#is it obvious i’m never getting over this press conference???

[stromer]

brendan “👀” brisson

[mionemymind]

Chapter 3: Choosing for You

My Rival Series

Series Summary: The time where Y/n Y/l/n and Wanda Maximoff were academic rivals that fell for each other.

Chapter Summary: The competition is here. Who will be the winner?

A/n: This was a long chapter, honestly might rewrite it, but here it is with all its mistakes and glories. And I'm sorry if you've asked to be tagged and wasn't included in this post, I'm posting this from work because I promised to give y'all something. (Gif credits to @elizabetholsens)

Warnings: Rivals to Lovers, Obvious Feelings, Stubborn Reader, Cursing, Alcohol, Mentions of Puking, Memory Loss, Panic Attack

Word Count: 7.2k

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |

Fall Semester - Freshman Year

“Why does winning matter so much to you?” Winning hardly had rewards in life. Sure, there was sometimes money involved on the line but other than financial gain, winning was mainly there to feed the ego. For Natasha, she never viewed Y/n as someone that cared about being number one in life. Based on the few phone calls she overheard, the university felt like a getaway from troubles at home. So why did Y/n even want to win? 

The brown eyed girl sat in confusion. Her pencil was still as she wracked her brain for an answer. By all means, winning is fun. Back in high school, Y/n would naturally win things that being number one felt like home at that point. But having moved on from that mentality, winning wasn’t quite the same in Evergreen University. Well, it’s not like she had a chance to feel it when Wanda Maximoff was around. 

“If I’m being honest…I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a win in my life before.” The two locked eyes as Y/n softly confessed what was long on her mind. She placed her pencil down and gave Natasha her undivided attention. “Studying has never been my thing before up until now. Don’t get me wrong, I quite hate it, but it feels different now. Like if I just beat her once, then that high will be like nothing ever before.” 

“Does she really challenge you that much?” The question sunk into Y/n’s brain and into her deeper subconscious. She sat quietly, overthinking her answer. 

“I think…she’s the only one that ever challenged me at all.” 

Competition Day - Spring Semester - Junior Year 

‘Why does winning feel so wrong?’ Y/n looked in the mirror, splashing small bits of water on her face to help wake herself up. Rolling her neck, she could feel how stiff her bones were from last night. Unfortunately, the bus was no help at all, only providing mild comfort on their four hour journey. 

Stepping out the bathroom, Y/n wore the tightly pressed and cleaned uniform as Wanda started her speech for the group. “I want to thank you all for joining us today at this competition. For some of you, this is your first time ever attending the conference while for others, you are returning. Regardless, you’ve all earned your spots on this team, so congratulate yourself for that.” 

A couple of applauses were heard as Wanda smiled at the team. She briefly glanced to Y/n who was sitting all the way at the back of the bus. “I know that this bus is carrying some of the brightest minds that Evergreen University has to offer. Without a doubt in my mind, I know we can win this competition.”

Y/n looked away to the view of the hotel where the conference took place. The turmoil in her gut was hard to ignore as she focused on other things besides Wanda’s eyes. ‘Winning is a must. If I want to come back to her here, then I need to win.’ 

“However, winning is not always the priority. Overall, I’ve been more than happy to see everyone grow into their strengths and even improve your weaknesses. Your efforts have been highly noted by both of your captains.” Y/n looked back at Wanda, her stare as confident as ever. 

“We want to thank you all for all the nights, practices, and energy you’ve committed to be in this competition.” Wanda looked over as the bus entered the garage of the hotel. “Okay, everyone come in for a quick send off.” 

Everyone gathered into a huddle, placing their hands in the middle. “On three - one - two - three - Evergreen! Fight! Fight! Fight!” Their hands lifted into the air as Wanda looked at Y/n with a determined smile. 

‘I’m going to win.’ The brunette thought as she stared into those brown eyes, but little did she know the costs of this win.

The hotel was massive. It was honestly a surprise at how many schools can fit into one place. Some had to fly in, having been more than five hours away. The group followed Wanda to the selected tables meant for Evergreen University. 

“Break into your groups, Y/n and I will be investigating the brackets to see who we will be versing first. We have about an hour before round one is officially called. If you need to change or use the bathroom, this is definitely the time to do so. If you have any questions or concerns, please let Y/n and/or I know immediately.” 

Doing as told, the members immediately broke into their four person group and discussed strategies for round one. When no one came up to ask any questions, the pair walked off out of the conference room, and into the large hall that had many posters hung up with all the different brackets. 

There was a small but comfortable silence as Wanda walked slightly ahead from Y/n, focusing on finding out who they were versing first. While Y/n was also thinking of the competition, she wondered if they were ever going to talk about last night. 

Walking up to the first bracket they could find, Wanda took a picture of it and sent it to the math club group chat for everyone to see. “Princewell University, Maroon State College, and Gale College, not a bad start. Looks like we’re going to easily make it into the second round.” 

Since Y/n was unable to sleep last night, she made use of her time by looking over the bracket. Going over the many possibilities, there was still a high chance of her group making it to the top five. Round one was thankfully full of easy opponents having judged their previous matches with other schools. 

“I agree. Looks like our main trouble is with Harford University. But they’re all the way at the otherside. I’m hoping Legacy College takes care of them so we don’t have to,” Wanda comments. She turned to face Y/n, taking a good look at her clean uniform and brushed hair. 

“I need you to be on your A-game today.” Unsure of where Wanda’s seriousness was coming from, Y/n nodded in understanding. “If you can give me that, I’ll overlook this morning.” 

Puzzled by her statement, Y/n asked, “What are you talking about?” Wanda crossed her arms, trying her best to be level headed at the moment. 

“You wreaked alcohol. Last night was a supposed to be a get together, not an opportunity to get drunk.” The judgment coming from Wanda’s tone felt like a slap in the face as Y/n took one step back. 

“Are you kidding me? I took one drink. I wasn’t the one that was drunk last night. Are you seriously remembering the same night as me?” The small moment with Wanda was all that Y/n replayed in that moment. 

‘Apologize and I’ll forgive you for everything - apologize and I’ll let go of this whole feud.’ Whether Y/n was going to loudly admit it or not, the small ounce that she saw of Wanda’s true personality changed her view of the brunette. Even if the conversation was small, even if Wanda didn’t hear her response, even if it was a drunk confession, Y/n was going to cling to it. 

Wanda was always the girl that was number one but in that small moment, Wanda was just a girl who wanted to win for the sake of not disappointing her father. Because God, how could someone ever be disappointed in Wanda Maximoff? And how could they not see just how amazing she was? 

But as Wanda rolled her eyes, and hardened her stare, Y/n knew none of that moment mattered to Wanda, not when her green eyes still showed some form of hatred. “I remember last night clearly. Everyone in the group arrived and managed to say check in with me. You were the only one in the group that I didn’t even get to see. Once it was late, I went back to my dorm and slept. But it’s obvious why you avoided me - you were too busy drinking rather than focusing on the competition.”

“That’s not-”

“I don’t want to hear your explanation. Your team deserves a good leader and if you can’t provide that, I’ll make sure that math club will be looking for a replacement captain next semester.” The pounding in Wanda’s head was hard to ignore as she walked away from Y/n, not even bothering to hear her side. 

‘Focus. Everything will be alright if you just focus.’ The ringing in Y/n’s ears was louder than the judge in front of her. The question left his lips almost slipped past the girl but thankfully her teammate, Luke, was paying attention, easily answering the question. 

“Another point for Evergreen University, which solidifies their victory for this match!” Cheers erupted from the crowd as each group got up, giving the other members handshakes for the great match. 

‘I can’t fucking focus.’ Y/n wore a fake smile as she congratulated the other captain on the team, quickly walking off the stage. Ever since her interaction with Wanda, her nervousness and anxiety came back in full throttle. Her mind went from completely tired to panic. And while her drive to win increased, it came with overthinking as well. 

“That was a great match everyone! I’m so proud of you all for being so great for these four rounds that I haven’t had to worry one bit.” Well Y/n did worry, just not for her team’s sake. “I’m going to go ahead and let the staff know about our victory. In the meantime, go ahead and relax at our table. After the fifth round, let me know if y’all want snacks. I can go ahead and purchase them for everyone.” 

“Thank you Y/n. We appreciate it!” Luke stated, he was a returning member of the competition, one that Y/n knew well. Letting the group walk away, Y/n finally brought her guard down as she walked out of the conference room and to the direction of the staff booth. 

‘I can’t believe I fucking froze.’ Y/n knew the question was for her, yet she had to rely on her team member for something she could’ve easily answered. Wiping her frustrations off her face, Y/n tried to compose herself before she approached the staff. 

“School, team, and placement?” The lady wore rectangle shaped glasses. She offered Y/n a kind smile, ready to write the results. 

“Evergreen University, team two, and we won our match.” Y/n peeped her name tag, Laura, as she wrote down the results. 

“Looks like you’ll be versing Apollo College next in conference room seven.” Laura handed Y/n a slip of paper with the information before calling next. 

Shoving the paper in her pocket, Y/n walked past several conference rooms, their doors open for anyone to watch their matches. None of them interested her, but her voice certainly did. Stopping at the entrance of the doors, Y/n watched Wanda flawlessly answer the question. 

The bright light focusing on her group amplified her natural beauty. Y/n could pick up on every single detail, something she already knew like the back of her hand. Her jaw clenched as she noticed Wanda's smile, the same type of smile she had when she got hundreds on tests. 

The anger inside Y/n manifested once more. She could legitimately feel herself start to boil the more she stared at Wanda. It was dangerously coming close to the anger she felt when she lashed out at Natasha that one night. 

Clenching her fists, Y/n walked away from the match, unable to stand Wanda any further with thoughts of winning in her mind. 

‘You’re making mistakes.’ Wanda stood in the crowd with her arms crossed. The displeased look on her face was hard to miss as she witnessed Y/n make her third mistake of the match, causing another precious point to be missed. Her brain rushed through many thoughts of disappointment towards the girl she used to hold to a high regard. 

‘This isn’t like her.’ But the frown on Wanda’s face deepened, did she really know Y/n at all? Yes, she can admit that Y/n was smart. Smarter than a lot of people at their university. But other than that obvious characteristic, Y/n was admittedly someone she only knew at surface level. They’ve hardly spoken outside classes or math club. Essentially, she was just a stranger that was smart. 

Shaking away the sadness that was snaking through her, Wanda watched as Y/n sat back in her seat. 

The shame that Y/n carried on her shoulders felt massive along with the anxiety that continued to paralyze her more and more. The brown eyed girl was certain of her answer, so when the judge loudly announced that she gotten it wrong, embarrassment flooded her senses knowing that Wanda was in the crowd, silently judging her every move. 

It all came down to the final question of the match. Whoever answers correctly will have to verse Wanda’s team. Luke, once again, got up, ready to answer the question. All eyes were on him besides Wanda and Y/n. 

As the two finally locked eyes, Y/n couldn’t help but drown further in Wanda’s rage. ‘Forget everything I ever said - I do fucking hate you, Wanda Maximoff. And I hope you never forget that.’

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

“We need to talk.” Celebrations for Evergreen University were deaf to Wanda’s ears as she held Y/n’s wrist. Quickly, she led them out the crowd and through the near empty hallway outside the conference room. Dropping her wrist, Wanda stood there fuming with anger. 

“What was that?” Y/n didn’t want to speak, unsure of what would be the ‘correct’ choice of words for the brunette. And by the looks of it, nothing was going to satisfy her. Choosing to be silent anger Wanda ever further. 

“This isn’t the time to be childish - you’re making mistakes and if it wasn’t for your team, you wouldn’t have had this spot in the finals.” Y/n clenched her jaw as she bit her tongue. Sure she made mistakes, but it hurt Y/n to realize that Wanda didn’t even care for the ways she did contribute to the team. 

Mistakes were permanent for the girl that was always perfect. That was something Y/n realized now more than ever. 

“Can you not let go of three mistakes, Captain?” Y/n continued to stare off at the other side of the hallway, refusing to make eye contact with Wanda. Her words sneered off her mouth, feeling disgusted at the way Wanda ridiculed her every move. 

“Un-fucking-believable. Dean Holloway was right.” At the mention of the Dean, Y/n’s blood ran cold. Her eyes locked with Wanda’s, as the brunette stood there. “You take everything as some type of joke. And to think I stood up for you.” 

Y/n’s mind scrambled on what possibly happened between Dean Holloway and Wanda. ‘Does she know about my scholarship?’

But why on Earth would Wanda assume such things if she knew about her scholarship? Pressing for more information, Y/n asked, “What did he say?”

Wanda rolled her eyes. ‘Of course that’s what she would focus on rather than her own mistakes.’ Looking at the time, there were twenty minutes left before the final. The brunette should have been using this time to help practice with her team, yet here she was arguing with Y/n. 

“Last week,” Wanda sighed. This all felt pointless to admit but she felt that Y/n needed to know. Maybe this could be what straightened up her act. “Dean Holloway asked me to reconsider your place in this competition.” 

“What?” Y/n took a step back at the confession, feeling more hopeless at how rigged everything was. ‘How could he do this to me?” 

“I told him that I could trust you - that you were the only person besides me adequate enough to lead the math club. Somehow, he managed to let me know that you were slipping in classes. No longer being at the top.” Wanda looked at Y/n. She focused on all the minor details of the face that haunted her mind. But upon seeing how hurt those brown eyes looked, Wanda couldn’t help but falter slightly. 

“I wanted to believe that it was all wrong, but now…” Y/n silently pleaded as her mind went into overdrive. Couldn’t Wanda see how innocent she was? How she had been studying day and night for weeks just to make it another year at Evergreen? Couldn’t she see that this was all for her? 

“I think we should go back to our groups. We need to prepare for the final. But Y/l/n…after this competition, we might have to reconsider your place as captain for math club.” 

How cruel the world must be for the universe to deal Y/n such a bad draw? And how awful it must feel to know that Wanda was the one that delivered the final blow? 

‘I have to win for me.’ Water dripped down Y/n’s face as she stared at herself in the mirror. There was five minutes left before she was expected to take the stage. Currently, Y/n was in the bathroom, hoping to subside the panic attack that was itching to come out. 

‘Even if the school doesn’t want me, even if Wanda doesn’t want me, I want this more than anyone.’ Gripping the counter for stability, Y/n slowed her breathing down, hoping it would be enough. She wasn’t going to let the world decide her fate even if it had cheated her of a fair opportunity. 

“Welcome everyone for the final match for the annual math club state competition. I’m thrilled to announce that this year’s top two teams both come from Evergreen University!” Applause rumbled throughout the large conference room as the rest of the school's watch in anticipation. 

Wanda sat in her seat, overthinking her conversation with Y/n earlier. ‘Did I go overboard?’ Sneaking a glance at Y/n, it was hard to get a read of what the brown eyed girl was thinking. ‘Whatever, she needed to know.’

Pushing her thoughts to the back, the brunette focused back on the competition. It was finally her turn to go up as well as Y/n’s. 

“Please find the inverse of the following equation.” Like a switch, everything in Wanda’s mind grew silent as she focused on the question on the screen. In seconds flat, she hit the buzzer to submit her answer. 

“And the correct answer choice was…C, point goes to team # 1.” This was Wanda’s element - this was her reason for being. Glancing at Y/n, Wanda knew her purpose. She was number one and god forbid anyone that stood in her way. 

The competition went by like a blur. In the first quarter of questions, Wanda’s team led with a gap of seven points. However, after a couple small mistakes by her team members, Y/n’s team was able to catch up and shorten the gap. 

Right now, there are only five questions left. The score remained tied as Y/n tried her best to remain perfect. If things were to continue the way they were, the last question would determine the winner. 

Before she knew it, it was finally her turn. Standing up to take the podium, Y/n glanced at Wanda accidentally locking eyes. ‘I will be the one to defeat you, Maximoff. I will make sure of it.’

Fall Semester - Freshman Year 

“I’ve never seen you study so much before. It’s kinda freaky.” The two roommates sat around the small circular table in the middle of the room, enjoying a couple of drinks and snacks. Natasha begged for Y/n to stop for at least a small break, having missed talking to her roommate. 

“Trust me, I hate it just as much as you do.” Y/n stretched her legs at her sat position. Rolling her neck around, a couple of pops and clicks could be heard. 

“Why do it? Your grades are fine the way they are.” Y/n looked back at the pile of books on her desk. She never really recalled studying this much before during her high school days. Heck, she’s been able to get by this whole time just by how naturally smart she was. So when she looked back at Natasha, there was this ‘ya know’ look in Y/n’s eyes. “Does it have to do with Wanda?”

Y/n smiled at the mention of the brunette. It was odd at how many classes they were in together even though their majors were entirely different. There was something about Wanda that caught Y/n’s eye. She didn’t quite know what it was and didn’t quite want to delve too much into it. 

“And if it does?” Y/n sipped on her drink, a smirk on her face as she avoided Natasha’s question. The red head shook her head, grabbing a chip.

“Well - you speak of her like she’s a God.” Eating a couple more, Natasha watched as the glimmer in Y/n’s eye brightened every time the brunette was brought up. Like the simple mention of Wanda could make Y/n smile instantly. 

“Wrong, Wanda’s not a God. Gods make mistakes,” getting closer to Natasha’s face, the red head could smell the faint of alcohol on Y/n’s lips, “and Wanda Maximoff does not make mistakes.” 

Y/n leaned back, still drinking the rest of her drink as Natasha looked at her roommate with a puzzled look. “Whatever you say. Just try not to make this a habit now.”

Y/n shook her head, feeling optimistic that she’d beat Wanda soon enough. Probably in the same semester. “I won’t. Promise.” 

“Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in our state’s history the competition’s fate lied in the last question.” The crowd applauded for the accomplishment as the judges beamed in smiles towards Evergreen University. “.As your judges, we believe this calls for a special problem. We’ve rewritten the last question to make it a more challenging problem.”

“With one point in the lead, if Wanda answers the question correctly, her team will solidify the win. If Y/n answers the question correctly, this competition will proceed to overtime.” 

Y/n and Wanda stood at their podiums, anticipation both killing them. “Here is your question.” 

As the screen showed off the problem, Y/n could feel herself standing tall as she looked over the problem. It was a multistep calculus problem that involved finding the inverse of a 3x3 matrix. Essentially, a problem that would require two pages of work just to find a solution. And by the looks of it, Wanda was already finished with the first quarter of the work. 

Calming her breathing down, Y/n cleared the noise from her head.  She looked back at the problem, digesting all of what it told. ‘This is just another problem, Y/n.’ Thinking lightly back to the days where math was just a fun activity to do, Y/n finally smiled, remembering the feeling where math naturally came to her. 

Letting the feeling sink in, Y/n started to solve it. The crowd waited with whispers and talks of who was going to win. Many people in the crowd believed Wanda would secure another victory as she did in the past. Very few people cheered for Y/n, simply wanting to believe in the underdog. 

A few minutes later, Y/n approached the final bits of her answer, immediately eyeing the answer choice on the screen. Her heart skipped a beat realizing that she could do this - that she could win. 

Before she could reach out for the answer, Wanda had buzzed in first with her choice. Suddenly, everything inside Y/n shut down as she saw Wanda smile once again. It was that infamous smile that she grew so used to. 

‘This can’t be it. This can’t be the end.’ Feeling herself lock up again, Y/n didn’t dare to look at the screen, hoping to save some of her dignity that was barely left. 

Believing the world to be crashing in front of her, she failed to realize that Wanda had made a mistake. The screen glowed in bright red as her answer choice was incorrect. “Y/n, looks like the question is left to you. You haven’t locked in your answer, so what will it be?” 

Y/n looked up, unable to digest that Wanda actually messed up. The Wanda Maximoff made a mistake. Fighting back the smile on her face, Y/n reached out for the correct answer choice, her finger tips grazing answer choice B. 

The smug look on her face was hard to miss. Everyone on her team knew they would come home with the victory. Wanda’s team sighed in defeat knowing that Y/n would answer correctly. 

So why did everything change when Y/n glanced at Wanda? Why did her heart hurt at the sight of Wanda spilling angry and frustrated tears? Why did her breathing stop? And why did all thoughts consume her? 

Wanda never cried or at least in front of Y/n or anybody. She was always the strong and confident girl that knew every answer for every question. She walked like she was untouchable. So how did she mess up? 

‘Please stop crying,’ she thought. Her heart constricted knowing she was the reason Wanda was crying. Yet every ounce of her brain yelled for her to press the damn answer, to finally prove to Wanda that she could be defeated, to finally get the win that she had been craving for since freshman year. 

So why couldn’t she just fucking press it? Looking back at the crowd and at the answer written down on her paper, her free hand crumpled the sheet as her heart overtook what her mind pleaded. 

Feeling like time stopped, Y/n held her breath when those green eyes locked with her. ‘I want to win…I want to stay…but at the cost of this…this isn’t a win.’ 

Beyond logic and reason, Y/n pressed her answer. Confetti blew in the air as the judge announced, “And the winner is team # 1 with Wanda Maximoff as their team captain. Congratulations to Evergreen University!” 

Regardless of what Wanda had ever done, said, or thought, Y/n knew that today was all because the school wanted to so badly pin Wanda against her. But Y/n finally knew better. This will not be the day she wins. This will be the day she was finally okay to be second to Wanda. 

Many cheers and laughter filled the bus as the group celebrated the Evergreen University win. Wanda had been smiling so hard since the award ceremony that her cheeks started to hurt.

As she looked over the trophy, her eyes couldn’t stop looking at the sleeping figure near the back of the bus. ‘I almost lost it,’ Wanda thought. It was unlike her to make a mistake and if she was being honest, she didn’t know what to blame. 

As much as she wanted to overlook her work, she wanted to leave that mistake in the past and enjoy the win. But as she kept looking back to Y/n, who hadn’t said a word to her since the final match, Wanda couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. 

Regardless, the drive back to Evergreen was filled with joy as Y/n finally slept after a long exhausting day. 

Finals Week - Spring Semester - Junior Year

Wanda loved winning…but lately, it had a sour taste in her mouth. Finals week came in full swing, giving zero time for Wanda to dissect this weird feeling in her chest. She had helped some of her friends and classmates with studying, making her even more busy than usual. 

By the time she was done with tests, the sour feeling still sat in her chest. With only two days left, Wanda couldn’t help but lose some sleep over this feeling. Why was winning suddenly so bad? When did it become something she felt guilty for? 

Subconsciously, her mind gravitated towards Y/n. In her dreams, the moment before Y/n answered the final question replayed constantly. It was as if her mind took a vivid recording of the whole interaction. And as she replayed the moment she locked eyes with Y/n, Wanda couldn’t help but feel like the trophy wasn’t meant for her. 

Of course she downplayed the scenario, believing that this was another mistake that Y/n had made for that day. And the words of Dean Holloway, this was something Y/n never took seriously. So why did she vividly remember how Y/n’s eyes looked the moment she had chosen her answer? Why did Y/n look so accepting of defeat? Why was there no anger or thrive behind them? 

And the more she thought, the more she realized how little she saw of Y/n during the whole week. Friday, the last day of the semester, came around. During the test, her mind suddenly diverted to her. So when Wanda looked up and found Y/n in the crowd, she couldn’t help but want to talk to her, to see what exactly happened in that moment. 

Was it something she made up in her head? Was she feeling weird for actually making a mistake in front of people? Was this blown out of proportion? 

Regardless, Wanda didn’t dare describe this feeling as part of missing Y/n. Cause if she had, maybe she would have realized sooner that winning felt wrong this time. Because maybe, just maybe, it had pushed away the person that actually understood her better than anyone else. 

Last Night - Spring Semester - Junior Year

Y/n Y/l/n,

We regret to inform you that your scholarship has been revoked for the following 2019 fall semester. This decision was not made lightly as the board is aware of the accomplishments you’ve brought to Evergreen University. Nevertheless, the requirement to place #1 in the most recent STEM competition was something we could not ignore. 

We do hope you decide to enroll for your senior year. For further information on financial aid or loan applications, please visit the Bursar’s office. 

Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences

Cedric Holloway 

Evergreen University

The letter sat on the Y/n’s near empty desk as she continued to pack in preparation for tomorrow. It was the last night on campus for every student. While many chose to celebrate it with a party, Y/n chose to spend it alone. 

The silence of her room provided some comfort as she cleared her bookshelf. “Why must I have so many books?” 

While Y/n never imagined this would be where her college career with Evergreen ended, she certainly never regretted her choice. Then again, she hadn’t been home in forever, so that may change soon once she goes back. 

Looking back at Natasha’s fully furnished side, Y/n could feel some guilt rising to her chest as she hadn’t broken the news yet to her best friend. Not wanting to burden the red head with a sad night, Y/n remained silent, hoping tomorrow would be best to break the news. 

As for Y/n’s group, none of them were particularly angry about her mistake. Everyone tried their best to cheer their captain up, providing some comforting smiles and words. None of it truly mattered though. This was Y/n’s choice to make and she fully knew the consequences of it. 

So for the first time in a while, Y/n was actually alone and not studying. That was until she came. Wanda stood in the hallway, thinking of how she would talk to Y/n, to hopefully apologize. She carried the trophy that was mailed in from the conference, one that actually had her name engraved on it. 

But the trophy felt heavy and awkward in her hands, but it was the closest thing Wanda could think of as a conversation starter. Pushing her anxieties away, Wanda walked to Y/n’s dorm, surprised that the door was actually opened. 

The first thing she noticed was the pile of boxes that almost blocked the doorway. Looking past it, Wanda couldn’t help but notice how bare Y/n’s side looked. 

“What are you doing?” Y/n jumped from the corner of her room, hand on her chest.

 “Jesus Christ, Maximoff, can you give a girl a warning?” 

Wanda placed the trophy in the hallway, and walked around Y/n’s room, not caring for an invitation inside. Thinking back to the dorm setup, Evergreen University typically had students stay in the same dorm assigned to them from freshman year all the way to junior year. During senior year, students would be upgraded to bigger dorms. 

“I thought you couldn’t transfer dorms till senior year was closer?” Wanda turned around to face Y/n, the empty side didn’t make sense as juniors typically left their items alone throughout the summer. 

Y/n’s eyes glanced at the letter on her desk. “I’m moving to a new scenery.” She picked up the box with her knick knacks and placed it on top of the letter, hoping Wanda didn’t notice. The brown eyed girl leaned against her desk. She tilted her head noticing the shiny object in the hallway. 

“Is that the trophy?” Wanda looked back, almost forgetting what she came here to do. She walked back to the hallway and grabbed the trophy. Their fingers brushed as Wanda handed it to Y/n. “Wow! It’s…it’s really beautiful.” 

Y/n rubbed her thumb across Wanda’s name. Wanda Maximoff 2019 Champion. “Congratulations by the way. Sorry I wasn’t able to say it back on stage.” Y/n handed the trophy back to Wanda. If the girl was paying attention, she would’ve noted the odd look Wanda gave her. 

Something was different and Wanda hated it. Winning always gave her a high but something about this interaction increased the bittersweet feeling in her chest. “What dorm hall are you relocating to?” Wanda placed the trophy on Y/n’s desk. “I could help you out if you need it.” 

Already ready to help out, Wanda lifted the box of knick knacks, her fingers brushing over the letter. “Wanda-,” Y/n startled herself, not expecting to nearly yell at Wanda, “I- I -” 

No words left Y/n’s mouth as those green eyes stared back at her. Suddenly, all those times where they yelled in each other's face came to mind. How close were they to ever…? 

Y/n sighed, there was no use hiding from the truth now. “I’m actually going back home.” Wanda placed the box back down, still not understanding why Y/n’s things were packed. “I’m-” 

Y/n scratched the back of her neck, avoiding Wanda’s stare. “I’m transferring to Langford University.” An eerie silence settled in Y/n’s room. So when Y/n got the courage to look back at Wanda, she hadn’t expected the teary eyes and offended look on Wanda’s face.

“You’re transferring? Why?” Moving off the desk, Y/n sat on her bed as Wanda leaned back on to the desk. “It’s - complicated. I really don’t want to go into it.” 

Wanda’s hand balled up into a fist. The lack of details pissed her off. “You’re seriously not coming back?” Wanda hated how bitter everything tasted. The sight of her trophy pissed her off even more. 

Y/n opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She didn’t know what to say. She was leaving what she called home for the past three years. Not only that, she was leaving the girl that has been there since her first day. What could she even say?

Before she could admit anything, Y/n’s phone rang, breaking the tense atmosphere. “Sorry, let me take this real quick.” Y/n walked out to the hallway to answer her phone. 

Wanda sighed with her head hung low. What was she going to do now? Being #1 was something her parents always pressured her to do. But ever since she met Y/n, #1 was something that motivated her to get out of bed and start the day extra early. Meeting Y/n meant countless hours studying just to make sure she knew the lessons by heart. Meeting Y/n meant her life revolved around beating the girl in every single thing. And as harsh as it sounded, it was the only way Wanda knew to get closer. 

She turned around and glanced at the open box. There was a various amount of figurines, crystals, and journals thrown in. Wanda picked up a green crystal, one that almost matched her eyes. She remembered the day back in freshman year where Y/n had admitted she recently got into collecting crystals. Wanda thought at first it was a waste of money until she stopped by a local shop. 

The red head could see why it was intriguing to buy them especially when you believe the auras and specialities that a certain rock can bring to your life. So in secret, Wanda bought a sphere of rose quartz and placed it in her room. She didn’t notice anything different in her life but then again, all her thoughts already surrounded Y/n. 

Wanda looked back at the hallway and could hear Y/n still talking on the phone. It felt wrong to steal, especially since that was a no no in the crystal community. But the idea of Y/n leaving her without a single thing to keep for herself felt cruel. So when she slipped on the necklace, as if it already belonged to her, she could feel her heart skip a beat at the thought of Y/n giving it to her. 

Wanda tucked the crystal under her shirt when her fingers brushed the letter once more. The school logo printed on the top right called her name. It felt wrong to intrude, but the more she reminded herself of the situation, the less she cared about her morals. 

Gently sliding the letter from under the box, Wanda quickly read it. Eyebrows furrowed, Wanda read “We regret to inform you…”

Y/n shuffled back into the room causing Wanda to straighten up. “Sorry about that. I need to get Natasha. She’s stuck at some frat party without a ride back home.” The brunette crumpled the piece of paper and tucked it into her pocket.  Y/n was too distracted to notice. “Again, I’m really sorry but congratulations on the win Wanda.” Y/n looked at Wanda with the most sincere eyes. “Incase no one has told you, I’m really proud of you.” 

With one last look, Y/n left her dorm, hoping the Wanda would be decent enough to lock it up for her. And all Wanda could focus on was the sound of her name leaving Y/n’s lips. ‘You never call me Wanda.’

‘Like hell I’m going to let this happen.’ Wanda stormed into her father’s office, knowing he would be working another late night. The clear warm glow from his room indicated that he was there. 

Storming through the doors caused him to look up from his computer, clearly unexpecting guests at that moment. 

“Give her scholarship back.” Wanda slammed the letter onto his desk, crossing her arms hoping to show that she wasn’t messing around. The brunette couldn’t think straight about anything after she fully read the letter, and by now, she didn’t know whether to strangle Y/n for not telling her or for her father to even approve such decisions. 

“This decision was not made lightly.” Wanda could read past her father’s sentence and she was not going to take no for an answer. 

“Then clearly you’ve made the wrong decision.” Eric sighed knowing just how stubborn his daughter was. It was unfortunately a trait she got from him. Knowing fully well just how smart Wanda was, explaining this decision was going to be a disaster and a headache away. 

Looking past the letter and into his daughter’s eyes, he’s never seen her be this angry. Sure they’ve had arguments, but they’ve subsided ever since she started to attend college. Eric was hoping it was because Wanda was getting older and more mature. 

But as she stood there, eyebrows furrowed with a frown on her face, it felt like she was 16 all over again. Not wanting to beat around the bush, Eric figured to cut to the chase. 

“She’s a threat.” He didn’t like to admit it, but there was hardly anyone on campus that could match his daughter’s intelligence. This was something Eric wanted to keep. But the more he noticed Y/n move up on the Dean’s list, the more he feared Wanda’s spot would be threated. While he was confident in his daughter’s ability, he simply wanted to keep her spot safe. And that meant dealing with Y/n.

“She’s my equal.” All the guilt from the competition finally made sense. And as more things continued to click, the more Wanda stood in horror at the things she said to Y/n. This was all starting to become a nightmare, one that Wanda prayed to go away. But the look on her father’s face pissed her off even more. “If you don’t, I’m transferring. And there’s nothing you can do that will stop me.” 

Giving him no time to respond, Wanda walked out of the office. There was no time to think about her ultimatum, not when all she could think about was Y/n. 

‘Say something to her, Wanda, for fucks sake.’ It was finally the last day of the semester. Every student was mandated to leave by a certain time. While there was a large crowd of kids with their backpacks and suitcases, all Wanda could focus on was the goodbye happening between Natasha and Y/n.

The brunette had stayed up all night figuring out ways to get Y/n’s scholarship back. At one point, she even considered paying for Y/n’s tuition herself if it meant getting her to come back. But her father would immediately block her allowance if he caught wind of this. 

So far, she hadn’t gotten a response back from him. ‘Maybe he needs more time.’ But time was running out as Natasha helped Y/n with the last box. Percy was already in the driver seat, ready for the long drive back home. 

She could overhear their goodbyes and that Natasha would visit soon to hear the full story. But still, Wanda stood paralyzed, unable to move. ‘What if she doesn’t want to see me? What if I was too mean to her?’ 

And as Y/n got into the car, waving her goodbyes, Wanda stood behind the tree, clutching on to the only thing she had of Y/n. Tears quietly fell down her cheeks, a lingering question on her mind. ‘Did I push you away when you needed me the most?’ 

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[darkeunology]

♡ I told you so ♡

Word count: 2803

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Female Reader

Warnings: Kidnapping, murder, classic Criminal Minds stuff

Summary: After you get injured on an undercover case, Aaron finally admits the feelings he's kept secret from you.

Not requested

Go easy on me here, this is the first thing I've written for way too long!

“Conference room in 5. We have a new case” Aaron spoke from the door of his office, snapping your attention from the files you were currently going through. It was only you and Derek currently down in the bullpen, the other either already in the conference room, or just a few feet from you making themselves their morning coffee. 

As bad as it sounds, a rush of excitement would always go through you whenever a new case came around, you knew you’d actually be doing some help today instead of just sitting at your desk. As important as the files and reports were to do, you couldn’t deny how much you liked being out in the field. 

After grabbing yourself a small coffee, something just to keep the hint of tiredness away, you went over to the conference room, taking your normal seat at the table and turning on your tablet just as Hotch walked through the door grabbing your attention the way he normally does whenever you see him. 

Once he’d taken his seat your attention shifted over to Derek, a smirk plastering his face. Your cheeks felt hot as you mouthed for him to ‘shut up’- Derek was your closest friend within the BAU, along with Penelope, those two being the only people who knew you had quite a large, very inappropriate crush on your boss; the two would always insist that there was a chance Hotch felt the same, telling you about the stolen glances they would see him send your way, the longing looks he would apparently send every so often when you weren’t looking but they were - but you never believed a word, after all it would be way to inappropriate, right? 

It wasn’t until you were on the plane heading to Miami when Derek came up to speak to you, far enough away from Hotch that he wouldn’t hear you guys whispering, 

“You make it too obvious sometimes.” Derek chuckled as he sat opposite you, demanding your attention as you put your book down to listen to him. You glanced to your left at Spencer, making sure he wasn’t listening to the two of you, 

“I don’t know what you mean Derek.” You feigned ignorance, hoping he wouldn’t press you further on the matter, but as you were expecting, he kept on going. 

“Yes you do. I see the look you give whenever he walks into a room. In fact I’m amazed it’s only me and Penelope who know about it.” He grinned at you, glancing up at the same time as you as Emily stopped next to you, 

“You both know about what?” She asked, smiling nicely yet with a small hint of menace. 

“Nothing.” You quickly blurted out, not being rude at all just trying to change the conversation. 

“Y/N has a little crush.” Derek spoke, smirking at Emily now, he didn’t tell her who, knowing how much you didn’t want others knowing exactly who it was. Emily glanced towards the back of the plane, exactly at where Hotch was sitting, 

“On Hotch right?” She whispered, just loud enough for the two of you to hear, she sat down, chuckling loudly at the bewildered look on your face, Derek snickered at this, trying to hide his smile behind his hands, 

“What the fuck?” You spoke, still in disbelief, you glared at Derek, almost accusingly, causing him to speak, 

“I haven’t said a word. You know I wouldn’t.” he raised his hands in a mock surrender. He was right, you knew he would only ever tell people you had a crush on someone, like he just did, he would never actually tell anyone that it was on Hotch. 

“You seem to forget you’re a profiler who works with other profilers, in fact both of you seem to forget that. It’s obvious you like him, and it’s obvious he likes you back.” 

Shaking your head in disbelief you spoke, “Okay, first of all he doesn’t like me back, he’s my boss, why would he? I’m probably way too young for him as well. Secondly, don’t say anything to anyone else.” Derek rolled his eyes at the first part of your statement, stopping Emily before she could speak again, 

“Don’t bother trying to convince her, me and Pen have tried way too many times now, she’ll never believe us.” 

Emily sighed, “Alright then, but I’m saying I told you so when you both figure it out.” She spoke to you, a fond smile on her face. 

Rolling your eyes you picked your book back up, reading until you landed as Emily and Derek schemed opposite you. 

—-----

Long nights were just a normal part of this job, you all knew that, but this night felt longer than most. Miami police had called you guys in after a serial killer had taken yet another victim, a local high school student. The killer had almost no pattern, taking only females under the age of 25, most of them still being students, but from multiple different schools around the district. All you could tell from his behaviour was that he was a male and most likely a student himself. You’d already been in Miami for 3 days now, with two bodies found since you’d gotten here and one more just been taken.

“I can tell none of us are willing to go back to the hotel right now so I’m ordering us some food.” Hotch spoke, putting down the file he was in the middle of reading. It was almost a chain effect of everyone putting down the files they were reading, all of you realising how hungry you truly were. 

“There’s a chinese just down the road I’ve heard a bunch of cops say is great.” JJ spoke, the exhaustion evident in her voice.

“Alright, I’ll be back in 20.” Hotch stood from his chair, putting his suit jacket back on, it was only 9pm so it wasn’t too late to be eating, but it was later than most of you would still be at the precinct for. 

“Y/N, why don’t you go too, help out with carrying food back.” Emily spoke, grinning at you in a way that wouldn’t look suspicious to anyone else in the room other than you and Derek. 

“I could do with some air anyway” you mumbled, standing and grabbing your jacket, following Hotch out of the room and down the street. Neither of you spoke much to each other, both too nervous and both oblivious to each other's nerves. Stolen glances were shared between the two of you whenever the other wasn’t looking, both of you dying to tell each other how you felt but both being too afraid of rejection. It wasn’t until you’d grabbed the food and were walking back that you said something you remember seeing in the case files. 

“We can predict where he’s going to grab his next victim.” you mumbled to yourself, just loud enough that Hotch was able to hear you, 

“What do you mean?” he asked, stopping to look towards you, both of you not moving, a few feet away from the entrance of the precinct. 

“I might be remembering wrong, but, he’s recently been looking in all the clubs and pubs near the campus right? Maybe we can try and figure out which one he’d go for next. There has to be a pattern in where he’s hunting.” Hotch nodded as you finished speaking, looking thoughtful. 

“I think you might be right” He smiled as he started walking again, going into the precinct with you following behind.

—---

Food was forgotten for you as you flipped through the files in front of you, Hotch explaining to everyone what you had told him outside, the others listening intently as they started eating the food. 

“Kumiko.” You spoke, seeing the pattern in the files, “That’s where he’ll go next.”

“How do you know?” Spencer asked.

“He’s looped around. He’s only hunting at the same places, going in a circle. He just took the last victim from the first place he ever took someone from, the pattern says he’ll go for Kumiko next. The club he took Katie Rice from, his second victim.”

“Okay, but if we have cops everywhere he’ll just run. We need someone to be undercover inside the club.” Derek sighed, knowing what everyone else in the room knew, 

“And that has to be me right? I’m the only female here that fits the age range. The oldest he’s gone for is 25, the same age as me.” A resigned tone in your voice as you spoke, “Guess I better buy a dress tomorrow then.” 

Hotch hated the idea of you having to be the one to lure out the unsub, but he knew just like the rest of you that they had no other option with how quickly he was killing. 

—----

It was early morning when the last victim was found, dumped in a hedge near the university she was attending, her body mutilated, the unsub getting more and more aggressive with each kill, getting close to a mental break. 

Emily had come with you during the day to buy a dress that would be suitable for a club setting, a dress that showed more skin than you’d like, but you knew it was necessary. The whole day had been spent planning out what would happen and figuring out solutions for every problem they could think might come up. Derek and Emily would also be inside of the club, acting as a couple together to keep an eye on you by yourself. 

Hotch had come to terms with the plan except for one small problem, you couldn’t wear a bulletproof vest under your dress. All he could imagine all day was the plan going wrong and you being hurt before they could get to you - but he knew there was no other plan, they needed to stop this guy before he killed again. 

Luckily for you, the roommate of the last victim was able to identify exactly who the killer was, an older student at the university who the victim brought home the night before she was kidnapped, he was the perfect guy for it, he was in every club the nights people went missing and he had a motive for it all, being rejected by the first girl he murdered, pushing him into a spree of killing other women going to clubs to find a date. 

—-----

It wasn’t long into the night when the unsub came up to you, ordering you a cranberry vodka, the drink you’d had in front of you all night - you’d been nursing a singular drink, under orders from Hotch, you needed to look like you were actually at the club for a reason, not having a drink wouldn’t look quite right. 

“She’s with him, Hotch.” Derek spoke into his comms, letting the team outside know you’d found him. They were waiting down the next street outside, further away than you wanted them to be. 

The drink in front of you remained untouched as you left with the man, Derek and Emily watching you intently as you left, letting the team know immediately, both following you out of the club a few feet behind to not be suspicious at all. 

What you didn’t know was that the unsub knew exactly who you were, he’d seen you on the news, an interview where JJ was speaking to the press where you were seen walking behind her with Derek into the precinct from a cop car after you’d been taken by one to a crime scene. Almost the moment you left the club, the team came round the corner, your hand going to the gun hidden under your dress when the unsub got to his first, pulling the gun out and shooting you in the stomach, running as you fell to the floor, the pain shocking you, your breaths coming in shallow as Derek rounded the corner to the alley you were in, 

“Agent down.” he spoke into comms, kneeling to check on you, “Hey, stay with me. You’re okay.”

You shook your head, “Go, I’m fine. I didn’t get shot for you to let him go.” you insisted, your breathing becoming harder by the minute. 

He nodded, a sad look in his eyes, “Hotch I’m going after him.” Derek shouted at the team just coming round the corner.

“All of you, go.” Hotch shouted back, taking Derek’s place at your side as the rest of the team ran off to find the unsub. “I need an ambulance to Kumiko club, we have an agent down with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.” Hotch spoke into his radio. 

“It hurts.” you whispered to Hotch, tears spilling from your eyes as he sat down, pulling your head into his lap, his hands pressing against your wound, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. 

“I know it does, just stay with me. God please stay with me.” he practically begged as blood spilled from your lips. 

“I don’t think I can.” you mumbled, your strength slowly slipping out of you, your body going numb. 

Hotch pressed down harder, almost sobbing himself as the team came back down the alley, the unsub being caught and arrested, Derek and Emily stood near the two of you as Hotch spoke, not caring if the team heard him, “I’m so in love with you. Please Y/N. Stay awake. For me, please.” He begged. 

Derek’s phone ringing broke the silence that followed as you shut your eyes, the pain becoming too much for you, “Pen,” he answered, 

“Who was hurt? I had an alert for an agent down, don’t tell me it was Y/N.” She spoke down the phone, Derek putting it on speaker, 

“It was babygirl…” Sirens interrupted Derek as an ambulance arrived, paramedics jumping out and coming to your aide, making Hotch move away so they could help you. He was so adamant to not move that Rossi had to help him stand, Derek coming to help as Hotch fought back, 

“Let them help her, Hotch. Let them help!” Derek almost shouted as he helped move Hotch away, the phone still somehow in his hands, “paramedics are here, they’re helping now. I’ll let you know alright.” he spoke down the phone, hanging up on Penelope as he helped hold Hotch so he wouldn’t go back down. 

—-----

The team stayed in Miami for a few days after the case was wrapped up to keep an eye on you, waiting for you to wake up after your surgery. Hotch stayed by your bedside the entire time. His words to you had spread around the team, all of them now knowing about his confession to you. 

A week after your surgery you were transferred to Virginia so the team could come home. Hotch had to go back to work as you laid in the hospital, still not awake. He’d been too busy with case files that he wasn’t even aware when you woke up, or when you were discharged and told you could go home, Derek being the one to help get you home, and helping confirm to you that yes, Hotch had indeed told you he was in love with you.

Much to Derek’s dismay, you asked him to take you to the BAU instead of home, promising you’d go home after talking to Hotch. You needed to know from him that he’d said anything. 

Hotch was stood at Emily’s desk, talking with her about a file she’d given to him when you walked through the doors, Penelope being the first to notice you, 

“Y/N my darling! You’re back!” she squealed, walking over to you quickly, hugging you gently, “How are you?” 

“I’m good, Pen. I feel good.” you nodded, looking past her to Hotch, who’d now turned to face you, the whole team watching as you walked up to him, “You told me you loved me.” you stated, standing in front of him, 

“Yes.” Hotch nodded, looking at you gently, his hand reaching out for a second, about to hold you before he thought better and moved his hand back.

“While you thought I was dying in your arms,” you continued, 

“Yes.” He nodded again,

You stepped closer to him, “Well, I’m still alive. Care to repeat that?” you smiled up at him, watching as his face broke into a grin, 

“I’m in love with you Y/N.” he spoke, his hand now reaching out to gently grasp your hip.

“Well, Aaron, I’m in love with you too.” you smiled, your cheeks heating up at the fact you’d finally said it out loud.

The last thing you heard before kissing Aaron was Emily’s voice, cockily exclaiming to you, “I told you so.”

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 14

part 1, prev part

Dustin walks down the halls of the school. Just trying to get to his next class without anyone noticing. Watching as the eyes of his classmates follow him, waiting for him to do something. It was the same for the other Hellfire members, the same for Mike and Lucas. For Will and El as they were transferred back into the school.

Everyone wanted to know what they did, but no one really wanted them there. They were freaks. outcasts. Blind followers of the devil or whatever shit they believed. None of it was true, but they didn’t care. No one could tell them what was true even if they wanted to.

All he could do was take it and act like it didn’t bother him. He was an outcast before all this started. That was obvious. But he could still pretend that there were other people out there that might want to be his friend. Might actually like him.

Now he’s left with the fact that the only people that do are sitting at this lunch table with him. Shoved in the corner so no one has to think about them. While the insults are thrown around as words or balls of paper. Eddie’s wanted signs still plastered around the school. A new one taped to his locker each morning.

Didn’t matter that he was innocent. Didn’t matter that Hopper held a fucking press conference to make sure the town knew it. Once an opinion is formed, it’s not so easily broken. Eddie’s had opinions made about him his whole life. He couldn’t even catch a break in almost death.

In his nightmare, Dustin pictures Eddie’s name carved into a gravestone. Overshadowed with words sprayed over the engraving. Branding his final resting place with his burned legacy.

Forever a freak, never a hero.

“How’s Eddie doing?” Jeff asks across the table. They haven’t gone to see Eddie since the first week.

Dustin said it didn’t bother him, but it did. They gave him up, put Eddie in danger. Now their stuck in a puddle of their own guilt that they can’t find a way out of. Eddie was struggling to live, and they couldn’t even try to come and visit him more than once. And they were his best friends.

“He’s doing better,” Lucas supplies. Making Dustin bite his tongue.

They don’t deserve to know it.

“That’s good,” Gareth says while stabbing his food. The guilt still ripe in his eyes. He can’t even look at Dustin. Knowing that he didn’t just give Eddie up, he gave Dustin up too. “The band hasn’t been the same without him.”

“You’ve been practicing without him,” Dustin spits.

The table freezes. Everyone looking at Dustin. Either with surprise or pleas to let it go. Lucas especially.

None of them understand. None of them were there. It was just Dustin and Eddie on that trailer. It was Dustin that Eddie chose to risk his life for. They aren’t burdened by that. None of them know what it’s like to be burdened by that.

“Yeah, we have,” Jeff slowly answers. “We have a gig coming up, can’t just cancel it.”

“So, you’re just going to play it without Eddie then?” Dustin can hear the anger in his voice. Watches as it makes them flinch.

“It’s not like we want to,” Grant adds. Not helping. “He just . . . wouldn’t want us to cancel it.”

Dustin bites his cheek so hard it’s threatening to break skin. “But he would want you to betray him?”

Gareth stumbles to find his words. “You weren’t there. Jason wasn’t going to let up if we didn’t tell him-.”

“You could have lied,” Dustin yells. Noticing how the cafeteria quiets for a moment before rumble of voices resume. “You didn’t have to single me out. Tell me Eddie would have wanted that.”

He didn’t give them the chance to. He slings his backpack onto his back so hard it slams into him. Picking up his lunch tray and dumping what’s left in the trash. Slamming it into the pile before walking out into the empty hall. Not caring if he gets detention.

The door opens again behind him.

“Dustin,” Lucas calls out to him. Jogging slightly to catch up.

“I’m don’t need this right now.” Dustin continues walking down the hall.

Lucas gets in front of him, making him stop. “I get that you’re angry,” he tries to reason, “but that doesn’t mean you can just lash out at anyone you feel like.”

“So you think what they did was ok? I don’t have a right to be mad at them for stabbing both Eddie and me in the back?”

Dustin got over being angry at Lucas fast. Knowing that with his lie, he saved them all some time. Was only with the guys on the basketball team because of pressure. The rest didn’t have that excuse.

“No, I don’t think it was ok. But you weren’t there when Jason jumped them. He had Gareth on the ground with his fists ready. What was he supposed to do?”

The anger inside him is rising again. “Not put a target on my back,” he echoes through the hallway. “He put all of us in danger just because he couldn’t think of a lie. I’ve thought of a thousand lies in the middle of danger. It’s not that hard.”

“And Gareth’s not you. He’s not used to this stuff like we are.”

Maybe he’s not. But still, if Dustin was completely new to this, pinned down by someone much larger than him and given a choice, he would never choose to betray his friend. Without a doubt in his mind.

“Are you really that mad they’re still practicing,” Lucas asks when Dusting stops talking. “Life doesn’t stop just because people we love are in the hospital.”

Lucas finally found the right nerve.

“He almost died, Lucas. Life almost stopped for him.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean-.”

Dustin cuts him off. “He died right in front of me. Do you know what that feels like? Holding someone as they die, being helpless to it.”

“I do,” Lucas cries. A thin line of tears forming in his eyes. “Max died for a few seconds before waking up again. The only reason she’s here is because El restarted her heart.”

Dustin suddenly feels horrible. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Of course, I didn’t.” Lucas crosses his arms. “You were so focused on Eddie, and I knew it was killing you inside. I thought it would have been easier for you if you didn’t know the full story.”

“I’m sorry,” Dusting whispers. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. You just seemed to be taking it better than I was.”

Lucas takes a deep breath. “Max is blind. She’ll never see me again, not in the way she used to. I miss the color if her eyes.” He blinks away tears with another breath. “One of my friends is still in a coma, my sister is terrified, and I had a gun held to my head. Does that sound like I’m ok?”

Dustin shakes his head, feeling sheepish. “No, it doesn’t.”

“We’re all going through something, Dustin. It’s better if we stay together than force each other apart.”

He can’t find any reason to disagree with him. Dustin takes a few steps towards Lucas, the anger completely dissipated. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Lucas nods, smacking Dustin’s shoulder. “I am too.”

Next Part

tag list, let me know if you want to be added or removed: @the-they-who-nerded, @insteviewetrust, @croatoan-like-its-hot, @jettestar,

@tinyplanet95, @steddie-as-they-go, @slv-333, @littlecelestialmoth, @thatonebadideapanda,

@fandomsanddeath, @marismorar, @wonderland-girl143-blog, @glass-bottle03, @gutterflower77,

@here4thetrama, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @jaytriesstuff, @cryptid-system, @manda-panda-monium,

@resident-gay-bitch, @anaibis, @xxsutherlandxx, @forevermineliv, @mugloversonly,

@gregre369, @n0-1-important, @different-tale-student, @spectrum-spectre, @tartarusknight,

@devondespresso, @swimmingbirdrunningrock, @cheertain, @anti-ozzie, @autumncrocusandladybug,

@greeniebean911, @cr0w-culture, @stillfullofshit, @connected-dots, @daisynotquake,

@morgannotlefay, @a-little-unsteddie, @dolphincliffs, @maskofmirrors, @me-and-my-sloth,

[tojisprettywife]

{note: been heavily thinking about Manager! Nanami. again, y’all know, not proof read. so some hcs, mostly SFW, slightly suggestive. first time writing for him 😵‍💫. yes most ppl, think he’s confident, and all that, i beg to differ. he seriously seems like he’d try not so hard to be obvious especially when he tries to court you.i hope it’s okay.}

🌷manager! nanami, who never even paid much attention while you joined the team as the new intern. since he hates his corporate job so much, would he even pay attention?.

🌷manager! nanami who later that week, finds himself staring as your hips sway in a tight skirt, as you walk in front of him, heading to a meeting. he quickly composes himself, to maintain professionalism and ethics. as the meeting gets started, 40 minutes into, you had to present something. suddenly, his focus is completely on you, he tries to tone it down a bit? in order you don’t feel self conscious about yourself. he’s completely zoning out, the only thing he knows is that you’re infront of him. not a single word you’re saying or what’s going on in that point of time you were presenting, registered to him.

🌷manager! nanami who as the meeting comes to an end, he tries to take his time, collecting his papers, files, so he can walk back with you to the department.

🌷manager! nanami who can’t help thinking of all kinds of scenarios, especially ones where you and him, get into empty conference room to sneak in hugs and kisses or maybe more… if you’re down.. later..

🌷manager! nanami who calls you into his cabin, just so he can try to talk to, have a small talk, get closer and preferably wants to get to know you after work, personally. he terribly fails since he can’t gather his courage to talk to you properly w/o feeling like a creep or making awkward

🌷manager! nanami who as soon as he gets to know there’s a business trip, picks you as his partner to go with, in the name of “teaching/mentoring” only to court and know you better.

🌷manager nanami who loves when you and him get on a crowded elevator bc he gets to be so so so close to him, his chest pressing against yours “I’m sorry, it’s a bit too crowded today” he genuinely apologizes but he can’t help like it all too much.

🌷manager! nanami whose eyes are on the buttons of your shirt on your bust, imagining how it’s underneath, but he snaps back to his senses, his eyes looking into yours again, as you speak.

🌷manager! nanami who can’t help stare at your lips, as you speak, wanting to know how it’d feel against his, how you’d taste and most of all how pretty it’d be around his….

🌷manager! nanami who thought his life was too dull, too boring, with your sudden appearance it’s all more vibrant and beautiful. he finds himself thinking like a teenager, trying every way to get close to you w/o making it obvious

🌷manager! nanami who compliments you when you do your work well or when you present well, which causes the rest of the department to gossip a little “maybe he likes you, y/n”, you wave your hand and laugh it off.

🌷manager! nanami who does in fact pay special attention to you, offering you rides home, randomly buying you snacks. “i thought you’d like this”

🌷manager! nanami who looks forward everyday to get to work, bc he gets to see you.

🌷manager! nanami who tries to brush shoulders each time you walk beside him.

🌷manager! nanami who pathetically tries to hide it all, without knowing how obvious he’s being.

🌷manager! nanami who is head over hells for you.

🌷manager! nanami who fell in love for the first time, with you.

(any sort of interaction is very much appreciated! :) )

[mellowswriting]

I saw your request about fic ideas! I love your fics with javi p and his housewife kink so something with that!

a warm welcome

pairing || Javier Peña x f!Reader

word count || 3.5k

summary || After a two week long work trip, Javier is exhausted and desperate to come home to his wife. Luckily for him, you’re ready to welcome your husband home. 

content || no use of y/n, SMUT, housewife kink, unprotected p in v, kind of rough sex, dom husband!Javier, domesticity kink (is that a thing? i’m making it a thing.), ‘grumpy asshole who’s only soft for one person’ trope, sweet and soft but a little possessive, Javi is pussy whipped lmao

a/n || the way this has been sitting in my inbox for a criminal amount of time... but I finally got inspired by the pure sex this man radiates

Javier Peña Masterlist  |  Main Masterlist

The moment Javier slipped that ring on your finger and made you his wife, he thought life couldn’t get any better. He always knew the two of you would strive to fulfill all those promises, vows of love and support, of a warm and happy life together. He anticipated a typical life - longed for it, actually. Mowing the lawn and going out on date nights. Holidays and sleeping in on the weekends. Arguing over what restaurant to order from and negotiating chores. All of the achingly mundane parts of married life came just as he expected, but it also came with so much more. 

Javier never expected his life to have the air of a goddamn Thomas Kinkade painting. 

Nearly two weeks have passed since he’s been home. The damn agency dragged him halfway across the country to speak at a conference and he couldn’t be more relieved to be trudging up his porch steps. He’s exhausted. All of the traveling and schmoozing he was forced to endure has left him tense and jetlagged, and all he wants is to collapse into bed and forget the whole thing. 

All of that melts away the second he pushes open the front door and takes in the sight in front of him. The living room is lit up with the fire blazing away in the fireplace. Blankets and pillows are laid out in front of it in a makeshift bed, the coffee table shoved off to the side to make room. The robust scent of food lingers in the air, something slow-cooked and rich. And you. Oh, you. Leaning against the archway that leads into the kitchen, wearing that soft black robe and the brightest smile he’s ever seen. 

“Welcome home.” You greet him. 

Javier drops his bags right there in the entryway and closes the space between you in three long strides. This is all he needs. The honeyed sound of your voice, the sweet smell of your perfume, the softness of your cheek against his palm - every part of you sends relief washing down his spine. Javier kisses you like a man starved, as if the sustenance to feed his soul lies right between your lips. Fuck, he missed this. He missed you. 

If the agency ever tries to send him off like that again, he just might have to quit. 

Javier wraps his arms around you and holds you close, taking a moment to simply hold you there in his arms. A relieved sigh heaves from you both and for the first time in weeks, he feels whole again. You nuzzle closer until your chest brushes his and a low, pleased sound rumbles in the back of his throat. It’s obvious you aren’t wearing much beneath that robe. He presses a kiss to the top of your head. 

“I missed you, sweetheart.” He murmurs, his hand rubbing up and down your back. Your body relaxes into his and something in his chest expands, preens at the safety you take in his embrace. “How was everything while I was gone?” 

“Don’t worry, I kept all the fires burning like a good little wife.” You tease. It earns you a playful smack on your ass. 

“Oh, I know you did. You’re always good for me.” Javi’s fingers catch your jaw and tilt your head up, and he smiles at the way you lean into the touch, into his praise. “But I want to know how it was, what you did while I was away. I want to know everything.” 

You can’t help but go a little weak in the knees when he gets like this. The dominant air about him is intoxicating and every ounce of your being aches to soften into him, to place yourself into the capable hands of your Javi. He’s just so good. Such a good man, a good husband. He loves pampering you and supporting each of your endeavors, no matter how big or small they might be. The balance is soothing. The equal meeting of needs, soothing of souls. A complementary give and take that leaves you both fulfilled and cared for.

“Well, I finally tidied your office while you couldn’t hover about it. I reread In Praise of Folly for the hundredth time. I tried some new recipes… not all of them were good, but you’ll love the roast I made. It’s warming in the oven, by the way.” You tick down the list, humming contemplatively as you think back over the last two weeks. “Oh, I got a mani-pedi.” 

“Oh, let me see them.” An appreciative hum falls from his lips at the dark polish coating your fingernails. His thumb brushes over them thoughtfully, a little smile on his face. Maybe it's weird, but he’s always loved this; providing for you, letting you use the money he earns to do nice little things for yourself. “Pretty. I like the color.” 

“Thank you, honey.” You sing-song. 

Javier kisses your knuckles. “Go on. I want to hear more.” 

“Let’s see, what else… oh, and I got something for you, too.” A mischievous tone threads into your voice, one he knows all too well. Your teeth nip at your soft bottom lip as you flutter those eyelashes at him - and he knows he’s fucked in the best possible way. Your fingers trail down your sternum, teasing the robe open just enough to expose a hint of white fabric beneath it. White lacy fabric.

 Oh, fuck. 

You slowly untie the robe and let the black fabric slip down your shoulders, a stark contrast to the pure white lingerie you hid away beneath. The lacy chemise hugs the cinch of your waist and flares out slightly at your hips, accentuating the curves of your body that make his mind race. It’s new. You went out and bought something brand new and sexy just for the moment he came home to you, and it does something to him he can’t quite describe. The fabric is so thin and delicate, and he can see everything; the obvious lack of underwear, the imprint of your nipples, every inch of the gorgeous woman he missed so much. Your warmth radiates into his palm as his hand follows the line of your waste and settles on your hip. 

“Oh, look at you…” Javier’s voice is threaded with wonder and he can feel you shiver beneath his touch. He squeezes your hip, careful not to tear the fragile fabric. “My pretty little wife, all wrapped up like a present for me.” 

There’s no mistaking the undercurrent of desire that rumbles low in his voice, beneath the praise and appreciation. You lean into his touch, your shoulders subtly pushed back to give him the perfect view of your breasts. Something hungry and aching cleaves through his chest at the glimmer in your eyes. He knows what you want, what you need. He can read your body like the well-worn edges of a beloved novel. Reading familiar lines time and time again, only to feel that same surge of emotion: the love, the awe, the comfort. 

No matter how many times he gets to hold you like this, see you like this - Javier can never get enough. 

There is a fragile balancing act that hovers in the air between you in moments like these. You gaze up at him with that demure heat burning in your eyes, a hint of a coy smile tugging at your lips. He stalks after you slowly as you lure him into the makeshift bed of pillows and blankets layered out in front of the fireplace. The flames send heat licking up the bare skin exposed by the slow work of his fingers unbuttoning his shirt. You reach for him, your gaze roving over his chest with an obvious hunger, an appreciation that still has his breath catching in his throat after all this time. Your fingertips brush his stomach as you slowly undo his belt and unbutton his jeans. 

It isn’t until you teasingly rub his cock through his briefs that the fragile balancing act finally tips and shatters. Javier surges forward and captures your lips in a rough, desperate kiss, his hands fumbling to strip away the last of his clothes. He drags you down onto the floor, drinks in the surprised giggle his manhandling brings out of you. The amusement doesn’t last long. Not when his teeth drag along that sensitive spot on your neck and his fingers find their way between your thighs. 

Javier’s presence is all-consuming, evokes a pure reverence that sucks the very air from your lungs. He brings out something base in you, something that runs on pure animal instinct and lust - and he isn’t any better off. There’s a wild light in his eyes as he drinks in the sight of you beneath him, all wrapped in lace and eager for his touch. He rucks the chemise up and out of his way, and his self-control nearly snaps over how wet you already are. He has barely laid a finger on you, yet you glisten in the low light of the fireplace. So eager. So ready. 

The muscle in his jaw jumps with the clenching of his teeth. Nearly two weeks without the feeling of your wetness on his fingers and the heat of your pussy fluttering around his fingers - never again. He swears he’s addicted to your body. He practically went through withdrawals without having your slick cunt to bury his face in. His fingers curl up into that sweet spot harshly and you gasp his name, your thighs closing around his wrist. 

“No, open up for me.” Javier rasps, his voice rough and demanding. He’s too impatient, too strong; his other hand wrenches your thighs back open before you can even obey him. He plants his hand firmly on your inner thigh to keep you nice and spread out for him. “That’s it, let me feel you, honey. I missed this perfect fuckin’ cunt.” 

The pad of his thumb rubs a light, teasing circle against your clit, and the harsh contrast from the rough thrust of his fingers makes you tremble. You whimper his name but Javier can’t draw his gaze away from your body, from the sight of his fingers sinking inside of you or the shift of your breasts with every harsh breath. He can’t stop himself from leaning over and kissing your sternum before trailing his lips over to tease your nipple through the thin fabric. His tongue is hot against your sensitive skin. Your spine curves, arching to chase his touch, and your fingers grasp the soft hair at the back of his head. 

 Curses and begs fall from your lips in a broken mess of sentences, each plea bleeding into the next as you beg him to just take you already. Those cries pry at his willpower, at the rationality that still holds his actions captive. The rampant desire that sings in his veins doesn’t distract him from his tenacity as a thorough lover. He wants you nice and ready for him, all warmed up and soaked from his talented fingers. 

He shakes his head hesitantly. “I should… I should get you ready, sweetheart. Don’t wanna hurt you.” 

You huff a frustrated sound. Before he can tease you for being so desperate, your hand blindly feels around the mess of bedding until you produce a familiar clear bottle - the lube he usually keeps stashed inside his bedside table. He shakes his head with a disbelieving grin as he snags the bottle from your hand. Of course, you would be so prepared. He wasn’t the only one going crazy without his other half.  You have been wanting after him just as much as he has - if not more. 

Javier doesn’t bother wasting any more time. The shock of cold lube is quickly erased by the heated glide of his cock along your pussy and you moan his name. The sound sets his jaw on edge, sends sparks of possessive desire arcing up his spine. Those pretty brown eyes meet yours as his cock nudges your entrance and he can see his own desperation mirrored in your face. It’s all the fuel he needs to finally sink into your cunt in one fluid thrust. 

He can make time for teasing later - once the basic need to take and fuck and claim has retracted its claws from his skin. 

The harsh bite of your nails into his skin makes him hiss and thrust into you sharply, a pleasurable punishment that you take beautifully. Your thighs just tighten around his hips and rock into his thrusts, and Javier is reminded for the millionth time just how much he loves you. He doesn’t let up. Every thrust jolts through your entire body. The only thing that keeps you from sliding up in the blankets is the bruising grip of his hands on your hips. An even, steady rhythm that leaves your mind hazy and drunk on him. Javier watches, attention rapt as your lashes flutter and your hands twist the blankets in a vain attempt to steady yourself. You should know by now that he won’t give you the opportunity to gather yourself. No, he wants to see you in a fucked out daze. He watches the flash of surprise across your face at the grind of his cock against your g-spot. Even as you whimper and writhe and tighten around him, he can’t take his eyes off of you. 

He just can’t get enough. He needs more. 

His thumb finds your clit with practiced ease and you tighten around him so fiercely that he damn near spills inside of you right then and there. It’s been too long. His stamina is all shot to hell. Every quiver of your cunt, every tremble of your thighs, every wrecked sound you give him - he’s consumed by you. Left feral in the heaven of your body. 

“Just like that… fuck, you feel so good…” The honeyed praise sweeps through him, has him slipping onto his forearm just to feel you closer. His forearms bear his weight as his face buries in the crook of your neck. The change in position is slight, but it sends your back arching up into him nonetheless. It’s all too much, too good - the kind of sex where you just can’t get close enough, can’t feel enough of your lover’s skin against your own. Rushed and messy and so full of love that it almost hurts. You hold him close as he fucks you senseless, one hand buried in his hair and the other anchored at the back of his neck. “Oh my god.” 

Pride burns hot in his chest. He knows that sound, that tone. All high and whiny and begging so pretty. You’re close - he can feel it in the short, rapid pulses around his cock, the sweet beckon of your body asking so sweetly for just a little more to push you over that edge. You deserve it -  his beautiful little housewife, keeping the fires burning at home, being his safe haven in this crazy, fucked up world. You have him wrapped around your finger and there isn’t a single place in the world he would rather be. 

Every stroke of his thumb against your clit sends shockwaves through you, forces those rough, high-pitched sounds from your throat, and Javier loves it. He leans back just enough to get his eyes on you, his nose brushing yours as those bright eyes consume you. This is his favorite way to see you - expression twisted with pleasure, skin slick with sweat, unencumbered by self-consciousness. Just you and him and the filthy, slick sound of sex in the air. 

“You’re close, aren’t you sweetheart?” Javier murmurs when he feels your fingers tighten in his hair, sees that familiar flash in your dazed eyes. His teeth nip your jaw teasingly - he just can’t help himself, even when you make a disgruntled little sound in response. He just rubs your clit faster and you melt for him all over again, your cunt tightening so harshly that he hisses your name out through grit teeth. “That’s it, that’s my girl. Fuckin’ come for me, come all over my cock.” 

You do. You break for him with a strangled sound and Javier doesn’t stop. He couldn’t even if he wanted, even if you begged. He watches, awed at the sight of those tears finally spilling from your pretty eyes as you writhe and shudder beneath him. Your soft sounds of pleasure soothe those maddening instincts, the ones that first reared the moment he became your husband. It vibrates low through every atom of his being, rumbling in his chest in a pleased hum. He draws out your pleasure just to hear more of those lovely little sounds, all high and delicate. You blink up at him through dazed eyes and you smile, adoring and purely intoxicated. 

Javier kisses you softly, drinks in the happy hum from your lips. A sweet lull in the neediness, a moment to take you in like this. Warm and happy and fucked out in his arms. Your lips are soft against the stubble on his cheek, a stark contrast to the teasing nip of your teeth against his jaw. Javier looks down at you, an eyebrow raised as he takes in the glint of mischief in your eyes. Neither of you needs to say it. He knows exactly what you want by the look on your face and the light smack you give his thigh. 

And he’s more than happy to give it to you. 

His spine straightens as he yanks you down by your thighs. Javier pins you with his hands on your hips and fucks you deeper, his cock hitting so deep that your lungs damn near collapse. Your eyes roll and that dark, possessive fire sparks in his chest. There’s nothing he loves more than taking you apart with soft, tender touches - but this… this is a close second. Holding you down, keeping you in place so you have no choice but to let him take, take, take. 

“Fuck.” You whine, clawing at the blankets as the stimulation wrenches through you, overwhelms each of your senses until you’re left trembling. Every plunge sends you reeling, but you can’t help yourself - your hips lift to take him deeper, your knees dig into his ribs, your nails bite into the back of his neck. You take him beautifully - like you were made for him. Made to be his wife, to be fucked on the living room floor next to a blazing fireplace. Made to be his. 

All his, forever.

A rough sound grits out through his clenched teeth as he comes deep, his moan breaking with the last of his last sharp thrusts. Your cunt pulses around him rhythmically, only serving to draw out his pleasure until he’s trembling above you. Javier lets you coax him to melt into you, his hips still fitted seamlessly with yours as he lets his full weight sink into you. Your arms wrap around his shoulders. You just hold him as his breathing slowly returns to normal, as his softening cock slowly slips out of you. It’s calm. Peaceful. 

He has no idea how long has passed when he finally heaves himself off of you. It doesn’t take you long to tuck yourself into his side. Your body molds to fit his; your thigh hitched over his, your cheek resting on his shoulder, arm slung over his chest. Javier curls his arm around your side and traces the intricate patterns in the lace over your ribs, even as you squirm away from the ticklish touch. 

“Javi, stop…” You whine, propping your chin up on his chest to give him those puppy dog eyes. 

“No,” He sighs nonchalantly. It isn’t easy to resist that cute pout of yours. “Can’t keep my hands off you, baby. Missed you too much.” 

That melts your resolve. Your gaze softens so much that he damn near chokes. He isn’t a bashful man by any means but the way you look at him as if he hung the moon and stars in your sky… he can’t help the pink tinge that blooms across his cheeks. You’ve softened him over the years. Kneaded at him until he became tender and pliant, and maybe a bit of a romantic. Javier brushes your hair out of your face and the back of his fingers caresses your cheek slowly. 

“You hungry?” He murmurs. That urge to take care of you is never quite sated. Now that you’re well fucked, he plans on making sure you’re well-fed, too. 

“Mm, I could eat.” You shrug. 

“Stay here, I’ll bring you a plate.” Javier gives you a quick smack on your ass before dragging himself to his feet. He can feel your eyes on him as he stretches, all too aware of your appreciative gaze on his naked body. He calls out as he makes his way into the kitchen, “Then I’m having you for dessert.” 

The sound of your laughter brings a smile to his face as he sets about making plates for the both of you. He couldn’t imagine a better life, something he would want more than this. Good food, a beautiful home, and most importantly - his amazing wife.

[puppiesandnightlock]

LINK: lucky i’m in love with my best friend

Summary: Damian knew better then to speak unauthorized to the press, especially after the less than platonic nature of what had just occurred. Oh well, no one expected a normal press conference for a Wayne coming out, not after the last few of them.

prompt that won on the Tumblr poll: "Is Wayne heir Damian Wayne gay?" "I don't know," Damian smirks, grabbing Jon's hand. "Maybe a little."

Theoretically, Damian should have known better than to egg on the press. After all, he’d been raised in the spotlight since his mother had dropped him on his father’s doorstep, trained in PR perfection, and generally had distaste for the scandals or big things his family would cause, purposefully or not. 

But sometimes it was just so hard not to, especially when it was so amusing to see them scouting for any crumb of information, drawing their own far-fetched conclusions that made them seem even stupider to those who knew the truth.

The annual Wayne gala had arrived, and speculations about just who the Wayne boys would be bringing as their dates were up in the air. Reporters were getting antsy as they always did that time of year, sloppily hidden and jumping for scoops. Tabloids were printing off theory after theory, each more laughable than the last, especially about the youngest Wayne. 

This year, Damian was finally considered of age to be taking a proper date, despite the fact that they had never managed to catch him with a romantic partner of any kind—or at least with one of the female variety. 

Reporters swarmed the entrances of the gala, taking pictures and brandishing their microphones like swords. Damian scoffed as he looked outside the tinted window of their limo.

“Vultures, the lot of them.” 

“You’ve had years to get used to it by now.” Tim said from across the car. “Complaining only makes it worse.”

He scowled as his eldest brother pulled him into a headlock, threatening to mess up his delicately arranged hair.

“Lighten up, Baby Bat! Jon goes every year, and I think some of your school friends will show up.”

“Tt.” He made a valiant effort to push his brother away without messing up his outfit, straightening his jacket, and smoothing out the wrinkles that weren’t there.

“Who’re you tryn’ to impress?” Jason snorted, legs crossed over. Damian blessed his training, keeping his face straight and his heartbeat steady while fighting to cool his rising body temperature. 

“Just because I despise these things does not mean I wish to go looking like a slob. Although I suppose the sentiment is not often shared.”

He looked around the car, his father in the corner, Tim on his phone, Duke with his headphones blocking out the conversations, Jason with a book, and Dick at his side scrolling through social media. Cassandra and Stephanie had taken the other limo with Barbara, insisting it was a girls-only deal. Tim had decided to go with Bart, Cassie, and Kon, much to Bruce’s despair, and the three of them would be arriving on their own, in whatever shape Damian couldn’t say. 

No one responded to his quite obvious jab, as was to be expected. His brothers often remarked that he would get prickly in times like these, which was completely preposterous, but that wasn't the point. The point of this was that they were pulling up to the entrance and would be completely bombarded by people who hadn’t anything better to do than ask invasive questions and draw incriminating conclusions.

“Time to face the music!” His father said cheerily, already in his Brucie Wayne, father of six, not including the in-laws persona. 

“Dying again sounds nice, actually.” Jason muttered, shoving Dick out after Bruce. He went next, followed by Tim, Duke, and then Damian himself. 

“Damian, Damian, who’s your date for tonight? You seem to be missing one!”

“Mr. Drake-Wayne, care to comment on the recent Wayne Enterprises partnership?”

“Mr. Wayne, how is your most recent investment?”

They pushed past, stopping only to smile and wave at the cameras, making it safely through the doors and into the ballroom. Damian slipped away as Tim and Bruce were swarmed, with Dick and Duke veering off to the side to meet the girls. Jason had gone off in search of Roy Harper, no doubt, seeing as he’d invited the red-haired man as his date.

He found a relatively nice spot to hide in, scanning the room to see if any of his Gotham Academy schoolmates had been invited and if he had to avoid them. Finding none, he picked up a flute offered by a passing waiter (sparkling cider, goddammit.) and prayed to whatever deity would listen that no old people would come by to remark on how big he was getting and if he’d like to meet their granddaughter?

The dances had long since started, and he amused himself watching his family switch between making fools of themselves and actually being sweet. There was his sister, Cassandra leading Stephanie into an elegant dance, catching the awe of partygoers. 

And then there was Tim’s group, all of whom were failing spectacularly. Damian really didn’t expect much else, simply taking a picture for blackmail. As he was angling his camera, he heard rustling from behind him, making light steps as if someone were barely touching the ground. He relaxed, not even pretending to be surprised as hands came over his eyes and a chin came to rest on his shoulder.

“Guess who!” The voice of his farm boy came to his ears. “You only get one, so make sure it's good.”

“My significant annoyance.” Damian smirked, putting his flute to the side and tapping the hands over his eyes three times in a gentle gesture. 

“If that’s what you’re labeling this.” Jon grumbled, dropping his hands and glancing around to see how hidden they were before slipping his arms around Damian's waist. “I also accept better half, significant other, romantic partner, boyyyyyfriend~”

“Never say it like that again.” Damian sighed, letting the taller boy sway them back and forth to the soft music. 

They had a few seconds of silence before Jon quickly dropped his arms and pushed Damian away. Damian getting the hint and grabbing the flute of cider. The two of them went back into more of the open space, leaving some room between them.

“Hey Mom.” Jon waved, Damian just barked behind him. 

“Mrs. Lane.” He looked to the side. “Father.”

“You can call me Lois, Damian.” She said as she had since the first year of his and Jon's friendship. “Where did you boys disappear to?”

“Not causing any trouble, I hope.” Bruce grinned next to her, reaching out to ruffle his son’s hair. 

Damian dodged, with Jon standing in front of him dutifully. “No, Father. If I wished to cause a scandal, I would have done it by now.”

“I know, son.” Bruce said, tired parent bleeding into his tone. “Just watch what you’re doing. Some of the more bloodthirsty ones are out tonight, and not the ones like the Kents.”

Damian’s nose wrinkled, rolling his eyes and tugging on Jon’s suit jacket. Oh, that was something he hadn’t noticed before. “I understand, Father. However, if I am provoked, I cannot say I will mind my tongue.”

Bruce’s response was lost in the crowd as Damian pulled Jon along, unwilling to lose his partner in the masses. He wound up at a table where his siblings were residing, the two sitting at a respectable distance from each other. 

“Babies of the families!” Dick cheered as they sat down, Jon and Damian with similar expressions of distaste.

They were roped into the conversation, inching closer and closer with each moment. Damian felt an ankle hook over his, and he looked up to see Jon carrying on speaking, waving with his hands and laughing. He would be content to listen to him ramble forever. 

God, he was getting soft.

His other leg was kicked from under the table, and he turned in that direction, defense ready. He dropped it as he realized it was just Cass, who raised a teasing eyebrow at him.

“Have something to say, Cassandra?” He gritted out, daring her to say something. There was a reason Jon and he had kept their relationship under wraps for almost a year, and it certainly wasn’t for the press.

One of Damian’s siblings or Connor would find out and spread it to the next until the entirety of their stupidly large family knew, endlessly hounding both of them for the rest of the year. They would make a big deal out of nothing, insisting they couldn’t go anywhere together without a chaperone or the press seeing them, even though they were 17, dammit.

Cass looked between the two of them, shaking her head but keeping the smug look that had begun to rise. For the love of all that was holy, he hoped there wasn’t an on-going bet that she had just won. His siblings never did tire of humiliating him.

He pulled away from Jon, getting closer to his sister for better privacy. ”You are not to tell anyone; whatever you think is going on is absolutely not.” 

She shrugged at him before motioning to their father on the other side of the room. ”Better to tell now. Press are hungry.”

Better a sweet teen love story than whatever scandal was on the corner? Damian looked around their table, noting the disappearance of some couples, knowing she was correct. Leave it to him to save his siblings’ asses, yet again.

Besides, he’d rather tell them himself than have everyone find out from the gossip chain that was the super-youth community. Now, how to go about it?

”Hey.” Damian tapped on the table to catch Jon’s attention, speaking low enough that only someone with super-hearing could reach. ”Do you remember your ballroom dance lessons?”

A quick, nearly impalpable nod followed. Damian hummed in interest before asking, ”If you think you’re ready, we’ll announce it tonight. Ask me to dance in a few minutes when this dance ends and the other starts.”

The twitch of his lips let Damian know Jon was fighting a smile and struggling to keep his nonchalance, only nodding again.

As the dance ended and the next one began, Jon stood slowly, bowing at the waist in an overly dramatic show, looking up with a grin. 

“May I have this dance, darlin’?” A hand was held out, but he stayed in a bowing position. Murmurs and muffled laughter came from their siblings, Damon rolling his eyes, the action offset by the fond expression and hint of pink on his face.

“I suppose you may.” He placed his hand in Jon’s, following until they were swept into the dance. They could both feel the eyes on them, one more accustomed than the other.

Damian could feel Jon tense and caught his eyes, impossibly blue, flecks of purple highlighting it all. They would always be the thing he could never fully capture in his artwork—icy pools, both still and stormy, pulling him in until he felt like he was drawing in their waters. 

”Don’t mind them; eyes on me, my love.” He murmured, his hand tightening from where it was draped across his shoulder and neck. Jon gave a lopsided smile, spinning them around with the rest of the pairs on the dance floor. 

”Your dad is being followed.” He remarked. ”You know this means we’re going to have to talk to them. Our parents won’t be happy this is how we decided to come out.”

“Better than news getting wind of where Todd and Harper are right now, or someone accusing my father of something.” Damian lowered his voice. “And now I can show you off, beloved. Don’t you want everyone to know I'm yours instead of speculating about all the people I could be dating?”

Jon made a huffing noise, a flush making his freckles more prominent. “You're so mean to me, D.”

“It’s not mean; it’s true.” Damian chuckled as they stepped in time with the slow rhythm. “And I'll use my knowledge of you to my advantage.”

“I'll just have to keep you happy, then.” Jon tapped his forehead with Damian's gently as he turned to face him, the other boy’s cheeks darkening.

They bow to each other as Damian whispers in response, “That shouldn’t be hard; you’ve already done it. You, Jon Kent, have my whole heart, and I have yours, and that is what makes me happy.”

“Oh my God.” Jon pressed a hand to his cheek, his face going red. “You can’t just say things like that in public; I'll explode.”

They stepped off the floor, forgetting momentarily that they had just given a major opening to expose their relationship. No one was making a big deal out of it yet, despite them all noticing. They’d stopped paying attention to the stares fairly quickly, so neither could really tell when they stopped.

Bruce was a few heads away, Lois dragging Clark through the crowds, trying to beat out Vicki Vale, who was on a warpath to them.

“We’re fucked.” Jon muttered to his boyfriend, a rare public curse leaving him. There was one more escape route open, and Damian tugged him towards it, suddenly accosted by a recorder in his face.

”Shit.” Damian backed up into Jon, who stumbled, righting himself and his boyfriend quickly. “Uh, hello? If you’d like an interview, please schedule with my father.

“Please, Mr. Wayne, just a moment of your time.” A reporter in a loose dress shirt and fitted slacks blocked their path, big hoop earrings swinging.

Watching theirs, Damian subconsciously touched the gold cuff in his own ear that connected to a chain in his lobe. “I don’t think I can-”

“Tell me, one question that I know is on everyone’s mind right now-HEY!” They yelped as they were hip-checked to the side—another two recorders in his face now.

Damian looked up in surprise as Vicki Vale replaced the earlier reporter, who was still holding out their recorder. Lois came out of the crowd, pulling her husband by his tie and holding out her own device. Clark had a notepad and a nervous look, scribbling down whatever Lois was telling him to.

"Well, Damian, let’s hear it. Is the Wayne Heir gay?” Vicki waited expectantly, with Lois and the other reporter fuming beside her.

Damian looked at the three black devices in front of him, looked at his father, who was coming up behind him, and then at the Kents, Lois, who was mouthing that he didn’t have to answer if he didn’t want to.

Then he looked at Jon. His Jon. He was tired of hiding and waiting, and he knew Jon was too. His taller boyfriend gave a tap three times to his arm, a silent permission on his side and a strengthening ‘I love you.’

He shoved down the nerves and willed his hands to stop becoming clammy, smirking at them as he leaned into the microphones.

“I don’t know.” Damian grinned, slipping his hand into Jon’s and squeezing it gently. “Maybe a little.”

Jon covered his mouth with his free hand, trying not to laugh, his mother giving him a nod. The amateur reporter smiled at him, Vicki lunging forward, before Bruce coughed loudly from behind them.

“If I could have a moment with my son, please.” He gave a pointed look at the two of them. ”Withoutrecorders.”

Vicki seemed about to retort; the other reported nodding frantically and scurrying away, not so subtly bumping into her as they passed, causing Vicki to follow after and yell.

“I know I said I wouldn't cause anything with the media, but-” Damian began, stopping as his father placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“While I wish you would have told me first so I could deal with the press properly, I want you to know that I'm proud of you and I love you how you are.”

He paused, confused, before he realized what he had technically just done and what his father was trying to say.

“Oh. Uh, thank you, Father.” 

“I would just like to say that I knew it.” Lois cut in, saving them from further awkwardness. “Jon couldn’t hide a secret about you in his life.”

“Mom!” Jon dropped his face to hide in Damian’s shoulder. “They don’t need to hear about that.”

“I would actually love to.” His boyfriend smirked as he groaned.

“I’m breaking up with you.” Jon informed him, his voice muffled by the suit. 

“You wouldn’t dare.” Damian reached up to tug on his curls. “You would perish without me, farm boy.”

“I would miss you too much.” He lifted his head from where it was buried in his shoulder before flushing and hiding again as his father cleared his throat. 

“Well, as lovely as this all is, you both need to be talked to. And sleepovers are postponed indefinitely. We are going to lay down some ground rules here, since you’re both still living with us.”

Damian sighed, while Jon groaned again. Lois laughed, reaching to ruffle both of their heads, getting the expected complaints. 

"Alright, lover boys, have your night.” She tugged on Bruce's sleeve, and Clark followed them both, leaving Jon and Damian standing in the crowd. 

“Wanna get out of here?” Jon whispered in his ear, his hands resting above his stomach and his chin on his shoulder.

“More than anything.” Damian responded, feeling the table with his siblings burning a hole in the side of his head. 

They untangle themselves from each other, slipping into the crowds and out through a window, Jon zooming them through the cloudy Gotham sky, before landing on one of their favorite spots, the rooftop of a Wayne Enterprise building. He set Damian down gently, sitting next to him, their legs swinging over the edge. 

“Well, we did that.” He bumped his shoulder, entwining his fingers with Damian’s. ”You did that.”

Damian laughed. “We did, didn’t we?”

They fell back into silence, watching the bright city lights shine below them. Damian leaned against him, letting out a breath of air. He lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to Jon’s, his taller boyfriend parting their hands to tug him closer, and then returned the gesture by kissing his temple.

There would be a media storm to deal with; siblings, parents, friends. But that was something for tomorrow.

Tonight, there were just the two of them, above the city and the lights, away from the cameras, where they could just be. 

[1d1195]

Traditional Extra IV

Read Traditional here

A little on the shorter side.

I love to make Harry whiny.

Warnings: angst, fluff, nothing particularly special about this one.

~2k words

"Baby, come on. You’re scaring me,” she said gently. He wanted to throw something. Everything was making him mad; he felt the ache all the way to his bones.

“Y’can’t fix this,” he muttered bitterly.

It was quarter past one. Which meant that she was set to walk into Harry’s office with his cup of tea in her hand. Even though it had been more than a year since her hot beverage accident, she was extremely mindful of turning corners with something that could scald her in her hands. The idea that Harry might fire someone because she was accidentally injured was too much for her to bear. She had her phone pressed between her shoulder and ear. Her cold coffee was in the crook of her arm as she reached for his door.

But instead, all sound stopped at the noise behind it. People paused in their path to the breakroom, the conference room, or back to their offices. The sound of Harry screaming nearly echoed as she looked at the wooden door separating her and her very obvious, very angry boyfriend.

“God bless her,” someone murmured.

“Don’t think I could do it. No matter how cute he is,” she heard another voice whisper. She wondered if she knew they were loud enough for her to hear. Or maybe with the phone pressed to her ear, they didn’t think she was paying attention.

“I’m sorry, I will call you back in half an hour,” she said softly to the phone. There was a response, but she didn’t hear it as she hung up. Niall was back in their office. Probably already looking to solve whatever issue had Harry breaking the sound barrier. Or maybe he was lucky and in another meeting. Maybe this wouldn’t be his problem. But it was definitely going to be part of her problem.

Harry didn’t scare her for the sake of her well-being. She never worried about her safety or whether Harry would harm her in a fit of whatever was causing him distress. The only alarm Harry caused her was the worry that he was going to have an untimely heart attack at such a young age due to his distress. More so, she worried one of these days she wouldn’t be able to fix his problems.

Or that he wouldn’t want her to. One day Harry was going to yell at her. Not purposefully. Not because he was mad at her. But he was going to take his frustration out on her. It was a matter of when not if. Maybe today would be the day.

Turning the knob, she heard everyone behind her collectively hold their breath. They knew she would fix it... probably. She entered slowly, like it was a lion’s den, and she didn’t want to be seen just yet. She closed the door quietly, with a soft click.

Harry was leaning over his empty desk. His computer, his phone, the picture frame with a picture of them from her graduation, all of it was laying shattered and broken to pieces on the floor across the room. His breath was practically panting. She watched him for a few moments: his shoulders rising and falling quickly and dramatically.

Whatever happened obviously made him mad. When Harry was mad, she felt the creeping sense of worry that he would work himself up to a point he couldn’t come back down from and again, worried about his health.

“Harry, baby?” She asked softly after a moment.

“Get. Out.” He seethed. She felt like a knife had been twisted into her heart and she felt like she would cry. Harry never told her to leave or accidentally yelled at her without a pet name attached to it.

He was definitely going to ruin their day. He was going to take out his frustration on her. Today was sure to be the day. She stood silently by the door. Afraid to take another step or make another noise. He still hadn’t turned around. She could see he was still shaking from across the room. Her heart felt so heavy for his worry and discomfort of whatever was hurting him.

In an instant, his cell phone was pressed to his ear. “What?” He snapped. Harry listened for all of twenty seconds before his phone was added to the pile of debris. He took three strides behind his desk and threw his chair toward the rest of his office supplies as well. A hole appeared in the drywall.

That was too much for her. She had to intervene. She was worried he was going to hurt himself at any moment. Swiftly and silently, she made her way to the couch, setting the drinks on the side table before she hurried to Harry’s side before he tried to tip his desk over or something. “Harry,” she whispered softly. He flinched at her touch, yanking from her so violently it almost looked like he smacked her hands away. She blinked in surprise and tried again anyway. “Baby,” her voice was firmer. She pressed her hands on his forearms. He looked at her, still seething with rage. She could see sweat forming at his hairline. Darkening his chocolate curls. His face was flushed red, his arms were clammy to the touch even through his shirt.

“I told you t’get out,” he snapped at her; it was like he wasn’t seeing that it was her.

She nodded understandingly. “I know,” she whispered in agreement. “I know,” she tugged him toward the couch. Despite how angry he was, he let her lead him. Harry stood in front of the sofa still shaking and she paid no mind to it. She pressed him back, so his legs touched the furniture and he had no choice but to sit. She crouched in front of him.

He was intimidating. Even to her, she couldn’t help but feel the adrenaline running through her blood, her heart fluttering nervously that she was going to make matters worse and just upset him more.

But his typically gentle, green eyes turned nearly black—his pupils dilating to fit nearly the entirety of his irises with how angry he felt. His breath was a bit raspy. His muscles were practically rippling as his hands and arms shook. Even just sitting there.

“Baby, come on. You’re scaring me,” she said gently. He wanted to throw something. Everything was making him mad; he felt the ache all the way to his bones. “Put your head between your knees please.”

“Y’can’t fix this,” he muttered bitterly.

“Harry, please just let me try,” she whispered softly. “Just five minutes and then I’ll leave, and you can set the office on fire,” she promised. Harry grunted in response, and she guided his hands behind his head, his elbows rested on his thighs. She rubbed his back soothingly. “Deep breath,” she whispered. He placated her and took a deep breath, but it sounded shallow. “What happened?” She asked softly.

He shook his head. He could feel tears pricking his eyes.

“Harry, baby,” she murmured. “Talk to me, please. Should I get Niall?”

He took another breath. “I lost a client. A huge one. S’going to...” his breath was shaky as he exhaled. “Kitten, s’bad,” he mumbled.

She frowned. “Oh, love,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, so sorry.”

He picked his head up and looked at her. “M’sorry I yelled at you,” he muttered. “I’m...”

She shook her head. “It’s okay, I know it’s not about me.”

“I shouldn’t yell at you. Ever. You only try t’help. Always,” he looked so dejected. “I...I have t’find a new client or I’ll have t’make cuts next quarter.”

“Okay, so we’ll find one,” she whispered.

He wanted to snap but it was his angel touching him so gently. Trying to comfort him as best she could. He couldn’t hear it. He shook his head. “S’not that simple, kitten,” her positivity was admirable, but he was so mad, so sad. This was a huge deal. A huge letdown.

She sat beside him and grabbed his hand. She twined their fingers together and she looked over at the pile he made of all his electronics and the chair. With a squeeze of his hand, she rested her head on his arm. “Whatever it is Harry, I’ll be right beside you,” she promised.

He turned toward her. “Kitten, I might...have t’fire you.”

She felt her heart flutter, but she nodded looking at their hands. “It’s just a job,” she whispered.

“Love...”

“Harry, I have you. A job... at your company.” she shrugged. “It’s just a bonus.”

“I might lose a lot of money.”

“I’m not with you for money,” she promised with a smirk.

He looked at her, his eyes were red around the corners. His face was withdrawn. He was handsome as ever; even as broken as he felt. “You would love me...if I was broke?”

“I would love you even if you didn’t have a porch swing.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “M’so in love with you. So...” he shook his head. “Hopeless for you,” he murmured. “Don’t deserve you,” he mumbled. “You’re too good,” he nosed at her temple. “I’m sorry, kitten.”

She shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize to me.” He looked at her. So sad. Poor thing. Her heart ached to make it better. The first thing she was going to do when she got back to her office was tell Niall as much as she could, and begin searching for a new client. Then probably order Harry new furniture. He stayed silent. His anger settled into sadness. He felt so dejected.

Sighing softly, she cupped his face. He looked so sad. “Do you know you told me you loved me when you were sick?”

He looked up at her curiously. “What?” He momentarily forgot about the turmoil he felt about his company.

“You were delirious,” she smiled. Harry thought she looked like an angel. He swore she had been sculpted by an artist. Even when he felt so terrible, she was just so pretty. It felt like he was healing. “You were falling asleep and just told me you loved me,” she shrugged.

“So y’knew all that time,” he murmured with a smirk toying at his lips. It was weird how he could make him feel better. Even at a time like this.

She nodded excitedly with an impish grin. “Yeah...” she smirked.

“And y’still thought I didn’t love you with m’whole heart after that? That I wouldn’t have...” He rolled his eyes as he trailed off.

She giggled and shrugged. “People can say crazy things when they’re sick.”

He looked at her. “I love you.”

“I’m aware,” she said cutely. If she had a free hand, she would have flipped her hair behind her shoulder. Harry laughed at her, shook his head so his nose bumped hers. “I love you,” she whispered.

“Say it again,” he murmured, his eyes getting this dreamy, far-off look. His chest felt warm. Part of him never wanted to leave this couch. He never wanted to move. The idea of dealing with what was in store for him seemed so bleak.

She was never bleak. She was perfect. She made everything better, even when he didn’t want her to. “I love you,” she repeated effortlessly. “So much. No matter what. No matter how much money you have or how many porch swings you buy me.”

He cupped her face and leaned so his lips just barely brushed hers. “Don’t know how I did this without you before,” he murmured.

“You’ll never have to do it again,” she promised.

Harry was dreading getting a new phone and a new computer, knowing how bad it was about to get. But somehow her ability to worm her way into his heart and his brain made him believe, even for a moment, that it would be okay.

Or maybe it was just the taste of her lips between his that made him believe.

--

general taglist: @justlemmeadoreyou @daydreamingofmatilda @sunshinemoonsposts @youdontcaredoyou @tiredinwinter @loving-hazz @likeapplejuicenpeach @straightontilmornin @freedomfireflies @littlenatilda @kathb59 @babegoals @angel-upon @lilfreakjez @mleestiles @ameliaalvarez06 @canyonmoondreams @summertime-pills @daphnesutton @l4rrysh0use @perfectywrong @foreverxholland @lolyouallsuck @buckybarnessimpp @stylesfever @harrysxcarolina @lovrave @pandeebearstyles @acesofspades

Traditional taglist @tpwkstiles @matildasatellite @jessitpwk @jerseygirlinca @ameerakane20 @kimmi-kat @avasversion @youcouldstartacult @manrocket-mo @golden-hoax @harryssky1 @michellekstyles @soachibstel1 @morklee02 @harrysflorencex @cherrycolas-things @emma34501 @wish-upon-a-star-1310 @daphnesutton @pandeebearstyles @acesofspadess

I'm sorry if I missed anyone in the taglist. Please let me know if you'd like to join, if it didn't work, if you no longer want to be included, etc. :)

If you like this, check out my masterlist for more of my writing.

[corporatefrog]

꒦‧₊ ꒷ HEADCANNONS: Kenny, Kyle, Stan, and Butters saving you as superheroes/villains when you're in danger! ✧.*

✧.* tags: college au, superhero au ✧.* Characters: kenny mccormick, kyle broflovski, stan marsh, butters scotch a/n: another amazing anon request! i always love the suggestions and they lead to such fun scenarios (and ways to zone out during class lol)

masterlist

Kenny/Mysterion: 

Literally the scene from the beginning of Megamind where they’re in the observatory

Except he bursts in and saves you 

You were just trying to get footage of mysterion’s press conference then suddenly you’re tied up in the storage unit- sorry, the LAIR OF CHAOS

(he gets sad when you don’t call it that)

“Ah mysterion! It is I, your greatest foe-”

“I wouldn’t say greatest”

“Professor chaos- wait what?”

“I’m just saying I've literally fought cthulhu. He’s probably the greatest”

“Well, Cthulhu was an eldritch horror ! He doesn't count!”

“Yes he does”

“No he doesn't!”

“Yes he does!”

“No he doesn't-”

“Guys I really got to piss, can we speed this up?”

Mysterion shows up a few minutes later but you don’t get ‘rescued’ for another 30 minutes because him and chaos kept arguing

He walks you home and says he’ll always be there to save you

But you know the same thing is going to happen next week

Kyle/Human Kite

You were at the park with kyle to visit the pet adoption fair being held by the south park animal shelter

But Professor Chaos had other plans. 

Suddenly all of the animals were let out of their pens and were running through the park 

It was the most adorable stampede to ever exist

You turned to tell ky that you guys had to help but he was gone?

The text he sent: “allergic to cats. Sorry.”

BRO WHAT??

You get absolutely DOG PILED

By actual dogs. 

Chaos is evilly laughing while blowing a dog whistle while General Disarray points laser pointers at people’s feet 

You were ready to give into your death by puppy

But you’re pulled out from the dog heap by human kite! 

He flies??? Over to chaos and slaps the dog whistle out of his hands and starts lecturing him

You almost feel bad for the guy

But then again, there are cats running up trees and dogs running into the street so animal safety comes first

You help them take care of the animals 

(and definitely end up adopting a furry friend :) )

Stan/Toolshed

Professor chaos has stuck you in a small cell surrounded by glass with a 2 hour timer ticking down towards an unknown demise

Usually it wouldn’t have been an issue for tool to grab a sledge hammer and take care of it 

But the cell was made of impact proof glass 

That didn’t stop Toolshed from trying to break through the glass for 30 minutes while professor chaos monologues from a tv screen in the corner

“HAHHAA! I bet you’re wondering how I managed to trap-”

WOMP

“You won’t be breaking through that glass anytime-”

WOMP

“H-Hey! Let me at least get through my-”

WOMP

“WELL GOSH DARN IT LET ME DO MY SPEECH FIRST!”

And the only way to unlock it was to complete an escape room and find a key

But professor chaos seems to have forgotten that stan loves complex board games

And what is an escape room if not a complex solo board game? 

“You need to use the cipher from the map to decode the encyclopedia for the safe code!” 

“Oh yeah, I’ll definitely do that. If I were an idiot.”

“Okay now you’re just being mean” 

“It’s obvious that the map cipher is used for the chess board to give you the steps for the dance dance revolution machine!”

“...yeah totally. I definitely knew that’s how it works.”

He has you out in like 5 minutes 

And you make a mental note to never play Settlers of Katan with him. 

Butters/Professor Chaos

The freedom pals kidnapped you to try and get information out of you since you act as tech help for chaos

Well it was really just the coon

“I thought that kidnapping was a villain thing”

“Yeah because when a superhero does it, it’s taking a villain into custody”

“I really don’t see the logic there”

“WELL YOU DONT HAVE TO SO SHUT UP”

“I thought you wanted me to talk?”

“AHHHHH”

Really you were just giving cartman shit for a few hours

Until the basement suddenly fills with smoke!

Professor Chaos threw smoke bombs into a small enclosed basement (not a good idea-)

You both barely manage to get out while coughing through the smoke

But you do it!!

Yippie!! 

Chaos insists on getting you ice cream as an apology for getting wrapped up in everything

“I mean, if I had to deal with that dickwad everyday, I’d want to cause chaos to piss him off too. I only was there for an hour and i never want to see him smile again” 

You just became the coolest person ever to him

[hiatuswhore]

The Game — Aegon II Au

♡ A/N: Something I’ve been playing around with. Someone teach me how to write smut lol. This is currently just a one-shot and unedited so bare with me. Please give me feedback, I’m begging for it.

♡ SUMMARY: Just another fake dating PR stunt. Your job, fix the bad boys image. Easy right, not if Aegon Targaryen can help it.

♡ WORD COUNT: 1.7K

♡ WARNING: Harsh Language

previous — Masterlist — next

“What was it like when you first met?”

You smile politely at the question, not a single hair sitting out of place. The gaudy camera pointing at the two of you gleaming. Aegon wets his lips grinning to himself at the passing thought. The interviewer looks between the two of you, and the question lingers in the air.

“You want to take this one?” Aegon asks, looking at you with a fond glint. At least that’s what the camera sees, just as it sees how you bashfully look away from him and toward the interviewer.

“We met by a complete accident,” Your smile beaming as you recall signing up for high pay, low stakes acting gig. Even during the phone interview you were certain it was a load of crap. “A friend of mine who works at Westeros Incorporated forgot some of their work and asked me to run it over.”

“She comes in wearing these joggers and hoodie, in a building where all the suits look the same. I couldn’t stop looking at her she was all confused and clearly out of place. It was absolutely adorable,” A thrift store hobbit, that is what he had described your leisure wear the first day you had met. His mother, Alicent had nonstop scolded him as his sister Helaena offered a kind smile and his brother Aemond pretended as though you were not in the room.

“(Y/n) as you likely know Aegon Targaryen has been deemed the bad boy in the press. Hook ups, parties, fights. Tell us about the Aegon Targaryen you know,” Behind the camera crew stands Aegon’s mother and grandfather, Otto. Otto had been the final part of the hiring process. You were invited to the Targaryen Estate, not home—a fucking estate. There you met all of the family. No one had acknowledged your presence, only when Otto called you into his office did all eyes fall onto you. In there you signed never ending stacks of papers from Nondisclosure agreements to medical information releases.

If the checks were not so dizzyingly high and the contracts signed were not so nauseatingly terrifying your answers would likely be different. The Aegon Targaryen I know is a lazy narcissistic asshole who is, “so misrepresented in the media. The Aegon I know is nothing but kind and dedicated to whatever he puts his mind to. He just tends to put his mind to some not so productive things as times.”

You turn to Aegon, leaning closer him as you smile. The interviewers awes softly as Aegon kisses your temple and you both turn your focus back onto the journalist. You both leave the interview hand and hand, all giddy smiles and sunny dispositions until the cameras gone, the doors shut, and prying eyes leave the vicinity.

Ripping your hand out of his you cross your arms in front of you, glaring daggers at the roll of his eyes, “We didn’t say anything about kissing my temple.”

“Kind and dedicated. Might as well have tattooed we’re lying on our forehead. Since the way you dress was not obvious enough,” Aegon scoffs. Before you can get another word out Otto speaks sharply.

“Enough. Good job you two. (Y/n) for Aegon’s birthday we’re going to the lakehouse. We’re going to take the boat out on Blackwater, paparazzi always capture photos for that so we’re sending over some tasteful bathing suit options,” Otto explains sternly, nodding your head quietly you roll your eyes as Aegon huffs.

“I’m supposed to be partying in Dorne for my birthday!” Aegon whines. Otto dismisses, without skipping a beat you grab your bag leaving the conference room. You take the elevator to the second floor of Westeros Inc before taking the private elevator to the discreet door. Pulling your hood up you walk flagging down a cab.

Arriving to your new apartment the manicured trim of the walls and marble counter tops still knot your stomach. Before the ink dried on the paperwork Otto had you sign, you had a new set of keys and a paycheck with more commas than you had ever seen before. New money, new apartment, new boyfriend.

Scarily enough there it was, several shopping bags on your couch. The bathing suits. Your schedule for the day empty you turn on some music, digging into the bags trying on the bathing suits. The black one piece accentuating curves with a snug hold on your body. Pulling coils of hair into a ponytail you clasp your gold snake necklace while taking a look into your living room mirror. Taking out your phone you play around with a few different poses before your front door swings open. Aegon walks in texting away on his phone as he stops in the kitchen, he grabs one of your juices before sprawling out on the side of the couch without bags.

“What the hell are you doing here?” You exclaim, eyebrows knit while poorly shielding yourself behind the jeans you had been previously wearing. Aegon looks up from his phone, his eyes trace up your legs before meeting your gaze.

“Otto wants the leeches with cameras to see me coming over here. I promise I’d rather be anywhere else,” Aegon says, turning back to his phone.

“Do you ever tire of being an asshole?” Your questions earns chuckle, Aegon focus stays on his phone as he says, no.

“Do you ever tire of complaining?” Aegon asks. You scoff gathering the bags before stomping off to your room. His bedroom door right across, oh right, the apartment stipulation. The nice Red Keep apartment will be yours to own, after the successful completion of your year long contract, fix Aegon’s image and the paychecks and assets flow. A therapist couldn’t help that egotistic narcissist.

You slam your door shut, dropping the bags to the floor you change into gym shorts and a t-shirt. Folding the bathing suits, you put them away. Sprawling our on your bed you let out a long sigh. Eyes closed you sink into the soft mattress, more cloud than bed.

The week passes with the regularly scheduled outings. Restaurants, museums, social events. At the Stark foundation Gala, you make small talk with Cregan Stark and his sister Sara. Out of most of the socialites you have met, you deem them the most normal. Cregan nods along most of the conversation as you and Sara complain about the media. Sara does most of the talking as you sip on some fancy wine you cannot pronounce.

“I’m obsessed with your dress, it’s designer right. Don’t tell me, Cersei Lannister,” Sara says, her eyes narrowed with a playful suspicious glint. The silk dress hugs slightly at the hips as it stops at your mid-lower thigh. Your back completely exposed, biting the inside of your cheek you cannot help but notice how Cregan’s eyes outline your body. The elder Stark towers over, his gaze intense but compelling. From the moment you and Aegon arrived, Aegon disappeared and you found yourself drifting closer and closer to the handsome Stark.

“Joffrey actually,” You says softly, chuckling as you smooth out the dress. Sara gasps, she takes out her phone texting away.

“That stylish cunt. I told him to tell me when his newest designs dropped,” Sara says, walking off with her phone pressed to ear you giggle shaking your head.

“All of this must be a bit weird for you,” It’s the first time Cregan’s spoke, his gruff voice sending a tingle through your body. You shift in place taking another sip of your wine.

“That your sister has a member of the biggest fashion designing family in the world on her phone. Or that their relationship is so casual she calls Joffrey Lannister a cunt the way I’d playfully insult my best friend?” You say, earning a chuckle. Cregan nods sipping his own wine, your eyes stay on each others a moment too long. The intense gaze sends your mind to all the wrong places. His hands large hands roaming, tall stature domineering, tongue d— “So how long is your contract with the Targaryens?”

You snap back to reality, Cregan still wears the same reserved look to his persona. Looking around the room, others still mingle without care. Cregan chuckles, “We socialites are all the same. I’ve known Aegon my entire life, this good guy for the right girl act is pretty dull.”

“So don’t watch then,” You scoff rolling your eyes you scan the room for Aegon. Cregan chuckles his demeanor never falters while he speaks cooly, “But I want to watch you.”

Cregan’s eyes look over your body shamelessly, “I want to watch you in that dress, out of that dress in all kinds of positions.”

Your mouth gapes as you process the words he says so casually. Before you can respond a hand wraps around your wrist, Aegon walks you to a back wall. A giant glass wall to your left and the rest of your party to your right. Aegon eyes are bloodshot and he reeks of tequila. He presses his body against yours, one hand on the wall above your head caging you in.

“You want to fuck the mutt be my guest but first we need to convince the press this is real,” Aegon says, licking his lip revealing the tongue piercing. His dainty silver chain shines in contrast to his all black suit, he looks undeniably good. The rasp of his voice captivating, and his narcissism irritatingly sexy. You take a deep breath bringing yourself back to reality.

“You’re drunk and I don’t know how dry humping me at a social event is going to help us,” You push off the wall looking down at your heels, you step left avoiding stepping on his shoes. The feeling of his fingers gripping your jaw pulls a light gasp from your lips.

“I’m not suddenly a fucking saint because of you. My grandfather said we have to convince the public, and they know me. The photographers outside can see into here, can see us,” Aegon says holding your face closer to his as he grins down at you. His other hands rubs on your outer thigh, lifting your leg from under your knee as he nestles between your legs. “Kinda like you like this, you’re sexy when you’re not talking.”

“Fuck you,” You whisper pulling your jaw out of his hand he captures your lips biting your bottom lip as he pulls away. The kiss steals your breath and the chuckle that leaves his lips vibrates through your chest to your core.

Aegon bites his bottom lip as he brings his thumb up tracing your lips. You furrow your eyebrows at him. The flashes in the distance confirms the photographers capture the moment from outside. Aegon interlaces your hand in his, before you step out of the building he smirks whispering into your ear, “Play the game Cinderella and you just might win.”

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

If You Can't Dance 5

Warnings: dubcon, noncon, other possible triggers. Proceed with caution.

Note: this is what you get when you encourage me. Please leave any and all feedback! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Part of The Club AU

You realise too late you have no idea where you’re going or what you’re doing. You just needed to be free of your humiliation. You find a room with a facilities placard on the door and dip inside. The bathroom is empty as you pump the lever on the paper towel dispenser. You take the length of two ply and fold it until it’s thick enough to sop up the tea on your shirt.

Not wanting to further embarrass yourself, you keep it in hand, keeping up the act of drying yourself as you make yourself back to the conference room. You can hear Jonathan’s voice on the other side. You take the opportunity to squeeze in the door and avoid looking at anyone as you tiptoe back to the table.

G is standing by your chair, slightly bent as he uses napkins to clean up the droplets of tea. There’s a fresh cup just to the side with a new teabag in steaming water. He looks up as you approach and you mouth a thanks as he switches your chair with a dry one. You sit and he pushes the new cup towards you.

You cup your cheeks, elbows on the table as you try to focus. There’s movement at the edge of your vision. You peek over and see G twisting a ring on his finger. He doesn’t seem as anxious as he does disinterested.

Your chest aches as you heat continues to hammer. You teeter on the precipice of doom. This is why you work from home, why you stay inside. You don’t associate with people because you’re not like them. You’re stupid and lame and you don’t belong.

You feel yourself shaking as your eyes sting. No, you won’t cry. You’re not in high school any more. You’re at work. You need to just get through this. Like an adult.

You realise how you haven’t taken in a word of what Jonathan’s said. It’s made all the more obvious as his eyes meet yours and the corners of his lips twitch. You gulp and quickly flick your gaze down to the table. You’re making all the wrong choices today.

You concentrate on the steam rising from the tea, listening to Jonathan’s voice as he presses on. He has that sort of confidence that you aspire to, the type you���ll never have. He is the type that makes you feel so small.

🖱️

Just after noon, there’s a break for everyone to top up their coffee or tea and claim some of the sandwiches brought in for lunch. You’re not very hungry so you stay at your table. G disappears but doesn’t head for the table of food. You don’t linger on his absence, even his presence isn’t very noticeable.

“Pardon,” a voice draws you out of your dread. You lift your head and look past Jonathan as he puts his hand on the back of an empty chair, “do you mind if I sit?”

You shake your head and tuck your chin down. You stare at your folded hands as he pulls the chair back and sits. He puts down a cup and plate with a croissant sandwich. He doesn’t touch either as you languish in silence.

“I’ve been talking all day it seems, it’s nice to have a break,” he intones.

“Yeah,” you agree softly.

“What about you? Not hungry?” He prompts.

You shake your head again. His long fingers flutter over the table top. He shifts in his chair.

“You got your peppermint tea,” he points to the tag dangling from the tea bag.

“Uh, yeah.”

Your blunt answer and lack of explanation has him quiet again. He traces two fingers in a circle. He clears his throat.

“Are you alright? That tea must’ve been hot. I wish I’d had the chance to check earlier but you were so quick–”

“Fine,” you insist, “just hot water.”

“Of course,” he accepts kindly, “I’m not meaning to embarrass you.”

“I wasn’t embarrassed,” you lie and grab your empty cup, drawing it closer.

“Right, of course, just an unfortunate accident,” he says, “we’ll have a little longer here and then after, we will show you all to your work spaces. I suppose you’re eager to settle in.”

You nod. You’re not eager at all. You don’t want to work here, you want to be at home. Why does he have to change everything? And why does he have to make it all seem like he’s helping?

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a bite to eat? Maybe grab something before they’re all gone. You could save it for later,” he offers.

“No, thank you,” you say to the table.

You flinch as a shadow appears across from Jonathan. G sits down with a word. He pulls out his phone and scrolls. Jonathan stares at him, almost expectantly, but getting nothing he clears his throat.

“Hello, G, was it? Jonathan, it’s nice to have you on our team,” Jonathan says with his usual charm.

With no response, not even a glance, Jonathan opts instead to pick up his sandwich. He nibbles the edge as you set in the sludge of tension at the table. You peek at him and he gives you a sheepish smile.

“Um,” you crumple the paper cup in your hand unthinkingly, “I’m going to throw this out.”

You stand up, happy to have an excuse to escape. You can’t say who’s worse; the one who never talks or the one who talks too much. Together, they are the perfect storm of nope.

[moonlightndaydreams]

On today’s episode of Reese’s Delulu Hours, I’d like to discuss my Secret Hard Dom Jisung agenda. In which, he doesn’t like to show it in front of the guys but you know just the right buttons to push to get him to come out and play. Two scenarios, for your consideration…

-------

“Where should we go tonight?” Chan asks the crew.

“Doesn’t matter to me. Karaoke? Arcade? How about let’s go to a bar? I could go for a drink.” they all chime in at once.

“I want a drink too,” you shout.

“Easy there, doll. How about we…?” Han says dismissively, without looking at you.

“Ugh! You never let me vote on anything!” You whine loudly. Han immediately walks over to where you are seated and slowly bends down.

“You certainly have a lot to say sweetheart.” he says low enough for only you to hear. He gently grabs your shoe and pretends to fix your shoelaces. You look over toward the other guys.

“Don’t look away from me when I’m talking to you. They can’t help you princess.” He whispers sternly. You look down at Han as he stares up at you expectantly. “Now what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry, Sir.” you say quietly.

"Good." He smiles and out of habit, you roll your eyes. He stiffens. Oh shit.

“Fucking little Brat. Say goodnight to the guys while your mouth still works...” 

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

Before arriving at the company building, you had been teasing Han mercilessly about his stage outfit for their latest performance. Usually, he could pull off absolutely anything. But it was something about the poncho or maybe the croc boots. Well, the whole ensemble just seemed like the stylist’s practical joke or the consequence of a lost bet. So much so, it made you laugh at him. And then there was Seungmin’s savage commentary that made the whole crew cackle on the ride over. But Han remained eerily silent as you all made your way to the conference room. You stood at the back of the room, far behind the camera, leaning against the wall while they were all on live. The guys went on and on about their recent scheduled events and responded to viewers’ comments. The conversation turns to Han’s stage outfit and while the other guys are deep into discussion about their own outfits, Han looks toward the camera. But then he does it. The Look. To the untrained eye, Han is just playing around with STAY– the usual silliness everyone loves about him. But it is obvious to you, in the same room as him, that it's a veiled threat towards you. You have seen it plenty of times before. Your heart immediately begins to race and your mouth is suddenly very dry. You quietly sneak out of the door to go find a water fountain and collect yourself. Just as you bend over to take a drink, you feel a stinging slap to your ass. Yelping in shock and pain, you jerk upright only to be pulled into the restroom next to the water fountain. Han’s hand covers your mouth as he presses you between his body and the door. You hear the lock click. “There is much more where that came from. I hope you enjoyed yourself today, love. So pretty when you laugh but now I’m gonna make you cry.” He growls.

Secret Hard Dom Jisung is merciless and we love it. SORRY, NOT SORRY.

@thatonenoona I feel so bad I haven’t responded to you share with me (I had always intended to) 😢 but now I know why I hadn’t yet. After reading THIS I was thrown straight into my naughty imagination thinking every detail through… and then I needed to be alone 😈 . But truly, your scenarios have left me not being able to think coherently (in the way I love most)… it’s just soooo good. Secret hard dom Jisung is sooo good!

I don’t know which scenario I want here! Can I have both? I’m really greedy and require all the various Han’s including “secret hard dom Jisung”! Oooh Imagine though, he’s such a cutie pie most of the time, but you know what he’s capable of. Destruction. Devastation. Punishment. Oooof! Arghhh my brain…. It can’t handle this! 😩😩😩😩

[elvenbeard]

Did I stay up way too late making a fake screamsheet article? Yes. Did I have a blast? Hell yes. Finally a good use for what I learned at uni and never got to utilize in an actual job :D

The short story behind this really is simply that Vince and Kerry did want to keep their relationship out of the public eye for as long as possible, cause god knows they were dealing with enough shit at the time, didn't need curious paparazzi on top :D When the whole Arasaka/Relic mess had begun to calm down though, Vince slowly recovering, they started letting their guard down a bit more (although Vince remained worried that, should who he is exactly become public knowledge in Kerry's circles, it could reflect badly on him... or, even worse, get him into trouble with or the attention of the wrong kind of people). As we know though, Kerry likes dating Night City's bad boy TM, and is a lot more relaxed about it all - something that probably also comes with his age and everything else he's dealt with and made it through somehow already. So, at some point his current manager is like "okay you guys, work with me here, we have to make this public now. You're not being the most subtle and I'm kinda running out of ideas what to tell the medias to keep them at a distance". And after a press conference followed the above interview and photo op, and Vince hadn't felt as uncomfortable and sick to his stomach in a long while during the whole thing xD Kerry made sure though the media people left him alone. Over time he'd get used to it as well, for sure, because Kerry is certain that what they have will last and he's definitely off the market for good now.

Full interview text under the cut for better readability.

The rumors are true after all

Once voted one of Night City’s most sought-after bachelors, Kerry Eurodyne is off the dating market once again. “For good this time,” he says, and gives ShowBlizz an exclusive look behind the well-guarded scenes.

By Lacie Bourne | Published on December 3rd 2077, 6AM

For months the gossip factory has been working overtime. It all started with a custom Yaiba motorbike spotted coming and going regularly at the Eurodyne residence in North Oak. Ever since we’ve asked the same question: is someone new at Kerry’s side? One of Night City’s long-established rockstars, Kerry Eurodyne has been in the news in recent months more frequently again. A new album is in the works, a tour planned for 2078/79. But that’s not all that’s new and different, with his management officially confirming earlier this week that Kerry has a new partner.

Lacie: Good morning, Kerry, thanks so much for having us here at your home today for this exclusive interview!

Kerry: Pleasure’s all mine.

L: Let me cut straight to the point, because our readers will be dying to know: how long exactly has this been going on? And what are the reasons you’ve been hiding your obvious new luck for so long?

K: We first met in early June, through work you could say. We weren’t hiding as such, just keeping a low profile. Won’t be going into the details here, other than it just feelin’ right at the time.

L: Happy 6-month anniversary then! You already said it, you met through work. Rumors say he was, or maybe still is, part of your management team that organized the collab with UsCracks?

K: In a way you could say that, yeah. Without him that deal wouldn’t have worked out the way it did, definitely.

L: How exciting! What else can you tell us? Can we have a name, his age?

K: I’m afraid, no, you can’t. Not yet, at least.

L: How intriguing indeed… but I will take you up on that “not yet” by the time our next interview rolls around! Of course we would have liked to speak to your partner as well today, ask him all the burning questions our readers have directly…

K: Well, they’ll have to put up with me instead.

L: Hahaha, well then let’s get to our reader’s questions right away... During the official press conference earlier this week you said you’re “off the dating market… for good this time”. Responses to this were mixed, as you’d made a similar statement after the announcement of your engagement to Louise. What gvies you the confidence that this relationship will last, that this is different?

K: I’ve read the comments, and I don’t think I’ve ever used those words exactly in regards to Louise. Or in this context at least. And I’m not here to throw her under the bus either. What I can say is, that meeting my partner was… a revelation. In many ways. He’s supportive in a way I haven’t experienced with anyone else yet, and god knows I’m not the easiest person to handle. He’s doing a preem job at it. Lifting me up, and grounding me in the here and now at the same time.

L: That does sound almost too perfect, doesn’t it?

K: Maybe it does, but it’s true. He brings out the best in me, inspires me to do what I’m best at: making fucking good music. He makes me very happy, more than he thinks himself.

L: Well, of course we wish you all the best and that you stay as happy together as you very obviously are!

K: Thanks, ‘preciate it.

L: What does your future together look like you think? What are your long-term goals and plans?

K: We like to take things a day at a time. He is a very busy man, as am I. Sometimes planning too far ahed only gets frustrating when things don’t work out short notice. Carefully, tentatively though, a vacation is planned. We could both use a little getaway. Been an eventful year, and next year’s gonna be even busier.

L: Where are you headed, if you’re willing to share?

K: The Phillipines, and afterwards maybe Japan.

L: If those aren’t the perfect destinations for a romantic getaway! I hope all will work out as planned, you deserve it, Kerry!

K: Haha, yeah, think so. He deserves it, too.

L: Of course! We wish you all the best. And we hope to see more of you two together in the future, now that you’ve finally let the cat out of the bag. You’re certainly a breathtaking couple!

K: Thanks, Lacie.

Read the full, unabridged interview only on NETDIR://NCITY.SHOWBLIZZ.PUB

[paytato435]

Chapter 11: The Phantom Limb

Content warning: alien gore and violence

Bitter Tea

April's announcement was too good to be true. Leonardo was ever the optimist, but the years sure had a way of trying to change that. April sat across from him at her seat in the war room, which, by this point, now also doubled as Leonardo’s bedroom, dining room, and whatever else he could fit in any given day room. If he wasn’t eating, sleeping, or meeting someone here, he was out. That was fine by him- Casey was too old to be forced to share a room with his old man anyway; he deserved to have his own space. As the leader of the resistance, Leonardo couldn’t afford that luxury. His business was everyone’s business. 

The slider had been stirring a hot cup of water idly, taking in the brief respite (and mourning for the eight hundredth time the loss of tea) when April had entered the room unannounced.

“You really found it?” he asked skeptically.

“I did,” she announced with unwavering certainty. She waved a hand over a panel on the conference table, and purple light constructed a map of the surrounding barrens outside their small bunker. She connected a red line from their base to a pin over a hundred miles southwest.

Leonardo narrowed his eyes. “At least it’s not in the ocean,” he grumbled. “Where’d you hear this?”

“You’re not going to like it…”

“Is it a defector?”

“Worse,” April sighed, sitting down in her chair. “The Bitch is still alive.”

“No.” Leonardo did not want to believe it. There was no way.

“It’s true. She reached out herself,” April shrugged, sliding another panel. The map morphed into a video player. “Trigger warning: tremendous bitch behavior,” April groaned, pressing the play button.

The picture on screen was grainy as all hell, but Leonardo had no trouble recognizing the old and withered face of Big Mama. Her red eyes still glowed with that familiar menace, but they were also sunken, weary, and her entire body grayed with age. In a nearly mummified claw, she held the long lost key to the prison dimension.

“Hello darlings,” she cooed in a wretched whisper. “I’ve never been one to be brief, but I’m sure you can understand my directness when I say this: you need to come to my location within two days, or the key is lost forever.”

“WHAT?” Leonardo interrupted, but April shushed him. She pointed back toward the screen.

The crusty crone continued on without them. “...need your assistance. I require a swift and comfortable evacuation from this location to your base. The key, of course, is your handsome reward!”

Even though he hadn’t eaten anything today, Leonardo felt like he might throw up.

“Of course, you could just come and pick it up and leave me to die,” she swooned. “That would be all too obvious. So instead, I’ve got a weensy wittle fail safe to ensure I’m not backstabbed again by you uncouth wretches.”

Of course she did. Everything was a game with Big Mama; even the end of the world.

“I have a team of spellweavers here that I’ve… ah… convinced to help me disintegrate your little trinket here-” she waved the key around. “-unfortunately, these spells have a cost.” She spun the camera around and showed three yokai who had been sat together in a mystic circle. Their eyes squeezed shut in concentration, they seemed extremely panicked.

“Poor babes didn’t read the fine print of our agreement,” Big Mama giggled. “The trigger for the spell is a kind of dead-man switch, you see. The spell they’ve cast is slowly draining their life force. If you don’t get here in time, and two days is being generous, honestly, not only will the key be destroyed, but they will die as well.”

Big Mama spun the camera back to face her old and horrendous features.

“So what’s it gonna be Baby Blue?” she sneered. “My life, or their funeral? This could be your chance to fix things! I eagerly await your arrival.”

Leonardo leaned over the table. Fuck…he really missed tea.

April waited for him to say something, but when he didn’t, she filled the space.

“It’s… it’s probably too late at this point for the key itself to be useful to us,” she offered. “We don’t even know how to use-”

“We’re going after it,” Leonardo interrupted. “We have to.”

“Leo, it’s not your fault…”

“Of course it’s my fault!” he nearly shouted. “How could it not be? This is a chance to make things right!” 

“Is it?” April asked quietly in a tone that was clearly meant to calm him down. “Or is it bait? She's clearly targeting you. She wants you to go out into the middle of nowhere as soon as possible. It's… it's likely a trap.”

“If it is, then why did you bring it up?” Leonardo challenged her. She must have known how he'd react, right?

April looked back at the video. The screen was frozen on Big Mama's venomous smile.

“I thought you deserved to know,” she answered simply. “And… I wanted to make sure.” She turned her head to face the slider.

“I know you're going to go after the key no matter what I say,” she sighed. “And you'd be stubborn and pissed if I never told you.”

“But…?”

“But if you leave us again to do your own thing the remaining members of the resistance will not take it well. You need to choose one over the other: are you their leader, or are you a hero?”

“What do you mean?”

April's face softened. “You can't lead people if you aren't here half the time, Leo. Since Raph died you've taken it upon yourself to do most of the heavy lifting around here; in the base and out in the field. It's inspiring, sure, but we need strategy right now, not just heart. You can't do everything, but I think you'd be a lot more useful to the team if you stayed here and used that big brain of yours to keep us safe, instead of throwing yourself into risky situations with meager rewards.”

“Meager? It's the fucking key! There's no way we can stop the Krang without it!”

“We've been trying to develop the technology for a new key-”

“For years! And it's led to nothing,” Leonardo pointed out. “That relic is over ten thousand years old and it's more advanced technology than even Donatello could even imagine. Mikey can't make heads or tails of the mystics surrounding it.”

“If we keep trying-”

“April, I really appreciate your perspective,” Leonardo sighed, slumping deep into his chair. He cradled his sad cup of water to his plastron, contemplating taking the bitter taste of acceptance. “And I get what you mean. I haven't been around here nearly enough. Hell, that's what Donatello's project was for right? To get us stronger fighters. I need to trust them.”

April nodded, but Leonardo could tell it was a restrained gesture. She knew he hated to talk about the new mutants unless it was absolutely necessary.

“I've failed you all,” he admitted. “I'm putting this whole team in danger.”

“Leo, that's not what I'm saying,” April told him quietly. “You can-”

“I'm putting you in charge.”

“What?”

“I can't do this, April. I can't sit here in this room and watch people die out on the field, and I sure as hell can't let the key slip through my fingers again.”

“So you quit?”

“Does it really sound like I'm quitting, Commander?” He took a sip from his cup. “I know how we got here, I know the mistakes I've made, and I'm owning up to it. I didn't ever deserve this position. Leading my brothers is much different from leading an entire army.”

April gave a sad smile. “I suppose that makes sense. But everyone here loves you Leo. What's Casey going to think? Your brothers?”

“I think they'd be thrilled, honestly,” Leonardo grumbled. “I can't remember the last time I sat down with Mikey and just… talked.” He looked off at nothing in particular across the room. “Of course, fuck whatever Donnie thinks, but I'm sure he'd be happier with you calling the shots. He never listened to me anyway.”

He could tell April wanted to protest, but she'd already done that a million times before. It never got them anywhere. She was right in calling him stubborn.

“Casey… when I get back, were going to be a proper family. It's been so hard the last few months, we don't talk much.”

“You've been too busy.”

“And him too! Can you believe it? He's nearly the same age Mikey was when all this shit started. This November he'll be fifteen. And he's already been out in the field for two years. I thought we had it bad! I used to tell others “can you imagine ending the world when you're only sixteen?” Now he's been shoveling the shit out of the bed I made since he was only twelve. It all adds up, exponentially.”

“And yet he still looks up to you,” April pointed out, smiling.

“He shouldn't,” the slider grumbled again. “I failed him. I've failed everyone in this miserable little camp. We eat rats and leaves and tell each other to be grateful to be alive.”

“This is your out,” April noticed, knitting her eyebrows together. 

Leonardo nodded. “This is the only way out. I'll go it alone if I have to.”

“I can put together a small team for you at the very least,” April offered. “And one of Donnie's runners. It'll get you there in just a few hours.”

“I don't need a team,” Leonardo shook his head. “Just get me Synth.”

“That guy, again? Tell me you're not…?”

“No no! Nothing like that!” Leonardo waved his arms. “That was one time… no. I just want him because he knows her as well as I do. He'd want nothing more than to make sure she stays dead this time.”

April gave him a disapproving look, but didn't push it further. “If you're going to go, you better leave now. The sun will be up in a few hours and you do not want the technodrome on your tail.”

Leonardo groaned but stood up reluctantly. It was going to be a long trip.

The Phantom Limb

It had been impossible to stay focused at the lair once everyone else had woken up. Leo had made fun of them of course, and Raph was also set to clean up the living room as the boys had just left the vacuum sitting all lonely and by itself, so Casey and Mikey had completely given up on exploring their ninpo. At least until they went out for a walk in the evening.

To be perfectly honest, Mikey didn’t know what had come over him; he’d never thought he could be so interested in something as seemingly boring as meditating. He was never one to sit still for very long, but after stretching his legs for a bit, he figured it was not far from the sudden impulse to turn a cartwheel. Casey had described it like a phantom limb, and Mikey was inclined to believe him. Now when he wasn’t exercising his ninpo, it was as if his spirit had been crammed into a car seat for six hours. He didn’t know if Casey felt the same way, but he seemed happy enough to entertain him.

So the boys found an awesome vantage point over the city and took the opportunity to sit outside and appreciate the warm summer breeze. They both sat across from each other, cross-legged on a rooftop. The nightlife of the city buzzed far below them, and Mikey had never felt so at peace. This was what he had been missing; it was as if the universe had woken up and spoken to him for the first time. Or perhaps it was the other way around, he wasn’t sure. In his mind’s eye, he could see the millions of people below him, a rainbow of sights and sounds, all rhythmically dancing in time with the heartbeat of the universe. And he was a part of that universe- and so was Casey, sitting across from him, also relaxed, his rose pink aura bubbling over him like seafoam lapping over sand.

Curious, Mikey tried to reach out and see how far he could 'see' like this. Could he reach the lair? It seemed his vision narrowed as he searched, but he still had some idea of what he was seeing…

The beeping from his chest immediately brought him back. He looked down and saw his emergency signal was going off. Someone was in trouble?

Casey jumped and immediately went to his phone.

"What's going on? Are you all alright?!"

Mikey faintly heard Leo's voice on the other end, he sounded just as confused as they were.

"Hold on, I'll put you on speaker, I'm with Mikey."

"It's Donnie!" April shouted through the speaker. "He’s in trouble!"

"He’s what?!" Leo asked April from the same line. It seemed she knew more than he did. There was a shuffle as April took the phone from Leo.

"Casey, Mikey, meet us at the University, now!" 

“Wait, what's going on?” Mikey asked, concerned.

“Donnie has been attacked!” April repeated, more urgently. “He’s at Eastlaird.”

“Fuck,” Casey mumbled, scrambling to he feet. “We'll be there soon!”

“Hurry!” She pleaded, and then hung up.

"Shit!" Casey bristled, shoving his phone back into his pocket and lowering his mask.

"Today would have been a good day to learn how to fly, huh?" Mikey mumbled, stretching his back.

"Aren't you worried? Let's go!" Casey called back, already running towards the school.

"Of course I'm worried!" Mikey pouted, sprinting to catch up. "It's just frustrating. I thought I was really getting somewhere for a minute there."

"You're doing great!" Casey panted. "But we can figure it out later!" 

Thankfully, they were only a few minutes away from the university.

Casey jumped and swung down to the front of the science building. Mikey vaulted after him.

"Leo, we're here! Do we go inside?" Casey asked through the com in his mask..

"We're a minute away,  just hold on."

It was an agonizing minute, mostly because Mikey could already feel that the building was empty. He did, however, see Raph, April, and Leo running up before Casey could.

"I think they're gone, we have to catch up to them!" Mikey stammered as Leo led them around the outside of the building.

"Gone? But we have his signal!" Raph frowned, confused.

"Let's just get there, fast," Leo brushed it off, looking down at one of Donnie's auxiliary tracking devices. "He's this way."

Everyone followed Leo until they reached the back of the building. There, April pointed out the second floor window Donnie had crashed through.

“Tim said he fell from here.”

But Mikey's sense was right. Donnie was gone.

Leo walked across the small lawn and pulled Donnie's emergency signal from the ground. It looked like it had been smashed into the dirt with quite a bit of force. He disabled it, and then threw it back on the ground angrily.

"What are we supposed to do now?" he shouted, pacing around the yard and looking back up at the window.

Casey picked up Donnie's tracker and scanned it with his phone.

"Based on when the signal went off, they can't have gotten far," he calculated.

"If we split up maybe we could-"

"No. Absolutely not," Leo interrupted. "Whatever's got him we can't face alone. We should stay together. This is dangerous."

"Do you think Donnie put a tracker in himself?" Mikey piped up.

"You mean like the one he put in Raph?" Leo narrowed his eyes.

"Leo, he definitely put one in all of us," Mikey rolled his eyes, thinking back to how they had found Raph after he had been abducted by the Krang. “He’s a terrible liar.”

"When did he do that?” Casey asked with concern.

"Relax Future Boy, it was before you got here,” Leo waved off his concern. “Although who's to say he hasn't put one on you since you wandered off that one time…"

Casey looked over his body as if he could somehow find the subdermal.

"Mikey's got a point though," Leo brought Donnie's tracking device up and flipped through some menus.

"Oof," Leo looked up at Casey. "You've been bugged too."

Mikey noticed Casey’s grimace as Leo pulled up Donnie's tracker.

"So, at least he's fair. I got him,” Leo confirmed. “They're headed northwest."

"Well let's not waste any more time then," Raph punched his hand. "Let's go get him!"

The five bounced out of the University. The chase was on.

-

“Synth is dead. They're all dead, Commander… I'm sorry,” Leonardo's voice broke through the static. “You were right; it was a trap. Big Mama was dead before we got here… she was infected.”

“Donnie's en route to your location, just hold out as long as you can.”

“What? No! Why would… this was my choice! I don't want backup!”

“I didn't send him!” April struggled. “He left on his own.”

“Is he insane? I'm surrounded! How-” the line cut for a few agonizing seconds. Casey and April hung onto every moment. On a nearby monitor, Casey could see his sensei's vitals being monitored. He was fine. Out of breath, a nervous wreck, but at the moment, fine.

“Fuck Donnie!” Leonardo's voice came back in. “When I see him I'm gonna-” he cut back out again. Casey wondered if he'd even meant that to come through.

“I have eyes on the target,” came Donatello's familiar deadpan. “I'm touching down in two minutes.”

“Already?” April whispered. How had he gotten there so fast?

“Landing site is not clear, Donnie,” Leonardo warned.

“It's fine, I'll make it work,” the soft shell huffed. There was the sound of both a nearby and distant explosion from both mics.

“What was that?” April asked urgently.

“Are you fucking insane!?” came Leonardo's voice from the closer explosion side. “What if that hit me?”

“It wouldn't,” came Donatello’s smug response. 

“Landing site is clear.”

-

R.O.N.I.N.

Casey didn’t want to think about it, but he couldn’t help himself. Donnie had, sometime between him arriving and now, placed a tracker inside him. How had he done that? When had he done that? Casey always locked the bedroom door. Casey didn’t sleep in their turtle piles or curl up with everyone on movie night. Had Leo let him in? Would either of them have noticed if he had picked the lock on their carriage door?

The worst part was that Casey had trusted him. He had specifically asked Donnie not to track him after he found out about Raph’s tracker. He’d probably done it after Casey had gotten lost, and while he could kind of understand the concern, it was still messed up. He had promised Casey not to.

That meant Donnie probably knew where Casey had been the last few days. Why hadn’t he brought it up? Surely Donnie was going to confront him at some point, right?

It was a nauseating feeling. He had thought he had covered his tracks, but it also felt like no matter what he did, things were beginning to unravel. He supposed it was only a matter of time. He squeezed the grip of his hockey stick in frustration. He wasn’t ready for that. He really wasn’t ready for that.

As Leo led them across town, Casey noticed that they were approaching a pinned location on his map. He pulled out his phone and checked where they were going, but there were only a handful of places he had pinned, and they weren’t anywhere he had gone to before.

This was a place he had dared not go.

“Leo! Stop!” Everyone immediately halted and turned their heads to him. “We have to slow down. I know where they are.”

“You do?” Casey nodded, and he handed Leo his phone. “I put a tracker on the Sister Krang before she was taken away. That’s exactly where we’re headed.”

“What? She’s here?” Leo looked in the direction they were headed. Just on the edge of town Casey and the others could make out a sparkling white dome in the distance. “I figured they'd ship her to Area 51 or something.”

“It’s a government facility,” Casey nodded. “I haven’t checked it out but…”

“This is really bad,” Raph spoke up. “They probably think he’s an alien or something stupid like that.”

“If we’re going to sneak in there, we’re going to have to be very smart about this,” April pointed out.

“Ugh, why did our smart brother have to get captured!” Mikey groaned, tilting his head to one side. Leo gave him a disapproving look.

“So they probably have a lot of security,” Leo turned to Casey. “Do you have anything that could help us get around that?”

Casey's face lit up. “I do, actually! Could I take the point?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Leo stepped aside and Casey jumped ahead, flipping his mask down and switching over to night vision.

“If you’re paranoid about an enemy you know nothing about, you’re going to give yourself the widest perimeter possible,” Casey explained, steering the group southwest. “Like, the perimeter could be miles wide, with several different layers of detection. We’re likely already being monitored in some capacity.”

“Are you kidding?” Leo asked, surprised.

“It’s fine,” Casey waved him off. “It should be a general surveillance at this distance. They don’t know we’re after them.” Casey pulled out his phone and opened one of future Donatello’s most beloved applications: R.O.N.I.N.

He was going to be honest, Casey didn’t know exactly how it worked, but it had saved his ass many times over, and his sensei’s many more. It was an anti-surveillance program that could detect other security systems within the vicinity and alert the user. It could loop video and replace audio of security footage, allowing the user to sneak into new places unseen and unheard. It could use AI to generate new footage based on existing data, creating especially difficult to notice alterations. It could even trick motion sensors.

This was also the same system that found a map of Mama’s Battle Nexus. With algorithms that wouldn’t be breachable for the next twenty odd years, Donatello’s R.O.N.I.N. application was the most advanced spyware on the planet. And it needed to be- it had saved his family’s lives more times than Casey could count.

R.O.N.I.N. searched for nearby systems, and aside from the local home security systems nearby, there was only one that matched the complexity Casey was looking for. The security was looser than he expected. There were traffic cameras connected to the facility’s system, but of course, they had traveled above those.

“We’re actually clear,” Casey sighed with relief. “R.O.N.I.N. says the facility’s system’s radius is only 3,000 yards, we’re safe until we’re less than a mile away.”

“R.O.N.I.N.?” Leo asked, tilting his head. “What’s that?”

“One of Donnie’s apps. It was named for you, actually,” Casey winked. “Ninja In, Ninja Out, Reversed.”

“Pft,” Leo sputtered. “That’s so dumb.”

“I should probably give you a copy of it at some point,” Casey noted. It was probably too valuable for them to not be using it on a regular basis anyway.

They moved in closer to the facility, and as it came into view, Casey was a little set back by how large it was. It was as large as a football stadium. It wasn’t exactly subtle either, with its bright white shining dome reflecting the city’s lights. It must be a pain to look at during the day.

“How are we supposed to find Donnie in there?” Raph asked as they approached the perimeter. “It’s huge…”

“He’s in there,” Mikey interrupted. “I can see him.”

“You what?” Leo and Raph asked at the same time.

“I can see Donnie’s ninpo. He’s actually relatively close to us.”

“Since when could you do that?” Raph asked, crossing his arms.

“Since today,” Mikey shrugged. “Casey’s been teaching me some things.”

Raph gave Casey a one-eyed, no nonsense look.

“Were you gonna share with the rest of the class?”

Casey picked his nose. “He wanted to know how to fly. Raph doesn’t fly in the future.”

“And what do I do in the future, huh?”

Casey looked away. “Push up daisies, mostly.”

“You little shit!”

“Guys cut it out!” Leo interrupted. “How are we going to get in there?”

“I can set R.O.N.I.N. up to disable their security, but we still have to take out anybody on the way in,” Casey offered, pulling up a map of the facility and sharing it with the guys. “We could sit and learn their rotations, but that’s probably not ideal if we want Donnie out as soon as possible.”

“We need to hurry,” Leo agreed.

“Right. Since Mikey and I have eyes on Donnie, you three-” Casey pointed to Leo, April, and Raph. “Need to make sure you’re with one of us at all times.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Leo directed. “Raph you stick with Mikey and April. I don’t really want us splitting up if we have to though.”

“No, especially if there are more big guys like Aderman,” April agreed. 

“Wait, this is a government facility,” Raph pointed out. “Was he ambushed by humans?”

“One human,” April clarified, making the group turn their heads to gawk at her.

“April, you didn’t explain what Donnie was doing out here,” Leo reminded her, narrowing his eyes with concern.

“We were looking for that herbicide I found over the summer,” she sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead. “It’s all my fault he got captured. I should have gone with him!”

Raph placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned in to him for a hug. “It’s alright,” he assured her. “We’re gonna get him back.” She mumbled an agreement, and then broke away, taking a breath to steady herself.

“I had a friend let Donnie into the school, and from what he told me as he was running away, Aderman probably heard them sneaking around and took Donnie away. She’s also… not very fond of mutants.”

“Well she definitely won’t be fond of us by the time we’re done here,” Raph grumbled.

Leo looked back down at Casey’s map, and then at the facility.

“Looks like there’s a window up on the third floor I could use to see inside,” he pointed out.

“Whatever I see I can portal to, so I can drop us on the roof and we go in from there.”

Mikey glanced over to Leo and squinted at his back.

“Leo, how do you have two swords again?”

“What?” Leo straightened up immediately, as if he could hide the katanas on his back. “I've had these two for a while now.”

“Donnie broke your last one yesterday! I heard it snap!” Mikey accused.

Leo scratched the back of his head, his face turning redder by the minute. “Well… you see, we're on a really important mission now… Donnie's in trouble-”

“You are so dead when we get home!” Mikey jabbed his finger repeatedly into Leo's plastron. “Dead dead dead dead DEAD!”

“Mikey,” Casey interrupted. “Are there any security personnel by that window?” Casey asked.

Mikey sneered at Leo once more and then looked up through the trees and brush they were currently hidden behind.

“Yeah, there are a couple.”

“So we can take them out or distract them,” Casey concluded. “Taking them out in the short term is safer, but a well done distraction wouldn’t raise any alarms.”

“It’s faster to knock them out, and then there’s less of them on the way out,” Raph argued.

“Thanks for volunteering yourself, big guy,” Leo smiled, elbowing the snapper.

“Hey!”

-

It was surprisingly easy to catch the two unfortunate security guards standing outside the facility’s eastern wall. A quick bonk together of their similarly thick noggins caused them to drop like stones. Raph dragged the men into the bushes, giving Leo the opportunity to portal the team up onto the… uh… dome. Casey almost stepped out onto the surface to follow Mikey and Leo when April pulled him back quickly by the shoulder.

"Are you crazy? It’s too steep, we'll slip and fall!" she whispered. Casey did a double take at the smooth, round surface in front of them. Oh, yeah that probably wasn't a great idea. He watched Leo slide precariously over the lip of the building and out of sight. Mikey neared the edge as well, keeping a lookout. The only thing keeping them from sliding off the rounded surface was the added traction of their bare feet and hands. Casey leaned back. Yeah, falling off the building from this height could have been disastrous. And embarrassing.

A minute later Leo was back and cut them open a new portal, this time inside the facility itself.

"Remember team, stick together," Leo warned. "We get Donnie, we get out. No funny business."

The group nodded in unison. They silently stepped through the portal, and it closed shut behind them.

Casey found himself in what looked to be a personal office space. The floor was covered in commercial carpet squares, and the ceiling was filled by acoustical drop tiles. Leo had strategically positioned them behind a solid row of filing cabinets, but if they moved too much they could be seen through either the exterior or interior windows. The office door was also glass, but at least that gave Mikey a space to peek into the hallway outside from a low angle, and be therefore easier to overlook.

The box turtle took the lead, using his newfound third eye to look out for potential enemies and edge their way towards Donnie's signal. Once Mikey seemed lost by the layout of the labyrinth of cubicles they meandered through, but it was then that Casey would pull out his map and point him in the right direction.

Eventually they came to a stairwell that would lead them up and further into the dome, and now away from any exterior windows. Casey felt the unease of being trapped crawl over his skin, but then remembered that in this time, Leo had his portals. That was a relief and a half, and something the boy was still not used to.

Casey vaguely remembered exploring the crumbled remains of an enclosed stadium once upon a time when he was very small. Master Leonardo had considered it a place they could hide for a time, but in the end passed it over for an underground alternative instead. The facility they were moving in reminded him of that stadium. Tall, curved walls became the ceiling, with high white painted steel beams criss crossing over one another high above them. The floor was filled with polished concrete with a buffed reflection that caught the flood lights mounted on the exterior wall circling the entire facility. 

The interior wall of this hallway was similarly curved, following the shape of the exterior, but instead of steel, it was made of painted white brick. There were a series of doors spaced far out along and around this interior, and Mikey paused at the sight of them as he seemed to look beyond them.

He looked back at Casey, who was squatting just at the top of the stairs. 'Where go?' he signed, pointing to the row of doors.

Casey opened the map again and took the lead, moving them towards what seemed to be marked as the primary testing facility. He was nearly there when a hand grabbed him and pulled him back suddenly. A door swung open behind him, and Mikey threw himself, and directed the others into said room, before closing the door silently and leaving them in the darkness.

"Mikey what-" Casey heard Leo start to ask, but a small movement shut him up. Then they heard the footsteps coming. They passed right by them, and then faded away. Slowly and carefully, Mikey reopened the door and slipped back outside, letting the others behind him trickle out.

Who knew today was the perfect day to fuck around and find out what else he could do with his ninpo?

Casey took the point again and led them to the lab Donnie's tracker seemed to be pointing them towards. The door to the next room was locked, but that never stopped a professional scavenger like Casey Jones. Through years of experience, there wasn't a single lock he could not pick, and today would be no exception. It only took a moment for his bump key to find its place in the lock and jimmy it open with a swift and satisfying click.

In they slipped, one by one. The testing room they had entered was enormous, but it unfortunately lacked the purple soft shell they were looking for. Instead, the five of them came face to face with the tortured wails and horrific sight of what little remained of the pathetic Sister Krang.

They found themselves at the back of a viewing room, one of several that looked out into a large white room filled with half a dozen lab assistants and technicians, who were currently examining the writhing pink alien. The sight of the creature made Casey's knees buckle, but April was there to catch him and hold him in place.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He knew she was here. He had told all of them himself. But seeing her again after only so little time had passed… He stiffened, and found himself looking around for more of them, or for something to go wrong, even though he knew logically that likely would not happen. She was completely and utterly subdued by the facility employees, screaming in horrendous agony. Nothing was getting her out of here as they sawed bits of her off and placed those bits of her pink flesh into plastic bags to be carted off somewhere else. Wherever they cut, her skin grew right back. Another team seemed to be observing her and taking notes, talking back and forth to one another despite the horrific screaming. They did so as if everything here was perfectly ordinary. As if they were carving a Christmas ham. Casey wondered how anyone could find themselves clocking into work and deciding to do this today.

Thankfully, Mikey took the lead again and brought them through a side door to their right, which thankfully led them out of sight of the pathetic creature. The screams however, given their proximity, continued. Casey hoped that Donnie was alright, but his stomach dropped just thinking about what state he could be in when they caught up to him.

The others also seemed spurred on with urgency as they moved quicker now through room after awful room, down and around pointlessly meandering hallways that finally led them to the opposite side of the facility. Casey wasn't sure what Mikey had meant when he said he thought Donnie was "close."

Mikey stopped in front of another door and gestured to Casey and Leo. Donnie’s tracker showed them he was on the other side of this door. But what Mikey signed next caught Casey’s attention:

‘I see two Donnies.’

‘Two?’ Casey asked in confusion. ‘How?’ Mikey shrugged, but Leo confirmed there was only one showing up via his subdermal.

‘How many are inside?’ Casey asked instead. He didn’t have time to wonder how reliable Mikey’s new sight was. He hoped it was just a fluke.

‘Six.’ Okay, that wasn’t so bad. Casey checked the map for any other ways into the room. It looked like there was another observation room around the corner. If Leo got eyes on Donnie, they could pop in and out before Aderman even knew what hit her. Directing the group to the map and then around the corner, Mikey signed there was one person inside the observation room.

Mikey slipped inside and knocked out the single lab tech, but that was about when the team’s luck ran out, because at that moment, another person on the other side of the glass turned and directed a question to the now unconscious man, or rather where he had been standing. Mikey gave a cheeky smile back to the lab tech, before ducking under the interior window and turning to the others.

“Get him and go, Leo!” he whispered frantically, gesturing with his thumb over his head and into the lab. Casey could hear the confused chatter of the staff on the other side of the wall, and the door opening out into the hall they’d just come from. They had less than a minute before this got bad.

Leo peeked over the window and into the lab. Casey thought a ghost had passed over the slider as he grabbed onto the windowsill to ground himself.

"Don!"

-

You Aren't Supposed to Be Here

As soon as Leonardo boarded the small airship, everything went to shit.

Immediately as Donatello signaled they were taking off, Casey and April heard the massive crunch of steel as the ship was forced back down. Reports flashed on the Commander’s screen that Donatello’s ship was critically damaged. April pulled up a feed of the airship's external cameras. Tentacles wrapped tightly around the titanium body, and covered the lenses from several perspectives.

“Shit!” Donatello’s panicked voice came through the comms. In the background of that swear, Casey thought he heard howling from a short distance away.

A pause.

“What are we-” Master Leonardo was interrupted by a sound of shattered glass, and then horrific screaming.

“Don!” Leonardo screamed, and Casey glanced over to their vitals. Donatello’s heart rate skyrocketed. There was more swearing from Leonardo’s com, but he seemed otherwise physically unharmed.

And then… the comms shut off.

“Donnie!” April shrieked, trying to re-establish the connection, but it was clear he had deliberately cut them. What was happening?

Casey gripped the chair back he was leaning over in the war room. Commander O’Neil stood with one arm over his shoulders, squeezing him close and staring at the reports. The cameras on the ship’s exterior revealed the ship was now surrounded by at least thirty hounds, and Casey knew that there were probably even more on the way.

The brothers were grounded in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by enemies, with no way out.

“Leo, Donnie, come in! Guys…” April pleaded. Casey stared at the vitals monitor. He was still there.

“Sensei…”

This wasn’t happening. This could not be happening. There was nothing they could do. Leonardo knew they were waiting on him. He wasn’t just going to leave them, was he? Why had Donatello cut him off from them?

And then, while they could do nothing but sit and witness the end, one last message came through: “Leo’s en route, eta two seconds.”

“What?” April whispered. “That…”

Blue violet light erupted around the room. It shimmered in the same way Casey had seen Master Michelangelo’s ninpo do. Casey and April turned at the same time and, to their amazement, saw exactly what Donatello described. Through a ring of blue violet mystic energy, Leonardo stumbled backwards into the war room, somehow crossing over one hundred miles in just two seconds. On the other side, Casey could see the ship they had just tried to escape with. As the portal closed, he noticed that Donatello was nowhere in sight.

April was the first to react, moving swiftly to catch the slider before he ran into their table. Casey had to jump out of the way of them in the cramped space. Bewildered, and half wondering if this was some kind of mistake or trick, he looked the slider over with a confusing feeling of both horror and relief. Master Leonardo wasn’t supposed to be able to use his ninpo. How was this possible?

As April fussed over the older turtle, Casey glanced back at their monitors. The cameras were dead. Donatello was dead. Leonardo was not. Sliding away the map of the crash site, Casey pulled up a map of their own base. Three flashing blips indicated that Leonardo was well and truly in the room with them. Casey glanced back over to Leonardo, still staring at the space where he had just come from. He hadn’t said anything, even as April peppered him with questions. He just stood there, watching nothing, appearing to have no more will or function than that of a standing oak tree. He was simply lost, his eyes glazed over, lips and teeth set as if he had something else he wanted to say, but no one left to say it to.

After what felt like an eternity, the slider opened the grip of his prosthetic hand, and lowered it to show April what he had brought back with him. Purple satin slid through his fingers and into her trembling hands. When April looked back up into Leonardo’s eyes, Casey suddenly felt like an intruder. They stood in shock, devastated at the loss of someone Casey had thought he had no desire to see or hear from ever again. So he retreated, around the table and out the door.

He faintly heard Leonardo’s apology as he forced himself down the hall. He passed Michelangelo’s room and debated if he should say anything, but thought better of it. He didn’t want to make things worse. Instead, he arrived at and kicked in the door of his own room. The handle bounced off the adjacent wall and swung the panel back viciously, clipping his shoulder as he made his way inside. Swearing from the shock more than the pain, he clawed at the shitty door and slammed it back into place. In a minute he’d hear someone calling his name, to check on him and see if he was alright.

Fuck! No, no he was not alright. He turned and sat with his back against the door. He didn’t know how he was supposed to feel, but he certainly was not grateful. Even when Donatello died he still found a way to bring him immense pain. What a fucking dumbass.

-

"Leo move!" Casey shouted at him as the door to the observation room swung open and two militantly dressed security officers found them. Raph stood from his crouch and knocked them out, but now they could hear panicked shouting from the other room.

Leo finally drew his swords, cutting a portal open right underneath himself and Casey. The kid yelped in surprise as they dropped down right in front of an operating table.

“Hold on to him!” Leo said with gritted teeth, and it was then that Casey saw Donnie was strapped to said operating table. His breathing faltered at the sight of the exposed soft shell. He was completely undressed (well, more so than they usually were- no mask, no wrist tech, etc…), his jaw slack, and muscles relaxed. Casey hadn’t seen Donatello this vulnerable ever. Just knowing how uncomfortable Donnie would be in this state when he woke up made Casey avert his eyes awkwardly, but Casey did what Leo told him, reaching over Donnie’s plastron and grabbing tight of him as Leo cut another portal, this time right through the floor under the operating table and dropping them straight out of the facility and into the woods surrounding. But just as soon as they landed, Casey saw movement above him. Someone had followed them through the portal.

“Where do you ugly little fuckers think you’re going?”

Oh, Leo was going to take great offense to that.

---

Prev. Masterpost Next

Notes: Chapter 12 will be the last chapter released this year. 😎

[tranquil-turbulence]

SS Month ‘23 - Day 25

Day 24 | Day 25 | Day 26

Prompt: Conference

WARNING(S): Mentions of injury, bullying

“Thank you for coming in, Mr. Uchiha, Mrs. Uchiha.” The principal tapped his fingers against the desk, an exhausted note to his aged face.

“You said Sarada was facing suspension,” Sasuke began, eyes narrowing as the child on the other side of him squirmed in her chair at the reminder. “What happened?”

“My daughter’s never been a troublemaker in her life! I don’t know how it happened, but this is not how we raised her.” Sakura added with a glance of concern to the little girl.

“Ah, yes. Well.” Clearing his throat, the older man pulled a sheet of paper out from the little stack on his desk and turned it so they could read. “Today at recess, she got into an altercation with a boy from another class. There are several witnesses as well as the recess monitor herself, who can verify if needed.”

“Yes, but what happened?” Sasuke pressed, leaning closer to the desk. “That can’t be all. Sarada doesn’t pick fights unless provoked.”

Here, the man paused. He glanced towards Sarada, who up to this point had been quiet. “Sarada? Would you mind telling your parents what happened?”

All eyes on the dark-haired girl, her face flushed with embarrassment and a twinge of upset. “He called Chocho fat, Mama. I had to hit him.”

Sakura’s brow furrowed. “Your friend, Chocho? Chouji and Karui's girl?”

“Yes.” Sarada folded her arms across her chest. “He’s a bully. He always picks on her and I’m tired of nobody doing anything about it.”

“... So you hit him.” Her father deadpanned, his face unreadable.

She pouted. “I didn’t hit him hard…”

“Sarada, I get that you were upset for your friend, but you have to understand that hitting others is wrong.” The principal persuaded, a frown wrinkling his face. “You needed to tell Miss Kuroi--”

“Miss Kuroi knows he’s been bullying Chocho and she doesn’t do anything about it!” The little girl exclaimed.

“Hold on. Wait.” Sakura held up a hand, a stern look directed towards her daughter. “You’ve tried telling an adult.”

“Yes.”

“You told your friends.”

“They saw everything.”

“And your friends told the adult.”

“She just told him to ‘play nice’.” Sarada’s stare was almost as searing as her mother’s as she air-quoted it.

Slowly,  she turned her burning stare on the principal. A bead of sweat trickled down his face. “Why are you allowing your staff to overlook obvious signs of bullying? This is ridiculous. We pay you a good sum of money for a good education for our daughter and this is what you call ‘teaching’?”

“U- um, well, Mrs. Uchiha, Miss Kuroi is new here, and isn’t quite used to our code of conduct…”

“So instead of taking the time to teach your staff how to deal with this, you would rather be content to wait until someone gets hurt - like my daughter punching a bully because he’s hurting her friend - to reap the consequences?” She scoffed, folding her arms, brow pinched. “I am a licensed children’s psychologist, Mr. Hamada. I’ve seen firsthand how abusive behavior between children will lead to emotional and mental issues later in life. I've been that bully before. I know how damaging that can be to a young mind.”

“This is unacceptable,” Sasuke agreed, irritation in his voice. “What about the boy? Has he gotten consequences for what he did?”

“Not for being punched, he hasn’t!” The principal balked. “My staff has had to discipline him once or twice for bad behavior, but he’s done nothing to be suspended over.”

“According to the student handbook, repeated abusive behavior is liable for suspension, regardless if it’s a student or staff member. So you would rather let him bully other students and cause them harm than admit you messed up somewhere?” Sakura’s voice was very close to raising, but a hand on her shoulder from her husband made her take a steadying breath. “Mr. Hamada, I will not be accepting my daughter’s suspension. In fact, if you do suspend her for fighting, we will personally take her out of this school and find somewhere else for her education. I will not allow adults to be bad influences for my daughter in a place preparing her for the adult world.”

“Bad influences? Mrs. Haruno, surely--”

“You will reverse the suspension.” The mother’s voice was a deadly quiet.

“I- I can’t just veto a decision that my staff and I have come together to make,” he protested weakly, shrinking under the father’s glare. “The best I can do is reconvene and-- and have a parent-teacher conference with the Akimichis as well…?”

“And the boy’s parents,” she firmly added.

“And the Garous,” the principal said quietly.

“Make a date, then we’ll talk about suspensions.” The pink-haired woman grabbed her purse and her husband’s arm, rising from her chair. “We’ll be taking Sarada for the rest of the day.”

“Of course, ma’am.” Mr. Hamada nodded rapidly, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief from his pocket. “You, uh, you have a wonderful day now.”

“We’ll certainly try,” Sasuke flatly answered, taking Sarada’s hand and leading her out of the room behind his wife.

As soon as the door was shut behind them, Sarada looked up, worried. “Am I in trouble?” She asked quietly.

Almost immediately, Sakura’s fierce expression melted into something soft, and she knelt before her. “No, Sara. In fact, I’m very proud of you. You did the right thing.”

“But… but I got in trouble for punching him.”

"Well, yes, but you did everything I told you to do in that situation: you notified an adult, you got witnesses to tell an adult, and you tried to de-escalate. You only used force as a last resort, not a first."

“You showed restraint.” Sasuke chimed in, making her look up at him. There was a strange sort of amusement in his face. “Had it been your mother, the kid definitely would’ve kept a wide berth after that. You really would've gotten suspended.”

“Anata,” Sakura groaned, cheeks burning red. "I'm not that hotheaded anymore..."

"No," he agreed with a chuckle in his voice. "You're fierce."

Sarada giggled at her mother’s embarrassment, stepping closer for a hug. Her perfume tickled her senses pleasantly, as did her soft pink hair against her cheek.

“C’mon,” the dark-haired man gestured towards the door. “Let’s get some ice cream.”

The joy in his daughter’s face brought a smile to his own as he walked with his good hand pressed gently against Sakura’s back, the little girl’s arms wrapped around her mother’s.

[berenwrites]

Beyond the Battle - Chapter 45 - Stranger Things - Steddie

Beyond the Battle­: Action & Consequence

Click here for All Posted Chapters

Summary: Steve hits things with a bat or gets hit depending on who you ask. He definitely does not have anything to do with the psychic stuff. That is El’s domain. However, as Vecna is defeated, the rules change.

Pairing: steddie (Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson)

Other Relationships: Steve & Robin, Steve & Dustin, Eddie & Dustin

Rating: Teen

A/N: Multi-chapter story, updated regularly. Honestly not sure how many chapters it will have yet because it's still a bit hand wavy in the middle, but definitely more than 12. Thank you to my beta for find my mistakes and to all those who read/like/reblog.💖 Follow #st:beyond-the-battle for updates.

Also on AO3

Chapter 45.    Happy Talk

“Mom,” Steve said as he leaned into his father’s study where his mom was working at the desk, “do you have a minute.”

After the press conference there had been a lot of chatter on the walkies and phone calls and the usual chaos, only with parents involved this time. His mom had invited the Buckleys to stay another night if they would like, which, after Robin had rambled about going home if they wanted in a clear sign she didn’t really want to, they had accepted. They’d finally returned to their house after breakfast, at which point Steve had spent some time with Eddie until he had plucked up the courage to go and talk to his mom.

She looked up and smiled.

“Of course, Darling,” she said. “What is it?”

His dad had disappeared off half an hour earlier after mentioning something about talking to Hopper, so Steve knew he and his mom would not be disturbed. He still walked in and shut the door behind him, however. As he made his way over to the desk all his carefully prepared opening words dissolved as his heart decided to beat so hard he could feel it in his toes.

“Um,” he said with all the eloquence of a baked potato.

His mom gave him a gentle, questioning look.

“Yesterday,” he finally said having to take a quick breath after just that one word, “at breakfast.”

Light dawned in his mom’s eyes, and she put down the pen she was using. Standing slowly, she came round to his side of the desk.

“Yes, darling,” she encouraged, standing close, but not in his personal space and not reaching out.

Not pressuring him.

He’d faced down Demogorgons and Vecna, but just looking into his mom’s eyes at that moment was one of the hardest things he had ever done. His heartbeat was rabbit-fast and his palms felt clammy and sweaty. If felt like the whole world was staring in on him.

“When you said,” he started, voice dying for a moment, “did you mean…”

Words were incredibly hard.

“Steve,” his mom said when he failed to say anymore, “I meant everything I said at breakfast yesterday. If your father and I ever gave you the impression we believed anything different…”

“No,” he interrupted, because honestly they hadn’t, he had just never really considered it, “no, you didn’t.”

He mentally kicked himself as he opened his mouth to tell his mom the truth and couldn’t say it.

“Darling,” his mom said, finally reaching out and, ever so gently, taking his hand, “you can tell me anything, absolutely anything, but,” she paused for a moment, making sure she was looking in his eyes, “you don’t have to, not until you’re ready. That’s not why I said what I said.”

He took a deep shuddering breath.

“I’m bisexual,” he blurted out and for a second, he thought he might faint.

A rush of adrenaline coursed through him and made his whole body go cold.

“Oh, Darling,” his mom said, bringing her other hand up to cup his cheek, ”thank you so much for telling me. I love you and I will always love you and it makes me so happy you have trusted me with this.”

The tiniest, somewhat hysterical laugh escaped him at that, as relief made his legs feel weak. It was ridiculous. After everything his mom had said, how she had acted, it had been obvious she wasn’t going to hurt him because of this, and yet hearing her actually say it made his head feel full of air.

“I’m also in love with Eddie,” he admitted, since he was on a roll.

“Well, he is quite loveable,” his mom said with a small smile.

“You can’t have him, you’ve got dad,” he replied before he thought about it.

He was picking up bad habits from Eddie and Robin. His mom laughed and pulled him into a full-on hug. It never even occurred to him not to hug back.

“I’m so proud of you, Darling,” his mom told him as she held him close, “so proud of everything about you.”

Words were hard again, so he just held on. He finally understood something of what it must have been like for Robin when she came out to him on that bathroom floor at Starcourt, and however brave he had thought she was, he owed her an apology for underestimating it by a long way.

“Come on,” his mom said eventually, “let’s sit.”

He let her lead him over to the small couch opposite his dad’s desk.

“Do you mind me asking how long you’ve known?” his mom asked as they sat down. “I feel like I might have failed you more than I already did.”

“Oh god no, you haven’t,” he replied, leaping to make sure she didn’t think that. “It’s all kind of new actually. About a week, maybe just over. I’ve lost track of time. At least that’s how long since I realised, but according to Robin it started back at the end of March.”

“Robin?” his mom asked.

“She says I get this look when I’m into someone,” he replied with a nod, “and apparently I had that look when we were in the Upside Down when everything started this time.”

“Ah yes, I know that look,” his mom said with a smile. “When you were smitten with Nancy is was very obvious. You have a big heart, Darling, and when you give it away you don’t add strings. I’m glad you’ve finally found someone else worthy of it.”

“You don’t think I’m letting my emotions get ahead of me?” he asked hesitantly.

He knew he fell hard and fast, but it was just the way he was made.

“No, Darling,” his mom assured him, patting his hand. “I have to apologise, you get that from me, and it can be hard on your heart. I fell for your father that very first day in the rain, although I kept telling myself I wasn’t allowed to for a long time. I would never have dreamed of stealing him from Marie, but I knew how I felt, even though it hurt. Your grandfather is exactly the same. Our family has a long history of over the top romantic gestures going back generations, although I think you may have us all beat with bringing someone back from the dead.”

“He wasn’t dead,” Steve said, because that was his default response to that now.

His mom smiled and squeezed his hand. As the adrenaline wore off, he could feel himself trembling, but at least his heart had slowed down. He was pretty sure the conversation was nowhere near over, but it was so much easier from here.

~*~

Eddie was nowhere in sight when Steve finally left his mom to get back to her work, so he assumed Eddie was still talking to Wayne. All but bursting at the seams, he headed up to his room and picked up the phone.

“Buckley residence,” came the answer after he dialled the familiar number.

“Robs,” he said, “I told my mom.”

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” came back from the other end. “You’re okay? Everything went as expected?”

“Yeah,” he replied, unable to keep the grin off his face. “So much better than I imagined.”

“Tell me everything,” Robin said, so he did because he was pretty sure if he didn’t one of them would vibrate right through the phone line.

He had no idea how long he was on the phone, but they cycled through Robin wondering if she should test the waters with one of her parents, and her Vickie shaped problem as well as all of Steve’s news before they finally hung up. He felt like he was floating like a weight had been taken off his mind. The only thing bothering him was that Eddie was still a no show.

Wondering if Eddie was just giving him some alone time, he went looking. When the only place left he hadn’t checked was the basement, he had to conclude that his boyfriend was still with his uncle. A little bit worried, mostly because he kept wondering if the talk was going on so long because of him, since Wayne already knew about Eddie’s queerness, he headed into the kitchen. Figuring out what they could have for lunch would keep him occupied.

He almost dropped the bowl of salad he had just put together when he turned and found Eddie standing in the doorway. What caught all of his attention was the way Eddie’s eyes were red-rimmed.

“Are you okay?” he asked, dumping the salad bowl on the nearest surface and hurrying over. “What happened?”

“I’m good,” Eddie tried to assure him, but the smile that came with the statement was a little watery. “More than good, actually,” Eddie went on. “These are good tears, promise.”

Steve discovered he could breathe again at that.

“You cannot leave me hanging like this,” was what he chose to say, because he knew it would make Eddie smile and he really needed to see that.

“Came straight to see you, promise,” Eddie replied, giving a tiny little laugh at the same time.

“You look like you need to sit down,” Steve said as Eddie took a deep breath.

“Wayne wants to officially adopt me,” Eddie blurted out, rather than responding to his suggestion.

For a second Steve did not process that because he completely wasn’t expecting it, but when it went in, he felt the biggest smile burst onto his face.

“Oh Eds,” he said, “that’s amazing.”

He couldn’t help himself after that, he grabbed his boyfriend and dragged him in for a hug. Eddie laughed and let him, but when they pulled apart, Eddie had tears in his eyes again. Steve reached up and stroked away the couple that had escaped with his thumb.

“Said he’d been thinking about it for a long time, ever since I came out to him actually, because my dad is a homophobic piece of shit. But he didn’t know what to do, thought we’d have plenty of time,” Eddie explained. “Then, after everything, he asked your mom about it. She put him in touch with one of her college buddies who specialises in family law. Apparently, because my dad abandoned me and then got himself sent to prison, he forfeited parental rights, so it’s just a matter of waiting for the paperwork and both of us signing it.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Steve told him.

“Wayne’s been more of a father to me than my dad ever was,” Eddie said, happy smile bringing out his dimples, “now it gets to be official.”

“The hotwiring a car did come in handy once though,” Steve said and made Eddie laugh again.

“Yeah, I’ll give you that,” Eddie replied, still smiling. “God, Stevie, I feel like I’ve been to hell and walked out straight into heaven. I’ve got you and I’ve got Wayne and I … it’s …”

Steve gathered Eddie back into his arms as his boyfriend began to cry. It felt amazing to be doing it for good reasons for a change.

“I don’t know why I’m crying,” Eddie mumbled into his shoulder.

“Too many emotions,” Steve replied, holding him close. “Keep it up and you’ll set me off.”

Eddie laughed through his tears, but still clung to him. In the end Steve managed to make it through without crying himself and he sat Eddie down, making them both a special hot chocolate.

“So,” Eddie said, “now I’ve blubbed all over you, how did your talk go with your mom?”

“So good,” he replied. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack at one point, but it went better than I ever could have imagined. She thinks you’re, and I quote, ‘quite loveable’, so I told her she couldn’t have you, she’s got Dad.”

“You didn’t,” Eddie said, eyes going big and round.

“I did,” he replied. “I must be picking up bad habits from you and Robin.”

“Fair,” was Eddie’s response to that.

“We talked for a long time,” Steve went on, sobering somewhat. “One of the things she told me was that Dad was the one who brought it up between them. She had her suspicions, but he was the one who wanted to talk about it. She said the only thing he was worried about was how hard it might be on me, on us. I hope it’s okay, I gave her permission to tell him he was right.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Eddie replied without hesitation. “Should I prepare for a shovel talk about looking after their baby boy from both your parents?”

That startled a laugh out of Steve.

“God, I hope not,” he replied. “Oh hell, you’re not saying I’m going to get one from Wayne, are you? I mean he’s awesome, but also a little terrifying.”

“Nah, I think the whole raising me from the dead gets you a free pass on that one,” Eddie replied in a far more nonchalant tone that was technically justified.

“You weren’t dead,” Steve said, because it was expected.

~*~

It was finally over, well mostly. There were still a few loose ends Steve had his eye on, like pinning Hopper down so he could finish fixing the stubborn man. Seeing his face on newspapers and on the TV was weird, but the fact it was right next to everyone else’s made it bearable. He’d tried to go grocery shopping once, only to find people following him around the store, so he wasn’t doing that again for a while.

Eddie still hadn’t been out in public, but not having to worry if people saw him seemed to be making him a lot happier. Which in turn made Steve happier as well. Owens was making noises about making sure Eddie and Wayne had their own place again, but that was in discussions, so they were both still living at Steve’s.

His dad had reluctantly returned to New York the previous day, after Steve had assured him that they would all be fine. They’d had several heart-to-hearts in the days since Steve had come out to his mom and given her permission to confirm to his dad what they had both suspected. They had a way to go to fix everything that had gone wrong with their relationship over the last few years, but they were getting there. That his dad had an explanation for some of his son’s somewhat odd decisions seemed to have helped a lot.

His mom was staying in contact with his dad via phone and fax for the merger information, but she was staying in town, in her words ‘to keep an eye on the government’ for a while. She had insinuated herself in the efforts to rebuild Hawkins and everyone seemed very happy about that. It meant she was out of the house a lot, however, so Steve was getting used to only seeing her at breakfast and dinner. She’d always been something of a workaholic, so he was quietly keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn’t spread herself too thin.

Family Video had not yet reopened, but it was getting closer. As was reopening the schools. The local rumour mill was talking about the following week. Things were settling down and Steve felt like he could breathe again. Nothing was ever going to be the same, but that’s just what the Upside Down did every time it barrelled into their lives. This time felt final though. He’d never realised it before, but there had been something hanging over Hawkins that they’d all sensed, even if they hadn’t known it. At last, it was gone.

It made him feel lighter than he had in years. He could finally look to the future. And part of that future was Eddie, but he still had one secret from his boyfriend, and he wanted to fix that.

“Come on,” he said, taking Eddie’s hand after they finished a leisurely breakfast, “I’ve got something to show you.”

“Aren’t we mysterious,” Eddie replied, but didn’t resist Steve’s gentle pull.

“Well, you are only the second person I’ve shown this,” he replied.

“Let me guess, the first was Robin?” Eddie asked.

“Damn, I’m getting predictable in my old age,” he said.

“So not even Nancy saw this?” was Eddie’s next question.

He shook his head.

“Probably says a lot now I come to think about it,” he admitted as he reached up onto the hallway shelf with the hideous modern sculpture on it that he had always hated.

He came back with the key that was hidden there.

“Are you taking me into your secret sex dungeon?” Eddie asked as Steve led him to the basement door.

“First of all, I literally discovered my first kink when you sank your fangs into me, and second, ewww, why would I have shown Robin a secret sex dungeon?” he replied.

“For all I know you might have let Birdie borrow it for her kinky girl orgies,” Eddie replied.

“I’m going to tell her you said that,” he said with a laugh.

Eddie made a face.

“Please don’t, sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain,” Eddie requested.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Steve replied, and leaned in to steal a kiss, just because he could. “Come on,” he said as he broke away, flicking on the light switch inside the door.

“Still can’t believe you have carpet on your basement stairs,” Eddie asked, tone incredulous.

It wasn’t as if it was the first time Eddie had been down there because he’d been down to Wayne’s room on more than one occasion, but being shocked seemed to fill Eddie with glee, so Steve was happy to play along.

“It hasn’t been used like a basement in years,” he explained. “We use the second garage for storage. Mom had this converted when I was six.”

Eddie mouthed second garage at him and made him laugh.

“Yeah, I know, rich people eh,” he said with a laugh. “Welcome to my sanctuary,” he said grandly and unlocked and opened the door at the bottom of the stairs with a flourish, reaching for the light switch as he did.

Eddie stepped through the door and just stopped.

“Stevie,” Eddie said after a few moments, “why do you have half an orchestra and a baby grand in your basement? Shit, is that a Gibson?”

“Um, yeah,” Steve replied as Eddie walked across the room as if drawn like a moth to a flame.

Reaching out, Eddie ran his fingers over the electric guitar on the wall reverently, before spinning on the spot and pinning Steve down with his gaze.

“You play?” Eddie asked.

Steve nodded.

“Which instruments?” came the next question.

“Um … well … a few of them, some are my mom’s though,” he admitted.

Eddie blinked before looking round the room again.

“You play the piano, the cello, the guitar, the flute, the oboe, the drums, the…”

“Not all of them, my mom’s the one into woodwind,” Steve replied, “but mostly just the piano, guitar, and cello. I tried out some of the others, but I’m not great at them.”

“Oh my god, my boyfriend is a musical genius,” Eddie said, walking back towards him. “And I thought you couldn’t get sexier.”

“Says the man who can play anything he sets his mind to on the guitar in one sitting,” Steve countered.

He was not expecting to get grabbed and kissed as if his life depended on it. Not that he was complaining, given how fast he gave in.

“How does no one know this about you?” Eddie asked, eyes alight with curiosity when they finally broke apart.

“Robin knows,” he offered weakly.

“And I bet she completely freaked out when she found out, didn’t she,” Eddie said.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed.

“So, back to why does no one know,” Eddie prompted.

“My dad always wanted me to be an athlete,” he admitted, “and jocks and band do not mix. My mom has always encouraged me in music and, don’t get me wrong, my dad never tried to stop me, well except when I wanted to major in music in college, but no one would have got it, so I kept it private. All rich kids get sent for piano lessons or something like that when they’re young – it’s a thing, and unlike my friends, I really enjoyed it.”

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie said, eyes open wide with wonder in his voice. “Did you really flunk out of college applications like the school rumours say?”

“Out of the ones my dad wanted me to apply for, yeah, I did,” he said. “I have trouble with numbers, especially when they’re written down. I get them mixed up when I read them. It’s got a name, but I can never remember what it is. It’s only mild, but it gets worse if I’m under stress, so I mess up in tests. I can get by, but my dad wanted me to do a business major and my grades weren’t good enough. Got accepted for music though, but Dad blew his stack because he was worried I wouldn’t be able to use it for anything. That’s why he made me get the job as Scoops, thought it would help me understand what the real world was like. It wasn’t like I could just leave anyway, not until I knew it was really safe for the kids, so I didn’t fight him on it.”

“So, what about now?” Eddie asked. “I have it on good authority that the apocalypse has been and gone.”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “So much has happened. Kind of having to re-evaluate a lot of things. Exploring the idea of toyboy to a rockstar boyfriend.”

“Oh really?” Eddie replied with a laugh. “I am only one year older than you and you might be a few years ahead of the curve on the whole rockstar thing.”

“Eh, details,” Steve said and moved in for another kiss. “Did I mention Aunt Marie has some really high-profile fans who buy her art? Some of them in the music industry.”

“You’re joking,” Eddie said.

Steve shook his head.

“I was telling Mom about your band, and she reminded me,” he explained. “Mom did mention maybe all of us (and yes, that includes Robin because she will combust if she doesn’t get to meet my lesbian aunts) taking a trip over the summer, once you’ve graduated.”

Eddie’s growing smile shrank a bit at the last part.

“How do you know I will?” he asked. “They might not even let me go back.”

“Oh, they will. Even if they don’t want to believe you’re a hero and failed deliberately the second time, they have no choice,” Steve said with complete certainty, he’d also been talking to his mom about that. “And you’ve got Nancy and Robin to help you keep up now. It might be a bit painful towards finals, I know, I’ve had Nancy on my case in the past, but it’ll be worth it.”

“I feel like maybe I should be afraid,” Eddie said, narrowing his eyes.

“Nah, just be prepared for caffeine, lots of caffeine, or in your case caffeine and sugar,” he replied with a grin.

“Do you think the government would let me be a famous musician?” Eddie asked, growing more serious again. “What with the fangs and shit.”

“Can’t think of a better cover, actually,” he replied, pulling Eddie close again. “If you slipped up for any reason, you could just blame it on your stage persona. No one would ever believe you really are a sexy vampire.”

“Hadn’t thought of it like that,” Eddie said, before leaning in and claiming his mouth in another kiss.

Music clearly really did it for Eddie, which wasn’t that much of a shock. Steve decided there and then he would move heaven and earth to help Eddie reach for his dream even as he got lost in the kiss. He whined in loss when Eddie pulled back. His devil of a boyfriend just grinned at him.

“Okay, you have to play me something,” Eddie bounced towards the instruments again. “Which is your favourite?”

“The cello,” Steve told him without hesitation. “I love the way the sound reverberates through me. It helps me relax.”

“When was the last time you played?” Eddie asked, touching the instrument reverently where it was on a stand.

“A couple of days before Vecna started his campaign,” he admitted. “There hasn’t been time since, or I wasn’t in the right headspace.”

“Saving the world and getting powers and then a house full of people?” Eddie said.

He nodded, walking over, and picking up his cello with a small smile.

“What shall I play?” he asked.

“You pick,” Eddie replied and sat on the piano stool while Steve made himself comfortable on the chair next to the cello stand.

He checked his bow and the tunning on the cello as he considered what to choose, smiling as he thought of something. Picking up melodies by ear was something he was good at, one of the reasons he had been useful during the Starcourt debacle. He had come to realise Eddie was similarly gifted over their time together, given how quickly Eddie could figure out how to play something on his guitars. It was one thing they actually had in common. Closing his eyes, he brought up the tune he wanted to play in his head, lifted his bow and began.

At first, he was thinking about performing for his boyfriend, but he quickly became lost in the music. He’d only heard it a couple of times, so he wasn’t sure he was getting it all correct, but the notes flowed through him. The vibrations of the cello were calming, even as the melody sped up, increasing in volume and speed to an almost obnoxious pace. It was freeing and thrilling, and he couldn’t help the smile that bloomed onto his face.

He played with complete abandon in a way he hadn’t in ages, all the weight of the Upside Down and everything that went with it disappearing in the melody. It wasn’t until the final note reverberated through the air that he even remembered he had an audience.

Eddie was standing there, his soft brown eyes wide with his mouth in a little ‘o’.

“I think I might die,” Eddie whispered without moving.

“Was it okay?” Steve asked, suddenly worried.

He knew Eddie had very particular views on certain things. He hoped he hadn’t just stamped all over them.

“Okay?” Eddie asked, voice rising. “Oh my god. Was it okay, he asks. Stevie, Jesus Christ, you just played Master of Puppets on a cello, and you killed it. I didn’t even know you knew it.”

“I heard you play it on your acoustic and you’ve had the full song on the tape deck a couple of times while you were here,” he replied.

“And I didn’t think there could possibly be more to love about you,” Eddie said, bouncing towards him, eyes sparkling. “Have you ever considered joining a metal band?”

Steve laughed, because he was pretty sure cello did not go with a metal band’s sound. But Eddie didn’t laugh back. In fact, his boyfriend had his plotting face on, which Steve had mostly only seen when Eddie was planning DnD. He had a worrying feeling Eddie was being serious.

End of Chapter 45

Epilogue