#so i just finished my last shift at my job and now i officially do not work there anymore

[sakebytheriver]

...

[writeforfandoms]

Born for Greatness 6

Find the series masterlist

You may have noticed this is now chapter 6 of 9! There are 8 official chapters and then there will be one bonus chapter with the 141 pack and Logan interacting.

This chapter, you have a very hard time. But not everything is bad.

Warnings: Swearing, attachment issues, John Price is his own warning, more world building and shifter behavior, pack cuddles definitely need their own warning. Discussion of reader's past and issues. Bodily throwing reader into a cold pond.

John Price x f!reader

Word count: 2.5k

Something shifted after that movie night. Suddenly, Price was everywhere - checking up on you, watching you while he worked with rookies, ensuring you ate. 

And as much as Logan liked to tease you that you were wilfully blind, you knew what this kind of behavior meant, especially coming from him. 

He was treating you as pack. 

You weren’t sure what surprised you more - the treatment, or the lack of protest from Logan. Logan did watch Price any time they were in the same room, but he was being oddly calm about everything. 

Which just meant you were mentally braced for something to blow up. 

But you finally got the make-up class for the last group of soldiers scheduled. You ignored the fact that Logan followed you to class, taking a seat back behind you. 

That class went off without a hitch, which… was good. It was. It was a good thing.

Even if the continued good behavior of the soldiers meant you were that much closer to being done with your job here. Really, there were just a few things left on your to-do list.

You tried hard not to feel disappointed about that.

Especially when the order from LoveSac arrived. That was a big item off your list. You mostly watched as the pack (plus Logan) got the pieces set up in the rec room, although you did smile when Soap threw himself onto the finished product with a low groan. 

“Ye were right,” he mumbled, just barely audible to you. “This is great.”

You laughed quietly. “I’m glad you approve.” But the pang of your heart must not have been as concealed as you’d hoped - three heads swiveled to look at you: Ghost, Price, and Logan. “You lot should get comfortable, make it feel more like home,” you said, quickly looking away from the shifters. “Soap’s got the right idea, take a nap.” 

Your phone ringing gave you the perfect excuse to escape, which you took. Your feet moved on autopilot as you listened to the woman on the other end of the call, making the appropriate noises at the appropriate times. 

You weren’t even surprised when you found yourself outside. It was just that kind of day, clearly. It couldn’t just be one thing, it had to be multiple things at once. You thanked the woman softly and hung up. 

Briefly, you debated climbing up onto the roof of the barracks again. But you dismissed the thought. Not this time. You needed to actually start tackling this problem. 

“Bad news?”

You yelped, fumbling your phone as you whirled to face Price. “I swear I’m going to put a fucking bell on you.” 

“Sorry.” This time he actually sounded like he meant it, hands out at his sides, eyes very blue before you yanked your gaze back down to your phone. 

“It’s fine.” You blew out a breath, leaning over to grab your phone and wipe it off, avoiding looking at him. 

“What happened?” He shifted closer, slowly, carefully. 

“Nothing I can’t handle.” You shrugged off his concern with a little smile. “Don’t worry about it.” 

He chuckled quietly, taking another step closer to you. “I’m the alpha,” he rumbled, “which means it’s my job to worry.”

You huffed something almost a laugh. “I suppose so.” You rubbed one hand over your face, pressing your thumb and forefinger into your eyes until stars burst in the darkness under your eyelids. “Apparently, there was a fire in my apartment complex and the whole thing is closed off pending investigation. There was some damage to my apartment, but I have no idea how much.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Price murmured, low and gentle and closer than you expected. “Do you need to go?”

“No, won’t do me any good.” You let your hand drop back to your side, blinking a few times to get rid of the last few spots in your vision. “Besides, I’m almost done here.”

“That so?” He tipped his head at you.

“Yeah.” You shrugged. “The LoveSac was the last big thing. Just need to do another day or two of observing everyone, and then I can sign off on everything.” 

“So you’re a day or two away from being done with this job.” He crossed his arms loosely over his chest. 

“Yes.”

“Stay here.”

You blinked up at him, sure you’d misheard him. “...What?” 

“Stay here,” he offered again, watching you closely. “For as long as you want.”

“But I’m not military,” was the first thing out of your mouth. You were still a little bit in shock.

“I’ll take care of that.” One big hand settled over the back of your neck, warm and soothing. “Think about it, hm? All you have to do is tell me yes or no.” 

“Okay,” you agreed quietly, a little bewildered still. “I will… let you know.” 

He nodded, squeezing gently. You could have melted. Your eyes fluttered closed and you had to force them back open again, holding steady against him. “Call me John.” 

You blinked, eyes blowing wide. “Okay. John.” 

“Come back inside,” he suggested, ever so gently tugging you forward. “Join the boys. Relax a bit, eh?” 

You thought about resisting, about writing up the report that you really should be working on, about the half-dozen other little things you could do. Thought about the big things that needed doing too, like finding a new apartment.

And then you gave in with a sigh. “Yeah, alright,” you agreed, allowing the comforting warmth of his hand at the nape of your neck to guide you forward. “For a little while.” 

Price - John - didn’t relinquish his grip on you until you were back in the rec room. Logan was gone, but you didn’t have time to ask where he’d gone, because Soap got up from the LoveSac to grab you from John. 

“Ye alright?” he asked, tucking you under his arm easily as he guided you to the napping spot. 

“Getting there.” You shrugged, unwilling to go into things again. You were busy shoving your feelings down. 

Soap nodded, searching your expression, before he grinned. “Hey, LT. Incoming.” 

You had approximately a second to think oh shit before Soap tumbled you over the back of the couch, somehow avoiding Gaz. 

And landing you right in front of the cheetah.

Ghost simply blinked at you languidly, nose twitching as he sniffed you. You blinked back at him, holding very still. Not that you really thought he’d do anything to hurt you, but still. 

You did startle when he laid half-across you, purring. Oh. Oh that was really kind of nice, actually. The purring was soothing, and the weight of him was nice (since he wasn’t fully laying on you), and it was all too easy to go lax. 

“Ye never purr like that at me,” Soap grumbled, pout clear in his voice. 

“Hush.” That was John, soft but still in charge. 

There was a little grumble and then Soap flopped over around you, his head near yours and his body curled to fit into the free space around you. Which you noticed when you opened one eye to look at him, curious. 

“Alpha-mandated nap time,” Soap murmured with faux-gravitas, eyes twinkling. “Ghost reinforced.”

You snorted and closed your eye again. “Guess so,” you agreed softly. You felt the couch dip near your feet and someone tugged your shoes off. But you didn’t bother checking this time. Didn’t matter if it was Gaz or John - either way you were safe and warm, and still had a purring cheetah laying on you. 

Really, there was nothing for you to do but relax, soothed to sleep by the gentle rumbling. 

You had no idea how long you slept, but you woke to gentle nudging, and blinked blearily. You were still surrounded by warmth, although Ghost was no longer laying on you. 

“Time to get up,” John murmured, low and rumbling. 

You wrinkled your nose, sitting up slowly. “Time ‘s it?” 

“Almost dinner time.” John gave you a bit of space, watching as you cracked your neck and blinked several times. 

“Right.” You puffed out a breath. Ghost blinked at you from his spot on top of Soap, ears flicking towards you. “If you ever want an alternate career, I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever fallen asleep,” you joked. 

Ghost snorted at you, one paw batting at you, slowly, playfully. He was even being careful of his claws. Aw, he did like you! 

John offered you a hand up to get off the couch, which you accepted. Gaz handed over your shoes, and you left with the two of them, giving Soap and Ghost time. 

Somehow, you were still surprised when the two shifters coordinated to seat you between them. 

At some point, you were going to have a massive freak out about this. You could tell. 

But not today.

You did beg off after dinner, though, going to take a shower and do a bit of actual work. That report wasn’t going to write itself.

Not that you were using work as an excuse not to think about what you wanted. Of course not. You’d never. 

But when your vision blurred and the words ran together on the screen, you finally gave up, pressing your palms against your eyes. 

Maybe you should take a vacation. Maybe you should finish up here and go back to Canada with Logan for a little while. Get some space to clear your head, examine everything objectively. Take some space to decide if this was really a good idea. Logan would let you stay with him, he always did. 

Plus that would give you a chance to get your living situation figured out, since your current apartment was no longer viable. 

You groaned softly, pushing your palms harder into your face. No. No more thinking about this tonight. You needed sleep, not an anxiety spiral. 

Even so, it took you a while to fall asleep, schedule knocked out of whack from the nap earlier and your own stress.

So of course someone pounding on your door far too early in the morning had you jolting out of bed, bleary-eyed, head pounding angrily with the lack of sleep. You yanked the door open, teeth bared, ready to rip a new hole into whoever woke you up.

Only to be rudely pushed past as Logan made his way into your room, uninvited. 

“Get dressed,” he ordered, giving you a quick once over. “We’re going out.”

“Where?” The word was still grouchy but you were already closing the door, aware this was not an argument you would win. 

“Outside.” 

You flashed your teeth at him, thoroughly unimpressed, but got dressed anyway. 

Logan didn’t speak again until the two of you were outside, starting a patrol of the perimeter. It was completely unnecessary, considering this was an active base, but clearly Logan needed it. 

“Are you staying?”

You nearly stopped out of surprise, blinking at him. “What?” 

Logan shot you a look that said all kinds of derogatory things about your intelligence. “He offered you a place here. Are you going to stay?” 

“I don’t–” You sighed, short and sharp. “I haven’t decided.” 

“You’re being stubborn.”

“It’s more complicated than that and you know it.” You narrowed your eyes at him.

“Is it?” Logan shook his head, steering you along. “You like them. You trust them. You’ve been given an offer to stay.”

“I still have things back home to take care of,” you shot back. “It would make doing my job more difficult. They’re gone I don’t even know how much.” 

“People make it work all the time.” Logan shrugged. “If you want it, you’ll make it work. If you don’t, let ‘em down easy and come back with me.” 

“I was thinking of taking a bit of time off to think about it.”

“Nope.” Logan snorted, shaking his head. “You’ll use the space to procrastinate on making an actual decision and run away.”

You narrowed your eyes at Logan. “Rude,” you growled. But he wasn’t exactly wrong, was the thing. 

"So. Do you want it?" Logan stopped the two of you beside a pond, looking out over the water. He at least gave you a bit of space by not looking at you. 

You blew out a hard breath. Did you want it? Yes. But you didn't know if it was the right call, if it was a good call. You could probably think of a thousand reasons why you shouldn't. 

A hand in your pocket jerked you out of your musings, and you had just enough time to look at Logan in outrage before he shoved you. Hard. 

You shrieked as you fell. Straight into the pond. Cold water enveloped you, briefly filling your mouth until you touched the bottom and failed your way back up to the surface. And spat out the water. 

"FUCK!" You whipped your head around to glare at Logan, dripping and cold. "LOGAN!" 

“It’s a simple yes or no question, kid.” Logan stood above you, your phone safely in his hands.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” You started up the bank and out of the pond… only to halt when Logan got in your way.

“No snowbanks here,” he drawled. “You gonna answer the question?” 

“No, I don’t think I will.” You stepped to the side, intending to go around him.

And ended up falling straight back into the water. 

This time, Logan started talking while you were wiping the water from your eyes, ignoring the chill seeping through your skin. 

“They’re not like your foster parents, kid. You know that.”

You froze half-way through trying to climb out. Shouted words and slamming doors echoed in your head, and for a moment you felt very small. Then you shook yourself, lips twisting in a grimace. “I know that,” you spat. “Also, which fucking foster parents?”

“All of them.” Logan tucked your phone in his pocket so he could cross his arms over his chest. “They’re not gonna get sick of you and give up on you, kid.”

Your heart ached at that. The water was looking very tempting again, suddenly. You could just walk away from this absolute train wreck of a conversation. 

“What are you doing?” You looked at Logan, hands clenched into fists to hide the trembling. 

“Knocking you outta your own stubborn head.” Logan kept his gaze steady on you. “I can do this all day, kid.”

And he could. You knew because you’d tested him only once as a teen. 

Guess you were having a conversation about your traumas this morning. 

“You know I’m no good at this.”

“No shit.” Logan snorted. “You never have been.”

You glowered at him. “This kind of shit doesn’t just go away because you keep throwing me in the pond.”

“Nope. Gotta work at it.” Logan finally glanced away from you, smirking. “Figured you’d have some help with that.”

You turned slowly, a horrible sinking feeling in your gut. 

And locked eyes with John.

[trickphotography2]

Santa's North Island Delivery Service

Stuck at work, Bradley is missing his daughter's first Christmas Eve. But when the squadron decides to turn the hanger into Santa's Workshop, the pilot is able to sneak away to spend a little time with his girls. (Inspired by a true story; Rooster x Reader Christmas fluff)

Word count: 2.4K

Ao3 | Masterlist

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Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw was officially having the worst Christmas Eve. Not only was he stuck at work doing absolutely nothing, he was missing his daughter’s first Christmas Eve. 

With his boots kicked onto his desk, he leaned back in his chair and scrolled through the photos you’d sent him throughout the night. At eight months old, Bennett was too young to really know what was going on, but it didn’t make it suck any less. He wanted to see her lying under the tree, colored lights reflecting in her eyes. (He’d already set that picture as his home screen.)

“Hey, Lieutenant?” A knock on his door drew his attention, and he looked up to see Petty Officer Second Class Wagner, one of the head mechanics, standing there. 

“Yeah?” Rooster said, sitting up. Even though he outranked the enlisted man, Wagner was one of the most respected non-commissioned officers in the squadron. To cheer up the men stuck working the night shift, he’d organized a movie night after doing a Christmas movie bracket throughout the week - National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation had barely edged out Die Hard. 

“You got anything at home that needs to be assembled before going under the tree?” 

“Huh?” 

“Any gifts for the kiddo that need to be put together? We’re getting a list of stops together for the trucks.” Rooster gave him a confused look, which made the man chuckle. “We’re bored, so we figured we’d set up some presents for everyone’s kids in the hangar. The first group of guys are heading out now to get stuff, and then we’ll swap.”

“Oh, uh… yeah, I think there’s a couple things. Let me check with my girlfriend.” With a nod, Wagner left, leaving Rooster to stare at his phone. After a moment, he called you.

“Hey, babe,” you said, answering on the third ring. He could hear babbling in the background.

“Hey. Have you started getting things together to go under the tree?”

“Not yet. We’re just finishing up bath time, and then we’re gonna get cookies out for Santa and go to bed, aren’t we, Benny girl?” 

“Any chance you can hold off for about an hour?” Bradley asked, unable to keep from smiling at the sound of his daughter giggling. 

“Are you getting off work early?” It was hard to miss the sound of hope and excitement in your voice, and he hated to dash it.

“No, but I’m gonna run home and pick up some stuff.” You hummed.

“Okay. I’ll try and keep her up. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Alright, love you.”

“Love you too.” Hanging up the call, Bradley dropped his head and tapped the phone against his forehead. It was only your second Christmas together and the first as parents, and he was already missing things. You’d assured him it was okay and that you understood that his job sometimes meant spending time apart, but he hated it. 

“You’re a mean one, Benny Grinch,” you sang, gently bouncing your daughter as she howled. Letting your head fall back, you blew out a long breath. The crying fit couldn’t last forever. 

Though overly tired, she was fighting against going to sleep. It was a nightly battle, but one that Bradley usually helped to fight. You’d learned early on that he had what you lovingly called the Sleeper Hold - the minute Benny was tucked into her father’s arms, her eyes would start to close. Shifting her onto your shoulder, you glanced at your watch and sighed. As much as you wanted to wait to finish the bedtime routine until Bradley got home, it was getting late. “Alright, sweetie,” you cooed, grabbing your water bottle and retreating to the nursery. “Let’s get settled in.”

With the white noise machine and night light on, you settled into the rocking chair and lifted your shirt. Benny rooted for a moment before latching onto your nipple, making you inhale sharply at the pinch. Digging your toes into the carpet, you gently rocked back and forth, holding your daughter’s gaze as she ate. “Merry Christmas, Bennett,” you whispered, stroking her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed as she grunted. You closed your eyes, comforted by the warm weight of your daughter in your arms and the tugging at your breast.

“Hey.” The soft, raspy voice roused you from the trance you’d fallen into, and you lifted your head to see Bradley standing in the doorway.

“Hey,” you replied sleepily. His long legs ate up the space between you until he was beside you, leaning down to press his lips to your forehead. The familiar scratch of his mustache had your eyes fluttering closed again. 

“She done?” Bradley asked, a large hand coming down to cup your daughter’s head. 

“Should be soon.” At his touch, Benny startled from her doze, suckling hard and squirming. 

“You need anything?” 

“The sleeper hold in a minute to finish her off.” In the dim lighting, you saw Bradley grin before he leaned down again to brush his lips against yours. 

“I can do that.” As if on cue, Bennett released your breast, her breath a soft pant against your tender skin. Without a word, Bradley took her and settled her on his shoulder, patting her back. “Hey, Benny, were you good for mommy tonight?” He paced the nursery as you reached for one of the breast pads and cleaned up. When a loud burp sounded, you heard him chuckle. “That’s my girl.” 

You took a moment to appreciate the sight before you - your boyfriend in his tight khaki uniform cooing to your daughter as she rubbed her face into his shoulder to fight sleep. “How long do you have before you have to head back?”

“I’ve got about thirty minutes,” Bradley replied, turning on his heel to face you while pacing the room. “Benny girl, the sooner you go to sleep, the sooner Santa comes.”

“I’m not sure she’s old enough for that bribery to work yet.” His grin blinded as he kissed the back of her head, lightly bouncing her. 

“Gonna be fun when she is. We’ll track him with NORAD and everything.” Shaking your head, you stood and kissed both of their cheeks.

“You get her down, and I’ll start pulling out the gifts.”

“Put aside anything that needs to be put together or wrapped, and I’ll take it to the hanger. Apparently, that’s what we’re gonna do for the rest of the shift.” With a mocking salute, you left the nursery to the sound of him humming a lullaby. 

Ten minutes later, Bradley crept out of the nursery with the baby monitor in hand and joined you in grabbing the presents stashed around the house. The Daggers had dropped off their gifts throughout the week, and your family had mailed theirs. The craftsman that you’d helped Bradley purchase when he moved to North Island didn’t have the best hiding spots - it wasn’t exactly something he needed when you’d been his real estate agent - but with Benny so little, it was a problem for the future. “I think we may have overdone it,” you sighed, setting an unwrapped toy on the couch. The floor by the tree was already covered with wrapped presents.

“Nope, just enough,” Bradley chuckled, opening his arms. With a scoff, you stepped into his embrace, smiling as he swayed you. A dark spot decorated his shoulder, and you gently wiped away your daughter’s drool. “Gotta spoil my girls.”

“I really hope you kept to our budget for each other.” When he stayed silent, you pulled away and cocked an eyebrow. “Bradley Bradshaw, you stayed within the budget, right?” 

“I stayed within our Christmas budget,” he answered, his hands gliding down your back to cup your ass as his mustache tickled your throat. “Love you, baby.” 

“I love you too. Now, help me get all of this stuff under the tree. Did you want to do her stocking?” 

There was a whoop, and Bradley turned to see three guys crouched on the hanger floor cheering as they played with a racetrack. Another corner had been designated as the bike assembly space, an array of tools spread on the ground. One of the card tables had been dragged out from the break room, and it was covered with popcorn and an assortment of cookies. 

Unsure of where to go, Bradley walked towards a few other officers standing in the corner. “Hey, Rooster,” Captain “Taco” Bell said as he neared. “We were just talking about ordering pizza for everyone. Would you throw in?” 

“Yeah. Does anyone know if there’s a system here, or does it just go wherever?” 

“Wagner’s in charge,” Payback shrugged, nodding towards the NCO helping assemble a kitchen playset. “You got stuff for Benny?” 

“Just a few things. Brought some of the smaller stuff to wrap, too.” The two men quickly went to the Bronco to unload the gifts. Setting them in a pile with a couple of rolls of wrapping paper, they quickly assembled the play sets. A few other guys drifted by, helping to slot the plastic pieces together or offering to help wrap. Boxes piled up on one end of the hanger, and a sign-up sheet for folks who had larger gifts at the house that needed to be assembled was passed around. It looked like at least six families were getting swingsets or trampolines. Bradley idly wondered about setting up a swing in the backyard in the summer. In the meantime, he assembled the small slide that would be perfect for the living room.

The pizza arrived around 10:00PM, and there was a quick break. As they sat around the hangar, the Santa letter exchange happened. Wagner supplied blank papers with a printed Christmas border, and the parents swapped letters for others to write the replies. “This saved my ass one year,” Wagner shared. “My middle daughter was starting to question Santa, and boom - different handwriting. Got her for at least another year.” 

Around midnight, the squadron split into three sections - one to stay back and clean up the hanger, and two to deliver gifts and set up the presents. Bradley packed up his gifts and put them into the back of the Bronco. He was joined by three guys to set up a trampoline. Aided by headlamps, they were able to get it done in about an hour with only a few pinched fingers in the process, which was worth it to test it out. 

A trampoline was added to the Christmas list when Benny was a bit older. 

After touching base with Wagner, they headed to the second house to set up another trampoline before returning to the hangar. The third team left to assemble a swingset while they settled in to watch Die Hard for their last two hours on shift. 

Tucked away in his office, Bradley set about wrapping his last present. 

“Benny girl, look here!” you cooed, trying to get your daughter to look as you snapped pictures. Sitting in her father’s lap, she slapped the present in front of her and shrieked. Bradley laughed, quickly shifting his hold to wipe the drool from his wrist onto his sweatpants before retrieving his cup of coffee. Even with just two hours of sleep, he wasn’t willing to push back Christmas morning. After taking a sip, he set the mug down and took Benny’s hand, sliding it under the paper seam. Her hand flew up, ripping the paper.

“Good girl!” he chuckled, helping her tear the rest away to reveal stacking cups. It took about an hour to get through the presents, trading off the baby to get pictures. 

A small stack of presents surrounded you as Bradley opened his new electric razor. “Thanks, baby,” he said, crawling across the living room floor to kiss you. With one hand on Benny’s stomach to keep her upright in your lap, you cupped his cheek and ran your thumb along his scars.

“You’re welcome, babe. Merry Christmas.” 

“Merry Christmas.” Pushing onto his feet, he quickly shoved the wrapping paper into the trash bag and ran a hand through his hair. “That looks like almost everything.”

“Unless Santa left something somewhere in the back of a closet, it looks like we got it all.” 

“Hang on,” Bradley said, reaching around the back of the tree and retrieving a small box. “Looks like we missed one.” Holding it up, he glanced at the gift tag. “To Mommy, from Bennett.” 

“What?” Grinning, he sat down across from you and offered you the box, holding out his arms for the baby. A quick glance confirmed it was Bradley’s handwriting on the tag. “What’d you get me, Benny?” you asked, smiling as your daughter laughed when her father tickled her. Lifting it to your ear, you shook it gently and heard it rattle. Tearing away the paper, you laughed at the kid’s jewelry box. The ballerina twirled when you opened it to reveal a bunch of plastic necklaces, rings, and bracelets. “Oooh, fancy! I know what I’m wearing today,” you laughed, quickly putting on a pair of clip-on earrings and a necklace. 

“There’s a note,” Bradley said, leaning down to press his lips to Benny’s head. He looked a bit nervous.

And there was. Buried under the plastic was a folded-up piece of paper. Your mouth fell open when you read it.

I couldn’t get you jewelry this year, but Daddy could.

With wide eyes, you looked up to see Bradley grinning at you. “Open the drawer.” 

Slowly, you pulled the handle to reveal a diamond ring. “Bradley?”

“Will you marry me?” 

Later, when Bennett was asleep and the baby monitor was tossed onto the couch, Bradley watched the Christmas tree lights dance across your face as he took you apart slowly, savoring your taste. The ring sparkled on your finger when you pressed a hand to your mouth to muffle your moans as you shook apart under him, thighs bracketing his ears. 

Kissing his way up your body, Bradley paused to suck on a tender nipple, groaning when your nails raked his scalp. The tree shook when he continued his ascent, knocking the lower branches as he tried to reach your lips. “Fuck.” 

Laughing, you lifted your head to meet his gaze and wiped your thumb along his mustache, feeling your arousal coating the coarse hair. “Merry Christmas, Daddy.”

“Merry Christmas, Mama. Now get out from under the tree so I can unwrap my present in bed and fuck you properly.” 

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Author's Note: This was inspired by my dad and his squadron when we were stationed in Japan. He had to work overnight Christmas Eve and they ended up making a run to everyone's house on base to pick up gifts that needed to be set up. I definitely believed in Santa for another year when I didn't recognize the handwriting on the letter the Christmas morning.

The jewelry box and note are also pulled from real life. Dad went remote for a year (he was over in Korea and we were stateside) to ensure that we got orders to Florida, and came back just in time for Christmas. My sisters and I got mom the fake jewelry (we were all in high school/college) while Dad got Mom a new necklace.

Thank you for reading my (late) self-indulgent Christmas fic! I hope you enjoyed it, and my first foray into writing Rooster. And a major thank you to @mamachasesmayhem for encouraging me to write this, even if she's just dipping her toes into Bradley and would have preferred it to be Jake 😂

[brienneoftarth1989]

“Please, if you can, make one where Larissa doesn’t know, but the reader is too weak to drink, and when she gets drunk, touch Larissa and she takes responsibility for inviting the reader for a few glasses of wine, and just let her passion secret to touch her however you want. Larissa has a penis” - G4bE train wreck on A03

I Need Your Touch NSFW

Larissa Weems x fem reader

Summary: you are such a lightweight when it comes to drinking but you couldn’t turn the opportunity down when Larissa invites you to her office for a couple of glasses of wine. The drinks go straight to your head and your touchy side comes out.

Warnings: shifted cock, cunnilingus, teasing, fingering, soft, mentions of alcohol, smut

Request open

———————————

You have been working at Nevermore Academy for a little under a year now. As an outcast yourself you never thought you would be able to find a teaching job where you could express your true identity. That was until you found Nevermore. You immediately checked to see if there were any vacancies and low and behold there was.

You applied for one of the jobs that you would be suitable for and a few weeks later you were working at the new school. You had a very close relationship with your students and your colleagues but there was one person you just couldn’t seem to stop thinking about. The Principal herself just wouldn’t leave your mind.

You also believed that Larissa had also caught on to how you felt about her. At first you would be able to gaze and admire her from a distance and not get caught but now everytime you even look in her direction she always seems to know you're watching. You always get caught.

Then the flirting started. As your friendship grew closer and stronger the level of flirting increased. At first it started out with the occasional long glances and the odd lingering touch when your hands accidentally touched. But now it’s the constant lip biting when you are around each other as well as the lingering touches becoming more frequent as well as lasting longer than is appropriate for ‘friends’.

Although this behaviour continued to this very day neither of you have done anything about it. You both seem to be keeping things entirely professional, scared that you both might cross each other's boundaries. That was until one fateful day.

The school day had officially ended and you were sitting in your classroom checking your emails and grading some work that you needed to give back to your students tomorrow in class. You had a couple of emails from students which you responded to first. Most of them just ask questions about the assignments you had set for them. You always prioritise your students as you want them to do well.

You then check the emails from your colleagues. One of them was emailing over the plans for an upcoming school outing and the other was talking about a change in the timetable and they just wanted to clarify with you that it was right. You then refresh your emails to see no new ones come through. Happy with the lack of new emails you closed your laptop and started grading your students' work.

After about 45 minutes of marking their work you heard your phone bing. You grabbed your phone and had a quick glance at the notification. It was from gmail informing you of a new notification. You sighed as you placed your phone back on your desk and opened your laptop back up.

You open your emails to see the new email had in fact come from Larissa. You face lit up immediately and you were quick to open the email to see what it said.

Evening y/n,

Hope all is going well. I have a spare evening tonight and a couple bottles of wine that I won’t finish myself. So I was wondering if you would like to join me?

Don’t feel obligated to come but if you would like to come see me come meet me in my office at 20:00 this evening. I hope to see you soon.

Larissa x

All you could do was smile to yourself. Thee Larissa Weems has invited you to her office this evening for a glass or twice of wine. This was the first time Larissa had invited you to her office after hours so you didn’t really know what to expect. Either way though you were excited and looking forward to the evening ahead of you.

You closed your laptop and finished marking the work that you were currently working on. You placed the remainder of the students' work in the top drawer of the desk before grabbing your laptop and locking up your classroom for the evening.

You then made your way to your room to get ready for the evening ahead of you. It was currently 18:00 which meant you had two hours to get yourself sorted and ready before heading to see Larissa. What were you even supposed to wear? You didn’t even know if this was something friendly or something more.

You definitely didn’t want to overdress but at the same time you didn’t want to underdress. This was definitely going to be a long evening especially if you were reading this all wrong. You decided to have a quick shower which meant you had time to think about what you wanted to wear.

Before you jumped in the shower you played one of your spotify playlists on shuffle. The first song that came on was Long Live. The songs continued to shuffle as you washed your hair and did your skin care routine. Once out of the shower you went to go and dry your hair. You styled it so it was half up and half down letting the waves of your hair really show. Once your hair was done you did some light makeup before making your way to your wardrobe to choose an outfit.

After having a look at the range of clothes in the wardrobe and trying a few on you finally decided to go with a white button up tank top, some black ripped skinny jeans and a dark green raglan open front cardigan. You then paired the outfit a black round buckle belt. You then had a quick glance in the mirror to confirm you were happy with your final choice.

The only thing you could do was smile in the mirror. You loved it and you knew that Larissa definitely was going to love your outfit. You just hope that you weren’t reading this all wrong. You glanced over at the clock and it was now 19:30. Alright you had half an hour to kill so you chilled on your phone scrolling through social media.

The time went by relatively quickly and before you knew it was 19:55. You grabbed your phone and had one final glance in the mirror making sure you still looked good. You locked the door to your room before making your way to Larissa’s office. It didn’t take long to feel the butterflies start to build up inside of you.

It wasn’t long before you were standing outside the doors to Larissa’s office. You knocked on the large oak doors and waited for Larissa to allow you into her space. “Come in y/n” you heard Larissa speak from the otherside of the door. You opened the door and walked into her glorious office.

The sight in front of you was absolutely breathtaking. Larissa sat on her fabric sofa in front of the fireplace with two glasses and two bottles of wine. Larissa looked over at you and all she could do was smile at you. “Come sit y/n, these bottles of wine aren’t going to drink themselves” she giggled slightly.

You walked over to Larissa and sat down on the sofa leaving a respectable amount of space between the two of you. She poured you both a drink before leaning back into her sofa. “So how have you been today?” she asked you.

You had a sip of your drink before answering her question. “I’ve had a relatively good day. My students got on with their work, all their assignments were handed in on time for once, I got a lot of my marking done and now I’m sitting here with you so I can quite easily say I've had a great day. How has your day been though?” you asked as you had another sip of wine.

“My day has been quite stressful trying to organise the upcoming school outings but I’m definitely glad you decided to join me for a glass of wine tonight. It will definitely keep my mind distracted from this work load” she laughed slightly.

“Haha I definitely know that feeling and I'm definitely glad you invited me to your office for a glass of wine. It’s nice to be able to hang out after work and not have it be work related” you said to Larissa as you glanced over to her.

The night continued on and one glass turned into another which turned into another. This was such a bad idea yet you were having such a great time. It wasn’t very often that you drank alcohol so when you did it normally went straight to your head. You also learnt that when you did get drunk you had a habit of getting very touchy with the person you were with.

You had no ill intentions, it's just that physical touch is your love language and it was your way of expressing that and there was definitely a very high chance of that happening tonight considering you were drunk and with Larissa who you had an extreme crush on. As the evening went on you found yourself getting closer and closer to Larissa.

The flirting was clear as day now and Larissa could tell that the alcohol had gone straight to your head. Did she really care? No but that was because she was also tipsy. The difference between the two of you was that Larissa could handle her drinks a lot better which meant she had a clearer head than you did.

As you had somehow made your way next to Larissa you decided to test the waters and rest your head on her shoulder. All Larissa could do was giggle at your boldness. She shuffled slightly before wrapping her arm around your body letting you huddle into her body. You sighed knowing that Larissa was allowing you to do this.

You decided to test the waters further as you let your hand travel down to hers tracing circles over the top of her hand. While you did this you turned your head slightly so you were to leave little kisses over her shoulder. You ever so slowly made your way further up her arm so you were leaving kisses on her neck.

Larissa adjusted her neck ever so slightly allowing you more room to continue what you were doing. As you continued to kiss her neck you let your hand move from her hand so it was now resting on one of her breasts. You started to massage her breast as you started to leave hickies on Larissa’s neck.

Larissa had not said anything. She hadn’t told you to stop and you took it all as a good sign. As you continued to touch the woman in front of you Larissa started to let out small whimpers due to the pleasure you were giving her. You were enjoying every moment of this and decided to test the water further. You let your hand slowly travel down her body so it was now resting just above her waist.

You were about to let your hand travel down further so you could lift up her dress slightly but she grabbed your hand leaving you frozen in place. Did she not want this? Have you done something wrong? Even though you were still very much drunk you could start to feel your mind start to sober up a little.

You looked up to see what was going on. You were half expecting Larissa to be looking down at you with disgust but she was giving you this care filled look instead. “What’s the matter?” you asked Larissa. “Nothing darling. Nothing at all but your drunk darling. I want this to happen trust me I do but we should both be in sober minds. I would hate for this to happen and then you regret it the next morning.

All you could let out a small whimper. You wanted Larissa so desperately. You wanted to ravish her and make her feel things that only you could provide her but instead she wanted to wait. You understood why but in the moment you didn’t really care, you just wanted her.

“I tell you what, how about we spend the night together, but just sleeping and maybe cuddling. If you still feel the same way tomorrow then we will do something about it. How does that sound?” she said to you. All you could do was sigh before giving her a response. “That sounds like a plan” you smiled before giving her a light peck on the lips.

Larissa responded to your kiss immediately. It didn’t take long before you ended up in her lap having a full on make out session. The kiss was passionate and you could spend the whole evening in her embrace. You were hoping that it would lead onto something more but it didn’t. Just as you were gonna let your hands wander her body she stopped you. “Come on you, let's get you to bed” she said, scooping you up and bringing you to her bedroom.

Larissa stripped you of your clothing leaving you in your undergarments before then putting one of her t-shirts on you. It was more like a dress on you but you were too drunk to really notice. Larissa got you to lay down in bed before putting the duvet over the both of you. As soon as your head hit the pillow you were out for the count. Nothing was going to wake you until morning.

Larissa laid in bed next to you just watching you sleep. How she wanted to spend the night properly with you it just wasn’t something she was able to do especially as you were both intoxicated. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you woke up the next morning regretting it all. It wasn’t long before Larissa fell asleep next to you holding you in a tight hug which caused you to unconsciously smile.

The next morning came round quicker than you both could imagine. You were the first to awake due to being blinded by the sunlight that was coming through the window. You groaned slightly not enjoying being woken up by this awful light. You turned over to get away from the sun to come face to face with a sleeping Larissa.

She was beautiful. She had no makeup on and her beautiful blonde hair was cascading down covering part of her face. All you could do was smile at the beautiful sight in front of you remembering everything that happened last night. You may get drunk quite quickly but 9 times out of 10 you always seemed to remember the night before.

You were definitely glad that you didn’t do anything last night just in case. You think it was more for Larissa’s peace of mind rather than anything else but now all you really wanted to do was show her the pleasure she was missing out on last night. You slowly leaned closer to her stroking the hair that was covering her face out of her way and tucking it behind her ear.

Your delicate touch caused the woman in front of you to start to stir in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open causing a smile to be plastered on her face when she saw you. “Morning darling” she whispered to you. “Morning” you smirked back at her just admiring the sight in front of you. “What are you smirking at? Do you even remember anything from last night? You had a lot to drink darling and you were pretty drunk” she said sitting up slightly.

“Oh I remember everything and I definitely remember you saying we would do something about this if I still remembered. So if it’s alright with you I would love to show you what you were missing out on last night” you said smirking as you lifted Larissa t-shirt over your head and chucking onto the floor.

Larissa moaned at the sight of you before grabbing you by the hips and pulling you body so you were both lying against each other. Larissa gently cupped your face before bringing you into a gentle kiss. The kiss was just as passionate as the night before. You also cupped Larissa’s face as your lips moved in sync. It was like they were meant to be together like a piece missing from a jigsaw puzzle.

The longer the two of you kissed the more desperate you both became for one another and there were too many pieces of clothing that were separating the two of you. You let your hands travel down her body grabbing the hem of her silk pyjama top before lifting it over her head.

You separated for a brief moment as the fabric stopped you both from kissing but it didn’t take long for your lips to find each other. You moaned into the kiss as you let you handle travel down her bare chest. As you massaged her breasts her hands travelled around your body lifting her shirt off your body before then unclasping your bra.

This whole time the only time the two of you stopped kissing was to breathe but just like drugs the two of you were addicted to one another and you never wanted to come down from this high. You pulled away from the kiss before resting your forehead on hers before gazing into her eyes. “Why did you stop?” she panted.

“Because there are so many other places I want to kiss other than your lips” you said smirking at the woman in front of you. You pulled back ever so slightly moving Larissa’s hair out of the way of her neck before leaving a couple of open mouth kisses on her neck before letting you tongue run the length of her neck from her collarbone to her jawline.

Larissa moaned at this action before adjusting her neck further to allow you to do whatever you pleased. You licked around her jawline before kissing her chin before gazing into her eyes and giving her another small kiss on her lips. Larissa was desperate to return the favour as she pushed you back ever so slightly so she could then repeat what you did to her on yourself.

As she did this she massaged your breasts which caused you to moan and whimper ever so slightly at her touch. Larissa left plenty of open mouth kisses in the crook of your neck as she continued to worship your body with her hands. Instinctively you were doing everything in your power to bring her as close to you as possible even though that was becoming near enough impossible.

You smiled at one another as Larissa worshipped your body. You decided that you have had enough in this position so you flipped the two of you around. You quickly removed your panties before sitting back down on the bed before having Larissa straddle your lap. You let your hands travel down her back before cupping at her arse and squeezing the hell out of it. This caused her to buck her hips and grind down into you which you definitely weren’t complaining about.

You couldn’t take it much longer with Larissa kissing your neck and having her grind down into your body. You needed to feel her, you needed to taste her, you just needed everything about her. You moved Larissa so she was now laying next to you allowing yourself to lay next to her so you were laying on your side. You nuzzled into the crook of her next once more as you let your hand travel down her body. Your hand slowly made its way down her torso over the patch of blonde curls and right to her hard throbbing clit.

You lazily drew circles over her throbbing clit watching her squirm under your touch. You continued to torture her clit before slowly rubbing the tip of your finger over her entrance slowly pushing a single digit in. Larissa gasped as you entered her. “Fuck y/n, please fuck me” she moaned out.

You complied with the tall beauty as you slowly started to pump your finger in and out of her. As you did this you rested your head on her chest and slowly started to tease her nipples with your tongue. She was a moaning mess and you could tell she was getting close. You could feel her walls clenching around your fingers.

You looked up at Larissa. “Cum for me baby, cum all over my fingers, I want to be able to lick them clean for you”. Your words sent Larissa into overdrive causing her to immediately cum all over your fingers. You let her ride out her orgasm before slowly pulling your fingers from her. You placed your fingers in your mouth and sucked them clean. All Larissa could do was look at you as she came down from her high.

“Why don’t I get my strap? I would love for you to dominate me” you said to Larissa as you crawled up her body. As you sat down on her lap you felt something hard poking at you. You looked down to see a girthy 8 inch cock attached to the woman in front of you. “Oh I don’t need a strap. One advantage of being a shift shifter darling” she smirked as she lined her cock up with your aching cunt slowly pushing herself inside of you.

You gasped as she pushed herself fully inside. “Fuck Larissa your so big. Let me adjust to you” you moaned as you huddled into her neck. After a minute of letting your body adjust, Larissa ever so slowly started to thrust up into your aching core. This felt amazing and you never wanted it to stop. “Faster Larissa!” you moaned into her ear.

Larissa immediately increased her pace as she thrusted up into you. You sat back as you rested your hands on each leg. The sight Larissa must have right now watching as her cock disappears in and out of you. You threw your head back as you felt yourself getting closer and closer to the edge.

“Are you getting close, baby?” she asked you. All you could do was moan out a somewhat coherent yes. “So I am a baby. Let's cum together. I can feel you getting close, I can feel you clenching around my throbbing cock. Cum for me baby! Cum all over me” she started screaming.

It was Larissa’s words that sent you over the edge. You screamed her name as you came which caused Larissa to release her load deep inside of you causing you to gasp as you felt her feel you up. You both slowly road out the orgasm before coming to a stop.

Laissa slipped out of you before shifting her anatomy back. You laid down to the woman next to you. “That was amazing Larissa. I knew I wouldn't regret anything” you whispered as you cuddled up next to her. “I know darling. How about we just chill and watch films for the rest of the day. For once I don’t have any important business to attend to” she laughed ever so slightly.

So that was exactly what you did, cuddled up together watching horror films and snacking on junk food.

[karmic-vibes]

The Doctor Nurse is In

one-shot inspired by this prompt, ft steve w glasses. enjoy.

cw: drug and alcohol use, vomit/general symptoms of being hungover

wc: 1.9k

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

———————————————————————

Steve had dreamed of being a nurse for as long as he could remember. Growing up, he’d tell everyone who would listen about his aspirations, and people always told him to dream bigger. 

“A smart, handsome man like you shouldn’t be a nurse. Try for doctor!”

“Have you considered getting a Ph.D instead?”

“Why nurse? It’s a job for chicks!”

Regardless of what he was told, he never listened. He stuck to his hopes and dreams, committed to four years of undergrad, and was now finishing up his clinicals.

During his rotations, he fell in love with emergency medicine, despite initially wanting to go into neurology.

Now, here he was. A fresh grad, finishing up clinicals before officially going for his R.N., and suffering through a rotating schedule, landing him doubles every other weekend.

In terms of Indiana hospitals, Hawkins Memorial was the best-of-the-best. People were shipped in from all over the state to be treated by their staff in all departments. It didn’t help that they were the only trauma hospital for miles, meaning all the chaos that went down in Indianapolis on the weekends got shipped up to them.

As Steve sat at the intake desk, completing some unfinished reports from the first half of the shift, dreaming of none other than his bed and pillow, he heard the 800-EMS radio go off. He slightly turned his head, paying half attention to it—another drunk was on their way in. He rolled his eyes, pushed his glasses further up on his nose, before resting his chin in his hand.

He began to doze off mid-report before Dr. Nancy Wheeler ran over to him, urging him into the trauma room. Steve shot up, stumbled out of his seat, and followed her down the hall.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked.

“You know that band that was performing at the Dome tonight?”

“I don’t necessarily know who they are, but yeah, I know there was a performance tonight. Why?”

“Well…” She slid open the door to find a half-conscious rockstar on the stretcher. “He’s out of his mind on god-knows-what and his agent was saying how he bit a bat during his performance.”

“What‽”

“Mhmm.”

“I… what?”

“Mmm…” The patient groaned, slowly stirring awake.

“We pushed twenty of narcan, so he’s slowly coming to.”

“You seem to have this covered… why do you need me?”

“Well, you’re babysitting him until he wakes up. Make sure he doesn’t choke on vomit or stop breathing or anything like that.”

“Uh… okay…”

“And I wanted to further prove your theory of only drunkards coming in on the weekends,” Dr. Wheeler smirked. “Call me if you need me. Security will be right outside the door. Let me know when he wakes up.”

“Can I at least go get my reports I need to finish?”

“I’ll have Joyce drop them off on her next set of vital rounds.”

“That’s not for another hour!” Steve whined.

“Watch him, Harrington. That’s an order.”

“Yes, doc,” Steve sighed, sitting in the uncomfortable hospital chair. He leaned over to glance at the patient’s bracelet. “Edward J. Munson. Well, Edward, we’re about to be buddy-buddy for the next seven hours,” Steve muttered to himself.

Steve sat back, watching the saline slowly drip in the chamber. He occasionally counted Eddie’s breaths by watching his chest rise and fall—god, he hated babysitting duty.

During Joyce’s next vitals round, she handed Steve his bundle of paperwork. He clicked his pen and continued where he left off. Joyce raised a brow at Steve before directing her attention to Edward.

“How’s he doing?” she asked.

“He’s fine—just drunk and probably high,” Steve mumbled, glaring at his papers. “Do you have the last set of vitals for room three?”

“Yeah, here.” She handed her notebook over to the boy.

“Thanks, Joycie, you’re my savior.”

“Hmm, I’m sure I am, Stevie,” she teased.

“How’s Will? Doing okay in school?” Steve asked, trying to make polite conversation.

“Yeah, he’s doing fine. Struggling a bit with making new friends.”

“Why? He’s such a sweet kid.”

“People keep teasing him, saying he’s gay, and ugh, it’s stupid.”

“I’m sorry, Joyce… that can’t be easy on him.”

“It’s okay. He’s a strong boy, he’ll make his way through it.” She sighed before taking Edward’s blood pressure. “Ready for his vitals?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Steve clicked his pen.

“Heart rate is one-twenty, blood pressure is one-ten over seventy-two, and respirations are–”

“Twelve, I know that one. Thanks, Joyce. I hope things get better with Will.”

“You and me both, sweetie. See you in two hours.”

“See ya.”

Steve poured his attention back into his mountain of paperwork for another hour or so before he heard Edward stir in his bed. He slowly blinked before muttering complete nonsense to himself.

“Morning, sunshine,” Steve said, scribbling down the time he woke up. He slid open the trauma room door and leaned against the doorframe. “Can you get Dr. Wheeler down here, please?” he asked the security guard.

“On it,” he said.

“Yer cute,” Edward chortled. He tilted his head, making it glaringly obvious he was checking out Steve’s ass in his scrubs.

“Mr. Munson–”

“Uck, so formal. Call m’Eddie,” he mumbled.

“Eddie, how’re you feeling?” Steve walked over and took his pulse.

“Better now th’I have a cute doctor to look at.”

“I’m not a doctor.”

“A nurse! Even better,” he chuckled.

“So, Eddie, do you remember what happened tonight?”

“Hehe,” he giggled to himself.

“Eddie?”

“I did some stuff.”

“What stuff?” Steve sighed in frustration.

“Drank some beer, did some drugs.”

“What kind of drugs?”

“Hmm,” he hummed.

“No judgement. What’d you take?”

“I dunno, dude,” he whined. “Will you go out with me?”

“No.”

“C’mon, cutie, go out w’me.”

“Sorry, I don’t go out with people who have rabies. It’s my best friend’s number one fear.”

“I have rabies…” Eddie‘s jaw dropped, drool pooling at the corners of his mouth. His pupils were still blown from whatever he took, and his eyes were glossed over.

“No, you don’t have rabies,” Dr. Wheeler said.

“Maybe, we’re still running some tests,” Steve added.

“You probably don’t have rabies,” she corrected. “Mr. Munson, I’m Dr. Nancy Wheeler, I’ll be your physician for the evening.”

“Why’s everyone so goddamn formal,” he scoffed. “‘m Eddie, pretty lady!”

“Yeah, you have fun with him, Stevie. Thanks for letting me know he’s awake. Let me know if anything else major happens.”

“Wait, I’m still stuck watching him‽”

“Yes, you are. Call me if anything changes.”

“Ugh,” Steve huffed, running his hands through his hair.

“You’re so mean, Steeevie,” Eddie snickered. Steve rolled his eyes before returning to his seat. “‘s okay, jokes on you, I’m very much attracted to evil.”

“I’m not evil,” Steve said.

“Whatever y’say, big boy.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Y’hear me,” Eddie hiccuped. “So why won’t you go out with me?”

“I already told you.”

“But why,” Eddie whined.

“One, you’re not sober. Two, you probably have rabies. Three, you’re my patient. It’s not happening.” Eddie started laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“Y’never said that ‘m not your type.”

“I… what?”

“I’m your type,” he teased.

“Please,” Steve scoffed, pink tinting his cheeks. “You have no idea what my type even is.”

“Yeah, I do. ‘s me.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Hmm,” Eddie hummed contently.

Steve ignored Eddie laughing to himself and went back to his paperwork. Eddie was moved to a regular E.R. treatment room shortly after, still needing Steve to babysit him. Around five in the morning, Steve managed to get all caught up on his patient care reports, and Eddie was in a deep sleep. He just had to ride out the last two dreadful hours of his shift.

Right around six, Eddie started to stir awake, moaning and groaning for something to throw up into. Steve rushed to hand him the basin on his bedside table. As Eddie spewed his insides into the pale pink bucket, Steve grabbed onto his hair, pulling it back into a bun.

“Thanks,” Eddie whimpered, spitting out some bile.

“No problem,” Steve said.

Eddie went back to heaving as Steve gently rubbed his back, trying desperately to soothe him. After five never-ending minutes, Eddie flopped onto his back, heaving, trying desperately to catch his breath.

“You okay?” Steve whispered, dampening a washcloth.

“Mm, been better,” Eddie groaned.

“C’mere.”

Steve gently held his chin in his hands as he cleaned up the vomit from the rockstar’s face. Eddie faintly smiled at him as a silent token of gratitude.

“Thanks…”

“Mhmm.”

Steve picked up the basin and threw it into the biohazard bin before removing his gloves and washing his hands. He ripped a few paper towels from the machine and leaned onto the counter.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

“Mm, I’m sure. Wanna tell me what you took last night?”

“Lord, I dunno. Some coke, some molly, and a joint… maybe two.”

“Fun night?”

“You could say that,” Eddie smirked.

“Do you know if the weed was laced with anything?”

“I know one had traces of fent or morphine. I dunno which one.”

“That explains why the narcan worked,” Steve sighed. “And to drink?”

“Dude, I dunno, I lost count. A lot.”

“And the bat?”

“That what?” Eddie mumbled.

“People said you bit into a bat.”

“Who the fuck told you that?”

“The doctor I work under and your manager-agent person.”

“No, I didn’t bite into a fucking bat. I’m sure I said I did, but I was so high, nothing I was saying was true.”

“Gotcha…”

Steve took a deep sigh as the words rang in his ears.

Nothing I was saying was true.

Did he not think Steve was cute? Did he not want to go out with Steve? Sure, Steve shot him down each time, but for once—since high school—someone found him desirable. He felt wanted.

Eddie quickly pulled Steve out of his thoughts by snapping and waving in his face.

“Hello?” Eddie raised a brow. “Earth to Stevie?”

“Yeah, sorry, what?”

“Nothing, you just zoned. Can I get some water?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. You want ice too?”

“Ice would be nice,” he smiled.

“I’ll be right back.”

Steve finished out his shift, handed care of Eddie over to the next person doing their clinical rotation and went home to his sweet, sweet bed. Two days later, he was back in the hospital for his next set of shifts—this time, however, they were during the week and during the day.

He had never been more relieved.

No more drunkards. No more babysitting. No more Eddie.

When his shift ended that fateful Wednesday night, he made his way out to his car to find a familiar face leaning against the driver’s side door, puffing away at a cigarette.

“Hey!” He cheered, throwing his cigarette to the asphalt.

“Uh… hi? Wh-What are you doing here, Eddie?”

“I wanted to apologize and say thanks… y’know, for Sunday night.”

“Oh, it was no problem. Literally just my job.” Steve nodded and stuck his hands in his scrub pockets.

“Can I buy you a drink? Just as a thank you—i-it doesn’t need to mean anything.”

“Y’know, a drink right now sounds lovely. Lead the way, Munson.”

“My pleasure, big boy.” Steve froze in his tracks, staring blankly at Eddie. “Don’t think I forgot everything from last night, Stevie.” He winked before opening the passenger door to his jet-black corvette for Steve. “After you, cutie.”

———————————————————————

taglist: @steviesbicrisis

a/n: may make a part two. not too sure yet. anyways, hope y’all enjoyed!

[iris-sistibly]

I look like shit right now, but hear me out: Episode 12 drove me NUTS!!!

📍For a moment, Hong Hae-in gave me a heart attack. I really thought that she wanted to spare Hyun-woo the heartache of her not being able to recognize him anymore and just went with Eun-seong. My brain cells weren't brain cell-ing, of course she had other reasons...duh. But it is really terrifying that she has moments when she can't recognize what's real and what isn't. I do however love the part when she knew that she was with the real Hyun-woo. In any scene or in any situation they've been, Hyun-woo radiates that kind of warmth that makes Hae-in feel relieved, secured, and loved. That right there is, "The heart recognizes what the mind can't."

📍I forgot to include this in my last post because I was in a hurry to finish it, but I laud Kim Soo Hyun for doing a great job during the final scene of episode 11. You can instantly recognize that something felt off with the way "Hyun-woo" called Hae-in, like I said earlier, the real Baek Hyun-woo radiates so much warmth, meanwhile the fake Hyun-woo was cold and I can say that he made me feel uncomfortable. What an amazing performance KSH!

📍Hyun-woo and Hae-in using their baby's due date as their pass codes just means that they still think about him/her. 🤧 Oh that baby could have been so loved by them had they been given the chance.

📍Eun-seong's delusion is worsening. When he was confessing all of his bullshit to Hae-in, I was like...so what? So what if he fell for her first? If he kept her necklace all these years, if he had "loved" her all this time? The point is, HAE-IN DOESN'T LOVE HIM AND DOESN'T WANT TO BE WITH HIM!

📍All the while, I thought that Eun-seong is a dangerous man. Turns out Mo Seul-hee is far more unhinged than him. You can see in Eun-seong's eyes that he was taken aback when his mother confessed to being the person behind the deaths of the people who abused him as a child. Bitch wasn't kidding when she said that she'd go as far as eliminating Hae-in for using him, and Eun-seong may be dumb but not-so-dumb to not know what Seul-hee is capable of. I still feel like he's going to betray his own mother to save Hae-in by either helping Hyun-woo or helping Hae-in in his own twisted way.

📍BAEKHONG IN THEIR MARRIED COUPLE ERA!!! I love that Hae-in can now freely say what she truly feels about Hyun-woo and the hubs gushing when she said that she'd still marry him in any lifetime.

📍The sunset proposal was the reason why I had to pause because I was bawling my eyes out, I kid you not. Hae-in wanting to be officially Mrs. Hyun-woo again so badly but stopped herself because she knew her condition was worsening and she doesn't want to burden him anymore. She wants to spend the rest of her life with him but it's far from possible, she wants to be the wife Hyun-woo deserves but the future holds no guarantee. She was torn between following what her heart wants and not wanting to rip Hyun-woo apart more than she already has (because of her illness). It was such a heartbreaking scene that's why I was crying so hard.

📍And then, the writer and the director decided to shift the scene to Aunt Beom-ja and (future) new husband, the part when they were looking for (future) new hubby's mother and they were kinda like too close to each other, I was smiling because they looked so cute together so you can imagine that I was smiling from ear to ear with tears still running down my face. Also, I did mention before that Aunt Beom-ja is a more unhinged version of Hae-in, actually...auntie and future new hubby are kinda like the older version of BaekHong, only crazier and more chaotic.

📍Da-hye finally realizing that she sided the wrong people. I'm just glad that she was able to get out safely and return to the Hongs. But I am so proud of Soo-cheol for manning up and defending Da-hye and baby Geon-u, he's really growing up 🥹.

📍But I didn't really expect that Hong Man-dae aka grandpa Hong would make such a huge sacrifice to save his family. He was an idiot for trusting Mo Seul-hee but I never wanted him dead. He didn't even get to see his family before passing (except Hae-in but it wasn't like a happy reunion) which was so fucking tragic. Though, I do hope that Papa Hong would finally have the courage to step-up as the head of the family, he's their pillar now and they need him more than ever.

📍Can we talk about the last clip for a bit? I know the show apparently loves to give us viewers cliffhangers and mind boggling shit but I'm overthinking rn. What if they found nothing in the panic room? Or Yoon Eun-seong found it first? This story is unpredictable, anything could happen, but what I do know is that Hae-in is gonna wear the ring Hyun-woo gave her in the next episode. Iykyk.

📍THE EPILOGUE!!! BaekHong has crossed paths many times already and in those times Hyun-woo has saved Hae-in. They're really meant for each other!!

[tabithatwo]

fics and posts of note!

if yellowjackets enthusiast is my second job (it is) then, within that, fic writing is my day job and tumblr rambling is my moonlighting, so here's easy access to my fics and to my more involved posts!

current status: okay SO i absolutely feel the need to try and finish abmb before s3 airs. so i am going to try and whip out the last (3? 4?) chapters of that before updating my other WIPs. that said i never actually know what i'm going to do until it's happening so who knows! i'm just glad my six month abmb hiatus has officially been ended with that last update <3 and my personal life has chilled some, so i am writing again <3 —9/21

likely order of updates: abmb, fences, resurrection —9/21

works in progress

x always be my baby (~350k)

All the living yellowjackets are forced together when someone decides to unearth their past. Tensions rise, past relationships are revealed, and new ones are forged in a reunion that no one asked for (except maybe Misty).

explicit / post-s1 canon-divergence / primarily adult timeline

x fences need mending (~38k)

Every decision that Jackie and Shauna had ever made—together and separately, in anger and in love, for themselves and for each other—had led them to this exact moment, a dreary October morning in the intensive care unit of NewYork-Presbyterian.

explicit / no crash au / dual timeline

x we practice resurrection every night (~22k)

A series of moments based pre, during, and post 1996 canon, centered around Jackie and Shauna, accounting for the huge, rippling impact of one small change: the Holmdel bust goes differently. Shauna ends up walking home with Jackie instead of Jeff.

explicit / jackie lives au / slice of life

complete (multichap)

x she shines me up like gold (~12k)

Jackie convinces Shauna to wear something a little different than her usual to Van and Taissa's Halloween party.

explicit / no crash au / mid-twenties

x you're just a bee charmer (~53k)

When Jeff dumps Jackie right before winter break, Shauna decides she's willing to do pretty much anything to keep them broken up. Jackie just wants to feel wanted, so what harm can a few messages from a new account really do?

explicit / no crash au / shifted ten years (they graduate in 06, rather than 96)

x just unzip me (~32k)

Shauna is the maid of honor in the Taylor-Sadecki wedding, but on the big day both the bride and the groom have a confession to make.

explicit / no crash au / set in 2004-2006

series

x prolong the night

explicit / jackie lives au / especially twisted

x (pt 1) no one knows what dawn will come (~12k)

Shauna helps warm Jackie up and, months later, Jackie helps Shauna survive labor.

x (pt 2): drunk from so many roses, redder than wine (~8k)

Jackie can't leave Shauna alone when the butchering duties get darker. Everyone has their role, and hers is just how she likes it—inextricably tied to Shauna.

oneshots

x honey come over, the party's gone slower (~4k)

Nat’s dead, but that doesn’t mean it’s all over. She laid Jackie to her final rest, and now Jackie’s the one to welcome her to this strange new home.

teen / post s2 finale / nat pov

x trying to keep you alive (~5k)

A night of Shauna feeling especially self-destructive (cruising for women, talking to Jackie's ghost, and burning bridges with the only two people in her corner).

explicit / canon-compliant / post return / ghost!jackie or hallucination!jackie depending on how you read it

x no take backs (~3k)

Laura Lee is a few steps ahead of Jackie in this whole navigating being a ghost thing, and Shauna is falling apart quicker than Jackie can pick up the pieces.

mature / canon-compliant / set during 2x01 / ghost!jackie pov

posts of note

x jackie taylor is a lesbian frame by frame pt. 1

x jackie taylor is a lesbian frame by frame pt. 2

x tai and shauna / call your mom

x shauna and psychosis

x the "dreams" (travis' dialogue on near death experiences in 2x02)

x the "dreams" (eating and drinking in other realms motif)

x jackieshauna / lottielee

x mirrors and reflections in yj (the pilot)

x pit girl scenes and their cuts away from natalie

x lesbian breakup so bad (yj edition)

x sight and power and leadership (lottie, tai, nat, jackie ruminations)

x jackieshauna / our wives under the sea

x yj and jennifer's body

x nat/jackie ruminations

[stiles-o-dylan24]

King of My Heart Chapter 17 - Suzie, Do You Copy?

Author: @stiles-o-dylan24​ Pairing: Steve x Summer Byers (eventually) Word Count: 4.8k Warnings: mentions of previous fight, language SERIES SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

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It officially takes two months since Starcourt was built for them to open and shut down almost every store that used to be thriving downtown.

Melvald's is one of the few that is left that hasn’t closed or moved to a new location inside the mall so mom still has a job… she however spends her days marking items down to an even lower clearance price because it’s just a matter of time before the store also closes for good.

Mr. B at the movie theater I had been working at stayed open for as long as he could until the movie theater in the mall opened and he had a week straight of no customers coming in to watch a movie.

It wasn’t long after that he had to let the few of us still employed go and I’ve had to desperately look for another job so I can keep saving up money for the art school program at Columbia… that I was put on the waitlist for. Which is fine if I actually think about it since we don’t really have a way to pay for me to go right now.

I was able to find a job as a lifeguard at the community pool a few days after I graduated from high school. It’s been going great the last three weeks after I finished all my training and certifications to actually be in charge of saving people from drowning.

Well it was going great until today when four new lifeguards finished their training and were officially hired on.

I’m just getting done with the morning shift when I see the new group walking around and getting the welcome tour of where everything is.

I cross my arms over my chest, not even able to help my glare when I see exactly who is a part of this new group. It’s been about eight months since I watched him pick on Lucas and start a fight with Steve for absolutely no reason other than he’s insane and other than graduation I have stayed as far away from him as I could.

Billy stops right in front of me, smirking with those evil eyes of his “Well hello again, Byers.”

“Don’t call me that” I keep my glare fixed on him and he chuckles, jerking his head back “You don’t want me to call you by your name? Did I say it wrong?”

I narrow my eyes towards him even more “No, it may be my name but you’re not allowed to call me by it– not like that anyways” I grumble and he raises his brows “So what should I call you then?”

I roll my eyes and move to step past him while I answer “Do me a favor and just don’t talk to me, you know, like ever.”

       ⋇・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・⋇

I walk into the front entrance of Starcourt and head towards the escalators, stepping onto the steps that go down to the next level. I head to my right after I get to the bottom of the escalator and I walk around a group of people before I walk through the entrance of Scoops.

Steve looks up from the ice cream bins he’s restocking and throws his arms up and out to his sides, smiling wide “The mermaid is finally here!”

The few people sitting at the tables and booths inside look over towards me and I throw him a sarcastic look as I walk up to the front counter “I don’t swim all day so I’m hardly a mermaid.”

“Well there’s always tomorrow” he shrugs and drops his arms back down to his sides. I chuckle, though I my face drops when I see movement in the back room “Who’s back there?”

“Oh, new girl– just started today” Steve answers and, new girl herself walks out of the back room. She startles and stops walking when she sees me and I narrow my eyes ever so slightly in thought as I try to place where I’ve seen her before.

Steve makes a noise and moves his arm to indicate both of us “Oh okay hey, Summer this is Robin– Robin this is–

“Summer, yeah hi–” Robin smiles, nervously looking between us before she directs her words towards me “Um, we actually had a class together last year–”

“Buckley” I snap my fingers and point towards her “Robin Buckley– we had Click’s morning history class together” I finish, quietly sighing in my relief that I figured it out because that would have driven me nuts all day, and she smiles “We did–” she shakes her head quickly, stammering “I ca– I can’t believe you actually remember me.”

“Wait we did?” Steve asks, also having been in the class, and we look over at him, noticing his confused face. He raises his brows at the look I throw him, looking between us and raising his hands up to his sides “Sorry, guess I wasn’t paying attention in that class.”

“You weren’t, you were always late” I mumble and Robin snorts, agreeing and elaborating “Walking in late and coming into class with bagel crumbs on your shirt.”

Steve glares at both of us while we laugh and shakes his head “Well I’ve blissfully forgotten that part.”

“Convenient since the memory doesn’t show you at your best” I jab and he laughs sarcastically towards me “Very funny.”

Customers walk in and Steve makes sure Robin has it sorted before he walks back over towards me “New girl is a quick learner”

“Robin” I say and he nods, repeating slowly “Yeah– Robin is a quick learner.”

I frown at him “She has a name and it’s not new girl” and Steve rolls his eyes “Oh my god, yeah I know her name– I was just– never mind…” he crosses his arms over his chest and leans back against the counter.

“Anyways, how was work today? You’re here earlier than usual” Steve remarks and I groan, walking back a few steps and falling back into the empty booth behind me “Yeah my shifts are going to be shorter because they hired even more lifeguards” I cover my face with my hands and grumble behind them “I think I have to quit.”

“Quit?” Steve repeats and moves forward so he can sit down next to me “But you said you have the best shift in the morning with all the older people before the families all get there.”

I drop my arms down and cross them in front of me on the table “Yeah but they’re switching me out and putting me on the afternoon shift and I won’t be alone…”

“Ooh ominous” Steve jokes when I trail off and I throw him a look, sharing the somber news responsible for my mood “Hargrove also just got hired on as a lifeguard at the pool– finished his certifications yesterday.”

Steve’s face falls and he scoots closer towards me in the booth, dropping his voice a little “What is that douchebag doing getting a job as a lifeguard with you?”

“So he can hit on anything in a bikini?” I offer and Steve’s face lets me know he was being serious and I shrug in response “He’ll do anything to not have to wear a shirt and I’m being serious, he was eating up all the attention he was getting and he was only there for five minutes before I left.”

Steve is silent with that and just glares at a spot over my shoulder. I sigh and lean back in the seat “I don’t know what to do– I need a job but I don’t think I can work with him, especially after what he did last year.”

“Yeah” Steve mumbles, running his hand up through his hair which I’ve noticed he’s doing more and more lately and I soften my face towards the side of his. Steve clears his throat and looks at me, causing me to quickly look away– even though it was pretty obvious I was staring at him and I inwardly grimace at being caught.

“Why don’t you get a job here?” Steve offers and I quickly look over at him, scrunching my face up like he’s crazy for saying that’s what I should do “Because this stupid flashy mall opening and shutting down everything downtown is the reason I had to even get a stupid new job to begin with.”

Steve rubs his hand over his mouth, nodding a few times before he lays his arm across the back of the booth “Right I know that but the hours here are pretty good and the pay is a dollar fifty more than what you’re making at the pool.”

“Of course it is” I grumble lowly and cross my arms over my chest to be one step away from pouting.

Steve laughs quietly to himself, however I can see his shoulders shake and I switch to glaring at him “What’s so funny?”

“You know you want to work here, I mean–” he laughs once, moving his hands down his navy shirt with a red tie outfit “Just look at this uniform” he stops moving his arms and flicks his hands up, winking at me “So sexy– I know you agree, plus” he reaches up and takes his white ahoy hat off and reaches over to set it on top of my head “This is the real winner of the ensemble– brings out those green eyes of yours.”

Steve lifts his hands up in a shrug, silently saying he rests his case before he sets his hands on the table.

Even with the mood I’m in, I can’t help but laugh. I chuckle, softly shaking my head at him succeeding in lifting my mood a little “Even if I wanted to attempt to be okay with working at this stupid flashy mall– Robin was just hired…”

Steve doesn’t waste a second to scoff at my reasoning, lifting his hand off the table slightly “Owner wants to hire another person because we’re so swamped during the day and because I’m such a phenomenal employee–”

“You’ve worked here for a month” I interrupt and Steve keeps talking over me like I didn’t say anything, “He told me to scout for potential applicants and recruit if I found someone who was seriously looking for a job.”

I look at him like it’s too good to be true, however, he just smiles “Job’s yours if you want it.”

       ⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇

It’s been almost a week since I got the job at Scoops and hung up my lifeguard swimsuit and whistle. While I was boycotting giving the mall a chance because they killed our downtown, I’m annoyed to say it’s actually been a lot of fun– probably because of who I get to work with… so the fun being had is not really because of the mall per-se.

Another bonus to this stupid flashy mall is that because it is ridiculously busy our work day flies by. Slinging ice cream to the masses is exhausting if I’m honest, however, I’ve already made more working here in a week than the three I was working at the pool, since I didn’t get paid to get certified that first week.

We’re just over an hour away from being able to lock the doors and start our closing routine for the parlor and I’m manning the front counter with Robin while Steve takes his last break.

I hand over a mint chip cone to a couple that has come in and Robin rings them up while I grab a cleaning rag. I walk around to the front of the counter and wipe a table down, looking up just in time to see Lucas, Max, Will and Mike walk into the ice cream parlor.

Robin sets her hands on the counter and shakes her head “Is that your little brother and his friends again?”

I walk back to the front of the counter and lean back against it, chuckling and crossing my arms over my navy blue sailor’s shirt while I answer her “Yup that’s them– bet they’re here because Day of the Dead is premiering tonight.”

The group walk towards the front counter and when they stop in front of it Mike reaches over and hits the bell, which the purpose of is to get our attention when we’re not at the counter, incessantly.

Robin rolls her eyes and says loud enough for her voice to reach the back room “Hey, dingus, your guys’ children are here.”

I scoff towards her and point at Will who’s standing in front of me “He’s my brother not my child” and Robin just lifts her hand up “You guys take care of them more than any adult I’ve seen since I’ve known you so my assessment still stands.”

Max walks over and since she’s gotten a little taller she’s now my height and is able to set her arm across my shoulder, smiling brightly “Can you please help us get into Day of the Dead?”

I throw a look over my shoulder at Robin, silently telling her I told you so when Steve opens the window that’s across the back counter. When he notices the group looking expectantly at him he flops his arm onto the counter, throwing an incredulous look back at them “Again? Seriously?”

Steve swings his eyes towards me and points at the group “Did you tell them this was okay to be a regular occurrence?”

“No” I jerk my head back, countering back instantly “Don’t blame me– you were the one that first said it was okay to do.”

“I rest my case” Robin sighs knowingly and Max snorts, causing me to look at her and see her clear her face of any previous humor, shaking her head a little “I just sneezed.”

I narrow my eyes towards her, watching as she just smiles innocently– however my attention is brought back to Mike who obnoxiously rings the front counter bell again.

Throwing him a look, I make a noise and reach over to take the bell away from his reach “This is to get our attention when we’re not out here, Michael, not when we’re standing right in front of you.”

He rolls his eyes and looks between Steve and I, offering “If we say we won’t do it again will you let us go this one last time? We’re gonna be late.”

I laugh once and argue “Your poor planning to come here and ask us for this favor with plenty of time to make your movie needs to be our problem why?”

“Please, Summie?” Will pleads with those damn puppy dog eyes and I point over towards him “Not fair, William–” I look at Max, who’s looking at me with the same puppy dog eyes and I huff, setting the bell back on the counter. I turn around and head towards the back room door, lifting my arm up to indicate they should follow “Come on, let’s go gang.”

Hearing their whispers of celebration behind me, that they get to see this movie for free now, I lead the group through the door into the back room. Steve has his arms crossed over his chest and rolls his eyes dramatically when we walk past him, which I respond by sticking my tongue out at him.

We walk over to the back door that leads into the service hallways all the stores in the mall use for their inventory deliveries and how we take our trash down to the back dumpsters. I open the door and step out into the hallway, holding it open with my foot and saying “Make sure the coast is clear and have fun!”

With excited smiles on their faces Lucas, Max, Mike and Will walk through the doorway and quickly make their way down the hallway towards the door that will lead them into one of the hallways in the movie theater.

Steve pushes into my side so he can threaten towards their retreating backs “I swear, if anybody hears about this…”

“We're dead!” the four of them answer back in unison and I move my lips between my teeth so I don’t laugh.

Steve huffs, throwing me a look like he cannot believe they just interrupted him like that and I can’t hold it back– I laugh, bumping my shoulder into him so he’ll move and I can shut the door.

“They didn’t even say thank you” Steve grumbles and I chuckle again, lifting my shoulder up in a shrug as we head through the door towards the front counter

“Will probably will in the morning when he tells me all about the movie and I’ll pass it along if he does.”

Steve nods once “Good– thank you, I’d appreciate it.”

I snort and we grab scoopers out of the clean water to get the orders that Robin is getting from the customer at the counter.

About ten minutes later the lights shut off with a click and we can hear the very audible noise the entire mall makes as the power shuts down out of nowhere. I stand up from my lean into one of the ice cream bins and look up at the dark ceiling, Steve, Robin and our two customers in the store doing the same.

“That’s weird” Steve says and walks over to where the light switch is, clicking it up and down a few times.

In between his clicking of the switch Robin sighs from beside me and looks over at him “That isn't gonna work, dingus.”

“Oh really?” comes Steve’s smartass reply before he obnoxiously flips the switch up and down over and over again, increasing how fast he’s moving his hand.

I throw him a look that screams stop it as I reply “Yeah really, the power to the whole mall just shut off but you flipping the switch to our light is definitely going to bring it back”

Just to make me look like a fool the lights come back on right as he flips the switch to the on position. My face drops and I share a look with Robin, who’s looking at me the exact same way, before we look over at Steve and see the smug look that transforms his face. He lifts his hand up and half smiles that I should never have doubted his magical electrician abilities “Let there be light.”

       ⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇

The next morning I’m sitting at the table with mom and Will while we eat breakfast and I try to wake up more before I have to ride my bike to the mall.

I’m just starting to cut up my pancakes when Jonathan comes rushing out of his room and walks down the hallway. Will and I look over at him as mom gets up from the table and walks towards him “Hey, hey, hey– wait up.”

Jonathan finishes buttoning up the top buttons on his shirt and stops to face her “Oh, no, I'll eat at work– I’m late.”

“No” mom mutters and reaches up to wipe of the very obvious mark from a lipstick kiss on his cheek “Your cheek”

Will grimaces and looks at me like he wants to gag and I can’t help the snort that follows. I drop my head down as I finish cutting up my pancakes, hiding my smile by taking a bite.

“All right, all right” Jonathan embarrassingly steps away from her, lightly laughing and offering “I gotta run– see you later” before he turns and heads towards the door.

Mom lifts her arms up in a surrender and turns around, smiling and saying “All right” as she walks back towards the table to sit down again with Will and I.

Will scoffs, muttering “Ugh, gross” as he reaches for the syrup that I hand over to him.

Mom and I share a knowing chuckle and she smiles towards him “Well, I don't think you're gonna think it's gross when you fall in love.”

“I’m not gonna fall in love” Will argues gently, pouring the syrup over his own pancakes and mom nods, conceding gently “Okay”

I finish taking a drink of my orange juice and make a noise as I set my cup back down “You never know, little man– sometimes love just comes out of nowhere and hits you in the face”

“Yeah?” he asks in what I thought was a genuine tone, however, when I mumble my agreement around another bite and look over at him, I see the cheeky little smirk on his face “Hmm, so is that the real reason you stopped being a lifeguard and got a job that allowed you to work with Steve everyday?”

My face drops into a playful frown and I shake my head at him “I have no idea what you’re talking about”

“So we’re just going to ignore what happened at the Snow Ball?” Will continues and I drop my mouth open in shock “I didn’t tell you about that for you to torture me with it”

Will rolls his eyes dramatically, teasing “Oh no you got to dance with the guy you’re in love with, how torturous for you.”

“I’m not in love with him” I argue with as much conviction as I can and he laughs, raising his brows at me while he takes a bite of his food “Sure, Summie.”

I glare at him and mom tries to hide just how funny she’s finding my torment by turning her head away from us.

“Hey” she gains my attention when she gets up and walks towards the fridge “What happened here?”

Seeing the magnets on the ground along with the papers they were holding up, I shrug while Will actually answers her “I don’t know.”

Mom kneels and picks up the magnets, hanging up the coupons again before she picks up Will’s drawing of superhero Bob and stands up. She hangs the drawing back to the top of the front of the fridge and taps it sadly before she walks over to the table and sits down again.

Mom clears her throat and tries to fight off a smile while she asks “So speaking of Scoops–”

I drop my arm down onto the table and throw her a look like she better not start with me too.

Will snorts under his breath and focuses even more on his food while mom lifts her hands up like she comes in peace “How did training go last night?”

I narrow my eyes thoughtfully at her, answering through barely clenched teeth “It was fine– last day of training is today.”

She makes a quiet hmm noise and nods towards her food “That’s good, I know you’ll do great on your last training day.”

“Who gets to train you today?” Will questions, smirking towards his plate and I glare playfully at him while I answer “Robin is training me.”

He looks up at me knowingly and I throw him a look like see you were wrong, you butthead. I grab my plate and head towards the sink, rinsing it off before I walk back to the table and kiss mom’s cheek in a goodbye. I walk by Will and tousle his hair as I rush out “And Harrington” while I run towards the door and grab my bag, just hearing their laughs as I shut the front door behind me.

       ⋇・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・⋇

Once I set my bag down in the back, I clock in and make sure my uniform tie is in place before I grab my hat. I get the white ahoy hat positioned on my head when I barely see a whiteboard with some writing on it sticking out from the side of the back inventory shelves.

I furrow my brows in confusion, pointing over towards it and asking Robin who is in the back room with me “What’s that?”

“Hmm?” Robin mumbles, turning to look at where I’m pointing and from the other side of the open window along the back counter Steve widens his eyes, announcing “Nothing” before Robin joins in with “Oh it’s just a kind of running tally joke I started.”

“Started about what?” I ask and Steve shakes his head “Nothing really” however, Robin chuckles and excitedly runs over to grab it. She turns around and proudly shows me what’s written on the board.

There’s two columns, one named ‘You Rule’ with no tally marks under it and the other is ‘You Suck’ with six tally marks under it.

I read the columns out loud and look expectantly between the two, Robin smiling brightly “Dingus over there said that he could ‘up the tips’ we earn by attempting to charm the ladies that came in.”

“All right” Steve sighs out like he’s embarrassed and I move my humor filled eyes between the two, watching as Robin can barely get through her explanation without laughing “So far Popeye over there is oh for six– the sixth one happening just before you got here.”

“Wow” I breathe out, trying to keep a straight face as I look at Steve “According to the stats that means your charm… kinda sucks, Harrington”

“Yeah I can read, Byers” Steve grumbles and Robin jerks her head back “Since when?”

Steve glares at her and leans his elbows on the back counter “It's this stupid hat. I am telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature.”

“Yeah, company policy is a real drag” Robin sympathizes sarcastically and I sigh, shaking my head in mock pity “The audacity Scoops has hiding those luscious locks of yours under a sailor’s hat”

Robin snorts, laughing into her shoulder while he moves his glaring eyes between us, throwing his hands out to indicate both of us “Easy for you two to say– the hat doesn’t look ridiculous on either of you.”

“You’re trying too hard, Harrington–” I offer, nodding my head towards him “You don’t need to up the charm, just tell the truth when you see a girl you want to ask out.”

“Sum, the only truth I have to share is that I couldn’t even get into Tech and my douchebag dad is trying to teach me a lesson. I’m trying to save up money to go to a college I didn’t get into, even though I only make three bucks an hour, and I basically have no future– so using my charm to get someone to overlook all that is all I have right now.”

“That’s not all you have, Steve” I tell him quietly and he looks at me, softening his eyes and moving to respond when Robin interrupts “Hey, twelve o'clock.”

Steve looks back over his shoulder and we see a group of girls walk into the parlor. “Oh, shit, oh, shit– okay... uh… I'm going in. Okay? And you know what?” he takes his ahoy hat off and throws it through the window into the back room with us “Screw company policy.”

“Oh, my god, you're a whole new man” Robin boasts and I lift my hand up to offer him a thumbs up “Let those luscious locks be free– Farrah says so.”

Steve makes a face like I need to be quiet and I try not to laugh as he ignores me “Right? Ooh,” he mocks, moving his shoulders in a sarcastic little dance move.

In the next second though he clears his face and spins around quickly to face the group of girls that just walked in “Ahoy, ladies!”

They all flinch back startled and gasping as the one girl in the middle widens her eyes with his loud greeting and Steve continues “Didn't see you there– would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I'll be your captain–” he pauses, nodding his head a little “I'm Steve Harrington.”

The chick in the middle continues to look at him with her startled wide eye look, casually chewing her gum before she looks away and visibly sighs like the threat has passed.

Through their giggling and whispers Steve continues “Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee? No? Anybody?”

Robin and I share a look while Steve continues to list off options towards the group “Banana Boat? Four people, four spoons? Share it in the booth? Anybody? It's hot out there.”

I scrunch my nose up in a grimace and Robin makes a disgusted face, looking from Steve and back towards me. She picks up a whiteboard marker and draws another tally mark in the ‘You Suck’ column, causing me to laugh with the squeak the marker makes when she draws the line with force.

Steve throws a damp cleaning towel through the window towards us and it hits Robin in the side of face, causing us both to laugh even louder as we fall back against the counter.

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Posted: 12 Aug 2023

[itspdameronthings]

Benny The Rookie Cop Ch3

Summary: Here it is! Took awhile to finish this! Here it is! Benny in the hospital. Santi in rehab. With a twist! cant say too much.

Benny's POV: 

Here I am yet again . In the hospital. Haven't been what? A couple of days since I was being stitched up for a wound while on the job. This latest wound has become the talk of the station. Personally? Rather hide . Benny James Miller hide? Not gonna. Who wants to be shot in the ass?! Yeah! First time ! Look, it happened so fast. Was in pursuit of this dude who was framing top officials for dealing drugs. That's when a shootout happened . Fired first till a bullet hit my ass!  Upper left cheek to be precise. Chris made the call . Great! My wife is gonna hit the fan yet again! Last thing she needs to deal with since Santi went to rehab. We were gonna see him soon as he gets settled. Next thing, telling the others about the wound . Oh the jokes would fly like clock work. Now I'm layin on my tummy while I wait for the doctors to check on me. 

Gracie’s POV: 

After arriving for my shift. Which was kind of dead as a doornail. After the usual nurses meeting we have to deal with the usual shit. Like riding alongs with paramedics.  Oh what fucking fun. Bout to get started on my first task till there was a call about a cop being shot! Heart dropped! Worried about my husband. My heart ,and soul! Try not to get too emotional. Have a job to do. Taking a deep breath marched myself into trauma 2 to Benny! On the table laying on his tummy with a sheet draped to cover his lower half? Okay. Didn't ask why till removing it to see a bloody bandage on his ass! First thought it was a joke! I mean come on! He was known for his jokes. Till Chris told me it wasn't. Okay! Time to go to work on my sexy rookie. At some point he had to be sedated. I stayed with him till he woke up hours later. Looks so beautiful even in his groggy state. Hair so soft to the touch. Beautiful blue eyes that lights up the room. His hand touched my ,and mumbled,” Don't laugh okay?” Kissing his forehead ever so gently whispered,” Not a chance my husband. Got hurt on duty. Now you are my patient.. My duty is to take care of you. First thing. Have to get you admitted. I know I know ya hate that. Have to make sure the wound isn't bad. I'm gonna stay with you kay?” Benny reached for my other hand and kissed it. Telling me he loves me with all of his heart. Blew him a kiss while exiting the room. See my family in the waiting room. Will first hug me close. Could tell he was scared. Told him he is fine that his ass hurts,but still groggy,but they can go to see him. He would love that. Okay girl! Time to get things rolling.

Benny's POV: 

I'm floating a bit. Some point I heard voices from my lovely wife. Such a sweet thang to hear. Telling me stuff I don't recall right away. Hope to get out of here,on account I hate hospitals being here too many times in my lifetime. Want to be home. In my own bed. Not .. on this thin slab of metal with a mattress. Moments later I hear Will and Frankie telling me stuff. Could tell they were worried,and relieved. Hearing them chatting about stuff. Oh great! Doctor is here. Touching my wound seriously dude? Hurts like a mother! Enough already! Close my eyes again. Meds kicked in good! Want to sleep! Want my Gracie ! Oh my baby. Soulmate, love of my life,and reason why I am alive. Didn't care if other people thought I'm too old for her. Age factor isn't an issue for me. Heck! PA is older than ma. Love each other so much to put shitheads comments to bed. Gracie’s friends tried to convince her we weren't meant to be. Since I was in the Army at the time. Though saving herself for so long wasn't healthy. Our first time was so beautiful. Focus on that moment man! 

Santi just got back from another session. To him he didn't belong there talking about his fears with a bunch of strangers. Want to be home. With his family. Promising his mom he would do this for her,and doesn't want to be like his dad. Frightening him to no end. Leaning against the window looking at the view of tall buildings wishing for the quietness of home. Not noticing Gracie entering the room. Turned around,” Glad you are here little bud. Nice to see a familiar face. Don't see Benny.. is he at work?” Taking a breath while sitting on the edge of the bed,” Actually, he is here. Nursing a gunshot wound to the butt. Thought… it would be worse Tang! Worry about him every time he goes out. Thought about y'all in Columbia..” Santi sits next to her pulling her close to him like when she was a kid,” I know you do. We all do. He told me the same thing. He knows your job is dangerous too. I'm glad he has you. I mean it. Sure I was against it at first,but  when I see you with him? Can see why both of you were meant to be.” Moment was interrupted by a knock,” oh ! I'm sorry Santiago. Time for another session. “ Getting up rubbing his face,” Guess you know Dr. Knight. I'll be right there.” Gracie nods at her,” Oh yeah I do. Better go back to my husband. Take care of my brother. I mean helping him with his rehab not helping yourself to break his heart.” That didn't go well with the doctor. Got up to look her in the eye,” Look here I know what you might think of me ,but I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your brother's recovery. I'm just his doctor. Nothing more! It's not like I tried to seduce Benny when you were an intern. “ That did it! As much she wanted to kick Lucy’s ass,she was on duty. Not gonna stoop to her level. Got up to leave,” Oh, doctor? I wouldn't tell your supervisor on your misdiagnosis of a patient. You know? One that almost murdered a few innocents!”  Slams the door behind her. Leaving both of them, okay, one of them speechless. Lucy cleared her throat,” okay, see where she gets her spark from. Okay, ready to go Mr. Garcia?” Getting up from his spot. Glaring his brown eyes at her,” For the record ma'am. You haven't seen anything yet. “

Didn't take long to admit Benny to a private room overlooking the roof garden next building over. Him laying on a doughnut pillow,which it took awhile to get used to. Good he would be here overnight. Followed by resting at home for a few days. Had few visitors from his department. Glad to hear he would be okay. Followed by a few butt jokes. Benny replied as they left,” Very funny assholes if I see anything on my desk that pertains to my boo boo? Make y'all pay. “ Gracie laughed as she closed the door,” Now that we are finally alone. Wanna tell you that I was scared when I heard you were shot. Feared the worst baby. Said a prayer before you were brought in. Oh! Went to see Santi. Had a nice talk till.. that hussy of a doctor came in.” Benny knew who she was talking about. Pulls his wife into his side that doesn't have any wires. Kissing her forehead,” I cringe when I see her. To think she was willin to wreck our relationship. She sent ya on a goose chase. Proud of you what happened next. “ Kissing his chest,” yeah, but I think she might get her mits on my brother . See that doesn't happen.” 

Santi finally went alone to rest. Thinking about the events of the day. Counting down the day till he gets home.About to turn his light off. A knock at the door,” Come on handsome. Help me go to sleep.” 

Note: okay! Hate to leave this as a cliffhanger. Want to have y'all sweat it out oh who it is. Hoping to do an extra scene to this chapter. A sweet one where Benny boy comes home. Wish me luck! 

@rhoorl @romanarose @musings-of-a-rose

[sequinsmile-x]

Rebuild

Emily gets hurt when chasing down a suspect, and it gives her and Aaron the chance to have a conversation they've been putting off for days.

-x-

Hi friends!

This is just some good old fashioned whump mixed in with our favourite idiots having an important conversation <3

Please do let me know what you think, comments, reblogs and likes feed the little writing monsters that live in my brain!

-x-

Warnings: mention of blood/injury

Words: 2.7k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

 He was mad at her. 

It was unlike them to bring their personal problems to work, their ability to compartmentalise enough to mean the two rarely bled together. This was different, the argument they’d been having in his living room, the one Penelope had interrupted when she called about the case they were on, still hanging over them days later. It made things awkward, tense in a way that had made both Derek and Dave come up to her separately to ask what was wrong, neither of them believing her when she tried to say everything was fine.

Sometimes she hated that the people she surrounded herself with read behaviour for a living. That her boyfriend was one of those people. 

She’d been with Aaron for almost a year now, his love for her the saving grace that had kept her in DC even when Clyde offered her an out, a job she knows she would have taken if it wasn’t for the man she loves. He was perfect for her. He loved her for who she was, not who he wanted her to be or who he thought she should be, and he was the first person who had ever loved her like that. She saw everything with him. A house they could call home. Marriage. A child that would make Jack a big brother, something he asked for a lot. She wanted it all.

But she still hesitated when he asked her to move in with him. 

It was the catalyst for the argument they still hadn’t finished. A momentary reaction, a wave of fear she hadn’t entirely understood herself at first washing over her. Something he’d picked up on immediately. Things had gotten out of hand quickly and both of them had said things she knows they didn’t mean, his accusation, his defensiveness when she tried to pretend everything was fine still ringing in her head.

“Maybe you’re just not as serious about us as I am.”

Penelope had called when his words were still hanging in the air around him, her gasp that followed barely out of her mouth, a phantom ache still stuck between her ribs, when he answered the phone, a look of regret in his eyes that hadn’t quite shifted since. 

She knows she all but lives with him anyway, that she can’t remember the last night they spent apart, but the thought of making it official had made her panic no matter how much she actually wants it. Every dream she’d had since haunted by the memories of the last time she’d moved in with a man and his son. Two pairs of matching icy blue eyes staring back at her, a name that was no longer hers slipping past their lips and echoing around her even after she had woken up. 

They’d agreed a long time ago not to bring their personal issues to work. So even though they were sharing a room like they always did they hadn’t spoken about it. The argument paused where it had been interrupted, waiting for them to get back to continue it. They were barely speaking in general outside of the case, falling asleep in their hotel bed with their backs facing each other, a cursory goodnight and I love you exchanged as they drifted off.

Every morning they’d woken up wrapped around each other, curled together in a way that made it hard to determine where the other ended. 

She looks at Aaron as the SUV comes to a stop, studying his face before he turns to look at her. She flashes him a small smile as their eyes meet and then she clears her throat, everything they hadn’t said to each other making the air in the car thick. 

He’d paired them together, an abuse of power he rarely used to keep her close physically when it felt like they were emotionally more distant than they’d been in years. He can see the sadness in her eyes, the tightness in her smile that reminds him of when she’d first come home from Paris, skittish and on edge in a way he’d never known her to be. It breaks his heart, and makes him sigh as starts to speak.

“Em-”

“So, do you want to be good cop or bad cop?” She asks, cutting him off, not wanting to have this conversation outside the apartment building of a suspect in their case, not sure how to even start explaining to him what she hadn’t been able to figure out completely in her own head yet. 

He smiles sadly and clears his throat, “You’re excellent at being good cop.” 

She nods and watches as he reaches for the door handle, the car door already open when she places her hand on his thigh to get his attention. When he looks at her she squeezes, hoping he feels the reassurance in it, that he feels the love.

“We’ll talk later, okay?” She says, smiling when he places his hand over hers and briefly links their fingers, a flash of the man she loves peeking out from beneath her boss.

“Later.” 

They sit like that for a few seconds before she lets go and they get out of the car. They don’t even make it to the front door of the apartment building before they see the guy suspected of being involved in the murders they were investigating, leaving the building. 

“Daniel Carson?” Emily says as she approaches. She places her hand on her hip, pushing her jacket back just enough to reveal her badge and gun, and she sees Aaron do the same out of the corner of her eye. Daniel’s eyes go almost comically wide and he takes a couple of steps backwards, putting more distance between them before he turns and runs, “Damn it.”

“I’ll go after him, try and chase him around the building,” Aaron says, already going after him, “You try and cut him off in that alleyway.” 

She nods even though Aaron is no longer able to see her and she turns, heading towards the alley next to the apartment building. She groans in frustration as she gets there to find the metal gate leading to the alley is closed, and she rattles it when she tries to open it only to find it’s locked, cursing under her breath. She knows she’s on limited time, that they didn’t know if the guy was armed or not and she didn’t want to be stuck on the other side of the fence from him and Aaron, so she starts to climb up it. Stepping on a trash can to give herself leverage. She’s almost over it when she sees Daniel Carson run into the alley, clearly not expecting to see her or for the gate to be locked. He turns and leaves the alley again, and loses her balance, falling to the ground.

It takes a second for the pain to register, for her brain to catch up with what’s happened. She tries to sit up but feels a sharp pain spread through her leg, making her yell out. Her eyes go wide as she looks at her thigh. There was a metal pole sticking through it, her blood warm and sticky as it pours through the tear in her pants. Her hands shake as she shifts just enough to lean against the alley wall, the movement making her grunt in pain. 

“Fuck.”

“Emily?” 

She looks up just as Aaron enters the alley, his panic clear as he kneels down next to her, the crack of his knees against the concrete echoing around them.

“I fell off the damn gate,” she says, wincing as Aaron touches her uninjured leg, immediately withdrawing when the movement accidentally jostles her, “Fuck,” she says, looking down at her thigh again, “That’s a metal pole through my leg.” 

The pain doesn't quite match up with what she’s looking at and she knows from experience that it's shock, her body protecting her from feeling it. She half pays attention as Aaron calls it in, a shake to his voice as he requests an ambulance as she keeps staring at her leg.

“Sweetheart,” he says, cupping her face, making sure he’s gentle as he guides her to look at him, “The ambulance is on the way,” he says, watching as she nods, “We’ve got to leave it in there until they get here, okay?”

She nods again, clearing her throat, “You should go after him.”

“What?” He asks incredulously, his eyebrows knitting together, “Who?” 

“Daniel Carson,” she grits out, pain radiating through her, “He ran as soon as he saw we’re FBI.” 

He chuckles humourlessly, “Emily-”

“I’ll be fine,” she says, forcing a smile, “It’s not like I can go anywhere, I can wait for the ambulance.” 

He stares at her for a moment as he shakes his head before he leans forward to kiss her forehead, “If you think I’m leaving you here alone you’re crazy,” he says, his eyes drifting back to her injury, “I’m not going anywhere. As soon as you’re in the ambulance I’ll call Derek, he can take it from here.”

Part of her wants to argue with him, but she doesn’t, because she always wants him to stay. His presence more of a comfort than anything else could ever be. She stares at him, the concern in his eyes clear as he keeps looking back and forth between her face and her leg, and she reaches out for his hand, linking their fingers together, the words she hadn’t been able to find for days finally escaping. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to live with you-”

“You want to talk about this now?” He asks, a laugh catching in his chest, painful and sharp as he watches her blood seep onto the ground beneath them, causing him to make a comparison to a moment from their past that he’d rather forget, the very thing that had forced him to bury her. 

“Call it a distraction,” she says, smiling when he shakes his head at her, “You can’t argue with me, I’m impaled on a metal pole,” she watches as he concedes, a subtle nod of his head, and she squeezes his hand again, “I love you, Aaron,” she says, “I never want you to doubt that, ever. And I want to live with you and Jack. And I want to marry you and have kids and…I want to do it all. But…” she drifts off shaking her head at herself, closing her eyes as she says the last part, “The last time I lived with someone else, the only other time I’ve lived with someone else, was with Ian and…it took me a minute to get my head around that,” she pauses and opens her eyes, unsurprised to find him staring right at her, “It was never anything to do with not wanting to live with you.” 

Aaron sighs, a breath that had been stuck in his chest for days escaping, and he chastises himself for not seeing it, for not thinking about why she would have hesitated. So caught up in his own insecurities, in his own head, that he hadn’t thought about it. 

“You’d think considering what we do for a living we’d be better at communicating,” he quips, and she laughs, shaking her head at him.

“Well,” she says, hearing a siren approaching, “No one is perfect,” she smiles, “Not even us,” she lifts their joint hands and kisses his knuckles, “We’re pretty damn close though.” 

He nods and leans forward to kiss her, a quick thing stamped against her lips, “I’m sorry for what I said,” he says, reaching out to tuck some hair behind her ear, “I know you’re as serious about this as I am.”

She kisses him, stopping him from apologising anymore, not needing to hear it. She’d already forgiven him anyway.

“I know,” she says, squeezing his hand as the ambulance comes to a stop at the end of the alleyway. She blows out a breath as she watches the EMTs approach, the thought of being lifted from the ground making her tense, something that makes the pain worse itself. She looks back at her boyfriend, “I’m sorry if I break your hand when they try and lift me up.”

Aaron smiles and squeezes her hand in his, a silent acceptance of what was to come, “At least we’re going to the hospital anyway.”

___

She has to have surgery to repair the damage done, and Aaron thinks the couple of hours he’s left alone in the waiting room are amongst the longest of his life. He goes to her room the second he’s allowed to, his hand around hers until she wakes up, keeping watch over her like she had once done for him what felt like a lifetime ago. 

When she wakes up the first thing she feels is the pain, dull and throbbing as it radiates out from the spot the metal pole had pierced through her skin, and as she opens her eyes she half expects to still be able to see it there, the phantom feeling of it still present. She smiles sleepily at Aaron as she looks at him, squeezing his hand gently as their eyes meet. 

“Hey,” she says, her voice gravelly from sleep and pain. 

“Hi sweetheart,” he says, standing up and dropping a kiss on her forehead, “How’s the pain?” 

She hums, her eyelids heavy as she blinks, “Somewhere between a paper cut and a table leg to the abdomen,” she says, chuckling to herself as he shakes his head at her, “What? Come on, that was funny.” 

“Sure it was, baby,” he says, placating her poor attempt at humour, knowing she’d do just about anything to cheer him up, “Do you need anything?” 

“Water would be good,” she replies, and he nods, kissing her forehead again before he turns to grab the tiny cup from the nightstand next to her bed, holding the straw still so she can take a sip. She swears it’s the best thing she’s ever had to drink, the room temperature water soothing her parched throat, “Thanks.”

He smiles as he sets the cup back down and sits on the edge of her bed, careful not to cause her any pain, “Anything for you,” he says, lifting her hand and kissing her knuckles, “You know that.” 

It makes her smile because she knows he means it. That he’d pull the stars from the sky if she asked. That he’d tear the universe apart and set it all on fire for her. She knows because she’d do the same for him. 

“The doctor said I’d need someone to look after me when I get out of here,” she says, her attempt to sound casual lost to the medication in her system and the exhaustion of the day, “I was thinking I should just go straight home with you.”

The way his face lights up is worth everything, his smile bright and disbelieving, “Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” she confirms, shrugging nonchalantly “Home is wherever you are anyway.” 

He leans down to kiss her, “Home is wherever you are for me too.” 

She smiles softly and reaches up to straighten out his hair, the locks mussed from where he’d clearly run his fingers through it when she was in surgery. 

“Did Derek and the others catch the guy?” She asks, and Aaron nods in response. 

“They did,” he replies, “Found some of the missing items from the victims in his apartment too. So they are closing up the case with the locals.” 

“Good,” she says, leaning her head back against the pillow, scrunching her nose up in distaste, “Derek is going to give me so much shit when he finds out I fell off that gate,” she says, only half joking. When she looks back at Aaron she watches him hesitate slightly, and she narrows her eyes, “What?”

He clears his throat, “He…may already be calling you The Six Million Dollar Woman.” 

There’s a moment of silence, a beat of it, before she scoffs in outrage. “Oh that bastard is lucky I’m going to be on crutches for a couple of months.” 

-x-

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[dreamingofmuses]

New Year's Resolutions: RP Edition

Howdy all, Ash here. I've been having a think while with family this week, and I've decided I'm going to implement some new 'resolutions' to try and help make writing in 2024 be way more successful than in 2023. This will include things from the running of blogs to jobs I really want to get finished. I'm putting them under a read-more to keep the dash nice and clean.

I will say, this has taken me an hour to write up, and I'd recommend you doing likewise if you think there's little ways you want to improve.

-

Overall Running of Blogs

I'm going to experiment a new approach to running the blogs. For this, I'm going to put all active blogs to low-medium activity. In other words, even if I am personally lurking on mobile, I won't be constantly writing things if I'm not able to. (Work is just about to get super busy and I'm anticipating chaos)

A queue/schedule function will be used for all blogs. I intend to dedicate one weekday evening to working without interruption on replies. Taking commutes to the city and family visits into account, this is looking to be a Thursday, which is the only day I am neither travelling to the city nor have a guaranteed family visit. Of course, this may fluctuate, but that's what I'm hoping to work with, assuming those things stay as they are.

However! What all this means is that I am going to tentatively take skullandbowties off hiatus. With that blog being quiet, it should be possible to juggle it better now. Plus, it's officially off-season so the demand for him from new blogs ought to be low. I'm very smart :D

I also plan to update all pinned posts. I am aware some of them are marking a vacation from months ago.

Individual Blog Maintenance

Create "New Here?" posts to add to the pinned posts/info tags. This is going to be a very quick crash course on what to expect from the blog, especially where some characters might diverge from fanon expectations.

FINISH. WILF'S. BIO. It's not actually relevant to anything being written on the blog itself at present, but I really want to flesh out his character and show that he was stuck in stories for years, decades even! The doc has the word count to 4,888 at this precise moment. This is a mix of summary and brainstorm. Since it's getting a 'little' out of hand, I intend to have a 'tldr' at the start that people can read, and then longer versions if they're curious to get the full story. Maybe even have it that they can jump to particular parts but... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Likewise, Noah's version of Space needs to be finished. This one is going to be a summary, but it's a case of making sure the pieces are in place sufficiently to have parts match canon Space, but also make it clear that there is a lot of differences between canon and what he went through, with his plot entirely spiralling away for 'Part 2'. This is at 5,794 words, and the ending has yet to be ironed out...

(I am going to stop creating needlessly long-winded projects for myself that realistically add nothing of value to my blogs. These two projects are exhausting...)

Theauthorlives is returning to a very small multimuse. Any muses that aren't ones I genuinely enjoy writing are being fully archived, unless they are muses that get no traction but I want to keep the possibility open. Details of that will be shared when I do this.

Redo some muse icons (not all of them!). Though the selection I have for particular sets is a lot, I still feel like I'm missing some expressions or poses. I would like to remake one batch of icons for three characters, and finish iconning a third. Replies seem to be shifting toward iconless, but I like them for asks or IC commentaries.

OOC/Mun Related stuff

Following matters that have happened both online and IRL, I've decided to take a step back from actively engaging with people. My focus will be people that I have been in good communication with for the last twelve months (as well as people I don't talk to frequently but am on friendly terms with) rather than people I feel I have to 'chase' after. Saying that, I'm going to try and not let past experiences meddle with anything in with new writing partners - whether these are brand new to the community or people I've not had the chance to properly interact with prior to this. Just be aware that I might not be super outgoing at first. (This is where setting limits and boundaries is good practice, everyone! Don't sell yourself short, and don't spread yourself out too thinly!)

Which is where I now say I want to send even more asks! Not just memes or sentence starters, but general questions about headcanons or muse opinions. I want to get people thinking more.

My stance on Discord still stands, in that it's solely for OOC stuff, but I'm not giving it out to everyone. However, I have been in two group servers that have little-to-no connection with writing rp threads in them. I would hope that I can fully regain my sense of comfort using Discord as a whole.

Art related

Despite socially stepping back, I still want to keep some semblance of 'community' where my blogs are active so people don't feel isolated. For instance, I want to do something that encourages invasions of ask boxes. That was good fun to watch as the chaos began to spread, and when people are good-humoured to go along with my silly ideas.

I want to have one huge art-related event at some point this year. I'm not entirely what or how to do it, but I think it would be a great excuse to practice something. Portraits, comics, something like that. I'll have a think. (For those who remember, the water gun event was supposed to have an art conclusion but plans for that fell through.)

I want to try and upload drawn responses to heythereneighbor once a week if I can. Obviously, this is depending on how busy it is.

I'd also like to try doodling more on other blogs? But I'm not sure if this is even something people want to see anymore. People might prefer I focus on writing if I have free time instead of doodles or little comics.

... the writing blog. I need to do stuff with that in general. Whoops.

Finally, I want to do what I can to the best of my abilities on a particular day. I've always told people over the years that real life comes before rp, and I still stand by that. Whether I'm around or not every day isn't the end of the world. The communities I write in are a lot slower paced than they were when I started, which is great! I need to remind myself that I don't need to be writing just because I have a bit of free time.

[illusionteez]

Sugar Daddy Hongjoong

pairing : sugar daddy hongjoong X reader

warnings : suggestive content

imagine under the cut 

- you were a university student and to say you were struggling would be a total lie

- keeping up with your studies was hard enough but in order to survive and support yourself and make sure your bills are paid in time you worked two jobs one half time job at a local cafe and a part time job at a bar about 10 minutes from your apartment

- this was just enough for you to get past but then again it wasn’t enough at the same time

- at this point in your life you were honestly just bored and severely exhausted from all this studying and constant work you barely had any time to yourself or to relax “ i guess this is what adulting is like “ you told yourself this multiple times a day

- you were desperate at this point for something fun to happen in your life and to just not have to worry if your gonna get paid in time for your bills 

- you were working you part time shift at the bar it was a 7 hour shift and like usual you just wanted to go home and relax and get the day over with

- as you were finishing up your last few drinks of the day someone caught your attention he was a young man looked to be about 23 and you could have swore to yourself that you saw this man before but you couldn’t put your finger on it

- as soon as he walked into the bar and made eye contact with you he just knew you were the one and he had to have you all to himself so he made his way over to you

- you honestly weren’t expecting this young handsome man to start walking over to you but you did work as a bartender so you snapped out of your daze and just told yourself that he’s just coming over for a drink but you were wrong

- he ordered a drink just to not come off as desperate and once you brought him his drink he introduced himself to you “ my name is kim hongjoong “ that name sounded oddly familiar to you

- he told you his whole story about how he became this millionaire practically over night and how he wants you to be his sugar baby and he will buy you anything you want as long as you do what he asks and he will pay you $10,000 

- you were shocked that a man like him was asking you to be his sugar baby but hell you needed the money and all you had to do was give him what he wants and spend time with him and he was obviously willing to do all that for you

- you agreed almost instantly and since he already laid out all his rules to you and you guys both know each others stories you both decided to have your first meeting the following friday at his place and he made sure you would not be late after all you wouldn’t want to upset him on your first day as his official sugar baby would you

- he loved showing you off every time you went out together and making you happy was his number 1 rule and even though you both knew this was out of character you both didn’t care and you ended up falling in love and started dating this gave him even more of an excuse to spend his money on you

- and the sex life was definitely a big factor in your relationship you never had better he made your life exciting and happy you were no longer living the struggling boring university life you were living before you met him now you were living in style with the best partner you could ever have by your side

[lbibliophile-sw]

Avoidance

Also on AO3 (670 words) For @foxquinweek - day 7 / altprompt 1: NSFW - except Fox is at work so is not thinking about it

What is not commonly known, is that Fox has two sets of armour. He has his Commander armour, with its visor and distinctive paintjob. And then he has his back-up set, the same red-and-white as the majority of the rest of the Guard.

While usually he finds it easier to be readily identifiable, to be able to visually flaunt his authority such as it is and draw attention so the others can get on with their jobs, sometimes anonymity has its advantages. To be able to move around or observe as simply another faceless meatdroid. Senators and officials passing him with barely a glance, rather than accosting him with any and all problems.

He keeps that thought in mind as he traverses the familiar corridors of the Senate Dome, smoothing out the slight hitch in his step. He is just a Guard. Nothing in his bearing or mannerisms to give away his rank, nothing to suggest that he is different to any other Guard running errands or temporarily separated from his patrol partner.

Unfortunately, simple armour and body language are not going to be enough to hide him from the one hunting him this time. His disguise has to go deeper.

He is just a Guard. Tired at the end of a long shift, a bit bored. Still alert for danger, but looking forward to getting back to the barracks. To chatting with his brothers as he grabs latemeal from the mess. To removing the encasing armour and stripping off sweaty blacks, water-ration refreshingly cool as hands –

Hands! He glances down, double checking that his gloves are covering every scrap of bare skin, muffling the traces he leaves behind on buttons and doorhandles. Reassured, he presses the button to call the lift. The chamber when it arrives is empty, but he still forces himself to focus, he can’t afford to slip up now.

He is just a Guard. Tired at the end of a long shift, looking forward to getting back to the barracks. Force, he didn’t get enough sleep to deal with today, despite finishing his paperwork earlier than usual yesterday evening. He needs more caf. He can almost feel his hands wrapped around the warmth of the mug; taste it, hot and smooth and bitter on his tongue, surprisingly similar to –

No, caf. Caf to wash down a chalky ration bar as he works his way through a new pile of paperwork back at his desk. The lift doors open and he goes to step through of them, that much closer to escape, only to find his way blocked, the person entering leaving no way past as the doors close again behind them.

He gulps at the familiar figure standing far too close to him, suddenly doubly grateful for the shield of his helmet and armour, helping him cling to his composure.

“General. Is there something I can do for you sir?”

He is just a Guard. Same armour, same body language, same voice. C’mon, c’mon. Just a Guard. Just a perfectly ordinary Corrie Guard.

“Hey Foxy.”

Kriffing Jedi and their extra senses. And kriff this Jedi in particular, his persistence and his ‘magic hands’ and his infuriatingly smug grin.

“Yes, General?” Vos pauses and takes a step back, suddenly serious.

“Fox, Commander. Look. If you want me to drop it, to pretend nothing happened, just say the word and I will. But,” and his grin returns, if slightly more tentative, “if you are just avoiding me because you’re embarrassed, or if this is some sort of cat and mouse game, then I’d really like to talk about my chances at a reprise of last night?”

Kriff. Wait, no, they did that. Double kriff. Ooh, now that’s an idea…

Fox valiantly resists the urge to hit his helmet, hoping to knock his brain back out of the gutter.

“Well, sir… um Vos… Quinlan? My shift has just ended so we could ah... go talk over latemeal?”

Kriff Quinlan Vos and his persistence and his sexy everything. He hopes.

[tenebraevesper]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Salvaged, Night 20: Left Behind

''I was left behind! All this torture will unwind, I was never all that kind! If you were to rewind, then you would find I was left behind! Take your turn to run and hide, I will catch you all the time! This night no longer shines, your tears divine, you'll now be mine! We hope you enjoyed the show within your grave down below!''

– Left Behind by DAGames (Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location)

xXxXxXx

Connor knocked on the door of the manager's office, waiting for the lazy ''Come in!'', and entered it. The manager was an elderly man who looked like he'd rather be at home and drinking beer than at this establishment.

''Ah, Mr. Davis, is there anything you need?'' the manager asked. Connor took a deep breath.

''I wanted to voice my concerns about the recent events. A lazy security guard and a missing employee isn't very good for Ricky's. I was wondering whether I could, aside from doing my regular job, also apply for the night guard job,'' Connor said, with the manager frowning. He then added, ''I would just make sure no one is on the premises after closure in order to prevent more accidents like this.''

''I will have to think about this, but considering how you're a longtime employee, have a clean record, are usually the last one to leave and we still cannot find a replacement night guard, you might get the job. Of course, we will also have to discuss your hours and paycheck for that,'' the manager said.

''I believe we will find a solution that problem,'' Connor replied, with the manager rising an eyebrow. ''It doesn't have to even be official. I'll just be on the closing shift as usual, but leave a while later after making sure no one is here.''

He knew that it wouldn't take much to convince the manager. He knew that he wanted to cut costs while pretending that everything was running smoothly and by the book. Not to mention, putting an employee as reliable as Connor was on the night guard position would spare him the hassle of having to hire a new night guard, especially since the day shift guard refused to take the night shift.

''I guess you're getting a promotion then,'' the manager said.

''Thank you, sir,'' Connor replied, exiting the office and walking towards the main area, grinning.

xXx

Sam yawned, checking her phone. It was late evening, with her and Springtrap being in her room after having finished cleaning the kitchen. Emma was a little upset about the broken dishes, although she didn't mourn the vase, calling it ugly and noting how she wanted to replace it anyways. However, she was glad things didn't escalate and Sam didn't end up scarred or worse.

''You seem to be really satisfied about this,'' Springtrap told Sam.

''Of course I am. After all, I managed to help someone improve their life, or rather, afterlife,'' Sam replied.

''Honestly, I'm just glad that she's gone,'' Springtrap said, with Sam noticing the bitterness in his tone. Before she could question him, they heard shuffling in front of the door and Emma peeked into the room.

''You two are still awake?'' she said, with Springtrap giving her a questioning look. She narrowed her eyes. ''You know what I meant, Afton.''

''Mum, could we borrow the car for tomorrow?'' Sam asked.

''As long as you manage to wake up early to drive me to work,'' Emma replied. ''Where are you even going to?''

Sam and Springtrap briefly exchanged glances, only to see Emma giving them a Don't you dare to lie to me look.

''We planned to visit an abandoned building called Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental,'' Sam said. Emma didn't seem to recognize the name.

''So, what is that place? Are you completely sure that it is abandoned?'' Emma asked.

''It is,'' Springtrap replied, with Emma giving him a confused look. ''At least it was the last time I was there, more than a year ago.''

''Should I even ask why you were there?'' Emma said, crossing her arms.

''I used to own it, and rest assured, it is completely empty,'' Springtrap replied. ''There are no people and no animatronics, just robotic parts and empty rooms.''

''I see,'' Emma muttered, looking a little skeptical. ''Anyways, don't stay up too late, else someone is going to sleep outside. I'm not that picky about who this person will be.''

She added the last part when she noticed Sam grinning, looking satisfied when Sam's eyes widened and her smile instantly vanished. Emma left, with Sam and Springtrap exchanging glances.

''To be honest, I'm not sure whether she was messing with us again or was completely serious about this,'' Sam said.

''I don't think we should take any chances,'' Springtrap replied. ''In any case, we have a plan for tomorrow and we can discuss the details in the morning.''

He was about to get up and leave, only for Sam to grab his hand, forcing him to stay. He was a little confused when he saw the annoyed look on her expression.

''Remember how I told you that I'm getting better at picking up on whenever you feel upset about something? I'm quite sure that there's something you didn't want to tell me earlier,'' Sam said as Springtrap sat back, looking a little flustered and anxious.

''I don't think I need to explain whom that little girl reminded me of,'' Springtrap said.

''No, but the children are gone, aren't they?'' Sam said. ''That chapter of your life is supposed to be over, isn't it? Even though it does influence your current situation.''

''True, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that not all of them are gone,'' Springtrap replied.

''You mean that entity?'' Sam asked, with Springtrap nodding.

''If anything, I'm certain that this entity is completely different from the voice that told me that I'd be back, for whatever reason they had,'' he explained.

''Considering how things are, you've been brought back to be tortured. Apparently, the Hell you faced wasn't enough,'' Sam said, noticing that Springtrap looked quite crestfallen. ''There is something else, isn't it?''

''How would you feel if I just left?'' he asked. He noticed the reluctant look on her expression, as she understood what he meant. It was more than obvious that she refused to let him leave, which he actually felt relieved about.

''Well, if you wanted to leave, it is your decision…'' Sam muttered.

''Sam, be honest with your feelings,'' Springtrap said calmly, in the same tone Sam used to talk to him in such situations.

''No, I don't want to you to leave,'' Sam said, now in a more confident tone, only to feel Springtrap patting her on the head.

''I know. I am not going to leave you,'' Springtrap told her. ''At least not unless forced, and even then, I doubt I would just abandon you. Besides, I'm quite satisfied with being back, so that's an additional reason for staying here.''

Sam smiled, with Springtrap feeling a warm sensation in his chest.

Even if I have to leave, it'll be on my own terms.

xXx

''It should be here somewhere,'' Springtrap said as he looked through the window of the car. The two were searching for Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental location. Springtrap felt a little tense about visiting it again, as he wondered whether everything remained the same, or whether the location was still there.

''Is this it?'' Sam asked, parking in next to the building next to an empty lot. There was an old rusty sign on it, saying CIRCUS BABY'S ENTERTAINMENT AND RENTAL, with the image of Circus Baby holding a microphone on the top of the sign. However, the colors were faded and chipped. The lot also had a broken fence around it, but it didn't seem like it was necessary for keeping intruders out. The whole place was decrepit and gave off a creepy vibe. The two exited the car, walking over to the building, with Springtrap being stunned.

''I can't believe this place is still here,'' he said. ''I thought that Henry had torn it down and burned the remains.''

''Well, I have no complaints about this place still being here,'' Sam said, looking quite excited. ''Let's go inside.''

Springtrap nodded, although he still stood on the spot, staring at the building. He did feel a little reluctant about entering it, as he didn't know what he might find there. Everything could've been the same as he left it, but it was also possible that there was nothing there. He sighed.

It's time to see what is lurking underground.

xXx

''Is there a bunny plushie?''

''No…''

''But, I want one!''

Kathy looked at her younger brother, who was just as annoyed as she was that the only plushies were those of Ricky and the Misfits. The two hoped that they could find a plushie that looked similar to that green-golden bunny with the purple bowtie.

Speaking of the bunny, nobody had seen it. Sure, the two hadn't visited Ricky's in a while, but they were sure that the bunny would still be here. They asked a few older kids and even an employee about the strange bunny animatronic, but none of them had even noticed that he was there. The two felt disappointed, as they wanted to play with him.

They knew that the bunny was there, but everyone else acted like he didn't exist. What was going on?

''Maybe he doesn't work today,'' Kathy suggested. She then pouted. ''Or maybe he got fired?''

Kyle tilted his head. He didn't fully understand what ''being fired'' meant, although he knew that it was something about adults losing their job, as he overheard his aunt talking nastily about the people that worked in the grocery store. All he could imagine was the bunny animatronic being fired out of a cannon by Ricky, and got scared.

''I hope he wasn't,'' he said. ''That would hurt.''

The two then got approached by Virgil The Owl, who looked at them expectantly.

''Do you want a prize?'' Virgil asked them.

''We want a bunny plushie!'' Kyle exclaimed, holding his share of prize tickets.

''I am sorry, but there are no bunnies here,'' Virgil replied. ''But, did you know that rabbits are fragile animals and are most active in the morning and evening. They prefer to sleep during the day and through the night. Rabbits are very tame and not demanding. They can be trained to learn commands and play games. Rabbits make very little noise so bothering your neighbors will not be a concern. Rabbits love to be handled, like attention, and tend to be active when most people are home. Because of all these attributes they can make an excellent pet.''

''Really?'' Kyle seemed to be awed, turning to his sister. ''I want a pet bunny!''

''Me too,'' Kathy was just as excited about the idea as her brother was, but then quickly remembered why they were here, then turned to the animatronic. ''Did you see a bunny robot?''

''No, there is no rabbit animatronic here. We have Ricky Wolfrun-'' Before Virgil could continue listing the names of the animatronics, he got interrupted by Kathy.

''But, there was a bunny named Spring here!'' she insisted.

''No, there is no rabbit animatronic here. We have Ricky Wolf-''

Kathy groaned, with her brother copying her. Both of them were frustrated that nobody knew about Spring, not even the animatronics themselves.

''Hello, there!'' The twins turned around, only to see Ricky waving at them. ''Do you need any help?''

As much as the twins were aware of, there were two Rickys. One would sing on the stage and the other would walk around and interact with people. However, they would never be seen together. Of course, when they played with another kid their age and told him about it, he said that they were wrong and that they were stupid for believing that. The twins quickly left him, not taking kindly to the fact that they were insulted by someone who couldn't tell the difference between a robot and a person in a costume.

''Have you seen a bunny?'' Kyle asked hopefully. ''His name is Spring!''

''I'm sorry, but I don't know any bunny named Spring,'' Ricky replied. Kyle looked disappointed. ''However, you can play with me and my friends. Just come along.''

He reached out for Kyle, but Kathy grabbed his arm first.

''No, thanks,'' Kathy suddenly said, feeling uncomfortable in Ricky's presence. Even though he was friendly to them, she had a bad feeling about this and wanted to leave. ''Bye.''

Connor observed silently as the two left, feeling angry. He had realized that he basically got his confirmation that there was indeed a bunny animatronic roaming through this town. However, every time he appeared or was mentioned, he would take people he was interested in away from him.

Well, it's time to hunt this bunny down.

xXx

As Sam and Springtrap entered the building, they noticed a thick layer of dust on the floor and every surface. There were cobwebs, as well as a musty scent in the air. It was dark inside, with shutters covering the windows, although Sam brought along her flashlight, shining it on the surfaces. The hallway they entered led to another room covered in posters of Circus Baby, Funtime Foxy, Funtime Freddy and Bon-Bon, and Ballora. There was also a reception counter.

''We're not even at where the animatronics were and I'm already excited,'' Sam said, contemplating whether she could take the posters with her.

''We might have a little problem, though,'' Springtrap said, pointing at the elevator a bit away from the counter. ''There are other entrances, but the primary one, which is reserved for the technicians, is this elevator and I'm not sure whether this place is still powered-up since nobody is using it. Also, just to make it clear, the last time I came here I used a different entrance.''

''Well, we could try it out,'' Sam said, shrugging. Springtrap was worried about the possibility of them getting trapped inside a faulty elevator, but decided to give it a try. Surprisingly, when he pressed the button for the elevator, it actually worked. He and Sam exchanged glances, then nodded, entering the elevator. Sam felt her heart racing when the door behind her closed. It took a few seconds, but the elevator then went down.

As they waited, Springtrap figured that there was a possibility that Fazbear Entertainment was the one who kept Circus Baby's Rental and Entertainment from being torn down. After all, they had already decided to open another location.

Meanwhile, Sam examined the entirety of the elevator, noticing how it looked exactly like it did in the game. The posters were missing, but the panel on which HandUnit asks you to type was still there. Sam traced with her fingers over the torn sticker that said ''MIKE''. She was smiling widely, feeling as if she was dreaming. However, this was much better than a dream.

''Deep below ground, where memories sleep, anger is restless and secrets don't keep.''

''What do you mean?'' Springtrap asked her.

''That was the description for Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location,'' Sam explained. ''Speaking of which, something's missing. HandUnit is not active.''

''I guess that someone turned HandUnit off,'' Springtrap said.

''I kind of hoped that we would hear him,'' Sam said. ''He might've offered me some Exotic Butters.''

Springtrap snorted, figuring that he should ask her a little more about those Five Nights at Freddy's games. The elevator finally opened, with both of them exiting it, entering a smaller room with a vent they would have to crawl through. Sam glanced at Springtrap.

''I still don't get why people have to use the vents to get into another room,'' she said, noticing Springtrap grinning, his arms crossed on his back and his eyes glowing in a soft purple.

''It's just a precaution, to make sure that people stay where they're supposed to be. Do you really think that, unless directed, someone would use a vent to get into the next room?'' Springtrap asked.

''Well, you have a point,'' Sam replied.

''If you don't want to use the vents, I'll show you the way around,'' Springtrap added.

''Thanks, but I actually wanted to see what Mike had to go through,'' Sam said, pointing at the vent. Springtrap's ears drooped, with him looking a little anxious. He knew that Michael had been at this place, as he personally had sent him here, but the idea of her retracing his steps didn't occur to him. However, if she did attempt to retrace Michael's steps… Springtrap's eyes widened as he realized what kind of situation he put her in.

''Say, Sam, you'll be fine on your own for a few minutes?'' he asked.

''I guess…'' Sam gave him a confused look. ''Why are you asking?''

''There's something I need to do, but I'll be back soon,'' Springtrap replied.

''What is it?'' Sam asked.

''I'll explain you later. It's just something I forgot about,'' Springtrap told her. Sam tilted her head, a little skeptical, but then shrugged and entered the vent. Springtrap sighed as he heard her leaving, rubbing his temple. ''Why didn't I remember this sooner?''

He then turned back to he elevator, walking around it and opening the door that was concealed in the small area behind the elevator. As he had already noted, there were certain aspects of this place only he was supposed to know about.

xXx

Sam felt a little overwhelmed as she stood in the primary control module room. In front of her was the vent that led to the control room for the Circus Gallery. On the sides were the vents that led to the Ballora Gallery and Funtime Auditorium. She also noticed the keypads used for the controlled shocks, approaching the one on her left carefully, her fingers itching to press the buttons. She felt giddy, still a bit in disbelief that she was actually here, at the Sister Location. As she contemplated whether she should actually try the keypads out, she was startled when the light suddenly started flickering and turned on. Even the screens above her were turned on, albeit showing only static.

She figured that Springtrap was probably the one who turned the lights on and looked through the windows. Both the Ballora Gallery and Funtime Auditorium were empty, albeit there were scraps of metal and plastic lying on the floor. Running from one side to the other, she simply couldn't decide which one to check first.

In the end, she decided to visit first the Circus Gallery, wanting to see Circus Baby's stage first. After climbing out of the vent, she found herself in the control room for the Circus Gallery, leaning against the machinery to see the stage. It was dimly lit, with broken stage lights, but much larger than Ballora and Funtime Foxy's stage. She took a step back and crouched, opening the door to the small space below the desk, which once served as a hiding spot for Michael when the Bidybabs went after him.

She shuddered as she closed it, reminding herself that this wasn't a game or a dream. It was real and people had died here. Not only that, but several incredibly dangerous animatronics had managed to escape by using a human as a suit. Calling it an unnerving experience would be an understatement.

After returning back to the main control room, Sam turned towards the Ballora Gallery, roaming freely through the area, as there was no Ballora or Minireenas to stop her. The room didn't have anything of interest, aside from several decorations and posters showing Ballora dancing. Sam turned her attention to the stage, staring at it for a moment, then shivered, going towards the breaker room.

Now, the breaker room was just as she imagined it to be. She saw the panel for the power, the room being covered in wires and pipes, some tools on a desk at the far end of the room, as well as some machinery.

This was where Funtime Freddy and Bon-Bon resided, at least for a while.

She stepped towards the stage where Funtime Freddy once stood, staring at it briefly, before turning back to the Ballora Gallery, with the intent to visit the Funtime Auditorium next. Once there, she glanced at the stage where Funtime Foxy was, then looked at the floor. While dusty, it was clean.

I guess we'll never know what happened to those two technicians after they were killed.

She then walked over to the parts and service room, which, similarly to the breaker room, was covered in wires, but also had closets and a desk, as well as tools and parts that would be used for fixing the animatronics. As she looked down, she noticed a charred piece of plastic. Picking it up and turning it around, she realized that, while it was quite damaged, it was Ennard's mask.

She gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief as she processed the fact that she was holding a piece of a rather infamous animatronic. She assumed that Ennard, after parting ways with Circus Baby, came here to repair himself, only for that to go wrong. Instead, he became Molten Freddy, a bunch of wires with Funtime Freddy's mask and AI, as Ballora and Funtime Foxy's AI probably ceased to exist at that point.

As she exited the parts and service room, she turned her attention to two other rooms, one being the private room and the other being the scooping room. Biting her lip, she went to the private room, wanting to check it out. As she already expected it, it looked almost exactly as she imagined it to be. The monitors had been turned off, so she had no view of the other rooms. Just as she reached for the monitors, she felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly turned around.

''Are you okay? I'm sorry I scared you,'' Springtrap said as he saw her stunned expression.

''Yeah, I'm fine,'' Sam replied. ''I am actually quite enjoying myself, just like at Fazbear's Fright.''

''I see you have already found something,'' Springtrap said, looking at Ennard's mask. Sam nodded.

''Honestly, I don't think I have even explored half of the place properly,'' she replied. ''Anyways, what were you doing?''

''I was simply making sure you won't get yourself hurt,'' Springtrap replied, with Sam giving him a confused look.

''Thanks,'' she muttered, wondering what exactly he meant, only to figure it out a moment later. ''The scooper, right?''

Springtrap didn't say anything, avoiding any eye-contact with her. He was still troubled over what happened, as well as worried about Sam's reaction to everything. Sure, she had already known about the whole deal with the scooper and remnant, but there was still a difference between knowing something and experiencing it first-hand. Not to mention, considering how curious Sam was, he had every right to worry about her getting hurt.

''In any case, I have visited pretty much every room here, except for the one with the scooper,'' she told Springtrap as she exited the room.

''I think you might want to rethink that sentence,'' Springtrap replied, then glanced back at the monitors, a little reluctant. Although, I guess she already knows, right?

He sighed, feeling torn between letting her continue to explore and telling her that they should leave. After all, this was his idea, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that he made the wrong decision. There was a reason why I left everything behind.

He sighed, remembering the time he encountered Circus Baby decades after he had left her and the other animatronics. At the time, she had managed to somehow repair herself, becoming Scrap Baby. She was excited to see him, showing no trace of malice or bitterness towards him. She didn't care anymore about being left behind, seemingly forgotten, and wanted to do anything to make him proud. She wanted to be part of this horror show and he allowed it.

She even told him about what had happened to Michael, which honestly shocked him as, while he did sent him to this location, he didn't expect such outcome. However, the possibility of Michael still being alive despite being carved out like a pumpkin for Halloween sparked his interest, causing him to wonder whether he would encounter his son again. Still, that didn't mean that he wanted a family reunion. At that point, he had lost every sense of sanity, only wanting to continue to murder people.

Hell, even Circus Baby was a victim of his insane ideas. He no longer cared whether he was talking to the Circus Baby AI or Elizabeth when he encountered her, simply accepting idea that this is who she was. While he may have not wanted to harm her before, he had accepted her idea of her becoming his successor, while at the same time making it clear that he would also act on his own, without her help.

Springtrap sighed, closing his eyes with a look of anguish on his expression. Now that he thought about everything, he felt sick. He was furious at himself for even taking such dark path, even though he knew that he couldn't change anything about his past. He refused to understand the pain and agony he brought upon everyone, believing that there would be some kind of benefit from his actions. Sure, had had discovered what could be called essentially immortality, but at what price?

Even if put myself into a similar situation, I still would have no idea what they have been through.

Time and time again, he had to wonder why he was still here, why he was allowed to come back. Was he supposed to repeat the horror show? Sure, he tried that, but Sam convinced him that there might have been another reason for his return. Or, maybe there wasn't any other reason for his return and this was just another form of torture? If it was, then they did a good job, as he now felt even worse than he did in Hell.

Still, there was a bit of hope left for him, as he had found someone who was willing to listen to him and help him out. It wasn't a bad deal, despite the constant anxiety and fear about her getting hurt somehow. After all, he had managed to hurt and scar every person he actually felt some connection with, and she might suffer the same fate.

I should've stayed away from her.

He shook his head, his eyes flaring purple. Only because he knew that he shouldn't be around her didn't mean he was supposed to leave her. He had shown that he could change, that he could become a better person. Hell, he even showed regret for his past actions! He wanted to keep Sam safe and happy, and that required his presence, no matter how absurd that idea was.

If this is not why I'm here, what else am I supposed to do?!

In the end, the decision lied within him. Even if he had made a different choice, he would still suffer the consequences, which could've been even worse than what he was experiencing now. Springtrap sighed, exiting the private room and closing the door, then leaned against it, staring across the room.

What should I do?

Suddenly, there was a scream, with something falling on the ground, the sounds echoing through the empty room.

''Sam!''

Springtrap ran over to the scooping room, finding Sam sitting on the ground, clutching her stomach. He quickly crouched next to her, noticing the blood on her arm.

''Sam, what happened?!''

Sam looked at the dismantled scooper, with Springtrap noticing that the remnant injector had sprung open. While had had dismantled it, he forgot that there was a possibility that traces of remnant were still inside the injector and that it might activate if not handled carefully. He assumed that she picked up some of the pieces of the scooper to examine them and got stabbed by the injector after accidentally activating it.

''Sam, let me see the wound,'' he said anxiously, slowly feeling the dread rising in the back of his mind. Sam extended her arm, her eyes tearing. Feeling sorry for her, Springtrap examined her arm, seeing the tears on the bandages and blood dripping out of the tears. He took a look at her, realizing that it was just her arm that got stabbed by the injector. Still, that didn't make him feel less horrified. He looked at her, his eyes flaring purple. ''We're going home this instant.''

Sam was surprised by his stern and serious tone. It was less of a suggestion and more of an order, with her realizing that the situation was grave. She let him help her get up, feeling her arm throbbing and a little dizzy.

''Sam, can you stand on your own?'' Springtrap asked her, with Sam waiting for the dizziness to fade.

''Yeah, I think so,'' she said, even though Springtrap still held her non-injured arm. ''There's a first aid kit in the car.''

''I don't think that it will help much,'' Springtrap said as he looked at her injured arm. The bleeding had stopped, but there were still red stains on the bandages. However, he wasn't worried about her injury, but more about what the injector did to her.

As they walked past the remains of Ballora, Funtime Foxy and Funtime Freddy and entered the Funtime Auditorium, Springtrap directed her towards a concealed door Sam hadn't noticed earlier. It led to a corridor that had a fork. Sam assumed that one path led to the observatory she saw through the panel at the scooping room. Springtrap then gestured to take the other path, which led back to the elevator room. As the elevator went up, the dizziness Sam felt had faded away and she was capable of standing on her own. However, her arm still hurt.

''How do you feel?'' Springtrap asked her worriedly. Sam noticed that there was a hint of panic in his tone.

''My arm hurts,'' she said, holding her injured arm with her non-injured one. ''I also feel tired.''

Springtrap looked dismayed, fearing the worst. He didn't want to risk anything, but he also had no idea what might happen to Sam. After all, he never found out what might happen when someone who was still alive gets injected with remnant.

xXx

The drive back home was quiet. After having her arm once again bandaged, Sam insisted on driving them back home, despite feeling fatigue. Springtrap let her do that, as he didn't want to upset her further. The situation was already bad enough, even more when Sam expressed the desire to go to sleep once they had arrived.

''Sam, I don't think that this is a good idea,'' Springtrap told her. ''You need to stay awake.''

He was slowly freaking out. As much as he knew, remnant was supposed to bind the soul of a dead or dying person to a body, be it artificial or not. However, he feared that, if injected into someone who was still alive, it could outright kill the person. While Sam wasn't stabbed in any of her vital organs, like the heart, it seemed to be affecting her nonetheless.

''I'm sorry about what happened. This is all my fault,'' he told her.

''No, it's mine,'' Sam replied, her cheeks red. ''I shouldn't have touched that stuff. I should've known better-''

Suddenly, her eyes rolled back and collapsed. Springtrap managed to hold her, preventing her from falling down on the floor.

''Sam, wake up! Sam!''

Horrified, he realized that she couldn't hear him anymore.

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[ambiguouspuzuma]

Farewell tour

Elspeth died on her lunch break, which already felt unfair. It had barely turned noon, only a few minutes after the end of her morning shift, and she didn't even get the chance to finish her meal before she choked on her third bite of egg and cress. It was almost like things had been organised that way, to minimise her employer's inconvenience. As if dying was a personal errand she had to take care of in her own time.

They found her corpse in the breakroom, still dressed up in her ballgown and tiara, a sleeping beauty waiting on true love's first Heimlich. It hadn't been the most dignified way to go, but Elspeth was well used to that: she'd been working at PrincessWorld for over two years, patrolling in that costume every day, and her dignity had died long before her body chose to follow suit.

Her official job title was Princess, but in practice she'd served as a glorified guide, walking around the theme park and welcoming its guests. They had a map, of course - a fold-out one, in the centre-spread of the flimsy leaflet they were handed at the start - but many still struggled to find their way between various palaces and play areas, not to mention the hedge maze at their heart; and some just preferred a guided tour from an actual, real life fake princess.

The job hadn't made her feel particularly princesslike. On days like her last, when Elspeth's morning had been filled with nothing but complaints, litter-picking and crying children, she'd had half a mind to tell her boss that he should be the one wearing the coronet, tucked up safely inside the keep of his office, whilst she should don more appropriate garb for her station as his serf. But she'd had a whole mind to keep her job, so she hadn't ever said a thing.

"Now I'll never get a chance," she thought, which already wasn't right. She was dead. Elspeth had seen her body carried away, and that meant she had no business to still be reflecting on things; she'd had no right to watch the body, either, now that she came to think of it. What eyes had she been using? What brain? Did this mean that she was really still alive, like the way that French philosopher had proven he was real? Cogito ergo vivo?

"René Descartes," the voice said. "And no - I'm afraid that you're still very much deceased."

"What?" The word definitely came out of her mouth. Hearing and speaking. That was definitely incongruous with death.

"Expired. Departed. Perished." The voice seemed to be coming from a shadow in the corner, which became more distinct with every word. More black than grey. More red than black. "You know, snuffed it. Kicked the bucket. Croaked."

"Then what's this? The afterlife?"

"It's the in-between. The queue to get in, if you like; the turnstiles. The ticket stand."

"I need a ticket?" Elspeth mock-checked her pockets. They were empty, even of her phone. It turned out that you really couldn't take it with you. "Sorry, I seem to have left my money in my living form."

"What you need is a job." The dark red shape had coalesced into a human form. Hooded, but with the sense there was a face underneath the cloak - either that, or a skull.

"At the ticket booth?"

"Something like that. Not dissimilar to your current, or I should say previous, role." The shape paused. "Not dissimilar to mine."

"Which is?"

"Guide. Usher. Chaperone."

"Around PrincessWorld?"

"From it, for those who die here. To greet souls as they leave the mortal realm, and ease their transition into the beyond."

"What about my transition? Why am I stuck here?"

"Really? You don't remember the third of June, 2004?"

"Oh." She tried her best not to. "Right. Not my finest hour, I'll admit. But that's enough to keep me out of paradise?"

"It's enough to... say, extend your probation. You can work it off. It's not like you've been damned, you'll just have to prove yourself."

"For how long?"

"A few lifetimes, I'd imagine. More, if they aren't convinced. Potentially forever. Are you familiar with Sisyphus? "

"Having to do this job... for eternity? That sounds like my idea of torture."

"Well, that was your original sentence."

"I'm sorry?"

"That's what I said - they took your contrition into account. I was able to get it down to community service. Trust me, this is better."

"So hang on, this isn't even a paid job?" Elspeth focused on the practicalities. Metaphysical frameworks could wait. If this was an interview, she knew what she wanted to know. "The only good thing about doing this was that I actually got money at the end of the day. You're telling me I'm now doing forced labour?"

"You don't really need money, if that helps," the figure said. It didn't. "You don't really have a body, so you don't need shelter, food, or any of those shackles of mortality. There are other perks, though."

"Like what?" She'd been rather fond of some of those shackles.

"The rest of your judgement is over. As long as you get this job done, you can get away with any other vices you like, scot-free."

"So you're basically just saying I'm above the law."

"As long as you do the job," it repeated. "Have you ever heard the expression the wages of death are sin?"

"I'm pretty sure that's backwards," Elspeth said, then nodded to the crimson robe, which swirled around what were presumably the figure's feet. "What about the uniform? Do I get that provided?"

"There's nothing uniform about it. I chose this myself, for obvious reasons."

"You wanted to play Little Red Riding Hood?"

"Practicality. It doesn't show the stains." The figure paused. "Or perhaps it does. Was this white, originally? Most of the deaths are clean enough, but some can be quite messy."

"So I can choose my own?"

"If the princess outfit is no longer your taste."

"But out of my own pocket?"

"There's nothing in your pocket. You're flat broke, as of this moment. But you can expense it, so don't scrimp if you've got a real preference. Some find actual scythes to carry around, but you can usually commission a decent facsimile from someone on Etsy. Is that all clear?"

"One more question, if I may." Elspeth still couldn't see the figure's face, but she imagined it looked much as hers did when answering a tourist's umpteenth query, usually for the umpteenth time. "Why me? I'm not equipped to handle so much death. I'm not even a qualified first aider."

"Being able to have the same conversation again and again..." They spoke as someone who'd seen this one a few times themselves, and was looking forward to its end. "Well, it's a skill. Most people don't have it in them. They break. Let's just say you have the necessary job experience. If you've survived PrincessWorld's stream of guests, you'll do just fine with those on their way out."

"I didn't survive," she protested. But the figure had already disappeared.

[aonoexpat]

The rollercoaster that was quitting my job after a week and a half

02-03-2023

Unfortunately, that cafe turned out to be more of a challenge to get away from than I had anticipated. Everything went South last Thursday when the manager called me into the office to talk about my availability, since I had told him I needed more time for busking, because it wouldn't work in the cafe. He was unhappy with me pulling back, and we agreed it wouldn't work out. It seemed like we would go our separate ways perfectly amicably, but then he got back to me and brought up the contract we had, and how it dictated I had to give a 1 week's notice, so I'd have to work another full week. I told him well, the contract also dictates I'm not obliged to work any more than two hours per week. Suddenly, that same contract seemed to lose all relevance to the conversation, and he implored me to just put my head down and work, and not "kick that hornet's nest." This didn't sit right with me, so I had another talk with him about the terms on which we were going to end this contract. He proceeded to tell me how grateful I should be to be offered shifts on the weekend, how "you can't live off of your passion", and even if you try, you "really should cover all your bases first". When I told him I didn't need his advice, he got offended. Our talk was cut short because duty called, so I wiped my tears in the bathroom before getting back to the bar and finishing my shift.

The next day, I called in sick. I was shaking on the couch as I sent the text. I was absolutely terrified. This was not how I've been taught to behave. I have to be professional, I have to be nice, I have to be polite and if my feelings get hurt I should rise above it. I should be a good girl and finish the hours I'm expected to work as I humbly resign because clearly I must have been in the wrong. According to him, I was the one breaching our initial agreement, and he was an authoritative male figure so I felt quite intimidated. Still, my text was accepted and suddenly I was free for the day. That felt wonderfully empowering, and you know what I did? I walked into town and got another job. And another. And another. Now I have my pick of other places that all seem 1000x better than this one.

That Monday he texted me saying how "glad" he was that I was "feeling so much better", because "a friend of his" had seen me busking at the markets Sunday morning (low-key stalker behaviour if you ask me). He told me I was expected to come into work the very next day. This forced my hand a bit, because I had been waiting to officially resign until payday, fearing they might try to withhold my salary once I informed them of my intention to leave. I headed over to Wellington Community Law, who volunteer their time giving out free legal advice to those in need. With their help, I drafted up a resignation message, telling the manager I was not coming in for more than the two hours mentioned in the contract, and even that was a courtesy because he had failed to communicate the work roster to me at least a week in advance, which the contract dictates he must do. He texted me back telling me I was dead wrong, that I was misinterpreting the contract, and to show up for all scheduled shifts or else there would be legal consequences. He even had the gall to tell me I should really get some sound legal advice before making this decision. I told him I already had, and that he could not legally require me to work all the ~45 hours (!!) he had decided to put me on the roster for, because that would be an unlawful availability provision (loved learning the legal jargon for this, thanks wclc ❤️). He told me to write an official e-mail with my "complete concerns" and my decision not to work the required shifts. Luck would have it that I had already been typing away for three days at about a kilometre of text detailing all the broken promises and everything that he had done wrong, including but definitely not limited to some non-consensual touches during work. I ended the e-mail reiterating my (courteous) offer to still work the two hours, and, as advised in a second session with wclc, gave him a deadline before which he was to tell me which hours he wanted me to come in. Suddenly he was very quiet, until I got a text message the next day stating very shortly that I was not required to come into work anymore that week, and all outstanding payments for previous worked shifts would be made within a week 😤

Mind you, my stress levels were through the roof throughout this entire process. I was shaking, I was waking up early, scared to look at my phone, worried about the consequences I had been threatened with. In my most fearful thoughts I saw him coming to my house and trying to harass me. I'd never done anything like this before, and his manipulative words unfortunately had their intended effect on me. I was scared I was actually wrong, that he would sue me, and I would be deported. But wclc assured me I did everything right, and I was happy to be able to believe them over him. The waiting for replies was scary but I'm very lucky to be surrounded by some truly wonderful people here who supported me, kept me from buckling and helped distract me from the stress. "This is not Europe," they told me. "You can just block his number and never go back." It turns out employees are legally in a much better position to start with over here, which is very refreshing.

And let me tell you, I feel like I've grown a couple of centimetres through the whole ordeal. It feels amazing to stand up against somebody like him, somebody who made conversations way more personal than they needed to be, told lies about me to the rest of the staff, and basically told me to let him exploit me, and WIN. The act itself is invigorating already but the moment he texted me saying I wouldn't have to come in anymore, I jumped with joy. I was so scared but I WON. He's never going to apologise to me, nor is he going to like me ever again (which is something I've been taught to feel bad about), but I'll sleep soundly just imagining what his face must have been like when he realised he was wrong. I know I'm not the first person he exploited, but it seems I was the first to walk out like this. I do hope he learns a lesson, or that I might set an example for the rest of the staff.

So if you ever need some courage to stand up for yourself, I've found that listening to these songs helps:

Doja Cat - Boss Bitch

Todrick Hall - Wrong Bitch

Blackpink - Pretty Savage

It really sounds so much easier than it is, but as Rascal Flatts put it so beautifully, you can do what you think is impossible 🤩