#her brother is sleeping in his lab her dad is forgetting who she is

[mishapen-dear]

god im just still thinking about pomme tho. she watched her dad forget who she was On Her Birthday. where has she gone to bed. did she leave bbh, crawl to aypierre's house and huddle into his side? to antoine's, to press against his robes and pretend they could hide her? to etoiles, still sleeping, but still keeping her safe. to baghera's empty tower. no on there to comfort her, no one there to distract her as she stays awake all night trying to figure out what to do. or maybe she didn't go to sleep at all. maybe she's still there with qbad, who we know doesn't sleep much, watching over him and anxiously awaiting his next memory lapse, waiting for the next thing to go wrong. she's just a fucking baby and it was her BIRTHDAY someone get her in a cuddle pile with all her parents Right Now

[eywamygoddesswrites]

— 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓭 — (multiple x fem!reader) | 2

pairing: avatar women x fem!human!reader

tags: just the lovely women taking care of the reader during her period, can be seen as platonic/romantic (except tuk because it's strictly platonic)

warnings: nooooone

a/n: kiri, tuk, and tsireya are aged up! this is for the women characters since i don't want it to be too long. for the avatar men version, click here. anyways, i hope you enjoy!

word count: 1.1k

neytiri

learned human anatomy from grace when the school was running

met you when you came in with jake sully

you were around her age. she was 19 and you were 20

being a scientist like grace, you had an avatar ready for you like how jake used his twin’s avatar

when you’re out of your avatar, you tend to forget that you still get your period

like jake (when he’s an avatar), she can smell whenever your period is near

she’d ask grace what you like during your period and does her best to make you feel as comfortable as you can

she’d do anything to make you smile

she’d take the pain away if she can but she can’t so the next best thing she does is make you feel comfortable as much as she can

whether you like it or not, she will bring you food and uses that oxygen mask just so she can stay with you (even if she hates the lab and other sky people)

many many woven clothes for you to wear both for your avatar and your little human self

rests her head on your abdomen and litters kisses on them from time to time

calls you sweet nicknames in na’vi language

kiri

like her brothers, she knows about human anatomy because of their dad and because you’re her friend

she thinks periods are stupid and why should you women on earth get them

you explained that it’s related to getting pregnant

boooooo na’vi women don’t have to bleed just cause they didn’t get pregnant

I KNOW I’M JEALOUS OF YOU ALL

would laugh at your misery (not in a mean way but it’s just to lighten your mood) but she’d help you as best as she can

being a tsahik-in-training, she brings you soothing creams and gives you these small homemade medicines to lessen the pain

BEST MASSAGES I SWEAR

weaves you blankets to keep you warm because you always feel a lot colder when you have your period

would feel bad when the pain is too unbearable to the point of you sometimes crying

ears flat on her head as she held you in her arms as you cried your pain out

she would rock you to sleep as best as she can

even if you complain that you’re not a baby and why was she treating you like one

she shushes you and tells you to go to sleep

tuk (platonic)

when you first got your period, she was SUPER confused as to why you were bleeding

like her brothers, she was confused as to why you were suddenly bleeding one day

cries for her mom and dad that y/n was dying and bleeding

jake laughed and explained to his youngest that human girls like you get their periods and it’s a normal thing

HOW CAN BLEEDING BE A NORMAL THING

jake then gives his youngest a small lecture on human anatomy and tuk was like

ooooohhhhh that’s kinda stupid

she’s really kiri’s sister. she spends too much time with her older sister that she’s becoming a mini kiri

anywhos

she would ask any of her older siblings to come to help her get food for you

like fish or meat, she asks for neteyam to help her

but for fruits, she gets them herself

makes little bracelets and teaches you how to make some

cries when you cry

the babies cry

she sleeps beside you as much as she can before neytiri picks her up and jake fixes your position in bed before leaving you a kiss on the forehead and they leave the lab

tuk would come running back when she woke up back home

no one is taking her away from her best friend ESPECIALLY when her friend needs her

ronal

she didn’t give two shits when you got your period one day

why should she? you were the same species as those who were hurting pandora

but seeing you uncomfortable throughout the day and seeing you physically try to lessen the pain, maybe a little help won’t hurt

she would leave some soothing paste by the entrance of your pod (you’re wearing an oxygen mask) and leave as quickly as she visited

would watch you from afar and have her kids be the ones giving you the things she made for you

since she was still not that fond of humans, she doesn’t give any physical affection

but maybe, if you prove to her that she’s wrong with her assumptions

then maybe, just maybe, she can be a bit physically affectionate toward you

tsireya

the sweetest girl out there fr fr

when she learned that you humans get periods, she immediately tries to find ways to ‘stop them’

but when you explained that it can only stop when women get either pregnant or become old, she was bummed

like c’mon, there must be another way for it to stop

she doesn’t want you getting hurt but you explained that it’s the side effects of it and you can’t really stop it

but that doesn’t stop her from doing her best to help y/n out as best as she can

the best medicine and soothing cream only for y/n to use

weaving warm blankets for y/n since being near the ocean makes it really really cold at night

gives the best best bEST hugs fr fr

need her to be with you the whole day? she will stay with you for as long as you want her to be

she won’t leave you unless she has something to do

grace augustine

going with grace to pandora was the best decision you did

although everything was new, you didn’t mind the new surroundings so long as grace and you were together

since arriving in pandora, your period became irregular because of stress from the travel and just in general getting used to everything

grace was there all throughout as you were to her

but soon enough, everything became normal again and you two sync up with it

when you feel that your period is getting close, you tell grace and you two stock up on pads

she cooks for you and makes you your favorite drinks

you give her massages (she loves them so much)

when one becomes very emotional, the other lets them go take a rest the whole day

when you’re in your room the whole day, she brings you pandora samples like flowers or fruits and explains to you what they are

she brings you some fruits that are edible for humans to eat

cuddles at night are a must for the two of you. neither of you two goes to sleep without the other

taglist: @nyotamalfoy @hanhanartz @murderousmushroom @myvath @iwaslikeblah

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Chapter 2 of These Are Not Our Masks!

@daboyau

@that-0n3-shr00mi3-guy

@iobsesswaytoomuch

@sady-is-secretly-an-alchemist

@dluebirb

Let me know if anyone wants to be added to the tag list! And please let me know if I forgot someone!

Donnie and Mikey land on top of the skate ramp of their lair with a thump. Donnie wants to think about the logic of Leo sending them to this area of all places but the reality of the situation sinks in.

Half of them are missing.

The Foot probably have Raph and Leo.

He drops the pieces of his tech bō and hits his fist on the ground.

“All I needed was time! I might have been able to get us all out!”

Mikey grips his shoulder.

“Donnie! We have to get dad and April! Now! We have to go help them!”

Donnie takes a quick breath then nods and slides down the ramp with him. They both run as fast as possible to where their father is sleeping on his recliner.

Mikey tearfully shakes him.

“Dad! They took them!”

Splinter snorts awake, only opening one eye before closing it again.

“Learn to share boys, don’t take each other’s things….”

Donnie stands in front of him, tense hands at his sides in fists.

“Raph and Leo are gone!”

Splinter jumps out of his seat.

“What!? Where!? How!?”

Mikey starts rambling so fast that neither of them can understand them.

Donnie places his hand over his mouth.

“Raph was possessed by a mask and The Foot showed up! Leo got us to safety but they probably took the both of them!”

Mikey moves the hand, holding it close.

“We need to get them back!”

Splinter’s mind races a mile a minute.

“Let April know, we’re going to need her help.”

Donnie quickly texts an SOS message for her to meet them at the lair. He’s not sure how calling her would go.

She might start trying to find them by herself and he can’t let her get taken too.

“Done. I’m grabbing some things from my lab in the meantime.”

Mikey squeezes his hand again.

“Can I come with you too?”

Donnie glances at Splinter who he swears is greying more than ever at the moment despite it not being scientifically possible to happen so fast.

“Stay here with father. I won’t take long.

Mikey slowly let’s go of his hand hugs Splinter tightly instead.

Splinter hugs back just as tight.

Donnie leaves the two to head towards his lab.

Once he gets there, he stares at the hologram framed photos he keeps on the wall.

He remembers why they’re there.

Before he had gotten better at keeping his lab on lockdown, Raph went inside to look for a weight Donnie had borrowed to use for an invention.

That’s how Donnie walked in on Raph absolutely bawling his eyes out over a photo of him kept in a desk drawer.

That’s also how he came across both Mikey and Leo during the next couple of days after that pretending they weren’t looking for photos of themselves as well.

The obvious decision was having photos of all of them that could switch out daily so that no one would feel he was picking favorites.

Purely logical, it’s not like his mysterious bad boy self cared about the emotions behind it.

He also definitely never checked the footage from the security camera in the lab to see his brothers come look at the photos.

His finger gingerly touches the photo of Raph and Leo play wrestling.

It was a far cry from the fight that happened earlier.

“It figures that it was the two of you that were taken…..I’m going to get you back as quickly as possible and never let you forget I did. How dare you force me to take over responsibility this way?”

“Dude, you’re totally like just talking to yourself right now.” S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. comments as he flies over.

“You’re acting like that’s a rare occurrence. I need you to gather up as much as my tech as you can and power up the tracker monitor.”

“Oh no, are our bros missing?”

Donnie sighs.

“Yes. Raph and Leo. Most likely kidnapped.”

“I’ll get right on it. Leo was supposed to sneak me out to play basketball, he needs to come back.” S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. goes to do as he’s been asked.

Donnie knows he should be mad that Leo was going to go behind his shell but honestly he finds it nice that his brothers treat S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. like a nephew in a similar way that he treats him like a son.

He sighs.

It’s annoying to be so easily swayed by how much he loves his brothers sometimes.

Of course it was never too often because he will shove someone into a wall for a pizza slice if need be but it still happens.

Eventually, his robotic son comes back with the battle shell containing all his weaponry and a bag filled with smaller items he’s been tinkering with.

He’s never, ever going to admit that they’re new gifts he made because he felt guilty about the original ones.

Donnie also gets handed the tracker tablet and quickly sets it up.

“Both of them are in Foot headquarters. Problematic, but at least it’s a location we’re already aware of. Help me take everything to father and Mikey.”

The two of them begin making their way back.

Donnie pauses when he sees the symbols representing Raph and Leo blink away. He panics, knowing that the trackers are under their skin so the only way they could be removed would be painful.

Panic fades into confusion when they appear again in a different location.

The lair.

Did they manage to get away?

He hears screaming coming from where he left Mikey and Splinter.

S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. and Donnie heavily pick up the pace to their destination.

They get there just in time to see Raph and Leo attacking their brother and father.

Donnie fills with fear as he sees that Leo is sporting a mask now too, bringing along two katanas instead of his usual, singular odachi.

These katanas have an unnatural green glow radiating off them and seem freshly sharpened.

Leo himself has all his muscles tensed up as if he’s been extremely deliberate with every movement he’s choosing. It’s a far cry from the typical, more loose and relaxed stance he had before that always gave the false impression of him being unprepared.

“Mikey! Mikey! Want to hear a joke? Come on, you want to! I know you do!” He says in almost a frenzy.

Mikey dodges several jabs from the katanas.

“Leo, you can tell one after you tell me what happened!”

“It’s the best joke you’ll ever hear! Let me tell it! Mikey!”

“Leo! Stop!”

Donnie feels an odd sense of familiarity wash over him as he realize he knows exactly what his brother is doing.

One of Leo’s most obviously qualities is how much he talks. He likes hearing the sound of his own voice. In the past, his distracting Splinter is what allowed them to take snacks from the kitchen without alerting their father.

Now this skill is being used against family again in a much more directly harmful way.

“Watch out! He just the distraction!” Donnie warns too late.

His little brother gets pummeled into the ground by Raph who was just waiting for an opportunity. He lifts him up with just one hand and slams him against the floor hard enough to leave a crack on it.

“Mikey!” Donnie and Splinter shout in unison.

He quickly retracts into his shell to avoid more damage being done.

Donnie reaches into the bag and tosses small, colorful balls at Raph explodes powder all across his face.

It hurts him to do this.

Not because he’s hitting his brother, they do that all the time during pranks and teasing like most brothers do.

It’s because he made these for battle purposes. It’s because he made these with Mikey in mind. It’s because they were all supposed to be able to use them together, not against each other in this way.

Raph growls and hisses as he tries to get the powder out of his eyes. He has difficulty because of the mask around them.

Splinter pulls Mikey shell to safety. It’s pressed close against his chest. He can’t believe this is happening.

Maybe if he had just trained them properly earlier in their lives this wouldn’t have happened. If he just prepared them, remembered what his grandpa tried so hard to teach him, they would know the dangers he placed in the back of his mind.

“Orange! Are you okay!?”

Mikey pokes his head out.

“I am! We need to worry about them!”

Splinter sighs in relief and hands him to Donnie.

“Take care of your brother. I will handle Blue and Red.”

Donnie holds onto Mikey tightly.

“Father, be careful.”

Splinter gently pats his arm and takes a step towards his other sons.

Leo cocks his head, carefully watching him approach. His limbs are twitchy. He taps his katana tips on the ground.

It’s unsure if it’s because he’s ready to strike or he’s still trying to be a distraction.

Raph finally recovers from the powder and opens his eyes. They’re red and teary, but the pupils are slit like an animal ready to strike.

Splinter holds steady.

He’s raised them since the moment they gained consciousness. Despite the moments where getting up was too much to bare, he knew his boys well. He had to in order to help them with their more animalistic tendencies.

Splinter starts reaching his hand out.

Raph opens up his jaw wide, baring his teeth. His snaggle tooth is the most prominent one.

“Red. My sweet boy. I know you are stressed, and you may be scared. Your father is here. I know you don’t wish to hurt me. You just don’t want to be hurt yourself. Please, let me protect you.” Splinter keeps reaching out.

Raph hisses and raises his arm up in warning. Leo bounces from foot to foot in anticipation at the fight to come.

Splinter place his hand over Raph’s and presses their foreheads together.

“I love you.”

Raph’s jaw slowly closes.

He starts whining loudly in a sad way.

“I….I….hurt Mikey. I was gonna hurt you.”

“Shh shh, Orange is fine and you didn’t hurt me. You listened to me. I’m so proud of you.”

Raph smiles softly.

Splinter smiles back.

Leo kicks Splinter in the side, sending him to the floor.

“Dumb and boring! You made me stand too long! Atlas, you know you’re only good for being a beast, Baron Draxum’s attack dog. You can’t kill one measly rat!?”

Raph roars at him.

Leo slams the hilt of his katana into Raph’s skull.

Raph tackles him.

They begin wrestling around.

Leo had always been the one Raph chose to play wrestle with. Raph always gave not so believable excuses for it but Donnie and Mikey knew the real reason.

He was afraid of hurting them.

Leo was different. He took prank hits like a champ. He was the last one after Raph to ever have to go to their dad crying about a a real injury.

He of course would be dramatic about things that weren’t really anything, but not ever actual injuries. Those were hidden behind his smile and a wave of his hand.

This wrestling is vicious.

They trade blows back and forth without a trace of hesitation. Leo’s face remains unbruised because his mask covers basically all of it, but his body is being bruised up.

Raph’s mask is another story so Leo punches and scratches with no remorse. It’s actually the opposite, like he’s enjoying it.

Mikey pops the rest of his limbs out and pushes himself away from Donnie’s grasp. He rushes towards his brothers.

“Mikey! No!” Donnie reaches out, but he’s too fast.

Mikey somehow manages to pull them both apart and away from each other. He has to hold Raph back from going after Leo again.

Leo slides back and hunches forward to go after the two of them.

“Blue! Stop! Those are your brothers!” Splinter shouts.

“They can take a hit! Maybe that’s why I should go a little further.” Leo cackles as he raises one of the katanas.

Raph starts getting harder for Mikey to hold back. Splinter visibly wracks his brain for a way to get through to him before things get bad again.

The click and hiss of Donnie releasing his battle shell causes everyone to look his way. Leo’s body language shows that he’s surprised by this move.

“You want us vulnerable? I’m the most vulnerable you can get and you know it.” Donnie starts walking forward.

Leo doesn’t move at first, but takes a step back when Donnie gets close.

“What’s wrong? Come on, you’ve got all the chance in the world right now Leo. I’m right here.” Donnie gets even closer.

Leo grips his katanas tightly.

“I’ll stab you straight through.”

Donnie turns his shell to him, hoping he doesn’t notice how badly his arms shake as he holds them out.

“Take your shot then! Or….ugh….a….stab at it? I can’t believe I just said that….”

Leo freezes.

Donnie glances back at him, waiting with baited breath for something to happen. Everyone else is in a similar state.

Leo’s shoulders start jerking a bit. The others worry it’s not working and that Donnie is about to be turned into a turtlekabob.

Then, Leo finally starts doubling over in laughter.

“A stab at it! That is so good!”

Donnie finally sighs in relief. That was a huge gamble. He’s proud that he was right about what Leo could never resist.

“Welcome back, my son. Let’s work on getting those masks off you both.” Splinter smiles.

“What is the meaning of this!?” Draxum’s voice booms from behind them all.

Things are still clearly far from over.

[dragcnbreak]

dream theory

A drabble based on the prompt by @lab-trash that Ness is the reason why Mike has the dream theory book.

Also cross-posted on AO3!

◞♡࿐

It’s not often Ness gets to hear Mike talk a lot, much less ramble. The shorter man mostly conveys what he wants to say through his actions, not his words. But sometimes, late at night when the moon is shining through their bedroom window, Mike will talk about what’s bothering him.

He talks about Abby a lot and his worry about providing for her and parenting her. Ness will comfort him and remind him that he isn’t alone anymore and they will go overcome every hurdle together. Other times, it’ll be about his parents and specifically his dad, who Ness can easily guess was distant. But very rarely, it’ll be about Garrett.

Mike hates talking about Garrett and what happened to him. He only gets a few words out before he clams up and Ness doesn’t push him any further. Well, until one night.

They’re lying in bed and the lamp next to Mike is off but neither one of them are sleeping. Mike is draped across Ness’ chest with Ness’ hand and arm over his body. Maybe it’s the drink or two they had before bed (when Abby was asleep) but Mike starts talking and just… doesn’t stop.

“When I was 12, we were camping in Nebraska and my mom had stepped away for a second when it happened. She told me to watch my brother and I got distracted and he got taken.” Mike swallows the lump in his throat as well as his tears. “The police never found him or his… body or the man who did it or anything. I saw the car and sometimes, I feel like I saw the man who did it too but I can’t remember.” Ness hums in response to show he’s listening, carding his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair.

Suddenly, Ness remembers something. “You know, I was at the library once,” a usual sentence starter as Ness loves reading random books in his free time, “and I picked up this book. It was called Dream Theory. Basically, it talks about how the human brain doesn’t forget things. Everything you see is stored inside of you, even the smallest things. So, if you think you saw him, it’s probably in there.” Ness explains, tapping Mike’s head as he murmurs the last sentence.

They sit in silence for a minute, Mike thinking over what Ness has just said and Ness waiting for a response. “You think… if I could relive that day somehow, I could find out who took him?” Mike asks in disbelief. “I read it a while ago, I don’t remember too much of it.” Ness chuckles at the irony. “Maybe I could get you the book.”

Mike lifts his head, meeting Ness’ eyes and leans forward, kissing his boyfriend. “Thank you.” He mumbles quietly, sleepiness setting in. “Of course, sugar. Just… don’t push yourself, okay? I know how hard it is for you to talk about him.” Ness smiles softly but Mike is already asleep against his chest. Ness lays in bed for a few minutes in silence, wondering if he’s done the right thing.

◞♡࿐

Ness buys the book the day after, skimming through it in the bookstore to make sure it’s what he remembered it was. He bites his lip as he reads, wondering if he should really give this to Mike. He doesn’t want his boyfriend basically reliving one of the most traumatic things that happened to him every night. But maybe, just maybe, he can find something out about his brother that will start the healing process. With that thought in mind, he buys it.

He gives it to Mike that night when they’re about to go to bed. “What’s this?” Mike hums, holding the book in his hands. “You were tipsy, I think, but we talked about the night Garrett was taken and you said you might have seen the man who did it. I think this can help you figure it all out.” Mike is silent and Ness wonders if he’s done or said something wrong.

“Thank you, Nessie.” Ness’ heart races at the nickname and the hug he receives after. It’s just like hearing the words “I love you” and it’s plenty nerve-wracking because they haven’t said those words before. But, Ness says it back anyway. “I love you too, Mike.” On his tiptoes, Mike buries his head into the crook of Ness’ neck, book clutched tightly in his hands.

[amtrak12]

Pst, @erin-gilberts since some people are giving out fic snippets to trick-or-treaters....

I've also dug up a scene from my ancient idea for a Yatesbert Amnesia AU. I wasn't sure what I still had on it, and um... turns out I have a lot more than I remember???? This document was labeled "Chapter 19" and apparently my working fic title was "Pretend Truths".

It's a first draft and comes with all first draft caveats. The premise was Abby and Erin have just moved into a fancy condo together with that sweet, sweet government money, but then a bust goes wrong and a ghost steals a couple of years of Abby's memories so she no longer remembers anything about their reunion or the movie events. She takes one look at Erin's clingy concern and the condo they share and assumes they're dating now. They're not. But Erin... goes with it! Because the alternative is Abby being mad at her all over again about being abandoned and Erin would prefer not to face that again. Fake dating! :) What could go wrong?

(Feelings. Feelings could go wrong. Or at least make things super complicated!)

I couldn't begin to tell you what plot points led to this scene, but it's primarily a conversation between Abby and her younger brother OC I gave her. *shrug* I thought maybe you'd enjoy reading it :)

(@ you and anyone else who sees this: Please feel free to steal anything you see here because I highly, highly doubt I'll ever go back and finish this story, and if I did, our takes would be different anyway. So have at it!)

1600 words behind the cut:

Abby didn’t mind her old, worn out bed at her old, worn out apartment that night. In fact, she hardly slept at all that night. Her mind kept replaying moments from the date: Erin’s blush when Abby flirted with her, the feel of Erin in her arms as they danced, the disappointment in Erin’s voice when Abby insisted she had to leave.

The heated way Erin kissed her.

Never had she imagined Erin kissing her like that. This week had been one remarkable, never in her wildest dreams, moment after another, but making out with Erin topped the cake. Took the cake. It was the icing and the candles and the birthday kid nabbing the biggest piece all rolled into one.

With a cherry on top.

The next morning, Abby beat everyone to the lab except for Kevin. Though, Kevin didn’t really count. He was still sound asleep on a cot behind his desk. (They should really hire a proper night shift security guard at some point.)

It was nearly eight. Her brother would be up and ready for the day. Abby moved to a room upstairs where she wouldn’t wake Sleeping Beauty and called her brother.

Ethan answered after a single ring. “Hey, you’re alive!”

Abby frowned. “Who said I was dead?”

“You know how telephones work: you tell one person you’re in the hospital, they tell someone else you were in the morgue.”

Abby hummed. “Mom’s still pissed I let a ghost steal my memories, huh?”

“She ranted to me for thirty minutes the other day.”

“Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s my fault for being the favorite child.”

Abby laughed. “You are so not the favorite child.”

“No, you forgot it. They made it official with a ceremony last year.”

“Ah, that would be a good one. But the joke’s on you. My memory is already coming back.”

“Really? Because I heard you forgot my child’s name.”

“I did not forget Reyla’s name,” Abby sidestepped.

Ethan tsked. “That’s the second child.”

“I remembered Lanie after Dad said it.” Abby snapped her fingers. “Oh, and her middle name’s Kyla! Ha!”

“Nicely done! You had to read back through a lot of emails to find that.”

“I remembered it on my own, thank you very much.” Abby frowned. “Though, I should have read back through my emails. Those have to be a goldmine for jogging my memory.”

“So what did you read to remember things? Just your journals?”

“Yeah, and talked to Holtzmann. Erin helped with things too.” A happy rush filled her chest as she spoke her girlfriend’s name.

“So not all of your memories are back yet?” Ethan asked.

“I have enough,” Abby insisted. “Anyway, I’m calling to make sure you’re still flying in with Mom and Dad for our book signing.”

“Hell yeah. I’m not missing your first signing.”

Abby grinned. “Good. So what time are you guys arriving tomorrow?”

“We’re leaving on the first flight, so I think we’re due in around nine. I don’t know. I’m just chilling this weekend and letting Mom and Dad be the adults.”

“The kids wearing you out?”

“No, this month has been rough for work.”

Ethan had the Yates tendency for science and technology careers in a different direction and had become a social worker. Abby could only imagine what Ethan meant by ‘rough’.

“Well, I will make sure to have a fun, low key weekend planned for you when you get here. I’ll even keep ghosts away if you want.”

“I don’t want,” Ethan said. “If a ghost shows up while I’m visiting you, you better believe I’m getting in the car with you to go find it.”

Abby laughed at his enthusiasm. “Okay, you win. You are the best of us kids.”

“Duh.”

“Hey, um.” Abby bit her lip.

“What’s up?”

Her parents hadn’t known she was dating Erin, and she didn’t remember ever telling Ethan. But she was figuring out forgotten memories felt differently than events that had simply never happened, and telling Ethan about dating Erin felt like it had never happened.

“I want to tell you something. I don’t know how much it will come up this weekend -- we haven’t talked about to handle you guys coming in, yet.”

“What’s going on?” Ethan said, concern slipping into his voice.

“Nothing bad. Just something I haven’t told Mom and Dad, yet.”

“You found a way to open your own portal to the other side without releasing doom and gloom upon the rest of the world.”

“No.” Abby forced herself not to get distracted by how awesome that idea sounded. “Erin and I are dating.”

Silence.

Abby waited.

“What?” Ethan finally answered.

“I’m dating Erin. She’s my girlfriend.” Abby couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she said it.

“Holy shit.”

Abby laughed. “Yeah, that’s fitting.”

“Wait, when did this happen?” Ethan asked. “Is this before or after the amnesia?”

“Before, technically,” Abby said. “But we’ve only been dating a couple of weeks.”

“What do you mean by technically?”

“I mean, I don’t remember all of it yet, but Erin said it’s been two weeks.”

“Wait, this is real life, right? You haven’t suddenly teamed up with Holtzmann in our lifelong blood feud and are trying to prank me?”

“You and Holtzmann do not have a blood feud.” Abby rolled her eyes.

“Uh, she’s trying to steal a family title that’s been rightfully mine since birth. That’s a blood feud.”

“I definitely do not remember meeting you in the hospital at the ripe old age of ten and thinking ‘yep, that’s my best man.’”

“Everyone already knew it wouldn’t be Steph or Mike by then. They suck.”

“This has nothing to do with your prank war with Holtzmann,” Abby said. “And why would she prank you with my relationship with Erin, anyway?”

“Who knows. I’ve just learned to be suspicious when she’s involved.”

“She’s not involved. It’s just me and Erin. We’re dating. That’s all I wanted to tell you.”

“Huh.”

Abby gave him a moment to process this.

When he still hadn’t spoken after three moments, Abby prompted him. “What are you thinking?”

“Honestly? I’m kind of bummed I wasn’t involved somehow in this big revelation.” “That’s your reaction?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve known both of you my entire life -- or practically my whole life in Erin’s case. By the way, you should remind Holtz of this, because if you’re dating Erin then that just strengthens my claim to best man.”

Abby was absolutely not discussing the possibility of her and Erin getting married someday in the future. That definitely felt like it would jynx things.

“How would you have been involved in my romantic relationship with Erin? You’re my little brother. That’s weird.”

“I wouldn’t be involved in the romance part of it,” Ethan said. “I’d be the precocious kid who schemes to get the two love interests together.”

“You’re thirty-three and this isn’t a movie.”

Ethan gave a melodramatic sigh. “Erin would get it. ...Right? She does still like romcoms, doesn’t she? I have a clear memory of her gushing nonstop about Tom Hanks one Thanksgiving. Which in retrospect, she’s not wrong about. Tom Hanks is very crush-worthy.”

A smile toyed at Abby’s lips -- not because her girlfriend and her brother both had a crush on the same male celebrity, because gross. No, Abby smiled because Ethan was right. He had bore witness to her entire relationship with Erin.

“Ha, I just pulled the Lovers card for you,” Ethan said.

It took Abby a moment to realize what Lovers card he was talking about. “You pulled a Tarot card for me?”

“I’m doing a whole spread for you. Don’t you want to know what’s hiding behind this amnesia veil?”

“Hmm, that’s a good reminder. We should add Tarot cards to the list of paranormal tools and events to reinvestigate. Just because Erin and I didn’t find any proof of psychic abilities in Tarot readers in college, doesn’t mean psychic communication with entities or forces is impossible. A ghost did interfere with my memories.”

“I’m not sure what the connection there is, but I focused on the question “What has Abby forgotten about her relationship with Erin” and so far the cards are saying exactly what we already know. You have amnesia which makes you feel a little conflicted and uncertain in your relationship.”

“I’m not conflicted!” Abby said. “At least, not anymore.”

“That might be what the Six of Swords of saying at the Heart of the Matter,” Ethan said. “You’re moving forward in the relationship and things are becoming more stable.”

“That’s true.”

“I’m flipping over the hidden influences now.”

Ethan immediately followed this with a hum, though he didn’t explain it. Silence for a few moments as Abby presumed he was flipping over cards. Then, Ethan let out a sharp, “Oh.”

“What is it?” Abby asked.

“Uh….” Ethan trailed off. He cleared his throat. “Um, no it seems fine. You’ve got The World in the physical realm. Your memories are returning. Eight of Coins in the mental realm, so whatever work you’ve put into your relationship with Erin is paying off. The psychoenergetic realm shows the Three of Elixirs which is a happy celebration. You just caught the ghost who blocked your memory which I know isn’t ‘hidden’ by any means, but may have had hidden consequences. Then, there’s Temperance in the Emotional Realm. Consciously you’ve been conflicted about your relationship, but subconsciously you know the truth. It’s a reminder to listen to yourself.”

“Okay, so what was that ‘oh’ for?” Abby asked.

“Um, well… there’s a Seven of Blades as the hidden influence of the Heart of the Matter,” Ethan said. “A deceit of some kind. When paired with the Three of Elixirs, it may mean the ghost you caught isn’t actually the ghost you were looking for. Or the ghost tricked you and you didn’t catch anything.”

“No, we definitely caught something,” Abby said. “And it was definitely the ghost… at least, I think it was.”

She thought for a moment. 

“I’ll double check at the lab tomorrow.”

[ducknotinarow]

[2k12]

Casey was panicking. He was really panicking, his thumbs struggling to tap at his screen to message Raph

[TXT] my plcec [TXT] Getot my [TXT] MY HOUSE NWO

Yeah that totally makes sense. Hopefully it's enough for Raphael to understand what Casey wanted. When Raph did show up, Casey looked like he had seen a ghost; he had gone into overdrive. He didn't even give Raph a chance to ask what was going on,

"Angel's sick!" Casey exclaimed, all over the place, "She's been gettin' tired an' sick an' dad took her to the doctors an' now she's sick like forever Raph!"

He breathed hard, finally taking a moment to catch his breath and let Raph comprehend any of his rambling. Huffing out, Casey keeps it together for two seconds,

"Got some chronic thin' an' it can kill her Raph," Casey voices the immediate worry he has, "What if somethin' 'appens? What if she forgets a shot or coun's her insulin wrong an' hurts or gets hersel' killed?! What if I aint there an' she dies what am I gonna do Raph!"

Casey hadn't even named what Angel was diagnosed with, so, it left even more questions while he kept rambling. It's safe to say, Casey was freaking the fuck out.

| muse interaction

Raphael wasn't all to sure what to think in the moments everything happened. Don came out of his lab needing something, maybe he was just tried and seeking a break. Or maybe he needed help even so he turn to Raph. Who was sulking on the coach, slumping down beside them them letting his head rest on top of Raph's own. Raphael just assumed Donnie was that tried. Had to be even if Raphael was mad at him Don still pick him to turn to, maybe it was time to just let it go and move on? Raphael started to consider, just sweep it all away and move on or whatever.But then Don wasn't, well he wasn't responding.

"Donnie?" Raphael gave a faint nudge but nothing, so he turned more towards he twin so he could grab their arm a little and shook him again his body was just limp. "Don? jeez ya 'hat tried or something?" His nerves broke through his tone, as he offered a faint chuckle but his smile was forced. Raphael moved forgetting Donnie's weight was all on him making them shift it back towards the couch, Raph taking hold of both of Donatello's shoulders as he shook again still nothing. Why? Why wasn't Donnie responding? He shook again and again. Panic settling in his mind something was wrong. "Donnie! Donnie come on wake up 'his aint funny wake up!"

Donnie was out like as if he got hit hard on the head. No manner of shaking or yelling seemed to get Donnie to stir or wake up. Raphael shook and he shook his brother, starting to cry out for Leo, for Mikey for Splinter anyone that could come and help. Panic took over Raphael as everything just went into a blur. Raphael didn't recall who came first, he knows he helped carry Donnie over to the cot to lie down on as he was looked over. Raph stayed sat in the room, no one was sure what was going on. Raph just looked over his brother he couldn't get the unsettling feeling in him to stop. Still begging Donnie to just wake up right now. He knows everyone was talking trying to figure something out. But a lot of it was nothing but noise to his ear. No matter how long time went by Donnie stayed out of it. Splinter knew healing techniques but he mutter something about it not being useful for whatever is happening to him. Raph watch their father crouch over Don. Just twisted his worries more as they felt over his forehead. Splinter was always the last ditch effort so if he didn't have answers? They were just letting Donnie sleep he seemed so tried right now. But Raph insisting on staying with Don.

The only thing that snapped Raph out of everything was the feeling of his tphone vibrating. Out of habit he pulled it out from his belt to look.

[TXT] my plcec [TXT] Getot my [TXT] MY HOUSE NWO

"Case?" Normaly yeah of course, he would go right away Casey was clearly freaking out from how he texted that to him. But looking at Donnie once more Raphael wasn't sure if he could bear to leave. He rubbed over his face a moment Casey needed him though but Don. Fuck who even knew what was going on with Don right now how could he just leave when his brother was like this. Donnie wouldn't leave him, he stay to fix what was going on, yeah but Raph can't fix this he doesn't even know what wrong. This was too much he was about to tell Casey he can't when he felt Splinter's hand on his own shoulder now. He hadn't notice them come back. Raph's sense of time was out the window right now everything felt like it happened in a matter of seconds. Splinter asked what was going on, so Raph told him Casey was freaking out and needed Raph, but Raph let his words trail off when both looked to Donatello, still laying still. Splinter pushed Raph to leave.

Something about maybe getting some air would be good they will watch over Donatello. Raphael took it in a way they didn't mean, there was nothing he could do for his brother. That was just how he felt. He could even tell you how long it took him to move and get out of the lair. Not even bothering to text Casey back, as he got his legs to carrying him the fastest way he knew to Casey's place. Um from the sewers, across the rooftops. But his mind was still on his brother, Don had been sick for a good while. Ever since..Raph kept his word that he would turn any spare between them into an actual fight. Landing finally at Casey's window he sighed. Raphael felt guilty for being here, Donnie needed him. Casey needed him. What could he even do for Donnie though? Nothing, all he could do was look over them what good was that. least he could listen to Casey. Raphael sighed once more before rapping fingers to the glass.

Casey didn't waste much time getting it open for him and Raph climbed in ready to ask what was going on but Casey wasn't even giving them a chance, his face was more pale than normal. Casey's eyes were wide, he kept blinking over and over the worry was so clear in their eyes, Raph couldn't blame Casey for his sudden outburst.

"Angel's sick!"

Casey said it so quickly, the pitch in his tone rose to a volume Raphael didn't hear often. But the works just twisted in Raphael's gut. Great someone else is sick? Moving to get into the room better shutting the window behind him before he joined back with Casey. Just letting them get out what was going on. Raphael knew how Casey worried over his little sister so anything literally anything that happened to her was always ten times worse in Casey's eyes.

"She's been gettin' tired an' sick an' dad took her to the doctors an' now she's sick like forever Raph!"

Casey finally took a moment to breath, Raph of course he felt concur for Angel, it's just a lot has happened so he wasn't as reactive as he normally would be simply just giving Casey time to breath and work out through his panic. Something about the whole getting tried and sick thing did stick out to Raph. That's what happened with Don, he's not sure if its related he just understands why Casey is losing it right now. With Casey taking a moment to breath Raph just reaching out and grabs their wrist. Casey held himself together for all of two seconds before a tremble gave way in his arm. That pitch in his tone returned as he spoke.

"Got some chronic thin' an' it can kill her Raph,"

Casey of course jumped to the worse outcome to this whole ordeal. Raph wasn't all to sure what was going on, but he was holding off on questions so Casey could just get thier panic and fears out in the open first. Just slightly rubbing his thumb to the back of Casey's hand to say he was there. Well he was he really was Casey had his full attention he just had to admit a small part was still back home with Donnie. Raphael could perfectly understand Casey's freak out actual it's how he wanted to be over Don right now.

"What if somethin' 'appens? What if she forgets a shot or coun's her insulin wrong an' hurts or gets hersel' killed?! What if I aint there an' she dies what am I gonna do Raph!"

It's scary how Casey sometimes mirrors and voices Raphael's thoughts back but now that Casey seemed to get through his initial panic Raph just reaches to hold their shoulders. "Okay hold on what is going on Case? I get the jist but 'm missing some pieces here so breath and just start again, alright?" Raphael knew from hows Casey was stumbling over his words he couldn't help how he was freaking out right now. He can't be blamed this is his baby sister. Of course, anything that happens to her will worry him. Worse when it's serious. "Just breath a sec okay? Focus on me and just breath" Raphael tries to help, getting Casey to sit on his bed now. Ear trained on to Casey breath letting them take however long they needed to relax thier breath again. One it seemed to relax a little Raph gently gives a reassuring squeeze to Casey's shoulders making sure they are still with him.

"Okay now tell me everything, Angel's sick but what is it? ya said it's 'ike she'll always be sick? and needs shots?"

Raphael continued to list off his questions, trying to more understand what was going on. But, also as way to get Casey to focus. If Raphael talked to him it gave Casey brain, hopefully, something to zero in on help his mind just focus on answering questions for now. Casey went on to tell him about Angel. How she been sick and tried with a bit more detail before, still those worries broke through when Casey spoke. And Raphael just rubbing the back of their hand hoping maybe the action would sooth in back for a moment. No wonder Casey was freaking out though it sounded like what they been dealing with when it came to Donnie lately. He was just tried and sick, like really really sick. Raphael felt bad for letting his focus split back to his twin when he needed to be giving Casey all of it right now. Finally they went on to explain Angel was diagnosed with something called diabetes? So Raph shifted his questions on to what was that, more just sticking to his tactic to help get Casey to focus on one thing. Casey explained what they knew about it, answering what the whole thing with the shots before was about. And insulin and what not.

Was he surprised Casey knew all of this? Course not, of course Casey made sure his empty skull made room for all of this information. That's his sister of course he would make sure to force that information to stick in his mind. Especially because he health was a factor here. Once Casey seems less worried, not much mind you, but still less. Raphael offers them a slight smile. "Hey ya sister is a smart kid, someone gotta have gotten the lack of brains you don' have afta all." A slight playful tease having some understanding her. "I doubt she won' know how ta do what she gotta do. She ain't 'ike you she knows she gotta take care of herself for somethin' important." Raph scolds a tiny bit seeing how Casey wasn't always the best when it came to his 'cool guy syndrome' Raphael wasn't trying to tone down the seriousness of course it was serious. He just knew Casey liked to jump to the worst case outcome. Casey did seem to agree, and Raph moved to sit next to them now.

"I don' think ya sis needs you to hover over her so much 'ight now gotta be more a pain in her ass that she gotta worry about this don' need her big brother going into manic mom mode to boot?" Raph tosses in. He knows Angel adores Casey, but speaking as a sibling with a sibling who likes to hover himself? Yeah he could understand how annoying that get. Hell if he had some sickness that made him tried and sick all the time and required constant watch over having your brother hovering over you would annoy the shit out of him.

Wait.

"Ya said she was gettin' tried and sick alot and that's why ya dad took her in 'ight?" Raphael suddenly asks he didn't mean to make it out like he wasn't listening wouldn't blame Casey for thinking so as he was made to repeat some things a third time around. It's just some of what he said sounded like what was going on with Donnie. He's not sure if turtles can get the same sickness but they were part human too right? That's something Donnie mentioned because of Splinter being human they got human DNA in them as well? That didn't matter that was too much on his brain to try and reason because it sounded like it might be the answer. Raphael gripped Casey hand tightly suddenly, as it hit. "That's it! That's gotta be it!" He turns and suddenly kisses Casey hard on, he can't help the sudden just pure relief from an answer hitting him as he pulls back smiling, laughing relief his eyes glossed over with tears wanting to spill that he been hold in.

"I love you already but fuck Case you have no idea how fuckin' much I love you right in this moment here." that had to be it, that just had to be what was going on it made sense it lined up and fit!

[bluepoodle7]

#TheAmazingWorldOfGumball#GumballOcs#MyOcs #GiftFanArt #MyArt

Verdron Variety is Zigearimorph Deluxe and is the father of 3 kids and is married to Vonra Vertigo who is a female flying purple people eater. Both are in their late 30's. Verdron works for a company where he uses his tablet for his job to stop glitches in Elmore.

Verdron is not effected by any time effect or time stopping also glitching. He helps characters from the void that have be disfigured. He and his three kids can shape shifting and but only the two girls have the counter pseudo tattoo marks on their back and barbs on his arms.

Maria and Bella has those traits from their dad but Polro has more of his mom's traits but can shapeshift and the phoenix revival thing.  But they both share this.> When a Zigearimorph dies they just gain a new body. (Kind of like a phoenix.)

The kids try to adapt to their environment and this weird world. Zigearimorph Deluxe's have the ability to touch a article of clothing or a person's hands to know a person more than the person knows themselves or to find lost items.

Zigearimorph Deluxes can be born without bones. If their mates find it weird not having bones they can make fake bones. But the father and Bella are born without bones. Polro and Maria  are born with half their fake bones.

Vonra Vertigo was the mom's real last name but changed to Variety when she married Verdron. The mom has a remote job online for a shopping company selling items and testing them. She wants to make her own business by herself one day. She mostly watches the kids with her mate.

Verdron is 39

Vonra is 38

Bella is 20

Polro is 14

Maria is 12

Zigearimorph Deluxe's have sharp spikes or barbs where the tips of the elbows are that if poked can cause a person to be paralyzed, sleep, or becoming shifter for a short time but it's randomized. Their bodies are not affected by poison or other Zigearimorph Deluxe's effects.

Maria is a new student that transferred from another school. She doesn't like being the center of attention and tends to blend more in the background but wants to be friends with Rob a she doesn't mind him crashing at her place.

Her favorite subject is Art and tends to draw art of some of the students if she has time. She has the ability to shapeshift but only for short periods of time she is still learning like her dad.

 Each Zigearmorph Deluxe is different in both personality and appearance so all of them will be unique. Her pseudo tattoo mark glows when she's in danger or in the dark but in danger it acts as a counter or a clone maker if the situation calls for it.

Even if her normal two eyes are blinded she has to depend on her ears and tail eyes. Her dad works and her mom mostly stays home and works at home. Her mom is very sassy while her dad is more chill. Her brother is really protective of her and will protect her.

Maria's friends: Rob, Wilson Bilson, Terri, and Alan

Polro's personality is Protective, Serious, Clumsy, Caring, Quirky. He is overprotective of his sister and would give up his life to protect her. And wasn't keen on having Rob stay at their house but soon got used to Rob like his brother that he never had.

Polro secretly likes Jamie Russo but is too scared to ask her.

Polro's friend group: Rob, Rachel, Gregor.

Bella works in a lab but does part time caring for animals at a shelter. She lost her left wing in a experiment. She doesn't have any pets with her. She is very smart and gifted and she went to college at age 17.

Friends: Her scientist worker buddies and the people that work at the animal shelter.

Once she starts on a project she works on it for a long period of time to get it right the first time that sometimes she forgets to eat.

If a Zigearmorph Deluxe is taking a test they can poof away the extra eyes on the tips of their ears and tail just in case to prevent cheating.

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

In a Au rp Bella is married to another scientist named Dameinz.

He's the Gumball Penny looking hybrid oc.

Welcome To our research by garda32 on DeviantArt

messes with multiverse by garda32 on DeviantArt

This is Caper the gold goop alien poodle and he's was the villain in the Bella Au.

He's 28 and was trying to steal the barbs from Bella to sell to on the black market for money but had a change of heart.

The roleplay was weird.

This is in a Au roleplay where Maria Variety is 35 and is dating older version of Rob and later married him. They had two kids with him.

Rob jr.(male) and Vega(female with tan, blue, and lavender tri skin color.)

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

Shoujo is Anime's sister and princess but this is her fake name her real name is (Zuki ) but Mimi is the tailmouth's real name. Anime or his real name (Andrew) was a space prince of his planet Zerkix but both are now is substitute teachers. Both are 35 years old.

Manga is the fake name for Andrew's tailmouth and the real name is Maguhas for his tailmouth. They are a reference to the doom tree aliens from sailor moon but are siblings instead of lovers.

Zuki finds Rocky Robinson interesting and wants to date him. It's because of his awkwardness and wonders how earthlings tick. Andrew doesn't like him and thinks he is not worthy but respects her choice.

Zerikai's are shifters that adapted to space and can have different skin colors.

Zerikai's eat meat, junk foods, fruits but get fat off of vegetables except celery. But if they drown it in dressing then that will work as a junk food.

Zerikai's can also teleport. Zerikai's never sleep but they can die from bones in them. Both wonder what sleep feels like.

Zerikai's are always hungry they also use the fuel from the food they eat to teleport. They can breath in space. They want both money and knowledge to know how this planet works to maybe conquer it.

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

Her left ear and hair is pink with blue tip and her right ear and hair is blue with a pink tip. Her left horn is red on green while her right horn is green on red. Her tailmouth's name is Mimi.

Zuki clothes are revered color of Anime's which is silver on gold. Her skin is tan. Her left eye is silver and her right eye is gold.

Her tailmouth's eyes are silver (Left) and gold(Right). Her tongue mouth is blue green while her tailmouth's tongue is metallic yellow. Her sandals are silver then gold.  And her nails are light blue.

 Andrew has pink and blue hair with a ponytail with green and red tips, His ears are pink with blue tip (Left) and blue with pink tip(Right), his middle hair tip has a little blue on the pink, green on red and red on green horns, metallic purple claws, gold/silver outfit, blue and pink puffs on his wrists and on his feet.

He also has a tailmouth named manga he also has blue and pink puff on him. Manga also has a dark blue tongue while Anime has a raspberry mouth tongue. Manga or Maguhas a gold eye on the left and silver on the right like Anime's eyes are also gold on left and silver on right. Manga's horn is green with a red tip. Their skin color is light brown but Zerikai's can have different skin colors.

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

Art of the princess.

Image not mine but link is there.

Art Trade: Shoujo and Mimi by Inkcess on DeviantArt

This is Bella, Polro, and Maria's cousin.

A blog about obscurity stuff, plushies and food. on Tumblr

[rimaiahwrites]

Red handed—

Chapter seven

After Erik drove away Israel came in to the house grinning even though he low key pissed her off.

She was still happy that she got to spend time with him, Erik was actually bringing happiness and excitement to her dull life and she couldn't be happier about it.

Israel walked right passed her brothers and into the kitchen, not even noticing all her brothers and their friends sitting in the living room looking at her like she lost her mind.

She grabbed a water bottle and began to chug it. Until she heard someone clear their throat. She turned around and started choking on the cold water. Noah got up from the floor and made his way over to pat her on the back.

When she got her choking under Control, she waved at them giving her best smile trying not to look suspicious.

"Who the fuck was that nigga you was wit'?" Her smile dropped.

"What are you talking about I-" Jay cut his eyes at her, daring her to lie to his face. Israel rolled her eyes trying to play it off. "He's Just one of my friends jay, relax."

"Since when do you have guy friends?" He asked walking into the kitchen. Everyone now quiet like he was some sort of king.

"Since when did I have to answer to you?" Israel spit back, looking him up and down. Jay was a bit taken back from her tone because it wasn't like her to get go smart mouth with him.

"Since you were born fuck you mean when? You forgetting that you the youngest?" He said cocking his head back like she just said the most stupidest shit ever. "no but You keep forgetting I'm grown. I can do as I please." She hissed slamming the freighter door shut. "I'm not no damn baby anymore, stop trying to tell me what I can and can't do I'm grown rather you like it or not, the fuck" she said stepping up to him as if he wasn't 6'0 and bulky grown man. not even realizing that she had raised her tone with him...or that she was cussing.

"Girl-" she quickly held her hand up to hush him. "No! I'm so done with this shit! Y'all three get to do whatever y'all want and y'all still live in mom and dads house and don't nobody say shit to y'all but when I hang out with someone of the opposite gender it's a problem? as if you did just sneak that girl In your room not to long ago, as if y'all wasn't fucking in there while mom was downstairs right under your room." She spit out dropping her head down a bit to give him a death stare. She was so irritated and had so much adrenaline running through her, she was shaking.

"You really can't say shit to me jay!" She said slapping her hand on the counter, and her other hand in her hip. Looking like a middle aged black mama yelling at her disobedient child while jay just stood there staring wildly at her but there wasn't much he could say. It was all true. She cut him up and now he was stuck not knowing what to say.

It was quiet in the living room and kitchen.

Jays friends didn't say a thing but they were fully entertained with the argument going on between the two Sibling.

"So what you just fucking random niggas now? Huh? That's where you was last night? At that niggas house being a hoe?" He shouted, veins popping out the side of his head. Israel face dropped at his words and they stung more then she thought they would.

You could hear a pin drop nobody made a move or spoke a word. Just a silent staring contest between the two. Jays fists balled, shoulders squared looking like he was ready to fight while Israel on the other hand was her eyes were getting glossy and her breathing heavy. She could feel the lump in her throat getting harder to swallow.

She cleared her throat and turn to walk back to get her bag by the front door. And heading up stairs, there was nothing else to be said. Israel now knew that her big brother saw her as nothing more then just a hoe, he has made it very clear today.

Israel waited until she was 18 just to talk to men and now he was calling her a hoe not even knowing that she only stayed for the night, And that was all. But there was no point in arguing with jay, he was stubborn and a asshole. if that's what he thought that's what he thought.

She shut her bedroom door and headed straight to her bed, stuffing her face in her pillow tears coming down like a waterfall.

She was Tempted to call Erik just so he could come get her of the hell hole she called home.

Maybe that was over dramatic but she hated it here, she loved her family but being with them 24/7 wasn't something she planned on doing once she turned eighteen. She honestly thought she would have been treated like her brothers were but then again she was never given a fraction of the freedom her brothers has. She was never treated like her feelings mattered, everything has always been about the boys.

You would think that since she's the only daughter her father has she would be treated like a princess and get away with everything but that definitely wasn't the case with her father. She was always the one to get yelled at first, she was always the first one to get blamed for something she didn't do and was always the first to get it the worst of her siblings.

Her father was a strict, mean military man that had no Sympathy for anyone and he clearly passed that down to his oldest son.

She was so sick of crying over them, she was so sick of being mistreated.

With tears still running down her face she sat up and took a deep breath feeling like she was dropping down into that deep hole she liked to hide herself in when she was feeling down.

His words replaying in her head like a broken record. She wasn't a hoe and she knew that and she knew that she didn't sleep with Erik but some how his words sank into her skin so deep that she felt dirty. Like she had committed some sort of sin.

She was only having fun, and finally getting the teenage experience she never got to have when she was younger.

Israel was tired of crying over things her family has said to her it was time for her to stop letting their words hurt her and effort her mental health.

She stood up from her bed and decided that she wanted to take a flower bath and just pray her troubles away.

-

Erik parked his black Mercedes-Benz G-Class outside of the were house he owned. This was the place he kept all of his weapons, books, important papers and information he had collected over the years of him being in college and the navy.

He and ten of his close friends that he met in the navy had formed a elite group of former navy seals. Their jobs were to Take down small governments and expose them. They also would kill small amounts of police officers and clans men which 9 times outta 10 were the same group of men.

About six months age they made a little mistake that almost got them caught which would've cost them their lives which is why they took a break to regroup to better themselves. Erik and three of his boys ace, zeik and Rae all trained the hardest they ever have far as fighting techniques, Brent, rocky and von all worked with weapons and the rest of the boys were hackers.

Today was their first meeting in six months. Erik has changed Plans and moved things from the original date so this meeting is important.

Erik walked to the side door of the warehouse and slide up the side  paneling to reveal the handprint scanner, that was the only way to get into it up less you climb to the very top and through the window but the chances of that happening was slim. Once he was into he went to the corner of the large warehouse and behind the staircase that lead you to go upstairs which was empty.

He walked into the staircase little door where there was a another door that used Voice activation to open. "State your name please." a robotic voice said as it Scanned his face. "Erik Stevens."

"Face scan complete, welcome back erik." The voice said as the heavy Metal door opened to Reveal his underground lab.  "Feels good to be back." Erik Chuckled as he walked down the steps. All of his boys turned their heads from the game of pool to Erik. "Ayo Erik where you been at motherfucka you was supposed to be here a hour and a half ago." Erik grin as he dubed ace up ignoring zeik interrogation. "Right and you be the main one mad if Someone else late to the meetings." Rae butted in.

Erik rolled his eyes.

"If y'all don't shut the fuck up, I gotta life to I just got caught up." He shrugged them off as he walked over to his desk. Rae eyebrows raised as he looked at the rest of them and they all were just as confused as him. Erik and "personal" just didn't go together in the same sentence, if he wasn't working out he was working. Erik was always work, work, work.

Brent smirked as he grabbed his water  bottle and took a sip "him must got a new bitch or sum'" ace snorted "nigga yeah right that nigga ain't been in a relationship in years, Erik fucks and dips." It was true. That just wasn't like Erik.

"All I hear is you motherfuckas being worried about me let's get to work!" Erik clap his hands exactly as he went into the meeting room with the rest of the men following.

-

After a four hour meeting they had finally figured everything out. It was now 10:46 and Erik was tired, Israel sleeping over had him exhausted since it fucked up his sleep schedule. On a normal day Erik was in bed 11 o'clock and up at 6 o'clock in the morning. Sleep was very important to a healthy life style. It was Proven that people that get at least 7 hours of sleep they live longer.

Soon as Erik got home he took a shower and got straight in bed. he didn't even bother putting on clothes.

It's almost been a week since Erik has last spoken to Israel since he had been so busy. It's been strictly wake up, eat, work, train and work some more he didn't really have time to hang or call.

He felt a little bad for it but he knew that she knew he wasn't ignoring her intentionally...at least he hoped she knew that.

Today Erik was going to the gun range with ace just to do some training and catch up with him since they really hasn't had the chance to do that.

Since ace's car was in the shop right now so erik decided to pick him up instead of him catching a Uber. Soon as erik pulled up to aces Apartment he saw he step out of his door and jogged over to the passenger side.

"Wassup E," he said as he sat his bag down in the back seat. "Wassup bro you ready to show these niggas how to aim?" Erik said jokily as he drove off.

Erik cooked his AMT and aimed it at the head of the paper man all the way in the range and let multiple bullets fly from it giving him a slight rush. He adjusted his safety glasses and gripped the handle of the gun again before pulling the trigger but aiming at a different figure. Him and ace were both in their own little worlds before the ringtone from Erik's phone pulled him back down to earth, it caught aces attention too.

It was Israel.

Erik beamed down at the screen but Debated if he should answer it or not, he wanted to he really did but decided it would be best if he called her later since he could barely hear from all the gun shots being fired.

"Who was that? Got you smiling and shit..." ace asked with his eyebrows raised. Placing his gun down to face Erik. "Nigga why you so damn nosy?" Erik cut his eyes at him while blindly putting his phone back into his pocket.

"What you mean nigga? I'm just trying to see who making my dawg so happy is that a crime?" He said jokingly jerking his head back. Erik rolled his eyes.

"It's was one of my friends." Erik stated before grabbing his gun again trying to get off the topic. Ace put his hand out and pushed the gun down before he could pull the trigger.

"What friend? cause the last time i checked we had the same circle of friends?" Erik sigh getting annoyed with aces interrogation. Did he want to tell his best friend about Israel? Hell nah. Because he know his best friend and he knows he's going to go over bored and start doing the most with questions.

"You don't know her. Drop it nigga."

"Her? So you got a bitch or sumn'" Erik shock his head not even meaning to slip up and say anything. It was to late to take back now. "Nah she not my girl, we just been chilling." Erik shrugged, as he corrected him.

"Lemme see what she look like nigga how you know I don't know her?"

"Hell nah nigga stop being nosy-"

"Ok but if I had a bitch I would show you-"

"She not a bitch tho." Erik said sternly in their back and forth bickering. As annoyed as Erik was ace had a point and they both knew it. Ace talked to him about everything and if he was interested in a girl Erik would be the first to know about it. Erik put his gun on safety and sat it down before digging In his back pocket to grab his phone.

He scrolled through his camera until he found his favorite picture of Israel. It was one she sent to him not to long ago, her hair was wild with tiny ringlet coils. Her lips and mouth were stained red from the dumdum that hung from it. She had her white silk night gown on and a dainty rose flower necklace that hung between her collarbone.

Erik handed him the phone and watched as he brought his fist up to his mouth. "Nigga she fine as fuck damn where you find her at?"

"A party I went to not to long ago, she was shy as fuck she would barely talk to me." Erik chuckled taking his phone back to put it back in his pocket. "We been hanging out the last few weeks, she cool." Erik said nonchalantly to make it seem like he wasn't feeling shordy as much as he was. To someone like didn't know Erik as well as ace did he would've them really thinking he didn't like her and it wasn't a big deal but ace knew.

"You feeling her?" Ace asked facing Erik now, Erik shrugged.

"Like I said she cool."

"Mm." Was all ace said. Erik didn't need to answer, ace already knew the answer.

[neerasrealm]

Could I please get some wholesome headcanons for Sally interacting with the other creeps?

HELL YEAH THIS ASK IS CUTE I'm sorry it took so long to get to </3 I was more stuck up on how I'd actually answer it bc I wasn't sure if I wanted to go through it in sections with each creep or do it as the normal hc format I usually do. Ended up going with the normal format to keep things simple yk

Sally is known as the baby of Slender Mansion, despite the fact that she's technically 50-60 years old.

Sally is as mature as an adult, but only when she wants to be. For the most part Sally acts like a child. A very...sassy and devious child.

She has all of the creeps under her thumb. She's the smallest and was Slender and LJ's first child so there is a lot of favoritism towards her. If she doesn't get her way, the creeps have to run the risk of her calling dad, or worse, mom.

(It's Slender Slender is mom)

Tea parties are mandatory.

Ben, Dina and EJ don't mind being dragged into her tea parties much though. Ben enjoys themself and gets into his role of being an upper-class snob so long as they weren't interrupted while gaming, and EJ just likes the free cookies he gets.

Dina spends a lot of time with Sally. In fact, she's almost always by her side. Dina grew up isolated from most people, so she feels most comfortable away from the mansion's louder and more rowdy residents (looking at you, Jeff). Sally is understanding, kind and comforting to be around.

The two share a room together, not because there isn't room for Dina to have her own, but more because Dina has trouble sleeping and Sally keeps her company at night.

The idea of Sally and Dina sticking together comes from @dragongirl2!! Her hcs of them are really cute <3

Like I said earlier, Ben does enjoy being with Sally. He likes being a big sibling and playing pretend with her. They also invite her to play videogames with him too <3 mostly mario kart

Another creep that likes being a big brother is Jeff! Despite how loud and mean he can be toward the others, he has a soft spot for her. But he won't show it. He rolls his eyes when he's forced to spend time with her and protests against playing pirates with her in the backyard, but in reality he loves it. That's his little sister and he's taking her to Claire's RIGHT NOW

Jeff isn't the brightest and he likes causing problems on purpose. Sometimes he gets lectured on being ''a responsible young man'' by the resident ten year old. It's very funny to watch

Cody also gets lectured by her because he just fucking. commits crimes against humanity and disregards every safety protocol ever made ever but also sometimes he invites her into his lab to assist in his insanity. Sally come here I'm trying to make military grade popping candy and you're the only person who can taste test it without dying

Tim is also really nice to her. Treats Sally like his niece, takes her on car rides and buys her snacks at the gas station. Why can't that be me.

Like I've said before, Sally was the first kid in Slender Mansion, and as such, she's very much LJ and Slender's favorite (though Slender insists he doesn't have a favorite. LJ just avoids the question altogether)

Slender sometimes forgets that Sally has the mindset of an adult and babies her a LOT. constantly holding her and cooing at her. Sally doesn't mind in all honesty. She likes being spoiled and uses it to get free food <3 evil

LJ also spoils her. He is more aware of Sally's maturity and treats her slightly more like an adult, but that doesn't stop him from bouncing her on his hip and calling her his little girl

LJ is the one most commonly found playing with her. he loves pretend and cartoons, so the two are almost always in the backyard playing or in the living room/sally's room watching cartoons

He brings her a lot of places too and spoils her rotten. buys her toys and candy she doesn't need just because he likes making her happy <3

Despite the fact that Sally has been in the mansion for close to fifty years now, Slender still reads her bedtime stories fairly often. LJ too. Slender reads her more adult books and is great at narrating and bringing the story to life, while LJ does funny voices but less mature stuff. If the two are reading together though? it's a full on PERFORMANCE. Sally getting free entertainment right in the comfort of her my little pony bed I'm so jealous

[hissterical-nyaan]

The Promise

Pairing - Bucky Barnes/Desi! Female reader

Warning - Angst, sad ending, more angst

Summary - Bucky Barnes broke one promise that meant the most to Y/N

Word count - 1.5K

A/N - This is my first ever fanfic, I am very anxious so please be gentle with me :) This was created purely to make y'all cry lol. This is a songfic of "Lag ja gale" of Lata Mangeshkar ji. I absolutely adore that song and found it quite fit for this story!!! Also English isn't my first language and there might be grammatical mistakes. Thanks to @soradragon for beta reading this and helping me complete it, you are a blessing. Love you 💙 happy reading folks!

It was  peaceful in Wakanda, a cool night had taken its place from the hot humid air of the day, the stars were shining bright and serenity hung in the air.  It was impossible to imagine what the next day would have in store for everyone. No one had a clue that tomorrow was the day that would change everyone's lives forever.

There was the sound of soft humming coming from the modest hut which housed the one and only the White Wolf and his lover.

Inside was you, singing songs softly in your mother’s tongue before the two would go to bed for the night. It was a nightly ritual the two of you shared. For Bucky had found your voice so soothing it would chase away the recurring nightmares that would haunt his sleep every night. Bucky Barnes was unable to sleep without his love in his arms, without her angelic voice singing for him, and without her soft hand weaving through his hair. 

You had an awful day today, throughout the day you felt anxious and restless. As if your mind has been screaming at you that something bad was about to transpire. You had no idea what, but it was bad. if there is one thing you hated most, it would be not knowing what will happen next.

You liked being prepared for everything! Your distressed state made you itch for your ma's presence and her wise words. So the next best thing to feel like she was there was to sing your ma's favourite song. It was a song you had  beautiful emotional memories attached to.

Lata ji's masterpiece ‘Lag ja gale’. The song that always left you peaceful.

"What's on your mind, chaand? No cheesy love songs today?" Bucky teased lightly, slightly puzzled by the song choice. Normally, you would sing more happy, sweet love songs when you were in a good mood, not to forget how out of character you acted the entire day. 

"Acha? You said you don't like my cheesy songs na, so I thought today I will comply with your wish and not sing my ‘overly romantic, Shona Babu songs.’”  You shot back, poking your tongue out as not to worry him. Bucky pouted slightly.

"Arre baba okay now don't pout, I was just joking. I will sing the cheesy songs again tomorrow, right now this song just feels right to me.” Hearing that, Bucky mumbled a quiet yes and snuggled deeper into you, holding you tightly and moving his head ever so slightly to listen to your voice.  

Lag Ja Gale Ki Phir Ye Hasin Raat Ho Na Ho

Shaayad Phir Is Janam Men Mulaaqaat Ho Na Ho

Lag Jaa Gale Ae Ae… (Embrace me, dear, who knows whether or not this beautiful night will ever come again. Maybe in this life we may or may not meet again)

You remember the first time you met Bucky, in Shuri's lab. You were a   good friend of Shuri. You were a researcher staying in Wakanda with T'challa's permission and eventually befriended the Princess. The two of you loved to talk about anything and nothing. One day Shuri told you about the Winter soldier staying here in Wakanda. You had heard many things about him, but never had you seen him in the flesh. Till you saw him come into the lab, bruised and eyes swiming full of emotions, but the distraught was the most clear in those blue piercing eyes.

It was at that moment that you had decided you would help him, and try to soothe the aches and scars that had been covering his fragile heart. He was put in the cryo soon after your first encounter, but you couldn't help but think about him often.

Ham Ko Mili Hain Aaj Ye, Ghadiyaan Nasib Se

Ji Bhar Ke Dekh Lijiye, Ham Ko Qarib Se

Phir Aap Ke Nasib Men, Ye Baat Ho Na Ho (I have been given today, this time by destiny. To your hearts content see me closely, who knows, if your destiny, may present this situation again.)

Six months later, Bucky came out of the cryo and on his request, was given a small hut away from the palace in the fields. You often saw him, with his tiny herd of goats. You remember how one tiny goat - which Bucky had endearingly called Steve -  was the one who caused you to talk to Bucky. Maybe that's why he was still your favourite goat, afterall he was responsible for giving you the love of your life.

Shaayad Phir Is Janam Men Mulaaqaat Ho Na Ho

Lag Ja Gale Ki Phir Ye Hasin Raat Ho Na Ho (Maybe, in this life, we may or may not meet again. Embrace me dear for this beautiful night may not come again)

Your phone rang suddenly. Bucky moved his head from your lap as you moved to get the phone, it was your brother who was calling you. It puzzled you, it was nearly midnight in India. "Y/N….jaldi aaja yaha… ma aur papa ki car crash ho gayi...I am so sorry, hum unhe bacha nahi paye." You went numb...The words didn’t make sense, you couldn’t make sense of them... Ma papa? No, no this can't be happening. You...you just talked to your mom a few hours ago! Bucky’s arms wrapped around you, holding you so close. He whispered some words into your ear trying to soothe you. But you couldn’t hear them, your mind just kept repeating your brother’s words inside your head like a mantra. That’s when the tears fell, soaking Bucky’s shirt. You didn’t remember you screamed. 

Paas Aaiye Ki Ham Nahin Aaenge Baar-Baar

Baahen Gale Men Daal Ke Ham Ro Le Zaar-Zaar

Aankhon Se Phir Ye Pyaar Ki Barsaat Ho Na Ho (Come closer to me, as I will not be able to come to you every time. Put your arms around me and let us cry our hearts out. Who knows, if our eyes will ever see these tears of love again.)

You couldn’t imagine what you would be without Bucky, your Bucky. He was your rock, You couldn't live a day without him. From the day you confessed your love for each other till today, not a day has gone where he wasn't showering you with love. Even through all his trauma and pain, he did his absolute best to be there for you, his sweet, sweet Y/N.

Shaayad Phir Is Janam Men Mulaaqaat Ho Na Ho

Lag Ja Gale Ki Phir Ye Hassin Raat Ho Na Ho

Shaayad Phir Is Janam Men Mulaaqaat Ho Na Ho

Lag Ja Gale Ki Phir Ye Hassin Raat Ho Na Ho (Maybe, in this life, we may or may not meet again. Embrace me dear for this beautiful night may not come again)

Remembering the past left you in an emotional mess, you didn't even realise when the waterworks started.

"Chaand? Hey, no shhh why are you crying? Is everything okay? Talk to me."

"Bucky?"

"Haan chaand?"

"Promise me that you will never leave me." You uttered in a broken whisper

"I promise."

He broke that promise. Bucky Barnes broke his promise and left his chaand. It happened so fast, the Avengers fighting Thanos, and suddenly everyone turning into dust.

You felt helpless and scared, numb and cold. what was happening? Bucky had told you to not come out of the palace unless told. He didn't want you to be in harm's way. No, his Y/N was too precious, he can't risk it. You reluctantly agreed, but you weren't of much use on the battlefield anyway. You just hoped your love would return to you very soon.

Steve broke the news, and your whole world collapsed in front of your eyes.

"Steve, no..no it can't be... please tell me you are lying. This isn't the time to joke around! Where is he!?" you couldn't help but scream at him. All your dreams, hopes and future with Bucky shattered. He was gone, in just a snap.  It couldn’t be real, this was a sick joke. that had to be it. A sick joke…

But deep inside, you knew it was real. All of it was real. The world around you seemed to crumble, all of it came down, it was as if someone let a glass cup fall and it shattered in a million pieces. Unable to be put back together again…

Now you had no one, no mom and dad, no Bucky...He was your rock wasn't he? He wasn't supposed to go...

After a few days, Steve offered to take you to America with him. The least he could do for his pal was to make sure the girl who had his heart was taken care of. But you couldn't go, it was too painful. Brooklyn will always remind you of Bucky, and you promised him when the time came to go back to his home, you will go together. No, unlike him Y/N L/N knew how to keep her promise.

You went back to India, to start a new life. A miserable one. If only you would have known that the last song you’ve sung to him would come true. 

You never sang your mother's favourite song again

Tagging - @spiderrpcrker @a-dragon-under-the-stars @lil-stark @jacquessouvenier @soradragon (I hope you won't mind me tagging you!) And I also hope you liked it :))

Translations (please let me know if I forgot to translate something) -

Chaand - Moon (an affectionate term in this context)

Acha - Really (in this context, it can mean many things otherwise)

"Y/N….jaldi aaja yaha… ma aur papa ki car crash ho gayi...I am so sorry, hum unhe bacha nahi paye." - "Y/N please come fast here, mom and dad were in an car crash, I am so sorry but we couldn't save them" (ma = mom, papa = dad)

Haan - yes

[kerwritesthings]

Homecoming

Summary: It hurts to crash and fall, but helps when you have someone to help pick you back up

Word Count: little over 2.2k

Warning: fluff with a slight touch of oh sad, cursing and a little illusion to naughty

Author Notes: So hey, muse is back, feeling it and she’s a cranking. I had general thoughts on this since end of Final and return to play, bullets I had vomited, maybe a paragraph but it never went anywhere. After I got J’s challenge done, it kind of just poured out in regards to those two kids. This is part of what’s now officially the Orange Blossom verse since I’m fully attached to Tyler and Clementine. 

Guess I need to get a hockey masterlist together now? Cause yeah, more words coming here for them (possibly a NSWF back half to this? maybe?) and on a few other hockey boys. Also, maybe even getting some Shawn words out too? #museisfeelingit

We’re taking off. I finally get to say see you and the boys later and really mean it.

You knew straightaway when the buzzer sounded the other night this was going to be hard, harder than last year for sure. When you talked after, it shattered you hearing him that way. You couldn’t be there and that hurt. You also knew there was more than he was letting on or even telling you, but you weren’t pushing him then; it wasn’t worth it. There’d be a time and place for that.

We’ll be waiting xo

You try to get as much set and ready, at least for the next 48 hours, so you can just both be. Fridge and pantry are full, everything is clean top to bottom inside and out. As you run through the checklist in your head, you feel a heavy head plunk down on your knee with a whine.

“I know buddy, I miss him too. He’s coming home to us right now though. Only a couple more hours,” you scratch behind the golden lab’s ear. “Let me feed you and your crazy brothers so you’re not completely batshit when your Dad gets home.”

As soon as you say Dad, they lose their minds it seems. A raucous feeding and a subsequently needed clean up after of both the kitchen and you, time is closer than you thought. You’re refiling the Brita when you hear the locks clicking open and the telltale plunk of bags hitting the floor. Then he’s there in the doorway between the hall and the kitchen. You just look at him for a moment and truly exhale for the first time since he called after the game, he’s finally home.

“Hi,” you smile, stepping closer to him.

“There’s my babygirl,” Tyler sighs deeply, pulling you into his chest and wrapping his arms tightly around you. “Fuck, I missed you, so damn much Emmy.”

You hold him just as close, nodding into his chest trying not to cry. He drops his head into the crook of your neck and breathes in and out slowly. Your arms wind around his waist as you feel his eyelashes flutter against your skin.

“It’s too quiet…” he starts.

“They’re outside. They were going crazy in the house; I think they could tell from my energy you were coming back,” you explain. “That or it was just another Wednesday.”

He bites a chuckle back, his lips dusting against your neck.

“May need your help with them,” he murmurs against your skin.

“How bad?” you ask, hands sliding up to his face, pulling him away to look straight at you.

He’s tired, it’s all over his face. He just shrugs.

“Tyler…” you start.

“Bad,” he mumbles out, eyes slipping shut as your fingers start looping in his hair sticking out from his hat. “Doc wants me in for scans and testing tomorrow afternoon.  I’m gonna need you to drive me please, J dropped me off because I couldn’t.”

That’s why you didn’t hear the rumbling of an engine or the garage door.

“Where?” you tread lightly.

“Better to ask me where not, Em. You know the knees were acting up before we went into lockdown, but they were better than before when we went back for phase two,” he replies. “Then the hip started at the end of camp here probably from the other shit. I thought we had it under control before we left and the knees were feeling less shitty. I played the one game in round robin. Wasn’t great, but it wasn’t crazy pain and I’ve played through worse. They backed me out for precautions, you know that. Thought the rest and therapy on it would do it.”

“But then?” you probe carefully, knowing he wasn’t letting on how much the bumps and bruises of playoffs were really affecting him when he would call.

“All kind of went to hell from there though and it just unraveled,” he sighs deeply. “Definitely the right hip. Left is tweaked from compensating. Wrist was nagging too. Everything fucking hurt but, I just. I couldn’t let them down, I couldn’t. It’s playoffs. Not when we were pushing and we were that damn close. So fucking close.”

Tyler sniffs and drops his head to your shoulder.

“You have the biggest heart baby; you’d never let them down. They know that. But you need to take care of yourself and not break yourself to the point of disrepair, Tyler. Not good for them or for you, especially if you want to keep on playing,” you say. “Tabling this for now though. Let’s go see the boys, then I think you need some food, a soak and some sleep.”

“You’re forgetting something,” he whispers into your shirt, his hands holding firm at your hips.

“Hmm?” you question.

“You, I most definitely need you, Emmy,” he picks his head up and smirks before leaning into kiss you.

It starts sweet, light even then he presses into it. Tongue swiping and teeth nibbling, it’s warming up quickly. His hands flex tighter, drawing you even closer into him. You can already feel him half hard against you.

“Ty,” you break away, breathless. “Not if…”

“Nope, non-negotiable. We’ll figure out a way. It’s been almost two fucking months,” he utters against your lips before pressing into another kiss, this one quick. “I hear them losing their shit out there. Come on.”

He snags your hand, tangling your fingers together and tugging you towards the French doors to the patio. You can tell immediately in his gait, he’s in a good deal of discomfort. Knowing him, he’s refused anything heavy pain killer wise while he was playing, other than the extra strength Advil he’s only been comfortable taking. Maybe some cortisone if the inflammation wasn’t subsiding and even that would be a push to get him to agree to.

“Don’t even think about getting down on the grass you, I saw the limping,” you chide, pushing him down onto the lounge chair. “They can all attack you from here.”

He pouts, but you just flick his ear, then yank the hat off his head.

“Boys, look who I found for you,” you call out.

Three large dog heads whip around at once and make a break for you two. You back out of the way, giving the labs more than enough room to get up and around the chair. Once the initial may lay of wagging tails, jumping excitement and licking backs down, Gerry ends up on the lounge wedging himself on and between Tyler’s legs as he thinks he’s still tiny, with Cash and Marshall on either side their heads in his lap.

“Who’s the best boys? Did you miss me? I missed you. Were you good for Mom while I was gone?” he asks them, petting them each as they bask in having him back. “You better have taken good care of her. We had an agreement.”

“As good as being in the house with three boys without their dad could be,” you laugh from behind the chair, hands on Tyler’s shoulders. “They were good to cuddle with, especially on game nights.”

“Not as good as me though,” he tips his head back with a cheeky grin.

“Debatable Tyler,” you tease, bopping his nose.

“Hey,” he pouts, lip jutting out.

“You can remind me later,” you murmur, dropping a kiss to his forehead. “You spend some time with the motley crew out here. Don’t you think about running or leaving that chair, really. I’ll get some stuff pulled together in the kitchen. Any requests? I stockpiled on some of your favorites.”

“Did you make your chicken bake?” his eyes light up as he thinks about what to ask for.

“Of course I did, you asked me about that a few times when you were griping about food options,” you grin. “I’ll get that and salad ready. Boys, you need to take it easy with Dad, he’s more broken than he’s willing to admit.”

You head back into the house and into the kitchen. As you’re turning from the oven to start on the salad, you hear the thump of paws first before feeling a plop of a head on your feet.

“Marsh baby, why aren’t you outside with your Daddy?” your eyebrows knit as you look down at the dog.

The dog just huffs and sighs with big eyes looking up at you.

“He’s back now with us buddy,” you wipe your hands on a towel before bending down to pet him. “He’s missed you just as much as you missed him. You’re his first baby. Go love on him some more.”

Marshall just whines again, nudging you to try to make you cuddle with him on the kitchen floor.

“Let me finish this up, then we can all snuggle on the couch ok?” you bargain, heading to the sink to wash your hands before finishing the salad.

He didn’t leave your side as you went on your way to get the meal together, sticking closer than he did when Tyler first left. The bake would be in for a bit longer, so you slide the salad into the fridge just as everyone filters back into the house.

“Your oldest son has abandonment issues,” you call out. “Tyler, you best not. Get your ass on the couch, I’ll pull him over. There’s no rolling on the floor.”

“He’s always been the most sensitive, worse in his old age,” he jokes, sliding an arm around your waist to lean into you.

“He’s not that old, be nice,” you poke at his side. “Marshall just loves you that much. That needs like 20-25 more minutes in the oven. Salad’s done, so it’ll be easy once this is warmed through. Come on; couch, pups and maybe I’ll even let you get handsy.”

Tyler turns you, palms sliding up your hips around to your back to pull you into him. You go easily and willingly.

“Thank you, Emmy,” he says softly, nosing at your temple. “I’m so lucky I get to come home to not only these three but to you too. Means a lot. I love how much you care about those three nutzos in there as much as how much you love me. And I know it’s not easy at times, but I hope you know that without question, I love you. I love you more every damn day and I want to keep showing you that.”

You didn’t expect that. It’s never been a question on your feelings for each other, but it always hits you when Tyler gets into his feelings like that. You don’t even respond with words; you just pop up onto your toes to kiss him.

“Love you too Ty,” you murmur, a breath away from his lips.

As soon as you both settle into the couch, letting him get comfortable first as you saw the grimace when he initially sat down, the dogs fall into place too. Even if it’s only for a short break, it’s nice to feel like things are settling back into a sense of normalcy. You close your eyes and exhale, probably for the first time since they came off the ice after game six.

“Bath after dishes?” you start as you shuffle plates off the table. “No fighting me, you need it. You’re wincing at every other movement. I picked up some eucalyptus soak with Epsom salt, so you won’t smell like my lavender or jasmine.”

“You joining me?” he wiggles his eyebrows, grin as wicked as ever after taking a sip from his glass.

“We’re not fucking in the tub Tyler,” you chide him as you load the dishwasher. “Busted hips do not make for good times with water sports even with as big as that soaker is.”

“Wrecking all my fun,” he sighs with the grin still evident. “But I guess you’re right. If I promise to kind of behave, will you join me?”

You can’t help but scoff a laugh.

“Kind of behave? Shit’s sake. Only you, Tyler,” you swing back around to the table, dusting a kiss to his temple. “Let me go get stuff ready and the water all set in there.”

“Someone needs to make sure I wash behind my ears amongst other places,” he gets cheeky, snagging you to pull you down onto his lap. “No one better than you for that, baby.”

He nips at your ear before nuzzling his face into your neck before tightening his arms around your waist. You’ve missed this, missed him.

“You can distract me all you want, but I’m still not fucking you in that tub,” you laugh, your hands tracing loops and swirls against the black ink over his forearm before trailing down his hands.

“Was at least worth a shot, but I’ll take you wet, naked and full of bubbles in the water with me,” he sighs, biting at your jaw before pushing you off his lap. He takes a swat at your ass as you’re walking away.

“I’ll add bubbles, just for you, since you asked so nicely,” you call out over your shoulder, sticking your tongue out at him.

“Put that away unless you plan on using that, preferably on me,” he shouts back in the midst of laughing.

[just-my-fandom]

One After Another (Cisco Ramon x Allen! Reader)

Chapter 4

Summary; Reader learns because of her early labor, her powers won’t be coming back like Nora said they would. Cisco now really debates on keeping his powers. Reader finds out about Barry disappearing In crisis years from now.

Chapter is short compared to the others.

Tag list; @Intoomanyfandom-s @thebloodrobin @hecatemacbeth7 @badasspolygenderfriend @writeroutoftime

Story list; Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 ,

. . .

“I don’t understand. Explain again to me what the difference between this day and every other day in America?”

You look up from where you bounced Dante on your lap, eyes watching as Sherloque threw his hands in the air and faced Cisco with confusion,

“It’s a holiday when we all get together and celebrate and eat a ton of food,” Cisco tries to explain, “Like, a gross amount,”

“Hey guys!” Caitlin greets, and you smile, lifting Dante’s hand to wave so he giggled, sticking his fist into his mouth, “What’s going on?”

“This man is trying- and failing- to explain the meaning of this holiday,” Sherloque scoffs, “Please, explain,”

“It’s very simple, Sherloque,” You sigh, standing up to curl an arm under Dante and prop him on your upper hip, “We all get together to spend the day with our loved ones and family,”

“Simple to you,” Sherloque points, “I have no family,”

“Didnt you have seven marriages?” Cisco questions,

“Did,” Sherloque states, “Five wives, seven marriages- no family. This holiday is a cruel holiday,”

You frown as Sherloque moves to walk out of the cortex, Dante babbling and reaching out, Cisco allowing Dante to grab a small fistful of his hair,

You look up when the alarm begins to blare, Dante flinching against the loud noise and hiccuping so you tucking him under your chin, moving to the control panel beside Caitlin to see where the pin pointed location, “What’s going on?”

“I’m seeing a large electrical surge at the downtown power station,”

“Barry, Nora,” Iris calls to the mics, “You’re up,”

You bite your lip and look down, pressing a kiss to the side of Dante’s head as you step back,

“Y/N,” Cisco squints his eyes after Barry and Nora had completed the task- resulting in Barry dying and Nora having to revive him- your eyes flicking up from where you stared at the floor, “You alright?”

You lick your lips and turn in your chair to rock Dante to sleep, shaking your head, slightly, “I don’t think my powers are going to come back,”

Caitlin furrows her brows, stepping up next to Cisco, “You haven’t allowed your body to fully heal from child birth, Y/N,”

“It’s been two weeks,” You exhale, and shrug enough to not disturb Dante, “Nora said my powers came back right after I gave birth,” A pause, “I don’t think the labor itself is what caused it- I just have this feeling that, my speed is completely gone,”

“Would you, like for me to run tests?” Caitlin asks, and you look down, Cisco extending his hands so you could stand up, passing Dante to him silently,

. . .

“I don’t see any dark matter traces in your cells,” Caitlin leans against her desk with a frown, glancing over to where you sat on the bed and sucked in a deep breath, “Nora was wrong. I don’t think your powers will come back,”

“It’s the time change,” Barry sighs, looking over to future Dante, “For all we know, you in the later future could end up not having speed,”

“Not necessarily,” Caitlin corrects, “Those powers came from Y/Ns bloodstream to Dante’s, so, yes Y/N lost hers completely, but Dante still inherited them,”

“So it’s settled,” You mumble, Cisco frowning when you push off the bed and clap your hands, quietly, “I’m powerless. For good,”

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Caitlin frowns, too, and you press your lips together,

“So many things are changing,” Nora exhales, arms crossed, “Because of us,”

“No, don’t blame yourself,” Barry pleas,

“How can we not?” Dante asks, brows pinched, “Because we arrived- Cicada came early, mom went into labor early because Cicada attacked, mom lost her powers because she went into labor, it’s a domino effect!”

“And dad disappears in Crisis earlier than originated,” Nora continues, Barrys face falling as he looks to you, where your brows furrowed in firm confusion,

“You what?”

“Oh, schrap!” Nora winces, “Sorry! I-I’m gonna go,”

“No, Barry,” You hold up a hand, “What is she talking about,”

Cisco sighs, eyes shutting as his hand runs up baby Dante’s back, “When Barry disappears in Crisis, he never comes back even twenty five years later,”

“You knew?” You point, shaking your head, “This is too much. Give me my son, I’m going home,” You pull Dante away from Cisco so the infant whined, Cisco reaching out to touch your arm,

“Let me take you,”

“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself,” You shoot, Cisco releasing your arm to let you step back, barely catching the gleam in your eyes before he is forced to watch you walk out of the lab.

“Give her time,” Barry murmurs, Cisco running a hand over his face, “It’s a lot,”

. . .

“Hey,”

You look up from the crib and glance over your shoulder, Cisco’s eyes on the sleeping infant as he leans against the door, “Can we talk?”

You slowly pull your hand away from where Dante had a grip, leaning back to turn and leave the nursery, “There’s nothing to talk about,”

“I didn’t tell you for a reason,” Cisco explains, calmly, your eyebrows raising,

“To “protect me”?” You question, “I appreciate that, but I’m apart of the team too, whether I’m at home with a kid or not. I deserve to know shit like that,”

You cross your arms, sucking in a deep breath, “How long have you all known?”

Cisco frowns, watching your eyes flick to the floor, “Right before you had Dante,”

“So two whole weeks,” You state, “Cisco, why the hell didn’t you tell me? Everyone else on the team knew!”

“You were still pregnant with Dante,” Cisco reminds, “Barry feared the stress would cause you to go into labor early. He just wanted what was best for you,”

“Barry may know what is best for me, but you know what is right,” You correct, eyes back on Cisco, “Am I wrong?”

A moments pause, “No,”

“I deserve to know these kind of things, Cisco,” You look up as Cisco moves up to you, his hands at your arms before they lower to your waist, “I’m still apart of the team, and Barry’s my brother,”

“I know,” Cisco murmurs, eyes flicking between yours, “I’m sorry,”

Cisco watches as you shake your head, your hands sliding up to wipe your cheeks under your eyes, “When my father was killed, I didn’t think Barry nor I could handle it,” You exhale, sniffling against your hands, “Our moms death didn’t effect us that much because we were young, we didn’t understand it,”

You lick your lips, eyes burning from tears, “But I can’t lose Barry. He’s the only one I have left of my family, sure I have Joe, and Iris and Wally, but-,” You raise your head, hiccuping as Cisco moves forward, arm sliding around your shoulder to pull you against him,

“C’mere,” Cisco murmurs, his free hand pressing to the back of your head. Your arms tighten at his torso, sniffling against the fabric of his button up, “We’re not going to let it happen. We changed the future before, we can do it again,”

You nod, blinking in an attempt to rid your tears, “You know my life was somewhat normal before I had my speed,” A slight laugh escapes your lips, making Cisco smile, “But now that I don’t have them anymore, I’ve realized my life will never go back normal,”

“Honey, your life will never be normal being married to me,” Cisco leans back, and you snort, shoving a hand to his chest so he stumbled back,

“I’m serious!” He teases, hands at your arms so he didn’t fall. You press a finger to your lips, shushing the man,

“Don’t forget your speedster son is still asleep,” You order, Cisco’s eyebrows raising in rememberance, “Now,” You murmur, “I have some pumpkin pie I have to make for tomorrow,”

. . .

“So it wasn’t as much the taste as it was the crunch,”

“Wait,” Caitlin puts down the bowl she had, eyeing Iris on the couch, “Are you actually saying—,”

“Yes, that was the year I found out why Grandma Esthers yams tasted so good,” Iris nods, glass in one hand, “Because she never cleaned her favorite skillet,”

“That’s,” Nora pauses, “Disgusting,”

The group laughs, Barry looking up and over to Cisco, “Hey, where’s Y/N and the baby?”

“Mm,” Cisco swallows his sip of wine, glancing down at his watch, “She forgot the whipped cream for the pie. But she should be here in-,”

“Your favorite Allen is here!” Your call causes Cisco to nod, hand holding the glass pointing towards Barry’s front door,

“Now,”

You turn the corner with a wide grin, Cisco moving around the couch to take the pie and bag of whipped cream, while you shift Dante’s babbling figure in your arm, older Dante shutting the door behind you,

“Alright, who’s ready to cut the turkey?” Iris asks, Barry beckoning you to pass him his nephew, Cisco clapping his hands together as he moves next to you, leading you to the table with a peck to your cheek,

[bro-ken-spoon]

Finished Commission!

Hey guys! I did a commission for @maximum-ride featuring their OC's, which I'm posting here! If you like this and you'd like to commission me yourself, you can message me here or on Discord! I've been low on money while trying to find a second job, so I'd really appreciate it if you would consider commissioning me if you like this work! You can find my rates here! Even if you can't commission, taking the time to let me know you liked this or any of my works is so appreciated!

This was really fun to write, Avi and Lee my favorite of Marki's OC's, so I'm so happy they gave me the chance to write for them! Content Warning for medical whump, blood and gore, and implied death.

(Read the full story under the cut!)

Avi sort of recognized the figure that was appearing out of the haze before her. It was a figure she hadn’t seen in years, a familiar and comforting presence she hadn’t allowed herself to think about in...well, years.

Her mom. Then, behind her mom, taking shape as Avi’s eyes focused, her dad and brother followed. A feeling of excitement burst through Avi, better than she’d felt in a long time. She didn’t think she’d ever see her family again, and now they were right in front of her.

Avi reveled in that joy for a minute before her brain caught up with her. Why would her family be here now? Had they even looked for her when she’d been missing for years? She missed them, but even if they wanted her, she’d be a danger to them, wouldn’t she?

As soon as she had that thought, all three of them fell limp, blood seeping from matching holes in their foreheads.

Avi took off running. As she ran, the lab corridor took shape around her. The bodies of her family littered the ground around her. She could feel the hot tears on her face, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop running. She had to get out of the lab, she had to be free. She couldn’t take another second of it. Sounds and screams filled her head, but she didn’t focus on them. She burst through the door at the end of the hallway and-

She fell right onto an examination table. That wasn’t possible, how did the door lead there? She turned to look behind her, but she couldn’t move her head. It was strapped to the table, as were her arms and legs.

She didn’t recognize the faces of the people in lab coats. They seemed to blur as she looked at them. The only thing she could make out with utter clarity were their smiles, far too wide for their faces as they cut into her body. She tried to scream, but she knew it was futile. She hadn’t been able to scream in so long, but her muscles still remembered the movements for it. If she wasn’t in so much pain, she would have thought about the way her muscles remembered what her brain no longer let her.

But she was in pain. She watched as her intestines were outside of her body again. The amount of times her insides had seen the light of day amounted to a number higher than the amount of years Avi had lived a normal life.

She squinted her eyes, letting the remaining tears hit her cheeks. When she opened them again, she was alone. She didn’t really recognize her surroundings. Maybe she would have, but she couldn’t focus on them for long.

A familiar sound filled her ears. It was the loudest noise she’d ever heard. A bell. That bell. It continued to ring in her ears long after the initial sound, and she could feel every muscle in her body tense up. Sisko towered over her, dangling the bell over her head. It was bigger than Avi’s entire body. With a second, ear-splitting ring, Avi not only tensed up, but she felt the pain coursing through her entire body. It was emanating from her ribs, but it reverberated up and down her spine, leaving her unsteady on her feet. She collapsed.

Or, she should have collapsed, except the floor caved in beneath her, and she was just falling, falling, falling. Her stomach rose up to her chest and she gulped it back down. She tried to open her wings, but as she did, the feathers were falling from it. It started slowly, just one or two feathers floating above her, but then it was hundreds, flying up above her as she rapidly approached the ground. She started to panic, shaking her wings more and more until they finally fully opened, saving her just seconds before she hit the ground.

She flew right up to the edge of a cage. She turned around, frantically looking for a way out, when she came face-to-face with Verr.

Anger boiled through her. The betrayal she’d faced was still fresh in Avi’s mind, and Verr was just about the last person she wanted to see. Verr didn’t seem to care. She didn’t say anything, just reached into Avi’s chest (Avi hadn’t even realized her chest was open) and pulled out her heart, crushing it right in front of Avi’s eyes.

Everything went black.

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

Avi woke up. She sat bolt upright in bed, panting heavily. The light of dawn was coming in slivers through the curtain in the bedroom. She looked over to find Lee, asleep on his side of the room. She was a little glad she couldn’t scream. It wouldn’t wake him up that way.

She dragged herself to the kitchen. Her hands were shaking badly, but it helped to see the outside world, to know she wasn’t trapped anymore. She tried to put on a pot of coffee, but she couldn’t move very well. Instead, she plopped down on the floor of the kitchen, letting her head droop down in front of her.

She didn’t know how long she was there before Lee stumbled his way into the kitchen.

“Avi?” he asked, the fear evident in his voice. Avi looked up quickly. She didn’t want him to be too concerned. “Are you alright?” She wondered why he was asking that, but quickly realized there were tears streaming from her eyes.

Her hands were shaking too badly for her signs to be legible, so she reached to the table and pulled down a notebook instead.

Nightmare

Her handwriting wasn’t the worst it had ever been, but it was barely legible. Thankfully, Lee could read it.

“Bad one, huh? I get those, too, sometimes.” He sympathized. He sat on the floor next to her and leaned against her. It was more comforting than Avi was expecting.

Fun fact about me: I can feel pain in dreams, apparently.

“Really? I haven’t had one that bad,” Lee said, and Avi could hear the worry in his voice, “Do you want to walk me through it? Would that help?”

Avi thought for a minute. Images from the dream flashed through her mind, but they were already fading. It was the memories she really had to worry about. She shook her head.

I just need to forget

Lee was silent for a moment. For a second, Avi thought she had hurt him somehow, but he took a deep breath instead.

“I wish I could forget, too. I sometimes wonder who I’d be if...y’know.”

Avi felt a pang in her chest. Hearing Lee say exactly what she was thinking really got to her. She didn’t want to live with this constant pain anymore. She didn’t want to never be able to speak again. She didn’t want to have nightmares every night that left her hands shaking and her chest tight.

“But I can’t dwell on that. And neither can you. Where would that get us, huh?”

Avi took a deep breath. She’d rarely heard Lee speak with such sincerity.

Lee, I shouldn’t be alive. I should’ve been one of the kids who didn’t make it. I should’ve

Lee, who was reading over her shoulder, stopped her before she could keep writing.

“And leave me all alone? You survived because we need each other, Avi. It’s never again going to be like it was when we were kids, but the only way we’re going to get through this and be okay again is if we stick together.”

How can I do that if I can’t even tell what’s real and what’s fake?

“You’ve got me for that. And when I need it, I’ve got you.” Lee said.

He paused as Avi looked at him, trying to search his eyes for any sign that he was lying or going to betray her. She didn’t find one. There was silence for a second.

Avi barely remembered what it felt like to be a kid. She wondered how her brother was doing and if he still liked to play video games late at night when he should be sleeping. She wondered if he ever found a new person to play with, or if her controllers were still stacked up in her room, untouched. She wondered if she and Lee would have been friends if they’d gone to the same elementary school, or if Will would have sat with them at lunch. If they’d been allowed to be kids, what kind of trouble would they have gotten into?

“Right now,” Lee said after a moment, “I can tell you that all of this is real. Our apartment, our stupid cat posters on the wall. I can tell you that I’m here for you. I can tell you that it’s 5:24 am, and that you and I are going to go grocery shopping tonight with no way the lab can catch up to us. I can tell you that at the grocery store, we can buy some nerf guns and a board game and act like kids as much as we want to tonight. And you know why I can tell you that?” Avi shook her head, “Because it’s all true. I don’t know what the future holds, Avi, but it’s not going to be like the past. The lab may have stolen our childhoods, but it doesn’t get to take our lives, too.”

Those last few words reverberated through Avi’s head. Lee was right. That kind of talk, the survivor’s guilt kind where she wished for her own death, wouldn’t get her anywhere. With that kind of talk, she was as good as dead.

Thanks, she signed after a moment, though her hands still shook slightly, I really needed that.

“No problem. I know you’ll do it for me, too.” Lee smiled at her, and it was a more genuine smile than she’d seen in years, on anyone. And Lee was right again. She would do it for him.

Could I get some help making some coffee? I don’t think I’ll be getting back to sleep. Avi asked after another pause. Lee nodded, standing up. He held out his hand to help up Avi as well. She took it, letting him pull her in a hug.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he said again, and Avi could feel tears forming in her eyes again, so she just nodded and took a deep breath, shaking the morning’s events from her head.

Avi tried to help out with the coffee, but she wasn’t helping much with her shaking hands. After a minute, Lee instructed her to sit down and he’d bring it to her. She didn’t need much convincing.

She sat down in the living room and began watching some TV. She didn’t pay attention to much of it. None of them had had access to a television in years, so they really didn’t know what was going on with any of it or who any of the stars were. Still, it was comforting to watch with the volume turned low, like a friend was in the room. If you don’t think you’re alone, you can’t flashback to being alone in a room with a dead person, Avi had figured out rather quickly. She spread a blanket over her and felt more relaxed than she had in a long time.

She was asleep before Lee brought the coffee back to her.

Lee sat the coffee on the side table next to her. The plain black coffee would be cold by the time she woke up, but Lee figured it was better to just let her sleep. He sat down next to her, hoping to offer her comfort for a minute before going back to bed, but before he knew it a wing wrapped around him sleepily, pulling him in for a tight hug. He was thoroughly stuck there.

Avi shifted slightly, opening her eyes just a bit.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Are any of us?

“No, but we will be.” Lee said, though Avi wasn’t awake to hear it, “We will be.”

It was the best sleep either of them had had in years.

[aphroditestummyrolls]

This is some Nile!POV Joe/Nicky cuteness that is also the start of the sequel Brother of My Heart and Sono Qui (and Feed My Soul, but there’s no smut here). I wanted to have this posted today, but I’m depressed as fuck and have about 1500 words to go on this lil ditty, so I’m posting a snippet. For shameless validation purposes. Let me know what you think <3 

Joe led the way into a cozy back room, flooded with morning sunlight. The back doors were flung open, and Nile could glimpse the trees that she had seen poking out the top of the garden wall before. They were heavy with orange fruit that matched the bowl on the kitchen counter. 

The walls were a soft white, reflecting the sun’s rays and turning the whole space to gold. The dark wood of the rafters reminded her of Provence, and she smiled. 

“Did you build this one, too?” She asked while the coffee percolated. Joe hummed, shaking his head. 

“The foundations of this one might even predate us.” He replied, choosing a tangerine from the bowl and digging his thumbs in to peel it. “We didn’t buy this place until after the Second World War.” 

“From the way you guys talk about it, I thought it must’ve been your oldest place— your first place together, or something.” 

“Nicky had a hell of a time in the Pacific theatre. And then as a medic in France through the end of the war.” He popped a segment of fruit into his mouth, “We were separated for a long time— longest ever, actually.” 

“You didn’t serve in World War 2?” That didn’t sound right to Nile. They fought for what they thought was right, they were an army of four— but Joe skipped out on the biggest war in modern history?

“Joe and I worked in intelligence.” Andy cut in while Joe chewed, “More covert work.” 

Nile just nodded, swallowing the thousands of questions bubbling up her throat and filing them away. It was too early. 

You ask one question, and suddenly everything‘s a story— she thought, How do people not immediately know you guys are old people? I feel like I’m talking to my grandma.

Not that she was complaining. She had loved her grandma’s stories— it was why she loved history, and wanted to study art. Her stomach clenched, and not for the first time, she remembered what Andy had said— I don’t remember what my mother looked like… or my sisters… 

Nile didn’t want to forget her grandma. She didn’t want to forget a minute— the Sundays in the kitchen after church, the smell of earl gray and Werther’s caramels, the peace lily she watered every day after Dad’s funeral.

Hearing stories of all the things they remembered was reassuring. At least they didn’t forget everything. 

“Nile?” Joe’s voice shook her out of her thoughts, “Coffee?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, thanks.” She took the mug with a deep breath, “Sorry, I’m still a little tired. You were a spy?” 

Joe smiled like he understood something unspoken, nodding “Yes. Many times in my life— but I’d never been away from Nicky like that. Three years, it was Hell.” 

“It was Hell to listen to your pining.” Andy nudged his shoulder, smiling into her mug. 

“You barely even saw me!” He tsked, wagging a finger at her before turning back to Nile, “Anyway, a couple years after the war was over, we decided we needed a break. We picked Malta simply for its position— smack in the middle of the sea between Italy and Tunisia. We didn’t expect to love it as much as we did, but it was a buyer’s market, and…” he started out shrugging, looking down at the orange in his hand, but when he glanced up, he did a double take. 

At first, she thought he was looking at her, but he couldn’t be. His gaze was too soft, his smile too charmed, his quiet laugh seemed too practiced for it to be for her. Andy snorted into her mug, her eyes doing that thing that you would expect of a person seeing a baby animal. 

“Good Morning, my heart.” Joe cooed, his smile beaming. 

Nile looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, Nicky was at the foot of the stairs on the other side of the living space. 

He was a sight, all ruffled and tanned, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He was wearing thin shorts and a singlet tank top that must have been Joe’s. It was stretched out just the littlest bit too much for his lanky frame, but what really made Nile choke on her coffee was his hair. 

“Finally!” Andy greeted as Nicky plodded his way through the living room to the kitchen, “After 196 years, the long hair returns!” 

Joe grinned and Nicky chuckled, running a hand down his face like he could scrub the sleepiness away. “Yes, and it needs to be washed.” 

He came up beside Nile with one of his big, warm hands and squeezed the back of her neck, wrapping her into a hug that smelled like detergent and Joe’s sandalwood cologne. She squeezed him around the waist, her smile curving her lips without a thought. He shuffled around the room to Andy, murmuring something soft and Italian that made her smile before hugging her too. 

Andy curled her hand around the back of his head, petting through the long strands and humming in contentment. Joe grinned, his eyes catching Nile’s across the counter. 

“When my Nico first cut his hair, I think Andy was more bereft than I was.” He said it like a stage whisper, making Nicky snort, unwinding from his friend’s arms while Andy lazily flipped Joe off. 

“Don’t worry, Andy, Joe made a very persuasive argument for keeping the hair.” Nicky grinned, turning to the man in question and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He slipped around him behind him, looping his arms loosely around his waist. Nicky sandwiched himself between Joe’s back and the kitchen counter, making the other man hum and lean into him. He peeled off a slice of tangerine and held it over his shoulder for his love. “And yet, now I am the one who wakes up alone in our bed,” he tsked, even as he took the offered bite, “very rude, Yusuf.” 

“And what did you expect of me? We have guests, Hayati.” 

“You could have woken me and told me we had guests.” He shook his head at Nile in a universal gesture that said can you believe this guy? Even while Joe did the same thing, rolling his eyes in a long suffering way toward Andy. 

There was some grumbled Italian kissed into Joe’s neck. It made his eyes crinkle as he laughed, holding out another orange slice. 

Nile rolled her eyes fondly, sipping her coffee and wondering how these two soft, sleepy men could possibly be the hardened warriors of epic battles and old paintings. 

“I was just telling Nile about how we came to own this palace.” Joe said, slipping out of Nicky’s arms so he could pour another cup of coffee. Nicky hummed, nodding. 

“You told her how much I hated it here at first?” He smirked, just a tiny flicker of a thing as the other man pressed a mug into his hand. 

Every few minutes with these people, Nile felt like she heard a record scratch. There was always something deeper with them, even in a nondescript little house on the edge of the sea. 

“You hated it?” Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline, “But I thought this was your spot.” 

“It is now, but there was baggage for me in Valletta that we didn’t know until we got here.” He shrugged, “By then, I figured it must be fate— God telling me that it was time to fight that particular demon.” He looked over at Joe, whose smile had gone tender. Andy nodded at the dregs of her coffee, leaning into Nicky’s side. “The core of this life is learning to change, Nile.” 

The silence hung heavily for Nile, but she had the feeling that this was normal for the others— it had been in Provence, too. Every once in a while, something jogged a memory and pulled a feeling or a thought right out of the depths of them. It didn’t matter what time of day, or where in the world they were, sometimes things just hit them. Like Chicago. 

It was weirdly comforting.

Times like this usually meant a story, and Nile wanted to hear this one. She needed to hear this one. 

“But how d’you keep changing without forgetting?” She finally asked with a voice that was smaller than she wanted it to be. 

Nicky smiled. Like Joe, he looked softer than he had in the church or the lab or in Provence. There was an ease in the set of his shoulders, and the circles under his eyes were less like bruises. He smiled at her, and she almost believed that he was just a 30 year old man. 

How did they do that? Act their age, while also being indescribably ancient? Being her friend, while also being like her brother, and her grandma all at once? 

“I’ll trade you a story for an onion.” He said. Andy snorted, and Joe choked on his orange slice. 

“What?” 

“I’m going to make omelettes— chop half an onion and mince some garlic for me, and we can chat about Valletta.” 

She smiled, “Deal.” 

[blossom-hwa]

Arc [Coming Home] - MARK |Swing!|

Again, this part contains many events in Spiderman: Homecoming, so spoiler alert! The timeline has also been changed so Civil War happens after Homecoming. Thanks again to @deathbykpopboys​ for inspiring this series :)

Pairing: Mark x fem!reader

Genre: fluff, angst, Spiderman!au

Triggers: a lot of cursing, violence (esp. in this chapter), PANIC ATTACKS IN FUTURE CHAPTERS (I in no way meant to romanticize these triggers. If you feel I did, please let me know and I will fix it.)

Word Count: 7.8k

A school dance takes a backseat to bringing down an illegal weapons trade.

Attach >> Arc { 1 - Drifting Apart | 2 - Coming Home } >> Fall { 1 - Spiral | 2 - Rise }

NCT Masterlist | Swing!

If things were chilly before, they’re freezing now. You and Mark won’t even talk to each other.

Surprisingly, not a lot of people ask about what’s going on between you two. Maybe it’s because they can already sense that you don’t want to talk about it. Maybe it’s because you already told enough people off last year after they decided to pry into your nonexistent love life.

Anyway, even if they did ask, what would you say? Oh, Mark didn’t want to find the root cause behind the group dealing illegal fucking weapons made from alien material, and I did.

You’d get placed in a mental institution.

Patrols aren’t peaceful anymore. You go earlier now since the university labs need to be fixed up, which just means more hours of strained silence as you help people with directions and beat up muggers. The two of you still patrol on the same schedule, but you watch completely different sides of Queens.

You rarely, if ever, call on him for help anymore. It’s not like there’s that much going on anyway.

One week passes like this, then two. You skulk around the university every day after school, trying to find out literally anything about the weapons dealers, but the explosion blew everything up. You come to realize just how lucky you and Mark were to have made it out alive.

Still doesn’t mean you think he’s right.

You head home from the university one evening, ready to go out and patrol for a bit. Normally, you keep your suit at school now – it’s easier to just pick it up to change right after visiting university. Today, though, you wanted a snack, so you came home first.

To your surprise, just as you’ve pulled out your suit, you hear Johnny walk through the apartment door.

“Hey, Johnny.” You walk out of your room and give him a tired smile. “Did you get out early?”

“No, right on time.” Your brother gives you a quick hug. “There wasn’t any extra work to get done today, so we all left on the clock. I was just going to go out and get some food for us – give me half an hour?”

No patrolling tonight, then. That’s fine. “Sure.” You smile.

“Are you all right?” Johnny frowns slightly, leaning in slightly. “You look a little sick.”

You force a laugh. “Not sick. Just tired.”

Johnny still looks unconvinced. “You’ve been like this for a while,” he says carefully. “I know school’s stressful, but you didn’t used to be this tired.” He looks closer, eyes narrowing. “Have you been getting into fights? You look a little beat up.”

“Johnny, what?” You heave a sigh of (faked) disbelief. “I can’t even beat anyone in an arm-wrestling match. How do you expect me to get into fights? I yell a lot, but I’m not stupid. I just get bruises from moving around when I sleep.”

Your brother acquiesces. “Well, if anything’s going on, tell me, all right?” He smiles.

“Seriously, dude.” You smile back. “It’s just a little drama at school, that’s all. If you get me my favorite Chinese, I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine again.”

“If you say so.” Johnny starts turning around, then pauses. “How come Mark hasn’t been around in some time?”

Right. That.

“He’s, um, working on a project for Tuan,” you say quickly. “It’s taking up a lot of his time. Tuan wants a paper and presentation done before next month is over.”

“Shit.” Johnny whistles. “You kids just keep getting smarter and smarter.”

“As if you aren’t smart enough,” you scoff.

“You flatter me.” Your brother laughs, ruffling your hair. “Be back soon.” With a quick kiss on your head, he leaves the apartment and you throw yourself onto the couch.

And not two minutes later, there’s a knock on the door.

“Johnny? Did you forget some –”

It’s not Johnny.

It’s Haechan.

“Oh, hi, Haechan.” You smile. “Why’re you here?”

“Hi Y/N! I just wanted to ask you some stuff.” He smiles blindingly. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure. Leave your shoes here.” You close the door behind your friend. “My brother’s out for a bit, but he’ll be back soon. You can come into my room.”

Haechan follows behind as you walk across the small apartment to your bedroom. You open the door.

And you realize your mistake.

“Fuck, wait –” you panic, trying to close the door again. “Um –”

Too late. Haechan’s already seen the black hoodie and pale mask sitting on your bed.

Utter silence reigns in the apartment.

“You’re Spiderwoman?” Haechan finally shrieks, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you. “What the fuck, Y/N?”

You wince, lurching out of his grip. “Don’t call me that,” you groan, sinking to the floor. “Not Spiderwoman. I don’t like that.”

Haechan doesn’t even hear you. “How the fuck did that even happen?”

“God, okay, please just shut up and calm down before the entire neighborhood hears you.” You shove Haechan into your room and close the door. “Do not interrupt me while I explain.”

So you tell him everything – OsCorp, the spider bite, deciding to fight crime. You pause a little after talking about the alien weaponry, unsure whether to go into the details of your fight with Mark.

Haechan looks blindsided. “Jesus Christ,” he mutters. “So on top of school and lab work and AcaDec, you’re patrolling Queens until, like, two a.m.?”

You shrug. “Yeah.”

“Man, what the fuck.” He flops down on your bed. “That’s just…”

Silence comes over the room once more.

“Okay, I’m just going to file away all this information for processing later, I’m too sleep-deprived for this. Keep your phone on, I’m going to send you so many texts later. Anyway, I’m just here because I wanted to ask you what your and Mark’s deal is.” Haechan sits up again. “Because Mark’s being a little bitch and won’t say anything. You know he asked Lia to homecoming?”

Something stings in your stomach at the mention of Lia. “Yeah, I know.” You heard the news last week. “Well, I guess it’s easier to tell, now that you know.”

By the time you’ve finished talking about all of your fucked-up adventures with alien weapons and the vulture man, you think Haechan is going to have an aneurysm.

“So you’re pissed at Mark because he doesn’t want to fight alien guns, and he’s pissed at you because he thinks you have a death wish,” he eventually summarizes.

You nod.

“That’s a mess.”

You snort. “You think?”

More silence.

“So, are you going to homecoming?” Haechan asks, randomly changing the subject.

“The fuck kinda topic change –” You sigh. “I don’t know.”

You have a dress, bought on sale at a department store with Jihyo, Yeri, and Lia. The whole time, you wanted to just curl in on yourself and disappear because you’d already known Lia was going to the dance with Mark, but you somehow survived. It’s relatively cheap, but according to the other girls – even Lia, who seemed very uncomfortable every time she looked at you – it looks great.  

So you have a dress. You also have shoes, a pair of low heels that Jihyo lent you. Yeri has also promised to do your hair. You could definitely go to homecoming.

Whether or not you want to is another question.

“Hey, just go.” Haechan flops onto your bed again, jostling your blankets. “You don’t have to talk to Mark. Just go with Jihyo and Yeri. It’s junior year, might as well celebrate before the year goes to shit.”

“Are you going?” you ask.

“Duh.”

You picture the dress hanging in your closet. You imagine putting on Jihyo’s heels, Yeri’s smooth hands tying back your hair. You imagine laughing in a way you haven’t in weeks as you watch people whirl around stupidly on the dance floor.

With a sigh, you nod. “I’ll go.”

. . . . .

Mark hasn’t felt this nervous in what feels like forever. It’s not the terrifying kind of nervous, the kind that he feels when he’s breaking and entering secure university labs. This is a good kind of nervous – heart pounding not in terror, but with anticipation.

Aunt Mei drives him to Lia’s house after cooing over how handsome he looks in the suit they rented. It isn’t anything special, really, but Mark thinks he looks good. With a last reminder to “have fun!”, Mei drives to her night shift at the hospital, leaving him to ring the doorbell.

Lia’s mom opens the door. She’s a beautiful woman with a wide smile, and she immediately makes Mark feel welcome. “Come in, come in,” she says, waving him into the house. “You can wait for Lia in the kitchen, she’ll be down in just a minute.”

So there he stands, fiddling around with the corsage box in his hands. The house is a lot bigger than he thought – at the party, with the rooms so full of people, it seemed much smaller. He likes this change.

“Oh, hello. You must be Marcus!”

Mark turns around so fast it feels like he got whiplash.

Standing in front of him is who he thinks is Lia’s dad.

Which is bad, because Mark knows him as the vulture dude.

Belatedly, he realizes the vulture man – Lia’s dad? Jesus Christ, now he’s shaking – is holding out a hand. Gingerly, Mark reaches around and shakes it with fingers clammy with sweat, hoping his smile doesn’t look too fake. “M-Mark, actually,” he stutters.

“Well, it’s very good to meet you, Mark. Lia’s talked about you a lot. I’m Adrian Toomes.” That’s all he gets out before Lia comes down the stairs.

Mark is sure she looks beautiful. Her dress sparkles and she’s smiling widely as she takes the corsage and he takes her hand like he’s supposed to. But on the inside, he’s freaking out.

What do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do what the fuck do I do –

“I’ll drive you two there.” Mr. Toomes’s voice breaks through Mark’s swirling thoughts, turning them into a pool of existential dread. “I’ve got a flight in two hours, but I think I can spare the time to send my daughter off.”

“W-where’s your flight, sir?” Mark asks, hoping he sounds politely interested and not deathly afraid.

“New Jersey.” Mr. Toomes smiles at him. “I’m a parts collector, see, so I’m going off to inspect a new shipment.”

Alarm bells start ringing in Mark’s head. “I see,” he says faintly.

He’s pretty sure he’s sweating as he enters the car. Lia goes on her phone, still holding his hand, and smiles at him. He tries to smile back.

“So, Mark, Lia tells me you’re pretty smart.” Mr. Toomes smiles into the rearview mirror. “Considering you go to Midtown, that must be a pretty big compliment, huh?”

“He’s seriously smart, Dad.” Lia smiles back. “He’s probably going to be valedictorian.”

Mark laughs nervously. “Well, there’s still some competition…”

“Oh, hush.” She squeezes his hand. “He’s the best at physics on the AcaDec team, and he works in Professor Tuan’s lab after school! You know, the lab at… was it NYU?”

Mark’s eyes go wide. He knows he spoke during the confrontation at the university, but until now, vulture man hasn’t connected the dots yet. Maybe he just didn’t recognize Mark’s voice.

“This is the vulture dude?”

He winces.

Please don’t make the connection, please don’t make the connection, please…

His stomach plummets as Mr. Toomes’s eyes narrow. “Really? NYU? What do you do?”

“Oh, um, I help Professor Tuan build things, test material strength, write some simulation programs…” he trails off. “Not much.”

“Oh, shut up!” Lia starts talking again, but Mark can’t even think properly. Terror blurs his vision and fills his mind.

What should he do?

He told you he was going to give all of this up. He told you he didn’t want to die because of this mess. But there’s a clear lead right in front of him, the guy definitely recognizes him, and if he doesn’t do something tonight, this new shipment of whatever it is will probably escalate things to a whole new level.

Dimly, he registers the fact that Mr. Toomes has pulled up in front of the school. “Lia, darling, you go on first. I want to have a little talk with Mark here before I let him go.”

Mark feels sick.

Lia just rolls her eyes, oblivious to the turmoil occurring in his mind. “Don’t roast my date, Dad,” she warns playfully.

“I won’t.” He laughs, letting her kiss his cheek. “Now run along.”

Lia’s dad’s eyes turn blank immediately after the car door slams closed. Slowly, he turns around to face Mark.

The coldness radiating off his expression freezes Mark in place.

“Does she know?”

Mark almost squeaks. “Know… what?”

“So she doesn’t.” Mr. Toomes nods. “That’s good. Good boy.”

That shakes him to the core.

“I thought I knew your voice.” The man smirks slightly. “It’s all right. I’ve got a few secrets of my own. And I’ll tell you one thing – everything I’ve ever done was for my family. Every. Single. Thing.”

Outwardly, Mark doesn’t change his expression. Internally, he finds his resolve hardening.

How is selling illegal weapons something to do for your family? How is making crime even more prevalent something to do for your family? How is threatening to kill two sixteen-year-old kids something to do for your family?

If Toomes wasn’t the leader of this operation, Mark might back down. But his fancy house? His clear wealth?

That doesn’t give him much in Mark’s book.

“Lia likes you a lot. Likes Spiderman and Spiderwoman too, or whatever you and your little friend call yourselves.” He smirks again. “She’s my daughter. I love her. So for that, I’ll cut you a deal.”

Mark stays silent.

“You walk through those doors. You forget all of this ever happened. You and your buddy Spiderwoman never interfere with my business ever again.” His eyes narrow. “Or I will find every single person you hold dear and kill them in front of you.”

Silence.

“That’s how far I’ll go to protect my family.” Mr. Toomes smiles again, but it’s not a pleasant one.

More silence.

“Hey. I just saved your life.” His voice takes on a sharper edge. “What do you say?”

Mark swallows. “Thank you,” he mutters.

“You’re welcome.” The smile comes back, wolfish this time. “Now you go in there and show my daughter a good time.” He chuckles slightly. “Just not too good of a time.”

Mark nods. He opens the door, steps outside, and closes it.

He leaves his phone in the backseat.

. . . . .

You’re in the corner with Yeri, waiting for Jihyo and Daniel, when Lia walks through the door. Your eyes narrow.

“Where’s Mark?” Yeri expresses your question for you.

A barbed insult rises on your tongue, but you swallow it. Mark, whatever he said to you and you said to him, isn’t a bad person. He wouldn’t leave his date hanging. And sure enough, a few minutes later, he walks in too.

Only he doesn’t head for Lia.

His eyes search the room, clearly looking for someone else even though Lia’s almost directly in front of him. They settle on you, and he immediately starts walking – almost running – over.

“Why’s he coming here?” Yeri mutters. Annoyance starts building up in your chest as well, until Mark gets close enough for you to see the panicked but resolute expression on his face.

“Y/N,” he breathes once he reaches you. “Y/N, please, can we talk?”

The petty part of you wants to say no, but the rational part of you pushes it back. Mark looks like he’s about to have a heart attack. You’ve only ever seen him like this before when he’s full-on panicking.

Like that first anniversary of his uncle’s death.

You nod. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go. Now.”

Yeri makes a noise of concern in her throat, but you flash her a quick smile. “It’s fine, Yeri. Have fun with Jihyo and Daniel, all right? I’ll find you.”

You have a feeling you won’t.

Mark all but drags you out of the decorated cafeteria and into an empty, dark hallway. “Mark?” You grab his wrist, forcing him to turn around. “Mark, what’s wrong?”

“Lia’s dad is vulture man.”

Your knees go weak. “Run that by me one more time.”

“Lia’s dad is vulture man,” Mark says again, looking more and more panicked by the second. “He drove us here and when Lia mentioned I work with Tuan, he made the connection. He heard me talk that night with the explosions, remember?”

You do. All too well.

“He let me go if I promised not to say anything and now he’s going to pick up a fucking shipment somewhere in New Jersey and I left my phone in his backseat so one of us could stay behind and track it –”

You cut Mark off before he starts hyperventilating. “Haechan.”

“What? What does Haechan –”

“He came over one day and accidentally saw my outfit,” you explain. “He knows, Mark.”

Mark just takes it without further explanation. That’s how you know how frazzled he is. “Okay, so –”

You’re already calling him. Haechan picks up after two rings. “Y/N?”

“Come to the hallway just behind the cafeteria.” You hang up.

Haechan appears a minute later, looking extremely ruffled. “What’s going on?”

“Go to the library. Disable the cameras. Track Mark’s phone. We’re going after vulture man.”

“Wait, what –”

“Go!” you snap.

He goes.

“You keep your suit at school, right?” You don’t wait for an answer, just start sprinting down the halls. “Go get it and meet me at the back exit.”

Five minutes later, you’ve stripped out of your dress and are pulling on your mask as you race outside. Mark’s already there. You call Haechan. “Where’s Mark’s phone?”

“On 116th, heading north.” A keyboard clacks in the background. “If you go now, you can catch him. Traffic’s a bitch.”

Mark looks at you. You look at him.

Together, you swing onto the school rooftop and start running.

. . .

After fifteen minutes of nonstop sprinting and swinging and cursing when Haechan tells you to change directions, Mark finally spots the tail of the car. “There!” he yells, pointing to the streets as it takes a sharp turn and disappears.

Something doesn’t feel right. That road doesn’t go to the airport.

In fact, now that you think of it, you’ve been going in the complete opposite direction this entire time.

“The fuck?” you yell, leaping onto a streetlight. “That’s not the way to the airport! Haechan! Where’s he headed?”

“Don’t fucking know!” Haechan hisses into the phone. “Just keep going or you’ll lose him!”

You lose the car five minutes later. Haechan gets you back on track after five more. Fifteen excruciating minutes pass before Haechan finally says the car’s stopped.

“He’s at the old industrial park! You know, the one with the building that’s abandoned and shit? The one that everyone thinks is haunted?”

“Mark!” you screech above the noise of traffic. “I thought you said he was going to New Jersey!”

“I don’t fucking know! That’s what he told me! Obviously he lied!” Mark yells, still sprinting. Cursing under your breath, you follow.

Finally, you can see the park up ahead. The last few steps you take are more like stumbling than running. You almost collapse onto the ground right then and there.

“Okay,” Mark gasps, picking up the phone you’ve dropped. “We’re good, Haechan. Thanks. Just –” he wheezes – “be ready in case we call again.”

“Got it.” Haechan coughs slightly. “Be careful.”

The line goes dead.

The abandoned building looms ahead, dark and foreboding. You swallow.

“Let’s go.”

. . . . .

There’s a very clear reason why everyone thinks this industrial park is haunted. One: it looks haunted. Two: it used to house a very dangerous, non-law-abiding factory, and multiple people died in it. Three: it fucking looks haunted.

When Mark was younger, someone once dared him to come here and stay in the building alone for ten minutes. He didn’t take it, because he was a coward, but he also wasn’t stupid.

Now he’s just as much of a coward, but he’s obtained the stupid. Which is why he’s about to walk into the building that no one willingly goes into because they’re not stupid.

“I’ll go first,” he whispers. “It’ll be better if he thinks I’m alone.”

You nod. “I’ll be on the ceiling.”

Mark steps into the abandoned factory without you by his side. He can hear you stepping quietly above, which comforts him slightly, but it’s still strange to be walking through the empty halls all on his own. Your outline is barely visible to him in the dark.

The inside actually looks clean. Clearly, Lia’s dad has been using this place for some time. Parts and pieces of machinery litter tables spread out between several rooms. Some of them glow.

Mark moves faster. Hopefully he hasn’t left yet, hopefully he’s still here…

He rounds one more corner and turns into a humongous empty room. At the other end, Toomes stands, back to Mark, tinkering with something on another table.

Web strands streak out of the shooter on Mark’s wrist, pinning Toomes’s leg to the floor. The man looks around, barely fazed, and sighs. “Hey, Mark. Didn’t hear you come in.”

“It’s over,” Mark calls, stepping forward. “I’ve got you.”

Despite his words, though, he feels he couldn’t be further from the truth.

“You know, Mark, I really do admire your grit and perseverance.” Toomes turns fully, leaning against the table. “I see why Lia likes you. Gotta admit, at first, I kind of thought, ‘really?’ But I see it now.”

“Why would you do this to her?” Mark presses.

Toomes chuckles. “To her? On the contrary, young man, I’ve done all of this for her.”

Sure.

He must sense the nonplussed look on Mark’s face, even behind the mask, because he just sighs. “Mark. Listen. You’re too young. You don’t know how the world works.”

“Yeah, but I do understand that selling high-powered weapons made of alien materials that could potentially do more harm to citizens than a crate of machine guns combined is wrong,” Mark snaps.

“How do you think people like Stark paid for their shit? Their toys?” Toomes gestures broadly with one hand. “Those people up there, they don’t care about the underdogs like you and me. We clean their messes, fight their wars, and what do they do? They’re powerful. They just do whatever they want. They don’t care about us.” He sighs again. “That’s just how it is.”

Real anger starts to boil in Mark’s stomach. “Do not lump me with you,” he snarls. “On the contrary, I do know what you’re talking about. My uncle died when someone shot him in the stomach, and no one could find the shooter to bring him to justice. Just closed the investigation and let it rot. My best friend’s parents died after some drunk rich kid crashed their car. Daddy just paid off the courts, let the kid go free on probation. You think I don’t know how the world works?” He heaves in a breath. “The difference is, we – ” he catches himself before revealing he isn’t alone – “I’m trying to make it a better place. You’re so rotten that you think making the world worse is setting things right.”

Silence.

Mark sighs. “Why are you telling me all of this, anyway?”

“Because I want you to understand.” His eyes flicker upwards, and he smirks. “Oh, and I needed a bit of time to get her airborne.”

Her?

There’s a whizzing noise, and then you yell. A loud crunch sounds before Mark can even blink, and then you’re landing on the floor amidst a cloud of concrete dust.

“Should call her Raid, huh?” Toomes pats the flying metal device affectionately. “Pretty good at flushing out the roaches.”

“The only roach here is you,” you spit, standing up. “And the difference is that Raid kills.”

Toomes just lets the thing go.

The next few seconds are a blur. The device moves faster than he ever imagined anything could. Pillars crunch as it zooms through concrete. React or die – there’s no time to even think.

“I’m sorry, Mark.” Toomes’s voice carries through the room.

“The fuck are you talking about?” Mark yells. “It hasn’t even touched us!”

“True.” Toomes shrugs. “Then again, it wasn’t really trying to.”

Several more pillars crunch. Mark’s danger sense goes off like nuts.

Concrete blocks start crashing down all around him.

“If you get out of here, tell Mr. Stark I said hello,” Toomes laughs.

The last thing Mark hears is his voice screaming your name.

. . . . .

Trapped under several chunks of concrete, the first coherent thought that runs through your mind is where is Mark.

Then: how do I get out of here.

Panic bubbles in your chest when you finally register that concrete blocks have you encased on all sides. One pins your legs down. Two more flank your sides. Another rests on top of the others, giving you just enough air to breath but not nearly enough to move. A last block pretty much locks your head in.

You’re fully trapped.

Hysteria builds in your throat. You breathe faster. “Mark?” you yell as loud as you can. “Mark?” Your words turn to dry, choked sobs as you struggle underneath the blocks. “Anyone! Someone, help – Mark? MARK!”

There’s no reply.

You lie there for an untold amount of time, trying to calm your breathing. A few seconds? A few minutes? An hour? You don’t know. All you can think of is that you need to get out of here.

Come hell or high water, you’re finding Mark.

And then you’re going to hunt a vulture down.

Another deep breath. And then another. Your legs are pinned to the ground, not hard enough to break them – another block must be in the path of the more immediate one – but not enough for any movement at all. There’s a little space between your chest and the block above it, though.

You push.

The block shifts.

You push harder.

It shifts some more.

You scream as you shove your hands upward with all of your remaining energy. There’s a loud crumbling noise, a rush of dust that makes you cough and sneeze, and then your torso is free.

Moving the block on your legs is easier, though you’re far more drained than before. Throwing off the other concrete chunks, you stand up and start screaming Mark’s name again.

Time passes far too quickly and far too slowly as you stumble through the mess of rubble, hoarsely shouting for Mark. At some point, the shouts devolve into loud sobs and pleas and prayers to whatever god is listening to please, please help me find my best friend, I can’t live without him, I’m sorry for everything I thought about him these past few weeks, I love him and I want him back, please –

“Mark!” you scream, ready to sink to your knees with exhaustion. “Mark, please!”

You can’t live without him. You can’t. He pulls you from the earth when you get too jaded, softens your rough edges, smooths you into something beautiful that you wouldn’t be without him.

He can’t die.

“Y/N?”

It’s faint, but it’s there. You whip around in that direction, stepping lightly around the rubble to not bring more blocks down on him. “Mark?” you call.

“Here!”

You zero in on a pile of slightly moving blocks. With a chest nearly bursting with relief, you race over and start shoving them away. Slowly, Mark’s face becomes visible beneath a cloud of dust.

The sound of coughing never sounded more like a blessing in your entire life.

“Mark,” you sob, pulling your friend out of the mess. “Mark, holy fuck, I’m so sorry – I shouldn’t have yelled at you about pursuing this – I’m so fucking stupid, I thought you died –”

“Y/N,” he whispers hoarsely, wrapping his trembling arms around you. “Y/N, you’re here.”

He sounds so disbelieving, like he thought you were dead or dying. Maybe he still thinks that. It breaks your heart. “I’m here, Mark.” You bury your face in his shoulder. “I’m here.”

For several seconds, the two of you just sit there, exhausted, crying into each other’s necks. “I’m sorry,” Mark finally mumbles into your skin. “I shouldn’t have lied. I shouldn’t have pushed you away. I’m so sorry.”

You let out a choked laugh. “I’m sorry for overreacting. Sorry for yelling about you not wanting to continue – just fucking look where this got us.”

Mark pulls away. “No, don’t apologize for that.” He wipes his eyes, looking determined. “We’re alive. We’ve got Toomes.” You follow his gaze to an empty billboard just beyond the rubble. Metal wings, pressed together like a vulture’s, glimmer in the city lights. “We’re going to finish this.”

“You sure?” Not that you don’t want to. You’re itching to push that stupid scavenger off of a cliff, but you worry about Mark’s injuries. “You’re not hurt or anything?”

“No more than you.” Mark sets his jaw. “Let’s do this.”

You nod. “What was the last thing Toomes said? Something about Stark?”

Mark bites his lip. “Yeah. Something about telling Stark hello…” His eyes widen. “Isn’t Stark Industries moving a lot of stuff to the Avengers compound?”

Your heart stops. It’s all the news has been talking about for the past few weeks, how Stark is moving business to the Avengers headquarters. Stark Industries stock has been going nuts, apparently. You never remembered the exact date because you didn’t care, but…

“Today’s moving day,” you say grimly. You pat the pocket of your pants, surprised to see that your phone is still there in one piece. A quick text to Haechan tells him to track your phone, if he can.

Mark swallows, looking at the vulture glinting on the billboard. “Let’s go.”

. . . . .

The two of you stumble out of all the rubble just as the vulture is getting ready for takeoff.

A desperate shot of fluid and a leap gets Mark onto the billboard. Another string of webbing attaches him to one of the vulture wings. You stick yourself to the other.

Only pure instinct keeps Mark holding tight to the webbing, praying to the heavens that your synthetic webs will stay strong. He prays that you can hold on. He prays that Toomes won’t notice the two of you dragging along behind him as the webbing torturously swings him around. He forces himself not to look down, even as Toomes flies up higher and higher past skyscrapers and low-hanging clouds.

Mark looks over slightly, just to check on how you’re doing. Even in the dark, he can tell your eyes are squeezed completely shut, fingers gripping your string of webs as tightly as possible. Your lips are pressed together. Probably so you don’t scream.

Good idea. Mark shuts his mouth and looks ahead.

Then he sees the thing that Toomes is aiming for.

A huge jet looms ahead. To anyone down below, it would look like just like the passing clouds – there’s a sort of camouflage on it. But Mark’s close enough to see the outline of the plane, to notice the clear Stark seal on one wing.

His heart plummets even lower, if possible.

Then there’s no time to think because the vulture is landing and Mark is being bumped against the side of the plane and ow, this fucking hurts, this is such a mess –

A purple rectangle glows farther ahead on the belly of the jet. Mark registers you lashing out another string of webbing onto the plane as Toomes disappears into the glowing patch.

He’s inside the plane.

Mark starts sliding backward before he can fully process that thought. He thinks he hears you scream his name but he doesn’t have time to register it. His heart races as he scrabbles awkwardly on the underside of the plane until a lucky shot from his web shooter latches him into place.

And he doesn’t even have the time to take a fucking breath because Toomes is inside the plane and now he has to find a way to fuck around with the plane to take it down. The two of you are going to have to try to get the vulture’s attention.

Somehow, Mark finds himself splayed upside down on the bottom of plane. His palms stick to the jet – he’s never going to take being sticky for granted now – but his feet are scrambling. He finds a foothold in a tile or a bar or something and sighs in relief.

You yell something that’s garbled by the wind. “What?” Mark shouts.

“KICK!”

Without bothering to question you, he does.

His foothold disappears. Mark screams, curses, then steadies himself again. Why did you…?

Toomes climbs out of the purple patch, spitting mad.

Oh, fuck. Whatever his foothold was, it must have disappeared through the purple opening when he kicked it.

Well, it got the vulture’s attention, all right.

Wings shoot past Mark with blinding speed, nearly taking his scalp off. He ducks just in time, but when he lifts his head again, the vulture’s picked you up and is speeding off.

“NO!”

Mark raises an arm, not caring how precarious his position is, and shoots a web into the vulture’s wings.

It stops Toomes, especially after you shoot your own web onto one of the plane’s engines, causing his momentum to slam him backward into the plane right next to said engine.

And then you fly into the engine itself.

. . . . .

You can feel the engine literally trying to tear your clothes apart. One web keeps the engine far enough away that it stops trying to eat your skin, but you can still feel the pure heat and energy radiating off of it.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck –

With a loud cracking noise that you can hear above the whipping wind, the engine begins splitting off from the rest of the plane, nearly taking you with it.

Your anxious scrabbling rewards you with one hand on the edge of the plane, but the engine’s still trailing behind.

An idea springs into your mind. A plane is more likely to go down without an engine, and most of Stark’s planes don’t have human pilots.

If you can get the plane to crash…

Your legs slam down once, twice, three times, breaking the engine off completely. You haul yourself into a more stable position, ducking just in time for Toomes to come racing over your head.

Mark shouts something unintelligible. Vulture wings race over to attack him instead. You shoot webs wildly, trying to immobilize the wings, to hold you to the plane, to do something, anything.

One of the vulture wings sinks into the top of the plane.

“Those things were sharp?” you yell, unable to contain your thoughts anymore.

“The plane’s heading –” wind whistles as Mark shouts – “city!”

With wide eyes, you catch on. The plane is literally on course to crash into the buildings just off the beach.

Fuck fuck fuck how do we get it to land on the beach instead –

You lash out with another shot of web fluid, latching onto one of the plane’s wings. “PULL!” you shriek, motioning wildly for Mark to do the same.

Turn turn fucking turn PLEASE turn –

And somehow, as the jet plummets down so fast you can feel it scraping the tops of the roller coasters and buildings lining the beach’s pier, the two of you pull it off course enough to crash land on the empty beach.

You slam onto the sand. Your head throbs. Webbing is still attaching you to the plane.

Everything’s on fire. You can’t breathe. Slowly, with trembling fingers, you pull off your mask, beyond caring if Toomes sees who you are. He already knows Mark. At least he doesn’t know your name.

Air comes a bit easier then, even if the smoke finds a quicker path to your lungs too. Coughs rack your body and you turn to your side, trembling.

“God, what the fuck,” you mumble. Everything sounds muffled, like you’re underwater. Your sit up slowly. A small, dark lump swims into your vision.

Mark.

Something gets you to stand fully and start wobbling towards your best friend. By some fucking miracle, he starts to stir, sitting up just as you fall to the sand next to him.

There’s a second of silence.

Then vulture wings snap out and toss the two of you back into the air.

Toomes stands as you slam back into the sand, barely fazed, with a manic smile on his face. “Hey, Marcus and friends,” he sneers.

“Friends shouldn’t be plural,” you mumble. “I’m only one friend.”

Fast. He moves too fast. You barely lurch out of the way of his leap in time.

Toomes flies out of reach. Mark cries out, snapping out a string of webbing to bring him back to earth.

Mistake. Toomes lets the momentum bring him down.

And starts punching Mark in the face.

A guttural scream rips from your throat – literally rips, it feels like your throat has been torn apart and remade with blood and smoke and ash – and you launch into the air with some fucking hidden reservoir of strength fueled by pure rage to knock the metal-winged man over. Mark groans, rolling out of the way, only for the wings to pick him up again and take him to the sky.

And then he drops.

“MARK!”

You scramble under your best friend’s path, hands up as though you’re saying a prayer. Mark lands on you hard and maybe something snaps, but you don’t care because he’s breathing, his eyes are open, and he’s not dead.

But vulture man decides to play with you next. Before you can even blink, you’re being tossed up, landing hard between the sharp metal wings. He plucks you out of the air as you begin to fall and slams you back onto the earth.

Sharp pain claws through your chest and you just want to give up and lie down forever. But Mark is rolling away, somehow keeping out of reach of the winged man, and you pick yourself up so he doesn’t have to do it alone.

Two claw-like contraptions jet out from the engine on Toomes’s back, snagging both of you by your hoods. The neck of your hoodie digs into your throat.

Is this it?

Is he just gonna fuckin – you wheeze – fuckin watch us choke to death on fumes?

Apparently, he isn’t. He lets you go. You and Mark drop like stones.

“Pathetic.” Toomes stands over your bodies. You can’t see his face between his helmet and your blurred vision, but you know it must be twisted in that terrifying smirk. He takes off the helmet, laughs, and takes off, snatching up one of the less-battered boxes from the plane along the way.

That’s it.

You’ve failed.

You were too late.

You open your mouth to scream some fucking obscenities, but your voice dies when you hear the crackling. It’s not a good sort of crackling, like popcorn.

Electricity.

Mark raises his head and points. “He…” He coughs. “Going to explode.”

Blue sparks rise from the engine pack and shower off the metal wings, like a bizarre show of fireworks. And Mark, lovely selfless wonderful Mark, drags himself up and starts screaming.

“Wings!” he yells. “Your wing suit! Wing suit’s gonna explode!”

A jet of web fluid streaks from his shooter, pulling Toomes down. As Mark starts stumbling, Toomes pulling him along, you send out your own line of webbing. The two of you stand your ground with the last remnants of your strength.

“Time to go home, Marcus!” Toomes laughs wildly.

“I’M TRYING TO FUCKING SAVE YOU!” Mark screams. Tears streak down his face.

A sharp wingtip slices through your strings of webbing. You fall to the ground. From the sand, you can’t do anything but watch the disaster about to unfold.

It’s bizarrely beautiful. Purple-blue sparks rain down onto the beach, illuminating the sand and bits of the still ocean. Lightning arcs along the wings like a miniature, destructive storm.

Next to you, Mark tries to throw out more webbing. You can’t even find the energy to lift your arms. But his webbing misfires, lands on something else, flails in the air. It can’t reach Toomes, who’s now cackling wildly.

There’s an explosion. You’re thrown back further into the sand.

And then the vulture falls.

. . . . .

Mark knows how badly Toomes has hurt him. He knows how badly Toomes has hurt you. Cuts line his arms and face, there are bruises all over his body, and his head aches like it’s been smashed against a solid surface, which it has. You’re in at least the same condition, if not worse.

But he can’t just let the man die. He can stand trial, get life behind bars, but he can’t just die.

So from somewhere, he drags out a final burst of strength, and starts running through the fires to where the vulture fell. His feet fall unsteadily on the sand, but he keeps forcing them on.

Coughing sounds nearby. Mark looks over to see you following, head twisted to the side as you hack out cough after cough. He wants to tell you to go back and rest, but he knows you won’t.

Instead, he slows down for a second and takes your hand before forging on.

The wings have encased Toomes in a sort of shell. With your help, Mark shoves them off to get at the battered man lying beneath them. He grabs his chest. You grab his legs. Together, you carry him off to another part of the beach.

The three of you collapse, groaning and coughing and wheezing on the sand. Mark stares at the black night, stars invisible from light pollution.

Nothing feels real. The sand under his hands glitters ominously in the firelight. The ocean shimmers like a threat. Toomes hacks and coughs, each sound scarier than the last.

And then something warm, something dirty and rough and soft, lands on his hand. Your fingers curl around his palm and squeeze lightly.

Oh.

That feels real.

Your touch grounds him, keeps his thoughts from floating away and disappearing into the void of the sky. He wants more of it. He wants to pull you close, feel your body against his, real, solid, whole, keeping him planted on the earth. But he doesn’t have the strength to, so he just takes what he can from your warm touch.

Mark doesn’t know how long the three of you just lie on the sand. He does know that at some point, you and him gain enough strength to sit up and then stand. You look at Toomes, who stares back, unseeing.

“It’s over,” you mumble, almost staggering into Mark’s side. “We’re done.”

He nods. “Just one more thing.”

. . . . .

Pictures in newspaper articles show up the next day of Toomes, webbed up and immobilized against a still-standing box from the wreckage of Tony Stark’s plane. In most, the photographer has taken great care to keep the ragged note, stuck on Toomes’s forehead, clear in the frame.

The note is messy, written in trembling handwriting on the back of what looks like an inventory sheet. Black soot stains the page, but the writing is still visible.

FOUND: flying vulture dude trying to steal alien weapons and stuff

  - Spiderman and Silk (sorry about the plane)

You don’t care much for it. The day after homecoming is Saturday, which you spend curled up in your bed. At some point, after you’ve finally gained the strength to shower off all the grime and blood and sweat, Johnny makes a joke about how hard you must’ve gone that night. Thankfully, you don’t have many cuts on your face. They’re all hidden under layers of clothing. His eyes don’t linger too long on anything, so you feel a bit safer.

But, Jesus Christ, if only he knew.

By Monday, you feel refreshed enough to head back to school. Johnny doesn’t have an abnormally late shift that day, so you give him a hug before you leave. If it’s a little tighter than normal, he doesn’t say anything, just kisses your head and hugs you back.

You spot Lia in the hallway, pulling stuff out of her locker. Her eyes are puffy and red. Guilt rises in your stomach and threatens to swallow you whole.

Even though Toomes tried to kill you, he was still her father. And now that she knows what he’s done…

That can’t be easy.

“Lia,” you call, walking over cautiously. She turns her head and gives you a weak smile.

“Hey.”

“I…” You shuffle your feet. “I heard what happened. I’m really so sorry. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now.”

You are sorry. But Lia won’t take it in the way you mean. After all, she doesn’t know that you’re one of the two vigilantes who took her father down.

Lia’s smile turns bitter. “Yeah. Well, we’re moving to Oregon. Mom says it’s nice.” She rolls her eyes. “I think –” she chokes – “I think Dad doesn’t want us here during the trial.”

More guilt washes over your entire body. You can’t think of what to say.

“Look, I know we don’t know each other very well.” You swallow. “But if there’s ever anything I can do to help, please just know that you can reach out.”

Lia looks at you. Scrutinizes you through puffy, narrowed eyes. “You know, I really did think that the night of homecoming, you and Mark snuck off together.”

What?

“Oh my god, no.” You shake your head wildly. “No, no, no. That didn’t happen, I swear –”

Well, it kind of did. Just not in the way she thinks.

“Yeah, I know.” Lia smiles half-heartedly. “Mark already told me. He called, after. His aunt had an emergency, you were the only one he could reach out to in the moment…” She trails off.

It’s a lie. Obviously. You just nod, heart sinking.

“But yeah.” Lia looks at you steadily. “He’s a good guy.”

You nod, throat tight. “Yeah.”

“I thought he might’ve actually liked me, but…” She wipes her eyes. “It’s pretty clear who he really does.”

At that, your eyebrows furrow. “Lia, I promise you that he really did like you.”

“Maybe. Just not as much as he or I thought.” She gives you one last smile. “Take care of him.”

You really don’t have the mental energy to process everything behind that statement, so you just smile slightly. “I will.”

Lia reaches out for a hug. You accept. It isn’t super awkward, like you would’ve thought. She trembles slightly in your hold and you pat her back.

“Good luck,” you whisper.

She pulls away. “Thanks.”

[let-it-raines]

your wonder under summer skies (2/?)

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

rating: mature 

a/n: I’m so glad you guys are excited about this story! I hope it brings you some levity if you need it, even though things are not always going to be sunshine and roses 😘 thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke​ for being such an awesome beta!

ao3: beginning | current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 

-/-

“What happened to your hand?”

Killian blinks down at the kid standing in front of him. He can’t be any older than five, and if Killian made money off of every five-year-old that asked him what happened to his hand, he’d be a rich man.

If he had money for every mom whose cheeks went red at mortification from their children, he’d be an even richer man. This mom barely glances down at her kid, though, so she likely doesn’t pay much attention to him to begin with.

“Would you believe that a shark got me and that I had to fight it off?”

“No,” the kid giggles.

“Jake,” Mrs. Hart hisses. “That’s not a nice thing to ask someone. I’m so sorry, sir. I – ”

Okay, maybe she was paying more attention than she thought he was. His judgment might have been wrong, but he’s known the Harts long enough to know they aren’t particularly affectionate with their children. A lot of the parents who come through here during the summer aren’t hands on. He never likes to judge, but he knows what it’s like to have one parent who’s there and another who’s pretty bloody absent. He would much rather have had a parent who paid attention, so he notices.

“It’s nothing,” Killian lies as his hand traces over the red lines of his scars and the black ink etched into his skin. “It’s just a few scars. We all have scars somewhere. Mine are simply on my arm and my hand so everyone can see. I kind of think they make me look cool, though. Don’t you think, Jake?”

“Yeah, you look like a superhero! Like Thor when he only has one real eye”

“Good. I always wanted to be one of those. I think I’d have water powers. What about you?”

“I want to be able to fly.”

“Alright,” Liam sighs as he walks back out from the office with a stack of papers and some keys. Skipper is following right behind him and immediately moves to Mrs. Hart’s side to start sniffing her. “If you can just initial a few of these papers, you’ll be good to go for the month. The cost of the first tank of gas has already been included, but when you need to fill up again, that will be on your own dime.”

“I understand. We’ll really have to get our own boat soon so we’re not renting anymore.”

“We’ll store that for you and do year-round maintenance,” Liam adds in as Skipper starts jumping.

“Skipper,” Killian whistles. “Skip. C’mon. Get off Mrs. Hart.”

“It’s fine,” she promises as she signs. “We have dogs back home. My husband is going to bring them up when he arrives next week.” “We’ll see you at the dog park then.”

“Yeah,” she smiles, leaning over the counter, her shirt sliding down with the movement. “I think I’d really like that.”

And then she’s pushing the papers across the desk, taking her son’s hand, and then walking out the door, looking back at the last minute.

“She wants to sleep with you,” Liam says as soon as the door clicks and the bell stops ringing.

“My God,” Killian groans. “Don’t start with that.”

“What? You haven’t found a girlfriend for the summer yet. Mrs. Hart could be that for you. Though, I think the children and husband could complicate matters.”

“Shut up, you ass. I am not going to sleep with a married woman, and I do not only date during the summer.”

“No, no you don’t. You do, however, usually find someone to sleep with while they’re here for the summer, and then when they go home, you break it off even when they want to try long distance. I’ve seen you do it a million times.”

“First of all,” Killian starts as he files their paperwork, “I date all year. It’s not a summer thing. I’ve just found that some women come here for the summer, we hit it off, and then it tends not to work out when they go home and return to their real lives.”

“This city isn’t some kind of boarded off place. This is real life, too.”

“For you and me, yeah. For the rich people who don’t work in offices in the summer and pay thousands of dollars to rent boats for a month, this isn’t. It’s all a fantasy life to them, and I can guarantee that most of them aren’t interested in a real relationship. I swear the heat gets to their brains, but this is Maine. It never truly gets hot.”

“Says the man who spent half his life in England and complained when the sun started shining.”

Killian huffs and closes the filing cabinet. “What are you still doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be heading to Elsa’s to pick her up?”

Liam immediately blushes, but just as soon as the color appears, it fades away. “I’ve still got time. We’re not going to dinner until five.” “Ah, yes, the early bird’s special.”

“Bastard.”

Killian whistles and pulls out the chair behind the front desk as Skipper settles down at his feet. He needs to take him to the groomer’s. His fur is far too long, and he’ll get hot like this. Maybe he can shave his coat, but that ended up to be horribly choppy last time. It was a mess with the mixture of black and white, and having a border collie is not at all the same as the black lab he had back in England.

At least not when it comes to haircuts.

“Look, I’m not saying that I know what you’re doing tonight, but I do know why you’ve called all of our friends here tonight, so I do know. Or, at least, I have a hunch. The cake in the fridge gives me a little bit of a hint.”

“If you tell anyone and it gets to Elsa before it happens, I will send you out on a boat with not enough gas to get back to shore.”

“I already told Emma, so it’s a bloody good thing that I can swim.”

Liam narrows his eyes and his lips flatten into a straight line. “You have to get over Emma, you know? She’s been with Neal for what? Five years? I don’t think you’re going to have a chance when it comes to her.”

Killian’s stomach twists, and he forces down the lump in his throat. Liam’s got to get over his odd obsession with not liking Emma because he thinks Killian’s making himself miserable over her. He’s not. When he first came to town, he wouldn’t have said no to dating Emma. Hell, he wouldn’t say no now. He’s not blind. He’s simply not counting on anything to happen there.

They can be friends without wanting to fuck each other.

“Emma is a friend. I don’t have any interest in pursuing a relationship with her. You should know that. Didn’t you just talk about how I’m the boy toy of a different woman every summer? Why would I ever change that for a woman who lives here? Then I’d have to be in a real relationship that’s more than sex.”

“Killian, you know I didn’t mean it that way. At some point, you’re going to have to stop pursuing relationships that you know aren’t going to be successful.”

“Fuck you, Liam,” he growls. “I’m nearly twenty-eight-years-old. I don’t need you to be my parent.”

“Little brother – ”

“Younger. I’m younger.”

“I didn’t mean – ”

The front door of the shop opens, that damn bell going off, and Skipper immediately gets up to greet Mr. French. Killian’s never been so excited to see the man in his life when he usually dreads his presence. At least now he can get out of this conversation.

The man is damn particular about how they care for his boat.

“We’ll talk later,” Liam mumbles as he walks around the counter and heads back to the staircase.

“Forget about it, Liam. Good luck tonight.”

-/-

“Oi, I thought we were having beer,” Will mutters as he slams the refrigerator shut. “There’s not any here.”

“You were supposed to bring your own. I wasn’t about to buy it for everyone. I like to have a little bit of money in my bank account.”

“Then why the hell do you have Emma’s favorite wine, your preferred rum, and then nothing else?”

“How do you know Emma’s preferred wine?” Killian scoffs, narrowing his eyes at Will.

“I’m a bartender at the only bar she goes to. I know what all of our friends like.”

Killian sighs and turns the kitchen faucet on to wash the few remaining dishes. Liam keeps leaving his in there instead of washing them himself, and if it didn’t drive Killian mad to not have an empty sink, he’d leave them be until Liam cleaned himself.

This particular load is most likely payback for painting the office on Monday, but it’s worth it. He couldn’t live with that wallpaper any longer. It was awful, and he swears he lost a day of his life every time he had to look at it.

“If you’re a bartender, why didn’t you think to bring your own drinks?”

“I assumed they’d be provided.”

“We literally just discussed this, Scarlet.”

“Just saying. It would have been nice.”

“Next time Liam gets engaged, I’ll buy the alcohol for everyone.”

“That’s all I ask,” Will sighs as he sits down and props his feet on the coffee table. “So, he’s really asking her? Tonight? I heard the rumors, but I wasn’t sure if they were true.”

“Who’d you hear that from?”

“Belle. Her dad overheard you two talking. So, it’s actually happening?”

“As we speak, I believe.”

Will whistles. “Damn. Look at Liam growing up.”

“It only took him thirty-three years.”

“Hello, hello,” Ruby hums as she walks in the door. It was unlocked, and he really should have never expected her to knock. She and Ariel let themselves in all the time without any kind of warning. “I’m here, and I bring Emma, Robin, and beer. What more could you ask for?”

“The rest of our friends maybe?” Will mutters.

“Shut up. They’re coming. You have to be patient and appreciate that we’re here even if I know you don’t care about anything until Belle gets here.”

“I care about the beer Rob’s got.”

Killian finishes washing the last dish and looks up to see Emma walking toward him. She’s been weirdly quiet since he last saw her, but work must be busy for her as the summer season starts. It’s the same thing for him, so he gets it. They usually only cross paths at lunch or at three in the morning when she’ll text him and ask him to meet up to get a slushie at the 24-hour gas station up the road. With all of the cosmetic improvements the city has made over the past year, this summer is going to be a busy one, he thinks, so he can’t imagine that there will be too many of those trips.

He’ll have to go get her drink and bring it to her as she deals with all of the out of town assholes she always has to deal with.

“Hey,” Emma says as she hops up on the kitchen counter, nearly knocking a plate over. “So, not to be a Will because I just know he’s been complaining about not having a drink, but when is the pizza getting here?”

“David is supposed to be bringing it since it’s on his way here from the station.” “You know he’s going to eat half of it on the way here.”

“That’s why I also have Ariel bringing a few boxes.” He leans forward and quickly brushes his lips across her cheek. If he was paying more attention, he’d say that she flinched. That’d be ridiculous, though. She wouldn’t do that. “I have kept Will away from your wine because he has actually been complaining about the lack of drinks.”

“And that’s why you’re my favorite person in the world.”

“Oh really? I’ve risen above all the others?”

Emma pats his chest. “Maybe just for tonight. Tomorrow, you go back down the list and will only be dangling by a thread.”

“I’ll take this honor and cherish it.”

“As you should. It’s the only time you’re ever going to get it.”

“I’ll be sure to take advantage of it. Do you think Liam will kill us if we eat the cake before he gets here?”

“I think that and painting the office will push him over the edge.”

“Then we best err on the safe side. I’m too young to get murdered.”

“No one is too young to get murdered,” David adds in as he walks in the apartment. “I see it all the time.”

“We literally have one of the lowest murder rates in the country.”

“I meant on TV.”

“Oh, yeah, obviously.”

“Thank God,” Will groans. “Pizza and beer. Finally. I thought I was going to die.”

Little by little, everyone else begins filtering in until the apartment is so full there’s not much room to move around. Killian opens up the balcony doors, sea air and the sound of the waves wafting in, and that allows a little more space. Killian has no clue when Liam and Elsa are supposed to be here, neither of them texting or calling to make the announcement they’re all waiting for, but he figures it should be soon based on the timing of Liam’s dinner reservation and how almost comically predictable his brother can be.

It’s a Jones trait. They like their routines, and they’re particular about most everything they do. The Navy will do that to you. Though, Killian does remember Brennan being like that as well. His mother was much more of a free spirit, and she’d likely laugh at the way he and Liam behave.

God, she’d love to be here tonight to see Liam so happy.

Killian would love for her to be here, too.

Killian shakes himself out of that thought process and grabs a slice of pizza from Ariel’s batch and a beer before heading out to the balcony and sitting down on a seat next to Emma and Mary Margaret as they talk about some banquet the club is having to host next week to kick off the start of summer even if there’s technically still a month left until summer begins.

Not in Storybrooke.

Not when this is what this town looks forward to all year.

Everything here is pastel colors and beachy names, and the economy thrives so much over five months that everyone can still make it the rest of the year off the bare bones from people living here and the occasional tourist in winter. He swears it’s like some kind of movie, but it’s nice in a way to not have the worries and the commotion he had when living in England.

After a few minutes, Mary Margaret excuses herself to go find David, and when she leaves, she closes the sliding door. It’s probably a force of habit, something she doesn’t think about, but as soon as the door slides into place, suddenly the noise of the party is muted while the ocean is the loudest he’s heard it in a long time. There must be a storm coming tonight. That wasn’t on the radar. Damn, he hopes that doesn’t cause any problems with any of the people they have in boats out on the ocean right now.

“Liam and Elsa are taking forever to get here. There’s not going to be any food left for them.”

“They went to dinner,” Killian explains. “They won’t be hungry. Hell, I don’t think Elsa will be able to even think about eating with everyone who’s about to bombard her to congratulate her.”

“Ariel is going to tackle her to the ground, and Anna will probably make her lose her hearing from the screech over the phone.”

“We’ll have to make a trip to the hospital.”

“Ah, how everyone wants to spend their engagement night.”

“I think it’d be a bloody good time.”

Emma laughs, but it’s quiet. It’s not her usual laugh, the loud, infectious thing that he’s grown used to in the past five years, and he hates it. He hates that she’s laughing without actually meaning it.

A part of him hates himself for knowing her well enough to pick up on something like that, but he’s always considered himself to be quite perceptive even when he’d rather not be.

“Hey,” he whispers, kicking his foot into hers. “What’s up with you, love?”

“Um, nothing?” Her brows furrow together before rising. “What’s up with you?”

“Simply trying to figure out why you’ve been in a weird mood all week.”

“Didn’t we already have this conversation?”

“We did, but I didn’t get any answers.”

Her eyes roll. Great. He’s pushing her again, and that always goes well.

He never has known when to stop.

“It’s my life. You don’t need answers.”

“We spend half of our time together. I think I do deserve an answer if something is bothering you.”

“Yeah?” Emma scoffs, standing from the chair and walking toward the railing. “You think you get to know about my life? How much of your own do you tell me?”

“Nearly everything.”

“I know when you’re lying, Killian. I can tell. You do not tell me everything.”

“I know you can tell, which is bloody frustrating.”

Emma makes some kind of highly offended noise, and she’s right. He doesn’t tell her nearly everything. He doesn’t tell her a lot, but he could. He would. It’s simply that he and Emma have never had the type of friendship where they needed to get into the dark details every other conversation. They debate more on the merits of different types of chips.

Then again, Emma likely knows more about him than anyone but Liam.

But not enough. She doesn’t know about…she simply doesn’t know.

Killian looks up to see Emma’s shoulders deflate before she turns around and faces him. Her eyes are bloodshot. Have they been like that all night? How did he not notice? He talked to her earlier. He should have noticed.

“I broke up with Neal.”

What the fuck?

She what now?

Killian’s heartbeat quickens, his cheeks suddenly warm, and his first thought is relief. He’s an asshole because his first thought of Emma ending her relationship is relief.

He always hated Neal. Well, not always, but Emma deserves better than someone a man who treats her like Neal treated her. Then again, who is Killian to judge how someone is in a relationship? It’s not as if he knows how to be in one.

After relief, though, and a brief bit of anger, all Killian can really focus on is how utterly broken Emma looks.

Emma Swan has never been one to possibly look broken. She’s always seemed so strong and sure, and he hates everything about the water in her eyes and the quiver in her lips. He hates everything about her having to go through this.

He really fucking hates Neal.

“I – ”

There’s a loud cheer behind the two of them, and Killian turns around to see Liam and Elsa walking into the apartment, their hands twined together and raised in the air. They’re absolutely beaming.

“Looks like it’s time to go congratulate the happy couple,” Emma mutters as she brushes past him.

“Swan, I – ”

But she doesn’t stop. Instead she opens the door and walks away, the glass sliding shut behind her as thunder rolls in the background.

-/-

-/-

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