#slivko x mills

[stonesandswords]

I’ve been re-reading some Kong: Skull Island fics and I forgot how much I shipped Conrad/Slivko and Slivko/Mills.

So if y’all see me hyper-fixating ... here we go

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Ghosts from the rainforest

Captain James Conrad x Reader

Summary: A simple rescue mission will bring him back to a place full of nightmares, and maybe this time he could find redemption. Situated in 1975, 2 years after the events of Skull Island.

Warnings: Violence, blood, wounds, mentions of war, cursing, implied smut, smoking, angst.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

I finally manage to write the end to this tiny fic, I hope you like it, and I'm going to start on my ideas for a Jonathan Pine adventure, but I haven't decide yet.

Chapter 7: Fever [Final]

The helicopter was already on motion, and the rescue crew that Brooks had sent for you were charging everything for the trip. The guys were excited to finally going back home, the Celebes Sea was ahead of you in the military base you were staying, and waiting in the Pacific the majestic USS Constellation  (CV-64) waiting to take all of you home.

Home? A country that had make more damage and taken everything from you, your family, and had force you to live away to mend some of the atrocities they had committed in the name of freedom.

"Not looking so charming today are we?" You said to him once he walked in your room to pick up your bags, you have finally stop the hostilities after he had offered you his shoulder to cry while you mourned Shukri on his funeral and after all the physical torture he had endured so you could safely leave Borneo.

He had been clear about letting you stay if that was what you wanted, and even when the rest of the crew asume you were coming back to USA, he knew you would have to say goodbye sooner or later, so instead of telling him all the things your heart was keeping from him you kept teasing him and pretending the chopper was not waiting for him.

"I have a minor headache love, but it's okay, are you ready to say goodbye?" He said and you noted how his temple had a few wrinkles, he was trying to smile over the pain in his head "It's a shame you don't come with us, I have a lot of things I wanted to show you" he grabbed your hand and all your alarms started to scream.

"Conrad are you okay?" Those words were all you have hoped for, however the radiant heat from his skin told you he was not exactly fine. "Dear God you are burning up" You said touching his head and looking desperately for a thermometer in your belongings.

"I like you too doctor, but why don't we wait until we get to the ship, we can share a bunk bed" He was definitely not himself.

"103° damn it Conrad!" You said, and for some oddly reason remember the night he told you about Randa and how much he complained about mosquitoes while he was dressing "Look at me, I'm not kidding, did you take Chloroquine before we leave Malaysia? I told you guys you had to..."

He nodded negative, and before he could speak he simply throw up in the nearest trash bin, making you suspect of the worst, specially since all the medicine was now gone and the only viable solution now was the aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific waiting for you.

"Also you have perfect legs you know that? I could spend my life sleeping on them." He kept saying things like that while you helped him to the heliport "Come here princess your prince charming needs your love" he said trying to kiss you.

"Later dear, preferably when you're not dying or smelling like vomit" you tried to stop him.

"Well you didn't mind me covered in dirt and sweat" He tried again but he stopped to scream "Reg! I love you man, you are like a son to me" and also tried to kiss the boy on the forehead.

"What happened to the Captain?" Slivko asked concerned once you help him to board the chopper while carrying his luggage and your medical bag.

"I have no idea, but I'm afraid it might be Malaria" you said bluntly and all of them looked concerned at you, while he vomited again "Do you have medical equipment here?" You asked the pilot and he only raised his thumb while you make sure he was steady on the helicopter floor, and almost didn't feel the machine take off while you tried to put an IV on his arm.

After one hour that felt like ten you could no longer see the island, only the immensity of the Pacific, and growing in the horizon the USS Constellation, even when you despised war and everything it represented the enormous carrier was enough to let you speechless, specially when a team of nurses and a doctor was already with a stretcher waiting for him.

"It's going to be ok James" you told him holding his hand while the experts rushed him inside.

"You really like men to die quite literally for you right?" He tried to joke, fighting the impulse of vomiting again, "Hey it's okay, I have to take care of you remember?" He smiled and you hold his hand trying to not get on the way of the medical staff, but he was too weak and fall asleep.

After they had stabilized his temperature, and take samples of his blood to determine the pathogen they let you in, the beds inside the medical bay of the ship were oddly spacious, and you could be sited next to him without any other person listening.

"Y/N?" He asked opening his beautiful eyes, "Hey it's okay love, I'm feeling better" He said and tried to reach for the glass of water on the table.

"Let me" You said and put it closer to him, "I know, once they identify the plasmodium they will know what is the best treatment for you, they take test and interrogate all of us, don't tell him I told you but Reles almost passed out when he saw the needle " He attempt to laugh but was still weak so he only smiled.

"Well is rewarding seen you on my dead bed, I'm quite honored, tears look oddly beautiful on you" He said and a small smile form in your lips.

"And you are still delirious" You said looking for a piece of cloth, and cold water from the sink to put on his head. "Here, try to rest, I'll come see you later" you told him but before your hand could leave his head he hold you still "What?"

"I might be dying, so you owe me at least listening me like adults" He said forcing you to stay next to him.

"You are not dying" you said trying to sound like it didn't matter and failing miserably "you are not, but fine. Let's talk" you concede.

"I'm sorry" he started contrary to what you had expected. "I had no idea how you looked before we met, and i was under no circumstances trying to seduce you to lure you back to America" you blush and regret your decision to stay by his side.

"I'm sorry too" You responded after a while "You have done so much helping me, even when half of the trouble I caused was preventable if I haven't trusted in the wrong people." You said and he hold your hand softly, he didn't want to hear about that, and you knew it so you took all the courage you have to continue. "And I'm sorry I over reacted, I am so used to people coming to me with second intentions that I just pushed you away to avoid getting hurt, and I just end up making other people hurt you"

"I'm sorry I make you come to the ship, I knew you wanted to stay" he said sincerely.

"It's okay, I have to make sure you stay alive, you know for the boys, maybe working at Monarch with you and Brooks won't be so bad"

"Well you can always run away from us in Hawaii, or maybe... we could run away together" He gave you a pleading look, and for moment you could imagine that life, keep running away, by his side, the soldier that never came home, and the idealist doctor, and keep leaving ghosts in every island, trying to find happiness apart from the world, but together. He kissed you, but this time it wasn't a lusty hunger kiss, nor passionate and angry like before, it was reassuring and you knew no matter what your answer was, he was on your side, for the first time you had someone on your side "So what do you say?"

But you couldn't answer because out of nowhere your stomach make you nauseous and you rush to the toilet to empty its content.

"Are you okay dear?" He screamed from the bed "I'm trying bloody hard to not take this as criticism"

"I'm okay, but I'm going to check your tests and start taking the pills before I end up confessing my sins on the fever like you" you said and walked out of the bathroom to saw him "We can talk later" you assure him.

You marched inside the medical office and started to look in the cabinets, when the young doctor that had received Conrad walked in.

"I'm sorry, I start feeling the symptoms and I thought it would be better if I start on the chloroquine before it gets worse" you excuse yourself.

"That would be great, if any of you had Malaria" he said offering you a seat that you take since he speak with a Texan accent and an authoritarian voice that made up from his young face "But we test all of you and what our SAS friend has is more likely a stomach flu from some bad shrimp, I was just on my way to tell him." He said and you sigh in relief, but also concerned about your own symptoms

"Oh that's great, but I start barfing too, and I didn't had the shrimp last night" you said and he took out a small file with your name that the nurses had put together earlier.

"Well it may be motion sickness, we are in a boat after all, or maybe... you told the nurse you didn't remember when was your last period?" He said looking the file.

"Well we have been in the jungle almost a month so I wasn't exactly counting" you tried to joke.

"The change of environment can trigger the vomit, or if you had sex in the past three weeks you might be pregnant" He smiled and all the weight of the world fall into your shoulders instantly. "In any case you should rest and let alone my medical cabinets, go with nurse Matthews she will give you some vitamins" he said but you were not longer listening.

No, it couldn't be that, right? You tried to convince your mind, but deep down you knew it was true, what would he think? He was a soldier, a man of the field, not a father, and you were obviously not a mother, what will happen now? Now that he wanted to run away in the world next to you, a baby had a place on that plan?.

Two days later Conrad was out of the medical bay and trying to approach you, offering you a fresh start from the afternoon you pause all those weeks ago in Malaysia.

But the stolen kisses on the hallways, and his nightly incursions on your cabin only made it harder for you to find a way to come clean about your news, even when the idea had already sink in your mind, because it was a baby, and it was his baby, how could you not be happy and grateful? Yet you haven't say anything to him.

Four days later he had spend the whole day walking on the deck with you, like if the planes and choppers were an appropriate sighting for a date.

"We'll be in Hawaii soon" He started "If you want to go out for a walk in the morning and get lost in the jungle we have to star planning now" he said and you were looking at the ocean trying to make up your mind.

"Maybe... I was wondering about the work you do at Monarch, maybe I will give it a chance" you start not sure how the whole we are having a baby situation will fit in your speech "I mean if you want to travel the world it might help to have a paying job for a while" you were nervously touching your hands.

"Of course, also when the baby comes I would like to have a proper house for him to be... or she, I don't care you know? as long as they're healthy" he said and you nodded yes.

"Yeah of course... what??" You look at him and he had the most radiant smile on his face, and he was clearly holding his laugh and apparently tears, of joy? "How do you know?

"Well nurse Matthews saw us kissing and then she complained about how Children this days keep having children out of wedlock" he said and you hide your face on your hands.

"I was really going to tell you... for real is just..." but you didn't have the words in you, and the tears were running on your face

"I know, it's fine, I mean is a little soon but if I'm honest I'm tired of running, and after all we've been trough I couldn't imagine a single person to share this experience with" He said cleaning the tears from your face.

"You sure?" You asked again, needing to hear it from his mouth.

"I'm sure, I fall in love with you when I saw you scaring local vendors in Malaysia and then fighting guerilla liders in Borneo, I even loved you when you vomit after kissing me for real, I'm completely taken by you Y/N"

"I fall in love with you too James" you said, and his expression got serious for a moment. "What?"

"Nothing, is just that I'm going to miss Prince Charming" he said giving you again the disarming smile that had started all this adventure.

The end

@damalseer

@kinghiddlestonanddixon (I hope you like the end)

[catnipandjaegerpilots]

I ship James Conrad/Reg Slivko and Glenn “Mills” Mill/Cole so much.

And I’m not even a little bit ashamed.

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Airport Kisses

look at this bean i would give my left arm to marry this man fuck

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: The gang reassesses their next steps, and reassurance is given as they go their separate ways.

Warnings: cursing, crying, nothing new really

Word Count: 2300

“God, it is good to be back on solid land without giant monsters.” Mills grinned.

Reles elbowed him playfully and dropped to his knees, kissing the ground. Mills followed suit. I giggled, and Reg looked down at me with a goofy smile.

“What?” I stopped walking.

“I wish I could hold you right now is all.” He grinned.

I rolled my eyes as a blush spread across my cheeks. “Here.” I stuck myself to his side and maneuvered my arm around his crutch. I placed my hand on his bicep and smiled up at him. He bent down as far as he could and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“Alright, let’s keep moving.” Jack teased from behind us.

“Oh, shove it, old man.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

He flicked the back of my head as he passed by my side, a huge smile on his face. James and Mason followed, and Hank stopped to stand at our sides.

“What’s up?” Reg looked over at him.

“You two remind me of my wife and I. So young, so in love. Perfect for each other, really.”

Reg and I met eyes, both blushing. I bit my lip as Reg thanked Hank before looking down at me.

“Man, next thing you know, we’re gonna be popping kids out too.”

My nose wrinkled up and I shook my head. “No.”

“No?” He gave me puppy eyes.

“Absolutely not, love.”

He grinned and pressed another kiss to the top of my head.

“Come on, lover-boy!” Reles and Mills teased from their spots on the back of the truck.

Reg rolled his eyes, and I giggled once more, letting go of his arm so that we could catch up with the rest of the group.

                                                         ***

“Weird to be in a civilian airport.” Reles looked around, shifting in his seat.

James and I looked at each other, and he smiled softly. Three weeks ago, we had landed at this exact same airport, ready to have fun in Vietnam. Now, we were coming back with a large sum of money, and enough trauma to burn through a few therapists. Reles and Mills sat on the furthest end of the seats, and Mason and James were sitting on the ground in front of us. Hank was on Reg’s other end, and I was between him and Jack. San and Houston had to fly out as soon as possible. They gave us our money and split, explaining that they had to inform Randa’s family and catalog their results in a way that would be safe for the island.

“Alright, I know nobody really wants to talk about this, but we should.” Jack leaned down from the end of the row, sighing deeply.

“Cole’s funeral… it’s gonna be in two weeks. I already talked to his wife. She wants us there. All of us.”

I shivered, and Reg’s arm tightened around my shoulders. I hadn’t told him anything more, but he had pieced together that my brother and Cole had been connected somehow.

“So…” Mason sighed. “Are we meeting there?”

Jack nodded. “I thought we could. Just so that we can all be together. I’m sure that’ll make it easier.”

“We should get together the day before.” James spoke up. “It’ll be easier to readjust.”

Jack mumbled something in agreement, but I had tuned them out. Whatever they settled on, James and I would do. I had my head resting on Reg’s shoulder, arm still in a sling and wedged between his torso and my own side. He noticed that I had seemingly dipped out of the current plane of reality, and he pulled me closer toward him and rested his chin over my head.

I huffed, nuzzling as close to him as I could, trying hard not to think about everything that had happened to us.

“So it’s settled.” Jack’s voice broke back through my haze.

“Two weeks from today, we’ll all meet at this location, in Nebraska.”

A thick silence settled over our group, and I looked up to see Reg lost in his own thoughts this time. Reles’s face had dropped, and Mills was holding his head in his hands. Cole had loved him like a son.

They called the boarding of a flight number over the loudspeaker, and Reles placed a hand on Mills’s shoulder.

“Come on, man. That’s us.”

Mills wiped the tears from his eyes and sat up, clearing his throat. I let go of Reg, and he and Jack got to their feet along with Mills and Reles. The four of them exchanged hugs and whispers, then rough pats on the back.

“We’ll see you guys soon.” Reles saluted at Jack, and then waved at the rest of us as he grabbed Mills by the shoulder and began to lead him toward their gate.

Reg settled back into his seat, and I let him sling his arm back around my shoulders. Jack sat down again, and I looked up at him, feeling my heart begin to strain. I was, once more, faced with the question of what would happen after we all went home. He noticed this, and he whispered something to Reg, who lifted his arm away from me.

I turned from my boy and snuggled into Jack’s side, my eyes beginning to well with tears. Mason and James took the seats that the boys had left behind, with James gently touching my knee as he passed by.

“We’ll figure it out. Hell, maybe you can come stay with Gracie and I for a while.” Jack gave me a goofy smile. “I’m sure Billy would love that.”

I shook my head, wiping my tears away. “It’s not just that, Jacks.”

“Then what is it, Ira? I mean, you’re eighteen now. You can travel the world, like you’ve always wanted to.”

“Stephen.” I whispered, looking up with a sigh.

“What about Stephen, honey?” His voice softened even more as he used the nickname he had only used twice for me before.

Once, when I told him about our father, and the second time, when I told him that I was leaving with my father and Stephen.

“He’s Cole’s kid now.” I fished the picture out of my pocket and showed him.

“God…” Jack’s accent was thick, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I… Cole was private about his family, I never knew.”

“He’s gonna be there. And… and I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

They called for another flight over the loudspeaker before Jack could give me an answer, and Hank stood from Reg’s side. Jack looked up and nodded to him, asking for a minute.

“Look, Ira… that’s our flight, I’m escorting Marlow home, but…” He sighed. “We’ll figure it out, okay? We always have before, and we will again. I promise.” He held my face in his hands and put his forehead to mine.

I put my own hands over his wrists and nodded, taking a breath. “Okay.”

“We’ll see each other soon, Ira. Two weeks, yeah?”

I nodded as he kissed my forehead. “Two weeks. Go home to Grace and Billy, I’m sure they miss you like hell.”

He chuckled. “I’ll tell Billy that he gets to meet you soon.”

“Come on, Chapman. We’re gonna miss our flight.” Hank stood in front of him.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Jack kissed the top of my head again before standing up.

Reg went to stand, and Jack shook his head. “At ease, Sliv.”

I smiled at the nickname, and looked at Jack with watery eyes. James stood and shook his hand, and Mason smiled warmly at both of the men.

“Thanks for taking care of our sister.”

“See you soon, Conrad.” Jack extended his arm for a side hug, the way that men usually hugged, patting each other’s backs roughly.

Reg saluted Jack off with two fingers, and I gave him a big goofy smile.

“Be safe, Jacks. See you soon.”

“Later days, guys!”

“See ya, Hank!”

“Good luck with your wife and your son!” I cupped my hands around my mouth and called after them.

Hank turned on his ankle and waved as he walked backwards, following Jack off to their gate. I grumbled as I changed spots, taking the one to Reg’s left so that I could rest my leg over his good one. He slung his arm around my shoulders, and I wiggled closer to him, practically sitting in his lap now. Mason and James were close together, Mason’s head on his shoulder and his head over hers. It seemed like they weren’t exactly at the level that Reg and I had jumped to, but they definitely had some feelings about one another.

“You okay, doll?” Reg’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I turned back to him with a soft smile and nodded. He put his hand on my cheek, and I leaned into his touch, letting my eyes flutter shut.

“I’m gonna miss being able to kiss you all of the time.” He whispered.

I gave a sad smile, opening my eyes. He was looking at me with so much love in his eyes, that I wanted to cry again. He caught onto it and pecked my lips, thumb holding my chin up.

“Oh, I-uh, I wanna give you something.” He pulled back, rummaging through the duffel bag at his feet.

“What is it?” I shifted, turning so that my side was completely perpendicular to his torso.

He pulled out his green army jacket and held it out to me with a big, goofy smile. “Here.”

“Wait, Reg-”

“I’m done with the army. Hell, we were supposed to be going home for good before Packard signed us up for the island expedition.”

“But… Reg, I… I can’t take it.”

“Please?” He gave me his puppy eyes, hand holding my cheek again. “I think it would look good on you. And you gave me your hair tie earlier.” He held up his wrist, the thin black hair tie still around it.

I gingerly grabbed the jacket, and he grinned, draping it over my shoulders, since I couldn’t put my arm through it just yet. I smiled and pulled him down to me, kissing him softly.

“I love you so much.” I whispered against his lips.

He ran his hands through my hair before grabbing my hand in his and kissing my knuckles. “I love you too.”

“Hey.” I felt Mason softly tap my shoulder. “Sorry, my flight is boarding.”

We both turned to her, and I grabbed her into a one-armed hug, resting my head on her shoulder. I was going to miss her over these next two weeks.

“Be safe. Please.” I begged her.

“I will be. I promise.”

“I’ll walk you to your gate.” James offered, standing up and holding a hand out for her.

Mason nodded at him and said goodbye to Reg, patting his shoulder with a gentle smile. James shouldered her bag and they walked off, leaving Reg and I alone in the busy airport.

“Hey, doll?”

“Yes?” I turned back to him, eyes wide.

“Do you wanna meet my family?”

I felt a blush creep onto my face. “Are you sure?”

“I mean, I already met half of yours.” He grinned, referring to Jack and James. “Also, I can’t wait to show my brother that I’ve got the best girl in the entire world.”

“Oh, shush.” I let my head fall onto his shoulder. “I’d love to meet your family, Reg.”

He only kissed the top of my head. The loudspeaker spat out another flight number, and Reg’s head popped up. I sighed.

“Yours or mine?”

He nodded. “Yours. Come on, I’ll walk you down to meet up with Conrad.”

                                                        ***

“Alright, Bitsy. Ready to go?” James hoisted my bag over his shoulder so that I wouldn’t have to struggle with it.

I sighed. “Yeah, just…” I looked over my shoulder to see Reg leaning against the wall.

He would wait for us to board before he went for his own flight.

“Didn’t you guys already say bye?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t feel like enough, Jay.” I mumbled.

“Go. I’ll wait here.”

I gave Reg a look, and he opened his arms, still leaning against the wall. I ran toward him the way I had in the river, which felt like ages ago. He caught me in his hold and pulled me tightly against him.

“I don’t know how I’m gonna go two weeks without sleeping in your arms.” I whimpered.

His grip on me tightened. “It’ll be alright, doll. We all just need a second to get things settled. After that, we’ll be together. Okay?”

I pulled my head back, ignoring the tears in my eyes. “How?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “May or may not ask you to marry me, no big deal.”

“God, Slivko.” I held a hand over my mouth.

He pulled it off and kissed my lips. “I love you, but we have to go. You two are gonna miss your flight.”

“I want more kisses.” I whined, pulling him down to my level.

“Doll, we’ll see each other in two weeks.”

“I don’t care.” I mumbled in between each kiss. “I want kisses.”

“Irene! We’re gonna miss our flight, let’s go!” James called.

I groaned and kissed Reg harder before pulling back. “I’ll see you soon.”

He winked. “I’ll call you?”

I blushed. “Sounds good. I love you!” I started making my way back to James.

“I love you!” He cupped his hands around his mouth.

James grabbed my good arm and began to tug. “Come on, Bits. Let’s go.”

Reg and I kept our eyes on each other, and right before I was out of his line of sight, he gave me a wink. My heart swelled within my chest.

Previous: Tears and Worries

Next: Childhood Homes and Childhood Traumas

[merakiaes]

Home Is In Your Arms - Reg Slivko

Pairing: Reg Slivko x reader 

Requested: By @socialambivert​

Prompts: None. 

Warnings/notes: Not proofread so I apologize in advance for any possible mistakes. I was really unfocused when writing this so it might be a mess, but I hope you like it. Let me know what you think xx

Wordcount: 8019

Summary: When continuously being put in life-threatening situations, hidden feelings are bound to be confessed as it might very well be your last moment together. 

You first met Reg Slivko when you arrived at training camp together, both of you having signed up for the Vietnam war fresh out of high school.

He had set his eye on you pretty much instantly, seeing as you were the closest to each other’s ages and you also happened to be the only girl, and the first thing you had thought when first seeing those soft, brown eyes and that wide, silly smile of his, was how cute he was.

Oh lord, he was cute. He was dimmer than a broken lightbulb, but he was cute. 

Unfortunately, however, it was not the time nor place to get romantic or sexual, even though a lot of the soldiers in training with you turned gay-for-the-stay, so you kept your relationship on a friendly level.

If constant flirting, teasing and lingering touches, along with the occasional grope here and there, was what was considered to be ‘friendly’, that is.

On a more real note, though, everyone knew you were more than friends, but you kept insisting to everyone pointing out your closeness that you were nothing more than best pals. You insisted on it so much, in fact, that eventually, you kind of started believing it too.

But when you were a part of Preston Packard’s Sky Devils team, you didn’t get much time to think about it.

There was always work to be done, and when there wasn’t, the boys were never up to any good, running circles around you and nagging your ears off.

And this afternoon would be no different, you knew, as you stepped into the canteen of the ship you had boarded not long ago, wasting no time in walking up to your fellow soldiers when you spotted them at their table.

“What’s up, rat bastards?” You asked with a grin, holding your arms out to present yourself as you approached them.

All of them greeted you and Cole and Jack made room for you between them, where you effortlessly sat down on the bench.

Reg’s eyes were instantly set on you, but before him, or anyone else for that matter, could say anything, they watched as you brought your hand up to your face to slowly tilt your sunglasses down, setting your eyes on something across the room.

“Oh, yes please.” You spoke in a murmur, and their eyes instantly followed your line of sight, landing on the tall, muscular man standing at the other side of the room, conversing with a blonde woman.

Jack chuckled, slapping Cole’s back, who in turn slapped Mills, all of them joining in on the silent laughter and hooting. “Oh, look out. (Y/L/N)’s on the prowl.” Jack teased, and while you joined in on the laughter, Reg’s face pulled into a scowl.

“No, she’s not.” He spoke, maybe a little too quickly, causing you all to turn to him with raised eyebrows.

When seeing all eyes on him, he neutralized his facial expression and shrugged, slumping in his seat and averting his eyes to the food in front of him. “I mean, he’s like forty years old. He’s basically an old man.”

He looked up again to meet your eyes, and you smirked at him, eyes squinting with playfulness. 

Without breaking your stare, you stood back up and stepped out of the bench again, took off your sunglasses and leaned forward to give him a devilish grin.

“Maybe that’s how I like them.” You whispered, and then you stood up straight, slapped your own ass to tease him further, and walked away, smiling to yourself as you had successfully sent them all into a laughing fit.

You obviously didn’t care for the man you were now walking in the direction of, no matter how nice he was to look at. But Reg didn’t have to know the truth because where would the fun be in that?

In reality, you were more interested in the woman, whom you had been told, judged by the description of her appearance that you had gotten, that you would be bunking with during the trip to the island.

When you reached them, the two greeted you politely, introducing themselves as Captain James Conrad and Mason Weaver, and after a moment of conversing, you were all called in for a briefing during which the scientists and Jack told you why you were there and how you were going to go about the mission.

After that, you showed Mason where your room was, as she had arrived later than you and therefore hadn’t gotten the chance to find it yet, and when she excused herself to do… well, whatever it was she was going to do, you moved outside to sit with your fellow soldiers.

You joked around like you always did, until it started getting late and you started feeling tired.

Your room and Reg’s room were on complete opposite sides of the ship but still, he was right there by your side, walking through the corridor on your ship-side, banging his fist against the wall as you went.

You were used to his spastic antics at this point so you barely even paid any mind to it. You were so used to it, in fact, that you would’ve been more surprised if he didn’t make any noise.

But other than the sound of his knuckles knocking against the metal walls, both of you had been walking in silence this far, the only other sound behind heard being your dog tags clinking against your chests.

But then he threw his arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his side and asking. “So, what’s our plan for tonight?”

Again, you were barely fazed, simply raising your hand to grab a hold of his where it hung of your shoulder. “We do not have a plan.” You replied, turning your head to look at him to see his eyebrows raise.

“Well, let’s make one.” He said, mimicking your tone.

In response, you plastered on a sarcastic, playful smile, nudging his side. “I have my own plans, that doesn’t include you.” You said, and his face instantly pulled into a deeply, genuinely offended expression.

“I thought we were a team!” He exclaimed, stopping in his tracks and removing his arm from around your shoulders.

“We are.” You just raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on your lips. “Which is exactly why I need a break.”

“You need a break? From me?” He scoffed, raising a hand to his chest. “I’m seriously wounded. Like, worse than the time you accidentally shot me in the shoulder at camp.”

You chuckled at the memory, leaning back against the wall and looking up at him when he stood in front of you, a hand placed at the side of your face. “Yes, so I’ll still like you in the morning.” You answered the first question, ignoring the last part.

At that, he couldn’t keep up his offended act anymore, his lips lighting up in a smile and a chuckle leaving his lips. “Wow, I’m that bad, huh?” He asked.

“Oh, the worst.” You said, frowning in a feign-serious expression.

“Well, that’s too bad.” He replied. “Because I was just gonna go take a shower. Thought you could join me, save water.”

He shrugged, a goofy smile lighting up his entire face, and you could only laugh, your head falling back against the wall. “That has got to be the lamest pick-up line in existence.”

“Don’t worry.” He smirked. “That’s just Plan A.”

“What’s plan B?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

He backed you further into the wall, and you had to really strain yourself to keep your smile at bay when he leaned in closer to your head.

“To take you hostage.” He continued after a moment of suspenseful silence, an evil grin overtaking his features, and the look he was giving you was enough to cause your entire stomach to flutter.

But you pushed the feeling down, raising a hand to his chest, trying not to think too hard about the sturdy muscle under your fingers and giving him a push to put some distance between the two of you.

He did nothing to fight it, keeping the smile on his face, as did you as you replied. “I already am. A hostage in this friendship.”

He simply chuckled, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me, though? Last offer.”

“Pass.” You chuckled back.

He held his hands up in surrender, taking a step back from you. “Alright, your loss.” He said, and you shook your head at his antics, your smile now wider than ever.

“Bye, Reggie.” You sang, and turned around to enter your room, that you only now noticed that you had conveniently stopped in front of.

You pushed the handle down and pushed the door open, but before you could enter, you felt a finger being jabbed into your side, causing you to jump right back around with a squeal.

Out of pure instinct, your hand shot out to slap Reg’s arm, watching as he shrunk back into himself and raised his hands for protection.

“Get out of here!” You lightheartedly scolded him, and with one last look, he disappeared down the hallway without another word, laughing at himself.

You could only shake your head, looking after him until he turned a corner and disappeared from your field of view, only then backing into the room and closing the door behind you.

“He’s charming.” Mason’s voice reached your ears the second you stepped inside, and you raised your eyebrows playfully, looking over to her where she was sitting in her bed.

“He might seem like it but he loses a great deal of that charm when you get to know him better.” You told her, causing her to chuckle.

“If you say so.” She mused, and then looked back down into the book in her lap without as much as another word.

You didn’t say anything else either, going straight to your bed. You quickly got undressed down to your underwear and slid under the covers, falling asleep in no time with only one person on your mind; just like every other night.

The next morning, you were up and at it bright and early; significantly earlier than Mason who was still snoring away by the time you left your room. 

It was only seven o’clock so you supposed you couldn’t blame her, you were just used to being up at dawn from your military days.

You were in a good mood, excited to get some food into your stomach, but it became evident the second you entered the canteen that your fellow soldiers weren’t as excited as you were to be up that early.

They were the only ones in there, and you wasted no time in grabbing some breakfast and walking up to them.

“Good morning, shitheads!” You exclaimed as you got closer, and Mills visibly flinched at the volume of your voice.

“Stop that.” He said, leaning his head against the table. “It’s too early for you to be in such a good mood.”

You could only chuckle at his dismay, and all of their bad moods, plopping down beside Jack who looked to be a bit less miserable than the rest of them. 

“I take it you had a good night.” You said, and Mills brought his head up at that, heaving a heavy sigh.

“It was fun while it lasted. Not so fun now.”

Jack hummed, chuckling as he ate. “At least we’re not Cole.” He said, and your eyebrows rose, your interest instantly piqued.

“What about Cole?” You asked, and this time it was Mills’ turn to chuckle.

“He drank himself under the table last night.” He said. “Almost stumbled overboard.”

“Why am I not surprised?” You shook your head, laughing and looking around while you prepared your cereal. “Where is the idiot, anyway?” You asked, and right then, Reg came up to your table and wasted no time in sliding in beside you.

“I’m right here.” He replied chirpily, the only one besides yourself who wasn’t hungover.

You chuckled at him, dumping your plastic spoon into the cereal and getting ready to eat it. “Surprisingly enough, I’m not talking about you this time.” You answered, and before anyone could say anything else, Cole, the man you were talking about, approached the table too, raising his fist into the air.

“Right here.” He muttered, sliding into the seat next to Mills across from you and wasting no time in leaning his head into his palm and closing his eyes.

“Well then, if everyone’s accounted for, let’s eat.” You said simply, turning your attention back to your tray and picking up the sandwich laying on it, holding it out for Cole to take.

He took it without a word, unwrapping it and silently starting to eat it, and the rest of you took his silence as a hint to keep the conversation on a down low to allow him, and everyone else too, to wake up properly.

By lunchtime, everyone, including Cole, was feeling as good as new, and the entire canteen was filled with chatter; more so from your table than anyone else’s.

For this meal, Mason had asked to join you and of course, you couldn’t turn her down, bringing her with you. She didn’t say much, but she clearly wasn’t bothered by the loud conversation going on at the table, laughing along as you joked around.

“Hey, (Y/N).” Reg’s voice reached your ears from right beside you when you were all coming down from one of many laughing fits, and you turned to him, still chuckling lightly.

“What?” You asked, and he smirked at you.

“Close your eyes.”

“What?” You asked again, raising an eyebrow, suspicion filling you. “Why?”

“Just trust me.” He said, and you narrowed your eyes accusingly at him.

“The last time you said that you always burned my hair off.” You told him flatly, your face pulling into one of annoyance.

But his smile didn’t falter. “Well, yeah, but you didn’t die.” He pointed out, and again, you narrowed your eyes.

“That’s so not the point, Reg.”

“Come on, please. For me.” He whined, sticking his lower lip out in a pout and widening his brown eyes, making them look even softer and prettier than usual.

You kept your glare on him for a moment longer, but the longer you looked into his puppy dog eyes, the harder it got. So soon enough, the scowl fell from your face, a sigh leaving your lips. “Fine.”

He silently cheered, and you closed your eyes with another sigh.

“Open your mouth.” He said then, and you squeezed your eyes shut tighter, growing more and more suspicious.

“Slivko…” Jack warned, but the younger soldier only hushed him.

You were about to open your eyes again, and call whatever it was he was going to do off, but before you could, something incredibly sour was shoved into your mouth, and you instantly stared spluttering at the bitter taste overtaking your taste buds, opening your eyes again.

Your nose scrunched up and your eyes hardened. Spitting the lime out on the plate in front of you, you turned and glared at your best friend, violently slapping his chest.

“For fuck’s sake, Reggie!” You exclaimed. “Are you clinically insane or just incredibly annoying?”

“Probably both.” Cole wasted no time in answering for him.

Everyone was laughing, including Slivko, which only made you more agitated, causing you to slap him again, only with more force this time.

His smile fell at that, his hands coming up in front of him to protect himself from the hits that just kept coming. “Stop hitting me! Why are you so mean?!” He yelled, and you finally stopped hitting him.

“I don’t know. I think it’s just my factory setting.” You glared. “Or maybe it’s because you’re such an incredibly big pain in my ass!”

The smile returned to his face, his lips pulling into a shit-eating grin. “Come on, you know you love me. Give me a smile.”

He brought his hands out and pulled at the corner of your lips with his finger, and in return, you hardened your glare, crossing your arms over your chest. “No.”

“Fine.” He said, giving up. “I’ll just smile then.”

“Please, don’t.” You replied, but he was already holding the corners of his own lips up.

“Smiles are contagious.” He spoke through his teeth to his best ability as his lips were stretched up so hard.

He looked absolutely ridiculous, and even though you wanted to throw back some kind of insult, you found yourself unable to, your lips quivering as you fought to hold back the smile.

But he noticed it, letting go of his lips and pointing a finger at you excitedly. “See! See! What did I tell you?” He said, and you laughed.

“I hate you.” You said. “You are the worst human being on the face of the planet.”

“Aw, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He said, bringing his hand up to his heart.

Mason watched the two of you with a light smile on her lips. “You seem like really close friends.” She spoke up, for the first time since sitting down. “Did you know each other before the war?”

The sound of her voice attracted everyone’s attention, and Slivko instantly shook his head, throwing an arm around your shoulder.

“We’re not friends.” He stated flatly, wiping his face free of emotion. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

“Intimately close. Seduce your enemies.” You joined in, grabbing his hand that was hanging down above your collarbone.

Reg nodded in agreement, reaching out to grab your boob to prove your point. 

Without ever looking away from Mason, you delivered a slap to his wrist, causing him to pull back, but he wasn’t fazed, continuing. 

“Marry your enemies and poison the wedding cake. Boom.” He made an explosive gesture with his fist, and you turned to him with a glare. 

“I’m not marrying you if you’re going to bring the wedding cake into it, that’s just unnecessary.” You said.

In turn, he looked down at you, nodding his head with a regretful gaze. “I agree. I went too far. I apologize.”

While you kept looking at each other, Mason’s eyes flickered between the two of you from the other side of the table, her eyebrows raised in both confusion and amusement.

Seeing her questioning stare, Cole took it upon himself to explain, briefly looking up from his food to wave a hand in your direction. “They met in training, and we’ve had to put up with this shit every day since.”

Mason slowly nodded, a chuckle leaving her lips. “Sounds fun.” She said, and when you turned your head back to look at her again, she asked you. “What are you gonna do when you get back?”

You heaved a heavy sigh at the question, shaking your head. “I don’t even know, I haven’t really thought about it.”

“She’s gonna get herself a man. Pop out a few kids.” Jack joined in on the conversation, pointing at you with his fork.

To this, you raised an amused eyebrow, but before you could say anything, Mills let out a loud laugh from his seat. “You’re telling me you can actually see (Y/N), (Y/N) (Y/L/N), being a housewife?” He asked, and you shook your head in agreement.

“Yeah, no. I’m way too picky.” You admitted, turning your attention back to the food in front of you. “And either way, men aren’t very appreciative of women with strong minds and opinions.” You added, looking up at them while shoving a forkful of rice into your mouth.

Jack’s lips turned up in agreement and he dropped the subject, but Reg had other plans, scooting closer to you and leaning his head closer to yours. “I’m single and I don’t mind.” He tried, and you spared him a sideways glance.

“Dream on, lover boy.” You said, bringing your hand up to shove his head away from yours.

The boys, once again, broke into laughter, and Mills offered the discouraged boy a slap on his back. “It was worth a shot, my friend.” He said, and the smile was back on his face just as quickly as it had fallen.

Later that day, the boys were all out on deck in the nice, warm afternoon sun, mentally preparing for the mission that would officially start the next day.

When you had gone to join them, Packard had stopped you and presented you with a box of cake mix, telling you he had pulled some strings to get you into the kitchen if you wanted to treat yourself and the boys to something sweet your last night on the ship.

And how could you refuse?

It wasn’t the fanciest cake. You had to make do with the few decorative ingredients that you could find, but for a cake baked on a ship, it turned out pretty well.

It was around five o’clock in the afternoon when you finally stepped outside with the cake and a stack of plastic plates and forks on a tray, your eyes instantly rolling in amusement when you caught sight of a shirtless Reg posing in front of Mason’s camera.

Cole was sitting off to the side, as somber as ever, getting his hair cut while the others joked around with Reg in the sunlight.

Cole was the first one to spot you coming over, the others being too busy to even notice you. 

He was the only one who had known that you were going to make a cake, having walked into the kitchen while it was still in the progress to get one of his many snacks.

He wasted no time in sitting up straight in his seat when he saw you coming, waving his hand out to alert the others of your arrival.

When they turned to look at you, you held the tray up for them to see. “Behold. From chaos, order. From ugliness, beauty. From basic ingredients and an oven, cake.” You dramatically presented you work of art.

Reg instantly lit up in a large smile. “Nice!” He exclaimed, while Jack’s face pulled into one of disbelief. 

“Did you make that? By yourself?” He asked, helping you clear the empty beer bottles off the makeshift table they had made out of a wooden crate so that you could put the tray down.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” You asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s the first time we have an actual kitchen and get to eat food that isn’t coming from a can. It was either go big or go home, and the latter isn’t really an option seeing as we’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”

“A woman who can fight in a war and bake a cake?” Mills said. “Where the hell do I get one?”

All of them pulled their chairs up around the crate, Mason sitting down on one side of you, and Reg sliding in on your other side, wasting no time in reaching for a plate and then for the cake.

You instantly slapped his hand away, snatching the plate from his hand. “I promised the first piece to Cole.”

“What?” His head whipped around to face you, his eyes widening. “I’m your best friend, the first piece should be mine!”

You gave him a narrow-eyed look. “My cake, my rules. Cole gets the first serve.” You said and held the plate out for Cole to take without breaking eye-contact with Reg.

“That’s right. Suckers.” Cole said, wasting no time in grabbing it from you and serving himself a piece, the size of it causing everyone to look at him strangely.

“You gonna eat all that yourself, man?” Mills asked him, and before Cole could reply, you did so for him.

“The more you weight the harder you are to kidnap. Stay safe, eat cake.” You said with your eyebrows raised at him, all while grabbing a plate and fork of your own.

Cole nodded, his head already stuffed full of chocolate. “What she said.” He agreed, and you turned to him.

“Right on.” You said, clinking your fork to his before moving to serve yourself a piece of your own, the others following suit.

No surprise with Cole there, the cake was gone in what seemed like just a second, and all of you spent the rest of the evening out on the platform together, listening to music and fooling around.

Mason slipped off without any of you noticing, and eventually, you went your separate ways too, Reg walking you to your room just like he had done the night before.

Come next morning, you were up and packing everything into the choppers bright and early, ready to head straight into the big, never-ending storm.

“Ready to do this?” Reg asked you, standing beside you and working on packing the record player into its briefcase while you packed a rucksack full off necessities.

“Yup. Today’s just a light recon day.” You answered in a breath without looking at him.

“Then why are you packing five pounds of explosives?” He chuckled, and only then did you turn to look at him, just as you finished packing said explosives into the leather bag.

“I want to be prepared.” You told him, pulling the zipper up. “I don’t trust those shady scientists.”

He raised an eyebrow, brown eyes sparkling with amusement. Before he could say anything else, however, you were joined by another person.

“That makes two of us.” Packard muttered as he came up between you, looking down at your bag and giving it a nod of approval. “Good call, (Y/L/N).”

You gave him a curt nod, followed by a playful smile. “I got you, sir.”

He nodded at you with a small smile of his own playing on his lips, and before you knew it, you were on your way.

You were in a chopper of your own with one of the scientists, struggling to keep the flying vessel straight with the way the strong weather was pulling on the controls in your hands. 

But in the end, you persevered, with a little help from Packard’s motivating speech.

The sight you were met with once you passed through the last of the storm clouds was the most beautiful sight you’d ever laid eyes on, but the moment of admiration was cut short for all of you when you began dropping the bombs and shortly after, were hit out of the sky one by one by a giant gorilla.

Everyone was screaming over the comms, but you kept going for as long as you could, opening fire at the gorilla like the rest of the choppers until you, too, were hit to the ground.

Reg yelled your name as he saw your chopper going down, and only a second later a body came flying into his windshield, his chopper crashing, too.

You didn’t know how long you were out for, but when you woke up again, there were no more choppers in the sky, and the radio in yours was dead, along with the scientist who had been with you, oh so gracefully having been impaled by a piece of metal.

It was horrible, but you were used to seeing death and weren’t too affected, just lucky that the bag of explosives hadn’t exploded in the crash.

You had no choice but to go on and venture into the forest on your own, hoping to come across someone else before dark fell.

Your peaceful walk took a turn for the worse rather quickly though and soon enough, you were being chased by some monstrous skull-lizard.

You weren’t stupid. You realized immediately that your chances were pretty slim, but you couldn’t let that stop you. It was escape or death, and you weren’t ready to die. 

You had to see Reg again, but it was going to be easier said than done, and just when you thought your life was gone for, you lost your footing and rolled down a hill, landing right at the feet of a bearded man.

You put your guard up immediately, shifting back on your hands and feet and fumbling for your rifle, raising it right to his head in all of your panicked glory.

He wasted no time in taking a step back and raising his hands in his defense, eyes widening. 

“Easy, easy. I’m a friend!” He exclaimed, and even though it went against your better judgment to trust a man you just met, you lowered your gun and dropped to your back on the forest floor, bringing your hands up to your face as you caught your breath.

A few minutes later, you were walking side by side with Marlow, which the man’s name had turned out to be, the two of you conversing.

Although, he was doing most of the talking, going on and on about how excited he was that “you had finally come for him”.

You, on the other hand, were still traumatized from the “Skull Crawler” you had been chased by just a few minutes prior, constantly on your guard with your rifle in the fear that it would jump out at you.

Eventually, you were joined by island natives that he introduced to you as the Iwi. Their faces were painted and they didn’t say much, a nice change from the man you had been walking beside up until then, who never seemed to shut up.

The sun was just beginning to set and you were just nearing some stone ruins, when the Iwi suddenly picked up on something and ran ahead.

You exchanged a look with Marlow, before the two of you sprinted off after them.

Marlow entered the ruins first, holding his hands up to calm the situation down, whatever it was, and when you entered after him, you instantly realized what was going on, and you had never been so happy to see the face of Reg as you were then.

His eyes found yours and he wasted no time in lowering his rifle, his face falling in disbelief. 

The Iwi all had their spears pointed at him and the people he was with, but the second they lowered their weapons, he came rushing forward to take you into his arms.

“Oh my God, (Y/N).” He breathed into your ear, and you closed your eyes tightly, taking in the feeling of his arms around you. “I thought you were dead. We found your chopper and-  Shit, your head.” He cursed, taking note of your bloody forehead when you came back apart.

He met your eyes again, holding you by your arms. “Are you okay?” He asked, and you put on a feign confused expression.

“I- Who are you?” You asked, and you watched as his face immediately fell.

“I-“ He struggled to find the words, and you held his sad stare for another moment, before the laughter bubbled up in your throat, your head throwing back and your hands coming to grab your stomach.

“You should’ve seen the look on your face!” You laughed, and his face instantly pulled into one of enragement.

“That’s not fucking funny!” He roared at you.

The tone in his voice and the look on his face was unlike anything you had ever seen with him before; he hadn’t even reacted like that when you had shot him in the shoulder.

Because of that, your laughter quickly died down, a confused look overcoming your features. “What? It was just a joke.” You said, chuckling. “Why are you getting so mad?”

The scowl on his face only deepened at that. “Because, because I-“

“Because you?” You raised an eyebrow, and watched with amusement as he threw his arms out.

“Because it’s just not funny! Okay?!” He said and you raised your hands in surrender, nodding your head.

“Okay, Mr. Serious.” You said, flashing him an amused smile.

You moved back to Marlow, who was now talking to Conrad, and when introductions were out of the way, you were on your way again, reaching the Iwi’s village not long after.

During your stay in the village, you tried spending some time with Reg, but for some unknown reason, he was still mad at you for pretending you couldn’t remember him and pretty much gave you the cold shoulder, instead busying himself with fixing the engine of the boat.

After getting the boat to work, you finally got in contact with Packard. He set on a flare to give away their location, and you wasted no time in heading in that direction, trekking through the jungle in silence, staying on your guard.

It was so silent, in fact, that when Reg let out a loud scream from beside you, you couldn’t help but almost jump out of your own skin.

But when seeing why he had screamed like he did, you instantly broke out into laughter, going up to him.

“Calm down, you big baby. It’s just a chameleon.” You told him, reaching up to carefully grab the body of the reptile that he was trying to slap away from his shoulder. After putting it down on a branch in passing, you gave him a smug smirk. “You scream like a girl, by the way. I’m embarrassed to be your acquaintance.”

Your teasing wasn’t as appreciated as it usually was, much to your dismay, only getting a scoff and a sour look in return before he sped up and walked ahead, leaving you to walk by yourself.

Smile falling off your face again, you sighed, keeping silent the rest of the way, until James stopped by a small stream of water.

“We’ll stop here. They should be close.” He said, turning around in your direction. “Rest up, fill up your bottles.”

Everyone did as told, sitting down wherever they could find a comfortable spot, Reg included who sat down on a log right by the water.

Meanwhile, you stayed behind by a tree, leaning your back against the trunk as you watched him from a distance.

You knew that he could feel you looking with the way he was doing everything with unnecessarily aggressive movements, but not once did he spare you a look, causing your eyes to narrow with annoyance.

He might be cute, but he was also petty as hell, something you had never been on the receiving end of up until now.

A few minutes later, all of you turned to face the forest at the sound of rustling  in the bushes, and before you knew it, Packard, Cole, Mills, Reles and Randa appeared, walking into the clearing where you were currently waiting.

Reg was the first one up on his feet, rushing over to greet his friends and fellow soldiers, and you weren’t far behind, greeting Cole, Mills and Reles with tight, brotherly hugs, and Packard with a firm handshake.

“Good to see you alive, (Y/L/N).” He said with a smile, and you nodded curtly, returning his smile with one of your own.

“You too, sir.”

Not long later, you were all, once again, running for your lives, having walked right into the graveyard of Kong’s family on Packard’s orders, which also happened to be somewhat of a Skull Crawler lair.

The memory of being chased down by the giant reptile-like monsters only a few days prior was still fresh in your mind, and having to relive it now was stressing you the fuck out.

But you kept going, running in zigzags through the giant skulls of Kong’s parents with your rifle held closely to your chest, trying your hardest to see through the mustard-yellow fumes.

You were all passing each other several times, focusing on yourselves and shooting at the Skull Crawler whenever it came too close to any of you.

A while into the fight that, at this point, seemed completely unwinnable, Reg ran up to you with his rifle raised just like yours, running by your side and yelling out over the loud gunshots. “Before we die, there’s something I need to tell you!”

Without looking at him, the two of you turning a corner, you hardened your face. “We're not gonna die, stop saying that!” You yelled back.

“I still need to tell you!” He kept fighting, and you growled under your breath in annoyance.

“Can it wait?! I’m kind of busy trying not to die!”

“No! It can’t wait!”

Right after he said that, a loud screech reached your ears, and you instantly recognized the thundering rocking of the ground under your feet, throwing a look over your shoulder to see that you were now the main targets of the Skull Crawler.

Turning your eyes back forward, you cursed, picking up your pace. “You’ve been ignoring me for well over two days, you can wait another!” You yelled, and just as you were about to be swallowed whole, you grabbed Reg’s arm and tugged him to side, the two of you sliding into one of the Kong skulls.

You were protected by the thick bones, but the Skull Crawler kept snapping at you, trying to get through, and you wasted no time in backing up and firing at it.

“I love you!” Came Reg’s voice then, and you widened your eyes, your head whipping around to face him.

“What?!” You exclaimed, your face briefly falling in disbelief, but when you realized he wasn’t shooting, but rather just staring dumbly at you, the disbelief turned into a hard glare. “What the hell are you doing?! Shoot, you idiot!”

He seemed to snap back to his senses when hearing your words, shuffling back and starting to shoot at the Skull Crawler that was still snapping at you, until it spotted something somewhere else and left.

Once it was gone, you allowed yourself to take a breather, but you barely even got the time to do that, your face being grabbed in Reg’s hands a second later.

“I love you!” He repeated shaking your head lightly. “I am absolutely, definitely, positively, unquestionably, no strings attached, beyond any doubt, unconditionally, in love with you. I want to grow old with you and love you, make you smile and hear you laugh, every single day for the rest of my life. I get butterflies every time you look at me, every time you touch me, like some freaking teenage girl. I know it may not make any sense but when I look at you, I can feel it. I look at you, and I’m home, and if you stay with me I promise to make you smile everyday with my weird jokes, I promise to share my food with you, give you good massages and laugh at your stupid jokes. I like you so much I don’t know what to do with it.  My heart beats so fast when I know I’m going to see you again. And then, when you look at me the way you do, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I don’t want to go a single day in my life without you. I love you. I knew it the minute I met you, and I’m sorry it took so long for me to catch up. I just got stuck. But I- I need to know, if we’re going to die, if you feel the same way, bec-“

Without any warning, you grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into you in one single, rough movement, pressing your lips to his in a kiss so forceful your teeth clashed together.

He let out a soft “hmpf” at the force, but wasted no time in pulling you closer, the two of you kissing each other with such desperation, hadn’t you been in the situation you were currently in, your clothes would’ve been on the floor in a second.

But this was neither the time nor place, so you pulled apart way too quickly for your liking, meeting each other’s equally as wide eyes, both of you completely breathless.

“Does this mean-?”

“Yes.” You interrupted him. “You’re a fucking idiot and I’m going to be mad at you for a while for giving me the cold shoulder and then choosing literally the worst possible time to confess your love for me, but I love you too.”

His eyes, still wide, widened even more at that. “Whatever possessed you to do that should possess you more often.” He breathed out, and you gave him a stern look.

“It can possess me more later, but right now, our main concern should be getting out of here alive. Okay?” You asked, and he nodded.

“Okay.”

“Okay.” You repeated in a breath, pressing another quick peck to his lips before grabbing your rifle and running back out of the skull, leaving him to watch after you with literal heart eyes, the poor boy now more in love than ever.

Once you had made it out of there with your lives intact thanks to Mason throwing a lighter into the fumes and causing an explosion, you wasted no time in getting out of the graveyard.

Reg had a close call back there and you had never felt a panic as intense at the one you felt then, rushing to his aid once James had pulled him into safety to check on his hurt leg.

You were a loyal soldier, loyal to your brothers and your superior. The only thing you were more loyal to was your own morals, and when Packard, even after what you had just been through, still insisted that Kong was the enemy, you had no choice but to go against him, much to Reg’s dismay.

The look on his face when you moved to follow James, Mason, Brooks and San was one out of pure betrayal, but you knew he would get over it, if the two of you made it out alive.

Just like you, he was a loyal soldier. But while you were more loyal to your morals, he was more loyal to you.

One look into your eyes was all it took for him to, with a trembling lip, turn his rifle onto Packard, the others following suit, more loyal to their brothers than their superior, who was clearly losing his mind.

Still adamant on killing Kong, he got what he had coming to him while the rest of you fled for your lives, running all the way until the dark lifted and the sun was coming up.

When you reached the edge of the island, Mason was sent up on the rocks with the flare gun to attempt to signal Brooks and San who were at the boat, and while she did that, Reg dragged you along by your hand toward the water; away from the loud screeches following you, which were only coming closer.

It didn’t take long for the Alpha Skull Crawler to catch up with you, and while the rest of you kept running, Cole came to a stop turning to look at the giant creature while slowly reaching for a grenade in his vest.

Mills and yourself were the ones to notice it first, stopping to call after him, and when he didn’t acknowledge you, you set off into a sprint in his direction without a second thought.

“No, (Y/N)!” Reg called after you, trying to catch your wrist to stop you.

But you were too quick, running up to Cole and starting to pull at him. As a response, he began pulling back, and you glared.

“Don’t be an idiot, Cole. Come on.” You scolded him simply, and before he could protest, you ripped the grenade out of his hand, pulled the spring out and launched it straight into the open jaws of the Skull Crawler, hurrying to throw your bag full of explosives in the same direction and pulling Cole away just as it all blew up.

The huge explosion caused the two of you to be sent flying forward, and although it didn’t kill the Skull Crawler, you were sure it weakened it, along with giving you the chance to get away.

Slivko was at your side in an instant, yelling at you for being stupid, before pulling you into his arms. 

Everything happened so quickly after that and hadn’t it been for Kong, you would’ve all died.

But he was there, giving you all a second chance at life and getting you all out of there with your lives intact.

The only thing you could hear as you drove away from the island was the sound of the boat’s engine and the wind howling in your ears.

No one had spoken a word since you got out of there, all of you just letting reality of what you had been through sink in.

You were convinced that no one would say anything the entire ride, but of course, Cole would be the one to break the silence, in the most inconvenient of ways.

“I could die for a smoothie right about now.” He spoke, breaking the silence and causing all of you to look at him with various expressions.

While most people looked at him with either disbelief or annoyance, you could only chuckle in amusement.

“After everything we’ve just gone through, you really think that’s an appropriate metaphor?” You asked him, and he just spared you a glance, shrugging his shoulders before looking back into the floor.

You shook your head at him, before pushing yourself out of your seat with an exhausted sigh, moving out from underneath the roof and climbing on top where Reg was laying flat on his back, hands clasped together on his stomach and eyes staring into the sky.

You said nothing as you stepped over him and sat down beside him, making sure you weren’t too close to the edge before laying down on your back at his side.

The second you were situated, his hands unclasped, one of them moving out to seek after yours, and you met him halfway, your fingers intertwining.

You laid there in silence for a moment, just taking everything in, before he spoke up quietly from beside you.

“On a scale from one to ten, how bad of an idea do you think it would be if we got married?”

At the sound of his words, you turned your head in his direction, raising a doubtful eyebrow. “You just confessed your love to me yesterday and you’re already proposing?” You asked, and watched as he turned to look at you.

“You’re an idiot, I’m an idiot. We’re co-presidents of Club Idiot. I can’t think of a better match.” He shrugged. “So how ‘bout it? Would it really be that bad?”

A chuckle left your lips at his poor proposal. “It would be off the charts.” You replied, your lips pulling into a gentle smile and your eyes staring into his. “Let’s do it.”

He matched your smile with one of his own, sparing you one last look before wrapping his arm around you and pulling you into his side, your head resting on top of his chest.

“I’ll take care of you.” He promised, and you closed your eyes and smiled, letting out a content sigh. 

“I know.”

Cole, Mills and Reles all looked at you from below, watching as you cuddled close.

They had all known that you had liked each other long before either of you had spoken those feelings aloud. Maybe even before you had realized it, yourselves.

They could see it in Reg’s eyes, the way he looked at you. As if you were the sun, and he was a child seeing it set for the very first time, and then the way your eyes sparkled right back whenever you looked at him.

Being able to find someone you clicked with so naturally was the best feeling ever. You felt like you had been best friends your whole life, and you were so comfortable with each other.

Maybe that’s what a soulmate really was. Not someone who shared every single thing in common with you, but someone who made you feel like you were coming home, which was exactly what you felt like when he wrapped his arms around you.

No matter where in the world you found yourselves, as long as he was there by your side, you would be home.

Tagged: @marvelously-flawed​

(If you want to be added or removed from the tag list, send me a message, ask or leave a comment)

[lokimostly]

Home from War (Ch.7/8)

James Conrad x Reader Word Count: 4,521 Warnings: descriptions of injury/blood, needles, character death, angst Fic Summary: One year after you lost the love of your life, a last-minute decision changes everything you thought you knew. Now only one question remains: how to make it out alive, and return home from war?

A/N: None, and that should scare you. Enjoy! <3 

Prequel Series | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Eight (Epilogue)

Without Conrad, trekking through the jungle was even harder than you’d anticipated. Finding someone to support your physical weight was easy enough. The emotional weight of being apart from him was something different entirely. Your heart was aching at the thought of him: the soft accent of his voice, his sharp jaw and blue-green eyes. The tenderness in his touch despite the calluses of his hands. The curve of his lips when he gave you that small, secret smile only you were allowed to see.

So much lost time to make up for between you two. You silently resolved that if you ever got off this island, you’d kiss those lips for days.

The group stopped to rest. Slivko and Mills to make a splint for your leg, so that you could walk on your own – albeit at a limp. Your mobility wouldn’t be possible without the morphine, either, and you were down to your last dose.

Just one more thing to worry about, you thought.

The sunlight was growing dim as you hiked further uphill. As the sun set, the trees around you turned red and orange. The morphine was beginning to wear off, too, and faster than you desired. Every step became more and more difficult, more painful. Quite frankly, you were sick and tired of pain. 

The distorted warbling of the Sea Stallion’s broken speakers echoed through the forest like the voice of a ghost. The closer you came, the louder it got, until finally you spotted the green and orange helicopter through the foliage. 

“Gather up everything you can, including those seismic charges,” Colonel Packard ordered. “They got his attention the first time.”

The soldiers got to work. Slivko helped you sit down inside the helicopter, which seemed mostly intact. It was full of crates and barrels of seismic charges and napalm, secured in place by a frayed net. Slivko jumped up onto the platform, stepping through the boxes and looking around. 

Mills stood outside and stared at the contents of the Sea Stallion, unenthused. “This is a bad idea,” He muttered.

“Let’s just get on with it,” Cole replied, ducking his head and climbing inside.

Slivko came back with your medical bag– a small, camo duffle with a red cross on the side. You unzipped it and gasped in relief, finding everything exactly where you’d put it: in particular, more morphine. You found the bag of painkillers, acquired a needle, and administered another shot to your thigh with practiced efficiency. 

Slivko watched on, pushing up his red headband. “How often do you take the injections?” He asked. His voice held a notable tone of worry.

You glanced up at him. “Every four hours.”

His brow furrowed.“But it’s only been… two and a half since the last time. Maybe three.”

“Don’t worry about it, Sliv,” you said casually, returning the needle to its case and examining the rest of the bag’s contents. There was gauze, antiseptic, bandages, atabrine, and more than enough morphine to see you through until you got off the island. It was an enormous relief.

Slivko put his hands on his hips and watched the soldiers roll the barrels of napalm down the platform, carrying them down the hill. He turned back to you. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the atabrine.

“It’s for malaria. I gave you your shot before we left,” you replied easily. Slivko had always felt like a little brother, for whom you had a good deal of patience and affection, so you didn’t mind his questions. 

“And that?” he asked, gesturing to a bottle of clear fluid with an orange cap.

“That’s naloxone. It’s in case of opioid overdose,” you said. You paused, pressing your lips together and thinking for a moment before beckoning for Slivko to sit down. “C’mere. I’ll show you.”

He sat down. You pulled out an empty needle and twisted the naloxone open, handing it to him. “Have you used a needle before?”

“Yeah, but not in my arm, or anything.”

“That’s fine. Naloxone works intramuscularly, so you can inject it into other places. It just doesn’t take effect as quickly as it would through a vein.” You pointed to the side of your leg, where you’d been self-administering morphine, to your shoulder, and other common points of injection.

“Besides,” you added, “I don’t think I want you messing with my veins. You might punch through one. No offense.” 

“None taken,” he smiled, before his expression turned more serious. “But…. you’re not gonna overdose, are you?”

You shook your head. “Don’t worry,” You began putting the contents back into your bag. “It’s just good for you to know. I can’t be the only one who knows all this.”

But that wasn’t entirely true. You were cutting it close with the morphine and you knew it. 

There were several factors that determined your wellbeing, and very few of them within your control. Pain would only slow you down, and if you were slow, you wouldn’t survive – even more than that, the makeshift splint needed to hold. Any wrong move, bad fall, or general upset could shift the bone out of place and cut off your femoral artery. If that happened, it would only be a matter of minutes before you bled to death.

Even by mediating the pain and treading carefully, you had to face facts. Your chances of survival were at a record low.

~

Conrad and Weaver stood on the precipice of a cliff, looking down at the river below. Night had fallen some hours ago. The moonlight, bright and cold, illuminated the water through the fog, casting everything in a misty blue glow.

Conrad exhaled softly and forced himself to focus. He was having a hard time distracting himself from thoughts of you, and it showed – he’d taken more wrong turns than he could count, missed and misread signs that led the group in wrong directions. Finally he snapped out of it long enough to find the river, and now tried once more to force his thoughts away from you. 

“The boat must be around that bend,” he said, pointing. Weaver nodded, raising her camera. The shutter clicked.

Conrad heard Weaver’s breath snag in her throat and looked over. She lowered her camera slowly and the two of them watched, wordless, as Kong tread slowly past, almost close enough to touch. He paid them no mind. The creature really was a giant – standing as tall as the mountains around him, every step shaking the earth. But unlike Colonel Packard’s thinking, they both knew the truth: that the giant was by no means evil, merely a king in his own domain, in which you were all trespassers.

Breathing quietly, Conrad’s eyes followed the direction of Kong’s path. With a sudden feeling of dread, he knew exactly where Kong was headed: to the bursts of explosions in the distance, lighting up the blue night with fiery clouds of orange and red.

Kong let out a roar of anger, his giant teeth bared. Conrad’s throat tightened in fear. Colonel Packard was trying to draw Kong out, and you were there with him– which meant you were in mortal danger.

Conrad turned and began heading down the mountain. Weaver spun, following him as fast as she could. 

“What are you doing?” She shouted, leaping precariously from boulder to boulder, struggling to keep up.

“We have to go– now!” He responded, landing on flat ground and sprinting through the trees. He couldn’t keep himself from you any longer – not when he might be the only one who could save you.

~

You stood in the grass behind a wall of fire, watching the seismic charges go off in clouds of orange and red. Packard was adamant about drawing Kong out, despite everyone else’s inhibitions. Were you in better shape, you might’ve considered a coup de tat. Now, however, you were in no condition to do anything of the sort. 

Despite how anxious you felt, your heartbeat was unnaturally slow. The constant injections were beginning to show their uglier side effects: fatigue, blurred vision, nausea. At the moment, you had no time to worry about it. 

Beside you, Mills practically vibrated with fear as Kong came into sight. He roared again once he spotted your group, and stormed through the water just like Colonel Packard had planned. Your hands adjusted their grip on your gun and you resisted the strong urge to flee. 

For what wasn’t the first time, you wished Conrad were here with you.

~

Conrad and Weaver came running down the mountain so fast that they almost tumbled when they reached the rest of the group.

“Don’t shoot!” Conrad shouted to Brooks.

Brooks lowered his with an exasperated expression. “Conrad, where are we going?”

“You three need to go back to the boat,” Conrad said, leaning on his knees to catch his breath. He pointed with one hand. “It’s that way. Wait for us till dawn. If we’re not back by then …” he shook his head, swallowing. “Just go.”

Brooks scoffed. “You ain’t gotta twist my arm.” He picked up his bag and headed down the mountain, followed by the geologist San. 

“Wait, where are you two going?” Marlow asked, rising to his feet.

Conrad and Weaver exchanged a glance.

“We’re going to save Kong,” she replied, nodding resolutely.

And Y/N, Conrad thought grimly. 

Marlow smiled. “Not without me, pal.”

~

You watched as trees fell like windblown grass beneath Kong’s feet. He stopped a hundred yards from your company, staring intently at Packard, who stood in front of you with a fiery torch in hand. The air was charged with electricity, waiting for a lightning strike.

Then he charged.

You and the other soldiers faltered backwards as he came closer, stumbling over your feet. Colonel Packard, however, stood still as stone. He watched Kong storm through the water, shaking the earth with his roar, and he waited. And waited.

And then he through his torch into the water.

The napalm that had been poured onto the surface of the water by Slivko and the other soldiers lit up, engulfing the giant monster in flames. 

You watched, horrified, as Kong let out a roar of pain. He struggled to fight through the flames before their heat engulfed him and he disappeared from view. Your fellow soldiers had similar expressions on their faces – terror mixed with sympathy. He didn’t deserve this.

Packard was completely enthralled by the Kong’s roars of pain. A mad grin was stuck to his face, stretched from ear to ear and completely manic.

He’d lost it.

Suddenly, Kong came through the fire again with renewed anger, and flung the boiling water at the riverbank. You shrieked and tried to duck away from the flames, falling backwards. You fell hard against the ground as your surroundings lit up in flames. A few of the soldiers immediately succumbed to fiery deaths. Their screams of agony filled your ears as a different fire burned in your leg, burning with renewed pain. 

Then Kong fell. 

Overcome by the fumes and the fire, his body came crashing down on the shore and the ground shuddered beneath his weight.

You tried to stand and gasped at the fresh wave of throbbing pain as it hit your body. Your bone had obviously shifted. You strained forward and peeled away the bandage with shaking hands, fearing the worst– that your artery had been cut off.

The world didn’t stop for you, and neither did Colonel Packard. “Men! Place your charges!” he shouted. “It’s time to show Kong that man is king!” 

“Armed one,” Mills said, as he turned on the charges.

“Armed two,” came another.

You grimaced at the sight of fresh blood on your skin, swallowing another wave of discomfort mixed with relief. Your wound had reopened, but it didn’t look like the artery had burst.

“Armed three,” Slivko said, looking at you with an expression of are you okay?

You didn’t see it. You were entirely focused on unzipping your bag as quickly as possible, finding a roll of gauze and wrapping your leg. Your hands found the fresh gauze when Conrad and Weaver charged through the trees and into the clearing.

“Packard!” Conrad shouted. Your eyes snapped up, and you froze. 

Packard looked up slowly, detonator in hand. Conrad raised his rifle, chest heaving, and pointed it at Packard.

The other soldiers raised their guns at him automatically. The sound of several firearms cocking at once made your heart jump into your throat. Your hands stilled, half-finished with their work, as you watched the scene unfold: the man you loved held at gunpoint by half a dozen soldiers.

Slivko stood next to you, his eyes darting back and forth as he struggled to stay composed. Seeing the hesitance in his face and the fumbling of his fingers put him in a different light: he was no soldier. Only a kid. 

Marlow appeared out of nowhere, catching Reles and Slivko by surprise. He pointed his pistol at Slivko, raising his eyebrows when Slivko’s aim left Conrad for Marlow instead. “I asked you fellas nice the first time,” he pointed out. 

“We don’t want to fight here, Packard,” Conrad said. His eyes flickered momentarily to you before he focused on the Colonel again.

“This thing brought us down!” Colonel Packard argued, pointing the detonator at the lifeless body of Kong strewn halfway up the bank. “It killed my men!” 

“Kong was just defending his territory!” Conrad snapped, exasperated and desperate. 

“We are soldiers!” Packard’s eyes twitched and his lips curled as the last threads of his sanity unravelled. “We do the dirty work, so our families and our countrymen don’t have to be afraid! They shouldn’t even know a thing like this exists!” 

“You’ve lost your mind,” Conrad said, shaking his head and breathing heavily. He took one hand off his rifle, holding it out. “Put that detonator down.”

Time stood still. Slivko sniffed audibly as he struggled to keep his aim straight, blinking the sweat out of his eyes. The moon hung in the sky while the fire burned in patches of grass, setting everyone’s silhouettes in blue and orange light. Nobody moved.

Packard’s face contorted in a snarl and he pressed the button on the detonator. It whined, rising in pitch as the countdown ticked.

“Stop!” Weaver shouted, breaking the terrible silence. “The world is bigger than this.”

“Bitch, please!” Packard scoffed indignantly. “Slivko, get her out of here!” 

But Slivko didn’t move. His hands were shaking violently as his eyes darted from face to face, the scales weighing heavy in his mind. He glanced at you in confusion and fear. You nodded, giving him a pointed look: Trust yourself.

“You know it’s the wrong thing to do, son,” Marlow encouraged gently.

Slivko stared at him for a beat of silence. You saw the moment when his eyes solidified, and he reached a decision.

Slivko turned his rifle on Packard. “P-put it down, sir,” he stammered, as bravely as he could.

Packard automatically reached for his gun.

“Packard!” Conrad urged. The Colonel froze, like he’d been knocked out of a stupor, and slowly let go of his pistol. 

Everyone lowered their guns, save for Conrad, who kept it pointed at Packard. You allowed yourself to relax by a fraction, gathering up the gauze in your hands. 

At that moment, the water in front of you began to bubble and smoke. There was a giant surge from beneath the river. A geiser of water shot up into the air. It evaporated into clouds of mist, moving away with the wind, and revealing the cause of the eruption: a Skull Crawler like you’d never seen, three times larger than the others.

“That’s the big one,” Marlow choked.

So much for a moment of safety.

“Fall back,” Conrad ordered. Nobody moved. “GO!” He shouted. This time, Slivko and the others obeyed, taking off into the trees. Only you, Packard, and Conrad remained.

The giant Skull Crawler’s throat clicked and warbled as its raised its head to look at the night sky, which was turning from blue to rosy with the dawn. It howled.

Conrad’s heart stalled in his chest. He turned to Packard and held out his hand, beckoning for him to run. “Colonel,” he urged desperately. The Skull Crawler howled again, loud enough to burst your eardrums. 

“Sir!” He shouted.

Packard didn’t move.

Conrad waited until he couldn’t anymore, his eyes darting between you and Packard until finally he shook his head and left him where he stood. He ran, scooping you up with one arm and grabbing your bag with the other. You shrieked at the sudden movement, clinging to him for dear life.

“Kong’s down, let’s go!”

You broke through the trees and Conrad set you down, chest heaving. You stumbled, holding onto him and blinking hard. There were white specks floating around your eyes, blurring your vision.

Conrad glanced down at your leg: the bandage was half-wrapped and reddening, hanging in tatters. He dropped to his knees, letting you lean against him while he tied it secure. His large hands shook with adrenaline, but they moved carefully so that he wouldn’t hurt you by mistake; Even in the most dire moment, he was tender in his care and conscious of your pain.

He tied the bandage off and lifted you up again, more carefully this time, and nodded to one of the nearby hills. “This is the edge of the island,” he said. “Weaver, get up on those rocks and fire a flare. With any luck, Brooks’ll see it.” 

There was the sound of something big coming through the forest behind you, and everyone jumped. Your breath shuddered and you tightened your grip around his shoulders. 

“We’ll buy you time,” Conrad promised. Weaver nodded and took off. Conrad adjusted his grip on you and beckoned for the others to follow him, heading into the wetland. “This way.”

You locked your arms around his neck as he ran alongside the bank, swallowing the pain of every jolting step. Behind you, you could hear the roars and crashes of the two monsters coming together in epic battle – but honestly, you didn’t care. All you were focused on was staying awake and hanging onto Conrad as he plunged into the water, wading towards the edge of the island.

You closed your eyes and buried your face in the crook of Conrad’s neck, wishing yourself away from it all. You were so tired: tired of pain, tired of running from things that wanted to eat you, and very tired of hiding your affection for the man you loved. Your heart beat slow and steady in your chest, and you breathed in deep. He smelled like home. 

You heard a sudden burst of gunfire and raised your head. Marlow’s boat come into sight around the bend: Brooks was at the helm, firing away at the machine gun anchored to the front of the boat.

“Come on! Let’s go!” Conrad urged, directing everyone towards the boat. The two monsters were fighting too close for comfort, sending shockwaves through the water that made it difficult to board.

Conrad lifted you up onto the deck and you pulled yourself into a sitting position, your legs hanging off the side. You grabbed Slivko’s hand and pulled him up, reaching for Mills. Your bandage was looking worse now – deep red and caked with dirt. The pain was beginning to sharpen like a blade, growing less dull with every stroke against the whetstone. 

You had no tolerance for it. Opening up your backpack, you pulled a syringe from its case and injected another dose of morphine without thinking.  

Conrad was lifting himself onto the boat, his muscular arms flexed, when the gun stalled and stopped firing. Brooks fumbled with the controls, trying to start it up again. 

Marlow pushed him aside. “I got it! She’s temperamental- watch out!” 

Suddenly, the Skull Crawler was coming towards the boat, undeterred by the ship now that the gun wasn’t working. You face paled and you grabbed Conrad’s hand automatically as anxiety rose in your chest and your throat constricted in fear. You noticed the absence of Kong to distract the monster from you.

You scanned the wetlands, finding Kong struggling to break free from the wreckage of several freight ships. Their anchoring chains were wrapped around him, holding him down in the water. He roared. Step by step, the Skull Crawler came closer. One by one, the chain links snapped.

Just before the Skull Crawler was within tail-swinging distance you heard Weaver’s flare gun fire again. The flare landed right in the Skull Crawler’s eye socket, exploding on impact. It screamed, raking its own claws across its face to try and dislodge the burning flare.

“Clear!” Marlow shouted, finally unjamming the gun. The rapid fire resumed, and you relaxed slightly.

The Skull Crawler howled in anger and snarled at you, coming towards the boat despite the array of bullets.

You felt Conrad’s hand leave yours. He pushed away from the boat without a word of warning, sprinting through the water.

“James!” You screamed, ripping at your own throat. The Skull Crawler’s massive head turned, and it followed him, leaving you and the boat behind.

Before you could move, Kong freed himself from the chains and threw something – a rusted freight propeller – lodging it in the Skull Crawler’s side. It fell with a deafening screech.

Conrad stopped running, gasping for breath and watching the two monsters resume their fight. They wrestled across the wetlands, dealing blow after blow with deadly intent, but neither could bring down the other. 

Your head was swimming. The cacophony of noise constantly vibrating through your body was making you sick to your stomach. Despite the humidity, your skin was covered in a thin, cold sweat.

Kong threw the Skull Crawler against one of the mountains and sent an avalanche of rocks into the water. You heard Weaver scream across the valley and turned, watching her fall through the air before she hit the water.

Your nurse’s instincts kicked in and you felt a sudden surge of adrenaline. “Head for shore!” You shouted frantically, snatching up your bag and bracing yourself as the boat sped up and turned. When it was a few yards away from solid ground, you dropped into the water, moving as fast as you could. The monsters kept fighting, sending huge waves across the wetlands that helped push you forward.

Conrad shouted across the water, catching up to you as you fought towards dry ground. “What are you doing?”

“Helping!” You responded, dragging your bad leg and coming up onto the shore unsteadily, duffle bag in hand. Conrad came up behind you and lifted you up, surging out of the water. 

You pulled away from his grasp and dropped to the ground in front of Weaver, who laid unconscious halfway on the shore. You pushed her hair away from her face and checked for vitals. 

She wasn’t breathing.

You took a pulse check with shaking hands and began CPR, pumping on her chest. As you tried to restart her heart, your own heartbeat felt dangerously slow. You were seeing double, but it was inconsequential– what mattered now was keeping Weaver alive.

Somewhere in the moment, the fighting had stopped. Everything around you was far too quiet– there was only the sound of your shallow breathing, and Conrad’s footsteps as he returned with Weaver’s camera in hand. 

Suddenly Weaver lurched upwards and you caught her, helping her onto her side as she coughed up water and choked on air. 

“Easy, just breathe,” you heard yourself murmuring, but it didn’t sound like you – your own voice was distorted and far away in your ears.

Weaver coughed. Her brown eyes blinked and came into focus, looking up at your face. When they did, her eyebrows pulled together. 

“L/N?” She asked, her voice laced with worry.

You opened your mouth to respond, but couldn’t find your words. It was like your tongue had turned to lead. You began to lose your grip.

Too little blood, too many injections – and the thought occurred to you too late.

“L/N?” Weaver repeated urgently. Her eyes darted from your face to your leg– the bandage was drenched with crimson. She looked up at Conrad desperately. “She’s falling–”

He caught you in his arms. “Y/N, Y/N, stay with us,” he urged, pushing your hair from your face. Weaver’s eyes filled with panicked tears and she stood up on wobbly legs, waving to the boat. “Help! Over here!”

Conrad lifted you up and ran towards the water. Slivko helped pull you onto the deck and lay you down on the surface. Your breathing was shallow. You could barely feel your heart pumping away in your chest. Your grasp on consciousness hung by a thread.

“What happened?” someone asked. 

“I don’t know,” Weaver’s voice came, sounding muffled and distorted. “She ... and then–” 

“–lost too much blood–”

“–find the bag–” 

“–nalo-something, there–” 

“Hang on,” Conrad’s voice came, like a gentle wave over the sand, pulling you back to reality. You could feel him holding you in his lap, the panicked rising and falling of his chest, the tender touch of his hands on your arms. The smell of sandalwood and smoke. Everything about him felt like home. 

Conrad watched your beautiful eyes unfocus and come back as you tried to stay awake. You were still fighting, bless your heart. Conrad’s chest tightened and he swallowed thickly, pushing down a wave of emotion. He tightened his grip around you, whispering assurances as Slivko shuffled through your bag. Your head fell back against his shoulder and you let out a shaky, jagged breath.

Conrad slid one hand down your arm and wrapped his hand around your wrist, feeling your pulse. He prayed silently to anyone who was listening: not her. Please. 

Slivko worked fast as his hands would allow, uncapping the orange bottle from your bag. Weaver helped, pulling away the splint and unwrapping your bloody bandage.

Conrad stroked your hand, feeling the coldness of your skin, the almost-indiscernible slowness of your pulse. Tears filled his eyes and he inhaled quickly, willing them away.

“You remember my promise?” He said, loud enough for you alone to hear. His normally steady, accented voice trembled with emotion. “We’re going home. You and I. Wherever you want to go, I’ll follow.” His lips trembled and he raised your hand to his lips, pressing a kiss against your palm. 

“It’ll be alright,” he whispered, kissing the top of your head and fighting against his tears. His heart felt wrenched and pulled apart. “We’re going home.” 

You didn’t respond. Your eyes had closed, your breath scarce and fading fast. You were somewhere far away: somewhere deep and dark and painless, dreaming of the man you’d lost and found again, the man holding you in his arms while you faded, whose voice you could hardly hear. Dreaming of coming home. 

But they say no man comes home from war. Not really. 

--

Tag List (OPEN): @tarynkauai, @jessiejunebug, @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi, @fire-in-her-veinz, @daylight-swiftie, @un-consider-it, @torntaltos, @majahu, @et-puto, @kinghiddlestonanddixon, @awesomefandomsunited, @damalseer, @uinen-ulmiel, @fire-in-her-veinz, @naspter1129, @fandomdarlings, @embracingtom, @alina-margaret, @bthtallmadge2, @larryspantaloons, @lady-loki-ren, @captainsherlockwinchester110283, @holacherrycola90, @indelwen-of-mirkwood, @marveloushiddleston, @ladybugsfanfics, @egos-r-life

[finnofamerica]

Thompson - Reg Slivko X Reader

Prologue 

Summary: Y/n and Reg Slivko have a rough history. After suffering from over a year's worth of PTSD, what happens when the two of them meet up again? Will the memories get worse? Or will they finally heal? 

Word count: 566

Date Posted: 6.14.2019

|| Masterlist || 

“Your neck.” You brought your hand up but resisted touching it in case it was still painful.

“Yeah, I scratched it and it started bleeding again, but I think it’s mostly okay.” He gently touched it, trying not to cringe when it stung.

“Here.” You pulled him to the hammock. “Sit.”

You wet a little cloth pulling over the desk chair so you could sit level with him. Cleaning his wounds as gently as you could, apologizing every time he hissed in pain. You admired your work once the blood was cleared away.

“What?”

“Nothing.” You grinned. “Even with the scratches, you’re still the cutest person I’ve met.”

Slivko blushed as he cupped your hand that still had the bloody cloth in it, his other hand finding your cheek.

“You don’t mean that,” He said.

“But I do.”

“The girls back home think I’m dorky.”

“You are dorky,” You beamed, “but I like that about you.”

“I’d like to kiss you,” His voice dropped like he was telling you a secret he didn’t want anyone to hear.

“I dare you.”

So he did. Only gently at first, but as your fingers played with the hairs on the back of his neck he became desperate.

He knew when he saw you that first day at that meeting that if he didn’t talk to you he’d regret it for the rest of his life. You were standing to the side wearing a grey tank top and an overshirt tied around your waist. You’d looked kind of bored as you listened, but he thought you were gorgeous and too pretty to be in this kind of gig. He was sold from the second you opened your mouth, pointing out a flaw in the plan.

Your entire senses were consumed by him: smell, touch, taste. He was gentle and passionate and made you laugh. He was very quickly becoming a source of comfort you’d never had before. As his lips moved with yours, you couldn’t help but think about how you were going to miss this when he went back home to Detroit. At the end of this all you’d’ve known him for two weeks and three days and a lifetime worth of trauma.

“Wow,” You breathed, breaking for air. Slivko looked at least a little proud of himself - for taking your breath away or actually kissing you, he didn't know.

"Thank you for, um, helping me with my neck." He let his hand drop, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to back away yet.

"It's no pro-blem." You shrugged, a yawn interrupted your last word. Slivko shifted, letting you settle into the hammock while he turned off the lights.

That's how the remainder of the week progressed. Most nights you spent in each other's bed. Unfortunately, you knew all good things had an end.

With that end came quiet goodbyes to the friends you'd made over your short time together. Mills was first, flying out to Key West. You asked him to pour a drink for you now and again. The was Conrad who gave you a hug and told you to keep in touch. Marlow and Slivko left soon after. One by one they all left until it was just you. You, your one-way ticket back home and a sliver of hope that Slivko would find the note you tucked into the pocket of his backpack.

Tags: @carolinesbookworld

[thepageofa1000worlds]

Pairing: James Conrad x reader  Part 1 · Part 2  · Part 3 · Part 4 · Part 5 · Part 6 ·

Synopsis: After having left thing uncompleted and unresolved with James Conrad 3 years ago, you two find yourself again in the kong island. What happened three years ago with you two? How is it that you got to make part of an expeditionary mission?

Song: LP - No Witness

Warnings: it’s a six part mini-series.

A/N: I love the movie Kong and Tom Hiddleston playing Captain James Conrad has a lot to do with it. I out a lot of time to this, most of it editing.

Words:  2418

   “ Dear Billie, you’ve ever looked inside a hurricane and decide, maybe I should fly straight to it,” said mills over the coms “ Cause that's what’s about to happen”

   You were sure these people had something missing in their head. Up ahead was nothing pretty and as much as you trusted your abilities as a pilot, you didn’t trust the bolts of lightning that were happening inside the storm. You knew Randa and he was right, the timing for that low-pressure pocket could be over in any time. Which would ruin the chance you've got for this expedition.

   “ you know what? I want to meet Billie,” You said, as you heard them laugh.

   “ Oh, Oh, Oh,” said Packard, “ Queen fox it’s in formation”

   That was you, named that way as an internal joke that you were sure had already stuck with you. Packard had been the one to teach you to fly after your father had requested him to. He was like the cool uncle outside the family.

    You weren’t a soldier or anything like it, however, you were known for being a great pilot.“ In position, fox leader” mostly because he himself had taught you.

    “ Dear Billie, you may wanna hang on” added Cole, as you and all helicopter entered the cloud. The sound of the lightning so close made you want to scream.

   “ How are you queen fox?” that was Chapman mocking you over the coms, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

   As best as you could you tried to maintain control of the helicopter, every lightning seemed to be closer, so much that the static could be felt in the air. Every second was a miracle, air pulling the helicopter from one direction to the next; up and then down in a blink of an eye. You notice how the helicopter were all being pulled just as you were and how close they got from one another.

   Every muscle in your body tense, your jaw clenched and your breaths became quick. Your heart was hammering like a drum against your ribs, cold sweat forming on your forehead and your knuckles were white of how strong you were holding the joystick.

   Packard was telling the story of Icarus, of how he flew closer to the sun and melted his wings, not a nice story to tell if your in a machine with what was technically wings.

   The moment you saw the sun, it was like you had gone blind. The storm had been left behind and with it, the lightings. The sun was straight ahead and it was shining as you had never seen it.

   Once your vision went to normal you felt like the air you’ve been holding left your body in a long sigh. Hearing people laugh and cheer made you even relax.

   You knew some special details of the expedition to the island, so even if you were happy that the storm had passed, they were alarms sounding in your head to keep yourself focus. If doctor Randa was right, it would be a lot more difficult to leave the island that it was to enter it.

   It was impossible to deny the beauty of the island, the green grass looked almost unreal and the blue of the water did show that it hadn’t had any human intervention. Mountains as tall as a building, and looking down you could see what looked like small dots of different colours. There was a small chance of maybe even finding a new species of flower or animal and that accelerated you.

Goodness grace.

   You were snap back into reality by the dropping of the seismic ‘charges’, the sight was awful, every boom made an even horrendous sound than the previous one. Sadly as your orders were to observe and report back to Monarch, it couldn’t be stopped. Being the second in command after Randa, your orders deviated from him quite a lot.

   Unlike him, you were supposed to fly over the island with the helicopters, see the team is set up and once they were ready you were to leave and come back three days later with the rescue party.

   “ INCOMING “ shouted someone over the coms, making you flinch. As you were far in the back surveying, all you could see was one of the helicopter crash to the ground and a big shadow of a mountain move. Move?

   “ Fox eight is down, fox four is down, respond fox three”

   You didn’t comprehend what they were saying, all talking at the same time so fast that it didn’t make sense. Now from close as you were, you had identified the form moving in front of you; it was a giant ape.

   “ Fox leader to fox group, form a perimeter”

   Unbelievable, you were right, it was an ape. For the seconds on which you were right in front of it, it was as if time had stopped. Al helicopters in formation begun shooting at the giant creature. Then it seemed to have snapped, the creature jumped and brought down multiple helicopters. The ones still on the air continue shooting and you found yourself unable to help.

   Once on the ground Conrad couldn’t do much but observe as the gigantic ape moves from where he had slaughtered a great proportion of the group. In all the chaos he swore he saw you on a helicopter, almost as if his regrets were coming for him. Now that he was on the ground, he rationalizes the idea that what he saw, was all but what he wanted to see.

   He observed as Slivko tried to reach the rest of his group before he told the news.

   “ They are all down, every one of them; Were on the south side of the island” Signaling to his right “ There’s a river a couple of feet from here”    

   Looking at all there faces, James was sure that they hadn’t yet processed what had happened, as many of them had barely said a word.

   After reassuring that they were all to get to the north part of the island so they could take the rescue team and get back to the boat, he looked back at the Weaver to make sure she was all right.

   Slivko on the other side as James expected, was the first one to catch on what had happened. After all, he was a soldier. However, as good as that was, if he continues as he had, he could scare people.

   “ All that money that they paid you, I hope your worth it,” Said Weaver before heading towards where he had signalled.  

    James sighed, he didn’t doubt that he was worth it, but his mind keep going back to your face. He couldn’t lie even if he tried, knowing that a part of him wanted to see you before he died, make him want to scream. All odds were that you were nowhere near this island, which made him at the same time grateful. The last time you had seen each other, everything had been formal and friendly. He had pushed his feeling so far down that he had not catch how your eyes yearned for any indication that he wanted more just as you did.

   “ the next time you are here, come to visit” You smile at him, the same polite smile that he had learned to love; “The doors are always open”

   After lying and saying that he would, he hugs you and left. Seeing you had become something he yearned to do, but after years it hadn’t caused more than pain for him every time he went back to England.

   “ STUFF LIKE THAT DOESN’T JUST HAPPENED” Conrad came back from his thoughts and turned towards Slivko who was screaming.

   “ No, they don’t”

   Getting of the forest you found yourself before what looked like a lake. Putting the bag down you stared at the wound on your left shoulder. While falling, a metal tube had perforated your shoulder and as you got down from the helicopter you fell on it, making it even worse.

   You doubted for a couple of minutes if you should even touch it, but the threat of it getting infected was bigger than you bleeding out to death after all the tube had a small diameter and also seemed to have gone through the flesh clean.

   Blood could be stopped with pressure but bacteria, bacteria could only be stopped with antibiotics that could not be found in the middle of the bloody jungle. With a long sight, the choice had already been made.

   Grabbing the long end of the metal tube you started to pull it out of your flesh. Your body was still emitting adrenaline from what had just happened so you had to made it quick so that it could overshadow the pain.

   “ One, Two” three, your eyes filled with tears and no matter how much adrenaline was in your body, you felt the metal move through the flesh, a sob scape you. Seeing the piece on the floor, it looked small. Kneeling down close to the lake you took water from the surface and just like a band-aid you applied the water on the wound, on a quick swift motion.  

   You hissed in response to the sharp pain, trying to normalize your breathing seem useless so you kept on panting. The arm felt numb but the shoulder, oh the shoulder make you clench your teeth. Opening the bag you searched for the first aid kit that was inside, It was pretty basic but it still had a bandage. You got out of your jacket as slow and careful as possible and put it on the ground next to you and near your helmet.

   Evening out your breading you pressed a part of the bandage to the wound and then started bandaging all the shoulder. You felt dizzy, not for the loss of blood but for the fall you had just taken. You knew you hadn’t lost enough blood to feel dizzy.

   You sat back, at the edge of the lake and assumed an almost fetal-like position, putting your arms on your knees and your head between them. Apart from your heavy breathing, the other sounds were of occasional birds. Too tired to care but taking precaution you took your gun and hold it on your right hand.

   While walking through the jungle Slivko kept trying to reach the rest of his group, something that proves to be useless.

   “ Save it for when we get closer to the group” advice Conrad. It had been around an hour when they finally left the jungle for a more open like area.

   Conrad was surveying the perimeter when a small figure a couple of meters ahead catch his attention.

   “ Slivko, I think that's a man of your group,” Said he signalling to the figure sitting at the edge of the river.

   “ That's not a man,” said Slivko running towards the figure, the rest of the group running behind him.

   “ That's a woman” informed Slivko up ahead.

   “San that's Y/n” scream Brooks in short breaths.

   Conrad head analyzed the figure on the ground while still running, it couldn’t be you. You were miles away, on England, Your job could n’t have brought you to hell on earth.

   You raised your head fast, making the dizziness come back. However, it was worth it to see at least one person you knew running towards you. Raising from where you were while ignoring the pain, a wildly smile spread on your face at the sight of Slivko and some people behind him, who you couldn’t see clear just yet for how fast you’ve raised your head, the sun blinding you momentarily.

   “ I can't believe you’re alive,” Said him before you, you opened your arm to hug him which he did, with a little to much force making you yelp and end the Hug sharply.   “ That docent look too good” he pointed out.

   “ It feels even worse,” you said smiling.

   Now that the other forms were near and your head had stopped spinning around their faces appeared clear. Brook was the next person you hugged while avoiding putting your left shoulder to close to him. Then was San who thankfully was way more delicate with you.

   “ Thank god you’re Ok… - Alive” said San seeing your left shoulder.

   Looking past the three of them you saw an all too familiar face, but he seemed almost lost on his own thought’s so you decide to greet the woman at his side, who you had met on the ship.

   “ its good to see you, Mason” you greeted with a smile.

   “ it’s good to see you too” she answered while smiling.  

   “ Viktor”

   “ Y/n,” Said the man in the blue jacket.

   It hadn’t been a dream or illusion or ghost from his past Christmases. You were right before him, breathing. He analyzed you as you greeted Slivko, brooks, San and then Weaver. When you turned to him, he was lost on what to do.

   Almost as if fate was dumping a giant bucket of cold water on him, something caught his attention past your face. Almost automatically he stepped in front of you, blocking you from anything that came from the direction of the river.

   Slivko had his weapon raised and as understanding settles on Conrad's head, he made Slivko put down the weapon. It was anything dangerous, just an enormous animal, which seemed to be a common occurrence in this island. Once the animal was out of there he turned around searching for you, but you were no longer behind him. Looking around he found your small frame gathering your things from the ground.

   Walking towards you he took your bag and put it on his back.

   He saw how you searched his face, almost analyzing if he remembered you, if he recognized you.

   “ Y/n,” he said once he realizes he hadn’t greeted you. “ Its good to see you once again, though not in this conditions”

   “ James,” You said, your voice always welcoming, accompanied by a smile “ it good to see you too”

You moved so he could hug you, which he did as if you were a porcelain doll about to break. The hug was, for Conrad's dislike, broken too quickly as you move to answer a question from Brooks, that Conrad had not heard. You were one of the few people to call him by his name and not Conrad, he even presented himself as Conrad.

Masterlist

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Ghosts from the rainforest

Summary: A simple rescue mission will bring him back to a place full of nightmares, and maybe this time he could find redemption. Situated in 1975, 2 years after the events of Skull Island.

Warnings: Violence, blood, wounds, mentions of war, cursing, implied smut, smoking, angst.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 6: Family

The piercing blue eyes search for you in the dim light that came from the sunrise outside the shack, he found you and attempt to stand up getting down immediately from the pain.

"Don't even try" You said to him, sad to look at his face covered in dry blood and a still fresh cut on his cheekbone. Two days after arriving Walker had decided to inspire moral in his troops by beating him and putting you to treat their wounds "I suspect they broke one of your ribs when you call them bastards, also even if you could move there is also this" you pointed to the fetter around his ankle and he looked at yours too, your shorts were stained from the truck and the dirt floor of the shack, and the clear sign of a lash on the naked skin that you cover with a blanket when he looked at it.

"How is your head?" He asked finally trying to sit still "How long have we been here?"

"It has been better, it will take more than that to take me down, don't worry" You said taking a piece of cloth and wetting it on a small bowl "Well after you passed out I kept fixing a couple wounds here an there in the camp, so he won't kill you, that was three days ago, at least they left me this to fix you up, hold still" You approach as much as you could to him and start cleaning up his wounds.

"I have nowhere else to be love... hey!!" He pull apart when the alcohol touch the open skin, and gave you a panicked look when you show him the suture you will use to close the cut

"Oh Captain don't be a baby" You hold his face on your hand while continuing to clean the cut "You must be used to deal with vicious animals like that by now, because that frien of yours can call himself a man"

"You are right, Walker is a poisonous snake who will kill anyone on his way, the only reason we are alive is because he believes he may get something valuable out of you, which reminds me, what did he ment by next time he'll go for the throat?" He had his hand was clenched and his eyes firmly shut down when you passed the needle trough the skin.

"I have met Walker before, Shukri used to help him pass his weapons and stuff through the border so he send me as a symbol of friendship, but the man he wanted me to help die, wich of course he will because he had severe sepsis and many bullet holes, and I'm far from being an actual medical doctor"

"You really have a way to reassure people" He joke and you rolled your eyes at him.

"Anyway he went crazy and kill the men Shukri send to guard me and stab me in the stomach, and leave me for dead in the jungle, thankfully it wasn't a cut deep enough and I managed to walk to the next village". You finish and he looked at you surprised by how casually you talk about those horrible memories. "What does he meant by your taste still being constant?" His face darkened and the guilt and remorse appear again in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant..." You tried to stand up but he grab your wrist and you sit next to him.

"As I told you Jenny's mom was the lover of a British ambassador, and we actually met before we were send to find her, one night Sargent Walker was drunk and tried to force himself on her, and I stop her" He said with a sad smile on his face.

"You were together? You and her mother I mean" You tried to hide a hint of jealousy in your voice, it was funny that in this threatening situation you could still be thinking about you two.

"Of course not" He said and a grin of satisfaction show on his face when you sigh in relief "Although I had feelings for her, and maybe she had them too, but I knew I had a mission, then Walker betrayed us and Jenny die... well I guess she blamed me for it" you didn't say anything and just let him lay his head on your lap, the fetter was biting in your skin and your ankle was about to start bleeding but you feel the need of comforting him.

"How could you look this handsome aan peaceful cover in bruises, and cuts?" You ask yourself outloud after a couple minutes once you thought he was asleep.

"I could ask you the same Y/N" He responded opening his blue eyes, and you almost pushed him down but remember his bad shape. "Don't worry, the guys are looking for us, they will get help in Borneo and come back"

"That's what I'm afraid of, I heard them talking about asking for ransom money to the US Embassy in Borneo, what if they get too late, he is gonna kill me when he realizes I lie to him".

"I will like to him try" He said trying to stand hurting himself again.

"Easy there prince charming" You said holding him still and locking your hands together in the process, neither of you trying to pull apart. "I do know what I will do if we actually get out of here".

"And what is that?" Conrad asked trying to ignore how helpless your if was.

"I'm writing a strong worded letter to Houston Brooks about the terrible job of his tracker, since he keeps trying to charm the women he works for" You said and he smiled at you.

"Is it working?" He asked, trying to incorporate.

"Maybe" you said but before you could follow your instinct, some loud steps approach to the shack and you gently put him on the floor to curl in your corner pretending to be asleep.

"Ibu? Cepat! Kita perlu pergi" Mother? Quick! We have to go A young boy enter the shack carrying a big shotgun, and he open the fetter setting you free.

"Dia akan datang bersama kami" He is coming with us You said and he went to set a surprised James free.

"What is going on? Ibu?" He asked once you help him stand up, he was not as hurt as you thought since he could walk without help, but he was definitely not in his prime.

"You have your family Captain, I have mine" And since that explanation was not enough you had to continue "One of the men guarding me years ago was Shukri's nephew, he hates Wlker ever since, and has many of his children inside his little army so he can eventually sell them to the authorities"

"He is a layered man isn't he?" He said while you and the boy help him walk outside the camp, another infiltrator was already waiting next to a truck ready for you to flee, waving in the distance, and then the sound of a thunder brake the morning air, and he made a funny surprise face, and a blood stain start growing in his chest and he just fall on his back, and then all hell broke loose.

Walker men were following you, and since James was hurt it was so little that your young hero could do for you.

You run into the jungle just to be stopped in an open area where a tree had fallen an then four men were surrounding you, ready to kill.

"Drop it big guy!" Reles voice said, making your hear stop and race with happiness. The man in front of you turned around to meet Reels surprised by how calm he was.

"Didn't you listen? Drop it!" Slivko said coming out of the jungle with another six guys that you were sure were part of Shukri's village.

"I got you doc" Glenn said passing between the men who were already unarmed.

"I'm fine, help the Captain" you said and without thinking you took one of the weapons that had been dropped in the ground.

"I thought you didn't like those" Slivko said while Reels help the boy tie Walkers men.

"Desperate times Reg" You said, and hug him. "How did you find us so quickly?"

"Oh wow, sorry Captain" He said looking embarrassed "The guy, the weird guy that says he is your husband he meet us half way when we came after you guys, apparently one of the guys here told him what happened and he came with us and many men along to help"

"I knew it! Wait a minute Shukri is here?" You hold your breath because the feeling that something was wrong was strongly hurting your chest, and Conrad's words about Walker resonated in your ears.

You run back to the campsite, the ambush had worked out, the rest of Walker's men were dead or prisoners and unarmed, only their Sargent was too stubborn to surrender and both him and Shukri were aiming at each other in the middle of the camp. Shukri with a shotgun and Walker with two pistols.

Again without thinking and with the adrenaline running through your veins you pointed your gun at him and order him to drop it. As all response he aimed one of his pistols at you.

"You can't win this" You said to him not backing off and looking James concerned face approaching, but he was not looking at you, all his attention seemed to be focus on Shukri.

"Oh I know that doctor, but I have a question for you, who will be faster? Me or this little idiot here who came to rescue his princess??"

Things happened in the fraction of a second and by the time you understand what have happened both men where in the ground.

In the moment Shukri nod to James and he jump to take you out of the line of fire, Walker shoot his guns missing you, but not Shukri, but he didn't miss either.

"Hey, hey Shukri man, come on" Mills said approaching pressuring the wound, you stood up and walk away from James who was breathing difficulty from the jump, but overall okay.

"Shukri, you win, he is dead, please don't give up now" You said now no longer holding on the tears.

"Tears? Isteri if I had known that this is what I needed to do I would have let someone shoot me long ago." He said holding your hand with almost no strength. "Captain Prince charming?" He called for James and he kneeled by his side respectfully "Anda menjaga isteri saya" You take care of my wife

"I will" James said solemnly, and Shukri nod, then he hold your hand tightly and then after one last breath he and a quiet smile to you he was gone.

After a couple minutes people dispersed and you could hear his men arranging how will they move him, but it was wrong and you couldn't yet set what had happened in your brain, after one hour you felt like if you keep looking long enough he will smile again and wake up to tease you and life will be normal again.

"It's time" James said but he didn't force you to stand, he only gave you his hand, and stood there waiting, after a minute that felt like an eternity you took his hand stand up, and then you let all your unspoken feelings to come out, about Randa, about Shukri, about watching him almost be beaten to death two days ago, you cried and cried and he simply hold you, even when his rib was probably killing him, even when you were nothing to him but a job, he keep holding you.

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Ghosts from the rainforest

Summary: A simple rescue mission will bring him back to a place full of nightmares, and maybe this time he could find redemption. Situated in 1975, 2 years after the events of Skull Island.

Warnings: Violence, blood, wounds, mentions of war, cursing, implied smut, smoking, angst.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 4: Jenny

There was just one village before crossing to Borneo, it had been two weeks since your little crew met Shukri and three days since you got proper rest and shelter, and some kind villagers gave you proper tents to camp the rest of the travel, however now your team had other problems.

"Slow down doc!" Mills voice was one second away from losing all patience and a little to close to throwing you out of the truck. "You are going to drown it!! Stop it!!" The other three men looking from the ground were to worried about their only transport possibly crashing against a three to make fun of you so you choose to call it a day and stop the engine for good.

"I'm so sorry" You told Glenn giving back the keys, "Maybe Reles could give it a go, or we are never making it on time, not with your hand like that" you said again looking at the man and the bandage you had put on his hand after he got burn trying to fix the motor of the truck.

"Maybe we could just rest, we can figure it out tomorrow" Conrad said remembering how close you were to die thanks to Reles driving a couple days before. You rolled your eyes at him but agreed anyway, since he didn't have that look ready to fight he tend to have every time you responded at him, it had been like that for the past two days, something about this lonely roads apparently upset him.

Once the night was upon you, and the fire was dancing happily and Slivko and Joe made sure to have something other than canned beans for dinner all the man were gathered next to it. You had tried to ask them apart about your father getting nowhere, and maybe it was time for a more direct approach.

"So tell me, how all of you guys meet? And don't say war because I won't buy it" you said putting apart the rest of the fish you were trying to eat that now you were not so sure it was edible.

"But we did Doc" Reles said still eating his fish. "At least Reg, Mills and I, we all did time In Vietnam, Captain Conrad joined later" He said pointing to the man who haven't even touch his food.

"Hey prince charming!" You called him, at this point your little nickname was not bothering any of you so you just roll with it. "How did you meet this fine gentlemen??" You asked when he finally met your gaze, but the sadness in his eyes made you shut and you changed the topic before he could answer. "Anyway, I understand you all work for Monarch now, what's that like?" You said and apparently touch a sensitive spot because the four man start looking at each other trying to communicate without speaking "I figured it must be extremely boring specially since you got to work with my father delusions isn't it?" You add receiving more elusive looks "Oh for fucks sake, I know Randa is dead, I'm not going to burst into tears for him, you can cut the crap already, what the hell happened to him?!!" You scream at them and Slivko finally look in your direction.

"Look Y/N" He started, aside from Conrad he was the only other person to call you by your name, maybe after your little sleepover in the truck or simply because you haven't stop him from doing so "How we end up working in Monarch, and how your father died are related, but is not our place to tell, god knows I wish I could forget, I'm sure Brooks will tell you when we come back" he was determined to shut the subject down, but at least he confirmed Randa was dead, a knot form in your chest when you hear it, but now was not the time.

"He was my father and I'm pretty sure Houston didn't send you to get me back to the funeral, I deserve to know what happened, I'm not some little child that you can lie to and will blindly follow you" you insisted and Conrad that had been silent the whole time finally spoke.

"You are right, all this secrecy is ridiculous and you deserved to know what are coming back to, but not here, come on let's take a walk" He said standing up and offering you a hand to stand.

"Are you sure Captain?" Reles asked, not doubting his reasoning but maybe your strength to take the information, wich hurt you a little.

"No, but she is right, come on" He start walking, and yo didn't take the hand he offered you but walked behind him closely.

He was following a path that was very clear for him, but invisible for you, and if you didn't knew better you would have said he was trying to make you lean on him to walk the jungle. After five minutes of jumping rocks and pretending you knew what you were doing and following the dim light he was carrying one of your ankles finally gave up and made you almost fall, and you were upset since he didn't try to catch you.

"Are you going to let me help you now?" He ask offering his hand again, and swallowing your pride you take it.

"Fine, but don't get ideas" you said to him rolling your eyes again.

"Don't worry I won't" He said pulling you closer to his chest without any effort and lifting you the of the way in a very humorous position, and you could feel his grin every time you uselessly complain trying to make him put you down.

"What the fuck was that?" You asked him once you were on the ground.

"You were taking forever" He said simply, and showed you a small clean area next to a creek. "We can sit here, not many vicious creatures come this way don't worry" He said sitting down and taking off his boots to put his feet in the water.

"And you know that because" You ask doubtfully

"Your father and Brooks hired me as a tracker about two years ago, and eight years before that, as I have told you I was here, I sadly didn't have a crazy secret admirer with an army to lend me a truck so I had to walk this bloody jungle on my own" He said looking at the calm water and you finally sit next to him.

"I'm glad you no longer call him my husband" you told him and he let go a chuckle before looking down again "ok, why does Randa hired you as a tracker?"

"To find something obviously, deep in the Pacific, a recently discovered Island, just a bunch of scientist and geologist" He said obviously lying.

"And the soldiers? Were the rocks that hard to measure?" You asked, and he then turn his face completely serious, he then proced to tell you a story, the most fantastic and terrifying story you ever heard, so obviously fabricated that might as well be the truth, and if so the very concept of reality you lived in was compromised, however there was one detail he neglected to reveal.

"And a handful of us, make it to the extract point back to America, and we have been working with Monarch ever since" He concluded.

"How did he died?" You asked in almost a whisper.

"What? You really have no other questions?" He asked surprised.

"Look, you said there was a 100 feet Ape, it could be a 100 feet Easter Bunny for all I care, I need to know how Randa died" you told him more decided than you actually feel.

"The skullcrawlers got him, we couldn't help him" he said after a while and you nodded silently fighting the tears that for some reason were forming in your eyes, and your mind was in the postcard he sent you two years before.

"Well, at least he prove to someone he was right, all those years, the missing birthdays, the fighting, the humiliation, and he was always right" you said and the knot in your chest was now in your throat "I changed my name so nobody will know I was his daughter and he was right all along, the daughter of the year right? And he died surrounded by strangers..." you start sobbing and he tried to hold you, you needed that but chose to put him away, because that pain right there was well deserved. "It's ok, it's stupid, why am I even crying? I haven't seen him in years, I just thought... I don't know I thought maybe one day we will be together again on my terms maybe, I always wanted him to know he was still my dad...that would never happen now right?" you said bitterly.

"He wanted that too." He said putting a hand on your shoulder and when you didn't push him apart he add "He make Brooks promise he would found you if something happened to him, that's why he send us, I'm sure he knew" he gave you a look full with compassion and you were fighting the urge to hide in his arms again so you change the subject.

"Why do we have to walk here? I mean you could have told me at the camp" you said and he took his arm off your shoulder.

"I felt the need to visit this place one more time" he said all serious again.

"It's a beautiful place, but I suspect that's not the reason, what happened?" You asked sure he was not responding but glad your heart was no longer exposed, you took your feet of the water and sited with your legs crossed facing at him.

"It was 1965," He started doing the same as you did, the flashlight was in between you two making the space intimate, almost romantic. "I took on a mission from the Malaysian government to rescue the illegitimate daughter of a Malaysian woman and a British embassy worker," He started surprising you, but you avoid making any comments so he could share his story "Her name was Jenny, she was kidnapped and held for ransom by whom we thought were rogue Indonesian soldiers, I have a team of five men, and we manage to locate Jenny and we were taking her home, however we were ambushed and Jenny and two of my men were killed, just about to reach the border" He said, and you could feel the pain in his voice, you wanted to hold him, but you fear his rejection so you only keep listening. "When I went to check the bullet wound on her head I realized it came from a sniper, Jenny, the nicest sweetest seven year old you'll ever meet was just a token to ignite the political scene at the time, nobody care if she ever came back to her mother" He covered his face and even at the weak light of the flashlight you could see the tears being held with more dignity than you. "You said when you knew I was SAS that you dislike soldiers, well so do I, they are just an excuse for rich man to send other people fight battles they are to coward to fight themselves, and do things that should be unforgivable, those guys back there, they are my family, that's all I care fighting for now" He said and you were sure he was about to continue but you couldn't take it anymore and before he connected his brain with his mind you crashed your mouth on his.

He froze for a moment, and kept his eyes wide open for a second before responding the kiss and slowly opening his mouth to make you believe you had the control to immediately switch it and having you trapped by his expert tongue and his strong hands on your neck.

"What are you doing?" He asked after a couple more seconds, but you were sure he was asking himself.

"You lost someone, so did I, we are both sad, and tired, and this fucking place is getting on my nerves, don't overthink it, this doesn't have to mean anything" You said to him trying to sound seductive, he picked you up and made you sit on his lap with both legs on his hips as all response and continued kissing you.

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Ghost from the rainforest

James Conrad x Reader

Summary: A simple rescue mission will bring him back to a place full of nightmares, and maybe this time he could find redemption. Situated in 1975, 2 years after the events of Skull Island.

Warnings: Violence, blood, wounds, mentions of war, cursing, implied smut, smoking, angst.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 3: Those who never came home

At 4:35am you were already in the departures site, checking the truck was fully loaded and that there were enough food and water for the men that will accompany you.

It had been a long night, and you barely had any sleep since every time you closed your eyes you could picture Conrad's face laughing at you.

You shake those feelings away and lean your back in the truck, and close your eyes for a moment, the cold breeze of the early morning was more comfortable than the hot room you were staying. And suddenly you were on the edge of sleeping holding yourself standing against the dirty tarp covering the backside of the truck.

"Morning" His voice said suddenly and you frown with your eyes still closed "We are ready when you are Doctor" His tone was oddly professional and when you finally looked at him he immediately look aside, it hurt that he was in the same place as you, regretting what happened.

"Fine, who's driving?" You had the keys on your hand and look at the men with him, there were only three, apart from Conrad. "Aren't you missing people? I count five last night, Dr. Y/L/N" you said shaking his hands.

"Reles" Said the shorter of the four, he had a nice candid smile and brown skin. "Nice to meet you Doc, I must say you look nothing like your dad" That make you smile.

"Glenn Mills" Said the black men next to him looking embarrassed at his teammate behavior "Ignore him doctor, he doesn't know how to be around women." You only nodded in response.

"Ah Reg, I remember" You say at the youngest of them, before he spoke.

"Slivko is fine, those idiots run away, they say the won't be at the jungle for a month" He spoke as someone way older than he looked like, and you could figure they were another form of victims of the war, even when they were alive.

"I'm driving" James said, extending his hand to grab the keys.

"No you're not, they drive on the correct side of the road here" You said ignoring him, "You guys can handle the stick?" You ask the men holding the keys in front of them. Mills raised his hand and you throw them at him. "Let's go then".

Slivko and Reles got inside the backside to guard the boxes and you hop on the front seat next to Mills, and after a minute Conrad sit next to you, and closed the door careful to not look at you.

"I think there is plenty space in the back guarding the medicine." You said to him coldly.

"And I think I get paid to guard you not your boxes" he answered and Glenn was desperately trying to start the engine and ignore you two.

"Fine, but at least keep that thing away from me" you said rolling your eyes and then pointing to the large gun he was carrying with him. And you could hear a giggle on the back knowing pretty well that by now the whole crew knew about what had happened.

The way out of the town was boring and easy, after four hours there was only a country road surrounded by small houses and when it was time to eat you chose to stop at small village. You got something to eat and gave some medicine to the children that couldn't go to the main city to get a proper doctor, and you were back on the road.

"So what kind of doctor are you then?" Reg asked from the back of the truck opening the window that separated you.

"I have a PhD in Chemistry and Biology" You said to him taking the canteen he offered you "And work as a nurse in the 60's so I know my way around wounds and diseases" you said to him.

"See Captain?" Reles said to Conrad in a very serious tone "She is too smart for you" He add making Slivko and Mills laugh while Conrad only gave him a murderous look. "But for real tho, isn't it boring to spend all your time here? I mean don't you mis America?"

"Of course I do, but this is important, I mean the troops are leaving yes, but someone has to help clean the mess they made, no offense" you said and James nodded understanding. "Who's that by the way?" You asked pointing at a picture Glenn had attached to the windshield, where the four men were standing in some field with water to the knees, and next to Conrad an old man with a beard carrying what it seems to be a katana.

"That's Marlow, an old friend" Conrad said and you could tell it was true because there was a happiness in his eyes when he talked about him.

"Yeah, is like a crazy Santa" Reg said, "But anyone would have gone crazy after..."

"Is getting late, we should stop don't you think?" Mills interrupted suddenly and you could see how the three of them looked at Slivko with anger, he had been about to tell you something he shouldn't.

"Yeah sure" You said looking at the map, and then the road "We will be at our first delivery point in ten minutes, and we can sleep there". You haven't told them where you were delivering part of the medicine, you have done it several times and Noah's men never had a problem with it, but you doubt the Captain will be ok with it. "This people can be a little unfriendly" you start when the lights of the village were clear on the road. "Just do as I tell you and it should be fine"

"You don't sound convinced" James noted.

"Because I'm not" You said and you make your hands into fists on your lap praying at nobody in particular that things will go well.

A couple of kids with large guns were at the entrance of the village, you bend over Conrad's lap to reach the window and make sure the see it was you, they immediately let you go in and you get back to your sit pretending it didn't feel like heaven to touch his hard chest.

A man came out of one of the huts with a smile on his face, framed by a thick goatee, he wasn't bad looking but the AK-47 in his hands, and the ones he had put on other children hands was enough reason to hate him.

"I thought you said you hated militars" Conrad said offering you his hand to get down of the truck.

"They're are militia, nor proper militars" You said ignoring his help and jumping of the truck.

"Is there a difference?" He asked looking at the man waiting for you with a smile.

"Yeah, they're worst" You said and walk towards Shukri.

"Selamat kembali, saya isteri cantik saya" Welcome back, my beautiful wife The man said to you and tried to give you a hug that you didn't respond to.

"Santai Shukri, dan hentikan memanggil saya isteri awak, inilah yang anda minta." Relax Shukri, and stop calling me your wife, here is what you asked for. You pointed at the truck and Reg and Joe were already carrying down boxes helped by Shukri's men.

"This are not your usual companions" The man said then looking directly at Conrad who had been pending on your whole interaction since the beginning.

"No, they're not. Is safer don't you think? If we get use to the same people there could be snitches" You lied to him and he nodded approvingly"

"Ahh isteri, I told you you have to stay with me, I could use that quick mind of yours" He said and tried to pull you closer to him but then Conrand put his body between you two making both you and Shukri look in surprise, plus anger on his side.

"How many boxes are we downloading?" He asked and you could see some anger in his eyes.

"14, the ones that are marked with a black cross" You said still shock by his reaction.

"British? That's different" The guerrilla lider said behind his back and you could see Conrad shoulders tense and his nostrils move with fury.

"Yeah, and very helpful, right prince charming?" You said, and touch his arm softly trying to calm whatever the hell was going on in his head. "Put those nice arms of you to good use and help the boy will you?" It was not an order but a plea and he listened because he relaxed his back and start walking towards the truck. You indulge Shukri with a smile and remained close to him while the man take part of the medicine, after that they show you a hut where you could spend the night with two cots inside blankets and a couple chairs "Just that?" You asked him and could see a disgusting grin on his face. "We are five, three of us are going to have to sleep on the floor, I won't risk my men to get bit by a snake, a spider or god knows what"

"Thats all I have isteri, unless you want to share mine" He showed you a toothy grin.

"Hentikan memanggil isteri!" Stop calling me wife you shouted exasperated. "I will take my chances with the spiders, thank you" You said and walk inside where the tired men were resting. "Glenn take one of the cots, Reg and Reles you can take turns for the other" you took a chair and sit there, any hope you had about a civil conversation with Shukri was now gone and with that also your hopes to take a shower. That certainly was not something you will miss when you came back with them to america, if you go back, your mind corrected you.

"You are not sleeping in that chair Y/N" Conrad said, taking a pair of blankets under his arm. "Let's go Reg, the truck will be more comfortable and safer than the floor, we will see you in the morning" He said and reg followed him making it impossible for you to reply. "Also" He had holding the door open for you "Saya tidak percaya suami anda" I don't trust your husband He said putting a venomous inflection in the word husband.

"Oh please don't" You said tired and embarrassed "Do you speak Malay?" You asked when you were at the truck but you didn't come up and let Slivko in first. The night was humid and hot, and you couldn't believe you'll have to wait another two days for a bath.

"I told you I have been here before" He answered, and took a cigarette to his lips, and offered you another.

"Well at least that was true" You said and let him light the cigarette for you.

"Isteri?" He asked again, imitating the disgusting tone Shukri used, and you rolled your eyes at him.

"Let it go Captain" You said taking one long puff "Is just the delusion of a crazy man"

"I think there has to be an interesting story behind" He said facing you and looking you again with his perfect blue eyes.

"Well if you really want to know. I have been here for about five years" You started and look at the quiet village in front of you. "And at first I spend every little money I still had buying medicine from Noah, one day I was trying to help a kid from this village"

"The little guard that welcome us?" He asked throwing the cigarette butt to the ground.

"Yeah, precisely." You said mimicking his movements "Anyway he needed medicine and I couldn't find it, so I talk to the village lider, Shukri's father, and he send his man to "get" the medicine from a local hospital in Bandar. The boy lived and they asked me to check on the rest of the kids. And boy they were in poor shape. So I make a deal with him, I will take his money, and get the medicine peacefully from Noah, if they gave me enough to help others. So long story short I'm kind of a pharmacist for them"

"That's a compelling story" Conrad said rising a brow to you. "But doesn't answer my question"

"Shukri's dad died, and he is a crazy sociopath, who thinks he would take down the Malaysian government with drugs and weapons trafficking. He said to the people that he is their father, and since I take care of his sick children as a mother..."

"You are his wife" He said bitterly "That's a clever way to get a wife without the effort"

"He is just an stupid man" You said crossing your arms "And honestly you didn't have to literally put yourself between us, I have been doing this for long enough to take care of myself. But thank you" You poke his feet with yours.

"You are welcome" He said grinning at you and making a head gesture to you. And at that moment you wanted to forget you were suppose to be mad at him, maybe it was the tiredness or maybe it was how gorgeous he looked under the stars, but you feel the need for him to hold you again.

"Yeah yeah! Is all beautiful, can you two shut the fuck up and go to sleep already??" Reg voice shout from inside the truck and you realized how late it was.

"He is right, you sleep in there, I will be in the back so I can guard the medicine" He said and you agreed

"Captain" You said climbing in to the truck.

"Doctor" He gave you a wink that paralyzed you and walk to the back of the truck. You were glad you were in talking terms now, but you knew there was still a long way to follow to Borneo and you were certain he and the other men were not being completely honest with you. So you were not planning on lowering your guard, at least not yet.

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Waffles

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown (OC), James Conrad x sister!OC, Jack Chapman x sister!OC, sibling OC pair

Summary: Irene finds her long lost brother.

Warnings: mentions of child abuse, cursing, probably some crying

Word Count: 2807

The flight to Omaha, Nebraska took eleven hours without connecting flights. I now understood why Reles and Mills had kissed the ground. I tried to sleep, curling up against James and shutting my eyes, but it evaded me.

I felt sick to my stomach. Was I really about to see Stephen, after five years? Silvie, Cole’s widow, had said that Stephen still talked about me. The thought made me even more anxious. What if I was nothing like he remembered?

James and I were now in a taxicab, only ten minutes from our motel. The rest of the group would meet us there in two days. I was excited to see them again. I looked over at James, who had bags under his eyes. The jet lag was catching up to him, and I would surely be next.

“Hey.” James tugged on my shoulder, and I looked up. “Let’s go.”

I shuffled out of the car, helping James by grabbing my own bag from the trunk. He circled back around to the driver and paid him. I followed his lead as he walked into the motel, checking us in. He took the keys and gave me a soft smile, holding a hand out for me to grab.

We settled into our room in silence. It was decorated brightly, two beds, and a sunshine yellow on every surface I could see. I sat on the bed further away from the door and sighed. James looked my way.

“What’s wrong, Bitsy?”

“I’m nervous.”

“To see Stephen?”

I nodded. “So much has changed in the last five years. What if he doesn’t even recognize me?”

James chuckled. “Your face hasn’t changed that much.”

I sighed again. “That’s true.”

“It’ll be okay. I’ll be around. If anything goes wrong, I’ll come get you.” He shrugged.

“You think something’s gonna go wrong?”

He sat next to me on the bed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “No, Ire. Absolutely not, no. But I know that you like to think about worst case scenarios. So, if anything does happen to go wrong, I’ll just get you out.”

“Okay, but what about Cole’s funeral?”

“We won’t go.”

I snorted. “Like hell I’m gonna let Reg, or any of the boys for that matter, sit through that funeral alone.”

James grinned. “They won’t be alone, they’ve got each other.”

I deadpanned, and his teasing grin eased into a reassuring smile. “I promise things will go okay.”

“You’re making a lot of promises, Jay.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay, moment’s over. Go get changed, we’re leaving in ten minutes.”

I gigged as he began to rummage through his own bag. I followed suit, and we kept our backs to each other as we changed.

“Don’t get me wrong, as excited as I am at the prospect of having Stephen back in my life, I sure as hell miss the others.”

James huffed. “I know. If I can be honest with you, I miss Mason.”

“Ohh, Jay has a crush!”

“Shove it!” He tossed a pillow toward my head.

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

I rang the doorbell, feeling like I was going to faint. Inside, I heard the bark of what was most likely a big dog. A small smile broke onto my face. Stephen had wanted a dog for as long as I could remember.

The white door opened, and an older woman with greying hair and a polite smile stood there. “Can I help you, dear?”

I swallowed, eyeing her through the screen door. “I uh… My name’s Irene. I was on the expedition with your husband, I-”

“Oh, you’re here to see Stephen!” She whispered. “Come in, come in.” She pushed the screen door open and ushered me inside.

“I’m really sorry for your loss.” I shuffled inside.

She shook her head. “Thank you. Here, you can get comfortable, I’ll call him.”

A St. Bernard came my way, tail wagging. I giggled as the dog licked my hand, then butted its head into my torso.

“Oh, Presley, leave her alone.” Silvie pulled on the dog’s collar. “Sorry about that, he just gets excited.”

“His name’s Presley?”

“Yeah,” Silvie nodded, “as in-”

“Elvis Presley. I named him myself, actually. Who is this, mom?”

I looked up, and it felt like looking into the mirror of an alternate universe. He was here, looking healthy and happy. If we would’ve had normal childhoods, this is what we would both look like right now.

Silvie spoke up, gesturing between us. “Stephen, this is-”

“Reen?”

“Hi, Stevie.” I gave the boy standing in front of me a soft smile.

I tried as hard as I could, but I couldn’t help the tears that began to brew in my eyes. Silvie excused herself, saying that we would be in the kitchen if either of us needed her. She pulled Presley along with her. Stephen looked at me, his eyes sad, but the smile on his face wide.

“What happened to your arm?” He pointed, voice weak.

I laughed through my own tears. “There was a tiger. No biggie.”

“What were you doing around a tiger?”

The smile dropped from my face and I looked down, sniffing. “I… I was on the expedition… with your dad.” I looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Stephen.”

He gave a soft shrug. “Thanks.”

There was silence, and then he pointed to my arm again. “You gonna be okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’ll heal soon.”

“I really missed you, Reen.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry we couldn’t find you.”

He shook his head. “It’s not your fault. Dad just kinda dropped off the face of the earth, ya know.”

I felt sick to my stomach once more. “Stevie, I…” I sighed. “Dad… dad’s dead. He died a few months after he sent you away.”

A look of shock spread over his face, and he took a step forward. “Shit.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye.”

He snorted. “I’m not.”

It was my turn to be shocked, and I felt my eyebrows furrow. “What?”

“God, Irene, after all he put us through? I’m glad he’s gone.”

A weight seemed to come off my chest, like a curse lifted. I looked at Stephen, crying again, and opened my arms wide. He grinned at me and pulled me in for a hug, resting his head on top of mine.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Reen.”

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

“Oh, it is pretty up here.” I huffed as I settled on the tree branch.

“Good for sunsets.” Stephen let out a burp from beside me, and I leaned away, laughing.

“You’re gross.”

He shrugged, a smile on his face. He had led me out to the backyard, where there was a huge tree that he loved. He had convinced me to climb up it, telling me that the view was one he knew I would appreciate.

“I used to spend a lotta time up here.” He sighed, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

“Why? You’ve always been scared of heights.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Still am. If I fall from here, I could break my neck. That’s scary.”

“You’re not gonna fall, don’t worry.”

“Promise?” He looked over at me with raised eyebrows.

I nodded. “Promise. So why did you spend so much time up here?”

“It was when they first adopted me. I felt so out of place, and so lonely.” There was a long pause, and I looked down at my feet, swinging in the air.

“How old were you? I mean, I know we had just turned thirteen when Dad sent you away, but…”

“Fifteen.”

I sucked in air through my teeth. That age was tough for me, but at least I had the comfort and security of James by my side. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for him.

“I just wanted to go home, man.” He shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts. “Fuck, not even home. I just missed you. I mean, our whole lives, we got shuffled around from place to place…” He sighed. “It was always you and me. I didn’t even miss Dad. I just didn’t wanna be alone.” He was looking down now, face sad and shoulders dropped.

“Stephen… how did you even end up here?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Um… I mean, I walked for a while. Jumped on some buses. I got on trains when I could afford it. I didn’t really know where I was going. Just away.”

I squinted. “Wait, what?”

“What?”

“How did you end up in the states?”

“Irene, Dad sent me here.” Stephen looked down at me, confused.

“No, he…” I trailed off.

“What’re you talking about, Reen?”

“He told us that he sent you to boarding school.”

“Us?” Stephen repeated, eyebrows still furrowed.

“James and I. He told us that you… that you were at a boarding school. But he wouldn’t tell us where.”

Stephen shook his head. “He lied to you.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“He put me on a plane to Brooklyn, New York. Said that I was gonna go live with his cousin. Only, nobody showed up for me.”

“Wait, Brooklyn?”

“Yeah!” He grinned. “Apparently we’re from Brooklyn.”

Reality set in again and I rubbed my forehead. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“I did my best on the streets for as long as I could, but… I ended up in foster care within the year.”

My shoulders dropped even further. “He just wanted to split us up.”

Stephen frowned. “Why?”

“Cause he knew we would both hate him when we grew up. And since James and I were close, he just decided to get rid of you.” Tears came again.

“God, fuck him.” He spat, angry.

I sighed, watching as Stephen’s young adopted siblings ran around in the yard below us.

“I’m sorry, Stevie. I’m sorry I let him, I’m sorry I couldn’t find you.”

“Hey, no, it’s not your fault.” He inched closer, throwing an arm around my shoulders lazily. “It’s not your fault, Reen. We were kids. You couldn’t have done anything.”

“All of this time, I just, I thought that we couldn’t find you. I thought that… that we didn’t do enough.”

“No, Irene.” He shook his head. “I’m sure you did everything you could.”

I sighed. “I don’t get it…”

“Don’t get what?”

“Why he did any of it.” I shook my head. “Why did he do any of it? Who the fuck gives six years olds weapons? Who sets them loose in the wo-” I cut myself off mid-word, looking the other way. “I just don’t get it. I’ve spent the last eight years trying to figure it out. And I still can’t.”

His arm tightened around me. “I don’t think we’ll ever understand, Boo Boo.”

I chuckled, wiping my tears away. We had grown up on Yogi Bear, and at age three, still struggling to speak, Stephen could only call me Boo Boo until we were five.

“Hey, do you still like waffles?”

He looked up at me, making a face. “I fucking love waffles.”

“You have a dirty ass mouth, kid.”

He grinned. “Had to make up for you not being here.”

I rolled my eyes with a goofy smile on my face. “You wanna go get waffles? My treat.”

“I know a good diner, actually.” He perked up. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s just gonna take me a minute to get down.”

“Hey, who’s Slivko?” He leaned closer, reading the name off of Reg’s army jacket.

I had been wearing it non-stop, like a security blanket. I hugged myself, and the smell of Reg hit me. I grinned.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow.

“It’s been an eventful five years, Stevie.” I winked.

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

“This is my favorite place. Oh, and their pancakes are pretty good if you still like them.” Stephen grinned as we looked over the menus in front of us.

I smiled. “I do still love pancakes. British pancakes suck.”

“Yeah, wait, so you’re still with James?” Stephen cocked his head.

I nodded. “Yeah. Um, after Dad died, I just kinda stayed.” I shrugged. “There was no one to pick me up and move me to the next place.”

“So then how did you end up on the expedition that…” He trailed off, and I watched as his eyes glazed over.

It was like he kept forgetting, and then kept remembering. I knew the feeling all too well, and it was one that made my insides churn.

“Uh, James became a tracker. I-I mean, he fought in the war obviously, but… the people who hired your dad’s squadron, they hired James too. And we don’t leave without each other, so…”

He looked at me with a knowing look. “It wasn’t a tiger, was it? I know, you could take a tiger out from a hundred feet away. How did it get that close?”

I looked around, making sure that we hadn’t caught anyone’s attention. I leaned in and shook my head. “Not right now.”

He scowled. “Irene, how-”

“Not here.” I repeated, clearing my throat as the waitress came to our table.

“What can I get for y’all?” She was an older woman, and she seemed to recognize Stephen.

“Uh, can I just get my usual?” He smiled smoothly.

She nodded. “Of course you can, Stephen. And for you?” She turned my way with a smile.

“Could I please get an order of chocolate chip pancakes?”

“Of course! We’ll have everything right out for you two.” She gave Stephen a knowing smile, and his eyes went wide.

“Oh, uh. No, actually, uh, Miss Betty, this is my sister. Irene.”

Miss Betty’s eyes went wide, and a smile came onto her face. “The famous Irene?”

I chuckled awkwardly, looking back at Stephen. “I guess so?”

“He talks about you all the time, honey. I’ll have your things right out for you, alright. Very happy for you, dear.” She patted Stephen’s shoulder as she made her way to another table.

“You talk about me?”

“Yeah. All shit, though.” He broke into a huge smile.

“Good. I don’t talk about you at all.” I gave him a playful scowl.

“I know you don’t. As if you would tell anybody about your past.”

I scoffed. “Hey!”

The family at the booth next to us turned and shot us a look. I turned back to Stephen and lowered my voice.

“That was uncalled for.”

He stuck his tongue out at me, and I repeated the motion, taunting him as if we were both children.

“Put your tongue back in your mouth, Stephen.”

I looked up to see James sliding into the booth, next to Stephen. I grinned.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Brought you a surprise.”

I tilted my head. “What?”

“Close your eyes, Bitsy.”

I sighed and did as told, hearing Stephen and James whisper between the two of them. Someone sat down next to me, tossing their arm over my shoulder. I was hit with the smell of pine wood and oranges. My heart fluttered as I realized it was Reg. I melted into his side, my eyes still closed.

“Hi, doll.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my forehead.

“So, who are you?”

“Stephen.” I hissed, opening my eyes to shoot him a look.

“My name’s Reg.”

Stephen squinted, holding a hand out across the table. Reg shook it, and I looked back up at him with a goofy smile on my face.

“Hi.” I whispered.

“Hi, doll.” He repeated, grinning right back. “Nice to meet you.” He spoke to Stephen, who was still staring.

I kicked him under the table, and his facade broke. He choked, presumably on air, and began to laugh.

“I’m just messing with you, man. Nice to meet you too. James.” He turned. “Long time, no see.”

“You’ve grown.” James chuckled, and from there, the two seemed engulfed in their own conversation.

I was sure that James felt as much relief as I did, now knowing that Stephen did not, in fact, hate us. Reg’s arm tightened around me, and I looked back at him, the stupid smile on my face once more.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to surprise you.” He smiled softly. “I missed you.”

I felt myself melt even more into his hold. “I missed you, too. You look weird in normal clothes.”

He chuckled. “You look beautiful in my jacket.”

A blush rose on my cheeks, and he winked. I snuggled up to him as close as I could, and he kissed the top of my head once more.

“I’ve got your pancakes and your waffles. Are you guys gonna need some more menus?” Miss Betty asked, putting our plates down in front of us.

Stephen and I looked at each other, and he broke into a snort. I looked back at her.

“Yes please, Miss Betty.”

Previous: Childhood Homes and Childhood Traumas

Next: ??

[merakiaes]

The Tracker’s Sister - Reg Slivko

Pairing: Reg Slivko x reader

Requested: Yes. 

Prompts: None. 

Warnings/notes: The title is horrible but I really couldn’t think of a better one so I hope you’ll be willing to ignore it hahah😭 Not proofread so I apologize in advance for any possible mistakes, I hope you like it. Let me know what you think xx

Wordcount: 4377

Summary: Captain James Conrad’s younger sister comes along on the ship for the mission on Skull Island, and catches the eye of a certain brown-eyed soldier. 

Somewhere in Saigon, district Quảng Nam, you were sitting in a club and casually reading a book, completely uncaring about the fact that you were the only woman there who wasn’t a stripper or an escort, and also about the fact that your brother’s harmless game of pool had turned into a full-blown fight and that he was now beating on his opponent and his friends with a broken pool stick.

You were used to this kind of behavior at this point. You weren’t very bothered by his aggressive habits, knowing he could hold his own more than well enough – much to the dismay of anyone who happened to land themselves on the receiving end of his temper.

You simply sat there at your table, wetting the tip of your fingers in order to flip the page of your book while James flipped one of the guys to the floor and hit another in the face, declaring himself the winner in well under a minute.

And that’s when they approached him, two men you had never seen in your life before, finally causing your attention to leave the book.

“An uncharted island?” Your brother’s eyebrows shot up in an unimpressed manner as the man who had introduced himself as Bill Randa explained the mission for him, and so did yours, before you moved your eyes back to your book.

“Let me list all the ways you're gonna die.” He continued, raising his hands and beginning to count off his fingers. “Rain, heat, mud, disease-carrying flies and mosquitos. Sure, you could load up on the atabrine for the malaria... But what about the other bacteria?”

“And don’t forget the things that will try to eat you alive.” You spoke up flatly, without looking up from your book.

The two scientists turned to look at you, and the youngest of the two, Brooks, gave you a look. “Who are you, again?” He asked, and you simply spared him a glance and a raised eyebrow.

However, you immediately went back to the book in your hands, letting your brother do the talking.

At the question sent your way, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into his seat, setting his stern gaze on the young scientist. “She’s my sister.” He replied. “So I would watch that tone if I were you.”

A look of realization crossed over his face, and Randa cleared his throat, motioning for the money laid out on the table. “We'll double that.” He said.

“You have no idea how dangerous this is.” James wasted no time in replying. “I want five times that. Plus, a bonus if we make it back.”

“If?”

“Pay him.” Randa said, waving his hand. “I mean, I think Mr. Conrad should be fairly compensated.”

Brooks nodded, and Randa gave your brother an expectant look.

“So that’s it then?” He asked. “You’ll come along?”

“I’ll agree to it.” James nodded. “But my sister is coming.”

The two scientists instantly exchanged a doubtful look. “I don’t think-“

“If she doesn’t come, I don’t either.” James quickly interrupted him, giving him a stern look.

This time, it was returned, their demeanors turning sour. “If you bring her along, she’s your responsibility.” Randa said. “We’re not going to let inexperience jeopardize this mission, let’s make that clear.”

At this, you finally had enough of just sitting by and listening in, closing the book in your hands and looking up at him with a heavy sigh. “With all due respect, sir, the only thing I’m good at is reading. I have no interest in going to an unexplored island.” You told him in a flat tone, your face equally as neutral.

“Do you take me for a fool?” James joined in. “You really thing I would bring my nineteen-year-old sister along on a life-threatening mission? She’s staying on the ship.”

“Obviously.” You added, watching as Randa’s face pulled into a tense and awkward smile.

“Of course.” He nodded. “You’ve got yourself a deal then. We look forward to seeing the two of you again soon.”

With that said, the two of them stood up and left, and come the next evening, James and yourselves were boarding the ship with your bags slung over your shoulders, ready for a new adventure.

Or, well, James was. You weren’t really the adventurous type, but rather more of a sit in silence and read kind of girl, something you’d inherited from your late mother.

When James joined the army and went out into the world to follow in your father’s footsteps and honor his name, you stayed behind in your hometown with your mom, and you remained there until she passed away when you were sixteen and James became your only living relative and therefore also your legal guardian.

You’d been on the move with him ever since. You wished he would settle down somewhere and stop accepting missions that put his life in danger, but that was more so for his sake than for yours because you didn’t really mind moving around, and at the end of the day, it was your only source of income.

So you made the best of the situation every time, this time being no different. 

You happily greeted anyone you came across on the ship, and you also took it upon yourself to introduce your brother seeing as he was too distrusting to do so himself.

Other than a dozen scientists, you got to meet with Preston Packard and Jack Chapman, who both greeted you with respect even though you would be doing nothing to contribute to the mission, something that instantly brought your mood up.

After that, James and the rest of the scientists and soldiers who would be coming along to the island were called to a briefing, leaving you to get settled in yours and James’ shared room on your own.

In the briefing room, everyone of significance were gathered and divided into their respective groups, soldiers on one side and the scientists on the other, the latter sitting quietly and awkwardly, but the former chatting away like it was just any other day.

And right now, you were the topic, and Reg Slivko being the victim of his fellow soldiers’ torment.

“I heard he brought his sister.” Cole said, pushing on Reg’s shoulder lightly and flashing him a playful grin. “She’s supposed to be your age.”

“Oh, I met her just a few minutes ago.” Jack joined in, smiling. “A fine looking young lass, good manners, and funny too.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively at the youngest soldier, and Reg was all in on it to a start, laughing along with them.

“You hear that, eh?” Mills said, smirking mischievously. “Maybe this is the time where you finally meet your match, get lucky and lose your V-card.”

At that, everyone but the boy on the receiving end of the jokes broke into loud laughs, his face pulling into an angry, offended glare. “How many times to I have to tell you? I’m not a virgin!” He exclaimed, which only made them laugh louder.

“Keep telling yourself that, man.” Mills slapped his back, not at all fazed by the glare he got in return.

None of them got the time to say anything else as Jack was called to the front and the subject was changed, all of them turning serious – as serious as Reg Slivko could get, that is.

About half an hour later, the briefing was all over and done with, and you were still in yours and James’ room, the latter not yet having returned.

You had made it a habit a long time ago to not fall asleep until he was there to sleep too, so you occupied yourself with the cassette player you had brought with you.

It was an old and worn-out player, however. It tended to stop working every once in a while, one of those times being right now, of course when James wasn’t there to help you fix it, leaving you to annoyedly fiddle with it yourselves.

You had no idea what you were doing, though, no matter how much you tried to convince yourself that you did, strings of curses leaving your lips.

Reg Slivko was in a mood as good as ever, whistling a happy tune as he walked through one of the many corridors of the ship, heading in no particular direction.

It was then that his ears picked up on the light, gentle voice from one of the open doors ahead, and more specifically the colorful language said voice was spilling out.

The contrast caused his eyebrow to raise in surprise and mild interest, his whistling coming to a stop and his pace slowing down.

He instantly realized who the voice had to belong to and when he reached the open doorway and peeked his head inside, he got it confirmed when his eyes found your form sitting cross-legged in one of the two beds, cursing and roughly handling a cassette player.

His face instantly pulled into a wide grin, at first because he realized you were extremely attractive, and then because he, for some reason, found your frustration and the accompanying pout on your lips extremely cute.

He stayed right there for a moment, amused at the fact that you hadn’t noticed him yet, but when he noticed you becoming too aggravated, he raised his hand to the doorframe and gently knocked on it, watching as your head whipped around to face him.

Your eyes were wide with surprise and your heart beating hard and quick in your chest, but when you regained your composure, your face instantly pulled into a smile to match his own.

“Oh, hi.” You greeted him, and he wasted no time in pushing himself off the doorframe to step inside your room.

“Do you need help?” He chuckled, motioning for the cassette player in your hands with an eyebrow raised in amusement.

Your smiled turned shy, your eyes flickering down to the device. “Would you mind?” You asked carefully, looking back up with a sheepish chuckle. “I'm afraid I’m not nearly as handy as my brother. I’ve been trying to get it to work for an hour but can’t seem to figure out what the problem is.”

He chuckled right back, coming over to you. “I don’t mind at all.” He said, motioning for the bed. “May I?”

You wasted no time in scooting over to make room for him, and in turn, he wasted no time in sitting down.

You wordlessly handed him the cassette player and he immediately started working on it, pressing and twisting all of the buttons first, and when getting no response from the device, he turned it around and peeled off the plastic piece at the back.

From then on forward, you had absolutely no idea what he was doing, but not even a minute later, the cassette player released a rustling noise, and not long after that, music filled the room.

A proud grin overcame his features, and your lips pulled into a wide smile too.

“Wow, that was quick.” You said, taking the player back from him when he held it out for you, looking up to meet his eyes. “Thank you.”

He casually shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t mention it.” He said, holding your gaze for a moment before nodding to the player in your hands. "You've got good taste in music." He complimented, and you chuckled.

“James isn’t too fond of it.” You replied, eyes squinting playfully. “Would you believe me of I told you he likes classical?”

“It’s always the ones you least expect who do.” He snickered, before sticking out his hand. “I’m Reg. Reg Slivko.”

You turned off the music and put the cassette player to the side, and took his outstretched hand in yours, giving his a soft shake. ”I’m (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you Reg Slivko.”

“Pleasure’s all mine. It’s not every day a guy meets a girl as pretty as you.” He answered smoothly, his demeanor taking a more flirtatious turn.

You chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “Does that usually work on girls?” You asked, tilting your head and squinting your eyes.

“I wouldn’t know.” He only shrugged, his smile softening. “I signed up for the army the second I graduated and I wasn’t very popular in school.”

You hummed, the playfulness melting off and being replaced with sincerity. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” You said softly. “I was something of an outcast myself.”

“Really? I find that very hard to believe.” He said, his flirty smile returning. “Pretty, funny, polite. You don’t strike me as an outcast.”

Your entire body turned warm at the compliments that never stopped coming, and you hoped to God that he couldn’t see the blush rising to your cheeks. “Tell that to Theresa Jackson.” You chuckled, back, and before either of you could say anything else, James walked in.

“What’s going on here?” He asked, slowly walking into the room and causing the two of you to turn to look at him.

“Oh, James.” You instantly smiled at the sight of your brother, holding a hand out to the boy next to you. “This is Reg.”

“Slivko, sir.” Reg quickly added, clearing his throat and the humorous, flirtatious demeanor melting right off.

James hummed, obviously not impressed, and raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. “And what business do you have in my sister’s bed, Reg Slivko?” He asked, and you rolled your eyes at that, the smile falling from your lips.

“He was just helping me fix my cassette player.” You said, giving your brother a pointed look.

In return, he raised his eyebrows at you, silently asking you “are you sure that’s all there’s to it?”, but before either of you could say anything else, Reg got up to his feet, standing up from your bed with a shrug.

“I was just about to leave.” He said, and James didn’t miss a beat, giving him a nod and a narrow-eyes look.

“I’m sure you were.” He agreed, lips pulled into a tense and sarcastic smile.

Reg nodded, and after sparing you one last glance, he walked right past your brother without another word, taking a right in the corridor outside and disappearing from your view.

The second he was gone, James closed the door to the room and flicked off the light in the roof, instead moving over to his bed where he turned on the table lamp standing beside it.

Falling back on the bed, you clasped your hands over your stomach and heaved a heavy, over-dramatic sigh. “You’re the worst.” You told your older brother in a grumble, and all he did was chuckle in response, the two of you going to bed shortly after.

When you woke up the next morning, the first thing you wanted to do was to find Reg and talk to him again, but your brother had other plans, dragging you along for the entire first half of the day.

By the time he finally let you go off on your own, you couldn’t find Reg anywhere, and when you did some time later, he was out on deck joking around with all of his soldier-friends, drinking beer, listening to music and playing around shirtless in the afternoon sun.

You weren’t a very big people-person, hence the foul mood you had been in when in the club with James two night prior, so you weren’t very keen on approaching him when he was surrounded by people.

Unfortunately for you, that was pretty much all of the time for the rest of the journey, so eventually you just gave up and stuck to your brother’s side.

You reached your destination in what felt like no time, and soon, the morning on which your brother and the others would be flying to the island was upon you.

You were going to be staying on the ship with most of the scientists and didn’t really have to get up early, but you were still up and at it at the crack of dawn to help your brother prepare and to see him off, the two of you currently standing out by the choppers where everyone were pulling their own weight to get everything packed up.

“Go talk to her already.” Mills told his fellow soldier where they stood on the other side of the deck, sparing him a glance while he packed the record player into its briefcase. “You’ve been standing here staring at her for ten minutes now and it’s starting to get weird.”

Reg’s head instantly whipped around, his eyes leaving your form to meet his friend’s gaze. “What? I’m not staring.” He denied his accusations, glaring.

But Mills obviously saw right through him. “Uh-huh.” He said, giving him a deadpan look and raising his hand to his chin. “Is that drool I see?”

“What? No.” Reg hurried to bring his hand up to his chin to wipe it, finding that there was, in fact, no drool there.

His reaction brought a laugh from Mills, who shook his head at him in amusement. “Idiot.” He said simply. “We leave in less than an hour and you’re going to regret it if you don’t go talk to her, so go say goodbye. Go.”

He shoved at his shoulder and Reg held his hands up, backing away. “Fine, fine! I’m going!” He said while glaring, turning around with another word and approaching you where you were leaning against the side of one of the choppers, your brother luckily occupied with talking to a scientist.

You noticed him approaching instantly, your back straightening, your arms uncrossing from over your face and your lips pulling into a smile.

“Hi.” He was the first one to speak once he reached you, and you wasted no time in replying.

“Hey. You ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He smiled back widely, and then his confidence took a sudden turn, his hand coming up to scratch the back of his head awkwardly. “Hey, listen, I was wondering if, maybe, when we get back to the mainland, we could go out for a movie, or dinner, or something.”

You raised an eyebrow, the smile playing on your lips widening. “Like a date?” You asked, and he shrugged.

“Yeah. I mean, if it’s- if you want to. And if it’s okay with your brother.” He trailed off towards the end, his eyes flickering to something over your shoulder

It was only then, when you turned your head around to see what he was looking at, that you noticed James had now abandoned the conversation he had previously been having to listen in to yours instead, his pointed stare never wavering from the boy in front of you.

“You know what? I don’t-“ He started, but you immediately cut him off by throwing your hand out to slap his chest.

His eyes flickered down to meet yours at that and you glared. “Don’t you have someone else to bother? Go away, please.” You told him, and with a long look at Reg, he did as told, picking up his bag and leaving you alone.

Once he was out of earshot, you turned back to Reg with a smile, your head nodding. “Dinner and a movie both sound nice.” You agreed. “But for now, your main focus should be coming back in one piece.”

His entire face was lit up in a huge grin, and a chuckle left his lips at your words. “I can promise you that I will.” He said, and you snickered back, crossing your arms over your chest.

“I’ll hold you to that.” You said, the two of you then walking over to where the others were getting ready to board their assigned choppers.

You said goodbye to both Reg and your brother, the latter of the two goodbyes being a bit more sentimental, James hugging you close and kissing the top of your head, making you promise to be good, as if you were ever anything but.

Once they had left, you were on your own with literally no one to talk to, and you found yourself at wit’s end trying to find something to occupy yourself with.

You’d brought books with you but only three, and you were a quick reader, all of them being finished within two days. And just your luck, your cassette player chose the most horrible timing to stop working again, and no one on board knew how to fix it.

But just when you thought you were going to die from boredom, they returned, and you wasted no time in running outside and sprinting straight into your brother’s arms, only then realizing how worried you had been.

When you came back apart, you looked up at him with a worried gaze, taking note of how roughed up and exhausted he looked.

“Are you okay?” You asked, and watched as his lips pulled into a tight smile.

“I’m alright, don’t you worry.” He assured you and you smiled back, nodding your head.

Your smile faltered as soon as it appeared, however, when you spotted another familiar face behind him, and James instantly noticed, stepping to the side to give you free passage.

“Go.” He said, and you gave him a doubtful look.

“Are you sure?” You asked, and he simply nodded.

“I have some business to take care of. We can talk more later.”

He didn’t have to tell you twice, your feet moving you in the direction of Reg just a second later. 

Mills was the first one who noticed you approaching and slapped his friend’s shoulder, causing him to look up.

He barely even got the time to process your face, before you had reached him and pulled him into a careful embrace.

“Oh.” He mumbled into your neck, eyes widening in surprise. But he wasted no time in wrapping his arms around your waist and hugging you back, melting into it. “Wow. I could get used to this… You smell really good, has anyone ever told you that?”

You chuckled at his words and much to his dismay, the warmth of your embrace was gone too quickly, the two of you stepping away from each other again.

You immediately began looking him over for injuries, and you instantly spotted the torn up fabric of his pant-leg, or more specifically the wound peeking out from underneath.

Your eyes flickered back up to his, and you raised an eyebrow. “What happened to the promise of coming back in one piece?” You asked, and he shrugged, giving you a small smile.

“My leg is still attached to my body, isn’t it?” He pointed out, bringing a chuckle from your lips.

“Yes, I guess it is.” You agreed. “Can you walk?”

His face turned serious at the question. “I’ve just spent the last twenty-four hours running from a lizard with teeth the size of my head. Pretty sure that proves that there’s nothing wrong with my leg. Just a scratch on the surface.”

At the sound of his words, your interest was immediately piqued, but you knew it was neither the time nor place to ask about it.

“Well, we should still get it cleaned up.” You told him, reaching out and taking his hand in yours. “Come on.”

He did nothing to protest, limping slightly in his step as he followed you into the ship where you brought him to your room.

You instructed him to sit down on your bed and left him alone for a few minutes, heading off to the medbay where the other survivors were being checked over, to retrieve a medkit.

Once you had everything you needed, you returned to your room and wasted no time in getting to work, starting off with cutting off the lower part of his pant-leg and then moving on to clean the wound.

“You don’t have to do that, you know. I’m very well capable of patching myself up.” Reg told you as he watched your hands work, leaning back on his palms to be able to keep his leg straight out in front of him.

You glanced up at him at that, raising an eyebrow. “Are you complaining?” You asked, your lips pulling into a smile when he immediately shook his head.

“No. Definitely not.” He said, and you chuckled.

“That’s what I thought.” You said, turning your attention back to his leg with a shrug. “And besides, you owe me a date. Can’t have you dying on me from an infected wound.”

In the corner of your eye, you noticed him nodding his head. “A very valid point.” He agreed, and you smiled, finishing up bandaging his ankle.

“Exactly, now turn around. I need to clean the cut on your shoulder, too.” You instructed him, making a “turn around” motion with your finger.

He wasted no time in obliging, bringing his leg down from the bed and turning around. “Yes, ma’am.” He said, grabbing ahold of the upper hem of his shirt and tugging it up to expose his back to you.

In turn, you wasted no time in soaking a fresh cloth with alcohol, preparing to clean the cut stretched out over his shoulder blade.

“So, where are you from?” You asked, trying to make some light conversation.

“Detroit, born and raised.” He replied without missing a beat and you hummed, reality coming crashing down on you and dampening your mood significantly.

“I’m from London, if you hadn’t already gathered that from the accent.” You told him lowly. “I guess that date is going to be harder than we thought, huh?”

But much to your surprise, he only shook his head. “That won’t be a problem. I’d-“ He cut himself short for a moment, a hiss leaving his lips when you pressed the cold, alcohol-soaked rag to the cut.

But he regained his composure rather quickly, glancing over his shoulder to meet your eyes. “I’d follow you anywhere.” He finished, giving you a crooked, goofy smile.

You automatically smiled back, the two of you holding eye-contact for another moment before he turned back around to allow you to finish patching him up, both of you knowing you would continue the conversation later.

(If you want to be tagged when I post Reg Slivko stories, let me know in a comment, ask or private message)

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Rescued

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: They make it to the ploat, and now they have to make it to the exfil location

Warnings: cursing, screaming, wounds, etc

Word Count: 2392

“Come on!” James called as he ran to the ploat, pulling me with him.

San was steering, and she brought the ploat closer to us.

“Come on, hurry!” She beckoned.

“Slivko first!” James shouted, pointing.

Jack jumped up to help Reg up, then Hank was on. Jack helped Reg lean against the frame before giving me his hand. I hoisted myself up, groaning. I felt dizzy again. Reles and Mills climbed on after me, and I looked to James expectantly. The machine gun stopped and Houston shouted. My eyes went wide, meeting James’s.

“Marlow, a little help here!” Houston called.

“I got it, she’s temperamental, watch out!” Hank pushed him out of the way, taking over.

The Skull Crawler got closer as Kong pulled himself up slowly. James was still in the water, eyes trained on the scene before us.

“Jay!” I cried, feeling my bones ache.

Another explosion went off, and I looked over to see the Skull Crawler with a flare in its eye. My smile lasted for a split second, wiped away as the Skull Crawler looked to where Mason stood. Hank got the gun working again, and everyone but me was shooting at the Skull Crawler. I watched with tears in my eyes as James turned and ran the other way.

“Irene, don’t!” Reg shouted over the gunfire.

I sniffled as I loaded my bow and shot rather aimlessly at the Skull Crawler. It turned its head and then its direction entirely. I followed its line of sight.

“James!” I let out a scream, then a sob.

Jack grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me to him, trying to calm me down. Everything within me itched to follow my brother out there. The Skull Crawler went down, taking a propeller to the back. Kong was on his feet again. The Skull Crawler screeched as Kong wrapped the chain around its neck, choking it. It broke free but Kong grabbed it by the tail, body slamming it into a mountainside.

We watched breathlessly as Mason fell down its side. James sprinted to her, screaming her name. She landed in water, but she didn’t come back up. The tears strolled down my cheeks again. Kong turned, eyes almost human with concern. The Skull Crawler lunged at him, grabbing him by the neck with its teeth. He slammed it off and they continued their fight. I cried as James was out of my sight and Kong sliced the Skull Crawler’s throat open with the propeller.

I watched as he moved to where Mason had fallen, carefully dipping his hand in the water and coming back up with Mason in his palm. She wasn’t moving. He let out a chuff. He went back down, and I saw the Skull Crawler on his arm.

“What the hell?” Reg shouted and I felt my heart drop for the third time in the last minute.

I moved to him, pushing my head into his chest and wishing the world would stop. He winced but wrapped an arm around me, breathing heavily. His chest rumbled as he cursed loudly, gasping. I looked over to see Kong’s hand (including Mason) now halfway down the Skull Crawler’s throat. My own throat went dry. Kong tugged back, but it was no use. He finally grabbed the Skull Crawler by the neck and pulled his other hand back, tongue and internal organs following. He slowly turned and opened his palm on the ground, easing her off of his hand. James popped back into sight as he reached her, shaking her and picking her up so she could cough up water. They held each other as Kong looked at them before walking away.

Reg’s pained grunt brought me back to reality and he sunk the floor of the ploat, gritting his teeth. I dropped next to him, ignoring the pain that shot through my arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“It burns.” He mumbled, hands going for the blood-soaked bandana.

“You shouldn’t take it off.” I grabbed at his wrists.

He met my worried gaze before shutting his eyes and pushing his head into my chest and sighing.

“We have to get him out of here, now.” I spoke to Hank, who was the only one without tears in his eyes.

He nodded. “Let’s go.”

                                                            ***

James was steering the ploat toward the exfil location. San and Mason rewrapped Reg’s leg with Jack’s other sleeve while I held his hands, his head rested back against my chest. We stayed like that, stretched out as the ploat moved. Hank was off to our side, looking at the picture of his wife.

We were silent, some of us crying while others stared blankly. I tried to block my mind off as I felt Reg’s back move with his breathing. Over the last five or six days I had almost died at least three times. I had gotten separated from my brothers at least twice. I had seen people I thought were dead, alive. I had seen people get eaten. I had watched a man get his arm torn off. I had thought about things from my childhood that I had buried inside. I had put my crossbow up to my brother’s face.

I heard a few clicks as Mason fiddled with her camera. I looked over to see James moving his head side to side softly. I saw Jack writing something in his notepad. Hank was still looking at the picture of his wife. Reg breathed deeply in front of me, closing his eyes as he settled back against my chest.

Over the last five or six days, I had also expanded what I considered family. I had met a woman to lead me the way I had needed since I was born. I had been reunited with the boy turned man who I had trusted with my life and my little brother’s life. I had met two guys a few years older than me who showed me what being brave actually was. I had used my crossbow flawlessly. I fell in what felt like love with a boy. I had combed my fingers through soft brown hair more times than I could count.

“Irene?” Reg’s voice was scratchy.

I brushed his hair back with my free hand. “What is it?”

“Cole gave you something, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. I think it was a picture.” My voice trembled as I remembered what Cole had told me.

I was afraid to look, afraid the picture would be related to it, afraid to face my fears. Reg picked up on this, because he squeezed my hand and craned his neck back to look at me.

“Are you okay, doll?”

I let my head fall back against the frame of the ploat as I sighed.

“I’ll be fine.”

The sky was clear now, sun shining as it would at the beach. I grunted as my arm throbbed momentarily. Houston had an arm around San, reassuring her with whispers in her ear. Reles and Mills had sat on top of the ploat, both quiet. Mason was trying to fix her camera, which had been slightly smashed and fully submerged.

“This place will change.” James spoke up, breaking the calm silence that had settled over all of us. “Word will get out. It always does.” He looked to Mason.

“Well, it’s not coming from us.” Mason sent a small smile back.

My brother smiled back before eyeing me, sadness back on his face. I half smiled, wanting him to cheer up but at the same time understanding what was going on in his mind. We had almost died. He had almost died. I had almost died. We had promised each other to never leave after Stephen went missing. We had almost broken that promise, both of us had.

I shifted to pull the picture from my pocket. Pain moved through my arm like a storm, but my desire to know the truth was greater than it. I slung my bad arm around Reg’s chest, moving the picture to my good hand. I shook it open, resting my chin on his shoulder. I felt my heart thump, tears welling in my eyes.

Stephen, sitting with a few other kids that looked just as adopted as him, in front of a Christmas tree. He was looking at Cole, but even sitting, he was taller than the army man. Stephen was smiling, happy. The kids around him looked happy. They all looked happy. Better yet, my baby brother was alive.

“We’ll meet again. Don’t know how, don’t know when…” Hank sang softly.

Mason took a picture, smiling sadly. I looked back to the piece of paper in my hands and shuddered. I dropped my head against Reg’s shoulder, burying my face into his neck. He only grabbed me the best he could and shushed me, head leaning against mine. I heard Mason’s camera click again.

“What do you think, kids?” I heard Jack’s gentle voice come from beside me.

I brought my head back up, sniffing and wiping at my dirty face. Reg kept his hands on me and Jack smiled softly.

“This way to Key West?” Mills asked as he and Reles made their way down from the top of the ploat.

Reles laughed happily, and soon the four surviving soldiers had grins on their faces as they sat around us.

“As soon as Slivko gets better, I think we’re good to go.”

I tuned them out and watched James make his way to the front of the ploat with Mason. They hugged again, swaying slightly. We settled back into silence as the ploat came into an opening in the river. The exfil. The sound of helicopters came over our ears and I had never been more relieved.

“We have to find a way to signal to them that they’ll have to bring one down. Slivko can’t climb with his leg like that.” Mills spoke out.

There was a thudding noise and it took us all a few seconds to realize it was coming from behind us. We turned to see Kong hitting his chest, taking a moment, then roaring. Mason’s camera clicked, and I felt Reg’s grip on me tighten.

“We still have a few flares left.” James noted.

He walked over to us, practically ignoring Reg as he grabbed my face and squished my cheeks. “You ready to go home, Bitsy?”

“Bitsy?” Reg repeated, incredulously.

“Shut up or you’re dead to me.” I squinted at him.

He turned his head against me, hair tickling my skin. He looked me in the eye before faking an awful laugh. I pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning back to my brother.

“Hey, what day is it today?” James asked, nodding at Reles to fire off the flare.

Reg jumped before checking his watch. I laughed, only to receive a head thumped against my collarbone.

“It’s the fifteenth.”

James’s eyes widened and he grinned at me, squishing my face again. “Well look at that. You’ve officially made it to eighteen.”

“You’re eighteen now? Man, I don’t know if I can handle a relationship with an older woman.” Reg sighed, but I could practically see the teasing smile on his face.

I patted James’s face with a smile. “You didn’t let me die before turning into an adult. Thanks.”

He kissed my forehead before standing and going to steer the ploat to the shore, where one of the helicopters had landed. I sighed happily before ducking my head into the crook of Reg’s neck and kissing his skin.

“Wait!” Mills broke my little cloud of heaven.

“What?” Reg grumbled back, also upset.

“How are you two gonna explain the holes in you?” He pointed.

“Anaconda.” I shrugged.

“I thought they didn’t bite.” Reg spoke to me over his shoulder, confused.

“They’ve been known to bite if they can’t get a good grip on their prey at first, actually.” San stepped in, also shrugging.

“Well, I think it’s believable.” Jack shrugged too.

James sighed loudly. “It’ll have to do because we have to go.”

I looked at the riverbank next to us to see two helicopters on the ground. Jack let out a holler, and Mills and Reles helped Reg stand. I folded Cole’s picture up and shoved it in my pocket. I looked up to see James’s hand in my face. I smiled as I took it, pushing myself to my feet. He pulled me into a hug as we watched everyone left get off the ploat.

The boys helped Reg into the helicopter before getting into the one with San and Houston. Mason climbed in across from Reg, and Hank took a spot next to her. Jack was half in and half out, hand on a rail as he looked at us, head tilted. He hopped back out and beckoned to us.

“Come on, I don’t wanna stay on this island forever.” I mumbled, breaking the hug and pulling him by the arm.

“Don’t strain your arm, Ire!” He scolded.

I rolled my eyes as my feet hit the ground and I practically ran to the helicopter, letting go of James and pushing myself into Jack’s open arms. He squeezed before lifting me up and dropping me into the helicopter. It took a moment for the dizzy feeling to go away, and then I sat myself next to Reg. He hooked his arm through mine and sighed as I dropped my head on his shoulder. I felt James settle in next to me and watched through half closed eyes as Jack across from me, next to Hank. He bumped his foot against mine. I smiled before letting out a breath.

“Alright guys. Let’s get out of here.” He raised his eyebrows before patting one of the pilots on the shoulder.

The rotors started to swish and the machine rumbled to life. Reg winced, moving his leg. I looked up at him, still against his shoulder.

“You okay?”

He met my eyes and nodded softly. “I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t take my gaze off him as he smiled and leaned down, lips meeting mine. Mason’s camera clicked, but it blended into the shouts of disgust from my brothers and another unheard comment from Hank. I pulled back and put my head back against his shoulder, closing my eyes. I felt like I could breathe now.

Previous: Wounds and Shrieks

Next: Surgeries and Cover Stories

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Photographs and Flirts

Pairing: Flirty Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: Mason breaks out her camera, Slivko and Irene flirt, and the entire gang spends a peaceful day before disaster strikes

Warnings: cursing probably, etc

Word Count: 3701

“They’re probably upstairs. You know how boys are. I think one of them’s your age, actually.” Jack told me as he led me around the ship.

“I think I know which one you’re talking about.” I answered, grabbing onto the back of his sleeve so he would slow down.

“Yeah? His name’s Slivko.”

“Yeah,” I nodded “He dropped his hat.”

“Here they are.” He opened up a door and led me inside, closing it behind us.

I suddenly felt awkward, especially when I caught Slivko’s glance.

“Guys, this is Irene. She’s the tracker’s little sister.” Jack grinned.

“Weren’t you Chapman’s sister for a while too?” One of the men asked, his face unreadable.

“Reles, watch yourself.” The oldest of the men called out, never looking up from his book.

“It was an honest question, Cole.” Another one defended his friend.

“Mills, back off.” Slivko mumbled, eyes wandering around Jack but not landing on me.

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head as he pointed to each of the men - boys?- that were in the room.

“That one over there is Reles.”

“Hey, sorry for the oh so intruding question.” He grinned.

I grinned as Jack introduced the other ones, “That’s Mills.” He pointed to the one that had stood up for Reles.

“Cole.” To the older man, who was reading a book, and had finally looked up to meet my eyes with a heartwarming grin.

“And that there is Slivko.” Jack pointed to the boy I had already interacted with.

Slivko grinned the same goofy grin, brushing a hand through his hair as his leg began to bounce up and down. “You can just call me Reg. And you saved my hat.”

I only nodded, crossing my hands behind my back and looking down, feeling the heat creep up my neck.

Get it together, Ira. He dropped his hat and winked, it’s nothing special. It’s stupid.

I scolded myself, tuning them out as they spoke to Jack. It was dark outside, probably around two in the morning, and the lights inside the room were dim. The door swung open, hinges screaming. All heads perked up, looking over. James stood half in the doorway, scrutiny on his face as he scanned the eyes trained on him. He tensed when he made eye contact with Jack, but eased up by the time he reached me.

He gestured his head back, a silent Let’s go. I nodded, smiling at the soldiers as I made my way toward James. Cole kept the grin, which made him grow on me within a matter of minutes. Reles and Mills paused their card game to wave me off. Jack smiled back, and Slivko - Reg? winked.

I shook off the feelings that made my heart swell with and stepped out, standing at James’s side. He waved politely, muttering something about it having been a pleasure, calling them gentlemen, and then shut the door before Jack could say anything else.

“What’d you find?” I asked after a moment of quiet.

He led me to our room, eyes out for anyone who would also like the answer to my question. He reached for my hand and pushed me in first, shutting the door and flicking the lights on. I eyed him wearily as I popped onto the bed, going to untie my shoes.

“I don’t think this is what we thought it was.” He finally grumbled, sitting next to me on the bottom bunk.

“What do you mean?” I tugged off one boot and went to work on the other one.

He sighed. “We found explosives downstairs.”

My heart stuttered, and my mind itself buffered for a minute. I chose to pick at the lesser of two possible evils.

“We?” I pulled too hard at my other boot and it went flying, bouncing off the wall.

“Mason and I, yes.” He scoffed, already dissecting my fearful tactic of looking at what didn’t matter to avoid looking at what did.

“Mason, the photographer, Mason?” I inched off the bed, rummaging through our bag to find a shirt of his I could steal to sleep in.

“Mason Weaver.” He sighed, almost dreamily.

I snorted a laugh, but then he shot me a look.

“Oh my god, you’re serious.” I stared at him, doe eyed.

He only rolled his eyes, standing and shoving me away from the bag, pulling out his own clothing. I saw him pull out a grey shirt and I snatched it from him. He eyed me, looking disgruntled.

“Jay, do you have a crush?” I stretched out his name, shuffling back onto the bed and against the wall.

I got hit in the face with a folded pair of socks. I struggled to get a grip on them, but when I did, I hurled them back across the room, hitting James square between the shoulders.

“I don’t have any particular feelings, no… But let’s talk about you. Who’s the kid that keeps winking?” James picked his clothing and padded off to the bathroom to change, leaving the door cracked open so we could keep talking.

I became flustered at the thought of James catching onto any feeling I may or may not have had. I fumbled with my clothing before changing into the stolen grey shirt and a pair of shorts to sleep in.

“Don’t ignore me, Bitsy.” James called out.

“Are you talking about Slivko?” I found my hairbrush and sat down on the bed again.

James came back, having neatly folded up his clothing before setting it down next to our bag. He shoved at my leg so I would make room for him on the bed.

“Slivko, that’s his name?”

I rolled my eyes, dropping my hand down, hitting his knee with the brush.

“I literally just met him, Jay.” I scoffed, going back to brushing my hair.

I thought about Reg, with big brown eyes and soft looking brown hair and his height making up for his scrawny seeming build.

“Either way, he’s a soldier. You know I don’t go for that type.”

Soldiers were hard. It was already enough that my father was never around, but my brothers growing up had gone off to war. I had issues with male figures as it was, I didn’t need to add to it by dating a boy who would also go off to war. James knew all this, which is why I was a bit bothered by him insisting on Slivko.

“Ya never know, Irene. He did seem to be looking at you a special type of way.” James teased, leaning back on his hands.

I scoffed. “They’re all girl deprived. I’m sure Slivko would look at any girl like a piece of meat.” I leaned over to run the brush through his hair.

He grabbed my wrist softly, pulling it back down.

“Don’t try to brush the gel out of my hair. I’ll never get it back up tomorrow, and I want to be able to look around early in the morning. I’m sure you’ll want to get to know Slivko a bit better.”

I groaned, placing my feet against him and shoving as hard as I could. “Get off my bed, wake me up tomorrow morning.”

He let himself be moved off, laughing as he grabbed our toothbrushes from our bag and walked back to hand me mine. I rushed to brush my teeth before him not wanting to talk about Slivko anymore. I tucked myself in bed as he brushed his teeth, squinting at me. I rolled my eyes and turned my back to him, rubbing my hands together under the blanket. I always got cold at night, and blankets rarely seemed to help anymore.

James came back quietly, flicking both lights off before coming to kneel by my bed. I turned back around, confused.

“Just promise me one thing.” He reached for my hand with both of his, his tone serious.

I gave him a hand, squeezing. “What is it?”

He closed his eyes tightly, squeezing my hand. “You’ll stick with me no matter what happens.”

I nodded. I could read the regret in his eyes. He was wishing he hadn’t brought me with him.

“Okay? I can’t protect you if I’m not there.” His voice was small.

I sat up and threw my arms around his neck, nodding. “I promise.”

He patted my back and stayed like that for a minute. James usually didn’t have an issue crying in front of me, because his masculinity wasn’t fragile, but today he stayed stiff. He pulled back and kissed my forehead before mumbling goodnight and climbing up to his bunk.

I sighed as I settled back into bed. Maybe he would want to talk tomorrow. If anything, I could always try to bother Slivko.

                                                         ***

“Wake up, I want you to meet Mason and stay with her while I do some more investigating.” James tugged at my blanket.

I groaned, hit with the sudden remembrance that we were on a ship on our way to a likely lethal island. Then I remembered James teasing me about Slivko. I huffed into my pillow before sitting up and throwing the covers off. It took a second for the dizzy feeling to go away, and I shuffled to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth and change. I pulled on the green jeans, which I would probably regret later on. But hey, if it covered more of what mosquitos would want to target, then I was down for it. I slid a loose grey t-shirt on before shoving my feet back into my black boots and lacing them up.

“Good choice.” James stopped in the doorway.

I arched an eyebrow, clearly confused by what he thought was a good choice.

“It’ll be easier to be treated for something like dehydration rather than some kind of bug bite.” He pointed to the long pants and the high boots. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, following him down to the cafeteria.

“Now.” He stopped me, hands on my shoulders and looking me square in the face.

“What?” I asked, a bit weirded out.

He was acting as if nothing had happened yesterday, as if he hadn’t begged me to stick to his side for my safety.

“I know you won’t want to eat, because you don’t get hungry at this time of the morning. But, you have to eat something and you should probably drink some coffee.”

“I can do coffee, for sure.” I replied.

“Good. Now I’m going to introduce you to Mason and I’d like you to stay with her until I come back to get you.” He pulled me through the cafeteria.

“You’re just gonna leave me with her? What if something happens?” I asked, beginning to think that I had dreamed up last night’s situation.

“Nothing will happen. I promise.” He squeezed my hand before stopping at a table.

“Mason, this is my little sister Irene. Irene, this is Mason.” He gestured back and forth.

I dropped into the seat across from her, smiling. She grinned right back, a warm and reassuring sense to the air around her.

“I’ll get you coffee and something to eat and then I’ll be off.” James shook me by the shoulders and ran off.

Mason laughed. “He treats you like a princess, doesn’t he?”

I chuckled in return, letting myself slump forward and stifled a yawn.

“He’s only doing it because he knows I won’t do it myself. It’s too early to eat.” I rubbed at my eyes.

“You’re not gonna eat what he brings you then?” Her smile remained.

“Nah. Gotta stick it to the man somehow, ya know?” I grinned.

She laughed again, nodding.

Although James and I always took a few days before deciding how we really felt about people, Mason seemed to be the exception. James had already developed an affinity for her, and I felt safe around her. She seemed to be exactly what I hadn’t been able to grow up with. A kickass woman who was the perfect role model.

James slid a plate with food in front of me, followed by a coffee. I smiled sleepily as he kissed my forehead and waved Mason goodbye.

“Do you have any idea where he’s going?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

I was sure that James could get in serious trouble with all his snooping, and it was exactly what neither of us needed at the moment.

“I don’t know. We found explosives downstairs yesterday, but I guess that fits with the seismic charges they were talking about.”

Mason and I talked quietly while I drank my coffee. She managed to convince me to eat some of what James had brought over. She had a very maternal presence. I decided I liked her. Her eyes followed something as she spoke about photography. I turned around to follow her line of sight. The group of soldiers I had met yesterday, Jack’s boys, were walking out of the cafeteria, joking amongst themselves. I caught sight of Slivko, tall and messy haired, and my fingers went numb.

He must’ve felt my stare, because just as they were outside the doors, he turned around and gave me his seemingly classic grin. I giggled, biting down on my lip. He winked before being dragged off by Mills and Reles, who turned to wave at me. Mason snorted.

“You ready to go explore this ship?” She asked, breaking my attention.

I realized how stupidly public I had just been about whatever it was I was feeling for Slivko. The blush on my cheeks got worse, and my ears were burning. I turned back to Mason, nodding. She smiled.

“You like him?” She led the way.

I shrugged, rubbing my arm. “I barely know him.”

“Something tells me you like him. And I don’t just mean physically.” She spoke to me over her shoulder as we pranced down the stairs.

“Could be just physical.” I shrugged.

She stopped and shot me a look as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey.” I said defensively. “He’s cute.”

She made the face again, eyebrows arched like nobody’s business.

I sighed. “Okay fine, he winks at me every time I see him. It messes with my head.”

She chuckled, throwing an arm around me as we walked. The boys had set themselves up in the middle of the ship, music blasting as they danced. Reles was cutting Cole’s hair and Cole had pulled out a book. I searched for Reg, only to find him pulling his shirt off. My breath hitched in my throat. Mason noticed and laughed, pulling her camera up with one hand.

“Come with me, this is perfect.”

She dragged me along with her and I forced myself to close my mouth, which had been left hanging open. Mason started to photograph the boys as they danced. I made myself comfortable by Cole’s feet as Reles continued with his hair. Cole was the calmest of them all, which made sense, as he was the oldest.

“Your name’s Irene, right?” Cole spoke to me, eyes on me even though he couldn’t move his head much.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

I felt eyes on me. I glanced over to where I had last seen Reg, seeing him staring right back at me. He smiled softly before winking. I blushed hard, my mouth dropping open again ever so slightly. I heard the click of a camera, breaking my thoughts. I looked over to see Mason pull her camera back down, smiling widely.

“Mason!” I hissed, unable to hide the smile on my face.

She came to kneel by my side. “Trust me, Irene. There’s something going on between you two.”

I shook my head, negating everything swirling around inside my brain. He was cute. He seemed sweet. He was probably funny, considering he always had a goofy grin on his lips.

Stop it, you’re going down an endless rabbit hole.

I shook my head, as if that would clear my mind. My eyes darted back to Slivko, who was sort of dancing and talking to Mills, but he had his eyes on me. A small part of me felt like I could pass out then and there.

“You know,” Cole spoke to get my attention. I forced my gaze off Reg’s and looked up at Cole. “He wouldn’t shut up about you last night. Did you see how pretty she was? Do you think the name Irene means anything? Do you think she’s always so quiet? My god, he would not stop.” Cole smirked.

I felt my heart beat faster than normal. Was Cole telling me the truth or did he just want to mess with my head? I looked back at Slivko, whose eyes were wide. He was mouthing words at someone in this direction. I looked up at Reles, who was saying something back. I met eyes with Cole, who was still smirking. I heard footsteps coming toward me, but I refused to break eye contact with Cole. He was up to something. My head turned as someone sat beside me. I smiled shyly, breaking out into a blush for the fifth time today.

“Hi.” He whispered unintentionally.

Cole and Reles mumbled something to one another before leaving.

“Hey.” I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.

Reg leaned back on his hands, placing one behind me so he could lean closer. I bit my lip, knowing he was watching me blush harder with every single one of his movements.

I screamed at myself in my brain. Why couldn’t I think of anything to say?

Mason’s camera clicked again. Both Reg and I looked at her, eyes wide. She grinned at both of us.

“Why don’t you two get a little closer? For the photo, of course.” She winked at me.

I looked up at Reg, who was smiling wide. “For the photo, come on. Please?”

I still hadn’t found my words, but I nodded up at him, cheeks stuck red and in a smile. He scooted closer and rested his hand on my side gently. He looked at the camera, a cheesy smile on his face. For a second, I forgot that he had moved closer for Mason to take a picture. I gingerly leaned my head back against his bare shoulder, eyes closed and a smile on my face.

“How about a few more?” Mason’s voice broke through.

I felt mortified. Why would I just lean on him like it was nothing? What if I made him uncomfortable?

“My turn.” Reg whispered before letting go of my side and lying down, settling his head in my lap.

I giggled, a hand going up to ruffle his hair. He reached for my free hand and held it against his chest, holding his over it. His eyes held mine, a smile on his face.

Click.

“One more? Pretty please?” Mason’s voice came through but neither of us looked away from each other.

“How do you want us to pose?” Reg called out to her, hand still on mine, over his heart.

Pose. That’s all this was. Just a dumb little photoshoot for Mason to have against me forever. It didn’t mean anything.

“However you guys want.” Mason’s smile was evident in her voice.

I pulled myself back up, sitting straight.

“I’ve got an idea.” Reg pushed himself up and to his feet, holding a hand out to help me up.

I took it, letting him pull me onto my feet. He was definitely stronger than he looked.

“What’s your idea?” I asked, hand still in his. He took my free hand and slid it up to his shoulder before grabbing my waist.

“Well, it’s kinda intimate.” He pulled me against him, bringing our hands out to the side so it looked like we were dancing.

I heard Mason’s camera click, but we both pretended we didn’t hear it. Mason kept going too.

“How intimate are we talking?” I asked, letting myself be pushed out of the camera’s sight.

“Like, sit-on-me intimate.” He showed a hopeful smile.

I laughed, letting my hand that wasn’t trapped in his slide down to his chest.

“Sure.”

“Awesome.” He nudged his nose into my hair before letting go of me all together and sitting on the ground.

I covered my mouth as I laughed, and he wrapped a hand around my leg, gently pulling at me so I would sit down.

Click.

“Sit, come on.” He patted his legs, which were extended in front of him.

I grabbed one of his shoulders as I sat down on his thighs, my front to his. Reg was quick to pull me as close as possible, hands on the small of my back as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“You guys are adorable.” Mason smiled as she took pictures.

Reg laughed, his chest moving against mine in a way that set my skin on fire. I ducked down to hide my face in the crook of his neck, blushing and embarrassed once again.

“I think she’s just doing this on purpose.” Reg whispered into my ear, running a hand up and down my back.

I shrugged, keeping my face down against his cooler skin. He didn’t seem to mind. Afterall, the pose itself had been his idea.

“Okay, I’m almost done, I promise. Can I ask one little favor though?” Mason bent over to speak to us.

“What is it?” Reg asked, hand still on my back.

“Can you kiss his cheek?” She asked me.

My head jerked up so fast that my ear hit Reg’s. I glared at her, ears burning. Reg shrugged, causing my other arm to link tighter around him.

“I don’t mind if you don’t mind.” He whispered to me.

I let out a breath, still glaring at Mason. She smiled. I couldn’t help but crack a smile back. She was just trying to help me get Slivko, after all. I settled comfortably in his lap, one hand on his neck while the other arm remained around him. I leaned my forehead against the side of his face, breathing for a little before closing my eyes and kissing his cheek.

Click.

Previous: Brothers

Next: Family

[lokimostly]

Home from War (Ch.1/8)

James Conrad x Reader Word Count: 2,565 Warnings: so much angst (sorry not sorry) Fic Summary: One year after you lost the love of your life, a last-minute decision changes everything you thought you knew. Now only one question remains: how to make it out alive, and return home from war? 

If you haven’t read the prequel series, go HERE to read Rainy Days! Super important, you don’t want to miss it. 

Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight (Epilogue)

A/N: Tag list is open! Thanks for the overwhelming support for Rainy Days and this new series! I love you all so much and I hope you like this one. Also, since his fic follows the plot of the movie, I apologize in advance for any discrepancies between my writing style and the script itself. I’ve taken most of the dialogue verbatim. I’ll try to make all of the extra characters fit into the story as smoothly as possible (so we can focus on the romance, lol). Enjoy! <3

Captain James Conrad stood in the middle of the road, uniformed soldiers passing him by. The wind whipped at his clothes, pulling them from him, as he stood frozen and utterly hopeless.

Where had you gone?

His mind raced and his blue eyes darted around, looking for some sign of you, but there was nothing to be found. All he could feel were the heartstrings in his chest splitting, the unbidden tears in his eyes blurring his vision, the overwhelming sense of hopelessness.

He fell to his knees, and looked up to the sky, where the yellow clouds had turned dark and drowned out the sun.

It began to rain.

One Year Later

Rain came down from the night sky in droves as the two scientists, Randa and Brooks, made their away across the busy Saigon street, holding their black umbrellas upright. As usual, they were caught up in argumentative conversation, shouting above the noise.

“Why do we need a tracker? And why SAS?”

“Former SAS,” Randa, the older, bearded man, corrected. “No allegiance to anyone. And he rescued twelve downed pilots from Da Nang in ‘72!”

Brooks’s reply was lost in the commotion of traffic and the onslaught of rain coming down on their umbrellas. As the two of them ducked into the corner establishment, folding up their umbrellas, Brooks sighed noisily and pushed his glasses up.

“Okay, fine. So how much do we tell him?”

“Just enough to get him to say yes,” Randa replied.

The bar was bathed in red and blue neon light. It lit up the silhouettes of everyone inside, revealing the room to be overcrowded and dusty. The air was thick with the smell of perfume and alcohol. Slow music played from some hidden room, giving the entire bar a mellow, diluted atmosphere.

The two men made their way to the bar and stopped short at the sight of the man they were looking for: James Conrad.

The former captain was a shell of his previously clean-cut self. Wearing a blue button-up shirt rolled up to his elbows and unbuttoned at the neck, Conrad’s sharp features were diluted by an unshaven beard, unstyled hair, and a clouded veil over his blue-green eyes. Apart from the hardness of his physique, the rest of him was in obvious disrepair, for reasons Randa and Brooks could only guess.

Conrad shot the eight ball deftly into the center hole and reached for the pile of money on the pool table. As he did so, someone grabbed his wrist and objected, scolding him in Vietnamese.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. Conrad stared at him, deadly and unblinking, before he snapped the pole upwards and hit the man in the face. Intuitively, he jabbed the pole backwards and slammed it into the body of another man with an open switchblade in his hand. The man threw a cue ball– he dodged. He threw another, and this time, he deflected it back into his face, knocking him to the ground.

Randa raised an eyebrow and turned to Brooks, giving him a look that screamed I told you so.

“Now there’s a man worth talking to.”

~

“...So we need someone like you, with unprecedented experience in navigating uncharted jungle terrain, to lead us on this expedition,” Brooks finished, watching Conrad nervously from across the table. Bathed in neon light, Conrad’s face was cold, calculating, and entirely unreadable.

Randa scoffed lightly. “We’re just scholars and scientists. We need someone with experience. In case things go sideways.” He held up his shot glass and paused, giving it a thoughtful look before his eyes flickered up to the rugged, bearded man sitting across the table.

“Men go to war in search of something, Mr. Conrad,” He pointed out. “If you’d found it, you’d be home by now.”

~

“Attention all soldiers and base personnel, final troop withdrawal will commence at 0600,” the loudspeakers above your head announced as you walked through the flight bay of the U.S. army’s Da Nang air base– your home for the past eleven months.  

You cupped your hands around your mouth. “Hey, Slivko, do you have my Steinbeck?” You shouted, striding over to where the small group of soldiers were lounging on folding chairs, playing cards on top of ammo crates. You came within earshot of them just as Mills finished a joke, and laughter erupted from the men. You couldn’t help but smile, too– they were a funny group, and unlike your past experiences with previous squads, these soldiers actually felt like family.

Slivko looked up at you, laughing, and muttered “oh, shit,” reaching in his back pocket for the dog-eared paperback. He tossed it to you. “Sorry!” He called apologetically, waving as you walked past.

You grinned and shook your head, taking the book with you as you headed back to your quarters: a small, plain room with a single bunk, your half-packed duffle bag sitting open on the bed.

You sighed, tossing it onto the pile of books and other miscellaneous items, and took a moment to glance out the window. Squads of men ran past in drills. Planes and helicopters moved in and out on the runway like clockwork.

You were going to miss it.

Da Nang was a stark contrast to the jungle camps where you’d spent most of your deployment, but the change was a welcome one. The resources and free time that the air base provided had allowed you to finish up your degree: you were a bona fide Field Nurse now, and finally used to the title.

The rest of your life, however, wasn’t lining up so nicely.

News of your parents’ fatal car crash reached you only days after you lost the man you loved. The two combined were enough heartbreak to send you spiraling. Suddenly, war became the only constant, dependable thing in your life.

You snapped out of your trance and shook your head, inhaling deeply. You still had things to pack.

Your fingers worked nimbly to stack your books in orderly fashion, next to folded civilian clothes. 

When was the last time I’ve worn jeans? You wondered amusedly, setting your other personal effects inside, reaching for the final items.

Your hands wrapped around something small– silver metal, cold and familiar.

“Nurse L/N,” Said a voice behind you.

You whirled around and snapped to, holding your hands at your sides and closing your fist around the item in your hand. “Sir?”

In the doorway stood Colonel Packard– an imposing, stern-faced man who’d seen too much war for his own good. Despite this, he was kind enough to you, and you’d been underneath his command during your time here.

The colonel glanced at your room, taking in the stages of preparation to leave laid out.

“Your orders for home have been processed, I see.”

“Yes, sir,” you nodded.

The Colonel leaned against the doorway and eyed you with scrutiny. “Any plans for when you get back to the world, L/N?”

You blinked. This was the question you’d been avoiding. “No, sir,” you admitted. “I don’t.”

“How do you feel about one last Op?” He asked.

You frowned, not understanding. “Sir?”

“My boys and I have been called in. It’s just a flight escort for some organization called Landsat.” He tapped his fingers on the doorway. “If it’s what you want, go home. But if not …” he trailed off, raised his eyebrows, and pushed himself off the wall. “Let me know. We could always use you.”

You saluted one more time before he left, the sound of his boots fading down the hallway.

You fingered the cold, metal square in your hand, looking down as you opened up your palm and flipping it over to read the letters. R.A.F.

Captain Conrad’s lighter.

A familiar pang in your chest made your eyes teary and you angrily wiped them away. An entire year ago, and you were still crying over it?

Pathetic, you thought miserably. He’s probably been dead for a year.

You inhaled deeply to calm your nerves and turned back to your bed, staring at the half-packed duffle bag lying open on your bed, like an open-ended sentence.

“What do I have to go home to, anyways?” You sighed aloud. You shoved the lighter back in your pocket.

One last Op, you thought, Packard’s words echoing in your mind as you set to packing – but for a different purpose.

~

The docks of Bangkok were damp from rain and crowded by both cargo and the people carrying it. Your duffle bag was slung over your shoulder as you walked with the troops. Slivko and Mills were less enthusiastic than usual, and you knew from their grumbling that they were upset at being deployed a day away from going home.

Needless to say, you didn’t share the same sentiment. There was nothing for you to miss that you could find at the end of a return journey. Right now, your job was everything you knew, and you weren’t about to leave it for the unknown.

You nodded to Colonel Packard, who was standing at the base of the gangplank, and he gave you a barely-discernible smile. He’d already expressed that he was glad you were coming. 

 It’s nice to be wanted, you thought, heading up the plank and onto the freight carrier Athena.

Stepping onto the ship gave you immediate nostalgia. The smell of seawater and rusted ship metal reminded you of your deployment to Vietnam from the states, and the weeks you spent at sea. You felt like you’d been so much younger then, even though it was a mere few years ago. 

Tossing your duffle bag onto the bunk without a second thought, you brushed your hands over your camo pants and headed down the narrow hallway towards the common rooms of the ship, where debriefing would take place in a few short minutes.

You yawned. The trip to Bangkok had taken a full day and then some– hopefully you wouldn’t fall asleep halfway through.

The room was decently sized and filled with folding chairs, where men in blue, collared shirts sat on one side and soldiers sat on the other. You took your place in the sea of green camo, finding a seat next to Mills.

You yawned again when you sat down and shook your head, trying to blink away the tiredness. He nudged you with his elbow. “Hey, don’t fall asleep on me, L/N. I don’t want your drool on my shoulder.”

You chuckled and nudged him back. “You can’t make me,” you threatened playfully, ignoring his comically hurt expression as the lights dimmed and the projector in the middle of the room whirred.

A dark, curly-haired man named Victor Nieves introduced himself as the chief LandSat field supervisor. The presentation began.

Almost as soon as he started talking, your eyes started to droop, and you felt yourself falling asleep despite your best efforts. You tried bouncing your knee, picking a spot on the floor to focus on, breathing deep through your nose, but nothing stuck. You swallowed and shook your head, looking up stubbornly at the bright projections of maps and geographical summaries. Your eyelids began to close again.

“...we’ll then land and make base camp for ground excursions led by Mr. Conrad–”

You jerked awake so fast that your chair skidded against the floor. The sudden, jarring noise made the LandSat supervisor pause before continuing his speech. He cleared his throat. “As I was saying…”

In another situation you would have been embarrassed, even mortified, but you were too startled even for that. With sudden and desperate urgency your head turned to look around the room, searching every face, anxiety growing in the pit of your stomach.

“What the hell, L/N?” Mills hissed at you, but you weren’t listening.

You only had eyes for Conrad.

You finally found him. Standing against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest, listening intently to the LandSat Field Supervisor with no sign that he knew you were there.

You stared at Conrad, mouth agape. You inhaled shakily and took a moment to really look– after all, you hadn’t seen him in a year.

He was leaner. Harder. Even more handsome than you remembered. But when he turned his head as he leaned against the wall, you could see an unfamiliar shadow in his eyes– one that hadn’t been there before. It cast a darkness over his countenance.

You watched his blue-green irises flicker over the projector screen, listening to Nieves talk. He sighed, and his gaze began to wander, and your heart rose in your throat.

He looked at you, and the world froze.

It was like time decided to take a day off. Suddenly you couldn’t remember the last time you’d drawn a breath, and the beat of your own heart was unfamiliar to you. Every atom in your body felt torn apart, every hair raised, your eyes sparkling with tears as you met the gaze of the man you loved– the man you lost.

In the painfully slow tick of time you saw his breath catch in the way that his chest shuddered, how the blood drained from his handsome face.

You wanted him to move to you, to make some sign. Damn the debriefing and the rows of soldiers and scientists between you– for all you cared, you and Conrad were the only two people in the vast expanse of the universe.

But he didn’t.

He looked away.

Time returned to its regular pace and suddenly you came back to your senses, just in time to hear the Field Supervisor finish the debriefing and dismiss you.

Without a word you shot out of your chair and ran back down the corridor that led to your bunk. It was all you could think to do– you shut the door behind you, and fell with your back against the metal as you slid down to sit on the floor.

And you cried.

He looked away, you thought, replaying the momentary interaction over and over in your head. He saw me, and he looked away.

A sudden, dreadful thought occurred to you, and you looked up at the wall. You whispered your fear to the empty room, voice thick with emotion.

“Did he forget about me?”

~

Conrad watched you bolt as soon as the meeting was dismissed. You were gone almost before anyone else was was out of their seats, lost in the crowd of military uniforms.

He sighed, reaching up and putting his hand on his chest. His heart was pounding out of his shirt.

It was really you, he thought, clenching his jaw. After all this time. All my searching.

As the room gradually emptied, he stood alone with his thoughts, staring at the empty seat where you had been so close.

He felt like someone had punched him in the gut and stolen the breath from his lungs. The urge to follow you was overpowering, but he stilled himself. After all, he didn’t know exactly where you’d gone. And there was another thing to consider– that you’d run from him, like you’d seen a ghost.

Men go to war in search of something, Mr. Conrad, Randa’s words echoed in his mind. Conrad tightened his jaw and sighed, speaking quietly to the empty room.

“If I’d found it, I’d be home by now.”

- - -

A/N: thanks so much for reading! Kicking things off with a bang and a ton of angst. There are two tag lists: people who asked to be tagged, and people who I assumed wanted to be based on their comments. If you’re on the second list and do not want to be tagged, just let me know and I’ll take you off. :) 

Tag List: @tarynkauai, @jessiejunebug, @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi, @fire-in-her-veinz, @daylight-swiftt 

Assumed Tag List: @damalseer, @un-consider-it, @uinen-ulmiel, @kinghiddlestonanddixon