#is it dumb of her to do if she’s not getting an abortion. obviously. but she has done worse

[divorcedtom]

my annoyance at the shiv pregnancy storyline is being briefly redirected at the people who won’t stop trying to convince everyone that she was actually fake drinking

[amaranthineghost]

hello!!!

can you do a one shot/ fanfic that Lando has been dating Y/N since they were 15/16, so for a long time, and she just found out she’s pregnant. you can come up with how they would react and how lando would react but i’d love if they were unsure of it in the beginning, but it grew on them as time went by.

thanks!!!!

| OUR WORLD IN YOUR HANDS ( lando norris. ) |

ꕥ pairing: lando x reader

ꕥ summary: they hadn't planned for pregnancy, but it changed their life.

ꕥ authors note: enjoyed writing it more than I thought I would honestly. tried to make it so she was more unsure than he was and in the end, I liked it. working on incorporating more dialogue in the future because it is definitely not my strong suit. I'll also alternate between requests and my own ideas so if you requested something, keep it in mind <3

ꕥ warnings: mentions of alcohol, sex, barely mentions thoughts of abortion

TWO RED LINES. her heart had skipped a beat, more like several as she stared at the dark red line and a faded pink one next to it. she couldn't believe her eyes. it couldn't be possible, it repeated in her mind.

but it obviously was. they hadn't been very careful, they're young and dumb and in love. two people so deeply in love that they couldn't care less. at least she thought they did at the time.

staring at the test in front of her shook her whole world, an entirely different branch of her life she'd never expect to take this soon. it was right in front of her.

despite being together for a year or two shy of a decade, it felt too soon. they were still young, had plenty of parties lined up in the near future. plenty of drunken nights running through the streets of monaco barefooted, hands intertwined as the world was focused on them. how they'd escape to the farthest rooftop, drunken makeouts leading to more as they came together under the stars.

they still had time. time to be what they'd missed as teenagers, to make memories. they had time to spend countless nights, wrapped in each other's arms under cold skies on balconies across countries, discussing their future. when they'd get married, where they'd like to live, if they ever left monaco which seemed unlikely, the places they've yet to see, how many kids they'll have and their names.

time for reckless driving through the streets of monaco with the wind crashing against them, hands raised as they cheered. he always drove to the most beautiful sight in the city, but always claimed it would never come close to the beauty she possessed.

time for runs across the beach in tiny bikinis and swim trunks as they raced on the sand. his arms capturing her waist as he tossed her around, feeling the vibrations of her laughter and screams against his skin. a feeling he'd forever cherish.

it all disappeared with a single faded line. everything she knew about their future collapsed with the test barely bigger than the length of her hand. it would affect everything.

it was conflicting. becoming a mother was all she ever dreamed and talked about, when she became older. she'd mention to her curly-haired boyfriend countless times of her dreams of having the mini versions of him running around the house they shared. the longing to see his eyes and curly hair with features of her own on another warm body. their child.

but she wasn't ready. in her mid-twenties, with years of life left to live child-free. tens of grand prix's to attend in support of her mclaren lover, watching 10 feet away from his car. nights to catch up on hours of sleep she lacked from keeping up with lando's lifestyle.

having a kid swept it all off the table. no more late night dalliances, or getting so drunk to the point where lando would have to pull over the car to hold back her hair as she threw up in the bushes.

no more parties at ungodly hours of the night, watching drunk lando stumble his way to the dj booth, giggling over a glass of alcohol at his actions.

no more sleep. she knew she'd be woken up numerous times in the night from the cries of her child, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to give up sleep yet.

and she wasn't sure lando wanted to give up formula one either. obviously, a balance between the two worlds is possible, but she knew he would want to be there with her, and she didn't know if he could.

it scared her. the thought of this changing the dynamic of their relationship on levels she couldn't even begin to think of. she's seen countless videos of how having a child completely changed the way couples worked, good and bad, and she didn't want that fifty-fifty.

she'd sat staring at the test between the tips of her fingers for a solid twenty minutes before she heard a patterned knock she grew familiar with from her beloved boyfriend.

the door muffled his voice just slightly, "darling, you 'right in there?" his hand wrapped around the now cold door handle and twisted it, but it failed to turn as it pressed into his palm.

it was unusual for her to lock the door, she knew he would question it. and she knew she couldn't use the excuse of that she's changing or showering because lando simply didn't care whenever she was. he'd sit and keep her company till she was done with whatever she was doing because it was often what they did. sit in silence, enjoying the presence of one another.

"yeah, I'm fine!" she called out to him in a rushed tone, flinching enough that she nearly dropped the test. she watched as the door knob shook, shoving the stick into the bottom of the trash temporarily. she'd remember to remove it eventually.

she turned on the sink as she hid the box of tests in the depths of the cabinet under the sink. looking at herself in the mirror, she'd wipe away the tears that built in her eyes. she didn't want him to notice, but like always he would.

from the locked door to the second she opened it, he'd watch it. she'd see him leaning on the wall just outside the door, patiently waiting for her to come out to him. he wouldn't question it, he trusted that she would eventually come around to tell him. she always did.

with the frequent trips to the bathroom and the slimmed selection of foods in the fridge, he'd suspect something, but he wouldn't know for sure. not without her word.

because for the time being, it was a secret she kept to herself, as much as she despised secrets. she felt like she was guilty to be hiding something from the person she trusted most in the world.

times when she thought the room was empty, she'd be pacing long ways back and forth with her arms crossed and her face solid. he'd watched her from the doorframe with his arms crossed against his chest, mirroring her position slightly.

times when she'd drop whatever she was doing to rush into the bathroom and spill her guts into the toilet as he held her hair and ran his fingers along the nape of her neck. she claimed it was a stomach bug, but he knew better. he also knew better than to question her words so he said nothing, but made a multitude of soups for her to sip on, taking notice of her now acute taste.

times when she'd cry over the tiniest of things, comforting her in his arms while she sobbed against the fabric of his very worn hoodie that happened to be her favorite.

it wasn't a great shock when she first told him. stuttering over her words as she fumbled with the sleeves of his long-sleeve shirt that went well past her fingertips, he could see tears brimming her eyes with her heightened sensitivity.

so when she muttered the words, "i'm pregnant," his world stopped, restarted, reloaded and stopped again when he finally processed the words. though he knew he could've expected it, hearing the confirmation leave her lips left his world tipped sideways.

but he wanted to hear it again, needed to, words breathlessly escaping his lips, "what, love?" he heard her the first time, but he wanted to hear it again. and again and again.

she choked on her words, sobbing out again, "I'm pregnant, lan," he pulled her into his chest, his hand finding it's way to the side of her head as he cradled her, pressing his lips against her hair.

as they swayed, it finally dawned on him, muttering unsure and excitedly against her head, "I'm going to be a dad?" his breathing deepened, his tongue gliding across his lips, then biting at the sensitive flesh. he felt his heart hammer in his chest, nearly comparing to when he first asked the girl out all those years ago. he reminisced the time when the biggest deal he could think of was rejection. now the girl he had crushed on when he was just a teenager just told him she's pregnant. with his kid.

part of him couldn't be happier, they had spent countless nights in bed, lying on their sides facing one another with stupid grins on their faces as they pondered their future together. whatever they wanted, it always had the other in their thoughts and plans.

this was just their plans manifesting faster than they might've hoped, and sure, he wasn't totally certain that it was the right timing after all. but this was their dream, and maybe they just needed time.

time to accept how greatly their life would be affected. he thought about how he'd have to leave her for days, weeks for his career, the few outlying times when she'd travel with him. he knew that would change, leaving her home with a new life to take care of besides her own. he hated the thought of leaving her.

they needed time to think, whether it was together or just by themselves. they needed to figure out how they'd make it through, if they could. which was a question in itself.

they needed to talk because part of her didn't think he would be so accepting of the change life threw them, permanently altering their course of life and the years to follow.

deep inside, they're scared. they knew they would've been, planned or not. it didn't make it any easier. but when he asked such a simple question, it lifted a massive weight that had been carrying on her shoulders. part of her knew he'd always be so accepting. everything is an experience after all.

with every month passed, every growth of the life within her body, he'd mention. he was the nerdy type to compare the size of the baby with fruit. he'd goggle each week with every new development she'd create. it shook his mind to even comprehend. she could make bones, organs and the tiniest lashes of their soon-to-be kid all within the confines of her body. to him, it was sacred.

and of course, he'd tell just about everyone from every team. all the drivers, mechanics, pit crew, team principals, the list goes on and so does his rants about her.

countless photos of appreciation for her on his social media, after all she was carrying his child and he was ecstatic. he'd spent every waking moment he could with her, his hands always somewhere on her, prodominantly on her growing stomach.

when he felt the first kick, he pulled his hand away sharply, looking at her with a dropped jaw and wide eyes, "it kicked me!" he'd exclaim and she slapped his shoulder, scolding him.

"don't call the baby an 'it!'"

"what else am I supposed to call it?" again, earning another slap to his bicep, and he'd look at her with a growing confused look.

"stop slapping me!" he held up his arms in defense as she scowled at him, her arms crossed over her chest. she pursed her lips before sighing as he'd replace his hand on her stomach.

"babe, I don't think this baby likes me," he looked between his hand and her eyes, feeling the movement under his palm. it was a weird sensation, something he'd never expect to feel so soon, or at all.

all she could do was laugh at the stupid expression across his face as he looked back and forth in bewilderment. the warmth from his hand, and the small calluses sent goosebumps across her skin. it incited a smirk to take place on his face, but she slapped it off. he'd expect to feel more of those as the months went by, especially with all the sly comments she'd hear slip past his lips.

with every ultrasound appointment, he'd be there. he'd make sure of it, no matter where he was or what he was doing. she also scheduled them in accordance to his race and where in the world it took place.

every time, his eyes would be locked on the screen that projected his child, a part of him in another life form. a smile always creeping into his face as he held her cold hand. more often than not, he'd get curious and try to become the technician, stealing the equipment out of the professional's hand. his girlfriend would scold him like he was some sort of dog. in response he'd groan, rolling his eyes at her.

he'd still try though, and the technician laughed it off. he'd make comments to her in reassurance, "babe, i've got this," he'd tell him as his hand with the wand came closer to her stomach.

"where's your degree then?" she snapped back, giggling at his sudden pause before he shrugged, waving it off his other hand.

" 's at home."

when the time finally came to birth their new life into the world, god did lando panic. everything he had prepared himself with went out the window when she'd mutter the words he'd been waiting to hear.

"lando," she mumbled as she sat on their couch, turning to him with wide eyes, "I think it's time." her sleeve-covered hands were at her face as she bit nervously on her nails.

he'd stutter over his words, hands in his hair, "you're joking." he'd say repeatedly as he rushed around the apartment, grabbing things. he was the type to grab everything and forget her still on the couch.

she'd call him on her phone when she sees him in his car from the window, through the pain, she laughed at him, "forget something, norris?"

"no, darling, I've got everything-" she'd see his movement pause, his hand returning to his hair, "fuck!"

when he'd come back to help her, she was nearly collapsed with laughter despite the pain she felt through her body.

"stop laughing at me!" he whined but he was laughing with her. nonetheless, they'd get to the car.

she was in labor for hours, crunching on ice chips that he'd fed her carefully. he'd massage her shoulders, hold her hand when contractions got particularly unbearable. he knew not to mumble bullshit words of encouragement, a word of advice from his mum, advice he'd gladly listen to.

instead he'd show her he was there by doing everything she asked until it was time to actually deliver their child they've been waiting 9 months to finally meet.

with a pale face, lando would comment, "I think one kid is fine after all." she'd roll her eyes at his words as she held their daughter in her arms, already seeing themselves in her. she was exhausted and he knew. he put her hair up, cooing words of appreciation to her now that all was done. he took care of her.

he'd remember call his mum later to tell her thank you.

[muchosbesitos]

still beating

pairing: miguel o’hara x fem reader

contents: cheating, pregnancy, mention of abortion, brief mention of sex, asshole mig, and angst

author’s note: i had the urge to write some angst but i’ll be getting back to requests after this one. idk if i wanna make a second part yet 😭

word count: 4.1K

You felt your heart wrench in your chest, the pieces slowly starting to shatter when you opened the door to see Miguel with another woman in your bed. The container of cookies that you'd been planning on surprising him with fell to the floor, crumbs clattering all over the floor beneath your feet. All you could do was just stare in horror as the man who claimed he loved you thrusted into another woman with a newfound vigor that he never seemed to have with you.

You looked over at the woman bouncing on his cock like there's no tomorrow, your eyes widening at the realization of who she was. She was one of the recruits who'd been too flirty with your man, batting her lashes and trailing her hand up his arm every time he was in her vicinity. You'd expressed your concerns to him, getting pushed away with a laugh and a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, she's just an apprentice. Tu sabes que nomas tengo ojos para ti," he used to tell you and you willingly believed the words. (you know i only have eyes for you)

The first time that you noticed him acting weirdly was in a mission against one of the vulture variants, taking the extra time to make sure that she was doing okay. He'd helped her in a way that he'd never helped other recruits, not even you when you were starting out. He spoke to her in a reassuring manner, assuring her that the fate of the multiverse didn't lie solely on her mistakes. It was a clear contrast from the way that he used to teach you, telling you that your mistakes could cost the lives of thousands and even ruin the delicate equilibrium between the universes. You wanted to assure yourself that you were being jealous just because of the way that you acquired a relationship with him, but you couldn't help but notice the longing glances that she gave him.

"Miguel, I don't trust that recruit. She looks at you like a love sick puppy," you told him, hoping that he would take your feelings into consideration and create some distance between them. “You're overreacting, mi amor. You know that there's nobody that could make me feel the same way that you did. I even left my ex-girlfriend for you, so why do you think that I would give that up?" He responded, holding your chin in his grasp as he gave you a kiss on the cheek. "Are you even listening to me? I’m not saying that i'm worried about you, I'm just worried about the way that she keeps looking at you," you tried to elaborate but he simply ordered you to get back to work.

You could see the way that she dumbed herself down to receive more help from Miguel, shooting a wink in your direction every time that she managed to pry him away from you. You felt powerless, unable to prove the fact that the woman was obviously feeling an amount of attraction towards Miguel. Even if you could prove it, you weren't too sure that he would even care about how you felt towards the situation. So you simply pushed every red flag that came your way, silently hoping that she wouldn't be stupid to try anything with him. You could see the carefully crafted walls he'd built around himself crumbling with every giggle that came out of her mouth, your hopes only slowing down what seemed to be the inevitable.

The conversation of cheating had come up once between your friend group, and in between laughter, you stated that you would simply beat both his and her ass for even thinking about doing that. All you could do now though, was stare in horror as the woman's walls clenched around your boyfriend every time that she moved up and down his cock. "Are you gonna stare or are you gonna join us?" The high pitched moan of the girl and Miguel's words snapped you from your thoughts, your face void from any expression. While you were planning on taking your misery out on a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream later on, you refused to let them see how much it affected you.

"Why would you do this to me?" You asked him, completely dumbfounded at the events taking place. You hated the way that your voice sounded, so small and broken, expecting yourself to let your anger seep through with every word uttered. "You led me to this situation. Been denying me for so long that I had to take manners into my own hands," he responded, his thrusts halting to a stop once he took the chance to look at you. You let out a small scoff, surprised by the amount of audacity he held despite the fact he'd just been caught having an indiscretion. "I led you to this? You cannot be serious right now."

He tapped the woman's leg, getting her off him as she reached over to cover herself with no shame in her expression. "Look baby, I can forgive you denying me the opportunity to have sex with you if you're willing to forget about this little.. incident," he told you, standing up and taking your chin so you'd look up at him. You couldn't help it though, the moment that you looked into his eyes, you no longer saw the man that you'd once fallen in love with but instead the expression of pleasure that was contorted on his face when you stepped in. "Forgive me? Did you hit your head standing up? I don't want anything to do with you."

"I was the best thing that ever happened to you, don't delude yourself into thinking otherwise. Give it a second thought, nena. You know you can't find someone like me anymore," you heard behind you while your hand lingered on the doorknob, about to exit the scene. "Think about it clearly. Who do you think is going to love you the same way that I did?" He added salt to the injury, painting you as someone unlovable. "Now you're being the delusional one for thinking that I want to find someone like you ever again," you responded, shutting the door with more force than necessary on your way out. You heard a loud groan behind you, the scuffling sounds of clothes being tossed around.

A part of you selfishly longed that he would come chase after you, get on his knees and beg for your forgiveness so you waited outside to see if the door would open. You weren't sure if you were expecting an apology for being taken like a fool or for the act that had taken place, but that didn't stop you from wanting him to tell you that he was sorry. The door remained locked, the volume of the moans rising in intensity like they knew you were still out there. Rain started to pour but as much as you wanted to move, your feet remained stuck in the ground like cement. You just wanted him to say the words 'I'm sorry' but the only thing that you received standing there was hearing him say, "Ay Dios, such a good pussy. Unlike anything I've had before."

Only when you were across the street from his house is that you allowed yourself the opportunity to cry, for everything that you longed for and would never obtain again. You couldn't help but blame yourself the slightest bit, for wanting to trust the words of a renowned cheater so badly. Even though your relationship with him essentially started the same way, going from being a fresh recruit at the spider society to snaking your way under Miguel's bedsheets every time you got the chance. The excitement of getting caught by his girlfriend at the time was too much for you to want to stop the affair the two of you were in, and you couldn't help but fall in love with him with every caress and whisper he shared with you.

You wanted to believe so badly that he was right, that you weren't anything like any of his previous girlfriends and that you were something special to him. It was one of the reasons that you forced yourself to be that exciting new prospect for miguel, pushing yourself past your limits just for the sake of keeping him interested in you. And now you had nothing to prove for the fact that you'd been with him apart from the pregnancy test in the pocket of your hoodie. You'd gone over to his place to tell him that you were pregnant, the frosting on the cookies that you were wielding spelling out the words.

As you got back home, you couldn't help the thoughts that were tormenting your brain since you'd left. You started doing a re-run of the relationship that you had with Miguel, starting to wonder where it was that it all went wrong. What he said was true, you had been denying him sex for a while now but you'd been so tired coming back from missions lately. There'd been a surplus of anomalies to deal with, the numbers only starting to decrease today. You'd hoped that he would be understanding since he was the one who was assigning these missions, but the hope was short lived.

You tried to think about the events that led up to this, trying to look at things from a normal perspective rather than the rose-colored perspective you were happily living in. You noticed him acting a bit strangely, but you'd dismissed it due to him being stressed with the vast quantities of anomalies that he had to deal with. You remembered offering him a blowjob a week ago while on a phone call, wanting to spend some time with him at his office before the two of you got too busy. He'd rejected your offer, light giggles coming from the distance. You realized that they were having fun at your expense, having gone through with the affair at least for a week now.

Entering your apartment felt like a stab in your heart since you'd lit up a candle that he'd taken a liking to before you left, the lingering aroma only providing you with memories of the relationship. Your sheets still weirdly smelled like remnants of his cologne, the smell of his shampoo lingering onto the pillow next to yours. As much as you tried not to think about him too much, every single thing in your apartment only reminded you and the relationship. Even the clothes in your closet were mixed around with his, the scent of his body wash from when he'd stayed over sticking to your clothes.

Showing up to work the next day felt more of an obligation that something that you used to look forward to, stares from your fellow spiders following you throughout the building. You'd done your best to ignore them when you were starting out with Miguel, ignoring their glares and their whispered voices as they called you a 'homewrecker.' Now that you didn't have Miguel's reassuring presence, you were solely depending on your ability to be able to ignore them. They all stared at you the same way that you felt, like a toy that had just finished fulfilling its use and was now tossed off to the side.

You weren't sure if it was the morning sickness or the fact that the recruit had her hand wrapped around Miguel's arm as he started to give the report on what to do today but just the mere sight of it had you wanting to throw up. Your eyes locked with Miguel, a small flash of guilt appearing on his features before his face contorted back to its normal state. You almost wanted to roll your eyes as the recruit batted her lashes up at him, staring at him like he held all the answers but you were pretty certain that you used to look at him the same way. Some of the other spider recruits turned to look at you at the sight and you could only wish that the earth would swallow you alive.

Coming back from your mission didn't provide you with the comfort that you'd needed, your forehead bleeding from a small gash that you'd gotten fighting. You'd been so focused on other aspects of your life to notice the piece of rubble that was aimed straight for your head. Luckily enough, one of the many Peters was present to warn you about it and the piece only managed to scratch you up slightly. You sat down at the nurse's table, noticing her eyes widen slightly at the sight of you but she quickly suppressed the surprise on her face. She applied some alcohol on the wound and cleaned it up, trusting your healing to do the rest.

You walked down the halls of the society to go to the cafeteria, having a bit of a craving for a burger. Seeing Miguel walking on the other side of the hall made you hold a breath, your footsteps getting faster. You figured that you were getting these dirty looks because they wouldn't dare do to that their boss, but the admiration on the rest of the spiders' face was starting to get ridiculous. "Miguellll, hi baby!" The woman from earlier announced, slotting herself next to him. You felt tears starting to sting when you saw him wrap his arm around her shoulders, holding her close the same way that he used to do to you.

The thoughts of having an abortion circulated through your brain while you sat alone, angrily biting into the burger with Miguel's face on it. While you doubted the ability of actually being able to go through this pregnancy by yourself, the thought of getting rid of the fetus just seemed too drastic to actually go through. Or at least, that was what you established as the main reason behind continuing with the pregnancy. The truth was, that despite everything that Miguel had done to you, you couldn't help but want a small piece of him with you. The idea of even having the slightest bit of him reflected on the baby was just enough for you to push those thoughts away.

You felt dirty sitting down on the floors of the bathroom, your head buried into your hands as you stifled the sobs threatening to come out through your throat. You looked up when someone knocked on the door, wiping away the tears dripping down your cheeks as you stood up. “I didn't mean to disturb but I was just wondering if you were okay," Gwen told you, standing there awkwardly with her hands in her pocket. You'd never focused too much on trying to build a relationship with any of your co-workers, stuck in the belief that you didn't care what anyone thought about you as long as you had Miguel so you appreciated the bit of kindness that she had to share.

"Not really," you offered, wiping your face so as to not appear too disheveled in front of her. "Would you like to talk about it?" She then asked you, looking a bit uncomfortable to be stuck playing therapist. Lucky for her, you didn't feel like explaining that the reason that you felt so upset was that your boyfriend had cheated on you. "Not really," you repeated, rubbing the back of your head awkwardly as another Spider-Woman came into the bathroom. You'd expected Gwen to walk off after that but the girl simply looked at you with understanding, realizing that you couldn't put the way that you were feeling into words yet. "Me and Hobie were actually about to go practice guitar for a little while, but there's a drum kit if you want to try that out."

Hitting a drum until most of your frustrations faded away seemed like a healthier coping mechanism than your usual ones, so you agreed and went with Gwen into her dimension. Gwen and Hobie had left to a secluded area to practice their guitar in peace, leaving you alone with your thoughts and sticks in your hands. While the sounds that were being elicited by your fury weren't exactly melodic, the drum certainly provided you with a feeling of peace with every smack that you took. The sounds of the strings of the guitar melted in with the off pitch sound of the drums, the sound of chaos weirdly providing you with the relief that you needed.

You'd been hitting the drums for what seemed to be forever, losing yourself into the adrenaline that was coursing through your veins when Gwen stepped in through the door. "Sorry to disturb your sesh, it seemed like you were really getting it on in there but we have to head back. Something about a mission, you okay to get back on your own?" Gwen asked you, standing by the doorframe as she peeked her head into the room. "I think I'll stay for a little while, but thank you for offering. I appreciate you for letting me crash here," you responded, stopping so she could hear you properly. After a couple minutes that Gwen had left, you departed as well since you'd felt that you'd gotten the relief that you needed.

You tried your best to get yourself to hate him, burning his clothes and ripping every photograph of the two of you but no matter how much you tried, you couldn't get yourself to hate him. It'd be easier for yourself if you could, because hating him seemed like the better alternative than loving him to the point it was starting to hurt you. But the truth was, that even if you could've predicted what happened between the both of you, you're not too sure that you would do anything different regardless. While you despised feeling like a discarded piece of trash, the amount of happiness that he provided you for the time he did was too euphoric for you to give up.

You were planning on just to relax after finishing up with the task of getting rid of his stuff, a knock on your door putting all your plan to a halt. You opened the door to see Miguel standing there, his arms folded across his chest with an uncomfortable expression. "Come in," you mumbled, stepping back and opening the door wider so he could come in. You figured that you were at least due for an explanation so you were willing to open the door just to get the closure that your poor heart needed. He came into the house, maneuvering his way the same way he used to do. You stood at the door in a bit of shock, closing the door and standing at a distance from him.

"I wanted to come here and apologize to you. I shouldn't have cheated on you and i'm deeply sorry for any hurt that I might've caused you," he spoke up after a couple seconds, his apology sounding like something rehearsed. You stayed quiet, gesturing for him to continue as you let the words seep in. "And for the way that I talked to you, it wasn't right of me to disrespect you. I don't know what you want me to say though, you knew that I was a cheater when I first met you and even if I wanted to stop, I can't," he added, his figure looming over yours in the small apartment. You couldn't help the small scoff that escaped from your throat once he finished talking.

"You couldn't stop your cheating tendencies just because you're wired that way, are you serious?" You asked him, your voice slightly raising as you walked closer. "I should've known that chasing a relationship with you would've ended the same way as always and I'm sorry. You were always too good to me," he responded, looking everywhere in the room except for your face. "No, you don't get to do this. You don't get to come into my house and paint yourself as the victim. Take some accountability for once in your damn life!" You screamed at him, unable to keep the rage brewing inside of you at bay.

"Fine, you want me to take accountability? The truth is that I got bored. I got bored in the same monotony that we were living in and I sought out for that type of excitement that you'd given me when we started out. There was nothing wrong with you, nothing wrong with you denying me sex either. It was just me needing to do something stupid and reckless," he spoke up after a while, finally looking at you in the eye. You let out a small sigh of relief, finding some solace in the fact that he was finally being honest with you without using any manipulation tactics. "You could've communicated that with me, y'know? We could've worked something out."

Miguel took a deep breath, almost like he hadn't given any thought to the alternative solutions available. "I took the easy out and I'm sorry for that. I also wanted to detach myself from you, I didn't want any interference in what your canon event would be," he added, making you lose all hope for the progress that the two of you had made so far. You knew how much he prioritized the maintaining of the canon, but you weren't expecting for him to use it to justify his cheating. "You can't be serious right now. I don't want you to excuse your cheating. I just want you to give me an explanation," you told him, speaking much quieter than last time.

"There is no other explanation apart from the fact that I was just simply bored and she provided me with the relief that I was seeking. Truth is, I can't even stand her that much. If I could've guessed that it would hurt you this badly, I wouldn't have bothered to do it," he played with his hands as he spoke, seemingly nervous. "Guess it was my form of karma," you muttered, a dry chuckle eliciting from your throat as you looked away. "Mira, I know that nothing I do is going to remove the fact that I cheated on you. But I do want you to give me another chance, please. I promise that we could make this work this time, I promise that if I try hard enough I could fall in love with you again," he told you, the words making your eyes widen.

It felt futile trying to deny yourself that Miguel had given you a new experience to relationships, allowing you to lose yourself in him and the time that you spent together. But the more that you thought about it, the more that you realized that you couldn't go back to him no matter how much you wanted to. You craved the intimacy that he once had given you, but even as you looked at him now, you couldn't stop picturing the woman that'd been on top of him just a couple days prior. The decision wasn't made for your sake, more so for the sake of the way that this turbulent relationship would affect the unborn child.

"I never had to try to love you, Miguel," you simply told him, your heart shattering even more with every second that passed. "I'm sorry but I can't do that. I’ll always appreciate everything that you showed me and everything that you did for me, and I'll always love you at some degree even if I try not to. But I can't be in a relationship with you now," you added, seeing his expression darken a bit at being rejected. "I'm not asking for you to be in a relationship with you, but I am asking you to give you a chance. Please, te lo suplico," he told you, getting on his knees as he held your hands in between his. (i beg of you) He leaned in his head towards your stomach, looking at you with such a vulnerability in his eyes. It took you a lot of self-restraint to be able to deny him, especially when he put himself in this position. "Please just go."

After he left your apartment, you felt a sort of weight lift up from your shoulders at the relief that things had gone moderately well between the two of you given the circumstances. As much as you wanted to get back into the dating world to help you get over the love that remained for Miguel, you knew deep down that you would only be dating solely to replicate the feelings that you experienced with him. The fact that he told you that he could love you if he tried hard enough stuck with you, your hands gripping around the teddy bear you were holding with more force. But despite the short lived anger that you'd felt towards him, you felt some peace knowing his reasoning for the indiscretion wasn’t out of spite for you.

[kingslimeball]

The weight of the burdens

Joe Keery x fem!pregnant!reader

Requested by; anonymous

Contents; Angst, fluff, pregnant!reader, 8 year age gap

Summary; Y/n finds out she's pregnant with Joe's baby not too far into their relationship. While waiting for him to arrive home, she has a mental breakdown.

Y/n started dating Joe three months ago. Three months. It's not a casual relationship; her birthday is coming up, and Joe has been planning something for her. He hasn't said what, to avoid giving away the surprise. But he described it in one word. Big.

After Joe's previously... devastating relationship, Y/n has been trying to make things easy for him. She wants to help, of course. Help as much as he's willing to let her. As much as she's willing to go for it not to come across as pity.

Nothing has been rocky so far, which is obviously a good sign for a blossoming couple. Besides the initial drama about their age gap, which doesn't even bother either of them themselves. But as Joe said to the press in response, anything and everything could cause hysteria. He's wasn't wrong. There's worse age gaps.

Nothing could get worse. They've finally gotten over the scandals and the drama. Now they can just relax. Or at least, Y/n can relax while she sits snuggled up under a blanket, perhaps with some hot chocolate while watching a film.

That's just how Joe invisions Y/n's time alone while he's away at work.

Y/n stares at the wall, breathing irregular and sharp. Every so often, she glances back to the pregnancy test in between her fingertips, as if it will change the next time her eyes re-trace the lines.

Fuck.

Slipping the test into her pocket, Y/n finally decides to leave the bathroom after an unknown amount of time has passed in the bathroom. She sits on the sofa, not knowing what to do with herself. The TV is on, but the sound is completely drowned out by her thoughts.

She'll have turned 24 by the time she'll have the baby. That just feels too young. She's still got a life to make for herself, not a life to make in general. Does she even want to keep it? Her gut says no. Her brain says no. But what about her heart? Her heart doesn't know. Her heart makes her think about Joe.

Poor Joe. He's been through a lot of stress in his previous relationship. Y/n doesn't want to be the cause of it, too. She's supposed to be the solution, right? She'd just be making more problems for him by having this to deal with, too. It's just going to add to the weight of the burdens he'll have to carry. She already feels guilty, and nothing has happened yet.

Options of what to do run through Y/n's mind. None seem like perfect options. She could just not tell him and secretly get an abortion. It sounds dumb when she thinks it through. Keeping a secret just sounds worse. Tell him and see what he has to say. That sounds horrible, too. What would he say? What would he do? Would Joe break up with her because he wouldn't be able to handle the stress? Would he get angry, sad, excited? She just doesn't know. None of her options are good options.

Just as her anxiety peaks, she hears the front door of the apartment unlock. Joe is home. She tries to get herself together as quickly as possible, but her hands won't stop shaking.

"Hey, baby." Joe's voice calls through the apartment, sounding rather tired. The strain on his voice just makes Y/n more hesitant to tell him what she's thinking. That's when she realises she's taken way too long to think of a response. "Baby? You okay?"

Y/n's head snaps over to look at Joe in the doorframe. The look on his face says it all... It's been a long day. He takes off his coat and tossed it onto an armchair.

"I'm fine. C'mere." She murmurs, reaching out her arms to him. He smiles softly at her and walks over to sit in the empty spot. Their arms simultaneously wrap around eachother in an embrace, Y/n's face nuzzling into the crook of his neck, Joe's nestling into her hair.

It's so calm that Y/n is close to deciding to not tell Joe any of it. He seems calm, she feels calm. So that should be enough, right? But she can't just keep a massive problem like that a secret. Not just to appease him. She's got to say it. But can she get the words out?

"...Joe?" Y/n murmurs, muffled by the skin of Joe's neck. He turns his head as much as he can to look at her face from a better angle.

"Yes?" He questions. He sits back so he can look at her face. He hears that tone of voice and knows there's something bothering her. He gives her a gentle look to reassure her, whatever it may be.

"I, uhm... Well, there's this... I don't know how to tell you, but..." She trails off each time she tries to tell him. Then, she realises that she doesn't have to get the words out. She looks him in the eyes, regretting it afterwards, and slowly pulls the pregnancy test out of her pocket with her trembling hand. She panics and tosses it into Joe's lap.

Joe looks from her to what's been thrown onto him. He turns it over to see the outcome of the test, and his face falls into something unreadable. He looks at Y/n, then back at the test, then back to her again. "Baby..."

"Yeah, there is one." She replies, confused by what sounds like him speaking as a caveman would.

"No, I meant you baby."

"Ohhhh. That makes more sense."

They laugh softly, softly so that the laugh makes them feel better, but not enough to pierce through the worries and tension.

They make eye contact again, both of them a sombre expression sinking into their features. The look they give each other is enough. Words are unnecessary to say what their eyes say. They don't know what to do.

[junegirl06]

Milgram 3rd trial predictions! Now that the 2nd trial is officially over, and we have to wait until like September for the next trial to begin, I thought I could do some theorizing!

Haruka: Looking at the timeline, oh he's definitely planning... something, alone. He said he'd kill himself If Muu was voted guilty, and we all know she was. If he is planning to kill himself, then I don't think it's going to work, as he was voted guilty and thus will be restrained. However... as childish as he may be, I don't think he's entirely dumb. Perhaps he's looking for ways to work around the restrictions placed on him, or he's planning something else entirely. I just really hope he doesn't hurt any of the other prisoners, but that does seem pretty likely, actually. He definitely will not take the guilty vote well, and he's probably going to be pretty hostile to Es later on... Just based on these predictions, I'm not sure if I can vote him innocent in the 3rd trial. He's so obviously unstable, and maybe if he was treated better as a child he could have learned to function properly with whatever disorder he has, but the fact is he wasn't. If being voted innocent overall means being let out of the prison, then I... I'm not sure if that's an entirely good idea.

Yuno: Her reaction to her vote all depends on whether or not she takes it as people actually agreeing with her reasoning (or lack of) for abortion and her compensated dating. I'm not sure about the Japanese side of things, but at least here, a lot of people do support her even with all that. However... there are still a fair bit of people still like 'Yuno is a girl boss!' (or something along those lines) I have a feeling she'll still see it as people not seeing her for who she actually is. She's cold and rational, and so obviously fallen to the pit of nihilism. I'm not sure if there is a reason for that, but maybe that's the point of her character? Does she need a reason? Life is good for her, but that gets so boring and just... mundane. If everything will be fine, what's the point in doing anything bothersome? She'll probably fall back even further into her cold demeanor. I mean, if she does recognize the community understands her situation and her reasoning, then maybe she'll become slightly more bubbly and stuff like her 1st trial. Probably open up a bit more. Me, personally, I still support her, and will probably vote her innocent in the 3rd trial, but again, I don't want her to think we're doing it out of our preconceived notions about her.

Fuuta: ... Just taking a look at his recent birthday messages in the timeline- he's so obviously started to listen to Amane and her cultish stuff. I literally can't imagine what a brainwashed Fuuta will look like, but I don't think it'd be pretty. He was suffering so much during the 2nd trial, and he probably did start listening to Amane's spiel because he needed something to ground him. I'm sure the innocent vote this time around did make him feel better though. He's fully aware that what he did to that girl online was bad, and I really don't think he'd be the type of person to think he's fully forgiven just because of this one vote. Though he'd definitely want Es to vote him innocent again in the 3rd trial. And if he's acting generally normal and it's clear he does understand exactly why we voted him guilty and innocent, then...I think I would vote him innocent. Unless he does something horrible because of the whole- potentially might be brainwashed into Amane's cult thing.

Muu: She will not take the guilty vote well, I can feel it. Maybe she stopped hanging out with Haruka as well. I can see that affecting Haruka pretty badly too. I can imagine her getting extremely angry as Es. Or maybe trying to go back to her "boo-hoo look at me who got bullied really badly" thing, to try to guilt trip Es into voting her innocent again. Obviously, that won't work though, resulting in Muu getting really angry/lashing out at him in the voice drama. I think she has a pretty white-and-black view of what's "right" and "wrong." She was probably struggling with herself in the 1st trial, dealing with the shock and guilt over having murdered somebody, but still desperately trying to tell herself she was in the right. Since we voted her innocent then, she was able to fully convince herself she was right, and that's why people voted her guilty then. She needs to see she is in the wrong, while also having a very reasonable motive. That wouldn't end up working though. Because these votes aren't a means to communicate with the prisoners, it's just a verdict. I'm honestly not sure if I want Muu to be voted innocent, or guilty overall. But if being voted guilty overall means the death penalty or something, I don't think Muu deserves that.

Shidou: He knows exactly why we voted him innocent 2 times in a row. I'm sure he does understand his motive can be seen as sympathetic, and he is a doctor. He can patch anybody up if the prisoners get into a skirmish again. He was confused with himself in the second trial, desperately wanting to be given retribution, yet now feeling a desire to live. Being voted innocent twice, and now firmly guaranteed he will be voted innocent overall, he'll either fully accept living again, taking back his skill as a doctor with a sense of pride, or... perhaps fall back into his old thinking patterns. I mean, that's honestly just a thought, but the distorted voice line in the 2nd trial character voice trailer really got me thinking. "You're in my way...hurry up and die." He really had a tunnel vision for saving his wife. (or kids, I'm not entirely sure) His profession as a doctor, specifically one in charge of organ transplants, perhaps did give him a vague sense of superiority. I'm not sure where, but somebody in a comment or something mentioned he may have had a God complex? I'm horrible at explaining this- but it honestly makes some sense to me that he may have had that sort of line of thinking as a doctor. His grief and guilt over the fact he couldn't save his family and the knowledge he was bringing that same pain to so many other families knocked him down a peg. However... maybe the innocent votes we gave him did bring him up again, and he goes back to that sort of mentality.

Mahiru: I sincerely hope she's feeling better after we gave her the innocent vote. Maybe she's started to recover nicely as well! I mean, it's just hopeful thinking, but it'd be nice if she's able to walk again. I do think she'll at least sort of go back to her bubbly personality. Maybe she'll make friends with Amane! Amane did mention Mahiru was nice to be around. Her view on love is obviously pretty warped, but I mean, she honestly feels like a nice lady with good intentions deep down. Unless some absolutely new surprising development happens that makes Mahiru out as really bad- I think I'll be voting Mahiru innocent again. I can see her being like, one of the few generally calm ones in whatever chaos happens between the prisoners before the 3rd trial.

Kazui: Now, in his 2nd trial voice drama, he basically begs Es to truly uncover his sin/lies, because he doesn't have the strength to at this point. It wasn't cheating, like we thought in the 1st trial, and now the leading theory is he's gay. I... I'm pretty sure that is correct, based on all the hints we've gotten so far. I think Kazui would open up to Es a bit more if that was the case, maybe even tell him the full story? I think he'd interact more with the prisoners this time around, being there to protect people if anyone tries something funny. Again, I think he'd be one of the few "normal" acting prisoners in the 3rd trial. Unless some crazy development happens, I'm fully willing to vote him innocent 3 times in a row.

Amane: Now... in the 1st trial we voted her guilty because we didn't want her to fall further into the cult's teachings. That obviously didn't work. Now we voted her innocent. The question is, will this cause her to further validate the cult's doctrines, or in some weird way cause her to realize what we've been wanting her to realize from the start: that she fully deserved to get back at her parents and the cult for everything they did to her, but what she did was STILL BAD. The reason she fell back on her faith was because we rejected her views. Because she needed something to ground her, to protect her from the shock and guilt of murder. So perhaps the opposite will cause her to open up a little more - and not double down on her faith like we predicted in the 1st trial. But the fact she somehow managed to indoctrinate/ in the process of indoctrinating Fuuta into her faith does leave me concerned. Since she's not restrained, I can totally see her trying to attack Shidou or something. Or maybe because Shidou was also voted innocent alongside her, so she wouldn't? Like- him using all his medical stuff is forgivable, but Amane's beliefs that medicine is bad are also forgivable kind of thing. I mean, personally, I'm willing to vote her innocent overall. I actually hope so - because the poor girl literally needs therapy instead of whatever Milgram is. Every prisoner needs therapy.

Mikoto: In his voice drama, John mentioned he'd "disappear" if Mikoto was voted innocent. Because the reason John was appearing more frequently was the stress the guilty vote from the 1st trial put on Mikoto, and now the innocent vote will serve to calm him down a bit more. Personally, I don't think John will fully disappear, but I'm sure John will appear a lot less. (Unless something crazy happens like another prisoner attacking Mikoto again) There's still that thought in my head that Mikoto might be lying to some degree- that he did murder somebody as himself, but with the second trial, that idea has become a lot less certain. It might literally just be as simple as - John killed a bunch of people and Mikoto himself doesn't remember any of it and was only labeled as the Milgram prisoner because he is the dominant personality. That innocent vote will definitely calm Mikoto down significantly. Maybe he'll open up a bit as well, and not like, put on that fake smile even when he's super stressed. To be honest - I'm not sure if I want to give Mikoto an innocent vote. I mean If I'm looking purely at Mikoto, then, yeah, sure. But John is still a part of Mikoto, and no matter the reason, John has done some pretty bad stuff.

Kotoko: She won't take the guilty vote well, and It isn't only a matter of her getting pissed off at Es. (which she probably will) Her vigilante shtick is literally Kotoko's life, her purpose to live, and we rejected it. She'll be grappling with herself, actually starting to question everything she's done. It will be a slap in the face for her - a reminder that she is truly a prisoner here, a murderer. I think maybe she will actually start being remorseful? Or maybe she'll just fall further back in her mindset like Amane did in the 2nd trial. I can also see that. I can also totally see somebody like Fuuta trying to get revenge on Kotoko while she's restrained. That'd take a lot of sympathy away from Fuuta, (at least for me) and will definitely lead to some drama, so that is a very real possibility. I can also see Shidou hurting Kotoko as well, actually. Though that possibility is a lot less, he did talk about "extracting the fang" in Triage. I don't know if I should vote her innocent or not if that's the case. I suppose it's like a "wait and see" kind of thing.

[neechees]

Looking back on Twilight criticism is so funny because mainstream crit (that I saw anyway) was all focused on "Ew girls like it" when literally the ENTIRE BOOK NEEDS CRITICISM IT STARTS WITH A CREEPY DUDE WATCHING A GIRL WHILE SHE SLEEPS AND WHEN SOMEONE ASKS "How much racism will Smeyer add?" SHE ANSWERED "Yes."

Exactlyyy. White ppl will like hide behind any type of marginalization they face (like misogyny, homophobia, etc) when they wanna dodge either being accused of racism, or things they like that are racist & being critisizes for that racism, even when said marginalization has nothing to do with it.

Twilight itself is an extremely misogynistic book, where it places White women as the ultimate standard of femininity, particular thin rich White women who are stay at home moms, home makers, etc, and places all other women as not as good or "pure" as them. Bella at 17 literally looks after her dad and cooks and cleans for him. Leah is demonized as a Native woman for literally no reason & gets used as a punching bag throughout the film & books. Abortion is seen as "murder", even when the fetus is slowly killing the mother & clawing its way out of her. There's more obvi but those are just a few examples.

But even if you ignore the racism or misogyny (which you shouldn't) it also romantisizes abuse, what with Edward fitting ALL "signs that your partner is abusive" ticks.

If you ignore the romantisization of abuse, it's also classist: the Cullens are upheld as this angelic set if vampires who are literally billionaires, and could go any fucking place in the world, but they decide to go to the one place they agreed not to go near (due to a treaty with the Quileute Forks) & where they were literally already colonizers who disrupted & harmed the Native population & where they're a threat to the Quileute & they go there for no reason. Edward replaces Bella's old car that her dad & Jacob had fixed up for her (which she had already stated to adore, one reason being that she has an interest in old things) with a sports car, purely to one up Jacob. They all drive various sports cars & Alice routinely wears & throws out clothes. They're held up to this romantisized standard against Bella & the Quileute tribe's middle to lower class status, & this is meant to be another point of why Edward is supposedly better than Jacob (because he is rich).

If you ignore the classism, racism, & misogyny then there's also the weird Mormon ideology literally baked into the entire series, & it can be considered essentially Mormon propaganda. The Native characters are demonized, obviously (considering Mormons literally think Native people are evil). None of the vampires have tattoos but all the werewolves do, & according to the lore, any and all tattoos get removed after becoming a vampire (which is what Mormons believe happens to tattoos in their afterlife). In the books, any poc who become vampires become pale regardless of their skin color in life, & again, this is what Mormons believe happens to poc who become Mormons & enter the afterlife. The whole "no sex before marriage" thing & the abortion thing. Bella & a lot of the other non-demonized female characters dress pretty conservatively, & Edward finds a full length skirt sexy & "indecent". The (white) vampires are repeatedly compared to "angels" & called beautiful & perfect. Other non Christian, non-Mormon religions (& the people that belong to/practice them) in the series are routinely demonized & mocked. Vampirism, but namely for the White characters, is literally an allegory for White Mormons in heaven.

If you ignore all the above and a bunch of other bigoted & weird shit in the series that I haven't yet mentioned, then it's genuinely just very dumb & badly written with stupid logic. Bella thinks it's weird how the Cullens all have really old names when HER name is literally "Isabella Swan". The Cullens literally hate the Quileute & "werewolves" for no fucking reason since they literally trespassed on Quileute land as colonizers in the 1800s, & it's already been established that the shapeshifters aren't even actually real werewolves in the lore so therefore they have no inherent quarrel with them based on the vampire vs werewolves thing, so they just hate them for no reason. The vampires keep going to high school & learning the same shit over and over again when they could be going to COLLEGE or idk doing something productive. Jasper apparently has to teach the Natives how to fight so obviously Smeyer has never seen a rez fight. Jasper is considered a "newborn" even though he was literally turned in the 1860s. Bella gave her kid the dumbest name ever. Ppl have been memeing & making fun of this series since it came out, & I feel like it's hypocritical for twilight fans to both say "ppl only hated it because girls liked it but its actually really good!" While also saying they find it hilarious even the actors made fun of it & hated making it because of its many faults (like so you agree? People made fun of it even back then?) And while also saying they "enjoy it critically" meaning. They admit there's something wrong with it, but still get mad when ppl critisize it.

[mermaidsirennikita]

What did you mean by twilight being “era specific” in your tags on the reblog about upcoming reboots?

I think that when Twilight came out, the book especially (which built a ground fanbase for the movie to launch from) there was less pseudointellectual web analysis, PLUS there was less care for the genuine problems with the series. In some ways, Twilight Discourse helped propel some early era "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!" puritanical bullshit.

things people weren't clocking super heavily when Twilight came out that I think are legitimate issues:

--Stephenie Meyer is a devout Mormon, and as such her politics seep into the books; the conservativism surrounding sex despite the inherent titillation of "when will they fucking fuck"; the anti-choice messaging; the racism, which lemme tell you, has some Very Specific Implications when it comes from a Mormon author. (Now I.... clocked her as soon as I saw the name "Stephenie", and had it confirmed as soon as I read she was named that for her dad, for reasons I won't get into. But a lot of people didn't.)

--Going back to the racism... It's real bad, and the movies made it worse by casting a white guy the most important indigenous role. Everyone else was played by Native actors. Not Jacob Black, the third most crucial character in the entire series. The fact that they baldly got away with that in 2008? Says a lot. Like, they weren't even trying to pass him off, they just went "well, he can tan". In fact, I think Taylor Lautner SAID he'd work up a tan for the second movie. I mean, he was already pretty tan, the just sprayed him down further. Problem solved, right?

--Nessie is dumb as hell in general, but it's also like... so anti-choice. Like. Bella is literally dying lmao. But not only is it presented as Right and Understandable that she'd want to die to birth this demonic child--the crucial thing about this is that EDWARD, MY MAN, is presented as the bad guy for really, really wanting her to abort. He is being completely logical and a loving partner here. He rightly points out that they have no fucking idea what this kid is, and also, most importantly, he loves Bella and puts her first and wants her to LIVE. Can I just say--unintentionally, the romantic hero everyone was losing their shit over in 2005-2012? Being super about his wife having a life-saving abortion? Kind of iconic. Edward is a pro-choice ally, lmao. (He even tells Jacob like "FINE WHATEVER IF SHE WANTS A BABY THAT BAD YOU CAN FUCK HER IDGAF" in what is. Objectively. A hilarious scene. I've seen Edward antis try to paint this as like, him trying to control her bodily autonomy--dude, Edward could have physically forced Bella to get an abortion. He does not, he simply wants this woman to LIVE.)

But then, as soon as the demon baby is born, he's all in love with her because he realizes she was a Soul Baby this entire time. Lol. No. In a post-Dobbs world, I don't know how you do this, and I think that if you have to entirely redo a crucial part of the series, why. bother. making it.

Never mind Jacob falling in love with a baby.

There are other problems, obviously, but you also have the SAVE THE GIRLS FROM THEIR HORNY DESIRES crowd, who thinks the entire series should be thrown in the trash because Edward is a) abusive because he doesn't want Bella to go be a frosty delight and die or b) abusive because he does want Bella to be a frosty delight and die c) abusive because he doesn't put out (a truly wild take lmao, he's sexually manipulating belly by dangling his cherry in front of her, and she somehow has zero alternatives, certainly not the other guy vying for her hand) d) abusive because he like, tries to buy her a new car and give her nice things...? e) abusive because he doesn't love the idea of his girlfriend hanging out with another guy who tries to kiss her and shit f) abusive because he DOES want her to hang out with that guy and wants her t have werepuppies to distract from the loss of their demon babies.

There is a lot of discourse around Bella, Edward, and Jacob that I find very stupid. I cannot imagine it's going to be any better in a post-Twitter post-X world.

I also think that, frankly? The youth want different things. If they want vampires, they want the Gothic melodrama (and more racially conscious updates) of a show like Interview with the Vampire. If they want teen content, they want teen content that incorporates people who aren't universally cishet and white (Quileutes aside, and as we have discussed... bad).

UNFORTUNATELY, the teens are also less horny, apparently, than they were when I was a teen. Which I think is the result of puritanical stuff/the conservative appropriation and perversion of theoretically solid progressive concepts.... among other things... and we need to make it so that teens feel comfortable with exploring things in an emotionally and physically healthy way. BUT. That's going to take time, and I don't think that the thing that really helped Twilight surmount the discourse, which is that--we Twihards were largely very horny about it--is going to work right now.

Also; if you are not a puriteen, I don't really think Twilight's particular brand of "oh my god, he might just touch my lips while I wear my khaki skirt" horniness is going to work for you, either. Like I said, it was a specific time. The kids who were really anti-sex were less the liberals who are worried about fictional characters' consent being violated when we watched movies... It was Silver Ring Thing kids, who lemme tell you, as someone who did not partake but knew several... Those kids.... wanted to throw down. Really bad.

And so Twilight appealed to that mindset that was like, pervasive in 2008--you don't abstain because you don't or shouldn't want it, you abstain because it's this thing that you will be able to have as soon as it is Right to have it. Like the Jonas Brothers! They did that, right? They really committed to the purity rings, riiiiiiiiiight?

The knowledge that you're waiting for this thing that you have a semi-specific timestamp on (your wedding night) and it's going to be sooo worth the wait (it will not, at least not for a while lol) was this deeply titillating thing for much of the target audience, because that's what Twilight was almost literally evoking. Edward wouldn't have sex with Bella until their wedding night, but he TEASED her. The entire series was arguably abut this leadup to the sex. And boy, was it disappointing! But until it happened, I think the series really captured that breathless anticipation. And I just don't think people are currently very interested in that.

They might as well have been soaking

Also. Bella's dad is a cop.

[softmafia]

Magician’s Assistant

Contains: fem y/n, oc insert, smut, sexual tension, violence, oral(fem receiving), mentions of fingering

I finally got this blog back in order, lol. Hope you guys haven’t forgotten about mee!!!

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Y/n chewed on her bottom lip, a nervous habit she had developed at a young age. Hisoka always loved to watch her do that, and he especially loved when he would have to dab away the splotches of blood that would drop from her swollen lips.

“It should be lunch time in a couple of minutes.” Y/n said, “Once the guards slip out we can just walk right in. Terrible security, they’d let a fucking bear into this place.”

Hisoka chuckled and crossed his arms, looking a bit confident as he stood on the ledge of a building, while Y/n kneeled beside of him.

He held his chin and smiled with interest as three burly looking gentlemen walked out of the building, “Through those doors, huh? That easy?” He looked back down at Y/n, watching as she slowly rose up, but still managed to be quite shorter than him, “Seems too good to be true.”

Shrugging while she turned to look at him, “They’re just that dumb. Trust me. I’ve came here for everything I need and they still haven’t upgraded the security system.” Y/n put her hands in her pockets and looked back down, “The only thing they did was hire new guards but.. I’ve killed the older ones.”

“Or..” Hisoka started, putting a hand on his hip, “You’re working with the owner of that building, and you’re trying to trap me. Word has it that criminals are paying top dollar for live, skilled hunters.” He knew that his claim wasn’t true, because if she really wanted to kidnap him— she would’ve done it all by herself. Hisoka just wanted to get a reaction out of his sweet girl.

Y/n narrowed her eyes, and tilted her head at him, frowning, “You really think I would do that to you?” She scoffed, “How stupid do you think I am? I’d obviously think of something better, durr.” And after that, she stepped off of the building, landing on her feet once she hit the ground.

Hisoka put a hand over his mouth and laughed, before following right after Y/n. He adored that feisty attitude of hers, always bouncing back from his quips, making him chuckle.

But what Hisoka was really enamored with was her walk— oh how it drove him mad sometimes, Y/n swaying her hips like that, her arms swinging back and forth with a little bounce to her step. Hisoka bit his lip and ogled her for a brief moment before striding confidently to her side. The automatic doors opened for them, to which Y/n grinned up at Hisoka, “Told ya.” She clicked her tongue at him before skipping into the main lobby.

It was surprisingly empty, pretty convenient for Hisoka.

Y/n jumped up onto the ledge of the giant, built-in stone flower bed, standing on her hands, then bending back and landing on her feet whilst Hisoka stayed on the ground, walking beside her, “So, what are you looking for here? They have literally every file on every world leader that isn’t affiliated with the hunter association.” She said, doing a smooth somersault, “Not every day a certified hunter shows up to this place, usually they hire a nobody lacky to get some info for them.”

She paused, then flipped one last time before landing in a sitting position, “Unless.. that’s why you brought me here?” Y/n grinned, “So I can get a file for you? Sooo, if they catch me, you can abort mission while I take all the heat?” She tilted her head and looked at Hisoka, standing ahead of her with his back turned. Hisoka leaned his head up, slowly rolling his neck before turning around to face her, “If that were the case, princess, I wouldn’t have walked in with you.♡” He smiled.

Of course, Hisoka knew Y/n was more than capable of holding her own, but.. would she seriously think he would put her in danger for his own selfish needs?

Hisoka knew who he was. A whimsical liar, but an asshole, he was not.

Y/n smiled at him as she slid off, her boots made a small thud on the smooth tiles when she landed, “Suree..” she squinted at him, giggling before walking ahead. Hisoka exhaled through his nose, biting back a wide grin while he went back to following her, “Top floor is where they keep records, yes?” He was beside her again, looking down at her. “Yup. I know a way up through the vents but..” Y/n turned to look at Hisoka, eying him up. And he was in fact, a very large man, “I ain’t even touching that plan.”

Hisoka shook his head and chuckled, “Oh what ever do you mean?♪” he drawled sarcastically.

Y/n scrunched her nose at him and pulled the machine gun out of the strap on her back, then held it over her shoulders, “Elevator it is!”

Finally, they arrived at the top floor. Hisoka walked in front while Y/n hid behind his massive body, syncing her footsteps with his. Seeing as there were guards at the end of the hall, Hisoka wanted to use a bit of the theatrics. The morbid element of surprise.

“Holy hell.. it’s him. The magician.” One of the guards said, setting down the half eaten sandwich. “Yeah, yeah.. it’s him. From the arena, right?” Another man replied.

“That’s him, but he’s also a hunter. You know what the boss says, shoot those fuckers on sight.”

Hisoka merely chuckled, holding his hands out and using a shield of bungee gum to trap the bullets, narrowing his eyes at how the pellets stretched his gummy barrier. “If I’m being honest, gentlemen, slaughtering people like you just bores me so.” He smirked, watching as the men lowered their guns, either in fear, confusion; or both, “But luckily my lovely assistant just loves the dirty work.♪”

The satisfying sound of Y/n twirling her gun out of her holster never failed to amuse Hisoka, the sharp click of the trigger followed by a faint whoosh. She stepped out from behind Hisoka, aiming her pistol, and in the blink of an eye, the hallway became a massive shootout. The guards took many of Y/n’s bullets, but they were still standing, surprisingly. “Damn.. guess they did get an upgrade.” Y/n shrugged and flipped her gun back into her holster, deciding to launch herself at the guards.

While Y/n was busy, Hisoka took his chance to sneak past the chaos and into the records room.

Hisoka had his own walk as well, a confident stride— one shoulder in front of the other, his hips following the motions, a casual sway to them, letting his presence known in each step. He was a powerful man, no doubt to it. Even those who have never heard of him can’t help but break a sweat when they see him. But.. that could also due to his jester get-up.

Despite the mayhem going on behind of the door, Hisoka took his sweet time looking for the files and records he was looking for. He knew how trigger happy Y/n was, if anything else came in her way she would make sure to deal with it. Obstacles weren’t an issue for him when Y/n was by his side.

Hisoka was attracted to her strength; as was Y/n, attracted to his violence and mysterious nature.

But suddenly, was a loud noise that alerted Hisoka, the door opening once again, then slamming shut. He knew who it was.

“Have fun, darling?♡” Hisoka smiled, hearing her crawl on top of one of the filing cabinets, then crawling towards him. “Eh, sad that it was just the two of them.” Y/n shrugged and wrapped her arm around Hisoka’s shoulder, placing her other hand on his shoulder, sliding down to his bicep. She bit her lip as Hisoka’s muscles flexed each time he skimmed through a file. Y/n laid her head down on his shoulder, “Anything particular you’re looking for?” She tilted her head up to look at him, admiring his jawline, his hairline, his sharp nose.

“A prime minister in the Federation of Ochima.” Hisoka hummed, then turned to look at her, “Looks like we’ll have to fly for our next mission, baby.♪”

Y/n grumbled and stuck her face into his neck, “Fuck. I hate airplanes.” She pulled away and held onto Hisoka’s arm, “Think you can rent one of those airships again? The ones with a personal butler?”

Hisoka smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist, rubbing up and down her side, giving it a little squeeze before he pulled a file out of the cabinet, “Oh? You don’t like riding first class with me?” He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “Do you know how many times I almost got caught sneaking into first class? Dude, I hid in one of your suitcases for an hour.”

“Anything for love, right darling?” Hisoka laughed and shut the cabinet, then pulled his body between Y/n’s legs, hands on her thighs. Y/n frowned at him, then cupped his face before deciding to lean in, capturing his lips with her own. Hisoka let out a quiet, pleasured groan of satisfaction, the corners of his lips curled up in a soft smile. “Ahh~ Feeling rather affectionate today, baby?♡”

Y/n scrunched her nose at him and pulled away, “Shut up.. I’m always affectionate.” She stuck her tongue out at him, only for him to give it a little kiss before his hands migrated to her hips. “Oh yes, as affectionate as a snapping turtle.” He teased, before he narrowed his gaze, shifting downwards between her legs, he loved buttering up Y/n, making her soft, easily submitting to him, sometimes he compared himself to a zookeeper taming a dangerous beast. Hisoka moved his hand down her torso, over her exposed stomach, then down to her belt where he began to take it off.

The girl quickly noticed what Hisoka was planing, she grinned at him; quite cheekily if he might add. Y/n helped him by unbuttoning, then unzipping her pants, then pulling them off until it was hanging off of her left leg. “Pretty little panties..” Hisoka mumbled with a smile before leaning in, his nose pressed against her clothed clit, that sensitive little bud. Y/n looked down at Hisoka and whimpered, her hips trembled and buckled into his face, “You gonna eat me out right here?” She chuckled shakily, trying to be snarky but.. with her whimpering and trembling like that, she was just a small kitten trying to impersonate a jaguar.

“I know it’s a bit scandalous, but I just have to have you now.♪” Hisoka groaned before pulling her panties off of her hips. “You’ve fucked me in worse places.” Y/n snorted, then flinched when Hisoka’s strong tongue swiped up on her clit, “Remember when you fingered me while you stalked the Phantom Troupe’s boss?” She tilted her head back and whined.

Hisoka chuckled as he reminisced, all while sticking his tongue inside of her, she was already wet, which pleased him greatly.

He remembered her, sneaking up on him while he was observing Chrollo in his natural habitat. The woman nearly blew his cover just by popping up beside him so suddenly, Hisoka had no choice but to restrain Y/n in his arms to keep her from getting both of them caught. God, he wished he had her zetsu.

The magician remembered how squimy she was, how every time she wiggled, her butt rubbed up on his crotch. His hand slowly glided down between her legs, into her pants. That definitely got her to calm down.

“I was just the luckiest man in the world that day, wasn’t I?” Hisoka mumbled as he kissed and licked her clit, “Stalking my prey while fingering my pretty girl.♡” inhaling her scent while feeling aroused at her moans. The most favorite thing for Hisoka to do was hear her noises, to hear how good he was making her feel. That alone gratified him, even when the only thing brushing up on his cock was the inside of his boxers..

Y/n whimpered and couldn’t help herself, wrapping her legs tightly around Hisoka’s head until her thighs were squished on either side of his face. “Mmf~” Hisoka muffled in surprise, then smirked up at her and dove deeper into her cunt. The jester held her hips and yanked them closer to him, he licked the inside of her walls, nose nuzzling her wet clit, and a small drop of his saliva rolling down her bottom as he devoured her.

Y/n shivered and gripped his hair, moaning and whimpering while grinding her hips on his tongue. “R-Right there~!” She squeaked and moved her hands down to grip the back of his neck. Hisoka hummed softly and licked the top of her clit, seeing as he got sweet reactions out of her— he wanted more.

He flicked his tongue, nibbled on her, and then kissed her wet hole before swirling his tongue around inside of her again.

“H-Hisoka..! Fuck~!!” She squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her legs around Hisoka’s head tighter. Y/n’s whole body was trembling, her face was heated up and sweat rolled down her skin; Hisoka knew she was getting closer.

The man leaned back and smirked at her, “Already so close, and I haven’t even pulled my cock out.♪” he teased, then licked her clit again.

“You know I’m sensitive!!! Mmmm..mmmm~!” Y/n gripped his hair again, making him grunt slightly onto her pussy. Hisoka closed his eyes and furrowed his brows, she was about to cum, and he wanted to lick up all of her sweet juices.

Hisoka opened his eyes once he felt the rush of juices flood his mouth, he quickly gulped and panted softly before pulling away. Y/n put a hand over her mouth, panting and whimpering while she came down from her high, watching when Hisoka brushed some stray strands of hair away from his forehead.

“Ah.. so sweet.” Hisoka said as he stood back up, his hands on her thighs again, rubbing them. Y/n blushed and furrowed her brows, “Shut up.. stop being smug.” She pouted. Hisoka leaned into her face, nuzzling her, “Awwwee.. I love it when I get you like this, a cute, little kitten.” He whispered, smirking while narrowing his eyes at her. Y/n hopped off of the cabinet and pulled her pants up, “Grrrrrr!!” She growled at him, scrunching her nose and pouting.

Hisoka tilted his head back and laughed, then turned Y/n around with him, “Well..” he waved the file around in the air, “I’ve got what I needed and more.♡” he chuckled and smirked down at Y/n as he began to walk out with her. She whined and stuck her bottom lip out, Hisoka helped her step over the dead bodies on the hall floor, “Why don’t we go home, take a nice bath, cuddle?” He suggested while whispering with a seductive undertone, “Because.. you are pretty bloody.” He snorted. Y/n giggled back at him and squeezed Hisoka’s hand that was on her waist, “Yeah, tends to happen when you have me kill some mother fuckers.” She shrugged and spun around, walking backwards in front of Hisoka with her arms folded behind her back, swaying her hips and smiling at him, “Your lovely assistant.” She stuck her tongue out at him, then giggled and turned back around, skipping along the hallway. “Every great magician has one, right?” Hisoka chuckled and put his hands on his hips, following after her, “Maybe I can buy you a cute little suit.. and matching bunny ears as well?♪”

“Yeah, you can jack off to that once we get back to your place.” Y/n stepped inside of the elevator, putting a hand on her hip, hovering her finger over the elevator button, “Better walk faster 'cause I’ll go without you.” After doing a little mini-jog, Hisoka was in the elevator with Y/n. He placed a hand on her back and gradually moved it down to palm her ass. He groaned in satisfaction, rolling his neck slowly as he rubbed his hand around her butt, then rested it on her hip.

“Goddamn you literally just ate me out a few minutes ago!” Y/n frowned up at Hisoka, but had an obvious red tint to her cheeks.

“Perhaps I want a bit more now, dear. Oh but I’ll save the dessert for when we get home..♡” Hisoka winked at her, then smiled wide when he saw her eyes widen and her expression soften. He could only imagine the night he would have with her once they got home.

[anamericangirl]

This bexorcist idiot is so brainless it is painful to read her “replies”. I don’t know why you’re wasting your time responding to this moron. It’s not cool to question thinking at all in the baby killing cult so it’s not like anything you say would get through to that completely smooth brain of hers.

This is the same chick who, when asked what is the point of pregnancy if not creating new life? I shit you not responded with “there is no point to pregnancy at all, honestly. We have too many fucking people. Everyone should stop breeding now anyway.” What a clown. It is an objective fact that humans are meant to reproduce. So is pretty much every other living thing on the planet. Imagine spitting your (objectively incorrect in this context) anti natalist bullshit in response to an easy and obvious question and thinking it’s some sort of own. Obviously do what you want, it’s your blog. But I personally would just stop acknowledging this loser (who seems a little obsessed with you lol) all together.

Yeah, I'm about at my wit's end with her. She started off by claiming she cares about all human lives but ever since making that statement all she's done is justify murdering people.

It never ceases to amaze me how incredibly ignorant pro-aborts are and the objective nonsense they are willing to spew just to keep justifying abortion, regardless of how dumb it makes them look.

It's a little annoying to see her completely asinine comments showing up in my notes all the time but she sucks at engaging in debate and discussion considering she doesn't know anything and thinks pregnancy doesn't have a point just because she bought into some stupid "people shouldn't be having kids" bullshit.

She is morally bankrupt and logically incoherent.

Most of the time when I engage with these morally bankrupt pro-aborts, it's not so much to change their minds because you can't change the mind of someone who doesn't operate on logic or facts in the first place, but to address objectively incorrect information so that anyone happening to read it doesn't actually believe anything ignorant pro-aborts like her say, but it does get to a point where they just shouldn't even be acknowledged anymore. So she can keep leaving her garbage opinions and objectively incorrect nonsense in my notes but she doesn't deserve any more attention because there's no point in talking to someone who doesn't know anything and can't remain consistent in the things they allege they believe.

[weebsinstash]

the overturning of Roe v Wade happened and pregnancy felt disgusting and a physical threat to be defeated

I felt that. I an asexual person with zero intention of getting married or having a baby but seeing Roe v Wade, I just... feel the need to have my tubes tied? Which should not even be a thing I consider since I have no plans to have sex. Those radical religious/misogynisitc views that are popping up nowadays just make me feel very disgusted at things that are... Really not horrible. Nothing wrong about being a housewife, or getting pregnant, but the way those incels with a mic talk about women in their podcasts just create very unhealthy relationships between women and "womanhood"/traditionally feminine things.

What's so fucked up is like the exact same people saying shit like "oh these gross LGBTQRSTUV alphabet mafia freaks are trying to groom and molest our kids! How dare they try to say kids need to learn about safe sex and periods and not to send nudes or address sex in any way other than abstinence!" will then turn around say "wow, asexuals? How UNNATURAL. You aren't PROCREATING like GOD INTENDED. You're ALSO somehow grooming our kids" and it's just like. Fuck. Leave people alone about their fucking sexuality and gender presentation.

And then sometimes I try to discuss this with my mom because like we discuss politics a lot and she's, you know, a woman and has raised me and ill seek her perspective as my mom and a woman and an adult, and sometimes she'll just be "oh don't read all that, youre getting upset over trolls, people are just stupid" ok well these stupid people can VOTE and sometimes these stupid people ARE the ones we're voting for!!! Like! I'm so tired of seeing bullshit like Americans saying "haha good on Country XYZ for making it legal to beat those t slurs in public, this is just MODERN WESTERN PROPAGANDA" and I want to scream shit like "India has recognized trans people for over 3000 years you fucking bigoted moron"

Like!!! Ugh!! Should I be furious or sad!!! (Putting the rest under a rm because this gets a little long and I also discuss abortion/miscarriage)

Fucking idiots saying shit like "oh just use birth control there's like 30 kinds" and guess what motherfucker literally the only 100% effective ones involve SURGERY. Even my OWN MOTHER got pregnant on a diaphragm. Fuck you! Fuck you! You think abortions are being used as birth control? I know at least two people who've had them and they can be ABSOLUTELY EXCRUCIATING, I am talking SCREAMING TO STOP THE PROCEDURE KINDS OF PAIN. "Oh women just want to avoid accountability" bitch some of them don't want to DIE, some of them can't raise a disabled child, some of them have diseases and conditions that can't be passed on

I... may have had some risky sex a while back with, minor precautions, ok I'll be the dumb irresponsible slut and say the pull out method was used, and while nothing came of that, obviously, literally my game plan after it happened and post nut clarity hit was "ok well I know if I need an abortion there are people who literally terrorize you outside the clinics so maybe I'll just kill myself". And you know what, I wasn't even intending to do that kind of thing, the unsafe sex, it was just, you know, happened fast and in the heat of the moment, and it happened briefly. Even I, as someone who has never wanted children and FEARED motherhood all my life, made that kind of mistake. And I spent the following three weeks in absolute TERROR waiting for my period, thinking of all the people who would happily force me to carry a child that would no doubt inherit my physical disability, my genetic disorders, and wouldn't be wanted by me or the father (and im not saying that as anything against him we are both very anti kid lol)

It's so upsetting because like, people have different opinions, and in some cases can you really say if an opinion is right or wrong? But so often do I see things that are inhumane, grotesque even. I was reading a story of a woman who was forced to carry a malformed fetus to a full pregnancy where it passed that same day. Here you have a woman who was forced to deliver what was essentially a corpse, the trauma that must have caused her, not just in mind but also in body. 9 months, 9 months of knowing it was being born just to die. And. People were legitimately replying "better that than to be ripped limb from limb inside the womb" that's a specific form of third trimester abortion which wasn't even what she was asking for you fucking idiot. "Better for the baby to know its mother's touch" it literally didn't have a properly formed brain and we don't even know if it could have even SENSED anything besides agony. "I would have wanted to hold my baby before it passed" you would have let a fetus which had abnormalities discovered in the first trimester to fully develop into a child so it could die in horrible pain just for your moral closure?

I read a comment just a few days ago that was legitimately one of the most disgusting things I had ever read and dear God I hope this person was lying but they said "I know a catholic woman who was pregnant and found out her baby would be born terminal and die shortly after birth. She carried it the full pregnancy so she could baptize it" THAT'S ABHORRENT. For you non religious folk, which I am too but I have some secondhand knowledge, the point of baptism is the idea that we are all born into sin and must be like cleansed to be children of God or something like that. And to be blunt I consider this woman an absolute monster and I replied as such.

"She let a newborn baby suffer in agony just so she could dip it in her magic fairy water? And she thinks she's the GOOD GUY?"

It's just. Ugh. I don't even know. I use culture and country as an excuse for religious freedom and sexual and gender expression (ie. Banning trans people from being visible is prejudiced to Indians, Native Americans, Samoans, Judaism, etc) but then people turn around and say "but it's my culture or religion to be homophobic/not allow abortion" and then I just want to say "well you're just an idiot who can't think for themselves then and you need to get with the fucking times :)" like obviously I am not perfect but I believe basic human rights transcends borders and beliefs. Like for example, similar but different, Malaysia is about to literally hang a man just for having a kilo of weed and people are happily saying "don't do the crime if you can't do the time" and its like do you understand it's inherently problematic to just say "their country, their rules" right. Like some places use that as an excuse to keep forms of slavery. Like to circle the argument back around states rights was an argument to try and keep slavery and now states rights is being used as an argument to criminalize abortion?

Like I try not to bring the vibe here down too often but these conversations are important. We as human beings should be helping and protecting each other and I feel a legitimate fear of society approaching some sort of social collapse or civil war. Like even if you're opposed to abortion you should actually still be voting in favor of keeping abortion because, if abortion is outlawed on moral and religious grounds, it will start the ball rolling for banning other medical procedures out of opinion and not fact. You know we already let the insurance companies do that right? Tell people their life savinf treatment isn't covered because they don't deem it medically necessary even though insurance agents arent doctors? Even on my main blog I boosted a post about a person with severe endometriosis who is being denied a hysterectomy because of their weight by the NHS but a private clinic will save them for a price, and meanwhile the endo is impacting organs outside their reproductive system

It's just. God. I'm sorry I guess I went all over the place in this post but everything is so scary now. Transphobia is on the rise, homophobia, racism, gun violence, they keep finding horrible child labor shit like 15 year olds cleaning slaughterhouses, even in my current blue state, red senators are arguing we should let young teens do construction, they're changing legislation on healthcare, on the internet, on student loans, inflation is HUGE NOW, rent is skyrocketing, homelessness is rising, just

It can be hard to keep your head up you know? I try not to be a doom and gloomer but there's legitimately scary shit happening? Like I didn't even touch on climate change and how all of these issues are going to intersect and snowball until our entire species is fucked. I know what I'm voting in 2024 but, it doesn't make anything less terrifying. If we weren't protected before, if we still really aren't now, can we really trust it to happen in the future?

[reel-fear]

Gotta say I can't stand people acting like Appledusk genuinely loved either of his mates. He didn't love Reedshine enough to be faithful, and he didn't love Mapleshade enough to not canonically stand her up for weeks, nor did he care about their kids enough not to actively (if indirectly) call them mistakes.

And no, apologists, MAPLESHADE was the side-chick. This stupid idea that Reedshine must've been the second mate because she was pregnant later is one of the stupidest things you could possibly say. Why are you implying you need to be pregnant and/or have kids to be fucking married??

And slightly off-topic, but "Mapleshade used her kits/Mapleshade babylocked Appledusk!" Is all around dumb.

THEY ARE FERAL. CATS. THEY DO NOT HAVE FUCKING BIRTH CONTROL. What do they WANT her to have done when she realised she was pregnant? Eat a deathberry?

And using the first "Appledusk is mine, these kits will make sure of that" line as "proof" is stupid too. Look at the actual context of the line in the book instead of watching one YouTube video.

Remember also: Appledusk has been standing her up on their nightly meetings for weeks to the point she had to tell him she's pregnant at a gathering. She did not just go to speak with him "because she thinks she's above the rules." Was she just meant to never tell her husband who she believes loves her she was pregnant?

Mapleshade sees from where she is hiding when Reedshine walks up to Appledusk and cuddles with him. She walked away and saw another woman move up to her husband (who she believes is monogamous and not a prick having an affair, Maple has no idea she is actively his side-chick) and flirt and snuggle him. She just told him she is pregnant, and this other woman is flirting with him. ANYONE would get momentarily jealous at that.

And even in some universe Mapleshade did genuinely think something was going on between the man she loves and Reedshine, IT TURNED OUT CORRECT. Appledusk IS having a fucking affair.

Obviously, it's not Reed's fault, it's entirely and 100% Appledusk's, but still.

And apologists need to stop using Maple thinking about Appledusk when the kits are born to back their "she used them to trap him" bullcrap. Is a new mother not allowed to think about her husband and wish the father of her children could meet them?

And bonus when they twist everything to say this but completely ignore Frecklewish and Oakstar literally stating that they want to raise the kids as weapons and nothing else.

YEA YEA... Like my biggest problem with the way ppl talk abt Mapleshade is all this shit being used as justification for why she deserves to have her life ruined and her babies die is HORRIFYING. Moth flight is shown to be incredibly easy to make jealous, Jayfeather and Lionblaze have blind faith in Starclan to tell them how to solve everything. ivypools motive for being in the df is kinda petty and she KILLS SOMEONE TWICE IN THERE. and Lionblaze only contunies to MURDER AND MURDER AND MURDER as the books go on. Hollyleaf murdered the person she saw as responsible for hurting her family only to take it back and hurt her family by unleashing the secret anyways.

Stop acting like Mapleshade deserved her tragedy at all. Compared to other warriors protagonists who also have blind faith in starclan make dumb and morally reprehensible choices she isnt any different than them. And on the babylock thing. it takes two to tango and if Appledusk didnt want kits or didnt want to stay with Mapleshade any more... Why did he "yknow" her??? Its entirely his own fault. She cant get an abortion or take a pill to not get pregnant unwanted pregnancies in warriors are so common they're becoming something the books themselves are addressing as wrong and bad. [this also works for the "she was seeing the guy who killed flowerpaw and freckles brother fucked up' excuse, I believe the time frame between that happening and maples kits being born was mentioned to be close enough that its likely Maple n Dusk had those kits BEFORE that incident. And like I said cat abortions dont exist so once again fuck Frecklewish fuck her grief she attacked and screamed at babies Im glad shes in hell <3]

When we start talking about mapleshade people suddenly switch to a mode where anything is okay unless Mapleshade did it and will do ANYTHING to twist the narrative to protect the horrible people around Mapleshade. Sure Mapleshade was dumb and naive and thats one of the biggest reasons her life falls apart. But making bad decisions and doing bad things shouldnt be punishable by kitten death in a world where Moth Flight or Clear Sky or Grey Wing get away free with the HORRIBLE actions they have taken. Bramblestar is stupid he takes actions only to boost his inflated ego and hurts his wife why did Starclan punish Maple for her wrong deeds but not him? She put blind faith in Starclan isnt an excuse BECAUSE BLIND FAITH IN STARCLAN IS BASICALLY REQUIRED IN WARRIORS!!! we only recently got arcs showing Starclan in a flawed light so no Mapleshade doesnt actually do a lot wrong by warriors standards people are just fucking dumb. Anyways if anyone reads this and feels the need to give me a nasty reply or get defensive bc Freckle, Apple, Oak and whatever the name of the riverclan leader was deserve to go to hell for their crimes. You better have passages from the book to back you up or I will eat you alive.

[poisonouswritings]

The exception Sage in modern time but it’s the gang trying to put Sage and MC in ✨situations✨ to fuck with Sage.

The gang goes on a road trip but oh! There isn’t enough space in the car :((( Mc has a car? [tucks their keys under the sofa cushion]

oH nO u can’t find your keys and we have to go now :((

guess MC is gonna have to sit on Sage’s lap the whole trip.

Yknow,

to save space and all. faint snickering in the background

Mc on Sage’s lap and suddenly he is hyper aware of every bump on the road that makes them bounce on his lap. His head is swimming and he’s so close to them and God they smell amazing. The whole road trip is actually Sage trying to conceal his rock hard erection. Cue then stopping over at a gas station and Sage excuses himself to the bathroom to furiously jerk off. Trying to relieve some pressure because his mind keeps drifting off to how amazing MC would look bouncing on his cock instead.

on a more wholesome note though: MC nodding off and falling asleep on Sage and he's both cursing everyone and thanking every God out there for this. Making them drive more carefully so Mc doesn't wake up. He hears them softly snoring and he might actually cry. He's recording ever second into his heart.

Hehehehe,, love this trope so much,,,, reg bless ur whore-knee brain

GN!Reader, gods I have a nostalgia for road trips, Sage is going to lose his fucking mind, NSFW under the cut

Rime is,, not,,, that big of a fan of the situation. Sure he finds it funny and all but the fact that Sage is so sickeningly in love and too cowardly to do anything about it annoys the hell out of him. Oh, that big dumb muscle idiot can go fuck some rando in Rime's bed (and he still has no idea how the hell Sage got into his apartment because he didn't have a fucking key so) but he can't make a move on the crush he's had for fucking ages now?????

So he'll move things along himself. He gives Felix, Tulsi, Elowen, and Anisa a heads up because obviously they're all gonna be trapped in a car together and he needs to know they're gonna be cool with it. They are. And if it makes you uncomfortable then they can always abort the mission so

You seven have been planning this road trip for over a month. You show up at Felix's apartment (he's got the biggest car so it's the one you're all taking because holy shit Rime and Felix both have so many bags) at four in the morning, trying to blink the sleep from your eyes. Anisa pops out, shockingly chipper for the early hours, and helps you unload your bags and bring them into the apartment. You lock your car and toss the keys in the bowl by the door.

Rime comes to greet you. He's also surprisingly wide awake, helping Anisa dump your stuff in the entryway with all the other stuff that has to be loaded into the car. Tulsi (who is begrudgingly awake) offers you some tea. It Does Not Help You Stay Awake. In Fact It Does The Opposite.

Sage and Felix are sleeping on the couch. Elowen, also wide awake, is quietly stacking pillows on Sage's face to see if he'll wake up.

Ur honor I love her

Anisa encourages you to go rest your eyes for a couple minutes while she and Rime get some stuff organized to make the loading easier. You're tired so you agree, dropping into an armchair and passing out.

Rime, Anisa, Elowen, and Tulsi toast their cups (coffee for the first three, caffeinated tea for Tulsi) and get to work.

See, Felix has one of those eight-seater cars, the ones with the three rows. It's the only way all six of you will fit. Felix is gonna drive, Tulsi is gonna be in the passenger seat. Then Rime, Elowen and Anisa will share the second row.

Oh but the last row is a full row! That's still enough room for two people! Unless of course, they fold away two of the three seats to make enough room for stuff. Felix has to keep his books within reach :) and Tulsi needs her cooler full of energy drinks and snaccs :) and Rime needs his makeup chest so he can touch up while taking travel selfies :) and Anisa needs space to set up her little lap desk so she can do some work on her laptop :) and Elowen needs her sketchbook and case of pencils/charcoal/etc. nearby :) So :) you see :) there's really no way they could have packed the car that didn't end up leaving them one space short :)

Then they go to wake you up. Anisa sweetly explains that, oh, they don't have quite enough room to fit everyone so you'll have to sit on Sage's lap. Is that okay?

Well you can always take your car. The keys are by the- oh- what? Tulsi says they're not over there? You scowl and start to look around when Rime catches you by the shoulders. You guys have gotta get moving to avoid traffic. Your keys are somewhere in the house. You can find them when you get back. But if you're okay with it, the easy solution is just you sitting on Sage. Is that alright?

As much as they want to get you and Sage together already, no one wants you to be uncomfortable.

You take another sip of your tea, yawn, wave a hand, and tell them it's fine. Then go to the kitchen to put your now-empty mug in the sink. Meanwhile Tulsi and Elowen wake up Felix and Sage and quickly shove them out the door. The only reason Felix isn't bitching about being woken up so early is that he knows about the plan.

Sage is a little grumbly but Tulsi promises he can sleep in the car. So he wearily clambers into the back row. The sun is starting to raise and it warms the window. He leans against it for a little nap, eyes half-open and watching the others. Tulsi and Felix are hopping into the front. But why aren't Anisa and Those Two Assholes pulling the second row seats back up so they can-

And then you step out of the house. Your hair is a little rumpled from sleep and your eyes are barely open.

Sage's heart races. A flood of adrenaline rushes through him and he perks up. Oh you look so cute all barely awake like that and he can't help but think how adorable you'd be waking up in his bed-

And then you casually come over, crawl into his lap, slump against his chest, and mumble for him to put the seatbelt on.

...... Well He's Awake Now

Sage woke up today with morning wood. It's an (un?)fortunate coincidence. So when you casually plop your ass down on his bulge, wiggle a little to get comfortable, and lean your back flush against his chest,,,

Hahaha what the fuck??? He shoots Anisa a confused look. She smiles and says there wasn't enough room so he'll just have to put up with it. Then she and Rime and Elowen pull the second row up, effectively trapping you and Sage together.

Everyone loads in, does their little adjustments. Sage's face is bright red.

He is immediately glaring daggers at Tulsi in the rearview mirror. She casually grins at him, puts her earbuds in, and slides down in her seat to nap, making it clear Sage is on his own with this. Payback for all the times he teased her for being short.

Sage,, can't,,, put the buckle around both of you. You're barely awake at this point, but you grab his wrists and loops his arms around your waist. Then tell everyone to stfu so you can nap. Then pass out.

,,,,,,,, Sage Is Not Okay

The first two hours are spent with him trying to control his breathing and will away his throbbing boner. It doesn't help when the A/C doesn't really reach the back row. The others are talking but his heartbeat his too loud in his ears to listen. The two of are you in your own little world comprised of shared body heat, softness, and daydreams about what could be if he just got the courage to try.

Ooooooooh his head is spinning because you're so close and you're so soft and you smell so good and you look so cute when you're all peacefully snoozing and ooooooooh he cannot function

He,, doesn't want to be weird,,,, he really really really doesn't,,,,,,, but he's still sleepy because he didn't get much rest (Tulsi made him wake up stupid early and Felix's couch isn't that comfortable) and when your head is lolled back, cheek brushing softly against his, it really is all too easy for him to shyly rest his chin on your shoulder and close his eyes and try to relax. Try being the operative word. There's a certain part of him that's still way too tense.

It's painful but he's managing. You don't shift around in your sleep that much. Maybe that's because his arms are around you. As he slips in and out of sleep - in and out of dreams - visions of soft kisses and clasped hands and playful nips and casual confessions run through his head.

Then you wake up.

He's pulled out of sleep by your voice echoing in his ears. You're laughing about something and oh how the sound threatens to make his cock twitch a little. Especially when you're leaned forward, shifting the way your ass presses against his crotch. You've got your elbows on the row in front of you, your head between Elowen and Rime's as you watch him adjust his eyeliner in the mirror, laughing when he threatens to draw on your cheek. And when you laugh it sends a little vibration through you and then that vibrates his restrained dick and ooooh You Are Torturing Him. And then Elowen taps your nose with the butt end of her sketch pencil and you laugh again and lean back into Sage, wiggling your ass into his lap as you get comfy, tilting your head back to ask him how he slept. And then you're looking him in the eye, faces mere centimeters apart, while your ass unknowingly grinds against his cock?

h e l p

Sage spends most of the time glaring out the window, desperately trying to think of anything that will take the ache away. He's slowly losing his mind.

And then he makes the mistake of locking eyes with Elowen in the rearview mirror.

>:3

Elowen casually tells Felix that Oh, There's A Shortcut If You Just Turn Up There. And Felix hears the amusement in her voice and his Need For Chaos activates.

Felix turns onto the road. It's fine for the first half mile or so and Sage thinks, Hey, Maybe This Won't Be So Bad

...... And then the bumps start

OoOoOoOh He Is GoInG tO kIlL eLoWeN fOr ThIs BuT tHaT's AsSuMiNg He SuRvIvEs BeCaUsE tHiS iS tOrTuRe

AnD tHeN yOu YeLp In SuRpRiSe BeCaUsE yOuR hEaD nEaRlY sLaMs InTo ThE rOoF oF tHe CaR bEcAuSe YoU'rE nOt WeArInG a SeAtBeLt AnD tHe OnLy ThInG yOu CaN dO iS gRiP sAgE's ThIgHs AnD tRy NoT tO gO fLyInG sO nOw YoU'rE uNiNtEnTiOnAlLy PrEsSiNg YoUr AsS aGaInSt HiM wItH aLl YoUr MiGhT wHiLe YoU'rE bOtH sHaKiNg AnD

oH hIs SoUl AsCeNds

FoR tHe NeXt FeW mIlEs He HaS hIs FoReHeAd ReStInG AgAiNsT yOuR sHoUlDeR bEcAuSe HiS bRaIn Is LiTeRaLlY mElTiNg

AnD tHeN thE bumPs finaLly sLow dOwN. He cAn't exActLy catch his brEath just yEt but at leAst he doesn't NeEd to diE anymore.

And As he's gLaring oUt the window, dEsperately tRying to gEt his wits back about him (aNd keep hIs breathless panting hiDden) he fiNally sPots a repriEve.

A gAs sTation.

Luckily it's about then tHat the car cHimes that it's oUt of gaS. So Felix finaLly pulls off on the exit. The road is smooth again. Sage practically has tears of both frustration and relief in his eyes at this point and Holy Fucking Shit He Needs To Get You Off Him Right Fucking Now

It takes Rime, Elowen, and Anisa a solid few minutes to put their stuff off to the side,,, undo their seatbelts,,,, arch their backs and stretch out their arms,,,,,, wiggle their toes,,,,,,, oh their limbs fell asleep and if they try to walk right now they might fall so Sage has to be patient,,,,,,,, He's gonna kill them,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Anisa finally - finally! - pulls the second row down so you and Sage can get out. Sage is trying to help you out but he's so frantic that he inadvertently gives you a lil shove right on your butt. You trip a bit but Anisa manages to steady you. Sage doesn't even have the wherewithal to apologize, he just splutters out a desperate 'Bathroom!' and darts off before anyone can get a good look at him

It's one of those single bathrooms. Thank the gods it's unlocked. He has his pants unzipped before the door is even shut. Sweat runs down his forehead, his neck, his too-tight chest. He catches a glance of himself in the mirror and sees his face is beet red and there's a little bit of drool running down the corner of his mouth. He tries not to cringe. Hopefully you didn't notice. But there are more pressing matters in his hand right now.

Ooooh he lets out this soft hiss as soon as he grasps his cock because it's practically fucking raw. His knees are wobbly. He uses one hand to brace himself on the wall above the toilet. It's far from the most elegant place he's done it in, blowing his load into a dirty gas station toilet, but it's also not the worst place he's done it either so

He closes his eyes, lets out a breath, and very slowly starts to stroke. He has to ease his way into it or else he's afraid he'll pass out.

Fuck you were so cute when you were on him. The rough bumps would pull these little noises from you and as hard as he'd been trying not to pay attention, well, he'd been recording each and every one of those sounds deep in his brain, integrating them right into his fantasies. And he really can't shake the thought of your cute ass being naked and bouncing teasingly on his lap, his cock deep inside you as you moan and whimper and pull him closer and whine in his ear 'yes, God, fuck, don't stop, oh fuck please don't stop, I love you, fuck I love you so much, Sage-'

There's a slam on the door that rips him out of his daydream. He claps a hand over his mouth to hide any noises. His cock twitches in frustration in his hand.

"Sage!" You shout again. "You've been in there for ten minutes!! You alright??"

A shudder runs down his spine at the sound of your voice. He knows he should stop but he physically can't. His voice is strangled when he responds that He's Fine, He'll Be Out In A Minute! He's Just, Uh, Uh, Uh, Washing His Face!

"Well hurry up!" You call back. He can hear the roll in your eyes and the laugh in your voice. "Even with a little dirt on your cheek you'll still look very pretty!"

His knees wobble. He has to lean against the wall again. With nothing to use to muffle his whimpers he bites into his forearm, screwing his eyes shut tight as he desperately tries to hold himself together. But his hips have a mind of their own and they won't stop rocking into his hand. He's so so so close and the knowledge that you're Right There is driving him half insane,,,,,

He can just barely make out someone's voice, probably shouting from by the car.

"Okay!" You shout back. Then knock firmly on the door again. "Sage!"

All it really takes is his name on your lips to push him over the edge. "C-coming!" he groans, but really what he means is 'cumming' because lighting runs up his spine and his toes curl in his boots and his body goes rigid as he shoots one, two, three, four ropes of cum into the toilet. A tidal wave of warmth rushes through him and he crumples against the wall, gasping for breath. "C-coming... J-just... Give me a... A s-second..."

Gods he's drooling. Like a fucking dog. But he's too blissed out to really care at the moment.

You give an overdramatic sigh, a last knock on the door to remind him to hurry up, and head back over to the car. Everyone is standing around it, checking their phones or organizing the new snacks Tulsi got from the station store or snickering to each other. Rime and Elowen in particular are laughing. You go over and grab a snacc from the pile, opening up the package.

".... I think Sage is sick because it sounded like he was running a mile in there or something," You say nonchalantly. "Maybe I should buy him a Gatorade?"

Elowen and Rime start wheezing from laughter. Anisa is snorting into her muffin. Tulsi is grinning at her phone like she just won a bet. Felix is quietly sinking to his knees in barely-restrained giggles and laughter.

You give them all a confused look, shrug, and grab your wallet to go buy him an energy drink. Hopefully it'll help him feel better. There's still another couple of hours left on your drive after all!

[papirouge]

I wish I would know the reason behind the cognitive loophole where abortionist simply ignore that adoption is a thing (unless is comes to own pro lifers of course)

"What's the alternative?" she says while frenetically shoving the idea to kill that baby without remotely handling any other one involving anyone's death. I knew radfem being more creative when it came to imagine life without porn or prostitution for women economically relying on it🤔

Also note her semantics, immediately talkikg about "orphanage" knowing the negative connotation it implies. Newborn are the most "sought after" choice of adoption, and a baby is most likely not going to end up in an orphanage with plentiful of other older children.

Radfem are usually soooo critical of the culture of vanity shoved onto women, but not a single does she show any willingness to know *why* women would resort to kill their offspring over mild deformity that would prevent their baby girl to wear lipstick. Look how elusively she just shrugs over it like "yeah that's obviously a misogynist reason but-" "but" what? Are radfem against misogyny or nah? How can you pretend being a radical feminist when you're glossing over the most blatantly misogynist move (killing a baby girl bc she won't be able to wear lipstick/be pretty) at your convenience.

And "forced birth" is an oxymoron. You can't "force" something already happening naturally and without any exterior push. If anything, abortion is a forced birth because it literally force a fetus to come out before term.

"some people get plastic surgery over stupid and cosmetic reasons. some people do it for misogynistic reasons. Some do it for ableist reasons. Okay, sure. now whats the alternative?"

That's how dumb this whole reasoning sounds like ; and radfem would rightfully debunk that trash in a quickie. There's always an alternative in the social constructions perpetuating misogyny ; because misogyny and ableism aren't a fatality. Why giving up in criticizing them? Why being suddenly intellectually lazy when it comes to inquire the social prejudice motivating abortion ?

Because radfem will NEVER -and I say NEVER - have the intellectual honesty and consistency to criticize abortion. They will do it for literally every other female "choice" such as make up, plastic surgery, dating choice, even their sexual orientation.... But abortion? Oh boy, that's when they throw their brain through the windows and become the most stale, intellectually indigent, pro choicer ever.

[burntotears]

Title: The Texan Job W/C: 14,609 Summary: Deep Sky won't help collect the alien tech on just the mere chance that it might have been built by Nora, so the gang comes together to perform a heist in the middle of a mansion full of party guests. What could go wrong? A/N: Part 4 of Marriage Ain’t Easy TW: a passing reference to suicide, homophobic language and slur

[ AO3 Link or read under the cut ]

THE PLAN

“So let’s consider the options,” Kyle said, leaning back in the chair opposite of Alex’s desk and taking a sip of his coffee.

“Okay,” Alex looked up from the photos they had splayed out on his desk. They were of the ‘Truman tech’ they’d seen inside of Álvarez’s alien gallery. Still unconfirmed, of course, but for now it was easier to give it a codename and roll with it than to beat around the bush.

“The Lockhart machine had the piece of glass inside that had the information Patricia got from Theo, right? They basically downloaded it from his brain to pass it on to Dallas.”

“Correct,” Alex’s word was clipped, a little annoyed at recalling this information again. They’d gone over it a hundred times.

Kyle didn’t take offense. “But Jones also used it to put some form of call out. So obviously it has multiple functions. It works more like a computer than a phone. So shouldn’t we be able to put in other quote-unquote ‘disks’ and read them from the machine?”

Alex sat back, folding his hands together. “In theory, sure. I don’t know that Nora was really thinking of it that way when she built it, though. The point was to get that specific information to Dallas so there was a way to deal with Jones. I don’t think she was worried about smuggling anything else out after that.”

“Not then, sure.” Kyle made a move to put his feet up on Alex’s desk and aborted halfway through when he saw the look on Alex’s face. Alex kept his office tidy when he wasn’t in the middle of a project–old military habits die hard–and he wasn’t in the mood to clean scuff marks off the wood. “But if those pieces really are Truman tech, then they could be modifications for the original machine to allow that possibility. Once she was stuck in Caulfield, I highly doubt she expected to see Michael again–that was kind of dumb luck that it happened in the end. Knowing how resourceful she was, she very well could’ve been coming up with a way to get her own messages heard.”

“I dunno, maybe,” Alex rubbed his forehead with his forefinger and thumb. “That’s a far fucking leap to make on two complete unknowns. We don’t know if the pieces were made by her and we don’t know if they interface with the Lockhart machine. Which is not a great case to bring to the board for approval.”

“You really think they’d say no?” Kyle looked skeptical.

Eduardo wasn’t a bad guy and if it were up to just him, he would probably let Alex and Kyle chase rainbows to their hearts’ content. But Deep Sky was still an organization at its core and it had to get results if it was meant to keep functioning. “I think it will look as if I’m trying to use company resources to crusade for my husband on a case that is flimsy at best. Which is reason enough not to file; the last thing I need is for them to stop approving my assignments because they think I’m in it for my own benefit.”

“So I can do it,” Kyle said easily.

Alex offered him a sad smile. “You’re my best friend, Kyle. They’ll know you’re doing it for me.”

“So we’re just going to give up? Doesn’t sound like us.” He gave Alex an impish grin. They’d officially corrupted him if he was now advocating to get involved rather than being dragged into it by sheer necessity (usually of the medical variety).

There was no way Alex could leave it alone and they both knew it. Unfortunately, the solution was also going to bring its own set of complications. “No, we’re not giving up. But keeping him to task is going to be a fucking nightmare.”

Kyle snorted. “Should’ve thought of that before you married him.”

—

Alex wasn’t sure how Michael was going to take this. It had only been a few weeks since their Álvarez op, but he hadn’t told (or showed) him what they’d discovered there. His reasoning seemed sound in the beginning, but now that they were going to need help in obtaining the pieces, he wasn’t sure if that argument held much water. He wasn’t even certain how to broach the subject of what was there, let alone explain that he’d lied about having visual evidence of it all.

He had to thank small mercies that they didn’t have the bondprint active right now because Michael would smell the anxiety on him before he even got home from work. He would already be able to tell that Alex was wrestling with something while they ate dinner as it was. Except Alex noticed that Michael seemed to be acting a little strangely too.

“I need to show you something, but what’s going on with you?” Alex asked when it felt like the air in the room was stifling.

Michael looked at his plate for a bit longer before meeting his gaze. “So uh, I got accepted into the Engineering program at NMSU.”

“What?” Alex felt like he was missing part of a conversation they should have had, but he definitely would remember if they’d talked about this before. “When did you even – why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just… I didn’t know if I would get in and I didn’t want to bring it up if it wasn’t going to happen.” He looked sheepish as he spoke.

“Michael, that’s ridiculous. Of course you would get in. But I didn’t know you wanted to go. You never mentioned it.” Alex reached over to take the other man’s hand in his own. “Congratulations. I’m happy for you.” Alex was happy for him. Before Michael’s world was blown up by Jesse Manes and then Noah, Michael had plans to go to college. He deserved this. Something was itching at the back of Alex’s mind, though, and he couldn’t quite pinpoint the source.

Michael squeezed his hand and smiled. “I felt kind of weird about saying something. I’m in my thirties trying to start undergrad. I don’t know.”

"You're smarter than half the people there already. There's no reason to be embarrassed by some teenagers fresh out of diapers."

Michael laughed. "I took your virginity when we were those teenagers fresh out of diapers."

"Ew gross," Alex’s face scrunched up in disgust and he snatched his hand away while Michael laughed even harder. “Don’t ever say those words in the same sentence again.”

“It was your imagery, sweetheart.”

Alex got up to take their dirty plates to the kitchen, taking longer than was strictly necessary. He was definitely stalling. “What do you need to show me?” Michael asked from behind him and Alex sighed, nodding his head toward the coffee table where his laptop bag was sitting.

Once they both sat down, Alex tugged the bag toward himself and unzipped it, pulling the file folder out. “These are photos of the other tech that Álvarez has in his gallery.” He pointedly didn’t look over at Michael.

“What do you mean? I thought you said the recordings were scrambled?”

“They weren't,” Alex replied flatly. Equivocating would get them nowhere. If he was going to come clean, he needed to be completely honest now. “I didn't want to show them to you.”

“What's going on Alex?” Michael sounded worried, a little guarded, but he wasn’t angry yet.

“Kyle and I think that this tech could be related to the Lockhart machine.” Alex didn't set the folder down on the table. He had a white knuckle grip on it, grounding himself by staring at the discoloration of his fingers while he prepared for what came next.

“Related how?”

“The pieces could have been built by your mother.” Alex took a deep breath and waited. It didn’t take long.

“What the fuck, Alex?” Michael yelled as he shoved off the sofa and away from his husband, standing a few feet away now. Alex stared ahead, unable to meet his eye. “You weren't going to tell me?”

“No, I wasn’t.” God, why had he decided brutal honesty was the right idea here? It made him sound apathetic, but he wasn’t going to lie about his motivations. “We have nothing to base that theory on but our own assumptions, Michael.” Alex finally looked up at his husband. “And telling you was just going to agitate you when we’re literally making guesses about this right now.”

Michael threw his hands up, clearly feeling the very thing Alex had wanted to avoid. Though he knew it was directed at him and not the situation. “Then why the hell are you telling me?”

“Because there's no way for us to verify if it's Truman tech–”

“Truman tech?”

“It's just what Kyle and I started referring to it as. The Lockhart machine was built by Nora, hence Truman tech.” There was a complicated mixture of emotions that rippled across Michael’s face, but he didn’t say anything. “Anyway, Deep Sky isn't going to sanction us to go back on the hunch that my husband's mother might have built it.”

“Personal conflict of interest?” Michael scoffed derisively.

“Exactly. But there’s no way we can leave it there if there’s even the smallest possibility that Nora built it.” Of that his conviction was clear. He’d spent some time going back and forth, not just with himself but with Kyle, and the decision wasn’t really much of a decision at all. Alex was always going to retrieve that tech one way or another. “Which means we're going to have to get it ourselves.”

“I cannot believe this.” Michael was justifiably furious. Alex had told him that stealing anything from Álvarez was specifically off limits when he’d suggested the very same thing three weeks ago. “So now you do want to steal it.”

“It’s our only viable option,” Alex agreed flatly.

“And you want me to go with you.” Another thing that Alex had told Michael couldn’t happen because of his temperament.

“It’s our only viable option,” Alex repeated, with only a slight change in cadence.

“Well don’t make it sound like the eleventh-hour, Manes.” Michael sneered. Even so, he ran a hand through his messy curls and sat back down next to Alex.

Alex barely noticed the name considering the current conversation. He was in his tactical-Manes persona, after all. “You do have a tendency not to abide by mission directives. Or any directives, really.”

He saw Michael’s mouth tick up at the corner and rolled his eyes. He finally handed the folder over for his husband to pursue and waited patiently. Even though he knew Michael was still upset, he could see the immediate anger seeping from him, replaced with a determination to focus on a new target.

“So you got a plan?” Michael asked after a while.

Alex cleared his throat. “Part of one. Still working on the details. You’re not the only alien I would need help from.”

Michael glanced over at him. “Who?”

“We still haven’t gone on that double date,” Alex said a little smugly.

His husband’s only response was a groan of protest.

—

“How exciting! A real heist!”

Michael glared at his sister. “This is serious, Isobel.”

“I didn’t realize that being pleasant meant I couldn’t be serious at the same time, Michael,” she snapped back. “This is why Alex didn’t tell you. You’re incapable of rationality when it comes to Nora.”

Alex’s head shot up at the mention of him. This was definitely not what they needed to be talking about right now. Or ever.

“You’re getting into the middle of my marriage now?” Michael’s tone was icy and he took a few steps toward her.

Isobel wasn’t fazed. She’d been dealing with Michael all her life, after all. “I hardly need to. You do that well enough on your own.”

“Okay!” Alex cut in loudly, knowing this was going off the rails in a bad way. “This has nothing to do with the mission, so let’s just keep our personal lives out of the planning, shall we?” He looked sternly back and forth between the two siblings who took their sweet time in backing down.

Michael had been extra snippy with all of them and Alex knew it was his own fault more than anything. He shouldn’t have kept the information from his husband, but if he’d told him earlier, then there would be no planning phase and Michael could be dead from some half-cocked scheme he put together trying to get the tech by himself.

“Here’s what we know so far,” Alex plowed ahead, giving them no time to pick up any loose threads of their previous argument. “Álvarez is hosting an exclusive gathering at his mansion for gallery viewing. Only select clientele invited, of course, considering most of what he owns is illegal. Kyle and I are a known quantity, however, so Kyle was able to snag us invites.”

“Good job, baby,” Isobel patted Kyle on the chest and he preened a little from the praise.

“Yes, we’re all very proud of Valenti,” Michael rolled his eyes and Isobel shot him an annoyed look.

Jesus, this was like herding cats. Alex cleared his throat. “So that means we will be there legitimately and have access to the main gallery space, which makes half the job a whole lot easier. Unfortunately the alien gallery is connected to the main gallery, meaning we will have to slip inside while other people are there and he has two locks coded directly to him that we’ll have to bypass. I don’t know if he plans to show anyone that space during the party, but I’m leaning toward no. It would be better for us not to rely on him to get in anyway.”

Isobel's eyes were curious. “You don’t want to influence him to get in?”

“I’d rather not. If we could avoid him altogether, it’d be ideal. I’m already going to have to go in to deactivate the alarms on the pedestals, so I think it’s safer to spoof the lock mechanisms on the door through the computer system.” It wasn’t the best way to go about it, but the less they interacted with Álvarez, the better.

“What about some sort of alert for tampering with the system?” Michael asked.

“You’re going to have to help me sever some connections in the physical hardware at the same time that I spoof it–that should kill any alarms that would otherwise be triggered. It’ll be the same situation for the pressure plates on the pedestals.” Alex pointed at the columns he and Kyle had gotten pictures of that held up the artifacts in Álvarez’s alien gallery. It was a pretty simple system as far as museums went and normally they could just swap the weight out, but it wasn’t worth the trouble when they could cut the connections and be done with it.

“And how are you meant to get in without anyone seeing you?” Kyle asked.

“It’s funny you should ask that,” Alex grinned and his friend’s face deflated immediately. “You’re going to distract the party goers while Isobel influences any guards away from the area which lets Michael and I sneak in.”

“Distract them with what?”

“I have faith you’ll figure something out.”

Alex looked down his list of to-do items and addressed the next thing he had written down. “We can’t use any kind of radios to stay in contact–Álvarez has all frequencies locked down for his own people from what we gathered when our audio recordings were useless. Isobel and Michael can talk to each other and I guess Isobel could get into mine or Kyle’s heads if need be.” An idea occurred to him and he glanced at Michael. “We could use the bondprint again.”

Michael’s eyes widened and he was chewing on the idea, but Isobel furrowed her brows. “How would that help?”

“I’m almost positive we can communicate telepathically through it,” Alex said nonchalantly, as if that was something he and Michael had actually accomplished already. They’d used the print again, but they hadn’t managed anything that advanced. Still, something told him that they were easily capable of it.

“What the hell makes you think that?” Kyle asked, baffled.

Michael chuckled. “Because it’s Alex.” Truthfully, he’d expected Michael to think he was insane when he mentioned it as a possibility, but his husband didn’t think it was far-fetched at all. Michael gave him a curt nod. “Probably a good idea.”

The downside was if something went sideways during the op, their emotions were going to be looping and making it a little chaotic for them. Though maybe his calm could help Michael focus and stay on point, too.

“No, not a good idea,” Isobel snapped. “Lest we forget the last time you tried rooting around in the bond all willy nilly not knowing what you were doing, Michael. Alex, how could you even suggest such a thing?” Isobel’s wrath turned on him as well and he couldn’t help but cow a little. She’d been (disapprovingly) supervising when they tested it again to keep them safe. So far no disasters had occurred and Michael was successful in opening and closing the connection without issue now. Alex could manage it sometimes too, but it was more difficult on his end for some reason.

“Obviously we’d practice beforehand,” Alex tried.

“And what happens if one or both of you gets screwy somehow and you’re out of commission for the actual heist? We lose our window and then what?” Isobel had her hands on her hips, staring them both down like a bird of prey.

“Iz,” Michael was surprised by her anger. “My telepathy is great. There is no reason that it would screw me up.”

“But you don’t know if Alex’s mind could handle it,” she barked.

“He has no trouble in a mindscape. This is far less invasive,” Michael said slowly and Alex could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to parse what was bothering Isobel. “Why are you so against this?”

“You have no idea what it was like to walk into your house and find you like that, Michael!” Isobel shrieked and stalked out the back door onto the patio, Alex frowning behind her. Kyle began to follow her but he grabbed his arm to stop him and looked at Michael expectantly. His husband blew out a long breath and stood, going out the door and closing it behind him.

“I didn’t realize it was still upsetting her,” Kyle said quietly. “She hasn’t said anything about it since it happened.”

Alex shook his head. “I should’ve thought of that. It makes sense after Max died and especially now with him on Oasis. Michael’s all she has left here.” Isobel had scolded them, sure, but it had mostly been brushed aside with her insistence to oversee their practice.

“I think Max put too much pressure on her when he left. ‘Time for you to protect the family.’ Kind of fucked up, if you ask me.” Kyle watched the patio even though they couldn’t hear what the siblings were saying to each other.

“Oh it was definitely fucked up. His whole exit was egregious, most specifically the timing.” Alex couldn’t help but glare at an unseen person in his mind. Regardless of how ‘fine’ Michael and Isobel said they were, Alex could see the cracks. Some of them might never heal, even if Max did return some day.

Kyle’s eyes widened at the rancor he could hear in Alex’s voice. They hadn’t discussed this before, probably because both of their significant others said they didn’t resent Max for his departure. “Are you pissed at Max?”

“I don’t agree with the decision he made.” It was Max’s prerogative to leave and help Oasis and it was Alex’s prerogative to disagree with the actions he’d taken. He would absolutely criticize the way the man had left his siblings behind.

“Does Michael?”

“He says he’s at peace with it. He understands why Max had to go.”

“Gotta say,” Kyle eyed Alex in bewilderment, “I would’ve expected those roles to be reversed.”

“I live to confuse you,” Alex said sarcastically and Kyle flipped him off just as the other two came back in from the patio. The humans looked up at them apprehensively.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” Isobel said first.

“What, no, you don’t need to apologize to me.”

“I do.” She sat down on the coffee table near him and took Alex’s hands in her own. He was still acclimating to Isobel’s affection toward him. He’d always thought that she hated him for what he’d put Michael through–and maybe she had in the past, but she’d seemingly moved past it. She had nothing but kind words and affectionate ribbing for him nowadays.

“I know that you and Michael didn’t purposely screw up when you started working with the bond. I realize that it’s my own fear of something happening to Michael now that Max is gone that’s making me overreact–”

Alex shook his head, curling his fingers around hers and squeezing. “Isobel, you did not overreact. I cannot imagine what it would have been like for me if I found him in that state.”

She smiled warmly at him. “Even so, I overcompensated by hovering over you two like your mother while you kept trying, dictating every little thing you did. And–” she glanced down at their hands, hesitating for a moment, before looking him in the face again, “I blamed you for talking him into trying it in the first place.”

“Isobel, what the fuck?” Michael yelled as Alex froze in place. Normally he was better at confrontation than this, but Isobel’s words were one of his own thoughts actualized. Kyle looked a little pale in the chair beside them. Whatever Michael and Isobel had spoken about outside, it had not included this if Michael’s reaction was anything to go by.

Michael moved as if to push Isobel away from him and Alex’s brain kicked back into gear. He held up a hand to keep Michael at bay. “Michael, it’s fine.” He squeezed Isobel’s fingers again to let her know he wasn’t upset with her.

“No it’s not.”

“She’s entitled to her feelings, no matter how unreasonable they might seem to you,” Alex said quietly and god did that hit close to home right then. He couldn’t help but glance over at Kyle who understood exactly what Alex was thinking.

Michael opened his mouth to respond, but Alex glared at him and was surprised that his husband bit his tongue.

“I know that Michael makes his own decisions and that he’s been trying to figure out how to heal for a while now. I suppose that your involvement with the bondprint gave me another place to direct culpability other than him. Since, y’know, he’s the one I’m scared of losing now that Max is gone.” Even though she was talking about Michael, she was still looking directly at Alex, her eyes a little glassy.

Alex understood. Fuck, he felt like he was on the road to Albuquerque again, his insides fracturing when Michael told him Max was leaving. He could nearly sense everything Isobel was feeling as she said it to him. He sniffed, only now realizing that he was tearing up too. “It might sound cliché, but I understand exactly how you feel.”

“Oh gosh, that’s not what I wanted for you at all,” Isobel started crying harder and leaned in to hug him. He held her tightly. “But it does help, in a strange way,” she said near his ear. Misery loves company. Maybe later when there was less to do, he and Isobel could talk a little more about this.

“What the hell is happening right now?” Michael was bewildered.

“Shut up, Michael. I’m hugging my brother,” Isobel said over Alex’s shoulder, “because I love him.”

“Yeah, so do I. I married him.” The answer came easily, even though he still sounded confused.

“He’s my best friend, I love him too.” Kyle chimed in.

Alex pulled out of the hug. “Now this is just getting weird.”

—

“Getting in seems to be the easy part. How the hell are we getting out?” Kyle looked over the blueprints Alex had procured of Álvarez’s mansion which they had spread out over Michael and Alex’s dining table.

“The only way I can see us being able to extract the tech without it being obvious is working down through the ductwork here.” Alex pointed at the ventilation duct stemming out of the second gallery room toward the downstairs.

Michael raised his eyebrows. “Neither of us is going to fit in there.”

“No, we won’t. You’re going to have to lower it through with your telekinesis. Kyle and Isobel will be at the bottom to retrieve it.” Alex glanced over at him to gauge his reaction because he knew what he was asking.

Isobel balked. “Alex, that’s impossible. How could he lower it through without being able to see it? It would either get banged on the walls or he’d drop it and it gets crushed at the bottom. Destroying it defeats the purpose of stealing it in the first place.” Michael’s face remained unreadable as she spoke.

“We can bring rope and lower it that way,” Kyle tried.

“No,” Michael shook his head. “I can do it.”

“Michael, the energy you would need alone would be outrageous. You’ll have already disabled the locks on the door and the pressure plates.” Isobel looked sympathetic, but her tone was no nonsense all the same. “There’s no way acetone would get you through that, much less the practicality of something you’ve never done before.”

“The bondprint,” Alex said.

“What about it?”

“You can get energy from me through it.”

“No way. I’m not doing that,” Michael shut it down immediately, which Alex had expected.

To his surprise, Isobel agreed with him. "That's not a terrible idea." He smiled at her and she returned the gesture.

"Yes, it is." It was Kyle now, which Alex hadn't expected. He probably should have, though, because Kyle was always going to see things through the lens of a doctor.

"I'm not stupid. It’s not like I would let him put me on my ass." Though he would need to practice more at closing the bond on his end.

“Oh okay. And what happens when things go south and we have to run out of there, Alex? You think after all that time on your prosthesis and with only half the energy you had before that you’ll be just fine to leave?” Kyle was in frank doctor mode now.

“Hey, fuck you, Kyle!” Alex spat back with a pointed finger at the other man, his blood boiling instantaneously. This was top of the list of things that fiercely pissed Alex off. “Don’t doctor-talk to me like I’m a goddamn invalid. I think I know my limitations a little fucking better than you do since I’m the one missing the fucking leg!”

Kyle shook his head derisively. “You know goddamn well that’s not what I was saying, Alex. Don’t pull your sanctimonious war-hero bullshit on me!”

“Kyle!” Isobel gasped, but Alex was… honestly impressed. Kyle had never called him out before and certainly not for something regarding his disability. They all knew Alex had a tendency to overextend his mobility to his own detriment. Michael was the most vocal with Alex about it, but with him and Kyle working together so much now, it seemed like Kyle was getting fed up.

His anger cooled and he held a hand up to Isobel, letting her know it was okay. Michael’s shoulders eased as well. “I get the concern. We will figure out exactly what he needs and test it to make sure I can handle it afterward, okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” Kyle agreed, his own annoyance leveled. “I will be there to evaluate though.”

“Yes, Doc.” Alex clapped him on the shoulder. “I can’t believe you said that to me.”

“It felt pretty good, actually,” Kyle laughed. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

Isobel patted them both on the back and pushed her way between them at the edge of the table. “So assuming that works out, I’m guessing your plan is for me to get all the guards looking the other way as we walk our way out the front door?” She turned her head to Alex.

“If it’s doable? I don’t know the energy conversion for your powers very well.”

“If we’re talking a short nudge to look away just long enough for us to slip by, it wouldn’t be difficult. But it depends on how many guards we are going to run into.”

Alex figured as much. “That isn’t something we’ll know ahead of time, unfortunately. We can tell you how many we saw when we were there, but with so many guests, there’s bound to be a multitude more.” He also had no way of knowing where they would be posted during the party. He could canvas the mansion ahead of time, but he didn’t expect the guards to be at the same positions during a large event. “I’ll see if I can come up with an algorithm to plot the best route out depending on where and how many guards we’re dealing with once we’re onsite.”

That left one more loose end that he could think of. He turned to Kyle. “I know you’re going to hate this, but I need you to bring some backup in case we need to drop people if something goes wrong.”

Kyle blanched. “Seriously? Your dad had a stroke!”

“Nothing that strong, Jesus. They just need to be unconscious or paralyzed long enough for us to get the hell out of there. No comas, dude.” He preferred no deaths, if they could help it.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Kyle sighed.

“It’s going to be all the two of us have. There’s no way I can bring a gun inside. I could wrestle one from a guard, but I would rather not have to engage with them loudly. We have to expect the worst, though.” Alex checked over the table. “I think that covers the basics. Let’s get started.”

—

After Kyle and Isobel had left the house, Alex could feel Michael’s annoyance with him slip back into place like he was putting on a hat. It was fair, but they didn’t have a whole lot of time to dwell on these things. Alex sat down on the couch with his crutches nearby to start the process of removing his prosthesis while Michael was clearing things off the table.

“If you have more you want to say to me, we should get it out in the open,” Alex said matter of factly.

Michael snorted, but he didn’t turn around. “It’s not a business transaction, Alex.”

“It’s not, but we have a lot of shit we need to get done between now and then, which means we need to be on the same page.”

Michael pulled a chair from the table and sat backwards on it, arms folded on top of the backrest, facing Alex where he was on the sofa. “So if Deep Sky had approved getting the tech, would you have told me at all?”

“Before we had any sort of verification if it was legitimate? No, I wouldn’t have,” Alex said truthfully. He set his leg and liner aside and started to pin up the pant leg on his sweats.

“Right, because I’m ‘too irrational’ when it comes to my mother.” Michael’s tone was flat.

“Isobel said that, not me,” Alex corrected. “The reason I didn’t want to tell you is because I didn’t want to get your hopes up.” He paused for a second, remembering their conversation from earlier. “Sort of like how you decided not to tell me you were applying to school–or even mention you were interested in going at all.”

“Now hang on,” Michael started, caught out. “That’s completely different.”

“Oh, is it? Because you weren’t sparing your own feelings on the matter. Hell Guerin, I don’t even know how this is going to work. Are you moving to Las Cruces for four fucking years? Am I supposed to be moving there? It feels a little like something we should’ve discussed before you start classes in, oh,” he glanced at a non-existent watch on his wrist, “two months from now, is it?” When Michael had first told him, he’d been so shocked that the realities hadn’t fully set in for him. Now that they had, he was pissed.

Michael, for his part, looked apologetic. “Okay, you’re right. I should’ve told you. If you don’t want me to go–”

“I did not say that. Don’t you put that shit on me,” Alex snapped. “I’m pissed that you hid this from me and I have no idea what the hell is happening when you start school.”

Michael got up from the chair and moved toward Alex; he sat on the coffee table directly across from him, legs spread on either side of Alex’s own and put his hands on his husband’s thighs. “My classes will be online until the last couple of years when I have to do labs in person. We’ll figure out what we wanna do then, but for right now I’ll be going to school at the table right over there.” He tilted his head toward the dining table.

Alex took a deep breath and felt the tension in his chest ease immensely. He probably should’ve thought of online classes, but his brain was too wired to scream ‘change, change, change’ and the worst case scenario had popped up. “Shit, I’m an idiot.”

“No you aren’t. Completely valid concerns that I probably should have thought to address immediately when I told you.” Alex reached down and tangled his hands with Michael’s in his lap.

“Michael, there’s still a chance after we do this that this tech isn’t from your mother. We could be making a huge effort for nothing. Someone could have imitated the Lockhart machine, tried to build their own–”

“Yeah, I know. And you’re probably right to have held off telling me. Even now I’m champing at the bit to run in there without any plan whatsoever. So you weren’t wrong and neither was Isobel, really.” He squeezed Alex’s hands, looking a little lost in his thoughts. “Just the thought of having anything that she created fills me with fire, y’know? I want to get anything I can.”

“That’s why I am doing this. But I would hate to see your heart get crushed if it isn’t what we thought.” Alex reached up and brushed his fingers over his husband’s cheek.

Michael turned his face into Alex’s hand and kissed his palm.“Thanks, but I think I need to learn to be a bit more mature about these things. It’ll be a disappointment, but it shouldn’t be a crushing blow to my sanity. The upside is that regardless of how risky it all is, we’ll be training more and get new skills out of it.”

Speaking of which, after he and Kyle had started to argue about Alex’s energy levels, Michael’s objection to it had fallen to the wayside. “Are you going to take my energy through the bond?”

Michael laughed a little sourly. “Somehow I feel like if I didn’t, you’d find a way to force it through anyway.” Alex hadn’t considered that as an option, but if it could be taken, couldn’t it be given, and by force if necessary? “Great, I just gave you the idea, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t think of it as an option before, but you might be onto something.”

“You have to practice closing the bond on your end so that you can stop me. I won’t know how much to take.” Michael fixed him with a steady look. “And Valenti was right. You need to make sure you don’t overextend what you can actually do without.”

“Hmm, ‘Valenti was right’. Three words I never thought I’d hear you say.”

Michael took Alex’s chin between his thumb and forefinger. “See, I know you’re trying to deflect with humor, but I’m serious here, Alex.”

Since when did Michael and Kyle have a united front? That wasn’t a double team he ever expected to see. “I got it. I’ll be responsible, I promise.”

THE HEIST

Fighting Isobel Evans for creative control of his wardrobe for the party was a losing battle. Alex tried explaining about functionality for the mission, usability for the tablet he needed to hide, even mentioned his prosthesis, but she had a rebuttal for everything. Eventually he just conceded because she assured him it would be exactly what he needed.

When his and Michael’s suits arrived two nights before the party, he had to acknowledge that she’d been right. “Don’t tell her that. She’ll wipe out your entire wardrobe,” Michael said with a laugh.

Maybe he wouldn’t mind going shopping with Isobel sometime. He honestly never expected to become close with her, but they spent more time around each other now that she and Kyle were dating. After Max left, Liz threw most of her energy into work so he hardly ever saw her. It had always been her coping mechanism, but he had to admit that he was contributing to the distance too thanks to his recent antipathy for Max. He still texted with Rosa on occasion and Maria was in and out of his life these days too. She split most of her time between working on her astral projection and the Pony, no longer as involved in the day-to-day alien adventures.

“I dunno about that,” Alex said. “I think I have a pretty decent style.” He’d been over the top in high school and too buttoned up during his first few years of enlistment under DADT. It was a year or so after when he finally found a happy medium between those two worlds that felt authentic. Weirdly, the suit Isobel had picked out felt perfect to him. She just had a way of understanding people.

“Definitely,” Michael agreed as he proceeded to unbutton Alex’s shirt for him.

He rolled his eyes. “Naked isn’t a part of my clothing style.”

“I disagree,” Michael murmured, sliding the fabric off his shoulders. “You want it on your chest?”

Alex nodded. “I think it feels stronger there. That might just be psychological, but if it helps, then might as well.”

“You’re the boss,” Michael said, which Alex opened his mouth to refute, but his husband already planted his hand in the center of his chest and tugged him forward with the other arm around his waist, kissing him openly.

It was a little awkward with Michael’s hand pressed between them, but he was distracted by the man’s mouth against his. Alex slid his fingers into Michael’s curls and cupped his neck, noting the slight tingle against the skin of his chest as he slipped his tongue into Michael’s mouth. The moment the bond connected they were both gasping and clutching each other tighter. They didn’t kiss for much longer; Alex pulled back and rested his forehead on Michael’s shoulder.

“You always feel fucking phenomenal inside me,” Michael murmured near his ear, making Alex snicker even though he knew Michael hadn’t meant it sexually. His love-amusement dripped steadily over through their bond.

Fuck you, Alex heard in his head and it only made him laugh more.

“Not everything’s about sex, Guerin,” Michael lamented, pulling out of the cocoon of their hug. Alex missed the contact immediately, but it wasn’t as gut-wrenching as it had been the first time they’d used the print. Once they’d figured out how to open and close the bond, the desperation for physical contact settled on an even keel between the two of them rather than yanking so hard on Michael. Sometimes Alex missed the codependence they shared those first few days, but he also knew it was heinously unhealthy and unsustainable for their sanity.

Says the man who called it a ‘fuckprint’, Alex shot back and Michael’s smirk was luminous. God, he made cocksure the sexiest thing in the whole goddamn world. Michael’s eyebrows lifted toward the ceiling when Alex’s desire made itself known; Alex glared at him and slammed the bond shut like a door in the face, causing Michael to chuckle.

“No one can say we aren’t prepared,” Michael drawled. Alex hoped he was right. He still felt a little wobbly about closing the bond. It was a constant pull to be near his husband whenever they were connected that made it difficult to shut him out. Something like this, as just a joke, was easy enough to accomplish, but their practice runs hadn’t been the most successful. Whatever he could feel that Michael needed, Alex wanted to give of himself, regardless of what it did to his own body or psyche. His promise to Kyle about not letting it put him on the ass had only been upheld twice so far in their dry runs. To say Kyle was irritated with him was the understatement of the year.

Alex packed the rest of his things in his laptop bag and zipped it closed. "You ready to head out? Isobel and Kyle said they would leave in a couple of hours. Kyle has a few things to finish at the office."

That gave Michael pause. "Are you two sure they aren't going to figure out what you're up to?"

"After the fact, yeah, they'll put it together. But being indispensable to the organization does come with a few perks. Asking for forgiveness and not permission, for one thing.” Out of anyone who had ever worked for Deep Sky, Alex and Kyle had the most firsthand experience with Oasians. They were the only ones with clearance from said aliens to interface in all aspects, so that had made them critically influential within the company since their tenure began. It had also gained them more freedoms, though they still weren’t designated as more than high level field agents–with their own offices due to unprecedented circumstances. “But I’ve taken precautions. I know how to hide from them.”

Michael narrowed his eyes. “You don’t always use your powers for good.”

Alex never told Michael what he’d seen when he was hallucinating with the Lockhart machine. Considering Nora made it, Alex assumed that everyone saw her and that she spoke specifically to each person’s fears, but there was that nagging at the back of his brain that made him wonder if it had been different for him because of his relationship with her son. Was it his own fears she was speaking to, or did she not approve of Alex for Michael? Shit, he hadn’t thought about this in a while and it made his stomach twist.

“Let’s go.”

—

Alex set up their make-shift command center in the common area that connected the two hotel rooms in the suite they’d rented. It made things easier than trying to shuffle back and forth between two rooms and also looked less suspicious for the foot traffic.

“Were you able to find anything on Álvarez outsourcing for security?” Isobel asked, sitting down next to Alex on the sofa and offering him a warm cup of tea. He accepted it gratefully, along with the lack of harassment over his excessively paranoid setup in the room. The silent trip alarm for every possible entrance into the suite that sent notifications to his phone was a superfluous touch, even for him.

“No. I can’t track down all the accounts he’s got set up. He already closed the one that we wired the transaction to from Deep Sky, so he’s moving money around a lot.” He gave her an apologetic look. “I wish I could be more precise for you.”

Isobel waved him off with a flip of her hand. “Nothing to apologize for. I’ll have acetone on hand and Kyle has the ketamine on standby so if worse comes to worse, we’ll just put them to sleep for a while.” Alex didn’t want to know how Kyle had gotten ahold of ketamine–he knew from experience that it was heavily regulated because the Air Force had given him infusions while his stump was healing. They’d practically had the vials handcuffed to the doctors. With a hospital full of soldiers suffering from PTSD–many of whom might already be dying–self-administering your own death sentence could be an appealing prospect.

“Yeah, let’s just triple check that we have the dosages right on that before we go stabbing needles into anyone,” Alex said wryly.

Isobel patted his hand that was curled around the mug. “You know he’ll be careful. He couldn’t live with himself if he made that sort of mistake.”

“I know. I’m just nervous.”

“It’s as good a plan as we could possibly conceive, Alex,” she assured him.

“It’s not really the plan itself that concerns me,” he admitted, setting down the tea and mussing his hair, “it’s the crushing disappointment if this was all for nothing. Wasting everyone’s time, putting you guys in danger, and for what?”

“For hope, you idiot,” Isobel chided and shoulder checked him. “I don’t know why you and Michael think that hope is such a dangerous commodity.”

“Because when it doesn’t work out–”

“Anything in life can fail, Alex,” Isobel said, cutting him off. “You’re no Atlas; you can’t shoulder the burden of tribulations for everyone. We all need to have our own hope, even if grief is at the other end of it. Otherwise we wouldn’t be living our lives at all.”

Alex blew out a heavy breath and let her words wriggle into the corners of his mind that he kept cordoned off with remnants of Manes mortar. It wasn’t just wanting to protect those he cared about, but those ingrained exigencies to control every aspect of life he could touch. An overcompensation for a life of having someone else dictate who he was supposed to be–and a realization that he’d joined the military because the command structure was a well-worn groove in his psyche he could slot back into with ease.

He must have remained quiet for some time, because Isobel touched his shoulder and apologized. “Did I overstep?”

Alex shook his head. “I think you just said something that I needed to hear.”

—

Isobel was resplendent in her form fitting floor-length red dress that had a long sleeve on one arm and no sleeve on the other and one slit cut up to her thigh. Alex whistled appreciatively at her when she stepped into the common room, to which she smiled and Kyle told him to back off. The three men had well cut suits, all slightly different in style and color, complete with hidden pockets inside for smuggling necessities. “Here we go.”

They spent the first thirty minutes or so at the mansion meandering about the gallery and down the open halls, taking stock of security placements and relaying the information back to Alex. He had to excuse himself to a bathroom stall to input it into his tablet.

It looks like taking the side exit is going to be our play, he told Michael once his algorithm had finished calculating the best route. He traced along it with his finger as he spoke. Tell Isobel it’s seven guards–two at each set of doors when you leave east from the utility room. Outside door has one more guard, then two at the back entrance to the parking lot.

He felt a twinge of worry drift back to him. Fuck, that’s a lot.

It’s the best option to allow for shorter travel time. We can manually disable if we need to.

Michael was annoyed by something he’d said, but he didn’t explain what. Alex put the tablet back inside his suit jacket and returned to the gallery space where Isobel offered him a wink when he walked past on his way toward Michael. He slid his arm through his husband’s and pretended to look at the art with him.

“Iz and Valenti ran into Álvarez,” Michael murmured when he tilted his head toward Alex.

Alex only stiffened slightly. “It go okay?”

“Iz can make anyone fall in love with her,” was Michael’s response and Alex had to agree.

Give her the go ahead, Alex sent, taking one deep breath to prepare himself. He only hoped their preparation had been enough to make this successful against any unforeseen circumstances.

They remained at their corner of the room, moving slightly as if they were checking out another piece when the sound of glass breaking and a shocked scream filled the gallery. Alex frowned, glancing toward the noise like the other patrons.

“Oh god! What’s happening to him?” a woman was shrieking over a man who was clearly seizing on the floor. “Someone help him!”

“I’m a doctor!” Kyle said, rushing toward the man, while Isobel covered her mouth in concern. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw the guards posted at the alien gallery entrance begin walking toward the scene that was unfolding, so he and Michael started to inch in the opposite direction.

Alex was pulling his tablet out when he heard one of the guards speak behind him, his heart falling into his stomach. “Give the doctor some room, everyone.” Alex’s breath wooshed and he closed his eyes for a moment before directing his attention to the tablet.

He had prepared the code he needed to add to the security system ahead of time, it just needed to be put in place and executed in sync with Michael severing the wires inside the physical device. Once it was pasted in the correct position, he looked at Michael, who nodded that he was ready.

“Oh god, he’s going to die!” the woman lamented loudly behind them.

“Ma’am, please step back and let me examine him,” Kyle responded in a firm tone.

Three… two… one… go. Alex hit execute just as Michael’s brow creased in concentration and the glowing handprint scanner turned off completely without any fanfare. Anticlimactic, but effective.

Alex prepared the code for the eye scanner, while the woman behind them wailed indiscriminately. When they were both ready, he counted them down again and the eye scanner went black just like the handprint scanner. The door won’t get a signal to disengage so you’ll have to pop it open.

Michael gave a curt nod and there was a small snick as the door gaped open. Alex stuck his fingers through and pulled it just enough to slip inside, Michael following. He heard, “So he’ll be okay?” from the other side of the door just before it shut again.

Alex lifted his arm and started a timer on his watch for fifteen minutes. “Southwest corner first.”

There were six pieces of Truman tech they were going to remove, all placed on separate pedestals. Alex’s original plan was to disengage the alarms all at once, but he was worried about the internal wiring system. They could be spidering out from one central line, but had no schematics that would give a proper choke point to cut at. It was deemed too risky, so they were cutting at each pedestal instead. It would take longer, but there was less chance of failure.

As they moved to the southwest pedestal, Alex could practically feel the drag of Michael’s eyes over the two pieces of alien glass that they had not allotted time to retrieve. “No, Michael.”

“Alex…”

He prepared the code for the piece in front of them and looked at his husband expectantly. “Are you ready?”

To his credit, Michael refocused on their task and nodded. “Three… two… one… go.” Alex pressed execute and Michael severed the wiring to the pressure plate. There were no visual cues here to know that their work was done, which was a little disconcerting.

“Did it work?” Michael asked, his worry slipping into Alex’s chest.

“We did it correctly,” Alex said in lieu of a real answer. “South,” he designated the next pedestal, preparing his next code snippet and moving to the corresponding piece of tech. They repeated the same process for the south and southeast pedestals before Alex checked his timer. Ten minutes left.

“Northeast. Are Isobel and Kyle in place?” It was almost like a dance: grab the code snippet, stand in front of a pedestal, count Michael down, execute the code, side-step, grab the code snippet, stand in front of a pedestal…

“Yes, they’re ready.”

Alex hummed to show he’d heard. “Three… two… one… go. North.” Once they had finished north and northwest, Alex shoved his tablet back into his jacket pocket. This was the real moment of truth. If they picked up this tech and the alarm went off, they were officially fighting their way out of here and he didn’t like their odds.

He held his breath and slowly lifted the piece off the plate. The plate was still depressed as if the weight was never removed. Relieved, he gathered two more while Michael got the other three. “Acetone?” he asked when they’d gathered the pieces in front of the vent.

“Yeah,” Michael agreed and pulled a bottle from his pocket, downing half the contents. He pulled the vent off the opening with his telekinesis and sent it to Alex who set it aside.

“Two at a time? I think three is risking hitting the walls of the duct,” Alex said when he glanced inside the vent opening.

Michael stuck his head in to gauge the size better. When he backed out he nodded his agreement and rapped his knuckles on the inside of the ductwork once. They heard an answering knock moments later. “Ready.”

Alex moved back a bit to give him room and watched as his husband lifted two of the pieces at the same time, carefully directing them through the vent hole and downward until they were no longer visible. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration and Alex found himself holding his breath and standing stock still, afraid to do anything that might distract him.

Moments later Michael’s face softened and he took in a heaving breath, tottering backward a little. Alex was there quickly, hand at the center of his back to keep him steady as a knock sounded in the duct again. “Are you alright?”

“Peachy,” Michael drawled, already sounding tired.

“Can you do the next one or do you need some energy now?” He was tempted to tell Michael to take it now anyway, but he trusted him to be responsible with this.

“I got it. Can you stay here though?”

“Of course.” Alex kept his hand splayed on Michael's back for support, his husband shooting him a grateful look before rapping his knuckles in the duct to indicate the next transfer was beginning. He carefully lifted two more pieces of tech with his mind, easing them down and out of sight through the ductwork and into the waiting fabric net Isobel and Kyle had fashioned below.

When he released his hold on them he stumbled again so Alex wrapped his arm around his waist, placing his chest against Michael’s back. Alex took the other man’s hand in his own. “Take it,” he said.

“Alex, I–”

“Now, Guerin.” His tone must have done it, because Alex could feel that strange tug beneath his skin start almost immediately. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to it and he didn’t want to make a habit of it, but he was glad the possibility was there if they needed it. It was just like he’d imagined it would feel if a vampire was draining his blood–like the life was being sucked right out of him. No, he definitely would never get used to it. Once he felt Michael’s frame straighten more and his own body slackening, he snapped the bond shut (thankfully without incident).

“Thanks,” Michael said with real gratitude that Alex didn’t need a bond to feel. He knocked into the air duct again while Alex leaned against the wall nearby, watching him repeat the same process for the last time. He felt winded, but he’d be fine to get out. Alex heard the last echoing knock come through the ductwork when Kyle and Isobel had received the last two pieces and Michael relaxed, pulling out his bottle of acetone and draining the rest of the contents. Two minutes left on the clock, Alex saw when he checked his watch. They were cutting it close.

“Isobel says the guards are at the other end of the gallery still, but they haven’t seen Álvar–”

The door slammed open behind them, startling them both so badly that the bond reopened without any conscious effort. It could’ve been caused by a deluge of adrenaline or just an automatic preservation instinct they couldn’t control. Regardless, there was a flood of fear looping between them that wasn’t going to improve their situation.

Alex wasn’t surprised to see Álvarez walk through the door flanked by two guards–they must have been from another area of the mansion and were untouched by Isobel. The guards stopped at the door once it closed while Álvarez moved closer to them.

He made a tutting noise when he looked at them and shook his head. “I knew there was something suspicious about Dr. Valenti’s very loud proclamations of assistance for Mr. Doyle’s condition. Even more when the man just miraculously stopped convulsing after a few minutes. But I thought, ‘what reason would a doctor have to cause someone to seize, only to stop it not long after’? A distraction, of course!” He clapped his hands together as if he was having a good time recounting the story.

Alex took a deep breath and stuffed down his fear. He needed to keep them both composed if they had any chance of making it out of here with no bullet holes. Do not speak to him, Alex warned Michael, his face impassive as he stared ahead at Álvarez.

“It only took a cursory glance at the cameras to notice the two of you were missing.” Álvarez stepped through the room, merely wandering around as if perusing his own gallery rather than confronting two thieves. His suit was perfectly in place, white with a gray pinstripe, the top two buttons undone on his undershirt and yet somehow he still looked professional. He knew how to carry himself with the authority that made people want to fall in line–Alex only now realized that the man was former military. He hadn’t found any reference to that in the research he’d done, which meant his record was scrubbed. Why?

What is it? Michael had noticed the uptick in Alex’s heartbeat.

He was military, but he has no record.

Michael stiffened slightly. We know what that usually means.

Fuck. The implications were too much to even consider right now. They had to get out alive before he even entertained the idea.

“I had high hopes for you, Captain Manes, despite your… proclivities.” He wrinkled his nose as he looked at Michael. “The Air Force has its limitations, as your father discovered, so when I found out you joined Deep Sky after your brother killed Jesse, I thought surely his plan is to infiltrate and use their resources to gain information otherwise unavailable through the military. A way to carry on the legacy that his misguided brother cut short.”

Alex… They had to be in a parallel world if it was Michael trying to temper Alex’s fury right now.

Alex balled his fist, his fingernails digging half-moons into the flesh of his palm. I know. He’d be giving the literal meaning to biting his tongue soon if this kept on much longer.

Álvarez continued meandering around the room as he spoke. He hadn’t spared a single glance for the empty pedestals, which made Alex uneasy about their validity. “After meeting you the first time, I can’t say I was convinced. You’re petulant, that much is obvious, but you still have a backbone at the very least. Malleable enough, in the right circumstances.”

Malleable? For what his father had been doing in Project Shepard? Was this really the man who was in charge, or was he just another rung on the ladder?

“Knowing that Deep Sky has the Lockhart machine, I was expecting you to contact me after you saw the other tech in my gallery.” He gave an exaggerated weary sigh. “My own folly was not connecting the dots fast enough between the purchase Deep Sky made and the missing tech from the facility that was raided months ago.”

Fuck fuckity fuck.

“But I don’t think Deep Sky is sanctioning raids,” Álvarez said slowly, turning his head to look at Alex. “So then why did they want that piece of tech in particular instead of, say, this alien glass?” He waved toward the other pedestals. “It was innocuous, as far as alien technology goes. Unless someone already had another part of the puzzle to interface with it…

“Once I realized it was you, Captain Manes, interfering with Project Shepard… well you can imagine my disappointment. How your father would be rolling over in his grave.”

Alex wanted to laugh because that was exactly what he hoped for–his father’s perpetual torment in hell while he watched Alex dismantle his life’s work. He hoped his father got dizzy from all the rolling the man did in his grave.

“But then I discovered that you don’t care about that. You have no love for your father, your family legacy, no love for anything of worth.” At this he sneered toward Michael, before fixing his eyes on Alex again. There was anger rising in both of them, but Alex was trying to tamp it down. There were still armed guards standing by the door.

“You see, you were never fit to wear the uniform and certainly did not earn the title the Air Force threw at you. You have only reinforced the fact that a faggot doesn’t understand the meaning of honor, is incapable of conducting himself with dignity, and has–” They didn’t hear whatever else Álvarez planned to say, because Michael descended on him faster than Alex had ever seen him move before.

“No, Michael, stop!” Alex reached out for him too late.

Michael’s fist collided with Álvarez’s nose so hard that Alex heard something snap and the force knocked the man back a few steps. The guards moved toward them immediately and Michael used his telekinesis to throw them back into the wall so forcefully that their heads made contact and they were knocked unconscious on impact, sliding down like ragdolls.

Michael’s next attempt at a punch was blocked by Álvarez’s forearm and the man pushed his husband away. “Oh, Jesse suspected but I thought he was just blinded by his disgust for you, Alex. I should have known your depravity ran so much deeper. You wouldn’t be satisfied with the average trailer trash, no your scatological nature craves an equal in vulgari–”

“Shut up!” The words hit Alex harder than he wanted to admit. Usually he could handle the taunting, but there was something about the way Álvarez was talking about Alex and Michael together that caused Alex to lose the last shred of control he’d been holding onto. His hands were balled into fists, his face tight in outrage, and he closed his eyes as he screamed the words.

Álvarez shut up. He shut up because his body flew back and slammed against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. Even though Michael was overexerting his powers, Alex couldn't help feeling pleased that he’d thrown the man.

Except now Alex’s brain felt fuzzy, his knees were wobbling, the room was spinning, and he was definitely falling to the floor. “Alex!” Michael caught him before he managed to knock himself out by hitting his head on the ground.

Álvarez was stirring, finally regaining his breath as Michael eased Alex down. “Give me a second.” Alex was only dimly aware of what he was doing–most likely jabbing a syringe filled with ketamine into the man’s neck before he could regroup. Álvarez slumped back down a few seconds later and Michael was next to Alex again.

“What did you do?” Michael asked, concern-confusion seeping through all of Alex’s pores.

“What are you talking about?”

“You need to take some of my energy.” Alex could only assume that Michael’s outburst had overtaxed him through the bond somehow. Whatever caused it, they needed to leave and Alex couldn’t function like this, so he did what Michael suggested.

He grasped Michael’s hand tightly and concentrated on pulling back his ability to stand and think and escape this hellscape. His head was mostly clear when he felt the flow abruptly stop and Michael fell back from his crouch onto his ass. He pulled out another bottle of acetone and drained it completely. It didn’t make him look much better than before. “Shit, you don’t look good,” Alex noted.

“Neither do you,” Michael teased.

“Kyle and Isobel,” Alex said abruptly and turned over onto his hands and knees to push himself into a standing position.

“They’re still in the utility room freaking out.” Michael gestured over to Álvarez. “What are we gonna do with him?”

“Nothing. He’ll wake up eventually. We need to go.” Alex started toward the door.

“Alex, you can’t be serious. He’s obviously involved in Project Shepard. We can’t just leave him here!” Michael’s scared-desperation cut into Alex a little, but they didn’t have time to deal with it right now. “He’ll come after us!”

“They always do, Michael.” Jesus, why was that so common that Alex felt unaffected when he said it? “We will deal with it, but we have to leave. Now.”

“Fuck!” Michael yanked at his curls, but Alex felt him cooperating. Alex got the door opened enough to peek out into the gallery hall. It was deserted; Álvarez must have sent the party goers to the dining hall so he could march Michael and Alex out without upsetting the guests.

Just as he stepped out of the door, an alarm blared to life overhead. There was no way Álvarez would have activated a motion alarm when he expected to leave the room again, so what had tripped it? Michael appeared next to him in the doorway holding a piece of alien glass in each hand.

“Fucking Christ, Guerin!” Alex didn’t bother keeping his voice down–the klaxon was loud but his anger was louder. Guards would be headed to their location now, so they didn’t have time to do anything but run. Alex grabbed one piece from Michael so he had a free hand, then they headed to the stairwell exit of the gallery hall which exited right next to the utility room downstairs.

Unfortunately Alex wasn’t at his best and there was no way he could move down the stairs quickly. “Need to bar the door somehow.”

Michael waved him on. “Get going, I’ll handle it.” His husband was already searching the nearby landing for something useful, so Alex started his slow descent down the staircase. His stump was already protesting every movement, but he pushed forward anyway, gritting his teeth against the bright spots of pain and ignoring the obnoxious voice of Kyle in his head telling him ‘I told you so’. Alex was halfway down when Michael caught up with him. “I wedged a broom handle in there, but it’s not going to hold for very long.”

Alex didn’t have the space in his head to make it down the stairs and answer Michael at the same time, so he didn’t say anything. He did raise his hand against any protest before returning both hands to the railing. Michael didn’t argue; he jogged down ahead and opened the lower door, looking back and forth down the hall and giving the all clear. “I’ll go get Isobel and Valenti,” and he was gone. Alex finally let some tears escape even though it didn’t relieve any of the pain. It at least felt a tiny bit cathartic in the coffin of the stairwell.

He’d reached the first floor landing just as all three returned to the door.

“I’d ask what the hell is going on, but I don’t think we have the time,” Kyle said sardonically. Alex followed them to the first set of double doors while his stump screamed in agony.

“Definitely not. Isobel are you ready?” Alex ignored the worried look she raked over him.

“Yes, I think so. It will need to be a short time for each or I won’t make it.”

“Just have them face away from us as we pass and then release them completely facing the other way. Hopefully we’ll be out of line of sight by the time they turn around again. If not… we’ll handle it another way.” Fuck, Alex was in no condition to handle anything and it showed. He was going to slow their movements by half and make Isobel have to influence them twice as long.

Kyle shook his head. “I’ll be the asshole–you’re going to slow us down and there’s no way she can influence them long enough.”

“Christ, I know,” Alex groused, rubbing his forehead as he tried to reformulate a plan. “Isobel, can you manage to get the two at the parking lot to leave and we will–”

The double doors crashed open and they were greeted with a group of four guards at once; Alex assumed they were the two groups they were meant to pass in the hallway first. “Drop the art.”

“Guerin, guns. Don’t kill anyone.” Alex said and held a hand out expectantly.

The guards looked at him like he was a moron just as all their guns flew out of their hands, one pistol landing in Alex’s hand and one in Michael’s. The rest went sliding across the floor behind them. Alex shot three of the guards in the left shin in succession, each dropping to the floor on impact. Michael shot the last one in the thigh.

“Can you guys carry this glass too?” Alex and Michael handed over the pieces of glass. “Let’s move.” They had to pick their way through the groaning guards but at least the hallway was a straight shot to the exit now, so long as they could make it before more guards showed up behind them.

Alex tried to pull all his focus into his hands wrapped around the gun and not the excruciating pain that radiated up his thigh and into his hip. He was mostly unsuccessful at that. It felt like he was stuck in one of those nightmares where no matter how far you walked, the exit just kept moving away from you. His head was beginning to ache along with his lower body in a redoubling effort of torture.

They did reach the single door eventually, Michael going out first and clocking the butt of his gun against the temple of the guard right outside. They filed out as quickly as Alex could manage.

“I can go ahead, drop the guards, and pull the car to the sidewalk,” Michael suggested.

“No,” Alex shut down. “We stay together. We’re not taking any chances.”

“He’s right, Michael,” Isobel said in that tone that allowed no arguments.

His husband didn’t respond, but he didn’t make any moves, either. They remained quiet after that, moving as a unit toward the back entrance of the parking area. When the guards came into view, both facing away from the group, Alex shook his head at Michael. Hold until I say.

Michael nodded and the other two looked sideways at them, concern on their faces when they kept moving forward and neither of them were shooting. As they approached, Alex heard the sound of a video playing–both men were engrossed in whatever they were watching on the screen of the phone. Alex held a hand up for Kyle and Isobel to stop and mimed to Michael as they crept up behind them. They lifted their guns and dropped them down hard against each man’s head in unison, the phone clattering to the ground as they crumpled forward.

Alex bade the couple follow and they kept moving into the parking lot. He was momentarily disoriented when he couldn’t find his Explorer until he remembered they had rented a vehicle because he wasn’t stupid enough to drive his own car to this op. He felt stupid from pain right now, though. Michael wordlessly dug the keys from Alex’s pocket and unlocked the rental, waving Alex to the passenger seat, which he wasn’t going to argue. Once the tech was safely secured and everyone was inside, Michael started driving them out.

“Don’t speed once you leave the driveway,” Alex informed him, his head heavy against the window. He was legitimately going to pass out from the pain. “Close the bond.”

“Alex, you’re practically unconscious!” Michael glanced over, his desperate-concern eating into Alex’s chest.

“And you need to stay focused on driving.” There were a few more moments of worry before it shut down and Alex’s world went blissfully dark.

THE DEBRIEF

When Alex regained consciousness he was in the bed at the hotel with an IV in his arm. How the hell they managed to get him all the way here while he was dead weight, he had no idea, but he was grateful nonetheless. His grunt came out like a question because he didn’t feel the pain from his stump anymore.

Michael sat down next to him on the bed and brushed his hair away from his forehead.

“How long was I out?” he croaked and then cleared his throat. Michael grabbed him some water which he accepted, leaning up a little to drink a third of the contents before his mouth felt normal again.

Michael took the water back when Alex was finished. “Couple hours. Kyle gave you a little bit of ketamine for the pain.”

Alex groaned and dropped his head onto the pillow. “Kyle, that shit can give me hallucinations without proper anesthesia, you fuckwit!” he yelled at the ceiling.

“It’s either the possibility of hallucinations or debilitating pain, jackass!” Kyle called back with zero sympathy.

“His bedside manner really sucks,” Alex pouted, causing Michael to grin at him. Alex held up a hand to Michael’s face, brushing his thumb along his cheekbone. “How are you doing?”

“Better than you. Jesus, Alex.”

“I know,” he sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face.

“You really, really don’t.” Michael’s eyes were bright and wide, staring at Alex like he’d never met him before.

Alex’s concern heightened instantly. “Did something happen? Is everyone alright? Did they fi–” He made a weak attempt to sit up, but Michael eased him back down with a hand on his chest.

“No, everyone is fine. It’s not that. When you can get out of bed, we’ll go over everything. You should get some more rest.” His voice was soft but firm.

Alex’s first instinct was to argue that he was ready now, but after the fiasco at the mansion, it would be absurdly irresponsible of him. His body needed the rest, even if he was missing context for something. “Okay.”

Michael feigned shock and Alex rolled his eyes, getting comfortable again. His husband gave him a kiss on the forehead before he left the room.

—

When Alex woke up next he could hear Isobel and Michael in the common room.

“Michael, that’s impossible.”

The IV was out of his arm and his crutches were leaning against the table by the bed.

“Iz, I’m not an idiot. I know what I saw.” Michael sounded exasperated, like he was tired of reiterating this.

Alex pushed himself upright on the bed, one foot on the floor, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before reaching for the crutches.

“I know you like to think that you and Alex have this cosmic connection, but even the two of you can’t defy reality.” It was obvious she was attempting to be conciliatory, but was finding it difficult to indulge him.

Alex got the crutches under his arms and made his way into the other room. “Who’s defying reality now?”

“Alex, hi. You look a lot better,” Isobel smiled far too wide at him.

“I know you were talking about me. What is it?” He levered himself over to the sofa next to Michael and sat down, looking between the two of them.

“Michael’s under the impression that you… used his powers when Álvarez found the two of you in the alien gallery.” Isobel spoke slowly and concisely like she was trying to soften the blow of bad news.

Alex scoffed. “What? That’s impossible.” He turned to Michael, expecting some sort of smirk or laugh but his husband’s face remained serious. “Michael?”

Michael put his hands on Alex’s thigh, his voice even and eyes soft. “When Álvarez kept saying all that homophobic bullshit and you screamed at him to stop… you threw him against the wall, Alex.”

“No I didn’t, that was you.”

“I didn’t do anything. Why do you think you collapsed right after?” Michael moved his thumb back and forth on Alex’s thigh as he tried to parse the scene in his head.

“B-because you had already used so much energy, you overextended…” he said, sounding uncertain even to his own ears. At the time, Alex assumed that Michael had unintentionally pulled energy from him to throw Álvarez.

Michael shook his head slowly, squeezing his thigh. “Alex, I gave you energy afterward because you needed it. I was fine.”

Alex’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “That’s–that’s not possible…”

Isobel held a hand over her mouth, eyes wide as she absorbed the significance of this conversation.

“How would I be able to do something like that and not even know?” Alex asked skeptically. The pod squad all had control over their powers; they used them intentionally and knew that it was happening when they did.

“When we were younger,” Michael started slowly, “we had trouble controlling our powers when we got angry or scared. Alex, when Álvarez was talking, you were… enraged. I could feel you through the bond, you just… you lost total control of yourself. I have never seen you do that before.”

“Oh my god, Michael,” Isobel gasped. “He really did use them.”

Alex’s jaw was hanging limp, his mind trying to process something that shouldn't be possible. “Holy shit,” he whispered and a few moments later, a little louder, “Holy shit.” Michael was right about him losing control from the enmity that Álvarez had stirred inside him. He always tried to keep a tight lid on that part of himself, to not stoop to their level because he knew they were inherently fanatical, but god the way he had spoken about Michael and their relationship–it had broken through the vestiges of Alex’s composure.

Kyle appeared from the other bedroom, drying his hair with a towel, joining in the conversation like he’d been there the whole time. “Wait, so that’s why your leg was in such bad shape? I thought you gave him too much energy in your usual self-sacrificing schtick.”

Alex flipped him off, sufficiently pulled from his meandrous thoughts. “I did it the same way as we practiced.”

“You hardly managed it when we practiced,” Kyle pointed out unhelpfully.

“I liked it better when you wouldn’t challenge me because you were afraid of offending me,” Alex deadpanned, startling a laugh out of Michael next to him.

“Sorry, bestie, that catharsis has already come and gone.” Kyle clapped him on the shoulder before sitting down on the arm of the chair Isobel was in. “So does this mean you’ll have alien DNA now like Rosa and Maria?” Kyle didn’t sound excited to add a new alien-human hybrid to his collection of peculiar patients.

“I don’t see why. If anything it would be analogous to a conduit of sorts. Powers come from him, flow through the bond and out through me.” Alex said it as if it made perfect sense when it absolutely did not. None of this made any sense.

“I’d agree with that if it wasn’t for the energy consumption,” Isobel intoned thoughtfully. “Michael said he was fine and it was only you that had collapsed. If the energy had come from Michael then it would have left him weak.”

Alex put his head in his hands and felt Michael squeeze his thigh. This was preposterous. He couldn’t just be telekinetic through the bond. He was human, he didn’t have any of the necessary biology that made it possible. There was no way–

“We’ve been using telepathy, Alex. Both ways.” Michael’s words were careful, like he was afraid to spook the horse. He was right, though Alex hadn’t thought about it that way until now. When he spoke to Michael through the bond, it didn’t feel like he was using telepathy himself. He had thought of it as an extension of Michael working through him. But had it been the opposite the whole time–Michael giving Alex the capability to work through him?

Shit. The bondprint was a fucking powerprint, too.

—

The only way to take his mind off the fact that he could apparently use alien powers if he was connected to Michael was to focus on the mission. The extremely, horrifically, shamefully botched mission. Owed partially to the fact that Álvarez had them figured out from the get-go, but also because Michael had gone off-script. Again.

On the one hand, they did get the tech. On the other hand, they created a new enemy. Alex wasn’t sure if that was a balanced trade.

“I understand that Álvarez got suspicious of the distraction,” Kyle said while they were gathered in the common room later, “but you said that he and the guards were unconscious when you left the gallery. So what set off the alarms?”

Alex raised his eyebrows and turned to Michael. “What did set the alarm off, Michael?” he mocked.

“Look, we didn’t have the time to disengage them and there was no way I was going to leave them there with that bastard.” Michael didn’t look apologetic. “You heard the things he said, Alex.”

Of course he would never forget the things that man had said. They were burned into his mind inside the corner where his memories with Jesse Manes festered. It almost felt like they were one and the same. “It wasn’t part of the mission, Michael.”

“Neither was Álvarez finding us in there!” Michael replied, agitated.

“And we adapted to that situation and overcame the obstacle.” Not as well off as they should have been, but still on the positive end of things. “We had a clear path to leave the way we had originally intended to and you introduced new variables that put us all in danger.”

“Alex, that’s not fair. The whole point of these raids is to dismantle Project Shepard, to remove alien tech from–”

“This wasn’t a raid. This was a clear-cut heist, planned for an explicit set of items during a very distinct time frame.” Alex spoke in monotone weariness. “This was a plan that you agreed to adhere to in advance for the safety and success of the mission and its participants.”

Michael stood up, throwing his hands in the air. “This isn’t a fucking military platoon, Alex! I’m not a goddamn soldier who’s going to take orders from you!”

“Michael–” Isobel tried.

“They were never orders, Michael. We had an agreement and you broke it.”

Michael scoffed even though he looked uncertain now. “No–no I didn’t.”

“We had just found out that Álvarez was involved with Project Shepard, was extremely dangerous, and you were revealed as an alien to him,” Alex’s words were calm and level, but he was glad that the bond was closed because he was having trouble keeping his irritation in check. “The both of us were physically compromised, myself to an inordinate degree, and you were aware that lifting the glass would set off alarms and make our escape riskier than it already was.”

Michael was flagging with each word Alex said, eventually sitting down onto the couch again.

“Someone could have died,” Alex finished.

“Alex, I think that’s a little extreme,” Isobel interjected.

“No,” Michael said, looking down at his hands for a few moments before he glanced at Isobel and then to Alex. “He’s right. He could barely walk and I was so depleted I couldn’t even help him. I’m the reason we had to move so fast.” He looked at Kyle then. “Is his leg going to be okay?”

“Uh, yeah. The inflammation should go down in a day or so.” Kyle looked directly at Alex when he continued, “He just has to stay off the prostheses. I will break into your house and steal them all if it becomes necessary.”

“Jesus,” Alex muttered, rolling his eyes. “I won’t use one, Kyle. Calm down.”

“I’m sorry, Alex,” Michael said, looking over at him like he was afraid his husband wouldn’t accept him.

“I know you are. I know it’ll happen again. And I love you anyway.” He could never be mad at Michael for his big heart, but he didn’t know how much longer they would keep getting lucky when shit went sideways.

“They’re so sweet,” Isobel cooed to Kyle, holding his hand.

“Yeah, it’s pretty insufferable,” he replied with a genuine smile.

Michael threw a couch pillow at his face just as he kissed Alex softly.

—

“So you think Álvarez is the head of Project Shepard?” Kyle sounded dubious.

“I don’t know if he’s at the top, but I do know that he was above my dad,” Alex leaned back into the cushions of the couch. “He was in the military, but there’s no record of his career anywhere.”

“I still don’t understand how you discovered he was former military.” Michael tilted his head at Alex’s sigh. He snagged his husband by the ankle and turned him 90-degrees on the sofa so that his knees were draped over Michael’s lap. A pillow was floated behind Alex’s back to stop him from lying uncomfortably against the armrest.

Alex’s glare softened when Michael started kneading at the back of his calf. “The way he carries himself; he expects people to listen to him. He was an officer.”

“Is that so, Captain?” Michael had an impish grin as he glanced sideways, his curls falling over his forehead.

Alex ignored the jab. “He knew that I was involved in the raid we did, but I couldn’t really tell from the way he was talking if he thought I was working alone or not.”

Michael was frowning. “He said that Deep Sky isn’t sanctioning any raids. They knew about the raid, didn’t they?”

“Eduardo knows. He’s the only one that Kyle and I tell about them because strictly speaking, they aren’t sanctioned by the organization.” Alex looked at Kyle, an uncomfortable pit starting to open in his stomach.

“But Álvarez knew that Deep Sky was footing the bill for the piece we purchased from him. And he knows that they have the Lockhart machine, but not about us participating in the raids…” Kyle’s eyes were growing wide. “You don’t think–”

“Goddammit.” Alex rubbed his temples. This was just what they didn’t need. “Project Shepard has a mole in Deep Sky.”

[swimmingenthusiasty]

I'm worried about the prospect of having a forced conversation escalate and ending up scandalous. Destructive. Become targets again. All because she's fucking dumb.

I know what's best. For everyone.

She is ignorant. She thinks much more highly of herself than what she is actually capable of, which is mostly to manipulate and take for granted those who are nearby and trust her.

Anyone else will obviously tell her to fuck right off when she continues to push their boundaries or talk behind them. She will keep scheming in total disrespect for their regard, can't tell her anything, she's basically a robot, a charicature. Nothing goes in when you ask her to back off, even if she verbally agrees to stop. This is just all she knows. All she's programmed for. The more you do, the more she is compelled to dig behind you. Just so she doesn't feel alone or left behind.

He is arrogant. Fool. Escalate just means he will be himself. Give him an inch... he'll just take you for granted. If you assert a boundary, then you're uptight, not he's an asshole... and without threats, it will be ignored anyway. You don't want to go down that road. That's basically the old saying about when you live with someone, you become like them.

It'll give everyone a reason to think it's allowed. It'll give them a subject to get into and watch. None of that is desirable.

Mistake her.

Right now, I'm doing nothing. I can meet her tit for tat. But the mistake would be to consider this a foundation for anything. It isn't.

Mistake him.

This was just a mistake. I gave him the car and thought I would keep emergency contact with him as I traveled. Turns out that he creates the disaster instantly, and I was better off doing anything else instead, maybe just some insurance.

No more.

I can already see what will happen during success. She will get increasingly frustrated and beligerante and throw more and more tantrums to not feel alone. He will talk more and more, like he is possessed and with increasing smugness and disrespect until the ceiling falls on his head.

No more

So much time wasted on this subject. There's real teams you can join. Currently, I am so far behind in comparison to when you actually see how real teams function.

No more?

Even if you gave em one more chance. And they don't mess it up this time. You're missing out on the full experience.

And if they do mess it up, it is truly truly catastrophic. Disastrous. I can't stress this enough. Abort! Abort!

Why is this stuff so hard to stick. Laziness? responsibility? Disregard for yourself? You should value what happens to you. Know that no one else can as much as you. Whoever lied and said they did was wrong to do that.

[saltypiss]

If getting an abortion means jail time then burning and burying a body is a give-in for more people than republicans have ever met in their trailer parks. 

In fact I guarantee this, given the current state of politics, was the best solution for everyone. 90 days? That’s some fucked shit given the government forced them into this situation and then chose not to like how they handled their own lives. 

Conservatives will force people to believe the same things they do because they live in a trailer park and know literally nobody nor anything. Uncultured towards humans, their closest representation of humanity is in a cherry picked bible.

Like...No shit this would happen without abortion. No shit. Everyone knew this but the uneducated.

Just saying, when the punishment pushes people to do Worse “crimes”, then you should probably not punish people for medical decisions that should be between patient and doctor. Oh did she do it too late? Oh man, I wonder what facility would have guided her through this process. Planned... something...

This would be like making healthcare so costly that people feel the need to own a gun just to hijack a plane to go to a country with socialized healthcare. Wouldn’t it have been...easier to just make healthcare affordable and not a bankruptcy machine?

Wouldn’t it have been easier to let that teen go to a planned parenthood and be told what their decisions are and how to proceed? You know, a medical professional and mental healthcare facility to help them through a Massive Change in their Very Young lives? Would this situation have not happened if abort- obviously no shit just look up some statistics and have a god damn brain.

Same people that think a teenager can’t decide their identities can apparently also have guns and be a parent but are too irresponsible to decide their futures.

I just love how the idea is also to make women out to be these dirty prostituted whores that need regulated. Like we have such a problem with women having sex that men felt dumb enough to regulate them. As if that solves anything or follows reality. Just saying, men are having less sex these days and it’s because women genuinely cannot trust men. Being a forced-birther just made the dating pool exponentially smaller.

Again, forced-birthers are simply control freaks that have no solutions, just punishments. A genuinely disturbing fetish for pregnancy, they themselves would get an abortion for had they had to experience it.