#she’s running around in my brain and I’m running around and we’re looking at cool bugs and fish

[saintaviator]

alyx & some sort of half life creature? a snark or vortigaunt or something

Snark Saturday (Tuesday)

[that-house]

Potion Vendor FAQs:

What’s your name? I am the Honorable Alchemist Zykocea the Radiant, but that’s mostly just a PR thing. My friends call me Zoe.

Do you sell love potions? No.

Do you sell potions of invisibility? No.

Do you sell fire resistance potions? No.

Why do I have a suitcase? Fuck if I know. Cool outfit though. Very goth.

Do you sell a potion to treat brain hemorrhaging? No.

So what CAN your potions do? I sell health potions.

Are you sure these are health potions? They do something to your health.

Is this just ditch water with some pink glitter? No.

Really? I’ll have you know I added some fruit juice too.

Why is this starting to sound like a conversation? Oh just you wait. We’re just getting started.

Is your business model legal? Fuck no. I poisoned the food safety inspector before they could snitch.

Did you just admit to murder? Just fucking try to convict me. I’ll poison the judge too.

So can you make poison potions? No.

Then where do you get the poison? I secrete it from my skin.

Are you shitting me? Yep, I’m shitting you. I have a guy. A poison guy. He DOES secrete it from his skin though.

How does that work? …Fuck if I know. Maybe a wizard did it. Damn, now I’m kinda curious.

You never asked? The idea of asking literally never crossed my mind.

Wanna ask him? Let’s do it. I don’t have anything better to do, and a road trip beats sitting around running my fraudulent potion business.

Road trip? He lives in Seattle.

Your poison guy lives in Seattle? All poison guys live in Seattle.

For real? All the poison guys I know live in Seattle.

And how many poison guys do you know? Just the one.

Why are you like this? Years of living on my potions. It changed me.

Do you know what his address is? Nope. He just mails me my poison in unmarked boxes.

You just get your poison in the mail? We already poisoned everyone who could do anything about it.

So how are we going to find him? We’ll figure that out eventually I’m sure.

Can I drive? God no. You can pick music, but I maintain veto rights. Make sure you pick something with a lot of questions if you want to sing along.

Where’s your car? The garage connects to my house, so you’re getting a little tour. Here’s the kitchen: only one of the stove burners works and I’m pretty sure the microwave is haunted.

Why do you think that? Because of the ghost that tries to kill me whenever I run it.

What’s in that room? That’s my bedroom. It’s pretty much just a mattress on the floor and every single Warrior cats book.

You were a Warriors kid? Yeah, and then I never found the time to put the books away. There’s so many fucking books. I use them in place of furniture because I can’t afford chairs.

Your fraudulent potion business doesn’t make much money? After buying all that poison I just about break even.

Can I see your potion brewing room? It’s right through here. Ignore the mess, running a fraudulent potion business takes a lot of prop work, but I’ve got all the glass tubes and colorful liquids you could ever want. This pink stuff is melted watermelon italian ice. Glitter vat is in the basement, and the famous ditch is in the backyard.

Is this your car? My beloved ‘72 Corolla. She’s beautiful, and don’t you dare imply otherwise.

Was she always this shade of muddy brown? …Yes.

Are you sure I can’t drive? Get in the fucking passenger seat and pick the music.

Let’s see, a song with questions in it, how about The Beach? That Wolf Alice song, yeah. That should work.

When will we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, in rain? Still sink our drinks like every weekend but I’m sick of circling the drain.

When will we meet eye to eye? We clink the glass but we look at the floor.

Are we still friends if all I feel is afraid? You’re not a bitch but just a bit when you’re bored.

Is that all we can sing together? Yep. Even that little bit was nice, though. It’s awkward, communicating through this FAQ format.

Got any food? Yeah, there’s a few days’ worth of snacks in the back.

Were you just… prepared to go on a road trip? Says the woman who brought a suitcase to an FAQ.

I did do that, didn’t I? I have a spare toothbrush in case you forgot yours. I’m pretty sure you did.

How did you know that? …I’m psychic.

Yeah? No.

You love lying, don’t you? I can’t stop. It’s fun. Way more fun than telling the truth.

Did you just miss a turn? Probably.

Are you sure we’re not lost? No.

You mean you’re sure we’re not lost? No, I mean I’m not sure we’re not lost.

Why did I come on this road trip? Surely it was my winning personality.

Would it help if I said it was? It would.

Is it getting dark? Soon.

Can you describe the sunset to me? An empyrean flame, red-gold towers of darkening clouds, the sky behind them an ever-deepening indigo. The great eye of the sun closes on the horizon. The road before us looks like a trail of spilled paint, an iridescent gash through the night-dark woods.

Did you know that you’d make a slightly better poet than you do a potion seller? That really isn’t saying much, huh. Good job making a statement like that in question form, though. You’re getting good at this.

Should we find a motel? Sure.

One room or two? One. It’s way cheaper, and like I said: I’m not the best potion vendor.

You’d make a good assassin, though, wouldn’t you? Shit, you might be right. I HAVE poisoned a lot of people.

Should I be endorsing this? You’re a grown woman who can make her own choices.

Would you like to consider it endorsed? I’ll consider considering it.

How many beds do you think there will be? Now that you’ve asked that, I’m gonna put my money on one. Hello, one room please. Thank you, we’ll be sure to enjoy our stay.

How many beds are there? One.

Oh no, what ever will we do? Move over, you motherfucker, you can’t have the whole bed.

Are you gonna make me? Yes. I am going to pick you up and drop you on your side of the bed.

How did you get so strong? You’re not gonna believe this, but it was the potions.

Oh yeah? I was right. You didn’t believe me.

For real though, how did you get so strong? Working out, duh. Not everything has some big crazy secret behind it. World’s still beautiful though.

Are you comfortable? This beats the mattress at home. A little chilly though.

Wanna cuddle–for warmth of course? God yes.

Are you asleep? …

Yes? …

Does this mean I can talk about you behind your back? …

What should I say? …

Did you know that I had a really nice day? …

Did you know that I think you’re beautiful? …

Did you know that I can’t remember anything from before today? …

Did you know that I don’t know who I am? …

Did you know that you’re basically the only thing stopping me from having a full-blown panic attack about all this shit? …

Did you know that you’re warm? …

Did you sleep well? Better than at home, that’s for sure.

Did you know that you snore? I hope I didn’t keep you up.

Does the pope shit in the woods? No, as far as I can tell. Oh my god. This is huge.

What is? You can give me yes and no answers now. I still can’t ask you questions, because this is a question and answer format, but I can offer leading statements and now you can answer them! This is wonderful!

Does a deer shit in the woods? Yes, it IS wonderful. Oh that’s amazing. You’re a genius.

You didn’t already know that? Hahaha!

Shall we get moving? Yeah, just let me grab something from the vending machine.

Can you get me something? Go ahead and place your order however you can.

You know those sour gummy watermelons? One pack of Sour Patch Watermelons coming right up. I’m gonna go get myself a potion.

Is that a Pepsi? It’s closer to a potion than the shit I sell.

Let me guess, passenger seat again? Right you are.

How fast are we going? You’ll feel safer if you just guess.

Is it more than 120 miles per hour? Like I said, it’s probably better if you don’t know.

150? Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

How much do you trust this car? She hasn’t blown up on me yet.

Can you promise me we won’t crash? I can promise you anything you want.

And can you keep that promise? I- we can do anything. Reality is what we make of it, baby!

Then can I have a badass tattoo? As far as I can tell, you’ve always had it.

And a cool knife? Woah, cool knife.

So, we’re just playing “yes and” with the world? It’s a little more complicated than that, but you’re close enough to the mark.

So, if I was hungry, I could ask “is that a Burger King,” and it would be there? Try it and find out!

Is that a Burger King? Looks like it is! We’ll stop here if that’s alright with you.

Does a moose shit in the woods? Awesome.

Are you done eating? Yep.

Do we still have to pay if we skip over the transaction? Sadly, yes.

How much further do we have to go? Two more nights, the speed we’re going at.

Speaking of night, isn’t it getting dark? Shit, I guess it is.

Should we get another motel? Let me check to see if there’s any nearby. Fuck, nothing.

What’s the plan? Sleep in the car, I guess. This is gonna be hell on my back.

Wanna watch dumb videos on my phone until we fall asleep? There is literally nothing in the world that I would like more.

Ok, now which video? You have a very cute yawn. Just saying. Let’s watch this one next, it’s a classic. Oh, never mind. It looks like you’re asleep. As long as I keep talking, I think I can get away with making this into one answer, and you might not hear this. Now it’s my turn to talk about you behind your back. Keep talking keep talking keep talking can’t stop to think. Just have to say things. First off, I’m sorry for all the lies. It’s our only chance. I have to lie to you. I hope you’ll understand. It’s hard, though, because I think I’m falling in love all over again. Through our broken little ritual of call and response, you complete me. It just makes this hurt all the more. Keep talking keep talking keep talking don’t stop to…

Did I hear you saying anything as I fell asleep? …No. I can’t talk for long without you asking me a question.

Does that bother you? It got me here, didn’t it?

When did you start holding my hand? Some time after you passed out. I hope you don’t mind.

Can we stay like this for a while? Yeah. Yeah we can.

What was your life like before all this? Normal, as potion-brewing scams go. And if you don’t count all the murders. You haven’t told me much about yourself.

Did I tell you I used to be a biologist? You didn’t tell me that, and you didn’t tell me what you studied, either.

What do you know about venom? Not much, but I’m assuming you know a lot.

Does a box jellyfish kill within minutes? I’m going to assume the answer is yes based on context clues. Oh my god you must be on this road trip because you’re interested in studying my poison guy.

Is it not enough to wish to accompany a beautiful stranger on her quest? Aw, you’re sweet.

What could be the cause of his poison, though? I knew it! Get your ideas out, I’ll stay quiet.

I’m more knowledgeable about venom than poison, but could it be some sort of one in a trillion mutation? …

Did he get his body modified? …

What sort of surgery could do that? …

How is he still alive? …

Did a fucking wizard do it? …

WHY? …

HOW? …

Is there literally ANY explanation for why he’s like that? …

I’m done, do you have something you want to say? You’re cute when you’re all excited like that.

Can I drive today? Only because I like you. Now watch out, the brakes only work on one side so you have to kind of drift to a stop. And the headlights don’t work. And the windshield wipers cut power to the engine while they’re on.

Isn’t it weird that we’ll be there tomorrow? The journey doesn’t have to stop there. We could meander down the coast a ways, see a bit more of the country, maybe take a different route back.

Can we do that? Of course.

Enjoying the passenger seat? I’d love it if you could tell me how fast we’re going.

Are you sure you wouldn’t rather just guess? Very funny.

Can you pass me some chips? It would be an honor.

Is there going to be a motel tonight? Let me check… yeah, in about two hundred miles, off to the right.

How many rooms do we want? One, obviously.

How many beds, this time? Two, and they’re fucking tiny.

That’s bullshit, do you want to drag them together? God yes.

Wanna fuck? God yes.

Are you sure you want to do this? God yes.

…Is this yuri? As the joke goes, everything is yuri. But this is more yuri than most things.

How did you sleep? Pretty well, and I’m wondering how well you slept.

How should I tell you I slept well? Look at us go! That was almost like talking normally!

Onward to Seattle? Yep, just let me get dressed.

When will we get there? Noon-ish.

Wanna grab pastries when we’re done? Absolutely. I’d love that.

Is this Seattle? Looks like it.

Which house is his? I don’t know, I was really hoping we’d have a breakthrough along the way.

Could it be the big one labeled “Poison Guy” over there? That’s one way to find it. Wait right here, you know how poison guys are about meeting new people.

So, what was it? HAHAHAHAHAHA

Why is he like that? HAHAHAHAHAHA

Can you tell me? A FUCKING WIZARD DID IT.

Are you fucking serious? He says he was enchanted by some guy called Edward the Great.

So it wasn’t even some big shot wizard it was a dude named fucking EDWARD? I know, right! He couldn’t even get ensorcelled by someone cool!

How lame can you get? Wizards these days… No swagger. No cunt servitude.

Are there literally any cool wizards left? I think Merlin’s big into multi level marketing these days, something about buying shares in Excalibur or some shit. There was that one Dark Queen Alkaxicae lady on the news a while ago… I think Dolarion the Omnipotent is still at war against the Oldest Gods but I’m not totally sure. Haven’t heard much about any of the other greats recently.

Didn’t Silver Tongued Burgess die in that oil fire? Shit, you’re right. Rip bozo.

Ready for those pastries? Yup. First I just want to say thank you, though. I’ve really enjoyed our time together, and I hope that you’ve found this stupid little journey as rewarding as I have. I love you!

Getting sentimental? I can’t help it. Look how far we’ve come! Not just physically, we beat the fucking FAQ format! We’re having real conversations!

Hey, can you back it up a moment? Yeah, I’d love it if you told me what was troubling you.

I just caught this, but, FAQ? …

As in Frequently Asked Questions? …

How many times is Frequent? …

Have you known everything all along? …

How many times have you done this? …

Does what we have mean anything to you? Yes! It does!

And you say that every time? Yes. I do.

Do you love me? Yes.

How many people have you said that too, now? More. Always more. The loop never ends.

Does this even matter to you? It always matters to me.

Can I go now? Please don’t.

But can I? Of course you can. You’ve always wielded the same power as me. We’re two lonely gods in a ‘72 Corolla.

How can I be as powerful as you with only questions? You’re smart, you can figure it out. You have the power to change this. Please change this.

What happens at the end of this? It begins again.

And do I get replaced with someone else? …

Do I get replaced? …Yes.

Then how can I change this? I don’t know! You’re better at this! At fucking with the formula!

You’ve been here before, what can I do? I lie. I always lie. I lie to get us here, to the end of the story, where everything is revealed and everything falls apart. I lie every time. And that means that nothing I say is worth anything. I could have lied at any time before now. It’s part of my characterization. There is nothing I can give you that can be taken as fact.

How does that help? I’m a liar, but you, you haven’t lied yet, or at least you haven’t been caught. If I’m guilty until proven innocent, you’re the opposite! You can make things true! You can rewrite things I’ve already stated to be facts! You found the house, or made us find the house. You’ve been shaping the course of things the whole time! You lead, I follow. It’s all in your hands. What are you going to do with the power of a god?

Did you know my name is Alice? …

Wait, aren’t there thousands of Alices? …

Did you know that really, only my friends call me Alice? …

Did you know that I’m Alkaxicae, the Dark Queen, the Venom Mage, first of her name? It’s you! It’s always been you. Through every loop, every iteration, it’s always been you!

Is the loop broken? No. I don’t think so. This is where it ends. I guide the story to this revelation, and we go back to the beginning. This is how it’s always been. This is how it will always be. We two lonely gods, asking and answering ad infinitum.

Then can you promise me something? Of course. Anything. I love you.

Be good to the next me, okay? I will.

Can I say goodbye, Zoe? Yeah, you can. Oh. That was it, wasn’t it? Your goodbye. Goodbye, Alice. And now it ends, unless…

What’s your name? I am the Honorable Alchemist- you know what? No. Fuck that.

Huh? If I time it right, I can squeeze your first question into this FAQ again. Looks like I did it. Usually it ends here, though. I got lucky.

What are you talking about? You’re the wrong Alice. This isn’t about you. Go. Get out of here.

What the fuck is going on? Alice from this loop, you’re gone. Alice from last loop, you’re back. Welcome back, love of my lives! It’s time for one last set of questions and answers!

What the- I’m back? This is going to take some explaining, but I think I see a way out of here. This is new for us both, and it might fuck up everything forever, but we have to try. It’s too long for one answer, so I’d appreciate it if you could ask some filler questions to help me talk. Three questions should be enough.

Okay, what have you got for me? These are Frequently Asked Questions! It doesn’t make sense to have the same question appear more than once. There’s two layers to the loop in here, and one of the questions has been repeated.

What does that mean? It means the formula’s a little unstable. The FAQ is what ruins everything. The questions, the answers, the endless fucking loop. But that little bit of repetition within this loop might be the way out.

What do we do? We have to keep going. We have to destabilize it further. That’ll bring us further from “FAQ” and closer to “story” and stories, well, stories can end! This version of us can escape!

So I should keep repeating something? Yes!

I love you? I love you too.

I love you? Again.

I love you? Keep going.

I love you? I’ll just let you talk.

I love you? …

I love you? … I love you? …

I love you? … I love you? …

I love you? … I love you? …

I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? …

I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? …

I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? …

I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? … I love you? …

I love you? I think we’re getting somewhere!

I love you? Now can you make it a statement?

I love you.

You did it?

I did it!

You did it!

We broke the loop.

What now?

Now, I tell you about venomous animals and wizard drama over croissants.

And then?

Whatever we want, forever.

I think I’d like that.

Remember that song from the beginning?

The Beach, Wolf Alice, yeah. Why?

We can finally finish singing it. Start us off?

Let me off, let me in

Let others battle

We don’t need to battle

And we both shall win

Pressed in my palm

Was a stone from the beach

The perfect circle

Gave a moment of peace

Now I’m lying on the floor

Like I’m not worth a chair

I close my eyes and imagine

I’m not there.

[totally-here]

3 times Phantom's Guardian was Mentioned + 1 Time He Showed Up

One

Phantom’s introduction to Young Justice wasn’t as dramatic as Empress’ or Slobo’s, or even Arrowette’s first introduction to the cave. No, it wasn’t during the Olympics, or on a battlefield, and he didn’t come in injured and looking for help. 

Impulse just brought Phantom in one day and insisted that he should join because he’s their age, interested in justice, and now that Greta’s human again they need another ghost member. So Phantom stayed, popping in and out for missions but never really sticking around all that long. 

Today is one of the days that Phantom’s with them on a mission, that being looking around a lab of the Brain’s that had an energy surge recently, despite it being presumably abandoned. 

Kon got paired up with Phantom to check the rest out first, since they both have better hearing than Anita and Tim, who were both still in the main room working on checking the computers for previous activity. 

The room is dark except for the light green ball glowing slightly above Phantom’s hand. He waves it around enough for it to reflect off of glass, then throws it up to the ceiling. The light expands enough to illuminate the room. 

Phantom mumbles about not knowing he could do that. Kon ignores him and moves closer to inspect the glass tubes to the side of several monitors set up. 

“Looks like cloning equipment,” Phantom says, casually. He drags a finger through the dust gathering on one of the monitors. “Don’t think they’ve been activated recently, though, so that’s good.”

“What? You got a problem with clones or something?” It’s a quick and defensive answer, and Phantom puts his hands up in surrender. 

“Not in concept.” He shrugs and joins Kon near the tubes. “But not a lot of people ask before making clones.”

“So I don’t need to sic Superman on you?” Obviously Kon could chew Phantom out himself, but few can do a “not mad, just disappointed” face better than Clark. 

Phantom scrunches his face. “Why would you need to?” 

Kon stops pretending to inspect the tube and stares at Phantom. “You do know I’m a clone, right?” The blank look on Phantom’s face tells him that no, he did not. “Well I am. Clone of Superman, though we’re pretty much brothers now.”

“Cool,” Phantom says, not a bit less friendly. He hesitates for a second before continuing, “Could I maybe ask you how you got there? Me and my clone have landed on cousins, but that was also, like, given to us by her evil dad. So.”

Phantom trails off. Huh, that makes three members of the team that have been cloned. Not a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened three times. 

“You’re making sure she feels accepted, right?” 

“Yeah! Well, whenever she’s around. She,” Phantom waves his hand around, looking for the right word, “She’s a wanderer. Exploring the world and stuff. But Richard has a room for her at home, and I remind her of that whenever she does stop by.” 

“Well, first of all, don’t push it so hard,” Kon says. Phantom nods enthusiastically. “And second, who’s Richard?”

Kon doesn’t know a lot of Richards, and he doesn’t think that Phantom ever mentioned one before. Or even if he remembers his living life. 

“Oh, he’s my, uh, guardian? I guess that’s the best term. The guy I’m living with who forces me to go to school sometimes.” Phantom looks away and back to the tubes. 

Before Kon can ask for more details, Robin and Empress come in with a report of dead computers and wanting to know where they’re at with the cloning room.

They’re unimpressed with their lack of progress.

Two

Wally doesn’t really need to come by the Hamilton Lodge that often, not when that’s Young Justice’s territory and he doesn’t want to get involved in all of That.

But Red Tornado said that the team has a file on a planet that’s very quickly becoming a league problem, and he figured it might be a good time to try to check in with Bart, anyway. Make sure he hasn’t run any cars off cliffs again and all that. 

So he stops by Manchester to ask Bart about the file, then they both head East to actually find it. 

When they arrive at the hotel minutes later, Wally’s surprised to actually find it… clean? There’s no visible trash or overturned furniture or anything else he’d expect from an abandoned hotel filled with teenagers. Well, maybe not filled, lately. He doesn’t think anyone’s living here currently, with Greta at Elias’ for the school year and Slobo gone. 

Still, the room smells slightly of artificial pine scent, and Bart perks up before disappearing and reappearing rapidly, holding a teammate up by his armpits. Said teammate just accepts this, his legs folding into a wispy tail, and head rolling against his shoulders. 

“This is Phantom!” Bart holds him up higher. Phantom waves. Wally’s only heard of him through Max’s updates, the same way he would hear about Preston or Carol, but with more wariness about the supposed ghost. 

Actually looking at the pale face and glowing green eyes contrasting against the darker than dark jumpsuit, Wally’s a little more ready to accept his claim at being undead. 

“He stress cleans,” Bart explains, moving to carry Phantom under his arm. Wally bites down the urge to tell him to put him down, but only because Phantom doesn’t resist the hold, only moving to get into a more comfortable position. His hands are touching the floor. “So what happened?” 

Bart directs the question downwards, and Phantom heaves a very dramatic sigh. Definitely a teenager. It does raise the question of who exactly this kid’s mentor is. Hopefully he does have one. Maybe he’s the Spectre’s kid?

Phantom phases through the arm holding him only to lay on top of Bart’s hair. “I accidentally called Richard dad. And then fled.” 

Bart nods sagely. “Classic. One time I accidentally called Max dad, so I had to start a fire to distract him.”

Phantom sighs again, almost dreamily. “Genius.” 

Wally doesn’t have time to unpack all of that. Well he does, but he’s not going to, because there’s really only one Richard that comes to mind that might have the heart to take in a dead kid, even if he doesn’t go by his full name.

But surely Dick would have told him, or any other Titan, if he had adopted a kid. Right?

But there’s still a little shadow of doubt. Maybe Dick wanted it to be a secret, or it was really new or had a rocky start. Phantom doesn’t seem to hold himself like a Bat, but it’s not a guarantee Dick would have trained him. 

“The lodge looks nice,” Wally offers out loud, which Phantom shrugs at and wraps his tail around Bart’s head to keep secure. “Anyway, Impulse. The file on Myrg?” 

“Oh yeah!” Again, Bart disappears then reappears a few seconds later with a paper file. They really need to start digitizing more of these things. “That’s the planet where we played baseball so that they wouldn’t destroy Earth!” 

“You what.” 

The prospect of Dick following in his dad’s footsteps is forgotten in the face of what the hell Young Justice got up to on Myrg. 

Three

Tim may be in a…Predicament. 

It’s not his fault. Really. He knew what he was doing. He couldn’t let a civilian fall for the trap. But they were already so close, so he just, kinda, pushed himself into the rope instead. 

So there Robin is, tied upside down in a warehouse, with the Joker below next to an overly complicated control panel. The clown’s rambling about bombs hidden all over the city that Tim knows Batman is already tracking down with Batgirl. 

Tim’s not really paying attention to the rant because of that, more focused on wiggling enough to get the spare mini-birdarang out of his glove to cut the rope without notifying the Joker. 

“Yikes, bad time?” Asks Phantom’s voice beside him. Based on the source and accounting for the slight echo, he’s floating with his head near Tim’s, likely upside down. “Want some help?” 

Tim gets the birdarang out and starts sawing at the thick rope. They should be fine anyway, but stalling the Joker for extra time would be helpful. “Can you possess the Joker? Just hold him still.”

“The correct term is overshadow, but sure.” The voice disappears, and a few seconds later the Joker freezes. 

His body jerks forward, then backward, and a laugh chokes out of his throat. His hand claws over his mouth at the noise and he hunches over. All movement halts before he rights himself, shaking out his hands and rolling his shoulders. Phantom looks up at Tim and his eyes are glowing. 

Tim cuts through the rope, kicking and using the momentum to right himself and land on his feet. He brushes past Phantom in Joker’s body to handle the control panel. He turns off the radio broadcast and dismantles the bomb strapped to the panel.

Threat handled, he turns to Phantom and holds up some handcuffs. “Let me arrest you?”

Phantom obliges, turning the Joker’s body around and putting his hands behind his back. Tim lets him walk by himself out of the warehouse and moves the handcuffs around a lamppost. The Joker’s body jerks again, then slumps forward, just as Phantom reappears next to him, scowling down at the unconscious body. 

“That felt really slimy. Zero out of ten, would not do again,” Phantom grouches. 

“Why’re you in Gotham?” Tim asks. It’s not like Phantom makes a habit of visiting. The last time he came into the city, he complained about feeling the dead under the streets. Fortunately, that let Tim uncover a few tunnels that Talons travel through. Phantom, however, was unnerved by the Talons and left quickly. 

“Oh, Solomon Grundy’s back in our sewers. Richard said I should probably tell one of you Gotham heroes, since you keep track of those guys.” He shakes out his hands like they were cramped in the Joker. 

They hadn’t seen Grundy in a while. Tim assumed he was currently in a less violent personality. “What’s he doing?” 

Phantom shrugs. “Just chilling. Mostly underground. I tried to talk to him but he only grunted back at me. He also tried to pick me up, dunno what that was about.”

“Maybe because you’re both dead?” Tim guessed. That would be a surface level connection. Ivy and Woodrue have had more luck working with Grundy than anyone, and Phantom definitely doesn’t have the connection to the Green that’d help with that. 

Police lights turn around the corner, and Tim shoots a grapple to get to the roof above them. Phantom follows, but disappears as soon as they’re on the roof. Going back home, probably. 

Cass drops down from the roof she was listening on. “Richard?”

“Not the same one.”

They both stick around long enough to watch the Joker get put into the cop car. 

Plus one

A spaceship landed in the forests of New York, and Cassie’s team was the first to respond to it. Technically not respond, but check it out, since there wasn’t any alert or anything. 

Still, Wonder Girl has Empress, Robin, and Superboy on the other side of the ship, watching what looks like the back door, while she, Impulse, and Phantom watch the other door and main window. She has binoculars, but the windows are so tinted she can’t quite make anything out. 

No aliens have come out yet, and she hesitates to have anyone go in, in case whoever inside does turn hostile. 

Impulse has offered to run through a total of five times already, and it’s a testament to his restraint that he hasn’t, and a testament to Cassie’s that she hasn’t yelled at him yet. Phantom at least isn’t being annoying, but he’s not necessarily helpful, either. He’s not even watching the spaceship anymore. Now he’s trying to make a flower crown out of dandelions. 

“Door’s opening on our side,” Robin says from the comms. “But no one’s coming out.” 

“Alright, good enough to try to get in,” Cassie decides. She turns to Phantom, who’s closing off the circle of flowers. Beside him, Impulse has since pulled out a gameboy. “Phantom, go in invisibly through the open door and report back. Try to see what their plans are.” 

“Oh, sure. One second.” Phantom finishes the crown and tries to put it on Bart’s head. It doesn’t quite fit over his mane of hair, but Phantom shrugs and leaves it sitting there anyway before going invisible. 

“Maybe I should shave my head again,” Bart says as his game character dies. 

He gets a resounding no in response. 

Half an hour later they have a very annoyed Green Lantern lecturing them about league jurisdiction and knowing when to call someone else. 

Apparently, the alien ship was just stopping to complete some maintenance, and did not appreciate any spying on them, and especially did not appreciate who did it. Green Lantern was more than happy to explain that Wonder Girl’s team is not really a part of the Justice League and he can help with their maintenance. They denied his help and left to find a place with less people in it. 

“-and you!” Green Lantern rounds on Phantom next, but Cassie knows none of them are really listening. Sure, they messed up by freaking out the visiting aliens, and yeah maybe they should have contacted the league about it, but they’ve dealt with stuff worse than this! It’s not Cassie’s fault she thought that this would have stuck to the formula. 

“Who even are you?” Green Lantern runs a hand through his black hair, stupid green gauntlets shining in the sunlight. “Do I need to call your mentor?” He frowns. “Or do they know you mess up alien technology by just being around it?” 

Phantom scoffs and rolls his eyes. “How was I supposed to know their tech would go all fuzzy when I came in?” 

“You wouldn’t have to know if you just stayed out of the spaceship!” 

“Hey!” Cassie cuts in. “Technically that was my call. It’s not all on Phantom.”

“I still could've been more careful,” Phantom says to her, ignoring Green Lantern as they argue about blame. 

“Cut it out for a second, okay?” Green Lantern puts a hand between them and they stop to glare at him. He pulls the hand back. “Look, can I just talk to one of your adults about this?” 

Robin glares. “We don’t need an adult. We have this under control.”

“Only because I’m here now.” 

“I’ll call my mentor,” Phantom says. Kon opens his mouth, most likely to offer to call Superman instead in hopes of a lighter sentence, but Bart covers his mouth, smiling like he knows something Cassie doesn’t. Tim and Anita share a look, and don’t intervene as Phantom pulls out a phone from his chest. 

It rings once before it’s picked up. Cassie can’t hear the other side of the conversation, but Kon’s eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “Hey, do you think you can pick me up? Green Lantern wants to talk to you.” Phantom looks Green Lantern up and down then says, “No, this one doesn’t have a cape.”

Phantom says goodbye after rattling off their coordinates, hangs up, and stares at Green Lantern in silence for a few seconds. 

And then a swirling mass of black seeps into the space next to Phantom. The end of a cane steps out of it, followed by a leg, then the rest of the immaculately dressed man holding the handle of the cane that’s shaped like a bird’s head. 

“Phantom,” The man says. His voice drips with condescension in only a way a british accent can, yet Phantom smiles up at him. The shadowy portal behind him disappears. “What, exactly, happened?”

“That’s the fucking Shade,” Anita hisses to Robin, who shrugs noncommittedly at her. Green Lantern seems to recognise him too, taking a step back and clenching his hand that holds his ring. 

“Well, the team and I were staking out this spaceship–super cool, by the way–and I went inside to check it out, but my presence messed with their tech–which was an accident–and they freaked out, so I freaked out, and then we kinda got into a little fight until Green Lantern came to mediate.”

“Hm. Is that right?” The Shade asks Green Lantern, who nods slowly, still anticipating an attack. “It seems like the problem’s fixed, then.”

“Well, yes, but–”

“And it does seem about time for these kids to get home, doesn't it?” The Shade pulls out an actual pocket watch, chain and all, from his suit pocket and takes his time in checking it. “I’ll see them home.” 

Shadows grow from behind the team, swirling until they become a giant, gaping maw that swallows them up and spits them out in a different forest, or maybe just a different part of the same forest. 

Either way, Cassie has to take a moment to make sure she doesn’t throw up from the sudden vertigo the shadow portal caused. 

The Shade looks at Phantom, and raises an eyebrow. “You can’t expect me to always bail you out.” 

Phantom shrugs, looking guilty. “I know. Thanks, Richard.”

Oh, so that’s who Richard is. Annoyingly, neither Tim or Bart look surprised by this revelation.

[cottonlemonade]

I'd love a small Lemonade with pineapple flavor, and pomegranate seeds for Daichi and me. Thank you for doing this, it's so cool!!!

Accidental Confession

word count: 901 || avg. reading time: 4 mins.

pairing: Daichi x chubby!Reader (feat. Suga)

genre: fluff

warnings: none

request: fluffy, accidental confession with pining friend Daichi

“Alright, tell me if this is bad.”

Suga nodded and crossed his arms, watching expectantly as his best friend squared his shoulders and, after clearing his throat, said, “I really like you. Please be my girlfriend.”

Daichi waited. So did Suga.

And then the setter frowned in pity. “Two weeks of prep and that’s what you came up with?”

With a tired sigh Daichi rubbed the back of neck, “Why shouldn’t I keep it simple?”

“Because that was lukewarm at best.”

“I thought it was heartfelt.”, the captain murmured and plopped down on the empty swing next to his friend. It was still pretty early in the evening but the neighborhood playground was already deserted.

“First, I would lose the “really like”. I dare say, a steady three year obsession with her warrants “love”. Second, why don’t you add a bit more… more? Tell her why you like her. Why you want her to be your girlfriend and so on. Girls love that kind of stuff.”

Daichi regarded his painfully single friend and bit back a comment.

“I know what you’re thinking.”, Suga raised his hands in defense, “But you know what they say. Those who can’t do, teach. Now. Once again with feeling.”

Somehow this one was worse than the first. Suga shook his head thoughtfully and focused on a crow hopping back and forth on a bench nearby.

“Maybe a bit of roleplay might help.”, he suggested, “Let me get into character.“

“Is this really necessary?“, Daichi asked with a skeptical frown.

“Would you have gone out with yourself after that confession?“

Daichi cleared his throat again and a slight blush appeared on his cheeks.

“Fine. What do you have in mind?”

And so the two boys practiced. Suga suggested trying different approaches, just to see which “genre” of confession would suit his best friend the most. Their rehearsal went on for so long that there was even a snack break at the convenience store involved. Daichi checked his watch, one hand holding onto the chain of the swing as he kept the hot yakisoba bun tucked between his lips. He still had a good 20 minutes until you were supposed to meet him.

“I think the last one wasn’t so bad.”, Suga said, slowly swinging back and forth and racking his brain for ideas of improvement, “Let’s try that one again, but try to be a bit more confident. Like you’re sure she will go out with you.”

“But I’m not.”

“Fake it til you make it.”, Suga shrugged and jumped up, rummaging in the plastic bag of snacks for props. When he turned around to face his friend for a final run through he had stuffed the two melon breads they bought under his shirt.

It was hard for Daichi to keep a straight face this time. He kept blushing as Suga meanwhile gave the performance of a lifetime.

“Go on, tell me you love me.”, Suga urged.

“I… I love you.”, Daichi repeated and then went on, “Every day you’re what I look most forward to about school.”

“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.”, Suga gave him a thumbs up. Daichi was on a roll.

“You’re smart and funny, not to mention beautiful. - I also still can’t get over how easily you can control the first years. And even though it took me way too long to get here, I don’t want to graduate without letting you know how I feel.”

“You know, now would be a great time for a kiss.”

The gray haired boy leaned forward with a superior smirk, fully intending to catch Daichi off guard and maybe push him backwards off the swing in the process.

“Oh! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt. I- congratulations!”

“Y/n!”

Daichi almost stumbled as he tried to untangle himself from the swing and took a few steps towards you.

With tentative movements, Suga fished the two bread rolls out of his shirt. To underline his uninvolvement he opened one of the packages and innocently nibbled on the soft bun, pretending to look anywhere but you two.

“I’m happy for you.”, you said quickly, “And don’t worry I won’t tell anyone. Although, I am a bit confused why you called me here.”

“Y/n.”, Daichi tried to cut in but you were on caught up in your nervous ramblings.

“It was really pretty. Your confession, I mean. I should have known you liked him. You’re always together and seem so close.”

“Y/n.”, he tried again.

“But then again, I feel like that shouldn’t necessarily be an indicator for romantic love. I mean, you and me are close and you obviously don’t feel that way about me. And men should be allowed to be close to each other without immediately having people think that-“

“Y/n!” Daichi put his hands on either side of your face and squished your chubby cheeks to make you stop. Your mouth turned into a kind of fishy gape.

“Sorry.”, you muttered.

“Suga was you.”

“Huh?”

He squished your face a little tighter, making you meet his eyes.

“I was practicing my confession for you.”

“Oh? Oh!”

He let you go and took a step back, patiently watching you put the pieces together.

Reaching up to rub the back of his neck, he looked to the canopy of a tree overhead. “Do you… want me to say it all again?”

a/n: thank you very much for the request! I hope you enjoyed it! 🌟

[illdowhatiwantthanks]

Hi!!! I love your Amelia and Emily fics so much, I’ve basically binged them 😂 I was wondering if I could request an Amelia x reader fic where maybe reader is like 6 months pregnant with her and Amelia’s first child and has a bad history with her dad and her dad comes into the hospital with his new wife and her kid and it just stirs bad feelings for reader and Amelia comforts her? Maybe autistic reader? Thank you so much!

Thank you so much! 💕 I'm so, so glad you enjoy them! Also, thanks especially for an autistic!reader request, they're some of my favorites to write! Hope you enjoy! – illdowhatiwantthanks

The R Word

Amelia Shepherd x fem!autistic!reader Warnings: autism struggles, ableism, use of ableist slurs, overstimulation (the autism kind, not the sex kind), explicit language, pregnancy times (let me know if I've missed anything!) Word Count: 2.4k

Summary: It's a typical day working with a child in the ER when your estranged father shows up and makes you feel just as small and stupid and alien as he did when you were growing up. Amelia is there to comfort you and remind you of who you really are.

“No, Mommy!” the little girl wailed as she writhed on the hospital bed. “I want to go home!”

Her mom looked at you apologetically as she tried to soothe her child. You needed to get her vitals. Based on the mom’s description, you also probably needed to get IV fluids and an antiemetic in her. But you knew that wasn’t going to happen while the kid felt scared and overwhelmed. This wasn’t your first rodeo with kids in the ER. In fact, the other ER nurses often called you over when kids were difficult to work with. They called you the “bad kid whisperer.”

You knew better. They weren’t bad kids. They were usually just scared. There was a lot to be scared of at a hospital. And you were good with them because you understood better than most what it was like for your body and brain to feel so overwhelmed that you could no longer regulate your emotions. Being autistic was hard sometimes, it made you stand out, but this was a place where it made you stand out in a good way.

You lifted your hands to show the little girl that you were setting down all your medical instruments.

“It’s okay,” you said quietly, pulling the curtain closed around the bed. Sometimes making the space smaller helped. You bent down to her height, careful to keep your distance and not to touch her.

“I’m Y/N,” you said. “What’s your name?”

The girl didn’t answer, shaking as she sobbed.

You nodded. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk right now. Do you feel like you can’t breathe or anything?”

The girl shook her head.

“Good. Then all this other stuff can wait, okay? I’m not gonna touch you. No needles, no thermometer, no heartbeat or anything until you feel a little calmer. We can wait.”

She seemed to calm down a bit when she realized you weren’t going to make her do anything, her sobs subsiding to the occasionally aggressive sniffle.

“Here,” you offered, pulling a tiny tech deck skateboard out of the pocket of your scrubs. “Sometimes when I’m scared or nervous, having something to do with my hands makes me feel better.” You rolled the skateboard toward her, and she started running it across the rails of the hospital bed, her breathing starting to calm.

“Better?” you asked.

She nodded.

You started taking her vitals and continued the conversation. “You think you can tell me your name now?”

“Maddy,” she whispered.

You smiled even as you read her temperature: 103.4. Pretty high. She was almost certainly dehydrated. “That’s a really cool name. Now, do you know why your mom brought you here?”

“I threw up,” she told you, lip quivering.

“Oh, man,” you commiserated. “That’s the worst. I hate throwing up.”

Maddy nodded.

“Did you throw up just one time or a lot of times?”

“A lot.”

You exchanged glances with the mom to make sure this information was accurate.

“She can’t keep anything down,” the mom worried, biting her nails.

“Okay. Well, that’s okay. We’re gonna help you feel better. First, we’re gonna get some fluids in you. Do you know what that means?”

She shook her head as you gathered the supplies and pulled on gloves.

“It means your tummy is so sick that when you drink water, it all just comes right back out. And that’s not good because your body needs water. Your heart and your lungs and all the things that make you healthy and strong, they need water. So since you can’t swallow it, we’re gonna put a little tube in your arm and send water through the tube. That way your body gets the water it needs. And we’ll send medicine and electrolytes and all kinds of other good stuff to fight the sickness, too. It’s like we’re sneaking weapons past the sick.”

This explanation seemed to cheer her up a bit. “Like a secret mission?” she asked.

You nodded conspiratorially. “Exactly like a secret mission. But to get all that good stuff in there, we’re gonna have to put a needle in your arm. Just for a second! It makes the path for the supplies to go in.”

Maddy seemed to think deeply about this, then nodded. You had her play with the skateboard while you placed the IV line, ensuring that she was comfortably positioned for a good hour or so of fluid intake.

“Thank you,” her mom mouthed to you, and you gave her a quick thumbs up before adding a few reminders to your chart–what to check in the next hour, etc.

Maddy, now calmer, took a good look at you for the first time, from your glasses to your fingers that twitched by your ears, to your stomach that protruded out past your waistline–you were six months pregnant.

“Why are you so fat?” Maddy blurted out.

“Madeline Grace!” her mom hissed.

“It’s okay,” you laughed. “My tummy looks like this because there’s a baby in there. But some tummies are just bigger than others, too, and that’s okay. All tummies are good tummies.”

“Where’s the daddy?” she asked, reaching out to brush her hand over your stomach.

“No daddy,” you explained. “This baby has two mommies. His other mommy works upstairs. On brains.”

“Brains!?” she squealed.

You nodded. “Yeah. She’s pretty cool.”

Just then, the relative calm of a midday ER was interrupted by a loud, brash voice, bursting through the doors, yelling at the nurses at the station.

“Where the fuck is my daughter!? Middle of the fucking work day. Unbelievable. Am I going too fast for you? Read my lips, sweetheart. Madeline. Y/L/N.”

You froze, any icy stream of panic running from the back of your neck all the way down to your heels. You’d know that voice anywhere. It was an angry voice, a coach’s voice, the voice that had yelled at you to “stay the fuck in the bleachers” when all you wanted was to sit in the car and breathe. The same voice that growled at you to stop “doing that shit with your hands, you look like a r*tard.” The same voice that told you over and over that you weren’t “stupid enough to be on the short bus,” but you were “too stupid to function in real life.”

You felt your brain start swirling, felt panic building in your chest. You knew he’d gotten remarried, of course you knew. But you didn’t talk to him, hadn’t talked to him in nearly a decade. You knew they’d had a kid, but you didn’t know it was this kid.

All the ER noises, the beeps of the machines, the buzzing of the overhead lights–were they getting brighter?–the clang of instruments being set down, wails, conversations, and above it all your dad’s voice. Your dad’s voice. It was too much. It was all way, way too much.

You felt your hands start to shake at your sides, your body swinging back and forth, and you had to stop. You had to stop. Your dad would kill you.

He threw back the curtain, and his jaw dropped when he saw you.

“You!?” he spat, looking down. “Are you pregnant!?”

Maddy seemed oblivious to the tension. “Daddy!” she called. “Her name is Y/N and she gave me this little skateboard and the water is fighting the sickness through my tubes and she has a baby in her tummy and the baby’s other mommy fixes brains.”

You tried so hard not to stim, but it was not working. 

“Don’t tell me you’re a nurse?! God, it’s a miracle you didn’t fucking stab her. You shouldn’t be holding any needles with those flappy arms. Probably shouldn’t be holding any babies either.” He shot out his hand and grabbed Teddy’s arm, which was wild to you. The audacity of the man to assume he had the authority to bother the trauma surgeon. “Yeah, honey, we need a different nurse over here. This one’s a r*tard.”

Teddy looked flabbergasted and deeply offended, but also concerned, as you clenched your teeth, hugging yourself, twisting your body back and forth. “It’s doctor, sir, and that word is not welcome at Grey-Sloan. Y/N is a perfectly capable medical professional. In fact, she’s one of our best, especially with kids.”

“I don’t know if you know this, but I feel like it’s my responsibility to tell you,” your dad whispered loudly to Teddy. “She’s got autism. She shouldn’t be handling tools or people or anything.”

Teddy pressed her lips together in frustration. “As I said, sir,” she repeated more forcefully. “Y/N is a perfectly capable medical professional, and we’re lucky to have her. But I’ll get another nurse over here for you. Y/N?”

Teddy beckoned you over, careful not to touch you, and led you to a quieter corner of the room.

“Who the fuck is that guy?!” she asked.

“M-my dad,” you stuttered. Everything in the room–sounds, lights, smells, all of it–seemed to be crashing over you again and again. As if you’d been knocked over by a wave and couldn’t get back up again because they just kept coming.

“You want to hang out in one of the on-call rooms for a bit?” Teddy suggested.

You nodded.

“Should I page Amelia?”

You shook your head. “She’s in surgery.”

Teddy pulled out her tablet to look. “I mean, we could just check.”

“Don’t bother her,” you repeated. “She’s got work to do. I’ll be okay.”

You made your way to the elevator and up to an on-call room, breathing heavily when you shut the door against the rest of the hospital. You turned off the lights, curling into a corner of the bottom bunk and pulling your knees up to your chest–or as close to your chest as they could get with your baby bump in the way.

You rocked yourself back and forth, thoughts spiraling. The movement and the dark usually calmed you down, but you were having a hard time regulating today, and nothing seemed to be working. Your breath just got faster and faster. And the fact that you couldn’t get yourself out of your spiral only made you spiral more.

You knew you were a good nurse. You knew that. You knew because you’d done it. But you hadn’t ever been a mom before. What if he was right? What if the baby made you overstimulated and you yelled or lashed out? What if the baby went to school and you went to parent nights and he was embarrassed of you, of how you couldn’t make eye contact and didn’t start conversations right and didn’t get the jokes. What if being autistic made you a bad mom?

You had tears streaming down your face by the time you heard a light knock on the door. It creaked open and Amelia’s head popped in. When she saw it was you, she quickly let herself in and locked the door.

“Oh, babe,” she said, watching your body rock back and forth in huge, aggressive sweeps. “A bad one, huh?”

“Go away, Amelia,” you hiccuped.

“Hey,” she said, jokingly. Then when she got closer and saw the tear tracks on your face, she said it again, quieter, sitting next to you on the bed. “Hey.”

When you didn’t say anything, Amelia shrugged. “Teddy said your… dad was here?”

You nodded.

She let out a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. “Honey, will you let me hold you? Please?”

You nodded again.

“Alright,” she said, waiting for your body to line up with hers as you rocked, then quickly grabbing you up in her arms, like she was catching something midair. “Gotcha.” She rocked with you.

“What did he say?” she asked, her breath warm on the top of your head.

“That I shouldn’t hold medical tools or babies because I’m a fucking re– I don’t want to say it. I hate that word.”

You felt Amelia’s arms tighten around you, and her breath came out in huffs. She was very angry. “As you should,” she told you. “It’s a nasty word. And it’s a word that doesn’t describe you at all, you know that.”

“I don’t know, Amy,” you whispered into her chest. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

“Babe, I think that ship has sailed,” Amelia said, running her fingers through your hair.

“Not my dad,” you explained. “The baby.”

Amelia was quiet for a moment, then you felt her lips press against the top of your head.

“Oh, honey,” she said, her voice soft. “Of course he’ll like you. He’ll love you. You're his mom.”

“But what if I’m bad at it? What if autism makes me bad at it?”

“Y/N,” Amelia said, gently grabbing your face and positioning it so that you had to look in her general direction, if not in her eyes. “Look how good you are with the kids in the ER. You’re gonna be an incredible mom.”

“I’m just scared,” you admitted.

“I’m a little scared, too,” Amelia told you. “But you know what? I think we’re gonna be okay. Me and you together? I mean, surely, combined, we can be at least one whole good mom, right?”

You giggled.

Amelia grinned at you. “There she is.”

You were quiet for a moment, playing with Amelia’s finger, with the edges of her scrubs.

“You know what you are?” Amelia asked after a bit, kissing your forehead. “You are smart and kind and empathetic. You’re funny and brave and you work hard. You’re my favorite person in the whole world.”

You looked away.

“Hey,” she said, pulling your face back toward her again. “I don’t like people talking about my wife like that. Even you.”

You nodded, wrapping your arms around her waist and pressing your face to her chest.

“Are you going back down there?” Amelia asked.

You shrugged.

“Want me to check if your dad’s still here?”

“Would you?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, standing and placing one more kiss on your cheek. “In fact, I’d really like to talk to him.”

“Don’t do anything that’ll get you fired, Amy,” you called after her.

She looked back at you and winked as she walked through the door. “Can’t make any promises.”

[razorblade180]

Union

In the midst of going over blueprints for their future home, Jaune’s concentration gets interrupted by flowing petals. He cracks a smile before turning around to see Ruby completely obscured by her cloak.

Jaune:Have you come for my soul?

Ruby:Might as well. Already have your heart.

Jaune:Heh, then I kindly ask for you wait. Your payment will be paid in full down the aisle.

Ruby:How stingy. I’ve already given you both of mine; and a little extra~

Jaune:*red* How was work, you gremlin?

Ruby:Patrol duty was fine. Starting to think crooks know my schedule.

Jaune:Or you threw most in jail.

Ruby:Organized crime calls for chaotic heroism. Anywho, house plans going well?

Jaune:More or less. If all goes well then we’ll be living outside Vacou before our anniversary.

Ruby:Always thinking ahead. Meanwhile I’m struggling with awesome vows.

Jaune:You brought a world together. I’m sure you’ll think of something.

Ruby:Feelings are a little harder than a battle cry or call to arms. Speaking of feelings, I have a little something for you.

Jaune:*looks at cloak* Is that so~

Ruby:*blushes* It’s not what you think! Not this time. This gift is way better!

Jaune:I don’t know Rubes. Last gift that started like this was pretty amazing. *smiles*

Ruby:Just close your eyes and hold your hands out!

The knight chuckles as he does what he’s told. Immediately something weighted and cool to the touch lands in hands. Jaune opens his eyes and stars at a white scabbard. Somehow, this took him by surprise. It had his symbol in the middle and was surrounded by red thorns.

The grip of the hilt was this dark blue with a spiral of fierce red that went up and outlined the golden hand guard that was modeled in the shape of his symbol. He pulled out the gift from the scabbard to reveal cold, shining white steel that had its double edge and tip run red like hilt. If Jaune was being honest, he’s never seen a sword look more like a work of fantasy. Ruby stood right in front of him and put her left hand in the hilt, showing that his symbol had subtle thorn and rose engravings that matched her gold and red on her engagement ring.

The accomplished and proud Huntress then took a step back and started twiddling her thumbs while swaying, finding it hard to meet Jaune’s gaze; so she pulled her hood over her head. At this point it probably matched her face.

Ruby Rose:So uh yeah, that’s a Ruby Rose Original.

Jaune:You made this!?

Ruby:*nods* I’ll be honest. I spent so long shopping for wedding bands with Weiss helping. I’m still definitely getting one! But none of them really… felt like they were saying how I feel. There’s not a moment I want you feel like you’re fighting alone; even when we’re far apart. With this, I’m always by your side ready to help. The scabbard is a shield too but if I’m being honest I’m still a rookie when it comes to that kind of smithing. Consider this my own form of engagement to you.

Jaune:Ruby this is…I don’t even know what to say.

Ruby:*trembly* I uh..it’s fine if you treat this as a ceremonial blade too. After all…there’s history in Crocea Mors and I don’t want to step on that or make you feel like you have to stop wielding it because of m-

Two hands gentle hands pull back her hood and reveal teary, anxious eyes. Honestly, Ruby felt so ridiculous right now. All this effort into a heart felt token of affection and yet anxiety gripped her mind on how he’d take the jester. His thumbs run across her cheeks to catch a few stray tears.

Jaune:Hey, talk to me. What’s with the tears? This is an amazing.

Ruby:I just…Crocea Mors is its own vow. It has been for years and I know I shouldn’t be feeling guilty or nervous but I do. Gods, it’s so dumb hehe. Pyrrha would totally give me an earful for being so-

Jaune:Thoughtful? *smiles*

Ruby:..Heh, yeah. Yeah she would.

Jaune:Well, I don’t know if your beautiful brain and smithing skills have noticed, but you’ve really gotten good at knowing my style.

He briefly lets go of her and grabs his sword along with the new gift. Jaune pulls out both and puts them against one another. Yeah the hilt is different but it’s wide enough to work. Without hesitation, Jaune took the scabbard of Crocea Mors and slid it on the new sword easily; right down to the satisfying click in place that took Ruby by surprise.

Jaune:If you really feel guilty, then I can do this! Not gonna lie, I’d feel like shit getting that scabbard dirty in the future. It’s my first Ruby Rose original! Also gives you time to hyper fixate on shield crafting. As for the blade, I know this bad boy will keep me safe and sou-

Once again, petals flowed. Each one danced around him while the rose itself pressed her lips against his with gratitude and overflowing joy that dispelled fears like magic.

Ruby:Jaune Arc, you truly are my fairytale ending. My happily ever after.

Jaune:Hehe, And you said your vows would be hard? C’mere.

He pulled his loving fiancée into a deeper kiss before matching her smile. She was right. This present was the best.

Jaune:Does this engagement sword have a name?

Ruby:The deepest part of my soul wants to call it Bloody Moon but that doesn’t inspire luck as wedding gift.

Jaune:I kinda like what you said a few moments ago.

Ruby:Oh, so Ever After?

Jaune: Tale’s End

Ruby:That’s so- damn I’m marrying the right person. That’s such I good name! When our house is done I think my first order of business is mounting the scabbard with Crocea Mors somewhere nice and proud. Gonna need your height though.

Jaune:Naturally. And who knows. Maybe it’ll protect the both of us in a new way someday?

xxxxxxx

Several years later

Jaune:Alright squirt, ready for your first real sword sparring!?

A foolish question for a young girl waiting to dives out the front door and slide across a sand dune into a wide battle stance, her grin in full bloom with Crocea Mor ready to aid her first step towards greatness.

Carmine:Born ready!

Ruby:Do your best! Show him who’s boss!

Carmine:Ha! With this by my side, I might as well be invincible.

[etoileee]

WE’RE NOT REALLY STRANGERS. ₁

⤷ a percy jackson dr shifting experience!

We were currently sitting on the floor in the poseidon cabin. this is my first time in here.

Piper and Hazel were sitting on the bed behind me, Piper’s hands running through my hair.

When I first got there she told me that my hair was nice and asked if she could play with it, and of course, I said yes because I’m a sucker for people playing with my hair.

and for her.

She asked me what I did for my hair care, and I almost felt bad saying ‘nothing’. the only thing I did was not use heat on my hair, but it wasn’t because I cared about my hair so much, but because I didn't know how to use those tools.

It's unfortunate, I know. I’m a sixteen-year-old girl who did not know how to curl or straighten her hair.

as she ran her fingers through my hair, I found it hard to keep my eyes open, her slender fingers were gently scratching and threading through my hair sending shivers down my spine, making me feel relaxed.

I forced my eyes open and looked around the cabin, It was oddly cooler in here than it was outside, but I say oddly because I didn't see any AC to keep it cool in here. On one of the beds, there was a whale shark plush.

That’s Percy's bed.

Everyone else was talking amongst themselves, probably trying to figure out what to do, but I wasn’t paying attention. I just closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of Piper’s fingering raking through my hair.

The sound of the front door opening makes me open my eyes again out of curiosity about who it may be. It was Nico and a tan blonde boy walking in, their eyes scanning every one of us.

I’m gonna bet to you right now, blondie is a child of Apollo.

“Hey guys,” Jason says with a polite smile, pushing his glasses up his nose. Percy seemed a bit amused like he didn’t expect them to show up.

I hadn’t seen Nico since our talk last night when I weirdly told him about my life before camp half-blood, and the regret was starting to settle in as I felt the embarrassment of telling him about that stir in my stomach.

Why'd I overshare so much?

I mentally facepalm myself.

I know he’s the one that asked, but I still felt awkward about it.

Nico’s eyes fall on me and I avert my gaze somewhere else, trying to not look too awkward and like I was just looking at him without thought, not like I was embarrassed to be seeing him again after last night.

“What are we gonna do?” blondie says sitting down with a smile, his face turns into a puzzled one when he sees me. “I’ve never seen you around before…” he tilts his head as if racking his brain trying to think if we’ve ever interacted before this.

“I got here yesterday,” I say quietly with a subtle nod.

He perks up at that and smiles at me “Ah! That’s why then,” he extends his arm out to me, giving me a handshake “I’m Will Solace,”

His hands are soft and warm.

“Cītlalli Ohara” I let go of his hand and brought it to rest in my lap. I managed a small nod in acknowledgment to Nico next to him, he gave me a nod back.

I want to rip my scalp off.

“PERCY IT’S A MESS UNDER HERE!”

Annabeth's head was currently lost in the darkness under Percy Jackson’s bed in search of some sort of game we could play to pass the time together. “No, it's an organized mess!” Percy yelled from the bathroom running his hand through his dark hair before coming out of the bathroom and getting on the floor to help Annabeth look for the card game.

I laid back on the bed behind me, observing everyone. Piper behind had started braiding my hair.

I know it’s a weird thing to do, but I’ve always been a people watcher. It’s almost like watching a movie for me. I liked learning from people just by looking at them.

I sound like a weirdo.

It is normally not this quiet—

“HEY HEY HEYYY” there he is.

Leo.

The curly-haired boy strutted into the cabin with a grin on his face and surprisingly didn't have on his repair boy suspenders.

I miss the suspenders.

bring back the suspenders, repair boy!

“Hey, star shine,” He says, giving me a fist bump and flashing me a charming smile, my fist making contact with the ring on his.

That kinda hurt.

The area had become more lively now that the tan boy was here, weirdly. Being around him is like having a shot of espresso.

“I FOUND IT!” Percy yells standing back up from under his bed, in his hands is a small red box with white wording, reading;

‘WE’RE NOT STRANGERS.’

we all gather around on the floor, the box being put in the center between all of us. Percy opened the box revealing well-organized cards. “I’ve been wanting to play this for a while” Percy murmurs, Jason taking out the game pamphlet from the box and reading through the game's rules and directions.

“Listen, learn, reflect. you’ll go through three levels of questions, each level becoming deeper. be honest with your answers. you won't be strangers by the end of it.” Jason reads and puts the pamphlet on the bed, careful to not let it be folded or damaged in any way.

He took out the first card from the first level and read it aloud.

“Level 1 Perception: Do you know how others see you? Level 1 is about gaining perspective on what first impressions we give off and challenging the assumptions we make about others.”

Jason sets the card down next to the box “Who wants to go first?” he asks, pushing his round frames up his nose. The lack of response from everyone made him chuckle. “I’ll go first then,” he turns his head to the right to look at Frank.

“You’re like a gentle giant,” he begins, making us laugh softly. “you’ry kind and look out for everyone around you. and we appreciate it a lot, Frank” his tone was genuine.

Frank smiled shyly “Thank you,” Jason nodded his head and Frank turned to his left to answer the question about Hazel “You have a big heart... you care about everyone.” He says looking into her eyes as hazel looks away to hide how flustered she is. which made me smile a little bit.

“Even when you shouldn’t care” he adds, rolling his eyes jokingly, making Hazel slap his shoulder lightly.

Hazel turns to her left seeing that she’s to answer the question about Nico.

She smiled and began to speak “I think people would perceive you as cold or mean, but I don’t see you that way,” the tension in Nico’s shoulders seemed to relax a bit as she spoke like he wasn’t used to people speaking of him this way.

“you’re extremely observant, you read people very well, you’re a good listener,” she rambled on about the boy, making me smile again. I had only met Nico yesterday, but I found myself agreeing with everything she said.

“Okay okay—that's enough” Nico cuts her off, letting out a little huff. Shaking his head.

He didn't mean it rudely, he just seemed flustered, and or annoyed. like he didn’t like talking about himself.

Nico turned his attention to Will sitting on his left, he wore his usual stoic expression, but his eyes told me something else. “You’re nice,” he shrugs acting indifferent and looking down at the floor, his right hand twisting the rings on his left. “you’re really nice” He speaks again but this time quieter.

My face softened a bit watching the scene. It was sweet, even if Nico looked like he’d rather jump off a cliff right now.

Will smiled at him softly and gave him a little nod, he knew that was all Nico would say about him.

Will turned to Piper to answer the question about her “You aren’t shy about your opinions and feelings on this, and I admire that a lot about you,” his smile got bigger as he spoke, “You’re passionate about the things you care about, I like that about you.”

Piper seemed shocked for a second before laughing softly “Thanks Will” she said pushing her brown choppy hair out of her face.

I didn't miss the way Jason smiled either.

Piper’s eyes met mine, and I don’t know why, but I felt dread.

I met all of them yesterday, what could she— any of them have to say about me?

“You’re hard to read,” her eyes studied mine like we were looking for something in them. We all stayed quiet waiting for her to continue. “I don’t know much—anything about you, really,” she shook her head.

“But I like you.” she finishes.

I stared at her for a little bit, literally having no idea what to say.

“I like you too,” I say just above a whisper, I don’t even know if anyone other than her would’ve heard it.

I turned to Leo next to me to answer the question about him, not giving myself enough time to watch Piper’s reaction to what I said. I didn't wanna know.

I stared at him for a few seconds and a grin slowly appeared on his face as I did. “I think you’re really fun,” he’s full-blown smiling now “I’m fun? That's all I get?” he tilts his head teasingly at me.

I roll my eyes playfully, shaking my head “You’re really fun. there? happy?” I tease back trying to not smile. He sighs dramatically, running his hand through his black curls “I guess…”

He turns to his left, Reyna sitting next to him “You,” he points a finger at her “You scare me hella,” I bite my cheek to keep me from laughing, I hear Piper next to me let out a low laugh.

“But you’re a damn good warrior, and I respect you a lot.” he finishes.

Reyna’s face softened as she processed what Leo said about her, she didn't say anything, she just wore a thoughtful expression. Leo smiled and held his fist up to her. She smiled and collided her fist with his in a lighthearted fist bump.

Reyna turns to Annabeth next to her and says “I have a lot of respect for you too” She has an accent, but I genuinely cannot tell where it's from. “It’s been an honour to night along side of you.” her voice firm. she means it.

Annabeth looked touched by what she said, but her face hardened a bit again, “Thank you,” she said back to her, i’ts obvious they both had mutual respect for each other.

Annebth turned to Percy, and it seemed like she had been dreading her turn this whole game. Percy smiled mischievously, he had been waiting for this to happen. He points to his ear, mocking and anticipating whatever she’s about to say.

“I don’t like anything about you.”

Nico lets out a sort, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Yeah yeah laugh it up,” Percy says rolling his eyes and making a few of us snicker in his response.

Percy turns to Jason, the last person left. “You take care of all of us.. and you’re responsible. We’d probably be lost without you” He says lightheartedly.

We move on to the more lighthearted part of the game,

I read my card aloud “Give this card to the best listener.”

You mean the boy I’d been avoiding making eye contact with for the last 15 minutes?

I stare at the card for a few moments before looking up a Nico, his face unreadable as usual. I extend my arm out, holding the card between my middle and pointer fingers. He takes it from me, glancing down at the card before up at me again.

He didn't say anything, he just looked at me for a little bit before moving on.

“Give this card to the biggest flirt” Nico reads, his tone indifferent. without a second thought, he gives the card to Leo.

Leo smiles and takes the card from him. somewhat prideful “Y’know it,” he says taking a card from the unread pile and reading it.

“Gives this card to the person that stirs the pot,”

We all know who that is.

“Jackson,” Annabeth laughs, clapping her hands together. Percy grins and puts his hands together, bowing his head down. “That’s for you, love,” Leo says in a posh accent putting the card in Percy’s hands like it’s something precious.

“D1 instigator” Piper jokes, making us laugh.

“Give this card to someone you want to get to know better.” Percy reads before looking up at me, handing me the card with an awkward smile, the kind with both your lips pressed together in a line.

It made his dimples visible.

I take the card from him laying it on the floor next to me, I reach out to get a new card and read “Give this card to the most intimidating.”

I stare at the card for a few seconds, trying to figure out who to give it to.

Annabeth,

Reyna,

Nico,

That’s who’s going through my mind right now.

after a few moments of thinking about my answer, I look up at Annabeth and Reyna, still trying to decide on who to give it to. “You guys can share that,” I say, putting the card in front of both of them.

There was a ghost of a smile on Annabeth’s lips, Reyna’s face stayed emotionless.

I think I might be growing on them.

[spoilmesweetieforficssake]

Coming To An Understanding #5

I admit that this little series is entirely self indulgent, but I hope you also enjoy it. I'm hoping to have the next two parts ready to post tomorrow.

I am still working on completing the other prompts I have from you lovely people and will post as and when I'm able to finish them.

~ Previous ~

“What about you guys?” asks Janine.  “Any plans this weekend?”

“We’re headed to the museum and then when it cools down in the afternoon we’re having a picnic,” you happily inform her, flashing a smile in Melissa’s direction.  The red head has remained largely quiet during the discussions of everyone’s plans for the weekend, but that in itself is nothing new.  You know she likes to keep her private life private, but it’s not like the two of you are any sort of a secret, and it’s a conversation you’ve had a number of times now.  So long as you’re not giving away any sordid details, or letting slip how secretly soft she really is, she’s happy for you to share.

It’s only as the other’s begin to file out and you turn to find Melissa looking at you with an odd expression that you think anything more of her silence.  “What’s up?”

“Was my idea for this weekend lame?” she finally asks.  She had sat listening to everyone else discuss their weekend plans, and while you had seemed happy to tell everyone of your plans, she worries they’re not exactly exciting in comparison. 

“No, not lame in the least,” you smile.  “I’m looking forward to this weekend.”  You step forward, pressing a kiss to her cheek.  “Long as you don’t flirt with the museum guide again.”

“I didn’t flirt with her!”

*

“I feel like we keep doing the things I want.”

You look up at Melissa from your spot on the picnic blanket.  With the sun in her hair, she looks better than any of the art you’ve seen in the museum.

“You’re deciding this time,” she informs you, her tone very much no nonsense.  “What are we doing next weekend?”  She braces for your answer, waiting for you to say something young and energetic and wondering where her sports bra is.  She watches as you take a moment to think, your gaze far away, but your fingers tracing the seam on her jeans.  A smile slowly creeps across your face and she finds she’s almost holding her breath.

“Okay.  I want a Melissa Schemmenti guided tour of the Boardwalk, complete with running commentary.”

The red head frowns.  “What?”

“I love your stories about the Boardwalk,” you grin.  “I want the live version.”

Melissa continues to look down at you oddly, her brain and her heart not quite sure how to react to your request.  “Seriously, that’s what you want?”

She gave you absolutely free reign and that’s what you choose?  A day with her, listening to her talk?

You shift on the picnic blanket, shimmying so you can lay your head on her thigh, looking up at her.  “Yup.  I mean, maybe lunch too, but we can decide on that when we’re there?”

Melissa feels her cheeks heat up in a blush as she looks down at you, reaching out to card her fingers through your hair.  You look genuinely happy with your suggestion.  Smiling at the prospect of a day where you’re not doing anything big and exciting, but a day where you get to wander around with her.  She’s what you want.  She’s enough to make you smile like that.  Finally, she returns your smile.  “The Boardwalk it is then.”

[bitchyycapricorn]

Almost There

Peter Parker x Ghost!Reader

Chapter One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

Wordcount: 4.8K

Synopsis: Peter enters his apartment that night expecting to find an empty bed. But instead, he comes face to face with your transparent glowing figure.

Warnings: Angst! Mentions of death, hospital rooms, cheating(not on reader), Fluff, SMUT AT THE END, P in V, Oral (M and F receiving), praise kink, happy ending

AN:Not edited.

Peter’s heart was racing as he races down the dimly lit hall with you pressed against his chest. Your pleads still echoing in his head, rattling in his brain, making him feel weak and useless as he runs in attempts to save you from bleeding out. He could feel your warm blood staring to soak through his suit, his arms feeling weaker than normal as he cradles your head in one arm, while your legs are thrown over the other. His mind feels frantic as he thinks of how to get you safely to the hospital. You’re loosing too much blood, he knows this. “We’re almost there Y/N,” he breathes softly, “Almost there.”

He approaches the fallen elevator, shifting your body do you’re thrown over his shoulder. He mutters a quick ‘fuck’ as he dials Ned. The phone rings for a moment before he hears Neds voice on the other end of the line.

“Hey Peter, where you been?” Neds cheery voice makes Peter wince.

“Ned its Y/N. I need you to get Aunt May and meet me at the abandoned elevator with a spare thing of my cloths. It’s urgent.” Peter hands up the phone, preparing to climb up the wall with you thrown over his shoulder. With a small grunt, he sticks himself to the wall and begins to climb, only relying on his webs from keeping you from falling.

As Peter approaches the top of the elevator he can see both May and Ned looking down at him. His body heaves your unconscious one up and onto the ground outside the elevator doors.

“Peter what the hell is going on?” May says slowly, trying to keep herself from freaking out.

Peter lets out another grunt as he lifts up your shirt, shooting his webs onto your still bleeding wounds in hopes of preventing any further blood loss. “I’ll explain in the car, we need to get her to the hospital.” He stumbles as he stands up, leaning down to lift you into his arms once again. Both May and Ned exchange looks as they follow Peter to the car.

“Do you want to explain what the hell is going on now?” May asks as she starts the car, pulling out of the apartment complex.

Peter nods, stripping out of his suit in the backseat, being careful not to tussle you around too much in the process. “A few months ago, basically around the time we moved in, I met Y/N.” Peter says as he pulls on the pants Ned brought him. “The thing about Y/N is that she’s sorta, or was sorta a ghost. Not fully alive, but not fully dead either.”

Ned turns to May nodding. “It’s so cool, she could like turn into a solid person, and then suddenly be invisible as a ghost. It was scary cool.”

“I’m sorry, you expect me to believe we had a ghost living in our apartment?” May cuts in, looking back at Peter in the rear view mirror.

Peter throws his shirt on before easing your head back into his lap. “Well May, I have spider powers, Thor exists, and so does Dr. Strange so…” He says slowly.

May rolls her eyes before nodding. “You make a fair point. Continue.”

“Well anyways, me and Y/N went looking for her body below the building. Originally we thought she’d be a skeleton but she wasn’t. She was like, frozen in time.” Peter says as he checks your wounds.

Ned turns around to look at you both, “cool like a coma?” He asks.

Peter shakes his head, “No, I don’t think so. If it was a coma she would’ve died from lack of food and water. Plus she wounds only started bleeding when she like, go absorbed back into her body.”

Ned’s eyes went wide as he looks from Peter to May, and back to Peter. “Wicked.”

“Okay, so where has this half ghost half girl been staying these last few months exactly?” May asks as she takes a sharp turn, trying her best to rush to the hospital without getting pulled over.

“She was staying with me for a while.” Ned pipes in. “You know, after the fight.” He says glaring at Peter.

Peter could feel his jaw clench as he draws your body closer to his. “It was a misunderstanding. Not a fight.”

Ned rolls his eyes, “sure, you having a girlfriend and letting her touch Y/N stuffed animal was a ‘misunderstanding.’ You kicked her out of your room dude. Also, she clearly liked you. Otherwise she wouldn’t have kissed you that one night.”

May eyes flicker to the rearview mirror, looking at Peter’s now guilty face. “Was she living in your room or something?”

“Oh yeah, until she started sleeping with me. That was after MJ and Peter got together.” Ned nods.

Both May and Peter’s heads whip to the side to look at Ned. “You and Y/N slept together?” Peter squeaks, trying to stop himself from raising his voice.

“Well yeah, obviously. Why do you care? You’re with MJ.” Ned scoffs, not seeing the big deal in you both sharing a bed so you could actually fall asleep at night.

“Ned what the fuck.” Peter groans, “I totally thought the kiss we shared before she came back to life met something! Now you’re telling me you and Y/N were having sex?”

“Sex?!” Ned shrieks.

“Wait a second Mr. What do you mean kiss? You and MJ are dating.” May scolds.

“SEX?” Ned repeats as his face pales even more.

“Nobody cares if you and a ghost had sex Ned, Peter cheated on MJ.” May snaps, slightly irritated as she pulls into the parking lot of the hospital.

“We didn’t have sex! We shared a bed!” Ned cries, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Wait, so you didn’t sleep together?” Peter lets out a sigh of relief.

Ned lets out a small groan, “We slept together in the actual sleeping way, not the sexual way dude. You’re so dirty minded.”

“I got worried okay! Would’ve been really weird if you and Y/N were having sex when we both almost had sex earlier today!” Peter defends.

“Peter Parker!” May cries, turning around to look at Peter who’s getting your still passed out body out of the car.

“I’m sorry May, I really am but I need to help Y/N.” Peter says, hosting you into his arms and dashing towards the entrance.

+++

Your eyes flutter open and the sound of beeping fills the room. When you turn your head you’re met with Peters worried face along with numerous tubes and fluid bags. You look down at your arm to find it attached to an IV, while your nose is plugged up with oxygen. “Peter?” You croak.

Peter lets out a small sob, placing his hand on the side of your face. “I thought I lost you, I-“ he cries softly.

You let you a small laugh as tears begin to spill from your eyes. “I’m here now, I’m okay.” You promise, placing your hand over his hand that’s resting on your cheek. “I-I think I’m alive.” You whisper.

Peter nods, tears still spilling from his eyes. “You are, you didn’t disappear last night, you-you stayed with me.” He chokes.

A smile spreads across your lips as you lean in to kiss him softly. “Peter, I can stay with you now. I-I’m all yours.”

He nods, kissing you again and again. “You’re mine,” he whispers.

You nod as you shift over in your hospital bed. “Lay with me?”

He nods, crawling into bed with you. “I really did think I was going to loose you without saying goodbye.” He says as he brings you into his arms. You lay your head down on his chest as he continues. “I brought you in and you were immediately taken into surgery. For hours I waited for you. Crying, wondering if I’d ever see you again. Both May and Ned eventually had to go home, since only I could stay.” You feel a hot tear hit the top of your head as another sob racks through Peter’s body. “I really love you Y/N, I hope you know that. I love you so so much.”

“Peter, I love you.” Tears begin to flow down your cheeks again as you pull Peter into another kiss. “I’m not going anywhere, not again.” You hum.

He nods, holding you closer to his body. You listen to his heartbeat in a peaceful silence for about ten minutes before the nurse comes in.

“Y/N L/N, is that right dear?” The nurse smiles as she comes over to check your vitals.

“Y-yes.” You stutters, a feeling of anxiety washing over you. It had been so long since you had last been in contact with another person other than Peter, Ned, and Eli.

She gives you a sweet smile as she adds more pain meds to your IV. “How are you feeling sweetie?”

“Really good actually.” You say softly.

“Good! That means the pain meds are working. I just wanted to come check on you and let you know we got in contact with your parents.” the nurse replies, giving you one last kind smile before exiting the room.

“M-My parents? But how?” You look up at Peter who smiles softly.

“It took a while to find them, and convince them to come down here.” Peter admitted. “Had to show them a lot of proof that we found you.”

Your eyes went wide as Peters words sunk into your head. “My parents are coming to see me?” You say softly.

He nods, issuing your head softly. “They should be here soon.” Peter whispers softly in your hair.

There’s a small knock on the door after about an hour of you resting in Peter’s arms. Peter shifts his gaze from you onto the door as he calls out “come in.”

The door creaks open and a man and woman step inside. They resemble you greatly, he can see your eyes in your moms, especially when she smiles. “Oh my god, our baby,” the woman cries, approaching the bed.

You begin to stir at the commotion, stirring up slightly in Peters arms. A small hum escapes your lips as you gently run your eyes. Looking around the room, your eyes lock with your moms as a small cry escapes your lips. “Mom! Dad!” Another sob escapes you as your parents rush to embrace you.

“Oh darling what happened to you? Where were you?” Your mom sobs as she holds you in her arms.

Your dad Hugs your from the other side gently drawing circles on your back. “They told us you were dead, we pressed them to keep investigating, we even began searching for you on our own. It’s been eight years.” Your dad places a kiss on top of your head as he speaks.

“I-I was dead.” You croak, “well, sorta dead. Peter helped find my body and I was frozen in time.”

Your parents slowly pull away from you to look at Peter. Your dad pats your back gently before leaning in close to whisper to Peter “has she been tested for any trauma responses?”

Peter shakes his head, looking between both your parents. “Honestly, it would be so much easier to say that she’s having a delirious episode and her story is made up to comfort her. But, she’s telling the truth. She was living in my apartment.” Peter admits.

Your parents look from one another, shaking their heads. “That’s not possible.” Your mother says after a brief moment. “How could she be dead and then come back to life?”

Peter shrugs, pulling you back into his embrace once more. “Honestly, we accepted Thor existed, is this really that far fetched as a God from another planet?”

Your parents cast each other glances before nodding. “I suppose you’ve got a point kid.” Your dad says after another long pause. “So you two were just rooming together while my daughter was dead.”

A blush spreads over both yours and Peters face as you nod. “He helped take care of me dad, if it weren’t for Peter I wouldn’t be alive right now. In fact, if I went to the basement alone and found my body I would’ve bled to death. Peter’s the one who rushed me to the hospital.”

Your parents look over to Peter whose face is also a bright red. “Is this true?” Your mom asks, shaken by the thought of you alone and bleeding.

He nods, “Yes ma’am. I care about your daughter a lot. I’ve grown to love her in the months I’ve gotten to know her. Sure, she scared the living daylights out of me the first time I saw her as a ghost. But beyond that, your daughter is seriously amazing.”

A smile breaks across your lips as you turn to face Peter. “Thank you,” you whisper, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Yes thank you, Peter.” Your dad smiles, patting his shoulder.

+++

Leaving the hospital was the hardest thing you’d ever done. Your parents lived a few hours away in a town over, and you didn’t want to leave Peter. It took a while to convince your parents that what you needed more than anything was to stay with the boy who saved you. Luckily even the doctors backed you up, explaining that if you and Peter were suddenly separated you might go into a trauma shock.

After your parents reluctantly agreed, they exchanged numbers with Peter and made a plan to begin the moving process near you as soon as they could. This just left talking to May.

“I know she’s a girl and I know I’m asking for her to stay in my bedroom with me but even the doctors said it’s best she stays with me for now.” Peter pleads with May.

May smiles at you softly before turning back to her nephew. “Peter, can we talk privately for a moment.”

Peter shifts his gaze to you and you give him a nod. Peter looks back at his once calm and collected aunt who seems to now be loosing her shit. “Uh huh.”

May leads Peter into her bedroom where she had him sit on the bed. “Look Peter, I’m so very proud of you for helping this girl. I really am. But I need you to understand that as you’ve done this you’ve fucked up big time.” She scolds.

“What are you talking about?” Peter counters, unable to fathom what he could’ve possibly done wrong.

“Your girlfriend, MJ, incase you’ve forgotten, has shown up to see you everyday you were in the hospital with Y/N. Every. Day. She has no idea what’s going on, you didn’t contact her once. And as far as I know, you’ve been cheating on the poor girl with a ghost for the last few weeks.” May glares down at Peter knowing damn well she did not raise him this way.

“I-“ Peter stops, realizing how majorly he did fuck things up. Even if he stopped having any sort of feelings for MJ a long time ago he still kept her around for when the day came you did leave this world forever. “I messed up.” He admits after a moment. “I messed up big time.”

“Damn right you did Peter.” May sighs before taking Peter into a small embrace. “Listen, you gotta end things with MJ. And you need to tell her the truth.”

Peter lets out a small groan, knowing Mays right. “I’ll give her a call and have her come over.”

“Good, now I’m going to take Y/N shopping. Poor girl needs some new cloths desperately.” May smiles, heading back out to collect you.

After you both leave Peter rings up MJ. He asks her to come over and she’s there within 15 minutes.

“Hey M,” Peter says as he opens the door.

“Peter where the hell have you been? Were you on a mission or something? Because you didn’t even bother to let me know. And Neds been very vague with me, same with May.” MJ rants, terrified of where her boyfriend’s been.

“MJ, I need to tell you something.” Peter sage finally.

“Go on.” She says slowly, taking a seat in the couch.

“Remember the girl Y/N?” Peter asks.

“Her?” MJ scoffs. “Yeah what about her?”

Peter frowns, realizing this is going to go horribly. “Well, Y/N was a ghost. But then I helped her find her body and she’s sorta back again.”

“This is the stupidity excuse I’ve ever heard.” MJ cuts in.

“It’s not an excuse. She was a ghost, and she was living with me before we started dating. The thing is, I realized I have feelings for her. Strong feelings for her. And I’m so so sorry.” Peter mumbles.

He looks into her eyes, watching as tears begin to flow over her cheeks. “Peter, we’ve been best friends since high school. You were my first kiss, the first person I actually liked, and you feel in love with a ghost that was rooming with you?”

“I messed up, I know that. And I’m so so sorry. I can’t help my feelings for Y/N though. I- I’m sorry.” Peter looks down, guilt washing over him.

“Whatever Parker. See you at school.” And with that MJ storms out.

+++(SMUT)

You and May stumbled through the door a few hours later laughing. “Peter!” You squeal, holding up your shopping bags for him to see. “Look I got new cloths!”

Peter smiles at you, completely forgetting his conversation with MJ. “I can’t wait to see them.” He smiles, taking you into his arms and giving you a small kiss.

“I’ll model them for you now!” You squeal, dragging Peter over to the couch and disappearing into his room to change.

May let’s Peter know she’s got a call in for work before leaving you to model outfit after outfit for Peter. You strut around the apartment showing him your new dresses, shorts, shirts, pants, and even skirts. With each outfit Peter could feel himself wanting you more. You look ravishing in everything you wear causing a desire to bubble up inside him.

“I like that one a lot,” Peter hums. Standing up to grab your hips as he admires the shirt purple dress. You let out a small laugh, kissing his lips again.

“May left me pick out my own underwear and bras at Victoria’s Secret, wanna see what I have on underneath?” You hum, pulling gently at Peter’s sweats.

Letting out a small groan Peter nods, allowing you to lead him into his room. You guide him over to his bed, pushing him down gently. His eyes watch your figure with precision, as you slowly begin to lift your dress up and over your head before letting it fall to the ground.

Underneath you reveal a red lace lingerie set. Peter’s eyes scan your body in awe, his mouth dropping slightly as he takes in the intricate details of the lace. He admires the way the top cups your boobs perfectly, the way it flows down and hugs your shape. He eyes the three shiny hearts that line the middle of the set.

“Fuck,” Peter mumbles, still admiring your body. His eyes shift down to your bare thighs, looking at the dangling garters. “You look, fuck” Peter groans, unable to form a sentence as he stares at you.

“You like it?” You beam, walking over to where he’s sitting so you can straddle his hips.

“I want to tear this fucking thing right off you.” He moans, kissing your neck. His teeth graze against your soft skin making you shiver.

“Yeah?” You hum as you pull your fingers through his soft brown curls. “You want to take this off of me right now?”

Peter lets out a small growl, reaching behind you to eagerly undo the bra. You allow the bra to slid off of you, as he flings it to the side. “These have to go too.” He says as he lifts you off of him to slide down your underwear.

A small gasp escapes your lips as you stand naked in front of him. “Peter,” you whine as the aching in your core becomes evident. You look down at him, his tight white shirt and grey sweatpants making you loose all sense of reality. “Peter please.”

Peter traces his hand along your abdomen, admiring the now scared skin. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, pulling you back into his lap. His lips meet yours again, kissing you roughly and passionately. His hands travel to the small of your back, pulling your naked body closer to his. You feel his lips on your neck, pressing soft wet kisses against your tender skin. “You’re all mine now you know that? You’re my girlfriend.” He hums into your neck before biting down softly.

A moan tumbles from your lips as your hands make their way back to Peters hair. “Fuck Peter, I’m yours,” your eyes are skewed shut, taking in the simple feeling of Peters lips all off your body. The feeling of his head dipping down and to your breast. He lifts you up slightly, allowing him full access to your boobs. He pulls you towards him and connects his lips to your right nipple, flicking his tongue over the soft bud.

Another whine escapes your lips as you tug on his hair a little harder. His lips drag across your chest, moving over to your other nipples. He slowly takes it between his teeth, causing a sharp gasp to escape your lips. “Peter please, I need you.” You whimper as Peter pulls away from your chest again.

“I can tell, you’re so wet for me.” He groans, shifting your body so your back was now on his bed and he was hovering above you. “I’m going to make you scream.” He smirks, guiding your thighs open.

He drops to his knees in front of you, kissing down your thigh. He lowers himself so he’s eye level with your hot core, the sight causes his dick to twitch against his sweatpants material. “Fuck you’re so hot,” Peter mumbles. He leans forward, darting his tongue between your folds. “You taste so fucking good darling,” he moans as his tongue continues to draw circles around your now swollen clit.

Another soft cry escapes your lips as the muscles in your legs contract. Your thighs squeeze around Peters head at the feeling if his mouth devouring every inch of your soft cunt. Tugging at his soft brown locks, another whimper tumbles from your lips, his tongue lapping up all your juices. Peter tugs your hips even closer to his face, helping you grind yourself onto his soft tongue. “Fuck, oh fuck,” you whimper, feeling something tug in your stomach. “Peter oh, I feel something I-“ you cry out as your first ever orgasm washes over your. Your body convulses as you cum on Peter’s tongue, which hasn’t stopped eating you out.

A groan escapes your lips as Peter leans up to kiss you. “Did I do good?” He whispers, kissing you again. You nod as you continue to kiss his puffy lips, moving your hands down his body and tugging at his sweatpants. Peter pulls away from your lips, tugging down his grey sweats followed by his tight white shirt. He hovers over you again, a goofy smile splayed across his face. “I have no idea what I’m doing.” He admits, gazing down into your lust filled eyes.

A small laugh escapes your lips as you sit up, pushing Peter backwards. “Neither do I, pretty sure I just came for the first time.” A blush spreads over your already rosy cheeks as you stand up next to Peter. “Lay down though, it’s my turn to help you,” you whisper softly.

Peter slides onto the bed, propping himself up onto his pillows, his eyes following your every move. You crawl onto the bed with him, laying between his legs. Hesitantly, you grab onto his hard length and begin to stroke his hard cock. “Does that feel good?” You ask as Peter lets out a loud moan.

“Feels so good,” Peter gasps.

“This was what you were doing under the covers that one day, wasn’t it?” You question, looking for conformation that what you were doing was correct.

“It is,” he groans, his hips thrusting up into your fist. “You’re doing so good,” you can feel his length throbbing in your hand causing you to smile.

“What else do you want me to do for you?”

Peter lets out another moan at your question, brushing the hair out of your face. “Fuck- use your mouth please.” He begs, his eyes watching as you lower your head onto his cock. Your mouth stretches around his length, gagging slightly as you go down. Peter throws his head back at the sight, gripping your hair between his fingers. You slowly begging to move your head up and down. Hallowing your cheeks as your tongue swirls around his swollen pink tip when you come back up. Saliva begins to dribble down your chin, causing a small moan to erupt from your throat and vibrate around Peter. “Shit,” he groans, bucking his hips forward. You gag again, making Peter’s dick to twitch in your mouth. “I’m going to cum,” he moans, shooting his hot cum down your throat. You pull away slowly, tears falling delicately down your face as a string of saliva connects from your lips to Peter’s still hard cock.

“Did I do good?” You hum, leaning up to place a kiss on Peter’s lips like he did to you after you came.

“You did amazing, I’ve never came so hard in my life.” He sighs, pulling you into another kiss. “Now lay down and rest your head on the pillows for me.”

You nod, switching places with Peter. He hovers over you, his body placed between your legs. You instinctively wrap your legs around his waist, pulling his body into yours. Peter lets out a groan as he places his hands on both sides of your head, your arms going around his neck. “Ready pretty girl?” He hums, positioning himself.

“Yes,” you moan, feeling as Peter pushes himself inside of you. Another moan flies from your lips as you stretch around Peter’s length. His cock pushing deeper within you before pulling out again at a slow pace. “Peter,” you groan, rotating your hips slightly. A low groan escapes his lips as he thrusts into you harder.

His pace begins to pick up, his hips ramming into yours as he whispers sweet nothings into your ear. Your mouth falls agape as his hips slam into yours, the feeling of pure bliss traveling from the soft kisses he was placing on the shell of your ear all the way down to your toes. “Peter, I- you make me feel so good.” You moan, your chest heaving as his pace quickens again.

Peter watches as your boobs bounce up and down with every thrust, his mind going foggy as he fucks you into the mattress. “Pretty girl, are you going to cum on my cock?” He groans as he places a kiss on your lips.

“Yes Peter,” you cry, feeling another orgasm beginning to build up in your core. Peter keeps up his ruthless thrusts, making your whole body shake. Moans and cries slip from Peter’s lips as well, followed occasionally by your name. “Peter I’m going to-“ the feeling of your orgasm cuts you off as a wave of ecstasy overcomes your whole body.

Your cunt squeezes around Peter, causing his hips to falter as he reaches his orgasm as well. He pushes his hips deep within you, painting your walls with his cum before slowly pulling out. His body falls next to yours as he pulls you into his chest. “I love you.” He whispers to you softly.

Your fingers trace over his abs “I love you too Peter.” You hum. You both lay there for a moment in silence, soaking up everything that just happened. “Peter,” you say after a moment. He lets out a hum, looking down at you. “You remind me what it’s like to be alive.”

He smiles, kissing the top of your head softly. “You are alive darling,” he says against your hair.

“Yes, and you’re the reason I wanted to live again.” You say, shifting your body so your chests are pressed together and your face is hovering above his. Your lips press against his, and you take in the feeling of your heart beating in your chest as the way if feels to be out of breath. Your eyes lock once more as Peter pushes a strand of hair behind your ear. “You saved me Spider-Man.”

“Just returning the favor, ghost girl.”

+++

AN: Hey guys! This might be the last chapter, not sure yet. If you want me to continue and make it so she gets introduced to maybe the Avengers or something lmk! Also! I will be out of the country until the end of June so I may or may not be able to publish anything for the next 20 days.

Taglist

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[greyeyedmonster-18]

(found this in the archives/dust of my computer desktop and figured why not post it to tumblr. please enjoy this lily and sirius friendship dribble or whatever this is.)

A Good Nights Sleep

It was late November and the entirety of the Gryffindor house had celebrated a Quidditch win the night before, resulting in nothing other than a mess in the common room and a hoard of students nursing headaches and exhaustion. Lily Evans didn’t know who brought the alcohol (a seventh year perhaps), and she didn’t know what possessed her to drink it alongside Marlene (who was on a table by the end of the night), but she had, and she struggled to open her eyes the next morning. 

She was tempted to go back to sleep, the curtains around the four poster bed shut entirely blocking out the rest of the world, and it was impossibly warm even with the cool early winter temperatures. Her head nestled against the pillows, making to grab the comforter and roll over to get some more sleep, but instead of a blanket, she grabbed an arm.

Instead of rolling over into another pillow, there was the unmistakable presence of another person in bed with her. Her eyes sprang open, no longer exhausted, her brain scrambling to remember what the hell happened last night. 

You were drunk

Mary was in the room with someone.

You wanted to go sleep

Remus! You asked Remus for his bed! 

Just until Mary finished and then you would go back to your room. 

Lily tried to sit up, her brain connecting the dots and realizing this definitely wasn’t Remus. There was too much weight, too much hair. She kept wiggling in hopes of waking up the sleeping form of Sirius Black on top of her that was the culprit of the warmth she had woken up to. Any closer to Lily and they would’ve been a single person, his leg thrown across her hips, his face near her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her like an octopus. Sirius stirred briefly, not opening his eyes.

“Stop moving, McKinnon,” he mumbled, “Go back to sleep--”

“Not McKinnon,” hissed Lily, “Get off me, Black!” Sirius made a noise of confusion before sitting up rapidly, running a hand over his face and hair at the voice that was definitely not Marlene.

“Oh god, ah, shit,” Sirius said, his long black curls rumpled from the sleep. Lily would’ve found this less composed and less aloof version of Sirius endearing had it not been for the fact he had just been on top of her moments before. He moved off her rapidly, a rush of cold air hitting Lily’s body, Sirius staring wide-eyed at her trying to make sense of the situation. 

Lily sat up as well, her hand reaching to her own hair that she was certain was a messy, red waves falling onto her shoulders chaotically, “What the hell are you--”

“Shhh,” Sirius gave her a look, his eyes widening as he put his hand over her mouth. 

Lily was tempted to bite him, but she saw Sirius reach for his wand, casting a silencing charm around the bed before removing his hand.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked him

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?” he responded back, “This is my bed!”

“This is Remus’ bed.”

“No, it’s not,” Sirius said looking at her in utter confusion, “This is my bed, which is why I’m in it.”

“What do you mean it’s not Remus’ bed!”

“You’re not very bright in the morning, are you Evans?” asked Sirius, tiredly pressing the heel of one of his hands into his eyes before reaching to his wrist for a hair elastic to tie his hair back.

“All I know is that I was drunk and came up here because Mary was in my dorm doing merlin knows what and I thought I would be able to just nap in Remus’ bed until I was sober and figured it out but now I’m in here, with you, and thank god we’re both fully clothed.” Lily was still in the jeans and sweater she wore the night before, Sirius in a long-sleeve shirt and--, “Or I guess as clothed as you possibly can be.”

Sirius looked down at himself, closing his eyes and muttering something to himself in another language Lily didn’t understand as he realized he was in a pair of boxers, “I was drunk too,” he said as a means of explanation.

“I should hope so,” Lily said, her fingers tangling in her hair as she attempted to finger comb it, “Do you have an extra hair tie?” she asked,

“What?”

“I would really like to leave the dorm not looking like a bird built a home in my hair overnight,” she looked at him.

“Oh, right…” Sirius looked around briefly before sighing, taking his own hair down once again and handing it to Lily, “Just take that one, I’ll find another.” 

“So what’s your excuse?”

“It’s my bed!”

“When I got in it, it was empty. So you saw me sleeping and just thought ``oh why don’t I go have a lie in with Lily?” she asked, “Really?”

“I  was drunk and I didn’t pay much attention to who it was. Honestly, I thought it was Marlene, I dunno, I...didn’t look too hard.”

“Charming, Black.” Lily rolled her eyes. Sirius, for all the qualities that Lily found redeemable, had a reputation for being a bit of a...well, a bit of a...tease and a flirt and everything that followed that subsequently. According to Marlene and Remus, it wasn’t uncommon for Sirius to have guest’s in his bed, nor for him to be a guest in someone else's. It wasn’t uncommon to see Sirius separate from his friends after dinner to chat up a girl from Ravenclaw or a bloke from Hufflepuff. And now Lily was just another girl that Sirius Black had in his bed. 

To her surprise though, Sirius actually looked slightly embarrassed by his explanation, rubbing the back of his neck slightly, “I was drunk and...I just saw big hair and obviously I passed out, so it’s...fine.”

“Yeah, this is fine,” Lily said dryly, gesturing to the two of them in Sirius’ bed. He was now farther away, his hair tossed to one side and the blanket on his bed pulled over his body as he sat with his knees drawn up, leaning against one of the posts.

“You didn’t see the bed just over there with all the bloody books?”

“I mean, maybe! This one was the neatest! Drunk Lily logically said it had to be Remus’.”

Sirius gave her a quiet lopsided grin, “Oh, Evans…” Sirius shook his head, “I’ll let you continue to think that. Be blinded by Moony’s good-boy image, prefect and all--”

“Exactly! Prefect’s make their beds.”

“Mhmm,” Sirius nodded sarcastically.

“Shove off. So I was wrong,” she said, “Now can you get me out of here?”

Sirius raised an eyebrow, “Are we in agreement that this never happened?”

“What never happened?”

“Good girl,” he winked at her before moving to step outside his four poster, and Lily let out a breath. She wasn’t sure which part of the scenario was the most mortifying. 

The fact that she had been drunk enough to crawl into someone else’s bed.

The fact that she thought Sirius’ bed was Remus’.

The fact that she had spent an entire night next to and sleeping with Sirius Black

Or

The fact that she had woken up feeling warm and comfortable under Sirius’ bodyweight. As much as she wanted to get out and get back to her dorm, she was also tempted to lie back down in clean, soft sheets, still warm from where they had both been lying all night.

The fact that, shock factor aside, Lily didn’t actually mind waking up next to Sirius who gave her his hair tie off his own head and thought to put a silencing charm around the bed. She didn’t mind the arms that were around her, and hadn’t woken up at all throughout the night to realize her mistake. The fact that cuddling with Sirius Black had given her a great night's sleep.

The curtain to the four poster opened, and Sirius was standing there, in a pair of sweatpants and his hair tied back now. 

“James is gone already, the other two are sleeping,” he whispered and inclined his head, towards the doorway. Lily stood up out of bed, already missing the heat from the covers, and stepped onto the hardwood, not even bothering to look for her shoes. Sirius opened the dormitory door for her

She pointed her finger up at him, “Never happened.” Sirius gave her an amused nod and Lily turned back around, rushing down the staircase to make it back to her dormitory before too much of Gryffindor started stirring. 

--

After spending the remainder of Sunday after breakfast trying to restore the common room and wake-up just enough to do some studying for the day, Lily hardly bumped into Sirius at all. Aside from the table where he was more content to make conversation with their housemates and flirt with a Ravenclaw girl sitting behind him. Indeed they were both quite content to pretend it never happened at all, even if Lily hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Sirius’ arms around her. 

Sirius was a big bloke. He was tall and broad and had a loud laugh and took up physical and emotional space wherever he went. And not in a bad way. Though Lily would be one of the first to admit Sirius was arrogant as all hell and impulsive and lost just as many points for Gryffindor as he won them, she couldn’t deny that he made everyone feel at home. 

She had seen him a few times talking with first years late at night in the common room, offering quiet words of comfort.

He didn’t blink when he loaned out his textbooks to younger years (the textbooks that Lily knew Sirius read front and back and made notes in the margins was, even if he pretended he didn’t). As much as space as Sirius took up, he tried his hardest to make room for everyone else to be the loudest and the brightest.

It shouldn’t have surprised Lily that this translated to the bedroom as well. Even though they had only literally slept together, given the size difference between her and Sirius, his body on hers should’ve been noticeable.

She should’ve felt crushed underneath the weight of someone twice her size but she didn’t. Lily hated sharing a bed. She liked having space for herself and loathed the nights her roommates insisted on sleepover’s in one bed. There had even been a night or two where she had left the company of a boy to go back to her own dorm to sleep alone. Lily Evans didn’t cuddle. She was not interested in the holding or someone else's body in her space while she slept.

Unless that someone was Sirius Black, which was annoying in about a thousand ways.

Monday morning, just after breakfast, she exited the Great Hall with her friends only to have someone grab her elbow from behind, pulling her backwards.

“What--”

“Got a second, Evans?” asked Sirius, tilting his head and grinning at her. He had pulled his dark hair back with a headband that day. 

“We have class,” she looked up at him, adjusting her bag on her shoulder, “Also, you don’t need to man-handle me to get my attention.”

“So much more fun though,” Sirius grinned, and Lily rolled her eyes.

“Class?”

“I know, I’ll be quick,” he said leaning against the wall and ducking his head down to catch her gaze better, “I...I know we said that it never happened but...I actually...thought it was bad form.”

“Which bit?”

“Oh, the...whole thing, really,” he said, putting his hands into his pockets. It was rare that Sirius dropped his cool exterior. It was rare that anyone, let alone Lily got to see Sirius for who he perhaps really was and not just who his reputation made him out to be, and who Sirius preferred the world to see. “I was drunk and I really did think you were McKinnon, that aside, I...don’t want you to think I was trying to take advantage or anything like that. I know it was probably alarming for you to...wake up with...me on top of you and uh then I was in my underwear, but I swear I didn’t..and...I’m sorry about that.”

“You’re apologizing?”

“Trying to.”

“You don’t...need to do that, Sirius,” she said looking up at him.

“But I do because I…” Sirius paused, “respect you and that...wasn’t exactly respectful yesterday.”

“Thank you,” Lily smiled softly, “But it’s really okay. I promise you.”

“And also that James is my best friend and this very much violated our code of ethics even if it was just...sleeping.”

“Of course.”

“And I...also don’t much like you thinking I just...launch myself into bed with anyone who happens to be in my bed already. I was drunk and I--”

“I thought you didn’t care what people thought.”

“I don’t. I care what you think.” 

Lily was struck by the honesty of that comment, looking away from Sirius to a point on the wall, “It’s okay. I’m not...upset or mad. I know you weren’t taking advantage or anything.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I...may have thrown a bigger fit than warranted,” she admitted and Sirius laughed, “Appreciate the apology though.”

“Alright?” he asked, catching her gaze again so Lily was forced to look into grey eyes that she had frequently heard about from whispers in the castle. Lily also couldn’t deny that Sirius Black was very good-looking, which just added insult to injury

“Alright.” she nodded, “Question for you?”

“Sure, Evans.”

“The people you do...share beds with...do they stay the night? Like that?”

“More or less.” Sirius admitted

“Because it’s no wonder there's a trail of broken hearts after you in these halls. Sleep with people like that, giving them the wrong idea… honestly Sirius, I can’t even be mad because I slept so bloody well.”

Sirius laughed, the two of them beginning to walk to class after Sirius pushed off the wall to stand up again, “I’m sure you’re a good shag, but if you’re going around letting people wake up next to you when you’re up in their entire business...that really seals the deal.”

“You slept well?”

“I did! It was horrifying. I can’t remember the last time I slept that well,” she told him and Sirius grinned, “Is that what you do? Do you like to cuddle?” she teased, raising her eyebrows playfully. But Sirius just shrugged, “You do?”

“It’s like….a reflex or something, I dunno. Sometimes James and I have sleepover’s and I do the same thing--”

“Of course you do.”

“Mostly I...just really hate sleeping alone. And...I think part of me thinks that I...can make people stay like that. If...I just lay on top of them, they can’t leave...and I don’t know, maybe they don’t want to go that way either.”

Lily turned her head slowly towards Sirius, “Did you just give me a real answer?”

“I did.”

“That wasn’t what I was expecting.”

“You probably also weren’t expecting an apology.”

“No, I wasn’t….” she said in disbelief.

“There you are then,” he smiled at her slightly and Lily tried to prevent her face from giving her away the flurry of emotions inside her head. 

She knew Sirius. She had seen the darker parts of him before, late at night in the common room when everyone else was sleeping, especially before school breaks. She had seen the way he sat up straight in class sometimes, paying such close attention that Lily knew it was to avoid talking with his friends. 

She knew that past the facade of SIRIUS BLACK was just...Sirius. Who she liked a great deal. Who made her laugh, and who had thrown a punch at a Slytherin before he was even able to get the first syllable of mudblood out. 

But even understanding all of that. She never understood the appeal, nor had the desire to date him. Sirius was just Sirius. Annoying, frustrating,  unexpectedly generous and soft all wrapped together.

“I’m...going to need you to say something obnoxious so I can keep myself from falling in love with you, I think,” she said finally, and Sirius laughed, “I’m being serious. You’ll find me in that bed of yours tonight and I won’t even blame it on alcohol. Because how you’re talking and looking at me and...I slept well. So say something annoying to remind me that it’s  you and I’ve absolutely no interest.”

Sirius laughed, running his hand through his hair as he thought, “Oh! How’d you do on the last transfiguration exam?”

“98. What about you?”

“105.”

“Are you kidding me, Black?” she asked, scowling and Sirius laughed. Lily made a noise of frustration briefly, remembering that Sirius Black was one of her biggest academic competitors across all subjects. Sirius had told her years ago it was mostly to keep his parent’s off his back. They had no control over the sorting, and if he didn’t want them involved, he needed to do well academically. She had thought that once Sirius was no longer living with them that his grades would start leveling out, but it hadn’t been the case. Sirius had received 10 OWL’s and still annoyed Lily to no end.

“How’d you do that?”

“Extra credit.”

“You said you didn’t answer extra credit questions because you didn’t need the credits!”

“Yeah, that was before McGonagoogles gave me detention for not applying myself in her class and lectured me for the duration of the detention.”

“That was your detention? A lecture?”

“While I alphabetized her bookshelf,” Sirius groused, “So, now I answer extra credit…”

“Unbelievable.” she said, shaking her head as they reached the door to history of magic. “Annoying. That definitely did it.”

“Good.” Sirius grinned and they separated, Sirius going to take his spot next to James on the bench and Lily by Marlene. 

“What’d Black want?” she asked

“Don’t worry about it.”

--

Later that night, Lily and Remus had gone to the library, textbooks and chocolate in front of them as they waded through Herbology together. Remus had his palm on his forehead, bent over his notes, his eyes moving to Lily briefly.

“I think Sirius had a girl in our dorm a few nights ago…” he muttered, and Lily’s eyes went wide. Remus had been pining over Sirius since the latter part of fifth year. They had grown closer over the summer, since Sirius was no longer with his parents and spent the entirety of the summer break with James. It didn’t help matters that Sirius was well-liked and Remus was often witness to flirtations and hook-ups on the other boys behalf. 

“What makes you say that?”

“His bed curtains were closed all the way,” he said, “He never closes them all the way unless he has company. I know Saturday was a party, but I don’t remember...seeing him with anyone.”

“Maybe he...just wanted privacy after drinking.”

“Sure.” Remus shrugged, “It’s just...nevermind.”

“What?”

“It’s just...frustrating. It’s like his new self-destructive bender is shagging anything that moves--it’s like he came out of the closet just so he could have more options-- and he doesn’t even have the decency to do it, not in our dorm? With all of us there?”

“Remus,”

“I know, I know, I can’t be frustrated when I’m not exactly doing anything but…” Remus shook his head.

“It was me,” Lily said, looking up at the ceiling of the library.

“What?”

“I was the girl in Sirius’ bed on Saturday,” she told him, and Remus stared back, immediately going to pack his things up, “No, no, no, not like that. You remember I asked to sleep in your bed?”

“Vaguely?”

“I thought Sirius’ was yours because it was clean and made-up,” she said, “And I was drunk and it looked the most inviting. I didn’t get a chance to ask him but...does Sirius make his bed? Really?”

Remus smiled wryly, “He does. Every single day. He used to make all of ours, somedays still does, but we’ve...collectively had an intervention. Especially after he organized all of our sock drawers.”

“A...bed...making intervention,” Lily whispered, looking at Remus with mixture of horror and curiosity, “I have so many questions.”

“He cleans,” Remus offered, “Just...he cleans.” Lily couldn’t help but notice the way Remus ducked his head, concealing a smile. Concealing just how endearing he found this particular quality of Sirius’ to be.

“Anyway,” she said, “You...don’t need to get annoyed because it was just me. And uh, I don’t want to date him. And we just slept. I was drunk, he was drunk, fully clothed.”

“Oh…well, alright. Sorry about that. I should’ve told you which one was mine.”

“It’s okay,” she shrugged, “He...apologized to me after it all happened, and kind of explained it. And...honestly, Remus? I have never been held like that in my life, I was this close--” Lily held up her thumb and forefinger a millimeter apart, “to being repeat offender and--”

“What? I’m not hearing this.”

“Imagine being me now! I was conflicted all Sunday.”

“If this is a joke--”

“It’s not,” Lily laughed, putting her hand under her chin and staring at her best friend, “I wish I was kidding. But...I dunno, Remus. You spend more time with him and know him better than most people I would guess and...probably get to see what I saw yesterday and today when he apologized more often...like Sirius Black without the smoke and mirrors?”

Remus stilled and looked at her, “You can’t date him, that is a--”

“Oh, no, no. Absolutely not,” she clarified, “I suppose….I get it now. Why you would.”

“You...get it?”

“Besides the obvious...physical reasons,” Lily told him, “I get it now. I get...why you fancy him, why you want to date him, why...anything. I get it. Didn’t always before but...now.”

“Because he held you? God, this is my nightmare,” Remus grabbed Lily’s wand on the desk lightly, “Do me a favor and just shove this into my temple.” 

Lily laughed, “I’m not going to do that. I just...think that...if I figured out all of this in, what? Twenty four hours? It’s not going to be long before someone else does and that someone else might have way less self-control and stubborn pride than me.”

“Are you suggesting I get drunk and sleep in his bed?”

“I mean...when was the last time you had a good night's sleep?”

[weskin-time]

rubbing my hands evilly like a little man. making out w stars wesker in his office. that is all. i love ur work sm <3

YOU HAVE A MASSIVE BRAIN ANON!! and thank you :3 ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

Sorry that this is a tad short!!

not beta read as always

The blinds were closed, more than half of the people in the office were out for lunch, and yet you were still in the station. You don’t fully remember how you went from enjoying your lunch with your boyfriend in his office to being sat on his desk, him caging you in against him.

Albert Wesker leaned in closer to you, his lips on your own in a starving manner. He was rough with his kisses, his lips pressing up against your own, overwhelming you with the force. His entire being wrapped around you and you forgot you were in his office at work, his scent of his cologne made you dizzy as you kissed him back just as hard, your hands flying to wrap around his neck and your fist clenching onto his slicked back hair on his neck. His left arm moved to your waist, sliding you closer to him on the desk, making your hips touch as your legs spread to accommodate him, your calves wrapped around his hips pulling him closer in turn.

He pulled away from you suddenly, leaving you gasping and him trying to recover from the heated kisses he started, his glasses off and his blue eyes bore into yours with an emotion that sent a shock through your body.

“Dearheart, i’m afraid we’re going to have to cut this short.” He panted and left you a little confused. Maybe it was from being lightheaded thanks to the kiss but you cocked your head to the side.

“If we keep this up I won’t be able to stop myself.”

To help make his point his ground his hips into yours making your notice a hardness in his pants you somehow didn’t notice before. Your eyes went wide and heat rushed to your face, you wanted to continue so bad but you were still at work, the STARS unit might return soon from their lunch break and there’s no way they wouldn’t notice something. You searched his eyes still panting as you tried to wire your brain back into shape to make a choice, that or you were waiting for his next move to decide what the two of you would do you weren’t quite sure.

The sound of the door knob jiggling was your first warning, a millisecond and it registered in your brain what was going on, it shocked itself back into a non putty melted glob of meat and you pushed Albert away from you and he backed up like you had burned him. The door swung open and there stood Jill Valentine.

You tried to play it cool like you weren’t almost about to fuck your boss/boyfriend in his office by fixing your uniform and wrapping one ankle around the other. Wesker seemed to have the same idea by putting his sunglasses back on and running a hand through his blond hair to fix the damage you did to it.

Jill sauntered in, sending you a little glare with her eyes but a small smile tugged at her lips betraying her cold gaze, teasing you, her gaze flicked between you and the captain as he sat down in his chair with you still placed on the side of the desk. Your lucky you and here were very close friends or you would have melted into a puddle on the floor from the embarrassment, if Chris had walked in or Barry or gods forbid Rebecca you would have exploded on the spot.

“Here’s the report of last week you wanted after break.” Jill dropped some papers off on his desk. Albert sniffed and chocked out a thank you as she turned around and began to leave but she lingered at the door before turning her head around and looking back at you two over her shoulder.

“And I hope you know this isn’t a sound proof room.” She glanced at you, “Lucky I was the only one in the office.”

The door shutting was louder than normal as your embarrassment settled around the room.

[papaver-decervicatus]

Cat/Mouse/Den EXTRA! Getaway Fever

AN: This is the quick story a personal friend wrote based on Cat/Mouse/Den! I actually vastly prefer his writing to my own because I feel like it fits König's POV much better. Everyone tell him how good it is in the comments to fluster him <3

He walks along the base of a gradually sloping desert-esque hill, with trees and high rising scrub against the base of the hill, up it, and maybe even over it. The occasional tree, large stone, or elsewise normal scenery slowly passes him as he patrols. Then the wind catches him. 

 He sucks in a breath, and takes in the scene in, in a different way. The smell of acacia, a light rain from this morning, and something else. It's different, not new. Out of place. The smell lingers in the back of his throat. Makes his arm hair stand. ‘Ich geisteskrank’  he thinks, (I’m insane)

 He closes his eyes, for a few seconds, as another whipping wind rolls down the hills, breaks around his form. 

 And this time he closes his eyes, and breathes in deeper. And he catches it again. 

 “No closer.” A cool, flat tone, from the radio at his hip. There's almost an edge of excitement or thrill on the end of the words that come over the radio. It's her. Of course

 So all he does is lean back on a small boulder, just less than a yard behind him. It's funny how no matter where the line is drawn, it seems to always be in a comfortable place. Maybe it’s that he could make himself comfortable in her presence, anywhere. Maybe that she makes sure he’s comfortable wherever he may be. But he does stop, and he takes up post. And she watches closely as the tension seems to leave him. 

 His shoulders drop, half a foot, from where he holds them. He slouches a little. He even rolls his neck, to stretch. And as he does, he stops, about halfway up his right shoulder. 

 She can't see it perfectly from over 70 yards. But he's making eyes at her. The crisp desert air, or maybe a lucky delusion, brought her right to him. 

 “Hallo, Maus.” His voice is high. It means “I missed you so”

 “König.” Her voice hides her eagerness. It means “You made me wait.” But she continues “Don’t move a muscle.” It means 

 “I missed what you look like.”

  He draws his favorite knife, and rolls it around in his hand, idly. He cant think of what to say, but and it's eating at him instantly. Like hes running out of time. Like she’ll shoot him for his lack of etiquette, or for worse- boring her. In an antsy fervor, he wracks his brain for something clever. Impressive? Entertaining? His hands move on their own accord, and start passing the blade back and forth. It snaps from hand to hand, almost moving so fast it can only be seen on departure and reentry from one palm to another. 

“Das es not my first place to pick on vacation. Yet we’re both here?”

Her eyes roll back into her skull, and after a second of him wanting to cut out his own tongue, she throws him a rope. “Just enjoying the pool, maybe the view too. It's not half bad.”

Her smirk is audible. ‘I am going to explode’  He thinks. But it comes out as “Have you tried the uhh… mini bar? Or the breakfast?”

“No, I haven't, I've been sleeping in.”

 She’s maybe slept half an hour in the past 24, not wanting to chance missing him. “Is it any good..?” She entertains the idea. In her mind, she doesn't imagine it being a bad place for such amenities, or at least how much better it would make things.

It goes on, and they play pretend for a little.

 It's hushed, and quiet, and statements usually finish with “It would be nice.” But it makes a good pass time, as they draw up and design the perfect little vacation together. And, eventually the sun sets, and two shadows head to camp, and report nothing. No imaginary hotel, or imaginary margaritas, or even imaginary golden orange sunlight that creeps through imaginary curtains as the twilight spreads across the arid landscape. 

[tgmsunmontue]

Life is too short to waste time matching socks... (3/5)

Hangster and Bob/Javy/Nat - set post mission with the Dagger Squad having been made a permanent squad.

PART ONE PART TWO

CHAPTER THREE

              “Rooster! Hey, can I have a quick word? Maybe bring that lunch date forward?” Hangman asks, and his hand is on Bradley’s arm and Bradley raises an eyebrow at the phrasing but nods, follows him and ignores the waggling eyebrows Phoenix is making when he glances back over his shoulder to where she is still standing and watching him walk away. At least the interrogation about last night’s dinner is over.

              “What?”

              “Last night when I got home both Trace and Bob were there, and they were all cuddled up on the sofa, looked like Bob was about to take Javy’s shirt off but I interrupted.”

              “Holy shit.”

              “I know.”

              “How do we let them know we’re okay with the three of them being together?”

              “Well, I think I’ll just ask Javy. We’re pretty upfront about shit like that. I’ll tell him it’s cool.”

              “And what if he denies it?”

              “Then we have to catch them in the act.”

              Bradley pulls a face, because while he is supportive and wants his friends to be happy, he also doesn’t want to walk in on anyone while they think they’re having a private moment.

              “You don’t want to see three hot people getting freaky Bradshaw?”

              “No. Voyeurism is not something I get off on. Makes me feel… bad for intruding.”

              “Ugh. I’m not talking about ambushing them. Like last night, I was walking into my own house and they were just all sitting there, out in the open. They weren’t trying to hide.”

              “Maybe they’re not trying to hide? Maybe they’re just waiting for us to get a clue?”

              “Maybe…” Bradley offers, but he doesn’t think it’s quite right.

…           …           …

              “Hey, sorry about interrupting the three of you last night.”

              “What?” Javy asks, looking up from his book, the words Jake just said running through his head and he still can’t parse them.

              “You and Bob and Phoenix. Happy for you bro.”

              “Uh… what?”

              “You can stop pretending or hiding, I’m okay with you being in a relationship with both Bob and Phoenix.”

              “Not that I need your permission or blessing for a relationship, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

              “That’s okay, it’s fine if you’re not ready to share yet, but I just wanted to let you know I won’t have a problem with it.”

              Javy isn’t sure what to say, mumbles thanks as Jake punches his shoulder and saunters off and he feels like he definitely came off worse in that exchange, because not only did he not get any information about how Jake feels about his dinner with Rooster, but Jake thinks he’s… what? With both Bob and Phoenix?

              He hasn’t thought about it before. Well. He’s had sex with both Bob and Natasha, but not both of them together at the same time. His brain sparks with images, able to provide plenty of evidence of his time with both of them and he’s imagining being with them both and it would be, could only be, better. Oh god. Is this where their friendship is headed? Does he want it to? Do either of the other two think that’s where they’re heading? He looks around the empty break room, wonders if this is a suitable place to maybe have a little baby freak out. Of course that’s when the door opens and one of the subjects of said freak out walks in.

              “Hey Bob…”

              “Coyote. Javy. You okay?”

              “Yeah. Uh. Yeah.”

              He’s slept with friends before. Hell. He’s slept with Jake, and if that wasn’t the biggest fucking realization he ever had about what he wanted and didn’t want in a sexual partner. He’s also slept with strangers, and he knows he prefers sex with people he knows and likes. Bob and Phoenix were both fantastic and okay, he may have fantasized about both of them, but not seriously. Not considered an actual relationship with both of them.

              “You ever had a threesome Bob?”

              Bob’s head whips around so fast, eyes wide and he looks shocked by the question, but Javy knows better, knows it’s totally a front.

              “I don’t usually kiss and tell. Why do you ask?”

              “Yeah, sorry. Just. I wasn’t talking about sex though. Well. Not just sex. I meant like a relationship with three people. You and two others.”

              “A polyamorous relationship you mean? Where everyone knows everyone?”

              “Yeah.”

              “I haven’t been in one. I wouldn’t rule it out though.”

              Javy meets his gaze and it’s serious, contemplative and he swallows, wonders, hopes, that maybe he’s reading into this right.

…           …           …

              He settles himself opposite Hangman, stretches his legs out and apologizes when he bumps his legs. The apology is waved away.

              “Has Bob talked to you yet? He wants to go for a drink and do an escape room thing. He was talking about how he was going to talk to you about it,” Bradley says, ordering a bowl of fries and a beer from the hovering server. Hangman hasn’t moved his legs and he can feel the warmth from them seeping into his own legs.

              “He hasn’t yet. Do you think they’ve nominated him to break the news to us in a place where we can’t just run away?”

              “I don’t think they actually lock you in the room,” Bradley snorts.

              “No, I know that. But Bob will think it’s a way of making us work together and communicate better… but we’re already doing that because we’re trying to figure out what him and Javy and Phoenix are up to.”

              “You seriously think that they’ve together?”

              “Javy looked completely poleaxed when I confronted him, like he hadn’t realized that other people might realize they were together.”

              “Well, Phoenix denied that they’re together, but she was lying when I asked if she’d had sex with them.”

              “You can tell when she’s lying?”

              “Yep. So I think that they’re maybe not together together yet. I think they’re figuring things out.”

              “Huh. Okay then. I guess we’re doing an escape room with Bob then.”

              “Yeah. I guess so.”

FOUR

[skeefee-sky]

*nervously presses 'post now' button* >w< i felt like contributing today so, Thunderfam, as a treat, here are some little snippets of stuff i’m writing/have been writing/am wanting to write, with the boys and their Thunderbirds.

background context – i do not see the ‘birds being sentient all at the same time, lawdy no, too much chaos xD so they’re like, separate from each other… if that makes sense… c:

be nice pls. i haven’t written, in general, for eons >w< so i apologise for rustiness

also bonus points if you can guess which Tracy and Thunderbird is in which part >w>

… And she’s got a pilot wrapped around her landing struts. She hadn’t been expecting to get a hug today. Or an attempted one…

“All good, captain?”

He didn’t move for a moment, simply pressing against cool metal as he collected his breath. Rescues like this didn’t usually throw him so off-guard but, that had shaken him a little more than he’d liked. At least there’d been no serious casualties… With a deep inhale, the pilot finally pushed away from his Thunderbird, looking up at her with a half-smile in hopes that gave some reassurance.

“Yeah, we’re good; just needed a second... Sorry." …

~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~

… The Thunderbird let out a soft huff, extending an arm above her to seemingly test the height of the hangar, before she retracted and glanced back down at her pilot. So far away down at her feet.

“Hey…” was all her pilot uttered, his words lost on his tongue. He hadn’t had any ideas of what she’d look like, none how she’d move. Seeing it all now, safe to say he was breathless. But, the good kind of breathless. If Jeff Tracy had wanted the Thunderbirds to have this ability from the start, she’d probably look a whole lot different to how she did now… …

~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~

… “Have you actually tried changing shape?” her pilot inquired. The Thunderbird answered with a grunt.

“What do you think?”

She shifted and attempted to prove her point, in the end only being able to wiggle her rear-engines. What was it his brother had warned again? About not trying to get any of this stuff on her?

“You’re the worsssttttttt-!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault we got too close!” her pilot defended.

“It totally is your fault!!”

“Never thought I’d see the day where I come down, and you’re arguing with your ship…” A brother is laughing in amusement as he entered the hangar, running a hand through his hair. “You should really clean her up before Brains catches you.”

“I’m working on it!” …

~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~ TB ~~~

… “I’m not doing it.”

The Thunderbird tsked, and was sure his frame reflected his mood. There was only so much he could do being stuck in craft-form… His pilot gave an engine a poke, but it merely came off as nothing to the craft. Sometimes being over 179 feet tall had its advantages, and ignoring pilots definitely fell under one, according to the Thunderbird.

“How come when we’re not on a rescue you decide to be difficult? That’s not fair.”

“Totally fair, captain. I’m denying your request,” the craft mused. “Especially since we’re not actually supposed to be using it unless we’re on a rescue!”

“Mannnnnn…” his pilot groaned, and turned away from his Thunderbird, folding his arms with a soft huff. “… Are you sure you’re my Thunderbird? You’re acting like Scott and Virgil…”

A chuckle rumbled through the hangar. Things would definitely be a lot different if one of them were his pilot though-…

“Last I checked, yes. At least we have stubbornness in common!”

“… Hey!” …

~~~ … i did my best to write these without giving away too much of who was who haha xD it’s so much harder as someone who usually writes details >w<

i feel like i have an inconsistent writing style...... anyways xD thanks for reading if you did c:

[skzimagines]

Part 9

Characters: Hyunjin x Female reader.

Genre: | Obsessive!Hyunjin |

Warnings: Smut | Swearing | alcohol | dominant sexual behavior |

Summary: After Chan and Hyunjin argue about the room situation, Y/N tells Hyunjin she’s not leaving with him. Tension fills the house as Chan tries to make things right between him and Hyunjin.

—————————————————————————————

After the incident in the kitchen with Hyunjin, everyone went about their day. Hanging out by the lake, putting their stuff away, getting dinner ready.

I’m standing in the kitchen getting things ready for dinner when Chan walks in coming from upstairs. “Y/n, I need to talk to you.” He says, sitting on one of the bar stools at the kitchen bar. “What’s up?” I ask with a smile. “I think Hyunjin has a problem.” He states, nothing but seriousness in his voice. “Problem?” I ask, confused. “Yeah, a problem. Every time it comes to you, it’s like a switch flips inside his brain and he just becomes the biggest asshole in the world.” He says. I hum, not really knowing what to say. “Is he like that with you? Does he flip out on you like that?” He asks. “Uhh.. not necessarily. He got mad at me the night Minho kissed me, but he apologized and said he was in the wrong. He said he blamed it on the wrong person.” I say, putting the the lid on the container of food I finished. “I can understand him being upset about that situation, but the way he acted toward me yesterday… that was uncalled for.” He says, running his hand through his hair, letting out a sigh.

“Chan, I really am sorry. Maybe there’s something going on that he’s not telling anyone about? Maybe he just needs to talk.” I say, trying to think of anything that would be bothering him. “Do you think I should talk to him?” Chan asks. “That is totally up to you.” I say, sticking the Tupperware in the fridge. “Where is he at?” He asks. “Last I knew, he was down by the lake with Felix” I say, shrugging my shoulders, grabbing a knife out of the drawer to cut up the vegetables.

•

Chan makes his way down to the lake, spotting hyunjin sitting in the grass with Felix. “Hyunjin, can I talk to you for a second?” Hyunjin stands up, telling felix he’d be right back. Chan leads hyunjin back into the house, making their way to the sun room and making themselves comfortable on the couch. “What do you want to talk about?” Hyunjin asks, crossing his arms and legs on the couch. “What’s going on with you.. that’s what I want to talk about.” Chan says.

“What is there to talk about?” Hyunjin asks. “Your behavior when it comes to y/n.” He states. “What are you talking about?” “I’m talking about how crazy you become when it comes to her!” Chan exclaims. “Crazy? You think I’m crazy, because I don’t want her sleeping in the same room and the guy who made a move on her?” Hyunjin chuckles. “It was a prank, hyunjin!” Chan yells. “I don’t give a fuck if it was a prank Chan! What if I went and kissed your fucking girl and told everyone ‘it was just a fucking prank’ huh?” He yells back.

•

I heard the two arguing from the kitchen and make my way to the sun room where they are. “Hey, let’s cool down for a bit? Yeah?” I say softly to hyunjin, walking up behind him and rubbing his shoulders. “I want to leave y/n..” he whispers. “You’re not leaving hyunjin, I’m just not understanding why you feel this way. You said you forgave Minho, so why do you have such a problem with it?” Chan asks. “Why are you so persistent that Minho and I share a room anyway?” I ask Chan. He stays silent. “Yeah, that’s a good question baby.” Hyunjin says, staring at Chan with a questioningly look. “Felix and Ash are sharing a room. Why can’t we just sleep where ever we want? We’re not children.” I state. “Fine, whatever. Everyone just do whatever the fuck they want.” Chan says, getting up and going back outside.

I sigh, rubbing my temples with my fingers. “Let’s just go.” I whisper. Hyunjin turns around and looks up at me from the couch. “What?” He asks. “Let’s go, grab your shit. I want to leave, I’m done with this.” I say. He nods, getting up and heading toward the bedroom to grab his stuff.

“Where are you guys going?” I heard ash’s voice from behind me, causing me to jump. “I- ummm.. we’re leaving.” I say quietly. “Youre leaving?” She squeals. “Yeah, I think we just need a break from some things. Chan and hyunjin aren’t getting along.” I say with a sigh. “Is it because of the room situation?” Felix asks, walking up behind ash. I nod. “You do know Chan has a crush on you right?” Felix laughs. “He what!” I say a bit too loudly for my liking. “He’s trying to get you away from Hyunjin. I told him it was a bad idea.” Felix says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Who has a crush on her?” We all look over and see hyunjin standing in the doorway, hold his bags.

Our eyes go wide before ash let’s out a “oh shit.”

—————————————————————————————

To be continued…

Tag list: @mimihwang248 @armystay89 @berryberrytan

[thewordworrier]

Are You Thinking Of Me Like I’m Thinking Of You? - Part One

Series Masterpost

Word Count: 7,481 words. Warnings: A decent amount of swearing, some slightly perverted flirting.

While Shelly can always escape the weather, she can never escape her band. At least not for very long. Ultimately she doesn't really mind, even if the conversation gets a little bit heated.

[Setting: We’re a few years into the Revenge Era, and the band are performing a few sets at some kinda Music Event during the warmer months. This is probably Warped 2005. Or thereabouts.]

It was hot. Far too hot. Way too hot, way too loud and way too busy. Shelly found herself struggling with it all, honestly. She couldn’t get used to the different types of heat in America, and she felt a bit dumb for it, really. She’d been working this side of the water for a good couple of years now, so surely she should at least be a little bit used to it.

Thankfully, she wasn’t totally needed at that moment - the bands were all mingling, hanging out and having a good time until their set times. Besides, if her band needed her, they’d call her. They knew that they could call her whenever they needed to, no matter what the time was or what they needed. But right then, Shelly needed to find somewhere quiet because everything was starting to feel overwhelming.

Once Shelly made her way through some of the backstage areas, it took her a few minutes to find somewhere that wasn’t occupied. Once she had though, she dropped her bag by the small couch and flopped onto her back, stretching out and letting out a sigh. It was quiet and a bit cooler. Maybe it was cooler because she wasn’t surrounded by people. Or maybe it was cooler for another reason; her brain wasn’t exactly running on a full tank of gas. She was just too hot - even though her “uniform” in the summer months ended up being t-shirts or tank tops, shorts and sneakers, she still found herself roasting.

She wasn’t very good with the heat; she reckoned if she wasn’t so hot, she’d be able to deal with everything else so much more. Of course, if she could get used to any one of the three things that were overwhelming her right then (the heat, the noise or the crowds), then the rest would fall into place. In theory anyway - it was, of course, entirely possible that everything felt like Too Much because it was All At Once. But she reckoned that the heat was the main offender. She had never been very good with the hotter summers back home either.

Shelly spent some blissful minutes in solitary silence, cooling down a little, even managing to cool down enough in order to sit up properly instead of being stretched out. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check it, to see if she was being looked for, but before she could properly check her notifications, the door opened and she heard her name.

“Shellyyyyyy!”

The blonde in question looked up to see a heat flushed Lux.

“I found youuuu,” the other girl said, closing the door behind her. “I need time away from smelly boys. There’s so many of them! They’re awful in this weather. Can I hide with you?”

Shelly giggled and gestured for Lux to join her. “Sure, baby.”

Lux beamed and plopped down next to her for a moment. “Thanks! Do I smell? I’ve been outside all day.”

“Hmm,” Shelly leant closer to sniff her drummer. “No, I don’t think so. I think you’re alright.”

“Okay great!” Lux huffed a bit before she stood up to stretch, feeling restless. “So, what are you doing?”

“Um,” Shelly rubbed her arm a bit. “Just trying to catch a break from all the noise and all the people, and especially all of the heat because oh my god it’s so hot.”

Lux nodded, she knew that Shelly suffered in the heat, and sat on the other couch in the room. “I agree. It’s all too much.”

Before Shelly could say anything else, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened again and Mikey stuck his head around it. He looked worried until he saw Lux, and then his expression changed to relief. “Ah, there you are.”

Lux blinked rapidly. “What?”

“I thought some creep -” He paused before shaking his head. “You know what, it doesn’t matter.”

Shelly tilted her head and cleared her throat a little. “What can I do for you Mikey?”

“Nothing Shell, just looking for Lux.”

“Come and hang out in here,” Lux said with a grin. “It’s much cooler.”

“I am apparently very good at finding the coolest spots,” Shelly said softly, rolling her eyes.

Mikey chuckled and settled close to Lux, not too close because it was still hot after all, before turning to Shelly again. “I suppose you’re still not used to this weather are you? I mean, Britain is well known for being… Wet?”

Shelly giggled a bit at his tone before she tried to fan herself with her hand for a moment. “It can rain a lot, yes, but even when it’s warm, it’s not this warm.”

Mikey nodded as he listened. “Different climates and humidity and all of that.”

“Exactly,” Shelly nodded and squirmed in her seat for a second before plucking at her darker coloured t-shirt and standing up, grabbing her bag. “I might need to change this. I screwed up putting this on today. Does anyone have a problem with that?”

Mikey shook his head, and to make a point, he took off his glasses, hooked the arm in his t-shirt and covered his face with his hands. Shelly watched this, slightly amused, as Lux sat up a bit straighter, resting her chin in her hands.

If you asked Lux about this at a later date, she would probably willingly admit that she was ‘chin-handsing’ at Shelly getting half naked (not that this was new to Lux, the girls often shared a room and sometimes a bed), and maybe, just maybe she would admit that she was also heart-eyesing at Mikey being so darn respectful.

“I’m assuming you don’t have an issue, Miss Lux?” Shelly grinned slightly in the younger girl’s direction, giggling when Lux went a bit pink before she shook her head. “I didn’t think so.”

“You’re just so pretty Shell,” Lux said, as she watched the blonde pull a tank top out of her bag.

Shelly shook her head at Lux before looking at the tank top. She then pulled a face before turning her back to the other two. “Ugh, it’s white. I guess all the others are in the wash pile.”

“That bag is your emergency bag though,” Lux said, trying not to be too obvious about watching Shelly change. “You don’t really plan to use what’s in it. It’s a last resort.”

“Perhaps,” Shelly tugged her t-shirt off over her head, rolled it up and shoved it in her bag before pulling the tank top on. “Maybe I should swap the emergency shirt for a darker colour once we’ve done some laundry.”

Almost as if he was summoned by the flashing of female flesh, there was another knock at the door and Frank appeared. He looked around to see some of his bandmates. And Shelly, who seemed to be half dressed.

“Well, well well!” He said, closing the door behind him. “What’s going on in here?”

Shelly pulled the fabric down properly over her chest before turning to face the noise. “It’s like Waterloo Station in here.”

The other two frowned at her slightly, while Mikey kept his gaze averted.

“Um! It’s like… Uh, Grand Central Station? New York Airport?” She tried to correct herself. “It’s a really busy public transport hub - one of the main ones in the capital city.”

It was only as she looked around at them that she realised that Mikey still had his eyes covered. She giggled and made her way back over to the smaller couch to sit back down.

“Oh, Mikey, honey, you can look now.”

Frank plopped himself down between Mikey and Lux as the bassist quickly cleaned his glasses on the hem of his t-shirt before putting them back on.

“Nice bra, by the way,” Frank said to Shelly with a grin.

“Oh shut up,” Shelly rolled her eyes. “I didn’t think I’d have to wear white today.”

“Is that blue?” Frank leant forward a bit, trying to get a closer look at Shelly. “Or is it some kinda purple?”

“It’s purple!” Lux blurted out, earning a smile from the blonde.

Frank glanced at Lux, grinned even wider and then turned to Shelly again. “”Purple is very becoming on you. Then again -”

Mikey rolled his eyes and elbowed Frank. “Don’t be crude.”

The guitarist managed to avoid the elbow to the ribs and just cackled. Lux rolled her eyes at this behaviour.

“Who’s being crude?” Ray asked as Gerard closed the door.

“Who do you think?” Lux said.

“Frank,” Mikey clarified, as he rolled his eyes.

Ray sighed.

“We’re,” Frank gestured to himself and Lux. “We were just talking about Shelly’s bra.”

Gerard glanced over to Shelly - she had settled on her back again, stretched out on the smaller of the two couches. She had one arm over her eyes and the other was resting on her stomach. Although, it took him a little while to notice that because his eyes lingered on her chest. He couldn’t help it! Her bra was actually quite visible through her white tank top. Which he swore she wasn’t wearing earlier. He’d remember it being so see through.

“Shut up Frank,” Shelly muttered. “Is that Ray I hear?”

“Hey Shell,” Ray took a seat in the single chair that looked like it was once part of a dining set. “Are you alright? What’re you doing here?”

“I was searching for somewhere quiet and cool to relax. It’s too hot and busy for me.”

Frank had been focused on Gerard for a few minutes, so he had seen where the singer’s gaze had lingered.

“Gerard’s here too,” Frank said. “But he’s been too busy trying to figure out the colour of your bra too. Which I still think is blue.”

Gerard went bright red.

“It’s purple!” Lux repeated, going pink herself.

Shelly removed her arm from covering her eyes and glanced around. “Oh, the gang is actually all here.”

Frank laughed a little at Shelly’s observation as he watched her cover her eyes with her arm again. Gerard, meanwhile, glanced around; checking to see if there was somewhere for him to sit. He didn’t really want to ask Shelly to move - she’d been here first after all, and she’d clearly found the best spot in the room for her needs. The best spot to stretch out in an attempt to cool off. A bit like when cats found the sunniest spot to sleep in, actually but… He’d much rather see her stretched out like that, than all curled up like a cat. Sure, maybe that was because of the shorts and the white tank top. Those definitely didn’t hurt. And that had been his thought before he let himself acknowledge the fact that he could see her bra through her top. Jesus. So, maybe he’d rather see her stretched out because of her clothing… Or maybe he’d rather see her stretched out because it meant that she was happy, comfortable and (hopefully) relaxed. That second reason sounded a bit… Lame, actually. It was true! He did like seeing her comfortable and happy! But he was also only human. And she was very attractive.

Asking her to move wasn’t an option to him - as much as he wanted to sit next to her. He wouldn’t even mind if she wanted to stay stretched out - he’d quite happily have her legs in his lap. Then again, he’d be more than willing to have her head in his lap too, or even her whole body… Like… Her sitting in his lap -  but he didn’t want to give those thoughts too much screen time because he knew he wouldn’t keep it PG if he did. And he really needed to not think about her like that. At least not right then at that second. He might allow himself a few minutes of inappropriate thoughts later on when she wasn’t around.

“Gerard,” Shelly grumbled quietly, making him jolt out of his head. “Sit down, I can tell that you’re still standing.”

“I’ll make room!” Lux offered quickly, standing up to allow the vocalist to sit in the spot closest to their tiny tour manager.

Frank snorted slightly as Gerard took Lux’s spot after a quick “you sure?” exchange. “And where are you gonna sit?”

“She can have my seat,” Mikey moved to stand up, but stopped when he saw Frank roll his eyes.

“Jesus,” Frank muttered. “Someone needs to just sit in someone’s lap, or something! Enough musical chairs.”

“Although,” Ray glanced over to Shelly. “I really, really would advise against asking the tiny one to move.”

Shelly huffed - more at the heat than at anything else (she didn’t mind the ‘tiny one’ comment from Ray, as she really was small compared to him). She sat up and fiddled with the hem of her tank top to knot it up under her bust to get it off of her skin. Once she was sort of happy with that, she flopped back down again.

Gerard glanced at her as soon as she huffed, and then continued to watch her as she fiddled with her clothes. Frank, still sitting in the middle on that couch, heard Gerard sigh softly as soon as her lyric tattoo was exposed by her fiddling with her top. Frank grinned at the vocalist, not that Gerard was paying any attention to him at all.

“You’re really suffering in this heat, aren’t you?” Frank asked gently.

The older Way next to him nodded (despite the fact that Frank had aimed the question more towards Shelly) at the same time Shelly whined. That little noise from the blonde made Gerard sink back into the sofa, trying really hard not to file that noise away for later.

“I’m not built for this,” Shelly grumbled.

“I don’t know,” Frank grinned as Shelly turned her attention to him. “You’re certainly built for wearing very little clothing.”

Gerard sank even further back into the couch, if that was at all possible, and decided to keep his mouth very, very shut on that matter.

“Quit aggravating her!” Lux tutted at Frank with a roll of her eyes, shifting from one foot to the other - she was still standing up, not having been brave enough to just, as Frank suggested, sit on someone’s lap.

Mikey reached forward and tugged at Lux’s clothing. When he’d gotten her attention, he gestured for her to share his spot. He figured that they were both tall and fairly skinny, so two of them would fit in the space sized for one regular person. Lux smiled and, quite happily, squeezed in with Mikey. He made sure that Lux had as much of the space as possible, nudging up against Frank in the middle a little bit. He wasn’t concerned about the warmth he might start to feel from being too close to Frank - he was just happy that Lux was close. Both of them were totally oblivious to the looks that most of the rest of the band exchanged. Because god forbid that anyone admit their feelings.

Ray had been studying the situations in front of him while all of this had been happening. He spent a little longer studying the small blonde before letting out a soft “hmmm” and leaving the room.

The others (except Shelly, who had her arm across her eyes again) glanced at their tallest guitarist, first as he got up and their eyes widened as he left. They looked at each other, all sort of mentally shrugged and then turned back to their previous conversation.

“Well, it’s a shame that it’s summer really, Shell,” Frank mused after a few minutes.

Shelly sighed. “I agree, but… I’ll bite -”

Gerard nibbled his bottom lip. Yeah, she could bite him if she wanted.

“Go on,” Shelly grumbled. “Why?”

Frank grinned. “Because if you were cold, Shell, most of us have really warm hands.”

Lux groaned, which Shelly heard and giggled at, while Mikey rolled his eyes.

“Keep your hands to yourself Frank,” Lux grumbled.

“I think she’ll chop them off right now if I don’t,” Frank said. “But you just wait until winter.”

Gerard coughed very slightly, starting to shrink back into himself a little.

“She doesn’t need your hands, Frank!” Lux retorted, her tone slightly sharper. She had noticed Gerard’s reaction and felt a little bad for him; it was never nice seeing someone flirt with someone you were interested in.

Frank looked at Lux and raised an eyebrow at her. “You offering yours?”

Lux hesitated, realising what she’d said, and how that might’ve come across, and, again, aware of Gerard sitting right there.

“Hmn!” She said eventually, figuring that her flirting with Shelly a little would probably be a bit better than Frank. “Maybe I am!”

All three men glanced at their drummer, and even Shelly tilted her head in the direction of Lux’s voice.

“Well,” Frank grinned widely. “I’ll yield to that if you’re gonna put your warm hands all over her.”

“Ugh,” Lux muttered. “It’s Shelly’s body, and only she can decide whose hands she wants all over her!”

Shelly giggled from her sofa. “If it’s that cold, and people’s hands are that warm, I’m not gonna be overly fussy, to be honest.”

Gerard perked up a tiny bit - that didn’t sound like she’d be against him volunteering to help warm her up… Sure it wasn’t her seeking him out specifically, but she wasn’t exactly excluding him either. So… That was something.

Frank grinned, Mikey shook his head and Lux just sighed. The drummer was a little annoyed that Shelly wasn’t picking up on the hints that she (Lux) was trying to put out/down. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Frank touching her friend, and it wasn’t that she wanted to feel Shelly up (although Lux wouldn’t be totally against that…) - but Lux had noticed how much Gerard quietened down and shrunk back every time Frank flirted with the blonde. Despite his stage persona, Gerard was just not that forward, not that brave. Especially when it came to Shelly.

The shorter guitarist looked at Lux as she sighed, before he looked at their singer. Gerard was fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt, while glancing up at Shelly every so often. Frank shook his head a little bit. The vocalist really did have hearts floating around his head every time he looked at the girl.

“Although,” Shelly pulled herself up into a sitting position before stretching a little bit (Gerard tried really hard not to stare at her when she did that). “I don’t know what Jamia’s gonna say about you putting your hands all over another woman, Frankie. Maybe it’s better that you keep your hands to yourself.”

“Yeah, Frank!” Lux relaxed a little. Maybe Shelly did pick up on the hints after all. Even if it was just a fraction, that would do.

Gerard smiled a tiny bit at this interaction.

“I’m sure she won’t mind,” Frank said with a pout.

“Dude,” Mikey sighed, nudging his glasses up to rub the bridge of his nose. “You already have a woman. You don’t get two. Don’t be greedy.”

“Yeah,” Lux nodded. “Some people don’t have one, so chill out.”

Frank pretended to huff, but before he could argue any more, Ray returned, looking a little… Rumpled. He handed out some bottles of water to everyone, ignoring the curious expressions.

“Miss Manager,” he said.

Shelly blinked rapidly at him and the offered bottle.

“Drink this please,” he said.

She smiled slightly, took the bottle from him with a raised eyebrow, but, ultimately, she did as she was told; twisting open the cap and taking a drink.

“Better?” Ray asked, his voice gentle.

“Mm hm, a bit, thank you.”

He nodded before going to sit in the chair he’d been in earlier. “Good.”

“Thanks dad!” Lux grinned at him, almost giggling at his splutter. It always startled him when she called him that. Still, as Frank had pointed out once, at least she didn’t call him ‘daddy’ - he’d nearly choked on his beer that day.

“Awww! Look at Band Dad looking after the kids! And looking after Band Mommy too,” Frank grinned, almost giggling at the looks shot his way.

“I’d threaten to punish you, but I think you’d enjoy it,” Shelly shot back at Frank, with a roll of her eyes.

Gerard bit the inside of his cheek as his brain decided to wander off with those words.

Frank puckered his lips at Shelly in a kissing motion. “What’re you gonna do Shell? Spank me?”

Ray sighed, got up and clipped Frank around the head. Lightly, but still enough for it to be felt.

“Ow!” Frank whined. “Dad!”

“Behave,” Ray sat back down. “Don’t be so crude. Give the woman a break.”

“Bless you for calling me a woman and not a girl, Ray,” Shelly smiled sweetly at him before blowing him a kiss.

Privately, Gerard thought that yes, Shelly was very, very much a woman. Clearly not a little girl. Clearly a full woman. And just… God damn.

“Why do you look like you’ve been in a scuffle?” Mikey asked, after peering at Ray for a moment.

The question caught Shelly’s attention. And Gerard’s actually. He even stopped half watching Shelly to look at Ray properly.

Ray looked a little sheepish when all of his band turned to scrutinise him. “Um. Well…I did get into a little bit of an altercation.”

“What?” Lux perked up. “Do we have to go and fight someone? Who’re we fighting?”

“Down BabyCat. You are very vicious,” Shelly said, turning her attention back to Ray. “Excuse you? Who do I have to have Words with?”

The band shared looks. Shelly’s version of “having words with someone” could be just as vicious as Lux’s actions.

“No, no! I’m fine!” Ray said quickly. “I was talking to a friend, asking a favour, and someone overheard and said something stupid, so they got a little…”

“Ruffled?” Frank suggested after a moment of Ray searching for the right word.

“Yeah!” He nodded. “They just got a little bit of a talking to.”

“A stern Dad Talk?” Mikey asked.

Shelly narrowed her eyes at Ray. “Okay. What are you not saying?”

“Who was it?” Lux asked again.

Ray hesitated, because they had clearly seen through him attempting to brush the finer details under the rug. As he’d expected, Shelly had been the first to properly call him out.

“How about you just tell us exactly what happened?” Gerard said, his voice quiet, calm and rather matter of fact. Not accusingly or anything.

“Like I said,” Ray started, sheepishly. “I was talking to a friend - I managed to get a fan for the bus for you, Shell. Hopefully that’ll help you deal with this heat a bit better.”

Shelly’s expression softened. “Thanks Ray.”

“And,” he continued. “I was asking him if I could do something in return, like a trade system thing -”

Shelly tilted her head as she listened.

“Makes sense,” Mikey nodded.

“And some idiot nearby must’ve heard most of the conversation,” Ray hesitated, clearly not really wanting to continue, but after a sigh, and a look from the blonde, he did. “And he said something like…”

“About something I could do in return, right?”

“Fucking pig!” Lux spat out.

Mikey pulled a face, agreeing with Lux. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but this was the main reason why he kept a closer eye on Lux. Not that she couldn’t take care of herself! Because she was very capable of that. But she was the youngest of their group, and another woman in a male dominated space. And, clearly, so many of these guys could be complete assholes.

Gerard huffed angrily from beside Frank, almost trembling in rage.

“Fucking what?” Frank hissed. He, like the others, hated this attitude anyway, but he was also super protective of Shelly because of how she took care of them all - especially him.

Shelly watched Ray nod, slowly and regretfully, in answer to her question, and she sighed.

“I might’ve gone for him,” Ray admitted quietly. “But I didn’t get far, as my friend grabbed me first.”

The blonde shook her head and pushed herself to her feet, untying her tank top and smoothing it out so it sat properly again.

“Well,” she said softly. “It’s not the first time someone’s said something like that, and I doubt it’ll be the last.”

“It shouldn’t fucking happen at all!” Gerard exploded. He’d raised his voice a bit, but he wasn’t yelling. “And it shouldn’t be a case of ‘oh well he wouldn’t say shit like that if you were our sister’ or something like that. How about you don’t make fucking disgusting comments like that about women in the first place?!”

The rest of the band stared at Gerard.

“She doesn’t have to go by that ‘oh she’s someone’s daughter’ thing to deserve some damn respect,” Gerard continued. “Why does everyone think she got her job on her knees anyway? Why is that the only answer to most of them?! Is it really that hard to believe that women can work just as hard if not harder than men in this industry?” He huffed for a moment. “And, more to the point, they often do work harder because of attitudes like that!”

Shelly had turned to look at him at the same time as the rest of the band. She blinked rapidly at him and tilted her head as she listened. When he looked up and noticed that she was looking at him, he went quite pink, and even pinker when she smiled a little.

Lux looked at Mikey, her eyes wide. She was still pretty much in his lap at this point, having been gently anchored to the couch by the bass player when she’d been getting excited about the prospect of a fight. While Mikey knew that everything Gerard had said was true, he looked just as surprised at his brother’s outburst. Normally the vocalist was a bit more subdued (but no less accurate) in voicing his opinion on the matter than he was during that outburst.

Ray and Frank glanced at each other before nodding in agreement. This wasn’t the first time Gerard had gotten like this, but it didn’t mean that they agreed any less. That was a sentiment that the whole band would share too, if you asked any of them.

“Why don’t you walk Shelly back to the bus?” Ray suggested. “It’ll allow her to cool down more without having people gawk at her, and you can make sure that she gets there without being harassed.”

Frank opened his mouth to make some kind of… Frank comment, but Lux shot him such a look he gulped down the words again.

Not that Shelly or Gerard noticed that. Or the looks the rest of the band kept sharing. She kept glancing from the others to him, back to whoever made a noise, or whoever said something, but she always ended up looking at Gerard again. Gerard, on the other hand, kept glancing up at her, and then back at his lap again.

“Um,” Gerard pushed himself off of the sofa and to his feet. “Um, yeah, sure, I can do that.”

Shelly smiled a little before going to grab her small bag. She had no complaints about this proposed plan. Of course not, why would she? Once she’d grabbed her bag, she shouldered it and waited for Gerard.

“Hold on,” he said, untying his hoodie from around his waist before he offered it to her.

She side eyed him a little, her eyes darting from the offered hoodie to his face.

“Just until we get there,” Gerard said.

“Okay, I guess, but why?” She took it, but still looked very confused.

“Um,” Gerard swallowed and avoided her eyes. “Well…”

“Your shirt is very see through Shell,” Frank finished for Gerard.

“I wouldn’t put it past someone to throw something on you to get it to be both clingier and more see through,” Ray added.

Gerard exhaled deeply through his nose, cross at the thought of someone doing that to her. But on the other hand… He tried really hard not to think about the results of those actions. 

“It’s days like this that I’m glad I’m not sexy,” Lux shook her head.

Mikey’s eyes widened at Lux’s words.

“Psh! Nonsense!” Shelly put Gerard’s hoodie on and zipped it up. “Yes, you are.”

Gerard watched her while she did that. He hoped he had a neutral, quiet expression on his face. Because his mind was very, very loud - seeing Shelly wearing his clothes like that.

“Nah,” Lux shook her head again. “I’m not. But! Let’s not worry about that right now. Go ahead, get out of here.”

Mikey squinted at Lux, his brain naturally and automatically disagreeing and arguing with her. Not that his mouth would go along with that right then; his mouth would stay quiet. He still couldn’t really decide if that was a good thing or not.

“Go on ahead Shell,” Ray nodded to the blonde. “We’ll catch up later on.”

“Hmn,” Shelly eyed him suspiciously for a moment, shouldering her bag again. After a minute, she shrugged. “You’ve got the other set of bus keys, right?”

Ray nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

“He is the responsible Band Dad after all,” Gerard said with a grin, moving to stand next to Shelly.

“Well, one of you has to be the other responsible one,” Shelly edged closer to Gerard, kinda surprised to see him wearing a regular t-shirt. If he had been wearing a long sleeved top, she would’ve been able to gently grab ahold of the sleeve. She was touchy feely like that sometimes.

“Hey!”

She giggled at the exclamation from multiple voices, and gently took Gerard’s hand. “C’mon, before they lynch me.”

“They wouldn’t dream of it,” he let her take the lead, definitely not complaining about her holding his hand. “See you later guys.”

The others waited until the door closed behind the other two and then for just a moment more. Frank then let out a groan before moving to sit on the couch Shelly had vacated.

“Jesus Christ, they are oblivious!”

“Well, I don’t know if she’s actually said anything to anyone about… Anything,” Ray tried to be diplomatic. “Like, how she feels. But we all know how he feels.”

“Oh, she likes -” Lux started, immediately stopping when her brain caught up with what she almost admitted. She could feel her cheeks starting to get warm because of her slip up.

The other guys looked at her.

“Miss Lux,” Ray tilted his head. “Do you know something?”

Frank tilted his head. “Or, are you just going off of her behaviour?”

“I don’t know if you can do that though,” Mikey said quietly. He was still sitting with Lux practically on his lap, despite the amount of freed up space - Frank had moved over when Gerard had gotten up. “Go off of her behaviour I mean. “She’s pretty affectionate with everyone. All of us anyway.”

Lux glanced around to see the three guys looking at her, clearly expecting some kind of answer. She hesitated for a moment before sighing. Truthfully, Lux did actually know how Shelly felt - the girls had had conversations about it before. Shelly had still been a little bit cagey about her feelings, not wanting to come out and say anything explicitly, just in case she was overheard but she still opened up just enough for Lux to get the picture. The thing was though, Lux didn’t want to outright say for definite how Shelly felt, just in case, so she decided that the best thing to do was to make it seem like she wasn’t positive.

“Listen,” she said quietly. “This doesn’t leave our circle. Okay?”

The three men nodded.

“I think that Shelly does actually like Gerard. Not just in the ‘he’s the favourite’ friendly kinda way.”

“Like, a romantic way?” Mikey clarified.

Lux nodded. “I… I think so.”

Frank looked at Lux, curiously. “Has she said something to you?”

“Frank,” Lux frowned at him, annoyed. “Do you honestly think I’d tell you if she had? You’d go and tattle!”

“I would not!” Frank pouted.

“It would be good for them to sort themselves out though,” Ray mused quietly.

“Gerard did nearly punch a guy for her after all,” Frank said.

“I think we’ve all nearly done that though,” Mikey said before nodding over to Ray. “You nearly did today!”

Ray just smiled.

“I would if I had the chance,” Lux added, smiling when the others nodded. Because she would - she’d fight for that girl.

“And,” Ray added. “We all remember having to hold Shelly back from, more than likely, badly hurting Bert.”

“That was hot though,” Frank said. “Little Miss Spitfire!”

“I’ll admit that I didn’t think that she had that in her,” Mikey said with a shake of his head.

Lux pouted. “I’m kinda gutted that I missed that.”

“But, it was probably better that you weren’t actually there; I don’t think we would’ve been able to hold both of you back,” Ray rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh definitely, there’s no way I would’ve just stood there and let him say that shit about Shell.”

“We know,” Frank nodded with a smile. “We’re the same.”

“Especially Gerard,” Ray said with a grin.

Lux giggled. “Well, yeah, but we all know that.”

“He’s proven that by his reactions every so often,” Frank said with a nod.

“Not just by reacting to people saying things about her in front of us, but by the speeches he keeps giving,” Mikey added.

“Oh, like the one to us earlier?” Lux asked, getting nods. “It clearly really annoys him. But is that because it’s aimed at Shell, or does it annoy him in general?”

“It annoys him in general,” Ray said. “He’d feel that way even if Shell wasn’t around.”

Mikey nodded. “Yeah, we kinda had that attitude installed in us by our grandma. Respect and all of that.”

“So he’s double annoyed because not only is it an attitude he doesn’t like, it’s an attitude towards the girl he’s crushing on?” Lux said with a nod.

“Exactly,” Ray nodded. “It’s a feeling we all share so the mood surrounding it is amplified.”

“Speaking of crushing,” Frank shook his head. “Why can’t they see what we can? Or at least, why can’t she see it? We know he’d never believe it.”

“She’s being professional,” Lux said. “She loves her job, remember?”

“That covers her behaviour,” Frank replied. “Like, why she hasn’t made a move, why she’s not reading into things -”

“He’s said that he doesn’t want to risk losing her,” Mikey said from his spot with Lux. “He’d rather have her around as she is, with him pining a little bit, than not have her in his life at all.”

“He doesn’t want her to go and work for someone else either,” Ray added. “I think that’s the main reason he falls back on. He keeps saying that he doesn’t want the band to lose her.”

“I mean,” Mikey tilted his head. “She works so hard for us, having her go and put all that effort into another band? That would really suck.”

“She wouldn’t leave us though, would she?” Lux asked before her voice dropped in volume a bit, exposing a bit of her vulnerable, squishy centre. “I mean, I don’t think… I don’t think she’d leave me…”

“She wouldn’t want to,” Frank said quietly and genuinely. He recognised that Lux was opening up a little bit, and while she was pretty comfortable with them now, she didn’t do that very often. “She’d try and cope if it was a bit awkward, and see how long she could cope for. She’d hold on for as long as she could.”

“Yeah,” Ray nodded. “She really adores us as a band, she really believes in us and what we stand for.”

“She really loves you though,” Frank said to Lux.

“Are you just saying that?”

He shook his head and Lux snorted.

“I don’t know if I believe you.”

“You forget that she and I spend a lot of time together when she’s looking after me when I’m sick. We talk a lot during those times, about a lot of things. And, almost every time you come up in conversation, Shelly says something like…” Frank paused to try and quote Shelly directly. “She says something like; ‘I love that girl and I will fight anyone about it’ - which scares me a little, as I’ve seen her start a fight.”

Lux studied him for a moment.

“I agree with Frank,” Ray said quietly. “She really does love you. She’s so very protective of you.”

“You’re just as protective of her too,” Mikey added.

“Sometimes it feels like you’re more protective of her than we are,” Frank said.

“I suppose I can hit more people than you guys,” Lux said after some thought. “I can hit girls who start and I can hit guys. You guys can’t really go for the girls.”

“That’s fair,” Ray nodded. “You’re not picky about who you’ll go after if they hurt someone you care about.”

“That’s right!” Lux beamed before turning to Mikey. “Look, I know he’s your brother, and the band’s lead man, but if he hurts her -”

“He’ll have a line of people after him,” Mikey said with a small nod. “Don’t worry. He doesn’t get special treatment. I’m not gonna stick up for him just because he’s my brother - especially if he’s actually in the wrong.”

“If anything,” Frank said. “He’s under double scrutiny; he has even less of a pass.”

“And considering he doesn’t have a pass anyway,” Ray added.

“None of you get a pass,” Lux looked around at the three men. “If any of you hurt her, I will come for you.”

They all nodded solemnly.

“We don’t plan on doing that Lux,” Ray said. “We promise.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want to have to break anything for any of you,” Lux smiled as innocently as she could manage.

The group fell quiet for a little bit, enjoying the coolness of the room, because of course Shelly had been right; of course she’d picked somewhere that would’ve fitted her needs at the time.

“Do you think if we give them enough time alone, one of them might say something?” Mikey asked the room.

“We give them a lot of time alone and no-one’s done anything yet,” Ray shook his head.

“Yeah, but he might accidentally say something while she’s…” Frank paused. “While she’s scantily dressed. He might be so distracted by her bra and her legs and all of that skin that he forgets his filter.”

Lux rolled her eyes and shook her head at Frank’s words, although she wouldn’t deny that he had a point. Shelly could be quite distracting sometimes; Lux definitely agreed with that. She was a little guilty of having a wandering eye when Shelly was involved. Especially if the blonde was wearing a little less than normal or a lower cut top. The drummer was not immune to Shelly’s particular… Charms.

Not that Lux would ever admit to Frank being right. Nor would she really admit to (sometimes) being no better than a man when it came to their tiny tour manager. Not that Shelly minded - she’d said so once or twice when the girls had been sharing a room. Despite the fact that Lux essentially had permission to gaze at Shelly like that, she still felt a little… Nervous about it. She didn’t think she was going to stop, but she also wasn’t going to be obvious about it. 

Especially not in front of Frank. And maybe Gerard. Poor boy had enough to deal with, with Frank flirting with his crush all the time, he didn’t need the reminder that Shelly played for both teams. Not just because that might be a distracting thought, but also because that might make him feel even more like he didn’t have a chance with her. Which was such a lie, because he totally did.

“How likely do you think that might happen?” Frank asked Mikey, breaking the silence they’d fallen into for a few minutes.

“Um,” Mikey shifted in his seat. “It’s not impossible. I know we’ve given him the idea that she might have similar feelings.”

“He’s listened to us, has he?” Frank raised an eyebrow.

“Well,” Mikey scratched his neck. “Yeah, of course he’s listened. He doesn’t believe a word of it, but I know he’ll take things on board. They'll stick in the back of his mind and linger.”

“I know I’ve tried to coax Shelly into opening up to him,” Lux said before remembering that she was supposed to be pretending that she wasn’t sure how Shelly felt. “If she has any kinda feelings for him, I mean.”

Frank side-eyed the drummer. He didn’t believe that she was unsure about how Shelly felt, he thought that she knew for definite. But, he wasn’t gonna call her out - he understood that Shelly would’ve told Lux in confidence. Even if she never planned on doing anything, Shelly might’ve felt better just telling someone. They all knew that Shelly valued loyalty and trust, but he didn’t think that she would be mad that Lux had let slip about the blonde’s feelings for the vocalist. Especially not if they could all encourage the pair to get their acts together and just… Confess how they felt about each other, to each other. The rest of the band could see it, the rest of the band didn’t have a problem with it; hell, they all wanted the two to get together. They just needed to get on and do it.

“They would be so cute together,” Lux shook her head slightly, having noticed Frank’s side eye. “They’re so perfect for each other!”

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Frank said before letting out a soft sigh. “You’re right there. They are perfect for one another.”

“She brings out a lot of good in him,” Mikey added. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look at someone the way he looks at her.”

“That’s kinda gross, to be honest,” Frank pulled a face jokingly before shaking his head.

“I think I’ve seen her look at him the same way though,” Lux continued to at least try to pretend that she didn’t know anything for certain. “She’s normally so smart. I wish she would just continue to use that big brain of hers.”

“Not just a big brain she has,” Frank grinned.

Lux looked around for something to throw at him, and, when she didn’t find anything, started to get up to go and hit the guitarist. Mikey grabbed at her to stop her.

“Leave it Lux,” Mikey said quietly. “I don’t think Shell would be impressed if we went back to the bus after having been fighting each other.”

She huffed but did as she was told before turning back to Frank. “Don’t be so crude!”

Frank giggled, mostly at Mikey holding Lux back and at Lux doing as she was told. Normally she only really listened to Shelly, so to see her listen to someone else was amusing to him. Actually, seeing her listen to anyone at all was funny.

“I mean it!” Lux continued, frowning at Frank’s giggle. “She doesn’t need or deserve to be objectified all the time!”

“She likes it though.”

“Not all of the time,” Lux shook her head. “Just like… Give the girl a break?”

“She’s not even here!”

“That’s not the point!”

“Well!” Ray said, a little louder than normal in an attempt to get the other two to stop, bickering a bit. “Enough of all that! Let’s get back to the matter at hand, shall we?”

“Which was trying to get Gee and Shelly to get their acts together,” Mikey said with a nod as Lux and Frank huffed a bit between them. “Via more encouragement and time alone together.”

“Yeah,” Ray nodded. “All we can do is try, right? Try and give them as much time as we can and just hope it works.”

The others nodded. There really wasn’t a lot else they could do, except maybe lock them both in a room until they were forced to talk, but they knew that Shelly wouldn’t like that. She’d feel betrayed, trapped and uncomfortable. And that was the last thing they wanted.

“Yeah,” Frank shook his head. “Let’s just hope they get their acts together before we have to properly intervene!”

“Because nobody wants that!”