic in roosters voice sent a chill down wolfs spine as she perused the enemy aircraft. She switched to guns, waiting until she was in range before hitting the fire button. Nothing happened. A few alarms blared in the cabin of wolf plane the signified a gun malfunction.

"Shit!" Wolf cursed. She thought about what to do. There wasn't time to wait for Maverick, the enemy would lock on Rooster in mere seconds.

"Rooster, I'm swinging around to your 12. When I say now, you need to do the break and fly over maneuver.

"A few minutes ago was the first time I had done it!"

"Well do it again!" Wolf snapped angrily. Her plan was stupid, reckless even. It was the only chance she had at saving Roosters life.

She halted pursuit and leveled out her plane. She saw rooster coming straight towards her with the enemy plane hot on his tail. She waited half a second before giving the command.

"Now!" Wolf yelled.

Rooster heard the tone of missile lock ring out in his cabin a millisecond before he applied the breaks and pulled up. Roosters plane sailed right over the top of the enemy.

"Eject eject eject!" Wolf yelled. She let go of all controls and pulled the release handle which opened the glass dome and shot her out of the plane. If she had waited a second longer, she would have been inside her plane when it crashed into the enemy aircraft, completely destroying it.

"Y/n!" Bradley yelled in fear for her as he heard her ejection call.

The blast from the explosion had hit wolf in the back, pushing her higher up into the air. Wolf felt the back of her flight suit heat up, over her shoulder she saw the flames. Her eyes widened in panic. She was too high in the air, landing in the water would most likely kill her. The flight suit was only fire resistant for so long. She could feel the heat inching closer to her skin on her back as she looked around in panic.

Down. Down was the only option. Wolf whipped out a Swiss Army knife that was in the breast pocket of her uniform and started to slice at one of the cables of the parachute. Nothing happened, the knife wouldn't cut the cord. Searing pain reached her back and wolf cried out as it overcame her. It was now or never.

Wolf pulled the emergency release from her parachute and fell down into the water. She crossed her ankles and crossed her arms over her chest as she hit the water with great force. The water extinguished the flame that tore at her back, but a new pain was added with the salt water exposure.

Wolf resurfaced and gasped for air. She cried out for help as the pain on her back started to become unbearable.

"Wolf is in the water! Wolf is in the water!" Rooster yelled desperately into the radio he felt helpless, there was quite literally nothing he could do to reach her.

"Cancel the airstrike!" The new voice added to the radio mix was Maverick. He whizzed by roosters plane and towards the underwater bunker. Maverick dropped one missile down into the water, causing a large explosion at its center and a ripple along the surface. He swung around and did the same thing again. The missile strike was too dangerous for them to try and do with Wolf in the water. This way, the damage could be more controlled.

"Bradley! Get back to the carrier!" Maverick barked the order at the younger pilot.

"Y/n is still out there-"

"And there's already a rescue boat going after her. We don't have a lot of time, that first plane was probably a scout. We have to get back."

Reluctantly, Rooster made his way back to the aircraft carrier. The anxiety he felt being chased by a plane once again, on top of seeing the woman he cared deeply for eject from her aircraft and catch fire, his emotions were snowballing.

Maverick and Rooster landed on the runway of the aircraft carrier. The first thing rooster did was sprint up to Maverick, worry stricken across his face.

"She has to be okay. Is she okay?" He pleaded.

"We won't know until someone gets out there." Maverick tried to reassure him.

"How long will that take?" Rooster asked.

Maverick looked off in the distance and sighed. "I don't know. We just have to hope that we get to her first."

Next Chapter

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9035330175 · 2 months

Text

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distinctlywhumpthing · 2 years

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Unintentional 21

Previous — Masterlist — Next

As always, beta-read by @alittlewhump <3

CW: BBU, institutionalized slavery, dehumanization. Explicit language. Hospital setting, blood mention. Panic attack, compulsive behaviors, anxiety, self-doubt, clueless/reluctant caretaker.

There was a crooked seam in the speckled-grey linoleum flooring, running the entire length of the room. Like some moron had done it freehand with a box cutter, not even getting close enough to give it a chance, just bent over from standing like a child outlining a fucking hopscotch board. Then they’d just filled the gap with epoxy. The subfloor was visible through it, for fuck’s sake. This whole damn room was a quick-and-dirty shamble.

What a joke that this place housed cutting-edge-life-saving innovation or whatever.

Walls painted the most inexpensive matte finish off-white on the market. Not a snowball’s chance in hell of wiping them clean without taking the paint off. Leo didn’t see any places it had been worn away to reveal drywall, which probably meant they weren’t getting fucking cleaned. The lengths of glossy yellow-orange pine baseboards and chair rails —that Leo just knew would be sticky— were joined by pieces cut specifically to fill the gaps. But, by some goddamn miracle of idiocy, they had been affixed with the wood grain running fucking perpendicular to the rest.

His sister didn’t seem to notice. Delia spent more hours here than she did at her own apartment. It could have been that she’d seen it so often, she didn’t really see it anymore. But Leo doubted she’d ever really looked. Her eyes never left Aiden for more than a blink. It was a good thing she knew this place like home, leading them through back stairwells and service elevators where they didn't see another soul. Leo didn’t think he could retrace their steps if he’d tried, what with all the misdirection.

First things first, they’d stopped at some old emergency bay that couldn’t accommodate the newest rigs, to put on smocks to cover all the blood. Then up 10 floors in a service elevator, carrying Aiden back down six flights of stairs, pushing him in a wheelchair for what had to be the whole length of the hospital; back up more stairs, three more elevators, another mile and a half, this time on a gurney. Leo felt like any second someone would yell at them to stop but Delia seemed perfectly calm, despite the high stakes.

Somehow, they’d finally wound up in the PICU. Aiden in a hospital gown, apparently checked-in two days ago under observation for a complication of some disease Leo had forgotten immediately and couldn’t pronounce anyway, with immunocompromised alerts in his file and taped to the door. And if he hadn’t been sweating enough, Delia had to leave to get the rest of the supplies she’d needed for suturing Aiden's arms and putting in a central line. That fifteen minutes had felt longer than the nearly two hours it had taken for Aiden to finally wake up.

Thank Christ he had calmed down once Leo had taken him out of the bed. That could have easily fucked the whole endeavor sideways.

On par with everything else Leo had been doing so far.

Maybe it would have been better to keep him sedated until Leo could bring him home.

Maybe he never should have insisted on coming here, with all that could happen. Every damn time someone walked down the hall, his heart stopped.

Maybe he should have—

“Leo.”

“Huh?”

Delia was staring at him, eyebrows raised. “I was saying, ‘I think you should take a break’.”

“Oh.” He looked down at Aiden sleeping in his arms. Head resting on Leo’s chest, the little crease between his eyebrows visible. Not quite peaceful but not actively crying or panicking.

God, the bar was so fucking low.

He swallowed. “Nah, I’m fine.”

Delia sighed. She was perched cross-legged on a wheeled stool so she had to use the foot of the bed to pull herself around to his side of the room. He remembered fighting over a stool just like that whenever one of them had an appointment at the pediatrician’s office. She stopped in front of him and propped her chin in her hands.

Leo rolled his eyes but she didn't waver. Eventually, his blasé farce of indifference evaporated, leaving him not quite able to swallow the lump in his throat. “Yeah, okay.”

She’d always won that goddamn stool, too.

Aiden didn’t stir at all being moved back to the bed. Leo tucked the blankets around him a little tighter then laid the backs of his fingers on his forehead lightly, worrying maybe he’d be too warm. He couldn’t tell. He dropped his hands to grip the side rail of the bed tightly, feeling so pathetically inadequate that it made his head spin.

“Leo, he’s going to be fine.” Delia put her hand on his back. “It’s you I’m worried about. Would you please—”

“What the fuck am I going to do?” He dropped back into the chair gracelessly, leaning forward to bury his face in his hands.

“I don’t know but it seems like you’re in pretty deep already.”

His chest felt tight. “I can’t believe—I didn’t—” He pressed his fingers into his forehead. The air was starting to feel too thin but somehow it had enough weight to press against the inside of his chest. “I didn’t realize—I didn’t—I didn’t know—” He tried to focus on pulling breaths into his lungs but it felt like he was trying to do it through the eye of a needle.

Delia’s hands found his shoulders, rubbing up and down. “Okay, okay. I’ve got you.” She added a bit more pressure, like always. God, he couldn’t remember the last time she’d had to calm him down like this. What a moment to have a goddamn panic attack.

He forced himself to focus on the feeling of her hands and the rhythm of Aiden’s heart monitor beeping across the room.

Up, down. Inhale, exhale. Beat, pause.

Just focus on the pattern.

Up, down. Inhale, exhale. Beat, pause.

Don’t stop.

Again.

Until it was just one cadence that he could carry.

Mercifully, he was so wrung out already that his anxiety fizzled quickly, leaving him covered in a sticky, cold sweat with an ache between his eyebrows.

He rubbed his face with his palms.

“Alright?”

Leo nodded into his hands and then straightened, blinking into the light. He couldn’t manage more than a whisper. “Delia…he’s going to need…”

“I know.” She tilted her head to the side and gave him a small smile, revealing the cheek dimple she’d never grown out of. “But Leo, what did you really think when you found him? Even if he wasn’t a Companion. Did you think getting involved would be a one-time thing?”

He wasn’t sure if he preferred the gentled reality check, like she was talking to one of her patients, over having his ass handed to him with a side of sarcasm.

“I don’t really know what I was thinking—” He flapped his hand at her poorly hidden smirk. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I wasn’t. But, I mean…look at him…”

Delia obliged, her smile widening as she looked over her shoulder. She might be unflappable stoicism and nerves of surgical steel on the outside, but inside she was as much of a softie as he was. Her face was serious when she turned back. “Bud, you should have called me sooner.”

She didn’t have to say that she might have prevented this from happening.

It was already there.

With its own fucking seat at Aiden’s bedside. Taking up air in the room. Making it feel small and stuffy and heavy with the weight of this outcome.

Leo should have been able to head this off. He should have seen the truth right in front of his eyes or gotten over himself to ask for the help they both desperately needed. He took as deep of a breath as he could manage. “I know. I’m sorry, I just—”

“It’s okay. I know.” She squeezed his shoulder. “I’m happy to be helping now.”

So Leo told her everything. From that very first day.

He detailed Aiden’s symptoms and mannerisms. What made him flinch, what made him cry. Everything Leo had tried to help him settle in. About the few tenuously okay moments and what little information he had tried to get out of the kid.

Delia was quiet once he’d gone through everything but he could see her thinking.

God, he really should have told her sooner.

He was already certain that Aiden would—

“Wait, wait.” He held up his hands. “Do you think…is his name not really Aiden?”

“That could have been a name from a previous owner?” It was just as much a question. “What did he tell you? How did he phrase it?”

“It was weird, he just kept reciting numbers but there was something—he was crying a lot.”

Delia straightened, nodding. “They are all given a product number, they’re taught to recite it on command.”

“Oh, God.” Leo wiped his brow with the back of his hand, stomach dropping.

“What exactly did he say to you?”

“Well…it sounded like Aiden…it was a bit, you know—he has trouble with speaking. It was almost accented—”

“8-10?”

“Fuuuuck.” He dragged his hands over his face. “Wait. And in the parking lot?”

Delia’s jaw tightened a fraction. “It’s illegal to leave Companions unattended in public, even your car, without a collar on but even then—Leo, there’s a whole black market. Companions are stolen all the time and sold or worse.”

“Fucking Christ.” He couldn’t even begin to imagine the danger he’d put Aiden in without even knowing, not to mention the danger he’d knowingly put him in now. Beads of sweat prickled along his spine. He felt hot and clammy and his skin was itchy and this room was too small with no air and God the fucking seam and the dirty walls. He started shaking his head. “Delia, I can’t do this. I don’t want—I’m not—he’s a fucking person, Delia.” Leo struggled to keep his voice down. “He’s just a kid, he’s not a product, he’s not a fucking pet.”

“There is a whole liberation movement, safe houses, rehabilitation, deconditioning. You’re not the only one who disagrees with the ethics of—”

“And you know all of this…?” He started tapping his foot.

“Like I said, this isn’t the first time I’ve helped someone like Aiden.” Her voice was all level and unfazed. Why was she so calm? “There are a few of us at the hospital who are…sympathetic.”

Leo pressed the heels of his palms into his temples. “So tell me what to do!”

“Typically, rescues and runaways still follow their training, assuming their new master is—”

“New master?” He couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth.

Delia held up her hands. “Leo, you have to understand, he’s been systematically dehumanized and conditioned. He can’t help it. And his whole world is upside down, especially since you had no idea and likely weren’t handing out clear expectations and responsibilities and consequences—”

“No. No way.” He had seen firsthand what Aiden had suffered under that system. Aiden deserved better. Leo was supposed to be better. He had to be better.

“You’re going to have to meet him where he is. It’s all he knows, it’s all he understands. Once he’s on more solid ground, then the real work—”

“Wait, what? What are you saying? That I just play into his false assumptions?”

“It’s the best way to—”

“I can’t do that. I won’t. I have to tell him that I don’t see him as a piece of property.”

She took a deep breath. “I know. And you will. Eventually. But it’s not going to do any good right now to pull the rug out from underneath him.”

Leo balked. “Of course it will do him good to know that I’m not some sick fuck only interested in—” He couldn’t even bring himself to finish that sentence. Didn’t want to imagine what anyone who would consider another human their property would be interested in.

“Leo, think about this. Would knowing make him feel any safer?” She softened her voice. “Or will it just make you feel better?”

He looked over her shoulder at the boy lying in the bed. Little crease still visible between his eyebrows. “I almost didn’t get the chance, he almost—No, I can’t have him thinking that I would ever hurt him or think of him that way. Not for another second.”

Delia sighed, nodding. “I understand. Just make sure that you prepare yourself.”

“Prepare myself for what?”

“For it to mean something else to him.” She held onto either end of the stethoscope around her neck. “And for him to need some time, maybe a lot of time, to understand it the same way you do.”

Leo swallowed. His head was spinning trying to imagine Aiden somehow feeling more unsettled or upset by something that was supposed to be good. It wasn’t hard to imagine, Leo had been setting Aiden off with acts of kindness for the last six weeks. He’d done so well showing Aiden that he was safe and welcome that—

“Delia—” His voice broke.

“I know.” She took his hand in both of hers. “It’s a lot. I’m in this with you now and I can give you some contacts, people to call. You’re not going to have to do it alone anymore. Okay?”

He nodded, blinking back tears. God, he was barely holding it together.

He took a beat to watch Aiden’s chest rise and fall steadily before excusing himself to the closet-sized ensuite bathroom. The floor and walls were all tiled in a flat beige color, save one band of maroon circling the small room like a tourniquet.

The first thing he did was wash his hands. Four pumps of soap. Counted to twenty four times while he worked the lather over the dried blood ringing his nails and lining every crease along his knuckles and fingers. The water ran pink when he rinsed it all away.

The second time was to actually get his hands clean now that the blood was gone.

One, two, three, four.

Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty.

This time the water and suds ran clean. He dried his hands with a paper towel and took out his phone.

It was late but not too late.

He studied his reflection while it rang. His face looked so lined, eyes red and puffy. Maybe it was because he’d been up half the night. Luckily, his business partner picked up after the first ring and saved him further introspection. Leo asked for a favor. A big one. But Jesse agreed easily, he was a good friend. Didn’t even ask but Leo promised to explain soon.

His hand shook as he lowered the phone from his ear. The other one, too, gripping the side of the sink.

He considered running, bailing, just for a second.

For fuck’s sake, he was not the right person to do this.

There was a reason he stayed where he was. Delia had finished school three years ago when she’d started her residency. She was making good progress paying off her student debt, didn’t need his support anymore. It was supposed to have been his turn, to go to community college at least, to get his contractor’s license. Or he could have started something different, something new. But even before Aiden, he hadn’t done it.

Leo's skin prickled uncomfortably as he started to sweat again. What he really wanted was a shower and clean clothes, but he made do with washing his hands again.

Everything was so complicated. Would become even more complicated.

Hell, it had already been complicated but he’d been burying it in heaps of denial.

Just a fucking snap decision on a snowy day.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Is this what that meant?

He stared at his hands, dripping over the sink.

Wait. Had he used soap? He couldn’t remember counting. Probably hadn’t even started.

Four pumps of soap. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three…

A knock on the door made him jump, splashing himself with water and setting his heart hammering in his chest.

“Leo?”

He didn’t say anything, but shut off the sink with a paper towel. Dried his hands slowly as if the gradually softening crinkle of the paper could be heard through the door.

“You gotta stop, Hon.”

Delia opened the door before he could formulate a coherent excuse about Aiden’s blood. She waved him forward, closing the door once he was out.

“I—” He cleared his throat.

She put both hands on his back, following him back to the chairs underneath the window. “I know.”

They sat in silence for a while, side by side, listening to the beeping of the monitor and watching the cadence of Aiden’s breathing. At least that seemed pretty steady.

The same could not be said for Leo.

“I wish…”

Delia looked up from running her fingertip around and around the bell of the stethoscope coiled in her lap. “What?”

He swallowed the rest of the thought and shook his head. Hot tears pooled in his eyes.

“It’s okay to be overwhelmed, Leo. It’s a lot.”

It took a moment for him to find his voice again. “It’s not that, it’s…” He took a deep breath. “Delia, what if he would have been better off on his own? Or with someone else? Someone—”

“Leo, he’s lucky to have you. I know it doesn’t feel like it now but trust me, I know you can do this.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.

He rested his head on hers and wondered if Aiden would ever agree.

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