#kinda tired of them asking Daniel the same questions over and over again

[rickybaby]

Daniel via

[virtualbunny]

So this kinda a weird request, but anyway.

could you do the boys and having another squad member (the reader, gn pls), who only sleeps around people they trust. so at first they'll stay up all night, but as they get to know everyone, start sleeping for longer periods, and more in the open? thanks, and have a great day/night <3

anything for you bestie 🫶 (hihi btw sorry this was late I was devouring cake, happy late b day to me 🤭)

! gender neutral pronouns as always !

Miller's squad: you becoming more trusting to sleep around them

John Miller: he gets why, he's kind of the same in a way, but he's also but anxious that you're not getting enough sleep to be able to stay awake or be as conscious of your surrounding as you actually should. When you start being more trusting about sleeping around them he calms down a bit.

Mike Horvath: he's concerned about it affecting both your physical and mental help, he may take you to the side and ask why and when you tell him why he gets it, he won't pressure you into being comfortable/trusting being around him or the others.

Daniel Jackson: wouldn't necessarily notice at first (considering he falls asleep just by laying down and closing his eyes), when he hears Reiben and Mellish talk about you almost never sleeping he gets concerned for you. He doesn't say anything about it to anyone but he's eyeing you from a distance hoping that your well or at least okay. When you start being more trusting he let's out a relived mental sigh.

Richard Reiben: Again, talks and jokes with Meillish about it but internally he's probably as concerned as Wade if not more. He wouldn't admit it though. Ever since you joined the squad he has being eyeing you every time at a resting place (like at the church etc). He really wants to ask why but he's afraid he'll say anything wrong so just post points it until you unintentionally beings to trust the squad more and even when you start sleeping for longer and closer to them he is still secretly concerned.

Irwin Wade: does not care if you trust them or especially him, he just want you to sleep. He is a bit pressuring about it but if you REALLY feel THAT uncomfortable sleeping around people you don't trust he'll back off.. a bit. When you finally starts slowly sleeping closer and closer to the squad he feels relived and tells you that he's grateful that you are starting to open up towards them or at least him.

Stanley Mellish: this guy just doesn't get it, "why don't you trust us/me?", "Aren't you tired?" are frequently asked questions. They may sound harsh considering he's kind of a harsh person but he really means them in a caring way. When you become more trusting he'll joke with you like "oh look who finally opened up".

Timothy Upham: asks you in private if you're okay and you tell him that it's kinda hard to sleep you barely know and yeah, he gets it, but, why? I feel like he wouldn't ask you more about it but try to do things for you to make you feel at least more comfortable around him to make you at least comfortable to sleep for long around him. If it works he would thank you for being comfortable around him.

Adrian Caparzo: he's like "oh, okay" but not in a he doesn't care way but more in a he cares but don't want to be a "simp" in front of the others (not that it's wrong to care about others well being). Looks over at you from time to time to see if you get the rest you need, when you start sleeping for longer and closer to the squad he feels relived and thanks god and everyone else up in the sky (don't know why he does it but he does, it's a Caparzo thing).

[21burritoseavey]

Hahah sorry 😬I meant y/n as the reader and Daniel are in a secret relationship

hey! I'm sorry this took so long. It's a little unedited and long...and for what?? but anywaysss i hope you enjoy it i kinda went a little crazy.

Hollywood Fix (d.s.)

Daniel always loved to spend time with his girlfriend, but since Why Don’t We’s album release back in January, all of his effort went into making music at the studio. Out of sheer love and passion for creating, his thoughts would be filled with new song ideas or random melodies he hummed quietly before bed. Daniel and Y/n only met up sometimes throughout the past few weeks. Y/n was busy herself of course. With homework piling up (literally) and work right after school, she hardly had time to come over, and when she did it was for a little while. Daniel would notice her slightly less cheerful mood when they’d FaceTime before saying goodnight every night. He wanted to remind his girlfriend how much he loved her.

With his Friday night free of work, he made a reservation for dinner, sending Y/n a fake urgent message to surprise her when she’d come over that same evening.

Y/n, I need you please come over

The door burst open just ten minutes later. Y/n leaned her arm on the door handle, tired and breathless as she scanned the kitchen and living room. “Daniel!” She called; her voice wavered in panic. The eerie silence of the house only made her more anxious. Daniel was crouched behind the grey L-shaped sofa in the living room, biting back the giddy laughter that tried to fall past his lips. Kobe squealed and squirmed as he saw Y/n and Daniel tried his best to shush the puppy in his arms as he watched her quietly.

“Daniel? Where are you? You got me all worried!” She yelled again, kicking her shoes off at the door out of habit. She walked over to the counter to set her keys down and as she lowered her gaze, she noticed Daniel’s phone sitting on the tabletop, readily showing the confirmation email for his reservation at the restaurant he’d talked about on their nightly call the night before.

Daniel lingered behind the couch a little longer than intended just to see her neutral lips curve into a toothed smile and he let Kobe leap out of his arms when he stood up. “Surprise!” He shouted happily, a small bouquet of flowers in his hand.

Y/n shot back in surprise, wide eyed and open mouthed. After a few seconds of trying to wrap her mind around the fact her boyfriend was standing right there, she ran into his arms with a squeal, pressing her hand to her mouth as she giggled. “Dani!” She exclaimed, snuggling into his warm embrace. “I missed you!”

“Hey, my love.” Daniel kissed the top of her head. He dropped the flowers onto the couch and smoothed out the wisps of her hair with his free hand soothingly. “I missed you too.” He said quietly, learning back to press a few soft kisses to her lips.

Y/n stepped back and smacked his shoulder playfully, her joyous expression veiled with annoyed furrows. “You scared me, you dummy! No wonder that text was sketchy.” She tisked.

“Hey! I had to think quick, okay?” Daniel defended. He pulled her back into a tight hug and Y/n let them linger in each other’s arms for a moment before rushing over to the flowers she glanced at.

The bouquet of tulips slipped slightly in the brown paper wrapping, as fresh and soft as the sunset that bloomed outside. Y/n looked down at them fondly. Her fingers stretched out to touch the petals and she stared up at Daniel with a pout on her lips. “These are so pretty,” She pressed a hand to her heart and wobbled on the tips of her toes to give Daniel a kiss. He gladly accepted, sliding his arms around her waist and dipping her down just a little to kiss her deeper.

---

“Thanks for taking me out, Daniel. I needed this.” Y/n said sweetly, squeezing her grip of his hand as they sauntered down the footpath. He looked beside him and gave Y/n a warm kiss on the cheek, “don’t thank me yet," he whispered into her ear.

Daniel made a reservation at a newly opened restaurant downtown and as soon as he finally told Y/n, she ran to her brand new, emerald dress she hadn’t even touched yet, nearly ecstatic that she’d finally have an occasion to wear it. Daniel thought her excitement was cute, and on their extra slow walk to the restaurant - just to savour each other's presence - he complimented and flirted with her every chance he could. Teasing glares, blushing cheeks and light chatter filled their walk, until Y/n noticed...a crowd of people in the distance, near the restaurant’s entrance. She’d thought that they were merely there for dinner, since the place just opened and all, but they seemed like they...were waiting. Suddenly, it seemed all too familiar. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and peered at the large cluster of people through a narrowed gaze. Daniel stood beside her, confused. Y/n heard the high-pitched screams of what must’ve been excited fans and saw their small signs held up by flailing arms.

“Is that Hollywood Fix?” Y/n asked, gently tugging at Daniel’s hand.

Daniel met her gaze. His white button up shirt rose and fell with the soft evening breeze that murmured along the lit-up trees around them. “Very funny, Y/n.” He tisked.

“No, seriously. Look over there” Y/n shot her hand up to point at the bright blinks of light getting closer and closer.

Daniel lifted his gaze, noticing the black exterior of the cameras peeking through the mass of people. “Wh-what? What do we do?” Daniel paused in thought for a second, “Should we hide?” He puckered his eyebrows towards his girlfriend.

“No, you dummy!” Y/n slapped his arm. “Just let go of my hand...” She spoke gingerly, unravelling her fingers from his and she stepped further to the side of the footpath, “and... we’ll just have to stand further apart.”

Daniel nodded after a few seconds and wrung his hands nervously. “Okay, okay. Act natural.” He cleared his throat and raked a hand through his hair.

“You call that natural…” Y/n giggled, pressing a manicured hand to her mouth.

Daniel glared at her with a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “Baby-” He started, only to get cut off by the sound of photos and fans right in front of him.

The interviewer nearly ran into Daniel in excitement. “Hey, Daniel! How’s it going dude?” He spoke with a sort of enthusiastic haste, shoving the microphone just below his chin as he waited for an answer. Y/n walked backwards to follow behind the both of them. She left a decent space between the two young men who talked. She was silent.

“It’s going well,” Daniel started, “how are you?”

“I’m great. What’s going on with the band? Any music coming soon?” The interviewer pulled a grin towards Daniel as they both weaved through the group of young people. Multiple camera guys walked backwards behind them too, catching every word that Daniel uttered through the mic. Daniel paused at times to give a fan a hug, or take pictures and sign autographs, but Y/n kept her distance. She walked silently down the walkway.

“Yeah, yeah. You know, we’ve got some stuff ready..” Daniel shrugged with a cheeky smile.

“Anyone with you tonight, or…?” The interviewer piped up. Y/n couldn’t help but lift her gaze at the question and she turned to Daniel to hear his reply.

Y/n hoped with everything in her that he’d say the truth, what they both wanted to finally tell the world but felt too scared or anxious to say. She, at times, loved the secrecy of their relationship. It was freeing not to worry about what his fans would think, but at the same time, it felt almost humiliating, like she was a dirty secret that his management didn’t want to crawl out his band’s perfect boyband image.

Daniel looked towards the interviewer with a toothy smile and bowed his head as he racked his brain for a lie. He stuttered out a “Nah...n- not right now, the band should be here soon though.” and let a strained smile play on his lips.

Y/n gulped hard at his words and dropped her gaze to her feet walking over the cracks of the footpaths, precariously trying not to step on them. It was a little game she always played when she was nervous. Daniel and the interviewer exchanged conversation while Daniel continued meeting his fans. Y/n tried to plaster on a friendly smile as they talked just in case she might appear in the frame, but after a few long moments, she let her lips droop into a frown.

She quickened her pace and slipped past them with an expressionless glare that wandered anywhere but them. Daniel noticed her but shrugged it off, watching her walk to the host stand.

The autumn sky met Y/n’s gaze. It was the perfect shade of orange, coloured by the slanting rays of the setting sun and she let her face soften at the sight of it. “It says here the reservation for Daniel Seavey is for two people?” The hostess glanced up.

Y/n drifted her head back towards the lady and smiled. “Yeah, he’ll be joining me later,” Y/n replied quietly. The hostess nodded and continued checking her in.

“Alright dude, we’ll see you later!” The interviewer shouted.

“Nice meeting you, bye!” Daniel couldn’t have been more thankful that the conversation finally ended. He let out a relieved sigh and studied the crowd for his girlfriend, but she had already disappeared through the doorway. He huffed and walked over to the host stand, mindlessly tapping his foot against the concrete as another couple checked in. The cameras kept filming from a few paces away until they watched him enter the restaurant.

On opening night, the restaurant was bustling and glowing with overlapping chatter and vibrancy. Fairy lights were strung along the ceiling and across the freshly painted walls. Y/n had made her way over to the table Daniel had booked. She smiled down at the vase of tulips that sat on the centre of the table and stuck at her fingers to pick one out and smell it.

“Y/n!” Daniel called through the loud room behind her. His voice startled Y/n and she popped the soft pink tulip back in the vase, watching it slip back into the water as Daniel settled into the seat across from her. “Hey, where’d you go?” He asked, panting slightly from rushing in so fast.

“I...” Y/n paused and thought about what she would tell him, but merely sighed and shook her head seconds later. “Nowhere, it’s fine.” She said, fidgeting with the gentle, green silk of her dress. “I’m just so hungry that I couldn’t wait.” She pulled a smile towards Daniel, but of course, he wasn’t fooled.

“Y/n,” He glared at her teasingly. “You could’ve waited for me,” he said gently.

“Oh and watch you lie about our relationship?” She murmured, lifting her glare to Daniel. “No thanks,” she unfolded the napkin a little too harshly and watched the petals of the flowers shake.

Daniel frowned towards her. “Lie? Wh-what are you talking about?”

“You lied Daniel... said you weren’t with anyone tonight.” she mumbled. Daniel opened his mouth to say something but the waiter behind Y/n walking towards the table stopped him.

“You know I can’t say that we’re together, Y/n.” Daniel whispered as the waiter lingered between them, pouring their glasses of water.

“I know, but you said you talked to management about it.” She lifted her gaze to Daniel and met his eyes with an equally upset expression.

Daniel stayed silent.

“You didn’t talk to them, did you?” Y/n asked.

Daniel sighed and leaned forward in his chair. “It’s not that simple, Y/n. You can’t have everything the way you want it.” He slid his hand across the table to tuck his hand in hers, but Y/n drew her arm back and dropped her gaze to the table. “Y/n,” he spoke gently. “Hey, listen to me,”

Y/n didn’t look up.

“My love, please, I planned this date so we could have fun, and not have to worry about all this other stuff.”

“It’s not just all this other stuff, Daniel. This is our relationship. Doesn’t it upset you that we can’t post about each other? Or that I can’t be there for you when you perform? Or that I can’t even be within 3 feet of you when we’re in public ‘cos your fans will go crazy?!” Y/n hadn’t realised how loud her voice had become until she received awkward glances from other customers. She leaned back in her seat and huffed. A roiling anger took root within her, and even though she tried to hide it, Daniel could see the tears pooling her eyes. They both took a few moments to calm down amidst the lively buzz of the restaurant.

“Yeah, it bothers me, Y/n. You’re right, I’ll try...and talk to them. You know, maybe they won’t agree at first but I’m not gonna give up, okay?” Daniel spoke up gently. Y/n nodded and let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips. She let their hands meet in the middle and intertwine.

“I love you...and we’ll find a way to figure this out, okay?” Daniel said, pulling a fake pout towards her. Y/n giggled lightly and pressed her fingers to the corner of her watery eyes carefully.

“M’kay...I love you.” Daniel leaned in again and held her face with his palm. Their noses bumped lightly before their lips met. They kissed, softly at first, then as Daniel turned Y/n’s head slightly, their kiss intensified, kindled by the heavy emotions released seconds ago and love that radiated from them, as strong and vivid as the warm lights surrounding them.

taglist: @chilling-seavey @marthagryffindor @randomlimelightxxx @hiya-its-amber @the-girl-who-cried-wolf @hackerXavery @jonahlovescoffee

join my taglist!

[danniburgh]

Rushingly Bittersweet, (Javier Peña x f!reader) part 1.

Pairing: Javier Peña x ofc//f!reader with name.

Summary: After the fall of Escobar everything starts happening way too fast for Javier; his raise, his new office, his new team, the Cali cartel's operation, the sudden arrival of a new agent that was transferred to his team for no apparent reason, the way he was falling in love with her almost unintentionally.

And he couldn't seem to stop any of that.

Word count: +2.1k

Series warnings: talks and mentions of misogyny and sexism, cursing, smoking, drinking, eventual sex, cartel shit, watch me make some shit up to fit reader inside the narrative, guns, dea shit, feels, javier actually being a little bit more introspective, just basically me inserting reader into the third season

Chapter warnings: depictions of misogyny and some cursing

A/N: This chapter is set in season three, episode one. // this has been simmering in the back of my head for way too long, i even made a post about it just trying to ease the weight of my thoughts but my mind keeps racing with more things about this exact story, so here goes nothing. THIS GOES ALONG THE CANON OF THE THIRD SEASON kinda (so yeah, spoilers if you haven’t watched it yet), i actually had to watch it to write this because in the end, you’re a fucking DEA agent baby (also please keep in mind that english is not my native language, im really trying for this to be GOOD) 

Read on ao3 // fic index // Masterlist // fic playlist

comments and reblogs are eternally appreciated 💓 let me know if you wanna be tagged

// next→

You knew you chose a difficult job, hell, a difficult career, you knew you had to prove yourself, your worth and your abilities countless times, at this point it wasn’t even that much of a surprise anymore. Every time you encountered another man in the office or in the field, you had to spend an incredible amount of time first proving you were capable and you knew what you were doing before even getting to work.

Yet you got comfortable in your previous destination, you had a team, you had people to trust and trusted you back, they knew you were more than capable, you didn’t have to tell them to listen to you or your ideas, you didn’t have to ask for anyone’s approval. You were just another agent.

But now you had to do it all over again.

“Shit” you growled, trying to unwrinkle your blazer with one hand, the flight down to Colombia hadn’t been at all gentle to you and you were tired and cold. Your feet were sore, your back was killing you, you were fighting the desire to get rid of your suit skirt and run to put some pants on, everybody was lying when they said Colombia was a hot place, the air was chilly, and the dress suit you were wearing barely provided any meaningful heat, and the fact that nobody went to pick you up at the airport made you even more frustrated. You were still pulling around your suitcase because apparently the embassy is such a fucking mess that not even one person told you where you were going to live yet. 

You showed your badge to the guards at the doors and they let you in without much of a look. You walked right through the lobby into the elevator, sighing in relief. Thanks America and its air conditioned buildings.

The elevator doors opened and you walked straight inside of the DEA offices, they were small, cramped and dark, great, just how you liked your work spaces.

“Hi” you said, approaching the small front desk, the receptionist looked up at you and smiled, it was the first smile you saw in a while and that made you feel a little less frustrated, you pulled out the badge again and showed it to her “can you please direct me to the office of Javier Peña?” you asked.

The girl tilted her head to the left in confusion.

“Are you agent Martin?” she said with her thick american accent, you put the badge again in the pocket of your dress pants and nodded to her.

“Yes, is he– is he expecting me?” 

“Not really, but agent Feistl is,” she said, pointing to a cornered desk almost in the back where a blond man was sitting, he looked up at the sound of his name and you sighed again.

“Oh, yeah, I talked to him on the phone, thank you,” you said, smiling a bit back to her while you walked around the unoccupied desks in the front of the office “Feistl” you said his name once you reached his desk, stretching out your hand to shake his “agent Martín” you said “it’s nice to meet you” he looked at you, frowning, but took your hand nonetheless and shook it.

“Chris Feistl” he said, a little taken aback and another man approached both of you “this is my partner, Daniel Van Ness” the larger man gave you a single nod and you shook his hand again.

“You’re agent Martin?” Van Ness said.

Here we go again.

“My last name is Martín, first name Florencia” you said, accentuating the í in your last name, inhaling the tension around and making it your own, yet another time “I’m guessing you were expecting a man?” you dropped, they looked at each other “don’t worry, it happens everytime” you finished with a small grin.

They remained silent, looking at you, yet another time you let them, although for a single moment you actually wondered if there was something wrong with the way you looked; you gave a glance to yourself on the elevator walls on your way up and aside from your hair being close to look like a mess you were ok, you take another second to try to analyze the men in front of you, the way they were standing, the expression on their faces, they were shocked that was for sure, but also… relieved? and somehow… happy?.

“Is there anywhere I can put this?” you asked, glancing at the suitcase.

“You came here all the way from the airport?” Feistl asked, you nodded.

“Yeah, no one showed up so I just grabbed a cab” Van Ness snorted and you looked at him. He didn’t say anything, “where’s my desk?” you asked again, starting to feel more frustrated but also a bit amused when again they didn’t say a thing, “you did get the memo that you’d be getting a new person today, right?” you questioned in a huff, a bit louder, looking at them in utter disbelief. Fucking embassy, fucking DEA.

“Is agent Martin here?” you heard your name being called from behind you, the men in front of you just widened their eyes and looked at you. 

“That would be me” you announced, turning around, seeing a tall, tanned skin, sweaty man approaching you, “and you must be Javier Peña” you said, allowing yourself to be more assured, stretching your hand again.

“You are agent Martin” he said, making it sound half like a question, half an assertion, looking at you up and down, he put his hands on his hips, not bothering to take your hand.

“Florencia Martín, yes sir” you dropped down your hand and pronounced your last name again, trying to get american people to pronounce your name was hard, and you hoped at least Javier Peña would understand it, yet he said it wrong. He just stood there and you glanced at him discreetly, he, differently from the men behind you, was a walking ball of frustration, you sympathized and tried to read his posture. He was trying to be cocky but his try died in his eyes, he was shocked, surprised and not at all entertained.

“No wonder why I couldn’t find you in the airport” he growled.

“You were also expecting a man” you affirmed, this time, a small hint of disappointment grew inside your stomach “don’t worry, it happens all the time” you repeated roughly. You turned around to your new partners, not caring and ignoring the look your new boss was giving you “my desk?”

Van Ness pointed a small cubicle behind his and Feislt’s big desks, you suppressed a sigh and walked towards the space, still pulling your fucking suitcase, feeling the looks of three men in your back. You were used to this, you had done it countless times, and you knew you weren’t the only woman that has gone through this. But after spending the time you spent in one single place, with the same people, doing the same thing, after having an amazing partner that had believed in you since the day you almost punched the shit out of him on the academy, after having your own office to work with him, after having faced many masculine faces disapproving you being in the same rooms as them while chasing bad guys, after receiving thousands of condescending looks when you said anything, and yet being capable of raise everybody’s expectations, starting it all over again not only sounded hard, it also sounded exhausting.

Javier couldn’t believe his fucking luck when he looked at you. He certainly was expecting a man, Washington only told him so much and he assumed what everyone did when they heard your last name, in the end it was a masculine name. For some reason he felt guilty when you told him you always get that reaction.

He tried to examine you, ever the analyzer, but he got nothing, not from the way you were still standing in front of the ridiculously small cubicle, tapping your foot against the carpeted floor, or the way you kept putting a thin strand of hair behind your ear and it kept falling in front of your right cheekbone, nothing from the way you reached for the manila folder that was waiting to be picked up or the way your fingers moved around the pages. You seemed unreadable to him and he didn’t like that. Not one bit.

You turned around when you felt his stare, he was still just standing there, looking at you.

“Is this really everything I have to be briefed on?” you questioned him lifting the folder in your left hand. He nodded and turned to the right to walk to his office “well fuck that” you murmured under your breath. You heard Van Ness snorting again and looked at him giving you a small smile, maybe you didn’t say that as quietly as you wanted, you gave him half a grin and he shook his head.

You took off your blazer and sat on the incredibly uncomfortable chair.

“Shit” you whispered again.

“Fuck” Javier said under his breath, loosening his tie and crashing into his chair. He rubbed his eyes with the ball of his hands and sighed. What the fuck did the people at Washington think. He was after a whole fucking cartel, he didn’t have his trusted partner this time, he was alone and he had to lead a team to do that, he had just lost two agents after they were stupid and reckless going around Cali and they dared to send down one random chick in some sort of replacement that for some reason seemed just so small and frail to him.

He was pretty sure you weren’t due to the fact that you were a DEA agent, but when he looked at you the only thing he could notice was the way your eyes were dimmed, maybe due to the fluorescent lights or the fact that you had flown who-knows how many hours to be there, or the way your hands seemed way too delicate to even handle a gun, or how your body looked breakable to the touch. 

He didn’t like the way his mind was forming his thoughts about you, it wasn’t right to think that way of a woman- no, a person- no, an agent he had just met, he just knew it was the macho part in him that saw you that way. He knew that if Washington had sent you all the way down to a god forsaken country fighting an unfair war, you had to be capable to endure it.

Javier scratched his stubble and reached for the thinest folder he had on his desk, it was your file. He grinned when he opened it, unbelieving of the almost non existent amount of information it had about you. It did have your full name, though, so, mistaking you for a guy was indeed his fault, just because he didn’t read the file before. 

He browsed through the last locations you had been sent to and raised his eyebrows when he saw the amount of time you’d spent in the last place. No wonder why you were being so reluctant about everything you saw and how you were being treated. He remembered how he felt when he was a newcomer and he remembered what he had to go through with Steve when he first came to the country, it was awful, and even without the language barrier, as your file said you did speak spanish, he assumed you must feel like an outcast. It was never easy, arriving at a place where everything seemed like it belonged there but you.

Javier closed the file and threw it back to the pile of manila folders in front of him. He did have his doubts about you, and surely he was wondering why he had only been sent that joke of a file and nothing else, and he didn’t want to make your stay in Colombia or at the embassy a living hell, but he did want to see what you were able to do, he couldn’t wait for you to show him what you had in you.

That last thought sent him for a bit through a deliciously nasty tangent, and he had to bring himself back to the initial train of thought: you. 

You were now his. No– you were now in his team. He was now your boss. He couldn’t think of you in any other way even if sometimes it couldn’t be avoided.

Javier rubbed his lower lip with his thumb, wondering what were you working on before arriving, trying to think what was happening in México that made you stay that long.

And a question was forming in his head… What the hell did you do to be sent to Colombia?

// next→

[daisybeewrites]

Academy Blues

sometimes you punch the bag, sometimes to bag punches you

word count: 4.5k

warnings: none. heavy handed use of italics

ship: Dousy (Daniel Sousa/Daisy Johnson), background Fitzsimmons and Philinda

ahaha.. and the fun begins (the cryptic-ness is for a reason i promise)

“Ow!!” Daisy exclaimed. This was the second time today she had gotten distracted and let the punching bag swing into her. Sans Bobbi or Mack, her usual workout partners, there was no one to hold the bag still while she was pummeling it. Her side of the gym was entirely void of people, most opting to use the treadmills or other cardio machines lining the wall of large windows that faced the forest to the south, or stick to circuits on the resistance machines throughout the middle of the gym. The universe seemed to be telling her to get in some boxing, so she walked over to the bag with the intention of punching until her arms hurt.

Now her nose hurts, too.

“You need a spot?” May asked, silently crossing the padded floor to Daisy.

She nodded. Waiting for May to get into position, Daisy stretched out her arms over her head and across her body, twisting her torso to feel her abs stretch. When May gave her a thumbs up, Daisy started to punch the heavy bag again, this time with a little more force now that she knew it wouldn’t fly back and hit her in the face.

“Something on your mind?”

“No,” Daisy grunted. “Just slacked off the last few weeks. With everyone gone on break there wasn’t as much of... everything, I guess, to keep me in a routine.”

May nodded. “Breaks can be tough. No classes, schedule disrupted, more free time than you know what to do with. I get it. If you ever want a time-filler, text and I’ll be there.”

Daisy nodded, going back to silently punching. The breaks weren’t all bad. They only happened eight times a year, five two-week breaks and three three-week breaks. Enough time that those with families and lives outside of SHIELD could visit and vacation, but not fall behind. Plus, it gave Daisy the campus pretty much to herself. Only about forty students stayed at The Academy over breaks, and it seemed to decrease every time.

Another good thing about breaks was that Daisy got to know more people personally. Whether it was how the tall, fifth-year red head took her morning coffee or that the new group of first-years liked to run the same trails through the forest as she did. So, when an entirely new face had cropped up out of nowhere, Daisy was intrigued. He walked with a limp, had nice hair and kind eyes. She didn’t recognize him, and despite the fact that he had arrived the same day as the rest of the first-years, he was definitely the oldest of the pack. That was unusual, Daisy had thought, SHIELD almost always recruits directly out of high school or college. The last time anyone over the age of twenty-five had been accepted to the Academy was when Daisy herself had started. However, that was a bit of a… special situation.

Every morning, New Guy crossed through the computer lab and waved, smiling confidently at Daisy. His sudden appearance and amicable interactions confused her. Classes weren’t in session, but he always had a backpack with him. Maybe he had tutoring with one of the professors? A new student trying to catch up before the term even began — an enigma.

Once classes had started, he still came by everyday. Daisy liked to think it was because he wanted to see her. They had never spoken more than tired greetings to each other, and yet Daisy felt herself pulled towards him. She shook off the thought. It made her skin crawl, thinking about the last time she felt such a magnetic attraction to someone.

She realized May was studying her through the mirrors lining the wall next to the row of punching bags. She cleared her throat and asked, “Is my form okay?”

May gave her a long look that clearly said, ‘You know that your form is fine.’

Daisy pulled her eyes away from May’s stare, announcing, “I’m going to fill up my water, do you need any?”

May shook her head, pulling out her phone.

Daisy bent down to grab her water and headed to the back of the gym, towards the locker rooms. A couple of reusable bottle-filler stations were stuck into the wall, right next to the PT rooms. Daisy couldn’t help but peer into the closest one as she listened to the sound of water streaming into her bottle. It was filled with floor ladders, yoga balls, sports med supplies... New Guy. Huh.

Wondering why he would be sitting in a dark PT room by himself, Daisy took a swig of her water before continuing to fill it up. He hopped off the table as the lights came on, a young doctor-type walking in a smiling. She was reminded of his limp when he walked towards her, shaking her hand and flashing a large smile. Cute, Daisy noticed. Wait, no, what?

Daisy promptly turned and headed back to the wall of mirrors, choosing to ignore the smirk on May’s face.

“Ready?” Daisy asked.

“Actually,” May began, “Why don’t we get in some sparring? You’ve been at this for over an hour.”

Daisy caught the glance May threw at the half-assed wraps on her hands and nodded. With only a few jitters, Daisy quickly helped May unroll the sparring mats onto the floor. Daisy had only sparred with Yo-Yo since she got back from Columbia visiting her cousin. Sparring with May was an entirely different level.

After some warm-up drills, May silently took charge and got into a fighting stance. Daisy rose up on her tip-toes, then rocked backwards. The grey padding beneath her looked a lot softer than it felt while being slammed onto it. A quick lunge from Daisy and a swift deflection by May, and the two women were off.

Across the gym, Daniel Sousa and the doctor were chatting, watching Daisy and May.

“They look like they’re barely breaking a sweat,” Daniel commented after May leaped off Daisy’s leg, flipping forwards and attempting to grab Daisy around the shoulders. Daisy rolled backward, throwing May over her and getting to her feet as the shorter woman jumped up into a wide stance.

“You’ll get back to that level,” The physical therapist assured him.

Daniel shook his head. “Maybe. I hope so. If not, I’m a damn good shot, anyway.”

The doctor chuckled before motioning back to the PT room. “C’mon, you still have thirty minutes stuck with me before I release you from daily therapy.”

“It’s only been three weeks?” Daniel questioned, confused. They walked through a black door to a small room. Grey cabinets on one side, a black table on the other, physical therapy tools lined up in organized sections.

“Most of which was just assessing you. You already know the exercises and stretches, and you completed the physical therapy recommended by your primary care physician before you came to us. You have the strength mostly back in your residual limb, at least to the point where sparring shouldn’t do any damage. I still expect you to show up at least twice a week. Especially since you’re starting field training with May.”

He smiled. “How do you know about that?”

“I have access to your file, Sousa,” She reminded him, “I also know you were late to her class on the first day. Not a smart move, in my opinion.”

Daniel cringed at the memory of heads turning his way, watching him limp to the only open seat in the very front. May’s comment— “Thoughtful of you to join us, Agent Sousa,” —still turned his face a slightly embarrassing shade of red when he thought about it.

Noticing his uncomfortable silence, the physical therapist put on a sympathetic face. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. I was late to my first class, too. Professor Martin, advanced physiology. Granted, I was seventeen...”

Daniel playfully glared at her.

“...but I suppose that’s no excuse. Let’s get started.”

The rest of the day went by without Daisy or Daniel seeing much of each other besides a fleeting glimpse while changing classes. Not that they were looking for the other, or anything.

A few hours later, before dinner, Daisy was sitting on the counter in the girls’ dorm bathroom, watching Jemma curl her hair.

Jemma Simmons was one of the only people she immediately loved at SHIELD, and the first person she had trusted on Coulson’s team. Over the course of a couple months, they became closer than Daisy had ever been with anyone, spending almost every waking moment together. Over time, Daisy had grown to love the rest of the team, too, learning that they had also been hand picked by Coulson. Though, technically, Daisy hadn’t been chosen for the team. She was picked up as a consultant. But it didn’t matter, as the ragtag team had quickly been disbanded.

Knives shoved into your back can have that effect.

After the end of the team, Code-named Bus Kids, Daisy, Fitzsimmons, Tripp, and May and Coulson had come to the Academy to continue working with SHIELD. Daisy and Tripp were assigned as partners in their ops training, Fitzsimmons were partners in the lab, and May and Coulson still checked on them as if nothing had changed.

But people get busy, and it had been awhile since Jemma and Daisy had properly talked to each other.

“Does the bruise on my nose look like it’ll go away any time soon?”

Jemma glanced up through the mirror, shrugging. “It should. What did you do to it?”

Daisy fiddled with her hands, only answering when Jemma turned to face her fully.

“I kinda, uhm, got punched...”

The stern look Jemma gave Daisy quickly melted into laughter as the brunette added, “...by a punching bag.”

Reaching up to turn Daisy’s face towards the fluorescent bathroom lighting, Jemma gently ran a finger along the angry red splotch on the top of Daisy’s nose. She jerked her head a bit, wincing at the contact.

“You should be fine, I’ll grab some of the good anti-inflammatory meds from the medical storage.”

Daisy thanked her, hopping off the counter to grab an eyeliner pen. “So, how is Fitz? Is this a real date night or are you guys ‘just hanging out’?”

Jemma smiled at his name and rubbed her neck. Daisy smiled back at the subconscious reaction.

“You two are so meant for each other,” She teased.

Jemma tilted her face up towards Daisy, allowing her to start applying eyeliner.

“He hasn’t really defined it. We’re ‘going out’, but we aren’t dating.”

Daisy finished the subtle cat eye, shaking her head. When would he learn that Jemma would only believe they were together if he said, ‘Hey, Jems, I’m completely and totally in love with you and I want you and I to live happily ever after!’

Daisy watched Jemma inspect herself in the mirror, touching up her mascara.

“You look amazing. He’s a fool if he doesn’t see it,” Daisy assured.

Jemma smiled. Her Sheffield accent had gotten thicker over break, Daisy noticed, as Jemma responded, “He does, I know he does. We both just have trouble, you know? Voicing our thoughts and feelings.”

Daisy definitely knew…

“Well, he could do with a good reminder sometimes. If y’all are going to keep going on these not-dates, you might as well show him what he’s missing by staying just friends!”

Jemma laughed, smiling gratefully. She took one final look in the mirror, swishing her knee-length royal blue dress and fluffing her hair. “Okay, well, off I go. Have a good night, Daisy.”

Daisy gave her a thumbs up and went to watch out her window as Fitz handed Jemma a hand-picked bouquet of (slightly squished) wildflowers and took her arm to lead her to the parking lot.

Daisy sighed and turned away from the gold and pink sunset. She opened her personal laptop, immediately bombarded by three windows running programs. One was running an innocent algorithm to clean all the useless, unused files from her computer, one was a simulation that could (hypothetically, no harm no foul) hack the Pentagon, and another was trying to find video and audio feed from Los Angeles, four months ago.

Daisy’s gaze lingered on the last one, not expecting anything new. She sighed and picked up her laptop, deciding to go visit Mack in the garage. It was only seven on a Friday, he’d probably be there working on the run-down, close to falling apart Harley he had bought off an old friend for $200. Mack had been working on it for months. Daisy wasn’t even sure it had half its original parts.

A short trip across the grounds and a trek over a winding path cut through a field of thick tallgrass later, Daisy arrived at the garage.

The monstrous steel and concrete building was like a plane hangar and mechanics lab forged into one. Workstations around the edge were strewn with tools, motors, and half-finished pieces of tech. Shining black SHIELD vehicles and even two quinjets sat in the middle, outlined by rectangular blocks of tape and paint. Catwalks crossed the upper level so that mechanics could reach the tops of planes when necessary, though SHIELD planes hardly ever came to The Academy unless they were being used for a lesson.

Daisy followed the sounds of tinkering and the quietly moving shadows to Mack’s workstation. She carefully leaned against a nearby SHIELD van, not wanting to interrupt his work.

Now, to say that Mack wasn’t easily frightened was an understatement. Daisy had hardly ever seen the muscled giant of a man so much as jump. Ever since discovering this, Daisy had taken every opportunity to try to scare Mack. It was not going great.

Daisy pulled out her phone, silently thumbing through emails and checking Instagram. She was about to walk over and tap him on the shoulder when Mack turned around and screamed.

Clutching his chest, Mack exclaimed, “Tremors, what the hell?!”

“I just wanted to come check in,” Daisy giggled, happy that she had finally snuck up on Mack.

Mack stood with his hands on his hips, smiling wide, before cocking one thick eyebrow and gesturing at her face.

“What happened to your nose?”

“Punching bag won this morning,” She shrugged.

Mack shook his head, laughing in a deep rumble. “You wanna help me with this?” He asked, pointing to the small device on his desk.

She didn’t answer, just reached out to take a small screwdriver from Mack’s very large hand. He showed her how to twist it to create leverage without it slipping while he messed with some wires, and eventually he seemed satisfied.

“Have you eaten dinner?” Mack asked casually.

Daisy nodded, her grumbling stomach betraying her.

Mack eyed her up and down. “Sure. Well, I’m hungry, so let's get something to eat and then we can take the bikes out.”

Daisy liked the feeling of being on a bike, the wind in her hair and steady vibrations from the engine soothing her ever-present headache. Ever since this revelation, if Mack went out on his motorcycle, he invited Daisy to ride with him.

At first, Daisy had been skeptical. What was so great about a two-wheel speeding death trap? One of her best friends had driven a gleaming 1969 Dodge Charger, and she had enjoyed riding with the windows down, but it still wasn’t the absolute best experience of her life, like most motorcyclists claimed a ride could be. However, once Daisy had finally taken Mack up on his offer, she was never hesitant to accept another invitation.

In the canteen, Mack piled a plate high with salad ingredients and baked spaghetti, scooping some off into a bowl for Daisy once he got back to the table. She took a fork and picked at it, chewing the crisp lettuce slowly.

Once they were both finished, Mack put his plate and utensils on the circling dish belt. He let Daisy lead the way back to the garage. She immediately grabbed two helmets and Mack’s gloves.

“That leather jacket gonna be enough to keep you warm? I have a couple old flannels in my bag if you want one.” Mack offered.

Daisy picked at a loose thread on the worn black jacket, nodding and throwing a ‘Thanks’ over her shoulder. She quickly rifled through his duffel bag, pulling out a faded black and blue flannel and shrugging it on under her jacket.

Mack mounted his black and silver bike, Daisy choosing a smaller SHIELD one. She kicked the kickstand back with her foot, finding her balance. She followed Mack as he revved the engine and took off out of the garage. Daisy heard him speak into the helmet’s mic.

“I upgraded the bikes, bigger tires and a better visor. It’s more efficient. Plus, when I’m out on the highway, cars don’t push me around.”

Daisy gave him a thumbs up, focusing on the feeling of air flowing around her. She sped up as she reached the road. She felt as if she was flying high into the air, fighting the laws of physics. On the back roads surrounding the Academy, as familiar as the back of her hand, Daisy relaxed and let herself fall into autopilot.

She heard Mack in her ear, still talking about the bike. She had heard it all before, but there was something centering about listening to Mack retell the evolution of his bike for the hundredth time, like a kid who begged to hear the same bedtime story every night.

It was freeing, speeding down a deserted road on the bike, stars above and pavement below. Pine trees reached for the sky on each side of her. Shrubbery and grass waved to Mack and Daisy as they raced forward.

A slight burn pricked her eyes that she knew wasn’t from the wind. Daisy needed this after a stressful first couple weeks back in class. To be honest, it was what she needed all the time. Daisy was exhausted. Her powers may not be visible, but they were always on, always bouncing around her body. Times like these, though, Daisy felt free. Releasing the constant grip she had on her self-control, she let the vibrations of the engine flow through her. Slowly, surely, Daisy let her guard down. A whispering warble crept into her ears over the wind. She could feel the way the pavement below and the humid late-August air around her absorbed the miniscule quakes, bouncing lightly off the tall trees like a quiet laugh reflecting off the walls of an echo-chamber.

About an hour later, Daisy and Mack were rolling back into the garage. Daisy couldn’t hide the slight redness in her eyes, but the smile on her face told Mack he didn’t need to worry. The pair silently did maintenance on the motorcycles, re-fueling them for later use and checking for any loose parts on Daisy’s.

Daisy headed back to campus, refusing Mack’s offer to walk her back to the dorms. She would be fine on her own. Besides, Jems might be back by now, she could ask about Fitzsimmons’ date. Or she could wait until breakfast tomorrow and tease them both.

Daisy stopped in her tracks. Out of the corner of her eye, a shadow slipped behind a building. Daisy felt her back tense, her hands curling into fists.

Any remainder of twilight light had faded while Mack and Daisy maintenanced the bikes. Daisy couldn’t imagine that any of the trainees that went to parties at the nearby universities were back yet, but no student in their right mind would want to simply walk around the dark campus of the Academy.

She kept walking, more alert. No sounds apart from her steady breathing and the rustle of grass beneath her feet reached her ears. She walked slowly toward where the shadow had disappeared. It looked as if it was headed to the biochem building. Daisy raised her hands, quietly running towards the white building, slightly crouched. She circled it once, twice, before deciding she had been imagining things, the shadow was only a trick of the light. It seemed so real though, so solid…

Daisy shook her head and crossed the courtyard, heading towards the dorms. It was late, and she had important things to do tomorrow. She was probably just tired from her ride with Mack.

Behind her, unnoticed by Daisy, the shadow quickly crossed the field behind the biochem building, slinking into the tallgrass.

The next day, Daisy woke to the sound of her alarm blaring 90’s RnB at six thirty AM, sharp. She quickly shut it off and stared at the ceiling for a moment before groaning and dragging herself out of bed. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night after her encounter with the shadow.

The sun was slowly ascending in the sky, golden light filtering into her windows. It was early, but she didn’t have the energy to go workout. Instead, Daisy stretched on her bed and sent a quick text to Jemma asking to meet up later to gossip about her date.

She grabbed shorts and a cropped sweatshirt, quickly dressing and making her way to the bathroom. She clipped her hair back, brushed her teeth, washed her face and headed back to her room. Trying her best to cover the bruise that had turned from red-violet to a blue-ish tinted black, she did minimal makeup. It’s not like it could get any worse, she thought bitterly. The concealer wasn’t much use.

Deciding to ignore the bruise, Daisy stood up, grabbed her backpack with her personal laptop and journal and headed to the canteen.

There weren’t many students around campus this early in the morning. Most were either asleep or nursing a hangover in their dorms. A few dedicated trainees were scattered amongst the different buildings, either in the gym or studying on their favourite bench. Daisy made a beeline for the canteen, hoping that no one had drank all the fresh coffee yet.

She slipped through the doors, sending small smiles to the students she made eye-contact with, faltering when her roving gaze reached a set of twinkling eyes the color of coffee. Maybe, she thought, I should go over and talk to him. What’s the worst that can happen?

She quickly poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed a cinnamon raisin bagel from the pastry cart. Checking to be sure he wasn’t sitting with anyone (she wouldn’t want to intrude), Daisy walked around to the back of the large room, sitting in a spot diagonal from him.

After a few minutes of silence where Daisy ate her bagel and pretended not to feel his eyes on her, she turned and faced him.

“Good morning,” she said.

He dipped his head and raised his paper cup of coffee at the same time in response.

Does he not want to talk to me? Daisy questioned herself. She tried again. “So, is the coffee good?” He glanced at her cup that she had been sipping. Daisy recovered, “You know, in your opinion. I love the coffee here, the slightly burned aftertaste goes well with cream and sugar.΅

To her relief, he smiled. “Yeah, it’s good. I don’t usually use cream or sugar.”

Daisy raised her eyebrows, impressed. “Ah, more of a bare necessities, no-nonsense guy?”

His nose scrunched a little in thought, as if he was assessing his entire personality to see if it aligned with Daisy’s coffee psychology. He nodded finally, elaborating, “I was in the army. Most of us drank it black while deployed. I never got out of the habit. But, to answer your question, I like to think of myself as low maintenance.”

He sent her a small smile that had her insides melting just a bit. Daisy hid behind the rim of her coffee cup, trying to think of a response. Luckily, New Guy saved her.

“How do you drink your coffee?”

Daisy lowered her own paper cup, clearing her throat. “One half and half, just a bit of sugar. If I’m super tired I’ll add more.”

“So you probably adapt easily and have a deep hunger for answers to all your questions?”

Daisy’s eyes quickly flicked down to her coffee, wondering if her coffee order really exposed that much about her. Daniel laughed, his shoulders shaking with mirth. “I’m kidding. I noticed how you’re always in the computer lab before class, and Yo-Yo told me that you use that time to research.”

Daisy felt a blush creep up her neck. Yo-Yo knew New Guy? And gave him information about her schedule?

Daniel quickly explained, “We see each other in the halls a lot. And we have a class together. She noticed me in the lab and thought I knew you.”

Daisy relaxed. Yo-Yo had become increasingly more friendly to strangers the longer she spent at the Academy.

“I remember the first time I met her. She was so angry that SHIELD had stopped her from exposing the police in her city as corrupt. Our team was sent in to help her finish what she had started, destroy weapons and take down the corrupt members of the department. It was fun,” She chuckled.

Daniel watched her through his thin clear-frame glasses. She winced a little as her nose scrunched with laughter, recalling another story about a mission gone awry that Yo-Yo saved.

“How did you get that bruise?”

“What?”

He pointed to the spot on his face that mirrored the position of the bruise on hers. “The bruise. It looks like it hurts.”

Daisy shrugged, “Not as badly as getting shot. But you know, sometimes you punch the bag, sometimes the bag punches you.”

Despite the playful nature of the statement, Daniel couldn’t help but hear alarm bells in the back of his mind. She had been shot?!

Daisy noticed the change in Daniel’s demeanor and switched tactics, “It’s just a bruise. I wasn’t paying attention and the punching bag flew back and hit me in the face.”

Daniel laughed, becoming more and more intrigued with the enigma sitting across from him. Well, at least this enigma was beautiful, even if she had lost a fight to a punching bag.

A look of pure confusion overtook Daisy’s features. “Excuse me?”

Daniel’s face flushed bright red. He said that out loud. Daisy was still smiling though, Daniel let out a nervous chuckle. The two lapsed into an awkward silence. Daisy was finishing her bagel when he spoke up again.

“It was good talking to you,” he said softly.

Daisy’s eyes wandered his face with an unreadable expression. “Yeah, it was.”

He resisted the urge to offer to walk Daisy to wherever she was going as she headed out of the doors of the canteen, coffee with one half and half and pinch of sugar in hand.

————————————————————————————

hi hellooo! whatd you think? comments and notes are appreciated! (will go back and edit this later, for now i sleep)

tag list: @jaanulore

[vortahoney]

Doing the Shopping- Re-Animator

@dilfsisko @bashircore this is the 5 + 1 grocery store thing!!

Herbert did not like going to the grocery store. Apparently, it was unfortunate he had to eat at all. Thankfully, he now had a boyfriend who could do it for him, and Dan was more than happy to get away from the damned lab for a while.

Sometimes he purposefully took too long. Examining each product and making long conversation with anyone who would listen.

As he went along, he was looking for which register worker he would most like to talk to. He settled on a woman with dark brown skin, what looked like a tool belt under her store-issued vest, and a nametag that read ‘Amaya’.

“Good afternoon,” he gave a small greeting. “How are you?”

“Can’t complain.” Amaya shrugged.

“I couldn’t tell you the last time I left the house.”

“Been busy?”

“Ohh yeah. My um, partner-“ there was a snap of relief in Dan’s chest as he saw her excited reaction. “He doesn’t like doing the shopping. So I get stuck with it.”

“My girlfriend.” She put extra emphasis on the word. “Is the same way.”

“Well, my guy, Herb,” Dan continued, smiling widely with relief, as she rung up his canned peaches. “Well. He’s very passionate about his… work. He gets this look in his eye, real bright-like.”

“He sounds like quite the guy.”

“Oh he is, barely sleeps though.” He chuckled. “Oh um, I’ve got a coupon for that.”

She took it. “So what’s he do?”

“Hm?” He looked up as he put his grocery bags back in his cart.

“Your boyfriend. You said he’s passionate about his work. What is it?”

“Oh! He’s a doctor, kinda.” Dan smiled before leaving.

***

“Peaches again?” Amaya raised an eyebrow at Dan’s cart, which had a good twelve cans of peaches.

“Herbert’s been getting really into peaches.”

“Sounds um… obsessive.”

Dan laughed. “Oh yeah. He certainly can be. He’s in his lab right now, has been for awhile. He’s hell bent on his ‘experiments’. That’s how we met, actually.”

“Oh, you’re a doctor too?”

“Yeah, kinda.” Dan shrugged. “How’s Shauna?”

“She’s good. Just got a job at a sunglasses kiosk in Boston.”

“Pretty long drive.”

“Yeah. I guess it is.” She finished scanning the peaches. “Wait what does ‘kinda’ mean? Are you not a doctor?”

“You do not want to know, Amaya.”

“Alright,” she chuckled. “No further questions.”

***

Over the next few weeks, Dan went grocery shopping five times. Each time, Dan and Amaya grew ever closer. They always had new gossip for each other, about their partners or not. Dan talked about his books and his med school experience, Amaya talked about her job and law school applications. It was a great relationship.

“Amaya!”

“What’s the situation, Daniel?” She smiled. “Oh, no peaches today!”

“I got tired of them. We’re doing soup now. More variety there. Herb slept in his glasses last night.”

“They broken?”

“Just bent a bit. They’re all crooked now, it’s adorable.” Dan got out his wallet. “He slept at his desk over his notes.”

“Do you want me to help bring those out to your car?”

“Sure!”

Amaya grabbed a few bags. “So how was that book?”

“Hm?” Dan looked over at her.

“Oh, first time you came in. You bought a book called ‘The Saint’s Perversion’ from the newsstand.”

“Oh, didn’t finish it. It was erotica.”

Chortling, Amaya’s face scrunched up. “Did you expect it not to be?? It’s called ‘The Saint’s Perversion’, dude!”

He opened the trunk. A small green glint caught Amaya’s eye as she placed the bags in the car. Investigating slightly further, she noticed it was a syringe full of something glowing and green. “Hey, what is tha—“

Dan slammed the trunk closed. “Nothing! I gotta get back, good talking to you!”

“Alright! Tell Herb I said hi.”

“Tell Shauna the same!”

“Will do!”

***

Dan was unusually quiet in the checkout line, save for the small, angry murmurs to himself.

“So,” Amaya spoke up. “How’s Herbert?”

He gave a harsh laugh. “Busy as ever. Spending every day in that damn lab cooking up his…” he stopped before he could say ‘monstrosities’.

“I’m guessing you’re not on great terms?”

“No, we’re fighting. Again.”

“Again?”

“We fight more often than not these days.” He sighed, practically slamming his gallon of milk down on the counter. “He’s always working or yelling at something. The sex is… basically nonexistent. No, no, completely nonexistent. He’s too busy working. I’m too busy helping him! I told him today that I’m done with his sick power games and that I can either be his lab partner or his romantic one.”

“Why are you still with him?”

“I…” he paused. “I don’t know.”

***

Dan came in the next day, nothing but a pack of batteries in his hand. “Amaya!”

She leaned over her register. “You seem chipper. Get over your fight?”

“Sorta.” Dan smiled and looked down, bouncing on his heels. “You asked me yesterday why I’m still with him.”

“I did indeed.” She rested her chin on her palm. “I sense you’re going somewhere with this.”

“Well, I can agree that he’s a difficult person. Difficult to work with, difficult to talk to, difficult to love… sometimes.” Dan’s face softened and he wrung his hands together. “But sometimes… it’ll be late at night, I’ll be staring at the ceiling, and he’ll have been working for… forty eight hours straight. And he’ll crawl under the sheets and curl into my side.”

“Awww.”

“He doesn’t really sleep. Ever. So it’s more for my benefit than his. But he does get bored easily, and he does this cute little thing where he traces circles on my chest. Or- or I’ll ask him a question about his work and he’ll just light up. Or when there’s an accident in the lab and the first thing he’ll do is make sure I’m okay. He cares about me, and… I think the world would be a worse place without him.”

Lightly smacking Dan’s shoulder, Amaya let out a small laugh. “Dan!! That was so cute!”

“You think?”

“Why are you telling me?!” Her voice was a squeak at this point. “Why aren’t you saying this stuff to your boyfriend?”

“I’m going to!”

“Did you really need the batteries?”

“Maybe not exactly…”

Amaya snorted. “Dude.”

“I wanted to make sure it was okay!!”

“It’s more than okay.” She squeezed his shoulder. “You should bring him around sometime.”

“If I can get him out of the house.”

***

Something was strange about the next store visit. A man was on Dan’s arm, a shorter man with big glasses and dark brown hair. Scowling, his arms crossed, he looked like he did not want to be there.

“Hey,” Amaya nudged her coworker. “Be, do you mind taking my register? I’m gonna make some rounds.”

She nodded. “You got fifteen minutes, I get out at four today.”

“I’ll be right back!” Amaya hurried off, waving at her. “Promise!”

She jogged up behind Dan. “Hey you two.”

“Hey, Amaya!”

“Yes, hello.”

“So, you must be the famous Herbert, then.” Amaya stuck out her hand to shake.

He did not take it. “Unfortunately, not yet. You may be confusing me with a different, more famous Herbert.”

“No, I just mean that Dan talks about you a lot. You and your work?”

“The work?” The man glared at him. “What have you—“

“Nothing specific, dearest.”

“You know I loathe when you call me that.” The blush on his cheeks betrayed his statement.

‘This is Herbert?’ Amaya thought to herself.

“Amaya, you aren’t at the register today?”

“Nah, I’m a ‘can I help you?’ right now.”

As they were talking, the man started drawing small, impatient circles on Dan’s bicep. Definitely Herbert.

“How’s the work been going?”

Herbert perked up, eyes brightening. “Fantastically. Our specimens have been responding excellently to the— um, the prototype.”

“I see what you meant, Dan. He is passionate.”

“This work is important.” Herbert frowned.

“I bet. Anyway, anything I can help you guys with?”

Dan shook his head.

“Well I’ll leave you lovebirds alone. Nice to meet you, Herb, I see why Dan likes you so much.”

“Likes… me?”

Dan gave a small, breathy chuckle. “Well, tell Shauna I said hi.”

“Will do!” She waved at them as she jogged back to her register.

So that was Herbert.

[puckinghell]

The Plus One Pact | William Nylander | Part 5

Summary: Your ex is getting married, and you don’t have a date, which means the unavoidable “why don’t you have a boyfriend” question is about to haunt you for the rest of eternity. But then there’s Will, who could be the answer to all your problems. A simple business pact, no feelings involved: that won’t be hard for you, because you really don’t like him anyways. Except pacts were made to be broken… or something. Right?

Note: This is part 5. Click here for part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

--

When you wake up, there’s something heavy draped across your chest, and everything around you is warm.

It takes a few minutes, for everything to get back, and until you can fully open your eyes. You didn’t bother taking off your mascara – were a little preoccupied – and you’re paying for that, now.

You don’t regret anything from last night, though.

Finally, you shift so you can look beside you. You’re laying on your back and Willy is pulled up against your side, lips resting against the naked skin of your shoulder. His arm is across your body, effectively pinning you to the mattrass, as if he subconsiously tried to stop you from leaving.

He doesn’t have to worry about that.

He looks peaceful, his blond hair spread across the pillow, his eyelashes fluttered shut against his cheekbones. The rise and fall of his chest is steady with every breath he takes.

Last night comes back in flashes; lips pressed against your collarbone, your fingers curling in his hair. Your heels kicked out in the hallway, his back bumping into the wall. Cursing, laughter. His hands all over your body, with just the right amount of pressure. The way he looked like he’d never seen anything so beautiful before. The way he’d blushed when you told him that you hadn’t, either.

The question, when it was silent and dark in the room, just the sound of catching breaths.

“Stay?”

Willy’s immediate answer, unwavering and steady. “Always.”

Your alarm clock tells you it’s past 9 am, now, but you know neither of you have anything important today, so you’re more than content to press your nose against Willy’s scalp. It smells nice; familiar. He hums in response, but you don’t think he’s awake, not really.

Then, your phone buzzes.

At first, you think about ignoring it. It’s only 9am, after all, and there’s nothing that you can think of being that important. It’s probably just Zach, asking if you got home safe.

God, you’re gonna have to tell Zach what happened. He’s gonna be so smug about it; you’ll never hear the end of it.

But then your phone buzzes again, and again, and you think about Noah’s wedding. It could be your sister again, bothering you about it, or maybe your parents. Besides, the buzzing is making Willy stir, and you really don’t want to wake him up.

He’s been looking tired, the season running him down, and you’re not taking away any sleep that he could potentially get.

You carefully unwrap Willy’s arm from around you, which earns you another not-really-awake hum, this time one that sounds a little annoyed, and manage to grab your phone from your nightstand.

The words on your screen almost seem fake, but once you read them properly, you kinda feel like the room is spinning.

3 missed calls, and a text. 

From: Noah Daniels

I’m outside your apartment, can you let me in?

What in the actual fricking heavens...

With surprising clarity, your brain immediately realizes that you have two options now. You can go let him in, and talk to literally the last person on earth you wanna talk to, or you can not let him in, and risk your entire family screaming at you.

Besides, you’re supposed to be at this guy’s wedding in two days. So maybe only one option, then.

Your heart is beating way too fast, but you very slowly start the task of getting yourself out of bed without waking Will. It’s hard, to leave him there, and the thought flashes through your mind what would happen if he woke up, but he looks pretty knocked out so you decide not to worry about that.

You’ve got enough to worry about.

You throw on the first clothes you can find and try to make as little noise as you can while getting out the bedroom. Will stirs a few times, but his breathing remains even.

You really hadn’t wanted the first time you saw your ex to be like this, looking like a drowned panda wearing old sweatpants and – is that Will’s shirt, you grabbed?

But you guess you’ve learned nothing ever goes the way you want it to, with Noah.

When you open your front door, you almost expect him not to be there. Surely he was kidding, or sent that text to the wrong phone number, or it was a dare.

But no. He’s there, standing with his hands in his pockets and a hint of a smile on his face. He looks the same as he did back then, which throws you a little.

“Hi, Y/N,” he says, his voice soft. “I hope it’s not inconvenient, I was just in the neighborhood.”

“Uhm,” you bring out. It’s really inconvenient, but for some reason, the words can’t pass your lips.

“Can I come in? I wanted to talk about something, I guess.”

Great, now your nerves are truly flying at an all time high. Wordlessly, you step aside, and he takes the invitation for what it is and moves through your living room like he owns it, sitting on the couch without being asked. He doesn’t take off his shoes. It unnerves you, which is stupid, because Will doesn’t take off his shoes, either, and that hasn’t bothered you.

“You look…” Noah starts, pauses. Then settles on: “Different.”

“So do you,” you say, which is a lie, but you don’t really know what else to say. You could offer him coffee, but you find yourself not wanting to, so you cross your arms and stay standing in the middle of the living room.

“What did you wanna talk about, Noah?”

Noah sighs. “Straight into it. You never had a lot of time for small talk.”

You’re not sure if it’s meant to sound offensive, but it does. Maybe everything he says sounds offensive to you, now.

How did you ever love this guy?

“Well, as you wish.” Noah’s hands are folded in his lap. The engagement ring is shiny on his finger. “I’m getting married in two days, and you’ll be at the wedding. So I just wanted to make sure there weren’t any problems.”

Something in your brain short circuits. “Problems?”

Noah sighs again. It reminds you of the way your mom used to sigh when you were a little kid and you wouldn’t put on your shoes fast enough.

“Obviously things didn’t end great between us…”

Yeah, because you cheated. You don’t say it.

“And your sister told me you had some reservations about coming.”

That bitch.

“So I just wanted to make sure you weren’t, like, still in love with me.” He says it as if the thought amuses him. But he doesn’t look like he’s joking, and a storm is brewing in your mind. “Cause I know our relationship meant a little more to you than to me, and for that, I do apologize. But I don’t think it would’ve ever gone anywhere, anyway, you know? What we had was more of like, a summer fling.”

It’s like there’s wind whistling in your ear, but there’s no windows open in your apartment.

“A summer fling?” you repeat, a little dumbfoundedly. “We were together for four years.”

“A very long summer?” Noah offers, and you can tell by the smirk on his face he thinks he’s truly being funny.

“You cheated on me.” It’s the first time, you think, you’ve ever said those words to him, but you can’t keep them in now.

Noah’s face falls. “Hardly,” he says. “I just knew immediately that Betty was the one for me. I had to act on that, you understand that, right? I told you right after.”

Still counts as cheating. You don’t say that, either. Instead, you say: “You begged me to take you back.”

“That’s not how I remember it.”

You want to laugh. How else could he remember that night?

He stood on your porch in the darkness and said: “Look, I know it was stupid, but I’m young, and I don’t know anything about anything. I just know I miss you. The worst thing that I ever did was what I did to you, and I just want to make it up to you.”

You said: “Go fuck yourself”, slammed the door in his face and cried yourself to sleep for the next four months.

It’s not worth it, though, and it hits you how much you’ve changed. Because there was a time when you wouldn’t have had the strength to send him away, where this would’ve made you feel something. Frustration, sadness, anger. Hope, even.

It doesn’t, now. There’s not even the dull ache of being the one that was cheated on. There’s just indifference.

It feels like closure. 

“Look, Noah,” you say, “it doesn’t really matter. There’s not gonna be any problems at your wedding, okay? I’m just there because my mom wants me to be. I’ll keep quiet.” You smile, and you’re sure it looks fake but Noah doesn’t seem to notice.

“Okay,” he says. “If you say so, I believe you.” He stands up, clearly ready to go now that his worries have been soothed, then walks to the door and you watch as his hand lands on the doorknob. At the last moment, he turns around.

“I knew you understood, back then,” he says. The smile on his face is a little too sharp and pointed to be genuine. “You’re just not really the kinda girl guys end up marrying, you know?”

You’re still staring at him with your mouth open when the front door slams behind him.

Suddenly, you hear a different voice.

“Nice guy, that.”

You turn around to find Willy leaning in the doorway to your bedroom, fully clothed now. His arms are crossed and he’s frowning.

“You invite him over?”

“What?” Now you’re frowning, too. “What the fuck, Will, of course I didn’t. He just showed up.”

An unwelcome feeling is starting to creep up your spine, tingling through your skin like the most unpleasant current.

What if Noah is right?

What if this isn’t anything special to Will, what if he’s just passing the time until something better comes along? You’ve never seen him pick up many girls but looking like that, surely he does, and you think of his cocky attitude that bothered you so much before you really knew him, think of the way he was used to everyone loving him.

What if you’re just a conquest to him, to show himself that he can still get people to love him? What if you didn’t get to know the real him, but simply walked straight into his trap?

What if none of this is real and he’s going to go run off to someone else, because you’re just not that kinda girl.

“Do you think he’s right?” you blurt out, before thinking it through.

You really should’ve thought it through.

“Do you think I’m not the kinda girl guys end up marrying?”

Will’s eyes widen, and you see his hands clench where they’re wrapped around himself. Something clicks in his jaw. 

“Are you fucking serious?” he says, and he sounds upset. And angry. Really, really angry. “You really think I would be here if I did?”

You don’t answer. No, you don’t really think that. You think Will is better than that. But something inside of you is gnawing at your conscious, because if someone had asked you that question last month, you would’ve absolutely thought that.

“You do,” Will says, and he sounds like he almost can’t believe it. “You think I’m that kinda guy, still. You said you got to know me, but you still think I would be here and have sex with you and tell you all those things I told you if I didn’t mean them.”

When he says it like that, it sounds stupid, and doubt is starting to rise in your chest.

“No, Will, I didn’t mean it like…”

“But you did.” Will pushes himself away from the doorway, stalks towards his shoes and shoves his feet in. Instantly, you start to panic.

He’s leaving.

“Will, come on…”

“No.” Willy looks up, and there’s nothing but pure hurt in his eyes. It cuts like a knife, because you put that there, and you never wanted to be the reason for his hurt. 

 “You know what the funny thing is, Y/N? I’ve never thought anything bad of you. I liked you as soon as Zach introduced us. I thought we could be friends. But you were always so… judgmental, and you always rolled your eyes at me so I figured I shouldn’t bother, and that hurt, because I liked you even when you didn’t like me. And now you’re accusing me of thinking something so awful of you, when I only ever though the best, and when all you’ve ever done is think the worst of me.” 

He’s grabbing his jacket as he talks, stalks towards the door and you know there’s nothing you can do or say to stop him, not when you’ve hurt him like this.

Willy stops at the door, like Noah did. But he’s not smiling, no sharp amusement in his eyes. Only pain. Only sorrow.

“I always liked you, and you always disliked me. For no reason at all. And now, after everything, you still don’t like me, and the worst thing is, I still like you.”

The door falls quietly into the lock behind him, nothing like the way it slammed behind Noah - everything around you shatters, anyway.

--

He’s not coming you text Zach.

Zach is currently at a restaurant with his entire family in law, but he still answers right away. He’s truly been your rock, the past few days, even if he did also tell you how stupid you’ve been.

You already knew that, though.

He promised, didn’t he? He’ll come.

He won’t, though, and you can’t even blame him for it. If you were Willy, you wouldn’t come to the wedding either.

You’re standing in front of the church. Your family already spotted you, tried to get you to come inside with them, but you couldn’t. Not when there was still the slightest chance, when you still had the tiniest sliver of hope that he would be there.

“I’m just waiting for someone,” you had said, and your sister had given you a look of pity.

You kinda wanted to bite her head off, except you really didn’t have the energy anymore.

The ceremony is about to begin. If Will doesn’t show up, like, right now, he’s not coming.

He’s not coming.

Against everything you knew, you’d still hoped.

Suddenly, you hear a familiar voice.

“Y/N?”

Your eyes widen as you swirl around, but it really is who you thought you heard, her hair curled and wearing the most beautiful sundress. “Ellie? What are you doing here?”

Ellie laughs. “Your sister invited me. Said you could use some friendly faces in the crowd.” She frowns. “Aren’t you supposed to be inside? I thought I was running really late.”

“You are.” You sigh, and suddenly you feel like you could cry. You haven’t really cried, yet, refused to cry over Will when what you had was so new and uncertain. It’s not like you got dumped, for crying out loud.

If you’re never together, you can’t get dumped. So why does it feel exactly like that, then?

“Hey, what’s going on? You don’t look so good.” Ellie looks genuinely worried and that nearly pushes you over the edge; you let yourself sit down on the steps before the church.

The street is empty. The ceremony is starting, and he isn’t here. 

Ellie takes her seat next to you and waits patiently for you to talk. You want to, you need someone to talk to who doesn’t know Willy like Zach does, who might not judge you the way you’re sure Zach had – although he’d hidden it well, being too good a friend to be angry with you. 

It’s just hard to get the words out, is all.

“Remember Will?” you ask. Ellie smiles at the memory.

“The hot guy you brought to the last wedding we were at? That spent the entire evening shooting heart eyes at you while you ignored him? Yes, I remember.”

The guy who did what now?

I’ve liked you since Zach introduced us.

Fuck.

“Yeah, well.” You sigh. “I kinda fucked that one up.”

And so you tell her everything.

You tell her about the pressure of being single while Noah got married, how much you hate your family asking you those questions with pity in their eyes. About how Will promised to be your plus one if you were his; about the pact you made, the only rule that that was all it was.

You tell her you didn’t like Will, at first, but that’s because you didn’t understand him, and maybe, selfishly, because you knew how much you would like him, if you tried to understand him, and you were too scared to get hurt.

About how that happened, anyway; he wiggled his way into your heart with witty remarks and honest eyes, shy glances and the brightest smile you’ve ever seen.

About how finally, you gave in to the desire to kiss him. About how it had been magical, until Noah showed up.

How, just momentarily, you’d doubted him, because Noah’s words rang harshly in your ears and you don’t think the scars he left fully healed, no matter how many stars Will had drawn around them.

About how he immediately crawled back into his shell.

“I don’t think it’s so easy for him to let people in,” you tell her. “And he let me in and I immediately broke his trust.”

Ellie shrugs. “You were scared and hurt and you lashed out. It wasn’t a good decision, but if he likes you as much as he says he does, it won’t be the end of everything. You’ve gotta talk to him.”

“I know.” You stare at the stone of the curb in front of you. The sun makes it look strangely bright; it’s a beautiful day for a wedding. “I was scared to do that, too.”

“Yeah, but, sometimes scary things are worth it.” Ellie is looking at you, clearly trying to find something there. “Honestly, the way you’re talking about him? It sounds like he might be worth it.”

“It doesn’t matter, now.” The look on Ellie’s face tells you you sound exactly as pathetic as you think you do. “He’s not here, so he clearly wants nothing to do with me. Zach said he’d come, you know, because he promised and apparently he never breaks a promise.” You laugh, a little humorlessly. “I can’t even blame him for that, after what I said to him. But I didn’t mean it, El.”

“I know,” Ellie says softly. “But he doesn’t know that, Y/N. I’m not the person you need to be telling that to.”  

You sigh. Maybe you should, but you can’t, not right now, and you don’t think it would really matter anyway. 

“We should go inside, probably.”

“Yeah.” Ellie helps you up and tightly wraps her arm around your waist, like a crutch for you to lean on, and starts to lead you inside. One more time, you look behind you onto the empty street.

But there’s nobody there, so you enter the church.

He’s not coming, anyway. 

[redbirdbella]

@clintasha-week Day 4 - AU

The first thing Clint did after Bobbi asked for a divorce was buy a 24-hour gym membership. It wasn't what he imagined he'd do after he found out his wife was cheating on him, but then he hadn't expected his wife to cheat on him. He didn't think Phil would understand exactly what had convinced him to buy it. It wasn't like there was a guide to this thing, Divorce 101 the dummies guide to learning how to live when your wife's been boning another man, but still being a member of Fab Fun Fitness wasn't exactly helping with the self-hatred.

In the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, he decided to try at least once before he sacked the whole thing in and brought something more cliché like a motorbike instead.

So he books a class, for the next day, at night. At 1 am.

Soul cycle with Natasha. It better not be a cult.

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

He's the only one to turn up, so if it is a cult they really need to work on their attendance issues. The instructor's nice with a dry sense of humour that Clint really sympathizes with. They talk and talk, and talk some more and only end up completing half of the class but she picks out the hardest tracks to make up for it. It's nice though, not a bad lemonade from the lemons he's been given. He even forgets about Bobbi and her stupid high flying new boyfriend as the ache in his legs builds. But it doesn't last, the next morning her lawyer's paperwork is on the doormat.

It makes it as far as the kitchen but not far enough to actually be opened.

He books again, in two days time and again for the two days after that. Routine is important for survival and right now it's the best he can hope for.

******************************************************************************************* Natasha doesn't ask questions. She either doesn't care enough or she's done this long enough to be discreet about why a grown man comes to her class at 1 am. He isn't even sure he wants to find out but Clint Barton's preservation skills have never exactly been great.

"Does it ever creep you out that I keep coming to your class at 1 am?"

She grins "Well I've seen you in the gym in the day time so I know you're not a vampire. Is there anything else I should be worried about?"

"Hmmm, I could be a vampire with just a killer sun-screen"

She laughs and Clint finds he likes it. A little bit too much.

"Well I'm a certified kickboxing instructor so I wouldn't try anything"

"Noted"

"But to answer your question, no the people who tend to come here seem to be too busy trying to escape something to pay much attention to me and I like it that way"

"Why do you even do a class at 1 am?"

"Well I'm single, live alone and I'm contractually obligated to a class every 4 hours. Last one was at 10 the next at 5. It works. For me and for the company"

"No one special in your life"

"Not any more, divorced young, married even younger."

"Oh," Clint says and he hopes it comes out as comforting as he means it. She doesn't have the tan line on her fourth finger through, he notes. Not like he does.  

"Don't worry it was a military spur of the moment thing. Doomed from the start, I'm over it"

Clint sighs, "Me too. Well kinda, married at 22 divorced by 24, well I will be soon enough"

"I'm sorry to hear that"

"Not your fault my wife tripped and fell on her boss's dick."

"Oh"

"Yeah"

"It gets easier, eventually, I can promise you that"

"I know. I just- I don't want easier. I want my life back"

Natasha nods "We don't have to do the class-"

"No, I want to. It helps me forget"

"I can understand that," She says before pressing play on tonight's setlist, "Right tonight's class is a real calorie burner!"

******************************************************************************************* He signs the papers, begrudgingly, after 5 months of fighting (but at least now the next time she decides to screw around she won't be cheating even if it still feels like it is). He heads to the gym every day. He's somewhat of an addict. A good one cause this is exercise and that's healthy and so he's healthy.

He's doing well. The results of the gym are really paying off. He's looking good, feeling confident. He even flirts a little with the receptionist and pretty girls at bars who don't seem to mind how rusty he is. (They stay in the bars though the pretty girls in nice dresses, they never make it home to the white walls and the dirty sink. He isn't doing that well). No one notices if he's a little stiff and tired after his 10th work out that week.

Except Natasha. Natasha notices.

"Where's the bikes, Natasha?"

"Didn't think you needed them. You worked out earlier and had that class with Sophia. That's it. Your welcome to stay though"

"What is this?! an intervention?!"

"If you want to call it that"

"Look I don't pay you to tell me off, I pay to be able to work out"

"You don't pay me anything, Mr Barton. Fab Fun Fitness pay my wages. I work here. I'm contracted to be here 25 hours a week. You shouldn't be here more than I am"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Cause I don't think anyone else cares enough to tell you no"

"Rich, from the woman who works nights cause she's got nothing better to do!"

"Don't! Just don't! I liked you! 3 weeks ago my contract changed I don't have to do this class"

"Good then don't!"

He finds the treadmill. It's not the same but he's mad. He sprints flat out until his lungs can't take it until he can hear his heartbeat pulsing in his head. He regrets it. All of it. Signing the papers, letting her go, taking it out on Natasha. Natasha who had been so good to him. Natasha who he had ruined everything with. Whatever everything means.

She's still in the studio when he goes back, tail between his legs.

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok, I've been there."

"It's not"

"Your right, it's not. But as a first-time offence, I'm sure you'll work to get back into my good books"

"I promise"

"Promise me you'll see someone. It helps, it really does. before you get hurt"

"I'll try."

"Good. Now go home, and I'll see you on Wednesday Mr Barton"

******************************************************************************************* He sees someone. A nice man named Daniel. In a nice house, with a chair that's been worn slightly too soft and where the heatings a little high. It's cosy. The sort of thing he imagines retiring to with Bobbi, or he did 6 months ago.  

They talk things through. He resolves Clint of some of the blame and addresses where he could change. It takes time but he has nothing but time, all his plans dissolved with the divorce. It does get easier.

Natasha still runs her class at 1 am though he no longer has to book. She's just there in the studio when he turns up. It's not just soul cycle anymore, she just picks one of her classes and they do it. Kickboxing, HIIT, CrossFit, she gets out all the weights and toys the gym has to offer. He draws the line at Zumba but she still ropes him into dancing. He barely minds but he prefers Yoga with her. She makes it easy, they both laugh, and she has a bit of eye candy too. Come on he's deaf, not blind and she's freaking gorgeous. And Funny. And Clever. And Kind. And just perfect.

So he might like her. No big deal, if only he'd had his obligatory rebound. It is not worth wasting what they have. He doesn't even know if she likes him, but he likes the odds. So he bides his time waiting for the rebound, but one month becomes two and eventually, Natasha decides to make a move.

"Do you want to go for drinks tomorrow?" She says with a coy smile after one session.

"Don't you have a class?"

She smiles "I got a promotion. I'm the new daytime shift supervisor"

"Congratulations"

"So this is my last session at 1 am, but I want to keep seeing you"

"Like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date. Like this but maybe we can get up to a different sort of exercise"

"Natasha. I want to keep seeing you. I just. I'm not good at this. And I need a rebound to get everything out of my system."

"I can help with that"

"I don't want you to be a rebound."

"Don't act like we haven't been seeing each other for 2 months. You haven't screwed it up yet."

"Ok, one date, I want to see where this goes"  

She grins leaning in close pressing her lips against his.

"It's a date. Let's see how you scrub up Mr Barton"

[5sos-seavey]

Bothered - Jack Avery

Jack Avery Imagine

Warning(s): some swearing

Word Count: 4741

Summary: The boys try to set you up, but it only infuriates Jack. The boys know this and are tired of him not doing anything about it.

Tags: @kvd963, @baby-bearie, @0totally-tubular0, @katie-avery, @snarkystarkey, @jonahmaraisstuff, @maybe-maybanks, @caswinchester2000​, @kaceyjost​

A/N:  it took a while to get to the good stuff but I’m really proud of this one and I’m lowkey glad it took me a year to finally write it lmao ALSO we’re gonna pretend covid isn’t a thing for this

You had met the Why Don’t We boys through your best friend Ashley, Corbyn’s sister, the two of you had been friends since the Besson’s moved in across the street when you, Ashley and Corbyn were little kids. When the three of you were older Corbyn started hanging out with you and Ashley more, the three of you became inseparable. So when Corbyn and the boys became a band, you were so happy for him and were there every step of the way, as long as Ashley was also there.

When the boys went on their Something Different Tour, Corbyn asked Ashley and you to come along since Jack’s sister, Ava, and Daniel’s sister, Anna, were also coming; Corbyn always saw you as his second sister, so naturally the two of you went along. You were both really excited, of course you had met the rest of the boys and their siblings before but spending the entire summer all together was going to be really fun. Ever since that tour, you, Ashley, Ava and Anna were closer than ever, and would join the boys on tour whenever you could. It would also be important to note that ever since that first tour you joined the boys on, you had a crush on Jack, and it only grew as the years went on and the closer you got with him, and the other boys.

Through the years, you’d been able to keep your crush a secret aside from telling Ashley and Anna. You didn’t want to tell Ava, but after a couple years she ended up finding out from Ashley and Anna slipping up when the four of you were hanging out, “oh my god! You like Jack?!” You obviously couldn’t deny or keep it from her any longer, “yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…are you mad?” “No! Oh my gosh! I mean like don’t tell me the detailed things you like about him,” she laughed, “but I’m sorry you felt like you had to keep it from me!” You sighed in relief, “I’m so glad, it’s been hard keeping this from you for so long. I obviously know nothing could happen because he’s with Gabbie now but, I don’t know sometimes it’s just hard being friends with him but,” you trailed off. The three girls came and hugged you and spent the rest of the night watching movies like you planned.

Just a few months after that happened Jack told you all that him and Gabbie were having a baby. To say that destroyed you was an understatement, but what could you do. You hugged Jack, “I’m so happy and excited for you boy,” the nickname you had for him. He hugged you back, “thank you sweet,” his nickname for you, “I appreciate that so much. I was honestly so scared to tell everyone.” “Just as long as you’re happy and this is what you want,” you pulled away from him and smiled. “Yes Y/N, I’m really happy, and it makes me even happier that the guys and you girls are happy and excited for me too, thank you so much, I love you sweet,” he kissed the top of your head. “Love you too boy,” you gave him another quick hug as Anna approached. “Jack, I’m so happy for you,” she hugged him. “Thanks Anna. I’m going to the other room, you guys coming?” Anna spoke before you could, “yeah sure, we’ll be there in a sec.” Jack nodded and walked away. Anna turned to you looking concerned, “are you okay?” “I mean what can I do?” Anna hugged you and then Ashley and Ava made their way over to the two of you. Before you could keep being sad you turned to Ava with a happy expression, “this is so exciting! You’re gonna be an aunt!” “I know! I’m so excited for Jack. But I’m also worried for you, I wanted to make sure you were okay.” You hugged Ava, “thank you girl, I appreciate it,” you pulled away and continued, “I’m really excited for him, I know he’s always wanted to be a dad, I love that all his dreams are coming true at the same time.” Ashley chimed in, “but how are you?” “There’s nothing I can do, I think I’m just gonna mirror his emotions, if he’s excited, I’m excited, that’s all I can do; be supportive and be happy for him I guess.” Ashley smiled sympathetically at you and pulled you into a hug. You hugged her right back and tried not to cry. You know that you never dated Jack and that he had no idea of your feelings, but you’ve had these growing feelings for the last two years, you love him, and there isn’t anything you could do.

The months went on as the boys did promo for their debut album and upcoming tour, you were so proud of Corbyn and the rest of the boys, this is what they’ve been striving for since their first EP and everything was finally happening for them.

During the 8 Letters Tour, you couldn’t join them because of school, and honestly you didn’t really want to. It was getting closer to Gabbie’s due date and you didn’t think you could handle being with the boys while Jack was always facetiming her and talking about the baby. You were obviously still so excited for the two of them and their families, but you couldn’t put yourself through that. Corbyn had noticed your distance from the boys and questioned you about it, and you, not ever being able to lie to Corbyn, ended up telling him everything, from the beginning to where you were at now. “I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me, you can tell me anything, always, even if you think it could make me uncomfortable. I’m always here for you no matter what,” he had said to you while holding onto you tightly. You started tearing up a little, “thanks Corbyn, love you. So that’s why I don’t wanna come on tour with you guys this year, especially tour after she’s had the baby and it’s all anyone talks about. I don’t want it to seem like I’m being rude, but I just can’t do it.” Corbyn, still holding you, kissed the top of your head, “you don’t have to apologize Y/N, I understand, and don’t worry, I won’t tell the boys, your secret is safe with me.” You held onto him tighter, “I love you Corbyn, I don’t know what I’d do without you and Ashley.”

The birth was hard for you, but those emotions were quickly pushed aside when you got to see Lavender for the first time. She was definitely the cutest little baby you’d ever seen. You expressed your love and excitement to both Jack and Gabbie, “oh my god guys she’s incredible, I’m so happy for you,” you hugged the two of them. “Thanks Y/N, that really means a lot,” Gabbie said to you smiling while she looked at her baby. Jack pulled you into a hug again, “sweet, thank you so much for supporting us through all of this, it really means the world.” You were released from the hug and smiled at him, “of course boy, this is gonna be such an exciting journey for the three of you.”

When Jack and Gabbie broke up, you wouldn’t say you were happy, you were obviously sad for him because you know they tried hard to make it work, especially for Lav, but in the end it just didn’t work out. He leaned on the boys, his sisters, and you a lot. He found it harder to lean on the boys’ sisters because they were close with Gabbie and her sister, but you were also closer to the boys and their sisters since you weren’t actually family. He found it easier as the months went on and the more distracted he was by being with you and the boys so much. You found yourself hanging out with Jack a lot more than you used to, sure you were closest with him after Corbyn, but you hadn’t ever really been able to spend that much time together because they were either in the studio, on tour or he was with Gabbie or his family. It was definitely a change, but you certainly were not mad at it, you loved spending time with him.

Jack’s POV

“Dude did Y/N just leave,” Corbyn asked. “Yeah, why?” “Wow she didn’t even say bye to her best friend.” “What do you mean she just said bye to me?” “Ha. Ha. Very funny Jack, I’m her best friend here, you can be number two, but I’m number one,” Corbyn laughed, I knew he was joking. I laughed with him, “yeah yeah, I know, no need to rub it in.” He looked at me blankly for a second, so I gave him a questioning look. “How’s everything going man?” I tilted my head, still confused, “what do you mean?” “Just life, stuff in general, how’s everything?” I was still confused but answered him anyways, “It’s fine, same as usual, why?” “Just wondering. When are you seeing Lav?” “This weekend, we can all hang out one day so you guys can see her too. I know you’ve all also missed her.” “Yeah man thanks! That’d be great, I miss the little peanut,” he paused for a few seconds before he continued, “is Y/N gonna come too?” “Sure yeah, I can text her, or you can if you want.” “That’s fine, you can ask her man.” I was confused a little again, “okay…am I missing something here?” “What do you mean?” “I don’t know, you’re being kinda weird man,” I laughed awkwardly. “I was just seeing what you wanted to do when we all see you and Lav, nothing weird.” I side glanced quickly before looking back at him, “okay man, whatever you say.” He smiled at me and then he walked away back to his room.

The next day was just as weird, but this time it wasn’t just Corbyn, it was Daniel, honestly it was all of the boys. So when we were in the kitchen, I said something to them, “okay guys what gives?! Why are acting all strange, yesterday it was Corbyn and now it’s all of you! What’s going on?” The boys all looked at each other before Zach spoke up, “do you have something you wanna tell us?” I looked at them very confused, “huh? What the hell do you mean?” This time Jonah started to talk, “I don’t know, maybe about girls, or one girl.” I was even more confused than before, but Jonah kept talking, “you know it’s okay to feel how you feel, it’s been a while since you and Gabbie broke up.” Correction, now I was more confused than before, “guys I’m honestly so lost, what the hell are you talking about?” Corbyn’s turn to talk, “bro I wouldn’t be mad at you, it’s not a problem at all that you like Y/N, you don’t have to hide it from any of us.” “Woah what? Yeah sure, I like Y/N as a friend, but honestly Corb, it’s nothing more than that,” I couldn’t believe what was going on, “sure we spend a lot of time together now but that’s just because we’ve gotten a lot closer and we have a good time together.” “Jack,” Daniel started, “you don’t have to deny your feelings man, we all just want the best for you.” Jonah started talking again, “alright bro, maybe you don’t realize it yet, but we all can see it, you obviously like Y/N, but if you need some time to see it now that we’ve pointed it out, that’s fine.” Then they all walked out of the kitchen.

Corbyn was the last to leave and he grabbed my shoulder and said, “I’m serious about what I said man, I love Y/N, she’s basically my sister, but you’re also my brother, and I just want you to be happy, however that may be,” and with that he walked out of the room leaving me with my thoughts.

I had never thought about Y/N and I like that. Sure, we hang out a lot and have a good time together, but I had genuinely never thought about that, I didn’t think I could for a while after Gabbie. But I guess thinking about it, and after the boys talking to me, I can kinda see where they’re coming from, and I think they might be right.

Corbyn’s POV

“Do you think he’s gonna realize it now,” Daniel asked. “Man I hope so, or else Y/N is gonna be devastated,” I said to the boys. “Wait what,” Daniel said. “Shit. I didn’t mean to say that, it was supposed to be a secret.” Jonah spoke up excitedly, “wait hold on Y/N likes Jack too?!” Zach piped up now, “bro that’s so good! We have to tell Jack! They could be together!” “No,” I said loudly, “we can’t tell Jack, I didn’t even mean to tell you guys. It’s just me, Ash, Ava and Anna that know.” “Hold on Anna knows? And she didn’t tell me? Damn what a sister.” “I know you’re joking, but Y/N didn’t want anyone to know, she had only told Ashley at first and then Anna, it took her a while to even tell Ava, and then even longer to tell me. She had only told me just as the 8 Letters Tour was about to kickoff. She’s felt this way for like three years.” Daniel spoke again, “damn, I hate that she had to go through all of that then, ya know, all the Jack and Gabbie stuff.” “Tell me about it, I’m glad that she had finally told me, but I hate that she felt like she couldn’t, but at least she had the girls.”

Zach spoke up, “I have an idea.” “That’s never good,” Daniel laughed. Zach rolled his eyes but continued, “what if we make Jack jealous. We pretend to set Y/N up on a date, and, hopefully, Jack tries to stop even the idea of it and ends up telling her sooner than later.” “You know what Zach,” Jonah said, “you might be onto something.” I interrupted, “we just can’t tell her it’s a plan, we have to make it seem like we’re actually setting her up with someone, I don’t want her to know that I told you guys.” “Yeah, that’s fine man, we’ll make it seem real, and when it works out, we’ll tell both of them,” Jonah said. “Hopefully it works,” I said and continued, “he has Lav this weekend and said we can all hang, including Y/N, we should do it then.” All the boys spoke at once, “sounds good,” “I’m in,” “hell yeah.”

Your POV

The day you saw Jack last was Wednesday, and then Thursday afternoon he had called me to come over on Saturday because he had Lav for the weekend and he and the boys would be hanging, and he wanted me to join. You loved how great of a dad he is, it honestly makes me love him more, but you can’t let that get in the way of our friendship and his relationship with his daughter, you know that he’s been working really hard on it since he doesn’t see her everyday like he used to. You loved seeing him in his element, and you love Lavender and missed her just as much as the other boys had, so now you’re on your way to their house to see them all.

When you got there and knocked on the door, Corbyn answered almost immediately and hugged you, “my girl! I missed you kiddo!” you laughed, “you know that I’m closer in age to you than Ashley is right?” “You’re still kiddo, kiddo,” he said, laughing now too, letting you out of the hug and bringing you into the house. “Where’s Lavender?” He nodded his head to follow him further into the house and to the living room where all the boys were. “Y/N,” Jack said excitedly when you walked in with Corbyn. “Hey boy. How’s the little girl?” “Better now that one of her favourite people is here,” he said handing her to you as you sat down. She wrapped her little arms around your neck, you hadn’t realized how much you missed her until now.

“Hey girlie,” you said and kissed her cheeks, which made her laugh. When she let go, she started to grab for Jack, so he took her and smothered her face with quick kisses which kept her laughing. It was one of your favourite things, seeing Jack with his daughter, he was meant to be a dad. Of course, he was meant to make music too, but this, this was something even more amazing, you thought. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Y/N,” Jonah asked you. You shook your head getting yourself out of your thoughts, “huh? Oh nothing.” Jonah looked at you like you were guilty, but you just didn’t pay any mind to it.

It was after dinner when you had arrived, which meant Lav wasn’t going to be up much longer. You and the boys had planned to watch some movies and just hang out since the six of you hadn’t done that in a while. When Jack went to go put Lav down in his room he stopped at the living room entrance, “actually Y/N? Can you put her down while I warm her bottle?” “Oh uh, sure. I can warm the bottle though instead?” “No, no, it’s fine. She’ll be good, I’ll be up in a sec to actually get her to sleep.” You got up from the couch as the rest of the boys had just stared. Were you missing something? Jack gave you Lavender and he went to the kitchen. Before you walked upstairs though, you turned to the rest of the boys, “you guys are weird,” and you turned and walked away. When you got halfway up the staircase you heard the boys whispering but decided to not think much of it.

When you got up to Jack’s room, you didn’t want to put Lav down until Jack was there since he was getting her bottle. Instead you just bounced her around while walking around his room. Lavender wasn’t being fussy, she had her head on your shoulder and you could feel her breathing get heavy, but that’s right when Jack walked in, which make Lavender wake up more than she was. She lifted her head off your shoulder to see who was there and then put it right back where it was before Jack walked in. “Do you want her now? I can go downstairs.” He just shook his head, “no she’s good with you. Here.” He handed you Lavender’s bottle while you continued to hold her, “you can put her down in her bed, she’s good on her own once she has the bottle.”  You looked at him and nodded, put her down in her bed and she reached for her bottle which made you laugh.

Jack’s POV

Dammit. Those damn boys. I was doing fine. Y/N and I are friends. Ever since Wednesday, I can’t get what the boys said out of my head. I knew for sure that when I saw Y/N today I’d know for sure what my feelings were. And well. They were right. Not only seeing her when she walked into the living room, but especially when she was holding Lav. There was no way I could deny it now, especially to the boys. I don’t think I could tell Y/N. I don’t think I could ever risk our friendship by telling her. And what are the odds she even likes me, or would even want to be with me? I’m a dad, and a young one at that. But the way she is with Lavender. She knows how much Lav means to me. The way Lavender seems so comfortable with her too. She was falling asleep so easily in Y/N’s arms. Seeing good Y/N is with her too. No. I can’t convince myself of something when it isn’t even true.

“Jack?” Shit. How long was I out of it? “You okay to go back down with the boys,” she asked whispering. “Oh, uh, yeah. I’ll meet you down there in a sec. I’m just gonna tuck Lav in and read her a quick story.” “Oh okay,” then she leaned down and kissed Lav on the forehead, “goodnight cutie.” Which made Lav smile. Oh god. She’s definitely not making this easy now. Then she turned to me, “we’ll try to pick a movie before you come back down. You know how they are though,” she laughed, which got me to laugh. “Yeah. Okay I’ll be down in a minute.” Then she walked out and closed the door behind her. I took a seat on Lav’s bed, “do you like Y/N honey?” She only just laughed again, which I definitely did not take as a no.

Your POV

When you got back downstairs, you sat next to Corbyn and he opened the blanket he had to share with you. “Jack said he’s just gonna read Lav a story and then he’ll be back down. Any movie ideas?” Corbyn put his arm around you, “we can wait for him. We haven’t seen ya in a few days kiddo, how’s it going?” You laughed, “Corb, I literally text you everyday.” “Yeah but the other guys, I’m sure they’d love to know about your life.” You gave him a weird look, “okay…um I’ve just been at home. I saw Ash yesterday, but other than that, I haven’t done anything.” “I have a question for ya girl,” Zach said to you. “Well maybe I have an answer for you.” Zach laughed, “are you seeing or talking to any boys?” Daniel was raising his eyebrows like he was so intrigued, and Jonah tilted his head in interest. You looked at Corbyn and he shrugged, “um no. Why do you ask, Zach?” “Well we kinda wanna set you up on a date,” Jonah said. I looked at the four boys a few times back and forth, “what? Why? I’m fine.” Corbyn leaned into my shoulder, “I don’t know kiddo, you just haven’t been out in a while.” You gave Corbyn a look that said, you know why I haven’t gone out and the reason is currently putting his daughter to bed upstairs. He widened his eyes and raised his brows, “just hear us out. Please.” You sighed, “fine.”

Just then Jack walked down the stairs and into the living room laughing, “still no movie?” He sat down on the other side of you. “These idiots are trying to set me up on a date,” you said not looking at him. “Oh? And with who?” You and Daniel spoke at the same time, “no clue yet,” “one of my friends.” “Wait which friend,” you asked Daniel. Jack was Daniel’s friend, was it too much to hope. You laughed to yourself. “Yeah what friend? And why wasn’t I part of this plan,” Jack asked. “Well it’s actually one of Kian’s friends, but we’ve become friends too.” “Yeah, we’ve actually been thinking about this for a week. We just didn’t tell the person yet because we wanted to make sure you were cool with this,” Jonah said to me sweetly. “No pressure kiddo. If you don’t want to go out it’s fine.” You shook your head, “you know what, I’m actually down. So who is this person.” Daniel widened his eyes at Corbyn which made you turn your head to look at him, but he was looking at Jack. When you turned to Jack, he had his head down, so you looked back at Daniel, “what? What’s wrong?” “No.”

All the boys and you turned your heads to Jack, who was now looking straight ahead. “Huh? Jack, what to do mean no? What’s wrong,” you asked him, putting your hand on his shoulder. He finally turned to you and he had a sad expression on his face. Was he okay? “Don’t,” is all he said while he just stared at me. “What? Don’t what? Go out?” “Yeah.” The other boys all have excited looks on their faces, but you were too focused on Jack. “Jack. You’re gonna have to give me more than word answers. What’s up with you?” “You can’t go out with him.” He looked at his shoulder where your hand was, and then he was grabbing that hand and your other with both of his. Your eyes widen, “and why not?” You looked you straight in your eyes, only focusing on you, “because I wanna go out with you.”

Your jaw dropped and Zach, Daniel and Jonah got up from their seats and came to Jack and grabbed him and shook him while Corbyn grabbed onto your shoulders and shook you as well and kissed the back of your head. “Woah what’s happening right now?” All the boys started to laugh and Corbyn rested his head on your back and chuckled, “oh kiddo.” Jack squeezed your hands to get your attention. You looked back at him and he was smiling sweetly at you, “sweet. I’m telling you that I like you and I wanna go out with you.” You smiled at him, “I like you too, boy,” which made him laugh.

“It worked,” Zach said excitedly. “What? What worked,” you asked looking confused at Zach. “Well, a few days ago we had a talk with Jack about you and his feelings for you. And then Corbyn let it slip that you liked Jack too, so I came up with an idea to pretend to set you up so Jack could tell you how he feels and then you’d tell him! And guess what? It freaking worked!” You turned around to look at Corbyn who had a guilty look on his face, “you told them?!” “I’m sorry Y/N, it was an accident, but look at what happened! All those years brought you here!” You widened your eyes and Jack spoke, “years?” Corbyn’s eyes widened now too and he mouthed, I’m sorry, and you just shook your head laughing and rolling your eyes. You turned back to Jack, “uh yeah. I’ve kinda felt this way for a few years. Actually, and I don’t wanna freak you out, but I don’t wanna lie to you either.”

Jack grabbed your hands again and smiled, encouraging you to continue, “well guess I’ll say it in front of the guys since Corbyn spilled anyways,” you laughed before continuing, “please, obviously, don’t feel obligated to say anything back. Since I’ve had these feelings for a few years, they’ve grown a bit, so um, I just wanted you to know that uh, I love you boy,” you laughed. Jack had a huge smile on his face, “that means so much, sweet. I can’t say that yet, but I want to one day, soon. But I do wanna tell you that I love so much about you, but I think what I love most about you is how you are with Lav and how much you care about her, and she loves you so much too.” You saw Jonah tilt his head towards the living room entrance and he got up to leave with Daniel and Zach following behind, and you looked back at Corbyn. He was smiling at you, “I’m happy for you kiddo,” then he got up, kissed your forehead and turned to Jack, “be nice to her.” The two of them laughed and Corbyn patted him on the back.

The second Corbyn walked out, Jack attacked you with a hug and now he was laying on top of you, both of you laughing. The two of you just laid there with your back to him while he held you for a while just talking about anything and everything. Then Jack got serious for a second, “I’m sorry I was oblivious for so long.” You turned to face him and smiled, “do not apologize, who knows what would’ve happened if I had told you all those years ago. I am so happy with how everything worked itself out.” He just smiled back at you and then finally, he kissed you.

[phantomphangphucker]

Ectober Day 3: Mistake - How Sleeping Ghosts Lie

Danny had to get a little creative when it came to creature comforts, considering how hectic his half-life was. But that’s lead to him having some... less than human habits. Though really, when it’s common for your blankets and pillows to get set on fire, blown up, frozen, brought to life, or otherwise destroyed. It only made sense to just say ‘fuck it’ and use your own tail instead.

To say Danny was tired would be an understatement. An uhn-dr-steit-muhnt.

So he’d seriously like to sleep right now. But no. Instead he has class. With Mr. Lancer. The hardest of hard asses on him about the whole ‘pay attention’ thing. Which fine, okay, guys heart was in a superb place; but seriously, he needs sleep waaaaaaay more than Gregorian poetry and the Dadaism art movement he keeps going on tangents about for some reason.

Maybe he found a new interest to fixate on? Oh whatever.

Anyway, Danny needs sleep and he’d like to get it right now thank you very much. And he was exhausted enough to sleep right through Mr. Lancer snapping at him to wake up, kinda a nice bonus right now; bad sign for his health though. Regardless, sleepy time.

Over half the class sigh at the unmistakable sound of one Danny Fenton’s head hitting his desk. Including Mr. Lancer, who puts down the whiteboard marker and glances over his shoulder purely to make sure he was about to snap at the right student; Daniel had a pranking streak a mile long after all and had gotten other students to pretend to be asleep purely to embarrass whatever teacher blamed him without checking only to turn around and see a smug smirk across the boy’s face.

Lancer isn’t surprised in the slightest to see Daniel’s face smushed against the desk, arms positioned over his head awkwardly; boy’s going to get a kink like that, “Daniel, please try to pay attention and wake up”, tossing one of the markers near the floor by him; even the slightest sound or movement out of the unusual always woke him up with a snap. It was almost concerning actually.

Furrowing his brow when all that happens is one of Daniel’s arms flopping off his head and dangling off the edge of the desk. A couple of the teens also furrowing their brows or quirking them, some even snickering. Kwan actually kicks his feet, causing them to sick out sideways towards the window oddly; but still not waking the other teen. Star goes from giggling to actually looking genuinely concerned, sticking up her hand, “uh Mr. Lancer? Maybe we should let him sleep for once”.

Jesse leans back, snorting, “yeah, he’d say that he’s ‘dead to the world’”. Mr. Lancer just sighs in the slacker's direction, Jesse was a more genuine problem child; she just didn’t care at all, unlike Daniel. Though he guesses if Daniel is really that tired he can let this slip for once. This is still going on the test though.

Five minutes go by with the class going on effectively like normal; every one more than a little pleased by the fact that Danny doesn’t snore. Sure the desk was definitely covered in drool, but that was only annoying for the janitor.... or who ever poor freshman who doesn’t know any better and sits there. Everyone made a point to remember where that boy sat and promptly never sat in that desk. Considering the tendencies for questionable stains and the fact that it can to bloody well life before, everyone’s agreed that’s a wise decision. Last year one of the freshmen even got bit by meat, or something, stuck under it.

And combining that with the desk's occupant having a tendency to constantly disappear, most people paid at least some attention to him/the desk. Even if it was only out of curiosity or paranoia. Didn’t help that in classes where the teachers had totally given up any pretence of controlling the boy he had a free pass to just leave without any warning or asking. Which sure, lead to less disruptions and Danny not looking like a stressed-out chihuahua. But it also led to the boy seemingly literally disappearing. One minute he’s there, the next gone; everyone pretty sure no one actually saw him leave. Though someone did catch him crawling out the window once.

Kwan especially had a tendency of keeping a general eye on Danny’s desk in English class, considering he always seemed to be seated directly across from the strange teen. Which yes, had given him the ability to use the excuse ‘Danny’s desk ate it’ in all seriousness and actually be believed. It had also given him the unforgettable experience of being right next to a randomly exploding desk once though. So he thinks things might be evened out.

Regardless, he keeps an eye on that desk... and literally anything Danny laid next to it. Nothing today though, which was hopefully a positive sign.

Or did he bring stuff? Kwan honestly can’t remember. Eh might as well check. He’d rather not have another ‘ecto-pistol in the bag and accidentally pointed at his head but thankfully just blasted apart the ceiling when it accidentally went off’ incident. Waiting till Mr. Lancer looks back to the board yet again to write more shit no one cares about except the nerds, to glance to the side and back forwards.

Yup. No bag. Good. But then he pauses and squints at the whiteboard, because yeah no definitely no bag but was something not right? He thinks something was not right. Ah Zone, this better not be another ‘living desk’ moment. Risking another quick glance, which only makes him even more confused. Because the desk was fine. Danny was... not? He was still asleep that’s for sure, but Kwan’s pretty sure Danny has two legs and two feet, and neither were that thick.

Needless to say Kwan immediately snaps his head back towards Danny, no longer giving half a damn if Mr. Lancer notices or not. Looks down and proceeds to blatantly stare, eyes wide and mouth popping open a little. What.... what the.... what the fuck??? No seriously, what??? Kwan’s eyes move a little, following the motion of the tail? As it does a little lazy swish across the ground and slightly in the air. A bit of it is even curled under Danny’s head like a pillow, man it’s long.

Kwan shakes his head a little and slowly inches his shoe over and gives it -him?- a little poke. Attempting to confirm if this is real. Glancing at the sleeping teens face as Danny shifts slightly and the tail? -seriously, what the ever-loving fuck???- moves slightly out of the way.

Alright. Real it is.

Kwan blinks, just to make extra sure he hasn’t gone insane or started hallucinating out of extreme poetry-induced boredom. Opening his mouth more and blurting out, “Fenton... what the fuck man”.

Mr. Lancer sighs, speaking towards the whiteboard, “language, Mr. Ishiama”, turning to actually face one of the ‘prized’ -more like idolised- football stars, and seeing the teen paying absolutely zero attention; instead he’s staring dumbfounded at Daniel. Which... isn’t promising. Unsurprisingly, like whenever some kind of Daniel-related disturbance happened, the entire class turns to look to the teen at Kwan’s words. Mr. Lancer, of course, does the same, but he likes to think his reasons were more positive.

Lancer drops the marker he was holding to the ground, turning around fully to face the class with raised eyebrows, “Lord Of The Flies!”. It doesn’t take anything more than that to get the rest of the class going. Some even getting up or falling out of their chairs.

“Holy Shit Fenton”.

“Uh, should we wake him?”.

“Okay seriously, that can’t be normal? Right? RIGHT?”.

“His does have that weird ecto-contamination though?”.

“Oh my... it’s actually kinda... cute?”.

“Ecto-contamination my ass, he doesn’t have legs”.

“Hahaha hahah ha he looks like a Naga”.

“Shut up nerd”.

“I wonder if he even knows?”.

“I mean, this has to be a ghostly ecto thing?”.

“How the shit wouldn’t he?”.

“How do you think, moron. Maybe this just happens when he sleeps?”.

“I bet his freak parents are to blame. Probably some experiment gone wrong”.

“HA. That would track”.

“Maybe a ghost pranked him and stole his legs?”.

“That’s stupid”.

“Wonder of he could, like, hold stuff with it”.

“I’ll show you stupid”.

At that point Lancer has to step forward to stop the minor brawl that’s starting, “enough, Wuthering Heights, no fighting in class”, pushing Lily and Emily apart; who scowl at each other. Looking to Daniel, at this point basically everyone is standing up and around Daniel’s desk; unabashedly staring at or poking the occasionally swishing wiggling tail. Some was curled around his waist, some of it on the floor, some underneath his head, and the tip was just flicking in the air. There’s honestly no point in even trying to get class back on track. Reaching out to grab and shake the teen's shoulder, hopefully he’s not passed out enough to ignore that.

Half the class either gapes, jumps back, or laughs when, on the fourth slightly aggressive shake, Danny one arm judo flips or something Mr. Lancer over him and into the wall. The tail completely uncurling and waving lazily on the floor.

“HOLY SHIT!”.

“Damn Danny. Okay then”.

“Well, that just happened”.

“Oh man. Hahahaha. That was awesome”.

“Fenton? How the?”.

Mr. Lancer rights himself with little effort, slightly used to this after years in ‘the most haunted city in the world’. That, and Daniel’s chucked him across a room once before to get him out of the way of some debris. Daniel however, jerks to be sitting upright, the tail? lashes violently into one of the desk legs sending the entire desk flipping onto its side; with Daniel included.

Danny rubs the side of his head while yawning and pushing himself up with one arm, “what the Zone guys?”, and then looks around at all the teens just... staring at him. “Uhhhhh. I didn’t, like, blow something up again, did I?”.

Kwan blinks at him, “Fenton man, how can you not know why we’re all looking at you like you just walked off the set for the fucking Exorcist”.

Star seemingly takes a bit of pity on their strangest classmate, “Danny hon, your tail’s showing”, sounding weirdly unfazed by all this. But the entire class facepalms when the boy blushes and moves to cover his crotch of all things.

Though Mr. Lancer can understand the boy’s reasoning, considering he lost his pants so often as a freshman that Lancer literally bought Daniel a belt and kept a spare for him on hand at all times.

But Danny moving to do that gets him to finally, finally, notice shit is supremely not normal. He screws up his eyebrows, actually mutters, “well that don’t seem right, considering the circumstances”, and looks down.

No one says anything for a bit while Danny blinks down at the tail, everyone watching it swish around lazily. Danny looks back up to everyone, and only has this to say for himself, “uhhhhhh”.

Kwan flops back down into his desk and laughs, “man, is that seriously all you’re gonna give us? You sprouted a ghost tail in the middle of class!”.

“Yeah!”.

“You don’t even seem surprised. Figures”.

“So... your parents fucked you up.... again”.

“Language”.

“Oh come on! This has to be a prank”.

“You’ve got to say more than that”.

“You know what? Fuck this shit. I don’t even want to know”.

“Pussy”.

“Fuck off”.

“Language, Todd”.

“Can you even walk right now?”.

“How? No really. How?”.

“Of course can’t walk, he doesn’t have legs. You need those to walk, moron. It’s a basic requirement actually”.

Lancer sighs, pushing a few students away from Daniel before looking to the teen, “are you alright, Daniel? Do you... need to go to the nurse for... this”, and gestures at the tail; attempting not to seemed freaked out.

Danny immediately shakes his head and waves his hands back and forth; easily sitting up on the tail like this is nothing new, “no! No! I’m fine! All good!”.

Mr. Lancer just sighs as nearly the entire class shouts, “BULLSHIT!”, and do some variation of staring or pointing at the boy’s tail. Which, while being reasonable reactions, isn’t allowed on school grounds.

Danny laughs awkwardly, glancing back at the tail and back up, “heh”, the tail coiling up under and behind him some. That just encourages more questions though.

“Oh! So you can actually control it”.

“How’s it attached to your nerves and stuff though?”.

“Oh Zone, another nerd alert?”.

“It’s reasonable! This is illogical!”.

“Objection!”.

“What?”.

“Nothing. I just really wanted to say that”.

“Why’d you even form it?”.

“Oh! Oh! If you can do this then can we?!?! Is this just an contamination thing?”.

“Okay point. What’s the use of this thing and especially while sleeping?”.

“Oh mi god yas girl! I would look so cute with a ghost tail!”.

“Oh I know girl!”.

“Right!”.

“Oh someone gag me”.

“Sure”.

“Someone other than you”.

“What’s it feel like?”.

Daniel mutters to the side, “whelp. I fucked up. Nice going Fenton”. But Mr. Lancer’s pretty sure he’s the only one that even heard that as the students pretty well start bickering with each other or asking Daniel questions without actually paying him any mind or just staring at the tail. Which is frankly, rude. But it does give Lancer a chance to ask, in a much quieter tone, “are you sure you’re alright?”. Daniel nods at him immediately and gives a small, confident though shaky, smile. Lancer nods right back before standing up, if he didn’t have to question Daniel’s oddness then it was honestly better not to question it at all.

Mr. Lancer stands up and looks around at the other teens, “alright everyone, now I know there’s no point in picking back up where we left off, but everyone at the very least sit back down for the last few minutes”, sighing to himself when only the ‘good’ students do as asked, “if you give him some space he might, might, actually answer something”; that gets everyone sitting down real quick.

Mr. Lancer walks back to his own desk and practically collapses into his chair, watching Daniel very awkwardly right his desk and pull himself up back into his seat. Lancer wants to know why he hasn’t changed back to, you know, legs. Or if he even can. He should probably call the Fenton’s honestly. But, Catcher In The Rye, he so doesn’t want to. Really doesn’t want to. But if he can’t have legs, then he was going to have to. But if he asks then everyone will bombard the boy again. They were staring at him enough as it was and that... tail wasn’t exactly hiding his discomfort. Considering how it was all coiled up over itself in the boy’s seat.

Danny looks around, leans back, and then slams his head into his desk, grumbling, “y’all aren’t gonna leave me alone unless I explain this, are you?”.

“Are you kidding Fenton? No”.

“Hahaha, obviously”.

“Oh come on, why wouldn’t you want to brag about this?“.

“Maybe because this is freaky and he’s a freak?”.

“Rechenbache, that’s enough”.

Danny sighs into the desk top before sitting back up right and letting the tail uncoil. Grumbling, “ugh. Why couldn’t I just have stayed in bed?”, shaking his head and looking at the class, “okay this-”, sticking his hand out a bit, the class watching the tip of the tail move to lay in his open palm, “-is normal for me”, shrugging awkwardly, “kinda common thing while asleep”, grumbling almost aggressively, “which I’m now realising was a major mistake to get into the habit of”.

Star blinks at him before giggling, “so you just sleep with a ghost tail? Why? Is kinda cute though”, a couple less stuck up girls nod and glance at each other; nodding more. That just makes Danny blush and mutter incoherently.

Larry sticks his arms out to the side, “that still doesn’t answer the ‘how’?”.

“Yeah!”.

“Is that all you know how to say?”.

“Heck that doesn’t even answer the why!”.

“Uh, yeah? Yeah it does. Fenton was asleep”.

“That’s not what I mean, dumbass”.

“Language”.

“I second the ‘why’. Why sleep with that?”.

“And honestly dude? You constantly sleep in class. How did you not think this was gonna happen if it’s so routine”.

Danny scowls and rolls his eyes, “oh can it”, sighing, “and ‘cause it’s comfy alright? Geez. My sleeping routines are none of y’alls business”.

Kwan sticks up a finger, “uh, actually you kinda make it our business by sleeping in class”.

“Fuck off”.

“Daniel”.

Danny rolls his eyes at Mr. Lancer before addressing the class again, “and it’s just ‘cause of my ecto. You know my shit’s weird, stop being surprised when it proves it’s weird”.

Kwan sputters at that, “man, full-on ghost body parts and disappearing legs is beyond weird”.

Danny shrugs, not even attempting to deny that fact, “portable pillow and blankets that can’t be blown up. Plus, it helps me shed excess ecto. Y’all just shed your smaller amounts through your skin, lame”.

“Huh, that actually makes sense”.

“Still weird you even do that man”.

“Wow. Being ecto-absorbent seems like a real pain”.

“So breathing, but for ecto”. That one earns a couple laughs, including from Danny.

“Guess living in the ecto house that would make sense”.

“Honestly man? I would say you should just wear those hideous anti-ecto jumpsuits”, practically everyone cringes, “but, y’ know, hideous”.

“Capital ‘H’ Hideous”.

“Zone! I’d rather a freaking tail over those suits too”.

“Are we all still ignoring that this shouldn’t be possible and is still illogical?”.

“Shut up, Larry. Nobody loves you”.

“Thing looks long enough you really could, like, pull it up and use it as a pillow”.

“That’s literally what Fenton-dude was doing”.

“Shut up, I wasn’t the one staring at him while he sleeps”.

Brittney perks up, “do you sleep like a cat? You know, all curled up?”, tilting her head, “it was all curled under you just a bit ago”. That earns more blushing from Danny, making quite a few girls giggle and effectively confirming that yes, yes he did. Danny just mutters, “it’s comfy”, again. Which only results in even more giggles.

Danny looks up at the sound of the bell, flops his tail to the ground, and the entire class just watch in awe as the tail solidifies and splits into regular ol’ jean-covered legs and red/white sneakers. Half the class muttering ‘woah’, while he just gets up and very obviously makes a beeline for the door. Lancer’s just glad he can walk. Danny pointing at the class without actually looking at anyone or slowing down, “maybe don’t go telling everyone about this yeah?”.

Needless to say, everyone told everyone. Though Mr. Lancer told the other teachers that the strange new rumour surrounding Daniel was yet another practical joke. Which, with Daniel, was absolutely believable. And one thing no one does, is tell the Fenton’s. Which is all Danny had honestly hoped for.

End.

[barrysjumpsuit]

like a brother - reader x jj/platonic john b

requested?: nope!

warnings/triggers: death, depression, kinda shitty parents, i think that’s it?

overview: reader seeks comfort from john b and jj after her brothers are taken from her in two very similar ways (1.7k)

a/n: wrote most of this while high (lol) so forgive me for any mistakes!! everything in italics is 2 years before canon plot, everything in normal text is based on and after s1e10

Tropical Storm Harold painted the sky black.

You started your car, and you felt it sway a little under someone’s weight as they jumped from the back of the car to the ground. Ethan opened the passenger side door, slid in, and you pulled out of the driveway as he slammed it shut.

It was a decently long drive to the Boneyard from Figure Eight. You saw John B’s van already there, the side door open, John B, JJ, Kiara, and Pope crouched inside seeking temporary shelter from the rain. As soon as you pulled up, you heard their whoops as they jumped out, and began to unstrap their boards from the top of the van.

You parked and helped your brother get your boards off the top of the Land Cruiser. It had started to rain, the water cold against your bare skin. Across from you, Ethan had a devilish grin spreading across his face, his long dark hair plastered to his forehead and temples. After you loosened the straps on your side, he pulled the boards off the top of the car and you grabbed yours.

“Wait for us!” Ethan called, sprinting after the boys and Kiara, who had already reached the water. You took off running after them, your board awkwardly tucked under your arm.

It was a tradition, to surf the surge. The shape of the land around the Boneyard and the bathymetry of the continental shelf under the water worked to funnel and amplify the waves. You hit the water, following the boys through the choppy surf and into the darkness.

--

Tropical Storm Danielle painted the sky black.

You had to leave the tent. It was chaos around you; Kiara and Pope were sobbing into each other, and JJ was being restrained by two officers. You stood from your chair and walked from the crowded space, passing by Kiara and Pope’s parents but not your own. Of course they wouldn’t be here. Your brain was oblivious to the rain coming down in sheets, and your feet took you onto the beach before your legs gave out and you fell to your hands and knees.

The sand grains pressed uncomfortably into your knees. The rain was cold on your skin and you shivered, sitting up so that you were kneeling, looking towards the sea. Waves crashed on the shore, thunder rumbled in the distance, and the lighthouse illuminated the empty horizon.

--

“That was awesome!” John B yelled. You were laying on your back in the sand, catching your breath, the surf violently lapping up to your waist. The rain, the adrenaline, and the salty sting of the water in your eyes made you feel alive, reminding you why surfing the surge was a sacred tradition within your group.

After a few moments you stood, hearing JJ’s voice join John B’s. They had gathered slightly farther up the beach, far enough so that their boards weren’t going to get sucked out to sea. Kiara ran up to you, dropping her board and jumping onto you, smiling. Once she was back on her own two feet, you ran towards JJ and John B with your board, dropping it onto the ground and hopping into JJ’s outstretched arms. He spun you around, and you could feel the rain pelting your body.

Your bare feet touched the sand again and as you went to tug on your swimsuit top to readjust it, JJ cupped your face with his hands. You smiled up at him, water beading off his skin and clinging to his eyelashes.

JJ kissed you, almost violently, and you knew he was feeling the same way as you. His body quivered under your touch, and his teeth gently pulled on your bottom lip as he pulled back.

You smiled at each other, but as you turned around to face John B and Pope and the surf, your smile dropped.

Your heart dropped too. “Where’s E?” you asked, stepping away from JJ and towards the shoreline. “Ethan!”

The wind carried your screams away as soon as they left your mouth. JJ had run after you, and John B was standing a short distance away, shielding his eyes from the rain with his hand and looking out to sea.

“Ethan!” you kept yelling. You started running down the shore in the direction of the current.

“Y/N!”

John B’s voice was almost lost in the wind. You stopped, immediately, and sprinted towards him, where he and JJ were crouched on the ground.

Your brother laid motionless on the beach. John B was on the phone, while JJ was performing CPR. Pope tried grabbing at you, but you easily slipped out of his grasp.

The world crumbled as you fell to your knees. You were hardly aware of JJ’s grunts of effort, or John B’s frantic voice, or even Kiara clinging onto you from behind, talking in your ear. The feeling of the rain and lapping of the waves was replaced by absolute numbness.

You were numb that whole night. The paramedics arrived and took Ethan away from you. You ended up in the back of the ambulance. You were sat in a seat at the hospital and told not to move. Your parents ran to you, hugging you and crying.

But you hardly noticed any of these happening. The only thing you did notice was JJ beside you through it all.

--

You were numb, oblivious to the stinging of the rain and the chaotic crashing of the waves in front of you or the voices behind you.

The only thing that you did notice was JJ, kneeling down behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and pressing his face into your wet hair. His touch sent you over the edge, your body heaving with sobs, threatening to double over but JJ’s strong hold kept that from happening. You scrambled around in his arms to face him, your hands clutching fistfuls of his t-shirt.

“Baby…” he eventually murmured, one hand moving to cup half of your face. “Let’s go, okay?”

You don’t remember nodding, but you followed JJ to the tents and had Heyward drop you off at your empty house.

It had felt empty for the past two years, ever since Ethan died in a storm eerily similar to the one that took your best friend just hours before.

After your brother died, your parents took their anger out on you. You for going out surfing that night, for letting Ethan die. It was the last straw for them, after disapproving of you and your brother’s behavior and relationship with the Pogues. They had been emotionally and often physically absent ever since, leaving you with nothing but emptiness.

It took all your energy to climb the stairs with JJ to your bedroom. Neither of you changed clothes, opting to strip naked instead. You just didn’t care enough. Both of you were shivering – whether it was from cold your bodies, soaked to the bone, or from the adrenaline, sadness, and rage coursing through you, you didn’t know.

All through the night, JJ held you while you laid in bed like he was never going to let go.

--

John B held you while you laid in bed.

He must have heard you crying, as he gently pushed open the bedroom door. You froze at the sound, trying to muffle your tears, snapping your eyes shut and forcing your body to look relaxed, but it was impossible.

“I know you’re awake,” he had said softly. You couldn’t help but let out a shaky sigh, and felt the bed move as John B laid down next to you. “Y/N?”

“Go away,” you said quietly and unconvincingly. You had managed to get away from JJ for the night, tired of his constant reassurances and questioning. Are you okay? he kept asking, though he knew the answer.

John B shifted his weight beside you, and wrapped an arm around you, laying his head beside yours. “You can’t keep pushing people away.” His voice was sad and tired. “It wasn’t your fault.”

You shivered but couldn’t bring yourself to respond. You just rolled over to face him, and you realized how shaky your breaths were and how your body was trembling under the sheets, as If you were about the burst.

“Let it out, Y/N.”

You cried. They were ugly, loud sobs, and you curled up, John B had moved to sit with you in his lap, the tips of his fingers running in circles on your back.

“We’re going to get through this, okay?”

You nodded, your cheek rubbing on his t-shirt. It felt wet under your skin.

“JB?” you asked shakily, finally able to push yourself up. You sat beside him, your back and head leaning against the wall.

“Yeah, Y/N?” he responded. His words were soft and comforting.

“Don’t ever leave me. Leave us.”

“Of course not,” he whispered. You rolled your head to the side, looking at him. His eyes were soft, full of sadness. With one hand he reached over to wipe the tears from your face. “You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon, okay? You’re like a sister to me, Y/N.”

You managed to give him a soft smile. “You’re like a brother to me, JB.”

He chuckled. “Well, I’m not as good at giving advice as Ethan was, but I want you to know you can come to me with anything, okay? I know he can’t be replaced, but I’ll your new brother.”

“Really?” you asked.

John B grabbed your hand, smiling at you before replying. “Of course. I’ll do anything for you, Y/N.”

“Does that mean you’ll beat up JJ for me?” you replied, smiling and leaning your head on his shoulder.

You feel him laugh. “Of course. Lay down, try to fall asleep for me, okay?”

John B gently pushed you off of him, pulling the covers over you. “Good night, sis.”

--

“Hey JJ?”

Your voice broke the silence in the dark bedroom. The digital clock on the dresser in the corner of the room read 3:51. 

“Yeah, Y/N?” JJ responded quietly. He rolled over, pulling you into him. 

“Promise to never leave me,” you murmured against his chest. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Never in my wildest dreams,” he whispered in your ear. JJ gently kissed your temple, tightening his grip on you reassuringly, as if backing up his words.

It was in each other’s arms that, for the first time in two days, both of you found peace.

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

hope you guys like it! my requests are open and feel free to message me if you want to be on any taglists, whether it’s for all obx, jj fics, etc <3

taglist: @macchiatohno @dpaccione @canibeoneofthepogues @bailspogue @wicked-laugh @jjmaybankx @jjsmentalpolaroids

[sheerfreesia007]

Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 1

Title: Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 1

Fandom: Kingsman

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Reader

Author: @sheerfreesia007​​

Words: 2,472

Warnings: Cursing, Fluff, Dad!Whiskey

Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711​, @fioccodineveautunnale​, @phoenixhalliwell​, @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​, @linkpk88​

Author Notes: It’s finally here! So here’s the first chapter of the long awaited Neighbor fic! I hope you guys enjoy it! This series is going have romance but it’s gonna be a slow burn romance and we’re going to get super soft Dad!Whiskey. I’m kinda more excited about Dad!Whiskey then the romance to be honest. But buckle up kiddos it’s gonna be long wild ride! Feedback is always appreciated.

Gif Credit: Google

Trees line the street as he slowly drives down it looking for the street signs to see if he has been following the directions correctly or not. He slowly comes up to a stop sign and sighs softly as he reads the street names not finding the one he’s looking for. 

         “Daddy, are we lost?” comes a soft sweet voice from the back seat. His eyes flicker to the rearview mirror where he sees the familiar head of thick dark brown wavy hair and the curious all too knowing green eyes of his daughter.

         “No we’re not lost Es. Why would you think that?” he answers and asks as he pulls through the intersection checking for any oncoming traffic. The radio in the car turned down low so that he can concentrate on reading the street names as he passes them.

         “You’re making that weird noise you make when you’re trying not to get mad but you’re still getting mad.” his daughter replied as she turned her head to look out the car window. He scoffs softly and shakes his head but then stops as he realizes that she’s correct. 

         “How do you know so much?” he wonders out loud as his eyes dart back to the rearview mirror. Just then at the next intersection he spots a large brick sign that reads Legacy Oaks - Gated Community. “Here it is!” he calls happily and quickly turns into the entrance for the community. He drives forward to the covered guard house where there’s a waiting middle aged man with a bright happy smile on his face. 

         Jack pulls up to the man who’s standing in the doorway to the guard house. He parks the car and rolls down his window so that he can speak to the man to ask about directions in the community.

         “Hi there, are ya lost?” asks the man kindly.

         “Actually we’re moving in today. My name’s Jack Daniels and I wanted to ask about directions in the community.” Jack says easily as he leans out of the window towards the man.

         “Oh that’s great! You’re gonna love it here, it’s a great little community.” the man says conversationally and Jack nods his head at him.

         “A little hard to find though if I might say.” Jack says politely and the man grins widely at him as if he knows a secret.

         “Well that’s because you came in through the back. The front entrance is much easier to see off the main road if you come from the interstate.” the man advises easily and Jack nods his head seeing where he got mixed up with the directions. “Alright so what’s your new address? I’ll be able to give you directions.”

         “Oh we’re going to be at 1745 Peony Court.” Jack relayed easily.

         “Oh! You’re gonna be living on the same street as Bunny.” he said happily. Jack furrowed his eyebrows at the man and the man chuckled softly as he waved his hand. “You’ll meet Bunny no doubt, she’s a great gal. Anyway, you’re going to straight down this road it’s called First Avenue, it’s the main road that runs through the whole community from the front entrance to the back entrance. Your street is going to be on the right hand side and it’ll be four up from here, it’s going to be called Gardenscape Boulevard. Peony Court will branch off from Gardenscape Boulevard.” the guard explained easily.

         “Thanks that’s really helpful- uh what was your name again? I’m sorry.” Jack says a little embarrassed that he didn’t get the guard’s name.

         “Nah, it’s alright name’s Jeremy Brock.” the guard said easily and waved his hand as he stepped back into the guard house. “I’ll see ya around the neighborhood. I live in a different part of the community not far from your street.” he said kindly with a wave. Jack returned his wave and slowly began to drive forward after the mechanical arm lifted and he was admitted into the community.

         Following Jeremy’s directions Jack easily found himself driving into their new neighborhood. As he turned right onto Gardenscape Boulevard he smiled as he saw all the nice looking houses that lined each side of the street. He had to admit it was a nice looking neighborhood and he was glad he had found something so quickly after being promoted and transferred to this new office branch of his company.

         “This is it baby girl our new neighborhood.” Jack says warmly as he turns onto Peony Court and slows until he finds 1745 and pulls into the driveway. He can see a few neighbors already out in their own yards and some were even gathered in yards talking with each other. Parking the car he looks up to the rearview mirror and sees Esme looking around apprehensively. “You ready for this baby girl?” he asks softly and she looks up to the rearview mirror and locks eyes with him. He can see the uncertainty in her eyes and he feels the guilt at having to move her almost halfway across the states and upending her life but it was something he felt needed to be done. Besides the pay raise that came with the promotion, it was something that he felt needed to happen because they needed a fresh start after Maria’s death.

         “I don’t know Daddy. Are you sure we had to move?” Esme asks as her eyes dart around at the neighbors who were surreptitiously watching them now.

         “Yeah Es, we had to. I promise this is going to be good you’re going to make new friends and your new school is gonna be great. We just need to get used to it that’s all. C’mon baby girl, we got this.” he explains as he turns to face her over the seat. He holds out his closed fist to her and she fist bumps him with a giggle making him smile widely at her. “That’s my girl.” he says proudly. He takes the keys out of the ignition and opens his door before opening up the back passenger door for Esme since she had already unbuckled her harness in the booster seat and was waiting at the door. 

         Jack helps her out of the car by holding out a hand for her and she sets her much smaller hand in his and hops out of the car. She giggles when her feet land firmly on the driveway and he smiles down at her. 

         “Hey there neighbor!” comes a friendly sounding voice and Jack and Esme look up to see a man around Jack’s age walking across his yard to stand at the fence next to their new driveway. “Welcome to the neighborhood. I’m Henry Mills your new next door neighbor.” he says kindly as he holds his hand out for Jack to shake. Jack easily shakes his hand smiling politely at him. He watches as Henry turns to Esme and holds his hand out to her too.

         “Jack Daniels and this here is Esme Daniels.” Jack introduces himself and Esme to Henry.

         “Well it’s a pleasure to meet ya Jack and you too little Miss Esme.” he says kindly as he shakes Esme’s hand. Jack can see in Esme’s face that she appreciates shaking hands with their new neighbor, he figures it makes her feel like a grown up by meeting him like this. “Do you guys need any help with getting your boxes into the house before it gets dark?” Henry asks helpfully and Jack shakes his head in response.

         “Only packed the most essentials in the truck the rest will be coming with the moving truck tomorrow.” Jack explains as Henry nods along. “I appreciate it though.” 

         “Oh yeah no sweat! Figured I’d offer in case you needed any help.” Henry said kindly. “By the way don’t let the other neighbors creep you out by them checking you out. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a new neighbor that they probably don’t know what to do with themselves.” Henry explains as he chuckles. “They’re good people they just get a little nosy, that’s all.” he says with a shrug.

         “Oh no that’s alright. I understand it, it’ll take a little adjusting for everyone I think.” Jack says knowingly and Henry nods his head agreeing with Jack. “Uh well we’re both a little tired from driving for the past few days. I really appreciate the welcome but I wanna get this little one settled in her room for the night before it does get too dark.” Jack explains as he sets a hand softly on Esme’s shoulder.

         “Oh yeah of course! Sorry for keeping you from it. If you guys get hungry there’s a mom and pop pizza place not far from here I can get you the menu I’ve got in a minute while you bring boxes in.” Henry says helpfully and Jack nods his head.

         “Yeah that’d be great actually. It’ll be nice not to have to worry about cooking tonight.” Jack says easily. He hears a twinkling sound not from where he’s standing and turns to see a woman walking down the block with a leashed tan and white corgi in front of her. He watches as the woman smiles brightly at two elderly woman who are standing on the sidewalk in front of their homes catching up. She continues walking past them after greeting them and asking a quick question. Her happy laughter fills the air and Jack can’t keep his eyes off her as the pleasant sound fills his ears.

         “Daddy! Look that lady has a cute puppy!” Esme gasps softly as she stands next to him and he smiles down at her. 

         “Yes she does. Maybe later this week we’ll meet her and we can ask to pet her dog.” Jack says softly.

         “Oh that’s Bunny. She’ll talk your ear off about her dog if you let her.” Henry says around a laugh.

         “Really?” Esme gasps softly with excited eyes. Jack looks over at Henry at his words before turning back to the woman walking away. So that was Bunny.

         “Yeah the guard Jeremy mentioned someone by that name.” Jack says as he tries to get one last look at the woman. He watches as she turns her head over towards his direction and when their eyes lock she grins and lifts a hand to wave at him. He smiles back and lifts his hand to wave as well in greeting. She then disappears into a house not far from his own.

         “Of course he did. Bunny’s well known in the whole community. She takes pride in the community. You’ll see when you meet her at the monthly meeting.” Henry said. “Well anyway let go get you that menu so you can order dinner for the two of you.” 

         “Yeah, yeah. Thanks again I really appreciate it.” Jack says easily as he begins to lead Esme to the back of the truck so that he can begin pulling the suitcases and packed boxes. “Alright Es let’s get some of this stuff brought in before it gets dark, okay?” Jack says warmly to Es as he opens the trunk and pulls out her tiny luggage with the sparkly princess on it for her. He pulls out his own two large suitcases and begins to lead the way to the front door of the house. 

         Opening the door Jack holds it open for Es and watches as she walks in looking around. “Now I know it doesn’t look like much yet but that’s just because we don’t have the furniture yet or the rest of our stuff. That’s all coming tomorrow.” Jack explains to her and she nods her head at him.

         “Okay Daddy. Will I be able to have a pirate princess bedroom?” she asks softly as he turns on the lights and they both walk through the front of the house towards the bedrooms in the back. Leading her towards the bedroom he had picked out for her he grins happily at her question.

         “We can do anything you want to your bedroom. It’s your bedroom kiddo.” he says easily nodding his head. Opening the door for her bedroom the two of them walk in and look around after he turns on the light. “Alright so do me a favor and start hanging up your clothes while I go out and get the air mattresses ok?” he instructs her and she nods dragging her luggage over to her closet.

         “Ok Daddy.” she says softly and opens up her luggage eagerly.

           It’s at least an hour or two later and night time had settled over the neighborhood. Jack had managed to get both his air mattress and Es’ air mattress set up, had brought in the packed boxes from the trunk and had hung up his clothes and checked Esme’s progress on her closet.

         Now the two of them were sitting in the living room on the floor with a pizza box opened to the side of them and his laptop opened in front of the two of them. The Pirates of the Carribean movie was just finishing up and the credits were beginning to roll when Jack looked down as saw Esme curled up against his side with her head resting on his chest as she slept peacefully next to him.

         Smiling widely and warmly at her he pressed a kiss to her forehead before shifting her onto his lap and cradling her in his arms. He idly wondered how much longer he would get with her cuddling into him. Shaking his head softly he stood easily from the floor and carried her to her bedroom. He laid her on her air mattress and dressed her in her pajamas, which was a pain in the ass because his little girl was just like him when she slept and just splayed out all her limbs when she became dead to the world in slumber.

He covered her with her deep ocean themed duvet and walked back to her bedroom door. When he reached it he looked back and saw that she had turned in her sleep and was now completely laid out on the mattress. He snickered softly at the sight and then closed the door so that it was left slightly ajar. Tiredly walking back to the living room he silently shut down the laptop and stowed it away in his briefcase before cleaning up the rest of dinner and placing the pizza in the fridge and the box went into the trash.

Walking to his own bedroom Jack could feel the exhaustion finally taking over his body. He tiredly dressed in his pajamas and slumped face first onto the mattress and easily passed out. For once in a very long time he didn’t dream at all.

[chilling-seavey]

Heartbreak Hotel (d.s.) - Chapter Ten

A/N Winter break means more time to write. Let’s see how many days in a row I can post a chapter 🥰

Daniel was elbows deep in the living room sofa when Christian came downstairs the following morning, a small pile of loose change already on the coffee table.

“Good morning, little brother.” Christian said, startling Daniel as he swung around like a deer in headlights.

“Hey.” Daniel replied, pulling out a shiny quarter from the couch cushions before diving his arm back in.

“What are you doing?”

“I need quarters.” Daniel answered, smushing his face against the couch to reach in farther, fishing around for a few more coins.

“What for?” Christian asked.

“Something.” Daniel snapped. He sighed, finally getting to his feet and he pushed the cushion back into place. “I’m gong to eat breakfast at the diner if Mum asks. I’ll see you later.” Daniel said, scooping up his pile of coins from the coffee table and headed down the hallway.

Christian narrowed his eyes in the direction of his little brother as he shut the front door behind him.

Daniel nearly floored it to Sherry’s, the wheels of the Thunderbird leaving skid marks on the street as he pulled quickly into the parking spot and jumped right out. It was barely 7:30am and he knocked impatiently on the locked restaurant door.

Jack came rushing over to let him in and then locked the door behind him again, “You owe us one. We had the closing shift and we voluntarily took the opening shift for this.”

“I know, I know. I literally owe you both my life.” Daniel said, dumping his pile of change on the front counter of the silent and empty diner.

“What’s the code to the register, Jack?” Zach asked with a tired sigh.

“0204.” Jack answered, joining him behind the counter as the register drawer opened with a loud ‘ding’.

Zach pulled out all of the quarters in the slot and Jack traded it for a few dollar bills to make up for what they were taking.

“Aren’t you gonna get in trouble for that?” Daniel asked.

“No. Still the same amount.” Jack smirked, finishing putting the bills away and then closed the drawer. Zach tossed the dozens of quarters onto the counter with Daniel’s pile and they divided the collection into three equal sections.

“We start calling at 7:45. Give it two rings and if they don’t answer then just hang up and call again until one of us gets through.” Jack instructed, checking his watch. “We have a few minutes to spare so listen up. We all have younger sisters who are all insane about this guy so we’ve gotta know some facts, right?”

“Too many facts.” Daniel nodded. “Anna’s gonna murder me if she knows I have tickets and didn’t take her.”

“Reese is kinda young, but I know the songs.” Zach said.

“We should be alright.” Jack rubbed his hands together. “My sister Ava said they’ve been asking three questions and you need to get them all correct to win the tickets; trying to see who is his ‘biggest fan’ or whatever.”

“And this is the last contest.” Daniel confirmed.

“Yep.” Jack nodded, “This is your only shot.”

“But no pressure.” Zach added.

Daniel only scoffed.

“Come on. Let’s get set up.” Jack jumped over the counter and grabbed one of the small tables from the middle of the restaurant and carried it to the back where the line of four payphones were set up against the wall. Daniel brought over the handfuls of quarters to set on the table and Zach turned on the kitchen radio so they knew when the contest was to start. The song that was playing filled the diner although it didn’t make their nervous energy any calmer, even with Daniel singing softly under his breath.

“That was Good Golly Miss Molly by Little Richard. Only good rhythm here on 96.3 to start off your morning. It’s quarter to eight and time for our final contest for your chance to win a pair of tickets to Elvis Presley’s private show in August at the Paramount Sound Stage-“

Zach shut off the radio and jumped off the counter, “Go, go, go!”

The three of them each got themselves in front of a phone and slid in the first of many quarters. They stuck to their routine, staggering their calls so one of them was always on the call while the others hung up after two rings and pushed in another quarter.

“Come on, come on.” Daniel mumbled, jamming another quarter into the pay phone and dialed the radio station like it was a number he had memorized his whole life.

“Yes!” Zach shouted almost too loudly into his receiver and looked over at his two friends. “I’m through!”

He shoved the phone at Daniel who had no choice but to grab it from him, “Hello?”

“You’re on the air with 96.3, what’s your name?”

“Daniel.”

“Well, Daniel, do you think you have what it takes to win these once-in-a-lifetime tickets?”

“Y-yeah.” Daniel said as excitedly as he could.

Jack and Zach gathered around him and they pressed their ears around the receiver to try and hear what the radio announcer was saying.

“We’ll get right to your questions then. Where was Elvis born?”

“Where was- oh! Mississippi.” Daniel answered like it was second nature.

Anna always wanted to travel to Mississippi for family vacations for the sole purpose of it being the state where her idol was born.

“That’s correct! Next question: Elvis recently bought a mansion in Tennessee. What is the name of this property?”

“Uh…” Daniel’s eyes scrunched closed in thought. “G-Graceland.”

Anna’s middle name as the name of Elvis’ property had his sister screaming about it for weeks. He’d be dumb to forget that.

“That’s correct! Last question for you, Daniel. It’s all riding on this one. What was the song that Elvis sang that is inspired about a local suicide?”

Daniel couldn’t bite back his smile as he glanced over at his two best friends who were staring at him with hopeful wide eyes. His sister went on about how Elvis had such a kind heart to sing about such things and she played that record loudly after receiving it for Christmas.

“Heartbreak Hotel.” Daniel answered coolly.

“Well, my golly, you got them all! Congratulations, Daniel! You’re going to see Elvis live at Paramount Studio Stage in August!”

[troop-scoop]

Mistakes & Regrets IX

Summary: When a trip to your Dad’s hometown of Hawkins goes wrong, you end up in the year 1983, and have to learn how to cope with being stuck in the past.

Pairing: Steve Harrington / Future!Reader (like, a really slow burn)

Warnings: Swearing, (Italics are memories when they’re in bulk, but if it’s one line it’s a thought!)

A/n: Yes I know, a bit of a confusing chapter, I will clear it up as the story goes on. 

•••

“Okay, so, in this example,” Mike pointed to the paper he’d drawn on in red pen, of a line, like a tightrope, with a stick figure and a crapily drawn bug. “We’re the acrobat, Will, Barbara, that monster and you are this flea.” the dark haired child told you, pointing to the paper. “And this is the Upside Down, where you hid, and where Will is hiding. Mr Clark said the only way to get there is through a rip through time and space, that’s how you got there, even though you’re from the future.”

You nodded without much though, brows furrowed. You didn’t expect such a detailed lecture from a twelve year old, yet, here you were.

“Caused by a gate.” Dustin added. 

“That we tracked to Hawkins lab.”

“With our compasses.”

You nodded again. “That would make sense. . . It would probably have a stronger electromagnetic field than the north pole, so the needle would point you to the gate.” You weren’t good in science class, but you did still know things. 

“Exactly!” Dustin explained. “See, guys!” He told his friends, gesturing to you. “Even the time traveling weirdo knew!” 

“This gate underground?” Hopper asked. 

The girl, who’s name you learned was Eleven, looked to Hopper with a blank expression. “Yes.” 

“Near a large water tank?” He asked again.

Her answer was the same. “How did you know all that?” Dustin questioned.

“He’s seen it.”

You looked to your grandmother who’s grip on your hands tightened as she began to speak to Eleven. “Is there any way that you could. . . that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this-”

“The Upside Down.” Eleven corrected. 

You knew that Joyce was holding onto you so tightly because you were her granddaughter, and just a kid, but you also resembled her son in many ways. 

“Down. Yeah.” Joyce whispered. 

“She did it with me. . . When I was there. I saw her.” You told them. “She saw me too.”

“I didn’t do that.”

•••

What were you supposed to be thinking about while emptying a bag full of salt into the large kiddie pool with Hopper and Jonathan? That this was normal? That any of it had you feeling like you were perfectly sane. You felt like you were losing your mind. 

Maybe you were. Maybe you were really in 1983, but you’d imagined what that boy had said to you. That you imagined that entire scenario of buying a kid water balloons. Maybe you never did see Eleven in the Upside Down, as the middle schoolers liked to call it. But she remembered you too. 

Maybe you weren’t crazy. Maybe you were just. . . having a fever dream. That had to be it, right?

No, this was real, you were just trying to deny it, find any semblance of hope that you weren’t really there, filling up a kiddie pool with salt that Hawkins used for the roads. 

There was no explanation for how you could have possibly seen that boy in August, even though you didn’t show up in 1983 until September 5th. There was no explanation as to how you could have seen Eleven in that place, when she wasn’t the one who made it happen. 

But now you could clearly remember quite a few moments where things didn’t seem to add up in Hawkins. Like how you’d been walking with your dads and your brother, and stopped at the crosswalk with two girls who didn’t seem to know what personal space was, talking about Madonna as if she was new. Their clothing way out of date, with a pair of Levi’s, and , but you were never one to judge. 

But maybe they were talking about Madonna as if she was new, because she was to them. There were so many ‘maybes’ that you could dwell on, theorize over, analyze like you were good at, but that was exhausting. You’d barely eaten that day, just two donuts and a coffee and that was earlier in the day, it was late now, you were tired, and wanted to sit in the shower. 

The realizations just kept coming to you, though. Memories of being in Hawkins and seeing people who were out of place, or like the time you’d gone to a cafe with your family in what your dad used to be the arcade he always went to as a kid, and you’d blinked once after getting your smoothie, and the entire cafe was replaced with arcade games and children happily playing them before you blinked again and you were back in the cafe. 

The same happened when you’d been walking around Hawkins the afternoon before the incident in the restaurant that made you run off, and end up in that place. You’d been minding your own business when it happened, once again, you blinked, and everything was slightly different, hazy, yet clear. It looked like 1980’s Hawkins instead of the one you’d been in. 

Pulling the empty bag away from the kiddie pool, you tossed it onto the floor and looked at Joyce who nodded a bit, holding the goggles you’d found in a science lab that Joyce covered in duct tape to make it dark for Eleven. 

You then looked to Dustin who lowered an egg into the kiddie pool, and to your relief, it floated. “Okay, Kid, let’s get you in.” Eleven nodded a bit, taking the watch off of her wrist and handing it to Mike who put it on his wrist. Joyce handed her the goggles. Grabbing onto Eleven’s hand, you helped her into the pool while everyone surrounded the pool, watching as she lowered herself down to float in the salt water. 

Joyce took your hand, holding it in her own. Her spare steadying Eleven in the water while your spare reached out for the girl’s hand, which she grabbed onto and held tightly in her’s. 

“Barbara?” Eleven questioned. Your eyes looked to Nancy whose gaze was focused on the twelve year old female. 

“Is Barb okay? Is she okay?” 

You gave Eleven’s hand a gentle squeeze, the kind your Pa taught you how to do. She squeezed your hand back but didn’t relinquish her grasp, which told you something was wrong. 

“Gone. Gone! Gone!” Joyce released your hand and grabbed onto her shoulders while Hopper grabbed the girl’s other hand.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.” Joyce kept repeating while Eleven calmed down. But Nancy wasn’t calm, instead holding back tears of her own while Jonathan held her. 

“Castle Byers. Will?”

Your ears perked up, and so did Joyce’s. “Tell him. Tell him I’m coming, Mom is coming.”

From the walkie that you’d brought and placed on the medal cart holding the bags of salt you could hear his voice “Hurry”

•••

“Hey, Pa, Look at this!” Daniel said excitedly, holding out his phone for Pa to see the new high score on Tetris. 

“Kid, I can't, I’m driving.” Pa reminded, gesturing to the empty road. You were close to Dad’s hometown now. Hawkins, Indiana a small town in northern Indiana, but not anywhere close to Lake Michigan. 

“Yeah, Danny, Pa’s driving.” You told him matteraffactly with a smile. You were the older sibling, it was your job to antagonize your little brother. 

“Shut up!”

“Daniel!” Dad scolded, turning to face the two of you from the passenger seat of the Chevy. His usually soft and kind eyes, clearly annoyed with how the two of you had been treating each other the entire trip. “Stop telling your sister to shut up all the time. It’s rude, and annoying.”

You chuckled a bit and the tip of Dad’s pointer finger was facing you, causing you to just smile brightly at him, thoroughly amused. 

“Will, c’mon, you know her ‘fear sensor’ is broken. Remember when Danny threatened her with a fork?” 

You chuckled again and Dad just sighed at the memory, turning back to face the windshield. You’d all gotten back getting fast food, Daniel ordered boneless wings, and it came with a plastic fork. You’d said something to annoy him, and flat out, in front of your fathers, Danny threatened to stab you with it. To which you responded ‘Do it, Punk.’ You weren’t scared of your brother. 

The car grew quiet except for the music playing on the radio, which quickly turned to mostly static, which drew everyone’s attention. “Can I connect my phone?” You asked, holding up the device. 

“Uh. . . yeah, yeah sure.” Dad told you.

“What? Why can’t I ever connect mine?” Daniel demanded. Offended that on the way to Indiana only you and your parents had played things from your phones. 

“Because we actually have good music!” You shot back. 

“What? Mine’s way better!” 

“Dubstep isn’t music, asshole!” 

“Hey!” Pa and Dad both shouted at the same time, Dad holding the cord out to you to connect your phone, and the moment you reached for it, the static shifted a bit. 

“August fifth 1985-”

Your dad reached to the volume knob, turning it to the right to turn it up, amplifying the static female voice over the airwaves. 

“September- Castle by-”

“Dad?”

“Sh!” Dad told Daniel. Your brother’s hand found your own on the center seat while the two of you watched your Dad staring at the radio intently while Pa stole frequent glances to his husband while still trying to keep an eye on the road. 

“I’m sorry- Mist-”

“Will? Babe, what’s wrong?” Pa asked. He was freaking all of you out a bit with how intently he was listening to the familiar voice. 

“Sh!” He repeated, stunning you all into permanent silence. 

“No word for- Explainat- Ste-”

The radio went back to normal, and you saw the unreadable expression on your dad’s face and he leaned back into his seat, eyes still on the radio as Ed Sheeran’s name came across the screen, as well as the name of the song. 

“Dad? What was that?”

He stayed silent.

“You know, Sweetheart, sometimes when we’re in a lower area than before, the signal doesn’t reach us as well. . . It kinda changes between two stations.” Pa tried to reason, his hand holding Dad’s as he continued driving. 

“Yeah. . . Right.” You agreed, though you weren’t convinced, something about it wasn’t right. 

•••

“Name please? Your full name.” 

Looking up from the iron tabletop you met eyes with the man who had a few papers sprawled around on his side of the table, a fountain pen at the ready to write. 

You hesitate for a moment. “Y/n Byers L/n.” 

Everything was too much, trying to process how Joyce and Hopper left you, Nancy and Jonathan with the kids, and then Nancy and Jonathan left which resulted in all of this. The trauma of holding Mike in your arms as tight as your could on the ground as if he was your own brother while Eleven and that. . . thing both died. 

You remembered his tears and how he clutched onto your shirt in that seventh grade science class classroom, his heat against your chest while you tried to soothe him. You remembered how Dustin and Lucas came to you for comfort as well. 

“Year of birth?”

“2004.” You relayed blankly. The sounds of Mike’s muffled sobbing echoing around in her head while you sat in front of the government official. 

“Home residence?”

“425 Culpepper Lane, Weehawken, New Jersey.” The voice that you’d heard while running with Eleven in your arms also still echoing. 

‘Today is just another day of trying to get by without her.’

It was your brother’s voice. But not as high pitched, or squeaky. 

He asked your age. “Fifteen.” Was your response, looking down at your hands, where Eleven’s dried blood was smeared over your palm when you wiped it away from her nose. It was caked into your skin. 

“Alright Miss Byers, correct me on anything I might have wrong. Y/n Byers L/n born 2004 aged fifteen, raised at the address of 425 Culpepper Lane in Weehawken, New Jersey?” You nodded a bit and looked back up at him, 

“Biological daughter of William Byers?” He asked. once again, you nodded.

“Alright, Miss Byers, we need to go over a few more things.” He told you, taking out a large file and placing it on the table in front of you. 

“LIke?”

“How your new life will look. Unfortunately, we can’t get you back home to your time, we’ll help you build a new life here. We’ll give you a birth certificate, emancipation papers, and we’ll give you a monthly stipend for however much minimum wage is where you’re from.” He told you, taking out a calculator from the folder, ready to calculate how much you’d be getting from them. “How much is it per hour?”

“Like, ten dollars.” You shrugged a bit. Now not only trying to process the sobbing and tears that had stained your shirt and the girl who had disappeared before your eyes, probably dead, but now you had to process that the government was going to try and buy your silence. 

“Ten dollars?” He questioned, looking up at you from the calculator. “That’s outrageous!”

You tilted your head a bit, brows furrowed and jaw clenched. “Yeah, out of everything about my life so far, the most outrageous thing is the minimum wage in New Jersey as of late 2019. Inflation’s a bit of a bitch, isn’t it?” 

The man’s pale skin went flush, as if he just remembered who he was talking to. That you weren’t just an adult he was negotiating with, but that you were a fifteen year old girl who wouldn’t see the world like you knew it for another 36 years, where, biological, you’d be a fifty-one year old woman who lived her entire life in the past, instead of the fifteen year old girl who had her entire future in front of her. 

“I apologize. . .” He spoke, typing into the device and then taking out a check book and uncapping his fountain pen, writing down on the small rectangular paper. Ripping it off, he handed it to you. 

You just stared at the check for a moment before reluctantly taking it from him. Holding

it between your thumb and index finger, staring down at the beige paper without much thought, your vision not focused on anything in particular on the sheet. 

“We’ll have you moved into an apartment by the end of next week, and pay for rent for the first few months. We’ll give you a budget for furniture,-”

You began to zone him out, going back to a few hours prior. How when Eleven threw Mike back he landed against the cabinets. You were by his side in an instant, holding him while everyone watched in shock as Eleven sacrificed herself. 

Even twenty minutes after it was all over, you still held him on the linoleum floor listening to his crying while he held onto you for dear life. To him, you were a stranger, yet he trusted you enough to cry in your arms. A twelve year old version of your Uncle Mike, who you knew well. But you barely knew this boy. He was just a kid. He wasn’t the man guy you knew as your Uncle Mike yet. He was just a scared and sad kid. 

“Miss. Byers.”

You looked up snapped out of your train of thought, meeting the ice blue eyes that the men held. “You’ll be going by Y/n L/n, only. Byers is no longer your name. And you have to stay quiet about all this. We’ll talking to Mr. Sinclair, Henderson, and Wheeler, as well as Mrs. Byers and her son. We’ll speak with the chief as well as Miss Wheeler. No one can know you’re from the future. Or anything that’s happened due to Hawkins lab. We need you to sign this NDA. You can never speak about this again. Is that understood?” His question was assertive as he put the fountain pen in your hand. 

“Okay.” It was a whisper, but he understood it while you signed the papers, handing them back to him. 

“You and the Byers boy will come to the lab periodically to get checked up, mentally and physically-”

“Excuse me?” You questioned, tilting your head a bit. 

He cleared his throat, “You and William were in that place for extended periods of time. And we’re concerned about your health. The atmosphere there was toxic. We’re afraid that it could affect your long term health. Especially yours. How long were you there exactly.”

“A while.” You started recounting the amount of times the hands on your watch went by. “A month? Maybe?” 

His face shifted as he stared at you, before writing something down on his paper. You could remember how many times you’d counted after the Demogorgon busted its way out of the wall in the middle school. You could remember plenty about it now. How you’d take a few sips of water from your water bottle to make sure you were at least a bit hydrated, but you were conserving it. 

You’d always retained a bit of your baby fat from being an infant, but you’d crawled out of that place without any of it, and your baby face was practically gone. Cheeks a bit sunken in, barely noticeable, but you’d noticed it. You’d also noticed how you could see the bump where your ribcage ended without having to stretch up. You didn’t look like you. You didn’t look like the little girl who ran around the house while either your pa or dad chased after you. You didn’t look like the kid who you’d seen in the mirror the morning you called yourself an expensive disappointment. Now you supposed you were an expensive missing disappointment. 

“Alright Miss L/n. Send in Henderson when you leave.” He gestured to the door. It didn’t seem right, everything about it was slightly off as you stood from the chair, grabbing your bag and leaving the room into the brightly lit hospital hallway. 

“Dustin.” You called to the waiting room, seeing the curly haired boy look up at you in curiosity before seeing you gesture to the door with your head. He got up and went in.

•••

You were sitting on the floor, your back against the wall and your walkman playing Queen at full volume. You needed it. It was the only thing keeping you sane while the boys were with Jonathan, Joyce and Will. 

You’d sat with the boys before they were able to go back. Being the emotional support that the three needed. Even if their parents were there, they’d never understand what the boys went through. You did, and you’d be there for them as best as you could. 

But the moment they left, and Nancy and her mother had gone to get something to eat, you’d gotten up and went over to the vending machine, which refused to work. So you’d opted for the ridiculous look of having your walkman clipped to the collar of your hoodie, hair a mess and dark bags under your eyes, a scowl on your face. 

Eyes closed you just listened to Freddie Mercury’s voice, your foot tapping to the guitar rift. And even though you were completely absorbed into your music, you weren’t oblivious the feeling of someone standing next to you before sitting down. 

Opening your eyes you turned your head to see Steve sitting next to you. His face bruised and a few cuts from how harshly Jonathan had punched him. But you were pretty sure the small one by the crease of his nostril was from you. 

You pulled the headset off of you ears and stared at him while he said nothing, the music now being heard by both of you. 

“I’m a giant prick, huh?” It made you smile a bit, tilting your head in confusion as he turned his head to look at you, eyes soft. “I mean- I fucked up. I over reacted over Jonathan and Nancy, I’m. . . I’m sorry that I was mean to you.” 

You shrugged a bit, keeping quiet which left him confused. You always had something to say to him, always was quick to playfully insult him, or give a come back, you usually said something witty to keep up the banter and conversations. 

“Y/n, you gotta give me something to work with, I don’t know how to talk to you right now. You look like you want to equally cry and punch me again.” 

“I don’t wanna punch you.” You finally said, turning your head back to where the wall and ceiling met in front of you. “Just a bad day overall. I mean, i go to very early this morning, like two am, and then Jonathan had the fucking audacity to wake me up at seven. And then you and your shit-stirrer friends pissed me off, I bruised my hand.” He said, lifting up the fist you’d used to punch him, maybe a bit too hard. “Got arrested, only ate two donuts in the morning, then I. . . deal with a lot of mind-fucking bullshit, then I filled a kiddie pool with salt. Fucking salt. It wasn’t even really a kiddie, it was giant. And then! Oh and then, I ate a fucking can of choclate pudding! I hate pudding! I was just hungry! And then I held a twelve year old in my arms in a empty science class while he cried.” 

Steve stared at you, seeing the stress that had been put on your shoulders throughout the entire day. He didn’t know what to say. What was there to be said? You were trying to cope with something, and he couldn’t see what it was. 

“Yeah, that. . . sucks.” Was all he could say but it got a frustrated and annoyed groan out of you. 

“Yikes! Just say yikes! Or if it’s really bad ‘big yikes!’” You’d said it so many times back to back that it didn’t sound like a real word to you.

But Steve found it interesting while he stared at you, examining the way the hoodie fell around your silhouette, and the ridiculous way you had your walkman clipped right under your neck. The pink medal being a very stark contrast to what you were wearing

“Yikes.” He repeated with a smile. 

A brief grin came across your face as he said it. 

“So, we’re still friends?” He asked, sitting up straight and turning his whole body to face you, his legs crossed like a kindergartener on the class carpet, in his own colored square. 

“We were friends before?” You asked teasingly, doing the same to face him, and like you were as a kindergartener, sticking a leg out. Which always got you into trouble. 

“Shut up.” 

“Y/n!” 

Turning your head you saw Jonathan coming down the hall, A piece of stained paper in hand as he came over. You didn’t miss the way that both Steve and Jonathan glanced at each other, though. 

“Jona-”

“Here. I think you’ll want to see this.” He told you, holding out the folded piece of paper out to you, which you hesitantly took as Steve picked up on the cue to leave 

“I’ll uh, I’ll talk to you later?” You nodded as a response, watching as Steve stood up and went back to the opened waiting area while Jonathan squatted down next to you as you unfolded the paper only to be met with a photo of your own face. The word ‘missing’ right above it in all capital letters, your name, age, and facial description on it, as well as what you’d been wearing when you’d ran off that night. The date of your birth, and the date of that night. 

“Mom said she found it in there.” Jonathan informed you while you kept examining the photo of yourself. Your hair pushed behind your ears, a smile on your face in a pale blue sweater around Christmas time. 

“No. . .”

•••

Add yourself to the taglist!

@disneyprincessbuffyannesummers​ @jxnehxpper​ @yllwtaxi​ @songofcosplay​ @potatopooper05​​ @cheesecakeisapie​​ @robinsdolan​​ @yall-wildin-like-siriusly​

[lauras-collection]

More Than I Know [Part 10]

Tom Holland x female reader

Masterlist

Summary: After what happened with Tom you hide away in your flat until Kate takes matters into her hands.

Words: 3k

Warnings:   angst, fluff, maybe swearing?, nothing else I think (let me know if there is anything in there that I should add)

A/N: The final part is here. How crazy is that? Thank you all so much for reading! I will also be writing an epilogue. That should be up sometime next week :) 

I hope you enjoy!

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6  | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 

The next day you woke up around 10am with dried tears on your face. You reached for your phone and saw that you had several missed calls from Tom, as well as a bunch of messages. You couldn’t bring yourself to read them. You unlocked the phone to make the notifications go away but you were greeted by your home screen. It was one of the pictures you had taken with Tom and Tessa the day you had dinner with your parents. His lips were on your cheek as you leaned into him with one arm around Tessa as she looked into the camera. You quickly locked your phone again, throwing it to the other end of the bed. This was so stupid. How could you grieve about something that was never really a thing? 

The repetitive vibration of your phone made you pick it up again. Tom was calling. You couldn’t talk to him. You were sure he was only going to make excuses. You had been at this point before. You were not going to give a guy that power over you anymore. You had learned from your mistakes. So after you let the call go to voicemail you blocked Tom’s number, his instagram, everything you could. 

***

You knew you had to get groceries at some point. You had spent the whole weekend in bed. On Monday you finally took a shower and got dressed. Life around you didn’t stop. You had obligations. After work, you dragged yourself to Tesco closest to your flat to quickly get the things you needed so you could get back home. You purposefully avoided the aisle with all the magazines. While you would’ve had a look at them a week ago, just to see what the yellow press was saying, you tried to keep anything that reminded you of Tom as far away from you as possible now. But that was easier said than done. There weren’t a lot of things that didn’t remind you of him. If something didn’t make Tom’s face appear in your mind immediately, it made you think of something else that would.

What made things even worse was that you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing his face. Well, it wasn’t always his face but the red and blue Spider-Man suit was equally as torturous. Every store seemed to be selling Spider-Man: Homecoming and you couldn’t even do your weekly groceries without coming across the DVD or any type of merchandise at least five times.

***

You kind of locked yourself away in your flat, only leaving it when it was absolutely necessary. After you had declined your sister’s invitation for dinner at her and Daniel’s place for the third time she knew that something was off. She knew that you were hiding away and she was worried. So one Thursday evening she showed up at your door unannounced. 

“Kate, what are you doing here?” You questioned her as she squeezed past you into your flat. 

“Something is obviously wrong, and I’m here to let you talk about it.” You walked into the living room to snuggle back up into your blanket. Kate followed you and eyed you with a worried look on her face. “Don’t bottle up all your feelings. It’s just going to hurt even more. So are you going to tell me what’s going on?” 

You tried. You really tried to keep your tears at bay but they just spilt out of your eyes.

“Oh, babes. C’mere.” She sat down next to you and pulled you into her embrace rubbing your back comfortingly. She could only assume that your current state had something to do with Tom. She was sure that had it been anything else he would be here. But she didn’t want to bring him up herself in case that would make you shut down again. So she just sat there comforting you. Waiting for you to calm down and tell her what happened. 

When your tears finally subsided, you lifted your head to look at her. 

“Tom and I kinda...Well, we broke up.” You knew you’d have to tell her eventually. You’d known from the start. But when you made the deal with Tom you didn’t expect to be in tears when you did so. You had envisioned telling your family in a calm and collected manner that it just didn’t work out between the two of you. Joke’s on you. 

“What? Why? What happened.” You could see that she was starting to get sullen, the protective sister coming to the surface. “What did he do.”

“More like, what didn’t he do.” You muttered and Kate just raised her eyebrows. 

“You need to help me out here. From what I’ve seen the guy was absolutely crazy about you. So how did he mess up that made you guys break up?”

“He’s not crazy about me and he doesn’t love me, he never did.” You protested. Could she stop making you think that he was actually into you?

“Of course he does. It was so obvious!” She softly said as she moved a strand of your hair behind your ear looking at you, trying to figure out what you were talking about.

“No, it was all an act, he’s an actor, Kate. It’s what he does.“

“You know what I think? I think that’s what you’re telling yourself to have an excuse to hate him.”

“No Kate. You don’t understand!” You were pressing the words out between your teeth, another wave of tears coming. You were so frustrated. You balled your hands into fists trying to fight away the tears. 

“Explain it to me then. Y/N, you’re scaring me.” You had to tell her, there was no way out now.

“It was all fake, okay?” It finally burst out of you. “The whole relationship. Just a huge setup. We were never together. It was all just pretend and I was stupid enough to catch feelings for him.” 

Kate was rendered speechless. Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out. 

“Wow.” She let out after a moment. “I did not expect that.” She wanted to know more but tried to focus on the problem at hand. “And why are you so sure that he didn’t catch feelings for you, too? He may be an actor but there was genuine chemistry between you guys.” You were always amazed at the endless amount of optimism your sister seemed to have. After taking a deep breath you told her what had happened that night you visited him. When you were finished you saw that the gears in Kate’s head were turning, analysing the situation. 

“And you didn’t let him explain himself?” She questioned.

“What for? So he could coax me into some kind of mind game as Joe did?” You rolled your eyes. 

“Y/N, Tom is not Joe. And if he wanted to use you for sex, wouldn’t he have jumped at the opportunity?” Ok, she had a point. “I don’t know what the reasoning behind Tom’s behaviour is but I don’t think he’s the type of person that you make him out to be right now.” 

You shrugged your shoulders. Maybe she was right. But you knew that you wouldn’t reach out to him. There was still a chance that Kate wasn’t right. And the fear that he had already forgotten about you was at the forefront of your mind. 

***

In an attempt to cheer you up, Kate had ordered you to meet her at the coffee shop the next day. You weren’t really feeling like it, but you also didn’t want to argue with your sister. She just wanted the best for you and maybe it would be good for you to see something else for a change. 

You impatiently drummed your fingers on the table. Kate was already ten minutes late, which was very unlike her. If she didn’t show up in the next five minutes you were going back to your flat. You stared at the ground, not interested in anything that happened around you. That’s why you noticed Tessa first, a surge of happiness flowing through your body at seeing the pup. But then you realised that at the other end of her light blue leash was Tom. He was already looking at you when your eyes travelled up his body and found his. You were about to grab your bag and rush the hell out of there but Tessa lay down on your feet as if to say ’Don’t run away!’

“Stay. Please.” Tom told you softly. “Hear me out.” You had never heard Tom’s voice with such determination. As you took a closer look at him you realised how tired he looked. The bags under his eyes were even worse than they had been after he had to take care of you the whole night and his hair was all over the place. That, combined with the sincere look on his face made you give in.

“Okay.” You nod slowly. “But not here.” You shot your sister a quick text to tell her that you were going back home before making your way out of the coffee shop, Tom and Tessa following close behind you. When you reached your building you turned to Tom. 

“I’m not allowed to have any pets inside so you’ll have to sneak her in.” Tom nodded and picked the staffy up, poorly covering her with his jacket. Had the tension between the two of you not been so thick you would’ve laughed. 

Once inside your flat, Tom let Tessa down and removed the leash from her collar. You quickly tried to tidy the place up a bit. You had not been expecting visitors. Realising that it was a hopeless cause you plopped down on the couch, motioning for Tom to do the same. He sat down next to you, nervously playing with his fingers.

“Let me start off by saying I’m sorry.” He finally said, his eyes moving to look at you. “I’m sorry I handled things the way I did. It was never my intention to hurt you. To make you feel like you weren’t enough.” Tessa came trotting towards the two of you and lay down between your feet. Tom looked at her for a moment. “I was so happy when you showed up at my house at 2.30 in the morning. It had been such a hectic day and seeing you just...It made everything better.” He smiled wistfully. 

“But why did you want me to leave?” You asked and Tom quickly looked at you.

“I didn’t. I never said I wanted you to leave. You just up and ran away.” He pinched his eyebrows and you tried to recall the moment. You had been so full of emotions you weren’t sure what he had actually said and what you had interpreted into his words. 

“And why didn’t you want to...you know.” you shrugged your shoulders and looked at Tessa, too embarrassed to look at him when you remembered the sounds he had drawn from your lips with his touch, just for him to push you away the next moment. 

“Hey,” Tom said softly. “Look at me.” He took your hand in his and you tried to ignore the feeling of his skin on yours as you raised your eyes to his. “You were drunk, Y/N. I didn’t know if you were like this because you have the same feelings for me that I have for you, or if it was because you were drunk. What if you had woken up the next morning, either not remembering what happened or regretting it completely?” 

“What do you mean when you say you have feelings for me?” You mumbled. If you were honest you hadn’t really heard a lot of what he said after that. He looked at you with that wistful smile again and moved a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I always wanted what my parents have. Find true love. But with my job... it’s not always easy. You never know if someone genuinely likes you for you or because you’re an actor, or famous or got a lot of money. But you, you always see me as just Tom. And every time something funny happens you’re the first person I want to tell. You’re the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep at night. Sounds corny but it’s true.” He paused for a moment and then he’s looking at you with the softest expression. “Y/N, I-I’m in love with you.” 

You swear your heart stopped beating for a moment. You knew your eyes were probably watery again, but you paid them no mind. 

“You really mean that?” You question him and Tom wants to punch Joe in the face for making you so sceptical.

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.” The corner of his lips turns up into a lopsided smile. “I’m yours if you’ll have me.” The tears that had been building up finally escaped your eyes and you straddled his lap to wrap your arms around Tom, burying your face in his neck. You never thought you’d ever hear him say this. His arms moved around your waist and gently pulled you as close as possible. A few moments later you leaned back a bit so you could look at him. You wiped your tears away with the sleeves of your sweater before resting your hands on the sides of Tom’s face, just taking him in. You hadn’t seen him in so long and you hadn’t allowed yourself to really look at him so far. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Tom questioned after a few moments of you just looking at him, trying to memorise every detail of his face.

“You.” You smile a little. “I didn’t know what I’d get myself into sitting down at a stranger’s table in my favourite coffee shop.” Your thumbs gently caressed Tom’s cheekbones and he closed his eyes for a moment enjoying being this close to you. “I’ve never met someone as amazing as you. You’re just... Honestly, you’re more than I know. I’ve always felt like I’ve been second choice. I mean, for the longest time I was wasting my time on somebody who didn’t really care about me. Even though we weren’t actually together, you showed me what it could be like. What it should be like. And I guess at some point the lines got blurred. And I fell in love with you.” Tom’s eyes snapped open at that. You were looking at him with a gentle smile and even though he had confessed his love earlier you were nervous about his reaction. But you didn’t need to be. Tom moved one hand to the back of your neck and pulled you closer, your forehead now touching his.

“I love you.” He whispered and you felt that fluttery feeling in your chest, that you experienced a lot when Tom was around. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you saying that.” Your nose lightly brushed against his.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” Tom said and you both broke out into a grin, you closed the distance between you, finally pressing a kiss to his lips. Tom was quick to reciprocate, his open lips finding yours, finally tasting you again. Your hands slid into his soft hair as you pulled him even closer.     

“I missed this.” Tom mumbled against your lips when you broke apart to catch your breath.

“Yeah?” You placed another kiss to his lips running your hand through his hair. It was now even more dishevelled than it had already been.

“Mhm. Missed you. So much.” 

“I missed you, too.” You buried your face in his neck placing a peck on his skin. “I’m sorry I shut you out.” 

“Don’t be. I understand. You were only protecting yourself.” He ran his hand over your hair before cradling the back of your head. You just sat there for a while, enjoying each other’s company, until your phone rang. You reluctantly moved away from Tom but stayed in his lap as you picked the device up from the coffee table. It was Kate. You swiped your thumb over the screen and held your phone up to your ear. leaning your head back on Tom’s shoulder. Before you could say anything Kate’s voice carried through the speaker.

“And? How did it go?” You scrunched your eyebrows together in confusion before you realised what she meant.

“You set this up?” You questioned and looked up at Tom with a raised eyebrow. He just shrugged with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, I talked to him to see what his side of the story was and decided you guys need to hash things out. So?” You could practically see Kate bouncing in her seat, buzzing with curiosity.

“Yeah, we’re good.” You said and smiled at Tom. He placed a kiss on your forehead and ran his hand over your thigh, resting it on your hip.

“You’re good as in..?” 

“As in I’m gonna hang up now to spend more time with my boyfriend.” You replied and heard Kate squeal on the other end. 

“Okay, bye. Have fun!” She rushed out and the call disconnected. 

“Boyfriend, huh?” Tom smirked and you widened your eyes.

“Yeah, I just assumed ...I’m sorry if-“ he interrupted you with a kiss.

“I’d love to be your boyfriend. For real this time.” He smiled and so did you. 

“Good.” You kissed him again, a little more urging than before. “D’you want to stay the night?” 

“Mhm. Yeah.” Tom nodded, his nose bumping into yours before his lips found yours again.

“Let me show you what you’ve been missing out on.” You mumbled against his lips.

Something that almost sounded like a growl left Tom’s lips as he stood up from the couch. You squealed and wrapped your legs around his hips, his hands supporting your butt. He carried you to the bedroom with quick steps, his lips never leaving yours. 

Epilogue

Taglist

@jackiehollanderr // @alicethestral // @snowxbarryxendgame // @van-horn-dashner // @sltwins // @yeahimcrying // @ohhhotstan // @heathera101x // @xxnomercy // @bbyxk // @infamousmany // @zabdisamor // @starsholland // @kthemarsian // @jillanaholland // @lamesister // @madon566 // @prettylittlevampire1864 // @llamazarecoolaf // @ultrunning // @rachaeldonnaspiteri1 // @ilmondodiennie // @poorlittlesuperstar // @averyfosterthoughts // @crazyfreaker // @tbh--idk29 // @oh-mymendes // @stxfxniexreads // @fwess // @parkeroffline // @shootingstarsaretearsofheaven // @iwastornsincethestart // @claredolphinbear24 // @simnons

[batfamblog]

ah so i’m looking for ppl to read this thing i just spur of the moment started and finished last night... so if u like cute wlw fluff pls read this and lmk what u think!! 🥺💖

it’s called pool house blues :)

-💕-

The lights suddenly cut out, and Sabrina felt Nell’s breathing hitch.  She suddenly understood the reason why this dare was meant to be so scary.

“I don’t think it’ll be that bad, honestly.  We just need to wait it out,” Sab said nonchalantly.  The darkness meant she wasn’t able to see the other girl nod, but she could hear the little sounds of the beads in her hair hitting each other.  

Nell began to pace, her sneakers lighting up as they squelched against the wet floors of the pool showers.  Just an hour ago, the boys dared each of the girls to break into the local pool and spend a night in the pool house that accompanied it.  Not one to back down from a challenge, Sab took the offer- but Nell had already stood up to take the dare as well.  The feeling in her stomach was churning, and it just kept getting worse as that squeaking noise got louder and louder.

“Dude, please sit down- I don’t wanna have to hear your stupid Sketchers all night.”  Sab rolled her head back resting it against the cool tile on the wall.  She stared up at the ugly popcorn ceilings, trying to imagine ways this night wouldn’t suck.

Her head snapped back to Nell as she felt her come to sit next to her.  “I just, I pace when I’m nervous.”  Nell’s whispers were quiet- for a reason Sabrina couldn’t fathom.  

Sab just hummed in response, but she couldn’t help but focus on Nell’s breathing as it hit a pattern.  She tried to match the quiet tone from before when whispering back, “Why’re you doing that?  Some kinda meditation thing?”

The rhythmic breathing stopped.  Sab instantly felt bad, but Nell just scooted closer.  “It’s supposed to be one of those coping mechanisms.  Like- calming, I guess.”  Sabrina nodded, knowing Nell was close enough to probably see the small motion.

“I do that sometimes,” she admitted.  “Like holding a stuffed animal or whatever.”  The ending of the sentence trailed off.  Sab tried not to give up all her secrets to this girl, but something in her was trying to comfort Nell at any means.  That feeling in her stomach wouldn’t leave.

“My mom says that touch is one of my methods too,” Nell whispered.  “I don’t know why I even did this- I know I’m afraid of places like this.”  Sabrina wasn’t sure about whether to press if she meant pool houses or the dark in general, so she just nodded again.

Nell continued, ducking her head between her knees.  “It’s like I want to prove something- or maybe I just want those boys off my back.  I dunno.  You must think that’s pretty pathetic, huh?”

Sabrina felt one of those stupid lumps come up in her throat again.  “No- I get it- and you’ve never been pathetic to me.”  Regret washed over her face as she could feel the blood rushing to it.  She just had to stop this urge to be nice and calm down.  Thank goodness Nell couldn’t see her.

“Oh.  You don’t act like it then- in class and stuff,” Nell confessed.  Sabrina was confused, usually, Nell was the one that was standoffish to her.

“I thought you just didn’t like me very much,” she stammered.  That made a laugh escape from Nell, and Sab thought it was the prettiest sound in the world.  “What?” 

“I could’ve sworn you didn’t like me.  God that makes more sense,” she admitted, sniffling a bit.

“Hey wait, are you crying?”  The blunt question just slipped out before Sab could get a hold on it.

Nell sniffed again in response.  “Just a lot of emotion going through me,” she sighed, “I think the dark and my so-called rival saying she doesn’t hate me are getting my brain confused.”  Sab shelved the fear of the dark away but then focused on the other part.

“Rival?”  

Nell laughed again, a little sadly.  “I guess I was more invested in us than you were.”

Sabrina’s brain short-circuited trying to stop Nell from believing that.  “No-“ she started, “I was just gonna say that I thought we were kinda rivals too.  With all the spelling competitions or fighting over who will lead a project ... but I never wanted you to feel bad.  Just some lighthearted fun.”  She didn’t know what it was that was causing her to be so nice- it was strange.  But nice.  Especially after hearing Nell let out a little breath of relief.

“That does make me feel a little better.”  The words were positive but came out more like a sob, as tears started free-flowing.  Sabrina started to panic as she tried to stop the crying.

“No- Nell- it’s okay.  You don’t have to do this- you can go.”  She hesitated before trying to place her hand on the girl’s shoulder.  Placing it back in her own lap, she tried calming Nell with more calming whispers. 

“I just- I feel like I can’t go y’know?  Those boys are constantly on me- or us even.  Suddenly rejecting one of them meant that they were gonna keep annoying me until-“ she tried saying, before breaking into sobs again.

Sab knew what she was talking about.  Nell had rejected Danny L. at lunch about a month back, and it was the story of the year.  The other girls complained that Nell missed her chance, but Sabrina was glad someone else was willing to shoot down boys like she would.  Not that any would ever ask her after being branded as “one of the boys” since kindergarten, rolling around in the mud and playing as many sports as possible.

“You don’t have to listen to them,” Sabrina began, trying to believe it herself, “if I did I wouldn’t be able to leave the house.”  Nell chuckled a little, and Sab did too- it was a pity laugh, but Nell stopped crying for a minute.  

“I can’t escape their glances or words- I just thought maybe if I tried to play their game they would stop,” Nell said, sniffling all the way through.  Sab averted her own gaze, looking back down at her shoes.  

She knew she ran with those boys; they were closer to her than most other kids from their childhoods.  A feeling of shame rolled over her body.  “You don’t think... I’m one of them, do you?”  Her voice cracked as she asked.

“What?”  Nell sounded confused.

“I know I hang with them a lot, and I just- I don’t want you to think that I was helping them or being rude to you or-“

“Sabrina- you’re not at fault here.”  Sab started to breathe again.  “You’re the one here with me- not them.”  Those words settled around the room as both girls fell silent.  Nell’s little sniffs came up again as a sound came from outside the door.

Sabrina could hear the heavy breathing beginning again, and stood up.  “I can go check out whatever that was.”

As she turned to walk away, a hand grasped hers- holding her back.  Sabrina stilled.  Nell tugged a bit.

“Please just sit here with me,” she said, her voice small.  

Sabrina sat back down silently- but didn’t untangle their hands.  She tried to memorize the feeling of Nell’s fingers on hers, the softness of her palms compared to her own rough calluses.

She tried to calm her breathing, thinking that Nell just forgot to let go until she squeezed her hand.  Sabrina didn’t know what was happening with her body, as her stomach flipped again and mouth curled up in a smile.  She squeezed back tentatively, happy to see that Nell hadn’t let go.

A few minutes passed, with the sound outside the door going away soon enough.  Sabrina had only focused enough from this weird happy feeling to see that Nell had stopped crying.  That made her happy too.

“You know,” Nell started speaking out of the blue, “you’re the only one that‘s ever called me that.”  Sabrina let out a sound of confusion as Nell cleared her throat.  “Nell.”

“Oh.  That.”  Sab cursed herself for saying it out loud.  

“Yeah, that,” Nell repeated.

Sabrina stammered trying to find an explanation- knowing she had just been calling the girl that in her head since they met.  Little Danielle, the new student in her class in second grade.  She already knew two Danny’s, and another one was too many- so Nell would have to do.  Her mom had a friend who used the same nickname and it just stuck around whenever she thought about her, which felt like a lot more than normal as she thought about it in the moment.

Swimming in thoughts, she hadn’t realized a couple of beats had passed already.  “I think it’s cute,” Nell commented.  Sab’s heart was beating too fast to say anything back, so she just squeezed their clasped hands again.  “Maybe I’ll just have to come up with a name for you,” she laughed.  Sab didn’t know if it was a joke or not, but she had hope that Nell wasn’t kidding.

The silence settled again, but this time, Sabrina wasn’t as annoyed.  Maybe she did like Nell’s stupid shoes more than she thought.  Maybe less glitter would be better- but they looked good on Nell either way.

She heard Nell yawn, and Sab knew her normal bedtime had slipped past already.  She had left her house to go to a “sleepover” around 7 PM, riding around on her bike to feel that cool night air until she came across the boys on their way to crash an actual sleepover.  She first felt jealous she wasn’t there, but being here now was way better than any sleepover could’ve been.  

“Maybe next time we go into the pool?” Nell mumbled sleepily, leaning her head onto Sab’s shoulder.  Sabrina tried her best not to stiffen and let Nell slide onto the floor.  She also hoped she couldn’t hear her heart from that close.

“Yeah, Nell.  Next time we swim.”  Sabrina felt Nell fall into sleep, wondering if the crying tired her out.  Another fact to shelve away into what seemed like the overwhelming file of late-night Nell confessions.  She tried to imagine the swim, drifting off into a nap of her own, settling her head against Nell’s softly.