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five-rivers · 3 months

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One day Danny comes home to his parents having tea with clockwork

I rather liked this. Here's the AO3, and I might continue it later.

Oh, of course Clockwork didn't look like Clockwork. That is, he looked like himself, or else Danny wouldn't have recognized him, but he didn't look like a ghost, or else Danny was sure the scene wouldn't be nearly as peaceful - or unbelievable - as it was.

He blinked a few times. Hard. The scene didn't change. Clockwork - or Clockwork's human twin - was sitting at the kitchen table with Danny's parents. Sipping tea.

Danny hadn't even known they had tea in the house.

As Danny stared, Clockwork met Danny's eyes and winked. Neither Maddie nor Jack, who was enthusiastically describing their latest ghost capturing invention (something to do with a modified leaf blower), noticed. So. Clockwork. Not Clockwork's twin.

What was happening? What was happening right now? Why was Clockwork here? Had Danny screwed over the timeline somehow? And if he had, why wasn't Clockwork just grabbing future versions of Danny's enemies to assassinate him again? Why was he talking to Danny's parents? In a human disguise of all things?

Thinking about it made Danny's palms itch and his heart speed up, and he wasn't the best at being subtle when he was anxious.

"Uh, hi," he said, loudly, putting on just a touch of teenage lackadaisical spin, "who are you?"

"Oh, Danny!" said Maddie. "You're home early."

Danny winced. He got detention often enough that his parents usually didn't expect Danny home for another hour. The ghost fighting didn't help, either. Of course, the ghost fighting was why he got so many detentions. That and stuffing Dash's locker full of FentonWipe. And being associated with Sam. He had to admit that was also a significant contributor to his detention time.

What had he been thinking of again?

Rather, what had he been avoiding thinking of again?

Right. Clockwork. His parents. Tea. His future doom. The potential end of the world, as initiated by him, personally.

“Uh, yeah,” said Danny. “I guess I am. But…” He tried to gesture at Clockwork without pointing, which was rude enough that Maddie would comment.

“I was just describing our new Fenton Blow design to our new neighbor, Clark! Two new things at once! It’s like it’s double new!” Jack jumped up and picked up Clockwork’s chair so he could turn it to face Danny. Clockwork continued to calmly hold his tea throughout the motion.

“Neighbor?” squeaked Danny.

Something that had been constant at FentonWorks for as long as Danny could remember was that it didn’t have neighbors. The properties adjacent to FentonWorks weren’t empty, exactly, but people didn’t live there. One was a vacation rental that saw the most traffic during Halloween. The building on the other side was a community store where people in the area sold things they’d made. And the back lot was split between a haunted house attraction and a rare permanent Spirit Halloween store.

FentonWorks was maybe a bit of a tourist destination. But it wasn’t as if normal, sane people would live anywhere near FentonWorks.

Clockwork was neither normal nor sane. Obviously. Still, even he had to hesitate at being next to Danny’s parents.

What property had he bought, anyway? It wasn’t like there were a lot of options.

Danny would not be able to cope if he’d bought the haunted house.

Why was he here?

“Yes,” said Maddie, “he bought the place behind us. The costume store. We were talking about how he could make the costumes more accurate.”

Clockwork cleared his throat. “Assuming that I will continue to manage the franchise is somewhat premature, but your work is truly fascinating.”

Maddie smiled. “Oh, you’re a charmer.”

Jack laughed as well. “Almost as smooth as Vladdie used to be, huh?” He patted Clockwork on the shoulder. “Good times, good times! We’re going to have a lot of fun!”

Oh god, were they flirting? Danny was glad he didn’t have a much of a gag reflex since half-dying.

“If you aren’t going to be running the Spirit store, what are you going to do?”

“Previously, I owned and managed an antique store. Worthy Antiques.” A small smile playing around his lips, he took another sip of tea.

“From his name!” said Jack. “Clark Worth! Isn’t that clever?”

Danny knew he didn’t have any room to talk about pseudonyms, but that was… Wow. That was blatant. Of course, the whole thing was blatant. Still.

“Sell many clocks?” Danny asked, because he was an idiot and had some sort of death wish.

“A few,” said Clockwork. “People do seem to like antique clocks.”

“Why move to Amity Park?” asked Danny, taking a few steps over to the table so he could stand between Clockwork and his parents. Was the gesture futile? Yep. Was he doing it anyway? Yep.

“Issues with the local government. You seem to have it handled quite nicely here.”

“That’s true!” said Jack. “We’ve got the government in the bag down here!”

“Yes, we’ll have to show you what they did when they hit us with zoning complaints of all things,” said Maddie.

Danny was not hearing this. He wasn’t here. This was some kind of impossible fugue state. Or a hallucination. Or a dream. It could be Nocturne. It wasn’t like he was above using people’s fears, conscious or otherwise, to mess with them.

But, if he could put his parents being weird aside (a task difficult bordering on impossible), then what did Clockwork mean by local government? Walker? Pariah Dark? Could Danny even take Clockwork’s words as an analogy? He could just lie. It wasn’t as if ghosts were bound to be honest.

“It is time for me to go now, unfortunately. Thank you for the company and the excellent tea.”

“No problem!” said Jack. “We didn’t even know we had it!”

“Feel free to drop by any time, it was lovely to have you over,” said Maddie, reaching over to Clockwork’s hands.

“That’s very gracious of you. Allow me to extend the same invitation to you and your family,” said Clockwork. He stood up, raising the empty teacup towards Danny in a sort of toast before putting it back down. “It was wonderful to meet you as well, Daniel.”

“Yeah,” said Danny. Then, grudgingly, “You, too. I can show you out.”

“No need,” said Clockwork. “I know the way.” He gave them all a short, shallow bow, then left.

Danny looked at his parents.

“Wow! What a great guy!” said Jack, planting his hands on his hips. “Hope his business works out!”

“Twenty percent of new businesses fail in the first two years,” said Maddie.

“But he’s got experience,” argued Jack. “And, who knows, maybe we’ll be customers! Lots of haunted antiques out there, huh?”

“Yes… I wonder… Could we modify the Fenton Finder to determine what kinds of objects are most likely to be haunted…”

Before Danny could get sucked into whatever antique-related discussion his parents were about to have, he slipped away up the stairs. He needed backup for this. Lots of backup.

“I’m sorry,” said Sam over the phone. “Who?”

“Clockwork,” said Danny. “You know, the one who sent us into the messed up future where I was evil and you were dead.”

“His name was Clockwork?”

“Yeah? Did you– Did you not know that?”

“I’ve got him down in my book as Clockstopper,” added Jazz, helpfully.

“Isn’t that, like, a movie?” asked Tucker, fiddling with his PDA. “With a kid who can stop time?”

“It’s the watch that can stop time,” said Danny, distractedly. “Did I not tell you his name? I’m sure I told you his name.”

“Didn’t we lose half a day of time in there where we all died again?” asked Tucker. “I remember something about that.”

How did Danny tell them about that and not Clockwork’s name? Seriously. He had to get his priorities right. And figure out how not to break down and spill potentially traumatizing information whenever Sam and Tucker prodded him even a little.

(Was it a response to keeping a million secrets from everyone else? Probably. But lying had been invented for a reason. A million reasons. And one of them was not traumatizing your friends.)

He rubbed his face. “Okay, so, the guy’s name is Clockwork. Clockwork. Not Clockstopper. He’s the Master of Time. He actually helped me once, when Vlad gave you two ecto-acne. Well.” His expression pinched inward. “Sort of.”

“What do you mean, ‘sort of?’” asked Sam, leaning forward.

“He, uh. Kind of unpersoned me. Or let me unperson myself. I’m… Yeah. Okay. More the second one. But he sent me off to do it. I’m actually not clear on how he undid it… What?”

“You know,” said Tucker, who was now looking up from his PDA, “I didn’t really question it when you brought back the cure at the time, but I really should have, huh…”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to run through how you got unpersoned,” said Sam.

“What do you even mean by unpersoned?” said Jazz, concerned. “Like in 1984?”

“Uh,” said Danny. “I never read that. Does it involve time travel?”

“Danny…”

“He’s dodging the question,” said Tucker. “What did you do, Danny?”

Danny squirmed. “We’re talking about why he’s here.”

“A conversation that would be much improved by telling us about your past interactions with him,” said Jazz. She had produced a pen and notebook from somewhere.

“I barely interacted with him that time. We were only in the same room for, like, ten minutes, total. The part where I was the subject of a ‘would you murder baby Hitler’ question is much more relevant.”

“Actually, why didn’t Clockwork murder baby Hitler?” said Sam, somewhat indignant. “Actual baby Hitler. Not Danny.”

“He didn’t kill me, anyway, and future me wrecked the entire planet, as far as I could–”

“Wait, wait,” said Jazz. “I’m still writing this down.”

“You don’t need to write this down.”

“Don’t worry, I’m doing it in code. Basically unbreakable. Just a minute…” She licked her lips, then, slowly, sounding out the words, she said, “Time… master…”

“Clockwork. His name is Clockwork. Why are you like this?”

“I think it’s just how siblings are,” said Sam.

“You’re an only child,” Tucker pointed out. “What would you know?”

“I’ve watched my cousins. It’s basically the same.”

“That’s completely different,” said Tucker.

“Okay, okay,” said Danny. “I thought that maybe if Vlad had never become a half ghost, then he’d never have gotten ecto-acne, and he wouldn’t have wanted to give you guys ecto-acne. Or have even been able to. So I asked Clockwork to send me back to his accident and pushed him out of the way.”

“And then the butterfly effect meant that you were never born?” asked Sam. “Actually, no one born after that would have been the same as the people who were born after it in this world… Would they?”

Danny shrugged. “I didn’t really look into that, to be honest. I was kind of distracted by, uh. Dad having gotten hit instead. I didn’t really realize… Mom and Dad were like right behind him.”

Jazz looked up at him in horror.

“It didn’t actually happen,” said Danny. “Or, uh, it hasn’t’ve happened now?” What tense what he even supposed to use here?

“No, no, it isn’t that,” said Jazz. “It’s just that they had no lab safety even in college. It’s a miracle they’re still alive. But does that mean Dad was a half ghost?”

“Yeah.”

“And how did Mom take that?”

“Not sure, actually. They were kind of. Not married.” He waited for Jazz to flip out. She’d freaked badly enough when it just looked like they might get a divorce.

Instead, she just nodded. “That makes sense,” she said.

“It does?”

“Yeah, Dad’s socially awkward enough to begin with. If he was isolated the same way Vlad was when he was sick, there’s no way he’d be able to keep up a relationship. I don’t think they were even dating at that point.”

“Right, well, anyway, after I figured that out, I knew I had to undo it. A bunch of stuff happened, but I eventually got back to Clockwork and he reset it. So that’s it. Whole story. Can we get back on topic?”

“Pretty sure you're lying, but whatever,” said Sam. “But what do you expect us to do in this situation? It kind of feels like he could just wave his hands and… poof.”

“Yeah, he was definitely not trying in that fight,” added Tucker.

Way to be supportive, guys. Jeez. “I'm not going to fight him.”

“Good, if you were, I'd be asking Jazz to check you for a concussion.”

“I just want to know what he wants. Like, if he's here because I've screwed up the timeline again or what. But the guy talks in riddles - not literal riddles.” Danny just knew Jazz would start calling him Riddle Master or something if Danny didn't clear that up fast. “But he doesn't give straight answers.”

“At least we know he's not homophobic.”

“Tucker, that joke was only funny the first ten times.”

“It's always funny.”

Sam cleared her throat. “And is that something we can do something about?”

“Yeah. Sort of, anyway. It's just… I know what my life is like. I know what I’m like. If I go talk to him alone, I’ll miss something or say something stupid. But you guys actually pay attention to stuff. You think about things. I need you to come with me so I don’t say something sarcastic and wind up on a cross-time road trip to learn about the importance of customer service.”

“If we could stop you from saying dumb things, you’d have a lot less detentions,” said Sam.

“So you’re going to abandon me? Your best friend? To a ghost who’s beaten him up before?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. I didn’t say I wouldn’t go with you. I’m just pointing out that you’ll have to put in a little effort if you want us to be your time ghost lawyers or interpreters or whatever.”

“I will! That’s why I want you to come with me.”

“Well, I’ll come with you, at least,” said Jazz. “I want to know more about this Clockstopper.”

Danny squinted at him. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“I’ll come with you, too,” said Tucker. “But if we wind up on a customer service road trip, I will be blaming you.”

“Well, yeah,” said Danny. “That’s a given.”

“I can’t go tonight,” said Sam. “Family dinner. Tomorrow? Right after Danny gets out of detention?”

“You don’t know I’ll have detention tomorrow. I haven’t gotten one yet.”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” said Sam.

#danny phantom #ask #answer #prompt work #prompt

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kaleldobrev · 11 months

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Stupidest Person Alive

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Fem!Reader

Summary: After a near death experience in which you almost lost Dean, you tell him that you can’t risk losing him again.

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: Cursing (9x), Fluff, Soft!Dean, Parent!Dean

Authors Note: I refuse to accept the canon ending of Supernatural after all these years | If you liked this, don’t forget to like & reblog. I really appreciate it! Feedback is always welcome ♡

You don’t know the exact amount of time you’ve been sitting in this uncomfortable hospital chair, curled up, huddled underneath a random flannel of Dean’s that was in a duffel bag in the trunk of Baby. You rubbed your eyes, trying to get rid of the sleepiness; surprised that you even managed to get a wink of sleep.

The last few days have honestly been some of the worst days of your life, as you were told by doctor after doctor that Dean’s condition didn’t seem to be getting any better. It stayed the same, which was a good and bad thing. He was in and out of consciousness, barely awake long enough to have a conversation. His eyes would just flutter open and he would briefly look at you. And you would smile at him, and he would do the same. His lips always looking like he was about to say something but he never did as his eyes just shut again. Each and every time his eyes shut, a part of you hoped that it wouldn’t be the last time.

The last few days have given you a lot of time to reflect, reflect about your time as a hunter; thinking about all of the good you have done, but also thinking about all of the times you’ve nearly died or have actually died. In the words of Dorothy, “you’re not a real hunter unless you’ve come back from the dead.” And you, Sam, and Dean have come back from the dead more times than you could count at this point, but you’re pretty sure Dean had the highest death count.

“Not awake yet?” Sam asked, two Styrofoam cups of coffee in hand.

“No,” you answered as he handed you one of the cups, “Thanks.”

“I’m surprised you fell asleep,” he said, taking a spot in the chair next to yours.

“How long was I out for?” You asked, taking a sip from your coffee. You hated the taste of hospital coffee, but the caffeine it contained had to do for now.

“Only half an hour,” he stated.

“You get any?” He shook his head. “You really need to get at least a little rest. We’re no help to Dean tired.”

Sam couldn’t help but agree, but he had the same mind set as you; he wanted to be awake when Dean woke up. “I’ll sleep when I know he’s okay,” he said, stubborn as he usually was.

When Dean finally woke, he didn’t really know where he was. But all he knew was that the lights were too bright for him. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he squinted, trying to adjust. “Fuck these lights are bright,” he said weakly.

You almost had wanted to laugh, hearing Dean say these words. The man had been out for the last few days and the first thing he had to comment on was the fucking brightness of the lights. But if you were being honest, it was pretty on brand for him. “Hey Sleepy Head,” you said, getting up from the hospital chair.

“Hey there Sweetheart,” he smiled. “Sam with you?”

“Yeah, just talking to one of the doctors,” you said. You took his hand and held it in yours, and all Dean could do was just stare at your face, admiring it like he was just seeing you for the first time.

“How long was I out?” He asked. “My head and stomach are fucking killing me.”

"A few days," you replied. "To be fair, you've been on pain killers pretty much the whole time and not a lot of actual food in your stomach."

"When we get out of here, can we go get a couple of cheeseburgers?" He asked, grinning at you.

"Of course we can," you smiled.

"So, I really fucked my body up bad this time uh?" He asked, letting out a small chuckle.

“If you call nearly killing yourself fucking up your body than yes,” you said, no humor in your voice. He could tell that you were pissed. “You know Dean, I love you, but you’re honestly the stupidest fucking person alive.”

“Love you too Sweetheart,” he grinned.

“I’m serious. I thought I fucking lost you for good this time. Me and Sam…” you took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. There was no point in getting upset, no point in being mad at Dean. “We thought you were dead, dead this time.”

Dean looked at your face, hearing the sound of your voice, and it started to break his heart. He didn’t realize how much pain his actions had caused you and Sam over the course of the last few days. When he killed that vamp the way that he did, he wasn’t thinking about himself in that moment, wasn’t thinking about you or Sam. All he could think about was killing that vamp with the items that he had surrounding him. Being resourceful was one of his most useful and best qualities (at least he seemed to think so). “I’m sorry I scared you…and Sam.”

“It’s not your fault Dean I’m just…I was so fucking scared,” you felt yourself about to cry, but you didn’t want to tear up. “You and Sam are all I have left.”

“You’re not going to lose me,” he tried reassuring you, but he knew his words weren’t going to stick.

“But I almost did. And I can’t…I can’t have that again,” you said, your voice slightly shaking. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“Can’t do what?” He was afraid to ask, hoping this wasn’t you cutting and running. But he wouldn’t blame you if you did. You deserved a far better life than what he could give you. And despite him loving you, he wanted you to be happy, even if it wasn’t with him.

“Hunting.” A wave of relief washed over Dean. “We’ve died so many fucking times. More than, more than anyone. And, I know as hunters we save people, save people from all the monsters in the world but, I’m tired. I’m tired of the constant moving. The constant fighting. The constant looking over my shoulder.” Like the Winchesters, hunting was the only life you had ever known, but having a life away from the monsters and demons was something that you had dreamed of. And it was a dream that you had pictured doing with Dean; it was something the two of you often talked about.

“Okay,” was all Dean said to your speech. He agreed with all of it, and you knew that he did, as having a life away from hunting was something you two often talked about. But neither of you ever thought that it would be possible for you, as this was really the only life either of you really knew. “As soon as I get out of here, we’re done. And done for good this time.”

Five Years Later…

The aroma of your homemade chicken noodle soup filled the air as you did another few stirs in the pot on the stove. You heard the front door open and close, and you smiled, quickly wiping your hands on your kitchen towel. “Honey we’re home!” Dean yelled, his voice cheerful as always.

“Mommy, mommy, mommy!” Your daughter yelled, her voice equally as joyful as her fathers as she ran to meet you in the kitchen.

Her arms opened up wide as you went down on your knees to greet her at her level, the two of you embracing each other. “Hi baby,” you smiled, kissing her on the top of the head.

“Hold me?” She asked, giving similar looking puppy dog eyes to that of her Uncle Sam’s.

“Always,” you said, picking her up in your arms. “How did you do at the doctors?”

“I was very brave,” she answered. She pointed to a sparkly strawberry sticker on her shirt. “The doctor gave me this because I did a really good job,” she said and then looked over at Dean. “Right daddy?”

“Bravest kid there,” he smiled. “Doctor even told her she’s her favorite patient.”

“Favorite patient uh?” You smiled. “Now that’s really something,” you said, giving her another kiss on her temple.

“Mom, after dinner can you and daddy tell me some more of those spooky stories?” Your daughter asked. You smiled, and so did Dean. The spooky stories that she was referencing were all of the hunts that you and Dean had been on throughout the years, but it was something that you never straight out told her (not yet at least, the both of you wanted to keep her as naive as long as possible). You never used either of your names, or Sam’s, you always changed the names, but these were stories that she had grown to love, and always expected a new one every single time. Thankfully, but not too thankfully, you and Dean were always able to tell her something new as the two of you had decades worth of hunts between you.

“Of course, what do you wanna hear about today?” Dean asked.

Your daughter thought for a moment, putting her thinking cap on until a lightbulb in her little head appeared; the biggest grin on her face. “Ghosts!”

You and Dean exchanged looks, almost thankful that she picked an easy topic for todays story. “How would you like to hear about the Van Ness House?” You asked her.

“It sounds spooky already!” She beamed.

Five years you and Dean, along with Sam and Eileen have been living the domestic life, none of you have hunted for the last five years. In all honesty, you were surprised that you and Dean had managed not to hunt, as hunting was something that the two of you had only known. When Dean told you five years ago that he was done with hunting for good because you said you were done, there was a part of you that didn’t believe him, as the last time he said he was done he got roped back in (which meant you got roped back in), when the both of you found out that Sam had returned from the pit.

But these last five years have been life changing for the both of you, as not only did the two of you have a beautiful daughter together, but you were happily married in addition to that — two things that neither of you ever thought would happen nor would ever be possible.

Tag List: @roseblue373 @beansproutmafia @queenie32 @deanwanddamons @missy420-0 @jackles010378 @mrsjenniferwinchester @syrma-sensei @k-slla @justletmereadfanfic @deans-daydream If you'd like to be added to a tag list, let me know!

#dean winchester x you #dean winchester x reader #spn #supernatural #spn imagine #supernatural imagine #spn one shot #supernatural one shot #dean x you #dean x reader #reader insert #female reader

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long-live-astronerd-ghost-king · 2 years

Text

DP x PC prompt where Batclan ship “Pitch Pearl” or as they say, “We’ve connected the two dots”.

Batclan has been watching the Phantom and the Fentons, especially their son. They were able to find some information but for some environmental reason the tracking devices are working in Amity Park with such terrible sound interference...it is difficult for them to understand a word.

~~~~

Fenton kid's Audiotape: I hate..Phantom..threat..destroy.

Original: I hate that my parents think that Phantom is a threat and want to destroy me.

~~~~

Audiotape of the Phantom: cause me trouble..Danny Fenton’s..guns..pointed at my back.

Original : Why everyone wants to cause me trouble? I don’t have time for Danny Fenton’s homework with all those guns pointed at my back.

~~~~

Batclan arrives personally and is going to offer to rescue the ghost from the Fenton child. But. There is a problem.

They see the Phantom calling a Ghost Girl, very much like him, a daughter. The next day the girl flies to the son of the Ghosthunters without fear, calls him father and turns into a human girl. And the teenager hugs her.

Batman thinks their situation is similar to Lex and Superman but unlike them they both really love their "Conner".

~~~~

Tucker hears this reasoning from the tracking device he planted on the Batman’s cloak.

Danny: Good news. They want to help Phantom and don’t think he’s a bad guy. They also fail to understand that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom are the same person. Bad news.They think I, Fenton, am the villain. How can I dissuade them without revealing my identity?

Tucker: Well, you have a lair with weapons and instruments for diss and vivi in the basement.

Dani*feral half-ghost teen*: Say no more. I have an idea.

~~~~

The same evening, Batclan sees Tik Tok video from the Fenton lab.

*Miike Snow's Genghis Khan plays in the background*:

The Phantom is tied to the autopsy table and Bruce wants to ask the children to look away, but Dick stops him and says he knows the song, so they should see it.

The video has a happy ending. The heroes like it and they go home with a calm soul.

~~~~

An hour after there’s a comment from DashHereForSlash: Cool cosplay, guys! I’m happy that someone knows about this ship! The equipment looks so real! Where to send a donat for a kiss in the next video?

GhoticPlant: Glad you liked it! Here’s a link.

~~~~

Three hours later, the Red Huntress shoots a duet:

~I get a little bit Genghis Khan

Don't want you to get it on

With nobody else but me.~

Yes, they used Fenton Ghost Catcher and Tucker, Sam and Jazz played henchmen.

~~~~

Tucker sits at the table with Fenton and Phantom.

Tucker: So, Danny, what’s more important..self-esteem or easy money?

Double Dannouble: Money

Tucker: All right, here’s your $50. It’s all fair. But next time you need to use a little more touch. And we change the platform to post the videos.

Danny: Suspicious..And I want $100. Double job means double salary.

Jazz: Danny, no more videos! You’re 15!

Tucker*with printed photos of the kiss the next day*: Remember, don't let people manipulate you to do things you don’t want to do. But we’re doing it to better cover up a little dirty deadly secret, money’s just a bonus. And Danny is narcissistic enough to be happy that now Paulina has his pictures in frames.

Part 2

#dc x dp crossover #dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #red huntress #valerie gray #Danny Phantom #danny fenton #pitch pearl #Dash Baxter #dani phantom #dani fenton #danielle phantom #elle phantom #dp x dc prompt #batclan

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vln-vibes · 2 years

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The Good Ol’ Switcheroo

GUYS

I know there’s fics out there with switcheroo hijinks with Tim and Danny but imagine this---

Jazz and Babs

and

Danny and Tim

But like at the same time

So the Fentons are visiting Gotham, the reason why is a bit up in the air;

Jazz wants to visit the Gotham U campus, the Fentons have a meeting with W.E for a business deal (they’re sus about the whole ghost hunting thing but it doesn’t hurt to scope out what they’re capable of) or maybe they’re hunting down Batman because they’re sure he’s a ghost. Reader’s choice tbh.

Unfortunately Jazz sprained her ankle the week before while ghost hunting with Team Fenton. This also led to her parents coddling her and she just barely managed to convince them to still go on their trip as a way to get Danny a vacation. The only caveat; they force her on a wheelchair for the duration of the trip.

Spring forward to a random Thursday afternoon during their vacation; Danny and Jazz were dying of embarrassment (in his case re-dying) with their parents antics. They didn’t think Gothamites would blatantly stare at them all things considered but even they had their standards they guess.

Danny bought himself some sunglasses and a coffee while Jazz just put on her reading glasses and just tried to bury herself in her new Spoiler themed sweater.

Of course that’s when the chaos started.

It was just their luck that just as they finally got away from their parents that a rogue finally attacked; where there was a rogue the Batman wouldn’t be too far behind.

Danny’s plan was just to hide in a random alleyway or wait until the coast was clear to use his powers and fly them back to their hotel room and wait for everything to die (hah) back down. That’s not what ended up happening.

“There you guys are, c’mon time to suit up”

The duo are too stunned to do anything as they’re dragged off by this random rich guy (Bruce Wayne) and into a really expensive and familiar looking car (the Batmobile). The door folds open and Jazz’s wheelchair is fastened in seconds, Danny just kinda goes to sit next to her (can’t let his sister be kidnapped by herself).

There’s a guy sitting shotgun next to the original alley guy. He’s wearing a mask. Oh shit its Nightwing.

“Looks like Freeze is at it again, Uptown’s already halfway covered in ice. No time to waste Red Robin”

Red Robin? Like the food chain??

In those few seconds the Batmobile is speeding off, the alley guy is now the Batman and they’re passing a speeding RV going the other way. Cue that one Umbrella Academy meme but its Tim and Babs staring back at Danny and Jazz.

A compartment opens up revealing Red Robin’s suit with the cowl.

‘Why the hell not? It’s not like it’ll kill me’ is all Danny thinks while he puts on the outfit, ditching the cowl tho because it looks ugly and instead grabs one of ‘Robin’s’ extra masks that were next to it. He took a selfie and sent it to Sam and Tucker, one also featuring a Done looking Jazz.

“You got that RR?”

“Hn yeah sure”

It isn’t until halfway through their fight with Mr.Freeze, not even noticing how the usually chilly Tim doesn’t look the slightest bit cold, when they meet up with Black Bat that any of them are clued in to what happened.

“Not Red Robin. New brother?”

“What are you talking about Cass, he’s right there?”

Cue to Danny using Tim’s bo staff to propel himself and air kick Mr.Freeze’s helmet.

“Ice to meet you frosty!”

“Yeah no. Our parents may be nuts but we’re not open for adoption” Jazz quips from the comms, strangely not too different from the system Tucker uses when they out hunting for ghosts.

“Wait I thought you were just recovering from the cold!?”

“Twisted ankle actually. On your five!”

Meanwhile Jack and Maddie got a ecto signature at the other side of town. They spotted Danny and Jazz leaving the library, grabbed them (not noticing the yelling crowds running the other way).

They let the GAV fasten the kids in before speeding off to catch the ghost.

In his defense Tim was working on one hour of sleep in the last 48 hours and Bab’s lost her voice from her cold. In all the ensuing chaos Babs dropped her phone and Tim’s just ran out of juice.

They’d thought it was a Standard Wayne and Co Kidnapping until the duo in hazmat suits kept referring to them as Jazz and Dann-o. Hopefully not insane and trying to fake being a family. Hopefully

They take a turn into Crime Alley and the duo look at each other as they see the GPS head towards one of Red Hood’s places.

This would be good

#DP x DC #DC x DP #dp x dc crossover #Danny Phantom AU #Danny Phantom crossover #DC AU #DC Crossover #Barbara Gordon & Jasmine Fenton #Danny Fenton & Tim Drake #Accidental identity reveal #What do you mean we got the wrong kids???#Ooops these regular civies know how to fight???#Wait what do you mean he has black hair and blue eyes?!#Oh no

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yelena-bellova · 2 years

Text

Twenty Years Later: Joel Miller x F!Reader - Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: Dry Your Tears

Plot: Joel, Y/n, Henry, Sam and Ellie make their way out of the tunnel system, but Kansas City refuses to let them leave.

Word Count: 9.4k

Warnings: tlou ep.5 spoilers, implied s*ut, language, canon-typical violence, knives, blood, death, loss of a child, s*icide, (16+)

A/N: Oh, we’re really in it, y’all. This is the last chapter in which you get any sense of happiness, so hold it close to your heart. It all really goes to shit after this…

As always, and I really need people to read this, this series is 16+ and I will not be adding anyone to the taglist unless their age is listed in their bio. Gotta look out for younger eyes 👀

Good night, and good luck, my loves ❤️

———————

May 27th, 2003. Austin, Texas.

The referee’s whistle rang through the air, signaling the play was starting. Sarah had the ball, her team was one goal away from winning the season. If she nailed the shot, she’d bring them to victory.

Now, on his own, Joel was one of the loudest and proudest parents at the games. Adding in Tommy and Y/n had made them their own cheer section.

“Go, Sarah!” Y/n yelled.

“C’mon, babygirl,” Joel clapped, “C’mon.”

“Fuckin’ nail it,” Tommy cheered, earning a light knock to the chest from Y/n, “Frickin’ nail it!”

Sarah wasn’t listening to any of them, she was in the zone. She wound her leg back and kicked the ball, it flew through the air and straight through the goalie’s arms.

Y/n screamed and leapt into Joel’s arms, the whole crowd cheered wildly. Joel spun her around, this felt like a victory for all of them considering how much time they’d spent practicing with Sarah.

After celebrating with her team and taking their yearly photo, Sarah bounded over to her family.

Joel picked his daughter up, not caring if he was embarassing her. Sarah hugged him back.

“You were amazing,” he said, setting her back on the grass.

“You’re so freakin’ good, it hurts,” Y/n grinned, wrapping Sarah in her arms.

“Thanks,” the girl smiled up at Y/n.

Tommy high fived his niece, “Calls for a celebration.”

The four of them drove downtown to the ice cream shop. They parked themselves outside at a table in the shade. In celebration of Sarah’s impending graduation, her recent birthday and Y/n and Joel’s one year anniversary, they were driving down to the beach for a weekend.

“Okay,” Joel said in between bites, “I’ve got the confirmation for the hotel printed out.”

“I’m going to the store tomorrow to pick up the food,” Y/n raised her spoon.

Sarah hummed enthusiastically, swallowing her dessert quickly. “Can you pick me up when you do?”

“Yes,” Y/n nodded, “But you can’t run me into debt.”

“Can I come?” Tommy asked through a mouthful of ice cream.

“You will run me into debt,” Y/n replied with a smile.

Tommy reached into his wallet, theatrically handing Y/n a twenty dollar bill. “Beer money,” he clarified.

“Thank you,” Y/n replied, stuffing the money into her jean pocket, “What time are we leaving on Thursday?”

“I figure 9,” Joel answered, “Try and beat the traffic.”

Practical as he was, Joel was also plain excited. This was the first family vacation Y/n was joining them for.

“We’re leavin’ on a Thursday mornin’,” Tommy interjected, “There’s not gonna be any traffic.”

Joel peeked across the table to Y/n, who met his eyes with an equal level of contained enthusiasm. Celebrating one year of her in his life didn’t warrant waiting a single minute longer than necessary.

“Won’t hurt anybody,” Joel responded, shooting his girlfriend a wink.

————————

Come Thursday, the Millers and guest loaded their bags and coolers into Joel’s truck.

“Sarah?” Y/n called from the bottom of the stairs, they were nearly ready to leave and she was still upstairs, “We gotta go, babe.”

“Coming,” she yelled down, skipping out of her room and down the stairs, carrying something in her hand.

“Whatcha got?” Y/n pointed to the small package.

Sarah waved it nonchalantly in the air, “It’s an anniversary present. For you and Dad.”

Y/n’s heart swelled, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, I did,” she gave a small smile, before scrunching up her face, “Just please don’t make out the entire trip.”

Snorting, Y/n wrapped her arms around Sarah’s neck and walked the two of them out of the house.

Joel and Tommy had just finished their thirty minute game of Tetris with the luggage. There were so many bags for only four days and four people.

“No,” Tommy called out, spotting Sarah’s present, “Not one more fuckin’ thing comes into this truck.”

“It’s a carry-on,” Y/n shouted back with a smile, patting Sarah’s arm after, “Be there in a minute.”

Sarah skipped off to the backseat, passing her dad as she did. Joel ruffled her hair before locking eyes with Y/n across the driveway. She looked so natural, standing on his porch with his daughter in her arms, locking up the front door with her spare key. She’d settled into the family so well.

“See somethin’ you like?” Y/n smiled, sticking her nose up in the air and letting the sun hit her.

“Somethin’ I love,” Joel replied, walking slowly towards her. He encircled her waist with one arm, his other hand holding her hip.

Y/n let her hands slide up Joel’s chest, “Your daughter has requested a vow of celibacy from us this weekend.”

Joel chortled, “That’s ‘cause one day she woke up and decided us lookin’ at each other was disgusting.”

“Well, then,” Y/n got on he tiptoes and pressed a kiss to the tip of Joel’s nose, “Save it for the evenings.”

Joel nuzzled his nose against her cheek, savoring the warmth of her skin and the promise of her words.

“What happened to beatin’ traffic?” Tommy teased from the passenger seat.

Rolling his eyes, Joel turned around to his brother and glared at him. Tommy just smirked and tapped his foot against the dashboard.

“Come on,” Y/n intertwined her fingers with Joel’s, pulling him behind her and marching them both to the truck.

“Seatbelts,” Joel ordered as he got in the front seat.

Y/n settled herself in the backseat next to Sarah, who absentmindedly grabbed her hand and started playing with it. Of all the milestones her and Joel had hit in the past year, Sarah’s casual comfort with her was Y/n’s proudest.

“Alright, gang,” Joel started up the car and backed it out of the driveway, “6 hour drive, settle in.”

Y/n and Sarah cheered from the backseat and Joel swore he could feel a physical warmth spread across his chest.

—————————

It took them all day to get to South Padre Island, having stopped for bathroom breaks and lunch on the way, but they made it in one piece.

Their hotel was modest and one of many on the strip that backed straight up to the beach. The view from the balcony was unmatched, nothing but sand and ocean as far as the eye could see.

Their first full day there, they spent all day on the beach. It was early enough in the year that the full force of summer’s heat hadn’t hit yet. Joel stayed with their cooler, messing around on the guitar he’d brought in a beach chair. Tommy switched between relaxing in the shade with a beer and flirting with whatever lucky woman was in their vicinity. Sarah and Y/n walked the shore, searching for seashells.

Leaving Sarah to keep hunting, Y/n walked back to their spot, admiring the sight before her. Joel looked more at ease than she’d ever seen him, strumming away in the cool shade.

“You’re ogling me’,” he said, trying to sound put off.

“You look happy,” Y/n smiled, pushing past the humor.

Joel peeked up over his sunglasses, taking in the wind blowing through her hair and how the sun shone off her skin. “I am happy,” he replied.

Y/n walked around the back of his chair, bending over to encircle his neck. Joel kept on playing, trying to stay focused as she pressed a loving kiss to his cheek.

Looking out on the beach, Y/n’s eyes found Tommy, buying some girl an ice cream at a vendor’s cart. She watched Sarah, crouched down in the sand and hot on the trail of a particular shell. With Joel in her arms, and her chosen family happy, she felt like everything in her world was just as it should be.

Y/n rested her chin on Joel’s shoulder, “Me too.”

—————————

They’d celebrated both Sarah’s graduation and Y/n’s anniversary on Saturday night with dinner on the beach. There’d been good food and good laughter, especially when Sarah tried oysters for the first time, managing to swallow the bite with a grimace.

When gifts were exchanged, Y/n, Joel and Tommy had compiled their money to get Sarah tickets to see her favorite band. She’d leapt out of her chair and bear hugged all three of them. For Joel and Y/n’s anniversary, she handed them a CD she’d burned a playlist to. Songs she’d heard them listen to or that the three of them had sung together in the car or while Joel played guitar.

Deep into the evening, when Tommy and Sarah had retired to their room across the hall, Joel and Y/n celebrated their anniversary privately.

Joel’s body weight Y/n’s down, pinning her hands above her head and pressing soft kisses across her face. At some point in the night, she’d slipped on his t-shirt. He was convinced that if there was a heaven on earth, he was in it.

“Promise me something,” Y/n breathed, her lips brushing Joel’s cheekbone.

Joel rubbed his nose against Y/n’s, “Anything.”

Pressed into the bed, completely consumed by the man she loved, with a soft ocean breeze flooding through their balcony window, Y/n was in utter bliss. There was nothing that could have made the moment more perfect.

“Promise me it’ll always be like this,” Y/n whispered, her urging eyes boring into Joel’s, “Even when it isn’t.”

Joel’s grip on Y/n’s hands loosened, letting her slip out of his hold with a need to feel her arms around him. Neither of them were under any illusion that life was without its problems, they’d run into them eventually. But through it all, Joel knew that the one thing that would never fade was their complete and utter devotion to one another. That was forever.

Joel brushed away a strand of hair stuck to Y/n’s face from the ocean’s humidity. He ran the tips of his fingers along her cheek, down her neck, tracing the path his lips had traveled moments ago.

“Always,” he promised, his voice soft, but determined.

The room’s energy was emotionally charged, bringing tears to Y/n’s eyes as she gazed up at Joel. He looked so beautiful hanging over her, it nearly broke her heart. She was so overcome with love for this man, she truly didn’t know if she could handle any more. Joel overwhelmed her in the sweetest way possible.

The moonlight reflected off a single teardrop that slipped down Y/n’s cheek. Joel adjusted himself in concern, taking her face into his hand, “What’s wrong?”

Y/n smiled, she’d never known one could be moved to tears by the simple act of adoring someone. “I just love you,” she pushed past the lump in her throat.

Joel’s breath caught in his chest. Even though he’d heard her say those words a hundred times, something about this utterance felt new.

He stroked his thumb over her cheek, wiping away the tear’s streak. They lay intwined, coming alive in one another’s eyes. They’d known for months, really since their first kiss, that they’d be together a long, long time…but there, in a beachside hotel, wrapped in lily white sheets and each other, they knew they could never leave one another.

Joel dove back into Y/n’s lips, his hands slipping under his shirt she wore to hold her hips. He prayed that when the day came for him to die, he’d do so in her arms, her kiss stealing his final breath.

—————————

2023. Kansas City, Missouri.

While the tensions were high the whole way, the five survivors made it through the tunnel system with no issues.

“Do you know where we are?” Joel asked Henry as they made their way through a door. He was still suspicious, nothing was ever as simple as a few tunnels and some luck.

“Yeah,” he answered, “The other side.”

Henry shone his flashlight on a dirty sign stating that it was, indeed, the parking lot to the Bank of America building. They’d made it out. Y/n huffed a sigh of relief, it was a much needed win.

The group headed for the street of the residential area, it was dark and empty allowing them the perfect cover. Joel had still insisted on no flashlights, just to be safe.

Joel led the group, with Ellie, Sam and Henry at the rear, and Y/n sandwiched between. She didn’t particularly feel like being near Joel after the conversation with Henry. She was still trying to shake the memories from her brain, twenty years of wasted energy and not a single one had faded.

Joel didn’t quite know what to do either. He felt at war with himself, a poorly docked ship being drawn out to the open waters against its will. It was getting harder to deny the increasing intensity of his pull to her. Not that it mattered, he still considered her a liar and she hated him with a passion that would never die. But seeing her with the kids, showing the humanity still left in her, had left him unsettled. It was like seeing a home he could never go back to.

“No,” Henry said, having just been signing with Sam, “No one is here. No one’s gonna be here because…my plan worked.

“So much damn talkin’,” Joel remarked from the front of the group.

“I’m just saying,” Henry continued, “I delivered. Make this right, go down the street, embankment behind the last house…and we’re out.”

Y/n and Joel wanted to believe that they were home free, but they’d seen more of the current world than anyone else in the party. Things that seemed too good to be true, almost always were.

“So we cross the river and then what?” Ellie asked, “Where ya gonna go?”

“Don’t know yet,” Henry shrugged.

“Well, we’re goin’ to Wyoming,” Ellie announced.

Joel glared back at her, earning a light hit to the arm from Y/n, who glared right back at him.

“What?” Ellie replied, “It’s a huge state, it can fit two more people.”

“Yeah,” Henry stretched the syllable, not any more keen on the idea than Joel, “Maybe we just call this one a success and say our fond farewells.”

Y/n drifted to walk alongside Joel, his stubbornness breathing a little bit of life back into her. “If you’ve got any happy pills left in your pocket,” she muttered low enough for only them to hear, “I suggest you take them.”

Joel shook his head, glancing out the side of his eyes at her. He couldn’t decide if her silence or her snark was preferable.

“No, he’ll change his mind,” Ellie said to Henry, “Trust me. This is how it goes, he’s like,” she dropped her voice and added a twinge of an accent, “‘No, Ellie. Never, ever, ever happening.”

Y/n couldn’t stop the snort before it escaped her, it physically jerked her body forward. When she looked up, Joel’s hardened stare was resting on her.

“That supposed to be funny?”

“It’s hilarious,” Y/n smiled, still trying to contain her laughter, “And you know it.”

“And then I’m like,” Ellie continued, “‘I’m gonna ask you a million more times.’ And he’s like-“

A gunshot flew past them, killing only the levity.

Joel and Y/n ran for Ellie at the same time, colliding with one another in a heap of arms.

“Move! Move!” Joel ordered, shoving both of them forward, “Go!”

The five of them dove for cover behind an abandoned car, crouching on the asphalt.

“Where the fuck is that coming from?” Henry asked, shielding Sam with his body.

“Shut up,” Joel ordered, peeking his head above the trunk of the car to scan the area. As soon as he was semi-visible, another gunshot hit one of the nearby vehicles.

Henry tried to get a look at the house where the fire seemed to be coming from, earning another close call.

“Fuck,” he muttered, grabbing Sam’s hand, “Let’s move. Let’s go.”

“Henry!” Y/n shouted through her teeth.

“What are you doin’?” Joel yelled, not budging.

“Getting the fuck outta here,” Henry called back, barely making it to the other side of the road before another shot blew past them. He rushed him and Sam back to the first car, “What do we do?”

Y/n and Joel’s brains were working overtime, trying to figure out the best possible course of action. Joel, closest to the house he guessed the gunman was inside, peeked out once more and got another near fatal shot. He was right.

“All right,” Joel breathed, “Stay here.”

“What?” Y/n and Ellie exclaimed in unison.

Joel turned to them, addressing Ellie but drifting his eyes to Y/n at the end of each sentence. “If you don’t move, he’s not gonna hit you. I’m gonna go around, try to get in the house through the back, and then I’ll take him out.”

“No,” Y/n blurted out, “No fucking way.”

“Yeah, if you go out there, he’s gonna kill you,” Ellie agreed.

“It’s dark and he has shit aim,” Joel countered, “Nobody’s gonna kill me.”

“Then he’s gonna kill us,” Ellie replied.

Joel’s eyes flicked between the kid and the woman behind her. He addressed Ellie first, “Do you trust me?”

Hesitating, but eventually rolling her eyes and nodding, Ellie answered.

Joel looked up to Y/n, silently begging her to listen to him. He’d trusted her when Ellie had revealed her immunity, now he needed her to do the same.

Y/n wanted to be unreasonable and illogical, to stew in her anger a little longer. But Joel hadn’t failed them yet on their journey, this wasn’t the place to start.

“You go around the left,” Y/n countered, “I’ll create a diversion so he won’t see you coming.”

“You stay here,” Joel replied, his voice turning to steel.

It was the first time that Y/n didn’t want to argue. She withdrew her pistol from her holster, “I wasn’t asking.”

Joel was busting his ass trying to make sure she was safe and she was throwing herself into open fire to protect him. He felt sick to his stomach.

Y/n took Joel’s reluctant nod and mirrored it, hoping she looked more confidant than she felt. They both brushed a hand against Ellie’s arm, who was terrified to let the only two people she cared about run headfirst into danger.

Joel and Y/n crossed past one another, he grabbed her arm to stop her. The pain-stricken worry in both their eyes communicated all that they couldn’t out loud.

They took up their positions on either end of the car, cocking their guns and drawing a deep breath. Joel nodded to Y/n, signaling for her to move.

Y/n jumped out from the car and ran for the one directly across from her. A gunshot kissed the air behind her, she slid into the asphalt behind the vehicle like it was third base. She could feel the fear creeping up her spine, threatening to break her, but breaking wasn’t an option. Tess’ last wish rang in her ears; keep Joel safe.

Spotting the next car, in the row, she made a beeline for it, dodging two shots on each side of her. She kneeled behind the trunk, peeking out just enough to fire a distracting shot towards the house.

“C’mon, Joel,” she whispered.

Joel was making his way down the street, Y/n serving as the most perfect and unwelcome distraction. Every shot sent a cold shot of panic through him, terrified that the gunman was going to be too quick for her. Just before making it behind the house, he snuck a look over his shoulder and caught her racing across the street, dodging more fire. It urged him to move faster.

Y/n was getting closer and closer to the house, praying that Joel had made it. When she made a clean run to the next car, she assumed that he’d put a stop to the fight. A final shot rang out, but it had come from a different gun. Joel’s gun.

Y/n slumped against the car and exhaled, he was safe.

Joel felt grief pass over him, a drop of it trickling down his throat, as he grabbed the old man’s rifle. He was about to stick his head out the window and signal to Y/n that they were clear, until a sound caught his ear.

“Anthony…Anthony…” a staticky voice called, Joel tracked it beside the old man’s body and found a walkie-talkie, “Anthony, hold them where they are.”

“Fuck,” he muttered, rushing to the window, “Run!”

Y/n stood up, Joel’s voice reassuring her they were in the clear before she registered his words.

“Run!”

Y/n bolted back toward Ellie, Sam and Henry. In the near distance, she could hear the sound of a truck. The same one they’d been dodging for the past day.

“Run!” Joel urged, watching Y/n’s shadow run straight towards the threat.

The truck’s headlights shone down the street, shining right on Y/n. She collided with Ellie, wrenching the girl ahead of her and racing back towards the house. Behind them, the fleet of trucks were beginning to plow through the rows of cars.

Determined, Joel started to fire at the truck’s windows, trying to take out the driver.

Blindly, Ellie and Y/n began to fire their pistols at the main truck after them. Without being able to take proper aim, their attempts failed, but they kept trying.

Ellie’s gun ran out of bullets as the truck began to gain on her. Y/n wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pushing her to go faster. Ellie tripped, bringing Y/n down with her. Y/n enveloped the girl in her arms, putting her body between the truck and Ellie.

At that exact moment, Joel had fired a perfect shot, taking out the driver and causing the truck to crash through the front of a nearby house. He’d bought them mere seconds, a whole fleet of cars were behind them and their passengers were about to surround Ellie and Y/n.

“Come on,” Y/n urged, pulling Ellie to her feet, “Move.”

They’d barely made it two steps before they were thrown to the ground again by a blast. The crash had somehow started a fire and both the vehicle and the house surrounding it were set ablaze.

The smoke filled Y/n’s lungs, restricting her airways and letting dizziness to set in. The only clear thought ringing through her head was Ellie, save Ellie.

Joel watched helplessly as Ellie and Y/n lay on the ground. He could feel his heartbeat in his throat, waiting for them to get up. Henry, a godsend in that moment, darted out from behind a car and pulled them both to their feet.

Y/n stumbled back to the car Henry had sought as protection, blindly reaching for Ellie and making herself a barricade once again.

“You okay?” Henry asked them both.

“Yeah,” Ellie muttered, Y/n gave a breathless nod.

Up above the flames, Joel watched a group of rebels walk through the smoke with guns drawn on his window, calling out orders to raid the house. They’d found him.

“Fuck,” he breathed, hiding behind the wall. Unlucky for them, Joel wasn’t so easy to throw in the towel and lose his life.

Below, Kathleen surveyed the damage, strolling casually amongst the flames. “Dead end, Henry,” she called, “Gonna step on out? Save us some time?”

“Is that her?” Y/n whispered, Henry nodded in response.

“No?” Kathleen asked, her tone was eerily even, “That’s all right. Doesn’t matter.”

Henry looked to Sam, who Y/n had an arm around, and knew what he had to do. “I’ll come out,” he replied, “Just let the kids go!”

“No,” Kathleen responded, “Sorry. The girl is with the two who killed Bryan, don’t think I don’t know that the woman’s back there with you too.”

Y/n shut her eyes, the back of her head digging into the car. She knew she’d die eventually, she woke every day faced with the possibility of death. But she wasn’t about to die before she could get Ellie out west.

Joel’s blood ran cold at Kathleen’s words, his hands squeezing the rifle tighter. He had to fight every instinct to fire a bullet straight through her head.

“And Sam” Kathleen continued, “Well, Sam’s with you.”

“You don’t understand,” Henry yelled.

“But I do,” she said calmly, “I know why you did what you did. But did you ever stop to think that maybe he was supposed to die?”

“He’s just a fucking kid!” Henry called back.

“Well, kids die, Henry. They die all the time.”

Y/n’s fear turned to shock and that shock turned to rage. Deep, bitter, twenty year old rage.

Joel watched carefully from his spot, feeling the anger swell in him.

“You think the whole world revolves around him?” Kathleen continued her monologue, “That he’s worth everything? Well, this is what happens when you fuck with fate.”

Henry turned to Y/n and Ellie, bracing himself for his own fate. “Get ready to take him, and run,” he instructed.

“No,” Y/n argued, “I’m not-“

“Yes,” he said, his voice like steel, “Do it.”

Y/n gave in, nodding and taking Sam’s hands with Ellie. “You stay in front of me at all time,” she instructed, reaching out for the girl, “If I go down, you don’t turn back.”

Ellie’s eyes widened, “But-“

“You don’t turn back,” Y/n repeated, forcing her voice to sound strong.

“It’s time, Henry,” Kathleen gritted, her soft voice suddenly dripping with venom, “Enough!”

Henry took a few shuddering breaths before getting to his feet, hands raised in the air. Sam anxiously started to go after his brother, but Ellie and Y/n pulled him back to the ground. The three of them sat there, Y/n and Ellie’s pulses racing as they waited for the inevitable sound, their signal to move.

“It ends the way it ends,” Kathleen said, her calm demeanor returning.

Y/n froze as she listened to Kathleen cock her pistol, squeezing Sam’s hand a little tighter.

But the bullet never came.

Instead, there was a terrible creak from the totaled truck. Ellie scrambled to get a peek while staying hidden, Y/n held up a hand to her and poked the tip of her head out. Just enough to see the car sink into the wreckage of the burning house.

Joel aimed his rifle and came to the window, watching it all happen from above.

Three ominous seconds of silence.

And then they came.

Hordes of Infected came sprinting out of the sinkhole.

Henry rushed back to their spot, Y/n and him shoved the kids in between them and sinking against the car as far as they could. One of the Infected leapt on the hood, a well-timed bullet sinking into its skull.

Joel reloaded the gun, waiting for the next shot.

“Come on,” Henry called, the four of them got to their feet and took off in the direction of the embankment.

Ellie obeyed and stayed ahead of Y/n, who was frantically cocking her handgun. One Infected was chasing after them and she couldn’t get her weapon ready in time.

Joel aimed at the creature trailing Y/n and fired. The body lurched forward, falling on Y/n and causing both her and Ellie to topple to the ground.

Somewhere in their fall, Y/n and Ellie had lost sight of Henry and Sam. Y/n kicked the dead body off of them and glanced up towards the house, she knew who was acting as their guardian angel. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have a job to do as well.

“Car,” Ellie yelled, having quickly crafted a plan in her head.

“Stay low,” Y/n responded.

The two of them army crawled their way through the chaos, screams of both the living and Infected filling the air.

Joel tracked their movements, shooting down any Infected that even looked in their direction.

Ellie and Y/n ran the final distance and dove into the abandoned car through an open window. As Infected began to crawl across the behicle, banging against the windows, one of Joel’s bullets took each one out.

“Get to the back,” Y/n instructed.

The two of them crawled over the seats, taking shelter in the very rear of the vehicle. Ellie’s eyes were wide with terror as she watched the scene play through the dirty glass.

Joel saw them make it in, but his relief didn’t last long. He watched as one of the Infected snaked through the window and into their car. His breath trembled, taking aim and realizing he couldn’t do a damn thing to help them.

Y/n and Ellie heard the dreadful snarling together, their heads turning to watch the Clicker flip through the front seat of the car. Y/n raised her gun and took aim.

Click.

She was out of bullets.

Joel’s brain switched off, his primal instinct to protect taking over as he fired relentless shot after relentless shot, trying to take the Infected out.

The Clicker acrobatically made its way through the car. Ellie blindly reached for the door handle, whimpering in fear as she couldn’t open it. Y/n kicked it with her boot and it swung out, she shoved Ellie roughly out of the car. Y/n slid out, slamming the door behind them and feeling the slam of the Clicker throwing itself against the window.

Joel had lost visual on them briefly, but saw the swing of the car door and how it was still rocking. They’d trapped it.

Somewhere in the noise, a child’s cry could be heard. Y/n’s eyes darted around them, finally spotting Henry and Sam trying to fend off a group of Infected underneath a car.

“Help! Get the fuck away!“ Henry screamed, kicking at one of the creatures, “Get the fuck off me!”

Ellie looked first to Y/n, who was already pulling out her knife from where she hid it in her boot, before they both looked up to where Joel was. Y/n could barely make out his face with the distance.

Joel looked down, knowing that they couldn’t possibly be making eye contact from so far away, but knowing that they were on the same wavelength.

They had to work as a team.

“Go!” Y/n yelled, and they were off.

Joel shot with more precision than he ever had, this was the most he’d ever had at stake. As Y/n and Ellie moved through the crowd, he took out every Infected that were heading for them. He worked as a machine, but the terror he felt was the most human sensation he’d experienced in years.

Y/n shed her humanity, becoming more beast than woman, mercilessly ripping through the throats of any Infected that came near Ellie. She swung onto one’s back, stabbing her knife into its head, and let the collapse of its body land her back on the ground.

Joel and Y/n worked seamlessly together, ground and aerial coming together to protect the one thing that couldn’t be lost. Or in Joel’s case, two somethings.

Ellie and Y/n finally made it to Sam and Henry, there were two clickers still clawing at them. One dragged Henry out from underneath the car, Ellie got behind it and stabbed it. Y/n wrenched the Clicker attacking Sam backwards, staring into where its eyes would have been as she sliced through its heart.

A bullet whizzed past her head, landing in the monster’s skull. Joel needed to be sure.

“Come on, come on,” Ellie helped their friends to their feet, “Go! Go!”

Y/n shoved Ellie in front of her again and they fled the chaos, climbing into the lawn of the house Joel was in.

“Stop!”

The four of them turned to see Kathleen with her gun aimed at Henry, but her eyes flicking between him and Y/n. They didn’t have time to fear for their lives, they clocked the same Clicker who’d almost gotten her and Ellie creeping up an old piece of furniture behind Kathleen.

Kathleen heard the sound, turning around just as the Clicker shot through the air and latched onto her. They watched in terror as the creature claimed the resistance leader’s life.

Joel hurried out of the house, running faster once he saw Y/n and Ellie. He stopped a second, watching as Kathleen lost everything she’d fought so hard for, but didn’t care so long as his people were safe.

“This way now,” Joel yelled, grabbing Y/n’s arm to urge her forward, “Move!”

The group took off, leaving those who had sought to kill them to their fates. Joel and Y/n ran together, keeping one hand on each other the whole time. Their grudge was suffocating, choking under the weight of their undeniable devotion to one another.

————————————

The motel the group landed was a haven to their weary eyes. They broke into one of the rooms and tried to get it through their heads that they were safe. Joel had made sure that no one followed them, they were miles away from any Infected. They could breathe.

Once Ellie and Sam had been squared away with food, they went into the bedroom and began reading Ellie’s collection of comic books. They were either bouncing back spectacularly fast or burying their fear.

Henry, Joel and Y/n sat out in the main room, trying to come down from what they’d just been through. Since fleeing the hellish nightmare, Joel and Y/n hadn’t left each other’s side. She hadn’t even bothered with putting space between them when she sunk down onto the floor. They were pressed against one another and neither of them minded.

“You think they’ll be okay?” Henry asked, picking at a bit of his food and watching his brother from the next room.

Y/n’s eyes drifted to Ellie, she was growing more and more worried about the girl’s psyche. She’d seen so much in such a short span of time.

“Yeah, I think,” Joel answered, “It’s easier when you’re a kid, anyway,” he met Henry’s stare with intention, “You don’t have anybody else relying on you. That’s the hard part.”

“Well,” Henry looked down at his food, “I guess we’re doin’ a good job then.”

Y/n and Joel both looked to the kids, Ellie was helping Sam to read one of the pages.

“What’s that comic book say?” Joel asked, “‘Endure and survive?’”

“Endure and survive,” Y/n repeated.

Henry chuckled, “That shit’s redundant.”

Joel shook his head, this was as close as he’d come to laughing with another person. “Yeah, it’s-it’s not great.”

Y/n gave a small smile, not quite to the point of being able to laugh about any part of the day.

Joel turned to look at her, drawing her gaze to him and focusing on the two quirked corners of her lips. It used to be his favorite game, making them rise until she’d complain her cheeks hurt. Tonight was the first night that he’d been able to make her smile again, and the little bit of his old self that was on life support took a breath.

Y/n let her eyes drift across Joel’s face, resting in the way he returned it. It was a dangerous fucking place to be, but after what they’d just gone through, she was too tired to fight her way out.

A loud laugh from Ellie snapped them out of whatever moment they were having.

“Look,” Joel turned to Henry, “I don’t know exactly how we’re gettin’ to Wyoming, we’re probably walkin’. But,” he stopped, still uncomfortable with the full spectrum of his emotions, “You know, if you want to.”

“Yeah,” Henry answered instantly, “Yeah. Um…yeah, I think it’d be nice for Sam to have a friend.”

“Oh, trust me,” Y/n smiled, looking on to Ellie, “You won’t find anyone friendlier than her,” she glanced at Joel, “Then again, we don’t set the bar very high, now do we?”

Henry laughed under his breath, even Joel couldn’t stop himself from smirking. “No, you don’t,” Henry replied, “I’ll tell him in the morning. New day, new start.”

“We’re not getting anywhere if we’re carrying them on our backs,” Y/n remarked, dusting the crumbs off her jeans and getting to her feet.

Henry got up with Y/n and heading into Sam and Ellie’s room. He knocked on the door and began to sign to Sam.

“Whatever he’s saying,” Y/n pointed to Ellie, “Same goes for you. Real adventure starts tomorrow.”

Ellie rolled her eyes lightly as Y/n approached, letting her take the comic out of her hand and place it on the nightstand. “Hey,” she said, “Is Joel’s brother like him? All grumpy and constipated?

“He is,” Y/n started, a flood of pleasant memories hitting her, “Way more fun. Not a stick to be found up his ass.”

Ellie snorted, Y/n knew she’d fall in love with Tommy in a minute. Everyone did.

Y/n ran a hand over Ellie’s head, they weren’t close enough for a hug but she wanted the girl to know that she had someone that cared about her. If Joel was her protecter, Y/n wanted to be her comfort. The oasis she could run to in the desert.

“Get some rest,” she ordered.

“Why?” Ellie cocked an eyebrow, “So you and Joel can have more time to cuddle?”

Y/n knew she’d be paying for her unconscious choices as long as Ellie was around to witness them. She lightly pushed her forehead, sending Ellie back on the bed in a fit of giggles.

“Will Livingston dies a slow and painful death if you ever bring that up again,” Y/n retorted, giving Ellie a pat on the leg after, “Goodnight.”

“Night,” Ellie called in a teasing tone.

Y/n stopped by Sam’s bed, tapping his hip to get his attention. She signed ‘endure and survive’ back to him, Sam nodded with a smile.

“Practicing,” Y/n beamed, earning herself a thumbs up, “Goodnight.”

She left the room before Henry, Joel hadn’t moved from their spot against the radiator. The door had been open the whole time.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “‘Stick up my ass?’”

Y/n leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms, almost relaxed. “I said what I said,” she smirked, “She called you constipated.”

Joel shook his head at her, fond memories of her and Tommy ganging up on him filing his head.

He wouldn’t tell her that he’d heard the whole conversation.

Henry exited the room, shutting the door behind him. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m exhausted,” he said, staking out the far right corner of the room for himself.

“Yeah,” Y/n sighed.

Joel rose up from the ground, already dreading trying to do another bed time shuffle with Y/n. He glanced over at her, first spotting the blood seeping through her bandages.

“Your hand,” he said, crossing the space between them.

“Huh?” Y/n furrowed her brows, holding it up to examine it, “Oh, shit. I didn’t even feel that.”

Joel was hesitant to grab it, but was itching to fix it up. “Adrenaline,” he settled for.

“So much for sleep,” Y/n grumbled, bending down and picking up her backpack.

Joel followed, setting the corner table back on its feet along with the two nearby chairs. Henry was already asleep in his corner. Joel sat down across from Y/n and watched as she pulled out the first aid kit. As she unpacked the supplies, his fingers began to twitch with nervous energy.

Y/n picked up on his fidgety state, stopping what she was doing to look at him. “Are you really that much of a control freak that you need to do this?”

Joel didn’t know what he was, just that he needed assurance that she was going to be alright. The only satisfactory way to do that was to do it himself.

“Fine,” Y/n scoffed, sliding the kit across the table to him, “Have at it.”

Joel unpacked the same supplies they’d used yesterday as Y/n unwrapped her hand. He was glad she’d taken extra gauze from his stash back in Massachusetts, they were running low.

“How long do you think it’ll take to get to Wyoming on foot?” Y/n asked as Joel grabbed an alcohol wipe. She’d already clotted, but the sites still needed to be cleaned.

He bristled, “A long fuckin’ while.”

“And are we measuring that in miles or kilometers?” Y/n asked, her tone deadpan.

Joel nearly smiled, gently rubbing the wipe over the bloody surface. Y/n hissed as it made contact with her skin, digging into her chair and drawing a deep breath after.

“Killed, like, four Clickers,” Joel decided to joke, never looking up from his ministrations, “Can’t handle a little wipe.”

“Says the man who can navigate his way across the country, but couldn’t explain a siphon to a fourteen year old,” Y/n remarked, matching his wit.

Joel peered up, a small smirk playing on his lips, mimicking the one on Y/n’s. This was the longest they’d gone without fighting during a conversation. One shift could turn the almost peaceful moment to a shipwreck.

“What happened out there tonight?” Joel asked, his mind still spinning from anxiety.

“Ran out of ammo,” Y/n answered, she know immediately what he was referring to, “Perfect timing, huh?”

Joel scoffed and ran a second alcohol wipe over her wounds. “Yeah,” he muttered, unsure of what else to say.

“But there was this weird guy hiding out in an abandoned house who took care of things,” Y/n remarked, her eyes traveling from her and Joel’s hands to his face.

Joel paused and met her stare, surprised that she was acknowledging his effort at all.

“Thank you,” Y/n continued.

Joel shook his head, returning to his work, “You don’t need to thank me.”

“Would you rather me say ‘Fuck off, you dick. I can take care of myself?’”

“That would fall in line with what you usually have to say,” Joel replied, reaching for the gauze pads.

Y/n nodded in reply, a smile pulling at her cheeks. She didn’t know what the hell she was doing, only that she was traumatized, tired, and in need of someone to talk to. If that someone came in the form of Joel, then so be it.

Joel tried to focus on Y/n’s wound, breaking it down into steps. Sterilize, gauze, wrap. He couldn’t get caught up on the fact that they were getting along. As benign as the it sounded, it was leaps and bounds ahead of where they’d come from.

Y/n, on the other hand, had nothing to do but sit and wait for him to be done. She watched how precisely he placed the gauze pads, as if one inch off their assigned spots would cost her her life. It reminded her of how precise he’d been with his lips, his hands. Every touch had carried purpose, the ultimate goal to make her know how much he loved her.

This touch, so warm and gentle, felt the same to Y/n.

Much like the day before, it took a lot of effort on Joel’s part not to get caught up in the feel of Y/n’s hand against his. He wrapped a fresh strip of bandage around it, weaving the roll between her thumb and under her palm. Back at the house, watching her narrowly avoid Infected had choked him. Every five seconds, she’d been brought to the edge of death, only for one of them to strike back at the very last moment. It had drained any and all energy left in Joel’s body, and had brought on a whole new set of questions.

If he were to lose her or Ellie at this point, what would it do to him?

He anchored the bandage down, sealing Y/n’s wound, and tried to escape the scenarios his mind was creating. They were alive, they were safe, and they would make it to Wyoming. If that was what he needed to keep repeating to himself the whole way west, he would.

“At the risk of inflating your ego,” Y/n examined his work, “Well done.”

Joel didn’t respond, he simply handed her the supplies to pack up. He was caught between a rock and a hard place, or rather, what he wanted and what he knew he couldn’t have.

Y/n threw the kit back in her backpack and came back to where they’d been. Joel was already kneeling down on the ground, removing and balling up his jacket. She didn’t want to land herself in another situation where cuddling up to Joel was a possibility, she also didn’t want to infringe on Henry’s personal space.

“You mind keepin’ an ear peeled?,” Joel asked, it was like he could read her mind, “In case I roll over on the wrong side again.”

“Yeah,” Y/n replied, coming to sit beside Joel with just enough space between them. Close enough to protect, far enough away for clear minds.

Joel stretched out one arm just above Y/n’s head. It wasn’t the closest they’d been in the past day, but it was certainly the most intimate. Y/n was facing him, the top of her hair nearly grazing his forearm. Every signal in his brain told him to roll over, put another wall between them, but there was a stronger thought that cancelled the noise.

He simply didn’t want to.

Y/n adjusted herself on her jacket and was left with nothing left to do but stare at Joel. The lines on his face were deeper, his features had grown sharper, yet somewhere underneath it all…she could still see the man she’d fallen in love with in the heat of an Austin summer. Perhaps that was what was playing with her mind the most; how she got glimpses of Joel as he was before morphing into the new version. She used to wonder what age would do to them and she knew that if Cordyceps had never mutated, Joel’s frown lines would be smiles lines. The skin underneath his eyes would wrinkle from deep laughter. And in the times where his brow would crease with concern, a single kiss from her would have relaxed the muscles.

It was enough to bring her to tears.

“What’s wrong?” Joel asked, his voice gruff but his words filled with concern.

It was all wrong. All of it. Everything that had happened to them. Everything the world had become. Risking their lives every day for a future that wasn’t guaranteed.

It was all so horribly wrong.

“I’m just tired,” Y/n spoke past the lump in her throat, “Really fucking tired.”

Joel wanted to reach out, place a finger underneath her lashes to catch her tears before they fell. In another life, he’d have taken her in his arms and grazed his lips across her ear. He’d have called her Rosebud and told her to sleep, that he wouldn’t let anything hurt her.

But he’d lost the right to act on such feelings a lifetime ago.

“Get some sleep,” he replied, it was the only part of the urge he could listen to.

Y/n shook her head, smiling with sadness, “It’s not that kind of tired.”

Nothing else needed to be said. Joel understood those six words better than any other. His exhaustion went so far past his backaches or cracking knees. His soul was seeking rest that it would never find.

It wasn’t lost on either of them that it took nearly dying for them to start drifting back to one another. The hate faded into background noise, or ceased to exist at all. They picked up their anger when they were safe, because it took effort. It took effort to stay mad, a fire requiring constant attention. But protecting one another was natural. At the end of the day, all that had transpired between Joel and Y/n would never come in the way of saving one another. Hate was a choice, care was an instinct.

Joel’s soft gaze traveled across Y/n’s face. “Try,” he encouraged, his voice barely above a whisper.

Y/n nodded, her eyes still resting on Joel. She knew if she stared at him a minute longer, she’d no longer be able to choose hate.

Though she’d never know it, Joel felt the exact same way. He was becoming weaker and weaker for her with each moment they spent together.

They didn’t bid each other goodnight, they didn’t even fall asleep at the same time, despite sharing the same exhaustion. Joel stayed awake a few extra minutes after Y/n drifted off. He watched her frown relax, her brows unclench and her chest rise and fall, keeping the same steady beat that used to lull him to sleep.

—————————

Y/n had scooted closer in her sleep, her and Joel’s bodies still not touching but their breaths mingling together.

Had they awoken with the sunlight peeking through the blinds, strips of the warm glow across their eyes, urging them awake, they wouldn’t have backed away. It would have been the first time in twenty years they’d have woken up to one another. They wouldn’t have been mad.

Instead, they startled awake to the sounds of screams.

Joel and Y/n sat up in time to see Ellie fall out of the door, a snarling Sam jumping on her and pinning her down. Henry woke not two seconds after them, barely able to register the sight.

Sam was infected.

Joel was the first to reach for his handgun, but Henry was quicker and yanked it away. He had it aimed at Y/n and Joel before they were even on their feet.

“Nope, nope, nope,” he warned.

“Joel!” Ellie’s heartbreaking scream filled the room, “Y/n!”

Joel and Y/n took one step in Ellie’s direction and Henry fired a shot at their feet. Joel shoved Y/n behind him, she clung to his arm.

“Joel!” Ellie shrieked again, begging for help from either adult, “Y/n!”

Before they could have a coherent thought, it was all over.

Henry turned his gun on Sam.

He fired a single bullet.

Sam collapsed to the floor.

Ellie sat up with tears in her eyes.

Joel lowered his hands, but Y/n still kept a firm grip on him.

“Ellie,” he breathed, his heart was racing, “Are you okay?”

The girl looked to her guardians, shocked and heartbroken.

They took a cautious step towards her, but Henry put a stop to it as he trained his pistol back on them. Joel threw his arm back out in front of Y/n, not knowing what the man might do.

Distraught seemed too small a word to describe the expression on Henry’s face. He was gutted.

Joel ensured Y/n was still fastened to him before he cautiously held out his hands to Henry, “Easy, easy, easy,” his voice was barely audible, “Henry, gimme the gun. Henry, gimme the gun.”

“What did I do?” Henry choked out.

Joel shushed him, as one would a wild animal on the verge of attacking.

“What did I do?” Henry asked again, “What-what-what did I do?”

“Henry,” Y/n nearly whimpered, her breath trembling as she did, “Henry, stop, please.”

Henry stared through his tears at his little brother’s body, blood spreading across the floor, “Sam?”

Joel urged with a new desperation as the realization deepened, “Henry, gimme the gun.”

“Henry, please,” Y/n let go of Joel, taking a calculated step forward, “I know. I know.”

“Gimme the gun, Henry,” Joel continued.

Henry’s eyes, still focused on his brother, glazed over as he raised the gun to his temple.

“HENRY, NO!” Joel cried out.

Y/n rushed past Joel, “HENRY, I KN-“

It was too late.

As it happened, Joel jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Y/n and pulling her into him.

“No!” Y/n screamed, she lurched forward as if she could still save him.

Y/n’s eyes were flooded with tears, her sobs tearing her apart so hard that they came out silent. When the noise finally came, it was a guttural cry that might come from a wounded animal. Y/n’s knees gave out on her, Joel caught her and helped lower her to the ground. He kept his arms tight around her as she wailed.

When Y/n came to, and she realized Joel was holding her, the rage reignited. “Get off me,” she yelled, clawing her way out of his embrace.

Joel let her go, shrinking back slightly at the sudden reaction. Ellie watched, consumed by terror as her rock crumbled under the weight of the trauma.

Y/n crawled towards Henry, avoiding the blood, and clung to his shirt. She wept into his still warm body, wishing that he’d have let her finish her sentence. It could have changed everything.

The three of them sat there, waiting for their grief to come to a managable level.

“We gotta go,” Joel said eventually, the words feeling heavy in his mouth.

“We can’t leave them here,” Ellie muttered, wiping her sleeve across her eyes.

Y/n was sitting beside Henry’s body by then, waiting for him to breathe air that would never reach his lungs.

“Gimme a minute,” Joel said, getting to his feet and moving mechanically out the motel room door.

Time moved slow and all at once to the three of them. Joel went into the maintenance closet and found two shovels, bringing them back to the room where nothing and no one had moved. Him and Y/n, trying to spare Ellie what little trauma they could, carried Sam and Henry’s bodies across the road and to a patch of grass. The two of them began to shovel shallow graves, burying their friends.

The job was nearly done, they were just patting the soil back down when Ellie returned. She’d retrieved the few posessions they still had, dropping Y/n and Joel’s coats and Y/n and Henry’s backpack at their feet. She came to kneel at Sam’s grave, taking it in before setting his magnetic pad atop the dirt.

Standing back up with a weight no child deserved to carry, she turned to Joel, “Which way’s west?”

Joel looked off to his left and nodded, Ellie set off in the direction.

Y/n could feel herself slipping into a heavy numbness, a grief filling her that few could understand. She felt like she had one nostril, barely taking in oxygen, above the waters that slammed into her. But as soon as she saw Ellie’s handwriting, the words ‘I’m sorry’ written across the magnetic pad, she lost the fight.

She understood Henry’s fight.

She understood his decision.

And she understood his guilt.

She dropped her shovel where it was, picked up her jacket and slung her backpack over her shoulder, following Ellie and leaving Joel by himself. He was the last person she could stand to look at right now.

Joel watched her leave, any softness that had existed between the two of them a few hours ago had disappeared.

He leaned against his shovel, staring down at the dirt and Ellie’s makeshift headstone. Having done what they’d just done, having known Henry and Sam, watching them interact….it gave Joel the answer to the question he’d pondered the night before.

If anything happened to Y/n or Ellie, he wouldn’t know how to carry on.

And that was the most terrifying feeling he could have had, because he’d had it before.

Ellie had snarked, sassed and snuck her way into his heart. Y/n had always been there, his affection never fading over time despite her perceived betrayal. But he’d buried her, another name in the long list of people he’d lost over twenty years. To have her come crashing back into his life had been unexpected and unwanted. He couldn’t stop himself from letting her consume his mind, just as she had the first time.

Now here he was, a child and the woman he’d loved relying on him, killing for him, and he wanted to run.

“Let’s go,” Ellie called out, she was even beginning to sound like him.

Joel startled, looking on to see Ellie and Y/n waiting for him. Y/n refused to look at him. They were right back to where they’d begun their journey. Perhaps even further, she’d met his gaze even after the ambush that had brought them back together. Something had shifted in her that Joel couldn’t figure out, nor did he think it was best to look too deep.

He put on Henry’s backpack, feeling the weight of it, and slipped his jacket through the strap. He gave a parting glance to the brother’s graves and headed off to join the women.

Despite their failure to keep their pasts hidden, the three of them had scars the others didn’t know about. Intricate pieces of them that had made them who they were in the Cordyceps dominated world. But past the secrets, there was a loyalty too real to deny. They were too deep in to quit on each other. Trudging westward, with grief still fresh and fragile in their palms, they were all each other had.

If one of them died, they all would.

———————

TYL Taglist: @bachiracore @stolenxkissess @kayleezra @the-wistful-reader @allthesesonsofbitches @goth-detectives365 @trippovert @rh1nestonecowg1rl @emiliaserpe @khaleesihavilliard @frietiemeloen @gracie7209 @dorck26 @thegirlnextdoorssister @alanis-altair @mariwinns16 @whosscruffylooking @endofthexline @alexiaricciardo @eonnyx @pedrosmexicangf @scarlettequinn @ao-sleepy @toinfinityandbeyonce2 @deanlovescassie @turmoil-ash @sorrowjunky @kpopslur @xxlilyxx90 @midgetpottermills @presidential-facts @scoopsnini @tubble-wubble @jamesdeerest @burninggracesandbridges @star-wars-lover @lucyhotchner @cococola-cocaine @witheringhqarts @fall-writes @alwaysdjarin @xxmoonn @emilia-the-artist @wand-erer5 @boneyarrd @lizard-zombie @itwasallinmyhead1 @cassidylea123 @paleepeaches @mxltifxnd0m @kettlekatie @ultimate-cinephile @gloryekaterina @caramelkatsukis-bitch @whovianayesha @memeorydotcom @deadunicorn159 @get0ut0fmyr00m @siriuslymooned @emmyeed @superbreadsoul @hellu-people1 @ourautumn86 @inas-thing @noraapple05 @givemylovetoall @luvwanda (tags cont. in comments)

#joel miller x reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fanfic #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #the last of us spoilers #the last of us imagine #the last of us fanfic #the last of us fanfiction #twenty years later

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overwhelmingly-his-son · 2 months

Text

Name: Lukas Castellan

Alias: Luke, Luca

Age: 16

Sexuality: too busy to question, has dated both before

Weapon: a 7” tall staff

Relations: Luke Castellan(father), May Castellan(grandmother and legal guardian), Hermes (grandfather)

Personality: closed off, overwhelmed, stressed, aggressive, lacking emotion, empathy, compassion and guilt. Shows signs of suspected aspd, lashes out, clingy, impulsive. Paranoid, insecure. Gets attached easy.

Fatal flaw: Anger

Fears: his father

Hobbies: very busy, but often boxes in his free time, likes learning about parasites

———

Anyone I know:

Demigods:

@iggy-mini-miny-moe - Ignis Grace, seems nice, haven’t spoke

@daffy-not-a-duck - Daphne Naria Solace-di Angelo, also sorry

@ineedtoescapefromreality - Rosalyn and Echo McLean, twins, uh- idk anything else bout them

@chasing-that-jackson - sorry about what my dad did to your parents

@olivernothere - Oliver Solace-di Angelo, haven’t spoken, I like your cat

@drea-and-nico - also haven’t spoken yet, more twins i think

@violent-cinnamonroll - Aria Nicole La Rue - once again sorry for my dad

@not-a-panda - cousin dora!! :)

@morningstar-of-the-night - Kallisto Danica Arrelano-Grace, also sorry for my dad

@praetor-ambrose-asher - haven’t met, seems very strong

@daredevil-larue - Lucine La Rue, also sorry for my dad

@the-poison-and-the-sky - Belladonna Chase-Jackson, from another universe, also sorry for my dad

@yourfavoriteadoptedkid - Eloise, haven’t spoken

@hey-guys-its-sam - Samatha Zhang, haven’t spoken

@we-arent-sane - Evan and Penelope Rosier, has apparently claimed me as his bud, haven’t met Penelope

@regulus-a-star - regulus star, he’s stuck with me now

@yeahiguessim-white - Felix White, he bites, I think we’re friends :)

@daughter-of-storm Isla Graham, also haven’t met yet

Adults:

@leo-repairguy-valdez - Leo Valdez, haven’t met, I don’t think I have to apologize for my dad to you

@percy-jackson-xxx - Percy Jackson, sorry for my dad

@sincerely-anniejackson - Annabeth chase-Jackson, sorry for my dad

@ghost-king-and-thebones - Nico di Angelo, probably also sorry for my dad

@doctor-sunshine-andcarebears - Will solace, also sorry for my dad

Did I get everyone?

Tags:

The burden of a last name - posts

Oop it’s trauma - backstory stuff / Luke and may lore

Songs:

Family line by Conan gray

ESOEMOEHOED by Leanna Firestone

Bigger person by Lauren Spencer smith

———

#pjo oc blog #2nd gen #Percy Jackson of #percy jackson roleplay #Percy Jackson rp blog #the burden of a last name #Oop it’s truama

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marvelfanfn2187a113 · 1 year

Text

Stay With Me

Dean Winchester x sister!reader

Synopsis: Really just a lot of drabbles about reader growing up with big brother Dean.

Warnings: ANGST at the end, but with a happy ending (Because I’m a total coward that doesn’t believe in any other kind of ending, deal with it I’m never changing)

Author’s Note: Another one, really? Yeah I don’t know where they’re coming from, enjoy it while the obsession lasts!

“Stay with Dean, ok?”

That was your earliest memory. John Winchester, covered in blood, placed you in the strong arms of your oldest brother, and ran off to go after the vampire that had killed your mother and injured you.

You had tried to follow him, thinking he would somehow lead you back to your mom, too young to understand that she was gone forever.

Dean had snatched you up, holding you in his lap even as you struggled and cried.

“Hey, hey, stay with me baby, stay with me.”

A chill in the air bit into your skin. You were bleeding from various vampire cuts. You were trembling, and the only parent you had ever known was gone forever. But all you had to do was look up into your big brother’s eyes, and you somehow knew that everything would be ok.

…

“Hey, stay with me.”

Your eyes snapped up to your big brother, who was gesturing for you to keep up.

“But I wanted to get a balloon from the clown!” Your six-year old self whined, pointing over at one of the carnival booths.

Dean’s eyes scanned the area, before he lifted you into his arms and gave a meaningful glance to Sam. Sam looked terrified, but you couldn’t understand why he seemed so scared of the nice clowns.

“We’re not here to play with the clowns. You gotta stay with me, understand?”

You sighed in annoyance, glancing over at the clown with the big balloon. You really wanted one of those.

You let out a whine and kicked your legs, trying in vain to get out of Dean’s arms, “But Dean!”

Dean just chuckled, “c’mon baby, I’ll get you a funnel cake if you’re good.”

That was enough to make you go from whining and squirming, to clapping and leaning your head against your brother’s shoulder.

“Ok Dean.”

“Good girl.”

…

“Stay with me.”

“But Sam said to split up, shouldn’t we-”

Dean cut you off with a- “Y/N look out!” as he tackled you sideways. You saw the ax bury itself right where your head had been a second ago, the spirit wielding it clearly angry at having missed.

You and Dean both scrambled to your feet as the spirit vanished into thin air. You reached out to your brother and gripped onto his arm, trying to control your breathing. Dean took a moment to pull you into his chest, which you appreciated since you knew he was also trying to focus on where the spirit went. But you were only thirteen, and it was one of your first hunts, so Dean was going to make sure you got through it both physically and emotionally whole.

“Ok, ok, I’ll stay with you.”

Dean’s chest rumbled as his low chuckle reached your ears.

“Good girl.”

…

“Stay…stay with me. Please?”

Never, not even on a hunt, had a night scared you as much as this one. Sam and dad had spent hours yelling at each other, before Sam had finally packed a bag and stormed out the door, college-bound. You had run into his room while he was frantically shoving clothes into a bag, and you had begged him not to go away. He had just smiled sadly, wrapped you into his arms, kissed your head, and said goodbye.

And now this. Now Dean was staring up at you, his eyes almost…almost…vulnerable. Lost, even. Asking you to stay like he thought you were about to run away like Sam. It scared you. Dean was never vulnerable, he was never weak, he never had to ask you for anything. Then, you realized. Maybe he was just as scared as you were. He and Sam had been more than inseparable, they had a bond that you had been so certain would never be broken. But now it was.

You walked over to where Dean was leaning against the wall, and slid down next to him. He pulled you into his arms, and clung to you as though you were his anchor to the world. You reached your hand up and pulled his head against your shoulder. Even with Sam gone, you had never felt safer and more secure than you did right now in Dean’s arms.

“We’re gonna be ok,” your voice was quiet, but resolute. Impossibly, Dean’s arms got even tighter around you.

“I know we will, baby. As long as you stay with me.”

…

“No, no, stay with me, I’m right here baby, stay with me.”

You struggled to clear the fog clouding your mind, fighting your way back to the voice that was calling to you. You blinked your eyes open and saw Dean, his face hovering over yours, his eyes wide. Panicked. You felt something warm and wet against your hand, and you looked down to see that it was covered in dark red liquid that was pooling around a tear in your shirt.

The demon. It had attacked you, ripping open a gash in your face, your leg, then finally your stomach.

“Dean…” your voice croaked past the lump in your throat, and you reached a hand up towards your brother. He gripped your smaller hand in his, and you felt his other hand behind your head, holding you up.

“You’re ok,” Dean swallowed hard, and you felt a tear drop onto your nose. Dean was crying. “You’re ok baby, I’ve got you, I promise I’ve got you, just stay with me, please.”

You felt the ground beneath you shake, and it took you a moment to realize why. You were in Baby, the car driving dangerously fast. You craned your neck to see Sam at the wheel. You glanced back and forth between your brothers, confused.

“Dean…why’s Sam…”

Dean brushed your hair away from your face, cringing when his hand came away from your face covered in blood.

“Shh, shh N/N, don’t try to talk. Sam’s driving so I can be here, I’m not gonna leave you baby.”

“We’re almost there,” Sam called from the front seat, glancing to the back for a split second. “Dean, you’ve gotta keep her awake.”

Dean looked down at you, alarmed when he saw your eyes drooping.

“Hey, hey c’mon N/N. Stay with me, I know you can, I know you can, ok? I’m right here, stay with me, stay.”

You forced your eyes open, and focused all of your attention on the green of Dean’s eyes. It was a pretty color, you decided. You had never really noticed…

“Pretty eyes,” you murmured.

“What?” Dean propped your head up a little higher, trying to keep you awake.

“You have pretty eyes,” you smiled up at your big brother.

Dean laughed softly, blinking rapidly to push the tears away from the surface.

“Yeah, ok sweetheart. Look right here, look at my eyes, don’t you fall asleep ok?”

You gripped his free hand hard in yours, squeezing it to try to force yourself to feel something other than the numbness that was threatening to take over.

“Ok Dean.”

…

The second that Sam brought the car to a stop, Dean had you cradled in his arms and was rushing you inside the emergency room.

“Help! I need help!”

…

You felt like there was a weight chained to your legs, dragging you down, down, down. Deep into some black…thing. Something you didn’t understand. Something that scared you. You struggled, trying to…to what? To fly, you supposed. But you couldn’t do it. You were being dragged down, and nothing could…

Wait. There was…something. A voice? It was calling out to you. The voice made you feel weightless, and impossibly, you felt yourself drawn to it, lifting up and away from the black void that threatened to claim you.

The voice was deep. Soft. soothing.

The voice was home.

“You come back to me. You hear me? I need you to stay with me.”

You knew that voice…

“Dean?” you felt your eyes open, and you felt suddenly snapped back into reality. A sharp antiseptic smell accosted your nose, and a harsh beeping made your ears ring. A blinding light was above you, but then suddenly, it was blocked out.

Replacing it was a pair of bright green eyes.

“Baby? Oh, baby…” Dean’s strong arms wrapped around you, and you let your body collapse into him. Your brain still felt foggy, but you understood enough to know that you had just come back from a very dangerous edge, one that you weren’t ready to fall down. And so you clung to the thing that had brought you back from that edge.

You clung to your big brother.

You felt tears dripping down your cheeks, soaking Dean’s shirt.

“I stayed with you,” you cried, clinging to the fabric of Dean’s shirt as he held you in his arms, one hand at the back of your head, holding you to him, while the other rubbed up and down your back.

“I know, I know you did, sweetheart. Baby you were so strong.” Dean’s voice came out thick, and a little higher than usual, and you knew he was crying too. “I know you stayed with me. And I’m never gonna let you go, ok? I’m never gonna let you go.”

You smiled against your brother’s warm embrace.

“Ok, Dean.”

#dean winchester #dean winchester x sister!reader #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x female!reader #dean winchester x you #the winchesters #winchesters x reader #winchester #sam winchester x sister!reader #winchester x sister!reader #winchester x sister

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emmaleighsworld · 9 months

Text

Seriously?

Pairing: Steve Harrington x reader

Summary: When your coworker ditches work early Steve is there to lend a helping hand.

Contains: just fluff here

Word Count: 1.7k

Steve’s taste in music had always been something his classmates raved about, even after he stopped hosting those huge parties. They always talked about how every time he’d host a party or let people hang out at his house he’d have the best, most popular, music on standby.

Although most of his favorite songs were fun, rock songs he could sing along to—and the occasional pop song—Steve also had a soft spot for some songs from the 60s and 70s. They brought him back to the simpler times of his childhood, back to before he had seen how complicated the world really was.

However, he usually liked to keep that information to himself because it was special to him. And since he kept that to himself and a few of his close friends, even if they liked poking fun at him for it—it was no surprise that two weeks after his graduation Tina had asked Steve if she could borrow his best summer-music tape for a party she was hosting while her parents were gone over the weekend.

Tina said she’d stop by Scoops after she was done with it, but her party was two weeks ago. So, that’s how Steve ended up walking across the mall towards Sam Goody’s after his shift, hoping that Tina would be on the closing shift.

That’s when Steve first saw you. You were wiping down the counters, humming along to a Supremes song that played over the store speakers, when he walked in.

Steve’s first thought was that music stores don’t usually play this type of music. Usually, it’s something fun and upbeat because that’s what they’re trying to sell.

Then Steve remembered that he’d seen you once before. A couple weeks ago, after his closing shift, he saw you in the mall parking lot. Well, truthfully, he’d heard you first. You were in your car singing along to an old Supremes song blasting from your car speakers with your windows down.

When he’d gotten to his Beemer, Steve watched as you drove past him in the lot, singing to your heart’s content. He remembered thinking how carefree you looked that night and how pretty he thought you were.

Steve had kept an eye out for you after that night but never had any luck finding you as his eyes searched the crowds of the mall each day during his break. Suddenly, he was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard that voice again—“Seriously?” He heard her say under her breath.

“Hey, sorry, but I already closed the register. We’re closed for today.” you said, “You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

“Oh, no. I’m not here to buy anything.” Steve said looking around, “Do you know if Tina’s here tonight? She borrowed one of my tapes for a party and I just wanted to get it back.”

You laughed, Tina had left her shift early with her boyfriend after promising you an IOU for the next time you wanted to leave early.

“No, she’s not here. Left early with her boyfriend.”

“Seriously?” Steve asked.

You weren’t sure if it was his straightforwardness or if it was the way he kind of looked like he needed a friend in that silly-looking sailor hat, but you decided to continue the conversation instead of shooing him out of the store.

“Seriously,” You sighed, holding up the silly IOU cards Tina made for you, “Now I have two of these.”

Steve walked closer to the counter to read them as you placed them on the counter and moved to grab the window cleaning supplies.

“An IOU? She really gave you one of those?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t expect me to ever use them, but I kind of want to just so that she knows she can’t always dump this crap on me and ‘promise’,” you say making air quotes with your fingers, “ that she’ll cover for me.”

You began spraying the front window and continued your rant, “I mean, she barely helps when she is here.”

“I could help you close up the shop if you want?” Steve broached as you wiped the glass.

You stopped, turning around to face the guy you had allowed to stay in the store for maybe a bit too long.

“You would help me?” You asked skeptically.

“Yeah, sure. I mean, I just closed up Scoops Ahoy—which is why I’m still wearing this stupid uniform. But I did it all by myself since Robin had to leave early for some stupid family dinner. Anyway, I just—I know what it’s like and if you want some help just give me the order.”

Steve finished his rambling offer to help with a smile, hoping you’d take him up on his offer.

You stayed silent for a few seconds and narrowed your eyes at him, thinking. But, just when Steve started thinking you were about to kick him out, you smiled.

“You know, I was starting to wonder why you walked in here looking like some discount store sailor. No offense.” You said.

“None taken,” he smiled back and took off his sailor hat, “This wasn’t really my first choice, but I had to get a job somewhere-you know?”

“Yeah, I get that—“ you paused, realizing you didn’t know this guy's name yet and he didn’t know yours, “What’s your name?”

“Steve Harrington,” he said.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Steve Harrington,” you smiled cheekily and then gave him your name.

Steve smiled too, “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Well, Steve, if you really want to help, I haven’t swept the floor yet and there’s a broom in the back.”

You went back to wiping the front window and looked back at him after a few seconds. Steve had stopped moving. He had a blank look on his face like he was surprised you accepted his help. Most people just brushed off his offers for help.

“The back room is over there,” you said pointing, “Don’t think that I’ll let you just loiter around in here 'cause you’re nice.”

“Oh, okay,” Steve said, still in a daze.

As Steve walked over to the back room, the song over the stereo changed and you started humming along as you returned to your work.

You could hear him moving around when you suddenly heard another voice quietly humming with you.

You stopped and looked at Steve. He was quietly humming to the song and moving around the store as he swept.

In that moment, you could feel your heart squeeze at the sight. You barely knew anything about him, but there was something so endearing about Steve and the way he wanted to help you for nothing in return.

He had surprised you. You didn’t think you were ready to like someone new, but there Steve was. Helping you out, on a Friday night nonetheless, in all his kindness.

Steve looked up at you when he realized you’d stopped humming. And just when you thought he couldn’t have shocked you more, he stopped humming and began to sing along-trying to coax you into joining him.

It took you a minute to let the moment sink in. With anyone else you would have passed it off as a joke, but Steve had disarmed you. So you joined him, singing along to your heart's content in an odd duet sort of way.

Soon enough, the two of you had cleaned the store and finished the rest of the closing duties, singing the whole time.

“That was fun,” you said, turning off the music and grabbing your bag from the counter, heading towards the doors.

“Yeah,” he said as he watched you lock the door for the night.

“Thanks—for the help I mean.” You said looking towards Steve.

“It’s no problem, I’m glad to help.” Steve said, “Can I walk you to your car?”

He looked a little nervous when he asked. It was almost like he was scared you’d say no, but instead, you smiled at him.

“Sure,” you said.

So you started walking out of the mall, in step with Steve.

The walk to your car was surprisingly quiet. You couldn’t figure out what you should be talking about and Steve didn’t say anything either. He seemed to be lost in thought whenever you glanced over at him.

You thought the two of you had a lot of fun tonight. A small part of you thought that you could become friends with Steve, and an even smaller part thought about liking him as more than a friend if you got to know him better.

It felt a little silly thinking about it, but he helped you and made you feel better.

But by the time you’d gotten to your car, neither of you had said a word.

“Well, thanks for walking with me. I guess I’ll see you around,” you said unlocking your car.

“Wait, umm…” Steve said before trailing off.

“Yeah?” You looked at him, waiting.

He took a small breath and continued, “You remember how you said you wanted to use those IOU cards Tina made you?”

You nodded, wondering what exactly he was going to say.

“Well, I was wondering if you’d like to go to the Fourth of July fair with me—maybe use one of those IOUs to get off work early?” Steve asks.

“We could play the games and go on some rides,” he continued, “The food’s not too bad as long as you don’t think about how greasy it actually is. I was thinking we could get to know each other better…”

“Are you asking me, as a date? Serious?” You asked, almost not believing your ears.

“Yeah, I thought it could be fun,” Steve said as he rubbed the back of his neck, “So, what do you think?”

You broke into a smile, “I think I would like that a lot.”

Steve looked so relieved when you accepted. He had smiled a few times already, but this smile was brighter than all the rest and it made you glad.

That must have been what he was thinking about on the walk to your car.

“Cool. Awesome. I can write out the details and bring them to you on my lunch break tomorrow if that's okay?” Steve offers.

“That’d be great Steve,” you said, “And maybe I could stop by Scoops on my break. I’ve been meaning to stop in too—see what flavors you guys have.”

“Great, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Steve said, “Drive safe.”

“You too,” you said before getting into your car to leave.

You weren’t quite sure what going on a date with Steve Harrington would bring. But, you did know that you were excited for something and it felt good to look forward to something again.

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff

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clockwayswrites · 2 years

Text

I didn’t write two parts this week or anything. Nope.

But apparently you all have been very good/bad/tired/enby and deserve to be spoiled. Who am I to deny that?

Master List: Start of ‘Thirst Trap Lessons‘ wc 1220

Danny jolted up, going out of frame on the video call. "I have to seduce Red Hood."

"...dude," Tucker said after a moment. "He already likes you."

"As Jason."

"You just said they're the same person," Sam pointed out.

"That’s not important, not if they're pretending they're not. He's not, I mean. If I want to date Jason I have to convince Red Hood to let me and the easiest way to do that is to get with Red Hood too."

"Just pointing out that, again, he already likes you, my dude."

"As Jason. How is this confusing you?"

Sam sighed in that soul weary way that only someone who had been friends with Danny for years could sigh. "You're the one being weird. They're one person."

"With totally different lives.” How were they not getting this. They had been friends with him during his Phantom era. They had to understand the vigi life a little. Just because Jason and Red Hood were the ‘same person’ it didn’t mean they had the same needs or wants or even personality. “Nope. Need to seduce Red Hood."

"Danny, no." Two voices chimed back at the same time.

"Danny yes," he said, his smirk visible for a moment as he ducked down and ended the call.

He set his laptop aside and dug out his phone from between the couch cushions. It took him a moment to find the right number in his contact list.

"Danny?" The confusion in the voice was warranted. While they had all left Amity Park on surprisingly good terms, it was weird for him to outright call someone who wasn’t Sam or Tucker. Still, she was his best bet.

"Paulina,”Danny said. He knew that his grin was obvious in his voice and didn’t try to hold it back. “I need you to teach me how to be a lowkey thirst trap so I can seduce my accidental sugar daddy's boyfriend and date them both."

Silence hung heavy on the line. And then Paulina answered, "...oh we are so going shopping."

After some back and forth, Danny ended up going to Paulina in Metropolis. Paulina did demand to visit Gotham sometime, but pointed out she knew the stores in Metropolis already so shopping there would be way easier. This was especially true since she was in Metropolis to go to school for Fashion Merchandising.

Danny was pretty proud of her for that.

It was the two of them who had scattered to the East coast after graduation. A few had made it to the West coast, one down to somewhere in Texas, and the bulk had stayed in the Midwest. They weren’t all close, not by any means, but they tended to check in with each other in a sporadic group chat. Mostly it was talking about how freakishly normal everywhere else was.

Not that Danny could claim that about Gotham. (He thought the others might be sorta jealous of that.)

Still, even if it wasn’t a busy chat, it was a nice tether to have. It was a reminder that the insanity of their childhood had been real, but that they had made it out (mostly) alive despite it all. It was also a way to check in if they were being a little too weird— if the rest of the world really was that dulled.

“So,” Paulina started, smacking Danny’s hand away from where he was poking at his face mask again.

Apparently Thirst Trap Lessons started with a spa day.

“So?” Danny repeated, just to be an ass.

Paulina didn’t disappoint him and rolled her eyes. “So, now that we’re settled and soaking and alone, tell me about these people you’re trying to seduce.”

“Okay, well. Right. So this is a secret, which I won’t ask if you can keep because we’re Amity Parkers.” Danny said. He gave her the obligatory fist bump at that.

They had really come together as a class once the fact he was Phantom had become an open secret among the other students. None of them ever turned him in to the GIW or his parents. He liked to think it was more care than the fact that he had been revealed saving them all from being pulled into a realm of unending torture along with the school.

Amity Parkers knew how to keep secrets, they had proven that.

“They’re both the same person? Secret identity stuff. Just no one seems to know that.”

Paulina hummed. “Any people think they’re dating?”

“Apparently. One of them is Jason—”

“Sugar Daddy or boyfriend?”

“Sugar Daddy. Jason is… well, I’m pretty sure he’s rich? Even if he lives in Crime Alley.”

“Oh, so really a Sugar Daddy.”

Danny blushed red under his face mask. “I guess? Except I don’t think he knows he’s doing it! I sure didn’t. He just likes to help. He’s involved in a lot of charity stuff. But I’m pretty sure the money is his? Or his family’s? I don’t think it’s Red Hood’s.”

Paulina’s head let her head fall to the side so she could give Danny A Look at that. “Red Hood.”

“His other side. Sorta, um… anti-hero, vigilante, crime lord?” Danny said quickly in a squeak.

“Danny Fenton! What are you doing getting mixed up with vigilantism again!” She shouted, leaning over the edge of her tub to slap at his arm. “You were supposed to be—” Slap. “—done—” Slap. “—with—” Slap. “—that!”

“I am! Stop slapping me! I am done with it. I don’t help out or anything! I didn’t even know about the Red Hood part until Jason insisted I get some self-defense training because he was worried about me. And then I show up and bam— he’s also Red Hood!”

“And no one knows?”

“Not that I’ve met.”

Paulina was glaring at him again. “And just how did you notice?”

“He, um, might sorta be a Revenant?”

Slap. “Danny!”

“Come on Paulina, he’s amazing! He’s kind and confident and you should see his thighs,” Danny defended himself. “And… and since he’s died before maybe if this actually goes somewhere it means that he won’t…”

“Oh Danny,” Paulina said in a much softer tone.

Danny smiled a sad, lopsided little thing. “Don’t say my name like that. It’s something I have to think about. That’s just being realistic.”

Danny squirmed under Paulina’s gaze for a long minute before she finally looked away. “So one persona is a rich do gooder and the other a vigilante and everyone thinks they’re dating.”

“I know, wild how everyone just assumes that. They’re never even in the same room!”

“Not really,” Paulina said with a shrug. “Before we knew you were, you know, you, the whole school totally thought that Danny-you and Phantom-you were dating.”

Danny chocked on air. “What?!?”

“Like, I mean, so, you were always defending his name and Sam and Tucker would ask you if he was alright after ghost attacks and you got, like, all protective whenever the GIW was in town,” Paulina said. “So we thought you were dating you. I was totally jealous too.”

“Oh Ancients. Is that why everyone was asking me things like if Phantom felt cold to the touch?” Danny squeaked.

Paulina just laughed at him as Danny slid further down into his mud bath.

-----

AN: Ailithnight’s reply here was spot on that Danny was treating Jason and Red Hood like they had two separate needs even knowing they were one person, so I felt motivated to go off and finish up this scene that goes into his thought process for it. Please ignore that it really doesn’t have a start. I just really like the idea of Danny getting that it’s different in and out of the suit and while it’s not like it’s actually two personalities, there still are two very different needs and he has to step up and date both. It’s also nice that he can be more Phantom around Red Hood (Danny misses him a little).

I don’t know if I got Paulina’s Voice right, but I tried! I just find this concept hilarious, and I also think she’d understand masking, from a social side, maybe too well. Hope you all enjoyed being spoiled today and say delightful, darlings!

Good Squad, as you’ve named yourselves:

@addie-lover-of-stories @bathildaburp @d4ydr34min9 @sometimesthingsfallapart @vythika96 @worthlesswall @aroranorth-west @chrysanthemum9484 @ver-444 @impulsiveasshole @meira-3919 @lazy-bouqet @cryinginthevoid @thegatorsgoose @cutelittlebeanie @blankliferain @ramblingkat @screamingtofillthevoid @themirrorghost @skulld3mort-1fan @may-rbi @nixthenerd @moonlupine @olivethetreebitch @overtherose @roseinbloom02 @v-inari @nappinginhell @imchildish8775 @leftmiraclechaos @mimilikey @mygood-bitch99 @ailithnight @busterkeel @avelnfear @ravenshadow17 @demigraceling-blog @maskygirl55 @sroomheaddoc @undead-essence @desertbogwitch @addie-lover-of-stories @magic-pincushion @phantom-dc @lazy-bouqet @gin2212 @meira-3919 @apointlessbox @hollowgast1 @cutelittlebeanie @friends-fam-fiends-hellothere @serasvictoria02 @dulceringo @moonlupine @mushroom-jack @icedbluesoul @lumosfeather18581 @impulsiveasshole @coruscateselene @escelia @firegirl108 @roseinbloom02 @crystalqueertea @booberrylizard @phoenixdemonqueen @shorterthanadverage @pyramaniac @seraphinedemort @fallenangle67 @chaoticchange @soren1830 @trippingovermyfeet @nutcase8691 @themirrorghost @vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff @a-salty-sal @guardianrex @dsabian @crystalqueertea @v-inari @8-29pm @consouling @jotaroslooseeyebrowhair

#dp x dc #dead on main #danny fenton/jason todd #just no jason this scene #the fic that I'm not writing

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purebarnes · 1 year

Text

THIN ICE MISTER

bucky barnes x wife!reader

description: bucky and sam break your favorite lamp and candle when left alone with your guys 3 year old daughter, world of chaos

w/c: 3.1k

disclaimers: none… beside bucky and sam being left alone with a toddler, conversation about sex

You were this anxious and honestly not much made you nervous but that changed pretty quickly when you decided to leave your husband with your little girl. Not that Bucky was a bad father- that was far from it, he was a fantastic father to your sweet girl. He would coddle her when she would get upset, help her with any issues she would have with other toddlers not that he could do much but still.

The only issue that you found was that whenever he was Sam, that’s when it became catastrophic with those two. Now was a prime example of what was about to endure.. you currently had to leave to go do errands with Carol and Natasha while also meet Tony for a new mission that was months away but Tony insisted on getting on that.

You thought of taking Rebecca with you as the two men were probably going to make a mess in the house but Bucky kept telling you it would be fine.

You finally decided to trust your husband and his best friend and we’re hoping you made the right choice as he tried to push you out of your daughters bedroom.

“Wait. I need a goodbye kiss.” You reminded him to which he chuckled and went to lean in to you when you shoved his face away. He stumbled back while standing dumbfounded at you rejecting his kiss when you scrunched your eyes brows in confusion.

“Not you. From my sweet baby.” You hushed looking at the sweet little thing you and Bucky created to which she was letting out soft snores admiring her little curls resting on top of her forehead.

Leaning down to press a soft kiss leaving the excess of your chapstick, you looked up to a pouty Bucky to which you found hilarious. You faced him and took the chance to grab his face right in your hands as they were the perfect size to hold him.

You gave him a small grin, capturing his lip into yours and moving it in sync when he reached down the lower part of you ass and as he went to slightly squeeze it you gripped his hands that were were wrapped around his neck for support to stop him.

That meant you needed to stop before it became too much fun for him, you slapped his chest playfully but sternly as your daughter was still sleeping not even two feet away. He hissed in annoyance, “She is sleeping! Keep it in your pants.”

To that he scoffed because he looked back at his daughter sleeping and turned back to you. “Me? You obviously couldn’t keep it in, exhibit A.” Pointing directly at the brunette who was stirring around in her sleep before turning around to her side before falling back asleep.

Both of you leaving Rebecca’s room, heading downstairs to a familiar face opening the back door of your house. Sam shut the door softly not wanting to make any noise to disturb his favorite Barnes in her slumber.

Sam finally met your gaze and smirked calling your name, “Don’t ruin my house Samuel.” You playfully warned but actually not wanting to come back home with a mess or worse… actually nothing is worse then a mess (in your eyes).”

Reaching to grab your keys from the hooks on the wall you snatched them and grabbed your water while waving buy to the men and out the door.

Sam and Bucky were currently working on a gazebo. You distinctly remember looking at your iPad one night when Rebecca finally decided to sleep in her own room that night. Not that you would kick her out or anything, she just decided she didn’t need to sleep in her parents bed.

The idea of a gazebo came when you saw a beautiful gazebo when you went on a walk when you were half way through your pregnancy. Bucky saw how much you admired gazebos and it would be a great for when you all have guests from you avengers family.

You asked if Bucky could make a gazebo since it wouldn’t take long, maybe you shouldn’t be saying anything because you never built anything for that matter.

“Alright Buck. I got all the wood… well almost all and all tools are in here.” He spoke tapping at his tool box when he walked over to show Bucky the idea of the gazebo hoping you would approve.

You had a fairly big backyard so the gazebo would look beautiful in the back with Rebecca’s playground next to it.

Sam pointed at all of the perimeters he needed to do before starting, stepping back inside he heard the voices of his daughter talking through the monitor from the kitchen that was connected to her bedroom.

Hear faint cries from the little toddler, “Dada.” She whimpered hoping someone would go in her room at any second. She wasn’t usually like that in the mornings but recently she started to get clingier and have more outbursts than usual.

Bucky pouted at his baby’s voice calling for him and went straight to the direction of her voice. Opening the brown wooden door, she stopped taking out loud when she saw her father in the flesh. “Oh, sweetheart.”

Rebecca stood up from her bed that had was gated (so she wouldn’t escape) and lifted her arms up signaling she wanted to be in his arms. He obeyed her and swooped her into his arms kissing her right cheek repeatedly leaving loud ‘mwahs’ making soft giggles escape her from his little hairs.

“Daddy stop it!” She gasped when he stopped to give her a second to breathe, smiling at her father she stopped laughing as Bucky put her down. “Alright. Let’s go downstairs because you need to eat breakfast and also someone is here. It’s a surprise though.” She widened her light light blue eyes. “Is it Mommy?” Excited to see her mother.

He frowned, “No, baby. Mama is working but she’ll be home soon.” He promised her but then kneeled down to her level, “it may be Uncle Sam.” He teased when she squealed while jumping up and down right in his ear. “Oh! Okay, Bec.” Covering his ear to where the damage was done.

Walking down the stairs with her dad- more like running down the stairs even though it was dangerous and she knew never to run down. But Rebecca was to excited, nearly knocking down her Götz dolls that she had in front of the stairs.

Bucky groaned when he saw the whole dolls that were given to Rebecca by Natasha when she was in a mission in Germany with Steve and Wanda. 5 minutes after they successfully finished it, a store was getting robbed that sold dolls so Natasha looked around carefully before snatching a doll that kinda resembled Rebecca.

Of course Steve had a problem with it but Natasha did not care at all because she technically did not think it was wrong because it was already on the outside of the store.

You were quite upset at first because you never wanted Rebecca to receive things that were stolen. That simple.

From that moment Rebecca loved those dolls because they all were designed to look like her aunts and the women she most admired. “Becca, I asked you yesterday to pick up those.” His daughter kept running until she crashed in a familiar body figure, she grunted softly.

Sam let out a heartily chuckle, grabbing her little waist and holding her up to hold her by his waist and wrapping his other arm to support her back so she didn’t fall. “Well good morning sunshine!” He yelped tickling her side when she gasped at the touch that she was enduring.

“Uncle Sam.” She grunted holding his hand to stop him from tickling her and he stopped seeing her not laughing- “Daddy already gave tickles.” She pouted, Sam solemnly nodded to show that he understood like she was only allowed a specific number of tickles per day.

She was quite dramatic like her dad, you’d definitely say that she got that from Bucky and not you because you could never admit you were dramatic. Bucky rolled his eyes at his toddler and grabbed her breakfast plate to which she denied swatting it away when it almost fell before bucky caught it.

“Oh, no. Rebecca that’s not what we do, it is time to eat.” Bucky sternly spoke not wanting to have a thing with his daughter while his best friend was watching. “No! Not hungry.” She yelled clutching onto Sam’s forearm to which he nervously laughed off.

“Hey, hey. It’s alright, I’ll sit with you.” She sulked down, running her back so she was reassured that he would leave her side. Rebecca got placed in a chair as Bucky placed her plate down locking eyes with her to which she looked down feeling guilty at getting upset with her father.

“Thank you Daddy.” She thanked grabbing her water cup from the table and took a big sip before devouring into her breakfast.

—

Leaving the meeting with some avengers that you were working on the mission with- you tried so hard to not look at your phone to call your husband. You were doing so good, until Carol mentioned on who was watching Rebecca. “Bucky. With Sam…” you whispered softly.

Carol gave you deadpanned look seeing if you were serious or if you were just messing with her, “Sam? Uh hope you’re house is there when you get back.” She laughed when Nat smacked her shoulder, you started to grow anxious.

You snatched you phone from your bag, Natasha stopped you while glaring back to Carol who didn’t understand at all. “Stop that. Carol tell her you were just joking.” She demanded.

“What, no. Ow!-” Carol rubbed the spot where Nat pinched her, “I’m joking. I’m sorry, they have got it. You trust your husband, right?” It wasn’t that you didn’t trust him or Sam but you did get paranoid.

“I do. Just them together is just you know.” The women nodded as Carol paused, “What trouble could they cause?”

Back home, Bucky and Sam got as much as they could so they decided to wait to do something until they got bored. Rebecca was playing with a ball until Sam perked up. “Bucky. 20 bucks you can’t know over those pins with one hit.”

Bucky looked over to see toy bowling pins stacked on the floor, Bucky scoffed grabbing the ball Rebecca was playing with right as she grunted. “Relax, Bec. Daddy will give it back once he wins that $20.”

He backed up from his position and narrowly examined his spot- he stepped back and brought the ball back and threw the ball. But the ball ended up not going anywhere near the pins because all that was heard was a loud breaking sound with flowers on your newly white carpet and your favorite candle completely broken.

Sam gaped as Bucky cursed, “Shit!” He yelled walking over to see the mess he made when Rebecca smiled widely- “Shit!” She giggled running towards her father who winced at his faulty mistake.

“Whoa, no! We don’t say that.” To that Rebecca kept saying shit, shit, shit! Sam ran to grab a garbage bag so he could throw away the glass and flowers when Bucky swatted his hand away. “Are you crazy? She loves those, I’m dead.”

“Uh, well at least it’s you and not me.”

“This is your fault.” Bucky yelled.

“Mine?” Sam spat back.

“Yeah, you just had to bet me to do it- You could backed out, she will kill me but not if I’m not here.” Sam shrieked getting up when Bucky grabbed him by his metal arm making sure he stayed in place. “No way.”

Sam grunted, twisting his grip away from Bucky’s hard grasp. He huffed dumping all the remains of the incident, a little while later Sam vacuumed up all the dirt as Bucky sat Rebecca down on the long sofa and turned the TV so she could watch a movie.

Hearing the bag getting thrown away in the trash can outside, Bucky really was hoping that you would have noticed it because although people thought of him as a very gruffly person., he was more scared of his wife then anything else.

When Sam came back pausing the movie that Rebecca was watching, the three of them looked at the door as it was getting opened to you, Natasha and Carol. Your daughter gasped seeing them three, “Mommy!” You stopped in your tracks, opening your arms widely for her to engulf you in a tight hug.

Rebecca giggled those sweet songs that came out of her mouth when her mother brought her up and gave her a mouth kiss, “Mwah!”

“I missed my sweet girl! How was today?” You asked more Bucky and Sam but of course she answered for them, “so fun, daddy-”

Bucky covered her mouth quickly before she could spill anything to you as you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. Sam chuckled awkwardly looking at Nat and Carol who glanced at each other, “Yup, so much fun.”

“Well great, nothing looks—” you paused.

You had quite a keen eye for things in anything but you noticed the center table that was holding your favorite candle and lamp were missing. You hummed poking your tongue in the inside of your mouth.

Bucky and Sam stay quiet not saying anything as you were catching on, “Where’s my candle and vase of flowers?” You asked walking near the center table to no candle or Flowers.

Natasha cackled, “Ah, this is gonna be hilarious.” She spoke patting Bucky’s back as he glared ahead to her when she sat down on the couch with Rebecca as she latched onto her, missing her even though she saw her a couple days ago.

“What.. what vase?” He trailed along hoping you wouldn’t hear the nervousness in his tone to which you caught on- “Yeah, are you sure there was even a candle.. cause.” He gulped.

You sighed lowly “What did you do?” He carefully walked to you but keeping a safe space between, “I didn’t do anything.”

You rolled your eyes getting pretty annoyed at your husband when you asked Sam what he did but he also didn’t answer you- you looked at Rebecca who was was being cuddled by Nat and Carol. She perked up, “Daddy broke the lamp and candle!” She obviously didn’t know what she was doing or that she totally made a ditch for her fall into.

You turned muttering something low that only you could hear, you shook your head in disbelief at the two adult men. “Whatever. Let’s go eat.” To that Nat, Carol, Rebecca and you all walked into the kitchen with the takeout bags you guys ordered for dinner.

You weren’t mad or anything but you decided to milk it little bit longer so Bucky could sweat to try to gain your ‘trust’ again. He never lost it but it was funny to see him that that, you sitting on the opposite side of him to which bothered him a lot.

As dinner was over and you all chatted up about future missions and other rookie co workers, you pa led up the lest overs for Carol, Natasha and Sam who took the most boxes (which you insisted because the girls wouldn’t budge)

The girls kissing Rebecca goodbye and waving to Bucky while he was holding Rebecca because she asked to be held by her father squishing her check on his chest. Sam stood by Bucky’s side, “Good luck. Bye sweet girl.” Kissing her forehead goodbye and giving you a side hug.

Shutting the door when you walked back up to Bucky stretching out your arms for Rebecca as Bucky intervened, “I can- I got it.” He sighed watching bother girls leave the kitchen as he went to clean the kitchen from the mess you all made.

Reaching Rebecca’s room you turned on her lights and started on her night routine as she was in the middle of being potty trained you guys did nighttime pull ups for when she went to bed.

Taking out her pajamas- a pink sloth matching set that you bought one day when you two went on a target shopping day when Bucky was away on a mission. Pulling the pajamas over her head you took a brush and combed the hair in her front face.

Rebecca hummed.

You looked up at her direction, “Momma? Are you mad at daddy?” She frowned at that’s thought of her parents fighting and even worse them fighting because of her. “Bec honey no. I’m not mad at anyone.” You reassured kissing her forehead making sure she knew that nothing was going to happen.

She took that so reassuring that she ran to her bed and stood on her tippy toes to reach the bed. You swooped her up and placed her in the bed, grabbing her covers and covering her.

One last kiss was placed on her cheek and forehead, “Sweet dreams, my baby.” She hummed in satisfaction snuggling in her bed letting her go off into dream land.

Walking back to your shared bedroom with Bucky, you saw him already with his shirt off and boxers on and you avoided to look at his mesmerizing body. You went over to his side of the bed which was where the dresser was and grabbed a pair of pjs also.

When you got back from the bathroom, you plopped down on your side and let out a exaggerated whine. Bucky kept quiet not knowing you wanted him to say anything or not, “Really? You’re not gonna say anything?” You asked.

“I thought you were mad still.” He mentioned.

“I wasn’t even mad Buck. Just annoyed slightly.” Holding up your thumb and pointer finger showing the slightest gap when he finally let out a moment of relief that you weren’t even upset with him.

Being completely honest- you had some stress that you needed to relief and so that’s where your husband came into play. You wouldn’t tend to ask him to help you out but you were aching, you snatched his phone away and placed it on the desk next you.

It took him a few seconds to comprehend what you were asking until he waited for you to do something. “Is she asleep?” He sheepishly wondered.

“You’d think I would make you have sex with me if she wasn’t asleep.” Bucky shrugged leaning in before you heard a sound come from the monitor and it was your daughter who was in fact not sleeping. She was muttering something, you grabbed the monitor and heard her more clearly.

“Shit.” Rebecca Barnes spoke very clearly when you turned your head to the man that could only be responsible. Bucky chuckled softly when you turned on the speak button: “Rebecca Barnes. Do not say that word. Who said that word?”

“I’m going. You want me to suffer huh,” he grunted putting on his shorts that you took from the drawer and walked out the door to his daughter bedroom.

#marvel #bucky barnes #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x female reader #masterlist #bucky imagine #purebarnes #sebastian stan #mcu imagine #mcu #sam wilson #james buchanan barnes #sebastian stan x y/n #dad!bucky #family au #bucky barnes fluff

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alalaya2 · 1 year

Text

Decided to continue this enjoy

Part 2 Ecto hits the fan

While Tim found the hornet nest that would cause the JL to be up in arms ready to attack the United States government . There was a town in the west of Huntington ky on the ohio side of the river in Amity Park. The young King was looking up at the night sky he was floating high enough that most Ecto weapons wont hit him and if any GIW had a jet packs he would hear them coming with enough time to get away.

He had just turned 16 today and Clockwork has finally told him that he was now the king of the infinite realm. Things were going to happen soon and fast the realms themselves were gearing for war. If things didn’t change soon. Then he, as the king, would have to lead them to battle.

Danny closed his eyes let the light of the stars shine over him. It was getting harder to keep both the humans and ghosts safe from the GIW. They didn’t care who they hurt Star and Wes were still in the hospital from when a stray shot from agent O nearly killed them. If Danny had been a second late they would’ve been crushed by the tree Agent O had shot down. As it was Wes had a broken arm and Star had broken 4 ribs while both of them had a concussion.

Last year his entire class had discovered his identity after an incident with Vlad. They had all started to help him because members of team Phantom. His parents had interrupted Boxy’s and Lunch Lady’s bonding ceremony and now admitted that ghosts were sentient and not all ghosts were evil. He finally told him that he was a halfa two months ago so things were going well at the home front at least.

While his personal life was getting better it didn’t change the fact that he was not ready to be a king and he didn’t want to go to war. Phantom opened his eyes looking at a satellite and wondering if it was the Famous watchtower. Most of the tower had tried to contact the JL many times his first year as a hero. They had thought that the first time was a prank call and by the next call the GIW had started to put up an informal barricade. No other calls had gotten through.

Tucker had hacked their system and found out that by the end of the first year. No information about the ghost were available to anyone outside of Amity and anyone who was in Amity was heavily edited to the rest of the world Amity Parker’s didn’t exist. Danny’s first thought was to fly up to the watchtower himself and tell them what was happening. Sam had stopped him while Amity wasn’t public knowledge the Anti-Ecto acts were publicly available. This either meant they knew and agreed with them or they didn’t know and we’re being kept in the dark. Now he couldn’t leave even if he wanted to it was too dangerous for his people for him not to be around.

His ghost senses went off and he sighed. His rouges had been getting better at not being destructive but The GIW were also out. He looked down to see Ellie running from the GIW. protective rage thrummed through his core

Not My Daughter

He took off like a shot his core screamed as he saw Ellie take a shot to the back. Ectoplasm seeping down her back as she was still trying to get away.

“Papa!” She cried out as she saw him coming.

Dani now called Ellie had finally stabilized and had created a parent- child bond with him. He could feel the echo of pain from that bond.

“Ellie” he cried out looking at the GIW he noticed the had a net. “Ellie look out” he pushed her out of the way the net wrapped around him and a high electric current went through the net. The last thing he saw before passing out was Wulf grabbing Ellie and taking her to safety

#danny phantom #dp x dc #ghost king danny #tim drake #bones prompts #green lantern #feral Amity park #justice league #martian manhunter #GIW are screwed #Princess Dani Phantom

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catmomjudy · 4 months

Text

Did Eddie Run Away to the Army?

(Fox Publicity Still)

I commonly see it phrased (in fanfiction and in some posts here) that Eddie “ran away” to the Army.

What does canon say?

In “Eddie Begins” (s3e15), canon states that Eddie “will be back to Afghanistan next week” when they talk with their parents after Christopher is born.

When they are arguing about Eddie’s reenlistment (which he did without telling her), canon also has Shannon saying “I got pregnant, and you signed up. Surprise!”

In s6e16, when they are talking about proposals, Eddie says, “Shannon got pregnant. When she told me the news, I said, ‘We should get married.’ I barely even asked.”

So, it is very clearly canon that Eddie did not enlist until after Shannon discovered that she was pregnant. They got married, and he was already stationed in Afghanistan when Christopher was born. 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 So, how did we get from Civilian Teenager Eddie to PFC Diaz, duty station Afghanistan? Let me tell you a story.

Teenager Shannon absolutely knows she is pregnant the very first day she missed her period. She runs straight into Eddie’s arms and tells him. (That’s the 4 week point of a 40 week pregnancy.)

She and Eddie go down to the courthouse the Very Next Day to get married. That same day, Eddie then goes to a recruitment office.

His recruiting and training process goes through the system “Like Magic,” and he quickly progresses through each of the steps. For 68W (Combat Medic):

Recruitment: 2 weeks

Basic Training: 10 weeks

Advanced Training (AIT): 16 weeks

Prep for deployment: 3 weeks

Total: 31 weeks

(Based on: 68W (Combat Medic) training requirements at goarmy.com; Personal stories and Ask/Answers posted by real soldiers online)

Eddie arrives, duty-bound and healthcare coverage obtained, in Afghanistan, 35 weeks after the stick turned blue.

When Eddie reports to his very first duty station as a PFC (Private First Class, or E3), he asks for leave (“I need to be in Texas in about 4 weeks because we’re having a baby!”), and his very nice commanding officer says, “Why sure PFC Diaz! Let me arrange your military airlift right away!” And off Eddie goes, arriving in El Paso in advance of Christopher’s birth.

It’s a lovely fairy tale, but this is what canon says happened, so we have to accept it as truth. 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 Now, I could tell you all of the ways that this is a TV fantasy. I was in the Navy for 11 years, so I already took it with a grain of salt. I did some poking around (because, as former military, I know that what goes for the Navy doesn’t necessarily go for the Army where it relates to duty assignments), and found various Reddit chats where enlistees were asking questions about recruitment and 68W training, and I skimmed through a bunch of answers to get a general idea of timelines, and then meshed that with my own experience.

The numbers above are an Absolute Minimum. No delays in processing; no wait for the next Basic class start date; no gap after Basic (and no picking up trash and cleaning toilets at Ft. Sam) while awaiting for the next Combat Medic course to start; no leave taken after AIT; and no training or medical period at his first duty station before deployment (and troops are deployed from stateside commands as a group—you don’t just get on a plane and show up in Afghanistan). Eddie would need to take leave and return to Texas for the birth. He would have earned 14 pay periods worth of leave at this point, which would add up to 17.5 days on the books, so he would have enough days to go home for 2-ish weeks. However, he is NOT EVER going to go to Afghanistan and then fly back 4 weeks later. That’s a pipedream. If they’re nice, they’ll keep him stateside and send him for additional training at Ft. Sam Houston (where 68W AIT is held). But, if, as canon states, PFC Eddie is already in Afghanistan, it is highly doubtful that he’d be back for the birth.

And this is even assuming that Teenager Shannon knew she was pregnant on the very first day she missed her period. 🤔 Yeah, probably not.

[This is also not even getting into the fact that, based on the birthdate on her tombstone, by Texas state law, Shannon would have entered kindergarten in September 1998, at the age of almost-six. She would have graduated in 2011 (the year Christopher was born), which would totally turn the above timeline into an unreachable fantasy, unless she and Eddie were in different grades (maybe someone else can figure that bit out). So, we’ll assume she moved to TX from a state that had a December 31 cut-off (which, in the 90s, was most northern states—I’m from PA, and currently live in CT, and, until recently, this was the date in both places), and that Eddie was born sometime before September 1, 1992 (so he could start school in September 1997). Then they would have both graduated in May 2010. There, that fixes it. 😁]

🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 So, did Eddie “run away”?

I think, to even make the Fantasy Timeline happen AND result in placement in the career path Eddie chose (because it’s a selective field with a much higher-required ASVAB score and more training requirements than other high-demand fields like Infantryman), he needed to have been considering it anyway. The military is a really good choice for a boy (or girl) from Texas who doesn’t want to go to college right now, but wants to learn job skills and earn college benefits. If he already was thinking about it, he would already know that the military dependent health benefits (and housing benefits) are pretty darn good. Not perfect, but then, no insurance plan is these days (I could tell you a story about where I, active military, gave birth, vs. the jacuzzi-equipped birthing suite my coworker’s military dependent wife got to use, but this is already too long).

Viewer opinion of Eddie’s enlistment in the Army is very much colored by his memories of Shannon in “Eddie Begins” (see quotes, above), and their argument in “Haunted” (s2e07–and, yes, I did notice that it’s a Ghost Title 😁).

Eddie: What did you need that I didn't give you?

Shannon: You! I needed a husband and a co-parent. And instead, all I got was a life alone in Texas with a baby and you on another continent. I needed someone to have my back.

Eddie: I always had your back.

Shannon: No. You were in Afghanistan.

It’s also colored by civilian opinions on and stereotypes of military personnel and military life.

Military people have families. Many of them have children and good, solid marriages. They rotate back and forth between stateside and forward deployment, so they aren’t always gone (except when there’s an actual war, like in the early 20-teens, so bad timing for Eddie). During peacetime, you don’t deploy over and over again without being assigned to what the Navy calls “Shore Duty” without volunteering for it, usually in writing. Career military people enter service and stick around for 20 years, because the benefits are good, and the retirement pay is good, too. Retiring on half pay at age 38 is not a horrible thing.

Eddie’s fatal character flaw is not that he ran away: It’s that he internalizes his decisions, and makes knee-jerk decisions without discussing them with anyone. Join the Army. Reenlist. Move to LA. Leave the 118. Yep. And I can see why Shannon was royally ticked off. He should have talked with her, but, really, I’m thinking the conclusion would have been the same in the end—she just would have felt better about it. Having your child diagnosed with a major health issue is NOT the time to lose your health insurance, even briefly. If they talked, they could have discussed Eddie rotating stateside at his next opportunity—duty station assignment doesn’t align with enlistment period, after all—closer to Shannon’s mother. A compromise.

I guess what really annoys me is when people use Eddie “running away to the Army” to justify Shannon’s actions (even, or especially, when Eddie says this himself). Eddie’s military service gained him health benefits for his pregnant wife and subsequent child, and health coverage for that same child; he went home on leave when able; and he video-chatted with his wife and child routinely. As Eddie says in s3e15: “I was in Afghanistan, not Cancun.”

Let’s not compare that with Shannon ghosting her own child for two years. Per s2e07, this is also canon, folks.

There’s a reason for the Ghost-themed title, after all.

P.S. I know I’m going to take flack for this one, but “Who Cares?”

🤷🏻‍♀️

#911 abc #911 on abc #911 #eddie diaz #shannon diaz #911meta #911 meta

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g4sstationdr-gs · 11 months

Text

Blood Splattered Teardrops

ghostface!sam x reader. reader is afab. warnings; smut, unprotected p in v, choking, biting, semi-public sex, knife-play, blood, murder, drinking, jealousy, obsession, manipulation.

word count - 3,146.

NOT PROOFREAD

Chapter Two

The cops arrived to your house about ten minutes after the call. You’re sitting in the back of an ambulance as the police question you when you see Sam’s car pull up. You jump up and run over to it as he opens the door. He steps towards you and places his hands on your upper arms.

“Are you alright?” He asks as his eyes flick over your face and body, checking you for injuries. You nod softly and wrap your arms around him for a hug. His hand goes to the back of your head and he holds it against his shoulder and the other arm wraps around your waist. It’s not everyday that you hug Sam, which makes this moment all the more intimate. He feels his heart squeeze with the need to protect you. He just wishes you would need him all the time.

You pull back from the hug and look over as the cop who was previously talking to you walks over. Sam stands next you and watches as the cop eyes him suspiciously before turning back to you. “We searched the entire house and a little into the forest, but we couldn’t find anything. We contacted your parents and they’re on the soonest plane home. We’re going to have a cop sit outside your house for the night.” You nod at his words and look over at Sam.

Sam looks down at you and he smiles. “I’ll stay too. We can watch a movie to distract you. It’ll be fine, I’m sure they’ll catch him.” He says and he subtly eyes the cop. “I promise nothing is gonna happen, now let’s go inside.” He takes your hand and leads you back into the house. You watch the authorities leave and the night becomes dark and quiet again. You made Sam do a triple check of the house and turn on all the lights.

Now, you’re laying down on your bed next to Sam, staring at the door. You can’t shake the feeling that he’s still there. It’s like you can sense his presence, but you know he’s not there. Sam shifts on the bed and you turn slightly to look at him. His leather jacket is hanging off the back of your chair and he’s not just in a black t-shirt. He looks up at you. “Are you going to go to sleep?” He asks and props his head on his hand.

You roll over to face him and mimic his position. “No. I can’t shake this feeling.” You say and you look back over your shoulder. Sam sighs and hangs his head. His black hair falls over his face. “Y/N. There’s nobody there. It’s just me, okay?” He says softly and looks up at you. You swallow and you nod. You place your head on the pillow and try to relax.

“I need to get drunk at Josh’s party tomorrow.” You say as you put your hand under your pillow. Sam tenses and furrows his brow. “You’re still going? Why?” He asks with confusion in his voice. You look up at him and take in his expression. “Well why not? I told him I was going. Plus, I have a costume ready and I want to get drunk.”

Sam clenches his jaw and scoffs. “You don’t have to do anything for him. just get drunk with me.” Sam feels the jealously burning in his chest. He doesn’t want josh anywhere near you. You look up at him confused. “You’re acting weird. You always go to parties with me.” You say and you watch as he pushes himself up into a seated position.

“Well your house isn’t always broken into, and you aren’t always attacked. What if the person will be there? What if he’s stalking you?” He says with a little anger in his tone. He sighs and shakes his head. You also push yourself into a seated position. “Sam. I need to get out of this house and go be around people. I understand you’re scared for me, believe me I’m more scared. But I don’t think anything could happen if there’s a bunch of people around me.” You say and you scoot closer to him until your knees are touching.

He shakes his head again, but this time with a small smile. “You’re stupid. You know that?” He says and he looks into your eyes. The way the light shines on you makes Sam’s heart rate pick up. You watch as his eyes flick down to your lips before he takes a deep breath and looks towards the door. “I’ll watch the door while you get to sleep.” He says quietly.

You feel your chest squeeze with a hint of hurt. You thought he was going to kiss you with the way he was looking at you. You smile slightly and lay back down, closing your eyes and finally drifting to sleep.

You stay true to your word and go to Josh’s party the next night. You’re wearing an angel costume with a s short dress,a corset, and white mary jane heels. You’ve done your makeup with bold winged liner. The bright lights and loud music helps keep your mind distracted. You lost Sam a while ago but you’ve been talking and drinking with Josh.

You’re slightly tipsy now and everything is starting to get blurry. Josh is starting to get more flirty and leaning closer to you. Sam watches in the crowd as Josh tries to make a move on you. He’s itching to hurt him. He sees as you start to lean in towards Josh, your skirt rising a bit as you do so.

That was the breaking point for him. He slips out of the crowd and rounds the house until he’s behind you. “Y/N.” He says to get your attention. You turn your head and look at Sam. His piercings shine in the dark light and he smiles. “Yeah?” You ask and turn your body to face him.

“I want to show you something outside. It’ll be quick, I swear.” He says holds his hands up. You glance back at Josh and sigh. “I’ll be back.” You say to him before following Sam out back. He sits down on one of the chairs and tugs you down to him. He lays back and points at the sky.

You follow his gaze and you see the Big Dipper right above you. “I just wanted to show you cause I knew you liked the stars and you don’t see it often.” He says before glancing over at you. You grin and continue to look at the sky. You sit in comfortable silence before his voice breaks it. “Do you want a drink? I’ll go get you one.” He asks.

You nod. “Sure. But hurry up.” You say and he smirks. “Sure thing.” He replies as he pushes himself up and makes his way into the house. He immediately sets out to find Josh. He sees him hanging around the same spot as he was before. He walks up to him and taps his shoulder.

“Hey, man. You’re out of beer. Y/N went in the basement to go get more but she said she couldn’t find it.” He says and he shifts his weight awkwardly as Josh stares at him. Josh sighs and pushes past Sam to head into the kitchen. Sam smirks and turns to follow Josh. He slips the mask and cloak on as he walks to the basement door.

He pushes it open and walks down the stairs. “Sam! she’s not down here what are you talking about-“ He’s cut off as he turns around to see someone standing there in a costume. “Okay. What the fuck is this? is this a joke? because you’re so funny, Sam. Now move.” Josh says as he tries to walk up the stairs. Sam steps in his way and shakes his head.

Josh glares at Sam and tries to push past him again when Sam punches him and he stumbles back and grips his jaw. Sam steps off the stairs and walks towards him. He pulls out the knife and Josh’s eyes widen. He picks up a bat laying on the ground next to him and swings it at Sam. He dodges and kicks him. Josh drops the bat and Sam pulls Josh towards him.

He drives the knife into Josh’s abdomen and backs him up against the fridge. He tilts his head and watches as his blood seeps into his clothes. He pulls the knife out and pushes Josh to the floor. He wraps his hand around the knife and he quickly swipes it across it to wipe the blood off.

He pockets the knife and reaches down to Josh’s body to grab his phone out of his pocket. He unlocks it and finds your contact. He sends you a message and goes upstairs to wait for you.

You wait for Sam for around fifteen minutes and when doesn’t come back you decide to get up and go back inside. You start to look around for Josh or for Sam but you can’t find either of them. You huff and make your way into the kitchen, before you feel your phone buzz.

You look at it and see that you received a text from Josh. He’s telling you to meet him upstairs. You sigh and walk upstairs. You get to the top and look around at the many rooms. You pull your phone out to ask which one he’s in when you feel someone grab you. You’re dragged into a room and a hand covers your mouth when you try to scream.

“shh.. you don’t need to alert everyone, baby.” The person says and you immediately recognize the voice. It’s the man from last night. You eyes widen and you try to wiggle out of his grasp. You feel the cold edge of the knife on your thigh. “I wouldn’t try it.” He whispers and he pulls you against him.

He moves his hand from your mouth to your throat. He applies pressure, but not enough to hurt you. “I like your outfit, Angel. This dress leaves little to the imagination, you know?” He says and feel him press himself against your ass.

His hand stays wrapped around your throat while the other one trails the knife up and down your thigh. The higher it gets, the more your skin burns with anticipation. “you’re so pretty..” He whispers. You bite your lip and you feel yourself aching with need.

He chuckles when you push yourself against him. “Is this exciting you? Knowing i could end your life at any second?” He says and he trails the knife up your body. “but you know i’d never hurt you.” He whispers into your ear before he turns you around to face him.

He leans closer to you. “close your eyes.” He whispers as he places his hands on your hips. You look up at his masked face. “Why?” you ask. “because i want to kiss you.” He says and he grabs your chin.

“This shouldn’t be happening, this is sick.” You whisper. “Just close your eyes, Angel. I promise i’ll make it worth it.” His thumb strokes over your bottom lip and you close your eyes. He pulls his mask up just enough so that he’s able to kiss you.

You feel his lips press into yours and you practically melt into the kiss. He moves his hand from your chin to the back of your head, pressing you deeper into the kiss. You bring your hands up and place them on the side of his face.

He groans into the kiss and you feel his tongue run along your bottom lip. He grinds against your lower stomach and you swear you feel yourself get dizzy. You pull away from the kiss and go to open your eyes but he places his hand over them.

“keep them closed or i’ll fucking kill you.” He growls out. You nod and keep your eyes closed when he moves his hand away. He grabs your hips and picks you up. He throws you down onto the bed and when you try to crawl away, he grips your thighs and pulls you to him.

He spreads your legs and he steps between them. The bottom of your dress it bunched up around your hips, leaving your underwear fully exposed. He grinds into you again and you let out a choked gasp.

He kisses you again and continues to grind into you. “come on.. give into it baby. You know you want to.” He whispers against your lips and his hands slide up your waist. Your mind is so heavy with lust and confusion. This is wrong, you know this is wrong. But your body is begging for it to happen.

His fingers trail from your waist to the top of your panties. He hooks his fingers into them and slowly pulls them down. You want to open you eyes so bad. You want to see who he is. See his reaction. But you’re driven by fear to keep your eye closed.

“Fuck..” He curses lowly. You feel your panties slip off your legs and onto the floor. “Someone’s enjoying this a little too much. You’re fucking soaked sweetheart.” He says lowly. You feel his fingers slowly run through your folds until they land on your clit.

You jolt and let out a moan. His fingers slowly rub your clit and your head rolls to the side as you moan into the pillow. His fingers leave your clit then you feel them push inside of you. Your back arches as he curls his fingers into that one spot.

He brings his face to your neck and he runs his tongue on your pulse point. It only heightens the pleasure and you wine into the pillow. He kisses and sucks on your neck while his fingers remain at a constant pace inside you.

You start to feel your abdomen burn with the familiar need to release. He feels you tighten around his fingers and he smirks against your neck. “You close, baby? I can feel you squeezing.” He reaches his thumb up to rub your clit. “Yeah.. come on baby. give it to me.” He whispers into your ear and you feel yourself come undone.

You moan loudly as you come around his fingers. Your hands grip the sheets and he coos into your ear. You’re still hazy as he pulls his fingers out and kisses your lips softly.

He rubs his hands on your thighs before he reaches between you and tugs down his pants and boxers. He grabs his cock and pumps it a few times before he runs the tip along the slick coating you. He presses lips against yours as he slowly pushes himself inside of you.

Your hands dig into his back through his shirt and you moan into his mouth. He bottoms out and he curses. “shit you feel so good.” He starts to thrust into you. He sets a brutal pace, pounding into your drooling cunt.

Your eyes roll back and you’re practically screaming as he pulls your hips to meet his thrusts. He groans again and he hangs his head. Each thrust has your entire body filling with pleasure.

He reaches over to grab the knife and he presses it to your collar bone. The cold metal feels soothing against your hot skin. You clench around him when he drags it up to press to the side of you neck. “I could kill you right now, and your pussy is squeezing around me.” He says mockingly.

He readjusts his position and hikes your leg over his shoulder, his cock now reaching impossibly deep. He leans forward and bites your shoulder hard. The pain mixing with the pleasure has your orgasm hitting you out of nowhere. Your cunt sputters around his cock as you cum impossibly hard.

His thrusts become lazy and sloppy as he gets closer to his release. He pulls out of you and strokes his cock until his cum shoots onto your stomach he lets out a load groan and a few curses. He hovers over you as you both catch your breath.

He swipes his hand over your stomach to rid of the cum. “You can look now.” He says, his voice raspy. You open your eyes and see the familiar ghost mask staring back at you. He picks up your panties and slips them back onto you. His hand soothes over the bite on your shoulder “until next time, princess.” he whispers before he backs away from the bed.

He leaves the room and leaves you staring in confusion and slight guilt. You sit there for several minutes until you muster up enough strength to get up and walk back downstairs.

When you get downstairs it seems like everyone is gathered in one place in kitchen. You stand at the bottom of the steps and stare in question as everyone whispers and some seem genuinely horrified. You go to ask what happened when you hear your name being called.

You look over and see Sam rush over to you. He grabs your hand and pulls you off the step. “Jesus- where were you?! You scared me!” He yells and pulls you into him.

You look up at him. “Sam, what’s happening?” You ask and then you look at the crowd behind you. He looks down at you with his brows furrowed. “You don’t know? Josh is fucking dead Y/N.” He says and you feel your whole body freeze in fear.

“What? but he just texted me like ten minutes ago- I don’t understand..” You say quietly and your hands grip onto Sam’s shirt. He places his hand on your lower back. “Okay, let’s get you home because it’s about to become a shit storm in here. come on.”

He leads you outside with his hand on your back and he brings you to his car. He drives you home and makes sure that you’ll be okay before he goes home himself. It feels like you’re not yourself as you make your way up to your bedroom. So many things happened tonight that you can’t keep up.

You shower and get ready for bed, hoping that it would clear your mind, but it doesn’t. Your mind is still in shock at Josh being dead, but more so the fact that you had sex with someone that’s obviously stalking you. You lay back on your bed and stare at the ceiling. The more you think, the more your head hurts.

It’s like everything clicks into place in that one moment. It all makes sense. You know who did it. Who killed Josh. You reach over and grab your phone, then dial Sam’s number.

#sam monroe x reader #sam monroe #ghostface #life as a house #anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker x reader #hayden christensen x reader #hayden christensen

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