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cno-inbminor · 4 years

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a/n: drabble dump for our boy kuroo -- i love him loads and think about him endlessly. i also apologize beforehand for the awkward ending bc i’m terrible at ending things. hope you all enjoy! gonna go knock back a melatonin and sleep my wooziness away

w/c: ~2.4k; some angst, fluff, mentions of alcohol

you’re avoiding tetsurou, and he’s keen on figuring out why. college!au, friends to lovers.

“you’re not as slick as you think, y’know.”

instantly, a shiver creeps up your spine, electrifying you in quick, tiny bursts. those eight, nine words were more than enough to let you know who was standing behind you, peering over your shoulder in an effort to catch your gaze. his voice made your heart clench and lungs fight for oxygen – you begin to curse the high, intellectual level of tetsurou’s observational skills. you just wanted to make it another day without seeing his face outside of class, opting more for longer walks and just looking back to see the back of his stylishly mussed hair in the far distance. it frustrates you how much you’ve used the word ‘infuriating’ when it comes to him, but there’s no other better word you can think of without having to consult the thesaurus.

you have a few seconds to dart your eyes around, desperately searching for a way to escape. your productivity typically thrives within the library, but he’s always there, so with lots of pleading and promises of baked goods and decent coffee, you were able to borrow a close friend’s ID, a graduate student, and access the graduate resource room in a less traveled hallway. and in the expanse of that area, you’ve tucked yourself away into the back corner behind some shelves where almost no one visits. but it leaves you cornered and vulnerable – no matter which direction, in combination with his long legs, tetsurou would catch up to you in a heartbeat. you thought you had finally found a way to permanently escape his grasp, but apparently not.

much like you, he’s not supposed to be able to access this area. after all, you’re both senior undergrads so –

“how did you get in here?” you quietly hiss. you’re pretty sure you’d be booted out if you made any sound above 15 decibels, and you’re not about to let tetsurou ruin this haven for you.

there’s a rustle of clothing, a hand that rests on the back of your seat, and the hairs on the nape of your neck spike, before a delicate whisper informs, “you’re not the only one with grad student friends, love.”

if you weren’t so focused on keeping yourself rigid, body absolutely understanding of the effect that this man has on you, you definitely would’ve shivered from the proximity. but the gentleness in his tone sends you back to three weeks ago – you’re no longer under a fluorescent light tucked between cream-colored walls, but rather basked in a somewhat garish hue of crimson. your veins were tinged with alcohol, the substance leaving you feeling like you were on clouds, a silly smile breaking across your face uncontrollably. other bodies surrounded you but the only one you were focused on was the one in front of you, following your swaying movements to the beat of the music coming through someone’s speakers. even in the warmth of the house, tetsurou’s hands on your waist seared your skin, branding the feeling on you for eternity. his eyes twinkled with apparent affection, unbridled and screaming at you for you to understand the line he wanted to so desperately cross, that the alcohol pushed it behind his efforts to deny himself the one thing he’s been searching for in all these years.

“i’m a little drunk, but fuck, you have no idea how bad i wanna kiss you,” he had murmured just loud enough into your ear, then ghosting his lips over the shell of it. everything around you dissolved into a blur as you could only focus on his breaths and the tightening of his grasp on you. his confession wasn’t completely unwarranted – not at all.

tetsurou and you had met in the quantitative analysis lab freshman year, having been assigned as partners for the semester just by how the ta’s drew the seating chart. he was a friendly, kind soul – had saved your ass multiple times from overshooting your titrations, prevented multiple beakers and graduated cylinders from falling over, always down to compare numbers to help ensure that neither of you were fucking up too hard.

coincidentally, the two of you were registered to the same ochem lab the next year and immediately gravitated towards each other, grateful to find some familiarity in all the anxiety. he witnessed your breakdown mid-lab, did his best to comfort you and salvage your sample so there was enough for recrystallization because you somehow got landed with a shitty, leaking separatory funnel, and stayed back with you when you had fallen behind in the cleanup process. from then on, it was a weekly habit to study together and work on your lab journals and reports together, not taking long to become close friends.

tetsurou did his best to keep his growing feelings at bay, knowing that you had explicitly mentioned swearing off relationships as you tried to figure out your future first. he wasn’t oblivious enough to think that you didn’t feel anything for him whatsoever – you were stubborn and tenacious at best. the house party at miya atsumu’s was simply a suggestion for the both of you to relax after a brutal midterm in your inorganic chemistry course, to let loose and treat yourself. he really hadn’t meant to say what he said, but just looked so good, so lovely and beautiful and enthralling, and you were looking at him like he hung the stars and moon in the sky – he knows he’s sent that same look to you multiple times when you weren’t looking, completely sober and unfazed.

he couldn’t stop himself from leaning close into you that night and you hadn’t stopped in – he knows he should’ve resisted, but feeling your soft lips against his was easily one of the top ten highlights of his college career, and his love for you only surged beyond his hold, overwhelming him to the point where all he could think about was nothing but holding your cheek in the palm of his hand so he could get a better angle and let himself indulge just this once.

that’s all it was – kissing and kissing in the middle of the makeshift dancefloor until there was no more oxygen left in either of your lungs. like a decent human being, he dropped you off at your apartment and bid you goodnight, hoping that you wouldn’t forget all the events that had transpired. and maybe, just maybe, he wished that you would let it happen again, that you could make him the exception in your plans.

evidently, you did remember it, because suddenly your responses to his texts were delayed and dry. you were picking up extra shifts, showing up to class at the very last minute, and leaving as soon as the professor dismissed you, allowing practically no room for him to make small talk. and while he would usually pass you in the halls of the chem building at some point, you were always too far from him and scurrying away in a different direction. tetsurou did his best to give you your space, but the less he saw of you, the more nervous and frustrated he grew. there was a wrench thrown into his daily routine, and your presence had always managed to bring some peace to him. so when he realized that you had truly abandoned your usual study spot in the library a week and a half later, he set himself on a mission to find out exactly where you were hiding.

it honestly had been sheer luck that he saw your figure ducking around into a hallway he’s never bothered to go down, and by the time he caught up, the door to the graduate resource room had just closed on your and there was no way he could get in without some help. luckily, his mentor who had stayed at the university for their phd was pretty nonchalant about letting him borrow it for a few days, preferring to study at home or in a coffee shop off-campus themselves.

he knew that since you were hiding, you were probably going to be in the most inconspicuous spot possible. so while there was some time dedicated to navigating the new maze of an area, he immediately felt a sense of relief when he saw your back hunched over your notes, hair tied up into a messy bun, and your laptop open with a spotify playlist.

after you’re done reminiscing, you begin to pack your stuff up, opting to just nor respond to tetsurou and ignoring the pleasant sensation that his term of endearment for you brought. he pulls back and stands straight to give you some room, but the tapping of his foot against the tile floor speaks to his blooming agitation at your silence. you’re still wordless as you weave between the shelves to the exit, knowing that the man plaguing your dreams is not far behind. the game of ‘follow the leader’ (or is it ‘cat and mouse’?) continues until you both have exited the main door, and right before you can walk down the granite steps, tetsurou seizes the opportunity to run ahead of you and stand in your way.

“tetsu, please,” you sigh, avoiding his piercing stare by fiddling with the sleeves of your jacket. “is there something you need?”

“you can’t play coy with me,” he chastises, bending down slightly in hopes that you’ll finally look at him. “you know why i’m here.”

it’s a bad habit of yours to nibble on the inside of your lips when you’re searching for the right things to say. tetsurou only picked up on it just last year – the action itself is very subtle to the outside viewer, and he hadn’t been paying close enough attention back then. “don’t bullshit me right now.”

“do we have to do this now?” you whine a bit.

“yes, or else i’m never gonna get you to talk to me. come on, you don’t do this, love.”

“what do you mean?”

“you’re running away. that’s pretty cowardly, don’t you think? you’ve had 3 weeks—”

you start to walk forward and around his tall, lanky figure. “i’m not humoring you with this—”

“with what—”

“—you’re doing that provoking thing, you’re trying to get me to think that i’m wrong in avoiding you—”

“so you have been avoiding me—”

“i said not now!” you protest in a raised voice, path once again blocked. tears of frustration are beginning to build in the corners of your eyes, and you’re cursing yourself for feeling so weak in this moment. part of you wants nothing more than to run into his arms.

it’s dead quiet for a few seconds – the ambient noise of the wind and the occasional passing car this late at night fail to make themselves known over the pounding of blood in your ears. only tetsurou’s first knuckle underneath your chin to raise you up grounds you, and you can no longer avoid his gaze. small crests of guilt wash over you as you recognize the uncharacteristic brokenness in his eyes – the last three weeks must’ve been much harder on him than you thought.

“just hear me out for a few minutes, okay? you can make your decision then.”

he takes your nod as a signal to continue, but also softening a bit at how nervous you look.

“i’m in love with you,” he softly confesses, a smile of defeat gracing his complexion. “and i have been for a while. i don’t think i’m bullshitting when i say i think you feel something for me, too, but i knew it wasn’t in your plans. didn’t wanna push or force you into making a decision when you weren’t ready. so i held back – but i couldn’t help it at the party, and…i’m sorry, love. i really am.”

tetsurou doesn’t miss the flash of hurt that crosses your eyes. “so does that mean you regret it?” you bite out, nails clenching and digging into the fabric of your jacket sleeves. he shakes his head.

“i don’t regret kissing you at all – it’s all i’ve wanted to do for the last two and a half years. but i’m just sorry that i did it without your explicit, sober permission. i went against your wishes in a time of vulnerability, and that’s pretty shitty of me – i’m not gonna excuse myself either just because i was a little drunk, so i hope you’re able to forgive me.”

he watches you sniffle and fight the grin that’s trying to creep across your face. “someone had their shot of respect women juice this morning, didn’t they?” you chokingly tease.

“five shots directly injected into my veins, every morning,” he jokes back, thumb sweeping over to catch your falling tears. “but i mean it though – i’m really sorry.”

“you’re forgiven, and i appreciate that more than you know. but if i’m being honest…it was something i’ve wanted to do for a while, too. i was just really scared because it was so unexpected and i wasn’t sure if i was ready for our relationship to change, or like if i would be emotionally available enough for you, y’know?” you blubber, hand reaching up to rest against his on your cheek.

“hey—”

“i really want this to work out.” tetsurou can hear your voice shake, and he’s sure you’re almost trembling. “you’re one of my best friends – i can’t lose you, tetsu. and what about grad school? what if we end up too far away from each other and video calls aren’t enough? what if you get tired of me or—”

“i know you hate it when i interrupt, but honestly (y/n), you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried. i’m gonna do everything i can to make this work, too, mmk?”

“okay,” you whisper. “okay.”

his thumb gently sweeps back and forth against your cheek for a little bit before speaking up again. “not to ruin the moment, but do i have permission to kiss you now?” his eyes shine despite the midnight sky, and you can’t help the small chuckle that leaves your chest.

tetsurou swears up and down that your kiss in response is much, much sweeter than the one at the party, and he can’t wait to see what the future holds for you two.

#kuroo x reader #haikyuu!!#kuroo tetsurou #kuroo tetsurou x reader #hq #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu angst #haikyuu kuroo #kuroo angst #i fully stan the fact that kuroo is highly respectful of anyone and especially women #no one can fight me on this #stay hydrated and get good quality sleep and eat some nutritious food and take your meds!!!

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sunflowersoonyoung · 3 years

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a devil and an angel | umji & sowon

w.c ↠ 2.3k

pairing ↠ umji x fem!reader x sowon

genre/s ↠ fluff, smut, office au!

description ↠ After a tireless day working as an intern at a publishing company, you enjoy spending the evening venting to fellow intern Yewon. The budding relationship between you and her is inadvertently thwarted by sexy, somewhat mean Vice President Kim Sojung.

warning/s ↠ suggestive themes, alcohol

a/n ↠ there may be more parts to this! I feel like I could write more for this AU. I love the contrast between the two relationships! Plus Sowon is so hot in this universe. Also, sorry that it took me so long to write it 😭 I hope it was worth the wait!

Collapsing into a chair at an empty table, it was quite relieving to be off of your feet. Although it was only lunchtime, the day had seemed to have stretched on forever. You absently stirred your rice with chopsticks and scanned the dining room for Yewon. She was running late.

As fellow interns from separate Universities, you had developed a close friendship through sharing your daily struggles with one another. As interns, you received low pay, which led to minor exploitations from management - who worked you extra hard and held you to high standards. It was draining, but you were learning far more than University could teach you, so you persevered.

Yewon had a considerably tougher time trying to fit into the workplace. She could be clumsy, but she worked hard to make up for it. Additionally, she had the sweetest personality you had ever encountered. Hence, you had made the effort to befriend her.

Abruptly someone dropped into the seat beside you, their lunch tray clattering on the table surface. Yewon looked exhausted, her eyes swollen with dried tears. She offered you a meek smile.

“You’ve been crying,” you comment, and her smile fades. With her interest fixed on her food, she begins to recount her experience from just a half-hour earlier with a distraught expression.

“I was assigned a printing job, and messed it up,” Yewon sighed, “when I expected one of the managers to come over and scold me, tell me to restart like always, the Vice President Sojung came up to me instead. I-I’ve heard things about her, but nothing compares to seeing her in person.”

You also had heard a smattering of opinions about the Vice President, Kim Sojung. She was a devil in the form of breathtaking beauty, lacking tolerance for mischief and foolery no matter the perpetrator. Ruling with an iron fist, it did not take much to get on her bad side and end up without a job. She explained why Yewon was practically trembling.

“She didn’t say much. Just scoffed and said she would never accept s-someone like me into the company,” Yewon’s lip quivered, blinking back tears. You wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her figure against yours in an attempt to soothe her.

Yewon was almost like a younger sister to you - albeit with a dash of romantic tension. To hear of this injustice overwhelmed you with hot fury.

“Don’t listen to her,” you murmured against her hair, “she doesn’t know anything about you, not like I do. You’re the hardest worker I know, Yewonnie.” She draws in a shaky breath, peering up at you from her position buried in your shoulder. Her smile is warm and genuine, making your heart flutter.

“Thanks, (F/n). That means a lot.”

You decided to distract her by recounting your morning, gradually shifting away from the gloomy mood whilst finishing lunch. She seemed grateful for the distraction because despite your assurance she was still shaken.

Eventually, with empty lunch trays in hand, you both stood intending to go separate ways. Yewon cleared her throat and turned back to face you.

“Hey, (F/n)?” She called, her voice small, stopping you in your tracks, “um, do you want to meet up after work and get dinner together?”

You didn’t even try to restrain the wide grin that immediately plastered over your face.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

You waited in the frigid evening air by the front of the company building, hands pressed into the pockets of your slacks.

All you knew was that Yewon had a few extra tasks to complete and was going to finish late, knowledge you had gained only thanks to the handful of texts she had managed to send. You didn’t mind waiting for her, anyway.

As you kept your interest upon the passing cars, a woman passed by with perhaps the longest legs you had ever seen. She looked incredible from behind in a tight pencil skirt, hips swaying elegantly with each lengthy step. Stopping at the curb, she fished her phone out of her handbag and thumbed a swift text. As she stood waiting, she turned and caught a glimpse of you.

The realisation washed over you. This gorgeous woman, with glossy raven hair running down her back like a waterfall and sharp fox-like eyes full of intelligence, was none other than Kim Sojung. The descriptions you had overheard matched her perfectly. Your mouth went dry as her gaze fell across you.

“You’re that intern, (F/n),” she mused, pressing a thoughtful finger to her lips, “I’ve heard good things about you.”

Anger boiled up in your throat, and before you could suppress it, a snarky comment slipped free, “it’s a shame you couldn’t be this nice to Yewon. Otherwise, I might’ve believed that you were a kind person.”

Immediately regretting your words, you felt a cold chill trickle down your spine when her initial surprise melted into an amused smirk.

“Oh?” She chuckles lightly and your cheeks flush, “you’re cute.” A sleek black car pulls up to the curb and she opens the door, winking at you before she departed. You’re left stunned to the ground, still untangling the mess of events that just occurred.

Regardless of the animosity that you harboured for her, you had to admit that she was practically oozing sex appeal.

“(F/n)?” A warm hand grasped your shoulder, shocking you from your daze, “Is everything okay?” Yewon was wearing an expression full of concern as she peered back at you. You swiftly grounded yourself and swallowed your surprise.

“S-Sure, sorry. Let’s go.”

The night sky was a deep shade of navy, city smog shutting out the stars.

Yewon stumbled, her cheeks pink in the dim light of the streetlamps. With her arm looped around yours, she clung to you, using you as her support. It seemed alcohol did not mingle well with Yewon, even if you’d only had six glasses of beer between you both. You felt glaringly sober compared to her.

“C’mon, we’re almost at your house,” you laughed as she stopped to reach for a tree branch hanging over the sidewalk, her interest captured by the blossoming flowers. You caught one for her and pressed it behind her ear, earning a pleased giggle from her.

Yewon still lived with her family in a spacious house blocked off with a black iron gate, automated with fingerprint ID.

Expecting to simply bid her goodnight and make your way home, it caught you by surprise when she wrapped her arms around your waist. Her hair tickled your nose, clouding your nose with her sweet scent. She hummed contentedly, and it seemed you were not going anywhere for a moment.

“Y-You’re … my favourite person, (F/n),” she stammered, her voice muffled against your shoulder, “I really, really like you.” Tightening your grip on her, you savoured the confession with each passing second - as if taking a breath would shatter the moment.

She withdrew, maintaining eye contact despite the lack of lighting. You could faintly make out her round cheeks and long lashes but still couldn’t measure her expression. Fiddling with her purse, she eventually retrieved a twenty-thousand won bill and placed it in your palm. You gasped and tried to return it but she hushed you softly.

“Use that and get a Taxi back instead of walking,” Yewon spoke calmly, in a manner that convinced you of her growing sobriety.

Leaning forward on the tips of her toes, she pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. It left you dazzled, observing breathlessly as she turned on her heel and retreated home through the tall gates.

With both of you standing idly by the printer waiting for a copy job to finish, an awkward silence simmered between you. Though you had hoped the alcohol would erase Yewon’s memories from last evening so that she could continue being her sweet, bubbly self and you could pretend that nothing had ever happened, it seemed luck was not on your side.

You accidentally met eyes and Yewon blushed various shades of pink, turning her head away as quickly as she could. She was too innocent. It made you flutter, excited to initiate with her a simple relationship filled with sugary actions. Holding her hand, feeling her head lull against your shoulder as you watch a movie together; little things like that.

“Hey, (F/n), right?” The tension was broken by a passerby manager, someone in charge of the editing team if you remembered correctly, who slowed to stop in front of you.

“We’re having a meeting in room four, can you bring us coffee? There’s six of us. Yewon can finish whatever you’re doing here.” Without even waiting for a response, he was gone, leaving you with a half-explained task. You were not even sure where room four was.

Coffee was not something you were unused to making, however. Usually, when staff members were tied up, it was you who brought them their hot beverages.

After filling six cups, setting them on trays and asking someone where room four was located, you made your way to the meeting room; thankful that the door was already open. You did not expect to collide with someone, the force causing you to lose grip of the tray in your hands. Coffee practically exploded over you and the stranger, hot liquid turning cold as it seeped through your white button-up.

Sojung stared you down, her thin blouse soaked. She looked less than amused; she was fuming, actually. Her jaw squared as she tried to steady her furious breathing.

“I-I’m sorry,” you manage to stutter out, aware of the attention you had drawn from the others in the room. Sojung seems unfazed by your apology and all of a sudden you wished painfully that you could take this hefty mistake back. As much as you hated her, she could end your short career at this company with a single signature.

She took your wrist with an iron grasp and began to drag you down the corridor. This is it, you thought woefully.

Sojung yanked you into her office and slammed the door shut behind you. You stood with your eyes glued to the floor, too afraid to look up and see her enraged visage.

“You messed up big time, young lady,” she scolded, her back turned to you. There was a flurry of movement, the sound of fabric rustling. When you finally looked up at her you were staring at the crease in her back, the clasp in her ivory bra. You almost choked on your spit, but Sojung seemed mostly unbothered, casually hanging her soiled blouse over the back of her chair and stalking towards you.

You gasped as she pressed a card into your hand, realising that it was her personal bank card.

“You’ll go down the street, and you’ll buy me a new shirt. The director is coming to that meeting, and I won’t be embarrassing myself in front of her by showing up in a coffee-stained blouse.”

She stood dangerously close, and it took all of the restraint you possessed not to shift your gaze from her face down to her wispy figure. You gulped heavily, feeling your skin absorb all of the heat in the room.

A slow smirk paints her lips as she observes the effect she has on you. Sojung advances on you, her steps gradual but taunting. Each click of her heels on the smooth flooring marked your demise.

Pressing your back against the door to keep your distance, Sojung placed one finger beneath your chin and tilted your head up towards her. Her bank card slips out of your hand.

“You’re naughty. Aren’t you lucky I like you?”

Her lips grazed yours slightly, ghosting over yours as if to tease you. The contact shot tingles all over your body. Cocking her head, she kissed you roughly.

Sojung wasted no time, possibly because her meeting was looming and she needed that change of clothes pronto. Her tongue pushed against yours, her saliva sweet as it mingled with your own, gripping your wrist and massaging your palm against her breast.

She guided you back to her desk, unbothered by the mess of paperwork that you sat on. You could feel the papers crinkle beneath your backside. Sojung’s assault shifted to your neck, forcing your attention back to her.

Sharp nails buried into your bare thighs as she parted your legs, sliding down your underpants from beneath your skirt. She harshly tested her thumb against your clit, furrowing her brow when you yelped in pleasure, your hips instinctively seeking out her touch by bucking back against her.

“You better keep quiet love,” she hummed, “else everyone will know what we’re up to in here.”

Heat throbbed painfully between your legs when she ducked down, breath clouding against your slick vagina. It took every ounce of strength in your body to swallow the deep moan that threatened to emerge as her tongue tasted you for the first time.

Your hand flies to your mouth, the only way for you to hold yourself back because now she was eating you out with full intensity. It seemed as if Sojung couldn’t care less how difficult it was for you to keep quiet.

One finger slid inside of you and you arched your spine in response, practically throwing yourself back against the desk. Sojung’s grip on your thigh was deliciously painful.

“Fucking come,” she growled, and the command practically makes you come on the spot. You muffle your cries with the palm of your hand, legs trembling as she keeps licking. The overstimulation made you see stars.

You’re almost sobbing, ears ringing and drowning out the sound of her low chuckle.

“I’ll need that shirt now, sweetheart. Get yourself something nice to wear while you’re at it. And don’t worry about the price.”

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winchesterwords · 4 years

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“Keep Your Secrets” Part 1 - Sam Winchester x F!Reader

PART 2 PART 3

Summary: You are a professor at a local university who has been in touch with the younger Winchester brother. When Sam returns from a hunt to find you missing, how will he react when he finds a troubling clue in your office?

Word Count: 2373

Warning: None

Song I Wrote To: “Hold My Girl” by George Ezra

Note: This will be a two-part story! Let me know if you want to be tagged in the second part.

-------

The Men of Letters Bunker was lit with warm light as the inhabitants sat around a table in the library.

Sam Winchester lounged in his seat, his phone in his hands as a lore book lay open in front of him. “But why are their necks so long?” Jack asked, staring at a photo of a giraffe on Dean’s phone.

“That seems like a question for him,” Dean said, gesturing to the Angel that sat across from him. Castiel tilted his head, thinking over the question. Dean waited patiently as Jack continued to look up photos of the animal he found to be so strange.

“Why are you looking at me?” Cas asked, confused.

“Well you angels are the ones that made everything,” Dean said. “So, tell the kid. Why are giraffe’s neck so damn long, Cas?” The Angel looked between Dean and back to Jack and then leaned slightly forward.

“That was...not my department,” he revealed and Dean had to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing. Sam had also smiled, but from the way he was looking at his phone, it had nothing to do with animals of the African savanna.

“Why are you smiling?” Jack asked, as curious as ever. Sam didn’t seem to notice him.

“He’s probably looking up facts about the moon,” Dean snorted.

“Very funny,” Sam said, his eyes never leaving the screen in front of him.

“I don’t like the moon,” Cas said.

“Why?” Jack asked and Dean groaned, putting his hand up.

“No, no, don’t get him started,” he begged the Nephilim, “please.” Jack frowned but dropped the subject. Suddenly, Sam stood up, his fingers still flying over his screen.

“I gotta run an errand,” he announced, pushing in his chair. “I’ll be back later.” Dean, Cas, and Jack watched as he headed for the garage. Dean rolled his eyes and took his phone back from the kid.

“Where is he going?” Jack asked, staring after Sam.

“Kid has a girlfriend,” Dean explained. “She’s a lore professor at a local university. He thinks we don’t know about her, but we do.”

“He talks about her in his sleep,” Cas added and Dean looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Again, Cas? Listening to us sleep? Buddy, we’ve talked about this,” Dean said.

“Wait, is that bad?” Jack asked. Cas tried to hide his smile, but Dean just turned towards the kid and then leaned back in his seat, his hands covering his face.

“Oh my god…”

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

Sam paused outside of the door to your office.

The whole drive over he had been nervous. It wasn’t the first time he had visited you at work. In fact, he had never seen you outside of the University at all. He had his concerns about people seeing you with him in public. It wasn’t because he wanted to keep you a secret, but if he could keep you away from the life of hunting to keep you safe, then that is exactly what he was going to do.

Sam could hear you shuffling around inside, most likely preparing for your next lecture. Knocking quickly, Sam heard a muffled, “Come in,” from the other side and he pushed open the door. You looked up from your desk with a big smile.

“Hi,” Sam said, shutting the door behind him.

“You know, you don’t need to come to office hours,” you said, getting up from your seat.

“How else am I supposed to catch you alone?” he asked, his hands going into his pockets.

“Okay, fair enough,” you said with a laugh. Gesturing to the small couch in the center of the room, he joins you, relaxing immediately.

“Oh,” Sam said, grabbing the messenger bag that hung on his shoulder. “I brought you a new one,” he said, handing you a leather-bound book. “It’s mostly on Japanese mythology, but there are other references in there too.” You took the book from him, running your hands over the cover. Reaching behind you, you plucked another old book from the table.

“Then I suppose I can return this one to you,” you said, handing it back to him.

“You finished it already?” he asked, placing the book of runes into his bag.

“The way you talked about it had me very curious,” you said. You placed the new book on your coffee table. “Thank you,” you said and he smiled at you. “So, tell me, how is your family doing? Is your nephew doing better?”

“Yeah, Jack is doing much better, thank you. It just took him a bit to adjust after his mom died.”

“Well, he seems like a tough kid to me,” you said, leaning back into the couch. “And your brother? He’s good?”

“Dean is great, though I think he has finally realized where I have been going all the time.”

“Oh, so I’m not your little secret after all?” you asked, teasing him.

“I wouldn’t say secret…” he said. “However, I do like that I have been able to have you for myself.” You laughed, running a hand through your hair as you looked at him.

“You really are something else, you know that Sam?” you asked, reaching out to play with the cuff on his flannel shirt. He leaned slightly into your touch, savoring the small moment. With everything going on right now with Jack and the different worlds, Sam needed a break and he was grateful for the time he spent with you.

“What about you?” he asked. “How’s your mom doing?”

“Great,” you said, your eyes brightening up at the mention of your mother. “Yeah, whatever was in that tea you gave me has worked like magic. She hasn’t had another migraine in weeks.” Sam smiled, trying to hide the awkwardness that had entered his stomach at the mention of magic.

Little did you know, it was in fact magic tea after all. A simple request from Rowena had her dropping it off with a smile and toss of her red hair. Sam, of course, owed her and she assured him she would make sure to collect when needed. He never minded owing the witch a favor. He would never admit it to Dean, but he actually liked Rowena.

“Well, I’m glad,” Sam said as he looked around your office. The entire room was covered in artifacts from your travels throughout the world. You had statues, art, and books from all over that covered most lore and mythologies. Sam had first met you when he needed a translation on an old scroll he had found in the file room.

He had reached out to the history department of the University and they had directed him to your office and you had decided to meet with him immediately. As soon as he had met you, he knew he had to see you again.

Soon, Sam was making excuses to come and see you. Whether it was because he needed “help” on a translation or just because he wanted to loan you a book from his collection. It was how the whole book exchange had come about.

As for you, you were just happy to see him. Even though he always brought you a new book, scroll, or small token, it was just his company that you craved. Sam Winchester was a mystery to you, but one you were very willing to figure out.

“Sam,” you said, regaining his attention, “when are you going to tell me more about what you do and how you know about all this?” you asked, gesturing the room around you. Sam smiled shyly, trying to come up with an answer that wasn’t technically a lie.

“It’s just a hobby, (Y/N),” Sam settled on. It wasn’t really a lie. Hunting had started out as a hobby of sorts when he was younger. It only really became a job once Dean had shown up at Stanford and they set out to search for John. Thinking about it now, he had never truly realized just how much of a job it had become. You stared at him, your lips pursed slightly.

“Hmm, alright, you. Keep your secrets,” you said. “But I’m still curious,” you said leaning forward to tap the center of his forehead jokingly.

“Aren’t you always?” Sam said as he reached up to smooth some hair off your face. He leaned in slightly, but of course, the universe had other plans. The shrill sound of a phone permeated the moment and you sat back with a light sigh.

“I had a feeling that was going to happen,” you said but urged him to take the call. Sam answered, not bothering to check the ID as he already knew who it would be.

“Dean,” Sam greeted.

“Sammy,” Dean said, “we need you back here. The kid found a case not too far from here and I have a feeling we’re going to need the machetes on this one.”

“You have a feeling? Or are you just hoping we will?”

“Is there a difference?” Dean asked and Sam could hear him throwing weapons into his duffel bag. “Look, would you just get back here? Cas is trying to convince Jack that we don’t need the entire arsenal and he could use the backup.” Sam rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered how his brother managed to do anything without him.

“Alright, I’m on my way.” Sam hung up the phone and pocketed it. He looked at you with a frown.

“Duty calls?” you asked.

“Unfortunately,” he said. “I would stay, but…”

“But your mystery job needs your attention,” you said with a shrug. “Don’t worry, I get it.”

“But do you?”

“Well, no, but I get that your brother is very important to you and he needs your help. So,” you stood and pulled him to his feet, “get going soldier before your big brother comes and drags you out by your ear.” Sam laughed, awkwardly pushing his hair away from his face.

“The two of you would get along very well and that honestly terrifies me,” Sam said, grabbing his bag.

“Sounds like my kind of guy,” you joked and Sam rolled his eyes.

“I’ll come to visit when I get back,” he said.

“You better,” you said and then Sam reached forward and pulled you in for a hug. You held him back, memorizing the smell of books, metal, and something else you couldn’t put your finger on. Campfire, maybe?

He pulled out of the hug and headed for the door. Giving you one last look, he waved and left your office, ready to deal with whatever monster Jack had discovered. Sam only hoped that it was something easy enough to make the hunt go quickly and so that Jack could get more experience. That way he could make good on his promise and see you again as soon as possible.

-------

Two Days Later

“Okay, be honest, kid,” Dean was saying as they headed to the kitchen, “how did it feel to kill your first vamp?” Cas rolled his eyes as he went to the fridge to get their usual post-hunt beers. Jack sat down at the kitchen table, blood still speckled on his shoes.

“I think it felt...odd,” Jack admitted, taking the cold drink from Cas. “Do heads always make that sound when you take them off?” he asked. Dean grinned as he looked at Cas and Sam who were shaking their heads in unison.

“You get used to it,” Dean said, leaning against the kitchen counter. “You know, it’s tradition to take your kid on a vampire hunt. Dad did it with Sammy and me and now we get to do it with you. I like it.”

“I don’t think decapitations should be viewed as a good bonding experience, Dean,” Castiel said with a frown. Dean just shrugged and lifted his beer back to his lips.

“As interesting as this conversation is,” Sam said, grabbing his beer. “I need to make a phone call.”

“Tell the Professor I said hello!” Dean called after Sam and his younger brother sent a certain gesture back over his shoulder causing Dean to laugh.

Sam entered his room and shut the door, pulling out his phone. He dialed your cellphone number and waited, but the call went to voicemail. He tried again and got the same result. Double-checking the time, he made sure he wasn’t calling you in the middle of a lecture, but today was your prep day. It was when you would spend the day in your office grading papers or preparing for the next class.

He then dialed your office phone but was greeted by silence once again. Sam took a deep breath, trying to not let his mind think of the worse possibilities. There could be many reasons why you weren’t answering. However, he needed to see for himself.

Without telling the others, Sam quickly made his way to the garage and grabbed a set of keys. He jumped in the truck Cas usually drove and hit the gas. Halfway to the University, Dean tried calling Sam after noticing his absence, but Sam ignored him. He didn’t want to have to explain unless he was sure about what was going on.

Arriving at the college, he calmly made his way to your department. Nobody batted an eye as he nearly ran towards your office. Your assistant had already gone home which, in itself, was odd. Ducking past his desk, Sam made it to the door of your office and braced himself before quickly picking the lock and pushing it open.

He froze in the doorway as he took in what he saw. Furniture was splayed all over the floor, papers were strewn across your desk, and a broken coffee mug was shattered against the wall.

He closed the door tightly behind him and quickly made his way to your desk when his nose picked up on a familiar scent. It didn’t take long to find the source, a yellowish powder that ran along the edge of the polished wood.

Sulfur.

Sam quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Dean.

“Dude, where did you go?” Dean asked, but Sam couldn’t speak. “Sam? Sammy?”

“Dean, she’s gone.”

#Sam Winchester Imagine #sam winchester x y/n #sam winchester x reader #sam x you #sam x reader #reader insert #Spn imagine #spn fic #supernatural #supernatural imagine #dean winchester #Jack kline #castiel #sam winchester #winchesterwords #apolloloki97 #sam winchester fic

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guswaters · 3 years

Text

Bash

Paramedics arrive on scene after Kurt’s assault in Bash.

Canon fill-in fic for 5x15 Bash from the point of view of paramedics who attend Kurt after his assault.

Warning for: Discussions of gay bashing, mention of blood, description of medical procedures.

Read on AO3

James and Lisa were an hour into their night shift, the ambulance parked up on Bushwick Avenue. They sat in comfortable silence, watching the buzz of activity around them: families out walking, cabs blaring their horns, and groups of friends dressed up for an evening out in the city. They were in for a busy night.

“Did I tell you?” James asked. “I think Paul is planning something for our anniversary.”

“Go on.” Lisa said.

“Well, I’m just speculating. But he keeps asking me really specific questions about my rota. Like, he never pays this much attention to my shifts.”

“A vacation?” Lisa suggested.

James grinned. “Maybe.”

“Oh, you lucky fucker.” Lisa said, batting James playfully on the arm. “I consider it a win if my husband remembers our anniversary.” She rolled her eyes. James chuckled.

“Do you think - “ But James’ question was cut off by their radio alarming with a call.

“Here we go.” Lisa said, starting the ignition. “What we got, captain?”

“20 year old male. Unconscious, bleeding.” James read. “Just a couple of blocks away.”

“Oh, shit.”

Lisa turned on the blue lights and pushed their way onto the busy avenue.

***

They pulled up on scene - an alley in a less favorable neighbourhood of Bushwick. Stepping out onto the sidewalk they were met with the smell of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and blood. The patient, a young male, was on the floor in the recovery position. He was lying in a pool of blood, staining his coat and hair a deep red. A middle-aged woman stood by him, a look of immediate relief on her face on seeing the ambulance arrive.

“Hey. What’s your name?” He said to the woman, whilst crouching down by the motionless boy on the floor. He grabbed his wrist to feel for his pulse, which was strong.

“Andrea.”

“Hi Andrea. I’m James and that’s Lisa.” He said, gesturing towards where Lisa was still grabbing equipment from the back of the ambulance. “What’s happened tonight?”

“I have no clue. I was walking over to meet a friend and I heard shouting. Didn’t think anything of it - not at this time of night.” Andrea said. “Walked by the alley, and he was just lying here. Is he gonna be okay?”

“We’re going to look after him.” James reassured.

The patient looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, and had multiple wounds to the head and face. “Looks like an assault. Did you see anyone?” James asked.

“No. He was on his own.”

“Lisa, can you get the cops running please?” James called to his crew mate.

“On it.” Lisa called back.

James squeezed the boy’s shoulder. No response. “Hello? Hello? It’s the ambulance service. Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?” Trapezius squeeze. No response. “Let’s get some vitals going.” James said to Lisa, now approaching carrying their equipment. “I’ll try and get some more history.” James stood up to speak to Andrea, leaving Lisa to take over.

“Hi sweetie. My name's Lisa. I’m just going to do your blood pressure and a few other checks.” She said. “I’m going to have to cut your jacket and shirt to get to your arm, I’m sorry.” She deftly got the patient hooked up to the LifePak and took his temperature and blood sugar reading. Shining her pen torch to check his pupils, she could see the extent of the wounds and swelling on his face. “Oh, you poor thing.”

“I’m gonna look for some ID.” James said, crouching back down beside her. He rooted through the patient’s pockets looking for a bank card, driving license, student card, anything that might identify him. He found his iPhone in his coat pocket. Unlocking it, the home screen was a photo of the patient with another boy about his age. They were standing close, their cheeks pressed together. His boyfriend, he realised.

James felt a sickening feeling washing over him. He and Lisa had attended two incidents of gay bashing this month alone. Was this boy another victim of such a crime?

“Okay?” Lisa asked. James often joked that Lisa had a fifth sense for what he was feeling; a product of having spent so much time working together. He was so grateful to have a crew mate who looked out for him, especially with some of their recent jobs hitting extremely close to home.

“Yeah. Yeah.” James said. Emotions aside, they had a job to do. He put the phone back in his coat, and continued searching. In the patient’s pants pocket he found his wallet, and pulled out a bank card. “Ah. Kurt Hummel.” He read out to Lisa. “Nothing with date of birth though.”

“Kurt. Kurt? Can you hear me?” Lisa said, squeezing the boy’s shoulder again. No response.

“How are vitals looking?” James turned the LifePak to inspect the numbers on the screen.

“Vitals look okay, but I’ve got him at GCS 3.” Lisa said. “Pupils equal, size 3, a bit sluggish.”

“Okay. Let’s just get a neck collar on him and get him loaded.”

***

Once on the ambulance, Lisa and James were dancing around the patient reconnecting him to the LifePak, getting his wounds cleaned and dressed, and warming him up with plenty of blankets. Police had arrived and were outside taking details from Andrea and photographing the scene.

“I think I’ll give him a dose of Ondansetron, just in case he starts vomiting on route. Can you pass me a cannulation pack please?” James asked, and Lisa fished in the drawer for the small plastic packet, handing it to her crew mate. James tied the tourniquet around the boy’s bicep. He was clearly very fit and healthy and James had no trouble finding a vein.

“I’ll try a green please.” Lisa passed him the needle. He prepped the skin and easily inserted the cannula.

“Flush. And your Ondansetron for when you’re ready.” Lisa said, passing over the two filled syringes. “Ampoule is in the bowl.”

“Thanks.”

“Need anything else?” Lisa asked.

“No, let’s just get going.” James flushed the cannula, before inserting the smaller syringe to start administering the drug. He looked up at his crew mate, teasing. “Nice smooth blue light drive please.”

“For you, always.” Lisa smiled. “See ya there.”

She slammed the door, and James heard her talking briefly to the cops outside. He pulled out his phone, and dialled the familiar number.

A doctor with a heavy accent answered the phone. “Hello, ER.”

“Hi, please can I pass a pre-alert?”

***

Kurt remained stable on the journey, so James took the opportunity to write some paperwork before they arrived at the hospital. He tapped away on his tablet whilst keeping a close eye on his vitals on the LifePak screen. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

“Blaine.” It was just a mumble - it could barely be heard over the sound of the engine and the sirens.

“Kurt? Kurt, can you hear me?” James said, leaning forward to squeeze his shoulder. Kurt responded by opening his eyes.

“Blaine?” He said. “Where’s Blaine?”

“My name is James. You’re in the ambulance.” Kurt eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings.

“Are you in pain?” James asked. No response.

“Do you feel sick?” He asked. No response.

“I need to see Blaine.” Kurt whimpered. He was getting distressed - reaching up to tug at the neck collar and the straps securing him to the stretcher.

“It’s okay, Kurt. Just try and stay still.” He said, holding his right arm steady so he wouldn’t pull the cannula out.

“My head.” Kurt groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I know, buddy.” James took his hand. “We’re almost at the hospital.”

***

An elderly woman who had fallen in the park later, and James and Lisa were back at the hospital. After handing over, they had some time before clearing for their next call, and James wanted to check up on Kurt. He scanned the ER board to locate him.

Approaching the window of his room, he saw that Kurt wasn’t alone. A boy was lying on the bed with him, his arm draped over his chest and his face buried in his neck. The boy from his phone home screen, James realised. James tapped lightly on the door and the boy startled, sitting up. He was petite with dark, slicked back hair and an outfit straight out of a Brooks Brothers catalogue. He looked physically and emotionally exhausted.

“Sorry to disturb.” James said, stepping into the small room. “I’m the paramedic who brought him in, and I just wondered how he was doing.”

“I’m Blaine. I’m his fiancé.” The boy said, standing up to shake his hand.

“James.”

“Uh, he’s fractured his eye socket and has lots of bruising, but his scans were clear.” Blaine said. “No…uh, no bleed.”

“He’s very lucky.”

“Yeah. He is.” Blaine smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Do you know what -"

“He was protecting someone. Apparently a gay guy was being beaten up and Kurt just ran in.” Blaine shook his head. “Why would he do that? Put himself in so much danger.”

“Wouldn’t you have done the same? I know I would.”

“I just wish I had been there to protect him, to stop him getting hurt. I should have been there.” Blaine broke down then; his face falling into his hands, his body shaking with his sobs.

“Hey no, you can’t think like that.” James moved closer to the boy, placing a comforting hand around his shoulder. “You don’t think my husband worries sick every time I’m out at work? That I don’t think about him constantly when he’s out alone? But if we stop going out and living our lives - they win.”

“I just thought being in New York that we were getting away from this kind of thing. That we’d be safe.” Blaine sobbed.

“I know. We always think the big city will be perfect and easy for us. That’s what makes this so scary. But, and look at me Blaine.” James said, his hands on the boy’s shoulders. Blaine looked up at him, sniffing. “Hearts and minds are changing everyday. You think when I met my husband that I ever though we would be able to get married? Things will get better, Blaine. I promise.”

Blaine gave him a watery smile. “Thank you. And thank you so much for looking after him.”

“No problem.” James said. “I hope he makes a good recovery.”

Kurt stirred in his sleep, mumbling. Blaine was back by his side immediately, gripping his hand tightly. “Kurt? I’m right here baby.”

Blaine looked at Kurt with a tenderness that felt almost private. James took his cue to leave, slipping out of the room. Before walking away, he looked back through the window at the couple; Blaine was lying pressed up against Kurt on the bed, their hands entwined. They would be okay, James thought.

***

James climbed into the drivers seat of the ambulance.

“How was he doing?” Lisa asked.

“No serious damage, just a small fracture and bruising.” James said. “His fiancé was pretty shaken up.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” James gave her a reassuring smile. “Just, it sucks. I never thought I’d see these sort of crimes happening in New York of all places.”

“It’s awful.” Lisa shook her head. “Hey. If you ever need to talk about it - you know where I am.”

“I know. Thanks.” James smiled.

“Now, come on.” Lisa said, handing him the keys. “We probably have time to hit up Starbucks before clearing up. I’ll buy.”

#klaine #klaine fic #glee #bash #glee 5x15 #wrote a fic lmaoooo #my fic

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bellamyblakru · 4 years

Note

Heya, it's been a while, but I was wondering if you could turn your wonderful writing skills to another prompt for me? Could you do "I...I need to sit down" for Merthur please? Thanks ever so much 🥰 x

OF COURSE!! I love getting asks🥺id literally write anything you want me to💞thank you for this, hopefully i'm up to par—it's been a minute since i wrote (like a week lmfao i've been reading a lot)

Merlin looked at Arthur on the throne. He was still amazed how good he looked up there, how much he looked like he belonged. Arthur was glowing in the waning sunlight, giving him an ethereal glow. His hair was ablaze, blending with the crown on his head.

He was breathtaking.

Merlin stopped listening to the proceedings in favor of staring at Arthur’s profile for as long as possible. Many commoners came for an audience today, and Merlin was too exhausted to show interest. He has been working since dawn, for both Arthur and Gaius, and the boy was dead on his feet.

Arthur did not feel much better. He could feel Merlin’s eyes on him, but instead of getting angry with Merlin, Arthur actually felt content to let him stare—it was making him warm and fuzzy on the inside, but he didn’t know why, so he let him be. Knowing he had Merlin’s attention, the king straightened his back and tried to listen back to the farmers’ dispute at hand. He was apparently thinking about Merlin’s eyes on him for longer than he thought since the farmers were staring at him, waiting for his reasoning. Arthur blinked slowly, unsure, but Merlin quickly came to his ear and whispered, “Sire, the one on the left killed the right one’s sheep because it was on his farm unattended and was causing a ruckus.” Arthur nodded his thanks, looking more grateful at Merlin than he had all day, and Merlin blushed at the sudden attention from Arthur and bowed back to his spot behind the king.

Arthur started talking, but Merlin couldn’t focus on what he was saying—both tired and now feeling a little hot. Maybe I need to ask Gaius if I’m getting sick, Merlin wondered, getting slightly dizzy now.

“Is there anyone else?” Arthur looked at Lancelot and Leon. “One more, my lord,” Leon answered, as Lancelot was occupied with talking to Gwaine and looking at Arthur’s side together. Arthur frowned, why do they look so concerned? Arthur was about to look over to see what they were looking at, but the next citizen came in.

The minute the man came in, Merlin fell to his knees. Gwaine and Lance were by his side in an instant. Arthur looked over to where Merlin fell, jumping up from the throne, wanting to go over and check him himself. His knights were trying to help Merlin stand, so Arthur decided he could get this last audience done fast and go to Merlin after.

While stabilizing him, Merlin looked up at the newcomer. He felt nausea rush over him just from looking. “Gwaine, Lance,” Merlin groaned out quietly, trying to get them to go to Arthur instead, and once he got their attention he continued, “that man, something is wrong with that man.” Gwaine and Lance looked perplexed but believed him, so they leaned Merlin against the wall to see what was going on.

Arthur just started addressing him, “what may I help you with today?” The man bowed lowly, and in a deep voice said, “My lord, I actually wanted to bring something to you.” Arthur, surprised for a moment, masked his face quickly, “and what would that be?” The man stood up and pulled a small wooden box out of his robes, and he addressed Arthur once more. “My liege, this is a weapon of great power, but I am the only one able to wield its strength.”

“What kind of power?”

“The power to drown the magic out of people. Out of them where the filth cannot corrupt them for any longer,” he stated, indicating to the small box.

Arthur heard a gasp to his right and quickly looked. Lancelot looked horrified, while Gwaine looked absolutely livid. Merlin, on the other hand, looked like he was withering away on the wall behind them, staring with blank eyes towards the box--almost like he was drawn to it.

Arthur was not stupid, or blind. He knew Merlin kept secrets, deadly ones if he kept them from Arthur, so this realization did not quite have the same reaction the old Arthur would have had.

Merlin has magic.

Arthur was quiet for a moment longer, thoughtful. Every adventure, every single quest, every day, Merlin was at his side. Whether it was killing a monster, or cleaning his boots, or making his bed, Merlin never laid a hand on him.

Merlin believed in him and that was enough at the end of the day, wasn’t it? Arthur already had an inkling about magic not being the all evil power his father lectured him about. He wanted to find Morgana and make amends, so this was the path he needed to take to get her home. Magic couldn’t be evil if both Merlin and Morgana had it--they did not choose it either, especially since they both lived under Uther. No one would be foolish enough to use magic willingly with him around. Magic is a gift in the right hands, and a horrible tool in the wrong ones--just like any other tool in this world.

Arthur was about to make history--he could feel it deep within his bones. He could almost hear Destiny singing.

“I am sorry, but I have no need for a weapon like that in my kingdom.”

The man stumbled back, shock written all over his features at the power behind Arthur’s words, “are you not a Pendragon? You would rather magic roam freely in this world than end it once and for all?”

Arthur schooled his face into strength, ignoring his rising temper at the questioning man, “I may be a Pendragon, but I am not my father. I said no. Thank you for coming all this way, you may now take your leave.”

The man bristled at the dismissal, and just as Arthur was turning to Merlin, he drew a throwing knife out and spoke softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear, “if you are not with us against the powers of evil, then I must end this reign for the greater good.” He threw the knife before anyone could react.

It stopped inches from Arthur’s heart, and Arthur looked at it trying to figure out what just happened. The man gasped when the knife turned back towards him and landed in his leg. “Magic!” The man cried out, horrified that such use of blatant power was used on him.

Merlin stumbled over to the man, who was now on one knee, and spoke very clearly: “if you ever try to threaten the king again, I will not aim for the leg. Is that understood?” Merlin’s eyes shone like liquid gold. Lancelot and Gwaine, quickly behind Merlin, yelled at the guards to put the man in jail with the box he brought with him.

The guards listened, albeit hesitantly, looking towards Arthur for his approval. Arthur simply nodded, still staring at Merlin. It’s one thing to make the connection, but to see it so clearly use for him, in defense for him? It was astonishing. It felt oddly right if Arthur was being honest. Merlin was one of the bravest men he knew, and his power only amplified this feeling for Arthur. To live your life in constant fear, to feel so alone and scared of who you are, it is a wonder why Merlin stayed by his side for so long.

The second the man walked out, Lancelot and Gwaine went in front of Merlin protectively. Arthur ignored them and walked directly to Merlin, who whispered that he could handle this to his friends who looked reluctant to walk away (so they just moved to either side of Merlin, slightly behind him, just in case).

Arthur came close to Merlin, “how long?”

“My whole life,” Merlin responded quietly.

Arthur blanched, realizing how long Merlin lived in fear for his own life and from Arthur himself.

“Why?”

Such a simple question that could allude to many things, but each would have the same reply from Merlin.

“Because I love you.”

That was it. Arthur took a step back, heart beating fast, seeing how much Merlin meant it. He loved Arthur.

Merlin didn’t understand why Arthur wasn’t killing him, or saying anything, or why Arthur just kept staring at him.

But Merlin couldn’t wait for a response, “Arthur?”

Arthur was confused at the tone change, so he just said, “yes, Merlin?”

Merlin was delirious at this point, “if you don’t plan on putting me on the pyre, I think I might...that I....I need to sit down.”

Merlin passed out.

Lancelot and Gwaine caught him easily, looking at Arthur to see his reaction. Arthur was in motion already, picking Merlin up bridal style, and walking directly past them. With a small smile at his knights he asked, “are you guys coming? Or am I to tell Gaius myself what happened?” Arthur was masking his terror for Merlin by easing his knights’ concern for how he felt about Merlin, making it clear what side Arthur was on. Lancelot and Gwaine sighed in relief, accompanying Arthur.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

Tomorrow, Arthur was going to say I love you back.

#ashley writes #merthur #merthur drabble #sentence starters #THANK YOU FOR SENDING AN ASK #this was really fun to write #hopefully its okay :)#OOPs just realized that this like 1500 words lmfaoo not exactly a drabble #sorry for writing so much omg #i got excited

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shotgun--rider · 4 years

Text

Fake It Till You Make It - One

A Sam x Reader Series

PART ONE

Y/N knows it’s a bad idea to try telling her family that she’s dating Sam Winchester. But it’s just for the week of her sister’s wedding, and it’s all fake anyway. What could go wrong?

Word Count: 3600

Warnings: plus size! Reader, background Destiel for a hot sec, fatphobic comments, Y/N’s family are demons

A/N: Has this trope probably been done five million times? Yes. Am I about to do it again? Yes.

Your cellphone rang and you grimaced, rolling your eyes as you took in Dean’s all-too-amused expression. Your best friend may have thought your situation was the funniest thing he’d ever heard, but that didn’t mean you were of the same opinion.

“What?” you snapped out, not bothering to read the caller ID. Who else would be calling you for the fifth time in as many hours?

“Well that’s not a very nice way to greet your mother.”

Here you went again, the same thing over and over. You pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed. “What do you want now, Mom?”

Bent over something under Baby’s hood, Dean snorted, shamelessly listening to your half of the conversation. He could probably hear your mother too, you thought wryly. The woman was certainly loud enough.

“Well, listen, honey,” your mother began. “I was just talking to Jimmy...you remember Jimmy? From down the street, you used to--”

“Yes, Mom, I remember Jimmy.” you said tiredly. “Why do we care about Jimmy?” Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say.

“For the wedding! I just asked, and Jimmy agreed to come with you.”

You let out an alarmed noise before you could stop yourself. “Mom, no.” you said firmly, with an undercurrent of panic at the thought of being trailed around by awkward Jimmy for a week. “I know it’s hard to imagine,” you drawled sarcastically, “but the vows will still be successful if I’m there without a plus one. Not like I’m the one getting married, you know.”

Still focused on the Impala, Dean’s shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. You seized the apple core you’d been munching on earlier and chucked it at him, feeling marginally better when it bounced off of his back.

“Y/N L/N! You should be a little more grateful. Besides, have you even thought about how it’s going to look to Dick if you show up alone?”

“I don’t care,” you said automatically. “He’s a dick, pun absolutely intended.”

“He’s marrying your sister.”

“At least it’s not me.”

“That miserable attitude is exactly why you’re going to die alone, young lady,” your mother snipped. “You could at least make an effort. Maybe if you just lost some weight--”

“Yeah, okay Mom.” You hung up the phone before she could get another word in, immediately flopping back onto Dean’s front lawn in defeat. “If I ever get married, it’s going to be in Vegas with Elvis, and nobody is going to know about it.” Not that you would. Given your complete inability to keep a boyfriend for longer than two months and your habit of getting hung up on guys who were completely out of your league, marriage, or a relationship of any kind didn’t seem to be in the cards.

“Who’s Jimmy?” Dean’s green eyes were sparkling with mischief, and you let out a groan, smoothing out the skirt of your sundress as you sat back up to answer him.

“Straight-laced, awkward, kind of greasy. Went to high school with me.” You wrinkled your nose. “My mother is really scraping the bottom of the barrel. She’d throw a fit if I actually tried to bring him home. But apparently Jimmy is a better temporary solution than being single while my sister marries my ex.” You trailed off into silence, your hand pulling absently at a few strands of grass in your best friend’s front lawn. “Maybe I should just rent a boyfriend to shut her up. That’s a thing, right? Like a non-sexual escort.”

“If you’re going to the trouble, you should also get the sex,” Dean returned, still smirking at you as he wiped grease off his hands. “Or you could take me. I would make the best fake boyfriend. And I’m free if you feed me.”

You rolled your eyes at him, laughing at the mental image. “My mom knows you have a boyfriend,” you sighed. “Which, believe me, is a great source of sadness to her every single day.”

Dean laughed loudly, both of you glancing toward the house as the screen door swung open. “Maybe we broke up,”

“Well, she still doesn’t understand the concept of bisexuality, so as far as she’s concerned, you’d still be gay.” You rolled your eyes, long since over your mother’s narrow-minded opinions.

“Who’s gay?” Castiel inquired vaguely, making his way over to the flowerbeds.

“Dean is,” you pointed out helpfully, prompting a wide-eyed stare from Cas.

“Really? Dean, you should have told me!”

When you’d first met Dean’s new boyfriend, he’d been stiff and absolutely useless at sarcasm. It was always nice to see yours and Dean’s combined efforts working.

“D’you want me to ask Sammy?”

You were still laughing at Cas’s antics, and snapped your head back to Dean so fast that you were positive something popped in your neck. “W-what?”

“I can ask Sam if he’s free that week,” Dean repeated, looking at you like he thought you were stupid. “If you want,”

You blinked, irrational panic running through you at the thought of Dean’s younger, perfect, brother.

“It’ll shut your mom up,” Dean went on, oblivious. “Sammy wouldn’t mind.”

“Dean, I barely ever see Sam,” you protested after an awkward pause. A fact that was quite devastating, actually, not that you’d ever admit to your hopeless crush on the younger Winchester.

Your best friend and his boyfriend shared a look. “That’s because he’s a hopeless do-gooder on top of being a hotshot lawyer,” Dean said fondly. “But I bet we could talk him out of taking a bunch of free cases for a week,”

Walking into your sister’s wedding with Sam Winchester on your arm sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. On the other hand, it would shut your mother up. She’d been vocal in her fears of you dying alone since you’d been barely out of college, sending you links to weight-loss workout videos and advertising her fixer-upper daughter to single men in the grocery store for years. Sam’s presence might even serve to stave off comments about your weight, which seemed to be the family’s second-favorite discussion topic any time they were together.

Still, that meant pretending Sam Winchester was your boyfriend for a week, which just seemed like some masochistic form of self inflicted torture. Besides, if even you knew Sam would never go for a girl like you, how in the world were you supposed to sell it to your nosy, skeptical family?

“I was mostly kidding about the whole fake boyfriend thing, Dean,” you said wearily, not wanting to devote any more thought to the idea.

Dean shrugged easily, sharing one more pointed look with Cas before refocusing on you. “Fair enough. You’re still staying for dinner, though, right?”

You’d have to be crazy to turn down one of Dean’s steaks. “Obviously.”

“Great,” he returned brightly. “I think Charlie’s coming.”

You were going to kill Dean. And Cas too, potentially, though it was entirely possible that he’d genuinely just been too preoccupied with his backyard beehive to remember the full extent of his boyfriend’s dinner plans. Because, apparently, “Charlie’s coming” actually meant, “Charlie and also Sam are coming.”

It only took about five minutes for Dean to bring up your mother’s nonsense, prompting you to consider just face planting into the mashed potatoes in embarrassment while Charlie burst out laughing. She thought the whole thing was unbelievably hilarious, and had immediately offered herself up as a fake date. The offer was well meant, you knew, but you were only trying to get your mother to shut up, not disown you for bringing home a girlfriend.

“I don’t need a date,” you finally huffed out, irritated with the whole thing. “I’m perfectly capable of showing up by myself. It’s not like anyone’s going to have anything to say about it that I haven’t already heard.” It was true. Your mother, and you sister and all of your aunts and uncles, for that matter, had been making the same jabs at your weight and relationship status for the past decade. You were used to it by now.

“Doesn’t mean you should have to hear it,” Charlie shrugged. “If we’re too gay for your mother, get somebody else.”

“I tried to tell her Sammy would do it,” Dean put in unhelpfully, elbowing his brother, who had been silent up until this point. You contemplated kicking him under the table.

“Poor Sam does not need to be subjected to my family for no good reason,” you said firmly, hoping that would be the end of it.

Sam was studying you across the table. “Or you could just ask me,” he said finally, and you felt your face heat up as you realized you’d basically been speaking for him.

“Yes!” Charlie burst out before you could come up with a reply. “Sam doesn’t mind, do you, Sam?”

Too late, you realized Charlie was the real villain in all of this. Your old roommate, after all, was the one who knew about your little crush. You wondered if it was worth running the risk of trying to kick her under the table without hitting Cas, who thus far had remained off of your hit list.

Sam cleared his throat roughly, looking between you, Charlie, and his plate. “No, I don’t--I mean, I don’t think Y/N really--”

“No, I do,” you blurted out, scrunching up your face immediately after the words left your lips. I do? I do? Since when? And what was it about Sam fucking Winchester that always made you act like a complete idiot?

Dean was smirking at you across the table, and you idly wondered what would happen if you tried egging Baby.

“Oh,” Sam brought you back out of your thoughts, looking hesitantly pleased. “Well, I just wrapped my latest case up, so I don’t mind coming up with you for that week. If you want.”

“Are you sure?” you bit your lip. There were a lot of emotions vying for your attention, but the dominating one was concern for Sam’s wellbeing. He had no idea what he was trying to agree to.

Sam sighed, staring you down with those hazel eyes. “Y/N, you’re basically family. Of course I’m sure. You just worry about the maid of honor stuff, and I’ll watch your back. Okay?”

This was a significantly softer ending to dinner than you’d expected, but you couldn’t deny the warm feeling that rushed up inside you at his words. I’ll watch your back. Pretty much no one in your life had ever done anything of the sort, until you met Charlie, and, through her, the Winchesters. You’d known Dean for months before you finally met Sam, and of course he was perfect.

It was easy with Dean, since he’d been the big brother you’d never had from day one. Sure, he wasn’t bad looking (seriously those boys won some kind of genetic lottery, you swore) but it just wasn’t like that. And then Sam had shown up and he was six and a half feet of walking perfection.

And now he was smiling reassuringly at you across the dinner table, having just agreed to pose as your completely fake boyfriend in front of your god awful family. Well, at least you’d be able to pinpoint the exact moment your life went completely sideways, if you ever had to look back.

Two anxiety-filled weeks later found you in Sam’s car, because subjecting his long legs to your tiny vehicle for a seven hour drive just seemed like cruel and unusual punishment. You were driving at his insistence, and Sam was in the passenger seat with a legal pad on his legs like he thought he was going to take notes.

“Sam,” you whined out, “is this really necessary? Can’t we just... you know, lie?” Since the whole thing is a big fat giant lie anyway.

Sam raised an eyebrow at you, and it just wasn’t fair how sexy that made him look. “Y/N, you’re the one that kept trying to warn me about getting cross examined by your mother,”

“Such a lawyer,” you huffed. “Okay, fine, you’re right. Let’s write our fake love story,” You batted your eyelashes at him exaggeratedly, punching a surprised laugh out of Sam. He watched your antics in amusement for a moment, and then refocused, absently playing with a pen in his long fingers.

“Okay, how did we meet?”

You cocked your head to one side. “My mom knows who you are,” you explained. “Vaguely, but she knows you’re Dean’s brother. We can just tell them how we actually met and stuff,”

Sam smirked at you. “You tell your mother about me?”

You made a face at him, smacking his arm as the heat of embarrassment suffused your entire body. “Just in passing, don’t go getting a big head. Well,” you made a show of studying him, “a bigger head,”

He looked affronted, running a hand briefly through his hair. “Okay, fine, we met because of Dean. Where did I take you on our first date?”

“Why did you have to take me out? What if I took you out?” You were mostly arguing for the sake of arguing, trying to keep yourself from thinking too hard as you imagined a fake life with Sam that had never happened and never would. He thought of you as family, he’d said as much, and you had to remember that.

“Because I had been waiting forever to ask you out, and I had all the good date ideas saved up,” Sam answered immediately.

“O-okay,” you said hesitantly, jarred by the conviction in his statement. But that was the point, wasn’t it? You were trying to sell it, and Sam was obviously a good actor. And unfairly attractive. And kind. And...and oh god. Your fingers gripped the steering wheel harder as you thought about the unexpected trial he hadn’t signed up for. “Sam, can you golf?”

He shrugged. “I know how it’s supposed to work. I’m just...not that good at actually getting the balls in the holes.”

If Dean were here, he would have taken that opportunity to make a lewd joke. As it was, you just winced. “My dad is going to force you to go golfing,” you explained tiredly. “I should have thought of that, I’m sorry, I--”

“It’s no big deal, Y/N,” Sam assured you easily. “I don’t mind. Besides, I want to meet your dad,”

You blinked at him, almost missing a turn in the process. “You actually want to meet my family? Sam, they’re terrible. Well, my dad’s probably the least awful of the bunch. Mostly he just hides. But Ruby will definitely try hitting on you, even though she’s supposed to be getting married, and Dick will try hitting on everything with legs, which is just gross, and Gramma Lilith is gonna give you the speech about how you could do so much better, and my Uncle Az is going to start Googling you and making weird threats, probably…” you trailed off in a huff. “It could be worse, I guess. At least if Uncle Fergus shows up everybody’ll start yelling at him instead. One can hope. He’s pretty harmless,” you shrugged, “if sometimes high. And my mother will probably just stick to the usual fat girl comments, so…”

Sam’s quiet laughter at your descriptions trailed off. “Y/N, you know there’s nothing wrong with you, right?”

You just shrugged again, deflecting. “Oh, come on, Sam, you don’t have to pretend like you think I’m a size two or something,”

“I’m...not,” Sam sounded genuinely confused, and you risked a glance over at him in the passenger seat. Oddly enough, he didn’t look like he was lying. Huh. “I think you’re beautiful.”

You didn’t want to have to pretend not to be affected by that, and this was maybe the first time in your life you’d actually been grateful to see the turnoff for your family’s old estate. “Here we go,” you narrated a little shakily. “It’s a big house,” you warned, still smiling a little at the way Sam’s eyes widened.

It had been a given that the wedding would take place at your Aunt Abaddon’s old estate house, which no one was quite sure how she’d acquired and which no one questioned. The only fun of the house was watching people’s reactions on the rare occasion that you brought someone here.

“I’ll get the bags,” Sam said vacantly, still staring at the house, and you chuckled softly, getting out of the car in a rush. You couldn’t explain it, but it felt important that you got to your family before Sam did, to put yourself between them, though at this point you weren’t quite sure who was being shielded from whom.

You smoothed down the little sundress you’d decided to wear, grabbing your small duffel out of the backseat and hastily going up the front walk, Sam still rummaging in the trunk.

“Y/N!” Ruby opened the front door to meet you, her smile already insincere and condescending. “You’re late. We thought you weren’t coming.” She glanced behind you briefly, then smirked. “And you’re alone. I mean I figured you wouldn’t actually find a plus one, but you know you’re gonna owe me for the meal--”

“Got everything?”

Oh thank god for Sam Winchester. You smiled tightly at your older sister, glancing briefly at your shoulder to reassure yourself that Sam was there. He was, holding a bag in each hand and a pleasant smile on his face. It was totally his false courtroom smile, but Ruby didn’t have to know that. “Ruby, this is...my boyfriend. Sam.”

Ruby blinked long eyelashes at him, processing. You figured she was torn between insulting you and flirting with him, and, as expected, the flirting won out. “Hi, Sam,” she purred. “I can’t wait to get to know you a little better,”

“Right,” Sam said flatly. “Well, I can’t wait to put these bags down, so…”

Something in Ruby’s expression soured as she looked at him, and her hand fell away from the doorframe as she stepped back, letting you both into the house. You lost no time in ducking past her, Sam right behind you.

“There’s rooms on the second floor,” Ruby said quietly, then, “I’m up there too, just in case you get bored...”

“Great,” Sam returned, and he shifted both of the bags into one hand to put a hand on your back as you walked toward the staircase. You shivered at the touch, exhaling the frustration that was already tensing your shoulders, and started up the stairs. God, it hadn’t even been five minutes. How were you supposed to get through a whole week of this?

Sam’s warm breath on your ear startled you, and he whispered, “So, third floor?”

You turned to catch him with a mischievous spark in his hazel eyes, and nodded quickly, a little smile pulling up the corners of your mouth as you started toward the second staircase with a new energy in your step.

“Hurry your fat ass, Y/N!” you heard Ruby shriek from somewhere below. “Everyone’s already out in the garden,”

You blew out your breath, hastily swinging open the first door you saw. The room was mercifully unoccupied, with a queen bed in the middle of the room and not much in the way of decoration. Your Aunt Abaddon had always been pretty minimalist.

Sam shut the door behind you both, setting the bags down in a line at the foot of the bed.

“I can sleep on the floor,” you said quickly, figuring that it was best to get that out of the way as quickly as possible. “I’m the one that got you into this, so--”

He turned to face you with a quizzical expression. “Why would you...Y/N, you didn’t get me into anything. I said I wanted to be here. If you’re not comfortable, I’ll sleep on the floor,”

“No,” you sighed out, defeated. “Ruby’ll probably try barging in here anyway. I don’t think she believes you’re dating someone like me. We’re adults,” you went on with more confidence than you felt, “we can share,”

Sam’s brow furrowed adorably. Stop that. “Someone like you?” He moved to stand in front of you, one hand sliding very gently along your upper arm. “She doesn’t think I’d go for someone that’s funny and clever and really pretty?”

Something in your chest eased at his words, and, before your malfunctioning brain could stop you, you leaned forward to rest your forehead against his solid chest. “Thanks. She’s a bitch,” you mumbled into his shirt.

Sam’s hand migrated to gently rub over your back. “I’m beginning to get that impression,”

You stood there for a few more moments, letting yourself breathe within the safety of Sam’s arms, and then you straightened up and shook yourself. “Alright, boyfriend, ready to go meet the rest of the firing squad?”

He smiled down at you. “Whatever you say, honey bunch.”

You grimaced, but it got a laugh out of you, which you supposed had been his goal. “Absolutely not.”

“Cutie pie? Boo bear?”

“Stop it,” you threw a mock glare over your shoulder, opening the bedroom door.

“Okay, darlin’,” Sam murmured, and somehow that one sat better than all the rest. “I’ve got your back, remember?”

You smiled back at him, letting him slide his hand in yours for the show, and you braced yourself to head back downstairs and deal with the full force of your family.

#supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #sam winchester #sam winchester x reader #sam x reader #x reader #reader insert #spn #series

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kmomof4 · 4 years

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State of Emergency: Code White

Here is the third and final part of my State of Emergency universe, originally inspired by the 1997 Tommy Lee Jones movie, Volcano. This picks up about six and a half months after State of Emergency: Future Glimpse, Part 2 of this series. All the love and thanks in the world to @profdanglaisstuff for her beta services, @thisonesatellite for sharing her earthquake knowledge with me, and @hollyethecurious for her listening ear and her assurance that this idea wasn't garbage. And last but certainly not least, @searchingwardrobes and @stahlop for their help in deciding on a title. I hope you enjoy this conclusion and let me know what you think! Read more link after the first scene, unless Tumblr ate it.

Tagging my peeps: @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @snowbellewells @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @jennjenn615 @kingofmyheart14 @profdanglaisstuff @branlovestowrite @thisonesatellite @ultraluckycatnd @flslp87 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @let-it-raines @shireness-says @kymbersmith-90 @darkcolinodonorgasm @bethacaciakay @searchingwardrobes @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @aprilqueen84 @qualitycoffeethings @superchocovian @artistic-writer @donteattheappleshook @doodlelolly0910 @seriouslyhooked @tiganasummertree @lfh1226-linda

Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed.

Ao3 link

Also muchos love and flails to @captainsjedi for her picset for this fic!!! It is so perfect, I can’t even!!!!

August 28, 2021

A squeal that was nearly loud enough to break the windows drew Emma’s attention away from where Killian was checking them into the Hotel Casa del Mar for Graham and Ruby’s wedding the next day. She turned just in time to hold out her arms before Ruby barrelled into her nearly nine months pregnant belly.

“Emma!” she exclaimed, “Look at you!” She grasped Emma’s shoulders and held her away from her, scrutinizing every part of her with an eye that only a best friend of many, many years could accomplish. Apparently satisfied with what she found, Ruby pulled her close and rubbed her tummy all while murmuring to her honorary niece or nephew.

“Hello there, my darling,” she cooed, “How is my little angel today? I hope you didn’t make the drive down too difficult for your mom. I can’t wait to meet you in just a few more weeks.” She ended her questioning monologue with a kiss to the top of her belly. If it had been anyone else, Emma would have introduced them to her fist long before now, but this was Ruby. Her best friend since junior high. Certain privileges came with that kind of longevity.

“I’m fine, too,” she laughed, “Thanks for asking, Ruby.” Ruby rose up laughing at her sarcasm and drawing her close again.

“Ohhh,” she breathed, “I’m so happy to see you! We cannot go three months without seeing each other ever again.”

Killian turned away from the counter with a wide grin before Ruby released Emma and greeted him with an enthusiastic hug as well. “You hear me, Jones?” she asked, pulling away, “Emma and I cannot go three months between seeing each other ever again.”

“Duly noted,” he replied. “Where’s Graham?”

Ruby turned away as her tall, sandy haired fianceé sauntered over to where the three of them still stood. The men greeted each other with a firm handshake before embracing.

“It’s good to see you, mate,” Killian greeted his best friend as Graham returned the sentiment. They moved away from the check in counter, toward the elevators finalizing plans for dinner in a couple of hours. Emma was happy to see everyone, but she was really looking forward to a nice long soak in the whirlpool tub in their room and maybe a nap beforehand. The ride down from Sacramento had been brutal. The whirlpool jets on the tight muscles in her lower back where the achiness had settled would feel like heaven. The normally about five and a half hour drive had taken them nearly nine, with her bladder demands every hour or so and needing to stretch her legs.

They all rode the elevator together, Ruby and Emma keeping their arms around each other the entire way. Finally making it to their rooms, the men had to nearly peel the ladies away from each other.

“Come on, Swan,” Killian cajoled, “that whirlpool tub is waiting.” He waggled his brows suggestively, earning him an eye roll.

“All right, fine,” she whined, releasing Ruby. Ruby immediately stepped into Graham's arms and they turned back toward their worn out friend.

“We’ll see you downstairs at 7:30,” she said. “That should give you enough time for a bath and rest for a little while. Have to make sure you’re taking care of my niece or nephew, ya know.”

Emma and Killian both grinned. “We’ll see you then.”

~*~*~

Emma entered the elevator and stretched her back with a grimace on her face and a soft exhale at the achiness there. Killian was by her side instantly, his hand rubbing circles into the small of her back.

“Are you alright, darling?” he asked. “Need another soak in the tub when we get back to the room tonight?”

Emma turned to him with a smile on her face at his concern. “Those jets felt wonderful. Another soak after dinner may be just what the doctor ordered. All those hours in the car, just…” she trailed away with another stretch and quiet groan. “I know you love that car, but we are NEVER traveling out of town in it again.”

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out to find Killian’s brother Liam and his girlfriend, Elsa already waiting. Liam was an Anglican priest and would be performing the ceremony the next day. Elsa, while not a bridesmaid, had been welcomed into the group when she and Liam had started dating last spring and so she was invited to enjoy all the festivities with the wedding party. They were still sharing hugs and greetings when Mary Margaret and David and then the bride and groom arrived.

They moved the party to one of the best seafood places in Santa Monica. Right on the water, it served steak and fresh out of the ocean seafood. It had been a favorite when she had lived here and she had informed Ruby that she was resigning as Matron of Honor if they didn’t eat there sometime over the weekend. She may not be able to eat any shellfish, but she could still have her filet mignon.

The evening was filled with good food, good drinks, laughter, and stories. Emma got to share the story about when she and Ruby had tried to fake-ID their way into a hot new club on the beach back when they were in high school. All Ruby’s idea, of course. But then, in retaliation, Ruby had to tell the story about the first time Emma got completely hammered, after their college graduation.

“Single mom, graduating summa cum laude,” she shrugged, with a smirk, “I was entitled.” Her smirk softened into a more genuine, grateful smile. “I couldn’t have done it without Ruby, David and M’s.”

“Damn right!” Ruby exclaimed, toasting Emma’s raised glass with her own. Laughter broke out from around the table and more toasts were raised to Emma’s success and to the happy couple. Finally, Graham stood.

“Who would have guessed that one of the greatest natural disasters that California has ever seen would lead me, lead us here.” He smiled down at Ruby, affectionately. “Killian and I have been friends for a decade. Ever since he hired me right out of college to work at the Geological Survey. When he was promoted, he brought me along with him to work as his assistant. And it was that position that led me to this beautiful, wonderful woman by my side this evening. The woman that I am so blessed to be marrying tomorrow.” He looked back down at his soon-to-be bride, as she fanned herself dramatically, trying to hide her blush. He leaned down and pulled Ruby’s chin up and captured her lips in a tender kiss as whoops and hollers from around the table were directed at the happy couple. He sat down and draped his arm around her shoulder as she snuggled into his side, red lips smiling widely.

Killian rose then. “I’ll keep this brief, since we still have the Dudes Day Lunch tomorrow,” he began, as loud guffaws broke out over the name. “Hey!” he exclaimed, “don’t laugh at me! It was old man Liam’s idea!” He pointed at his brother whose face flamed red at being outed for coming up with that ridiculous name. “Anyway, Graham fell for Ruby nearly as fast as I did for Emma. And I could not be happier for the both of you. But I have to say, mate, I made better use of my time.” More laughs came from the gathered friends as he waggled his eyebrows salaciously at his wife as he sat down.

“Well, you were on more of a time clock than I was, mate,” Graham reminded him. “Had to fit the wedding in once the Governor decided he wanted you in Sacramento.”

Killian nodded in agreement before drawing Emma into his side. He couldn’t help but rub his hand on her swollen belly before kissing her on the temple. Now that the speeches were over, the dinner party quickly wound down. They made their way back to the hotel and all went their separate ways, wishing each other a good night and reiterating the plans for the morning.

Emma came out of the bathroom over an hour later, hair and body scrubbed clean until it glowed in the low light of the lamps of the room.

“How’s your back, darling?” he asked, quietly, “Still aching?”

“Yes,” she yawned, climbing in the bed. “But I think that soak and more than an hour in this bed will go a long way to helping it feel better. I’m really looking forward to the massage in the morning. I’m sure I’ll be right as rain after that.” She snuggled as close as she could into his chest before looking up and drawing him into a kiss.

“Hmmmm,” he hummed against her lips. “I’m sure you will be too. Goodnight, Swan.”

She turned in his arms that tenderly cupped their unborn child. “Goodnight.”

~*~*~

Killian couldn’t stop the grin that spread his lips as he caught sight of the female portion of the bridal party exiting the elevators that brought them down from the spa on the top floor of the hotel. Emma was radiant, hair and makeup done to perfection and appearing to be even more relaxed than she had been when she left their room that morning. Apparently, a good night's sleep in a very comfortable bed plus a facial and pregnancy massage did wonders for his beloved wife’s countenance.

“Swan,” he called, approaching her as the party made their way toward the hotel restaurant. She turned toward him with the most beautiful smile on her face, she nearly took his breath away.

“Hi,” she replied, meeting him halfway and turning her face up to his for his kiss.

“How was the spa, darling?” he asked, rubbing circles into the small of her back. “How does your back feel?”

“Amazing,” she gushed, “Rose was my therapist and I nearly fell asleep under her fingers. I have had a couple of twinges since the massage, but nothing like yesterday on the way down.”

“Good,” he replied, “I’m glad to hear it. We’ll be at the oyster bar if you need me,” he said, pointing across the lobby. The smile she graced him with was full of happiness. He leaned down and brushed her lips with his own again. “I’ll see you after lunch.”

She hummed as he let her go. Emma couldn’t hide her appreciative smirk as she watched her husband saunter away before she caught up with the other ladies at the matré d’s podium. “Bridal luncheon for four under the name Jones,” she informed the man.

“Right this way, ladies.”

He led them across the gleaming marble floor toward a beautifully appointed table only a few feet in front of the floor to ceiling windows that looked out on the beach where Ruby and Graham would be exchanging their vows in about six hours. The ladies oooo-ed and ahhh-ed over the view and the richness of their surroundings. Settling themselves in their chairs, their server appeared pouring water in their glasses and taking their drink orders before disappearing again.

“Ruby,” breathed Mary Margaret, “this is absolutely beautiful!”

“I know!” their friend agreed. “Isn’t it? They had a picture of the restaurant on the website and when I saw it, I knew this is where I wanted everything to be.” Ruby sighed, happily. “I’ve always dreamt of a sunset wedding on the beach.” From where they sat, they could see the area where the wedding coordinator and her crew were already hard at work getting ready for the nuptials that evening.

“Don’t I know it.” Emma rolled her eyes, good naturedly. “I’ve been listening to it for years.” She drew her best friend into a side hug as the other ladies looked on, wide smiles on their faces. “And I couldn’t be happier for you both.”

Their server returned with their drinks and took their orders for lunch. Once he withdrew, Elsa raised her glass to the bride. “I know that I’m not as close with all you ladies as you are to each other, but I’d be remiss if I neglected to tell you all thank you first for including me in your festivities and second for welcoming me into your group with such open arms. I know that Liam is so thrilled and honored to be joining you and Graham in marriage this evening, Ruby, and we both wish you every happiness and blessing in your union.”

Tears glistened in Ruby’s eyes as she rose from her place at the table and came around to gather Elsa into a warm hug. “Thank you, Elsa,” she choked out. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally be marrying Graham. And having you here to celebrate with us makes it that much better. There are truly no words for how happy it makes me to see Liam so happy. How happy you’ve made him.” Elsa’s lovely face flushed at Ruby’s words. “When I met Killian, he, and then Liam, joined David as the brothers I’d never had. So it does my heart good that you’ve found each other.” Ruby let go and returned to her seat just as their lunches arrived.

~*~*~

“Hear, hear!” The four men raised their pints and toasted Graham’s happiness after Liam had spoken a few words that if the ladies had heard, would have earned them all eye rolls and playfully indignant slaps at the raunchiness of the teasing. Well, except maybe Graham. Ruby would have been just as likely to laugh and raise her glass with the rest of them.

After taking a sip, Killian rose from his seat. “As Best Man, and the reason that Graham met Ruby in the first place, I have a few words to say.” The laughter among the men died down as they all fixed their attention on him. “Graham, words cannot express how happy I am for you that this day has finally arrived. I knew the moment I entered the control center two and a half years ago that there was something different about you, and when you smiled at Ruby I could immediately see what it was.” Graham’s face broke into a soft smile as his eyes took on the dreamy quality of pleasant memories. “There’s nothing like a disaster of epic proportions to drive people together. You were smitten with Ruby that very first day. It has been a joy and privilege to watch you fall in love with the wonderful woman that you will make your wife in just a few hours from now.” He raised his glass high again in a toast. “To Graham and Ruby.”

“To Graham and Ruby,” the others echoed, raising their own glasses.

“May you find every happiness in life together, for you certainly deserve it.” Killian took his seat just as their server approached with their meals.

~*~*~

The ladies had enjoyed their lunch and were waiting for their Death by Chocolate desserts when Emma rose. Stretching her back with a grimace, Emma placed her hand on her back and waved away M’s concerned face. She looked down at her best friend and smiled gently.

“Ruby, you’ve been my best friend in the world since we were twelve years old and you moved into my school district. I’ll never forget the first time I saw you. You came into our 7th grade Theater class like a whirlwind.” Ruby chuckled at the memory. “You sat next to me and didn’t let my natural shyness and ‘prickly-ness,’” Emma placed quote signs around the word that Ruby had undoubtedly used many times in referring to her, “deter you. You were gonna be my friend if it killed you to do it. You were my closest friend in no time flat and I am so grateful. It’s been my joy and privilege to grow up with you, to travel the ups and downs of life with you up to this point, that I’ll now be handing off to your husband in just a few hours. And also to watch you fall in love with the love of your life. There are no words to express my happiness for you both.”

A gasp broke from Emma’s lips as a tightening in her back that radiated around her front caused her to hunch over and grab the table before her. The silverware and glassware rattled as the ladies exchanged nervous glances.

Emma laughed, breathlessly, “That really hurt,” she gasped, trying to sit down again. “Guess I don’t know my own strength.”

The tableware continued to rattle and Emma followed M’s and Elsa’s gaze upward to where the large chandelier hanging over their table was swinging back and forth.

“Earthquake!” M’s cried, “Everyone under the table!”

Emma got down on all fours and made her way under the table along with the others. Terror overtook her as the shaking continued. Thoughts of Killian on the other side of the lobby and Henry still in Sacramento raced through her mind as she prayed for their and her own and her baby’s safety. The shaking was beginning to subside when the table collapsed on the four of them, forcing Emma to flatten herself on the floor, her face buried in Ruby’s lap. The pain that ripped through her caused her to scream in agony before everything went black.

~*~*~

The shaking had finally subsided, but the scream and sudden silence from Emma terrified Mary Margaret more than the earthquake had. “Emma? Elsa? Ruby? Everyone okay?”

Ruby, her back facing M’s and bent over from the table on top of them was the first to answer. “I’m ok, but Emma’s unconscious. Her head is in my lap.”

“Okay, we have to get the table off of Emma. On the count of three everybody push as hard as you can. One, two, three!”

Groans from the others filled her ears, but she was barely aware of them as she pushed with all her might against the heavy surface of the table above her. Suddenly, the table gave way as it and the chandelier that had fallen on it flipped off of them. The sunlight nearly blinded her and it took a moment of furious blinking before M’s was able to scan over the others before she scrambled to a still unconscious Emma.

“Emma? Emma!” she cried, checking her pulse and respiration before noticing the wetness that was spreading out from under her sister-in-law. “Ok, I need everyone to surround Emma to help me turn her on her back. Very carefully. I think her water’s broken.”

A gasp broke from Ruby at M’s speculation. M’s eyes met Elsa’s pain filled ones as she realized that she was holding her left arm across her chest. The darkening bruise that took up most of her forearm clued her in that Elsa’s arm was badly broken and she wouldn’t be much help in moving Emma.

“We have to get Emma on her back so I can see exactly what is happening with the baby. As soon as I’m done with that, I’ll get your arm splinted.”

Elsa nodded. “Making sure that Emma and the baby are okay is more important. I can wait.”

“Okay,” she agreed, “Ruby, can you get Emma’s shoulders turned to the left? I’ll handle the torso.”

Ruby nodded and took her position. “On the count of three. One, two, three.” With a mighty heave they were able to get Emma on her back as she let out a low moan at the action.

The front of Emma’s dress was soaked. Mary Margaret wasted no time in shucking the maxi dress she wore up around her waist and removing her underwear. Ruby was gently shaking Emma’s shoulders and murmuring in her ear trying to get her to wake up as Mary Margaret checked to see how far along in labor she was.

“She’s six centimeters,” M’s announced, with obvious relief. “The baby’s coming. Ruby, I need you to get to the front of the hotel and find some paramedics. Hopefully there’s some nearby and you won’t have any trouble getting out there or getting them back here. If you see any employee’s on your way out, tell them we need water and towels here, ASAP.”

Emma was finally starting to come around as Ruby was maneuvering out from under her. “What happened,” she mumbled.

M’s moved to Emma’s head. She placed both hands on her cheeks and held her attention. “Emma, I need you to look at me. Do you know where you are? Do you know what’s happening today?”

“Uh, we’re at the hotel? And we just finished lunch? Ruby and Graham are getting married.” It was really more of a question than she would have liked, but at least there weren’t any memory gaps.

“Yes, that’s good!” M’s exclaimed, “Very good! There was an earthquake and we were trapped under the table. We’ve gotten the table off of us, but your water has broken. The baby is coming.” The calm that normally characterized her in an emergency situation descended on Mary Margaret. She may not have expected to deliver her niece or nephew, but she was far from inexperienced in matters such as these.

“The baby is coming?” Emma cried, “I’m not due for another five weeks! Will he be okay?”

Looking into Emma’s eyes, she could see that panic threatened to overtake her. She infused all the confidence she could muster from the less than ideal situation into her smile before she shared her expectations for the situation.

“At thirty-five weeks, the baby will almost definitely be fine. At this stage of pregnancy, the baby is mostly gaining weight and preparing for delivery. Our only concern is the setting. This is obviously far from ideal.” At that moment their server arrived with an armful of towels and two water pitchers.

“Thank you,” M’s said, taking the supplies from him. Turning back to Emma, she continued. “You are six centimeters dialated and I expect you’ll be ready to push here in about an hour.”

Emma nodded, trying her best to find some measure of comfort that M’s was with her and would do everything she could to ensure a safe delivery of her child. Wanting nothing more than for Killian to be at her side, she closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breath. She could feel the tightening in her back again spreading around to the front that she had become familiar with since yesterday. She should have realized that the pain was early labor and not just uncomfortable seats in Killian’s beloved classic SS Chevelle. But there was nothing to do about that now. She could only pray that Killian was unhurt and making his way to her and their baby.

~*~*~

When the earthquake finally stopped, Killian and the other men came out from under the bar where they had taken cover when the shaking began. It was all he could do to breathe as terror filled him as he looked around the restaurant and out to the lobby beyond. It was obviously a major earthquake, but the damage he could see was relatively minor. He knew that it would take him some time to get to Emma, however. He looked over to his companions.

“Everyone alright?” he asked.

A chorus of “yesses” and “fine” met him. “I’ve got to get to Emma,” he blurted out, picking his way around the debris as he headed toward the lobby.

“Hold on, brother.” Liam approached and grabbed him by the arm.

“Don’t you try to stop me,” Killian yelled, jerking away from him. “I have to make sure she’s safe. She and the baby.” The terror rose again and tears filled his eyes as the possibilities played out in his mind.

“I’m not trying to stop you, Killian,” Liam agreed, “I’m simply telling you that we’re coming with you. We all want to make sure our ladies are safe.”

Killian deflated. “Of course, brother,” he replied, chagrined. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“They’re safe. They’re all safe. I have to believe that. Everybody, here? Okay, lets go,” Liam called.

~*~*~

BREAKING NEWS scrolled across the television screen, drawing Henry Jones’ attention away from the comic book he was looking at. He was hanging out in a gift shop at the airport terminal before his flight to LAX started boarding. He stared at the monitor in horror as the newscaster was reporting on the 6.7 earthquake that had just hit Los Angeles. Footage of the destruction took his breath away. He hadn’t seen anything like it since the volcano erupted in LA two and half years ago.

A helicopter above the carnage was relaying live pictures as the anchor scrambled trying to report on the disaster. He looked over at the screen where his three o’clock flight was listed. A red CANCELED already flashed next to it. He could feel the fear rising up within, threatening to choke him. He closed his eyes and said a quick prayer for his parents and friends. Especially his baby brother or sister.

Taking a deep breath, he could hear his dad’s voice in his head telling him to stay calm. He was a smart kid and to think about what he needed to do. Feeling at least a little less agitated, he pulled his phone out and texted his friend Thomas to come back and get him due to the cancellation. Thomas was his section leader in the trombone section of his high school band. They had a long rehearsal yesterday to learn the new halftime show for this Friday’s game that he couldn’t miss, not if he wanted to maintain his place in the show anyway. Arrangements had been made with Thomas’ family and for him to fly down on Sunday instead of driving down with his parents the day before. Once that text was sent, he texted his mom and dad. He’d lived in California all his life, so he knew with the level of destruction he was seeing that cell towers weren’t going to allow him to get through if he called.

Moments later, a text from his dad came through. Henry released the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding as he was assured that he and the other men were all safe but that his mom was at the bridesmaid’s luncheon when the quake hit and he was still trying to get to her. Henry could feel the panic rising in him again as he read through the rest of the text of his dad promising to contact him as soon as he got to her. He slipped his phone back in his pocket to wait. It was all he could do.

~*~*~

Killian put his phone back in his pocket after texting Henry the gist of the situation. The men were making progress out of the oyster bar, but they still had about a hundred yards to cover to get to the entrance of the restaurant that the ladies were at. Killian could only hope for the best when they got there. As they entered the lobby, Graham let out a cry so full of joy and relief that Killian immediately knew who Graham was calling for.

“Ruby!”

The tall brunette turned toward them, and even from that distance, they could see the way her face lit up. “Graham!”

“Where’s everyone? Is Emma okay?”

“The baby is coming,” she called. “We were trapped under the table. Emma lost consciousness for a few minutes, but was coming around when I left. M’s sent me to find paramedics and get them to her. Her water broke and M’s said she’s about six centimeters dilated.”

Killian could feel the blood drain out of his face at Ruby’s report. A strong hand grabbed his bicep, grounding him and his own hand covered it in thanks. “She’ll be alright, brother. We’ll get there in time.”

Killian nodded as he scanned the carnage in front of him, keeping him from his wife and child. Determination filled him as he pushed the panic back and looked at his brother. Nodding again and making sure that David had caught up with them, the men forged ahead into the ruin before them.

~*~*~

M’s mopped Emma’s head from the sweat that had gathered there as another contraction eased. Emma’s exhausted body rested up for the next contraction on the bottom of the upended table.

“I can’t do this,” she sobbed.

“You can, Emma,” M’s cajoled, “You’re almost there. It’s almost time to push.”

Elsa murmured her own encouragement as well, her good hand firmly grasped in Emma’s. Once M’s had gotten Emma as comfortable as she could, she had turned her attention to Elsa’s arm. She had been able to break off one of the chair legs and fashioned a splint and sling out of it and one of the towels their server had brought.

“I want Killian!” Emma cried, head thrashing back and forth as another contraction started. “What if he’s hurt? What if he can’t get to me? To us? What if he’s dead?” The thought that she hadn’t let herself even think of to this point poured out of her in her excruciating pain and despair. She was dimly aware of movement around her when suddenly strong arms enveloped her pushing her up so that she was nearly upright and the voice that she longed to hear was in her ear, telling her to hold on. She melted into the embrace and wept with joy.

“Come on, Emma. You can do it. I’m here,” Killian whispered in her ear. He slipped behind her so that she could recline against him as he held her to him, assuring himself of her safety.

“Killian,” Emma sobbed.

“I’m here, Swan. You can do this.”

She shook her head, vehemently. “I can’t. I can’t. It’s too much. It hurts too MUUUUUUUUCH!” She ended on a scream as another contraction ripped through her.

“Ok, Emma,” M’s looked directly into Emma’s face as the contraction subsided. “It’s time. It’s time for you to push. Can you do that for me?”

Emma shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t do it. I’m sorry.” Her chin trembled and her face shone with sweat and tears as she looked at her doctor, her friend, her sister-in-law. M’s just beamed at her.

“You can do this, Emma,” she stated, confidently. “You really don’t have much choice in the matter. Your child is depending on you.”

Killian whispered in her ear. “You can do this, my love. You are so strong and you have never been more beautiful. Our baby needs you. You can do it!”

Emma sobbed again as she nodded and pushed herself up on Killian. “Emma, when the next contraction comes, I want you to push with everything you have in you, okay?”

Emma nodded again as the next contraction hit. She could barely hear M’s counting to ten between the blood rushing in her ears, Killian’s harsh breathing, and her own screams creating a cacophony of sound that completely overtook all other senses.

“I can see the head, Emma,” M’s cried. “Our little prince or princess has a head full of dark hair! Just like their Daddy! You’re almost there! One more big push for me!”

Killian pressed his lips to Emma’s neck. “You’re almost there, my love. One more push and we can meet our child.”

Emma nodded once more, too worn out to speak, as she prepped herself for one more push. The pain rolled over her and with a mighty cry, Emma pushed through the burning and tearing pain that felt like it was ripping her in two. As she collapsed against Killian, a new sound broke the silence. The cry of a newborn baby.

“It’s a girl,” Mary Margaret announced. A cheer broke out around them as the small gathered crowd celebrated the safe delivery. Emma turned her face to meet her husband’s lips while M’s went about the business of cleaning up their daughter.

Releasing her lips, Killian pulled out his phone to text Henry that he had a new baby sister.

“Did I miss it?” Ruby’s voice shouted, indignantly. “What do you mean, Emma? Having this baby without me?”

Emma laughed weakly and a chuckle rumbled through Killian’s chest at Ruby’s pique. The rattle of a gurney reached their ears as the paramedics arrived. M’s rose to speak to them after placing their baby girl in Emma’s arms.

“She’s beautiful,” she breathed. “Isn’t she beautiful, Killian?” she asked, turning towards him.

“Aye, beautiful.” He placed a kiss to Emma’s temple and reached out to touch his daughter. She caught his pointer finger in her own tiny fist, filling him with an unspeakable joy. The tears began to fall as the realization that in the midst of destruction, injury, and even death, he had helped bring life into the world. Hope filled his heart as he held his wife and daughter tightly, thanking God that they were safe.

The paramedics loaded mother and child onto the gurney. “What do you want to name her, love?”

“After all this, what do you think of Hope? Hope Margaret?”

He couldn’t stop the grin that broke over his face at the similar thought he had just had. “I think that’s perfect, darling.” He pressed a kiss to her lips as the EMT’s started to make their way through the chaos around them.

Once they arrived at the ambulance in front of the hotel, he was informed that they only had room for Emma, Hope, and Elsa inside the ambulance. Elsa tried to hand off her place to the new father, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

“I’m sure that M’s took good care of you, lass, but you need to get to the hospital before I do.” He smiled gently at Emma and Hope as they were loaded in the vehicle. “They’ll want to get you all checked out, and we won’t be far behind you. We’ll see you soon.”

Elsa finally agreed, and after a parting kiss with Liam, climbed in just before they shut the doors.

Killian turned to M’s and David before gathering M’s in his arms. “Thank you,” he whispered, choking back tears. “I owe you everything. They are everything to me.”

M’s hugged him back just as tightly. “I know. They’re fine. They’re both fine.” Letting go, she grasped him by the shoulders and leaned back so she could look him in the eye. “Let’s get to the hospital and see our family.”

Nodding, Killian turned to David with his hand outstretched. Ignoring it, David gathered him into a bone crushing hug of his own. Killian could no longer keep the tears at bay. As a father himself, David knew exactly what Killian needed. He held his friend tightly as he sobbed out all the fear, panic, and joy this day had brought. After several minutes, Killian’s tears abated. Releasing him, David patted him on the back, expressing all the love and support without a single word. Then it was Liam’s turn. The brothers embraced before Liam let go with a teasing twinkle in his eye.

“My little brother is a father,” he exclaimed. “What am I gonna do now?”

“Stop calling me ‘little brother’ for one,” Killian groused, “and second, get a move on yourself!” Everyone laughed as Liam’s face flamed in embarrassment.

Graham, his arm around Ruby with matching grins on their faces offered their congratulations next. “I can’t believe she had the baby without me. But I’m so glad she’s here and safe.” Ruby’s expression sobered. “This could have been bad.”

“It could have been,” Killian agreed, “but, it wasn’t. Thank God.”

“Amen to that. Now let’s get to that hospital. Make sure everyone’s okay.”

Picking their way through the torn up streets, it took nearly an hour before they finally made it the block and a half to Cedars. By the time they got inside, Emma had already been moved to the Maternity floor and Hope had already been cleaned up, checked out and given a clean bill of health as well.

Once everyone had been assured of Emma’s, Hope’s and Elsa’s well being, they all settled in to discuss what to do next. Emma and Killian were texting back and forth with Henry, sending pictures of his new baby sister.

Ruby sat down on Graham’s lap with a pout on her lips. “There’s no telling when we’re gonna be able to get married, now,” she very nearly whined. “It will take months to rebuild enough to rebook everything.”

Elsa threw a questioning look at Liam. “What’s stopping you from getting married here? Now?” she asked. “It’s not a sunset wedding on the beach, but isn’t ‘getting married’ the whole point? No matter where it is?”

Liam raised his eyebrow at the couple as they looked at each other, silently communicating their desires.

“We’re fine with it,” Graham said, never taking his eyes off Ruby.

“Well then,” Liam exclaimed, “Let’s have a wedding!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Emma exclaimed, “We need to Facetime Henry. He was planning on being here, too, after all.”

Everyone agreed and waited patiently while Emma connected to the hospital wi-fi and called Henry.

Graham had entrusted the rings to Killian before they had left their rooms for the Dude’s Day lunch. He may have forgotten about them in the excitement of the afternoon, but when he patted his pocket, he found the box safely containing both rings. He removed them and handed Graham’s ring to Emma.

With a beaming smile on his face, Liam began. “We are gathered here today, in the presence of God and in the aftermath of an earthquake and a birth, and with an assist by technology, to join together Graham Humbert and Ruby Lucas in Holy Matrimony.”

The joy on the faces of the bride and groom and all the people in the room could not be contained. Emma couldn’t hold back her tears anymore as Graham said his vows to Ruby, promising to love, cherish, protect, and honor, before placing a beautiful white and rose gold twisted vine ruby ring on his bride’s finger. Thinking back on all their years growing up, dreaming of this day and all the love and happiness that awaited her best friend, it was all Emma could do to keep from sobbing instead of just happy tears rolling down her face.

With as crowded as the room was, and Emma confined to the bed, Liam, Ruby, and Graham stood at the end of it. Emma handed the ring to Ruby, but she had eyes for no one but her groom as she spoke her own vows of love, fidelity, and honor, and placed the matching rose gold ring adorned with small rubies on his finger.

“It is with great pleasure that I now pronounce you, husband,” he looked at Graham with a smile, “and wife,” Liam intoned, beaming at the happy couple. “You may kiss the bride.”

Ruby let out a whoop and launched herself into her husband's arms. The cheers that rose around them startled Hope enough that she added her wails to the delight being expressed by everyone in the room.

Emma couldn’t help but laugh as the nearly inappropriate PDA continued between the newlyweds. “Let’s keep things PG in here please,” she called.

Henry joined in as well, covering his eyes. “Teenager in the room, guys! Young eyes don’t need to see that!”

“Old eyes don’t need to see it either,” Killian grumbled, drawing his wife and daughter into his arms. Ruby and Graham finally broke apart, both flushed and breathing heavy. “It’s time for you two to find a room.” Graham at least had the decency to blush as he drew Ruby into his side.

M’s came over to Emma and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “We’ll get out of here and let you rest. You’re definitely gonna need it.”

Emma cooed to their daughter as Killian wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gazed lovingly at the two loves of his life. He placed a tender kiss to his wife’s temple then the crown of his daughter’s head before rising to see everyone out of the room.

Smiles, hugs, and murmurs of congratulations and relief were exchanged as everyone bid them goodbye and left the room. Killian turned back toward the bed to see Emma sound asleep with Hope laid down in the crease between her legs. He smiled and came back to the bed, picking up his daughter and sitting down in the rocking chair next to Emma’s bed.

Staring down into his daughter’s grey blue eyes, he was overwhelmed with the blessings bestowed upon him. The love of his life had just given him a daughter in the middle of an earthquake. Yet another state of emergency. A profound sense of gratitude filled him as he raised a short prayer of thanksgiving that they were both safe. He laid his head back, shut his eyes, and began to slowly rock. It was no time at all before father and daughter were sound asleep.

The End

#cs ff #State of Emergency verse #State of Emergency #Code White #krystal writes #artwork by captainsjedi

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dndfuckhouse · 3 years

Text

session 33 - Introductions and Invitations

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> 🎵 Sword Search on Koholint Island / LOZ: Link’s Awakening (2019) OST.

After having spent the whole of the morning walking around the group find themselves drawn to the smell of fish wafting around the city square and head over towards the nearby café to refuel themselves over lunch.

After being greeted by the upbeat waitress they seat themselves and begin pondering the menu. The feeling of the bright midday sun beating down on their heads while the cool seaside breeze blows through keeps them company amongst the townspeople in the city square.

Cimmorro: the image rn is finn cimm han plum rokka in the same table..... psalm also but at the edge??? Chip: dnd cafe marching order being determined rn Celebrity Guest Aki: WHY DOES THIS SOUND SO UNBALANCEDD Rokka: BC IT IS Psalm: achieving total mental blankness trying to imagine this Keva:

Finn: im ordering nothing because i literally cant eat or drink Psalm: just ask for the bloodwine alone Finn: yeah ill just inconspicuously ask for fish blood in isolation Plum: they got that just for you actually the blood drink, god put that on there for you finn Psalm: yeah we called ahead

Noticing Keva struggling with the menu, Cimmorro moves to lend her a land subtly. Meanwhile Plum tells Finn they can order the dish that comes with fish blood and split it with him if he’d like.

Keva: she's not really looking at the menu much.... you probably just see her watching everyone else and checking the number on the menu for the thing they order Cimmorro: okay well he's going to look at you for a good second, contemplating if he should offer to help but realizes that might be a bad idea so he's just going to go get the waitress' attention and go like "what would be your best sellers here? and what you would recommend?" Cherry: she hums and thinks "i'd say the sea bed or the prawn's eyes usually sell pretty well! the salty dog ale is a local specialty as well, id recommend it if you aren't made queasy easy" she says with a laugh Keva: trying to picture wtf sea bed and salty dog could mean Cimmorro: (dwfl he wanted to order the sea bed) cimm nods at her and looks at the menu "10 sp for the sea bed... fish and bread sounds appealing today huh i'll have one," he says alla this w/ intention for keva to hear. and adds, "i think i'll just have a glass of water though, thanks" Keva: she looks at cimm for a moment, silently feeling grateful, and says "same as him" tilting her menu a bit towards cimm and hands the menu back

Plum: plum turns to finn and says "i could order this," and points to the caver's treat, "and you could have the cup of blood that comes with it, if you're hungry." Finn: hes already spacing out when plum suddenly speaks to him, whipping his head around a little startled. "oh" admittedly, finn wasn't hungry, or thirsty, but plums attentiveness does touch him a little. he nods. "that is very kind of you plum... if you truly do not mind, then ... id appreciate that." Plum: "sure, no problem" plum says to finn and takes a sip from their drink. they wave the waitress over to order one ＣＡＶＥＲ＇ＳＴＲＥＡＴ

The Group’s Orders ~ 🐟

Plum: Reaver’s Luck, Caver’s Treat Rokka: Berried Salmon, Reaver’s Luck Psalm: Berried Salmon Han: The Phoenix, Fishers Teeth (takeout - Caver’s Treat ) Keva: Sea Bed Cimmorro: Sea Bed

Taking the orders, the waitress gives a nod and scuttles off. After a small wait the dishes are brought out, the scent of fish overpowering the place. The group find their meals appetising and begin to dig in and chatter amongst themselves. Finn stealthily transfers the bloodwine into a cup of his own he can discretely drink from while Keva wraps and saves a slice of the bread for later consumption.

Finn: he clinks his glass with plum to thank them for the fish but before he takes a sip he blinks "oh... what are we to do with the fish plum?" Plum: they clink their mug with finn's and then gives him a confused look. after a moment they look like they're trying not to laugh a little. "what made you think i wasn't gonna...eat it?" plum asks before picking up a fork. Finn: "i simply thought it might be a bit much.. is all.." feeling a little stupid for having asked now. "and it is meant to be eaten with the blood after all.. " Plum: "oh, nah. it was two gold pieces so i'd better finish it, honestly," plum says and starts eating. "also i don't really want the blood," they stop and make a hand gesture as if to say that finn can just go ahead and enjoy the blood himself. Finn: he fails to control himself and finish listening to plum, chugging the glass in one go, feeling particularly satisfied and sated for now. "ah, please... i will pay for it of course, you ordered this for my sake" he says quickly as if he didnt just drink that like a possessed man Han: finns eyes do the cat silly time thing Cimmorro: yess finn goo you fucking horse Han: vibrates in his chair cause he got the blood zoomies

Plum: "or we can just split it" plum says casually, not saying anything at the change in finn's demeanour for a moment there. it'd probably be rude to seem a bit surprised.

Rokka: “LOOKING GOOD” Cimmorro: "kinda pog as they say...." cimm gives his thanks to wee jasus christ and begins to eat in a decent pace... just focused on eating Rokka: halfway through chewing rokka talks with his mouth full, "watsh pogh" Cimmorro: cimm looks disgusted at you, once again, for talking with your mouth full. and just goes. "oh you know like- [does the pog face for a split second]" before going back to his food though he looks up at you again the next second and goes like "oh right. rokka, here." he slides 35gp across the table to you. "for the time at nickels." and he just goes back to eating Rokka: "ohhh so then if i wanted to say my food is "pog" i can just [makes the pog face]?" he looks down at the money "oh! you didn't have to pay me back....thanks though!" le pockets money Han: han goes (mgs ❗ noise) and starts fishing in her side pocket too "wait i owe you for bedroll and rope" and hands rokka X gold Rokka: he then turns to han "WHAT!!! NO, NO ITS OKAY!!" he tries to push it back to han Han: she doesn't even touch it again and goes back to food "i dont like being in debt" Rokka: he stares at the xgp before reluctantly taking it seeing as han refusing to take it back "alrigghtt. thanks hannn" Han: 😇 Psalm: he watches Rokka’s exchanges for a moment. "It just occurred to me that now would be a good time for that drink you owe me." Cimmorro: cimm looks at rokka and psalm and goes "i'm starting to learn that it's a bad idea to be in debt to you psalm" Psalm: "I think I'm pretty fair all things considered 😇 " Cimmorro: he just sighs and goes back to his food

Rokka: his head whips over to psalm like !!!!! "i-WHAT--oh! yeah....do you.......want to share my drink?" Psalm: "No I don't...?" Rokka: well, then.......what do you want?" Psalm: "One salty dog ale please (: ." Han: did chip plan for this joke. its too perfect? Psalm: WAIT YOU'RE SO RIGHT Han: I LEGIT THOUGHT IT WAS A GAG U WERE DOING AND LOOKED AT THE MENU Chip: LIFE FINDS A WAY....

Ghester: you hear a chuckle in your head followed by a voice that says "well he's a good sportsman about it" Psalm: "It was his idea to play." Rokka: he looks around "HUH WHAT?!" Ghester: "that makes a person more reluctant sometimes" he then laughs at rokka's reaction Psalm: he scoffs. Rokka: he abruptly stands up from the table and shaking the table in the process "OK WHATS GOING ON"

Getting agitated by Ghester’s repeated remarks, Rokka bolts up from his seat ending all other conversation in his wake, the rest of the party stares at him, grabbing their plates instinctually in case he flipped the table over. The waitress in the meanwhile hands Pslam his newly purchased drink on Rokka’s dime.

Ghester: "oh he's gotten excited" says the voice Rokka: “WHO!?” Psalm: psalm is just drinking casually

Cimmorro: when rokka finally settles down, cimm just looks at him like 🤨 before looking at psalm again, "speaking of being fair, why don't you tell us about your little friend... ghester? you said you'd tell us about them, no?" Psalm: * doesn't remember what he said * "Yeah alright. I introduced Plum and you already right?" Cimmorro: he nods "introduced us... but we don't even know who or what you introduced us to" Rokka: just looking up at the sky like "....hello?" Plum: they had jumped at rokka's reaction but at the mention of their name by psalm they think they can guess what's happening now. Finn: he was gonna reply to plum but because of all the commotion his attention is focused on psalm rn, but he is bouncing his leg under the table Keva: she just has no idea what's going on

Psalm: "Your guess is honestly as good as mine." @ ghester "You want to explain? I myself am not really sure what to say." Ghester: he chuckles before speaking into the rest of your heads "hmm... well you may call me ghester. i am a companion of sorts to your lovely friend psalm here. pleasure to meet you" Rokka: "ghost...........?" side eyes psalm Psalm: "No I don't think that's quite it." Rokka: “then what?” Psalm: he just shrugs Rokka: rokka slowly nods as if he gets it but he doesnt

Keva: she jumps a bit "what the fuck" Plum: plum shivers at the sudden voice in their head. "i really thought the cult would be the weirdest thing with y'all and yet." Han: she squints her eyes "can you like, read our minds? do you have a body? are you stealing psalms...?" han leans in quizzically and stares at psalm Ghester: he laughs "no i cannot read anyone's mind, not even his. nor do i hold any control over him, i dont think he'd quite appreciate me doing it even if i could" he thinks "i dont have a body, though i feel like maybe i did once, a funny thought to have these days" Han: she pouts thoughtfully but her brain is actually empty "hmmm" Cimmorro: damn so no cock penis? Han: hate your ass Finn: im just imagining the voice of the book from nier rn for this guy Chip: YOU SHOULD THATS HIM Plum: oh my god that was the decided voice, thats so horrible Han: liam obrien haunts us everywhere

Finn: he does squint at psalm, but he thinks that ghester’s voice is quite pleasant so its not like its a huge hassle. after psalm told them about this, at least. he is a bit irritated over having thought he was hallucinating it a while ago. Plum: "doesn't sound like he's been with you for too long" Psalm: "It's been a couple weeks. Maybe a month." Plum: "wow, that's shorter than i expected. i've already known you fuckers for a week by now." Cimmorro: he just kinda looks confused towards psalm and responds to ghester "uhh huh... are you the reason why he coughs smoke or..." Psalm: he’s just blinking at Cimm like oh you saw that lol whoops Ghester: "not directly, but its related. i guess you could say im a conduit for his magic. in charge of watching over him" Cimmorro: just shaking his head at psalm and how he said they've only been together for a short time... like what is wrong with yall

Finn: "and you just.... hid this from us?" Ghester: he chuckles at you finn "thats a funny response" Finn: "im sure it is after youve messed with all our heads" bouncing his leg quicker Psalm: "What reason would I have to tell you? It's not like I've known any of your for all that long." Plum: looking at finn like you good bro Finn: "if you didnt want to tell us you should do better to keep your parasite out of our minds then" Ghester: "ooh quite harsh" Psalm: “Right? Yeesh. Why am I being put on trial here? He called you a parasite (lol)." Cimmorro: "i get the feeling that you don't wanna share more about this. but i just wanna know if you communicating with the rest of us like this won't harm us in any way..." no video game rpg sanity drain so to speak Keva: squinting like wtf does magic do to you...... is orin okay...... Ghester: "oh nothing to worry about there, my job is to keep him safe. If you are his friends then this extends to you as well, quite the opposite of harm" he turns his attention back to you psalm and laughs at his joke Cimmorro: cimm just hums at this, not entirely convinced but it's good for now Finn: just staring at you for a moment longer before looking away, expecting psalm to understand without actually saying anything because he's awful. Psalm: Psalm just 🤨 ...? and just decides to go back to his drink. Finn: finn: dear uncle, ive witnessed another cringe moment. this is number 10 in the top15 list

Psalm: "I think friends is generous :j , but rest assured that for now your life isn't being slowly siphoned away from you or whatever it is youre worried about. At least I don't think it is /s" Ghester: "i wonder why you would even put the thought out...? Psalm: "Because it's funny?" Ghester: [sigh] Plum: "thanks, i feel a lot better about that now." Rokka: just staring at u dead on sarcasm flying over "wait......HAVE U BEEN FEEDING OFF ME" Ghester: he laughs jovially at you "theres nothing on you to eat dear boy" Han: han thinks 'damn... does he mean rokka has no brains to eat....'

Han: she thinks for a bit "do you have big range? before you cannot hear us?" Ghester: "hmm from wherever our good man here is standing i can hear about 120 or so feet...granted you yell when you are far away that is" Han: "does that mean you hear through psalm? and here i thought you would be useful for undercover work" han sighs a bit Psalm: "I have to agree with you on that one. Kind of disappointing." Ghester: "not necessarily, if he cant hear i still can. i can talk to you all if you are all that far away as well even if he himself isnt close" @ psalm "and here i thought you were my one ally at this table" Psalm: :j Han: "oh hmmm... that suppose that is useful..." han thinks abt strategies.. Keva: she sarcastically mumbles "just what i always wanted, a ghost from i don't know where doing god knows what, listening in on whatever i'm doing" Ghester: he laughs Rokka: he mumbles to himself after hearing this "scary..." Cimmorro: well then he stifles a small laugh and looks at keva "what could possibly go wrong, yeah?" Keva: "can't think of a single thing" Psalm: "It's thanks to him (and plum) we didn't lose your money to Rickert though. So I'd say for now the pros are more than the cons." Ghester: "oh such rare praise" Cimmorro: "oho is he not always this nice to you?" Ghester: "tis' a heavy burden i carry" Psalm: "Stop framing it like I'm picking sides" Ghester: [laugh] Plum: "true, and he's more personable than his host," plum says jokingly Psalm: "Alright, alright already." psalm waves everyone off Han: han is like 👁 but also snorting at this

Cimmorro: "aww you poor thing... psalm be more nice... i think ghester does care about you, you know... he immediately went to me when you were unconscious." Psalm: he just rolls his eyes Ghester: "well... as far as charges go i could have been given far worse" you feel a warm presence before he snickers "try not to bully him too much" Han: "far worse?" Ghester: "hmm well imagine if i were companion to someone completely silent...now that would be a trial" Han: she ponders the previous thought "you are right (@ ghester) at least psalm is funny sometimes." Psalm: 🤨 "Okay, pester Psalm hour is over now. Hope you all had your fun." SWATS THE AIR IN FUTLITY Ghester: [laugh] Plum: they wants to say we're not even talking to you we're talking to ghester but they'll leave him alone Keva: she snorts at the try not to bully him and pops a piece of bread into her mouth Cimmorro: he smiles at the warmth but also "no bullying, not even in your honor? you are so humble, king..." and just laughs at psalm swatting everyone off Psalm: "I try." Ghester: he laughs "you'll be fun to be around im sure" Keva: "oh he likes you" like someone talking abt a pet taking a liking to someone Cimmorro: "he knows how to pick them... " he laughs and responds to ghester "if you ever change your mind on bullying psalm, you know who to call"

Plum: "you changed your mind pretty fast, huh?" @cimmorro, plum is amused they're not making fun of him Cimmorro: "oh i'll still get him whenever i can. just leaving the offer with ghester in case he wants to join in." Plum: "oh, i meant on warming up to psalm's mind demon in the first place, but true" plum says Cimmorro: "oh well he's a charmer. what's not to like" he laughs Plum: "agreed" Ghester: "flattery will get you everywhere" Plum: "hah, i guess that's true ain't it." flattery's not really their thing, but they give an amused laugh.

Finished with their food and their curiosity over Ghester for the moment sated, some of the party get up to go pay for their meals while others continue to sit and chat. As they do Han continues messing about and pulling Ghester’s attention over.

Han: she covers her mouth with her hands and whispers to herself "ghesterrrrr can you hear me? tell psalm he looks like a strawberry." then get distracted and moves her hands "actually, can you move things? or are you simply ghostly" Ghester: "i cannot. lest i am a weapon psalm has willed me into and is...well using me to move things" a beat passes "all these ghost comparisons are amusing" Han: "ooooh... maybe living weapon... cool :D" Psalm: "He's what I've been fighting with this entire time." Keva: she’s gonna get up and head to the counter where she spies people paying for their food, and as she passes psalm she kinda gives a little shrug like "i tried" to change the subject lol Psalm: psalm nods, benedict cumberbatch salute

Han: she has lightbulb moment "your weapon that seems to change every time i look? and that you never actually carry on you?" Psalm: "Yes that would be the one."

To drive the point home psalm has Ghester discreetly apperate in his hands as a short sword for Han.

Cimmorro: psalm like yosuke persona 4 pulling out his katanas at the convenience store and gets arrested for it Psalm: I ASSUME EVERYON EELSE HER JUST HAS WEAPONS HONESTLY LIKE I THOUGHT THAT Cimmorro: NO ONE WHIPS IT OUT IN A RESTO Psalm: HDG WELL I DO NOW Cimmorro: AND THEN WE HANDED PSALM CHAN OVER TO THE POLICE

Han: "ghester, can i have you?? it would be super useful to change from bow to glaive in second.." han is v excited now Finn: he’s getting up yet, being intrigued by an ever changing weapon........but he feels too awkward to actually comment on it. he thinks han's reaction is kinda cute. Ghester: he laughs jovially again "sadly you cannot have me, him and i are bound. you'll have to look elsewhere, though im flattered by the thought" Han: "aww booo" han pouts and flicks at the sword (if its in arms reach anyway) Psalm: "I'm amazed you even asked honestly." on the outside psalm is :/ but on the inside psalm is like 😏 Han: HAN LOOKS AT PSALM PUZZLED Psalm: PSALM JUST LOOKS BACK AT HER LIKE WHAT? Han: she shrugs and lets it go

Chip: the pact is marriage <3 Keva: exactly, ordained by psalm's patron Psalm: why areyou trying ot homewreck me he's happily married Cimmorro: damnn psalm already taken before this campaign even started... how can we homewreck that beautiful marriage Chip: next quest Psalm: OI

Having had their fun messing with Psalm the rest of the group get up to go pay for their meals. The party idle around deciding what to do next, as they chat Han orders and waits for an additional meal to be prepared for her to take back to the Swallow’s Perch for Ferrie and the others.

youtube

> 🎵 Village of Rynoka / Moonlighter OST

Han: oh before everyone starts leaving han is like "oh oh oh, ferrie chris insists everyone stay at the swallows perch.. its free food and bed " Rokka: "WHAT" Han: "yea :D" Finn: finn gives you this look 🤨 Han: "you included" Rokka: rokkas tail wagging at mach speed bc free roof and food epic!!! "THATS AWESOME!!! TIME TO GO PACK THEN" he quickly gets up and immediately heads home to do as he said Han: han waves bye :D.... Rokka: waving in the distance as he runs off Finn: "i ... see" he cringes at the fact that he will need a new residence soon, and that this is the most convenient option. however, he absolutely doesn't want to be stuck with the others. bad enough that they'll have to travel together for so long

The group split off their separate ways, Han sticking around to wait for her food, though Finn also sticks around to continue chatting with her about Ferrie’s offer.

Finn: finn rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "ugh. not much of a choice, is it?" he pulls up his scarf more before continuing. "if you want me to stay so badly theres something youll have to do for me first." Han: HAN LOLS INTERNALLY and cocks a hip "what might that be? dont overestimate how badly i want you" Finn: finn makes a grimace, you can tell from his visible eyes. "ive no interest in women, give that up this instant" (so full of himself he believes that) he begins rubbing his temples. "anyway, itll give you an opportunity to be closer to me, i suppose." and motions for you to come closer Han: han guffaws "what?? and i have little interest in small men that cant handle me. whats that got to do with your favour?" she seems entertained and leans in Finn: finn is confused by hans push and pull, was she hoping to charm him somehow like this? when she leans in he yanks her down more to a comfortable level (by her hair) and whispers "i will say this as clear as i can to" an insult lies in the tip of his tongue but his scolding uncle appears in his mind "you. i want you to stealthily move my coffin to that inn, once i have to leave my quarters. youre the strongest so i trust youre capable. ill reward you if need be" Chip: WHY IS THIS THE GREEN M&M COPYPASTA JUDE ? Cimmorro: P;'TLQ30TO305O-0RQOFASF CHIP ILL ILLL MAUL YOUHG Finn: finns done fighting w cimm he needs someone new to hate him Psalm: finn's moral compass is his uncle its not even an angel devil him situation, its vorde

Han: han’s entertained demeanour drops immediately as her hair gets grabbed and shes mad and even madder that she didn't catch that so she just grabs finns hand painfully as he holds her hair and whispers with contained anger without even listening to whatever finns saying "dont do that. if you want to play friendly." Finn: he winces when she grabs his hand like that. normally he would not yield just yet but a fight in direct sunlight, with their bulkiest party member, is not what he needs. he lets go of her hair quickly. "i assumed it was fine to be playful around you. my apologies." <- genuinely meaning this Han: han is silent for a second "... just not the hair" and she drops finns hand "what did you say you need" Finn: "note taken. not the hair." he rubs his hand before going on his tip toes to talk to her instead this time. "i need you to move my coffin the day i move out. but obviously i dont want the whole city to see us with that thing, if you catch my drift." taking on a neutral, dry tone. Han: han thinks briefly "consider it done. i can burrow the inns cart and hide your coffin... actually, what exactly .. is it." Finn: finn blinks a little in surprise, not having expected her to still do it after he's pissed her off. his eyes get a little bigger, 🥺 like. "you will? i.. thank you. we can work out the details closer to my departure..." Han: han is like augh 🙄 at the puppy eyes bc she is immune to them "yea, just tell when to show up" Finn: "ill let you be on your way then." going off his tippy toes and waving goodbye for now Han: han waves him bye too......... cherry wheres my takeaway Cimmorro: how yall going to explain to ferrie chris abt finn's coffin Keva: dont worry about it its his burden to bear Celebrity Guest Aqua: His jesus cross to drag

After waiting a few more minutes Han is handed her takeaway, she soon scuttles her way back to the Swallow’s Perch with the meal, heading in she notes that Cimmorro isn’t back yet either. She promptly hands the food over before getting ready to work on the clock for the rest of the day. Layne joyfully takes the lunch as its handed to him, Ferrie steals a bite from it as well while Jessep stares at it and remarks he's full.

Soon after the two’s conversation, Finn heads back to the blacksmiths to get his rapier worked on for the day, finding no need to head over to the Swallow’s Perch for the moment. The rest of the party head to their inns to prepare and transfer their belongings over, Plum and Cimmorro however make a brief stop off at Vinny’s store first to check in on the goings on and to see if he’s returned yet.

The two glance at the building once they reach it, though it doesn’t exactly look to be open. Squinting through the window they see Cole bumbling around behind the counter in the back. Cimmorro waves at her from beyond the window though she doesn't seem to notice prompting Plum to knock on the glass instead.

Cole: you see her head swoop over like : D ? before she recognizes the two of you, and comes over to the front door, appears it was locked after all, as she wrangles it open the bell jingles "hey guys!" Cimmorro: cimm goes hiya and asks her if everything's been good around Plum: "hiya, i'm just here to buy one or two things" Cole: "yep I've just been cleaning up since vinny still isnt back" she tilts her head with a sigh before turning to you a bit more chipper plum "oho... were closed but ill make an exception for my new pal" she gives you a wink and ushers you in Plum: they jump a little at that and are a bit embarrassed now. a bit red, they scratch the back of their head and say, "i mean, you don't have to. i was just lookin' for shit to buy for my mom and pop before they got here... nothing serious." Cole: "aw dont worry about it, and if its something that easy then its all good for me to let ya nose around" she smiles as she waves her hand Cimmorro: "still no show huh, don't have any news when he'll be back too?" Cole: she frowns as she walks over to the counter "no... but if he isn't back tomorrow ill go over and see if they'll let me poke my head in..." she shakes her fist "he's...got important obligations here... yknow!" next to her one of the cats on the counter meows Cimmorro: he leans over and tilts his head looking at the cat "indeed, very important obligations." he pats the cat's head. "oh but don't get into trouble trying to get him though haha... in any case i oughta be going but i'll be peeking in from time to time. let him know i'm looking for him if you get the chance though, yea? thanks cole" he gives her a smile before gesturing to plum that he'll be heading back first Cole: she folds her arms "aauugh guards and wizards.... but sure thing, i'll...twist their arms somehow!" she gives you a cheery wave as you trot off Cimmorro: he kinda just smiles while shaking his head at that as he walks on off Plum: plum waves goodbye to cimmorro. they're kinda curious because they thought cimmorro was gonna buy something but whatever.

Going off ahead Cimmorro trots off back to the Swallow’s Perch noting Vinny still hasn't been able to return to his own store just yet. Walking back he gets a quick idea and shoots off a sending spell towards him to ease his mind over Cole and Ezra’s current statuses.

Cimmorro: "yoohoo, this is cimmorro. we found cole and ezra all safe and well. they've been back at your store since yesterday. no need to worry." Vinny: after a brief pause you hear a quiet sigh of relief in your head followed by words said in a whispered hush "i cant quite speak right now but. thank you so much, i mean that genuinely" followed by the typical silence Cimmorro: cimm scrunches his face a bit but will continue going abt his merry way then

Soon after he makes his way back to Swallow’s Perch, second after Han, and settles in their shared room. In the meantime Plum takes the time to pick out a few items from the store shelves as gifts for their family, chatting with Cole once they bring them back over to the counter to purchase them.

Chip: the cat seems to stare at you for the duration of this transaction Plum: "what's this one's name?" Cole: she turns her head and scratches its head "this ones coal" Plum: plum snickers. "what? did vinny name this one before or after meeting you??" Cole: she laughs "before! before! this guy here's my senior teaching me the ropes" the cat starts purring Plum: "right, how long have you been round here again?" Cole: she stretches back thinking "hmmmmm a year ago now...probably two actually" she scratches her chin "it's a nice city though, the airs so ...fresh around here even though its so busy" Plum: "yeah it is nice. too bad i'm not sticking around for much longer, i wanted to see the ocean better " plum says, mostly conversationally. "anyways, thanks for the stuff. and good luck getting that wizard lady to let go of vinny, also." plum huffs out a laugh. "poor guy." Cole: she pumps her fist "im getting him back here at some point at least! maybe ill wrangle ezra into it..." she thinks to herself before turning back "you should head down to some of the docks soon, they're real fun for peoplewatching" she says with a smile walking over with you back to the front door Plum: [pumps fist in return] "maybe i'll do that later then, thanks. seeya." Cole: she sees you out with a wave and locks the door behind you as it jingles, getting back to...you're not sure what she was doing actually. Finn: PLUM GOT HER ROUTE UNLOCKED Han: DONT SQUANDER UR CHANCE FOR A CUTE GF Plum: i will Han: oTL

Content with their purchases Plum heads back to their inn to begin their transfer to the Swallow’s Perch. Slightly ahead of them, Psalm and Rokka return to the Hole in the Wall and get the few things they have all sorted to go.

Heading out they note that at the front desk this time appears to be Artie as opposed to the other two employees that work there, perhaps they have their hands full with something at the moment. He silently notes the duos departure and mail transference with a surly nod.

Artie: at mention of the swallow’s perch he tilts his head and remarks “good place. got decent pie there” sending you on your way Psalm: "Also, if Ruth and Esther Brimdrorvi come looking for me can you direct them down the street please." Artie: he nods silently Psalm: Nice Rokka: i give artie my farewells and wait for psalm bc wynaut

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> 🎵 A Tavern on the Riverbank / The Witcher 2 OST

The two make their way to the inn next door, after a bit of chatter with Layne he leads them upstairs and directs them to the empty rooms they have upstairs on the first floor, adjacent to Cimmorro and Han’s shared room.

Rokka: "what room are u going to?" Psalm: "I have no preference." That being said he just goes up to the first empty room he finds and opens the door. Rokka: he nods and walks a little further down the walkway and goes into the second room

The two each take an empty room for themselves, forcing those who show up afterwards to decide who they’d prefer to room with. Across the street Keva also checks out of the Out and Inn similarly asking for her mail to be rerouted. At the counter are the two twins who quickly send her on her way

Flinn and Pin: they remark that one of the dwarves there will give you beer at a discount if you tell him a funny joke, but do not specify which one. Keva: she makes a face like 🤨 but with an amused smile "okay... thanks?" and heads over to the swallow's perch

As Rokka and Psalm settle in across the way, Cimmorro in his room takes has a thought and decides to shoot off another sending spell to another important recipient.

Cimmorro: "ulle!!! it's your cimmy. i wanted to show off what i can do now ehehe i'm going to be so cool when i get back" <--- he sounds very excited Ulle: you hear a confused sound in your head in response before spluttering noises and a response "whoa i was-bleh, eating a sandwich just now you scared me! haha this is so cool hey hey mahalia ! cimmorro just spoke to me-" before it cuts off

As Han’s shuffling about and doing some menial tasks around the rooms on the first floor she overhears the sending spell and pokes her head in to spy on Cimmorro. At the same time Keva soon arrives at the inn, getting the same spiel from Layne downstairs she heads up to the first floor hallway staring at which room to pick while Han blocks one of the doorways.

Keva: she does not want to room with psalm and his spying ghost. she does not want to room with rokka bc headache. she does not want to room with han bc headache........... but she figures she has to talk with cimm anyway so........ least of the evils Chip: women and cimm united front Cimmorro: clerics who respect women

Han: "were you talking to someone?" Cimmorro: cimm plops his back into his bed, completely relaxed and thanks wee jas in his head "ohhhh... this is one of the best things you've ever let me have!! thank you, thank you, lady wee jas >_<" and then notices han come in and acknowledges her. "hm? i was casting a spell... did you need anything?" Keva: keva's standing behind han blocking the doorway, in that time she is considering whether she should change her mind Han: she shrugs "nothing, just heard u talking, got curious- AH" at keva teleporting behind her and stares at her for 2 seconds before going "im going back to chores, bye" and scuttling off Cimmorro: he just looks at you two like 🤨 Keva: she moves out of her way and says bye back after she's already left like 🤨 "any room in here?" Cimmorro: he looks at you for a moment before understanding what's going on "oh you're staying here? that makes things so much easier for me. yeah there's room, though han can be a bit energetic" he laughs and points at a spot in the room Keva: she looks back in the direction han left for a moment "yeah that's going to be fun" /s, she'll go over and plop her few things down Cimmorro: a laugh "she's like that... though she can easily be distracted lolll... i think she'll be more focused on dress making than at you, for tonight at least." Keva: keva tosses her cloak on the bed while mumbling "thank the gods for that." turning to cimm "does she work here or smth?" Cimmorro: he nods at you as he sits back up on his bed "she was already here when i arrived a few weeks ago. i'm sure she's been here for way longer" Keva: "hm. well, don't let me get in the way of what you were doing." and she gonna climb onto her bed and take out a little bit of bread to feed amos Cimmorro: he watches you do that for a sec before going "okay, i'm still beat from going around the stores earlier myself so... we can talk about what you want to do with your outfit later. give it some thought meanwhile.."

As Keva settles in, Han remembers to head over to Ferrie Chris and notify her that Finn will probably be showing up later in the week.

Han: "the pampered one will come later... ill borrow the cart to fetch him, if its ok.." Ferrie Chris: she tilts her head from where shes bent over moving crates "hm? sure whatcha need it for anyhow? Han: han shrugs "he needs some stuff moved" Ferrie Chris: she squints "how much stuff could tha' guy have...?" she shakes her head "eh 's fine, we moved most of the stuff earlier in the week anyway" Han: SHE SHRUGS HARDER

As the two of them chat Cimmorro and Psalm both begin the process of attuning to their newly bought weapons in their rooms, though Psalm also goes through the additional ritual of designating his new scimitar as his pact weapon.

Ghester: for the latter ritual ghester is silent the entire while until the end in which he lets out a sigh, quickly remarking how strange a sensation that was Psalm: "Strange how?" Ghester: he ponders the thought a moment "like growing another limb, despite the fact that i dont have any in the first place" Psalm: he nods like he gets it even though that's kinda weirdchamp

As the group settles for the afternoon Plum also arrives at the inn, the last of the party to make their transfer for the day. Receiving the same spiel as those before them they waddle up to the first floor, deciding to pick whoever is behind the closest door to them for their roommate, the result being Rokka.

Chip: for your viewing pleasure

Cimmorro: AKFHJLKASFKSAJFAKLWFKAL Han: EMO A;LKDHGKLLKDSF Keva: I'M LAUGHING THAT GHESTER AND AMOS COME WITH US NOW Chip: your government assigned leeches

Rokka: his ears twitch and he turns towards the door "come in!!" Plum: "oh it's you rokka, nice. you don't mind being roommates do you?" Rokka: he perks up seeing plum enter, "oh plummy!! hi!! i don't mind at all in fact im glad we can be roomies hehehe" rokkas tail wags in delight Plum: "ok great, what are you up to for the rest of the day, then?" Rokka: "hmm" he taps his chin and looks up to think "nothing much unless you wanna do something with me? :D" Plum: "i'm not up to anything today, so sure. got anything in mind?" Rokka: "we can work on that music box you got!!" Plum: "oh, right! forgot about that thing." plum says, and starts fishing around in their bag of holding until they pull out the ＭＵＳＩＱＵＥＢＯＸＥ Rokka: he moves next to plum and leans his head closer to them "i don't know much about fixing music boxes so I don't think i will be much help but i can cheer you on :D" he tilts his head a little "whaddya think it would sound like once it can play" Plum: "i think it'll probably play, just not very well. i'm not even sure how this thing is broken. also thanks, if you cheer me on that means i definitely have to fix this thing though." plum says, lifting the box carefully to peek at it. Rokka: "yeah i had a feeling it would sound like that too...i cant wait to hear it in its full glory" rokka goes 🥺 and speaks with a little gentler tone "i just thought its another way i could help you is all." Plum: a little embarrassed now plum just says "right..." and trails off. then after a moment of looking at the box they say, "y'know this thing might not actually be broken after all. so it only plays on a full moon, right? and i thought that was just some kind of charm attached to it for fun or somethin', probably is. but other than that it's a functional music box. think the seller thought that little catch to it meant it didn't work." plum says this all in one go without realizing because they like to talk about magical objects. "personally," they continue, "i don't think that means it's broken. i think that just makes it more special. i could probably make it so that it plays all the time though, what do you think?" Rokka: he silently nods throughout plums explanation simply enjoying them talking more than usual in one sitting, "thats a bummer we gotta wait until then for it to play but if you can make it play ALL the time that would be super cool of you plum!" he gives them a thumbs up Plum: "well i can try, anyways."

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> 🎵 Tired Rynoka / Moonlighter OST

Plum begins working away at the music box as Rokka sits attentively beside them for the rest of the day. In their own mind they decide their course of action is going to be to change the enchantment into a dual purpose one. A person will still need to wind the music box on a full moon to have it play, but it will also play whenever if Rokka is the one to wind it.

Getting to work on inspecting it Plum finds the enchantment is inscribed weirder than they’d thought it would be once they actually get a look at it. Most of the evening is spent trying to make out the creators handwriting, but it is solid progress nonetheless. After much interpreting they see the enchanted name signed near the bottom thusly " -ＲＡＮＤＯＶＵＳ / THE GREAT AND BEAUTIFUL"

Han: randovus instant fave character no lie Rokka: whoever this is i wanna fight them Plum: chip was it that the seller thought it was broken??? Chip: yeahp Plum: oh LOL Chip: zafar like what in the....not gonna ruin my day [puts on shelf] Plum: hHHHFHFG

Plum: "this guy's handwriting fucking sucks" Rokka: he makes a weird sound of agreement as he doesnt wanna admit it "mmmnnyyeeahmnn?????????" Plum: "anyways, that's all i got for you today re: this thing. might take me a couple days." plum says, without telling rokka what exactly they're intending to change about the box until it gets done. Rokka: he oohs and ahhh through the process of what plum does "neat! you got me excited now that I know i can probably hear it sooner!" his tails lazily wags in content and a little nostalgic spending time with plum like this in a room as they remind him of his siblings Plum: "yeah, i'm pretty excited too. and its fun working on something for...fun. i feel like its been forever, even though its only been like, a week. feel free to tune in next time." Rokka: "yeah! i getchaaa especially with what we've been through having some time to just enjoy like this is nice hehe" he tilts his head at plum "really?? then please let me know whenever you choose to work on it! I will be there to watch and cheer asap! thanks for letting me watch plum " Plum: "any time. i can make it a little task while we wait for the ball and all of that." Rokka: he stares at plum for a moment seeming to ponder something "plum, you're really nice. I like you, can we be friends?" he says without his usual loud and cheery tone. this time being more calm as he asks genuinely for the first time Plum: "h-huh?" plum says after a beat, suddenly turning fully red in the face. "man, rokka, why do you sound so serious... and! a-anyways! i thought we were already friends?" Rokka: "I just never-- wait what???i---" he struggles with finding words to respond as he didn't think plum thought they were friends "you.....we're friends? really? really really friends?" he looks expectantly down at plum Plum: "oh i mean i just assumed since we get along and we're stuck in this large group for now. maybe i jumped the gun there, sorry. but yeah we can be friends." plum says and scratches at their face, feeling embarrassed. "you're making me feel kinda embarrassed over here, saying "i like you" to people so bluntly, y'know." Rokka: he lets out a small gleeful laugh with a smile growing larger each second "ah...ahah!! yess!!!!!!!!" he ruffles plums hair "Sorry, I just like to be honest, hehe," now in a very great mood he cant help his wagging tail Plum: [is ruffled] "no it's fine, just caught me by surprise. i like to be blunt too 🤨 " plum says and coughs a little awkwardly. Rokka: he just grins at plum before plopping onto his bed with a content sigh followed by a mumble "my first friend.."

As the afternoon ebbs on Cimmoro also finishes attuning to his new healing knife in his room, the other two going about their business in silence and settling in. Finally he moves and stretches, and gives the knife a stare, he decides to give it a whirl and to check whether he’s been scammed or not. He tightly gripes the blade with one hand and makes a swift cut on his hand, he makes a low hissing sound as he does, alerting the other two briefly as they spot his hand bleeding for a couple of seconds

Han: han just stares like 🤨 Keva: keva was feeding amos the little snack thing she bought from the pet store, but when she hears cimm hiss, she looks over her shoulder. when she sees the blood and the knife she jumps a bit in surprise like "what the fuck?"

However, despite how quickly he made the wound, once he expends the charge, it heals just as quickly, glowing slightly for a brief moment as the skin stitches itself back together, like there was nothing there in the first place. They watch even as the blood quickly rises through the air and zooms back into his body from the wound.

Han: she stares at the immediately closing wound "that..what?" Keva: she's also staring in confusion and curiosity Cimmorro: he watches the wound heal itself, wonder in his eyes and then immediately puts his palm up for han and keva to see it stitch up like ":D SICK...!!" Han: "is magic? thats cool" she pokes the part where he sliced himself Cimmorro: he breathes out in relief "wuhahhu... looks like i got my money's worth..." when han pokes at his palm he goes like "yeah! you wanna try?" Han: "fuck yeah!" han holds out her forearm excitedly >:D Cimmorro: "it only works when i do it though" he's taken aback by your enthusiasm but likes it regardless. cimm swipes the blade on your arm, making a clean cut [will use charge] Keva: she makes a 🤨 face at han's enthusiasm and closes up the jar of treats to put it away as she says "no thanks" .... she does turn back to watch tho

Cimmorro slices again this time on Han’s arm.....blood...a second...thwoosh the body stitches itself back together immediatley and the wound is healed.

Cimmorro: "aw cmon we can do it one more time" once han's wounds begin stitching too he looks back at keva like "see? see?" Han: "oooh.." han goes over the wound with her hand "its only a bit tingly... wanna try it over actual wound?" Cimmorro: he turns to han looking confused for a sec like "... wait are you injured?" Han: "no, but keva can stab me" :D “or you stab with the knife normally. i just trust keva to make it count” 😌 Keva: "you're really excited about being stabbed" Cimmorro: cimm is wondering why han wants to hurt so badly rn and his mouth is just agape Han: "wounds are an honour" Cimmorro: "what... well, i guess?" Han: "well, more in battle than in here but still" Keva: "is that why you tend to go into things without thinking" Han: "without think-?! i think a lot, thank you !!!!" han sounds offended Keva: keva makes geralt from netflix "hm" noise "kay well, i'm not stabbing you so" Han: han pouts "your loss" then goes back to looking at cimm expectantly with her forearm to him Cimmorro: "okay, ladies.... let's...." he sighs "this dagger can do as much damage as it can heal, supposedly... so... to test?" he looks like he doesnt want to tho Han: "to test!" >:) Keva: "we already know it works. why do we have to do this" Cimmorro: "just to be sure!" Han: "to test!" han repeats Cimmorro: "you're not going to hold this against me are you? if i stab you like real stab?" cimm is starting to wonder if this is a good idea Keva: keva puts her hand to her face Cimmorro: he makes a fake stab against the air right now just to make sure han knows what she's asking him to do "like this, stab stab" Han: "huh?? why would i?? plenty of family have stabbed me, just do it" she doesn’t flinch Cimmorro: he completely sputters at that "do-what tthe ?!? the HUH?" Keva: keva's slient for a moment in shock as well and then "...gods you're so weird" Han: han tsks impatiently "i can do it myself, yeesh" takes out her own dagger Cimmorro: "no, WHAT? STOP" Keva: "(medieval fantasy equialvent of jesus christ)"

Han makes a clean slice along her forearm without flinching, taking damage, much to the displeasure of her two roomates.

Han: the dagger looks similar to the hammer shes taken out before, one solid chunk of blueish metal Keva: she winces watching it happen and is like, getting up off her bed Han: "nnnow try it" :) Cimmorro: cimm looks horrified not bc of the wound but bc of han just being so.... han. he clicks his tongue while he makes a weary slice on her already open wound, expending a charge

With a glow the wound stitches together again and the blood zips back in, the wound is not fully healed but it looks alot less bad now, closer to a papercut but long across the arm.

Han: "ooooo~" Cimmorro: cimm lets out a sigh of frustration and keeps han's arm in place while he grabs his holy symbol to cast cure wounds on the leftover cut :( Han: han lets him but is like :/ Cimmorro: cimm lightly blows and pats on her arm as if to check if he missed a spot then lets her go once cleared out. "this thing is more for emergencies, it looks like" tilting the doctor's blade a bit with his free hand Han: han wiwis for a sec Keva: keva relaxes back onto her bed once the wound is healed Cimmorro: "since we'll be travelling together for a while it's good to let you guys know what this does, though i won't use it unless i really have to... i don't like relying on things aside from what i already know anyway..." he puts it away and then looks at han like :| "no more stabbing yourself like that" Han: han goes 😤 "this was for teeeest!" Cimmorro: cimm remembers how han also just nonchalantly sliced her arm in the blood chamber and he rubs at his eyes at the memory "you do this kind of thing so often!! what the hell was that about your family!! uggh" he just keeps rubbing his eyes rn trying not to think of what he was to deal with the next coming weeks Han: han just goes 😟 but says nothing Keva: keva notices the look on han's face and says "anyway." Cimmorro: cimm stares at her and sighs and shakes his head Han: han gets weirdly shy under the attention Cimmorro: "no more hurting yourself. if that's what your family liked to do then whatever. but don't do it around me.. don't like seeing it" he says that rather harshly but there is a hint of concern Keva: keva like a sibling looking out the car window while the other kid gets chewed out Han: han is still like 😟 "no its.. they didnt.. uagh" she looks frustrated by both not wanting to talk about it and not knowing how to explain it, and just drops the thread entirely , pacifying cimm with a non commital "i wont, i wont" Keva: keva just quickly raises and lowers her eyebrows, thinking well that sounds convincing in her head Cimmorro: cimm doesn't seem convinced, but it's not like he expected his words to do anything immediately. he exhales and waves his hand around to clear the air "well... anyway. you two know what this does. don't go stabbing me back when i bring you conscious with this pls..🙄 " Keva: keva waves a hand like yeah yeah Han: han snort laughs a bit and also agrees Cimmorro: he shrugs as if to say he's just trying to make precautionary measures "nice. well okay you are cuties dismissed 👏" he hops off his bed and walks out the door peace out

Cimmorro scurries about preparing things for later on, and as sundown and evening comes the rest of the party settle into their rooms and comforts for the night. Han however, after a bit more pestering of Cimmorro, heads out after clocking off her shift, and walks off towards a familiar destination in the city.

She weaves her way in and out of a few alleys and streets in the business district before entering one of the taller buildings nearby. Despite there having been no rain recently she also spies puddles of water near the outside of the building. Shrugging it off, she heads inside and up a few flights of stairs down some interior hallways, past the doors of a couple other businesses

it’s pretty quiet in the area compared to when she’d usually come around, with the sounds of people revel making and drinking typically filling her ears. She quickly comes to the entrance of the place she’s looking for, the words ‘The Bone Pit’ scrawled nested into a carefully illustrated poster nailed to the front of the door.

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> 🎵 Through the Valley / Pyre OST

She opens the door and steps inside, finding herself in a small lobby area of sorts, connected to a larger room that appears to be a bar floor with hallways leading upstairs branching off it. Though looking about it appears pretty empty and quiet, not silent however, some chatter here and there and the sounds of things being moved echo through the place. As she stares about it appears pretty sparse, its then that she notices a whole bunch of cleaning supplies stacked around the place.

Han: she just says loudly "hellooooo?? ruel? stella?"

As Han yodels out the names, someone shuffling around the larger bar floor seems to notice and comes running over, she recognises the woman as Stella, a short pink haired girl.

Stella: “ahh sorry there!!” she gives a cutesy wave “were closed right now for -er” she blinks now seemingly recognising you “oh my gods haaaaaaan, i'm being forced to do manual labouuuur- save me pleaaase” her tone changes to an uncharacteristically whiny one as she dramatically walks over pouting and shaking a mop that she’s holding in her hands.

Looking at her Han notes she’s not in what her typically style, instead in clothes that appear to be much more shabby, probably for cleaning. Behind her she also spots a taller person, whom she recognises as Ruel, a half orc woman leaning herself against a broom

Ruel: “...stella that’s like the 5th walk in, did you even put the closed sign out front..?” shaking her head as if she doesn't even expect an answer from the former. Han: han laughs at stella "you are such a baby." she notes their dress and says "cleaning day? do u want extra hands?" Stella: she lazily throws her head back with a groan “auuugh because of the lockdown the other day the good big boss decided this would be the perfect time to scrub down the whole place” she holds the mop out in front of her “this isnt in my job description y'know, i'm going to have to get my nails redone and everything after this, its tough work looking this perfect” she continues huffing a little before actually realising you asked a question "ah? oh no way we cant make customers help out, bad look..." Ruel: while she chats ruel crouches near the floor fiercely inspecting a stain in the wood near a bar table Han: "with the amounts of fluids this place sees daily i cant believe it took you this long to do deep clean....." han grimaces a bit but its still finds stellas baby attitude funny so it gets a bit lost. "and what? there are no customers around, no one sees me here. i asked a couple hours off." Stella: "ehh well it gets cleaned regularly but i guess she really wants these bar floors finally annihilated" she grimaces at the comment before looking back at you "y.........eaaaaaah but if i got caught doing that i'd get an earful is the thing" she waves her hand noncommittally though she looks like she is internally fighting off the temptation to just let you Han: han is just holding back laughter at stella like ppfftt "im sure you can do it, youre big girl" and then walks over to ruel and opens her arms for a hug Stella: she groans again and shakes the mop menacingly at you Celebrity Guest Aqua: is this like those clubs where they gotta hose the floor every morning or is it a nicer establishment Han:

Cimmorro: hate that gif so much dawg Chip: STOPPPPP Han: I AHTE THIS GIF TOO IT PLAGUES ME Plum: what is that fucking gif lord

As Han walks over to Ruel with outstretched arms she stands up curiously staring at her with a quirked brow.

Han: "i know ure off work but one hug pleeeaaase" >_< Ruel: she stares at you again but eventually sighs and opens her arms out invitingly like 😓 Han: "Oh! i actually came over to ask. me and some ..." han makes some grimacing/thoughtful expressions "friendsss?? like saved the town or whatever and they invited us to be guests at the new ball, do you guys wanna come??" :3 Ruel: ruel just ?? confused face at the question after the hug Stella: she turns her head towards you leaning on the mop completely disbelieving "if you ya want to invite me to a party han you dont need to lie about how cool it is" she says wrly Han: she probably has let go of ruel at this point lolol "no we talked to the king and shit.." han shrugs "its in 2 week, cimm, that priest guy, i dont think i told you about him, he even drew me a dress!" she starts looking around her bag "oh i must've left it with him... well anyway!" han is still in a chipper mood "you guys and the swallows perch are my only friends around so i thought i would invite you" she does get pink at this lol Ruel: she makes a face like 😑❓ silently thinking to herself Stella: she walks over and slaps her hand across your stomach jokingly "yeah and what did the king tell you?" she seems to be a little embarrassed about the only friends statement but is way to distracted by the ridiculousness of the gala thing Han: "uuhhh he was like [han tries to imitate his voice] thank you so much, here is 5000 gold, we are doing ball in 2 weeks, invite your friends. i have the gold to prove it" han opens her heavy ass stash and shows the girls the coin

Stella looks like shes about to crack another joke until Han opens up the bag, after which both her and Ruel open their eyes wide in surprise. Stella looks back between Han and the bag multiple times in shock

Stella: "th... first of all this is like, all platinum han, and second......i...." she stops mid sentence like she doesnt know what to say out of shock Ruel: she pipes up after "........you know they did say they were gonna rehost it...." Stella: at this she seems to snap out of her awe and stares up at han grabbing your giant arm and shaking you "HAAAAAN. YOU CANT BE SERIOUS THE GALA??? LIKE WITH THE ROYALTY AND EVERYTHING??? Han: she gets shaken around "yes, those guys, i dont rlly understand the big deal, ferrie chris was also excited about them?" Stella: "YESSS HAN THOSE GUYSSS" she seems to calm down a little though still gripping your arm "okay okay well im not gonna shoot for the moon or anything so i dont care too much about them but do you know how many rich nobles go to those parties.... the connections i can make there..." she then begins shaking your arm again "and i can brag about having BEEN to the palace my gods what am i gonna wear... i need to create the perfect ensemble, andrella is NOT gonna hear the end of this from me" Han: she laughs "i thought you might like it." she turns to ruel "how about you?" Ruel: as you turn your attention to ruel stella continues babbling to herself while shaking your arm, ruel stands nearby with her arms crossed thinking over it thoughtfully "honestly i am not sure i'd be good schmoozing somewhere so high class but" and she lifts her eyes up seriously with a glint and a thumb on her chin "the opportunity. is way too good." Keva: the egirls looking to get paaaaiiidd yeeeessss Chip: stella getting ready to have 100 business cards made Keva: are they bedazzled Chip: gel pen as well Keva: the other side is sequins that if you run your hand over it it reveals other colors and a message lmao Han: wait thats genius Keva: "stella" one way, "see the stars" the other Han: UA;LHDSGKH;KHWKH3LKESGKDX

Han: she just heehees "i went dress shopping with cimm today, hes gonna help get something tailored, you want dresses too? i can pay" Ruel: her eyebrows go up "oh no no, we can get that done ourselves fine, you're already inviting us and everything" Stella: she nods next to you feverishly "han i love you oh so dearly, now even more so, but i have my pride" she lifts a fist "and its telling me to go all out on this look...." Ruel: she nods sagely agreeing with her Stella: she quickly relaxes to a more joking demeanour before continuing "i appreciate the thought though as ludicrous it is for you to offer you big lug, if this works out i wont even have to annoy you to give me free drinks" she says with a smile ^__^ Han: han giggles then stops abruptly "what!! you said you annoy me because i dont let you tie me up!!!" <- she is faux sad Stella: she lifts a finger "i can have multiple reasons to annoy you" Han: she tsks "im glad you two are alright tho 😊 when you think the deep clean will be done?" Stella: she slaps your arm with a laugh at that Ruel: she thinks a moment "judging by how powerful these wood stains are... i'd say another two days with the others helping out" she folds her arms with a smile looking back at you "i'll be sure to expect a visit now that you're rolling large..." she squints her eyes and tilts her head afterwards though thinking on it "...kind of dangerous carrying all that actually" Han: she snorts at the wood stains comment "i dont have a lot to use it on anyway but thieves would be stupid to go for me" puffs out her chest "i will visit... soon? i will be leaving soon after so yeah.." han think thonks Ruel: she laughs at the chest puffing Stella: at the last comment stella tilts her head "ohhh??...flying the coop? you gotta tell me when we can go out for drinks or something, i'll have to console poor ruel.." she mock wipes her eyes Ruel: she rolls hers and grabs a cloth, getting back to working away Han: she shrugs "dunno, got one other bossman now and he wants us to go to antessa..." han trails off thinking about routes and times "you can grab me whenever you have free day. OH ferrie chris wants have do a banger too..." Stella: "damn moving up in the big leagues of freelancing now, cross country" at the second comment her face lights up "ohhhhh yes! when you have a date let me know i'll free up the evening" she says with a >:) grin Han: han is jsut ^O^ heeho evening successful, STARTS BIDDING THEM ADIOS? "no sex, no cleaning, im useless here" pouts again

Han scuttles off back to the inn satisfied with having said her piece, making sure to tell Stella to stop slacking off as she goes. The party all spend the rest of the little of the evening left idling around and killing time before finally heading to rest and bedding down in the dark.

Notes

💎Cimmorro and 🔮Psalm attuned to their weapons of choice

🦇Finn upgraded his sword to a +1 weapon

🍺Plum got an evenings work in on the music box

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 Most of the Party relocated to the Swallow’s Perch

#recaps #210124 #this one took a little longer than the usual to get out yahaha

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evien-stark · 4 years

Text

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 128

Down in the lab that was definitely not a hospital, you were drifting in and out on top of a cold table while a scan finished. You didn’t think it was particularly necessary, but Tony was in a mood, so there was really no saying no. As JARVIS spoke a hologram of your insides- which kind of felt like a violation (even though you’d agreed)- lit up just aside you. “The blast from the PF-98 shattered your side-wall defense and fractured your ribs which then punctured your lung. Falling approximately one hundred and twelve feet with no attempt at stabilization did not help, either. You also have a minor concussion.” Damage points lit up to life in bright cherry-red, while the video through your helmet visor at the time of the fight played in a different smaller window.

“Well, that explains the pain.” Doing your best to hold your annoyance at bay.

“Second scans show your metabolic healing rate is slower than previous charting. In fact, it has been slowing by a rate of .04% every year beginning in May of 2012.”

Your eyes met with Tony’s as he half turned, one arm crossed, the other resting in the crook so he could hold his chin in his palm. 2012. How about that. “Some people can’t even heal at all, so I’ll count my blessings.” Trying to just… ignore the implications of whatever that was, sitting up- and then lying right back down with an uneasy groan. “So- I’ll just- hang out here for a while…” Closing your eyes you basked in the sound of machines humming and Tony’s fingers drumming on tech-glass. “We actually should look into an in-house medic, you know.”

His amused scoff sounded off somewhere to your left. “Yeah. Barton nearly bit off more than he could chew today. I’ll make some calls. I’ve got some people in mind.”

The white noise in the quiet was not as calming as you would have liked. “...you get an ID on that weapon yet?”

Frustration rolled over to you from him as he tried to keep it together. “I’ve been pulling data for hours. Nothing comes close to what you saw.”

While you didn’t want to be the one that asked… “Are we thinking it’s alien tech?” Because your team was now on a hunt for Hydra after learning they’d stolen alien parts. It made sense, right?

“The Chitauri didn’t have anything like this. Otherwise they would have turned us to dust the second they hit the street.” Easy conclusion to draw. These things were small- possibly easy to make. Definitely easy to carry in large numbers. But if this wasn’t tied to your current problem, that meant there were more problems. “They were beasts, they wanted to fight. Guts and glory. This would have been too easy a kill for them.”

JARVIS suddenly spoke above you, “Ma’am, you are producing alarming amounts of norepinephrine.” You didn’t need him to explain what that was exactly to know what he was getting at.

Pretending like you didn’t care, however, “It would have been foolish to assume the Chitauri were the only aliens around- what is Ultron for if not that- but does SHIELD have files on-”

“SHIELD has plenty of files. All pertinent ones to this? Deep sixed. With just enough breadcrumbs.”

The sound of a door opening on the far side of the lab preceded a familiar voice, and a gaggle of footsteps. “SHIELD used to have plenty of files.” You half sat up quickly, ignoring the pain, to see Coulson and three unfamiliar faces approaching. “But SHIELD’s time is over. Remember? Unless you’ve been hanging around Talbot a little too long.”

Tony’s continued frustration boiled over into anger, though he hid it. “Security breach.”

JARVIS answered. “My apologies, sir. It was the next thing on my list, had the both of you not ignored me.”

Pushing yourself off the table, trying to make yourself a little more presentable to your sudden guests (not particularly happy about being bombarded in your own home), you started pulling sensors off your skin and removed the band from your head. “It’s nice to see you. You should have called ahead, I would have made dinner.”

Coulson stopped just at the other end of the table. “You’ve done enough for one day.”

Tony snapped his fingers a few times at the other boy Coulson had brought with him, “You leave so much as a fingerprint on my console-” Threatening him then with a point of his finger. Said boy recoiled, holding his hands up in defense. A short man, brown hair, blue eyes; kind of unremarkable. “Don’t touch my stuff.”

“Sorry, sir.” Head down, hands held very tightly together then. Embarrassment leaked off him. He held an unsteady hand Tony’s way. “Fitz, sir. I’m pleased to meet you.” His tone was light but carried with it a Scottish accent.

Coulson sighed. “That’s Agent Fitz. Who knows better. Because we talked about this on the flight over.” He gestured to the other two women who were with him. “This is Agent Simmons and Agent Skye.”

The one called Simmons held her hand out to you, so you gave her a quick shake. She smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” More pleasant than her partner, brown hair, brown eyes and a kind smile. Soft spoken with a British accent.

Though Skye had had her arms crossed, she unfurled them to mirror Simmons. So you shook her hand next. Her smile was a little more wry. She seemed a little sharper than Simmons, darker brown hair in loose waves with dark brown eyes. “What she said.” Ah. The tough badass of the group. Message received.

You immediately put your attention back on Coulson. “There’s a lot of agents in my Tower suddenly for an organization you’re pretending is dead.”

He tipped his head back. “Well, if we’re beyond the ruse, let me make it clear. Your involvement in this case is no longer necessary.”

Irritation fluttered through you, not just your own, but Tony’s as well. Still, you were quick enough to get the first words out. “Is that right? I think you’ll remember I quit SHIELD. Working or not, I don’t take orders from you. Director.”

Tony came closer over to your side. “Director? Fury pass the sword on his way out? What’s the use in titles for an organization that’s in the ground? But- congrats by the way. Huge promotion.”

“It is.” Coulson agreed. “And it also means I don’t have time to babysit anymore. As far as I understand it, you don’t really have time to investigate this matter, either. So why don’t we just make this very short and sweet.”

Waving a hand his way, “I stuck up for you today-”

“Really? When did you do that? Around the time Talbot was telling the UN we’re still a threat?” It was strange. Coulson was usually pretty amicable, even when he was being annoying. But he seemed to be a little… hurt.

“I told him that wasn’t SHIELD. Because I know it isn’t. We dealt with this a few months back- Hill said she was going to get in touch with you-”

“She did. And now we’re here. So that ends your involvement.” Dry as ever.

“No.” Tony was only just starting. You knew this was about to get ugly. “It would have. If you people ever did your jobs. But her involvement included fending off alien tech with no way to save the people around her, while you and these baby agents were probably sitting in front of a TV watching cartoons. Why wasn’t this cleaned up before then? Where were you when it mattered?” Standing face to face with him by the end of it, eyes narrowed.

Coulson regarded him very carefully. “We’re here now.”

The heart of the matter came to a head when Tony leaned right into Coulson’s personal space. “Tell me you didn’t know that SHIELD stole from us. Tell me didn’t know about the scepter changing hands.”

Silence held the room before the answer came. “Is that what you really want, Stark?”

Disappointment was a heavy thunder then and Tony shook his head, easing back. You put a hand on his arm to steady him, and tried for something else. “We know it’s alien weaponry. And we know SHIELD must know what kind. Can you just tell us-”

Coulson zeroed in on you. “What difference would it make? If I listed off ten alien races on SHIELD’s radar, what difference would it make? You don’t have any information.”

Tony made a noise of annoyance. “That’s kind of the point, don’t you think?”

Simmons took a steadying breath and then very bravely put herself in between you. “If I may… I don’t think this is a productive means of discussion.”

Skye half turned away. “If I’d have known this was just gonna be a pissing match between SHIELD and the Avengers I would have stayed on the jet.”

This riled you for more reasons than you could count. You didn’t mean to lay into her, but… “I’m getting the sense you haven’t been an agent for very long.” She turned to look at you, almost momentarily stunned. “We’re not Avengers right now. We’re people. I’m a person who saw people die today. And a lot of signs point to that that could have been avoided- and at the same time today- my team was on a mission trying to clean up a mess SHIELD left for them that has left hundreds more people dead. And thousands more to come if we don’t figure it out for them. So I want you to listen to me very closely, Agent Skye. There’s a line of separation between being a faction and being a person. And you better figure out how to find it. Because SHIELD got real comfortable with lying for a banner cause. For the good of a team that thought it knew better than everyone else. And a lot of people suffered- and are still suffering because of it.”

A multitude of feelings poured over you. A quick sense of further embarrassment- disappointment- astonishment- but as Tony’s arm wound around you low, hand palming over your hip to pull you to his side- purposefully- there was a warm thrum of pride that rocked him.

The sound of the door opening in the back cut the tension down to size as everyone turned to see Bruce entering. He had a tablet in his hands, reading, and halfway into the room looked up finally and realized that he’d walked into a mess. “I’m uh… I seem to be interrupting something… I’m sorry.” But truly, you were grateful he had.

Fitz seemed to jolt at the opportunity to get away from this, going over to him with his hand out. “Doctor Banner, I’m pleased to meet you. Agent Fitz.”

Simmons was a close second, only after getting a nod from Coulson- probably one that meant she should step away. Which she did, gladly. Excitement bubbled off her as the two of them swarmed Bruce. “Doctor Banner…”

Their voices were drowned out by Coulson putting his attention back on you. He seemed sullen. “...we don’t know what that weaponry was. But we’re going to find out. We do know who led the attack. His name is Marcus Scarlotti. He’s with Hydra. We have a… history. We know where he’ll be headed. I’ve already sent a team to work on apprehending him.” Bending the knee finally. “I know you have your hands full. And maybe it’s taken me too long… I want it known that I appreciate everything you’ve done. Both for SHIELD and the Avengers. The both of you.”

But he looked directly at you next. “I don’t know if you’ve ever gone over the leaked case file of your SHIELD assessment. But I put several complaints about Fury’s behavior towards you. He was harder on you than most. And I know that ruined the relationship. For everyone. It was a shame. You were an incredible asset.” Realizing his SHIELD-speak had usurped what he was trying to get at- the very thing you’d just given a lecture about- he shook his head. “...an incredible person.”

It was better to stop fighting now, even if there were probably more things to say. You tried a smile on for him. “Still am. Hopefully. ...thank you. That means a lot. But I didn’t quit over the way Fury was treating me. I quit over irreconcilable differences with SHIELD.”

His nod was weak. “We’re running things differently now.”

You made sure to keep an even gaze. “I hope that’s true.”

He looked up at Tony again. “I didn’t know SHIELD redirected your trucks until Hill told me. I didn’t know about the scepter, either. Believe it or not, I’ve got my hands pretty full these days.” He drew a breath in but as careful to not let it leave as a sigh. “We’ll handle this. So that you can handle everything else. When we’re finished we’ll give you all the details.” He then held his hand out to Tony. “Alright?”

Tony let him sweat for ten full seconds before giving it up and putting his hand firm in Coulson’s. “We’re square.”

Trying your luck, and in the effort of team spirit, “I know you probably have a lot to get to. But it’s late already. Why don’t I call the team and order some dinner for everyone? You can stay the night too, if you need to.”

Coulson, for once, grinned. “And here I thought last time you said you didn’t have any vacancies.”

You held up your finger. “For criminals.”

In the back, Fitz’s hand shot straight up. “I could do with a hot meal. Please.”

Simmons stopped her fawning over Bruce for a moment to concur. “I think we’ll be alright to stay a while.”

Tony allowed himself half a smirk. “Well, Coulson, your kids seem to wanna stay.”

Coulson seemed entirely unamused. “Dinner. And that’s it. Everyone’s back on the jet after. I’ve been meaning to speak to Romanoff and Barton anyway.”

“They’re probably hanging out downstairs.” Giving them the go ahead to go find them. Coulson’s group petered off towards the exit, sweeping Bruce out with them. You pulled your phone from your pocket, stalled momentarily by Tony’s arm around your shoulders and a cautious glance your way. “What’s up?”

“Are you really alright for a group dinner?” Still worried it seemed.

You gave him what you hoped was a reassuring pat to his heart and leaned up to press a small kiss to the corner of his jaw. “I’ll be okay.” He chased you in a lean down, only getting as far as a bare kiss before he pulled back. It was then you realized one of the team had not left.

Skye was standing there, uncomfortably so, holding tight to herself. Before you could ask her if she was alright, she started speaking. “Look- I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to come off that way. If it’s still worth anything, I really respect everything you’ve done. And the stuff you guys are still doing.” She shook her head. “I know it might seem hollow now, but I know what it’s like to keep busting your ass nonstop, trying to do what’s right, even when everything else seems like it’s always against you.”

Letting the moment have a few seconds to breathe, you waited to step away from Tony. But when you did, you went to her, and held your hand out. “It’s not hollow. And I appreciate the apology. I’m sorry I went so hard on you.”

Putting her hand in yours, she returned the gesture with a firm shake. And then a wry grin. “No apologies necessary. Sometimes it’s good to get chewed out from time to time. Reminds you you’re not the only person in the world.”

---

It was genuinely nice to have such a full house for once. While there was still so much work still to do, for both teams sitting in the lounge that night, it was just nice to pretend to be normal. To be a unit. Of course as the evening went on, groups splintered off. You tried not to eavesdrop too heavily, but when Coulson went to speak directly with Nat and Clint you kept your ear turned just the right way. You definitely heard him bring up that Scarlotti character- and then were sure you heard the name Agent Morse.

Just that name alone sparked an amused interest in Natasha, while Clint pulsed feelings of bitterness. Maybe it was better not to spy on the spies, after all. Seemed kind of personal.

As the night wound down and Coulson began making it clear they had to leave, you walked them back up to the flight deck and shook hands with each agent as they passed by back into the jet. Coulson of course, was the last to board, and held your hand for maybe a little longer than normal. There was just one small thing to resolve, you felt. “Just to be clear… I haven’t been going around town badmouthing SHIELD or anything. And the stuff with Talbot I was basically forced to do. Every opportunity I’ve been given, I’ve made it clear I don’t like the way they handled SHIELD’s downfall.”

He let go of you and gave you a good stared own. But, when it was over, his smile was genuine. “I’ve never once questioned the integrity of your character. If you find yourself in a position where it’s easier to not stick up for us, don’t feel bad about it.”

“It’s not about feeling bad about it.” It was about what was right and what was wrong. SHIELD handled a lot of things poorly, but they certainly were government sanctioned, no matter how hard the government wanted to throw them under a bus to get away from everything. And they certainly weren’t terrorists.

“I know it’s not.” Saying without saying it. I trust you. He then gave you a nod. “Thanks for dinner. I’m sure we’ll be back.”

Tony put an arm around your shoulders as he stood at your side. “Don’t get any ideas of freeloading. This was a one-time thing.” His sass earned him a little swat on the butt as you dropped your arm behind him. Something that had a surprised chuckle escaping him as he reached out for a final handshake with Coulson.

It had been a nice evening, everything else considered. And everything else that had come before it. Tomorrow morning you’d have to make a statement in the media room about what had happened at the United Nations. You’d make it clear that you didn’t believe SHIELD was involved- because you had no idea what the spin was going to be on this. There had really never been a more obvious bait job, really, and you’d make it plain that anyone who bought into it was highly unintelligent.

Still… both you and Tony laid awake that night. Again. As usual. Finding sleep a little hard to come by. Turning on your side, cozying up closer to him, he held his arm around you, while his other hand rested over yours on his chest. You stared across into the darkness. “...are you still planning on coming to the Tech Convention with me?” Your keynote was in a few days. And while plans had already been laid, things were getting progressively crazy. If he had to go out with the team, his time was better served there, you were sure.

“I’m sure they’d understand if you canceled. You were attacked earlier today, if you don’t remember.” The fact that this was neither a yes or a no upset you a little.

“I don’t get to sit around. I’m an Avenger, remember?” Not quite a normal person who might take a month off after being traumatized over and over and over and over… except for that one time very recently.

“Says who?”

“Optics, that’s who. If I start ducking out every time someone throws a weapon at me, people are gonna start getting bold.” Showing that kind of weakness- saying to the world that it could count you out after every incident, big or small… that would really embolden a lot of people that didn’t need that sort of power.

A sigh escaped him, one you found yourself unconsciously mirroring without a second thought. He scooped your hand up, lifting so that he could press a kiss to the back. Then to the side. Then turning to press one to your palm. Holding there for a few seconds. Then, “I’ll go with you. It’s in a few days, right? Just a little speech on a stage. You’re good at those.”

“Just a little speech on a stage.” You assured him, half leaning up on your arm. Moving your hand from his, you brushed his hair back and then cupped his cheek in your palm, easing in just a little more to press a kiss to his lips. “Thank you.”

“I love you.” A murmur around another small touch of lips. “How’s the pain?”

You hadn’t expected him to ask this, catching you by surprise just for a second. “It’s better. I’m okay now. I think.” He was probably trying to feel out what was going on with you- it would be a blessing to know. But you had no idea, either. And… right now you really didn’t want to talk about it. Even if it was better to do so. So, very plainly, you asked, “Can we not talk about that right now?”

The way he was looking up at you, gazing at you, watching you closely- it eased you, but the small trickle of ache from him nearly broke you down. You were grateful when he clamped down on it, most likely knowingly so, and nodded. “Sure, honey.”

You didn’t want to talk about anything, in fact. And let him know, as another kiss melted into something deeper. Then you let him take the lead and ousted both your troubles elsewhere for the night so that you could focus on each other. If you hadn’t healed up already, you were sure his intimacy and care- the love that rocked you through to your core would have fixed every other problem.

---

Tony stood by your side as you read a prepared statement for the press the next morning about the attack on the United Nations. You made sure to emphasize that you did not believe the people who attacked the building and killed people were SHIELD agent leftovers. And made doubly sure to let the people know, although vaguely, that the matter was being handled and their true identities would be discovered.

You spoke about the loss of Italy’s representative, Dioli, and the several other lives lost that day. How it weighed on you, but how they would not have died in vain. You then very briefly discussed your new position as Enhanced Forces Ambassador and let the press know there would be more in the coming months about that position.

Questions came in hot and heavy and you took only a few. Nothing too damaging or hard to answer. All in all a pretty easy press conference to get through despite the matter that was being discussed.

Tony also stood right by your side a few days later when you took the center stage at the NYC Tech Convention to talk about Stark Industries’ new Intellicrops, and how they were getting closer to debut. Your scientists had been hard at work, as always, to try and better the world through technology. Most of their design was focused on making genetically modified seeds that would plant and thrive in soil hard to grow in. Land that was otherwise too dry or too polluted would not hold them back, and therefore many different types of landscapes could be converted to lush fields that would help feed people in need.

One of the many ways that Stark Industries had been trying to work for the betterment of all mankind, to be sure, something you were not shy in underlining. After you were done with your presentation, you stepped aside to actually let the people who worked on the project speak on it.

He took you to a very lovely private dinner that night. And, for once, it was nice to remember what it was like to just do this job, and not worry so much about the far bigger world saving things. A life where it was just you and Tony. Smiling across a table from each other, bathed in candlelight, while stocks soared. That kind of life. That was nice.

The following Sunday was unremarkable. The team was scattered for non-work related reasons. Even they liked to live their lives when they were able to, and when there were no current missions on the docket. Tony was in the lab with Bruce, because if he wasn’t working or with you, or he wasn’t working with the Avengers, that was the next place you could find him.

You’d stepped out in the afternoon for a coffee and thought you might grocery shop a little. Restock the kitchen. Happy offered to drive you, something you gratefully took him up on. But it was just after you’d left one of your favorite known-unknown cafes that you kind of wished you’d asked Tony for an escort instead. Because it was the one time he wasn’t with you that it seemed like it would have mattered.

Jessica Jones was standing a single foot away from you as you left the shop. Hands in her pockets. Casting hot anger and bitterness upon you in droves. “We need to talk.”

You held yourself tight as you stared her down. “What do you want from me now?” Was she there to tell you you hadn’t done the right thing, again? To guilt you? To provoke you?

“Killgrave’s alive.”

There was a sudden ringing in your ears that drowned out her angry muttering as your coffee slipped from your hands and splattered on her jeans and boots. It was hard to tell if you were breathing or not. A noise that held no form escaped you. One of equal parts panic and dismay. But it got your point across pretty well as she looked up at you again.

Fuck.

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #INY Chapter One Hundred Twenty Eight #FUCK IS RIGHT BABIES :]

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scripts4dreamers · 5 years

Text

Thin line pt. 1

Summary: Three years is a long time to be away, but Alex Summers is finally home and all he wants to do is spend time with the person he missed most, the person he wishes he’d never left, you. The only problem is, he’s pretty sure you hate him now. Characters: Alex Summers, Erik Lehnsherr, Charles Xavier, Hank McCoy, Sean Cassidy (In later chapters), Calvin Rankin aka “mimic”, Raven Darkholme Pairings: Raven x Hank, Charles x Erik, Alex Summers x reader, Calvin Rankin x reader. Spoilers: bits and pieces from First Class, completely canon divergent though Warnings: Swearing, mentions of anxiety, death and war (in later chapters)

Author’s note: I needed to write for Alex again, I just absolutely love this character. I’m planning on this being a series so this first chapter is really just meant to be an intro into the situation. For this story the reader’s powers are two fold, she has biokinesis so she can heal and control the human body, her own and others, plus she can create forcefields that absorb power and protect whoever is behind the field from harm. Her X-men name is Guardian and the empathy link will be explained in later chapters!

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Gravel crunched under the wheels of Alex’s car as he turned into the driveway, so familiar and yet so alien all at once. The mansion loomed before him, every bit as grand and menacing as he remembered, and he felt his heart jump into his throat. It felt different, being back, being so close after so long. Instinctively, Alex pulled up outside the front door, parking his car where he always had without so much as a second thought. It was only once the quiet rumble of the engine faded out and there was no sound besides the pounding of his heart that he stopped to really think about what he was doing.

Three years. Three years of forcing himself to stay away, forcing himself to keep moving, looking forward, never back. Five years of lonely nights and sharp, stabbing pangs of homesickness. Three years without you and now...what? He gripped the steering wheel tight, suddenly hit by the urge to just pull away and head back out onto the road as fast as he could. Five years. He didn’t even know, for sure, that you were still here, a voice in his head whispered. Maybe you’d left, maybe he’d walk in to find an empty house with a note saying you’d all left for Canada. Alex touched his sternum gently, at the point where he could still feel your energy. You were calm, he sensed, and safe, and closer than you’d been in years. The thought alone made Alex ache with something a lot like longing. Oh yeah, you were still here, the question was, would he really be able to face you again after so long? How could he explain his absence? How could he possibly justify leaving the way he did?

The whiskey burned its way down Alex’s throat like a lick of flame, the closest thing to fire he’d felt in years, and he relished it. As he slammed his empty cup down the bartender moved to refill it, well accustomed to Alex’s preferences. The bar itself was dark and a little out of the way, but it was cheap and warm, and you insisted they played the best music in town, which is why you’d dragged him and the others here in the first place. As an added bonus, the bartender was famous for not checking IDs, so the fact that no one in your little party except Hank and Raven were technically old enough for the drinks you’d been ordering had never been an issue.

That night it was emptier than usual, with just the familiar members of Charles Xavier’s little crew and a few older locals sitting at the bar, discussing the state of America today. You’d pulled Raven onto the open space near the jukebox that served as a dance floor a while ago and Alex watched, mesmerised, as you laughed and twirled Raven around to the beat of some song he’d never heard of but knew you loved. In that special place near his heart, where he could feel the gentle ebb and flow of your emotions, he registered that you were drunk. He wasn’t, not yet, but just the feeling of your intoxication pounding through his chest was enough to make his head spin.

Nights like this were especially hard for him. Whatever bond you had seemed to increase in strength when your inhibitions were down, bombarding Alex with a veritable sea of feelings and experiences, most of which weren’t entirely his own. He knew you felt the same way, that right now you would be able to feel the whiskey sliding into his bloodstream and the residual sting of the day’s failures still occupying his mind. It wasn’t a one way line, you always reminded him, you were just as much a part of it as he was, but that night Alex felt...different. He felt like a raw nerve, exposed and vulnerable with nothing protecting him from the rush of unchecked emotions in his own mind, let alone yours. That night, your emotions weren’t the problem, his were. Hence, the whiskey.

With enough of it, he’d be able to drown it all out for a while, all the thoughts and feelings and regrets that kept swirling around in his brain, until nothing existed except you and him. You caught his eye from across the room, responding to the spike in sadness you must have felt by tilting your head to the side and shrugging slightly. Alex gave you a reassuring smile and shrugged back. He could tell that you were hesitant to let it go and that part of you was contemplating calling it a night for his sake, but he shook his head and raised his glass to you, mouthing ‘I’m fine’ and tried to back it up with a more believable grin. You pressed your lips together but nodded once and turned back to Raven and Hank, who had joined the dance party while you’d been looking back at him. You’d caught the attention of a group of local boys, Alex noticed. They were standing at the bar, looking over at you, just like he was, and whispering amongst themselves. From where he was sitting, Alex could hear two of the boys egging the third on, daring him to go over and talk to you or ask you to dance. He sighed and downed his drink, feeling a grim sort of pleasure at the way it scorched the back of his throat. In moments like these, Alex was endlessly grateful that you couldn’t actually read his mind. The last thing he wanted was to have to explain why being here, watching other boys stare at you hurt so badly, why he wanted to wrap you up and take you somewhere far away, where no one but him could see and touch and feel you.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw the boy tap your shoulder nervously, and he had to look away before you even turned around. There were a lot of things Alex could stand seeing, but you dancing with a boy that wasn’t him...yeah,

that just wasn’t one of them. He had no right to be so possessive, of course, you weren’t his girlfriend or anything, he thought bitterly. Nope, just a girl he’d known for a few years now, who he had a weird empathy link to and who he’d been hopelessly pining over ever since he’d met. Just the closest thing to a family he’d ever actually had. Not his place to be upset, not his place to be jealous. Alex downed another glass of whiskey, definitely most of the way to drunk now, and wondered absentmindedly what would happen if he just got completely shitfaced and decided to make a massive scene. Maybe then you’d have to help him up and take him home, and that little local boy would have to take his dirty paws off you and never ever put them back. The thought alone made Alex smile, even if he knew he’d never actually do it.

“Bartender, another one of these please,” Alex said, committing himself to a long night of drinking alone.

After two more glasses of whiskey, time stopped making any sense and, before Alex knew it, he was back in the car, laughing at something he couldn’t remember as Erik lifted them back to the mansion. The night was mostly a blur with only a few really memorable moments, like twirling you around on the dancefloor and singing along to the music at the top of his lungs. Hank’s arms snaked around his shoulders at one point, at another, he’d lifted Raven high into the air and brought her back down, screeching with laughter. He remembered the local boy sulking as you hugged Alex, and then the red hot hand of fury gripping Alex’s stomach as the boy leaned in to try and kiss you some time later. Alex smirked to himself as he remembered that. You’d turned your face away and left the boy to dumbly press his lips to your cheek instead, classic.

Now, with the hum of the engine filling up the surrounding space and the cool night air pumping through an open window, Alex could feel himself sobering up, bit by bit. You were pressed against his side, your head bumping up and down against his shoulder as the car moved. The moonlight caught your face beautifully, reflecting off the shine in your hair so well that, to Alex, it almost seemed like you were glowing. Your smile made something in his stomach twist and he had to force himself to look away before you could catch him staring.

“You looked like you were having fun though,” he heard Raven say teasingly, joining in on her conversation with you, “that local boy-what was his name?”

“Who, Ryan? Pfffft.” you responded, rolling your eyes, “Oh please, as if.”

Alex nodded along, not trusting himself to speak but still endlessly happy with the way this conversation was going.

“Why not, he was cute.” Hank agreed.

“He was boring,” you corrected, “and he smelled really bad.” You stretched and sat up, making Alex frown at the loss of contact, “Plus, what kind of loser would I be having my first kiss in some dingy bar?”

“First kiss?” Raven repeated incredulously. Still silent but suddenly far more awake than he had been a moment ago, Alex couldn’t help but be intrigued, leaning in to follow the conversation better, “Did you say first kiss?”

In the half light, Alex could have sworn that he saw you look over at him for a moment and blush.

“Yeah, so what?” you eventually said, trying your hardest to sound nonchalant, “It’s not like I had a bunch of opportunity for kissing at the group home or anything, they kept me locked up most of the time.”

“Yeah but, you’re so hot.” Raven replied, trying to act like the mood in the car hadn’t taken a definite turn, “So I just thought…” She trailed off into silence.

You leant back into your seat and stared down at the brand new pair of boots you’d bought just for that night and Alex felt his stomach twist. Alex could feel your embarrassment like a knife in the heart. He wanted to do something, to say something to make it better.

He cleared his throat, “Well, you’re not missing much,” he finally said, “my first kiss was with my best friend’s seventeen year old sister back when I was in the eighth grade. I thought she was trying to swallow me whole.”

You laughed. So did Hank and Raven. Alex was even sure he saw Erik crack a smile, but none of that really mattered. What mattered was that you laughed, and you looked at him with a smile and bumped his shoulder with yours in that comfortable way that meant thank you and, for a moment, everything was exactly the way it should be in the world.

“We should probably talk about how fucked up it is for a seventeen year old to hook up with a fourteen year old though,” You teased.

“Oh yeah, that’s all kinds of gross,” Hank agreed.

“Why’d you even agree to do that?” Raven asked.

“Hey! I was being nice here, why am I suddenly being interrogated?”

The conversation soon turned to other topics and you leaned back against Alex, resting your head comfortably on his shoulder. He could feel that you were still a little pensive, like something was sticking in your mind but, as usual, he couldn’t tell what exactly.

“Hey,” he whispered, soft enough for only you to hear, “seriously, don’t worry about it. No one thinks any less of you.”

You hummed noncommittally and worried at your bottom lip before responding, “I know. I just can’t help but feel like I’m missing out. Maybe if I was, I dunno, normal-”

Alex turned your head to face him, cutting you off mid sentence, “Y/N, don’t even go there. You’re gorgeous, okay? And you’re smart and funny and stupid brave. You could never be normal and honestly, that’s probably the coolest thing about you. It’ll happen when it happens Y/N/N, I promise. He’s out there somewhere.”

For a moment you just looked at him, your eyes wide, as though you were seeing something you’d never seen before. You smiled gently at him and Alex felt his heart stutter. Suddenly it felt as though you were the only two people in the car and the urge to kiss you became almost overwhelming.

“Thanks Alex,” you said softly, breaking the spell and resting your head on his shoulder again, “I hope you’re right.”

“I am.” he promised.

And he believed that, he really did. Alex knew that, if anyone in the world deserved love, real lasting love, it was you. And that was what he wanted, for you to find that love, even if watching you get it would break his heart.

The rest of the drive back to the mansion was uneventful and, as you all piled back into the entrance hall and started heading to your separate rooms, there was an air of hope and camaraderie between the four of you that stretched beyond the bounds of you all living in the same house. You were a family, kind of. The best family Alex had ever had at least. He walked you to your door in silence, relishing in the quiet connection you had and wishing he could just live in that connection forever. But there was a tension, something lurking just beneath the surface that he couldn’t quite name. You turned to face him, leaning against the wooden frame of your door and smiled gently. There was something dangerous in that smile, in the way you crossed your arms over your chest and studied him with your eyes, so effortlessly at ease with him, so sure of his acceptance. It made Alex consider...things.

He wasn’t stupid, he knew there was something there with you, something real. Or, more precisely, something that could be real if he was brave enough to take the jump. When you were connected to someone the way Alex was connected to you, you could tell these things. He knew that there were feeling that you shared, deep ones. It would be so easy to lean in, to close the distance between your bodies and just…. But there were reasons, good reasons why he shouldn’t do that. He was violent, dangerous. He’d killed a man, more than one at this point. He wasn’t a safe bet, he couldn’t always control his outbursts and he was terrified of the damage he’d be able to do to you if you were ever in close range when he exploded. Beyond that, he’d never had a relationship last more than two months. He was a horrible boyfriend, he wasn’t even a particularly good friend friend. He wasn’t sweet or open. He wasn’t doting and loving and stable. He was bad. He was dangerous. He broke things. He- you shifted slightly closer, not much, just a nearly imperceptible lean towards him that made Alex’s breath hitch in his throat, his train of thought dying off in an instant. Oh...Oh.

“Thank you,” you started quietly, “for coming out tonight. You know I love Ray and Hank but,” you shook your head, your eyes darting from his eyes to his lips.

“But?” Alex questioned, his voice deeper than he’d expected.

You smiled and rolled your eyes, somewhere between fond and teasing, “Really, Alex? Really?”

He smirked and leaned in, feeling a swell of pride at how quickly that made your heart stutter. There was just enough alcohol in his system to keep Alex from pulling away, from ruffling your hair and calling you a twerp or an idiot or something, from doing just about anything to put some much needed distance between your body and his. Any other night, he’d already be halfway down the hallway, heading back to his room like a coward, but not tonight.

“What?” he teased, “it’s a genuine question isn’t it? How were you going to finish that sentence? You love Ray and Hank but….?”

It was a game, one you’d been playing for a while now. One that Alex knew how to win. He would never break, he knew his limits, he knew when to walk away, he promised himself. A voice in the back of his mind whispered that the right time to walk away was about three sentences ago, but he ignored it, too drunk on the rush that was feeling your energy and his swirling together like this, all excitement and nerves and adrenaline. It was like a drug to him.

In a move that made his heart skip several beats, you moved even closer, so close that he could smell the remnants of your perfume and your nose was just centimeters from his. As your Y/E/C eyes stared straight into his, Alex allowed himself to consider the possibility that he may be outmatched. This was your game, your territory, and he was completely under your spell.

“But..” you said slowly, letting your eyes drift purposefully to his lips for just a moment too long to be considered accidental before bringing them back up to meet Alex’s gaze. There was an earnestness in the way you looked at him, a sincerity that made Alex feel strange and off balance, like maybe this wasn’t a game at all, “but they’re not you.” you finally said, “I love them, but they’ll never be you, they’ll never mean...what you mean, to me.”

After your admission it seemed for a moment as though you might look away. Something in the angle of your head shifted and suddenly Alex was gripped by the fear that, if you looked away now, you’d never look back. He’d lose that promise of something, some future with you that it seemed like you were offering. If he didn’t act, he was sure he’d lose you forever, so he did the only thing he could do.

In the end, it was those damn eyes that broke him. He cupped your cheek with his hand and pulled your lips to his, pouring every ounce of feeling he hand into a kiss that he’d been dreaming of since the day he’d met you. You gasped into his mouth, but melted into him, grabbing hold of his shirt to pull him closer, like you were afraid he might slip away. The kiss felt like a firework the size of an atom bomb was exploding in front of Alex’s eyes. It felt like that time Banshee had taken him flying. It felt like stepping out of prison as a free man. It felt like-

When you eventually broke apart, breathless, shaking and stunned, Alex had you wrapped up in his arms. Neither one of you could say for sure how much time had passed, but it felt as though, in that time, something monumental had happened. The earth had shifted slightly on its axis and now everything felt strange and new. You stared at one another for a moment longer, caught up in the surreal moment, but then you slowly started to release his shirt and Alex let you slide out of his embrace.

“Not bad for a first kiss, huh?” Alex teased, earning him a fond glare.

“Oh go, this is going to make you a complete ego monster, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah,” he agreed, “100%. You really fucked this one up Y/N/N.”

You rolled your eyes at him and, almost nervously, pressed a quick kiss to the tip of his nose. At almost the exact same moment, you both started to laugh, resting your foreheads against one another as Alex peppered your forehead and temples with kisses. You whispered a goodnight into his ear as you pulled him into a tight hug. Alex pulled you close and buried his face in your hair, breathing in the smell of your perfume as what felt like a helium balloon or a flooding river full of unexpressed but understood feeling whirled between you. He felt light, lighter than he’d felt in years and so damn lucky that it made him want to cry.

“Promise we’ll talk tomorrow yeah?” you asked, with one hand still resting on his chest, “About, all of this. I-uh-I have some things I want to say, and I want to make sure I get it right.”

“Yeah, of course,” Alex promised, kissing the worry lines between your eyebrows to smooth them out, “tomorrow.”

As the door to your bedroom closed you shot him one last smile, so bright and nervous and full of hope that Alex felt the earth shift beneath his feet again. He would never forget that smile, he realised with some surprise as he made his way back to his own room. Until the day he ran out of breath, or luck, or time, or whatever it was that put him six feet under, Alex Summer would never forget the way you’d smiled on the night he’d kissed you for the first time.

Of course, there had never been a conversation the next day because, by the time everybody had woken up, Alex was long gone. He’d packed up his stuff and headed out on the road that very same night and, for the last three years, Alex had been fighting with both his extreme guilt and the nearly overpowering desire to see you again in equal measures.

“Okay, Summers,” he said to himself, “time to face the music.”

With palpable effort, Alex forced himself out of the car and headed toward the mansion. Despite his pounding heart and the creeping feeling of anxiety and dread in his stomach, some small part of Alex was excited to. No matter what happened next, he was home. No matter what happened next, he was closer to you than he’d been in years and that meant he was doing alright. As the wooden doors swung open beneath his hands, Alex couldn’t stop the smile from creeping onto his face. The entry hall looked exactly how he remembered it, marble floors, pot plants and that grand wooden staircase he knew so well, all ready to welcome him back.

“Alex!” Charles greeted with a smile, rolling over and shaking his hand, “I was wondering if you were ever going to come inside, welcome back.”

“Hey, professor,” he said, “it’s good to be back. Listen, about me leaving the way I did-”

Charles held up a hand to silence him, “No need, there’ll be plenty of time for that later I should think.”

“Alex?” a familiar voice chimed in, “Oh my God, is that really you?” Raven threw her arms around Alex’s neck and pulled him close, laughing incredulously, “We weren’t sure we’d ever see you again.” she finished as she pulled away, scanning his face with her eyes like a concerned older sister checking for wounds.

“Did you say Alex, Raven?” Hank asked, emerging from the kitchen with a banana that he promptly dropped upon seeing the younger man, “Shit.”

“Hey, Hank.” Alex smiled, clapping Hank on the back as they hugged, “good to see you, man.”

“Yeah, you too.” he responded, “Does Y/N know you’re here?”

Alex’s stomach dropped a little as the air grew thick with tension, “Uh-no, not yet at least.”

Hank pressed his lips together, like he wanted to say something, “Been a long time, Al.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed with a breathy laugh, “yeah, I know.

For a moment it looked like Hank was going to say something else but, right before he did, Alex heard the voice he’d been trying, in equal parts, to hold on to and drive away for five years coming from the second floor.

“Professor!” you called, sounding worried as you raced down the staircase, “Professor, something’s wrong, it’s Alex he-”

You stopped dead. Alex felt your shock like a tidal wave, crashing through your shared bond and threatening to drown him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do anything but stare. You had frozen in the middle of the stairs, one hand still on the bannister and the other pressed to your chest. Your eyes clung to his and Alex felt himself tear up. You were just as beautiful as he remembered and now, with you so close after so many years, all he wanted to do was pull you into his arms and never let go. Somewhere in the back of his mind Alex was aware of the tense faces of Hank, Raven and the professor, but they felt muted, like you were the only person who was real. The rest were just photographs or holograms.

“Hey, Y/N,” he said eventually, raising a hand in greeting, “Remember me?”

All at once he felt something in you snap and the real world came rushing into focus again. Your eyes welled up with tears and Alex was hit with a rush of pain, grief, excitement, happiness, relief, disappointment, embarrassment and a million other emotions he couldn’t even hope to identify as they poured through the empathy link directly into his chest. Alex felt his face fall and he stepped forward, hoping to explain himself, but he was cut off by another, unfamiliar voice.

“Babe, you alright?” the voice, with was attached to a dark haired man that Alex had never met, asked, appearing on the staircase behind you and wrapping an arm around your waist, “you just ran off.”

Alex felt like he’d been sucker punched. The wind was knocked out of his lungs and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. Alex stared at the man’s arm, feeling like he’d been struck dumb, all the elation and happiness of being home suddenly vanishing into nothingness. There was something vindictive in the way you looked at him then, but also something sad. You pressed your lips together but didn’t speak, glancing away from Alex and crossing your arms protectively over your chest.

“Ah-” Professor Xavier chimed in, “yes, Alex, this is Calvin Rankin, he joined our staff about one year ago. Calvin, this is Alex Summers.”

Calvin, who had up until then, seemed curious about Alex, now looked positively murderous and tightened his grip on your waist almost imperceptibly. Alex tried to swallow his sadness and put on what he hoped was a convincing smile.

“Nice to meet you,” he lied, walking up to shake Calvin’s hand, “I’m Alex.”

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unforestalledreturn · 4 years

Text

Atsui Springs- Part 2

|| Fan fic part 2/5? Synopsis: After discovering his two best friends doing the dirty on his own bed, Genesis’ world is turned upside down. Now, the two of them have a lover’s getaway planned at Atsui, an elite resort famed for their hot springs. But not everything appears at it seems. And Genesis inexplicably finds himself crashing the getaway but discovering a truth hidden right beneath his nose. Featured ships: My guilty pleasure, OT3. NSFW: Yes, but not in this part Word Count: 2621

Part 1: Uninvited Guest

Part 2: Awe “I believe the reservation is under Hewley, miss.” Genesis said warmly, leaning over the desk at the kiosk. The receptionist nodded, fingers clacking against her keyboard. She adjusted her glasses as she read the screen.

Suddenly, she paused. She squinted, and then her smile widened, her posture a little straighter. “Of course, sir. I believe the rest of your party has already checked in. If you do not mind showing me your ID, I can get your room key.”

As requested, he handed over the standard-issue SOLDIER ID from his wallet.

Lightly touching the edge of the card, the receptionist swept over the details before nodding. “Thank you, Mr. Rhapsodos. Our honeymoon suite is the largest and most accommodating room we have to offer here at Atsui Springs. In addition to your private hot springs, you have available to you our banquet-styled dining experience catered—”

“Genesis?” A voice from across the lobby cut through the receptionist’s orientation.

Turning, Genesis found none other than Sephiroth on approach. Padding across the tranquil, zen-themed lobby, he was something of a sight. He towered over the other guests, and even dressed in a simple robe, he commanded attention. The robe itself was something of a feat in and of itself. It must have been custom made. And it suited the silver elite too well. It fit his form, the fabric parting at his mid-chest. Really, it was no different from his usual uniform, but Genesis found he was also staring.

Stopping just shy of the awestruck redhead, Sephiroth said, “…You could have texted us you were on your way.” Side by side, the difference of height was exceptional. Even with the thick-soled boots Genesis often wore, the redhead had to look up to speak properly.

With an uneasy smile, he shrugged. “Surprise~” It was certainly a surprise for him, at least. Genesis shook his head. “I was just getting checked in… oh.” Turning back to the receptionist, he gave a sheepish nod of an apology.

The receptionist, however, seemed entirely content, a dreamy sort of expression directed towards the silver elite written on her face. But with eyes on her, she cleared her throat. She handed over a card key. “Please do enjoy yourself Mr. Rhapsodos, and you, Mr. Crescent. I am sure the three of you will have a splendid time. Naturally, if there is anything we can do to make your stay more pleasant, please let our friendly staff know.

“Thank you,” Sephiroth said, but never once looked at the woman. Instead, he gripped the upper arm of his redheaded companion that took no prisoners, save one. Genesis found himself tumbling behind Sephiroth to keep up as he was pulled across the lobby floor.

“S-Seph, hey! I—” Genesis tried to say, but by the time the complaint arose, the two were in the elevator, the doors shutting in front of them.

Wrenching his arm free, Genesis rubbed the offending spot. “What is with you…” He grumbled, flashing an irritated look, but Sephiroth was stoic. His gaze did flicker up to where he once gripped Genesis.

“…Did I hurt you?” He asked quietly.

Puffing out his cheeks, Genesis stopped rubbing, and instead crossed his arms. “… You didn’t.” Letting his arm drop, the redhead sighed. “I’m fine.” Between being a SOLDIER and his less than savory choices in bedmates, his body had long since been taught what hurt meant.

If only his heart could undergo the same transformation.

Sephiroth did not move. His face grew pensive. Suddenly, it seemed as though there were a thousand words right at the tip of his tongue and no way to convey them all. “… Angeal was concerned you would not come.” His eyes rose to meet Genesis’ own. “He has spent a long time planning this.”

Teeth gritting, Genesis was silent. Exactly what was that supposed to mean? Was it some veiled malcontent of him being there? One could only suppose. Sephiroth must have been looking forward to getting some time away from him. He must have looked forward to spending time with his precious Angeal.

“Don’t worry. I won’t spoil your little getaway. Although, really, if you did not want me here, you should have just said something.”

“What?”

Ping

The elevator doors opened. Genesis stepped forward but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. The redhead hardly looked back. “Come on, Geal’s waiting. Let’s go put his worries to bed, hmmm?”

The touch turned into a grip, tightening for a moment before Sephiroth let go.

Silently, they walked down the hall. On one side, there were several rooms. One the other, there was a massive window that looked directly into the sloping mountainside where wafts of steam coiled into the air. The establishment itself was unusually tall, irregularly shaped as it was attached directly into the mountain itself at varying elevations. Each elevation sported a unique kind of hot spring, the higher up, the more extravagant. And they were on the top floor. Honestly, the catalogs simply did not do it justice.

It was surreal. All the years Genesis had talked about Atsui Springs, all the time he had spent as a youth making grand plans for a getaway, all the material he had collected and fantasized about hardly did it justice. It had all started when he was a child. Once, he heard his parents had gone, and it had become the topic of every dinner party. It had become mystified and intriguing. His pace slowed to admire the view. Regal, simplistic, there was something about the minimalist style that freed his headspace. Hints of extravagance were in the quality of the wood pillars, the floral paintings that spread across the walls. The mountain itself was… so imposing and majestic.

Soft fingers brushed against his waist to get his attention. It was only then Genesis realized he had fully stopped.

Looking at Sephiroth, Genesis was grateful he wore makeup. The look on his companion’s face was… indescribable. His head was cocked to the side, inexplicably gentle. And his lips curled faintly upwards. It caused Genesis to blush furiously, the only visible evidence at the tips of his ears.

“You came a little later than we thought, but there is still a lot of food from the banquet. You… didn’t eat much at lunch.” He said quietly.

Genesis swallowed. It was difficult to think straight. His mouth felt dry. And when he failed to speak, Sephiroth quietly chuckled, turning to continue leading the way.

Blankly, Genesis followed. “Oh… I … that’s what the receptionist was saying.” Although the thought of food was… difficult, especially when his stomach was filled with a fluttering sensation that he could not expunge no matter how he tried.

At the end of the hallway, Sephiroth stopped at the door, opening it with his keycard. And if Genesis was in awe before the natural scenery through the window, he was completely struck by what he saw through the doorway.

It was… an old-styled Wutain room, furnished with a large table that came to about his knee and plush pillows to serve as seating, a massive array of foods of every kind placed along the center. On the walls, beautiful calligraphy made foreign characters look as though the artist had merely danced with the ink before it was hung on the wall. In the back and to the side, there were sliding doors, one to the bedroom, and the other to a catwalk that connected the room to, what geographically should have been the mountain face. Instead, it was a zen garden, full of exotic plant life and tranquil water features. Just out of view, there was a winding stone path that undoubtedly led to the hot springs above.

“Genesis, you made it!” Angeal called enthusiastically, approaching the redhead who had been caught in a moment of silent stupor. Angeal’s voice brought him back to reality some, but a large part of Genesis felt he was floating.

He nodded, smiling happily. “Yeah… Its… It's beautiful here.” Genesis remarked, finding his eyes devouring the room all over again.

A broad smile breached Angeal’s features, his shoulders falling in unspoken relief. Gripping both of Genesis’ shoulders in his massive hands, he said, “Good, I’m glad you like it. Come on, sit. Have something to eat, its delicious.” Angeal said eagerly, corralling Genesis into one of the soft cushions on the floor.

Playfully swatting at Angeal, Genesis laughed, “Ok, ok. I’ll try something. Just let me get my shoes off.” Eagerly, the redhead began working off his combat boots, the laces being somewhat of a necessary evil. While difficult to get off, it was so one did not have their shoes suddenly come off during battle. Now, it was a nuisance.

By the time he got them off, Genesis found a little platter before him, a smattering of different fish, deep-fried vegetables, even a small bowl of soup was available. Flashing a grin Angeal’s way, the redhead bit his lip.

“Damn… it all looks so nice.” Biting at his nail, Genesis whined in deliberation. “Come on Geal, you know I’m bad at making decisions. Pick something for me.”

Chuckling, Angeal sat down beside Genesis, legs crossing. “I liked the soup. Might be easy on your stomach, since you haven’t been feeling well.”

Blushing softly, Genesis picked up the bowl in the palm of his hand. Really, nothing escaped Angeal’s eye. Stress ate away Genesis’ appetite more than anything else. Bringing the steaming liquid to his lips, he tilted his head back for an experimental sip. Just as Angeal had promised, it was delicious. Greedily, the redhead swallowed down the rest of it, a thin line of excess trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“Hnn…” He sighed happily. The warmth pleasantly spread throughout his body. He had always been one to enjoy the heat. From hot summer days to cranking up the thermostat (much to the dismay of his roommates), it had always been relaxing to him.

“Have you been to the springs yet? Are they hot?” He asked, selected a piece of sushi to dip into a sauce before bringing it to his mouth.

Angeal shook his head, but it was Sephiroth who answered.

“No. We were waiting.”

Looking up, mouth partially agape, Genesis frowned. “..oh… I’m… sorry.” He said softly, putting down the half-eaten roll.

“We can go now if you would like,” Angeal suggested. “There is a washing station out in the garden, actually.”

Perking up, Genesis nodded enthusiastically. Pushing himself off the ground, the redhead approached the sliding door that had been left open to enjoy the natural temperate weather of the season. It was not long before the three were making their way through, following the winding stone path that brought them around the water feature before diverging. One path led further up the mountain, where telltale steam indicated the pool lingered. The other came to an end quite shortly, a bamboo pole pouring an endless stream of water.

While Genesis stripped off his uniform, Angeal started to slide off his own robe before pausing, looking over to Sephiroth.

“… Would you like help to tie your hair?” He asked gently, moving closer to the silver elite.

Blinking, Sephiroth hesitated, lifting a hand to lightly touch his bangs in thought. While beautiful, it was no secret among the three that it took care. And when wet, it took ages to dry. Gradually, he nodded, turning his back towards Angeal to offer him access. It was no secret either that Sephiroth was particular with whom he let touch it either. Or touch him at all for that matter.

Silently, Genesis slipped into the stream of water, letting the surprisingly warm water rinse over his body. Half-turning his body away from the two, the redhead did his best to ignore it. It was too soon to be feeling this way again. It was too soon for his fantasy to end. But from the corner of his eye, he caught Angeal’s gentle sweeps as he gathered the silver strands. He watched as his friend took his time too, softly combing through the scalp of Sephiroth’s head, offering a soft, affectionate massage.

It was entirely too natural. The way that Sephiroth’s eyes rolled into the back of his head before closing, how Angeal seemed to completely melt him, fingers lightly pressing against his temples.

Genesis went to scrub his face, finding a small stone bench where soap, sponge, and shampoo were placed in a neat dish. He took the sponge and began working on removing the concealer, eyeshadow, and mascara. The product splashed at his feet. And in their wake, instead of seemingly flawless skin, there were… freckles. On his cheeks, his shoulders, even his ass was a breeding ground for them. But they were not the only things he hid from view.

Bruises, some old, some new mottled across his skin. Some were purple, others were green and sickly. Around his neck, a reddish one had started to form.

Ping.

A sharp chime of a cellular device went off. All eyes looked around, but it was Sephiroth who frowned, reaching into his inner sleeve to withdraw the offending PHS. His feline eyes narrowed hatefully at the screen. Angeal had just finished pinning up his hair in a loose, overlapping loop, but Sephiroth could not have looked more sour.

“… I will be back.” He said coldly, stalking through the garden as he brought the PHS to his ear. A distinct thwack of the sliding door into the room was indication enough of his mood.

Genesis flashed Angeal a concerned look, to which his friend shook his head.

“You know how it is with SOLDIER. You can plan ahead all you like, but…” He trailed off, jaw clenching.

He was upset. Genesis had known Angeal long enough to see it the way his gaze lingered towards the room, how his fist tightened against his thigh.

Approaching, Genesis softly clasped the fist with both of his own hands. He traced soft, meaningless patterns on his friend’s skin until the grip relaxed just enough for Genesis to slid a hand into Angeal’s own. He then looked up. “Do you… want to wait?”

Angeal shook his head, expression softening as he smiled down at Genesis. “Sephiroth would want you to enjoy your time here—as would I.”

A faint tinge of pink dusted his cheeks. “Tch… well, come on then.” He insisted, looking sheepishly down as he let go of Angeal’s hand to grip the tie of his friend’s robe. Mindlessly, Genesis tugged to help Angeal undress.

But as it loosened, suddenly, Angeal’s hand was atop his own, locking it in place.

Looking up, confused, the redhead tilted his head to the side. It was not as though they had never seen each other naked—no. In fact, the number of times Genesis went to bed nude, surely by now had erased those boundaries. Dressing, undressing, it was a part of their natural flow. SOLDIER uniforms were not always easy to get off, especially if caked in unpleasantries. So why—

And then it hit Genesis. It… was suggestive, wasn’t it?

“… Sorry.” He offered, carefully easing his hand from out of Angeal’s grip. He dared not look up. He simply grabbed a towel from off the stone bench and began walking towards the hot spring. Angeal did not say anything. But Genesis could picture his expression in his head—that mix of worry and sadness along with an unheard sigh. “I’m going ahead.” He said over his shoulder, although redundant, considering how far up the stone path he had made it.

There was a silence before Angeal responded, “I will meet you up there.” To be continued

#fanfic #Atsui Springs #Atsui Springs: Part 2 #ot3 angst is what I thrive on #don't look at me like that

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clownbeep · 5 years

Text

This is gonna be kinda brutal. But I want to put it into writing

Big vent/whats been going on

Hah... I guess this is like my life story or some shit...

Trigger warning ahead.. Depression and a bit of gore/suicide talk so if you are sensitive to that please, for your own sake and mental state you might not want to continue.

For those who dont want to hear a pretty dark vent, I understand.

And those who are just scrolling by feel free to scroll past. I just personally want to get this out.

If you have dealt with emotional neglect/abuse and need to know it isnt in your head this might be the post.

By writing this it feels like hopefully someone else will read this and realise certain things are NOT healthy.

If you are questioning if you are being emotionally neglected/abused (im speaking in a parental sense but even romantically or sexually) im not someone to give you answers, but the fact you are questioning it raises some red flags. In a healthy relationship you dont wonder those things.

Sorry for the long prelude but heres what I wanted to say

Ever since I was young, ive had bad ADHD, manic bipolar/depression, and sensory issues.

I was diagnosed around 13 I believe. My family (I didnt realise it then) always showed pity. Like I was some wild animal that couldnt be tamed and there was nothing they could do. Id do and say stupid attention seeking things just to try and get a shred of empathy.

My family didnt care.

When I was in the hospital for a suicide attempt regaurding pills and my liver had a chance of failing.. None of my family members cried over me. But a family friend. Someone not. Even. Related. Wept over me.

My family didnt care.

I cant say they never cared. They give me food water and luxuries like internet and a phone. For that I am grateful.

But in many other ways they have hurt me faar more than helped.

Once I got out of a short term stay in an inpatient mental facility I desperately needed contact with anyone who would care for me.

I have a younger sister, quite young probably around 7 at the time. She was a close friend of mine for that time. Id hang out with her so often to fill the gap in love it felt my family didnt give. One day I walked into the dining room and overheard my mother and father talking to my little sister. They told her to keep away because I wasnt "stable" because I was "dangerous" and could give her bad Ideas. And with one single action my only friend at the time and way to find happiness was taken away.

My family did not care.

When I stay in bed every day for months on end not knowing which day ill snap and end it all.... I get called lazy.

My family did not care

When I beg for medication to make me a functional human being they brush me off for years on end. Im losing my grip. I can barely remember things that have happened last week because I try so hard to forget everything its my automatic response to everything.

When I cant get to sleep because all of the memories come flooding back and im hit by wave after wave of horrific memories and the feeling if worthlessness... When I cant watch any videos or read posts about families because it brings on unwanted memories and emotions....

Is it me being dramatic then?

When you hear your family openly mocking and laughing about how stupid and dramatic and fake trans people are... How weird and unnatural and mentally insane these people are not knowing they are the very reason grsm and trans suicides are so high...

Am I a liar now? Am I insane?

When I tried to talk to them about my mental health issues. They took my only way of contact and made me feel like it was my own fault.

My family didnt care.

When I was nearly passed out shaking in a bathtub covered in wounds and blood all over... They showed pity, then lectured me for an hour for not telling them or for being impulsive and basically cleaned my wounds and sent me into my room.

My family didnt care.

Yes. I do agree, they cleaned my wounds, the physical side of showing care. However emotionally they were not there.

When my father drinks so heavilly every day he is home from work that he forgets half the things he tells you and can barely function.. They lecture my older sister for having a glass of wine (legal age)

They did not care.

My sister (23) tried for so many years to cling to what little attention she would get by getting good grades and going to college... She realised that it changed nothing about how my family felt toward her.... She snapped.

My family did not care.

She starves herself for a disease she does not have, she uses religion as an exuse to be one of the biggest christian extremists I personally know. Half the days she doesnt eat... Other days she burns book and gets rid of items for being demonic.

My lovely sister used to be kind and quite normal. However she couldnt find comfort in what little live her family gave. Starved for care she turned to religion to un unhealthy degree. Finding any way to keep her mind busy. Now I worry she will end up in the hospital for weighing so little.

My family did not care.

My oldest sister (27) Is married to a continuously cheating husband who she keeps letting back into her life. She was raised with a failing marrige and doesnt seem to see when she should call it quits.

Not to mention her husband has touched someone legally under the age of concent. Did she report him to the authorities? No.

All of these horrific things stemming from bad parenting. Unhealthy relationships and neglect.

Neglect emotionally can cause just as bad things as physical neglect. They are both horrifically dangerous in different ways.

These are the only big things I can remember... Basically age 15 and below are a complete blur to me and I cant remember much of it without thinking for a looong time. Even then I cant remember a lot of it... I feel like ive lost my whole damn childhood. And it hurts more than if they had just hit me or physically harmed me.

Im not underplaying physically harm. But in my personaly opinion I would rather my family have beaten me badly because at least then id have an easier way to prove to people how severe the abuse was. You can see bruises and confirm broken bones... But years of feeling completely useless and being shut off from most of the world other than the internet... It fucks you up in a way I dont think can be healed.

I dont know if I can ever love myself or... Remember things. Its terrifying to think Ill post this and a few weeks later probably not even rememner unless its brought up. Or meeting people and having conversations... And they are just... Gone.

Gone.

I suppose the biggest reason im writing this is well... In the future I dont want to forget in some ways.. I want like to be 100× as awesome knowing itll start as soon as im out of here..

If I dont have anything to compare it too then what is the point?

Ive layed out basically most of what I remember

A large amount of time I look around and nothing registers... Everything is familiar but I cant remember anything for a moment or two.. I feel like my memory is slipping so fast and im terrified.. I cant do anything to stop it and I cant make my mood be stable without the medication my family cant be bothered to get ...

I suppose this is a bit of a vent. I know its kind of everywhere and unorganized..

If im honest.. Tumblr is the only place where people have given me a home I wish I had..

I came out as trans here... Everyone was so damn supportive.. I didnt say anything but I cried hard and the kindness.. It was amazing.. It was such a jarring difference to how I feel when I say anything in real life.

Ive met friends here and ive had some much fun here. If youve stuck around this far thank you so much.. If you didnt I dont blame you.

I just wanted to share what has been flashing in my head these past few days.. It hurts a lot and ive even considered suicide recently..

Im trying hard. As hard as I can.. I have no escape though.

I cannot leave home. I cannot escape. Im not being dramatic.

CANT

LEAVE

And its terrifying because I know without medication or at least being somewhere AWAY from family.... I feel like im going to break soon.

I dont want to do anything stupid.. But some days I cant think straight and do things that harm myself and its not good. Its not okay. Im aware that I need help but I have no idea where to go/turn.. I have no ID or drivers liscence.. I have no transportation to and from a job to get money so I can leave... I live in the middle of nowhere.... I just..

I dont want to lose touch. I dont want to do anything bad.. I want to be functional.. I want to do more than eat and sleep my life away because I have nothing else to do..

Im so damn sick and tired of this all.. And at times I really do feel like there is only one way out.

Its always there and I just feel like one of these days im gonna be pushed over the edge and not be thinking clearly enough to stop it.

Im thinking semi clearly right now which is my im posting this.. Because im afraid and alone.

I have nowhere to go irl I have no friends Irl i just have tumblr and media and thats it. I dont expect anyone to be able to help I just wanted to write this so anyone knows what happens if I leave media..

If I tell my family my issues they will blow me off again for the 11th time or so (not exaggerated)

And if I do something to get sent to the hospital and get the help I need the cycle will continue with them being pissed and me getting sent home in a month or less anly for my family relationships to get worse..

Im spiraling fuether and further and I cant keep up the facade of being fine. I need help. And i have no way to get it. Ive just been suffering for years...

Sitting around and doing nothing but using your phone or drawing or whatever sound fun in theory... But if thats all youve been able to do for years with little to no real life social contact its gonna mess with your head... I dont want to be a shut in... I just

I dont know what to do.

Im sorry for rambling. I will most likely delete this later feeling embarrassed I posted this...

Im just tired..

#trigger warning #triggering #may be triggering #vent #emotional neglect #emotional abuse #suicide #suicide trigger #gore warning #memory problems #ramble #rambles

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timelordthirteen · 5 years

Text

Killing Time 10/?

Detective Weaver/Belle French, Explicit

Summary: A Woven Beauty Law & Order-ish AU. Written for Writer’s Month 2019.

Chapter Summary: Flashback: Weaver and Belle make a major discovery in the case.

Notes: So I hope this clears up some of the confusion with the plot of this story. This is majorly late and unbeta'd and barely read over. I'm so sorry for this being a total hot mess and probably riddled with typos. For the Writer's Month prompt#20: weird.

Warnings: Please see AO3 for complete warnings and tags. No additional warnings for this chapter.

[AO3] Previous: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

9 weeks and 3 days ago...

Belle sighed heavily and sat back in her chair, tossing her pen on the table.

Four days ago she’d fucked her ex-husband on the sofa just behind her. She expected it to cause some fracture in their working relationship, for him to come in the next day or even show up at her apartment to start some huge argument, but things went on as if it never even happened. That unnerved her more than the shouting would have.

At least three different times, she’d almost brought it up, but chickened out at the last second. Things had been too good between them these last few weeks. It was - nice. They’d become some kind of friends again, a bit like it was after they first met, when it was sarcastic, flirty remarks after testimony, or over drinks at Roni’s, and she could admit to herself that she was loathing messing any of that up. Except of course it had escalated from there, just as it had when they finally started dating. One dinner and she let him push her up against the door to her apartment and kiss her senseless, and a minute later she was dragging him into her apartment.

That first time they didn’t even make it to her bed, and she was left with an amusing pattern of lines on her back from the exposed brick wall of her living room. He stayed the night, and by morning she ached like she’d done back to back yoga classes at the gym. She had never had a lover that attentive, who found every button she had and pushed them over and over, or who seemed to like everything she did; hard and rough one time, and soft and intimate the next. Sex was the one thing they never got wrong.

She shouldn’t have let things go that far with Ian, but for a moment while they were dancing it felt like old times, like none of the shit between them had happened, like there wasn’t a murder board behind them and autopsy reports on the table. It was always so damn good with him, and the case overwhelmed her so much that she needed something to push all of it away. Except when it was over everything came rushing back.

A tingling shiver crept over her, and she abruptly pushed back from the table and stood up, silently chastising herself for getting lost in such thoughts. Again. She rubbed at her tired eyes and wiggled her feet back into her shoes before moving across the room to the whiteboard.

The board was completely covered now with photos, reports, and scribbled notes in marker, all comprising a full timeline of some of the most heinous murders she’d ever seen. Her eyes scanned the top where they had taped pictures of the victims, then sectioned off the board between each of them to group the case elements together. Their names were burned into her brain, their smiling faces - faces that would never smile again - permanent fixtures when she closed her eyes.

She sighed again and the office door opened.

“Well, that was a bloody waste of time.”

Belle turned and watched as Weaver strode quickly across the room, dropping the folder he’d taken with him and his notebook on the table.

“What was?” she asked, almost grateful that they could talk about the case and pull her mind away from other things.

“Trying to find Eloise Gardner,” he said, giving her a flat smile. “As near as I can tell, she doesn’t fucking exist.”

Belle made a face. “What?”

He huffed and sat on the edge of the table. “Her last known address is an empty lot that up until a year ago was a community garden. She doesn’t have a driver’s license in this state. She hasn’t paid taxes, apparently ever. I can’t find a Social Security Number, state ID, W-2, forwarding address, employer, or any official piece of paper to prove she existed.”

Belle sank onto the sofa and dropped her head to her hands as she breathed. She looked up at Weaver feeling more tired and drained than she had in days. “So why did Branson say she could prove he was innocent?”

Weaver shrugged. “No clue. Though he did murder five people, so I’m not sure he’s making the best life choices.”

She snorted at that and shook her head. “Did you have any luck with any of the others?”

He turned and picked up the notebook, opening it and flipping passed a few pages. “I found Mr. Porter, the garbage man, at work, but Mrs. Emery was not at her apartment, and no one had seen her in days.”

Belle blinked. “You’re joking…”

He pressed his lips together and shook his head.

Her head dropped again in defeat. “So, our eye witness to the disposal of the last victim, just up and disappeared? Fucking great.”

Weaver started to smile. “Not exactly.” She lifted her head slowly, eyebrows raised. “I tracked down the building manager, and he said she moved out. I went to the post office and they have a forwarding address of a nursing home. I went there and found out she’d had a stroke. Her daughter…” He paused and flipped another page in his notebook. “Laura, arrived from Cambridge last week and has been helping to get her settled in.”

“Cambridge...Massachusetts?”

His lips twitched. “No.”

Her eyes narrowed and then she made a face. “England?”

“Her daughter teaches at the university,” he said, crossing to the sofa and sitting down beside Belle.

“Nice…” she muttered. “So, is she still with it enough to testify?”

“Seems so from talking to her.” He flipped his notebook closed. “She repeated everything the same as in her official statement. The doctor I spoke to said she should be fine now that she’s on medication, and that he’ll provide whatever documentation of her mental faculties is needed.

Belle flopped back against the sofa and slumped. “Thank god.”

“So,” he said, smiling. “That was the last six hours of my life. How was yours?”

“Lousy.” Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling and then she pushed herself up, crossing to the table to pick up a few photos. “I got copies of the crime scene photos we were missing from Crenshaw and Hughes, the last two. Nothing all that enlightening or helpful, though.”

She flipped through them as she walked back towards the sofa. “It’s all mostly background stuff that got left out, like the cars that were in the area, some random plant material, uh, shoe prints from Branson’s boots, and this which I thought you would ”

Weaver’s eyebrows lifted both at her tone and the smirking look she had on her face. She held out one photo and he leaned forward, holding the edge of it between his fingers as he looked at it. After a long moment, he groaned.

“Shit.”

Belle let out a snorting laugh. “Exactly.”

He shook his head as she set the rest of the pictures down on the coffee table. “Some crime scene tech actually took a picture of dog shit.”

She shrugged. “I guess they were being thorough?”

“Thoroughly fucking stupid, maybe,” he said absently, and she laughed.

She turned to grab something else, and as she pivoted on her right foot, her toes pulled back inside her shoe. A curse slipped out and she stumbled, the cramping pain contorting her foot and making it impossible to walk.

“Are you okay?” Weaver asked, sitting forward on the sofa. “What’s wrong?”

She bent and took off her shoe, grabbing at her toes to try to relieve the tension. “It’s just a cramp. I think I’ve been pacing this office too much today.” She wobbled as she tried to walk wearing only one shoe and pressing the toes of her cramped foot against the floor. “Fuck.”

He rolled his eyes. “Come here.”

Her look was dubious, but she hobbled over to the sofa and dropped down with a hiss. He reached for her leg, pulling it up and tipping her back on the couch. She let out a pained noise, as she struggled to point her toes and make the cramp stop.

“Relax,” he said softly, wrapping his warm hand over her toes.

Slowly, he worked her foot until the muscles stopped contracting, and she leaned back, resting her head on the arm of the sofa as she let him pull her foot completely into his lap. Under previous circumstances, this would have been more than welcome, and a possible prelude to other activities as his hand naturally crept higher and higher on her legs. Anytime she had to be in court all day, pacing and walking around, her feet would rebel and start cramping painfully by the end of the day. She blamed it on all the damage she’d done to them in dance and ballet in her younger days, followed by too many years of shoving them into heels constructed by masochists who thought all women had dainty, narrow feet that never went over a size seven.

After a few minutes, she was biting back moans as he worked his thumb against her arch, stroking the muscle up and down before making a sweep over the ball of her foot. Part of her wanted to let him do this for the next hour to both of her feet, followed immediately by her shoulders and neck. But a greater part of her knew she needed to stop things before they went to far. While those two factions warred within her, she rolled her head to the side and stared at the miscellaneous photographs.

A shoe print stared back at her from the top of the pile, the ones found at the last scene when Branson had been arrested, and she frowned. Something was poking at the back of her brain, something that was unsettled and curious at the same time. Abruptly, she yanked her foot away from Weaver, and pushed up.

Weaver let out a light grunt as Belle shoved against him. “What is it?”

“Hold on,” she said, scrambling to sit up. "Something's...weird."

She picked up the photo of Branson’s boot print, and stared at it for a few seconds, noting the size and the markers that had been placed around it. Then she set it to the side and shuffled through the rest of the photos.

Weaver frowned at her and then picked up the photo she’d set down. “What are you looking for?”

“The other print.” She was getting frustrated and wondering if she’d imagined it, when he reached out and snatched up the picture she’d been looking for.

“This one?” he asked, holding it out.

She grabbed both photos from him, and laid them on the table. Her eyes darted back and forth between them, as her eyes widened. She wasn’t crazy, but this case sure was. “Look.”

She pointed at the pictures, and he looked back and forth between them. There was nothing jumping out at him, but it had been a long day of driving around and making calls.

“Okay?”

Belle huffed and pointed at the marker on the first photo. “See the measurement on the one from his arrest?” Weaver nodded. “And now the one from the second crime scene.”

His head tilted slightly, and then it hit him. “They’re different.”

“Yeah,” she said, starting to smile. “Branson’s boot was a size eleven. But the first one is a ten.”

He shook his head. “They can’t both be his shoe can they?”

She shrugged. “They aren’t marked as elimination prints from any of the officers or techs. What’s his shoe size from his booking?”

Weaver got up and crossed to the table, sorting through the stacks of folders until he found the report of vital statistics from Nick Branson’s booking at the station. He scanned the page, his eyes going wide as he turned around.

“He’s an eleven.”

Belle stood up, her body practically vibrating with new energy. “There’s no way someone is going to wear a different size boot like that. A half size maybe, but not a whole size.”

He nodded and took a breath. “You know what that might mean then, right?”

She swallowed hard, her excitement waning in light of the new reality of the case. “We have two killers.”

#rumbelle #rumbelle fic #woven beauty #woven beauty fic #fic #my woven beauty fic #lemon fic #killing time

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sound-of-the-cosmos · 4 years

Text

You’re Safe (BTS & Sister! Reader) Imagine

Warnings: TW! Abuse is shown in the beginning of this imagine; May be triggering to some readers

Imagine your brothers (BTS) saving you from an unhealthy relationship

Your P.O.V

How long had it been since you’d left the complex? It had to have been weeks, maybe even months. Your boyfriend, b/f/n, refused to let you leave unless he was with you. Work was the only place you could get away from him, but he’d made you quit some time ago. You weren’t allowed to use the tv, phone, or any of the media devices in the house. Each one had a password, so he’d know if you even tried. The last attempt at calling someone had lead to being locked in the basement for a week, without food, and little water. You had attempted to call your brothers, but you’d not only been caught, he heard you begin to ask for help. “Y/n! Get your ass in here!” He was drunk again, and, he was angry. What did you do this time? You find yourself scrambling into the kitchen, where your boyfriend stood, leaning against the counter. “I told you to order more whiskey, didn’t I?” You felt your stomach drop. You’d forgotten to order more, and you knew it wasn’t going to end well.

“Yes… yes sir,” Your anxiety was going through the roof, your heart pounding. Your eyes trail off to the front door behind him. He hadn’t locked it yet, which meant if you were fast enough, you could escape. Oh, how you longed to be able to walk freely, but you knew deep down even trying wouldn’t end well. “Then why the fuck is there only one bottle left?!” He roars drunkenly, grabbing your shirt, and swings you into the counter. You could feel something snap in your side, more than likely a rib, upon impact. You let out a cry as you collided, and he throws a punch at your cheek, catching you almost on the jaw. Your head shoots to the side, and you find yourself whimpering in pain, unable to cry out. But you were done with this, you couldn't take it anymore. You shove him, and he stumbles backwards into the hallway with a strangled sound of pure rage, and at this moment, your instincts take over. You bolt over to the door, the adrenaline coursing through your veins keeping you from collapsing in pain as you run. It was raining, not heavily, but just enough to make it hard to see. You manage to cross the street, and keep running. It had to be night, as all the streetlights were on. Your heart hammers against your chest, and your breathing now in short, frantic spurts. You slow down after crossing a bridge, and slump against a bench at a park. B/FN hadn’t followed you thankfully, but now, with no phone and little mobility, you allowed yourself to close your eyes, letting the cold rain and pain take your consciousness.

Hobi’s P.O.V (Bc I don’t see his Pov enough in fanfics-)

It began to rain as I finished my last lap around the park, the droplets mixing with the sweat on my face and arms. I needed to head home, or I’d catch a cold or something. My brothers and I got a call from an unknown, blocked number about 6 months ago, and while I tried to be the one to lift up the group, I was nervous about Y/n’s safety. We’d never liked her boyfriend, but she completely vanished almost a year ago. She wasn’t at her job, and no one had seen her around. They’d both moved as well, and her boyfriend had gotten a new job (I believe, his old place said he’d “found somewhere better” in his words), so tracking them down was close to impossible. I sigh softly, before heading toward the bridge that was only half a mile away from home. It was the closest exit of the park, but it wasn’t well used. Not many people knew about it. I saw a disheveled figure laying on one of the wooden benches, and I felt my curiosity grow. It was probably a homeless person, but something seemed familiar. I walk over, and find a woman with a large bruise on her right cheek, and she was only wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans; no shoes, no jacket, and more than likely no ID. I frowned a bit at this. It looked like she’d just up and ran out of her house, or wherever she’d come from. I gingerly place my hand on her forehead. She’s been out here longer, and I was almost willing to bet money that she was already close to being, if not already, sick. I click my tongue. I needed to get home, but she obviously needed a place to stay. She was out cold, so I suppose she couldn’t argue about me giving her a place to stay until she felt better. I pick her up bridal style, before taking a moment to really look over her features, and in those few seconds, the world seemed to stop. Y/n…? I kick the door to our house, unable to knock properly. “Seokjin!” I was absolutely soaked, and shivering. It had taken 20 minutes to get back, and if I was suffering, Y/n must be worse; she’d been out there as long as it had been raining. A tired, disgruntled Jin opens the door. Before he can say anything, I push past him, into the open living room. Out of my 6 other brothers, he was the eldest, and I didn’t know who else would be up this late. “Hoseok, what the hell is this? Who is…” His eyes met the figure on my back, and he stopped short. “Is that..?” He was shocked, and honestly, I was myself. After so fucking long, we managed to find our little sister. And she was half dead, probably sick and unhealthily thin. Enraged wasn’t even going to cover it, and dead wasn’t going to cover what I was going to do to who did this. “Yah, what’s going on-” Namjoon, Yoongi and Jimin make their way into the room, Yoongi griping about the noise under his breath. As if a message had been sent mentally, Jimin visibly became distraught. “Oh fuck-” A hand flew to his mouth, and his eyes were as wide as noodle bowls. Namjoon’s expression darkened majorly, pacing over towards us. Yoongi, on the other hand, looked both pissed and worried. He was one to stay nonchalant, sure, but there was a dark pit in his eyes. Jimin timidly follows Namjoon, and the two sit beside me, looking over the damage. Jimin’s voice cracks, before he clears his throat. He waits for a moment, before speaking “Should-Should I go get Tae and Jungkook..? They should know-”

Namjoon’s P.O.V

Her lips purse, and I gently shush Jimin. They needed to know, but we also needed to figure out what happened. And if that douchebag laid a hand on her, caused these bruises… there was going to be hell to pay. Her eyes shoot open, and she begins frantically scooting backwards. “Oh god, I-I’m sorry, please don’t-” A sob rips it’s way out of her throat, and I could feel my heart drop to my feet and shatter. She thought we were going to hurt her; she thought we, her brothers, were going to hurt her. I raise my hands, trying to signal that I wasn’t going to do anything, hoping my brothers followed suit, and that this worked. “Hey, hey, it’s ok. You’re Y/n, right?” As furious as I was, anger wasn’t the emotion she needed to see. Jimin backs up a little, as if unsure what to do, and Seokjin had left the room. Y/n needed medical attention, and Hoseok hopefully was going to help himf get the things needed. She nods slowly, her e/c eyes darting around the room uneasily. She was nervous, and with how she looked, she had every right to be. “I won’t hurt you- None of us will hurt you. I promise; I know it’s probably hard to believe that, but I won’t touch you unless you say it’s ok, ok?” I keep my tone soft, approaching slowly. She was messing with the hem of her soaked shirt, no longer looking around, but at her hands. “O…...okay,” I sit on the opposite end of the couch, allowing a decent amount of space in between us. Did she not remember us? “Who are you…y-you guys…?” Her voice quivers slightly, not looking up. Yoongi, at this, leaves the room, pure, unveiled rage on his features. I could understand, but I was grateful he left. Anger isn’t what we needed. Jimin silently follows, leaving us alone, and I could tell she was a little bit more anxious now than before. I find myself exhaling softly. “Y/n, do we seem familiar, even if only a little?” A small nod, her hands stopping. “Do you remember trying to call a number a while back?” Another nod, her body starting to shake. “You’d tried to contact your brothers… that was us.”She slowly looks at me, as if scared, before tearing up. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry-” She softly whimpers, and I gently take her hands. She was shaking badly, and she was shivering on top of that. She seems hesitant to let me hold her hands, but still allowed me to. “Let’s get you changed, and we can talk more after, ok? We have a spare room, and no one will come in unless you need help. I can leave some clothes too; you must be cold.” I keep my tone calm, rubbing circles on the backs on her hands with my thumbs. She nods, before softly asking me something. “Can… can you walk with me..?” She seemed genuinely terrified, and my heart broke a little more. Her breathing had slowed to a much more relaxed pace, but was still a little quick, and seemed pained. “Of course.”

Your P.O.V

I was scared, but… he wasn’t lying. I look at myself in the mirror after finishing a warm shower, and I could feel embarrassment beginning to pool in my stomach. I was a bruised mess, and I looked horrid. Everything hurt too, especially my chest. Could I trust these people…? Were they really my brothers..? I shake my head, before peeking out into the room. There was clothing on the large bed, some joggers and a t-shirt. The room itself was well designed, and fairly expensive looking. The door leading to the hallway was still shut, so I walk out into the large room, covered in a towel wrapped around my body. The curtains were drawn, making sure no one could see in. I let it drop, changing into the shirt and joggers. The brother (?) who was kind to me… who was that? And who brought me here? These questions swirl in my mind as I hang up the towel, not wanting to get yelled at for that. I peek into the hallway, seeing someone walking away. He heard my door open, and as soon as he begins to turn around, I shut it. My heart was pounding, and I could hear his footsteps approaching. He was taller than I was, so he was probably stronger too. A soft knock jolts me out of my thoughts. “Y/n..?” His voice was soft, and I step away from the door. The door opens, revealing the man who had looked angry earlier. My anxiety begins to grow. “Namjoon wanted me to check up on you. His clothes seem a bit big though… but we have some hot chocolate if you’d like some.” He scratched the back of his neck, looking up at me. He didn’t seem as angry, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was towards me or not. “U-um… where’s the kitchen…?” I learned their names quickly, after my memories began to return. I hold my mug with a little cat on it, wrapped up in a blanket on their couch. Namjoon had been the one to talk to me, and Jimin was the one who helped me find my way back. Hoseok had brought me here after finding me in the park.Yoongi was helping me with some cuts and bruises, a stoic expression on his face. “Noona, what happened..?” Jungkook’s expression was worried, but nervous. “Where have you been all this time?” His voice was worried, but gentle, and knowing who they were helped calm me a lot to being around them. I gulp a little, messing with the mug. Tae had given me a gentle hug, thankfully not squeezing too hard. I was grateful, and nervous. Would they think I was weak..? I explained what had happened, watching my fingers. How he had tricked me into moving in with him, then quitting my job to please him, and how it was never enough. “Before… before I left, we got… we got into a fight. He- he hit me, a-and, hurt my chest-” My voice shook horribly, tears leaving my eyes. My brothers were silent, before I felt arms around me, more and more holding me as I cried.

“It’s ok to cry… you’re safe now.”

“You’re safe.”

Part Two here

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