#of course then his older brother frees him from the black hole and he immediately goes i was fiiiiiiine i didn't need your heeelllppp

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

saw some more dream in the orb angst on my dash, and now i'm thinking of overture again

like. first of all - it gets a lot worse! because overture directly precedes the main story, so dream gets imprisoned twice in the span of about three days (at least the first time was relatively quick)

but second - he gets imprisoned in a black hole, by some sentient stars who want him dead but know if they actually kill him he'll just reincarnate, whereas this way he's out of the way forever

and i feel like this page says so much about how he'd react to burgess' trap, too

fanfic often focuses on the physical pain of that space - it's cramped, it's cold, there's spikes, he can't breathe, etc. and that's definitely there, he definitely feels it, but it's layer one of this spiral

no, what hurts a lot more, is being cut off from other people

and of course it does! dream may be kind of a loner when it comes to actually socialising, he can be sullen and moody and all of that, but he's never actually alone. he can't be, he's literally made out of everyone's subconscious, every thought anyone's ever had is passing through him at all times. that's his purpose, to manage and direct all that - i'd say it's second nature but i think in this case it actually qualifies as first nature. he may not always notice it or be conscious of it, he has the library so he can file that stuff away, but for most of his life he has had every single living mind in his head, constantly talking and thinking and dreaming

until now. the combination of the sphere and binding circle burgess set up is designed to keep dream's physical form in that basement, and cut him off from anything that exists outside of it. cut him off even from the people guarding him. both of these prisons meant that, for the first time ever, dream didn't have all that background noise that makes up who he is. it should be physically impossible for him to be alone, by his very nature if he's alone he's not really dream of the endless anymore

but both these prisons managed it

no wonder that's more overwhelming than physical pain, no wonder he believes he's going to die here, it's like you've torn out all his senses and a good half of his brain along with them with him still awake and conscious to process that happening

the black hole looked like nothing, it was made of nothing, so at least that's only jarring in how absent it is. but what must the world have looked like from inside that sphere, when all of the ways you normally process the world have been torn from you? do you even see what people look like physically, or do they appear to you as collections of stories and thoughts and hopes? and what, then, must it feel like, when now you can only see the physical. does anyone here even register as a person?

how alien must the world have looked? and how loud was that silence?

[ladynicte]

Nico who has been deified after his death. Nico who's sure, after all this time, he's finally managed to let go of his older sister's death, of course, it still hurts, and of course, he will never forget her, but that fiery hatred and overtaking sadness, has finally been put to rest.

Nico knows and understands that his sister chose to move on without him, and that's okay, no it's never gonna be okay but he's made his peace with that too, and now, that he's an inmortal himself he never expects to see Bianca again.

Nico lives easy. He works for his father, he sleeps for a couple decades at a time, sometimes he goes back to Camp, takes care of some kids during their quests here and there, but for the most part, he's a chain-free roaming God.

And then, one day at Camp Nico meets her, a tiny little girl, with how long he has lived, time has become almost impossible for Nico to really track down anymore, but he's sure this girl can't be more than 10.

And something about her eyes, her dark, void-like eyes, and her long black hair, and her proud stance. It really reminds him of somebody else.

The girl is all alone, no little brother or older sister of her own, no parents either, apparently, she's a child of Hekate, but that really doesn't matter.

Something about the girl's every move, about the way she approaches the darkness without fear, about the way she approaches him, like she's known him all his life, the way she uses her whole body when talking.

It reminds Nico of Bianca. This girl's soul is just like Bianca's.

And Nico supposes it's no longer a fatal flaw, but he still doesn't know how to let go.

Nico immediately claims her on the spot, lets her sleep on the Hades Cabin, helps her out with everything, takes care of her for years and years.

It's the first time in centuries, that Nico as a God feels connected to his mortal side.

When the little girl cuddles against him, because she's had yet another nightmare about manticores and huge robots, while Nico quietly tries to hug her, and reassure her she's going to be fine, he even starts thinking that maybe his family has grown, yet again.

And then, she's send off on a Quest, Nico loudly protests against it, because he knows how those end.

Because, he still remembers waking up screaming and trashing, in the middle of the night, inside the Hermes Cabin, surrounded by strangers and shadows, as he felt Bianca's soul perish away.

But it's no use, the Oracle of her time had already issued her prophecy, this new girl, Rachel having long since passed away, who Nico feels almost comfortable cursing in the spot, just like his father had done so many centuries ago.

The little girl leaves, and Nico now has nobody to swear to keep her protected. Nico knows it's useless to try to convince her to stay, but he still does, it doesn't work, it never has worked

But truth is, she doesn't even look scared.

She's excited, and ready, and determined, and Nico has to wonder if this is how Bianca looked like, during her last week on Earth, too.

The girl leaves and she doesn't come back.

Nico thinks, it should be easier by now. It isn't, it's never gonna be it

Hades catches Nico roaming mindlessly around Elysium, after noticing his absence from The House, for what's either days, or years.

Hades mournfully reassures Nico that Bianca is not there anymore. No, not this time, not last time, not next time either.

After that, Nico chooses to abandon Camp fully, once again, he doesn't come back for another few centuries, until Hermes asks him for help getting his children to satefy at Camp.

Nico swallows the bile, that he's sure a Godly body like his own, shouldn't be able to produce anymore, shakes Hermes's hands, and tells his cousin his children will make it through, just fine.

Nico rescues the kids, regretfully send them off to live all cramped up together at their Father's Cabin forever, but one of the boys of the bunch, just has such dark eyes, like a black hole consuming souls.

And he stands so proud, and Nico just knows once more, and all at once, because he would recognize Bianca's soul anywhere.

In life, in death, at the end of the world, in a Hekate's daughter, in an Hermes's son, it doesn't matter, the person standing in front of him, is simply Bianca in another skin.

Bianca, being a wild hero once more, and Nico has to wonder if she can see him as clearly as he can see her.

Bianca is the only one after all, who has known him all his life, Bianca knew his name before it was even his own. Nico was born knowing her.

If she can see him, or if she can't, Nico doesn't even know which one would hurt more.

Time passes, and if Nico let's the boy sleep at the Hades Cabin, because the nightmares about manticores, giant robots, and magic are too much to bear, and he can't even scream in peace inside the Hermes Cabin, well, that's only Nico's own business to know about.

Nico realizes, after a few ages of Godhood, that The Fates like repeating their own stories.

Nico knows he hates all of them, deeply and purposefully.

The Oracle comes up to the boy, Nico is sure she must be a new girl, but all the girls Apollo chooses all look the same, and she is the same, she gives the hero the prophecy that will bury him.

And, it doesn't even take Nico a glance to know, that this is where that boy's life thread is cut.

Nico wants to sneer, this would be Bianca's third death, and if a hero dies three times they get the special prize, and yet.

Nico begs the boy to not go, because they both know he's not gonna make it back.

Bianca never has. Bianca never does. This is Bianca's fate. She was already dead before the story even began.

But the boy doesn't even break eye contact with Nico, as he tells Nico that he's very kind, and that he loves him too, but no way.

He's gonna go, and so, the boy does.

The boy leaves and he doesn't come back, and Nico has to crawl at his Godly skin, and remember the sensations, of back when there was human flesh, and blood running through his veins.

And that's just the thing isn't it, that Bianca is never going to stay by his side, because she doesn't want to.

[jeskoholic]

A Little Piece of You Chapter 19: One-Eyed Owl

This is a chapter from an on-going series. If you missed out on the previous entries, you can check my masterlist.

Previous chapter: Black Swan

Word count: 5,453

Tags: Male OC X Mina, Nurse Room, College Sweethearts TW: Mentions of Blood

Enjoy

---

“Noona, I’m home. Are you here?” Yoon Jae-in’s voice announced, echoing across the seemingly empty apartment. He had just finished swapping his shoes for the indoor slip-ons, wrapping his hand further on the paper bag that he had with him. “There’s something that I’d like for you to see. Are you busy?”

Jae-in checked the small walk-in shelf of his noona’s shoe closet and found that her slip-ons were not present there. It was an immediate sign that she was not out for work and is lost somewhere in the apartment with him on that night. It was still early in the evening as well; a couple of minutes before seven PM was the perfect time for Jae-in to rush towards the local cake shop to get something for his beloved older sister.

Soon enough, soft and muffled food steps rustled over the carpeted floor followed by the figure of Bae Joohyun emerging from the bathroom. Unlike the usual presence of her being seen with all her breath-taking visuals to boot, Yoon Jae-in’s step sister wore a sleeveless green top and black shorts with her hair wrapped in plastic. She was also wearing a rejuvenating face mask over her beautiful visual, apparently attempting to keep it in place by walking in a rather awkward, back-inclined manner. The sight was hilarious for sure, but Jae-in always expected something to this degree anyway so it was pretty normal for him.

“This is such a wrong timing, Jae-in,” she said as she eyed her younger brother through the holes of the mask, speaking in an oddly muffled manner. In a matter hilarity, Jae-in found it strange how her neck was held so stiff as if she had a neck brace, all just to prevent her hair dressing and the mask from falling off. “I’m in the middle of my skincare as well as my hair spa. Can’t this wait a bit later?”

“I brought you a cake. I figured you needed a break of some form, so I got the sweet part of that break in this paper bag, noona.”

Just like that, Joohyun craned her neck and straightened up her body, apparently disregarding the attempt to hold her mask up high. Fortunately, it really did not fall off of any sorts and it stuck on her face.

“But it seems that you’re busy so I figured maybe—“

“I’m not busy,” she snapped. “Don’t you dare open that without me; this would not take that long to remove. Plus, I can do this later anyway. How come you didn’t mention getting some sweet stuff? I could have cooked dinner earlier so we can eat that sooner.”

Of course; she’s always like that. Noona does not always get these kinds of food because of her strict diet so I have to make every event special whenever we get these.

“Ah about that, don’t worry about it. I am actually in the mood to cook tonight and my school works have turned themselves down for the week, so my schedule is free. I’ll just make do of what we have at the fridge. You can relax your face for a bit, noona. I’ll take care of dinner for both of us.”

Even through the mask, Jae-in could clearly see Joohyun’s expression as her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh wow, now that’s new! I certainly did not expect that from you. Well then, if you put it that way, it’s hard to decline. Go ahead and break a leg.”

“Of course noona, anything for my beautiful sister,” he said as he placed his bag over the couch. “I’ll make it light just so the cake won’t take too much space for you. I’ll consider how it would affect you, noona, especially with the cake here having to think about.”

Joohyun paused on the spot and gently tilted her head to the side.

“What is with you today, Yoon Jae-in? You seem to be in a really good mood. Did something amazing happen back at university, hmmm? I’m not complaining; it’s just… unusual. I like it though. Keep it up.”

“Ah, it’s really nothing noona. Maybe it’s just that I got all my dues done and also yeah, I’m in a good mood. So if I were you…”

Yoon Jae-in carefully walked towards the dining table, placed the bagful of cake over the surface and went behind his older sister. Gently, he softly ran his fingers over the wrap on his sister’s head before and moved to give a soft massage towards her neck and exposed shoulders. He gave a soft jolt towards her, startling Joohyun from where she stood before he poked the side of her waist.

“Yah…! I’m ticklish, stop it!”

“I’m just saying noona; relax for now because I got you covered. Don’t worry about me. Tonight, I’ll be serving you.”

“Aish, you stupid little bean; I love it when you’re being all thoughtful like this. You should go home every night on a good mood, but then again the sweets could get a dent on my waist here. Don’t burn the meat, okay?”

Joohyun, too, passed Jae-in as she finally headed back towards the bathroom once again. However, before she could make go past him completely, she made sure to poke Jae-in in the same manner that he did to her; a sharp-nailed index finger poking squarely on the side of his waist. That earned a good smile from Jae-in as he watched his step sister disappear towards the doors of their own bathroom.

Surely, his uplifted mood was caused by something that happened earlier that day. It was not even supposed to make sense on that regard and to the degree that he was actually experiencing, but he cannot control what he was supposed to feel. It was just that he was really, really happy. Having to cook for Irene was perhaps one of the good by-products of that uplifted mood.

BZZT

Right after Joohyun went back to the bathroom, Jae-in was about to head back towards his room to change clothes when he felt his phone vibrate on his pocket for the first time on that night. He hastily moved to fish it out, with his head hard-wired to check on it quickly only to disregard the moment that the notification was nothing of significant interest to him. That was already on the subconscious when he began to read the small bar right above the UI of his phone.

Instagram: Yoon Jae-in, your friend Ning Yizhuo posted for the first time after a while.

Ningning…?

I thought she’s inactive on these kinds of stuff. I recall her not being too fond of it.

I wonder what’s she’s up to as she barely has any social media presence of any kind.

Reflexively, he opened the application through the notification tab and sure enough Ningning’s first post after what he thought was months showed, glaring on his phone’s screen for him to see.

It was a simple post of Ningning’s selca with three different photos taken on what he assumed was her bedroom. She had different expressions throughout the three posts, but with each of the photos it caught the background of her bed and pillows; all quoted with the caption: ‘hello there, the angel from my nightmare’.

However, Jae-in’s eyes was quick to notice something that stood out on the all-peach mattress as well as the rest of the neatly arranged pillows. It was one glaring brown horse plushie that rested next to them, leaning on the bed’s headrest and showed itself on the camera ever so slightly. Clearly, even if it was so far he was sure to recognize the horse plushie that was there, for it was the very same horse plushie that he won and gave to Ningning when they went off to the arcade during Valentine’s Day.

“Wow, she actually kept that. That’s amazing,” he muttered to himself.

Yoon Jae-in then went on off to double tap the post, liking Ningning’s recent IG post before anyone else, and then left his phone at the dining table; intending to head back to his room and change his clothes for the night of cooking waiting for him.

---DAYS LATER---

As usual, I kept my normal pace consistent throughout that week to the point that it was almost close to the weekend again. I have no complaints whatsoever. This whole school-house routine with the occasional walk around courtesy of Shinwon and Dawn were starting to get really comfortable. The added factor that Joohyun-noona surprised me with a model kit for me to build, as a show of gratitude from all the small sweet treats and help I’ve been giving her for the past days, not only have I kept my attention glued onto heading home, I was actually looking forward to it. It was a very progressive hobby too; with how meticulous it looks, there’s no way that I’ll be able to do that in one month to say the least.

One Friday, I had to shelve that model since I had to work on a project due on the following week, paired with a classmate. I was heading off towards the large gymnasium/auditorium complex of NLIU to meet her and fetch a thumb drive from her as we agreed previously. Apparently, this classmate was a representative of the school’s basketball varsity team and surely this was the only reasonable time that we could meet each other without trouble on her schedule. Since the gymnasium was located up on the second floor of the building next to the library, I had to walk up a couple of stairs to go there. However, as I was nearing the peak of the flight, close towards the gate heading to the gym inside, my phone gave off another vibration because of an incoming notification.

1 New Message from: Kyungsoo

I immediately halted my pace at the moment that I reached the top, along with that was opening the rather unexpected chat from Doh Kyungsoo. However, I had a hint on what it was supposed to contain; it was pretty much the same chat that he’s been messaging me about for weeks now up until this point.

Kyungsoo: This might work out this time, Jae-in. We’re planning to head back to Skylight and get some drinks. I wonder if you want to go this time around. Hongseok’s taking care of everything again.

I knew it. Honestly, I still have no real intention to join them considering, well, I have a lot of stuff to do back home. However, despite me being silent on United Kwangya, Kyungsoo was the one who kept on messaging me for the invites; persistently asking if there was a possibility of me joining them regardless if I repeatedly decline or not. A part of me already wanted to go, this time for old time’s sake.

I’d lie if I’d say that I didn’t miss any of them one bit.

Kyungsoo: I don’t want you to say that I baited you in, but I’m sure you wanted to know. Soyeon’s actually joining us.

Oh…

Wow.

The timing is really strange.

If this particular hang out went on like how the rest of them have been doing it for the past weeks or so, I might have gone with them.

I don’t know… I’m sure that Soyeon showing up probably means that she’s ready to go back to the group as well, but a part of me was not yet ready to see her face to face. I think the same goes for her as well, especially knowing that I was the one who ‘broke-up’ with her, so to speak. Then again, this might be the chance for us to talk again and settle with being friends…

Still, the timing is so off. I really don’t feel like going now, knowing she’s there.

It’s not yet the time.

I’ll go ahead and see her soon, just not now. At this point if I would go, it would be just like forcing me to see her. I don’t want that to happen.

Jae-in: Sorry man, I got plans. Thank you for the invite, and I appreciate it as always.

Kyungsoo: No worries. Message me in case you change your mind.

Jae-in: I’ll do that in case there are changes. See you around man.

I knew that maybe Kyungsoo replied another message after what I had just sent him, but then I figured I already told him everything that I had to say so I just pocketed my phone again with no other thoughts ahead of me. With that, I beckoned myself inside the huge, high-ceilinged gymnasium of NLIU to meet this rather athletic group mate of mine, with the noise of the bouncing balls as well as the periodical shouts and grunts from the athletes greeting my eardrums as I moved to enter.

The NLIU Gymnasium was the large, dome-like establishment that stood a couple of metres away from the university library, with a spacious façade as soon as I exited the small entrance hallway. Bleachers lined its perimeter, surrounding the well-polished basketball court along with a curtained stage at the far left. The court seemed to be split in half at the moment, with two sport divisions practicing on each of the half-courts at the same time. To the right were the jersey-wearing young guys who were busy practising their dribbling techniques around various traffic cones. On my left were people dressed in minimal body gear as they practised fencing on wooden swords. The combination of the athletes as well as the noise coming from the common student standing by the gymnasium definitely made the environment lively.

I just don’t know how on earth I am supposed to find her in all of this. I can only see guys around here. Should I call her?

“Yoon Jae-in; I’m here,” I heard a voice call my name as if I just thought about that loud. I turned my head as I walked on the small pathway separating the main court line and the wall by a couple of metres, and immediately saw a short-haired girl dressed in matching red jerseys. She jogged towards me with a basketball on one hand and a thumb drive clearly on the other; her tied hair bounced carefully as she treaded the path heading to where I stopped and eventually stood upon.

“Hey, I’m sorry that I had to ask you to come here,” she breathed as soon as she was in front of me. Only now did I realize that she had a coach’s whistle draped around her neck and her forehead had beads of sweat. “I’m worried that I might not notice you. Good thing it was you whom I saw first as soon as I looked at the entrance by chance.”

“That’s fine. You seem to be really busy. Are you training with these guys?” I asked her as I took the drive from her.

“Ah, no; actually I’m the one training them. I’m actually in charge of training new varsity members so I really can’t just get out for a bit.”

“You train them? Wow, that’s amazing. I better get going then.”

“No it’s fine… if you want; you can stay for a bit. Anyway, I already did the necessary components for the reports and I compiled them there. You’re way better on writing than me, so I think you could provide a better and more coherent output than I would.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s a pair’s work after all. I got this. Thank you for working hard, Ryujin. I think I need to go so that you can go back there and continue.”

“Alright; just message me if there’s anything else that you need.”

I nodded in response before watching the ever-so athletic Shin Ryujin jog her way back towards the dribbling guys, but not before dribbling the ball she held on her hand as well. I can’t help but be amused with how amazing she actually was despite being really timid on class. I never thought that she’d be the one teaching these younger dudes.

I immediately pocketed the drive as I walked, heading towards the same hallway I entered from to exit the gym for good. However, I was way too occupied on pocketing the drive that it fell out of my grasp and slid across the gym’s slippery and polished floor. Panicking, I rushed to fish it up, of which I eventually did, but as soon as I raised my head…

I saw a wooden pole hit the lower eyelid of my right eye, missing my main eye by mere millimetres before I stumbled, fell to the ground, and pain filled the right side of my face as everything went into a mess.

---

It was an instant that Yoon Jae-in was singly teleported out of the gymnasium, as he even could not recall what really happened after his eye got hit. There was a brunt force that pushed him back followed by a sensation that felt like a punch on the face. He held on his cheek for as long as he could remember with the eventual commotion that surrounded him. Whatever happened was sure to be of a huge impact to him, considering he felt almost four to five people that help him up and carefully assisted him to the university’s emergency clinic.

Now, as he sat down on a reclined chair, things only began to register to his mind as the school nurse carefully bandaged his right eye. Spots of his own blood were clearly seen botched on the white fabric of his shirt, all the way down towards his arm. The small makeshift room he was brought in was sight; it was more akin to a dentist’s room more than anything else.

“Mr Yoon Jae-in, are you feeling alright now?” the school nurse asked him, Nurse Joy, while she carefully applied a piece of cotton over his wound. “Please keep your eye closed. This might sting a bit, so please hold it in.”

“Was the hit bad, ma’am?” Jae-in nervously asked, quite nervous at his first time being inside the school clinic on a major accident. “I… sort of black out after I got hit but I don’t remember passing out… everything felt vague.”

“You got hit by a fencing stick, Jae-in. It was so close that it hit your eyelid instead, missing your eye by a close margin. The blood stains you’re seeing on your clothes as well as your hands are the result of a small tear; it did graze a bit off of your skin but it’s nothing to worry about. I’m trying to disinfect the wound now and I’ll apply a bandage later so that the bruise that formed under your eye won’t be too obvious.”

“W-would I still be able to see…?”

To his surprise, Nurse Joy chuckled.

“Of course, Jae-in; don’t worry about that. Like I said, the stick barely missed your eye and hit your upper cheek instead, but grazing a bit of your skin in the process. It’s fortunate that, despite the damage, it’s just a minor thing that would heal given time. Now, for the meantime…”

She picked up a small ice-pack from the table nearby, placed it on Jae-in’s cheek and moved his hand to press on it. There was an immediate cooling sensation that spread towards his impacted region.

“Please hold that for a while. I’ll be back in about five minutes, okay? I’ll just need to run a quick errand. Just continue to press it carefully on the bruise until I get back,” she said, removing her gloves and disposing it on the bin below.

Jae-in barely even have any time to nod when Nurse Joy exited through the door in front of him. Even with the split-second frame of the door being open, he could have sworn he saw a couple of people standing in front of the door. One of them had a huge chance to be the person who accidentally shanked him.

He bore no grudges against whoever they were, for that matter. It was just that he was there when the even unfolded on an unfortunately timed matter. Luckily, throughout that ruckus of a commotion, even with his mind temporarily in shambles after that incident, he managed to keep hold of the drive Ryujin gave him previously, and now it was settling comfortably on the deepest corner of his pants’ pockets.

The underlying concern now was how bad his face actually looked like. It was a powerful and painful impact, judging by the feedback he was receiving even with just moving the pack with the smallest distance. There were no mirrors whatsoever inside the clinic, at least from the room where he was staying at, that he can actually check how bad his face looks like. It does feel painful, but what concerns him the most was how his sister would react to that once she’d see it. The way she would react to it might even be worse than how Jae-in faced the incident himself. She might assume a lot of things, which primarily would include him getting into a fight. With how protective she is towards his younger brother, there’s a huge chance that she might get really mad seeing him with a bruise under his right eye before he could even explain what really happened.

Yoon Jae-in awkwardly sat there tapping the ice pack against his face gently, allowing some of the condensed ice to trail down his cheek while he waited for the return of Nurse Joy. It was almost around five minutes that passed, with him carefully pressing the pack against his face in constant progression when the clinic’s door finally opened up.

“Nurse Joy, I think there’s a—“

And then, the world seemingly turned itself over.

The voice was already familiar the first time he heard it enter the room. There’s no denying that the soft, almost elegant an innocent-like aura belonged to a person he met on a couple of interesting situations, and that day seemed to be the most interesting of them all.

Myoui Mina continued to enter the secluded clinic room in a slower manner the moment she recognized who was seated on the chair. Gone were the specs that Jae-in previously saw her wear, of which he can now see the pure and captivating beauty of her presence. She was dressed in a simple jacket-shirt-jeans combination, along with a small bag slung over her shoulder, but her pure aura lifted her outfit in a completely different level.

“M-Mina…? That’s you, right…?” Jae-in asked in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“Yoon Jae-in… I-I’m… I came here to run an errand for Nurse Joy. I did not expect to see you here.”

Mina fully entered the room and moved to close the door, but not before carefully checking the outer premises first.

“What happened to you?” she asked wit concern, eyeing the bruise that formed in Jae-in’s face as well as the ice pack that he was pressing against it. “Did you get in a fight?”

“Oh this…? It’s just an accident at the gym. I got shanked by a wooden sword and it luckily missed my eye and hit my cheek instead.”

“Is that true? Oh no, that must be really painful… d-did you get that treated already…?”

“Y-yeah, N-nurse Joy actually…”

To his surprise, Mina actually placed her bag beside the open table and quickly rummaged through the shelves searching for something. Moments later, she withdrew her hands holding a new pair of disposable gloves.

“Are you allowed to do that…?”

“I… I can take a look at it if you like,” she said in that similar soft voice of hers. “I used to be a voluntary intern here so… so I know a bit in treating those kinds of things.”

“Really…? Well, sure thing… I mean, it’s better if you’re going to check it instead of just me alone.”

“I promise I won’t make it worse,” she assured as she rolled up her sleeves and wore both the gloves over her slender hands. She then took a step closer to where Jae-in was seated and reached for the ice pack. “Can I have that…?”

Nervously, he let Mina take the ice pack from him and sat still. Despite only having one eye to see, It was more than enough for him to appreciate the details of Mina’s face as she moved closer, carefully eyeing the bruise on Yoon Jae-in’s cheek. She then moved the pack out of the way in order for her to gently caress the impacted area with her gloved hand.

“I think you’ve been pressing too hard on it,” she remarked. “It might give your skin more trouble than it already has. Here, let me demonstrate how you should do it.”

Mina unexpectedly fished Jae-in’s free arm from below and placed on the ice pack before holding it herself, all while she took the nearby stool and eventually sat on it. Myoui Mina and Yoon Jae-in sat opposite each other, with the young woman pressing the ice carefully against his skin while she held on to his hand.

Perhaps it was the silence that could be blamed for the rather awkward and wordless moments that followed after that. Jae-in’s heartbeat, his cheeks, his ears, everything was flaring up with just the simple act of Mina helping him compress and treat the injury as it is. It was certainly quite an unexpected turn for her to be the one to show up there, let alone be the one helping him on his injury in probably the sweetest manner ever. Not to mention, Mina’s face was so close to his that he could easily make up the details better than when he first saw her back at the library nor the cafeteria.

The silence was deafening, with only the source of noise coming from the periodical hallway noises from the outside of the clinic itself. Mina did not even notice that her pressing became softer and softer as the minutes went by. She could only blame it all on Jae-in, for as soon as their eyes met in that quiet room, she suddenly felt conscious of what she looked like. There was no real bit of thought she involved on that instance; just seeing Jae-in there made her concerned all of a sudden. Now, their face was so close that even she was starting to feel how awkward it was…

What is happening?

I don’t even know if my face is wet with water droplets or because of sweat.

“Am I interrupting something?” the voice of Nurse Joy said from the door. Apparently neither Jae-in nor Mina noticed that it even opened in the first place. That alone brought them back at the clinic after their minds mutually flew for a couple of minutes, maybe there was a little startle in there as well.

“N-nurse Joy… s-sorry,” Mina scrambled to get herself back on her feet, ultimately leaving Jae-in to hold on the cold press against his face. “I thought you were here and… it just so happened that I knew him to so I just—“

“It is fine, Mina-chan; there’s nothing to worry about. I just did not expect to see you here. You’ve never volunteered for an entire semester now, but it’s nice to see you take care of people again… interesting even, that you actually knew each other too…” she said with a teasing smile.

“I… I just happened to know him t-too…”

“In that case, do you mind if I leave him on your care then? I went back here in a rush because I’m dealing with another emergency case. Is that okay with you?”

“Y-yes… I’ll t-take care of him… I’ll manage…”

“Thank you so much, Mina! On that note, I’ll leave you two be. Just inform me if he’s going off so that I can make an incident report as well as an excuse slip. I’ll just be out so just approach me when you two are… done, you know?”

Mina deliberately ignored the odd tone and bowed in courtesy before Nurse Joy finally left the door, effectively having both herself and Yoon Jae-in in the company of each other again like before. The young man still had the cold press on his face, blushing for things he didn’t even know the reason for as he sat there with Mina. The entire atmosphere was starting to be awkwardly different and the only way he could think about was to bring the conversation down to the ground to lay out the comfort again.

“It’s crazy how we seem to meet on unfortunate circumstances,” Jae-in teased as soon as Mina moved to wipe the accumulated water from his face. “Last time that I saw you, I thought I would be standing still for lunch. Before that, I bumped into all your books.”

“Ah, I thought I was the only one who noticed. It’s interesting how I bump into you a lot these days as well. Also, I think the small graze on your eyelid is doing well now; it’s stopped from bleeding but it still has a bit of a swell. T-the problem is just the bruise on your eye. We’ve done enough compressing that it would be good for the meantime, but if you go out walking like that it would look as if you just got into a fight,” Mina said, examining the soft bruise of Jae-in on his face, unintentionally bringing her face closer to his once more. “But I think I have a solution for that.”

She immediately withdrew and went back towards the same shelve that she fished the gloves from, and then she emerged later holding a pack of what looked like medical eye-patches. Mina quickly fished a piece and stretched it out before proceeding to the waiting figure of Yoon Jae-in. He knew what was about to come but he was busy being frozen on the spot, still processing what was really going on with everything around him.

“Wear this for now. It might not conceal everything but at least you’ll not walk around looking like someone just punched you,” she began, and then carefully wrapped the strap around Jae-in’s head and eventually settling the patch on his bad eye. “You just need to routinely take care of that so that it would heal the quickest time.”

“T-thank you, Mina… this would be a huge help for me…” he replied.

However, the moment that Jae-in opened his eyes, Mina was busy writing something on a piece of paper before eventually handing it to him casually.

“Umm… what’s this for?”

“Please message or call me on this number… Nurse Joy put me in charge of you so I’d… I’d like to check on how you’re doing as well… that way I can instruct you how to treat your bruise better… I also included my social profile there in case you’re more into that…”

Oh wow…

That’s… that’s very thoughtful of her. Oh my god

“This is amazing Mina… you sure that Engineering was the right path that you took? You’d definitely be a good doctor, you know.”

Mina chuckled.

“Heh… it’s a tough choice but this is just a volunteer work for me… I guess it just so happened that I saw you here and I felt compelled to treat your injury and all… let’s just go with that. Umm… since we’re pretty much done here, I’ll just clean up so we can go on ahead and Nurse Joy could deal with the formalities now, shall we? I really… I really don’t want to deal with any of her thoughts in case that she’s having the wrong idea on what’s taking us so long in here….”

“Okay, okay… thank you. I promise I’ll message you about this and update you accordingly. I already feel better knowing I have a personal doctor. It’s not often that you bump into someone and they end up doing a huge favour for you twice, you know.”

With that, Mina responded on his statement with a very gummy smile. Jae-in already prepared to stand when Mina began to speak once again.

“Well, if you want to get even just by a bit… allow me to escort you back to your class. That way, I can be assured that you’ve arrived well knowing how you can only see half of what you’re used to.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s do that then.”

---

Next Chapter: Angel with a Shotgun

[joshscrookednipple]

The Prologue

The silence between us masterlist

Pairing: Sam Kiszka x deaf female OC

Warnings: Cursing, Asshole Aam, References to sex. let me know if i miss anything!!!

Word count: 1,193

before you start here are a few things you need to know. when the characters are speaking in bold italics that means they are using sign language.

Summers POV:

Summer you are NOT bringing that

Why not? it’s cute! vintage!

It has a hole in the armpit!

Juniper grabs the worn out pink 2000’s style crop top with a low cut neckline that in which my opinion made my tits look fucking amazing. i think she’s just jealous. she turns around and puts her hands on her hips and looks me once over.

me and Juniper could not be more different. we are fraternal twins, but looking at us you wouldn’t even think we were related. she has dark brunette hair which then got all shaved off into a buzz cut which resulted in my mom fainting and my dad having to grab our beloved family cat Triscut from her inevitably falling body. she dresses herself in anything dark green, black or brown. i’m the exact opposite, i have bright blonde hair that has pink highlights all over (don’t work my mom only swayed slightly when she saw. no Triscuts were harmed) i like to dress in anything bright and colorful or beachy and i had just recently gotten a nose ring, the one thing Juniper refuses to do because “what if i get infected by the needle and my body starts slowly deteriorating until i’m only but a afternoon snack for Triscut.

god i love her.

but the biggest difference of all probably is that she’s hearing and i’m..well not.

when i was about four months old i was getting these rashes everywhere, and no matter how many times my parents brought me into the pediatrician it was always the same story. “oh it’s eczema” or “she must be allergic to something”. two months later when they had found out it was Rubella it was too late, i had stopped responding whenever my name was called or reacting to loud noises and that’s when my family was told that the Rubella had caused me to loose my hearing. My mom immediately looked into hearing aids once i turned one and got everyone in the family, including my older brother Austin into sign language classes. Juniper took it upon herself, once she was old enough to become my personal translator and Austin, being two years older than me and Juniper took it upon himself to be the man of the house after my dad passed away when me and Juniper were five.

when me and Juniper turned 19, she left to go to film school in Nashville and i followed her there to study occupational therapy and disability studies. we bought apartments right next to each-other and Austin came over and helped install lights all over my house that were connected to the microwave, oven, doorbell, and fire alarm.

that leaves us here, me and Juniper are twenty one and Austin is twenty three and we’re planning our annual trip to seaside florida along with my best friend Amelia and my brothers friend Jackson. oh and Triscut of course.

i sigh and take my hearing aids out, which i’ve seemed to be doing a lot more lately, sometimes silence is better, and put them in their little case before zipping up my suitcase. Austin knocks on the door to my apartment and Juniper runs to let him as i drag all of my luggage out to the living room area.

You almost ready to go? Austin signs while talking at the same time.

Almost. i respond once my hands are free.

Well hurry up!! he responds as he drags the suitcases down to his car and i let out a breathy laugh and shake my head.

florida 2022 here we come.

Sam’s POV:

BEEP BEEP BEEP

i groan and pat on my bedside table blindly before hitting the snooze button. i wipe the sleep from my eyes when i try to sit up but feel an arm and a leg wrapped around me. what the fuck-

oh.

right.

i had gone to the club last night with a few friends and spotted her..what was her name..chelsea..chandler..cherry..i don’t know but she was hot and was giving me “fuck me” eyes all night. i went over to her and worked my charm and one thing led to another and i took her home, which is a decision i’m very much regretting because Josh will be here along with Jake and Danny, no doubt banging on my door telling me to get my ass up so we can get on the road to Florida. She wasn’t very good in bed either, she was noisy and moved too much. Definitely adding to the “do not call again” list:

i push unknown girl off my body which leads her to let out a little whine and wake up.

“hey baby” she rasps out and tries to grab my hand but i quickly turn that down and stand up, pulling on my boxers.

“you need to go”

“excuse me”

“you heard me, get your shit and go.”

she stares at me like i had just put a new born lamb inside a deep fryer and presses her lips together before gathering all of her clothes and putting them on. this is how it always is when i bring girls home, they get all clingy in the morning and i have to force them right out the door, i like how i can have one night of fun and not have to deal with them after that. i guess i was too wrapped up in my train of thought that i didn’t even hear her leave but i know she did because my room no longer smells like cheap perfume. i grab black shorts and a red t-shirt and quickly change before making sure i have everything for our trip.

Josh had insisted we travel to florida so we can people watch and get inspiration for our next album, but honestly i think he just wanted to get away from the city for a while, and i can’t blame him. right as i’m finishing zipping my suitcase there’s a knock on the door and before i can even open it josh walks in.

“You could’ve at least waited for me to open the door. and you’re late”

josh crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at me

“i wouldn’t have been late if i didn’t have to calm down what i could have only assumed was your one night stand who was crying and absolutely hysterical outside of your door, you didn’t even let the poor girl put her shoes on before you shoved her out the door. I also had to call her a Uber so i expect 20.50 in my bank account by the end of the day”

i scoff and run my fingers through my air and grab my backpack and sling it over my shoulder.

“it’s not my fault girls always expect more.”

“you’re an asshole Samuel Francis Kiszka.”

“so i’ve heard. let’s go”

i grab all of my things and bring them out to the car where Jake and Danny were waiting. little did i know that this one trip was about to change my life forever.

Florida 2022 here we come.

[boldlyvoid]

Wheels Up

Characters: Spencer Reid, Reader (Y/N), Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Savannah Hayes, Emily Prentiss, Elle Greenaway, Tara Lewis, Jennifer Jareau, Matt Simmons, Luke Alvez

Summary: JJ goes on maternity leave, Spencer falls in love with her replacement that he's supposed to be mentoring, Emily Prentiss and Elle Greenaway work a case together that brings Simmons and Alvez in for help...

Warnings: Genius!Reader, mutual pining, idiots in love, drinking, star gazing, lots of fluff, mentions of past assault, grooming, drug addiction, spencer's trauma, Abductions, Rape, Murder (typical canon violence)

word count: 9.4K

a/n: this is for @starry-eyed-spence and @simmonsmilf CM fanfiction week, Day One: Favorite Character... only I couldn't pick just one.

To say Spencer fell in love at the least opportune time was a bit of an understatement. Everyone he’s ever come close to admitting his love to has either left him or died. Now he’s stuck with loving someone in secret, keeping it to himself and hoping that one day she’ll love him back.

He fell in love with a co-worker once again… which wasn’t the worst thing, office romances happen and it’s quite frankly all Rossi’s fault that they even had to worry about fraternization policies. The part that makes liking Y/N so difficult is that he’s supposed to be her mentor, he’s 5 years older than her, and if he was to ever make a move she would feel inclined to reciprocate in order to keep her job because that’s the unfortunate truth behind office relationships with significant differences in positions.

And worst of all… she doesn’t like him that way at all. She’s called him the brother she always needed, a best friend, the best mentor ever. She wasn’t interested in him in the slightest.

“And why would she be?” He’s said this to everyone who knew about his crush on her. “I’m old and boring and she’s so cool?”

But he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand that every time she asked him to hang back to help her file something, or when they would buddy up in hotel rooms to discuss cases all night and end up down some star trek rabbit hole instead, every time he talked to her she was falling in love with him right back.

It once again all circles back to Rossi, if it wasn’t for him, Spencer wouldn’t even know her. She wouldn’t have ever been introduced to the unit, he wouldn’t be attached to her at the hip and he probably wouldn’t be as happy as he is with her in his life. Even if she wasn’t his girlfriend.

He’ll never forget the day Rossi asked him to meet her, to help her settle in…

“Spencer, can I talk to you for a minute?” Rossi called him into his office.

He sighed, putting his book down and walking up the stairs to his office. He closed the door behind himself and smiled awkwardly, “what’s up?”

“Sit,” he gestures to the chairs in front of his desk, where Spencer pulls one out and proceeds to sit down, anxiously. “As you know, both Kate and JJ will be out of the field in the next few months to have their babies and we need to bring someone in to fill the void until they return, so I reached out to the academy to see if they have any up and coming Dr. Reid like agents that they could loan us.”

“Why?” Spencer laughs at the choice of words.

“Well, honestly, why get new 2 agents when we could have two Reid’s? JJ will be back after a month or 2, it’s better to have more brains than brawn.”

“So they found someone and you want me to be their chaperone?” Spencer clues in. “Who are they?”

“Y/N Y/L/N, she’s a wonderful agent, but she’s pretty quiet, I don’t know much about her personally.” Rossi prefaces. “She’s a genius, high IQ like yours and just a plethora of knowledge inside that mind of hers. You’ll like her.”

“Alright,” he nods. “When do they start?”

“When JJ’s water breaks, but I’d like you to meet them and maybe even have them shadow you for a day?” Rossi asks, “I’ve actually arranged for you both to get dinner at a friend's restaurant?”

“Is this an arranged date or purely business? Don’t send me in there blind,” he worries. “I need at least a week's prep before I go on a date again.”

“It’s not a date, kid,” Rossi laughs. “She's just a lot like you were when I met you, and I know from watching you all these years that it’s not easy to do it alone, so can you just walk them through it?”

“Of course.”

That first dinner Rossi set up for them was more exquisite than either of them prepared for.

They spent the whole night discussing dissertations and their independent journeys through becoming a genius. He understood perfectly why Rossi and the Academy would think she was a lot like him, she was a genius, but she was awkward. It took a while for her to break out of her shell and open up, but by the end of the night, he already knew they were going to be friends.

“So,” she smirks, “would you mind telling me honestly how hard this job is?”

“Why?”

She sighs, “I’ve heard a lot about Thee Doctor Reid and how you were the youngest hired to the BAU and all the shit you’ve been through.”

“What are the rumours these days?” He awkwardly smiles back, rolling his eyes slightly.

“That you were brain dead in a cemetery from an overdose and yet you’re so smart you came back from the dead to kill the unsub and escape…” she looks more and more disappointed in the rumour as she tells it.

His tongue hits the roof of his mouth as he opens it to speak, making a tsk noise as he shakes his head. “Well, I did OD but it was the unsubs main personality that resuscitated me.”

“Holy shit,” she whispers.

He nods, “what about you? I’m sure you have a reputation based on a rumour?”

She presses her lips together the way he always did, just as awkward. She sighs, huffing the air out of her nose and looking fed up. “I was groomed and assaulted by an older boy who then told kids I had a stalkerish crush on him so if I was to ever tell anyone what happened, then no one would believe me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Spencer knows the words don’t make up for what happened. “I’m guessing that’s why you wanted to get into profiling?”

She nods, “I got away with some PTSD and trust issues, most girls go through much worse… they deserve someone who gets it to look into their cases.”

Spencer nods. “That’s how I felt after my kidnapping too. It took a while for me to look at crime scene photos and not think about how they felt, and wonder why I lived when so many die?”

“I’ve never been a religious person,” she prefaces. “But I do believe we are here for a reason. Whether you choseto be here after your last life or this is some learning opportunity, or God is actually real? And you’re supposed to do good.”

“In narcotics anonymous, they reference god a lot, it’s helpful for the addicts, but I never get into it,” he opens up with her more than he’s ever opened up with any friend. “If my Devine purpose is to suffer in order to relate to those I’m supposed to help that’s a load of bullshit… honestly, I can get pretty angry thinking about why I’ve gone through what I’ve gone through doing this job, but it’s not as bad as what happened to me growing up, and it leads me to believe that I probably wouldn’t have had an easy time no matter how I live.”

She nods, “I know, I get that.”

“Sorry,” he snaps out of it. “I didn’t mean to trauma dump on you.”

“It’s exactly what I asked for actually,” she reminds him with a soft smile. “If you can still come to work every day, after all that, you must be incredibly strong— and if I’m anything like you the way people say I am, I guess I can do it too.”

He had no idea she would end up being his best friend.

She shadowed him just once in the office, picked up everything right off the bat and immediately made a name for herself in the unit. Derek tried multiple names on her before one stuck, and they knew it stuck when even Hotch called her Baby Genius.

She brought a different knowledge base to the team, similar to Spencers but visibly younger. She fit in with the crowds of kids they had to interview, she understood why kids reacted the way they did to trauma and abuse, and she was still a kid at heart. It was the reason Spencer fell for her.

She allowed him to feel free again. They went out together outside of work, going to events he always wanted to go to with a partner but never had a chance. She loved all the same things as him, and she takes him to places he’d never imagine enjoying before her.

Like laser tag… that was an afternoon he’ll never forget with her.

When JJ went into labour, that’s when Y/N started full time and Hotch hired Tara Lewis in the same week. The team barely had time to adjust to being undermanned before they were restocked.

Joining Spencer every morning for every case, she waited out front of her apartment for him to pick her up most mornings, sticking to his side throughout the long days and nights until he drove her home again. Even at work, they were partnered up for everything: heading to the M.E. together, bouncing facts back and forth at the precinct, playing good cop bad cop with perverts, and her personal favourite… Making the geoprofile.

And Spencer liked doing that part with her as well. Because it typically meant they were completely alone in a room, spreading out a map and leaning in close to each other as they placed every sticker and marker. Brushing hands, bumping shoulders, longing glances as they made connections… he also just liked to watch her hands move.

She was delicate and careful and precise… and he was falling in love with everything about her as the days went by.

Everyone on the team had noticed. It was really hard not to when they’ve all known Spencer for almost 11 years now. He was so different with her in his life, he was happy and giddy and dressing even better than before. His hair was perfect and he was glued to Y/N’s side. Or she was glued to his.

Even though they were mentally similar, physically they were polar opposites. Y/N wore all black and was a lot more outgoing than they expected. Rossi thought she’d be quiet… But she was constantly talking. To Spencer, to other officers, to witnesses, she never stopped talking and starting conversations, and thank god she did because she’s cracked 4 cases that way.

The biggest surprise the team learned about her happened on a case in Florida, a shooting in a local park in broad daylight with lots of witnesses meant the whole team was on the boardwalk asking questions. She went out to do her thing, talking to the local skaters, asking them if they knew anything but they didn’t want to cooperate.

They were too cool for the feds.

“Can I see your board?” She asks, “if I do some tricks will you answer some questions for me and Doctor Reid?”

“Knock yourself out,” one of the boys laughs as he hands her his board.

She hands Spencer her gun and shoots him a wink before taking off to do a few tricks. The whole team watches in awe then as Y/N showed off. Cruising along the halfpipe effortlessly like she was a professional.

“Okay Tony Hawk,” Morgan teases her, “where did that come from?”

“Skateboarding is easy, it’s just physics,” she shrugs. “I can figure skate too…”

“What do you want to know?” The boy takes his board back. “We always see some sketchy guys around here.”

Morgan pats Y/N on the back with a smile, applauding her ability to get anyone to open up before leaving her to take the statement.

“Agent?” One of the girls pulls her aside just before they are about to leave, “how did you do that kickflip? I’ve been trying to learn and the boys won't help me.”

“Sure thing,” she takes the girl's board and demonstrates a kickflip first.

“So, you see as I start the kickflip I bend my knees?” She shows her another kickflip all while explaining it. “Much like the with an ollie, I’m building pressure so I can apply it to the tail, making the board pop. The one thing that makes this trick different from the ollie is that instead of sliding my foot up, I just flick my toe out to the right of the board, by doing this, the board flips in a 360-degree motion.

She demonstrates again and it’s another flawless kickflip, and a huge smile on her face as Spencer watches her.

“How fast the board spins depends on how much force I put into it when I flick it out. As soon as the board flips in a full 360, your feet should connect and drive the board back to the ground.”

She hands the board back to the girl, “your turn.”

She takes a deep breath and shakes her nerves out before taking off on her board, looping around and carefully bending her knees, she follows every step and it’s a flawless kickflip.

“Flawless!!” Y/N claps. “Those boys better watch out, you’re a natural.”

“Thank you,” she wraps her arms around Y/N and gives her a hug, “it’s taken me so long to be able to do that, you’re so cool.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiles. “Good luck out there.”

She waves as she takes off on her board, leaving Y/N with a smile as she turns to Spencer. “I miss being that age and thinking everything is so cool.”

“You are really cool,” he agrees. Smiling softly as a blush fills his cheeks. “You’re always surprising me. Is there anything you can’t do?”

She laughs, “yeah the one thing I want to do the most.”

“Which is?”

She sighs, “maybe I’ll tell you someday.”

—

He’s sitting beside Penelope and Savannah, watching Derek and Y/N get drinks for what’s left of the group as the night drags on.

“When are you going to tell her?” Savannah asks.

“What?” Spencer pretends he doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

“You have a crush on the new girl…” she pokes his cheek as he blushes and gives it away. “Tell her, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“She could feel forced to say yes because I’m a supervisory special agent and she isn’t and she wants to keep her job so she feels like she needs to,” Spencer worries. “I want her to like me back because she fell for me and I want her to initiate it because then I’ll know it’s not just a power dynamic issue.”

“Have you tried asking her, genius?” Penelope teases. “Because if you asked her then you’d know she has a crush on you and she’s afraid you’ll turn her down because you’re an SSA and she isn’t.”

“When did you hear that?”

Penelope pretends to lock up her lips and throw away the key, making Savannah laugh loud enough to get Derek's attention at the bar. When he and Y/N return, that’s when the questions start.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Spencer gets up and leaves the booth, walking out towards the smokers' exit at the back of the bar, getting a moment of semi-fresh air to think about what Penelope said.

“Spence?” She calls to him from the door, “are you okay? Can I come out here?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “Sorry, I needed some air, it’s nothing.”

“Do you need a hug? I read it helps the most when people are stressed out,” she plays it off with a shrug.

“So you do have a crush on me?”

“She told you?” Her face lights with fury, “what the fuck, Penelope?”

“She didn’t mean to,” he tries to cover it up. “It was only brought up because I have feelings for you as well.”

Her eyes widen, her brows raise and her mouth slowly opens as she freezes.

“Y/N?”

She blinks a few times and shakes her head, “impossible. There’s no way.”

He laughs, “I’ll take that hug now?”

She lunges for him and wraps her arms around him so tight. Breathing him in, her hands wander his back as she takes in every second if it and he does the same. He can’t believe she’s that close to him, her hair smells nice and she’s so soft in his arms.

It’s quiet outside, they can hear the music behind the door, the people in the ally talking and the crickets in the night. It’s just them outside, holding each other in the smoking section with smiles on their faces, amazed that it’s finally happening.

“Can we keep this between us?” She whispers into his ear. “Just for a bit? I don’t want to go through all the paperwork and have to separate in the field if it doesn’t work out?”

“Wait,” Spencer pulls back. “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”

She nods, “well yeah isn’t that what happens when two people have a mutual crush? They date?”

“Okay,” he smiles, staring at her lips and then flicking his gaze back to hers with a blush. “I have more than a crush on you, I really, really like you.”

“Prove it,” she teases, “let's go on a real date soon?”

“You know what, let’s get out of here. I have something I want to show you,” he takes her hand and waits for her to nod.

“Take my lead okay? You don’t feel good and you’re going to wait outside while I say goodbye,” she has a plan right away

“After you,” he holds the door open for her and lets her inside first.

—

“I’m taking Spencer home, he’s not doing well,” she’s a much better actress than Spencer expected, patting his back and watching him leave the bar before her like she asked him to do. “He’s really anxious?”

Penelope looks worried, “oh no, I fucked up. I told him you like him.”

She just shrugs, “if he didn’t know that already then I guess he’s not as smart as he pretends to be.”

“See,” Derek looks at Savannah. “I told you everyone else also thinks he’s faking being that smart.”

“Shut up,” she shoves him and turns her attention back to Y/N. “Go make him feel better, he’ll like your company.”

“I’ll see you guys at work on Monday,” she waves them goodbye, surprised they bought it as she rushes her way back outside to Spencer.

He’s already in his car, engine running and waiting for her with a smile. “Come on,” he hurries her inside and is taking off down the road before she even has her seatbelt on yet.

“What’s the rush, Spence? It’s only 1 in the morning I’m sure tones of places are open still?” She teases.

“You’re going to like this, I used to go here all the time when I started with the bureau,” he explains, leaving the main road to take a back root, and eventually they’re driving on gravel.

“If you’re taking me here to murder me this is a dumb way to do it because they all know I left with you,” she teases. “At least when you go to get rid of me, do yourself a favour and dig 6 one-foot holes instead of one 6 foot hole…”

He laughs, “would you really give your murderer tips?”

She nods, “my goal would be to piss him off so much he either lets me go or murders me quickly. I don’t want to go through all the pain.”

“It’s not fun, that’s for sure,” he shrugs it off but she knows it hits too hard.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, reaching her hand out for his to hold by the gear shift. “I think you’re like the strongest guy in the world, you know that, right?”

“Why?” He asks as if that's a preposterous thing to say.

“I think if I got kidnapped and tortured at 24 I wouldn’t still be working in the FBI,” she admits. “I barely made it through the academy, I know this job is intense but I don’t think I could handle being in that situation.”

“If it’s up to me,” Spencer squeezes her hand tighter and brings it to his lips for a kiss. “You’ll never experience anything like that.”

He’s so good at making her feel safe that she almost believes he has the power to do that. He would do anything and everything to move fate for her safety.

He turns down another back road then, around the edge of a lake and towards a clearing. He follows old tire tracks and parks by the dock. “I found this spot one night on a random drive to clear my head.”

“I thought you hated driving?” She quizzes him.

He shrugs, “I like to drive at night when no one else is on the road because then I don’t really have to worry about anyone else. I hate driving because I can’t always anticipate other drivers' movements. If I could read minds, then I’d drive more.”

“Valid,” she nods, “now why is this such a special spot that you needed to show me right away?”

“Well, I have a telescope and it’s been in my trunk for the last 13 years so that every time I come here, I can look up at the moon…”

“You brought me here to look at the moon with you?” She swoons, “that’s so cute.”

“You think?” He looks like his heart is doing the same swelling as hers.

She gets out of the car before she can lean over and kiss him the way she wants to. In his trunk, he does have a telescope, and a blanket, which they set out on the dock and sit upon.

The sound of the lake, the loons in the distance, frogs and crickets and music travelling from somewhere down the lake. The moon was big, the stars were amazing, and this was the closest she has ever seen them. It's amazing, and of course, it was Spencer showing her everything.

He was everything to her.

And it didn’t take long for him to become everything to her either.

Joining the BAU was a dream to many at the academy, but Y/N never thought that she would get the job, overjoyed that she did. They were a family unit; they got the job done, they protected each other, and it was a wonderful environment to be a part of. She obviously liked Spencer the most out of everyone. He took her in, he made her feel comfortable and safe and she opened up more with him than she has with anyone she’s labelled a “best friend” in the past.

She liked everything about him. The way he talked with his hands, how his sweater, vest, shirt and tie always match, his gun looks a little out of place on his belt, like it’s too big for him, but it’s cute. His hair’s been getting longer too, sometimes he wears glasses and sometimes if she’s lucky, he doesn’t shave every day.

She can’t take her eyes off him when he’s busy and won't notice, just to then move her focus away when he stared at her. She only wishes she could see the way he stares at her in awe, because if it’s anything like how she looks at him, he must love her.

She keeps her hand in his, trading the telescope back and forth in turns, her face was close to his every time they switched and she kept getting bolder with each exchange. Letting Spencer look, she kept her face close to his, kissing his cheek softly as soon as he was busy peering up at the moon.

He turned to her with a gasp, “what was that for?”

“You’re cute,” she shrugs. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while.”

“How long?” He teases, leaning in closer and kissing her nose to make her laugh.

“Since you dropped me off at my house after that first dinner…”

“So this is me,” she nods out the window, “thank you for the ride, I appreciate not having to be in an Uber all by myself.”

“Anytime you need a ride, you can give me a call?” He asks. “Seeing as we’ll be going to the same place anyway.”

She nods with a smile, “I’d love that, do you live close to here?”

“Just up the street,” he nods. “So we could carpool?”

“I can drive some days if you want?” She asks, “I know you mostly take the subway, and I know that because I’ve seen you reading on there before.”

He can’t help but smile, “so you never thought to say hello?”

“No,” she shakes her head, “you looked peaceful, and I’m sure you don’t get many moments like that in your line of work.”

He sighed, knowing she was right. “If it ever gets to be too much for you, please never feel like you have to pretend to be okay? None of us expect you to be stone cold, none of us are either. The job gets to us, just tell me if it gets to be too much?”

She looks from his lips back to his eyes and over again, “thanks, Spencer.”

He does the same to her, “anytime. Should I walk you to your door?”

She shakes her head, “that’s okay you’ve done enough for me tonight.”

“Fair enough,” he laughs. “Have a good night Y/N.”

“You too, Spencer,” she smiles before she exits his car, smiling at him from her porch before he drives away.

“So it’s been mutual this whole time?” He shakes his head at the absurdity. “I’ve been so lonely for so long and then I found you and you make me feel like I don’t need to be alone anymore.”

“You complete me too,” she makes one more comment before connecting their lips.

It’s like the world stops then. It’s silent and serene and everything she thought kissing Spencer Reid would be.

She pulls back with a smirk, “oh no.”

“What?” He worries.

“I’m going to want to kiss you all the time now…”

“Good,” he mumbles the words against her lips before reconnecting them.

—

At work on Monday, it’s very hard for them to look at each other without remembering that they’ve kissed. Spencer’s practically glowing with admiration for her that he gives it all away. He’s overly happy, offering to do things for others, standing way too close to her and bringing her coffee all morning.

“Okay, pretty boy,” Derek takes him by the scruff of the neck and redirects him into his office. “What’s going on with you today, I know you’re not this happy for JJ’s return?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you get laid or something?”

Spencer laughs, “no, you know I don’t get laid. You actually remind me of that fact quite often.”

“You’re so happy I’m worried you’ve moved to crack,” he says it. “Okay, you were acting weird on Friday, you missed brunch on Sunday and now you’re waaay too happy.”

“I’m not on drugs again,” Spencer assures him. “I’m just letting myself enjoy my time with Y/N, if she falls in love with me in the meantime that would also be nice.”

“Oh, so you’re doing this to get laid,” Derek teases him again. “That’s good, I’m sorry if I triggered you by asking, but I had to make sure you’re okay.”

“No, no,” he places his hands on Derek's shoulders, “thank you for caring.”

“Always—“

“Guys!” They hear Hotch yelling from the bullpen, cutting the tender moment short, saving Spencer from spilling the truth.

Rushing back, he sits beside Y/N at the briefing room table. “We have a bad one,” Emily Prentiss of all people walks in the door, followed by Elle Greenaway.

“We’ll have time to mingle in a minute, right now there is a woman who needs our help,” he announces.

Spencer quickly reads over the case files, recognizing Elles handwritten notes, she was a private investigator now. “With Penelope’s help, I’ve been able to set up alerts in College chatrooms in the area so that I can help to missing and assaulted women right away.”

“She’s alerted when someone reports a missing woman and she has advertisements for people to reach out to her for help,” Penelope explained.

“I’ve been working on these cases for the last 9 years,” Elle announces. “This morning Aasia Desai called me saying her sister Bahni never showed up for lunch and it’s not like her, we know she went clubbing last night and so far Penelope’s tracked her down an ally and then she’s gone.”

“Her parents are British diplomats so Interpol has asked me to join, luckily I was just in Ontario so it was a short trip over,” Emily adds. “JJ will be here in half an hour for her first day back, and we will celebrate when we can, but I see we have some new faces here?”

“Special Agent Y/N Y/L/N,” she waves, still glued to Spencer’s side. “I’ve heard a lot about you both from Doctor Reid.”

“Doctor Tara Lewis,” she stands and shakes Emily’s hand, and then Elles.

“So it says here that the first missing case was in 2006 just after you left the BAU?” Spencer changes the subject before anyone can pry into why he would be telling her about the women who worked there before her.

“I did,” Elle nods. “I was too late for her, by the time her parents realized she was missing and called me in the case was cold. I started this as a way to get ahead of it.”

“How long has she been missing?” Tara asks.

“She was last seen at 1:07 this morning,” Elle confirms. “We have 25 hours, maybe, to beat the odds.”

“Reid,” Hotch cuts in, “I would like you and Elle to go check out the street she was last seen on, find any private cameras or anyone who might have seen something.”

He turns to Y/N who just shrugs in silence; “it’s fine.”

“Tara and Derek, I’d like you to interview Aasia when she and JJ get here, Garcia can you do a deep dive into Bahni’s spending and academic records?”

“Sure thing,” she starts clicking away on her computer immediately.

“And Y/N,” Elle looks at her. “I need you to go over the footage of the man who followed her to the alley and get familiar with his face. We’re using you as the face of the investigation to hopefully draw the unsub out.”

“How would she be able to do that alone?” Spencer gets defensive, a way he used to with JJ when she was the media liaison.

“If she goes on the news and makes Bahni seem like a person while describing the unsub as someone who can help solve the case, it will draw him out,” Emily explains for Hotch, who is glaring at Spencer for second-guessing the plan already.

“And she’s college-age,” Elle adds. “If that’s who he’s been going after all this time he will want to come in and talk IF he can talk to her.”

She places her hand on his leg under the table, “it’s a good plan.”

“It is,” Hotch agrees.

“What do you not have a saying to replace wheels up when they stay in town?” Elle teases him.

“Wheels away?” Emily joins her, “that works?”

“just get to work,” Hotch tries not to smirk at them.

Spencer stands up to leave with Elle, “can I just talk to Spencer before he leaves?” She carefully asks Hotch.

“Make it quick,” he agrees reluctantly and lets her follow him down to his desk.

Spencer rests his hands on the back of his desk chair, holding it tightly in an attempt to calm himself down.

“I’m going to be fine,” she assures him. “I don’t think the guy on the tape took her, we’d see him leave if he did.”

“Unless he lives in the alley,” Spencer combats. “Can you ask Penelope to do a background check on all the cars coming in and out of the campus and that street between midnight at 2 am?”

She nods, placing her hand on his gently. “Good luck out there, okay?”

He nods, “it’s been 2 days they’re going to know by the end of the week.”

She laughs, “so be it.”

He says fuck it right then and there, wrapping her up in a hug and kissing the top of her head as the team watches in the briefing room. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yes you will,” she smacks his side as he lets her go. “If you’re going to make a scene at least give me a real kiss.”

“Hmm,” he teases. “No cause then I’d have to sign some paperwork and I’ve got to go…” he starts to back away.

“Coward,” she teases.

He just shrugs, meeting Elle by the door and heading towards the elevators in silence.

She doesn’t ask, not even when they get to the garage or inside the SUV. They’re driving down the road for maybe 2 minutes when Elle finally brings it up. “So—”

“What do you want to know?”

“It's that easy now? What happened to you?” She teases. “You’re so different from the baby Spence I left.”

“Well you missed my drug problem, my dad being a possible child molester, getting shot in the knee, getting shot in the neck, my girlfriend dying, and now my mom might have Alzheimer's so you know… I had to grow up a bit,” he lays it all out for her to ask any question she wants.

“Why don’t you ever call me? I would have been there for you through anything,” she reminds him.

“I know that,” he reaches over for her hand, “thank you. But I was a big fan of suffering in silence… and now I have Y/N and she makes me feel normal?”

“That’s good, you deserve some fraction of normal in your life and she’s really cute,” Elle smiles back at him before returning her focus to the road. “How old is she?”

“27,” he smiles. “She’s the best.”

“You love her,” Elle notices it.

He presses his lips together to fend off a smile as he nods, “I think I do.”

“Tell her, you deserve to hear that someone loves you back.”

—

She’s anxiously tapping her foot as she waits for the elevator to arrive with the suspect, Rossi standing just behind her. Only 15 minutes after being on the news, the man that was in the security footage contacted them. Making his way over for a voluntary interview.

He looks Y/N up and down with a smile, “I heard you were looking for me.”

“I sure was,” she plays along with it, smiling and making him think she’s interested as well. “I knew you’d get the message, we just need all the help we can get right now.”

“Of course,” he has his ego stroked so well that they can roll with it.

“Would you mind coming with me and Agent Rossi to talk about everything you saw?” She batts her lashes at him, really selling it.

“Sure,” he follows them down the hall.

Rossi opens the door and lets them in first, letting her get him settled and a glass of water. “So you can tell me everything from that night?”

“Sure,” he nods, explaining his taxi job, his run for the night and his alibi.

“So why did you step back into the doorway?” She asks as she sits in front of him. Straight-faced as she catches him off guard.

“Excuse me?”

“You stepped out of the way to let her pass and then followed her, she made no motion to say she wanted your services, so I’m just wondering why you would follow her before she disappeared?”

“Huh,” he suddenly feels played and his personality switches. “I thought this was just a chat?”

“I’m simply asking you questions? If you don’t have answers that makes you suspicious. An innocent person would have given me an answer,” she fights back.

“She’s right, you got very defensive very fast,” Rossi finally speaks up.

He shakes his head with a huff. “I was going to ask if she needed a ride, she looked pretty messed up. And then some guy came over and wrapped his arm around her and they walked off. They seemed to know one another. I thought she was safe in his hands.”

Only his tone doesn’t match the words. He sounds jealous— It’s not like she would have been a large tab, he wasn’t jealous because he lost a customer. No, he’s jealous like someone stepped in and prevented him from snatching an easy victim.

“Fair enough,” she pretends to believe him. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

“I can go now?” He changes right back to confused.

She nods, “I’ll escort you down if you’d like?”

“Thanks,” he stands and follows her to the door where Rossi stops her.

“Are you sure?”

She nods, “I’ll be back up shortly.”

She catches up with him by the elevators, “did you have to drive far to get here?” She makes small talk.

“Not really,” he shakes it off. “I like your necklace.”

She touches her necklace and her face drops, “thanks.”

“Necklaces are my favourite.”

“You don’t wear any?” She notices in the form of a question.

He shakes his head as the elevator opens at the ground level. “I think they’re nice gifts.”

She nods along, pretending that didn’t set off every ret alert and alarm in her mind, “well here you are. Thanks again for all the help.”

“No problem,” he goes to leave, turning to stop and block the doors from closing. “If you want, later tonight I can show you everything I saw at the alley?”

“Yeah, sure,” she agrees with no plan to go.

“8 pm? At Cafe Linda?”

“See you then,” she agrees and he steps back letting the door close and then she loses her cool.

Feverishly smashing the floor 6 button, and begging to make it back up to Hotch to tell him everything. But she also just wants to cry but she holds it in as she makes it to their floor matching past Rossi and right into the briefing room.

“He may not be our unsub but that man is a creep,” she announces. “He not only complimented my necklace but he asked me to come to the alley tonight so he can walk me through what he saw.”

“You’re not going,” Hotch announces.

“I didn’t plan to,” she snaps. “I think we need to look into him because he’s either giving little girls necklaces to keep them quiet or he’s taking necklaces after he kills women.”

“Kathy’s parents said she was in a necklace when she went missing,” Emily adds. “His connection to this case and being at NYU right before she went missing gives us enough probable cause for a search warrant.”

Hotch sighs, “fine. I’ll call a judge, you and Y/N can go and search his place.”

“So shouldn’t we arrest him before he leaves the building?” Morgan asks.

“He’s still in the garage, I’ve let the security know to stop him and arrest him at the gate,” Garcia adds, listening in and planning in advance.

“Thank you,” Hotch smiles at her, “you’re always reading my mind.”

Garcia smiles back at him, “always, sir.”

“Okay, let’s go,” she looks at Emily and waiting for her to turn to leave the room.

“Let’s,” she motions for Y/N to take the lead and follows.

The drive to his house is so weird… she doesn’t quite know how to talk to Emily, knowing only slightly about her and her knowing nothing about Y/N.

“So how long have you and Spencer been dating?” Her first question just gets right to the point.

She laughs awkwardly, “3 days…”

“Oh…”

She hums as she nods along, looking out the window and avoiding Emily’s eye contact. “It’s new, we’re both pretty infatuated with each other but we’re taking it slower than most people because I’m afraid to let my feelings change how I do the job.”

“Makes sense,” Emily replies. Her voice is so sweet, she has an aura of calm that follows her and lets Y/N feel safe. She gets why Spencer said she was his best friend on the team before her.

“The necklace comment… why did it make you so wary of this guy?”

“When I was in middle school a guy gave me a necklace while he was grooming me,” she whispers. Looking out the window and pretending it doesn’t bother her now. “It’s fine, I don’t have it anymore, but I knew this guy had that same vibe.”

Emily put her hand out, letting Y/N interlock their fingers and hold it. “I know I just met you, but you’re family now. I’m here if you’re ever suddenly not fine with it anymore…”

“Thanks,” she smiles. “Let’s get this fucker.”

—

By the time the warrant went through, Spencer and Elle had joined them to search the first suspect's house while Emily left to help the rest of the team with suspect two. Tracking all the license plates in the area like Spencer suggested lead them to a Chinese food delivery driver in the area.

That didn’t stop Y/N from destroying her suspect's house. They tore the house apart, searching every nook and cranny for any answer that would make sense. She was tempted to lift the floorboards up, call in SCSI to run ground-penetrating radar and search the fucking walls if they had to.

But then she found it.

A small metal box in the laundry room contained some tools and when she lifted up the fake bottom, she found 5 necklaces.

“Elle!!” She yelled through the house.

They both came running down the hall to her, “is this Kathy’s necklace?”

“Oh my god,” she whispered with a nod.

“I want to kill this guy,” she mumbles under her breath as she places the necklaces back in the box and closes it up.

“Spencer doesn’t need another girl he has a crush on to murder someone and get kicked out of the bureau,” Elle teases.

“What?” Y/N asks.

“Way to go,” Spencer nudges her.

Y/N stands up with the box and slides it into a large evidence bag before taping it up. “I guess he has a type then.”

“I don’t,” Spencer tries to cover up. “I mean, if I do then it’s people who are nice to me…”

She smiles at him, unable to even pretend to be jealous or mad. “It’s hard to be mean to you when you’re so cute.”

“Ew,” Elle announces her disgust as she leaves the room.

“Let’s get out of here before I end up kissing you in a murderer's laundry room,” Spencer teases, taking her hand and leading her out of the house as the rest of the forensics team takes over the bagging of evidence.

“Guys,” Elle rushes back to them with her phone pressed to her ear. “We have a bigger problem than we thought with Bahni.”

They rush into the SUV, putting the team on the speaker to hear the most unthinkable. “So I did what Y/N suggested and searched every single driver coming in and off-campus and the last street she was seen on,” Penelope explains back. “And I came across a man who was delivering Chinese food under the name Tom Larson… and it’s ironic his name is tom because he has a plethora of peeping offences and general creepiness alongside a metric shit-ton of abuse from his dad and dead mother.”

“Okay?” Elle follows.

“Tom Larson lives near Bahni,” Emily explains, “I was just at his house where I found him and his father had been murdered.”

“So we have not 1 but 3 creeps in this case, and none of them are who took Bahni?” Spencer rubs his eyes. “Please tell me we know who was in Tom’s car last night.”

“That’s where it gets tricky,” Penelope says with the doles tones of keys clicking behind her words. “We were just contacted by the fugitive Taskforce because they believe one of the murderers they’ve been tracking took Bahni… but he has ties to a much larger scale global sex trafficking ring.”

Elle flies through the streets with their lights on, pulling back into headquarters and right up to the security check. “So who is this guy?”

“Once you get back up here, Agent Simmons and Alvez will explain everything,” Hotch confirms. “I’m taking Derek to see Cruze, we need to tell him what’s going on.”

“Sounds good,” Elle hangs up and throws the SUV in park.

Y/N hesitates, staying put and taking a few breaths as Spencer watches. Elle’s left the car and is already on her way to the elevator. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I just have a hug real quick?”

“Yeah,” he wraps his arms around her and holds her close. “Are you okay?”

She nods against him, “yeah it’s just good to have at least 8 hugs a day.”

“Hug me whenever you need to,” he whispers against her hair, kissing the side of her head before she pulls back.

“Kisses are helpful too?”

He smiles, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers, mumbling against them, “how many?”

She hums, “10?”

He pecks her lips 10 times and counts each one, making her giggle, it takes so much effort to hold her smile back to keep kissing him but she feels much better.

“Thank you,” she beams and she can swear Spencer's eyes sparkle as he smiles back.

She pulls him into another hug, “I hate that we have to go catch a killer right now.”

“Come on then, as soon as we get him we can go on another date somewhere?”

She shakes her head, “after this case I think we should take a nap together… I’m exhausted and I don’t want to let you go.”

Spencer shakes his head in amazement, “you really like me?”

“Yeah, maybe I do,” she teases him. “You should get used to it because it’s only going to get more intense and I will smother you with love.”

He just shrugs, “it’s about time—“

They’re startled with a knock on the window, “we get it you’re in love, can we go now?”

“Sorry!” Y/N calls back with a giggle, pulling him in for one last kiss before getting out. Spencer follows with a deep blush that everyone will see when they get back upstairs, but it looks cute on him.

Luke Alvez has been trying to catch one criminal for the last 2 years. Simon Garrett has been a pain in the ass for the FBI, the CIA and DEA. He first showed up on their radar when his DNA was found on 14 women’s remains, all of who had been missing for at least 5 years.

His DNA was then traced to his son in the foster system, who’s been off the radar for the last 10 years. Everette Garrett.

“Now he’s interesting because I’ve been investigating his sex trafficking ring between Canada and the United States,” Matt adds. “All 14 women his father's DNA was found on were thought to be in his ring, which means when they get too old he hands them to his father to take care of.”

Y/N shakes her head as she listens, “so if you’ve been looking for them for this long what makes you think we can find them in time to save Bahni?”

“We’ve been tracking him for a while, we knew that he had a new girl on his radar and when we heard it was Bahni Desai we knew it was time to get you guys,” Matt explains.

“So far we know that she has to be taken to this warehouse in Alexandria before she goes any further, we’re going to intercept them before they make it to the warehouse and then use their car to gain access to take the whole thing down,” Luke rolls out a map of the facility then.

“We need to have the place surrounded for any runners, SWAT is getting prepped, we’re going tonight at 3 am,” Matt adds. “Morgan, Hotch, Prentiss, Alvez and Myself will be running a team at each of the 5 exits. Once inside, each team's swat unit will deploy gas to carefully knock everyone out, from there we need someone to cuff everyone at least until we know who is a victim and who is working there.”

“We’re taking everyone alive?” Spencer makes sure he hears them right.

“We need to know what the step after this warehouse is if we want to rescue more victims,” Luke’s voice is gentle yet stern as he explains. “I’ve seen this man take too many women from good homes and ruin their lives, I’m not letting him slip out of my fingers.”

“We’ve had this planned for months, we just needed to wait for the next confirmed drop-off.”

“Who’s driving?” Y/N asks, having a feeling it was her and Spencer.

“He’s Reids age,” Hotch announces from the door as he walks in with Cruze, “so we’ll replace Everette with Reid and Bahni with Y/L/N.”

“Rossi and Elle will be there to apprehend Everette, we’re setting up a fake traffic spot to irritate him and inhibit him from running. You two will be in a duplicate car arriving at the warehouse at the arranged time,” Emily confirms. “We just have to prep SWAT and then we can leave.”

“Alright, let’s get ready.”

—

Pretending to be kidnapped in the back of a car driven by her boyfriend was possibly the weirdest way to spend a Tuesday morning. Driving the exact make and model as their unsub, her heartbeat was loud enough to cover the sound of the engine and distract her from the long drive. She was overly anxious, and rightly so, it was her first sting.

And she was doing it all without coffee. Tired but full of adrenaline, she wanted to close her eyes and drift off but she knew she needed to be ready to apprehend the men at the gate with Spencer.

She feels the large bump, indicating they just went over a speed bump and she knows what that means. The car slows and she can hear the muffled talking before swat steps in, soon enough Spencer is cracking the trunk open and reaching in for her.

“Are you okay?” He helps her to her feet and makes sure her bulletproof vest is on right before handing her, her gun and watching her clip it on.

“Yeah, what happened?”

“The guards are down, Swat moved in as soon as we arrived, now we have to stand here and wait for them to clear the building,” Spencer explains as they walk to the front of her car.

She draws her gun and keeps it pointed low, guarded as they watch the front entrance for anyone to escape. “Do you know if Bahni is okay?” She whispers towards him.

He nods, “they radioed in that they got her, she’s being airlifted to the hospital with JJ right now.”

She nods with a deep breath, “okay good.”

“It’s going to be fine, we have enough SWAT here to take the government,” he tries to joke, getting a laugh from one of the officers… very strange to see someone laugh while holding an assault rifle.

One of the swat side steps towards Spencer, “I’m hearing on the line that they’ve cleared every room. They’re cuffing everyone, you’re free to enter.”

“Thanks,” Spencer replies.

The high-pitched screech rubber gripping asphalt in an attempt to stop draws their attention backwards. Elle and Rossi jumping out with their guns drawn, ready to join even though the exciting part is long over.

“No runners?” Elle asks, holstering her weapon. “Aw man, I was excited.”

“Not a one,” Y/N adds, watching the front entrance for the rest of the team to start funnelling out with the unsubs.

Luke exits first with a big smile on his face, Simon Garrett cuffed and barely stumbling out the door in front of him. He finally got him.

“well done,” Elle congratulates him. “Let me help you get him in SWAT van.”

“I think she has a thing for Luke,” Rossi leans into Y/N to gossip. “she wouldn’t stop asking about him on the drive…”

“Ooo,” Y/N teases, getting more and more tired as her adrenaline drops. Her eyes are heavy and Rossi can tell.

“Why don’t I bring you and the good doctor home, I don’t think they need all of us for the wrap-up,” Rossi pats her back. “You’ve had a long night, kid.”

“Thank you,” she smiles, holstering her gun and turning with him towards the SUV. “I’m so exhausted.”

“Well you’ve been on the job for almost 24 hours now, you’ve officially made it through your first overnight sting op,” Rossi congratulates her like he’s her grandpa.

She turns back when she doesn’t hear Spencer following her, “Spence? Are you coming?”

“Um,” he has something to ask as he follows then but he doesn’t say it. “Yeah, sorry.”

“It’s okay, come sit with me in the back?” She asks, sliding in beside him and resting her head on his shoulder as soon as their seatbelts are on.

“Did you still want to have a nap together?” He whispers, feeling her nod against his shoulder before she pulls back.

“Come here,” she tugs him in against her chest, snuggling in as best as she could in their sitting position. Holding him close and feeling him drift off in her arms. She has no problem following suit.

When she wakes, Rossi is parked outside of her apartment, “here you go, Y/N.”

She hums as she comes to, shaking Spencer awake too, “Spence, come on, let’s get to bed.”

“He’s going with you?”

She nods, “don’t tell Penelope. She’ll have a field day, I just want a nap.”

“You better get more than a nap,” Rossi orders. “You guys need to actually rest before you come back to work on Wednesday.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she teases him. “We will.”

“Bye Dave,” Spencer whispers as he gets out of the car. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Anytime kid,” Rossi waves them off, waiting for them to enter the building before driving away.

“Finally,” she sighs, dragging Spencer down the hall and towards her apartment. “I’m so fucking tired.”

“me too,” he barely says.

He follows her inside like a lost puppy, taking off his vest and shirt, slipping out of his pants until he’s in an undershirt, boxers and his mismatched socks. She’s amazed by how comfortable he is with her, but she has known him for 3 months, it’s enough time to fall in love with someone… right?

She’s loved him since she started working with him. When she realized he valued her opinions, he looked at her as a person and he genuinely loved her company. She felt a real connection with him, not just childish infatuation. He was everything to her.

She slides into bed beside him and snuggles in, wrapping an arm around his middle and resting her head on his chest.

“I guess I really can do everything,” she smirks.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She pokes his chest and giggles away the awkwardness, “the thing I wanted to do most, the thing that I couldn’t do… that was to fall in love with you, but I did it anyway.”

“Well, then I guess I can do everything too.”

She pulls away to look at him, “I love you, Spencer. I don’t know if it’s too soon, but I’ve loved you for a while.”

He pulls her in for a kiss, shocking her as he breathes her in and holds her there. “I love you, more Y/N.”

Permanent tag list

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[lunar-wandering]

Yes please post about the new OC

yknow what i’ll just talk about him here

aight so his name is Qiū Shí (Autumn Stone) (秋石)

and,

he’s Wukong’s (adopted) older brother. like he saw Wukong leap through the waterfall and was like “alright, that lil new monkey is my brother now”. Wukong was not informed of this until like, 3 years later, when Wukong shyly approached him like, Wukong: i uh......kinda see you like an older brother... Qiu Shi: Qiu Shi: ?????????? this is news to you??????????????

he was trapped in tree roots under the ground for like 200 years, and just. there’s this whole scene of him dramatically breaking free, and pulling himself up to stand, bathed in the light of the sunrise, and then it’s a direct cut to him knocking on Wukong’s door at Flower Fruit Mountain asking what the hell a cell phone is

im not joking about the cell phone thing like- Qiu Shi: hey Wukong can you tell me wha- Wukong: aren't you supposed to be dead Qiu Shi: well im not so can you tell me what a cellphone is Wukong: why are you in my house Qiu Shi: im asking you what a cellphone is

later MK enters like normal and is just faced with Qiu Shi, eating calmly, while Wukong is literally clawing and scratching at him to try and get him to sTOP EATING HIS FOOD- 

and then Qiu Shi notices MK and stands up, and the following conversation is just- Qiu Shi: WUKONG!! you didn't tell me you adopted a kid! Wukong: i didn't! Macaque: yes you did Wukong: you shut up Qiu Shi, kneeling down to be MK's height: it's nice to meet you kid, im your uncle- Wukong: WE'RE NOT RELATED- Macaque: yes you are Wukong: you shut up Qiu Shi: as you can see my little brother here- Wukong: i am OLDER THAN YOU Macaque: no you're not Wukong: YOU SHUT UP Qiu Shi, continuing like all That isn't happening behind him: -hasn't really kept me updated on anything- Wukong: you were supposed to be DEAD Qiu Shi: -so would you mind telling me your name MK: .....what the FUCK is going on

if you’re wondering why Macaque is there, he originally showed up to antagonize Wukong like usual, saw the Family Drama going on and tried to leave, but Wukong wouldn’t let him because he was not Dealing With This Alone

Qiu Shi didn’t actually have a shirt when he showed up on Wukong’s doorstep (clawing your way out of the ground will do that to ya) and so Wukong gives him one of his and Qiu Shi takes it. pauses for a moment. looks thoughtful. Wukong: don’t you FUCKING dare- Qiu Shi: *(runs his claws over the front of the shirt, creating claw marks)* Qiu Shi: there, now it’s more appealing Wukong, head in hands: *(muffled yelling)* Qiu Shi: if you liked this shirt you shouldn’t have given it to me

Wukong does on some level view Qiu Shi as someone more powerful than him (even though thats not true) mainly due to viewing him as an older brother, and, because of this, his subconscious MAKES that true, in that he can’t get the upper hand on him

that is, unless someone reminds him. like he'll be struggling to grab something Qiu Shi is keeping away from him and then someone will just go "aren't you more powerful than him" and IMMEDIATELY Qiu Shi gets knocked to the ground as Wukong kicks his legs out from under him

don’t question how Qiu Shi got these powers because i don’t know but his abilities are all mainly sound based. he’s got a Sonic Scream (think of like Black Canary’s Canary Cry or Danny Phantom’s Ghostly Wail), can do this thing where he can like. become “one with the music of the world” and be completely inaudible (mainly cause i think it’s funny if he can sneak up on Macaque), and he can like. ride soundwaves in a way that makes it seem like he’s teleporting. of course i only made him yesterday so this could change but that’s what we have now

he can’t exactly do his sonic scream right now though. the necklace around his neck prevents him from doing so.

he can’t dance. like, the last time Qiu Shi tried to dance he made a hole in a wall and Wukong had to pay for it.

need to give yall the mental image of Wukong in the process of teaching MK something, and behind him Qiu Shi just. shapeshifts/glamours himself to look like Wukong and starts mimicking him and MK is just trying not to laugh while off to the side Macaque is like "he's stealing my job" 

Qiu Shi: so. Macaque huh. Wukong: i have just decided. im going to kill you. Qiu Shi, calmly pouring himself some more tea: like, how would you kill me?

Wukong probably took Qiu Shi’s name out of the book of death sdlkfslfjsdk

Qiu Shi needs Wukong for something or other, then like, sees him talking to Macaque and just. walks over and picks Wukong up and starts walking away Wukong: hEY Qiu Shi, loudly: sorry lil' bud, but your conversation with your loverboy is gonna have to wait Macaque: hUH????? Wukong: IM GOING TO KILL THE BOTH OF YOU

Qiu Shi’s nickname for Wukong is lil’ bud. yknow. like a. like a flower bud. like a peach tree flower bud.

Qiu Shi has trouble staying still, mainly because of the “trapped underground for 200 years” thing

he has this whole “brother seeking instinct” thing, just. inexplicably can always know where Wukong is.

he’s friends with @wolfcamellias OC Lixue. their friendship dynamic is fucking hysterical

[shushiyuii]

if you're doing requests, than can I possibly ask for some G!revivebur and t!tommy hurt/comfort? (with soft noms involved if thats okay)

hope you're doing well today and i love your writing too

Thank you so much! I'm glad you love my writings! mwkdakdn and I've actually had a great day today! So thank you for asking! (Also of course noms are okay uwu)

Warnings: Soft vore, mentions of death and torment of a tiny

Words: 1.1K+

His train had finally arrived…

Meanwhile, Tommy was working on his base, being a borrower, it wasn’t quite as easy as you wish to get the materials needed.

He was exhausted from mining all day and now he just had to organise his chests, which was just another annoying task. Tommy huffed in annoyance at this, at least he had enough minerals to last him ages.

He hated organising his chests but if he did it would at least be easier to find things, as to why he was doing this millennial task.

Chest after chest, block after block, ore after ore. It was finally almost done. Just a couple more to go, he went over to another chest and found some… interesting things… It held his old L’manburg uniform and his flag, things he put away after Wilbur had well, died.

He picked up his old uniform and noticed something strange on it, it was stained with blue, covered in stitches. Alarmed he began to examine the uniform and there fell out a note, from Ghostbur.

“Hey, Tommy! I came to borrow some things and noticed your old uniform! I fixed it up for you! I know you said not to go through your stuff, but I figured you’d like it!” – Ghostbur

He huffed as the note itself was covered in blue, Ghostbur had a tendency of leaking his blue everywhere, It couldn’t be helped…’. He looked down and saw water beginning to seep at the pages, he wiped at his eyes.

He wasn’t going to cry! He was Tommy Danger Kraken Innit! A man! And men don’t cry!

It wasn’t his fault! It was Sam’s! He didn’t let him protect Ghostbur! It could’ve been stopped and now the only remnant of his brother is gone.

Gone to the afterlife, once and for all. Maybe his symphony could finally be at peace with everything being gone now, he could move on…

Little did he know that wouldn’t quite be the case as a thing popped right into his face, much to his hate and surprise…

‘Wilbur Soot has joined the game’.

He couldn’t be back, Dream really didn’t revive him right?! Wasn’t revival supposed to be immediate?! Whatever exhaustion was trying to take over his body was gone as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He immediately booked it through his door towards L’manburg.

His vision went from black to clear, he fiddled with his hands, finally becoming aware of his surroundings, the blue and gold catching his eyes with a torn L’manburg flag, with the crater in front of him. He pinched his arm to make sure he wasn’t going crazy, and he wasn’t!

He was alive again with blood rushing through his newly revived veins! He was alive again! Dream his hero! He had really been brought back! He could feel his excitement jolting every part of his body, so many things to do and see, so many things to make amends for!...

Panic filled with thoughts rushed through his head, what would the others think? Oh god, back when he was dead himself, he remembered how Wilbur was… This is practically going to be doomsday all over again if he didn’t stop it.

He had never run so fast before, not even in the war. It seemed his body agreed with him this once that this was very very bad. And it wasn’t going to be an easy trip for the borrower. Every hole he jumped over, and soon L’manburg came into his view.

His fingers twitched, not used to being able to function. He could feel bruises over his body and particularly felt an aching pain from his chest, probably some remnant from the stab wound, but that wasn’t going to stop him out, now that he was finally free.

He breathed in the fresh air, taking a deep breath, and filling his lungs as much as he could. How he missed being able, you learnt to appreciate such things.

He closed his eyes in a sort of relief, happy, satisfied but this was only the beginning.

“Wilbur!”, he heard a voice, a familiar one. One he hadn’t heard in a while; he knew he was close not far. He was used to having to keep an ear out for the borrower, he was just surprised at himself he wasn’t rusty.

He turned around to see a small figure approaching, seeming to run with all they had, wow, Tommy must’ve really missed him!

Soon, Tommy was just a couple of meters away from Wilbur. Not one of them talked at first, “Hey Tommy! I missed you!”. Tommy’s expression turned somewhat dark, upset, grim. He titled his head in confusion and crouched down as much as he could.

“You shouldn’t be here.”, Wilbur snorted slightly, then turned to giggles and those giggles turned to psychotic laughter as he processed the point that Tommy just brought up, he wasn’t supposed to be here? “I’m not supposed to be here Tommy? What about you?”.

No answer came, he laughed again, “Oh, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy.”. He brought a finger to Tommy’s face, gently squishing it. “Listen, I spent 13 and a half, 13 and a half years! IN THAT GOD DAMN HELL!”. The gentleness faded as he increased pressure on Tommy, causing Tommy to fall over from under the pressure and try to fight back.

The pressure lightened as he removed his hand, he was about to speak when he saw Tommy back away from him, he was confused for a minute.

But whatever it was, Tommy was mumbling and crying, flinching whenever he made a small movement. Usually, Tommy would be fighting back right now?

He put any other thoughts he had aside, “Tommy, what’s wrong?”. Sure, he might be cruel sometimes but that never stopped his older brother instincts. The boy cried louder. He cupped the boy into his hands and brought him closer to his face.

“Tommy, I’m here, what’s wrong?”, “I-, You-, Dream-, Can’t, S-scared”. He hushed the boy and nuzzled him, he flinched at first but soon reluctantly gave into the contact. It was clear to him that Tommy had changed drastically, more than he thought, he was traumatised. Who dared to hurt his little brother?

“Tommy, who?”, “Huh?”, “Who did it?”. He sniffled, “D-dream”. His eyes widened suddenly, a vision flashed of a tiny Tommy caught in an explosion, a memory from Ghostbur. He remained silent.

Without a word, he brought Tommy close to his mouth, gently placing him in. Tommy flinched as he was placed on his brother’s tongue, “W-Wil?”, “You’re safe”. He mumbled as he moved his tongue to coat Tommy, which then lead to tilting his head back and swallowing.

He traced his brother's descent with his finger, and soon felt him land in his stomach, he waited for his little brother to get tucked in and fall asleep, to which he did. Then he decided that he’d keep Tommy in there for a while, where he’d be safe.

[tragedy-for-sale]

If I Wake Before I Die

Hello! Hello! Hello! Midnight Zone Fic here. Fat TW (mentions/references to self-harm, suicide, death)

If I should wake before I die, I beg you, brother, my life, will you take?

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Echo had taken Tech and Omega on reconnaissance, if it was Echo leading them around, Wrecker had figured they'd be gone for a while. He noticed that Echo needed to get out regularly, staying on Havoc for too long got to Echo's head, he started to feel trapped. So he'd take them on long 'missions.' If Wrecker was honest, he'd thought about talking to Tech about getting a window, a big one, would that help? Wrecker shook his head, no that's a stupid idea. I don't know how to help him. Wrecker let out a groan as he got up, walking towards the cockpit, giving Gonky a pat on the head as he did.

"If I punched a hole in the wall, Tech would get us a window, right?" Wrecker asked Hunter, who had been sitting down in one of the chairs, he was staring up at the sky. Wrecker didn't expect Hunter to turn to look at him, something was wrong. Something had been wrong all day.

"I, don't think that would be Tech's immediate reaction." Hunter spoke slowly. Wrecker was right, Hunter did not look at him and refused to do such. For as Hunter stared up at the night sky, he felt his eyes flooding with tears.

Wrecker looked down, "Yeah... Wanna go lay down?" Wrecker asked, sitting down next to Hunter, he turned his head away, shaking it. Wrecker made a face, "But you should, I'll wait up for them."

"Yeah." Hunter whimpered, frantically wiping his eyes. Wrecker's shoulders slumped when Hunter spoke. His voice was broken and he was shaking.

"Hunter, I can carry you, please, come on," He whispered, checking off a mental checklist: Make yourself small, speak softer, don't force them to do anything. He watched Hunter, "Please, let me hold you, it always works," He pleaded and at last, Hunter swiveled the chair to look at Wrecker. Hunter's eyes were bloodshot, flooded with tears. Wrecker smiled softly and held out his arms.

Hunter stared at him, Wrecker was always so understanding. It drove him nuts. Hunter tried to smile, but he wasn't strong enough to. He reached out his hand and grabbed Wrecker's before closing his eyes and nodding as tears poured down his face. Wrecker's smile grew as he stood up and pulled Hunter to his feet and into a hug. "I love you, buddy," Wrecker whispered, rubbing Hunter's back.

"I love you too-" Hunter cried as he buried his face, the pain in his heart only growing. Right now, Hunter knew, he had never loved Wrecker more, which is why this was going to hurt so much. Hunter kept his face hidden away, his cheeks grew hot and he could feel the world start spinning. He pulled out of the hug, hand on Wrecker's shoulder and then he just stared. Wrecker continued to smile at him. Of course he did. Hunter nodded as he begun to walk to the back room. He really did need to sleep.

Hunter held himself as he walked, trying desperately to calm himself down. But it was no use, there were days when his heart was heavy, but never had his heart ever been so heavy that it burst-

Hunter let out a loud gasp, catching Wrecker's attention. Hunter looked back at him as if he'd been shot, and then Hunter screamed. Wrecker jumped in shock as Hunter let out another loud scream and fell to his knees. Wrecker panicked but it only showed on his face for a moment. Only ever for a moment.

Wrecker ran to Hunter, immediately picking him up off the floor and into his arms then, to Wrecker's surprise, Hunter fought him. Hunter tried to push him away, this pain had grown too unbearable, he couldn't look at Wrecker with all this pain in him. It just made him feel guilty. "Leeme go, please leeme go." Hunter whispered as he tried to push away, but he so weak, he was too weak.

"N-no, no I'm not gonna leave you alone," Wrecker shook his head as he rocked back and forth slightly. Hunter let out a frustrated cry as he gave up, and just started crying. He burst into tears, no longer trying to hold it in. He didn't want this, he didn't want Wrecker here with him, he wanted to be alone, but he couldn't have that, so he cried.

"Wrecker," Hunter was out of breath, panting for air as he continued to scream, "Wrecker I don't wanna be here anymore..."

"I know," Wrecker held him tightly, still rocking slightly. "That's okay, Hunter, but you know I can't let you go." Wrecker spoke, voice barely audible over Hunter's cry that shook the whole ship. Hunter shook his head, 'can't let you go,' that undoubtedly made Hunter's pain worse, Wrecker didn't trust him and refused to abandon him, Hunter hated that. But as Wrecker held him, Hunter's anger never lasted. Now, Wrecker, he wasn't thinking of anything except what he could do to help Hunter. All he could do was hold his brother. It always worked.

But it wasn't working. Hunter tried to force himself away again but Wrecker wasn't going to let him, he couldn't let Hunter be by himself. For better or for worse, Wrecker didn't trust Hunter to be by himself. Not today anyways, all day, Wrecker could tell, his brother was about to shattered, and Wrecker wasn't about to leave Hunter alone with all that glass.

There were good days, when that black little slug hid, for months at a time this slug would sleep, but then there were days, these were the days Wrecker feared most, that this little slug would wake up. Sure, it was always there, even while sleeping, the slug was always there. But when it was awake, eating away at Hunter's heart, Wrecker worried. He worried that one day there wouldn't be anything left except this slug, and he would have failed, he would have lost his brother forever. But his brother would be right in front of him.

He was right in front of him. But this wasn't Hunter, Wrecker wished he could rip that little slug out of his chest and save Hunter from all the pain, but the thing is, that some days, it was easy to forget about. When Hunter's laughing, teasing and making fun, it was so easy for Wrecker to forget that Hunter was in pain. Wrecker hated himself for forgetting, forgetting that even while the sun is shining, there's a storm deep inside his little brother, and there was nothing he could do to save him. Except, love him. But recently, Wrecker was starting to fear, his love was not enough to save them.

"I'm not going to let you go, Hunter, kick me, hit me, please, but I'm not going to let you go." Wrecker promised, that was his promise. Never would Wrecker let Hunter go free into the darkness. Hunter continued to fight against him, using all his strength, but against Wrecker, his strength amounted to that of a child's.

Exhausted, Hunter resigned, he rested his head, taking a shaky breath, his cries softening. Wrecker grew less tense as he took a deep breath of relief. Hoping as a fool Hunter was done. Wrecker should have know, that Hunter would never be done crying, quite impossible would that be, for Hunter to voice all the pain that ripped him apart.

Hunter let out another sob, a softer one, "I wanna die, I don't wanna be here anymore," he babbled as he choked on his tears, gripping Wrecker's arm as if he died if he didn't, so why he didn't let go, Hunter didn't know. "I don't wanna be alive anymore!" He yelled, a sudden burst of energy ran through him as he let out a shriek and hit his head repeatedly into Wrecker's chest as he started to grow tired again. It was exhausting, convincing himself he wanted to live as if he didn't fantasize about his death.

Wrecker shook his head, no, no that wasn't true. Hunter, why do you lie to me? Wrecker frowned knowing he was the liar. And a hypocrite. But this moment wasn't about him, it was about Hunter. "No.." He muttered in a whisper.

"Please kill me, I know you can do it Wrecker, I know you can," Hunter pleaded. Wrecker's heart dropped as he fought every urge to drop his brother in shock. No- no Wrecker wasn't going to hurt him, he wasn't capable of it. But he was. Oh, Wrecker's known all his life, just how capable he was of killing his brothers. Now Hunter was too, and he was begging for him too, "Say we heard a noise, a-a big animal and we didn't have our blasters. So I never stood a chance-"

"Hunter!" Wrecker inturrupted, letting his tone get out of control for only a mere second before collecting himself again, "I can't do that, Hunter, I won't," Wrecker muttered, gritting his teeth as he shoved all that down and pulled Hunter closer. The two went quiet. For a long minute, perhaps they both worried their family would come through the door. Wrecker closed his eyes, listening to Hunter's breathing, it was shaky, but he was breathing.

After a long while, when Hunter's breathing shifted, Wrecker opened his eyes, looking at Hunter. Oh, Wrecker would do anything to make his brother stay, "Please don't ask me to hurt you, again" Wrecker didn't like that his brothers knew that his monstrous strength could ever be used against them. He would never hurt them, he would only ever love them

Hunter looked up, "I'm sorry, I know you love me, I know that Tech loves me, I know that-"

"Hunter," Wrecker interrupted him, "It ain't your fault, it ain't your fault that sometimes dying seems easier than living," He spoke, "I get it, you know we all do, there's nothing wrong with being sad," Hunter nodded as he listened to his older brother, oh he was exhausted. He had closed his eyes, not entirely worrying when Wrecker went silent, he'd start talking again soon, "Even if you never smiled again, we're always gonna love you, I'm always gonna love you."

Hunter opened his eyes, staring at the wall, "You promise? 'Cause I know I'm a lot I wouldn't blame you if you stopped-"

"Hunter," Wrecker cut him off, Hunter looked at him, a desperation in his eyes. Wrecker stared at him with a peculiar look before he fixed his smile and pressed his forehead to Hunter's,

"I'm always gonna love you, I promise."

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[hysterialevi]

Hjarta | Chapter 16

Fanfic summary: In an AU where Eivor was adopted by Randvi’s family instead, he ends up falling in love with the man his sister has been promised to despite the arranged marriage between their clans.

Point of view: third-person

Pairing: Sigurd Styrbjornson x Male Eivor

This story is also on AO3 | Previous chapter | Next chapter

A WHILE LATER

TEARS OF YMIR

Sigurd trudged through the snow-veiled woods, wishing desperately that he could veer off this path the gods had constructed for him. His mind was trapped in a perpetual state of fear, and the thoughts racing through his head only seemed to grow louder with every step he took.

He could feel it in his heart that Ulfar spoke the truth. There was merit in the accusations he threw against Dag, and Sigurd had even seen the man’s treachery for himself. He made it quite clear that he wasn’t on their side with the way he manipulated the assault at Kjotve’s Fortress, and the prince could no longer ignore the reality that was standing right in front of him.

But even then, Sigurd’s gut twisted at the idea of causing any harm to Dag. His entire childhood was formed of memories between the two of them, and he still saw him as the same little boy he once loved all those years ago.

He remembered the days they’d spend running around in the wilderness, only to end up covered in mud by the time they returned home. He hadn’t forgotten the way Styrbjorn would scold them for their reckless behavior, and how they’d make the exact same mistakes immediately afterwards.

The joy they shared, the sorrows they experienced, the burdens they had to carry -- it all stayed with Sigurd to this very day. He loved Dag like a brother despite the conflicts between them, and the thought of banishing him from Midgard tore a hole inside his chest. 

But he was a leader now. A future king. With Ulfar dead, Sigurd would have to step up and protect the people he left behind. His position as prince would no longer be a mere title, and he would have to do whatever it took to keep his clan safe. 

Even if it meant making a sacrifice as great as this.

“We’re here.” Sigurd said bleakly, stopping in his tracks once the waterfall came into view. He took a deep breath and gazed at the dreary environment, unable to even recognize the nature surrounding him.

This place once served as a sanctuary for the prince. It used to be a safe haven where he could take refuge when the troubles of his world proved to be overwhelming, and he often found a sense of tranquility in its earthly embrace. It always seemed to breathe with the spirit of the gods, and part of Sigurd even believed they walked with him sometimes when he ventured down this path.

Today though, the forest was barren of any life. The tragedies of the war had burrowed themselves into its very marrow, and it almost felt as if it could sense what was about to happen. The air was leaden with a suffocating anchor of dread, and it only seemed to crush Sigurd more and more the further he progressed.

He didn’t want to kill Dag. Every fiber in his being was screaming at him to stop. 

Part of even him was even considering simply exiling the man in order to avoid further bloodshed. Deep down though, he knew that wouldn’t be enough. He knew that Dag would most-likely run back into Kjotve’s arms once he broke free from the judgement of his clan, and cause their people a plethora of problems that they didn’t need.

It seemed like death was the only option here, and Sigurd hated himself for it.

“...Sigurd,” Dag said, approaching the man from behind. “Will you tell me what we’re doing now? Why have you brought us all the way out here? Is this about what happened between me and Ulfar?”

The prince kept his gaze on the view before him, leaving his hand close to his axe. His back was currently turned to the other man, and yet, he felt as if he could detect his every move.

“...Do you remember the day we met, Dag?” Sigurd asked. “All those years ago?”

The warrior noticed how his friend skirted the subject, but said nothing of it for now. “Of course. How could I forget? I was what, ten years old? Maybe younger? I had just given you a black eye during a training spar.”

Sigurd chuckled softly at the precious memory. “Indeed. And if I recall correctly, it wasn’t too long beforehand that I was boasting about how easily I’d be able to fell you. I was the king’s son, after all. Nothing could touch me.” The prince smirked. “...It seems that arrogance was my greatest enemy back then. The day I met you was the day I learned humility. It was the day I gained a brother.”

Dag leaned against a nearby tree, crossing his arms. “And do you still feel that way?”

The other man paused, his voice hardening with a cold edge. “...Yes. But I suspect that the sentiment is no longer mutual.”

Growing restless with anxiety, Sigurd finally decided to put this game to an end and shot an icy glare at his childhood friend, practically boring through his skull. He approached the older man and looked him in the eye, trying to keep his breath as steady as possible.

“...Dag,” he whispered, “you know how I feel about you. We may not share the same blood, but you are my family. No matter how distant we may grow, there will always be a link between us. And I will always see you as my brother. That’s why... I need you to tell me the truth.”

Sigurd took a few steps closer, barely shifting his gaze. “...Are you the traitor?”

Dag scoffed at the question and shook his head, reluctant to give a direct answer. “You can’t be serious. You actually believe in the nonsense Ulfar was spewing?”

“I believe his words held merit,” the prince persisted. “You can call it nonsense if you like, but that doesn’t change the fact that you stand as an accused man.”

The warrior stammered for a moment, taken aback by the preposterous notion. “What are you talking about, Sigurd? You were there! You saw what happened. I defeated Ulfar in honorable combat. I cleared my name. Isn’t that enough?”

“Enough for the Allfather perhaps, but not enough for me. Everything Ulfar said was true. The way you handled the assault nearly got all our people killed, and I know you well enough to know that you’re too smart to make such a grave mistake. You did it intentionally.”

Still, Dag remained in denial. “I don’t believe this. You would trust the word of a paranoid old man over someone you consider to be a brother?”

Sigurd raised his voice slightly, unable to hide his anger anymore. “I trust what I see! And over these past few weeks, I’ve seen you do nothing but traipse through the shadows like a thief in the night, hiding like coward whilst our men died on the battlefield. I saw you return from Kjotve’s Fortress without so much as a scratch on your armor, and I saw the apathy in your eyes when they fell on Thora’s corpse.”

The prince’s expression darkened with ire. “You claim you are innocent, but innocence always speaks for itself. I see no good reason why I should question Ulfar’s accusations, and I doubt you can give me one. So I’ll ask again--” he leaned in, “--are you the traitor?”

Dag rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the waterfall, furrowing his brow in disbelief. It was evident that he had something to say, but the stone shackles of pride hindered his ability to come clean.

“How do you know Ulfar wasn’t trying to save his own skin by throwing me to the wolves? He was in a much more powerful position than I. He could’ve done anything he liked and gotten away with it!”

“What reason could Ulfar possibly have had to turn against Arngeir? You really think he would’ve been willing to endanger Thora’s life? Or Eivor’s? He saw them as his own children.”

“Who knows? All I’m saying is -- he was awfully quick to pass judgement on me. We had hardly set foot on Bjornheimr’s shores, and he was already prepared for a fight. The way I see it, Ulfar wanted to use me as a scapegoat. He was the jarl’s right-hand man, after all. He knew he could’ve said anything about me without raising suspicion. I mean, just look at how easy it was to fool you.”

Sigurd’s glare only sharpened at that. “You think I’ve been fooled, do you?”

“Am I wrong? I know you held Ulfar in high regard, but typically, the largest shadows are cast by those who stand the tallest. He may have been a good warrior, but that doesn’t mean--”

The prince shook his head in frustration. “--Enough, Dag! Enough with the lies. Enough with the deflection. Just give me a straight answer. I’m done running in circles with you.”

The other man fell silent, completely at a loss for words. “...You still don’t believe me, do you?”

Sigurd lowered his head in sorrow. “...I wish I could, Dag. Trust me. I wish I could. But if I’m going to keep this clan safe, I can’t allow anything to hinder my judgement. Not even when it concerns you.”

Dag let out a sigh and nodded in defeat, staring blankly at the ground. It was clear to him that his arguments were doing nothing in terms of swaying the prince’s mind, and he didn’t know what else he could say to divert the man’s skepticism. 

“...I see.” He murmured, looking back up at Sigurd. His demeanor had completely shifted compared to when they first arrived at the waterfall, and a grim sense of treachery clung onto his shrewd face. “...Very well then, old friend. If that’s how you wish to do things.” 

Dag pushed himself off the tree and straightened his posture, finally deciding to reveal the truth.

“...Indeed, your conviction is rightfully placed, Sigurd. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to keep up this facade, but I see no point in maintaining it any longer.”

The warrior paused for a brief moment, taking a deep breath. 

“I was the one who warned Kjotve.” Dag confessed. “I was the one who assisted him when he ambushed Bjornheimr, and I was the one who told him to flee his fortress before our clans could arrive. I told him of this alliance.”

Sigurd’s heart instantly shattered upon hearing the confession, and his jaw clenched in rage as a spark of betrayal flared inside his chest. He knew his suspicions had to be correct, but even then, nothing could’ve prepared him for the immense disappointment he’d receive from a revelation such as this. 

The prince wandered away from Dag in shock and began pacing along the waterfall’s edge, uncertain of how to respond. 

“...And why exactly... did you do it?” Sigurd questioned, his tone alarmingly quiet. “What led you to commit such... foolish treason?”

“I did it for the good of our clan.” Dag answered monotonously. “I did it to protect us.”

The other man threw a puzzled glance at him, bewildered by his justification.

“To protect us?” Sigurd gestured to the distant village, storming towards the warrior. “Bjornheimr lies in a bed of its own ashes thanks to you! The jarl’s daughter has been murdered, and you have the nerve to act as if this was an act of heroism? I grow tired of your deception, Dag. Just tell me the truth. What is the real reason you did this?”

The traitor’s nose crinkled in envy, and a newfound sense of contempt twisted his expression. He was behaving in a manner that Sigurd had never seen before, and yet, the prince felt as if he had known this side of Dag for his entire life. 

“We don’t need the Bear Clan,” Dag said. “All they’ve done is weaken us. They’ve even weakened you. Especially that boy.”

Sigurd cocked a brow. “Boy? What boy? You mean Eivor?”

“Yes. He’s turned you soft, Sigurd. Everyone can see it. Before we came to this forsaken village, you were a warrior. A leader. A man worthy of holding a crown. You led raids on our enemies, and you crushed anyone who dared threaten our people. You were a king in everything but name. But now? You’ve just become another pawn.”

“What are you talking about, Dag? How have I become a pawn?”

The traitor laughed. “Are you joking? I see the way you look at Eivor. That man has you wrapped around his finger. He’s distracting you from the war, and you’re allowing it to happen.”

The prince’s face was plastered with a look of dread. “You know about me and Eivor...? Who told you?”

Dag waved a dismissive hand. “No one needed to tell me. It’s as clear as day. You may be wed to Randvi, but we all know where your loyalties really lie. You’re only fighting this war for one reason, and that’s so you can take Eivor to bed while the rest of us do the hard work.”

Sigurd’s eyes snapped onto Dag with an iron grip, and his voice dropped to a dangerously low level.

“Watch... your tongue, snake.”

The other man chuckled. “The truth is painful, isn’t it? Nothing stings quite like the bite of a harsh reality you can’t accept. But please, by all means -- continue to ignore it. Ignore it like you ignore everything else, and let your kingdom crumble for your own selfish needs.”

Sigurd brushed off the traitor’s taunts and got straight to the point, eager to put this to rest. “So you’re a puppet for jealousy now? Is that it? You did all this... just because you envied Eivor’s position?”

A scoff escaped Dag’s lips. “Pfft. I want nothing that man has. Like I said before, I did this for the good of our people. Whether or not you choose to see it that way doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. The gods know this too.”

“The gods spit on oath-breakers like you! Odin has no need for men such as yourself in his company, and neither do I.”

“Then deliver your justice, my lord. Strike me down with the judgement that you deemed so righteous you had to hide it away from prying eyes. The people of Bjornheimr may not be able to see you here, but the Allfather does. And he will remember.”

Sigurd turned away from Dag and rested a firm hand on his axe, using every bit of his strength to stifle the tears that threatened to spill. He wanted nothing more than to scream at the gods for putting him in such an impossible situation, and he could already feel himself breaking down from what he was about to do.

But he had to keep his promise. He had to. Although no longer in this realm, Ulfar was depending on him to protect their clans, and Sigurd didn’t have the heart to deny the man his dying wish.

...But he loved Dag. In spite of all of his crimes, the prince still saw the traitor as the same boy he grew up with, and his memories of their time together only seemed to be resurfacing with every second he spent delaying the inevitable.

What was he going to do when the man was dead? Sigurd may have despised Dag for going behind his back, but a piece of his soul remained bound to him nonetheless. There was a link between them that couldn’t be broken, and the prince felt as if he was about to sever one of his own limbs. 

A part of him would undoubtedly go with Dag once the man departed from this realm, and Sigurd couldn’t imagine himself ever getting it back.

He just prayed he would be able to forgive himself someday.

“You... you were my brother, Dag.” Sigurd said, his spirit collapsing with every word. “I loved you. I did. You turned my childhood into something that I’ll always hold dear. I’ll never forget the time we spent together, or the joy I’d feel when you were around. Those memories are something that no one will ever be able to take from me.” He tightened his grip on the axe. “But I can’t let you walk free from this. I can’t let you hurt my clan anymore. I... I have to keep my promise. I’m sorry.”

Yanking the weapon out of its sheathe, the prince lunged at Dag without saying another word and buried the axe in his chest, immediately causing the man to stiffen in his clutch. The two of them toppled over onto the snow after a single strike, and within seconds, the traitor was already gasping for air.

He writhed in Sigurd’s embrace like a worm on a hook and desperately tried to pry the blade away from his heart, but to no avail. The other man simply held him down and forcibly kept the axe in place, pushing it deeper and deeper into his torso as tears began streaming down his cheeks.

Sigurd couldn’t believe what he was doing. As a child, he always pictured himself leading their clan into a glorious victory that would forever grace the lips of bards across the kingdom, and spread into endless sagas for generations to come. He thought his role in the war would be one of grandeur just like in the tales his father often told him, and he believed his path to Valhalla would be laden with silver and gold.

But now that he was actually here... he was finally realizing just how torturous the nature of war really was. He wept at the sight of Dag’s life vanishing from his eyes, and his stomach churned at the feeling of the man’s blood staining his hands.

There was also the fact that the traitor died without an axe in his grip. He left it with Ulfar back in Bjornheimr, and thus, paved the way straight to Hel’s gates. His soul would forever evade the magnificence of the Corpse Hall, and a part of Sigurd crumbled at the thought of never being able to reunite with his friend again.

Dag was gone for good... and it was all his fault.

Letting go of the axe’s hilt, Sigurd allowed himself to relax and climbed off of Dag’s body, taking a seat beside him as a series of breaths fled from his lungs.

...He did it. He actually did it.

The traitor had been removed from their midst, and their clans would be able to proceed without worrying about betrayal. Kjotve would no longer have an ally inside their walls, and Gorm would give them the last step they needed before taking him down at last.

Sigurd supposed he should’ve been relieved now that things were finally in their favor, but all he felt was emptiness. 

His closest friend lay defeated under the blade of his own axe, and his world remained shaken by the multiple losses it had just suffered. He experienced no pleasure in the face of this so-called victory, and the only thing he had left to hope for was the sight of Kjotve’s head.

He just wanted this war to end. He wanted the constant turmoil of these never-ending battles to become a thing of the past, and he wanted to cleanse the seas of the blood that stained their shores. 

Sigurd dreamed of a future where people wouldn’t have to share his clan’s pain, but deep down, he feared it would never become a reality. 

The war had already lasted for a couple decades, after all. He saw no reason why the gods would allow it to end anytime soon.

“Sigurd?” Someone said abruptly, dragging the prince back to his senses.

The man glanced upward from where he sat and gazed in the distance, only to find Eivor watching him from afar. 

“Eivor...?” Sigurd whispered, quickly wiping his face dry. “What... what are you doing here?”

The blonde viking stepped out from the trees and approached his lover, careful not to distress him even further.

“I saw you leave with Dag earlier,” Eivor answered softly, still drained from the shock of Ulfar’s loss. “The two of you were gone for a while, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

He paused for a second, allowing his eyes to wander towards Dag. “...You really killed him.”

The older man stared helplessly at the sky, peering into the canopy of branches swaying above him.

“...Yes. I did.” He said, his voice trembling slightly. “I had to.”

Sighing morosely, Eivor pushed his way through the mounds of snow and walked over to Sigurd, crouching down in front of him. He comforted the distraught prince by gently caressing his cheek, and flicked away some stray tears with a simple swipe of the thumb. Afterwards, the young man reached over to the axe protruding from Dag’s chest and carefully removed it, wiping it clean before laying it in Sigurd’s lap.

“You did the right thing. I know it wasn’t easy, but our clan will sleep better at night thanks to you.”

Sigurd loosely met Eivor’s gaze, entirely devoid of life. “...I feel like a monster. Dag was... he was my brother. I know everyone else saw him as a traitor, but to me, he was always that little boy I met in Fornburg.” His expression sank with grief. “...That little boy is dead now because of me. I killed him.”

Eivor held the prince’s face in his hands. “No, Sigurd. You didn’t kill that boy. Dag did. A long time ago.”

The redheaded warrior offered nothing but silence in response, causing Eivor to return to his feet.

“Come, my love.” He beckoned, reaching an arm out. “We should return to the village.”

Sigurd remained motionless on the ground, simply looking over at Dag’s body.

“Wait. Could we... bring him back with us? I’m aware of Dag’s crimes, but even then, I’d like to give him a proper burial.”

“Of course,” Eivor assured. “Many in the clan will question his presence at the funeral, but I’ll send someone to retrieve him once we return. Don’t worry. We won’t leave him behind.”

Sigurd propped himself up on one knee and grabbed the other man’s arm, rising from the snow. “Thank you, Eivor.”

The Wolf-Kissed guided his lover away from the waterfall and called for his horse, leading the prince back home.

“Come on.” He whispered lovingly. “Let’s get you out of here.”

[browneyedhimbo]

My Girl

Pairing: Thor x Reader, Platonic!Steve x Reader

Warnings: language, smut, oral sex (fem receiving), penetration, unprotected sex, 18+

Word Count: 2.5k (kinda got away from me)

A/N: Haha so this is my first time writing smut ever so feedback is greatly appreciated. Also thank you to whoever requested! And to @agentpeggybarnes​ for beta reading, thanks babe!

"Steeeeviieeeee," you whined, "give me back the blanket."

"Nooo, it's soooo warm," he responded, pulling it up closer to his chest.

"Ugh but Steve!" No matter how much you whined or groaned or cursed him out he still wouldn't let up. "Steve," you went to your last resort, the puppy dog eyes. "Pwease?" You stuck out your bottom lip.

He turned his face away, knowing he'd give in. The only thing that could ever change his mind about something was puppy eyes. A pout and puppy eyes and he'd feel bad, turn into mush. A goner.

You tapped his bicep and he made the grave mistake of looking at you. He sighed and scooted a bit, raising the blanket.

"Fine, we'll share." He rolled his eyes dramatically, a smirk on his face.

"Yay!" You clapped and got comfortable next to Steve under the blanket. "Ya know buddy? You really are dramatic like Bucky said." This earned a howling laugh from him. You chuckled and played the movie you put in moments before.

------

Thor had just got back from Asgard and was on a mission to find you. Things got rough back home and he couldn't leave without things being in order first. Something you admire about him.

"Ah, Natasha. Have you seen Y/N?" Thor asked her, running into each other in the kitchen. 

"Last I saw she was with Steve in the common room watching a movie." She gave a half smile and continued making her sandwich.

"Thank you," he smiled and headed to finally see you. But what he didn't expect was to see you and Steve cuddling together under a blanket fast asleep. 

His heart sunk at the scene before him. He knew you and Steve were best friends and you've told him countless times that Steve was like an older brother to you, but he couldn't help his blood boil a bit and his heart clenched.

----

A few days have passed since then and every time Thor saw you and Steve laughing and joking he couldn't help but get jealous. The image of you and Steve cuddling coming to the forefront of his mind. 

Lately he took to either dragging you out the room whenever Steve walked in or making sure your attention was on anything but Steve. 

He thought he was being discreet, but you knew something was up. You didn't know exactly what, but you had an idea. You were going to ask him first, but if he didn’t tell you,  you were going to your plan into action.

With that in mind, you decided to try it over dinner tonight. Tony had rented out (at least that's what he said) a patio bar and had food catered there, saying it's for a team dinner/outing.

----

After throwing on your jeans, a nice blouse and some heels, you turned around to ask your boyfriend if he could do the cute little braid in your hair and was met with shining two shining blue pools of love staring right at you, a small smile adoring his features. You giggled and blushed before making your way over to him. 

“Can you do the braid please,” you asked, a smirk creeping its way on your lips.

“Of course darling.” He was almost done with the braid when you decided to ask him.

“Babe, does Steve make you jealous?” The hands working your hair stopped a moment before continuing. By facing the opposite of Thor, you missed how his eyes fired up and his jaw set.

“Steven? No, of course not,” he chuckled, “He’s just a friend, right?” He huffed. But you didn’t miss how he said friend, or how tense he got after. If he wasn’t going to admit and let his masculinity rule, then why not have some fun with it?

----

The party was in full swing. Of course it was, it was a Stark party. You had a few drinks, not enough to get you drunk but just enough to give you the liquid courage to go forth with your plan. You looked around eyeing for your target. You saw Steve with Sam and Bucky by the food. You rolled your eyes, putting a big smile on your face as you neared them.

“Stevie! Sammy! Buckster!” You laughed, looking through your peripherals at Thor who was just a few meters away talking to Bruce. “How’ve my favorite super soldiers and bird been?” 

“Y/N your drunk,” Bucky smiled politely at you. 

“Nope! Not yet, could use a dance though. Stevie?” You grabbed his hand before he had a chance to respond and dragged him to the dance floor. You didn’t miss the way Thor’s fingers turned white with the new found grip he has on his drink, nor the way his eyes burned holes into Steve’s head. 

You moved along to the beat of the music, swaying your hips and trying to teach Steve how to keep up. You laughed and smiled and actually had a pretty great time, and you really weren’t one for dancing in public. A crack of lightning and vicious thunder roared in the darkening sky. Everyone looked up checking to see if it was going to rain, but you looked at the man you knew who was responsible for it. It was a distraction so no one would see you both exiting the party. You met him on the ledge and he wrapped an arm around you tightly, swung his hammer and you both flew off towards his floor of the tower. 

“What the hell was that?!” He boomed as you landed. 

“That was nothing! And you know it! Jesus Thor, nothing is going on between Steve and I!” You sighed. “He’s like an older brother to me.” You really didn’t want to have this conversation again.

“Then why did I catch you two cuddling while I was out dealing business on Asgard? Why do I catch you two flirting all the time and sharing those looks?” You saw a flash of hurt in his eyes before they turned a stormy blue. The lightning outside got worse.

“If you would just ask me instead of drag me out the room,” you shook your head, a small laugh escaping. “I’m helping Steve catch up on how to flirt because he wants to ask Sharon out. Both Natasha and I have been helping him build up the courage.” You gave him a pointed look. He stalked forward until your faces were mere inches apart.

“Then next time warn me,” with that he crashed his lips to yours. A surprised squeak left your lips before you kissed him back. He kissed you with desperation and determination. “You know who you belong to, yes?” He growled in your ear.

“Y-yes.” You gulped, a shiver running down your spine. He pulled back and you saw his pupils were so dilated to the point you could hardly see the crystal blue. He cupped your jaw and nudged his nose with yours.

“Who do you belong to princess?” He whispered loud enough to cause your breath to hitch.  

“You,” you breathed out. He dipped in for another heated kiss, his mouth immediately dominating yours. You whimpered against his lips as you felt his hands travel from your waist to your ass.

“You’re mine, don’t forget that. Ever.” He squeezed your plump ass before picking you up. Instinctively, your legs wrapped around his waist, feeling the bulge made you breath out as your hand flew to entangle in his hair. 

“I won’t.” You mumbled breathlessly, feeling the wetness in your core build up and dampen your panties. The rush of anticipation and the feeling of lust coursing through your body.

“I’m going to make sure of that.” He stated, his voice had lowered an octave making a shiver run down your spine. He gently laid you down on the bed, his large frame hovering over yours. “Do you know what I’m going to do?” He asked, nipping at your neck. Not trusting your voice, you shook your head no. “I’m going to fuck you into the mattress until you can’t walk straight for a week.” He mumbled as he sucked on the sweet sensitive spot on your neck, eliciting a soft moan from your lips.

He pulled away and stared at you, his eyes boring into your soul. You didn’t think possible, but his pupils were blown even wider, two dangerous black pools with hints of blue around the corners; pure lust and desire extremely evident. He slowly got off the bed and slipped off his shirt revealing his toned chest and abs, a sly smirk making its way on his face.

“Darling,” his voice was deep and dripped with lust, “take off your clothes.” And you did so at lightning speed. You threw your clothes and kicked off your shoes leaving yourself in nothing but your underwear. Your chest was heaving in anticipation as he stripped to his boxers. 

He sauntered to the foot of the bed, eyes locked on yours. Slowly he crawled his way up, brushing his lips against yours. “Mine and only mine,” he growled before pressing his mouth to yours. A small gasp escaped your lips allowing him the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. You moaned against him, not even bothering to fight for dominance. He pulled away and started peppering kisses down the valley of your breasts. 

He looked up at you before leaning down and attaching his mouth to your left nipple. The sensation of his tongue flicking against the small bud made your back arc as you moaned out his name.

“Thor,” you panted, your hand finding its way back into his hair. He hummed as he brought his free hand to your other breast, his fingers kneading and pinching the bud. You felt the coil in your belly grow as he repeated his actions with his mouth on your other breast. He kissed his way down to your stomach, nipping at the skin every now and then. Marking you as his. As his face got closer to where you needed him most, your breath began to quicken.

He looks up as his hot breath fanned over the wet spot on your panties. You whimpered as he pressed a curt kiss to it, your head hitting the pillow behind you. He pressed open mouth kisses to the inside of your thighs before ripping the last piece of material from your body.

“I’ll buy you another,” he groaned as he licked a broad strip up from your dripping entrance to your clit. The back of your head dug further into the pillow as you let out an embarrassingly loud moan. He chuckled, the vibration caused your breath to hitch as you moaned out his name. 

He never once let up, eating you out as if a dying man eating his last meal. Your hand was entangled in his locks as you willed your hips to stay still. But the way he was lapping at your clit made your hips buck up as your hand pressed his face further on you. He reached a muscular arm around your waist, stopping your jutting hips as he licked a particular sweet spot.

You felt his teeth gently scrape against your sensitive bud, the movement building up the pressure you felt in your belly. Curses fell from your lips as you kept squirming, the arousal growing more intensely.

“You taste so delicious,” he hummed against your heat. All you could do was whine.

“I-I’m, fuck, Thor I’m c-close,” you stuttered out between breaths. His tongue started moving faster as he pressed a finger inside you, your slick making for perfect lube. He pumped his finger inside you before adding a second. 

“Shit!” You moaned, feeling his fingers curl and gently rub at your g-spot. “Oh f-fuck,” you felt the band snap as you orgasmed, your cunt clenched around his fingers.

Thor hummed in approval as he drank up every last drop. He slid his fingers out of you, your juices coating them. You whimpered at the loss but was quickly silenced and bit your lip as he sucked them clean. You gulped as his face neared yours, his nose nudged yours as he brought you into a deep kiss. Your tongue swirled around his mouth and all you could taste was you. He moaned into your mouth and you felt the fire ignite once again in your belly. He pulled away and slipped out of his boxers, his long hard length bobbing between his legs. You licked your lips as your eyes trailed all over the God before you.

“Not tonight kitten,” he chuckled darkly. In an instant he was over you again, splitting your legs open. “You’re mine princess,” he growled, “as well as this pussy,” his finger slide up from the crack of your ass to your clit making your hips buck up, “and this ass,” his hands ghosted over your waist and slid underneath you, squeezing your cheeks, “these tits,” his hands ran up your back over your chest, gently caressing each one, “and especially this mouth.” He finished nipping at your bottom lip. He pumped himself a few times before lining himself up with your entrance. 

“Fuck me into next week my king,” your voice died by the end of your sentence as his dick slowly slid in, your slick covering him up. You both moaned as he bottomed out. He waited a few moments before pulling out completely and slamming back into you. 

“I plan on it,” he moaned, gently biting on your shoulder, setting a brutal pace. You knew you weren’t going to last long at all. His hips snapped into yours causing the bed to creak and hit the wall. He filled you up nicely, the veins of his cock rubbing against your velvet walls. 

“Fucking mine. Fucking, shit,” he cursed as his hips started rocking faster with each thrust. The sound of skin slapping skin was the only other sound that could be heard besides breathless moans. 

“Fuck Thor,” you moaned. His hand snuck in between your bodies and started rubbing at the sensitive nub, making you chant his name as a prayer. “O-Oh god, THOR,” the pressure started building up again. 

“That’s it my princess,” he moaned, feeling you start to clench around him. “Cum for your King.” You let out a few more curses before screaming his name in ecstasy. Your body arched into his as your walls clenched tight around his dick. Your vision went white as your second orgasm crashed over you. You felt his stutter and get sloppy and you knew he was close too. You clenched around him again as he stopped. His dick swelled as hot sticky juices coated your walls. He rode out both your orgasms before he pulled out and collapsed next to you. 

“Are you okay my love?” He asked breathlessly, looking adoringly at you.

“I’m okay,” you responded with a sweet smile. “I’m sorry for not telling you about helping Steve sooner.” 

“That’s alright my princess.” He brought you closer to him. You tucked your head under his sweaty chin he played with your hair. “Just remember you’re mine and always will be my girl.” He hummed, pressing a kiss to your hair. “Ready for round two?”

▬▬▬▬▬

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[maandags]

What if Ben NEVER DIED and actually is crushing on the cute short chubby cashier from the store he visits almost every time and Klaus KNOWS. And tries to set them up?

“we need grapes,” Klaus declares. 

Ben sends him a strange look. “and why, pray tell, do we need grapes?”

“I just... I just feel it. I’m, like, craving grapes.”

“there’s a difference between you wanting grapes and us needing grapes.”

Klaus rolls his eyes, shoving Ben’s shoulder. He pokes out his tongue. “right, mom.”

shaking his head, Ben opens his mouth to tell his brother that if he wants grapes so bad, he should just go buy some, be my guest -- but then he realises where he is. and his eyes land on the sign a street away. “actually, you know what,” he says, “we can go get you some grapes.”

Klaus’ eyes immediately narrow. “that was fast. are you... are you sure?”

“better grapes than crack, mate.”

Klaus shrugs, and follows Ben as he bee-lines for the store entrance.

the tinkle as he swings the door open causes Ben’s stomach to flip. not uncomfortably, per sé. it’s more of a flip that says, oh god, here we go again. like the nerves that course through one’s system when just moments away from the very peak of a roller coaster; preparing for the excitement of the drop.

his eyes are immediately drawn to the registers, checking if you’re working (he knows you are -- or at least are supposed to be. he’s been to this store an embarrassing amount of times. he knows.) and only experiencing more stomach flips when this is in fact the case. Klaus, thankfully, is completely absorbed by the concept of grapes, and has already sailed towards the fruit stands.

he hasn’t even properly looked at you today yet. he just saw you were behind the register, and then walked off. it’s kind of weird, knowing you’re just a few steps away from him, and he’s known you for months -- and yet you don’t even know his name.

“green or purple?” 

“green,” he says mindlessly, craning his neck to get another glimpse of you over the line of people waiting to finalise their purchases.

“but I prefer purple.”

“then get purple ones, Klaus.”

“but you said green.”

Ben sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “what about both?”

Klaus grins. “excellent idea, brother dear.”

“anything else?”

he puckers his lips in thought. “I’ll get some tic tacs. at the register.”

“cool, then. let’s go.”

he looks awful, too. he’s wearing old jeans and an even older t-shirt. Ben looks down, plucking at the hem. it’s got holes in it, for Christ’s sake. not that he would dress up to go to the grocery store just because you happen to work there, but it would certainly not hurt if you saw him looking nicer than... whatever he has going on right now.

Klaus elbows him. “dude. that line is way shorter.” he points to the right, where there is in fact a way shorter line, counting maybe three people less than the one they’re currently standing in. 

Ben immediately goes red. “I mean -- does it matter?”

Klaus snorts. “no. I just thought it’d be quicker.” he narrows his eyes. “... does it matter to you?”

“no,” Ben lies, way too quickly. “no, I mean, it’s no big deal --” but then he makes the fatal mistake of nervously looking over at you. and, by some fucking miracle caused by some God above, you look at him, and his eyes meet yours for the briefest of seconds. recognition flashes in them, and you give him a polite smile before going back to the customer you’re currently helping along.

Klaus’ eyes narrow even further. “oh.” he looks over at you as well, standing on his tippy toes to get a good look. “oh. I see.”

Ben drops his face in his hands, groaning. “no, Klaus. please. do not. don’t.”

“Ben has a crush.”

“I said do not,” he hisses, glaring at his brother through his fingers, trying in vain to hide his red cheeks.

“oh, come on,” Klaus tuts. “have a little faith in me.”

“if you try anything. if you do anything. I will end you. you won’t even see me coming.”

“I love you too, Ben.” he snatches a box of tic tacs, and Ben shakes his head, shuffling a few steps forward in the line.

“good afternoon, sir,” you say, and Ben immediately loses all chill he might have had walking into the store. 

he nods. “hi.” that’s so lame. he should say something else, shouldn’t he? but you’ve already reached for the bag of grapes on the conveyor belt, and Ben internally curses – he should have grabbed some other stuff as well, just so he could have a little bit longer to try and figure out just what to say to you – 

“hm.” you frown. “that’s strange. it doesn’t seem to be picking up the – uh.” you glance down at the box of tic tacs in your hand. “I’ll just switch this out for you –” 

but as soon as you look up, sending a nervous (but fucking adorable) smile his way, Klaus jumps up, leaning around the belt and snatching the box from your hands. “no, no, none of that! here, I’ll read the number out for you.” 

Ben looks at his brother, jaw slack. “what are you –”

but Klaus, unstoppable force, starts rattling off the number, and you scramble to punch it in. after the first few numbers, though, Ben narrows his eyes, and then he looks at the box in Klaus’ hands – the box he isn’t even looking at, at this point, and snatches it from his hands. his face is probably the shade of a tomato.

“dude.” he whacks him on the back of the head. “what the fuck do you think you’re – why are you giving my number –” he smiles at you, though it feels forced and slightly manic, and confusion is rapidly mounting in your expression. “I’m so sorry for my idiot brother. I’ll just grab a new one of these.” you smile back at him, a little nervously.

“Klaus. Klaus. why,” he groans, running a hand down his face, trying in vain to hide the redness of his cheeks and ears. 

“I’m scoring you a date. let me handle this.” 

“absolutely not. you say another word and I’ll kill you in your sleep.” he glares, picking up another tic tac box at random and plopping it on the conveyor belt.

you’re looking at him, your own cheeks bearing a faint tinge of pink, nibbling on your bottom lip as you scan the box. then, to his surprise, scribble something on the surface of it. hands it back to him. “that’ll be four ninety-five.”

Ben pays, then goes to pick up the box – Klaus has already made off with the bag of grapes – and freezes. in black permanent marker, you’ve written what can only be a phone number – and a name.

you grin again, rubbing the side of your nose. “I’m – uh – off all weekend. so, you know. if you have time, or anything.”

“oh.” Ben’s eyes are still wide. every time he thinks he can’t possibly get any redder… “um, cool. yeah. I am also free all weekend. uh. I will. text you?”

you clasp your hands together. “I look forward to it.”

“okay. um, me too.”

“okay.”

“yeah.” 

he smiles, sticks the tic tac box in his pocket. “alright.”

as he starts to turn around, you call after him, “what’s your name?”

fucking moron. “it’s, uh, Ben.”

you chuckle. “okay. Ben. I’ll see you around.”

“yeah.” he gives an awkward wave, regretting the motion almost immediately. you grin, wave back. Ben closes his eyes and smacks himself in the face as soon as he knows he’s out of sight.

Klaus laughs. “there we go. fuckin’ Casanova.”

“I hope you choke on a grape.” 

Klaus’ giggles follow them all the way home.

[successfullyshroobifiedsmbau]

Trivia about... Ian, Pit, Kiyu, and Clyde.

Ian

Full name: Barnabus Sebastian Baker

Age: 30s

Gender: male (he/him)

Race: Commander Shroob

Most notable details: all the typical Commander Shroob details (thick black moustache and yellow whistle at all times)

Likes: being a commander, commanding his underlings, beans, his moustache, interrogating others, spy novels, the Termina moon, Shroob-Ombs

Dislikes: humans, shady creatures, Koopas, Goombas, others bossing him around, his underlings disobeying him, sunny weather, others criticising/hazing him and/or his moustache

—

“I’m most likely not the best commander under Princess Shroob and her army, but I surely am one that everyone immediately listens to… well, mostly.

I have quite some underlings that consider themselves as one whole group under my leadership, and they can switch pretty well! In what respect? Well, if we have free time, we do, but once I command them to research the castle courtyard for suspicious creatures, they immediately split up and keep their eyes peeled. Of course, I do the same, because what a lousy commander I would be if I didn’t even do as I told the others myself! Plus, several pairs of eyes make a pretty good way to search for one shady thing simultaneously.”

-----

Pit

Full name: Pit Polaris Benningwater

Age: 5 or 6

Gender: nonbinary/genderless (they/them)

Race: ‘regular’ Shroob

Most notable details: very high intelligence for their age, common blush on their cheeks, harsh lisp because of loose teeth

Likes: their status, popsicles, lemonade, science, physics, algebra, advanced maths, watching the most advanced ectobiologists do their thing, pickpocketing shady ones

Dislikes: humans, vegetables, being criticised about their lisp, their legit statements being counteracted, being underestimated due to their age, being hazed about their intelligence

—

“Uh… I lithp too much? Authowh, if you pweathe…?”

(Pit is the youngest servant of Princess Shroob. Being only just of kindergarten age, yet already having the intelligence of a university student, they’re convinced they make a great servant, and Princess Shroob fully agrees with it after having done research on them.

In the past, Pit was already allowed to leave the playgroup after one single day, and only had one day of each subsequent facility (pre-school to the university) where the people quickly discovered their massive intelligence. Of course, their guardian (they were born from ectobiology and thus have unknown parents) didn’t fully agree with the idea of keeping them secluded from the outside world, and that’s where he requested Pit’s future status as a servant to Princess Shroob, followed by the screening, and resulting into them actually getting the very status as well.

Of all of the servants, Pit is also the most hard-working one, even pickpocketing shady humans and other creatures wherever needed; most notably, stealing a Cobalt Star shard from princess Peach, which soon resulted into the comeback of the Elder Princess Shroob.)

-----

Kiyu

Full name: Kiyu Crystal Chaku

Age: 21

Gender: female (she/they)

Race: Support Shroob

Most notable details: her ‘sticky’/flirty personality

Likes: her status, all the male Shroobs, her commander, expensive foods, sweets, mucking around, anime and manga, minding the young children among the Shroobs

Dislikes: humans, being rejected, being defied, olives, tennis, way too energetic Shroobs of any age, slash metal music, being tricked

—

“Hey gorgeous, how you doin’? Oh, snap, I should probably tell stuff about myself…

I’m one of Ian’s so-called underlings, yet I don’t feel like I’m being pressed flat underneath his claws or anything. I’m also one of the very few females in our group, so there’s enough guys that I can hook up with, yet none of them is really interested.

On one very special event, however, there was this wizard guy who probably likes me back just as much… he’s pretty dreamy and mysterious, and it’s a shame that I don’t get to wander outside of the clutches of the Shroob Castle too often, even if bullet trains are only just a thing in our newly-established kingdom, including one that’s directly connected to the castle. I’m very proud of the engineers who managed to realise this very idea, and I surely do hope that more bullet trains will come in our kingdom, so the wizard guy will be able to seek me again.”

-----

Clyde

Full name: Clyde Kuro Nagashi

Age: 16

Gender: male (he/they)

Race: RC Shroober

Most notable details: small mole near his right eye

Likes: guarding, the Shroob princesses, beans, potato crisps, biscuits, robots, reading, jazz music, fireworks shows, technology documentaries

Dislikes: humans, swimming, tomatoes, being hazed, being criticised, being defied, horror shows, hole patterns (he has trypophobia), Goombas, loud sounds

—

“Even though I’m both a servant of Princess Shroob and a guard in training, I do have short home-school sessions two mornings a week. They don’t represent as much as my servant status, though, and I’m also very much convinced that I don’t even need that home-schooling anymore soon, since I already learn enough from actually watching the servants and guards doing their things.

As a guard, I’m very attentive and jump into action as soon as the commander blows his whistle, which is praised big-time, even if I’m not a veteran just yet. As a servant, I’m also very attentive, despite the fact that during then, I tend to slack the heck off even more than as a guard, since guards should never slack off under no conditions ever… and I’ve experienced enough fellow guards being degraded in such a process!

I also have an older brother who is sooo much obsessed by anime and all that jazz, and gets to see his friends more often than me. Not quite fair, but hey, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have enough friends among the servants and guards, even if they’re not always of my age.”

[writtenonreceipts]

In all honesty, Runaways was supposed to be a single one-shot.  And here we are.  Not sure how I feel about this one. Oh well…Takes place amid the main events of this fic and in conjunction with this fic.  Based on characters from the Throne of Glass series.

TW: None, mentions of addictions, death.

they are the runaways. before they set out on a trip to take aelin back to her family, rowan and aelin grow together in their past lives of addiction.  slowly, ever slowly.

a sinner in the sun

They have a hesitant friendship that has been established by phone calls that stretch all night long, phone calls that consist of panic attacks, and phone calls that consist of nothing at all.  Sometimes they say nothing.  Sometimes they say everything.

Because oddly enough, he has turned into someone that she depends on.  Too much, apparently, but she doesn’t realize that.  Not yet.

Aelin hates talking on the phone.  With a passion.  But texting is just as horrible because sometimes her words come too fast and her fingers can’t keep up and autocorrect is the literally devil incarnate.  Everything becomes a jumbled mess that is nearly untranslatable.  Just like everything about her.  So she calls instead.  

“I need your help,” she says one day into her phone.

It’s too early in the morning for hellos.  The sun is barely breaking through the clouds and the pale pink haze of morning stains her dingy old apartment.  Any other day she would curl up with a book.  Or she’d go out for a run.  Something to distract her from her mind, but today she has to be an adult.

Rowan is immediately at attention on the other side.  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Aelin pauses.  She realizes then that this is the first time she has called him while not in crisis mode.  Today, she is okay.  She is happy. She wants to be alive.

“Nothing,” she says as she realizes the mistake of the call.  One hand immediately tangles in her hair and she cringes.  “It’s nothing.  Really.  Never mind. I shouldn’t have called.”

“It’s obviously something if you called,” he replies.  “You hate the phone.”

She can hear the smirk. “Buzzard.”

“What do you need?”

“I found a new apartment and I need some help moving.” She forces it all out in a single breath and waits.

“I’ll be right there.”

#

He brings reinforcements.

Fenrys is too happy for life.  Dark skin, gold hair, and a rakish smile.  He bounces around her apartment telling her to steal what she wants from her old roommate who isn’t there.  He cracks some joke about her calling Rowan buzzard.  He smiles because he wants to.

Lorcan is the exact opposite.  Black hair, black eyes, and a scowl to rival Rowans.  He grabs what’s been boxed and labeled dutifully.  He says nothing about anything.  Aelin can feel the sorrow oozing off of him.  The tiredness, the angst.  He firmly believes he deserves his misery.

All Aelin can gather about how they know each other is from years ago when they were children and had started their own gang.  A gang that involved eating sandwiches and playing squirt guns, but a gang nonetheless.

Aelin realizes that this is just the start of Rowans family.  And it is strange she realizes.  Strange to see the three men, like brothers, laughing and joking.  It is strange to realize that Rowan has a past, a history. Because as much as he has talked about it before, it’s just now coming to life before her.  In the form family.  And that’s a language she never learned to speak.

“You have too many books,” Lorcan tells her as he stares at the boxes she has accumulated.

“Impossible,” she scoffs.

Lorcan makes no reply and begins hauling them out of the apartment.  It’s unfortunate really, seeing as how she lives on the third floor and it is getting close to reaching a hundred degrees outside.  She’s going to have to buy them all coffee and pizza after this.

When Rowan slips back into the apartment, he’s shaking out his hair that is distinctly shorter than the last time she saw him.  Less scruff on his chin too.  Which is nice because his face is far to lovely to be hidden like that.

Aelin realizes where her thoughts are going and distinctly turns away from him to stuff a drawer full of silverware into a box.  It all clatters together unceremoniously.  It’ll be a bitch to put away when she gets to her new place but she needs the distraction.  For now and for later.  Because now she can feel his eyes on her.  Those beautiful eyes that remind her of the forest and of running and of being free and she can’t take it.  Not now. Not after the other night when they’d talked for so long.  And later…when she’s alone with her thoughts all she’ll want to think about is him.  

“You’re going to regret that later,” Rowan says, eyes still on her.

“Probably,” she says and shrugs.  “I’ve come to live with my regrets.  By running away from them, burying them.”

He raises an eyebrow and amusement laces his voice.  “I don’t think it’s supposed to work that way.”

“Does for me.” She gives him a wicked grin and this one doesn’t feel forced.  Instead it’s almost lighthearted.  It’s followed by a small burst of laughter and it is glorious.

#

Hours later they’ve cleared out her old apartment and the boys have helped her move everything inside. They’re just bringing up the last of the boxes and Aelin’s ordered pizza and Chinese food.  Anything and everything she can think of so they know she’s grateful.  Because just saying it isn’t something she can do.  Not yet.

And hours later still, it’s just her and Rowan.

The studio apartment is impossibly small.  It’s got at least ten different fire hazards.  The hot water doesn’t work.  And the lock of the front door is dodgy at best.  But it’s hers.

She and Rowan are sitting on her floor staring at the unjust screen of his laptop trying to watch a show but Aelin won’t stop laughing at the paltry accents being used.  Because apparently hiring real actors from the country they were filming in was too much work.  So instead she laughs and Rowan is ready to smother her.

But he doesn’t. Instead he’s grinning stupidly at her as she laughs.  The sunset drifts through one of her windows casting long shadows around the room. She doesn’t notice the way his eyes ling on her.  Not really. She doesn’t notice the way they’ve been sitting so close together.  Not really.

What she is focused on is the fact that she doesn’t want the moment to end.  Because if the moment end, if the laptop goes away then she has to either let Rowan go for the night or do something about it.  And doing something about it… well…that would require change.

And the last time something in Aelin’s life changed she spiraled down deep than Alice’s Wonderland hole.

She tries not to notice him despite the fact that he is all she can think about.

“What?” Rowan asks.

Blinking, Aelin realizes she was staring.  Of course she was because with the way the computer screen lights up his face and the setting sun in the windows behind him—he is illuminated.  Suddenly she feels like she’s seeing him for the first time. Because today she learned about him.

She learned he’s always had a thing for hawks.  Loved reading about them as a kind and learning all there was to know.  He calls Fenrys “Pup” and treats him like a younger brother and damn Rowan would make a good brother to anyone.  Lorcan teases him about being old even though Lorcan himself is older than all of them.  Rowan hadn’t spoken to his friends in over a year.

And in secret—silent and careful—Fenrys thanked her for staying with him.  For being with him when they weren’t.

And that simple sentiment terrifies her.  Because she is rarely there for anyone.  Not sense the damn summer days of daisies and dirt bikes.

“Aelin?” Rowan repeats. His brow creases in worry and she finds herself swallowing stiffly as one hands reaches for something…something that isn’t there.

“Nothing,” she says and stands.  “Water?”

She doesn’t have alcohol in the kitchen.  Not since Rowan told her about Lyria not since she learned about how he fell all those years ago.

Instead of waiting for him to ask, she gets a prepackaged water bottle for him.  After tossing it his direction she digs around in the back of a cupboard she made sure to unpack herself.  She grabs the bag of taffy and immediately stuffs one in her mouth.  

Supposedly when she has an urge she can distract her body by eating something else.  But she thinks that only works with smoking.  Not anything she really wants.  But she can try.  She can pretend.

When she settles back beside him on the floor his eyes are on her.  And not like they were before.

“Aelin,” he says slowly.

He hasn’t touched his water. She eats more taffy.

It’s what she does. The distraction.  She doesn’t want to think about anything.  Doesn’t want to think about before with the dirt bike and Sam. Not the scars.  Not where she fell.  She doesn’t want to be that person.  Not after seeing who Rowan is and what he’s become.  Because today she learned that she doesn’t deserve him.

How could she?

He reaches a hand out and rests it on hers where she’s trying to dig out another piece of taffy. There are callouses on his fingers and she can’t help but shiver at the touch.  Can help but shiver at that gentle touch of his.  Because hell—how long has it been since someone touched her so carefully?

“Aelin?” he repeats. Slow.  Pity.  No.  No, Rowan doesn’t pity her.  She knows that much about him.  He wouldn’t pity her for this.

“It’s nothing,” she finds herself whispering.  Shaking her head, shea drags her fingers through her hair.  “Sorry, I zoned out.”

She can’t tell him what she’s thinking.  Can’t let him know that all she wants to do is see what he tastes like because maybe that will help her.  Distract her enough.

She doesn’t deserve him.

His fingers curl tighter around her hand.  When Aelin tries to pull her hand away from his, he intertwines their fingers instead.

“You’re not alone,” he says. “You know that right?”

“Yeah,” she says. “I know.”

#

The next day Rowan is already at her apartment.  He hasn’t bothered to change out of his scrubs.  There are bags under his eyes and she knows he didn’t get any sleep last night despite her insistence that he do.

“What are you doing?” she asks.  

He’s standing on her one kitchen stool glaring up at the fire alarm. “Fixing this.”

“It’s fine,” she tells him. She eases around him and slings her purse on the counter.  It had been a long day of answering phones.  Somehow, she’d gotten hired as a receptionist as a law firm.  The same law firm, it turned out, that Fenrys was interning at. She’d tried to corner him about it when she learned the truth but he merely winked and shrugged.

“With your cooking?” Rowan lets out a laugh.  “No. You’ll burn this place down in a day.”

“How would you know if I can cook or not?” She stares up at him hands on her hips.  

“Please, Aelin,” he says. He jams the cover into place and hops down from the stool. “I’ve seen your car.  You’ve hit up every fast-food joint in a thirty mile radius.”

“I’m just trying to find the best French fry,” she says, “you can’t blame me for that.”

The smile that crosses his mouth is sinful.  At least, it elicits sinful thoughts in her head.  Thoughts that she has no business having.

“You at least could have waited for when you had a day off and weren’t coming off a shift,” she says.

He shrugs. “It’s fine.”

“You’re exhausted,” she presses.

“It’s fine.”

“Rowan.”

They stare at each other. She is fascinated by his eyes—like always.  What he is so enraptured by in her she doesn’t know but she’s developed a long list about him. Too long.

“I ordered pizza,” he says.

She sputters a laugh. “You ordered pizza?  You were just making fun of me for my lack of cooking skills.”

“I’m a hypocrite.”

“Whatever,” she says and heads to her closet for a change of clothes.  She pauses and looks back at him. “How the hell’d you get in here?”

His expression holds no shame. “I convinced your landlord to give me a copy.”

“Ass,” she says under her breath.  Not quiet enough because he lets out a booming laugh.

It’s the first time in a while that laughter has been in her home, in her life.  And she has to admit, she loves it.  It is glorious.  For once, she can convince herself to be carefree.  Right up until the pizza arrives they are teasing each other. Insults and bickering and eyerolls and scoffs.  For the first time in a while, she could let herself simply be.

Maybe that’s why she does it.

Later, when he’s trying to convince her that she does actually need more than one chair in her apartment.  He’s so adamant about having more chairs that she can’t stop laughing.  He’s making jibes at all the pillows laying all over her bed so why can’t she have another chair?

Because the floor is perfectly comfortable is not a valid excuse.  Nor the fact that she has no friends.

“Fenrys will be highly offended by that statement,” he says.

It’s as he’s leaning over to pull her laptop closer because it’s his turn to pick the movie they watch.  He’s so close that she can feel his body heat. She can catch the faintest hint of cologne lingering on his skin.

And she moves.  It doesn’t take much to to reach out and tug his chin up.  Doesn’t take much to lean forward and kiss him.  It’s a barely there sort of the thing.  The graze so light that they could easily pretend it never happened.  If only her fingers weren’t pressing into his chin and holding him in place.  Of course, he could pull away.  He should pull away.  She should to.

But they don’t.

And Aelin is staring into those eyes that have undone her ever since she woke up in that hospital bed. Her heart is pounding ferociously in her chest and panic starts to snap through her blood.  What the hell did she do?

Her best friend.

Her only friend.

She is a terrible, terrible fool.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.  She drops her hand from his face and tears her eyes from his.  The flush rising on her skin reminds her of the sun from that summer and it’s quickly becoming too much.  Too much.

Everything is too much.

There is hardly a pause though when Rowan is reaching for her, his large hand cupping her cheek and he pulls her face back towards him.

The silence of the night echoes around them.  Not even a car back firing or howl of a dog.  Just them, left alone in the world.

He moves first this time and presses his forehead against hers.  His eyes flutter closed as he breathes her in and in that moment, Aelin swears it’s the most intimate she has ever been with anyone.  Even Sam.

When he kisses her, Rowan is insistent.  His mouth moves against hers it is with urgency and longing.  Aelin finds herself gasping and raising a hand to grip his arm so she has something to ground her—something to keep her steady.

And after all this time she should have known he would have been that grounding force.

They don’t have the time to move beyond that moment.  Not when Rowans pager goes off.

Cursing, he pulls away from her and fumbles for his phone and pager.  “Damn.  I need to go.”

Aelin nods.  What’s she supposed to say to that?  She looks at him.  “It’s fine.”

She’s certain he moves to touch her again, to kiss her.  But instead, Rowan rises.

He’s at the door before he looks back at her and in the dim lighting of her terribly sad, new apartment he smiles. “I’ll text you.”

And he is gone.

And Aelin doesn’t know if she believes him.

#

Thanks for reading my dears!

Tags:  @tottenhamboys20 @morganofthewildfire  @aelinchocolatelover @esco--s 

[mischiefandspirits]

Colony of Gotham (3/7)

The Colony of Gotham is an urban legend that is whispered about in the dangerous city. It’s said the Colony is a family of demons and spirits that stalk the night, hunting for the souls of the guilty.

When Bruce became Batman, he’d never intended to be mistaken for a demon. He was happy to lean into it, though, and as he gained his partners – as his family grew – they all followed suit.

First Part ~ Previous Part ~ Next Part

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duke Thomas lost his parents when Joker unleashed a new version of Joker Venom onto a crowd. While most of the infected were rounded up to be cured, some disappeared, Duke’s parents among them. The boy was determined to find them, no matter what it took, which landed him in trouble with both his foster parents and the law. Even when he was labeled a delinquent, though, he continued to search.

Meanwhile, a similar search came to its end.

Harper Row’s hunting had eventually led to her crossing paths with Batman. Despite her fear, she refused to back down under his warnings until her brother Cullen was attacked by some of his classmates while she was away on one of her searches.

Bruce, having been keeping an eye on the woman, stepped in to ensure they got justice for the attack and, in the process, helped her get custody of Cullen so they could both be free of their abusive father. In the face of all these changes and with Batman’s promise to find the other killer, Harper agreed to stand down.

However, Cass would find him first by taking a bullet for him after her father sent men to attack Harper and Cullen to draw her out.

Having expected a monster like Orphan, not this small child who stared up at her with the most apologetic eyes, Harper immediately forgave the girl and worked with Bruce and Batman to clear Cass’s name and take the girl under her wing. It was hard as Cass didn’t understand any language but body, but Harper and Cullen were willing to put in the work. In an effort to help, Bruce brought the Rows into the fold and promised any aid they could require.

Cullen was fascinated, but also happy to keep to the normal side of life. Bruce may have secretly wondered why the other children he found himself faced with couldn't be that level headed.

Harper, on the other hand, was more taken in, but also wary of getting too involved now that she had two people relying on her care. She went out sometimes in all black body armor with a full face mask and short hooded cloak, but she stayed out of sight enough that Black Bat remained an unknown myth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A trip to Los Angeles had Tim declaring he was never going with Bruce on business trips ever again. The first two days had been nice enough, but then Bruce caught him pulling an all-nighter working on a case that he wasn’t supposed to be working on and banned him from coffee.

Which was how a half-awake, phone focused Tim found himself nearly stepping out in front of traffic. Thankfully someone not dead on their feet spotted him in time and she pulled him back onto the sidewalk. He tried to laugh it off as just being too focused on his phone. That failed when he turned to walk away and almost immediately walked into a newspaper rack. The girl insisted on walking him to his hotel. When he pointed out he was going to pick up something from his father, she declared she’d walk him there and back.

When he returned back to Gotham with a new number in his phone, he refused to look her up. No, she was just some random civilian. He didn’t care if Wonder Girl doesn’t even wear a mask! Obviously that was her! A hoodie doesn’t help hide anything, Cassie! You and Kon are terrible! How do you two even have secret identities? At least Superman had those stupid glasses!

No, she was an ordinary civilian.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duke Thomas’s search eventually ended when he teamed up with Batman to free his parents and the other missing Joker Venom victims from the Court of Owls, his photokinetic vision helping them navigate the labyrinthine tunnels. Unfortunately the Court’s experiments paired with going so long without the antidote had left the victims catatonic. Even still, Duke was so grateful that he did what he could to help Batman with his cases in the future.

Bruce, giving in to the inevitable even if he was wary to have a meta vigilante in Gotham, brought Duke into the Colony. There was some debate over how he’d fit in until Duke made it known that he would prefer getting some actual training before he went into the field for real.

This doesn’t stop Tim and Bette from glaring eachother down over who got to move on from Robin first.

Cass suggested settling it with a Mario Kart race.

Tim won.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One day Jinny “Hex” Woodson got fed up with all her friends discussing their Gotham friends -- ones she was pretty sure none of them were even allowed to have since no one was even supposed to go to Gotham -- so she packed a bag and headed out to find her own Gotham friend.

She decided the place was alright enough. It was actually kind of nice that no one questioned her for having a pair of pistols holstered on her hips. Someone even tried to mug her despite them.

It was hilarious.

She was having trouble finding her new Gotham friend, though. At least until a kid fell off a fire escape she’d been passing under and into her arms.

It was fate.

Apparently the kid had been trying to take a picture of a bird (aka Tim was scouting for a stakeout) and the railing hadn’t been quite as sturdy as he’d thought (it had only let him balance on it in a crouch for two hours before giving way). It was then that he noticed her guns.

“You’re not going to shoot me, right?”

“Angel, you’re so skinny, you can't even see your shadow. I don’t need my guns to whup you.”

“Angel?”

“Because you fell from heaven.”

Tim was not amused. He was even less amused when she declared they were friends now. No, he doesn’t get an opinion on the matter. Should have thought about that before throwing himself at unsuspecting women. She doesn’t even swing that way, Angel.

Around the same time that it hit the Young Justice team that they were all friends with the same Gothamite, it also hit the Colony that Tim had somehow managed to befriend the entire team.

Except no, Tim affirmed that they befriended him. He had no input in this whatsoever, thank you very much. It was probably Kon’s fault, really. He had probably set it all up. Tim was definitely going to give Kon the cold shoulder.

At least until his badgering got too annoying.

The worst part was that Stephanie stole his phone to get Cassie’s number when she found out she and Tim had been flirting. She stated it was so Stephanie could defend his honor if she tried something, but he caught both her and Bette in a group chat with not only Cassie, but Kara Danvers aka Supergirl and Suzanne “Cissie” King-Jones aka Arrowette.

Apparently, they didn’t get to be teased since the girls actively sought out their super friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Talia al Ghul personally informed her that the Heir to the Demon was now living with his biological father Bruce Wayne so she would be wise to keep her distance from Gotham, sister or not, Cheshire knew she’d made the right call keeping her nose out of the Waynes’ business.

It didn’t occur to her that when Talia al Ghul had met Bruce Wayne over ten years earlier at a party and decided to spend the night with him, the woman believed he’d given up his training to settle down for a life of luxury and frivolities. Cheshire didn’t know Ra’s had only allowed Talia to keep the child that had been an accidental result because he’d seen Bruce’s promise and believed, if raised properly, the child could become what he thought Bruce hadn’t.

That Talia had only brought her son to his father because she had no other choice.

The Demon’s Daughter fled to Gotham with Damian after her father was killed by Slade Wilson. She had hoped that between Bruce’s former training and the shadowy Colony of Gotham, Damian would be safe until Wilson could be dealt with.

Damian did not get along with his siblings. He made an attempt to pick a fight with Tim that failed when Tim refused to fight a child. Cass tried to fight him in Tim’s place, but Harper told her no. Damian tried to stab Dick when he hugged him and Dick disarmed him before he could without releasing the hug. He picked a fight with Jason and got his butt handed to him. Damian snuck out to prove himself, picked a fight with Nightwing, and got his butt kicked. Damian tried his hand with Tim again and the older boy, annoyed, agreed then used knockout gas on him the moment the fight began. Dick tried to talk with Damian and they ended up fighting. Damian, of course, got his butt kicked.

Stephanie was standing on the sidelines the entire time, encouraging everything.

Soon enough the Colony noticed Slade holed up near Gotham and launched an attack. Due to the danger, Bruce pulled in everyone, leaving the Robins and Alfred to keep an eye on Damian, Duke, Cullen, and Cass in the manor while Catwoman took guard outside. When Damian found out about the attack and tried to go after Slade, Tim sent him in the opposite direction then followed after him in the suit he’d been designing for post-Robin while the others took shelter in the cave.

Tim knocked Damian out and dragged him back to the cave where they locked him in a cell, to Bruce’s annoyance. Damian woke up and realized his father was Batman when he overheard Bruce reveal that Talia was likely coming back for Damian now that Slade was taken down. He also heard the family’s argument over it. None of them wanted him to go with her, but in the end they agreed that it was Damian’s choice.

When she did come, Damian remembered what the others said about him having a choice and some things about family Dick had said when the two had had their private conversation. He decided to stay with them, citing that there were things his father could teach him that he couldn’t learn while helping his mother rebuild the League.

She was obviously annoyed and disappointed, but didn’t fight him on it.

It wasn’t easy. Damian still fought with all his brothers as well as Stephanie, though Duke did his best to keep out of it. The youngest Wayne tried to challenge Tim and Bette for his place as Robin, but Dick and Bruce were able to get him to agree to training instead with the reminder that he was lacking the theatrical and teamwork skills that the Colony utilized and were mandatory as Robin.

Bruce didn’t mention that he wanted more reassurance the boy wouldn’t step over the line before ever letting him near the field.

Damian was not impressed when he discovered his father’s relationship with Selina Kyle and made it well known.

She thought it was adorable.

Damian would never admit that the kitten she gifted him was what calmed him. He simply didn’t see the point in wasting any energy on outwardly disliking the woman when his father clearly wouldn’t be changing his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Duke took Tim’s place as Robin, he made sure to keep his own contributions to the role quiet. Robin was a legacy while his meta abilities were not. Tim was not quite so subtle in his new role.

No one was sure where the name Corvid came from since the new bird didn’t speak in words, only trills. He wore an armored suit that was blue on the chest and arms and black on his sides with white detailing. His legs, hands, and feet were all black as well except for the blue splashes on the outside of his thighs. A white belt draped over his hips while black bandoliers crossed over his chest, a silver and black bird logo covering the cross. The bandoliers connected to his cowl, which was open at the top unlike the Bats’ which allowed his feather-like hair to fall down around his face. It was shoulder length and faded from black at the roots to blue at the tips, much like the wings that formed from his feathered cape.

They said he was a fallen star stolen away by the Colony. He soared soundlessly through the air on wings that never flapped, leaving behind a trail of blue light. He was more migratory than the others. Sometimes he flew above Batman and Robin, sometimes Batwoman and Red Hood, and sometimes Batgirl and Nightwing. A criminal could only hope they got the warning of seeing one of the others first or he’d have them in his talons hundreds of feet in the air before they even realized he was there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time passed. Damian grew closer to the rest of the Colony under Dick’s instruction.

Jason and Kate bonded with him over their more aggressive styles (to Bruce’s consternation) while helping him learn ways to calm his temper.

Despite their rough start and continuing antagonism, Damian grew to respect Tim’s quick mind as he tutored him in strategy and the Colony’s language.

He also developed a respect that had nothing to do with fear -- not at all -- for Barbara after she repaid an insult he gave her by sharing with the entire family a video of him fawning over some stray kittens in the park. He never discovered how she got the footage as he had made sure there were no cameras in the vicinity before acting in such an undignified fashion. (It was Dick. He pouted for weeks when he realized the cute video he took of his adorable baby brother was used for such purposes.)

A similar kind of respect grew for Harper as he quickly learned to be noticeable when approaching her. She had far too much experience with bats and birds sneaking around and far too little concern over jabbing them with a stun gun in revenge, whether they meant to scare her or not.

He was not afraid to admit he was scared of Cass once he realized who she was, though. He knew her skills and knew she could take him down in seconds if it came to it.

He was skeptical of both Stephanie and Bette, who he believed to be vapid, but Stephanie’s pranks were amusing when they weren’t directed at him and Bette introduced him to social media revolving around animal rights (and cute animal pictures).

Although he was rather dull, Cullen was by far the best person to be with while working on his newfound appreciation for drawing and painting, especially if the older boy was doing his own artwork for the webcomics he and Duke collaborated on.

While not being the most mentally or physically skilled, Duke was the most patient of the lot and could be trusted to keep his mouth shut so he was the one Damian went to when he needed assistance with homework (a rare occurrence, but the American schooling system was so different from his League tutors, to the point that sometimes they even seemed to contradict one another) or wanted to practice his Trillic.

Though he would never admit it out loud, Dick was Damian’s favorite of the lot. While he didn’t have Duke’s patience, he was just as considerate and confidential. When something happened, Dick was always willing to hear him out and talk him through it until he understood. Or at least was on the path to understanding. Dick did not share Jason’s anger, his father’s suspicion, Tim’s caution, or Duke’s anxiety. He had only sympathy. Damian knew his mother would consider Dick weak, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a year in Gotham came and went, Dick went to Duke and Bette. The three talked, eventually bringing in Harper as an idea began to blossom.

Robin had a sword. They said he got it from his shadow.

The only thing not pitch black on the Black Bat was the thin golden outline of the Bat’s symbol on their chest. Their face was featureless, not even possessing eyes like Batgirl. They never made a sound. If you saw Robin, then his shadow was behind you.

There was no time to run.

On the other hand, those who believed themselves safe during the day proved to be foolish.

Bright spirits had come to Gotham.

They wore metal armor and carried their wings on their chests. They came and went in flashes of light bright enough to stun.

Bluebird was their guide and donned armor of blue. Her voice echoed with the voices of lost souls and lightning danced across her form.

Lark was their prophet and donned armor of gold. He could see the past, present, and future and fought with the strength of ages past.

Hawkfire was their messenger and donned armor of red. She spoke with the voices of everyone she passed and her armor blazed with the heat of the sun.

Though they walked the day and seemed to be creatures of light, it was nothing but a trick. They were will-o'-wisps, false lights. They were birds.

The Colony had invaded the day.

With the three working together, Bette offered to turn Duke and Harper. The two accepted. Afterwards Harper sought out Cullen and Cass to offer them the same. She wasn’t surprised with Cass’s easy agreement, though Cullen’s was a little more shocking as he’d never shown any interest in the Colony’s nightlife. Quite the opposite, in fact. He simply shrugged and told her vampirism had nothing to do with the nightlife. It was just how their family worked.

He and Cass were greatly amused, but unsurprised when Harper, Bette, and Duke forgot to mention the latest turnings. They decided to keep their own mouths shut to see how long it would last, though he did confide in Alfred. Not that it was necessary as the man seemed to put it together himself the moment he saw Cullen.

It took three months for Bruce, Tim, and Barbara to figure it out for themselves, then an additional two for the rest to find out when Duke casually mentioned it during a family meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damian blamed Tim when he found himself stuck in a room with Superman’s spawn Jonathan Kent while said superhero in disguise interviewed Damian’s father for the newspaper.

Clearly, Tim’s horrible curse had somehow rubbed off on Damian and the older boy would pay dearly once he returned home by way of Damian renaming all of Tim’s non-case related computer folders and creating a maze of invisible thread around his room.

At least the half-alien had good taste in video games. And his voice was nice enough that his incessant chatter was more like a soothing white noise than a nuisance. And Superman clearly would have trained Jon in discretion, even if not to Damian’s family’s standards.

For the record, the only reason Damian accepted Jon’s number was so that Dick would be so pleased Damian had finally acquired a friend that he wouldn’t allow the others to tease him over something that was clearly Tim’s fault to begin with. And when that plot fell through, he simply forgot to delete Jon’s number because he was busy expanding his revenge to include Jason and Stephanie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harper, as Black Bat, wore Cass's Orphan suit from Young Justice. I wanted something a little more lowkey from what she normally wears since she's not really supposed to be spotted.

Tim's suit got the most reworking because I like and dislike elements from all his Red Robin suits. The end result is one with the body armor from his Young Justice (TV) Robin suit, but with the New 52 wings paired with the bandoliers, logo, and cowl from the original Red Robin suit. Except I left the cowl open on top like the ones Kid Flash and Impulse use. From there you replace the red with blue and the yellow with white. I honestly wish I was better at drawing so that I could give a visual of what I'm going for here.

Cass's Black Bat suit is her Batgirl one, just with her belt black instead.

Haper, Bette, and Duke wear Signal's armor as Bluebird, Hawkfire, and Lark, just in blue, red, and gold instead of yellow. The bat logo is also replaced with their individualized bird logos.

Vampires’ animal forms:

Duke: Cape wild dog

Harper: Maned wolf

Cullen: Crab-eating fox

Cass: Northern bat

[thewritingstar]

Valuable Possessions: Greens Oneshot

Pairing: Buttercup x Butch (butchercup/Greens)

Fandom: Powerpuff Girls 

Thief/royal au.

This idea came to me at 1 am last night as I was struggling with my focus so I hope you all enjoy!!

--

He was an expert thief. Stealing from the rich and giving to himself and his brothers, that was his type of charity work. He had gotten word about the abandoned tower on the east side of the castle. No one had kept that room company for years and the guards post just collected dust.

He could have easily gone through the front door like his older brother said too, but why would he? He liked it rough and dangerous and if he came out with a few scratches and bruises, he saw no problem with that.

He could see the windows opened as he scalded the tower. Shoving his feet into the cobblestone wall plates was something he was skilled at. A trait he picked up as a child since his no good father taught them how to break and enter without getting caught. He tumbled inside easily and was surprised to see a candle lit on the vanity. It was covered in an endless array of treasures, his mouth practically watering from the riches he was about to claim.

He wasted no time stuffing his bag with the jewels and tiaras. All of this fancy stuff would keep his brothers on their toes for months, this was heaven.

“Those pearl earrings are worth thousands.” He dropped the bag and his back hit the vanity as he turned. He covered his mouth to not let out that deep scream and he yelled at himself for not checking the rest of the room.

His eyes widened as he spotted the figure on the bed. The figure crawled to the edge of the bed before swinging their feet over to get a better look at him. How the hell did he miss her?

“Relax I'm not going to tell the guards, they wouldn’t hear me anyways...or care.” He heard the last part but he had a feeling he shouldn’t have.

His brothers were waiting but he was frozen in his place. His breathing was fast and uneven as she swept a lock of thick black hair behind her ear. The faint glow of the candle could only do so much and she stood from her bed and walked forward. The black nightgown draped around her as she picked up his bag and began to shove more things inside.

“I hate all of this stuff.” She mumbled and grabbed a crown that he knew was worth too much to even think about. “It's pointless.”

She shoved the burlap sack to his chest. “Have a nice night.”

He should have ran, slid down the side of the tower and to his brothers and showed them his prized hall. He would be celebrated by the youngest and maybe even praised by the oldest which he needed since he almost lost his hand at the last break in. But he couldn’t. His mind was racing, tumbling over the questions. Why was she here?

“Who are you?” He blurted out and she looked up from the necklace she was holding.

“By royal terms my name is Princess Buttercup but I don’t think the title is worth wild.” She shrugged and tossed him the necklace. He felt weird shoving it in the bag but he couldn't take his eyes off her as she sorted through more things.

“If you’re the princess-”

“Then why am I here? Well funny story. They tried to marry me off today. It was a hold deal with men in too tight outfits and smelled like gold apples, how do you smell like a gold apple? One man got down on his knee, didn’t even know the guy, and before he could say anything, I stabbed his sorry ass with my small dagger. And now this-'' She gestured to the room.” Is my time out zone.” She flopped on the bed and threw her arms in the air. “Well it's just my room, but still secluded from the rest of the castle like always.” She didn’t sound bitter but he noticed almost a disinterest from her.

“You stabbed the guy?” He grinned. “Not your average princess huh?”

“Right in the leg.” She mimicked the motion with a hairbrush that was engraved with silver and gold. “And not by blood so I really don’t care what they say.”

“Bad ass.” He whispered to himself.

He turned back to the vanity. “Oh if you could just leave the portrait of my sisters and the heart locket, that would be nice but everything else is fair game good sir.”

“Good sir? I'm literally stealing from you.” He picked up the photo. “Sisters you say?” It must have been when she was young. Her hair was much shorter and her smile was bright and missing a tooth in the front.

She leaned on her elbows. “It's the only thing I have left of them. Once I turned five we were separated. I ended up being an adopted princess who is nothing short of a disappointment who hates the king and queens guts. Not to mention-”

“Princess Morbucks yeah that must suck. Haven’t met her personally but I know enough to see her as the bitch she is. I feel sorry for you.”

She only shrugged. “Yeah well you would think all of this junk is nice but-”

“You don’t have any freedom.” He finished and she gave him a look of uncertainty. She nodded and smiled to herself.

“Exactly. And I can’t just leave, I have nowhere to go and even if I did, everyone would know it's me.” She twisted her finger with a long strand of her black hair. “Oh there's some nice shoes in the closet, probably worth something and I have an extra bag there too.”

He set the photo down and found the shoes. Yep these would sell great. He was really hitting the jackpot. After clicking the vanity again he realized he had swept it clean except for the locket and photo, he would be nice and leave it since, yeah know, she let him steal.

He left the gowns and some shoes in the closet and didn’t dare to go near the bookcase over to her, he had enough and ran out of space anyways.

“All done?” She said with a smirk and he gave her an over the top bow.

“Very much. Thank you M’lady.” She smiled and he felt a slight tightness in his chest.

“Well if you are ever in the area, I'm sure this place will be refilled by tomorrow, I’ll just say I went crazy and threw it into the ocean. That is if they dont kill me first.”

“In the ocean?” He asked with wide eyes.

“It happens sometimes.” She shrugged casually as if she wasn’t aware that she was discharging thousands of dollars in objects. “Make them pay right? Plus all my stuff got washed up and some village people found it. Consider it my anger doing community service.”

“Well  doubt I’ll be coming back to this shit hole of a kingdom. My brothers and I will be traveling for a long time, thanks to you.”

“Glad to help and hey.” He turned as he was leaning out the window. “If you by chance ever see one of my sisters-” She smiled and faded smaller and her eyes looked at the picture. “Maybe tell them I miss them, I know it's a long shot but it would give me hope.”

He should have been on the ground by now, running away. His brothers and him could be set for life with this stuff and he could just imagine it all now. But this deep feeling in his gut made him stop and think. He threw his feet back inside and sighed. Grabbing the extra bag, he stuffed the locket and photo inside.

“Hey I said-”

“You’re coming with me.” He stated.

“What?”

Yeah what was he thinking?

“You said it yourself. You have nothing here worth staying for. The least I could do is get you out of this hell and allow you some freedom before the guards rip your head off. Now throw on these and lets get going.” He threw some pants he found and a coat. She caught him and stared at him hesitatingly.

She turned around and he finished packing her things as well as some fruit he found by her nightstand.

“You have a tattoo?” He smirked and she hit him on the head.

“Don’t fucking look you creep.” Ahh so she cusses, good to know.

She finished changing and found more things to bring for money purposes.

“Wait.” He said and he opened a drawer and found a silver pair of scissors. “Sit down.” He found it oddly charming how she gladly sat and she didn’t even flinch when the scissors snapped shut.

She kept her eyes close as she could feel the hair falling off her shoulders, she knew it would be messy and probably look weird but there was a silent weight that was coming off. She knew the moment she was adopted into the kingdom, she was a burden.

They always said they picked the wrong one. And they are right. His youngest sister would have loved playing dress up everyday. She could see her now fanning over all the suitors. She missed them terribly.

“Alright all set.” She opened her eyes and almost gasped. Her hair was a little above her shoulders now and it felt so light and free. She had forgotten what it was like to run her fingers through her messy cut and she loved it.

For once she felt a genuine smile coming on and her eyes met him in the mirror. He was staring at her in a different way than before. She finally got a good look at him. Dark raven hair like herself and he was nicely built. Her eyes trailed along the mass of tattoos on his arm but he looked about the same age as her. She caught herself from sitting for too long and stood up.

“Thanks. Now let's get the hell out of here.”

“Of course your majesty.” He faked bowed and she rolled her eyes before he went out the window and climbed down. “Need help sweetheart?” He called up but she surprised him by following his movements exactly.

“No thanks, I’ve escaped plenty of time-Ahh”

Her feet slipped at the bottom and she fell and almost screamed before she felt strong arms holding her. She opened her eyes to see him smirking. He didn’t see it before but her iris were bright green like of an emerald or a grasshopper he once dared his brother to eat, and he did.

She gazed back at him. Her smile broke out as she looked up at the tower that had confined her for many years, yep she had been sent there too many times and felt more like a burden. She held a hand up to it and flipped it off and heard him laugh.

She shook her head and looked at him. This overwhelming feeling in her chest. “Fuck it.” She whispered and slammed her lips against his. He kissed her back immediately and her hands clutched his face and she heard him groan.

She pulled back with a smile. “What the hell was that for?” He asked with a flustered grin.

“Well usually in stories the prince who rescues the princess gets a kiss as a reward but I think a thief who just stole from me and stole me as well deserved something too. Plus.” She looked at him with narrow eyes. “You are much hotter than any of those fucking snobs.”

He only smiled back before setting her on the ground. “You bet your sweet ass I am.” He winked and she followed him towards the hidden passage where his brothers were staked out. They walked in silence before a thought came to him.

“You know with all this money, we can probably find your sisters.” He said to her.

Buttercup nodded. “I hope so. Say I never caught your name.”

“Names Butch.”

She hummed as she caught up to him and walked by his side. “Nice name. Suits you.”

He thought that night he would be stealing a mass of riches. Taking priceless artifacts from the kingdom but little did he know that he stole the most valuable item of all.

--

Just something quick and cute! Hope you liked!

[tsarisfanfiction]

Pulse III

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Angst Characters: Virgil Tracy, Gordon Tracy

Part 3 of my entry for @gumnut-logic‘s SensorySunday: Touch. Part 1 | Part 2

Some complaints about being in the dark have come my way, so let me shine a little light inside the rubble.  Maybe there might even be an answer or two in there!

He opened his eyes with an involuntary groan.  Ow, something wasn’t right.  An attempt to move resulted in his right arm screaming out in pain and he stopped. Okay, that was a problem.  Keeping said arm carefully still for the moment, he turned his head to the side – registering that it was dark, and that the light from his helmet was the only thing stopping him from staring into black – to try and see his immediate surroundings and- oh.  That explained it.

Where his arm should be, there was a chunk of building.  Specifically, a piece of what had once been a supporting wall, he suspected, although that wasn’t particularly helpful when it was trapping his right arm and therefore a good part of the Jaws of Life, too.  Wonderful.

“Thunderbird Five?” he called out, even as he continued to look around, spying his other arm – still linked in to the Jaws of Life – intact and covered in small chunks of masonry rather than one large one.  John didn’t answer, which meant nothing good, because presumably his suit telemetry would be picking up on the probable damage to his right arm and sending it straight to his older brother.  If John wasn’t picking up, that meant John couldn’t, and Virgil didn’t like any situation which resulted in being cut off from any of his brothers.  “Scott?”

Biggest brother also remained silent, and with a groan he lifted his left arm, allowing the masonry to trickle down onto the uneven floor.  Typically, the claw best suited to lifting a large chunk of fallen wall was also the claw buried under said chunk of fallen wall, but Virgil was resourceful.  Rolling over onto his side and gritting his teeth against the agony of his very upset right shoulder – dislocated, probably – he got the three grabs of his precision claw securely clamped onto the offending slab of masonry.

The angle was awkward and all wrong, but this?  This was what Virgil did, and no relatively small piece of wall was going to get the better of him today.  With a groan that was two parts effort and three parts pain, he heaved the slab up and forced his unco-operative right arm, complete with attached exosuit, to scrape out of the way before dropping it with an almighty crash, unfortunately prompting more smaller chunks to pepper him from above.

Virgil didn’t really need the reminder that a collapsed building was not a safe place to be in. Ideally, he’d like a map of the place, complete with locations of other trapped individuals, so he could continue his job.  His right arm – both the dislocated shoulder and the probable broken radius and/or ulna – would have to wait until he got out of there.

Some of his brothers, naming no names of course, would continue to use the Jaws of Life with a broken arm, claiming that it was splinting the injury and therefore causing no further damage, but then, that was why this particular equipment had his name on them.  He could be trusted not to do anything stupid with the heavy duty equipment, which was exactly why he wasn’t removing it, and already looking to find a weak point in his small air pocket to work his way free of the rubble.

Beyond his small prison, there was the sound of sobbing.  He couldn’t make out any words, but it was clear to him that at least one person was there, in trouble, and a broken arm was not going to stop him from saving them.  Still, let it not be said that Virgil was as reckless as certain brothers.  He left his right arm hanging limp, supported by the equally mangled right claw, and focused all of his strength into his left.

Being ambidextrous was an absolute must in this job, and not for the first time in his life, Virgil was glad that he could control his left hand to the same degree of accuracy as his right as, slowly, piece after broken piece of masonry piled up behind him.  The good thing about having the Jaws of Life was that it made moving heavy masonry possible, even with a single hand.  The bad thing about having the Jaws of Life meant that his already built frame was made even bulkier and he had to make a bigger hole so that he could squeeze through without causing another cave-in.

“Hello?” he called, poking his head through the hole as soon as it was big enough for his helmet and seeing two figures several paces from his current location.  One was lying down, a crumpled heap with too much masonry on top of them for him to have much hope, while the other seemed to be a teenage girl.  The sobbing was coming from the girl, and from the looks of it she was crying over the other body.

Neither responded to his call.

“Hello?” he tried again, louder this time.  “I’m with International Rescue.”

The wailing just got louder, and he pulled his head back, eyeing the hole critically to work out the best way to expand it.  He had at least two individuals almost within reach, and almost wasn’t good enough. It was tempting to shoulder the rest of the masonry out of the way, but if he did that he could well bring the whole thing down on top of them.

No, he had to go carefully.

“I’m working my way to you!” he called to the pair, just to keep them in the loop even as they continued to ignore him.  He’d long since stopped taking that personally – panic did strange things to the mind.

The tremors were mild to begin with, so mild Virgil barely noticed them until a small trickle of mortar started to fall from the hole he was making.  Another earthquake?  No, it wasn’t right for that.  Too regular, too predictable, too-

Woah.

Virgil was forced to jump back from a familiar nose cone bursting through the rubble just by his hole-in-progress.

A Mole Pod?  They were using Mole Pods?  That seemed a bit risky, although Virgil admitted their options were somewhat limited.

“Virgil!”

The hatch lifted to reveal a dirt-streaked grin of pure relief belonging to the next Tracy down in the line. Gordon looked okay, if more brown and grey than blue and yellow, and Virgil relaxed at the sight of assistance and a route out.

“There are two people just through there,” he said, jumping straight into rescue-mode.  They could deal with the whole we lost contact and oh my arm is broken stuff later.  “A teenage girl and a half-buried individual.”  Gordon made a face and immediately Virgil knew it wasn’t good news.

“John’s only got two lifesigns at these co-ordinates,” Gordon told him.  “Your gear’s not responding to Thunderbird Five – which Johnny’s going crazy about, by the way – so one of them is you.”

Virgil had already suspected it wouldn’t be a happy ending, but it never got any easier.

“You go on ahead and get the girl,” he said.  “I’ll see what I can do.”  Gordon was already shaking his head.

“Your comms are down, your exosuit looks like Grandma tried to cook it, and don’t think I don’t know what a broken arm looks like, Virge.  You’re coming up to the surface where you can reassure our totally-not-terrified big brother.”

“Scott’s up top?” That didn’t sound like Scott. Scott would be throwing himself into the rubble at the head of the pack, long before he let the terrible two near the Mole Pods.

Gordon pulled another face Virgil didn’t like.

“Not Scott, our other big brother, the one who lost all traces of you when the second quake hit.” He shook his head, opening his mouth as if he had something else to say, but then closing it again.  “We’ll get the girl out, then all three of us are going back up top.”

Virgil frowned at him, but Gordon had already closed the hatch again, restarting the Mole Pod to create a secure path to the girl weeping over a corpse.

What wasn’t Gordon telling him?

Part 4