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x-reader-theater · 3 years

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A Shakespearean Soliloquy in Two Parts

Relationship: Asexua!Spemcer Reid x Asexual!Male!Reader

Summary: “Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” William Shakespeare, Julius Ceaser

Warnings: Scool shooting, asexual Spencer Reid and reader, implied autism.

Word Count: 7520 words

A/N: To be frank, I meant to post this at like, three pm. Also Asexual Spencer Reid owns my ass and I will only write him as such. Please enjoy. Edited by the outstanding, amazing, show stopping @mystic-writes . I love you please forgive me for forgetting.

"Are you sure/That we are awake? It seems to me/That yet we sleep, we dream" –A Midsummer Night's Dream

"Hey, Shelly," you say with a smile at the small book store you are currently checking out in. "Good to see you again."

"You as well! Only one book this week?" Shelly asks and you nod.

"Yeah. I have too much work to do, so I can't focus on more than one book," you say.

She scans your book and you pay quickly. She hands you the book back and says with a smile, "Enjoy your book!"

You nod and turn around quickly, taking a step, before colliding with someone. The books in their hands go crashing to the floor, and you do as well, crying out as you land suddenly on your tailbone, and stars flash before your eyes.

"I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have been that close and I wasn't paying attention, and I should have been looking where I was going and-" you hold up a hand to silence the man who was speaking a mile a minute in front of you.

"Really, it's okay. It was my fault," you say, wincing as you try and get up.

The man holds out a hand out and you take it. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

He takes his hand back almost immediately once you're standing and you smile. "No, not really. Just bruised my tailbone," you say and the man sighs.

You lean down and pick up a couple of the books he was carrying, and when you go to the last book, his fingers brush yours. You look up and see your faces are inches from one another, and you feel your face heating up. You see him blush as well and you both pull your hands away. You stand up so he can grab the last book and you shove the books you're holding into his arms.

"Sorry again!" you say, not looking at him, and you leave because you can’t embarrass yourself any more.

It isn't until you're in your car that you realize you gave him your book as well.

"Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love." –Hamlet

You walk into the Alley Cat Café, a new café that just opened a block from your flat that also offered an area where you could hang out with adoptable cats. You never went in there because you would just adopt all of them and you didn't have the time for that right now.

You walk into the café and the little bell above the door jingles to signal your arrival. You walk up to the counter and order your regular, the Calico Chai, and pay before finding a seat near the back close to the window where you could watch the cats. Your order is called, and as you get up, you look over to a table, and see a very familiar man reading a book at a remarkable speed.

You distractedly grab your tea and go back to your table, gathering up your things before plopping yourself next to the man.

"Hello again!" you exclaim and he jumps, looking up from his reading to glare at whoever interrupted him.

When he locks eyes with you, however, his eyes widen. "Oh! Hello!" he exclaims and a small smile forms on his lips.

"I think I may have given you my book on Tuesday," you say sheepishly, and his eyes widen even more and his mouth drops open adorably.

He turns and fishes around in his bag, before turning back to you and holding out a book in both hands. "I've been carrying it around with me hoping to give it back to you," he says, blushing, and you grin, taking the book from his hands, your fingers brushing his.

"Well, thank you," you say, grabbing the large book.

"So, the complete works of Shakespeare, huh?" the man asks and you nod.

"Yeah. I've never actually owned a copy before," you say. "I've only taken it out from the library or borrowed it from friends. I actually wanted to major in Shakespearean studies in college before ultimately deciding to go another way." The man nods, and silence falls over you for a moment before you say, "You know, I never got your name."

"Oh! Doctor Spencer Reid," he says with a wave.

You wave back and say, "Doctor [Y/N] [L/N]."

"What's your doctorate in?" he asks, excited.

You reply, "Biological Anthropology. I teach it at Georgetown."

"That's where I got my PHD in Chemistry," Spencer says and you grin.

"Really? When was that?" you ask.

"Thirteen years, two months, six days, and seventeen hours ago," he says and you blink owlishly.

You think for a moment before saying, "You must have been really young when you got that."

He nods. "I was seventeen. It was my second PHD. I have three. One in mathematics, one in chemistry, and one in engineering. I also have five BAs."

You stare at him for a moment, not saying anything, before you whisper, "That's really impressive." You feel your cheeks heat up. "I didn't get my PHD until I was nearly 25."

"I have an IQ of 187, and eidetic memory, and can read 20,000 words a minute," he says and you smile.

"You're one of a kind, Spencer Reid," you say, holding your book to your chest. "That must have been a very lonely childhood though," you remark, and he looks away from you. He nods but doesn't say anything. "What do you do now?"

"I'm a profiler with the FBI in their behavioral analysis unit," he explains and you smile.

"Maybe I'll have you come in and lecture to one of my classes some time," you say and he smiles. "Though Biological Anthropology isn't very exciting to anyone but me…" you look away and scratch the back of your neck, but Spencer assuages your fears.

"Actually, I find it quite interesting. I read an article the other day about how work stress is actually de-evolving humans, causing their bones to actually lose density, causing them more physical pain and inability to do physical tasks, as well as loss of sleep, appetite, and more," he says, and you grin.

"But, the study was only on French individuals, and it could have different results based on where the study is done. Like, in Japan for example, there may be the same amount of stress but they handle it better because in their culture, work is just a part of life and you have to deal with stress. Or in America, where we have different ways of dealing with stress that may cloud the findings," you add, and he nods.

"That is true, though you'd have to factor that into the initial hypothesis and-"

Spencer is cut off by his phone ringing. He picks it up and the phone call ends quickly.

"I'm so sorry to have to do this, but I have to go to work. We have a case," he says and you nod in understanding.

"Of course. It was nice talking to you Spencer. I hope we can talk again some time!" you exclaim.

A small smile tugs at his lips and he says, "I do too, [Y/N]."

You stare at each other for a couple moments before he turns around and leaves the café. You sip your now cold tea and realize you didn't get Spencer's number.

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." –Measure for Measure

You sit at the bar and nurse your glass of water as the music and lights cause a headache to split at your temples. You groan and massage your head, but it doesn't do anything to relieve the pain. You take another sip of your water, and look up to see a familiar face looking down at you.

"Co-workers bring you here too?" Spencer asks and you smile and nod.

"Yeah. It's Fiona's birthday today and she wanted to go to a club," you say, and Spencer sits down next to you. "I got dragged along. And apparently I got a splitting headache too."

"Do you want any help with that?" Spencer asks and you look at him, questioningly. "Turn around."

You do as he asks, slowly, and you feel his fingers lightly resting on your neck. You wince as he presses into your spine right where your head and neck meet, but after thirty seconds he releases, and your headache dissipates. You grin and turn around.

"How did you know to do that?" you ask.

He shrugs. "I had chronic migraines when I was younger, and I read a book on pressure points once," he explains and you nod in understanding.

"Right. You're a genius," you say with a forced smile and he frowns. You sigh. "You just…" you put a hand on his cheek, and he stiffens for a moment before relaxing into your touch. "You make me feel inferior. Like I'm just never going to do as well as you."

Spencer grabs your hand lightly and squeezes it, putting it away from your face as he looks into your eyes. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. You're a doctor working at one of the best schools in the country," he says and you smile. He returns it. "And, don't compare yourself to me. I can read 20,000 words a minute. I'm a freak. You're more normal than I am."

"Spencer Reid, don't you ever say that again!" you exclaim, taking his other hand in your own. "You are not a freak!" He goes to protest but you take one of your hands from his grip and put it over his lips. "Nope. No arguing. What I say is final."

You pull your hand away and you see he's smiling. "Yes, Doctor," he says, his words dripping with sarcasm.

You grin, before gasping. He looks alarmed as you say, "Oh! I forgot!" he places his hands on your arms. "You didn't give me your number in the café!"

He sighs in what looks to be relief, before reaching into his pocket and taking out his wallet. "You want to see a magic trick?"

You nod and he grins an adorable smile that has you grinning as well. He holds up a business card, probably his business card, and moves his hands in front of his face, and when they cross back over, the card is gone.

"Oh come on! It's behind your hand! I know this trick," you say, and he raises an eyebrow.

He opens up his fingers and turns his hand around, showing it's nowhere to be seen. Your eyes go wide and your mouth drops slightly in awe.

"Hey, I think you have something in your hair… right there…" he says, pointing to your left ear, and you reach up before he can touch you.

You feel something, and when you pull it out in front of you, you see it's Spencer's business card.

You laugh and flip the card over, checking to see if it's real or not. But it very much is.

"Wow Spencer, that's amazing!" you exclaim and his cheeks flare red. You take out your phone and put his number in, calling it. He looks up at you and you place your phone to your ear. He picks up and you say with a smile, "There. Now you have my number too."

"This sounds very strange, can I hang up now?" Spencer says out loud, and it's repeated in your ear only moments after. You laugh and nod, and the two of you hang up your phones.

Almost immediately, his phone starts ringing again, and you put up your hands in innocence.

"JJ," he says into the receiver, pausing for a moment, before saying quickly, "I'll be right there." He hangs up his phone and places it in his pocket, before saying quickly. "Sorry, that was work. I really have to go."

You smile and nod. "You have a job to do. Go save some lives." He smiles and turns to leave, but you call out, "Spencer!" he turns around and you stand up, lean forward, and place a kiss on his cheek. "For good luck."

He grins and walks out of the club. You watch as a couple more people file out, and sit back in your seat and finish your water.

"Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change." –Romeo and Juliet

You're flipping through papers when you hear someone call out to you.

"[Y/N]!" they shout and looking up you see Spencer Reid walking down the hallway towards you, a messenger bag slung around his shoulder. He was wearing something similar to what he was wearing in the club only two nights ago.

"Case ended early?" you ask and he nods.

"Yeah. Child abduction. We had less than forty eight hours to get the child back alive since the family didn't report her missing until twenty four hours had passed," he says.

"And did you? Get the child back alive, I mean," you ask and he nods. You grin.

"Oh, good. So! What are you doing here? You didn't come just to see me, did you?"

Spencer blushes and you place a hand on his arm. "No, Doctor Priya Chopra wanted my help on an article she's going to write about fungal growth on skin and the potential benefits it could have, as well as any side effects it may cause," he says and you nod.

"Well, I can show you to her office! She's new so it wouldn't have updated on any maps yet," you say and Spencer nods.

He stops and you halt in front of him, turning as he says, "Oh! Do you want me to carry any of your papers?"

You smile and shake your head. "No, it's okay. I'll just have to walk back anyways. My office is in the other direction."

"Oh, I don't want you to have to go out of your way. I can probably find it on my own…" Spencer trails off, looking helplessly at the myriad of plain beige hallways.

You shake your head and bump your shoulder with his. "Really. It's not a big deal. I want to do this," you say with a smile. He smiles back and you lead him down a couple hallways, until you stop at a door with a nameplate that reads, 'Dr. Priya Chopra, PHD'.

"Well, this is your stop," you say, almost sad with a slight slump to your shoulders. "With that eidetic memory of yours, I don't think you need me to show you around anymore."

Spencer places a hand on the small of your back and points at the paperwork in your arms. "You look like you could use a little help. How about I come by after my talk with Doctor Chopra? I know where your office is," he says and you grin.

"I would love that, Spencer," you say, and watch him until he disappears behind Doctor Chopra's door.

"One may smile, and smile, and be a villain." –Hamlet

You hear a knock at your door and you look up from your work to see a familiar head pop out from behind the door. You grin and say, "Parker! It's good to see you again! Come in."

The young man with dark circles under his eyes slowly walks into your office, he wrings his hands out in front of him, and sits down in the chair across from yours. He slowly takes his backpack off and reaches in, pulling out a grey folder. The movements were slow and methodical, but you can see the young man's hands shaking slightly as he does so. Finally, he pulls out a stapled stack of papers and holds it out to you.

You take it carefully and frown, looking it over. It was one of his essays that you just gave back a couple days ago with a big red 'F' on the front.

"Why did you fail me?" Parker whispers and you sigh.

You lean back in your chair, folding your fingers on your stomach as you say, "Your essay is all over the place. There isn't a coherent theme or message in any of it. Also, you should really find someone to help edit your grammar at least. You have misspellings and incorrect comma usage all over the place, Parker." The man in question looks down away from you and you sigh again, this time louder and lean forward onto your desk. "How about this. Go to the writing center on campus, find someone to help plan out your essay, and if you do a good job, I'll bump up your score to at least a B, if not more if you do really well, okay?"

Parker looks up at you and gives you a toothy, forced smile, almost as if he doesn't smile much in his life, and says, "Thank you, Mr. [Y/N]."

You smile and nod, handing the paper back to him, and just as someone knocks at your door, he gets up.

Opening the door, Parker comes face to face with Doctor Gerard Holden, professor of microbiology at Georgetown, and the man looks shocked for a moment before steeling his expression and saying over Parker's shoulder, "Dr. [L/N], do you have a minute to talk?"

You smile and nod, before addressing Parker again. "Parker, I want to see that essay on my desk in a week and a half at the most. I hope to see some improvement."

Parker doesn't turn around but he nods and slides out of your office as quickly as he can without touching Dr. Holden. When Parker leaves, the older man walks into your office and closes the door behind him.

"That boy is very strange. I don't know how you put up with him. I've had to kick him out of class before for being disruptive and talking out of turn," he says and you sigh.

"He's a good kid and an even better student. I bet if you pushed him a little more, and actually called on him in class, he wouldn't interrupt so much," you say and the doctor in front of you is pale. "But, I hope you didn't come here to discuss our students."

The man shakes his head and goes into a lengthy question about having you guest lecture during one of his classes. You agree quickly and get the time and date and what you'll be covering before Dr. Holden opens the door to your office.

You see Parker standing on the other side of the door, and you know he heard everything you and Dr. Holden discussed about him.

"They do not love that do not show their love." –The two Gentlemen of Verona

It's a Saturday. You and Spencer are sitting in your apartment reading. Spencer's stack next to him is significantly smaller than yours, and whenever he finishes a book, he places it on your stack. Whenever you finish yours, you place your book on the ground and pick up whatever book Spencer just finished reading.

It's nice.

"If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die." –Twelfth Night

"Come on! I don't want us to miss this!" Spencer exclaims, grabbing your hand, and pulling you along as he runs through the small park.

"Wait! Spencer! I didn't know we were running! I would have brought my inhaler!" you exclaim as you try and keep pace.

Spencer doesn't stop though as he says, "It's not far, now come on!" The two of you continue to run through the trees, and eventually you come upon a clearing. There are a few couples there, but not actually as many as you would have expected. The thing that shocks you the most are the group of college age students all standing around with boxes in their hands.

"Spencer what-"

"Shh!"

You step closer to him, still holding his hand as the students all step up, and take the tops off the boxes. Light start flying out of the uncovered cardboard boxes and you realize that they're lightning bugs.

You gasp as a swarm flies towards you before dispersing into a hazy cloud of blinking yellow and green emanating from the lower abdomen. You reach out and the bugs fly away from your hand in streaks of light and you laugh. You turn, grinning at Spencer's face. He's looking right at you.

In the low glow, you can see Spencer's handsome features on display. His cheekbones are softer in the light, his auburn hair a deep brown and his hazel eyes reflecting spots of green back at you. You reach up and place a hand on his cheek. He looks beautiful.

"What is this?" you ask, breathless.

He smiles softly and you look down at his lips. They look inviting. "The biology majors at Howard under Professor Trudy study fireflies for a semester before releasing them here. Did you know that many fireflies do not produce light? Usually these species are diurnal, or day-flying, such as those in the genus Ellychnia. A few diurnal fireflies that inhabit primarily shadowy places, such as beneath tall plants or trees, are luminescent. One such genus is Lucidota. Non-bioluminescent fireflies use pheromones to signal mates. This is supported by the fact that some basal groups do not show bioluminescence and use chemical signaling, instead. Phosphaenus hemipterus has photic organs, yet is a diurnal firefly and displays large antennae and small eyes. These traits strongly suggest pheromones are used for sexual selection, while photic organs are used for warning signals."

You're silent for a minute before you say, "You said firefly."

Spencer frowns. "Huh?"

"You said firefly. People around here say 'Lightning bug,' which means you're not from around here. Where are you from?" you ask, and his frown subsides.

"Las Vegas," he says and you smile.

"You're a long way from home," you reply, looking around at the lightning bugs floating lazily around you, taking in their new environment. You look back at him and say, "I'm glad you're here Spencer. I'm glad I ran into you at the book shop. Literally," you say, laughing lightly.

"Me too," Spencer says with a small smile on his face.

You lean up and kiss him, quickly, before pulling back, not really giving him a chance to react. He stares at you, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, before leaning in and capturing his lips in yours again. You lean against him, turning so your front is pressed against his, he places his hands on your hips and you thread yours through his hair and rest them on the back of his neck.

When you pull away, the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, but you're so lost in Spencer's eyes you hardly notice.

"I am not bound to please thee with my answers." –The Merchant of Venice

You jump as someone hits their bowl a little too hard with their spoon, causing a loud crashing noise it seems like only you can hear. You can feel your heart rate picking up as another person accidentally drops a glass on the floor, shattering it. Your eyes dart around as people talk loudly over one another, shouting to be heard over the low din of the restaurant.

"[Y/N]!"

You look up at Spencer sharply, your eyes going wide.

"Are you okay?" he asks, reaching a hand out. You nod but don't take his hand, instead picking at your nails underneath the table. "I was just talking about the underlying effects of corsetry in the modern era…" Spencer continues as if nothing is wrong but another loud crash causes you to jump and lose focus from him again.

You hear Spencer sigh and you look up at him, your cheeks flaming up. "Sorry…" you mutter.

"What's wrong?" he asks plainly.

"I-" you begin to say, but flinch as someone laughs loudly at a table nearby you. "I don't really like restaurants. They're too… loud."

Spencer looks at you with that blank stare for a moment before sighing in what you hope is of relief. "Same here. A co-worker of mine suggested I take you out to dinner and when I told him I don't like restaurants either, he just said you would," Spencer explains.

You frown. "Who did he think I was? We read books in your apartment all the time!"

Spencer looks away sheepishly and pulls his hands into his lap. "I haven't used pronouns for you, so he assumed you were a woman."

You snort. "Wouldn't be the first time." Spencer frowns at you. "I've dated a lot of bisexual men with straight colleagues. The co-workers always assume I'm a woman."

Spencer nods, and the two of you are silent once again in the loud restaurant. You flinch once more as something crashes together, and Spencer sighs.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" he asks, almost begging.

You nod enthusiastically. "Yes. Please. We can go back to mine?" Your eyes widen at that. "Not for sex!" you exclaim and a few people look over at you. You blush in embarrassment and say, quieter, "I-I just meant to read or watch a documentary or something. I didn't mean to imply."

Spencer smiles softly. "It's okay. I didn't even realize. I'm not sexually attracted to people."

Your eyes widen and you grin. "Me neither!"

Spencer grins with you and the two of you hastily pay and make a quick exit out of the busy restaurant.

"God hath given you one face, and you make yourself another." –Hamlet

"Mr. [L/N]?"

You jump and look up from your work and see Parker standing in your office. You put a hand over your heart and laugh. "Parker! You scared me!"

"Sorry…" he says, not making eye contact.

You chuckle as you say, "I should put a bell on you…" you see Parker flush a deep red but you ignore it. "So, what can I do you for?"

Silently, still red and blushing, Parker pulls out a stapled stack of papers from his backpack and holds it out to you. You take it and see it's the revised version of his essay you failed last week.

"I did want you asked…" he says quietly and you quickly look over the first page.

You smile up at him, grateful. "Thank you, Parker. I'll get it back to you by the end of the week-"

"NO!" he shouts and you jump at that.

"Parker, I have a lot of work to do and-"

But he cuts you off again, shouting, "No! Get it done now!"

You sigh, knowing he's not going to relent, and you pinch the bridge of your nose. "Okay. How about this. How many classes do you have left today?"

"Two…" Parker says, and you almost miss it seeing as he's so quiet.

You nod. "Okay. How about I work on it while you're in class and you can come back after."

Parker nods and without another word, leaves your office. You sigh loudly and lean your head into your hands.

"I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind." –Hamlet

That night, you're sitting in Spencer's apartment, his head in your lap as you both read. You can't help but think of Parker, of hearing him yell for the first time since you met him. The boy was always so quiet, except in class where he was engaged and able to answer every question, even if his answers were a little all over the place.

"[Y/N]?" You hear Spencer ask and you look down at him, dazed.

"Huh?"

"You haven't even looked at your book for six minutes and twenty-seven seconds," Spencer says and you frown. You put your book face down next to you on the side table and rub your hands over your face. You feel hands at your wrists, and they tug slightly, pulling your hands away from your face. "What's going on?"

"Just a student of mine yelled at me today," you say. Spencer frowns and you lean down, kissing where his brow was furrowed. "It's okay. I've just never seen him even raise his voice above a whisper besides when we're in class. And even then he doesn't yell." You pause, and sit back up. Spencer sits up as well and lets go of your wrists, leaning into your side. "A lot of the students and faculty don't like him because he's disruptive in class, but I know he's a good student. He's driven and knows a lot. He just needs to be pushed in the right way." You sigh again and lean over to rest your head on Spencer's shoulder. "I told him that I would finish editing his essay by the end of the week but he yelled at me, telling me to finish it right then and there. I told him I would finish it by the end of the day. I knew he wasn't going to stop asking, so I made a compromise I thought he could live with."

You look up at Spencer's face and see him frowning. "How long has he been like this with you?"

You let out a huff of humorless laughter. "What, you jealous?" you ask, joking.

Some of the tension eases from Spencer's face but he doesn't stop frowning.

"No, I'm not jealous. I'm just cautious." He looks into your eyes as he says, "You should be too."

You sigh and lean down, kissing him. "I know. I will be. I just don't want to push him away. I think I'm the only friendly face he has around campus…"

Spencer nods, and opens his mouth as if to say something, but he closes it, and the two of you spend the rest of your evening in silence, unanswered questions lingering in the air between you.

"Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall." –Romeo and Juliet

"You okay?" you ask Spencer one night while you're sitting on your bed together, watching something on your laptop. Tonight you were trying to get him into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but he seemed more distracted than normal.

He looks up at you, a glazed look in his eyes before sighing. "The case we finished today? It was a stalker case. This man was in love with this woman and we had to make her tell him she was in love with him to get him to let his guard down," Spencer explains and you turn to face him, not saying anything. "We shot him. In the end. He died while the woman was sobbing into her husband's arms." You reach out and place a hand near Spencer, not touching him. He reaches out and takes your hand, kissing it. "I just keep thinking about how she'll never feel safe around another man again."

"You did what you could and you saved her life, Spencer," you say quietly and he looks at you sadly. "I'm so proud of you."

"But what about the people we can't save?"

You sigh and kiss Spencer lightly. "You can't think about that. Think about the families you saved, the women, the children. You saved a life! That's amazing, Spencer."

Spencer smiles and nods but he doesn't look convinced. You just kiss him again and go back to watching Buffy.

"<i>For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?</i>" –Much Ado About Nothing

You startle as a knock sounds at your door. You aren't expecting visitors. Spencer's out with work, and he said not to expect him back for a few days. It's only been two, and he can't have caught the guy that quickly already.

But when you open your door, Spencer is standing there, his eyes puffy and red, and before you can ask any questions, he's pushing himself into your arms. You stumble back and close the door before sinking to the floor, letting Spencer cry into your arms.

"Love comforteth like sunshine after rain, But Lust's effect is tempest after sun. Love's gentle spring doth always fresh remain; Lust's winter comes ere summer half be done. Love surfeits not, Lust like a glutton dies; Love is all truth, Lust full of forged lies." –Venus and Adonis

"I love you," you say one evening while you're sitting on the couch, Spencer's head in your lap. You're running your fingers through his hair as you say this, making it fan out around his head like a halo of auburn curls.

He cracks an eye open at you and smiles. "Really?"

You roll your eyes. "Yes. I do. And I just thought I should say it," you say, and Spencer sits up, leaning in to kiss you. You put your hands on his cheeks and smile into the soft kiss.

He pulls away and says, "I want you to meet my mom."

Your eyes go wide and you open your mouth as if to say something, but nothing comes out. You frown before asking, "When?"

"I have some vacation time saved and we could wait until summer break!" Spencer exclaims, causing your frown to drop. "You're not teaching again until the second half of summer break, so we can see her then."

"I've never been to the west coast before…" you say, trailing off and looking away. Spencer goes to say something but you cut him off with a smile. "But, that's okay. I want to meet her."

Spencer grins and grabs your face, kissing you like his life depends on it. You laugh as he gets up and runs out of the living room, whooping with joy.

"I love you, Spencer Reid!" you shout.

"Love you too!" he shouts back.

"Lovers and madmen have such seething brains Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool reason ever comprehends." –A Midsummer Night's Dream

It's a week until the end of term, finals right around the corner, and you have been stuck in your office for most of the day. Most of the week actually. You gave your students the last few days off to study for their finals, and to finish their final essays for you while you finished editing the last of their work before you were bombarded with essays and tests.

Your phone rings on your desk, but you turn off the noise, groaning as the red light beeps incessantly. It's been doing that for the past half an hour. You even had to turn your mobile off and shove it into an unused drawer of your desk.

After another five minutes of the light beeping, you pick up your phone.

"WHAT!" you scream into the receiver.

"Uh, Dr. [L/N]?" you hear someone say quietly into the phone.

"You know, I'm very busy right now and I can't handle distractions so if you would just-"

"Someone's shooting up the school."

Your blood runs cold as a knock sounds at your door, and you watch the knob turning. You gulp as the voice on the other end of the line tries to get your attention, but you can't hear them. All you can hear is the creak of your door as it's slowly pushed open.

"Mr. [Y/N]!" You hear someone shout as they enter your office. It's Parker. And he's holding a gun. "I thought I heard you in here! Who are you talking to?"

You go to answer, but the words die in your throat.

"I- I don't actually know. They-they were calling to tell me about you," you say finally, hanging up the phone as the person yells on the other side of the line.

Parker closes your door and walks over to your desk with a happy smile on his face. "I came to get you, [Y/N]," he says, and you force a smile onto your face.

"Really?" you ask, hoping your nervousness doesn't give anything away.

He nods. "It's just you and me now! Forever!"

You gulp, but smile. "Uh huh…"

"The only thing left in our way is that whore who calls himself your boyfriend…" Parker says, and your smile drops.

"Spencer?" you can't help the wavering in your voice as you say his name.

Parker nods and places his hand against his chin. "Yes. Maybe you can call him? I'm sure he's already on his way over here."

You gulp, but nod. You pick up your desk phone and dial Spencer's number from memory. While your memory may not be anywhere close to as good as his, you forced yourself to memorize it in case it was an emergency.

After the first ring, the phone is picked up. "[Y/N]? Are you okay? I've tried calling you for the past twenty minutes and you haven't picked up!" Spencer exclaims on the other end of the line.

You take a deep breath before looking up at Parker, who's smiling expectantly at you. He nods. "Spencer, can you come to my office?"

"I'm outside. Is everything okay?" he asks.

"Tell him to leave his gun and vest outside," Parker whispers and you nod.

"You need to leave your gun and vest outside," you say, your voice shaking with every word.

"Oh!" Parker exclaims and leans forward. "And tell him if he doesn't do all that, I'm going to kill you."

You let out a sob and say into the phone, shaking, "If you don't do what's been asked, he's going to- he's going to kill me, oh!" you exclaim, another sob escaping your lips. You hear Spencer start to say something, but Parker puts a finger down on the plunger and you hear the dial tone in your ear. You slowly take the phone away from your ear and look at it shaking in your grip.

You watch absently as Parker's fingers brush yours, getting you to open your hand, and you let him take the phone, and put it back down on your desk.

You keep staring off into the middle distance, even as Parker's hand rests on your chin. He turns your head and your eyes lock onto his. You can see the simmering rage bubbling underneath the feigned love that he's projecting. It's probably not even conscious. You don't know if a man like him even <i>could</i> fall in love.

You hear a knock at your door and Parker moves away from you, but grabs your arm forcefully. Your hips push into the desk painfully and you let out a small whimper. Parker's hand on your arm relaxes slightly and he pulls you around your desk to stand next to him at his side, his gun pointed at the dark wooden door that is slowly opening.

You see Spencer slowly pushing the door open, his other hand raised to show he's unarmed.

"Stay there," Parker says, holding his gun level at Spencer's chest.

"Okay. Okay," Spencer says, putting his other hand up. "No one needs to get hurt."

Parker shakes his head. "No. No. They do. They're going to come in the way of us!"

Parker looks down at you and you look up at him, wide eyed. "No, they won't. No one can come in between us," you say, trying to keep your voice steady. "Spencer's right. No one needs to get hurt."

Parker closes his eyes and shakes his head again. "Spencer, Spencer… Why Spencer? Why him? Why not me?"

You grab his arm and say, "It is you, Parker! It will always be you!" you look over at Spencer, asking with your eyes if you're doing a good job, if this is what you should be doing. He gives you a miniscule nod. You remembered from before when you talked about guys like Parker. "I don't love Spencer. I love you."

Your heart breaks as you say this, but you know that Spencer knows it isn't true. Parker's the only one who needs to believe it.

"Say it," he says, before looking over at the man in question, "to him."

You gulp and look at Spencer, leaning more into Parker's side as you say, "Spencer, I don't love you. I never loved you. I'm in love with Parker. Nothing will be able to keep up apart."

"[Y/N]..." Spencer says, heartbreak evident on his face. Either he's a really good actor or he actually believes it. You sincerely hope it's the former.

Parker nods when you look at him, and grins. "Let's get out of here…" he says, holding out his hand. You take it gingerly and he pulls your back to his chest, still holding Spencer at gunpoint. He flicks the gun further into your office, and Spencer moves with his hands up, tears streaming from his face as he moves across from you in the room.

Parker backs up slowly through the room towards the door, his gun still pointed at Spencer. As soon as he steps out into the hallway, you hear the gunshot.

You feel Parker fall behind you, and you run back into your office, falling to the floor, and only then do you start crying. You sob loudly, and when you're pulled into a chest, you only cry harder.

You hear Spencer whispering to you, and you feel his tears on your hair, your neck as he says, "I can't lose you too. I can't. I just can't…"

You pull him closer, pulling your legs to your chest as you sob, "I love you. I love you so much. I didn't mean anything I said!"

"I know," he whispers, kissing your head. "I know."

"I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest." –Much Ado About Nothing

"I've never been to Vegas before!" you exclaim as you get off the plane. "Can we go to any casinos? I've never gambled before!"

Spencer chuckles as he grabs your hand, pulling you through the airport. "We'll see. I've been banned from a few, so I don't know if they'll let me in…" he says, trailing off and you laugh. "Did you know that what most people think of as Las Vegas is actually called Paradise? In the late 1940s, after the second world war was over, the city of Las Vegas actually banned gambling. The rich gamblers in town weren't happy with that so they created a town called Paradise and made gaming legal there. Well, it's not a town, but more like unincorporated land that doesn't follow Las Vegas' laws."

You grin and grab your bag when it comes around. While Spencer was talking, you had gone to the baggage claim and your bag had already been around once. While Spencer was used to traveling light, with only a go bag, you were not.

"I did not know that," you say, leaning up to kiss his cheek as he pulls out towards the exit.

You get the car he rented and you let him drive you to Bennington. He wanted to go back to the hotel for a night before seeing his mom, but you didn't want him to waste any more time. You would freshen up after.

You and Spencer are ushered through the sterilized, but still personable, halls of the sanitarium, and into a large room with a couple of other people in it. You see a blonde, short haired woman sitting on a couch and Spencer starts walking over to her.

When she sees him, her face lights up and she exclaims, "Spencer!"

"Hey mom," he says, giving her a wave. "I wanted to introduce you to someone."

She turns and looks you up and down, before wringing her hands out and looking at her son. "Is this the man you told me about in your letters?"

Your eyebrows raise at that and you ask Spencer, "You talked to her about me?" he looks at you, nervous, but you smile. "All good things, I hope." He grins and grabs your hand. You turn to Diana and hold out your hand. "Hi. I'm Dr. [Y/N] [L/N]. Spencer's told me so much about you. He really loves you."

She smiles and takes your hand lightly before letting go. "Yes, he's told me a lot about you too. He loves you too," she says, and you smile at him.

"And I love him," you reply.

"Journeys end in lovers' meeting; every wise man's son doth know" –Twelfth Night

#Spencer reid #spencer reid x male reader #spencer reid x you #spencer read x reader #diana reid #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x y/n #spencer reid x y/n #my work #my writing

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bluegarners · 3 years

Note

"Of all the irresponsible, outlandish stunts; what were you... oh man, you look like hell."

If you're still doing these (they've been lovely angsty fun to read 🤣 thanks for doing them!)

"Of all the irresponsible, outlandish stunts; what were you... oh man, you look like hell."

"Really?" Jason drawls, snapping his wrists back and forth, flicking mud and grime off of his person. "How astute of you. Channeling your inner-Bruce, hm?"

Dick sighs, offering a towel to the second eldest and turning to the third. When he raises an eyebrow in what he hopes is authoritative inquiry, his younger brother merely shrugs, just as un-caring and grime covered as the other.

"Hey, look at it this way," Tim offers, rocking his head side-to-side to dislodge dank water from his ears. "At least no one got hurt."

"Right," Dick sighs, throwing a towel over the drenched teen-but-almost-not-a-teen-anymore, "because that's what matters here."

A dramatic gasp escapes Jason, and Dick feels like sighing again. "Are you saying you'd rather someone get hurt than us doing our brotherly duty?"

"No, of course not," Dick says, patient and ever so horribly used to the drama that is many, many siblings. "I would have much preferred something normal though. Literally anything other than the two of you spelunking into Gotham's reservoirs."

"Hey now," Tim chides, wagging a dirty finger at his older brother. "It was for a good cause." Motioning over to the equally dirty plastic wrapped object resting on the table, Tim sounds proud. "We have officially gotten the best present that not even you could top."

"And I am absolutely ecstatic over the fact that you've taken Damian's birthday so seriously," Dick agrees, a small warmth in his chest as he says it, "but did you guys really need to risk so much just for a turtle? You couldn't have gone to a pet store or something?"

Another mock gasp erupts out of the second eldest, and Dick reminds himself to just accept the antics next time. "It has a name, and her name is Shelly." He pulls out the small box inside of the plastic wrapping, showing off the small black and yellow turtle inside, a long scar down the middle of its shell and a missing back leg. "Okay, maybe the name needs work, but as of now, she is family."

"Great," Dick mutters, trying to turn his grimace into a smile. "All we need is some mutagen and she'll fit right in."

"She's a misfit," Tim adds helpfully. "Jason and I saw her go down the sewer, so of course we had to follow. Isn't that a thing Damian does? Collect strays and the weird ones?"

"I do not collect them," a snide voice cuts in, the sounds of boots rapidly descending the stone staircase following. Both Jason and Tim rush to conceal their latest adventure. "I nurse them back to health and they decide when they are ready to leave." Stepping down at last and entering the mud-room, Damian scrutinizes the trio carefully. "What is going on here?"

"Uh, bro-talk," Jason supplies. "You know, gossip. Dick here just got done telling us about this new green drink he tried. What was it again?"

"Right, right. It was something called a Guava-Spinach slurp? Mmm, yeah, really good. Dames, you should come with me next time and try—"

"No," Damian huffs, rolling his eyes as he decides the conversation was truly nothing. "I am not keen on ruining my taste buds, thank you." He walks away, presumably towards the training mats, and the three boys let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright," Tim says, clapping his hands together. "Mission Shelly is a go. First order of business: who's telling Alfred? One-two-three, not it!"

"Not it!"

"Ah shit," Jason whines. "Why do I have to?"

"Thems the rules," Dick reminds him, patting his shoulder consolingly. "Thems the rules, Jay. The price of 'brotherly duty' as you say."

"I hate you." A pause. "Shelly does too."

Dick laughs, following Tim out the door. "Good luck~"

#fuyunoakegata #ask game #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #damian wayne #no idea how this turned into this thing but it is here #sorry it wasnt angsty dsjhsdglshkfjs #i honestly have no clue what this even is #word vomit and a poor attempt at something wholesome #forgive me sdfjsdlfjs

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jeminy3 · 3 years

Photo

old archie x maxie (hardenshipping) doodles i never posted, from 2017 or 2018. they were related to some of the doodles in this post.

I have a lot of unpublished drawings of these guys, and i never did elaborate on my headcanons for them. The truth is, I was (and still kinda am) very anxious and embarrassed about this fixation, probably because it centers around villains and “woobifies” them, but also because after playing and researching more into ORAS, i discovered that my personal canon was contradicted by actual canon and i felt invalidated.

For the sake of posterity, I’ll summarize my old headcanons below. (It’s still pretty long, ugh)

A grunt in Team Magma’s hideout says that Archie and Maxie “used to be on the same team.” In canon, this probably implies that they worked together on New Mauville, Sea Mauville, or another unnamed project, depending on how old they are and how long ago those projects started and ended.

However, like many other fans, I thought this meant they used to be in Team Rocket together, and I elaborated an entire backstory based on that:

+ Maxie and Archie were part of a group of Rocket recruits attempting to start a branch of Team Rocket in the Hoenn Region. The project failed because soon after they arrived, Giovanni was defeated in Kanto and officially dissolved Team Rocket, causing a schism to form within the Hoenn team over whether to give up the project or not. This eventually lead to the team splintering into two factions, one lead by Maxie and the other lead by Archie, which eventually grew and rebranded themselves into Team Magma and Team Aqua.

-Maxie and Archie met and connected enough to start dating, though they were emotionally dysfunctional. As problems arose and the Team began to splinter, their relationship also broke down and their separation was very messy.

Maxie clung to the ambition of staying in Hoenn and building up the Team as a paragon of human industry, pushing away Archie and anyone else he deemed as “not useful.”

Archie also wanted to make the Team work, but not in the way Maxie and his side wanted, at the expense of nature. Archie felt hurt and betrayed as Maxie pushed him away and disagreed with him, making him contradict and lash out at Maxie even more.

This all culminated in a huge fight between Archie and Maxie and their respective sides, involving both Pokemon battling and actual fist-fighting. Local authorities were called in, causing the teams to scatter, but not before Archie and Maxie promised to face each other again, reforging themselves as bitter rivals.

-- Maxie

+ Maxie is (the pokemon equivalent of) German/Japanese, and was born on Cinnabar Island. His birth name was Maximillian Matsubasa Von Brandt, but he prefers simply “Maxie”. He IDs as bigender, asexual and demi-homoromantic.

His father is a Kanto businessman named Masaru Matsubasa. His mother is from somewhere in or near Kalos, named Melissa Von Brandt. They were both wealthy and successful business people who frequently left on business trips, Masaru travelling between Kanto and Johto and Melissa to her home country.

Maxie was often left alone or with a nanny at home. He was well-provided for and self-sufficient, but he was lonely and emotionally stunted. He had a passion for geology and engineering, and showed interest in contributing to helping Cinnabar’s local issues, which were often tense because of the limited land space. Homelessness and unemployment were high, and development plans to alleviate these were stymied by parties who lobbied for the preservation of the local Pokemon wildlife by any means.

Maxie’s parents were skeptical of his choice in career but still supported him, if only half-heartedly. This lead Maxie to study Cinnabar’s volcano, which he found to be very much active and possibly dangerous. He developed a plan to build in and around the volcano in such a way that it would utilize extra space inside the mountain for housing/businesses and its magma for natural energy to power the city, possibly circumventing its eventual eruption.

He presented this plan to Cinnabar’s city council, but was practically laughed out of the meeting for such an ambitious and dangerous idea, especially by the wildlife parties. This damaged his reputation and caused him to be fired/demoted from his job. His parents reprimanded him, regretting their decision to support him.

Lost and disgusted with his life, Maxie found recruitment with Team Rocket and left Cinnabar to join their efforts on the mainland. When he presented his research to their higher-ups, they were impressed enough to pass it along to Giovanni himself, and Maxie ended up contributing to the construction of some of their underground lairs, like in Celadon City.

This also made him a prime candidate for the Rocket Hoenn project as a lead engineer and scientist, and he joined the project with high hopes.

+ His interest in Pokemon was soured by his past and usually only extends are far as his ambitions, which means he views Pokemon only as things that can be useful to whatever projects he’s working on, otherwise they are a nuisance. After becoming the leader of Team Magma and having to train a personal team to defend himself with, he warms up to Pokemon a bit more.

+ Maxie plays up his confidence and genius, but does have moments of crippling self-doubt and anxiety. Deep down, he’s socially awkward and has trouble expressing his feelings, tending to bottle things up until they spill out in moments of anger.

+ Maxie used to be a semi-heavy smoker in his youth to cope with his anxiety. After becoming the leader of Team Magma, his health was suffering and his grunts were visibly uncomfortable around him, so for the sake of his own health and that of his team, he quit, with help and advice from Courtney and Tabitha.

+ Maxie hates his parents and hasn’t contacted them since he left Cinnabar, which was over ten years ago by the end of ORAS events. He avoids them to the point that he uses a forged identity in Hoenn, named “Maxie Stormfront.” ‘Stormfront’ is a reference from one of his favorite metal bands, the Doom Hounds, because he is a nerd.

+ Years later, Cinnabar’s volcano did erupt and destroy the town, displacing its human population. Maxie has mixed feelings about this – he’s not sure if it’s righteous karma for the City Council rejecting his plans, or a sign that his old plans were doomed to failure and he was better off leaving Cinnabar after all.

-- Archie

+ Archie is (the pokemon equivalent of) Black/Hispanic and a Hoenn native. His birth name is Archibald Rodriguez. He IDs as a cis man (or trans?), pansexual and panromantic.

He was born to his father, Alexander Rodriguez and his mother, Alicia Fuentes (Rodriguez after marriage) in a small fishing town on one of Hoenn’s coasts, with its fishery being its only major industry. Most of its residents are middle-class or poor, and few members pursue an education after high school, usually joining the local fishing industry.

In his youth, Archie didn’t care much for school or work, preferring to spend his days playing with the local water Pokemon and his friends, Matt and Shelly. However, this exposed him to the effects that overfishing and pollution had on the local wildlife, and he eventually grew to want to pursue a career as a Veterinarian, specifically for water pokemon.

His parents didn’t believe he would be successful and his town had few resources to help him. The most he could do was research at the local library and a then-primitive internet.

Worse, his town was outright apathetic to the damage their industry was causing to the local wildlife because they depended on its capital to survive.

+A possible traumatic memory involves a young Archie nursing a sick Magikarp back to health for weeks, only to later discover it trapped in the nets of the fishery his father worked at, doomed to become food/products. When he attempted to cut the nets and save the Magikarp, his father restrained him and reprimanded him, claiming “it’s just a fish, boy! They’re all just stupid fish!”

Eventually, Archie was a depressed drifter in his 20s, unable to hold onto work and unable to afford to leave to a larger city. He often fought with his abrasive father and his mother was coddling, but unsupportive. This made Archie a prime candidate for Team Rocket recruiters as they arrived on Hoenn, promising a way out of his backwater town, decent pay, and a career where he’d be appreciated and be able to work with Pokemon to change the world. He joined as a lowly Grunt, but was talented and well-respected within the Team.

-Archie has limited contact with his parents since he left home, only calling them once a year or so.

-Archie doesn’t like being referred to as his full name, it feels pretentious and brings back uncomfortable memories of his family.

+I used to headcanon Archie and Matt as biological brothers because of the “bro” thing, but I’m not sure about keeping that. If so, Matt’s name would be short for Matthias Rodriguez, because their parents liked pretentious names.

-Like some of his dialog implies, Archie is kind of depressed, pessimistic and cynical deep down, but hides it behind his boisterous, reckless attitude. At his worst, he’s downright bitter, uncaring of his own life or the lives of humanity in general, in favor of Pokemon.

#hardenshipping #aqua leader archie #magma leader maxie #rocket hardenshipping #pokemon oras #jeminy3 art #jeminy writes #long post #headcanons

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playboysaleen · 3 years

Text

Love Malady.

Part 2.

Part 1.

Summary: Daughter of the notorious gang of thieves. One day your brothers group kidnap a nobel woman. Feeling guilt you gave her warm clothes, tended to her injuries, and helped her escape. instantly the world falls under a deadly pandemic and is killing/infecting people left to right and you are the only one who is immune. All because you saved a girl years ago coming to find out... it was the goddess of death(Famine).

Warnings- cursing i think, violence.

___________

Present.

February 12th, 2021.

The night Buck got sick changed everyone's life. I waited hours for my phone to ring giving me the ‘okay homeboys fine.’ but Jaime walked into my room with tear-stained cheeks telling me Buck didn't make it.

Then a couple days later after Bucks death one of the guys found Adam dead with the same symptoms. Then Pedro, then Jackson, then Shelli, and it killed off almost all of my fathers gang. The disease spread like a wildfire. From our home town to the city, the state then just did this hopscotch move and expanded around the whole world.

The first year the doctors tried to keep it a secret but it flared so fast that society called it the ‘Sinister Ash’. There was no cure when the officials realized it was airborne, literally nothing could cure anyone. Some were lucky with similarities of a stomach virus and a mild headache, and there were the less fortunate. Headaches, stomach bugs, fever and cancer like symptoms. The strong can work through it but it was permanent. The rest who had it worst? Died off just like Buck and Adam.

“Why are you not eating?” My fathers voice rang me out of my thoughts with his thick Venezuela accent, I peeked at my father shrugging my shoulders. Grumbling, he focused his attention to Jaime as they went over the next move for their ‘purloins’. I grabbed my plate walking towards the kitchen running the hot water over the greatest plate, a thud sounded in the dining room which caused my brother's name to boom out my fathers mouth. I ran towards the other side of the table to grasp my brother's shaking body, cursing under my breath. I dialed 911.

“The ambulance is on the way, go Pa.” I instructed my father watching his face fall, he sighed placing his hand on my shoulder.

“Our time has come, I love you, my child.” he whispered, placing a soft kiss on my forehead making his way out the back. I cooed into Jaime’s hair as I held him in my arms praying to the man above if he could not let this disease invade my brother's body. ________________________________________ “Did you at least get the girls number?” Jaime stated in disbelief when he woke up and saw the EMT worker reeling him into the ER. I chuckled, shaking my head playfully, pushing his shoulder.

“She was pretty..” I mumbled causing Jaime to widen his eyes pushing me back-

“I TOLD YOU!” he laughed out loud when the doctor walked in with a clipboard. A man around his 50’s with a look that masked his face of light, but we all knew he was trying to survive like the rest of us.

“Good afternoon, I am Doctor Nives.” The man spoke ever so gently but his beard gave me Cap vibes. I nodded my head looking at Jaime slipping my hand into his.

“So there’s news, I do not know how you both will take it but-“ he grabs the x rays placing them onto the screen that took up half of the wall next to Jaime. I watched as the deeper detailed body of my brother's chest caged clouds of red, black, and green.

“As you can see you have stage 2 of the Ashen, the red that covers this area here-” Dr. Nives circled the red that surrounded the upper left of my brother's chest.

“Covers your heart, but after running the test I see your red cells are fighting the virus and it knocks more time for you.” A lump formed in my throat as the last 4 words flew out his mouth.

“Wait, what do you mean more time?” His eyes soften sending me a sympathetic look, Jaime gasped softly looking down at his hands.

“Well from the lab work it shows that you had 3 months, but at how good your cells are handling the virus you have 6 months to a year.” He finished taking his gloves off and applying hand sanitizer,

“Since you ma’am we’re around him can we run some lab work for your safety?” He asked looking between Jaime and I. I looked at my brother to see him nodding my way, turning to the man I nodded as he clasp his hands together.

“Great. We can move you right next door so you can stay close to your brother.” Reassuring the both of us, I placed a kiss against his forehead following the doctor out. I took a seat onto the bed leaning against the back of the wall holding out my arm.

For the last 4 years I’ve noticed a big change in my appearance that it actually scares me on the inside. First year, I lost a tremendous amount of weight, the extra weight turned into bulk in the places I always wished for.. huh..

During the first year, the acne on my face disappeared in thin air. One minute I’m trying to clean the pores with three different facial cleansers, I go to bed, then the next I wake up and my face is so clear. I was changing for the better, yet the world was changing for the worst. That first year we lost almost 2 million lives, including a lot of the people around me.

The second year is what sparked my curiosity of my body. One night, I was cooking dinner for Jaime and I, having a heavy debate with who is better at shooting the knife slid through my palm causing Jaime to spring off the island placing his hand against the deep gash trying his best to stop the bleeding. We knew we couldn’t head to the hospital for the sake of our fathers identity and the groups, so Jaime wrapped my hand the best he could and called it a night. I didn’t like his Tostadas anyways. Next day, I woke up to change my bandage. I opened the wrap to see no gash from the night before. Eyebrows furrowing together I question my own body for the first time in my life.. I can’t be immortal, that’s only in books. Then I noticed it. From small paper cuts to bruises- my wounds healed faster than any other person. From taking days for a wound to close, a couple minutes and it’s gone. Clean. Like it was never there to begin with.

Last year, an incident had happened; Traumatizing to say. Snuck out with an old friend of mine, talking around the den says she’s been trying to make a move on me but me being me I waved them off knowing she’s not the type. Met up with her, got a couple drinks in headed back to her place, got a couple kisses in. The kissing escalated until this small beautiful voice that I heard years back echoed in my ears, jumping back, I stopped what we had and went home. Next day I received the news that she passed away AND GET THIS- JUST like Buck. Since then, her voice echoes in my ear. It’s been quiet the last month, I miss it though.

A pinch brought me out of my thoughts when the nurse smiled my way explaining what the blood was for and Dr.Nives will be in shortly to give me the news. I snooped around heading to my brothers room when my name was said from the doctors a couple rooms down from me.

“That can’t be possible, it’s only been 5 minutes and she’s literally clean from head to toe.” A nurse quarreled, a couple more murmurs were heard but Dr.Nives voice caught my attention-

“Let’s do Code A.” A gasp was heard from within their circle with multiple disagreements, confusion flashed my face until a ‘yes sir’ and footsteps were heard coming my way. I sprinted towards my room taking a seat sending Jaime a small text message.

“Heya Y/n, do you mind if I give you some antibiotics just in case you are diagnosed with the Ashen?” The nurse requested which I nodded extending my arm watching her place the small plate next to me. I squinted my eyes examining the shot that contained a weird dark substance.

“Why is the stuff black? Isn’t medicine a clear color for safety purposes?” I blurted out, watching the nurse grab the shot striking the needle into my vein. I grunted feeling the warm liquid enter my body, I huffed lightly leaning my head against the wall. Then, it hit me.

“Wait, what if my test comes back negative? Why do I need antibiotics?” I glanced at the nurse feeling my heartbeat raise as the room began to shrink.

“What’s… what’s happening to me?.” I whispered watching the nurse draw more blood from the previous spot. I felt like I needed to throw up, once the nurse left I wobbled towards my brothers room next door,

“Man bro we need to get some take out when we leave this place- Y/n? Are you okay?” Jaime rambled out then his face washed with concern as I stumbled onto his bed.

“I don’t feel so good Brother..” I breathed out looking up to lock eyes with his own. He gasped, wrapping his arms around me, rocking me back and forth.

“Y/n…” he whispered, watching my contacts with my brown eyes slowly drain into this grey/golden color.

“What the hell happened?” He asked turning towards the door making sure no one came in.

“They gave me the Sinister Ash.. I can feel it in my chest. We have to go.” I grunted using all my strength to push myself off my brother's bed wobbling towards the door. A cough formed in my throat falling out my mouth, my hand flew to my mouth watching the black and red substance pool into my hands.

“Y/N?” Jaime shouted running to my side, I grabbed him for support walking out the room. I felt the fire in my chest pass when a small burp lashed out my lips. Sighing deeply I stood up straight facing Jaime.

“I… I feel better.” I mumbled opening the doors to the emergency waiting room. My body collided with another grabbing them instantly- I gasped at how quick my reflexes were, even Jaime’s eyes widened.

“Why thank you, I’m so sorry I- Y/m? Why are you not in your room?” Doctor Nives questioned looking between the both of us, I felt warm liquid on the side of my mouth. Quickly wiping it, a fake smile formed on my face slowly stepping back towards the exit just a couple feet from us.

“Sorry Doctor, but I think it’s time my brother and I head home- our father must be worried sick.” I bluffed, gripping my brother's wrist, giving him the signal.

“Y/n. We know who you both are.”

_______________

Thank you for the wait<3

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patagucci34 · 4 years

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Partners for Life~ Tyson Jost

Warnings: swearing, some playful touching....

Word Count: 11k

All you wanted to do was change into comfy sweats, pour a heavy glass of wine, and forget about the awful week you had at work. But of course, there had to be something else to make this day even worse. When you were about 5 minutes away from your apartment it started down pouring. You cursed to yourself and picked up the pace.

Once you were in the comfort of your building, you let out a sigh of relief and made the trek up to your apartment. When you stepped out of the elevator you were met with a smiling face, one that normally would melt all of your worries away, but today, it only helped a little. You forced a smile back when his smile turned into a concerned frown.

"What happened to you?" He asked, stopping in front of you.

"I got caught in the rain on the way back from work."

He nodded and grabbed the bags out of your hands so you could unlock your door.

"Thanks, Tyson." You said with a small smile, hoping he would leave you be now. Normally you would welcome his company, but you really wanted that glass of wine and quiet night in by yourself. But it wasn't looking like that was the case when he strolled over to your fridge making himself at home. But that didn't stop you from wandering down the hall and taking a warm shower. Maybe then he would get the hint?

Nope. When you walked back out to the living room he was cozied up on the couch. A little bit of your annoyance dissipated when you saw the two wine glasses on the coffee table in front of him. So you grabbed one and plopped back into the couch.

"Rough week?" He asked, grabbing the other glass.

"You have no idea."

"I'm sorry, you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really.…" you sighed, "no game tonight?"

"Nah, we're leaving for a road trip tomorrow."

"Ohh nice, where to?"

"We're going to Florida."

"Ugh, I'm so jealous. I would love some nice weather right now."

Tyson chuckled, "yeah it might do you some good. You're looking a little pasty."

You rolled your eyes and pushed him playfully. "I meant mentally, but thank you for that."

"I know, I'm just messing…" he said patting your thigh "…are you sure you're okay?"

You sighed, "yeah, I just had an awful week at work, and my family has been harping on me a lot lately and I'm just over it all."

"I'm sorry, Y/n/N, what's going on at work?"

"My coworkers are just the worst. We had a huge project due this week and it seemed like I was the only one doing anything. And of course they got all of the credit. But it's fine, things should be better next week."

"What about your family?"

"Where do I even start…lately it's just been about me not having a boyfriend. I just don’t understand the fascination with my love life. My cousin is getting married soon and they really want me to bring someone…but like who cares? I'm 23, I don't see the urgency. But I also don't want to get shit for it the whole weekend. I don't know, whatever, it'll be fine, I'm just annoyed right now."

"When is the wedding?"

"A few weeks from now…why?"

"Is it the All Star break?"

"Ummmm…." you said while checking the dates "yes…why?!"

"I could be your date if you wanted…"

"No, Tyson, I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, I'm offering."

"I don't know, Tys…"

"Come on, you'll have good company, you won't have to hear about how single you are…"

"Wait, you want to go as my boyfriend?"

"Well I don't think going as your friend would help…"

"You'd really do that?"

"Yes! I want to."

"Alright.…I don't know if it'll work, I'm not sure my family will even believe me."

"Oh, we can make it believable."

You eyed Tyson suspiciously but then gave in. "Okay…alright. I owe you big time."

"Let's just see how the weekend goes…" Tyson said with a smirk.

The rest of the night was spent watching New Girl. Tyson kept refilling your glass and you ended up pretty tipsy. Before Tyson left he helped you into bed and locked up your apartment on the way out.

~~~~~

The next morning, you woke up with a headache, cursing yourself for getting wine drunk. You loved being wine drunk in the moment but hated the hangover. You also cursed yourself at the thought of the little plan you and Tyson had come up with the night before. It's not that you weren't excited to spend an entire weekend with Tyson, it's just that you were pretty nervous about the whole thing. You had grown very close in your time as neighbors, but it was always just as friends. You'd be lying if you said you didn't have a crush on Tyson, but you always kept it to yourself because you didn't want to ruin their friendship, not to mention you didn't think you were his type. You were also nervous about your family buying their 'relationship'. Not only had you been telling your family that you were still single, but they would never believe that you were dating one of the Colorado Avalanche.

You tried to push it from your mind and focus on getting rid of the hangover. You made your way to the kitchen and guzzled down a glass of water accompanied by a few Tylenol and then rummaged through the fridge to make something to eat.

You posted up on the couch after you ate and watched movies all day. You were able to be a bit more productive on Sunday and cleaned your apartment and went grocery shopping for the week.

~~~~~

You didn't see Tyson until Wednesday night. He had texted you earlier in the day asking if you wanted to get take out. When you got home from work, Tyson was already in your apartment with the take out.

"I could kiss you right now, I'm starving." You said as you dropped your bags on the floor and sat down at the table."

Tyson smirked, "it might be good practice…"

"Oh my god, I actually kind of forgot about that…we should talk about our game plan."

"Yes, I like to excel so I need everything there is to know about your family so I'm fully prepared."

You rolled your eyes, "of course you do…well, I mean how long have we been dating for? I've been telling my family I'm single, but I'm sure I could come up with some excuse why I haven't told them."

"Yeah, it might be kind of weird to take your boyfriend of two weeks to a family wedding…"

"Okay, so how long do you think?"

"6 months?"

"Is that too long?"

Tyson shrugged, "I don't know, I think that's fine."

"Alright, and I think we should stick to saying we met through being neighbors."

"Good idea, less room for slip ups…what are you going to use as an excuse for not telling them?"

"I guess maybe that I wanted to feel things out and also because you're kinda famous?"

"Kinda?! I'm hurt."

You giggled at Tyson's dramatics. "Okay, sorry, you're famous. Fully famous."

"Much better…so let's start with the family lessons. I know you have 3 brothers, Charlie, Ben, and Jack. Your parents are Kate and Steve… but I think that's all I got."

"I'm impressed! Yes, Ben is the oldest, he's a lawyer, he's married to Hailey who is a nurse. Charlie is next, he's a teacher, he's engaged to Casey, who is also a teacher. Then there is Jack, he's in his second year of med school and his girlfriend is Carly, she's a physical therapist. Then my parents, Kate and Steve. My dad is a lawyer, Ben works at his firm. And my mom is a nurse. Do you want me to write this stuff down?"

"No way, I'll get it. Just keep going."

"Alright...the cousin that is getting married is on my dad's side. His name is Tom, his fiancé's name is Lauren. Tom does something with finance, I'm not exactly sure what, and Lauren is a social worker. Tom has one sister, Maddie, she's an aspiring actress…" Tyson stifled a laugh at your face when you said her occupation. "My grandparents are Dave and Shelly, they're both retired, but my grandfather was a lawyer, it’s his firm that my dad and Ben work for. And I think I can just introduce you to everyone else as we go…"

"Alright, got it."

"Do you?" You questioned, not believing him.

"Okay, fine, not yet. But I will."

~~~~~

The next few weeks went by faster than you had wanted. As the wedding grew nearer you became more and more nervous. You had let everyone know that you would be bringing your boyfriend, and of course, the questions rolled in. You told them what you had practiced with Tyson, you weren't sure where things were going to go and didn't want to get their hopes up, and because he's a professional athlete you wanted to make sure everything was sound in their relationship before you went public. Although your mom was upset that you didn’t confide in her earlier, they were happy that you had found a boyfriend. It definitely made you feel guilty for lying, but you were able to get over it.

A few days before you were leaving, you went to Tyson's game. You weren't able to go all of the time, but you had a blast when you did. You had become friends with a few of the WAGs and of course a bunch of the guys.

They were all going out after the game to celebrate the beginning of the All Star break and Tyson had invited you to go so you went down to the locker rooms after the game to wait for him.

"Y/N!" You turned at the familiar voice and smiled and gave Andre a hug.

"Hey, Burky, good game!"

"Thanks, are you coming out with us?"

"I am!!"

"Good, Tys is more fun when you're around." He said, winking. You laughed a bit before a few of the others guys joined and talked about the plans for this evening.

A few minutes later, Tyson came up behind you and wrapped his arm around you.

"Hey, Tys!" You greeted him happily.

"Hey, babe." You rolled your eyes at his choice of words. "What?! I'm just trying to get into character." He defended, which made the guys laugh. They all knew about the arrangement and most of them were hoping this weekend would be the push you needed to actually date.

"You ready?" Tyson asked. You nodded and bid farewells until later.

Tyson drove you back to you building and you split ways to get ready.

"How long do you need?" He asked.

"I'll be ready in like 20??"

"Alright, I'll come over in a half hour." He said chuckling at himself, which caused you to roll your eyes but nod your head and go inside.

An hour later you were making your way through the crowd at the club to find everyone else. Tyson had gone to get them drinks while you sat down next to EJ and Landy. Landy was grilling you about the weekend, him being the number one supporter of you guys actually dating. Luckily he let up a bit on you when Tyson came back and started in on him.

You kept downing drinks as the night went on and ended up being very drunk. Tyson had to help you through the club and he pretty much carried you to your apartment. He was nervous to leave you alone, so he ran over to his apartment to change and came back to stay with you for the night.

~~~~~

The next morning, you groaned as you peeled your eyes open. You were slightly confused about the arm draped over you because you didn't remember talking to any guys at the club. You relaxed when you looked over and saw that it was Tyson.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." He said with a smirk.

"Morning….what are you doing here?"

"You were pretty loaded…I was nervous you might throw up in your sleep so I stayed with you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to get so drunk…"

"I know, it's all good. You just will really be kicking yourself in the car today!"

"Ugh, don't remind me." You said and rolled back over.

"10 more minutes! Then you need to get up and get ready." Tyson reminded.

"Okay, mom." You muffled into the pillow as you fell back asleep.

An hour later you had the car packed up and were on the way. Thankfully, Tyson offered to drive, knowing your current state and just the fact you didn't love driving anyway. You played the music, luckily you had similar taste, so you jammed out for most of the 4 hour drive. You also quizzed him on your family, and just as he claimed, he remembered it all.

Tyson noticed that you had grown quiet in the last half hour. He reached over and grabbed your hand.

"Hey," he started softly, "it's going to be fine."

"I know, I'm just nervous. Even though they're happy I have a boyfriend, they can be so critical and rude. I'm going to apologize in advance for anything that they say."

"I think I can handle them…I'm used to criticism."

"I know…I just, even though we aren't actually dating, you are one of my best friends and I don't want them to scare you off."

"Don't worry about that…I'm not going anywhere." He said and gave your hand a gentle squeeze before pulling it away. You smiled at him and started to realize that this might not have been the best idea for your sake. You had been able to keep your feelings at bay, but this weekend might change that. You push those thoughts out of your mind as Tyson pulls the car into your driveway. You panicked a bit when you saw all of the cars in the driveway. It had been your understanding that Jack was going to be the only of your brothers home tonight and everyone else would be over tomorrow. Tyson noticed your panic and grabbed your hand again.

"What's wrong?"

"My mom told me Jack and Carly were going to be here tonight, not everyone else…"

"Well that's okay, we'll get it over with."

"I know, I just wasn't prepared for this. I'm sorry, I'll stop freaking out."

Tyson chuckled, "don't apologize. But don't worry either, okay? We got this." He reassured you and kissed your forehead. You blushed at the act, you guys had cuddled before and obviously shared the same bed, but this felt different, and it just made you even more nervous.

You both got out and grabbed your bags before approaching the door. You didn't even have time to put your bag down when it burst open.

"Y/N!!! I've missed you so much!" Your mom exclaimed while giving you a tight hug.

"Hi, mom, I missed you too." Once she let go, she turned to Tyson and you introduced the two. "Mom, this is Tyson, Tys, this is mom, Kate."

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you!!!" Your mom exclaimed again, pulling Tyson in for a hug.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Y/L/N. I've heard so much about you."

"Oh, please, call me Kate." She said as she let go. "Well, come in! Everyone's dying to meet you!"

You glanced at Tyson and he winked in return. You followed your mom inside and you put your bags down and went into the living room where everyone was sitting. Tyson put his arm on the small of your back and you leaned into him as you walked into the room.

Your brothers all shot up and surrounded you in a hug, separating you and Tyson. You rolled your eyes but laughed and welcomed their embrace. Once they finally let you go, your dad stepped up and gave you a hug and kissed your cheek. "Hey, baby girl. It's nice to see you."

"It's good to see you too, dad, I've missed you." He gave you one more quick squeeze and let you go so you could introduce Tyson to everyone.

"Well, everyone, this is Tyson…" At this point your brother's partners had joined them. "…Tyson, this is my dad, Steve, Ben and Hailey, Charlie and Casey, and Jack and Carly."

Tyson shook all of their hands as you went down the line.

"It's nice to meet you all." Tyson said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, we're glad she's finally bringing someone home to us!" Your dad joked, causing you to roll your eyes.

"Okay, well, we're gonna bring our stuff upstairs. See you in a few." You said grabbing Tyson's hand and dragging him back into the hallway.

"No funny business!" Your brother Charlie called, laughing at himself. You heard Casey scold him and smiled to yourself.

You led Tyson to your old room, telling him you'll give him a tour once you put your bags down.

"That wasn't so bad…" He said as you plopped down on the bed.

"Yet…it's been 5 minutes."

Tyson chuckled and cupped your face with hands, "hey, what did I tell you? Stop worrying."

"I know, I know. I just can't help it."

"Come on, let's go. I'm ready for the grand tour." He said taking your hands and pulling you up. You sighed, but obliged and led him out of the room.

"….and this is the kitchen!" You said as you finished the tour. Your mom smiled at the two of you as you entered the room.

"Your home is very beautiful, Kate." Tyson said to your mom.

"Oh, you're too sweet…do you mind helping me finish up dinner, Y/n/N?"

"Sure. Tys do you want to help?" You asked, not really wanting to throw him to the wolves with your brothers in the next room.

"Yeah, I'll help. What do you need us to do?" He asked sweetly.

"Can you two finish putting the salad together? All of the stuff is on the counter over there."

You nodded and went to the sink to wash your hands and then you and Tyson started cutting up vegetables. You actually were having a lot of fun, Tyson was trying out some of his new jokes on your mom, which she loved. The whole scene felt very domestic, and of course you couldn't help but think about your feelings for him. You were brought back to reality when Tyson gave you a questioning look and mouthed "are you okay?" You forced a smile back and nodded and went back to cutting vegetables.

Once the three of you finished up, your mom called everyone into the dining room for dinner. Everyone took their seats and dug right in.

"This is delicious, mom." Jack complimented with his mouth full. Everyone chuckled and agreed, your mom blushing from the compliments.

"Well, I had good helpers." She said acknowledging you and Tyson. You both smiled and went back to eating.

You were starting to get nervous because your brothers hadn't really said much to Tyson. They had always been very overprotective and tried to scare off the guys you brought around and even though Tyson wasn't actually your boyfriend you were really nervous for what they might say. You knew better than to think that maybe they grew out of that stage, so it just made you more and more anxious for when it was going to come.

You caught Jack's gaze and he gave you a devilish grin. You gave him a warning look but he just shook his head. This was it. It was coming and there was nothing you could do to stop it. You looked at Tyson and he gave you a small smile and squeezed your thigh under the table.

"So, Tyson…" Charlie started "…hockey, huh?"

You shot a glare at your brother but he just smiled sweetly.

"Uh, yeah, I've played ever since I was young."

"How reliable is it to play professionally?" Ben asked this time.

"Ben…" Your mom scolded.

"It's okay, that's a fair question." Tyson defended. "I would say it's pretty secure, as long as I'm playing well and staying healthy."

"What happens if you get injured?" Jack asked.

"Well, if it's minor I'll get treatment until it's healed and then start playing again."

"And if it's not?"

"Well, I guess, I'd be done playing hockey."

"Okay, that's enough." You said glaring at all of your brothers.

"We just want to make sure you're in good hands, Y/n/N." Jack said sweetly.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself with my own salary, so Tyson's job security shouldn't be of concern." That shut them up for a little, but you knew they weren't done. Not with this dinner and certainly not for the rest of the weekend. Tyson squeezed your thigh again, that definitely being his way of telling you not to get too worked up.

Thankfully, your mom changed the subject to talk about plans for the weekend, but that didn't hold for very long.

"So, Tyson…" Jack started this time "…it must be pretty demanding being a professional athlete, do you even see Y/N that much?" You shot him another glare but he just kept smiling.

"Yeah, it can be, we live across the hall from each other so I pretty much see her whenever I'm home."

"Why does it matter to you how often we see each other?" You asked.

"We're just looking out for you, Y/n/N." Charlie defended.

"Well stop, you're just being rude."

"Alright, let's not fight at the table…" Your mom stated, trying to keep the peace. "Hailey, how are things at the hospital?"

You were thankful she changed the subject again, but you still weren't convinced it would put a total end to the grilling.

And you were right, a few minutes later, Jack spoke up again.

"Tyson, you must have a lot of girls after you, being a professional athlete and all."

You didn't even give Tyson the chance to defend himself before you lost it.

"Are you kidding me right now, Jack?! I cannot believe you would even ask that! Can you not be a dick for like one fucking weekend?!" And you stormed off up the stairs.

Tyson excused himself and followed after you. You sat on the bed, too mad to even cry, which you were thankful for. It was embarrassing enough that Tyson just had to sit through and witness what just happened.

"I'm so sorry, Tys." You apologized as he sat down next to you.

"No need to apologize, Y/n/N. It's not your fault your brother is a dick." You cracked a smile at his comment.

"I just didn't think he'd be like that. They've always been super overprotective, but that was just too much."

"It's really okay. Honestly, I can't say that I wouldn't have asked something similar to my sister's boyfriend. I get it. You're their baby sister, they just want what's best for you. I can take their crap, alright?"

"You're too good." You said with a huff, which made Tyson chuckle.

"Only for you, babe." He said and kissed your forehead. You both settled back on the bed and he tucked you into his side.

A little while later there was a knock on your door. You sat up a little bit and told them to come in. It was your mom.

"Hi, sweetie. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, I just wish Jack wasn't such an asshole."

"I know, I'm sorry, and I'm sorry Tyson that he was acting that way."

"It's okay, I understand, I have a younger sister."

"Well, I think he feels bad he upset you like that…"

"Good." You stated, causing your mom and Tyson to chuckle.

"Alright, well I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight, mom."

"Goodnight, Kate."

"I, um, don't usually freak out like that so, I'm sure it really made them feel bad…" You stated.

"Yeah, now I know to never piss you off."

You laughed at Tyson and cuddled back into his side. "That kind of freak out is reserved for my brothers. You probably won't ever be on the receiving end."

"Good to know." He said chuckling back. "You wanna watch New Girl?"

"Sure, I'm gonna go get changed first."

The rest of the night was spent watching Netflix, cuddled up in your bed. No apology from Jack but you didn't really expect one. He'll probably half ass one in the morning, and you'll forgive him, you always do.

~~~~~~

You were right. When you went downstairs for breakfast, it was just Jack in the kitchen. He looked over at you and held his arms out, signifying a hug. You looked at him and raised your eyebrows, awaiting those magic words.

"Come on, are you really going to make me say it?"

"Yes! You were so awful last night. You really owe an apology to Tyson…"

"Fine, I'm sorry, Y/n/N. I took it too far."

"Yes, you did. But I forgive you…as long as you cool it for the rest of the weekend!"

"I will, I promise."

"Thank you." You beamed and gave him a hug.

"Aww, how sweet!" Charlie cooed as he interrupted you and Jack.

"Hey, I think you and Ben also owe her an apology."

"No way, we didn't take it as far as you did." Charlie defended just as Ben walked in.

"Yeah, I agree, we were pretty mild." Ben agreed.

"Would it really be that bad to apologize to me?" You asked, fully knowing the answer.

"Yes." Ben and Charlie answered at the same time.

You rolled your eyes but went about your business.

"Where is lover boy anyway?" Charlie asked.

You shrugged, "still sleeping."

"Not out for an early morning run?" Jack teased, you rolled your eyes again.

"Stop!! You said you'd cool it!"

"Relax, I'm just teasing."

You rolled your eyes as you sat down at the table and your brothers joined around you.

"But seriously, Y/n/N. Are you happy?"

"Yes, Ben, I'm very happy. He's really good to me."

"Okay good, then we're happy. But as soon as he does something to hurt you…he's done for."

"I know, I know. Although…he is a professional athlete, are you sure you could take him?" You teased.

"Please, it's no contest." Charlie defended which made you laugh.

Just as he was about to throw a grape at you, Tyson walked in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Tys!" You called from the table. He came over and sat next to you and greeted your brothers. "Are you hungry? I can make you some eggs, or we have cereal, I could make pancakes?"

"How come you didn't offer to make any of us that stuff??" Jack whined. You just rolled your eyes and looked back at Tyson.

"I'll have some eggs, but I can help you." He said and the two of you got up and started cooking.

Everyone else ended up joining you in the kitchen so you ended up making breakfast for everyone else too, but you didn't mind. It was fun to hang out with everybody and you were glad that your brothers were done with third degree.

After breakfast you and Tyson went back upstairs to showered for the day. You wanted to show him around your hometown and have a chill day because the next two days were going to be filled with wedding stuff.

When you walked back into your room after your shower, Tyson was lying on the bed looking at his phone. You were just in a towel and while you and Tyson were pretty comfortable with each other, you expected him to go take his shower so you could change. He looked up at you and smirked when he saw your attire.

"You gonna give me a show?"

"Tyson!" You cried. "We're at my parents…and it's 10 in the morning."

"So you're saying you would though?"

"Seriously, that's what you took from that?"

Tyson smirked at you and moved to get off the bed. You watched him as he rummaged through his things and then started to move past you to go to the bathroom. Just as you thought you were safe, he slapped your ass and hurried out of the room. You gasped, though it wasn't very hard, you were not expecting that. You wanted to mad but you couldn't help but smile. If he wanted to play it like that this weekend, you were gonna give it right back.

You decided to only get half-dressed to start…you put on a sexy bra and super cheeky underwear. Once satisfied with your look, you laid down on the bed and waited for Tyson to come back. You didn’t have to wait long, a few minutes later you heard him opening the door.

"Hey, do you know if there is anymore-- whoa." You smirked at the thought of Tyson's face, you couldn't see because you were lying on your stomach so your ass was showing. What you didn't bargain for was for him to be so composed and not let it get to him. So just as you were about to turn around to see what he was doing, you felt a much harder slap to your ass.

"Ow, Tyson! What the hell!"

"Hey, you put your ass out here like that…I can't help it." He smirked and plopped down next to you.

"You're the worst." You grinned as you got up to finish getting dressed.

"You ready?" You asked a little while later after both of you had gotten dressed.

"Yes ma'am, let's get to it. Lots of history to see."

"History? I would hardly call this town historical."

"Yeah, your history." He said with a sweet smile. Your heart melted and you were really starting to wonder if you would make it through this weekend.

You started off by showing him the spot where everyone went to party, you didn't stay long because it was pretty cold, but he thought it was funny that a random spot in the woods was where you used to get drunk. "Hey, you do what you gotta do in a small town." You defended before moving on. You then took him by the high school, you couldn't really spend much time there either because kids were in school. Next you brought him 'downtown'. You walked around going into different little shops and boutiques. Then you brought him to your favorite place to eat for lunch.

The two of you talked a lot about high school and how different it was for both of you. You had never really talked much about your past during your friendship so it was nice to get to know each other a little better.

"So, tell me all about high school Y/N." He said once the two of you had ordered your food.

You sighed, "what do you want to know?"

"I don't know…were you popular? A jock? A nerd?"

"I mean…I guess I was popular…I played sports, I wouldn't identify as a nerd but I did do well in school…"

"Wait you played sports?"

"Yeah, soccer, hockey, and lacrosse."

"I'm sorry, what? You played hockey?? How come you never told me?"

"I don't know…I guess it never came up."

"We talk about hockey all the time…"

"Yeah, you playing hockey…professional hockey…not high school girls hockey. Besides, I really wasn't very good soo..."

"So what?! I can't believe you didn't tell me…I'm taking you skating as soon as we get back to Denver so you can show me your moves."

You shook your head, "nope. No way."

"Why not?!"

"Because I'm really not very good, and that's why I've never mentioned it because I knew that you would make me go skating with you."

"Oh come on, I seriously doubt you're that bad."

"Compared to you, yeah, I am."

Tyson rolled his eyes. "You are so ridiculous…so what else did you do in high school?"

"Well, I was in chorus…and don't ask me to sing for you because I will not be doing that."

"Come on, you're no fun." Tyson whined.

You laughed at him and shook your head, "yeah I guess I left all of it here."

"Anything else that I don't know about you that you want to share with me?? Crazy ex boyfriends?? Girlfriends??"

"I guess I should probably tell you…I do have an ex who will be going to the wedding…we dated for a few years but he was kinda shitty.."

"Shitty?"

You sighed, not really wanting to get into it but you knew that you should give him an explanation because you really didn't know what would happen this weekend. "It was a pretty unhealthy relationship…of course I didn't really know that at the time. It wasn't until I went off to college that I started realizing that something was wrong. I tried to end things while I was away but he wouldn't really let it happen so I tried again when I went back home for break and he, like, freaked out…and um, hit me, so I called my friend to come get me… I was able to get out of the relationship with some help but nothing ever really happened to him because I guess he was having drinking issues…"

"Wait, he hit you…and your family is still bringing him around?"

"Yeah...my uncle is really good friends with his dad so…"

"I'm so sorry, Y/n/N…are you gonna be okay this weekend?"

"It's okay.…it's been a few years now. I haven't really seen him much, I usually avoid the gatherings he goes to. I'm not really sure what will happen this weekend…"

"Well I won't leave your side the whole time. I'll protect you."

"Thanks, Tys. I'm actually so thankful you came with me this weekend."

"Of course. You do so much for me all the time…it's the least I could do."

Even though he meant that in the best way possible, and despite all of the flirty comments and advances, it just reinforced that he really was just here as your friend.

You spent the rest of lunch talking about random stuff. Tyson took his phone out and started taking a picture of you.

"Stop! What are you doing?" You said covering your face.

"Put your hands down!! This is great lighting. Smile, look cute."

You relented and let him take your picture. "You better not put that anywhere."

Tyson smirked, "too late."

"Tyson! I’m gonna kill you." You checked your phone and sure enough he tagged you in his Instagram story.

"It's fine, you look really pretty!"

"Okay, but you have so many followers! They're going to think we're dating."

"We are...aren't we?"

You rolled your eyes and focused back on your food.

"I can take it down if you really want me to, but that might look extra sus."

"No, it's fine. I just will kill you if you do it again."

There wasn't really much else to show him so after you finished you headed back to your parent's house.

Your parents were the only ones home so you greeted them and headed up to your room. Tyson went to the bathroom so you took the opportunity to change into some comfy clothes and put on Netflix. You didn't acknowledge him when he walked back into your room but he had the same idea you did, he stripped down and put on some sweats before lying next to you in bed. Normally you would snuggle up next to him but you decided you needed to start distancing yourself a bit otherwise you were going to end up getting hurt.

You ended up falling asleep and woke up an hour later and woke up with your head on Tyson's shoulder. Figures, you knew that would happen. You turned your head and noticed that he was asleep too and he had wrapped his arm around your waist. You sighed as you grabbed your phone from your nightstand and settled back into bed, not wanting to wake him up.

You opened Instagram and were met with hundreds of notifications. Luckily, you were private, but you had a ton of follower requests. Thanks, Tyson. You scrolled through them, most of them being random girls, a few cute guys that you took the chance and let them follow you. There were a few people with the little blue check mark, mostly other guys in the NHL, but one in particular caught your eye. Mat Barzal. You knew that Tyson was friends with him, and you'd be lying if you denied thinking he was attractive. You had always had a little crush on him, so you accepted his request and kept scrolling through. A few minutes later, you received a DM from Mat. Your heart started racing as you went to open it.

Tyson didn't tell me his neighbor friend was so cute ;)

Okay, now you were freaking out, you did not expect that. Obviously Tyson had told him that he was going to a wedding with you. But it was also more proof that Tyson thought of you as just a friend. I mean, he would have told Mat that he liked you, right? You were interrupted from your thoughts by Tyson shifting next to you.

"Who's that?" He asked groggily.

"Um, no one." You said quickly exiting out of Instagram.

"Obviously not." He said grabbing your phone from your hand and getting out of bed.

"Tyson! Give me my phone back."

"I just want to see who's DMing you." You tried grabbing it from his hands but he held you back with one arm. "Mat?" He asked, growing serious.

"You're the one who posted the story…I'm getting lots of requests from guys in the NHL."

"But Mat?"

"You're acting as if I have any control over this."

"You know he's my friend right?"

"Tyson, he messaged me, I don't know what you want me to do."

"Are you gonna respond?"

"I don't know, I don't really know what to say back to that."

"Do you want to?"

"Well I don't want to be rude, but if it's going to bother you I guess I won't."

"No, I'm sorry, you can respond. I guess it just caught me off guard." He said giving you your phone and leaving the room.

You huffed and sat down on the bed. You were so confused. Why would Tyson react like that if he just liked you as a friend? This weekend was really messing with your head and you were kind of regretting bringing him with you. You had already accepted that you should get over your feelings for him, but now you were worried that it was going to mess with your friendship.

You contemplated what to say back to Mat. You didn't want to upset Tyson but you also didn't want to leave him on read, it might be kind of awkward if you guys ever met in person.

Tyson came back a few minutes later and seemed to be in a little bit of a better mood.

"Did you respond?" He asked, sitting down next to you.

"Not yet, I don't know what to say…any ideas?"

"You wanna mess with him a bit?" He asked with a smirk.

"I don't know, Tys, I don't know him."

"But I do…he'll think it's funny."

You sighed and handed him your phone, "fine."

Tyson took it happily and started typing away.

"What are you saying?" You asked, trying to look over his shoulder. He moved the phone so you could see it.

You know Tyson?

You looked at Tyson quizzically, "where are you going with this?"

"I'm gonna make it seem like you don't know who he is."

"Tys, that's just mean."

"Relax, it'll be fine."

You only had to wait a few minutes before he replied again.

Wait, Tys hasn't mentioned me?

Tyson started laughing when he read it and you just rolled your eyes, wishing you had never agreed to this.

No…sorry :( Tyson cackled as he sent back,

"It’s not as funny as you think it is, you know."

"Oh, it's hilarious."

Damn, well then I guess I'm gonna have to get you to fall for me all by myself

You laughed as you watched Tyson react to the response.

"Guess that didn't work as well as you thought it would." You teased, grabbing your phone.

"Wait, let me say one more thing!!"

"No, you've done enough. I'm telling him it was a joke."

"You are absolutely no fun." Tyson whined.

You shrugged, "sorry!"

Hey, I’m so sorry, Tyson saw that you DM'd me and thought that it would be funny to mess with you…

I know who you are haha

Of course he did…what a relief though, you are very pretty I would love to meet you sometime :)

I'm sure we could make that happen…as long as Tyson doesn't get in the way.

"What are you saying?" Tyson asked when he saw you grinning at your phone like a teenager.

"Why must you know everything?"

"Because you're both my friends…"

"Fine." You said and showed him what you said. "Looks like you have to introduce us."

Tyson rolled his eyes, "we'll see."

You chose to just ignore him because you didn't want to argue anymore.

"We should probably go socialize…" You said sighing and getting up.

Tyson let out a sigh too and rummaged through his things to find a shirt to put on. Once he put one on the two of you headed downstairs.

Your mom, Casey, and Carly were in the kitchen getting started on dinner. You asked if they needed help but they said no so you went into the living room where your dad, Jack, and Charlie were all watching TV. You took the open loveseat and Tyson put his arm around you and you cuddled into his side. Although things were a little weird between the two of you, you had to keep appearances up. There wasn't much talking going on, although you were glad that your brothers were being pleasant with Tyson.

Tyson was focused on the TV while you were scrolling through Twitter. You hadn't even noticed that Tyson was now looking at your phone with you until he squeezed your shoulder and laughed at the tweet you just liked. You relaxed a little bit more in his arms, glad that things were becoming more comfortable again.

Dinner was much better than it was the night before. Everyone was laughing and making jokes, no one was grilling Tyson…

You helped your mom clean up while everyone else went into the living room to set up for a game of charades.

"So, how are you?" Your mom asked.

"Um, I'm good…why?"

"What? I can't ask how you are?"

"Well, you can, it just seemed a little out of the blue."

"I haven't really had any time alone with you…"

"I know, I'm sorry. I just worry about leaving Tyson alone with them…"

"How come you never told me about him?"

"I told you mom, I didn't know if things were serious or not, and we wanted to keep it kind of private, hockey fans can be crazy."

"I know, but I'm your mother. I want you to feel like you can tell me things like that."

"I do mom, I really do. I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier."

"Things are good with you two?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Things seemed a little tense tonight…"

"We just had a little disagreement earlier, but it's all good."

"Okay...he seems like a really great guy, Y/n/N, and the way he looks at you…it reminds me of how my father looked at my mother…he's really in love with you sweetie. I hope this works out for you two."

You smiled sweetly at your mom and gave her a hug, even though that was the last thing you wanted to hear right now. At this point, you had stopped getting your hopes at little signs because they never ended up meaning anything.

Once you were finished cleaning up, you and your mom joined everyone else in the living room. You sat down next to Tyson and he put his arm around and kissed the side of your head. You were not looking forward to this game, your family was very competitive, and although you knew Tyson was too, it could get out of hand pretty quickly.

You were split into two teams, thankfully you were with Tyson, Charlie, Casey, and your dad. Jack and Ben are the worst to have on your team because they are the most competitive and they get super pissed when you're not performing well. Your dad and Charlie were also really good at charades so you'd probably win.

It actually ended up being a lot of fun. Thankfully, Jack and Ben didn't get too worked up and of course everyone was drinking so everyone was laughing and having a good time. Your parents called it quits when Ben and Hailey left to go back to their house. The rest of you stayed up and talked for a while before everyone slowly tucked in for the night.

When you and Tyson finally laid down you were exhausted.

"Well tonight went much better than last…" Tyson said, pulling you closer to him.

"Yes...thankfully. I was a little nervous, Jack and Ben can be a little crazy when it comes to games."

Tyson chuckled, "you're one to talk…"

You scoffed, "hey! I am not that competitive."

"Um, I have a monopoly board that would say differently."

"Oh my god, okay, I was really drunk…I don't usually get like that."

"Whatever you say…"

You shook your head and reached over to turn the lamp off.

"Do we have to be up early tomorrow?" Tyson asked.

"No, I don't think so. I think we have to be at the church by 3."

"Perfect, I want to sleep in, I'm exhausted."

"I know, me too."

"Are you gonna sleep in?" He asked, wrapping his arm around your waist.

"I'm gonna try…why?"

"It was hard to keep sleeping once you got up…"

"You want me to stay in bed until you get up?"

"Pretty please?" He asked, sticking his lip out.

You shook your head and chuckled, "yes, I can do that, but not if it's super late!!"

"Okay, deal. Night, Y/n/N."

"Goodnight, Tys."

The next morning you were kicking yourself for the deal you made. You were so tangled up in Tyson it was going to be impossible to even move. You tried to carefully grab your phone so you could see what time it was. 9 am. You relaxed and began checking all of your social media. You were careful to avoid your DMs, you didn't want him to wake up and see anything that would upset him. Although you still wanted to know why he actually cared so much about Mat messaging you.

A little while the arm around your waist tightened and Tyson's head poked up.

"So much better when you're in bed with me." He said groggily. "…just wish we were naked."

"Tyson!" You said shooting up to a sitting position. You looked over at his smug little face. "You are such an asshole."

"You love me." He shrugged, putting an arm around you.

You rolled your eyes, "you disgust me."

You laid there quietly for a few minutes before Tyson spoke up again, "you ready for today?"

"Pretty sure that should be a question for the bride…"

“`Yes but the whole reason I’m here this weekend is to help you get through it.” “Okay, yeah...I’m sure it’ll be fine. Seeing you with me should shut everyone up.”

A smug grin appeared on Tyson’s face, “I can’t argue with you there…”

You shook your head and laughed before growing serious again. “I just am a little nervous about seeing Jake...I don’t know if he’s still drinking and I’m worried he’s going to cause a scene.”

“Well if he does than fuck that. It won’t be your fault either so don’t feel bad if he does.” “I know, it’s just, everyone has always pitied him and let things slide because he’s an alcoholic. I just don’t think my family will see it as his fault...they’ll blame it on me for bringing some new guy around even though that’s all they talk about. I just can’t win with them.”

“Okay, well let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here. Hopefully everything will be fine and we won’t have to worry about it. If it does, we’ll deal with it then, okay? Just try and relax and have fun. Weddings are supposed to be fun.”

“I know...thanks, Tys. I know I keep saying this but I really do appreciate you being here with me.”

“And I will keep telling you that it’s no big deal, sweets.” You smiled as he kissed your forehead. You were quiet for a few moments before he spoke up again. “So...have you heard from Mat at all?”

“Not since last night…” You said softly while Tyson just nodded. “Why?” Tyson shrugged, “just wondering.” You gave him a pointed look. “What? I am!”

“How come you seemed so upset about it last night?” “I didn’t mean to seem upset, I just, I don’t know, it caught me off guard. But I know you think he’s attractive so go for it I guess.” He said enthusiastically.

“Okay, well I don’t care what you say, it clearly bothers you in some way, so I’m not going to talk to him.”

Tyson rolled his eyes but didn’t argue so you figured that meant there was some truth in your statement.

You laid in bed for about another hour talking about random stuff before you got up to shower and start getting ready.

“Alright,” you started as you untangle yourself from Tyson, “I’m gonna get in the shower.” “Wanna save some water and shower together?” He asked with a cheeky grin, grabbing your wrist to keep you in place.

“Absolutely not.” You said as you shrugged his hand off of yours and walked out of the room.

Tyson looked up when you walked back into your room. He opened his mouth but you cut him off before he could even say anything.

“Whatever you’re about to say, the answer is no. Go get in the shower.”

Tyson pouted, but did as he was told, not before grabbing your ass on the way out with a little giggle. You rolled your eyes and went about getting ready.

You couldn’t help but glance over at Tyson as he strolled back through the door a few minutes later. The towel he had wrapped around his waist was starting to fall off of his hips and you had a clear picture of his V line. You hadn’t really noticed that you were staring until you heard Tyson start talking to you.

“Like what you see?”

You blushed and rolled your eyes turning back towards the mirror to finish your makeup.

Once you were finally done with your makeup, Tyson had stepped out of the room so you took the opportunity to put your dress on. You slipped it on and tried your best to zip it up but you couldn’t quite reach. When you heard the door open again you turned to ask Tyson for help.

“Hey Tys can you help me-” You stopped when you saw him staring at you. “Is everything okay? Is there something wrong with my dress?” You asked, starting to panic a bit.

“No, no, not at all. I, um, you just look really beautiful.”

You visibly relaxed and smiled at him. “Thanks, Tys. Could you help me zip up though?” He nodded and stepped towards you and turned back around so he could help you. You could feel Tyson’s breath on the back of your neck. Once he zipped you up you turned around slowly, Tyson not moving a muscle. You looked up at him, his face just inches from yours. He cupped your chin in his hand and he brought your face to his and kissed you softly. You closed your eyes and welcomed his lips on yours.

Tyson pulled away after a few moments and turned away. “Shit, I’m sorry, I…” He trailed off and sat on the bed.

You grew sad at his reaction. Although he initiated the kiss it seems like he also regrets it.

“It’s okay...I, um, I’m gonna go downstairs.” You said and quickly left the room. You ducked into the bathroom and leaned against the counter willing yourself not to cry so you wouldn’t ruin your makeup. You took a few deep breaths to compose yourself and you made your way to the door. Just as you were about to turn the knob there was a knock.

“Y/n/N? Can I come in?” It was Tyson. The tears that you just suppressed were quickly coming back. You opened the door and retreated back to the counter.

“Jesus, are you crying?” You covered your face with your hands because the tears were now rolling. “Please don’t cry Y/N. I didn’t mean to upset you, jesus…” he trailed off as he placed his hands on your shoulders. “Please stop crying...I don’t know why I did that…” “It’s fine, Tys, you got caught up in the moment, it’s fine.” “What? No, not the kiss...the kiss was amazing...I totally meant to do that. I don’t know why I pulled away like that. I guess I just thought maybe that’s not what you wanted and I thought I messed everything up. I guess I did that anyway…” You didn’t say anything and you didn’t move for a few moments. “Will you look at me please?” He asked, softly guiding your chin up to look at him. “I’m sorry, Y/n/N. Please don’t be upset.” “You’re wrong you know…” He gave you a puzzled look but you just kept going. “I’ve wanted you to kiss me so badly...for so long. I just thought maybe you regretted it and that’s why you pulled away…”

“Not at all, babe...not at all.” He said, moving in, grabbing the sides of your face and kissing you tenderly.

This time when he pulled away his hands stayed where they were and he wiped away the remaining tears with his thumbs. “God you are so gorgeous.”

You couldn’t help but laugh a little, “Tyson, I’m crying and my makeup is everywhere.”

“That’s what makes you so beautiful.”

You shook your head and smiled at him, taking his hands in yours and bringing them to your sides.

“Come on, let’s go get you fixed up.” He said, leading you back to your room.

It didn’t take you too long to fix your makeup, and before you knew it you heard your mom yell up the stairs telling you guys to hurry up. You grabbed your shoes and sat on the bed next to Tyson to put them on. You started to open the door to leave and Tyson took your hand to stop you.

“Tys, we need to go what ar-” He stopped you with another kiss that you melted into.

“I know, I’m sorry, I just can’t get enough of your lips right now…”

You chuckled and rolled your eyes, “if we go now you can explore all of my lips later…”

Tyson’s eyes widened and he hurried both of you downstairs where the rest of your family was waiting.

~~~~~~

It was a beautiful day, although still pretty cold, the sun was shining and the snow was shimmering. The church looked gorgeous, they had decorated it with tons and tons of flowers, it looked like a garden and it was beautiful.

You held onto Tyson's arm as you followed the rest of your family to sit down. You got there on the earlier side, so there weren't too many people there yet. You found yourself looking back at the doors quite often, waiting for Jake to arrive. Tyson noticed, because you really weren't being very discrete about it, so he took your hand in his and squeezed it gently. You looked at him and smiled. You were so happy and relieved that you two finally shared how you felt and that you could finally be together. You wanted to believe that nothing would ruin such a beautiful day, but if anyone could, it would be Jake.

You were successfully distracted from the door by your brother's ridiculous argument over which of your cousins was going to get the most shitfaced. By the end of it you had placed $20 on who you thought I'd be.

When the ceremony was about to start, you looked to your left and your breath hitched. You grabbed Tyson's hand and looked at you before following your gaze across the room to where Jake was. He looked back and gave you a reassuring smile and kissed the side of your head. Thankfully, the music started to play and your focus was on the wedding party walking in.

The ceremony was beautiful, their vows were adorable, and all of the speakers and passages were very fitting. It wasn't too long either, which was also nice, you couldn't sit still for very long so you liked when things were quick.

Because of all of the people leaving the church, you avoided an encounter with Jake which you were glad about but you knew it was going to happen so the dread just set in. You were able to keep pretty busy throughout the night. Introducing Tyson to everyone and catching up with family you hadn't seen in a while. Tyson stayed by your side pretty much the whole night which was super comforting. You were nervous for him to leave you because you had caught Jake staring at you a few times, and you knew as soon as you were alone he was going to come up to you.

It didn't happen for a little while longer, which you didn't know if it was better or worse because you now had multiple vodka sodas in you. You had been sitting at the table with Tyson, taking a break from the dance floor, when your dad and uncles had come up to you and asked to steal Tyson. You tried to object but your uncles were insistent on spending a little time with him. You rolled your eyes and sat back, trying to push the anxious thoughts away. But that wasn't happening when you saw him approaching you. You tried to stand up but he grabbed your arm before you could take a step.

"Y/N, please. Just let me talk to you."

You sighed and sat down, making a point to shrug your arm out of his grip.

"So, who's the guy?"

"Tyson, my boyfriend." He scoffed at your reply. "What?" You asked.

"Nothing, I'm just surprised is all."

"Why?"

"Word on the street is, he's a professional athlete."

"So?"

"So, it's probably not going to last long. I wouldn’t say that you’re really his type."

"You don't know anything about me, Jake. We haven't talked in years. And I would really like to keep it that way, so please, leave me alone."

"Oh, come on, Y/n/N. Don't be like that. I wasn't that bad, you blew things way out of proportion."

"Did I? Because I'm pretty sure if your dad wasn't as good of friends with my uncle that you would have been in jail, not rehab. You're lucky you got off as well as you did. Me? I didn't get off that easy. You really fucked me up. I couldn't get near a guy for a year because of you. You were abusive. You were an asshole. And I wish that I hadn't wasted so many years of my life with you." You weren't really sure where you got the nerve to say all that, because as soon as it came out of your mouth you were scared of how he was going to react. He opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, you heard a voice behind you.

"I believe the lady has spoken, you can go now."

To your surprise, he walked right away. It was probably Tyson towering over him that scared him off.

"Well, I was feeling badly that I left you out in the open but it appears my girlfriend is a total badass and was fine on her own…" He commented, wrapping his arms around you and placing his chin on top of your head.

"Yeah, well I'm surprised too. I have no idea why I thought that would be a good idea. I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't come over."

"Well, hopefully we never have to find out…are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. It felt good to get that out."

"Good, fuck that guy."

"Yeah, fuck that guy." You said agreeing with him as you let go. "I need another drink…a stiff one."

"Anything for you, my love."

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful, however you downed a few more drinks and were very drunk. Tyson helped you to the car and then up to your room once you got home.

You stripped out of your dress and pounced on Tyson.

"Whoa, easy there killer." He said catching you and placing you gently on the bed.

You kissed for a few minutes before he climbed off of you. "Alright, bedtime."

"What?! Tyson…" you whined. "I've been waiting so long for this."

“Oh have you?!” He asked, quirking his eyebrows.

“Yes, now pleeeeeease.” She whined.

“You’re too drunk, and besides it’s a little weird with your parents down the hall.”

"Ugh, fiiiine." You pouted, taking your bra off and getting comfy in the bed.

"Can you put a shirt on?"

"Oh my god, Tyson, what is wrong with you?"

"I don't know if I can control myself laying with you naked all night. Just please." He said, throwing you one of his shirts.

You sighed and put his shirt over your head. He climbed into bed next to you and wrapped his arms around you.

"I'm so glad you came with me this weekend, Tys."

"Me too, I don't think I could have lasted much longer just as your neighbor."

"Yeah, it was starting to really get to me…"

"What do you mean?"

"I just was thinking that I was going to have to distance myself because I couldn't suppress my feelings anymore…"

"Well, then I'm definitely glad we had this weekend, I would have been really sad if you did that."

"I don't know if I could live with myself if I made you sad…not to mention I'd have Landy on my ass."

"He's been texting me all weekend."

"Really? Why?"

"Updates on if we're together or not."

"Did you tell him?"

"Nah, I want to mess with him a bit."

You chuckled and rolled your eyes, "what are you gonna do?"

"I'm just going to tell him that we had an awful weekend, we got into a huge fight and we're not even friends anymore."

"You're awful."

"But when I finally tell him that we are together now, he'll be so happy he won't even care."

"Okay, just leave me out of it!"

"Oh you're in it now. We're partners for life."

"For life?"

"I hope so."

"Me too." You said with a small smile. You turned so you were now facing him. "Goodnight, Tys." You said softly, giving him a kiss before snuggling into his chest.

"Goodnight, Y/n/N."

~~~~~~~

The next day you had a big brunch with your family before everyone went their separate ways again. Now that you and Tyson were actually together you were so much more relaxed. Despite the hangovers, everyone was laughing and joking around. You were actually a little sad that you were leaving. But, you were excited to get out of your parent's house and spend some alone time with Tyson.

After what seemed like a never ending goodbye, you and Tyson were finally on the road back to Denver. The car ride was much more pleasurable. Again, you were more relaxed, the weekend was behind you, and you frankly couldn't wait to get back.

When you pulled into the garage, you grabbed all of your bags and headed upstairs. You parted ways so you could put your bags down. A few minutes later, Tyson strolled through your front door. You were grabbing a glass of water in the kitchen, so you got one for him too and then you went back to your room so you could unpack and start some laundry.

"Do you want to bring your laundry over here?" You asked him as you gathered your dirty clothes.

"It's alright, I can do it later."

"I don't mind, Tys. I'm doing it anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, go get it."

Tyson gave you a quick kiss on the cheek and walked off to go get his laundry.

Once you had a load going the two of you went and sat on the couch. You started off just talking but then ended up making out a bit. Tyson was now lying on top of you and things were starting to get heated when his phone rang. "Shit," he muttered as he rummaged around trying to find it on the couch. "It's Landy, I have to answer, I told him to call me."

You rolled your eyes but sat up next to him as he settled back.

"Hey, man." He greeted solemnly. You mouthed for him to put it on speaker.

"Hey, are you home? What happened?"

"Yeah, I'm home…um, things didn't go so well."

"Oh no...what happened?"

"Well, things with her family weren't good to start with. Then the first night we got into a fight about her brothers, and then we got into another argument the next day and I almost just left…I ended up staying but I don't think we're really even friends anymore…"

"WHAT?! Why wouldn't you be friends anymore? What did you do???"

You had to suppress your laughter at Tyson's face when Gabe insinuated it was something he did and not you.

"Why would you think it was something I did?!" Tyson asked, obviously very offended.

"It's Y/N…she just doesn't do anything wrong."

"Okay, well, I don't know. We need a break from each other."

"What the hell, Tyson? Did you even tell her how you feel?"

"I was going to, but I figured telling her after we just had a screaming match wouldn't be the best idea."

"You screamed at each other??? Jesus, what did you fight about?"

"Mat Barzal."

"What?!"

"Yeah he DM'd her on Instagram and it pissed me off."

"Seriously? You screamed at her?! That's not even her fault, man."

"I know, I shouldn't have gotten upset with her, but I did, and now we're just giving each other some space."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Go over to her place right now and make things right."

"I can't, man."

"You can, and you will."

"No, I really can't."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm already over here."

"What?"

"I'm just messing with you, Landy. We're dating now."

"Are you kidding me?! Y/N are you there? Were you in on this??"

"I wanted no part in it!!!"

"Ugh, Tyson, I want to be so mad at you right now, but I'm too happy for you!! It's about time, though. We were going to give you guys like another week, tops, before we took matters into our own hands."

You and Tyson both laughed, "who is we?!" You asked.

"Me, Mel, basically the whole team…"

"Well I'm glad we have lots of supporters." You commented as Tyson pursed his lips.

"NO one will be butting into this relationship…I'm serious Landy."

"I'm sorry that's not the way it works, Josty." Tyson rolled his eyes but you just giggled. "Anyway, I'm glad you two love birds finally figured it out. Have a good rest of your day and use protection!!!"

Tyson rolled his eyes again and hung up on Landy. "We're turning our phones off and spending the rest of the day in the bedroom." He commanded as he put his phone down on the coffee table. He looked at you signifying for you to do the same and you obeyed then followed him into your bedroom.

#tyson jost #tyson jost imagine #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #nhl fanfiction

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justkindaoverhereobsessing · 4 years

Text

In Exchange (Tivali)

Tali’s parents are terrified when she suddenly comes down with a case of appendicitis.

Read here or on AO3 or ff

___________________

"What it's like to be a parent: it's one of the hardest things you'll ever do, but in exchange, it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love."

-Nicholas Sparks, The Wedding

___________________

"Ima, Daddy, I don't feel so good," Tali mumbles one night after dinner.

"What hurts?" Tony asks.

"My tummy."

Ziva purses her lips, not unsympathetic. "I did tell you to eat more slowly, did I not, ahava shelli? You probably have gas. I know it is uncomfortable, but it will pass."

"But what do I do to make it stop hurting now?" Tali whines.

"Oh, that's an easy one," Tony answers. "You just have to ride a bike."

Tali frowns. "Ride a bike? But it's night time, Daddy."

Tony laughs, standing and offering his hand. Tali takes it, distracted momentarily from her discomfort. "Not a real bike, baby girl. C'mere, I'll show you."

He leads her to the living room and has her lay on her back on the sofa. "Alright, now give me your feet." Tali laughs a little at the strange request but sticks her legs up in the air all the same. "Perfect. Okay, so I'm going to hold onto your feet and push on them and you bend your knees—we'll work together to make it seem like you're pedaling really fast. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Smart girl. Ready… go!" He starts singing a silly song under his breath as they move. "Ride a bike, ride a bike, ride a bike, bike, bike!" Tali is clearly tickled, and she giggles for a minute after they stop. "Did it work?" Tony asks, grinning at her mirth.

"How do I know if it did?"

"It worked if it made you toot."

"Toot? Ew, Daddy! That's gross!"

"Maybe it is, Tali-Tee," Tony says, teasingly poking her sides to make her squirm, "but it'll make your tummy feel better. So did it work?"

"No."

"Alright, we'll just try again."

When it still doesn't work a second time, Tony exchanges mildly concerned glances with Ziva. Tali probably just has a bit of a stomach bug or maybe some constipation, but it's something they'll need to keep an eye on, just in case.

___________________

Ziva goes to check on Tali a few hours after bedtime, and at first, all seems well. Tali is sleeping soundly, showing no signs of distress.

Moved by tenderness, Ziva leans down to kiss the sleeping girl's face, but she jerks back a little almost immediately. Tali's skin feels too warm, probably feverish. Combined with the upset stomach she had earlier, it's slightly worrying.

Trying not to jump to conclusions, Ziva fetches a thermometer and runs it lightly across Tali's forehead. When it beeps, she turns it over so she can see the screen—it reads 38. It is a fever, but it's not a high one, thank goodness.

Ziva is kneeling next to the bed, trying to decide what to do, when she hears her name being whispered. "Ziva?" She looks up to see Tony in the doorway. "Is she alright?"

Ziva holds up the thermometer so he can see. "She has a fever. I am not sure what to do. If it was higher, I would wake her to give her medicine, but… since it is still low, should we wake her, or let her sleep?"

Tony considers that for a moment. "I think we should probably give her some paracetamol. The fever may be low now, but getting ahead of it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world."

Ziva nods and starts to stand, but Tony shakes his head. "You go ahead and wake her up. I'll go get the medicine."

He disappears from the doorway, and Ziva starts gently petting Tali awake. "Hamuda, it is time to open your eyes," she murmurs. "Come now, wake up, little one."

Slowly, Tali emerges from sleep, opening her eyes and then fluttering them closed again into a squinty frown to ward against the dim light spilling in from the hallway. "'s morning already? I wanna go back to sleep."

Ziva can't help smiling at the complaint. Tali really is just like her father. "No, it is not morning, and you can go back to sleep. Abba and I just need you to take a little medicine first." She hears footsteps and then Tony's hand appears in her field of vision, offering a little measuring cup full of thick red liquid. "It is the kind you like best—cherry!"

With her eyes still clenched shut, Tali opens her mouth. Ziva pours the medicine in. "How does your tummy feel tonight, my love?"

"Hurts." She already sounds like she's halfway back to sleep, though, which is reassuring. It must not hurt too badly.

Tony pats Tali's foot over the blanket. "I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning, baby. You can go back to sleep now."

"'Kay." Within a few moments, she's breathing deeply and evenly again, fast asleep.

___________________

The rest of the night passes without incident. Tali wakes up in a bad mood, though, and only picks at her breakfast. "I don't want this," she finally says, grumpily pushing her bowl away with enough force that milk slops over the side and onto the table.

Tony frowns at her. "You don't have to eat it if you're not hungry, but don't make a mess just because you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, Tals," he scolds lightly.

"I didn't mean to!" Tali snaps, and she promptly bursts into furious tears.

Stricken, Tony gives Ziva a wide-eyed look. Help?

Ziva stoops in front of Tali, reaching up to wipe tears off of her face. "What is the matter, Tali? We have nothing to cry about, yes?"

"I—" Tali's sobbing so hard that she has to catch her breath before she can speak. "I don't—I don't feel gooood!" she wails.

"It is okay, sweet one, it is all going to be okay," Ziva coos, drawing Tali into her arms and rubbing her back. "Shh. Take deep breaths, my love." Over the top of Tali's head, Ziva gives Tony a mild reproachful look, and the look he gives her back clearly says 'I didn't mean to upset her!'

When Tali calms, Ziva pulls out of the clingy hug and pushes Tali's tear-wet hair out of her face. "That is better," she says, keeping her voice low and soothing. "Now, can you use your words? Can you tell me exactly what does not feel good?"

"My tummy, Ima. It still hurts!"

"Worse than yesterday?"

"Ken."

"Show me where, please?"

Tali points to her belly button, her lip trembling as tears threaten again. Suddenly, though, she goes a little green and turns around to run to the bathroom.

Her parents follow, wincing as she throws up in the toilet. Tony loosely holds her hair back so it doesn't get caught up in the stream of sick. When she seems done, Ziva grabs a cup from under the sink and fills it with water so Tali can rinse and spit. "Should we take her to the pediatrician?" Tony asks under his breath.

"Maybe," Ziva agrees in an undertone.

Tali, however, overhears. "No!" she cries. "No doctors!"

Tony and Ziva exchange looks again. "A doctor might be able to help you feel better, though, love," Tony reminds their daughter.

"No!" Tali repeats fiercely. She's deathly afraid of needles, which has given her a general case of white coat syndrome. Her parents know that she's likely to upset herself significantly if they try to drag her to a medical office. They exchange one more look, and then…

"You do not have to see a doctor right now, but if you start to feel worse, Tali, you must tell us, yes?" Ziva compromises, gentle but firm.

"Fine," Tali mutters. "I wanna go lay down."

"Go for it, darlin'," Tony tells her. "That's a good idea. I'm going to put a trash can next to your bed in case you have to be sick again."

A few minutes later, Tali's back in bed and Tony and Ziva are in the kitchen talking, worried. "Maybe it's just a stomach bug, but… I don't know. I don't have a good feeling, Ziva," Tony says quietly.

"I do not feel good about it, either," Ziva agrees. "We may need to go to a hospital rather than the pediatrician if she gets worse. But—she will be…" she trails off, apprehensive.

"She'll be fine."

Tony's not sure who he's trying to convince—Ziva or himself.

___________________

An hour later, no one is convinced. When Tali wakes up in hysterical tears, she stumbles out of her room clutching her abdomen, seriously alarming both of her parents. "It hurts!" she sobs. "My tummy hurts!"

Tony reaches out to feel her forehead and grimaces. "Ziva, she's burning up. I think it's time."

Ziva nods seriously.

"Time for what?" Tali demands, her tears taking on a fearful edge.

"It is time to visit the hospital, little one," Ziva says softly.

"Noooo!" she wails, backing away. "No hospitals! I don't want to go to the hospital!"

Tony kneels in front of her, mindful not to spook her further. "Hey, Ima and I will be right there with you, baby. We'll be there the whole time. I know it's scary, but if your tummy is sick, we need to see a doctor about it. It's the only way you're gonna feel better, sweetheart."

Tali stamps her foot, trying to look fiercer than she feels. "No. I won't go!"

"Yes, Tali, you will. I am sorry that you are afraid, ahava shelli, but this is important. You are very grown up, and very brave. I have faith in your ability to do what you must. If you cannot, however, we will have to carry you." With Ziva and Tali wearing matching frowns, they look so incredibly similar.

Tali glares between her parents and then makes a break for it, aiming to hide in her room. Tony deftly catches her, however, and murmurs "I'm so sorry" to her as she struggles against him. He turns to Ziva, rising to his feet with his daughter in his arms. "Let's go. Now," he says grimly.

___________________

By the time they reach Hôpital Necker, the nearest children's hospital, Tony and Ziva are both white-faced and anxious, and Tali is inconsolable. The five-year-old has spent the ride fighting desperately to escape, fearing the hospital far more than whatever's upsetting her stomach.

They bring her inside; Ziva goes to talk to the triage nurse while Tony maintains a tight told on Tali, keeping up a constant stream of murmured reassurances to the terrified child. She has mostly stopped trying to run, but he doesn't set her down—he can't let her know, but he's just as afraid as she is. There's little he can do to protect her, but he can hold onto her and keep her safe for now, at least.

It isn't long before they're in a room and things start moving… Tali gets changed into a hospital gown, her tiny hand gets a new IV, and a doctor comes in to examine her. He can't determine much without some tests, so they draw blood, have Tali pee in a cup, and order a CT.

Tali, for her part, has calmed to mere wide-eyed trembling, and she even sits still for the needle sliding into her vein for the IV—so long as Ima keeps holding her hand tightly, that is. She loses it again, though, when she's informed that Ima and Daddy can't go to the CT room with her. Then she struggles so much that the doctor decides she needs to be sedated.

Ziva thinks there's little that's more painful than watching all the fight leave her tiny daughter.

As the medicine takes effect, Tali's eyes start to droop and her death grip on Ziva's hand becomes slackened. Then someone arrives to roll her away, they kiss her gently and tell her they'll see her in a minute, and she's gone.

Ziva sinks into a chair in the corner, suddenly absolutely exhausted.

She feels a hand on her cheek and glances up to find Tony looking at her with concern. "Are you alright, sweet cheeks?"

She can't lie, not to him, not now, so she shakes her head.

"Hey. She'll be back in a few minutes. This is just a test, remember?"

"I know. But… they put medicine in her IV and her hand just went so… limp. I did not like that feeling. It scared me."

Tony sighs, taking her hand to pull her to her feet and then tugging her into a hug. He rests his chin on the top of her head. "I didn't like it, either," he agrees. "You held it together for her until she was gone, though, and I know it helped. She thinks you're fearless."

Ziva lets out a breath of a laugh, pressing her face against Tony's shoulder and drawing comfort where it's offered. "She could not be more wrong."

"Ah, she doesn't need to know that," Tony replies comfortably. "Let her believe you're a superhero for a few more years. I haven't quite grown out of that one myself."

___________________

Tali is returned to them a few minutes later, and then begins a game of hurry-up-and-wait.

The little one dozes on and off on her bed while her mother whispers Hebrew bedtime stories that Tali's too out of it to grasp; talking helps Ziva, though, and she keeps going. Tony sits quietly on the other side of the bed, updating friends and family through text messages. The irony of this role-reversal isn't lost on either Tony or Ziva; the current crisis has drawn him into silence and her into chatter.

After forty-five minutes, the doctor comes back in. "We got the results of Tali's CT scan back," he tells them, and Tali's parents both sit up, alertly focused. "It looks like she has appendicitis. Now," he continues, seeing the alarmed looks Tony and Ziva are sending each other, "I know that sounds scary, and it's true that it does require surgery. It's very routine, though, and it's common. Our surgeons know what they're doing. Your daughter will be fine."

Tali is still too heavily medicated to pay much attention to the conversation, which is good.

"How long will it take?" Tony asks.

"It should be about an hour, maybe two. The surgeon will be able to answer your questions in more detail, though."

Tony and Ziva both have more things they want to ask, but after a rapid silent conversation between them, Ziva nods. "Thank you, doctor. We will wait to talk to the surgeon."

The doctor leaves, and Tony turns back to Tali, who's staring off into space. "Hey, Tali-Tee?"

"Yeah, Daddy?" she asks, smacking her lips sleepily.

"Did you hear what the doctor said?"

"Yeah," she confirms, but she doesn't elaborate.

"Did you understand what the doctor said?"

"Oh, um, no."

That draws a little smile to the worried father's face, and he runs his hands through Tali's hair, tender and concerned and, as always, absolutely full of affection for his tiniest girl. "They found out what's wrong with your tummy. You've got a little piece of you in there that's really mad right now, so another doctor is going to take that piece out so it doesn't hurt you. Does that make sense?"

"Why's it mad?" Tali asks, confused.

"It heard all of Abba's silly jokes and got angry because they were not funny," Ziva chips in. The attempt at levity is weak, but it brings a woozy smile to Tali's face.

"You wound me!" Tony complains, a hand clutching his chest, and Tali giggles.

"How do they take that piece out?" she asks once her laughter dies away.

"First, they give you a special medicine that makes you take a nap, yes?" Ziva explains, lightly tapping the IV with one finger. "While you are sleeping, they make a little tiny cut or two on your tummy and pull that angry piece right out. Then they put on some bandages and wake you up again!"

"I don't want any more needles," Tali complains, but the remnants of the sedative keep her from panicking about it.

"No, baby, no more needles. That's what the IV is for, so they don't have to stick you again."

"You promise?"

"We promise."

___________________

The staff lets Ziva and Tony walk with the gurney as they take Tali to the operating room, and they're grateful. Tali has been given more medications and isn't too bothered by the whole thing for now, but her parents are another story.

At the door to the surgical wing, they have to say goodbye.

"You can't come?" Tali asks, frowning and looking back and forth between her parents until she gets dizzy. "Are you sure?"

Tony jerks his head at one of the scrub-adorned nurses that's about to take the gurney away and shakes his head. "Aurélia here runs a tight ship, Tali-Tee. I think she'd fight us if we tried, and look at those muscles! She'd win!"

"Nobody wins against Ima," Tali contradicts, and Ziva grins.

"And do not forget it." She leans down and kisses Tali's head before switching to Hebrew. The rest is meant for Tali's ears only. "I love you more than anything in the world, my sweet girl," she whispers. "I will be waiting for you when you wake up. You will be fine. I cannot wait to see you again—we have been through bigger things before, yes? We always make it through, you and I. I love you," she repeats, then steps back so Tony can say goodbye, too.

Tony picks up one of Tali's curls between two fingers and drops it again, smiling at her fondly. "I don't speak any super fun languages to tell you secrets in, but don't let that fool you into thinking your mother loves you more," he jokes. "Just you wait, kid—before you know it, we'll be back to running around the apartment at full speed, knocking things off the walls and driving her nuts. Can't wait, baby. I love you lots. See you soon."

"I love you, too, Daddy, Ima," Tali replies, and then she's waving as the nurses roll her away.

Then it's just Tony and Ziva, and Ziva's smile slides right off her face. "We need to go to the waiting room so we will be ready when they come to update us," she says stonily, and turns to walk away without waiting for an answer.

Tony, who had been somewhat afraid of this sort of thing happening, follows her without comment. It's clear that she's been holding back in deference to Tali's own fear, and the fallout isn't going to be pretty once she acknowledges her emotions.

When they get to the waiting room, Tony picks a chair and sits, but Ziva doesn't join him. Instead, she starts to pace, up and down the short aisle of chairs—back and forth, back and forth, something twitchy in her movements. She's acting like a caged animal.

Suddenly, she stops, grabbing onto the back of a chair tightly with both hands and staring off into the distance. Her breathing grows shallow and uneven. "Ziva," Tony says quietly.

She doesn't respond.

This isn't the first anxiety attack she's had since reuniting with her family, but this is the first one she's had in public in the last few months. Tony really isn't sure how to react; he doesn't want to startle her, but he also doesn't want to let her panic indefinitely. Slowly, cautiously, he gets to his feet and stands in front of her. "Ziva, look at me. Please."

She does, but she clearly isn't seeing him. Dark, wide, and fearful, her eyes stare at something that's not there.

"Ziva." Tony gently takes one of her hands, and she jumps. Her eyes focus in on him, though, and she seems to remember where she is. Unfortunately, that does the opposite of calming her. All of the sudden, she's hyperventilating and trembling, her eyes clear but wild. "Hey. Ziva. Ziva, listen to me. Just listen, okay?"

She nods desperately, searching for something to hold onto.

"Tali is going to be fine. She's our daughter, remember? She's made of strong stuff. This is a really straightforward surgery, that's what the surgeon said—it's the single most commonly performed emergency surgery for kids."

"But— but I cannot—" As she tries to get the words out, tears start to escape her eyes, trailing down her face and dripping onto her shirt.

"Hey, take a deep breath and try again. Come on, love."

Ziva makes a conscious effort to follow his instructions. "I cannot lose her," she says, swallowing hard. "I have only had her back for—not even two months now, Tony. I cannot—I have lost too much. I would not survive losing Tali."

"You won't." This is firm, almost angry, daring the universe to argue. "We won't. Can you believe that for an hour? Just one hour. Then our girl will be out of surgery and waking up and this will all seem like a bad dream."

"One hour?" Ziva repeats.

"One hour," Tony confirms.

"I will… try."

"That's my girl." Not caring at all that they're in a waiting room full of strangers, Tony lightly drops his forehead to rest against Ziva's. "I'm proud of you," he whispers. "You and Tali both, you're tough as nails."

In response, she kisses him chastely, and then tucks her face against his neck. It's a comforting place to hide, warm and surrounded by someone who would follow her to the ends of the earth, someone who always, always has her back.

They stay there until someone comes to get them.

___________________

Tali is fast asleep when they're finally allowed back to see her, but it doesn't matter. She's breathing and her face is—for now—clear of any pain. She'll be back to normal in a few weeks.

Ziva cries again when they see her. This time, there's no panic attached, but… she's softer now than she used to be. She tries to let herself feel all of the reactions she tried to hide before, because her family deserves her emotional honesty. Something tells her that Tony gets it, because he gives her a warm, sympathetic smile and wraps his arm around her. He holds her until she's done crying.

This feels like the first real parenting test they've faced together, and it's an enormous relief to be on the other side of it.

Tali starts to snore, and they know that everything will be alright.

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creampuffqueen · 4 years

Text

The Most Magical Place - Chapter Two

a/n: Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring! It’s mostly just the crew getting to Disney. The next chapter they’ll actually go to the parks, promise!

~~~~

“Whose bag is missing? We’re missing a bag!” Thorne called after the kids, trying his best to keep all three in sight.

Cress was packing the last minute essentials with Cassiopeia in her baby carrier, while Thorne was in charge of getting the rest of the suitcases and children together. The Rampion was parked in the airport parking lot, with everything important stashed away as a precaution.

They were almost done, almost ready to board their plane to Orlando. But of course, with four kids, nothing ever went as planned.

“Are we meeting everyone else in the airport or at Disney?” Carson asked, pulling the straps of his backpack over his shoulders. Each of their kids had a small backpack to use as a carry on bag.

“They’ll all be riding the same plane as us, bud. You can sit with Evret and Holly if you want, I’m sure.” When Cress had booked their plane tickets, she’d made sure to get them all seats nearby so they could all talk.

Though Thorne planned to try and sleep. It was 7 o’clock at night, and their flight was at 8. They wouldn’t arrive in Florida until 11, and by the time they got to their hotel it was sure to be midnight or later.

However, judging by the insane amount of energy the twins were experiencing, sleep might not be on the agenda.

“Sage, come get your bag and let’s all get outside!” Thorne called after his youngest son. Sage, who had been blasting ‘Let it go’ from his IPad and dancing on the couch, hopped off to grab the backpack his father offered.

Thorne opened up the door and hauled out his and Cress’s suitcases onto the hard pavement of the parking lot. Their suitcases were so large and full because they not only contained their clothes and toiletries, but Cassie’s as well. The two cases were loaded full of diapers, wipes, and onesies.

Carson pulled his own suitcase out the door of the RV, while Astra and Sage required a bit of help to get theirs down. Thorne poked his head back inside, seeing Cress zip up the last carry on bag, one with baby supplies for Cassie.

Inside his pocket, Thorne’s phone buzzed from the group chat. Cinder and Kai had already gotten through security, since they lived the closest to the airport and arrived first. Now they were in the food court, eating dinner at Taco Bell.

Winter and Jacin texted that they were about to go through security, Winter managing to snap a picture of Luca napping on Jacin’s shoulder. As for Scarlet and Wolf, they were still on the road, and would be at the airport in about 15 minutes.

“Okay, is everyone ready?” Cress asked, threading her fingers with Thorne’s. “You have all the things you need and we won’t have to pay Disney prices for something like a phone charger?”

Carson patted one of the pockets of his backpack. “I put all the chargers right here.”

“Then let’s go!” Thorne chuckled, squeezing his wife’s hand. In her baby carrier, Cassie was watching them all with her wide blue eyes, a green pacifier in her mouth.

Cress carried both her and Cassie’s carry on bags, as well as the stroller. It was made for two kids, because they’d gotten it when the twins were born, but there was no way they were going to rent a stroller every day at Disney World.

The other kids had their backpacks on and rolled their suitcases along the bumpy pavement, talking and giggling with each other. They all reached the bus stop, and thankfully only had to wait a moment for a bus to pull up.

“Where are you all headed?” The driver asked, kindly taking their luggage and putting it inside the bus. Cress and the kids went to sit while Thorne helped him and answered his question.

“Terminal B, thank you.”

“Mama, I’m hungry.” Astra complained, laying her head in Cress’s lap. Cassie kicked her little feet at her older sister, cooing around the pacifier.

“Hang in there, sweetheart. We’ll get dinner before we get on the plane.” Cress assured her.

The bus bumped along, and Carson slouched in his seat while playing a game on his phone, plopping his feet in his father’s lap. Sage leaned against his older brother to watch him play.

When they arrived at their terminal, it was 7:15. If they wanted to eat something before their flight they had to hurry.

Of course things would go wrong.

It took forever for someone to come and check their bags, and it had already taken an extra five minutes because all the machines were taken. When they went through security there were issues regarding whether or not Cassie could be in her carrier or not, and then Carson had forgotten to empty his water bottle in his carry on and had to go through again after getting his whole bag searched.

But they finally tumbled into the main airport at 7:35. Cassie was starting to fuss, getting hungry again. Astra was on the verge of tears, holding onto Thorne’s hand and complaining of hunger.

“Hey, Astra, let’s go get some McDonalds, okay?” Thorne asked his daughter. Sage, who was also dragging his feet, perked up at the mention of McDonalds as well.

“You go get the kids fed, I need to find somewhere to nurse Cassie. Pick me up a burger, please?” Thorne nodded, leaving Cress with a quick kiss.

“Dad we’re gonna be the last ones on the plane.” Carson sighed dramatically. “Everyone else is already there.”

“Scarlet and Wolf aren’t here yet.” Thorne protested, pulling out his phone. He had a bunch of texts from the group again, in which he quickly discovered that somehow Scarlet and Wolf managed to get themselves and five kids through security at the same time as them, without bumping into them. And were now waiting by the gate with the others.

“Hey, they won’t let us on until 8.” Thorne told his son. “And your siblings are hungry. We all need to eat something, bud, we won’t get there until late.”

Carson sighed again, rolling his eyes, but hefted his backpack and followed them to the McDonalds line.

Fifteen minutes later, laden with fast food and carry on bags, they finally made their way to the gate. Cress was already there, letting Cassie finish up nursing while Scarlet cooed over her.

“Astra!” Callen yelled, jumping up from his spot by Wolf’s feet to run and crash into Astra with a hug. Astra squealed happily and dragged her friend to the floor, opening up her bag to show off the toy she’d gotten in her Happy Meal.

“Hello, ladies.” Thorne crooned jokingly, leaning on Cinder’s shoulder.

“Damn, I kinda hoped for a second that Cress had left you here.” Cinder snorted. Peony, who was sitting with Badar in her lap and watching YouTube on her phone, lifted a hand to give him a quick wave.

Thorne plopped down next to his best friend, grinning. “She couldn’t leave me. My face is too pretty.”

He opened up his own meal, passing Cress’s burger down to her. She sent him a grateful look, eating her food with one hand and trying her hardest to not spill anything on the baby.

It seemed like hardly any time had passed before their flight was called, and everyone had to gather their things to get into their boarding groups. Badar, who had been about to fall asleep, started crying at the loud noise, and Kai picked up his son, desperately trying to calm him so they could get on the plane.

“Mommy, BoBo’s so loud!” Luca complained, covering up his ears. Winter pulled the toddler close as they walked to their boarding group, Evret and Veda following.

Thankfully, Cassie didn’t seem too bothered, and the little girl gurgled and kicked her legs happily as Cress carried her over to the rest of their family.

“Group B, boarding now.” The robotic voice sounded over the intercom, and the line moved forward. Carson was hanging back slightly, trying to talk with Holly until the last minute.

They walked down the long tube leading to the plane, Sage and Astra giggling and sprinting up and down while they waited for their parents to get to the plane. When they all reached it, Thorne put his hand on the metal of the plane, feeling the warm hum going through it. Then he stepped inside the plane.

They were really doing this.

Their seats were closer to the back, near the bathrooms, considering they had over a dozen children and at least one of them was going to need the bathroom for their three hour flight. As well, they had gotten seats gathered in a large cluster so they could all talk.

Thorne got the aisle seat of one row, while Wolf and Scarlet took the middle and window. Their triplets had one full row right in front of them so their parents could keep an eye on them.

In the row across from them, Kai, Cinder, and Cress sat, with Cress in the aisle seat holding Cassie. Cassiopeia and Badar were still small enough to share a seat with their mothers, and Thorne sat right across the aisle so the baby could be passed to him if his wife needed a break.

Carson, Holly, and Evret shared a row, as did Shelly, Peony, and Veda. The twins sat behind Thorne with Jacin, while Winter and Luca, who was old enough to have his own seat, sat in a row nearby.

Across the row, Cress handed Cassie her pacifier, so she had something to suck on while the plane lifted off and hopefully wouldn’t have clogged ears. For all the other kids around her, she passed out some chewing gum.

Thorne tucked his carry on bag under his seat, Scarlet and Wolf doing the same and making sure the triplets did, as well. Since it was dark outside, the cabin lights were on, but still dim as people got settled before the plane took off.

“Hello, this is your captain speaking,” A voice sounded over the intercom. “Thank you for choosing this flight this evening to Orlando, Florida, we welcome you aboard.”

Scarlet hushed the triplets in front of them, all of whom were chattering loudly.

“We will be taking off within the next fifteen minutes, so our flight attendants will now come and brief everyone on the safety protocols, and then we’ll be off! I hope you enjoy this three hour flight to Orlando, Florida.”

“Mommy,” Callen hissed through the seat, turning around to glance at his mother, “We’re on the wrong plane. We’re supposed to be going to Disney World.”

“Disney World is in Orlando, buddy.” Wolf whispered back. “Don’t worry, we’re going to the right place. You three should try and get some sleep. It’s going to be very late when we get there.”

“I’m too excited to sleep!” Baylor protested, having heard them. “And Shelly and Holly aren’t sleeping!”

Sure enough, in their nearby rows, both of the older Kesley girls were not asleep, and from the looks of it, wouldn’t be any time soon. Peony had her laptop out with the distinct look of the beginning of a Star Wars movie, and was plugging in a headphones adapter so all three of them in the row could listen.

The flight attendants came and began talking, though it went in one ear and out the other for Thorne. He’d been on enough flights to know the safety instructions nearly by heart, and he had the card in the seat in front of him just in case.

He glanced over at his wife, finding Cress nearly asleep. She had Cassie held close to her chest, the baby snoozing herself while sucking on the pacifier still.

Thorne couldn’t resist and snapped a quick picture on his phone. At the last second he remembered to turn it on airplane mode, and did so before putting it away at the flight attendant’s instructions.

And just like that, the plane was moving, coasting along the runway to get to their takeoff spot. The triplets were nearly bouncing with excitement, having never been on a plane before. Across the aisle, Badar was looking out the window from Kai’s lap, absolutely fascinated.

They coasted along for a few minutes more before the plane finally began to pick up speed. The roaring and rumbling was loud, loud enough that Thorne put in his earbuds in an attempt to drown it out.

But even blasting music couldn’t drown out the excited gasp of the children in front of him as they lifted off the ground.

“Alix, let me look out the window!” Baylor demanded. Her brother said something back that was lost in the roar of the engine, and soon the two of them were squabbling furiously, Callen joining in a moment later.

“You three, knock it off.” Scarlet snapped at the triplets. “I want all of you to take out your blankets and go to sleep.”

“But Mommy-” Alix started to complain, but the five-year-old didn’t even need to see his mother’s face to know she was serious. There was rustling as the three of them pulled their blankets from their carry on bags and got settled, and it was hardly ten minutes later that they were silent,

all three completely passed out.

Content, the plane flying smoothly as they reached their cruising altitude, Thorne was finally able to drift off to sleep himself.

~~~~

Really, Cress supposed, it was a miracle that Cassie even slept on the plane at all. At about three months old, she didn’t sleep through the night yet, but at least she wasn’t a fussy baby, not like Carson and the twins had been.

Still, when the infant woke up, crying pitifully and waking everyone up on the plane, Cress couldn’t hold back the sigh that left her mouth.

It was nearly an hour into the flight, and Cassie had eaten about two hours ago. She shouldn’t have needed to be fed again, but she offered nursing anyway.

Cassie just cried louder.

Her pacifier had fallen to the floor somewhere in the commotion, and Cress hated to turn on the overhead lights and wake everyone up. Kai was asleep with his head on Cinder’s shoulder, Badar curled on his lap and clinging to a blanket.

At least the seatbelt sign was off, and Cress quickly unbuckled and stood up, bouncing the baby in her arms to try and calm her.

“Cress?” Thorne mumbled across the aisle. “Is that Cassie?”

Even half-asleep, he was already reaching for the baby, ready to take her to let Cress get some more rest. She wondered if it was possible to love him even more.

“I think her ears must be clogged. I can’t find her pacifier anywhere.”

He pulled out his earbuds and stood up, gently pulling his daughter from her arms. “Hey, little love. What’s got you so upset?”

Taking advantage of having free hands, Cress quickly grabbed her phone to use the flashlight and ducked to the floor, searching for the missing pacifier.

She found it, rolled beneath Cinder’s foot, a moment later. She quickly wiped it off with a baby wipe (no way she was putting a germy airplane infected pacifier in her infant’s mouth) and gave it back to Thorne.

Instantly, Cassie quieted. The screaming stopped, replaced by a very soft suckling sound as the baby closed her eyes again, content at last.

“I’ll take her for the rest of the flight. Go get some sleep.” Thorne urged her. Cress certainly didn’t need to be told twice.

All three of them settled down into their respective seats, Cress taking out her neck pillow and blanket to curl up with. With how tired she was, it didn’t take long before she was drifting off to sleep.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are right above the airport in Orlando, Florida, and will begin our descent momentarily. Please make sure your seats are upright and your tray tables closed, and stow away all of your devices and personal items. Thank you for flying with us this lovely evening!”

Cress groaned as the captain’s voice over the intercom dragged her awake. She had half a mind to just go back to sleep, but Cinder was moving next to her, and Badar was fussing loudly in complaint of the noise.

She sluggishly stuffed her blanket and pillow back inside her carry on, while checking the seats in front of her to be sure the kids were doing the same.

A quick glance to her left confirmed that while Thorne was awake, Cassie was not, and still had her pacifier for the descent. As soon as they got to the airport she’d have to feed her and change her diaper.

“Carson, buddy, are you getting your stuff together?” Cress asked her son, peering around the seat. “We’re about to land.”

Carson gave a noise of complaint but started moving, packing up everything he’d taken out before he fell asleep. Holly, who sat next to him, shook Evret awake, and the trio gathered their things and fixed their seats for the landing.

Badar was fully awake now, and the toddler clambered over his parents’ laps to Cress, tugging at her jacket.

“Hey there, sweet boy.” Cress cooed to him. Badar giggled happily before Cinder gently pulled him back to buckle him up with her seatbelt.

She could feel the plane as it began to drop, slowly easing down towards the earth. Thankfully, Cassie remained asleep in her father’s arms, and Cress carefully got to work at putting the baby carrier back on herself.

They landed with a small jolt then rolled along the runway to a stop, prompting a few people to start clapping. Badar, in his mother’s lap, giggled and clapped as well, smacking his fumbling baby hands together.

Slowly, after the last announcements were made, people began to unbuckle their seatbelts and stand up to grab their bags from the overhead. Thorne passed Cassie over and Cress put her in the baby carrier so she could grab her carry on bags.

Being in the back of the plane, they all had to wait a bit longer for more people to get off before they could disembark.

Luca was passed out on his mother’s shoulder, thumb in his mouth. The triplets were still awake, but all three were yawning widely as they squirmed out of their seats. The only ones who were really awake were Peony and Shelly, being the two oldest kids. But even they were lagging, rubbing at their eyes.

Slowly, their large group made their way off the plane. Both Thorne and Kai gathered their strollers right outside the plane, and they loaded them with carry on bags, as both Cassie and Badar were being held by their mothers.

Despite the fact it was 11 o’clock at night, the Orlando airport was bustling, and the baggage claim was crowded. Astra leaned against Cress, nearly asleep on her feet while her father and brothers grabbed their suitcases.

“How long until we get to our hotel?” Sage mumbled tiredly, resting his head on top of his suitcase.

“The bus ride is about 45 minutes.” Thorne replied. “So you all can sleep for a bit.”

When everyone had at last gathered their bags, they all made their way to the buses outside. They were held up for a few minutes, since they all needed to scan their magic bands to get on the bus for the Disney hotel they were staying at, and Shelly had managed to misplace hers. Thankfully, Wolf was able to locate it, and they all loaded their bags and made their way inside the giant bus.

They sat in a fairly similar configuration to what they’d done on the plane. This time, however, Thorne sat with Cress, and Cinder and Kai sat across from them with Badar.

Cress was amazed that Cassie hadn’t had a meltdown yet; it was far past the time she should have been fed. But the baby, while a bit fussy, wasn’t full on screaming yet, which Cress was grateful for. The long bus ride would give her the perfect opportunity to feed her.

All around her, the littles, and even the older kids, were falling asleep rapidly. They hadn’t even left the airport yet, but the twins were both fast asleep, leaning on each other, as were the triplets. Holly was resting her head on Carson’s shoulder, while Carson leaned against the window and Evret leaned against Holly. Luca was passed out on his father’s lap, and even Winter was blinking sleepily.

Eventually, the bus rumbled to life and rolled towards the road. It took everything Cress had to not fall asleep, and instead she subjected herself to watching the repeating video on the screens talking all about Disney Resorts.

Cassie finished eating, and Cress gave her back the pacifier. The bus was the kind with a bathroom in the back, and she carefully made her way over to change the baby’s diaper.

By the time she was finished and back in her seat, the bus was pulling into the first stop, which just happened to be the resort they were all staying at.

Cress nudged her husband awake, and slowly they managed to get all their kids up and moving off the bus. Thorne was carrying Astra, despite the fact that she was six years old and perfectly capable of walking by herself.

After their entire group was off the bus and standing in the lobby of the resort, Cress took a quick head count, just to be safe.

Four Thorne children, accounted for. The Kesley triplets, Peony and Shelly standing together, Holly and Evret right next to Winter and Jacin, who had Luca. Veda was by Cinder, who had Badar, and Kai was with Wolf and Scarlet. Fourteen kids and eight adults, all accounted for.

Despite having fourteen children, the walk inside was nearly silent, save for the quiet chattering of the two eldest girls. Cress, having gotten barely any sleep on the plane and no sleep on the bus, was practically dead on her feet.

“Hello!” The employee chirped brightly, despite it being nearly midnight. “Are you all looking for your rooms?”

After a bit of shuffling and sorting of children and luggage, everyone got their room numbers and were led out of the lobby and towards the actual hotel part of the resort.

The walk wasn’t too long, but in the darkness of the night it felt like ages. Cassie began to fuss, and by the time they located their room the baby was screaming loudly.

“Mommy, make her stop.” Sage whined, covering his ears while Thorne unlocked the door.

“I’m sorry, buddy. Let’s get inside and get settled so we can see what’s making her cry.” Cress pulled her suitcase in through the door and flipped on the light switch.

The room was fairly small, with only two beds. There was a small couch against one wall, and it was supposed to fold out into a bed. After a bit more examination, they discovered that the bathroom was tiny as well, with just a toilet and a shower, and the sinks being on one end of the room.

The kids all shoved their suitcases and bags against the walls, save for Astra, who was either fast asleep or very good at faking it. Thorne gently laid her down on one of the beds, and her twin flopped down next to her.

Carson took a minute to find some pajamas and his toothbrush, and got himself ready for bed while Thorne set up Cassie’s pack-n-play. Cress took the baby out of her carrier and checked her diaper, (clean, thankfully) then settled for just bouncing her until she quieted.

“Sage, Astra. I need you two to get on some pajamas.” Cress prompted the twins. Astra gave a loud groan of protest in response.

“Listen to your mother.” Thorne told them. Sage mumbled something under his breath and slid off the bed, trudging towards his suitcase.

About twenty minutes later, the three older kids were in pajamas with their teeth brushed, and getting tucked into bed. It had taken a few minutes to find the sheets for the pull out bed that Carson was sleeping on, but they’d eventually found them tucked away on a shelf. Cassie was already fast asleep, absolutely worn out from the day’s travels.

“Sleep well.” Cress smiled, giving the twins each a small kiss on their head. Thorne did so as well, making sure the kids were tucked up and cozy in their hotel-style bed.

“What time do we have to be up tomorrow?” Carson asked sleepily. The twelve-year-old boy was laying on his bed, wrapped up in the galaxy-patterned blanket he’d brought with him.

“Our first FastPass is at 9:30 for Spaceship Earth, and the park opens at 9:00.” Thorne told him. “So I think we’ll be up around 8:00 and we’ll be good.”

Carson nodded and rolled over with a yawn. “Okay. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, buddy.” Thorne said with a smile.

With the kids all asleep, Cress and Thorne got themselves ready for bed as well. As they settled into their bed, Cress couldn’t resist and took one last look at her phone before Thorne turned the lights off.

In their group text, the other couples had sent photos of the kids they’d taken throughout the day.

Peony sharing her chips with Badar. The triplets watching a movie together while waiting for the plane. Luca asleep in Jacin’s arms on the bus. Shelly and Holly wearing Disney themed pajamas, curled on their bed together. Peony cuddling with her baby brother in her sleep.

Cress snapped a quick picture of all the kids fast asleep in their room and sent it to the group, then finally turned off her phone and plugged it in.

Thorne wrapped his arms around her, and Cress relaxed into his embrace, ready to finally sleep after a long day, and even more ready to wake up in the morning to their first day at Disney World.

#the lunar chronicles #tlc #tlc gen 2 #marissa meyer #cresswell #kaider #wolflet #jacinter #wincin #cress darnel #carswell thorne #linh cinder #emperor kai #scarlet benoit #ze'ev kesley #jacin clay #winter hayle blackburn

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