#i demand that we get a version of this with sam

[woso-dreamzzz]

Sick

Hardersson x Child!Reader

Part of the Big Adventures Universe

Summary: You get sick

It starts off easy enough.

You have a little headache but you get those a lot because Morsa says you don't drink enough water.

At dinner, your tummy feels a little icky and your Momma lets you only eat half your food after you burst into tears when she tries to make you eat more.

By the next day, everything is even worse.

Your head pounds. Your tummy rolls. Your body is sweaty and gross.

You groan as your bedroom door opens. Your bottom lip wobbles as you look at Momma before tears leak down your cheeks.

"Oh, princesse," She says, voice dripping in worry," What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

You tug fruitlessly at your pyjama top. "Off!" You demand through your tears. "Off!"

Momma approaches and the first thing she does is lay the back of her hand against your forehead. She breathes out a loud breath before she helps you take off your top.

You feel a little better but still quite hot and you whine when you're pulled into her arms.

She walks you to the Big Bed where Morsa is standing getting dressed.

She frowns when she sees the pair of you. "Hey," She says," I thought you were going to start breakfast."

"The princesse is sick," Momma replies," Here, take her. I'll call Emma and tell her that we're not coming in and grab some medicine."

Magda takes you instantly, tucking your head into her neck, before asking," We're not going in?"

"Princesse has a great immune system," Pernille says, already leaving to grab her phone," If she's sick, it's bad. We can't take her into training today."

"I think Sam said she had the flu a few days ago. Were we meant to take the princesse for a shot?"

"Probably," Pernille replies," But what's done is done. Get back into bed, all nice and cosy with her and pray she doesn't throw up on you."

●～●～●～●～

Momma comes back quickly but you don't really notice because your head feels bad and your nose is stuffy. Morsa is dragging her cool nails over your bare back and that kind of makes you feel better but not by much.

An in-ear thermometer checks how hot you are but you still don't pay attention to anything but how icky you're feeling.

"Not warm enough to go to hospital," Momma says over your head," But bad enough we need to keep an eye on her."

Morsa nods. "And medicine?"

"Right here. Want to give it to her?"

A syringe is placed in your mouth and Morsa shoots a few shots of medicine down your throat. Usually, you'd fight her on it but your limbs feel all weak and your head feels too heavy on her chest so you just go limp.

It doesn't help the icky feelings inside of you but you can't be bothered to see if moving will help either.

You retch though and Magda looks at Pernille with alarm. Pernille, well-practised in dealing with a sick version of you, pulls out a large cardboard sick bowl that Magda recognises she brought home with her months ago when she got a concussion.

It's rested underneath your chin as you retch again but, ultimately it's unneeded because you just breathe out a shaky, rattling breath and rest your head back on Magda's chest.

Magda looks at Pernille sceptically. "Do we really need that?"

Pernille gives her an unimpressed look. "Yes, we need it. Unless you want throw up on you like when she was a baby, then yes."

Magda wrinkles her nose. She loves you dearly but that period of time where you spat up part of everything you ate wasn't fun and she would hate to relive it.

●～●～●～●～

Eventually, the three of you migrate from the Big Bed to the sofa and Momma takes over for Morsa, who heads to the kitchen to make some plain toast.

It's all you can stomach but even nibbling a little bit of the crust is enough to make you retch. This time though, something comes up and the sick bowl is pressed under your chin to catch everything.

The moment it's over, you burst into tears. You had been so good all day and now you're sobbing and heaving every few breaths.

"I know, I know," Momma bounces you as Morsa disposes of the evidence," It's okay. It's better that it came out. You're such a strong girl, princesse. So strong and so brave and I wish I could make it better for you."

You doze off into a restless sleep soon after that, your body limp and sweaty.

Pernille passes you off to Magda. "I'm going to shower," She says," I'll try to be quick but I need to wash my hair. Keep her temperature down, no new medicine for another half an hour or so. If she wakes up, give her fluids and if she starts crying, she needs kisses."

Magda nods dutifully, slightly in awe of the way this comes to Pernille like second nature despite the fact that you rarely get ill.

You're settled for the most part and content to sleep but when you're reaching the twentieth minute or so of Pernille being gone you whine as you stir.

"Cold," You grunt," Wan' blanket."

"No, princesse," Magda says as she wipes a cold compress against your forehead," You're body's tricking you. You're very warm." So warm that you still haven't put on a t-shirt because your skin makes it so you're too sweaty and overheated within an instant.

"Cold," You insist," Blanket."

"No, princesse," Magda says again," You're warm."

You're slightly delirious and still very sleepy so you just kind of nod and let your eyes slip closed again, your forehead knocking against Magda's collarbone as you slip off to sleep again.

"Mmm," You hum in your sleep before your body is racked with coughs.

Pernille returns with hair that's still slightly damp. "I've run the bath. We'll get her into it to see if it helps her fever."

You're whiny and crying when you get in and don't stop until you puke up more of your food - although at this point it's mainly stomach acid - and all it does is cause a fresh wave of tears from everyone in the house.

"It'll be over quickly," Pernille promises Magda as she decides that it's better if they order dinner and curl up in bed for the rest of the day," Much quicker than when Sam was sick. Her immune system just got a little blindsided by this one."

"Can her immune system catch up with this sickness soon?" Magda says as you gag weakly," Because I think I'm a few more minutes away from joining her in tears."

"It'll be soon," Pernille promises," We just have to get through these first few hours."

As the pair of them curl into bed together, your fever rages on and you remain shirtless, whining and crying while being fed crackers and forced to drink your water

●～●～●～●～

Your fever continues to rage on for hours but finally breaks and thus Pernille and Magda's torment at four in the morning. Your breathing is back to normal but you're completely wiped out.

Magda feels the same, her eyes drooping as Pernille checks your temperature one last time, thankful that it's gone down to normal levels.

They're as exhausted as you so neither make a move to put you in your big girl bed.

Magda's hand reaches out from the cocoon of blankets to smack at Pernille.

"Text Emma," She says through a sleep-hazed mood," Tell her that y/n's still sick. And...And that we won't be coming in."

"Good...Good call," Pernille replies, blinking blearily," Let's hope that y/n sleeps till past noon. Then, at least, one of us will get some decent rest."

[fantasylandbitch]

Summary: Ethan tries to force an apology out of you, however, with your friends nearby to protect you, would they stand a chance against him or will Sam have to take matters into her own hands? 

Warning: Long Chapter, Hallucinations, Cussing, Fluff, Blood, and Manipulative Ethan.

Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5 Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 (Chapter 9 Coming Soon)

When you turn your head, you see the little version of you standing by the front door wearing clothes that looked damp as if it had rained the night before. Your eyes then followed the blood that covered most of your shirt and some that spilled onto your pants before catching the loose white gauze dangling from your neck in contrast to the color red. The gauze leads your eyes up to the large laceration that Ghost Face left across your throat. It was like seeing a film that depicted body horror for the first time. It was scary and jarring, and it made you feel sick to your stomach. Your skin suddenly has a pale-ish tone to it and when the little version of you steps forward, you instinctively step to the side almost hip-checking yourself at the corner of the island. Your heart beat rapidly in your chest as you tried to make sense of everything from supposedly attacking Ethan and now seeing yourself across the room. You are afraid of yourself and you don't know why. 'Why are you here?' you thought to yourself 'What do you want?' then just as Danny passed through your vision, the little you disappeared. You felt a shiver run down your spine but your breathing never slowed down as you continued to move across the island before accidentally bumping into your girlfriend Sam “I am so sorry Sam” you said to her sincerely yet quickly as she turned around.

“You don’t have to be. Wait wher-?” Sam asked you as you quickly walked past her, her hands instinctively reaching for your waist, before you saw Ethan and then Chad get up from the couch. With the boys getting up quickly you bend down to reach for your phone that was charging on the side table before rushing between Mindy and Tara, eventually turning around. Your eyes immediately make eye contact with Ethan's, and you both stare each other down before you look away from him to look over at Chad whose eyes seem mad yet sad to you. A part of you wanted to reach out to him to explain that you would never hurt a fly without a reason but you couldn’t even understand the situation yourself. Then your phone buzzed causing you to pull your eyes away from him so you could look at your phone to see if it was your sister-in-law who had texted you, but it wasn't. It was just a notification letting you know about the next new thing for phones.

A sigh leaves your lips making Tara and Mindy look over at you briefly, before looking over at Chad who was standing only seven inches in front of them while Ethan on the other hand was only six inches away when he decided to move from his spot. “Back off Ethan. We both know that Y/n didn’t mean to hurt you” Mindy says to him as he gets closer to her and Tara, causing the two girls to move closer to each other acting as a barrier for you if push came to shove while Chad stays near the couch, Sam staying vigilant by the island, and Danny filling his time cleaning up the kitchen.

“Are you sure? Because what happened earlier seems pretty personal to me.” Ethan says to Mindy, his voice a little agitated before looking over at Tara as he walks a little closer to her, causing Mindy to square her shoulders before stepping in front of her. “I want you to apologize, Y/n,” Ethan says, demanding you to apologize to him, a tone that Sam doesn’t take lightly when it comes to her family causing her to look over at him, it reminds her of someone she doesn’t care for.

“You know you can’t demand an apology, Ethan. That's not how that works.” Tara interjects as she looks over at Ethan from behind Mindy. Then Tara looks over at her older sister only to find an angry look on her face while she throws daggers at Ethan’s head. Tara knows that look from her sister. It’s the same look that Sam wore when she opened up to her for the first time about how their mother was drunk on rare occasions and taking blows at her when she least expected it. When their mother would hold her own money over her head, acting like she did everything to provide for her. It’s that very look that her older sister wore that says she is ready to kill anyone who thinks they hold any power over either of their heads. That very thought caused Tara to take a deep breath for what was about to come as she squeezed Mindy’s arm causing her to look over at the older Carpenter sister from the corner of her eye. 

“Listen shy and dorky,” Mindy says shifting her eyes from Sam to Ethan. “If you know what’s good for you then kindly back off or this might escalate into something a lot worse.” She says hoping to get Ethan to back down. 

“No way, she has to apologize now,” he whines, taking a step forward to push her out of the way causing Mindy to stiffen in her spot as she moves her hands up to stop him and causing Chad to step forward preparing himself to defend his sister as he looks over at Ethan. However, before Ethan can push Mindy out of the way Sam steps away from the island to stand between them. 

Like a shadow moving out of the corner of his eye Chad freezes for a moment even though he wants to run away a response he developed from being attacked by Ghost Face two years ago before he realized it was just Sam moving quickly to defend his sister. Chad can tell that the situation that is taking place has pissed off his biggest supporter, Sam, and by the look of her shoulders, they’re pulled back a little like she was getting ready to fight. He knows she’s pissed and the tension in the air causes him to speak up for his roommate that he feels responsible for. “Sam, all he’s asking is for an apology,” he says speaking up for Ethan while expecting Sam to reconsider what she’s about to do. 

As Sam steps in front of Ethan, you notice that she is angry and it causes you to look away out of shame. You’re in your head now. 

“Back off Ethan,” Sam says, her voice deep with irritation for the boy as she narrows her eyes at him causing him to step back for a second before Ethan challenges her by stepping back into her space. 

“Why should I, Sam?” Ethan asks calmly as he narrows his eyes back at his roommate's caregiver and his brother’s killer. “Y/n left physical evidence on my body, just take a look,” he reminds her, pulling up his shirt to show the damage you had inflicted upon him an hour ago. 

“I’m aware of your injuries Ethan. But I also know that Y/n wouldn’t have done that to you had she not been targeted back at her apartment. Something that you could have prevented” she spat before continuing her thought. “And getting in Mindy and Tara’s face won’t help you at all,” Sam says with a growl hidden at the back of her throat as she tries to keep her cool while staring into Ethan’s cold eyes trying everything in her power not to swing on the boy as she watches him, Puff. Up. His. Chest.

“Oooh wow, you don’t think I wanted to try and defend her? Sam had she given me the chance I would have done something but did you forget that she hit me over the head with a bat?” a puzzled expression crossed your face as you lifted your head to Ethan's inquiry. You still don’t understand why you would have hit him over the head with a bat but his inquiry acted as a catalyst, unlocking a dormant memory in your mind “Or are your feelings toward Y/n clouding your judgment?” Ethan spat dropping a hint of venom in his words because he knows.

Then Chad spoke up “Ethan what do Sam’s feelings toward Y/n have anything to do with what is happening right now?” Chad questions, getting mad that his roommate would question Sam’s relationship with you.

“Well, Chad don’t you think it’s a bit weird that Y/n just walked into your lives?” Ethan questioned turning his head to look at Chad “Like actually think about it for a minute, Y/n had been going to Blackmore University before you, and then gave you a tour around campus and then integrated herself into your lives. Does that not raise any red flags at all? Or how she would come by the apartment sometimes when Tara was sick to give her her homework when Tara could have asked you or Mindy to get it for her?" he questioned before turning to look at Sam. "Did you ever find it strange Sam that you never once had to question her character when you have done that to me, Anika, and Quinn?" Ethan continues, making her slowly ball up her hand. 

Sam thought about what Ethan had said to her, making her try and recall every moment she had with you. But what Ethan doesn’t realize is that it's only making her angrier by the second, while her knuckles slowly turn white. Because she knows what Ethan is trying to say, he's trying to imply that the entire time you've been in their lives that you've been manipulating every one of them. Her sister Tara and her friends Mindy, Chad, Anika, and herself. Sam acknowledges that she may not have been actively forthcoming with interrogating you in front of her family, but god did she find it easy to connect with you. You were patient, considerate, and sweet with her, despite Sam giving you a hard time. Sam finds it hard to believe that you would go out of your way to fuck her over. She can't even get over the part where you are incredibly fucking loyal to her, laid back, and bubbly, parts of your personality that plays so well with her own. It's those rare qualities that you have that allow her to feel like a kid and teen again. It's those feelings that she would kill to experience once again, had she not found out who she was and had Ghost Face never entered the picture so despite what Ethan has said, and amid her anger she punched him square in the face.

Ethan’s body hit the ground faster than he could say economics. “Okay, really Sam!?” Chad yells, shaking his head as Sam turns her back on him to check on Mindy, Tara, and You. Because Chad thought punching Ethan in the face was unnecessary which caused him to turn to help his roommate off the floor but before Chad could help, Ethan got back on his feet. 

Then Ethan took his hand and brought it up to feel his face to make sure nothing was broken. Before his eyes started to water with aggravation from trying to convince everyone in the room that you are a threat and that he's not making shit up. The turn of events made his own anger wanting him to make a move, as his hands itched to kill something and anyone in Danny's apartment.

This causes Mindy to look at him from the corner of her eye, she could tell that Ethan wanted to let loose because she could see it on his face. It’s there, she just doesn’t know what the real reason or reasons behind his actions are yet. 

However, he’s clenching and unclenching his jaw making it tight before going slack like he wasn’t sure how to act at that moment, like if he should attack while Sam has her back to him or continue the script that he so wants to rip to shreds, but has to follow for the sake of bringing down the Carpenters and honoring his brother's name. But out of impulse, he went for it, Ethan threw caution to the wind and walked up to Sam just as he balled up his hand ready to hit her back while Mindy was about to open her mouth. But as Ethan turns Sam around to punch her, he sees that her anger from before never left, in fact, he watched as Sam narrowed her eyes at him like a threat needed to be taken out. Before Sam shoved him away, Mindy cut in front of her to protect Sam from Ethan while Chad jumped at the opportunity to hold his roommate back. 

“You want to go Landry!” Sam yells as Mindy puts her hands up to stop her from getting close to Ethan while Tara is trying her best to hold her sister back from punching him repeatedly. 

“I’m telling you that bitch is a danger to everyone in this apartment!! She’s just playing innocent!” Ethan yells as his face got red, making his eyes further water in frustration that Sam isn’t getting it. Appearing like he knows you better than anyone in the room, it's only making the older Carpenter sister angry, while in reality, he knows exactly what he's doing. He was slowly putting a seed in everyone’s head that you are the bad guy here and not him, a seed that only takes a few words to question your credibility if not now, then certainly later.

“Whoa!” Mindy says aloud as she leans her hands off Sam's shoulders as she stretches her arms to continue to make herself a barrier between her and Ethan while Tara continues to use what little strength she has left to hold her sister back. “You're on thin ice here Landry!!” Mindy yells behind her before looking back at Sam when her eyes catch something red developing behind Tara and on your shirt “Sam?” she whispers before Sam pushes past her.

But Sam didn’t make it very far even though she was keen on beating Ethan’s ass. It's because Danny intervenes knowing very well that Sam could take him out if she pleased but is relieved to know that when he put his hands on her to stop her from going any farther, that she didn’t harm him. “Sam, Samantha baby you don’t want to do this right now,” he says with a gruff voice to snap her out of the state she was in, Sam shakes her head, while her hands wrap themselves around Danny’s forearms. Sam was almost at her tipping point of wanting to murder Ethan, “Think about it baby, maybe this is what Ghost Face wants you guys to do. To fight each other so he can get everyone alone” he tries to reason with her.

But it was no use “Get out of my way Danny” she said to him in a low voice with a growl almost evident to Danny’s ears a new sound he'd never heard of before as she strengthened her hold on his forearms. Sam’s actions cause Danny to feel something clammy and wet on his skin so he looks down to see why that is out of curiosity.

But just as Sam was about to try and push Danny out of the way Danny’s eyes widened at his left forearm “Samantha..” he said in a whisper because he couldn’t believe what was on his arm while Sam was breathing more heavily, she's so close to letting loose. 

‘Just a little more’ Ethan thought to himself. 

“S-Samantha whose blood is this?” he says nervously while checking her over to make sure it’s not hers, making Sam calm down just a little as she looks down at his arm. Her eyes widen at the sight before her, the color red that stains Danny's forearm as she steps away from him. 

The sudden discovery of blood on Sam’s hand that now stains her own forearm brings her back to Stu Macher’s house where she was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend and how her blood was everywhere from her shirt, to her hip, and then her pants. Sam can feel herself starting to hyperventilate until she remembers the feeling of your body against her palms and the soft texture of cotton at her fingertips causing the killer in her to cease while she turns around to slowly look at you.

When you feel eyes staring at you, you look up, finding your friends looking at you with widened eyes and shocked faces. It was uncomfortable for you because you didn’t like being the center of attention, but what made your brows furrow in question was the look on your girlfriend's face. Sam wasn’t looking at you directly, you realize that none of your friends were, they were looking at something on your stomach so you slowly follow their gaze. You discover that on the left side of your stomach, it was bleeding and pooling onto your shirt and the wound causes you to breathe more heavily as you start to panic. 

“Y/n look at me,” Sam says searching for your eyes as she tries to get your attention and eventually she does, because you look away from your wound and at her eyes frantically. Sam can tell by your eyes alone that you are trying to remain calm but it’s not working so she slowly walks over to you, passing Mindy and Tara on her way over. “Come with me to the bathroom,” she says calmly as she takes your hand with her clean one and guides you to the bathroom before noticing that your back also has blood on it, causing her to take a much-needed deep breath in “Let me clean you up.”

When you both walk to the bathroom, Sam walks ahead of you to open the door, allowing you to walk in first before entering so she can clean her hands and forearm. After washing the blood off, Sam bends down so she can open the cabinet underneath the sink to retrieve some gauze, ointment, and medical tape for your wounds. “Sam” you call out to her but she doesn’t respond. Instead, she sets the medical supplies on the bathroom sink before sitting down on the covered toilet, getting ready to patch you up before looking up at you.

When her eyes met your own, you noticed that the panic that had set in earlier had suddenly disappeared from your body, leaving you a little tired. But despite that, you notice that there is something so comforting about gazing into Sam’s big brown eyes that makes you soften at the sight, they also make you wonder and reflect. Silently, Sam asks from her position on the toilet if she can lift up your shirt and you nod in a silent response before helping her by keeping your shirt above the wound so she can work on cleaning the laceration. 

While cleaning Sam glances at you, she looks up every now and again to make sure she's not hurting you but she’s also looking up to see if you would talk to her not that she didn’t like the silence. In fact, she secretly enjoys the moments when you two would share the silence in her apartment together just catching up on episodes of different animals on the Discovery channel before asking you questions about said episode like you were the expert. But at some point, while cleaning Sam nicks your wound causing you to flinch. “Sorry about that” she quickly apologized, feeling bad for hurting you even a little bit “Got distracted” she admitted as she felt your gaze land on her.

“Oh yeah? What are you thinking about?” you asked, causing Sam to look up at you as she held your gaze for a minute, finding herself appreciating the view from where she was sitting, before shaking her head and focusing on your wound.

“Nothing really” she answered at first thinking about what Ethan had said as she heard you hum in response before Sam took the time to think about everything that you went through with her, “How did you remember that you needed to make a tourniquet for Gale’s thigh? I mean we only watched Keep Breathing once and that was a while ago” Sam asked and her question made you laugh lightly.

“I don’t know. I guess the situation made me remember.. Or that particular scene is what I found super interesting, you know? The man was bleeding out” You answered your girlfriend as you went on a rant making Sam’s heart feel a little lighter and unknowingly making you step out of your own head.

“Mhm” Sam hums out loud letting you know that she was still present in your conversation “Liv should have taken his clothes,” she says smiling to herself. “I think I would have if I was in a situation like that” she explained as she got up from the toilet so she could attempt to take off your shirt but she stopped herself. Her right hand hovers over your skin while the other is on your hip as her eyes slowly look at the mirror in front of the both of you, waiting for you to look up, while her fingers itch to touch you.

When you feel Sam’s hand hovering over your back like a sixth sense the feeling causes you to look up where you catch her gaze in the mirror as you respond to her previous comment. “That wouldn’t be a great idea because let's say if you did Sam and someone knew who those clothes belonged to, you would be fuc-” You stopped mid-sentence when you noticed her eyes in the mirror were a bit different. Their not worried or angry but softer than usual, they make you look away out of shyness.

“Hey don’t look away from me,” Sam said softly to you with a smile as she kissed near your ear then your jawline, and then your neck making you look back up at the mirror with a smile of your own, a giggle eventually leaving your lips. “That’s right don’t hide that smile from me, baby,” Sam says to you as she gazes back into your eyes once again, her smile growing in size before giving you space.

“Sam?” You called her as your smile slightly faded as you both looked at each other in the mirror again. “Did I really hit Ethan over the head with a bat?” you asked her as Sam stayed silent “Why would I have really done that?” you say aloud not feeling safe around your people, while not noticing that Sam is touching your waist.

After your question Sam turns you around, her hands move up to cup your cheeks as she stares deeply into your eyes before capturing your lips. She hears you hum against her, the vibration from your body making her hum up back. Sam just wants to make your worries and hers disappear. She doesn't want you to think you have done anything wrong and she doesn't want to believe that you would do anything to hurt her or her family. However, as Sam's kisses slowed down she leaned her head against your own, finding your skin soothing even though she wanted more. Before asking “Permission to take off your shirt?” so she can take care of your other wounds and she makes you laugh, not realizing that Mindy is outside the bathroom door until you both hear someone yell.

“Hey, do you guys need a stool to sit on?! I know you're heights might be different so I was just wondering!” Mindy says from outside the bathroom causing you and Sam to jump before your girlfriend goes to open the door while you stand far behind her, checking out her handy work in the mirror before looking over at her.

“Hey Mindy,” You say aloud as you quickly wave at her making Mindy look over at you to wave back when she gets quiet. It was because she didn’t realize how big the laceration that Ghost Face left on you was until now while you examined yourself in the mirror. But while looking at yourself in the mirror you find yourself hearing water splashing around you like you were at sea before hearing distant screams calling for you and suddenly it felt like you weren’t in Danny’s apartment anymore “Sam” you try to call out but it came out low. 

“You guys need to knock on the door instead of yelling to get our attention,” Sam told Mindy without trying to out her relationship with you before turning around to tend to you when she was cut off guard by your pale complexion, the way you were slightly hunched over the sink, and the way your hands gripped the corners of the counter. “Y/n?” Sam called out to you as she slowly walked over to you with a concerned Mindy behind her not realizing that Mindy had called her little sister over. 

“Okay I brought my chair, did something happen?” Tara questioned Mindy before following her gaze towards her sister when she also got distracted by your pale complexion, “Sam is Y/n okay?” she asked her older sister.

“I-I don’t know Tara. Y/n” Your girlfriend calls out to you again but instead of hearing her, you hear a phone hit the ground with cars honking in the background while hearing two voices one of them is your own. ‘Sam I don’t have much time..’ you heard hurried footsteps and gunshots ringing in your ears before hearing the other voice screaming ‘NO, DON'T TOUCH HER’ You slowly recognized Sam’s voice, and then you heard a door slam at the same time Sam touches your arm. Your instinct was to swing on your girlfriend which caused Sam to quickly grab your wrists and twirl you around where she now has your back against her front and her arms crossed against your own. “Easy Y/n, Easy…come back to me baby” Sam whispers into your ear before leaning her head against your own as she feels your heart beat rapidly before she slowly feels you calm down in her embrace “Hey Tara?” Sam calls for her sister.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Tara chimed at the mention of her name.

“I need you to get my sweater from my backpack for me and Mindy?” Sam calls out to Mindy making her step off the stool she was sitting on “Can you get me one of your brother's shirts?”

“Yeah I can do that for you, give me a minute I’ll be right back. Come on Tara” Mindy says before bringing her best friend with her to get the supplies.

Now that Sam knows it's just you and her in the bathroom alone for the moment, she voices her concerns “Baby you’re cold…” she whispers into your ear before rubbing her face lightly against your own “Where did you go Y/n?” she continues knowing that you were trying your best to stay grounded in front of her before she stepped back while rubbing your arms with her hands.

“I-I don’t know...Sam” you call her name before turning around but not looking directly at her just yet “It didn’t feel like I was, here, at the apartment it almost felt like I was out at sea maybe a pier but there were sounds of a busy street. I remember hearing myself say that I don’t have much time as if I might have been dying and then you screaming ‘Don’t Touch Her’ before a phone hit the ground...But also the slam of a door?” You tell your girlfriend as you shiver before looking up at her when you notice that Sam is shocked and a few tears have fallen from her eyes. “Sam? Sammy, did I say something wrong?” you ask before reaching out to her to caress her face and when you brought her closer to your body she shook her head and then left the bathroom in tears.

“Sorry it took so long but we have the sweater you asked for and Mindy had to fight her brother for ownership of his shirt” Tara joked as she got closer to the bathroom with Mindy before they both stopped because they saw Sam leave the bathroom in tears. “Sam, are you okay?” Tara called out to her older sister as she kept walking away before walking over to the bathroom to interrogate you but before she could she saw that you looked confused and upset while leaning on the bathroom counter.

“Tara…all I did was tell her that I remembered something from that night. What did I do wrong?” you asked your best friend while Mindy stood near her with her brother's shirt in hand.

Tara shakes her head with a deep sigh “Nothing Y/n, I don’t think you did anything wrong. I’m sure my sister is happy to know that you’re getting your memory back..” She pauses before looking at your side where Ghost Face had injured you on before looking at your eyes “Sam is just…going through a lot that's all” she continued while in the back of her mind, she’s wondering how being attacked this badly by Ghost Face would affect your mental state, would you change for the better or worse?

You shift your eyes away from Tara before nodding at her explanation while Tara places one of her sister's bigger sweaters down on the counter before leaving to find her sister while Mindy follows her figure until she disappears behind the wall. “Hey Mindy?” you called out and Mindy shifted in her spot to look over at you. 

“Yeah what's up?” she answered while trying to stay focused on your eyes but her mind made her look at your wound that Sam did her best to clean up instead. The images from the video as well as photos that Ghost Face sent to Sam’s phone that night still linger in her mind, and she knows you must have suffered a great deal so she understands to a degree but a part of Mindy wonders what you had to have done to piss off Ghost Face.

You clear your throat making Mindy look up at you “Do you think you can handle some blood?” you ask her before looking over at the mirror to see that you have blood near your shoulder blades and Mindy slowly nods.

“Yeah…I think I can handle some blood” Mindy says nodding confidently before stepping into the bathroom with you as she places her brother’s shirt on top of Sam’s hoodie. “Okay let’s lift that shirt shall we?” she says with enthusiasm as a smile graces her face while you turn around before looking over the clothes being offered to you.

“Hey, Mindy do you think it’s wise that I wear a white shirt under the hoodie? Don’t you think maybe a Red or Black shirt might be better?” you say to Mindy with concern as she hypes herself up to lift your shirt. 

“Unfortunately my brother’s shirts are limited Y/n” Mindy replies to you as she takes a deep breath while her fingertips touch the hem of your shirt “Chad is not that cool unless I go shopping with him.”

You lightly laugh at Mindy’s jab at her brother's wardrobe before joking around with her. “You know if you're having a hard time pulling my shirt up Mindy, just think in your head that maybe it’s Anika’s shirt you're pulling up,” you say to her before laughing again as Mindy groaned while holding back a laugh and then slapped your back “Agh I’m sorry!” you yell back at her.

“OH I forgot you're injured,” Mindy says after slapping you “I’m sorry,” she says sincerely before continuing her thought “Damn..you're a little too cold Y/n,” she says worriedly “Like ice..” she trailed off as she realized that the temperature of your skin reminded her of when she pulled you up on to the dock with her brother.

“Don’t worry about it, Mindy. Please just patch up my back?” you ask your movie buff for a friend before you shiver and she nods quickly.

When Mindy pulls up your shirt finally, she sees that your skin has a pale-ish tone to it “Mmm.” She hums at the unusual tone on your skin before she pushes your shirt further up your shoulders. Then her mouth hangs open before saying “Oh my god? What type of Ghost did you piss off?”

Tara overhears Mindy making her stop in the hallway before turning around with furrowed brows. 'Should I check on them?’ she thought to herself before shaking her head ‘Naw Mindy's got this' she continued her thought even though a part of her felt curious about what Ghost Face had done to you. Then she turns around and steps into the living room seeing Chad and Ethan walking over to sit in front of the island before overhearing Danny talking to her sister in what she assumes is his bedroom.

“Samantha, you didn’t know that would happen. I don't see how you could blame yourself” Danny says calmly to Sam as he sits next to her before putting his hand on her knee to comfort her.

Tara watches as her sister gets up from sitting on the bed with tears running down her face “Y/n didn’t deserve to be put through that. That should have be-” Sam was going to continue her thought when she caught her little sister by the door with glassy eyes and a little scowl.

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence” Tara says to her as she walks into the bedroom making Sam quietly turn to Danny asking him to leave the room for a minute so they can talk to each other alone.

“Alright, I’ll be on the couch if you two need me, okay?” Danny says to Sam and Tara before getting up to leave while Tara stares at him, her eyes following his figure out of the bedroom before the door closes.

“Sam, you know what happened wasn’t your fault, none of us knew that Ghost Face would go after Y/n,” Tara says to Sam but Sam shakes her head before sitting down on the bed.

“You don't get it, Tara. I should have known because Y/n has been protecting us, all of us. She protected you from Ghost Face at the bodega, got Mindy and Anika across the ladder, saved my ass from falling several stories, and stopped Gale from bleeding out.” Sam says before finishing her thought "Ghost Face said he would butcher anyone who gets between us" with tears in her eyes while Tara walks over to her, her thinking face evident to Sam for a moment as she sits down next to her.

"Then why would Ghost Face go after Y/n with the intent to kill her, only for him to let her live?" Tara questioned out loud before looking away from Sam like she was going to get scolded but she wasn't, Sam just turned to look at her. Tara knows how much her older sister cares about you so she rephrases "..What I'm trying to say is..based on the audio in the car from that day it sounded like Ghost Face wasn't at her apartment to scare her even though her wounds looked otherwise. It seemed like he was there to shut her up, like Y/n knew something about him" Tara says, trying to get her thoughts in order before looking over at Sam.

When her eyes met Sam's she noticed that she had tears streaming down her face but also looked like she was trying to recall something. Sam's brows furrowed in thought as she went over the events in her head from being pushed up against your couch to actually sitting down to eat with you at the little alcove in your apartment.  'I did think it was weird that he knew how to use a shotgun…maybe he’s a hunter?' she remembers saying to you before she replays what you said to her in her head. 'He would have shot my leg off with no problem in the alleyway' and 'He had to be a professional he held the gun close to his body, maybe a cop?' Your words kept repeating in her head 'he held the gun close to his body, maybe a cop?'...' The gun close to his body'...' maybe a cop?'

"Sam?" Tara called out to her before laying her hand over hers as Sam came back, slowly collecting herself. "Sam, are you okay?" Tara asked with concern as she reached her hands up to cup Sam's face, inching closer to her on the bed. Tara's gesture made Sam refocus her eyes on her.

"Yeah," Sam said, closing her eyes with a pause, her silence making Tara sigh while closing her eyes as they leaned into each other, foreheads touching. Instinctively, Sam brought her hands up to Tara's face to caress before kissing her forehead. "I don't want you guys getting hurt because of me, you guys have suffered so much already," she says to Tara while her heart aches for what she might have to do, lie to her sister so she can end Ghost Face herself.

But Tara saw through her words "No, Sam you're doing it again. You wanted us to stay together before traveling on your own to the police station and here you are trying to do things alone. AGAIN." Tara started, getting mad that Sam would low-key suggest she try and sacrifice herself for everyone. "I would go through the attack in Woodsboro again, minus the leg injury to keep you safe.." Tara says, trying to find the right words that meant she was her sister's ride or die "..it's our turn to protect you, Sam" Tara declares as she locks eyes with her sister, causing Sam to laugh with delight even though she was surprised. But the sound that came from Sam's lips never ceased to warm the little Carpenters heart, after all those years that separated them.

However, after Sam laughs she looks down at her little sister only to find that Tara's eyes are starting to get glassy. A look that has Sam wanting to reach for her own heart to soothe with her hands because the pain there feels a little too painful underneath her flesh. The type of pain and sorrow that if she allowed herself to feel all at once, that it would kill her, so Sam brings Tara in for a tight hug. "Then don't stray too far from me Tara and I won't stray too far from you, promise?" Sam asked her little sister in her arms, as she felt Tara nod her head while on her shoulder before separating from one another. Then Sam brings her hand up with her pinky extended, a sign Tara knows all too well so she hooks her pink around Sam's before bringing her thumbs up so they'd touch, a stamp of approval, acknowledging the promise they're making to each other in that very moment.

"I promise," Tara says with a smile as she wipes her eyes before Mindy knocks on the door, and enters the bedroom that the Carpenters reside in.

"Apologies for interrupting fellow gays, BUT Tweedle dee and Dum are planning to go to a different bodega with Danny because Tweedle dee you know Ethan, didn't get his favorite snacks that he requested earlier," Mindy informed her best friends considering what has been happening to them and that it's only a matter of time before Ghost Face becomes bolder enough to strike once again.

"Are you fucking serious?" Sam says aloud, clearly annoyed that the boys would want to go out for some snacks as Mindy replies to her with a nod before Sam gets up to go into the great room. Upon entering the great room Sam’s eyes focused on your figure, watching as you moved about the living room in her sweater. A part of her wanted to walk up to you and apologize for her reaction earlier but she knew that her apology wouldn’t be enough, she wanted to make it up to you before she went back to looking for Danny. "Danny" she called out as she saw him by the coat rack while hearing the audible sighs from Chad and Ethan knowing she was about to go into full mom mode. 

"Yes?" Danny answered as he got ready to go out, putting on his jacket before turning his head in Sam's direction and seeing her approach the divider of his open-concept apartment. 

"Why are you taking Chad and Ethan out to get snacks? It can wait till we’re all safe.” She said to him in a low tone so that Chad and Ethan wouldn't hear her as you walked behind her and past Danny to check if the bathroom was cleared of your blood. 

“I know, however, there are three of us, like earlier when we went food shopping. Besides, the bigger the group, the less Ghost Face will want to mess with us.” Danny explained to Sam, feeling confident with his own answer while she stood there a little frustrated.

“Danny this is my family we're talking about, my kids. The only reason why I felt better when we were together earlier is because it was me and you going out with Chad to get food” She voiced trying not to get too angry at him. 

“Oh” was all Danny could say, clearly hurt by what Sam had said to him “Do you not trust me with your kids?” He asked as he searched for Sam's eyes while you watched their conversation from the bathroom, wondering if she would trust you with her family as you looked at your hand. “Sam, please look at me,” he asked her as he watched Sam's eyes dart across the room to look at Ethan before turning her head toward you in the middle of his conversation.

When you heard Danny plead to Sam you looked up from your hand and were surprised to see Sam’s eyes searching for your own. You wondered if she was looking to you for comfort or for an answer to Danny's question. You figured it was the comfort she sought as you started walking away from the bathroom, slowly making your way towards Sam and Danny. But as you walked past Sam again, this time, your fingertips touched her waist for a moment and she grabbed hold of your hand stopping you from leaving her side.

Sam squeezes your hand at the same time she looks into your eyes, a silent exchange is made, you realize that she wants an answer so you give her one. In your silence, you lightly squeeze her waist, and as you do she hears someone quickly walk beside Danny, causing her to pull you further in her body hoping it isn’t who she thinks it is and that it was Chad. But when she looked over to continue her conversation with Danny she was disappointed, there next to him was Ethan. She could tell that Ethan was antsy like he needed to get outside or else he would combust from being in the apartment for too long and it didn't take her long to come to a decision.

“I do trust you with my kids Danny but under normal circumstances…” she told him as she trailed off feeling your body go stiff against her back, her eyes narrowing at the boy who accused you of being Ghost Face. “But this is different Danny, you can take Ethan to go to the other bodega down the street so he can get what he wants but Chad has to stay here with me” she decided as she heard Ethan scoff making her shift her eyes to him.

“Why? Because you’d prefer me and Danny to get killed by Ghost Face?” Ethan asked narrowing his eyes back at Sam just as Danny looked over at him.

“No, because Ghost Face would be least likely to kill you both and..” she paused “either you take this opportunity to stretch your legs to go buy what you want OR no one goes out at all.” She explained as Chad groaned before walking over to lie on the couch in defeat, putting his head on Tara’s lap.

“Fine” Chad huffed in defeat even though he saw reason in Sam’s words “Be careful on your way to and from the other bodega you two,” he said to Ethan and Danny as he grabbed a pillow and put it to his chest.

“Thanks, man and we will,” Danny says responding to Chad, while Ethan sighs nodding his head as he turned around to find Danny opening the front door. “We’ll be back soon” Danny informed Sam and her family while watching Ethan walk out the door before walking out of the apartment himself. But before Danny could close the door to his apartment he made eye contact with Sam for a brief moment while she turned to face you, the scene leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Hey Danny, can I ask you a question?” Ethan asked Danny as they walked down the stairs slowly making their way to the lobby of the apartment building. 

“Uh sure..shoot,” Danny says as Ethan went ahead to open the door to the building for him, allowing him to walk out of the front door first before stopping at the sidewalk so Ethan can catch up to him but also so they can eventually walk in the opposite direction to a different bodega considering that the closest one to their apartment was messed up by Ghost Face.

“How long were you and Sam together before Y/n came along?” Ethan asked as he caught up to Danny before they started walking left to a new bodega.

“That’s technically none of your business,” he says defensively trying to gauge where Ethan is coming from considering he was causing a problem in his apartment earlier while also trying to keep vigilant, making sure that Ghost Face doesn’t surprise them.

“You’re right but don’t you think it’s kind of weird that Y/n just came out of nowhere and took your girl from right under you?” he inquired trying to get into Danny’s head, causing Sam’s ex-fling and love interest to stop in his tracks making Ethan smile behind him. 

“I” Danny started, trying to figure out what to say. “I did find it strange that I started seeing less and less of Sam” he voiced before turning around to face Ethan.

“Then I’m not the only one who thinks this way,” Ethan says before walking ahead of Danny as the neighbor catches up to him as they near the bodega up ahead.

“What do you mean?” Danny asked as he looked over at Ethan trying to figure out what he was trying to say.

“I mean same, we- me, Chad, Mindy, Quinn, Anika, and Tara started seeing less and less of Sam too” he answered “I think Y/n is trying to isolate Sam from her people you know? The people who really care about her,” he says trying to get Danny on his side before stopping near an alleyway.

“..I don’t know about that,” Danny says aloud to Ethan as he walks ahead of him not realizing that Ethan stopped walking a while ago. “Y/n doesn’t seem like she’s capable of doing something like that,” he says trying to keep his head on his shoulders even though Ethan gave him some things to think about.

“Keep walking..” Ethan says smirking at the fact that Danny’s figure is getting smaller and smaller as he walked further away “You fucking idiot” he insults Danny from afar. “Now what do we have here?” he says to himself as he pulls his phone out of his jeans and turns to the alleyway before taking a photo and texting someone after.

Hallway Between Concrete Buildings by Megan (Markham) Bucknall

Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5 Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 (Chapter 9 Coming Soon)

Stay in my mentions crew: @daddy-jareau @lummaland @screechcat @stickydefendorstudent @stickydefendorpersona @werewolfbansheelove @fanboy7794 @grandpatrolnutt @alphawolfstabs @rainbowmess823 @womenofmarvellover @inactivecabbage @msboules @bowergirlwitch

Scream 6 : A Love so Understanding Playlist

Sorry for the long wait guys, as some of you may know I had to put down my dog last month so I've been on a hiatus to grieve, even before that, it was due to what was going on with my dog. Since then I've been trying to take each day at a time and hopefully, I can get back into the swing of things again.

[marvelfanfn2187a113]

Here For (older sister version)

Dean Winchester x big sister!reader

Requested by Anonymous

Synopsis: you help Dean through a couple different kinds of pain. (I did a big sister and little sister version of it. You can find the little sister version here)

Your head lifted at Dean’s grunt of pain. You turned to see him, antiseptic in hand as he tried to clean a large gash on his arm.

“Give it,” you held out your hand to your little brother, who barely spared you a glance.

“I’m fine.”

“Dean, give it.”

He huffed and reluctantly handed you the bottle of antiseptic, as well as the bandages.

“Don’t look,” you instructed as you poured the liquid onto his arm. “It just makes it hurt worse.”

“I’m not a baby,” the teen grunted.

“Didn’t say that,” you said as you bandaged his arm. “Just said don’t look.”

You tied off the bandage and gave your little brother a smile.

“You should sleep.”

“You’re babying me again.”

“Heck yeah I am,” you grinned. “That’s what older sisters are for.”

…

You ran your hands over your face as the front door slammed shut, the impala’s engine starting up as John drove away.

You went to the fridge to grab a water bottle, but froze when you noticed something. There was a full case of beer in the fridge earlier, and it was almost empty. Groaning, you closed the fridge and went to find the only other person here with you.

“Dean!”

“What?” You heard his angry growl from the other side of the room and rolled your eyes.

“You’ve gotta tone it down on the drinking.”

He grunted, “Yeah, thanks mom, I’ll get right on that.”

“Don’t be a brat,” you scoffed, reaching over and snatching the bottle out of his hands, ignoring his protests. “You’ve had too much already, go to bed.”

“I’m fine.”

“You won’t be if you don’t get your butt into that bed in the next twenty seconds.”

“You can’t-“

“I can do whatever I want, and I most certainly can beat the crap outta you. Now get.”

Dean grumbled, groaned, and rolled his eyes…

But he also did exactly what you said.

…

Dean was sitting on his bed, his head ducked low. You could see the stiffness in his shoulders, the tension in his fists. He was trying so hard to appear normal, but you knew him better.

“Hey Dean,” your voice was quiet as you approached your little brother.

“Oh great,” he groaned. “Now comes the chick flick moments.”

“Shut up, you punk,” somehow you managed to get the words out without sounding angry, and when you said them Dean finally looked up.

“What do you want?” He asked after a moment.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. “I’m sorry about Sammy.”

“No, I don’t want to talk about it,” Dean growled.

“Ok, so we won’t talk,” you sat down next to your brother, and the two of you sat in silence for several long minutes.

“He’ll be back,” you said finally. “I know he will. He just has to go his own way for a while.”

“I don’t care.”

“Yes you do, but I know you won’t admit it, so I guess we’re at an impasse.”

“What do you want from me?” Dean demanded. “What do you want me to say?”

“Nothing,” you admitted. “I just want you to let me help you for once, you stubborn idiot.”

“What?”

You sighed, reaching up and pulling Dean into your arms.

“This,” you insisted. “Just let me do this. I know you’re hurting, you know you’re hurting. We’re both going to miss Sam. We don’t have to talk about it, but we’re not gonna ignore it either. So let me do this.”

Dean was uncomfortably stiff for a moment, before his body finally relaxed and you felt his arms wrap around you.

“Ok.”

“Ok,” you smiled.

“Y/N?”

You hummed.

“Thanks.”

Your smile grew wider.

“That’s what big sisters are for.”

[felinecryptid]

hoooooooooo boy, tmagp 4 go-

this time its becoming apparent that there are some themes and clues that tmagp wants us to notice, the sections stand out, begging for attention

like the recurring theme of bones, and blood, and gore in general (it might be too soon to tell exactly what themes are leading to, but they are definitely there)

the violin could fit right in grifter's bone with it's affinity to music and violence

(the music feels aligned to circus over spiral or web

tho there are elements of the web what with the mind control, but i fear all fears possess a certain degree of control, as such

the violence feels more of the slaughter variety rather than the hunt, though you could make a valid argument for flesh as the words 'sacrifice', 'payment' and 'creature with needs and purposes of its own' do stick in mind

once again i do not think that tmagp follows the same format as the smirke's fourteen (or 15) , i merely use them as parallels to better explain what aspects of the episode sticks out to me (and for me refer back later on))

as other listeners have noted, another theme that tmagp in general follows, is 'obsession', rather than tma's 'fear'

i feel this is also paralleling (intentionally or not) the audience's own listening habits and motives

we first consumed the magnus archives for its content of horror

and yet we are back for the magnus protocol like we never left, and perhaps

we never did

the statement's first person pov depicts a truly horrific picture of the slaughter, of the violence that the violin demands

and his descriptions of the mania on the audience's faces too

it's eerily reminiscent of the france's dancing plague

enough about the statement, lets talk about my boy sam and his co-workers, and their workplace in general

there's a protocol surrounding the magnus institute? interesting interesting, very similar to the police division daisy and basira were part of, the unofficial supernatural division

is this like the civil servant version of such?

another thing that is interesting; how is freddy getting these statements incidents? like sam asked, how exactly does a letter from the 18th century end up in the system?

i don't think gwen's answer is satisfactory (and we weren't meant to either), sure someone might be updating the archives website for reasons unknown but rarely in magpod is something a dead end, every little thing is a clue, a small part of the larger picture

so how exactly does a letter from the 18th century is in freddy's system?

perhaps an 'avatar' or the equivalent (such people are suggested to exist in tmagp universe, like the tattooist from daria's statement)

or maybe the fears themselves manifest in phenomena that upload relevant content to freddy

colin my guy, still being iconic and not trusting tech, hats off to you, the only real character in the whole show

never trust any piece of technology older than paper

the video of lena that gwen got in the end? weird? yeah, fuck yes, but how did she even get it? is there any sort of personal communication available on the ancient system? why gwen?

i have so many questions and so many more thoughts, but this is already so long, im gonna write a separate post about tmagp so far, in general

[paletigers]

Some Stardew Valley redesigns/reimaginings!! these pics were about a week apart from one another so theyre in two different styles lol

some explainations below the cut!

For Context: A lot of these headcanons are based off of my own personal lived experiences! They're also just my preferences for their characters in general. I have only romanced Sebastian in-game but looked at Alex's Wiki page for context on the background for his character. I don't really know much about him canon wise, I've only read fanfics with him in it LOL ANWAY!

Sebastian: -25 yrs old + Transman + Gay/MLM -I really liked how he had a motorcycle in-game but thought that there wasn't much to say about it, so I wanted to make it apart of his core as a character! He's a sport motorcyclist as a hobby. He loves high speed racing.

-He's still a programmer, but he's now a Game designer! This is mainly because my lovely boyfriend is a game designer irl and he's like my muse and I love cramming his traits into my favorite characters.

-He plays bass istead of keyboard in Sam's band. I dunno, I think keyboard is fun and all (i actually own two keyboards and played piano in hs) but like. cmon. Bass would suit him so much better.

-I gave him a battle jacket he wears over his normal hoodie. I feel like he has a couple of these from over the years that are DIY with his ever growing music taste. Battle jackets are such a staple in the alt music scene I felt like its a crime he doesn't have one in game. Sebastian you would love battle jackets.

-His motorcycle is a sportsbike instead of a standard/chopper. His helmet also resembles a cat, but definitely not on purpose! Definitely not.

-He has a LOT of scars. Some self inflicted (but he's recovering), others from surgery! He has top surgery scars designed to resemble spider webs, a phaloplasty skin graft scar on his left arm, and gnarly huge scars on his ribs down to his legs.

-He suffered a motorcycle accident resulting in his bike being damaged as well as giving him a limp. He's constantly fixing up his bike since then, wanting to ensure another wipe out won't happen again and that his bike is reall okay to ride again.

-HIS PIERCINNGNSSSSS he has a shit ton of piercings! Not shown, he has a Jacob's ladder piercing. :3c

-His personality doesn't really change much from in-game. I'd personally prefer if he was less bitchy and more just a rarely speaking type. The kind to keep his comments to himself. Bitching about your step sibling and your step dad gets stale, bro

Alex: (Sorry to any alex fans, I changed him a LOT)

-27 + Cismale + Closeted Bisexual

-An ex-pro hockey player (goalie). I don't really care for "gridball" since it's just a couple of sports mixed together (from my understanding) so I decided to just give him a real world sport to play. Plus, hockey just kind of suits him for some reason?? I dunno

-Moved back to Pelican town after the news of his Mother's condition worsening and his Father jumping ship. In my version, he got recruited straight out of highschool to go pro for hockey. He had reservations about leaving his Mother with his Dad, but decided it was the best solution to the shitty situation. This way, he'd have more money to help her medical costs since his Dad's insurance was shitty anyway. A few years go by with constant health updates from his Grandparents, when one day his Dad just calls it quits on caregiving, deciding he doesn't want to waste his life away caring for his wife, and leaves. Without physical support from his Father to help around the house and help his Mother, Alex makes the choice to move back home and become his Mother's caregiver. He struggles with the emotional weight of this job ontop of how extremely demanding it is, but does his best for his Mother. She dies, and now he's taking care of his Grandparents. -I really wanted him to be a caregiver to his grandparents because my family were caregivers to both my Mother and my Father's parents LOL we spent all 23 years of my life taking care of them, so i thought it would be fun to think about. I imagine Evelyn and George to be my grandparents and constantly give them their favorite gifts in-game. (mainly george. i love him) (hes not homophobic hes just OLD and STUPID i LOVE HIM !!!!!!)

-Alex is constantly worried he won't be the same after caregiving for this long. He's worried he won't be able to go back to pro-hockey without reliving the stress of his mother's death. He's been having trouble keeping asleep at night, often waking up every few hours and being completely restless. He'll decompress at the sauna at unbearable hours of the night just because he can't sleep.

-He's the town helper! I thought it would be cute if he's the guy the town usually went to if they needed serious physical help with something, like setting up festival decorations, fixing fenceposts, shit like that. He loves helping out the town and INSISTS sometimes to be the one to fix a problem. When the farmer first comes into town and starts being the more dependable one, he starts feeling hopeless and easily emotionally distant. It's hard being the one everyone depended on to suddenly not being needed anymore. (It's not all entirely in his head, but he gets really worked up sometimes about feeling useless)

-Still an arrogant little shit! Instead of dreams of stardom, it's kind of a "washed up" celebrity kind of arrogance. He thinks he's hot shit because he travelled the world playing games for a couple of years. This backfires in his face, he'll sometimes sit for too long on his "glory days" and spiral, getting depressed about not playing anymore and his role as a caregiver despite loving his grandparents immensely.

-This headcanon is just silly but i think he likes to fish. He's so arrogant that he thinks hes amazing at it but fish rarely bite his line and when they do, they drag him into the river or sand at the beach. It's even more embarrassing because he thinks he's fine and continues to fish despite having sand and dirt all over himself.

-He's covered in moles! I also gave him freckles in places where his skin sees the most sun. (He's also got chest hair bc yall know i love hair on a man LMAO)

anyway. Long post! My bad. I was thinking of writing some Stardew Valley fanfics while working on some other stuff bc I want to explore my versions of Alex and Seb, and also maybe they explore each others bodies???? Let me know if that's something you'd guys like to read/offer up suggestions!!!

[rosie-writings]

Take Everything

Summary: Dream works non stop on a project for months, and even after it’s finished he still seems like he needs to relieve some stress.

Warnings: Dream x Reader smut, Semi-public sex (on Livestream), Teasing, Cockwarming, Rough sex, Hair pulling, Squirting

Words: 4.3k

No Use of Y/N

Title is from ‘Hypnosis’ by Sleep Token

My hands still ached from the shenanigans we got up to in the early morning hours last weekend. It’s far from me to reject any kind of outing with Sam and Colby, and it’s definitely unlike me to finish an adventure completely unscathed.

It was a simple miscalculation.

Colby was pissed because if I was any weaker I would have fallen 60 feet to broken concrete blanketed with glass, and to that I agreed. It would have sucked.

Two hospital visits and eight days later, the slits across the palms of my hands were finally infection and tetanus free. They were wrapped with soft gauze, though, and while embarrassing, they were very relieving. I finally felt free to do what I wanted for myself.

Telling Dream what happened when I got home was honestly scarier than the actual situation. 

“I really don’t understand why you would have to scale the outside of the building though, you’re a dumbass—“

“We went inside, Dream,” I exasperated. “Sam fell through the floor twice! We wanted to get to the top for pictures and I volunteered to go first. I didn’t think the literal fucking—the steel structure around the wall would cave in like that.”

“Well no shit! If you guys are falling through the floors then obviously the building’s gonna fucking collapse!”

“Dream—“

“No, don’t give me that. This is serious!”

“I know it is—“

“Listen to me,” he demanded. My throat closed tightly as he took my wrists in his hands so he could see the damage. Bandages still covered the wounds, but we both knew how nasty they were. “This can’t happen every goddamn time you go out with them or else you won’t anymore.”

“And you’re the one who decides that?”

“Since you clearly can’t for yourself, yeah!”

“What the fuck is going on down here?” We both looked as George entered the room from the stairs. I yanked my hands from Dream to hide the bandages, but George already saw. “What happened to you?”

”Just went out with Sam and Colby—“

“Tell her that she can’t climb old nasty tetanus ridden buildings without gloves anymore.”

”What is wrong with you?” His face twisted with disgust.

“George—“

“No, get away from me, ew.” And he passed us as he shook his head. “You’re ridiculous. Dream’s the only one who will give you sympathy around here and if even he thinks you’re an idiot then you won’t like me very much either.” I rolled my eyes and turned back to Dream. He stared back at me.

”I’m going to bed. You guys are ridiculous.”

”Okay but risking infection and, I don’t fucking know, death is a big deal. You’re being ridiculous.”

”Whatever, Dream,” I sighed as I took two stares at a time. “You can’t be upset that my version of fun is different than yours.”

”My version of fun doesn’t risk my damn life. And I thought you said you were going to bed?” He shouted as I walked down the hallway towards our soundproofed offices.

”I’m sleeping in my office so I don’t have to listen to you guys bitch at me anymore.”

”Jesus Christ.”

I shared a bed with Dream now. My room was used as the last remaining guest bedroom in this house—the other house has many more rooms for that—but in a couple days Punz planned to Use it for two weeks until his apartment was ready which was fine by me unless Dream didn’t shape up his attitude. I didn’t have any serious plans of leaving his bed, I just didn’t anticipate a lack of freedom in my decision making process.

Don’t get me wrong; none of the boys were overbearing or overprotective of me at all, even Dream, but I forgot what it was like to come home to questioning eyes wondering where I had been and why my hands were covered in bandages. I lived by myself for so long that I forgot what it was like to share life with other people. Blessings and curses.

I curled myself up in the blankets of the bed and sleep came over me immediately when I closed my eyes. It was too comfortable. Not nearly as comfortable as our bed downstairs, but the pure silence in the pitch black room lulled me to sleep like no other.

Three days later I told George that he was right, and he must have felt bad about my multiple hospital trips and infected wounds because he didn’t even bask in the glory of my fess up.

Eight days later I knew I was on the up and up, and my wounds healed rightly. I stressed Dream out. I could tell, and mixed with everything else going on, he was one more mishap from breaking.

Multiple videos between the three boys were scheduled, and they included incredibly large amounts of time, energy, and money to finish, that by the end of the day—if either of them took a break—there was nothing to do but scarf down their single meal of the day then sleep for ten hours just to do it all over again. At least they deserved everything they had; they worked harder than anyone else I had ever seen.

Dream’s video was finished. His workdays were infinitely shorter now, and he only needed to do finishing touches on other things and get his ducks in order. What he needed to do most, though, was relax. I think we got a solid seven words in to each other every night before sleeping for an eternity and I was impatient. I worked just as hard as them and traveled as well, so when there was any down time, of course we slept like there was no tomorrow.

Until the livestream.

The three live-streamed the night before the first video release, and they played games with friends for a while. It was good—fantastic even—for Dream’s mental health. It didn’t look like he wanted to shrivel up at any happenstance any longer and for that I was grateful.

He just wouldn’t chill. Even with the hard part of the video making process behind him, the stress still kindled inside of him. 

Good thing I was so much better at breaking things than putting them back together. 

I don’t know what came over me, but with the tension within the house ceasing and my hands not being the problem they were, I was ready for some strife. A little bit of chaos.

And a lot more closeness with Dream.

We had been dating for six months and pining after each other for almost two years and somehow I could count on one hand how many times we had sex. It wasn’t a problem, yet anyway, but if he wouldn’t calm down and separate his work from his non-existent personal life, it would be.

Not because I was selfish but because he deserved to not work himself sick.

I didn’t think twice when I silently opened his office door. Not silently per-say; Dream’s eyes quickly darted to me with concern, but enough that his mic didn’t pick it up.

He muted.

”What’s wrong?”

”Nothing,” I said sweetly. He hesitated and blinked quickly. I walked over to him. 

“Did—Are you wanting to be on stream?”

”No.”

”Oh.”

More silence.

”I—I was going to unmute now—oh.” He froze and backed from his desk more when I walked over and straddled his lap. He looked up at me with bright eyes. God, I loved them. And I loved the fact that they stared back at me for longer than a couple seconds. 

“You can unmute now.”

”But I—no, what are you doing?”

”Sitting? Obviously.”

”I’m streaming.”

”I know.” 

He sucked in a quick breath as I watched the realization click. 

“Just tell me if you—“

He unmuted. I held my breath as I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his neck. My chin rested on his shoulder and I closed my eyes to hush the rushing of my heart.

Already, the heat between us sent chills across my skin.

Now that I was where I wanted to be, suddenly the confidence drained. I didn’t check the viewer countâ—good thing too or else I probably would have turned and left his office in a flash—but I knew it wasn’t too good for my blood pressure. I was frozen against him. The heat spread down my body and pooled in my pants. I didn’t listen to what he said, but I felt the way his body vibrated from his voice. It almost lulled me to sleep. But then it happened.

He slowly pushed his hips up and leaned back more to give me more access.

That was all I needed. Just one push.

And I felt him, all of him.

I rolled my hips into his and butterflies twisted in my stomach from the sound of his shaking breath. I couldn’t stop. My hand held the side of his neck, thumb brushed his face, as I kissed and bit down on his neck for security. I needed something for my hands to do, something for my mouth to do, or else a lot more would come from his mic than the viewers paid for.

“Mmm—“ He made a more prominent noise and I did the same movement over and over. That was when one of his hands finally came down on me. Of course he didn’t unmute yet. I knew he wasn’t that gone, and some evil part of me wanted him to be so I kept on and on.

Maybe I was the one we should be worried about. My throat ran dry from the amounts of pressure I mustered to keep quiet. He felt too good against me, and I thought he would be the one falling apart too fast.

Suddenly he pushed his chair back.

”What—“ 

“Off,” he demanded and cut off my whisper. He had to be muted. I looked down where his fingers pulled back the waistband of my pants. All too quickly, I leapt to my feet and yanked them off me. “God, what is wrong with you?” His voice broke into frustrated whining, but he definitely didn’t push me away.

His hand rose in between my legs and the other pulled me onto his lap again. 

“Oh fuckâ—“ I gasped and released some of the pent up tension in my throat. Of course he didn’t invade my underwear yet, pay back, but he did tease me to the point where I thrusted my hips back and forth on his hand for something harder than his light touches.

”Can feel how turned on you are already, you want me that bad?”

”Can you blame me?” I moaned through gritted teeth. He sat back and got closer to his desk again.

”I know, baby, I know,” he sighed and unmuted again.

This time I bit down on his shoulder as the pleasure radiated through me. Good thing he wore at least a hoodie because then it would have interrupted his words. He pulled his hand away only for the pressure between us to intensify. I grinded against him faster, and I nearly blacked out at how painfully hard he felt against me. Finally his head tossed back with closed eyes.

Not until he made noises would I make noises.

”Come on, stop playing,” he whispered so quietly it made me furl inside myself. He leaned forward and focused on his conversations and games. With shaking arms and legs, I lifted myself up and tugged at the waistband of his pants. I only pulled the front of them down enough for access; I couldn’t waste another second and he wasn’t in a place to mute or take his hands from the keyboard for a moment. 

He stuttered his words when I pulled him from his pants and stroked him slowly. I knew he couldn’t get mad at me for doing it during a crucial moment; he told me to stop messing around and I did.

I watched him as he focused on the screens behind me with glazed over eyes. Then I pushed my underwear to the side and sank down on him. 

First his eyebrows lifted in pleasure and his lips parted with shakiness, and then I heard quicker clicking on the keyboard. I bit on my own lips to make myself shut the hell up. Holy shit, too good. He felt too good I could barely keep myself together.

I couldn’t tell if it was from the unbearable amount of time without being filled like this or if it was the fact that I chose a livestream of all moments to tease the life out of him, but the pleasure was insurmountable as it traveled through my body like powerful acidic waves.

I moved faster.

I held onto him; my fingers laced through his hair and pulled. He pulled back, and there it was. He was losing his cool. I knew it too, obviously. With my hands in his hair, I could get him to do whatever I wanted. I didn’t care if I took advantage of it; he hadn’t complained about it yet.

”Fuck, you feel so good,” I whispered every so quietly in his hair and he fucked his hips forward. I slapped a hand over my mouth.

“You got to be good for me and be quiet if you want to fuck me when I’m streaming like this,” he spat. Then turned back to his game. I didn’t know when he was muted and when he wasn’t; perhaps that was the torture he was able to put me through. 

And when he pushed his hips forward, the breath was knocked out of me from the 

“Dream—!” 

A loud click on his keyboard led a groan, and he kicked us away from the desk harshly.

“You’re so in trouble,” he moaned quietly as if he were still unmuted, even though I knew he would never risk that, and he leaned back in his chair with both hands holding my waist tightly. “Wasn’t fucking muted.”

”Sorry,” I stuttered and then I let all the moans I kept inside pour out. He looked up at me and held my hair back. Tears welled in my eyes from the feeling of how deep he pushed.

”You trying to act up or something?”

“How do you know that wasn’t the plan?” I choked out in between moans as his hands guided me up and down for himself. I don’t think I moved anymore; he used me like he had clearly been dying to.

“Oh so you want me to tear you apart?”

“Please—“ I gasped. “I need you so bad.”

“You think you need me that bad? We’ll see how bad you need it if you can be patient for another 20 minutes.”

“Not if you can’t last that long—“ My sentence hardly left my mouth before he slapped my ass. I fell into him and bit down on my arm. And his hips met mine harsher.

”Oh my fucking god—Dream yes please, you feel so—“

”Yeah?” He laughed. “That’s what I thought. Keep—holy shit—keep fucking doing that.”

And he went back to his game. Cruelly, might I add.

It went on.

I went faster and faster, then harsh hands would still my waist. I knew he bruised me, and in a few hours he would kiss them and repeatedly say sorry, but I didn’t care. I wanted them. Needed them; I needed him permanently on my body, in my body.

”Oh my—“ he gasped suddenly and his fingertips and nails dug into my skin. I yelped and watched his face as his eyes shut tightly and lips part. I slowed my movements and simply watched him; my thumb pulled at his bottom lip as he came to.

”Stop it,” he said. “I’m so—fucking stop!” He must have muted.

”What? You going to cum or something?”

”I swear to god,” he laughed. I bit my lip from laughing at him, but he yanked me down on him and I couldn’t move anymore. “You make me cum and I won’t touch you for a month.”

”Dream—“ I gasped. That was too much.

”Yeah, I’m fucking serious, baby.”

”Just—Just hurry then.”

I leaned my head on his shoulder as my body burned. My desperation ate me alive until I yanked my hoodie off and tied my hair up so it wouldn’t touch my flushed skin. 

Of course that distracted him for a moment. His eyes tore across my bare skin so I took the opportunity and moved faster. His hand grabbed me reflexively, but that was when he noticed the tears in my skin from his nails.

”Fuck,” he whispered. “Sor—“

”Uh-Hu,” I told him as I shook my head quickly. “Said I needed you.”

”About to-About to end now,” he gasped.

His own desperation melted the frustration and dominance from him like I anticipated. And god, I loved it.

I held onto him again to give him space and watch the screens and close the livestream. It took another two minutes, but when his headphones came off, I sat up again and brought my hips up and down properly.

”Holy shit!” He cried and tossed his head back.

”Fuck fuck fuck,” I laughed as I finally moved the way I wanted. For the first time I wasn’t uncomfortable with the sound of our skin against each other.

”Look so fucking good,” he moaned. His hands were still on my waist and led me up and down. And his eyes fell lower in between us.

I leaned back and supported my elbows on the edge of his desk. 

“Please,” I gasped.

”Please what?” Fuck that ridiculous airy teasing tone. As much as it irritated me, it crawled under my skin and told me I needed more and more.

”Just fuck me already, I need it so hard, please—“ I was out of his lap in an instant. I held onto him as he stumbled with me to the bed. “Dream—holy shit—“ 

He pinned me to the soft bedding with a kiss. I tugged him down by his hair. I couldn’t believe how riled up I was; sure it had been over 30 minutes of this push and pull, but this was something new. Something I hadn’t experienced before. 

I moaned loudly in his mouth the moment he finally took control. He stood up and his hands fell down to where they belonged.

”You are so fucking bad,” he laughed. “I cannot believe we did this.”

”Just needed you,” I whined. I couldn’t tell if he could understand what I said through the loudness of my moans. Thank god the offices were soundproof. I had no idea if George or Sapnap were still live.

”I know.” His voice was quieter; face softened as if he felt bad. “Wanted you for so damn long.” Then he leaned down and finally my arms wrapped around him to keep him close. I fell lost under his kisses and touches, and I wanted so badly for him to stay close, but that itch deep inside of me wasn’t being scratched. Fuck, I loved the closeness, it was all I ever wanted the past few months. However, I needed to feel. 

Sometimes I couldn’t feel without intensity.

”Harder, please I need it; want it so bad—“

”Yeah? Is that really what you want?” His whisper pulled a groan out of me, and he pushed the hair around my face that fell from the ponytail I haphazardly made.

Tears blurred my vision all over again. My back arched in frustration.

“Yes! Obviously, just—“

”What do you say?” Again, that sweet tone stung my bones. My heart melted under his hands and that stupid gleam of boyish anticipation in his gaze set me off.

”Please! Please fuck me, I need you so deep inside of me. Want to feel you for days.”

”Turn over, baby.” My stomach fell out of its place as I scrambled around. My stomach met his bed as my toes hit the floor. I balled the blankets in my hands and held my breath to prepare—

All at once, the room spun around me and my body was lit on fire. He shoved himself inside of me and stopped holding back. I pushed my face into the bed because yeah, the offices were soundproof, but I don’t think they were that soundproofed. A trail of expletives and words I couldn’t remember spilled out of me as he filled me relentlessly.

”Oh my fucking god, ugh—“ His moans filled the air this time, and that was when I felt a harsh tug in my hair. He grabbed my ponytail at the roots and yanked. With a gasp, I lifted into the air and supported myself on the bed with my hands. “No no,” he said with a shakingly quiet voice. “That’s not fair; don’t cover your face with the blankets. Want to hear you. Tell me how good it feels.”

”Oh fuck!” If he wanted to hear me, then he would hear me because I ran out of stamina to keep quiet. “So-So good, Dream, you feel so good. Can-Can feel you everywhere.”

”Yeah? Tell me you love it. Tell me you love how hard I fuck you.”

”Holy shit I love it. I love how hard you fuck me—oh my god—you feel so damn good. I love you.”

”I love you too, baby,” he said in my hair; he still didn’t let go of it. After he kissed my head, his fingers on my hips tightened. “Now tell me when you want to cum.”

”I already have to, please, please let me cum already.”

”You’re so cute—oh fuck—but I told you to tell me when you want to.”

”I want to!” My voice broke. God, the pressure was too much. It built too much too fast; I didn’t know what would happen if he didn’t allow me to soon. “I want to cum now.”

”You do?” 

Shit.

That tone again. 

That stupid sweetheart tone.

“But what have you done to deserve it?”

”I’m-I’m so good for you I-I didn’t make you cum earlier, I told you how good you feel, I-I—”

”Trying to convince me you’re so good for me?”

”Oh my fucking—Dream I’m serious I’m going to. I can’t fucking—“

”Okay baby, holy shit, I know I’m—oh my god I’m cumming.“ The pleasure was all too much for me to handle so I couldn’t process anything else he said. He pulled out of me, and when he did, the pressure released.

All of it happened in a few seconds—

I think I cried his name when my orgasm took me by the throat. My eyes clamped shut and knees gave out; the only reason I didn’t fall to them was because his hand hooked under my hips still. My body writhed from the pleasure, and I was still coming to terms with how much of a mess I made. My thighs pressed together when rivers drenched them and I felt a few cold drops hit the bottom of my legs and feet.

After he finished over me, which was so quick I didn’t even think he had to touch himself after he pulled out, his hand trailed from my hips to my front. I knew he tried to get everything out of me, but I didn’t want it. I did, but I couldn’t handle it.

”Dream! Oh my god, no no no I can’t—“

”Again for me, I know you can; it was so fucking hot.”

”Fuck!“ I shouted again and my hand tried to grab his.

”Hell no,” he laughed. When I felt his free hand reach over and grab mine, I ultimately gave up. Once he grabbed my other wrist, he pinned them to my back. “Squirt for me, do it again baby. Drench me.” And the second his fingers worked me again, I let go and finally, it felt complete. 

I relaxed into the blankets with vain attempts to catch my breath. Dream let go of my hands gently and kissed up my back. 

“I’m sorry, baby.” There it was. His voice was quiet as he said those words just as I anticipated.

”For what?” I really gasped for breath trying to gather myself. His hands grazed my skin and I felt his eyes staring at every part of me. 

“Well hold on,” he said as I tried to move. “I’m using your pants, okay?”

”Whatever,” I laughed.

“I shouldn’t have neglected you to this point,” he spoke as he cleaned his release off my skin. “I feel bad and don’t want to hurt you—“

”Dream,” I grumbled and turned over when he finished cleaning me. 

Holy fuck. 

It would take a lot for him to convince me to take him from behind for a while. The flush of his face, how messy his hair was, and that hazy gaze in his eyes were too intoxicating for me to miss out on again.

”I want you to relax. You have been so damn stressed and working for so long that I just wanted you to release your pent up stress. I thought finishing the video would help, but it didn’t really seem to do it.”

”So you thought fucking me on stream would?” I laughed and felt my face heat up.

”I mean, it made you upset enough to fuck the shit out of me and you already seem to feel better.” I touched his face and he leaned into it. His hand covered mine.

”I know, I do.” It sounded like he didn’t want to admit it, but at least he did. “We’ll all take a long long break once everything for this project is finalized.”

”Good. Because you really deserve it.”

Comment to be added to Dream Taglist

Love, Rosie

[marie-swriting]

A Part Of The Family - Dean Winchester

Masterlist

Summary : You go on your first hunt with your father John and your half-brother Dean, hoping you'll finally be able to prove you're a true Winchester to your father.

Warnings : half-sister!reader, Y/N is 15, John is a shitty father, angst, feeling like you don't belong in the family, killing vampires, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language so tell me if you see some or if I missed any warnings.

Word count : 3.1k

French version

Prompt : PL n°1, n°10 "We could have prevented this"

“What are the rules ?” John asks you with a harsh voice.

“Always be on alert and ready to attack, kill first and ask questions later.” you answer, determined.

“Good, don’t forget you have to cut their head or they’ll still be able to attack. As it’s your first time on the field, you stay close to me or Dean, right ?”

“Yes, sir.”

John hands you a machete before closing the trunk of the Impala. You feel a knot in your stomach as you realise you’re only a few minutes away from the most dangerous moment of your life. Your hands start shaking, you tighten your grip on your weapon, hoping it’ll give you more courage. Rapidly, you look up and see Dean’s eyes on you. He puts a hand on your shoulder to reassure you. You give him a quick smile but the fear can still be read on your face. When you’re finally ready, you start entering the vampire nest.

You’ve been on their trails for a few days now and thanks to your personal researches, you found where they’re hiding. Now, you hope you’ll be able to kill these monsters without making a mistake, you want to show John he did a good thing by taking you out of the foster system after Sam left for University. Indeed, when the younger Winchester decided to leave the family business, John didn’t like being one hunter short so he came to get you, knowing he’ll have your custody easily because your mom died at your birth. Until he’d come to your foster family, you didn’t know your father’s identity, let alone that you had two big brothers. When you met them, an immense amount of joy had filed you, you thought you’d finally belong to a real family. John had said to your foster parents he came to have your custody because he just discovered your existence. He made a beautiful speech to them on the importance of having his daughter in his life. When he had pronounced those words, your heart had burst with love, but reality caught you up quickly when he immediately put an emotional distance between you before starting your hunter training. You knew it wouldn’t be easy but you want to prove to him he can count on you during hunts so you make sure to always give your best. However, John is demanding, you feel like you’ll never meet his expectations and because of the pressure you can make some mistakes. Fortunately, Dean knows to be patient with you, he protects you from John's reprimands.

When you’re in the old building, you’re faced with a heavy silence. It doesn’t feel like there’s any threat on the horizon while you’re getting deeper into the nest. You keep walking discreetly and glancing in every corner until you find some kind of cage with a prisoner inside. With a glance, you recognise Jake, a teenager your age who’s been helping you to find the vampires. He had started searching for them before you arrived ; his sister was one of their victims. Together, you had put your skill to good use, you with your supernatural knowledge and him with his knowledge of the city and its residents. When you see him, you lower your machete and run toward the cage.

“Jake ! My God, you’re okay ? Did they do anything to you ?” you question, examining his body quickly with your eyes.

“You know him, Y/N ?” John interrogates.

“He helped me to find the nest.” you inform before turning back to your friend. “You’re okay, Jake ?”

“I’m fine.”

“We’re getting you out of here, don’t worry.” Dean states while starting to force the lock.

“Kid, do you know where the vampires are ?” John questions with a dry tone.

“No, I just regained consciousness, actually. Thanks.” Jake says when Dean finally frees him.

Jake gets out of his small prison stumbling. You catch him when he’s losing his balance. You’re about to ask him if everything is fine when you see pointy teeth coming out of his gum. Surprised, you don’t have the reflex to lift your machete up. Dean and John are about to intervene when other vampires leave their hiding place. You finally push back Jake, scared but he comes back to you again. You try to fight him with your weapon but Jake breaks your arm, forcing you to drop it. Dean hears your cry of pain and turns his head to you. He sees Jake about to bite you in the neck when Dean runs to you and cuts Jake’s head without a second thought. You’re too stunned from what’s just happened to move.

“Everything okay ?” Dean questions, preoccupied.

“Yes, don’t worry.”

John growls angrily, making yours and Dean’s head turn to him. Dean leaves you to help John. You pick your machete up from the ground and try to at least hurt some vampires. Not able to use your dominant hand, you have even less strength to cut heads. By some miracles, probably due to adrenaline, you cut the head of one blood-drinker. In spite of yourself, you stare at the body and their head, not believing you’re the cause of it. Snapping out of it, you look up and see that most of the vampires are dead. John is handling the Alpha vampire while Dean seems to lose his fight with another monster as he’s struggling to get their fangs away from his neck. You run to him and cut the vampire’s head with all the strength you have. When Dean understands he’s not in danger anymore, he sets his gaze on you, proud to see you were able to save him. You can’t help but smile lightly as you realise that, for a first hunt, you did pretty well. With your valid hand, you help him to stand up while John finally kills the Alpha vampire. You look at John, hoping to see he’s happy or at least relieved to know you and Dean are alive and almost not hurt, beside your broken arm, but it’s an angry John who comes your way.

“What the hell was that ? We got ourselves in an ambush because of your stupidity ! How could you not understand Jake was a vampire when he was helping you ? Don’t tell me you didn’t even think about checking him before telling him everything !”

“He… I…” you stutter, making John even more mad.

“Answer !”

“He told me he was looking for the vampires, too but he didn’t know how to attack them.” you explain, feeling ashamed.

“And you didn’t think it was weird he knew that much ?”

“He said he’d been researching for two months so it seemed normal to me.” you defend yourself and John sighs to contain his anger.

“Damn it, Y/N, that’s unbelievable ! We could have prevented this if you had some common sense !”

“Dad, she’s still learning. It’s okay.” Dean intervenes with a calm voice.

“Not when she puts us in danger ! We could have died and she has a broken arm. She should have done better !”

While listening to John’s reproach, you lower down your head. On second thought, the hunt went worse than you thought. You put your loved ones in danger and you disappointed John. it’s going to be even harder for you to find your place in your little family and you hate yourself for that. John is right, you should have done better.

“We’re all alive and they are all dead. It’s a win.” your brother insists.

“I don’t care if we did well ! She should have thought like a hunter.”, John retorts before taking you by your shoulder with strength, forcing you to look at him with a wince, “You better not do that again, next time, use your head.”

“Yes, sir.”

John sighs, letting go of your shoulder. Dean has a quick peek at you to make sure you’re okay, you give him a quick nod to reassure him, but your glistening eyes don’t convince him.

“Come on,” John starts, “we have to go to the hospital for your arm, we can’t fix it. Another waste of time because of your stupidity.”

“I’m sorry.” you breathe, ready to cry in any second.

“‘Sorry’ doesn’t change anything. And get those tears out of your eyes, half Winchester or not, Winchesters don’t cry.”

“Yes, sir.”

Your shoulders drop when you follow John while Dean looks at you with compassion. He knows what it’s like to fight for John’s approval, it’s very rare to gain it, even for him it’s complicated while he does everything John tells him.

In the Impala, John doesn’t say a word, too angry he doesn’t even take a quick glance at you, as for Dean, he wishes he could reassure you, but he doesn’t want to get John more mad. You hold your arm to minimise the pain on the way while you think back to John’s words. Among every thing he reproached you about, his last sentence hurt you the most. Since he came to get you, you know John treats you differently than Dean, he doesn’t see you as a part of the family. Yet, it doesn’t stop you from feeling your heart burst out in pain every time he reminds you of it when he specifies your only Dean’s half-sister or when he refuses you calling him ‘dad’, that one hurts the most.

When you arrive at the hospital, there aren't a lot of people, surprisingly so you just have to wait an hour and a half to be taken in charge of. When your cast is on your arm, you go back to the motel still in silence. You bite your lips, stressed while you’re searching for something to say to rectify your mistakes but you don’t really know John, you ignore what you should say. When you walk through the door of your motel’s bedroom, John points the small kitchen table to you. Reluctant, you walk toward it without a word and sit. Dean starts following you but John orders him to get cleaned up. Knowing it’s not the time to challenge him, Dean obeys. John stays on his feet in front of you, towering you with his height. Instinctively, you look down on your fingers, fidgeting with them until John starts talking.

“I hope you realise what you did was dangerous.”

“Yes, I won’t do it again, promise.”

“You better ! You could have died and so could have your half-brother. At least, you did kill some vampires but apart from that, you ruined this whole hunt ! If you don’t want to go back to your foster family, you better be more useful next time. I don’t need a deadweight but a hunter.” he rumbles.

“I’ll do better next time.” you assure him, determined.

“We’ll see in a few months because with your bullshit, you got yourself a broken arm. You’ll be in charge of the research and when you’ll be able to train again, we’ll get back to it and this time, I’ll be more strict. You need to learn correctly, I can’t have a kid who doesn’t know what she’s doing.” John spats, emphasising on the word ‘kid’, hurting you once more. “Don’t make me regret my decision to get you. And get that sad look out of your face, I can’t waste my time with weak people either.”, he orders and you try to get a grip on yourself, “I’m going to the bar.” he finishes, walking away from you. 

Without a glance, John leaves the room. When you hear the door slam shut, you jump. Tears filling your eyes in an instant. You try to hold them back but the more you blink, the harder it is to prevent them from falling. In spite of yourself, a tear rolls down your cheek. You wipe it away quickly, hoping Dean didn’t see anything because he just got out of the bathroom. You take deep breaths, trying to cool down your emotions. Dean delicately puts a hand on your shoulder and kneels down in front of you. 

“Hey, kid, you’re okay ?”

Contrary to John, the word ‘kid’ in Dean’s mouth seems affectionate. You see in his eyes he’s genuine, but you refuse to show you’re weak for another second. You clear your throat before looking him in the eyes.

“Yeah, just tired of the day. John went to a bar.”

“Just you and me, then ? What do you say about going to the Burger in front of the motel ?” he proposes with a smile.

“I’m not really hungry and I wouldn’t like John to get even more mad because he won’t find us when he’ll get back.”

“He’ll be in that bar for some time, don’t worry, besides, you need to recharge your battery, you did your first hunt !” he states, hoping it’ll cheer you up.

“What a victory it was !” you scoff, rolling your eyes.

“You got through it with only a broken arm and it was a vampire nest, I call that a victory. C’mon.”

Dean helps you to stand up from your chair. He puts back on his jacket and takes his wallet before inviting you to leave the motel.

At the Burger place, you almost don’t eat anything. You swallow only some French fries but don’t touch your hamburger while Dean devours everything in a heartbeat. Dean doesn’t start a conversation, guessing you need some silence after everything John told you. Dean knows he wasn’t kind with you the second time he reprimanded you with the small part he was able to hear through the bathroom walls. Furthermore, Dean and you have been knowing each other only for a few months now, he ignores if in this kind of situation, you’d rather talk or stay on your own. Just to be safe, he prefers to stay close to you without being oppressive so that's what he’s currently doing. When he’s finally done with his meal, he asks for a doggy bag for yours and goes to pay. On the way back, you don’t see the Impala, which reassures you because you know you still have some time off before John’s return. Entering the room, you take your stuff and close yourself in the bathroom. When you’re ready to go to sleep, you lay on your bed, your back facing Dean who’s on his own bed watching TV. You try to sleep but John’s words keep haunting your mind. The more you think back about the hunt, the more you realise how naive you were. Mentally, you’re calling yourself names, telling yourself that because of your mistakes you lost what little esteem John had for you. Feeling your tears again, you try to breathe slowly. You can’t cry, especially with Dean next to you. He can’t see how weak you are or you'll go down in his estimation as well and it’s the last thing you want. Despite your tries to be discreet, you sniff, drawing Dean’s attention to you. At first, he doesn’t think too much about it, but when he hears your heavy breath and your sniffing several times, he gets up from his bed and comes to you. He sits down next to you and puts a comforting hand on your shoulder. Feeling his presence, you don’t dare to move, waiting for him to scold you.

“Wanna talk about it ?” he questions softly.

“There’s nothing to say.” you state.

“Y/N, I know how his words can affect someone.”

“He’s right, I’ve been stupid, I should have been a better hunter.”

“You’re fifteen and you’re still learning.” Dean retorts, “You were naive, it’s true, but a few months ago, you still thought vampires were some kind of legend from Transylvania, not the reality. You can’t be perfect from the start. You were bound to make mistakes on your first hunt, you can’t be mad at yourself for that. Believe me, I made worse mistakes on my first hunts”, he tries to reassure you but you’re still silent, “Y/N, could you look at me ?”

“No, I don’t want you to think I’m weak.” you refuse, ashamed.

“Why would I think that ?”

“Winchesters don’t cry. Even if I’m not a real one.” you say, repeating John's words.

Dean sighs, trying to find something to say. He hates the way John’s words already got into  your head. He wishes he could reassure you like a big brother should but he’s still facing your back, not wanting to confront him. He knows he shouldn't take it personally but knowing you think he could act like John tightens his heart.

“I know I’m not well placed to say this,” he starts, hesitating, “but you can cry. Before being hunters, we’re humans.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you like I disappointed John.” you whisper, sniffing.

“You’re not gonna disappoint me and as for John, he’ll get over it, you can trust me. When you’ll be fully trained, he’ll see how excellent of a hunter you are.” Dean affirms.

“If he didn’t send me back to my foster family by then.” you add.

“I won’t let that happen.”, your big brother states, determined, “Now that I know I have a little sister, I can assure you you’re stuck with me as long as you decide otherwise.”

“Half-sister.” you correct, John’s voice still echoing in your head.

“In other words, my sister. You’re a part of the family.” Dean insists and you feel a new tear rolling down your cheek.

“Why are you so nice to me ? You didn’t even know I existed six months ago, you have  every right to ignore me.” you question with a trembling voice.

“I just told you, we’re family, I care about you.”

Without responding, you turn around before throwing yourself in his arms. All the tears you’ve been holding back for the past few months finally roll down your cheeks. Feeling your shoulders shaking, Dean holds you closer against him. He strokes your back, inviting you to let all your emotion leave your body. His heart breaks a bit more when he realises how much you’ve been holding back to at least satisfy John a bit. He knows the pain all too well so that night, he makes sure you know he’ll always be there to support you. Your head still hiding in the crook of his neck, you stay in his arms, accepting for the first time the comfort of your big brother.

Masterlist

{This is my side blog so I'll be answering comments under the username @marie-sworld}

[profoundbondfanfic]

heard from your mother (she don't recognize you)

heard from your mother (she don’t recognize you) by rupertgayes (@rupertgayes) Rating: Mature Word Count: 538k

A man named Cas wakes up in 2003 with no memories, but he's able to piece together a few things: Supernatural creatures exist, and most of them will hurt innocent civilians if he doesn't stop them; he has abilities that no human hunter should have, but he knows enough about human hunters to keep that to himself, and finally; he keeps running into another hunter named Dean Winchester, who must be as lonely as he is if he's willing to put up with those former facts long enough to help Cas unravel the mystery of who (or what) he really is. For his part, Dean's still (not) dealing with Sam's departure to Stanford, and figures distracting himself with a bit of mystery and intrigue is as harmless as it gets, right? Right.

Are you in the mood to experience the whole story developing a bit differently right from the start?

Then here you go!

On one hand there is Dean, still having a hard time handling his brother leaving for college years ago and trying to somehow manage by doing his due diligence as a hunter and following his father’s demands to the letter. Somewhere along the way, however, he starts to constantly cross paths with a man who remembers nothing from his life apart from his name and a strong urge to hunt monsters. At first Dean has no idea what to make of this guy who calls himself Cas, but over time their connection and relationship grows into something very personal as everything around them unravels.

If you ever wanted to know what would happen if you were to throw Cas into pre canon and early season SPN, this series certainly doesn’t hesitate to show you just that! Cas has no clue where he is coming from, who he even is deep down, and yet he gives it his everything to use his abilities to save as many people as possible. 

And Dean, bless him, simply can’t help but be drawn to all of that (because how could he not?), no matter how hard he fights it. Since at the end of the day he is still Dean Winchester who’s simply unable to resist a blue-eyed weirdo of a guy who could very well be an actual honest-to-God angel or whatever (not that something like that exists, right?? RIGHT????) by the way he is acting and showing off his strange powers and all that. Poor Dean is just helpless and it’s the greatest fun to see him sinking deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole!

But it’s also intriguing to watch everything unfold in a slightly different manner, with some crucial details changed, and the mystery of Cas’ past, of his true being, is wonderfully depicted as they gather more and more breadcrumbs over time. I mean, technically we all know the answer to the puzzle that is Cas, contrary to the characters, and yet (or maybe especially because of it) you find yourself ridiculously invested.

And yes, this series is a big boy, I’ll give it that, but I promise you it’s worth it and you will barely feel time flying by as you dive into this alternate and yet so very familiar version of events which are going to leave you on the edge of your seat!

So please, have fun 😁

[maggiedanikka]

Superstar (Part 1)

Pairing: Rooster x f!reader, (blink and you'll miss it, unrequited) Hangman x f!reader

Warnings: ANGST, good ending promise

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 19.7k (holy sh*t)

Summary:  “I’m no one special, just another wide eyed girl, who's desperately in love with you.”

OR 

Rooster is sure he's in love with this girl. Only problem is, he's never seen or face or know her name

No use of y/n

Based of off Superstar (Taylor's version) by Taylor Swift

Author's Note: It's me, Hi. This one shot is so freaking late y'all. In all honesty I started writing this August around the time I finished writing Naked, but life and school happened and now here we are. It felt amazing getting to stretch my writing skills again for anything other than research papers, and I'm on winter break so it seems as good a time as any. I'm not going to give anymore excuses, but I promise this is worth a read. This is the longest single piece of work I have ever written. It ended at 65 pages and almost 20k words in my drafts. Its so long that Tumblr won't let post the entire one shot in one post so im splitting it in two, but dw send part will be posted immediately after this is posted. I also didn't have anyone edit this, so I apologize for any grammatical errors (most likely tense consistency bcs i suck at those) I hope you all enjoy reading it as I did writing it and I hope it tide y'all over until I can write the next chapter of Let Me Go. Here is Superstar.

Bradley Bradshaw’s voice was an enigma to you. How could anyone's voice be so hoarse and yet so strong?

As an air traffic controller for the Navy, you’ve heard every type of voice imaginable. The gruff demanding ones from the Air Boss, the shrill screams of pilots having to eject due to a bird strike, the quiet dulcet tones of a shy WSO, and everything in between. 

The first time you heard his voice through the comms, you weren’t exactly starstruck per se, just a bit thrown off.

“This is Dagger 2, asking for clearance for take off.” 

It’s not like you didn’t know who the pilots flying this mission were. Everyone in the goddamn Navy knew who they were, they were the best of the best. 

You even saw their pictures. And thought some of them were cute (especially the one rocking the Miami Vice Stache). But hearing their voices was different from reading their files.

Though most of the details of the mission were classified, you had a basic idea and knew that there was a good chance that someone wasn’t coming home. 

“This is Dagger 2, asking for clearance for take off”

The voice repeated. You snapped out of your thoughts, the voice was smooth as honey and it had just a hint of fear but yet so heavily determined. Your heart really went out to the poor pilot. 

“Dagger 2, you’re clear for take off.” You said, trying to convey as much sympathy as you could in those words. 

The actual mission itself didn’t last longer than 3 minutes. Working for the navy, you should’ve been used to the high stakes situations that often go hand in hand with these kinds of assignments. But you couldn’t help but sit on the edge of your seat during the duration of the mission.

There were a few initial hiccups, you felt like you were watching a movie as you listened to the daggers communicate with one another. Their nervousness (and to be honest your own) upon seeing the SAMs and your both concern and irritation at Lieutenant Bradshaw’s cautiousness. 

Yes, his by the book and precise flying is part of the reason why he was considered one of the best, but if he didn’t throw that shit out of the window and speed up he will end up getting himself killed. And even though you didn’t necessarily know him, this possibility filled your body with so much dread.

You felt relieved (well only slightly, they hadn’t made it out of the woods just yet) when Rooster finally got out of his own head and sped up. The two miracles were successfully pulled off and the 4 jets had made it past Coffin Corner. Now it was a dogfight all the way home.

You commended just how level headed and pragmatic the pilots were as they evaded the SAMs and attacks that were thrusted upon them. You knew if you were in the same situation you would’ve panicked and blown up by now. Your admiration was interrupted by the mayday call of Captain Mitchell.

A heavy tension set in the control room, everyone was shocked at what just transpired. It was interrupted by the voices of the other daggers. Notably Lieutenant Bradshaw and Lieutenant Trace. 

Phoenix had announced that she and Lieutenant Floyd were heading back to home base, along with Payback and Fanboy. However, you were yet to hear confirmation from Rooster, with the last thing he said went along the lines of going after Maverick. 

You held your breath as you heard Admiral Simpson demanded his return. The control room was met with silence, and you knew exactly what he was going to do. 

It was less than 5 minutes when it was confirmed that Lieutenant Bradshaw’s plane had been shot down after attacking an enemy plane. His beacon went dark. 

Lieutenant Seresin requested clearance for take off but was rebuffed by the Air Boss. You had to take everything in you to not shed a tear.

A thick silence fell over the entire ship. The mission was technically a success but you wouldn’t be able to tell based on the solemn look on everyone’s faces. 

Even after the remaining daggers returned on the ship, no one wanted to leave the control room. The entire ship was at a standstill. 

That was until a beacon marked “Rooster” started beeping on the screen. 

No it couldn’t be.

“Sir, Rooster has gone supersonic.” You told Admiral Simpson with a gulp, trying to contain your hope. 

“An F-14 tomcat has been spotted sir.” Another ATC announced. 

“Maverick.” You heard someone say, not sure who but you did not care at that point. What’s important is that they were alive!

But it was not time to celebrate just yet. Two bogies were spotted alongside the F-14 Tomcat. And everyone knew this meant a dogfight was about to commence. 

The situation looked more and more grim. An ancient F-14 against Fifth Gens? It was unlikely for the two pilots to make it out unscathed yet alone alive.

But by some grace of God (or possibly Maverick’s unbeatable skill, probably both) they managed to take down two bogies. 

Rooster managed to turn on the plane’s radio to contact the ship. You felt relief which was instantly thwarted by the news that there was still one Fifth Gen, directly in front of the plane. 

You knew they needed help. You looked at Admiral Simpson desperately, hoping that he would allow the Reserve Dagger to go assist. But Cyclone seemed frozen and you knew you had to take matters into your own hands.

“Dagger Reserve, are you ready for liftoff?” You spoke into the mic, the other people in the control room looked at you in shock.

“Finally!” The elated voice of Hangman came through the comms.

Admiral Simpson shot you a hard glare, if only looks could kill, you’d probably be as screwed as Maverick and Rooster. But you knew you had to do something. 

“Yes this is Dagger Reserve asking clearance for takeoff.” 

“Dagger Reserve, you are clear for takeoff. Bring our boys home.” You said with a small smile, if you get fired and discharged, possibly thrown into the ocean it’ll be worth it knowing what you did to save the aviators.

Hangman shot down the Fifth Gen with ease, earning him his second confirmed air combat kill. You knew that the other pilots would never hear the end of it. But all you cared about is he saved HIM.

Rooster’s laugh and banter with Hangman might’ve been the most wonderful sound you’ve ever heard. 

Seeing him on the tarmac reunited with the rest of his team had to be one of the highlights of your career with the Navy, if this was the last moment you had in the branch then you were perfectly content. 

“What you did was reckless insubordination! If there was another fifth Gen out there, we would’ve lost 3 of our best pilots and 2 planes worth millions of dollars!” Admiral Simpson had chastised you. 

“I have half a mind to dishonorably discharge you!” You 're ready to accept your punishment with grace. You were however surprised at his next words 

“But your actions saved 2 of our men.” He added with a gulp.

“You are clear from punishment, but DO NOT make this a habit!”

“Yes sir.” You told him with a steady voice.

“Thank you sir.”

“You are dismissed, go join the rest of the fleet.” He told you.

You ran down to celebrate the returning pilots, but so was everyone else. You could only see a glimpse of Captain Mitchell and Lieutenant Bradshaw past the dozens of bodies approaching to greet them. 

But even from where you were standing you could see the beaming smile and bright eyes of the mustached pilot. And from that exact moment you knew you were a goner. 

———————————————————————-

Next time you heard his voice was a few weeks post mission. Apparently he accepted a post to teach at Top Gun. 

You were decently shocked to learn that the team assembled for the mission decided to stay in Miramar. Especially since they basically got their pick of post anywhere in the world. 

But you figured Lieutenant Bradshaw, or rather Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw (remembering his promotion), decided to stay because of his recent reconciliation with Captain Mitchell. 

“This is Rooster asking for clearance for takeoff.” He said through the comms.

“You’re still here?” Shit. You did not mean to say that out loud. 

You heard back a chuckle from the pilot.

“Yes, I decided to stick around Fightertown for a little while.”

“Sorry sir.” You replied grateful that he couldn’t see the blush that was forming on your cheeks. 

“You are clear for takeoff.”

“Thanks sweetheart. Roger that.” You felt your cheeks grow hotter as he took off into the air. 

“ATC you still there?” He asked you once he was at cruising altitude. 

“Yes Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw, I am still here.” Hoping that he forgot your earlier words and needed something official. 

“Any reason why you were shocked at my staying?” He asked you.

You gulped at his question. Was this allowed? You’ve never had a pilot ask you a question before that didn’t pertain to instructions, both on the ground and in the air. 

After a breath you answered his question.

“I heard about your promotion, and the offer to be posted anywhere in the world. Just surprised you chose to stay here.”

“Sometimes a family is worth more than any accolade or prestigious post.” He told you. You could tell he really cared about Maverick, but was not sure about the history of that. 

Would asking him be crossing a line?

“Why do you stay in fightertown?” He asks you.

“Not for anything as noble as your reason Lieutenant Commander, just an assigned post.” 

“Well I hope you’re liking Miramar. Actually grew up here.” You were surprised that he was still speaking to you, considering he was in the sky for a reason, and normally pilots didn’t maintain this much conversation with Air Traffic Control.

“I really like it so far, having some trouble with making friends though.” You don’t know why you admitted this to him, especially through comms that other people are definitely listening in to. And especially to a Naval hero who definitely would have no interest in the life of a lowly ATC. 

“Well, consider me your first friend sweetheart.” He responded and he actually sounded genuine. You couldn’t help but smile at the aviator's words.

You were about to respond when you were interrupted by Hangman through the comms. 

“Usually I would encourage this, but you can flirt later, Rooster, we gotta shoot down Mav.”

Your little bubble had been burst as you remembered why you had to clear him for takeoff earlier.

“That’s my cue, talk to you later, friend.”

“Have a good exercise Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw.” You respond with a smile you know he’d never see. 

Your shift ended before they finished their exercise, so you didn’t get to give Rooster clearance to land (or maybe you just hoped to speak to him again). But from what you heard, it was the closest the team got to finally shooting down the infamous Captain. 

You knew that one day they could surpass the pilot, but you were glad that they were able to learn and grow (and stay) a little longer at Top Gun.

In an effort to make more friends you agreed to go out with some of your fellow ATCs that night. Which is how you ended up in a bar on the beach called ‘the Hard Deck’.

Your co-workers were nice enough, and you were honestly glad that you weren’t spending another night with a plate of pad Thai watching yet another crappy Netflix rom-com. 

Imagine your surprise when Rooster and his crew of pilots walked into the very same bar. They went straight to the pool tables and were currently arguing over who got to play first. 

“God definitely has favorites, because they are so fine.” Your co-worker Laura sighs. 

“I wanna climb Seresin like a tree.” She adds.

“I’m more of a Coyote and Payback kind of gal.” Your other co-worker Sara remarked. 

“But I wouldn’t kick Fanboy or Bob out of bed, they look like they know some tricks.” 

She said as she took another drink of her martini. You agreed with their judgements but couldn’t help but only have eyes for one of the pilots.

“Good choice.” Your other co-worker Lia tells you after following your gaze. 

“Bradshaw definitely takes the cake.” 

You blush upon being caught staring at Rooster. 

All your co-workers nodded in agreement with Lia. 

“He’s not as pretty as Hangman but he’s somehow more fuckable.” Laura comments. 

You couldn’t help but feel possessive as the other women also stared at Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw with hungry eyes. 

But it’s not like you had any right to that feeling, he wasn’t yours, he didn’t even know who you were. 

The conversation moved on to other topics, it could’ve been anything from the weather or the latest Naval gossip but you were only half paying attention. You were honestly just glad that they were done ogling a certain pilot. 

You really liked the Hard Deck. It was now clear that it was a Navy spot and it was really cool to see the usually serious people from work loosened up in civilian clothes. 

The night was bustling and while you were glad for some company, you couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. All these women knew each other and had all these little jokes with one another, and you were an outsider that had a bit of a neurotic streak.

You were wondering if this was a pity invite, and you were slowly leaning to a yes but you were already here, might as well make the best of it.

You prepared yourself to jump back into the conversation, when the music from the jukebox had abruptly stopped. And while the men booed, you saw that the women all stopped and stared at the piano. Or rather the person at the piano. 

Lo and behold, Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw was seated at the decades old instrument, his fingers expertly playing an old Elton John hit. Of course he would have an affinity for the 80s, as shown by his mustache.

If you thought his speaking voice was beautiful, his singing voice was downright heavenly. He had this low tenor that was so strong and made “I’m still standing” sound sensual. How is that even possible?

Obviously you weren’t the only person that thought so, you saw women dancing in front of him, singing along and obviously trying to get his attention. 

For the other women (and some men) that weren’t, were singing along and staring, were all bewitched at the pilot’s skill. And really, who could blame them?

He had this air of confidence that even the cockiest of pilots could never compete with, he was a superstar. In the air and the ground. 

When he (sadly) finished his song, the entire bar cheered and chanted his name. He did a silly dance and seemed to have no care in the world.

You couldn’t help but fall for him a little more. 

——-——————————————————————

“This is Rooster, in the air calling for Air Traffic Control.”

You just started your shift less than 2 minutes ago and did not know that Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw was already in the air.

“This is Air Traffic Control, what do you need, Lieutenant Commander?” You ansered, trying to keep your voice calm, hoping your little crush on the aviator wouldn’t show in your voice. 

“It’s you!” Rooster exclaimed.

“I’m not sure what you mean sir?”

“You’re the ATC from the other day? The one that agreed to be my friend.”

A blush crept onto your face, you were surprised he remembered your interaction. 

“Um yes sir.” 

“You got off the comm lines so quickly the other day. I didn’t get to invite you to hang out with me and meet some other new friends at the Hard Deck.” 

Your heart grew warm. He was serious? He wasn’t just trying to be polite?

“I was at the Hard Deck sir. Saw you there with your squadron.”

“Oh shit, really? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Seemed rude to just insert myself, sir.”

“Plus you seemed preoccupied with your adoring fans.” You said with a giggle. 

“It was an amazing performance.”

“Oh yeah? Are you a fan?” You heard him ask, already seeing his smirk in your mind. 

“Oh yeah definitely! Consider me the president of the fan club sir.” You quipped. 

“So what does the role of “president” entail?” 

“You know, make t-shirts, teach the Rooster 101 class, and of course host the weekly meeting where we talk about how hot and talented Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw is.”

“So you think I’m hot?”

Your face grew warm in response, and cursed yourself for accidentally flirting nonsensically. And prayed to whatever higher power that no one was currently listening to the comm line. 

“Oh um-.” You began to respond.

“No! Sir-…um I just…”

“You know it’s frowned upon to lie to your superiors.” He said in a serious tone.

“Oh no I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t mean to-“

“ATC….”He interrupts, with an inflection at the end of the last letter 

“Yes I think you’re hot Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw” You confessed with a gulp.

He let out a hearty chuckle.

You were completely mortified and you don’t think your face has ever been this hot before. If you thought you didn’t have a chance before, more so now. You were debating whether you should disconnect now and go back to your job (I mean this is technically your job, but not the flirting part). 

You were broken out of your inner debate by Rooster

“Thanks sweetheart.”

“You know you don’t have to keep calling me Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw right?”

“You can call me Rooster.”

You were thankful for the subject change. 

“Okay Lieutenant Comma-“

“Sorry, okay….Rooster.”

“Now that’s better.” He said with a slight laugh, you could already see his dazzling smile now.

“How about you ATC? What should I call you?”

“Oh you can call me-“ you began to say.

“This is Lieutenant Finch asking for clearance for takeoff.” You were cut off by the comm.

You sighed, back to real life. 

“I’m sorry Rooster, I got to go back to duty.”

You cut off the comm lines before he could respond.

————————————————————————

Next time you saw him, he was walking down a hallway with Lieutenant Commander Trace by his side. He was talking so animatedly, his hands waving around as he delivered his point.

It sounded like he was gushing about a tail spin maneuver that Maverick pulled off, and god he’s so beautiful. When he speaks it’s like you couldn’t help but listen. Hell! you bet a reading of the F-18 NATOPS would sound like absolute sin coming from his mouth. 

You were so caught up in his voice that you didn’t notice how close you were to passing him.

You felt your breath get caught in your throat as your shoulders brushed against his as you walked in the opposite direction. Even through your thick khakis, you can feel how muscular his shoulders were. Damn this man works out.

“Oops sorry ma’am” he stopped and turned to you. His eyes were concerned that he hurt you from a measly bump. This man could not be real.

“I didn't mean to bump you. And as put together as I seem to be, I am actually a huge klutz and a hazard to pretty girls.” He said with a chuckle and a wink.

You tried to respond to him, but only a squeak managed to leave your mouth. Starstruck that he’s speaking to you for the first time, not through a comm line. 

Wait and he called you pretty! You were now fighting a blush creeping on your cheeks. But to the two aviators it looked like you were not amused 

“Stop bothering her Rooster, she obviously has places to be.” Phoenix chastises him.

“I apologize for my bothersome friend.” She turned to say to you. And all your pathetic shy ass can do is nod.

“See you around! And sorry again!” Rooster says once more as Lieutenant Trace pulls him away and down the hallway. 

———————————-—————————————

Okay, you were not doing this on purpose, well sorta. Sometimes in the midst of your constant daydreaming, your subconscious kinda just takes the reins and dictates your actions. 

Which is how you found yourself coincidentally choosing a work schedule that lined up the most perfectly with Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw’s flying times.

You hoped for another conversation with Rooster, hoping to redeem yourself from your words (or rather lack thereof) during the hallway debacle.

 But the Lieutenant Commander seemed very focused on the exercise that they’ve been working on for the past week and has not been speaking to you as much as of late.

You were of course sad, and you felt a pit in your stomach grow larger and larger each passing day that your conversations started and ended with “you’re cleared for takeoff”.

You almost wish that your stupid infatuation would go away so that you didn’t feel yourself crushed at the end of every single work day. 

But you would catch a glimpse of his smile on the tarmac and your heart would fill with so much longing once again. 

It had been almost a week since your last true interaction with the aviator, you were beyond pathetic at this point. 

At last, he finally called in after he was in the sky. 

“Is the president of my fan club there?” He called into the comms. 

Was he talking about you? I mean who else would he be talking about considering the topic of your conversation last time. 

Unless he talks to all the ATCs like this, flirting with them until they become flustered and red as a tomato. He’s probably done this with Sara, or Laura or even both! The thought filled your stomach with dread. Should you stay silent and pretend you didn’t hear him? Or maybe he actually needs something, it would be unprofessional of you to not help your superior or maybe-

“I know you’re there, I can hear you thinking”�� 

Rooster has a habit of breaking you out of your anxiety induced thoughts.

“Are you calling for me Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw?”

You heard him clear his throat, expectant.

“Oh I’m sorry, Rooster.” You corrected yourself.

“That’s better” He said with a chuckle. 

“Sorry I’ve been radio silent the past week sweetheart, have had a lot on my mind.” 

“You don’t have to apologize to me! You’re one of the greatest pilots in the world, no need to worry about me.” You assured him, and maybe you were a bit self-deprecating but it was true. 

“No need for all of that ATC, I’m just a guy in a plane. And were friends, remember?  It’s not fair of me to leave you in the dark.” 

Damn. AND he's humble? How can this man be anymore perfect?

“ Thank you Rooster.” You replied with a small smile.

“Sorry again for going ghost, this is a bit of a hard week for me” He continued.

In any normal circumstance, asking for elaboration would seem like prying, but your conversations with the Lieutenant commander have been less than normal as of late. You still had no clue where you got the courage to ask.

“Oh, why is that?”

“Wanna know all my secrets already sweetheart?” 

He somehow managed to avoid the question AND make you flustered. He’s good.

“How about I let you know my stories over dinner?”

You just felt your heart jump out of your chest and into another dimension. There’s no way THE Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw was asking you out. 

This had to be some kind of game, one that he’s no doubt played a million times before. Rooster had no shortage of women who wanted him and the fact that he’s asking you out of all people was unbelievable. There was no way. 

“Um like a date?” You ask him nervously.

He chuckles at your response, amused at your edginess. But to you it sounded like the thunderclap before the lightning strike of rejection. 

You just wished he’d get on with it. Hoping he lets you down easy so you can move on from this crush and actually do your job.

“What else would I mean?” He finally responded.

Your entire body felt like a cracked glow stick. You felt bright and overheated, but also cold as ice as you’ve somehow lost feeling in your extremities.

So he was asking you out! You were determined to apologize for every time you’ve said God’s name in vain because if Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw was asking you on a date, then there is no doubt that the higher power was real. 

But the reality of the situation had set in. If he was this quick to ask you out despite not knowing your name, or what you look like. What’s stopping him from changing his mind and moving on to the next ATC or bartender or crossing guard who gave him admiring attention just as quickly?

You came to a swift realization.

It was against your nature and your better judgment, as your heart was beating out the seams to say yes to Rooster’s invitation. But you had to be smart about this.

You had to play the game.

“I’m gonna have to say no sir.”  

You can feel the regret setting in already.

“Wow, I think that’s the first no I’ve gotten in…. That might be the first no I’ve ever gotten.”

Great, now you’ve bruised his ego, you had no idea if this tactic was working for or against you.

“Well, I think dinner might be a little further down the line, that’s if you think you can handle it?” You somehow gathered enough courage to (fake) confidently challenge Rooster.

“Oh is that so?” You can hear the intrigue in his voice through the line. 

“How about a phone number?” He offers amused

“Hmm… maybe THAT  I can agree with.” You responded matching his playful tone.

“In one condition.” 

“Oh yeah? And what is that sweetheart?” 

“Shoot down Maverick in the drill today.”

“Is that it? I can do that, easy.” There was the cockiness the top gun pilots were famous for.

“That’s funny, considering you haven’t been able to do it in the past 3 weeks.” You jested.

“Ouch, first you reject my invitation, and now you insult my skill? Way to kick a man while he’s already down sweetheart.” He grimaced playfully.

“Gotta give you some kind of challenge sir.” You couldn't hold back the giggle forming in your throat. 

“Okay deal, anything to hear that laugh again, outside of these comm lines.” He chuckled.

Oh shit. You completely forgot that you are flirting with Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw though a military operated and very public comm line.

“I was wondering when the two of were going to remember the rest of us can hear EVERYTHING.” You heard the voice of Lieutenant Commander Seresin chortle.

You felt your ears burn red in embarrassment. 

“Getting rejected over comms Bradley? And here I thought you had game.” Captain Mitchell added. Both of them were laughing at their fellow aviator. 

“See what I mean sweetheart? I promise I’m a much better conversationalist when these assholes aren’t around.” Bradley insulted the other two pilots. 

“Don’t listen to him ATC, I’ve known him since he was still in diapers , and I promise you, this is as good as he’s gonna get.” Captain Mitchell remarked to you. 

“Don’t think I’m gonna go easy on him for you either.” He added jokingly. 

“Trust me Captain Mitchell, I’m counting on it.” You replied with equal fervor. Maverick responded with a playful tone.

“Sounds good ma’am, hope I don’t disappoint .”

“I’m going to get into position, You two can join me once Bradley is done with his disastrous flirting.” He added before going radio silent, lifting his jet to prepare for the dogfight. 

“Hypothetically, if I shoot down Mav, do I get your number?” Hangman teased. 

“Walk the walk first, and maybe I’ll consider it.” You quipped, but you knew that the only aviator you’d want to give your number to was Rooster. 

“Good enough for me.” Hangman replied. 

“Watch me beat you Rooster, in the drill and with the girl.” Hangman chuckled playfully before going radio silent, presumably getting into position.

“Double timing me with Hangman sweetheart? Now thats a killing blow.” Rooster smiled, slightly annoyed at your flirtatious exchange with Seresin but happy that it was just the two of you once again. 

“You know how bumptious Lieutenant Commander Seresin can be. I just said it to get rid of him.” You explained. 

“Now for you, I am completely serious. Shoot down Mav and you got yourself a phone number.”

“Yours right?” He asked.

You let out a hearty laugh, one that had caused the other ATC’s currently in the control tower to look at you with concerned expressions. 

“Yes. Mine.”

“You never know, you could very well give me Admiral Bates’ number. I just wanted to make sure.” He replied.

“Plus its always a bonus to hear you laugh.”

This man never seemed to run out of lines. You had to hold yourself back from melting into a puddle in your seat.

“Well lets see what you got then Lieutenant Commander.” Was the last thing you said as he finally went back up to position. 

As much as you wanted to stay tuned into the dogfight like you were a suburban dad cheering on their favorite football team, you did actually have a job to do. 

You were in the middle of analyzing flight patterns and putting together a presentation for your co-workers when you heard the sudden call on your headset.

“Hello, this is air traffic control.”

You were greeted with a loud thunderous cheer. 

“I did it ATC! I shot down Mav.” Rooster howled.

“Is this true Lieutenant Commander Seresin?” You asked Hangman.

“As much as I tried to sabotage him, yes Rooster did somehow managed to shoot down the old-timer.” Hangman confirmed with a groan.

Shit. Now you have to actually give your number to Rooster.

“Soooo ATC, I’m waiting for the magic numbers.” You could already see the victory smirk on his face. 

“Ughhh fine a deal is a deal. But I am not going to give out my private phone number on a monitored line. I’m just gonna have to get it to you another way.”

“Okay fair enough. How are you gonna do that?” Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw queried. 

“Don’t worry about it, just know you’ll get it.”

“Or you know you can just give it to me face to fa-.”

“Goodbye Rooster.” You interrupted and dropped the line before he could continue. 

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

You honestly did not know how you were going to get your number to Rooster. You wouldn’t dare to see him face to face. He’ll take one look at you and know that you were nothing special and he’d lose interest. The only reason he was this enthralled was because you were a mystery to him. 

You could always go back on your deal and tell him you were kidding about the number, but you knew that was an asshole move and you were not the type to break agreements. You had to figure out how to get that number to him without him seeing you. 

At least then you can speak to him and possibly flirt with him for a little longer before he inevitably loses interest..

You were sat in the comm tower, your head resting on the back of your hand, watching Rooster joke around with Mav and Hangman down in the tarmac beside their F-18s. Even from all the way up here you can see how bright his smile was. He was so beautiful. 

You were snapped out of your admiration by the three aviators walking off the tarmac, probably to rest and sit with the other pilots in the hangar. You saw your window of opportunity, in the form of (no pun intended) Rooster’s open canopy on his jet. 

If you could sneak down there and place a piece of paper with your number on his dash then you would have fulfilled your side of the deal. 

If anyone were to ask, you were not a stalker, you were just very observant, especially if you’ve been watching these pilots for the better part of the last few weeks and knew that they were going to spend at least the next 15 minutes in the hangar until they returned to the tarmac. You had to make your move NOW.

You scribbled your number onto a piece of discarded paper.

“I’m taking a 10!” You announced to the control room before running out clutching the note to your chest. 

You quickly ran down from the tower and quickly onto the tarmac, making sure to duck and turn your head away as you passed the hangar (just in case). 

You couldn’t remember the last time you ran this fast, probably not since basic training. You quickly manuevered around all the F-18s until you reached the one marked with the label LCDR Bradley Bradshaw “Rooster”. You’ve never seen his jet this up close, you wanted desperately to run your hand through the marking of his name, to touch something that he has. 

No. You have to remember you’re here on a time-constrained mission, and you had to get out of here not only  before the pilots come out, but also before anyone in the comm tower can spot you down here. 

You quickly flung yourself up the ladder up to cockpit of the jet and trying to place the piece of paper as rapidly and as gently as you could on the dash. When you finally let go of the paper and saw that it was securely in place, you hopped off the tiny ass ladder and started to speed walk back to the direction of the comm tower. 

Your heart was beating a million times per minute and you did it without anyone seeing you. You could see the door to the tower in the distance, and were beelining towards it. That’s until you heard a clear 

“HEY!” Coming from behind you. 

You turned around and were greeted by the suspect face of Lieutenant Commander Seresin. He was standing probably a good 25 feet away and slowly walking towards you.

“Who are you? What are doing down here?” 

You had to think of an excuse fast, with as little words spoken as possible. You couldn’t risk him recognizing your voice and telling Rooster. Then all of this would be over too soon. 

“Just routine inspection!” You tell him, making your voice higher and hopefully indiscernible from your normal speaking voice. 

“Goodbye!” You waved at him before sprinting away and around the tower so he couldn’t see that you were going into the comm room. 

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

As much as you'd like to think that you successfully made it down and back from the tarmac completely undetected, you knew that running into Hangman could’ve ended disastrously. You needed to learn to be more careful especially now that your number could possibly already be in Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw’s possession. Which means you have to commit to this game. 

You put your number in his plane almost 11 hours ago and even though the work day has long ended, and you knew that the pilots leave together at around 5pm and would inevitably end up at the Hard Deck for a few hours. 

However it is now nearing 11pm and you still had no notification from anyone other than your mom. No texts, no calls, just email alerts and a few instagram DMs from some old high school friends. 

You sighed as you stared at the clock. Maybe he didn’t see the paper? Or he’s still at the Hard Deck?

You knew neither was unlikely because the dagger squad flew out and ran a few more drills later in the day so was in his jet and all the Navy men (or rather the disciplined ones) promptly left the bar at 10pm to prepare for their early work days. 

He could’ve and should’ve contacted you by now.

But what did you really expect? That he was going to drop everything and call a random ATC that he had a few indecorous conversations with. 

You definitely let this fake confidence build up too much in your head. You had to remember your place. Because who are you other than just a girl, when he was one of the superstar’s of the Navy? The frontliner and the apple of all the admirals’ eyes. 

You see the clock flashing 11:15pm and you had a shift early in the morning. There was no use continuing to feel sorry for yourself. Some sleep would do you some good, and hopefully avoid the waterworks that would inevitably come.

You were well on your way to slipping into a deep slumber when you heard the loud text tone originating from your phone. 

Unknown Number: Sorry I didn’t get to talk to you today sweetheart. I hope I get the chance soon. Sweet dreams :) 

——————-————————————————————————

There must have been some sickness barreling through the base because the normally filled comm room was empty except for you manning the main desk. 

Being solo wasn’t too bad, as there weren’t too many pilots scheduled to fly today.

Of course one of them being Rooster. 

“Miramar Tower, F/A-18E Super Hornet , 10 southwest at 2,500, inbound for landing “ 

Speak of the devil, and he shall come

“F/A-18E Super Hornet , Miramar Tower, report entering left downwind Runway 24R.” You responded, keeping yourself professional despite feeling the butterflies in your stomach beating your ass upon hearing his voice.

“Report entering left downwind, F/A-18E Super Hornet . . . . “ He responded before adding

“F/A-18E Super Hornet entering left downwind Runway 24R.”

He was all business today, with absolutely no hint of the usual playfulness in his voice. 

“Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw, you are cleared to land Runway 24R.”

He let out a slight growl, one you would miss if you weren’t listening so intently.

He hesitated for a moment before finally responding. 

“Cleared to land Runway 24R, F/A-18E Super Hornet “ 

You saw his jet successfully land and reached for the button to disconnect when you heard Rooster’s voice flood your headphones once again.

“Do you remember what I said about calling me ‘Lieutenant Commander’ sweetheart?” He asks steely.

Fuck, he sounds so sexy when he’s stern. No man’s voice has ever had this effect on you. 

“Yes sir, Rooster.” You said with a longing breath.

You curse yourself for being incapable of being subtle.

“Normally I would say no ‘sir’ just ‘Rooster’, but I’ll allow it. Only because it sounds so good coming from your mouth.”

Holy shit. And you thought you weren’t subtle, you were usually clueless when it came to men flirting but even you could read that loud and clear. 

“You sure you want to be hitting on me over comms SIR?” you said purring 

“Would you rather me come up there sweetheart? So I can do it face-to-face” He said with the same gruffness. You can see him glancing up to the tower as he lifted his canopy and exited his plane.

“I dare you Lieutenant Commander.” You replied matching his salacious tone. 

“Gonna have to teach you a lesson don’t I?.” The connection cuts off as he removes his helmet and rushes up to the tower. 

You couldn’t hear anything over the sound of your pounding heartbeat, there is no way you just invited Rooster up to the comm room. 

It couldn’t have been more than 2 minutes when you heard the door burst open and saw Rooster enter, his skin still glistening from sweating under the California sun. 

He looked like a Greek god, and you had to stop your jaw from physically dropping at the sight of him. 

“Finally done hiding from me sweetheart?” He greeted you teasingly. 

You slowly approached one another. You opened your mouth to respond with a flirty response but the words seemed to be stuck in your throat. 

You didn’t even notice how close you were to him. You could feel the heat radiating off his body. You were staring straight ahead and avoiding his gaze. Choosing to maintain eye contact with the lowered zipper of his flight suit. Giving you a glimpse of the hard planes of his chest underneath. 

Your breath hitched as you felt him grab you by the waist and pull you bodies together. His hands felt so hot on your body and you still couldn’t bring yourself to look up into his gaze.

That is until he placed a hand on your chin and gently pulled it up to look into your eyes. 

“Don’t tell me you’re all shy now sweetheart?” He said with a smirk and he tugged your bodies closer. 

“Where’s all that talk from earlier?” He whispered as he kissed the skin beneath your ear, before moving his lips to your jaw and leaving soft caressing kisses trailing down your jaw, down to where your neck meets your collarbone

Okay, you have definitely lost the ability to breathe, let alone to speak several moments ago. If he wasn’t currently holding you so tightly your legs would’ve given out from under you.

All you could feel was him and all your mind can think of is Rooster. Rooster. Rooster. 

He finally brought his head back up and stared at your lips. He licked his before he finally closed the distance between you and-

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

You woke up in your bed in a cold sweat. 

Holy shit, it was just a dream. It felt so real. 

You could’ve sworn you could still feel his hand gripping on your waist and his hot breath on your ear. 

You glanced at your alarm clock to see that you overslept by 30 minutes! 

You quickly got up and got ready, you swear to God you had never gotten ready faster in your life. But you still managed to be 15 minutes late. 

Your supervisor was not happy. But you were normally punctual so they allowed you this one oversight. As long as you swore to never repeat it again. 

You finally caught your breath and settled in your station. You were relieved that you didn’t miss too much. 

But since you were late Rooster was assigned to a different ATC on his flight plan for the day. 

This did make you sad but in a way maybe it was necessary for today. 

First because you could not possibly hold a conversation with him after the erotic dream that you still hadn't physically recovered from, and second because you were actually becoming pathetic.

You had set 4 simple rules for yourself when you joined the Navy

Stay Focused

Always be punctual

Sleep early to be well rested, and most importantly

Do not get involved with Navy men. 

You somehow managed to break all rules in the last few weeks. 

You had a wet dream that caused you to break your perfect punctuality streak. A dream that was about a certain pilot that caused you to stay up late and has spent the better part of a month distracting you.

For the lack of better phrasing, you really needed to get your shit together.

But when you stepped into the mess hall after a fairly productive half of a day, and saw his face, you remembered just why you were so enamored. 

A smile from him was worth breaking the rules you set for yourself. 

——————————————————————————————-

You were probably home for less than 10 minutes when you heard the text notification coming from the living room.

You wiped your hands on a dish rag and walked out of the kitchen to grab your phone, which you almost dropped upon seeing who the text came from. 

The text last night was completely unexpected and was definitely part of the reason why Rooster somehow made it into your dream. And even though you were half asleep at the time, you managed to save his number under “Rooster ✈️🐔”. 

Which is how you knew you were staring at a text from said aviator. 

Rooster ✈️🐔: Missed you today :(

You have been carefully analyzing the text for the last 30 seconds you laid eyes on it. He missed you??? What does that mean? He had your number for the better part of two days and he only managed to contact you when you were almost asleep, and after a day of ignoring him. 

Asking him what he meant would be too obvious and would make you come out as naïve. So you did what any rational woman with a crush would do. Deflect.

You: Do you have a problem with emojis or something?

Rooster ✈️🐔: Huh? What do you mean? 

You: I can’t remember the last time I saw someone use emoticons unironically. 

Rooster ✈️🐔: Are you making fun of me? I personally think emoticons are neat

Rooster ✈️🐔: And I don’t know how to download emojis :/

You felt like a schoolgirl as you felt your face break into a grin at his antics. 

You were formulating a reply when you were interrupted by the screen indicating an incoming call from Rooster ✈️🐔.

You stared at your phone in panic and let it continue to ring. Holy shit he was calling you. At least in text you can formulate a plan and have a carefully crafted response. You did not have that luxury with a voice call. 

But what are you going to do? Ignore it? 

You had to make a decision fast. Okay yes, it will be a little more nerve wracking to speak on a voice call but that's better than nothing right? And you spoke to him all the time over comms, even though technically it is different because those conversations can be hidden under the guise of carrying out your job and you did not have that safety net in this situation.

After a few seconds you thought “Fuck it” and pressed the green button. 

“Hi” You answered with a breath. 

“Oh thank god, you actually answered” He responded, teasing relief in his voice.

“What? You thought I wouldn’t?” You asked him as if it was the most outlandish thing in the world (even you were seriously debating it less than a minute ago). 

“Well lets look at the track record, you rejected my dinner invite, doubted my skill as a world class pilot, left me on read last night, and just made fun of my emoticons.”

“The signs were all pointing there.” 

You bursted out in laughter at his rantings.

“Wow! And now you’re laughing at my misery, a man just can’t win with you can they sweetheart?” He feigned hurt. 

“I’m sorry Lieutenant Commander, I didn’t realize it was so easy to hurt your feelings.” You teased him. 

“AND were back to Lieutenant Commander? You do not pull your punches, do you?”

“I’d like to think we’re past all those formalities, outside of work please call me Rooster, or rather yet, call me Bradley.” He asserted. 

“Sometimes I forget your full god given name is Bradley Bradshaw. Brad Brad. I’m making that your name on my phone” You continued to tease with a giggle.

“Did your parents know what they were subjecting you to?” 

“Ha Ha very funny, unfortunately they were the main ones who made the Brad Brad joke.” He admitted dejected. 

This caused you to laugh again.

“Hey this is not fair! I don’t even know your name to make fun of.” You could practically hear the pout in his voice.

“You know I’m gonna find out your name eventually sweetheart, so why don’t you just give it up now?”

“But where’s the fun in that?”

You wanted to finally tell him your name, you did. But that just opens a can of worms that would lead to reality, which you were not yet ready to face.

“I can’t call you ATC forever sweetheart..”

“Well.. what do you want to call me?” 

“Preferably your name?” He suggested.

“You only get one chance to choose so try again.” You warned. 

“And make it good”

“Okay fine I’ll bite.” He finally gave in.

“Lets see, what to call you….”

“Well you laugh a lot, and most of the time at me, so I think I want to use something related to that.”

“It’s not my fault you’re so easy to make fun of.” You quipped.

“Fair enough. Just know I only let you because I actually like the sound of your laugh.”

You felt the blush creep onto your cheeks again.

“Clock is ticking, and you’re wasting your time flirting. What is it gonna be?” You goaded him.

“Okay Okay, but don’t think I won’t continue later.”

“I have no doubt about it” 

“So something pertaining laughing…hmmm. Giggles?” 

“If you call me Giggles, I’m hanging up and blocking you.” You threaten him. 

He responded with his own laugh, and god if you didn’t love his as much as he claimed to like yours.

“Chuckles?”

“I prefered Giggles.” You grimaced

“Merry?” 

“Too Christmas-y”

“Chirpy?”

“That sounds like a name for a bird or something you’d call your grandma. How are you so bad at this?”

“I’m trying!”

“Try to pick something better than all of those please, and do it in the next 30 seconds or I revoke your naming permissions.”

“Fine…Okay! I got it!”

“Cloud!” 

“Cloud?” You asked

“Yes! Like flying on Cloud 9!”

His selection brought a smile to your face. You pretended to think on it.

“It’s acceptable.”

“Yes!” 

“See? I’m not completely useless, and it fits because I’m flying on Cloud 9 whenever I know you’re my ATC.”

His admission caused your breath to catch in your throat. He really did know how to make a girl feel special, even though you knew you had no actual chance with him in the real world.

“I bet you say that to all the ATCs.”

“Well they are responsible for making sure that I don’t crash into other planes on the runway. Gotta keep them happy somehow”

You laugh at his joke, but holding some sadness because even though he was joking, in a way it felt like it held some truth. 

“But seriously, you have no idea how much joy you brought me yesterday. Both with our conversation and seeing that you actually gave me your number. Which is why I was really sad that you weren’t my ATC today.” 

He sounded sincere, but you tried to keep yourself from taking his lines to heart. 

You smiled. 

“Speaking of your number, how the hell did you get that piece of paper into my dash?”

“There was no one else I saw near my jet except my squad and they were with me the entire time. When did you manage to do it?”

“A girl doesn’t reveal her secrets Rooster.” You jested

“Speaking of secrets, pray tell why it took you over twelve hours to use it?” You asked him, you had to know.

“Yeah, sorry about that late text sweetheart… I stayed out at the Hard Deck with Mav a little later than usual. It was my dad’s death anniversary and I honestly spent most of the day sulking and dreading leaving my apartment.”

“Oh.. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” You responded sympathetically, now feeling guilty at asking such an intrusive question. 

“No worries sweetheart, the minute I heard your voice on comms, it brightened my day, even more so when you gave me your number.”

“So thank you for the boost and the motivation to finally kick Mav’s ass in the sky.”

Your heart felt warm hearing that you had that effect on him, you woul’ve believed his words if you didn’t know better.

“You’re welcome Bradley.” You finally called him by his real first name, admittedly it felt right coming from your mouth.

You both sat in comfortable silence when you were interrupted by the smoke alarm in your kitchen. It hit you that your dinner was left on the stove forgetten during your conversation with Bradley.

“Oh shit, I’m pretty sure I just burnt my dinner. I gotta go before I set my entire apartment on fire.”

Bradley chuckled at your unintentional lapse of memory.

“Okay sweetheart I’ll talk to you soon.”

You ended the call. 

You managed to clear out the smoke out of your apartment, but unfortunately did not save your chicken. 

You had to settle for a frozen hot pocket that had been in your freezer for God know how long, but hey it did the job and beggars can’t be choosers. 

You felt the tiredness from the busy workday hit you and you decided it was a good idea to turn in early. You showered and finished your nighttime routine and settled into your bed with your phone on your nightstand.

Your phone flashed once again to signal a text. Apparently, Rooster had the same idea about an early night. 

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: Goodnight Cloud <3 I’ll talk to you tomorrow

You: Goodnight Bradley :)

——————————————————————————————-

You were honestly pleasantly surprised at how consistently you and Bradley communicated. 

It followed the same schedule. During the days, you were usually his ATC so he would of course flirt with you over comms, and you’d try to maintain come decorum of professionalism, but would eventually flirt black. Persistence is key and Bradley is nothing if not persistent. 

When he wasn’t in the air during work hours he would sneakily text you his little random thoughts he had during the day. 

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: Have you ever noticed how small Hangman’s mouth is?

You: What?

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: No seriously look at it. His mouth is always scrunched up even when he smiles.

You: Why are you staring at Hangman’s mouth?

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: We’ve been stuck in this meeting and he keeps chewing that stupid toothpick, its distracting.

You: Didn’t realize you had a thing for Seresin, Brad Brad? 🤔

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: ???????

You: You just said his mouth is distracting

You: Its okay Rooster, just say you wanna kiss him, the tension between you is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: I don’t want to kiss Hangman >:( 

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: You wanna know who I do wanna kiss though? 

You: Let me guess…..

You: Bob! 

You: Or better yet, Cyclone 🤪

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: No :(((

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: I wanna kiss you

You: Let’s Play 8 Ball!

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: Ha ha you’re hilarious

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: If I beat you then can I get a kiss?

Read 2:13pm

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: Ouch :(

On weekday nights where he didn’t go to the Hard Deck, you would have your nightly phone call at 7:30pm sharp where you would both stay on the phone while you both cooked dinner. You would catch up on the little things during the day that you didn’t text about and just mostly got to know one another.

You can admit that yes, what initially drew you to Rooster was his beautiful smile and his skill as a pilot. But the more you spoke to him the more you saw not just Lieutenant Commander “Rooster” Bradshaw. But you also saw Bradley.

You quickly saw that he was kind, humble, and so caring of others. 

“Hey Cloud,  I’m sorry for calling you so late.” You noticed his tone was more solemn than usual and checked the time, it was nearing 8pm.

“It’s fine Bradley, you’re not that late.”

“What’s wrong?” You asked him.

“Payback and Fanboy flew into a jetwash today….”

“They had to eject.” He answered dejectedly

“I heard about that. Are they okay?”

 Laura told you about the incident a little earlier, she was the ATC for the flight. The ear-splitting static that hit her headset after the aircraft collided with the ground was enough to shake even the most experienced ATC. So you couldn’t imagine being the pilot and the WSO in that situation. 

“They’re at the hospital overnight for observation. I stuck around to make sure they were okay.” 

It was very strange for you to hear Rooster so despondent. You knew he cared about his friends, and he would do anything for them, but it felt like there was more to the situation. 

“You’re very thoughtful for that Bradley.. I’m sure they appreciated it”

“It was my fault, Cloud.” he confessed. 

You were taken aback at his admittance, but you would’ve heard if there was someone that was directly responsible for the accident, it involved aircraft worth millions of dollars after all. 

“They flew into my jetwash.” 

“Bradley, that wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t have controlled their flight path.” You tried to reassure him.

“But I shouldn’t have been so reckless!” He exclaimed. 

“If I wasn’t so busy trying to outdo Coyote, I wouldn’t have almost hit a bird strike and had to slow down, and they wouldn't have gotten caught in the wash.”

You didn’t want to tell him he was being irrational for blaming himself for a situation that was clearly out of his hands, you knew there was something more there. 

“But they’re fine right? Everyone is okay. No one was seriously hurt.” You explained to him.

“Yeah no one got hurt….THIS time.” 

His statement piqued your interest, you were getting somewhere.

“What do you mean?” 

He sighed, finally letting go of the pretenses. 

“That’s how my dad died.” He confessed.

In a way you knew about LTJG Nick Bradshaw and his untimely death during his Top Gun training, but none of the sordid details. It felt disrespectful to dig into Rooster’s family without him knowing. 

“Oh..” You couldn’t think of what to say. 

“He and Mav flew into a jetwash and when they ejected…my dad hit his head on the canopy. Dead on impact.”

You kicked yourself for thinking he was being irrational. Now all his self blame and his aversion to throwing caution to the wind while flying finally made sense. It also made his relationship with Maverick a lot clearer to you. 

On one hand, you were thrilled that he was confiding in you. But on the other hand you were also heartbroken for Bradley, he lost his dad so young and as much as you wanted to hug him, and let him cry on your shoulder, you couldn’t. 

“Were you close?” You settled on asking him. 

“We were, he’s the reason why I worked so hard to be where I am now.” He reminisced. 

“I’m sure he is very proud of you Bradley. You are not only an incredible pilot, you are also an selfless, caring, and incredible man.” You reminded him. 

“He would give all the credit to my mom.” He lightly chuckled. 

“She raised me alone after my dad died.”

“She never remarried?” You asked

“No, she said that dad was her soulmate. She would never find another man like him.”

You can tell how much love Bradley had for his parents, and the love they shared for one another. 

“It sounds like they were really in love.” You smiled 

“They were. My dad would always serenade my mom. He loved the 50s and the 60s so everytime he saw a piano he would wail out ‘Great Balls of Fire’ while my mom would act embarrassed, but she would eventually sit on his lap and sing along.” 

“That’s beautiful Brad, they really were soulmates.”

“I hope I can find a love like theirs someday.” You sighed dreamily. 

“Who knows? Maybe you already have.” He responds softly.

A comfortable silence settled between you for a few moments. 

“Hey Cloud”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for listening.”

“Anytime Bradley.”

You noticed that it was now getting late and exhaustion was starting to take over your body.

Bradley seemed to notice this as well.

“Do you think I can sing to you Cloud? Like my dad used to with my mom?” 

“I would love that Brad.” 

You slowly fell asleep to the sound of his voice singing ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’.

And like that, there was no denying, that you’re falling even deeper.

——————————————————————————————-

You don’t know how much longer you can keep this up. It has been months since you and Rooster started talking regularly and you couldn’t help falling in love with him a little more everyday. 

The problem is, you knew that his patience was wearing thin, as he was asking you more and more frequently when he can see you face to face or even know your real name.

You knew you owe him all of that, but how could you tell him? When you know in your heart that once he sees you and knows you. He would know you weren’t worth his time. 

That realization kills you because he means everything to you. You’ve shared your hobbies, your stories, your dreams with him. 

How can you go on living without him in your life once you know the feeling of him being there. 

He has planted himself a permanent spot in your heart, and once he’s gone, there will be a gaping hole left in his wake. 

He was being as kind and as patient with you as he could, but you couldn’t blame his growing anxiety about your identity. 

It also didn’t help that you were constantly under the scrutinous eyes of Lieutenant Commander Seresin. After he caught you on the Tarmac, he seemed very suspicious of you. Like he knew you were up to something but just couldn’t put his finger on it. 

Luckily you’ve been able to fly under the radar around him. Yes he could be a little ignorant and too much of a flirt for his own good but he was smart as a whip and you knew that if anyone could figure out what you were doing it would be him. 

You were currently sat with ATCs in the mess hall, on the other side of the room from where the dagger squad has decided to congregate. You were trying to subtly sneak glances at Bradley. 

He looked particularly handsome today, his sandy hair was slicked back and his tanned skin glowing. He even had his signature Ray Ban Caravans on. You normally hate when people wear sunglasses indoors but he made it work without looking like an asshole. And it looks damn good on him. 

You sighed and as you moved your focus away to not arouse suspicion you noticed Hangman look at you with narrowed eyes. You pretended not to notice. 

Your attention was diverted by the vibration of you phone signaling a notification. 

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: Is potato salad supposed to be green?

You smiled when you saw it was a text from Bradley

You: Depends, do you normally eat 2 week old potato salad?

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: Mav said it was okay :(

You: Mav also thinks anything not cooked in a microwave is gourmet.

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: Okay fair, its going into the trash. 

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: You know what is gourmet though? ;)

You: Mav

Brad Brad ✈️🐔: Not funny :(

You tried to hold in your laughter to no avail and it was loud enough for the other ATC s to look at you in confusion. 

“Sorry, just saw a funny meme.” You explained, the ATCs accepted this explanation and went back to their previous activities. 

You looked up again to catch another glimpse at Rooster when you saw Hangman staring at your phone in your hand with wide eyes. Then looked down at Rooster also smiling down at his own phone, and then back at you. 

You could see the wheels in his head turning, and then he made a face that made it clear that he connected the dots. 

Oh shit. You had to get out of here.

You quickly packed up your food and sat up, not bothering to say goodbye to your fellow ATCs. 

You ran out the mess hall and down the hallway but before you could turn the corner a hand pulls you back. 

You are now face to face with Lieutenant Commander Seresin. He looked at you for a few seconds 

“You’re Air Traffic Control right?” he asked you with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yes sir I am.” You said trying to disguise your voice the same as you did on the tarmac. 

“Don’t play games with me honey, I know that’s not your real voice.” You gulped 

He still had a grip on your arm so you couldn’t run even if you wanted to. Curse these Navy men and their workout routines. 

“Tell me your name, and that’s an order.” 

You were sweating under his gaze, you’ve never felt more panicked in your life.

You tell him your name in your real voice. 

He finally released his grip on you and also seemed to drop his serious demeanor. 

“I knew there was something about you! You’re the ATC that old chicken has been flirting with over comms aren’t you??”

You nod looking down at your feet. Damn it, there goes your whole relationship (if you can even call it that) with Rooster, because Hangman is definitely going to rat you out. 

“You see, Rooster was telling the squad that he was in love. And so of course we ask him who she is.” 

“But how surprising was it when he said that not only has he never seen her face to face, he doesn’t even know her name.” 

He was now pacing up and down the hallway. 

“Then I remembered that day where he bet you your number if he shot down Mav, he magically got a piece of paper with a number on his dash seemingly coming from nowhere.” 

“But it wasn’t a magic trick at all, was it?” He asked you rhetorically.

“No sir.”

“Exactly! Because I caught you sneaking off the Tarmac moments before Rooster jumped into his plane and happily announcing that he got your phone number.” 

“I saw your face, so you are both the ATC over comms and the girl he talks to,  the one he says he’s in love with.”

You looked up shocked at his statement.

“He’s in love with me?” 

You looked up from the ground with hopeful eyes. 

“Yes he is.” Hangman tells you matter of factly. 

“You’ve presumably been talking to Rooster for months, but you've yet to meet him in person, let alone even tell him your name.”

“What game are you playing here?” He asks you

“It’s not a game, I do care about Bradley.” You sighed. 

“So then what is it?” 

“Sir, can we not please talk about it here?” 

You anxiously look around and see that people were now in the hallway exiting from the mess hall. And god forbid that Bradley was one of them. 

“Fine.” 

“Meet me at the Hard Deck after work.” 

——————————————————————————————-

 You were seated at the bar in the Hard Deck, your left leg bouncing anxiously.

You checked your watch, 5:47pm. Hangman said to meet him here right after work and you basically sped off the base to get to the bar on time.

You’ve been nursing the same beer for the past almost 30 minutes. You couldn’t focus on anything but the sound of your heart beating in your chest.

What was taking him so long? Did he forget? Did he already tell Bradley?

A million more questions swirled in your head. But you knew that if Hangman didn’t show up you were basically screwed.

Your self pity was interrupted by the booming sound of naval aviators strolling through the entrance, with one of them being Bradley and of course Hangman.

You were simultaneously trying to avoid Rooster’s gaze, while trying to catch Hangman’s attention.

When you finally caught his eye, you gave him a panicked questioning look. He gave you a subtle nod while continuing his conversation with the rest of the squadron. 

The crew made their way to their usual spot in the back with the pool tables. Hangman excused himself from the group nodding towards you.

You kept your eyes on him as he made his way to you. 

“Jimmy, can I get a beer?” Hangman asks the bartender.

“Lieutenant Commander.” You greeted him as he sat on the stool directly beside you.

He returned the greeting by saying your name.

“So let’s just get this out of the way. Did you tell Bradley?” You asked him, feeling a large brick settle in your stomach. 

“You can relax.. I didn’t tell Bradshaw.” He replies

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Relief flooding your body.

“But don’t think that you’re off the hook, you have some explaining to do.” Hangman added.

“What do you want to know sir?” You swallowed nervously.

“First of all, who are you exactly?” 

“I’m no one, I’m just an ATC.” You told him, looking down at your hands.

“Well you’re clearly not ‘no one’ if you’ve caught Rooster’s attention.” He rebutted.

“You’re little avoidance tricks might work on Rooster, but they won’t work on me.”

“And I know all your excuses for not meeting him are complete bs.”

“So why are you hiding from him?”

Now that’s the million dollar question isn’t it? It has been months since you started talking to Bradley, you spoke to him every single day, and fell asleep to the sound of his voice every night. Why were you hiding from him?

“I-.....I don’t know.” You confessed to Hangman. 

“Then whats stopping me from getting up and telling Rooster who you are?” Hangman asked you with a raised eyebrow. 

You stared at him, the words lost in your throat. 

“Nothing then I guess..”  He got up and started his way to the back.

You pulled his arm back similar to how he did to you earlier that day. He looked at you and your hand on his arm. 

“Please don’t…I beg you.” 

He sat back down on his stool giving you a questioning look but gave you the time to get your thoughts together. 

“I never intended for it to go on this long or this far..” You explained. 

“Bradley is so important to me. I knew he was special the first time I ever heard his voice.”

“It was during the uranium plant detachment from a few months ago. I risked my whole damn career to save him.” 

“I released the dagger reserve without Admiral Simpson’s approval.” You continued.

“That was you? You gave me clearance that day?” His eyes finally lost the skepticism and was replaced with admiration. 

“I did, everyone in that control room was completely frozen. I couldn’t just let them die.” 

“But that doesn’t explain this whole situation you have going on with him.” He questioned

“That was the last I expected to ever see of him, but you all decided to stay here in Miramar and I made the mistake of speaking to him a little too long over comms.”

“That’s to be expected honey, Rooster is a big ol flirt.” Hangman chuckled.

“Well not as a big of a flirt as me though.” He winked at you. 

He was trying to ease your worries and you appreciated that from him. Especially since he thought the worst of you less than 10 minutes ago. 

“And of course you and Mav have heard how he got my number over comms and thats currently where we are now.” You finished.

“Okay so thats the backstory, and you clearly care about him and he cares about you.”

“So it still doesn't answer why you haven’t told him who you are.”

“Think about it this way Lieutenant Commander…”

“You, Phoenix, Payback, Coyote, and Rooster. You are some of the most important and most revered people in the Navy short of the Admirals.” 

“You are the first in command, you are the best of the best in the entire world.” 

“What do I? A low level ATC, have to offer Bradley?.”

“I am just me, and he is who he is. I could never be a person whos good enough for him.” 

“But didn’t I just tell you? Bradshaw is in love with you.” Hangman argued. 

You smiled sadly, turning your head to glance at Bradley at the pool tables. His head thrown back in laughter at something Fanboy said. 

“Maybe..he is.” You turned back to Hangman.

“But one look at me and he’ll change his mind.” 

“I don’t understand. Do you think you’re-” Hangman’s response was interrupted by Rooster popping up behind you both. 

“Hangman, I thought you were getting a beer?” 

You suddenly felt lightheaded, the sight of Rooster standing so close to you making your heart beat a million times per minute. 

“Whos your friend?” Rooster asked Hangman while looking at you with a smile. 

You wouldn’t dare open your mouth and speak, risking Bradley recognizing your voice. You stared at Hangman with pleading eyes, hoping he didn’t give you away to Rooster.

Hangman looked at Rooster and back at you, pausing for a moment.

Hangman finally speaks telling Rooster your name. Fuck. You were naïve to think he’d keep your secret.

“We actually just met, she’s getting over a case of laryngitis so her voice is a little hoarse.” Hangman explained. 

You smiled at him, silently thanking him for not revealing your charade. 

“Hi, nice to meet you.” You let out in a hoarse voice, turning to look at Bradley.

He reached out and shook your hand and you can feel your stomach doing backflips for finally getting to touch the man that you’ve spent several months falling in love with. 

“Well I’m sorry to hear that ma’am, I hope you feel better.” Bradley offered politely.

“I’ll leave you and Hangman to your conversation.” He excused himself and returned to the pool table, you stared at him longingly as he walked away. 

Hangman looked at you in amusement. 

“You got it bad, don’t you honey?” Hangman asked with a slight chuckle. 

“That obvious?” You asked him

“Couldn’t be any less subtle if you tried.” 

“Which makes it so funny that Bradshaw had no clue its you.” He chortled. 

“Me personally, if I were him, I would know it was you the minute I saw you.” He added with a smirk,

Leave it to Hangman to be an insatiable flirt.

“Thank you for helping me out.” 

As big of an asshole Hangman can be, he really did have a good heart. 

“Your secret is safe with me honey.” 

——————————————————————————————-

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[juniperhillpatient]

thinking about how yellowjackets portrays sex & sexual situations gender & the… not unique but certainly rare way this show focuses on men versus women & I know we’re all tired of phrases like “male gaze” & “female gaze” but I think the show almost like… purposefully repurposes the male gaze from the perspective of its female characters.

jackie’s introduction pretty much is a sexual situation but it’s not a fun hot scene. it’s uncomfortable & awkward because it’s very clear jackie isn’t being pleasured. jeff just kind of looks like a tool. then later we get the sex scene between jeff & shauna & it’s different because both characters are into it but also it’s all about shauna, & the focus is mainly on her making jeff tell her that he loves her. it sort of reminds me of the scene in buffy the vampire slayer when buffy is feeling down because she just saw her most annoying ex living his best life so she demands spike tell her he loves her. it’s not a healthy situation. it’s… concerning & toxic. and even a bit manipulative & predatory to use someone that way.

and the other thing we know due to the focused shots of shauna looking at jackie is that this is not about jeff at all. he’s just the guy who happened to be between these two girls. when I first watched the show I disliked him but more & more I’m realizing… this is all about shauna & jackie. this entire relationship between shauna & jeff that turns into a marriage never has much to do with jeff himself at all. jeff is the epitome of literally just Some Guy.

anyway. I’m getting off track. I wanted to discuss jackie’s introduction versus her death. jackie being left to die because she had sex, on the surface seems like misogynistic writing. typical “female character is punished for sex” (not to harp on buffy again but..) trope. especially because the other girls are angry when they see the blood stain from her lost virginity.

but… the other girls aren’t angry at jackie because of sex. it’s because she’s “taken what didn’t belong to her.” & it’s interesting how none of the other girls care about or are invested in natalie & travis’ romance until this point. because it’s not about that. they objectify travis to the point of seeing him as literal food.

the framing of the jackie/travis sex scene is fascinating, the way it’s shot back & forth with the girls in the forest going feral. and the way in the end, travis is disoriented & confused & immediately following this the other girls begin sexual assaulting him & hunting him like an animal. like everything about travis & his arc, it’s such a subversion of the way female characters are so often treated in media.

and that brings me to travis & natalie & how they subvert gender roles. travis starts off seeming a bit sexist but the more we learn the more it’s clear he’s just an inexperienced teenager. he’s a virgin scared for his first time & he’s falling for the experienced bad girl who’s kinda scary. we literally always see that set up but with the shy inexperienced girl falling for the bad boy. even the way travis haunts the narrative & serves as part of natalie’s pain arc is reminiscent of the dead girlfriend trope. he is to natalie as jess from supernatural is to sam winchester. he’s fridged but the boy version. & that’s why he’s a babygirl to me <3

and like… we could talk all day about the pine cone in travis’ mouth & the sexual assault blood orgy scenes but let’s move on to the most functional couple of the entire show with some of the only sex scenes that actually seem like a fun sexy time where it’s just two people in love having sex

taissa & van! their conflict develops throughout the season as van is almost eaten by wolves because taissa is busy being possessed by the wood spirit & taissa’s frustration with van’s belief in something supernatural grows but… beyond that? they’re actually just super into each other. they are constantly talking about how gorgeous the other is, being all over each other, skinny dipping & doing more typically fun & romantic activities than all the other characters. & it’s 2 women

from shauna having sex with adam who ends up dead to whatever the fuck misty has going on with ben (not to mention adult! misty’s introductory scene where she manipulates a man into coming home with her by faking insecurities - or perhaps playing them up & using them, it’s unclear) it’s just totally fascinating to me the way this show subverts expectations with gender & sex

[layce2015]

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

A Very Supernatural Christmas

Masterlist

"Um, my daughter and I were in our beds. Mike was downstairs decorating the tree. I heard a thump on the roof and then I heard Mike scream, and now I'm talking to the FBI." The woman said as I stand in front of her.

"And you didn't see any of it?" I asked her. "No, he was…he was just gone." She said, devastated. "The doors were locked? There was no forced entry?" I asked. "That's right." She said.

"Does anybody else have a key?" I asked, curiously. "My parents." She replied. "Where do they live?" I asked. "Florida." She replied as Sam and Dean walk out of the house. "Thanks for letting me have a look around, Mrs. Walsh. I think we, uh, got just about everything we need." Sam said as he and Dean walk up to me.

"We're all set." Dean whispers to me and I nod at him before I turn to Mrs Walsh. "We'll be in touch." I said to her and she nods. The boys and I walk down the steps before Mrs Walsh turns to us. "Agents…" she calls out and we turn around. "The police said my husband might have been kidnapped." She said, worried. "Could be." Dean said.

"Then why haven't the kidnappers called? O-or – or demanded a ransom? It's three days till Christmas. What am I supposed to tell our daughter?" She asked us and the three of us give her a sympathetic look. "We're very sorry." Sam said and we walked away and Mrs Walsh turns to go inside.

"Find anything?" I asked the boys and Sam sighs. "Stocking, mistletoe…this." He said and he gives me something out of his pocket. "A tooth? Where was this?" I asked as I examine the tooth. "In the chimney." Dean replied. "Chimney? No way a man fits up a chimney. It's too narrow." I said. "No way he fits up in one piece." Sam said. "Alright, so, if dad went up the chimney—" I said and Dean talks over me. "We need to find out what dragged him up there."

Sam and I were searching the internet for information about demons when the door opens and Dean walks inside, carrying a brown paper bag. "So, was I right? Is it the serial-killing chimney sweep?" Dean asked us. "Yep. It's, uh, it's actually Dick Van Dyke." Sam said, jokingly, and Dean looks at him, confused. "Who?" He asked, confused. "Mary Poppins." I said.

"Who's that?" Dean asked and I scoff in surprise. "Oh come on— never mind." Sam said as he waves his hand. "Okay, after this, we are having a Disney movie marathon." I said. "Oh God, kill me now." Dean groans and Sam and I chuckle at this. "Hey, don't knock it til you try it, Dean." I said and Dean rolls his eyes.

"Anyway....It turns out that Walsh is the second guy in town grabbed out of his house this month." Dean said. "Oh yeah?" Sam and I said, in unison. "Yeah." He replied.

"The other guy get dragged up the chimney, too?" Sam asked him. "Don't know. Witnesses said they heard a thump on the roof." Dean said as he shrugs. "So, what the hell do you guys think we're dealing with?" He asked. "Actually, we have an idea." I said. "Yeah?" Dean asked. "Uh, it's gonna sound crazy." Sam said.

"What could you two possibly say that sounds crazy to me?" Dean asked and Sam and I exchange a look.

"You wanna tell him?" Sam asked me. "I'll let you do the honors." I said, smiling, and he rolls his eyes then looks up at Dean. "Um…evil Santa." He said as he smiles. Dean pauses and then nods. "Yeah, that's crazy." He said. "Yeah…I mean, we're just saying that there's some version of the anti-Claus in every culture." I said and I show Dean some evil Santa pictures. "You got Belsnickel, Krampus, Black Peter." I listed off as Dean takes the pictures from me. 

"Whatever you want to call it, there's all sorts of lore." I said. "Saying what?" Dean asked. "Saying back in the day, Santa's brother went rogue and now he shows up around Christmas time, but instead of bringing presents, he punishes the wicked." Sam explains. "By hauling their ass up chimneys?" Dean asked, confused. "For starters, yeah." I said, nodding.

"So, this is your theory, huh? Santa's shady brother?" Dean asked us. "Well, we're just saying that's what the lore says." Sam said. "Santa doesn't have a brother. There is no Santa." Dean said. "Yeah, I know. You're the one who told me that in the first place, remember." Sam said as he looks at Dean, who looks down, then sighs. I could feel some tension between them again. 

"Yeah, you know what, (y/n) and I could be wrong." Sam said. "Maybe, maybe not." Dean said. "What?" I asked him, confused. "I did a little digging. Turns out both victims visited the Same place before they got snatched." Dean replied. "Where?" Sam asked him.

Later, we come up to a Santa's Village where Christmas music plays, children were playing, and people wearing Christmas costumes walking around, obviously looking like they weren't having a good time. "It does kind of lend credence to the theory, don't it?" Dean asked us. "Yeah, but anti-Claus? Couldn't be." I said. "It's a Christmas miracle." Dean exclaims as we walk in to the village.

Then Dean turns to us. "Hey, speaking of, we should have one this year." He said. "Have one what?" Sam asked him. "A Christmas." Dean said and Sam scoffs at this while I give a slight nod. "Not a bad idea." I said, shrugging. "No, thanks." Sam said. "No, we'll get a tree, a little Boston market, just like when we were little." Dean said.

"Dean, those weren't exactly Hallmark memories for me, you know." Sam said as we stop and he turns to his brother. "What are you talking about? We had some great Christmases." Dean said. "Whose childhood are you talking about?" Sam asked him, annoyed. "Oh, come on, Sam. I think it would be nice little break. We could head back to my safehouse and I could cook up a good meal." I said. 

"You know how to cook?" Dean asked me. "Yeah...dad taught me how when he wasn't out killing monsters and demons." I replied and Dean makes a surprised face at me. "What do you say, Sammy?" I asked as I turn to him. "No, just…no." Sam said, shaking his head and we look at him, surprised. "All right, Grinch." Dean said and he and I walk away, while Sam stands still.

After paying for our entrance, we head back over to Sam, who was still standing there. "You'd think with the 10 bucks it costs to get into this place, Santa could scrounge up a little snow." Dean said as we come up to him. Sam jumps a bit then looks over at us. "What?" He asked and Dean glances at him then shakes his head. 

"Nothing. What are we looking for, again?" Dean asked. "Um…lore says that the anti-Claus will walk with a limp and smell like sweets." Sam explains as he looks around. "Great. So we're looking for a pimp Santa. Why the sweets?" Dean asked. "Think about it, Dean. If you smell like candy, the kids will come closer, you know?" I said and Dean scoffed. "That's creepy." He mutters and Sam and I chuckled.

"How does this thing know who's been naughty and who's been nice?" Dean asked. "Don't know." Sam and I said as we see a man wearing a Santa Claus costume sitting outside a small barn then a woman and boy walk up to him.

"So, Ronny, come sit on Santa's knee." The guy said and the boy sits on his lap. "Ah, there you go. You been a good boy this year?" Santa asked. "Yeah." The boy replied. "Good. Santa's got a special gift for you." Santa said as the boys and I look at Santa and the boy. "Maybe we do." Dean mutters as Ronny's mother takes his arm and leads him away from the Santa. "Come on, honey, let's go." She said as they leave.

Then a woman in an elf costume walks up to us. "Welcome to Santa's court. Can I escort your child to Santa?" She asked as she looks between me and Dean. "Uh…" Sam mutters then Dean speaks up. "No. No. Uh, but actually my brother here…it's been a lifelong dream of his." Dean said, smiling, and the woman looks at Sam like he's a freak.

"Uh, sorry. No kids over…12." She said and Sam shakes his head. "No, he's just kidding." Sam said and I speak up. "Yeah, we're just here to meet up with my sister and niece, who should be around here somewhere." I explained. "Oh, okay." The woman said and she walks away.

"Check it out." Dean said and we watch the Santa leave his chair. As he walks, he has a bad limp. "Are you guys seeing this?" Dean asked. "A lot of people walk with limps, right?" I said and the Santa walks past us and I smelled something kind've sweet. 

"Tell me you guys didn't smell that. That was candy, guys." Dean said to us. "That was ripple, I think. Had to be." Sam said. "Maybe." I said, shrugging. "We're willing to take that chance?" Dean asked us and we exchange a look.

Inside the Impala, we were sitting and spying on a simple house that is decorated with Christmas lights. "What time is it?" Dean asked. "Same as the last time you asked. Here.." Sam said as he hands Dean a thermos. "Caffeinate." He said and Dean takes the thermos from Sam and tries to pours coffee into the cup, but the thermos is empty. "Wonderful." He grumbles then suddenly he scoffs. 

"Hey, Sam." He said. "Yeah?" Sam asked. "Why are you the boy that hates Christmas?" Dean asked him. "Dean—" Sam groans. "I mean, I admit it. You know, we had a few bumpy holidays when we were kids." Dean said and Sam looks over at him.

"Bumpy?" Sam said. "That was then. We'll do it right this year. I mean, even (y/n) has offered to cook." Dean said. "Look, Dean. If you and (y/n) want to have Christmas, knock yourselves out. Just don't involve me." Sam said and Dean and I look at Sam in disbelief. "Oh c'mon, Sam! I'm not that bad at cooking. Plus it won't be a complete Christmas without you." I said but he shakes his head and I let out a sigh as we go back to watch the house

Santa looks outside from his window, then closes his curtains. "What's up with Saint Nicotine?" Dean asked just as we hear a woman's voice shout. "Oh, my God!"

We jump out of the car and run to the house with our guns drawn. Dean looks inside the window of the front door. "Huh." Sam mutters and I look over at him. "What?" I asked him. "Nothing. It's just that, uh…well, you know, Mr. Gung Ho Christmas might have to blow away Santa." Sam said and Dean and I shrug before Dean opens the door.

The guy stands up, holding a bottle of whiskey, then turns to us in shock and surprise. The boys and J quickly hide our guns. "What the hell are you doing here?" Santa asked us as I look around and realized the guy is only watching TV. I look at the boys, who shrug. Then Dean starts to sing Silent Night, pretty badly. He looks over at us and Sam and I join in and Santa begins to smile and laugh and join in the singing until the boys and I leave.

"That was awkward." I muttered. "Yeah..." Sam said as we head back into the car.

"So, that's how your son described the attack? Santa took daddy up the chimney?" I questioned Mrs Caldwell. There was another kidnapping and this time a kid had witnessed this. "That's what he says, yes." Mrs Caldwell said. "And where were you?" I asked her as the boys were looking around the house for clues. "I was asleep and all of a sudden…I was being dragged out of bed, screaming." She replied as the boys come stand next to me.

"Did you see the attacker?" I asked and she shakes her head. "It was dark, and he hit me. He knocked me out." She replied. "I'm sorry. I know this is hard." I said then Sam speaks up. "Yeah…um, Mrs. Caldwell, where did you get that wreath above the fireplace?" He asked and Dean and I look around at the wreath. "Excuse me?" She said, confused, as Dean and I look at Sam, waiting for an answer. "Just curious, you know." He said.

Later, we walked out of the house and Dean looks at his brother. "Wreaths, huh? Sure you didn't want to ask her about her shoes? I saw some nice handbags in the foyer." He said, jokingly. "We've seen that wreath before, Dean." Sam said. "Where?" Dean and I asked.

"The Walshes'. Yesterday." Sam replied. "I know. I was just testing you." Dean said and I look over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Sure you were." I said as we drive away in the Impala.

"Yeah, all right. Well, keep looking, would you? Thanks, Bobby." Sam said then he hangs up while Dean and I were sitting nearby at our motel roo. "Well…we're not dealing with the anti-Claus." Sam said. "What did Bobby say?" Dean asked. "Uh, that we're morons." Sam said. "Well that's nothing new." I said, shrugging.

"He also said that it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths." Sam said as he goes to look at his laptop. "Wow! Amazing." Dean said, with sarcasm. "What the hell is meadowsweet?" I asked Sam. "It's pretty rare and it's probably the most powerful plant in pagan lore." Sam explained.

"Pagan lore?" Dean asked. "Yeah. See, they used meadowsweet for human sacrifices. It was kind of like a…Chum for their gods. Gods were drawn to it and they'd stop by and snack on whatever was the nearest human." Sam said.

"Why would somebody be using that for Christmas wreaths?" I asked, confused. "It's not as crazy as it sound, (y/n). I mean, pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan." Sam said. "Christmas is Jesus' birthday." Dean said, firmly. "No, Jesus' birthday was probably in the fall. It was actually the winter solstice festival that was co-opted by the church and renamed Christmas. But I mean, the Yule log, the tree, even Santa's red suit – that's all remnants of pagan worship." Sam said.

"How do you know that? What are you gonna tell me next? Easter bunny's Jewish?" Dean asked but Sam says nothing. "So you think we're gonna dealing with a pagan God?" I asked Sam. "Yeah, probably Hold Nickar, God of the winter solstice." He said.

"And all these Martha Stewart wannabes, buying these fancy wreaths…" Dean said and Sam nods. "Yeah, it's pretty much like putting a neon sign on your front door saying Come kill us." Sam explained. "Great." Dean and I muttered, sarcastically, as Sam reads an article on the laptop.

"Huh… When you sacrifice to Hold Nickar, guess what he gives you in return." Sam said. "Lap dances, hopefully." Dean said and I punched his arm. "Mild weather." Sam said to Dean, who runs the spot I punched on his arm. Then I look out the window. "Like no snow in the middle of December in the middle of Michigan." I pointed out. "For instance." Sam said, nodding.

"Do we know how to kill it yet?" Dean asked. "No, Bobby's working on that right now. We got to figure out where they're selling those wreaths." Sam said. "You think they're selling them on purpose? Feeding the victims to this thing?" I asked and Sam exhales. "Let's find out."

"Help you, three?" The shopkeeper asked as we made our way into a shop. "Uh, hope so. Uh, we were playing Jenga over at the Walshes' the other night, and, uh…well, she hasn't shut up since about this Christmas wreath, and..." Dean said then he turns to me. "I don't know, you tell him." Dean said as I glanced at him. "Sure. It was yummy." I said.

"I sell a lot of wreaths, guys." The shopkeeper said. "Right, right, but – but you see, this one would have been really special. It had, uh, it had, uh, green leaves, um, white buds on it. It might have been made of, uh…meadowsweet?" I said and the shopkeeper gives me a look.

"Well, aren't you a fussy one?" He asked and Dean smiles and places his arm around my waist. "She is…" he laughs and I shrug as I give a fake smile. "Anyway, I know the one you're talking about. I'm all out." The man said. "Huh. Seems like this meadowsweet stuff's pretty rare and expensive. Why make wreaths out of it?" Dean asked the man. "Beats me. I didn't make them." The shopkeeper said.

"Who did?" I asked him. "Madge Carrigan, a local lady. She said the wreaths were so special, she gave them to me for free." The man said. "She didn't charge you?" Sam asked. "Nope." He said. "Did you sell them for free?" Dean asked. "Hell no. It's Christmas. People pay a buttload for this crap." The shopkeeper said and I give a sarcastic smile. "That's the spirit." I said, sarcastically.

Back at the hotel, Dean opens the door and turns on the light, Sam and I follow him in. "How much do you think a meadowsweet wreath would cost?" Dean asked. "A couple hundred dollars, at least." Sam replied. "This lady's giving them away for free? What do you think about that?" I asked them. "Well, sounds pretty suspicious." Sam said as we take off our jackets and sit on the edge of our beds.

"Remember that wreath Dad brought home that one year?" Dean asked Sam. "You mean the one he stole from, like, a liquor store?" Sam asked, annoyed. "Yeah, it was a bunch of empty beer cans. That thing was great. I bet if I looked around hard enough, I could probably find one just like it." Dean said.

"All right. Dude…What's going on with you?" Sam asked. "What?" Dean asked, confused. "I mean, since when are you Bing Crosby all of a sudden? Why do you want Christmas so bad?" Sam asked Dean. "Why are you so against it? I mean, were your childhood memories that traumatic?" Dean asked. "No, that has nothing to do with it." Sam said.

"Then what?" Dean asked. "I-I mean, I-I just…I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years." Sam said. "Well, yeah. This is my last year." Dean said and Sam and I look at him and I give a look of sympathy to him.

"I know…That's why I can't." Sam said and I look over at him. "What do you mean?" Dean asked him. "I mean I can't just sit around, drinking eggnog, pretending everything's okay, when I know next Christmas you'll be dead." Sam said, a hint of sadness in his voice, and Dean nods. "I just can't." Sam said, again, and Dean nods, realizing the sadness in Sam's voice. 

The three of us sit there in silence.

"This is where Mrs. Wreath lives, huh? Can't you just feel the evil pagan vibe?" Dean asked, sarcastically, as the three of us walked up to this white house that had a bunch of Christmas decorations. "Oh yeah. Feel that evil energy." I said as we get to the front door. Dean knocks on the door and an older woman greets us.

"Yes?" She greets. "Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths." Dean said, questioning. "Why, yes I am." She said, cheerfully. "Ha! Bingo." Dean said, excitedly. "Yeah? Uh, well, we were just admiring your wreaths in Mr. Sylar's place the other day." I said to her.

"You were? Well, isn't that meadowsweet just the finest-smelling thing you ever smelled?" Madge asked. 

"It is, it sure is. But the problem is, is that all you wreaths had sold out before we got the chance to buy one." I said, trying my best to look a bit sad. "Oh, fudge!" Madge exclaimed, with a sort've over-the-top expression. "You wouldn't have another one that we could buy from you, would you?" Sam asked her. "Oh, no, I'm afraid those were the only ones I had for this season." Madge said, frowning.

"Aww…" I said, disappointed. "Tell me something, why did you decide to make them out of meadowsweet?" Dean asked her when an older man, which had to be Mr Carrigan, comes down the staircase from inside the house. "Why, the smell, of course! I don't think I've ever smelled anything finer." Madge said, smiling. "Yeah…um, you mentioned that." I said as Mr Carrigan comes up next to Madge. 

"What's going on, honey?" He asked his wife. "Well, just some nice youngins asking about my wreaths, dear." Madge replied. "Oh, the wreaths are fine. Fine wreaths. Oh, care for some peanut brittle?" He asked, offering us peanut brittle. Dean and I reach out to take some, but Sam slaps our arms away. "We're okay." Sam said.

That night, back at the motel, Dean and I were sharpening a couple of wooden stakes, five other wooden stakes were on the bed and floor near us, while Sam uses the laptop. "I knew it!" Sam exclaims after he claps. "Something was way off with those two." He said and Dean and I look over at him. 

"What'd you find?" Dean asked him. "The Carrigans lived in Seattle, last year, where two abductions took place right around Christmas. They moved here in January. All that Christmas crap in their house – that wasn't boughs of holly. It was vervain and mint." Sam said. "Pagan stuff?" I asked. "Serious pagan stuff." Sam said, nodding.

"So what, Ozzie and Harriet are keeping a pagan god hidden underneath their plastic-covered couch?" Dean asked. "I don't know. All I know we're gotta check them out." Sam said and he looks over at us and sees our stakes. "So, what about Bobby? He's sure evergreen stakes will kill this thing, right?" He asked and we looked at the stakes. "Yeah, he's sure." Dean said.

Later, the boys make their way into the Carrigan's house while I stayed in the car, acting as backup. I sit there and just wait around for the boys, hoping that everything goes well. Minutes go by and I start to get a bit worried for the boys. I sigh and get out of the car and make my way to the house.

I crouch and walk along the porch when I heard voices. I walk over to the window and look through it to see the kitchen area; where I see Dean and Sam tied up to a chair, both of them were wearing wreaths around their necks.

Then Mr Carrigan starts to slice Sam's arm and Sam begins to scream in pain. "Leave him alone, you son of a bitch!" Dean yells. "Hear how they talk to us? To Gods?" Mr Carrigan said as Madge takes the knife and bowl. "Listen, pal, back in the day, we were worshiped by millions." Mr Carrigan said. "Times have changed!" Dean yells at him.

"Tell me about it. All of a sudden, this Jesus character is the hot new thing in town. All of a sudden, our – our altars are being burned down, and we're being hunted down like common monsters." Mr Carrigam said. "But did we say a peep? Oh…no, no, no, we did not." Madge said as Mr Carrigan adds something to Sam's blood in the bowl.

"Two millennium." Madge said as her husband picks up a tool. "We kept a low profile; we got jobs, a mortgage. Wh-What was that word, dear?" She asked. "We assimilated." Her husband replied. "Yeah, we assimilated. Why, we play bridge on Tuesday and Fridays." Madge said as she holds a large knife. "We're just like everybody else." She said, smiling.

"You're not blending in as smooth as you think, lady." Dean said. "This might pinch a bit, dear." Madge said as he comes closer to Dean and slices his arm. "You bitch!" Dean yells and my heart raced a bit. "Oh, my goodness me! Somebody owes a nickel to the swear jar. Oh, do you know what I say when I feel like swearing? Fudge." She said. "I'll try and remember that!" Dean growls.

"You boys have no idea how lucky you are. There was a time when kids came from miles around, just to be sitting where you are." Mr Carrigan said as he stands in front of Sam with the tool. "What do you think you're doing with those?" Sam asked him, panicked, while Dean looks up at Madge.

"You fudging touch me again and I'll fudging kill you!" He growls. "Very good!" Madge said and she slices Dean's other arm and he groans in pain, while Mr Carrigan grabs Sam's hand. "No! Don't." Sam yells then I duck down and hear the boys screaming.

"Crap." I muttered then I make my way towards the front door. I stand up, pull the hood of my jacket over my head and ring the doorbell. After a few seconds later, I ring the doorbell again as I pull the stake out of my jacket pocket and hold it behind me.

The door opens and I lower my head, covering my face, as a voice asked. "Can I help you?" 

"Yeah, I'm looking for a couple of my friends..." I said and I look up and see Madge standing at the door. I quickly bring out the stake and attack her. I knock her down on the floor and I try to shove the stake towards her chest but she holds it up.

"Honey?" Mr Carrigan called out, concerned, and I hear footsteps coming. I then smack the end of the stake and insert it into Madge's chest, killing her. I quickly get up, shut the front door just as Mr Carrigan comes in and sees his dead wife.

"Madge!" He screams and he looks over at me, in anger, then attacks me. We struggle and fight then he throws me into the living room and I crash into a side table. Mr Carrigan then grabs me around the neck and begins to choke me until I see a wooden stake sticking out of his chest. He screams in pain and let's me go as I look up and see that it was Dean stabbed him. 

Dean then stabs him twice before Mr Carrigan lies dead on the floor. I breath heavily, just as Sam comes in the room while Dean sighs in relief. "Thank God." Sam said, relieved, as Dean goes to help me up to my feet. "You boys okay?" I asked and they nod. "Could be worse." Dean said then we look at the dead bodies. "Merry Christmas, guys." Sam said, sarcastically, and I roll my eyes at this. "Come on, we better go." I said and we leave.

"Okay, how does this taste?" Sam asked me as he hands me a small cup of eggnog. He hands it to me and I take a sip from it and I hummed in approval. "Oh that's good." I said. "You sure? Doesn't need any more of a kick?" He asked me. "No, I think if you do, it'll taste awful." I said then I flip the burgers on the little griddle.

After we dealt with the Carrigans', we made our way to my safehouse where Sam and I decided to do Christmas to surprise Dean whenever he got back from getting beer.

"How's the burgers coming along?" Sam asked me. "They look good so far." I said. "They smell good." Sam said and I smiled as I place the cooked burgers on a plate and Sam grabs the buns and other toppings for the burgers.

We go into the Christmas decorated living room and place the food on the table just as the door opens and Dean walks in, carrying a bag. He turns to us then stops as he looks around at the decorations and the little tree Sam and I picked up and decorated.

"Hey, you get the beer?" I asked him as Sam and I hold up a cup of eggnog. "What's all this?" Dean asked, amazed. "What do you think it is? It's – it's Christmas." Sam said and Dean looks at us, as Sam lets out a deep breath.

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked Sam. Sam and I exchange a look before Sam picks up another cup of eggnog. "Here, uh, try the eggnog." Sam said, ignoring Dean's question, as he hands the cup to Dean. Dean sips it and looks surprised at the taste. "No, we're good." Dean said and Sam and I smile. "Yeah?" Sam said. "Yeah." Dean said and we smiled. 

"Is that burgers?" Dean asked. "Yeah...sorry it ain't a turkey but..." I said but Dean shakes his head. "No, no, no. That's great." He said and I smiled. "Good." I said.

"Well, uh, have a seat. Let's do…Christmas stuff, or whatever." Sam said and Dean looks at the Christmas tree, which is decorated with lights and car air fresheners. "All right, first things first." Dean said as Sam sits on the couch and Dean pulls up a chair then I go sit on the arm of his chair.

Dean takes three packages put wrapped in brown paper from a plastic bag and holds two of them out to Sam and one of them, which was a bigger package, and hands it to me. "Merry Christmas, guys." He said as Sam and I take the gifts. "Where'd you get these?" Sam asked. "Someplace special." Dean replied and Sam and I look at him. "The gas mart down the street." Dean said and Sam and I laugh.

"Open them up." Dean said to us.

"Well, great minds think alike, Dean." Sam reaches under the couch for two packages wrapped in newspaper, which he gives to Dean. "Really?" Dean asked as he takes the gifts. "There you go." Sam said as I smile. "Come on." Dean said and Sam opens his first gift, which is two porn magazines, and he laughs. "Skin mags!" He exclaims and Dean nods, satisfied with Sam's reaction. "...and…" Sam said as he opens the other gift. "Shaving cream." He said.

"You like?" Dean asked and Sam smiles. "Yeah. Yeah." Sam replied as he nods. Then Dean turns to me. "Your turn." He said and I open it and see that it was a couple of packages of (favorite candy). "Ah, a man after my heart." I said, smiling, and Dean smiles back at me and we share a quick kiss.

"Okay, your turn." Sam said to Dean and he open his presents. Then he chuckles as he unwraps the gifts. "Look at this." He said as he lifts his presents, it's a candy bar and a bottle of oil. "Fuel for me and fuel for my baby. Well...my other baby." Dean said as he looks up at me and winks. "These are awesome, thanks." Dean said to Sam. "Good." Sam said then Dean looks over at me and I smirk.

"Oh don't worry. I got something for ya." I said and he raises an eyebrow. "Oh really? Where is it?" He asked me. "You're just gonna have to wait til later tonight to open it." I said, giving him knowing look. His eyes roam over my body and a smirk quirks up on his lips. "Can't wait." He said and I lean down and kiss his cheek while Sam just rolls his eyes.

Dean looks between us and I notice there's a bit of sadness in his face before he lifts his glass of eggnog. "Merry Christmas, guys." He said. "Yeah." Sam said as he and I lift our eggnogs and make a toast with Dean's glass.

The three of us each take a drink of our eggnog and Dean whistles softly at the taste. "Hey, Dean." Sam said and he looks sad and was about to say something, but he hesitates, then sighs and looks at Dean again.

"Do you feel like watching the game?" He asked him. "Absolutely." Dean said, smiling, and Sam nods. "All right." Sam said and he grabs the remote off of the table and turns on the TV. We start grabbing a burger and began to eat and watch the game, trying to push back the thought that this would be the last Christmas we would have together.

@rach5ive @kitsun369 @itzabbyxx @cevans-winchester

[dr3amofagame]

hi your art is so gorgeous I’m obsessed with how you shade and texture hair especially. Also can you tell us more about spaghetti strap collar dream (j!dream??) starting with Why is he dressed so fruity

OMG THANK U :D hair drives me a little nuts to draw i wont even lie

j!Dream ... my j!Dreamogie...

j!Dream starts with the JMAH AU, which involves our favorite mans sam awesamdude getting to do a good old do-over of the prison. Which he takes gladly, of course, with a good heaping measure of god has sent me back to do what's right and this is the warden's duty to bear and other related such sam-isms

of course, things go awry with him, but not before a year of (title drop!) just him and dream in the prison and all of the horrid intimacy and violence that came with it. sam wallows in his failure (and his successes...he did things better this time, right? it wasn't his fault, right? he did everything he could...maybe now he can enjoy true freedom...) while dream relearns how to be free (in the belly of the prison that had swallows him whole and spit him out different. the dispensers are a row of teeth above his head.) it hardly matters at the end, though, because XD has other games to play--this brings us to Four Square, which is the prison-themed crossover meetup with canon of their dreams (heh, Dreams) !! All your best hits are here: the clock! Blood! Drama! More blood! Sam giving the Dreams over for Quackity to torture! Sam threatening Quackity for Dream's sake! Technoblade! Camraderie! Betrayals! Gossip sessions! Raw potatoes! Dream grilling Sam about his reasons! Even board games! Four Square really has it all.

(a lot more. under the cut.)

in four square, a certain point, both prisontrios (jmah edition and canon) get to play monopoly together. in the regular version, the dreams manage to win monopoly, (j!dream does, specifically) and quite a bit happens in the aftermath of this--after getting trolled by XD a bit an having to fight for their lives a lot more, they do (with. some complications) manage to win themselves the upper hand eventually. it kinda brings four square to the more "daedalus" era, with the LN confrontation next (we never finished writing that, though: it probably would've ended quite a bit messier than the LN confrontation, with nowhere to run, but i feel like it probably would've ended with the quackitys hogtied in some corner of the prison while the dreams waited for them to get tp-ed out.)

in the bad ending, though, j!sam wins. and there's a lot about four square that does demand...a level of introspection, for better or for worse, and sam has been on quite the roller coaster of emotions (here, you have him: but only for a day.) dream is in the prison, but sam is really no more its warden than anyone else here--four square is first and foremost a game, and that in and of itself is a mockery. more than anything, he's finding that he wants dream and dream alone; he misses the days of just the two of them in this prison, just the two of them and dream is safe and perfectly under his control. when he wins monopoly and XD gives him a wish...well.

enter mayfair. four square had taken a lot out of them both, dream especially--he was told for a year that sam was protecting him from Worse, that sam wasn't really torture wasn't really that bad, and 24 hours with two Quackities each with a Lays family size bag of chips on their shoulder sure has him pretty damn convinced. sam and him and a new prison only this one has brick walls instead of obsidian and wood flooring instead of blackstone...a little cottage with an impenetrable barrier surrounding them. he's more trapped than he's ever been but look, here's a house and here's sam and here's the sun. here's table set with a vase of roses and a candlelit dinner for two.

in a lot of ways, what happens after is the natural progression of jmah, and then four square, and all their combined horrors. dream isn't even sure that they're on their server (they weren't for four square, after all.) he's tired. he's genuinely, wholly, so fucking tired of it all and sam isn't that bad, when it comes down to it, not as bad as he's been having nightmares about for the last few months--not as bad as he expected, should sam ever recapture him. this is his world now, this clearing and this house and this sam. it would be foolish of him to not try and make the most of it.

for a year and a half, they had been dancing around each other. for the entirety of four square, they had been grilled on the nature of their relationship with no satisfactory answers. there is so much about this house that is just so damn unambiguous, and honestly? honestly, dream just wants to know.

(one week, one week and a half into their new living arrangment, dream sinks to his knees in front of sam in their living room.)

(you want this, a question or a statement? you want this, and it goes both ways.)

the walk-in closet attached to their master bedroom had a little selection of clothing when they were tp-ed in. the whole damn place was kind of a practical joke, a picture-perfect romantic getaway. there's like, sex toys in the drawers. stuff like that. the closet itself is also a mess of different things--some copies of sam's clothes from home, some tunics and hoodies for dream...but also suits, and ties, and dress pants, and dresses. croptops and lingerie. a prisoner's jumpsuit tucked in some corner.

their sexual relationship is ummm UMMMM. it's a little dubious. for flavor. in a weird way, both sam and dream are on the same page of wanting to move past the prison? sam in particular is in an awkward position because...dream escaped! he literally Left, he Got Away, and now that sam has him again he's obligated, as his warden, to Do Something About That. at the same time though, he's giddy from the fact that he does have dream again. that he has real, tangible proof that dream is better, that he does need him and knows that he needs him, that he. Wants Him. the house didn't come with a cell--there is no place that is sam's, and then a separate place that is dream's. they are meant to exist together...and sam is finding that he. quite likes the idea of that.

they're also pent up as hell after uh going well over a year without any sexual activity for them both, and they've spent so much damn time thinking about it and dreaming about it and fearing it and wanting it on both sides without being able to admit any of it. so once the line is crossed, things start snowballing pretty damn fast. it's not something either of them can take back, so they. don't. and there's really nothing that exists to put a real boundary on any of it, any brakes to make things slow down or stop, anything that either of them can cling to as an excuse to force them to pull back. sam is pushing limits (how far will dream go to obey him--) and dream is pushing limits (how much can he use this to change what they are--) and neither of them are in a position where they can afford to back down. So They Don't.

birdhouse, or the timeline where we just get Really Silly With It, is where other variables are added in the form of different Dream AUs that kind of interrupt jmah duo's mutual decision to swan dive to hell. the outfits kinda start from mayfair and progressively get more extreme if dream + sam go unchecked--they're a natural consequence of j!Dream going hey how far can i push this to make sam lose his mind because if he's too busy thinking with his dick then he's probably less likely to get mad at me and other such lines of logic. in the version of birdhouse that begins to involve ff AU, the addition of ff!Sam (eventually) to the sexual dynamic does put another added layer of strain on j!dream in terms of the whole. There's Two Of Them Now. that's also where you kinda see more of him embracing uhh sex as the end-all be-all solution to most of his problems, as a means of getting some power back with regards to Sam and making the best out of his situation and the best (and only) leverage he has and the tool that's both the most pleasurable for him to wield and the most effective in making sam treat him better. Etc.

so he's doing great.

[taylorswiftandx]

Taylor Swift and More

'Taylor Swift'

Picture To Burn: I realize you love yourself more than you could ever love me

A Place In This World: Could you tell me, what more do I need?

'Fearless (Taylor's Version)'

Fearless: But you pull me in and I'm a little more brave

SuperStar: This is wrong but I can't help but feel like there ain't nothing more right, babe

The Other Side Of The Door: Wait there in the pouring rain, come back for more

'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)'

I Can See You: I could see you make me want you even more

'Red (Taylor's Version)'

All Too Well: And I know it's long gone and that magic's not here no more

'1989 (Taylor's Version)'

Welcome To New York: Everybody here wanted something more

All You Had To Do Was Stay: The more I think about it now, the less I know

Suburban Legends: You'd be more than a chapter in my old diaries with the pages ripped out

Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar): Love don't hear no more, no, I don't fear no more, better yet, respect ain't quite sincere no more

'reputation'

Gorgeous: There's nothing I hate more than what I can't have

Call It What You Want: Not because he owns me but 'cause he really knows me, which is more than they can say

'Lover'

I Forgot That You Existed: And I couldn't get away from you, in my feelings more than Drake, so, yeah

Cruel Summer: What doesn't kill me makes me want you more

The Man: Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you

'folklore'

august: Salt air and the rust on your door, I never needed anything more

mad woman: Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy, what about that?

mad woman: And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry

'evermore'

willow: The more that you say, the less I know

long story short: No more keeping score, now I just keep you warm

long story short: No more tug of war, now I just know there's more

'Midnights'

Question…?: Did you wish you'd put up more of a fight? oh

Sweet Nothing: And the voices that implore, "You should be doing more"

The Great War: You said I have to trust more freely, but diesel is desire, you were playing with fire

Bigger Than The Whole Sky: You were more than just a short time

'The Tortured Poets Department'

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys: I felt more when we played pretend than with all the Kens

But Daddy I Love Him: I'd rather burn my whole life down than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me: Nothing makes me feel more alive

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me: Is it a wonder I broke? Let's hear one more joke

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart: All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting, "more"

Clara Bow: Beauty is a beast that roars down on all fours demanding more

The Albatross: The devil that you know looks now more like an angel

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus: You needed me, but you needed drugs more and I couldn't watch it happen

I Look in People's Windows: What if your eyes looked up and met mine one more time

Other Songs written by Taylor

All Of The Girls You Loved Before: I'm so thankful for all of the girls you loved before but I love you more

Christmas Must Be Something More: Christmas must be something more

Christmas Must Be Something More: There's gotta be more, there's gotta be more

Crazier: There's so much more, I'd never seen it before

This Is What You Came For: We say nothing more than we need

Official Alternate Releases

But Daddy I Love Him (Clean Version): I'd rather burn my whole life down than listen to one more second of all this griping and moaning

[respectthepetty]

Seeing Cher and Gun in the Our Skyy 2 trailer wearing those dreaded Christmas colors reminded me of a few things,

like I didn't actually write about the colors in episode 6 of A Boss & A Babe because I got distracted by the . . . acting. Yeah. The acting and not that wild "Let them eat cake" version of Gun we saw.

With much resistance, I've come to the conclusion that we are dealing with warm vs cool colors (Cher x Gun & Zo x Three), which does not make a lick of sense because the opening and ending credits are blue and yellow and the OST gave us blue, yellow, and orange while Gun has yet to put purple on his body compared to Cher who had purple with blue on last episode, but Reon Saran Jantharakkha, the cinematographer, is playing color combat, so cool cool cool, but not cool colors since Gun DOESN'T HAVE PURPLE!

Whatever. I'm good. *shrugs in unbothered*

The episode begins where the previous episode ended - Gun in blue at Cher's front door.

Just in case you're struggling to see it, this is what the suit looks like during the day.

I'm not touching on how Gun's colors become darker as his mood shifts because after spending time with Cher, Gun quickly pops back up the next day in green winking and smirking his way through the office like he took a course in HR violations from GAP's Sam.

Thup shows up at Cher's place after work, because nobody respects this man's space, in orange demanding money for an avoidable car accident. His colors say he is Team Cher, but his attitude says he is Team Share-Your-Money-Now!

Cher transfers him the money, so he quickly exits, only for his other problem child to call him from the hospital.

Gun LIES stating that he was injured at a construction site, even though he told Cher earlier that he had a meeting at a hotel, and surprising nobody, Gun is missing his green. This mentiroso is in the black! *The Scooby Gang is displeased* But his lies get him a care giver, a hair washer, AND someone to cuddle with.

Gun LIES some more and tells Cher that the reason he was bothered the other day was because he met with Thyme and had to be tough, but the colors and timing are telling a different story. Thyme appears to be wearing green (which would align with Gun), but also Gun left that meeting smug in the flashback, yet showed up to the office so upset that only Porsche, his ex, was allowed to speak to him.

What's happening, narrative? Why is the math not mathing?

Because of Gun's LIES (or the plot holes), Cher sleeps with Gun, and the next day, Oi, the most accurate office worker ever portrayed in a series, calls Gun out on his change in personality while wearing blue pants. Gun is wearing whatever color this is. BlueBlack? No sé,

But Cher struggles with his color.

Is it because you slept with a liar, sir? Blink twice if it an actual part of the narrative. Blink once if it's merely plot holes.

Sidenote: Zo is fine. He was just tired. But not too tired to not wear his color, unlike Three who is taking a page out of Gun's color book and wearing green all of a sudden six episodes in.

But it's okay because Zo decides to support his boyfriend in his color shenanigans and wears PURPLE after Three blows up at the group for not taking the competitions seriously. Let it be known that Jack only stated facts. And also note everyone else will wear purple before Gun.

But next week, everyone seems to have their colors sorted out (I write that every week), after $ugar Daddy Gun suggests a beach trip for Cher and his friends.

Zo and Cher are showing their willingness to merge their colors and love with their love interests, while their guys stick to their colors.

Yet drunk Gun seems more inclined to the idea of opening his heart and his arms to Cher.

Because this is the face of a man in love. This is not the face of a liar.

Right?

Right?

And now, your moment of Zen

[loveinhawkins]

oh right! okay, here we go! so we get Eddie's pov of Steve's wake-up (obviously, it's in his pov entirely and he was right there), but of course we don't know how Steve experienced it--and there's a pretty big stretch of time between that and the next morning, when Eddie next sees him. I guess this one is kind of a two in one ask? because we also don't know how much Steve was acting better than he felt, or how much effort it was taking, especially that first morning after they ran who-knows-how-many tests on who-knows-what.

ooo! okay yeah Eddie’s POV means he misses quite a bit here.

So Steve deliberately sends Eddie away & while that’s partly motivated by him kinda compartmentalising & thinking ‘wow what a traumatic situation… for Eddie’ rather than processing all that he’s gone through (also just Steve being observant in general,seeing that Eddie’s reached his emotional limit & needs to see Wayne), there’s also, like, a proudness to Steve in that he doesn’t want anyone to see him at his lowest, which Eddie sort of picks up on when he sees him later:

Steve is sitting up as straight as he can, like he’s proving a point. It makes Eddie suspect that, as soon as he’d left, Steve had tried to speedrun recovery while no-one was looking.

plus even though at this point Steve is trying really hard to Not Think About It All, when he’s facing the doctors alone, he gets angry, both for himself and everyone he loves that’s been affected by The Upside Down. there’s a tiny display of Steve not backing down when he later says he told them not to disturb Eddie while he was sleeping: “I kinda demanded that they didn’t wake you up. Thought it was the least they could do.”

also with the speed of the first stage of Steve’s physical recovery, it doesn’t exactly help Steve stop repressing everything because he now has a reminder that ‘well, you’ve been checked out, it’s “ordinary injuries” now technically so you should be fine’. He does still try to advocate for himself—he insists on being treated for his speech & breathing first, because above all he wants to be able to talk to his friends, but well, he’s just a nineteen year old boy & he’s faced with people who’re relieved they don’t have to deal with frantic parents at his bedside, who just want the easy route of getting this over and done with & brush him aside. (Which Joyce & Hopper are later furious about.) Eddie again picks up on this slightly:

And Eddie knows that this version of events is no doubt highly sanitised—yet even with Steve’s nonchalant delivery, he gets the impression that whatever the doctors greeted him with had been less reassuring and more, you’re out the fucking twilight zone, kid, just be grateful and don’t ask too many questions.

& yeah in my head there’s doctors & whatnot who know of The Upside Down observing Hawkins (I’m imagining that not just Sam Owens survived s2, but from Eddie’s POV that knowledge is unknown), who only leap into action when it really can’t be ignored anymore with the “earthquake.”

as for how much effort Steve was putting in to appear fine—oh, a lot. The tests that are run are basically to check that there’s no traces of The Upside Down in him after the injuries Henry’s caused—They don’t want a Will Byers 1984 situation again—and the leftover pain in his chest etc is causing flashbacks to when he was dying & couldn’t breathe. He doesn’t sleep for the whole night after sending Eddie away, stays awake for the rest of the following day until Robin and Dustin leave.

fic director’s commentary ask game

[hyperfixated-gvf]

Sleeper Sled

On the tenth day of Tropemas, hyperfixated-gvf gave to me:

A fluffy sledding fic where Jake is grumpy!

Christmas Song Pairing: “Dashing Through the Snow" by A Very Convoluted History of Versions and Singers

Trope: Sledding

~~~

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x Reader

Warnings: Some suggestive implications, language

Words: 2k

Author's Note: I'm not quite done with the Sammy fic that was supposed to go out today, so I had to switch up the pattern. Hope you don't mind! Besides, that also means we'll be finishing off Tropemas with 2 very smutty rhythm section fics ;)

~~~

Jake had been grumpy when you woke him up before noon. It’s not like you could blame him — you knew intimately how late he stayed up. But you had plans for the day, and when you were finally able to bribe him with a hot coffee and food on the way to where you were taking him, he finally dragged himself out of bed, demanding a kiss, as well.

“Where are we even going?” He mumbled once you pulled away, resistant to his attempts to deepen the kiss and get you back in bed.

You patted his hip and went back to searching for Jake’s good winter gloves in the box of miscellaneous hats, scarves, gloves, and mittens. “A date,” you said. 

“I could plan a perfectly good date right here, though,” came Jake’s reply from the bathroom. “And then we wouldn’t have to trek through the snow.”

The sink started to run, so you didn’t bother responding. You knew that Jake’s idea of a date at home would be him offering to teach you how to make a dish, eventually kicking you out of the kitchen because the only people he really liked cooking with are his mom and dad, and then watching a movie until you either passed out, got bored, or started fucking.

So, no. You would not be staying here. And besides, trekking through the snow was part of the date, something that Jake soon found out as soon as he saw the “Joy’s Old Sleddin’ Hill” sign sitting atop the gate you passed under to pull into the freshly-salted parking lot.

“Sledding?” Jake questioned, doubt tinging his tone. “Have you ever been snowboarding? It’s much more fun.”

You fixed your boyfriend with an unamused glare. He wasn’t usually such a spoil-sport, but you knew he’d been up in the music room all night, hyper-fixated on a new riff that he just had to get before he got to bed. You’d had this date planned for a couple of weeks now, though, and he’d known about it even if you’d kept the location a secret. Because of that, you had very little sympathy for his late-night habits.

“Yes. With your family last year, remember? When you took me out because you and Sam wouldn’t stop fucking around on the beginner’s slope?”

Jake tried to stop the smile from reaching his lips, but you saw the small smirk take over eventually and shook your head good-naturedly. “Oh yeah,” he coughed, covering up his amusement poorly. “Alrighty. Well, if we’re gonna do it, then, let’s do it.”

Despite the less-than-enthusiastic send-off, Jake reached for your hand when you met up behind the car to walk to the sled rental but before you took off, hooked his newly-gloved finger into your scarf so that he could pull it down and kiss your cheek.

“Trying to suck up to me now, Kiszka?” you teased, readjusting your scarf before leaning into your boyfriend. He must have felt bad for being a sourpuss, but you hadn’t let it affect your mood because you knew he’d come around. And again, he wasn’t always like this – you were willing to give him a break every so often when he let his creative genius take over.

“I would never,” he denied, but you saw the smile. “Why would I when I’m still getting cold and wet on a Sunday when we could have been warm and wet in–”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” you gasped, pasting your wool-covered palm over his mouth, “there are children around!” It didn’t stop him, because you could feel his breath seep into your mitten as he mumbled incoherently into your hand, so you just kept it there as you walked until he quieted again. “You’re gonna get us kicked out.”

Perhaps it was a warning and a threat to you, but Jake just smiled mischievously and sighed, “If that’s how I’m gonna get out of climbing up this God forsaken hill, I’ll give a dramatic rendition of last night.”

You scoffed and glanced over at him, approaching the sled rental, finally. “What– before or after you left me on the bed to go and chase your little guitar chords?”

That certainly got Jake’s attention, and he narrowed his eyes before leaning in. He didn’t really want to get kicked out, after all. “I left you exhausted, don’t pretend like I didn’t take care of you first,” he said, the complaint ripe in his words.

You smiled as you shelled out for the best sleds the little shack had and thought about disagreeing just to see where it got you but, eventually, decided that you didn’t actually want to ruin Jake’s day. “You did,” you conceded, giving up the fight - and he had, you just much preferred to cuddle with him after he rocked your shit than with his pillow as he returned to his one true love. You weren't made by Gibson, after all.

You gave Jake his sled as you made for the hill, and he harrumphed behind you, but followed. Even trudging up the hill, you didn’t talk much, too busy trying not to look as out of shape as you both were. But, heavy breathing and all, Jake began to get a tad bit more pep in his step the further toward the top you got.

As much as he grouched about getting up early and being cold and wet, he was a Michigan boy at heart, and you knew he missed the plethora of slopes around every corner. He never passed up a chance to grab his old snowboard from his parent’s garage when you visited, and he’d disappear with Josh for hours once he knew you were comfortable and had something to do (as if his family ever ran out of things to do).

Sledding wasn’t that much different.

Someone flew past you on their way down, and Jake watched as the snow sprayed up behind them. “Damn…” he muttered, taking another look at his board. “Are you sure we don’t need to go back down and rent some goggles and a couple of helmets?”

“I knew you’d come around,” you said smugly, finally approaching the end of the line of people waiting to be placed and given the green light by the workers. “You can’t stay away from extreme snow sports.”

Jake furrowed his brows. “Since when has sledding been an extreme sport?” he scoffed, still keeping up the fake attitude, even though you could see him bouncing on his heels.

As the line gradually shortened with each person that quickly picked up speed on the steep hill, you and Jake kept up the banter, but it quickly turned competitive when your boards were placed on the snow.

“So what do I get if I win?” Jake asked, a suggestive tone that only you could pick up on lacing his words.

Waiting for the workers to nod that you were good to push off, you rolled your eyes and scoffed. “Anything you want,” you told him, sickly sweet. “But you won’t win, so it’ll actually be what I’ll get when I win.”

Jake’s eyes turned up in a smile you couldn’t see because of his adjusted scarf, but you heard him reply, “Anything you want,” just before the worker told you you could go.

As fast as you could, you dug your boots into the snow and pushed yourself down the hill like a little, snow-dwelling frog. Jake was still hanging out in your peripheral, right next to you, and you began to think there might be some merit to his words about goggles, with the spray that occurred as the hill dropped to be steeper and your sled skidded across pillowy white drifts that felt like icy needles on your face.

Perhaps it was because you had to close your eyes against the elements, or maybe your focus shifted as you felt like you’d fly right off the course and into the parking lot, but you didn’t notice Jake converging in on you until his muffled voice was inches away and he was reaching out a hand to stop the collision.

“Jake!” you squealed, trying to muscle him away from you. But with his efforts clashing with yours, you only succeeded in swinging him out in front of you, so that he was going down the hill backwards and you were the only one who saw the absolute trainwreck of a stop that was evolving. 

The huge snowdrift at the bottom of the hill acted as a stopper, and if a rider hadn’t lost enough momentum by the time they reached it, they’d either continue to sled up and then succumb to gravity, or they would shoot forward into the snow if the sled got caught before it went up.

With your combined weight, either way was gonna hurt.

The sleds slowed as the incline leveled out, but it wasn’t enough, and as soon as you hit the snowdrift, Jake tumbled off abruptly as the nose of the sled caught a compressed lip of ice from where it had been compacted by many sledders before you. And although his hands were ripped from yours, you still followed, giggling all the way.

“That was a softer landing than I had imagined,” you cackled breathlessly, taking deep breaths against the puffy material of Jake’s coat. His arm encircled your waist, and with a quick shake of his head, he dislodged the scarf from where it had been wrapped around his nose and lips.

“Soft because you landed on me,” he accused with a little laugh, digging his fingers into the layers that hid you.

Not wanting to be run over by other sledders, you got up off of him and held out your hand, which Jake took gratefully. “What do you mean? You’re all hard man muscle,” you drawled jokingly. “I was lucky you were wearing that big ol’ coat, or I probably would’ve broken something.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jake snorted, grabbing the stings of both sleds and hauling them out of the way.

He was quiet as you made your way back to the path leading up to the top of the hill, and you gently caught his elbow. “Sorry I crushed you there,” you apologized, not really thinking he was mad at you, but to hear his voice again. You knew he likely just didn’t have anything to say, but having woke up on the wrong side of the bed, you wanted to make sure he was actually having a good time and wasn’t just putting on a brave face for you. “We can go a few more times and then blow this popsicle stand if it traumatized you too much.”

Jake glanced at you, brows raised as he took in your offering. You knew the second the lightbulb went off because he scooted off to the side of the trail and looped the sled strings around his arm so that they wouldn’t slide away back down the hill, and then grabbed your hand. “Hey, I’m having fun,” he claimed, genuine happiness softening his features in a way that made you relax for the time being.

“I know!” you assured, maybe a little too quickly, as anything less would make you feel foolish for doubting Jake’s emotional state. Jake picked up on that and made sure you were holding his gaze before he ran a cold, slightly damp finger down your nose in an affectionate gesture.

He put on his best sweet voice, sleepy and a little raspy just the way you loved. “Thank you for taking the time out of your day to plan this,” he said sincerely as tendrils of winter began to settle between the gaps of your layers now that you weren’t actively struggling up a steep hill and getting your body warm with exertion. “I appreciate you putting up with me more than you know.”

Sufficiently reassured that Jake was happy, you took your sled from his arm. “I don’t put up with you. I love you just the way you are,” you said mischievously. “Even when you wake up grumpy and leave me without cuddles after blowing my back out.”

You took off up the hill, leaving Jake with a shocked expression that quickly turned offended. “I did not! And what happened to ‘there are children around?’”

You laughed as he chased you as quickly as he could with clunky snow boots on. In your opinion, the sledding date was most certainly going to turn out a success.

~~~

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