#only to find that danny's a sweet kid whos stressed out and doing his best and cujo is a ghost dog who died years ago and only wants to pla

[luxaofhesperides]

I'm not sure if you're still taking Ghostlights requests, but if you are: Dick asking Duke to take Haley to the dog park for him in order to set up a meet-cute for him with the guy with the weird green rottweiler

And if you aren't, just know that you're doing great and I appreciate the hell out of you

“Oh, shoot!” 

Hearing Dick rush around as a frantic mess is not uncommon while he’s in Gotham. There’s too many people wanting to spend time with him that he ends up pulled in a bunch of different directions. Dick’s always in a rush, always busy, always making time for people because he has more love than Duke has ever seen in a person.

Dick’s also got pretty good time management skills after years of doing this. He’s only cutting out a few minutes early for their designated three hour catch-up session. 

That doesn’t mean he’s going to do it gracefully, though.

“Almost lost track of the time!” he says, moving to the couch to pick up his jacket. “Hey, Duke, can do you me a favor while I’m out?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Can you take Haley to the dog park? I usually take her twice a week around this time, but I totally forgot to include that in my calendar this week so I’ve got plans with the Titans just outside the city, and no time to take her out.”

“Yeah, man, of course I can take her to the dog park. The one attached to Robinson Park, right?”

Dick nods, shoving his shoes onto his feet. “That’s the one! Her treats are also in the bag hanging next to her leash. Oh, and she has a friend at the dog park! Don’t be scared when you see him, he’s just green.”

“Oh…kay?”

“Great, thanks! Bye, Duke, I’ll see you later!”

And with that, Dick is gone, closing the door to his safehouse as he dashes into the hall. 

Duke is left alone in Dick’s Gotham safehouse, blinking dazedly at the empty space where he once was. He’s certainly a whirlwind of activity when he realizes he’s going to be late. He’s also skilled in just saying things and leaving before any questions can be answered.

Haly jumps up onto the couch next to Duke. They share a look, then Duke shakes his head. “You have to deal with that every day, huh?”

Haly, the good girl that she is, doesn’t say anything bad against her owner and just puts a paw on Duke’s thigh, her tail wagging. 

“I hear ya, girl. Let’s go to the dog park to meet your green friend,  I guess.”

He has no idea what that means, honestly. Is Dick just talking about a dog that got its fur dyed green? Or is Haly’s friend like… a mutant dog? 

Well, he’s not going to find out by stalling. 

Duke pets Haly, then stands up and walks to the door. Her head perks up as soon as she hears the jangle of her leash being moved, and then she’s running to the door, looking up at him expectantly. Smiling, Duke slips the harness onto her, then attached it to the leash. He gives her another quick pet before shoving on his shoes and grabbing her bag of treats and waste disposal bags. 

He double checks that he has his phone, then takes hold of Dick’s spare safehouse key and steps out into the hallway with Haly. She waits patiently as he locks the door, checks that the lock holds, then runs down the hallway, ripping the leash right out of his hands.

“Haly! Wait! Stop, girl!”

She happily ignores him and goes straight for the elevator, leaving him to run after her and quickly scoop up the leash as soon as he’s close enough.

“Of course you’re a little escape artists,” he says to her, “Just like your owner.”

Haly woofs softly, then stands up and scratches at the doors of the elevator. Shaking his head, amused, Duke pushes the button to call the elevator and wonders if Dick has to deal with this every time they go to the dog park. 

On one hand, it wouldn’t surprise him since Dick is absolutely the kind of guy to give in to his dog’s every whims and spoil her rotten. On the other hand, Duke fully believes that Haly is smart enough and cute enough to misbehave only when Dick isn’t around so he never believes people when they try to tell him about all the mischief she’s caused. 

Dogs and their owners really do reflect one another. The internet was right about that.

Duke makes sure to keep a tight grip on Haly’s leash once they leave the apartment building. The streets are busy, as they tend to be on weekends, and the sight of Haly straining against her leash, ready to run, brings a smile to more than one face. 

He plots the route to the dog park in his mind, then starts up a light jog, tugging lightly on the leash to prompt Haly to follow him. 

It’s nice to run just for the sake of it. Haly makes a good running partner as well. 

How long has it been since Duke had time to relax and not be prepared for the worst? All the running he usually does these days is to catch up with criminals or run for his life. Being out during the day, moving through the city, without any lives in danger? Genuinely nice and relaxing. 

Maybe he can offer to take Haly to the dog park from now on. Join Dick whenever he goes. Create a set few hours where he doesn’t do anything but enjoy being outside in one of the few places where the smog of pollution and chemical toxins isn’t so thick in the air. 

He’ll just have to make sure Dick doesn’t agree to something else during those days. It’s still strange to think that Dick could forget to do something involving Haly when he’s such a good dog owner and a pro at juggling various responsibilities and a busy schedule. 

Well, they all have off days. This must be one of Dick’s.

The sidewalks get wider once they reach the street that leads to the park. Families fill up the space, walking with strollers in front of them or lined up at a food cart. The vivid green of spring fills the grassy fields that lead to the large patches of trees, marking the edge of Poison Ivy’s territory. Clovers decorate the ground, bees moving from flower to flower. 

There are other dogs on walks as well, making circuits around the park or running after toys. Duke spots a cat in a walking harness as well and wonders if he can convince Damian to get one for Alfred the cat. 

The dog park is on the other end of the park, as far away from Ivy’s territory as possible. The fenced off areas are separated into big dogs and small dogs, with a helpful guide as to which dogs go where posted at the entrance. 

Duke slows to a walk, breathing deeply to help settle his heart rate back down to something normal. Haly walks by his side, tail wagging, as she watches the other dogs run back and forth behind the fence. 

She’s still small, just growing out of puppy size, so Duke leads her into the small dog area, carefully making sure the gate doesn’t open enough for any quick dogs to make a break for it. He walks over to a bench and sits down before undoing the harness on her, setting her loose. 

Haly licks his hand once, then darts away, barking lightly as she joins the other dogs tumbling around each other. 

Amused, Duke leans back at watches as the other dogs sniff her, then do their funny little bowing stomps, moving back and forth before running off so she can give chase. 

He figures staying for an hour will be good enough. That should get the most of her energy out, and then they can make the long trek back to Dick’s safehouse so he can pick her up before he heads back to Bludhaven. Pulling out his phone, Duke settles in to wait, keeping half his attention on Haly just in case any of the other dogs decide to get a little too rough.

The first twenty minutes pass peacefully. Haly runs around and the owners of the other dogs give her pets when she runs up to them. One even went over to Duke to offer him a pack of fruit gummies. 

Then a loud bark fills the air and Duke jerks upright, watching with wide eyes as a colossally large dog, green and glowing and slightly transparent, comes barrelling down the street, headed right towards them. 

He doesn’t have time to yell Haly’s name before the dog is in the fence. None of the other dog owners look alarmed, though, so he watches carefully, prepared to jump up and save Haly at a moment’s notice.

“Cujo!” someone yells from down the street. A guy with dark hair comes running up and smoothly jumps over the fence. “Cujo, how many times do I have to tell you not to run off like that?”

The green dog, apparently Cujo, barks happily.

“And you’re too big for this park right now, buddy. Shrink, boy. It’s time to be small.”

And then Cujo… obeys? The dog shrinks, and instead of being the size of a bus, it’s now small enough to be carried in someone’s arms. 

Green dog is not enough warning for all of that. Dick owes him so much for this.

Actually, he’s kind of shocked that Dick never mentioned this to anyone. Surely a giant green dog would get people’s attention. Why is this the first time he’s heard about it?

“You new around here?” someone asks, and Duke turns to see the person who gave him the fruit gummies.

“Kinda? It’s my first time coming to the dog park. I’m looking after Haly, that one right over there.” He points out Haly, who is running in circles around Cujo.

“Ah, I see. Dick mentioned someone new would be coming today.”

Duke narrows his eyes. He’s starting to get the feeling that he’s been set up for something, but he’s not sure what. 

“I’ll give you the spiel we tell all newcomers, in that case,” they continue. “Cujo is a ghost dog. Poor thing died during some animal testing, far as we know. Danny looks after him, since Cujo got attached to the kid years ago before he moved to Gotham. He’s a kind one, but very nervous, and we’ve all got an agreement to keep quiet about him and Cujo round this parts. You better be holding your tongue, as well, ya hear me?”

“Sure thing,” Duke nods. “My lips are sealed.”

He’ll just ask Dick about the ghost dog situation and do his own investigation if needed. But Cujo is just a dog, and his owner is just a guy. Nothing threatening, nothing requiring a Bat’s attention.

“Good,” they nod. “I’ll get out of your hair now.��� They’re gone before Duke can reply, adjusting the hat on their head as they head back to their group in the back left corner of the dog park. 

Satisfied that things are under control, Duke relaxes back into the bench, watching Haly and Cujo tumble around with the other dogs, barking happily. Haly’s still growing into her paws, so she trips and falls often, but gets up without a moments pause, ready to keep playing.

From the corner of his eyes, Duke catches sight of someone walking towards him. 

He looks over and finds Cujo’s owner—Danny, wasn’t it?—approaching. Their eyes meet, and Danny offers him a sheepish smile and a wave. His eyes are a dark blue that seem to glow with some otherworldly light, and Duke can swear he sees something shifting around him, as if the air has turned visible and twists around his body like wisps of smoke. 

“Mind if I sit with you?” Danny asks, and Duke moves to the side a bit.

“Go ahead,” he says.

“You’re Duke, right? Dick told me about you last week.”

It’s looking more and more like Dick is up to something, and Duke will need to get his revenge. “Did he? All good things, I hope.”

“Aha, yeah, all good things. Um, actually I think I should apologize? I maybe said you sounded like my type so Dick promised that he’d get you here somehow. Sorry if this is messing up your plans for the day.”

Oh. Oh! 

Well. That’s interesting. 

Duke quietly shelves his plans for revenge against Dick and takes a proper look at Danny. He’s shy, but with a bright smile, glowing eyes and strange smoke curling around him still, and messy black hair windswept from chasing after Cujo. There’s a flush in his cheeks and his long fingers fiddle with the string of his dark red hoodie. 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t have any plans today. This is way better than just sleeping all day.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Danny laughs, “There’s nothing I like more than being able to sleep all day. That would fix me for sure.”

There’s a loud bark, and Danny’s eyes snap back to Cujo, who is growing bigger. “Cujo!” Danny yells, voice sharp. “Shrink down, or we go home.”

Cujo grumbles, whines, then goes back to being little. The green dog only has a moment to look sad before Haly is tackling him, sending them back into another chase around the park. 

“Sorry about that,” Danny says, slouching against the bench. 

“It’s all good,” Duke replies. “So. I’m your type, huh?”

Danny’s cheeks turn a deep, charming red. He looks away, then nods and ducks his head down. 

“And that hasn’t changed after meeting me?”

Danny shakes his head, then peeks over at Duke, gaze slowly moving up his body until he meets Duke’s eyes. “Definitely hasn’t changed,” he says.

Now it’s Duke’s turn to feel his cheeks burn, flustered and pleasantly surprised by Danny’s boldness. It doesn’t help that Danny is cute, someone he can see himself falling for. 

“Good,” he says, then knocks his knee against Danny’s. “I wouldn’t mind getting to know you more. On one condition.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Tell me what Dick told you about me. I wanna make sure he wasn’t sharing an embarrassing stories about me. If I’m gonna make a fool of myself, then I’ll do it myself with no outside help.”

Danny’s laugh is bright and warm and sends butterflies dancing in Duke’s stomach. “Fair enough!” he says. “And you know what? I’ll trade you for embarrassing stories. Trust me, I have so many. Nothing you’ve done can be worse that the dumb shit I do on a regular basis.”

“Woah, woah, woah, confident, aren’t we? Don’t say that until you’ve heard about some of the stupid situation I choose to throw myself into.”

“Please, I’m an younger brother. If anyone knows how to be stupid, it’s me.”

“I’m part of the disaster that is the Wayne family. I think that has you beat.”

“My parents are mad scientists and my dog is a ghost. Try again.” The teasing smile on Danny’s lips makes him want to be reckless, to keep pushing, to go down this path as far as he can.  Duke can’t remember the last time he clicked with someone so instantly, to be so comfortable with them so soon. 

Damn. He’s gonna have to thank Dick for this, isn’t he?

As if on cue, his phone buzzes in his pocket. Duke pulls it out with an apologetic smile to Danny, who leans back a bit to give him some privacy.

The text that pops up is from Dick. It’s a photo of him and Danny from the side, heads bent close together as they talk with bright smiles. He can just make out the wild red curls of Kori’s hair. 

“I’m gonna put jello in his socks,” Duke says cheerfully, already looking around to find where Dick is hiding. 

He probably already moved locations, the ass. 

“What’s up?” 

He holds out his phone so Danny can see the screen. Danny stares at it, then looks around, then stares at the screen again. 

“...Is he watching us?”

“Yep.”

“...Should we do something about it?”

Duke shrugs. “I mean, I’m up for hunting him down and tackling him if you are.”

“I can do you one better,” Danny says with a sharp grin. He whistles, and Cujo comes running over, Haly at his heels, and he skids to a stop to sit before Danny. “Cujo. You remember Dick?” Cujo barks, as if answering. “Fetch! Go fetch Dick!”

Cujo jumps to his feet, grows from the size of a pug to a bear, and takes off for the art instillation farther into Robinson Park. Moments later, they hear a yell followed by loud laughter, and Cujo and running back, Dick hanging from his mouth, with Kori, Donna, and Roy following after him at a leisurely stroll. 

“I think we’re gonna get along great,” Duke says. “He’s gonna wish he never set us up.”

“That’s the way to do it,” Danny agrees.

“Say, wanna grab lunch together tomorrow?”

Danny blinks, then blushes again. “What, like a date?”

“Yeah, as a date. You up for it?”

“How could I say no? I was promised embarrassing stories.”

He watches as Cujo drops a rumpled looking Dick to the ground, half his shirt soaked with saliva. He dramatically mimes being shot in the heart when he sees them both looking at him, and goes limp when Kori picks him up and tries to set him on his feet. 

Then he tries to act very calm and cool as Danny leans against him. “Think he’s gonna follow up on our date?” Danny asks in a low voice.

Duke closes his eyes and tries not to despair. He didn’t even think of that. “Worse. He’s going to tell everyone else, then we’ll have every available Wayne kid stalking us on our date.”

“Guess I’ll have to rely on you to chase them off, huh?”

“Or we can sic Cujo on them again.”

“Or that,” Danny nods. “It’s always effective.”

He’s really going to have to bring his best to the date tomorrow, just to stay a step ahead of everyone else. Maybe he’ll ask Barbara for a favor and get her to lead them off? And if Bruce gets involved, then Duke is fully prepared to flashbang him, grab Danny, and run. 

It’s going to be a disaster.

It’s going to be fun.

He’s already looking forward to it, and from the mischievous smile on Danny’s face, he’s not the only one.

[ghostgothgeek]

Chaos.

Another for the Phic Phight! This one kinda combines two prompts and I had so much fun writing it! In this, Danny and Tucker don’t know Sam plays video games yet. 5,063 words.

"What do you mean you don’t feel the same way? We´ve had a mutual crush on each other for years." Sam says angrily after finally confessing her love to him. But Danny´s heart was beating hard for someone else entirely. Prompt by phantomfana. 

Danny wants to ask his crush to the upcoming school dance. Prompt by Rikaleeta.

-----

It was another long night of ghost hunting for Danny. Technus took up the first part of the night, trying to take over the park’s new security system. Tucker was fortunately still awake to help him out with that. Then Johnny and Kitty rolled in, but they weren’t looking for trouble, they just wanted a date night and swore they wouldn’t be a problem. Apparently Fridays were their days off for “everything but each other”. Danny was a romantic, but he didn’t know if this was sweet or nauseating. Ember had put up a good fight, though. He was proud he only had one injury to tend to. He had dodged most of her attacks, but she was still a pretty advanced ghost. And, of course, Danny had caught the Box Ghost six, count them, SIX times. How did he always manage to get out?! He wasn’t difficult to take down, he was just a pest. 

Danny sighed as he sat down at his computer chair. It was only 12:30 am, and it was a Friday. He could sleep in tomorrow and he deserved at least a couple hours of fun. He logged into his online gaming account and saw Tucker was online. Figures. He pulled up the chat anyway. 

Astrohaunt: Hey Tuck. Still up?

Technopedia: You know it. Chaos signed on about a half hour ago and I’m not passing up the opportunity.

Astrohaunt: Dude is so good it’s unreal!

Technopedia: He goes to our school, I tracked one of his IP addresses and he logged in at school a few times.

Astrohaunt: Tucker wtf. That’s creepy!

Technopedia: I just want to make sure Chaos is actually a kid and not Lancer again!

Astrohaunt: I still can’t wrap my mind around Lancer playing Doomed…

Technopedia: Same. But Chaos IP is different from Lancer, so we good. Unless more teachers play Doomed.

Astrohaunt: I hate you for putting that image into my brain.

Technopedia: Sorry dude. But quick come join before someone else gets Chaos.

Danny, Tucker, and Chaos had made a great team. Whenever Chaos was around, they were actually able to progress through the game. They played several rounds until Tucker was caught by his mom and was forced to sign off, but Danny and Chaos kept playing. 

TeamChaos: Hey, what’s up?

Astrohaunt: Omg dude you’re so awesome. 

TeamChaos: Ha, thanks. Gotta blow off steam somehow. 

Astrohaunt: Tell me about it! Between Lancer’s three projects and midterms and...other stuff...this is my only time to actually chill. I’ve been so stressed!

TeamChaos: Same. I did finish one of the projects though. I’m always here if you need to talk, you know. 

Astrohaunt: Wow, I may just take you up on that offer. I’ve had a rough night.

TeamChaos: Lay it on me.

And so Danny, sparing the ghost hunting details, stayed up chatting with Chaos until 5 am. He got along really well with the guy, they had a lot of similar interests. This was just the first of many up-all-night conversations they shared. After a few months, Danny felt a special connection with Chaos, and yet, he didn’t even know his name! 

Astrohaunt: We’ve been talking all these months and I still don’t know your name. I’m Danny. 

TeamChaos: Oh, thought you knew. It’s Sam!

Astrohaunt: Hey! One of my best friends is named Sam! 

TeamChaos: You don’t say!!!

The next day at school, Danny pulled Tucker over to him, whispering, “Dude, help. I think I might be gay....” 

“What?!” Tucker shouted.

“Quiet, Tuck!” 

“Okay, well uh...why?” Tucker sent him a weird look and took a step back. 

“No, not you. Chaos. I think I have a crush on Chaos.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do! I never thought I’d be...you know. Chaos and I just have good conversations and he’s always there to listen to me when I need to vent. I thought maybe I found another best friend but...this is different. Chaos is so cool and I’m crushing and I don’t even know who he is or what he looks like! Or if he feels the same way! Maybe I’m just stupid and-”

“Dude, chill. You’re jumping too far ahead of yourself. Whichever way you, you know, swing...I’m still your best friend.” Tucker pulled out his PDA. “Let me see what I can find out. I know Chaos goes to our school.”

“Thanks, Tuck. As if being half ghost wasn’t hard enough! Oh, and he’s in our class, because he’s talked me through assignments and knows what they are and stuff. He’s almost as good as explaining things as Sam. Crap...Sam. Don’t tell her about this!” Danny started fidgeting. 

“Well,” Tucker raised his eyebrows in surprise, “I can tell you with absolute certainty that Chaos is definitely a girl.” 

“You found out who Chaos is?!” 

“What, like it’s hard?” Tucker chuckled. “I traced the IP addresses she uses. I know who she is. So do you,” Tucker smirked, “It shocked me at first, but it makes total sense! And I can totally see why you like her.” 

“Really?” Danny let out a breath in relief. “Okay that makes me feel a lot better...hey, maybe I can ask Chaos to the dance next Saturday!” 

Tucker rested a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Go for it. Ask Sam. I’m almost positive she’ll say yes.”

“Okay, I will...wait, not Sam! Chaos!” Danny clarified. “Well, actually, I think Chaos told me her name was Sam. Ha, small world. I can’t wait to introduce Sam to Sam. I think they would really get along.” 

Tucker busted out laughing, “Oh, dude. You go ahead and do that.” He left Danny standing there in the hallway, still laughing all the way to his next class.

Danny, a bit confused by Tucker’s laughter, shook his head and smiled to himself. Okay, good. He’d had enough identity crises to fill a lifetime. Chaos was definitely a girl. Now if he just knew Chaos returned his feelings, things might actually work out for him this time and he could actually have a girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Sam was having an internal debate of her own. Sitting in a class where the teacher couldn’t give two shits about what the students were doing, she had always used this class as her thinking time. Usually her thinking-about-Danny time. She nervously clicked her pen as she thought about recent events. 

She and Danny spent so much time chatting online when they weren’t hanging out in person. Danny was a little bit more bold online, probably because he didn’t have to interact face-to-face or risk his pants falling down in public again. Online, they talked about everything. No topic was off limits. Plus, Sam felt like their friendship had only grown even stronger when they could chat online and not have to worry about blushing or getting teased by Tucker. Chatting online took away all the pressure and made it much easier to connect with Danny. 

Danny hadn’t said anything yet, of course. He was probably scared. Hell, she was scared. She was already so in love with him, and getting closer online only further solidified that fact. She had never been in love before, and even though she hunts ghosts, this was more terrifying! She was fairly certain he returned her feelings, but both were too chicken to actually make that final step. They’ve been best friends forever. She didn’t want to mess up their already great dynamic or force Tucker to be the third wheel, though he did insist he was more than okay with that and encouraged them to finally get together. 

Sam stopped clicking her pen as she suddenly remembered it was senior year. They hadn’t picked colleges yet, but whether they ended up going to the same school or not, things were going to change. Danny was very attractive, and going off to college meant girls may actually approach him when they didn’t know his parents were ghost fighters. The fact had never bothered Sam, but she did kind of like how it kept most girls at school from asking him out or giving him attention. Valerie had been a challenge, especially because she was a ghost hunter herself and probably wanted to get tips from his parents. Sam was glad that relationship ended relatively early. It was too hard on her. Joyous or not, though, she was still mad at Valerie for how she broke his heart. 

But that was 2 years ago. They had all moved on and friendships were more or less mended across the board. This made Sam glance at her favorite picture of her and Danny. Tucker had taken the candid picture and it was now her phone’s background. In it, Danny was giving Sam a piggyback ride. Her arms were lightly strung around his neck, legs looped around his waist. Danny had kept going in the opposite direction Sam told him to go, which frustrated her but also made her laugh. She had rested her chin on his shoulder, her face pressed right up against his. Danny was looking at her and Tucker had captured that rare moment when Sam had a huge grin on her face, still laughing. She smiled at the picture. They would be okay no matter what. Their friendship would survive.

Anyway, Sam also realized she had already come close to losing Danny, in more ways than one. Whether it was to other girls or a ghost, there was always that anxiety stirring in her head that she could lose him entirely some day. Life was too short. She needed to take the plunge for both of them and just get them both over this hurdle, and they could finally, finally, actually get together. 

Sam made her decision. It was now or never. She was going to tell him. Today. The trio was meeting up at Danny’s house later anyway, and if she got there early enough, she could talk to him before Tucker showed up and teased them about it. Sam firmly nodded her head to herself, a confirmation of her decision. It was finally time.

After school, Danny was pacing in his room, trying to figure out how he wanted to do this. Asking a girl to the dance wasn’t a huge deal, and yet at the same time, it was. He would rather ask in person, but he still didn’t know what Chaos looked like, so asking in person seemed to be off the table. He could look in the yearbook for all the girls named Sam at their school. He could already omit one Sam Manson from that list. How many Sams could possibly attend their school? It would be easier to ask Tucker, though. Tucker already knew who she was. Sam and Tucker were on their way over right now. When Sam wasn’t paying attention, he could ask Tucker for Sam’s full name. 

Chaos Sam, not best friend Sam. God, this was so confusing. Why were girls so hard for him? Freshman year, Paulina only liked his ghost half and wouldn’t give his human half the time of day. Sophomore year, Valerie hated his ghost half and that hatred was more important to her than her feelings for his human half. Junior year, he had been denying that he was in love with his best friend. And now that he had finally accepted that he did like his best friend as much more than a friend, a new girl entered the picture and he now found himself trying to choose between two Sams. Because it apparently wasn’t hard enough for him already to make the biggest and most important change he could possibly make in a friendship, let’s add another crush to the mix and give them the same name.

Sam. Best friend Sam - that’s who he was planning on asking originally, even if he chickened out and had to ask her as a friend instead. Plus, he and Sam had somehow gotten closer recently, and he was pretty sure she liked him. Sure, it was only because Tucker told him so, but it was a possibility. The thing was, he didn’t want to ruin things. Especially because he truly didn’t know how Sam, best friend Sam, felt about him. She was a tough and courageous girl, surely she would have said something by now if it were true. So Tucker must be pulling his leg.

But he did have another option - Chaos Sam, who may actually return his feelings. Sure, the feelings weren’t nearly as strong as what he felt for his best friend, but the feelings were still there. Plus, if he got rejected by Chaos, it would be less heartbreaking than being rejected by Sam, someone he had known for years rather than months. He could deal with losing a newer friend, but not one of his best friends. Sam was too important and he knew he needed her in his life.

Danny sighed. This was really hard, but he made a decision. It was easier to go with Chaos than risk ruining things with Sam. Danny had enough drama going on in his life already, he needed an easy win. 

He broke from his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He ran downstairs and opened it, only slightly surprised to see Sam there. She was usually early for things. He and Tuck were more prone to being late. 

“Hey, Sam. Come on in!” Danny moved so Sam could enter his house. He shut the door and followed her upstairs and back to his room as she returned his greeting. She was pacing the same path he just had, muttering quietly to herself. She looked nervous. “Something on your mind?” 

Sam was startled out of her thoughts. “Huh? Oh yeah.” She noticed his disheveled appearance, also noting he was fidgety. Was he going to do what she was about to do? “What about you, you look like you’ve been thinking a little too hard about something.” She smiled softly. 

Danny chuckled, “Yeah, but it’ll resolve itself soon. I’ll worry about it after the movies. Tuck should be here any second. Oh, but I’m glad you’re early. Can you help me with something quick?” 

“Of course.” Sam followed him to his desk, smiling and rolling her eyes when he pointed to a homework problem. “I should have known.” 

Danny gave her a lopsided smile and watched as she showed him how to do the problem in her perfect handwriting. It took no more than a couple of minutes. Now, they were just waiting for Tucker to arrive. 

Sam looked at the time. He would be here soon. She needed to do this now. She needed to tell Danny. She couldn’t wait until after the movies for him to tell her. She had already waited long enough and couldn’t bear another second.

“Danny, can I talk to you for a second?” She sat down on his bed and gestured for him to do the same. 

Danny could sense the seriousness in her voice, and nodded anxiously. He was scared when Sam was serious about things. It was usually something bad.

“Danny…” She decided to get straight to the point. “I like you. As in like-like you. More than like, and more than a friend. And we’ve been doing this dancing around for at least 4 years now and I’m sick of it. I just want to be with you already. What do you say?” Sam held her breath as she waited for Danny to answer. 

He stared at her with wide eyes before nervously rubbing the back of his neck and turning his attention to his shoes, avoiding eye contact with the goth. God, why him?! He had stupidly thought, for once, things would be easier for him this time. He had already sent an offline message to Chaos that he wanted to ask her something, and then Sam had to come along and tell him what he had wanted to hear for some time now. But he couldn’t blow Chaos off when he had already somewhat asked. Of course, his life just had to be complicated every step of the way. He really liked both girls and didn’t want to hurt his best friend. Regardless, he had to be honest. He owed Sam that much. “Well, I mean, yeah, but…” 

“But what?” Sam whispered, clearly already upset. Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK. This was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. He decided to try going with Chaos so he could avoid heartbreak from his best friend. The very thing he had been so afraid of, he was doing to her right now. 

Danny sighed again. “But I can’t. I’m so sorry, Sam.” It was hard to choke out, but he said it, and he felt terrible. He pressed his lips together and kept staring at his shoes until Sam lifted his chin up, forcing him to look at her. 

“What do you mean you don’t feel the same way? We’ve had mutual crushes on each other for years!” Sam said angrily, feeling her heart break as her best friend and love of her life rejected her confession of love. She was so sure he returned her feelings! Especially after all the great conversations they had shared online these last few months. “Or, at least, I thought we did.” Tears swelled in her eyes. Did he lead her on? “I-I need an explanation, Danny,” she quietly stated after he didn’t continue. 

Danny frowned and his heart ached. He didn’t want to hurt his best friend like this. Hell, he really liked her! Of course their crushes were mutual! And if this had happened 6 months ago instead of now, he would have jumped at the chance. But now...now he had Chaos and already forced himself to stick with his decision. It was easy with Chaos; there was no friendship to risk, no denying of being lovebirds or brushing off kisses as fakeout makeouts. Plus, he couldn’t lie to his best friend. She would know if he was lying. And he already told himself she deserved the truth. “There’s...someone else…” 

“What?” Sam whispered before turning angry again, “Paulina? Valerie? Star?” she spat out. 

Danny shook his head, “Ew, no...it’s someone I met online...I’m so sorry, Sam. I like you a lot, I really do, but I think I’ve already come to the conclusion that I like this girl I met online, Chaos, and I have to try to see that through.” 

Many emotions crossed Sam’s face as she pieced together what he just said. At first she was upset, but as he explained himself, she felt disbelief, confusion, anger, and finally, hope. He couldn’t really be that clueless, right? “Show me.” 

“Huh? I mean, I don’t actually know what she looks like, but we message every night and she really understands me! I know it sounds ridiculous, but-” 

“Show me,” Sam repeated. “Show me her profile.” 

“You’re not going to hurt her, are you?” Danny questioned cautiously.

“No, of course not. Just shut up and show me the profile.” Sam was more calm now, and that was kind of scary. Even though Sam said she wouldn’t hurt Chaos, he didn’t want to give her the chance. But he knew how stubborn his friend was, and eventually in whatever way, she would force the information out of him. 

Danny sighed and pulled up the profile to show Sam. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m still your best frien-” 

“Shut up.” Sam scrolled through what Danny pulled up for her and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Closing her eyes slowly, she took a deep breath. “Didn’t Chaos tell you her name?” 

“Uh,” Danny thought, “oh yeah! She said her name was Sam, because I thought she was a boy at first and I had an existential crisis, but then Tucker told me-” 

“Danny. I’m Sam.” 

“No I know, and sure it’ll be a little weird cause you’re Sam and she’s Sam, it’s confusing, but I-” 

Sam interrupted him once again. She could hear Tucker’s footsteps approaching. She was running out of time to not make this a spectacle. “No, Danny. Chaos. Sam. Me. I’m Sam. I am Sam,” 

Tucker only heard the tail end of the conversation as he entered the room. Never able to pass up a comedic opportunity, he smirked and added “I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham!” 

It was suddenly silent in the room as his friends seized conversation and glared at him. Oops. 

“Oh, am I interrupting something?” Tucker could see the fire in Sam’s eyes. “Uh, oh wait I forgot my...sock. I’ll be downstairs!” He raced out of the room.

Sam turned her attention back to Danny. “No, you stupid fucking MORON. I am Chaos. You’ve been talking to me the whole time. I thought you knew that!” Danny stared at her blankly until she pulled out her phone and he watched her log into her account, proving it to him. Sure enough, it was Chaos’s profile. He could see all the direct messages between them, including his offline message about wanting to ask her something.

“Wait, you? You’re Sam? I mean, Chaos? I mean Sam?” Danny looked back and forth between the profile and his best friend. 

“UGH!” Sam shouted as she threw her hands in the air. “Yes, Danny. That’s me! Did you really not notice that Chaos was the same age as me and a girl who goes to our school? We have the same name and interests! Didn’t you wonder why it was so easy to talk right off the bat? I thought you put that all together and us just pretending to not know each other was a little bit you were trying to do or something!” 

Danny stared at her as he continued to piece it all together. He was definitely embarrassed. He felt so stupid. How could he not tell that Chaos was Sam, his best friend since 7th grade? Talk about being totally clueless. 

Wait. Clueless? Well, fuck! He got the nickname now! 

His eyes flickered back and forth as he thought everything through. Eventually, he started to crack a smile. “Wait, so I’ve had a crush on you and also you? You’re the same person! This is great! Do you know what this means?!” 

Sam slapped her forehead and began walking downstairs. “I don’t even know if this is worth it anymore…” 

“Wait, how come Tuck and I never knew you played video games! We can enter team tournaments! You’re so good!” Danny chased after her. 

Tucker watched as Sam grumbled about Danny caring more about video games than her. An excited Danny was right on her tail. 

“Tucker! Sam is Chaos! I’ve been in love with Sam this whole time!” Danny explained. 

“Tucker, I need you to refrain me from slapping his stupid clueless face,” Sam started. 

“Wait, you didn’t know Sam was Chaos? Dude! I thought I was obvious about that!” Tucker began laughing at Danny. 

“I know, so did I.” Sam crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Danny, you can calculate levels of rocket fuel and figure out how to get us to Mercury or something,” Tucker started. 

“Mars, actually,” Danny corrected. 

“But you can’t figure out that your best friend and your crush are the same person? You’re more than Captain Clueless, you’re like….Lieutenant Clueless? That’s like, bigger right?” Tucker continued. 

“I don’t think that’s how it works, Tuck,” Sam chimed in. 

“Shut up Sam, this isn’t about you,” Tucker immediately stopped his train of thought when he felt Sam glaring daggers at him. “Heh, uh. Except it does. It actually has nothing to do with me. I’m sorry I told you to shut up, please don’t hurt me!” He threw his hands up in front of himself in defense. 

“Relax, Tucker. I’m more angry with this fucking dingus,” she pointed her thumb in Danny’s direction. 

The halfa was about to protest, then closed his mouth. “That’s fair, I deserve that.” 

“I can’t even look at you right now. You scared me! I poured out my emotions to you. I thought you were rejecting me and that I would have to change my name and move to a different country! Wait, are you still rejecting me?” Sam stopped her pacing to look at him. 

“Of course not, Sammy!” 

“Oh don’t you ‘Sammy’ me! I told you I love you, you stupid fucking idiot!” Sam began throwing pillows at Danny, who expertly dodged them (though as a result, Tucker got hit in the face by one). 

“Technically, you didn’t say ‘love’ you said ‘like’”, Danny offered as Tucker shook his head and slashed finger across his neck, signaling Danny to stop talking. 

“Oh, I’m sorry! This is all my fault! I’m going to go jump off a cliff now!” Sam growled and Danny let out a small “oomph” as one of the pillows finally got him. 

“I’m out. Good luck, bro!” Tucker quickly slipped out the door, leaving Danny and Sam alone. 

Sam was about to follow Tucker out when Danny stopped her, “please don’t leave!” She still had angry tears in her eyes. He frowned. This was not how he expected things to go. She watched him for a few seconds before sitting down on the couch, refusing to look at him. “Sam I’m so sorry, this is just a huge misunderstanding.”

“No, Danny. It’s not. You were going to turn me down to go out with someone else.”

“But that someone was still you!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t know that! We’ve been friends for years, and you were more interested in someone you just met a few months ago! I don’t want to be anyone’s second choice, Danny! I’ve been standing by for years as you continuously chose other girls over me. I thought we were done with that, and that you were finally choosing me first, but you won’t and you never will and I’m so stupid.” Sam put her head in her hands as she tried her hardest not to let tears fall. 

And that was when he finally figured it out. It wasn’t just the moment of rejection, it was years of rejection, and at her biggest confession, she still thought he was choosing someone over her. Not to mention, Tucker witnessed most of the conversation. Sam rarely showed her emotions. She always had her heart guarded, and he knew this. Tucker knew this. Hell, she didn’t even tell them she was rich until after a few years of friendship. It took them a while to get her to open up to them. She was a pretty private person. She was probably already hurt like this before. And now, she was probably embarrassed.

“You’re definitely not stupid. I’m stupid. I should have known it was you. That was actually what I really liked about Chaos, she reminded me of you.” 

Sam forced a small sarcastic laugh, “Yeah, right.” 

“No really,” Danny sat on the couch next to her and grabbed her hand, placing it in both of his. “Sam, you’re absolutely incredible. How dumb would I have to be to not notice?” Sam gave him a pointed look. “Okay yeah but it’s not the way you think it is. I liked Chaos because she was a lot like you. She reminded me of you. And it just seemed easier to go with her because she was basically you, but she and I didn’t have a really great friendship that could have gotten ruined if we broke up or something. I could live without her, but I can’t live without you. You’re always my number one. Always have been, always will be. Even if I did just fuck everything up. I’m so sorry, Sam. I’m ready to be with you, if you’ll still have me.” 

Sam stayed silent and stared at her lap, processing this new information. Of course she would forgive him; she always did. She just needed a little time. 

Danny was getting nervous that he really did fuck this up for good. This was so fucking important! He couldn’t risk fucking this up! Sensing her hesitation, Danny tried one more thing to get her back. One thing he hasn’t done before. One thing he just learned how to perfect.  

“Sammy, I’m sorry,” a duplicate popped up next to her on the other side of the couch, startling her. 

“Please forgive me?” Another duplicate was floating in front of her, hanging upside down, hair flopping all over the place. 

“I know I’m a dummy but,” Sam snapped her head towards a third duplicate. 

“I’m only a dummy because I’m in love. With you,” the real Danny finished. Sam looked back and forth between all the Dannys.  

“We’re sorry, Sammy,” all the duplicates said at once. 

Sam was trying really hard to hold back a smile. “You learned how to duplicate,” she stated simply. 

Original Danny grabbed her hands. “Sam. I will make this up to you. I promise.” 

She could hear the determination in his voice and sighed. “You better.” 

Danny smiled and hugged her. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! I love you so much!”

Sam pushed him off of her. “I love you too, you fucking idiot.” 

“But I get to be your idiot!” Sam couldn’t hold her laughter back anymore. “Oh!” Danny shouted, “Will you go to the dance with me? Please?” 

Sam pretended to ponder the answer before saying “alright”. 

“Yay!” All 4 Dannys cheered. The duplicates on either side of her kissed her cheeks as the real Danny kissed her forehead tenderly. The final duplicate, feeling left out, squeezed his way in to give her a hug. 

Sam was now roaring with laughter before kissing the real Danny sweetly. “You know, duplicates won’t always get you out of trouble,” she warned. 

“Yeah, but they could come in handy for other things,” he wagged his eyebrows up and down suggestively before passionately kissing her, the duplicates kissing her neck and touching her in near-dangerous places. 

Sam bit back a moan, eyes lustful before smirking, “I think you just found a way to make it up to me.” She began dragging the real Danny and one of his duplicates back to his room. Fuck the movies.

[longlivelindanny]

You’re Alive, You’re Alive

Paring: Danny & Linda Reagan

Rating: M

Genre: romance, smut

She didn't know exactly where she was- somewhere in Manhattan, but she had no idea where. She had a feeling, a weird, strong feeling she needed to find someone- a man. She had no idea if she knew the man, but her gut and heart were screaming "find him!" She tried, asking around for him and getting now where since she couldn't produce a name or face or any sort of defining feature or characteristic. Feeling almost defeated, she went into one more bar.

She stood at the bar, talking to the bartender. "Excuse me. I know this is going to sound weird, but I'm looking for a man. I don't know his name or where he lives or what he does, but I need to find him."

"How can you be lookin' for someone you know nothin' about?"

"I don't know." She sighed and looked up at the tv. There on the screen, was a handsome man talking to the press. "Hey! That's him!"

The bartender looked up, "that's the commissioner's son- Danny Reagan's his name."

"Danny Reagan. Do you know where he works, where he lives?"

"Where he works, yeah. Over at the 5-4."

"The five-four? What's that?"

"Have you been livin' under a rock? It's a police station."

"Could you tell me where it is?"

She listened closely to the directions, nodding along, everything sounding vaguely familiar. "Thank you."

She set out on her journey, not knowing at all what to expect. What if this Danny character was married? What if he had kids? Or what if he was sleeping with that pretty Latina standing next to him on the tv screen? The woman had so many questions, questions she craved answers for: the most important one being "who the hell am I?"

**********

"There has to be something we missed," Danny was standing at his desk, shifting through papers strewn haphazardly across the surface.

"We just told the press everything's fine." His partner, Maria Baez, lifted her hand in a shrug.

"We have to lie to the press to keep them at bay. This doesn't seem like a normal murder. It's all too... neat."

"I can head over to the neighbor's again, see if they actually have more to tell us."

"Good idea."

"I'll keep you posted." Baez grabbed her coat and left the building.

"Um, excuse me."

There was a tap on Danny's shoulder and he turned around to face the woman. His heart immediately started pounding for reasons unknown.

"You don't know me, and I don't know you, but... something is telling me to look you up. I think- what's the matter?" She stopped her talking, a look of concern crossing her face. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"What's your name?"

"I don't know."

"Where'd you come from?"

"Somewhere dark and dingy and scary. Jersey, I think."

"How'd you get here?"

"Hitched rides until I came to Manhattan. Asked around about you, and when I got an answer, I came here. Why? Is something the matter?"

"This is going to sound weird, but do you have a tattoo on your ankle? Two Chinese symbols?"

"Those are Chinese?" She plopped her foot on his chair, the skirt she was wearing riding higher up her thigh. "What do they mean?"

"Peace and mind, love and happiness."

"Oh! Those are good things to have."

Danny licked his lips, swallowing hard. He was freaking out, and he was sure it was due to the stress of the case. "This will sound weird again, but... do you have a tattoo, right above your ass? Left side. A puzzle heart, one side blue, the other side purple? The blue has 'Danny' and the purple has 'Linda'?"

"Uh... I don't know."

"Can I check?"

"Here? In front of all these people?"

Why wasn't she protesting him looking in the first place? If she was who he thought she was, she'd protest immediately. "No, back here."

She let him take her hand, and her stomach fluttered. She followed him as they weaves through the detectives and into a back room.

"May I see now?"

"Okay." She turned around and pulled her skirt past her ass, letting rest at her thighs.

There he saw the tattoo, and the scar on her back from the bullet. He backed up until he sat on one of the cots.

She looked behind her, and pulled up her skirt. She walked over to him, "what's wrong? Are you sick?"

"I know who you are."

"Really? Who?"

"You're Linda.... my wife."

"Your wife?" She smiled widely, "alright! My name's Linda?" When he nodded, she continued, "Linda what?"

"Linda Rose O'Shea Reagan. We have two kids: Jack and Sean. Jack's in college, and Sean will graduate high school this year."

"They're so big!"

"Gentleman, too. Like you taught them."

"Danny, if I'm your wife, then why aren't I with you and our boys? Why was I-"

"In New Jersey somewhere?"

Linda nodded, sitting next to him on the cot. A warm feeling filled her chest; it was familiar and comforting, and something she hadn't felt in three years.

"You were airlifting a patient-"

"Nurses don't do that." She interrupted, "how did I know that?"

"They don't, which means the crash and everything was staged. Meaning you were kidnapped for three years, and are now back. But you've got amnesia."

"Amnesia? Is that why I can't remember anything?"

"Yes."

"Where do we live? Will you take me there? How did you know that I'm your wife?"

Danny answered the last question first. "You look exactly like my wife. Only her hair was dyed blonde, and she had cut it a little past her chin." He pushed her long brown hair behind her ear. "And the tattoos. Linda had- you have tattoos like the ones I described, and are on you. You've got a-"

"A what?"

Should he tell her about the bullet in her back? About how she was shot twice? "A scar on your back, sorta near your spine. I'd know those tattoos and scar anywhere. It was your eyes, too. My wife has the most electrifying blue eyes I have ever seen."

She looked into his eyes, again feeling the warmth in her chest, and somewhere decidedly lower. "Are you going to kiss me?"

"Oh, hell yeah." He cupped her cheek with his palm, bringing her lips to his. A sense of relief and euphoria washed over him as she kissed him back; if he had any doubt she wasn't his wife, it was gone now. No one in the world kissed him like Linda kissed him.

Linda didn't want the kiss to end; she hadn't been kissed for three years, and she didn't even remember being kissed before she was taken away from her husband. Her breathing became heavier as the kiss intensified. Reluctantly, they both pulled back for air.

"Danny, you said I was a nurse. I was wearing scrubs before I was able to shower and get a new pair of clothes."

"You were the best nurse... can I take you home?"

"Will you?"

"Yes." He left work with her, leaving no explanation with anybody as to where he had gone off to this time. The drive to the house was a little awkward- what does one say to their dead wife who's actually alive but has no memory of anything?

“Is this it?” Linda looked at the cute home when they pulled up to the driveway.

"Not much, but it's home."

"No, it's cute. Did I live here?"

He swallowed again, "no."

"How come?"

"I'll tell you later." He walked over to her, reaching for her hand.

She wouldn't let him, "tell me now."

"Our old house- there was a fire, and we lived with my Dad for a bunch of months. You died- were kidnapped May 28th. I got this place in August."

"Oh."

"C'mon," he held his hand out again, and this time she took it. "I'll show you around."

Linda listened carefully as he told the story behind the pictures to her. She was filled with love and melancholy, realizing she didn't remember the life she had.

"It looks like a nice life. I wish I could remember it."

"You will. It'll come back to you." Danny frowned when she started to cry. "Don't- don't cry. It'll be alright." He hugged her tightly, rocking her back and forth.

When her tears stopped, she quietly asked, "will you take me to the bedroom?"

Danny was surprised to hear that, even though that had been what he wanted to do ever since he discovered that Linda was alive. He led her to the bedroom without a word, and closed the door behind them out of habit. "It's lovely in here, without you."

She smiled at that, "I've missed you. I didn't even know who or what I was missing, when I was gone. But I now I know. It was you.... you protect me, don't you?"

"I didn't protect you from being taken." It was out of his mouth before he could keep it in.

"That wasn't your fault." She had no idea if that was true, but her husband needed reassurance. She stepped up to him, pressing her lips against his in a sweet kiss. She slipped her hand to the back of his head, the other one resting on his chest. The warmth inside her spread much like her husband's warm tongue in her mouth. She knew she missed this, even if she didn't remember it.

Linda moved her hands beneath his jacket, resting them on his shoulders. She took the jacket it off, and it landed on the floor in a crumpled heap. She moaned when Danny took off her cardigan, her hair getting frizzy from the dry air and static electricity.

"I was a blonde?" She nearly whispered, focusing on popping the little white buttons to his powder blue Oxford shirt.

"And a brunette some of the time. But mostly blonde." His shirt joined his jacket on the floor.

"Semper fi," she traced the inking on his chest, above his heart.

"Code of the Marines. Always faithful."

"You're a marine and a cop?"

"Ex-marine."

"Were you honorably discharged?"

Danny thought about his answer- he really wasn't. He could'nt be 'honorably discharged' if he was the only one who made it home. But he didn't want to upset his wife, so he answered, "yeah."

She traced his other tattoo, the Orange one on his right shoulder. "Linda Rose, with a rose."

"That's you." He took her blouse off, then her bra, and they were both half naked, standing in the bedroom.

As sexy as he was, standing there in no shirt and his tie still around his neck, Linda slowly started to remove the tie. "Were we kinky? Did we ever use this tie?"

He thought about being literal, telling her it wasn't that exact tie, but he decided against it. "We were fairly kinky. You liked being constrained."

"Really?"

"Mhmm."

"Interesting..." she pressed against him, sloppily undoing his belt. "Your pants sit low on your hips." With the belt discarded, she dipped her fingers into the waistband. "I like it."

Danny moaned when her hand sunk into his underwear. How he missed this, missed her! He missed everything about her, and was thoroughly convinced all this was a very vivid dream. There was no way he was this lucky, getting his supposedly dead wife back in his arms again.

Linda kissed his neck, nipping at the flesh as she unbuttoned his pants and slid the zipper down. Together they kicked their shoes off, with as much ease as they had had before she went away. If they had been sitting, drinking coffee, Danny would have to come up with the impossible task of telling the family all of it was fake. He didn't even know it was fake until an hour ago, and dare he say he was happier than the day he married the Angel?

"Linda," her name escaped his lips as her own found that spot on his neck. He felt his pants slip down to his ankles, and he stepped out of them while tugging Linda's skirt down. He picked her up slightly, away from the skirt, and sat on the bed. She straddled him, both of them in only underwear.

"Is this a rule?" She whispered nearly breathily, sending more heat through her husband's body.

"What?" He started kissing her jaw, palming her breasts with his hands. He smirked at the moan that came from her when he tugged on a pert nipple.

"The... the mutual taking off of- ah!- of clothes?" She barely got the question out, mostly focused on how she was pressed against him.

"Unwritten rule."

Her "Oh" turned into a low, dirty groan in the back of her throat as Danny's fingers tapped the front of her underwear. He dragged his finger across the dampening fabric, nipping at her collarbone. "Danny..."

"What is it? What do you want?" How easily he fell back into one of her favorite bedroom games.

"Touch me." She moved her hips, her core rubbing against his fingers. "More."

Danny obliged, feeling his underwear tighten further as he felt Linda's now wet undies. He scratched at them, pleased her eyes closed and her mouth dropped open. "Your wearing too many clothes."

As he hooked his fingers in the band of her underwear, she answered, "you too."

Clumsily, they rid of their underwear, and soon she was sitting on his lap again, fabric barriers gone. A curse fell from her lips when she felt him against her. It had been years since she was this happy, this pleasure stricken. It felt fantastic and very, very new all at the same time.

Danny's fingers found her entrance, and he teased her by doing the 'come here' gesture. She rolled her hips, signaling she wanted more. He slipped one finger inside her, then quickly added another, her choppy breaths hot against his ear. Only for a moment or two did Danny stop the movements. He faltered slightly when Linda's hand wrapped around his aching length. He moaned her name, and she kissed that spot beneath his ear, moving her hand up and down.

He had had about thirty seconds to think on how this would go. He was pleased how easily it was going, as if Linda hadn't been taken away from him at all. It had the feeling of a normal nooner. He pulled his fingers out, picking her up and laying her on the bed.

Linda attached her lips to his, her hand still pumping his length. He moaned in her throat, and she knew she was so close. Her toes curled as he started kissing his way down her body; a filthy sound came from her mouth when he pressed his lips against her heat. She was breathing through her mouth as shocks or pleasure pealed through her body, "Danny."

He lifted his head slightly, "yes?"

"I want you... inside me."

He complied, pressing himself into her until she whimpered. He stopped quickly, knowing that whimper wasn't one of pleasure. "Linda?" He swept her hair from her face.

"I... it's been a bit."

He felt stupid for not thinking about that. He found her hand, lacing their fingers together. "Tell me if it's too much?"

She nodded, squeezing his hand. They locked eyes as he slid fully into her, and for a few moments, the sting was enough to make her cry. Then she got used to it, and kissed him, murmuring into his mouth to continue.

She found her high first, screaming out his name. He followed her, the old habit of making sure she was happy first, still with him. After another round in the shower, they laid together beneath the covers.

Linda traced nonsense patterns on his chest, her eyelids getting heavy. "That was fabulous."

Danny chuckled and kissed her head. "I'm so glad you're back. You have no idea- I was..." he had wondered when the tears of joy would hit him.

Linda lifted her head, "you're sad?"

"No, I'm so happy." He crushed her against him, hugging her tightly. "You're alive, you're alive. And it's real."

[five-wow]

I WATCHED 10.22. HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS UNDER THE CUT. i promise they won’t all be in full caps, but i feel i should also warn you that this was not proofread.

the episode is starting! it has started. the start has started.

lots of flashbacks from 10.21 with VERY dramatic music in the background and it’s very much working on me. EMOTIONS.

oh my gosh we’re now getting a flashback (a new one, not “previously on”) to wo fat and victor hesse planning some evil shit with daiyu mei serving them tea and it is EVEN MORE DRAMATIC than the previously on was. i am IMPRESSED. also maybe laughing a little bit, but in a way where i’m genuinely enjoying the extreme “LOOK, THIS IS BAD” of it, gosh.

fun way to remind us of how it all started, with these two planning anton’s extraction! they get to show us bits and pieces from the pilot while we still get something new.

wo fat: “blood. is blood.” hmmm, the show seems to want us to think he has a point but i’m mostly amused this is coming from the ultimate bad guy because yes, that seems about right. (hashtag you don’t owe people anything just because you’re related to them, shuddup.)

daiyu mei looks all shy and awkward when wo fat asks for her input but i’ve decided that’s an act to keep victor underestimating her.

steve and cole are in a car and fjdkfdjk wait catherine is a super code breaker now? idk, she may have displayed some skills that leaned that way in the past, but now she’s suddenly well-known as one of the best in that field even though that’s not even her field as far as we know? i. i don’t mind catherine getting brought up in conversation but this is such an odd way to do it.

“we were together for a buncha years” hahaha, fandom never really knows how to define the start and end of their relationship and it seems steve doesn’t, either.

“she was the one that got away. what’re you gonna do?” well, look sad and frowny while this guy you barely know throws you a somewhat awkward look because you’re suddenly baring your heart to him, apparently! (for real though, i get that people will be upset at this phrasing and i’m sort of thinking this is a lead in to things i won’t like at the end of the episode and that’s bad but for what it’s worth, i don’t mind this at all! she did slip away from him at a time where he thought they were going somewhere else and he’s talking in past tense now.)

cole is worried he ruined steve’s day by bringing up catherine and that’s sweet, actually! seals emotionally supporting seals.

OOF it is TIME for danny to get ABDUCTED. also: i love that steve immediately drops everything, including the very important super secret difficult to arrange meeting to maybe finally get some insight into this cipher that doris left him, to race to wherever danny is in his car. i feel like alerting hpd (or anyone else in five-0 who might be closer) would be a good idea, but it makes a lot of sense for steve to need to Be There himself.

ohhhhh steve continually nearly crashing his truck while yelling for danny but only hearing gunshots over the line is 👌👌👌. THE ANGST. THE TENSION. very good, very good.

the camaro is BURNING. well that’s one way to smack us in the face with the end of an era, damn.

steve is ALSO BURNING because he obviously tried to get inside the car ahhhh.

fjdkf steve calls tani with instruction about cameras and tani asks if everything is okay because he sounds upset and all he says is “danny’s been taken” and that’s how tani an junior find out, poor dears.

steve, instructing hpd: “we’re looking for detective danny williams. you know who he is, my partner, right? we’re looking for him.” YOU KNOW WHO HE IS. MY PARTNER.

steve is already out of breath from sheer stress and he’s just standing around the tech table with the team, my gosh. (I LOVE THIS.)

danny, bloody and chained up and facing his captor, a woman he already knows is very, very dangerous: [makes a joke about exchanging insurance information because they burned his car] (LOVE HIM TOO.)

OOF though, daiyu mei lets danny know she knows he has two kids and the jokes are over because that’s definitely the line with danny, god.

here’s the scene from the one preview clip i watched! i’m really enjoying daiyu mei, by the way. she’s still a totally bonkers way to bring the threat of wo fat back even after he’s dead, but she is genuinely threatening.

“i have the person you care about most in the world” hello yes i’m still yelling about that one and might not stop soon

daiyu mei telling steve not to make the same mistake he did with his father and “allow a loved one to die” is so mean but so good and narratively pretty darn cool.

we’re not even eleven minutes in and we’re already at “come alone, commander, or your friend dies”. [insert that escalated quickly meme]

steve thinks he has zero options except give in to exactly what daiyu mei wants and it’s very unsteve of him but also fits perfectly with the mindset they’ve maneouvred him into over the past few episodes and with DANNY BEING GONE so i like it. i like that steve is very obviously freaking the fuck out.

never though i would say this, but... steve, you should listen to adam. it’s shocking, especially this season, but he is making an actual good judgment.

steve alone in the elevator on the verge of either a panic attack or breaking down crying and curling up into a ball is A LOT.

steve goes to the meeting alone, gets a location and confirmation that danny is alive and then hands over the cipher, and that’s good but also... i mean, for real, if he had just printed some random symbols on a similar piece of paper (maybe even the same symbols but in a different order!) how on earth would daiyu mei have known?

OH. OHHHH. danny does the badass steve-ish thing where he pulls himself up by his shackles to somehow get himself free, holy fuck, yes man.

IT WORKS. knocked out the guard, got the keys, got a gun - damn son. not only do we get worried out of his mind steve, we ALSO get bamf danny, ahhhh.

AND THEN HE GETS SHOT IN THE SHOULDER, which is where all those promo pictures came from obviously, and also means we’re about to tick off the hurt part of h/c in an even bolder font than we already had.

fdjkfdjkfd steve’s litany of comforting little nonsense lines while he’s dragging danny to the car and getting him into it and NOT GETTING BEHIND THE WHEEL BUT STAYING WITH DANNY IN THE BACK is killing me slowly.

fdjkfd steve hugging danny’s bloody face in his lap oh my god

apparently that wasn’t GOOD ENOUGH YET because then they’re at the hospital and steve tells the doctor’s what’s up and they’re about to roll danny away and danny, half dead and according to steve in and out of consciousness, somehow finds the time to try to grAB AT STEVE’S ARM BLINDLY. steve: “hey, i’m with you buddy, it’s okay.” DEAD. NOT DANNY, ME. I AM VERY DEAD.

the entire team is stressed and worried and just dead quiet, watching danny and steve. ohhhh boy.

oh fuck oh fuck steve is praying and red-eyed and furious and telling god “you wanna take somebody? take me. not him, you take me.” and i have a very big massive weak spot for exactly this.

cole comes to find steve to offer to figure out the cipher thing and steve has a very hard time giving a single flying shit and then HANDS COLE HIS GUN. welllll. just letting go of stuff they never would have normally left and right, here. i was kind of expecting steve’s badge to follow.

tani has a lot of good worried moments and i love that.

danny is out of surgery!!! steve gets to see him!!!

oh GOD we get a sad version of all for one while steve is in danny’s hospital room and grabs danny’s hand and i am. oh. oh. not okay.

STILL ONLY JUST PAST THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE EPISODE.

it’s honestly kind of weird that cole has this much screentime (i know he was supposed to be back for the season 11 that will never happen, but with the way things turned out that’s not very relevant anymore in story), but i mind it less than i thought i would have. i like him, and i’m glad he has quinn with him now, because i always want more of her.

danny wakes up and his slightly loopy conversation with steve has me fjdkfdjkfd. d: [says you’re supposed to be happy when a patient wakes up] s, like he might still be about to cry: “i’m happy.” d: “yeah? yeah, me too.”

steve is hurting and blaming himself for everything (very in character) and danny tells him he’s already annoying and that if he had a dollar for every time steve saved his life he’d have like twenty bucks (also very in character) and i’m glad for that bit of comic relief and they need it, too, but somebody also needs to give steve a good shake until the thought that this is on him leaves his head. if anyone except daiyu mei is responsible here, it’s doris. blame doris, jfc.

danny, after nearly dying and only just waking up in the hospital, while he still has trouble speaking: “put [the call steve is getting] on speaker, would you, i’m bored.” more jokes! but it also makes me go fjdkfdjk because you will not convince me that this is not danny, extremely injured, still trying to take care of steve by distracting him from all the misery they’re in.

fjdkfd OKAY SO. plot stuff: the cipher translates to coordinates that apparently lead to the place where the mcgarretts thought doris was buried. steve says he knows the place because his dad used to take him there and ? because i always thought john sent his kids away pretty soon after doris died so he can’t have had much time to visit her grave a lot with them, but also just, the drama of it, wow, doris. send your son an encrypted message that sends him to your fake grave, why don’t you.

jfkdsjlfksljfds the mcgarretts have a family mausoleum now, apparently, omfg. and there was still a space with doris’s name on it? even though they’ve known for how many years by now that she was still alive oh my gosh

cole is along for the ride to doris’s fake grave and steve keeps dropping these little nuggets from his family history and cole keeps (rightfully!) looking a little confused and/or alarmed, poor guy, hahaha.

daiyu mei is running full tilt and doing some mad parcour shit in a suit and what looks like high heels and there is a whole action scene here with lots of players and constant shooting and some one-on-one fighting, but i am fully distracted by the shoewear.

oh, false alarm, probably! not quite high heels, just something ballarina like with a very tiny heel. that’s better.

fjdkfjdkfd OOF daiyu mei nearly kills steve, steve gets the upper hand, daiyu mei says some things and we’re given another flashback to wo fat and victor hesse and this time also john when he was held hostage, and suddenly we’re told he’s not surprised that doris had a secret son (wo fat) and that he suspected her death was staged.

OH MY GU==fdj

okay so those were typos but i’m LEAVING THEM because “whatever happens next, don’t tell my son. it would be too hard on him.” HELLO JOHN, FUCK YOU JOHN. he wanted??? to keep this secret??? from steve??? and also he doesn’t even acknowledge that he maybe has more than just a son. maybe there is a person called mary out there somewhere? might ring a bell, if you think about it long and hard.

wo fat: “you’re a good man, john mcgarrett.” i really don’t know if we’re supposed to agree with things wo fat says but he’s mostly voicing the opposite of what i feel this episode.

daiyu mei to steve: “you are your father.” oh gosh. oh no.

ahh, here’s a point where cole’s presence really starts to take away from other characters. he shows up to steve and daiyu mei’s confrontation to back steve up, and that obviously should have been any other character that we’ve known for way longer and have way more attachment to (junior! that would have been so good, or maybe lou, who’s also been here for seven years, or tani, who keeps worrying), especially, very very much especially when steve goes “book her, cole”. that’s just confusing, too. so far the cole and steve parallels have been thrown at us and now he’s suddenly in danny’s place.

32 minutes out of 42 and we’re at “one week later” and steve hopping through his garden to get to the beach chairs where danny is sitting. this is good but worrying for how early it comes.

danny says he misses the very nice nurse who brought him jello and steve tells him not to confuse a caregiver for someone who cares and danny goes “yeah? you know jealousy is not uh, pretty on you.” and then they’re both awkwardly quiet for a moment. dear lord.

AND THEN THINGS WENT PEARSHAPED. danny: “you all packed?” my heart is sinking fast. maybe i should just quit here and leave it at danny telling steve jealousy is not pretty on him (which implies other things are pretty on steve - let’s get back to that).

steve to danny, who is talking up hawaii (which is of course very good): “who are you?” i am having FLASHBACKS to junior asking tani that exact same thing just a few episodes ago.

danny seriously questions steve’s decision to just up and leave hawaii a bunch of times and yes, danny, good, grill him. this is a stupid plan.

danny: “you know, it don’t feel like it’s gonna be okay. it feels like- my main dude is leaving me.” HI STEVE. MAYBE DON’T. MAYBE DON’T GO. MAYBE DON’T HURT DANNY.

“you got a phone, right?” we’re seriously at that point. we are. seriously at that point. wow.

steve forces danny to get up to give him the frigging tenderest, dopily smiliest hug and it is so very sweet yet so very wrong.

“I LOVE YOU, MAN.” / “I LOVE YOU TOO.” THEY DID NOT YELL THAT BUT I AM BECAUSE THIS IS ALL I’VE WANTED FOR TWO YEARS and now it’s under these circumstances which ugh BUT I AM STILL HYPED. THEY GOT TO SAY IT AGAIN. GOOD. FUCKING GOOD.

“don’t make me come looking for you” danny says after he sits back down and without another word steve starts walking away and then he stops and looks back and catches danny looking over his shoulder but quickly looking away again and holy fucking damn if this isn’t how stories go when they try to tell us that two characters shouldn’t be parting because they don’t want to. turn around, steve. it’s so easy.

EDDIE. my gosh, ANOTHER blond guy who loves steve to pieces and who steve Should Not Just Leave, wtf.

eddie gets an i love you too and then a kiss and my heart! is having a hard time today!

oh LORD there’s a knock at the door and it’s the whole entire team and lou!!! is making me cry!!! and everyone whispers how much steve means to them at him while they’re hugging him and fjdkfd what. why is he leaving! it’s starting to sound like a worse decision by the second.

i could cry at all of these goodbyes seperately but right now i am also crying at tani immediately hugging noelani when she joins the pile of people who have said goodbye. ohhhh.

EVERYONE IS CRYING. not cool. VERY UNCOOL. also, honestly, i love that danny got to say goodbye seperately and it’s fitting that he just can’t watch steve actually walk out the door but also... he should have been here, gdi. now there’s this huge emotional team moment and he’s absent and it’s weird.

steve boards a plane and sits down and his phone beeps and it’s danny texting him “miss you already” and i cannot believe this is actual canon and had to pause to kind of laugh/gasp for air for a little bit.

and catherine shows up! i’ve been braced for this so i’m not surprised and it’s less bad than i thought in many ways but also. they talk about cath driving danny’s car and steve says they can’t have danny williams driving his own car and if that’s true, then why the hell are you leaving, steve. what are you doing to danny? (also. uh. danny’s car kind of went up in flames? he has a new one already? i. what.)

cath asks if steve is ready and they hold hands and steve turns to look out the plane window and smiles and that’s very suddenly it.

you know what? you know what, for the most part, i absolutely loved this. i was prepared for VERY BAD THINGS and i don’t enjoy steve leaving at the end at all and i have MANY NOTES on how things could have maybe ended even better but i. i am okay with this. i am okay with this! that is honestly more than i thought i would be able to say and i’m just VERY RELIEVED right now.

as for the show ending with steve and cath... that was weird, but... he also held danny’s hand this episode and that was supposedly platonic, and steve and cath did not suddenly have a big romantic kiss or get engaged, so i am choosing to take this as a platonic reunion with a person from steve’s past he still cares about, someone who travels a lot and was in hawaii to break that code and therefore this makes sense. he leaves with cath, and then, in a few weeks’ time, he comes back to danny (the person he cares about most in the world), and canon just, y’know, forgot to mention that little tidbit. it happens.

anyway, i had EMOTIONS and i still need to let all of this sink in and i hope you’re all doing okay after this whirlwind of a thing and ahhhh, it is so very weird that it’s over now. 💖

[honestlydarkcherryblossom]

My Person | J. Wooyoung

  Warnings: Death

Wooyoung looked around the crowd, taking in a deep breath as he tried to push past the aching feeling in his chest.

  “Woo- what’s wrong?” You voice came out softly, sounding like music to Wooyoung’s ears. “Nothing love, just a stressful day” “is there anything I can do to help?” Wooyoung looked down at you and just smiled. You held a sweet look on you face, just like you always did. It warmed Wooyoung’s heart to come home everyday to you sweet, angelic face. “Just cuddle with me please.” Sweet giggles slipped past your lips, you hands already taking Wooyoung’s hand to lead him to bed. “Well that was gonna happen either way.”

  “Uh- Y/n- she was an angel on Earth. The world didn’t deserve her... I didn’t deserve her, and yet somehow, I got lucky enough to be hers for 4 years. The four best years of my life.”

  “Um, excuse me” Wooyoung asked in broken English as he tapped on your shoulder. “Yes” you turned around and Wooyoung felt as if the world had stopped, your bright eyes had him frozen in place. Something about your eyes drew him in, capturing his full attention and rendering him speechless. “Did you need help” you asked, snapping him out of his trance. “Um, yes- I’m- um, lost” you nodded understandingly and smiled up at him. He was adorable, you adored his cute little accent and bright smile, “well, where are you trying to go” Wooyoung cocked his head to the side in confusion, not understanding your question. “Um” you looked around, trying to think of how to communicate to him. You tried to wrack your brain to find a solution, you couldn’t leave him lost in streets unfamiliar to him, you conscience wouldn’t allow it. “Um, where” you asked again, hoping maybe he’d understand. Luckily he did, “Coffee shop- Danny’s” “Danny’s! I’m going there right now. I’ll show you.” He nodded, letting you know he understood and waited for you to lead the way.

  Wooyoung would never forget the day he met you. Everyone else he talked to just walked away from him, but you stayed, and you helped him. “She was always giving, always doing stuff for others, even if it meant putting herself last...” Wooyoung stopped to swallow back some tears, he let out a shaky breath and tried to steady himself on the podium. God he just wished you were here to calm him down.

  “Hey, so I had an idea-” “oh no” you mumbled absentmindedly as you closed your book to look up at him. “Shut up, anyways, what if we got a dog” “a dog?” Wooyoung nodded and you couldn’t help but laugh, “Woo, baby, you can’t even take care of yourself, how are you gonna take care of a dog” “I can take care of myself” “you almost left the house without pants yesterday” “not the point.” He whined like a child and you just nodded, letting out a soft giggle. “Y/nnn, I’m serious, I- I love you, and I want to start a life with you, and getting a dog is good practice.” You couldn’t help but smile at his words, you heart swelling as you grabbed Wooyoung’s hands and pulled him so he was sitting in front of you. “Practice?” “You know, for the future, when we’re happily married, with maybe a kid or two.” A tear slipped from your eye, you were unaware it happened until Wooyoung spoke up. “Y/n- no don’t cry” “they’re happy tears baby” you explain, wiping your wet cheeks before taking Wooyoung’s face in your hands, pressing your foreheads together. “Woo, you’re the only person I’d ever want to spend my life with, you’re my person. So if you wanna get a dog, then we’ll get a dog.” Tears were now spilling from Wooyoung’s eyes as he stared into your wet eyes and listened to your soft words, the words he would pay to her a thousand times over. “You’re my person too, my love.”

  “S-she was my person” Wooyoung let of a soft laugh at the phrase, the phrase that would leave a whole the size you in his heart. “I never thought I would lose her, from the day I met her I knew I wanted her in my life forever.”

  Wooyoung had just finished getting lunch with Yeosang, the two of them now walking down the hall back to the studio. That’s when Wooyoung heard your angelic laughter, which made him confused, he though he was hearing things. You were back home and you weren’t supposed to be back for two months. So Wooyoung quickened his pace and busted into the studio. Sure enough, there you were, sitting on the floor talking with Yunho and San. “Y/n” the three of you whipped around and you let a smile take over your face, “hi baby” you said as you stood up. Wooyoung was quick to trap you in a tight embrace, holding you as close as he could. You had only been gone for three weeks, but it felt like forever to Wooyoung. “What are you doing back” he asked, not removing his face from the crook of your neck, “I missed you” you mumbled back to him. He pulled away a quickly captured your lips with him, kissing you softly, showing you everything single emotion he felt in that moment. “Don’t leave again” “Woo-” “no, wherever you go, I go, okay?” “okay.”

  “I hope wherever she is, she’s happy and she’s okay, I hope she’s doing everything she’s ever wanted. She deserved the world, and I wish she was still her so I could give it to her.”

  Nothing felt real, Wooyoung could’ve swore this was all just a bad dream, just this morning he was holding you close and tickling you and kissing you, and now he was running to the hospital to see you. “Where is Y/n y/l/n” “sir-” “I’m her fucking boyfriend, where is she” Wooyoung snapped, he didn’t care if he was being rude right now, he just needed to see you. “She’s in surgery, sir, if you’d like, you can take a seat in the waiting room and wait.” Wooyoung did as told, but he didn’t sit, he couldn’t he was too restless, so he paced back and forth for 6 hours straight. “Family of Y/n Y/l/n” “here” Wooyoung replied to the doctor, waiting anxiously to hear how you were. You were fine, you had to be. That’s what Wooyoung had been telling himself for the past 6 hours anyway. “Sir, I’m sorry-” “no, no- please don’t say that” “she passed right after the operation, there’s nothing we could do.” “Fuck!” Wooyoung collapsed to the floor as the world around him caved him. This had to be a sick joke, you couldn’t be gone. He felt as if he was just hit by a truck, he wished he had, it would’ve felt better than this.

  Wooyoung’s eye landed on your mom and his heart sunk even further. You and your mom were so close, and he could only imagine the pain she was feeling. “Ms.Y/l/n, you’re daughter was a beautiful person, and I’m so sorry” your mother just stared at Wooyoung with no emotion, “Ms.Y/l/n” “Woo” Wooyoung rose and eyebrow, why did she just call him that. “Woo” “what” Wooyoung was beyond confused right now. “Wake up, Woo” “huh” “Wake up.”

  Wooyoung shot up, his breathing was frantic and his heart was beating out of his chest. “Woo, hey it’s okay” Wooyoung quickly looked over and suddenly he was crying, “you’re here” “of course I’m here.” Wooyoung wasted no time pulling you into a tight hug, breathing you in as he gripped onto you tightly, making sure you were real. “Bad dream?” “The worst” “it was only a dream, okay baby, I’m right here” you said but his grip didn’t ease up, he needed you to be as close as you could be right now. “I love you- I love you so, so much, please, don’t ever leave” “I wouldn’t even dream of it.” You reassured, placing a kiss to the top of his head as you rubbed his back gently. “But Woo” “Hm” “you gotta wake up” Wooyoung pulled away and looked at you confused, “what” “Woo baby, wake up.”

--

  Wooyoung’s eyes snapped open and they stung, he reached up to wipe them feeling wetness on his cheeks. He quickly dried his face before rolling over to pull you into his chest, “I love you Y/n” he mumbled into your shoulder before placing a kiss there. “Who’s Y/n” the girl he was holding turned around and suddenly Wooyoung couldn’t breath. It wasn’t you. Wooyoung just shook his head and got out of bed, quickly pulling on his boxer, “weren’t you supposed to leave” Wooyoung asked quiet harshly as he entered his bathroom before slamming the door. “Fuck” he mumbled before looking up at himself in the mirror, and he was disgusted by what he saw, god if you could see him now, you’d be so disappointing. 

--

  Little did he know, you could see him, and it hurt. You just wanted to see him be happy, but instead you get to watch him drink till he blacks out, hooking up with any girl that was willing, hoping that it would make him feel better. “Y/n- god I miss you, and I know that you’re not here, I just- it makes me feel better if I can pretend that you can hear me” he justifies himself as he leans against the door, sliding himself down to the ground. You follow, taking a seat in front of him as you wait for him to go on. “I miss you- I miss you so fucking much- I just want to hold you again and tell you how much I love you, because I do- I will never stop loving you.” “I love you too” you whisper as tears spill down your cheeks as you resist the urge to wipe his, you’ve tried many time in the past, and every time you hand goes through him you heart shatters more than you thought possible. 

  Suddenly, scratching at the door interrupted Wooyoung’s little speech, and brought a smile to your face. Wooyoung opened the door and in waddled your little dog, the dog the two of you decided to get “for practice” and ended up treating as if it was your actual child. “Hi Bubba” Wooyoung greeted as he pulled the dog onto his lap, “do you miss her too” he asked as he scratched behind his ear, and as if Bubba could understand, he whined, nuzzling deeper into Wooyoung. All you could do was sit there, watching as the love of your life and your baby sat on the bathroom floor, still mourning your death 2 years later.

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Jazz was struggling to process the weird things going on in her life. While she was far more interested in psychology than parapsychology, she /did/ offer a ghost a bit of therapy now and then and he seemed to be doing better for it. That was all the ghostly interaction she really needed. the giant hornet in school apparently disagrees with her on that. It truly amazed Jazz what the mind could conjure up during stressful events. For instance, it occurred to her right this very second how odd it had been to cool even slightly down from the argument days before over ghosts with her parents only for the ghost of the infamous Sydney Poindexter to show up in the library seeking comfort and a safe person to vent to. The topic of Sydney’s guilt had been hard to stay objective about, but between his clear and honest regret, his admitted decades of hell in a replica of Casper in the Infinite Realms (and wow, she shouldn’t be surprised that ghosts had a name for the world they manifest in but there she was) and the fact that Danny had befriended him led her to feel Sydney was, while not at all justified in what he’d done, not as bad a person as he’d been making himself out to be. When she asked questions he responded much more clearly than when he spoke unprompted, she’d noted, and so she’d asked right away if there was even one person he could remember who didn’t hurt him. The green and sepia bleeding into his form nearly vanished as his older brother, his little sister, and the school nurse came to mind. His brother hardly cared about the things that he was being bullied over, doing his best to keep Sydney looking toward the future and making amazing things to lift his spirits. Apparently, he was a genius like Tucker and Danny, a compliment that made Jazz smile at the time. His little sister didn’t know enough to really understand it all but she was unerringly sweet and a source of sunshine that he never ever mentioned at school. The nurse, however, had been the brightest of those three lights in the dark for him, as the nurse wasn’t family and had no pre-established reason to be nice to and patch up the gross, nerdy queer kid that everyone else had shown nothing but contempt for. She did it anyway though, and he’d aspired to be a nurse like her one day. This aspiration led to more bullying, of course, but Jazz suggested he try learning how to heal people up the same way that nurse had him, and a look of realization and hope crossed his face before he hugged her, waved, and flew off. That had been a very good ghostly encounter. The giant hornet casting a sinister green glow over the hallways as a long, slimy black tongue curled around her entire skull and sharp mandibles the size of said skull extended to their most open was distinctly not. Jazz would never look at bugs the same way again. Before she could even manage to get a scream out of her though, the whining charge of one of her parents’ weapons filled her ears and the hornet jerked back with a sound that could’ve been pain, could’ve been fury, and mixed the kind of clicking hissing one expects from a bug with a very human voice. There was a burn mark on its center dripping ectoplasm that smelled awful , and it turned big black eyes to the same ghost boy she’d seen before. But now Jazz knew he was dangerous because that was a Fenton Plasma Rifle in his hands and his eyes were torches, hair flicking between cloudy wisps and crackling flames. “ Did someone call for an exterminator? “ “Oh, you think you’re funny!” The fucking hornet said, starling Jazz into motion - backing away slowly so as to not draw its attention. It flew like a blur at the boy, stinger cutting a gash in his suit and up his arm that leaked a thick green fluid and the rest of it’s lower half crashed into him with enough force to slam the boy into a few lockers with a bang. “Swat this , big boy.” “ Buzz off ,” the boy growled and the lights flared up brighter around them. He swung the rifle at the bug and the green ectoplasm shone a blinding white as it fired, burning a hole straight through the hornet and drilling it through the wall between the school and its yard. The boy flew after it and Jazz took a deep breath. There were ghosts fighting in her school, one with her parents’ weaponry. That one had saved her though and Jazz also had Fenton weaponry on her. She rushed outside to help, determined to keep her savior from being skewered by a hornet. Jazz poked her head out from the hole that the boy had made and froze. He was smacked out of the air by one of the long hairy legs of the hornet and into a tree and his head cracked loudly against bark. As he slid down his body was enveloped in light that retreated inward to his center and left behind Black hair, tan skin, a nyan cat hoodie- “Danny?” Her whisper went unnoticed in the face of a green ray piercing the hornet’s left wing. Bleeding ectoplasm in three places, it curled in on itself into a mass of green goop that dove into the ground and everything was still. Danny looked around with bright green eyes as he clutched his head, before growling and punching the tree. He stood up slowly, closed his eyes and grew difficult to look at, to even see as the light within a foot of him grew intense like a halo. He let out a breath and slumped against Tucker when the other boy made it to him, checking him over. Jazz stepped back away from the hole and took deep, shaky breaths. My brother is a ghost. That thought played over and over in her head even as a teacher gently guided her to her feet (when had she sat down among the debris?) and to the nurse’s office. It was only when Danny appeared in the nurse’s office, wrapping her up tight in a hug and rambling a mile a minute to ask if she was ok in every way he possibly could that her brain shifted focus even slightly. “Well, I didn’t get stung. Just licked by a dad sized hornet and saved by a ghostly teenager.” She hugged Danny back just as tightly, and tears began to flow as his argument to their parents before he blacked out in the hospital bed came back to mind. If the portal accident had killed me, would you have comforted your child or attacked the ghost in your lab? Danny’s arms went slack for a moment but Jazz clung tight to him. “I just. I just need a moment. Please?” Instead of pulling away and cracking jokes about gross sibling feelings her blessed baby brother hugged her back again and nodded into her neck. “Of course, Jazz.” “I swear to every star that listens,” Danny said behind his bedroom door where Jazz really shouldn’t be listening in. “Next I see of that smart-mouthed, rancid piece of protoplasmic filth I’m going to turn him into a smear and burn him.” That certainly sounded more like Dad than Danny. “At least save me a little bit to beat up,” Sam’s voice called through the speakers of his newly upgraded laptop. “I just commissioned your Mom for a ghost fighting melee weapon and Sydney’s healing me up pretty fast.” So Sydney knew about all of this. “There’ll be some of Spectra left to beat up with that once the Peeler has finished its work.” What?! “Probably. Maybe. It’s made to weaken the target not kill them.” The scoff she heard was definitely Tucker and definitely in the room. “Yeah, you’ll leave a scrap of shadow that none of us can distinguish from our own shadows, that’s something Sam can beat up.” Shadows? “I think the ectoplasm is enhancing your emotional response.” “You’re right Tuck, if someone threatened Jazz’s life normally I wouldn’t try to shoot them into a pile of goo. I’d only beat them up with the gun.” Jazz would normally admonish such a violent reaction, and aloud she might if she was in there and not eavesdropping. But truly, if someone hurt Danny they’d find out what a 1st degree blackbelt can do to them. “I think Sam will be good to go either tomorrow or the day after.” Sydney’s voice crackled over the speakers like static. “I think your healing powers mesh better with living beings than mine can since you’re halfa human.” Danny sighed and Jazz moved back into her room, sitting down to process. She pulled out her notebook and set it on her desk, mechanical pencil already in hand. “Organize all my thoughts and maybe it’ll make sense. What information do I have?” Danny was in an accident involving the ghost portal and it changed him. Danny was vehemently against their parents’ anti ghost genocide plan The ghost boy she’d seen at school the other day was clearly the one that had attacked the hornet thing when it attacked her Danny had all the access to the Fenton Armory as she did with their porta pockets, which was effectively full access. Danny was too smart to give any unknown entity their only model of plasma rifle Danny had directed Sydney Poindexter of all people to her Sydney knew Danny on a personal level that he wasn’t willing to fully disclose to her. Sydney had called Danny half-human and Danny hadn’t corrected him, nor had Tucker nor Sam. Jazz saw the mystery ghost boy transform in a flash of light into her brother, who proceeded to hug her and act much the same he had since the portal accident. Her conclusion? Danny had died in the portal when it turned on, and now he was a ghost, fighting off ghost robots and giant bugs with their parents’ weaponry. Sam and Tucker knew about it, and he had befriended at least one ghost. This was, of course, the most ridiculous thought to cross Jasmine Dana Fenton’s mind in her entire life. But then, her parents had opened a portal to the afterlife and she’d just been attacked by a giant glowing green hornet. “Ok, Danny is a ghost. He didn’t tell me that, but for obvious reasons,” she muttered to herself. “That must be what he was going to tell Mom and Dad before and now he doesn’t have the courage to try again. Oh god Danny died. ” Jazz picked up Bearbert Einstein and hugged him close, deciding right then that she was going to hug Danny a lot more from now on. Just to make sure he was still there. That was a silly thought, but she needed to be sure.

[iwillbeinmynest]

Hold On Loosely - Biker!Steve x Reader(f)    Chapter 13

Authors Notes:  If you’d like to be tagged please send me an ask. I keep better track of tags that way.

Word Count: 2k

Special Thanks: Here’s to @itsanerdlife for fueling my Biker obsession and being my Beta for this whole thing. To my girl over at @girl-next-door-writes who also beta’ed for me. And an extra shout out to @bettercallsabs for this beautiful graphic. She is amazing and y’all need to check her out!!

Notes/Warnings: (My notes and warnings are for the story as a whole. Some notes and Warnings will not apply to every chapter.) smoking (I do not support smoking. keep your lungs clean y’all.) drinking, (be of age, don’t be stupid) minor violence, backstabbing, attempted murder, anxiety, stress, mentions of death, car accident, trauma, …I think that’s it. let me know if I’ve missed something.

Master List

After the prospects arrived, Steve drilled them about various security duties. Three boys, no older than twenty-three, were stationed on the front porch and driveway and two more inside. The men inside with Y/N were older. One of them, Frank, looked as tough as nails and the other, Pietro, was younger but had a fire in his eyes that gave Y/N an odd sense of security. Who was she kidding, they all did. There was no denying the respect and loyalty they all had for Steve and she knew she was in good hands.

 Y/N kissed Steve good-bye and was almost relieved when he finally rode off. "At least, now, he won't be pacing trails in my carpet." She tried to smile at Frank as he escorted her back inside.

 "He isn't really the sit till type, Ma'am." He smirked.

 "No, he isn't." She needed to work before she thought too much about what he'd gone out to do. "You boys want some sweet tea or anything?"

 Pietro shook his head with a smile. 

 "No, Ma'am. Don't worry over us. You do whatever you want to. We'll be here if you need us." Frank nodded.

 Y/N gave them a smile and headed to her office. 

 She kept busy in her office for hours and her work did exactly what she needed it to. She was perfectly distracted, until her stomach rumbled. She looked up at the clock and saw that it was nearly eleven p.m.

 "No wonder." She mumbled to herself. It explained why her eyes seemed to be crossing a little.

 She went down the hall towards the kitchen. She saw Pietro watching t.v. while Frank's attention was drawn to the window as he peered through the blinds. Y/N ignored them and began to make enough pasta for all the prospects and herself. Bum arm or not, cooking was relaxing and she could use some of that.

 She didn't get farther than putting the water on the stove when a shuffling of feet caught her attention.

 She looked into the living room to see both Frank and Pietro at the door. Frank was already halfway out and Pietro looked back at Y/N. He held a hand up, signaling her to stay put.

 Y/N didn't really know them from Adam but she obeyed for Steve's sake. Then, she heard a familiar voice. 

 "And just who do you think you are?!" The attitude was as thick as her slightly northern accent. Y/N new that voice anywhere and she rolled her eyes.

 "Don't matter who I am, this ain't a good time, Miss." Frank tried to be polite but even Y/N could hear him about to lose his temper.

 "Y/N is my friend and now is as good a time as any!" Mandie argued.

 Y/N pushed past Pietro and put a hand on Frank's shoulder to catch his attention. "Mandie, what are you doing here so late?"

 "Well, I- Y/N! What happened to you?!" Mandie finally got a look at her face and was shocked to see her so beat up.

 Y/N bit her lip and reached out for Mandie's hand, tugging her in. She looked at Frank, who looked like he was about to physically remove Mandie from the property. "She can come in, it's fine."

 "Steve said no visitors." He countered, his brows full of conflict.  He wanted to follow what Steve said but Y/N was Steve's girl.

 "If he has a problem, he can talk to me about it later." She reassured him. "Come on, Mandie. I was just about to make dinner."

 Mandie sat at the island bar while Y/N cooked and told her all about the accident she'd been in that morning. 

 "Gracious, Y/N." Mandie shook her head when Y/N finished. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

 Y/N waved it off. "I'll be fine if I don't think about it. You sure you're not hungry? I made enough for a biker gang." She joked.

 "Really, I'm fine. Speaking of bikers, how long are all these men staying here? This is a southern town and people will talk, ya know."

 Y/N was a little put off by what Mandie was implying. "I'm not sleeping with them and really it's no ones business who I invite over. And furthermore, people talking is kind of the point."

 Mandie frowned. "What do you mean?"

 "The accident wasn't an accident. Someone planned it. That's why all these bikers are here watching over the house."

 "How long will they be here?" 

 Y/N shrugged. "As long as they're needed probably."

 "I'm so sorry." Mandie hung her head for a moment before looking up at Y/N with regretful eyes.

 "For what?" Y/N didn't know where this sudden turn in Mandie's emotions came from.

 "If I hadn't taken you to that biker bar, none of this would have happened. Your life could have gone on as usual and now look at you. Stuck in this house like a hostage by a bunch of dirty bikers." Mandie practically spit the last words out of her mouth like they were poison. 

 Y/N frowned and inhaled to defend them when the front door opened and she recognized the distinct gait of heavy boots.

 Steve walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see Mandie at the island. "What are you doing here?" He asked her impulsively.

 "I was coming to find out why my best friend hadn't been talking to me only to discover she’s been beaten up by your friends." She grumbled.

 "Mandie, stop." Y/N leaned back, subconsciously distancing herself from Mandie. "Not all bikers are friends and Steve has done nothing but help me from the moment I met him."

 Steve took a quick breath before finishing his walk to Y/N. He gave her a short kiss and then looked suspiciously at Mandie.

 When Mandie practically undressed Steve with her eyes, he snaked an arm around Y/N.

 "I'm going to send the boys home then grab a shower. You good here or should I keep Frank around?" Steve asked his best girl.

 Y/N shook her head. "Send them home. They can take this pasta with them, though. I didn't get a chance to feed any of them yet."

 Momentarily forgetting about Mandie, Steve was filled with pride that his girl was gonna feed the guys. That's something old ladies do. He kissed her a little harder this time. "Love you." 

 Y/N flushed red at the PDA but replied, "I love you, too. Go," She pushed him back slightly with a chuckle. "Send them home and shower. You smell like the road."

 Steve smirked as he walked backwards out of the kitchen. "I thought you liked when I smell like the road? Never heard you complain before." It reassured Steve to see her smiling and teasing him. Made him feel a little better about leaving her earlier to go to the club. 

 "Go!" She shooed him away, still flushing from his implication.

 When Y/N looked back to Mandie her chuckle faded. Mandie looked like she was about to explode. "What's wrong?" Y/N asked.

 "Are you out of your mind?!" Mandie’s voice was hushed but angry. "You love him? He's a biker! The only thing he loves is the club! And what, he's living here, too?"

 "Yeah, but he's protecting me. Why are you-" 

 "You're so stupid! He's only here to sleep with you. Once he gets that he'll bail and you know it. You're fooling yourself if you believe that he loves you. This is just because you've been in a dry spell since Danny. Shame on you for forgetting about him!"

 "Mandie, stop it! What is wrong with you?!" Y/N's voice had gotten loud enough that Frank stepped in. 

 "Everything okay in here?" He asked with tense shoulders.

 Mandie inhaled to speak but Y/N cut her off. "Everything is fine." She said with a hurt look at Mandie. "She was just leaving. Please make sure she gets to her car."

 Mandie's jaw dropped. "Wow, kicking me out. Some friend you are. I was just trying to help you."

 "Goodnight, Mandie." Was Y/N's only reply.

 Mandie scoffed before snatching her purse from the counter top and all but stomping to the door and down the porch steps. She got in her car with a slammed door and she hurried back out of the driveway and down the street. 

 "Quite a piece of work, that one." Frank growled when he came back inside. "You'll have to excuse my evesdroppin' but I didn’t like a thing she said to you." When Y/N looked a little surprised to hear he'd been listening, he clarified, "VP's orders."

 Y/N nodded and leaned on the back of the couch, running her hands over her face with a sigh. "Yeah, well, she's always been a fair-weathered friend. I just don't know what got into her all of a sudden."

 Frank shook his head. "Don't know but I get a funny feelin' about her."

 "I know." Y/N sighed. "Well, now that she's gone you boys can head home, too."

 "Maybe we should wait until VP is outta the shower." Pietro suggested.

 "No," She offered a tired smile. "Y'all go home. I'm sure he won't be in there long."

 Frank and Pietro shifted their weight but conceded. Frank made her set the alarm behind them and she could tell he listened for the beeps from the other side of the door, which made her chuckle and call out another 'good-night', which he returned. She peeked through the blinds and watched all five bikes ride off.

 Y/N went into the kitchen and swore under her breath. She'd forgotten to send the pasta back with them. Oh, well.

 After she'd cleaned up, she could hear Steve using the blow dryer. She needed the trash to be taken out as it had started to smell from who knows what. She thought about waiting for Steve to do it but when she got another whiff of something rancid, she couldn't take it.

 She tied up the bag and hurried out the front door to take it to the outside bins. She groaned to see that the bin had already been taken out to the curb. With the bag at arm's length, she walked down her driveway and tossed it quickly into the bin.

 Y/N grinned at herself. This was the most mundane thing to happen to her in a while and it was ridiculous how much it entertained her.

 The sound of a bike heading toward her gave her pause. Had Frank or one of the boys forgotten something?

 She slowly backed up to give whoever it was room to pull into the driveway but when the biker drove slowly past, Y/N's blood ran cold.

 He wore a black bandanna across his nose and mouth and sunglasses to cover his eyes, despite the fact that it was nearly midnight. He wore a long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows that showed off his ink. On his forearm was a cassette tape and a blue skull with a red mohawk. 

 Frozen in place, Y/N couldn't breathe. A flash of the accident. Pain in her chest.

 A rev of the biker's engine and he sped off.

 Y/N ran back inside and when she opened the door she collided with Steve. He kept her from falling and she buried herself against him as she started crying.

 "What are you doing outside?!" He yelled. He was more scared than angry but it didn't sound that way.

 "He- He- That man- it wasn't Frank. I thought it was- his tattoos. I think he was- from the accident-"

 Steve moved Y/N out if his way and set the alarm before shutting the door behind him. He could still hear the distant rumble of a chopper. He hopped on his bike and took off, following the sound.

 Y/N grabbed her phone and a knife from the kitchen before locking herself in her room. She dialed for Nat and silently begged that she would pick up.

 "Hey, you."

 "Nat! Please send someone! TheguyfromthecrashwashereandStevetookoffafterhimandimalone-"

 Nat cursed. "Whoa! Y/N, slow down! Where are you?"

 Y/N tried to slow her breathing and stop crying so she could be understood. "In my room. Steve took off after him. I'm alone, here." A sob ripped through her.

 "After who?" 

 "The biker from the crash."

 Nat cursed again. "Stay where you are. We're coming. Don't leave your room!"

 "Okay," Y/N's voice was a little calmer now. "Okay."

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

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[sj-thefan]

Perfect Reality (Billy Hargrove x reader)

Hi again, I wrote a little something, hope you enjoy. I tagged some people at the end but feel free to ignore it because I don’t know if you want to read it. Also, check out my other stories on Wattpad here.

Billy Hargrove x reader (Stranger Things)

Warning: Season 3 spoilers, mentions of abuse, scars/injuries and trauma, language, unplanned pregnancy, angst.

Masterlist

Friendships are strong and powerful relationships. Finding a person who can share all your secrets, relate to the same situations, and react similarly to one's self is a truly magnificent occurrence.

Of course, like any relationship, not all friendships are beneficial. Some people bounce their negative feelings off each other causing bad situations to become worse.

Neil Hargrove and Randy Moore were classic examples of a bad friendship. They had been friends for several years, both born and raised on the sandy beaches of California. When Neil got married, Randy was his best man. They were the godfathers of each other's kids. When Randy's girlfriend left him with their daughter, Neil supported him and taught him some of his own unorthodox coping skills. They had been together for so long they didn't remember a time without each other.

Their children formed a similar bond, although, theirs was a friendship of support. Y/n Moore never got to know her mother and often felt like it was her fault. Billy Hargrove was always there to remind her it was out of her control and that they could share his mom. They spent days on the beach laughing, surfing and playing under the watchful eye of Billy's mother. Billy would get upset when his mother and father fought, so Y/n always left her window open if he needed an escape.

When Billy's mother left him and his father, both friendships changed. Billy tried so hard not to blame himself, but his mother was gone, and he had done nothing. It didn't help that Neil blamed him and he was reminded of that with a good slap nearly every night.

Neil and Randy would go out nearly every night to drink and forget about their lost women. Of course, coming home to children that looked like them just brought all those alcohol repressed feelings to the surface. It was those times when they couldn't escape, that they relied on their coping mechanisms.

The bruises got harder to hide as they got older. Billy and Y/n couldn't tell anyone without fear of getting something worse than a bruise. One night, Y/n had come home late which led to a nasty fight and ended with a long scar down her arm. Nights when they couldn't stand being in the same building as their fathers, they would sneak out and go to the other's window. Countless nights were spent consoling each other in quiet as to not awake their fathers.

Some nights, they would both sneak out and go to the beach. They would splash and play like they did when they were younger. It was a night spent on the beach that they had their first kiss. They were fifteen and Neil had recently met a woman named Susan. Whenever he was around Susan, he held back a lot of his true personality. Billy was a great stress reliever at the end of the night.

They sat on a blanket facing each other, Billy wincing as Y/n dabbed at his quickly bruising eye. The beach was quiet that night, other than the small waves crashing against the shore, nothing could be heard.

"Do you ever think of running away?" Y/n asked. They had talked about it when Billy's mom first left, but they were too young then with no money and no way to get some. Now they older. Y/n was sure they could make it if they stayed together.

Billy paused, looking into Y/n's eyes as she continued to take care of him. Her eyes always sparkled on clear nights, sometimes he swore he could see the stars in them. "Sometimes," Billy confessed. "But when we're older and can get our own jobs and change our names without needing an adult." He reached his own hand up to cover hers which had paused when he started talking. "When we can do everything ourselves, then we can leave. Hide away somewhere they'll never find us."

She smiled, her mind drifting to thoughts about a life with Billy. Just him and her. No pain, no more scars or bruises, they could be happy. They didn't need much. Just a small house, or even an apartment, far away from the world, maybe near an ocean or even a lake. The sound of the water always calmed them both.

She looked back up to find that Billy's gaze hadn't left her face. He was staring at her lips. When he noticed her looking, he blushed.

She couldn't help it. Her eyes flicked down to his lips before returning to his eyes with a smile. Her hand quickly dropped from his face but as soon as it had, Billy reached up to cup her face and pull her forward into a breathtaking kiss.

It was magical, for both teens. It was their first kiss. Sure, Billy's mom had kissed them both on the forehead, but that was nothing compared to what had just happened. When they both pulled back, neither could stop the large smiles that spread across their faces nor could they help the butterflies that filled them with excitement.

Unfortunately, life can't always be filled with sunshine and rainbows.

When Neil decided to propose to Susan, Y/n ended up in the hospital. Randy was upset about the possibility of losing his best friend and after a night of drinking alone, breaking his daughter's arm was easy. She hadn't done anything except being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Billy was ready to murder Randy when he found out, but Y/n talked him out of it. She was used to being his punching bag – they both were – tonight she had just taken a harder beating.

Billy was introduced to Susan's daughter, Maxine. She was sweet and kind, but also tough and could sass her way through any conversation. In other circumstances, Billy may have liked the kid, but with Billy receiving a beating after every mistake she made, Billy couldn't help but hate her. Y/n didn't know the girl, but anyone who caused Billy to get hurt was immediately disliked.

Before the wedding, Neil and Susan decided to move to a new place. Susan's ex caused too many problems in California and Neil didn't have enough happy memories to stay.

Y/n was heartbroken. The only person who ever made her feel like life was worth living, would soon be on the other side of the country. Billy was just as upset. They both didn't want to think of what would happen when they left. Randy had done terrible things at the mere mention of losing his best friend. What would happen to Y/n when it really did happen?

So, she convinced Randy to follow the Hargroves.

Over their seventeen years of living, Y/n and Billy had picked up a few skills of manipulation. Giving people the attention they needed, often allowed them to get whatever they needed. Teachers, for example, always seemed to crumble with a wink and a few flirty comments. When people are uncertain, hints and reverse psychology was always successful.

Randy was easy to convince. Once the idea was put in his head, everything else seemed to fall into place. A few comments about "going out with Neil" more often in the new town and the thought that a place like Indiana would be easier to hide the bruises – without constant sun, sweaters and pants would fit in more – and the Moores were packing their things.

Hawkins, Indiana was not a nice place to live. It smelled, there was nothing to do, and it always seemed as if something was wrong.

It was quite easy to find a place in Hawkins. The school was small and in desperate need of leadership. The other teens were either envious or falling at their feet or, on most occasions, both. Billy and Y/n went to every party. By Halloween, they were known as the King and Queen of Hawkins. It didn't take much, a few party tricks here and there, smooth-talking the teachers, and succeeding at a few extracurriculars was all it took.

Tommy and Carol were easy puppets. They told Y/n and Billy everything in hopes of gaining even a tiny bit of favour. They followed them around like dogs on a leash. They were annoying to Y/n, but Billy thought they were funny, so they kept them around.

Billy was quick to dislike Steve Harrington, especially after he overheard Y/n and Carol talking about how he was cute but too focused on his hair to be good at anything else. Billy found himself quickly besting Steve at everything. Basketball, partying, even small things like driving faster. The sight of him, made Billy think irrationally and on more than one occasion, Y/n found herself calming him down when he snuck into her bed at night.

Despite ruling Hawkins teenage population, Billy and Y/n did not like living in Hawkins. Maxine had found friends and every time she was late, or Billy didn't know where she was, Billy was beaten. Every time Neil was unavailable for a drink at the only bar in town, Y/n became a punching bag for Randy. Nothing they did ever seemed right in their fathers' eyes. Living without support from the people who are supposed to be there for you no matter what was nearly impossible. Many times, Y/n confessed she didn't think she would have survived without Billy.

But summer had finally come. No more school, for ever if they wanted. No more worrying about Max. They had seemed to come to an arrangement where she was more careful, and Billy was less rude. When she met Y/n, she actually seemed to like her. Billy and Y/n were adults now, free to live on their own.

If only they could afford it. So, they got jobs, Billy at the pool as a lifeguard, and Y/n at Danny's, a local restaurant. Billy's job was easy money. He enjoyed yelling at kids and watching the mom's attempt to catch his attention with skimpy bathing suits and expensive hairdos. Of course, he encouraged it, a wink here, a comment there, and the moms went crazy. They brought their kids every day which meant more money for the pool and, in turn, Billy. On the other hand, Y/n hated her job. People could be rude and demanding. Fortunately, the old men were great tippers, especially when she flirted with them and unbuttoned her top a little more than necessary.

Of course, life wouldn't let them escape their troubles that easy. It always had to get complicated just when things were looking better.

Y/n sat on the double bed in the Motel 6. She had been a lot more emotional lately and seemed to get irritated with everyone. Not even Billy was exempt.

Just the other night, she had snapped at him. She had snuck into his room with a fresh bruise forming under her eye. Randy had found her stash of tips she had been hiding under her bed. He was angry. Y/n's money went to support the family. Of course, that also meant funding his drinking habits.

Luckily, Y/n had two stashes with equal amounts. She was scared Randy might go through her stuff. Still, he had found her stash and taken the money and in Y/n's mind that meant she had lost half her savings. She put them a step back in their attempts to break free from their parents. She needed Billy, but he wasn't there.

She fell asleep to his scent surrounding her.

Billy stumbled through his window later, successfully waking her. He was drunk, far more than he usually was. He barely noticed she was there.

"Billy?"

He snapped his head up. He had pulled off his shirt and shoes and was in the middle of kicking his shoes off when he heard her.

"Baby?" He squinted through the dark, smiling when he recognized her. "I sure am glad to see you. I have had a boner all night. Thought I'd have to take care of it myself but now-"

"Billy!" she interrupted. He laid down on the bed, facing her.

"Yes, doll?" He still wore a dopey smile and his eyes were somewhat glazed despite the serious tone in Y/n's voice.

"I needed you tonight." She tried to get him to focus.

"I need you too, baby." He gestured to his crotch.

She rolled her eyes, growing angry at the drunk before her. "Billy, look at me, I mean really look, and tell me that you can't see what's wrong."

He squinted at her. "Wait. Something's wrong?"

She huffed angrily. "Yes." She stood up from the bed. "I came home to find Randy had gone through my room while I was at work. He found one of my stashes. He took it." She had started pacing as she ranted. "Of course, he freaked at me, and next thing I know, I'm on the floor, a growing pain on my eye. I rush out of the house to come here and my car doesn't start. Literally, everything was going wrong. I walked here, in the rain mind you, 'cause God knows this town can't give me one day with nice weather, and you are not here. No, you're out getting drunk. What makes it all worse, is that I found out some news today that I need to tell-" She had turned her glare to focus on her boyfriend. "Are you asleep?"

She almost burst into tears when he didn't respond. "Billy?" she harshly shook him awake.

"Wha- What the hell was that for?"

"I can't believe you." She turned and climbed out of his window.

She had phoned the next day to apologize but Billy hadn't been awake. Y/n left a message with Max. She had rented a room at the motel - Billy would know which one, they had been there before - and wanted to talk to Billy. Max promised she would relay the message.

It was nearing 8 o'clock and Y/n was getting worried. She knew he worked until 6 so she had expected him to arrive around 7, but as each minute passed, she grew more and more worried that she had lost him.

They had fought before, the fight the other night hadn't even been that bad. It was unlikely he remembered it. But Y/n's emotions were out of wack. Everything that went wrong seemed to wreck her life.

She glanced to the clock again.

7:53.

Her eyes fell on the phone. She could call his house, but it was unlikely he would be the one to pick up. They didn't call each other at night, it was too likely that the other's father would be home, and that would just turn into another argument.

She fiddled with her hands, eyes flitting from the little stick sitting on the bed with her and the bag she brought with her.

7:54.

She never cried. Never. She and Billy had made a promise to never cry about the people who didn't want them, long ago. They wouldn't cry over parents that left nor would they cry over the parents that stayed but hated them. She didn't want to break the promise. Not now.

She hugged her stomach and she rocked a bit, trying to calm her nerves. Billy and she had made a life. It may have been an accident but she was pregnant. The proof lay on the bed beside her.

7:56.

Her mother hadn't wanted her. She understood to a certain extent. Leaving because she was being abused was something Y/n dreamed of almost daily, but she would never condemn another to take her place. That was exactly what her mother had done. Y/n was the replacement punching bag.

7:57.

Y/n shook as a tear escaped her eye at the thought that Billy didn't want her. She had no doubt that Max had passed on the message, Y/n had sounded quite serious when she talked to her and Max hadn't ever lied to her before. Billy had to have chosen not to come.

7:58.

"No," Y/n spoke to herself. "I will not cry over you, Billy. I will not cry for someone who doesn't want me." She dried her face and looked down at her stomach, pressing her hands against it. "If he doesn't come, he doesn't want us. And that's okay, baby. It's okay. I'm here. I want you and I'll never let a day pass without making sure you know that."

She laid down resting her head against the pillow.

8:00.

"We'll be okay."

Things started getting very weird after that night.

Y/n didn't see Billy for nearly four days. On July 2nd, Max showed up on her doorstep with a girl called El. They asked if she had seen Billy. Y/n scoffed telling them that Billy missed their date and hadn't contacted her since.

They had frowned, running off without another word.

She didn't know what to think.

Then Max returned, two nights later, on the Fourth of July, begging for help with Billy. Y/n almost wanted to say no. But then Max started talking about a Mind Flayer and Billy getting controlled by it. Y/n was so confused, she let herself get pulled away.

They ended up at the Starcourt Mall. Y/n was told to find Billy and remind him of who he really was.

She found him hovering over the girl called El. She moved towards him slowly, the giant monster made her a bit hesitant, but Billy looked so pained and scared that she had to go to him.

"Billy!" she called over the deafening noise. "Billy, please stop."

He turned, his eyes meeting hers. He stood and made his way over to her. He raised his arm, and Y/n though he was going to cup her cheek.

But he didn't.

Instead, Y/n was met with a firm hand gripping her throat.

"Billy," she choked out.

He made no move to stop.

"Please. Don't do this."

"Billy!" Max yelled, causing the man to shift his gaze and loosen his grip slightly. "Stop!"

El, who barely had any strength left, propped herself up to try and help. Her friends were terrified of Billy and she knew she could help.

"Seven feet," she recalled the memory she saw in Billy's head. "You told her the wave was seven feet." Billy paused, his arm loosening enough strength to set Y/n down. His eyes turned to El, but he kept his hand around Y/n's neck. "You ran to her, on the beach. There were seagulls. She wore a hat with a blue ribbon. A long dress with a blue and red flower. Yell- yellow sandals, covered in sand. Y/n was there." Billy turned back to Y/n. "She sat in the sand cheering. They were pretty."

Y/n reached up, cupping his cheek. His eyes filled with tears as his hand left her throat.

"And you-" El continued "-you were happy."

"We can be happy again, Billy." He wiped away the tears that fell from Y/n's eyes. "I need you," she confessed. "We both do."

His eyes crinkled in confusion, so Y/n took his hand, the one that had just been around her throat, and placed it on her stomach.

"Let's go back to California. We'll be happy again."

Billy smiled pulling her close and breathing in her intoxicating scent which he had missed so dearly. He whispered apologies into her hair as she rubbed circles into his back.

The moment was broken when El let out an ear-piercing scream. They jumped, turning to see the giant monster getting closer to her.

Billy jumped into action, pushing away the monster that was threatening the people who cared about him enough to help him.

The monster screeched, angry that his pawn had turned against him. Arm-like appendages sprouted from its mouth, plunging into Billy's body.

Y/n screamed as the monster aimed for his heart.

Then it stopped.

The monster stepped back, screeching in pain before it collapsed.

Y/n ran to Billy who lay almost motionless.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She brushed his damp hair out of his face. "It wasn't your fault." She smiled down at him. "It's all going to be okay."

Max joined them, falling to her knees beside Y/n. "Hey, Maxine."

She smiled, letting a few tears fall as she ignored the use of her full name. "Billy, you're okay?"

"I'm tougher than I look." He turned back to Y/n. "What about you? Were you serious?" He placed his hand on her stomach.

Y/n nodded, more tears falling. "You're going to be a dad, Billy."

Billy smiled happily as he watched Max gush about becoming an aunt. Sure, he was more nervous than when he confessed his feelings for Y/n, but she was happy, and he loved her more than anything. They had been through so many terrible things, a baby wouldn't be much different. He knew that he could never hurt Y/n, and, with this child being a part of her, he would never hurt it.

Then his eyes fell on the bruises forming on her neck. His hand reached up to gently run his fingers across it. He had done that. He had broken his promise.

"Stop," Y/n whispered, grabbing his hand and entwining her fingers with his. "It wasn't your fault." She placed a soft kiss on his lips.

It wasn't long till medical personal were rushing in and Billy was carried out of the mall.

1 Year Later

Y/n bounced the little baby on her lap as they watched the waves roll. Billy was out in the ocean with Max, teaching her how to surf.

California was beautiful, even better than they remembered. Although that could just be because they had left their fathers behind. They had moved back as soon as Billy was released from the hospital. The drive had been long but knowing they were free made it all worth it.

Money was tight, but they both made sacrifices. Billy's car had been broken and a smashed during his time under the control of the Mind Flayer. They sold it to a junkyard for $150. They got a small one-bedroom apartment. They would need something bigger when their child was older, but it was all they could afford, at the moment.

Y/n got a job at a bar. It wasn't great, there was a lot of drunk men, but she was used to drunk losers. After her father, the drunk men she encountered were easily handled. Plus, she got great tips, and the old man who owned the place, Terrance, was very nice. It wasn't too far away from their apartment, so it was a perfectly fine job.

Billy got a job with Miller Construction. He enjoyed it more than he admitted. The people he worked with were really funny and he was good at his job. Often times, the guys would go to a bar after work. Billy managed to convince them to go to The Red Lady, the bar Y/n worked at, so he could chat with her and the guys. He never drank anywhere near enough to get drunk, none of them did, but he always stayed until Y/n's shift was over so they could walk home together.

Terrance was very good with letting Y/n have time off for Doctors appointments. Unfortunately, Billy wasn't so lucky. He didn't want to miss a single one, especially after he missed the first, but his boss couldn't always spare the time. On days he couldn't get off, he would take an unofficial extended lunch with his coworkers covering for him.

He loved seeing his little child on the screen, even before it looked like a baby. He would see the image appear, and tears would spring to his eyes as the doctor pointed to the different parts of the child. He, Billy Hargrove, a boy who had been told he was worthless and would amount to nothing, had created a life with the woman he loved more than anything.

The day Y/n gave birth was possibly the most stressful day of their lives. The baby was early by nearly a week causing them to be just a bit unprepared. Billy had never driven so fast in his life, his girlfriend's screams making his foot turn to lead.

After only five hours in the hospital, Elizabeth Marina Hargrove was born. She was beautiful with Billy's bright blue eyes that didn't stop looking around. She was quiet too, hardy crying once she was put in her mother's arms. Y/n felt overwhelmed with love when she watched Billy gaze down at his daughter snuggled in his arms.

Max was extremely happy for them too. They called her as soon as they got home. Once she got over the initial excitement, Y/n and Billy asked her to tell the others, especially El. They had chosen the name Elizabeth because El had been the one to save Billy. El was the reason they had made it to California, and she deserved to be recognized for that. They ended the call with Max promising to come to visit them in the summer.

Which was exactly what she did.

Y/n and Billy had invited Max to stay for a few weeks. In addition to meeting Ellie, Y/n and Billy had wanted Max to be present at their wedding. The only reason they had held off for so long was for her. Y/n wanted her to be present. She had brought Y/n to help Billy, and they had grown quite close over the year, talking on the phone whenever Y/n had a day off. She was kept updated on everything with the baby and kept Y/n updated on events in Hawkins as well, even though she didn't care too much about the shitty town.

Y/n glanced at the ring on her finger. It didn't have a big shiny diamond on it, but it was beautiful. Ellie loved it too, taking every chance to play with it on her mother's hand.

Ellie yawned, turning around to snuggle into her mother's arms and closing her eyes. Billy and Max came to sit with Y/n, grabbing some of the strawberries they had brought along with them.

They chatted for a bit as the sun set, before packing up and walking home. Y/n had been right.

They were happy, happier than they had ever been before. Everything was perfect. Their perfect reality.

I still haven’t gotten many reactions from my writing so I thought I would tag some people again. Feel free to ignore.

@theonewiththefanfics

@multi-fandom-fanfiction

[celawrites]

Day 19

It’s monday. Oh disgusting. I drag myself out of bed today, and for the first time in eternity, I really don’t feel like talking to the people around me. Driving to school, I collect my thoughts and get ready for today’s confession.

“Sun~” I almost choke at the voice. What was she doing here?

“Oh Madison. Nice seeing you again”

“Am I not allowed to visit my favorite junior?”

“You caught me off guard. What brings you here today”

“Just checking up on the school’s valedictorian”

“How sweet of you” My voice greets before I have time to process anything.

“Miss Student President! A joy seeing you as always”

“Same to you Madison.” I wander off to my locker and leave him there to deal with this himself. I hear a soft hiss from him as she gets too close. A habit he may or may not have picked up because of me.

“So. Are you dating anyone? Does Crescent get annoying? You know you can just tell her that you’re in love with me if you don’t want her around right?”

“She’s my friend. And besides, why do you care?”

“Because I can’t have anyone hitting on my favorite junior before I get to date him!”

I cough. And in the corner of my eye, I see Pebble approach her.

“Madison!” Pebble whisks her off into a conversation and Sun makes a run for it.

“sAve me”

“That’s what you get for Danny that you had a crush on her in junior high. She thrives off of your crush from back then”

“What can I do about it? I didn’t even know if I was attracted to her. I only told him because he wouldn’t stop bothering me about it”

“Having an identity crisis?”

“Pfft. No, I was questioning which person I had a crush on”

“wAS IT JESSICA? WAS SHE A CONTESTANT? I always thought she would’ve been a wonderful match with you”

“She’s too fake. I don’t like how two-faced she is”

“Pfft. Omg was it Opal?”

“I swear I’m about to throw you off of a cliff”

“There aren’t enough here in California” I snicker. “Then who was it? You’ve been on the brink of murdering Pebble for so long. Omg was it another senior? OH DID YOU LIKE THAT ONE TRANSFER STUDENT?”

“Cress if you don’t shut up”

“But I wanna be your wingwoman! Help you get a girlfriend before you end up all lonely in college again”

“You say that like you’ve dated before”

“I will let you know that if you date me, you will find that I’m a wonderful person with unrealistic romantic fantasies”

“Sounds about accurate”

“I like you,” I mumble.

“I was wondering when you were going to say that”

“You’re an aeipathy of mine. You take up alot of effort, but you’re worth it”

“Suddenly getting all cheesy now huh?”

“You’ll miss this one day”

“Maybe I will. Or I can move on and find someone better”

“Like me!” Madison pipes up. I see Pebble shoot me an apologetic smile. I grin and head over to her.

“Cress why?” Sun sighs.

“Have fun with her!” I shoot him a wink and then chat away with Pebble.

Pebble and I chat until the first bell rings. To then which I grab my Chromebook and head up to my classroom.

“cRESS!” I hear Sun hiss.

“Hm?” I fake my innocence.

“I will personally see the death of you sometime”

“What? I thought you’d want to spend more time with your crush”

“I don’t even have a crush on her anymore”

“Well, I feel like you two would make a wonderful match!” My grin is blinding, if anyone were to have only heard that, they’d only say that I was looking out for him.

“I could never” his eyes tell me that two can play this game, and he pulls me in so that his head is resting on mine. “I only have eyes for you”

But I only laugh. “You’re hilarious. We’re not even dating. You think I’d fall for something so fake?” I scoff. “You still like her. You may say one thing, but your eyes read another.”

The hallway is still, and no one dares to move. I wander up the stairs and head to my first class of the day. By lunch, everyone is gossiping about how Sun and I might be dating. My class only cackles when asked. Danny rushes up to Sun to ask if it’s true and Sona comes up to me to ask as well. I only laugh. How naive of them all.

It’s homeroom time when our teacher tells everyone to pay up.

“First question.” She stares into my soul. “Are you two finally dating?”

I cackle. A genuine, unfiltered cackle. I hear Sun snicker lightly. “Nope! We’re still only friends”

“Still? After that stunt you two pulled today??”

“What’s wrong with a little harmless flirting?”

“hARMLESS?” Our class shrieks.

“Yes harmless. Cress knows that I could never see her in that light” Sun smiles.

“That one hurt. Even for me” Astaria mumbles.

“It’s true though. Where we heading for spring?” I cut the topic off.

A quick round of voting shows that it’s a tie and a part of me wants to die. I just want to go somewhere I’ve never been to before. Is it that hard?

“Alright. It’s Canada if it’s tails. Heads is for Puerto Rico.”

I pray that it’s heads. It doesn’t work.

“cANADA LET’S GOOOO” Pebble screams. “FINALLY WE CAN MEET MINT”

“I’m not inviting him. He’s in college and he doesn’t need a group of annoying seniors to tour around”

“Just pay him or something”

“No one in Canada lacks money”

“Wait seriously?”

“Everyone’s rich. RICH”

“Boring”

“Alright, we’ll start planning for this on Wednesday. You guys are dismissed”

“Thank you!”

“Meeting Mint again huh?” I mumble. I haven’t texted him in months. It’s not like he’s a spontaneous person like me, I mean who even plans a trip out of the blue? I guess I would have to start being friends with him. I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t even notice Sun approach me.

“You look dazed Cress”

“I haven’t contacted Mint in months. I guess I would have to text him again huh?”

“I thought you guys were close?”

“He’s not a texter. He doesn’t like calls either. I’ll head back during Winter and talk to him about it then”

“Mm. I’d join you but we have concessions here”

“True. I’m sure I’ll get dismissed if I just tell them that it’s for the Senior trip at the end of the year.”

“It’s a shame I won’t be able to see you during winter then”

“If you’re relieved that I won’t be telling you how much I like you then you’re wrong. I’m gonna be calling you every single day. So get ready to be annoyed”

Sun huffs. It’s one of his habits, a cute one if you ask me. Some days I wonder how the rest of our class isn’t so close to him. Then I remember that his habits are all subtle, and nearly impossible to read. The way his eyes light up slightly if you remember something small about him, or if he’s reading a good part in a book. The way his brows furrow subtly when he’s stressed, and the way his hands get cold when he’s nervous. He’s a wonder to me, and sometimes I can’t help but think that he had let me into his life with intention. Maybe he saw something in me that he admired, his friends had all left last year, so maybe the aching of a new companion prompted him to talk to me again.

The final bell of the day rings and I’m driving home. I get a call.

“Crescent”

“Hey Madison”

“Don’t Hey me! You managed to convince the entire school that you’re dating the person who has a crush on me!”

“I cleared that up already. Why are you so bothered”

“He has a crush on me! So stop trying to whisk my admirer away!”

“I what?”

“I plan on asking him out at the end of the week. Don’t you dare tell him, and don’t you dare ruin it for me”

“You realize that this is an invitation to do what I want with that information right?”

“If you do that then I’ll tell the principal about what you did in public school” I freeze up. How did she get her hands on that information?

“Oh and what might that be? That I had 13 kids? That I did better grades wise?”

“No. That you almost ended up sleeping with someone.”

“I did?”

“Your son”

“What? When?”

“January of Freshman year.”

“It was a movie hangout though?”

“Do you think he’s going to believe you?”

“Eh. I don’t really care. Do what you want. I’m not so petty that I have to threaten someone to not ruin my confession. Best of luck then. Also I’m blocking you after this”

“whAT”

I hang up. I still don’t remember how she got my number. Maybe I’ll have to ask or something.

The day ends there, and nothing new happens after. Maybe it’s because Sun is tired, or something else, but he texts me a good night for the first time.

Previous : Masterlist : Next

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Greaser Serpents | Part 4

Pairing: Sweet Pea x OC (Luna Simmons) 

Words: 2408

Warnings: crying, language

Part one Part two Part three Part four Part five

“I have to talk to you,” Luna says before even greeting her best friend, and drags her into an empty classroom. A small flashback goes through her mind as she does that, thinking about what she and Sweet Pea had been doing the other day in empty classroom. 

“Good morning to you too,” Betty mutters while Luna shuts the door behind her. The girl seems agitated and stressed about something, causing worry to rise within Betty. She can’t stand watching her best friend be so upset about something. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she asks, placing a comforting hand on Luna’s shoulder. The girl licks her lips, her eyes darting away from her best friend as she tries her hardest not to cry. She raises her arms shortly in defeat whilst shaking her head as tears begin to run down her cheeks. 

“I’m in love with a Serpent, Betty,” she confesses, “But I can’t be with him because there’d be a target on my back. Other gangs will pick up on it and use me to spite him or the Serpents will annoy Sweet Pea for dating a Northsider. My father hates him and practically will ruin his life with this stupid plan of his and Hiram’s. But I can’t stop thinking about him, Bets. He’s just constantly on my mind and I can’t seem to forget about him. No matter what I do,” she explains, unloading her bucket of emotions with her best friend. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” she sniffles as Betty takes her in for a tight, comforting hug. “There’s one thing you can do,” the blondie says after a moment of pure sobs and crying from Luna. They pull away from each other, and while Luna wipes away her tears, Betty strokes a strand of her best friend’s hair behind her ear. “Please, tell me, I’ll pretty much do anything right now,” she mumbles, chuckling a little at how desperate she sounds. Toni, who happened to be passing the classroom where the two Northsiders were talking in, has heard everything and it makes her blood boil. That stupid Serpent friend of hers has made the Northsider girl cry. One of the few Northsiders she cares about. He will hear of this. And without listening to what else Betty has to say, she storms up to her two best friends in the student lounge.

“How dare you play with a girl’s feelings like that!” she yells at the tall guy, not even caring about who else could hear it. Jughead, Archie, Kevin and Veronica are sitting on the sofa, startled at the pink-haired lady’s anger. “Toni, keep it down, please,” Sweet Pea mutters, knowing she’s talking about Luna. “What the hell are you on about?” his voice is low, but that doesn’t stop Toni from yelling more. “I’m talking about how you hurt Luna’s feelings by doing God-knows-what when you know you can’t date her because it would put her in danger!” she hits him on the shoulder. Her yelling has attracted more of the students, including Cheryl, Josie and Reggie. Sweet Pea’s wide eyes dart around the room, finding everyone already staring at them. “Toni, she knew what she’d pulled herself into. She knew it would be strictly fooling around, no strings attached,” he explains, suddenly very self-conscious. Toni and Veronica both roll their eyes at how lame that excuse is. “Oh, so because she knows it’s no strings attached, it’s okay that you broke her heart?” she asks. The audience doesn’t make her shy away from saying what’s really on her mind. “She’s crying to Betty right now about how she doesn’t know what to do because of the feelings she has for you. She’s so lost, Sweet Pea. And you’re oblivious to that because you think you’re good because you warned her for it,” the girl doesn’t give off. “You’re such a dick, Sweet Pea, do you know that?!” she hits him on the back of his head. “Toni, please, stop,” a tearful, cold voice retracts the people’s attention from Sweet Pea and Toni to Luna. Her eyes are red and puffy, and her lipstick’s gone from biting and licking her lips nervously. “It’s none of their business. Neither is it yours, FYI,” she tells her Southside friend. Toni glances to the floor, ashamed of her outburst all of a sudden. Luna’s eyes glance over to Sweet Pea. He looks broken and lost. Almost as lost as she is. “Show’s over, kids. Get to class,” she orders all of them before turning around and leaving the student lounge. The Serpent boy who had broken her heart in a thousand pieces launches forward to run after her, but both Betty and Toni stop him. “It’s better if you leave her alone for now, Sweet Pea,” Betty tells him with a little smile, “She’ll come to you when she’s ready to talk about it,” the boy lets out a frustrated breath before grabbing his backpack and getting out of the lounge to get to class. “I don’t know what you heard, Toni,” Betty begins when everyone has left the class, “But we have to help her. We only need to convince her that it’s the only way to be with him,” Toni nods her head. She didn’t hear what the two talked about, but she knows what Betty is on about now. If Luna really wants it, the two of them can pull a few strings and make it happen. Luna looks in the mirror in the restrooms as she fixes her makeup and hair. When she woke up this morning, she didn’t expect to burst out into tears the way she did. She felt sad, but it wasn’t to the point of crying. It’s only when she really came face-to-face with her own feelings and really said them out loud to Betty, that’s when the waterworks really began. “Look at me, there has to be,” she sings the reprise softly as she stares at her reflection. “Something more than what they see Wholesome and pure Oh so scared and unsure A poor man’s Sandra Dee,” she sighs before reapplying her lipstick and then leaving the bathroom at once. The idea of Betty haunts her mind. The entire day, she can’t think of anything else but that. It might actually be the only way to be with Sweet Pea. Even if it means getting disowned and kicked out by her parents. “Are you okay?” Josie asks when she sits down next to Luna at lunch. That’s all Luna has been hearing today. That’s all everyone’s asking her. The others look at her, awaiting her answer, even though they’ve all asked her at one point that day. She angrily throws her burger on her plate, suddenly not hungry anymore. “Can everyone stop asking me that? I’m fine, okay? Just peachy,” the last bit comes out in a whisper as she realizes she’s lying to her friends and herself. “Sorry,” she then mutters while shaking her head and getting off the bench. Her friends watch her run out of the cafeteria, knowing she just needs some time. It’s still a touchy subject. They’re not even sure when it’s not going to be a touchy subject anymore. “No, Sweets, don’t!” Toni yells at Sweet Pea as he gets up from his seat and runs after Luna, completely ignoring his friend’s orders. He finds her in the student lounge on the sofa, trying to calm herself down a little. It breaks his heart seeing her like that, especially considering he’s the one who put her in that situation. “Hey, Luna,” he says softly as he walks in and comes into her view, cautiously. She looks up at him for a moment and wipes her tears as she offers him a small smile. “Can I sit?” he questions, pointing at the sofa. The girl simply shrugs, knowing that if she’d talk, fresh tears would run out. “I’m sorry, Luna,” he then says after a moment of complete silence. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about, Sweets,” she tells him, glancing down at her wrists whilst playing with the bracelet she got from her father for her birthday last year. “I do though. I’m sorry I led you on and I’m sorry we can’t be together, but I thought you were okay with the no-strings-attached kind of thing,” he stares at the floor. Neither of them is sure what to do. They’d rather be kissing each other right now instead of talking. “I was,” she replies as fresh tears roll over her cheeks, “Sorry,” she whispers and gets up to get away from him again. She doesn’t want him to see her crying. Sweet Pea groans and runs after her again, grabbing her wrist to pull her back to him. “Stop running away from me, Luna. Please, let’s talk about this. I hate to see you hurt when I know I can do something about it.” Her tears abruptly stop at his words and she looks up at him. Her hand rises, her fingers softly stroking his jaw. “Oh, but you can’t do anything about it, Sweet Pea,” she whispers, “You can’t help it that I fell in love with you when I knew I shouldn’t. Hell, I can’t even help it. But it is what it is. And I know we can’t be together. My mother warned me about it and you did too,” her voice is soft, as if she’s telling him her biggest secret. “Your mother warned you?” he asks, confused about that part of the explanation. “She warned me about putting a target on my back if I ever dated a Serpent. Other gangs would use me to spite you and all that jazz,” she explains quickly, rolling her eyes at how silly that sounds. “But that’s not the point now, Sweets,” she shakes her head. “I can’t date a Northsider, Luna,” he tells her again, sounding defeated. “You don’t have to,” a smile tugs at her lips, “We’re kind of like Sandy and Danny in real life, aren’t we? I’m going to have to change for you to be able to be with you,” she says softly. Sweet Pea’s eyes widen at her insinuation. “You’re not joining the Serpents, Luna. I can’t let you join the Serpents,” he orders sternly, towering over her makes her more intimidated by him than she ever was. “Don’t flatter yourself, Sweets. I told you, I’m not like Sandy. I’m not going to join the Serpents just so we can be together. I’m not built that way,” she explains to him with a chuckle and a shake of her head. “I’ll figure out a way to get you out of my head. It’s going to be fine,” she reassures him. He grabs her by the waist at that, pulling her closer to him. “But Luna—” he begins, but her singing voice cuts him off. “Guess mine’s not the first heart broken My eyes are not the first to cry,” Her fingers push away the curl on his forehead as she sings to him. The song that sums up her feelings right about now. “I’m not the first to know there’s just no getting over you,” She turns around and walks away from him. Away from the safe place in his arms. Away from his beautiful bright eyes. She has to forget about him. Preferably now. “You know I'm just a fool who's willing To sit around and wait for you But baby can't you see there's nothing else for me to do I'm hopelessly devoted to you,” she walks down the hallway and back to the cafeteria where she halts at the door to watch her friends talk amongst each other. She even makes eye contact with Toni who gives her a small, sympathetic smile. “But now there's no way to hide Since you pushed my love aside I'm outta my head hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you,” She walks back into the hallway where she finds Sweet Pea still standing at the lockers. His fist punches the metal, making it clang loudly and boom off the walls. This just isn’t how it’s supposed to go. This isn’t how either of them had imagined falling in love for the first time. It hurts harder than they thought it would. During the rest of the day, the two of them had tried to avoid one another. And if they did lock eyes, they’d give each other a sympathetic, acknowledging smile. Nothing more, nothing less. The only time they didn’t ignore one another is at rehearsals that night. “My head is saying, "Fool, forget him." My heart is saying, "Don't let go. Hold on till the end." And that's what I intend to do I'm hopelessly devoted to you” She sings her heart out on the stage this time, standing all by herself in the middle of the spotlight. The other cast members watch her tentatively, a little bit tensed as well. They know she means what she’s singing, and she’s singing it for Sweet Pea, who’s sitting at the end of the line. He’s watching her with an aching heart. “But now there's nowhere to hide Since you pushed my love aside I'm out of my head Hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you” A single tear rolls down her face as a silence falls over the entire auditorium. Sweet Pea shakes his head and leaves. He can’t keep watching this. He can’t keep looking at Luna being hurt because of him. He’d rather run up that stage and hold her. There has to be another way. There has to be a way they can be together without her getting hurt. “Jughead,” Luna says from the stage, capturing the Serpent’s attention, “Could you pull a few strings with your dad for me, please?” she asks kindly. The boy looks at his girlfriend and his pink-haired friend. They had talked about this during lunch. He simply nods, giving the girl a smile and a new will to live. She normally would never change herself for someone else. But if her happiness depends on it, she might as well try something. It might even save Sweet Pea’s life. Just maybe she could convince her dad not to go through with his plans for Riverdale. Maybe, just maybe everything could be okay. 

Taglist: @iamaunicorn4704, @cvvlxx

[worldbecomefantasy]

Because this will probs get long, the details on who their kids are and for what ships, that’ll all be below the cut. Some will be super detailed, others are kinda just  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ they have kids I’m sure but I’ve never plotted that out. I just wanted to take some time and talk about my muses kids and spouses cause I love family man.

Muses with kiddos (in any verse)

Nyx

Cyrus

Khal

Levi

Drautos

Pine

Kanan

To be more specific to their canon verses though:

Cyrus

Levi

Kanan

Canon kiddos

Cyrus Zerrin has three kids, Cillian, Emi and Eli. Cillian is his by blood, after a few hookups with Ocean, another local to Galahd. He didn’t know about Cillian for several years though. Ocean kept him a secret, feeling like Cyrus wasn’t in a good place to be a father. After a few months of their relationship though, Cyrus ended it as he wanted to be a better person. He’d always been the bright-eyed, happy boy in town, and she missed seeing him like that. But the attack on Galahd took his happiness away. It wasn’t until her health was declining that she let Cyrus back into her life, and subsequently Cillian’s as well.

Cyrus of course felt deep regret that Ocean had to raise him for six years on her own, but he understood why she did that. He knew as well as anyone that right after Nyx and Libertus left, and he lost his sister and friends, that he wasn’t okay. He walked a dangerous path and too many times went down the wrong roads. So he doesn’t blame her for keeping Cillian from him, but it doesn’t make him regret his choices any less.

Cillian adjusted well, or as well as any six year old can be expected to. Ocean always spoke well of Cyrus, so Cillian had no problems with him. Their personalities were also more alike than anyone could have imagined. Physically Cillian took almost entirely after his mother, but his personality is a mirror of Cyrus. Always being kind, smiling, the epitome of sunshine. Even when darkness falls, when he’s nine, he maintains his smile.

His second child is a little girl, Emi, that he adopted just after the darkness fell and he went to Lestallum with Libertus. Emi is cute and sweet at first glance. She looks a little shy, but that’s expected from a four year old. What’s not so expected is how much trouble she gets into. Anything that she shouldn’t be getting into, she will find a way to get into. Rooms she shouldn’t be in, things she knows she shouldn’t be touching, whatever the case may be. She will get into trouble. That never changes as she grows up.

The third is Elias. He’s a close friend of Emi’s and when Cy takes in Emi she refuses to be parted from Elias. He’s a year older than her, but he’s the more timid one. He’s very unsure of himself as a young child, but as he grows up he gains more confidence. He’s a bit hotheaded, no doubt from growing up around Libertus, but he’s a good kid. He doesn’t mean to cause trouble- much unlike Emi.

~~~~~

Levi Valter is a husband, and a father of one little girl. Isabel is his eight year old daughter. She takes after her mother, being soft and sweet, but she’s always been a daddy’s girl regardless. She loves having him tell her bedtime stories, either made up, from story books, or real stories of his life. Her imagination runs wild, and he couldn’t be more proud. Levi loves her more than anything in the world, and he wants to treat her to anything she wants. He wants to be the parent to her that he never got.

~~~~~

Kanan has a very loose definition of family. He considers his crew his family, with Hera as his wife and the rest of them his children.

Zeb is older than him, technically speaking, but he still acts like a child. The 40 something year old Lasat goofs around and gets into trouble just as much as the 12 year old human on their crew act just the same.

Sabine is by far the most mature of the kids, but not without her own rebellious streak. That is what makes them stick together though, so Kanan doesn’t fault her for it. Just so long as she’s not painting anything that Hera will get upset about.

Ezra is the most like him, a young boy that’s lost and alone, and a fellow Jedi. Kanan could have let him go, never told him anything. But the Force didn’t allow that.

Finally Chopper even counts as one of the kids. Many people say he’s just a droid, that droids don’t count and are replaceable, but Kanan begs to differ.

Last of all is Jacen. The only of his kids that is by blood his family. Canonically he never knew Jacen, he died just before Hera found out she was pregnant. For the sake of this blog though, we ignore his death. As such, he did get to know Jacen, and he loves his son just as much as he loves the rest of the crew.

~~~~~

Non Canon Kiddos

Nyx Ulric. He’s not a man to have many kids, but across different verses he has many.

In a typical Before the Sunrise/Following the Moon verse he has one son. Elias. Rather than Libertus and Cyrus taking in both Emi and Eli, Nyx takes in Eli. It’s less stress on his best friends, and it keeps the kids close together. This happens after the darkness falls, and Nyx is based in Lestallum with Cyrus and Libertus. In this verse, Eli is the same kid that starts out very timid and grows into his confidence. The change is that rather than being hotheaded, he’s just reckless. Much like Nyx. There is also the variable of Nyx can be a single father, or he can be shipped with anyone still alive in the darkness, though traditionally he’s with @heartsurpluss’ Prompto.

Nyx with Luche. When shipped with Luche (specifically Jess‘ Looch) he has a daughter named Leila. Really the little girl belongs to Luche, she’s his biological daughter, but the mother isn’t in the picture. Nyx falls for Luche first, and meets her and falls just as in love with this tiny infant. He loves her so much. In canon, it’s rather tragic because she ends up an orphan, so we ignore canon. Before the Sunrise/Following the Moon though she gets her parents. Luche is horrifically scarred and has terrible self esteem, not thinking himself worthy of love or a family. Nyx does his best to combat that, not just because he loves Luche, but because he doesn’t want Leila growing up without her father. She needs a parent, and Nyx knows he won’t survive past the darkness, he knows she needs Luche.

Nyx with Prompto. Again, this is specific to Jess‘ portrayal. She has a verse for Prom where he had a daughter with Cindy. That daughter is named Anna. This is usually something that happens in a modern verse. Nyx is a middle school teacher and actually meets Anna before he meets Prom. She’s a little spitfire in his classroom, and he adores this kiddo. Then during a parent-teacher conference he meets Prompto and falls in love with him. Obviously it’s not an instant in love, but seeing this cute lil blonde single father stumble in is entirely too endearing.

~~~~~

Khal is semi canon, but not totally. Her main ship is with Spencer, a fandomless oc played by- you guessed it- Jess. Spencer is an ICU nurse when they meet, but shortly after that transfers to NICU. He spends 8 years there, being best friends with Khal, but never anything more. They’re dating in everything but title. Khal refuses to admit her feelings until one day, he comes home from the NICU with a baby, because the baby’s parents couldn’t keep him and Spencer refused to let go of him. That day Khal just broke and admitted to herself, and to him, how she feels. Because she wanted to be Rory’s mother.

~~~~~

Drautos is not the type one expects to see as a family man, or even a married man. He is business first and he’s always been like this. But a lesser known fact is that he does want a family. He wants the family he missed out on having from his home being destroyed when he was 12. Because of this, I have a lot of verses with Jess about how he becomes a parent. For context, Jess- as you can likely tell by now- is a multimuse. She rps a lot of characters, including: Luche, Pelna, Axis, and Tredd. With each of these is an option for Drautos to be a parent.

Drautos with Luche. Luche has Leila, this is a fact established while discussing Nyx. Drautos is interesting in the image of a perfect family, because he doesn’t know how to actually have a family. He doesn’t know how to be a parent. But slowly he does genuinely fall in love with Luche, and with Leila. He will do anything to protect them, and when Insomnia falls his highest priority is ensuring that Leila is safe.

Drautos with Axis. Shortly after Axis’ youngest is born the mother died. This left Axis alone, and struggling to care for three children. What good commander would just stand by and watch this struggle? Certainly not Drautos. He takes the chance in helping Axis, and in return gets a family.

Drautos with Pelna. Pelna is a tiny baby glaive, and Drautos maybe just likes showing off how powerful he is to the young glaive. The fact that Pelna has a toddler son named Danny only helps. It’s a fun game until he realizes he’s in too deep.

Drautos with Tredd. Tredd has no kids of his own, but he wants them, and he’s something like an uncle to Axis’ kids. So even if he’s not presently capable of providing Drautos with that image of a family that he wants, he could one day. Particularly if by some miracle (known as RP meta because fuck canon) Drautos and Tredd are the only ones that make it out they’re left with Axis’ kids, Luche’s daughter, and Pelna’s son. So suddenly they went from none, to six.

~~~~~

Pine is the one that I was basically just like, she’ll be a shrug emoji. Cause @bygonesin​ and I have discussed that yes, her and Argent will certainly have kids, we’ve never really talked about how many or who they are though. But both of them come from large families so it stands to reason they’d have a large family of their own.

[riddledeep]

Chloe’s Full Character Profile

Slight Riddleverse ‘fic spoilers. Your mileage may vary.

OVERVIEW

Full Name: Chloe Carmichael

Preferred Form of Address: Chloe

Alternate Forms of Address: Will respond to literally any nickname as long as she knows you’re addressing her

Aspiration: Find support in genuine friendships while she works to overcome her anxiety

Born: Spring of the Pink Star

Zodiac: Sky

Birthday: March 21st, 1992 (As far as you know)

Hometown: Dimmdale, California; USA (Formerly Seattle, Washington)

Age During Frozen Timestream: 10

Species: Human

Nationality: American

Mindset: Wise beyond her years, but painfully oblivious in social settings

Stats:

Power: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Endurance: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Wisdom: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Adaptability: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Charisma: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Openness: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Conscientiousness: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Neuroticism: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Residence: 1011 Cobbler Street

Marries Kevin Crocker once they have their own place

Occupation: Field linguist

Previous Employment: Mostly volunteered and tutored in the past; did some internships but not a lot of paying work until after school

BACKGROUND

Self-Perception: A supportive, loving, and genuine person who isn’t afraid to put herself out there and wants to see everyone around her succeed at their dreams (even if it means sacrificing her own)

Alignment: Lawful Good -> Neutral Good

MBTI: ENFP

Deadly Sin: Wrath

Heavenly Virtue: Charity

Love Language: Acts of service

Reinforcers: Making people smile; watching someone she helped improve her life; blue ribbons, plaques, and trophies; applause

History: Chloe was born to Clark Dinkleberg and Connie Carmichael in Seattle, Washington. She spent her early years in the city, curious and enthusiastic about the world around her (much to her nervous’ parents dismay). As she grew, Chloe realized how much her parents love nature and began to wonder if her birth got in the way of their adventuring. They didn’t seem to love the city like she did... Was she dragging them down? Thoughts like these make up the core of her anxiety; deep down, Chloe will always suspect her parents see her as a burden and don’t love her as much as they claim.

Chloe made a few friends in school, but they always seemed to lose interest before long (unable to keep up with her energy). In the spring of her fifth grade year, Chloe healed an injured Beast who went on to ransack Seattle. This cost her the rest of her friends, earned her the frustration of her parents, and immediately became the most humiliating experience of her life... and on top of that, it aired on TV. A distraught Chloe collapsed in on herself. She kept to her room as much as possible, and it wasn’t long before her parents discussed plans to move.

Chloe’s misery tripped the sensors at the godparenting agency, but although everyone agreed she deserved a fairy godparent, there wasn’t one available. On top of that, the “One Godparent / One Godchild” Act (Whimsifinado v. Fairy Court) had just been passed, which would allow the Pixies to be godparents in the absence of available Fairies (See also, @zachbrightside’s “Big Fairy Share Scare” rewrite, In Over My Head). The Head Pixie personally steered Clark and Connie towards Dimmsdale in the hopes that Chloe would over-involve herself in Timmy’s life and sabotage Cosmo and Wanda’s godparenting career. In theory, Cosmo and Wanda would be separated from Timmy just in time for the 1-on-1 Act to go live, creating an opening for H.P. himself to take over as Timmy’s pixie godfather. It didn’t quite work the way he planned, but long story short... Chloe has a godfamily and H.P. withdrew to scheme again.

Personality: Chloe is constantly motivated to chase her dreams, help others chase theirs, and live each day to the fullest. She’s always full of energy... which is why she has a history of burning through her friends. Chloe’s can-do attitude leaves a lot of people exhausted, and even Timmy needs breaks from her now and again. Kevin, however, finds her to be a bright spark of positive energy in his otherwise dreary existence, so they get along well.

Although Chloe loves her parents, her relationship with them is strained, especially when she’s older. Her parents have a tendency to control her, and that really ramped up once she left the house and Clark and Connie couldn’t monitor what she was doing. Chloe often finds herself tripping over her feet for them, calling several times a week even if she has to be up at 2 AM to make the time zones work. As she grows, Chloe questions more and more of her parents’ rules. When she moved out, the first thing to go was her vegetarian diet, which was always more about pleasing them than because she wanted it for herself.

Although Chloe considers herself a genuine person and a loyal friend, many people see her as desperate and clingy (especially when she ran for student government in high school). What people don’t realize is that Chloe is much too oblivious to social norms to ever be inauthentic. She isn’t about to change herself to fit in, and has the tearful therapy sessions to prove it.

Chloe doesn’t like to admit it, but she has an enormous ego. She truly believes she can be the best at anything she puts her mind to, and when she meets an expert, she’s motivated to be the one who finally outmatched them; she’d be shocked to lose a science fair to Jimmy Neutron or a ghost-catching contest to Danny Phantom, regardless of how much experience. In her youth especially, she believed positivity could always take her to victory. She’s still unlearning that idea as she’s grown.

Despite her ego, Chloe struggles with self-doubt and frequent anxiety attacks. She’s a perfectionist at heart to the point of procrastination and paranoia, and has more meltdowns than she’d like to admit... and she doesn’t admit them all, even to Timmy. Chloe’s become so good at hiding her fears from her parents that they’ve even walked out of the room while she’s panicking.

Chloe’s natural defense mechanism is denial. It worked as a kid, but as her world awareness has grown over the years, she’s tried denying things more and more. Cosmo and Wanda have been a stable force in her life, helping her overcome her naivety and recognize red flags in others and the faults in herself. Every day, Chloe breaks away from her sheltered past a little more. She strives to be caring to all and wants to be there for others just like Timmy, Cosmo, and Wanda were there for her when she needed it most.

Education: Attended elementary school in Seattle, Washington during the frozen timestream and is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the basic subjects her classes covered.

Elementary School: Moved to Dimmsdale, California in 2004 and attended Denzel Crocker’s class, where she met Timmy.

Middle School: Performed well in school and was well-liked by her teachers; stayed close friends with Timmy. Socialized with others, but her naivety caused her to make friends with people who spread rumors behind her back. Chloe hid her increasingly poor eyesight from her parents (denying everything), but in the end they discovered the truth and insisted she get glasses.

High School: Ran for student government in her second year and won the sophomore class president position. Went a little power crazy that year and was not re-elected. Focused on an abundance of extracurriculars instead, sometimes working herself to exhaustion. Dated A.J. during junior year. Did not run for student government as a senior. She faced an increasing amount of rumors (having annoyed a lot of people during her power trip).

During junior year, rumors spread that Chloe was cheating on A.J. with Timmy (and that Timmy was cheating on his long-distance girlfriend with her). In senior year (after Chloe and A.J. broke up), the rumor was that Chloe’s “tutoring sessions” didn’t involve much tutoring at all. Other criticism Chloe faced was that she was clingy, desperate, easy, and an overly controlling psycho girlfriend. Not the best four years of her life, but keeping in contact with Kevin via email made the world a little brighter.

Further Education: Obtained the schooling to become a field linguist; takes online courses for fun and collects certifications

Favorite School Subject: Chemistry

Least Favorite Subject: English (Enjoyable, but not challenging enough)

Had Fairy Godparents: March 2nd, 2004 (Just before turning 11) - March 20th, 2011 (Just as she turned 18)

Favorite Wish: Wishing to be an adult (“Dimmsdale Daze”); despite the drama it caused, she considers it a very valuable learning experience

Notable Likes:

Cosmo and Wanda

Animals

State fairs

Sweet candy

Cooking

Singing

Performing onstage

Tae kwon do

Hiking

Organizing

Charity / volunteer work / helping others

Contests (especially the winning prizes part)

Board games

Sharing intimate moments and inside jokes with friends

Goals:

Maintain close relationships with friends

Enjoy a happy marriage with Kevin (and kids!)

Learn Sylbo

Help Timmy achieve his dream job as a cartoonist

Set her uncle-in-law Denzel Crocker up with someone special

Work through her issues with her parents

Support her children in all the things

Beliefs:

All living creatures, people and animals, are very important and need to be treated with respect

Parents know best, but only if they truly know their kids

You should never quit; when things look rough, try to look at the problem in a new way

Deadlines are motivating and when you beat them, you deserve a little treat

Family is important, even if you have conflict

Fears:

Oversleeping / Forgetting appointments

Failure to meet expectations

Being unlovable / Divorce

Every cringey thing she’s ever done that she can’t forget

Upsets:

Frustrated by disorganization / low effort

Stressed when she realizes she’s running late

Flustered when her parents confront her unexpectedly and she’s forced to explain herself on short notice

Comforts: Discussing her feelings with another person and receiving validation (a diary really doesn’t cut it), keeping things organized, long baths, sewing, painting, hot chocolate and movies, lots of cuddles

Indulgences: Having a free day to spend on herself without work or school, the occasional treat (like a cupcake or éclair), snuggling under blankets

EXTERNAL

Verbal Notes: Chloe’s voice is usually level and cheerful, though it spikes when she’s excited. When she’s especially thrilled, she’ll squeal and scream, often in someone’s ear. Chloe tries to be uplifting, even when things aren’t going her way, but her patience has its limits. When pushed too far in a short amount of time, she’ll lose her temper and yell. Her raw emotion comes out, often hurting others’ feelings even after all the effort she’s put into being kind.

Chloe’s passion bleeds through when she talks, and you can tell when she’s not enthusiastic about an idea from how low her voice drops. She isn’t very good at flirting and her attempts to woo people usually come across as awkward and transparent. Having grown up without close friends, Chloe can be a little socially awkward. In fact, the way she phrases her sentences can be weird in general, especially with her advanced vocabulary (“You are a strange and tortured soul” to a peer her age, or saying “resilient arachnid” to a group of children when talking about a spider).

One of Chloe’s quirks is using nouns as adjectives when she’s upset, such as “You are monster children!” She shares this trait with her mother (i.e. “You people are garbage people!”) Another quirk is making a statement, then adding another sentence to clarify what she meant. For example:

“I don’t believe in hate. I strongly dislike it, but I don’t hate it. Because as previously mentioned, I don’t believe in hate.” (“Blue Angel”)

“You look even more unstable than normal. Which is alarming.” (“Clark Laser”)

“I never should have suggested that you’d put tacos before our friendship! Although in my defense, it is kind of believable.” (“Tardy Sauce”)

Chloe rarely gives people nicknames (in teasing or affection). She’s always called Kevin “Kevin,” never “Sweetie” or “Honey.” Once Timmy asks to be called Timothy instead, Chloe switches to that name even when some of his other friends (and Poof) continue calling him Timmy.

Language: Can hold basic conversation in twelve languages (though not all of them are human). These include English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, American sign language, Dolphin, and Flightless Booby Bird (But not French, which A.J. teased her about while they were dating since he speaks French fluently).

Physical Notes: Chloe has always been a little taller than Timmy, though not taller than Kevin. She’s often too busy to make it to the gym, but she tries to at least go for runs around the neighborhood in the mornings or evenings. She’s also practiced tae kwon do for most of her life.

Handedness: Right dominant

Body Language: Waves her arms around, particularly when pumped up. Often holds her arms in front of her when trying to focus her thoughts or calm down. Lifts a single finger when she wants to say something or gather attention. Stares at her feet when embarrassed. Rarely crosses her arms. Always up for hugs and snuggles.

Hair: Has soft hair; prefers keeping it long (past her shoulders) but often ties it up

Teeth: Has a chipped front tooth; perfect teeth other than that

Scars: As if her parents let her get scratched

Tattoos: Three small shooting stars (Pink, green, and purple) on the inside of her left forearm; match the ones Timmy has on his right arm

Style: Likes to wear “funky” things; loves eccentric outfits but has to tiptoe around her more conservative parents. Loves patterns that have lots of curves and detail in the designs.

Regular Clothing: Takes pride in a clean appearance and tries to dress nice, often in a dress or button-up shirt

Casual Clothing: Yellow short-sleeve shirts (and mom jeans)

Nightwear: Usually wears pale pink; sometimes wears nightgowns

Formal Clothing: Loves short-sleeved dresses; prefers pastel colors

Other: Loves cosplay and sews her own outfits

Height: 5′8″

Hygiene: Excellent and proud of it

Morning Schedule: Chloe wakes up around 6:15 each day, has breakfast, and heads to school or work. Sometimes she tries to run in the morning, grateful for warmer weather than what she grew up with in Seattle.

Typical Day Schedule: As a kid, Chloe would tutor her peers after school, but as a college student she realized she had to dedicate most of her “free time” to studying. As a field linguist, Chloe spends her time at home organizing her research, and her time away meeting personally with the speakers of languages that are fading fast. She strives to help those she perceives as less fortunate than herself and open eyes to what help the people she meets with truly need.

College was particularly stressful for Chloe, who found herself overwhelmed and unprepared for adult life. Suddenly straight A’s were a struggle and her parents’ disapproval haunted every waking moment. Chloe unfollowed A.J. on all social media - something she hadn’t done after their break-up - because every time she thought of him, she was wracked with extreme jealousy.

But in the end, Chloe did graduate (and her parents were there to see it, too!) If she isn’t in the field, Chloe emails her friends, calls her parents, and tries to think of people to visit. She tries to complete at least one service project a month outside her work, such as cleaning the park or ocean. She volunteers her time at schools too and donates equipment to the Little League teams, doing her small part to make the community a better place.

Evening Schedule: Chloe likes to go to bed early and Kevin likes to sleep in late, so the two are most romantic in the early evening. Sometimes they’re so busy they don’t have much time together, so they try to make the little moments special- such as lighting candles and dimming lights for dinner. Sometimes they bake a dessert together and swap stories about their week, then put on music or a movie and snuggle up.

Sleep Schedule: Chloe tries to be in bed by 10:00, though she’s rarely asleep before 11:00. Unfortunately Kevin likes to stay up late reading, so Chloe’s had to adjust to falling asleep with the lamp on. She likes to sleep with her head on his arm or chest, and Kevin keeps his book where she can read it even though he knows her eyes are closed.

PERSONAL

Relationship Status: 

Married to Kevin Crocker (Didn’t actually show up for her wedding, but that’s another story)

Wedding Anniversary: June 10th, 2016

Ideal Relationship: Chloe needs a relationship where she can be her authentic self without criticism. She doesn’t need fiery passion or flashy displays, but she definitely needs caring affection. She wants someone she can laugh with and snuggle up to in cozy pajamas. A love for animals and the outdoors are a must.

Sexuality: Loves everyone (That’s no secret); has a hard time recognizing sexual attraction since she’s always struggled to make friends and interprets her feelings as a longing for friendship. That said, Chloe does lean towards social outcasts or anyone else who seems mysterious and brooding sad. Chloe needs someone who grounds her, and Kevin did just that.

Intimate History: Has been sexually intimate with only one partner, Kevin Crocker (though she did snuggle and kiss A.J. while they dated).

Turn-Ons: Chloe has a low threshold for arousal, so she’s happy just spending time with Kevin. Cuddles are an absolute must with her, and she loves spending hours under the blankets with him, just resting her hand on his chest beneath his shirt (Gotta have the shirt or it’s not fun!) and feeling his fingers comb through her hair. That kind of touch satisfies her more than an hour of passionate kisses ever could.

Chloe is cautious and values security; she needs to feel confident that she’s in a lasting relationship with someone who’s interested in her for who she is, not just what she brings to the bedroom. The key here is opening with compliments, then moving to dirty talk while progressing very slowly with physical touch.

Children: Foop - Foster kid/adopted kid disguised as a human for a lifetime

Father: Clark Dinkleberg

Grandfather: Jack Dinkleberg

Grandmother: Pauline Dinkleberg (née Charleston)

Uncles: Sheldon and Robert Dinkleberg

Mother: Connie Carmichael

Grandfather: Max Carmichael

Grandmother: Heather Carmichael

Aunt: Nicole Carmichael

Fairy Godfather: Cosmo Julius Cosma

Formally met March 2nd, 2004

Fairy Godmother: Wanda Venus Fairywinkle

Formally met March 2nd, 2004

Fairy Godbrother: Poof Nebula Fairywinkle-Cosma

Met May 15th, 2004

Godbrother: Timmy Turner

Formally met March 1st, 2004

Timmy and Chloe see one another as step-siblings. Their relationship was rocky in the beginning, but it blooms into a friendly sibling relationship over the years.

Ex-Boyfriend: Archimedes Breen Jr. (A.J.)

Met March 1st, 2004

Became good friends in middle school; went on several dates in high school; were an official couple for a year

Husband: Kevin Quinton Crocker

Met May 17th, 2004

Married June 10th, 2016

Other Important Relationships: Friends with Chester and A.J. (though not as close with them as Timmy is). Enjoys the company of her sister-in-law, Molly, even though they rarely agree on anything. Has a good relationship with Mrs. Crocker and a mostly positive relationship with Mr. Crocker.

TRIVIA

She lives at 1011 Cobbler Street. Timmy lives at 1010.

Doesn’t do a lot of doodling (Too disorderly). Gets hung up about stray marks on her papers and prefers pencils over pens because of that.

Her parents still boss her around as an adult. She tends to listen, much to Kevin and Foop’s annoyance.

Not very coordinated when it comes to ball sports.

Easily influenced by the media.

Unironically likes pink and purple together.

Not afraid to whistleblow. Will out your secrets for extra credit points or throw you under the bus in an attempt to excuse herself (See also, “Marked Man” and “Tardy Sauce”). This really hurt her relationships as a kid and is something she is still working to improve in her adult social life.

Will always remember your allergies and keep them in mind when she brings snacks.

Always carries a water bottle and probably has granola bars.

Dances around her house when no one is watching and also when they are.

No longer vegetarian as an adult. Even as a kid, she sometimes snuck meat behind her parents’ backs (See also, “A Sash and a Rash”).

Prone to schoolgirl crushes on elegant men and powerful women. Crushed on Anti-Cosmo as a kid and was not subtle about it.

Doesn’t know her middle names and neither do I.

Her Squirrely Scout troop is Troop 13 (“Girly Squirrely”).

Due to spending so much time with her godparents, Chloe has picked up a few of their magical immunities, like being more resistant to pain than non-godkids. For example:

She’s more acrobatic than average (and much more difficult to kill).

She can’t get paper cuts, stub her toe, slam her funny bone, and it doesn’t hurt if you yank her hair.

When she’s itchy, she has to scratch her skin much harder than normal in order to find relief.

APPEARANCES

Riddleverse Classic Timeline: Come What May > “Seven Days At Sea” > “Bells On Bats’ Tails” > Along the Cherry Lane

130 Prompts Timeline: “This Is a Box” > “Take a Break” > “Bones” > “You’ll Never Know” (Mentioned) > “Repeat”

AU Appearances:

“Project Carmichael”

Dust to Dust

[adam-dumortains]

Something About You - MC x Beckett | Chapter 4

Adaline looked at the rack of dresses before her. A sea of different colours and fabrics hung to the hangers but still, she was undecided. Adaline liked to dress up and party but the thought of a freshman ball didn’t seem all too appealing to her. It was the pressure of something as grand as a ‘ball’ - what to wear, how to do your hair, what your make up looks like, who might be there...

“This is useless!” Adaline sighed, looking towards Shreya with a disappointed look on her face as she slumped onto a plump, purple waiting chair.

“Fear not!” A voice boomed from the dressing room that Shreya and Adaline where sat opposite, both Shreya and Adaline looked towards the oval room filled with white and golden doors to see Zeph step out through a door in an pristine, white suit with black outlining. Shreya and Adaline grinned widely as their eyes landed on Zeph and his unusual yet brilliant suit. Zeph swaggered in front of his friends and confidently posed, causing Adaline and Shreya to burst out in laughter and into a round of applause.

Adaline stood up and turned her attention back to the dresses. The frustration of not being able to find the perfect dress was getting to her as she huffed to herself. She never thought shopping could be so stressful. She looked through the hangers, moving them aimlessly one by one until she stopped on a navy dress. Her eyes light up as she imagined herself wearing it, picking it up excitedly.

“This is it!” Adaline exclaimed to Shreya whilst picking up the hanger that the navy, elegant dress was hanging from.

“I love it!” Shreya grinned at Adaline, taking the dress into her hands. “It’s so you... elegant and classy! Now we need shoes.”

“Shoes! I forgot about those. What about a nice brown pair?” Zeph looked at Shreya smiling, clueless to the absolute horror on Shreya’s face at the clash of colour between the suit and Zeph’s choice of shoe colour.

“Brown shoes?! With a white suit and black outlining? Are you kidding me?! Adaline, I’m so sorry but I must go with Zeph to get some shoes before he breaks my heart and I think your taste is just fine with the dress you’ve chosen. But I do suggest silver. You don’t mind looking alone do you? Because I can total-” Shreya spoke in a fast tone during her fashion meltdown and Adaline was sure a vein was going to appear on her forehead and pop soon enough.

“Shreya, it’s fine. You were born for this moment.” Adaline laughed as Shreya smiled at her gratefully and walked in the opposite direction and linked arms with Zeph. Adaline watched her friends walked away and smiled to herself and realised how great her friends truly were.

***

Beckett’s shopping was interrupted by a familiar voice on the other side of the store. His head whipped up to look into the direction to where the voice was coming from until his eyes landed on Adaline. His face faltered slightly as he realised that she must be shopping for her dress for the freshman ball. He wondered what she was wearing and who she might be going to the freshman ball with.

Suddenly, Beckett realised Adaline’s eyes had connected with his and a soft smile had upturned on her lips at him. He softly smiled back as he watched her look through the dresses. He breathed in and out and prepped himself to walk over to Adaline. Before leaving the suit jacket section, he quickly checked his reflection in the mirror and moved a hair that was out of place back into it’s rightful place. He was ready.

“Adaline? What a shock to see you here.” Beckett cleared his throat, playing with the dresses that were hanging in front of him nervously.

“Well, the Freshman Ball is coming up fast and I needed a dress. Unless I was going to go naked.” Adaline smirked to herself as she turned to Beckett and noticed the tip of his ears had turned pink.

“It wouldn’t be the worst sight.” Beckett whispered to himself as his eyes quickly scanned Adaline’s body before he realised what he was doing and quickly snapped out of it. “Anyway. I was thinking maybe we could go to Starbeans to study tonight. As much as I love the library, I read that it is good for the brain to possibly study elsewhere..”

The truth is, Beckett had read that previously and it was a contributing factor to why he wanted to go to Starbeans with Adaline, but part of him also wanted to see her in a setting that wasn’t the library or class for once.

“Is this a date?” Adaline raised her brow and turned back to the dresses, trying to keep a mischievous smirk from appearing on her lips.

“Of course not! It was simply a way to better the brain for-” Beckett spluttered his words, panicking with every word that left his mouth. Adaline laughed in response and elbowed his arm gently.

“I’m teasing, Beckett. I’ll be there. 8?” Beckett nodded as he swiftly turned around and walked away back to the suit jackets and left Adaline with a smile on her face.

“Was that Beckett?” Zeph asked as he appeared next to Adaline suddenly, causing Adaline to jump slightly.

“Shit, Zeph. You scared me. And yes, it was.”

“He seems to have taken a shine to you. Is there something we should know?” Zeph’s looked in the direction of Beckett, who he could spot taking side glances at Adaline every so often.

“Nope. Just two partners working on a class project together.” Although it wasn’t a complete lie, Adaline still felt awfully guilty about feeling like she couldn’t tell Shreya and Zeph about the small butterflies she felt around Beckett. She didn’t even know what was going on and thought it may be best to keep it to herself until she was sure of the situation.

“Enough about Beckett. Adaline, I know you probably want to pick your own shoes but I saw this darling pair and thought it would go fantastic with your dress.” Shreya held up a silver pair of heeled shoes with straps that were covered in diamonds which glistened in the lights of the store.

“I love them! Let’s get them.” Shreya grinned, proud of herself yet again for making another fashion success. All three walked to the counter to pay for their purchases and chatted amongst themselves, but Adaline was in a world of her own. A world where she could only think about Beckett Harrington and his flushed cheeks.

___

I know today’s chapter was pretty short and sweet but it sets the tone for the next few chapters :) I like that they have some small flirting/compliments going on as I really do think it sets the scene. I promise the next two chapters are much more involved and longer!

Tags: @choices-ily @ludextruction @brightpinkpeppercorn @queen-among-writers @danni-whatshername @catlady0911 @flyawayboo @drakewalkerfantasty @rhymesmenagerie @friedherringclodthing @perfectlyimperfectcrystal @symonde If you’d like to be tagged please let me know! Hope you all enjoy this chapter too! ☺️

[parks-involving-water]

Review: Midnight by Set It Off

Okay let's just get straight to it. Yall know I’m a slut for Set It Off. This is just gonna be me going in-depth into all of my favorite parts of the songs and lyrics. Les go

1. Killer In The Mirror

This has been a bop since DAY ONE are you kidding me????? The sampling? The sheer amount of fuck you energy? The fast part during the pre-chorus? The DROP for the chorus? Cody saying “knock ‘em all the FUCK out” adds 10 years to my lifespan every time I hear it.

Favorite Lyrics: Now I know, there’s no one I can trust I used to think there was Tell me that I’m cut throat- I think you got your eyes closed Feel the fear, and swallow back the tears Let weakness disappear There’s nobody but me here- the killer in the mirror

We been knew this shit goes hard NEXT

2. Hourglass

YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HOW BAD THIS DESTROYED ME WHEN I FIRST HEARD IT. The fucking,,,, instrumental!!! The beat!!!! Cinematics is on the phone and she said this is it chief!!!! God!!! Like can we PLEASE talk about the nananas during the bridge?? It’s such a small thing but it adds so fuckin much to the song,,,, unbelievable

Favorite Lyrics: I'm falling through the hourglass And I don't think I'll ever make it back So I throw stones at walls I'll never climb Victim to the sands of time

This is also such like? Such a defining song for the sound of the whole album, if you think about it. Quality shit

3. Lonely Dance

ANOTHER one we already knew slaps. The guitar? The trumpet? Iconic. This one has such a fucking Vibe. Also???? So relatable. Cody came through with the social anxiety moods and I owe him my life for it.

Favorite Lyrics: Some days I’m up, some days I’m down Some days, the world is way too loud Some days my bed won't let me out But I’m okay with missin’ out on the social anxiety Out on the phony friends I don’t need So I just turn off my phone, turn on TV Cause solo’s the only way I can breathe

Okay a great song but OLD NEWS let’s get to that Fresh Content

4. Different Songs

Possibly the danciest song on this album. The fucking guitar riff and the bass? The melodies? The harmonizing in the bg of the pre-chorus and the bridge? It all blends together and it’s SUCH a bop. The most poppin song about falling out of love I’ve ever heard

Favorite Lyrics: We once called it love, devolved into lust Jealousy speaks out to silence the trust We temper our words 'cause we're scared of the truth Humming tunes that we can't get through

5. For You Forever

The instrumental in this one KILLS me. So do Cody’s vocals, honestly. He really poured his heart out into those “forever”s and you FEEL it. This one really hits me in the heart tbh. The whole theme of giving up on something that you want so bad is big oof

Favorite Lyrics: She said; “I won't wait for you forever, for you forever So, don't you say it's for the better, it's for the better 'Cause I can't take later than never, later than never No, I won't wait for you forever”

6. Dancing With The Devil

THIS SHIT IS SO BRUTAL. Like even the opening- the distorted vocals,,, god. And the lyrics! So fucking pissed off. Cody once again KILLS the delivery. I will never be over the emotion he puts into every song he sings. And when that hook hits the second time with his normal vocals and then the distorted version UNDERNEATH? Hits so hard. Don't even TALK to me about the rap part god. Also,,,, idk if this is about who I Think It’s About but like either way,,, go off sis

Favorite Lyrics: You try to act as if you're saving me But you wouldn't cut the rope if it was hanging me I'm sick of people saying what you sow you reap 'Cause I've been counting down the minutes of that, so to speak Think of all the hours and hours of grindin’ That would turn into sour findings As I wonder if our resigning is becoming the silver lining But I’m not a coward, I’m fighting Cause if they’re the meat, then I’m biting So go ahead, ignoring and smiling Cause I’m climbing til’ I let you know

7. Go To Bed Angry (Feat. Wayfarers)

This is! Such a good song, and I love the message. Like, settling issues instead of being passive aggressive or quietly angry. And it’s so nice to listen? Like everything feels so clean and leads into each other so well. Also!!! I’ve never listened to Wayfarers before but GOD the guest vocalist is AMAZING. Her and Cody’s voices harmonize so well. All in all a fuckin BOP

Favorite Lyrics: So don't you walk away from me Let's settle this, rather hear you scream Than whisper shit- there's no in-between 'Cause if we sleep in our feelings, we'll never start healing

8. Midnight Thoughts

ANOTHER one with some heavy Cinematics vibes. Honestly, I feel like this one is a great example of how amazing this album’s production is. Like, there’s so many little background elements that come together to make it sound so fuckin cool. For example, that one hook near the end where it suddenly strips back to just a beat and vocals? KILLED me. Also, another relatable anxiety bop,

Favorite Lyrics: Dim the lights, shut the blinds, but I’m counting the time Am I nervous or am I insane? Try to turn up the sound, but I can’t shut it out 'Cause I’m hearing the pulse in my veins

9. Criminal Minds

The orchestral feel to this one is so nice, and the rhythm of the lyrics feels so cool. The strings were such a good touch, they go really well with the electric guitar somehow. Cody’s vocals also feel really smooth in this one? Like this is just a pretty sounding number I love it

Favorite Lyrics: This stress eats at my soul I can't tell if I'm breathing at all Street drama takes its toll So, hit the road

10. No Disrespect

UGHHHHH don't get me STARTED on the chorus here. The stripped back staccato rhythm of the vocals with the bursts of instrumental, and then the way it flows into the full instrumental for the repetition in the second half of the chorus. It sounds so fucking gooooooooooooooood I'm having a crisis

Favorite Lyrics: 'Cause I don't see you the way you want to Forget your rescue, we're dreaming, dreaming, dreaming We had our good times, but time has passed by Begin your new life, I'm reaching, pleading, screaming

11. Stitch Me Up

I have SO much to say about this song. Cody and Shay are so fucking cute and their relationship is so nice. Any time Cody talks or sings about Shay you can feel how fuckin in love they are. The only two nice love songs I can ever remember him writing (The other one being Diamond Girl) have been about her and they’ve both been absolute gems. This one especially. It has such a potent vibe that I can really only describe as a summer song. It’s so,,, bouncy and lively and genuinely sweet with just a faint hint of sadness and ughhhhhhhh. PLUS the fuckin commentary Cody gave for this song on his insta story,,,,

“One of my favorites. These lyrics came straight from the heart. [Shay] and I have both come from damaged relationships, but somehow being broken is what made us whole.” 

Anyways love is real and I’m soft don't TOUCH ME

Favorite Lyrics: Stitch me up, stitch me up, don’t tear me apart I’ve been stuck in a rut, patched up in the dark Stitch me up, stitch me up, there’s pins in my heart Oh, pardon all my precious scars

12. Raise No Fool

Cody fuckin SNAPPED with this song and I’m living for it. One of the things Cody does so, so well, is delivering just the Most intense anger through his vocals and he brought it ALL for this one. You don’t know what happened but you fuckin FEEL it. Idk who this is about but like,,, killem Cody go Off bitch!!

Favorite Lyrics: Well, first you try to tell me that we're family Then you try to tell me that it's for the best You promise that you'll be there if I need ya But I don't need your handout, you can take it back!

13. I Want You (Gone) (Feat. Matt Appleton)

Another more mellow song, but it’s still so fuckin Good. It just has such a palpable vibe and feel. From what I can gather it’s about leaving a toxic relationship behind, and it Feels that way, in a sense? Like when I listen to it I just get this Feeling of something solemn yet triumphant and clean and new, like cutting someone shitty out of your life. PLUS, that sax? It adds SUCH a nice element to the second half of the song. Matt Appleton is a gift I’m so glad they brought him on for this song

Favorite Lyrics: I guess you'd say I'm blessed I threw away stress the moment I said I want you, I want you gone I'm on my own path, you're stuck in the past I want you, I want you gone

14. Unopened Windows

GOD,,, OKAY,,, HERE WE GO,,, Imma be real with yall. I cried the first time I heard this. It just be like that sometimes. But like this is LITERALLY Dad’s Song 2 and I wasn’t fuckin READY for that. There was no WARNING,,, I wasn’t told I was gonna get hit with that much EMOTION Okay okay for real though, this song is actually gorgeous. It’s just,,, pure fucking grief, so much of it, poured into a song. The composition, the vocals, every element of it is so powerful and heartbreaking. This is the kinda song you cry to- but like, a healing cry, the kind you have right before you take a deep breath and start moving on, y’know? The moment I heard Danny Boy near the end, I started crying all over again. Any time I hear this song or Dad’s Song, I cannot fucking begin to imagine how Cody must feel about what happened to his dad. It’s a kind of grief that can’t be explained. I’m just glad he feels like he can share it with all of us, and that he has a support system behind him. Also, I cannot communicate enough just how much this feels like a fucking,,, movie soundtrack. Like this shit would not feel out of place in a musical or something. The swelling orchestral music near the end fucking kills me. Gotta go cry again brb

Favorite Lyrics: All the stories left unwritten that we drew up in the past It's the game we never went to or the drinks we never had As I look up to the stars and make a wish to bring you back But I curse the roof above me and I learn to live behind all these Unopened windows, bound to my heart Fantasy so close feels so afar But I long to break the lock And live among the life we lost Through unopened windows; they tear me apart...

15. Happy All The Time (Feat. Skyler Acord)

WHAT a closing number. Addmmitedly a bit of a jarring followup to Unopened Windows, but it also makes a lot of sense, to go from a song about grief to a song about letting yourself process negative emotions. It also feels like SUCH a culmination of the album. Maxx even said in his Midnight release livestream, he thinks that it sort of represents the entire message of Midnight as a whole. The album was written to deal with a collection of sad, angry, and upsetting topics or experiences- this song takes all of those and says, “Dude, it’s fine, it’s okay to feel shitty, you don’t have to bottle it in or hide it” and honestly, there are so many people who need to hear that- it’s such an important message. Also??? The fucking???? Choir??? WHAT a touch. Honestly there are Several songs on this album that feel like they could be off a musical soundtrack and this is DEFINITELY one of them. It feels like a finale, and it’s so just powerful and uplifting and emotional, I love it so much.

Favorite Lyrics: It's okay, you're not crazy! Gotta taste the salt to love the sweet Let it out and scream “I'm okay, I'm not crazy!” 'Cause the tears remind me I'm alive It's fine to not be happy all the time!

Honestly, this may be my favorite album by them yet. It’s such a fucking monument to everything they’ve been through and learned and explored as a band for ten years, it has such a clear vision and comes together so well. The lyricism, vocals, instrumentals, composition, and production are all fucking fantastic. I’m so excited to see where this era leads us, and I’m so happy with what we’ve seen so far.

In conclusion, the boys did it again, I’m weeping, and stream Midnight on Itunes and Spotify. Peace out kids a bitch is gonna take a NAP

[diinofayce]

Shadows on the Horizon - 12

Pairing: Winter Soldier! Bucky Barnes x OFC! Layne Hardin | Word Count: 2.7k | Warnings: Language (Layne has my terrible driving habits). | A/N: This is a sequel to my story Like a Whisper in the Night | Shadows on the Horizon Masterlist

Steve and Bucky both looked up with startled expressions when Layne barged suddenly into the room. She looked wildly at the two of them sitting on the couch, a football game on mute in the background as they sipped at the beers in their hands and chatted. Both men tried to slowly set their beer down out of sight, while it had bothered Layne much less lately, both recalled a few nights prior.

Bucky’s gaze surveyed his girlfriend. Her cheeks were flushed and her chest heaving for breath with exertion so she had obviously been sprinting for a bit, her brown waves were messy and wild and her eyes were shifting between their normal caramel brown and liquid gold. She licked her lips and tore her gaze away from them to look around the room and then slammed into the bedroom with the same wild force.

“Go bag? Buck, have you seen my… fuck the other room,” Layne was calling from their bedroom, dresser drawers opening and slamming closed. She came running from their room and shot past them back into the hall and the door to her old apartment slammed open.

Bucky and Steve were both on their feet and following her to the other apartment. She was kneeling on the floor, throwing old clothes from the last mission out and shoving new clean clothes in. She spat a lock of brown hair from her mouth before growling in frustration and piling it all on the top of her head with a black binder from her wrist.

“Doll, what’s going on? Where are you goin’?” Bucky asked with trepidation.

“I have to go with Danny to Minnesota. Oh, shit, that’s right. FRIDAY? Can you tell Agent Sweet that if she wants on a quinjet to Minnesota we leave in,” she stopped to check her watch drawing out the word, “Seven minutes.” At the AI’s confirmation she continued to rush about the small room gathering her things.

“Seven minutes? Layne what happened?” Steve asked, stepping forward.

“You can’t just go off to Minnesota,” Bucky said at the same time. For a moment he thought she was leaving him, that she had made him tear down these walls in his head and now she was going to go back to the Midwest and leave him here to figure this out by himself. The fear that gripped his chest was cold like ice as he prepared himself for the worst.

Layne bristled and finally stood, tossing her bag over her shoulder and raising her chin at Bucky defiantly. Now that her hair was pulled up and her jaw strong he could see the black and purple hand print across her throat and he flexed his vibranium fingers out of reflex before shoving both his hands self-consciously into the front pocket of his jeans.

“Neither of you are my commanders on this. This is still part of my mission, I’m still in charge,” Layne answered coolly, which caused Bucky’s eyes to widen in realization.

There was a strong flash of possessiveness that tore through Bucky, stronger than anything he had felt before. He didn’t like that she was so willing to just take off without telling him where she was off to or when she would be back or that she was okay leaving without him. It was ridiculous, they had been on separate missions plenty, but now that the Soldier was more integrated with him it seemed he had different feelings on the matter. He raised his flesh hand up to his head and pressed the heel of his palm into the hallow of his eye socket. He hissed in slight pain and frustration, but shook it off quickly. Carding his hand up through his hair to remove it from his face he glared back at Layne who’s look of defiance had changed to one of shame.

“I’m not trying to command you to do anything, you just gotta fill us in,” Bucky growled, trying to fight down the urge to grab her up in his arms and lock them both in their apartment.

“I’m sorry, Buck, a lot happened in the last few hours and I…forgot,” Layne said lamely, her cheeks flushing extra red with embarrassment and regret. “The mutant girl we captured from the base in Russia? She’s my niece, Michael’s oldest.”

Neither Steve or Bucky knew how to process the bomb she just dropped on them.  

“How?” Steve asked dumbly.

“They really dropped the ball on sex education in the forties, huh?” Layne asked frustrated and checked her watch.

Steve opened his mouth to fire a snarky reply back but Layne cut across him.

“Natasha can fill you both in, she was there at the debrief. Long story short Michael gave Madeline up to Hydra, whether on accident or not I don’t know. But it sounds like both of her younger siblings also have powers and if they find out we might never find the children. I’m having Madeline taken up here to rest and then she’ll be going to Xavier’s Academy upstate. I’m going to bring the children there as well.

“This whole thing has cost me, like, five minutes you guys, I really gotta go. FRIDAY? Can you also get a cleaning crew in here immediately?”

Steve jumped back as Layne approached them assuming she would just rush out down the hall, but she stopped in front of Bucky. She reached out to stroke his cheek and he flinched back causing her hand to freeze in midair. Realizing what he had done he reached up immediately and took her hand in his and pressed it to the side of his face.

Layne smiled softly at him and tilted her head. “Would a kiss for good luck be pushing it right now?” she asked.

Bucky smirked and leaned down to press his lips against hers. They were just as soft and plush as he remembered and he raised his metal hand to cup her face before remembering her throat and pulling away. She caught his metal hand and brought the palm to her lips, giving it a soft kiss.

“Don’t stress about it, Bucky. Thanks for the luck.”

“Yeah, well, I’m coming with you, so I don’t know how lucky it’ll be,” Bucky quipped back.

“Bucky, no,” both Layne and Steve said at the same time. Bucky frowned at them both and rolled his eyes in that typical petulant way of his when he thought everyone else was being stupid. It was an eye roll that was mostly saved for Sam or Tony.

“Bucky, yes. You’re not going to face your family without me. Besides, I need to get out of here for a bit. It’s only been a few days but I’m feeling stir crazy,” Bucky argued already going back into the apartment.

“Bucky, we don’t have time!” Layne shouted after him, waving to Steve and trying to make her way to the elevators before him.

“To argue about it? You’re right, we don’t,” Bucky answered, already running out after her with a backpack already on while strapping a gun harness around his waist, two Glocks already snapped in. “Why can’t I open the gun safe, by the way?”  

“Steve!” Layne called back, looking for assistance.

“You’re the mission commander here, Agent Hardin. It’s your call,” Steve passed off holding his hands up in surrender.

It was a little selfish of him, but he really hadn’t been able to spend any time with Natasha since her return from her undercover mission and he knew, he just knew, that Bucky would bitch and mope all night if Layne left him behind. The talk the two men had had been a good one, a lot of air had been cleared and it was almost like old times; if you ignored that the minute Steve picked up the bottle opener Bucky’s eyes flashed cold as he plucked it from Steve’s fingers having considered it a weapon or that now he was totally okay with propping his boots up on the coffee table - something both of their ma’s would have swatted them upside the heads for. You know, the little things. He felt moderately confident at letting Bucky go, knowing that Layne and Danny combined would be enough to handle any situation that may arise with the former assassin.

Layne glared at the two men, her lips pressed in a thin line and her nose crinkled with irritation. “You have plenty of guns on the jet. You do not leave my side, Barnes,” Layne demanded, poking her finger into his hard chest.

“Wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else, doll,” Bucky drawled with a winning smirk on his lips before pressing up on the elevator to take them to the flight decks.

~*~

The team all stood in the cock pit as Bucky got the okay through air traffic control at MSP to land on a private strip. Layne turned away from the careful eye she had been keeping on her boyfriend, an eye that he had been pretending he didn’t notice, to look over at Susanna who was standing there with a makeup sponge and some liquid foundation.

“Were you having someone pick you up or did you want me to order you an Uber?” Layne asked, unlocking her phone and plugging in Tony’s credit card number that she had long since memorized for the rental car at the airport. She raised her chin so that Susanna could do her best to cover the dark bruise. It wasn’t that Layne was ashamed of it, but she figured the less questions that could be lobbed her way from her family or authorities the better. She was worried it would come across that she didn’t always have control and that was the exact opposite image she needed right now.

“I’m gonna come back you up first. We’re family, I’ll take off after I know you guys are safe in the air with those kids,” Susanna stated, her brows furrowed in concentration as she tried to blur the lines.

Bucky focused on landing the jet, thankful for the distraction so he wouldn’t have to watch Susanna work to hide Bucky’s lapse of control.

Layne smiled gratefully at her best friend, but her gaze quickly returned to her phone as she received an email from Pepper with all the legal documents giving full custody to Cheryl due to child endangerment. Layne quickly forwarded them to Cheryl to print off so she could meet them at Michael’s house with them. Since it was a Saturday the children would be with her brother, Cheryl had tried to come up with some excuse to keep the kids with her for the weekend but Michael was apparently more insistent than normal to have them.

The landing and disembarking went smoothly, they even managed to dodge any extra unwanted attention in the airport making it to the rental car kiosk and getting out onto 494W without any issue.

“We lucked out that it looks like Michael took a promotion and moved to the main University of Minnesota campus, it looks like he’s living in St. Louis Park now. The drive to Mankato sucks,” Layne grumbled to herself as she checked her blind spot and hurriedly merged lanes, cutting a car off successfully to the sound of a blared horn.

“Okay, hun, you’re in the Midwest again, you have to drive less like a New Yorker,” Susanna pleaded, her hand reaching over the seat and squeezing Layne’s shoulder from her spot behind the driver.

“Well, if everyone wasn’t such a terrible fucking driver and would just get out of my mother fucking way,” Layne seethed, her eyes never leaving the road in front of her as she checked her side mirrors, then her right blind spot, and passed the car in the left lane. She was easily going thirty over the speed limit as she took the exit onto Hwy 100.

“It’s good to know you haven’t grown out of your road rage,” Danny muttered weakly, his skin taking on a green tinge as he rolled his back window down so he could take in deep breaths of cold air in attempt to abate the nausea.

“Doll, do you want to pull over so I can drive?” Bucky asked softly, his hand gripping the oh-shit handle above the door in a white knuckled grip.

“No way, no offense babe but you’re a terrible driver,” Layne scoffed as she made another erratic pass of the car in front of her.

~*~

“Okay, here’s the plan. Danny I need you to stick to the shadows, if you can suit up real quick somehow please do - I’m going to need you on backup. Susanna, you’re with me. Bucky, get away driver,” Layne doled out positions as they turned onto Michael’s block.

Daniel immediately reached into the back of the SUV and zipped open his backpack, pulling on his hooded jacket and grabbing his mask. Sue checked the pistol in her holster and made sure everything was in place where it needed to be in case of emergency. Bucky, however, whirled to look at Layne furiously.

“No. You’re the one who said that I wasn’t supposed to be leaving your side,” Bucky argued.

“Bucky,” Layne sighed, taking a hand off the wheel to rub a spot in the middle of her forehead where tension was starting to build. “Michael is already going to be on edge when we show up, Cheryl beat us there with the paperwork and a police officer. The last thing I need is for you to come murder strutting your way out and start growling like an alpha dog.”

“Yeah, save that for the bedroom, big shot,” Susanna teased, winking at the super soldier who shot her a withering look but chose to ignore her comment.

“And if he is working with Hydra?” Bucky asks.

“Bucky, you’ll be in the fucking car parked in front of the house. You’ll be able to be there in five minutes. Daniel will know immediately if something is wrong and let you know and then you can come in with your guns blazing.”

“Speaking of me, wanna slow down and let me out here?” Daniel asked, sliding his mask over his face and pulling up his hood.

Layne pulled over and Daniel slid out of the car barely making a sound, Bucky didn’t want to look too impressed but as he watched the man shift and melt into the shadows between the houses he couldn’t help a small flare of respect and also challenge. As Layne pulled back out onto the street and rounded the corner she sucked in a nervous breath at the sight of Michael, Cheryl, and two police officers out in front of the house. Lucas was leaning against the police car playing on his phone while Rosaline stood behind her mother, holding Cheryl’s hand in a desperate grip.

Even though they couldn’t hear anything, they could see Michael screaming at the officers who were trying to keep him separated from his ex wife. Layne pulled the black SUV up behind the police car and turned it off.

“If I let you get out and walk around the car all threateningly to get into the driver side instead of just sliding over will that make you feel better?” Layne asked.

Bucky chewed on that option for a bit, his eyes glinting with cold steel as he surveyed the scene in front of them. Looking up and down the street he could spot neighbors with their faces pressed against their front windows, some of the teenagers were hanging out their bedroom windows recording with cell phones. He looked at Layne who was watching him expectantly and then back out the window where Michael had stopped short as he noticed his baby sister and her ex-assassin boyfriend were in the front seat of the vehicle.

“No, he noticed me already and I don’t want Hydra to know we’re both away from the tower,” Bucky admitted. He knew Layne was making the correct calls, but for some reason it was harder for him to give up control now that the Soldier was more apart of him. The Soldier was used to working alone and a part of him hated taking orders despite the fact that that was what Bucky was more than okay doing. “You’re mission lead. I’ve got your backup.”

“Thank you. Ready, Agent Sweet?” Layne asked, locking eyes with her eldest brother.

“Got your back, Commander.”

[pbjpuppy]

Finally Axel gets a real ref!! I love this big boy 

More info about him under the cut!

Axel Cooper "Hey, bro!" Age: 24 Species: Blue-tongued skink Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Cishet (Ally) Birthplace: Canada Residence: New York, formerly in Reinough Family: TBA Friends: Vincent Takoda Personality        Axel is the personification of the phrase "boys will be boys". An enthusiastic and optimistic gym rat, he's the life of any party and gets along with anyone. Although he comes across as an over-the-top frat bro (and he does love to party), he's far more intelligent and complex than he seems, and often gives his friends trusted advice. He's not afraid to set his friends straight when they're making bad decisions, and tries to be a good influence.. most of the time.  His momma didn't raise him to misbehave, but we've all gotta have fun sometimes, eh? Although he excelled in sports for most of his life, especially football, his true passion lies in science, and he's training to study the spread of disease. Overall, Axel is the type of boy any girl wouldn't have to worry about bringing home, if he could ever get a girlfriend. Background    Axel grew up in Reinough, New York, along with Vincent and Spencer Takoda, raised by his mother along with two younger twin siblings. His mother was a strict woman, and she had to be tough- being a single mother in such a male-dominated area was hard, and she had three kids to raise- but she was incredibly loving. Axel had a great relationship with his mother and always looked up to her, even before he was old enough to understand all she did for their family. Like many in Reinough, they were a Christian family, and Axel was raised religiously, but his mother was a progressive woman. She instilled in her children that everyone deserves equal love and treatment, and that women were not to be looked down upon; these values weren't common in Reinough and she worked to ensure her children grew up the right way. She stressed these things especially to Axel, her oldest, so that he could be a role model for his siblings. From the beginning he was sweet and tolerant of others.    He befriended Vincent Takoda in elementary school, and the two quickly grew inseparable. When they were young, before they had been exposed to the choking masculinity of Reinough, the two would always be side-by-side, Vincent hanging off his taller friend's arm as they traversed the playground. Throughout elementary and into middle school they stayed best friends, accompanying each other through the rocky ups and downs of life and puberty ("Oh, god, feathers molt?! Vincent, I'm BALD! What do I DO!?"). Axel here had his first experiences with love and heartbreak when he got, and was was dumped by, his first girlfriend, and Vincent was there to comfort him ("She didn't deserve you anyways, man."). Middle school was a hard few years for Vincent, and Axel watched as his best friend changed into someone darker and sadder. Vincent's emotional nature and natural femininity had earned him bullies and lost him friends as other boys came to understand their masculine roles. Axel continued to love Vincent as he was, and, refusing to let him drift away, staunchly supported him. Their friendship was only cemented stronger by the time they reached high school.    In high school, Axel's aptitude for sports reached its highest peak yet, and he flourished socially. Through the turbulence of popularity and relationships, he still remained close friends with Vincent, but the two had reached different levels of the social hierarchy. Also introduced into Axel's life was Jax Rawson, the violent upperclassman leader of the The Junkyard Dogs. The Junkyard Dogs were a vicious group, and Axel did his best to avoid them and Jax- secretly, they terrified him. His run-ins with the Dogs were few and far between, until Vincent befriended Jax's little sister, Abby Rawson. Suddenly, Jax seemed to have it out for Vincent- and Axel, loyal as ever, was there to protect him. Despite being afraid, Axel was far bigger than Jax, and occasionally intimidated the Dogs into leaving Vincent alone.    During sophomore year, Axel watched Vincent befriend a new student- Danni Kings from Australia, a brooding, stoic student with a resting scowl. As time went on, it became obvious to him that Vincent's feelings for Danni weren't solely platonic. Vincent would talk at length about Danni to him, sparkling-eyed and blushing ("What? No I'm not!"), and Axel had seen how the two held hands when they thought nobody was looking. It was Vincent's business, though, and he went about supporting them silently, knowing that Vincent would be mortified to know he knew. One day, though, he walked in on the two kissing, and the "secret" was out. Later that night, Vincent came out to Axel, crying and ashamed, and though he was completely accepting he almost had to laugh- "Vin, I already knew."    He continued to stand by Vincent as things got worse. In senior year, the tension peaked when Vincent had his falling out with Abby and was stabbed by Jax. When he visited the hospital, a scared and shaken Vincent told him about a plan to move away from Reinough forever. Although Axel was crushed to know his friend would be gone, he understood his decision, and loyally supported him until the very last moment. After their last few months and a tearful goodbye at the train station, Vincent departed, and while they exchanged texts he didn't see his best friend again for years... Until, of course,  he got his Mansion letter. Mansion Events        Axel is the only character to not live full-time at Mansion, switching between living there and his dorm room, depending on when school is in session. He was overjoyed to see Vincent again, and now that both of them have a stable living situation, they can both pursue the band they'd always wanted to start together- Vinny and The Burnouts. Although Axel's time is taken up by his studies, he always finds room in his schedule to practice the drums and have jam sessions with Vinny. As time goes on, the two go on tour together, chasing their dreams and closer friends than ever.    Axel was the one that Vincent told the most about his visions when he discovered he was a timeline anomaly. Although there wasn't much that Axel could do to help him (and he didn't quite understand), he was always there to listen and help Vince destress.    When Vincent and Danni get married, Axel is Vincent's best man. Relationships    Vincent remains Axel's best friend. They're so close that they consider each other family.      Axel considers Spencer, Vincent's little brother, part of his family as well. When they were younger, Spencer was always too shy to truly befriend him, but always looked forwards to saying hi when Axel came over. Axel kept an eye out for him in school as well- it was hard being a gay trans man in Reinough and Spencer could use the protection of a big scary jock. Spencer was grateful that Axel cared and always made sure he knew it was appreciated. Axel tried to reach out to him when Vincent moved away, knowing he was missing a big brother figure, but Spencer was too bitter to accept it. The two lost touch then, but reconnected years later through Mansion. Spencer was happy to see him again.. and developed a terrible crush on him, unbeknownst to Axel.    Summer, another of Vincent's best friends, is someone who Axel is in the process of befriending. He wants to get to know her better, seeing as she's important to Vincent (and interesting on her own, too!), but she resists his attempts. She claims to find him annoying, but finds herself being nice to him sometimes.. only when nobody's looking, though. ("What? I don't get crushes! I'm dead!")    Willow is the name of he and Vincent's (very attractive) manager. He's completely smitten with her, but she doesn't feel even close to the same way. ("That's rather unprofessional, Mr. Cooper.")