#selectively mute reader

[alastor-simp]

Alastor with a female reader who is selectively mute Part 1

I always wanted to know how Alastor would react to a demon character like this or who is similar to Komi-san from Komi Can't communicate, so this is going to be my take on it.

**First Meeting**

Your arrival in hell wasn't a pleasant one. Literally the second you fell, you were approached by demons left and right, either trying to rob you or offering to sleep with you. Yelling at them would have been easy, but you were a very anxious person to the point you were mute with everyone you encountered. Surprisingly, you were able to run away from the unwanted problems you faced in hell, and was able to come across a flyer that was taped to one of the alley walls. "Come stay at the Happy Hotel" it read, and you figured that it might be a good place to stay for a while and try to make a sense of what you could do now that you were in hell. Having followed the map that was on the other side of the flyer, you were able to come across the hotel, but the neon sign was different then what the paper said, but you figured they probably were remodeling it.

The hotel was huge, it was plastered with neon signs, but also had a radio tower on one side, a large fish like contraption, and a pirate ship. "Amazing" you thought to yourself as you made your way closer to the door, and lightly knocked. A cheery voice was heard on the other side and soon the door opened to reveal a pretty, blonde girl. She had devilish features, but a very adorable baby face, and her smile was quite cute as well. "Oh! Hello! My name is Charlie Morningstar. How may I help you?", she said to you with big bright eyes, as she was patiently waiting for your response. Clenching your jaw, feelings of anxiety began to well up in your stomach, but you bared with it and simply held up the hotel poster in front of Charlie. Charlie was a little curious about your strange response, but she put the pieces together that you were wanting to stay at the hotel. "SQUEAL!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING!", she said as she threw her arms around you in a bear hug, then letting you go as she pulled you into the hotel.

The inside of the hotel was nice, but needed some remodeling, but you liked it overall. Looking around, you noticed the other demons that were in the hotel. A mini demon was zipping around in a cute dress, cleaning the ceiling with a duster, a cat like demon was chugging a bottle of booze at the bar, and a very tall spider was standing next to the record player, picking out a song. Stopping what they were doing, they all turned to look at you, curiously. Nervous, you raised your hand at them, signifying a hello. The cat demon just nodded his head and continue chugging, while the fast demon zipped in front of you, waving back with a smile, before zooming away to finish cleaning. The tall spider gave you a wink, as they walked to the bar and took a seat. "Vaggie! We have another patron!" Charlie said, as she yelled out next to you, while also leading you to one of the lobby couches to have a seat. As Charlie walked away, your eyes began to scan around the hotel, taking in every detail, and also glancing at the portraits hanging on the wall with Charlie and what looked to be her parents.

"Why Hello there! Who might you be?", a static voice said, as you looked up to see a red suit man with a very sharp smile standing in front of you, leaning down to place his face closer to yours. He was dressed to the nines in a red striped coat, along with a monocle and bow-tie. He also appeared to be holding a microphone staff? Was he a singer by chance? Realizing you were getting distracted, you just nodded your head at the man, and pointed to the poster, similar to what you did with Charlie. The man raised an eyebrow, as he continued to lean closer, most likely waiting for your answer, as his smile got wider, almost breaking his face.

**Alastor POV**

Alastor's eyes continued to stare at the quiet demon, who was holding the poster and kept tapping against it frantically. Amused, Alastor leaned closer, while moving his staff to tap against her chin: "Something wrong my dear? Cat got your tongue?" Alastor watched as the demon remained silent, but he could tell by their eyes that they were nervous, oh how entertaining. "Oh Alastor! So nice of you to show up! This is our new patron who just arrived at the hotel", Alastor heard, as he turned to see Charlie smiling at him, while dragging Vaggie by the hand. Leaning back from his position, Alastor continued to gaze at you while turning back to Charlie. "Ah! So this wayward sinner is here to stay at the hotel! Excellent!" Alastor beamed, as he look down at you, while you shifted in your seat.

**Your POV**

You started to feel a little uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on you, making you clench your hands on your lap. You noticed the other demon next to Charlie. She had long grey hair, and only one of her eyes was showing. She did give you a hard gaze when she saw you, but it softened after few minutes. As she came closer to you, she waved her hand as a hello, while also asking what your name was. You stayed silent, as the butterflies in your stomach made you feel like you wanted to vomit, as everyone was watching you, waiting for your answer. "Whats the matter with you, toots? You deaf or something?", The spider demon had taken a seat next to you, while wrapping an arm around your neck with one of his arms, while poking your cheek with his other hand. Freezing up, you felt your eyes start to water, and you started to slightly shake. Charlie noticed your reactions and bent down on her knees to gaze at you, asking if you were alright. Taking a slow deep breath, you nodded then made a notion with your hands asking for something to write on. Charlie quickly got up and ran to the desk to grab a large notepad and pen, before coming back to you. Once you had the notepad, you began to write down what you wanted to say, before turning the notepad around for everyone to see, while giving them a shy smile:

"Hello my name is Y/N. I just arrived in Hell a few minutes ago and I saw your poster and wanted to stay here. I'm sorry for not responding to you guys normally, but I am selectively mute, I'm sorry again. Its very nice to meet all of you!"

Everyone around you slowly read the notepad and all turned back to look at you. Charlie and Vaggie looked very apologetic, the spider just shrugged his shoulders, the mini one just continued to smile at you, but more softly this time, and the cat demon just continued to drink from the bar. The man in red, or Alastor as they called him, continued to smile at you, seeming unfazed by what you wrote, but you noticed his eyes soften a bit, but he made sure to hide it from the others. "Oh! I'm sorry if we made you uncomfortable." Charlie began to bow her head, but you waved your hands, letting her know it was alright. Charlie raised her head, and soon her frown turned back into a bright smile: "Oh yes, let me introduce everyone! This is Vaggie, my girlfriend. The spider next to you is Angel Dust. Niffty is the small cute one. Husk is the one at the bar, and this is Alastor." You listened to all of the names Charlie said, and looked at everyone, while smiling and nodding your head. Angel Dust smirked while looking at you, turning you head to look at him: "You're quite a cutie aren't ya? I bet your voice sounds very sexy." Angel continued to wrap his arms around you, continuing to flirt with you, until Alastor's staff smacked him on the head. "Now my good fellow! It's not proper to talk that way to a lady! Please kindly remove yourself from them!" Alastor said, as he gazed at Angel, smiling still, but it looked more menacing this time. Angel let you go, while rubbing his head: "Satan F*** Al! You didn't have to hit me with that thing!" Vaggie then yelled at them both to be quiet, as she walked over to front desk and grabbed what looked like to be a room key. She walked back and handed it to you, telling you that your room is on the fourth floor and you can go up there and get settled. Nodding your head as a thank you, you began to walk over to one of the elevators and made your way to your room.

Arriving in your room, you scanned around the interior. The room had some dust and cobwebs, but a little cleaning would help with that. The room was decorated in a maroon red, with a large bed with black sheets, two large windows with curtains, a bathroom and a very wide closet. It almost felt like you got the home suite, which made you feel guilty as you really didn't need a extravagant room like this. Still in thought, you were alerted by a rhythmic knock on your door. Walking over, you looked in the peephole to see Al standing there with his big smile. Opening the door, you nodded your head at Alastor, as he smiled down at you. "Hello again my dear! I was wondering if you had time to chat!"

***Alastor POV***

The quiet sinner nodded her head at Al, while opening the door, allowing me to come in. How adorable! He thought, while making his over to the center of the room and turning back to look at them. "Now my dear! I am here wanting to apologize for how I acted in the lobby! I wasn't behaving like a proper gentleman and I understand if I made you uncomfortable, so let me offer you my sincerest apologies! Let's start over from the beginning, shall we?" Alastor bowed his head a bit, as a sign of him apologizing, and extending his hand out in a handshake. You appeared taken aback in Alastor's eyes, ,but you gave him a soft smile and shook his hand. Once you finished shaking hands, you grabbed the notepad and pen again and began to write to Al, as he gazed at you, wondering what you were writing before you turned the notepad around. Alastor leaned closer, and began to read the message:

"It is alright, Alastor. There is no need for you to apologize. And besides, I'm the one that should apologize for not answering your question when you asked me."

Alastor finished reading, and turned his eyes towards you. His sharp smile slowly turned into a soft grin and his glowing eyes had softened. "Don't worry about that my dear! Now I take it since you will have just arrived in Hell, you are lacking some necessities correct?" Alastor had moved away from you, as he continued to talk while walking around your room. Turning back to you, you gave him a small nod. "Then we will head to the city! Me and Charlie can accompany you! What do you think?" he said, as he turned back to you, with his large grin coming back. Nodding your head at Alastor was his indication that you accepted. Smiling wider, Alastor turned back to you, as he made his way to your door. "It feels that I have extended my stay, so I will leave you be darling! Do make yourself comfortable!" he said, as turned his head back to you. Pulling out the pad again, you wrote down another message and showed it to Al.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome my dear! Have a pleasant evening! Also don't forget to head to the kitchen later! My mother's famous jambalaya is on the menu for tonight! So good, it nearly killed her! HAHA!" , Laughing out his response, Al watched as he saw you give him a smile, a real smile this time. "My! What a gorgeous smile!" He thought, as he bid you adieu and made his way back to the lobby. As he made his way back, Alastor stopped and thought about you. Puzzling was a word he used to describe you. He had never encountered a sinner down here who chose to not speak while having the ability to do so. He mostly assumed you were terrified of him, due to his status as "The Radio Demon. Most feared overlord in Hell.", but that wasn't the case. Something about you made him feel odd, hell he even apologized to you, which he would never do given his massive pride/ego, so he wondered why. Seeing you write on the notepad and apologizing for not responding normally, made his heart ache. Why should you apologize for something like that? Realizing he had stopped in the middle of the hallway, he carried on back to the others, still thinking about you and also how would your voice sound when you spoke out loud. Alastor smiled wider, as he thought you were going to be a very special and entertaining sinner here at the hotel.

Part 2 of the story is Here

[selineram3421]

*is now craving sushi* Dang. 🍣

Other Worldly

Part 2

Part 1

Alastor X Shy Reader

Warnings ⚠

⚠ selectively mute reader, food mentions-seaweed, song lyrics Drift Away-Trillian ⚠

Alastor took the mer up to their hotel room, the halls empty as he made another water pun, which earned him a fin slap to the face.

"I could drop you, you know?", he said but continued to carry them towards the bathtub.

Setting them down gently, he made sure to get a towel and put it somewhere within reach for them to take when their legs returned.

"There you are dear!", he said before standing up straight. "I'll leave you here now. Don't try to get up too soon, you'll just flop right over!", he laughed and turned to leave.

"Wait.", they spoke softly.

Like an exciting rush, he felt chills run down his back as his body followed the command.

"Don't tell anyone about what you saw..", they paused. "Or what you heard from me. Please."

As soon as they were finished, the 'spell' had broken and he was able to move again. Glancing over his shoulder, the Radio Demon snapped his fingers and his coat was clear of the water spots they had left on him.

"Very well.", he said and began closing the bathroom door. "This will stay our little secret~", he placed a finger over his lips before shutting the door.

He stood there for a moment, hearing the mer let out a sigh before the water turned on.

Satisfied with his findings, the deer demon left their hotel room, making sure to lock the door before closing it.

As he made his way to his radio tower, he thought of ways to get the aquatic demon to sing around him.

I should ease their worries somehow.. He thought. I wonder if there is a way to lure a siren.

.

You hated the transition of your legs returning.

Every time, you felt like your tail was being torn apart. Your scales felt like needles piercing into you when they sunk back into your skin. The webbing on your fingers was the only thing that didn't hurt much, but your hands would cramp a few times the day after.

This is annoying. You thought as you dried yourself completely after taking a bath.

Next was the hard part.

Grabbing the edge of the tub, you slowly stood up. Your feet feeling like you walked many miles without rest, aching as you stepped onto the tile floor.

It hurt.

Step by step, it felt like you were walking on glass, thorns, or hot coal as you made your way into your room to get dressed.

As soon as you could, you dropped onto your bed with a whine, staying there for a moment before crawling under the covers. After turning off the lamp on the nightstand, you hoped that the red dressed demon wouldn't say anything of what he saw.

Yes, you told him a command but the other half was a plea.

Let's not worry about it. He did say it would be our secret. You thought before going to sleep.

The next day was a little odd.

After getting breakfast, the smiling demon began talking to you like you were old friends.

It confused you.

What did he have to gain from talking to a quiet person? There was nothing you could say without hypnotizing him.

.

It was simple.

All he had to do was get them used to him and they'd be comfortable enough to let their guard down.

What better way to do it other than talking?

Food.

Throughout a few weeks, the Radio Demon experimented with all kinds of food. Taking notice of their expressions and the amount of food that they left on their plate. Later, he noticed that they enjoyed snacking on seaweed.

He wasn't sure where they had got it from, but it was something that he made sure was kept stocked in the kitchen and at the bar.

"The fuck? Why seaweed?", Husker grumbled.

"One of our guests enjoys it and the Princess ordered a surplus of the snack.", Alastor said as he watched the cat demon put the box under the bar counter.

Of course, it didn't really work out like he wanted. They were still quiet, still just out of reach, wary of him and his every action.

So he tried a different tactic.

Continuing to talk to them in open spaces but once they left, he hid in the shadows and observed them.

And then it happened.

It was exactly what he was waiting for.

Though he was hiding within the shadows of a dark theater room, he still was able to catch them, to listen to them sing.

Dark brown wood and red velvet from the room had made the area darker than it really was, but they still managed to find a ledge to sit on. They started off with soft hums before a real note came out from their lips.

"Here in the garden

Let's play a game

I'll show you how it's done

Here in the garden

Stand very still

This will be so much fun"

Like before, he felt the pull in his chest, the daze their voice submerged his mind into.

"And then she smiled

That's what I'm after

A smile in her eyes

The sound of her laughter

Happy to listen

Happy to play

Happily watching her drift away"

His shadows held him back from crawling out of the darkness. Something he was quite grateful for as he didn't want to disturb their singing.

"You keep on turning pages, for people who don't care

People who don't care about you

And still it takes you ages, to see that no one's there

See that no one's there

See that no one's there

Everyone's gone on with out you.."

Such a peculiar thing. To feel what they felt through their song, waves of sadness brushing against his mind.

"And aren't I the fool to have

Happily listened

Happy to stay

Happy to watch her drift

Drift

Drift...away."

They finished their song and sighed, wearing a frown.

Something Alastor couldn't just stand by for.

"You have such a lovely voice.", the deer demon spoke up.

They let out a noise of surprise and stood quickly , looking around the room like a frightened animal.

"It's a shame you hide it.", he continued.

He could hear how quick their breathing became as they backed away towards the nearest exit. Before the mer could touch the door, the Radio Demon came out of the shadows behind them and took their wrist.

They gasped and froze, not daring to look at him as he held them close.

Now is his grasp, he hummed in content and put a finger under their chin, lifting it up so they could look him in the eye.

His smile grew wider once they made eye contact.

"Let's make a deal~"

I did not have sushi but I did get to eat seaweed.

~Seline, the person.

Part 3

Taglist@

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ML I Alastor🎙 | ChL OW🦀

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

SHANE MY BELOVED anyways gonna request based on an oc that i made/an ai chatbot chat that i did recently. selectively mute reader with shane, and how their relationship evolves? strangers to lovers probs. hcs or oneshot/drabble :3 -galaxy

WAHOOO

I got 5 hearts with him as we speak so this is perfect timing <3

......

Settling into Stardew Valley was certainly going to be a challenge, especially with the new life you wanted to build here..and of course that entails meeting new people.

For most of your life, you've been selectively mute, only ever using your voice if you absolutely have to.

You never used it much at your previous office job, but it was still quite soulless and didn't make you feel good.

Even so, Lewis doesn't think you should stay a stranger and insists you introduce yourself to folks in Pelican Town.

You couldn't ignore the letters stuffed into your mailbox forever..so you finally headed into town.

While some villagers regarded you as "quiet", many of them chalked it up to you being new and welcomed you anyways.

Although Shane is indifferent and annoyed--as he is to most strangers.

You accidentally bumped into him, and he thinks you're rude for not saying "sorry".

Your brain sorta panics as you sign the words...but from the way he stares at you, you realize he doesn't understand what you're saying.

By the time you get out your notepad, he's long gone, mumbling about being late to his shift.

Since then, you try being polite and wave to him anytime you see him in the street or at the saloon..but he just wonders why you're bothering him.

One thing he kept noticing at the bar was that you always gave your order to Gus on your notepad, and he starts thinking there is a reason you can't talk and you weren't just being a dick specifically to him that day.

Still, he doesn't ask you. You're probably gonna stop trying to befriend him sooner or later. So why should he care?

One day, you approach Shane while he's working at JojaMart and asked him where a certain food ingredient was, pointing to your shopping list..and you see that irritable look in his eye again.

He had customers mixing up things on the shelves and snapping at him for things outside his control--and you caught him on a rather bad day.

He says nothing and just points further down the isle, but you just smile and mouth "thank you", signing the words before continuing on.

Poor guy goes red, convinced you blew a kiss at him just now...and it's all he could think about for the rest of his shift.

The very next day, you show up at Marnie's place with a fresh pizza, asking if Shane was home.

He gets flustered as HELL when he realizes you were at the mart buying ingredients to make one of his favorite foods...and he acted like a total jackass.

You left a note inside the container, which basically tells him you're selectively mute and realized your farm was just down the road from his aunt's ranch.

After reading it, he awkwardly apologizes and asks for a fresh start, to which you just smile and nod.

Jas, at this point, can see he's got a crush on you.

After that was cleared up, you two become friends and hangout together at the saloon often or share a beer on the dock.

You don't talk, but tbh Shane appreciates the silence between you two. He didn't have to force conversation, and neither did you.

Although that also enables him to vent to you about how downtrodden and repetitive his life feels, with you simply listening and accompanying him home.

It doesn't change the fact he felt like a burden to everyone, and one night you found him on the cliffside, his face covered in mud and tears, ready to give up on the world.

In his drunken haze, he forgot you were mute and wants you to tell him why he shouldn't do it..

"No wait..I..forgot you can't-"

"Shane..I'm here for you." Your voice comes out low, hoarse, and a little shaky, but he stopped sobbing the moment he heard it..and he stares up at you in shock.

"S-So..you do speak.." He mumbles. "You sound....like--like an angel...fuck..maybe they do exist. So you'll...be here for me no matter what? Even if I did something stupid...?"

You simply nod, and that makes him change his mind.

He just can't believe that out of all the people in this town, you chose to open up to him--some sad sack of shit who was about to jump off the cliff--and decide he should be the one to hear your voice first.

You actually wanted him around. And you never hated him despite all the times he was rude to you..

After he nearly vomits all over your shoes, you take him to the hospital, knowing he needed Harvey's intervention, and since then you've been supportive of his recovery journey.

He only remembers bits and pieces from that night..although the one thing he couldn't forget was hearing your voice.

It was probably so difficult for you to find it again, and he appreciates you talking him down, even if you had to close up and go totally silent for the next few days or so.

If you ever go into why you became selectively mute, Shane will do his absolute best to understand (and maybe get a little overprotective in the process if someone makes fun of you for it).

But if not, he'll still defend you regardless.

You teach him a few general phrases in sign language, which he tries to grasp and eventually gets the hang of.

At some point down the line..he asks you out on a festival date after much pressure from Jas and Marnie, and you were so excited you nearly yelled out "YES"-

But instead managed to nod happily, taking his hand and dragging him towards the celebration without a second thought.

Soon that little date turns into a genuine relationship, with Shane eventually moving onto your farm to help you care for the crops and animals, switching to alternatives to beer and promising to cut back on the hours he spends at the saloon.

Some days you'll be away mining, fishing, slaying monsters, or helping the Junimos rebuild the community center, but other times you'll stay inside and just cuddle with him, your pet, and the chickens.

He was muddling over why you chose him (a lot of self doubt still festers inside of him), and you spoke to him again--this time to his sober-self.

That was "because I love you".

And yes...he did cry.

[pretty-amorphous-blob]

Apartments

Karl jacobs x reader

Slow burn from roommates to lovers, because idk man. As slow burn as you can make a oneshot.

Tw: reader is selectively mute, and is touch averse. Panic attacks and night terrors are described as well, negative self talk and abandonment issues.

Excuse any weirdness with this, I based the selective mutism loosely on what I’ve experienced

You saw all the people around campus laughing, talking, having fun. You knew that wasn’t for you, people just never took time to understand. They didn’t have patience to wait for you to croak out some small words, or write a note. So you stopped. You did your college assignments, emailed your professors, and didn’t speak, except to the professors, and sometimes the counselor. Speaking requires trust. Trust in an individual to have patience, to wait until you are ready. It was something you learned nobody had time for. 

You didn’t like roommates for this reason. They always tried to pry you to talk too early, they knew you could, they’d seen you talk to professors, so why not them? They would get frustrated, and irritable. It wasn’t their fault, not really. You just…you just couldn’t speak. If they allowed it you would pass notes, but even then those little conversations were feeble. So, you always lived alone, it was less hassle anyway.

Unfortunately, when you had decided to look for college apartments so you could move out, only a few showed up. Out of those few only one was a studio, and taking one look at it, you understood why it was still available. Mildew crept up the walls and around the ceiling, the floors had enough water damage that they would crumble like a graham cracker under furniture, and that wasn’t even accounting for the smell. The apartment smelled like someone had let milk spoil and mixed it with the most chemical floral scent you had ever smelled. Probably the landlord is trying to cover up whatever atrocities the previous tenant committed.

So, of course you took a two bedroom apartment. The apartment was nice, you had to give it that. There was a small kitchen as you walked into the living room with plenty of cooking space and an oven. A big window with plenty of bright sunlight streaming through the cream colored curtains sat on the other side of the apartment. A hallway appeared on your right as you walked further away from the entryway, complete with three doors. Not too terrible, you supposed.

You noticed there were some decorations around, and you assumed the roommate was already there. As you walked in you noticed a beige rug to wipe your shoes on, and small posters hung on the walls, of bands, shows, etc. not too bad. The landlord was sweet and asked simple questions, which you appreciated. Not having to get out your notepad every five minutes was nice.

Days after you first looked at the apartment, you had all your stuff in a car ready to move into the apartment, leasing was signed and everything was in order, now you just had to unpack. It took about thirty minutes to get everything all situated in your room for unpacking, so you shuffled out to the kitchenette in a tired haze with your school bag, intent on getting some English done.

Suddenly a fluffy haired boy poked his head out of his room and you nearly screamed. “Hello, you’re the new roommate I assume?” you nodded in response to the overly bubbly person, turning away before he said anything else. “Ah I see.” He giggles awkwardly and moves out of his room to stare at you. “My name’s Karl by the way.”

He seems to be waiting for you to respond, to which you only give a nod and set down your bag. 

“Uhm do you need help with any boxes or anything? I’d be happy to help.” he steps closer and you shake your head as you fuss over your bag. He moves a little closer towards the kitchenette to grab some water or something, and you haul your bag back to your room. Nowhere was sacred. 

It was a while before he tried to initiate conversation with you again, seeming to get the memo quickly. It had been around a week and you picked up on some of his odd habits. The boy drank monster energy like he would die without it, he painted his nails (you thought they were pretty but he would never know), and he giggled at everything. But all good things must come to an end.

So, as you were finishing up editing a piece for your English course, he knocked on your door, jolting you out of your concentration zone. You give an affirmative hum and he cracks the door open.

“Hey…uhm I was gonna watch a marvel movie in the living room, if you wanna…I dunno…” his sentence tapered off into a puff of air as you looked back at your work. You hummed gently, staring at your paper. It was almost finished and it wasn’t due for three days, a movie couldn’t hurt.

You look back and nod at him and a grin grows on his face. Apparently he didn’t mind you being a little quiet. You still kept your guard up though.

“I have candy and popcorn if you want it, and some extra blankets.” He seemed incredibly happy just watching a movie, but hey, free popcorn wasn’t something you’d pass up.

Nodding, you follow him to the living room where disney plus is queued up and plop down on the sofa as far away from Karl as possible. You might’ve imagined it, but he seems to slump a little at that. As soon as you take notice it’s gone, replaced with a bubbly persona. Karl starts the movie and relaxes into the couch, and you can’t help but quietly snort at how he practically melts into it. At some point you reach for the candy bowl, noticing it’s filled with your favorite, and your brows furrow. Strange.

The movie was good, and Karl falls asleep during it, his lashes look unfairly pretty. They aren’t really pretty though, just…they’re aesthetically pleasing to look at alright?

After that you notice a few more things. Karl randomly leaves pieces of candy on your desk while you’re out of the apartment, and he doesn’t try to have conversation. He does offer meals together, and movie nights. You take him up on the movie nights, the dinners are too much face to face for you at one time. He also occasionally sings songs from bands you’ve played out loud while making food for yourself. 

It’s odd. You thought you would be more weirded out by it but, honestly it reassures you more than anything. Sometimes the lump that rests on your throat eases up a little when you’re around him, sometimes enough to almost say something. You never do. 

Karl understands though. He knows you don’t talk at this point. He also knows you don’t touch, ever. You made that very clear when he rested his hand on your shoulder as you cooked. The way you whipped around and held the sauce spoon to his neck told him all he needed to know about your preferences on physical touch.

He asks yes or no questions, and always makes a little noise when entering a room so as to not startle you, and you appreciate it.

The lump keeps getting less and less tight around him, and sometimes, during movies, from the opposite end of the couch, you whisper his name. It hurts, it feels like coals burning down your throat, and every time you speak, alarm bells go off. You fight it every time, because it feels so good to just utter something, anything. You never say it loud enough for him to hear.

One day, you make dinner and knock on his door. He opens it with a weary smile. “Hi, what's up?” you offer the plate to him. “Oh! What the honk? Thank you so much!” he moved to shut his door, thinking the usual exchange was over, but you stopped him, motioning to the coffee table by the sofa. “Oh, okay, yeah, sure!” he looked at you curiously, this was new.

You decided the dining table was too much, so the coffee table would have to do.

“Th-” you were interrupted by a couple of coughs ”thank you.” Karl’s fork clattered onto the plate, his eyes wide in shock. You huffed a laugh at his stunned expression

“You can talk?!” he exclaimed.

You nod. You start to write on a piece of paper from your room you brought out. ‘Selectively mute. I can’t always, only with people I really trust, most people write me off and don’t even try.’

Karl nods looking away from the paper. “I appreciate the thanks, but it’s just human decency. You have a pretty voice by the way..” his cheeks were pink and he seemed flustered. huh.

You hum in response.

After that Karl seems more comfortable around you, hovering in the kitchen as you cook, sitting in your room as you work, inching a little closer during movie nights, never close enough to touch, but close enough to be a presence. He continues to get you candy and stuff, but now you stock the fridge with monsters, as unhealthy as it may be for him.

Everything was great, until one night, about four months in, you had a night terror. They weren’t common, but they all involved the same thing. You woke up soaked in cold sweat, sheer panic coursing through you. Icy sheets of fear washed over you nonstop and you hadn’t realized you were screaming until you heard Karl run in.

“Are you hurt? Are you okay?” he paused, being familiar with anxiety and noticed the terror gripping your face and how your arms were bleeding with sratch marks. “hey, hey, come back to me, c’mon, you’re here. This is your room. What you’re seeing isn’t real, I promise, you are in your room.” he shushed your whimpers until you saw Karl properly.

That in itself sent you down a hole again, knowing he saw a panic, how would he still wanna be there with you? 

“-ere, c’mon, breathe, sh-sh-sh, it’s alright, c’mon sunshine, breathe, you can do it, in, out, in, out” you finally came to, seeing Karl clutching a corner of your blanket, obviously restraining himself from touching you.

“G-go. pl-” another coughing fit interrupts you, “please.” Karl’s head hangs as he hears you, big blue eyes full of something you don’t recognize. He slowly pulls himself up and walks towards the door, turning back to look at you once as you curl in on yourself with shame, before shutting your door.

It was a full week before you looked him in the eyes again. You avoided movie nights, locked your door at night, and ate in your school cafe, no matter how expensive it was. It felt terrible to rip away the one person who brought you comfort, but it was your fault wasn’t it? You let him too close. He was too close.

Eventually Karl got sick of it and slept on the couch one night until you left for class in the morning. When the door inevitably woke him up, he cursed himself for sleeping through the alarm he set for your wake up time. He missed you. He missed the little laughs you let out over random moments in movies, or how you not-so-subtly hoarded your favorite candy during movie nights, or how concentrated you would get on your studies, he just missed you. 

He got used to your pots clanging around at 6:30 pm when you made dinner, he got used to your little dances when you were taking a break from work, he got used to how messy your hair could get, he got used to your huffs of indignancs and your attitude.

Now they are gone. You were gone, and he felt horrible.

That evening Karl stood at the kitchen counter tapping his fingers against the fake granite. You were due home any second, and finally, finally, the doorknob jiggled.

You walked in and he swore you were gorgeous. Even with the eyebags and stooped posture and sullen expression. 

“Hey.” he blocks the hallway and you huff at him.”can we talk?”

You look at the window, almost as if you wish you could jump out of it. Honestly considering the crushing rejection you might face, it seems more and more appealing.

“Look, I’m sorry about the other night. I know you have some hard boundaries about your space, and I try to respect them, I do. But I heard screaming and I literally felt my blood run cold. I…i didn’t know what that saying meant until now. I was so scared.” he peers at you, gauging your reaction.

You held your sides in a hug, waiting for the inevitable pitfall, the ‘what the actual hell man, that’s weird as hell.’ kicking out speech. The one where they say you being completely silent was fine but the screaming was too much. The one where they say it’s ‘too hard’ to be friends with a mute person. The one where they avoid your eyes, and laugh awkwardly, and shy away from you.

It never came. 

He paused and said “I care for you, you know?” your head shoots up, and confusion laces your features as your arms loosen from their iron grip around your ribs and waist. “Did you expect me to be mad?” His face shows surprise and concern.

Looking at the window again you give a slight nod. “M…most people…”

He waits, looking at you with wonder. When you don’t speak he grabs you some water and looks at you again expectantly, waiting for words or a shake of your head. His face is a little pink and he seems concerned.

Well, the lump was fairly loose today, and you didn’t feel like you were dying that first time, so maybe you could… “people…avoid me…they think I…that”

you pause. This was hard. It burned like fire. You knew there wasn’t any real damage but you felt scared. “That I…don’t want to talk…I guess.”

you turn towards the couch, away from karl. “I…went through some stuff…I didn’t…I couldn't…talk after. It ruined me…the psychologist said…it was a…something response...trauma maybe?” you blinked away tears you hadn’t remembered coming.

“I want…I want to talk…and laugh…and be normal…I do. I suppose, people don’t…I don’t think they see me as a person.” you curled into yourself more, hunching over while facing the window.

“Wow. I-I mean that makes a ton of sense now, but I’m so sorry. That’s harsh, people shouldn’t write you off and do that to you.” he sighs and runs his hand through his hair. It was gorgeous, lit by the sunset coming through the curtains. “People suck.”

You shrug nonchalantly.

Karl droops and lifts his arms slightly before dropping them with an unreadable expression on his face. It's gone as quick as it comes. “Okay, are you gonna do movie night again then? Because I really missed that.”

You rolled your eyes and nodded, plopping onto the couch.

Things continued as normal after that, but Karl began to invade your space even more. You noticed his love language was physical affection from all his friends you saw, and you felt a little guilty. It wasn’t like you were withholding affection, it was just hard for you. You tried to make it up in other ways, making food, doing dishes, spending time with him, getting him monster and his favorite foods, leaving affirming notes around, and more. It still wasn’t enough though, at least you felt like it wasn’t.

Karl on the other hand was absolutely over the moon. He kept the little notes under his desk in a small cardboard box. He treasured every second you spent with him, every can of monster, every meal, every clean kitchen. He loved it. He also knew you were trying to make up for your inability to deal with physical contact. He hated that you felt that way but he felt like if it needed addressing, you would tell him.

This little dance lasted weeks, you being too afraid to take a leap, and him being too respectful to indulge when you leaned too close during movie nights. The dance felt electric, the almost touch of fingers reaching for the remote, the hips almost touching in the early morning coffee scramble, the hand hovering over the shoulder as you both studied for various exams. It was intoxicating and suffocating. You wanted contact. 

You were desperate for human touch, a craving you hadn’t experienced in a really long time, you couldn't remember the last time you had touched someone willingly. You yearned for a soft hand brushing hair away from your face, a hand on your shoulder as you did something, maybe an arm around your waist as you poured coffee. Oh, you longed for it so much it hurt like someone was squeezing your heart every time he was around.

Karl didn’t see it, and you resented it. Yes he was respectful, and that was all well and lovely, but dammit you wanted a hug. You hadn’t wanted a hug in forever, but now that you wanted it, it was all you needed. You felt like you were simply insane for wanting something as docile as a hug so badly.

You started with baby steps, brushing his hand as you gave him his coffee, and you swear he gasped softly as he looked at you. 

Karl didn’t notice until you brushed his hand, and what the honk?  How were they so soft and warm? He looked at you with starstruck eyes, as his breath hitched. You had touched him. Willingly.

Purposefully. Normally there was an arrangement when passing things to each other. Avoid skin contact at all costs, and that was that, until now. You had just broken the barrier and he wanted to pull you in and hug you. Maybe sway with you to some stupid song after movie night, but he would take what he could get, and if that was hands brushing over a coffee mug, then so be it. He would savor it.

He started brushing against you, all the time. Any chance he had, his body was next to yours, his hand passing over yours. Coffee in the morning? He would gently hold your hand over the cup for a half second. Homework? He would have an arm against yours for a tiny second, leaning over to see what you were working on repeatedly. Cooking? He was grabbing spices and handing them to you, rubbing your knuckles softly as you took them.

You were going to die. This was the end. You had what you wanted, but it wasn’t enough. You wanted to cry. So you did. Late at night you curled up under your sheets and let the saline drops fall. It was a strange sensation, something you hadn’t done in a while. Your sobs were quiet but Karl heard you. Again. He was stupidly perceptive.

“Sunshine? Are you okay?” you sniffled under your covers, trembling and hiccuping. You felt quiet sobs wrack your body. Unlike last time, Karl didn’t restrain himself from sitting on the bed, clutching the sheets. “ Can I hold you?” His voice was soft with compassion and something you dared not name. Not yet.

You sniffed and nodded against the sheets still facing the wall. You felt him scoot closer behind you and brush your hair away, tracing your face softly. His arms moved to gently flip you over and pull you into him, holding you around the middle. One of his hands traced patterns on your back, as the other played with the hair at the base of your neck.

Oh.

that was amazing.

It felt like anything you ever needed, everything you ever wanted, and you felt safe. Safe, and warm, and held. All you could think of was how secure you felt.

You felt a fresh wave of tears start and Karl, ever the sweetheart, move away slightly in fear that he’d upset you. You quietly whined and pulled him closer so he couldn’t leave, and he giggled. That beautiful, warm, melodic giggle. Soon you both fell asleep, peacefully dreaming.

That became a new norm. Either of you would have a bad night and you would walk across the hall, and stumble into the other’s bed. It was nice to wake up with Karl. his fluffy brown hair surrounded his head like a halo in the mornings, and you adored it. 

Karl enjoyed waiting for you to sleep, seeing your eyes slowly open and close, blinking owlishly, until finally he would shush you to sleep, saying “It’s alright sunshine, you can sleep. I’ll be here.” 

There were also hugs, and such. You would feel Karl come up behind you and curl a sleepy arm around your shoulders, pulling you into him. Sometimes you would hug him as he did video editing for projects, a small drape around his middle, which he always giggled at profusely. Sometimes when you were both a little sleepy, you would hang off eachother, just embracing wherever you were.

Karl absolutely thrived off of the attention. He was so happy and giddy when you were around and you noticed. You began to say a couple sentences a day, to Karl’s growing surprise, and eventually you were able to say hi to classmates too.

It was so sweet, yet so, so bitter. You knew what the word you wanted to use that night was now. Without a doubt. And it hurt. You felt like your chest was caving in, and every time he held you, you wanted to sing, but you also wanted to sob. You loved him. You loved him truly, deeply, and wholly. This was what you were afraid of, the fall. You flew too close to the sun and it terrified you.

What you were unaware of however, was Karl’s mirrored struggle. He felt like you were his everything, his favorite person in the entire world, he’d rather lay in bed and hold you than do anything else. He loved all your little habits, and he loved how you looked. He loved your little huffs and expressions, and he absolutely adored your voice. He became enamored anytime you spoke, feeling absolutely entranced. 

You both skittered around it. Soft spoken words were exchanged in the early morning and late evening, when inhibitions were down and you felt comfortable speaking. Soft touches were a common occurrence, excused by hairs being out of place, or food on cheeks. It was beautiful, in the same way a string instrument slowly builds a sweet melody. It was torturous though, the push and pull killed you both inside. 

Soft touches eventually turned into forehead kisses when one night Karl absentmindedly leaned over as you cooked and kissed your temple. You both turned away and blushed severely at that, and Karl was quick to ask if it was okay. You hummed and nodded in response, brain still short circuiting from the kiss.

He would come up behind you now and hold your waist, kissing the top of your head fondly. You always blushed at it, and if Karl enjoyed seeing you a little red and embarrassed, well that was his business. Karl continued to kiss your forehead, until one day he stopped. He still hugged you, and held you on bad nights, but he didn’t kiss you. It confused you. There was no warning, no 'I'm uncomfortable', just, stopped.

You of course internally panicked, after a few days you thought for sure he was mad, you had done something wrong. He felt weird about you and was slowly taking his affection away, inch by inch. You knew logically he’d never do something like that, but your brain was being a little irrational at the moment.

You started to shy away from touches, and Karl was hurt. He had only stopped kissing you because you hadn’t done it back, so he’d assumed you didn’t want them. He tried to hold you, to hug you like you both normally did, but you avoided it. He could tell it wasn’t because you wanted to avoid him, you weren’t subtle. You piled blankets on at night to keep warm and account for the body heat you had lost by sending Karl away. You sat close on the couch during movie nights, fidgeting, and squirming like you had somewhere to be. You hovered in his room or in the kitchen anytime he was doing something, like you wanted to ask for a hug, but decided against It. was unbearable, Karl could see you were longing for affection, so he decided that breaking boundaries for the sake of both parties’ sanity was okay.

You were doing dishes in the kitchen when you felt his arms around you, and his face sank into your shoulder. You tried to slide them off, but he remained firm. “Why are you avoiding me?” it was barely a murmur, but you felt it through your shirt.  

“M’ not” you reply simply

“Liar.” he breathes into your shoulder.

“We still hang out, right?” he huffs in response “I don’t know what you  mean Karl.”

“Every time I go to hold you, you push me away!” he had lifted his head up and you heard the soft tone of betrayal in his voice.

“It was like that before, I don’t see an issue.” despite your cold tone you were absolutely loving the warmth on your skin, hoping he wouldn't leave for maybe a couple minutes.

He sighs. “Sunshine, please tell me what I did wrong?” you bristle at the nickname. That was for when he held you after panics. Not when you were washing dishes, what was going on?

“You didn’t do anything” that was a half truth, he had kissed you, but now he wouldn’t and you were scared all the other nice things would leave too. The candy on your desk, the movie nights, the little touches, the sweet words, the comfort and solace you found in him. You were scared it would be ripped away, so you had pulled away first.

“Obviously it’s something.” he pulled you tighter against him, pressing his face against the top of your head.

Frustration of having him so close yet needing to push him away overcame you, despite how much you enjoy his arms pressed against you and his head in your hair. “Fine. Okay, if you must know, I was sad that you stopped.. Uhm…the…” you felt him smile

“The what?” he huffed a laugh

“You know, the things” you look down embarrassed. This was humiliating.

“No, I don't know?” Karl did know, he was just being difficult. It was so cute, seeing you all red and flustered, however, he figured that was enough teasing. “Oh! You mean this?” his face moved to the side of your head where he kissed your temple softly, pulling away slowly. “Is that what you meant?” His tone was soft, and a sweet smile playing at the corners of his lips.

“I…uhm, yeah. Yep.” his head returned to your shoulder.

“Good. I’m glad it wasn’t anything serious, I was really worried you were mad at me or something.” he pressed his face into your shoulder. “You should finish the dishes”

“I kinda have a leech right now, so it’s a little hard, you know.” he huffs dramatically and slowly loosens his grip, so he can go sit on the counter.

The dishes take you about twenty minutes and Karl is immediately back to hugging you like a leech again. His arms are tight around your middle and his face is pressed into your hair.

“I really, really missed this.” he breathes into your hair. A hand moves to your chin to turn it softly towards him, and he presses another kiss to your forehead, lingering as you lean into him. He pulls away softly and looks at you with unmistakable adoration. “ You know you’re incredibly beautiful right?” you blue screen at that and he giggles at the deer in headlights expression.

“Well so are you!” you retort, turning back to the sink as his hand falls back to your waist. His arms tighten slightly as he slumps into your shoulder.

“Shut uuuuup” you giggle and reach to pet his hair, to which he responds by lolling his head closer to your hand.

“You’re literally like a puppy” you laugh out and he groans.

“Mm alright then.” you hear a mischievous lilt to his voice and before you can ask he’s kissed your clothed shoulder so softly you'd barely feel it if you weren't paying attention. It sends a jolt of electricity through your spine, leaving you a little breathless. “Is that alright?” His voice is soft like when he kissed your forehead, a little lower and raspier. You can’t help but melt more into him. you nod shocked and a little floaty from all the attention he’s giving you. He giggles at your soft behavior, and moves a bit closer to your neck and kisses bare skin “is that?” another nod. Your brain is mush, he's holding you and kissing you, and you're on cloud nine.

His hands turn you around to face him, and you see his cheeks are dusted vibrant pink. You want to say something, to comment on how nice and safe and warm he makes you feel, how his kisses don't make you scared, but all you manage to say is “pretty”

He giggles and stares at you. His eyes flit down while he nibbles on the corner of his lips. He looks back into your eyes, and he's gone. They're so pretty and you're just standing there, against the sink, looking amazing like you always do and he can't help himself. “Can I…just, can I maybe kiss you? You’re so pretty and I just really wanna kiss your lips, yeah?”

“Yeah.” you stare at his blue puppy dog eyes and you are gone. This man could steal your heart and you’d thank him. Scratch that he already did. And you did thank him, maybe not for that, but it counts.

He moves closer and he’s so warm and oh my gosh he’s right here, smiling softly at you, “Yeah?” you can feel his breath on your lips and the proximity is so addictive you could melt.

“Please just kiss me already.” you sigh and close your eyes. His lips press to yours and you feel warmth. No butterflies or flutters, just warm, sweet and safe. he tastes like monster energy and chocolate, and it's the best thing ever. He pulls your waist closer if even possible and he keeps kissing you softly, and you can't breathe but it's alright. It’s wonderful, so wonderful. It's the feeling of sunshine in the morning when you sleep in, it's the feeling of comfort food, and late night movies, it is everything you want, and everything you need.

When you both pull away he kisses your cheek, and then your temple. “So can I call you mine now? Because if I can’t, I'm actually going to die.” you laugh and nod, and Karl pulls you close, rubbing his fingers up and down your back.

In the end it seems like renting a two bedroom apartment wasn’t so terrible after all.

[hybridequalist]

So...I forgot to give my tumblr lovelies this chapter. Oops?

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Taglist (you can be added upon request if you like):  @ sesquipedalian-aficionado   @nesli26, @manga-crazy, @venomemes, @galleyleelol, @makingtimemine, @jackie-sugarskull, @nightshade7117, @skysthelimit291, @randomshizzles101, @inumorph, @snow-massacre, @phantom-fangirl-stuff, @pixellated-sparks, @vsalamandor2, @otaku-mai, @snarky-badger​

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Blinding whiteness. Whose idea was it to make sidewalks white? Why on earth did people insist on light colors for exterior spaces? You'd only just stepped outside and already your eyes were assaulted by aggressive, California sun bouncing off the crowded hospital parking lot. It was almost enough to tempt you to turn right around and search the gift shop for sunglasses or a hat of some kind to protect yourself.

"THERE SHE IS, EDDIE. WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?"

"Let's giver her a second, she just got a full face of sunlight."

You squinted though tears, looking for your friends--and your ride. You could faintly see someone further down the walkway, sitting on a shiny object that only added to the glare. A few blinks and a hand to shade your face clarified the image: Eddie Brock, still wearing a full jacket despite the sunny day, seated atop his motorcycle. You marched over, waving a greeting. The reporter responded with a nod, shrugging off his backpack and retrieving his extra helmet for you.

"YOU SEEM WEARY, MORSEL," Venom commented. "DID SOMETHING KEEP YOU FROM SLEEP? OR PERHAPS SOMETHING ELSE?"

"It's nothing important," you brushed it off, trying to keep the memory of the weird person from the night before out of your thoughts--you just wanted to go home, eat real food and sleep in your own bed where strangers couldn't encroach on your rest.

The symbiote felt unsatisfied with your answer, but took your words with no further complaint. You tugged on the helmet and settled onto the bike, wrapping your arms securely around Eddie's middle and resisting your natural instinct to pull away when the jacket stretched and lightly secured itself to your skin. With just a few more minor adjustments, the engine began to purr and the motorcycle pulled away from the curb.

It was a funny thing, holding on to another person like this: your rational mind knew that it was just a safety precaution, just the safest position to ride this vehicle, but that didn't stop your heart-rate from rising at the realization that you were holding onto someone in even a slightly intimate way. Stupid oyxtocin; you weren't even touching skin. How long had it been since you'd actually hugged someone? There weren't many people who you felt comfortable asking for such a thing, especially not since moving out on your own. And Eddie didn't feel like a man who was super upfront about breaking that contact barrier. His partner, on the other hand, had no such qualms: Venom was all about the tactile experience, maybe because he was so entwined in sharing his host's sensory perceptions of the world? It probably didn't help that he was very well equipped to hold onto things with his goo-like body and ability to produce tentacle appendages. You wondered what it felt like to be the host when he took over, to be fully surrounded by another being.

Maybe you were more sleep-deprived than you'd suspected. Why were you imagining being held by an alien (and his host)? Why were the thoughts strangely appealing? You didn't even know if you could host Venom in the first place--and being a poor match sounded like a bad time all around. Maybe you were still a bit spooked from the other night and were craving comfort a touch more than usual. Yes, that had to be it. No other reason why you wanted to never let go of the man driving the bike.

Your apartment building couldn't appear quick enough, but in hardly any time at all (or a short eternity--you really had no sense of time right now), you were tugging off the borrowed helmet and taking a moment to fix your appearance from the constant wind. You quickly waved goodbye at the pair and started towards the complex door, determined to just get to your room, put on your comfy pj's and distract yourself from the tangled feelings that had arisen.

"Hey."

You paused, hand on the door handle, and glanced back at Eddie.

"I know this is probably an awkward time to ask," he shrugged, "but would you be willing to consider sitting for an interview sometime? It's the one I mentioned back at the grocery store."

"EDDIE! WHY ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT WORK RIGHT NOW?! I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO ASK THAT OTHER GUY?"

"Chillax, Vee. It never hurts to ask just in case."

"I can only promise to think about it," you signed before repeating your wave farewell and tugging open the door. You remained beside it, however, keeping one eye on the bike through the small, decorative window that sat at eye level. Though slightly warped through the wavy glass, you were able to watch as Eddie revved his motorcycle and pulled away from the curb.

"EDDIE, THIS COULD BE RISKY FOR HER IF SHE SAYS YES."

"She's free to refuse. I think she will say no, but if I didn't ask then we'd never know. Besides, we can keep her anonymous and that jacka..."

The thoughts left your range and the usual snippets of traffic replaced the familiar internal voices. Heaving a sigh, you headed for the front office, where you knew Lauren spent business hours if not needed elsewhere. Poking your head into the open doorway, you spotted your landlady on her computer, writing a schedule of some kind. She'd had her hair done recently you noticed, her previously fading cyan braids replaced with her natural dark afro. This was new--normally she get some other eye-catching color right away (she'd been talking about doing pink or lilac). Was she taking a break from dyeing? Or was this just temporary?

You noticed her phone was resting under her arm and immediately shot her a quick text, a faint smile tugging at your lips.

Behind you

Lauren picked up when she felt the vibration, read the text and immediately glanced back at where you stood. She instantly did a double-take and jolted to her feet. Without a word, she rushed forward, arms outstretched. Despite being able to see though both her actions and thoughts, the force of Lauren's hug was surprising and you staggered a step or two catching her and returning the embrace.

Her thoughts were scattered: she was overjoyed to have you back home, overwhelmed with equal concern regarding your health and already bearing the full weight of her work on top of it all. When she released your shoulders, her eyes flickered over your face, searching for any sign that something might be off, any indication that you were unwell.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A-okay," you responded. "Headaches are all gone, no bumps. The doctor I was seeing was very considerate too."

"I made some lunch since I knew you'd be back soon-ish. Come."

Lauren offered her hand, which you lightly grasped, and lead you back into the hall and down towards her own apartment. Once inside, she released you to fetch a tray of sandwiches, which she set up on her table alongside some plastic plates.

Once the pair of you had settled into munching on lunch--you almost cried at the fresh ingredients after a few nights in the hospital--Lauren took it upon herself to share the news of the past few days. Including, it seemed, some rather pertinent news for you specifically.

"Someone asked for you by name. Most ordinary-looking man I've ever seen. Business casual dress, short hair. Refused to give a name, left as soon as I refused to name any tenants. Reminded me a bit of when the undercover cops try to snoop around, but something about it was...off. I don't know how else to describe it."

"Did he know my full name? Or just first name?" you signed, squinting a little as you tried to remember the faces of anyone who might be putting an effort to find you. Most Agents wouldn't be so bold as to confront a non-relative, but you had successfully avoided them for the most part since leaving High School. Could it be the others then? Of course, most of them wouldn't exactly fit the description of "ordinary-looking" unless they were someone totally new that you'd never met...

"He had your first name very clear. He wasn't as certain on the last name. Any ideas what that was about?"

"None," you partially lied. You had ideas, of course, but the likelihood of those ideas being real were slim at best. "Was that the only stuff I missed, then?"

"That's all in terms of news, but I did want to have a little chat with you before you head home and unwind."

Lauren pressed her hands together and pursed her lips. Her thoughts buzzed like an overexcited hive of honeybees, flitting this way and that as she tried to decide how to open the conversation. You stared at the sandwich in your grasp, willing yourself to ignore the images your landlady had flashing around in her head. You could feel your appetite drying up as your stomach began to twist with nerves.

"Is it bad?" you asked, glad that your hands managed to keep from trembling too much.

"I don't mean to stress you out or anything. It's about Eddie. I did some...research about him."

She couldn't know. There was no way Lauren was able to make the connection between Eddie and the "Demon of San Francisco" rumors. Her thoughts didn't seem to indicate that specific path, but there was definitely some genuine, serious concern for you.

"And what did your background check reveal?" you asked, trying to make your face and signing indicate a teasing tone though your stomach was so knotted you might accidentally give yourself abs. 

"Don't get smart," Lauren chastised lightly, rolling her eyes. "Your Eddie is Eddie Brock, the investigative journalist guy--he had some kind of segment on the news that got cancelled a while back."

You nodded, recognizing a few of the clips that Lauren was thinking of. 

"Apparently he was briefly fired due to pissing off someone with influence and there was a whole smear campaign put against him. But that's not what bothered me. I doubt he's mentioned it since you've only recently been hanging out, but he used to be engaged to someone, a lawyer I think. From what I found...Eddie used his fiancée's confidential information to make some accusations and it got her into serious trouble."

"But why tell me all this?" you questioned, still uncomfortable. 

"This was all in the past year; I just think you should know what kind of guy you're hanging out with. Just something to keep in mind."

You didn't detect any malice in Lauren's thoughts--not directly at any rate. It was...concern for you. She didn't want you getting too attached to someone who might be sketchy, no matter how good-looking or charming he was. You briefly wondered what her reaction to Venom would be--probably terror, if you were going to be wholly honest.

In all honesty, this wasn't all new information: you'd done a quick web search on Eddie when you'd first learned his name and knew there had been some drama about his reporting career, but there hadn't been much detail about why, just implying he'd gotten in trouble for poking around. The oh-so minor detail of a fiancée caught in the crossfire was rather startling, though; Eddie had always come across as something as a loner, at least externally--Dr. Dan was the only person who has really shaken that perception.

"Well.." you shrugged, "Thank you for your concern, Lauren. I know you mean well, but I am an adult who can take care of myself."

You felt a little bad having to sign it so explicitly, but your landlady's persistent mothering streak needed to be nipped in the bud before it branched too far. Of course being able to see exactly where she was coming from (with her mind reflecting on memories of protecting a few of your neighbors from abusive partners and family) didn't exactly make it easy, but you didn't need her doing anything risky in the name of protecting you--you had the best early warning system in the world to keep yourself away from dangerous people. Of course, she didn't know that bit either--all she could see of you was what you presented, the partial mask of "normal human".

You politely excused yourself, taking your half-nibbled sandwich with you as you exited Lauren's home. You pondered what you had learned, frowning lightly to yourself. If your understanding of the timeline was correct, then Venom had entered Eddie's life sometime after he'd been fired from his job within the last year--meaning he'd entered the picture after Eddie's breakup with his fiancée. Is that what he'd meant about people walking out of their life? Or had that just been a general statement, conjured by the number of contacts that being a reporter brought?

The keys to your door scrabbled against the lock for a moment as you absent-mindedly stepped inside your home, kicking your shoes off.

There was also the whole thing about an interview--Eddie had mentioned the article twice now and it had been a prevalent thought during most of the time you'd spent with him outside of the hospital. He seemed very interested in your opinion about some newly proposed law that had recently been under heavy debate. You hadn't been paying too much attention, but apparently there was going to be an "official" record of anyone with powers of any kind. It had always been kind of odd hearing about it because, as far as you knew, those records were already being maintained, it just wasn't public knowledge to the "unpowered" majority. Was the department just too small now to keep up their work in the shadows? Were they expanding their reach in response to some top-secret incident? Or was this an independent move?

What could Eddie possibly want you to say in the interview? Did he think this was a big controversy within the mutant community? (Was he aware that there even was a community?) Or was he just looking for a credible quote, to actually put a mutant's words in his article to "spice up" the story?

You knew he'd asked in good faith--he seemed almost pre-prepared to accept rejection, actually. Unlike with Dr. Dan though, you got the sense that it wasn't exactly his natural response to be okay with that--it was a learned skill and a decently recent addition to his metaphorical toolbelt; he was being intentionally conscientious of you, pushing away his natural, rabid curiosity and other potential agendas in an attempt to not intimidate you. How much of that was his partner's urging, you had no real reference for.

A headache began to pulse behind your eyes and you squeezed them shut in an attempt to relieve the pressure. The thoughts of your neighbors--including those above and below--were starting to encroach on your brain, a mixed, multitoned cacophony. The old man two door down was upset about something on TV. The toddler above you desperately needed a nap but couldn't articulate their tiredness to their equally exhausted parent. The grade-school brothers across the hall were playing swords, compounding their excitement. The teen metalhead had some heavy drumbeat pounding and intense in their headphones. Someone walked by on the sidewalk, counting the windows. The college student somewhere below your feet was crying at a romcom. The housewife had just started a spicy segment of her novel. Someone, somewhere, was bored. Someone else was hungry. Another thought from someone, was this a new one? had you already experienced that feeling? Who was it? What was it?

Sudden pain in your foot pulled you partially out of the spiraling mental carousel --you'd accidentally kicked the doorframe of your bathroom while stumbling towards it. Desperate and nearly blind from the sensations all the thoughts kept inserting into your brain, you felt around the cabinet where you kept the strongest commercial sleeping pills money could buy. You shoved one of the chalky tablets into your mouth and forced yourself to swallow it before practically sprinting towards your bed. 

You prayed the drugs would kick in fast enough. To finally give you some silence.

[ghouljams]

Hi! I've been binge reading your Fae! series again and I had an idea that I just had to share with you.

Fae!Gary who is trying to ensnare a fantasy writer/editor darling who is constantly foiling his plans by accident.

He gifts them a book that he said reminded him of them? they hand him a book they just knew he'd love.

He gives them flowers to brighten up the office? she gives him a knowledge dump on what the bouquet means based on the language of flowers.

thanks for taking the time to read this! don't forget to get some water and a snack <3

Oh my God ROACH, the forgotten son. Chaos boy, gremlin man, low danger sense and impossible to kill. Yeah you can have a little Roach as a treat. I've tweaked this prompt a little for a librarian!reader, also with a few of my personal Roach headcanons.

It's always a slow day when he comes in. Always with a mask on and earbuds in. You smile and wave him over. He hardly needs the prompting, making his way quickly but purposefully to stand in front of your cart. He tugs an earbud free, and holds out a book to you. Hard canvas bound with yellowed pages, the front is painted with laurels of heather and honeysuckle. It's not one of the library's collection.

"Where's the book you took out?" You frown, glancing to see if he has any bags or is holding anything else. He shoves the book under his arm and digs through his pocket to pull out a notebook and nubby pencil. You wait for him to finish scribbling and show you.

"Already returned," He turns the page and keeps writing.

"So then this is...?" You're really just filling dead air, you assume he's going to tell you what it is. He has this preternatural ability to think conversations an extra sentence ahead.

"A present for you," He holds up the notebook, and you smile a little at the doodle in the corner. A little square with a bow on top.

"I have something for you too!" You grin, clapping your hands together. His brows draw together with a frown. "We were going through the books that we're going to sell soon and I saw this, made me think of you." You hold up a finger to tell him to wait and rush behind the front desk.

It takes a moment of digging to get the old book free but it's well worth it. You hold it up with an excited 'ta-da' and hurry back to your cart. He never tries to disguise his interest in your trades, and you can see the exact moment his eyes light up with excitement reading the cover.

"It's super out of date these days, but I thought-" He cuts you off with a few rapid hand movements. Ones you recognize easily.

"No, no, I love it." He signs, trading your gift for his. He eagerly cracks open the ancient entomology hardback. You feel your heart squeeze a little watching him trace his finger over a colorful illustration of a beetle. You finally look away to see what book he's brought you. It's a collection of old love stories from the region. Your heart squeezes a little tighter.

"You know it's silly, um," You start, not sure how to phrase what is so average for most people, "You keep coming in, and I feel like I know so much about you, but I don't know-" He looks up from the book, there's something colder in his eyes, something that warns against the question on your tongue, "-your name." You finish.

The look in his eyes makes you wish you could take it back, makes you feel like you've shattered whatever isle of peace you two had carved out for yourself. He looks back at the page he'd been reading and snaps the book closed. The sound makes you flinch. He balances his notebook against the hardback and scribbles something before opening the entomology book again. His eyes scan the pages as he flips through, before he finds what he's looking for, and turns both books for your approval.

The page is opened to a Roach, and the notebook reads "it's a nickname." You nod.

"Sorry I asked," You tell him. He shrugs. Then blinks, seeming to realize something. He glances down at his chest and scratches it, strangely you get the urge to itch as well. He can hardly get his notebook set up fast enough, and you jump to catch the entomology book when it slips from his grip. The notebook is shoved in your face almost as quickly as you can hold the book out to him.

"Do you like your book?"

"Oh! Yes!" You're realizing you haven't given his gift the attention it deserves. You grab the book off the cart and flip through it, skimming your finger over the table of contents. You recognize most of the stories, the classics, but not all of them. The paper is just a hair thicker than modern books, with filigree at the top and bottom edges speaking to its age. You wonder where he found something so beautiful. When you look up at him again his eyes are soft, brows drawn together in an expression you'd almost call lovesick.

"Would you want to get dinner some time?" You surprise both of you with the ask. Roach seems to light up all at once again, nodding excitedly. "Ok, um," You grab his pencil and lean to jot down your number on his notebook, he watches you like a hawk the whole time, "I have to get back to work, but text me when you're free and I'll-" He's leaned so close to you, solid and warm, his fingers cover yours as he takes his pencil back, making your brain stall a little. You don't know how you were going to finish that sentence.

"Ok," He says, and his voice is so low you hardly think you heard him at all.

"Ok," You agree. His eyes scrunch happily, and you return the smile. This is good. You have a good feeling about this.

[bloodbrown]

I'm just thinking about random P x reader shit that I can't make a coherent post out of so just hear me out about how he communicates

you're always giving P openings to speak or asking for his opinions. Hoping eventually he will really talk with you more than just a head nod or 2-word responses.

maybe he will or maybe he won't. Either way you want him to feel like you value his input should he ever decide to engage you in a conversation

perhaps one day P surprises you, maybe he tells you one day, just out of the blue, "I love you." He always shows that he loves you, like absolutely all the time, but you've never heard those words come from him until now. It's shocking and your jaw literally drops just hearing that when you weren't expecting it.

aaaand then you never hear another sentence out of him for the next 6 months and we just gotta accept that this is just how he is.

[gryfflepuffinthetardis]

Sweet Jane Part One — Campbell Bain x Reader

Summary: Y/n was admitted to Saint Jude's hospital in Glasglow soon after her eighteenth birthday when she developed a case of psychogenic/traumatic mutism; there she meets a talkative, optimistic, idealistic, hyperactive nineteen-year-old boy with Manic depression who dreams of becoming a DJ, follow them through their story and learn what happened to Y/n.

Series Warnings: Past Toxic Relationship, Manipulative Ex, Mentions of Past Rape, Mental Health, Discrimination against the Mentally Ill/Neroudivergent, Traumatized Reader, Abusive Parents, Mentions of deceased family members, Stalking, Suicide, Reader doesn't handle men touching her well, Mentions of Sex, Bad Caretakers, Implied Non-Scottish Reader, Implied Short Reader, Campbell Bain's Dad is Terrible

Chapter Warnings: Reader refuses to speak; Loving Campbell Bain, Traumatized Reader, Selectively Mute Reader, PTSD Reader, Psychogenic Mute Reader, Traumatic Mute Reader, Manic Depressant Campbell Bain, Bipolar Campbell Bain, Schizophrenic Furgus, OCD Rosalie, Reader Developed Selective Mutism as a Coping Mechanism, Reader may have an intense type of anxiety caused by trauma, Reader is implied to not be Scottish or at least from Scotland (I am American but just add where you're from), Reader is implied to be shorter than the six-foot Campbell Bain

“You are a mystery to me, yet so familiar. Like a song I’ve never heard before, and a tune I’ve known my entire life.”

Y/N hadn't spoken a word since she was eighteen and long before that something had changed. Her parents finally decided enough was enough and sent her to Saint Jude's hospital in Glasgow.

Campbell had literally crashed into the new girl during his excitement at hearing that the Saint Jude's radio station would be reopened.

The girl screamed as he collided with her and she started screaming and kicking due to his body weight on her.

"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." He said, hurriedly, getting off of her and holding a hand out to help her up but she just stared at him, terrified, "I'm sorry. Uh..." He realized he didn't recognize her, as far as he knew he was the youngest patient at Saint Jude's and this girl was around his age. This was exciting! "Are you new? I'm Campbell Bain, I'll be the bane of your life until one of us is discharged." He chortled at his own joke before he realized she was still of the floor, "Oh, let me help you up." He crouched down and took her hand, helped her up.

She stared at him with a confused look on her face but she didn't pull her hand away yet more out of shock than anything. Campbell offered her a smile before she ripped her hand out of his grip and ran off, leaving Campbell very confused.

He asked the nurses about the girl but none would give him proper answers, until he got to Stuart the orderlie, who should've been a patient instead but... you know, life.

"She's a looney." He said, blankly.

"Ai, yes. Yes. Yes. I know that much but what's her name? What's her deal?" Campbell prodded.

"Y/N." Was all he said.

--

A few days later, Eddie McKenna arrived to be the DJ for Saint Jude's, with assumption that he'd be able to tell the difference between the staff and the patients.

He had an interaction with Stuart and assumed he was a patient but found out that he was a nursing assistant. Well, that couldn't be good.

Then he met Campbell, who seemed perfectly friendly and nice before realizing he was a patient himself.

Campbell and Y/N were on better terms, now that she had stopped bolting on the other direction when he tried to talk to her. And they listened to Eddie's show as Y/N read Narnia.

Soon after the show, Eddie heard Campbell playing and singing, Summertime Blues on his guitar which was only slightly out of tune, which Eddie had played on his show. He saw Y/N correcting Campbell's finger placement on the guitar as he whined that it hurt his hand.

Campbell enthusiastically praised Eddie and explained on his poor timing and the patient’s dependence of television.

Y/N caught sight of something moving outside the window and she threw a guitar pick at Campbell, making him pout in her direction before seeing her pointing and they ran to window as he said, “Hang on, you’re not boring me or that, but I’ve just seen a friend of mine flying past the window.”

Y/N and Campbell leaned out the window to see the hospital’s Schizophrenic who despite the schtick his disorder stereotyped him as he was just the most gentle soul you’d ever meet, if a little eccentric, grappling down the side of the building.

“Fergus! What’re you doing!?” Campbell shouted after him as Eddie joined them, “you’re gonna hurt yourself!”

“Shall I get a nurse?” Eddie asked and Y/N shook her head.

“Fergus! You’re gonna miss your cocoa, you know!”

“I know.” Fergus told him.

“Can Y/N and I have it, then?” He asked.

“Help yourselves.” He told them.

“He’s escaping.” Eddie said, surprised how calm both of them were being so calm about this

“He’ll be knocking on the door in an hour or so. He always does.” Campbell reassured Eddie, “annoys the hell out of the staff but makes this one smile.” He nodded at Y/N as she sat on Campbell’s bed with his guitar, the look of fascination in Campbell's eyes was not lost on Eddie.

Campbell returned to his enthusiastic and impulsive idea-planning, the first being to bring up a story when a student nurse accidently gave everyone in the ward a laxative, making Eddie and Y/N look at him oddly and the only problem he saw with it was where he’d get that many laxatives.

“What about a request show?” He asked Eddie.

“I already thought of that. I haven’t enough records.” Eddie shot down that idea… well, he’s never disagreed with Campbell Bain before.

“So?”

“So? When folk request something, they usually like to be able to play it.”

“We just make them keep requesting until they hit something we actually have.” Campbell said, “‘if you can guess a record that we actually have in our library, then we will play it for you with a special dedication’.” He did a playful punch in the air, “who could resist?”

“It’ll never work.”

Y/N who had been playing with Campbell’s guitar, then played a jingly tune.

“You’re right, Y/N!” He declared, enthusiastically with an enthusiastic pointed finger at her and then he ran his hand through his light auburn-brown floppy hair, “We’ll need some jingles.” Y/N looked up when Campbell sang a jingle, “Hospital radio, Saint Juuuuude’s.” He smiled at Eddie, “that sort of thing.”

“You need singers to record jingles.”

Campbell picked up his guitar from Y/N and sat next to her, “and what exactly is sitting here before you?”

“A lunatic!” Eddie declared, making Y/N softly giggle.

“Aye, a singing lunatic!” Campbell agreed, enthusiastically. “We could record them in the station, aye?”

“Aye…” Eddie submitted.

“Brilliant!” Campbell exclaimed, going back to Eddie, “Now give me the key.” He held out his hand.

“What key?” Eddie asked.

“To the station.” Campbell said and ran to the door, looking out, “look, I’ve gotta start. Writing the jingles, rehearsing the singers, cataloging the albums.”

Eddie looked at Y/N as she looked back down and realized he hadn’t gotten her name, having been distracted Campbell’s… Campbell-ness and Fergus escaping. “Uh, ma’am… what’s your name again?” Eddie asked, making Y/N look up from a piece of paper she was now writing on, she gave him with a blank deadpan look at being called “ma’am”. She was only eighteen.

“That’s Y/N.” Campbell said.

“What’s your favorite album?” Nothing. She just looked at him, “can you sing?” She blinked twice and he turned back to Campbell, “what’s wrong with her?”

“Oh, she doesn’t speak. She hasn’t said a word since she got here.” Campbell said, “and there’s nothing wrong with her, she’s just looney like me!”

Eddie walked closer to him and asked as gently as he could, “Campbell, how exactly are you here?”

Campbell paused in which he faltered, knowing how his own father felt about his disorder before smiling, “Can you not guess? I’m manic.” Y/N looked up and smiled at him, making his eyes dart to her and a more genuine smile appeared on his lips before he reassured Eddie, “but don’t worry. The drugs I take make me completely stable. Except for headaches, of course.” He blinked in pain as he focused back on the painful headaches and he squeezed his eyes shut before blindly grabbing onto Eddie’s shirt who could sense a scene coming up as could Y/N who looked up to be amused by Campbell, “I get these headaches. I just comes over me and I cannae…” He flopped on his bed, next to Y/N and shouted out in pain, “ah, the bells! The bells!”

Y/N reached over and went to place her hand on Campbell’s back before stopping, hesitating to do so, not sure if they were close enough or if she wanted to admit that they were close enough and then suddenly Campbell’s mood shifted back to near manic and he shot himself up to look at Eddie, making Y/N pull her hand away, blinking briefly in surprise, “And I want my own show, by the way.”

“What?” Eddie asked.

“Well, after all this work, I think it’s only fair, don’t you?” He questioned.

“Campbell, I cannae just give you your own show.” Eddie protested, “you need training on the equipment.”

“So? Train me!” Campbell pleaded, eagerly. “I’ll take Friday nights.”

“Will that not clash with Brookside?” Eddie questioned.

Y/N looked at the window where they had gone to to shout after Fergus.

—

The next day, Campbell and Eddie were in the common room with Eddie standing shyly while Campbell did the opposite and shouted through a party megaphone while Y/N sat with Fergus, writing down something for him to read. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have an important announcement to make!” He spotted Fergus and Y/N and narrowed his eyes, “Fergus, stop flirting with Y/N.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and went to the couch rather bored now and put her headphones on.

Campbell and Eddie had announced the request show, while admitting that they had limited records. Eddie went to talk to Nana while Campbell stared at Y/N, feeling nervous to approach her since he worried she hated him with how scared she got when he interacted with her.

Then Fergus clapped him on the back, making him stumble and look at him, unamused before approaching the silent H/C-haired girl.

"Hey, Y/N," Campbell said, kindly, walking up to the silent girl but she didn't seem to hear him as she was listening to her Walkman. He tapped her shoulder, making her jump and stare at him with wide eyes just as she had when they first met. He gestured to her headphones, silently asking if he could take them off and she slowly nodded and he gently slid them off and could vaguely hear Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover by Sophie B. Hawkins.

"Hey, we're doing a request show. You have any requests?"

She looked at him for a good while before getting up and leaving. Campbell frowned and his spirits were diminished before leaning forward and face planting his face into the couch cushion, groaning.

—

Campbell showed Eddie the radio station now cleaned and useable thanks to him, Y/N, and Rosalie and as he left Eddie questioned Campbell about Nana and Campbell answered in his own hyperactive way before Eddie questioned him about his obvious crush on Y/N.

“The silent girl, uh… M/Y/N.” (Mispronunciation of Your Name)

“Y/N.” Campbell corrected, automatically in a slightly defensive tone.

“Is she your girlfriend?”

Campbell’s cheeks burned as they reddened and his heartrate quickened, “No. No. No. She’s new actually. Been here about a week. She… she’s a mystery.” He gave out a dreamy smile, “One I’d like to solve but…” He shrugged like, what can you do? —

Campbell was snoring when he was awoken by a friendly smack in the head. He woke up, groaning with confusion before turning on his light, illuminating Y/N who smile sweetly at him as she held something behind her back.

"Jesus, Y/N." He groaned, "what you do that for?" She just looked at him and he nodded, remembering who je was talking to, "right. Uh, what is it?"

Y/N brought a custom record sleeve out from behind her back and he slowly began to realize what she was trying tell him.

"Oh, you want me to play one of these songs during the show tomorrow, er… today?" He asked.

She nodded and sat on the edge of his bed, making him kick around spazzily and awkwardly before sitting up, trying to make room for her as his heart pounded and he looked down at her, feeling her body heat up against his but forced himself not to think about that as it was a bit of a creepy thought to have at two in the morning as she showed him the songs on the back of the vinyl which was also handmade, she pointed at the first song: a cover of The Velvet Underground's Sweet Jane by Cowboy Junkies.

"Is that your favorite song?" He asked and she nodded. "Wait, these are all from different bands, how'd you get this?"

She pointed to herself, "you made it?" He gathered, "Who made the record?" She pointed to herself again and he just smiled at her impressed and enamored by her. "You are one mystery, Y/N L/N. You may be my favorite mystery.”

She smiled, telling him that she liked the idea of being a mystery to him and kissed his cheek, near the corner of his lip, nearly making him melt with a loud dreamy sigh before running off. He looked after he with a starstruck look of awe on his face before flopping back on his pillow, groaning.

—

The next day, Y/N shared a smile with Fergus before listening in on the radio to the show, standing and watching Campbell through the window.

“Good evening! This is Ready Eddie.” Eddie introduced, “and on my left is my right-hand man…”

“Campbell Bain.” Campbell introduced, not seeing Y/N watching him and the smile on her lips.

“And you’re listening to the first ever Ready Eddie Radio Request Road Show.” He gave Campbell a thumbs up and the nineteen-year-old pushed a button, making a jingle play.

“Ready Eddie’s road show. Ready, Eddie, go.”

“That’s right. This is the premiere. This is the first. And you can tell everyone that you were there. You heard it! You saw it!” Campbell said, enthusiastically before joking, “And they’ll tell you, it’s all part of your illness.”

Y/N giggled at his antics before realizing this and she zipped her leather jacket up over her shirt with the sarcastic quote on it.

“We’re playing requests from Ward Eleven this evening. This one is for Francine. I hope you’re listening, Francine.”

Campbell then teased, “I hope anyone’s listening.” He then saw Y/N watching him and let out an audible smile that melted his insides.

“Is anybody listening?” Eddie asked, “Is anybody out there?”

Then Help! By the Beatles started to play and soon the patients came out and Campbell ran out of the station to dance with some patients before more came out, including Fergus. He gave Y/N a smile and thumbs up as he flashed the part of the television he had removed.

Campbell ran back to Eddie and pulled his earphone off so he could talk to him, “the television’s broken, Eddie! There is a God!”

Eddie nodded in the direction of Y/N and Campbell’s face lit up and he ran to Y/N and taking her hands, trying to ease her into dancing. She shook her head before starting to shuffle awkwardly to the music before Campbell took her hands and pulled her against him so she danced with him to the beat of the music. She then giggled up against him and he smiled, triumphally.

He was about to comment on how beautiful her laugh when there was a BANG! And the music stopped, making them all exclaim in disappointment before Campbell and Y/N ran back to the station to see what was wrong.

“What’s wrong?”

“The mixing desk.” Eddie said, trying to fix it with his limited knowledge.

“Do something!” Campbell exclaimed.

“What can I do? I can’t even turn on the bathroom light without shocking myself.” Eddie remarked.

“Well, check the plug. Maybe it’s the fuse.” Campbell suggested as Y/N looked up at Fergus and gestured for him to come.

“It’s not the fuse.” Eddie sighed.

Campbell ran his hand through his floppy hair, “I cannae believe this. I’ve just had the world’s shortest career as a disk jockey.”

Fergus took out a screwdriver and headed inside to help and started to unscrew the screws of the mixing desk.

“Fergus, what are you doing?” Campbell asked.

“I’ll just have a look.” Fergus reassure him.

“No, don’t!” Eddie shouted, “don’t have a look there.”

Y/N helped Fergus lift the plate of the mixing desk as Eddie continued to try and stop Fergus and Y/N, “Fergus, Y/N, I’m asking you. Please, leave it alone”

“He’s gonna blow it up.” A patient said.

“He’s not!” Campbell protested.

“I think I know what the problem is.” Fergus told Eddie.

“He’s blowing it up.” Another patient said and the others started to chant Fergus’ name.

“Fergus, don’t, okay!? Just leave it alone. It’s all we’ve got.” Eddie pleaded and Y/N smacked Eddie’s shoulder when Stuart literally pushed her out of the way, making her squeak and stumble before Campbell caught her and glared at Stuart.

“Oi, watch where you’re going!” He shouted.

Stuart aggressively grabbed Fergus holding him in a near chokehold and Y/N tried to go forth to help but Campbell held her back, knowing she’d just be pushed away again, if not sedated.

“He’s not causing trouble, is he?” He asked Eddie and Y/N shook her head, frantically at Eddie.

“No, he’s just helping me, get the mixing desk going again.” Eddie muttered.

“Him? He couldn’t get his brain going again.” Stuart spat and Y/N scoffed, implying that she felt that better described Stuart than Fergus.

“Leave it, Stuart.” Isabella, the more kind nurse said, “it’s all over.”

Stuart let Fergus go and sulked out of the room, clearly upset that he didn’t get to hurt someone as Y/N gave him the middle finger.

Fergus closed the plate of the mixing desk and Y/N flipped the switch, making the light come back on.

“You two are geniuses.” Campbell gasped.

Y/N shook her head and pointed at Fergus like, no, he’s the genius.

“YOU’RE GENIUSES!” Campbell shouted and he slammed the door shut and got back to the microphone, “Sorry about the technical problems, folks. We’re now back on the air and we hope to keep it that way. Our next request is for Y/N and dedicated to her by me.” He chortled as he looked at her and clicked his tongue as he winked.

The cover of Sweet Jane played, making Y/N smile as Eddie looked at Fergus, giving him an apologetic and thankful smile as Fergus perpetually scowled before his lips curved into a gentle smile.

Later, Y/N helped Campbell clean up the hallways before they bumped into each other.

“Uh… so how did you know how to help Fergus?” He asked.

She took out her wad of paper and wrote: Learned. Taught.

He nodded, taking what he could get, “I always knew you were smart.” He said, honestly and he hesitated before leaning towards her to kiss her cheek like she had done the night, she shifted, conflicted as she could see the pure gentless in Campbell's personality, in his actions, in his eyes, and she could feel it in his cheek kiss. He had hesitated, not wanting to overstep boundaries and he was still nervous about his decision but before she could react Eddie ran out of the room, making them break apart and move out of the way before he rammed into them.

*This is a series from my Wattpad, so I'm moving in to Tumblr and Archive of my Own. There is an entire subplot later on of stalking and the cause of the reader's muteness or mutism (which ever is the correct term). Am I the only one who feels like Campbell Bain might also have ADHD or is it just because of his Bipolar/Manic Depression. I'm usually good at this but I'm having a hard time differentiating the two or maybe it's just David Tennant.

[am-i-interrupting]

perhaps viktor with a selective mute s/o 👀

Viktor enjoys the quiet. He doesn’t mind it, seeks it in moments of conflict.

You’re the first person he will go to in order to vent because you’re not going to force him to speak if he doesn’t want to or make him feel rushed in his descriptions.

He will learn sign language if you know it.

Either way, you two will be having conversations others can’t understand in front of them.

You’re one of the few who gets to see just how snarky he can be because with you he doesn’t have to risk others hearing it.

He never expects you to talk if you don’t want to but during the occasion that you do he won’t treat you any differently than normal.

He won’t make any “Oh, so you can speak?” comment, instead he’ll just carry on with the conversation you two were having anyway.

He doesn’t ever comment on your voice either.

He loves hearing it, understands how much trust you put into him for him to be able to but he won’t say that.

He’s afraid if he does it’ll make you feel pressured to speak verbally which is the last thing that he wants to do.

He has several different notebooks dedicated to your conversations.

He carries one everywhere he goes even when you’re not going to be where he is, simply on the off chance that he’ll bump into you.

[bug-bites]

one of my fav things to read/write is a f!reader x Simon "Ghost" Riley, where the reader is almost exactly like ghost. I'm talking full black mask, (maybe legally dead) few words, silent, callsign generally spooky like Reaper or Phantom, and I was wondering if you would wanna do that?

Usually I have reader as a childhood friend or adopted sibling of Roach, which is why roach is so comfortable around ghost. He's just used to it. If it's pure fluff or platonic that's completely fine, and if you don't wanna do that it's also fine!! I just thought I might as well shoot my shot :)

Your an amazing writer, have an awesome day <3

seeing double

cw: canon-typical violence, breif (pun intended) mention of ghost having skeleton boxers (nothing like explicit though i dont even know if this needs to be mentioned tbh but better safe than sorry), ghost gets shot womp womp, angst w/ a happy ending, so many military inaccuracies, barely proofread :P

pairing: platonic!simon 'ghost' riley x f!reader, gary 'roach' sanderson & reader

characters: simon 'ghost' riley, gary 'roach' sanderson (price, gaz and soap mentioned v briefly!)

authors note: omg you are so sweet thank you so much!! sorry this took so long i've been so busy with things, i hope you don't mind that i got a bit silly with this one and basically wrote a fic in jot notes 😭 (ALSO ROACH MENTION!! I LOVE MY BBYG THANK YOU ANON <3)

when you first met ghost he genuinely thought this was a joke. the balaclava, the whole death motif, your callsign being phantom which is literally synonymous with ghost, even your attitude was so eerily similar to him. it was like looking in a mirror

it didn't help when he tilted his head you mirrored your actions

i think he wouldn't gravitate immediately to you, it's not that he didn't like you he just felt a bit odd with how similar you two were, in all honesty he was probably slightly unnerved by you

soap and gaz definitely crack jokes about you being the second coming of ghost or something dumb like that

whenever anyone is referring to you and ghost and phantom it was always "the ghosts" or "ghost and girl ghost" which pissed you OFF

roach cant count all the times you have ranted to him about how everyone treats ghost like he came up with your whole aesthetic and you copied him when you have been doing this for YEARS before you even met ghost!

"and everyone acts like he invented skeletons and being legally dead! how self centered do you have to be to act like you invented skeleton iconography?! THEYRE SKELETONS. THATS LIKE BASIC HUMAN ANATOMY. and its always men taking the credit- god its so stupid! i did shit this first and how do i know that he isn't copying me huh?? did we ever think of that?? and ghost is such a basic ass fucking name like really. ghost? bet the only reason he wears that mask is to cover up his casper sized forehead."

roach knows that you're annoyed and you probably aren't trying to be super mean- maybe you don't even think ghosts forehead is casper sized! but hey, he isn't trying to argue while you look like you're about to rip someone's head off

instead he opts for calmly signing words of comfort lest you tear ghosts head off (with a few minor corrections)

"yes roach i know phantoms are pretty much the same as ghosts but that's not the point. you're basically my brother. you have to be on my side. that's how it works."

its good you and roach get along with each other. however, since you are just so similar with someone whos name starts with s and ends with imon "ghost" riley he becomes friends with roach quite easily and rants to him too

"she thinks shes so fookin crea'ive but you know wha? she isnt. bet ive been in SAS longer than her. wheres 'er skull tattoo at?? cause i got a whole sleeve done almost a decade ago! she isnt the first to come up wi' this. see, i get youre friends wi' 'er but truth is she di'nt come up wi' all o' this 'erself and she isn't half as dedicated as me. i even got skeleton boxers! she got those??- wait no dont answer tha' i dont wan' tha' image in my head."

for the first month or two whenever you see each other its clear you two do not get along.

roach tried to crack a joke but if anything it just made you hate ghost more

"hey, phantom. what's got two legs and bleeds?" "half a dog." you and ghost respond in unison

the rest of the day you dont even acknowledge each other. price makes a joke about how "you both are acting like you killed someone" which you mutter a small "oh im going to that's for sure" under your breath

safe to say you had a long rant to roach about how now not only is he stealing your whole persona, he's taking your jokes now too

you think roach would be torn between choosing sides but no this man loves every second of it. its so petty- so stupid he just needs to see how long you two idiots will keep butting heads

you mention how you were planning on getting a red mask? he's going up to ghost being like "hey, ghost did i ever tell you red is totally your colour? you know what actually? you should get a red mask!"

you both walk into the next briefing with your new masks and you couldn't be more pissed

to make matters worse you both are teamed up for the next mission. something about stopping a major arms dealer but ghost is the one getting his hands dirty. all you need to do is get into security, guide him through the complex enough for him to grab intel and leave

its simple. you've done it a billion times before, same with ghost. the first half goes fine. you both get in, he grabs the intel and is ready to head out, both of you speaking only when necessary.

minor issue- actually major issue, getting out wasn't as smooth. somehow ghost ended up shot right as he's notifying you that he's almost out. you hear the gunshot ring out, a grunt and scuffling.

"phantom to ghost. how copy."

your voice rings out, an eerie silence following after

"ghost. how copy."

you repeat again, this time earning a response

"m' alive. shot in the leg. bullet went clean through, makin a torniquet as we speak" he grunts back. you have never been happier to hear his stupid manchester accent "keep it that way."

if past you knew those four words directed at ghost would come out of your mouth, you're pretty sure you would've stolen a tank and driven it off a cliff immediately with ghost in it too probably

but now is not the time hotwiring a tank and locating a cliff would take too long anyways, you guide him out, occasionally telling him some stupid fun fact to make sure he's still there or just to keep him alert

"did you know that jellyfish have one hole for their mouth and asshole?" "these get more concerning the more you tell me." "most koalas have chlamydia." "alrigh', 'nuff of that. fun facts are s'pposed to be fun, you know that right?" "learning is fun."

this earns a chuckle from him which he quickly covers up with a cough

he makes it out alive, busted up that's for sure but alive nonetheless

you hook his arm over your shoulder, talking about everything and anything to keep him conscious. he's going to listen anyways so might as well make the most of it

"you're not as bad as i thought you'd be, 'specially for a copy cat." he says after you tell him yet another bizarre animal fact "i got a red mask first by the way" "piss off. this is why i don't compliment you" he rolls his eyes, for once not out of annoyance "i wear it better anyways." "sure, sure. believe what you want, but just know that i'm the cooler one." "you also are shit at making tourniquets" "so you finally admit that i'm cooler." no amount of eyerolling or snappy comebacks can hide your grin at this point. you silently thank your past self for choosing to wear a mask all the time "you're quite bold for someone who got shot in the leg"

once you two get back, practically everyone is surprised how all the deadly glares and colorful insults muttered under heavy sighs between you two have now been replaced with playful banter and empty threats with no murderous intent behind them

price heard you laughing with ghost followed up with you telling ghost "they will never find your body" which did scare the shit out of him but it made ghost laugh so hard he nearly pissed himself

price made sure to check that ghost was in fact alive for the next few days, just to make sure you were joking

when asked about it both of you just shrug and reply "trauma bonding."

roach, although disappointed with the absence of drama is glad to see two of the most special people in his life getting along bros just sad he cant be an instigator anymore

and as soon as ghost comes back from leave, he's got double the scary dog privileges he originally had

[kimaixun]

[Selective Mute - SKZ Lee Know X M!Reader] [NSFW]

“Babe, this colour or this colour?” M/N looks to his boyfriend who held two different suit. One was grey, the other was white. He gave a light shrug before pointing to the white one. “What about you? What colour would you be wearing?” M/N made his way to the rack and pull out a black suit. “Looks good. Let’s check out, I’m starving and the kids just texted me. Felix made brownies.”

M/N smiled, wrapping an arm around his older boyfriend and gave a chaste kiss to the latter forehead. The couple were preparing for the red carpet of MAMA, attending as a pair for the first time in the two years of their relationship. A week prior, with the approval of JYP, Lee Know came out to his fans, to the world about being a gay and having a boyfriend. He explained that they had been together for two years. Instantly, the news blew up and thankfully, the outcome was positive. MAMA even invited M/N as a guest to attend with Lee Know.

“We’re homed!” Lee Know voice echoed through the hallways of the entrance as he took off his shoes, putting them neatly on the rack. M/N followed through the older, heading inside the living room.

“Welcome back!”

“Hi Hyung”

“Hey M/N,”

The chorus of response ignited in the kitchen where SKZ joyfully prepared dinner as a team. It was half an hour later when all of them sat at the dining table, devouring their home cooked meal, which was a once in a blue moon thing considering how busy they were and all they ever ate was take out when the leader begins to converse in small talks

“Have you picked out the suit?” Bang Chan asked the couple who sat opposite him.

“Yeah we did. I can’t believe it’s happening tomorrow night.” Lee Know said. M/N gave him a squeeze on his thigh, calming the older down.

“It’s finally time. STAYs love you guys as much as they love all of us so everything will be alright.” ChangBin assured the dancer just as he got up to take a drink from the fridge.

M/N watched fondly as Lee Know started ranting out about how nervous he was whilst the rest of the members assured him calmly. It was a beautiful scene to watch, having them showing support to each other. Unfortunately, by the end of the day, closing to midnight, M/N waved goodbye to the members, getting himself ready to leave the dorm.

“I’m going to see you tomorrow afternoon right?” Lee Know frowned as he look up to his taller boyfriend, hands intertwined behind his neck. M/N smiled softly, planting a soft kiss to the latter’s forehead. “Can you not go home tonight? You can just sleep over.”

M/N shook his head, apologising through his eyes. Lee Know knew he couldn’t get M/N to stay for the night, at least, tonight because M/N had to prepare for tomorrow and he had work to be completed the next morning. M/N is a composer in HYBE.

“Okay,” Lee Know let out a soft sigh, nodding to the latter. Both of them understood each other. As much as the lovers want to just lock themselves in a room and forget the world exist, the world still exist and life had to move in. “I love you.” M/N responded by kissing the older deep enough for the the latter to cry out a soft moan.

Heavy heartedly as Lee Know watch his lover disappear into the closing elevators door, he sighed, going back into the dorm, straight into his room.

“Hyung? Are you okay?” JiSung peeked his head into the dancer’s room, concern on how dejected the other looked. He found Lee Know sat on his bed, knees tugged into his chest as he stroll nonchalantly on his phone. “Hyung?”

“Oh, hey Sungie. What’s up?” Lee Know asked.

“I’m worried about you. I know you’re nervous for tomorrow but, you look as if you are going to attend a death sentence.”

Lee Know frowned even more, “I look that bad?” He sighed, “I know I’m nervous but, I’m more terrified for tomorrow. What if there’s an anti or some kind of sasaeng? I mean, there must be at least one or a couple of people who dislike our relationship. Not that I care about them liking it or not but, what if they hurt M/N?”

“I hear you and I understand where you’re coming from but, you need to know that both of you aren’t alone here. You still have us. We will be there to protect you both and STAYs will be there to protect us. They’re our guardian angels you know.” JiSung said, “have you forgotten when a sasaeng literally snatch Felix’s ÏČË scream randomly out of nowhere? STAYs hunted her down and made sure she was reported. That’s how STAYs are for us.”

“You’re right. I’m getting too worked up for tomorrow.” Lee Know sighed, “thanks Sungie.”

“Always there for you Hyung.” JiSung grinned and gave the older a tight hug.

It was late at night, early in the morning, where neither the Sun or the stars shine in the sky. It was 4am when M/N found himself yawning for the ninth time as he type in the lyrics that he compose an hour ago into his laptop. He was tired but, he was not exactly sleepy. Yawning means coffee. The producer saves his work and took out a can of coffee, gulping it in one shot. He finally took his phone from his back pocket, surprised to see missed calls from none other than his lover. Something was wrong. Lee Know almost never calls, or at least, Lee Know knew when to call considering how little M/N even speak. Locking the door to his studio entrance, sitting back down on his roller chair. M/N called his lover.

“M/N, I——I’m” When Lee Know spoke, it sounded like his voice was made of gravel. His clear tone was undercut with a choking heaviness that forced him to pause several times.

“Give me 15 minutes. I’ll be outside your dorm baby.” M/N was not going to lie at how his heart aches hearing Lee Know’s voice. The last time he heard this voice was almost a year ago when they had a huge fight due to a misunderstanding. It wasn’t pretty but M/N thanked god they manage to talk it out.

His fingers tapped against the elevator walls as he anxiously waited for it to reach a certain level. Every second that went by cause more ache to his heart. He needed to get to Lee Know, fast. Ding! The elevator door opened and M/N sprinted out of it to where SKZ dorm was. There, he crouched, tears streaming down his face as he hiccups, swallowing back sobs that threatened to echo down the hallway.

“Baby.” M/N whispered, scooping his lover into his arms, holding him tightly. Lee Know buried his face into M/N’s chest, letting out a soft sob. “Come on, let’s get you inside, you’re freezing.” The producer lifted the dancer effortlessly. Lee Know has his legs wrapped around M/N’s hips as he buried his face deep into the latter’s neck. Not wanting to wake the rest up, M/N tiptoed towards the room, locking the doors behind him.

M/N gently laid Lee Know on the bed and hovered on top of him, “baby?”

“I’m sorry.” Lee Know sniffled, “you were busy and I just had to disturb you. I don’t even know why I can’t stop crying,”

“Baby, it’s okay. You’re my priority,” M/N gently ran a hand through the dancer’s hair, “now, baby. what’s wrong?”

“I….I just feel so scared for tonight. I.. I know it should be a joyous occasion but, what if, someone hurts you? What if there are anti and sasaeng who wants to hurt you? I’m scared. I don’t want you hurt.” Lee Know sniffled, clenching onto M/N’s black cotton shirt.

M/N cooed and kisses the tears away, booping their noses together, “baby, how could I ever not love you?” The producer grinned, planting a kiss to the dancer’s lips, “everything will be alright, let’s not think negatively. If it’ll make you feel better, I was once a policeman.”

“I forgot about that and I feel so dumb right now,” a blush spread on Lee Know’s cheek as he finally calm down.

“It’s okay baby, thank you for worrying about me. I love you. I love you. I love you.” M/N repeatedly said as he plants kisses to Lee Know’s forehead, down to his eyelids, his nose, his cheeks, his lips, his neck. “May I?” The producer asked for consent, knowing where the kisses were leading to.

“Yes please,” Lee Know whispered as M/N continue to plant kisses on his neck, sucking on them to leave a bruise. The producer continued, sliding his hand under the dancer’s shirt, caressing his torso so lovingly. Lee Know mewled, arching his back in pleasure. It was just a matter of seconds when they got themselves undress.

“I love you baby.” M/N smiled softly to the older, as he insert a lubricated digit into him. Lee Know bit his lips, suppressing a moan, “let me hear you baby.” The producer insert another finger in a scissoring motion.

“Fuck, I want to feel you love, I want you in me.” Lee Know moaned.

M/N chuckled, planting a kiss to the older’s forehead as he added another finger into him, “patience, baby.” Almost like a growl, Lee Know felt the high in him arise, with a arch back, he came. “Cumming only from my finger, baby?”

“V—-voice, your voice,” breathless, Lee Know clawed on M/N’s broad shoulder, “fuck me.”

M/N smirked, “how about a little ‘please fuck me’, baby?”

“Please fuck me. Please fuck me now, make me scream.” Lee Know moaned as he felt M/N slide his dick teasingly on Lee Know’s entrance.

“Safe word?”

“Euphoria.” Lee Know responded instantly.

“I love you.” M/N whispered into the older’s ears before slamming hard into him.

“A—agh, fuck.” He could feel the older’s tremble under him as he kept a consistent pace, feeling the warmth of Lee Know around him. “B—ig big. You’re too big.”

“Am I hurting you?” Concern, M/N stopped his movement, staring into Lee Know’s teary eyes.

Lee Know felt warmth in his heart. It wasn’t the first time they made love, it has been countless of time and yet, M/N never failed to be gentle and caring. In the name of SKZ, Lee Know swore despite the countless time, he could never get use to M/N. M/N was thick and long. Every time the producer thrusted in him, he could feel his guts being rearranged indefinitely.

Lee Know chuckled, holding onto M/N’s cheek, “I’m okay. I promise.”

“I love you.” M/N kissed him deeply before thrusting in rhythmic. “You’re so tight baby. I can never imagine this pleasure from anyone,” M/N growled as he grip Lee Know’s waist, thrusting into him harder. He puts a hand on the older’s lower stomach, smirking when he sees the bulge each time he thrusted.

“A—agh, agh, M/N, I’m gonna cum. Cum in me please,” Lee Know breathlessly moaned. M/N smiled, locking their lips together as he thrusted with a inhumane speed.

“AGH~~~,” The two moaned, riding their highs. Lee Know could feel the warm liquid of M/N in him as he came onto their chest.

“I love you.” M/N said.

“I love you.” Lee Know gasped. “Why…why are you growing bigger in me?”

M/N chuckled, “round two before everyone wakes up?” He glanced over to the clock on the nightstand seeing that it was almost 6am.

“If I can’t walk on the red carpet later, it’s your fault.” Lee Know laughed, “but oh well, round two please.”

~~~~~~

“Did you guys not hear it this morning?”

“I think Hyung brought someone back.”

“He’s cheating on M/N?”

“That’s impossible. Hyung loves M/N to death.”

“But they were fucking and there was another voice, apart from Hyung’s. M/N is mute. I doubt he would make any sound while fucking”

“Maybe we should talk to Lee Know first. Let’s not jump into conclusions.”

In the midst of the chaos between the members of SKZ, leaving Lee Know apart, M/N walked into the kitchen, half asleep. He nodded to the members as a good morning before pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“M/N Hyung.” I.N called out the latter, “when did you arrive here?”

‘This morning.’ M/N wrote on the board hanged on the fridge. The members had put him into consideration in terms of how they wanted to converse.

“This morning? Meaning, you just came back from work?” SeungMin asked, earning a nod from the latter.

All of them shared a look with each other before Bang Chan beckoned to the producer to sit with them. M/N raised an eyebrow confused but nonetheless took a seat.

“I know we shouldn’t be the one saying this but,” ChangBin gulped, debating whether he should say the next sentence in mind.

“Lee Know might have brought back some—,” Bang Chan was cut off when Lee Know came limping into the kitchen, half asleep.

“Morning guys.” The dancer greeted and smiled sleepily to his lover. He too poured himself some coffee before heading over to M/N, casually taking a seat on his lap. He plants a kiss to M/N cheek before snuggling his head into the producer’s neck.

Everyone gave a death stare.

“Do I have blood on me or was the limping too obvious? Why the hell are they death staring me?” Lee Know whispered to his lover. M/N shrugged putting his hand in surrender. “Are you going to kill me or how is this going to work?”

“Hyung.” HyunJin deadpanned.

“Who was in your room this morning?” Felix asked.

Lee Know looked at them confused, “who was in my room? Myself and M/N of course.”

“How can you prove it?”

“Well, I don’t know if M/N is a invisible man but, I am right here sitting on my man’s lap. Literally.” Lee Know emphasised.

Bang Chan sighed as he finally knock on the table to get the attention of others, “okay. I know we aren’t suppose to actually get ourselves into your business but, we heard someone else in your room this morning Lee Know. The person and you were making love. As you know, the walls are not soundproof here.”

Lee Know and M/N looked at each other, the dancer turning red every second.

Chang Bin continued, “and we do not believe that it was M/N because number one, you are way too loud and two, M/N is mute, we doubt he would make a sound.”

Lee Know broke out into a laugh so hard, tears were accumulating in his eyes, “wait wait wait, so you’re telling me that you suspected that I cheated on M/N?”

“Yes!” The members responded simultaneously.

“Omgggg, I would never cheat on M/N. Besides, if did, I would lose literally my life along.” Lee Know giggled.

“See I told you, Hyung would never cheat.” JiSung chimed.

Lee Know calm himself down and wipe away a fallen tear, “my apologies for being too loud but, the other voice you heard was actually M/N. M/N is mute but he’s a selective mute.”

“I can speak, I have a voice.” M/N said as he adjusted Lee Know on his lap, sitting upright. Everyone gasped, eyes widened. “The only person I feel comfortable speaking to is Lee Know Hyung.“

“You did good babe.” Lee Know praised the producer. He knew how much it would take a toll for M/N to speak to others. “It’s not that he is uncomfortable with you guys but, M/N had a rough past with his voice which causes severe anxiety. It’ll take time for him to open up. It took close to three years when we were just friends for him to speak to me.”

“Oh lord, we’re so sorry for assuming such things.”

“Don’t apologise. You guys did nothing wrong, instead we should be the one apologising for the disruption this morning.” Lee Know blushed.

JiSung grinned, “nah, it is good to know that M/N actually can speak. What we’re worried it’s more of, can you walk later? I swear the bed creaking and your scream Hyung was a little over the moon.”

“Oh, that’s not even a full session.” Lee Know cheekily smiled as he kisses M/N’s cheek.

“Ewwwww,” the member cringed at the lovers.

[alastor-simp]

Alastor with a female reader who is selectively mute Part 2

Here is part 2 of this story. Mimzy is gonna be in this story as well, since we havent heard her talk yet or what her personality is like, im just gonna write how I think she will talk and act. Enjoy everyone:)

***5 Months Later***

You had adapted to hell surprisingly well. Yes there was some bumps along the way, due to you being mute, but you adjusted as time went on. Your relationships with everyone in the hotel had grown significantly. Charlie adored you and loved you like a sister. She was this close to telling her dad if it was possible to adopt you into the family, but you frantically declined as you suspected it would complicate things, but it was sweet that she loved you so much to do that. Vaggie slowly adjusted to you, don't blame her, she was always untrustworthy of everyone in the hotel, but she came around sooner or later. She offered to teach you some self defense as you were still an easy target. It was a bit difficult, but you managed despite your clumsiness. Angel Dust was a bit annoying in the beginning as he really wanted to hear your voice, but the puppy dog eyes you gave him made him quit. Now he treats you like his bestie, taking you shopping and having you attend some of his shows, which flustered you, but you wanted to support him. Niffty found you adorable when you first met and she still does. She has tried not to speed run towards you, since it always shocked you, causing you to drop your notepad in the past. It took a while, but she was able to do it. Husk was literally your dad figure. He always came over when you appeared upset about something and offered to cheer you up with his card tricks or make you a virgin cocktail, especially since your alcohol tolerance was negative 1000. You loved that he became that caring towards you, especially how gruff he was with everyone else. Sir Pentious was a new addition to the hotel. He first appeared when he tried to blow up the hotel a second time, only for Al to defeat him easily. Later after that, he became a patron at the hotel. He wondered why you didn't speak, but after a talk with Charlie and Vaggie, he no longer questioned it. He did enjoy your company, whenever you came to his work space, as he was crafting his inventions. His Egg Bois adored you as well, which pleased him. Alastor had become almost your protector/best friend. Its crazy to think how in the beginning, he was a bit annoyed when you didn't respond to his question, to now where he was always there to help you whenever you were in a pickle. His radio tower was your sanctuary as you always headed up there during his broadcasts. Alastor would always anticipate you coming as well, as it made his day a whole lot better whenever you showed up and took a seat next to him, admiring him as he continued his broadcast.

Getting ready for the day, you stood in front of your mirror, making sure you look spiffy. Alastor had invited you to attend one of Mimzy's shows at her club. Excitement raced through your body, and you nodded quickly when he asked you. Alastor mentioned before that her shows were very entertaining, so it made you very happy when he invited you to come. After a few minutes of looking yourself over, you walked over to the bed and grabbed the cell phone that was there. Charlie had gotten you it a few weeks ago as a gift. She had installed a text to speech app on it, so whatever you typed on the phone, a voice would respond back. Tears filled your eyes when she gave it to you, almost apologizing for all the trouble she had to go through to get it for you, but she said it was fine and it hardly cost anything. You knew she was royalty, so one cell phone wouldn't be a big deal, but it was to you. After a bunch of persuasion from Charlie saying it was really alright, you accepted the cell phone, not before engulfing Charlie in a hug. It took a while to get use to it, but it got easier over time, and it was a whole lot better then the notepad.

Rushing out of the room, your feet carried you over to the lobby, where a certain deer demon was patiently waiting. Alastor's ear twitched when he heard the pitter patter of your feet, turning to face you with a smile. Stopping to catch your breath, you stood in front of Al and gave a small wave, causing him to chuckle. His eyes scanned your outfit and found it to be perfect for today's activities. "Excited are we, my dear?" Looking at Al, you nodded your head, smiling widely. How adorable he thought. Hooking his arm with yours, Alastor banged his microphone on the ground, causing a portal to open in front of you. "Transporting like this may be new to you, my dear! Hold on tight!" The both of you entered the portal. It felt extremely odd, but you powered through it. The portal had brought you in front of a large building, with a large neon sign reading "Mimzy's." There was a crowd of demons around the building, probably ready for the show, as Mimzy was very popular. Entering inside, your eyes were drawn to the decor. It was a lavish place, the walls were covered in burlesque posters, and string lights decorated the ceiling. It had a very spacious bar and in the center of the room was a large stage with a small band in the background. Heading over to a certain section, there was a table that read VIP. This must be for us, since Alastor was a frequent visitor at this place. Sitting down in the seat, Alastor called over a server, asking for their most popular giggle water, while turning to you and asking what you would like. Taking your phone out, you typed your answer and played it out:

"𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎."

The server was confused at that, but just shrugged and nodded while going over to complete the order. Alastor was not fond that you had to resort to that annoying technology to speak, but he did noticed how more calm you were using it then the notepad, so he kept his opinion to himself. After the server returned with the drinks, the lights began to dim, and the crowd began to let out cheers, as the main entertainer made her way to the stage. Mimzy was a very short demon, a little chubby, but very gorgeous. Her flapper dress suit her very well, as she made her way to the center of the stage. "Good evening, Ladies and Gents! Y'all ready for tonight's performance?" Cheers and whistles were the response to that. "That's what I like to hear! Hit it boys!" The stage lights flashed, as Mimzy walked closer to the front of the stage, standing in front of the microphone, ready to amaze everyone.

(LOVE THIS SINGER, Check her out)

The performance drew to a close, and you were blown away. Her voice was amazing. Loud cheers and applause radiated throughout the whole room, as Mimzy gave a bow. Both you and Alastor clapped with the crowd as Mimzy left the stage, leaving the band there, as they played some jazz to keep the entertainment alive. Alastor turned towards you, asking if you enjoyed the show, to which you responded with an enthusiastic nod. "Why Alastor! You made it" a familiar voice, called out from behind the both of you, as you saw Mimzy walking towards the both of you. "Of course, Mimzy my dear! You do know how much I adore your performances!" Alastor smiled as he greeted Mimzy, placing a kiss on her hand. Mimzy's eyes then locked on you. Oh boy, you hoped she was friendly. "Oh My Goodness! Who is this adorable little peach?!" Oh thank Lucifer, she was a nice demon. "Ah yes! This is another acquaintance of mine! Say hello my dear!" Mimzy glanced at Al when he spoke, then turned back to you with a kind smile. "How ya doin suga~? Did my voice blow you away?" Feeling uncertain, you wondered if she was going to treat you differently if she knew you were a mute. She seemed friendly enough, plus Al said she was a good friend. Slowly you grabbed your phone and typed out what you wanted to say to Mimzy.

𝚈𝚎𝚜! 𝙸 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎. 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚞𝚝𝚎, 𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚊𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚍𝚍.

After the voice played, you pointed your eyes to the ground, feeling very shy. Clenching your hands under the table, you worried Mimzy was going to mock you for not speaking. "Oh my satan! Alastor, where did you find this angel? She is simply precious!" Mimzy had grabbed your cheeks, and began to squish them, like what a mother would do to a baby. "She had arrived in Hell a few months ago! She is a shy little one!" Alastor chuckled as he watched Mimzy coo at you. "No apologies needed suga~! Just happy you enjoyed the show! Here, let me give you a VIP pass so you can visit with no problems. Okay, darling?" Mimzy let go of your cheeks, and handed you the card. She had a very motherly side to her, which you liked. Grabbing the card, you nodded your head and smiled. Mimzy smiled and hugged you again. She then departed both of you as she had to meet up with some gents on the other side of the room. Both you and Alastor stayed at the club for a little bit, chatting about certain topics until you realized it had gotten late. Exiting the building, both you and Alastor decided to walk back to the hotel. Could have teleported, but the breeze was nice plus you both needed to stretch your legs after sitting for a long time. Your arm was hooked with Al's as he walked with you. Always such a gentleman. After walking for a couple of minutes, Alastor had stopped in his tracks. "My dear, may I ask you a question?" Alastor turned towards you, as he let your arm go, as he left you to stand in front of him. Staring into his eyes, you looked to see if there was any evidence of anger in them, but you found none. There was a little hint of sadness though, yet Alastor was still smiling. "I noticed during conversations with others, you always apologize! Why is that, my dear?" Tilting his head at you, he waited for your response.

Painful memories from your past began to flash in your mind once Alastor asked that question. Tears started to form, but they were blinked away. Reaching for your phone with trembling hands, you slowly wrote your answer and played it for Al.

𝙳𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚠 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚢, 𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔, 𝚊 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚘. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝. 𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝙸 𝚊𝚖, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗.

Tears rolled down your cheeks, as you pointed your head to the ground. Everything you felt from back then began to pour out of you, and you couldn't stop. Alastor was silent in front of you, and you figured he was upset with you, but before you could type a response, you were caught off when you felt someone wrap their arms around you. You found your head being placed in the crook of his neck, as he held you tightly. HE WAS HUGGING YOU?!? The last months while staying at the hotel, you were able to find out that Alastor didn't liked being touch. Yes, he would touch you and the others, but it mostly involved an arm hook, slight shoulder hug or head pat. You never expected that Al would be hugging you like this. After a few seconds, he began to speak. "I am truly sorry you had to suffer through that, my dear! But let me tell you this, people who mock and taunt others for being odd or a little strange are the ẗ̸̝́r̴̦̒u̵̦̅ē̴̢ ̶̰̈́s̴̱̈c̷̪͒ù̶̧m̶͇͐ ̸͎̔ò̴̦f̸͔̈́ ̶̦̃t̶͈̽h̶̟͌ȩ̴̾ ̴̯̀è̴͍a̴̞͝r̸͙̊t̸̰̕h̸̤̉! They are the true monsters! Don't believe their heinous words! To me, you are the sweetest and most unique demon in all of the seven rings! Never apologize for being the way you are ever again!" His words made you cry even more. Moving your hands slowly, you placed them on his back, tightening the hug. You felt the slight flinch from his body when you did that, but he slowly relaxed and squeezed you tighter.

The hug lasted for a bit before Al slowly released you, snapping his fingers to have a handkerchief appear in his hands, as he wiped your tears away. Once he finished, he leaned down and placed his hands on the sides of your mouth, moving them up to make it appear you were smiling. "Come on, my dear! Smile!" The smile on his face was outstretched, revealing all of his sharp teeth. His antics never ceased to make you laugh. Looking at him, you gave him a great big smile. Chuckling, Al leaned back up and grabbed your arm again, continuing his walk back to the hotel. After about a few minutes of walking, you both stopped in your tracks as an unknown voice called out to the both of you. "Well well well, if it isn't the Radio Demon."

*(TO BE CONTINUED)*

Part 1 of the Story is Here

Part 3 of the story is Here

[selineram3421]

*lies awake at night and has an idea*

[Its 4 a.m. by the way.]

Other Worldly

Prologue

Alastor X Shy Reader

(Oneshot turned short story)

Warnings? ⚠

⚠ selectively mute reader, mentions of death-drowning, shaking head = no, signing-ASL ⚠

They were an oddity.

How could such a meek and bashful thing like them end up in this fiery inferno.

Alastor watched from the bar as they bumped into the check-in counter and squeaked before getting off balance and falling.

Clumsy, jumpy, barely making a sound other than some odd squeaks.

Yes, they were quite the wonder.

An entertaining one.

❇

You were somewhat new to Hell. At least two weeks in.

There was an accident where you worked in the aquarium and well..you kinda caused a mass drowning? It sounds impossible but it happened.

It was very challenging to get up after your fall, but you managed and wound up at the hotel.

With the help of the Princess, you were able to figure out what kind of demon you are. It came with pros but it also came with cons. One con being that you couldn't speak unless you wanted to hypnotize someone.

It made you a little sad, but also relieved. You didn't do well around others, too shy to speak up or get involved with anything that put you in the spotlight.

Maybe it was for the best.

There would be one thing you wouldn't give up though.

❇

Alastor was in the hotel's library.

There wasn't a whole lot of demons coming into this room, especially after some guests saw him walk in here a few times.

It didn't matter. At least there were multiple things that could entertain him. A small music room with instruments, projectors in another with film reels and other types of tapes, and the most dazzling room of all was the astronomy room.

The Princess made sure to have this room's dome ceiling painted with an accurate mural of the Earth's night sky.

Deciding to mess with the trinkets on the shelves, the demon in red walked towards the back of the room and glanced at the star charts. Tapping at some of the books and measuring tools on the desk nearby before sitting down on a chair.

No one ventured this far into the library. He was probably the only demon who knew of this room's existence.

And then he heard something.

Someone had entered the room.

Turning around and looking between the shelves, Alastor spots the timid demon that he enjoys flustering so much near the armillary sphere in the middle.

A little spook wouldn't be too bad.

He thought with a small grin, starting to summon up a shadow creature. However both dissipated when there was a note sung into the air.

"Let's go in the garden

You'll find something waiting

Right there where you left it lying upside down

When you finally find it, you'll see how its faded

The underside is lighter when you turn it around "

The Radio Demon sat there, mouth agape as they sang.

"Everything stays right where you left it

Everything stays

But it still changes

Ever so slightly, daily and nightly

In little ways, when everything stays "

Like a siren- a water sprite? A nymph? It was hard to pinpoint what he could compare their voice to.

It was other worldly.

Their voice echoed due to the room's acoustics.

He didn't notice that he had gotten out of the chair, didn't notice he was making his way towards them, didn't notice when they stopped singing until they gasped.

Blinking out of his trance, he found them facing him and covering their mouth with their hands. A panicked look in their eyes.

"You stopped.", Alastor spoke up. "Why not finish?"

They shook their head quickly and backed away.

Before he could say something else, they moved their arms down, one made into a fist on their chest and moving in a circle clockwise. Then they ran out. (Sorry)

He stood there for a while, his smile widening. Maybe there was more to them than he thought.

How interesting~

I'm still on break but I couldn't help myself with this one. 🐚 (Old note)

~Seline, the person.

Part 1

.

Alastor ML I🎙 | ChL OW🦀

[whole-circus]

i luv your account aesthetic or wtv its called!! it’s rlly cool, mmm i wanted to request for smth!

could you write homicidal liu and jeff tk with a selective mute male or gender neutral reader? if u write for only one then jeff would be ok! and if you don’t know how to write for a mute reader, feel free to ignore this!!

the reader doesn’t communicate at all with words, and only use nods and stuff 4 answers. thank u sm !! <3

Jeff the Killer and Homicidal Liu x gn. reader with selective mutism!

➥ Ah thank you so much, you are so sweet!! T^T No problem! I tried my best to educate myself, but please free to correct me! :) Im at your service! And also - please take care of yourself!

.•┈••✦ 🖤 ✦••┈•.

Jeff the Killer

☆ He can be a bit tease at moments, but he has good intentions - i mean, only he can do that?? Also no worries, he is a bit of a talker - leave him with someone he likes and he will talk and talk for hours.. For that he doesn't need any words, just small gestures showing that you are listening to him! Like the way you look at him..ah he just love that! <3

☆ He is like this scary dog privilege, wouldn't let talk shit about you! Pretty agressive from me huh? Good! He is so, so protective of you! He knows people can be terrible and he doesn't tolerate meanies. Any person that makes you sad will land on his black list. That doesn't mean that he doesn't trust you, Jeff knows that you are able to manage..but he want to help you if you would need that! (plus you would spend even more time together!).

☆ This man doesn't except a lot, deep down he is just a softie who wants someone to love. Oh? And what is that? His precious partner? He would jump from joy, if he didn't had this cool persona to hold up! I promise your selective mutism its not a big deal for him, after all he is killer, come on..everyone have imperfections huh? You do you, you are still amazing! You are still his sweet S/O, and he loves you the way you are! But the same as Liu - he wants the best for you, and would love you to get professional help (only if you are comfortable tho, its a big and hard step).

☆I think he would like to do stuff with you that helps you express yourself. Listen, he would love to learn you how to play guitar - unless you are this cool person who can do that. But maybe writing poems? Okay, this is just straight sweet. Photography? Hell yes, you could even make some journal together? You know, to never forgot your shared moments? Or even an art! Like painting, sculpting, drawing..he is up to anything, as long as he gets to spend time with you!

Homicidal Liu

☆ He doesn't mind in the slightest! I think he is pretty observant person, so nonverbal communication would be his thing. And if there is something, that would help you communicate better then he is right by your side - no matter if you would like to learn sign language, or maybe start using communication cards! Would do anything to help, if you would feel better then he would go with you to places, and if needed - react.

☆ Liu is a patient partner and just a sweetheart! That means that he would never pressure you over something, with what you wouldn't feel comfortable. Of course, he wants you to feel better, but it doesn't matter if you speak or not. Your well being is the most important. But! If you would be open to therapy, then he is your number one supporter!

☆ Loves spending time with you..- just you both relaxing in home. The choice is yours - games, movies, baking. Man, he would also love to slow dance with you (I bet he is a good dancer with his long ass legs). You are his safe place and he hopes he is yours..!

☆ He would do anything for you, he loves you so much! You are his favorite person and he wants you to remember, that even if mutism is part of you, then it isn't everything you are! You are your favorite drink, your favorite sweater or the way you walk.. you are this little things that makes you you..! And also! The relationship is supposed to be for good and bad times, so its perfectly normal for partners to feel vurnable and safe around eachother, just the way they are!

.•┈••✦ 🖤 ✦••┈•.

[bucky-fricking-barnes]

I’m Listening (Between The Lines)

Title: I’m Listening (Between The Lines)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Selectively Mute!Reader

Word Count: 6k

Warnings: Very mild language, mentions of being triggered, symptoms of PTSD and panic attacks

Summary: Y/N is in charge of reviewing the Avengers’ mission reports, and when Steve brings her coffee to apologize for all the paperwork, something more comes of it.

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this fic! Please note that it is a work of fiction and people who are selectively mute may or may not communicate in the ways depicted in this story. Thank you for supporting my work by reading, liking, reblogging, and commenting! I couldn’t do this without you. Dividers are by @firefly-graphics​

You’re hard at work on a stack of paperwork from the Avengers’ last mission when Elijah comes by your office with his delivery cart. He gives you an apologetic smile as he slides the second large pile into the only open space on your desk, his face twisting in sympathy.

“Sorry,” he says when your shoulders slump forward. “It was apparently a big one.” You nod and then he’s off again, heading back towards his cart and then to your floor’s mail room for whatever he’s supposed to deliver next. 

The extra workload isn’t unexpected; you’ve known it was coming since your supervisor had mentioned off-hand that the team was going out again—something about a terrorist cell in Europe. It hasn’t been on the news, but you have a feeling that the whole thing is being kept on the down-low until all damages and casualties have been accounted for. Fury likes to know everything going into press conferences. In short, you have a long week ahead of you, with probably more late nights than not.

Elijah passes by the doorway a few minutes later with a full cart of parcels and papers, but you pay him no heed as you bury yourself back into your work. The blue light from the computer has most certainly contributed to your headache, and as you read through the mission reports from the mission in Latin America, you rub your temples with your free hand.

“I know that I’m probably the main cause of that headache,” you practically leap out of your seat when Captain Rogers appears in your office doorway, “so I figured I’d bring you a peace offering. Tony said it was your favorite.”

Captain Rogers holds up a brown paper takeout bag and sets it on the small table just inside the door. You give him a tight smile and a nod in thanks. He doesn’t leave, however, and you try not to look too uncomfortable with the situation as he leans against the doorframe. He’s still in his uniform. You’d dimmed the ceiling lights in favor of the lamp on your desk, but you can still see the thin coating of dirt, soot, and blood on his face. It covers the red, white, and blue of the suit, too.

“Hopefully we didn’t add too much work for you?” he prompts, and you reluctantly shake your head. It’s only the normal of work amount for an Avengers mission, which is a lot, but you’ve learned to manage it.

Slowly, you close the mission folder and set down your pen, then push away from your desk. Your muscles are tight but you refrain from stretching while he’s still standing there. 

“That’s good,” he says. He pauses, then continues, “Thank you for being so thorough with the mission reports. I know I write a lot, but it’s important to me that everything is recorded. You never know when those details will come in handy.”

You nod again and force another smile. You’re exhausted and starving. You silently will him out of your office, then feel bad for wishing that Captain America would leave. He means well and he’s never been anything other than a gentleman. It’s not even that you don’t like him, because you very much do. He just… lingers. You’re never quite sure if it’s because he’s just curious about you or if it’s something more. Maybe you could ask the other employees in your department for their tricks for getting him out of your office. He never seemed to want to be around them as much as he did you. 

Captain Rogers clears his throat and straightens when you approach to take the bag of food from where he’d set it down. When you turn your back to bring it back to your desk, he steps further into your office, following you.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you—”

You turn with eyebrows raised and with the food clutched against you, a little startled to find him this close when you’d purposely tried to create some distance. He’s now within arm’s reach.

“Sorry.” He raises his hands in apology and steps back into the doorway, watching you carefully. When you’ve relaxed a little and set the food down on the corner of your desk, he asks, “Would you want to grab a coffee some time? It can be in the shop in the lobby, if you’d rather not leave the building during your break.”

Confused, you frown at him. He wanted to buy you coffee? Why?

“Or you can tell me what you want and I can bring it to you,” he offers. “As a thank you for dealing with all our shit.”

Captain Rogers gestures to the teetering stacks of papers on your desk and you can’t help but smile a little. Hadn’t Tony mentioned that his teammate was a stickler for clean language?

The room fills with an uncomfortable silence and as the awkward pause seems to stretch on for too long, you reach for the tablet on your desk. He takes that as a sign to bow out while his dignity is still somewhat intact. Panicked, you race to find the button you want. You jab your index finger against the screen when the app finally loads the selection of neat little squares that represents your schedule.

“Tomorrow at 2:30pm Eastern Daylight Time,” FRIDAY reports through the overhead speakers.

You blink when the Captain turns around, visibly confused by FRIDAY’s sudden interruption into his escape. With the tablet still in hand, you press the button again, this time adding on the beginning you’d dropped in order to give him a quick answer.

“My break tomorrow is at 2:30pm Eastern Daylight Time,” FRIDAY says.

Slowly, Captain Rogers resumes his place in the doorway. You can tell he’s still processing your strange way of answering, so you offer him a small, encouraging smile. He doesn’t seem angry that you haven’t spoken aloud, just a little confused.

“Do you want to meet there or do you want me to bring you coffee here?” he finally asks. 

You only have to glance at the tablet to input your response for FRIDAY to relay. “Please bring it here.”

“If I give you my number, can you tell me your coffee order?”

This time, you grab a sticky note from your desk and scribble down your order. You’re almost positive that the baristas will recognize it given the number of times you’ve frequented the cafe while working on Avenger mission reports. Captain Rogers steps into the office and takes the sticky note when you hold it out, his eyes crinkled at the corner as he smiles at you.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he says, holding up the sticky note. He backs up towards the door and gives you a small, awkward salute, then heads back down the hall towards the bank of elevators. 

Grinning, you plop back down in your office chair and pull the bag of food into your lap. As soon as you’ve got it open, you can tell that it’s exactly what you like to order on long nights like these. The smell coming from the still-hot containers inside is warm and welcoming. Captain Rogers had definitely asked Tony about you. The thought shouldn’t make you giddy, but it does anyway. You try to ignore the butterflies in your stomach as you scarf down the food and hurry to finish up your last set of reports so that you can head home.

The next day, Captain Rogers knocks on your door just as the digital clock on your desk changes to 2:30. You look up and smile, then gesture for him to come in while you close the report folder and set the papers aside. He’s got coffee cups in both hands and a pastry bag hanging precariously between his left index and middle fingers.

You quickly get to your feet and take the cup and bag and he holds out to you, smiling in thanks. He makes sure not to crowd you as you inspect the contents of the bag and the order scrawled on the cup in black marker.

“Everything right?” he asks, and you look up and nod. “Good. That’s good.”

He pauses, clearly wanting to say something else, so you raise your eyebrows at him expectantly. Captain Rogers glances at your desk and then forces a polite smile.

“I guess I’ll see you around? You look like you have a lot of work to do, I wouldn’t want to interrupt your break if you just want to sit and relax.”

When he goes to leave, you reach out and touch the side of his arm before you thinking twice. The pastry bag bumps against his arm as Captain Rogers stops and looks back at you. Hesitantly, you smile a little and nod over at the couch and chairs situated against one wall of your office. The room is small enough to suit your position at the Tower, but it’s also big enough that Tony had outfitted it with a couch, two armchairs, and a coffee table in addition to your desk and office chair. He took good care of you, and for that you were thankful. You’d yet to find a workplace as welcoming as the Avengers Tower, and that was saying something, given all the danger that surrounded your work. It helped that Tony had known you long before he’d become Iron Man.

The smile on Captain Roger’s face returned, but this time it was genuine. He nods in agreement and follows you over to the sitting area. You don’t fail to notice that he trails behind and lets you pick where you want to sit before taking a seat himself.

There’s a tablet built into the wall off to the side of the couch. You set your coffee and pastry down, then twist in your seat so you can pull the device from the wall. It pops out and the screen lights up automatically, scanning your face before unlocking the app that connects you to FRIDAY.

“Thank you for the coffee,” the AI says as your fingers fly over the screen. “You got everything right.”

“Well, they seemed to know your order as soon as I started reading it. I think I got a few words in before they asked if it was for you,” he replies.

Your cheeks heat up and you smile, ducking your head back down to tap at the tablet. “I go there a lot at night.”

“Doesn’t the workday end at 5:00?”

Nodding, you gesture with one hand at the large stacks of Avenger mission reports piled on your desk. You grab your coffee from the table with the other as Steve’s face flushes. Even his ears turn a little pink. It’s adorable.

“Oh.” He fiddles with the cup of coffee in his hands. It seems so small and you glance between your cup and his, wondering if he got a smaller sized drink or if he’s really just that big. “Sorry about that. Like I said last night, I—”

You hold up a hand to stop him before he can apologize and rationalize his actions again, then shake your head, hoping he understands. Thankfully, he nods and takes a small sip of his coffee.

“What did you get to drink?” you ask via FRIDAY.

“I usually get black coffee with a little bit of sugar.”

Your face must’ve clearly betrayed your thoughts because Captain Rogers laughs. He gestures with his cup at the one in your hands.

“I’ve tried something similar to yours. It was okay. I haven’t seem to find anything I really like, but I will say that even the plain coffee nowadays is better than the stuff we had when I was growing up.”

Smiling softly, you nod in understanding and set your cup down, then reach for the pastry he’d picked up for you. You pull it from the bag and tear it in half, holding one of the parts out for him to take.

“No, it’s okay,” he says, but you push it towards him insistently. Sharing is the least you can do.

Captain Rogers takes it after your push it a second time. You watch as he takes a bite, raising your eyebrows when he looks back up at you.

“This is amazing!”

You nod excitedly and pull up the keyboard on your tablet, typing as quickly as you can with only one hand.

“It’s my favorite. My mom used to get it for me on special occasions when I was little. I was happy when they added it to the menu here at the Tower.”

He’s smiling as he finishes his half of the pastry. You eat your own and you’re leaning forward to set the tablet on the coffee table when FRIDAY chimes through the speakers.

“Miss Y/L/N, Mr. Stark is on the phone for you. Shall I tell him you’re otherwise occupied? Your break is not scheduled to end for another three minutes.”

You tap the “yes” button on the tablet as you set it down and turn your body back towards Captain Rogers. He glances at the tablet, then at you.

“You can answer that if you want,” he says. “It’s probably important if Stark is calling you.”

Knowing it’s not, you shake your head with a small smile. You don’t talk on the phone and Tony knows that. If he’s calling you, it means that he’s somehow heard Captain Rogers is with you and he wants to interrupt. He likes to scare people away if he thinks they’ll be bad for you, and though you appreciate his protectiveness, you can take care of yourself. Captain Rogers is a good man. Logically, he should make you anxious. He’s a large man and he has abilities that would surely allow him to overpower you in an instant, but instead of fear, you feel safe. He would never hurt you and it’s easy to relax in his company.

“Are you sure?” he asks, and you nod again. 

FRIDAY interrupts him before he can say anything more. “I’m sorry, Miss Y/L/N, but Mr. Stark is overriding my systems. Apparently it’s urgent.”

You roll your eyes as Captain Rogers raises an eyebrow. Instead of paying close attention to whatever Tony’s rambling about as his voice floods the speakers in your office, you sip your coffee and open up the notes app on your tablet so you can scrawl out a message with the attached stylus.

Captain Rogers is standing to leave when you tilt the screen for him to see. He pauses to read your message and then glances up at the ceiling where the speakers are inlaid. You can see the wheels turning in his head.

“Don’t you need to go help him with OGRE?”

You frown and tilt your head a little, then tune into the sound of Tony’s voice. It’s not hard to track what he’s saying, but you’ve also gotten good at tuning him out over the years.

“—need you ASAP. Dum-E’s mostly just getting in the way today—this is your own fault, you know better than that—and Pepper’s out of the office on some good relations press tour, so you’re really the only person who can come help me sort out this OGRE business. Worry about all those reports later, we’ve got—”

As far as you know, Tony isn’t working on any new projects, secret or otherwise. You can usually tell when he’s keeping something under wraps, though he’s quick to clue you in about any developments in the “secret” projects. OGRE isn’t real. He’s making things up to get you away from Captain Rogers, and that irks you.

You clap twice, as loud as possible, and Tony stops speaking. It’s your surefire way of getting his attention and telling him to shut up.

“I’m sorry, am I bothering you?” he asks.

Huffing, you switch back to your communication app and tap the “yes” so that FRIDAY will relay your annoyance. For good measure, you add the “asshole” button as an afterthought.

Tony chuckles on the other end of the line. Your words are being communicated directly to him through FRIDAY, but they’re not coming through the speakers, and you catch the Captain watching you and the screen out of the corner of your eye. 

“Your break ended a minute ago, Y/N,” Tony says, and you can hear the teasing in his voice. “Why don’t you come up and help me? I’m sure Steve has more important things to be working on.”

“I don’t,” Captain Rogers flatly replies. “And we were enjoying ourselves until you interrupted. Why do you need Y/N’s help anyway? She doesn’t work in the science division.”

You try not to seem insulted at his answer. Of course he doesn’t know about your longstanding friendship with Tony, and there’s no way for him to know that you’d been working on a graduate degree at MIT before you’d had to drop out your senior year after everything that had happened. Tony and Fury buried that deep within SHIELD records at your request. You don’t want to be dragged into anything that could possibly trigger you, though you’ve gotten better at it over the years. Tony is careful not to invite you up while he’s working on anything that could be a possible trigger.

As subtly as possible, you tap a few buttons on the tablet screen, letting Tony know you’ll be up in a few minutes. He’s quiet for a moment before FRIDAY informs you that he’s ended the call.

Captain Rogers is frowning when you glance over at him. You reach over with one hand and tap his, giving him a worried look.

“I’m fine,” he replies, shaking his head. “Does Tony always demand things like that during your break? It’s no wonder you’re here so late all the time?”

You pause, wondering how to approach the topic, especially since he’s clearly noted that you often leave late. Has he been keeping tabs on you? 

FRIDAY relays your message after you finish pressing all the buttons you want. “Tony and I are friends. We met when I was working on my doctorate at MIT. He’s just trying to get a reaction out of both of us, but he probably also wants my help with something that he doesn’t really need help with. I’m a good sounding board, apparently.”

You offer the Captain a small smile when FRIDAY finishes speaking, and he relaxes a little. Carefully, you set the tablet down aside. He stands as you do and you both tidy up the coffee and pasty trash. 

“Thank you for humoring me during your break,” Captain Rogers says as you put the tablet back into the built-in dock on the wall. 

Smiling, you glance over your shoulder at him, then click the tablet into place. “I had fun, Captain Rogers. Thank you,” you tap out before stepping away from the device. You grab your coffee from where you’d set it on the edge of the desk, if only to have something to hold so you’re not standing awkwardly in front of him.

“Please call me Steve. Maybe we can do this again sometime?” he asks. After a moment, you nod in response. Steve smiles wide. “Have a good day, Y/N.”

You wave a little and watch in silence as he leaves. The butterflies in your stomach are back, launched into flight by the sight of his smile. It makes you wonder if he had such a winning smile before the serum. If he had, maybe he would’ve eventually been scooped up by some pretty girl who didn’t mind him being on the small side. You definitely wouldn’t have.

Coffee breaks with Steve become a regular occurrence, and it’s one of the best parts of your day. He’s being sent on more missions than usual lately, so after your third break together, he offers his phone number so that the two of you can text. You graciously hand over your phone and hope that he can’t hear your heart as it tries to beat out of your chest in excitement.

It’s on one of the days that Steve is out on a mission with the rest of his team, Tony included, that something triggers you. You woke up feeling a little queasy, but you’d pushed it aside and gone to the office anyway. Now you regretted that decision.

Something one of your co-workers had put in the break room microwave triggered something in your brain. The smell is somehow wafting across the entire floor of offices and cubicles, and you’d seen a few peoples’ disgusted faces before the scent had made it to you. All bets were off as soon as you’d smelt it. Instantly, you were back in the lab at MIT, staring down the man you’d once considered a mentor.

You blink away the memory and curl up on the floor with your back against your desk drawers. The handles dig painfully against your spine but it doesn’t really register as you fumble with your tablet, pressing the button that turns the clear glass wall of your office into an opaque one so that your co-workers couldn’t see you melting down. You manage to press the button to turn on the fans in your office too, hoping that will force the smell away from you quicker. You’re fading fast, and you react on instinct, grabbing your phone and pressing the call button.

“Hey, Y/N.”

When Steve’s voice comes over the speaker on your phone, you’re frantic. Why was he answering? Had something happened to Tony? He sounded too casual for something to be wrong.

“Y/N, are you there?” Steve asks.

You’re frozen in place even though your heart and mind are racing inside of you. How you’d managed to call him instead of Tony, you’re not sure, but you can’t speak over the phone, especially not with him, and you don’t know what to do. If you just hang up, Steve could call back, and you don’t think you have the mental capacity to text right now.

There’s a loud rumbling in the background of the call, but you can hear faint voices as well. Struggling to focus, you shudder and close your eyes, listening carefully to try and decipher what they’re saying.

The first person you can pick out is Tony. His voice sounds tinny and far away, but it’s definitely him. “Is that Y/N? Did she call you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Steve says, pulling slightly away from the phone before lifting it back to his ear. “Y/N, is everything okay?”

“FRIDAY’s sensing something’s wrong. Her heart rate and blood pressure are high and she’s breathing abnormally,” Tony says, and you grimace. Of course the AI noticed your vitals were off. You try to take a deep breath to calm yourself down, but your skin is crawling and your muscles all feel too tense.

Steve brings you back to the present when he speaks again. His voice is a little bit softer this time. “You don’t have to talk, it’s okay. Whatever happened, it’s going to be okay. FRIDAY would’ve told us if something was really wrong in the building, so I know it’s not that. I just need to know if you’re safe or not, Y/N. Can you let me know somehow if you’re safe?”

You don’t know how to tell him that it’s all in your head and that you don’t necessarily trust yourself right now, so you stay silent and motionless, curled up in a ball behind your desk.

“Do you want me to send someone to check on you?” Steve asks.

A panicked grunt escapes from the depths of your chest before you think twice, and you grip the phone harder.

“Okay, I won’t send anyone. Can you… Do you think you could clap? Or click for me?” Steve demonstrates, clucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth one time. The ridiculous idea of him making that noise in an airplane full of Avengers loosens the knot in your chest. After a moment, you mimic the sound.

“Good, that’s good,” he soothes. “Once for yes, twice for no, okay? Are you safe?”

It takes you a second, but you click once. Steve’s sigh of relief on the other end of the call is audible.

“Good. Are you injured?”

You click twice.

“Do you want me to distract you from whatever’s going on?”

One click.

That’s all the confirmation he needs, and then Steve is launching into some story about Clint and Tony arguing over the food that they brought with them on the mission. Apparently, they had a rotating cycle of who was in charge, and Tony had somehow found a way to rig it so that he was the person who chose the food for the last three missions. That sounded exactly like something he would do, and by the time Steve has finished the story and moved onto a new one, you’re more yourself.

The noise in the background of the call lessens over time, and the voices of the other Avengers disappear after Steve’s fourth story. You’re enraptured by the smooth, low sound of his voice over the phone speaker. Slowly but surely, you relax enough that your muscles can finally unclench and you move from being tightly curled against the desk to having your legs sprawled out in front of you a little. Your body still feels heavy, though, and you carefully move to lay on the floor on your side. The plush rug you added to your office is suddenly a godsend and you’re mobile enough now to reach up and grab the pillow from your desk chair. It’s normally just a back support pillow, something you’d deemed a necessity after sitting for hours on end, but now it’s a source of comfort as you tuck it underneath your head.

“You still with me, Y/N?” Steve finally asks.

You’re drowsy now that the panic has washed away and the adrenaline is leaving your system, but you cluck your tongue once. You swallow and try to rid your mouth of the dryness. It takes a great effort, but you manage to force out a weak “thank you” in the quiet.

Steve doesn’t hesitate or seem surprised by your response. “You don’t need to thank me,” he says. “I’d do anything for you, Y/N.”

That makes you smile. You put the phone on speaker and set it beside you on the floor, then close your eyes again.

“We’re back at the tower now. I’ll come check on you as soon as I’m cleared by medical. Are you in your office?” You click once in response. “Okay. Tony’s already been cleared so I think he’s coming to find you. I’ll stay on the line and talk when I can, but even if you can’t hear me, know that I’m here on the phone. Alright, sweetheart?”

You click again and listen as Steve goes back to telling his stories. After a while, he stops talking and you can hear someone else, presumably one of the medical team members, talking to him. 

While Steve is occupied by one of the Tower doctors, your office door opens and someone enters the room. You don’t need to sit up or open your eyes to know that it’s Tony because he’s muttering about the overpowering smell. Apparently, it’s not just your floor that’s feeling the effects of your co-worker’s horrible meal choices. A wave of the smell enters with him and you have to brace yourself as your mind screams at you, your old mentor’s words banging around in your skull. For a moment, you doubt if it’s really you that’s sitting in your office. Maybe you’re still at MIT and this is all just another experiment being done on you.

“Hey there, kiddo.”

Slowly, you blink open your eyes and stare up at Tony. He’s crouched beside you, one hand braced on the corner of the desk so he doesn’t lose his balance.

“It’s pretty bad out there. I’m sending everyone home early and I turned on the fans in every room on the floor. You hurt?” he asks, though you’re positive he already knows the answer because of Steve.

You shake your head and move into a sitting position. It takes you longer than it should but he doesn’t rush you or seem impatient. Tony understands what it’s like after being triggered.

“I think Steve is probably on the way up. Do you want me to help you back to your apartment after he’s checked on you, or do you want him to help?” Tony asks.

After thinking it over, you hold up two fingers—option two, have Steve help you. Tony smiles a little, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he shifts to sit on the floor instead of crouch.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

You’re very aware that Steve is still on the phone and you glance down at the device, then up at Tony. It’s clear that the genius knew exactly what he was doing and that he already knew that Steve was still present in some capacity. Your cheeks feel hot as you nod.

“Steve and I don’t always get along. My therapist would say that we should find middle ground and work out our issues since we’re both grown adults” Tony begins, waving a hand dismissively. “I trust your judgement, Y/N. You’re smart. You don’t need my permission or approval if you want to date him, but as your friend, I want you to know that if he makes you happy, then I’ll be happy about it. He always seems to be on your best behavior around you, which is good. You’re a lot more relaxed around him than anybody else on the team, besides me, of course..”

Tony has bad timing for heart-to-heart conversations and though you still feel a little bit like you’re in the wrong body and itching to get out, you appreciate that he’s telling you what’s on his mind. He doesn’t often do that, not when other people—like Steve—could overhear. It’s forcing you to stay present with him. 

You nod a little and then Tony is producing a water bottle from somewhere and asking if you’d like to have some. He mothers you until there’s a soft knock at the door.

“That’s Steve,” Tony tells you. “You’re good if I let him and head up to see Pep? She’s got an early flight out in the morning and I want to make sure we’ve got time together tonight.”

You nod again and he gets up. He leaves you behind the desk and you reach out to tap the red button on your phone to end the call now that Steve’s here with you. A few moments later, Steve is occupying the spot where Tony had just been sitting. He’s clearly worried, but he’s trying to act casual about the whole thing, and he’s practically doing a whole song and dance to make sure you’re comfortable after what’s happened, even though he doesn’t even really know what happened.

“Steve,” you murmur, smiling a little. Your throat is tight and it feels like someone’s scraping sandpaper over the tissue and muscles there as you speak.

He pauses and meets your eyes. “Yes?”

You reach out and take his hand in yours, squeezing once. He squeezes back and you keep hold of his hand as you look up at the tablet on your desk. It’s just out of your reach, but Steve grabs it easily and sets it on the floor between the two of you.

With your free hand, you open the app and tap a few buttons.

“Will you take me to my apartment?” FRIDAY asks.

The AI’s voice comes through all the speakers in the room and you flinch at the volume. You’re not as wound up as before, however, so you’re able to switch the settings on the tablet so that it’s no longer connected to FRIDAY and instead just coming through the tiny speakers on the device.

“Yeah, I can,” Steve answers. He rubs his thumb over your hand in small, soothing strokes. “What’s your address?”

“I live on floor 23,” you tap out. “Unit 46.”

He huffs a little, smiling. “No kidding. We’re almost neighbors. How did I miss that?”

You shrug at him and lock the tablet, then gather up your phone and the pillow from your lap. Steve stands first. He offers to help you to your feet and you nod in consent. His hands are gentle as he guides you until you’re standing upright, and though you’re a little dizzy from not eating most of the day, you’re mostly stable.

“Do you think you’re okay to walk?” he asks.

Slowly, you nod. You drop the pillow back onto your desk chair where it belongs and tuck your phone into your pocket, then adjust the tablet so you can tap on it again.

“The smell is the problem,” the tiny speakers announce for you. “I don’t know what will happen when we leave my office.”

Steve nods in understanding and places a gentle hand on the small of your back. “I’m right here,” he reassures you. “I can carry you or find a place for you to sit if we need to take a break.”

The two of you leave your office and make it to your apartment with little difficulty. You leave the tablet behind on your desk. Like he promised, Steve supports you when you need it, and he slows down after you get off the elevator on your floor so that you can steady yourself.

“You gonna be okay?” he asks as you arrive outside the door of your apartment. The hall is empty of other agents and employees, though it’s close to dinner time, so you imagine that most of them are either out or making their way towards one of the cafes and cafeterias inside the Tower.

You nod and pull out your phone, typing quickly and then showing him the screen.

“You want me to stay? Are you sure?” Steve goes to shove his hands in his jacket pockets. He’s still dressed in his suit from the mission, so there’s no pockets, and his entire face flushes when his hands jab at nothing. He drops them back down to his sides as a giggle escapes you. Though he’s still pink, he grins wide at the sound.

Typing furiously, you tell him that of course you want him to stay. It’s helpful for you to have company to keep you present, and you trust him.

“I’m not exactly good company after missions,” he tells you. “I need to shower.”

You smile in understanding and type out another message. He watches over your shoulder, reading as you go. He seems a little relieved when you reassure him that he doesn’t need to talk if he just wants to relax after his mission.

“Watching movies sounds good. There’s so many I haven’t seen yet. Do you want to pick one of your favorites while I shower? I can come back with snacks.”

The promise of snacks makes you smile, and Steve smiles back. When you nod, he leans down and presses a kiss to your cheek. Your face is warm when he pulls away, and your smile turns shy as Steve backs away from you with a little wave.

“I’ll be back soon, Y/N,” he says, and you nod at him before heading into your room to set up the movie night.

As an afterthought, you pull out your phone and text him a few of your favorite snacks. Steve is quick to reply. He already knows what you like, apparently, and the sweet texts he sends you are enough to make your horrible afternoon feel like almost nothing.

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Tagging people who might enjoy: @lipstickandvibranium​​

[hybridequalist]

At long last, it's out. I had to save this draft from the Ao3 shutdown, but thankfully it's all still here.

Previous Chapter (tumblr link)

Taglist (you can be added upon request):  @ sesquipedalian-aficionado   @nesli26, @manga-crazy, @venomemes, @galleyleelol, @makingtimemine, @jackie-sugarskull, @nightshade7117, @skysthelimit291, @randomshizzles101, @inumorph, @snow-massacre, @phantom-fangirl-stuff, @pixellated-sparks, @vsalamandor2, @otaku-mai, @snarky-badger​

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

It was a weird feeling to be visiting one of the exam rooms in the hospital while off the clock--it was like you were playing pretend, sitting on the exam table like any other patient as if you didn't mop these floors or empty the trash cans regularly. Even weirder to be with someone who was not only ready for but expecting their thoughts to be read.

"I'm not going to lie to you, this was actually pretty open and shut in terms of examination," Dr Dan remarked, pulling out the MRI images from his folder.  "There was no damage that we could detect from your fall."

"No signs of any contact with a symbiote either. Can't say I understand the specific neurology of how it happened, but the connection you experienced with him left no physical impact."

How was he so good at communicating on two fronts? He couldn't have had practice with it--you didn't get the impression Dr. Dan had regular superhuman contact (leaving out Venom and Eddie). Maybe it had to do with how much he had going on in his head; he was an observer and was always analyzing stuff.

"There was one thing I took note of that I wanted to bring up, however," he continued aloud, picking up one of the printouts and placing it on a clipboard. He pointed to a specific gray spot, near the lower middle of the brain. "This is your amygdala--the 'fear center' of your brain. On most people, it doesn't show up as prominently as this on an MRI."

You held up your hand to stop the doctor and pulled out your phone, checking that the volume was up.

"Is that a problem I need to worry about?" the device vocalized for you.

"Not necessarily; it usually means that your amygdala has increased activation compared to most other patients we scan." Dr. Dan frowned to himself, something occurring to him. "It's not exactly the same, but it does resemble how the amygdala looks in patients with a PTSD diagnosis. However, that isn't something that can be diagnosed by MRI and I am not qualified to make that call regardless. Now, moving on to these other scans..."

He pulled out a few of the printouts, handing them over and waiting expectantly, his face not revealing his giddy excitement. You stared down at the monochrome images of your own brain from multiple angles (though thankfully not a cursed front-facing one), but they looked the same as any you'd ever seen before--they might as well be a stock image used in a medical drama.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm supposed to see in these pictures," you commented, handing back the rectangles of glossy paper.

"That's just it: these are the scans I took while you were actively 'reading my mind'! They look completely normal! It's fascinating!"

"The procedure was similar to brain mapping, which basically tells anyone who knows how to read an MRI what parts of the brain are active at any given moment," he continued aloud, taking back the pictures and rifling through them to pick one in particular. "This one shows that your brain was engaged in the same way as when someone is actively listening to a conversation. But it's this one that's really interesting."

He flipped around another picture and you noticed this one seemed a bit clearer on some brain areas than the other scans you'd looked at.

"This scan, however, is when I asked you to pay attention to the memory. As you can see here--" he lightly touched towards the front part of the brain "--your emotional centers were wholly engaged, borderline hyper-activated which is why they're so clear. The language center is almost completely inactive by comparison."

"Now the exact reasons are a little unclear because there's not exactly any research about 'mind reading', but if I were to hypothesize as to why, I'd say that while passively 'listening' to thoughts, your brain operates like you're listening to a vocal conversation. But when it comes to focusing on a memory, you experience something closer to total empathy--you experience the memories of other people as if living through that experience in reality. When you connected with Venom's memory, you experienced this total empathy with a sapient but entirely non-human organism, meaning that your human sensory understanding of the world clashed with Venom's alien sensory experience, which is probably what caused the mental shock you reported; because Venom doesn't have the same senses as a human being when unbonded, his memory overwhelmed your brain trying to translate the information."

Dan was so excited. This was something new, something that had never been experienced or studied and he was lucky enough to witness it. But he was intentionally repressing that feeling, making a conscious effort to watch your face and remind himself that you were a person who potentially had some trauma mixed in with all the things he found so interesting.

He was really good at his job, unlike many others you could name.

You were in the midst of trying to think of a good response when suddenly your phone began to vibrate aggressively. You rushed to shut it off, feeling an involuntary flush color your body at the sudden interruption.

"I have a trolley to catch," you explained, standing up and gathering your things. "I can't afford to miss my errands before work today."

"It's perfectly alright," Dan assured you, giving a gentle smile. "I'll go ahead and note that you appear in good health, but if anything else comes up, do not be afraid to give me a call--or whatever form of communication suits you best. Eddie knows how to reach me directly if anything concerning develops."

You nodded, staring down at your shoes as you put in your earbuds, starting up music to drown out the thoughts of anyone you might pass--people tended to unconsciously advertise hyper-personal details or very gross things in medical contexts. If you had to "see" one more weird rash secondhand, it would be too soon. Oh yeah, and the small issue of lots of people being in simultaneous pain that made your body ache in sympathy.

Idly, you opened your phone calendar and looked at your list for today's outing, walking through the steps in your head for how to make your afternoon as easy as possible. As you stepped into the lobby, someone shoulder checked you as they went to grab a drink from the water cooler. Not gently either; there was some impact that hinted it might have been intentional.

"Shoot, I'm sorry! Thought I cleared you. Are you okay?"

You glanced whomever had just crashed into you and were met with a wall of pastels--blonde hair streaked with sky blue highlights, a pale yellow tee peeking from under white, sleeveless denim, dotted with vibrant pins of all shades and slogans. Focusing in, you realized that despite the height of your new forced acquaintance, their face was very young--they couldn't be more than sixteen at the oldest.

"I knew I shouldn't have worn heels today! But you're good, right? No injury?"

Nothing they said felt out of place, the tone was an appropriate level of concerned and the volume was just right for a normal conversation, but their thoughts were focused on anything but actual worry for your well-being. They were looking you over with a distinct focus, looking for any exposed skin and trying to strategize how they might be able to make some casual contact without appearing overbearing or drawing attention.

Aware that many eyes were on you and not wanting to draw any suspicion that you were escaping, you waved your hand in a "don't worry about it" way and adjusted one of your earbuds, praying it would be enough to signal that you were going to mind your own business and they should do the same.

Their mind confirmed you had succeeded, but your chest tightened as you felt their determination to put their hand on you spike. It didn't have any obviously malicious undertones--no lust, no violence, no harmful intent--but the simple fact they wanted to make skin-to-skin contact so badly set off all your internal alarm bells. You stumbled a few steps back, creating a gap with one of the waiting room chairs between the two of you, your gaze cataloguing everything you could about this person, determined to give a face to the thoughts that were triggering your flight response--another presence to add to the list of avoidance.

The world began to blur as your brain started to race, feeling an increasing number of thoughts focusing in on the small confrontation unfolding before their eyes. Breathe, you reminded yourself. I can't have a breakdown here.

You didn't care how it looked as you all but fled the hospital lobby--you just needed to GET OUT. The more distance the better. It didn't matter that you were basically blinded by the outdoor sun, you were out of there. You knew you weren't being followed, but the sting of frustration that came from the pastel stranger was plenty to assure you that it had been the right choice to ignore all social graces and follow your gut.

Once the hospital was long out of sight, you took a second to breathe, fighting tears that threatened to escape. You had too much to do and no one was going to cover for you if you lost it--that would require explanations that you couldn't give.

Work was blessedly normal--you had a few sticky notes of things patients had requested you pass on to the nurses (both literally asked and silently craved) and aside from someone accidentally tearing their stitches while stretching, no emergencies. But as you changed the linens on one of the recently vacated beds, the personal radio clipped to your uniform beeped. You frowned as someone spoke through it--the receptionist at the front desk, a friendly part-timer in her 50s named Janice.

"Can you come down to the records room? There's a situation developing."

You pressed the response button in the affirmative pattern--one long call, one short, two long to match the morse code "y"--and left your supplies where they laid to jog towards the room where you'd been summoned.

Janice was pacing by the door, barely dodging out of the way when you came in. Her face was scrunched in worry and she immediately pulled a pen and a scrap of notebook paper out when she laid eyes on you.

"Glad you came quick. There's a guy who came in asking if his girlfriend had been checked in. He gave a description that matched you creepily closely, claimed your last name was hers. Gave off bad vibes something fierce, so I didn't want to confirm anything. He's waiting in reception right now, refused outright to give his name."

The image in her mind was unmistakable: a shorter man, average build--a little on the scrawny side, actually--with a blonde crew cut and hazel eyes that held unmistakable malice.

You thought your stomach had dropped plenty when encountering the pastel stranger. The sight of Mitch at your workplace sent it through the floor.

Janice was still trying to explain what had happened at the desk and how she was trying to buy time, but you grabbed the paper and pen from her hand and scrawled as fast as your hands allowed without tearing through the flimsy surface.

He's bad news. Major bad news for me. Don't tell him I'm here. Long story, but he is not a safe person. I need to report this to Dustin, he'll get a notice to everyone who needs to know.

You shoved the paper back into Janice's hands and jerked the door open, sprinting for the elevators and thanking your lucky stars that the swing shift wasn't over quite yet--Dustin was on that rotation for the month and it would have been a nightmare to contact him if he wasn't onsite.

The administrative offices weren't an area of the hospital you spent a lot of time, but the unfamiliarity of the layout proved no big deal: there were only a handful of people up here and your sixth sense picked up on your handler's thoughts with little effort, serving as a waypoint in the boring, flat colored halls. You entered the office without knocking, setting the deadbolt and pulling the blinds on the small hallway-facing window shut.

"Excuse me, what are you--oh, it's you. Nevermind then; proceed." Dustin--a slightly fat man with a shaved head and square glasses--had jolted to his feet indignantly upon your entry but upon recognizing you, he settled back into his office chair, locking his computer and going to shut off his phone. Of course, you only ever came to see in of your own choice when there was something serious to discuss--and you weren't one to make mountains out of what he might consider molehills.

"A man came here to look for me," you signed, intentionally slowing your pace and giving the hospital admin time to read your signs as he was consistently out of practice. "His name is Mitchell Barrett. He's affiliated with a known agitator group."

"The one mentioned in your files or a separate entity?" Dustin whipped out a pen and began to write down the required incident codes.

"The one in my files, but I don't know if there is still an organized system. His current goals are unknown, but this is the second approach attempt he's made. I don't know how he found out this is my workplace, but I am so far his only target."

Your boss finished taking his notes and sighed heavily. Being a Hospital Admin was a seriously stressful job at times, but having to fulfill his secondary job at the same time? If it wasn't deemed a big enough concern by the USMS, then he'd be in charge of managing the response and with the investigation going on in regards to the--

"If you don't have any more relevant details to report, would you mind not following my thoughts all over the place?" Dustin interrupted, frowning at you. "You're free to clock out if you feel you will be more secure at home, I will excuse the absence as an emergency. I'll also have to pass along the warning to Dr. Joland and the other relevant staff."

Nerves twisted up, mouth dry and cheeks flushed, you stumbled back out of the office, struggling for a moment with the door latch. It hadn't been an intentional move to read Dustin's thoughts, but to be fair he was the only one who would know it was happening: he had a sensitivity for mutant powers that had forced him into the position he currently occupied. As you stepped through the elevator doors, your knees suddenly refused to support you any longer. Your hand dragged across the buttons, lighting up a handful of them as the doors slid shut, slowing your descent and giving time for you to silently weep at the years of your peace that had just ended.