#it’s midnight and I’ve boarded half this shit already

[lizardinkart]

I haven’t made an animatic in years but mmmmm….. Khepri…….she has me in a chokehold

[neonponders]

Part 18 for @wrecked-fuse ‘s pocketverse 🦇

Part 17

( pt. 7′s art 🎩 ) ( pt. 9′s art 👀 ) ( pt. 14′s art 💨 )

~ on ao3 ~

• • •

“Holy shit.”

Billy chuckled around his own bite while their unfinished game of backgammon sat on the coffee table. Steve licked pot pie gravy off his fork while the littles worked on their serving of peas, carrots, and some gravy-soaked crust.

“You weren’t kidding.”

“This is yummy,” small Billy said.

“Thanks for dinnerw, Biwwy,” small Steve seconded.

“Sorry you had to wait till midnight,” he replied, dipping an edge of crust in the gravy. His eyes flicked to Steve’s head perking up, and trying to go back to eating nonchalantly. “What?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you apologize, that’s all.”

“I didn’t realize I’d set a precedent for letting tiny people starve.”

Steve’s eyes rolled onto him. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t have anything to go off of except your free concert arguments with Max.”

“Max is free game because she’s my shithead sister.”

Steve snorted and reached for a napkin. “Whatever. They’re right, this is great, and thank you.”

“You’re only saying that because you think I’m leaving the leftovers.”

Steve froze and Billy bubbled with laughter. Steve made quick work of the lump in his cheek and haggled, “What do I have to do to keep them?”

“Beat me at backgammon, for a start.”

“What else?”

Billy lifted his head, a different smile on his face. “You like it that much?”

“I can follow a recipe, but my specialties are breakfast and improvising, which...is a fifty-fifty chance at being edible but not delicious. This is an actual home cooked meal type thing.”

“Keep talking sweet to me and I might let you keep half of it.”

Steve already had a mouthful of pie filling as he mumbled, “Deal.”

Both of their attentions moved to the littles yawning over their finished crumbs. Steve swallowed and announced, “Our score-keepers need to get to bed.”

Small Steve complained, “ ‘M not sweepy,” even as his eyelids heavily blinked over unfocused eyes.

Large Steve dug through a grocery bag for the extra small cotton swabs and summoned, “Come here.”

Billy watched with silent fascination as the smallest amount of toothpaste got applied to the swabs and Steve held them steady while the littles brushed their teeth. “B, get those back ones.”

His little body released an indignant huff and he made better work of his molars.

Steve topped off their shot glass with water and said as they rinsed, “Good job. I give you two a bath in the morning.”

“Not sweepy,” little Steve declared, but he shook his head with too much gusto and his body swayed with it.

“Then you don’t want a goodnight kiss?”

He gasped and clasped his hands over his tummy, eyes clamped shut as if that might help him stay still for Steve’s kiss atop his head. He got two for his troubles, while little Billy stood in the curve of big Steve’s hand, holding onto his fingers while lips touched his hair twice as well.

“Stevie too?” small Billy asked with heavy eyelids and warm cheeks. Steve crouched low enough for them both to kiss the flat of his cheeks beside his mouth.

Large Billy was not exempt, as three pairs of eyes locked onto him. He wiped his mouth of crumbs and waved a hand under a benign scoff. “Here we go.”

The littles reached up to hold his chin as they kissed the corners of his mouth. He made sure to hold onto little Billy’s headband as he walked away, hair floating free as the band left his skull.

“Nigh’ nigh’, Biwwy. See you tomowwow?”

“Probably. I’ve got a board game to win.”

Steve chirped, “Oh? We’re done here?”

Billy narrowed his eyes at him in a skeptical glare. “You two make sure he doesn’t change anything. ‘Kay?”

“ ‘Kay!” they echoed.

“See you tomorrow!” little Steve yelled as he ran to their shoebox room.

“G’nigh’, Stevie,” little Billy said.

“Goodnight, B. Sweet Dreams,” big Steve returned and gave the littles an extra tuck into their beds before taking his and Billy’s plates to the kitchen sink.

Billy followed him and leaned against the counter. “Not to get sappy, but they really love you.”

Steve smiled as the dishes filled up with soapy water. Then he turned the faucet off to let them soak. “They’re good little guys. So we’ll settle the leftovers dispute tomorrow?”

His features sank a little as he watched Billy already strolling toward the front doors. “I’ll know if you cheat, pretty boy.”

“I don’t need to cheat. The pie is mine.”

Billy threw an amused smirk over his shoulder, and heard Steve lock the doors as he went to his car.

Brushing their teeth is an ordeal, echoed in his head as he started his car and reversed out of the driveway -

Like a flinch, he checked his shirt pocket and found it empty. Billy shook his head and pushed the cassette tape sticking out of his radio back in. The music only provided a backdrop for his thoughts, though, particularly the wonder at how far Steve was willing to trouble himself to take care of these tiny people.

Even a tiny Billy Hargrove.

Billy made the decision before he was really conscious of it, but as he turned onto Curly Lane and cruised into the trailer park, he stuck to it. If anyone could use some kush, it was Steve. It’d be a good way to spend the rest of the pot pie, too, underneath a haze of sour smoke.

The noise of his car usually announced his presence enough, so the loud stumbling inside the double-wide came as a surprise after he knocked on the door. It was a good habit to stand away from the front door, especially an outward-opening one that Eddie burst open. “Oh. Hargrove. What’s uh.”

“Up?” he responded, deadpan.

Eddie’s head tilted with an annoyed, but patient frown. “What brings you to my castle? The usual?”

“Yeah, unless you’ve found something special.”

“Not the special you like,” he refused on his way back inside. Billy caught the door and let himself into the living room-kitchen area. The floor creaked underneath him, but all houses did in one way or another -

Something audibly fell on the other side of the trailer, presumably in Eddie’s room. He locked eyes with Billy where he had a kitchen scale on the counter. Why he kept his supply in the main part of the house instead of the den of his room, Billy didn’t know, and didn’t particularly care. But he offered, “Do you need to check that?”

“No, I’ve got enough shit in there to cushion anything precious that falls - ”

A distinct, metallic twang pierced the air, and without another word, Eddie marched to the back of the trailer. Billy might not have been bothered, if whispers were actually silent, which they very often were not.

“Hey, Munson,” he called down the short hallway.

“YeahjustgivemeaSECOND!”

Billy rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock on the wall. If this took too long, it was hardly going to be worth it. “Do you have a stray cat in there, or something?”

Eddie emerged in his customary flurry of long curls and flapping denim vest. “Yeah, a real rascal. Your usual is my usual.”

Billy pulled out some dollar bills and held them at the ready while Eddie finished using the scale and slid the dried crumbled over the edge to land in a baggie.

An electronic burp moved through the air like an amp being turned on. Eddie froze. His eyes flicked up to Billy’s, who crooned, “Smart cat.”

He zipped up the baggie and quickly traded the money in Billy’s hand. “Awesome. Now if that’ll be all - whatwhatwhatwhat are you doing?”

Billy strolled down the hallway toward the bedrooms. Eddie might’ve had a similar height as him, but Billy’s structure made Eddie mold himself against the wall in an effort to block him from his bedroom. “I’m flattered, Hargrove, but customers have to buy me dinner first.”

Eddie’s customer service smile evaporated as Billy gripped his vest and shirt and moved him aside. To his credit, Eddie looked mean when he was mad.

“I’m not here to judge your taste in girls, Munson, but I am making sure there’s some honor amongst criminals.”

His eyes widened over sputtering words. “What the hell is that s’pposed to mean? Don’t take me as some kind of - heyheyhey!”

Billy’s grip on the doorknob beat his and Eddie swung into his room with the door. It would’ve been funny, and it was, but Billy’s eyes froze on the small body hanging off of the guitar mounted on the wall. For not the first time, and what he annoyingly suspected to not be the last, Billy felt a creepy crawly feeling move across his spine. “You’ve got to be joking.”

Eddie sprang up in his face. “Look, man, I know this is weird and I’m not inclined to try and talk anybody out of a bad trip. I’m only mildly hurt that you bought some unreliable shrooms from somebody else - ”

“I’m not an artist, I don’t take hallucinogenics,” Billy snapped. “Where the hell did you find another tiny?”

Eddie’s mouth opened to keep talking, but then snapped shut over puckered lips like he intended to whistle. “Wait. Another? What do you mean, another?”

[wcmcink]

notes in three parts

notes i took on my phone in 3 parts

1.

& the mountains underneath the cover of a sunset... i'm looking out the window/ like a doorway into a photograph & organizing the pennies on my desk into petrine crosses         & it's hard to tell the nighttime from a close friend it's just an outfit, you can take it off a way of being in the world not so much but when that outfit reflects a way of being in the world/ watch out! i wonder if the same holds true for systems & design... you can take it off it doesn't reflect the soul of the matter everything has a use & a purpose & i sit  just like this to conduct my investigation: i've been going this way & there's nothing i can do but rest easy with the decisions i've made yeah, we'll all be gone before we know it." in the blow up doll world full of blow up things it's good that someone's filling up the silence with pointless conversation all the way down to the slumlords on hoover advertising student housing "you came in at fig," yeah i get it, everything means something there's a bit of a schoolboy confusion over what to say & i wish someone would come by smoking a cigarette & then i could bum one & everything would be alright... get on board with the made up universe dick tracy can have anything he wants you understand? to bad he wants to fight crime in palookaville... i don't know what's happening to me i can't force myself to cry  'cus i'm not sad but it scares me meanwhile i aspire to a challenging definition of spam...          "what is this?" (husband over the shoulder of his wife) "not quite sure, i think i'll throw it away." (using his index finger to follow through) "makes sense, i'm really not quite sure what i'm reading either."  they are rough poems in the outline of your face

2.

all relationships between people are arrangements of some sort this doesn't mean they are void  of genuine emotion in fact, it would be a better arrangement if they had genuine emotion... now to clean it up some impatient for a microwave the malicious intention of stray comments void of emotion while i'm holding your hand she's gonna find a shotgun buried in the cabinet, "well, that's a window into a dark room..." i'm kind of into the fantasy of it all the late nights the neon signs in front of midnight restaurants  a real greasy spoon, a cigarette, & a cup of coffee  the many vagaries of the institution are hard to navigate he's singing, "i was born in a storm..." just like i'm somewhat aware of this not being what you wanted to hear  i'm not really into the big things here although i know it's something to talk about when we are having dinner/ all about this pocket book of loose verses... right now: i'm writing a sentence with my right hand & performing it with my left that scratchy sound & screeching voice "playing that rock & roll music" beneath the letter of the moon

3.

dry cleaning & shopping carts & supermarket parking lots & smile 'cus you don't know what it means... i wake up sing my songs scratch the dirt & resin off my face & write these swollen verses & for some reason that requires an audience... at the corner of good shit & right on there's a decent compromise to be made like a dead skin that fits over a dead animal leaving it with a toothy grin thoughts come in waves, no...dualistic impulses that cut  both ways "sometimes, i feel like smacking your head like a swizzle stick."      it's ten in the morning & already the day is getting away from me little by little comes the fall not in whole but in part given to the vicissitudes of a twisted heart...   morning & its tergiversations  i don't know if that word is really necessary not just because i don't know what it means: "to change ones loyalties, become apostate" or it's difficult to use in a sentence it's just extra, you know tergiversations  perfect for a friday morning noise carries through my hearing aids & the din of a half empty room hits me like a brick i'm sitting in a meeting house: "thinking i understand things well enough to figure them out." that's what the guy says, it's smart, you know, i wonder if he practiced beforehand... this is the philosophy of a fractured state when we're out of clever replies & our little defenses we all feel similar & certain situations strike us the same although the response is different every comment, every gesture has an orientation & point of view & this precludes action of any kind thinking of each thing & what it means & where it's going & what will come of it... "what will you do?" "i dunno, smoke a couple cigarettes, think about the conversation we just had... how we create in the clearing of what we are patently not able to do... leaving gently what is left what we are able to do & who we are" "blood & sand" is a cocktail, "blood & soil" is the nazi era program to return german citizens to farmland... & other things i must remember but i have no time for dewy-eyed maidens in the backroom, "it's always like this, he'll probably write that down to, he has no idea what should remain a thought & what should be put down on paper... holy shit, that's a great poem." still we hold fast to our beliefs even if it means wearing a pirates hat in the middle of los angeles it's satan re-imagined as another life form maybe an uprooted yellow flower in a science fiction movie... bending towards the sun on a rainy day..."i'm so happy when i'm on my own" the flower says, (could it be described as bright, shaking its petals in consternation yearning for the sun?) surely, something i can ask my phone later, like what's "i love you" in french. or did the giants win? or find my italy trip last month & set a meeting for nine... tell him i'm on my way.

[helliontherapscallion]

(Y/n) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week: Monday

Tuesday     Wednesday     Thursday (Part 1)     Thursday (Part 2)     Friday     Saturday     Sunday

Spotify Playlist (collaborative)

Pairing: SBI x sister!reader (she/her pronouns)

Warnings: swearing, toxic friends, panic spirals/attacks, injury, taking pills for pain

Summary: you have a very bad week, how will you manage? (Characters are fully human, but based on their DSMP characters. High school AU)

Word count: 4,818

(A/N): I’ve never played volleyball or watched Haikyuu before, so I’m not 100% certain how games work. Also, I probs should’ve split this into two parts, but eh.

“(Y/n) love, you look homeless in that sweater, it’s literally so fucking ugly.”

“Haha, yeah it is. I guess I just wasn’t really trying today.”

Adrian snorted, scanning your body with his cold eyes. “Today? You don’t try at all. You always look like trash.”

“More than trash, you always look like you just rolled in dog shit.” Sammy threw her head back and cackled at her own joke.

Your friends around you erupted in laughter as you four walked down the hallways of the hell that was your public high school. You awkwardly chuckled alongside them, you didn’t really find it funny, but you didn’t want to draw more attention towards yourself. 

“Seriously, (y/n), I really don’t know why we still hang out around you anymore. You really let yourself go.”

“Yeah, now that I think about it, you did gain like five pounds in the past week.”

“Really not a good look on you, love. Then again, nothing you do can make you look good anymore.”

You tried to not let their comments get to you, you really did, but sometimes their comments just rooted themselves deep into your subconscious. You didn’t try looking good anymore, you couldn’t wear anything without them criticising it. You could never win. 

“Awe,” Adrien poked your cheeks, “stop looking so sad. We’re just trying to give you advice. You really need it.”

“Yeah, (y/n). You’re so sensitive, get a grip.”

“Guys look, I think she’s gonna cry!” 

You wiped at your welling eyes with the sleeves of your sweater. “I’m not. I just got allergies.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. Anyways, what are our plans for Halloween? We should totally dress up like sexy angels! I think that’d be so cool. Like, Clint’s party won’t be ready for us.”

“Oh, about that Annie…”

“God, what now (y/n)?”

“I was actually planning on spending Halloween night taking Tommy and Tubbo trick-or-treating with my brothers and dad. I won’t be able to go with you guys, I’m sorry.”

The group groaned loudly. “C’mon (y/n), you never hang out with us anymore.”

“Oh my god (y/n) you still go trick-or-treating? We’re juniors.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy with my AP classes and studying for the SAT. My team captain’s really been pushing the team hard with volleyball practice. State finals are soon and we want first this year.”

“No matter how much studying you do, you’re gonna fail. You’re stupid, so why try? Just give up and hang out with uuussss.”

“Yeah (y/n),” Adrien looked at you suspiciously, “you’ve been ignoring us lately. I thought we were friends. Do you even wanna be friends anymore?”

You felt a flare of panic flare up in your gut. “I do! I-I just have so much going on right now. It’s starting to get hard to juggle everything.”

“We’re starting to think that you don’t like us anymore, we want our (y/n) back!” Sammy whined. The others agreed with her, making you feel guilty. You were ignoring them, it was selfish in your opinion. You supposed that you could skip out on taking Tommy and Tubbo trick-or-treating, there’ll be other years you could take them. 

“I guess I can take Tommy and Tubbo another year. They’d just have to go without me this year.”

They cheered, giving you praise. You beamed at that, they seemed down lately and you loved it when they’d give you compliments. They didn’t do that much, so that made their praise more special to you. You strived to get compliments.

You four went off to your separate first classes for the day. Yours was statistics, a class you’ve been struggling in lately. You didn’t know anybody in there except for your oldest brother Techno, so you tried to stick with him. Unfortunately, the teacher’s seating chart placed you both on opposite ends of the room, probably because of your last names indicating that you’re siblings. You placed your stuff down on the table and plopped down into your seat, already drained. You had a long day ahead of you; you had a major AP world history test in your next class, you had to give a presentation in your AP english class that was worth a quarter of your final grade, and you had a semifinals volleyball match that would last until late in the night. If your team won, you would be going to state finals, so it was a lot of pressure on your shoulders. You were the main setter, so you had to really focus tonight if you were going to score your team points. 

“Alright class, pull out your homework!”

Fuck, you had homework? You looked in your folder, only to see the unfinished sheet full of equations you didn’t understand staring back at you tauntingly. Mr. Mullins walked over to your desk, took one look at your blank homework, and just walked right past you. Another big fat zero in the gradebook for you, just what you needed. At least he wasn’t in the mood to berate you today. You didn’t need any more stress piled onto your shoulders. 

The lesson felt like it dragged on forever with you frantically trying to copy down the notes on the board and trying to understand the content at the same time. Overtime, he would call students up to the board. Hopefully, he would skip over you today. “Ms. Minecraft.” Goddamn it, you spoke too soon.

Your head perked up and you looked at him. “Yes sir?”

“Come up to the board and solve this.”

Gulping, you felt panic rise up in you and stood up with shaky knees. On the board was part of the newer content he was just teaching. Something that you understood only a little bit better than the rest, and that’s not saying much. You still didn’t understand the content completely. Your writing was shaky as you wrote what you thought was right on the board. Finding the answer, you circled it and looked at Mr. Mullins. He looked disappointed. 

“That’s wrong, Ms. Minecraft. Please sit down.”

You felt like your face was on fire as you saw the entire class burning holes into you with their eyes. Though they looked dead inside, as per usual with any morning class full of tired teenagers, their effects still took hold on you. You wanted to crawl into a dark hole and die. You sat back down and stared at your note packet, you couldn’t focus on the lecture anymore. Your attention was fully on your surroundings, you were hyper aware of every little whisper and bouncing leg in your peripheral vision. You could feel yourself spiraling, usually that wouldn’t happen until after your third class. Today was going to be rough. 

The loud chime of the bell startled you out of your thoughts. You shakily put your papers back into your binder and put the binder back into your backpack. Right as you were about to walk through the door, you heard Techno catch up to you. “Hey, you good?”

“Yeah Tech, I’m just peachy.”

“Are you su-”

“Technoblade. I’m fine. Now if you excuse me, I have to get to my next class. I have an important presentation I’ve gotta prepare for.”

Without giving him any room to argue, you rushed off to your english class. You had Adrian and Annie in your class. For your presentation, you were paired up with people that you hardly knew. At least they did their part in the project, you were certain you were going to die if you got paired up with Adrian and Annie again. You loved them, but they never did any part of their portion of work. They left it to you to finish at midnight the day the project was due. To be fair, they both told you they had family emergencies, so you covered for them just that once. 

You pulled out your flashcards only to have them knocked out of your hand when someone bumped into you. You quickly crouched to pick them up so you could have them in order by time class started. “Oops, sorry love.”

It was Annie. She and Adrian towered over your crouched form smirking at you. Looking back down to rearrange your cards, you murmured “it’s ok.”

“Are you ready for this presentation, I know I am.”

You smiled a little. “Actually, I think I’m going to ace this. English is my best subject.”

“Yeah (y/n), I wasn’t asking you. I was talking to Annie. Besides, you’re probably going to fail this.” Adrian scoffed. 

“Thank you for asking, Adrian,” Annie shot a pointed look at you, “at least someone cares.”

The bell rang, signifying the start of your second block. You felt like you had a lump in your throat blocking your breathing. If Adrian, one of the smartest kids in your english class, said that you were going to fail, then you probably were going to fail. That would take a huge hit on your grade, this project was worth a quarter of your final grade after all. You were zoned out for the entirety of your classmate’s presentations putting yourself into a spiral. You jumped when Mr. Todd, your teacher, called your group up to present.

You stood stiffly in the middle of your two groupmates and clutched your flashcards with clammy hands. Luckily, your part of the presentation was not first. When it came to your part, you were stuttering and tumbling over your words. You even dropped your flashcards in front of everybody, causing half the class to snicker. Your face burned as you hurried to pick them up and your other groupmate took this as a signal to continue the presentation. You still had an important point to make that was integral for the set up to your other groupmate’s part of her presentation. You stared at your flashcards for the rest of the presentation. 

When the bell rang, you made a mad dash out of the classroom. You didn’t want to talk to anybody, especially not Adrian or Annie. It was a relief that you had your lunch period at the moment. You could hide yourself in the bathroom nobody used and let your panic attack ride itself out. 

You ducked inside a stall and sat on the toilet, bringing your knees up to bury your face in them. The tears and panic you were holding in all day let itself out with explosive effects. You started to hyperventilate as you muffled your sobs with your knee. Your chest painfully clenched so you couldn’t breathe. Your limbs felt like they weighed two tons each and they were shaking intensely. You didn’t hear the end of the lunch bell ring. By the time you calmed down slightly, you were five minutes late to AP world history. 

You packed your stuff up in a hurry, power walking through the halls. You probably looked like shit, but you didn’t care, you had a class to get to and a test that you probably wouldn’t be able to finish now. You lost ten minutes of your test time. When you tried to open the closed door, you found that it was locked. You had to knock if you wanted to get in. You raised a shaking hand to knock, but the door was opened by a less-than-impressed Ms. Osborne. She ushered you to your desk and gave you your unit test. 

You couldn’t focus. The multiple choice section was usually a breeze to you, but you couldn’t comprehend any of the questions. When you could comprehend them, you couldn’t concentrate on choosing an answer. You did your best to find the correct answers, but you were almost positive that at least half of them were wrong. Your handwriting was nearly incomprehensible and your essay topic was something you didn’t study for. When you were done with half of the body paragraphs, the bell rang and you had to turn in your unfinished test. 

You had your independent online psychology course next in the library. You usually worked alone secluded in a corner deep inside the library where nobody went. You would get some solace in being alone. Maybe you’d calm down enough so that you could ride home with your brothers and not go for a long walk so you could avoid them. 

You settled down in the comfortable chair and pulled out your laptop to get started. Psychology was your favorite class. It was easy for you to understand, it didn’t have much of a workload attached to it, and it was fun to learn about. It always calmed you down reading about the intricate workings of the brain. 

By time the day was over, you got most of your psychology work done and you were on your way to the car you shared with Technoblade and Wilbur. You took out your spare keys and slumped against the window in the backseat. You were absolutely drained after your terrible day and you still felt panic swirling deep within you, waiting for the right moment to strike. 

You stretched out your legs across the seat and leaned your back against the door. For the first time that day, you felt peaceful. You still had at least fifteen minutes to yourself until your brothers would start to make your way to the car. You felt the panic subside slightly and you fully relaxed. You closed your eyes and let yourself drift off into a light sleep. You needed your energy for tonight’s match. 

The door you were leaning on swung open and you tumbled backwards smacking the back of your head against the metal frame of the car and reverse scorpioning onto the pavement. Your entire upper back and the back of your head exploded in pain and your lower back hurt slightly from having your back bent uncomfortably. You heard laughter above you as you felt tears of pain start to slip out of your eyes. Your legs swung out from their place above your face and landed on the ground with a painful thump. 

You saw three blurry figures above you laughing at your pain. You reached up with a shaky hand to wipe at your tears and saw Adrian, Sammy, and Annie. They were cackling as you shakily stood up and sat on the comfortable seats of the car. You waited patiently for them to calm down. 

Eventually, Sammy calmed down enough to explain what happened to you through chuckles. “I’m sorry (y/n), it was just too good to resist. You should’ve seen your face.”

She and the others broke back into uncontrolled laughter as they remembered your embarrassing fall. You were used to their antics, and quite frankly it felt good to make your friends laugh, even if it were at your own expense. Just as they were calming down once again, you saw Wilbur and Techno walk out the front doors of the school laughing at something the other said. Annie and Sammy heard their laughter and quickly turned around to watch them. They had massive crushes on both of your brothers, many in the school did. 

Your brothers made their way to your shared car and stopped to look at you in slight confusion. “(Y/n), were you crying? What happened?” Wilbur asked worriedly. 

“Yea-”

“Oh Wilbur, it was terrible, (y/n) fell out of the car. I don’t think she closed the door before she leaned on it.” Annie interrupted you with a faked concerned tone, a complete contradiction to her reaction before your brothers came.

Techno hastily made his way to the driver’s side door. “Well, if she’s hurt we better get going, right Wilbur?”

“Yes! We better get going, please excuse us.” He sat in the passenger seat and closed the door without hearing Sammy and Annie’s desperate attempts to stop them so they could talk to them. Your brothers thought Sammy and Annie were annoying. They absolutely hated being around them. 

Waving apologetically at your friends, you pulled yourself into the car and closed the door. Annie and Sammy looked offended that you had let Wilbur and Techno get away from them. Avoiding their eyes, you looked down at your tightly clasped hands. They were shaking slightly. 

After pulling out of the parking lot, Techno glanced at you from the rearview mirror. “You ok (y/n)?”

“Yeah, my back just hurts and I have a headache.”

“Well, do you wanna go and get some ice cream? We still have some time left before we have to pick up Tommy and Tubbo. Dad doesn’t have to know,” Wilbur asked you.

You sighed, you wanted nothing other than to take a nap before your match. “Sorry, but I need to watch what I eat today. We have semifinals tonight and I can’t have anything sugary. I just wanna go home and take a nap.”

Your brothers were quiet for the rest of the car ride until you reached your driveway. Techno twisted his body around in his seat to look at you after he put the car in park. “Did you actually fall out of the car?”

Shit, should you tell him the truth? If you did, they would almost certainly get mad at your friends. Sammy and Annie would never forgive you if you turned your brothers against them. You decided that you would take one for the team again. “Yeah, I wasn’t paying attention.” 

Techno snorted. “Well, that was stupid,” he jokingly said. “Next time you’re gonna get run over by a parked car.”

You knew that he meant that as a joke, but it still stung. Stamping your emotions down, you laughed with him and Wilbur. It was stupid of you to do, you shouldn’t have let your guard down if you weren’t at home. 

You winced as you slung your bag on your back and walked the best you could back into your house. Your upper back was killing you. You made a beeline to the bathroom and rummaged through the medicine cabinet looking for some pain relief pills. You took some and shambled off to your room to take your well earned nap. You set your alarm’s setting to its loudest volume and passed out. 

You jolted up and gasped when you felt a wave of pain hit your upper back. You blearily looked at the time. You had a little under two hours before you had to get back to the school for your match. You groaned when you pulled yourself up, your head pounding with every turn. You pulled yourself out of bed and once again took some pain pills. You went downstairs to grab an apple or something to eat. Your dad was at the stove stirring something around in a pot. 

He turned to look at you with an excited smile. “You ready for your match tonight? You’re gonna kill it!” 

You only nodded halfheartedly and plopped yourself down at the table with your apple. Philza frowned at your lack of enthusiasm, but he figured that it was just because you just woke up from a nap. You’d bounce back eventually. 

“Wilbur told me that you fell out of the car? How’d you do that?”

You shrugged, wincing slightly as it moved your back slightly. “Dunno, must’ve not closed the door.”

Philza was at your side in a hurry, his hands hovering over your shoulders. “Did you get hurt? Show me where it hurts.”

“My back and the back of my head.”

“Can I move your shirt so I could look?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

You felt him gently pull the neck of your t-shirt away from your body to peek at your back. You heard his breath hitch as he looked. Was it that bad? “Good god (y/n),” he breathed out.

“What, is it bad?”

“Don’t you feel how bad it is? Your entire back is bruised. I think there’s some blood too.”

“Damn.”

“First, language. Second, that’s all you have to say? Aren’t you in pain?”

“Yeah, but the pain pills are gonna kick in soon. I’ll be fine.”

“Would you be able to play tonight? I really think you should sit this one out.”

“No, I’m playing tonight Dad.”

“(Y/n),” oh no, he was using his stern dad voice. “It’s not a good idea to play tonight. You’re hurt, I’m sure they’ll understand if you sit this one out.”

You felt frustration rise up in you. “We’re in the semifinals. They need me, I’m the main setter. They’d lose without me playing.”

“(Y/n), I’m serious. You’re not playing today.”

“Dad, I am playing today. Look, I’ll talk to Coach Williams to see if I could be rotated out more often. I know she’d let me.”

He stared at you for a while before sighing. He knew there was no convincing you. “...Fine. But you better talk to Coach Williams about sitting out for a bit if your back hurts too much or I swear I’ll drag you off the court myself.”

You smiled a little at the small victory. “Thank you! I promise I’ll sit out if needed.”

He quirked an eyebrow at you. “If needed?”

You sighed, “when needed.”

He walked over to the pot, stirring the contents slightly. “That’s better. Dinner’s almost ready, I made some pasta.”

“It smells good, but I think I’m skipping out on it for today. I already ate this apple and if I eat any more I’ll probably hurl on the court.”

He made a displeased noise in the back of his throat, “fine, but you’re eating something when we get home tonight.”

He walked off to go get your brothers and Tubbo for dinner. You could hear their booming steps racing down the stairs towards the kitchen. They raced into the kitchen and almost crashed into the back of your chair. You stood up and looked at the two excitable fifth graders. “Careful boys, don’t want you getting hurt.”

“You’re no fun (y/n),” Tommy whined.

“Sure, sorry bout that,” Tubbo beamed at you.

You chuckled, making your way upstairs to get ready for your match. You took off your clothes with great difficulty and slipped on your jersey and your spandex shorts. They were way too short for your tastes, but you couldn’t wear longer ones, they’d just get in the way. You fondly remembered how your dad flipped out when he first saw you in them, he hated them with a burning passion. He still hates how short they are.

When you were struggling with pulling your hair back into a tight, sleek ponytail, the back of your head throbbed continuously with pain. You most likely bruised your scalp. 

You slipped on your shoes that were made specifically for playing volleyball and headed downstairs. You were met with Tommy and Tubbo jumping in excitement seeing you in your uniform. They loved going to your matches, even if they would always pass out in the car after them because matches usually ended late at night. You grabbed your dad’s keys and headed to his car. Before you could lead the boys out the door, Philza’s voice stopped you.

“(Y/n), coat.”

You huffed, grabbing your coat and putting it on before tossing him his keys. You four got into the car and set out for the high school. The short drive was filled with Tommy and Tubbo asking you questions about volleyball and encouraging you. “(Y/n), you’re gonna kick their butts!”

“Yeah!” Tubbo cheered 

Despite their voices causing a spike of pain to shoot throughout your head, you laughed at their enthusiasm. It was always nice to hear your little brother and pseudo brother in the stands cheering you on, they were your and your team’s personal cheerleaders. 

Not long after you got to the school, you were stretching with your team on the gym’s floor. Your posse found their way into the stands, sitting in the front row. The away team watched your team like a hawk, analysing every single player for any weakness. It was because of them that you tried to not show any pain when you moved your back. You talked to Coach Williams before the team stretch and she was obviously sympathetic with your situation. She agreed to switching you out with the standby setter every few rotations. 

The echo of the whistles caused pain to ring in your head every time someone scored or a foul was called. Your team captain, Haley, was constantly, yet discreetly checking on you throughout the game since she was always next to you. She was the team’s main spiker after all. 

The game droned on and on before you realized that the opposing team was targeting you when they were offensive. They probably realized that you were injured a round ago. You tried your best to block every ball that was sent your way, but a few managed to slip past you when you couldn’t move fast enough. This team was good, but your team was better. 

The score during the final round was tied and the clock was on it’s last ten seconds as the ball soared your way. You dove to hit it, landing on your shoulder on the hard floor and hitting it up high enough for Haley to spike the ball down. The crowd went wild as the ball bounced off from the opposite end of the court almost simultaneously with the screeching of the referee’s whistle, signifying the end of the game and your team’s victory.

You laid on the floor in pain, you thought you must’ve pulled your tender muscles in your back and shoulder. It hurt to move it. You felt one of your teammates grab your hand to yank you up into a giant full team group hug. You yelped slightly in pain as you felt arms press against your back and hands firmly patting your bruised shoulders. You were whisked away into the locker room to change into the pajamas you brought with you. 

“(Y/n), are you alright? That was a pretty hard fall.” Haley’s soft voice asked you. You felt your heart sing in your chest. 

“Yeah Hales, I’m fine. I just pulled a few muscles.”

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed together, “are you sure? As your team captain and your friend, I’m worried about you.”

You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face. You felt warm knowing that she cared about you. “I’m sure, worrywart.”

She rolled her eyes playfully and breathed out a soft laugh. “Sorry for asking, grump.” Her laugh sounded like music to your ears. 

Your phone vibrated in your pajama pocket, alerting you of your family waiting for you in the car and for you to hurry up. You sighed, “sorry Hales, I gotta go. Dad’s getting impatient.” 

She gave you a small smile. “Oh, well, tell your family I said hi! Good work on the court today, I wouldn’t ask for a different setter.”

You felt your cheeks warm up and you watched with wide eyes as she left the locker room. Your phone vibrated again, your dad was really starting to get impatient. 

You walked out of the school as fast as you could to find your dad’s car waiting for you up front. Jumping in and softly closing the passenger side door, you slumped against the window. “(Y/n),” Tommy’s tired voice slurred. “That. Was. Pog…”

You glanced back to see him and Tubbo snoring away in their seats. Your match was more exciting than usual, so that must’ve really tired them out. You chuckled, turning back around to lean against the window. You took care not to put any weight on your shoulder or back. 

“(Y/n), you were amazing out there, but why did you dive for that ball? That fall looked like it hurt.”

You hummed tiredly, “thanks Dad. I just did what I thought would win us the game. We’re going to finals!” You quietly sang. 

“Did you hurt your shoulder?”

“I actually don’t know, but I think I might’ve pulled a few muscles. Nothing too bad.”

“...I scheduled a doctor’s appointment for you tomorrow morning during your first and second blocks. I want you to get your back, shoulder, and head looked at. You looked miserable the entire match.”

You sighed, too tired to argue, “mmk.”

He chuckled before the car fell into a comfortable silence. The gentle bouncing of the car and the subtle hum of the engine was lulling you to sleep. Your eyelids were drooping by the time you pulled into your driveway. 

You drug yourself out of the car and into the house, leaving Philza with the sleeping boys. You walked straight to your room and plopped down on your bed, passing out instantly for the second time that day.

Series taglist (comment if you want to be added):

[yeah-all-of-it]

I’ve had this headcanon for awhile now about Ian and Mickey starting a family and since I’m becoming more comfortable with writing, I thought I’d turn it into a fic. Enjoy!

A Life Changing Gift

“Debs, are you sure you understand what you’re offering right now?,” Ian questions, feeling a bit skeptical.

It is Debbie after all. Sometimes she’s perfectly pleasant and reasonable, other times she can be a raging bitch. But, she is his sister and he can’t imagine her offering something this monumental only to renege after they’ve gotten their hopes up. And she’s definitely mellowed out since they didn’t end up selling the house and she didn’t have to find a new place to live.

Ian and Debbie are sitting at the kitchen table in the Gallagher house. She had called him over to look at a cut Franny had gotten playing in the backyard. Wasn’t sure if it needed stitches and thought Ian could use his past medical training to check it out. In reality, it was barely a scratch. Ian should have known at that point Debbie was up to something, especially when she invited him to stay for coffee.

“Ian, I’ve been thinking a long time about this. Came up with the idea months ago but wanted to be completely sure before I said anything,” Debbie explains.

“Yeah, but, Debbie. This is fuckin’ huge. Think about how hard it’ll be on you-“

“I’ve already thought about all that shit, Ian. I’ve been through it before, you know. It’s really not that bad,” Debbie assures him.

Debbie seems sincere. Like she’s really considered every angle, every downside, upside, and in-between. He’s trying to keep his excitement reined in because he still has to convince Mickey that this is a good idea, which could be easier said than done.

“Listen,” Debbie says. “You don’t have to say anything now. Go home, talk it over with Mickey. You can even bring him over here and we can all talk about it if you want. No pressure.”

They both stand from the table and Ian goes to give her a hug.

“Wait, what the fuck are you doing?” Debbie jokes. “Thought you hated me and that we don’t do hugs anymore.” She laughs, and Ian knows she’s remembering how tense things were a year ago when she thought she’d be homeless and alone and she lashed out at all her siblings.

“Would you just fuckin’ come here?” Ian smiles warmly and holds his arms out.

She steps into his embrace and he just holds his little sister. Sometimes he still likes to imagine her as that sweet little girl that was always helping people. Always loving people, sometimes so much she would get hurt. It would kill him to see the tears in her eyes.

Sometimes, he sees glimpses of that caring little girl in the jaded woman she’s become. Like when she pretended to be the bride at his wedding; staying in the kitchen, missing the whole ceremony, just so he and Mickey could get married without any problems from the homophobes at the venue. And now, when she’s offering this selfless and life changing gift to them.

Ian whispers into her hair, hair that’s the same vibrant shade of red as his own, “I don’t even know what to say, Debs. Just… thank you.”

Debbie gives him one more big squeeze before pulling away. “You’re welcome. Now, go home and convince your husband to let me have his baby.”

———

“No fuckin’ way, NO fuckin’ way!” Mickey exclaims. “No way am I bangin’ your little sister.”

Mickey hops up on the counter, takes a long chug of the Old Style in his hand.

“Mick,” Ian sighs, leaning up against the opposite counter. “That’s not how it works. You would basically jerk off in a cup and she’d use a turkey baster, in the privacy of her own room,” he emphasizes,” to… place the sperm where they need to go.”

“Don’t you need like, a doctor or some shit to do that?” Mickey asks incredulously.

“Well, you can use a doctor but it’s expensive. This way is free,” Ian clarifies.

Mickey is clearly churning the idea around in his brain. Finally speaks.

“I thought we were just gonna like, find a fuckin’ kid that didn’t have parents or somethin’.”

“We can do that too, one day. Ya know, if we like the first one enough to do it again,” Ian says lightheartedly, slight grin, trying to calm Mickey.

Ian steps toward Mickey, placing his hips between Mickey’s knees, resting his hands on his thighs, rubbing softly.

Ian continues. “Think about it though, Mick. This baby would be us, you and me. It’s the closest we can get since we don’t exactly have the right stuff to do it on our own. He or she would have your DNA and, through Debbie, a little of mine too.”

Mickey beams at this, wraps his arms around his husband’s shoulders. “It would be kinda fun to have a little version of us runnin’ around,” Mickey admits. “You know a kid that’s part Milkovich and part Gallagher is bound to be a little shit though, right?” Mickey jokes, smiling at the thought.

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” Ian quips, leaning in and planting a sweet kiss on his smiling husband’s lips.

Ian pulls back from the kiss and asks seriously, “So. Do you wanna do this?”

“Yeah. Yeah I do. What about you?” Mickey questions.

“Fuck yeah, I do. Let’s call Debs right now.”

———

“I’ve done a lot of research about this. You guys know it might not work on the first try right? Don’t want you to be frustrated or disappointed if it doesn’t work this month. Doesn’t mean it won’t ever work, but it can take a little time,” Debbie explains.

They are sitting in the Gallagher living room the day they are making their first attempt at insemination.

“Yeah, we know, Debs. Don’t worry,” Ian replies. “We’re not in a hurry.”

“Okay, good. Keeping your expectations reasonable is good,” she says. “I’ve also been tracking my basal body temperature and took an ovulation test, so today is my most fertile da-“

Mickey interrupts, “Thanks, Dr. Gallagher, but we don’t need all the gory details. Now where do I jerk off? Hey Ian, you gonna gimme a hand, man?” Mickey clicks his tongue and bounces his eyebrows playfully.

“Ugh, no gory details, right? Let’s just keep all the personal shit to ourselves okay?” Debbie requests.

“Yeah, this is already awkward enough. Don’t need to make it weirder,” Ian agrees and eyes Mickey scoldingly.

Ian and Mickey are forced to go into the bathroom because Lip and Tami live there now and their old bedroom is now Fred and the baby’s room. They’re not home but it would be uncomfortable seeing Fred’s little toddler bed, his stuffed animal collection staring at them while Mickey gets off. So, bathroom it is.

“Listen, Mickey,” Ian explains. “I’ll help, but we are keeping this clinical. Short and sweet. We can fuck at home later for fun; this needs to be done with a purpose, a goal. Debbie’s waiting.”

“Ugh, Jesus, man, why you gotta bring up Debbie? Doesn’t exactly make this process easier to think of her waiting in her room to squir-“

“Okaaayy, focus Mick,” Ian interrupts before that sentence goes any further.

Ian yanks down Mickey’s pants and gets to work. He knows exactly how Mickey likes it to make him come quickly. It works and Mickey finishes into the bulb of the turkey baster in record time.

Ian wipes off the edges and walks it to Debbie’s room, knocking on the door. She opens it just enough to stick her arm out and Ian places the bulb in her hand. Ian hears her say, “Uh, you guys can go home. I’ll text you later,” and shuts the door.

On their way back to the Westside, Ian’s phone dings. He picks it up and reads the text from Debbie out loud. “Transfer is complete.”

“What now?” Mickey asks.

“We wait,” Ian answers.

———

“It should have worked by now, right?” Mickey asks, an edge of concern in his voice. “I mean, it’s been almost 4 months. What if like, my fuckin’ swimmers don’t work or somethin’?”

Ian tries to calm Mickey down, rubbing his arm that’s slung across Ian’s belly. It’s midnight and they really should be asleep but Mickey’s spiraling over the whole surrogacy thing.

“Mick, this is normal. We knew it could take awhile. There’s no need to freak out yet,” Ian assures. “What’s all this about, anyway? All the worry.”

“Just… I know it took a long time for me to even wanna have kids. Then you had to convince me to do this shit, to be okay with Debbie carrying my baby. Fuck, that still sounds creepy as hell. But anyway, I know I wasn’t on board with everything at first, but now? Ian, I’m so fuckin’ excited to have a baby with you. To be a dad with you. It’s just hard to wait, that’s all. And then I think… what if it doesn’t happen? What if this whole plan just fuckin’ fails? Then what?”

“Then, we come up with another plan,” Ian assures. “I wanna raise kids with you too, Mickey, so fuckin’ much. I wanna give them the childhood we never got to have. I wanna take them to the beach with you, I want us to play blocks on the living room floor, and read bedtime stories together. All that shit. It’ll happen, Mickey. One way or another, we’ll make it happen.”

Ian snuggles Mickey closer, kisses him on the top of the head, and they fall asleep in each other’s arms.

They are woken up by Ian’s obnoxious ringtone at 6:00 am, well before they have to be up for work.

“Who the fuck is calling this goddamn early? Better be fuckin’ important,” Mickey grumbles while rubbing his eyes.

It’s Debbie.

“Hey, Debs!” Ian says with fake cheerfulness, still half asleep. “What’s up?”

“There’s two lines!” she screams on the other end of the phone.

“Okay?” Ian replies.

“There’s TWO lines!” she repeats, emphasizing the word two.

“I don’t know what the fuck that means, Debs. Two lines where?” Ian questions.

“On the pregnancy test, dipshit! It’s positive! I’m pregnant!” she yells.

Ian bolts upright in bed. Mickey grumbles “what the fuck” under his breath, eyes still half closed.

“Holy fuck! It’s positive?” Ian exclaims. “It worked?

Mickey’s up now too. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Debs! Thank you! I love you! I’ll call you back later!” Ian says, unable to hold in his excitement.

He hangs up the phone. Turns and looks at Mickey. “It worked. She’s pregnant,” Ian practically whispers, unable to believe it. Ian sees tears well up in Mickey’s eyes and, for only the second time Ian has ever witnessed, they spill out onto his cheeks.

———

“Damn, you look like a beached whale, Debbie,” Mickey observes.

Debbie gives him a dirty look but chooses to keep her mouth shut.

She’s a week past her due date so they are at the clinic today to make sure everything is good. Debbie is up on the table and Ian and Mickey are sitting in the two available chairs when the doctor comes in.

“Hi, Debbie! Hi, Dads!” she says cheerfully. “So we are going to measure your belly and do a quick ultrasound just to make sure your amniotic fluid looks good.” Mickey grimaces at the term “amniotic fluid”. “I’ll have her back in a jiffy, guys!” the doctor says as she whisks Debbie out of the room.

They spent the last 6 months getting everything they needed for their new baby. Tami even threw them a shower where they got clothes, bottles, a swing, a carseat, and about a billion diapers. They decorated the nursery in light gray bedding with tiny white stars. Gender neutral because they want to be surprised. They have everything ready, all they need is the baby who is taking its sweet time.

Around 20 minutes has passed when the doctor pokes her head in the door.

“Sooo, I have some news. Debbie’s water broke while we were doing her ultrasound and her contractions started coming really fast. From what I’ve been told, her first delivery was pretty quick so we’re transporting her to the hospital just down the road, just to be safe. You are welcome to head over there now. I will be delivering so I’ll see you guys there!” and her head pops out as quickly as it appeared.

Ian and Mickey just look at each other, stunned. Finally Mickey regains his senses and breaks the silence. “Well, let’s fuckin’ go!”

They finally make it to the OB floor after a couple wrong turns inside the hospital. A nurse points them to Debbie’s room and they walk in when she’s in the middle of a pretty intense contraction. Once it subsides, she greets them and informs the epidural is on its way.

Once it’s been administered and Debbie is blissfully pain free, she asks, “Do you guys want to be in the delivery room?”

They both look at each other. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” Ian replies.

“Fuck, no,” Mickey says. “I don’t wanna see that shit.”

“Mick, you don’t have to watch. We can stand up by her head. Hold her hand. Be supportive since she’s bringing our baby into this world.” Ian turns to Debbie. “Are you sure you don’t mind? We understand if you want to keep things private.”

“Ian. I gave birth to Franny on our kitchen table in front of… like, everyone. Kev saw my vagina. V saw my vagina. Fuckin’ Sean saw my vagina. Trust me, I don’t care if you two are in the room.”

Ian looks at Mickey. “Fuck… fine. We can be in there,” Mickey relents.

A nurse comes in to check Debbie and informs her she’s 100% effaced and 10cm dilated. It’s go time. Things move at a quick pace after that. More nurses come in, turning on extra lights, bringing in supplies, wheeling in the heated bassinet.

Ian and Mickey stand side by side to Debbie’s left, Ian holding her hand, while she pushes. It’s fast. She only pushes for ten minutes before they hear cries and the doctor’s holding the baby in her hands, declaring, “it’s a girl!”

The next thing they know, a nurse is throwing a clean blanket over Mickey’s chest, and another nurse walks over and places the baby, his daughter, in his arms, blood, vernix, and all. Ian expects him to be grossed out but Mickey just stares in awe at this beautiful baby. This baby that looks like him in the face, but has a head of red hair.

Ian steps up to Mickey and wraps an arm around his shoulders, placing his other under Mickey’s arms that are holding their daughter. There is not a dry eye in the room. Ian and Mickey are crying, Debbie is crying, even the doctor and nurses are crying.

The next hour or so is spent getting the baby, and Debbie, cleaned up and dressed. They take the baby and run the normal tests and give her a vitamin k shot.

Once Debbie is in a room, the nurse brings the baby in to her dads. Ian sits in the rocking chair snuggling her while she sleeps and Mickey is right next to them.

Debbie just gazes at this new little family from her spot in bed. “So,” she finally says. “What are you naming her?”

Ian and Mickey just smile at each other before Ian responds, “Debbie, meet Margaret Laura Gallagher-Milkovich. Maggie for short.”

Debbie’s eyes tear up. “You guys gave her my middle name?”

Mickey surprisingly fields this question. “We wanted her to be named after the person that’s responsible for her bein’ here. For helping’ create her for us. I know I give you a lotta shit, but I love ya, and I appreciate the fuck outta you, Debbie.”

“Aww, Mickey, I love yo-“ she begins before being interrupted.

“Don’t get fuckin’ used to it. I’m emotional today,” he snaps with feigned grumpiness. Then smiles at her.

They let Debbie snuggle her for a bit before being released by the pediatrician to take her home. Thankfully they had already installed the infant seat in their car so they were prepared.

They walk through the door of their apartment 30 minutes later. Ian sets the carrier down and picks the baby up out of it, snuggling her tiny body to his chest before passing her off to Mickey.

“I’m not sure what you were so worried about, you’re a natural, Mickey,” Ian says as he gazes at his handsome husband tenderly cradling their beautiful baby girl.

They walk over to the sofa and sit down, thinking about the whirlwind of a day. Not knowing when they got up this morning to take Debbie to the clinic that by evening, they’d be holding their daughter in their arms.

Ian wraps Mickey’s shoulders with his arm, places his hand on their swaddled baby and says, “Welcome home, Maggie Gallagher-Milkovich. Your dads love you so much.”

[toomanyrobins2]

One Year: January

Summary: Clint Barton, college football star, has a new interest: Y/N Y/L/N. But with her father gone all of the time, a younger brother, and going to college, Y/N has no time for dating. Will Clint get the yes, or will life get in the way?

Pairing: Clint Barton x Reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Content warning: nothing really yet, douchey dad, occasional cursing, mentions of drinking and sex later

Notes: eighteen thousand years later here is the next chapter 💛

december // masterlist // february

Three days after Christmas, Y/N and Asher’s father rolled into town to throw a New Year’s event at the house for some new investors. As soon as he reappeared, she immediately fell off the grid, ignoring every text and call from Clint. Two days before New Year's had called her and left a message:

“Hey, gorgeous. I haven’t heard from you in a few days and now I know you’re ignoring my calls. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I want you to know that I’m not running. Saying I’m falling or you would be a lie because I’ve already fallen. If anyone ever heard this message, I’d made fun of for being such a sap, but I don’t care. Call me or text me and let me know that you and Asher are at least okay.”

Y/N had broken down in tears when she heard the message and as soon as Asher was in bed, she called him back: “Hi.”

“Hey, gorgeous. What’s going on?”

She sniffled, “My dad’s back in town.”

“Shit, I’m coming over.”

“What, no! You don’t need to do that. It’s just hard on Asher, which makes it hard on me.”

“You gave me a key. I’m coming over.”

Before she could argue, Clint hung up and drove straight over to the house. He immediately walked up to Y/N’s room and found her curled up on the bed. They didn’t speak as he just curled around her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. It only took her a few seconds to start crying and Clint just held her tighter. Eventually, she fell asleep and from the dark circles, this was the first proper sleep she had had in days.

Clint had eventually followed behind Y/N and fell asleep. Around 2, a cry had him jolt out of bed. He felt her grumble next to him, but she was not fully awake. Another cry fully woke Clint up and he realized that it was storming outside and that it was Asher calling for Y/N. He got out of bed and hurried down the hall. When he got into the bedroom, the six-year-old threw himself into Clint’s arms. He wrapped his arms around the little boy and rubbed Asher’s back. “Did the storm scare you?”

He felt him nod against his neck. “Do you want to come to bed with Y/N and me? We could protect her from the storm together.”

“You protect me?”

“Always, buddy.” Clint carried Asher back into Y/N’s room and they crawled into the bed. She immediately pulled her brother close to her and Clint laid on the other side of him, his arm thrown across so that his hand was on her waist.

The next morning, the trio was in the kitchen making Mickey Mouse pancakes. Clint was determined to cheer up the Y/L/N siblings. Music was playing and laughter echoed through the room. Asher nearly fell off the stool with how hard he was laughing when Y/N flipped a pancake into Clint’s face. As soon as they heard the front door close, the air grew thick with tension.

Clint watched as Y/N’s whole demeanor hardened and she unconsciously moved to stand closer to Asher. He watched a handsome man with grey hair stumble into the kitchen in a wrinkled suit. “Late night?” Y/N’s voice was unrecognizable, hard, and unfeeling.

“Dinner with a client ran long so I just got a room at a hotel,” He looked past and zoned in on the unfamiliar man in the kitchen, “And you are?”

“That’s Clint,” Asher piped up, “He’s my friend and Y/N’s boyfriend.”

He took a deep breath and put one hand on the small of Y/N’s back and held the other out to shake, “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Y/L/N.”

“Pleasure. I’m assuming you will be my daughter’s date to the party?”

“Party?”

“Yes,” the older man flashed a charming smile and Clint started to understand how this man got away with everything, “A party for my investors on New Year’s Eve.”

Clint squeezed Y/N’s waist in comfort, “I wouldn’t miss it.”

Y/N tried multiple times to convince Clint not to waste his time at the party, but he wouldn’t hear it. Even after he arrived with his garment bag thrown over his shoulder, she was trying to talk him out of this. She babbled away as she put on her makeup, “I‘m just saying that I know that Bucky is throwing a party. Nat told me. You shouldn’t have to miss out on a good time because of me.”

Clint had just pulled on his shirt and marched into the ensuite. He spun her around so that she was trapped against the counter, “You are not going to convince me to leave.”

“But--”

He slammed his lips against her, feeling her hands travel up his chest to curl around the unbuttoned shirt. Clint wrapped one around her, pulling her as close as possible to him.

“Ew.” The couple separated and turned to see Asher standing in the doorway to the ensuite.

Clint kissed Y/N’s nose, “Nothing you say will change my mind. So get on board, gorgeous.” She just nodded dumbly, still reeling from the kiss. He went over to Asher and helped him up on the bed, “I have a surprise for you.” He pulled two ties out that were the team colors.

“We can match?” Asher was bouncing up and down.

“We can match.” Y/N watched from the doorway as Clint showed her little brother how to tie a tie. Emotions whirled through her. She hated that their father wasn’t the one having these little moments with Asher. However, she was in deep with Clint as he didn’t just tolerate Asher, but went out of his way to care and love the young boy. Y/N didn’t know how it had snuck up on her but in the last three months, she had fallen in love with the dorky blonde football player who she swore she wasn’t going to give the time of day. She shut the door to the bathroom and pulled on her gown.

When she opened the door, the two boys were taking selfies in the floor-length mirror. They turned to look at her and both their eyes widened. Asher was the first to speak, “You look so pretty, Y/N.”

She grinned and gave him a kiss on the cheek, “And you look so handsome. I’ve got two good-looking dates tonight.” Clint was still staring and moved closer, swooping in for a kiss. Y/N could have cried with laughter at how affronted he looked when helping up a hand to stop him, “I’m wearing lipstick.”

“I don’t care,” he kissed her until she was breathless.

The happiness and ease that they felt in her bedroom were dashed as soon as they walked down the stairs and were enveloped by the party. Y/N was trying to keep her composure as her father used Asher as a performing seal. Clint’s hand gripped her tightly, trying to keep her calm, but she was dying inside as she watched her little brother try to make their sperm donor proud. It was late into the night at this point and she could see that the young boy was struggling to keep his eyes open. She couldn’t hold it in any longer and wiggled her hand out of Clint’s. “Gorgeous…”

“I’ll be okay. Go see Tony and Pepper.” She made her way over and smiled charmingly at the guests, “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but it’s gotten very late. Dad, it is way past Asher’s bedtime.

He waved his eldest child away, “Oh it’s fine, he’s having a good time.”

“He actually has a playdate tomorrow and needs to be rested. So, he should really start his bedtime routine.

Her father’s eyes hardened, “I’m the parent and I’ve decided he’s okay to stay up a little while longer.” She scoffed and her father tried to shoot her a look. Asher started to well up at the tension and Y/N pulled him into her arms. They walked away from the group and she shot her father a glare as he followed them, “He should’ve been in bed over two hours ago. Don’t claim to be his parent when you haven’t done a damn thing. I’m the only mother he’s ever known. I’m the only parent he’s known in the past 6 years.”

“Not right now. This is not behavior for in front of guests. Why don’t we step into the study for this discussion.” He was gripping her arm and that’s what brought Clint back over to their side.

Y/N quickly passed the half-asleep Asher to him, “Would you mind taking him just for a few moments. I’ll be there soon, but I need to have a quick word with my father.”

Clint gripped her waist tight, “Are you okay?”

“No, but I need to be,” she kissed both of their cheeks, “I’ll be up soon. He’s going to need a bath since he’s covered in frosting.”

Y/N didn’t look back even though she felt Clint’s gaze on her as she walked away. The minute the door shut her father exploded, “How dare you! You don’t behave like that when we have guests over. It isn’t proper.”

“Screw proper behavior! I’ve been proper every day for nearly my whole life. Ever since mom got sick. You haven’t been around to try and now you claim that Asher is the product of anything you’ve done. That kid is amazing because he’s done everything without you. I did the midnight feeds and diaper changings. I’m the one that went to the library and checked out parenting books. When he fell off his bike, I helped him up, cleaned his cuts, and told him to try again and not to give up. I’ve done his back-to-school shopping, got his Halloween costumes every year. I helped him with his homework and I got a car so that someone could be there to pick him up every damn day. I’ve been to every concert and sports game. You don’t get to suddenly reappear randomly and use us as a pretty family in front of your friends and investors. You just a sperm donor.”

“I think you forget your place, young lady.”

“Ha. Don’t try to parent me. You’re not a parent!” Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to get herself under control, “If you were, you’d know the bare minimum isn’t good enough. Money isn’t enough. Your children deserve love and support. Asher deserves someone who shows up and that’s not you. Never again will you be allowed to use him for your business. I will make sure that he has a sleepover or appointment to take up his every hour when you’re in town. You are a stranger that happens to live under the same roof as us a couple nights a year. We’ve just been along for the ride. You’ve missed every birthday party and every Christmas morning for too many years. That’s over 20 birthdays so far. That’s 6 years of Christmas shopping I’ve done alone. That’s decorating Christmas trees without you. That’s late nights making birthday cakes. That’s the first steps, award ceremonies, and graduations. That kid is my life and I am his. You haven’t been around. Do you know how many nights I spent with him and he would ask why you weren’t there? Eventually, he just gave up hope. I’m glad your business is thriving but in the process of making this all happen, you forget something so much more important. You forgot your kids. Well, guess what, I never forgot. Not for a second. I’ve missed so much of my life for Asher and I won’t regret a second of it. He’s not your kid. He’s mine. And if you excuse me, I need to put him to bed.” She left the study, head held high, and headed straight for Asher’s room.

When she didn’t find them there, she hurried into her room and found Clint reading a book, with the six-year-old conked out on his shoulder. Y/N decided to take a moment and walked down the hallway and sat on the window seat, listening to the party still raging below. She rested her head on the window, feeling the cool January chill on her forehead. Silent tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks. She heard a throat clear and turned to see Clint standing a few feet away. He didn’t say anything, instead, he just let her curl up against him. He picked her up, carrying her to her room. He knelt down and slipped her heels off. Her breathing was shallow, as the argument played over and over in her mind. He pulled the dress down her shoulders and replaced it with one of his shirts that she’d claimed. He toed his shoes off and climbed into bed, pulling her down. They one curled around Asher and Clint looked at her, “You don’t need to talk tonight. You don’t even need to talk tomorrow. Just know that when we do have this conversation, it won’t scare me away. I’m in this for the long haul, whatever that means. I love you.”

It wasn't perfect, at that moment it wasn't even good, but the ball had dropped and it was January 1st. A new year and Y/N was going to make sure that life was better than ever before.

********************************

@be-patient-be-good

@spntiel

@mycosmicparadise

@itsnottilly

[someonestolemyshoes]

The Keeper’s Introduction

Here is my fic for @levihan-drabbles Fluff Friday! 

Prompt: "I know I just broke into your apartment in the middle of the night but there are some bad people after my special power over alternate universes and I've decided to put all my faith on you to save everything."

They looked oddly at home, expertly navigating his kitchen. As though they had been there before. They grabbed the honeypot from another cupboard, and found a spoon in one of the drawers.

"Oi," Levi said. "How'd you know where I keep all my shit?"

The stranger waved their hand flippantly, "Oh, I'm well acquainted with your layout. It never really changes, wherever you are."

**

Levi had just settled in for the night when a loud echoing crack sounded in the street below.

It was well past midnight, far too late for such a racket. The sudden violence of it was almost enough to make him spill his tea. He waited with his breath held, his heart shamefully hammering in his chest. Levi prided himself on being the type who doesn't scare so easily—but one can't be blamed for being alarmed by an unexpected noise in the dead of night, can they?

The world remained mercifully still and quiet. Levi approached the open window slowly (carefully, not frightfully; there is no indignity in being cautious) and peered out into the night. The sky outside was almost full dark, saved from the pressing black by only a smattering of stars and the moon, a papery sliver of a thing hooked high over the distant rooftops. The window, open only an inch, gave entry to a gentle breeze, still balmy despite the lateness of the hour. The town was drowsy, dozing; only the occasional candle flickered in the darkness, and no sound, prior to or following the thunderous clap, could be heard.

The street, three stories below, was empty. Levi scanned the road, but found nothing unusual. The strangest thing, perhaps, was that his face was the only one peering out. None of his neighbours had deemed the explosion worth investigating.

It was, for all the world, a night as perfectly normal as any other. Levi had seen no reason to expect anything out of the ordinary might occur.

He blew out a breath. Maybe he had imagined it. He had been quite engrossed in his novel, and it was well past time for him to be sleeping. It isn't unreasonable to assume that the sound of a cat, perhaps, rattling the bins in the alley had startled his tired, occupied mind. Resolving to finish his chapter and go straight to bed, Levi gave the street one last cursory glance, and turned away from the window.

He had just settled back into his chair and picked up his tea cup and his book, when the doorbell rang.

The chime in itself was yet another oddity, for Levi received visitors only very rarely, and never at an hour so late as this.

He set down his drink and lowered the book to his lap with a frown. Better, he thought, not to answer straight away. Then they might leave without causing him any trouble—and if they rang a second time, and even a third, Levi would suppose it might be something urgent and might finally be pressed to receive his unwanted guest.

Much to his pleasure, the bell did not sound a second time. Levi waited, poised to stand, but minutes passed by with no sound at all, and eventually, mildly disgruntled now by the persistent interruptions, he settled back and tried, once again, to read.

He turned the page. Picked up his now lukewarm tea, and took a sip. Sunk down more comfortably into the plush armchair. He felt himself begin to settle. The peculiarities of the night drifted from his thoughts as he read, mind too engaged with the story in his hands to think too deeply over the strange events that had occurred.

And then, without any warning at all, a godawful shriek rent the air as Levi's window was wrenched open from the outside, the wood frame protesting with a violent screech. Levi jerked in his seat, book falling from his hands and his tea cup shattering as it struck the stone floor.

There was a person, making no efforts at all to be quiet, unashamedly clambering in through his window. Levi watched, too shocked to move, while they pulled themself over the sill and crumpled in a heap to the floor.

Levi could do nothing but stare as the intruder heaved themself up. They unfurled long limbs, straightening to their full height, and turned quickly to poke their head out of the open window. They looked left, then right, down, and most peculiarly, up, before pulling themself back inside and slamming the window closed. They drew the curtains shut, and turned to look into the room, casting their eyes about the place as though inspecting it.

They walked with a relaxed gate, seemingly unbothered by their rude intrusion. Levi couldn't be sure if they had noticed his presence, for they made no show of knowing he was even there, and Levi was still too stunned to announce it. He watched the stranger rotate in a slow circle, looking everywhere from the ceiling down to the floor. Satisfied, they slapped their hands to their hips and nodded once, and then their gaze fell on Levi, still sitting stiff as a board in his chair. The light from Levi's lamp cast half their face in shadow, glinting off the lenses of their glasses. Their mouth stretched in a wide, manic grin.

Levi swallowed hard. His courage returned to him swiftly, urging him to his feet. He faced the stranger head on with his face twisted in a scowl.

"What the hell are you doing?"

The intruder's grin only widened.

"Oh, Mike was right after all!"

They crossed to him quickly in two great strides. Levi twisted his head this way and that to watch them as they circled him. This close, Levi could better see the sharp hook of their nose, the angle of their jaw and the whiskey colour of their eyes, with strange, dark markings around their irises, like the face of a clock. He could also see the fingerprint smudges on their lenses. They wore all black, from their muddy boots up to the overlarge hood draped over their shoulders like a small cloak.

"Shitty four-eyes, answer me."

They let out a gleeful laugh.

"Oh, Mike my friend, you are a genius!" They said. And then, to Levi, they added, "Mike can sniff out you Guardians half a universe away, I swear."

Levi had no idea who Mike was, or what a Guardian was, and frankly, he didn't care. He levelled his home invader with a sharp glare. When he spoke again, it was through gritted teeth. "I said, what the hell are you doing climbing through my window? How? I’m three stories up!"

The stranger's smile finally faltered. They tilted their head. "I did try the doorbell."

"Why did you want to be in my house?"  

"Ah, well, you see—that's kind of a long story." They turned on their heel and strode into the kitchenette. Levi watched on, incredulous, as they filled his kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil. With one hand, they reached into the cupboard above the sink and rifled through the boxes until they found Levi's stash of chamomile tea, and with the other they reached for the draining board, and plucked up two clean cups by their handles. All of this, while they watched the water begin to simmer in the pot.

They looked oddly at home expertly navigating his kitchen. As though they had been there before. They grabbed the honeypot from another cupboard, and found a spoon in one of the drawers.

"Oi," Levi said. "How'd you know where I keep all my shit?"

The stranger waved their hand flippantly, "Oh, I'm well acquainted with your layout. It never really changes, wherever you are."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean, shitty glasses?" Levi tried to inject an air of disinterested anger into his tone, but the stranger’s words, said so plainly, raised goosebumps on his skin.

They chuckled. "I can't tell you how many times we've had this conversation. I'm Hange, by the way."

Hange brought the tea over to where Levi stood, and held one cup out for Levi to take. He clenched his fists by his sides instead. The tea, upsettingly, smelled perfect; brewed at the right temperature, for the right time, and sweetened with just a drop of honey. When he didn't take the cup, Hange shrugged and set it on the little table by the armchair. They spied the broken china on the floor and smirked, "you never have much luck with that one."

"Excuse me?"

"That cup. It's the one with the gold rim, right? And all the little forget-me-nots around the outside?"

Levi said nothing. Hange, irritatingly and unexplainably, for the cup was in many pieces now and the lighting was too poor to see it in any great detail, was absolutely right.

"You still haven't answered my question," he said.

"Right, right. Like I said, it's a long story. Do you want the unabridged version or are you happy with the footnotes?"

"A summary is fine."

Hange took a great slurp of their tea. "Long story short, I pissed off some very bad people, and now they are after me for my, ah—abilities."

"But why my house?"

"Mike told me where you'd be. And boy, am I glad he did! I barely made it in time. I was aiming to land right in your sitting room, but I guess my calculations were a little off…" they trailed away with a frown. Levi watched their lips work quickly, as though they were running numbers in their head. Then they stopped, and shook themselves off. "Doesn't matter now anyway. I didn't wake you, did I? World hopping can be pretty loud."  

That, at least, accounted for the sound Levi had heard outside. But...

"Hange," Levi said. "You've explained nothing."

"Give me a minute, Levi. It's complicated! There's a lot of history and I already know you don't want to hear any of it. Besides, we wouldn't have the time. We'll have to leave early in the morning."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Sure you are," Hange said. "I have to meet up with Erwin, and I need you to get me there."

"Where's there? Who the hell is Erwin?"

Again, Hange waved their hand at him. "Unimportant. Look, what matters is this: I might've messed with the timeline in another universe, and that may have caused some….upset, with some very important and very powerful people. I only changed a little bit!! I met this guy, Onyankopon—he's so cool, you know? Smart as hell. He had this idea that—well, it was the base model for an airplane."

"A what?"

"Well, see, that's the thing. Onyankopon asked the same question, and I just...told him. A little bit. I went a little too deep into the mechanics of it all, and he...well he might have developed a model that works. Two hundred years before it was supposed to exist in his universe. And now the Bureau is looking for me, but I’m not done with Erwin’s mission yet and so I am putting all my eggs in your basket. I need you to get me out of this in one piece.”

Hange looked more sheepish about this insane indiscretion than they had about breaking and entering.

"You're fucking insane," he said. Hange let out a bright laugh.

"So you've told me, more times than I can count."

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He felt a headache coming on.

"You look stressed," Hange said, sounding almost sympathetic. "Drink the tea! It'll help, though it's probably a little cold by now."

"You're the reason I'm stressed, idiot."

"Sorry about that," they said, not sounding very sorry at all. "I know the circumstances aren't...ideal. I'd much rather have come to you another time and explained everything properly, but—well, I was kind of in a hurry, and Mike sniffed you out, said you were the nearest you to my location. I didn't have much of a choice."

"Who the hell is Mike? Some kind of mutt?"

"Sort of," Hange said with a grin. "He's a Seeker. It's his job to locate people like you—people like us—when the Bureau needs us. Fortunately for me, Mike isn't overly loyal to our dear overseers—his allegiance lies with Erwin, as does mine. And Erwin is decidedly less strict about most of the timelines."

Hange circled around Levi and set their hands on his shoulders. Something strange sparked there, a heat that sunk through skin and muscle and settled right in his bones. They had already ushered him into his chair by the time he shrugged them off.

"What does any of this batshit garbage you're spewing have to do with me?"

"You are a Guardian. It's your role to protect people like me from harm."

"The hell does that mean, people like you? I’m not fighting anyone to save your scrawny ass from anything. You fucked up, you deal with it. "

Hange stood up straight and puffed out their chest. "I am a Keeper. I'm supposed to keep order in the timelines. According to the Bureau, at least. Erwin has other ideas—but that's a story for another time. For now, we should rest. Like I said, we've got to leave early in the morning."

"To go where?"

"To Erwin!" Hange said brightly. "I don't have my pocket watch anymore, so we're gonna have to take the traditional route. There's no way I'll make it on my own. And don’t worry, you won’t have to fight anyone. I’ll explain it all on the journey."

"Look,” Levi said. “Can't you just...drop out of the sky whenever this Erwin guy is? I'm sure he's got his own window you can climb through."

"No can do," Hange said. "I can only hop between universes. I need my watch to move fast within any one universe, and mine took a dunk in a river, during my escape."

"Magic bullshit technology that lets you, what, teleport across the damn globe? And it can't survive a dip in a river?"

"They aren't watertight," Hange said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And they still run on batteries. Moblit is working on improving the technology."

Levi's head throbbed. He rubbed his eyes and glowered up at Hange, who was watching him with a soft smile. Levi deepened his scowl.  

"What's that shitty face for?"

Hange's expression softened further. They looked at him with so much fondness, Levi felt his face grow warm.

"I've missed you, you know," they said. "Well, not you, but—you. It's been...a really long time."

"That makes no sense," Levi said. He meant it, too—nothing Hange had said to him made sense at all. It was the stuff of storybooks, fairy tales; the product of an imagination run wild. And yet, Hange's presence, alarming as it had been and frankly still was, felt oddly familiar. The warmth of their hands still rested on his shoulders. In spite of himself, Levi felt the corner of his lip begin to curl into a small, absent smile. He wrestled it back down.

Hange laughed, a light, lilting thing, and yawned. They crossed the room to Levi's small dining table and dropped heavily into a chair.

"I suppose you're right," they said with a lazy grin. "It doesn't make any sense at all. You'll just have to trust me."

"You broke into my house. You're not selling your reliability very well. And don't even think about it."

Hange looked over at him, surprised. "Think about what?"

"Putting your filthy feet on my damn table."

"Whatever gave you the idea I'd do something like that?"

Levi opened his mouth to answer, but snapped it closed swiftly as the thought, which had come to him thoroughly unbidden, fully registered in his mind. You do it all the time.

Levi pinched his eyes, staring at Hange. They sat with a curious little tilt of their head, watching him with an open, analytical look. Levi squirmed under their gaze.

"I don't know," he said. "Seems like the kind of shit you'd do."

"Like something I've done before?"

Levi flinched, and Hange smiled all teeth at him, a strange mix of impish and pleased. They propped their elbow on the table and rested their chin on their palm. "There it is," they said quietly.

"What?" Levi asked. Too eager. Hange looked thrilled as they straightened up in their chair, eyes gleaming in the lamplight.

"There are a lot of you's, one in every single universe, just like there are a lot of Isabel's, and Farlan's, and Petra's—"

"How do you—you know what, nevermind. Go on."

"But because you're a Guardian, all your you's are linked. And because you're my Guardian," Hange looked weirdly proud at this pronouncement, "it's only natural that you remember me. It'll happen a lot, I'm sure. Try not to freak out."

Levi snorted. "You say that now?"

"Would it have made a difference if I said it earlier?"

Levi mulled that over for a second. No, he supposed it wouldn’t. He’d have thought them completely unhinged either way. Instead of answering, he picked up the tea from the table and drained it in three gulps. When he looked back at Hange, they were smiling brightly at him.

"Just how you like it, right?"

"I prefer it hot."

Hange kicked their heels against the floor and shot him an affronted look. With a petulant pout of their lip, they said, " So unfair, Levi! That's not my fault."

He shrugged them off. He would never admit it to them, but he took some bizarre delight in watching Hange's tantrum. It felt all too natural. They slumped back in their chair, head tipped over the back rest to stare at the ceiling.

"Ah, you're as cruel as ever," they said. "It's good. Very you."

Hange pushed their glasses up to their forehead and rubbed at their eyes. The scene looked painfully familiar; Hange, smiling sleepily, bleary eyed in the low blush of candlelight. Only, in the image forming in his mind, they were resting against a plump, well-fluffed pillow, and their hair was down from its ponytail, still messy and falling over their face. In the image forming in his mind, Levi's own hand reached out to brush a few strands from their cheeks, and Hange turned into his palm, their lips brushing the sensitive skin there.

Levi shook his head, face a little warm. Hange was watching him again. He scowled at them for good measure, gathering up his own cup and theirs, and washing them in the sink. He let the water run cool over his hands for a long moment.

"You should rest, if you're tired," he said. From the table, Hange hummed.

"Good idea," they said. "The bed's big enough for two, right?"

Levi turned sharply to refute them, but Hange didn't give him the chance. They had already heaved themself up out of their chair and kicked off their boots, and now, with the practiced ease of someone who had lived in the house for years, they were wandering down the hall and straight into Levi's bedroom, leaving the door open behind them.

Levi dried his hands slowly on the dish towel. He looked at the armchair, big and well-cushioned, spacious enough for him to recline in for a few hours rest. It wouldn't be the first time, and he had no doubt it would be the last. And then he looked down the hallway, where Hange must have lit the lamp; warm light spilled out into the corridor, and Levi was reminded abruptly of his strange thoughts.

This Hange, they were crazy. Talking the most nonsense Levi had ever heard come straight from another person's mouth. He would be better off resting his eyes in his chair, and kicking Hange out at first light.

That was the logical thing to do. The reasonable thing. That was the desperate plea of his better judgement.

Instead, he blew out his lamp, and stormed down the hallway after them.  

"You lie on my fresh sheets in your filthy clothes and I'm throwing you back out the window, Guardian or not."

[fics-of-culture]

Nightmares and Angels

Requested by anonymous

Summary: The littlest Winchester has been experiencing hallucinations and nightmares of her brothers covered in blood. Can a certain whiskey eyed angel come to the rescue?

Words: 2,123

Warnings: Blood, Hallucinations, Nightmares. Reader has PTSD. Possible misrepresentation of mental illness. (I personally don’t have many experiences with PTSD or hallucinations so take everything here with a grain of salt.) 

It was late. And you found yourself milling around the bunker. Again. Trying to find anything to occupy your time with in order to avoid going back to your room. You were positive that if you went to bed you’d have nightmares. You’d been having them a lot recently. Along with some other... issues that you’d yet to address. Today had been especially difficult for you in that regard. Your older brother Dean had been in the kitchen making dinner when you had another one of your ‘attacks’ as you called them. 

“You want bacon on your burger?” Dean turned away from the veggies he’d been chopping to face you. You were seated at the kitchen table, nose buried in a book and just enjoying your brother's company when he had asked. Being caught off guard by the question, you let out a little ‘huh?’ “The burger.” Dean repeated. “You want bacon on it or- Ah shit!” He exclaimed suddenly. You stood from your chair to check on your brother when you saw it. A steady trail of red streamed from his thumb onto the cutting board. Apparently Dean had nicked his finger while he was distracted. You froze in place. Images flashed rapidly before you as Dean grabbed a towel to stop the bleeding. You watched in horror as the blood seeped through the towel. Slowly, it continued to spread until it was running as a steady steam down his arm pooling around his shoes. You took an unsteady step back, priming yourself to run out the door when a pair of fingers snapped in front of you. Dean was staring at you with concern. Hand wrapped in a towel completely devoid of blood. “I said can you get me a bandaid?” Dean asked. Watching you curiously as you stood there. Shaking off your latest trance, you gave Dean a sharp nod before turning to locate your first aid kit.

It wasn’t always like this. Some days were just worse than others. You had gotten so accustomed to seeing your brothers steeped in blood that you had started to see it even when it wasn’t there. Your brothers didn’t know about this. No one did. And you intended to keep it that way. They always looked as though they had the weight of the world on their shoulders and you couldn't bear to stress them out more with your personal problems. You sighed as you wandered into the kitchen. It was empty now. Your brothers had gone to bed hours ago, meaning you could roam around freely without your brothers worrying about why you were up so late. Knowing you’d be awake for a while longer, you decided to brew some coffee. You were pouring yourself a steaming cup of coffee when you heard wings flap behind you.

“Is that for me? Oh sweetheart, you shouldn’t have.” Gabriel speaks in your ear as his arms wrap around you to pull the cup out of your hand. You roll your eyes as you turn to face him. You cross your arms as you stare at the angel who has been your best friend since he’d been ‘brought back to life’. A smug smirk graced his lips as he kept your beverage from you.

“Gabe, that drink does not have nearly enough sugar for it to be for you.” You sass him as you reach out to take your cup back, but he continues to withhold it from you. 

“I’ll tell you what, you give me a little sugar right now and you’ll get this drink back.” You cross your arms and groan in annoyance as the mischievous angel taps a finger to his cheek. “Come on hon, one little kiss and I’ll stop buggin’ ya. Besides, I’ve been gone for weeks! Don’t you wanna welcome me home?” It is true that he had been gone for quite a while. He and Cas had been working overtime in heaven trying to keep the lights on. Uncrossing your arms, you sigh in mock defeat as you step closer to give your favorite angel a kiss on the cheek. He lets out a dramatic gasp as you give him a quick peck. You turn your face slightly to hide the blush spreading on your cheeks. If Gabriel notices your sudden bashfulness, he doesn’t say anything.

“You only get a kiss because I did miss you.” You mutter quietly. Gabe gives you a soft, genuine smile. “Now can I have my drink back?” You raise your arms and make little grabby motions with your hands as you wait for Gabe to give your drink back.

“Hell no!” He basically shouts, showing no concern for the other sleeping tenants of the bunker. He swiftly raises his right hand and snaps the coffee out of existence. Your arms fall to your sides as you regard your friend with a look of betrayal. You open your mouth to whine at him before being quickly cut off. “You have any idea what time it is, sugar? You don’t need coffee. You need sleep.”

“You promised you’d give it back.” You said, giving Gabriel your best pout. Maybe your patented Winchester puppy dog eyes would distract the angel from the lateness of the hour.

“Honey.” Gabriel’s voice was suddenly lacking that playful tone from before. “I know you and the rest of the mystery gang are used to burning the midnight oil, but you need to take care of yourself. Are you guys even on a case right now?”

“No.” You muttered quietly. “But!”

“But nothin’ sweetheart. You gotta go to bed. Unless there's something you’re not telling me?” Gabriel had suspected that something had been up with you for a while, but damn if you weren’t a tough cookie to crack. You just huffed out a little sigh before saying goodnight to Gabriel and heading to your room. You were certainly not interested in explaining your lack of sleep to Gabe. You figured that you could probably get away with loading up Netflix on your laptop and staying up a bit longer, but Gabe was right. You desperately needed sleep. Chuck knows you’d been lacking it for the past couple weeks. You resign yourself to your fate as you get ready for bed. Maybe with Gabe in the bunker, the dreams won’t be so bad you think to yourself as your eyes slide closed.

-

Sam was suddenly woken to the sound of your screams. His bedroom being situated directly across from yours gave him the benefit of being the first one to hear your destress. In less than a second, your brother sprung up from his bed, blankets violently tossed to the side as he rushed toward your room. Once he was in the hall, he shouted once for Dean, but didn’t linger to wait for him. Instead, Sam burst into your room, shotgun in hand. Expecting some sort of intruder, Sam was caught off guard when all he found was you screaming and writhing blindly on your mattress. 

“Y/N!” Sam shouted your name as he rushed to your side. Jostling your shoulder in order to wake you, your brother watched in horror as your eyes opened suddenly, falling upon his face. Instead of his presence soothing you as he thought it would, you instead jerked away from his touch and let out a scream of what he could only describe as haunting despair. From your perspective, you weren’t seeing your sweet brother Sammy as you normally would. Instead, you watched as your brother’s face was covered in blood and contorted in anguish. Desperate to get away from this haunting image, you pulled away from his grasp and pinned yourself to the headboard of the bed. As far away from your concerned brother as possible. Vaguely you recognized that he was speaking to you, but you couldn’t pull away from your panic long enough to hear him. All you could do was stare at the blood pouring down his face, repeatedly jerking away from him each time he tried to touch you or otherwise get near you. A few moments later, you were curled into a ball on your bed when the door swung open once more. It was Dean. He stood there staring at you with a worried expression similar to Sam’s, apparently having heard the ruckus you’d made. But you couldn’t focus on that. All you could see was the copious amounts of blood dripping from what appeared to be a stab wound right where his heart was. Just like when Sam approached, you jerked away from Dean when he got near you. You were unable to do anything in this moment other than tremble and sob at the horrific images of your bloodied brothers before you. You truly tried to calm yourself, but nothing seemed to soothe you. And the presence of your brothers were just making your stress worse. You couldn’t get the picture of your blood soaked brothers out of your head. Subconsciously, you desperately cried out to the only being you thought might be able to save you. You didn’t even register the new presence in your room until you felt the bed dip. Your head jerked up, frantically searching for the new intruder when you saw Gabe. He wasn’t covered in blood or half dead. He was just your Gabriel. You let out a little cry of relief when you saw him. Instantly moving to crawl into his lap for comfort.

“Hey hon, what’s going on?” You hear him whisper as he wraps his arms around you. From your spot in his lap, you couldn’t see the confusion and worry on his face as he tried to figure out what was happening.

“I can’t- I can’t make them stop!” Your voice sounds pathetic to you as you speak frantically. Gabe runs his hand through his hair, not entirely sure what to do. 

“What’re you talking about? What won’t stop?” His hand falls to your head and he lets his fingers card through your hair as you whimper into his chest.

“The hallucinations! I can’t make them go away.” With your head buried in his chest, you don’t see the grim look Gabriel sends your brothers. Your brothers turn to share a look as if to say ‘Did you know about this?’

“What’re you seeing?” He turns his attention back to you. He kept his voice gentle as he spoke to you, not wanting to spook you more than you already are.

“Sam and Dean. Covered in blood. Oh God make it stop.” The trickster was positive he felt his heart break when you said this. He knew you’d been having some sort of problem that you weren’t sharing with him, but he never imagined it was anything this severe. And according to the shocked looks on your brother’s faces, they hadn’t known either. He sucks in a breath and steadies himself, wanting to be confident for you.

“Look again.” He speaks calmly. And you pull away to look him in the eyes for the first time since he arrived. You let out  a little ‘what?’ He’s patient as he speaks to you. “Look at your brothers again. It’ll be okay. I promise.” Hesitantly you do as he says. You turn your head to look at Sam and Dean as they stand helplessly in the corner of your room. Clearly unsure how to help you. To your shock, they looked completely normal. A little ruffled from getting out of bed so suddenly, but they didn’t have a speck of blood on them.

“Ho-how?” You can’t wrap your head around the sudden change. 

“A little angel magic. As long as I’m here, you won’t have to worry about those pesky images.” You let out a little sob as you hugged him with renewed vigor. Gabe cuddled into bed with you and when you seemed calm enough, your brothers left the two of you alone. Dean was grumbling a bit about leaving his little sister alone with the trickster but Sam just shoved him out of the room. You were sure that they were going to have a long talk with you tomorrow, but for now they seemed content to just let you relax.

“Gabriel?” He let out a distracted ‘hmm?’ as his fingers continued to comb through your hair.

“Stay with me tonight?” You spoke so quietly that if Gabe hadn’t been an angel, he wasn’t sure he would’ve heard you.

“Anything for you, sweets.” The two of you made your way under the covers. You laid your head on Gabriel’s chest and slowly allowed yourself to succumb to sleep. Knowing that for the first time in months, you would be getting a peaceful sleep.

[lala-ladybug]

Healing Hands: Chapter 2

I promise I’m not this fast at writing, I’ve just had the first few chapters laying around for a while lmao. Reblogs are appreciated!!

Jasonette Sword Art Online AU

Read here on AO3

Tag list: @iloontjeboontje 

Previous | Next​

Chapter 2: u guys r moding my night :(

There was chaos in the Wayne Manor. This was nothing unusual, of course, and today it even seemed to be surprisingly tame. But it was chaos nonetheless.

Timothy Drake-Wayne careened down the spiral staircase, catching himself with a well-timed front flip handspring, and skidded to a halt in the kitchen. Alfred briefly paused to look up from where he was preparing dough for a batch of homemade pasta, then offered the boy a smile and a greeting.

“Good evening, Master Drake. Dinner won’t be ready for another half-hour, I’m afraid.” Tim had opened his mouth to reply when a growl echoed from the nearby ballroom.

Jason Todd-Wayne sprinted into the kitchen brandishing a nerf gun. “There you are, replacement. You won’t get away with beating me this time.” He pulled back the reloader of the play-gun, making a threatening click ring through the kitchen.

“I’m afraid you are both late to the party,” Alfred calmly announced as he mixed ingredients together. “Miss Cain has been here for the past five minutes.”

Cass Cain-Wayne indeed poked her head out from where she had been perched beneath the bar. She gave her brothers a shit-eating grin and wiggled her fingers as way of a cheeky greeting.

Tim gave a groan as he and Jason begrudgingly handed some money over to their sister. “She cheats.” Cass stuck her tongue out at that. “Besides, racing you here was just an excuse to get my mind off waiting for midnight.”

“And because Alfred is the only one polite enough to actually listen to you rave about that stupid game,” Jason scoffed, sitting down at the bar to watch Alfred work.

“--thought I heard voices in the kitchen, oh there you are, little wing!” Dick Grayson-Wayne’s cheery voice came from the foyer, increasing in pitch as he spotted Jason and swept him up into a tight hug.

Barbara Gordon wheeled herself in not too long after, chuckling at the squirming Jason and delighted older brother.

Meanwhile Tim, who had taken offense to Jason’s insinuation, was reassuring Alfred that if he wanted the boys to leave him be he only ever had to ask. “It’s just that I’m so excited for the launch tonight, and you know B is too busy to hear about it.”

Jason had finally muscled his way out of Dick’s embrace as the latter’s attention focused on his youngest brother. “What launch are you talking about?” Dick asked, giving Cass a side hug.

“Oh, tonight is the release of this new VRMMORPG game called Mindscape!” Tim practically bounced as Dick came over to give him his hug too.

Dick gave Barbara a confused glance. “I know some of those words,” he nodded slowly. “So what’s got you so excited? Video games come out all the time.”

Tim rolled his eyes as he sat down beside Jason on the barstools. “Well yeah, but this game has groundbreaking virtual reality tech. Supposedly, the textures took five years and a team of almost 1000 artists.”

Jason put Tim into a headlock and said casually, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard replacement talking about this yet. He kinda won’t shut up about it.”

Cass nodded her head in solemn agreement while Tim struggled to get out of Jason’s grasp.

“Such are the woes of moving out.” Dick shrugged. “Sounds crash though, got room for one more?”

Tim finally shoved Jason off. “I actually bought enough passes that we can all play if you want,” he gave each of his siblings the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could manage.

Barbara snorted even as Dick pumped his fist in the air beside her. She wheeled herself up to the bar to pinch Jason, who was poised to jab his fingers into Tim’s sides. Jason yelped and glared at her as she said, “Sorry Timmy, I’d rather let someone else be the guinea pig for this new kind of tech. Besides, Dad will worry if I let myself get sucked into pouring too many hours into this.”

“Papa Gordon is a force to be reckoned with,” Dick attested earnestly. “Jay?” he prompted.

“Absolutely not,” Jason answered immediately. Tim was quick to protest. “But why? We could spend more time together! It’ll be good team-building.” Jason’s face soured at that.

Dick leaned in and stage-whispered, “Do I have to tell B to force you into family bonding? You know he’ll make you do it.”

Cass covered her silently laughing mouth with one hand as Jason threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, don’t get Bruce involved. I’ll play your stupid game,” he finally relented. Tim grinned at his win, then cast a hopeful look at Cass.

She pulled a face and signed No thank you. Better things to do than watch VR pornos.

Tim’s face blushed profusely as he opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Jason’s cackling. Even Alfred cracked a smile while he rolled the dough onto the ravioli press.

Once Jason quieted down, Tim crossed his arms and said, “Suit yourself. Looks like it’ll be no-girls-allowed anyway.”

“Guess we’d better tell Cassie that, Timbo,” Dick wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, which Tim elected to ignore.

“Speaking of suits,” Alfred said while seamlessly spreading filling in the ravioli and placing another sheet on top of the press, “aren’t you boys going to miss the premiere if it is indeed at midnight?”

Tim looked imploringly at the two girls. “You wouldn’t be willing to trade shifts for your favorite brother, would you?”

* * *

Wally West strolled out of the zeta tube and into the Justice League’s satellite, known to himself and the other heroes as The Watchtower. He was dressed in a casual NASA t-shirt and jeans, slurping a smoothie, and playing a game on his phone.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made him look up. He was greeted with the sight of his old team, Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian, Rocket, Zatanna, and Artemis, waiting impatiently. They were dressed in full hero attire-- he didn’t even realize Artemis still had her costume-- and looked to him expectantly.

“Hey guys, what’s poppin’?” Wally grinned and gave his friends a lazy chin jerk.

“‘What’s poppin’?’ Babe, are you serious? You told us to meet here ASAP for an emergency. So you can tell us what exactly is ‘poppin’.” Ah yes, his Spitfire. Artemis Crock still wasn’t afraid to give him a piece of her mind. But this time it looked like everyone else was on her side too, as they nodded in agreement with her emphatic air quotes.

“Oh, uh yeah, Mindscape is coming out tonight!” He set his smoothie down on the table. “I got us all passes and I’m super stoked for the launch. It’s got this super cool new VR tech that’s basically being released for the first time ever. I got the equipment through my internship, so we’re all set! You guys are totally coming right?” He made finger guns at his increasingly exasperated friends.

Artemis facepalmed. Kaldur’ahm raised his eyebrows in that I’m disappointed in you but I’m not going to say it way of his and said, “Wally, with you and Artemis retired from the life, understand that we took this to be a literal emergency and rushed to your aid. Do not abuse our good intentions.”

“Seriously West, I have a lot on my plate right now!” Rochelle Ervin was also, apparently, a little upset with him. “You could’ve said it was about a dumb game.”

The speedster tried to do damage control with some lighthearted humor. “Hey guys, stay whelmed. I get it, I probably should have given a few more deets about this very-much-not-dumb game, but do you know how many candy bars I had to eat to win these passes?”

“This is why you’ve been spending so much on junk food?” Oh, he was in big trouble with Artemis now. “You probably didn’t have to eat all of them, babe.”

M’gann M’orzz, Connor Kent, and Zatanna Zatara looked similarly annoyed. Well, the girls did. Connor just looked like his usual brand of annoyed, which was honestly a small victory.

“So...” Wally felt a little sheepish now, “who wants in?”

The rest of the group exchanged a look. Artemis was the first to speak up. “Well, you’ve already invested too much of our money in this to turn back now.” She walked up to him and poked a finger at his chest. “But you owe me so many dinners for this.”

He grinned triumphantly. “Deal!”

Rochelle spoke up next. “Me and my plate don’t need any more helpings, thank you very much. I’ll see y’all at the next team reunion!” She flew out through the zeta tube.

Kaldur clapped him on the shoulder. “If you need any assistance, I will be there. But for now I am running Atlantis in Aquaman’s stead while he is off-world, and I must return to my duties.” He then bid the rest of the team farewell and stepped through the zeta tube.

“Haha, he said ‘duties.’” Wally said once he’d left, then winced as Artemis smacked his arm lightly. Lightly for her. Rubbing his arm, he looked imploringly at his other friends.

M’gann and Conner looked deep in a telepathic conversation, which was just awkwardly intense eye contact for onlookers. Zatanna crossed her arms and sighed, “Fine, why not. I didn’t have plans for the weekend anyway. Lead the way to your chocolate factory, Charlie.”

Connor, having caught the tail end of the conversation, looked confused at the reference. He shrugged and said, “I’m in, could be fun.”

M’gann gave her friends an apologetic smile. “Sorry guys, my uncle needs help back on Mars. There’s tensions between the white and green martians again, and he really needs me there to get it under control.”

She gave Connor a peck on the cheek and left to board the nearby Bioship.

“And then there were four,” Wally said with a smile. “Now let’s go make you guys some avatars!”

* * *

Bart Allen could hardly contain his excitement. Scratch that, he couldn’t contain his excitement! “Bouncing off the walls” may be an exaggeration for most people, but he was not most people. Being the grandson of The Flash certainly had its perks, and being able to literally bounce off the walls was one of them.

The cause of his excitement, his friends Timothy Drake-Wayne and Wally West, had just called to ask if Bart wanted extra passes to the premiere of the biggest video game of the decade. And uh, yeah duh he wanted them! He already had one he’d bought for himself, but bringing four extra friends? So totally crash.

He opened up his phone and pulled up the group chat titled Badass Babes.

CrashBandicoot: hey bitchez n babez (u kno who u r), u ready 4 the best videogame of the yr to drop?!

BlueMenace: ese, do you HAVE to type like that?

WonderBabe: yea it’s super annoying

CrashBandicoot: gtta go fast babez

CrashBandicoot: now answer the question

GreenMenace: oh i heard about that! mindscape, right? isn’t it some vr game

CrashBandicoot: yes! nd i got extra tix, so come ovr to cave

GirlBoss: No can do, got research tomorrow!

MaleWife: you always have research bae. sorry little speedster, gotta drive the lady to work

CrashBandicoot: u guys r moding my night :(

BlueMenace: totally not a word but I’ve got you cariño, be there in an hour

WonderBabe: ah what the heck, I’ve got nothing better to do

GreenMenace: always down to whoop ur ass in video games

CrashBandicoot: u wish

CrashBandicoot: roy?

Ginger1 is typing...

WonderBabe: it’ll be fun! more ~mingling~ with kids our age

Ginger2: Hold on, give him some time

Ginger1 is typing...

BlueMenace: Roy, I can pick you up on my way in if you want

Ginger1 has stopped typing.

Ginger2: Um, he says he’ll meet you guys there

Ginger2: He may have destroyed his phone with his “non-typing” hand

GreenMenace: pog

WonderBabe: see u guys soon!

Bart pumped his fist, then ran at top speed to his boyfriend Jaime’s house, where it looked like he was doing homework. Seriously, on a Friday night? Bart had absolutely no qualms about whisking him into his arms and making for the nearest zeta tube.

“Woah Bart, I said I needed an hour!” Jaime protested.

Bart rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but you definitely don’t have anything due tonight, and we have to make your character online before the launch!”

Jaime just looked resigned as they sped into the zeta tube. He knew what he had signed up for.

[shinymooncolor]

Hi!

So - had two prompts that I’ve combined into this chat!

As always @lumosinlove is the mastermind of this wonderful fandom. 💖

I want to thank you all! Over 20 snippets and chats now. You guys are absolutely incredible and I can’t believe the feedback and love and good vibes I get from you. Thank you! I’m all done with prompts except for one which is the next chat - so I’ll be open for your ideas 😍

@frombeauxbatons and @canesinthecrease just because you inspire me ❤️

The boys are being naughty at a team event. Don’t worry. Consent was given on all accounts - they’re good boys! But they’re also a bunch of frat boys with muscles.

Remus plans a prank. He blames dumo and James. Nado organizes. Sergei wins. Timmy loses. Dumo is a prankster too. Olli is sneaky. Sirius is not in on the prank. Kuny is Kuny. Nat is amazing. Kris is an ally. Nado is also the team’s phoebe. (Friends reference)

Sweater weather chat #14

——

Saturday 5.22 pm

Nado created a group chat.

Nado named the group chat THE BIG LIONS HEIST 2020.

Nado added James, Remus, Dumo

Nado: hey Re. Remember the plan? We need to get all the boys to take the selfie before he notices

Remus: Nado. We’ve gone over this multiple times. I’ll get the phone from Sirius. I still think this is a disaster but you and James are very convincing

James: it’s a fucking awesome plan. He won’t notice I bet

Nado: also extra points if you get him all worked up😂

James: I don’t wanna spend an entire evening looking at Sirius trying to hide a hard-on

Nado: why not? It’s funny 😂

Dumo: why did remus get the easiest job?

Remus: I’m the only one who gets to put my hands in Sirius’ pocket.

Nado: awwww jealous?? You know we see him naked like several times a day?

Dumo: you’re not supposed to look.

Nado: I’m curious about the human body!

James: well we’ve all had sneak peaks. Still scared of Sergei

Dumo: he should hAve a tramp stamp saying heavy machinery

Nado: lets get him drunk!!!! Brady can ink him!!!!

Remus: you are not inking anyone without their consent. Also; have you met his wife? She’d skin you all alive.

Dumo: she would. I’ve seen her make a reporter cry.

James: why?

Dumo: the reporter insinuated things about Kuny. Not sure what he said but based on the cursing and sunny having to physically restrain her I think it was bad

Nado: yikes anyways we got everyone on board. I’ll kick cap out the group chat once you’ve swiped the phone. Now go get your tuxes on. We’ve got rich old ladies to woo.

Dumo: you’re not supposed to take them home.

Nado: I never saw that rule. Older ladies knows some shit. Damn. Cougars are wild!

Remus: I’m not treating sex injuries

Nado: you treated Kuny’s groin last month?

Remus: that was from the ice.

Nado: sure it was 😜

Dumo: I’m ending this. Go change and BEHAVE tonight

——

Saturday 8.54 pm

Nadotheman removed siriusly from the group chat

Nadotheman added Remus to the group chat

Nadotheman changed Remus to Loops

Blizzard: did you do it? You have the phone?

Loops: yes. I did my part. Your guys are up

Nadotheman: okay here are the rules for the 2020 lions heist (this year we’re doing truth and dare the lions way - so mostly dare)

1. We have 3 hours and cap’s phone. Each team member has to get a selfie with cap in the frame. The best (dirtiest) photo wins 😜

2. CAP CANT KNOW

3. Leo and Walker are starting and they get to chose the next one. You’ve all got one photo each

4. To be considered we need the photo sent to this chat before midnight.

5. Remus is the ref on this little game.

6. If you lose. You’ve gotta tell us 3 secrets. He he we get to pick when.

DamnFoxy: how is this a prank on cap?

Prongstar: he’s always being swarmed and it’s fun. He’s our canvas and we need to fill in the blanks. It’s like hide and seek meeting truth and dare meeting Pictionary meeting Snapchat

CarbO’Hara: so we can start? Cause Kuny’s been snogging that girl for 4 minutes now? Does he not need to breathe?

Nadotheman: that’s two points for Leo!

CarbO’Hara: @newt-leo? WhY? I saw him first?

Newt-Leo: he’s snogging someone at the shrimp buffet. That’s open season. Also he’s still not come up for air? And it was my turn to start @krisvolley and @prongstar you’re it

KrisVolley: @blizzard & @lewilliam you’re up

LeWilliam: blizzard is cheating!!! He got his girlfriend’s friend to kiss him!!!! And Nat was touching cap’s butt

Blizzard: read the rules man. I’m not cheating

LeWilliam: but it’s unfair?

Blizzard: not my fault. I’m winning.

Loops: @lewilliam I’m pretty sure Nat and blizzard saved cap from a handsy old lady.

Blizzard: @sergei_81 & @kaneyoudigit you’re up

Kaneyoudigit: Hahahaha hahahha pretty sure sergei and me are gonna win.

Dumodad: sergeu just manhandled a very confused looking Sirius all the way back to the toilets?

Nadotheman: wait. Where’s Kuny?

KrisVolley: yeah Sergei definitely won.

Kaneyoudigit: I’ve got a pic too!!!

Logantremblayzzz: well you’ve got only half a cap. Sergei got himself and cap giving thumbs up.

Sunnysideup: you forgot you were supposed to be in the photo @kaneyoudigit 😂

Prongstar: so it’s not even 10 and Kuny’s already half naked in the bathroom. It’s like you guys aren’t even tryin. Didn’t even get a selfie with cap in it yet. Also he wasn’t supposed to know.

Sergei_81: he not know game he think I just want pic for Kuny. Keep try but I’m win.

Krisvolley: well that was smart. Back to the game boys. @dumodad & @logantremblayzzz you’re up

Sergei_81: why you sound surprised? Brat. I’m smart.

——

Nadotheman: everyone got their pics in?

Walkietalkie: yeah. Finno was last with Olli. They’ve just sent it - nice job Olli 😜 timmy didn’t send one tho

Loops: I don’t think I want to know. Olli. How the hell did you get cap to do that?

Ollibear: I just asked him to get some fresh air with me. How could I know timmy was getting acquainted with a girl behind the curtain? 😇

DumoDAD: acquainted? Is that what it’s called now?

RussianGod: at least I go to toilet for hookup

KrisVolley: you’re all terrible.

Sunnysideup: you sent a selfie with you and cap in front of the girls kissing in the corner....

KrisVolley: I’m a proud ally!

Talkiewalkie: to be fair you both look incredible uncomfortable

KrisVolley: it’s a stupid game

Timmyforrealz: HEY?! You losers hear about privacy?

Ollibear: if you want privacy don’t hook up with someone behind a curtain at a fancy nightclub.... also you didn’t send a pic. You’ve lost.

Timmyforrealz: I didn’t lose hah. Maybe I lost your dumb game

Prongstar: don’t blame the game for her dumping you. Also you lost some buttons on your shirt, your tie is a disaster and your dignity is hanging on by a thread

Timmyforrealz: she didn’t dump me. I decided not to pursue it further!

Russiangod: whatever u say. Come on who win?

Loops added siriusly to the group chat

Siriusly: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? Why am I in all of these selfies?

Loops: you’re cute when you’re annoyed. I had nothing to do with this😇

Prongstar: captain my captain. It was all loops’ idea. We’ve got a selfie collection for you.

Siriusly: you idiots have spent an entire evening running Around trying to take selfies with me and not tell me?

DumoDAD: it was fun. You didn’t catch on when Sergei asked you to pose in front of Kuny clearly going at it?

Siriusly: I thought it was a prank on Kuny? Like steal his clothes and all/ wait didn’t you steal his clothes?

Nadotheman: we should’ve. Dammit

Sergei_81: loops who win????

Loops: timmy lost.

Siriusly: wait it that why Nat was patting my butt? She said I’d been sitting in something? @blizzard!!!!

Blizzard: 😜

Siriusly: should I be offended? She did ask if it was okay. Wait. Why did I have to be in the photos? You’re not doing another collage?

Prongstar: of course! Last year was cap sleeping in different places.

Siriusly: you’re all idiots. How did you even get my phone??

Loops: ...

Siriusly: oh.

Talkiewalkie: awwwwww... 😜

Timmyforrealz: anyone seen my wallet?

Ollibear: I give up. 🙏🏻

[bravenot]

widobrave + forehead kisses if you feel inclined? 💕

anonymous said: Hello! If you are still taking the prompts for writing I would love to see a widobrave fic from Caleb’s perspective! There are not enough from his point of view out there. Maybe pining? Or jealous? 👀 sorry I’m not very specific

thanks for the requests anon and @luteana 💌! hope this is ok

-

Caleb breathes in, and the air tastes humid: sweet and sharp with the scent of rotting seaweed. They are standing in an alleyway next to what looks like a quaint little restaurant, ivy climbing the side of the building and colourful bunting strung above them.

Veth opens one eye at a time and looks around in wonder.

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know exactly,” Caleb turns to look over his shoulder, and there are the docks; a grounded boat is being loaded with fishing tackle, the people on board too busy to notice the two of them watching.

“Well, it is Nicodranas at least,”

“Thank god,” Veth begins to take off her jacket, and pauses. “oh shit.”

“What?”

“I didn’t ask Jester to message my-” she sighs, turning away. “it’s fine.”

Caleb can already feel his sweat beading from the heat. He rolls up his sleeves while Veth leads the way to the cafe entrance, a door in the side of what used to be an upturned boat. It swings inwards and they both peer into a smallish courtyard with garden furniture, a potted tree, lanterns, and strips of fabric hanging from the canopy. Nobody seems to be around.

“I’m sure they won’t mind a surprise visit.” Caleb says as she leans around the door.

“What? Oh.” Veth looks troubled. “No, of course they won’t, I just - what if Yeza’s busy?”

He scoffs. “Too busy to see you?”

“I don’t know, what if he has plans with someone or,” she mumbles, and Caleb just blinks at her. “all right, you know what I mean.”

The sign hanging above them reads ‘The Crab & Oyster’. They stand at the doorway for a moment longer before moving to a more bustling street, where Caleb asks a couple of strangers for directions to the Opal Archways. It’s a relief to feel safe in this city again, and be able to breathe away from the group, too - Veth has been looking for a chance to visit for weeks. Still, as soon as they’re walking, the space between them feels dense with things they can’t quite say.

“You know I’ve never thought to ask. Is Yeza older or younger than yourself?”

She squints for a minute. “I think younger, his birthday’s later than mine. We were the same year in school,”

“Mm,”

“Though, you know, in Felderwin all the school years were kind of smushed together, so it didn’t really matter as much.”

“I remember mine being like that.”

“Oh of course, you were a small town kid too.”

There’s a warmth in the way she says that which makes Caleb’s chest feel full and strange. He suddenly wishes they had more time, wishes the route to Yeza’s apartment were longer. He should be happy he’s leading her to her husband, not to somewhere quiet and sunny, some sheltered beach where the two of them can sit and talk for hours about things that don’t matter.

He clears his throat. “You looking forward to seeing your boy?”

“Of course.” She says. “I don’t know, it feels like every time I see him he’s changed. I don’t know what to expect,”

“That’s ok.” Caleb says gently. “He’ll be happy to see you, that’s the main thing.”

“Yeah.”

He imagines Luc running into her arms, the look of aching happiness on Veth’s face when he tells a story or calls her Mom, and his heart is light again. All he wants is to be there to see it.

A clocktower tolls six, a flurry of gulls taking flight and screeching at the sound.

Somebody running the other way accidentally checks Veth’s shoulder. It’s that, along with the street growing busier, that makes the wizard reach down and offer her his hand. She hooks two fingers into it and hurries forward a step to take it fully. They’re walking uphill now, against the flow of a scattered crowd that might be coming from the market. Caleb keeps his eyes forward, on this or that temple, this awning or that store’s sign scrawled on a blackboard in white paint, and all he knows of Veth is the soft, cool feeling of her palm in his. Steady. By his side.

The apartment comes into view and Caleb can’t help a glance down at her: hair dishevelled but glowing in a light dress with flowers embroidered along the hems. She’s smiling, but clearly more out of nerves than anything else. Unconsciously he begins stroking his thumb on the back of her hand.

Neither one is sure who slows down first, but it happens, and they come to a stop in the shade of an olive tree. No need to walk her to the door.

“Where are you staying tonight Cay?”

“Well, I don’t know, I cannot go back to Rexentruum. I was thinking at an inn somewhere for a few days.” He pauses. “Maybe - I don’t know, if you’d like to - to meet up tomorrow,”

“Of course!”

“Lavish Chateau, for lunch?”

“Yes, let’s do it. I would offer for you to stay at ours but I don’t - I dunno if there’s space,” She trails off, and Caleb looks doubtful.

“I don’t want to intrude on your family.”

Veth looks like she’s about to argue, but nods once. “All right. I’ll um, say hello to Luc for you,”

“Mhm.”

Veth turns and pulls him towards the low stone wall next to them, raising herself up onto it effortlessly. With a jolt he realises that, since he took it half an hour ago, she hasn’t let go of his hand once. Her arms are bare, her neck proudly adorned with strings of buttons, tiny shells and pieces of blue-green seaglass.

She brings both of his hands between hers and squeezes tight.

“Thank you for this.” She beams, and the joy in her expression seeps into his own. “Um,”

There’s a stiff pause, but he doesn’t have time to think of a response, because Veth stands on her tiptoes and plants a kiss right between his eyes. She pulls back and takes a breath, her chest puffed out.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Caleb whispers.

Veth nods in reply, her face dark. Then she scurries off: not quite running, but too fast to be casual.

Once she’s gone, he utterly forgets what to do with himself.

-

It doesn’t feel right to stay at the Chateau - he wouldn’t want to sleep there without greeting Jester’s mother, and if he did, Marion might feel obligated to give him a free room, which he hasn’t earned in the slightest. So he retraces his steps back down to the Skew, and finds an unremarkable tavern close to their teleport spot.

The view over the harbour is a splendid midnight blue. He draws the curtain, strips naked, tries to read, begins to think about what the nein might be doing in Rexentruum and quickly gives up reading.

He thinks of Veth’s soft lips on his forehead: how his nose had bumped her chin, how close her breasts were as he shut his eyes in shock. Thinks of what she might be doing right now. He watches the candle burn down a little more.

After an hour of restlessness, the bedsheets in disarray and his face red, he eventually dozes off, his head full of that little cafe with the brightly-coloured bunting.

[revisionaryhistory]

Three Days ~ 88

~*~Sebastian~*~

After the video call with my friends, I went back to the couch with a fresh glass of wine. I am blessed. Family, friends, co-workers, and a woman who loves me. None of us are perfect. I have people to call when times are tough. Today they called me, knowing I’d be struggling, only this time it was in a good way. Not long later Jessica called and invited me to dinner.

Pizza, beer, friends, and a toddler made for a good night. Giulietta thought I was much more fun than mom or dad. I guess they don’t let her use them like a jungle gym. When mom spoiled our fun and said it was time to settle down, I stopped the tears by promising to read her a story. Her choice. Like someone else I know Giulietta was asleep before I was halfway through. At this rate I'll never know how anything ends.

I sent the picture Jessica had taken to Emma. She'd wake up to it and with any luck send me back something fun. Which she did as soon as she woke up. Which was afternoon for me. Dinner break before I checked my phone. Emma struck the perfect balance between sweet and sexy. Her hair was messy with just her eyes peeking over a pillow she was hugging. Those beautiful green eyes I loved to look into. I couldn't see her smile so I could imagine it anyway I liked. The sweet one she often got right before she told me she loved me. Or the other one she got when she wanted me. I loved them both.

Our texts were broken up over the course of the day. Short bursts or long hours between. We talked most days at least for a few minutes. We talked about our days, shared memories, and talked about us. Maybe had phone sex. What didn't happen was whining about being apart or bitching about the time and distance. I didn't hang up feeling angry or guilty. I did my job, hung out with friends, relaxed during my downtime, and did a little shopping. Emma relaxed, did some studying, and practiced guitar. I missed her. She missed me. But we went on with our lives apart, making the best of the situation. It sucked, except it didn't.

I think this is the way it's supposed to be.

Thursday we wrapped for Paris. That was worth a party. Over the next four days production would pack up and move to Rome. I'd spend a day and a half on planes going from Paris to Dallas to San Diego. Then back to Dallas and on to Rome. The time zones were going to fucking kill me.

I called Emma when I got back to my room. I was drunk and grumpy. Hearing her voice helped. Seeing her face was even better. The way she told me exactly what she wanted to do to me and said all sorts of dirty things until I came... I wasn't grumpy anymore.

I had a headache when my alarm rang. I needed more sleep. Hopefully, I'd catch up on the flight. I was still debating going back to sleep and blowing off the weekend when my phone rang. Emma. It was the middle of the night for her. "Why are you awake?"

She laughed, "Making sure your drunk ass doesn't turn off his alarm and blow off the weekend."

I rolled to my side, mirroring her. "I wouldn't do that. I was thinking about it, but I wouldn’t do it."

"Such a professional. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. Advil, breakfast, and a long nap on the plane and I'll be fine. How are you?"

"Good. Big plans laying by the pool with Mallory today."

"Sounds fun. I will be on a plane."

"Yes, but you will walk out of the airport into sunny California. Then spend two days being adored and laughing with your friends."

"That will be fun." I was honestly looking forward to that part.

Emma yawned. I smiled at her beautiful face, "You need to go back to sleep. I need to get showered."

She didn't argue with me. She was tired.

"Thank you for making sure I was up. I love you."

"I love you." There was my sweet smile.

I cannot begin to explain how very disorientating it is to board a plane at nine am, travel for fifteen hours, to arrive at three pm, which is only six hours after you left. I get to relive eight of the hours I spent on the plane. Only thing is, my body thinks it’s midnight. I slept some on the flight and I knew better than to go back to sleep. The closer to "normal" bedtime for this time zone I could get, the better I would feel tomorrow. Anthony and I had press then an autograph session, before the big Marvel event. Sunday was photo ops and an autograph session. Both long days where I was expected to be pleasant despite how inappropriate or rude fans got. Needless to say, a decent night’s sleep would be best for everyone.

I got to my room by four and quickly realized I couldn't stay there. I needed fresh air. I needed to breathe. I changed into shorts and took off to have a look around. There were several hotels in the area that hosted celebrity guests. We weren't all in one place. I'd requested a beach. It was a little farther from the convention center and I was confident I could wander unseen. Most people stayed right around the center since a lot of packages kept prices lower and being so close to the action was appealing. I wanted the ocean.

Down the beach I could see big boulders and took off that direction. I needed some flip-flops. The sand made me think of Emma. The water. The people surfing. The impending sunset. Breathing. I'd like to say the plan I was cooking up was a product of sleep deprivation. It wasn't. It had been bouncing around in my head since this morning as we lay in bed together thousands of miles apart. I'd dismissed it as selfish. On the plane, when sleep was impossible, and I was panicking, it didn't seem so selfish. I shoved the idea away because I knew it really was. The same reasons I didn't ask Emma to stay in Paris or go to Rome were valid here. Asking her to fly literally to the other side of the country to spend two days with me, asking her to amuse herself while I worked a chunk of that time, was peak me as a selfish asshole. The longer I sat on the rock watching the ocean the less of a bad idea it seemed. Maybe not less of a bad idea, but an idea I could give her a choice in, with the difference being if she said no, I wouldn't be angry or make her pay for not doing what I wanted. Growth in action. Hopefully.

I should check flights before I even think about calling. Or actually call, because I'm already thinking about calling. Might not be possible.

It was. I flipped my phone in my hands several times before hitting the buttons to call her. Apparently, I hadn't grown completely out of being an ass.

"I'm about to be an asshole."

Emma raised her eyebrows, "Uh oh."

"Yeah." I was going to do it anyway. "Fifteen-hour flight with little sleep because the turbulence over the ocean was a nightmare. I'm grumpy, exhausted, and lonely as fuck. I'm on the beach without you. I miss you. I can get you on a flight in the morning and if you come straight to the venue you'll be here before I have to do anything. It’ll be two days. I have to leave for Rome Monday. I know it's a shitty thing to ask, but will you come see me? So I can see you."

"I'd love to."

I was prepared to step up my game and her easy acquiescence caught me off guard. "You will?"

She nodded with a smile, "I miss you too."

I took a deep breath and let it out, "I was prepared to beg."

Her smile was almost a laugh, "While you begging sounds fun, it's not necessary. Do I need to pack anything dressy?"

"Fuck, I hope not. I have a pair of jeans, shorts, and sweatpants." It's amazing how much better I felt. I ran my hands through my hair. "You're flying out of JFK. Sorry."

"You booked the flight already?"

"Not many seats left. I wasn't risking it. You leave at seven, here at ten. My first thing is noon." I could see her grabbing her carry-on from the closet.

"I'm going to spend the night at your place. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

I scrunched up my face, "Underwear."

"You don't have underwear?"

"The one's I'm in and a spare."

"You may not like what I pick out."

"Emma, baby, I will wear yours as long as you deliver them."

"I think that's a little drastic."

"It's really not."

Emma laughed and touched her screen. I could almost feel her. I could definitely imagine feeling her. She almost gasped and broke into a smile, "I have an idea. I need to call Jill real quick. Give me five maybe ten minutes."

I nodded, "Okay. I'm going to lay here on my rock."

My rock was not soft, but I was very comfortable. I was very happy. The sky was blue and the sound of the waves was calming. I only had to wait until tomorrow to see Emma. It was going to be a good day.

A little more than five minutes later Emma was calling me back. "You've made my little sister very happy."

"Excellent!” I smiled, "How'd I do that?"

"We need to change my flight. Monday I'm going to Seattle pick up Olivia and take her back to New York with me. Then we'll meet up with the family in Chicago."

"That's perfect. You're not just coming out here for me."

She picked up on it. "Yeah, because seeing you isn't enough of a reason. You know I miss you, right?"

"I know, but I'm..."

Emma cut me off, "Stop there. I jump on planes to spend weekends on tour with dad. This is fun for me. Dad's doing sound checks, interviews, and charity shit while I amuse myself. You're not an asshole. I love this."

"You love this?" I did not love jumping on planes at short notice.

She was nodding as I spoke, "I love this."

"And you'd tell me to fuck off if you didn't?"

"Maybe, but this is your lucky day."

"No, my luck day was exactly eight weeks ago."

We talked for another ten minutes or so until she was loaded and heading into the city. We've talked while she's driving many times, but I wanted her to pay attention. The sun was going down where she was and it would be dark before she got to my place. I headed back toward the hotel and ordered room service. By the time Emma texted she was at mine and I was deep in a documentary, struggling to stay awake.

Emma ~ Safe and sound in your bed.

Naturally, she sent a picture. Sheet barely covering her breasts and one arm stretched out above her head.

I sent back a picture of me in the same pose, but making sure to show the empty side of the bed. I drew a red ✗ there.

Sebastian ~ Where you will be in my bed tomorrow.

Emma ~ Equally safe and sound Sebastian ~ More. Emma ~ I'm going to sleep. I will see you in the morning. Sebastian- Can not fucking wait

 I was probably asleep before she was. By the time I woke up twelve hours later Emma was halfway here. I felt well-rested and excited for my day. Not just the Emma piece. Mackie and I always had fun together. I'd been sent the day’s itinerary. Noon was press, two thirty was an autograph session, and five was the big deal Marvel panel. We should be done by 6:30. Disney was having a party tonight. I had to make an appearance. It started at eight. That wasn't going to happen. Nine was more likely. I remembered it wouldn't matter because mice can't tell time.

At the venue I was led to a behind the scenes area. There was a large room, guarded by security, set with food and drink. Several smaller rooms encircled the larger area and some were labeled with company names. One of the largest was for Disney, with cloth wall dividers making several smaller rooms, where a stylist would be waiting to make sure Mackie and I looked presentable. Outside of the room was a loading area that was separated from the autograph booths by black curtains. I'd already ducked between them and gave fans nosing around my booth quite a surprise. Those were my favorite interactions. The ones without expectations. Security came over to make sure I hadn't been ambushed. I hadn't, but that was a perfect way to get away and I needed to talk to security anyway. I had them take me to the security office. Some lucky fans got a shot at a sighting of a Sebastian in the wild. I explained what was happening to the head of security and put Emma’s name on a list. They gave me a lanyard with her all-access pass and told me what door to direct her to. Security would meet her and bring her to me.

"About that." Call me paranoid, but I didn't trust they'd remember to have someone waiting for her. They'd call someone when she showed up and gave her name to the person with the list. "I need a Pearl Jam fan."

"Excuse me?"

"Someone on your staff is a Pearl Jam fan. Get them.”

He got on his radio, "Anyone out there a Pearl Jam fan?"

A voice came back, "Big Ed. He works all the shows up the coast."

I looked at my watch then back at the supervisor, "I need to borrow him for an hour."

His face read doubtful, but I was Disney. "Big Ed. I need you in the security office. Anyone see him? Send him."

A different voice, "On my way, boss."

Several minutes later Big Ed came through the door. I knew it was him because he was six-five and an easy two-fifty. He was his name. I held out my hand, "Hey, Big Ed. I'm Sebastian. Nice to meet you."

“You too."

"Walk me back to the guest area." We headed out and I waited until we were away from the office. "Do you know Ed's daughter?"

He smiled, "He has three. Which one?"

"The only one old enough for me to ask about."

"Emma. I've seen her at a couple of shows. I work security up the coast. Great way to see a bunch of shows."

I nodded, "I guess anything you miss at one you can catch at the next."

"Exactly." He pointed to his ear, "And you can always hear."

"Back to Emma. She's on her way here. I'd appreciate it if you would meet her and bring her to me."

"Is Ed coming?"

"No, he's," I stopped myself, "you ask her where he is."

He laughed, "I might take the long way back here."

"I haven't seen her in weeks. Not too long." Two is weeks. Barely.

Emma texted they'd landed. Big Ed changed where he wanted her to go and he headed in that direction. I sat down to wait for her to text she was here. I heard a familiar voice.

"Sebastian Stan? Is that really you?"

"Captain America?" I stood up and turned to the voice.

"Don't call me that. The pressure." Mackie hugged me, slapping my back much harder than necessary. "How jet-lagged are you?"

"Is that code for how much work are you going to have to do because I'm grouchy?"

"Maybe." We laughed.

"I had a good night’s sleep and I'm in a great mood."

"You seem twitchy. Why are you twitchy?"

"I'm not twitchy."

"Yes, you are. You're twitchy."

"If I'm twitchy it's because you're making me twitchy."

He pointed at me, "Ah ha! You admitted it. You're twitchy."

I rolled my eyes and scowled, "Emma's on her way. I might be a little twitchy."

"Here?" He pointed to the ground. With his eyebrows raised.

I smiled, "My girlfriend."

"Yeah, I got that. Plus, Evans told me."

"She’s not a secret." That felt good.

He asked and I answered. Talking about Emma is my second favorite thing having to do with Emma. First is being with Emma. In absolutely any way. My phone went off with Emma telling me she was here. I put my hand on Mackie’s arm. "Stay here. Right here."

[skieswords]

Pull Through Part 4

Please make sure you read the trigger warnings in part 1- there is mention of drug use in this chapter❤️

Becca was sat in the passenger seat of Alex's car, feet up on the dash, drumming her fingers in time with the radio. Reggie and Luke were play fighting in the backseat, forcing Alex to lean over every now and again to separate them so he didn't crash. "I'll drop Bex off first and then we'll head to Reg's, alright?" Silence from the backseat, followed by a sly "Alex?" from Luke, made Becca raise her eyebrows, and she turned to face the boys in the back. "Let's take her. It's not fair to leave her out, she rocked it tonight." Becca frowned and looked to her brother, who's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel strong enough she feared it might break. 

"She's 15. No." Becca brought a knee up to her chest and smirked as Reggie piped up. "She's 16 tomorrow." Luke nodded frantically, and leant through the gap. "Cmon Alex, just this once." Alex closed his eyes and groaned, slamming his head against his seat. "Fine, but if anything happens I'm killing you both." Becca looked to Luke questioningly, but he winked again, and disappeared into the back, celebrating with Reggie rather loudly. Alex looked at her, clearly in distress, and turned left, back towards Reggie's. "Don't say a word to mom or dad, okay?" Becca snorted and sat up, excited to see what the boys were referring to. "Who do you take me for?" Reggie laughed, and leaned through the gap to crank up the music, forcing Alex and Becca to listen to him and Luke duet American Idiot from the backseat, until Becca joined in, nodding her head in time with the music and miming the guitar part. Luke watched her, a soft smile resting on his face. Reggie watched Luke watching her, and hoped for possibly the 47th time that night alone, that they'd cut the shit and speak to each other.

They pulled up to Reggie's, and piled out of the car, carrying guitars and amps into the studio, Luke grabbing an amp from Becca after watching her nearly drop it 4 times. "Here, you're going to hurt yourself." She rolled her eyes but smiled gratefully, dropping onto the couch beside him when they'd finished. "So what now?" Luke glanced up at Alex, reaching a hand out. "We celebrate the same way after every gig. It's tradition." Becca nodded and watched as her brother reached into his bag, looking less than happy, and slightly ashamed. Her eyes grew as a small bag was produced, watching as her normally well behaved older brother held out a lighter too, rubbing his forehead as he caught Becca's stare. "It's only after gigs, Bex, I swear." Luke snorted and took the lighter and the bag, reaching under a cushion on the sofa and pulling rolling paper out of nowhere. "For him, anyway." Becca was totally lost for words. Her friends from skating smoked often, and she'd tried it a few times, but not so much lately. She was too scared her dad would smell it on her clothes. Her eyes followed Luke's fingers as they deftly rolled up one, two, three joints, holding them up for Alex and Reggie. "Uh, a whole one's probably too much for you. You can share Alex's?" Becca looked up at Alex, to find him frowning, holding the joint away from her protectively. "Or not." Luke slid up the couch so their legs touched, and reached for the lighter sat on the table. She was utterly entranced, watching as he placed the joint in between his lips and lit it, taking a deep breath, inhaling and holding it for a moment, before breathing out. "No, Luke. I said she could be here but I don't want her-" He was cut off as Luke held it out for her with a defiant look, groaning and shaking his head as he took a toke of his own joint. Becca reached for it, her hand trembling slightly. "Here." He held it to her lips, nodding that she should inhale. She did, grimacing slightly as the bitter taste of tobacco hit the back of her throat, combined with the familiar woody taste. Her eyes met Luke's, who's hand still held the joint at her lips. She breathed in again, like she'd seen him do, and held his gaze, until she felt slightly dizzy, breathing out. His eyes darkened, watching the drug cloud over her eyes, her pupils dilating and her face relaxing in bliss. Yet again, Luke couldn't tear his eyes away from her, as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, enjoying the fuzzy feeling in her brain. "Feels good, right?" Luke's voice sounded like honey in her ear, and the sensation of his breath on her skin drove Becca insane. She opened her eyes and smiled at him, glancing at him and licking her lips lightly. Her eyes followed his hands, as he took another toke, his eyes fluttering shut as the drugs entered his system. Becca watched as he sat back on the couch, not moving from her side. The other boys were in silent bliss, Reggie splayed out on the floor with his head resting on the arm of Alex's chair. Becca locked eyes with Luke as he held the joint to her lips again, the coarse skin of his thumb bumping against her jawline gently. Becca leaned into his touch subconsciously, smiling lightly as he moved his hand away reluctantly, to take another drag. "Yo stop with the soft porn you two, it's weird." Becca turned to face Reggie, who's eyes were already rimmed red, and who clearly lost his filter when high. Alex was trying to look horrified, but obviously the weed had clouded his brain slightly, keeping him from reacting too harshly, choosing to point an accusing finger towards him instead. "No sex jokes, Reg." Reggie pointed to the clock on the wall with a heavy arm, and smiled up at Alex. "She's 16 now, we can do what we want." Luke turned to face the clock, his tolerance clearly higher than that of the boys, who were halfway through their own joints. His and Becca's was nearly finished, with him taking three puffs to her one. Sure enough, it was just after midnight, and she was 16. "Happy birthday Bex." He turned to look at her, his green eyes wide and glittering, mirroring the smile she flashed him as she stood up, and stretched like a cat. Luke's eyes grew dark as her top rode up, and her bare stomach was exposed, and he mentally kicked himself, not for the first time that night, for the direction of his thoughts. He tried to blame it on the drugs, and told himself it would be gone in the morning, but something deep inside of him knew that was bullshit. Alex rose from his chair and strolled towards Becca, pulling her into a bear hug, and kissing her hair. "Happy birthday sis. Love you." Becca smiled into his chest and hugged him around his waist, squeezing tightly. He eventually released her, giving her a gentle push towards where Reggie had staggered to his feet. He pulled her into him, swaying her back and forth with a dreamy smile. "Happy birthday Bexy. We love you. You're awesome. You should join the band. Alex, can she join the band? She should join the band." Becca laughed and raised her eyebrows at him, leading him to the couch and giving him a shove until he landed next to Luke. Luke grimaced slightly and took Reggie's face in his hands, slapping his cheeks gently to try and sober him up. Alex laughed softly and collapsed back into his chair with a groan, his eyes fluttering shut. Becca was pretty sure he was asleep, and sent a glance over to Luke, who was gently resting Reggie's head against the back of the couch. She watched as he stood up and strolled over to the dart board, pulling the darts out and taking a few steps back. He threw a few half-heartedly, most of his focus on the girl in the corner, watching out the corner of his eye as she pushed the garage door open, letting it swing shut behind her. Alex was definitely asleep, and Reggie was out for the count, so Luke dropped the darts and padded towards the door, joining her in the darkness of the garden.

"Hey you." He elbowed her gently, looking over her face, tilted back to look at the stars. "Hey." They stood in comfortable silence, shoulder to shoulder, his hands tucked in his pockets,  for a few minutes, until Becca's voice broke through the silence. "Does it always feel like that?" Luke turned towards her. "What, the weed?" She tilted her head back down and turned to him, her eyes round. "On stage. Does it always feel like that?" Luke snorted and bit his lip. He knew exactly what she was referring to. "For you? Yeah. It will. It's like that for me too." She raised her eyebrows at him, and he smiled, his entire face lighting up as he spoke about the thing he loved most. "The way it flows through you. You become the music; it sets every inch of you on fire." He looked straight into her eyes, and placed his fingers on the bare skin of her arm, the featherlight touch causing goosebumps to spread across her skin. She looked down at his hand, and then back up to his eyes. "You feel alive. You're free, and you're magic. You're breathtaking." His eyes widened as he said the last words, and he dropped his hand. "Like, on stage I mean. You forget how to breathe, because the music is so, powerful." Becca laughed quietly and nodded. "Yeah. Like that." They fell into a silence again, and Becca dropped her eyes towards their feet, kicking the toe of Luke's vans gently. "It was amazing. I've never done that on stage before; but now I never want to stop." Luke couldn't help himself, and grinned, shrugging. "You're welcome." A swift punch in the arm reminded him who he was talking to, and he winced, once again turning to look at the stars. "Why haven't you? Done it before I mean." Becca sighed and shrugged, walking over to the stairs and taking a seat, elbows resting on her knees. "I'm not that kind of person. People don't want to see me on stage- I'm Becca, I'm quiet, bad at math and I sit in the back of class. My music is just a hobby." She sounded dejected, and unsure, and it sent Luke over the edge. He walked towards her and knelt down, looking her directly in the eye. "I saw you play tonight. That's no hobby. You are your music, it's a part of you. It's in your soul. I don't think I've ever seen you looking more alive than I have tonight, up on that stage, with a mic in your hand. You belong up there." Luke's eyes never left hers, desperate and full of earnest. Becca could feel his passion burning through them, and it made her smile. "You really think so?" He took her hand and pulled her to her feet, smirking down at her. "I know so. You should play with us again- Reggie's right. You're awesome." Becca felt her cheeks heat up, and looked at her feet, her hand still resting in Luke's. "I'll think about it." Another comfortable silence fell between them, their hands intertwined as they looked at the stars. "What time is it?" Luke checked his watch, and his eyes widened. "It's like 3am. You have school, don't you?" Becca groaned and let go of Luke's hand, falling onto the steps. "We all have school, I'm not letting you guys skip. Besides, Alex has like one more chance before he gets suspended. I don't even want to know what you're at." Luke bit his lip, knowing she was right. The three of them had been warned multiple times now, that anymore absences and they'd not be allowed back. "We better get some sleep then- you take the couch." Becca laughed and jumped to her feet, raking a hand through her curls. "Dude, it's your couch. I can't do that to you." They walked back into the garage, smirking at Alex and Reggie's sprawled out forms. Becca sighed and grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa, tossing it over Alex, and putting a cushion under Reggie's head. "How are you still awake? Normally that stuff knocks people off their feet." Becca looked at the floor and smiled sheepishly. "First timers, yeh." Luke raised his eyebrows at her, shaking his head in disbelief. "You had me fooled." Becca shrugged and walked through to the back, returning with a hoodie and a few more blankets. Luke took one and spread it out on the floor, scratching his head and desperately trying not to show his distaste at the idea of sleeping on the floor. "Luke. Stop being dumb, the couch is massive. Come here." He looked up to where Becca was curled up on one side of the couch, her shoes kicked off beside the coffee table. "I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or anything though, I'm fine-" He made eye contact with her and decided not to argue, slipping his shoes off and jumping onto the other end of the couch. He rested his head on the arm, the familiar dip worn into the cushions from the countless naps he took there, and felt himself nod off almost instantly. But he was stirred by Becca's shuffling around, and he sighed, knowing he'd regret where this was going. "Bex. Come here." She looked up at him in surprise, but obliged, pulling her blanket with her. They lay side by side, their hands bumping in between them occasionally. "Happy birthday Bex." She smiled into the darkness, and slipped her hand into his, squeezing tightly. "Night, Luke."

[alientitty]

its nearly midnight (now past midnight as i finish the post) and here are my tips on doing laundry:

you can take it or leave it (i’m just some guy) but i have been doing it myself or with my mom for the better part of 15 years and realize there’s people my age or younger who struggle having to do it themselves

it depends on your washer, but most items that say “hand wash only” will usually be fine on gentle cycle in a lingerie bag (or pillowcase). similarly, most “line dry” or “dry flat” items will survive just fine on a hanger. but if you have a lot of fragile things it may be a good idea to invest in a drying rack

separating it out by color: well if you gotta do two loads you might as well. but most modern laundry detergents don’t usually bleed the dyes so it’s really not necessary. the exceptions are: first wash on a garment with color bleed warnings, and sometimes you will get that one pair of jeans that really does bleed all over the shout every damn time.

dry clean only is a pain in the ass, but you can ruin and shrink garments that react badly to water. running it on air dry with some sheet might smell nice but it won’t remove the oils from your skin. that being said you can cheat it a little--some synthetics like rayon and acrylic can get wet and still retain shape, especially if in a blend (viscose is also rayon, and only the softest, most delicate and expensive weaves are actually “faux silk” that is too weak to support itself when wet). if it’s 100% silk or wool, though, get that shit cleaned properly.

which brings me to...care instructions! read them! you can greatly extend the life of fast fashion items, for example, by keeping them out of the dryer and running them on gentle cycle. the biggest factors in wearing out your clothes (besides actually wearing them) are the spin cycle and the DRYER (especially heat, but also getting tossed around with other clothes).

similarly, read the fabrics! knowing what your clothes are made of helps you know which directions you can ignore to make your life easier. 100% cotton really can shrink, but synthetics like nylon and polyester are basically plastics and there is a risk of melting if they’re not rated safe for dryers. rayon is basically wood pulp and is more brittle than cotton or linen when wet, but if it’s not particularly fine, and especially if it’s mixed with other materials, it can often support itself enough to dry nicely. search engines are your friend if you’re not sure what a fabric can take

you can also extend the life and color of many items by washing them inside out--some say so on instructions! for everyday use i haven’t had a problem with gentle cycle (the main downside is that a less violent spin cycle means they’re more damp coming out of the machine) and low heat for dryer pretty much everything. but anything that can go in a dryer can also be hung up. just make sure to straighten it out a little so it doesn’t air dry into funky shapes.

other tips for extending life: wash everything cold unless you’re doing something special

if you’ve got enough to justify it, do towels and sheets separately. they can handle the rougher spin, hot water and high dryer heat without shrinking

don’t put your bras in the dryer..they already get rough treatment and are so expensive. in fact, get a lingerie bag for them and other gentle items (i promise you can find one at the 99 cent store if need be, so price is not an excuse!)

ironing--i pretty much never do this, but... when you do need to, err on the side of caution with lower heat and plenty of steam (if called for)--oh, and have your clothes inside-out! (with only one layer of fabric between the iron and the board.) follow the tags as this is another case where you risk damaging the garment by going in too hot. you’ll probably have to go slower than you like, and sometimes you do need to hold the iron on an area for it to conform, just keep it to only a couple seconds and go in multiple times to avoid burning (i think? once again this is tedious and i hate it). to make sure your clothes are flat, look  at the seams and try to make out the different pieces of fabric, laying out each section as flat as you can and ironing just that area. that narrow end of the ironing board is designed for sleeves and anything else that’s more tube than square.

stains: will go away best when fresh. turn the garment inside out, run under cold water, and rub it out with dish or hand soap.

old stains: while hot water can set new stains, it will drag old ones out of the fabric (still work inside out to “raise the stain”). these are a bit more work to get. you can scrub with baking soda & water paste, diluted lemon juice/vinegar, or watered down dish soap, and alternate between soaking it, scrubbing vigorously, rinsing and repeating. (you may want to test the cleaning agent another part of the fabric if you’re worried about discoloration)

my personal low-effort favorite that seems to be working, though, is to soak it in diluted dish soap (or just slather with dish soap and hope it’s still effective if you’re me) and let it fuck off for 3 hours to 3 days before laundry day. rinse out most of the soap before throwing it in the machine so those mega-suds don’t kill your washer.

for tough stains they may have to go through multiple treatments and washes. i usually just have some clothes on standby to be treated and thrown in with regular laundry, though if you have a lot of stained items you can d a whole load of just them in hot water (and alternate with treating until the stains go away) (wayy to much work for me though)

for the love of god, DON’T PUT ANYTHING STAINED IN THE DRYER if you want it to wash out. it’s not impossible to get out all set stains (i’ve done it), but it’s a bitch and a half to do. some garments may truly be beyond rescue

i have never used bleach on a garment in my life. some garments can handle it (often no chlorine) but as far as i’m concerned that shit’s just for killing bacteria

the dreaded folding--well it depends on your personality but here’s what helps me:

put your freshly dried clothes in a basket (mine was 3 bucks at walmart--once again, no excuse, do this. it will be good for you.). and preferably put it down near a surface you’ll use for folding. (a bed or couch works just as well as a countertop)

my strategy is to get it done right away. the moment it’s out of the dryer, we don’t sit down until everything’s all set for folding. and then we sit where we fold

similarly, it helps to do it in the same place every time so it becomes a habit. i always fold mine while watching tv.

reward yourself and relax for a minute after you’re done. you’ve completed a big task!

[thewatermelloncat]

Glancing Over

Summary: On a mission and completely out of their depth, the Umbrella Academy realises that it isn’t just their powers that make them a formidable team. It only took them their most underestimated sibling to show them that.

Author’s Note: Inspired by an idea I posted about a while ago. I am so stoked to finally be posting this, let me know what you think.

Warnings: Swearing and violence (not graphic but still be warned).

Tag list:

@alive-and-afraid

@atrono

@candydancey

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If Klaus never heard that alarm again it would be too soon. Groaning dramatically, he rolls over in his tangle of sheets throwing a pillow over his ears. From the darkness outside his window he guesses it can’t be too far past midnight - and honestly, fuck that alarm for waking him up on one of the few nights he had been able to sleep with his insomnia.

Maybe he can fall back asleep, the edges of unconsciousness are still around him. Gripping the pillow tighter over his ears, he closes his eyes and wills himself to drift off again.

“Get up!” Diego calls out from his doorway, throwing a pair of bundled up socks at him.

Klaus growls dramatically turning over to face him, throwing him a glare that would be a lot more threatening if he weren’t still half asleep.

“Everyone’s almost ready to leave” Diego tells him, leaning against the door frame making it clear that he’s not moving.

“I didn’t know the thing still worked” he groans as he quite literally rolls out of his bed before stumbling around to find a change of clothes off his floor.

“We reactivated it after we agreed on doing missions again last week” Diego furrows his brow as Klaus shoves on a shirt – he thought he would have remembered that.

“Oh yeah, right” Klaus recalls, part of him now regretting agreeing to do missions again. “We don’t have to wear those stupid domino masks again, do we?”

Diego scoffs with a dismissive roll of his eyes. “Nah, you’ll never see me in one of those again.”

“What is it anyway?” Klaus asks after jumping his way into a pair of pants and grabbing a pair of boots off the floor.

“Some sort of heist. Luther’s going to brief us in the car” Diego tells him as they set off through the hallways.

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“They’ve boarded up all the entrances” Allison informs as she runs up to them. Her, Five and Vanya having got to the scene before them in their own car.

“We should really invest in a minivan” Klaus notes as the groups join up with each other, but his comment is ignored.

“There’s no other way inside?” Luther asks, looking over to the museum where he can just make out various objects positioned behind the glass doors.

“Not without causing a racket and giving away our position” she tells him.

“Can you jump us inside?” Luther turns to Five.

The smaller boy hums his answer and shrugs his shoulders before they all latch hands and are whisked away.

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

“How do you do that all the time?” Diego swallows forcefully after the portal dissipates leaving them standing in the middle of a gallery. “Anyone else feel sick?”

In the corner of his vision he sees Klaus raise his hand but all further of his complaints cut off as Five stumbles next to him.

“You get used to it” Five pants as Diego reaches out to stabilise him. After a few seconds to get his bearings he pushes himself away.

“You would do amazing on rollercoasters” Klaus raises as he pushes himself off the exhibit case he leant against, the world finally stopping spinning.

In a perfect scenario they would have landed in a secluded area where they could analyse the situation and plan a response from the inside. They quickly find this is not the case when a yell sounds from the mezzanine floor behind them. Abruptly they all turn around to see a man dressed in black combat gear raising his gun.

“Five” Luther says lowly.

Five nods his head, taking a step forward to disappear through a portal, though his path is blocked with the air unwilling to part for him. He growls in frustration, his hands clenching into fists and arms tensing as he tries again, only succeeding in turning the air around him blue. For a moment his arms fall limply to his sides as he tries to gather himself. Though before he can try for a third time Diego puts a hand on his shoulder and a knife wizzes past his ear, sinking into the chest of the man before he can pull the trigger.

Gratefully Five nods to him.

“You good?” Diego looks down at him.

“Tired” is all Five says as he rolls his shoulders.

Diego purses his lips and clasps a hand to his brother’s chest as Vanya speaks.

“You don’t think anyone else would have heard him yell?”

“Probably” Luther admits. “Klaus, can you summon the dead to scout the area?”

“I can’t” Klaus says.

“Why not? Have you even tried?”

“Well, Luther – of course I've tried” he quickly adds irritably when the last point registers. “I can’t say that the spirits are exactly happy about having the artefacts that they are connected to stolen.”

“But we’re trying to save them” Luther doesn’t quite understand.

“I’m not talking about the guys stealing them now, they’ve already been stolen” he gestures to the various cultural exhibits around them. “Besides, it’s not like they care that we weren’t the ones who took them.”

Luther draws a blank and goes quiet for a few seconds. “Just use Ben” he suddenly says like it’s obvious.

“I can’t reach him, there’s so many of them. Everything’s too loud.”

“Just settle down” Diego holds out a hand, playing peacemaker. He doesn’t want to imagine the amount of ghosts Klaus is seeing in a place like this, so he pushes for them to move on. “We’ll pair up and scout the surrounding area.”

Everyone falls silent and looks toward him.

“Purely recon, no engaging. Then meet back here in two minutes.”

“Well, anyone got a better idea?” Five asks after a few moments of silence. Habitually they all look to Luther.

“Nope” he shakes his head. “Pair up.”

If purely on habit they pair up in sequential order, moving to stand by their partner.

“Allison and Klaus, take the doors to the left. Five and Vanya, go up the mezzanine. Diego and I will take doors to the right” Luther assigns and they nod at their instructions. “If you run into any trouble yell out and meet back here.”

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It becomes clear as soon as they all separate that they are out of their depth. There are far more people than they thought and they are more heavily armed than anticipated. Each of the pairs barely make it 100 metres into their route before they are forced to turn back.

“There’s a group of about four coming this way” Allison pants as she and Klaus run to re-join the group already waiting back in the gallery. As soon as her words cut off, the offending party step into view behind them.

With a swift motion Diego releases a knife curving through the air, sending the bodies falling to the floor before their guns can be raised.

“We have to get out. This was a mistake” he turns back to the group after catching the knife back in his hand.

“And let them take everything?” Allison snaps at him.

“Better that than die” Diego scoffs.

“Where’s your superhero complex now?”

“Hate to break it to you but Diego’s right. Almost half of us are out of commission” Vanya points out, looking over at Five poking around the unconscious bodies, then at Klaus still standing amongst the group.

“The whole area is surrounded” Five’s voice draws their attention to him studying a screen he’d detached from someone’s belt. “There’s a squad of six heading for us. About 30 seconds.”

The rest of them look away from him then at each other fearfully.

“Did anyone find any exits?” Luther asks to which they all shake their heads. “Five, how many of us can you get out?”

“Maybe one or two” he says but he sounds unsure.

“No way” Diego shakes his head. “We’re not splitting up.”

“I just want to say, that I may not have been the easiest person to” – Klaus’ goodbye speech is cut off by Five calling out his name and a gun being thrown into his hands. Reflexively he catches it as Five picks up one for himself.

“We’re not dying” he says with a cock of his head and a raise of an eyebrow.

Habitually Klaus’ hands go about disarming the safety while Five turns to one of the large doorways, lifting his gun to hold at the ready.

The sound of Klaus’ safety latch clicking off is masked by the echoes of bullets flying around the room. A quick glance back at his siblings shows none of them are ducking for cover and all the bullets are from Five’s gun, the enemy being disastrously unprepared for an attack.

After a short ringing silence, a series of yells and thundering footsteps draws Klaus’ attention back to the doorway, more of their adversaries having been alerted of their presence. Following Five’s lead he finds cover behind an exhibit plinth, his eyes brushing over the bodies that already lie on the floor beneath the doorway. With a soldiering breath Klaus raises his own gun, the metal feels somewhat familiar in his hands but the weight feels heavy in his arms.

He almost feels sick with adrenaline as his finger pushes against the trigger. His eyes focusing on each target just before they collapse. Next to him Five moves positions to get closer to his targets and Klaus shifts to follow him only to freeze suddenly when a glass cabinet shatters to his right.

Spinning on his knees, still crouched on the floor he traces the trajectory of the bullet to the mezzanine behind him. Wasting no time in shooting down the man stationed above.

The limp body folds forward over the balustrade, falling to the floor with a sickening thud a few meters away from the group of huddled siblings. None of them startle, too mesmerised by their two remaining siblings working unexpectedly together.

“Shit!” Five curses throwing away an empty magazine, his ammo having run out.

Without sparing his brother a glance, Klaus finishes off the rest of the targets in the room before they both rise from their cover. No one speaks and the room falls into an uneasy silence as Klaus grabs a magazine from a fallen criminal and throws it to Five. Neither of them pays any mind to their siblings still frozen in shock.

“Any more coming?” Klaus asks Five.

“Try all of them, we’re not exactly being subtle” he quips, shoving the magazine into his gun before reaching to check the stolen screen he’d attached to his belt. “Two groups of about three coming in immediately.”

“What doors?” Klaus asks, staying on the spot making it clear that he’s waiting for Five to direct him.

“Both left and right. No time for anything special, just take cover.”

Klaus makes no argument and they both duck behind a set of shelves barely sparing enough time before bullets start raining over their heads. With their backs against the shelves and their eyes on their siblings they’re thankful to find that the bullets missing them are also missing their siblings – Vanya having thrown a shield up to protect them. Though no one else makes any attempt to do anything to help them, and for the moment neither Five nor Klaus think anything of it.

The short gap between the shooting only allows Five a second to pop up for quick survey of the area before the barrage starts again.

Sinking back behind the shelf Five looks to Klaus and moves his hand in the air like he’s drawing a square before holding up three fingers, not bothering to try and talk over the shots echoing around the gallery.

“What?” Klaus draws his head back, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. He doubts Five can hear him over the weapons firing, but he can lipread.

For a quick second it’s Five’s turn to look at Klaus confused, like he doesn’t know what wasn’t to understand about that. But he soon snaps out of it and repeats himself. “Window” he explains redrawing the square, “three people.”

Klaus can’t help but pick up on a slightly annoyed tone as Five holds up three fingers. Though he’s able to chalk it down to the intensity of the situation and not anything necessarily directed at him.

When the round of fire ends, they both rise from behind their cover and gun down the three men in front of the windows.

“The barriers are too high, we’ll never get a shot from here” Klaus observes after spotting the remaining three men who are spread throughout the room, sheltering behind some of the higher exhibition cases.

“I might be able to get the one on the left” Five says before he pivots away from their shelter. Creeping closer towards his new target he ducks behind new barriers every now and again although it’s unlikely that the men spot him with his small stature, too focused on remaining sheltered. Unfortunately, the man on left’s shelter wasn’t sufficient as Five delivers on his promise, the body finding its final resting place amongst a scatter of glass shards.

With the target down Five looks at the other two men and then back to Klaus before shaking his head, clear that he can’t get the shot. Klaus isn’t sure why, but he looks back after that and an idea pops into his head, seeing the mezzanine floor above him.

Quickly turning back to Five he brings all the fingers of one hand to the top of his head before lowering it again.

“What the fuck?!” Five mouths, throwing his hands in the air.

Klaus spares a moment to roll his eyes. Why did their tactical signals have to not be compatible?

“Cover me!” he clarifies in a language that he knows Five will understand. Part of him half expects Five ask him why or what his plan is, but he doesn’t. He just trusts him as he moves back closer to him so he can be his defence.

He doesn’t even bother to ask what direction Klaus plans to move in, just senses where he goes and moves along with him. None of his shots hit the remaining targets but he isn’t exactly aiming for them to. His round of fire purely meant to keep them hiding behind their shelter and unwilling to risk taking a hit. He continues to fire, ducking behind a display case near the base of the stairs as Klaus mounts them to get to the better vantage point on the mezzanine.

On the second level Klaus doesn’t bother to crouch behind the railing which has far too many gaps in it to be useful. Knowing that he will have to work quickly, he raises his gun and lines up the shots. The first target goes down without a hitch though he barely registers it as he immediately lines up the second.

His final shot seems to echo for eternity in the now silent room. If he allowed himself to, he could probably get lost in the moment of peace and quiet. Though that isn’t something he can allow himself to do quite yet. Instead he lowers his gun and pivots on his heel back to the staircase, descending the steps two at a time on the way back down to Five.

“Any more?”

“Can’t see any – unless they ran off” Five considers as he looks back down at the screen.

And now without an immediate threat Klaus can allow himself to catch his breath. Cool air fills his lungs as he draws in deep breaths, his heartrate slowing. Though before his thoughts can stray too far, he hears Five inhale suddenly like he finally decided on saying something.

“You’re not bad… just so you know” he doesn’t look at Klaus while he says it, choosing to take the magazine out of his gun and throw it across the room, but Klaus can see that he’s impressed from the way his lips are pursed.

He doesn’t know how to respond to that but before he can cover it up with awkward laughter, he sees his siblings step apart as Vanya’s shield comes down.

None of them say anything at first as they take in the sight around them. They are no strangers to a crime scene, the shattered glass and the bodies on the floor don’t phase them, yet they are frozen on their feet and at a loss for words.

“Whoa” Vanya eventually breaths out quietly, her mouth barely moving and her eyes wide.

She’d expected something like that from Five but Klaus had been a wildcard to her. She’s sure that the rest of her siblings could say the same. Apart from Five who had strangely known about their brother’s capabilities far better than the rest of them. In all honesty her brain isn’t working well enough to question that at the moment so she decides to shelve it for later as she steps away from the group.

At Vanya moving from his side Luther steps forward as well, mumbling something about going back to the car and the authorities dealing with the rest of it. None of his words come out making sense sounding like a child learning to speak for the first time, clear that he’s struggling believe what he just saw.

Allison tries to say something a couple of times but words fall short and she gives up. Letting out a breathless scoffing sound she shakes her head in disbelief, blinking a few times. A smile begins to play on the corners of her lips as goes over to join Luther and Vanya waiting for the rest of them.

Words also fail Diego as he walks forward to join the congregating siblings. Uncoordinatedly patting Klaus on the chest a couple of times before clasping a hand on Five’s shoulder as he moves past them.

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The ride home is near soundless aside from gravel under tyres and the occasional passing car. Without anyone willing to speak Klaus spends his time flicking his eyes between Luther taking up the whole front of the car and Diego sitting next to him, mostly staring out the window but sometimes flicking him quick glances when he thinks he’s not looking.

It isn’t until they get inside and Diego sits down next to him at the bar for celebratory drinks, that Klaus realises he hasn’t said anything since the museum. With Allison beginning to pour out the alcohol, Klaus draws in a breath and turns toward him, opening his mouth to say something.

Though as his chair stops spinning, he sees Diego turned to him fixing him with a sceptical gaze, already prepared to speak.

“You scare me.”

[nose-bandaid]

Pentagon as Students

trying something new today! i hope you enjoy it, i had a lot of fun writing this:)

~based on the different kinds of people i’ve witnessed at my high school~

=====

JINHO

- that one kid that actually has their shit together

- though on the inside he’s in a constant state of panic

- knows (and meets) all the deadlines and works when he’s supposed to

- but he’s secretly watching his classmates goof around at the same time

- hands in perfect projects, does well on tests, gets good grades,,, others are jealous of him

- probably had the homework done 3 days before it was assigned tbh

- teachers love to have him in their class 

- and it’s totally not because they sometimes rely on him to help keep track of important dates

- when he does make a mistake though, he’ll get clowned for it for the rest of the year

- but that’s just cause people are happy he’s not good at EVERYTHING

- and even though he seems like a teacher’s pet, he always does his class a solid and never reminds the teacher of the homework they had

- makes good study notes and people end up leeching off of him cause he can’t say no

- never brings food to class but always steals some from others

- so if your bag of chips is suddenly empty, you know why

- was a bus monitor when he was in elementary school and is still damn proud of it, mentions it whenever he has the opportunity to

- people know him, but he doesn’t know them so he’s always like ??? when random people keep on saying hi to him

HUI

- loud. what else can i say?

- raises his hand at almost everything just to ask the teacher a lot of questionable things

- but once in a while he comes up with a really good question that shocks everyone so we take our chances and listen to him

- doesn’t sit on his seat properly but that’s ok because honestly who does?

- he falls off the chair every other day though, so some teachers are concerned of this habit of his

- delivers some of the BEST presentations

- like the kinds of presentations that are good because everyone is excited to see what that person has to offer this time

- when the teacher walks in, he’s that one kid who asks them how they’ve been so that he can delay class

- likes to make conversations with the teacher on unrelated topics when he’s supposed to be working

- always manages to get the teacher really involved in their conversation though, so they don’t even notice that he’s not working

- is distracted like 70% of the time but tries his best

- hands his work in at the absolute last minute

- like if it’s due at midnight, it’s coming in at 11:59 pm

- can be found in almost every single club and no one knows how he manages to do it

HONGSEOK

- we already know that he’s the sporty kid like that’s a given

- is a part of pretty much all the school teams so he’s constantly leaving class to go to tournaments and whatnot

- teachers are so used to him being absent that sometimes they forget he’s even in their class

- the one who offers to carry things whenever the teacher says they need help

- holds the door open to look cool

- he’s never seen studying but he always comes out of tests with a pretty decent grade

- no one knows if it’s actually because he’s big brained or if it’s because he’s really lucky

- sleeps during first period, eats his lunch during the period right after lunchtime

- defends his actions with the fact that he’s busy with his clubs but he was probably just walking around school doing random shit during lunchtime

- the kind of person who would jump to tap the ceiling or the top of a doorframe just to “casually” flex

- doesn’t change out of his sport clothes half the time to once again, “casually” flex

- everyone in the school knows him for a very wide range of reasons

E’DAWN

- the quiet yet loud kid

- would just sit there (not doing his work) being an unbothered king for most of the time

- but when it’s his time to shine oH boy

- everyone has to brace themselves cause they know they’re in for a hell of a ride

- no one knows what to expect when it comes to his presentations

- one time it ended up with Hui duct taped to the wall along with five broken chairs and an angry janitor

- shouts randomly along with hui

- would say some of the oddest things when the teacher asks a question

- on his phone listening to music for the entirety of class, the headphones never come out, even if you’re talking to him

- when the teacher walks by he always has to rush to close/switch his tabs

- is a boss at that move though, and the teachers never suspect him

- asks to go to the bathroom but just takes a walk around the school instead

- makes a funny face every time he passes by a class with his friends in it

- if you walk down the halls during lunch, you might find him sleeping in a little hiding spot in the hallways

- if not, he’s probably running around outside creating a scene

SHINWON

- known for being the embodiment of chaos in classrooms, so classes are always 10x better when he’s in it

- borrows notes from jinho the most

- will copy your homework in the morning if he didn’t do it the night before

- and will proceed to get a higher mark than you, despite writing the exact same thing

- he actually does his work and hands in it on time for the most part, but no one seems to pay attention to that fact

- sits with his chair facing the opposite way if you can imagine what i’m getting at here lol

- really good at sneaking snacks into class but he always chews too loudly so all his efforts end up going to waste when the teacher finds out

- takes long bathroom breaks and no one knows what he’s even doing in there, or if he even went to the bathroom in the first place

- he’s always seen with delivered take out during lunch and people get jealous cause they want to eat fast food too

- has to fend off the hoard of kids that come his way and is pretty good at it by now

- cause he has to save the fries for when he needs to bribe jinho for notes again

- the one that keeps on standing up during class and walking around to bother people

- like he literally just stands up at random times and walks up to someone on the other side of the room and strikes a conversation that’s completely unrelated to the class

- no one knows what motivates him to do that and he just keeps on standing up no matter how many times he’s sent back to his seat

YEO ONE

- minds his own business, is in his own world

- watches the others along with jinho and tries to not be involved in their shenanigans

- always ends up involved in their shenanigans

- is oddly chaotic, new people would be shocked when they see how chaotic he could be, but everyone else is used to it by now

- has a fat crush that his whole friend group knows about

- and now they all feel obligated to get them together so they’re always nagging him

- on that note, a bunch of people fall for him but he’s just too oblivious to notice

- i know this is oddly specific but he actually washes his hands for the correct length of time

- student body president because everyone loves him, does his job very well

- especially with school spirit !! participates fully in those, and tries his best to convince others to join in as well

- buys food from the cafeteria religiously even though the food’s a little subpar

- “i need to support this school in every way i can”

- has a part time job, people strive to be hardworking like him

- honestly this guy’s pretty neutral, he just exists and makes the world better with his presence it’s as simple as that:)

YANAN

- corner seat kind of guy, so that he can sneak in naps and just be hidden in general

- doesn’t speak unless called on

- listens to EVERY single thing being said around him, so he’s loaded with gossip

- has blackmail, will use it

- like he films people when they’re presenting,,, what is he going to do with that video? we do not know

- always bringing his coat into class, no matter how bulky it is, and just doesn’t use his locker at all

- but he has all of his friends’ locker codes saved on his phone for some reason

- eats his lunch at the wrong time too, but unlike the others (who just go with a full 3 course meal during class), he scarfs it down within 10 seconds and moves on like nothing happened

- emits soft boy energy but people fear him

- class is always hyped when it’s his turn to go up to the board and no one really knows why, that’s just how it works

- maybe it’s because his personality and confidence just skYROCKETS and everyone loves seeing that side of him

- the whole class just hypes him up on a daily basis by now

- doesn’t share anything with the others no matter how much they beg, whether it’d be for notes, tools, or food

- “snitches get stitches, bitch”

- “you know that’s not the correct saying right?”

- “i said what i said.”

YUTO

- always takes the seat near the back

- not necessarily because he’s emo (though part of it is because he is emo) but also because he is a modest boy™

- tosses a ball back and forth with his friends in the locker bays during his free time, ultimately posing as a threat to the rest of the student body

- has almost hit a teacher by accident once with a baseball, but we overlook that event

- silently rages during every single competition (especially when he falls down the rankings in Kahoot!) but hides it well

- he holds the reputation as a student who does their work when they’re supposed to, but one time you walked by his laptop and he was watching anime so now you’re not so sure

- once thought that a project was due a week before the actual due date

- had a small breakdown but was able to get over it

- he had many other close calls though, so he relies on kino or jinho to keep him in check

- has all the school equipment you could possibly need with him at all times

- so people are constantly borrowing things from him

- do they give it back? usually

- but he will get salty and hold grudges with the people who supposedly “lost” his items

- or if they say, use his entire glue stick despite it being brand new when he gave it to them

- if you hear some music down the halls, it’s probably him playing the guitar

- fully reads the club posters on the wall so he’s one of the few people who are actually aware of what’s going on

KINO

- always keeping up with the new trends

- the “i’ll help you with your work! :)” kind of guy

- always answering questions in the group chat i don’t know what the others would do without him

- he gets sad if people don’t reply to his messages properly though

- the only person on jinho’s good list because he’s actually diligent with his work

- goes a full 200% on any project that has any artistic aspect in it, even if it doesn’t count for marks

- is the one who reminds others of the due dates so some people have a love-hate relationship with him

- somehow knows almost everyone in the school

- if you want to walk to class with him, you gotta be prepared to take like 50 stops along the way cause he’s gonna hug everyone he knows and strike a conversation with them

- is popular simply because everyone loves him

- you can find him dancing in the hallway occasionally, probably making tiktoks

- decorates his friends’ lockers on their birthday with pictures of them

- the kid that offers to help the teacher complete tasks almost 100% of the time

- volunteers at the other school nearby to help take care of the little children

- always supporting club events

WOOSEOK

- puts memes in his slideshows (and is very good at finding the perfect meme for every occasion)

- plays games on his phone when the teacher’s talking, somehow doesn’t get called on

- instead like, yuto gets called on for searching something up on his phone

- the kid who constantly yells out random answers (or just yells in general) during Kahoot! to mess other people up

- the kind of student who casually looks over at the person beside him during a test

- defends himself by saying that he just wanted to see how far they were on the test

- has a tough time during locker clean out because there were just too many things in there

- at one point there was an ant infestation after he accidentally left his lunch there overnight, but he took care of that quietly and doesn’t mention it ever again

- asks obvious questions into the group chat and tries to argue his point only to figure out where he went wrong after reflecting on his messages

- random shouter number 3

- him, hui, and e’dawn can sometimes be seen after school trying to summon their very late school bus with their screams

- it never worked though, unfortunately

- runs a business where people pay him to go to the store nearby and buy snacks for them

- he actually makes quite a bit from it

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quick disclaimer: ofc i think the boys would've been good students at school so this is just something written based on the chaotic energy i’ve watched them emit throughout my time stanning them:) this is just for entertainment purposes!

~ tiny