#maybe someone from dispatch? or some sort of first responder?

[seddair]

‘

[tagsecretsanta]

From @emtb319

From @emtb319 to @room-on-broom

Prompts:

-Stingray crossover

Universe: Thunderbirds 1965/Stingray 1964

Characters:  Gordon Tracy, Jeff Tracy, Sam Shore, Atlanta Shore, Marina, Troy Tempest, Phones Sheridan

Summary:  Marineville receives a surprise visitor to help them on a research mission.

Worth It

World Security Patrol had requested Stingray for this particular research mission.  It was a relatively simple one, but they needed well trained people that didn’t need much direction or babysitting.  Hence, the call to Commander Shore to borrow his Stingray crew.  

They had a new hydrofoil craft that served multiple purposes.  The first was its ability to glide over the water fast enough to rival some forms of air travel.  This would allow them to respond to water emergencies much faster.  The second was that it was also a research vessel.  When not needed for emergency dispatches, they could utilize the crew for deep sea exploration.  

Commander Shore looked over the mission notes with Troy. They needed to sort through crew and supply needs.  After all, they were expected to assist with the research, not just accompany for support.  They would have the hydrofoil crew too.  He just needed to fill in the gaps.    

“I only have room on Stingray for 1 more person.”  Troy said, “but I don’t think that we have any 1 person in Marineville that fits.  We may need to add a second vessel.”  He mulled over his list some more.  

“You need an aquanaut, historian, someone with both hydrofoil and deep trench experience.”  Commander Shore looked over Troy’s mission notes.  “They should probably be trained in rescue and a medic too.”

“Yes.  This is a unique mission with a unique craft.  My problem is space limitations on Stingray.  I need Phones and Marina with me.  Marina will be on hydrophone duty with him.  She needs practice for her exam anyway.”  Commander Shore rubbed his chin.  Troy saw the wheels turn in his head.  

“I have an idea.  I need to make a call, but I don’t think that we’ll get an answer right away.  Hell Troy, I don’t know if he'll even consider it.”

“Who do you have in mind?” 

“Wait and see Troy.  To be honest, it’s a very long shot.  While I make my call, you gather a possible second crew, in case I have to give 2 of my craft for this one, instead of just Stingray.”

–

Commander Shore went to his home to make this call in private.  It was a long shot, but maybe his old friend would do him this favor.  He knew that his former Lieutenant was in a new stage of life that didn’t include active duty with the WASP’s.  After a few short rings, the call connected.  

“Good morning Jeff.”  Jeff smiled when he saw his old friend on the other side of the line.

“Sam, it’s been a while.  How are you?”

“All’s well over here.”  Sam looked around.  “Say, are you alone?”

“It’s just me here at the moment, why?” Jeff was confused.  His old friend didn’t call often, and now he acted weird.  

“Hang on, I need to make sure that Atlanta hasn't come home yet.”  Sam disappeared from view for a moment, then returned.  “I need a favor from International Rescue.”

Jeff gave him a look.  Although he had high ranking friends in the military, only 2 knew about International Rescue, and they both knew Jeff’s feelings about any joint operations.  

“It’s not like that Jeff.  It’s a research/exploration thing.  I need Gordon.”  Sam explained the rest of the details of the mission.

“Our operation is a secret for a reason Sam.  What will your people think when they see one of my Thunderbirds approach?”

“Thunderbird 4 would approach from underwater and would only go as far as Stingray’s pen.”  Jeff shook his head and chuckled to himself.  Realization hit him, as Sam explained more.  “He would be with the Stingray crew.  Thunderbird 4 would stay parked and secure in Stingray’s pen.”

“You want to tease Captain Tempest.”  Not a question, but a statement of fact.  Jeff laughed some more, and Sam looked back at him with an impish grin.  “Let me talk to my son.  I’m okay with it, with the understanding that if I need him for a rescue, he needs to leave, but the decision will ultimately be his.”

“That’s all I can ask.  Thanks Jeff.  I really appreciate this.”

–

Jeff heard the telltale signs of Tracy 1’s return to the island.  Gordon had volunteered to do this month’s supply run to the mainland and was on final approach.  Jeff cleared him to land and went down to the hangar to discuss his call with Commander Shore.  Everyone else was off island at the moment due to callouts and other needs.    

Gordon always loved the opportunity to explore the ocean’s depths.  Not only was it beautiful, but he always found something new or unexpected.  Sam’s mission needed everything that Gordon had.

Gordon knew that Commander Shore knew about International Rescue, but no one else in Marineville did, not even Atlanta.  He felt a little guilty that he couldn’t tell his friends what he really did in the ‘family business’, but such was life, and they never gave him a hard time over it.  This mission would cross that line.

“Father, I know we can trust Commander Shore and the Stingray crew, but are you really okay with them knowing that I am part of International Rescue?  I could just as easily fly out there in Tracy 1.”

“Sam has assured me that they will keep quiet about it.”  Gordon grinned and shook his head.  

“Oh, I know they will.  That’s not my concern.  We’ve done a great job with secrecy here, because we need it…but…we’re going to tell 4 more people just to play a joke on Troy?  I mean, I love a good joke, but I can just mess with his bunk instead.”

“The only decision that you need to make is about the exploration opportunity with the WASP’s.  You’ll be back in your old uniform and have to deal with their new hydrofoil.”

“You’re worried that it’ll bring up old memories.”  Gordon admitted to himself that it worried him a little too.  The last time he was on a hydrofoil his military career ended.

“My understanding is that you’ll mostly be on Stingray. The hydrofoil crew will remain above water for most things, but Sam needs someone with experience with both.”  Jeff watched his son draw in a deep breath.  

“When does he need his answer?”  He needed to think about it.  While he loved any opportunity to explore the ocean’s depths, he was not a fan of hydrofoils.  

“Not right this minute, but soon.  I think he needs the mission to take off in a few days.”

“Okay, give me a few hours to think about it please.  I’ll give you my answer by dinner time.”

“Okay son, I’m here if you need to talk.”

—

Gordon went up to his room and grabbed a box and garment bag from the back of his closet.  The last time he wore his uniform, he was so hopeful.  His military career had gone really well, and he was happy to be considered for the research and development crew.  The hydrofoil was supposed to be a great piece of military innovation.  Years ahead of any other craft on the sea, but it wasn’t.  Corners were cut, lives were lost…lives completely changed…all because the inventor got impatient.

The parts needed to finish construction were ordered and in the process of being built, but no matter how much pressure the inventor put on them, the construction of the vessel simply took time.  He wanted to impress the military, and deliver a great ship, ahead of schedule.  In the end, his ambitions changed many lives and landed him in jail.

Gordon wasn’t sure how to feel.  He would be back in Marineville as Lieutenant Tracy and back in his old uniform.  He opened the garment bag and ran his hands across the material.  Moments later, he found himself dressed in his old WASP uniform, and he stood in front of his floor length mirror.  He put his hat on and looked at his reflection.

Gordon felt…okay…he felt okay.  No fear…no anxiety…no nagging, bad memories.  Decision made.  He put his uniform back into the bag to be laundered and went down to the lounge to tell his father.

–

Jeff wasn’t sure what to expect from Gordon.  He knew that he loved his time with the WASP’s… before the accident.  They never discussed his feelings about his discharge or even if he wanted to leave.  Once he was fully healed, he jumped into International Rescue with the rest of his brothers.  Thunderbird 4 meant that he could still be in his beloved water, and he could help make a difference in the world.  Jeff needed to give him his space to make his decision.  If he wanted to talk, he would.

He hadn’t expected Gordon to come to the lounge so soon.  Gordon had something very familiar in his hands.

“Father.”

“Yes Gordon.”

“I need to have my old uniform cleaned before I head to Marineville.”

“You want to go?  You’re sure about this?”

“Yes, and I’m sure.  If International Rescue hadn’t come into my life, I would have fought my discharge.  It’ll be nice to be back on Stingray.”  Jeff smiled.

“So long as you come back.”  Jeff joked.  

“My life is here now.  You don’t need to worry about that.”

“You know that I’ll support you, no matter what, right?  If you find that you want to return to the WASP’s, that’s okay.”

“Thanks for the support, but I’ll be back.  Do you mind if I take the plane to have this cleaned?”

“Sure son.  I’ll call Commander Shore and let him know to expect you.”

–

“I promise to keep an eye on him, Jeff.”

“I’m not worried about Gordon.  I left the decision to him, and he’s made it.  He’s currently on his way to have his old uniform cleaned.”

“Still fits?”

“I assume so.”  Jeff didn’t know how to express to his old friend that he was nervous about this mission.  

“What is it Jeff?”  Sam saw it on his face.  There was something that he needed to say.  “Just say the words.  It’s okay.  Better to get it off of your chest now.”  He watched his old friend take a deep breath.

“I’m worried about him being on one of those hydrofoils again.  I don’t know who designed it or anything about it.  If he gets hurt on one again, I’m not sure he will pull through.”  Sam sent him a file.

“I know it’s a new hydrofoil, but the team that made this one is ours.  No private sector stuff.  No cut corners.  The timelines were realistic and unrushed.  Also, he won’t really be on it, just working with her crew.  No speed tests or anything like before.  He will mainly be on Stingray or up with me in the tower.”  That made Jeff feel much better.  He started to read over the file that Sam sent him.  

“Thank you Sam.  When do you need him?”

“Will 3 days work?”

“That should be fine.  I’ll let Gordon know.”

“Thanks Jeff, I really appreciate this.”

–

“Troy, gather Atlanta and your crew and come meet me in my office.”  About 15 minutes later, they were all front and center.

“Phones, close the door please.”  Commander Shore started.  “What will be said in the next few minutes must remain confidential.  You are not allowed to repeat any of this to anyone.”  They all nodded their heads.  “Good.  A member of International Rescue will join us for this mission.  This is a very big personal favor to me and the WASP’s.  I expect your best behavior.  Do you understand?”  They each nodded their heads ‘yes’.  

“What aren’t you telling us, sir?” Troy asked.  He saw something on his commander’s face, but he couldn’t make it out.  

“You’ll see, but I mean it Troy.  Especially you, best behavior.  Now, go to the tower. He should be here soon.”  Troy was confused, but he knew better than to push right now.

An hour later, Commander Shore cleared the tower, with the exception of Atlanta, Troy, Phones, and Marina.  

“Thunderbird 4 is on approach father.”  Commander Shore checked his watch.  

“Right on schedule.”  He expected nothing less from one of Jeff’s boys.  

“Thunderbird 4, requesting entry to Marineville.”  Atlanta knew that voice, but it had been a very long time since she had heard it over any radio.  Troy’s mouth hit the floor.  

“I’ve got this Atlanta.”  He took her place at the microphone.  “Lieutenant Tracy, permission granted.  I trust you remember your way to Stingray’s pen?”

“Yes sir.  PWOR.”  Atlanta smiled, Marina giggled, and Phones elbowed Troy.

“Go grab our guest team.” Commander Shore said to them as he turned around to face his crew.  

“He’s Thunderbird 4?!?!”  Troy managed to blurt out.  

“Yes, now go and remember to behave.  His father and I go way back.”  

Phones grabbed Troy by the shoulders and left the room with Atlanta and Marina.  Commander Shore laughed.  Jeff Tracy may or may not have received a video file simply named ‘Worth It’ a few minutes later. 

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Maybe some Twilight backstory pretty please 👉👈

-🐚🦀

“This place is freaking creepy.”

Link glanced at Midna as she hovered close to him, eyes alert. They’d been dispatched for a medical alarm with no contact with the person who had activated it. That usually meant they had to potentially break into someone’s house to check on them.

At three in the morning, it set Link’s nerves on edge.

This house was particularly unsettling, given that no lights were on and no one was calling for help. Typically, if someone had activated their medical alarm they were already up and about, so there would be some sort of sign of life in the house.

“Is the stove on?” Midna hissed.

Link crept towards the stove to find that it was, in fact, off, though the light indicating that an eye was on was activated. What in the world.

“Ugh, I knew going to Arbiter’s Lane would lead to something sketchy like this,” Midna grumbled, cautiously stepping ahead with a flashlight before calling out for the third time, “Rescue squad!”

No response, just like before.

Except for a door closing behind them, making both first responders jump out of their skin. When they turned, no one was there.

“Air pressure,” Midna reasoned, looking at Link nervously.

“Yeah…” Link agreed shakily.

When they reached the back bedroom, Link found an elder woman lying in bed, motionless.

Clearing his throat nervously, he said, “Hello?”

The woman’s eyes popped open immediately, making Link startle, and she looked at them confusedly. The medical alarm necklace hung around her neck, squished into her side.

“Hi,” Link greeted. “We’re with the rescue squad. Your medical alarm went off. Is everything okay?”

“Oh,” she said mildly. “Yes, it’s fine. Sorry to bother you.”

“No worries,” Midna chimed in, dragging Link out of the room before telling dispatch that it was an accidental activation.

The pair stood outside the ambulance for a moment, staring at each other in bewilderment.

“She took that pretty well for being woken from a dead sleep by two strangers in her house,” Link noted.

Midna huffed. “That place is still freaking creepy though.”

[pacificwaternymph]

Pirate Au - I have a few question and thoughts about Shelby.

First, what is her relationship with Pix? Him being the smartest and most observant of the crew I would feel he would find/notice her first when ever she's around. But what dose there relationship intel? especially when they are complete opposites in the thought of killing others.

Second, Shelby followed Scott on to Jimmy's ship to get a further understanding of why Xornoth let him go. Dose this mean her personality and heart kind of come back to her through getting close to the others? Or is the Shelby we know and love a front to hide what she's truly like?

Third, how did Scott get on her good side? I know you said he helped her not knowing who she was. Scenes her first time seeing Scott was through Xornoth I was kind of thinking maybe she's sick when taking the Xornoth bounty and when she stowaways on Jimmy's ship she just gets sicker to a point where Scott nurse's her back to health.(Taking inspiration from when Shelby went and took care of Scott when he got his tonsils out.)

Finally, how did she become an assassin?

(sorry for this being so long and the questions being a lot... Love this au!)

Hi! Thanks so much for the ask <3

Her and Pix have a weird... mutual respect for one another. Pixl works on a pirate ship, so whether or not he is directly responsible for any of it, murder is a fairly common occurrence to him. And while it takes a little longer for Shelby to really get why Pix is like that, she's not going to judge him for it. I mean, the only reason she even has a job is because people are too afraid to kill someone themselves.

The two of them have a sort of "I don't agree with your moral philosophy, but I understand where you're coming from" when it comes to one another. And you're absolutely right, Pix is usually the first one who is able to tell when she is on the ship, and was the one to suggest that they just start buying extra supplies for her.

-

I think it's a mix of both, honestly. Shelby used to be like that, always happy and extroverted, but then... things happened. She got hurt.

She continued to act cheerful and upbeat around everyone both as a defense mechanism, and as a disguise. No one would suspect someone as friendly as her to be a dangerous assassin, after all. She's wary of anyone getting close to her because she doesn't want to be wrong about someone again, or even worse, have someone she cares about be used against her. She can't handle another heartbreak.

But as she starts to befriend others, that mask starts to become less and less like a mask, and her former joy starts to return to her.

-

Ooh, while I like that idea, I had another one that I think I liked better. But I think I can combine the two.

Basically, before she's properly met or introduced herself to any of the crew, Shelby gets herself in a bit of trouble. Turns out, her decision not to follow through on her contract to kill Xornoth had some consequences, and the person who hired her, hired a team to go after her.

They're at a town that's built into a cliffside, when Shelby is attacked by said team while trying to follow Scott. Of course, Shelby is a good fighter, but her primary advantages are her agility and the element of surprise, neither of which are very useful when on a cliff, and when you are the one being ambushed.

So when Scott hears the commotion, he doesn't see a highly skilled assassin. All he sees is a wildly unfair match between a single woman, who's putting up one hell of a fight, and seven or so assailants, slowly being pushed towards the edge of the cliff.

So obviously, he joins in. They've dealt with all but one of the assassins when Shelby gets too close to the edge and slips, falling off and just barely managing to cling on with her free hand. Scott dispatches the final enemy and dives after her right as her fingers slip. He catches her hand, hauling her back over the edge, and introduces himself. Shelby barely has time to respond with her own name before she falls unconscious from her wounds.

Scott drags her back to the ship and has Lilac patch her up. It's not until he's known and been friends with Shelby for quite some time that he learns the truth.

-

Shelby... used to be a very open and trusting person. Too trusting.

She let someone in that she shouldn't have. Gave them a chance when everyone told her they were trouble. She ignored the red flags and all the warning signs because she didn't want to assume. She refused to even consider it when her friends and family begged her to listen.

And they paid the price for her ignorance.

Becoming an assassin seemed like a good way to keep that from happening again. After all, who would ever want to be close with a killer?

-

Never apologize for long asks! I love receiving them <3

[thebestpartofwakingup]

Something something ACAB abolish the police I sort of wonder though how many more “non political” middle Americans could be brought aboard the position not with increased pushes for mental health resources or resources for at risk people but with more honest concessions about the need for government backed intervention in fringe cases that people typically ascribe to the police — mind you not actually services that the police commonly report to do or goad funding for, but the 1 in a million scenarios that people invent in their heads for the sake of anxiety, the “yeah but what ifs” that the right (as in democrats) often use to promote or support funding of the police. And additionally worked to separate “policing” from “external professional/licensed oversight” because for some people rhetoric around community accountability sounds like church cover ups and “keeping up appearances” or unsafe infrastructure or authority figures being “grandfathered in” rather than allowing for community level diplomatic requests of resources (Comparable to the right of a community to democratically decide which road or bridge they want to fix first rather than having the state or federal government decide)

Are the odds next to impossible that someone in your neighborhood could be secretly hoarding radioactive material in their basement? Or organizing baby fights for people to bet on on the black market? Or siphoning power from the local library to mine Bitcoin? YES! Are those problems the average person will likely have to face? NO! Are they problems the average American would know how to handle asides from calling the police? NO! Are these problems that average people could be expected to intervene and investigate and fix on their own? NO!

Now would the police actively be helpful in any of these situations? Probably not — maybe removing the baby fights guy from any children on the property— but the rest would be the work of other government investigators and administrators, some at the local level, some at the state level, and maybe some at the federal level.

In the minds of a lot of people the police serve as an important first point of contact for these cases, which is a problem because it means the first point of contact for any and all complex conflicts Americans find themselves in are violent maniacs with state sanctioned firepower. It doesn’t HAVE to be that way, it’s not like the police are dispatched for EVERY 911 call, but acknowledgement of that assumed relationship could be useful, an assurance that abolishing the police doesn’t mean abolishing the ability for Americans to directly contact someone with the connections and expertise to connect them and their community with the relevant specialists to help.

I don’t know much about this topic but I do wonder if emphasizing 911 responders as a separate entity from the police could help

[anagentinwriting]

Lifeline - Part 5

Summary: (First Responders!AU) Moving to Los Angeles and living with your brother, Thor, was never part of your plan nor was being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, but plans change when you are faced with your own emergencies. In your case, it was leaving behind a relationship that wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Will this be the fresh start you were hoping for or will your past find a way to catch up with you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Odinson!Sister Reader

Word Count: 4500+

Warnings: Language, drinking, angst, fluff

Lifeline Masterlist / Main Masterlist

After a week of taking call after call, it was nice to get together with the girls. It wasn’t going to be a late-night, but after last weeks rough call, you just wanted to get out of your head and blow off some steam with Nat and Carol at Happy’s Hydrant. 

The Hydrant was the place to be tonight. You couldn't remember it ever being this busy, but it was a Friday night. There were always women hoping to get with a man in uniform and men hoping to get lucky with a badass woman first responder. For some, it worked like a charm, but for others, while they had to work a little harder to get some action. 

You leaned against your pool cue, watching Nat lineup her stick to the corner pocket with Carol observing from the side, sipping on her beer. Nat took the shot but missed the pocket, forcing a smirk across your lips. Nat stood up straight, rolling her eyes at you.

“Can’t win them all,” you teased, eyeing the table to find your next shot. 

Billards was your bar game. When you were attending New York University, you worked at a bar and hustled to make a few extra bucks. Guys would often undermine you at first, but you weren’t afraid to show them what you could do.  

“Hey, sweet thing, you like playing pool,” a guy said behind you as you leaned over to take a shot. 

“It seems that way, doesn’t it,” you replied, rolling your eyes. He placed a hand on your lower back, making you tense up and let out a sharp breath. You stood up straight and turned around to face him. He was standing closer to you than you expected, and you could smell the overconsumption of alcohol on his breath.

“I’ll bring the balls if you bring your rack.” He bit his lip, his eyes drifting to your chest.

“You sure you have the balls to handle me because that line was fucking terrible.”

“Do you want to find out?”

“No.”

“Come on, girl.” He stepped even closer to you, making the back of your thighs hit the pool table. He placed his hands on your hips, and you froze in place. Your heart pounded, feeling every nerve in your body firing, telling you to run, but your mind filled with fear. You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to get away from those thoughts, but deep down, you knew one wrong move or smartass remark would make things worse.

“Can you...Can you please get your hands off of me,” you gulped, letting out a shaky breath.

“What’s that sweetheart?”

“Get your hands off of her asshole. She’s not interested,” Nat's voice hit your ears, and you felt the weight in front of you disappear.

“Yeah, take a walk prick,” Carol shouted beside you. You opened your eyes to see the asshole retreating away, letting out a relieved breath. “How you holding up, girl?”

You shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Sorry, I kind of froze up there.”

“Don’t apologize, dude was an asshole. You’re still trying to find yourself and get your confidence back,” Carol replied, patting you on the shoulder. “You’ll find it, and when you do, we’ll be right there with you.” You nodded, crossing your arms across your chest. “If you’re interested, Val teaches a self-defense class, well it’s more of a boxing class at Jabari Tribe Training Center. We could even go with you,” Carol offered, earning a nod from Nat. 

“I’ll think about it.” You shrugged, staring at the floor.

“You know what, girls, this calls for shots,” Nat commented. “I’ll be back.” She disappeared to the bar, being greeted by a few guys offering to buy her the shots.

“Hey, YN.” You peeked up at Carol before your eyes drifted back to the floor. “Promise me you won’t let that asshole ruin your night.”

“I promise.”

“Good. And not all guys are like him; some are just drunk assholes who think just because they wear a uniform, every woman wants to sleep with them when really they aren’t interested,” She sighed, staring at you. “How about we start another game then?”

“Um...yeah, let’s do it.”

______

“YN, why can’t you let me win for once?” Carol whined, leaning against her pool cue.

“Practice more, and then maybe you'll have a chance,” you smirked, feeling better after a couple of shots and another beer later.

You lined up to sink the number 8 ball in the corner pocket when someone out of the corner of your eye caught your attention. You gulped, turning your head in their direction to find Fireman Rogers. “You’re sort of ruining my concentration with your staring.”

“Didn’t know I had that effect on you.”

You scoffed, taking the shot and missing the pocket. “That’s on you.” You didn’t miss the slight nod from him and the ever-growing grin appearing on Carol’s face, watching the two of you interact.

“Ouch!” He held a hand over his heart, smirking at you.

You watched Carol sink one of her three remaining stripes into the pocket but failed to get the other two in. You nodded to yourself, setting yourself up to get the number 8 ball in the same corner pocket. Shooting a quick glare towards Steve, he held up his hands, trying to hide his smile by taking a sip of his beer. You hit the white ball, sending it right towards the number 8 ball, sinking it into the corner pocket.

“Well...that’s game. Rogers, you’re up. Time for you to take on the champ.” Carol walked over to him, forcing the pool cue to his chest until he grabbed it, and she shot you a quick wink over her shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

“Smooth,” you whispered under your breath.

“What was that?” Steve questioned, leaning a little closer to you.

“Bring it, Rogers.”

_______

With one last hit, the number 8 ball sunk into the center pocket. “And with that, the champ remains the champ. Good game though, you weren’t...bad.”

“Not bad, huh? Maybe you caught me on an off day.”

“Will save the rematch for another day then.” You put the pool cue back on the wall and went to your usual table, taking a seat on one of the high stools. You take a sip of your beer, noticing Steve taking the chair across from you.

“How did you get so good at pool?”

“I worked at a bar in college and got really good at it. Even hustled a few people to get some extra cash.”

“Did they deserve it?” He asked with a chuckle. 

“Of course,” you smirked, taking a sip of your drink. Your eyes traveled around the bar, spotting your brother with a group of ladies. It still baffled you how he could finagle himself into any group, whether it was to make friends or take someone home. In this incident, it looked to be taking someone home. Thor wrapped his arm around one of the ladies and headed out the door.  “Well, I’m in no rush to get home now.”

“Why is that?”

“My brother just walked out the door with his latest conquest.” His eyes traveled to the door. “Now in the morning, I will have to make small talk with her, and poor Darryl is gonna have to hear them…” you shake your head, not finishing the sentence. “Good thing I got him noise-canceling headphones.”

“Good thing.”

“How are you liking the 107 so far?”

“It’s...” Steve started only to be interrupted by Sam.

“Okay, so Thor just left with the woman I was hitting on all night. Can’t your brother give another brother a chance,” Sam added, taking a swig of his beer. 

“That’s my brother for…”

“Steve, I heard you just got your ass handed to you in pool. Way to go, girl.” Bucky held up his hand, and you high-fived him. “Steve’s good. He always kicks my ass.”

“Well, that’s because you suck at it,” Sam added.

“Well, at least I can get a woman to go home with me.”

“That’s cold.”

“You can’t get every woman to go with you,” Nat added, taking the stool next to yours.

“Wanna bet.” Bucky licked his lips, earning a scoff from Nat. “Listen here, everyone. I am about to share Mr. Barnes Fling Tips 401. That’s right, this is senior college level, no freshman 101.” He takes a drink of his beer. “First: Get the lovely woman’s attention; catch her eye at the bar, smile at her, send her a drink, whatever you need to do to get her to notice you. Number two: once she notices you, disappear for a little while to see if she looks for you. Then, when she least expects it, go over to her and introduce yourself. Then, this is where the real flirting happens; smirk at her, put a hand on her thigh, bite your lip, any of the telltale signs you’re interested. Then finally, she will take your hand, and that’s when you take her home. We both have meaningless sex and then move on. We both get exactly what we wanted.”

“You’re terrible.” Nat rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Says the female version of me,” he smirked.

“You wish, because then maybe, just maybe, I would give you the time of day and sleep with you. But, you’re not worth it. I don’t think I could ever sink low enough to sleep with you.”

“Ouch, doll, ouch.” He held his hand over his heart, feigning hurt in his eyes.

“I would feel bad, but we both know you don’t have a heart when it comes to women.”

“One right after another. You’re on fire, Red.”

“I don’t have time for this. Come on, YN, let's go get another drink.” Nat grabbed your hand and pulled you to the bar with her.  

“Is it just me, or was that a whole lotta sexual tension right there?” Sam asked Steve as soon as Bucky stormed off.

“I would say so,” Steve nodded in agreement.

________

You classified yourself as a people watcher, and you always found it interesting to watch people interact with one another. You'd often see the people looking to hookup. A bachelorette party with an overly flirty bride to be who may or may not make a mistake tonight. Those people who came out to drink for fun; those that drink because they have a problem; the new parents that needed to get out of the house, or the couple still getting to know one another. You never met any of these people in your life, but you couldn’t help but create their life story. 

It was like the couple sitting close together in the booth to your right. They were falling for each, whether they planned it or not. It was easy to tell with the way they looked at each other. You felt that way once, too. The feeling that you and him were the only two in a crowded room. You thought it was love, but looking back, maybe it was something different. Something toxic, like a poisonous gas entering the air without you knowing, and sooner or later, you're gasping, trying to find the last bit of oxygen. But, it’s no use because you’re trapped, and every breath you take only makes you weaker and unable to move, and eventually, it ends up taking everything from you. 

“Hi, again.” Steve takes a seat on the stool next to you at the bar, pulling you out of your head. “Everyone keeps leaving me, and I didn’t want to look like that loser in the bar sitting by himself.”

“So you came over to join me? Who was sitting by herself looking like a loser?”

“Yeah, but now we can be losers together,” he chuckled, making you smirk. 

“Speak for yourself,” you chuckled, picking at the label on the beer bottle.“You and Bucky became fast friends.”

“Yeah, well, we have known each other since we were kids.”

“Wait, you grew up here?” You turned your heads towards him, narrowing your eyes at him.

“No in Brooklyn. Brooklyn, New York.”

“Get out--” you hit him on the arm “--I used to live in Brooklyn.” 

“Really? Small world,” he smiled, leaning in a little closer to you to hear you better over the music playing on the jukebox. “What made you move out here?” 

“Story for another time,” you pointed the tip of your beer bottle at him. 

He nodded, “So why a 9-1-1 dispatcher?”

“You’re full of questions, aren’t you, Steve?” 

He shrugged with a small chuckle. “A few.”

“Did you get dragged out tonight, too?” You asked, taking a sip of your beer.

“What makes you think that?”

“Think it was so our friends could get a little action.” Your eyes traveled around the bar to see Bucky leaving with a redhead, and Nat had her hand on a guy's bicep with a flirty expression on her face. You had no idea where Carol went, and Sam must’ve left after realizing his luck ran out. Poor guy.

“So it would seem,” he smirked, glancing around the room. 

You felt your phone vibrate, and you glanced down, seeing a message from Nat. 

Nat: Heading out! Hope you can find a way home ;)

YN: Yeah, it’s called an Uber

Nat: (rolling eyes emoji)

“And with that, my ride just left.” You locked your phone, sliding it back into your pocket.

“Yeah, my ride left about five minutes ago.” Steve sighed, staring at his beer bottle. “What do you say about getting out of here?” 

You glanced at him underneath your eyelashes. “I hope you know you're not getting in my pants.” 

“Oh, I know, I didn’t mean it like that, but maybe another time,” he winked, forcing you to crack a smile. 

“Smooth, Rogers. Smooth,” you commented. “And here I thought you were a goody-to-shoes.”

“Most people do, but I am far from it.”

“I am seeing that now,” you chuckled, swallowing the little bit left in your drink. He nodded, glancing around the bar. “Are you ready?”

“For what?” 

“To get out of here?”

“I didn’t mean…” His head snapped to you with raised eyebrows.

“I know, another time,” you teased, seeing the corner of his mouth turn up. “Are you coming because your half-full beer says otherwise?”

He looked at it, then back over at you. Something in his blue eyes shifted from playful to curious in a matter of seconds. “Let's blow this popsicle stand,” Steve smirked, downing the rest of his drink. 

“Easy there, don’t want to have to carry you out of here,” you commented as he reached behind him and slipped on his jacket. 

“Haha.”

You felt the chill in the air as soon as you walked out the front door of the bar. It felt like fall was just around the corner, and it only brought goosebumps to your skin.  

“How far is home?” Steve asked.

“About thirty blocks north, but you don’t have to walk with me. I just figured you didn’t want to look like a loser sitting at the bar by yourself.”

“Thanks, I appreciate your concern, but I don’t mind. I have nothing waiting for me at home, and this way, you have some company.”

“Or do you just not want me to get mugged or something?”

“Maybe that too,” he chuckled, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets. “So you live with your brother? Why don’t you have your own place?” 

“I’ve been looking, and I did find one I love. The only problem is I don’t know what to say to Thor.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand.” He added. “It will probably be hard for him at first, but it’s always hard to start over,” Steve mumbled like he knew from his own experience. 

“Yeah, but you haven’t experienced softie Thor.”

“Softie Thor?”

“Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but he still sleeps with his baby blanket. He calls it Mjolnir, and it has all kinds of different hammers and tools on it. He says he doesn’t have it anymore, but the last time I saw it, it was hiding under his pillow.”

“Really?” he smiled, shaking his head. “The big guy. Yay, tall--” he gestured with his hand “--blonde hair, god-like deep voice girls fall for, and he still sleeps with a blankety?” You nodded. “Yeah, I can say I have never seen that side of him.” He chuckled, shaking his head.

You rubbed your upper arms, hoping to keep the chill at bay but having little to no success. You always seemed to forget to grab a jacket before going out. “Why did you transfer to LA from Brooklyn?”

“Now, look who is full of questions?”

“Call me curious.” You shrugged, catching his eye before his return back to the ground.

“Fine, but then you have to answer one of my questions.” You nodded. “Okay, well, I transferred because I needed a new start after some bad stuff went down.”

“Why, what happened?”

“Trying to pull a fast one on me. I like it, but my turn.” You let out an annoyed sigh. “What did you do when you lived in Brooklyn?”

“Fair question." You nodded. "I was an ER nurse. It was both stressful and satisfying at the same time. On the one hand, I didn’t know what was going to come through the doors, but on the other hand, bringing someone back on the brink of dying gave me a rush. I can’t even explain the feeling; I loved my job.”

“Then, why leave?”

“I needed a fresh start.” You glanced over at him, and he nodded, biting his lip. “Looks like we left for the same reason.” 

“Maybe this is fate's way of telling us we both deserve a second chance.” 

“If you believe in that sort of thing,” You shivered, running your hands over your arms to get them to warm up. 

“Here.” Steve started pulling off his worn-out brown leather jacket and offering it to you.

“No, you keep it. I don’t want you to get cold.”

“Don’t worry about me? I’m like a body heater.”

“Fine, but if you get cold, you better tell me.” You slipped it on, feeling the warmth envelop you. His scent on his jacket made your insides twist. You pulled it tight around you, feeling your body warm up in an instant. 

“I will,” he smiled, putting his hands in his pants pockets, shrugging.

You walked in silence for a block or so when you stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the walking figure to appear. “What was it like growing up in Brooklyn with Bucky?”

He chuckled. “Well, it’s a funny story actually because it all started in grade school.” He glanced at you as if asking if he wanted to hear it. “I was drawing on the playground one day at recess. And at the time, I was a sickly little kid, and my mom told me I couldn’t play sports because I had a lot of health problems when I was younger before I became this.” He gestured to himself, making you roll your eyes. “Anyways, I was drawing, and these bullies came over and stood in my light and poured water over my notebook…”

“Those assholes.”

“Yeah, right,” he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. The crosswalk person appeared, and they started walking again. “I was never one to back down from a fight, so I stood up to him. He pushed me, and I fell, but I got back up and tried to push him, but ended up getting pushed down again, this time landing in a mud puddle. Then, Bucky came over, and straight-up punched this dude in the face. I think we were six at the time.”

“Oh my god, are you kidding?” Your mouth dropped over, and you covered it with your hand.

“Wish I was. Bucky told him to pick on someone his own size and sent him crying. After that, we became pretty good friends.”

“Do you still have the never run from a fight mentality?” You eyed him over and noticed him keeping a close eye on you.

“Yeah, I just don’t like bullies.” He shrugged as comfortable silence fell between the two of you once again. “You said you needed a fresh start. What were you running from?” You stared hard at the ground, biting your lip, not sure if you wanted to lay it all out for him. “Question for another time. How about a counter-question,” he hummed, thinking it over as you watched him mull over what to ask next. “How was it growing up with Thor?”

“Thor and I were never close growing up, which is crazy considering I live with him now. He was my older brother, he had his friends he always hung out with, and I was the younger sister. What older sibling wants to hang out with their younger sibling unless their parents ask them to? We got along, but I grew up being close with our adopted brother Loki. When Thor graduated from high school, he tried college but found it wasn’t for him, and then one day decided to move to LA and become a firefighter. After he moved, I didn’t talk to him much. Loki and I stayed in Brooklyn, I got my nursing degree, and he went into Broadway production. We were a scattered out set of siblings, living on two different coasts.”

“If you and Thor were never close, why move here and live with him?”

“I knew he would help me find myself again.” 

“What do you mean by that?”

“Thor was the brother that wasn’t afraid to make a fool of himself to get me to laugh or feel better. He could get things off my mind when I needed to, plus he’s easy to talk to. Loki’s more of the conservative brother that has a plan and can be a diva at times. I love them both, but I knew starting here would be the fresh start I needed.” You shrugged in his jacket. “I think you owe me at least three extra questions.” 

“Depends what you qualify as a question.”

“Oh, is that how it’s gonna be, wise guy.” You pushed him on the arm. “My turn to ask, let’s see, hmmm.” You tapped your chin with your finger. “How did you and my brother bond so fast?”

“I don’t know. It’s what you have to do in this job, trust your team. Besides, like you said, your brother is easy to get along with after you get past his ego.”

“He does have a big ego,” you nodded with a chuckle.

“What’s the hardest part about being a 911 dispatcher?”

“Really? Already asking a question. I think you still owe me a couple, but I’ll oblige.” You took in a deep breath and let it out, thinking it over. “When the caller hangs up, and you never know what the outcome is. Like, am I making a difference, am I helping? Being a nurse, I knew the outcome because I was there for everything, but here, all you can do is send help. I could look at the records and see what happened, but what if it’s not the outcome I hoped for.” You stared at the ground in front of you. “It’s almost like never finding out an ending to a movie or a book. I want to know what happened, but maybe it’s better left not knowing. After they hang up, sometimes you don’t get time to process it because there is another caller with another emergency.” 

“I get it. Sometimes what we do can be a horror movie. It can give us nightmares if you can’t save someone or can’t get there in time,” Steve’s voice drifted off. “You can play it over in your head to figure out what you could’ve done differently, but sometimes the ending you wanted to happen was never going to happen.” He stared wide-eyed at the ground before glancing your way. There was something different in his eyes, like a nightmare he never quite escaped. “And you’re right, it’s one call after another with little to no recovery time in between.”

“But, then you get those calls where everything goes right, and it makes everything you’re doing worth it.” You shot him a warm smile, earning a nod from him.

“Have to say I agree with that.”

Both of you remained silent for a couple of blocks. These careers were tough to talk about. Everyone called you heroes, but sometimes it was hard to feel like a hero.

“Why did you want to be a fireman?”

“Simple, I like helping people, but like any job, it takes a toll.” He shrugged, glancing at you. “When your adrenaline is pumping, and every nerve in your body is firing. There is pressure put on us, and we never know how things will turn out, but we have to assure those we are trying to save that they are going to be okay. It’s like in a moment's notice we have to drop everything because we are the only help that is coming, and we have to try and save them from what could be the worst moment in their life.”

“It’s almost like you rehearsed that. Did you...did you rehearse that?” You joked, forcing him to crack a smile.

“Shut up, so what if I did.” He nudged your side, making you laugh out loud. It was a real laugh, the kind you haven’t had in a long time. It wasn’t a simple chuckle or a forced giggle, but for the first time in a long time, it sounded happy. Maybe, this is what Bruce was talking about when he told you to talk to someone. Weirdly enough, you did feel lighter, like some of the weight was lifted off your shoulders with this one conversation. 

You came to a stop in front of a cozy little townhouse Thor and Darryl rented. It wasn’t huge. It was a two-bedroom home that an elderly couple raised their little girl, Hope, in. You only met Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne a few times, but they were a lovely couple that decided to rent out that home and retire next to the ocean. 

“This is me.” You waved your hand at the house and started pulling off Steve’s jacket when he stopped you. 

“Hold on to it for me.  I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

“Awful sure of yourself, what makes you think I want to see you again?”

“A guy can hope, can’t he. If it helps, my jacket looks a hell of a lot better on you.” 

“It’s helping,” you breathed a smirk, pulling the jacket around you. “Goodnight, Steve. Thanks for the talk and the walk home.”

“Glad I could help. Have a nice night, YN,” he waved, watching you walk up the steps and use your keys to unlock the door. You opened the door and turned around to find him waiting for you to safely get inside. 

“I want you to know, I am still holding you to answer one question,” you added, opening the door wider.

“Look forward to answering it,” he smiled as you walked in and shut the door behind you.

______

AN: Thanks for reading Part 5! This is probably a chapter you all have been waiting for...more Steve action! Haha! What did you think of the round of twenty questions?! We got a little bit more backstory on her, and a little more about Steve. He left to get a new start, too, any theories as to why?! I mean, I know, but I'm curious where your heads are at! Also, I don't know much about billiards/pool rules, it's basically what I have learned through watching people play it, so if it’s totally off my bad! Again, thanks for reading, reblogs, likes, and comments always welcome!

[cg29fics]

Gone

If you’d like to be tagged for updates for this story or any others then please let me know. Alternatively this fic can be read in it’s entirety over on Ao3 or FFNet - creativegirl29

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Previous: chapter 19 - Countdown - Please double check you’ve read the previous chapter as I was having a few Tumblr issues with the post.

Chapter 20: Strategy

Previously:

Jeff paused and looked at them. “And I feel I need to explain to you all how I know the Hood, well, as we now know Balah Gaat.”

… …

“Do you all remember me telling you about how I first met Kyrano?”

“Yes.” Gordon answered. “You had been dispatched to his village when you were in the army. You were there to help after an earthquake had hit nearby.”

“Yes, that’s right. The Hood… Well, Balah Gaat was.” Jeff looked over to where Kyrano was sitting. “He was Kyrano’s half-brother. From the very first moment he had met me Balah made it known that he didn’t like me, and to be honest, I didn’t care for him much either… He always seemed obsessed by the amount of power, wealth and control he could gain from manipulating people and he never seemed bothered by how much he could hurt someone... One day another earthquake hit and destroyed the village and we were sent in to help with the rescue. We managed to save quite a few lives, but there were many who had not been so lucky, and had unfortunately been killed in the initial earthquake. Balah Gait’s wife and his 4-year-old son had been two of those who I had to dig out of the rubble, and had already passed away.”

“Dad, you know it wasn't your fault, right?” Scott said, looking at his father with concern. “What happened that day was tragic, but unfortunately, we all know that no matter how hard you try, sometimes you can’t save everyone!”

“I know.” Jeff replied. “It’s just… I knew Balah had blamed me for what had happened, I remember at the time some sort of threat was made against me, but shortly afterwards he seemed to just disappear. I never really thought about him much after that, I remember that Kyrano once mentioned that he had not seen him since the earthquake, and eventually he concluded that he must have passed away. Neither of us imagined that the Hood was Balah Gaat. Now we do know... And.” Jeff sighed. “When I now think back it's obvious who the Hood really was... I should have realised, then maybe I could have protected you boys, and stopped him from hurting Virgil.”

“Dad, what’s happened with Virgil, it’s not your fault!” John interjected.

“You could never have seen this coming and you can’t always protect us from harm dad,” Gordon added.

Jeff sighed and looked away from the image of his sons.

“Dad, none of us blame you for what’s happened, and I know that Virgil won’t blame you either!” Alan replied firmly, gaining his father’s attention. “There’s only one person who is responsible for this and that’s Balah Gaat, or the Hood, or whatever name he wants to go by!”

“Scott,” Brains stammered, rushing over to Jeff.

“Yes Brains?”

“The metals foundry has confirmed that you can land Thunderbird 2 there and the site will be secured at all times. I’ve sent you a layout of the building, Virgil’s signal is coming from the basement.”

“FAB Brains.” Scott responded. “Gordon, I want you to go through the information and see if you can form a plan.”

“FAB Scott.” Gordon replied.

"Gordon, I have some further information for you which may prove useful," Brains stammered.

Gordon smiled. "FAB Brains."

"I'll send it through now," Brains added.

“Dad, are you going to be okay?” Scott asked as he looked at his father’s sullen form.

“Yes... Yes, boys I will!” Jeff replied pulling himself together. “Now it sounds like you have everything in hand. I’m going to go and speak with Penny and contact the doctor she mentioned, and see what we can get arranged for Virgil. I want you to keep in contact, let me know of any developments.”

“FAB dad!” Scott clicked the communicator off and went back to concentrating on flying Thunderbird 2. "Okay guys we will be landing in about 10 minutes. Gordon, how long will it take us to get to the danger zone?"

"It should take us around 5 minutes," Gordon responded. "We just need to make sure that we are efficient with getting everything we need on the hover bikes, so we don't hit any unseen delays."

Alan smiled. "Don't worry Gords, you can rely on us!"

“I know I can!” Gordon replied. “Now, I’ve been going through all the information Brains came up with and I’ve got a plan.”

“Go for it Gordon,” Scott beamed.

"The building that Virgil is in as four different entrances. One at the front, one at the back, and two others on either side. Now, the front and back ones are too exposed. The entrance on the right side is well covered. However, the left side is not only well covered, but it also looks out on to a woodland. If we go in that way, then there will be plenty of places for us to hide the bikes, and any other equipment we may need. Now, Virgil's signal is coming from the basement, and from what we know there are the six men that we've seen, there's at least one more who's been working behind the camera, and then there's the Hood. We have no idea where they will be, and there may be more men inside, which means we will need to use our thermal imagers to detect them as we go."

"Gordon, what you've said so far sounds good to me. I want you to go through the rest of the plan once we have reached the danger zone." Scott pressed a few buttons on Thunderbird 2's control panel. “Okay guys, we are coming in to land."

... ...

A short time later:

Scott finished securing Thunderbird 2 and made his way over to Gordon and Alan who were waiting with the loaded hover bikes. “Have you contacted dad?”

“Yes, he said that he’s spoken to the doctor that Penny recommended, and they are on standby ready to receive Virgil.

“That’s good!” Scott looked around. "Where's John?"

"He's just checking the security that's been provided for Thunderbird 2," Alan replied. "He'll be back in a second."

"Speak of the devil!" Gordon said, pointing to John who was running towards them.

"How's it looking John?" Scott queried.

"All good, they've really gone above and beyond what I was expecting."

"Great. Then let's go get our brother," Scott stated.

"FAB!" The rest of them chimed, as they jumped on their hover bikes, and headed towards the danger zone.

Gordon led the way, signalling to his brothers to stop when he began to reach the clearing of the woodland. “Okay, we’re here… This looks like a good place to hide our bikes and anything else we don’t want to carry inside.”

“Okay Gordon, so what’s the rest of your plan?” Scott asked.

“Well, as I said earlier we will be going through the side entrance on the left side of the building which is just up ahead. When I studied the layout that Brains sent, I could see that there was a doorway which leads directly down to the basement, which as you know is where Virgil’s signal is coming from. Now, as we are using the thermal imager to track the other men in there, then I suggest that we stick together, and we stay in pairs. Me and Scott will take the lead. Alan, I want you to stay close to Scott, and John you will be with me… If we see anyone then we will take them out using our tranquilliser guns and then we will tie them up. If we don’t see the Hood, then we will kick his arse some other time… The aim of this mission is simple… We are here to get Virg out of there! So, to reiterate, we stay together and do not go off on our own. Yes Scott, I’m looking at you! I don’t want to have to rescue another bro!”

Scott looked at Gordon. "I would never go off on my own!"

"Yeah, sure you wouldn't!" Alan responded with a laugh.

“Okay. Don't worry Gords, I’ll do as you say and not run off on my own!” Scott replied, with a grin.

Gordon returned the smile. “Final checks. Everyone got their med kits?”

“FAB!” Alan, Scott and John answered.

Gordon smiled. “Good! Right… Finally, has everyone got their tranquilliser guns and their extra ammo packs?”

“FAB Gordon!” They all responded.

"Good," Gordon stated as he turned to face the clearing, "then it looks like we're ready!"

“Hey Gords,” Scott said placing his hand on the back of Gordon's shoulder.

“Yes Scott?” Gordon asked, turning towards his brother.

Scott pulled Gordon into a quick hug and then ruffled his hair. “I’m really proud of you, I just wanted you to know that.”

“Thanks Scott,” Gordon replied going red, “okay, are you all ready?”

“FAB!” They all chorused.

Gordon nodded. “Then Follow me!”

Next - 21: Danger Zone

[i-am-distressed]

RIDE ALONG: Part 1

Prologue-Part 2

Warnings: none

You thanked the officer that held the door open for you, nodding to one you recognized as ‘Nanami’ as you made your way to your destination, Captain Yaga’s office. When you committed the misdemeanor, you were 3 days away from starting your first day as a rookie for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. When you punched your ex, a few of the higher ups deemed your actions as ‘inappropriate’ and ‘out of line’, and they put your admission into the unit on ‘pause’ while they figured out what to do with you, but they weren’t the ones who decided what would happen to you.

It was the man who would hopefully be your new boss, Masamichi Yaga. The Chief, who apparently trained Yaga first hand, decided whatever he decides will be best, so this is your one shot to get this right. The other new recruits were starting today, so they put you on a ‘3 day probation to think about what you did’. You walked up the flight of stairs, letting your eyes wander as you did. The station was in nice condition. It had been remodeled a few years ago, so it was really sleek and new looking. It had an open concept layout, and most every room had plenty of windows in it, keeping the station open and light. It was much different from the 30+ year old academy you had spent that past 5 months training in, where every time you stepped into daylight your eyes spent a good 5 minutes adjusting to seeing an adequate amount of light. Already, this was a promising change, you just needed to not screw this up any worse than you already did.

You got to the top of the stairs and proceeded down the hallway the dispatcher you ran into had directed you to, Miwa? She was nice, much better than the other 2 girls who were sitting at their desks throwing balled up pieces of paper into a far off trash can. Walking down the hallway you found the second floor was much more closed off and professional than the first. It had more closed doors and private offices, not surprising since you saw a few doors with ‘Sergeant’ and ‘Lieutenant’ on them. You got to the end and stopped when you found the door that had ‘Captain Masamichi Yaga’.

You stopped taking a deep breath before you squared your shoulders and knocked. Just before you did, you heard the captain talking to someone, you didn’t recognize the voice, but it was clear it belonged to a man. “Come in.” You turned the knob before stepping in the door. “Go ahead and close the door, please have a seat.” Yaga motioned over to the second chair he had sitting in front of his desk, diagonal to the chair the unknown man was sitting in. You nodded as you closed the door, making your way to sit in the chair, keeping a professional posture and a steadfast expression.

“I don’t believe either of you have met before, no?” You looked over at the man. He had pinkish hair with a dark undercut, his eyes were dark red and sharp, even with how lazy his gaze seemed, it was intense. You could feel his eyes wandering you, not in a creepy perverted way, but in a scrutinizing judging way. And to be honest, you couldn’t tell which one would tick you off more. Beyond having hair that was definitely too long to be within regulation, he was also covered in tattoos. Maybe he was a C.I? “Never seen her in my life, can I go?”

Your eyebrow raised as you turned back to look at the captain, who had an almost visible tick mark appearing on his forehead. “No.” Sighing the man leaned back in the chair, crossing his notably muscular arms over his chest. You couldn’t tell since he was sitting down, but you guessed he was in the 6’0 range, probably taller. He was very fit, that much was for sure. And he definitely was no professional, that much was also for sure. Whereas you came in wearing a very nicely fitting pair of slacks and a silk button up, he came in wearing a tight white t-shirt and dark wash jeans, he was wearing what looked like a black flannel over his shirt, it being left open and the sleeves rolled up. It definitely didn’t meet the uniform standards, but it didn’t exactly look bad either.

Yaga cleared his throat and you directed your attention back to him. “I’m sure you’re aware of the possible consequences of your actions, yes? Your record shows good grades, good conduct, and overall a spotless record. Nevertheless, what you did could get you in serious trouble a few years down the line, you’re lucky he didn’t decide to press any charges. I should tell you to go find another career, since it’s clear you don’t process emotions well.” You looked down at that, your arms had crossed over your chest and you held your tongue, he had a point.

“But, My wife happened to be there, and when I confided in her on what to do about the situation, she told me if I treasure my marriage I should show you some mercy. Our daughter was cheated on, so I can’t say I hate what you did. In light of that, a punishment is still in order,” He paused to lean on his elbows, gaze serious, and honestly intimidating as he stayed quiet for a moment.

"For the next 3 months, You, Y/n L/n will be doing a sort of probationary trial with this man sitting in front of me." The man's head shot up, his crimson eyes wide open as his face contorted into a scowl. "Yeah, no, she won't be. I don't take passengers." Yaga sat up, his glasses casting a menacing gleam, "If you'd like to keep your job, Corporal, you will be." The ‘corporal’ in question ‘tsk’d’ before sinking back into the leather chair, leg crossing lazily over the other as his hand gripped his bicep. He was muscular alright…

”Ms. L/n, this is Corporal Ryomen Sukuna, he’s just recently been taken off of suspension and is in a probationary period of his own. If at the end of these 3 months the two of you are deemed fit for duty, you will proceed on with your careers with no problem.” You looked over at the man, his red eyes finding your e/c ones as he raised an eyebrow, your own narrowing slightly at him before you smartly returned your gaze towards Yaga. “Do I make myself clear?” You both responded with ‘yes sir’ and he dismissed you.

You both stood from the chairs, him grabbing the badge that was slid over the desk while you made your way to the door. “Your first day is tomorrow, don’t be late,” Yaga turned to Sukuna, “I hope you understand, it doesn’t matter how good of a cop you are, this is your last chance, mess this up and you're done. Please cooperate.” Your eyebrows raised at that before you felt yourself cringe, great, the ‘probation officer’ they assigned you was some kind of delinquent? You opened the door and stepped out, Sukuna passing by you without a word, going his own way as you sighed, shutting the door and making your way back out of the station.

On your way to the front desk to sign out, you heard your name being called. “HEY! Y/N!” You stopped and turned, finding two of the new recruits who had graduated with you, Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro. They were nice, and good at what they did, so you were happy when you heard they’d be going to the same unit as you. You watched as Fushiguro smacked Itadori upside the head, “We’re inside, idiot.”

Your lip tugged up at that, watching as Itadori rubbed his head with a pout before turning to you, giving you one of his smiles. “Anyway, what did the Captain say? Are you gonna be able to continue with us?” You nodded as a small smile made its way to your face, “With conditions, yes.” Fushiguro nodded as Itadori gave you a thumbs up and ‘nice!’, “You’re lucky you didn’t get cut, the higher ups can be really cut throat when they want to be, i’d watch my back.” You nodded at Fushiguro, remembering the stories your dad had told you about people being let go for trivial things, although back then it was mostly family politics.

Fushiguro was from the Zen’in family, who was known for being exemplary cops, and had a strong presence in the station. From what you knew, there were at least 5 of them in this unit alone. “I will, they’re letting me join, but for 3 months i’ll be doing a probationary trial with one of the corporals.” Fushiguro nodded at that, Itadori’s eyes lighting up, “Which one did you get? We get assigned our T.O’s (training officers) tomorrow.” You felt your eye twitch as you thought back to the disrespectful and presumably problematic individual you had just met.

“Ryomen Sukuna. From what I know he just got back from suspension, so this is a punishment for him too.” Your eyes narrowed in confusion when Itadori’s widened in shock, “wAIT!? Does he have hair like mine?” You nodded, “Tattoos??” You nodded again, “Really bad attitude and terrible social skills-” “I think she gets it, what’s your point Itadori?” You almost laughed at how tired Fushiguro looked, despite being friends all throughout high school, and going to the academy together.

“Dude...her probation officer is my cousin Ryomen.” You watched as Fushiguro’s eyes now widened, his lips fighting a smile as he turned around, grabbing the collar of Itadori’s uniform as he dragged him off with a wave, “Good luck then, you’re gonna need it!” Your mouth opened to reply before you decided against it, just shaking your head and finally making your way to the front desk. ‘Ryomen Sukuna...I’ll ask dad about him later, I swear i’ve heard it before..’

**20 minutes ago in Yaga’s office before you arrived**

“Corporal, please have a seat.” Sukuna walked in, sitting down on the chair and bringing his elbows up on the arm rests, hands clasping together in front of his mouth. Sukuna had been on a 2 month suspension after yet another misdemeanor. The only reason he hasn’t been fired is because he’s truly good at what he does, and the department really doesn’t want to let him go but…”You’re aware of how we handle discipline in this department. So tell me how it is you’ve been dealt 7 out of the 8 disciplinary actions and you still have yet to change?”

The department had a sort of system for disciplining it’s cops. 1. A verbal warning (which Sukuna had ignored), 2. A written warning (Sukuna had thrown away), 3. Performance Improvement Plan (He had on multiple occasions ditched his supervising adviser), 4. Temporary Pay cut (He practically lived at the station, it didn’t phase him much), 5. Loss of privileges (see #4), 6. Suspension (recently completed), 7. Demotion (...up until 2 months ago it was Sergeant Ryomen Sukuna…) and 8. Termination. He could handle everything else but...termination meant he was done, and he was anything but.

“I told you captain, it’s not me who needs to change, the departments way too stuck up.” Yaga took a breath before he sighed, leaning back in his swivel chair, “I know the higher ups don’t always act accordingly, but they’re still your higher ups, and I can only defend your job beyond so many offenses.” Sukuna glared at the ground as his arms crossed against his broad chest. *Knock knock* “Come in”

TAGLIST: @alohablue 💙

[nct-lian]

lian’s dating rumours

LIHYUNG

year: 2019

duration: late march 2019 — late may 2019

parties involved: lianna bae, kim taehyung

status: resolved, still shipped by delulus

level of exposure: 10/10

situation: at this time, lian and hyoseop were actually still in a relationship, and they ended up getting caught by dispatch while on a walk with each other.

whoever must have been following them seemed to have mistaken hyoseop for taehyung, just because the sweater he was wearing looked a lot like one taehyung was seen in at one point.

“paul- i think there’s someone following us.” lian whipped her head back to look at whatever was behind her, wrapping her arm tightly around hyoseop’s bicep.

he made sure his mask, along with his bucket hat was protectively covering his face before picking up his speed, lian soon catching on and following after him.

they turned a corner and eventually lost whoever the hell decided to stalk people for a living, and they sighed a breath of relief. lian loosened her grip on his arm, now reaching down to loosely hold his hand instead.

“god, if that’s dispatch-” she shook her head as she adjusted her mask that began to fall past her nose and looked up at her boyfriend. “my first scandal? at least i’ll get some exposure!” he jokingly winked at her as she hit him.

“don’t act like it’s a good thing! i’ve been in too many of these already.” she pouted even though he couldn’t see her, and she let out a whine when he disagreed.

the two entered a convenience store so they could grab some snacks before heading back to hyoseop’s apartment complex; they wanted to get some time with each other before lian had to leave the next morning.

maybe a few days later, pictures of lian wearing the exact sweater that was seen the same night of their walk, had surfaced over twitter from a sasaeng’s account.

the beginning of the rumours + resolution: if the pictures that dispatch ended up posting of the two that night wasn’t enough to set fans off, this definitely was. people started putting their pictures side by side to compare the cardigans and the rumour of “lihyung being real” was beginning to look a little too suspicious.

sm wanted to make sure that lian wanted nothing about her current relationship to be revealed to the public, and shortly after, they made a statement regarding the whole thing.

it was in fact revealed that the cardigan she was wearing did belong to someone else, but it had just been a hand-me-down from a friend that was no longer interested in it. they concluded with the fact that lian wasn’t in any sort of romantic relationship, and she was just focusing on her career as of right now.

bighit took a while to respond to what was going on, but they basically just said the same thing; taehyung is focusing on his career at the moment, and isn’t involved in a relationship that wasn’t strictly platonic.

LIMARK

year: 2020

duration: mid january 2020 — late january 2020

parties involved: lianna bae, mark lee

status: immediately resolved, everyone in nct is shipped together in one way or another so uh

level of exposure: 12/10

situation: back in january when nct 127 had been playing truth or dare on a teen vogue interview, lian had ended up picking truth on her first round. the question she received was rather intrusive, having been asked when she had her first kiss.

she played it off and jokingly asked, “hey! are you allowed to ask me this?” with a small laugh as she looked back down to the tiny slip of paper that she was holding between her thumb and pointer finger.

“we got permission!” a lady shot back from behind the camera, and lian soon thought that she had no choice but to elaborate. she covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head, eyeing the staff with a disappointed look.

lian went on to explain that it happened when she was still a teenager — around 2015. she was sure that was the end of it, and she was silently praying that after she exposed such a meaningful part of her personal life, the producers would leave her alone.

“if you don’t mind us asking, who was it with?” she didn’t want to answer; she was given a choice! guilt began to eat away at her chest as she overthought every possible thing that could go wrong if she said no, buckling under the pressure of everyone’s eyes being directed right at her.

“this is so intrusive!” she laughed sarcastically, but masked it with fake happiness as she shook her head again, gasping for a small hint of breath. “uh, it was with mark-” she ran a hand through her hair to desperately distract herself from the utter embarrassment she was feeling.

mark, who was sitting right beside her, slapped a hand over his mouth and placed a hand on johnny’s shoulder as he looked at the wall. his main goal was to avoid all eye contact between himself and anyone else.

no one except haechan had known about mark and lian’s little secret from before they debuted, and it was their intention to keep it that way for as long as they could. “wait what?” jaehyun whipped his head towards the back row, as did the rest of the members.

“yah! don’t get the wrong idea!” she made sure to say it in korean, but continued in english, “nothing happened after that-” mark stepped in for her, noticing how she was getting more overwhelmed by the second.

“yeah, yeah, it was just a little thing. we were really young and wanted to get it over and done with with someone we were both comfortable around.” he nodded with a tight-lipped smile, surprisingly less awkward than he usually was.

lian saw the way a staff member from behind the set was getting ready to talk more about the situation, but she quickly shut them down, “moving on, yes? yuta’s turn!”

the beginning of the rumours + resolution: shortly after the interview was posted onto youtube, fans noticed how defensive lian was towards the question and began to speculate that “the kiss” the two members shared wasn’t just “a kiss.”

their conspiracy was that whatever was going on between them behind the scenes had still been thing now, and they started spreading rumours about how the two idols were dating.

keep in mind that actual fans of the group did their best to cover up all these things with loving messages for both of them, and tried SO hard to ensure that they wouldn’t have to see them.

fans knew how close of friends mark and lian were, and they weren’t gonna let some crazy, delusional “fans” get in the way of that, and potentially put a strain on their friendship.

some of these rumours ended up escalating into hate towards both of them, and lian was being called a slut over twitter for “sleeping” with a fellow member.

sm entertainment released a statement as soon as they could, confirming lian and mark were just friends and will remain that way; their private lives will stay their private lives, and whoever participated in this malicious train of newfound hate will be sued.

[sleepysailorghost]

There are a lot of reasons why it's better for Boone to walk behind the Courier.

Tactically, it doesn't hurt. He's trained as a sniper, and ED-E alerts them of any dangers ahead of them. The Courier can dispatch any enemies with their six guns, plasma rifle, or cowboy repeater. What they don't take down, he takes out with his rifle.

At least part of it is an attempt to assuage the guilt he feels. He had seen the Courier injured before, but he didn't think he would have to see them nearly die. In hindsight, he probably should have-he was cursed, after all.

The Courier had told him he wasn't cursed. That no one was punishing him. He didn't know if he believed that yet.

He didn't hear anything when the Courier had slipped down the cliff. He agonized over that day-wondering if he had heard something and just ignored it. A shuffling of rocks, a scream or shout. But there had been nothing.

He had just kept walking, the Courier's chirping little robot at his side. Even he didn't know when he had noticed the Courier's absence.

When he had finally found them, it had nearly been too late. All his field medical training seemed to go out the window when he saw the Courier laying broken in the ravine. He had used so many stimpacks on them, they nearly died of stim sickness.

But they didn't. Hard to kill, or something. He tried to pull away after that, tried to piss off the Courier so they'd hate him.

They didn't hate him.

Maybe they just didn't know how.

The Courier drags him all over the Mojave and he follows and watches their back.

He doesn't know how that became how he feels now. He's never been good with emotions anyway.

It isn't something he knows how to handle, so he decides to ignore it. He doesn't want it. The Courier is his friend, not Carla. And for him, it was only ever Carla.

Watching the Courier's back desn't keep them from being taken from him, not any more than it prevents them from getting into trouble. He was behind them when they were knocked out and taken away.

But he was there when they returned and he helped them put their peices back together. It would be easier to just let both of them fall apart. It would be easier to deprieve themselves simply because it's too much work to do anything else. Too much work to eat or drink.

Instead, he makes an effort. It isn't easy, but he isn't alone. In time, they grow to being two individuals who want to live. They always were a bunch of problem solvers.

Once, after he and Arcade had convinced the Courier it was safe to rest for a time, Arcade had said something to him.

"It's rotten work, taking care of them."

"Not if it's them. Not to me."

Arcade smirked at them like he had won something in this exchange. Boone ignored him. Whatever Arcade thought that admission-that he cared about the Courier-proved meant nothing.

He was just trying to keep his friend alive.

The Courier has gone to meet someone from their past. They've gone somewhere he can not follow, just as they had been kidnapped away to the Sierra Madre, abducted to the Big MT. Only, this time he's chosen not to follow.

Whatever the Courier finds-if it ends up being the home they had forgotten-he'd rather they didn't have to worry about him.

When the Courier does return, they run to him and grab him in a hug faster than he can react. They burrow into his chest in a way that would have been intrusive if it was anyone but them.

"I misssed you!" they mumble into his armor. "You won't believe-"

But before they can finish, their little robot is beeping so frantically to get their attention. The Courier's arms drop and they take a step back from him, seemingly embarrassed by their affections.

As the Courier and ED-E engage in a conversation Boone can only half understand, he looks out into the desert to compose himself. That's when he sees it first. A glint of something out in the sands.

Initially, he has no idea what it could be. His eyesight's sharp, but not that sharp. It doesn't look like Legion, so he doesn't shoot it.

The Courier is so proud of their new name. It's taken from an Old World battle, and someone had given it to them.

Boone thinks its a mouthful. It takes some time for him to adjust. He had been so used to refering to them as Six or just Courier. Eventually, he decides to just shorten it to Tie.

It's not because he's stupid, no matter what Arcade says. Antietam just takes too long to say.

The name wasn't the only thing Tie had brought back with them. Their bounty-hunter attire is retired in favor of a blue duster with an Old World flag on the back. It certainly makes them stand out against the Mojave.

The Glint he had sighted back in Novac didn't disappear. It followed them. Boone is fairly certain it's a person, but he can't gage their intent or why they are following them. He's fairly certain it's non-hostile-they had plenty of opportunities to kill both of them.

New Vegas looms large in front of them. There's business to be settled here, he knows, but it isn't his.

Instead of tracking down the man who stole their life and shot them in the head, Tie seems happy enough to serve as errand runner for Freeside.

Maybe that's why they had originally became a courier. The reason why doesn't matter much to them any more.

No matter how silly or monotonous a job seems, Tie is willing to complete it. They do a day's work for the Van Graff's and Boone can't help but stand a little closer to them after the attempted bombing.

The King certainly appreciates their work. He tells them as much, bringing Antietam to his room to discuss some task or another The King sent them out on.

He sits down on his stupid bed-what kind of a bed is that-and insists the Courier do the same. Boone stays standing, frowning a mile a minute.

"Darlin', could ya ask your soldier boy to wait outside a minute? I think we oughta have a discussion without an audience."

Boone has seen Antietam face hoards of Legion assassains without fear. He's seen them struggle to recover after whatever they saw in the Sierra Madre. Right now, he doesn't think that they want to be left alone with The King.

"Body guards work better if they're in the same room." Boone says, and leaves it at that.

"I guess, if the Courier trust ya that's enough for me." The King looks him sharply in the eye.

"Thank you." Tie says, but Boone knows that was for him. If his blood wasn't full of rage, he might be smilling right now.

When they return to their room at the Wrangler-not without Beautrice and Old Ben trying to offer their services to Antietam-the Courier says "You're not a body guard. You know that, right?"

"You didn't want to be alone with him." Boone says in response.

"T-That's not-I didn't want to be seperated from you."

"Huh."

And then they pretend that conversation didn't happen. They go to sleep, and their room at the Wrangler only has the one bed. It's not all that awkward, and Boone was just thankful that Tie wanted to sleep. in the morning, they get up and head off on some other grand adventure.

This time, it's investigating what's wrong with the water at the NCR Sharecropper farms. The Glint darts closer to them than it normally strays.

Close enough for Boone to get a decent look at it. It's a man. He moves a little like a Legion man, but he doesn't look like one of Caesar's. His duster is the same as the one Tie brought back back from the Divide.

Tie never had told him too much about the Divide. He sort of expected that. They didn't speak about the Sierra Madre or the Big MT, or even about their trip to Zion unless he asked.

Small talk has never been his strong suit. Arcade, the nosy guy, would be much better at getting this sort of stuff from them.

"Your duster's new." He says casually.

"Yeah. Ulysses gave it to me." They respond.

"Ulysses...What's that guy like?" He asks.

Antietam thought for a moment and then answered.

"He's the strongest man I've ever met. Eyes like a hawk, really skilled in hunting and tracking."

Boone hugged his riffle a little tighter. It was a massive weapon, one lovingly assembled by Tie. He puzzles over that, and then decides that was what he meant. Antietam had lovingly assembled the Anti-Material Rifle for him, handing over dozens of caps to the Gun Runners for peices and parts for it. Any time he started to run low on ammo, Tie handed him another box of .50. They didn't have to, but he always appreciated it.

"Huh." Strongest man they've ever met, huh? An incrediably stupid idea forms in his head. "Hey, Tie, do you think I can carry you?"

"W-What? Don't be stupid-I'm carrying a bunch of gear right now."

"I could do it. Who do you think carried you out of the ravine?" He answered defensively.

"I'm not saying you couldn't do it. I'm saying you shouldn't." Tie settled their beret, and then fixed their pin in their hair. It glinted a little in the sun. "Who are you trying to show off for? There's no one around."

They were heading into a vault. Boone hated vaults.

Dwellers themselves were alright, but if there was a vault where people worked together and Vault-Tec didn't shoot them in the foot by drugging them or something, it wasn't in the Mojave. Boone still thought about the spore-creatures.

This vault isn't any different from other vaults. It's partially flooded, and Tie's geiger counter keeps on beeping.

"Alrright, I'm going to dive down now." Tie says as they stand over a flooded section of the vault. They loved water, always seemed so transfixed and mystified by large bodies of water. Only, they didn't seem to like being in the water all that much. Boone had asked once, and the Courier had just said "Have you ever been buried alive?" and left it at that.

Antietam is not very good at swimming. It's not all that surprising-most bodies of water are too tainted for swimming.

They strip down to their underclothes, all lanky limbs and scars on show. Handing their beret and duster to Boone and removing their boots, they strap on their rebreather. The spurrs of their boots clack against the ground as they wade into the flooded chamber.

He hates waiting for the Courier to reemerge. Anything could go wrong and they would be unable to defend themselves. Eyes on the water, watching for any disturbance, he thinks about something else.

He hasn't seen The Glint since they entered the Vault. Maybe it didn't follow them down here. He'll bring it up when the Courier resurfaces. It should be any second now, but that doesn't stiffle the feeling that they've been down there too long.

Shit. Maybe they ran into an issue with their rebreather. He knew that was a peice of junk. He drops TIe's clothing and is frantically taking off his boots when the Courier rises from the water.

"Christ, Tie. Don't scare me like that."

Antietam drops a handful of ammo on the vault flooring.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to. I found a lock box at the bottom, but I knew I couldn't get it back up to the surface so I popped the lock. " The Courier wrings a little water out of their hair. "Should have done this part last, huh? I'm soaked through."

It's when they leave Vault 34, sick with rads, that he brings up The Glint. He's looking directly at The Glint.

"Do you see that? Do you ever feel like something is watching you?"

"Yeah? I got you, don't I?"

"That's not what I meant."

As Arcade treats their radiation sickness, Boone watches for The Glint.

It was better if he did this alone, he reasoned. He felt uneasy leaving the Courier, especially while they were sleeping, but he knew that there was little threat of anything getting into their room at the Wrangler.

He was facing the real threat: whoever was following them. That, and however sore Tie was going to be if they woke up and found him missing.

The Glint was on the roof of a building adjacent to the Wrangler. His focus on his quarry is stedfast. The Glint doesn't move.

The Glint turns out to be a man, as he had thought. The man isn't anyone he recognizes, but he recognizes the duster the man is shrouded in.

This must be Ulysses, he thinks, although his evidence is shallow at best. Ulysses-if this is him-is sleeping with a hunter's awareness. The Mojave night is warm, and Boone walks away from that roof.

He isn't sneaking. If the man wakes, he wakes. He's fairly sure that Ulysses is no enemy of the Courier, not with how fondly they had spoke of him.

A few days later, the Courier leaves without warning. Leaves of their own volition-not abducted-this time. Comes back in an Old World suit, eyes red from crying. Before he or Arcade could ask what's wrong or why they left, Antietam is pulling the researcher into a hug, muttering some story.

Arcade removes the Courier, holding them at arm's length.

"Hold on, I can't understand you when you're muttering like that. You did what?"

The Courier can't meet Arcade's eyes and is definitely avoiding Boone's gaze.

"I said, I went to go settle things with Benny."

"Ah, yes. The man who shot you in the head. Well, he doesn't appear to have finished the job. You aren't hurt, right?"

"No, it didn't come to that. I'm alright." They find something fascinating in the dirt of their nails. "Reputation might have taken a hit though."

"What did you do, Antietam?" Arcade was something like the Courier's brother, and he often had reason to be concerned for them.

"Tried to seduce Benny."

Arcade looks at Antietam for a second, like he's sure he's heard wrong.

"Sorry, run that by me again?"

"I tried to seduce Benny."

Arcade inhales deeply, and then sighs. He rakes a hand over his face.

"Why? Where did you even get that idea?"

"I thought it was the best way to get him alone! I wasn't going to do anything!" They still aren't looking Arcade in the eye-too afraid to see disappointment. "It didn't work anyway."

"What were you going to do? Talk to him? He tried to kill you!" Arcade says. And then he snaps. "It's your life anyway. Just don't come crying to me when you make a mess of it. Although it seems you already have."

Boone does not say anything. He just doesn't know what to say. This was not a situation he had ever anticipated. He's mainly just shocked by the Courier's actions, and by the blinding fury of his own jealousy. That's probably a thread, but he's doing his best to not pull at it.

"Arcade.." Antietam tries, but Arcade responds with a quick. "Just go to bed, Courier. We'll talk in the morning."

Dejectedly, the Courier climbs into the Wrangler's lone bed and tries to sleep.

"Trying to seduce the man who shot them in the head. What will they think of next?" Arcade mutters , more to himself than to Boone. "It's late. You can take the floor."

In the morning, Antietam wakes up in bed with their brother and their fight the prior evening seems less severe. They get up, get dressed and head over to Mick and Ralph's for odds and ends. New Vegas was a grand place, sure, but it wasn't somewhere Antietam could live. All the lights hurt their head, for one.

Another gift from Benny, packaged in lead wrapping paper. As the Courier steps out they are accosted by Vulpes Inculta. He isn't dressed as he was as a Nipton, but the Courier's reflexes take over and they draw their sixgun.

"Patience, Courier." He says, and then bestows the Mark of Caesar upon them. Antietam instantly feels worse for it, craving a bath if only to wash this man off of them.

The Wrangler doesn't have such amenities, but it does have Boone and Arcade. Two of their favorite people, and the support Antietam happens to need at the moment.

Already, a plan is forming in their head. Barely a step outside of the Wrangler, blood pooling at their feet, they turn and reenter the building.

James Garret tries to get their attention-maybe for work, maybe because he heard of Benny's rejection. It doesn't matter to them at the moment. With the mark burning a hole in their hand, they climb the stairs to their room.

"Antietam, your hands are looking rather empty. Did you forget your caps or something?" Arcade says, smiling at the Courier.

Antietam doesn't say anything, walking up to the table and dropping the medallion. Arcade examines it, eyes wide.

"I got the Mark of Caesar."

"How? Why?"

"They just gave it to me because they're impressed with my work."

"You have killed a fair number of their men."

"Yeah, we're a bunch of problem solvers."Boone chimes in.

"Yeah, we are. Anyway, that's not all. They invited me up there-to their fortress-so I can meet with Caesar." Antietam was smirking. Pointing a finger at Boone, they asked him. "Say, what do you think about wiping out the Legion's Fort, huh?"

"I'd say we're outnumbered." Boone responded, a grin growing on his face despite their very apparent outnumberedness.

"But we've got the element of surprise?"

"Sure, we'd have to be something awfully stupid to try and attack the fort with three men." Arcade added.

"We can probably stop by McCarran on the way, see if Col. Hsu can spare any men for the attack. First recon hasn't left for Forlorn Hope yet, yeah?"

"You head out to McCarran and they'll keep you there all day. "

"I can run errands for Hsu if it gets us men." Antietam responded. "I took care of their messenger, so we should be have some time."

The Courier stretched, and then got to work preparing for their trek across the Mojave and their upcoming battle with the Legion.

It was stupid, and he had a million other things to do, but Boone had an idea. He looked over at Antietam, who was currently comparing different side arms. They put Cram-Opener to the side. Really, they weren't much of a melee or unnarmed fighter, but Little Buster had been something like a friend to the Courier.

"Tie?" He asked, and they looked over at him, putting down their weapons. "Remember how I said I could pick you up?"

"Yeah, but I-"

"You aren't carrying any gear right now." He stepped forward, pulled his friend into a secure hold. It wasn't all that difficult, even if he and Antietam were about the same height. "Told you I could do it."

"Yes, you're looking exceptionally virile." Arcade said, narrowing his eyes at the duo. "Put Antietam down so they can get packed."

Boone rolled his eyes, but put Antietam down.

It was a fast enough walk to Camp McCarran. Hsu, for once, didn't have a grocer's list of errands for them. He was mostly surprised to see them.

Antietam explained their situation and their plan to attack the fort.

"The mark of Caesar? You never cease to surprise, Courier." Col. Hsu never referred to the Courier by name. For what reason, Boone didn't know and didn't really care. "Regardless, we can't spare the men. We just diverted some of our forces to Bittersprings, and the First Recon left for Camp Forlorn Hope this morning. Even if we could, we shouldn't place military troops in the hands of a civilian."

The Courier had fought and seized Nelson from the Legion. Had the NCR forgotten that? But the Courier bites their tongue.

"Yes, I suppose that would be the case. I guess we'll have to take care of Caesar ourselves, huh? Alright, I'll be back to collect the bounty on that-there is a bounty, right?"

"I'm sure we can rustle up something." Hsu said, although it was evident from his tone that he did not think he would see the Courier again. "Goodbye, Courier. Thank you for everything."

"So that was a bust." Arcade said as they exited McCarran.

"It was a long shot anyway. Couple of hours walk to the fort." Antietam said, settling their bag on their shoulder. They had dressed for a fight, assassain suit concealed by their duster, beret on their head, and Arcade's pin in their hair. "Yeah, I recon it's probably about several hundred men against the three of us. Uh, that's the thing. Y'all don't have to go with me. It's likely that we would die or worse and I-"

"And what, leave you to take on the Legion by yourself? I'm going with you, and if we go down, we'll take as many of them with us as we can." Boone said. In a quieter voice, he added "And if you get captured..."

His voice trailed off, but they both knew. Arcade was walking ahead of them a little. Antietam nodded, a consent to things that were too awful to say aloud.

"I'll do the same for you." Either that, or die fighting like hell to get him out. "It might not come to a direct confrontation. I've got a couple packs of C4. Could lay those around the camp, set 'em off. I have some stealth-boys too, if you wanna try that."

"How much?"

"A dozen packs of C4, and 4 stealthboys. Not exactly a surplus. Could stop and get mines too. Didn't think to bring any."

As they walked, he scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of trouble. He knew Ulysses was following them, but he didn't anticipate any fight with him.

All the confusion and jealousy of the prior night had been forgotten in the wake of the Courier's plan to attack the Fort. It certainly had been a wild day.

They reach the Fort via the Cottonwood Cove waterway. Arcade elects to stay behind at the Cove and to send reinforcements if they don't return in time.

But miraculously, they survive. Caesar is dead, and the Courier is victorious. It's almost certainly the heat of the battle getting to his head, but Boone wants to kiss Antietam. Badly.

He settles for picking the Courier up and spinning around. They're both laughing, a rich thing in the air between them, half drunk on victory.

Someone's voice cuts through their reverie.

"Say, wouldn't you let a guy loose, baby? At least before you start macking on each other?"

Shit, had they forgotten someone? He thought they had cleared the camp. Weapons drawn, they quickly find the speaker. It's a man in a checkered suit.

"Oh, if it isn't my baby! Come to rescue me, huh?" Despite the heavy bruising on his face, he smirks and it's almost half charming. "Told them you'd come for me. Just couldn't get enough of me?"

"I didn't know you had left Vegas." Tie says quickly, shutting him down. The man's face fell.

"So what was all that then? Business as usual?"

"Just about, yeah."

"Tie, you know this man?" Boone asked.

"Not really. This is Benny, y'know the one who shot me in the head. What are you doing here, actually?"'

"You gonna untie me if I tell you? What kind of a name is Tie anyway?"

"A good one." They said, feeling their energy level begin to wane as they spoke with Benny. They just didn't make guides on how to speak with your would-be murderer who you tried and failed to seduce. "I'll think about it. Why are you here?"

"Those bullets must have scrambled your egg pretty good." Benny said. "What's it look like? I got captured sneaking into the fort."

"You want me to take care of this guy for you?" Boone said.

"No?"

"Oh, come on, baby! You can't still be sore at me."

"Where's the platinum chip?"

"Caesar's got it. Or had it, considering he's probably worm food now. Baby, you don't know what-"

"Stop calling Tie your baby." Boone snapped.

"Bye, Benny." Antietam pulled a switchblade from their pocket and slashed his restraints.

"You're letting him go?"

"I don't care any more. Let's get the chip and loot and then head back to McCarran."

"What kind of bounty do you think Hsu rustled up?"

"None, probably. Still, we killed Caesar. Won't end the Legion, but it's a blow for sure."

"Sounds like what Ulysses would say. C'mon, let's get back to Arcade before he calls for the cavalry."

ED-E beeped cheerfully, and Boone smiled a little. Just a little.

As they walked through the river, Antietam stopped and then wrapped their arms around him.

"Thanks. For everything, y'know?"

"Yeah, sure, Tie."

Wounded and tired, they made their way back.

[elvish-sky]

The Temptation of Regality: You’re Here

A.N: I’ve had this idea for a super long time and was so happy to be able to incorporate it into this series! It was so much fun to write, I’ve kinda been adding ideas and working on it for a while and I’m honestly very proud of it. Also- I know I’m absolutely terrible at titles and I’m really trying but it’s just very hard so please don’t hate me for them. Anyways, enjoy!

Word Count: 2,654

Pairings: You know the drill… Thorin x Reader

Warnings: Injury, alcohol/drunkenness

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

****

You’re Here

You plodded through the trees, only able to summon enough energy to put one foot in front of the other. Thorin was in front of you, and Fili just behind- they wanted to make sure that if you did collapse, someone would catch you. You could feel the growing unease at the slow pace you were setting, and tried to speed up. Instead of complying, your leg gave out and you crumpled to the ground with a groan.

None of this would have been an issue if it wasn’t for the orcs. That morning, several days after departing from Rivendell, you had been foraging for breakfast in a lovely quiet green meadow, when an arrow came whistling through the trees and lodged itself in your leg. Crying out in pain, you had fallen to the ground, helplessly watching as a warg with an orc rider sprung from its perch of a boulder, clearly intent on finishing you off. The orc scrambled down from its seat, drawing a filthy sword with a grin on its face. Drawn by the sound of your cry, thirteen dwarves and a hobbit burst out of the trees, Kili killing the orc with a well-placed arrow (a shot that you couldn’t help but admire, despite your injured state), as Dwalin clashed with the warg, dispatching it with a blow to the neck that sent it right onto the point of Thorin’s sword. Once that had all been dealt with, they sprinted to where the rest of the Company was gathered around you, watching as Oin removed the arrow from your leg and bound the wound.

Given the fact that, as a human, you were larger than everyone else in the group, it would have been very difficult to carry you. Instead, you stubbornly insisted that you were “fine, thank you very much!” and staggered along the path. You had done okay most of the day, only having to stop more often than usual because the blood loss had made you weak. Every time Thorin had called “halt,” you had collapsed to the ground but had managed to rise one it was time to get moving again. At least, every time until now.

“Y/N,” Kili cautioned, “this does not look good.”

“I can tell that, thank you,” you snapped back at him, your pain causing the rudeness. Oin made his way up the line to talk to Thorin.

After a short, whispered conversation, Thorin pronounced “There is a small town just a little bit further ahead. I had planned on bypassing it completely, but Oin says that Y/N will heal much faster if she rests well tonight. We will sleep there tonight and continue our journey tomorrow.”

This was met with sighs of relief from the rest of the company, as everyone had been longing to sleep in a warm bed.

“Y/N, do you think you can make it just a bit further on that leg?” Dori inquired with a concerned look on his face.

“Of course I can.” You proceeded to haul yourself up by Fili’s coat, but once you tried to put weight on the wounded leg it gave out. Again.

“Thorin, I’m so sorry,” you stated apologetically, “I can’t walk. Just leave me here and continue the quest without me.”

“Nonsense, lass!” exclaimed Dwalin, and he, Fili, and Bofur proceeded to pick you up and put you on the makeshift litter they sometimes used for Bilbo or Bombur. Surprised at how comfortable it was even with your wound, you quickly drifted off to sleep.

Waking at the noise once you had reached the town, you gestured to Dwalin, Fili, and Bofur to put the litter down and you attempted to place weight on your leg once again. Refreshed from your nap, it didn’t give out beneath you although it was still painful.

“Where are Thorin, Bilbo, and Gloin?” you asked, noting their absence from the group gathered around you.

“Inside, getting rooms,” answered Nori.

While waiting for their return, you gazed at your surroundings. It looked to be a small village, about the size of Bree. The buildings were worn with age, scratches and dents highlighted by the bright moon above.

This peace was quickly disturbed by the crashing sound of a door opening, and you turned to see Gloin beckoning at the company to come inside. As you did, he told everyone the sleeping arrangements for the night.

“We are in luck, lads!” he exclaimed, and then with a look at you quickly added “and lass!”

“They have several adjoining rooms available, so Bifir, Bofur, and Bombur will have one, Dwalin, Balin, Oin, and myself will share another, Ori, Nori, Dori and Bilbo will have the third, and Fili, Kili, Thorin, and Y/N will share the last.”

This proclamation was met with mixed reactions, but the biggest objection came from Fili. “Y/N has to share with us!? She’s a girl, and she’s injured! Don’t they have any other open rooms?”

“I’m sorry lad,” Gloin apologized, “trust me when I say there really were no other options. Thorin threatened to separate the innkeeper’s head from his body, but they still did not have any other rooms.”

“It’s okay,” you consoled Fili, “I’ll be fine sharing, I can put up a blanket or something. Also, this way I have the three strongest warriors to protect me!” You knew that the best way to get him to calm down was through flattery, and sure enough it worked.

You limped up the stairs alongside everyone else. Gloin and Thorin opened doors as you made you way down the hallway, ushering groups of dwarves into their rooms. Finally, when you, Thorin, and the brothers had reached the end of the creaky floors, he pulled open the last door to reveal a small room. It had four beds, one was on top of another and the other two were placed side-by-side.

“They did not have any single rooms left, and I’d rather have you with us,” Thorin was looking up at you, clearly seeking your agreement. Bemused, you nodded your head in thanks. He had been much kinder to you since Rivendell, and you couldn’t quite figure out why, although you did look back on his reaction to you in that dress fondly.

“I figured we could hang a blanket around the bed on the bottom to give you some privacy,” Thorin explained.

“Good idea, Uncle!” Kili set to work, taking a blanket from his pack and tacking it up. When he finished, he stood to the side for your approval.

“Thank you, Kili, it looks great.” He beamed in satisfaction as you saw Thorin strolling over to another door you hadn’t noticed.

“The real reason we saved this room for the four of us was because…” and he opened the door to reveal a washroom.

“Everyone else has to use the communal ones!” Kili announced.

“Yes. Gloin and I paid the innkeeper a little extra to get this room,” said Thorin. You gave them each a little peck on the cheek in thanks and limped over to the washroom, intending to freshen up and maybe even bathe.

“Have a good time, Y/N,” Fili declared, and the three dwarves left you in peace.

After bathing, you examined your leg, which didn’t look as bad as you had first thought. You were relatively confident that you would be able to walk tomorrow. You dressed in your clean set of clothes, washed by the innkeeper’s wife while you bathed, and made your way downstairs for some food.

You were met with quite the sight. Thorin was hiding under a table, Nori and Bofur were singing along to the music played by Bifir and Gloin on top of said table. Dori, Ori, and Dwalin seemed to be doing some sort of dance next to the table, and Bombur had gotten hold of Nori’s coat and was searching through it for stolen goods. Bilbo seemed to be yelling at Thorin under the table, only making him cower more. Balin and Oin were seated at said table, looking highly amused by the antics.

Bemused, you made your way over to the table where Fili and Kili sat, looking, for once, well-behaved. “What on Middle-Earth is happening to everyone?” you exclaimed, “and why aren’t you two in the center of all the trouble?”

“They all got drunk,” Kili responded, “and we’ve been designated the official sober dwarves for the night.”

“Normally,” Fili added, “we’d be disappointed that we weren’t drinking. But we’re really enjoying this.”

You began to as well, watching your friends make complete fools of themselves. However, you were still a little confused about the antics.

“But why are they all acting so oddly?” you queried of the brothers.

“We haven’t had ale in a while, especially any as strong as this, and none of us are the best at holding our alcohol.” Fili returned.

“We spent a while in Rivendell, and you’re telling me none of you sampled any of their wines?” You were skeptical.

Kili looked sheepish. “Uncle forbid us. Said ‘I do not want you drinking any of the filthy elvish wines.’”

Fili nodded. “Of course, he may have put it a bit more strongly, but that’s the general gist of it.”

“Anyways,” Kili continued, “we’ve come to know what everyone in the company does when drunk, and would like to tell you. Fili, would you begin?”

“Gladly.” Fili took a big swig of water before launching in. “So, Y/N. Thorin gets rather paranoid when drunk, and I believe he currently thinks that most of the people in this room are assassins. Sadly, he is also a timid drunk and therefore will not confront them, which is probably best. Nori, Bifir, Bofur, and Gloin get very musical when drunk, and Nori also gets rather remorseful which is probably how Bombur got a hold of his coat.”

Kili picked up the explanation as Fili paused for a bite of food, “Dori, Ori, and Dwalin get rather overconfident, which explains the absolutely terrible dancing. And we’ve never seen Bilbo drunk before, but he seems to get rather angry.” With that the brothers sat back in their chairs, waiting for your reaction.

Which, sensibly, was to let your head crash onto the table. “This is going to be a long night.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Fili was starting to look rather worried himself.

Much later, you sat at the table with the boys, watching the room descend further into madness.

“Should we round them up?” They both nodded, and with a sigh the three of you stood.

“I’ll get Balin and Oin to help, they don’t look too bad.” You gave Fili a glance of approval before making your way into the throng.

Figuring that maybe if you got the leader under control, everyone else would calm down, you crawled under the table, wincing as you felt your wound flare up with pain, to see Thorin, curled into a ball with Bilbo kneeling next to him.

“And that’s another thing!” The hobbit was pretty much yelling. “Handkerchiefs are essential to a hobbit’s daily life! In forcing me to leave mine behind you have deprived me of my well-being…” At this point you tuned him out, focusing on the king.

“Bilbo.”

“What?!” He snapped at you.

“Would you mind heading upstairs? It’s late.”

“Why should I do what you tell me? I’ve been taking orders this whole quest with no one stopping for just a second to think about what I fe-”

“I hear there may be handkerchiefs upstairs.”

“Oh,” he looked thoughtful, “alright then.” And without further ado the hobbit left.

“Thorin?” You placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He started. “Y/N? Why are you here?” And then his face darkened. “Have you come to kill me too, like Bilbo was?”

You couldn’t help but laugh at him “Unless our burglar was planning to talk you to death, I think we’re good. And no, Thorin, I’m not going to murder you.”

He looked at you, suspicion plainly written across his face. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, you silly dwarf,” you shook your head at him fondly, “now let’s head upstairs.”

You grabbed his hand, only now noticing the lack of noise from the room around you. Emerging from under the table, you saw only a few people left. Balin and Oin were still sitting, this time at a different table, and Balin threw a wink at you as you appeared, dwarf in tow. Blushing, you shook your head madly at him, seeing his mouth curve up in a smile under the white beard. Rolling your eyes as he and Oin raised tankards in your direction, you began to tow Thorin up the stairs.

Reaching the landing, you staggered as he leaned on you heavily. You weren’t sure if your leg could take the extra weight, it was already throbbing, so you grabbed him by the armpit, trying to support yourself and not make him fall. You failed, and you crashed to the ground, limbs tangled with those of the king.

Your fall had been rather noisy, and Fili and Kili came bursting out of your room at the end of the hall. They started laughing once they saw your predicament, but still made their way down the hall to help. Fili grabbed his uncle and hauled him up, slinging an arm across his shoulder. They staggered back, and you laughed at the sight of the nephew helping his taller uncle. Then you thought about what it must have looked like with you trying to help Thorin, and laughed even more.

Kili helped you stand, and stood still as you leaned on him, trying to find your balance. Once you had, he started slowly walking so that your hopping leg could keep up. Fed up with this about halfway down the hall, he scooped you up and carried you the rest of the way with no trouble despite the fact that you were much taller. Reaching the doorway, he shouldered it open and deposited you in the chair you directed him to right next to Thorin’s bed.

You giggled to see the king sprawled out on his bed, eyes closed. He didn’t look very regal, but it was just such an endearing sight. Reaching over, you pulled the blanket over him, tucking it in around his shoulders. You brushed a strand of hair out of his face, starting in surprise as his eyes opened and a hand shot out to grab your wrist.

“Amrâlimê (my love).” His voice was rough.

You heard twin gasps from across the room, and turned to see Fili and Kili sneaking out.

“We’ll just leave you two alone now.” Kili winked at you before shutting the door behind him.

“Amrâlimê.” Thorin’s voice was more insistent this time, and you looked at him to see his face lit up with earnesty.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

You smiled at his words. “Me too, Thorin. Me too.” You started to stroke his face, fingertips tracing the line of his beard as his eyes fluttered closed, breathing growing deeper. You smiled at him as your eyelids began to grow heavy. You fully intended to make your way over to your own bed, but, too tired to think about standing, you let your head fall onto Thorin’s chest, slumping across him as you drifted off to sleep.

Fili and Kili peered around the door to see you collapsed over their uncle, both fast asleep. Kili made to go move you to your bed, but Fili stopped him, grabbing his arm.

“Leave them be.”

Kili caught onto his brother’s plan, and stepped back. “Let’s leave these two in peace and go see if Bilbo and the Ri brothers have any spare room.”

Fili nodded, and the two quickly grabbed their bedding and packs before slipping out the door, Fili sneaking one last fond glance at the two sleeping figures before silently shutting the door.

Everything tag 💞: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1

Series Tag: @bitter-sweet-farmgirl @moony-artnstuff @whiskeywinter89 @beakami @sassyscribbler @yes-captainstark

Thorin tag: @lathalea

[shes-an-oddbird]

A Very long list of Season 5 Predictions/Wish List

I tried to hit as many of the characters as possible so this is really really long

The trickiest thing about this show seems to be the ever growing cast creating several stories at once and the fact that it’s a show about first responders so even characters that don’t seem like they would follow that career choice end up there and those that don’t sometimes feel out of place.

This is not to say that I don’t LOVE AND ADORE FIREFIGHTER ALBERT HAN! (but really kind of thought it came out of nowhere and yet I’m not surprised because what else were they going to do with him?)

It seems unlikely they’d assign Albert to the 118 unless Bobby requests him like he did with Eddie, but I think Bobby might have some hesitations about that. They’re already as close as family and sometimes make dangerous decisions because of it. He might feel its better for Albert to be with a different fire house or maybe Chimney would.

But he’s a regular so putting him with the 118 would be the best way to give him screen time

I personally think he’ll be assigned to the 133 since we’ve seen a bit of them this season. I’d love if there was a fun rivalry between the two firehouses (whichever one Albert ends up at.) I’ve said it before that the 118 is probably notorious at this point for the weird situations they get into. The teasing and the taunting would just be so much fun to watch. Albert talking to Chim or Buck and just being like, so the guys told me about this time…

Actually can we take a moment to appreciate that the 118 got ANOTHER firetruck destroyed and this one wasn’t even theirs. The 133 spends FIVE MINUTES with Buck and Eddie and their truck is in shambles.

On a more serious note, we might meet Chimney and Albert’s dad. I’m thinking he’s not going to be thrilled about his youngest joining the fire department and show up to talk some sense into him and scold Chimney for letting him do it.

I’m so confused about how much time has passed? How long does it take to become a firefighter? They must have some sort of plan for him because cutting out him going through training seems like a lost opportunity. It’s a story we haven’t really seen through anything but montages. Is it difficult? Would he try to quit? I’d have liked to see him making the decision in the first place.

putting the rest under here because its really a lot

We’ll also miss Eddie recovering (and Bobby too actually), which I’m a little bummed about but not devastated. It sounds like we won’t see much in the way of the effects of either shooting but can’t do anything about that now unless they flash back and have them work towards that moment on the roof.

My biggest concern with the time jump is missing literally any of Maddie’s story. I don’t know much about PPD or if its called recovery or overcoming it but I do want to see Maddie work through that and Chimney and the others supporting her.

I think her leaving the dispatch center will be temporary but it may take half or all of next season for her to return.

Maybe she’ll take over for May, if she does go off to school

Or May might continue working at Dispatch and going to school.

If she doesn’t go to school Athena is not going to be very happy with her. But maybe we could get Maddie and Josh being big siblings to May which is an underappreciated dynamic. Maybe it will help Maddie cope with how useless she’s feeling with Jee.

I’ll need to rewatch to see if they say what May wants to do but maybe she’ll study journalism or something that will keep her in the loop of the main characters the way it does Taylor.

And speaking of Taylor, she is actually a very interesting character, whether you like her (morally) or not. I think we’ll see more of her in season 5 and I genuinely think she’ll fall hard for Buck. And I think everyone needs to chill about how it’ll destroy her character.  We’ve already established that Taylor is like the female version of Buck (with a bit more sense maybe but a mirror if him non the less). If Buck is allowed to grow and want an actual relationship, is anyone really surprised they’d have Taylor go through that too.

She’s just a few steps behind, like he’s in relationship phase and she’s just coming to terms with her own feelings for him

My big concern, since they like to break Buck’s poor little heart, is that she’ll leave. She’ll get a job opportunity and pick it over Buck. I think it would be a hard decision for her but in character. Or maybe they’ll surprise us and make Buck and Taylor endgame (I know a lot of people don’t want to hear that but I could see it happening that way)

On the flip side I don’t know what’s going to happen with Eddie and Ana. I know she’s pretty much hated but its super unclear what the plan is other than that they’ll eventually break up per what Carla implied. I suspect they’ll be together for a bit of season five until Eddie figures out what’s up with what his heart wants. I don’t think Ana is some awful witch so the break up will probably be mutual or at the very least Ana won’t be surprised.

But hopefully we get more than just that as far as Eddie goes. The episodes we do get that are focused on him are really some of my favorites. They are wrapping up his moving on from Shannon arc which is cool. The trying to be a good father to Christopher will always be there, that’s something that will never change and always be a growing/learning experience.

I’d love to meet one or both of Eddie’s sisters. They don’t have to stick around long term like Albert did but to have them pop up with some crisis would be interesting and we could learn more about Eddie and the dynamic with his family which seems loving but strained.

Maybe we will see Eddie working more with Hen too. I was wondering if they’d make Eddie a full paramedic to take over for her eventually, which I decided they probably won’t do. But one episode of Buck distressed over the fact that he and Eddie wouldn’t be partners anymore would be fun drama.

The two really are just at a loss without each other and I love that. They get so pouty when they’re apart.

I don’t know what other plans they might have for Buck next season. I suspect we’ll see him worrying over Maddie and I’d kill to see him watching Jee-Yun.

I don’t know how old she’ll be because of the time jump but can you imagine Buck watching the baby and it just being an absolute disaster. So he starts calling everyone in a panic and we get firefam taking care of Baby Jee, maybe while Chim and Maddie are at a therapy session or just a weekend away for themselves.

I’m convinced the Baby would love Eddie. I think its just me projecting my desire for Eddie and Maddie to interact more. But like Hen teasing him because of course the baby loves him, all the girls love Eddie, he’s got the pretty face. Buck being super jealous that Jee likes him more. Eddie being genuinely surprised because he felt like such a failure when Chris was a baby. 

Denny, Harry and Christopher are all getting older too so there has got to be a story there with at least one, if not all of them. Harry was sidelined this season but I love that kid, he is the spawn of Athena and Michael and we already know he’s a little trouble maker. Match that with Christopher who is sassy and too smart for his own good and Denny who is clearly the good kid of the bunch. I don’t know, it’s another lost opportunity if they don’t do something with that.

They could assign Karen and Hen an older foster kid who’s maybe not such a good influence at first. Unless they opt for just younger ones, I’m not really sure how that works. But they could get one that’s not as easy as nia and they have to work for that bond.

Might be they adopt them at the end

I hope we see more of Hen’s mom and med school friends but not like a crazy amount. The cast is already too big but I love them so an occasional appearance would be welcome.

I love David and Michael too but they always seem like the hardest to work in because, as stated, they are not first responders. David is a doctor though so maybe we’ll see some interaction with him and Hen. And all the Bobby and Michael content is welcome.

I NEED A WEDDING NEXT SEASON! Just pick a pair and marry them please!!! Maddie and Chimney!!! Michael and David!!! Someone, please! Even just a proposal?! Maybe? Please?

And there will be another crossover event which is exciting because I really enjoyed the first one. I wonder if they’ll come to LA this time and what would bring them there. With the scheduling of the shows next season they won’t have to tie them together so much time frame wise. They literally could just be popping in for a visit. I’m not gonna lie when I thought about another crossover I really wanted Bobby the self-taught chef to meet Charles the actual chef but now I can’t have that and it makes me so sad.

Putting all this out there is a really good way to insure it never happens, but still, they seem like logical places to go as of the finale.

[myemergence]

We're Gonna Grow Together

Pairing: Maddie Buckley/Chimney Han

Series: 911 First Kiss Week

@911firstkissweek

Rating: Teen

TW/CW: mentions of car accident, mentions of childbirth

Summary: Maddie and Chim have spent weeks trying every trick to send Maddie into labor and nothing has worked. When Chim is dealing with the wreckage at a pileup on the interstate, they get the call that Maddie is in labor. Chim quickly learns how life-changing this night is going to be.

Read it on AO3

thanks for the beta, love! @nurse-buckley

*

Chimney’s leg bounced as he looked out the window of the police cruiser. They’d spent the last couple of hours responding to a horrific call, a pileup on the interstate caused by a car that was driving in the wrong direction.

They’d helped to save a lot of lives, gotten people out of the wreckage and on their way to the hospital, but there had been too many victims that were beyond help when they arrived, killed by the impact of a reckless accident.

Not more than an hour ago he’d been hunched over a fellow firefighter with the 118, Renfro, helping to patch him up and get him on the way to the hospital.

Until they’d been standing there and received a call from dispatch about a woman in labor and then everything all seemed to blur together. Somehow Chim had ended up in Athena’s cruiser. On more than one occasion he wouldn’t have put it past her to toss him into the back of the car and take him in—usually for his poor taste in humor and penchant for pranks.

“You alright?” Athena asked, the red lights of the ambulance reflecting off of the hood of the car, the sound of sirens breaking through the night.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Chim answered, a forced laugh barely slipping past his lips as he glanced over at Athena. They’d been acquaintances for a long time. First, because Athena and Hen had been good friends and since Hen was his best friend their paths crossed regularly, and later on, because of Bobby. Even so, he was used to having some sort of buffer between the two of them.

The way their professional lives bled into their personal ones felt especially wrong tonight, the overlap was almost jarring after seeing so much loss, all the while preparing himself to welcome his child into the world.

“Maybe even great,” he adds after a minute, “and it’s probably terrible to say when…”

“When there are so many terrible things happening out there in the world? So many terrible things that we witnessed tonight?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Chim had always been pretty good at keeping his emotions out of calls, but there were times like tonight when they’d weigh on his heart. His mind kept going back to the boy who had called 911 in the first place, Jacob, and he really hoped that if anyone could pull through the tragedy tonight that it would be him.

“It just feels wrong,” he adds.

“It’s not,” Athena reminds him. “What happened today was horrific and traumatic for a lot of people, but being excited for your first child coming into the world? That’s what it’s all about.” Athena’s focus on the road ahead didn’t falter as she spoke. “If you lose all of your excitement for your life and family… you’ve given too much of yourself to the job.”

Chim nodded with a small jerk, still bouncing his leg anxiously in his seat.

“If you don’t stop bouncing your leg, we’re gonna have a problem,” she warned. Chim felt completely incapable of reading her, no matter the circumstance, so his leg quickly came to a halt with a muttered apology. “I remember how I felt with May. Hold on to that feeling for as long as you can.”

Athena pulled into the hospital and they moved swiftly toward the entrance, weaving through First Presbyterian in a way that only those who frequented the hospital could. Chim and Maddie had visited with enough false alarms that he knew exactly where he was headed. It was hard to believe, even after 42 weeks, that this was finally it.

Chim walked beside Athena, excitement and anxiety thrumming through his veins. He’d helped deliver babies in a pinch, had seen his share of deliveries, and he knew what to expect. This was different, it was Maddie upstairs, preparing to deliver their baby. Chim managed to press the button for the elevator, despite how unsteady he felt, and he turned to look at Athena.

“Okay, wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” Athena said as he stepped into the elevator. “Word of advice? If she tells you to shut up, shut up.”

“Copy that.” Chim drew in a deep breath as the elevator doors closed in front of him, Athena disappearing from view.

*

Most people were lucky to experience or witness a miracle once in a lifetime, if they were lucky. In his time with the 118, Chim had been witness to several unlikely miracles, victims pulling through when the odds, and sometimes even science, were against them. He’d somehow experienced two miracles, surviving rebar through his skull and then being stabbed by Doug.

Not to mention what he’d seen the rest of the firehouse, particularly Buck, endure and survive.

Despite all of the miracles that he’d personally been witness to, nothing felt as monumental as what he was experiencing now. Sitting in the chair beside Maddie’s hospital bed, dabbing the sweat from her brow with a towel, and holding her hand as he tried to help her manage the pain through the contractions.

Maddie grasped his hand tightly as the next one pulsed through her, Dr Heller coaching her through it. “You’re almost there. On the next contraction I need you to push for 10.”

Maddie nodded her head jerkily and Chim swept her hair back out of her face, unable to stop the swell of emotion around his heart as he watched her. He’d never met anyone as strong as Maddie before, able to conquer every challenge that life threw her way.

“You’ve got this, Maddie. Let’s meet our daughter.”

Maddie looked at him with tear filled eyes, somehow managing a smile despite the pain she was feeling, having planned all along to not get an epidural to help her with the pain. As it turned out, she wouldn’t have had time for one even if she wanted it.

The wave of the next contraction hit, and Chim counted her through it until a cry sounded in the hospital room.

“Sounds like someone’s got a healthy set of lungs on her,” Dr Heller said with a smile, looking at both Chim and Maddie.

She was a warrior, and Chim was completely in awe of her. He dipped his head down, kissing the side of her head as Dr Heller and the nurses checked the baby’s vitals, and he allowed himself a few moments to focus on this incredible thing that Maddie had just done.

Chim’s vision blurred as he looked down at her and blinked a few times to clear the tears. “I can’t believe you did it. I’m so proud of you.”

“I really did it,” Maddie gasped a breath as she held Chim’s gaze, disbelief obvious in her tone.

Within moments their baby was in Maddie’s arms, and Chim couldn’t tame the warmth that spread through his chest like wildfire. The love that he felt for Maddie—and now their daughter—was all consuming, and he didn’t want anything to ever dampen that.

“She’s perfect,” Chim whispered, sweeping away a tear as he watched Maddie’s first moments of motherhood, their baby swaddled in her arms. Maddie gently cradled her, bending forward and pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

They were both perfect, and somehow Chim was lucky enough to call them his.

[mooresomore]

Trailer Analysis

Alrighty, I have finally put my brain back together after it was broken by the release of the two trailers for season 5 today! (All I can say is I was glad I was off of work and didn’t have jury duty, because I haven’t been able to focus after seeing them). I worked out a few analysis pieces (or inferences really) from them.

Analysis of Trailer 1:

- Multiple mentions of previous disasters. Bobby gets the earthquake (I can’t remember if he was directly affected by it or not...). Buck has the tsunami (which he was directly involved in, and it was probably the worst day of his life. Why bring up that triggering day again??). Eddie has the mudslide (if I remember right, he wasn’t directly involved here. My brain is thinking though about him being trapped in the well. Mud and water? Maybe it’s a stretch). Then Chimney with the “Greatest Hits” comment. Almost like we’re going to get a recall of all the past events and how they are “small” in comparison to what’s about to come?? And why do they get all different alerts?

-They’re all playing pool. Makes me think of some teambuilding exercise stuff. Until everyone gets the alerts.

-Whole city being hacked: explains why each one got a different alert. Also makes me think of the time dispatch was taken over and the bad guys were able to track everything...

-May doing dispatch: seems like she’s taking on Maddie’s role a little more. Also, this is her first major disaster since being on her own at dispatch if I’m not mistaken.

-Athena: Car crash. Reminder of earthquake pileup, and the drunk driver case? She’s also helping the people, like she did with the woman who didn’t want to leave during the mudslide.

-Airplane: wondering how they knew to tell the pilot to pull up? It only appears there’s one plane on the radar? Maybe there are planes all backed up on the runways? Also, this part makes me think of the hot air balloon incident and the proposal gone wrong.

-Clock spinning around: something about “time flying” or losing track of time? (Great song choice here would be Chicago’s “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?)

-Insanity: no comment here. Chaos and first responder lives are chaos and insane at most times, compounded now by the state of the world.

-Wild animals?? Was this a transfer gone wrong (included in pileup)? Or did the blackout cause zoo gates to open, letting animals out (quotes could include something about “life’s a zoo” or “it’s a jungle out there”)

-Bobby being a leader and protecting his fellow people. Also with his “I thought it was going to be different this year”- did he mean no COVID, no major emergencies, or both?

On to the second trailer:

-The multiple car pileup reminds me of the earthquake, tsunami, mudslide, and drunk driver cases and the traffic snarls they caused.

-Buck and Eddie looking at each other when getting things out of the rigs. :)

-Eddie’s helmet hair?? Yes please! :) *heart eyes*

-Explosion and blackout. This appears to be in some fancy building. Wondering if it’s like an energy company’s place or something.

-Buck running through the dark halls. It looks like either a hospital or some sort of facility. Who is he running to see (my money is on someone from the 118, Chris, or Maddie).

I probably went WAY too deep on these, but that’s what I’m thinking so far. My season 5 wishlist should be up in a few as well.

[mayisani]

Timmy & Y/N Podcast Pt.2

A/N: Thank you so much for all the love on part 1 it means the absolute world to me. Here is part 2 hope you enjoy it. Also requests are open if you want me to write anything in particular or if you have anything to say. Anyways enough of holding you up enjoy reading, much love 💕

Warning: Fluff, Cussing, Smut 

Word Count: 4324

Also if you haven’t read PART 1 HERE IT IS

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

You had just finished recording the first episode of your new podcast

As you were getting ready to go out to get some takeout for dinner you felt dread. You hadn’t been out in a while due to the current pandemic what made things even worse was how hard New York was hit by it. As you put on Timmy’s Kid Cudi merch hoodie that he had worn when he opened his show and your favorite black leggings with some basic Nikes. You could hear Timothée outside in the living room ordering the take out from East Village Pizza, so you guys could quickly pick it up instead of having to order in person. He finished up ordering and came into the room to grab his wallet. He looked over at you seeing the clear fear in your face.

“What’s wrong?” he said coming over to you going in for a hug

You hugged him back and looked up at him “I’m just worried about going out. I was talking to Pauline last night and she was just telling me how bad things are getting. I know I should be careful and not fearful but it still bothers me you know.”

“No, I get it. We’re living through very chaotic times right now and it perfectly fine to feel how you’re feeling but hey we’re going to follow the safety procedures. We’re going to wear masks and gloves plus it’s going to be quick okay. You can even wait by the entrance.”

You nodded feeling a slightly better and walked over to your dresser to grab your small black purse. You opened it looking inside making sure your wallet, phone, and keys were in there. Timmy handed you your gloves and black cloth mask. You put them on and started walking with Timmy out of the apartment. You waited as Timmy made sure he locked the apartment correctly. As you guys walked to the elevator you felt very bizarre this didn’t feel like reality. New York was usually very noisy especially since you guys lived in the heart of Manhattan. You guys got in the elevator and what was usually a very crammed elevator now only had you two.

Timmy interrupted your thoughts. It seemed like he always knew when your thoughts were becoming dark and he knew he had to block them. “Hey on the bright side we don’t have the paparazzi to worry about.” He chuckled trying to make you feel calmer. You looked up at him seeing his beautiful green eyes looking at you so lovingly. You leaned onto his shoulder having your arm around his waist and small smile appearing onto your face.

The elevator opened and you walked out with him Timmy locking hands with you. It was a chilly day which was normal for the time of year. You walked to East Village Pizza which was a good hour from the apartment. As you guys you saw the empty sidewalks and roads a part of you felt some sort of peace since overcrowded places gave you anxiety but the other part of you felt unease this wasn’t the New York you had become accustomed to.

“You know a part of me is happy because I get to spend more time with you but I do miss working it’s a large part of my life you know me always wanting to work on something new. I just love to be able to get in the characters headspace and tell their stories.”

“No, I understand acting has become your life and I’m so proud of you because you’re doing what you love but hey look at the bright side we’re safe and so are our families. We’re really blessed not everyone is this lucky.”

“I know I’m grateful for everything but I’m just upset because I was talking with my team and they think it’s very likely that there won’t be premieres for the French dispatch or Dune since it would be a major safety matter. We’ll probably do an at home premiere like many movies have recently. Which sucks because I won’t be able to interact with the fans and let them know how much I appreciate them. I mean that’s probably the best part being able to share something I love to dearly and have poured my heart to with the people I love.”

“Cheer up babe nothing is set in stone hopefully you’ll get the premiere you deserve and get an Oscar nomination and win.” He laughed shaking his head

“That is if there even are the Oscars I mean they cancelled the Met Gala and you know how stoked I was for that.”

“I know but hopefully next year. A lot of people were upset about it apparently I was reading about it on twitter.”

The conversation came to a stop as Timmy opened the door to East Village Pizza. You waited by the door as Timmy went up to the counter.

“For Timothée Chalamet I ordered about an hour ago.”

“You ordered 2 cheese pizzas, cheesy garlic knots, an order of mozzarella sticks, and 12 wings?”

“Yes.” They handed him the order and he walked over to you he handed you the bag and he carried the 2 large boxes of pizzas.”

1 hour later

You had just finished setting everything up on the table and Timmy was grabbing 2 cups from the kitchen cabinet and a bottle of soda from the fridge.

“You know what if we go live on my Instagram and we can basically do a mukbang like the ones you’ve been watching lately.”

You gave him the biggest smile ever “That’s a good idea plus you basically promised you’d go live.” You sat down next to him and he was setting up his phone.

“Wait how do you work this I’ve never gone live.”

“Click the camera button on the top left corner and on the bottom, swipe left till you see the live button and then just click it.”

“Okay I think we’re live.”

“Now we just wait until people start joining. You grabbed the two cups and filled them up with soda, then passed Timmy his cup.”

Username1: Wow he actually is live

Username2: Wait what are you guys eating?

“Y/N and I just got back from buying pizza and of course we got cheesy garlic knots, mozzarella sticks and wings as well.” Just shot him a look “Well I got the wings for myself.”

Username3: Hiii loves how are you guys

“We’re doing pretty good overall. Y/N has been a little worried lately but I’ve been calming her down. It’s mainly because someone had the brilliant idea of watching contagion.”

“Hey it’s not my fault I honestly didn’t think it was going to be as intense as it was. But after that I got Timmy hooked onto my favorite show at the moment so everything worked out.”

Username4: What is it called?

“Umm can I tell them Timmy?”

“I mean you technically can but you should wait since we are going to be doing another podcast episode talking about shows and movies that we’re currently watching.”

“Okay then I’m sorry guys I guess you’ll have to wait but here’s a hint I’ve been obsessed with shows from Spain lately.”

Username5: I see you lil Timmy out here promoting your podcast lol 12

“Anyways we’re going to probably going to end this here so we can finish eating and start recording again because that’s all I’ve been able to think about. Bye see you guys very soon.”

“Bye loves.” You said blowing the kiss

Timmy pouted “That’s not fair I want a kiss.

He ended the live and you gave him a peck on the lips that’s all you get for now.

“You’re going to regret this later tonight just you wait.”

“Is that a threat Chalamet?”

“Maybe it is maybe it isn’t”

He went back into your room and started setting up the recording equipment.

You both sat down and started recording

“Hey guys we’re back, welcome back hope everyone is good.”

“We just finished eating pizza and let me tell you it was delicious.”

“It was good but Y/N cooking is way better honestly. Last night she cooked me some pasta with basil sauce and feta cheese. Then she baked some banana bread muffins so you know I’m being spoiled lately.”

“I would cook more but you know we’re always busy or you’re always out of town which actually leads us into our first question of the day and that is Username6: How do you guys deal with long distance. Timmy you want to start us off?”

“Of course, Firstly I think long distance sucks but it’s a thing some couples have to deal with. We’ve had to dealt with our fair share and we’re still not used to it. But as advice goes something that always has helped is FaceTime as often as possible. Also call each other one thing we always do is call each other on the phone and just sleep. It helps because for a split moment it feels like you’re in the same room. Another tip is just text each other for example I’ll be busy shooting a scene and Y/N will still be texting me all throughout her day keeping me updated and I’ll be able to see them and respond once I’m done.”

“Long distance sucks and it’s really hard because you’re so used to each other and honestly that’s why I try my best to always go with Timmy wherever he’s traveling to but if I can’t then we’ll always be facetiming. My advice is just know that it’s only temporary and this will only strengthen your relationship at the end of the day.”

Username7: What are you guys currently watching?

“Well Y/N got me into Money Heist recently we watch all 4 seasons in about a week. We also watched little fires everywhere which is really good if you haven’t watched it I recommend it heavily I mean I was hooked the entire time. We also watched outerbanks since that’s all everyone was talking about I won’t lie I did enjoy it”

“We also watched Hollywood by Ryan Murphy which is visually stunning and has a really good storyline and of course we rewatched the office because you know Timmy is basically the biggest fan ever. I also watched dead to me season 2 I mean I liked it but I don’t know it had a slow beginning and the last 2 episodes were packed and it ended on a cliffhanger so I’m curious about where that’s going to take season 3 to.”

“If you guys can’t tell all we’re doing lately is watching shows or movies.”

Username8: Do you guys think you’ll always live in New York?

“That’s a really difficult question to give a definite answer to. And something Timmy and I always discuss.”

“The reason it’s so hard is because New York is where my family is. It’s where I grew up and honestly yes it has its issues but I still love it here and wouldn’t mind raising a family here but Y/N has made some great points about why we should maybe try moving somewhere else. But honestly who knows I mean we can technically live anywhere but career wise its best if I stay in New York or Move to California.”

“So honestly time will only tell but I think I can say that for now we’re staying in New York.”

Username9: Y/N what is your favorite movie from Timothée so far?

“Hmm that’s really hard I love Luca’s work so call me by your name is up there.”

“Why do you love Luca’s work so much?”

“Well he’s insanely talented and all his films are beautifully shot but I respect him so much because you know I don’t like horror movies I never have but I Watched suspiria and I loved it. And only a few directors can make me actually love a horror movie I think only Luca and Ari Aster have made me love a horror movie.”

“Ari Aster is very talented I mean Midsømmar was mind blowing and Florence’s performance was outstanding. If you haven’t watch Midsømmar I highly recommend it but it is gruesome so if you can’t handle gore don’t watch it.”

“But getting back on track I think Beautiful Boy is my favorite movie. It’s highly upsetting to me that its very underrated plus I think you should have gotten an Oscar I mean your performance was outstanding.”

“Aw thank you Cherie.”

“So, if you haven’t watched beautiful boy go watch it.”

Username10: What is your favorite memory together?

“I think any memory that involves just being with you and being able to cuddle you. I really appreciate all the time we get to spend together. So, I really enjoy the little things it because that’s what love means for me. But if I had to choose a specific memory it would have to be when I surprised Y/N with pit tickets to see her favorite artist. She was freaking out the entire time jumping up and down kissing me. I mean it was the cutest thing ever it really warmed my heart. Why I love this memory so much was because Y/N had been wanting to see them live for so long and she’d always talk about it and when I finally surprised her she just couldn’t believe it. Then we went to the concert and it was our first one together. The night was incredible yes, we were recognized but everyone around us was respectful and we were all dancing our hearts out that night. I think that was probably one of the nights I really saw y/n let lose in public and only cared about having fun.”

“I love that memory so much but I think I have to say my favorite memory of us was when we went to France in December so it was Timmy, his parents, Pauline and I and we all traveled there the week before Christmas. But honestly that’s when I felt truly a part of your family. It was a truly special Christmas plus I got to see where you’d go to every summer. Then 2 days later it was Timmy’s birthday which we went to Paris for and had a truly romantic morning. He took me to this really cute café and we ate crêpes which I love. Then I took him back to his family’s home and that’s when we surprised him with a birthday party. But that France trip will always have a special place in my heart.”

“You know I’ve been getting a lot of questions about a certain interview that has been floating around I think you know which one.”

“The one where I don’t answer the question and become upset?”

“Yes, that one. A lot of people have just been asking about what happened and how I felt about the whole situation and it honestly it upset me because it was a really rude comment.”

“No, I understand and I just want to say is that yes I was upset at the time but now I’ve gotten over it since a lot of time has passed but it taught me to have thicker skin when it comes to interviews and just life in general.”

“and yes, have but you’re still my sweet soft boy.”

“Yes, obviously I’m not going to change and become a total asshole or distance myself completely and never do interviews again but instead I’m just learning to not become upset so easily when it comes to things like that.”

“I’m proud of you for being mature enough to use that experience as something to grow from instead of using it against the world.”

Username11: Do you have each other’s passcodes for each other’s phone?

“This is an interesting one I think we both have the same answer to this.”

“yes, we do but let elaborate honestly if I could I wouldn’t have a passcode to my phone I wouldn’t I used to just have Y/N’s fingerprints on my phone but now with my knew one its only face id so she just has my passcode. I trust her and I have nothing to hide. Plus, my phone is basically hers because when we’re out her phone is always dying and she just ends up using mine.”

“If only I could show you guys all the embarrassing and adorable pictures he has on his camera roll. I slowly release them on his birthday when I do a cute birthday post or just randomly but of course with Timmy’s permission.”

Username12: Is it necessary to know everything from your partner’s previous relationships?

“This is a really good question. Personally, I have shared everything about my pervious relationships with Y/N and so has she with me. I know not all couples want to do this but if you can you should because we may not accept the fact, that is previous relationships shape us so it’s helpful to know about them it gives you a new perspective and lets you understand each other better.”

“I agree with Timmy completely, it’s helped me knowing about his previous relationships because I know why he does certain things and I’m able to understand better instead of becoming upset. I think it’s a key factor to having a healthy relationship. Which I got a lot of questions about how do you have a good healthy relationship and how do you settle disagreements questions within that realm.”

“Well for us we’re always honest with each other I know that’s so cliché but honesty is everything. A thing we love to do is lay in bed at night with all the lights off and just lay with each other and talk. This is the time when a lot of our deep conversations happen we talk about basically everything and also I feel like it’s a lot easier to open up I don’t know if it’s because late at night or if it’s because its dark and the environment is just so serene.”

“That’s a goof point I think all relationships should have a time to just be able to talk their hearts out with no distractions, because no one wants to be vulnerable and pouring their heart out to their lover and just look over and see them distracted on their phone. Who knows if that’s why relationships nowadays are failing. Maybe because everyone is so public and on their phones all the time and aren’t able to communicate and fully focus on each other.”

“I know I’ve said this before I think I tweeted about it a while ago but read The Shallows by Nicholas Carr it’s a really great read and it’s all about what technology is doing to our brains. But I should also put this out because I don’t want any misunderstandings. I’m not saying never use your phones or social media you can do that who am I to tell you that you can’t All I’m saying is have when you’re having deep personal conversations fully give your full attention don’t be an asshole on your phone and just saying mhmm. You wouldn’t like that so don’t do that to other people.”

Username13: When you first moved in together did you discover something about each other you didn’t know prior?

“I don’t think I did but you have to keep in mind we were basically always with each other. I’d always be sleeping over at Timmy’s place or he’d be at my place. There would be times when I’d sleep over for weeks plus we’d always be traveling together. So, it always felt like we lived together and now it’s just official.”

“Yeah no I think I know everything about Y/N when you know a person for so long you just get to know them so well plus we don’t even have boundaries anymore we’re so used to each other. At first Y/N was super shy around me but now she isn’t. But I think that’s it for today’s episode thanks for giving us a listen. We’re pretty tired due to the lack of sleep we’ve been getting.”

“Bye guys. Much love going your way.”

You turned off the mic and helped Timmy put everything away.

“That was great I’ve really been enjoying sharing more about my life.”

“I told you but you never listened to me.”

You both laid in bed cuddling each other. Timmy kissing your neck leaving love bites behind, getting on top of you. You start kissing his lips biting his bottom lip softly. He starts taking his clothes off only leaving his boxers on. You could see his erection through the thin white fabric of his boxers. You get up taking off your hoodie and leggings only leaving on your bralette and panties. You wrapped your legs around his waist continuing to kiss him, he lowered his hand taking off your panties slowly starting to finger you. You let out a soft moan

“You’re so wet for me.”

You stared at him moaning seeing the lust in his eyes quickly taking off your bralette. Passionately he kissed you bringing his other hand to tenderly grabbing her breasts he started kissing down from her lips to her neck down to you breasts looking up at you. Your hand went down pulling his boxers down throwing them across the room. You slowly started to stroke his cock as you continued kissing him.

“I want to suck you.” you said pushing him off you gently making him lay on the bed his back resting against the headboard. You sat on top of his legs going down to his cock teasing him making him moan. You started sucking his tip grabbing the bottom of his shaft as you slowly sucked more of his cock. You took him out of your mouth seeing the hickies on his lower stomach fading away you start kissing there closing your eyes enjoying the sensation that he is yours and only yours. He looks down at you “Come up here beautiful I want to kiss you.”

You get up laying on his chest caressing him admiring his pale freckled body.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

He got on top of you and pushed his cock into your pussy slowly thrusting into to you. Kissing your soft lips comforting you as he thrusted harder. You moaned loudly having your arms warped around his neck moaning into his ear. You thrusted your hips towards him becoming desperate wanting to cum.

“Greedy aren’t we.” He became rougher with you. He wasn’t so gentle and soft as he seemed. You started to cum making you moan loudly and unable to stay still as you came Timmy continued thrusting into you cumming as well. He kissed your forehead as he took his cock out.

“Come on baby lets go shower.” He grabbed you caring you to the bathroom placing you on the counter. You admired his naked body as he turned on the shower, he got in making sure the water was warm “Okay it’s ready you can come in.” you got off the counter walking in the spacious marble shower. He grabbed your shampoo pouring some onto his hands and slowly massaging it into hair. You felt the water on your skin as you were under the shower head washing off the shampoo while Timmy started putting shampoo onto his hair as well you finished washing your hair and Timmy got under the shower head washing his hair. You wrapped your hands around him hugging him as he washed his hair. He finished washing his hair and you both continued to wash your bodies. The scent of the vanilla and coffee body wash as he scrubbed his back you got more of the body wash rubbing it onto his back. He later did the same evening rubbing the inside of your thighs. Once you were both clean you turned off the shower Timmy walking out grabbing his robe and putting it on then passing your matching robe.

You walked to the sink started to brush your teeth you could hear Timmy in the room being clumsy trying to find his boxers and pajamas bottoms. You walked back to the room grabbing your hairbrush looking over at Timmy

“Can you brush my hair and braid it again please.”

He motioned his hand to the bed you sat on the edge facing your back towards him. He started brushing your hair making sure there weren’t any knots. He then did 2 braids like the ones he’d always do. He kissed the top of your head “Okay all done now get dressed while I go brush my teeth and face.”

You got up the bed looking at him as he walked towards the bathroom door admiring him seeing his wet loose curls bounce. You walked to the closet grabbing a black silk dress and black panties. Once you got dressed you turned off all the lights in the room and laid in bed waiting for Timmy. He came back into the room jumping onto the bed laying down.

“Careful Chalamet you’re going to make me fall of the bed.” he started laughing “It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” you rolled your eyes a playfully hit his shoulder. He grabbed the controller turning off the tv and putting the controller on his bedside table. Moving over to you space cuddling you “I’m tired.” You turned to your side facing him placing your head onto his chest.

“Okay babe lets sleep.” He kissed your forehead and slowly started falling asleep snoring softly. You were fell asleep in his not being bothered by his snoring, as you were used to it after years of sleeping with him.

A/N: Hello hope you loved it let me know if you want a part 3 or anything else. bye for now stay safe 💕

[vpyre]

The Geek Division

Grelle was annoyed. She generally was these days, but this time there was a tangible reason. Why on earth did she need to experience “the science side of Grim Reaper Dispatch” when they knew full well that she had no interest in academics and would rather be out learning something useful like how to collect souls? She was in Retrieval training for christ's sake. To hell with “having an understanding and appreciation for all branches of the Dispatch”. It was just pointless. Pointless and stupid and just another thing for her to suffer through. She sighed and tapped her fingers against one of the black lab tables. Beakers and vials bubbled and hissed in the back of the room, barely audible over the clamor of the new trainees as they filed in and found seats with their new friends. No one sat with her. She was left alone to sulk, not that she particularly cared. They were all the same anyway; afraid of her, unnerved by her, rude to her. She would tell them all to drop dead, but it was a bit too late for that.

When everyone had found a seat, four reapers in white lab coats made their way to the front of the room, and one of them stepped forward. As soon as the first word left his mouth, Grelle knew she'd be dying of boredom ten minutes in, if that. Pointless. What a waste of time. As her gaze settled on the view through the long window on the other side of the room, she propped her chin on her fist and twirled a strand of her short hair around her finger. I wish it was longer. To my knees even! I’d be gorgeous if I grew it out; and then maybe they would see me the way I really am. Her thoughts continued drifting wistfully, like a cardinal’s feathers in a breeze.

"Hiya."

Grelle started and whipped around so hard she almost fell out of her chair. Sitting in the previously empty seat beside her was another man in a lab coat, though he was decidedly more rumpled than the other scientists. Where their clothes and hair were tidy and their demeanor formal, his dark hair stuck out in odd places and he was slouching in his seat. When she saw the open, laid-back friendliness on his face, she felt some of her tension evaporate as her mind processed that he wasn't there to harass her like the others. But still... why is he talking to me?

"My name's Othello. What's yours, my dear new reaper?" he asked. She didn't see a single hint of negativity or ulterior motives in his face, so she replied,

"Grelle Sutcliff. From the Retrieval Division." If he was really genuine in his friendliness, she couldn't see the harm in making conversation to pass the time.

"Good to meet you! Now, what're your pronouns, Dear Grelle?"

What? She blinked, trying not to let her surprise show. No one had ever asked her that before; they all just assumed. She couldn't blame them, not really. She'd never met someone like her, never met someone who was aware of anything other than what the societal norm was. But somehow he knew. Why did he know? Reapers must really be ahead of their time, or at least this one was. He seemed to have picked up on her line of thinking when she didn't respond right away, so he continued,

"I've seen you around, so I noticed that you carry yourself a certain way and that you don't appear to like being referred to as male. I wanted to make sure I wasn't assuming anything, 'cos you seem like an interesting person to know."

It was the sincerity in his voice that stifled the last of her apprehension. She relaxed and murmured,

"I... I'm a woman. And thank you. Y'know, for asking. It isn't often that people are this considerate."

"No need to thank me, it should just be common decency. Anywho, it doesn't look like you're particularly enjoying the forensics lecture." Before she could finish stuttering out a defensive response, he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna tattle on you. I'd be in the same boat if I had to visit the retrieval division, seeing as I'm physically incompetent and nothing fascinates me more than science." There were sudden rustles of movement around them as the instructors shooed everyone out of the room for a demonstration. Grelle sighed and stood up to follow,

"Well, it was nice to meet you, but-" a hand on her arm gave her pause. "What?" She turned to look at the other reaper, and he mouthed,

"Come with me!" She hesitated for a moment, deliberating. Then she shrugged. She had nothing better to do; plus he was considerate and kind, which was more than she could say for anyone else as far as she was concerned, so she nodded, relief and mischievous curiosity bubbling up and lifting her spirits. Stifling a grin, she followed him as they scurried through the lab and away from the group, quietly slipping out into the corridor.

She glanced around furtively and asked, "What are we doing?” as he tugged her onward through the stark white halls.

”Alleviating your boredom. You looked like you were about to snap and smash some of those beakers, so I thought I’d save you from the inevitable cleanup duty punishment. And like I said, you seem like an interesting person to know. Plus, I want to show you my lab. Forensics will never interest you if those stuffed shirts are the ones talking. They don’t ever say anything interesting. They all think I’m ‘eccentric’ just cos I’m not satisfied with their dull science; and I very well may be, but at least I’m not boring.” She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny that listening to this geek talk was infinitely more entertaining than sitting in that stuffy lab, listening to those stuffy scientists regaling her with their stuffy lecture.

His lab wasn't far, thank god. As much as she hated the Dispatch and its rules, she didn't want to get caught and written up, not when she was doing so well in her retrieval training. They stopped at a plain wooden door in the middle of the hall. It was unremarkable, but from what she could already tell about Othello himself, it was sure to be more interesting on the inside. He unlocked the door and they entered. What she saw was unexpected, but she had expected it to be unexpected, so really it wasn't all that surprising. Where the other lab was neat and orderly, equipment organized and surfaces uncluttered, his looked like a tornado had torn through it. Beakers and papers were scattered across all available tables and counters, almost completely obscuring every horizontal surface. There were science-y odds and ends everywhere. On top of that, there was a huge pile of unrecognizable mechanical parts, metal, and machinery on the floor in the back of the room (strangely enough, the floor was clean and absent of any other clutter).

"What on earth is that thing?" Grelle asked, leaning on a table and gesturing to the back of the room. She hoped he wouldn't get all technical about it; she didn't understand these sorts of things, nor did she want to, but she couldn't help feeling curious.

"It's a dynamo, a generator; or, rather, it will be. I'm still working on it. Humans probably won't have it for the next hundred years or so." He strode over to the desk near the metal thing -the generator- and started digging through the papers. Despite the mess he seemed to know exactly where to find what he needed, emerging a moment later with a diagram, which he waved around enthusiastically, excitement shining in his eyes. "It converts AC into DC using a commutator, which is a set of rotating switch contacts on the armature shaft that reverse the connection of the armature winding to the circuit with every 180 degree rotation, creating a-"

She shook her head and cut in, waving a hand, "Wait wait wait wait. I don't speak geek; mind translating that to English?"

"Essentially, it just generates energy in the form of electricity. But there's so much more to it than that! Lemme show you the diagram." He motioned her over to the desk. Pointing out parts as he spoke, he explained what each one did, how it worked, and how they fit together. When he finished rambling about the generator, he moved on to some of the other blueprints and formulas scattered throughout the room as well as some of the chemical vials sitting in their various nooks and crannies. She didn't understand a word that came out of his mouth, but his enthusiasm was contagious; though she tried to act aloof, she found herself smiling and nodding along as he spouted scientific gibberish. It was entertaining just to watch him gush about it all, and honestly kinda endearing. It certainly took her mind off of her bitter thoughts. Even with the difference in interests, she was just glad to be around someone who seemed to enjoy her company and who didn't harbor any negativity towards her. Someone who went out of his way to cheer her up. Someone who trusted her not to lash out at him. Someone who was thoughtful enough to ask about her feelings and respectful enough to listen to, then act on her answer.

Still, she wondered. "Why did you come talk to me, y'know, back in the other lab? Most reapers would rather avoid me."

He shrugged and put down his test tube. "You just seemed lonely. Not only at that moment, but almost every time I saw you around. To other reapers, your loneliness and hurt might come across as anger, but that's just 'cos they don't bother trying to understand you. Honestly! You'd think they'd have no trouble understanding on some level; after all, we all got here the same way, but some people just don't seem to have it in them to be sympathetic anymore. I make a point of doing things others are afraid of doing, which too often includes being a decent person. On top of that, you're just a very interesting woman, and I like interesting people. Besides, you're really tough and I'm physically weak, so if I stick with you no one will dare mess with me, ha ha!"

Grelle rolled her eyes, but she chuckled a bit all the same. Truth be told, she genuinely appreciated this reaper, someone she had just met, for speaking so openly and kindly. He certainly was eccentric, but he made that a good thing. He continued on as if nothing had happened, and she relaxed in the casually comfortable atmosphere.

All too soon, she heard the trainee crowd walk past Othello's lab, instructors herding them back from the forensics tour. To her surprise, she found that she wanted to stay and simply listen to Othello rave about his beloved science, even though it just went in one ear and out the other for her. She turned to bid him farewell.

"I'm going to head back before I get us in trouble. It was a pleasure to meet you, even if you are a huge geek. And just... thank you. For going out of your way to make me feel more welcome. I may not like or understand science, but if you have to talk about that sort of thing, I suppose I'll humor you and listen."

He smiled a bit and shrugged. "Anytime. And I guess it's too much to hope that I've piqued your interest in forensics?"

"Yes. I'll leave that to you geeks." She shook her head in mock exasperation, but as she walked away, she smiled. Just a bit.