#gabriel's got a lot of points to make so he's gonna sit down and listen!!!

[cherubchoirs]

I had a funny thought, what if during the inevitable Gabriel vs Micheal fight, Micheal is winning, Gabe's on the ropes, helmet smashed open but during Mike's hate monologue the coin V1 flicked into the Gabe void flings out, terminal velocity, nailing Micheal and giving Gabe time to turn the tables and get his first real coin combo.

even better if this is like, decades later after v1 flicked it in there, where has it been? who knows! Anyway, how would the sibling scuffle work out anyway because the only way I can see Micheal actually listening to what Gabe has to say is after a beatdown so great that he cant run away from the truth.

UUGUHTHHUHGH THE COIN KNEW WHEN IT WAS NEEDED. and i love this bc i also definitely see gabriel adapting some of v1's strategies in his technique, the mannerisms just evolving naturally like others might copy speech or habits from their partner. he will utilize the hell out of that thing and be doubly grateful that he. now knows where it is lol but otherwise you're absolutely right in the sense that this is the only way michael could be reasoned with - he would need to be left so exhausted the meager threads of his light won't allow him to teleport in retreat. gabriel knows it's not the easiest solution since michael is just about as accustomed to loss as he once was, but he can't imagine any other way to get him to actually listen. unfortunately, he needs to be brought low before gabriel can make an earnest appeal - and he figures he has one chance to do it.

in all honesty, gabriel isn't hopeful about michael's reception to anything he has to say - michael became deeply ingrained in his ways a long time ago and his life has only served to solidify an unwavering adherence to god's will. gabriel knows, better than any of them, that he is fighting against the trauma seeded by lucifer's fall and now grown into the fruit of what michael's desperation has wrought in his decaying body. that's not. conducive to gabriel's position, because it has fostered a mental schema fortified against all collapse as that would destroy michael from the inside out. it MUST maintain, or everything he's done since the war in heaven to now tearing apart his own soul is rendered pointless in his eyes. but that's way gabriel deliberates on exactly how to approach it, and he digs deep into the messenger he once was. this was his job, to not just speak of joy but of so much evil too, and now it's imperative he frames the latter in a way michael can hear and let in. it's all been leading to this, he thinks.

so gabriel approaches him as the servant of god that he is, so staunch in his devotion that even other angels in heaven cannot understand him. he gave everything, his body and his soul, into service to the lord, and he loved so deeply that it devoured him whole. gabriel calls on him to stop his hatred then, to finally bleed the infected wound that's never gotten the chance to breathe because he so feared it would corrupt his mind. he has done enough, he has done so much more than anyone would ever even try - it's not his fault that god is gone, and it is not his fault he won't come back. michael did what no one else was willing to do, so the work is done. god poured so much of his wrath onto michael that in his return he forgot he could do so much more, and gabriel firmly reminds him of heaven's current status. he is not just some jailer, his entire existence isn't meant to be so wrapped up in the punishment of sinners and the demons of hell. michael sees souls upon their death and offers them a chance at repentance, michael is the prince of the angels and he leads their brothers in his fairness and wisdom. there is a heaven where he's needed, two remaining archangels that still look to him for guidance, and there can be peace if he chooses it. peace within himself. he is needed and he is loved, but gabriel demands that he must rid himself of all the hatred he harbors for his own sin and how it manifests into his treatment now of those in hell. because michael would HATE to hear it, but gabriel knows this is the most important point he has - his crusade now is not fought for god, but to preserve his legacy, to prove to himself and all others that he is still michael. it's a risk to shove it in his face so plainly, but gabriel knows he responds much better to tough love than walking on eggshells. and if one thing could FINALLY break him out of his rampage against hell, it would be gabriel, inhabiting the role of god's messenger, telling him in no uncertain terms that his motivation now are purely selfish. he has put god's name on a personal vitriol, and that would at least make him think.

[icefire149]

Fluff prompts. 51 + destiel :)

Heyyyy there <3 I'm so sorry how long this took to write. Between my own life throwing hurdles, THIS FIC.....this fic just kept throwing me in the trunk and taking control of the car. I'm so sorry it sprung a million miles away from fluff immediately. I don't know why when I mediated on the prompt my mind went this way and didn't stop. I hope you still enjoy what ended up happening anyways <333

#51 “I will love you forever and when ‘forever’ ends, I’ll love you some more.”

Dean’s heart stopped the moment they fell through the portal rift. His body hit the bunker floor with a loud thump, but so did Castiel’s. It wasn’t until a moment later when Cas wiggled to sit up, slamming the palm of his hand onto the floor as he gasped for air, that Sam felt his stomach drop.

“Dean?” Sam shouted, dropping to his knees at his brother’s side. He shook Dean’s shoulder with increasing roughness.

With wide eyes, Cas pushed forward searching Dean’s face for any sign of life. “He was…..Sam, he was just-”

“He’s not breathing.” Sam muttered in shock before surging forward to start pressing on his brother’s chest. “What did he do, Cas! A deal?”

“No!” His whole body started trembling. What he wanted was to lay his hands on Dean’s head and wake him up, but there was nothing he could do now. His fingers lightly grazed across the bandage Dean quickly taped on his neck. There wasn’t an ounce of grace left.

Squeezing his hands into fists, Cas glanced around the room. Besides the three of them and the bowl the brothers must have used for the spell, the room was bare. “Where’s Jack?”

Sam kept his eyes glued to his brother’s face. His jaw tightened. “A lot’s happened since you died. Jack’s God now so he left.”

“He’s what?” Furious, Cas pushed Sam’s hands aside and took over compressions. He slammed a single fist into Dean’s chest, rocking the man’s whole body from the impact. Still, Dean didn’t wake.

Cas leaned close, listening and feeling for breath against his skin. His mouth quivered as he sat up feeling for a pulse. “No,” his voice commanded.

He started compressions, pressing harder than Sam dared. Dean’s limbs convulsed. “You failed, to mention, that you let, our son, become God,” he growled in between beats, letting his eyes trail up to Dean’s face. “You promised, me, forever! You promised. You promised.”

“You’re….breaking his rib cage,” Sam’s voice broke. His eyes were wide with horror as he watched his brother’s chest concave more than he thought possible. “Cas?” Sam’s voice shook. He rested a shaky hand on the angel’s shoulder.

“You don’t, get to die,” Cas mumbled, ignoring Sam’s presence. His hands paused for a moment as he took a deep breath. The sound of his own heart racing was like a loud boom, pounding on his eardrums. “Jack Kline, you will come home right now.”

Cas resumed compressions. Again, and again. He blinked the beading tears away, but they quickly filled his eyes. His hands, the bunker, Dean….they all blurred away as he kept beating to the rhythm of his nightmare.

The tears ran hot down his cheeks while he blinked. He needed to keep Dean in his sight. Dean was his beacon home. Sniffling, Cas couldn’t stop.

Sam withdrew his hand. “Cas?” his voice was so small and afraid like several decades were suddenly torn away.

Then as Cas pressed, he finally turned to glance at Sam. His voice cracked, "We're gonna need an ambulance."

At that, Sam flew to his feet, feeling for his phone before spotting it on the nearby table. He was unlocking it when a blinding light filled the room.

"Castiel?"

“Fix him.” Cas didn’t look up. He kept pounding on Dean’s chest. His compressions had only lessened a fraction in strength.

But Jack didn’t move from where he stood on the other side of Dean. His gaze moved over to Sam, and the fear circling there twisted the hunter’s gut into knots. “But I…..” Slowly, he dropped down to a knee, and then the other. “Cas,” his voice cracked. “There’s a bigger picture that I’m apart of now. I promised to protect it. I promised not to interfere.”

“And I, promised, to protect you,” Cas answered, halting compressions. He remained hunched over Dean with his hands still pressed over his heart. The angel’s eyes squished shut as quiet sob tore through him.

New tears slid down his already soaked face, hugging his jaw. “I can’t do that without saving him one more time. He promised me forever.” His gaze slid up to meet his son’s with fiery determination. “Jack, it’s too soon to be his time.”

“Okay.” Jack laid his hands next to his father’s. He closed his eyes, and breathed.

Dean gasped awake with three sets of eyes staring at him from above. The angels withdrew their hands.

Sam fell back into the chair at his side. His whole body sagged with exhaustion. “Thank you.”

“What happened?” Dean’s stare bounced back and forth between everyone. He slowly sat up, and Jack collided into him first.

Pressing his chin into Dean’s shoulder, Jack collapsed into him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

A few coughs tore through Dean’s body, but he kept a hand on the center of Jack’s back the whole time. When his breathing settled, Dean hugged him back. Also with his free hand, he laid a hand on Cas’ knee.

“I felt it….when I healed you. Everything,” Jack confessed quietly. “Your heart gave out.”

Dean snorted at that. “That’s not much of a surprise, kid.” His eyes met his brother’s. “Sammy’s been telling me for years the bacon was gonna get me.”

“No.” Jack hung on tighter. “It was grief. The loss of Cas…….me. It weakened your heart, but I knitted it all back together again.”

“Oh.” Dean’s grip on Cas’ leg tightened.

“I didn’t know you would miss me.” The words came out quiet enough that Dean wasn’t sure if Jack meant to speak them out loud. And then Jack started to let go, but Dean held on tighter.

“I’m an expert at messing up….heh, well, everything in my life, but yeah, of course Jack. Of course, I missed you.”

-

The rest of the day felt almost too good to be true. They all climbed into the impala -Dean drove much to Sam’s dismay- and they went out to their favorite diner closest to the bunker.

Over their favorite meals, Jack began going over his progress and plans for all of creation. There were several parts where his excitement was palpable, but he clearly was trying to be mature about the situation under Cas’ scrutinizing eye. Sam followed after, explaining in detail the spell work him and Rowena poured over crafting the past several months. Intermittently, Dean cut in to proudly point out where his research came in handy and how him and Eileen went about gathering the ingredients.

Afterwards, Jack looked up from his dessert with chocolate syrup smeared at the corner of his mouth. His eyes narrowed as he studied Dean closely. “Now that Castiel is free, what are you planning on doing now?”

Surprised, Dean leaned back in the booth. “That’s not my call.” He wrapped an arm around Cas’ shoulders. “Any ideas?”

“No more dying,” Cas answered firm, taking a long drink from his beer. His steely gaze slowly moved to each person at the table. “That goes for all of you.”

“And you too,” Jack pressed.

“Of course.” Cas shivered involuntarily. “I’m not planning on returning to the Empty any time soon.”

“You shouldn’t, ever,” Sam answered. “That was the push behind removing your grace. Without it the Empty shouldn’t have any claim over you.”

“Thank you,” Cas answered, picking at the label on his beer bottle.

“You’ll never go back.” The tone in Jack’s voice lifted Cas’ gaze to his. “When the time comes, you’ll have a place at my side. Forever.”

Smiling softly, the tension drained away from Cas’ body. “Thank you, Jack. That’s an honor.”

“You’ll all have an important place,” Jack continued happily. “Mary too. And my mother.”

-

That night had a difficult start. Jack reluctantly left for Heaven. He promised to return for the following weekend to discuss his duties further with Cas. And Cas, he held onto his son for so long that Jack in between his laughter had to appeal to Sam and Dean for help getting free.

It wasn’t long later that Sam got up from the library chairs they were all located at and rested a hand on Cas’ shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re back. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight Sam,” Cas answered. He watched Sam cross over to Dean and punch his shoulder teasingly.

Once Sam was out of sight, Dean’s gaze landed on Cas. Dean rubbed the back of his neck. “Today, uh, didn’t exactly go as planned, but….I’m glad it happened.”

Cas’ stare hardened. “Dean, you died.”

“And I got better.”

Sighing, Cas’ gaze fell to his lap. He chewed at the inside of his cheek. “I can’t do that again.”

“Well, I can’t watch you die for….what? The fourth? The fifth time?”

Wincing, Cas nodded. “You asked me earlier….or rather, Jack asked you, what we’re planning on doing next and-” He sat up straighter in his chair and held Dean’s stare. “I want us to retire from hunting.”

Gobsmacked, Dean blinked. “Retire?”

“Doing research. Providing assistance on the phones….that’s all still acceptable and I’m willing to compromise on that.”

Dean chuckled, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Cas repeated, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“Yeah.” Dean nodded with a grin. “I’ve been bugging Sam for a couple years now about retiring…..especially if Jack could make things better...like the future that you saw.”

“Oh.” Cas tilted his head a bit. “I didn’t realize that you took that to heart.”

“I didn’t at first,” he admitted. “You died, and I figured that it was all one huge manipulation. Gabriel’s illusions. Lucifer’s lies.” Cas nodded, and Dean continued. “But then, you came home and….it became hard not to see so much of...you in him.”

“He’s a good boy, but I’m afraid that you’re placing too much….credit? On my shoulders.”

Dean’s grin widened. “Jack’s good, because he has the best father to emulate. There’s nobody else that fights….and sacrifices...to do the right thing like you.”

The corner of Cas’ mouth curved. “And they’re probably better off for it….”

“Cas, come on.” Dean sighed. “Okay, you did your big speech about how you see me….well suck it up, because you need to learn to see yourself the way everyone else sees you.”

Cas rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious,” Dean pressed. “Like yeah, things don’t always go as we planned. I sure as hell know Chuck didn’t plan on being fired and left in the dirt, but….the point is that, you’re probably the best guy in existence.”

That knocked the air out of Cas’ lungs and slapped a goofy smile on his face. “You’re biased.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m wrong, and I’m not.”

Cas shook his head, but that smile was still firmly there. “Thank you, Dean.”

“Come on,” Dean said standing up. He reached a hand out towards the angel. “It’s time for bed.”

Without hesitation, Cas took his hand but he didn’t rise from his chair. He stared at the marvel that was Dean’s skin pressed against his. It was callused in a few places, but still softer than Castiel imagined.

His gaze lifted up to meet Dean’s and a pang of anxiety wrapped around his chest. The joy slipped from his face.

“What’s wrong?” Dean’s grip tightened.

“What if I don’t wake up? Statistically, there’s a chance I’m still asleep in the Empty.”

Dean tugged Cas’ arm, and the angel let himself be pulled forward and engulfed in Dean’s arms. They clung onto each other tightly.

“You’re here,” Dean pressed. “This is real. I’ll remind you every day if I have to. I meant what I said when you woke up.”

“And then you almost didn’t get to fulfill that promise.”

“I would’ve,” Dean said, in a matter of fact. Pulling back, his eyes trailed over every inch of Cas’ face. He brought a hand up to cup the angel’s cheek, and then Dean leaned forward to press a kiss to Cas’ forehead. “Where ever my soul would've ended up, nothing was gonna change. I’d still love you.”

Cas raised an eyebrow. “So you’re promising, forever-forever?”

Chuckling, Dean dropped his head so his forehead was on Cas’ shoulder. “Yeah,” he breathed, laughing still. “When forever ends, I’ll just love you some more.”

Other fics from this round of prompts

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[waynedunlaptheorgandonor]

watched s11ep1

i will provide you with a quick review before i disappear back into the ether of twd avoidance

lots of spoilers under the cut. also i wrote way too much and i worked all night and haven’t slept so i didn’t bother to reread literally any of it, so it might be completely nonsensical, tho if you don’t expect that from me by this point idk whose blog you’ve been reading

enjoy:

hokay, first off, i’ll start by saying that i enjoyed it more than i expected to. i’ve been avoiding any sort of discussion about stuff, but my google algorithm is so fucked at this point that i still get recommended articles and stuff every now and then, so i was already pretty aware of what i was walking into, and was expecting it to be eh, but actually i prob enjoyed it more than i enjoyed the finale

(don’t get too excited tho, the finale was rly boring lmfao)

anyway

episode starts off with a tense scouting mission

it takes .005 seconds into the episode for caryl to exchange a look of longing, establishing that they are still having weird conflict and are both too fucking stubborn to do anything about it even tho they hate it desperately

i imagine that will continue for a while

rosita, kelly, carol, maggie, what’s her face with the bad hair, and lydia (i think that’s everyone?) lower down to some army bunker or something, where a bunch of walkers are taking a snooze, and the girls are very respectful of walker naptime, and do their best not to wake them up

obviously they eventually wake up, but i’ll get to that in a sec

as they’re tiptoeing through the walker tulips, there’s this split second where carol spots a machine gun, and looks at maggie with a face like, “can i plzzzz, i am mad horny for that machine gun,” but maggie tells her no. (i 110% expected her to defy orders and accidentally wake up all the walkers, but she actually behaved herself for once. well. mostly)

never fear, tho, after the girl gang collects a bunch of MREs they go back to wait for the dudes waiting up top to pull them up, and bc men ruin everything, one of the ropes break, and daryl catches it before it falls, but then a slow motion drop of blood falls on a walker’s face, and just like that, walker naptime is over, and carol uses her bow and arrow for two seconds before she is like “fuck this” and whips out the machine gun

yes, she is super hot using it

yes, daryl watches her do it

anyway, all the other girls get rescued, and carol is about to be pulled up, but bc she is a #girlboss, she first makes a beeline for one more crate full of MREs. daryl covers her while she gets the loot, and when she gets back up top they have another charged moment as carol hands him back his knife

just fuck already, jfc

titles!

cut to alexandria where everything is still not smilestimes

BUT, we do get to see uncle daryl run and hug rj and judith (and dog), and FUCKING HERSHEL JR, LIGHT OF MY LIFE is also there

istg, they could not have casted a better child, i a d o r e him

oh, and some friends of maggie’s show up too, idk

cut to a staff meeting where everyone is like, whomp whomp, we’re all gonna starve to death unless we figure out something quick

cue maggie going, “oh, i know where food is, but it requires me to tell you my tragic backstory, in case anyone didn’t watch my bottle episode”

she tells her dramatic backstory about all her friends getting slaughtered by the reapers for no apparent reason, and then she’s like “anyway, let’s go back there!”

no one thinks it’s a great idea, but a group of people decide to go anyway, including daryl and gabriel. rosita is super pissed that gabriel is going, and carol doesn’t go, probably partly bc it’s a shitty fucking idea, and also bc they have to keep caryl apart bc otherwise they’ll fix their problems ahead of schedule and they won’t be able to drag out the needless angst

daryl looks kind of annoyed that carol doesn’t volunteer to go 

bitch, i thought you wanted her to stop putting herself in the line of fire! make up your damn mind!

moving on

cut to a thunderstorm, where, if you look closely, you’ll notice daryl is wearing the STUPIDEST hat i’ve ever seen. just get an umbrella, jfc

for some reason negan is with them, bc ig he knows his way around washington dc, and no one in six years has bothered to figure out how to get around the city and/or get a map, and he is like “hey guys, maybe we shouldn’t try to walk in this fucking hurricane,” and everyone is like “FUCK YOU NEGAN, YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF US!!!” 

this will be a common occurrence 

but eventually daryl is even like “actually, it’s rly unpleasant out here, and my hat is mad stupid, can we go inside plz?”

so they go inside an old metro station, which is actually a rly cool cinematic choice. i rly like the idea, and they executed it rly well

speaking of executions

there are some fucking RULL CREEPY walkers. idk why they bothered me so badly, but they were what they at first assumed were corpses wrapped up in tarps, but turns out none of them had been properly put down, so they go through killing these rotted bodies that had supposedly been there since The Fall, and it’s very gross and cool

this entire time, btw, negan is like “hey, i know i’m a shitty person, but i have some rational arguments about why we shouldn’t be doing this right now,” and everyone is like, “FUCK YOU NEGAN, YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF US!!!” and he’s just like “god fucking damnit”

(i forgot to mention that at one point, when they’re headed into the metro station, negan is trying to warn ppl of the potential danger, and everyone is ignoring him, and he tries to talk to daryl, and daryl is like “fuck you, you think we’re BUDDIES?” and negan is like “oh, ok, so you’re gonna be like that too? fanfreakingtastic” and it’s very funny)

anyway. a fat monster zombie escapes its tarp at one point, and tries to eat some npc, and negan saves him, again is like “hey, anyone else realize that this is a FUCKING BAD PLAN?”, and everyone is like “we don’t care, you’re still shitty and we’re not listening to you, and you don’t actually care about random npc i would literally not be able to pick out in a lineup bc his face is so generic, you’re not the boss of us!!!”

it’s at this point that negan finally is like, “why am i even here? bc i know how to get around washington dc? do none of you have a map?” and i was like, “right?! that’s what i said!” 

it’s then revealed that maggie only brought negan along to murder him under the guise of “oops, he got hurt in the line of duty, it wasn’t my fault,” and daryl has this look on his face that says, “i seriously need to stop hanging out with lethal women bent on revenge bc it’s gonna give me high blood pressure,” and maggie has a badass moment where she points a gun she has for some reason at negan and is like “i have like, one shred of human compassion left inside of me, and if you keep pushing me i will fucking kill you without a second thought, so shut the hell up”

(in her defense, negan had just dropped glenn’s name to purposely antagonize her, which was rude as hell)

(for the record, i’m completely on maggie’s side here, but negan still is right that trapping themselves in a metro station is a bad call)

anyway, moving away from that briefly

i think this jump cut happens sooner, i don’t actually remember, but whatever who cares, point is, we get to the part of the show that actually matters, and that’s anything involving my love, juanita “princess” sanchez

and also eugene, yumiko, and ezekiel

they are being asked increasingly invasive questions by commonwealth ppl, some of which i wish they actually would of answered (what do they use to wipe their asses with?? surely toilet paper has long since become extinct)

zeke, who is so much more tolerable as a character now that he’s not larping as a king, has this incredibly weird and sort of sexually charged moment with a dude in an orange stormtrooper costume, where he’s like, “i bet you were an asshole cop back before The Fall, you stupid fascist, #fuckthepolice, mb literally? idk, this moment has a lot of pent up aggression that could easily translate to hate sex, it might just be the intense eye contact, but w/e, let’s just move along,” and then he has a coughing fit to remind the audience that he’s currently dying of cancer, and orange stormtrooper is like “lolz, loser, drink some water you dumb piece of shit”

cut to the wholesome foursome sitting at a picnic table in a guarded courtyard eating gruel, and yumkio, who finally has a personality, and princess are like “hey, this place fucking sucks, can we leave?” and zeke is like, “yeah, i met this orange stormtrooper who i think might be dtf and/or murder, so we should probably bounce”

but eugene is like, “but i want some hot stephanie ass, and also some bullshit excuse about how mb commonewealth will save alexandria” which, they left before things went super downhill, right? idr. it was after hilltop fell, but they don’t know alexandria got fucked either, if i recall? w/e, not important

two seconds after he says this, they talk to some people who are like “we’ve been here for four months, or maybe it’s been nine, i don’t actually remember, i’ve stopped processing the passage of time,” and the wholesome foursome takes this as a bad sign, tho that’s just the life i’ve lived as a night worker during a pandemic, so i was like #mood

but then they watch some guy get dragged away screaming to get “reprocessed” and eugene is like “ok, nvm, let’s bounce”

(my theory on what “reprocessing” is, is that they’re stuck in a room and have to watch hours and hours of customer service training videos on vhs from the 90s)

i definitely got my jump cut scenes mixed up bc i think the negan accusing maggie of a murder plot thing happened in between this scene and then the next commonwealth scene, but w/e, i’ll just finish what happens in the commonwealth arch

the wholesome foursome are trying to hatch a plan to escape, except princess, my love, is distracted watching some stormtroopers flirt, and the other three are like “wtf, dude, how can you even tell any of them apart?” and princess then tells them every stormtroopers backstory bc she is brilliant and pays rly close attention to shit, and the other three are like, “this is useful information, thank you for being an insane person”

their plan involves yumiko and eugene dressing up as stormtroopers and leading princess and zeke out of the place, which works fine actually, except on their way out they come across the Depressing Wall of Probably Mostly Dead Missing Loved Ones

they’re about to leave, when princess is like, “wait, yumiko, you’re on here, that’s weird huh?”

sure enough, yumiko  is on the wall, with a note from ig her sister 

the scene ends with yumiko going, “guys...i can’t leave...i have tragic backstory to unveil”

tragic backstory to be continued ig

back in murder metro town, npc and some other npc have stolen all the supplies, there’s a train blocking the track, and a horde of walkers are coming towards them, so things are not going fantastic

they horde is too big to take down, so they start to climb on top of the train car to get away

but dog runs away!

and daryl, being every pet owner ever, is like “gotta go get my dog, guys, try not to get killed while i’m gone, c u soon!” and he ducks under the train and disappears

#priorities

the episode ends with maggie climbing up the train car but getting grabbed by a walker and dangling off the edge, and negan is there and they have a lion king moment where maggie is like, “scar! help me!” and negan is like “long live the king, bitch” and walks away into the shadows, leaving maggie to a potential death

which, while i know isn’t actually going to happen, would be a really fucking funny move on the writers’ part

like, “look, lauren’s back! and now she’s dead, bet you didn’t expect that!”

anyway

my assumption is negan will actually end up helping her up or something, continuing his ambiguous morality bullshit that actually isn’t ambiguous bc he BEAT GLENN TO DEATH WITH A FUCKING BAT WRAPPED IN BARBED WIRE IN FRONT OF HIS PREGNANT WIFE

the maggie/negan arch is kind of dumb, but whatevs, i’ll tolerate it, as long as my boy glenn gets justice in the end

anyway, cue credits!

final assessment: good episode. i’m much more interested in commonwealth than the reapers, tho i am hoping that daryl’s personality-less ex turns out to be a monster killing machine with no conscience, that’ll be fun. princess is a gift from god. hershel jr needs his own tv show. needs more carol (and caryl)

the end! going back into my walking dead free chamber! see you next episode!

-diz

[one-boring-person]

Hey again! I know I just asked for one and I don’t wanna be bothersome, but I saw that Raymond Tango is on your list and I was hoping I could get an imagine with him and maybe Gabriel Cash as well?

Something like the reader works at the prison where they end up and helps them out when they’re jumped? Or whatever scenario you can think of 😁 Please add a lot of flirting if you can

I actually watched Tango and Cash and the Expendables because of your imagines 😆 And I’ll probably keep discovering more awesome movies thanks to you!

I also had an idea for Rambo where the fireworks on the 4th of July trigger his ptsd and the reader is there to comfort him? (It was Canada Day today so there were fireworks in my hometown to celebrate and I got the idea for it 🤷🏼‍♀️)

Thank you so very much!!! 💕

I'm really sorry for the wait, but I hope you like this!😊❤

Tip-Off.

Ray Tango x reader x Gabe Cash (Tango and Cash)

Warnings: injury, swearing, mention of violence, mention of gun use

Masterlist

Finally, I manage to fling the door open, the thick metal clanging loudly as it slams against the wall, announcing my arrival to the room behind it. Gritting my teeth, I crash through it, yelling out to the inmates I know are gathered there, my standard handgun held at the ready. I hate to use it, but I know very well that many of the people turning to face me won't move unless threatened by something a little more dangerous. 

The room is lit with a drab light, keeping most of the thugs' faces cast in shadow as they turn towards me, shouts of surprise and panic filling the air. As if startled by a ghost, the lot of them suddenly retreat into the darkness, doors banging open and shut around the perimeter, many of them cursing loudly as they clear out. Frowning, I move further into the room, shouting at them hoarsely, my head rotating quickly to make sure I'm not being ambushed by any of them. Thankfully or not, they disappear quickly, leaving me alone in the deserted area with two familiar people hanging by their necks from the ceiling above large troughs of water. Upon closer inspection, I notice that the water is electrified, a sparking cable lying a metre or so away. 

"Hey, hey, what's going on?! Don't just leave us hanging here, kill us or let us down! You shitbrains!" I groan in realisation as I notice exactly who is hanging from the ceiling, the two captives facing away from me.

"Are those my only options, or would you rather I tried to get you down?" I call out to the only one of them who is actually moving, walking round to face them.

"Huh? Who're you?" It's Raymond Tango, the one still writhing on his hook. His partner, Gabriel Cash, hangs listlessly, head drooped, blood dripping from his lip.

"The reason you're still alive." I frown, tapping Cash's foot.

"Oh, it's you. Feel like helping me down?" Ray stares at me, fear still bright in his eyes as he shifts in his bindings.

"Don't sound too grateful. I just saved your ass." I roll my eyes, but move to start helping him.

Going closer, I ignore the dark-haired man's expectant expression, bowing so that I can heave the troughs of water out of the way, first. It isn't easy: the containers weigh tonnes, their contents sloshing all over the place as I brace my shoulder against the battered steel, muscles straining to dislodge them. A grating screech sounds from the base of the troughs as they rasp along the hard ground, but I eventually manage to get them clear, panting by the time they're significantly out of the way. 

"Ok, this is probably gonna hurt a bit." I warn Ray, before going over to the knots at the end of the ropes holding them up.

"What is- argh!" The detective yelps in surprise as he drops unceremoniously from the ceiling, landing with a thud on the cold stone floor.

I leave Gabe's line for now, going over to help Ray up as he rolls onto his side, groaning in pain. Untying him, I check him over for any particularly bad wounds.

"Couldn't you have done that a little less painfully?" Ray grumbles as he moves to sit upright, wiping away blood from his nose, groaning. 

"Sorry, next time I'll bring a mattress." I roll my eyes again, "You'll live. Now help me with Cash."

"Can't we just leave him there? He makes quite a nice light fixture." Ray jokes dryly, climbing wearily to his feet.

Shooting him a pointed look, I try to ignore the small spike in my pulse as I regard the dishevelled detective, not for the first time admiring his chiselled good-looks. Swallowing down the idle thoughts, I move back to the end of Gabe's line.

"Catch him, will you?" I tell Ray, loosening the knot, Cash's limp body dropping ever so slightly as I do so.

"The lump'll crush me!" He complains, but goes to stand underneath him anyway, reaching up to brace Cash's thighs with a grimace.

"You know, your jibes would have much more effect if he were awake." I smile wryly.

Ray doesn't say anything, but sends me a quick smirk anyway, knowing I'm right. 

Turning away, I untie the knot completely, looking back to see Cash fall onto Tango, his torso rocking precariously as the latter struggles to hold him up. Rushing over, I reach out, arms outstretched as the two start to fall, Gabe landing heavily in my grip, throwing us all to the floor. We land heavily, a dull pain erupting in my back from the impact.

Winded, I lie there, Gabe on my chest, Ray on his rival's stomach, breathing heavily as we try to recover. Against me, Gabe shifts slightly, moaning in his unconsciousness, making me force myself to sit upright, his head now in my lap, Ray still trying to catch his breath on his back. Looking down at the man on my thighs, I brush aside some hair from his face, swiping away a little blood from his lip, glancing up to see Ray staring at me, jaw tight. Confused, I go to say something, my brow cocked, only to stop when a pained voice trickles up from between us.

"This isn't what I expected from the afterlife." Gabe murmurs, eyes barely open as he gazes up at me, licking his dry lips.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Cash." Ray jumps in, pushing himself back up.

Frowning, Gabe lifts his head, opening his mouth to speak, before closing it again, the sharp response clearly struggling to materialise.

"Come on, let's get you untied." I chuckle, moving to shift out from under the detective in my lap.

Gabe groans, whining as I roll him over, Tango reaching over to loosen the knots of his ties. Once free, he lazily tries to return to his original position, only to complain when he finds out I've moved. Now standing, I look down at the two with a fading smile, quickly becoming serious as I think back over the gravity of the situation. The two notice, joining me in standing, Gabe rapidly adjusting his clothes as Ray wipes blood from his lip.

"Whoever set you guys up has a serious problem with you two." I muse, scratching my chin in consternation.

"Wait, you believe us?" Ray sounds surprised, his rival regarding me with a similar expression. 

"About what?"

"The setup." 

Glancing at him, I tilt my head.

"Yeah, of course. What, you thought I was one of the bribed guards? After all the tip-offs I gave you both?" I shake my head in exasperation.

"Pretty dumb, if you ask me, Tango." Cash comments, smirking as he runs a hand through his hair, betraying his nerves.

"And who didn't listen to the tip-offs?" I tease him, grinning as Ray sends him a pointed look. 

"Hey, I've had a lot on my mind!" Gabe protests, before he conspiratorially rakes his gaze over me, "A certain someone in particular."

Blushing, I wave him off, muttering a quick "behave" before gesturing for the two detectives to follow after me.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" Ray hisses to Gabe as they limp along behind me, a scoff following this as we reach the door I came through.

"And you think you're better? Come on, man, I've seen you staring at her when she does her rounds. Your cellmate practically has to wipe the drool from your chin." 

"I'm not deaf, you know." I sigh, leading them into a side room,  where a desk and few chairs have been pushed to the wall, a couple of pieces of equipment sat neatly where I left them.

The two men enter behind me, frowning at the sight of the small room, confused by its purpose. Naturally, Gabe is quick to recover and goes straight to one of the chairs, sitting down and leaning back in it, head tilted back so that his mane of golden hair falls down between his shoulder blades. Ray eyes him disdainfully, only to take a seat near him, running a hand through his own hair, muscular arms flexing as he does so. It's a struggle for me to keep my eyes averted from them both as I go to the table in the centre and take out my first aid kit, opening it to check inside. 

"Ok, who's first?" I finally look up at them both, my cheeks warming up as I am met with two intense stares, neither looking away as I make eye contact.

"I'll go!" Gabe interrupts Ray before he can speak, hopping up and coming over to me, leeching on the table with a grin.

Shaking my head, I take some gauze and start to clean out the worst wounds he received, which I soon find are not particularly bad, so I move to check that he's not concussed at all. Removing a small penlight from my keys, I hold it up to his face, placing a finger under his chin to level his head properly. 

"Ok, stare straight ahead." I tell him, not quite realising why he's smirking until I realise that he's decided to stare straight at me, blue eyes fixed on mine. Shaking my head, I once more ignore the blush on my cheeks as I check if his eyes are dilating properly, quickly moving to check his response as I move my hand in front of his face. Thankfully he seems to be ok, everything working as it should be. 

"All done." I tell him, placing the penlight down on the desk beside him, glancing back up in time to see him leaning in. Surprised, I have no time to react before he's pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, the blonde smirking as he hops off the bench, eyes glittering mischievously. 

Ray makes a sound of disapproval, glaring at Gabe as his rival steps past, muscles tensed up as he tries to fight back the (very) obvious jealousy. Quickly, he takes Cash's place on the table, looking at me gratefully as I start cleaning up the wound on his head. His dark eyes don't leave mine the entire time, unnerving me a little.

"So what do we do now?" He eventually asks, voice low as I stand close to him to make sure the cut is properly dressed.

"You guys need to get out of here." I muse, chewing my lip as I work, "It's just how we're gonna do it that's difficult."

"We?" Gabe sounds hopeful, though I can hear a little jealousy in his tone. This confuses me, until I realise why: Ray has gently placed a hand on either side of my waist, most likely under the pretense that he needs a hold to ground himself. 

"Y-Yeah, we. I don't think you two will make it out without help." I tell him, calming my nerves as my pulse picks up, swiping the gauze over Ray's head once more before taking up the penlight again.

"And you're offering? Won't that lose you your job?" Ray questions, surprised at what I've said.

I sigh, standing back upright once I've checked his eyes.

"If I get caught, yeah, it will. At least it'll be for good reason." I shrug, stepping back out of Ray's grip, somewhat reluctantly.

Taking advantage of this, Gabe steps closer, placing a reassuring hand on my lower back. Unused to this kind of affection, I look up at him, expression somewhat blank as he speaks.

"You're sure about that?" He queries, searching my face for hesitation.

"Yeah, I am. What happened to you two wasn't fair, so I think it's good if you get your revenge." I nod firmly, glancing back at Ray, who smiles at me, "Look, I'll come up with a plan as soon as I can. For now, you two need to try and stay alive."

"Easier said than done." Ray murmurs, but agrees nonetheless.

"For you, we will." Gabe teases, tapping my chin with a grin.

[ultimatetornshipper]

Daminette December Day 3

@daminette-december2019-2020

Princes and Pedestals

Chapter 3 – Legend

Previous

Next

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The breeze softly danced through her hair as she sat in the windowsill of her room. She opened her eyes and stared at the parchment resting on a book on her lap, her little bottle of ink sat next to her on the ledge. She fidgeted with the quill in her hand, frustrated.

She was trying to write a letter to Luka to let him know that they'd arrived safely. He was her right hand man and their friends were most likely bugging him on whether he'd heard from her or not. She needed to give them an estimate on how well the whole thing was going but she barely had a feel for these people. She was pretty certain they wanted this alliance just as much as the Order did, but she didn’t yet have any idea what exactly they’d ask for.

She sighed and dipped her quill in her ink, maybe if she started the words would come.

Dear Luka

I hope you are well. How is everyone doing? How’s Alya and the baby? How’s Nino dealing with her pregnancy hormones? How’s she dealing with his overprotectiveness? Has Chloe returned from her mission? How did it go?

I miss you all, I hope everything is alright back home.

We arrived safely at the Gotham Royal family's Summer home. They have treated me with kindness and respect.

She took a breath. Should she tell him about Prince Damian? He would in all likelihood be the next Black Cat. He was her match. She didn’t know him, but the Destruction radiating off of him was on par with the Creation that followed her. As much as she didn’t want to replace- She shook her head, moving on was inevitable, she needed someone to rule by her side. She needed to tell her court the truth.

I met him. It all feels too soon after everything that happened last year. The Destruction coming from him was incredible. Plagg would kill me if I didn’t introduce them. Please have Pegasus deliver the ring when you receive my letter. He can deliver it to my exact location, I’ll explain things to any witnesses. I’ll disclose more information on who he is if he accepts my offer of the ring.

Yours sincerely,

Marinette

She tapped her chin with the end of her quill as she reread her letter.

A soft mew made her look up, sitting next to her little ink bottle was a beautiful calico, staring at her curiously.

“Hey girl,” she replied softly, holding out her hand, the cat sniffed it then pressed her cheek against Marinette’s hand. She scratched the cat's head softly, smiling.

“Her name is Legend,” a voice said from her doorway. She looked up and recognized Lady Stephanie standing in her doorway. She was about to greet her when the girl kept talking.

“Oh sorry, your door was open, I didn’t think it'd be a problem, we’re just pretty casual around here and it slipped my mind, Your Majesty,” she said, quickly, her hands gesturing as she spoke.

Marinette smiled at her, standing and placing her letter, book and quill on a nearby table, “It’s quite alright, Lady Stephanie. My court and I are quite similar to you that way, and please do call me Marinette,”

“Only if you’ll call me Steph,” she replied, shifting from foot to foot in the doorway.

Marinette saw the movement and invited her in. They sat at the table she’d put her letter on and she folded it as they made small talk.

She melted some wax onto her envelope and pressed it with the Miraculous Court's seal as she listened to Steph detail a story about the time she and Jason had snuck into the kitchen to steal some of the pastries before a big event when she’d first arrived at the castle back in Gotham.

“It seems you are all quite close,” Marinette commented after Stephanie wrapped up her tale.

“Yeah, we’re family, you know?” she replied. Stephanie wrung her hands together before meeting her gaze, “Can I ask you something?”

Marinette could feel the girl’s unease, so she tried to appear reassuring, “Yes,”

“Yesterday,” she started hesitantly, “In the throne room, the older man who came with you did most of the talking. I don’t know much about the Order of the Miraculous, but I was pretty certain you’re their leader but you didn’t really talk so...” she left the rest of the question unsaid, clearly hoping Marinette would understand hat she was trying to say.

She could tell the girl didn’t mean any disrespect, she was simply curious and she couldn’t blame her. So she gave her a smile, “Master Fu is my teacher, I’m still learning to lead and he’s helping me through everything, until my training is complete he makes the important introductions and still does a lot of the talking. I will be voicing my thoughts a lot more during negotiations though,”

Stephanie nodded slowly, “That makes a lot of sense actually,”

They spent the afternoon together and had tea in the garden.

Marinette was listening to Stephanie ‘s retelling of how she and Tim first met when she recognized Prince Jason heading towards them.

Stephanie spotted him too so she paused when he got close. Marinette nodded her head at him, “Your Highness,”

He nodded back, “Your Majesty,”

He sat down on the open chair at their table and Stephanie quickly continued her story.

She listened politely, but she was aware of the Prince who had joined them studying her discreetly, if she hadn’t been trained to notice, she would’ve missed it.

He noticed her noticing him and she was impressed by his ability to read body language. He, if her training was correct, was growing more and more curious about her by the second.

Somehow managing to miss the tension Stephanie kept telling her story.

“We were both so incredibly oblivious to the other’s feelings and denying our own. Months of pinning and so many misunderstandings. Apparently it was an incredibly frustrating debacle to watch,” she said laughingly, giving Prince Jason a pointed look.

He groaned, playing along and ignoring their silent sort-of conversation that had transpired earlier, “Don’t remind me, it was torture,”

They all laughed, and a comfortable silence followed.

Well that was until Tikki appeared and the other two almost fell of their chairs. She turned to her kwami and decided to explain later.

“Guardian, Queen Bee is attempting to contact you,” she quickly supplied, ignoring the two royal siblings who were staring in shock.

“Put her on, these two can be trusted,” she replied, sipping her tea.

Tikki put down a device on the table and the familiar image of Queen Bee appeared shining in the air in front of her, it was nothing new to Marinette but the other two stared in shock at the moving image of a blonde girl in armor unlike any they’ve ever seen.

“Bee, this better be important, you know how much it takes out of the kwami to do calls (a/n I’m not gonna figure out a new name for it, calls make sense sorry not sorry °3°),” Marinette said sternly.

Chloe looked grim but stood up straight, confident in her choice, “I’m afraid it’s rather urgent Guardian,”

Marinette felt chills, Chloe rarely looked that grim, it was even rarer for her to address her by her title, “Queen Bee, what is it?”

Chloe grimaced. She gave her a meaningful look softly replied, “It may bring back a few unpleasant memories, Mari,”

Oh

It felt as though the wind had momentarily been knocked out of her.

The familiar green eyes that haunted her at night flashed through her mind. Immediately followed by a darker, newer pair. She pushed both images away, she’d deal with that later, now Chloe needed her to be the Guardian.

Marinette took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her cup, “I can take it,”

“It’s Gabriel, he has the butterfly, he wants -,” Chloe swallowed, looking at Mari with pity, she lowered her voice, “He wants to bring him back, Mari,”

Her grip around her teacup was deadly, it was a shock it hadn’t broken yet. She was certain her knuckles and face were both as white as a cloud.

“I -,” her voice cracked and she took a deep breath, she was in the presence of strangers, she couldn’t break down, she pushed her emotions back and went into her Guardian mode, “Tikki add Carapace, Viperion, Tigress, Rena Rouge and Paon to the call. Now. I want it taken care of quickly,”

Chloe’s eyes widened, “Those are all our top warriors,”

“Like I said, I want this taken care of quickly,” Marinette replied briskly.

The others were quickly added and they all switched to the language of the Guardians. If the two royal siblings could speak French, her and Chloe’s previous conversation had already given enough away. Chloe explained the situation while Marinette quickly pulled herself together, she could fall apart later. Right now her Court needed her.

Carapace looked on edge and she knew why. Rena was on the call and she was pregnant, he was scared that she’d have to fight.

“Rena,” she said after Chloe finished explaining, all eyes turned to look at her, “You’re not fighting, but your strategizing capabilities are too valuable to have you sit out completely. You’re on the side-lines for this one,”

Carapace looked relieved and Rena nodded, understanding.

She looked at Viperion, while half her letter turned out to be written in vain, at least she could get this done quicker, “I need you to send Plagg and his ring with Pegasus as soon as you guys finish discussing details,"

She took a deep breath, "I found my match,”

(a/n did I totally just only put the prompt as part of a single paragraph? yeah i did. Do I have any idea where this is going? No i don't. Is the fact that I don’t listen to my outline and do whatever the hell I want gonna stop me? Nope, not at all)

(fr tho I’m just as surprised at this plot as yall are ngl, also, look at me doing a cliffhanger hehehe)

Taglist:

@animegirlweeb

[walkerwords]

“The Savior Sessions” Part 27 of 33 - Negan x GN!Reader

IMAGE CREDIT: AMC

SERIES MASTERLIST

Summary: A traitor in Alexandria is found when they attack one of their own. The reader holds an interrogation and with a new kind of resolve, makes their move against the enemy.

Word Count: 3973

Warning: Swearing, Graphic Description of Violence

Song I Wrote To: “Who Are You, Really?” by Mikky Ekko

Note: This one is a bit of a filler, but I had to touch on this particular storyline. I really wanted to show some development here with the MC and I really like it. Much more Negan in the next part!

————

The sickness wasn’t going away and you were getting nervous.

Along with the sudden illness that seemed to infect your friends and family, Alpha’s Walkers were still making their way towards the communities. Due to this, Gabriel had assigned more watch shifts as well.

With Michonne still at Oceanside, you were taking on more duties when it came to protecting the community. Aaron was still talking to Gamma, Daryl and Carol were still on edge, and you were just so damn tired of it all.

It took a lot of convincing to get you to stay inside the walls during the day, but so far, your search was turning up nothing. You couldn’t even figure out which direction Negan was travelling it, let alone if he was even travelling at all. He could be held up two miles away and you would never know. If there was one thing you knew about your man was that he was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for.

If he wanted to stay hidden he was going to do it.

You ran your thumb over the casing that hung around your neck as you thought about him. There had been moments during the war that you had watched him in your scope. While he had seen you before that fateful day in his cell, you had been watching him as well.

The first time you saw him after the clearing had been when he had strolled up to Alexandria with the caravan. You were sitting on the roof of Rick’s house, liking being up high when Spencer had opened the gate. While your rifle hadn’t been with you, you had a spare scope in the bag that was next to you.

Peering through it, you watched as Negan handed Lucille to Rick and sauntered through your home. When you had seen Daryl being led around like a dog, you had slipped around to the other side of the roof and slid down the drainpipe. As soon as your boots hit the ground, you followed the Saviors around, keeping one eye on Negan and the other on a very nervous Rick.

When Carl drew his gun in the infirmary, that was when you had headed up to the watchpoint. His men had checked you for weapons as you approached the platform but after a few well-placed glares, they let you up into your main roost.

You stayed there until the Saviors left. You had kept your back to them as they filed out, but you could feel their eyes on you, especially Negan’s. You didn’t want to speak to him or even acknowledge him, but you wanted them to see that someone was always going to be watching and protecting Alexandria.

You proved this point later in the war when you would take out Negan’s own men from your hiding places. Your job had been to instil fear and you were good at it. However, now, it seemed that Alpha was turning the tables on you and you were not happy about it.

It was well into the night when you were heading home as Scott took over your shift. Walking towards your house, you noticed a figure moving around Rosita’s. Considering nobody should have been going inside with Rosita being under the weather, you got suspicious.

Ducking into the shadows of the house, you watched as Dante slipped into the house through the back door. Your brow furrowed at this. Dante was Siddiq’s second, he didn’t need to slip inside, he was always invited.

Your instincts kicked in then. Dante was a great doctor, but something had always bothered you about him. He was apparently found wandering around and in need of help. While you and the others were always looking for new doctors, he seemed almost too willing to be helpful. Even more so than Siddiq had been when Carl had found him.

“What are you up to?” you whispered as you found the South watchpoint and climbed up the rickety ladder. Nobody used it that much besides you and Rosita. It was also freshly repaired from when the tree had come down the year before. Pulling yourself up onto the narrow platform, you pulled your handy scope from your pocket and angled it at the house.

You weren’t what you were looking for, but you needed to settle your suspicions. While you didn’t have your rifle anymore, the scope still never let you down. Scanning the house, you watched as a light turned on in the upper window. Turning towards it, you saw Siddiq standing in what you knew to be one of the storage rooms of the house and where he kept some of his medical supplies.

Siddiq was just standing at the window and as you peered at him, he seemed to be incredibly nervous. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto yours through the scope. His kind eyes widened in fear and then you jumped as two hands grabbed him from behind and pulled him back into the room.

You didn’t hesitate to slide down the ladder and pull your weapon. Bursting into the house, Rosita, who was sleeping on the couch woke up in a jolt. Coco was next to her in her small carrier. “(Y/N)?” Rosita asked.

“Stay here with Coco!” you ordered as you ran up the stairs. You didn’t know if Rosita was actually listening to you, you just had to get to Siddiq.

Taking the steps two at a time, you finally made it to the second floor. Sprinting down the hall, you shoved your shoulder into the final door and broke it down.

Dante was on the ground with Siddiq in a headlock and he was fading fast. Dante looked at you in alarm as you ran towards them and aimed a kick at his jaw.

Dante moved just before your boot could make contact, letting Siddiq go. You went to strike Dante again, but he threw himself at you, slamming you into the wall. Catching your breath, you grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed your head against his, disorienting him.

Grabbing his arm you twisted it behind his back, trying to dislocate his shoulder, but Dante swung his leg out, sending you to the ground. He straddled you, placing his hands around your throat.

Your throat burned as the pressure increased, but then Dante screamed in pain as Siddiq slashed at his leg with a scalpel. You took the opening to knee him in the groin. Rolling to your knees, you grabbed him by the neck and slammed his head into a nearby table. He went down again, but then grabbed your ankle, slamming his palm into your knee.

As pain exploded in your leg, Dante got to his feet. He went to grab you again when you remembered a move that Jesus had taught you years ago. Using his own momentum against him, you pulled him forward into your space. As he fell into you, you ducked underneath him and pushed him over your shoulders. Dante crashed into the wooden desk, splitting it in half.

Picking up your fallen blade, you moved and levelled it at his throat as blood trickled down your neck from the superficial head wound you had sustained.

“Don’t. Move,” you spat through a split lip.

“It was him,” Siddiq choked. “He...made...me watch.” It took less than a second for you to realize what Siddiq meant. Dante had been the one to hold open Siddiq’s eyes and then Enid’s as Alpha murdered your family. Dante chuckled from his spot on the ground. “He...poisoned the water, too,” Siddiq said, coughing.

“You son of a bitch,” you swore as you brought your pommel down on his temple and knocked him out.

-------

Rosita arrived soon after the commotion had settled. 

Pausing in the doorway of the adjoining room, her daughter was in her arms as she peered into the room. You were tying up an unconscious Dante as she glared down at him. 

“He’s out cold,” you told her and that’s when she rushed forward to Siddiq who was finally breathing a bit better. He reached for his daughter immediately and pressed a kiss to her head, holding her close. Rosita pressed her forehead against his as the two parents had a family moment with their child. 

Daryl arrived a moment later. You figured that Rosita would have called for him. “Help me get him up,” you said to Daryl who grabbed the man by his shoulders as you took his legs. 

“You’re bleeding,” Siddiq said from the ground. 

“I’ll be fine,” you said through gritted teeth as you carried Dante from the room and back down the stairs. 

“(Y/N),” Daryl said, “how did you know?” 

“I had a bad feelin’ and I followed it,” you said as Daryl kicked open the door. “He’s a fucking Whisperer, D.” Daryl looked down at the man in his arms with disgust. “He helped murder Tara, Henry, and the others. Alpha did this, she sent a wolf into Alexandria.” 

“She ain’t gonna get away with this,” he said.  You agreed which is why you were more than happy to throw Dante’s traitorous ass into the cell. However, first, you needed to clean it out. 

Negan’s things, the things you had given to him were still on his bunk and in the corner. You quickly packed everything into a blanket and dragged it from the cell. Then, Daryl shoved Dante into the cell and locked the door. 

Needing a moment, you hauled everything in your arms back to your house. You stumbled a bit from the headache that was forming behind your eyes, but you pushed on. Pushing open your front door, you dragged yourself towards the bedroom on the ground floor.

As soon as you made it to the guest room, you fell to the floor as the lightheadedness took its toll. Reaching around the back of your head, you were glad to see that the bleeding had stopped, but it was still tender. 

You didn’t know how long you sat on the floor. It could have been minutes or hours before footsteps came down the hall. Looking up from the stained carpet, you saw Siddiq walking towards you. “You need to be resting,” you said, wiping at the dried blood on your neck. 

“And you need to get that wound looked at,” he said hoarsely.

“You were just attacked, Siddiq,” you reminded him. 

“And you just saved my life so shut up and let me help you,” he said as he helped you to your feet. You both leaned on each other as you made your way into the kitchen. You made him sit down first so you could grab the first aid kit a bowl of water that you poured from an uncontaminated canteen. He obliged but then got to work as soon as his tools were in front of him. 

“How did you know it was Dante?” you asked as Siddiq used a wet cloth to wipe the blood off your skin. 

“He did this...clicking thing with his tongue in the barn. I heard him doing it earlier tonight,” Siddiq explained softly. “I put the rest together.”

“I should have realized something was wrong,” you said. “That’s my job.”

“Nobody has been in the right mind for a while, (Y/N)” he reminded you. 

“I’ve been too distracted,” you said, that guilt coming back, but now it was accompanied by pure anger. 

“You have to stop blaming yourself for everything,” he whispered as he grabbed a needle and thread. “This is going to sting.”

“I’m used to it,” you said, tightening your hands into fists. 

“You seem to be used to a lot,” he said. 

“I’m not going to let him get away with any of this,” you promised. “Dante is going to tell me exactly what I want to know, no matter what I have to do to get it out of him.” 

Siddiq snipped the final thread on the small wound and wiped it once more before bracing his hands on your shoulders. He leaned his head on your back and you could feel a slight tremor as he let himself feel his fear again. 

Reaching back, you gripped his arms and let yourself cry with him. Everyone had a breaking point and for so long you and Siddiq had been pretending that you were okay. Neither of you could do that anymore. Turning around, you grabbed him into your arms and he held you back, resting his head in the crook of your neck. 

“Thank you,” he whispered and at that moment all you could do was nod and grip your friend tighter. In the back of your mind, Carl’s face was a shining light as you saved the one he had sacrificed to save and that only made you cry harder.

--------

It was the next morning when Daryl came to find you.

Dante had been under watch all night in the cell. Eventually coming too, Gabriel had made sure he was still breathing before letting him rot alone in the concrete box.

Now, it was time for answers.

“I need you to talk to him,” Daryl said as he leaned in the doorway of your bedroom. You were tying up your boots as he spoke.

“I figured as much,” you said with a roll of your eyes. “I am way ahead of you, Daryl.”

“I was ready to start breakin’ bones, but Gabriel doesn’t think it would be helpful,” he explained.

“Not with someone like him,” you said. “Alpha’s broken him in ways that we’ll never understand. No kind of pain is gonna make him talk.” Getting to your feet, you grabbed your blade and hooked it on your belt.

“Which is why I need that brain of yours,” he said. Thinking back to when you and he had been interrogating Lydia, you smirked.

“You want my psychological warfare, huh?” you asked, sitting into your hip. Daryl nodded.

“You up for it?” he asked.

“If it gets me to his leaders, I’ll do anything,” you said, passing by him in the doorway.

As you walked towards the cell, you noticed Carol sitting on the stoop of Michonne’s house. She looked livid and you understood why. You also figured she was trying to keep her distance so she didn’t end up slaughtering the monster in the cell below.

Dismissing the guards out front, you headed into the jail and a sense of deja vu cascaded over you. This was not how you wanted any of this to go. The jail cell had become less negative over the past year, but now a true enemy sat behind the bars and it only fueled your rage.

“I need to do this alone,” you said to Daryl who was waiting in the doorway.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Positive,” you responded. He nodded and then left the room, shutting the door behind him.

“You got a mean kick,” Dante said as soon as it was quiet.

“Too bad your head wasn’t harder,” you said, stopping in front of the bars as you crossed your arms. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t cut your throat from ear to ear.”

“I don’t have one,” Dante said. “I don’t care what happens to me, you people have already lost everything.”

“I don’t agree,” you said simply. “You and your...people, don’t know the first thing about me and mine.”

“You have won many battles and many fights,” Dante said. “You think you’re some sort of gods, right?” Shaking your head, you sneered at him.

“If divinity was real, there is no place for it in this hell hole of a world. Stop trying to flatter me and tell me where Alpha is.”

“I don’t know,” Dante said as he sat up straighter on the ground. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“What deal?” you asked.

“My Alpha asked me to do a job and I didn’t question it. That’s how it works in the pack.”

“Your pack is a bunch of soulless monsters that need to be put down,” you sneered.

“What’s wrong with monsters?” Dante asked, grinning in the low light of the cell. There was still blood on his teeth and it made your stomach turn. “I thought you liked monsters? Aren’t you in love with one?”

“You don’t get to speak about him,” you ordered.

“He left you,” Dante said. “Siddiq told me all about the man called Negan. He told me who he was and why he was dangerous.” Dante moved closer to the cell door, nearly crawling on his knees. “What makes him so damn different from me? From Alpha or Beta?”

“You listen to me, you sick son of a bitch, Negan is nothing like you. He is a good man and if you don’t start telling me some fucking truth, you are going to be a dead one.”

“I just know that Alpha would love you,” Dante said and red began to shimmer around the rims of your eyes. “Tell me, (Y/N), do you thirst for blood? Do you crave to feel Beta’s life leave his body?” You were silent, but he could see it, the truth in your eyes. “Ah, you do,” he whispered.

“Don’t act as if you know me,” you said. “We are nothing alike and I will kill Beta but it will not because I’ll enjoy it, but because he deserves it.”

“And what do you deserve?” he taunted, getting to his feet. His hands wrapped around the bars, shoving his face in the space between the iron. “What are you afraid of, (Y/N)? Are you scared of me?” he asked and then something occurred to him. “No, no, that’s not it. You’re not scared of anyone, but you are scared of yourself.”

You lashed out, grabbing him by his shirt and slamming him against the bars. He went down hard and you pulled the key from your belt. You didn’t hesitate to unlock the cell door and rush inside. Dante was spitting up blood from the impact as you kicked out at him.

“You know nothing about me,” you growled at him as you pulled your sword and slammed it into his chest. Dante’s eyes went wide as your blade entered his heart, but you didn’t stop. “You will die miserably and you will never walk with your Guardians,” you spat at him. “I will find Alpha, I will find Beta, and I will kill them. Nobody will remember you and nobody will care that you’re gone.”

Pulling your sword, you let the warm blood drip on his dying body. “I’ll send Alpha your regards,” you finished as you shoved the tip of your sword through his eye, killing his brain instantly.

Everything around you felt as if it were slowing down at that moment as you withdrew your sword from the dead body. Blood was streaked down the blade and it was flecked on your clothes from the arterial spray. Looking down at Dante, you could barely feel anything as you turned away from him and left the cell.

Your body moved on autopilot as you pulled the main door open and walked out into the bright sunshine. Swinging your sword up onto your shoulder, the red blood glinted off the blade. Ignoring everyone who had come running down the road, you pushed past them as you moved into the meeting hall

Daryl watched as you moved through the streets of Alexandria and just as he saw you on the beach with your sword, the way you walked with the blade on your shoulder was all too familiar.

————

“I have an idea,” you said once the leaders convened in the meeting hall. Lydia had joined you, sitting next to you. She seemed almost concerned as she looked at you, but you soon reached out and smoothed a hand over her hair, calming her. She relaxed soon enough.

“Does this one involve killing another hostage?” Aaron argued, but you just narrowed your eyes at him.

“Aaron,” Daryl said cautiously.

“He needed to die,” you said simply. “He poisoned our water, lied to us, and tried to kill Siddiq. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't been there. He could have gone after Rosita or her child.”

“We know, (Y/N),” Daryl said, but you were shaking your head.

“I don’t think you do,” you said. “Alpha has been playing dirty since day one. It’s time for us to send a message back to her and her people.”

“What did you have in mind?” Gabriel asked. Looking at all the faces in the room, your eyes landed on Carol’s who was trying to figure out what was going on inside your head. However, you weren’t even sure if you knew yourself.

“It’s something I have to do alone,” you said. “And I’m going to need Dante’s body.”

———-

You had now grown accustomed to the smell of blood and decaying flesh.

Living in the new world, it was a constant in life, but even more so now, the scent followed you around. However, right now you welcomed it.

Moving through the dark, you dragged a makeshift sleigh behind you. On it, lay Dante’s decapitated body.

When you had told Daryl what you planned to do, he was worried about you, but you were done with the kid gloves. If Alpha wanted to play dirty, that is exactly what you were going to do.

Arriving at the Southern border, you scanned the area for any Whisperers, but so far it remained quiet. Dropping the reins on the sleigh, you took the other bag you carried and removed your other prize.

Dante’s head stared up at you with vacant eyes. You frowned at the rotting flesh as you took it and placed it on one of the pikes that made up the barrier. Blood and gore trickled down the wood, but it did the job.

Going back to the sleigh, you pulled Dante’s body off and lay it at the base of the pike, letting the body crumple to the ground. Finally, from the sleigh, you took the torches Daryl had made for you and hammered them into the hard ground.

Lighting them with a flick of a match, they lit up the boundary like a bloody beacon. Staring at the statement you made, you felt a swell of power in your gut. Looking past the boundary and towards wherever Alpha was held up, you let the fire illuminate your eyes.

“You’re not the only ones who can play with fire,” you said to the darkness before turning and walking away from the border, letting the flames speak for themselves.

——————-

When you arrived home, you didn’t speak to anyone.

Daryl was watching you from the doorway of Michonne’s home, but you ignored him. Still covered in blood, you made it to your house and into the garage. Dropping your sword on a workbench, you grabbed a cardboard tube from behind a stack of old chairs.

“What are you doing?” Lydia asked as she entered the garage. You just popped the top on the tube and pulled out three large sheets of paper. The maps of the area were something you had found in Deanna’s house before the Saviours attacked. You were very grateful for them now.

Lydia joined you as you spread the maps out on another bench. She looked down at them with a furrowed brow. You looked up at her and with determination in your eyes, you said, “We’re going to find Negan,” you said. “Then, we’re going to find your mother and her attack dog.”

Lydia was quiet for a moment before pushing up her sleeves and nodding. “Where do we start?”

TAGS: @lucillethings @cameronsails @stark-dreams @amaroho @thanossexual @yes-sir-hotchner @boom-bunny @delusionalteenagewhispers @scootankle @ritajammer21 @writteriguess @tea-atfive @jennydehavilland @waspyyy @yespleasejayhalstead @hoemadegrace @writingdeadangel @huffledor-able541 @pulplorrd @felicisimor

[achillestiel]

the parent trap only works if you’re identical | part four

Tag List: @littlerachelbee @imthedoctorlove @deancas-handprint @castiel-loves-dean @wanderermatthews @thelahatiel @priscillahc @mridzyp @multi-fandom-dark-lord @thefantasyfiend @harmonyhelms @imlivingliferightnow ​ @kara-merlin @still-clowning-in-this-house @never-forever-more @continuezmesfilserrants @2musiclover2 @castiels-bitch 

Ok Winchester, you can do this. Just be cool, calm and collected. Dean said to himself as he drove towards Foxhall Village, the area that Cas and Jack lived in. Jack had fallen fast asleep about an hour before and every now and then Dean would glance over, marvelling at how much Jack looked like Sammy when he slept. They would both zonk out instantly, mouth slightly open without a care in the world. As much as Dean missed Claire, because that pint sized tearaway was his whole damn world, he couldn’t help but wish that he’d been able to get to know Jack more. 

"Hey kid we're here." Dean said as they drove up the street Cas now lived on. "Nice place, what's your dad doing now here in DC?"

"Oh, he's the head of the council of economic advisers." Jack said. "Which sounds cool but it just means he talks about economic policy a lot. It’s cool when he goes to the White House, last time he stole a pen for me. Don’t tell anyone because I’m not sure if that illegal or not." 

Dean just sat there for a moment because of course Cas now had a great job within the government. When they'd first met Dean had made endless jokes about how Cas would be president one day. Cas had always rolled his eyes but smiled whenever Dean jokingly called him Mr President. 

"What's wrong?" Jack asked. 

"Nothing kid, come on. Let's get you back to your dad. No doubt Claire has driven him insane by now so getting her back will be easy." Dean said, getting out the car when all he wanted to do was clamber back into the impala and hightail it back to Kansas. Yes, he was being a coward but the idea of seeing Cas after all this time was doing things to his brain. 

"Doubt it, he's put up with Uncle Gabriel for all these years." Jack said. 

"Yeah, I remember your uncle alright. Ruined our damn couch." Dean muttered darkly. 

"That doesn't surprise me." Jack said as the pair walked up the driveway towards a large Tudor style house. Huh working in government definitely pays well Dean thought. Swallowing down his fear, Dean rang the doorbell. He prayed to whoever was up there that he didn't throw up on the tasteful doormat. The door opened and Dean braced himself to see Cas. Instead, he came face to face with-

"Uncle Gabriel!" Jack said happily. Dean suppressed a groan as he looked down at the short, cheerful-looking man. How was it possible that Gabriel looked almost exactly the same after twelve goddamn years?  

"Well if it isn't my favourite nephew." Gabriel said happily as he pulled Jack in for a hug. "And you brought Winchester! Never brought he'd leave Kansas. Is your brother still an Adonis of a man?"

"Was he ever?" Dean asked as he held out his hand for Gabriel to shake. Sure the guy might have wreaked Dean's brand new couch fourteen years prior but he was trying to be polite. 

"Oh he was and I let him know all the time. Shame he was so happy with Eileen." Gabriel said, looking wistfully as he shook Dean's hand. 

"Yeah well...not that it isn't nice to see you again Gabriel but I kind of need to grab my daughter." Dean said. Maybe he could do this whole thing without having to even see Cas. Part of him was relieved but that idea and the other part of him was just a swirl of emotions.  

"Of course, follow me to the kitchen." Gabriel said, stepping back inside the house and motioning for Dean to follow him. Dean obliged, looking around the pristine hallway for any sign of Cas. Jack was hot on their heels as they walked into the kitchen. Dean stopped and just glared at the sight in front of him. 

Claire, wearing one of Dean's flannel shirts that was definitely three sizes too big for her, was cheerfully stirring the contents of a large saucepan. Loudly humming along to a song on the radio, which after a second Dean placed as Queen. When Dean coughed loudly she looked up and grinned. 

"Dad! Come on in, we're making chilli for dinner." Claire said, looking far too happy for her own good. "Jack, grab some chips and gauc out the fridge." 

"We?" Dean asked while Jack sauntered past him towards the huge sub zero refrigerator. 

"Hello Dean." And damn if that didn't make Dean want to sprint out the house. He braced himself and looked over to where Cas was standing. All the breath in Dean’s body left him as his eyes fell onto Cas. He looked almost exactly the same apart from a few wrinkles around the startlingly blue eyes that Dean had always adored. His hair was still a complete mess and...son of a bitch, he was even wearing the blue sweater Dean had brought him for Christmas fifteen years prior. Seriously, was he doing this on purpose? 

“Um...hey Cas...long time.” Dean managed to stammer out. 

“Dork.” He heard Claire mutter under her breath. 

“Hey.” Dean said, rounding on Claire. “You got any idea how much trouble you’re in of this little stunt? This ain’t gonna be like the time you blew up the shed, you’re gonna be grounded until the day you graduate high school. Maybe even college.” Dean said. 

“You blew up a shed?” Cas, Gabriel and Jack all asked, staring at Claire mix of horror (Cas) and awe (Jack and Gabriel). 

“Ok, I didn’t blow up the shed. I started a small fire in the shed by accident.” Claire retorted. Dean and Cas both groaned as Jack walked over to give Claire a high five. 

“I really love this kid.” Gabriel announced. 

“Oh Jesus.” Dean muttered at the same as Cas. They both glanced at one another for a moment before Dean turned his attention back to Claire. “You. Car. Now.”

-

I should have stayed hiding upstairs. Cas thought as he stared, yes he was staring, at Dean. How was it possible that Dean looked even better after twelve years? Dean in his early twenties had been a sight to behold but Dean in his late thirties was a thing of beauty. His boyish good looks had turned into handsome roguishness.  

“Dad, I can’t leave yet. We’ve just laid the table.” Claire said to Dean.

"We thought you'd be hungry after driving all day so Claire and I made dinner." Cas said. In reality Gabriel had dragged him into the kitchen wherein he’d found Claire already making chilli. Cas wasn’t going to tell Dean that.

"That's a nice thought but-"

"Dad, I know all you've eaten today was gas store jerky.” Claire said, rolling her eyes. “Am I right?” she asked Jack who just nodded. “See? Now wash your hands, sit down and eat this damn chilli because I’m Aunt Eileen’s recipe and I know that’s your favourite.” Claire said, pointing a chilli covered wooden spoon at Dean. Cas simply could not fight the smile that spread across his face when he saw Dean’s terrified expression.

“Fine, just chill out. God you sound like Ellen when you do that.” Dean said, going over the sink to wash his hands before grabbing a seat and sitting down. Cas rolled his eyes, not even realising he was doing it until Dean looked over and glared. Dean was nearly forty and he was pouting like a small child.     

“Well while you all enjoy this little family reunion I’m going to grab some wine...maybe a enough for a vineyard.” Gabriel said as he sauntered out the room. 

“Does Gabriel live here?” Dean asked Jack.

“No, he was getting his condo renovated so he stayed here for a while. He’s back home now.”

“Longest eight weeks of my entire life.” Cas said quietly. “Jack, can you help Claire dish up?”

“Sure thing, let me run my bags upstairs and I’ll be right back.” Jack said.

“Oh I’ll help you!” Claire said as they both ran out the room. 

“Nice to know subtly isn’t their strong point.” Dean said with a nervous laugh. Cas just let out a long sigh and sat down across from Dean. 

“Yes, I’m starting to think they might be plotting something.” Cas said. “If Claire is anything like Jack in the determination department then we might be in trouble.”

“Oh believe me, Claire does not need any help when it comes to determination. She can wrap anyone round her finger. You know I still have a scar on my forehead from when she made me go rollerblading?”

“You went rollerblading?” Cas asked, utterly baffled by the idea of Dean Winchester going rollerblading. 

“Not voluntarily.” Dean said. Cas laughed and was shocked to see Dean’s face light up. “Um...I’m sorry to crash your evening like this. I didn’t think that I’d be here tonight.”

“No, when I went to the train station to pick up Jack I didn’t expect to see my twelve year old daughter.” Cas said. “You don’t have to apologise, I’ve enjoyed having Claire here.”

“Yeah, I really liked spending time with Jack, he’s a good kid.” Dean said. “Listen Cas-”

“Got the wine!” Gabriel said, strolling back into the kitchen holding two bottles of red wine. “Where’s Thing One and Thing Two.”

“Here!” Jack and Claire said in unison. Cas had a feeling the two had just been waiting outside the door for at least a minute. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the smug look Jack gave Claire as they were dishing up dinner. Gabriel kept himself busy by pouring all the adults generous glasses of wine. Dean tried to protest because he still needed to drive back to Kansas but Gabriel laughed him off. 

“So Deano, what have you been up to all these years?” Gabriel asked after nearly ten minutes of awkward silence while they ate. 

“Oh...um...not much…” Dean said, staring down at his chilli. 

“You have!” Claire intoned. She turned to Gabriel and Cas with a proud look on her face. “When Uncle Bobby decided to retire five years ago Dad brought his share of the garage. It’s expanded so much over the past few years that last year Dad brought the empty lot next door. He’s restoring a 1957 Chevy Bel Air at the moment and it’s awesome.” Claire said with so much pride in her voice that it made Cas smile fondly. Dean had always had a love for classic cars and he was happy to see that he had made his passion a profession. 

“That’s amazing Dean, you should be proud.” Cas said.

“He is, he’s just awful at saying it.” Claire said. “We’ve got this old Firebird in the garage back home that Dad’s slowly been restoring. It’s really cool.”

“Are you planning on selling it once it’s restored?”

“Um...no...I mean, I was thinkin’ bout it but Claire loves the car so much that I’m planning on giving it to her as a graduation present.” Dean said, looking away from his plate of chilli to give Claire a quick, but loving, smile. “That’s if she gets good grades and promises to take care of it.” he added and Claire laughed. 

“Me and Jack could take a twin road trip when we both graduate.” Claire said excitedly. “See the grand canyon or hike Yosemite!”

“And Yellowstone! We could see the geothermal pools.” Jack said with as much excitement as Claire. 

“You know most teenagers would want to go to Tijuana.” Gabriel said. 

“Does Tijuana have cool rock formations like Antelope Canyon? If not I don’t care about it.” Jack said and once again he and Claire high fived. It was at that moment Cas realised this wasn’t going to be easy. Claire and Jack knew about each other now. They’d bonded while at camp and separating them again would not only break their hearts but Cas’ as well.

“Yeah well, we’ll see.” Dean said in a small voice, catching Cas’ eye. This isn’t going to end well he said with his eyes. Cas nodded in agreement. While Claire and Jack began to plan a road trip that was several years away, Cas coughed to get Dean’s attention.  

“I’m glad you’re doing something you love, with the garage I mean.”

“Oh...yeah, well you always knew it was a dream of mine to have my own garage.”

“I did and if I remember rightly I said that it would become a reality.” Cas said. 

“Yeah well, it’s not as big as working in the white house but…”

“Dean, I think we both know that your job is far more interesting than mine. I talk about budgets all day while you-”

“Are stuck in the guts of a car and come home covered in axle grease? Seriously, Claire hoses me down some days.” Dean said letting out a small laugh as, once again, he glanced fondly at Claire. 

“She’s amazing, I have to say. You’ve done an amazing job in raising her.” Cas said and he really meant it. True, most of the time he’d spent with a teenage Claire included Cas ‘spiralling’ but he’d enjoyed it. 

“You say that now because she’s on her best behaviour...sort of. You do remember she set fire to the shed right? You’ve got the real winner with Jack. That kid, he’s just awesome. Really smart, kind of reminds me of Sam.”

“Can we both agree that our kids are amazing and leave it at that?” Cas asked. Dean chuckled and Cas was flooded with memories at the sound. His stomach ached with longing to make Dean laugh like that again and again. This really wasn’t going to end well at all.

[samwinchestersgf]

guardian angel

requested by: anonymous

request: Could you write something with Gabriel being the guardian angel of Sam and Dean's little sister?

summary: sam and dean’s younger sister is a klutz. after cracking under the pressure of living up to her brothers’ reputation, gabriel, her guardian archangel, makes her feel better.

warnings: mild language. angst. gabriel being a turd bucket, and then being a sweetheart. fluff.

i sit around the big map table in the bunker with sam and dean. with my arms crossed, i lean back in my chair. damn, they’re insufferable at times, but, this time is worse than ever before.

“what do you mean i can’t come on the hunt with you?” i ask, outraged.

“i mean exactly what i said, y/n.” dean’s voice raises, daring me to top it.

i match his volume. “why can’t i come?!”

“because i said so, okay?” he gets up to his feet. he’s louder than me, and bigger than me. he always has been.

“this is some misogynistic bullshit.” i bring my tone up the slightest.

this really pisses him off. “i am not a misogynist for wanting to keep my little sister safe. sorry, that’s not how it works.”

“i’d be safe on the hunt!” i look over at sam for back up. he’s always been the more reasonable one.

he shrugs his shoulders and mouths the word, ‘sorry.’

“when have i ever not been safe on a hunt?!” i retry my approach.

“just about every damn time!” his voice booms through the bunker, ricocheting off the walls.

“i’ve never gotten hurt!” i look back over to sam, my eyes begging him to stand up for me.

“maybe you’ve never gotten that hurt... but you are super clumsy.” his voice is low and quiet compared to mine and dean’s.

“see, i’ve never gotten that hurt, just like, scratches and stuff.” i give him a smug look.

“you fall around so much, there’s a chance that this time could be the time that you get seriously hurt.” sam’s sympathetic with me, trying to get me to calm down.

sam has always been the level-headed sibling. he’s always the mediator. even when we were younger, the only person he’d argue with was dad, and he didn’t get the balls to do that until he was older. still, he’s 6 years older than me and has made it his personal duty to protect me. he enjoys playing the role that dean always got to play when we were little.

dean and i, though, are always at each other’s throats. it not that we don’t get along, because we do, but we both inherited our father’s stubbornness, whereas sam was blessed with mary’s mediating abilities. dean’s a whole decade older than me, so he thinks he’s all tough.

“i can take care of myself,” i reroute the conversation. i find myself saying that line a lot.

“when dad died, he made it my responsibility to take care of you and i’m not gonna let you go out and get hurt.” dean spits.

when dean brings up dad, out of respect, he knows that i’ll do what he says. that’s why he doesn’t bring him up very often. i lean backwards in my chair quickly, but too harshly. the chair goes flying down to the ground.

i close my eyes and prepare for impact, but it never comes. i feel myself being pushed up and back to the chair’s neutral position. my brothers look confused, and so do i.

“did you...?” my voice trails off, looking at dean.

“my reflexes are quick, but not that quick.” he shakes his head. “but, see? you’re clumsy.”

“dean, can i at least pr-“

“you’re not coming. i’m serious.” he says sternly.

“sam?” i turn to him, pleading with my eyes.

“sorry, y/n.”

i huff and push my hair away from the table, standing up. “fine. i’ll go to my room and be useless.”

as i whip around, my elbow bumps into the chair, which goes tumbling to the ground, charting course to land right on my feet. but, i’m yanked backwards, away from the chair.

“ow!” i yelp at the grip on my waist. “dean!”

“that’s wasn’t me.” he throws his hands up.

“seriously? i’m not stupid.” i gripe.

“it really wasn’t him.” sam confirms.

irked, i shrug it off. “whatever.”

i walk to my room and flop on the bed. what a lousy day. apparently i’m too clumsy for anything. frustration bubbles up in me. when are they gonna stop treating me like a little kid? i’m 25 years old.

i grip my pillow in my hands. stupid brothers. stupid hunting monsters. stupid clumsy feet. stupid everything. it’s not fun being the weakest link.

i groan and chuck my pillow across the room, but it stops midair. i blink, “what the fuck.”

i grab the gun from my bed side table, and when i turn back around, the pillow is gone. i stand up at the foot of my bed, holding the gun ready. something weird is going on.

something that feels a lot like my pillow smacks me in the back of the head. i turn around and point the gun at the wall. there’s nothing there. i let out a deep, shaky breath.

suddenly, my pillow is being held to my face from someone behind me. i let out a scream, and the pillow immediately falls to the ground. i turn around and with a sweep of my feet, knock the intruder to the ground. i stomp on their leg and cock my gun, pointing it at their head.

“who the hell- gabriel?”

footsteps pound down the hallway. it’s no doubt sam and dean, alerted by my scream. i look at him, absolutely confused.

“call off your attack dogs and then we’ll talk.” he says before disappearing again.

sam and dean burst through the door. dean is the first to speak, “what happened?!”

“there was a snake!” i lie. “he slithered back into the wall.”

“you scared us, y/n.” sam relaxed.

“well, the snake scared me.” i half-apologize.

they roll their eyes and leave. i shut the door behind them and cross my arms at gabriel, who has reappeared, but this time on his feet.

“why did you try to suffocate me with my pillow?” i whisper.

“just having some fun, darlin.” he smiles.

i’m not amused. “why are you here?”

“well, if you haven’t noticed, you’re a little clumsy.” he teases.

“if you’re just gonna bash me for it, you can leave.” i warn, aggravated.

“that’s not why i’m here. although, it is super funny.” he smirks.

“i will scream.”

“fine, fine. i’m your guardian angel, or whatever.” gabriel admits.

“my what?” i raise an eyebrow.

“all those times you should’ve gotten hurt out there, but didn’t? that was me.” he comes clean.

“so, you’re the prick that bruised my waist from grabbing me so hard.” i roll my eyes.

“i’m the prick that stopped you from breaking your toe.” he sasses. “let see the bruises.”

“gabriel, no-“

“seriously, let me see. i’m not supposed to let you get hurt.” he demands.

“it’s just some bruises.” i counter.

“that’s still an injury.” he points out.

i reluctantly lift my shirt up to my ribcage and hold it there, allowing him to look at the purple bruises he left. it’s an awkward moment, for sure. his eyes linger there for what seems like forever. i clear my throat, and he snaps out of it and walks toward me.

i let my shirt drop to it’s neutral position and back up, “what are you doing?”

“healing you.” he states.

“gabriel, it’s literally just a few bruises.” i screw up my face.

“it’s bruised down to the bone.” he informs me.

“what the hell?!” i lift my shirt up slightly and look at the bruises again. “all you did was grab me!”

“i’m an archangel, sweetie. we’re rough.” he winks.

“ew.” i throw my pillow at him.

“seriously, c’mere.” he beckons me toward him.

i roll my eyes and walk toward him, holding my shirt up. his large hands grip my waist, sending jolts of butterflies through my stomach. light radiates from his fingertips, and when he pulls away, the bruises are gone.

i gingerly press on my side, and there’s no pain at all. i look back up at gabriel, who is inches away from me. my face flushes red and i clear my throat, taking a step back.

“thank you.” i swallow.

“you’re welcome.” he nods.

dean’s shouts echo through the bunker. “we’re leaving now! remember to stay inside and call jody is you need anything.”

“gabriel?” i smirk.

“what?”

“you might have to protect me from my brother’s fists.” i grin.

“what? kid, don’t make my job harder. y/n-“

i take off towards the garage, taking a short cut, and hop in one of our spare cars. it’s a pickup truck. i sink low into the seat so the boys won’t see me. i hear them as they walk into the garage.

“i kind of feel bad, dean.” i hear sam say as they approach their car. “she really wanted to come.”

“so? she’ll be fine.” he shrugs.

“she’s upset.” sam reasons.

“and she’ll get over it. should we take the truck?” he asks. my body tenses up. oh god, please don’t take the truck.

“it’s too cramped in there.” sam shakes his head.

“you’re right.”

the door to the impala closes and i watch as they drive off. gabriel pops into the passenger’s seat beside me.

“this is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. they’re gonna kill you.” he tells me.

“good thing i have a guardian angel.” i smile cheesily.

i speed off after them and follow them through the twisting roads. i wonder if they’re suspicious of me. they probably are. they’ve probably already recognized the car.

my phone rings, making me jump. i pick up. “hello?”

“is everything okay at home?” sam’s voice asks through the phone.

“yep. hey, where you guys even going?” i ask.

he sighs, “a vampire hunt. it’s not too far, but stay home. we should be back soon.”

“fine. bye, sam.” i hang up the phone. “ready to watch me kill some bloodsuckers, gabe?”

“y/n, you should go home.” he leans back in the seat.

“if you say that again i’ll make your job even harder by crashing the car.” i joke.

he scoffs. “seriously, go home.”

“listen, i don’t even need a guardian angel in the first place, much less another person bossing me around.” my tone becomes serious.

“you do need a guardian angel.” he rolls his eyes. “you’d be dead by now without me.”

“bullshit. i don’t need- or want a guardian angel. so, go away.” i huff.

“y/n, c’mon-“

“go away and stop guarding me, gabriel.” i demand.

he sighs. “fine.”

he disappears and i slam on my steering wheel. i watch as sam and dean pull into a warehouse. i wait until they walk into the building to park and get out. i walk up behind them and tap them on the shoulder with a shit-eating grin on my face.

“y/n, what the hell?” dean whisper shouts. “get out!”

“i’m here to help, there’s no reason in sending me home now.” i smile.

“i’m killing you when we get home.” he groans as vampires come running towards us.

i take my machete and start slinging, one by one demolishing the nest by cutting their heads off. i get carried away. i’m doing really good!

a pair of fangs plunge into my neck and start sucking. a sharp pain coarses through my body. i scream and writhe under their touch. i feel the blood flowing out of my neck and into their mouth, but i’m utterly helpless.

i’m pushed to the ground, away from the vampire. i look up and watch as gabriel decapitates him. he looks down at me, his face saying all i need to know. if he were to speak right now, he would say- “i told you so.”

he quickly leans down and presses two fingers to my neck, healing my injury, and then vanishes into thin air. sam and dean come running over to my side.

“are you okay?” sam asks.

“did it hurt you?” his voice is threatening.

“no, i killed him.” i lie. “i just fell.”

dean is furious with me, so he drives home alone, while sam accompanies me in the truck. after a few minutes of driving, he turns to me with a smile on his face.

“you faired pretty well.” he’s full of pride.

i know i really didn’t, and i’d probably be dead if it weren’t for gabriel. “i know.”

back at the bunker, i sit on my bed, hugging mh pillow. i was raised by one of the best hunters ever, and i suck at hunting. i’ve had every resource i could imagine to get better, and all the experience i could have, and i still suck.

i cry. the hot tears stream down my face. i’m really not good at anything, am i? i’m the worst winchester. i can’t do anything. i need a guardian angel to save my life because i can’t even handle myself with a dumb vampires nest. sam and dean were right; gabriel was right; everyone was right about me.

the bed dips a little in the corner. i look up and see gabriel sitting there, watching me. i sniff and wipe the tears away, trying (and failing) to cover up the fact that i’m upset.

“you’ve gotten stop surprising me like that.” i force a laugh.

“i’m always watching, y/n. i know you’re crying.” he’s sympathetic, but i don’t want him to be.

i deflect. “always watching? that’s creepy.”

“a little, but enjoy the show.” he laughs.

“ew, gabe.” i crinkle up my nose.

“why are you crying?” he asks, getting back on topic.

“do we really have to talk about this?” i groan.

“well, i am your guardian angel.” he shrugs.

“i’m not hurt.”

he adds, “physically.”

“it’s a story for another time,” i sniff.

“no, no. now.” he corrects.

i roll my eyes and hesitate. “i’m the worst winchester.”

“you’re all pretty insufferable, and stubborn.” he waves a dismissive hand.

“gee, thanks, but, thats not what i mean.” i press my lips into a grimace. “i can’t hunt. i need a stupid guardian angel to watch over me so i don’t die. i’m not good at anything.”

“i bet you’re good at something.” he reasons.

“nope.” i shake my head.

“hm...” his eyes flicker down to my mouth. my breath hitches.

he leans in, before i could even protest (if i wanted to), and kisses me. gabriel, the archangel, kisses me. my hands work through his hair momentarily before he pulls away.

he breaths, “you’re good at that.”

my face flushes red. maybe i do need a guardian angel.

[catyo90]

Daryl x Reader: The Storm

SEASON 4 AND 5 SPOILERS!!!

Hershel, Bob, Beth, and Tyreese. They were all gone. The prison was destroyed. Eugene’s story of the world being savable. A lie. 

Morale was low. Practically gone to some. Maggie and Sasha were silent to everyone. But to you, there was one other suffering as much as them. Daryl.

The group had decided to head north or at least find something better. If there was any. You didn’t really see much of any good that was gonna happen if you continued but you still followed Rick and the others. Being alone would be suicide by this point. 

You felt a small tap on your shoulder. You turned around to see Daryl pointing to the woods and gestured for you to follow. You and Daryl had been the hunters of the group for some time and managed to work as well as anyone. The two of you had been luckier than the others of the group.

Daryl had lost his brother but other than him, Daryl didn’t have anyone else from before to worry for or care about. As for you, You had a family but they didn’t survive very long. They all died shortly after everything started. You had met Daryl and the others shortly after, at that time though Shane was still the leader. You always saw Daryl in a different light than the others. He would come to you for advice and medical attention. While in turn, you would come to him to learn to track and hunt. 

-

As you wandered into the woods after him you saw he had sat down on a small dirt path with a small barn nearby smoking a cigarette. You sighed as you walked up and sat down next to him. You looked around through the woods and saw no walkers for miles. For now, you could rest. You leaned a bit onto Daryl watching him fiddle them his hands, taking a quick smoke every few minutes. 

You watched as he bent one of his legs to rest his arm on. You gently placed a hand on his shoulder and gently slid your hand over his arm to his hand, intertwining his hand with yours. You felt his hand grip onto yours tightly, as if you would slip away. You closed your eyes and placed your head on his shoulder. 

You saw his body shaking as you looked up to see he was crying. You let go of his hand and brought both your arms around him holding him close letting him rest his head against the crook of your neck. You felt his tears hit your skin as his arms wrapped around your waist. You looked up at the sky and started to feel tears fall down your cheeks. You took a gentle hand and combed through his hair. 

-

After a few minutes, you both wiped away the tears and took a breath, you stood up helping Daryl up as well. You flung your bow over your shoulder and gave him one final hug before taking his hand and leading the both of you back to the others.

When you arrived back on the highway you saw the others on high alert. You saw a dozen water bottles all sealed and a note on top saying “From a Friend”. You watched as the others wondered whether or not to drink it. You didn’t really care but you were not on alert knowing that someone was following or at least watching the lot of you. You drew an arrow and got ready to shoot anything that moved.

Suddenly a loud boom from the sky made everyone jump a little. You felt rain hit your face and arm. You smiled to yourself as you looked at the others who welcomed the cool rain and started to grab anything to collect water. You saw everyone smiling except for Maggie, Sasha, and Daryl. You stepped over to Daryl and placed your hand on his arm, he turned to you. You leaned your forehead against his. You closed your eyes and so did he. He knew what you were trying to say. And you knew he needed time. 

Suddenly another loud boom of thunder got closer and the wind and rain started to blow faster and wilder. Daryl and You stepped back from each other and he turned to Rick and yelled out.

“There’s a barn!”

“Where?.”

Daryl pointed in the direction and gestured for everyone to follow. The storm was soon on top of the area. Beating down on the whole group. Luckily the barn was not far away. You and Rick walked in first and saw no walkers. The others walked around the barn to make sure. Luckily there was only one in a room the Maggie took care of. All of you went to different spots of the barn. Abraham and Sasha sat in silence while Eugene, Tara, Rosita, Noah, and Carl slept. Daryl and you were sitting with Glenn, Carol, Michonne, and Rick. Maggie was laying down nearby but you knew she was awake.

You listened as Rick spoke about this world was it and how we now were the walking dead. You stood up and said.

“No, this world can still change. But we have to try” You walked away grabbing your bow from the corner walking to the front of the barn. Daryl stood up as well only saying to Rick.

“We ain’t them.”

Daryl walked away to where you were but noticed the door was thrashing a lot with the wind and the storm continuing. You saw him place his crossbow down and walk up to the door and suddenly he gasped taking the chain on the door and tightening it. You saw him place his back against the door and you quickly followed dropping your bow and pushing your whole weight against the door. You saw through a small hole that walkers were outside. Suddenly the door started to rattle violently as walkers groaned and snarled trying to get in. You tried your best keeping the doors closed, you saw Maggie join the both of you, and immediately Sasha did as well. 

Soon Carol, Rick, Michonne, and Glenn were holding the door as well. Then, Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita followed by Noah and Gabriel. You could feel the pressure of the door against you as you turned to push against it with your back. You saw Carl laying Judith on the ground and then running to help everyone. You turned your head to Daryl and to Rick nodding to both of them to push on.

-

The morning had finally come. The walkers never got through. You opened your eyes to see Daryl sitting up next to you. You looked around to see the door to the barn was slightly ajar and Maggie and Sasha stepping outside to scout the area. You were about to get up but Daryl stopped you. He laid down next to you and brought an arm around your waist bringing you closer. He brought a hand to yours and held it close.

“Last night was rough.” You said looking down at his hand.

“Yea...Could've been worse.” He said bringing you closer as he leaned his head in bringing a light kiss to your forehead. 

You smiled to yourself as you brought your head into the crook of his neck. You smiled to yourself for a moment and spoke.

“It will be okay.”

Daryl sighed as he held you tight. 

“Y/n...Look at me.”

You looked up and saw him lean in bringing a very gentle kiss to your lips. You leaned in to give a kiss in return but stopped going any further. He smiled to himself as he brought you closer. 

“Now it will be okay.”

[bumbleberrysky]

alexa, play candyshop (bass boosted) | 02

pairing: gabriel x reader genre: soulmate au, canon divergent around s13, hurt/comfort, humour, future smut (probs) wc: 3.7k rating: sfw warnings: same as before, wounded gabriel & removal of those stitches notes: the fire under my ass burns as strong as ever, hallelujah

You knew there was a reason some divine power brought you to the Winchesters all those years ago, but to this day you still have no idea what that reason is. It’s something you’re destined to find out soon though, especially when you return to the bunker after months away and find not only a new face, but one that belongs to someone who up until that point you’d thought was dead. What does his return have to do with the changes you’re suddenly experiencing in yourself? Will you finally find out the reason you’d been brought here in the first place? Maybe…

Chuck works in mysterious ways after all.

prev. || next

Much to your regret, your plans the next morning to continue being a nuisance to Dean are thrown in the bin at his decision to leave early and meet Castiel somewhere a state over for a case that the angel had found. Something about vamps in a mine or something, you’re a bit hazy on the details. You’d only half-listened when Sam filled you in upon your arrival in the kitchen, a good hour after Dean had already departed the bunker.

While you would like to say Dean is completely to blame, the truth is that once you passed out last night you slept like a log and didn’t wake up until mid-morning today, which classifies as a sleep-in of sorts for you. You love sleep, but your body is wired to wake up not long after sunrise, unfortunately. It’s that hunter lifestyle you love to hate.

Sam had huffed a laugh at your face when you found out you’d missed Dean, but otherwise had kept to himself with his healthy breakfast as you went about making yourself a coffee. You tend to be a bit nauseous in the mornings, so a coffee will be enough for you for a few hours. It’s likely your stomach won’t roar in hunger until a bit after midday, as it is wont to do.

“How is your arm?”

Sam’s question breaks you out of the dissociative state you’d slipped into as you sip your coffee, grip on the mug tightening in reflex. It takes a few blinks before your eyes focus back on him, a small smile on your lips.

“Much better, thank you doctor,” you answer, before mumbling into your coffee as you take another sip. “Despite apparent attempts at making it otherwise…”

Sam snorts, not even bothering to comment on that. “I’m glad. Did you have anything planned for the day?”

A contemplative hum escapes you, your gaze wandering to the ceiling. “No, not really. I kind of went hard for a while there, one case after the other, so I’m due for a break. Not much of a fan of burnout.”

Your eyes move back down, meeting his own. “I’m probably going to just hang back, for a bit. Recuperate. I mean, I didn’t get any injury besides my arm, but I’m just… tired, I suppose. Didn’t get much sleep the past few weeks.”

“Of course you didn’t hurt anything but your arm,” Sam rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his smoothie—you’re not a fan of the green tinge it has, but if he likes it then you suppose it must be alright, at least. “You and your stupid good luck. Dean is still mad about last time, you know. When he got splattered in monster guts that just missed you by a centimetre.”

The memory yanks a giggle out of you before you can stop it, almost spilling your coffee as a result of the abrupt movement. “Oh, that was good. I wish I had a picture so I could scrapbook it.”

Sam laughs around a mouthful of food, swallowing it down before he continues. “Dean would kill you.”

“I know, but it would be worth it.” You place your cup down, deciding it a better course of action than continuing to hold it and risking spillage. “Also, I know you think my luck is really good all the time, but it’s kind of just good occasionally. All other times, it sucks.”

“It kicks in when you hunt, though, so I suppose that’s all that matters,” Sam muses, flicking through an article on his phone somewhat distractedly. He hums to himself before turning the screen off and angling his body to you properly, meeting your questioning gaze.

“I’m… I’m gonna need your help,” he says, appearing somewhat sheepish. “With Gabriel.”

You try not to let your sharp intake of breath show, but from the look that flickers through Sam’s eyes you figure he catches it anyway. Your teeth worry your bottom lip for a moment before you can muster a proper response. “Alright. What are you thinking of doing?”

Sam adjusts once more, pushing his plate away, cutlery stacked on top; it’s only now that you realise he’s finished the meal and the only thing left to consume is his smoothie.

“Well, I’m not… entirely sure yet.”

You huff a laugh, attempting to regain a sense of normalcy. It isn’t that you’d forgotten about the battered archangel hiding in a room a few doors down from yours, but it’s moreso that you’d made it a point not to think about it so early in the morning, lest your mood be ruined for the entire day. Thinking of Gabriel… it kind of hurt. You’re not sure you’re ready to sit down and analyse exactly why you’re having such visceral reactions yet.

“I don’t think we can really plan much, here,” he says, features softening with empathy. It reminds you that when it comes to Hell and being tortured, the youngest Winchester isn’t as unfamiliar as you might hope. A pang of something hits against the confines of your chest at his tone and the passing look in his eyes; as always, there’s the useless feeling, the wish you could take away all the bad memories and experiences and make it all better. You know you can’t, nothing can, but you hate seeing your friends in any modicum of pain.

You suppose that includes Gabriel, if the sensations whirling within you at the thought of him are anything to go by.

“We’ll just have to take it as it comes,” you say, taking your mug into your hold and downing the rest of the drink in one go. “Alright! I’m gonna shower and then… I guess we go see him.”

x   x

 Unlike the Gabriel you were once so familiar with, this Gabriel is decidedly not fond of visitors.

Sam had gone and prepared some things while you’d showered and dressed, and by the time you reappear outside your room you hear shuffling from the direction of the library. Curious, you make your way down the hall, peeking your head in and blinking in only minor surprise at the sight of Sam, his shoulders heavy.

“What’s up, Sam-o-saurus?”

Sam looks up and gives you the closest approximation to a bitch face that you’ve ever received from him, clearly not fond of the new nickname that came to you on the spot like a divine enlightenment. He takes a moment to close his eyes and breathe, though, which is probably for the best considering your mission for the day. It would do none of you any good if he went near Gabriel while all riled up.

“Gabriel is, uh,” he clears his throat, placing down a sterile steel tray in the shape of a bean and small surgical scissors, along with a scalpel. Your gaze strays to the side and sees that it was the first aid box he’d been ransacking as you arrived. “Not very open to visitation from me right now. I think I might be a bit… bit big. He doesn’t really even see me when he looks at me, so I don’t think he realises who I am.”

You wince, trying not to dwell on the information longer than needed to file it away for later consideration. “Oh. Sorry, Sam. You want me to go see if I can bring him out?”

“Please,” the tall man says, gesturing to the tools on the glossy oak table. “I figured we could start by getting rid of those stitches over his mouth, if nothing else. I don’t think he has enough grace right now to stop infection so we should try and reduce the risk.”

His words sadden you, but you know the truth they hold. Your limbs feel a bit heavy as you push away from the doorway.

“Alright. I’ll be right back.”

Gabriel’s allocated room isn’t all that far from the library, and the note on the door sticks out like a sore thumb so you don’t have to worry much about getting lost on the way (ignoring that at this point you know most parts of the bunker like the back of your hand). Once outside his room, something gives you pause though.

Are you ready to see him in that state again? Or is it that a small, tiny part of you fears he won’t recognise you, either?

Ridiculous of you, really. You take a moment to admonish yourself for the thought. If you take a second to factor in the difference in time spent in hell, even without considering all the time he was missing, Gabriel had to have been trapped and tortured for over a century at the very least. Centuries and years might mean nothing to a celestial being who has been alive for millennia, but over a century of fear and torture is a lot even for someone with such impressive mileage.

You shake your head, attempting to clear your thoughts and emotions so you don’t enter his room with an overwhelming aura. Okay, showtime.

A soft knock echoes as your knuckles meet the wood, a moment passing before you speak, attempting to keep your voice as soft and nonthreatening as possible.

“Gabriel? It’s y/n, I’m going to come in now.”

You allow another moment to pass before you ease the door open, blinking in surprise as your eyes are greeted by light—it seems the archangel has every bulb in the vicinity burning its brightest. Understandable, since you presume he wasn’t exactly kept in well-lit conditions.

For a second, you think he’s not in the room. You don’t see him anywhere, and you’re about a split-second away from turning and calling Sam when you catch a glimpse of something shifting in the corner, behind the bulky side of a wooden dresser. You think for a second that you’ve forgotten how to breathe, chest painfully tight, as you realise that the small form huddled and curled in the corner is, in fact, the archangel Gabriel.

You hate that you’d noticed him only because of the filthy scraps of material that stick out against the dark décor of the bunker.

“Hey, Gabriel,” you say softly, keeping the door open so he has a route of escape and moving over as slowly and cautiously as you can. “I’m just gonna come over and sit in front of you, alright?”

You figure that even if he’s not entirely listening to everything you’re saying, it’s better to announce what you’re doing before you do it, for his benefit.

Something painful ricochets off the inside of your chest as you grow close enough to see him around the dresser and you’re confronted with his beaten, bloody and battered figure once more. His gaze is anywhere but you, and the way he presses himself into the corner is like he’s trying to make himself as small as possible. It takes all of your willpower to squash down the unexpected sob that catches low in your throat. What is wrong with you?! You need to get a grip.

“Oh, Gabriel,” you find yourself saying before you can stop. “I’m so sorry…”

The closer you get to him, the lower you try to make yourself in his peripheral. It wouldn’t do any good to startle him by appearing big and threatening. It makes you frown when you remember just who it is that you have to think this way about. It’s sad, you think. The Gabriel you’d known was prideful, glaringly bright and loud in his presence, both as a trickster and an angel, and that he’d been reduced to… well, to this? It made your chest feel heavy.

Slowly and as quietly as possible, you ease down onto your knees in front of him, doing your best not to rush anything. It’s hard—you’re a hunter, used to moving with speed and a sense of urgency. So to take your time and really be in the moment for each of your actions is definitely an odd change from the usual autopilot your brain resides in.

He doesn’t acknowledge your presence once you’re still in front of him, not really. You had expected as much though, and as much as he seems unresponsive you do see the occasional flick of his eyes in your direction before they dart away, like he couldn’t believe he’d dared to look at someone instead of the floor.

For a few minutes, you simply let him adjust to your presence, your company. Ever so slowly, you see the tiniest bits of tension ease from his shoulders, his eyes no longer darting around like a frantic squirrel. You take the opportunity to take in the wounds and sores littering his body, doing your best not to get too upset by what you see. Dirt and grime coats him in layers, and you mentally note that your next goal with him would be to get him in a damn bath.

It can’t be comfortable, sitting in all that grime…

“For the sake of transparency,” you begin when he seems like he will be open enough to listening. “I’ll tell you why I’m here. This is your space right now, and I don’t want to intrude on it unless I really need to.”

He doesn’t meet your gaze, but you sense you have his attention. “Given that right now you’re low on… strength, and not healing as you usually do, we need to take care of some of the worse wounds you have. If we don’t, it’s a risk of infection, and we don’t know how well you would fight that off in this state…”

You clear your throat, attempting to keep yourself on track. “So, if you’re able, we’d really like you to come out just for a moment, so we can fix up some of your sores. I promise that you can come right back in here afterwards, and that unless we have something really important we’ll leave you alone. Sound good?”

He doesn’t nod, doesn’t really move, but the way his eyes move to yours and hold your gaze for a bare second longer than you expect, you gather he’s not entirely against it. You offer him a smile, oddly proud of him. You’d seen firsthand how hard it can be to get out of these mindsets, even just for a moment. Effort is hard and that he’s making it means everything.

“Perfect,” you say, shifting in your spot so you can stand more easily. “Alright, I can help you up, if you’d like, or you can stand on your own if you want. What do y—”

Your hands had already begun to outstretch as you spoke, and you’re taken by surprise when before you even finish speaking his hand is whipping up to grab your wrist in a sort of monkey grip. You’re left blinking as you help him up, moving on autopilot. You expect him to release you as soon as he’s standing, but it adds to your surprise as he wobbles in place and retains his grip, if anything shuffling a little closer.

“Okay,” you say, angling your body and adjusting your grip so that it’s loose and as nonthreatening as possible. “Let’s go. Thank you for cooperating.”

Of course, there’s no response and he’s silent the whole way to the library. You remember that Sam is in there only as you approach the threshold, but unlike what you feared, Gabriel doesn’t seem to react too poorly to him like he apparently had earlier. Risking a glance his way reveals that actually, amongst the frayed and almost manic energy, he seems oddly… grounded, just for the moment.

Well, this is certainly going better than you’d anticipated.

x

“I went to bully Dean this morning, but he woke up before me and left before I could get to him.”

You’re in the process of cleaning the wounds around Gabriel’s mouth and removing the ugly stitches that have been sewn into his lips. As something to distract him as much as you from what you’re doing, you’ve begun chatting idly to the archangel, unbothered by the lack of response. Sam sits a metre or so away, researching for Dean who had apparently called earlier when you were coercing Gabriel out of his room.

Still Gabriel doesn’t hold your gaze, eyes averted as he leans forward in the chair for you to reach his mouth, but you can tell from the way his eyes occasionally flick to you as you speak that he is listening, somewhat. It’s enough of a win that you’re willing to take it.

He winces each time your alcohol swab goes over the entry point of a stitch, but doesn’t flinch away too badly. You’re pretty proud of him for that, actually, because it must hurt like a bitch.

“You got him yesterday, though,” Sam pipes in from the side, amused as he recalls your arrival. “Barely an hour after you got here and he was quitting and heading to bed.”

“It’s hard being so naturally talented,” you say, placing the swab down and reaching for the small scissors and tweezers. “I’m an absolute delight, and Dean should appreciate that!”

“Has anyone ever believed you when you told them that?” Sam asks, presumably referring to the ‘delight’ bit.

“Why wouldn’t they, Samuel?” you ask, giving the massive man a light spritz of stink-eye. “Do you have something to say to me?”

“Nothing you don’t already know,” he snorts in response, turning a page in the tome he currently has in his lap.

You bite your lip to hide your amused smile, turning back to Gabriel. You place your hand softly on his cheek to let him know that you’re about to go back in for the stitches, before raising the other tool and bringing it to the first of the thick threads woven through his flesh. Wincing, you try and snip it as delicately as possible. Now seems like a better time than any for more distractions.

“If you think I’m bad, you should be glad you never met my grandfather,” you inform the youngest Winchester, successfully severing the first stitch and beginning the icky job of pulling it out. Gabriel makes a muffled noise of pain but remains still, and you pat his hand softly in support. “He could stir the shit out of anyone, man. Like, I’m not even kidding. The bastard gene I got from him was actually watered down by the time it got to me, so count your lucky stars.”

Sam makes a noise of contemplation, like he really is taking the time to thank whatever powers that be— those apparently being Chuck, as you’ve heard— that you’re not more like your grandfather. Honestly, you’re not kidding—they really should be grateful. You loved your grandpa but you’d never met anyone so quick to stir whatever pot may present itself before them. An opportunist with bastardous tendencies, one might describe him.

In the silence that follows, you jump to another topic for the sake of distraction once more—you’re about to move onto another stitch.

“So, now that your mother is here, are you guys actually eating like normal human beings?” you ask, tongue pressed between your lips in concentration as you try to snip the thread as painlessly as possible by manoeuvring the small scissors. “Like, balanced meals with vegetables and shit?”

You hear Sam pause in the motion of turning a page, a scoff turning into a laugh as it climbs his throat. “What—homecooked meals? Our mom? Dude, she’s worse than Dean in the kitchen, and I really didn’t think that was possible.”

You pause your ministrations to face the tall man, squinting. “What? No way. No way is she worse than Dean—”

“We’ve had to replace the fire alarms twice already,” Sam says, meeting your gaze with a look that is full of both fondness and exasperation. He lets out a laugh at your flabbergasted face. “Dude, I wouldn’t believe it either if I hadn’t seen it for myself. You’ll see, whenever she gets back with Jack. She can’t cook but it doesn’t really stop her trying.”

“Another terrible chef joins the ranks,” you proclaim dramatically, pulling the stitch you were working on out and going in on the next one. “Oh, to be able to cook. I suppose this Jack kid is our last hope.”

“He’s not even a year old, y/n,” Sam says, deadpan. “I wouldn’t count on it. Also, you can cook, you’re just lazy.”

You shrug, making a face; he has you there. “I will neither confirm nor deny these allegations.”

Once more, you feel Sam roll his eyes behind you—he should get that checked if he’s rolling them so heavily you can feel it yourself. They’re not even eyes that are in your own skull, man.

You proceed to pull shit out of your ass as you take Gabriel’s mouth stitches out, the metal tin to the side soon filled with scraps of thick thread covered in dried blood and muck. The exit wounds where the thread had been have begun to well with blood, the wounds agitated by the removal of the stitches, and you bring a new cotton pad back with alcohol to clean them up. Gabriel hisses at the contact, and you rush out apologies under your breath as you finish up. You’d forgotten to warn him, and it’s only something small but you still feel bad.

“Alright, that’s done,” you announce, mostly to yourself. You look over him, deciding which wound to treat next, when your attention is drawn to the way he seems to be shaking a little on the spot. He’s not as grounded as he was earlier when he sat down with you, and even though you have much more work to do you can tell intrinsically that this is the most he can take right now. Dressing his other wounds would have to wait until tomorrow.

You turn to find Sam already giving the archangel a scrutinising look, apparently arriving at the same conclusion you had. He gives you a nod and you let out a soft breath, turning back to Gabriel and offering your hands should he need them.

“Okay, I think that’s enough for today. Let’s get you back to the room.”

You can only hope tomorrow will offer the same amount of progress as today.

prev. || next

[ms-rampage]

New Dawn: New Horizons Chapter 3 - With A Little Help From The Devil

Warnings: Language, and slight angst.

Word Count: 2.5k

Summary: Lucifer confronts Gabriel seeking his help to find the other angels that were cast out of Heaven.

Guest OCs: The usuals

Guest Characters: Lucifer (Supernatural), John and Jacob Seed (mentioned), Wheaty (mentioned).

Written by @athenalillystar and myself. Hope ya'll enjoy!! 💗💗

Taglist: @wargames94 @rabbitsoldier @vicki-the-sinner @mrsladydiana

Note: This is a Far Cry New Dawn and Supernatural crossover with my OCs

*********

Lucifer has his hand over Cristina’s mouth to muffle her screams, stopping her from alerting the family. 

He clicks his tongue a few times, and says. “I thought we came to an understanding. I told you, you’ll see me again. Guess I should’ve been more specific”.

“What do you want?!” she asks, her voice muffled by his hand. 

“You promise not to scream?” he asks, his voice deepens, almost in a whisper.

She nods her head in response. He moves his hand away from her mouth. 

“What do I want?!” he asks, his index finger on his chin, walking towards her bedroom window. 

“Well first off, I would like to know what is so special about your cousin?!. The small one with the cotton candy hair”.

“Daenerys?” she asks, in slight confusion. 

“Yeah, for some reason she happens to be the most important thing in the world to Gabriel” he says, bitterness in his voice. 

“That’s his daughter, that's why she’s so important to him” she responds, in a somewhat sarcastic tone. 

He chuckles, “Ehh not quiet”.

She looks at him in confusion, furrowed her eyebrows at him. “What is that supposed to mean?!” she asks, getting slightly irritated. 

“Well you see. Gabriel is no-”.

He gets cut off when her bedroom door opens, and Gabriel appears in the doorway. 

“Uncle Gabe I-” she says before getting cut off, and going unconscious by Lucifer snapping his fingers. 

Gabriel steps into the room, closing the door behind him, “I told you to leave them alone” he tells him, his voice deep, and angry. 

Lucifer shrugs, “You know I never listen”.

“What do you want?!” he asks.

“You know what I want” Lucifer tells him, “I want you to come with me, and we can find all the others that fell.”

“But why do you care if the others fell?. No one did when you fell” Gabe asks.

Lucifer rolls his eyes, “Yeah, I know. That’s why I want to rub it in dad’s face when we confront him”.

“Do you even know where the others fell??!” he asks, crossing his arms.

“Samandriel, Uriel, Castiel, Michael, Gadreel, Raphael and you are the only ones that I know of that fell. I'm not sure where, but they're most likely scattered".

Gabriel goes silent for a moment, looking down at the floor.

“Okay. I’ll go with you” he says. 

A smile appears on Lucifer’s face, “Good, we should get-”. He gets cut off by his younger brother “But, it’ll have to wait until the morning”.

Lucifer rolls eyes, throwing his head back in annoyance, “Are you serious?!”. 

He nods his head, “Yes, I want to give them an explanation. I’ll tell Daenerys that I’m gonna go help out some survivors with the Highwaymen, or something like that”.

Lucifer shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, and says.

“So you’re gonna keep lying to your “daughter” huh?!”.

Gabriel sighs, “As much as I don’t want to. I have to. How long will this search be?”.

“A week, maybe 2. See you tomorrow little bro”. 

Lucifer disappears from the room, and Cristina is still unconscious.

With the very little powers he has, Gabriel wipes her memory from the last 2-5 minutes.

He goes back to his and Kate’s room, laying next to her in bed. 

********

The next morning at around 7:30am, Gabriel is packing some of his gear that he’ll most likely not need, but has to make it look like he’s going out on a week-long hunting trip, or at least a few days. 

“So how long are you gonna be gone?!” Daenerys asks, sitting at the kitchen table, looking up at him.

He sighs, “A week. Maybe 2. Depending on how long they're gonna need me”.

Kate leans against the doorway of the kitchen, who knows the real reason why he’s leaving.

“So who is that you’re gonna be searching for?!” she asks, playing along with this situation. 

He looks up at her, “It’s a group of hunters that were ambushed by the Highwaymen. Mickey and Lou wanted them captured, and they escaped. Fled into the nearby forests, not far from the radiation zone in the Henbane”. 

He finishes packing up, and he heads outside to his truck.

All of the adults Paige, Kenneth, Mandy, Barbara, Adrian, Mark, Nate, Cody, and Martin all know the real reason why Gabriel is leaving. Trying to keep the kids from knowing the real truth. To help out Lucifer and find the angels that were cast out of Heaven, and were now wandering the Earth, either human, or half human, with little to no powers, or angelic grace. 

The kids don’t know the real reason why he’s leaving. He hugs every single one of them, he holds Kate and Daenerys longer, placing a kiss on Daenerys head. 

“Please come back whole” she says, hugging him tighter. 

He laughs softly, “I will”. Placing another kiss on her head.

He kisses Kate goodbye, gets into a truck, and leaves the property. Meeting Lucifer at the meeting point. 

They all go inside, back to what they were doing, letting Gabe go to find these “hunters”. 

*******

After a half an hour drive later, Gabriel arrives at the meeting point Lucifer had sent him via angel radio. Surprised he was able to get through, even with the very little powers he has. 

A few miles away from the radiation zone of what was once the Henbane River.

“Great. You showed up!” Lucifer says, enthusiastically. 

“Okay. So where are we going?!” Gabriel asks. 

“That way” Lucifer says, pointing into the direction of the radiated part of the Henbane. 

“Into the radiation zone?!?” he asks, eyes wide. Not sure if he’ll actually survive going into that death zone, even with the amount of powers he has. He’s pretty much a human at this point. 

“Yeah. So lets goooo” he says singfully. Walking towards the dead zone.

“I don't even know if I can go through there!” the half angel protests.

Lucifer stops walking, “You’ll be fine. I went through there, and I’m still alive”.

Gabe rolls his eyes, groaning “Yeah because you still have your powers. I don’t. I barely have my powers”.

Lucifer groans back, “Okay. You’ll be fine. Raphael, Uriel, Gadreel and all the others are there, and they most likely don’t have any of their powers. They’re basically human with very little angel powers. So let's go!!” he says singfully again, and walks towards the radiated part of Hope County. 

The youngest Archangel groans, and follows his older brother into the radiation zone. As much as he doesn’t want to, he still does. 

****

Back in Holland Valley, everyone is working, doing their own thing around the compound. 

Jeffrey and Thomas are helping the guys, and a few others put up guard towers around the wall. 

The whole thing is basically a second Prosperity. Open to those seeking shelter from the Highwaymen. 

Paige, Kate and their mother Mandy are supplying guns to some of the residents and all those living on the compound. The three teenage girls are putting up cameras, and motion sensor spotlights with the help of a few others from Prosperity. Even from 40 feet away, and with her back to her. Kate can detect that Daenerys is worried about her father. 

“I can tell she’s worried” Kate mutters to her mother and sister. 

“Wouldn’t you?” Paige responds. Kate looks over at her, and nods her head. 

Paige sighs softly, “I get that you never really got to know dad, but still. I still worried whenever he left. I was just a child. I was afraid of everything”.

Sighing, “Yeah, I know but this is different. I just don’t want her, or anyone to know that we have an Archangel living with us” Kate tells her. 

Mandy doesn’t speak up in this conversation, or put in her two cents, she just listens in on their conversation. 

“Or that you’re married to an Archangel” Paige adds, “What about John?!”. 

Kate scoffs in annoyance, “What about him? He's dead”. She never thought about John Seed in several years, she kept his name and the thought of his existence out of her mind. 

“Yeah, I know. You and Wheaty killed him, or maybe it was Nick Rye. I don't know, I was too busy killing Jacob Seed” Paige tells her. 

“Yeah” Kate whispers remembering all the great times she had with Wheaty, “I don’t want her to know about John. Bad enough she has his eyes. It's a constant reminder that she’s his kid”.

“She also has his small hands. Have you noticed that?!” Paige tells her, while doing jazz hands like movement with her hands. 

Kate laughs softly, and says “Yeah. I could’ve saved him”. Paige looks over at her, “Who?. John?”. 

She scoffs, and shakes her head, “No Wheaty. I could’ve saved him. I’d rather have him be Daenerys’ father than John. I can’t imagine how she would’ve turned out if John were to live. A sadistic little shit. Yelling out “Say yes!. The Power of Yes!. Confess your sins sinners!”.

Paige laughs at this, “I would’ve had Cristina, or Bianca beat her up”.

Kate takes a deep breath, trying to hold back her tears, “I could’ve saved him, I could've gone back, and got him. I still think about it every night” she tells her, voice trembling, "I miss that Native guy so much". Light tears start to run down her cheeks. 

Trying to reassure her younger sister, “You gotta stop beating yourself up about that. I understand you, and Wheaty had something special. I definitely prefer you and him, over you and John, but I’m sure he would’ve wanted you to move on. I know if I would've let you gone back, and get him. You would've died as well". 

Kate nods, agreeing with her “Yeah I know, I know. I thought I would’ve ended up being a single parent. I still remember the day after we killed John and Jacob. Wheaty said to me that he wouldn’t mind being a stepfather to our child, then hopefully had kids of our own".

She stops for a moment, and Paige continues to reassure her sister.

"We lost a lot of people that day. A lot of friends Eli, Tammy, Wheaty, Jess, Mary, Pratt, Hudson and Whitehorse. Do you know if Morgan, Ryan, Sarah and all the others made it? ". 

Kate nods, and continues, "Yeah, we did but then Gabriel came into the picture. Him, and I grew closer, he helped me raise Daenerys, he took care of me throughout my pregnancy. I know he’s not used to the human lifestyle, and it was all new to him. But he adjusted very well, and I’m glad he’s here. I don’t know if they made it, I haven’t seen, or heard from them, but I’m sure they’re all dead”.

********

Lucifer and Gabriel walk through the Henbane River, and to Gabriel’s surprise he’s not coughing up his lungs, and dropping dead. 

“Eessh this is depressing” Lucifer mumbles, clenching his teeth.

“How much further?!” Gabriel asks, getting tired of walking. Lucifer looks around the dry, dead and gray scenery “It’s not far”. He’s not even sure if they’re going the right way, it’s all a dead zone. 

"What are we even looking for?!. How are we even gonna find the others?!" he asks. 

"Static. From angel radio" he mumbles, still unsure where to go. 

They continue walking through the radiation zone. After a few minutes Lucifer senses something, he stops dead in his tracks as does Gabe.

“What is it?!” he asks. He shushes him, and listens closely. “This way!" he tells him. 

He follows him further into the dead region. 

“What is it?!?” Gabriel asks, annoyed that his brother isn't answering him. 

“It’s one of them” he answers. “Raphael?!?” he adds before walking towards the sound that only he can hear. Gabriel follows behind him. 

******

Back at the compound, Cristina, Bianca and Daenerys are setting the motion sensor lights.

The youngest of the Winchester kids, Daenerys can’t concentrate due her father not being around. 

“He’ll be back Dae” Cristina comforts her younger cousin.

“Yeah I know. I just worry whenever he’s not here” she tells them, “Especially with those douchebags running around and capturing people”.  

“He’ll be back. He said he will, and he’s gone to help others several times before” Bianca tells her. 

She tries to keep her mind away from her dad, reassuring herself that he’ll be home within a week or 2, or even a couple of days. Cristina’s mind keeps wandering as well, remembering what her mom, and aunt had said to her the night before. 

She wants to tell Daenerys and Bianca but promised her mom and aunt that she wouldn't. 

Lucifer keeps coming to mind, and that scares her. She had a dream that he appeared in her room, and he was about to say something about her uncle Gabriel and Daenerys but was woken up by her alarm. 

After a couple of hours they finished setting up the lights and cameras.

The guard towers are all complete, the Winchester-Smith compound is complete. 

They have all of their workshops setup. The training yard, infirmary, cartography, garage and the garden are all set. 

Their bunker had been made into an infirmary, storage facility and an armory. As an underground shooting range. 

Later that night at dinner. Everyone that is living at the compound is seated at the main dining room in the main house.

Mark, Nate, their wives and kids. Martin, his wife, and kids. Adrian, his wife and kids. Cody and his wife. Kenny, Kate, Daenerys, Bianca, Jeffrey, Thomas, Barbara, Cristina, Mandy and Paige.

Paige stands up, clears her throat and gives a speech. 

“Okay, everyone if I can have your attention. First off I just wanna say thank you to all of you for your help. I know it’s been a huge adjustment. With the Highwaymen running around Hope County, it’s not really easy. We just need to stick together, and fight against them. I know Gabriel will be back within a week or two with those missing hunters maybe sooner, and we can recruit them to fight against the Twins and their followers. We have everything we need. We just have to keep on our feet. Watch over, and protect our home. Don’t let our guard down because we don’t know when they’ll strike. But if we fight, and push back, they’ll get the message that we’re not to be fucked with. So with that being said. Thank you, and I know we can win this fight”. 

Everyone applauds Paige’s speech, and they all eat their dinner. 

[songsofacagedbird]

you’re something out of a dream

a love letter to luxor’s balo driskell

While I think tissues are needed at this point for all three of these playlists, can I just say with Balo’s I think they’re especially needed? Maybe I’m just extra soft for Balo in general but hers personally made me the most emotional, she definitely went hard with this one. Anyway, it covers the entire Luxor timeline for her just about, major plot points and stuff, but a bit less so the reveal of her main secret that occurred during graduation honestly - as this playlist was made before that and given it took me ages to perfect the end, I’m just going to leave it be. 

Again, there’s references to other muses / plot points littered throughout, as well as references to eating disorders and a couple nicer things like her love for art. I’d also like to thank Lex for her help during these playlists, from the idea itself to helping me test listen yet again, this is going to be a pattern in these descriptions and I’m sorry for anyone who like “Katie stfu” already but genuinely it’s really thanks to her that these even exist and honestly they’re actually some of the playlists I am most proud of to date.

Please keep in mind that the standard Balo triggers apply (mental health, eating disorders, abuse / child abuse). Any additional tws will be noted on their sections if they apply.

in dreams you will lose your heartaches. whatever you wish for, you keep | pre-luxor (aka pre-rp):

balo before luxor, navigating her life

Song of the Caged Bird (Lindsey Stirling) [ instrumental ] // Castle On A Cloud (Isabelle Allen) [ I know a place where no ones lost. I know a place where no one cries. Crying at all is not allowed, not in my castle on a cloud. ] // Paint the Pictures (of Verona) [ I paint the picture of the oceans I'll never see. I hold a candle through the darkness so I believe. ] // almost home (mxmtoon) [ No one ever says all the love you give might not be enough. Broke my heart in two a couple times before it hurt too much. ] // A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (Lily James) [ Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing the dream that you wish will come true. ]

does it hurt to see how our smiles have changed, my friend? | summer & fall 2019:

the period of time I was playing Balo in Luxor originally, from June 2019 right up until her intervention in October

Friends In The Corner (Foxes) [ Do you need someone? Everybody's looking like they need someone. All of my friends in the corner, everybody's looking like they need someone. Pretending we don't fear the morning. ] // Scars To Your Beautiful (Alessia Cara) [ She says, “beauty is pain and there's beauty in everything. What's a little bit of hunger? I could go a little while longer,” she fades away. ] // Never Gonna Let You Down (Colbie Caillat) [ I'm never gonna let you down, I'm always gonna build you up. When you're feeling lost, I will always find you, love. ] // Running with the Wolves (AURORA) [ There's blood on your lies, the scars open wide. There is nowhere for you to hide, the hunter's moon is shinin'. ] // She Is the Sunlight (Trading Yesterday) [ And it will take this life of regret for my heart to learn to forget. Tomorrow will be as it always has been, and I will fall to her again. ]

you keep trying to get inside my head while i keep trying to lose the words you said | winter 2019 & early Spring 2020:

Balo’s hospitalization, and the time at home following it.

All the King's Horses (Karmina) [ Is it still a home when you're all alone? All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put me back together again. ] // Safe (Britt Nicole) [ Oh no, my walls are gonna break. So close, it's more than I can take. I'm so tired of turning and running away. ] // Lost Boy (Ruth B.) [ There was a time when I was alone, no where to go and no place to call home. My only friend was the man in the moon, and even sometimes he would go away too. ] // Keep Your Head Up (Ben Howard) [ 'Cause I'll always remember you the same, eyes like wild flowers with your demons of change. ] // Wake Me Up (Madilyn Bailey) [ They tell me I'm too young to understand. They say I'm caught up in a dream. My life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes, well that's fine by me. ] // Dance (Foxes) [ I want you, got no shame. This therapy's gone to waste; when the midnight hour comes in vain, you're in my head, you say my name. ]

what the fuck are perfect places anyway? | spring 2020:

Balo’s return to Luxor, leading up to her breakdown at prom additional tws: drugs and alcohol (perfect places)

Good Day for Dreaming (Ruelle) [ There's a hope, there's a spark, there's a fire. There's a light in the dark burning brighter. It's a good day for dreaming. ] // Perfect Places (Lorde) [ All of our heroes fading, now I can't stand to be alone. Let's go to perfect places! ] // prom dress (mxmtoon) [ I'm sitting here, crying in my prom dress. I'd be the prom queen if crying was a contest. Makeup is running down, feelings are all around. How did I get here? I need to know... ]

i would sell my sorry soul if i could have it all | summer 2020:

summer camp adventures, and the starts of questioning who she is

Live Life (Zayde Wølf) [ Sometimes I think that I'm the dreamer, the one that's standing all alone. Sometimes it feels like it's forever since I've truly felt at home. ] // Celeste (Ezra Vine) [ You're something out of a dream, messing with my head and I've been looking for you. Are you hiding? ] // The State of Dreaming (MARINA) [ If only you knew my dear, how I live my life in fear. ] // If Only (Dove Cameron) [ If only I knew what my heart was telling me. Don't know what I'm feeling; is this just a dream? If only I could read the signs in front of me, I could find the way to who I'm meant to be. ]

my heart can't possibly break when it wasn't even whole to start with | fall & winter 2020:

balo’s disownment, her breakup with kitty, and coming to terms with them

raindrops {an angel cried} (Ariana Grande) [ The day you left me, an angel cried. ] // Because of You (Kelly Clarkson) [ I was so young, you should have known better than to lean on me. You never thought of anyone else, you just saw your pain, and now I cry in the middle of the night for the same damn thing. ] // human (Christina Perri) [ Your words in my head, knives in my heart, you build me up and then I fall apart 'cause I'm only human. ] // Illusion (Zedd feat. Echosmith) [ It feels like the fairytale is over. I really wanted these pages to begin with once upon a time like all those lullabies. I should've known better. ] // Cry (Kelly Clarkson) [ Is this as hard as it gets? Is this what it feels like to really cry? ] // drivers license (Olivia Rodrigo) [ Sidewalks we crossed. I still hear your voice in the traffic, we're laughing over all the noise. God, I'm so blue, know we're through, but I still fuckin' love you. ] // Until The Sun Comes Up (Gabrielle Aplin) [ Do you want to get lost? Go waste our time, lose this city skyline. Be so much better if you're by my side, find myself and lose my mind; think I need a moment to re-align. ] // Part Of Me (Katy Perry) [ Throw your sticks and your stones, throw your bombs and your blows but you're not gonna break my soul. ] // Love Not Loving You (Foxes) [ You were always giving me all of your insecurities. How could you do it? You knew what you were doing to me. ] // no tears left to cry (Ariana Grande) [ Right now, I'm in a state of mind I wanna be in like all the time, ain't got no tears left to cry. ]

you forgive, you forget, but you never let it go | spring 2021:

her classmates choice in the gym, and it’s aftermath additional tws: drowning (When the Storm is Over)

Bad Blood (Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar) [ Remember when you thought I'd take a loss? Don't you remember? You thought that I would need ya, follow procedure, remember? Oh, wait, you got amnesia. ] // Talking to Ghosts (Foxes) [ And I can be your guiding light if you just let me, but I can’t be your guiding light if you have left me. ] // When The Storm Is Over (Sofia Karlberg) [ But when it comes down something in the air says we're 'bout to drown. Baby, we wеren't meant for closure, tеll me when the storm is over. ] // Try (Colbie Caillat) [ You don't have to try so hard, you don't have to give it all away. You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up, you don't have to change a single thing ] // Still Have Me (Demi Lovato) [ So take my faith but 'least I still believe (I still believe, in me), and that's all I need. I don't have much but 'least I still have me. ]

and i don't really care if nobody else believes ‘cause i've still got a lot of fight left in me | early summer 2021:

the story of therapy, the start of recovery, learning to love oneself, and a little bit of romance.

Daisies - Acoustic (Katy Perry) [ They told me I was out there, tried to knock me down. Took those sticks and stones, showed 'em I could build a house. They tell me that I'm crazy, but I'll never let 'em change me 'til they cover me in daisies. ] // Home (Gabrielle Aplin) [ I'm a phoenix in the water, a fish that's learnt to fly. And I've always been a daughter but feathers are meant for the sky. ] // Change (Taylor Swift) [ ’Cause these things will change, can you feel it now? These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down. ] // Dear Happy (Gabrielle Aplin) [ Don't you worry, oh no, don't be alarmed. I'm just working it out here, working it out here. I'm somebody with a recovering heart, you've waited there for me, keep waiting there for me. ] // Fight Song (Rachel Platten) [ And all those things I didn't say, wrecking balls inside my brain. I will scream them loud tonight, can you hear my voice this time? ] // Catch My Breath (Kelly Clarkson) [ Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show. Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told what's supposed to be right. ] // Wildflowers (Elle Fanning) [ Wildflowers you brought me are crumbled in my hands. This love that you taught me, I still don't understand. ] // Begin Again (Taylor Swift) [ And for the first time, what's past is past. 'Cause you throw your head back laughing like a little kid, I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did. ] // Let's Sort The Whole Thing Out (Carly Rae Jepsen) [ I love you, this is a new thing. One more drink, let's get to the bottom of it. I love you, let's sort the whole thing out. ] // Youth (Foxes) [ And as we cross the line, these fading beats have all been severed. Don't tell me our youth is running out, it's only just begun. ] // Soft to Be Strong (MARINA) [ I took my bitterness and made it sweet, I took a broken heart and made it beat. ] // Way Less Sad (AJR) [ Don't you love it? Don't you lovе it? No, I ain't happy yet, but I'm way less sad. ]

[sparkkeyper]

Whumptober 2020 Day 17: Dirty Secret

Aziraphale is repressed as heck where Heaven and his bosses are concerned, but drunken rambles with Crowley are cathartic.

***

"Aziraphale!"

Aziraphale nearly jumped off the park bench as the archangel clapped him jovially - too hard, always too hard - on the shoulder. "Gabriel!" He had a smile pasted on his face in record time, trying to cover up the shock of his boss' sudden appearance. "What a pleasant surprise! I-I wasn't expecting to hear from you for some time yet."

"Well, looks like your lucky day." God's messenger beamed down at him - it never reached the eyes quite right, must be a defect of the corporation - keeping the principality's shoulder in an iron grip. "It's been a while since we had a good chat, so I thought I'd stop in to give you your next assignment personally."

Aziraphale's face hurt from the smile. "How thoughtful. You're, ah, you're always welcome, of course!" He gestured to the bench beside him but Gabriel remained standing - he didn't even acknowledge the motion - his eyes alighting on the book in the principality's lap.

"Aren't you done that by now? I thought you were reading that...thing...last time I popped in, half a century ago?"

"Oh, this?" Aziraphale closed the pages to show off the cover. "I-It's a new book, actually. Much different than the one I was reading before. That was fiction, this one is an educational work on--"

Gabriel grabbed the book right out of his hand and every muscle in Aziraphale's body tensed up - to keep from doing something stupid, anything stupid, stay still, and don't let him see how stupid you can be if left unchecked too long - as the archangel flipped through the pages. "'A Brief History of Time'. Why would you ever need to know this? You've lived through Time since She began it. You haven't misremembered significant events from history, have you?"

Aziraphale chuckled - too tremulous, too nervous - but Gabriel did not smile back. "No, no of course not! I remember everything perfectly, as She intended." He swallowed. "The book is an introduction to quantum physics: the current science humans have developed in an effort to understand the workings of the universe. Quite a bit of it is wrong, of course, all that silliness about the galaxy being billions of years old, but they try. And they have managed to get some of it right. They've made such a lot of progress in the past few thousands years, for such short-lived individuals it really is remarkable--"

"Why do you need to bother reading this?" Gabriel's expression was blank - not blank, condescending, judging - "You know the workings of the universe, or at least all those that we need to know. The rest She has decided to keep to Herself, and we have no need to understand."

"Of course, of course!" Aziraphale's fingers itched to grab the book but it hadn't been offered back to him yet. He straightened his bowie instead. "But I...I must know how humans think the world works, you see. In order to communicate with them properly. I can't go giving away Heavenly secrets when humans haven't figured them out yet, can I? I've got to keep abreast of what they know and don't know so I can...speak to them on their level, as it were."

"I gotcha." Gabriel tossed the open book back to him, and he fumbled to catch it without scrunching up the pages. No such luck. "They're so bafflingly simple! It must be exhausting for you, having to dumb down every conversation you have with them. Don't know how you do it."

Aziraphale dared to smooth the pages by hand exactly once in Gabriel's presence - don't care too much for material things, don't care too much for the people who make them - and smoothing them by miracle was out of the question. "I manage."

"Excellent. And you can keep managing." The archangel handed over a folded slip of paper with a golden seal. "Next assignment. We'll need you in Algeria next month. Big earthquake planned, you'll have the opportunity to do a lot of Good there."

"I'm...looking forward to it."

"I bet you are. See you at your annual review." And with a shimmer, Gabriel was gone.

Aziraphale tucked the assignment into his pocket and closed his eyes, the only outward reaction he allowed himself to show. Inside he was hollering. Inside he was sagging and baring teeth and kicking up a fuss.

Stop it.

Of course he wasn't doing any of those things because he had control of himself, and after all they were completely uncalled for. Completely. It was just a visit from Gabriel. He had no reason to react in such a way.

It took several minutes of sitting perfectly still on the bench to convince his body of that fact. It was difficult when his heart was racing and his fists were clenched but he managed. He always managed. He had to.

When he opened his eyes to return to his reading at last, he found a small scrap of paper tucked between the pages like a bookmark. It certainly hadn't been there when Gabriel handed - threw - the book back to him. Flipping over the note, he recognized Crowley's untidy scrawl.

Dinner tonight? If I don't bitch to someone about my coworkers I'm gonna explode. -C

Aziraphale did sag this time. Just reading the words was like a weight sliding off his shoulders. He tried very, very hard not to think about that fact. Or the fact that such a note had shown up right after a visit from Gabriel.

He gave himself a moment to exist - revel - in the feeling of relief, then very carefully collected himself and reached into his pocket for a pen. He scribbled a reply on the paper and with a snap, willed it back to wherever it had come from.

Be here by six and not a minute after. - A

***

Dinner was Italian, and delicious. The wine afterwards in the bookshop's back room was equally Italian and equally delicious.

Crowley sprawled across the sofa, one leg up on the back and several bottles in, and ranted about Hastur in a series of increasingly-less-eloquent turns of phrase. Aziraphale leaned heavily over the arm of his own chair, an equal number of bottles in, and agreed emphatically to the insults the demon heaped on his boss. It was relaxing to listen to Crowley ramble. If his unfortunate interactions with his lower downs seemed familiar... Well, best not to think on it. And he didn't have to think on it, not with Crowley. He could sit back and listen and add in a few scornful words against whomever had ruffled Crowley's feathers this decade.

"Not an ounce of doco...decorum between them," the demon was saying. "Not a one. Rude as...rude things. And your higher ups, bet they're just the same. How've they been lately?"

"Oh, you know," Aziraphale waved the question away, steadying himself on the chair as the motion overbalanced him. "Can't complain." It was true, he thought, and giggled a bit at his private drunken joke. He couldn't complain. No matter how much... Well. He couldn't.

"Aw, come on, I gave you all the juicy bits." Crowley hung his head backwards off the arm of the couch to regard the angel upside down. "There's got to be something ol' Gabe does that gets on your nerves. Or Michael! Real stick in the mud, that Michael. Stick in the mud and straight up the arse."

"Oh hush, you." The angel tossed a coaster at him. "They're perfectly stand-up people, as they're supposed to be. Divinely dictated and...and such." The demon, still upside down, pulled a face to let Aziraphale know exactly what he thought of that. "Although, d'you know--" Aziraphale hiccupped, "--Gabriel doesn't even know to clip the...the whatdyoucallits. The thread on the back of new coats that keep the tails closed. The ones you're supposed to clip. Just...walks around with the thread still in like...like someone who doesn't know how to clip things."

Crowley cackled, rolling upright again and contorting on the couch in a manner Aziraphale didn't know was physically possible." Bet he doesn't know to clip the thread holding the tiny pockets closed either."

"He doesn't!" the angel exclaimed with far more delight than was necessary. Something warm and petty and satisfying was settling under his ribs. Threads and pockets were good. Safe. Unsafe thoughts still hovered just beyond the edges of his mind, but he didn't have to look too closely at those when there were safe things like fashion faux-pas he could inject their venom into. "He was telling me just last month how silly humans are to make pockets that are decorar...dectora...just for show, and he used his own coat as an example! I tried to tell him, I said, I said 'Gabriel, you can cut those open you know' or at least I would have said it but I couldn't get a word in edgewise. And he still hasn't figured it out!"

"Point for me!" Crowley stabbed the air like a contestant on a game show. "I came up with those, didju know? Sewing the tiny pockets closed? And I got an archangel with it, so plus one to Hell!"

Aziraphale barked out a laugh that was too loud, too explosive, but heavens did it feel good. "Did you really? Or did you just take credit?"

"Absolutely came up with them." Crowley puffed up his chest with pride. "Annoys loads of people when they wear clothes out for the first time and go to put something in the pocket but find they don't have any scissors. I wrote a whole report on it for Hastur--" he lowered his voice to a hiss and leaned in conspiratorially. "But mostly I just think it's funny." He broke into a drunken giggle and Aziraphale followed. "Pro'lly never read the report anyway, Hastur." The demon tried to pour himself another glass and missed, missed, got it. "Tha's another thing that drives me up the wall, nobody reads the blessed reports half the time!"

The angel groaned in commiseration.

"I spend all that time putting the thing together, crossing the I's, dotting the T's--"

"You don't dot T's," Aziraphale interrupted.

"Dot my T's if I like," Crowley shot back.

"They'd look very silly."

"I'll dot your T's."

"Suppose we'd look silly together at least."

"Damn straight." Crowley paused. "What was I taking about?"

"T's," the angel supplied helpfully.

"Reports! Right, nobody reading the fu- You spend all that time on them and nobody appreciates the work!"

"Aggravating," agreed Aziraphale sourly, because of course it wasn't against any rules to repeat someone else's whinging back to them.

"Exasperating!"

"Infuriating!"

"And you know what else is infuriating?" Crowley put both feet up on the coffee table and stretched. "They had me Downstairs doing paperwork all last month and Ligur comes by while I'm trying to cross reference soul contracts and just snatches the ledger away while I'm working."

"The nerve!" Aziraphale snorted disdainfully, taking a long pull from the wine.

"I know! Had so many ways I wanted to react I couldn't choose!" Crowley gestured to him, and if Aziraphale had been a touch more sober he might have caught a glint in the demon's eye. "What would you do, angel?"

"What?"

"You. Imagine you're in Hell, doing paperwork and minding your own blessed business, making sure all the T's are dotted, and Ligur comes up out of nowhere and snatches your book away! What do you do to him?"

"I should like to snatch it right back!" Aziraphale slapped the cushion next to him. "And then give him a good whack with it! Serves him right!"

"Aye! Serves 'im right!" Crowley echoed in fierce delight, lunging forward to clang his glass against the angel's in a sloppy toast.

And when the wine wore off several hours later, Aziraphale would admit to himself that he felt so much better.

***

*The book is 'A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes" by Stephen Hawking

**The 2003 earthquake in Algeria killed ~2200 people. Gabriel is an asshole.

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 17

From Lovers to Strangers

SUMMARY: Liam rushes to Ramsford after hearing about Riley

Word Count: ~4.9k

Warnings: Mention of character death, language

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here

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I’m so sorry, I don’t know if the tags are working or not... but I hope I got everyone down! If I missed someone, or anyone wants to be added/removed, let me know!

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

...Present Day...

- Liam - 

Gripping the steering wheel as tightly as he could, Liam swerves in between other vehicles on the highway, doing everything he could to get to Riley faster. I should have made driving too slow illegal, Liam thinks after getting trapped momentarily between drivers going at their own comfortable pace. They block him from all sides until he loses his nerve and punches the horn, scaring other drivers to move out of Liam’s way. 

Almost twice he bumps into another car when trying to change lanes at the same time. Then, he gets stuck in traffic, where Liam forced himself to wait for a total of seventeen seconds — during which the cars around him didn’t move a centimeter — until he drives the car into the grass next to the roadway and continues. 

Thankfully the dirt wasn’t muddy or bumpy, so Liam reaches Ramsford thirty minutes sooner than he would have if he’d continued on the roadway. 

He doesn’t even take the keys out of the ignition before racing across the driveway and knocking furiously on the front door. Liam tries to push it open to no avail, then screams for Maxwell to open the door. 

Drake is the one who allows him to enter. When Liam tries to push past him, Drake blocks his path and puts a hand on his friend’s shoulder. 

“Wait a sec, Liam,” Drake tries to stop Liam from rushing into the estate. 

“Where is she? What happened? Is she alright?” Liam begins to push forward, but Drake shoves him back. 

“Calm the fuck down, Liam!” Drake says in a low voice through barred teeth. “The kids saw us bringing her upstairs and started crying.”

Liam feels his heart clench.

“Rowan started fussing over where to put her and Gabriel looked like he was about to pass out. Maxwell thought to distract them with some TV, but they’re still unsettled. Don’t make it worse.”

“Where are they?” Liam tries to walk away from Drake again. 

“We put them in their own room next to Riley’s. East wing.” 

Before Drake can say anything else, Liam races up the stairs and down the hall. He turns his head to look into each room as he passes.

Liam slows once he hears strange voices. Nearing a room with an open door, he sees Gabriel and Eleanor’s tear-streaked faces illuminated by a television in front of Ella, while Gabe stares down at a laptop. Ella watches a group of teenagers and a talking dog lead an investigation, while Gabriel furiously types. Neither of them look up when Liam’s figure blocks the doorway. 

He wonders if the light from the electronics strain their eyes, so he moves his hand along the wall to turn on the ceiling light. When it turns on, both children squint in Liam’s direction, blinking rapidly. 

Once their vision clears again, Ella gives a tired wave and says, “Hi, Liam.” 

“Hello, Ella.” He’s about to move forward to wrap the exhausted child in his arms, but his heart is still racing. “Do you know where your mother is?” 

Eleanor points behind her. “In that room with Aunt Rowan.” 

Liam leaves the doorway and goes to the door next to it, which is closed. He reaches to open it, but notices a dim light coming from the space at the bottom. If she’s still unconscious, perhaps I could spend time with the children? Liam goes back into the children’s room.

There are two couches, and each of them sit on a separate one. Noticing that Gabriel has his eyes locked on the laptop screen, Liam takes a seat next to Eleanor instead. 

He leans back against the cushions, and she leans her head against his arm. Liam contemplates putting a fatherly arm around her, but decides that he shouldn’t test his luck; it was enough that she allowed him to sit next to her. He didn’t want to move a lot to make her change her mind. 

“What are you watching?” he asks her quietly, mindful of Gabriel focusing on his device. 

Eleanor yawns before she answers: “Scooby Doo.” 

“Oh. What is it about?” 

“It’s about this dog who talks and helps his human friends solve mysteries.” 

“Really?” Liam tries to sound enthusiastic to keep the conversation going. “What kind of mysteries?” 

He feels her shrug against his arm. “All kinds. Daddy said that this one is a newer series. There’s an evil owl who wants to end the world.”

“An evil owl?” Liam thinks to himself, What on Earth do they make children watch nowadays?

“Uh huh. And he has a German accent and—” she breaks off her sentence to yawn again “—and he was also in a mystery solving group.”

“Really?” Liam continues watching the show with her, uncertain of what was happening. “Do you have a favorite character?”

“I like Scooby. That’s the dog’s name.” She lifts her head from his arm to look up at Liam. “Do you have a favorite character yet?”

“Well... uh.” Liam stutters while glancing rapidly between the characters on the screen. “What about that blond one in the white shirt? He seems like a leader.”

“That’s Fred,” she tells Liam. “Mama used to say that he was obsessive.” 

Liam tries to laugh at Eleanor’s insight, Leo’s words vibrating through his head. She gives a sleepy chuckle, then puts her head back on his arm. 

After a few minutes, Drake silently knocks on the doorframe. Only Liam looks up, and Drake asks him if he had a chance to call Olivia and Hana yet. 

“No, I was occupied.” He remembers Leo having the nerve to visit him, and Liam’s jaw clenches. 

“You gonna do it in the morning?” Drake asks. 

“Yes, I will make sure to.” 

Drake nods and then walks off. 

For the next few hours, Liam sits silently next to Eleanor watching the show, occasionally pressing buttons on the remote next to him to get to the next episode. Eventually, he hears her loudly breathing, and when Liam glances down he can see that she fell asleep leaning against him. 

He cradles her head and neck in his other arm, then grabs a couch cushion to put under her head as he lies her down. Liam considers putting her on the bed, but doesn’t want to wake her. Instead, he grabs the blanket off of the bed and places it on her. 

Gabriel is still on the laptop. Liam takes out his phone to find that it was almost midnight. 

He takes a seat next to his son. Gabriel doesn’t look up at his father, and keeps scrolling through some articles. 

“What are you looking at?” Liam asks. 

The boy doesn’t glance up when he responds, “News articles. About the bombing.”

Liam frowns, wondering why Gabriel was researching an event that brought him so much emotional pain. “What have you found?”

He sits up straight and turns to look at Liam. Gabriel gazes at his father with a controlled intensity. The boy knew what he was talking about. “They think the bombers were foreigners ‘cause there’s some evidence towards one of them having come on a plane from Europe. And there are also a couple missing paintings from French, Austrian, and Cordonian painters. But from the eighteen hundreds.”

“Ah.” Liam leans closer to try and see what the article says. “Do you know which pieces?” 

“One was The Dance Class and another one is... uh... Bain à la G- Gren?” Gabriel turns the computer screen towards Liam. He sees an oil painting of people on a boat and on what seemed to be a man-made island or platform in the middle of a lake. 

On the bottom of the image was the title, “Bain à la Grenouillère,” which Liam pronounces for Gabriel. 

“Yeah, that,” he says. “And there are some others, too, but I can’t find that much information on them. There are two more that they think were stolen and another few they think might have burned.”

Liam allows Gabriel to continue scrolling and typing for a few more moments. He regards his son’s features. The slight upward curve of his chin and nose are the same as Liam’s, but the curve of his ears and the vague eyebrow arch scream Riley. Gabriel’s eyelashes are longer compared to Liam’s when he was a child, and they brush against his pale cheek. While he gazes down onto the laptop screen — as the ceiling light slightly flickers and the field outside the window seemed like a dark canvas — Gabriel looks almost otherworldly, like he’s not real. Maybe it was the sleep in Liam’s eyes, but for a moment he feels like he’s hallucinating, but he turns his head to see Eleanor still sleeping on the other couch, and Gabriel began to fiercely type something. It’s like they were born from a dream.

Both Liam and Gabriel turn their heads when there’s a loud noise from the television. The characters are being chased, and while running, they are accidentally separated from each other. 

Gabriel chuckles and tells Liam, “I hate the way Scooby talks.” 

“Why?” Liam asks. 

“Because he starts every word with the ‘r’ sound. This one time—” he laughs to himself “—Ella had this phase where she would talk like Scooby. It was only for like, two months, but it was the most annoying thing ever.” 

Liam laughs, imagining younger and chubbier versions of his children annoyed with each other. 

“My brother and I were like that, too,” Liam tells his son. He doesn’t expect Gabriel to listen, but when he turns to look at Liam, his heart stops for a moment. 

“Really? Did you annoy him or was it the other way around?” There’s a true excitement in Gabriel’s voice, and Liam could tell that he was trying to suppress a laugh. 

“Both, actually. There was this show that we used to watch when we were children. The Andy Griffith Show.”

“Oh. I’ve never heard of it.” 

Afraid that Gabriel would lose interest, Liam sits forward and continues, “For a long time I used to whistle the tune for the show, like this.” He proceeds to whistle a lively tune while snapping his fingers. 

“That’s... actually really good!” Gabriel comments. The amused look on his face sends a spark of joy through Liam. “It’s not annoying! Well... maybe if you did it too loud.” 

“It wasn’t my volume that annoyed my brother,” Liam explains. “I used to be terrible at whistling, but I refused to stop playing the tune.” 

“Oh.” Gabriel chuckles. “I whistle a little too loud, and Ella hates it. She says it hurts the inside of her ears so I stopped doing it around her.”

“Perhaps I can... teach you the song in the morning?” Liam hesitates. He wanted to take this opportunity of Gabriel’s friendliness, but didn’t want to do anything that might make Gabriel wish to avoid such conversations in the future. 

“Y- Yeah,” Gabriel says. The boy’s lips twitch upwards, and Liam smiles warmly. 

Liam takes out his phone to check the time again. “Well, it’s getting late.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Gabriel closes the tabs he had open, and turns the laptop off. Putting it on the coffee table, he takes a cushion and puts it under his head. Once Liam understands that he wanted to sleep on the couch, he goes into a closet to grab another blanket. Gabriel gives a tight smile when Liam drapes it over him. “Thanks.” 

Liam moves a lock of hair out of Gabriel’s eyes, then goes to check on Ella. She was on her stomach, turned away from Liam. He goes to turn off the light, and through the light in the hallway, he sees Gabriel lift a hand in farewell. Liam raises his hand as well, then closes the door.

He walks back towards the foyer, hoping to see someone who could lead Liam to a room he could stay in, when he remembers the car. Only Drake knew that he had arrived, but he was unsure if Drake knew to take the keys out of the ignition. 

Liam quickly goes down the stairs and slowly opens the door to peer out. He can’t see the car, and instead hears sniffling. 

Someone is crying. 

Liam freezes, focusing in on the sound. There’s an immense pain in the person’s huffing. It seems like they’re having difficulty breathing through the tears, and Liam’s breath catches in his throat. 

Sure he had cried very often himself when he was younger, he had heard Olivia weep as a child, and Liam had also seen Hana cry when she announced that she was leaving Cordonia to get married. But this sound was different; the person whimpers for a few moments, as if they’re trying to calm themself. 

It’s a painful noise, and has gripped Liam’s heart. He turns his head, almost involuntarily, and sees Riley sitting on the couch on the patio, her back facing him. Her shoulders are hunched, though they shake with the force of her tears. He wonders how she got downstairs.

Liam forces his legs to stay in place. Running to her while she was crying didn’t seem like the best idea. He softly closes the door behind him, expecting her to turn at the sound of the click, but she doesn’t move. His heart begs him to run towards her, wrap her in his arms. He doesn’t even realize that he’s moving in her direction. 

Liam sits on the couch towards her left. He wants to say something. His heart aches — this was the moment he had been waiting forever for. His mind rehearses what he wanted say to her; though he had been practicing the past ten years, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

I love you, Riley. I’ve missed you, Riley. Why did you leave me, Riley? Are you upset to be back, Riley? I still love you, Riley. Do you remember me, Riley? 

I’m sorry, my love. 

Grief stops him from saying anything. He allows her to cry, though the sound pushes him deeper into sadness. The moment feels like eternity, but Liam still says nothing. She seemed to be crying for both of them. Perhaps for Theodore, too. Watching her cry squeezed Liam’s heart so ferociously that for a moment he believed death would cause less pain.  

Her crying slows to just sniffles. Riley lifts her head but stares out into nothingness. Liam knows she can see him from the corner of her eyes, but he still doesn’t wish to speak. If he did, who was to say that she wouldn’t run away again? 

Perhaps I shouldn’t have come here. I am the one who brings her so much pain. For her sake I should have let her be. 

She turns to look at him, and they lock eyes. Riley’s face is red and puffy, but she’s still the most beautiful and purest thing he’s ever seen. 

They sit like that for a while, Liam’s heart alight. For him, the moment was sore: painful, with the fear that doing anything more could ruin this action of reserved love. 

They have everything to say to each other, they have nothing to say to each other.

Finally, she breaks his gaze and stares down at her knees, running her hands up and down her legs. “Are the kids asleep?” 

Once the words register in Liam’s mind, he answers, “Yes.” Out of fear that those words would be the only she would say to him, he continues, “The flight must have exhausted them.” 

She lets out a breath that sounds like a laugh. She looks up at the dark landscape again, this time a nostalgic look in her eyes. “Theo used to stay up all night with them before we traveled, just so they would sleep on the plane.” Her lips twisted, and she puts her head in her hands. 

Hearing moments of their family together sent a jolt of anger through Liam’s body. He wanted to erase that man from Riley’s life and replace it with himself. There was no doubt in his heart that he would have treated Riley better, he would have loved her better.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Riley says through tears, her voice breaking. “I can’t believe I spent the last few weeks oblivious to the fact that he died. Alone. And I let it happen.”

She remembers?

Liam jumps up from his seat to sit next to her. “Riley, none of that was your fault.” He puts an arm around her, and she leans into his chest, shaking. Their knees collide, and it feels like second nature when he puts a hand under her cast and brings her legs over his thighs. Her head falls under his chin, and he leans down to kiss her temple. 

But then she takes in an unstable breath and shuffles to the opposite side of the couch. 

She remembers.

He’s surprised, but also embarrassed that he let his feelings overtake him. “I’m sorry, my love,” he blurts out. 

“Don’t—” Riley begins, but stops herself. She puts her head in her hands again. 

Liam blinks the pain away. He feels small, suddenly. Alone. Adrift. Lost.

Her voice is broken when she says, “Ten years. More than a decade... before it felt like we would last forever. We had to. But now look at us. We’re practically strangers.”

He wants to scream, But I still love you. Perhaps I love you more now than before. Do not for a moment think that a day went by during which you did not occupy my heart and mind entirely. Instead he manages, “That’s not true.”

She looks at him with a face that screams “you can’t be serious?” Shaking her head, Riley states, “Liam, ten years is a long time. Longer than either of us have realized.”

He sits confused for a moment, thinking about how the time went by in slow motion for him. “I feel like I’ve lived and eternity within those ten years.” 

She chuckles, the melody warming Liam’s heart. “I think having kids does the opposite. One minute they’re saying their first words, the next—” She stops, her eyes going wide. “Liam, I didn’t mean—”

He puts up a hand, “Please, we don’t have to discuss that right now.” 

Her eyes brim with tears when she says, “You have no reason to believe me when I say that I wanted to tell you more than anything. I was about to fight Theo while he was bringing me to the hospital.” Her voice breaks again when she says, “I didn’t want to have the baby without you.”

Anger shoots through his veins when Liam hears the man’s name. But that was Riley’s husband. She was now Theo’s widow. He didn’t want to upset her more than she already was. “At least you weren’t alone.” 

She leans her head backwards, her features now numb. Riley stares at the sky and says, “And then I let him die alone. All he wanted to do was help.”

Liam feels his skin boil, momentarily glad that man was dead and out of his way. 

When they slip into silence, Liam leans his head back as well, staring at the stars that glittered behind the clouds, listening to the crickets and the music of night. Neither of them move, but after a while, Liam’s eyes become heavy with sleep. He turns to look at Riley.

“It’s late,” Liam says. 

“You’re right.” She stands, and Liam notices the crutches against the wall. He hands them to her, and goes to open the door. When they reach the stairs, she carefully pulls herself up a few steps. 

“Please, don’t hurt yourself,” Liam says. He holds her hand to help her stand, then takes the crutches from her, balancing them against the railing. He puts an arm under her knees and lifts her. To his surprise, she snuggles into his chest. 

On the top of the stairs, she says that she can continue by herself, but Liam mentions that her crutches are still at the bottom of the stairs. 

She looks up at him. “You can go get them. I’ll wait. I don’t want to strain you.” 

“It’s nothing,” he says. “Really.” He would carry her to the ends of the Earth if it meant that she would go through less pain.

Liam carries Riley to her room, gently placing her on the bed. He pulls the blanket over her. She doesn’t meet his eyes, and turns away from him. 

“Good night, Riley,” he says, turning off the lights. 

Liam found Bertrand in the study, and the Duke gave Liam a room for the night. Sitting on the bed, Liam began to cry. It was only tears falling down his face. His breathing was still even but his eyes burned. Holding Riley against himself had felt like a blessing. Bring able to press his lips against her head. Not the Riley who didn’t know who he was, but the Riley who knew the weight of their shared past. For the last ten years he had been a drowning man, and Riley was his air. 

He knew she was the only woman he would ever love, and now, with the relief that had filled his soul after he knew she remembered him, it was beyond confirmed. Even though he was not the only man Riley had loved, he was determined to show her that his love for her was greater than any other metaphorical or physical thing in existence.

He promised himself that he would take the next opportunity to talk to her. There are so many things he needs to ask her, so many things that need to happen for them to be together again. 

She has her memory back. She remembered. The next few steps shouldn’t be too difficult.

...

The next morning when Liam sits at the table for breakfast with everyone, he wants to ask Riley’s whereabouts, since she’s the only person not at the table. But Drake talks with Savannah and Bertrand, while Maxwell and Rowan have talk quietly between themselves. 

“Did you sleep well?” Liam asks Gabriel. 

The boy’s mouth is filled with pancakes, so he just nods. 

“I wanted to tell you that I had someone create a lesson plan for you.” That wasn’t completely a lie. “I think it would be best for you to start as soon as possible, seeing that the social season is quickly approaching.” 

“Considering the social season,” Bertrand jumps in. “I think now is the time to send an announcement out to the people.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t push Gabriel into the spotlight too soon?” Savannah suggests. 

“True,” Liam comments. “But he has been kept from the people’s knowledge long enough. It’ll take a while for us to convince them that it was for good reason.”

“Perhaps it would be best to schedule a press conference as well?” Bertrand asks. 

Liam chews thoughtfully. “Yes, but it would be better to have it a few days before the social season starts. Just to give Gabriel some time to get accustomed to courtly life.”

“Li, two weeks isn’t enough,” Drake states.

Liam sighs. “You’re right.” He turns to look at the children, who stare back at him. “I will call Duchess Olivia and Countess Hana. They can help the children in their lessons and give them some tips. And of course I will always be nearby.”

The children smile, then turn back to their food. 

After the plates are cleared, Liam suggests that Bartie bring Eleanor and Gabriel to the ballroom to teach them the Cordonian Waltz. Liam promises to help them, but first decides to go talk to Riley about the announcement.

He knocks on her door, and hears a faint, “Come in.”

When Liam walks in, she seems shocked. 

“Sorry,” he says. “Is... this a bad time?” Her hair is wet and her skin glistens. Liam can tell she just came out of the shower. 

“No, it’s fine.” She laughs. “I thought it would be Maxwell.” 

Liam chuckles. “He always woke you during the social season, didn’t he?” 

Riley smiles to herself. “Yeah.”

“I wish I could have been the one to greet you every morning, but I’m glad you were always met by a friendly face.” 

Her smile falters. After a moment, she says, “Liam, we need to talk. About everything.” 

He holds up a hand. “I know, love.” He clears his throat, wondering if she was still comfortable with him calling her that. “We have a lot to discuss, but I wanted to let you know that I’ve hold Bertrand to help send out an announcement about Gabriel.” 

Her eyebrows crease. “What about Gabriel?” 

He pauses, wondering what her expression meant. “That he will be anointed as the heir at the end of the social season.” 

“Liam, are you serious?” She shakes her head. “You’re just going to push him into courtly life? With no knowledge of how anything works, of how people act? I felt stressed during my social season, and I was just a suitor. As the heir there’s going to be so many things he needs to learn—”

“Yes, and he’s already ten years late,” Liam interrupts her, trying to be convincing. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel stressed. “Riley, trust me, this is in his best interest.” 

“Excuse you?” Riley’s face hardens, and Liam regrets his words. 

He knew she was in a delicate position, perhaps it would have been best to let her speak. 

She continues, “It’s not in his best interest, it’s in your best interest, because you need an heir.” 

Liam takes a step back, offended. “I meant to say that it’s in his best interests because as Crown Prince, there are such things due to him which he hasn’t received—”

“Oh, God, Liam. You haven’t changed, have you?” Riley frowns and looks Liam up and down, seemingly disappointed. 

Liam regards her, too, wondering where these thoughts were coming from. Did she not trust him anymore? Who poisoned her mind against him?

“You’re the same,” she states. “Willing to throw people you ‘care about’ under stress and anxiety so you look good in front of your people. Is that why you brought my family here when I was suffering from memory loss? So you could put him through whatever you wanted while I would be oblivious to it?” 

Liam’s face falls. Did she think he was being selfish? “Of course not, Riley. And I’ll be there to help him with whatever he needs, and I will do the same for you.” 

“Just like you were there to help me during the social season?” 

“Riley, that was different.” 

“How so?” 

“I told you, Riley, I had to be fair to the other suitors, I had to—”

“How is his first social season going to be any different than mine? Considering all the pain and humiliation I was put through? Not only will I be badmouthed again, but Gabe will, too.” 

“I won’t allow that to happen.” 

“Really?” Her eyes redden. “Just like you didn’t allow the court to shame, bully, and taunt me during your Engagement Tour?” 

Liam felt like he was being backed into a corner, and he didn’t like it. He was doing everything in his power not to lash out at Riley. Liam knew she was in a delicate position. It was his job to make her feel better, not worse. 

He walks up to her, holding her hands in his, the softness of her skin a fresh feeling, but she yanks her hands away. 

They stand inches from each other, Riley staring defiantly up at him, while Liam looked down at her in pity and heartbreak. 

Neither of us have changed, have we? 

That’s not right. She’s changed. 

"Riley,” Liam says in a soft voice, staring deep into her eyes, quietly begging her to be on his side. “I know there is a lot we have to discuss, and you know I have a duty to my country, to my people. It’s not my choice whether or not to introduce Gabriel to everyone, it’s my obligation. But, Riley, I promise you, I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you or our son.” 

She sighs, about to respond to his declaration, but Eleanor walks through the door, crying, “Mama! I learned the Cordonian Waltz!”

Liam turns, noticing Bartie and Gabe in the doorway. He turns to Ella and says, “That quickly?” 

“Yup! Look!” 

She proceeds to hold up her arms around an invisible partner, then takes a few calculated steps and spins. Finally, she strikes a pose facing away from Liam and Riley, both of who begin to applaud. 

“That was great, baby!” Riley says, reaching to hug her daughter. 

Liam turns to ask Gabriel if he’s had the same luck as his sister, but Rowan appears. “Hey, Riley,” she says. “Have you had breakfast yet?” 

“No. I was going to come down in a minute.” Riley glances in Liam’s direction. 

He puts a hand on her shoulder and tells her, “I’ll be in the Duke’s office, helping the announcement and press conference.” 

Liam stands next to her for a few more moments, his heart aching for her to look up at him. He turns to leave, and Eleanor waves at him, while Gabriel gives the most genuine smile Liam has seen.

[canyouimaginethatstory]

What He Deserved (Lucifer X Reader) REQUESTED

AUTHOR NOTE:  This was requested by @oopstheregoesmysoul13​ Summary: While bonding with Jack, you also start to notice feelings for a certain blue-eyed archangel. Will he return them?

You come from an alternate world where you were under the rule of the archangel Micheal. It was a world in complete ruin. You had managed to survive by hiding most of your adult life. Then you ran into to a group run by a woman named Marry Winchester and a young boy named Jack. They were building up a group that was dead set on taking down the archangel ruler. You learned soon that Jack was actually a nephilim. A being that was half-angel and half-human. He was also the son of the archangel Lucifer from their world. Jack was sweet and caring. He had this innocence about him that no one in your world had. You were soon welcomed into the group as you learned to use different weapons and was filled in on the plan to take down Micheal. You didn’t think it would work but it was worth a shot.

As time went on you bonded with Jack. You could almost say you looked at him like a son. You two were doing training and supply management together. One day the angel warding went down and Mary and a few others went to check it out. Turns out it was Mary’s son Dean but tragedy had struck and her other son Sam had died before they reached the group. Your heart broke for Jack. He seemed to be very attached to Sam being as how hard he was taking it. “He can’t be dead!” Jack said becoming more upset.

“Hey Jack,” you said gently rubbing his back. The young boy turned to you and hugged you tight, “it’s ok Jack. It’s ok sweetheart,”. You softly patted his back trying to comfort him the best you could. You all soon headed to the camp area. Jack didn’t really leave your side and you were ok with that. Mary was trying to talk Dean into not going back to get Sam’s body when a bell sounded indicating something was happening. Mary, Jack, and Dean watched in shock as a tall guy with long brown hair and blood-soaked clothes appeared. Dean ran over to him and hugged him. “Who is that Jack?” you asked. He smiled.

“That’s Sam,” he said. Just then another guy came walking into the camp. He had shaggy blond hair and he was smirking a little. You even noticed his shining blue eyes. Everyone gathered around as the man approached them. He smiled at Jack. You could see a look of pride on his face. 

“Hello son,” he said. Soon there was a lot of shouting from Dean. He didn’t want Jack talking with who you now knew was Lucifer from their world. It got so bad Jack got upset and fluttered off.

“Where’d it go, dad!” Dean shouted at Lucifer.

“Actually, I think he fluttered away because you were trying to get his uncle to kill his father,” you stated matter of factly, “I’ll go track him down,”. You didn’t notice Lucifer watching as you headed off. He had never had anyone stand up for him before or take his side. You found Jack sitting behind a big tree. “You ok Jack?” you asked.

“I don’t like it when there’s a bunch of yelling,” he said.

“I know Jack,” you said sitting beside him and pulled him into a loving hug.

“Do you think I should talk to my father?” he asked.

“Jack,” you said, “I think everyone deserves to know where they come from. No matter who your parents are. If you wanna know about your father than I support you in that,”.

“Thanks, Y/N,” you said, “I love my mother, but you feel like a mother to me too,” You smiled.

“That means a lot to me, Jack,” you said giving him another hug.

“We should head back,” he said as you both stood up. He held onto you tight and zapped into a little shed area. Once you gained your balance you noticed Castiel and Lucifer standing by the doorway. They had been talking but stopped when you two appeared. You looked and Jack and gently patted his arm.

“I’ll be by the weapons if you need me,” you said. You offered a smile to the two angels as you walked passed. You could hear a bit of shouting from Dean. You couldn’t understand why Dean was so dead set on Jack not knowing his real father. Despite him being the devil or whatever. Soon the boys came over to the weapons stand with Lucifer. That’s when you noticed he had cuffs on.

“You can keep an eye on him until we come up with a plan,” Dean said and walked away. You rolled your eyes. As you prepared the weapons you could feel the archangel’s gaze on you but it didn’t bother you.

“So, you’re close with my son?” he finally asked.

“I am,” you said. Just because everyone else was rude to him didn’t mean you were gonna be.

“What’s he like?” he asked. You looked over at the angel. You could tell by the look on his face that he just wanted to know his kid.

“He’s sweet. Cares,” you started, “wants to protect the ones he loves,” you went on and Lucifer listened to every word. It wasn’t scary or intimidating to speak with the archangel. You found it easy. Lucifer was feeling the same way. Usually, any human annoyed him but he found himself wanting to talk with you more. So you two did talk. Small things at first. Then the angel told you the story of how he fell. You listened intently. The pain and sorrow on the angel’s face as he told his story broke your heart. You were tearing up listening. When he finished you both sat there in silence for a moment. “Lucifer I am so sorry,” you finally said, “that you had to go through that. And just so you know I don’t think you fell,”. He looked at you. A small hint of tears in his eyes, “you were pushed,”.

“Ok,” Dean said, “we’re gonna head on foot to Dayton,”. Soon you all were walking. Gabriel went ahead to look for any signs of angels. As the group walked Lucifer and Jack talked. You were getting so annoyed with Dean. Why couldn’t he just let Jack talk to his father? Soon the group met with Castiel who had gone ahead a while ago to look for Gabriel.

“Any sign him?” Dean asked. Castiel shook his head no then suddenly Gabriel came bursting through some trees.

“Angels!” he shouted. Before you all knew it a group of angels appeared. You all drew your weapons. Just as they were about to smite you they all turned into puffs of smoke. You all turned to face Lucifer as the cuffs melted off his wrists. You listened as he explained to the group how he knew the cuffs wouldn’t actually hold him in this world and then pointed out to Jack that he was being a team player. Later that night The boys, Cas, Jack, and Mary went on a rescue mission for that world’s Charlie and their world Ketch. Everyone else stayed behind to defend the camp in case Micheal’s angels showed up. You were standing a few feet away from the angelic brothers as they talked. With each harsh word Gabriel spoke you could see the pain building in Lucifer’s face. It made your heartache seeing tears in the angel’s eyes. Once Gabriel was far enough you walked over to Lucifer. “That wasn’t true,” you said. The archangel looked a little taken back.

“What?” he asked.

“What you’re brother said,” you explained, “you can change and you can love and care. Why no one else can see it I don’t know,”. You went to walk away, “oh, and since no one else said it earlier. Thank you. For saving our lives,”. Lucifer just stood there. He wasn’t really sure how to respond. Later that night when the boys returned Bobby filled them on the vote the hunters had and that everyone voted on going to their world with them. You couldn’t wait to leave. It had to be better than this place. Plus part of you had known there was another reason you wanted to leave as you snuck a glance at Lucifer. By the next morning, the group had a bus up and running. To Gabriel’s surprise, Dean was going to let Lucifer drive. As you were helping people board the bus you noticed Jack walking off. “Where’s he going?” you asked Sam as you both hurried off after him. You and sam listened to Jack explain about how he wanted to defeat Micheal. A bit of pride built in you as Lucifer was to trying to make Jack see that wasn’t the best idea. As Lucifer headed back to the bus with Jack you could tell Sam wasn’t happy that Lucifer was able to change Jack’s mind.

“Mom,” Jack called looking back at you. You smiled, “will you sit with me on the bus?”. 

“Sure Jack,” you said heading back. The drive to the portal was uneventful. Lucifer would keep glancing back to you and Jack. The way Jack seemed so calm and happy talking to you. The archangel couldn’t help but notice his growing attraction to you. But he knew it was foolish to let himself thank maybe you felt the same way. You soon arrived at the portal and people started getting out of the bus. As everyone made their way to the portal explosions were heard as something big hit the ground a few times killing a few hunters in the process. You and the group watched as Micheal appeared from the settling smoke. His wings folding back and fading away.

“Gentlemen,” he said. Your heart sunk a little as Lucifer headed toward him, “Lu, you don’t really wanna try this again do you?”. Lucifer’s eyes turned red and he shot a blast of power at Micheal. It pushed him back but Micheal shot back and within two hits Lucifer was down. You couldn’t stop yourself as you ran to him kneeling down.

“Are you ok?” you asked. He looked up at you shocked. Like he couldn’t fathom you actually checking to see if he was ok. He nodded. You heard Gabriel shouting at the boys to go while he fended off Micheal. You helped Lucifer up and headed for the portal. Sam stopped you.

“Not him,” he said.

“Come on Sam,” Lucifer said, “I'm hurt,”.

“Sam either he goes or I stay,” you told him.

"Y/N,” he started but you cut him off.

“My terms Sam,” you said. Sam rolled his eyes.

“Fine,” he said and you all went through the portal just as Micheal stabbed Gabriel. Over time the hunters from your world got used to being in the bunker. Some even stayed in the bunker. The place almost had enough rooms. You were in the kitchen with Jack. He looked lost in thought.

“You ok Jack?” you asked.

“I’ve been considering something,” he said.

“What's that?” you asked.

“I think I want to get to know my father,” he said,” he’s been trying hard to show others he can be a team player,”. It was true. Lucifer had been helping. Sometimes he did complain or get really snarky but he helped.

“If that’s something you wanna do I’ll support you,” you said.

“Do you think I should?” he asked, “do you think he’s evil?”. You smiled and softly laid your hands on his.

“I think your father has done bad things,” you started, “but I can understand why and I do think with a little more time and trust he can continue to redeem himself,”.

“Why do you think that?” he asked.

“Has anyone ever told you how your father fell from grace?” you asked. Jack shook his head.

“Go to your father and ask him to tell you,” you said, “and take it from there,”. Jack nodded and headed to the other room where Lucifer was. He had heard everything you and jack said. A little while later you were cleaning up from preparing dinner. You turned around and were startled by Lucifer standing behind you.

“Thank you for telling our son to talk to me,” before you could even register that he had said our son or say anything his lips were on yours as he gently pulled you to him. To the archangel’s relief, you wrapped your arms around him too and kissed back. When he knew you needed air he ended the kiss. You locked eyes with the angel.

“You’re welcome,” you said as he rested his head against yours.

MASTER LIST: Here

PROMPT EVENT: Here

REQUEST INFO: Here

[tigereyes45]

Oooh for the son rarepairs- I would love to read some Dean/Gabriel! I feel like their personalities would mesh fantastically if not for them getting off on a bad start. Maybe for Bisexual or Free Space? 🥺

Honestly, I have been in such deep Debriel feels lately. So I loved this request! Also today is Gabriel’s day as it is a Tuesday & Groundhog’s day so enjoy. (P.S. This is the first SPN fic I’ve ever written and finished so all constructive criticism is welcomed.) Ao3 link here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29158887

@spnrareshipbingo

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Gabe tries not to sigh as he and Dean watch The Untouchables for the sixth time this year. It was a decent movie, but six times felt like a bit much. He just couldn't understand how Dean was able to watch it so many times without growing tired of the plot.

"Can you actually taste sugar?"

"What?" Gabe moves off the arm of the couch as he turns to look at Dean. Why was he asking that out of nowhere?

"Can you actually taste sweets?" Dean repeats the question not with exasperation but mild curiosity. He holds his head up with his right hand perched up on the back of the couch. The hunter doesn't even bother to look away from the tv. Gabriel glances back at it as Wallace uncovers Capone's tax fraud.

Gabe stares at Dean. Was he suddenly interested in angel functionality? Why? He could get it up just as well as any human. Dean finally glances over in his direction. It's followed instantly by a roll of his eyes.

"Oh come on. Stop looking at me as if I've grown a third head. Angels can't taste food. Cas said." 

So that's what this was. Gabriel makes a big show of sighing now. He lets out all the pent up sighs he had been withholding throughout the entirety of the movie. Gabriel stretches his arms out.  For a second he's tempted to let a bit of his actual form out. To stretch all the way out towards the ceiling of the bunker. The chances of accidentally blinding Dean were too high to actually give in to the urge. Instead, he falls into Dean's lap. Arms now folded, comfortably under his head. "Did Cas say angels can't taste food or that they can taste every molecule within said food?"

Dean opens his mouth but quickly closes it again. Swallowing his words, perhaps even literally. "Uh,"

Gabe smirks. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Dean frowns at the tv. For a moment Gabe assumes he's satisfied Dean's curiosity. He folds his legs over each other over the couch's arm and makes himself. He was just about to roll his head back towards the tv too when his eye catches on Dean's furrowing brow. This conversation wasn't done yet. Finally, he breaks his silence again. "What's the difference?"

"For most angels, the being able to taste so much makes consuming food and drinks," Gabriel pauses searching for the best word. Finally his tongue lands on, "unpleasant."

Dean looks down at Gabriel. The color of his green eyes would be difficult to make out in the dim light if he was human. Another perk to being an archangel. He could still see those hunter green jacket eyes even in pitch darkness. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that it's an acquired taste Dean-O. It's like," Gabe throws his hands up as he thinks. Dean swerves his head back. Barely getting his face out of the way of Gabe's hands in time. "like, well picture a pie."

"Done." Of course that wasn't difficult for him.

"Now imagine that pie contains not just one flavor of pie in it, but all the flavors of pie."

"That's a lot of pie." Gabriel could see the gears turning in Dean's head now. He also made out the sound of Dean's growling stomach. He'd get him some dinner and pie after the movie.

"Exactly!" Gabe sits up. "But somehow it all fits in a normal-sized pie, and every bite you take tastes of all the flavors of pie in the world at once. Scratch that, in the galaxy."

"Some of those are not going to taste good together."

The archangel shrugs. He leans against Dean's side. "Yeah but some taste really good together and you're tasting it all at one with every bite."

Dean leans his head from one side to the next as he mulls over the thought. "Okay."

"That's what eating is like for angels. We taste every different molecule the food is made of. Hundreds of thousands of bits of food in our mouth all at once in every bite."

Dean's nodding now. There's a shoot out happening in the movie. Which one Gabe wasn't sure of. At this point, he'd lost all interest in the film. He lays back down in Dean's lap. "So why do you eat so many sweets?"

Good question. Worst timing. Now he was actually craving something sweet. "Well at first it was out of curiosity. I wanted to know what humans' food tasted like when I first came down. News flash wasn't that great, but it was simpler. Less to take in when I ate it."

Dean's hand absentmindedly starts to comb through Gabe's hair. He wasn't paying attention to the movie at all now either. It had officially been regulated to background noise. "Then it became about keeping up my façade of being the trickster."

Gabriel frowns at the thought of Loki. Quickly he pushes on. "Eventually the food actually became enjoyable. It was easier to just passively take in the taste of it all, and sweets were the best! They became more sugary, so the molecules started tasting closer to one another. Which made it easier to stuff my face."

A faint smile forms at the edges of Dean's mouth. "So you like sweets because they all taste the same?" This was nice. Talking about something so casual. So much of their days were filled with monsters and world-ending notions. Dean was typically so stressed that they barely talked at all. Well more like he talked and Dean would listen as they worked. Gabriel was enjoying this change of pace so much that he almost forgot to answer Dean's question entirely.

"Not exactly. It's like I can tune out more while eating them. I don't have to think about how the molecules are supposed to taste together to actually taste them anymore. Passively tasting."

"Oh. So it's like beer. Some of it you just drink to drink and the taste stops mattering."

"Yeah. Sure big guy. Only I do it for the opposite effect."

Dean stops running his fingers through Gabe's hair to scratch at his chin. "Okay I think I get why you eat sweets. So why do you eat them in my bed?"

"Why not?" He rolls over in Dean's lap. Now on his side and able to watch the movie. People were yelling at each other, but that was all Gabe could pick up.

"Because I actually sleep unlike you and I enjoy a clean bed."

Okay, this wasn't going to get dropped. He rolls back around to face Dean again. "Yeah and I enjoy a snack on occasion." Gabe playfully cups the side of Dean's cheek in his hands. "Beside sometimes I need a pick me up after our fun."

"You have wings. You can bamf anywhere, eat, then come back." Dean insists and Gabe could tell he was just annoyed more so than anything else.

"Yeah, but why go through that all that effort when I'm already in your bed."

Dean looks down at Gabe. A dull, tired expression on his face. "I'm not going to get you to stop, am I?"

"Nope." Perhaps he's won this already.

"Alright." Dean pushes Gabe out of his lap.

"Hey!" Gabe sits up on the ground as Dean walks away. "Dean-O where are you going?

"To angel proof my room."

Gabe rolls his eyes. "Come on you're not going to do that."

"Oh really? I've got the chalk in my room."

Gabriel scoffs. "Yeah right." After a few moments. "Dean! Dean come on! You're not really gonna kick me out just because of a few candy wrappers are you?" Gabriel stands up staring at the hall Dean just left through. No answer, but he can hear Dean start sprinting down the hall now. Realizing Dean might actually go through with it Gabriel unfurls his wings. The race had already begun.