#since she saw how open and kind he was to bobby. she knew she could trust him with anything

[apollos-boyfriend]

Do u think that Roier would ever help Jaiden preen her wings?

oh absolutely! both him and bobby help out. and i think jaiden doesn’t really treat it like a big deal when the topic is first brought up, because she’s just really amicable and friendly, and roier’s slightly taken aback because it sounds really personal right? like he’d had the assumption it was this really big deal, that avians were super cagey about that stuff, but jaiden didn’t seem to make it a huge deal, so he doesn’t, either.

it takes him a bit to realize she doesn’t seem to let anyone else near her wings (except for slimecicle), and that the server’s other two avians (phil and q) are just as cagey as he expected her to be. he doesn’t understand why jaiden makes it seem to casual when it’s clearly a very important thing, but he feels very honored that she trusts him with it :]

[daughterofcain-67]

𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 (pt. 6)

(Beau Arlen x Female Reader)

(masterlist)

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Beau is working restlessly to get you back and it’s killing him that it’s already been several hours with no sign of you. Agent Sampson is doing his best to remind Beau to keep a level head so Beau could get you back sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, you are doing everything you can to persevere and think of a way put of your situation with the limited recourses you have- which is next to none.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: kidnapping, TW: implications of non-con (no graphic detail), mild violence, i think that’s it?

You knew that several hours had gone by since you were taken from your home. That meant today was the anniversary of your husband’s death. What a hell of a day to spend it, being kidnapped and potentially taken out of the country within a couple of days. You still had yet to formulate any plans of escape.

The worst part is that you knew if you didn’t get out of this mess, you’d likely never see Beau again. That and you had plans for a movie night with him that weekend. Plans that were gone with the wind by now if you weren’t able to escape.

You wondered if Beau had told Cadence yet. You wondered what exactly he told her. You wondered if she’d be able to handle the news, if she would be okay. You hoped that she wouldn’t worry too much or she would find some way to distract herself from what was going on. She was your little sister and you hated when she worried about you. To be frank, you hated when anyone worried about you. Obviously you couldn’t exactly blame anyone for worrying about you with the situation you’re in now.

You were leaned back against the wall of the basement and you looked down at your wrists. These handcuffs weren’t your biggest concern. If you were lucky you could wiggle your wrists out of them. Then again you’ve tried that for the first couple of hours and the skin on your wrists was already cut and scabbed. You’d handle your wrists again soon but for now you were trying to think of how to get the chain off your ankle.

A part of you was glad you were barefooted when they took you. You thought that pulling your foot out would be difficult with shoes and socks on. The other part of you wished you had some shoes though because you felt like your toes were freezing. It’s not like they had a heater in this particular basement.

“Come on, think. You’ve watched cop shows once in a while, and Beau’s talked about cases where captives have escaped before. You can do this.” You spoke to yourself. However, you didn’t exactly have bobby pins in your hair or paper clips so you could pull one of those moves like you’ve seen in the movies where people pick their way out of their shackles.

All you could really do at the moment was wait. Be patient, continue to wiggle your limbs until you were free but who knew how long that would take. And unfortunately, patience was not exactly your strong suit.

Suddenly you heard the door open and when you glanced up, you saw the King. Andre was there without his mask and he had a crown pin on the top left corner of his blazer jacket. He looked so different compared to the first day that the two of you met.

“What do you want.” You glared and Andre hummed a little.

“I just wanted to talk, Sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Andre sighed a little before he walked towards you. You wished you had some kind of superpower to just teleport out of here, or maybe even make yourself invisible. If you could shrink and disappear into the wall, you would. Anything to just avoid the man in front of you. Obviously you couldn’t do that though.

“Aren’t you in the wrong position to be giving demand’s like that?” He asked but then Andre looked down and saw how your wrists were starting to scab over and he tilted his head a little.

“I suppose its a good thing those cuffs aren’t any bigger.” The chuckle he let out made you feel sick to your stomach.

“What did you want to talk about so we can just get this bit over with.”

“Touchy touchy. I was just going to suggest that… maybe you can work for me personally. That way you don’t have to go out of the country soon and be sold off as a slave. You could be here although… you would have to give your business to me, and not have any contact with your little sheriff friend.” He said.

“There’s no way I’d give in to something like that. That business would go to Cadence before it could ever go to someone like you.”

“Cadence… you know, she would have made a good candidate too for this little operation. She’s such a sweetheart.”

“Shut up.” You seethed and he squatted down in front of you before he reached out, the next thing you knew he had your jaw in his hands and you could feel his fingertips keeping a firm hold of your face.

“If you were smart, you’d watch your tone with me.” He said and you spat in his face.

His eyes darkened as he let out low growl of disapproval, “You’ll pay for that. And you’ll pay dearly. So be a dear and keep quiet.”

Your eyes widened when he gripped at your shirt and tore the material….

Cadence took the news pretty hard, just like Beau knew that she would. It killed him to see the way her face fell when she found out her sister was taken. All he could really advise her to do was close up the cafe if she didn’t have anyone to keep it open for her if she needed time away.

Much to Beau’s surprise though, Cadence agreed to keep the cafe open and just keep working. Cadence said you would have wanted her to be strong for your sake. Although she did agree to take the first couple of days off just to see if you would come home and you would have someone to go home to.

After he met up with Cadence and took her home, Beau went right back to the office to find out if Hoyt or Poppernack have found anything, or even if Agent Sampson was making himself useful. He swore that if the FBI were going to drag their feet on this he may end up having to take care of everything himself, or get Cassie to help him out since she didn’t have the same rules as the FBI.

Once he pushed the doors open he saw that some other agents were there, no doubt a part of Harlen Sampson’s team.

“Pompernickle!” Beau called and looked around only to see a hand raised up.

“Right here, Boss!”

Beau walked over and stood behind the deputy at his desk, “Please tell me you’ve found something to get to Sampson.”

“Actually, the fingerprints we found over at Irene’s place did in fact match the ones that were at Y/N’s house. We just got the results from the database. Somebody was slacking here in Montana.” He said.

“And who’s that supposed to be?”

“Our guy Ace? He wasn’t the only one at you houses. There were two sets of prints. We found out that this Ace guy is related to your Andre fella. A cousin, actually. His name is Matvey, or simply Mat, Bolkonsky. Related on the paternal side.” Poppernack said just as Agent Sampson walked up.

“Another Bolkonsky, huh? He was born and raised Russian and he tried to move down here when Andre’s father started their so called jewelry company. Turns out he wasn’t really the best of the bunch and he was charged with drug dealing. He ended up getting a kid killed with those drugs about seven years ago. Naturally he was charged with second degree murder, unfortunately he got out for good behavior with parole. And we haven’t heard anything on him since, although he has been a suspect for other gang related activities and I don’t think murder and kidnapping is out of his range.” The agent said.

“So what does that mean? If he’s here and he’s with Andre, we can go over to Andre’s place and ask about aiding a suspect if he was the one that did kidnap Y/N right? Well what are we waiting for?” Beau said.

“Legitimate proof that Andre was there too. We’re waiting on the results for the second set of fingerprints. We also need to consider the idea that Andre may not have known about this.” Agent Sampson replied and Beau’s hands turned into fists.

“You’re kidding me, right? To me this sounds like enough to at least have an interview with the guy since you’re so intent on doing this by the book. We’ve gone on less even if this is circumstantial.” The sheriff reminded.

“If I may say something,” Poppernack chimed in, “If you do have that interview with him, there is a reason. He was the last known person to have seen Y/N after all so if we propose it as simply routine questions to cross him off the list as a suspect, he may be cooperative.”

“I’m on it.” Beau said and was about to walk past the desk.

“You aren’t going by yourself. Someone like you is going to go there and bite his head off and ruin everything. I’ll be going with you.” Agent Sampson said.

“No offense, Agent, but I’m pretty damn good at my job and I know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve been in this job long enough to know how to handle a situation like this. I’m not some damn rookie.”

“Fine, but I’m still going with you so it at least looks good on the papers. It is technically the FBI’s case still and we want these guys to go away for good. So try to keep that in mind while you’re trying to keep your cool.” He reminded as he walked out of the door.

Beau just glared at the agent. He knew Sampson was right about doing this by the book, but it still ticked him off. He wasn’t about to waste time on this. Sure he’ll do this by-the-book interview. But the moment things go south, Beau may need to make some plans to conduct an interview all on his own.

The sheriff went to his car and the agent ended up following him to the vehicle and they got in.

“Listen, I know you’re angry and I don’t know what kind of connection you have to the… captive.” Beau could hear the agent begin to speak, “I’ve been where you are with my wife before. It’s vital to keep your head on straight.”

“Thanks for the words of wisdom.” Beau rolled his eyes and started his car.

“I’m serious, Arlen. I lost control and nearly lost my wife for good because the perps almost got away with nothing but a slap on the wrist. That’s why we need to get this done right.”

The sheriff looked down at his steering wheel for a moment. Of course he could at least take the words into consideration, but he knew that you were too important to lose. And if this Bolkonsky business were to go south, being too slow with the law may get you lost just as fast as recklessness.

“Let’s just focus on getting Y/N back to her sister. Andre’s our first stop and hopefully we’ll come across another lead like surveillance of Mat participating in suspicious activity.”

Forty-six minutes…

That worst forty-six minutes of your life and you had counted every second if it just to keep from screaming. You didn’t know what Andre was capable of if you ignored his warning and tried to scream or make any sounds.

“Well… I don’t think the clients will mind slightly used goods. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a business to run.” Andre said as he pulled up his pants.

You couldn’t make direct eye contact with this man after what he had done. Your everything ached but you were glad it was finally over.

Andre was nothing but scum of the earth, and even after what happened… you were trying so hard to be strong. But after those forty-six minutes, you were beginning to wonder what the point of strength was if something like this could happen no matter how patient or optimistic a person tried to be.

Then you heard a phone ringing, of course it was Andre’s. When he answered you could see the slightly annoyed features on his face.

“Hello, Sheriff. How can I be of assistance?” He asked.

Your eyes widened.

Beau was on the phone. He was really looking for you! He was looking for you right? You weren’t imagining all of this?

You had to do something, now was your chance! Andre didn’t take your mouth up or anything so you had to do something. This could be your only shot!

“Beau! He has me in some basement! He could go after Cade-“ a harsh stinging erupted on your face from where Andre smacked you.

“Oh no, Sheriff. That’s just some movie I’m watching at a friends house. He has a weird and nearly concerning taste in film. I can come and meet you to talk about the date in just a few moments. Let’s say… Tonya and Donno’s place? I’ve heard they have some great sandwiches. My treat.” Andre said.

The charm that Andre tried to have made you cringe. How disgusting did this man have to be to think he could use charisma like that after what he just did. And how stupid did he think that Beau was?

“Uh huh… I see. My cousin? Oh I didn’t even know he was in town. I suppose great minds of the family think alike. We’ll discuss this more when we aren’t on the phone. If we talked about everything now we’d just be limited to small talk and that’s always awkward.” He laughed.

When the phone call was done, Andre turned and glared at you.

“You’re worried about your sister that much, huh? Well maybe we ought to give you something to worry about now that you may have ruined everything by screaming.” He promised.

Then he walked out of the basement door, locking you up once again.

Your mind started racing. You hoped to what’s god was out there that Beau really did hear you. But on the other hand, you were terrified for your sister’s safety. What if Andre really would send his crew to go after Cadence like they did to you?

You couldn’t have your baby sister go through the same thing you’ve endured. You refused to let that happen.

“Please, Beau… if you heard me at all, send someone to the house to keep Cadence safe.” You pleaded, even though you knew there was no one listening.

You felt something roll down your cheek and when you lifted your cuffed hands to your face, you felt tears. You didn’t realize you were crying and honestly you thought you were a little dehydrated to do that. You supposed you were wrong but maybe the moment Andre mentioned your sister put things a little more into perspective.

“I have to get out of here.” You vowed and looked at your scabbed wrists and started to try and wiggle out of them yet again but you had even more of a reason to escape, more of a reason to try.

Hey guys, I know this chapter was a bit more intense than the previous. But I hope you enjoyed so far. Thank you to those of you who have been commenting, reblogging and liking these chapters. I really appreciate it! Love you all!

Tag List:

@roseblue373 @deans-spinster-witch @chriszgirl92 @fanfic-n-tabulous

[innytoes]

Happy birthday @jatp-spinsb!

When it came to meeting Ray’s kids, he and Reggie had made a plan. It was a good plan, one shaped by Ray’s grief support group’s advice and Reggie’s perchance for listening to Youtubers reading out reddit posts while he worked out. He didn’t want to become anyone’s wicked stepparent. Also, if he was being very honest, he was kind of scared Ray’s kids wouldn’t like him.

Six months, they’d agreed. At least six months, or until they were very sure they were in this for the long haul. Which Reggie had honestly known since the third date when Ray casually mentioned some deep Star Wars Lore. But he’d been a little scared to ask if Ray felt the same.

Though, four and a half months in and he was pretty sure the guy felt the same, considering they’d also talked about other timelines. Like moving in together. And their thoughts about marriage. And when to go public so Sunset Curve’s terrifyingly efficient publicist could ensure that Julie and Carlos were left alone. Reggie was pretty good at keeping his relationships out of the press, but with two kids, it didn’t hurt to be extra careful.

So they had plans.

These plans did not involve Reggie, in just his boxers, making French toast for his man in the Molina kitchen. They did not involve Julie coming home on a weekend she was supposed to be staying over at Flynn’s house. They did not involve the honestly very high pitched screaming from both her and Reggie. They certainly did not involve Ray tripping down the stairs in sweatpants still trying to get a t-shirt over his head.

It was Reggie’s t-shirt. It was far too small on him. It would have been ridiculously sexy if not for the shouting teenage girl standing on the other side of the kitchen peninsula.

“WHY IS THERE A NAKED ROCK STAR IN OUR KITCHEN?” Julie shouted.

“I’m not naked!” Reggie defended, even as he hastened to grab the apron Ray sometimes wore while cooking.

“WHY IS THERE A ROCK STAR IN PIZZA BOXER SHORTS IN OUR KITCHEN?” Julie amended and oh, whoops, moved a little too far from the peninsula there to grab that apron.

Ray took a deep breath, panicked expression turning into… well, a slightly less panicked expression. “Julie, this is my… my friend, Reggie.”

“I know who he is!” Julie hissed at her dad. She did, he’d seen the Sunset Curve poster through the open door of her bedroom. “Why is he here? I thought you were going on a…” She paused, a look of understanding slowly dawning on her face. “No!”

Oh no. This was what he’d been so scared of. Because while Ray had reassured him that the kids had said they were okay with him dating, that didn’t mean they were okay with him dating a guy. Especially a guy like Reggie. Even though he was, as Julie had put it, a rock star, he knew his reputation in the press. He was the dumb, flirty, flighty one. The one who never seemed to have a serious relationship, who never wanted to settle down ‘because Dolly Parton is already taken’. (You make a bad joke once…)

“Mija,” Ray started, his face falling. Reggie turned off the stove, ready to make his retreat. Ray’s kids were the most important thing in his life. If they didn’t like Reggie, that was kind of the end of their future together, right?

“When were you going to tell me?” Julie asked, crossing her arms.

“I-In a couple of months!” Ray hedged.

“Months?” Julie yelled, and yeah, Reggie definitely should get going. Except how was he going to sneak past an angry teen girl in just his boxers and an apron without being a creep? He could just slip out the back door and drive home in his boxers and hope nobody saw, but his car keys were in his jeans, which were on the floor of Ray’s bedroom. “You’re dating the second coolest member of Sunset Curve and you weren’t going to tell me for months?”

Wait… “Second coolest member?” he couldn’t help but ask. Julie looked equal parts mad and flustered, and he took a step back, raising his hands. “I’m just saying, Alex cries at sad commercials, Bobby once got his head stuck in a jack-o-lantern, and Luke thought narwhals weren’t real until like last summer.”

Somehow, his ramblings seemed to take the wind out of Julie’s sails, and Reggie decided that he should press his advantage while he still had it. “I made french toast!”

Julie looked between him, her dad, and the plate Reggie was hopefully holding out. Then, she slid into one of the tools on the other side of the peninsula. “Is there any syrup?” she asked.

Reggie beamed. Maybe things were going to be alright after all.

[slowdiived]

ripples (kurt kunkle x fem reader)

one more part guys 😭 almost the end of my kurt era fr! this is part 19! next part is gonna be a lot of angst and graphic scenes so get prepared for that baefys.

kurt had been writing. every thought or idea went down into a note in his iphone. thoughts of you, his ideas to bounce back, every feeling he was having. he felt so overwhelmed, his demeanor now quiet and shy again. he barely talked to his mom, didn’t answer his dad’s calls, ignored everyone he could.

all he wanted was you and he screwed up without even realizing how bad he screwed up.

his days were filled with working himself to the brim, making a second spree account to able to get extra hours in since they capped users off at a certain amount of hours. he tried to keep live-streaming but only bobby would join due to kurt’s constant pestering. bobby usually just complained and insulted his content, telling him to find something better.

kurt took it to heart and went through a draft he had of old ideas he hadn’t done yet. then he saw it:

#thelesson

he had called it off once he fell for you, his heart feeling content with what he had for the time. it was a once in a lifetime idea that would be his end all be all.

he got prepared, making videos talking about the lead up. he posted everyday and on the hour, keeping everyone updated on how it was going to go. no one truly understood the lesson, he had never really explained what it was going to be.

he wanted to draw viewers in with the mystery.

his days of crying and heartbreak were soon going to be over. this would immortalize him, couldn’t be any worse than the scrutiny he was under.

he still texted you everyday, updating you on how he felt. he still told you that he loved you but he stopped begging for you. he knew you didn’t want him back as april hit, a month of silence from your end. his mind never stopped loving you, always reminiscing with the old pictures in his camera roll. he would think about your smile, how gentle and caring it was. that it made him feel normal and happy, feelings that he never genuinely knew were possible for him.

he didn’t even know what happiness was truly like, his life usually shrouded by his bad judgements and bickering parents. he never had someone who loved him or wanted to get to know him.

like his parents loved him but they treated him like shit. you didn’t, you made it known that he was good, capable of being good enough. you gave him his first kiss, something that no one else has even gotten close to. he felt real sparks fly out of him that night, drunk on your taste and kindness.

he thought about your thighs, something he loved a lot. he liked touching them, he liked being between them, they were just perfect. his mind flooded to how pretty your legs were in general. when you wore a skirt or shorts, his eyes couldn’t falter off of the exposed skin. you were just so beautiful to him.

the way you walked to the way you giggled when he would kiss you, your hands pressed against him to the way you brushed his hair out of his face… he always remembered how you felt. the feelings hadn’t faded one bit, closing his eyes and pretending you were still there; sitting next to him and laying a head on his shoulder. you were always wearing his green plaid jacket, a pair of your high waisted jean shirt rolled up to the crease of your thigh. he would think about his hand creeping up your leg, a little laugh erupting from you at the sensation. you would pull him in for a kiss, your body turning to get on his lap, everything getting hot and heated as you-

“kurt?” his mom had knocked at the door and he was shook out of his thoughts, his phone in his hands opened to his notes app.

“uh, yeah mom?” he called out.

she turned the knob and looked at him, her eyes sad as she met his. she could see through him, how lonesome and miserable he must’ve been. his room was a mess, clothes thrown about, empty bowls and plates all over his desk. he hasn’t showered for a bit either, greasy hair stuck to his forehead.

“i just let luna and dozier out,” she informed. “just wanted to let you know so you didn’t have to get up-“

“okay.” he interrupted her.

she gave him another sad look, walking closer to his messed up bed. he had his sheet ripped from one side, a mess of blankets and wrappers lining his mattress.

“i got you these,” she held out her hand and showed him a few crystals. “to help heal this situation you have going on.”

he took them, his eyes rolling in annoyance with his mom’s weird crystal-healing antics. they were pretty, he recognized them as rose quartz and malachite. his mom had countless in her room and across the mantle of the fireplace.

“t-thank you mom,” he said, his head nodding quickly. “i’ll use them.”

she smiled and turned around, her back faced to him as she grabbed the door handle.

“hey mom?” he asked kinda quietly.

“yeah?” her head turned once more.

“i love you,” he sighed.

“i love you too.” and with that, she was out of the room and shutting the door.

he looked at the crystals and back at his phone, his note staring him straight in the face.

“and tomorrow is the day, the day to show everyone that i can be remembered.”

[thebiggerbear]

Moving Forward Little By Little - Bobby Reyes x Reader

A/N: I saw 4x01 and I had so many feels that this just came out of nowhere. (Spoilers for 4x01 under the cut)

A/N continued (spoilers ahead): So I was sad when they killed Jamie off in the season 3 finale but the kiss from 4x01 just had me feeling all kinds of conflicting emotions. I've loved Rick since I saw him in Arrow and I was excited when he joined OC. I've loved his character as much as I loved Jamie's and Jet's (I was a little bit of a Jamie/Jet hopeful for a few minutes there). But then this kiss happened and well...this was dominating my mind and I just had to get it out so I could get back to my other open projects I've been working on. This is my first time writing for any of these characters or any Law and Order showverse. Hope it doesn't suck - I honestly just had a lot of feelings to get out.

I based a lot of things off of this interview with Ainsley and I saw a couple of theories floated around about a separation or divorce that the audience doesn't know about yet (while I'm still hopeful with these people, from what Ainsley says, I think she's very gently confirming that there may be infidelity going on). Personally, I love Reyes and I hope cheating is not the case when it comes to him (and I also don't want that to be Jet either) but I am also fascinated to see where the writers take this, especially after hearing Ainsley's interview, and see why they made this decision.

Just a note, I don't condone infidelity in any form. This is purely fictional and I'm just using this piece to explore how I was feeling after watching 4x01.

Summary: You knew you shouldn't have let him in that first night he showed up with alcohol in hand to talk about Jamie. But you had and now your partner never fails to show up at your door. The bad thing is, you don't really want him to stop though you know you should.

Pairing: Bobby Reyes x Female!Reader; Bobby Reyes x Female!Detective!Reader; background Bensler if you squint

Warnings: implied sex; implied cheating/infidelity; mentions of character death; allusions to Fentanyl exposure & possible overdose; angst

Word Count: 5720

Please don't do any of the above. Thank you for your understanding.

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

You dig your teeth into your bottom lip as you feel him begin to kiss that spot on your neck.

“I thought we weren’t going to do this anymore,” you murmur.

“We weren’t,” he agrees in a whisper before lifting his head to kiss you.

You know this is wrong — it’s been wrong since he first showed up a few weeks back with single malt whiskey in hand and a hopeful expression. You both had talked about Jamie, fully for the first time since Jet left to go international, and you both drank way too much. Because when he leaned over to kiss you, you hadn’t stopped him and instead, you kissed him back. You also hadn’t stopped him from laying you down on the couch or stopped yourself from pulling at his shirt to get it off. The amount of guilt you felt the next day had prompted you to tell Reyes the next time you two had a moment alone at work that it would never happen again. He had quietly agreed, his brown eyes as haunted as you felt by what you both had done, and yet here you both are, tangled up in the sheets on your bed and with one another, you pretending that the strip of metal on his left hand doesn’t burn your skin as it passes over you or dig into your fingers as he tightens his grip on you in a passionate frenzy.

This is so beyond wrong and you’re not this person, but you’re finding it difficult to stop. Especially when he kisses you like you’re the last thing in the world still holding him together. 

At work, you both continue to do your jobs. There is an unspoken agreement between you never to discuss any of this while you’re on the clock, especially where someone might overhear you.

When you’re off the clock, that’s a whole other story. The couple of times Bell or Stabler has taken the unit out for drinks after a tough day or to celebrate the successful completion of a case, you can feel Reyes’ eyes on you and you can only hope no one becomes the wiser. Especially when you say your goodbyes and head out and not even half an hour later, Reyes is at your door again.

There’s no more preamble between you now. No more protestations of ‘this is wrong’ or ‘we shouldn’t be doing this’. You simply grab him by his jacket and pull him inside, holding onto him as if he were the last thing in the world keeping you from falling apart.

You hate that you collapsed in front of your unit like you did, worrying them all. Now, here you are, being driven by Reyes to the ER on Stabler’s orders.

You know you should have protested but the throbbing pain in your head dictated otherwise at the time. Even now, you feel as if a fully-formed Greek goddess is about to spring forth from your right temple.

“Hold on, Y/L/N. We’re almost there.” 

You try to respond but you find that you can’t. You can’t even say anything when you feel him rubbing your upper arm. 

“You’re going to be okay,” he assures you, though he also sounds like he might need some reassurance himself. 

You sure hope he’s right. You’ve never felt anything quite like this and you never want to again. Reyes keeps talking to you and it’s his voice that you hold onto like a lifeline until he gets you to the hospital.

“Alright if I swing by later?”

You turn to look at Reyes, surprised, but you also arch a brow over at him in question. He doesn’t normally ask and he’s breaking the unspoken work rule considering you’re one hour into what is guaranteed to be a long ass shift.

He shrugs. “Just to check on you.” After a moment, he moves to stand next to you. “See how you’re doing.” His eyes are boring into you again. The haunted look is back.

“I’m right here in front of you, Reyes. You see exactly how I’m doing.” You might be fine and back at work, but that didn’t mean you felt up to whatever he was thinking for later on.

“I know that, but I also know that while you’re telling Bell and Stabler that you’re good to go, you’re still not a hundred percent.” He gives you a look heavy with meaning that you willfully ignore.

You frown at him. “I’m fine,” you insist, grabbing yourself a water bottle from the mini fridge. “I was medically cleared. You know that. You were there.”

“Maybe so.” He moves closer though you refuse to look up at him. “I’d still like to check on you, make sure you’re okay,” he murmurs. “That’s all. I can pick up some takeout and we can check out that new Godzilla show if you want.”

That prompts you to glance up at him, wondering how serious he is. The answer is clear in his eyes: he is. You nearly drop your bottle, especially when you notice just how close he is and just how he’s looking at you at this moment. 

“What are you two doing?”

Your heads both snap in Stabler’s direction. He’s glancing back and forth between you, assessing what he’s just walked up on.

“She said her head’s still a little fuzzy,” Reyes smoothly lies and moves a few inches back. So smoothly if Stabler hadn’t been standing there, you may have flinched. Since when had your life become so complicated? Since when did lies and indiscretions make up who you are as a person? Other than the usual sting operations and UC work? Since you let him into your apartment that first night. You suppose lying has become second nature to both of you; it’s what makes you both so good at your jobs.

Stabler’s focus is now on you alone. “Y/L/N, is that true?”

You can swear you detect a double meaning that Stabler tacked onto the end of his question but perhaps it’s just your paranoia peeking through. Perhaps it’s your own self-recrimination tightening the figurative noose around your neck a little more.

Instead, you put your best front on and hope like hell that you can somehow fool Elliot Stabler. “Yeah. I just got a little dizzy there for a second but I’m good now.”

Stabler stares at you for a moment and then gives you a nod. He’s accepting the explanation…for now. “I’ll let Bell know. Odds are she’ll want you to go get checked out to be safe. Reyes, why don’t you get her back to the ER?”

Reyes moves to do just that when you firmly protest, “No. There’s no need for that. I’m fine. The doctor cleared me yesterday. He warned me that I would have a wicked hangover. That’s all this is.”

Stabler’s eyes narrow, studying you intently. You don’t look away or back down. Reyes’ quick thinking lie is not going to sideline you from the operation currently in play nor is it going to affect your job. After a moment, Stabler relents. “Alright. But if it gets any worse, you tell me or Sergeant Bell immediately. Don’t be a hero. You got me?” You give him a nod in agreement, relieved that you’re not being sent back to the hospital. He gives you one last look and turns on his heel, making his way to Bell’s office. Knowing him, he’s going to tell her anyway and you would be watched like a hawk for the rest of your shift by your superior.

You glare over at Reyes. “I had to say something,” he defends.

You don’t reply; instead, you turn and walk away. He still shows up that night, Chinese takeout in hand, and he stays true to his word. He holds you to him as you both watch Monarch on your television. In the back of your mind, you start to realize that while this has always been wrong, you both are beginning to cross a line into something that’s somehow even more wrong than what you were doing before. You refuse to look at the clock to see how late it’s getting or to think about how while he’s sitting here with you, his family is at home and his wife is sitting up and most likely wondering where he is. A part of you wants to ask him about it, tell him that this needs to end before anyone gets more hurt than they already will be, but the other part of you urges you to stay silent. Especially when you hear him laugh at a meme one of his friends texts him that he opens right in front of you. Somewhere around the end of episode 2, you aren’t able to keep your eyes open anymore and you relax against his shoulder.

You wake up the next morning on your bed with a blanket laid over you. You tiredly make your way into the living room to find the TV off and the takeout containers cleaned up but no Reyes. The only evidence he was here at all is in the hastily scribbled note left on your kitchen table: “Told Bell you were coming in late. Take the time. Rest. Call me when you’re up. - B” You don’t know why but something about it makes you smile as you turn the coffee pot on and head to your bathroom to take a shower so you can start your day.

You rush over with Bell to the EMT for the Naloxone, watching in horror as Reyes struggles to breathe after running into the lab to save Stabler. You snatch the first tube out of the EMT’s hand and run to him, thinking the entire time, Don’t you dare do this. You have a family, you son of a bitch. Don’t you dare do this to them. …don’t you do this to me.

You inject him and within moments, you notice he starts to breathe a little easier. You lay a hand on his shoulder, staring down at him with worry as you hear Bell helping Stabler nearby. You don’t pull away when Reyes discreetly covers your hand with his, giving you a nod of thanks as he comes back down.

You aren’t surprised when he shows up at your door late that night or that you let him in when he does. You both grab at each other desperately. It’s quick, frantic, and over before you know it. This time, as you gasp for air, you ask him if he can stay…just a little longer than he usually does on nights like these.

He gently runs his thumb along your jawline, his dark eyes staring into yours as he tries to catch his breath, and he nods. You pull him closer to you, shutting your eyes as he pants against your neck, and you thank whoever is listening that he’s okay. Your hands roam everywhere, subconsciously checking for hidden injuries but all they come back with is warmth from his skin, movements of his chest moving in and out as he breathes, alive. A small part of you acknowledges that you’re selfishly taking this moment from his family, his wife, who he most likely hasn’t seen yet since Bell insisted he let the ambulance take him straight to the ER to get checked out alongside Stabler. You can’t be too careful with Fentanyl, after all. 

You let him stay another twenty minutes, holding each other as you breathe together, before you gently kick him out, insisting he needs to get home. He’s not happy that you give voice to the one thing neither of you have talked about since this whole thing started between you but he still leaves all the same. You feel torn as you see the door close behind him. While you wanted him to go, you still hate to watch him leave you. 

Captain Benson is here to talk about something with Sergeant Bell and Stabler. You don’t know her too well, only having met her twice before, but she’s quickly become the equivalent of a legendary crusader in the NYPD. Dr. Vargas’ eyes have not gone back to their original size since she arrived and you wouldn’t be surprised if he asks her for an autograph before she leaves.

You were making your way back from the bathroom when you noticed Benson and Stabler having a quiet conversation in the hallway to your right. You have no idea what they’re discussing and you’re not caught off guard by their close proximity. They’re former partners and good friends. It’s only when you see Stabler reach out to take her hand in his, holding it in a way that makes your heart ache and her smile, that you realize that this is something more than their former partnership, more than close friendship, and it’s a very private moment you’re accidentally intruding upon. You and everyone else in the building are not meant to witness this. 

Respecting their privacy and wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, you quickly avert your eyes and head back to your desk. Stabler emerges from the hallway about five minutes later, cool as a cucumber, but you do notice the faint hint of a smile that quickly disappears as he turns to climb the steps to Bell’s office.

You think back to that moment you just observed and your heart hurts even more. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Reyes typing away on his computer, and you try not to allow the guilt you feel to completely consume you.

“We can’t do this anymore,” you tell him the next time he shows up at your door, wearing a smile and carrying a pizza and a six-pack.

You watch as his smile fades and his brows furrow. “Why?”

“You know why,” you state. “You’re married and have a family, we work together…” You were going to list another reason or two, but you can’t. Which doesn’t really matter given that the first two you listed should be the ones with the most validity.

His jaw hardens as you knew it would. “We should talk.”

You shake your head, knowing where letting him in to talk will inevitably lead. “There’s nothing more to talk about, Reyes.” You say it firmly but gently right before you shut the door.

Before falling asleep that night, recalling what you had seen earlier this week, you wonder if Stabler had shown up at Benson’s door while his wife was still alive, would she have been able to say no and turn him away or would she have let him in knowing what would happen? Guessing what the answer is, the guilt inside you triples and continues to gnaw away at you as you drift off into sleep.  

When Dr. Vargas gets up to use the bathroom and Bell is at 1PP, Reyes makes his move. Within seconds, he’s sitting on the edge of your desk, facing you.

“Reyes,” you warn. It’s been about a week since you finally had worked up the courage to put an end to whatever it was the two of you had been doing. Things had been awkward the first few days afterwards, but you both are professionals if nothing else. 

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

You give him a look. “No misunderstanding. I made myself pretty clear actually.”

“No, I mean I feel like I gotta clear something up here.”

You sigh and toss the folder you had been perusing onto your desk. “And what’s that?”

You watch as his jaw tightens but he looks right at you. “Tammy and I are separated.”

You feel horror wash you like a tidal wave and ice water run through your veins. No, he did not just say that. Oh God.

Reyes, seeing your reaction, holds out a placating hand. “We’ve been separated for a while. Well before…” He doesn’t finish his sentence but he doesn’t need to; he gestures between the two of you. 

Relief radiates throughout your body only to be replaced with sudden anger. “What? Why did you never tell me that?” You ask through gritted teeth. This entire time he’s let you go on thinking that you were allowing a married man into your bed.

Shame laces his expression as well as pain. He should be ashamed, though it in no way rivals the amount of shame and guilt you feel. While you’re thankful that his wife hadn’t been sitting up at night wondering where her husband was when he’d been with you, you realize that you had let him walk through your door several times thinking she had. Oh God, what did that say about you?

“It happened, right after Jamie…” He swallows and lifts those haunted eyes up to meet yours. “It was hard, still is. I get my kids every other weekend. It’s not something I like to talk about or even think about. I kept my nose to the grindstone and just buried myself in work.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” you hissed, getting to your feet, ready to leave. You don’t know if you’re more angry that he hadn’t told you before making a move on you, that you hadn’t asked when he did, or that he just made it clear that he’s been basically using you as a distraction for the pain or as a temporary cure for loneliness. Which makes you start to wonder… And you don’t like where that thought track is going.

“Y/N,” he murmurs, stopping you with the calling of your first name. You’re always referred to by your last name by everyone in this unit, even by him, even during this whole thing that you had going on, brief as it was. “That’s never what it was about.” As usual, he can read you like an open book. You really hate that sometimes. “I should’ve told you.”

“Yes, you should’ve. And what kills me is that when I said we shouldn’t let it happen again, you agreed with me. If you were already separated, then why? What would be the need to come up with a lie for Stabler on the fly?”

He doesn’t look away. “Like you said, work. You know just as well as I do that if Bell got wind of anything, if Stabler suspected, one of us would probably be immediately transferred out of here. And I know neither of us want that. We’ve both worked too hard to get here.”

You press your lips into a thin line but you realize he’s right. You don’t want to lose this job anymore than he does. You like the work you do and you’re good at it.

Reyes is suddenly next to you, a hand taking discreet purchase on your hip, and you feel an all too familiar burning sensation on your skin through your clothes. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I should’ve told you.”    

Your jaw tightens. “You never stopped wearing your ring.”

That appears to catch him off guard and he releases you to glance down at the mentioned article. He studies it for a moment before lowering his hand and his eyes unapologetically meet yours. That tells you all you need to know. He may be separated from his wife but he still hopes for reconciliation. And while you can understand that, it still stings, possibly even more than the revelation that he’s let you go on thinking he was married this whole time and you never bothered to clarify whether he was or not.

You give him a curt nod. “Right.” 

Dr. Vargas has come back from his bathroom break and you snatch your keys from your desk and grab at an excuse to get out of there, offering to make a coffee run despite a fresh pot having been made ten minutes prior. You don’t look in Reyes’ direction once the rest of the shift and he doesn’t try to talk to you again.

Two days later, Reyes walks into the squad room, no longer sporting his wedding ring. Bell and Stabler hardly seem surprised by it. Out of the corner of your eye, you catch a quick glimpse of the light strip of skin on his left hand when he places your breakfast order on your desk. 

When you both are the only ones in the room while Bell meets with Vargas in her office, you don’t mention the missing wedding band and neither does he.

Stabler notices that you two aren’t as talkative these days. Of course Stabler notices. Nothing gets past him and you know that.

“Something going on that I should know about?” He asks you from the driver seat of the SUV he’s driving. Stabler had taken one look at you back at the office and told you to take a drive with him downtown to follow up on a case. You had a feeling he wanted to talk to you more than he wanted your company or assistance, but you went anyway.

You shake your head, keeping your gaze on the road ahead. “Nope. I’m good.”

He slowly nods. “And Reyes?”

You tamp down any surprise at his direct question. Stabler didn’t pull any punches; he always got right to the heart of the matter. You shouldn’t be surprised. You do wonder, though, if you’ll be transferred out of the unit soon. There’s no way he’s keeping this from Bell.

You shrug. “Wouldn’t know.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Stabler side-eye you back as the vehicle comes to a stop at a red light. You keep your gaze dead ahead, unwilling to give away more than you obviously already have.

It’s a tense silence between you but you’re not willing to break it.  

“There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give to have Kathy back,” he murmurs.

You carefully turn to face him, seeing him reliving a memory for a moment.

“But she’s gone.” He then looks over at you. “I’ll always love her but she’s never coming back. And I know that I need to move on.”

You give him a nod, your brows furrowing slightly. You’re not exactly sure why he’s telling you this though you have a small inkling.

Sure enough, “There’s nothing wrong with trying to move on, Y/L/N. Jamie would have wanted that for you.” 

It hits you like a square punch to your gut. You clench your jaw and you turn away from him, willing the tears that are building to go away. Memories start to pop up in your mind and you quickly push them away, all except one. 

You and Jamie hadn’t had long; you weren’t exactly sure where he and Jet had stood the entire time you’d been in the unit until Jamie made it very clear to you a few weeks before he got shot. And then it hadn’t been too long after that that he…passed. Sure, everyone found out about you two the day he got shot and in the days that followed in the hospital, but it wasn’t something you talked about. At the funeral, you accepted Bell’s hug, Stabler’s steady hand on your shoulder, and Jet’s standing next to you in silent support as the other person who’d loved Jamie as much as she did. It was only Reyes who got to see your tears though. 

You had stayed by the graveside long after they’d lowered his casket into the ground, long after everyone cleared out including his father and the priest, long after it started to rain, almost as if God was crying along with you. Arms came around you and you looked up to see Reyes, soaked through just like you were, and his eyes as wet as yours. He held onto you as you broke down and sobbed against his coat, never letting you go even after you’d cried yourself out. And you held onto him, afraid that once you let go, you’d shatter into a thousand pieces right there on the ground, next to the grave of the man who’d taken your heart with him. 

You bite into the side of your cheek to keep the tears at bay and you stare out the windshield. You know Stabler’s right but that doesn’t make it any easier, and you’re pretty sure he knows that better than anyone, too. You remember back to that private moment between him and Benson in the hall of your building, the obvious closeness between them that flirts with the line of something more than partners, something more than friends. You know that and how it goes better than anyone. 

From your peripherals, you notice Stabler still watching you. You mutter “Yeah” just to give him something to work with and he takes it, nodding and turning back to the road. 

You think back to that moment by Jamie’s graveside with Reyes holding you together while you fell apart. The light turns green then and Stabler moves the car forward and you can’t help but think to yourself that if God really does send people signs, then the message the man next to you had delivered couldn’t have been clearer. 

You visit Jamie on the weekend. It’s been a little bit since you’ve been here but thankfully, someone has been keeping up around the headstone.

You lay the flowers you brought down under his name and step back, sticking your hands into the pockets of your coat. It’s a nice day, the sun is out, but it’s still a bit chilly. You take a deep breath in preparation for what you’re about to say.

“I don’t know if the priest is right and you’re up there watching over us, but if you are, then you know I haven’t really been making the most sound decisions lately.” A tear rolls down your cheek and you quickly wipe it away. “Stabler says it’s okay to move on, that you would want that for me. I know he’s right, but Jamie, I don’t...” You press your lips together and shake your head, feeling the all-too familiar stinging in your eyes. “I don’t know what to do,” you admit. “I’m lost. The only time I don’t feel so lost is when…” You don’t dare finish that sentence, not to him, not to yourself. “I just don’t know,” you whisper, swallowing down the lump forming in your throat. “I do know that I miss you and I will miss you every day for the rest of my life.”

You’re not sure how long you stand there, staring down at the grave marker of the man you’d loved, but it didn’t rain, the only tears you shed were silent ones, and you were alone the entire time, holding yourself up. Perhaps, in some weird way, someone might consider that progress.

A cup of coffee is placed on your desk, one that you didn’t order, prompting you to glance up to see Reyes giving you a small smile. He nods when you thank him and heads over to his station. It’s the first time he’s given you that familiar smile since you ended things between you. Everything had been strictly professional with you two since then.

As you stare at the cup, you can’t help but smile to yourself. Jamie had always been good about coming up with solutions on the fly to any issues you might be having. When you and Bell weren’t seeing eye to eye one day, the next morning he’d handed you a cup of coffee he’d picked up and urged you up the stairs to her office so you could give it to her and try to resolve things. He’d been good like that. 

You surreptitiously glance over in Reyes’ direction and note his friendly grin as he speaks with Bell. You remove the lid from your coffee and take a sip, your smile staying intact. Thank you, Jamie. 

A week and a half later, you hear a familiar knock on your door and you hesitate before you get up to open it. By now, you’ve had plenty of time to process and compartmentalize everything that happened between you. It was a tough pill to swallow to realize that yes, while he should’ve told you, you also should’ve asked. It had been even harder to accept that you hadn’t asked because a part of you — the selfish part — simply hadn’t wanted to. While technically you and Reyes hadn’t done anything wrong, you knew you had on some level and that caused some serious inner reflection on your part. You had even taken Bell’s advice from long ago and started seeing a grief counselor. 

You confirm it’s Reyes through the peephole and swing the door open, seeing him standing there, nothing in hand, no hopeful expression, no smile, no puppy dog eyes — none of it. He’s there, as is, as he’d always been since before things got…complicated. The sight actually makes you relax a little. 

“Hey,” he greets.

“Hey.”

An awkward moment of silence passes between you before he breaks it. “Can we talk?”

You cross your arms, biting your lip. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” His expression falls slightly and you add quickly, “At least not here.”

You grab your keys from near the door and slip your jacket on, seeing the glimmer of hope in his dark eyes. You lock up and turn back to him. “Let’s go.”

He nods and walks with you towards the elevator.

Your server arrives and places your food in between you. You give the guy a smile of thanks and you both begin to dig in. You had been starving so you dragged Reyes to your favorite Italian place a few blocks over for dinner and the talk he wanted to have.

“So…” You start in between mouthfuls of chicken.

It takes him a minute but he eventually answers with, “I should’ve told you.” You feel like he’s repeated that so often it should become his own personal mantra.

You shrug and take a sip of your wine, immediately responding with “I should’ve asked.” And that should become your own personal mantra. But it’s the truth and it’s an acknowledgement all in the same breath — an acknowledgement of what you both could have done better. 

That’s the only time either of you refer to what had transpired between you. Instead, you ask him about his kids and he updates you on each one. You discuss work a little and how Dr. Vargas makes you both miss the hell out of Jet. You dance around the subject of Jamie, not because you don’t want to talk about him, but because that’s how things kicked off in the first place. And tonight is not about that.

Something that is made clear when he walks you back to your apartment. “Thanks for dinner,” you offer. “It was nice.”

“Yeah, it was,” he agrees. “I’m glad we went.” You notice he seems unsure about something but he covers it with a kind smile. “I’ll see you in the morning. Get some rest.”

He begins to walk back to the elevator when you call out, “Where the hell are you going, Reyes?”

He stops, his brows drawing together. “I thought you didn’t—”

“Yeah? Well, you thought wrong,” you tease. “We still have a season of monster television to watch and I am not watching it alone. So get your ass in here.” You unlock your door and step inside. When he doesn’t immediately follow, you stick your head back out, seeing him looking torn and it hits you why. “Unless you have plans to watch it elsewhere.”

Reyes gives you a smirk and steps towards you. “You know I would never sign up for an AppleTV account.”

“Uh huh.” You roll your eyes and let him follow you inside. “And I suppose the huge TV and epic sound system is the icing on the cake, too, right?” Something he and Jamie had helped you to install when you moved into this place. Quite a few movie nights had happened afterwards when Jamie insisted you had the better entertainment system out of the four of you. Jet’s was great for gaming, but yours was fantastic for movies and TV. And sporting events, you had added, smirking over at Jamie, knowing what he and Reyes were really after. They both tried to act like the thought hadn’t crossed their minds before you mentioned it but considering a big fight was taking place two weeks later, and you all were detectives, you knew they’d been planning game nights and fight nights at your place since they’d seen what you purchased. 

“Doesn’t hurt,” Reyes teases back, not denying it, and it makes you snicker.

You both settle down to start Episode 3 of Monarch, sodas in hand and a bag of candy from your secret stash between you. This time, you both add commentary, make each other laugh, and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. When he carefully winds an arm around your shoulders, you smile to yourself and lay your head on his chest. You don’t even mind it when he caresses your shoulder with his thumb or he presses a soft kiss to your head. 

You don’t know exactly where this is going to lead or if it will even lead anywhere at all. You do know that for right now, you’re going to enjoy this sci-fi show you’re watching with the guy whose embrace seems capable of keeping you from falling apart most days. Not everything is magically solved between you and Reyes, and everything is still up in the air for him, but right now you’re not going to think about any of that. Right now you’re only going to think about the four hundred feet tall monster on your screen, the comforting weight of Reyes’ arm around you, and how soothing the sound of his heartbeat underneath your ear is. This might not be what Stabler had in mind when he said what he said to you, but for you right now, it’s pretty damn close.

A/N: Please let me know what you think. 😊

[sheep33hallow]

Wincest Drabble: Meeting again ( Wincest)

He hadn't seen Dean since going off to Stanford. Now, here he was, standing on his brother's porch staring at him through the screen door. 

His brother, who he didn't know, was now his new neighbor. 

His wife, Jess, sent him over there to play nice while she was at work. Saying a family, she met one of the members, had recently moved him, and he offered to change her oil as a sign of good grace. Said the man was charming and handsome. 

Kind of had similar mannerism to Sam, she said. 

Too right on the nose. 

"Dean." His raspy voice said. Tinged with surprise. 

Dean, still beautiful as the day he left, leaned against the doorway. He raised an eyebrow at Sam. "Sammy." His big brother grinned. "You filled out nicely, didn't you?" Dean crossed his arms, looking Sam up and down with appreciation. 

"I–uhh." He was holding a freshly baked pie, Jess made, in his hands. His hold on the pan was tightening at each passing moment. His body felt tense. 

His beautiful Omega brother. 

His first knot popped inside of him. 

"Dean." Was all he could repeat. His higher brain function was acting up. He never thought he'd see Dean again. Their Father caught them one night, and shipped him off to Bobby's who eventually helped him get to school. Dean knew he was accepted into Stanford, and they had plans for Dean to visit before the blow up. 

It was only around five years ago that Omegas got their rights, and didn't need an Alpha's approval anymore on legal documents. Dean stayed with Dad, he assumed. Bobby said he had their Dad's number, but never said anything about Dean having a phone number. 

Now, his brother after seven years, was in front of him. 

Dean opened up his screen door. "Come inside. You're going to break that glassware, you idiot." 

Like an lure, he followed his brother's hand gesturing him inside. 

The door swung shut behind him. Looking around, he saw toddler items, but no toddler. 

Dean brought him into the kitchen. He took the pie from Sam, and gently pushed at his shoulder. "Go sit down Sasquatch." He meant toward the kitchen table, and Sam listened. 

He quietly watched Dean. His brother had moving boxes around his kitchen. One box labeled plates, he opened up and took out two places, and took a knife out of the drawer. "How big you want it?" Said Dean. The side of his body was facing Sam from the counter. 

Sam swallowed. "Any is fine." 

Dean chuckled. "Still like me making decisions for you?" He said in jest. Smiling into himself, he cut two pieces and put them on the plates. 

Sam couldn't deny it. He liked to followed Dean around like a puppy. Lost with no direction, just using his nose to make sure Dean was always in high spirits and pleased. 

He wants to smell Dean now. 

Dean walks over to the table, sitting across from Sam. He put a plate in front of both of them with plastic forks. "Castiel hasn't unloaded everything. Half the kitchen is in his car." 

Sam blinked. "Castiel?" He inquired. 

"I guess you can say my mate, but he's a friend. He's an Alpha who wanted a kid, and asked me to carry it." Dean ate a slice. 

"So it's not yours technically?" 

"Oh, no that brat is mine." He chuckles. "But we did it more as a family thing. He's not very close with his father or siblings." He clears his throat. "We bonded over that aspect." He looks into Sam's eyes. 

"You knew where I was Dean." He gazed back. Not touching his pie. 

Dean waves him off. "Not important. Anyway, we decided to have a kid. Painfully boring sex on both sides. He doesn't have a sexual or romantic bone in his body, but is a great parent to Claire. So boom. Work out, and we can walk around without people knowing the truth." 

________

A.N: Just wanted to post something.

[bippot]

Summary: Kevin's niece shakes up Jake's little peanut head, in the best way possible. For the first time in his life, he's nervous to even flirt with a girl cause, like, what if he fucks up? That would suck.

Despite how hard he tries, it takes Jake a while to get out of the dreaded friendzone because of overbearing Uncles, pigeons, drunken nights out and the famous Jake Martin reputation.

Tags: Idiots in Love, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Himbo, Slow Burn, Co-workers, Friends to Lovers

The Crew, Jake Martin Masterlist - here

Chapter 6: Sushi And Transformers

Jessie liked messing with Jake. It was so easy. It genuinely was the best part of her day. The times when she was able to cause some sort of trouble for him was what she looked forward to as soon as she stepped into the garage. So, when she saw him opening the door for Y/N when they arrived with the biggest, goofiest grin plastered across his face, she knew she had some extra fuel to put in her insult engine.

Everyone who worked at Bobby Spencer Racing knew. They knew about Jake's very clear crush. He'd never acted that way towards any of them. They'd never even seen him ever act that way towards a woman he was dating. But, he was different with Y/N, and everyone knew it. During a moment where both drivers happened to be in the sauna, Jessie decided to ask, "What's it feel like dating Kevin Jr?"

"I wouldn't know."

Jake turned pink, and if she asked him why, he could claim it was due to the heat. He looked like he was about to expand his explanation a smidge but he changed his mind.

"Do you know if Y/N is into girls?"

Woah. Where the hell did that come from? That was never a thing that Jake had ever asked. Was Y/N even into guys? He's a guy. She'd mentioned that she had previously had 'partners' but if she ever said the gender, he didn't pick up on it.

"I don't know. Ask Y/N yourself."

And why the hell would Jessie want to know? No, no way! Was he competing with Jessie yet again? Were they rivals yet again and the prize was Y/N's love and affection? No. Jessie was only messing around to annoy Jake. Sure, Y/N was nice and kind, but not Jessie's type. Plus, she had not long turned nineteen and dating her older co-worker was not on her yearly bingo.

Trying to annoy him further, she rested her elbows on her knees, lowering herself from the top level of the sauna seat so she could lean forward to get closer to his ear to ask, "You two are friends, right?"

He looked down at the floor, disheartenedly replying, "Right. Friends. Just friends."

"Friends that arrived together this morning." She hopped down and took the seat next to him. Badly imitating Y/N, Jessie taunted, "Oh, Jake. Your small brain and penis will never satisfy me, you know that, right?"

Scrunching his eyes together and frowning, he tried to block her out. After the awesome time he had yesterday, he was on cloud nine as he entered work. Now? Here with Jessie? Yeah, not so much.

Continuing on her mission, Jessie decided to become even harsher. The fake Y/N voice got higher as she commented, "You know I'll never be able to go out with you. You're a walking STD. How many girls have tried to get it on with this week, Jakey? Is it in the fifties?"

The pink-tinge in his cheeks deepened to a crimson shade when he admitted, "One."

One. Just one. It had been just one for just under two months now. That was a record low. He hadn't been that low since he was in high school.

Not expecting him to respond honestly, she simply repeated, "One?" Maybe he was being more serious about his very clear crush of his than she originally thought. Teasing him would've been fine if he wasn't serious about it, but clearly he was. For the first time, Jessie actually felt guilty at her words.

Nodding his head, he confirmed, "Yeah. Just one."

When he was finished, he quickly showered, got dressed, and seemed to appear at Y/N's side as if he had never left it. Immediately, she clocked that he was quieter than usual. Much quieter. He had walked into her office and didn't even say a word as he closed the door behind him, holding his arms out as an indication that he wanted a hug as soon as she turned around to face him. No hesitation. She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing circles on his back and rested her head on his shoulder as she tenderly cooed, "Woah, you smell really good."

Frankly, she had intended to ask what was wrong, but she caught one whiff of him and the words came out of her mouth. She knew he would tell her what was troubling him when he felt comfortable enough to do so. Giving him compliments would make him feel better too, so she planned to give him as many as he needed.

"Thanks. I just got out of the shower."

"No, you've changed something." Unceremoniously, she buried her nose into his neck and inhaled deeply. He smelled so fresh. So clean. It was a scent that she had never smelt before. It was light and airy, with a hint of lavender. "You got a new cologne?"

Holy fuck. She'd noticed. He bought it on a whim and wasn't overly fussed about the smell so he just kept it in his locker. Usually, he brought his fragrance from home but since he stayed at her house last night, he had to settle for this one. It was fine to him, but if she liked it? Well, he was never getting rid of it. He was going to douse himself in it.

"Yeah"

"It's nice." She inhaled again, trying to memorise the smell, trying to memorise him. She was losing herself in the scent and the feel of him. "What is it?"

Shrugging, he replied, "Some French shit that I ordered online."

It was extremely expensive too, but he didn't mention that. She didn't need to know that he'd Googled 'How to smell so good that a girl will fall in love with you' and bought the first one that popped up. And maybe from the way she was reacting, he'd have to write a positive review of it.

Tearing her face away seemed like an impossible task, but she did it and looked up at him. He had a small smile now, which was better than what he arrived in her office with. She could still tell something was on his mind. "Want to skip reading and we can watch an episode or two of The Simpsons to cheer you up?"

"Please."

Together, they sat on her sofa and watched as she played an episode on her monitor. Unconsciously, Jake took Y/N's non dominant hand (as she still attempted to do work on her laptop) and traced his finger over her soft skin. Maybe he had lost his hot wheels and needed something to fiddle with. His touch was light as he trailed it down from the tip of her finger to her wrist, following the bone of each digit. Then he'd turn her hand over and repeat the motion against her palm.

Beth was about to walk in to warn Y/N about how grumpy Jake had seemed when she saw him stomp out of the gym. Yet, she saw how relaxed Jake looked through the little window of the office door and realised that she Y/N had already managed to calm him down. Having her #1 ship doing cute shit in front of her caused Beth to have a mini-meltdown. Jake had never acted this way towards anyone before. When he had a bad day, he used to get mad and storm out, but Y/N had seemed to weather that storm. She turned around and walked straight into Kevin's office to have an update session on the young couple, which Kevin didn't really want to know about but let Beth indulge in it because, well, because of the same reason Y/N let Jake indulge in whatever he wanted to talk about.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Jake inquired, "Y/N, are you into girls?" She didn't answer for a moment as she was a little stunned by the sudden questioning, so he continued, "Jessie asked and I didn't know."

"Jessie asked if I was into girls?" She replied incredulously, gently placing her laptop on the table. Y/N could see the worry in his eyes, but Jake was trying to hide it.

"Yeah, she asked in the sauna."

"Oh. Um." Y/N wasn't sure how to respond. She decided to go with the truth. "It depends on the girl. If she's cute and funny, then sure."

"And if she's not? What if she's like a total bitch?"

Y/N knew where he was heading with this. She let out a small chuckle and confirmed, "Jake, I'm not into Jessie. Number one, I'm way too old for her and she's way too young for me. And number two, she's not the nicest to my favourite boy," and playfully bumped her shoulder into his.

Now he was smiling. He was her 'favourite boy'. How could he not smile at that? She could see the wheels turning, probably trying to decide if he was going to ask a follow up question or not. Then he did. With a little more confidence, he asked, "What about guys? You're into those too?"

"Depends on the guy."

So, it 'depends'. That's what he gathered from that answer. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, but he supposed it would do.

Deciding to return the line of questioning, she responded, "What about you? You into guys?"

He'd never been asked that before. And if he was being honest, the answer would have been a quick 'no' if it had been asked by anyone else. But, he trusted Y/N, so he thought about it and admitted, "I don't think so. But, I will admit that Timothée Chalamet is sort of handsome."

"Really? That's interesting. I prefer my guys a little more squidgeable." As she spoke the made up word 'squidgeable', she reached out and light squeezed his bicep. With the hugest grin she'd seen all day, he swatted her hand away then managed to catch it and began fiddling with her fingers again.

Catherine burst through the door, causing Jake to drop both his expression and Y/N's hand. Their boss looked unexpectedly happy and didn't even reprimand them for not working. Catherine looked towards Y/N and asked, "Do you know a Grant Kelly? There's a picture of you together on his Facebook."

She hadn't heard that name in a while. Y/N answered, "Yeah. He's an old pal of mine."

Jake sat up. Hearing her speak about this other guy with her tone that was a sort of mix of partiality and remembrance, made him lean forward and bump his knee against hers. It was a reflex, something he did unconsciously whenever he wanted her to explain something.

Noticing his little gesture, she elaborated, "We used to live together, but he's kind of a dick. I haven't seen him since our uni days."

Corporate win. Catherine explained, "He's the brand manager for Lightning Brews, which may become our new sponsor. What are you doing tonight?"

He slumped back in his seat as Y/N replied, "Nothing. Why?" Jake was going to ask her if she wanted to watch the rest of the Transformers movies with him. Guess his plan was out the window now.

Using her connection, Catherine instructed Y/N to call up Grant and do a little schmoozing on the company's behalf then returned to do some work with a spring in her step. So, Y/N did what she was told. Ah, to be a corporate whore, what a joy.

"Hey Kelly," she greeted with an exaggerated, bubbly voice. Jake watched in defeat as she called up this guy and made dinner plans with this other guy. Just right in front of him. Admittedly, she had grabbed his hand and was brushing her thumb over his as she spoke. "Hey buddy, I hear you got a huge promotion. You're in Charlotte, right? Want to celebrate?"

'Please say no. Please,' Jake whined in his head. Y/N could almost hear his thoughts as she glanced over at him whilst Grant was speaking. He looked up at her and pouted. He was really playing that 'favourite boy' card.

"You want to go to The Pit Stop? Kelly, dude, I don't think that's your spot." What? The Pit Stop was one of the coolest places to go. At least that's what Jake thought. And Kevin, for that matter. This guy must suck. Sighing, she said, "Alright, but don't blame me when you start complaining. Meet you at 7? Cool, will do."

"Okay, see you later, sweet cheeks," Jake heard Grant say from the other line, pretending to be flirty. Y/N ignored him and pressed 'end call'.

Placing her phone down and dragging her hands down her face, Y/N let out a sigh. Hanging out with Grant again was not something she thought she'd ever do again. She didn't even remember why they were friends in the first place. He was just some guy who lived in the same building as her once upon a time.

When Y/N shifted her focus over at Jake again, his expression changed into a reassuring smile and hoped that she'd return it. His eyes were pleading, then his voice was too, "Let me come with?"

"No."

"Please?"

Grant would mercilessly make fun of Jake, so how would she phrase this? She didn't want to hurt his feelings. As compassionate as she could, she explained, "Grant is, what's the word? Um... a snob. Even when we lived together, he would, you know, go to the finest clubs and restaurants and everything. I'm pretty sure he went to the opera once. He's not your type of guy."

The pout returned to his face and he took his hand out of her grasp so he could cross his arms. "Don't look at me like that, Jakey. I'm not going to give in." She paused. "No matter how cute you act, I'm not going to put you through this."

Not giving in, she leant back on the sofa arm and swung her legs onto his lap. He wiggled them off his and got to his knees on the cushion, and without warning, flopped his body onto hers, pinning her to the sofa. She had no idea he could be so heavy. Her breath was knocked out of her lungs and she let out a "Auuughh," chuckling when she had her breath back.

"What was that for?"

"Don't know. Thought it would make you laugh." He was correct. It did make her laugh. A lot. It also made her realise the effect he had on her, as well as the extent of her attraction to him. He nuzzled his face into her hair, causing a slight tingling sensation at the base of her skull that she chose to ignore for the time being. "So, you're not going to let me come with you tonight?" he whined, sounding pitiful.

"Sorry, bud. No."

"Please?" He reared his head back to give her those big, beautiful green puppy dog eyes.

"No."

Despite how many times she said no, he kept asking. Y/N kept answering. They were going around in circles. It was only interrupted when Jessie opened the door and had already started speaking. "Y/N, do you know where Jake is? I've been looking-"

Jessie stopped when she saw how they were laying together. Jake was lying on his side, slightly looming over Y/N as she rested on her back. He'd grabbed her hand and was waving it back and forwards as he pleaded. The way he beamed down at her and watched her with a silly grin, it was impossible not to melt. And Jessie was sure that Y/N had.

"Um, yeah, he's here." Well, no shit. That was clear.

"What do you want, De La Crap?"

Rolling her eyes, Jessie apologised. She actually said the words "I'm sorry for teasing you earlier. I went too far past the line and I'm sorry."

Neither of them expected that. It was quiet for a moment while they let her words sink in.

"Yeah, uh, I'll let you get on with...with whatever that is you're doing," Jessie bid them farewell and got on with whatever she was planning to do. (She didn't have any plans, she just didn't want to carry on watching them do cutesy shit. It was gross to watch sometimes.)

Shock was written all over Jake's face as he stared at where his rival had once been standing. "What the fuck just happened?" he muttered.

"A miracle," Y/N joked, squeezing his hand.

A miracle, huh? Maybe another one could happen. She saw the thought bubble appear over his head and immediately shut it down. "It's still a no, Jakey."

Okay. So, she wouldn't let another miracle happen. That's fine. He'd come up with a plan. Not a good one. Not by a long shot. But still, he had a plan.

Chapter 8: Heavy Disguise

[fanfictionandpearls]

When The Levee Breaks- Ch2

Pairing: Kimberly Hart X Tommy Oliver

Summary: A tornado appears in Oklahoma, unlike any tornado this world has ever seen. The Winchesters go to investigate what is causing this phenomenon and find a world that is completely different from their own. Supernatural/Power Rangers Mash Up.

"Agent Holt, Agent Wilson, follow me," a nurse said as Sam and Dean walked behind her and they took in the extra security. The only reason they were ahead of the real FBI was Bobby's tip off and they needed to get these two beings out of here. With the war in heaven, there was no telling what side these beings were on and it was best to neutralize them until they knew where they fell.

"What can you tell us about their condition?" Dean asked as they paused in the doorway and the nurse looked back at them.

"Unconscious, but surprisingly healthy and stable. If they hadn't been in that field, I would just say that they were sleeping," the nurse admitted as they nodded. That certainly made things a lot easier for them and the plan they had. "Their identifications were weird though."

"Weird how?" Sam asked as Dean walked further into the room and glanced at the medicine that they were attached to. It was nothing that was really keeping them alive. Bobby was meeting them at a safehouse he had outside Ashland, Nebraska, but it was up to them to talk the doctors and nurses into letting them walk out with these two beings. They looked human, but they had been around too many monsters that appeared human to the average joe as well. Until they knew for sure, this was a new kind of monster that no one had ever run into before.

"Their ids aren't from real places. Reefside, California. Briarwood, Oregon. We can't find them on any map and Google isn't helping either. The best we got were some tv show references," the nurse said as Sam took the evidence bag from her and nodded.

"We have authorization to move them to a federal facility. We're not sure if they are a danger to this world," Dean said as he passed them some paperwork that they had hastily forged and the nurse nodded. "We will require an ambulance, but since they are stable- no need for medical personnel."

"That's unorthodox," the nurse responded as Sam turned on the charm and Dean motioned to the other medical personnel who were willing to move them onto ambulance gurneys. It was obvious to the both of them that they did not want them in this hospital any longer than they needed to be. The circumstances that got them here freaked out even the most experienced medical personnel.

They put them into the ambulance and Dean let out a sigh of relief. As they pulled out of the ambulance bay they saw government plated cars pull into the parking lot and turned on the sirens. The impala was parked a few streets over and it was not going to take long for the hospital personnel to realize that they had let fake federal agents take the only people that might know what had happened in that field. Dean switched on the lights and sirens and floored it, every second was going to count.

"They are not on the angels' side," Cas said as he landed in the passenger's seat and Dean jerked the wheel before quickly correcting back into his lane. No matter how many times Cas dropped in, he would never get used to the sudden appearances.

"Thanks, Cas. You could have just answered the text Sam sent you," Dean pointed out as Sam glanced up into the front of the ambulance. "Sammy?"

"He's starting to come around. I'll knock him back out if he wakes up," Sam stated as Cas and Dean exchanged a glance, but didn't argue with him. They didn't know what they were up against and if they could be unconscious- that was the easiest way to keep them until they got to the safehouse.

-----------------

"Where…where am I?" the woman murmured as she blinked her eyes open and felt that she was secured to a chair. She glanced around the room and saw three men watching her and Tommy attached to a similar chair. She had water thrown in her face and she sputtered as she stared up at the tallest man who had pulled out a knife and he quickly slashed her arm and then pulled out another one and slashed the other. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Huh. Doesn't react to holy water, silver, or iron," Sam said as she wondered what the hell the man was talking about. Why would she react to any of those? Was there some sort of allergy she would suddenly develop?

"Dead man's blood did nothing. Ashes of a phoenix did nothing. Goopher dust did nothing," Bobby remarked as she glanced down to see several syringe marks on her arms. What had they injected her with? "What are you?"

"Human," she sassed as she pulled against the restraints, testing them. She was feeling her strength come back and if Tommy didn't wake up soon- she was going to have to get them out of this and then she would cuss Tommy up one side and down the other for pulling her into this mess, again. "Where am I?"

"We're asking the questions here," Dean said as he leaned in close to her and she met him head on. This man didn't scare her. She had had real things in her life that were terrifying. He was not terrifying by any means. "How did you get here?"

"It looks like you kidnapped me. How about you enlighten me then?" she quipped as Dean smirked. That smart mouth would be attractive if she was actually human, but he highly doubted it. The man started to come around and Sam repeated the tests on him. They were concerned about testing him while he was conscious, there was something about him that made them all think he could be dangerous. "Do you work for Lipretere?"

"Sorry who?" Bobby asked as he watched the man test the bonds and for the first time felt a jolt of fear. They could control her, but there was something in his eyes that made him think the man was not controllable. There was something that made him think that they were going to be hunted if these beings weren't on their side.

"Lipretere. The being that attacked her to get to me," the man said as they all shook their heads. They had never heard of a Lipretere before. "Where are we?"

"No idea. Best guess- still on Earth," the woman replied as she flexed her hands and they watched as something appeared. Sam wrestled it out of her hands and they all stared at it. They moved away from them and studied the item as she let out a groan. She hadn't even meant to summon her morpher, she was just trying to see how much give they had left her. "I'd like my morpher back!"

The men retreated even further out of the room and she looked over at Tommy again. He flicked his hands and his morpher appeared. He muttered his morphing sequence and a light filled the cabin as he morphed. It broke the ropes that held him, but also called the attention of the three men. They charged back into the room, but froze as they watched the man rise to his feet. He ignored them as he walked over to the women and quickly checked her over.

"No way. Sam- didn't you watch some kung fu shit when you were a kid where…" Dean trailed off as the masked man went about untying the woman's ropes. "Oh what was it… Super Soldiers? Galactic Gurus?"

"Power Rangers?" Sam suggested as they watched the beings freeze. They both exchanged a glance as the men smiled. "What was the girl you had a major crush on?"

The two groups studied each other. The more the Winchesters examined the foreign beings, the more they realized that they looked exactly like a couple of characters from one of Sam's favorite shows as a kid. They were older, but there was no denying who the woman was and they both had a sinking feeling about who the man was as well. They'd been really smart to test his reaction when he was unconscious.

"Smooth, Sammy. Real smooth," Dean muttered as the woman rose to her feet and she moved towards him. "Kimberly Hart?"

"And Tommy Oliver. I'll take that," Tommy said as he grabbed her morpher and tossed it over to her as she turned her glare to him. "Can we agree that we're human now that you have some idea who we are?"

"You asshole," Kimberly growled as she charged at Tommy and sparks flew up as she punched him. "You were awake and you let them torture me!"

"They tortured you?" Tommy asked as he demorphed and wrapped his arms around her as she struggled against him. He looked down at her arms and saw multiple cuts and he felt that she was soaked. "You tortured her?"

"Just doing our job- we had to check," Sam said as he held his hands up and Tommy glared over at him as Kimberly bucked in his arms. "You could have been anything- from vampires to werewolves to demons. So yeah- we had to check."

"Those aren't real," Kim said as she finally pulled out of Tommy's arms and glared over at him. He let out a sigh. Now that their lives were not immediately in danger, she was going to go back to hating him. "How the fuck did you get us into this?"

"I warned you that Lipretere was going to come after you and that you should get back to Reefside or go into hiding. You ignored me," Tommy ground out as the Winchesters continued to watch them. This was definitely not the couple that had been portrayed in the tv show, that couple had been wildly in love.

"Why would he use me to get to you?" Kim asked as he just gave her a look and she snorted. "Not that shit again. You don't cheat on your fiancee with multiple people and still be desperately in love with her."

"I was evil," Tommy clarified to the room as she laughed.

"Oh yeah, evil enough to fuck your way through Katherine, Renee, Jasmine, Michelle- who else?" Kim growled as he let out a groan. It had been over ten years and she still could not forgive him for what he had done when he was evil. She had forgiven basically everything but the infidelity and that was something he understood, but he still cared about her. He still cared about her enough that every evil in the universe knew that she was his achilles' heel. She tolerated him when she was in danger, she craved him when she was terrified, but mostly he was her safe place and he was fine if that was all he ever was again. She seemed to hate herself and him for the fact that she felt safest with a man who had hurt her heart so much. "How far are we from Briarwood, Oregon?"

"See- that's the problem- there's no Briarwood, Oregon or Reefside, California. You got dropped in that field by a tornado that hovered there for over a day- your lives- were a kids tv show," Dean said as Sam pulled up an episode and began playing a clip. Kim and Tommy huddled around the screen and they watched their mortified stares. "Yeah…we know. Similar thing happened to us, but that involved angels and our friend Cas said you weren't part of an angel thing."

"And they certainly aren't part of any deal I would make for hell," Crowley said as they all jerked around to him. "Hello boys…and girl. A little birdie said that you picked up what fell out of that storm- I guess they were right."

"Seriously? Did I ever look like that?" Kim shrieked as Tommy looked back at the computer and shook his head no. She might have been the pink ranger, but she had never dressed that way. "Ignoring that- different universe?"

"Looks like it and looks like Lipretere brought us here," Tommy stated as he let out a sigh. He wanted to go after Lipretere, but they owed the people that had saved them from all the questioning. "Who are you?"

"I'm Dean and this is my brother Sam. We're hunters," Dean said as he watched them carefully as they studied him. He was not sure that he wanted them as an ally, but he had a feeling he definitely didn't want them as an enemy. "We hunt ghosts and werewolves and vampires and demons. And sometimes angels. You are now our problem."

"We can take care of ourselves. We've been down this road before and once we can get Lipretere, we should get back to our world," Tommy said as Kim nodded. The two of them had had this happen more times than they wanted to admit and they knew best how to track down Lipretere. They also knew that anyone that was with them, was in danger. "Thanks for getting us out of any awkward questions."

"I don't think it's going to be that easy," Bobby said as they all turned to him. "What can you do? Really do. I mean you muttered a few words and were powered up to take us on and anything that got in your way. Both sides are going to want you as a weapon."

"We're no one's weapon," Kim ground out as Sam and Dean grimaced. They had both said that before, but it didn't matter- they were turned into weapons anyway. "What?"

"Allow me," Crowley said as smoke poured out of his mouth and he took over Kimberly's body. Her eyes blinked open and Tommy jumped back as he saw they were pitch black.

"Get out of her," Tommy ordered and to all of their surprise black smoke immediately poured out of her mouth. She collapsed into Tommy's arms and he watched the man stand back up. Crowley stared at him as he shook his head. He'd never had that happen before.

"Well I'll be damned," Bobby muttered as Tommy gave them a confused look before Kimberly leaned over to the side and threw up. She batted his hands away as he ignored her and continued to care for her. The rest of the room stared at them in awe. Yeah, they definitely had some powers that all sides would want.

[invisibleraven]

61. surprising your lover from behind, smacking a kiss on their cheek + Reggie/anyone.

Hope you don't mind, but I kind of went to play in your Reggie is the one who survives AU sandbox because I got this idea and it would not leave me alone.

It was weird, Reggie thought, to be back in Los Feliz. He knew these streets better than anything, despite not returning here for so long. But as much as everything stayed the same, everything had changed.

It was nothing like when he returned to Silver Lake, making sure that his parents were gone as he packed all his belongings into a single duffel bag. He didn't even wonder if his parents thought about where he was, he figured they stopped thinking about him the second he didn't come home that fateful July night.

However, approaching Celia's door, he dragged his feet. He hadn't been back here since...

He hadn't needed to to come here alone either, he knew that, but he figured this was something he had to do without anyone being witness to his grief. He finally saw the edge of the Shaw property, sucked in a breath, turning his eyes towards the house and stopped. Because there on the lawn was a For Sale sign.

Reggie rushed to the door, bursting in, long having given up knocking when coming here. Celia looked up startled from where she was sitting in the living room, her eyes sad yet welcoming as she waved him to her. "Reginald, it's been too long," she said, gathering him into a hug. Reggie tried not to register how small she seemed to be, how frail her voice was.

"Celia... the house... you can't sell it!" he protersted.

Celia gave him a sad smile, patting his cheek. "I wish it was up to me mahal, but Melinda and Francis want to put me in a home and sell this place." She sighed, looking around her home. "I wanted to pass away here, where I spent my life with Georg, where my Robert took his first steps. Now... now I can only hope that I see them both again one day, with only their memories to keep me company at whatever horrid place my son sticks me."

"May their memory be a blessing," Reggie murmured. The old phrase still lingered in his memory despite not having been to Temple in ages.

"They are my dear, always," Celia said. "Now, you take whatever of Robert's you want, and anything you boys left in the garage."

Reggie nodded, and after a catch up over tea, he wandered off to the garage, hands trembling as he reached for the doors. He was sure he stood there forever, unable to even touch the latch when he felt a pair of arms wind around his waist, a surprising kiss landing on his cheek, a hand in his, another kiss.

Reggie relaxed back into Ray's hold, squeezing Rose's hand. "You didn't have to come."

"We weren't going to let you go back in there alone carino," Rose said. "We know it's going to be hard."

"Celia called us, and we rushed over. But you don't have to do this today," Ray added.

Reggie nodded, tears streaming down his face but he made no move to swipe them away. "It's so silly, I know they're not there, but I keep expecting to open that door and have Luke composing his next song, or Alex chiding me for being late because I met an interesting dog, or Bobby pushing Celia's cookies at us to make sure we ate." His hand finally touched the handle, the metal cool against his skin. "But Celia is selling the house, and I want... something of theirs to remember them by. Maybe we could find some place to store their instruments?"

Ray and Rose exchanged glances, Rose wrapping herself around Reggie's front while Ray still stayed plastered to his back. "Or we could keep them here," Rose suggested. "Add my guitars to them, and your bass."

"What?" Reggie questioned.

"How about we put in an offer on the house carino?" Ray offered. "We've been talking about finding a place to make a family home... a place that kids could grow up. This seems like a pretty good place. Unless it will hurt to much."

Reggie let go of the door, looking at his partners surrounding him. "You would really do that for me?"

"For us mi amor," Rose replied. "We always wanted a place to call home, what better place than the one you always claimed was yours?"

Reggie hugged Rose tight to him, felt Ray's arms tightening around him. "I love you two so much."

"Te amo Reggie," Ray and Rose whispered, almost in synch.

Reggie finally untangled them, wiping away his tears, a smile finally appearing on his face. "Okay, let's go talk to Celia."

Rose smiled and grabbed Reggie's hand, Ray taking the other, the three of them walking up the drive towards what they hoped would be their new home. Reggie glanced back at the garage, a sense of peace enveloping him. He wasn't ready yet, but the knowledge that he might now have all the time in the world, and his partners' love and support for always, he knew he would be one day.

[jumblejen]

We Were Always Going to End Up Together - Ch 19

Suptober 22, Day 19: Ladies

On AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42237885/chapters/113399767

(Or read from the beginning: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42237885/chapters/106051008)

“So I heard you had an interesting weekend,” started Jo in lieu of a greeting.

Dean was sitting at the bar at the Roadhouse to catch up with her. He felt like it had been forever since they’d hung out and while some of that was due to how much time he spent with Cas, it wasn’t like he’d been good about keeping up on his relationships before Cas either. He just hadn’t felt much like socializing. Seeing Jo at Thanksgiving, and realizing he never made time for the ‘talk’ she wanted to have made him wake up to how much he’d been neglecting anyone that wasn’t making a gigantic effort to stay in touch. He was going to put it right.

“Interesting, huh. Mostly just hung out with Cas, which was interesting, but not something I thought you’d want to hear about.”

“Ew, no.” Jo swatted Dean with the towel she kept over her shoulder. “I meant rescuing that woman and all.”

Dean laughed. “Not sure who said I rescued anyone. All I did was tow her car so she didn’t have to wait for hours by the side of the road.”

“Uh huh. Was she pretty?”

“Gorgeous. But in that, she-might-just-slit-your-throat-in-the-middle-of-the-night kind of way.”

“Word is that Gabriel sure enjoyed himself.”

“How do you know any of this?”

“Bobby might have been in and mentioned it to Mom while I was nearby.”

“How would he know about Gabriel and her though?”

“Bobby forgot something and came back right after you pulled out. Saw the two of them.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“You don’t think it’s sweet?”

“Not in my Baby I don’t.”

“Pretty sure it’s not anything you haven’t done in your Baby. I seem to remember you didn’t leave right away after your first date with Cas…”

Dean blushed a blotchy red. “Were you spying on me?” He wasn’t proud at how squeaky his voice sounded.

“Not my fault you drive a flashy noisy car and I’m not blind. I’m just glad you didn’t jump each other in the bathroom.”

“Joanna Beth, you shut your mouth!”

“Imitating Mom does not make you intimidating Dean.”

Dean fumed a little. He thought no one had noticed them making out like teenagers during their first date. He had no idea that Jo was capable of withholding that sort of juicy ammunition. Could have been worse though. Could have been Ellen. “Yeah, well. She’s my Baby. That’s different.”

“Sure Dean.”

He figured turnabout what fair play. More or less. “So you and Charlie. You seemed pretty cozy on Thanksgiving.”

Jo’s flat stare couldn’t hide her own blush. “I asked her out.”

“And obviously she said yes.”

“Duh.”

“Gone out with her yet?”

“Maybe a little.”

“It’s been a week and a couple days. Not sure what ‘a little’ means.”

“It means we hung out here and I went to her place one night for pizza.”

“Two dates? Nice.”

“Maybe? I can’t tell. We were fine on Thanksgiving and here, you know, it was comfortable. But then at her place it was just so awkward.”

“What kind of awkward? Like, maybe this was a mistake or…”

“No! Not a mistake. But like, I barely got a goodnight kiss and we already know each other only it felt like we had just met. But also like we already knew all sorts of things. And it just was so uncomfortable.”

“You should talk about it with her.”

“What?”

“You know. Communicate. Bet she wants to make it not awkward as much as you do.”

“You. Dean Winchester. Are telling me. To communicate.”

Dean looked at her with a frown. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Pretty sure if you asked all the ladies you’ve ever dated, and most of the men too, they’d all say Dean needs to work on his communication skills.”

“I talk all the damn time!”

Jo rolled her eyes and hit him with her towel again. “You know what I mean. How many people have you been totally open and honest with.”

“A few.”

“How many were you open and honest with before shit hit the fan.”

Dean thought about that, his irritation sinking. “One.”

“I assume that one is Sam.”

“It’s Cas.”

Jo’s eyebrows flew up at that. “You and Sam are so close though.”

“Yeah, but not in the way you mean. I looked out for that kid for my whole life. Which is good and all. He had the space to grow up and have dreams, and I just made sure we had food. A place to sleep. Since he went to college…well, his dreams got bigger and mine... I’m still the same guy I always was. He isn’t always the easiest person to share stuff with.”

“But Cas?”

Dean smiled softly. “He doesn’t expect me to be anything other than me. I’m not…trying to fill some role or fit into some idea of what I should be.”

“I’m happy for you.” Jo looked down at the polished wood of the bar. “Look, Dean. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t get after you.”

“Hey, this wasn’t. I’m not trying to criticize you here.”

“No, I know. But I think it’s been pretty easy to fall into that trap of seeing you through Sam’s eyes. It’s not fair to you.”

“He’s been close to me his whole life, so he probably isn’t far off. And he’s seen me at my worst, so that’s a handy perspective.”

Jo met Dean’s eyes steadily. “Sometimes people closest to us see us the least clear of all.” Jo reached out and held Dean’s hand. “I’m glad you can talk to Cas.”

“He’s amazing. Really. And Sam seems to be getting along with him, so that’s one less worry.”

“If you let Sam get in the way of your relationship with Cas…”

“It’s not gonna happen. I can’t believe that I let Benny get argued out of my life and I won’t let it happen again. Cas and I, we really have been talking about everything. And he’s completely on my side. It’s kinda hard to believe sometimes. But it’s nice.”

“You fell in love, didn’t you Winchester?”

“Completely and utterly.”

“Well that deserves a toast,” Jo said while pouring them each a shot. “To love and friendship.”

“To love and friendship.” Dean tipped the glass back and nearly spit it out all over Jo. “What the hell Jo?”

“What?” asked Jo innocently.

“That was fucking apple juice!”

Jo grinned.

A couple of hours later after Jo’s shift ended, they went for burgers at a joint a few blocks away. Dean and Jo ended up back at his place trying to decide if they should call it a night or watch yet another episode of some detective show they’d both seen a million times. It wasn’t particularly late, but they both were somewhat unsettled, making their normal sibling-esque relationship feel stilted and strange.

Jo sighed, checking her phone for notifications.

Dean was guilty of doing that more than once himself, when normally he tried to ignore his phone existed when hanging out with someone. Especially Cas. He smiled a little, “Hey.” He reached over on the couch and shoved Jo on the shoulder.

“Sorry. I’m sorry Dean. Did you make a choice?”

“Yeah. Let’s call them.”

“Call who?”

“You know who. Cas? Charlie? Let’s see if they want to come over and hang out with us. At least, I assume you’ve been looking at your phone like I’ve been looking at my phone for the same reason.”

Jo blushed even as she flipped Dean off. “What if it’s super awkward again?”

“Well, it won’t be just the two of you, so should be fine. Come on. You know you want to.”

Jo grinned as she typed out a message to Charlie at lightning speed. Dean followed suit in a more hunt and peck manner. Both received replies almost instantly. Dean and Jo were both more alert and practically bouncing in their seats as they waited impatiently. Dean was about two minutes from starting a pillow fight with all the extra energy in the room when he heard a knock on the door. Cas and Charlie both stood at the door. Smiling widely, Dean let them in, hugging Charlie first and then kissing Cas with a little more passion than usual for a greeting. Damn he loved this man.

Dean was a little surprised that he wasn’t getting chewed out for sucking face with his boyfriend by Jo, but when he looked around, he saw she only had eyes for Charlie. They weren’t embracing exactly, but they were holding hands a little while making goo-goo eyes at each other. He and Cas probably looked just as sappy, if a little more encumbered.

They lounged in Dean’s living room in pairs, opting not to watch anything but to just catch up. Dean loved watching all of them talk about everything and nothing. Cas really did fit into his life so easily. And Dean felt so much more like himself with Cas. Sure, it wasn’t bad hanging out with Jo or Charlie, but there was always that lingering question of their approval. Dean had learned to read the subtle pursing of lips, the tightening of a jaw, the stiffness in how someone suddenly held themselves. It was a language Dean could never articulate in words, despite his fluency. With Cas though. None of that was there. None. At first Dean wondered if it was because Cas had an awesome poker face, but Dean could read all his clues just fine, but none of it ever seemed directed at him.

Impulsively Dean leaned over and kissed Cas’ temple. Cas smiled back at him and Dean thought his chest might burst with how much he felt in this simple moment.

“So who’s this chick you rescued?” asked Charlie, popping Dean’s sappy moment like a bubble.

“Jo told you?”

“Of course!”

“She wasn’t a chick,” started Dean primly. “She was just someone who needed a little help.”

“And did she try to seduce you?” Charlie waggled her eyebrows outrageously.

“Cas was right there!”

“And is right here,” added Cas.

“It just sounds like the start of a porno.”

“Towing someone’s car is not sexy,” said Dean.

 “I don’t know about that,” said Cas with a sly smile.

Charlie waved her hands in front of her face. “Okay, ew. Cas, I thought you were on my side?!”

“What fun would that be?”

Charlie and Jo both burst into giggles in the face of Cas’ deadpan delivery. Dean rolled his eyes at all three of them.

“Is Gabriel still in town?” asked Jo.

“He left the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I never know when he’ll pop back up though.”

“Will he come back for the holidays?”

“We don’t really celebrate holidays.”

“Not a believer?”

“Gabe’s parents were…strict. In a religious sense. And in a lot of other ways.”

Dean thought Gabe made a lot more sense now. “So he rejected all that?”

“Yes. And lives how he chooses. He’s one of the only family members I actually talk to because of it.”

“Makes sense,” said Charlie. “Dean and me don’t really have a lot of blood family to worry about judging our ‘lifestyle’.  Well, Sam, but he wants so bad to be a good ally that he wouldn’t dare be a jerk about it.”

“Instead he’s just a jerk about other things,” said Jo under her breath.

Charlie grimaced at her lap.

“Wait what? What are you talking about?”

Charlie and Jo exchanged a look. Finally Charlie was the one to speak. “He was just a little…tense about Benny being there. And acting like you were going to end up in the streets because he was back.”

“He made a few ‘slippery slope’ comments.”

“Where was I?”

“You had left already. And so had Benny. Eileen was arguing with Sam about it a little…” added Jo.

“And you eavesdropped?”

“Is it still eavesdropping if it’s seeing someone sign?” she asked.

“Since when do you sign?”

Jo rolled her eyes. “I’ve learned a few things. And maybe looked up some super important words. Like vampire.”

“Sam called Benny a vampire?!”

Jo laughed a little. “Yeah. It was right after Benny went out the door and he was very carefully signing so I don’t think he knew anyone but Eileen knew what he was saying. But I definitely saw that sign.”

“And I might have innocently talked to Sam and Eileen right after,” continued Charlie. “He definitely was concerned that Benny would be a bad influence.”

Dean blew out a frustrated breath. “He acts like we were in a gang or something!”

“Dean. Is Benny a real vampire?” asked Cas seriously.

Dean laughed a little. “Not to my knowledge. But I didn’t know about the drag thing either.”

“What drag thing?” asked Jo and Charlie simultaneously.

Dean groaned, knowing he just walked right into that one. Judging from Cas’ expression, that had been the goal. With a pointed look at Cas, he started, “Well, a few weeks back, Cas had me go with him and his friend Meg to a drag show…”

[stefanmikaleson1864]

Family

Hi I was wondering if I could request Evan Buckley x Nash-Grant!reader. (Y/N is Bobby’s biological daughter and adopted by Athena when Bobby and Athena get married), Buck and Y/N are dating for years and are very happy together until Buck decides to sue the city, she then breaks up with him and hates Buck. Anytime they see each other she either flips him off or completely ignores him. When he comes back and everyone forgives him, she doesn’t. A couple of weeks later, Y/N is involved in a car accident and the 118 respond, then in the hospital they get back together. Thanks (sorry it’s long!) ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

 Ever since your Dad married Athena she welcomed you into the house with open arms. She even adopted you. But sense you were over 18 it wasn’t a legal thing just a family thing.

 She was always there for you. Making you a member of the family. Even May and Harry called you there sister.

Something that was big in the house was Sunday dinner. It was the most important time of the week. For everyone to come together and connect with one another.

Sunday Dinner’s looked at lot more differently lately. 

There used to be more people here now there just seems like there is something missing. I mean I know something is missing it just hurts.

You loved Buck you really did he was amazing and kind and would always take really good care of you no matter what.

 Late night conversations were the best. He knew so much about you and you did about him. The two of you were maybe talking about marriage and kids and starting a life together.

Of course everyone had their relationship problems. Buck wasn’t an angel and this last move he proved that.

 He always just did things without thinking. He would just go and never take a minute and see other options. Sometimes you loved him for it but this was just a curse at this point.

You couldn’t believe that he would and go and sue the 118 and the city was involved. Now your parents were involved in this and it was just something you couldn’t let go. It always made you so angry. How could he hurt his family like this.

You tried and talk to him about to just drop the case but he refused. He always said it wasn’t fair he was fired and now he has nothing left.

 Which hurt I mean you knew it was his career but he still had you and that wasn’t going to change. But Buck being Buck he didn’t care. It was something he wanted so everyone else be dammed.

You decided to end things. The lawsuit and this whole he didn’t give a damn attitude you were completely over it.

 It was just time to move on. It hurt because you just felt like years of your life were just gone. The building just collapsed in.

You cut him off completely decided why even bother he didn’t give a damn so why should you.

 He tried calling you or knocking on your door but you just ignored him. You saw him a few times at the 118 but he always just got the finger. The unspoken communication that screamed so loud.

So Sunday dinner was at the 118 today your dad had to work so your mom decided to bring dinner over. 

You didn’t want to go and thought maybe you should just stay home. Athena made it very clear that there was no chance in hell of that happening.

So you went to dinner and of course Buck was there. He came back to work and everyone welcomed him back with open arms. 

Your dad tried to talk to you to tell you to at least forgive him and talk to him but again in the wise words of your mom there was no chance in hell of that happening.

So when you got to the 118 you just stayed in the background sitting with your dad in the Kitchen

. It was still weird there. No one really knew what to say to you. It was like it they talked to you they felt like they were turning there back on Buck and vise versa.

So Sunday dinner was so awkward. No one really saying anything and the dinner was silent and it felt so long.

 You just wanted to run out and leave. But Athena was giving you the don’t you dare look. You knew it was important to her so you tried to behave.

After dinner you helped clean up and Buck came up behind you in the kitchen

“Y/N I need to talk to you I’m sorry Okay I never meant to hurt you I love you”. He pleaded.

“Fuck off Buck.” You said and walked away telling Athena it was time to and she agreed. She knew how you was feeling so she didn’t fight it.

A couple of weeks had passed sense then. Buck wouldn’t leave you alone calls and text but you just ignored them all.

It was late one night and you decided to go for a late night target run. It always made you feel better and this time did just the trick.

You were on your way back to your apartment when suddenly all you saw was these big bright lights and a loud horn blaring.

You don’t remember much of what happened you were in and out of consciousness

. You think you heard your dad but you were just so sleepy but then you felt someone grab your hand and you mustered enough strength to look and see and it was Buck.

He looked so worried at you. He looked like he was on the verge of tears and you didn’t realize everything that was going on. He just squeezed your hand and told you it was going to be okay. You weren’t alone.

You heard your dad commanding orders and telling everyone what to do. You could also hear the panic in his voice and it broke your heart.

You must have passed out because next thing you know you were in the hospital. The lights were so bright the smell was gross.

You didn’t open your eyes just yet because it seemed like it was so much work at the moment. So you just sat there and tried to muster up the energy to do so.

When you finally did you slowly opened up your eyes and looked around. Buck was sitting next to you holding your hand. Your mom and dad on the other side.

They all 3 jumped up and looked at you with wide eyes.

“Omg Y/N are you okay.” Buck asked

“I’m so glad your okay you’re here baby girl your going to be just fine”. Athena said.

“What happened.” You asked

“You don’t remember you were in a car accident. Earlier tonight ” He said

“We all been so worried about you.” Buck said

You didn’t say anything just sat there taking in what they said. Bobby and Athena both excused themselves and walked out the room.

“I’m sorry I know were not together anymore I was just so worried about you.” Buck said.

He looked so cute sitting there. If you were being honest with yourself you were glad he was there even though you did hate him you also still loved him.

“It’s okay I’m glad you here.” You said grabbing his hand.

“I just want to say how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt you I love you and I promise that I’m going to do right by you if you give me another chance.” Buck pleaded his case.

“I love you to and I want that Buck I want us to be together and to be happy and be like before but sometimes you just do things and you don’t think and that is what hurts.” You said

“I Know I wish I could just take it back but I’ve been going to therapy and I am trying to be better. The person you deserve.” He said looking up at you and crying.

“ come here.” You said gesturing up to him.

He came close to you and you leaned up and kissed him and he kissed you back.

“I’m happy your getting help I want to give this another chance that it deserves.” You said

Buck leaned in and kissed you again and you could feel the smile on his face.

A few days had passed sense then and everyone was happy for you guys and Eddie said he was exceptionally happy he didn’t have to deal with sad Buck anymore.

Buck came back to Sunday dinner, and it felt like that missing part was whole again because this time the whole family was there with each other.

[mr-and-mr-diaz]

I just. I just thought about Eddie holding baby Jee-Yun? And singing to her while she clutches at his finger with her tiny meaty baby hand??

Maybe Buck freaked out a little because she was being fussy and wouldn't settle, and its probably nothing but hey, who better to call than Eddie, who conveniently has the day off and cuts off Buck's panicked rambling with a soothing;

"Its okay, Buck. Give me ten minutes, okay? You're doing great. She's probably just restless."

Eddie gets there and sends Buck off to cook dinner or shower or take a nap, scooping Jee-Yun out of her travel crib and making sure she's changed, warm, fed and content. And its been so long since Christopher was this tiny, but holding Jee-Yun makes him think back to that tiny, wriggly little bundle in his arms for the first time, back before it all went to shit.

Eddie pacing slowly around the lower loft, singing quietly, tickling her little chin, grinning when she giggles and gurgles at him. And he can see so much of Maddie and Chimney in her already. She's got Maddie's eyes and Chimney's lopsided grin.

(And for a little crack, maybe Buck catches this scene and is so overwhelmed he just blurts out; "put a baby in me!" And Eddie is like; "... What?" 👁👄👁 Which cues a hilariously awkward but heartfelt confession of feelings on both sides.)

Hey hey! So I like I told you I started this a while ago and then got SEVERE AND DEBILITATING writers block, and it sat waiting for new life. And then 5x03 happened, so Hello, new life! I hope you love it!

With You, My Life, I Will Get Married

Warning: mild spoilers for 9-1-1 season 5 episode 3.

Chimney was out searching for Maddie.

After shifts, on weekends, whenever he had a second, he was either spending time with Jee or out searching for her mom.

In times when he was on the search everyone at the 118 was making time to watch Jee Yun. Mrs. Lee was doing what she could, but couldn't always be available, and when that happened, Jee would spend some time at Bobby and Athena's or by Hen and Karen. And when they had too much going on, or when either of the uncles felt like they weren't getting enough time with their beautiful niece, she would spend time at her Uncle Buck's or Uncle Albert's.

Uncle Buck got lucky this time.

Eight hours in and everything had gone wrong. Buck shoulders were damp with spit-up, baby drool, and snot and all Jee seemed capable of doing was crying, crying, crying.

"I'm so sorry! I don't know what I did wrong, and, and now--just, Jee, please, it's okay, I'm here--!"

She continued to yell and Buck got more and more panicked. "Your Uncle Albert's gonna be here in like 5 minutes, Jee, okay? And then, maybe, maybe he's better with you? And will make you happy, and then--Oh God, what have I done wrong--"

A knocking at the door sent him back on his feet, swaying toward the loft entrance. It opened before he could get there, however, and he stopped where he was, a furious Jee Yun screaming in his ears as Eddie Diaz, not Albert Han, walked in.

"You look like you're having fun." Eddie's eyebrow was raised and his mouth quirked in a teasing smile.

"Eddie...?" Buck's momentary shock was interrupted as Jee let out another wail. "Um, sorry, this isn't the best time at the moment, but Albert--"

"--has a date tonight and sent me as his relief." Eddie reached out and plucked Jee Yun from Buck's arms. "And you have a date with your shower and a few hours' sleep."

"I--no, it's okay, I know you just got off shift--"

"Buck." Eddie shifted Jee to one arm, and the other rested on Buck's chest, over his pattering heartbeat. He met Buck's eyes, his own calm despite the bundle of adorable chaos still screaming bloody murder into his shoulder. "Go shower."

"...Yeah, okay."

***

She truly was one of the cutest babies, even when she was liable to wake up the neighborhood with her noise, Eddie thought with a smile as he re-seated her over one shoulder and began to firmly but gently tap her back.

"Your Tio Eddie is going to assume this is a gas issue, okay, chiquita? Christopher used to have this all the time, and he would scream and cry." Eddie huffed ruefully. "I was useless at it then, but Shannon showed me what to do." He kept tapping at her back. "Good set of lungs means a healthy baby, good job, Jee. Now, let's see if we can't get this gas out of you so you can calm down and you and your Tio Buck can get some sleep, okay?"

Eddie started circling the room, the sun beginning to set as he heard he shower turn on.

"There you go, see? Your Buck is going to get all showered since you drooled all over him, and then you both can get some sleep, how's that sound?"

He was answered with a burp far louder than Jee's small body should be capable of making. Then a sweet gurgling sound as she nestled her chin into his shoulder.

"There, feel better, mi princesa?" Eddie whispered against her soft, downy hair. "When I was small and got upset, and my parents got annoyed with my sulking, they'd send me to Abuela. And she would sit me down on her lap, just like this," he sat down on Buck's couch, and settled Jee Yun against his broad chest, rubbing her small back with a large warm hand. "And she would hug me until I forgot what I was so upset about. All I could think about was the smell of her perfume and how much I wanted to be like her one day.

"Then Pepa would come out and yell at both of us that it's about damn time we came into the house, dinner doesn't make itself." Eddie laughed at the memory. Jee made a small discontented noise and Eddie stood up again, walking toward the kitchen, where he saw the half-formed works of bottle making on the counter. "Shhh, princesa, Tio Eddie's gonna make you a bottle." With Jee over his shoulder, sounding more and more on the edge of hunger-panic, Eddie quickly assembled a bottle then leaned back against the kitchen island and cradled Jee Yun in his arms, pressing the nipple to her mouth, which she accepted gratefully.

"Better, yeah? Where was I...? Oh." Eddie smiled. "Once we were inside, Pepa, Abuela and I would make arroz con leche. Abuella would wash the rice, Pepa would be tutting the whole time about too much sugar, but she would always wink at me and add just a bit more before the cinnamon." Eddie couldn't help the smile that stole over his face as he remembered Abuela's warm kitchen in her El Paso ranch house before she and Pepa relocated to LA. In winter, the windows would fog over from the heat of whatever was on the stove. When she left, a lot of Eddie's heart left with her.

"They used to sing me the song too, you know?" Jee gurgled around her dinner and Eddie smiled again. "Well, I wasn't planning to sing it, but you drive a hard bargain." Eddie's poked Jee's soft cheek with a finger and began to sing.

Arroz con leche se quiere casar con una viudita de la capital, que sepa tejer, que sepa bordar, que ponga la aguja en su campanal.

(English translation: Rice with milk (rice pudding) Wishes to get married With a little widow from the capital. Who knows how to weave (or knit), Who knows how to embroider, Who puts the church steeple in the bell tower.)

***

Eddie was no American Idol contestant, but his voice was soothing and good. Strong. Listening to him sing from his seat on the stairs, Buck almost felt like he was where Jee currently snuggled, right against Eddie's chest, as his bass voice sung the gentle Spanish lyrics, harmonized by the occasional happy noise from Jee Yun.

Yo soy la viudita la hija del rey. Me quiero casar y no sé con quien. Contigo sí, contigo no, Contigo mi vida me casaré yo.

(English translation: I am the widow The daughter of the king, I want to get married and I don’t know with whom. With you, yes. With you, no. With you, my life, I will get married.)

Buck's head knocked lightly against the banister, body relaxing. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just the softest sweatpants he owned with a towel draped over his shoulders to catch water from the mess of wet curls on his head.

Eddie's so hard on himself all the time. I don't get it. He's such a good dad.

Dazedly, Buck's eyes fixed on Eddie's mouth as he repeated the verses again. Then Eddie sighed.

"Afterward Pepa would ask me who I want to marry and Abuela would laugh at me, and I'd always complain--" Jee gurgled again. "Like that, yes. But honestly, it was nice... Even though between you and me, Pepa can't sing very well at all." Eddie's lips quirked again in a smile. "Kind of like your Uncle Buck."

Buck startled at his name and looked up at Eddie's eyes. They twinkled back at him in the dying last light of the day, Eddie's golden skin lit by the last rays of the sun. Buck felt his face heat with a blush, knew there was nothing to do about it.

"Sorry, I should've--"

"Feel better after your shower?"

Buck sighed and smiled. "Yeah. World's better." He stood, stretching out his long legs as he descended the stairs. It was full dark now, but Buck didn't feel like turning on a light. "I can take her now."

"Nope." Eddie met him midway, hand on Buck's shoulder turning him around. "You're both getting some sleep now." One hand on Buck's shoulder, the other holding a drowsy Jee Yun, Eddie guided him back up the stairs, and pressed Buck down until he was sitting on his bed.

"Eddie, are you sure--"

"Shhh." Eddie deposited Jee into Buck's arms, then sat down behind him. "You can hold her for now." Eddie's hands skimmed up Buck's warm back then pulled the towel off Buck's shoulders, laying it on top of Buck's head, where a corner flopped over his eyes.

"Eddie?"

"Hold still, Buck."

Eddie's strong hands curled into the towel and Buck's hair, rubbing vigorously to get it dry. "Seriously, anyone who has ever seen your hair at work would marvel at how different it looks before you comb and gel all the life out of it." He rubbed vigorously, and Buck felt himself relaxing back against Eddie's chest. Tomorrow, he might look back at this and feel embarrassed. He might have to apologize. Tomorrow, he would go back to hiding how much he felt for the man who was drying his hair, still absent-mindedly humming the Arroz con leche tune under his breath. But for now, Eddie was too near and too warm and too... Eddie. And Buck found that he couldn't deny himself Eddie right now.

Buck cleared his throat and made himself focus on their conversation. "I used to wear my hair naturally, but people said it looked floppy. Made me look like a puppy."

"People are stupid sometimes, Buck. You know this." Eddie's thumb traced the shell of Buck's ear. "And if you think slicking back your hair makes you look less like a puppy, you really shouldn't be bothering." He snickered as Buck tried to shoulder his chest and Jee made a noise of complaint.

"So I just look like a puppy all the time, huh?"

The towel dropped. Eddie's arms came around, holding onto Buck and Jee Yun both. "I think you're a beautiful man, Buck."

The air in Buck's chest hiccupped out of his mouth. His heart picked up speed as the places where Eddie's hands rested on his stomach seemed to heat from within. "Y... Eddie?"

"Shhh. Sleep now. Jee's asleep, but who knows for how long." Eddie's voice was gruff, embarrassed. "I'll just--"

"Stay?" It came out too high, too soft. Buck cleared his throat and tried again. "I mean, if it isn't any trouble, and--"

"I can stay." Eddie's arms tightened around Buck again and he pulled him backwards until Buck could lay out flat on his back, before pressing Buck's head down on his pillow. Then Eddie pulled Jee from Buck's arms and sat back against the headrest, legs folded together, Buck's niece cuddled again against his chest. "Sleep now."

"Okay." There was so much Buck wanted to know. To say. It all got stopped in his throat as fear tamped it all down to squirm in his chest.

"Eddie?" The word found its way out.

"Hm?"

"...Nothing."

A sigh. Then, "Come here."

Buck didn't hesitate, moving his head off the pillow and onto Eddie's lap. Eddie's spare hand found its way back into his curls and tugged lightly before stroking through them, gently, so gently.

"Sleep now."

"Okay. But," Buck's jaw cracked around a large yawn. "Before... you have to know..."

"Hm?"

"You are... so beautiful... Eddie Diaz."

Buck felt Eddie's hand tighten in his hair again, before releasing, fingers wandering down to trace his eyebrows, his nose, his lips.

"Sleep, querido."

As Buck's eyes slipped closed, and awareness almost dropped away, he swore he could feel lips press lightly right above his eye, on his birth mark.

"Contigo mi vida me casaré yo."

[capesandshapes]

All You Had to Do Was Stay (Post Reveal/ Pre Relationship) (1/4)

Thanks to LNC for the title!

Summary:

Three years ago, Marinette revealed her identity to him. Three years ago, he promised to wait in a hotel room for her. Three years ago, she opened the door to find it empty.

Now she's expected to play nice with him, since she's the maid of honor and he's unfortunately the best man. But old habits die hard, and old feelings die harder.

"This is a wedding, not a death march, Marinette."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things that need to be done before Alya Cesaire could marry Nino Lahiffe:

1. Designs combining both Martinique culture and Réunion style needed to be made for the whole wedding party. Everyone should get to have a say in what they wear.

2. The video of Alya dancing overenthusiastically to the cupid shuffle needed to be removed from Lila Rossi’s Instagram, lest Nino’s nana see and wonder what type of woman he’s marrying.

3. The cake tasting needed to be had. Marinette needed to make sure that her parents didn’t go overboard and keep the couple for the whole night. Even if Alya was practically their daughter. Even if they begged. Even if papa cried.

4. A totally unique and unreplicable combination Bachelor and Bachelorette party needed to be planned.

And, lastly… The most difficult of all:

5. Marinette somehow needed to be able to stand in a room with Nino’s best man, Adrien, and hold a conversation for more than five minutes. Even if, three years ago, he found out her identity, left Paris, and broke her heart.

“Easy,” Marinette groaned, sinking further into her barstool as she closed her notes app, her head touching the counter of the bar. She’d already crossed off the top two of the list items, and yet…

“I’m not asking for a miracle,” Alya began, obviously knowing what she was thinking about. She was the one to ask Marinette out that night, wanting to find out her progress… and also to check in on her wellbeing. It was obvious that she felt bad, she knew how things went between the two and how Marinette originally thought they would go. But she couldn’t just ask Nino not to have Adrien be his best man. “Five minutes, that’s all I’m asking. Just five minutes in a room together. You quickly plan the bachelorette party, since we know that you’re far too organized not to, give him the run down, and then leave. Back to your life, back to doing whatever it is you do now.”

“Sit at home. Alone,” Marinette supplied.

Alya grimaced. “It’s for the best that Luka got married, Marinette. You couldn’t keep playing that game. All that kiss and tell was gonna kill you some day.”

Marinette groaned, somehow sinking further into the wood of the bar. Anymore and she’d become part of the grain.

“Plus, Juleka’s in a better mood with you now,” Alya said, obviously looking at the other young woman as she undoubtedly danced on the floor with Rose. Marinette’s habit of coming back to Paris and making out with her brother had obviously put a strain on their relationship, even if Luka insisted that things weren’t committal and he was totally fine with only seeing her twice a year. “Who knows, maybe Nino will have a handsome cousin and you’ll fall madly in love.”

Marinette raised the side of her head to cast Alya a glare from one eye.

Alya didn’t falter. “So, he’s back. After spending three years in New York, Milan, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. I get it, it’s life changing, it’s world ending, it’s all the things you don’t want and more—especially after how things ended,” Marinette groaned, Alya carried on, “but, you know who else is back? Max, Rose, unfortunately Lila, and Kim. Good old Kim. All your friends, everyone who you’ve known for years, everyone who has missed you as you flitted in and out of Paris! Sure, you found out that Adrien was Chat Noir, went to his hotel room, thought you were finally going to get together, and then opened the door to find it empty—but you know, life happens! And when you least expect it, it keeps going on and on and on and on!”

Marinette turned her face back to the wood.

“I really did try to get Nino to change his mind,” Alya said flatly. “I begged.” Marinette doubted it, but…

“Why couldn’t he just stay in New York?” Marinette mumbled.

“Because Nino is his best friend.”

“Why couldn’t Nino go to New York,” Marinette said, “or Adrien done a zoom call for the wedding.”

Alya snorted. “Okay, that’s it,” she said, grabbing Marinette’s arm. “Adrien’s landing today, nothing’s going to stop it, you just have to clear your head and power on.” She leaned into Marinette’s view as her friend finally turned her head, insistently stating, “you were Ladybug for god’s sake. Even if no one else knows it, you do. I do. You gotta suit up, lovebug, and face the day, lest another evil butterfly come flying by.” Never mind the fact that there hadn’t been an Akuma in years.

Not since Gabriel Agreste was arrested.

Marinette rolled her eyes, finally lifting herself off the bar.

“There’s my girl,” Alya said. “Now, finish your dirty shirley, order another drink, and come do karaoke with me. I’m a hundred percent certain that I saw Say You’ll Be There on the song list, and you know that I’ve been singing Spice Girls since I was in diapers.”

--------------------------

Marinette stumbled into her apartment at one am. Not drunk, she didn’t get drunk, not out in public at bars. In friends’ apartments, maybe. She was still a bit tipsy which was, in its own way, dangerous. But she could fight through it, maybe.

Kicking off her heels, she looked at it, the studio she called home and had once been so proud of a few years back, the same studio she’d lived in ever since she was a fashion design student. The same one in which she’d left Chat knocking on her balcony door when she struggled to stay asleep, and eventually relented to let him in time and time again before he knew who she was.

“Someday, I’m going to move,” she grumbled, beginning to pull the bobby pins from her hair. She wouldn’t, of course, not for a long time. Rent-controlled apartments were rare, and while she pretended that the history that practically stained her hardwood floors was something she would rather forget, she was a nostalgic young woman. She’d be there for at least another five years, or until she was finally well and truly over Chat.

Five years would probably come first.

She passed by the photos washi taped to her walls, the ones where fourteen-year-old kids gave toothy smiles and eighteen-year-old young women gave winks while leaning into blond young men. If she was so concerned about history, she’d have to get rid of those first.

She sighed, finally removing the last bobby pin from her hair and letting it fall down her back, placing the black pin in one of the many bowls around her apartment placed for that very reason. Adrien would be in Paris by then, she was sure. He was probably sound asleep in the Agreste mansion.

“Welcome home, kitty,” she said sarcastically, beginning to climb the steps to her lofted bedroom, a space that was not unlike her childhood room.

This wasn’t how she expected things to be.

Of course, this wasn’t how anyone expected things to be. If you asked anyone, they told you how the story ended. Ladybug and Chat Noir finally got together, they were hiding in Paris somewhere, they were in love. They probably had kids, a dog, a hamster—normal jobs and normal lives. That was what the people of Paris wanted. She thought that that was the ending they would get.

She thought that when she went to the hotel room that night, he would be there. She thought that he was happy to know who she was. She thought that he loved her.

She thought wrong.

Marinette always thought wrong.

She thought she could get over him. She thought making out with Luka was a solution, one that she could keep trying every time she went to Paris. She thought that she would miss Adrien more than Chat, the promise of love more than sitting in her bed and watching subtitled anime while he mouthed the English translations.

By now, she thought she’d be waking up to someone else. That maybe she’d have a steady life, someone to wrap their arms around her in the morning.

Adulthood hits hard.

“Adrien Agreste,” she said, flopping back in her bed and pulling open her phone. She wasn’t above social media stalking.

There he was. Gold hair, tanned skin, too many muscles to know what to do with. Landed in Paris four hours ago, his Instagram posted a picture of him with his arm around Nino. His eyes were still kind, his smile still flawless. Her heart still pounded.

“Jerk,” she muttered, letting her phone fall down beside her. “I didn’t need you anyway,” except for all those times she did. Like when she put the earrings back in the box and said goodbye to one of her closest friends. She could have used him then.

She could have used him a lot of times.

Her eyes stayed glued to the ceiling, her chest rising and falling with every breath. There was no sound, no doting kwami, no laughter from her parents, and no Alya playing with her hair. Just her.

“Now I’m going to see you and fall in love with you all over again,” she said, wishing she could steel herself against the inevitable.

[lovecolibri]

Listen I don't care for either L*cy or J*nah but I'm going to start a campaign called ''Less L*cy more J*nah 2k22'' cuz poor dude was handed the short end of the stick..

Also, I can't help but find pretty funny how there are people going like ''you hated L*cy /before/ knowing anything about her'' and I've been here sitting like? You (they) hated J*nah /before/ knowing anything about him, why does that make you better that me?

That was so messy I'm sorry you don't need to publish

Oh I'm absolutely publishing this Nonnie, because you're so correct! We still know nothing about Jonah except his name, and that he was SO excited to work with the famous Hen at the famous 118. That's it! That's all we know! Nothing in the interviews talked about him I don't think, we just knew Hen was struggling because he wasn't Chim, which we saw her do even with Eddie during 5a! AND we know Chim is coming back and he'll be gone! I have nothing against him and I'm excited to see what if anything he brings to 5x13 (since we know at the very least he's on the spider call) before Chim comes home. I'm guessing we'll get a couple of quips from him and/or between him and Hen, and I'm personally hoping for him wistfully going to shake hands with Hen and thanking her for the opportunity to work with her, and Hen saying something really nice and sweet and then ending with "but I'm glad to have my partner back". And then he'll be gone forever!

L on the other hand....we actually know quite a bit about her, unfortunately. We know she's the "cool black sheep" from a family of cops, we know she's a "daredevil" and impulsive, she likes "things that move too fast" (gag. the whole bar scene, was...deeply uncomfortable and mildly predatory feeling and not in any kind of good way), we know her and Buck are supposedly after meeting one time "best pals with sexual tension", we know she joins forces with Bobby to tease Buck and that she brushed off the kiss as just "fun" but is also perpetuating a work flirtationship with him, we know she's just apparently the coolest thing the 118 has ever seen and everyone just loves her and thinks she so cool and she gets to do cool rescues, we know she's everything to everyone and gets to help Buck (who she barely knows) through some difficult emotional struggles. We know that apparently the kiss leads to "something" in the finale and her story is open to continue into season 6.

So all of that sounds....awful, AND it sounds like she's not leaving any time soon which, knowing that Eddie is back with the 118, and she was supposedly his replacement I can't imagine why we need her around anymore (or at all because Ravie was already Eddie's replacement but that wouldn't work for the "dynamic" (read: cheating storyline and putting Buck with another person 10 years older than him) KR wanted to pursue 🙄). There's actually quite a lot of reason to dislike her more than Jonah given that his expiration date is pretty firm and we aren't really worried about him stealing time from the main characters we want to be watching, but SHE seems to be a lingering presence that we won't be rid of that easily, and that WILL be taking time from the mains since apparently Buck can't be emotionally supported by any of the myriad friends and family he has around. After all of 5A being the same thing of him not feeling he could go to his normal support system and then shutting down all his emotions because the one time he tried to share them, his gf told him he was being selfish and dramatic by making everything about him. Imagine how tired we are.

Point is, if they didn't want everyone to hate her right off the bat, they should have talked about her a HELL of a lot less, stopped telling everyone how she was going to be in absolutely everything while being perfectly accepted and folded into the family (that poor Jonah seems to be excluded from), and maybe had her and Buck keep their tongues in their respective mouths. ‍🤷🏻‍♀️

[starryeyedrookie]

Before It’s Too Late (Ethan x MC)

Book: Set during book 2 ch. 11.

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x MC (Evelyn Long)

Word count: 1,996

Rating: General

Category: Angst

Summary: An attack scene rewrite when Ethan spends the night with MC.

A/N: Characters and some dialogue owned by Pizelberry.

I finally decided how I was going to write this rewrite. Initially I was trying to do a full chapter rewrite but half way through, I was already at 3k+ words so it would be waaaay to long. Thankfully, I managed to summarize it but also give it a ton of angst. (This was my first time writing angst btw.) I hope you enjoy!

8:30 pm

It's been exactly five hours since the attack. Five excruciatingly long hours since Evelyn’s world was turned upside down.

Travis, Senator Ed’s assistant, had slowly been poisoning him with lead. When they went to confront him, he pulled out a can and sprayed everyone in the room with a deadly unknown substance.

The Senator managed to escape and Travis was dead. But so was Bobby, with Danny fighting for his life.

Evelyn begins to cry again as she thinks about Bobby’s wife and two kids that he left behind. They would now have to grow up without their dad. He would miss so many big milestones in their lives all because of two selfish people.

“E-Evelyn…?” a weak voice calls from across the room.

She walks over to the bed where Raf is lying down, a light sheen of sweat covering his pale face.

The team had come a little while ago with a shot that they had hoped would slow the progression of their symptoms, but Raf’s still seemed to be getting worse.

“What’s wrong?” he asks quietly, gently wiping the tears from her face.

“I was just… thinking about Bobby’s family and… everything that he… would miss. He was… just telling me… this morning that… his oldest daughter is turning sixteen this year…”

“I know… life isn’t fair. They didn’t deserve any of this.”

“You didn’t either, Raf.”

“But I saved you from having to suffer so much… and that’s what matters.”

“Raf…”

“Shh… listen, I feel… like I’m… getting worse. Will you… do me a favour?”

“Of course. Anything you need.”

“Please help me call my vovo.”

Evelyn hands Raf his phone to unlock, then scrolls through his contacts until she sees his grandmother’s name, tapping it, she places the phone to his ear.

“Olá, vovo.”

“No… I’m not well. There was an attack at the hospital today and the Senator’s assistant tried to kill him. A few people were in the room when it happened. The Senator escaped, but his assistant and one person that works here died and the other is in critical condition. Evelyn and I are in quarantine right now.”

“I just wanted to let you know… that if I… don’t make it… I love you with all my heart.”

“Alright, take care. I love you too.”

“Thank you, Evelyn.” he takes a shaky breath, his heart rate slowing and growing more shallow.

“Evelyn… I think you should… call the team… I'm sorry I couldn't save you… that this… might be the way it ends…” he murmurs, eyes meeting hers, as warm and kind as the day they met.

Taking his hand, she can barely see him through her tears.

“You'll make it through this Raf… I know you will…”

He smiles up at her before his eyes flutter closed and his hand falls away.

Moments later Ethan and June rush into the room.

“I’d hoped that the treatment would buy us more time,” Ethan says sadly.

“We don’t know that it didn’t.” Evelyn tries reassuring him.

He nods as June’s eyes fill with sympathy.

“We’ll get him to the support suite. There’s still a chance that we could fix this Evelyn.” June tells her, as she prepares Rafael for transport.

Evelyn’s almost too scared to ask, but she needs to know. “How’s Danny?”

“We… we lost him.” Ethan’s voice comes out in a whisper.

“No…”

“Before he died he… he asked to be autopsied. To help the two of you.”

As Ethan turns to help June, Evelyn reports Raf’s most recent symptom of hot cold reversal.

“Stay strong, Evelyn. We’ll know more soon.” June tells her reassuringly as she and Ethan slowly push Raf out of the room.

Now she’s all alone, curled up on her bed, the pressure in her head becoming almost too much to bear.

Her mind drifts to Danny. She remembers her first day when he was the one that told her that she had just performed a thoracotomy with Ethan Ramsey. The night of the party her roommates had when he and Sienna talked all night until they fell asleep together on the couch.

Sienna. All Evelyn wanted to do was rush to her side and hold her. She and Danny were supposed to be together. They were meant for each other. But how he was gone, and Sienna would have to live with that loss. She probably never even got to say goodbye.

Goodbye. Evelyn had to be prepared.

Picking up her phone, she sees that she has several missed calls and messages.

Calling her mom, she picks up immediately.

“Evelyn sweetie! Are you okay?! Oh my goodness, we saw what happened on the news and I thought we lost you!”

Hearing her mom’s voice, her tears start falling again.

“I’m hanging in there right now mom. It’s just me in the room now. Rafael just got taken to the support suite.”

“Oh, sweetie…”

“Mom… is everyone there?”

“Yes, honey. We’re all here.”

“Can you put me on speaker please?”

“Hey Evey.” she hears her dad’s voice say.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hi Evelyn, do they know what it is yet?

“Hi Ben, no they don’t. We got a shot earlier that was supposed to slow the progression of the symptoms, but we don’t have a cure yet.”

“Oh.”

“Listen, guys… if I don’t make it…”

“No Evelyn! You can’t say that!” her heart breaks as she hears Ben crying through the phone.

“Wait… just listen to me. I’m preparing for the worst. I want you guys to know… that I love you all so much. And I want to thank you for everything that you’ve done to help me fulfill my dreams.”

Aside from the sound of soft cries, the line is silent.

Finally, her dad speaks up.

“We love you too sweetie. Stay strong and hang in there. You’ll be fine.”

“I’ll try… take care.”

“Bye.”

Later, her friends and the diagnostics team are gathered outside her window. Bryce looks at her with haunted eyes while a crying Sienna buries her face in Jackie’s shoulder.

“How’s Kyra? The surgery must be over by now…”

“She’s fine and resting. We haven’t told her what happened yet.”

“Good idea.”

“So, do you know what it is yet?”

Ethan explains to her that it’s a maitotoxin that he had never seen before. It was still present in Danny’s bony postmortem and on the surface of his skin.

Processing the information, the realization hits Evelyn like a ton of bricks.

“Maitotoxin… that’s derived from parasites in fish, isn’t it? But… there’s no antidote so… I’m going to die here…” her voice now barely a whisper. “I can’t believe this. Today was supposed to be happy. Kyra was supposed to have a successful surgery and everything was supposed to be fine… but now Danny’s dead, Raf is in a coma, and I’m… I’m…” Evelyn buries her face in her hands as she begins to cry.

“Now isn’t the time to give up hope Evelyn. Because of Raf’s actions, you didn’t get much in your system so your symptoms aren’t as advanced. There may not be an antidote as yet, but I promise you that we’ll be working round-the-clock to synthesize one.” Ethan tries to sound as confident as he can, his heart breaking to see Evelyn hurting.

“You won’t be alone.”

Everyone turns around to see that the statement had come from Tobias, as he, and several Mass Kenmore doctors approached them, all prepared to do whatever it takes.

As everyone heads down to the lab, Ethan lingers behind at the window.

“Are you okay, Ethan?”

“No, Evelyn, I’m not okay. But you don’t need to hear about that. You should try and get some rest. Have you slept at all?”

“No. I can’t stop thinking about Rafael. How long he can last… whether… whether it’s already…”

“…Do you want me to stay for a while?”

“Yes, please. If this is my last night alive, I want to spend it with you.”

“If I was in your position, I’d feel the same way about you.”

“Really?”

“Really, Evelyn.”

Suiting up and entering the room, he gently guides her to the bed.

“Now lie down. I know it sounds impossible, but I need you to relax and try to think about something happy.”

As she lies down, Ethan gently pulls up the covers around her.

“Something happy like what it would be like if we went on a date?”

“If that’s what makes you happy then sure.”

Her happiness leaves as quickly as it came.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just feel like there are so many things that I should have done.”

“Like what?”

“I should have loved more.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve spent the last decade focusing on college, med school, work, always guarding my heart because I might be in another city the next year. It makes me wonder… what could have been,” she confesses sadly.

Ethan is quiet for a long moment.

“Since we’re sharing regrets, do you mind if I share one of mine?”

“Go ahead.”

Reaching across, Ethan’s gloved hand finds hers.

“I wish I hadn’t asked you to stay away.”

“You do?” she asks surprised.

“We’ve wasted so much time. I’ve wasted so much time. I should have held you in my arms every day and told you how much I… how much I love you.”

“Ethan?”

“Shh… I just needed you to know… that no matter what happens… I love and care about you more than I can ever tell you.”

“I love you too, Ethan.”

“You do?”

“Of course! I thought you knew that already.”

“I did. It’s just so wonderful to hear you say it.”

“I wish I could kiss you.”

“Soon. You will soon.”

Joining her on the bed, he wraps his bulky arms around her as eyes begin to flutter closed.

“Evelyn? Can you please look at me?”

“Hmm?”

Forcing her eyes open, she looks at him through his helmet.

“Promise me that you’ll keep fighting. That you won’t give up. Oh, Evelyn… our story’s only just begun and it can’t end here. Please… please promise me.”

“…I… promise,” she whispers before falling asleep.

The next morning she wakes up to excruciating pain in her stomach. Doubling over, Ethan reaches across from the chair for her.

“It’s okay Evelyn, you’ll be alright!”

Feeling weaker than ever, she can barely make out the blurry figures running to her window.

“Evelyn! We did it!” Aurora shouts.

“Huh?”

Baz and June enter the room with the antidote as Tobias explains how they did it.

“What about Raf? He’s much sicker than I am…”

“We administered it to him, but too far there’s been no chance. It’s possible we’re already too late.” Sienna gloomily reveals.

“But he hasn’t gotten any worse, that has to mean something!” Elijah adds.

As Ethan gently injects the serum into her vein, he whispers into her ear.

“Hang in there, Evelyn.”

Over the next several anxious hours, June comes regularly to take her blood.

Slowly, her blood pressure stabilizes and the nausea begins to fade.

As Evelyn looks around, she realizes that the room no longer looks blurry.

“Get up.”

She turns around to see a hazmat suit free Ethan stroll into the room with a big smile on his face.

“You mean…”

“It worked. There’s no trace of toxin left in your bloodstream. Even if there are still traces in the room, we know now that we can-”

“Oh!”

Evelyn flies into Ethan's arms pulling him into a tight hug.

“…What you’re saying is I’m finally free to do this?”

“Yes. This too.”

He leans down capturing her lips in a passionate kiss as tears fall down both of their faces.

“Ethan, aren’t you worried that someone will see?”

“No. After almost losing you, I’ve decided that there are more important things to worry about than what people will think. I love you with all my heart, Evelyn Long.”

Through her tears, she smiles up at him.

“I love you too, Ethan.”

{Two Weeks Later}

Taglist: @mercury84choices @a-crepusculo @emmasumbrella @quixoticdreamer16 @headoverheelsforramsey @mm2305 @adiehardfan @schnitzelbutterfingers

@choicesficwriterscreations @choicesbookclub

Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed❤️

[supergraphicultramoderngirl]

i ain’t gonna face no defeat

in which alex was a figure skater.

word count: 2,916

some willex, juke if you squint

tw: occasional swearing, period-typical homophobic parents (q word is used as a slur exactly once)

———

“Cut off my circulation even more, why don’t you?” Alex grumbles, grabbing his arm away from his sister.

She rolls her eyes and nudges him as he adjusts the arm band. “Hey, feel lucky you’re even doing this. I don’t think Mom and Dad actually realize what you’re skating to.”

Alex hesitates and sucks on his teeth. “You think they’ll be mad?”

“Oh, they’ll be livid,” she deadpans, then smiles softly. “But they can’t stop you.” She gives him a pat on the shoulder as he leans over to pull on his boot covers. “I’m gonna head to the bleachers. Break a leg!”

Alex calls after her, not looking up, “That’s only for theater and you know it, Mel!”

A few minutes later, he’s called to the boards, and he can’t shake off his damn jitters. He knows he’ll be fine once the music starts, but right now his skate guard won’t come off and he really has to pee all of a sudden and oh my god why is he wearing a tank top when it’s so fucking cold—

Alex steps onto the ice, and the announcer calls his name while he glides into a stretch before taking his beginning pose. He ignores the way his arm, raised in a fist, is shaking while the beginning harmonies start to play, and he skates.

•••

Alex began figure skating when he was six. It was an odd situation, really; he didn’t care about doing it one way or another, and he would’ve been fine with not doing it since his parents would always say it was a girl’s sport. His little sister, Melanie, however, wanted to skate so badly, but with her being the four-year-old she was, she was terrified of doing it alone. Begrudgingly, his parents signed him up for lessons alongside her.

Much to their dismay, he was good. Like, really fucking good. He landed his first single jump after only two years, and his first axel after six. He managed to get height in a way that his coach’s other skaters didn’t; maybe it was the inner pent up anxiety making him bounce like a jumping bean, who knows.

Alex wasn’t just good at jumps, either; he got his Y-spin after four years. He was that kid on the ice who accidentally cut people off with an impeccable spiral. When he practiced his programs, the other kids would move towards the boards to give him room and sneak a glance.

As much as Alex liked the attention from his peers (god, that support system was something else), he couldn’t help but feel disappointed that his parents never sat in on his sessions. They would only ever come to the shows and competitions his sister was a part of; he had to find his own ride to the others (thank god for Bobby's parents, honestly). It had made him angry at first that they didn’t want to be involved, but as he grew older, and learned more about himself, he realized he could use it to his advantage. He could skate to anything he wanted.

Alex was 13 when he chose to skate to Somebody to Love. To anyone else, it was very unassuming, just another kid skating to a popular song at the time, maybe even a tribute, since Freddie himself had passed two months before. It was everything to Alex, though. He pulled out all of the stops; his costume was the whole armband and wifebeater getup, and his coach let him assist in choreographing it.

He didn't know it was his last program.

•••

"Hey, Alex?"

He looks up from his math homework and hums in recognition.

Mel bites her lip and leans against the doorframe before mumbling, "I wanna quit."

Quit? Shit, nonononono— "—nonononono, Mel, you can't quit! If you quit, they're gonna make me quit!"

She closes the door softly behind her and walks slowly up to him. "Alex, the only reason I've been skating for the past year was so you could keep doing it. I'm really sick of skating at this point, and I wanna switch to something else. I'll keep going if you really, really want me to, but—" She sits next to him on his bed, lowering her voice to a whisper, "You saw how they reacted to the recital, 'Lex. You think they might make you quit anyway?"

Alex sighs and squeezes his eyes shut. She's right, he knows she's right. It just fucking sucks.

He tilts his head back. "You can quit," he whispers.

Mel places her hand on his and squeezes, whispering back, "I'm sorry." Alex looks back down at her. "I really with there was something we could do, but there isn't," she continues, recollecting her hand. "At least your last program was a good one."

He gives her a sad chuckle. "Yeah, I guess so. And, I'll have more time to focus on the band. Luke'll be happy about that."

Mel rolls her eyes, takes a breath, and leaves Alex to his own devices with a pitying look.

If she hears him practicing the beat to Somebody to Love in the basement the night she officially quits, she doesn't say anything.

•••

"Julie, what are you doing up there?"

Julie throws a shoe over the wall of the loft and into the evergrowing pile on the floor. "Cleaning out all of your old junk. Which one of you had a magician phase?" she asks, holding up a cheap, ratty top hat and matching plastic wand. "It was Reggie, wasn't it?"

Alex chuckles to himself, poofing up next to Julie. "Why do you think he knew who Caleb was when we met him?"

Julie lets out a loud laugh, continuing her digging. "Are the other guys here?"

"Nah, they're looking for a gig. I just got back from the park," Alex answers.

“Just the park?” Julie asks sarcastically, and before Alex can retort, she adds on, standing up straight, “Hey, whose skates are these?”

She’s holding his old figure skates in her right hand.

The black fabric is a little faded, with the familiar scuffs still on the toe. His dark blue skate guards are all dusty, but the blades still somehow look intact, given there wasn’t much opportunity for water damage in a loft.

Alex scratches the back of his neck, ignoring the rising blush in his cheeks and bracing himself for the inevitable teasing. “Those, uh, those are mine, actually.”

Julie looks up from the boots at him in awe. “Whoa, you skated? That’s so cool!”

Alex drops his hand, mouth open in hesitation. “Really? It’s not... weird to you?”

He can recall a tight grip on his arm, firmer than the band that had been ripped off. "Alex, what made you think it was okay to pull off this kind of stunt? You don't want people thinking you're some kind of queer, do you? Why we've let you continue this is beyond me, it isn’t any good for you.”

“Why would it be weird?” Julie asks, quirking her head to the side in such a Julie way that Alex would’ve laughed if he wasn’t so worried.

He shrugs, shuffling his feet from side to side, and mumbles with a wince, “I don’t know, because I’m a guy and figure skating is like, a girly sport, I guess?”

Julie shakes her head, eyebrows furrowed with a soft smile on her face. “First off, it’s not inherently girly, and second, if it’s something that you enjoyed, then that’s what matters, right?”

“I guess so,” Alex replies, looking down at his sneakers. Is that all that matters, though? He pauses for a moment in debate, then adds on at Julie’s encouraging expression, “My parents made me quit when I was fourteen.” He takes a breath. “They were never that involved in it, though, they actually only let me because my sister did it. I, uh, after I skated to a Queen song in a full Freddie Mercury getup, they weren’t too happy, and made me quit.”

At some point in his spiel, Julie had put her hand on his shoulder, and now she was squeezing it before pulling him into a hug. “Your parents are stupid,” she mumbled into his chest.

Alex chuckles, something emotionless, a bitter taste on the tip of his tongue. “Yeah. They were.”

Julie pulls away with a gasp, a bright smile on her face. “We should all go skating this weekend! The public rink just opened up a couple weeks ago, and I can bring Flynn so it doesn’t look like I’m talking to myself—” she falters, cutting herself off, “I mean, if you’re cool with it. I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

Alex thinks back to his many (many) practice sessions, and remembers the feeling of finally getting that move right, of flying in the air for that one glorious millisecond, of seeing some of his closest friends every other day. He misses it, of course he misses it. It was his biggest outlet before he focused all of his attention on drumming. But, he can’t help but feel that stupid fucking guilt clawing at his throat, can’t help but imagine oh, so clearly the look of betrayal on his mother’s face the night he came out.

Then again, he had lived the rest of his life out of spite of his parents. Why not keep it going?

“That sounds really fun,” he replies, pulling her back in. “Thank you.”

•••

A world sans Caleb was a new one to Willie. However, it was also a very welcome one, because it was in this world that he was able to just relax with Alex in the studio, enjoying every second they spend together without worrying about the time running out.

Which is why he was (reasonably) surprised when the time ran out.

They throw Alex an impressively offended look as he removed his arm from behind their shoulder. “What?”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Willie scoffed.

Alex chuckles to himself, pressing his lips into a line. "As much as I would love to stay here and cuddle with you—" At that, Willie's face goes bright red, and Alex counts it as a win in his head, "—the band and I are going ice skating when Flynn gets here, which should be in about five minutes."

"Oh," Willie's face brightens as they reply, "sounds fun!"

Alex winces. "Yeah, making sure Luke doesn't accidentally become tangible and run over a seven-year-old while playing human bowling on the ice with Reggie is super fun." Willie laughs something golden in response, and Alex only hesitates for a moment before adding on, "Uh- actually, would you want to come with us?"

Willie grows soft, still getting used to finally being included, but quickly schools his expression before replying, "Yeah, I'd love to! Though, fair warning, I'm kind of only good at the one kind of skating?"

Alex quickly scrunches his nose. "That's fine, I'll help you," he offers, slowly untangling himself from Willie.

Willie isn't sure how much help he's really gonna be, but they figure even an amateur would be better than whatever the fuck kind of Bambi creature he is on the ice, so they nod and pull Alex up by his hand off the couch.

•••

They arrived to the rink a few minutes ago, and while Julie and Flynn are buying their rental skates and Luke, Reggie, and Willie attempt to steal some without being noticed, Alex laces up his own skates by himself on an open bench.

It isn't until after he yanks the last bow that he realizes— putting on those skates should not have been that easy.

Yeah, their clothes are usually easy to put on, and they can summon their instruments any time they want, but touching anything else usually takes an immense amount of focus. Hell, the dahlia pin Julie had bought Luke for his guitar strap took five tries to actually hook on rather than just drop to the ground.

And yet, his skates just— went on? Laced up with no problem? His foot didn't go through the sole even once? He wiggles his toes around inside the boot, and only feels the familiar push of fabric against them.

He decides not to question it, to not think about the implications of his skates possibly being attached to his soul, and tries to avoid yet another afterlife crisis as they walk toward the boards. Or, at least, he walks, while Luke just bolts onto the ice with no hesitation, and Reggie quickly follows. Alex falls back behind Julie and Flynn, who step onto the ice and begin gliding around, and Willie somehow finds their way next to him, grabbing onto his hand. They make it to the door, and Willie lets go with a small nudge to the shoulder. "Alright, hotdog, show me what you've got," he jokes.

Alex lets out a small laugh and steps out onto the ice, a weird feeling of deja-vu settling into his nonexistent bones. Once he gathers his bearings, he glides along before maneuvering closer to the middle of the ice and pulling himself into a scratch spin. It takes him a minute to really center the spin, but with the phantom tingling of blood rushing to the tips of his fingers before he pulls in completely, suddenly it's 1990 and he's doing his Lacrimosa program and he wants to try to land every jump he's ever learned, even though he knows that trying his axel right now is a horrible idea, and—

He's exited the spin now, looking back at the door to see Willie about a foot away from it, gripping the wall with a concerning amount of intensity, an odd combination of fear, shock, and something else (awe, maybe?) coming to rest on their face. He skates back over, and Willie's expression doesn't seem to change. "You—" they swallow, "—you can skate."

Alex slides his feet back and forth, his arms behind his back. "Yeah, I figure skated for eight years, actually. Did, did I not mention that?" he asks, smirking a little, knowing damn well he very much never mentioned that.

Willie closes his eyes, sucks on his teeth, and takes a breath, getting over their minor bluescreen moment. "Help me?"

"In order for me to help you, you need to let go of the boards," Alex responds. Willie looks at the boards, then back at him, eyebrows furrowed. "It'll hurt a lot more falling into two flat surfaces rather than one," Alex reasons, and Willie hesitates before finally letting go.

"There we go," Alex says softly, taking both of Willie's hands in his. He begins to slowly pull them along, not caring about passing through lifers, while Willie's feet slip and slide beneath him. Alex tries his hardest not to laugh, and Willie quips, "I thought I was supposed to be the athletic one."

Alex scoffs, "Who told you that? Are you the one lugging around an entire drumset every weekend?" At Willie's laugh, Alex tacks on, "I didn't think so."

They make a full lap around the rink before Alex lets go, having to prevent Luke and Reggie from pulling on some little girl’s milk boxes to make her go faster, because no, that’s not how physics works, and yes, people will notice, Luke.

After, Willie moves to get off at the boards, and Alex pulls a disappointed pout. Willie just motions toward the ice, saying, "I know you didn't just come here to pull me around the whole time, I wanna see your turns and stuff."

Alex hesitates, "But I don't want to leave you here by yourself—"

He’s cut off by a familiar harmony playing in the background, and Luke and Reggie poof by his side in an instant. Alex barely has any time to register it before Reggie is putting a hand on his shoulder and Luke is asking if he’s okay.

And Alex doesn’t know how to answer that right away, if he’s being honest. At first, he thinks he might not be, because all he remembers is scolding, leaving, hiding, but he reminds himself it’s 2020 and he’s a ghost; that his parents are as involved in what was left of his life now as they were when he came out— not at all. The feeling of freedom starts to envelope him; the same freedom as when he danced with Dirty Candy at Eat ‘n’ Beats, the same freedom as when he played the drums at the Orpheum, and the same freedom he had before his last recital. He takes a deep breath.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay,” Alex replies, trying to hide his newfound itching to just get back out there.

Reggie drops his hand from his shoulder with a smile; meanwhile, Luke catches notice of Julie and Flynn starting a mini snow fight, to which he immediately races over and shouts, “I want in!” Reggie just shrugs and poofs over. Whether to stop him or join, the world may never know.

Alex rolls his eyes at his friends’ antics and looks back over at Willie, anxious energy seemingly radiating off of him— except, not as it usually does; now it was more excitement than anything else.

“Go show off, Alex,” Willie says, shooting him away with a smile.

Alex unsuccessfully tries to suppress the overwhelming giddy feeling that rises in his chest, and he skates. Again.

Finally.