#pats olga on the back

[barcaatthemoon]

little one || alexia putellas x child!reader ||

Alexia brings you with her to Barcelona training sessions.

You sat happily kicking your legs back and forth as you waited for your mother's teammates to get on the field. You were dressed up in your little barcelona kit that was an exact replica of what the coaches wore. Unofficially, you were the team's fun coordinator and official motivator. Everybody already knew that you were Alexia's sole reason for being, and making you happy was a good reason to win games.

"Bon dia," you greeted each player as she walked past you. Most of them gave you a high five or fist bump as they repeated the sentiment to you. A few of the girls were special, and the special ones got to hug you or in mapi and pina's cases, toss you up in the air for a bit. Those two were the most fun in your eyes, and you always gave them high marks on your little clipboard. As much as you loved your Mami, she rarely received high marks on the fun clipboard.

Mami's job wasn't to have fun, not even at home. Olga was your fun mom, even though you knew she wasn't really your mom like Alexia was. She was technically just Mami's girlfriend, but you thought she was like your other mother. Olga took care of you, made you good tasting breakfast, picked you up from school some days, and gave you the best goodnight hugs and kisses in the whole entire world, not that you'd ever tell Jenni that.

"Hija, come here, you're getting red," Mami told you. Since you came into practice with her, you'd been out on the field for a couple hours already. At first, you were sleeping, but then the sun became too bright for you to sleep around. You wanted to go inside again where it was cooler and you could nap, but it was more important to spend time with your big friends.

Besides, you knew that if you found the right girl on the right day, you'd get a nap. You scanned around as they practiced to figure out who your target was. Vicky and her group were out immediately, the younger players running around like you did after Lucy and Mapi fed you candies. Mami didn't like you to distract the girls with nap time, so you knew to stay away from her. Irene gave good cuddles, but she didn't look tired. Just as you were about to give up, you noticed Caro yawn.

Caro wasn't your favorite, she wasn't even really one of the special girls who gave you hugs. Mami explained that she wasn't Spanish and that in her country, people weren't as friendly. You thought it was funny that she was girlfriends with Marta, who was one of the friendliest people you had ever met, after Jenni and Leila, of course. Despite all of that, you knew that Caro would be your naptime partner. All you had to do was wait for the perfect moment to arise.

…

"Come on, she's a baby! You can totally curl her," Mapi huffed as Ona struggled to complete her last rep of "Bebita curls" as Mapi called them. "Ugh, let her down. I'll put in an extra set if that's okay with you, Bebita?"

"Actually, I need to find Caroline," you told Mapi. She looked surprised, but let you down anyway. "Oh, and it's okay Ona. Olga doesn't carry me around anymore unless it's piggy back rides. She says I'm too big for her arms now."

"Pssh, they're just weak. Give it time, your Mami will whip her into shape too." With that, Mapi patted you on the butt as she turned you towards where the Scandinavian players were working out together. You felt a little nervous approaching them, they were scarier without their Spanish counterparts. With Mapi, Aitana, and Marta gone, you realized just how big these women were. They were like giants, and despite the fact that you knew they were friendly, they scared you sometimes.

"Ahem, Miss Caroline, will you read my naptime book to me please?" You stood before them with your hands behind your back, fidgeting them silently. Fidgeting like that wasn't a good habit, at least that's what your Mami told you. You thought it was fine, especially since Abuela Eli told you it was normal.

"Go on, it's a big deal," Ingrid told her friend. Caro looked between Ingrid and Frido, who both seemed to share Ingrid's outlook. You were Alexia's baby, and everybody knew that, and normally you flocked to the other Spanish players. Caro felt like she was out of her depth doing this, but she went with you anyway because that was what you wanted.

"What do I do?" Caro asked you. You pointed over to the little spot that was made up for two people to lay down at. It was pretty late in practice, and if you didn't nap here, Mami would make you nap at home when you'd want to play. If you napped here, then you could play games when you got back home with Mami.

"Lay on the big pillow. You can use the blue blanket, I like the yellow one anyway. I'll lay down with you, and then you read my book to me. The English words are hard for me, I can only read Spanish," you told her. Caro nodded and did what you told her to. She wasn't a very good cuddler, but she was warm and didn't push you off of her when you got comfortable. You also liked her voice, and within a few minutes, you were asleep with Caro holding you protectively.

…

Some days, you were completely lost in your own little world. Other days, you watched everyone and everything around you. Today was a watchful day for you. Mami had an away game, so you'd ride with Abuela Eli and Tia Alba to the game. It was in Madrid, and the fans could get rowdy when they saw the Barcelona bus, and Mami hated bringing you that way.

"Hola Mapi," you said nonchalantly. Mapi gasped and looked around with her mouth agape. She was utterly shocked that you had detected her before she had managed to scare you. Nevermind that she had tried that trick countless times before without it actually working well. And the days it did work ended with you crying because Mapi scared you, and Mapi crying because she felt bad.

"Bebita, you must have spider senses for something. It is amazing, but be careful, you don't want to become a robot like your Mami," Mapi teased. She dug her fingers into your sides as you squirmed and laughed. You started to swat her away, and much to your luck and Mapi's chargin, Ingrid came over and interrupted.

"Hi (y/n)," Ingrid greeted you. She was kind of funny in that she rarely called anybody by their nicknames. Ana hadn't been like that, and sometimes you really missed the tall blonde lady, but Mami and Irene let you talk to her on the phone with the promise that you not tell Ingrid or Mapi. Mami didn't want them to get upset, even though they all used to be teammates with each other.

"Hola Ingrid." You leaned your head all the way back to see Ingrid. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to your forehead before she joined you on the grass. "Whatcha doing?"

"Sitting with you," Ingrid answered. She tapped the tip of your nose, causing you to erupt into a little fit of giggles. Mapi groaned and muttered something under her breath. You didn't catch most of it, but you definitely heard a couple of words your Mami made you promise not to say until you were much older, and absolutely never in the presence of Eli. "Is that okay, tiny?"

"Yes, I like you Ingrid. You're nice and smell nice," you said. Ingrid laughed, especially once Mapi looked over at the two of you with a weird face.

"You never tell me that I smell nice, Bebita," Mapi huffed. You furrowed your eyebrows and leaned over towards Mapi. Hesitantly, you sniffled, pleasantly surprised that she sort of smelled like Ingrid. You knew it was because she spent a lot of time cuddling with Ingrid or hugging her. Mapi always smelled a little bit like whatever girl she was dating, just like Jenni used to smell like your Mami and Leila had lots of smells.

"You smell a little like Ingrid, but not as good," you told her honestly. Mapi sputtered and huffed, clearly about to start ranting when the big coach's whistle blew for practice to resume. "Play good and have fun. I don't have my checker board today, but I'm watching."

"Aye, aye captain!" Mapi saluted you. Ingrid pressed a kiss to your cheek as a goodbye before she dragged Mapi back over to the rest of the team. You don't know if they actually had fun because you went right back to playing with the grass and occasionally waving at your Mami when she stopped.

…

"Hija, please," Alexia pleaded with you. You had fallen asleep in the film room, and Alexia had hoped to just pass you onto Alba, but things were not going according to plan at all. You wanted to either go home with Olga, who was in Madrid already for work, or Alexia, who wouldn't let you ride all the way to Madrid with her on the team bus. "You can't go with me."

"Then I want Mama!" You were practically sobbing and stomping your feet. People could see you, but they tried to move onto the bus like seeing you so upset didn't break their hearts. "Mama! Mama! Mama! Not you, Mama!"

"What about Tia Alba and Abuela Eli, don't you want to see them too?" Alexia asked. She knelt down in front of you and tried to reach out, but you jerked away like her mere presence offended you. "Hija, I'm not telling you anymore. You're going with Tia Alba to my Mami's. They'll bring you to Madrid tomorrow, and you can see Mama then."

"Ale, look at her. It might be easier to just have Olga pick her up from the hotel," Alba reasoned. "Or, I could go up a night early and she can stay there."

"No, you're not leaving Mami to drive all that way by herself. We made this plan weeks ago, and it's not changing because someone is upset," Alexia said. Alba glanced between you and her older sister, amazed by how stubborn both of you were being. If there had ever been a doubt that you were Alexia's baby, it was cleared up with moments like these.

"Call Olga and see what she thinks," Alba said. At that, Alexia paused, knowing what her girlfriend would say. Olga was constantly getting at Alexia for being too stuck in her ways. Alexia was trying to get better about being flexible when it came to plans, but it was hard.

"N-no, that's not necessary," Alexia stammered a little. Alba was glad to see Alexia give up a little as she walked over towards you. "Mama's been gone for a long time, hasn't she?"

"Y-yeah," you answered. You weren't sobbing anymore, but you were definitely still crying quite a bit. "'miss her."

"I miss her too, a lot. I'm sorry that I didn't think about your feelings. I didn't even think to ask if you wanted to come with me, I just made plans for you to go with Alba. Abuela Eli misses you a lot, so I thought you'd want to spend time with them. How about you go with them for this, and next time I have to go far away, you and Olga can have a girls' weekend?" It wasn't a great compromise, but Alexia was hoping that it would work for you. You seemed to be contemplating it, which Alexia took as a good sign.

"This time I'll go with Tia Alba," you told her. Alexia sighed in relief as she wrapped her arms around you. "Bye Mami."

"Bye Bebita. Temo amo," Alexia whispered into your hairline as she peppered your face with kisses. You began to squirm away from her, but Alexia had a tight hold on you.

"Come on, let's go. Just wait until you see what Abuela Eli made for dinner," Alba said as she pried Alexia's arms off of you. You gave your Mami a kiss before you went with Alba for the night.

"Do you think Abuela Eli will let us all sleep in the big bed together?" you asked as you swung Alba's arm. She hated it, especially whenever Alexia used to do it to her, but with you, she found it kind of endearing.

"Definitely, I bet she's already got your teddies laid up in bed," Alba answered. You were so happy and excited that you hopped up randomly as Alba led you to her car. You sat on her shoulders and watched as the Barcelona bus left, and with it, your Mami for her big game. You didn't really care to watch it, but you were excited for being passed around everybody's laps for cuddles during the game.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Injured (Alexia's Version) III

Alexia Putellas x Child!Reader

Summary: You have a nightmare

Alexia peaks her eyes open and frowns.

At first, she isn't quite sure what's woken her up.

It's still dark out so there's no sun to wake up. There's no fire alarm going off and there are no weird smells.

But there is the pitter-patter of little feet and a soft touch on her arm.

"Bambi?" Alexia squints in the darkness and can just make out your shadowed form.

"Mami," You whisper, your voice barely audible even over the silence of the house.

"Bambi," Alexia says," Why are we whispering?"

"Don't want to wake Jaume and Olga."

"They won't wake up," Alexia assures you," What's going on, huh? It's bedtime. Why are you up?"

"Had a bad dream." You shuffle closer.

"A bad dream?" Alexia reaches for you, softly stroking your cheek as you lean into the affection.

"Uh-huh about the hospital. It was scary."

"I'm sorry, Bambi." Alexia's hands move up to softly run her fingers through your hair. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

You nod. "Yes, please."

Alexia pulls back the covers, shivering a little in the morning air. It's not too cold but just cold enough for goosebumps to rise on her arms.

You shuffle a bit closer and as Alexia squints, she can just make out the blanket you've dragged in with you. Her heart sinks.

Blankie lives in your wardrobe. You've made the bottom of your wardrobe a little bed for you. Truly, it's only a pillow and blankie but Alexia's found you sleeping in there when you're scared.

To have blankie with you now means you've gone into your wardrobe, probably having tried to sleep there before coming into Alexia's room.

Alexia lifts you up into the bed, sitting you up on her stomach. She's unsure where to fully put you. If it would be better to set you on the edge where you're only next to her or if it would be better to put you in the middle of the bed between her and Olga.

Alexia isn't quite sure where you would be most comfortable so she just sets you on her stomach.

You're gripping blankie tightly in your fist and, now that Alexia's eyes have adjusted to the light, she can make out your features properly.

"Have you been crying, Bambi?" She asks.

You sniffle. "Tried to sleep in the closet," You tell her," But it was scary."

"I'm sorry, Bambi," Alexia says," But it's okay. I've got you now. Nothing scary's going to happen. Nothing bad is happening to you while I'm here."

You flop forward suddenly, tears spilling down your cheeks as you rest your head on Alexia's shoulder, tucking your nose into the crook of her neck.

"Shh, shh," She coos at you," I've got you, Bambi. It's okay. Let it out. Let it out."

You sob, unrestrained, against Alexia as she holds you close, curling her arms around your tiny body.

"Ale?" Olga awakens at the noise, rolling over and blindly reaching out for Alexia. "Are you crying?"

"No," Alexia says," But we've got Bambi joining us tonight. She's had a nightmare so she's going to sleep with us."

"Oh, Bambi," Olga says, reaching out to brush the tears from your cheek," I'm sorry, sweetheart. You did a good thing coming into us."

"Didn't wake Jaume," You promise Olga," Still sleeping."

"I'm not worried about Jaume," Olga tells you," I'm worried about you. Your Mami says you're sleeping with us."

You nod. "Please."

She pats the space between her and Alexia. "Come right here. We'll keep you safe."

You wiggle you way between them and Alexia quickly tucks blankie around your body.

Olga slips out of bed while Alexia gets you comfortable, propping you up against the pillows so she can properly wipe the remaining wetness off your cheeks.

"If you have another nightmare," She tells you," You wake me straight up, okay?"

You nod. "Yes, Mami."

She presses a kiss to the side of your head. "Good girl."

Olga comes back into the room with a sippy cup. "Have some of this, Bambi. My Mama swore it was the best way to get good girls back to sleep."

It's milk. Warm milk with the tiniest hint of honey and, as you guzzle it down, you find Olga is right.

You are going back to sleep.

You're out like a light before you've even finished your drink and Olga gently takes your sippy cup from your limp hands as Alexia drags you closer, curling her body around you.

You'll wake up in the same position in the morning.

[mj0702]

You patted down the hallway still half asleep entering the kitchen where you stopped confused. Something was different but you couldn't pin point it. It... looked different. You shrugged it off still not functioning this early in the morning and patted over to the coffee maker. You pulled a cup from the cabinet while switching the machine on with your left hand which worked out semi fine. You put the cup down on the counter pulled open the fridge getting out the milk emptying some into the milk container from the coffee machine and put it back. That's when you realized what was off – the whole kitchen was spotless. No cups standing around. No used plates in the sink. No cereal boxes standing on the counter. No peels from fresh cut fruit. No nothing – spotless... the whole kitchen. You turned around confused to find the living room tidied up as well. The pillows on the couch laid out like a catalogue picture. The magazines on the table where laying in one place not like usual all over the living room. Narlas bed next to the couch – empty. You shook your head before making yourself a Cortado padding out on the balcony sitting down on Onas lounge chair overlooking Barcelona. You leaned back and enjoyed the little quiet time you had counting on your sister bursting through the door at any second coming back from her walk with Narla. You couldn't remember where Ona was but surely she had some media stuff or charity stuff or fan meeting stuff or whatever stuff to do. So it was Lucy & you day. That's okay. You could work with that – maybe you could guilt trip her into getting ice cream later. Ona banned ice cream from the freezer after Lucy and you had a ice cream eating competition and both of you got sick. For the whole night and Ona had to pick up the pieces that once resembled two tough Bronze women now whining for attention and care. You quietly drank your coffee then padded back inside washing the cup immediately before your sister was back and complained about you being messy.

Two hours later you got nervous. Lucy still wasn't back and her phone was off. You tried to call her a few times but no use. You were hesitant to call Ona since you couldn't remember what she was doing and you didn't want to interrupt a possible interview freaking out about probably nothing. So you called the next best person you could think of.

“Yes Kjæreste??” Ingrid answered her phone after the second ring

“Ehrm... hi... ehrm..” you suddenly felt very shy your mind going a million miles an hour why you called Ingrid instead of Alexia... or Olga... or Jenni for heaven sakes

“Kjæreste?? Is everything okay?? Are you hurt? Do you need me to come pick you up somewhere?” the Norwegians voice turned worried

“No... no I'm fine... but... I woke up two hours ago and Lucy still isn't home from walking Narls and I don't know what to do... I'm worried something happened... I don't want to call Ona since she's in some kind of stuff you guys have to do today...” you started to ramble and where met with silence from the other end “... I'm sorry... I'm probably just being stupid... just... forget I called... okay bye”

“Wait Kjæreste... don't hang up... give me a second...” Ingrid quickly said sensing you wanted to end the call

You listened as she quickly and quietly talked in spanish – too fast and too muffled for you to understand before she started to talking to you

“Mapí and I are on our way Kjæreste... you be good and stay put okay?!” the norwegian said and it confused you even more

“Oh god... something happened didn't it...” you paled and started to shake

“No nothing hap...” Ingrids reassurance fell short as you suddenly heard another voice

“Don't worry mi neña... we're on our way to pick you up... pack a bag okay... you staying with us” Mapí said and her happy voice calmed you down a little bit

“Where the fuck is my sister then??” you snapped

“Ehrm yeah... we'll have a meeting with Alexia as soon as we picked you up... we'll be there in ten minutes...” Mapí said and you heard guilt in her voice

“Ugh” you groaned but apparently you had no other choice “Okay...”

Exactly twelve minutes later the doorbell rang but when you tried to open the door you figured out it was locked

“Great Lucy... lock me in like fucking Rapunzel” you grumbled as you fumbled for your own key to unlock the door

“Hola mi neña” Mapís wide grin greeted you just as you opened the door

“You wanna tell me now what's going on??” you grumbled locking the door after you

“Alexia will do that” the blonde quickly said “I'm just here to help you with your... bag? No bag?”

“I would've packed a bag if I would've found one” your grumpy mood didn't rise with all the not informations you were receiving

“Ehrm... okay... uh uh uh...” Mapí said confuse first before she started to happily clap her hands “... we can go shopping later”

“Just...” you wanted do say something but didn't know what to said

“Come on.. Ingrid is waiting for us” the tattooed woman smiled widely

“Hola Kjæreste....” Ingrid smiled friendly as you slided into the back seat

“Hola” you grumbled

“What's wrong Kjæreste?” the norwegian asked as she started to drive towards Alexias

“I don't know... no one will tell me” you grumbled annoyed

“It's not our place lille venn... but you get your answers soon” Ingrid smiled softly not giving into your mood

The drive was just short of 20 minutes and as soon as Ingrid pulled into the drive way the door opened and a slightly stressed Alexia appeared in the door

“Buenos tardes Cariño” the blonde spaniard greeted you as you pushed passed her

“Yeah yeah... Buenos tartlet” you grumbled as you made your way into Alexias living room where Olga was sitting on the couch tipping away quickly on her laptop

“Buenos tardes pequeña” the dark haired woman smiled up at you before going back to her work

“Can somebody tell me know what is going on? Is Lucy dead... oh my god... she's dead isn't she...” you first grumbled and then got worried “She got herself killed didn't she?? Where's Narla... she's with Keira right?? Oh god... Keira... I should call Kei... why didn't I think of Kei earlier... wait... Kei is okay isn't she... I'm not an orphan ain't I....???”

“Cari...” Alexia said firmly gripping your shoulders so you looked at her “... breath.... calm down and breath”

“BREATH?? Kei AND Lucy are dead and you say “calm down and BREATH”??? Oh god... does Ona know??” you freaked out your breath coming out more and more rapid

“Y/n!! Breath!” Alexia said in her captains voice trying to get through to you “No one is dead – no one get killed”

“You think Ona will adopt me??” you freaked out further

“STOP” Olga now stood up freeing you from her girlfriends grip turning you around so you now had to look at her “Take a deep breath”

You looked at the woman with wide eyes but the shock of hearing Olga speaking so strictly with you made you do exactly what she said – so you took a deep long breath

“Bueno... again” the dark haired woman said more calm and you did it again “... muy bien”

“Now listen to me Cari...” Alexia came next to her girlfriend “... Lucy is very much alive... Keira too... and Ona too... and they all are very much on Vacation... and... and... and..”

“And what?” you squeaked out your breathing still a bit laboured

“... and they forgot that you were still at home” the blonde mumbled embarrassed

“They WHAT???” you screeched dumb folded

“The plan was that you're staying with Olga and I while Lucy and Ona went on holiday...” the blonde said calmly “... if you remember we talked about it about three weeks ago...”

“Yeah... I do remember now” you said still bewildered

“... so the plan included Ona and Lucy bringing you over this morning before they drive to the airport... they overslept this morning.... and rushed to the airport... and forgot... that you... where still... there” Alexia said embarrassed

“So.... so... they...” you stuttered “... I... home alone?? I'm Kevin?!”

There was a stunned silence before Mapí bursted out laughing which caused the rest of the women to started chuckling too

“Stop laughing... I'm Kevin...” you cried out in agony

“You're not Cari...” Alexia chuckled “... there was a misunderstanding”

“Did you have something for breakfast pequeña?” Olga now asked trying to distract you

“No....” you mumbled still a little upset

“Come on then... I'll make you some Huevo rotos con Jamon” the architect smiled pulling you away sending her girlfriend a look to talk to Mapí and Ingrid

“Uh... I want some too” Mapí perked up following until Alexia grabbed the shirt and pulled her best friend back

“No Maps... bad” Alexia scolded her voice light

“But... breakfast” the tattooed woman pouted

“You already had two breakfasts” Ingrid rolled her eyes at her girlfriend antics

“Three if you count...” Mapí said without thinking wriggling her eyebrows at Ingrid

“Stop talking” the norwegian interrupted her girlfriend quickly – and a little embarrassed

“Ew” Alexia deadpanned “... topic change... Lucy and Ona are gone for about two weeks... can you...”

“Yes” the tattooed woman quickly said very happily

“You don't even know what I wanted to say” the blonde spaniard looked at her friend confused

“We take her in... mi neña can stay with us” Mapí nodded happily

“What?? No... absolutely not” Alexia exclaimed “... she's staying here like Lucy and I discussed”

“She doesn't want to stay with you” the tattooed said as a matter of fact “... otherwise she would've called you and not me”

“She called me... not you” Ingrid pointed out

“We're a team... she probably wanted to call me but Ingrid is before Mapí in the alphabet and that's why she called you.. she knew I would be there” Mapí said convinced

“Yeah... sure....” the norwegian said not believing it one bit

“She's staying with us” Alexia interrupted before Maps could jump into a 15 minute monolog about how you wanted to stay with her “Discussion over”

“You can't just end over a discussion without respecting the other party” the tattooed woman said perplex

“Oh but I can...” the blonde answered sweetly “... I'm pulling the elder and capitan card”

“But...” Mapí looked defeated

“Discussion over” Alexia just said while Ingrid snorted behind her girlfriend

“You can always call me if she's mean to you okay mi neña?” Mapí said as she fought Ingrid who tried to shove her girlfriend through the door

“Yeah okay... thanks Maps... you're really a good spaniard” you smiled

“HA!!! YOU HEARD THAT PUTELLAS???!!! I'M THE GOOD SPANIARD!!!” the tattooed woman yelled towards the living room using her whole weight against Ingrid

“AND I'M THE PRETTY ONE!!! NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Alexia yelled back “And Cari... living room.. now”

“I didn't do anything!!” you screeched but shuffled down the corridor once Ingrid succeeded by poking Mapís side so she had to let go and the norwegian used the moment to push her girlfriend forward and through the door

“I didn't say you did... BUT... we have to talk about some things” the blonde said softly gesturing for you to sit down “... we're responsible for you and your well-being”

“... at least some one...” you mumbled as you plopped down on the couch

“Don't pequeña... you know neither of them meant it” Olga stroked through your hair as she passed the couch

“... as I said... we're responsible for you... so there are gonna be rules” the blonde said keeping her voice soft “... I want to know where you are when you're not with me or Olga... just if something happens I know where I need to go okay... just a short text nothing more... you don't have to explain anything just a short text where you are or going to be and we're good... if you break that rule I won't hesitate to drag you to any event I have scheduled for the next two weeks”

“But I don't wanna be on your boring events” you whined

“Then you inform me about your whereabouts and we're good” Alexia said smiling lovingly “... second rule... I want you home for dinner... if you can't make it you'll call or text – either Olga or myself”

“I'm not five” you grumbled

“Could've fooled me” the blonde smirked “.... rule no. 3 …. if you need anything or need to talk.. I want you to know that you always can talk to me or Olga okay...”

“Can I have some food?” you perked up making Alexia laugh

“Sure... Ona told me you like cuttlefish” the blonde chuckled when you looked at her with shocked wide eyes “... no?”

“Ew no!!” you squeaked disgusted

“Alexia....” you whispered waiting for a reaction “.... Lexia”

Other than a grunt there was no reaction at all

“Alexia” you said with more insistence shaking the Barca captain

“Qué?” the blonde mumbled sleepily

“Ale...” you shook the blonde harder so she would wake up a little more

“Sí?” Alexia sat up a little confused

“Ale...” you whined a little bit

“What's wrong Cari?” the blonde now asked worried

“I can't sleep....” you mumbled “... can I sleep here?”

“You... what?” Alexia looked confused

“She wants to sleep here...” Olga mumbled tiredly from behind Alexia “... so make space for her and both of you go back to sleep”

Before Alexia could reject anything you quickly shuffled your body in the small space between Alexia and Olga cuddling up to the brown haired woman as her blonde girlfriend turned around facing the two of you when a smile crept onto her face

“Don't even think about it Putellas” Olga said her closed eyes her voice a little muffled by your hair

“Motherhood suits you” Alexia grinned as she scooted a little closer seeing that you were asleep already feeling safe in Olgas presence

“We talk in a week again... this was just one day... she's a handful” Olga said and as she finished you got more comfortable ramming your elbow into Alexias stomach unconcussionly

“Madre mía” the blonde grunted

“Told you...” her girlfriend smirked

“ALEXIAAAAA!!!” you yelled through the apartment

“Yes?” the blondes head appeared in the kitchen door

“I'm hungry” you whined as you exit your room

“Jesús y María...” Alexia rolled her eyes “... is there a time where you aren't hungry?”

“I'm a Bronze...” you deadpanned “... of course not”

“I have another interview and then we can make something for lunch okay? 30 minutes top” the blonde said

“Can I have chips meanwhile?” you asked hopefully

“No...” the blonde shot that idea down quickly

“But I'm hungryyyyyyy” you whined loudly

“30 Minutes Cari...” Alexia tried to calm you down “... here... eat that”

“That's one big ass peach” you said with wide eyes your mood instantly increased

“That's a mango” the blonde said flatly

“Oh ew... soap peach.. no...” you threw the mango back at Alexia

“Cariño... please... I really have to do that interview” Alexia basically begged you at this stage

“Can I have a sandwich?” you whined again

“I just told you I'll make lunch in half an hour” the blonde look at you bewildered

“But I'm hungry now” you groaned

“ONE sandwich...” Alexia pointed her finger at you threating before turning to her laptop waiting for the online interview to begin – and it began right when she said “Single motherhood is so hard”

Needless to say she broke the internet that day with fans speculating about a possible little Putellas.

“I can't take her with me on Thursday” Olga said after she checked her calendar “... I have an important meeting”

“Mierda...” Alexia sweared glancing at you sitting on the couch munching on some churros Olga made for you watching some spanish soap opera “... I have the whole day full with interviews and media for Barca and Eleven”

“We could ask Ingrid” the dark haired woman said

“No... she's with me for Barca...” Alexia wrecked her brain trying to find a solution “... and I definitely won't leave her with Mapí... I have no desire to have to go to court for some shit they pulled off”

“Marta and Caro?” Olga try to find someone as well

“They're in Norway right now... visiting Caros family” the blonde mumbled her phone in her hand going through her contacts

“I'm out... I have no idea who to ask” the dark haired woman held her hands up in surrender looking past Alexia “Ay... stop jumping on the couch... sit your ass down or no more churros”

“But it's so enthralling” you answered your eyes glued to the TV

“I don't care... ass down” Olga said strictly and you slowly sat down again

“Again... motherhood suits you” Alexia glanced up from her phone smirking

“Don't Putellas... you fucked that one right up... single motherhood my ass...” Olga grumbled

“Not my fault they started early...” the blonde snorted before lifting her phone to her ear

“Who are you calling?” the dark haired woman asked

“My last resort for Thursday” Alexia mumbled waiting for the call to connect and when it does she didn't even bother with the typical hellos “... what are you doing Thursday Hermoso?”

[imbored1201]

Would you be okay okay with writing a pernille x Magda x platonic!reader fic. Maybe sick fic?

Another one with Barca where teen!reader gets sick or injuried

In both reader plays for Sweden so she knows Frido when she joined Barca

Barca’s Sick Teenager

A/n: The Magda and Pernille fic is currently in the works right now. I also have COVID rn, so I’ve been stuck in my room, so sorry if it’s bad, me being in my room all day is driving me crazy right now and I cannot think properly anymore

-There’s also a lot of motherly Alexia with some Olga since Ik you guys love motherly Alexia

Barcelona Femeni x Teen Reader

Warnings: Mentions of throwing up

Word Count: 1,427

Alexia was ready to start her day, dreading the idea of having to wake you because she couldn’t trust you to wake up to your alarm, it was a warning she got from Fridolina. According to her, you never woke up to your alarm when you guys shared a room during camp, but to her surprise you were already up and dressed. "Did you do something?" She asked, and you looked at her confused. "You're only productive like this when you do something wrong."

"I just woke up early and couldn't fall back asleep." Not only did you wake up early, you also threw up. You felt disgusted, so you decided to take a nice, hot shower.

When you got out, you threw up a second time. You're pretty sure the hot shower made everything worse, but it did feel good. Alexia could see something was up, considering you looked a little pale. 

"You want me to make you eggs?" She asked you, and you quickly shook your head. Just thinking about food made you want to throw up again. 

"I'm not hungry," she gave you a stern stare. "You're not leaving without eating; I'm not going to have my child pass out on the field because she didn't eat; it'll make me seem like a bad mom." You rolled your eyes at that. 

Everyone kept calling Alexia your mom; you both hated it. Now she's accepted it and taken on the role. 

"Ale, I'm not hungry," you argued again. "Okay, fine, at least eat some grapes or something." You nodded as you grabbed your bag, trying to ignore your headache, which was getting worse. 

"Bebita, are you feeling okay?" She asked, noticing the pained expression on your face. You nodded. "Are you sure?" She raised her eyebrows at you. "Yes Ale." She knew that wasn't true, but she also knew you wouldn't admit anything. 

—————

You were starting to regret your decision during the car ride; you were sweating but really cold. You ignored Alexia's complaints about having the heater on. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked again as she parked the car. "I'm fine Ale; you've asked that like 10 times already." She rolled her eyes, and you quickly got out the car and grabbed your bag. She had another meeting today to look at her knee again, so you were walking by yourself to the locker room, which was a really rare sight. 

You groaned as you noticed Pina and Patri smirking right when you entered. They were up to something. "Not today," you told them as you walked past them. Now they looked worried too. 

"Are you okay? You look like you're about to die," Patri told you as she put an arm around your shoulder. "I'm fine," you told her. "You sure?" Pina asked, and you nodded. 

—————

"You look pale," Pina told you once again. You shoved your shirt into your locker. "Pina, please stop talking." She looked offended at that, but surprisingly listened. 

The team kept glancing at each other when they noticed your little mood. "Teenage hormones," Salma shrugged as she patted your head and walked out. 

—————

It seemed like everyone accepted that since they stopped bothering you, but they were worried once again when they saw how you were struggling to keep up with everything.

————

You groaned in pain as you fell roughly from Irene's tackle. "You okay Bebe?" She questioned, as she turned you onto your back. You were holding your stomach, tears starting to stream down your face. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" She was panicking now, thinking she hurt you. You shook your head as you started crying harder. "I don't feel good," you sobbed as Irene felt your forehead. "What's wrong?" Mapi rushed over. 

"She doesn't feel good," Irene explained. "She's hot." Mapi put a hand on your cheek, "She's sick." Mapi sighed and helped you sit up. Jona was quick to come over as well; the rest of the team stood by but were quickly sent away for a water break. 

"You were training while sick?" He asked, looking like he was about to yell at you for being so reckless. It made you miss Alexia now. "I didn't think it was this bad," you cried out, reaching for Irene, who pulled you into her lap and rubbed your back. 

Jona was going to stay more, but he was pulled away by Marta. "She's a teenager; they never tell anyone how they're feeling. Let's just get her rested in time for the game," Marta told him. 

"Can you stand?" Marta asked cautiously, and you nodded, but once you tried you got dizzy again and held onto Irene tighter. "Lucy!" Irene yelled, and all of a sudden you were being carried.

"You will never hear the end of this from Alexia," you leaned your head to her shoulder. "Don't start," you muttered, closing your eyes. You were cold, exhausted, and sweaty. A warm shower sounded nice to you again. 

—————

You were so close to sleeping, but it was interrupted when someone put a wet cloth on your forehead. "Leave it," Frido told you, noticing your annoyed expression. "How many people are in this room besides us?" You asked, and Frido looked around for a second. "5", “Don’t tell Magda” Frido thought for a second. “I’m not because she’ll call me a bad babysitter”

"Donde esta?!" You heard Alexia shout. "Make that 6," she gave you a sympathetic look and quickly moved out of Alexia's way as she stormed to you two. 

"This has got to be the dumbest thing you've done," she muttered as she grabbed the medicine and granola bar from Lucy. "Eat and take this after. Then we're getting you home and your bed ridden until your for sure better."

"What about training?" Her glare was enough of an answer for you. You saw Lucy holding in her laugh. "Kid, if you want to make it to the game this weekend, listen to the captain." You nodded and ate your granola bar. When it was time to take your medicine, it didn't go well. You knew Lucy enjoyed it though.

————

Safe to say you passed out on the ride back. It was the first time you actually gave Alexia peace. 

You only woke up towards the end of the car ride, having occasional cough attacks. Alexia honestly thought she would have to take you to the hospital. 

————

"Olga!" You shouted happily, she smiled at you and pulled you into a hug, feeling your head. "She went to training sick; she's an actual idiot," Alexia ranted as she put your bag on the ground. 

"Alexia, don't call her an idiot," Olga said sternly as she guided you to the couch. "She had Lucy hold me down and suffocate me," you told Olga as you grabbed a blanket. "Alexia!"

"She wouldn't take the medicine," Alexia defended herself. "Doesn't mean you suffocate the poor girl" Olga turned to you. "I'll make soup for you; get some rest," she turned to Alexia. Giving her a dirty look. "She wouldn't open her mouth; holding her nose was the only thing that worked; she even ignored my promises to get her ice cream."

Alexia grabbed another wet cloth before Olga could make another comment. When she came back, you were already dead to the world. Curled up on the sofa, she shook you a bit. "Bebita, you should go to your bed; it'll be comfier."

"To far," you slurred. Alexia sighed and picked you up. She tucked you in bed and put the cloth on your head. 

"Sorry for lying," you sleepily mumbled, holding her hand. She gently rubbed your back to put you back to sleep. "It's okay. Get some rest. I'll wake you when the food is done." She leaned down to kiss your cheek and watched as you fell back into a deep sleep. 

————

Alexia collapsed on the couch next to Olga. "She's asleep"

"You're good with her, even though you look like you want to murder her half the time." "She loves to give me heart attacks, but I love her. She's my kid." Olga gave Alexia a look. 

"Our kid," Alexia corrected, finally opening the team group chat. Everyone was asking about you. Marta and Irene even declared they were going later to your guys place to take care of you.  

Alexia knew she would probably have to get extra blankets since they would likely end up staying the night. 

————

And that's exactly what happened; Marta even dragged Caroline along, and Mapi, Ingrid, and Lucy showed up unannounced later on. You seemed to like the attention though. You even made Mapi and Ingrid go get you your favorite treats so you could eat after your sickness passed. 

[magics-neptunes-things]

Afterglow

Hi guys!

This is a request that you can find here, thank you again dear anon for your idea :)

I hope it would be as you want it to be. Enjoy!

TW : Light injury

______________________________________________________________

When Aitana found herself on the ground after contact during training and her face twisted with pain, you rushed to her side. Your girlfriend isn’t the type to be down, she is even rarely on the ground thanks to her ability to avoid physical contact and tackle. But her small size makes her very often fly when it happens.

Luckily, it’s not very serious but it forces her to be in the stands for the first time in a long time. Usually she is on the field with you, playing in her usual place while you are in defense.

Today, you share the defense with Ona, Lucy and Jana. Mapi being still hurt, she’s in the bleachers with your girlfriend for today. As the number of injuries grows, there are also Alexia and Bruna to keep them company. This is an important match that is played since you are facing Real Madrid. You don’t play at home, but that didn’t stop your injured ones from following you to the capital, their support remaining important.

During the presentation of the teams, you look the presence of Aitana in the audience and relax slightly when you manage to see her, in great discussion with Alexia. But you exchange a smile before you shake hands with your opponents and rivals.

You wouldn’t say that you are one of the best players in the world, but you know your job and with Ona playing alongside you, you quickly managed to find a good understanding. You don’t have to raise your head to know where she is on the field, sending her several times a game a ball allowing her to overflow to the side, as she likes to do.

"Man, that was a good one" cannot help but point out Aitana out loud.

You just pass the ball at Ona, which runs at full speed towards the goal. Unfortunately, Caro doesn’t put it in. But still.

"Don't look so surprised" Mapi laughs at her, her eyes glued on Ingrid.

The game continues and if you don’t offer the assist to Salma, you continue to make a good match. You are even close to scoring a goal from the head during a corner, Misa Rodriguez turning away your missile only from the fingertips.

You can’t hide your disappointment, returning to your bottom line where Lucy gives you an encouraging pat on the back. After a smile of thanks, you shift your attention back to the game. You manage to avoid a goal just after halftime, throwing your body on the goal line when Olga Carmona takes back a ball that Cata had managed to prevent from entering with her fists.

"She is amazing" whispers Aitana.

This time Alexia leans in the direction of your girlfriend, looking at her with a smile but slightly frowned.

"Of course she is. She’s your girlfriend, have you ever seen her play?"

"Yes of course I have! But… I don’t know. She is…"

Aitana frowns in turn, watching Cata then Ona congratulate you or thank you for your intervention. When the ball is back in play, Aitana doesn’t follow it but looks at you this time. The way you never take your eyes off the ball, while not letting go of the other team’s star forward. The ease with which you find Ona, Salma or Ingrid on your side when you have to sway the ball higher on the field.

And let’s not even talk about the gliding tackles that are definitely your cute sin and your trademark.

While the team leads 4-1 in the 89th minute, Aitana feels silly. Obviously, she knows that you are a good player, she sees you evolve daily in training and on the field. But she may not have realized how strong you are, not having the opportunity to watch you play on the international stage, your home country not having a strong enough team for that.

"Come on, let’s go find our girls" Mapi happily exclaims at the end of the game.

She jumps on Alexia’s back to go down the steps faster, leaving Aitana to take her crutches. The brunette follows them, still not leaving your eyes. You are greeting the players from the other team and you are in the middle of a conversation with Olga when Aitana joins you.

"Disappointed I didn’t score, but I can’t undo the way you stop my shot" is saying Olga when Aitana comes up to you.

"I was at the right time in the right place" you smile humbly shrugging.

"No, she’s right, you were amazing" smiles Aitana, sliding her two arms around your waist to put a kiss on your cheek.

Not having seen her arrive since you were standing from your back, you are surprised by her proximity but also by her effusion. Usually, Aitana isn’t the kind of person who likes to perform. You’re not bothered by that, but you obviously respect your girlfriend’s preferences. Her comfort is what comes first.

"Thank you" you answer by placing your hand behind her back, pleasantly surprised by her mark of affection.

You talk a few more minutes with Olga, without Aitana taking care to let you go. She even puts her chin on your shoulder when Atheana joins you in your discussion. Ona, Lucy and Alexia join you after a little while and all this little people are particularly happy. Even the Madrid players who just lost their match.

"I’ll get myself something to drink" you discreetly slip into Aitana’s ear after a little while.

"I’m coming with you"

You don’t comment when she clings to your arm during the journey, preferring to greet the players or staff members you haven’t yet met since the end of the game.

When you are stopped by the Real Madrid coach, Aitana stays by your side.

"So Y/N, still not decided to join the capital?" he teases you while you shake your head with amusement.

"No still not, sorry"

Aitana says nothing but you feel her sticking even more against you, leaving strictly no milimeter between you two.

"Did you get any proposals from Real Madrid?"

The question she asks you while you drink your water is made with a sulky and almost worried face. You smile at her before you answer.

'They tried their luck while I was talking to Barcelona about extending my contract. I guess this is a more or less discreet way of informing me that they are still interested I guess"

You gently shrug your shoulders before putting the gourd back in the cooler, smiling in front of Aitana’s face.

"What is it?"

But the brunette’s eyebrows frown a little more, until she gets closer to you to stick against you again.

"You can’t leave. You have to stay with me. And the team"

"What’s happening to you, Tana?" you laugh softly as you tighten her against you.

You never seen your girlfriend so clingy and touchy, at least with people around.

"Nada" she groans in your jersey.

You train her with you when you go to shower, rolling your eyes when she asks in a grumpy tone why it’s not you who has the trophy of the best player of the game.

"Maybe because Mariona scored two of the four goals? But if you ask me Ona deserved it too. Three assists is not nothing."

"Well you should have had it. It’s not fair."

You smile again and drop a quick kiss on her cheek while getting rid of your shorts and your jersey, leaving you in underwear and sport bra.

"Okay, grumpy lady. I’m gonna go wash up and then we’re gonna go back to the hotel, so you can groan after everything you want just the two of us, what do you say about that?"

"Alright" groans your girlfriend again, unable to hide her smile.

You smile too, putting your hands on her knees to kiss her tenderly.

"And by the way, I’m not going anywhere. I’m happy here with you."

____________________________________________________

Happy New Year people 🎆🎇

[dccomicsimagines]

One Day At A Time - Nightwing x Reader

Part Two 

Author’s Note - Glad I finally got this one started. It was in my head for a long time. More parts are coming.

Voices were the first thing you recalled. They were different tones, some feminine, others masculine. Screams echoed from somewhere far away. Beeps sounded near your head.

You couldn’t open your eyes. Your eyelids had been replaced by stones. “Is she going to wake up soon?” one of the voices demanded. You recognized it as you heard it often. 

“She can wake up at anytime.” This voice was recognizable as well. It gave orders a lot. “We will just have to wait.” Footsteps echoed and a door closed. You wondered if they were talking about you. Were you asleep? It was hard to tell. 

There was scraping of a chair. Suddenly, someone grabbed your hand. They cradled it in theirs. Lips pressed to the back of your hand. “I miss you, sweetheart,” the voice you heard most often spoke. Sweetheart? You felt confused. No one had called you that before. “Please wake up soon.” Something wet dripped onto your hand. 

Disgusting. You couldn’t pull your hand away. It was like your blood had been replaced with sand, holding you down. You endured it. The voice rambled on and on about things. You stopped listening and let yourself drift back into bliss of darkness.

***

Slowly, rising from the darkness and into the fresh air, you finally dragged your eyes opened. The light was bright. You closed them again, reaching up to rub them. 

Your eyes adjusted to reveal a white hospital room with flowers everywhere. The ones next to your bedside were your favorite. Those were the same ones your brother would get for your birthday every year. A smile pulled at your lips. You glanced down at yourself, the paper hospital gown scratching your skin. There were heart monitors stuck to your chest and stomach. Odd.

An IV was in your arm. You pulled at it gently, shivering from the idea of it in your arm. Biting your lip, you tried to remember how you got here. The last thing you remembered was being at gymnastic practice. It was after hours and you were breaking the rules by attempting Olga Korbut’s uneven bars routine from the 1972 Olympics. Most of those moves were illegal now days, but you wanted to try just for fun.

The last thing you remembered was preparing for your dismount from the high bar when your brother, Wally West, and your coach walking in. They startled you and you fell hard. You frowned. Was that what happened? Did you end up in the hospital?

You pulled the covers around you. Where were those voices you heard before? The man’s voice. The one who held your hand. You wondered who he was? Rubbing your hands up and down your arms, you froze when you felt metal on one of your fingers. You glanced down to find a beautiful ring. 

It was a contoured design, two rings fitted into one. You remembered Aunt Iris had one like that. Her engagement ring and wedding ring were made into one. Why would you have a ring like that? You were only nineteen and you don’t remember anyone giving a ring like this to you.

The door to your room opened. You looked up eagerly, hoping to see your family. However, there was only a strange man. He stared at you, eyes wide with a cup of coffee in his hand. His hair was dark, shaggy and falling into his bright blue eyes. You had to admit he was attractive and fit, even if it looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. 

The coffee cup dropped from his hand and splashed on the floor. You jumped only to find the man suddenly hugging you and pressing his lips against yours. Your mind shut off. You didn’t move, unsure what to do. Should you scream? Were you being attacked?

“Oh thank god, you’re awake. I thought you would never wake up.” The man sobbed, breaking the kiss to bury his face into your shoulder. His voice triggered your memory. He was the one who held your hand. 

You didn’t know what to do. Your brain was on autopilot as you patted his back. Maybe he was mentally disturbed and thought you were someone else? You noticed the call button by the bedside and tried to reach for it. 

“Woah, hey.” The man pulled away, grinning despite the tears in his eyes. “You feel okay? Anything hurt? Should I get the doctor?”

You opened your mouth to speak only for it to be dry. Wetting your mouth, you cleared your throat. “I’m fine.” You looked him in the eye for a second before quickly looking at the flowers across the room. Your eye caught a bag sitting on the chair in the corner. 

“I think my heart finally restarted. It stopped when you took that fall.” The man laughed. You looked back at him to find him studying you like you were the most precious thing on earth. It sent a warning shiver down your spine. 

You quickly looked away, eyeing the coffee spill on the floor. “Is Wally here?” 

You bit your lip nervously when the man’s smile faltered slightly. “He...doesn’t know you’re here.” The man took your hand, rubbing warmth into it.

“What?!” You blinked, heart skipping a beat. Oh god, did this man kidnap you? Were you even in a hospital or did it just look like one? Where was Wally? Where was your family?

The man played with the ring on your finger. He frowned slightly with concern in his eyes. “Sweetheart, you know he doesn’t approve of us. He won’t answer my calls, even when you got hurt, but we don’t need to worry about him. We got each other and our family. That’s what matters, right?” He ran his other hand through your hair. 

Your blood ran ice cold. You had to escape. Clearly, this man kidnapped you and was mentally insane. Why did he act like you were in a relationship with him? Thoughts about all those old stalker movies filled your mind.

“Hey, you okay?” The man cupped your cheek. “Calm down. You’re fine. Everything’s okay.” 

You forced a smile on your face to try to reassure him. Get him out of the room. You could escape then. “I just have a headache.” You rubbed your temple. Your chest tightened when his hand moved to rest over yours.

“Let me grab the doctor.” He leaned down to kiss you again. You turned your head, disgusted. His lips caught your cheek instead of your lips. The man frowned, but got up. “I’ll be right back, okay?” He left the room and firmly shut the door behind him.

Once he was gone, you got to your feet. Sharp pain shot through them, but you just gasped and stayed standing. You removed the IV and the heart monitors carefully before going to the bag in the corner. There were clothes inside. You ripped off the paper gown and changed into the sweatpants and sweatshirt inside. The clothes were too big, but you tightened the pants to fit you. There were no shoes, so you made do with a pair of socks.

Panic set in when you heard noise outside the door. You rushed to the window in the room. Outside was a city you didn’t recognize it. Scared beyond belief, you opened the window. The rays of the late morning sun hit your skin. Your room was two stories up, but you noticed a gutter drain nearby. 

With somewhat ease, you climbed out and down the gutter drain. Once you were a few feet from the ground, you dropped. Almost landing on your feet, you toppled to your knees. Your center of gravity was off. Did you gain weight while you were kidnapped? You shook your head, getting to your feet.

“(Y/N)!” The man shouted. You spun to see him leaning out of the window with another dark haired man with him. 

“No.” Adrenaline fueled you and you sprinted off. You were fast, but you were no speedster. Traffic was heavy in the street, but you ran out without a care, jumping over the hood of a car that slammed on their brakes to avoid you. 

You glanced back to see the man already on the ground. Panting, you ran faster down the street, dodging people as you went. You had to break the line of sight. A child ran out in front of you. You jumped, using a light post as leverage to send yourself flying into an alleyway. 

“(Y/N)!” The man was gaining on you as you fell hard on your knees again. The wind knocked out of you. Rage filled you. Why was your center of balance off? You could have landed that in your sleep. However, you got to your feet and kept running. 

Turning several corners, you saw a coffee shop filled with people. You burst through the door, the bell ringing loudly. People stared at you like you were insane. Maybe you did look it, but you had a good reason. “Can I borrow a phone?” you panted, searching the room for a friendly soul.

“Here, honey,” a middle aged woman said, handing you a phone.

“Thank you.” You glanced behind you in a panic and ducked into the hallway that led to the bathrooms. The phone shook in your hand. Every part of your body ached, completely weakened by the run as adrenaline drained into all out terror. 

Air was being squeezed out of your lungs, coming out in ragged gasps. Black swarmed your vision, but you blinked it away. The bell on the door to the shop rang. You slipped into the ladies' room and slid to the floor by the sink. 

Knees pressed to your chest, you dialed the one number you knew by heart. “Please pick up, please pick up.” The man’s voice sounded outside, asking about you. 

“Hello?” You sighed in relief, knowing his voice instantly. 

“Wally?” Your voice cracked. Tears filled your eyes. “Please help me. Walls, please help me.”

“(Y/N)?” Wally seemed shocked. “What’s wrong?” His voice deepened into that tone he used when he was Kid Flash. 

You crawled into one of the stalls when you heard someone tell the man that you went to the restroom. Reaching up to lock the stall, you got up to stand on the toilet to hide. You had to lean against the wall to stay upright. “There’s a man chasing me. He kidnapped me, but I escaped.” You held your breath when the bathroom door opened. “He’s here. Please help me.” Your voice dropped to a whisper.

“(Y/N), sweetheart, I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to come with me,” the man said loudly. He opened one of the stalls. You pressed your hand against your mouth to prevent a scream. 

“I’ll be there in a flash. Where are you?” Wally’s voice sounded distant. He was already on the move. 

The next stall opened. You whimpered softly into the phone. The bathroom fell silent until the door to your stall shook. You choked out a sob, losing your balance. Your foot went into the toilet, but you caught yourself. However, the phone slipped out of your hand and clattered to the floor.

The man kneeled in front of the door. “(Y/N), sweetheart, please tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me.”

“Please leave me alone. I just want to go home,” you begged, ignoring your wet sock as you climbed higher on the toilet in case the man crawled under. 

“We can go home, but I need you to calm down.” The man peeked under the door. You screamed, fresh tears bursting out of you. Suddenly, a loud gust sounded in the room and the man disappeared from the door. “Wally? What are you doing here?” 

“What are you doing?! (Y/N) called me saying she’s been kidnapped and a man is chasing her,” your brother’s voice said. You relaxed slightly, suddenly concerned that Wally seemed to know the man. “And now I searched the city only to find you chasing her!”

The man gasped. “She said what?!” 

The door of your stall shook again. “(Y/N), come out. I think you’re confused,” Wally said. You slowly climbed down from the toilet and opened the door. Wally stood there in a Flash suit. Strange, wasn’t he Kid Flash? You ignored it and hopped into his arms.

Wally held you tight. “Please get me out of here, Walls. Keep him away from me.” You clung to Wally like he was your lifeline.

“What the hell is going on?!” The man stepped forward. You broke out of Wally’s arms to hide behind him, watching the man as he stared at you with his brow furrowed. “(Y/N), sweetheart, I’m Dick. Your husband.” He pointed to his chest. 

“I can’t be married!” You gripped Wally’s arms with a death grip.  

Wally’s head snapped between you and the man. “Wait a minute.” He pressed a hand to the man’s, now Dick’s, chest to stop him from coming closer. Wally spun to you and gripped your shoulders. His green eyes bore into yours. “(Y/N), what year is it?”

You frowned, blinking. Your lips trembled. Wally never talked to you like this before. “2020.”

Dick’s jaw dropped. His hand slapped against his forehead. Wally stared at you with fear in his eyes. “(Y/N), honey, it’s 2023. You’re not nineteen, you’re twenty two,” Wally said calmly. He swallowed hard and nodded to Dick. “This is Dick Grayson. You married him a year ago. Without my permission, I might add.” 

Your eyes snapped to Dick’s. “No...” Your knees collapsed. Wally caught you before you hit the floor. Dick’s hands clenched into fists, keeping his distance from you. Black swarmed your vision again. You blinked it away as Wally cradled you in his arms. 

“This is too public.” The other dark haired man you saw in the window with Dick entered, glancing around nervously. “Get her out of here.” Wally picked you up and zoomed off. Sometime along the way, you fainted.

***

You woke on a soft bed with an older man hovering nearby. He smiled when he saw you open your eyes. The lights were dim in whatever room you were in. In the distance, you swore you heard bats screeching. 

“Hello, Miss (Y/N).” He patted your arm. “Do you remember me?” 

You studied him, but shook your head. He wasn’t a threat, because you didn’t even tense when you saw him. 

The man smiled gently. “I am Alfred.” He held up his hands. “Is it alright if I examine your head?”

You nodded. A lump was in your throat, memories floating back to you. Alfred carefully ran his hands over your head, feeling for any bumps. You winced when he touch a spot toward the back of your head. “It hurts there.” 

Alfred hummed. “I see.” He pulled away. “I am going to alert the others that you are awake.” You tensed, scared to find out what else you didn’t remember. Three years. You were missing three years. “Don’t worry, Miss (Y/N). It will be a calm discussion. We only want to figure out what is going on.” He patted your knee and left the area. 

You pulled the sheet up and around you. Your fingers rested on the edge of the sheet, the ring on your wedding finger sparkling beautifully. How could you forget something so important? You must have loved Dick, right? You snorted. What a name. You hoped it was short for Richard.

Wally came in first. He smiled in relief, coming to your side. “Hey, glad you’re awake, sis. You gave me a heart attack when you fainted on me.” He sat on the edge of your bed. 

Dick followed him. He started toward you, but stopped and moved to lean against the far wall. The other dark haired man from before entered and took a seat on the chair at the end of the bed. 

“Here we go, Miss (Y/N). You should at least drink something,” Alfred said, appearing with a cup of steaming tea. You took it from him, giving him a timid smile in thanks. “I’ll bring a meal in a bit. Remember we are going to proceed calmly.” Alfred glared at the three men in the room. You liked him already.

“Let’s start from the beginning. What the last thing you remember, (Y/N)?” The dark haired man asked, leaning forward and studying you with an intense gaze, your hands began to shake with nerves. Alfred smacked his arm as he passed and the man’s gaze softened. 

You took a sip of tea, gathering your thoughts. Sneaking a peek at Dick, you saw the pain in his eyes. “I remember being at gymnastic practice at Central City U. Everyone had left and I stayed to see if I could do Olga Korbut’s uneven bars routine from the 1972 Olympics. Oh my god, Walls, you remember how much I loved her routine. She was moving like an angel.” You grinned, feeling relaxed for the first time since you woke up to find everything strange and unfamiliar. A small smile pulled at Dick’s lips. You wondered if he liked gymnastics too. 

“And you fell after I and your coach caught you in the middle of a high bar dismount.” Wally sighed, crossing his arms. “You hit your head, but you were fine afterwards.” 

“I don’t remember that.” You bit your lip, holding the cup of tea tightly. “I just remember falling and then I woke up in the hospital with...Dick.” You met Dick’s eye. His smile fell into a firm line. 

The dark haired man hummed. “You remember nothing else?”

You leaned into Wally. He wrapped his arm around you. “Just stuff before. Like growing up at home then living with Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry in Central City when Mom and Dad were having problems. Graduating high school, going to college on a gymnastic scholarship.” You looked at Wally. “Did I finish college? Please tell me I did.”

Wally chuckled. “You did. With top honors.” He kissed your temple. “Of course, then you ran off with Dick afterwards.” Wally glared over at Dick. Dick snorted. You glanced between the men, confused. 

“Was I not supposed to?” You bit your lip when Dick burst out laughing suddenly. Wally narrowed his eyes at you. 

“No, you weren’t. He’s older than you and was one of my best friends.” Wally pulled away from you, crossing his arms. “I made a mistake and invited him to my engagement party after working so hard to keep you away from this life, then all of a sudden, you married him.”

You looked at Dick, knowing you must have loved him quite a bit to piss Wally off so bad. “Enough.” The dark haired man got to his feet. “We need to focus on what’s important.” 

“Bruce, we are focusing on what’s important,” Dick said after he stopped laughing. “(Y/N) might remember if we remind her.” He smiled at you with a charm that made your skin tingle. Maybe there was something there?

The dark haired man, now Bruce, shook his head. “No, there is something going on here. Don’t you think it’s strange that (Y/N) happened to forget about you? Three years is specific.” Bruce pointed a finger at Dick’s chest. “It’s very specific that the last thing she remembers happened the day before you met her at West’s engagement party.”

Dick sobered. “Are you suggesting someone erased me from (Y/N)’s memory? Who could even do that?”

Wally took the cup of tea from you when your hands started shaking so hard that it threatened to slosh out. “It’s okay,” Wally soothed, rubbing your back. “You’re fine, we’ll figure this out, okay?”

“Don’t you think it’s odd that a day after you two announced your pregnancy that (Y/N) takes a fall during patrol and forgets about you?” Bruce said, waving his hand in the air. “We need to open an investigation.”

Your blood drained out of your face. Pregnancy? You looked down at your stomach with wide eyes. Heart monitors on your stomach, the loss of your center of balance? Wally was staring at your stomach too. His face white as a sheet.

“Shit, Bruce. Just let the cat out of the bag, huh?” Dick rushed to your side. He hesitated before taking your hand. “(Y/N), sweetheart. Don’t freak out. You’re fine, the baby’s fine.”

“Baby?” You looked at him, chest tightening. Breathing became a struggle. Every muscle in your body tensed, trembling. “No, no, no, no. I can’t...I don’t remember anything.” Your cheeks felt wet, tears escaping. 

Suddenly, you were in Dick’s arms with your head pressed against his chest. “Breathe with me, sweetheart. One breath at a time.” His calm heartbeat loud in your ear. You fought to slow down, trying to breathe in rhythm with him. Wally disappeared from your side. Your hand clutched at Dick’s shirt. He tightened his arms around you. “There you go. You’re doing such a good job, sweetheart. Nothing to freak out about. We’re taking care of it.” 

You buried your face into his chest, breathing in his scent. He smelled of sweat, cologne, and laundry detergent. Your abdomen tingled as if your body remember that scent. You found you liked it. 

“I’m heading out. Call me if there is an emergency,” Wally said. You looked up at him, eyes widening. Wally wouldn’t look at you and Dick, arms crossed. “I’ll let Mom know you’re okay.” With that, he zoomed off.

“But...” You blinked, your heart felt like it was ripped from your chest. “Why?” You looked at Dick. Dick smiled sadly at you.

He kissed your temple. “I’ll explain later.” Dick kept his arms around you as you sobbed. You buried your face into his chest, feeling so cold and alone. Your head ached as you tried to remember. How could you not remember getting pregnant or getting married? Why did Wally abandon you with these strangers that weren’t strangers, but were? Dick’s chin rested on the top of your head, not saying a word.

***

Dick stumbled out of medbay, exhausted and heartbroken. The bats screeched in the distance. The cool air in the cave made him shiver. You had cried yourself to sleep. Dick wished he could have comforted you, but he didn’t know how. What do you do when your wife doesn’t remember even meeting you? 

Bruce was at the computer, working away on the theory he had throw out in front of you. Dick’s hand clenched into a fist. It was bad enough you were recovering from the news that you forgotten three years of your life and your husband, but to find out you’re pregnant and that someone may have erased your memory. No wonder you broke down. 

Dick turned away from Bruce and headed up the stairs to the manor, needing distance. The absolute terror in your face when you looked at him in that coffee shop bathroom haunted him. He never wanted to see that expression on your face again.

Delicious smells came from the kitchen, drawing Dick toward it. His stomach growled. The last time he ate was that sandwich Alfred had brought him in the hospital. Dick ran his fingers through his hair. Was that a day ago? Time went by so fast after you woke up.

“Hey, Dick,” Tim said as Dick entered the kitchen. Alfred was over the stove, stirring a pot of what looked to be his special chicken noodle soup. Tim sat at the counter with a sandwich and a bowl of soup. 

“Hi, Timmy.” Dick collapsed into the stool next to Tim and took half of the sandwich from his plate. 

Tim watched him worriedly. “So how’s (Y/N)?”

Dick took a big bite of the sandwich. “Not great.” He mumbled with food in his mouth. Alfred turned to glare at Dick before going back to the stove. A jolt ran through Dick. Dick waited until he swallowed to continue. “She just cried herself to sleep in my arms. Bruce let slip that she’s pregnant, then Wally got all mad again and ran off.” Alfred poured another bowl of soup and set it in front of Dick. “I’m worried what the stress is doing to her and the baby.”

“This is why I suggested a calm discussion.” Alfred set a spoon next to Dick’s bowl. “Is she asleep?” 

“Yeah.” Dick finished his sandwich and started on the soup. His eyes caught the ring on his finger. The one you had specially made for him. His heart broke once again. 

“Well, I’ll prepare a tray and take it down. She needs to eat.” Alfred moved to grab a serving tray. 

Tim eyed Dick and Alfred. “So it’s true then?”

“What’s true?” Dick glanced at Tim, frowning at how pale he was. 

“(Y/N) doesn’t remember you or us or...anything?” Tim swallowed hard. The food in front of him forgotten. 

Dick took another spoonful of soup, pushing away the urge to cry. “No, she doesn’t.” He froze, noting the shifting shadow by the kitchen door. “Damian, come on out.”

“TT.” Damian stepped out and came over to sit beside Dick. Alfred raised an eyebrow and quickly served Damian a bowl of soup too. “Can I see her?”

“Let’s give Miss (Y/N) space for now.” Alfred picked up the serving tray. “I’ll bring this down to her.” He left the room.

The three ate in silence. Dick slipped into his own thoughts, your face flashing before his eyes again. He dropped his spoon and buried his face in his hands. “It’s probably not permanent,” Tim said, biting his lip. 

“Or it is.” Dick groaned, dropping his hands. “Do you know how it felt to see her so scared? She climbed out the hospital window and ran out into the street. Then she called Wally. Wally! They haven’t spoken in a year.” 

Tim laid a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Dick glanced at Tim. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything, Tim.” 

“No, but I’m sorry just the same.” Tim pulled away to play with his spoon. 

“TT.” Damian jumped off his stool and took his bowl to the sink. 

Dick watched him. “Damian, you okay?” It helped to focus on something else. He’d rather comfort his brother than deal with his own emotions at the moment. 

Damian spun and glared at him. “You are weak.” Dick and Tim flinched. Damian shook his head. “You are just giving up. If (Y/N) doesn’t remember you, then make her remember you.” 

“It’s not that simple, Dami.” Dick got to his feet and came to kneel in front of Damian. “This isn’t something you can just fix.” He rested his hands on Damian’s shoulders. 

“TT, then you take it one day at a time until (Y/N) remembers everything you had, everything we all had.” Damian jerked out of Dick’s grip and walked away. “Fool.”

Dick stayed on his knees. His body froze, shocked to his core. “So you’re saying I get (Y/N) to fall in love with me again?” He turned to look at Tim, who was nodding. “That’s not going to work. I don’t know how we did, it just happened.”

“You mean you don’t have any idea how you fell in love with (Y/N)? Come on, that’s not true.” Tim chuckled, getting to his feet and started to clean up the dishes. “You told me how you saw her from across the room and basically drew to her like a starving man to bread.”

“I didn’t say that.” Dick got to his feet and started to wash the dishes. Tim grabbed a towel to dry. 

“Yeah, you did. It might have been after your wedding night and you were half asleep, but you did.” Tim smirked. “(Y/N) said you drank too much, but then Jason made that crude comment and you whaled on him.” 

“Okay, I remember that. (Y/N) made me sleep on the couch until our honeymoon.” Dick felt a smile pulled at his lips. It felt wrong. Why should he be smiling when he lost the love of his life?

Tim laughed. “I didn’t know that part.” He dried a bowl and put it away. “I think if you help (Y/N) relive those moments, it might spark her memory.” Tim shrugged. “Unless Bruce’s theory is right.” 

Dick choked, dropping a dish into the sink. “I pray he’s not. Who would do such a thing?” He grabbed another dish towel to dry his hands, shaking. 

“Don’t think about that now.” Tim grabbed Dick’s arm. “Calm down.” 

“How can I be calm, Tim?! My wife doesn’t remember me at all!” Dick threw his hands up in the air. 

“Quiet.” Dick turned to see Cass staring at him, silently appearing like she always did. He should have heard her. Suddenly, her hand shot out and Dick fell limp to the ground.

“Cheap trick.” Dick mumbled, his cheek rested on the floor. HIs body paralyzed from the nerve strike. 

Tim knelt down next to Dick’s head. Dick felt Tim’s thin fingers checking his pulse. “Little much, Cass, don’t ya think?”

“He needed rest. No sleep for days. Sloppy.” Cass grabbed Dick’s arm and pulled him up. Tim grabbed Dick’s other arm and they drag him out of the kitchen.

Dick closed his eyes, letting the darkness of sleep take him. The last thing he remember was being flopped down onto a couch.  

***

You leaned against headrest, keeping your eyes on the city outside. “So we live in Gotham?” The car was clean and smelled like mint from the bat shaped car refresher. 

“Well, no.” Dick cleared his throat, keeping one hand on the wheel while rubbing the yellowing bruise on his neck. You asked him about it, he just said it was what he needed. Whatever that meant. “We live in one of the suburbs between Gotham and Bludhaven.” He glanced over at you somewhat nervously. “Bruce bought us a house for our wedding gift. Decked it out with everything, even added a secret tunnel that would take us straight into Gotham or Bludhaven in minutes.” 

“And Bruce is your adoptive father and Batman.” You frowned, playing with the sleeves of the sweatshirt you were wearing. Apparently, it was yours, but you don’t remember seeing it before. You sighed. It was a common occurrence nowadays. “Damian, Tim, Cass, and Jason are your siblings. Tim, Cass, and Jason are adopted while Damian is Bruce’s biological son.”

Dick nodded. A smile pulled at his lips. “Yeah, that’s right.” He glanced over at you. You met his eye. It sent a pleasant shiver down your spine. Over the last few days, you noticed you were feeling those shivers more and more. You played with your wedding ring, unable to take it off. It felt wrong to remove it.

“You’re Nightwing and I’m...” It was on the tip of your tongue. 

“Redwing. Red from the Flash and wing from me,” Dick said after several seconds of silence. “You didn’t go out too often. Mostly to help me out if I needed backup.”

“And we both run a trapeze and gymnastics school?” You folded your arms across your chest. Your heart glowed with joy at having your dream job of teaching gymnastics. 

Dick nodded. “And dance and boxing.” He looked back at the road. “We added those recently, wanting to reach out to more kids.” 

Your eyes fell to the ring on his finger. “Did I give you that ring?” 

“You did.” Dick’s hand left the wheel and was held out in front of you. You took it, feeling the calluses that were very similar to yours. The ring was a dark gray metal with no scratches or marks. “You had Superman make it out of some kind of Kryptonian metal, so it doesn’t wear or tear.”

Tracing the ring, you frowned. You tried to remember, pushing your brain until a headache blossomed in your temple. “I’m sorry.” You let go of his hand and turned away to look out the window. 

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Dick rested his hand on your knee. You tensed. Dick flinched his hand away. “Sorry.” He bit his lip. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re figuring this out. One day at a time.”

Tears filled your eyes. He had been saying that a lot over the last few days. One day at a time. Like that was supposed to help you get three years back. “Are Iris and Barry really gone?”

“Yes, I don’t understand it all myself.” He looked at you as if you were going to break into pieces. “Apparently, they got sent to the future. Wally’s the Flash now.”

“Wally married Linda and had two kids who I’ve haven’t seen in a year because Wally hates that we’re together.” You took a deep breath. “Mom remarried after Dad disappeared and now lives in Europe. She agrees with Wally. Not surprising. She always liked him more.” 

“That’s not true.” Dick drove down a street of very nice houses. Suddenly, he turned into a driveway of a beautiful huge white house. It was surrounded by trees, offering privacy from the neighbors. “Here we are.” 

Your jaw dropped. “This is the house?” You quickly got out of the car to get a better look at it. Dick followed you.

“You like it?” He came to your side.

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect something so...large.” You walked ahead to the front door and took out a key from under the mat. It didn’t occur to you until the key was in your hand that your body must have remembered the motion. You looked back at Dick to find him staring at you with hopeful eyes. A lump formed in your throat.

“Go on in, sweetheart. I’ll get the car in the garage.” Dick climbed back into the car and opened the garage door. You pushed open the door and walked into the quiet, dark house. A motion sensor light clicked on along with a soft alarm. Your heart stopped.

Dick suddenly ran in behind you. “Sorry, forgot about that.” He typed in a code into the box in the corner by the door. A sensor popped out and Dick widened his eyes for it to scan his retinas. “There you go.” He turned back to you and started to lean forward, but stopped when you backed away. His face fell. “Don’t worry. It’s just our security system.” With that, he went back out the door to the car. 

You watched him go. Blood rushed to your face when you realized you were looking at his butt. You covered your eyes, telling yourself that he was your husband and you probably could look at his butt. However, the embarrassment didn’t go away. It was a very nice ass though.

Slowly, you wandered through a beautifully decorated living room and dining room, stopping to study the pictures on the walls. There were a few of you as a child, along with you assumed were Dick’s childhood photos. You stopped at a picture of you and Wally as kids. Both of you were in swim suits with the blow up pool behind you. Wally’s arms were around you, both of you grinning as your mom snapped the picture.

Tears filled your eyes again, but you pushed them away. You had enough of crying for one day. 

You explored the rest of the ground floor, finding the kitchen, pantry, office and a bathroom. It was so beautiful that you felt out of place. This was something you always dreamed about. Your own home, a place where you always belonged. You went upstairs. Another bathroom and three bedrooms. Two were empty, one made up into a guest bedroom. At the end of the hall, there were double doors. You swallowed hard and opened them.

The master bedroom was decorated by you. That you recognized right away. It very close to the bedrooms you designed as a teen when you couldn’t sleep after gymnastic practice. You would cut out photos from home magazines and print out pictures from the internet to paste together a mock room design for your dream home. 

The bed looked so comfortable, you went over and laid down on it. It was as soft as you liked it. The comforter and sheets smooth on your skin. You stared up at the ceiling. Your dreams really came true, didn’t they? Maybe this was some form of karma. You got what you always wanted, but now you can’t remember the pieces that made it all happen.

“Hey, you found our room,” Dick said, coming in with the bags. You recognized one of the bags as the one you stole clothes from at the hospital. He set the bags on the armchair in the corner. “You picked everything out in here, I was just along for the ride.”

“So we’re both sleeping here?” You asked, stomach twisting with nerves. Dear god, it felt like you were about to have your wedding night with this man. 

Dick paused, smile faltering. “No, I’ll be in the guest room.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to rush things for you. It wouldn’t be healthy for you or the baby.”

Your hand went to your stomach. There was a slight bump, which you only noticed after you found out you were pregnant. Dick’s eyes watched your hand. “Right, sure.” You got up from the bed and wandered toward the door in the corner. It led to a master bathroom with a walk in shower and giant tub in the corner. “Bruce really went all out, huh?”

“Yeah, he did.” Dick followed you, leaning against the doorframe as you peeked into the shower. “You told him about the house you dreamed about as a child and he made it for you and me.” 

“I told him about it? But I never told anyone about it. Not even Wally.” You spun to look at Dick. That pleasant shiver went up your spine as he smiled at you. His eyes sparkling with what seemed to be love. 

“You told me on the night we met. It was after Wally and Linda’s engagement party. Everyone was passed out drunk or left. You and I stayed to clean while Wally took care of Linda. We got to talking and I offered to take you out for breakfast at three am.” Dick sighed. “We talked until seven am, telling each other everything.”

You blinked. “Everything?” Your eye caught the photo on the wall. It was of you and Dick standing in front of the Golden Gate bridge. The two of you gazed into each other’s eyes, foreheads pressed together. “Like this? Is this our honeymoon?”

“No, that was a trip we took the summer after we met.” Dick came to your side. He kept a safe distance between you and him. “We were keeping our relationship a secret. Linda and Wally’s wedding was a month later and we didn’t want to cause trouble.”

You hummed, noting how happy you were in the photo. “I wish I remembered.” Dick hesitated before gently reaching over to rub your shoulder. You forced yourself not to tense. His touch felt nice, warm.

“You will, but for now, I’ll remind you.” Dick smiled. His pain was almost hidden, but you could see it in his eyes. He took your hand. The contact alone made you want to cry. Dick tugged you. “Come on, let me show you the basement.”

“That’s not creepy at all.” You laughed halfheartedly, letting Dick lead you down the stairs to a part of a wall with a framed poster of the Flying Graysons on it. “Is it hidden for a reason?”

Dick winked at you. A jolt ran through your abdomen. “Remember that tunnel I told you about? Well, we don’t want that out in the open.” He touched the side of a frame and a fingerprint scanner popped out. “Always use your thumb.” He pressed his thumb and it dinged. The wall swung open revealing a staircase. “It scans you as you walk. If it doesn’t recognize you, the alarms go off and you’ll get sealed in the stairwell.” 

“So this is like the safe room then?” You went in first, scared but comforted by the fact Dick was right behind you. 

“Yeah, this would be the place to go if we have a situation like that. Of course, they’d have to try to get into the house first. I’ll show you how to lock down the house too.” Dick slipped around you once you reached the bottom of the stairs and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. The weight of his arm felt right.  “What do you think?”

It was a huge underground base with big computer on one side. Costume displays were build into the wall. Three motorcycles and one military looking car sat at the far end. You pulled away from Dick to look at the workout area. There was a lot of equipment, but the only thing you focused on was the uneven bars.

You broke into a run toward the uneven bars and glide kipped onto the lower bar before doing a flip to the high bar. “Careful,” Dick chuckled, leaning against one of the punching bags nearby. “Your balance is off because of the baby.” 

“Right.” You did a few backward giants before slipping into a few piked Stalders. A laugh escaped you. You couldn’t even begin to describe the joy you had. Your body ached for this. 

You did a tucked Jaeger release before flipping down the lower bar. It felt unsteady, but you quickly adjusted to your change in weight. You did a toe-on release back to the high bar. Gaining momentum with a few more backward giants, you did a layout Jaeger release. Your grip slipped slightly, but you held on with one hand. 

A scream slipped out when you tried to gain control. Suddenly, arms wrapped around your waist and you were pulled down from the bar. “It’s okay, I got you.” Dick pressed you against his chest until your feet were on the floor.

“I should have chalked first.” You bit your lip, face burning. Dick’s arms stayed around you. The walls felt like they were closing in. Reality sunk your stomach to the floor. Who were you if you couldn’t remember?

“You were amazing.” Dick started to lean forward, but froze when you pulled away from him. You avoided his gaze.

“Right.” Hot tears filled your eyes, out of your control. “I’m tired. I’ll go lay down for a while.” You walked away briskly, head down.

Dick sighed loudly behind you. “Okay, I’ll wake you for dinner.” You glanced back at him to give him a quick nod before disappearing up the stairs. 

***

“I don’t know what to do. She doesn’t get up from bed and only eats what I bring her.” Dick stood up from the kitchen table and poured himself another cup of coffee. “I thought coming home would help spark her memory or at the very least cheer her up, but she’s depressed.” 

Alfred hummed and sipped his tea. He settled back in his seat at the table in your kitchen. You were upstairs, still in bed despite it being two in the afternoon. “Well, that is not healthy.”

“No, it’s not. I’m scared for her and the baby.” Dick sank back into his seat. “I don’t know what to do, Alfred.”

“Have you tried talking to Mr. West again? Perhaps Miss (Y/N) needs someone familiar around?” Alfred crossed his arms, pursing his lips.

“Wally won’t answer my calls. I tried calling him, but he won’t pick up.” Dick ran a hand through his hair. “I called with her phone to see if he would pick up for (Y/N), but nothing. Her mother is not answering either, which isn’t a surprise. I debated calling Bart Allen or Jesse Chambers or even Jay Garrick, but I don’t know if it would be a comfort to her. She wasn’t very close to them.” 

“I swear that man and his mother are almost as stubborn as Master Bruce.” Alfred stood up and moved around the kitchen. “Did Miss (Y/N) have any cravings?”

Dick smiled halfheartedly as Alfred looked through the cabinets. “Well, not recently, but before everything, she was dying for pot stickers and refried beans. We had them every night for two weeks.” 

Alfred shook his head. “I suppose we can add a salad on the side.” He started to cook, gesturing for Dick to get out. “Now I need you to come up with a plan to get Miss (Y/N) out of bed. It’s best that we don’t have to force her out.”

“Right.” Dick sipped at his coffee and left the kitchen. He racked his brain. There had to be a way to get you out of bed on your own. He was a fool for expecting Alfred to come over and magically fix everything. Dick smiled. However, if he figured out a way to get you up, Alfred’s food would probably keep you up. It was going to be way better than the food Dick had made for you the last few days.

Dick wandered upstairs and stopped outside an empty bedroom. This was the room you planned for the baby. Nothing was in it yet. In fact, it wasn’t even painted. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Dick’s head. After all, you were still you, even if you didn’t remember the last three years. 

***

“Oops.” You jerked awake, sitting up in bed. Your eyes felt sticky, your body more tired than you ever felt before. The master bedroom was empty, but the doors to the rest of the house was open. “Damn, which color was it supposed to be again?”

It was Dick’s voice. You frowned. Curiosity tickled you. You felt the urge to get up and see what he was doing. Honestly, you were waiting for something to happen. Wallowing in self pity and sorrow only seemed worthwhile for so long.

You pulled back the covers and got to your feet. The pajamas you wore were a little tight around your stomach, the baby bump revealing itself. You still couldn’t believe you were pregnant and married. How do you forget something so important? It was like you were living someone else’s life.

“It couldn’t be black, could it?” Dick’s voice echoed down the hall. Your heart jolted. Why did you have a sense of dread? 

You went down the hall, not caring that you were walking around in pajamas and bed hair. Dick was in one of the empty bedrooms surrounded by boxes and paint cans. He was holding up paint sample cards to the wall, clearly deep in thought. “What are you doing?” you asked.

He flinched, dropping his sample cards. “(Y/N)? Oh, good. I was thinking of painting this bedroom. We were going to make this the baby’s room, but white walls are just so boring. I was trying find a color that matches those decorations.” He nodded to the boxes. 

You knelt down to look through the box, getting curiouser by the minute. Inside was a ton of baby decorations, all circus themed. “Wait, you were thinking black for the walls?” You looked up at him in disbelief. Your eye caught the black paint sample on the floor. “Black? For a baby’s room?”

“Yeah, it would really bring out the circus theme.” Dick’s eyes were wide with innocence. You swore you saw a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“No, that’s not happening.” You got to your feet and took the paint samples from him. “I mean what are you thinking?” 

“I don’t know. This is more your thing.” Dick shrugged as you tossed the black sample over your shoulder while keeping the others. You held them against the wall and glanced back at the decorations in the box. “I think we should go with this blue.” You handed him the right sample.

Dick grinned. “Yeah, I can see it now.” He came up behind you and held the paint sample to the wall. “I’ll go buy the paint.” You shivered, feeling his breath against your neck.

“Miss (Y/N), Master Dick, dinner is served.” Alfred appeared in the doorway. You crossed your arms.

“I’m not very hungry, Alfred. Sorry.” You moved away from Dick and toward the door.

“That’s too bad, because I made pot stickers, refried beans, and a green salad.” Alfred sighed and headed down the stairs. Your stomach growled. You found yourself following him.

“You did?” Wrapping your arms around yourself, you licked your lips. “When did you get here, Alfred?”

Alfred shrugged. “A few hours ago.” He disappeared around the corner. 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Dick came up behind you and wrapped his arm around your shoulders to lead you toward the kitchen. “We’ll finish the baby’s room later.” 

You frowned, glancing back at the room. Did you really marry a man who thought black was a good color to paint a room? No wonder most of the house was your designs. “I suppose I could eat. Since I’m up and all.” 

Dick hummed. You glanced at him, wondering once more what you saw in him. He was hot, you admitted to yourself, and kind. You pondered some more as you both joined Alfred for dinner.

***

With your stomach full and satisfied, you ended up in the baby’s room again. You offered to help with dishes, but Alfred refused your help, instead making Dick do them as Alfred had to head home to take care of Bruce. 

Kneeling down next to the box of decorations, you sorted through it. There was were pictures of circus animals, a worn stuffed elephant, a circus mobile, crib sheets with lion and lion tamers on them etc. You noticed a lack of clowns, but then remembered the Joker and thought it was for the best. 

“We have the crib, but it’s still in the box in the closet. Bruce and Alfred sent it over once we told them the news.” Dick’s voice made you flinch. You forced yourself to relax as he slowly made his way to sit down next to you on the floor. He kept a nice distance between you, sensing your unease.

“That was nice of them.” You bit your lip. Dick reached over to take the worn stuffed elephant, smirking at it. “That was yours, wasn’t it?”

Dick looked up at you in surprise. The hopefulness in his eyes panged your heart. You didn’t remember that, you just guessed. “Yeah, I grew up with Sikta. She’s named after one of the elephants we had in the circus.” He chuckled, glancing back at the stuffed elephant. “She used to tease me by spraying water on me when I was close by and I would sneak her peanuts.”

“Wow.” You felt a smile pull at your lips. “We didn’t have any pets when I was little. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let us and with Wally being a superhero. No one had the time I guess.” You shrugged, taking out a few classic children books. “These were mine.” You opened them to see your messy three year old handwriting inside. “I wrote my name in them because Wally always did it to his.”

“Is that your name? Wow, your handwriting has gotten much better.” Dick teased, leaning closer to look at the book with you. You got a whiff of his cologne, faded, but still there. 

His words gave you pause. “Did I take your name?” You looked at him, blinking when you found him only inches away from you. He turned, his lips almost brushing yours. 

“Yeah.” He swallowed hard. “You said your name sounded better as (Y/N) Grayson instead of (Y/N) West.” A blush came to his cheeks. “I was quite flattered.”

“Is that why Wally doesn’t approve?” You took a deep breath, breathing in his scent. It made your body relax. Your abdomen buzzed with excitement. 

“No.” Dick sighed. He paused before slowly wrapping an arm around your waist. You found you didn’t mind the touch. “I don’t know for sure to be honest. He hated that we were together and that we kept it a secret for so long. Wally always said that he worked hard to keep you from this life. I think he didn’t want you to be apart of the superhero life and by being with me, you joined it.” 

You pursed your lips. “Right, so I should be the one left out? It’s bad enough that I spend holidays alone with Mom and Dad when Wally ran off to save the world. At least with Aunt Iris, it was just me and her when Wally and Barry ran off. Less fighting and passive aggressive comments all the time.” 

“Do you want to try to call him?” Dick looked at you with those sparkling blue eyes. You found yourself awed by them. Hopefully, the baby would get his eyes. They were so much prettier than yours. 

“No.” You turned back to the books, picking up the Peter Pan book. Opening the cover, you smiled sadly when you saw Wally’s name crossed out and replaced with your own. Dick’s chin rested on your shoulder, looking with you. “I don’t think it will do any good.”

“You don’t know that.” Dick pressed a kiss to your shoulder. “But I’ll support whatever you want to do.” You felt him smile into you, feeling it through your pajamas. 

You felt yourself crack like the ground during an earthquake. Your emotions swelled to the surface.

“I’m sorry.” Tears welled up in your eyes uncontrollably. You turned away from him. “I’m sorry I don’t remember. I’m sorry I don’t know you like you know me.” A sob slipped out. It was unstoppable. You felt like there was no way to put a lid on your emotions. “It’s horrible to see the hope in your eyes, but the truth is, I don’t know if I’ll ever remember because nothing here triggers anything for me.” You glanced around the room. “I don’t remember buying this stuff, I don’t remember anything of the photos of us, or decorating this beautiful home.” You choked, wiping your tears with your sleeve. “It’s hopeless.”

Dick pulled you into his arms, letting you rest your head on his chest. “It’s not hopeless and you don’t need to be sorry. You can’t help it. I understand that.” He kissed the top of your head. You relaxed, soothed by his scent and warmth. Your body certainly remembered him, but why couldn’t the rest of you? “I love you, (Y/N). During our vows, I promised to be with you even after death parted us. We’ll work through this.” He chuckled softly. “If anything, we’ll just have to make new memories and stop focusing on remembering the old.”

You looked up at you, smiling at his goofy grin. “Did we really promise each other that in our wedding vows?” 

“We did.” Dick leaned down. His lips brushed softly against your cheeks, making your entire body light up in pleasure. “We’ll just have to get married over again, so you can have new memories.”

You blinked. “Do you really mean that?” His lips left you aching for more. He got to his feet and held out his hand. 

“Yeah, I do.” He winked at you. “Come on, let’s get out of here and watch a movie or something? Maybe we can discuss what kind of memories we want to make while we do it?” 

You nodded, starstruck. Now you could see how you fell in love with him. He was just so...charming. You took his warm hand and got to your feet. Hope was reborn inside you.

***

To say Dick felt great would have been an understatement. He was practically skipping through patrol. Many of the criminals he found were quite surprised by the happy Nightwing who wouldn’t stop smiling as he knock their lights out. 

He finished up patrol early and picked up a few things. Dick couldn’t believe he was so stupid. You needed to make new memories instead of him trying to force the old on you. Yes, it hurt him to know you didn’t remember the first time you met, the time he proposed, the wedding, you telling him you were pregnant... Dick swallowed hard, pushing his own feelings aside. He had to focus on you.

Dick took the tunnel home and quickly changed out of his suit. He showered quickly before the food he picked up could melt. Jogging up the stairs, Dick felt like he could do anything. 

The kitchen light was on. Dick frowned slightly, wondering if you were up. He knew he turned that off.

As he stepped inside, he froze when he saw a tall, masculine figure leaning inside the fridge. Dick carefully set the bag down on the floor and crept up behind the figure. He grabbed the figure by the back of their leather jacket and pulled them back out of the fridge. The figure grunted, elbowing Dick in the stomach. 

Dick groaned before using his strength and position to push the figure into a hold over the kitchen counter. “What the hell?” the figure said. “You greet all your visitors like this, Dickhead?” 

“Jason?” Dick blinked, feeling stupid for not recognizing the brown leather jacket that Jason always wore. He let his brother go. Jason groaned, stretching his arms. “What are you doing here?”

“I got back from four months in space yesterday, so I decided to stop by and get something to eat while on my way back to Gotham,” Jason said, glaring at Dick. “(Y/N) said I was always welcome. She even gave me a key.”

Dick sighed. He rolled his shoulders to try to relax. “Right.” He took the groceries out of the bag and slipped around Jason to put them away in the fridge. Jason licked his lips at the sight. “It’s not for you. Don’t touch them.” 

“Why not?” Jason snorted, opening a cabinet to take out a bag of chips. 

“Jay, did you get any news while you were away?” Dick closed the freezer and leaned against it with his arms crossed. “I’m assuming no, because you wouldn’t have sneaked in here if you did.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “I know you spawned. Tim sent me the announcement card.” He shrugged his shoulder, shoving a chip into his mouth. “Congrats, I guess,” he mumbled with his mouth full. 

Dick held back a wince. That felt so long ago. You were so excited to send out those announcements. “Something happened with (Y/N).” He swallowed hard when Jason suddenly froze, staring at Dick with wide eyes. “She’s fine, physically at least. The baby is too.” Dick held up his hands. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Jason finished chewing and swallowed before he spoke. “So what happened?” His eyes darkened. Dick almost smiled. He always found it funny how protective Jason became of you once you joined the family. Then again, everyone in the family felt the same way. 

“(Y/N) took a fall during patrol a few weeks ago.” The memory flashed before his eyes. He had to blink it away. “She was in a coma for about a week. When she finally woke up, she didn’t remember me.” He bit his lip, hating the horror dawning on Jason’s face. “She doesn’t remember anything from the last three years. The last thing she remembered was the day before Wally’s engagement party.”

“Shit.” The color drained out of Jason’s face. “I’m sorry. Geez, I could have scared her to death if she found me, huh?” He ran a hand through his hair at the same time Dick did. Dick noticed, but Jason didn’t. 

“It’s okay, you didn’t get the message.” Dick rested a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “If you want to crash on the couch, I can introduce you. She’s met the others again already.” 

“Why can’t I take the guest room?” Jason met Dick’s eye, having a ‘duh’ moment. “Oh, right. I suppose if she doesn’t remember you at all, you won’t just jump into bed together.”

Dick hummed, tensing when he heard a creak from the stairs. “So the couch is what I can offer you. We’re going to make up the other bedroom, but we haven’t got to that. I was going to set it up before...” 

Jason snorted, tilting his head. He heard you too.

Dick sighed before turning to meet you as you entered the kitchen. You took his breath away even with bedhead and those pajamas that were getting too small for your growing belly. “What’s going on?” you yawned, rubbing your eyes. You saw Jason and jumped at the stranger in your kitchen.

“Sweetheart.” Dick soothed, reaching out to take your hand. You relaxed slightly. “This is Jason, my brother.”

“Oh.” You laughed slightly. “Hi. Dick told me you’re the one who causes the most trouble.” You waved at him shyly. Dick could see the grief in Jason’s eyes once he realized you didn’t recognize him, but only knew of him. 

Jason quickly hid his feelings. “Nah, Dickhead is the troublemaker. Isn’t that why you’re knocked up?” He smirked when you seemed slightly taken back by the comment. 

You blushed, taking a step behind Dick to hide your pajamas. A somewhat awkward silence filled the room. Dick cleared his throat, squeezing your hand soothingly. “Can Jay stay the night on the couch?” he asked you. 

“Sure.” You bit your lip. “That would be fine. Sorry that the guest bedroom is already taken.” 

Jason shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ve been sleeping on a rock floor for the past week, so this will be luxury.” He shoved more chips in his mouth. 

“I’m going back to bed.” You slipped away. Dick turned, but you were gone as quickly as you came. 

“Wow, so you weren’t kidding. She doesn’t know us at all. Otherwise, she would have yelled at me for eating chips and insist I eat some leftovers or something.” Jason sighed, rolling up the chip bag and wiping his fingers on his jeans. 

Dick held his breath, listening to your footsteps as you moved around upstairs. “I have a plan though.”

Jason snorted, shaking his head. He grabbed a can of soda out of the fridge. “What? You’re going to hit her on the head again and see if it all comes back?” 

“No!” Dick punched Jason’s arm. Jason winced, rubbing his arm. “I thought I could trigger her memories with the house and photos, but it’s not working.” Dick bit his lip. “So I decided to make new memories with her. Tomorrow, I’m going to make her breakfast.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Right. Well, don’t mind me.” He waved a hand and brushed past Dick to go to the living room. Dick snorted, holding back a yawn of his own. He turned off the lights and headed upstairs to the lonely guest bedroom.

***

You stood in front of the full length mirror in the huge bathroom, studying yourself. Three years didn’t change much overall. Sure, your hair was different. Maybe your face thinned out a little, losing the bit of it’s childishness. 

You turned to the side. The baby bump was new. You remembered Dick said you were almost at the end of your fourth month. Running your hands over it, you smiled. Children had always been something you considered. Tears filled your eyes as you thought about finally having your own family.

Of course, you didn’t remember anything about your husband or the act of getting pregnant itself. You took a deep breath. “New memories,” you said to yourself. Dick was supportive of it and honestly you felt it was the only way to move forward.

The house was quiet for five in the morning. You had been awake since you heard Dick and Jason downstairs. Moping and sleeping for the past week left you full of an energy you weren’t sure what to do with.

After leaving Dick and Jason, you explore every single drawer and storage container in your bedroom. It was like shopping, discovering you still had amazing taste in clothes. Dick had nice clothes too. You blushed at the thought.

You rocked on your feet. Boredom was your problem now. 

With a sigh, you left the bathroom and collapsed onto the bed. You reached for your phone and started to look through your pictures again. There were a lot of selfies of you and Dick, a picture of an ultrasound, shots of Dick’s family doing silly things, and lots of kids and people you didn’t know. You guessed that they were people from your gymnastics school.

 But there was one person missing from your recent pictures. Wally.

Tears burned in your eyes. “New memories, but without my family.” A shaky breath slipped out of you as you opened your contacts and hovered your thumb over Wally’s name.

You remembered how Wally wouldn’t look you in the eye once he found out you were pregnant. How fast he ran out of the batcave, leaving you alone with people you didn’t know.

Your Wally wouldn’t do that. Never.

You hesitated, hovering your thumb over the call button. He probably wouldn’t be awake if he answered at all. You bit your lip.

Melancholy ate at your heart. You wanted to just see someone you knew. Uncle Barry, Aunt Iris, Wally. Even your mother or father would be great right now. 

Your stomach growled. A blush came to your cheeks. You sat up and looked at the double doors to the rest of the house. “It’s your house, you can go eat, you can do what you want,” you told yourself softly. Blueberry muffins with strawberry smoothies sounded good. Very good.

You stood up and went to the door. Taking a deep breath, you opened the door and stepped into the hallway to shuffle your way to the kitchen.

***

Dick woke to the smell of freshly made muffins and coffee. He opened his eyes and jerked up to his feet. “Crap.” He checked the clock only to find it to be seven in the morning. Blinking, he rubbed a hand over his face. Did he make the muffins already? Why would he be in bed though?

He grabbed a shirt from the foot of his bed and headed downstairs. Your laughter drifted from the kitchen along with Jason’s low chuckle. 

You and Jason were at the kitchen table with muffins and smoothies in front of you. Jason had a grin on his face. Dick’s heart stuttered when he saw a matching one on your lips. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw you  smile. A real smile.

“Hey, I was going to make you breakfast,” Dick said. He straightened his shoulders when your smile didn’t fall as you turned to look at him. “I picked up the fruit last night.”

“Sorry, I was hungry and up early. I saw the fruit and went with it.” You stood up. Dick’s eyes dropped to your bump. Still there. Slightly. He wished he could rest his hand on it, but he stopped himself. You might not be comfortable with that yet.

Jason glanced between Dick and you. He took a big bite of a muffin. You turned away. Dick raised an eyebrow at him. Jason just smiled while chewing.

“Close your mouth,” you said, patting Jason’s shoulder. Jason obeyed. Dick’s heart fluttered as he thought for a moment how it was like the old you. You took out another plate and glass. Dick took a seat across from Jason. 

“I was telling (Y/N) about my adventures in space,” Jason said once you sat back down and served Dick a muffin and a smoothie. 

You smiled, resting your chin in your hand. “I think you were on the part where you got drunk on alien beer and found yourself in bed with a three foot tentacle monster and a six breasted woman.” 

Dick choked on his smoothie. He coughed. You reached over to pat his back. Jason just laughed, leaning back in his seat.

“You what?!” Dick said after he recovered. Your hand stayed on his back. Dick met your eye as Jason told the story. His heart fluttered with hope, your touch warm and so familiar. He hoped this new memories idea worked. His heart couldn’t take it otherwise.

[nangel]

Paparazzi, part ten

✍︎ word count | 5378 words

✈︎ missing out parts? | series , part 1 , part2 , part 3 , part 4 , part 5 , part 6 , part 7 , part 8 , part 9

Sometimes things need to go wrong first before they can go right

As Olga and I said, we wouldn’t go home alone so it was no wonder that when I woke up, Jobas, the blonde guy was lying next to me. I smirked to myself because I enjoyed it. I was young and I actually lived my life. I turned to the side still covered in his bedsheet. He was still sleeping and I thought back. I clearly enjoyed the last night. Maybe I was into one night stands. I smirked again and sat up gathering my clothes together from the floor before putting them on again as quiet and quickly as possible. I walked out of the bedroom and saw Olga doing the same. “Escaping?” i asked her smirking and she nodded running a hand through her hair. “Let’s go” i said amused and we quickly got out of here. Outside we went for a smoke while walking. “So…how was Jobas doing?” she asked smirking and I loved. “Good…he knows what he is doing” i said amused. “Shit…you are into it” she said amused. “Yeah” i said laughing. “How was Mark?” i added smirking. “A dream” she said smirking. “I never thought we would end up like that” i said amused. “Yeah right…but I’m glad we did” she said nudging me which made me laugh. I saw the mail from Dior and my face immediately lit up. It was the perfect timing, I would go to the Dior meeting and at the same time we would visit an exhibition about arts, some students of the art university in Paris would show their works there and introduce them which me and Maureen wanted to visit. It was in four days so we had time.

Olga called the phase I had right now going-slutty even tho she was sleeping around more than me. I came back from a wild night and was pretty annoyed. “There she is…” Olga said relieved as I approached the cafe since they were already doing brunch. “Sorry girls” i said sitting down. “We were waiting for you! Where were you?” Annabelle asked patting the seat next to her. “I wanted you to go when I woke up but this fool caught me and made me drink three coffees with him” i said exhausted. “What?” Maureen asked laughing. “Yeah…he woke up somehow and then saw me as I wanted to leave” i said annoyed and they laughed. “Shit happens, huh?” Olga asked laughing at me. “Yeah and now I know everything about his ex girlfriend and his cats” i said pretty triggered. Maureen laughed at me and I rolled my eyes. “What about Charles?” Annabelle asked. “What should be?” i asked confused. “After Thursday you told us nothing” she said. “Yeah we need gossip” Maureen said. “Well…he called me two times and I hung up after talking for like one minute…he called me in the last days but I don’t care” i said shrugging my shoulder. “I knew it” Maureen said and Annabelle nodded. “What?” Olga asked and I looked we looked at her confused. “And as always, no one tells me anything” she said taking a bite of her bacon-muffin. “Complicated” i said and she shrugged her shoulders. “I hope so…tomorrow we are going to Paris again” Maureen said and I nodded. “I hope this is gonna be fun” Olga said and I patted her shoulder. “You’ll get through it” i said softly and she rolled her eyes at me. I joined the brunch and started eating too before I would go to the gym.

I posted that in my story as soon as we were in the plane before taking off. I would meet Candice there too. I was watching Ratatouille while we flew since it wasn’t a long flight.

As we landed we immediately checked in in our hotel. “Merci” i said to the woman on the Reception as I took the card we got. We would only stay for today, tomorrow and Wednesday so everything was planned out into detail. Today me and Maureen would meet up with Candice, to get some model support. “What are you guys doing?” i asked as I put on my basic black high heels. “We don’t know yet” Annabelle said. “We’re gonna find something” she said smirking and we nodded before saying goodbye. As soon as we were outside of the hotel we called us a taxi to get to our appointment as soon as possible. “I’m kinda nervous” Maureen said. “Everything’s gonna go as planned” i said smiling and she nodded. “You are slowly turning into your mother” she said amused and I laughed. “My mom is the best” i said amused and she agreed.

We arrived at the restaurant and searched for Candice which wasn’t hard cause as soon as she walked out of the taxi on the other side of the street we noticed a lot of people running up to her which she ignored to walk to us in her blue jeans, the black leather crop top and her jacket. “How do they always know where celebrities are?” Maureen asked me and I just shrugged my shoulders watching Candice walk up to us. “I’m adored” Maureen said and I just nodded. “Hey girls…the traffic…” she said and we waved it off. “It’s great to finally meet you” she said and I held my hand out introducing myself which Maureen did too. “Let’s not waste more time…I’m starving” she said and we walked. “How do they always know where you are?” i asked Candice. “A good question…which I can’t really answer” she said laughing. We sat down and ordered drinks and food. “You two are doing a good job…the fashion industry is going to fight for you” she said as she took a sip of her water. “You think so?” i asked her and she nodded. “Oh yeah…I heard only good things but what would you expect…Well models are unique goods and they are always looking out for them…normally it takes much longer but you two have so much luck” she said and Maureen and I looked at each other. “ You could say so” i said. “If you’ve got your first walk for a brand the projects are running…” she said and we nodded. “They pay you good too” she said and I nodded. “Yeah we already got paid for the shooting” i said. “How much?” she asked. “500” Maureen said and Candice nodded. “Fair enough” she said as our lunch came. While she talked to us we couldn’t even take our eyes off her, we were clearly adored. She gave us a lot of tips snd advices which meant really much to us. She even told us how we carry ourselves the best.

After dinner we walked outside to get back home, Candice was next to us and as soon as we wrestled outside there were a lot of Paparazzi’s. “They are in Paris too?” i asked shocked. “They are everywhere” Maureen cursed and Candice got us well through it. They took a lot of pictures and while we tried to escape them it wasn’t even a good feeling but probably also because we weren’t prepared and never in such a situation. They followed us and when we said goodbye they just kept taking pictures. “It was so nice to meet you…we should stay in contact” Candice said hugging Maureen. “We will” Maureen said. You need to tell me tomorrow how it was” she said to me and I nodded as we hugged before separating. We immediately got into a taxi while Maureen was standing outside posing a last time for the photographers before I pulled her inside laughing. “Stop that” i said laughing. “I was feeling it” she said smirking and I laughed with her. We talked about the lunch with Candice and as I reapplied my lipstick I saw that two black cars were following us. “No fucking way” i said looking behind me. “Hm?” Maureen asked looking behind her too. “Are they…following us?” she asked. “I hope not” i said putting my lipstick and the pocket mirror back inside my black bag. “I’ll call Annabelle” she said as she called Annabelle to tell them about it. We paid the taxi driver as we reached the hotel before getting outside. The cars were gone but the photographers were right in front of us. They took a lot of pictures of us and wanted to talk to us but we immediately ran up to Annabelle and Olga that walked inside with us. Olga showed them her middle finger for fun.

In the evening we were going into a cinema which was fun and in no time there were already pictures and videos of us again. Since we were basically making our money with social media and ads we made a lot of content. And Olga and I were starting to think about our teenage wish. We wanted to do a podcast when we were thirteen and were seriously thinking about starting one. Maybe about girly things…everything that comes up to our mind. I was thinking about it while lying in bed next to Maureen. She was already sleeping tightly same as Olga and Annabelle. I couldn’t make out why my thought kept me up but I knew that it was not only about the podcast, it also was about Charles. I can’t say that I don’t care because I do. I thought that me and him were close especially after Paris. After all he came for me to Paris and we spent almost every day together and I couldn’t stop thinking about how he wrapped his arms around me, hugged me, took my hands. Even if it was just a feather-light touch it was special snd I missed it. I got out of bed and walked on the balcony leaning on the railing. One sentence that was repeating in my head was Sometimes thins need to go wrong first before they can go right. But at the same time I thought that He is just a man…if you lose one you get a new one, they’re not special you’re just attached. But maybe I wasn’t ready yet to give up. I couldn’t stop seeing him and Alexandra every time I closed my eyes. During the day I was disappointed but at night I was sad. I missed him, I really missed him and it was not like with other guys. As I looked down on the streets I thought about our first meeting, at the race track in Monaco. How our eyes locked and how that made me feel. I changed a lot in the time he came into my life. In the end I want him to be happy and if this was what it takes to get that I was ready to let go.

After the meeting with Dior I had a little shooting with some other models. The girls were really nice and I even met the blonde one from the race in Monaco again. We talked a lot and then she introduced her friend to me. Her name was Charlotte and I immediately recognised her. “Oh my god…you are Charlotte Sine right? You were Charles girlfriend for a long time” i said surprised. “Yeah but please call me Charlotte” she said smiling. “I’m Madeleine” i said smiling. Looks like you’re one of the new stars” she said smirking. “You can say so” i said chuckling “You must do a good job…you are really pretty by the way” she said smiling snd I chuckled. “Thank you, you too” i said and she smiled at me. When they put me into a new outfit I could see Charlotte scanning me as if she was searching for something inside me. They were doing my hair and she sat next to me on the table. “Hey…can I ask you something real quick?” she asked carefully but softly. “Of course” i said smiling at her. “I don’t want to come off as rude or something in that way but I just have to ask…” she said and I nodded. “Ask ahead” i said softly and with a smile. “Is that you?” she asked me as she showed me a picture that someone took and posted on tiktok, it was a picture if Charles walking through Paris with me only our backsides visible. I swallowed and looked at her. “Uhm” i started and she put a hand on my arm. “You can tell me” she said smiling and I nodded. “Yeah…it’s me but please don’t tell anyone” i said and she put her phone away. “I knew it” she said smiling and I didn’t know if it was good or bad. “Is that bad?” i asked a little embarrassed. “No…not at all…I just wanted to know” she said smiling. “Is it that obvious?” i asked her giving her a slight smile. “No…I just recognised you by your hair…but no one would see at first sight” she said amused. “Good…” i said still a little embarrassed. There is a lot going on about you two” she said amused. “Too much” i said almost in a whisper and she tilted her head. “Are you…a couple?” she asked confused. “No, no, we met at his race and then we had contact and met in Paris…well he came for me” i said while scrolling through my phone. “Wow…that’s super sweet” she said softly. “It was, true” i said quietly. “I was just thinking about his girlfriend” she started but I cut her off. “We’re not dating or something we didn’t even kiss…we just spent tome together” i said instantly and she smiled. “Hey…I don’t blame you for it…I never held you for that type of girl” she said with a sincere smile. “Really?” i asked smiling slightly. “Yeah…I think you’re quite the girly girl” she said snd I smiled. “I’m not a slut or something like that” i said snd she laughed. “I never thought that” she said and patted my shoulder. She was curious about me and Charles but I just swallowed hard. “You want to go for a coffee when you have break?” she asked softly and I nodded.

We got us some coffee and sat down somewhere quiet. “I promise I won’t tell a soul” she promised and I just nodded. “Well we were pretty close but we separated after Alexandra’s instagram story where they kissed like a love obsessed teenage couple and that was too much” i said honestly and she nodded. “I understand that” she said softly. “How was your relationship with Charles?” i asked her curious. “It was good…we were happy but it wasn’t always easy for us especially for me…he has two lives and you’re somewhere in between…One day we noticed that we were coming to an end because his career was really important to him and we separated and broke up” she said casually taking a sip of her coffee. “Oh…” i said listening to her. “Hey…just because it was like that back then it does not mean that it would be the same for you…it was a longer tine ago and I think he learnt and knows what is important to him” she said softly rubbing my shoulder. “I’m not gonna lie to you…he had a lot of girlfriends in his life but I have a good feeling with you…you’re not like the others and I think that you would be just the right to stay” she said smiling and I shook my head. “I mean it, I think that you’re gonna be the one taking him over” she said nudging my shoulder with hers.

After our conversation we finished our shooting and I took a taxi back to the hotel. Exhausted as I was I dropped into my bed. Why do I have to feel like this?” i screamed into the pillow. I took a long bath and washed my hair because of all styling today.

I couldn’t sleep again and was sitting on the balcony after stealing Olga’s cigarettes to smoke on the balcony. “I don’t think smoking on the balcony is allowed” Olga said amused leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms. “Since when are you such a wise-cracking?” i asked amused and she joined me taking a cigarette too. “That’s the second night…what’s going on?” she asked and I just sighed. “Okay then just us two and the cigarettes…I feel like fifteen again” she said smirking and I laughed.

We were walking to this art exhibition and Olga was already yawning next to me. “Come on…really now? Were didn’t even arrive” i said amused. “I really don’t give a fuck about this exhibition” she said and I rolled my eyes. “I will need a coffee before that too” Annabelle said and Maureen and I looked at each other searching for help. “Olga…I supported you by going with you to a lady gaga concert too back then so could you maybe support me here?” i asked her and she gave me a death stare. “Don’t put Lady Gaga in here” she said and I sighed. “Fine” she said giving up. “Just try to have fun or try to look like you’re having fun” Maureen said as we reached the building. We were already asking ourselves why there were so many people outside the building, most of them looked like fans. Maureen and I looked at each other suspicious as we noticed some photographers. “That’s weird” she said and I nodded. “Probably a celebrity walked in” Olga said annoyed and I shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah…I heard that some famous people are in Paris right now maybe they wanted to see the exhibition” Annabelle said casually. “Voluntarily?” Olga asked and Maureen groped the back of her neck which made me smirk. We walked there and as some people saw me and Maureen we were already taking pictures again. A girl wanted an autograph but I wasn’t prepared. “I don’t have a pen with me” i said and Olga handed me hers. “Thanks” i said to her as I signed her phone case or more the mirror on the phone case. Two autographs followed and some pictures were taken. We walked inside and actually spotted famous people but not many. Annabelle was standing next to me with a coffee taking a sip while me and Maureen looked around. There were a lot of paintings set up and we took a quick look at them.

I turned to my girls and they walked up to me. “There is something we need to tell you” Olga said and I nodded. “Tell me” i said. “Charles is here” Maureen said and my eyes widened. “You’re joking” i said and they shook their heads. “With Alexandra” Olga said and I rolled my eyes. “Such a cunt” i cursed and Annabelle rolled her eyes. The exhibition was starting and we sat down. We were sitting in the third row, Charles and Alexandra in the first. We had a perfect look at them. “That’s a nightmare” Annabelle said. “Ew” Olga said and I shook my head. “I think I’m gonna throw up” i said rolling my eyes. They were sitting next to each other, Alexandra had her head rested his shoulder which I did too. He just sat there. “He looks like he doesn’t want that” Annabelle said watching them. “Belle…you’re supposed to watch the exhibition not those two” i said and she rolled her eyes. “Forget it” she said snd Olga watched them too. I tried to focus on the exhibition which wasn’t hard. Another painting was introduced and they called Alexandra up which made her stand up and walk to the front. “What?” Olga asked confused. “Now it makes sense…Alexandra is studying art history here in Paris” i explained and Annabelle sighed surprised. “I am triggered” Olga said and we listened to her explaining her painting and telling us something about her. I was trying to focus while Olga and Annabelle gossiped about her finding all of this very funny. Maureen next to me tried to keep a serious expression while I could hear everything and was trying hard not to laugh. I covered my mouth with my hand before laughing into it quietly. “Stop it” Maureen said chuckling quietly nudging me with her elbow. “Sorry” i said as I looked down on the floor laughing into myself. Maureen couldn’t hold back and started to laugh too. Soon we were all laughing quietly. Olga imitated Alexandra and Annabelle laughed into her hand while I was laughing while looking down to the floor before seeing how Maureen was looking at something else trying to distract herself. Olga and I whispered things into each other’s ears. When she was finished we all focused again.

After the exhibition we were standing in a corner talking to some people. I laughed a looked around just to lock eyes with Charles. My heart stopped beating for a moment before I turned back to the conversation. They were going to look at the pictures. I told them I’d join later and just stood there in the corner watching my friends while sorting out some things. “Hey stranger” a familiar voice said next to me. I turned to the voice just to look at the familiar perfect face of Charles, his blue eyes, his brown hair which was curly but perfectly styled, and the slight beard he had and of course his male physique. “Hey” i said turning away instantly. “You can’t ignore me” he said and I nodded. “I can” i said casually. “I think we should talk” he said and I could feel his gaze on me which made me swallow hard. “There’s not much to say” i said annoyed. “Just a minute” he said and I looked at him. “I only need 20 seconds…you are here with your girlfriend acting up like a love obsessed teenage couple” i said turning away again. “True but I still want to explain it to you” he said and I laughed bitterly. “I don’t want an explanation” i said annoyed. “Give me a chance” he said and I laughed bitterly before walking away making my way to my friends and the people we met that where going with us. Maureen looked at me almost asking and I just shook my head and crossed my arms. Every time we looked at Charles he was with Alexandra. She was always close to him as if someone wanted to take him away from her. It made me roll my eyes and get annoyed. “Give me the cigs…” i said to Olga. “Here” she said handing them to me. I raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly walking out of the gallery. I wanted to save myself. I lit it up and took the first puff. I couldn’t stop thinking about him the last days and that didn’t change. I thought about what move I should do next but for the first time in my nineteen years I didn’t really have an answer neither I had a clue of what I should do. It must’ve been a sign that I received a text of Charles over Messages. “Even if you’re not talking to me…I won’t give up” I read the message out loud. I took it as a sign and dropped the cigarette after taking only one puff. *I walked to Maureen asking her for help. “Talk it out with him…” she ordered softly. “Things need to go right with you now…the wrong stage of things passed” she said snd I immediately knew what she meant. I texted Charles. “Meet me outside” sending it to him. He quickly got his phone out and read it before looking at me still standing next to Alexandra. From earlier I already knew that Alexandra knew about me and that she knew about me being here, maybe that’s why she acted the way she did. He looked at me and I walked outside grabbing my vest.

Charles pov

I read the message and looked over at her. Our eyes met and she walked off. I knew what I had to do and grabbed my jacket. Alexandra must’ve seen the message cause she immediately looked at me warning. “Really?” she asked me annoyed. “What?” i asked her putting my phone back into my pocket. She rolled her eyes at me. “I’m sorry, Alexandra but Madlen needs me” i said not really looking at her. “Oh wow…she snaps with her fingers and you are following her like a dog” she said pissed. “Sorry” i said walking away, I made my way outside to her as quick as possible. I saw her standing outside of the building in her vest, her eyes on the cars the passed by. “We need to talk” she said swallowing hard. “Good cause I want to explain everything to you” i said determined. “I’m all ears” she said not turning to me but I knew that she was listening. “I have a good explanation for this today…Alexandra’s artwork was published today with this exhibition and I needed to come with her…she forced me more to be honest because of the image…it’s always about the image” i explained to her keeping my eyes on her even tho she didn’t look at me one second. “And for the picture…it was about the image too but more about hers as you maybe noticed” i explained and she swallowed multiple times. “I don’t want to be with her anymore…she’s not good for me and I realised what I really want and that’s not a girl that only wants the fame and uses me for it” i said and she nodded. “Yeah…you are really stupid with your actions and realisations but that you had this insight is making you a little smarter” she said almost coldly. “True” i said a little hurt.

Madeleine pov

“I really expected more from you…did you even know how that made me feel?” i asked him still not looking at him. “I thought about it very often…” he said and I shook my head annoyed. “I was sad, angry and disappointed…I felt cheated…and yes maybe I sound dramatic but that’s your fault” i said swallowing hard. “I know that…and I am dearly sorry…I understand that you’re angry” he said and I shook my head. “I’m not angry, Charles…I am disappointed” i said not looking at him. For me it was harder to hear that a person was disappointed in me than hearing that someone was angry with me and I knew that it was the same for him. “I felt like the most stupid person on the world” i added. “I understand that” he said and I swallowed hard. “Just for the record…I meant everything I said…I’m still missing you but nothing happened the way I wanted it…and those days in Paris with you were the best I had in a long time and to be honest…I think that you are the best surprise destiny made me” he said and I could feel his eyes on me. I turned to him. “You are not like other girls” he added and I looked away again swallowing hard. “Charlotte said the same thing” i said quietly. “My ex-girlfriend, Charlotte?” he asked and I nodded. “I met her yesterday” i said in a whisper. “It’s the truth…and just so you know…knowing that you watch my races, that you learnt everything about Formula 1, that you make me smile with your smile and that you make me feel better even if my day is the worst it could be…makes me the proudest person alive I guess…” he confessed and I immediately looked at him. “Do you think that you didn’t make me the happiest girl in this world? The way you treated me…it was something I never had before and I can’t get over the fact that you listen to me…I could talk to you for hours and you still would listen…you never cut me off, you never told me I was too much, you just listened and then you also remembered things I told you…“ i said looking at him. He smiled at me and I shook my head. “Don’t come up with that smile now! I should’ve kept my hands off you because you have a girlfriend but I couldn’t and tho I don’t want to confess or accept it I felt jealous…not in the envy way but just jealous…Alexandra has you, she has you close everyday, she gets things I could only dream about” i said annoyed. “So you’re jealous” he said smirking and I rolled my eyes. “I am disappointed that you find that amusing…for you it may be just a game but for me it isn’t and I can’t stand having that jealousy” i said annoyed. “No, don’t see it like that” he said before adding “Every second with you is more precious than every year with Alexandra and to be honest…I just had a really big fight with her the last days and another one earlier” he said and I looked at him. “About me?” i asked and he nodded. “See…we wouldn’t have a chance whatever this is” i said crossing my arms. “Don’t be stupid after all you said that things need to go wrong first before they go right” he said coming closer. Of course he had to bring up that quote… “I didn’t only continue this thing with Alexandra because of the imagine…also because iI didn’t like seeing you with that one guy…you posted yourself on instagram lately” he said and I tilted my head. “Ah…so you’re jealous too” i said crossing my arms smirking at him. “I wouldn’t call it that” he said and I nodded smirking. “You are jealous” i said smirking. “Would you want that?” he asked confidently and I tilted my head. “It’s not really a proof but it shows that you mean what you said” i said softly. “Are we good?” he asked softly and I turned away before nodding. “Yeah…we’re good…i guess” i said and he grabbed me by my arm. “Come here” he said wrapping his arms around me to hug me. His chin was resting against my scalp.

“And Alexandra?” i asked after a while looking up at him. “Well she said that I’d follow you like a dog as soon as you snap with your fingers and it’s kinda true so…” he said smirking and I laughed. “Well and I’m here with my friends…” i said smiling. “I can go with you” he said smirking and I laughed. “Alexandra’s gonna be mad and there are some famous people in there so that wouldn’t help you” i said amused. He groaned. “Fine but I’ll stay close” he said smirking ruffling my hair and I slapped his hand away. “Sure, mister Leclerc” i said annoyed and we walked back inside. As soon as I was inside I got hugged with me standing there surprised. “Hey, Madeleine” Candice said excited while hugging me. “Candice?” i asked surprised. “Look who came to look after us” Maureen said smirking standing next to her. “Wow…what are you doing here?” i asked her smiling. “I’m not into art but I thought we could do something” she said and Olga nodded multiple times. “Yes please this here is sooo boring” she said and Candice agreed. “What are you saying, Maddy?” Maureen asked me. ”I think our work is done so I’m down” i said smiling. “Great” Candice said. “I’ll grab Annabelle real quick” i said and they nodded. “We’re gonna wait outside” Olga said and I walked to Annabelle. “Are you ready?” i asked her and she nodded. “Did you and Charles talk?” she asked and I just shook my head and smiled. “Why did I already know that” she said smirking before hugging me.

Next part

[muschiettistrashmouth]

The Haunting Of Your Lips - Hercule Poirot.

Author's note: Hello there! I'm finally here with the second part of this short story. If you still didn't read the part one, the link will be here.

Warnings: maybe possible spoilers for A Haunting in Venice. Also, my mother tongue isn't English so there'll be some errors probably.

Words: 472

Requested: Very.

Enjoy :)

Now, you weren't THAT scared. You were just... being cautious. That's whay you told yourself at least.

Sighing, you looked at anything, just so you wouldn't look at him. It's not that you don't want to do that, it's just that you think he's so handsome that it's difficult not to get frustrated or shy. It was bad enough that you liked this man for so long, now you were almost forced to stay with him in that room.

"Are you okay, my dear?" Poirot asked, his hand on your shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, I'm okay, Herc." You smiled at the sight of his flushed face, maybe the nickname did something to him.

"Good. That's good." He smiled, looking elsewhere. "I need to go to the bathroom again. If you'll excuse me."

"Go on."

Portfoglio, Poirot's friend and body guard, walked towards you, hands on his back, probably something he did a lot when he worked for the police.

"So..." He smirked.

"So...?" You arch your brow, confused.

"Is there something happening between you two?"

Look, you were good friend's with the man too, but he never asked anything that personal to you. It was... odd. To say the least.

"N-no?" Your voice cracked, damn it!

"I see."

"Why?"

"What are we talking about?" Poirot chose this very moment to appear and you didn't know if you were relieved or not.

"Oh, nothing." His friend smiled at him, patting him on the shoulder.

You rolled your eyes, but didn't say anything. Your body was tingling, it was weird, you've never felt anything like this before. A shiver went down your spine and suddenly you weren't in control of your own body anymore.

"SHE KILLED ME!" You yelled, but it wasn't your voice. It's like you were just a puppet, nothing more.

"Y/N?" Poirot looked at you, holding your shoulders to see what was wrong.

"She killed me. She killed me. She kILLED ME!"

Miss Olga ran towards your trembling body and hold her rosary in your face.

Whoever was inside your body, probably Rowena Drake's daughter, left with a screamming fit, you fell to the ground butt first. Poirot kneeled in front of you, holding tyour face with both hands.

"Are you okay?" He dried the tears that went down your face.

"No." You sobbed.

You were looking at each other like you were the only ones in the room, that's when you got closer to his face. His eyes were on yours, then on your lips and back nat your eyes. And it finally happened. Your lips touched and it felt like fireworks erupted inside your belly.

You don't know how long you kissed, it could be days, hours, minutes... You didn't care. You just wanted to be there with him.

You should really give flowers to the spirit that possessed you.

[sofasoap]

Christmas love

Summary: it's Christmas time. You and Gaz are expecting a baby, and your husband think this will be a great time to gather everyone for an early Christmas gathering, also for you to meet the ladies of 141 for first time.

Pairing: Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick x Reader

Part of the Miss Sunshine Universe.

Warning: mature rating. Talk of pregnancy.

Note: a very self-indulgent fic that has absolutely no plot to it. And a presents to my lovely moots. 😘

The OCs belongs to:

Myléne 'Petra' Scholten de Ridder, @eenochian

Olga 'Zhar' Samiolova, @nrdmssgs

Christine 'Riot' Vega, @gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot

You clutch the plate of freshly baked chocolate biscuit in your hand as you stare up at the three women standing in front of you in awe.

“Christmas gathering?”

“I thought it might be a good idea to get everyone together before the baby comes.” Kyle said as he assembled the baby cot. “I talked to your mum and dad. They are happy to host the early Christmas party at their farm before everyone breaks off. Ah there. Done.” Gaz dusts his hand as he finishes putting the last screw in, and holds out his hand to help you stand up, pulling you into his embrace.

“And there are new people I want you to meet as well. Our lovely new Dutch Medic, she’s quite excited to meet you since I told her about the baby news.” he kisses you in the temple as both of you look around, surveying the newly set up nursery. “And Nikolai has been bugging me about wanting to bring his new partner along. He's eager to show her off.”

Your eyes brighten up. “Is Simon bringing his new girlfriend too?” you asked excitedly.

Ever since your Ma heard “the poor man has no family left to celebrate the holiday with” she made sure Johnny always brought Simon back to the farm to join in on all the family holidays.

First time he arrives at the farm, Simon grumbles about how he wants to be alone for holidays,but as soon as your Ma greets him, his demeanour changes immediately.

“Ah, you must be Simon that my two little bampot kids talked about so much!! Welcome home!! ” she exclaimed, pulling Simon down to give him a big welcoming hug.

“”Ma!!”” Johnny and you groaned at the affectionate name calling from your own mother but stopped when the two of you saw Simon returning the hug, with tears streaming down his face, with Ma giving Simon a soft pat on his back.

“Sounds like it. Soap and I were pressuring him to introduce her to the family. Your Mum said she needs to approve his future daughter in law.” Gaz laughed.

So here you are, not quite sure how to start the conversation with the three elite soldiers, while the others have scattered off to mingle after all the initial greetings and quick catch up.

“Um….. Chocolate biscuits? Freshly out of the oven?” you offered timidly.

Petra.. Or she introduced herself as Mylène, took a step forward and grabbed a piece of biscuit off the plate.

“ Oh gosh …you don’t know how much I’ve been craving for these biscuits since Soap shared some with us last time..” She moaned as she took a big bite of it. “Oh these are even better, fresh....come on girls, grab one!”

Christine, who’s been very quiet, her eyes lit up and hesitantly reached for one. Her eyes fluttered close as she sighed.

“Good right? I told you.”

“I thought you were exaggerating. Olga. Come on. Try some.” Christine picked up another two, passed one more towards Olga. She hummed as a small smile appeared on her face, nibbling on the biscuit without saying a word.

You let out a small sigh, you were glad they liked the biscuits. You would be lying if you say you weren’t intimidated by three of them. You heard so much story about these amazing women from Kyle leading up to the party, with all the achievements on and off fields, you felt so… ordinary compared to them.

“Um, Coffee? Tea? Simon brewed the tea… so it should be good.” You offered, trying hard to come up with topics to break the ice. You huffled as you moved around the kitchen table trying to serve them the drinks with difficulty with your very pregnant stomach. The ladies all stood up immediately to help.

“Oh thank you.. sorry, it’s getting harder and harder for me to move around as this little pea pod grows..” you puffed out as you sat down on the chair that Olga had pulled out, insisted you to sit down while they help themselves with the refreshments.

“Oh talk about baby… Since Gaz mentioned the two of you were expecting, we all brought some gifts for you and the baby. ” Mylène clapped her hand, and waved to the other ladies to bring in the gifts from the living room.

Your eyes widen at the amount of gifts the ladies started to pile onto the table.

“That… this…” you gaped.

“All for your new family. Come on, open it up!” Mylène urged as she pointed towards the bags and boxes.

You reach for the four different colour bags first, all filled to the brim with different assortments clothes.

“ Each of the bags are clothe from age zero to two years old.” Mylène explained.

“Till two years old?!” you gasped as you took a peek into each of them. “That’s… that’s too much!”

“Nonsense. I know how fast the baby grows and the amount of clothes and stuff they go through. If you need any more things, don’t hesitate to contact me. Gaz got my number.” She reaches forward to give you a hug, reassuring you.

“And if you need anyone to babysit or a bodyguard for the baby, I can lend you my brother. Emiel will make sure no harm come to your baby if he were to look after them with his scary look.” She offered her brother’s service proudly.

“Uh, thank you??” You thanked her for her offer, trying to imagine the tall assassin with a baby carrier as you reached for the next lot of presents.

You open the second parcel, presents from Olga and Nikolai, and a very intricate Matryoshka doll and……helicopter and aeroplane plushie?

“Nik insisted on getting those.”Olga sighed. “ Saying something about.. The baby should know how her Dad and her Russian uncle’s friendship was strengthened.”

“It’s very important for them to know the story!!” Nikolai shouted from the other side of the room. Olga just rolled her eyes. You chuckled as you put it aside. “Thank you for your beautiful gifts. I was actually thinking what to put on the shelves in the nursery, these will be very fitting. Thank you. Oh! There's another little box..”as soon as you open the wooden box, a little ballerina pops up with a lullaby playing.

It’s a custom made musical box, you realised.

“Nikolai had it specially made for your little one. He originally wanted some rendition of heavy metal band music, I had to intervene and choose something more appropriate.” Olga covered her face with all the wild ideas her husband coming up with, embarrassed.

“Thank heaven you did. I think the lullaby might settle the baby down more than.. “ you laughed as you closed the lid again and leaned forward to give Olga a hug.

Finally you turned towards the blonde lady. Christine hands you two big square parcels, and wrangles her hand as you open up the wrapping paper.

You pulled out a few knitted baby clothes, hand knitted, simple but made with care. And a few warm knitted blankets too.

“You made these?” You inspect each of the clothes and design, noticing each of the onsies pairs with a blanket. A SET!. “Oh these teddy bear patterns on the blanket and the onsies.. ah! The sunflower pattern on these ones… and Stars… so cute!” You cooed.

Christine nodded her head hesitantly, “Soap mention you were going to spend the first few months after birth with the baby in Scotland, Considering how long the winter goes on for up here,I thought might be a good idea … “ she trailed off. Your smile widened and pulled her in for a hug, “ it’s a very thoughtful gift… Thank you. And to all of you as well.” You turned towards the other two, thanking them again.

“Soap couldn’t shut up about how much he is looking forward to his future niece and how much he is going to spoil her, while that husband of yours, every spare moment he’s got, he’s writing down plans for the nursery, ideas for future outings, and way of organising routines to give YOU the optimal resting time.” Mylène chuckled.

“Simon has been giving out ideas of how the team can help with babysitting duties to give you two new parents a bit of breather.” Christine added. “I don’t think he likes to admit it, but he really cares about you as a little sister.” She smiled.

“ You should see Nik.. he is already pressing me to design some sort of self defence lessons for the baby. “Olga shakes her head, exasperated at her husband’s antics.

“Three of us agree, we felt like we know you already, from all the stories we hear from the boys, the love they have for you, how well you treat them, you deserve all the kindness in the world.” Petra said.

You blinked your eyes few times, trying not to tear up from the touching words and gestures. You were still in awe how generous the ladies are with all their gifts, and you never met them before. “I just want you all to know… all of you are always welcome here, anytime. The men are always like an extended family to us, and in term, all of you are welcome to the family too. “

And after this, it became a tradition for everyone to gather at the MacTavish farm at least once a year.

[woso-dreamzzz]

In Injured (Alexia's Version), how does Alexia react to Bambi's first performance?

She cries. Like full on ugly sobs.

Bambi's 16 when she gets picked up as an apprentice for Ballet de Barcelona and it's such an emotional moment to finally watch her daughter up on the stage as a professional.

Alexia's sitting between Olga and 12 year old Jaume. Olga really tries to soothe her and Jaume really awkwardly has to pat her on the back.

[outsideratheart]

148 with athenea del Castillo

148 - “I really want to kiss you right now.” “Then do it.”

When you hear her scream your heart stops. From your side of the pitch the tackle didn’t look that bad but when you see Olga run to Athenea’s side frantically calling for the medic you know that it is serious.

Not wanting to overstep and possibly out your relationship with the Real Madrid forward you go straight for the player who tackled her.

“Don’t even think about it” Irene grabs your wrist pulling you away.

Whilst the team might not know that you and Athenea are dating, they do know that you are close having come up through the youth teams together.

You shrug your captain off.

“She is asking for you”

You stop in your tracks, choosing against possibly getting a yellow card in favor of being by Athenea’s side.

Kneeling down you see the paleness of her face, she must be in a lot of pain.

“How bad is it?” her words are quiet almost like she didn’t want you to hear her.

Looking down at her ankle you see that it is clearly broken.

“By that face I will say very bad” Athenea covers her face with her arm.

You are about to speak when you see the medics calling for a stretcher.

“They are asking for a stretcher. I won’t leave your side” it was a promise, one that Jorge would make sure you break.

Once Athenea is on the stretcher you walk with them to the sidelines and into the locker room.

“Y/L/N what are you doing!””

“I’m going with her”

“No you’re not. We have a game to win and I’m going to need you to play her position” Jorge demands.

At this point Athenea is already half way down the tunnel.

“We will go with her” multiple team mates offer to go with Athenea to the hospital saying that they will text you with updates.

Knowing that you are fighting a losing battle you go back onto the pitch. The clock is running down but you cannot stop thinking about your girlfriend. Then Alexia plays you a through ball and you have an idea. You have a chance to score, winning the match and you had the opportunity to leave the game as you already had a yellow card due to talking back to the ref in the first half.

You slot the ball in the bottom left corner making it 3-1 then instead of your traditional point the badge then the fans celebration you opt to take your shirt off before throwing it into the crowd.

“You little shit” Mapi has a huge grin on her face when she realises what it meant.

“Maps, she just scored be nice” Patri says.

As hoped, the referee comes over to you raising her yellow card then she goes into her pocket to get the red.

“I did my job now do yours. Jorge won’t let me hear the end of it if we lose” you tell Mapi and Irene before running off the pitch.

“Y/L/N that was unacceptable, you—“

“Sorry coach I have to leave the the pitch, just following the rules”

You don’t wait for the rest of the team even though the game will be ending soon nor do you bother changing into something less sweaty.

You sprint through the hospital in search for your girlfriend.

“Let me guess you are here to see Athenea del Castillo?” A nurse asks.

For a minute you are confused, how would she know. Then you see her look you up and down.

“The kit gives it away, huh?”

“She is in room 143”

You thank the nurse and make your way to Athenea.

There are multiple people in her room, some players, the team medic, a member of the coaching staff. In fear of overwhelming her you watch from the doorway. Her ankle is wrapped up and although she is laughing with your friends, her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“You were quick” Misa says. Her words bring all attention to you.

“I may or may not have got a red card. Jorge is pissed but he’ll get over it”

You recognise the disapproving look in Athenea’s eyes but it was worth it so you send her a playful wink.

“Come here” Athenea pats the side of the bed and the other players move out of the way, giving you access.

“Baby” you whispered “you scared me out there”

“I’m going to be ok though. I’m just going to be on the sidelines for a few months” her voice is begging for reassurance but you don’t know what to say.

“I really want to kiss you right now.” You lean forward so only she can hear you.

“Then do it.”

You shake your head. You had an audience, now wasn’t the time.

Athenea responds by nodding her head, letting you know she is ok with it.

She proves it when she initiates the kiss and your worries vanish when you feel her lips against your own. You hope that the passion shared between the two of you is enough to show Athenea that everything will be ok.

[nrdmssgs]

Darker matters (part 2)

Masterlist Previous part Next part

Angst Pairing: Nikolai x Olga 'Zhar' Samoilova Summary: Gathering strength, losing something much more important. Warnings: Swearing, inaccurate description of military operations. Author's note: This is a sequel to A heart full of pity. Thanks: My eternal muses: @homicidal-slvt, @sofasoap and @gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot. And a very special thanks to @pale-elysium for the unbelievably beautiful things and words shared. Thank you for your kind help with German part of the story. I owe you so much.

“Zhar, you have thirty more minutes before that blizzard reaches your position. Over.” Leaning over the radio transmitter, Iskra nervously taps an intricate rhythm with her knuckles on the table. She regrets succumbing to Zhars persuasions.

Of course, ‘want to make Nikolai happy - make this woman happy’ rule still applied to their work, but this time they are risking losing the second in command in a snow-storm, that approached her. This for sure wouldn't make Nik happy. So the only hope, Iskra has, is that Zhar turns back to the transport right now, and their commander never finds out, what happened on this mission. 

“Iskorka*, don't worry. I was born here - a little snow won't do any hurt. I need just a bit more time to tag our targets and then ill wait till the blizzard calms down in an old depot. Now how about I do my job, and you keep Nikolai occupied and away? Over.” Even through comms, Iskra feels a sweet smile, that always accompanies Zhars cooing tone.

“You stubborn ass, this was my job, and you somehow sold me this stupid idea of passing it on to you.” This Iskra mutters just to herself, taking out a cigarette and patting her pockets in search of a lighter. Not only, she is stuck in this half-dead city in the far north of Russia in November, when -25 C is considered surprisingly warm - she may just witness a slow and painful death of her superior and can do absolutely nothing about that. Iskra is pissed - she already promised herself to never give in to Olga’s persuasion again, but that's not enough to calm her down. She needs just a few inhales of cigarette smoke, to not shout back at Zhar.

A lighter clicks right before her face. Iskra knows, to whom does this one belong, but she still lifts her gaze and immediately regrets it. He was supposed to be on the other side of the continent, but some animalistic instinct led him right here, to an apartment converted into the far north Chimera operations hqs.

Before she even opens her mouth, the man asks to make room in front of the radio with a silent gesture. Iskra looks back with an unspoken regret, but he is relentless. So she takes off her headphones and hands them to him, giving up her chair.

Zhar can't let herself turn back now, when she's almost done. Her mind begs her to give up and run, before a thick gray wall of snow descends on conserved weaponry, cuts off ways back to Iskra and erases Zhars footprints in mere minutes. Her body is already giving up, as she feels her breath shaking and the world around her starts spinning. But to abort this operation now would mean to return to point zero, erasing both strategic and personal progress, she reached. Seeing blizzard, coming after her from far horizon line, she lets herself only one moment of rest, closing her eyes and blindly checking her equipment. And then a familiar voice pulls Zhar out of her cold oblivion.

“You are turning back right now. It's either you coming back on your own, or I'm dragging you out of there. Chose wisely, nebo moye*. By the way, you were born near Moscow, not in Norilsk*, so stop telling nonsense to your colleagues. Out.” Zhar curses under her breath and heads back to the transport. 

When she enters their improvised hq, it's full of people already. She maneuvers between unfamiliar faces, smiles at familiar ones, taking off the outer layers of her winter gear as she goes. In the depths of the apartment there is a dark doorway leading to a small bedroom. Judging by the way the others are slowly gathering at the opposite end of the apartment, Olga understands what awaits her there. 

She pauses on the threshold, takes a deep breath and steps into the darkness.

“Help me solve a riddle, will you?” A familiar voice: deep and husky. A voice, that can be so soft, yet now it's all cold and steel. “I send a group of trained soldiers to infiltrate an old military base and tag weapons stored there. I give them a commander, that would organize their work and manage every step of an operation. Because of extreme conditions, I specifically emphasize that the commander is still rehabilitating after an injury and must remain at headquarters. After I'm reassured, everything will be fine - I let them all go, kiss the woman I love goodbye and go on with my business. That's when I receive an invoice from our equipment supplier. And find out, we only have to pay for one set of winter equipment. Strangely, it's all your size. Any thoughts on how I had to interpret it?”

She is glad that Nikolai is standing behind her and does not see how her hands are shaking while she is trying to unbutton her jacket.

“I'm ok, Nik. I-”

“No, you are not!” The door slams shut. Nikolai doesn't want others to hear, what he's about to say. But most importantly - he doesn't want others to witness, how weak in every single sense she is right now. 

“Olga, you are the best ally, I could ever wish for. Your skills, loyalty, discipline, mindset - hell, I regret not hiring you sooner. But it all turns to nothing once you cross a border of this specific country. Here you are off the leash, fighting at war, that happens in your own head. Every single time, I leave you alone here - you believe, you have to do everything by yourself, even if it means putting yourself in danger. What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you try this hard to get yourself killed here?!”

She knows, Nikolai is not mad at her. Zhar heard his voice, when he was pissed. But this time he sounds concerned, even scared for her. And that convinces her to be honest to him.

“This place owes me a few people… But I promise, it's not about the country, it's about our team.”

Niks hands cover hers, as he presses himself to her back. “Our team? Nebo moye, they are perfectly capable soldiers. Iskra, Yegor, Taava - all trained professionals, and they are not currently undergoing heavy medication course.”

“I can't risk them here, Nik. They have families, they have loved ones to come back to.”

“And you don't?” He squeezes her tighter in his arms, despite her last words hurting him. Deep inside he awaited, mixing work and relationship together, shifting in so many new roles won't be easy for both of them. Being a Lieutenant in the TF is very different from being the second in command in a private military company. 

Zhar finally relaxes, leans her head back on his shoulder. “Prosti. Ya ne hotela… Ya prosto ne smogla ih otpravit`*”

“How about a deal, my treasure?” Nik turns around and sits on the edge of a dusty old bed. “You find a contractor: anyone, you'd like, complete freedom of choice, I won't interfere. I don't care if their tariff is ridiculously high - we get that soldier for you. Only one circumstance from me: this lucky guy or girl wouldn't be your friend, they will be your subordinate. There will be no missions, you are too afraid to send them on. Sounds good enough?”

What Zhar couldn't get used to is Nikolais unique way of leading any potential fight to a deal. Skipping the actual fighting, he was acting as if he already went through all the potential outcomes of it in his mind and ended up with a proposal, she wasn't able to turn down. 

Leaning on his shoulder, she slowly sank onto the bed next to him.

“Any soldier, I'd ask for?”

Nikolai half smiles, remembering something. “Well, any except for the 141. Price still bears a grudge against me for you…”

***

"Five murder charges, a treason, ban on visiting not one, not even four, but six countries... Is it a CV or a hire-a-crazy-boy-to-ruin-your-company bingo?" Nikolai chuckles, but it is obvious that he is not happy with her choice.

"You gave me the green light on whoever I want to hire..." As Nik waves potential recruits papers, pointing at the guy down in the hall, she catches the papers and pulls them out of his hand.

"I can work with that." She rises from the table and heads for the exit of their private room when Nikolai catches her arm and pulls her closer.

"I know. And that is yet another reason, I'm so in love."

It's not even a caress - just a warmth of his breath rolling down her neck. A promise of something yet to come, when she's back. Zhar could cover the marks, he left on her skin, mask his deep earthy scent with her perfume, but she could never leave him with a calm facade after he teased her that, obviously.

To her relief, their applicant was too engrossed in studying the menu to notice her from afar.

"Herr Krueger, schön, Sie kennenzulernen!*" The man rose his gaze on her and squinted displeasedly.

"Eigentlich ist mein Name Doss…*"

"Eigentlich ist dein Name Krueger. Jetzt hör auf mit dem Unsinn und lass uns zur Sache kommen.*"

***

They were spreading thin and Zhar didn't like it. Too many points of clash, and they're multiplying by every next minute. By this point, executing a withdrawal in one piece would be considered a positive outcome for the whole group.

Zhar touches Kruegers shoulder and points to a place, she's about to head in.

“Nikolai is still there? I'm coming with you then!” Kruegers inhuman hunger for a fight sometimes terrified Olga. But she never showed it. 

“You are staying here covering me, Sebastian. Then you take others back to the base. I'm bringing your boss back, no matter what.” Zhar tenses, her manner of speaking does not tolerate objections. It takes a lot of self-control to not show, how worried she is.

“Good hunting, commander.” Krueger takes a position, checks the route ahead and gestures her, that the path is clear for now. 

She moves with such a high speed that any other partner would not have enough time to cover her with fire. But she chose Sebastian over others for a reason: with his talents, this man is worth of an army. Bullets are flying right above her head, as she ducks and almost falls down a slippery spur. Sweat pours into Zhars eyes, the rifle pulled her to the ground, her legs gave way, but she never stopped. But Krueger was right: this was a hunt, and she wouldn't come back without Nik.

When she finally reaches a half-destroyed building where Nikolai is hiding - he meets her with an irritated look. 

“I'm here to extract you. If they want Chimera beheaded - they'll have to pass through me first.” Zhar answers on his unspoken question, checking if he is wounded. 

“Olga, that's exactly what they want: us both in one place. So be a good soldier for me, go back and lead our people away from this shithole now! And I promise you - this way they'll never behead us.” His words sting her like a slap in the face. What is there left for Chimera, if he stays, risking his life, not letting her fight side by side with him? What is there left for her?

“You know, what it costed me to get here? Nikolai, I didn't fight my way here just for you to turn me away!” She hisses, trying to take up his position and make him go instead of her. 

That's when a long whistle is heard in the sky and the far wall of the building trembles and folds like a house of cards, covering them with impenetrable clouds of dust. Zhar falls to the ground next to Nik. He covers her with his body, for a split second, his lips press against her cheek. He doesn't care about the dust or the streaks of sweat on her skin.

“Nichto ne dast mne takoi silu, kak uverennost`, chto ti v bezopasnosti. Proshu tebya, nebo.*” His voice, although husky from dust, is so calm, as if they're not in the middle of the battleground. 

“You!” Zhar stammers, coughs, but goes on. “You come back in one piece to me, you hear?”

“Always.” Nikolai releases her and pushes away softly.

She hates to leave him alone, fights and urge to turn back and protect him by any cost, but his words still echo in her mind, as she sneaks back from his position under dust cover. “Nothing could grant me as much strength as knowing, that you're safe.” Nikolai knows, how and when to press the right buttons, to make her do anything he wants. Even if it goes against her nature. So she clenches her jaw tightly and disappears in a thick forest, maneuvering between enemies, and remaining unseen. 

The shooting subsides long before Zhar catches up with the rest of the Chimera. This is a good sign - it means Nikolai did not try to become a hero and managed to hide from the enemy, double back, and now he must approach the safe point. Olga inspects their transport, counts people: a few are still missing.

She sends the first group, led by Krueger, away and sits on the ground, waiting for the others. A few minutes later, one soldier appears from the forest, then a second. Their equipment iss soaked to the skin, but they are not injured. Zhar inspects them, arranges transport for the second group, and handles other unforeseen circumstances. 

Iskra tries to catch her for a couple of times, but it's useless - Olga is too deep in a myriad of small tasks to break her concentration. When Iskra finally manages to catch her attention, she notices, that Olgas whole body shakes.

“Zhar, listen to me, please: we need to get away from here. You need to get away.” Iskra tries to steady her commander's trembling hands, but it doesn't help. 

“I-I-I… Fuck, I still need to gather one of our men. I h-have to…” This is no ordinary Zhars demeanor - it's something breaking deep inside her right now. And Iska gets it: her commander already understands very well, what have just happened. She is just reluctant to admit it. So Iskra does the only right thing.

“Zhar stop, look at me. It's not ‘one of our men’, it's Nikolai. And you are running around here not for ten, not even for thirty minutes - it's been an hour, since you came back. If he followed you - he'd be here much sooner. By this point, you must break radio silence to confirm-”

Olga doesn't let her end the phrase and roughly breaks out of Iskras hands. She heads straight to the radio-module and turns it on.

“All stations, this is Lima 5, how copy, over.”

The answers followed almost immediately. Soldier after soldier, voice after voice. Zhar was counting, drawing a little line on the ground over and over. Only one station didn't react.

“Yankee 7, this is Lima 5, how copy, over.”

No answer. Zhar felt, as if she was facing this silent void alone. She didn't feel Iskras hands, trying to pull her away from the radio. Didn't even hear, how her own voice betrayed her and broke into an ugly wheeze.

“Yankee 7, this is Lima 5, how copy, over.”

No answer.

Iskorka - a hypocoristic form of a noun ‘Iskra’, which means ‘a spark’ in Russian

nebo moye - my sky/heaven

Norilsk - one of the northernmost cities in Russia. The average winter temperature in Norilsk is much lower than the average winter temperature in e.g. Moscow

Prosti. Ya ne hotela… Ya prosto ne smogla ih otpravit`* - Im sorry, I didnt want to… I just couldn't send them there.

Herr Krueger, schön, Sie kennenzulernen! - Nice to meet you, mister Krueger.

Eigentlich ist mein Name Doss… - Actually my name is Doss...

Eigentlich ist dein Name Krueger. Jetzt hör auf mit dem Unsinn und lass uns zur Sache kommen. - Actually your name is Krueger. Now stop with the nonsense and let's get down to business.

Nichto ne dast mne takoi silu, kak uverennost`, chto ti v bezopasnosti. Proshu tebya, nebo. - Nothing could grant me as much strength as knowing, that you're safe. Please, my sky.

Next part

[evelynmlewis]

The Boy in the Castle Chapter 6

Previous

Chapter 6          

Two days.

For the rest of the day and that night, Ilya thought of nothing except Alexei and Olga, in the upstairs rooms. He slept fitfully.

           The next morning after breakfast Alexei came down again.

           “Have you seen your mother?” Ilya asked him.

           “No,” said Alexei.

           “Well, maybe tomorrow,” he said, trying to sound hopeful.

           The boy yawned. Then he came and huddled up on the ground near to Ilya, with his knees pulled up to his chest. His nose poked out over his arms. After a minute Ilya heard a sniff, and realized the child was crying.

He froze, not really sure how to react.

“There, there, now,” he said awkwardly, and gave him a tiny pat on the back. “What’s wrong?”

It was probably because the boy was missing his mother, he thought.

“I don’t want you to die,” sniffled Alexei.

“What!”

“I couldn’t sleep all night… I was too worried about you, and how they’re going to kill you when the General gets here.”

Ilya blanched; though he had avoided bringing up the possibility of danger to Alexei or his mother, it simply had not occurred to him that the boy might worry on his account. In fact, it was hard enough for him to imagine that anybody would worry on his account, but much less this boy whom he’d known for a few days at best.

           “Now, whatever makes you think that?”

           “Well you said they weren’t going to let you go, and… well…”

           Ilya cursed himself, but silently, on the inside. Of course, the boy wasn’t stupid.

           “Now see here. I’ll not have you suffer a bit on my behalf. I won’t have it. You have enough of your own problems to worry about. Just focus on staying hidden and communicating with your mother.”

           “But your problems are worse. I can come and go as I please and I get nice food every day. You’re all chained up down here… in the dark, and…” He sniffed.

           O Heaven. He really didn’t know. Neither of them was free, and Alexei was liable to be killed as soon as the General arrived as well, if Anatoliy ceased being able to hide him, or worse, turned him over. But he did not want to frighten the boy.

           “Now look here,” he said again, “I will just have to be brave, and so will you.”

           Alexei looked up. “I’m trying… Mother always tells me stories about brave heroes and princes, and what they would do when things happen. She always tells me to behave like them. But I don’t know what they would do right now, and, well, I can’t go to see Mother.”

He should say something. He knew that he had to say something. “Ah, yes. Brave heroes. Kings. Princes. Knights.” Ilya searched his mind.

           “They’re all so strong and tough, and big and tall; I don’t know how I could ever be like that.”

           Well, that makes two of us, then, thought Ilya, but he said, “That isn’t what makes a person brave.”

           “Isn’t it? I suppose that if a knight were in my position he would simply kill all of the bad men and get us all out of here,” said Alexei.

           “Your position?” Ilya coughed. “The position of being nine years old? I don’t think any of them could do any more than you’ve done.”

           “You think?”

           “Oh yes. Anyway,” said Ilya, “you’ve already done a lot.”

           “I have?”

           “Yes…” It was more honest than he’d intended. “Just by being you.”

           The boy didn’t say anything, but he sniffled a bit, and Ilya could swear that instead of crying, he was laughing.

           “Hm?” he asked, kindly, wanting to ruffle the boy’s hair but not sure that he should. “What’s so funny?”

           “Nothing.”

           Well, maybe crying after all.

           “Well, anyway, the point is that anyone can be brave. It isn’t about being big or strong, it is about doing the right thing, even if it is hard or if you are scared. Maybe little folks like you are even more brave than the rest of us because of that.”

           “Why are they doing this to us?” asked Alexei, unexpectedly. He turned his face to the side and looked Ilya directly in the eye. “Why are they fighting the war, I mean?”

           “Hmm.” He tilted his head back against the wall and tried to think about how to say it. “They are former nobles, like you, but… they were among the corrupt ones whom the old King sent into exile. They hated the King and wanted to overthrow him. That is why they killed him. And now they are trying to kill the new King, his son, too.”

           “Sir, why do they hate him?”

           “Because…” How did you explain it to a child? “They want to be in charge.”

“Why do they want to be in charge?”

“They think leadership is about something you get. Power. Privileges. But it’s not.”

           “What do you mean?” asked Alexei.

           “It’s about serving other people. A king has to think about other people before himself. And especially… well the normal people, like the late King did when he tossed out Vroek and the others. But let’s not get into the politics of it. Let’s just say that he has to do hard things when they need to be done.” Ah, what do I mean by talking like I understand these things? As if I would know anything about it.

As he spoke, Alexei listened, very quiet and sober.

           Why, thought Ilya, I am no more than a hypocrite.

           How could he impart some kind of courage that he did not even possess? Or give advice that he couldn’t even follow?

Next

[bettercostume]

ch 8 opener

i crave the dopamine hit that will make me finish this thing so here's the opening scene to the next chap of the wedding au.

CH 8: sea legs

Neymar wakes to his second alarm. He showers, shaves, lotions up in a cloud of steam. Snags his favorite hoodie and his phone, slumps at the kitchen table in the watery morning sunlight. The cook makes him soft boiled eggs and puts them in the same blue porcelain bowl every morning. He has his protein shake in a clouded mixer cup that he always forgets in the console of the car. He eats one and a half eggs, brushes his teeth in the downstairs bathroom, one headphone in and axe blasting, jiggling his leg, half-singing around his toothbrush. Spit and rinse and there's the cup in one hand, kiss on the cheek for Olga in her apron, the welcome of cool morning air, he's on his way.

The drive is quick, a bare three minutes on the highway and the rest on the flat, narrow roads around the piled-up corners of the city and their open-faced, blocky buildings in amber and taupe. The trees are skinny with fat, leafy heads; he stops carefully and turns his music down to make a left under a copse of them by a rack of boats. 

Pulling into the training center is a matter of gates and loose salutes to the guards, then a familiar double-pat of his pockets to make sure he got his keys before he jogs to the entrance, sunnies down. No photographer today for the socials, so he heads through the entrance and down the hall, past one of the many people whose jobs he can’t figure out, athletic-casual clothing and clipboards- Hey Matilde, he says, Hey Pauline, Hey Marko–and then it’s past the chirp ring ring of the offices, the long double doors that lead to racks and racks of boots and cones, the miscellaneous side halls populated with distant figures holding papers, cups,  music still going strong in his ears and feet impatient on the low-impact flooring, down through another set of doors and into the burst of morning noise that is the changing room. A cry from Dani, a clap on the back, Mathieu somber next to Ter Stegen but that’s just his face, Xavi walking with purpose towards Andres and Ivan, Rafinha with a kiss on the cheek and an overlapping buzz of competing rap from their headphones, Geri shouting over his bank of lockers to Marc and the intimate, furrowed-brow clutch of Munir and Sergi, bent over their phones, past them over the cracked tile there’s Luis, kitted out and staring into nothing, mate in hand, Jordi with his lips pursed tying one shoe, and then in the center of the far bench, gesturing for his turn to drink, sweatshirt half off and one tie pinched in his mouth, easy and open and alive and immediate, is Leo. 

[lightvsdark18]

Obey Me Nightbrigher 21-30

Followed Olga Gacha Phoenix's playthrough.

"I guess I'll try using my magic." Gets uncomfortable at Asmo's comment.

Looks unimpressed at Satan's question, then ducks for cover.

"Or the lid was just really stuck on."

Tenses up at the "live here with us."

"Good morning, what brings you two here?"

"I'm looking for Mr. Satan."

"Can you two not fight?"

Casts a water spell.

"What do you mean?" Was going to question him, but Satan spoke first.

Writes down, "Mr. Satan summoned a hellfire salamander and almost burn down the school if Solomon didn't show up and stop the tragedy."

"Mr. Asmodeus, please keep doing your work."

Luna writes down a note and walks towards the stairs just to slip on a rag and hurt herself. "There's no need-" Asmo convinces them to get on Beel's back.

"I twisted my ankle and he was carrying me inside."

"Orange jar, green lid, purple label."

"Thank you, Mr. Simeon."

Luna keeps that shit, (I'm not handing over good luck) but Mammon steals it.

She's confused on why he's acting like this. "That's my coin, please give it back, Mr. Mammon."

"Hey, what is with you today? Don't be so rude to your brother."

"If you're alright with me stabbing your hand."

Unimpressedly stares at him.

"How much time do we have?"

"Solomon, I don't know if I can make a pact with each brother in two months."

"Of course you can, you made a pact with Mammon in two days and the rest in two months."

"But I had Levi help me with Mammon, Mammon helped me with Levi's. Everyone else was from pure luck, luck I don't have anymore. Also, I had to wait a year to get Lucifer's pact, this seems impossible."

"Don't down play your accomplishments. I understand this will be difficult, but you have done the impossible before. I know you can achieve this task."

"Yes, I am. Where's Mr. Mammon?"

Still bitter about losing her coin. "Yes, you should go eat before we leave."

"It seems like it."

Greed? He was being greedy yesterday.

Knowledge is power.

"Father of demons?"

"I need to know more about this."

"Yes, I'm okay. Thank you. Are you okay?"

Stands in front of Levi.

Huffs. "Stay!"

Fuck.

"He's the Avatar of Greed, that's what happening. One of you, go get Mr. Lucifer. Maybe he can help." "I think we all should go get Lucifer! Let's run!"

(The conversation is a bit different from Luna saying he's the avatar of greed in the library.) Luna gets worried at the possibility of them all acting crazy like Mammon.

"Maybe."

(Lore!)

"Can you at least give it a try?"

Complains in her head.

Flicks his forehead. "I'm built different than normal humans, thank you very much."

Snatches Little D up. "I think you're being a bit overdramatic, it was no big deal."

"Or tried to."

"Um, hello."

"We're normally don't interact with other angels. We were trying to get some fresh air."

"No, I'm just spacing out."

Covers his mouth when "devil" is said.

"Why do you want to be under his wing so bad?" Are you allow to say badass in the Celestial Realm?

She chuckled at Little D's "I KNEW IT."

"Why don't you want to teach him? Beside him being signed to Michael."

"I'm Luna, and this is Little D."

You don't know the half of it.

Simeon, did you actually know this and still allowed your wings to be taken? This has to be true because I'm in the past, and in a dreamlike world. But...

Suspicious.

"Good job."

Pats him on the back.

"You will have time to learn to be kind." You have no idea.

"Good afternoon, how do you feel?"

"Not really, just surprised me."

"Actually, I travelled into your dream."

Looks away. "Only if you're mine as well."

Pats his head to tease him.

She looks to the side, her heart picking up at the chance being right in front of her. "Could we..." She looks towards him. "Make a pact?"

"I didn't really do anything."

Not listening to Lucifer's lesson, too busy doodling.

"Yes, I think it's your brothers who aren't."

Gets concerned immediately. Asmo was able to charm Lucifer? But it never worked before. Wait, I'm in the past, maybe Lucifer had to learn to resist his brother's charm. Which means this will be an issue.

"Or we're eating together as friends."

"Hey, I don't think you should use your powers on your brothers." "It's fine, Luna, just enjoy how fun this is."

Luna is running to tell Lucifer about this, and bumps into him. That was fast.

"I want to know how I ended up here with you guys."

"Who's the fast runner?"

Already pulling out her phone to text Lucifer.

Hides behind Lucifer.

Shit. "Okay." Books it out of the underground.

(I want to say his head, but I'll say his lap)

Grips his face. "Solomon, you remember what to Mammon happened with his greed? Well, the same thing is happening to Asmo. They need your help."

"Should we find Asmo?"

"I'm uncomfortable now."

Smacks him on the back of the head.

"Oh Asmo, deary ❤️" "... Really?" "I couldn't help it."

"Be careful."

"Mr. Barbatos, do we need to search for Mr. Asmodeus's Little D?"

"How so?"

"I have to wake Mr. Asmodeus."

"Are you sure the Little D would be here?"

"Why are you angry at Solomon, Mr. Barbatos?"

"Solomon, how could you..." "Luna, actually help me here."

"This is so fucked up."

"Um, no, I'm uncomfortable by this."

"Everyone has their darkness."

Solomon does the talking.

"Where's Mr. Asmodeus?"

Frowns at him. "Why do you want to beloved so much?"

"And if I say no?"

"Do you really need to be number one? Does everyone have to adore you when your family loves you?"

"But if you're not number one, the fact you're still loved and cared for by people who matter to you is what you should focus on."

What the fuck?

"Do you want to be saved?"

She looks down at Asmo, gathering all of her love for her brother in the original timeline and kiss his forehead.

"What happened?"

Crushes her in a bear hug as she feels her rips snapping.

She looks over at Solomon as he smiles and nods at her. "Could I tell you in a more private location?" "Ooh, a private location? Luna, I didn't know you were so-" "Don't get it twisted." Drags him off to his room.

"My talents?"

"I don't have a death wish." (But Lucy meowing is funny)

Luna shows off just a little bit, turning a pen into a rubber duck with sunglasses.

She got a normal ice cream flavor as possible.

(New background!)

He's an angry little guy, figured.

Crouches down and tickles his foot.

"Solomon! What did you do?!"

Flicks his forehead.

"You two are talking?"

"Why do I have to do all of the work while you just get to blow up a kitchen?"

Looks away out of Arachnophobia.

"What do you need?"

"Hello."

"Yeah, but don't rush it. Mr. Lucifer may have studied alone, but you can do better by taking your time."

"Even for a human?" Just trying to tease him.

Pokes his cheek.

"Guess it's time for me to enter his mind."

"I think we should focus on finding a way to wake him."

"Games?"

"I don't trust that treasure chest."

"Mr. Mammon, behave yourself. We need to continue on our mission."

"Excuse me, where can we find a weapon shop?"

"Where can we find the Dark Master?"

"Do you sell maps?"

Pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Can you stop looking for treasure? We're in Mr. Satan's mind, any treasure we find will be useless."

"Obviously."

"We're here to bring you home."

"I'll try."

"It's nothing."

"I didn't do anything, it was the brothers who saved the day."

"Good morning."

"It was your brothers who helped you, not me."

"There is, but I really haven't done anything to help you." "Um, a pact with you."

Hooks her finger with his.

Luna is visibly uncomfortable.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm concerned."

"Beside personal paperwork, not really."

"I wonder why only us."

"You could say that."

"I hope we don't have a war."

"Who's paying though?"

"Something not too fancy, but has good food."

Follows behind "Barbatos." I have a feeling we're in Beel's mind.

"Number 6?"

Picks up the Little D and lift it in the air, then yeets it across the room.

"Or I can kick you like a soccer ball." Cracks knuckles.

"I would like to see you try."

Maybe he is, Number 6 can't eat me if he's dead.

"I don't know."

"I trust you, beside it will taste better than Solomon's cooking."

"Looks pretty simple."

"What happened?"

"What are we going to do?"

"How is yelling stay going to wake them?" "I guess I'll give it a try. Stay!"

Covers her eyes.

"Beel going to eat Number 6 before I shielded my eyes."

"And that someone will be me soon." She's in on the joke.

Going home.

"Because I don't have anything to do after this."

I have a bad feeling.

Looking over at Mammon while holding back her laugher.

"It's Mr. Beelzebub's choice on what he wants to do. Why do I have to go through you just to ask him what he wants to do?"

So, I have to risk losing my chance going home because Belphie wants to be a bastard. Great.

"What is the Angel's Trial?"

"You're making it seem like I'm some kind of a liar."

"I guess."

"You're going to abandon His Highness in this difficult time?"

Glares at Solomon. "You know what my answer is."

"Sure."

"But eggs aren't suppose to grow bigger."

Places hands to chest from cuteness. "Luke, you're so precious."

"It's something private, but I promise it's nothing bad."

(The fuck?) Luna went through the whole day without lying and passed. Done.

"Yes."

Fuck.

[gainprincess]

"I filled out that 'marriage certificate' you put on my desk Tlaloc, please get it looked at and made official by the appropriate government employee this week."

U-Olga doesn't know what a marriage is, all she knows is that she is close to the goddess and that's enough to trust Tlaloc with her life-

"Understood, Madam President. With this certificate, we shall never be apart, and you shall always be mine. And I always yours, of course.~"

She leans in, placing a soft kiss on her beloved boss's flabby cheek, BBBBBUUURRRRRRRRPPPPPPing right in U-Olga's face (the two use that as PDA), standing back up with one hand on the certificate and the other patting her hungry stomach as she turns on a heel and waddles out.~