#solidarity with my “how the fuck did I get here” brother in arms

[that-ineffable-devil]

I relate to Steve Harrington as a parent because I, too, am frequently out-negotiated by my pre-teen and have to go along with it in the dumbest way possible to try to retain any shred of authority/dignity.

[night-market-if]

Paper Lanterns Part 26

Paper Lanterns is a community based IF game here on Tumblr.  I need something to fuel the creative fires while I chip away at The Night Market demo, and I want to give you all a little something in the meantime.  Here’s how it will work.

I will post a snipped under the cut every few days.  At the end of the post will be three options.  Comment below or send me an ask if you would rather be anonymous, over which route you would like to see.  I will tally them up and write the majority option and post it in the following days. From there, we repeat the process until we, as a community, have crafted our story.

Please reblog and share this with others.  The more people we have participating, the more fun I think this can be for us.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 under the cut

Swallowing, you look up at him, your breath short.  His hair fell in his face, dark and soft, cutting across his nearly black eyes.  The calm of the room shone across him, down the slope of his cheekbone. Across the curve of his jaw.  You reach up, tracing your fingers over each line of his face.  

“I’m sorry,” you mutter.

“I’m sorry too.”

Neither of you knew what exactly you were both apologizing for.  It no longer mattered.  At that moment, forgiveness was more important than past deeds, coming to a resolve.  There was a point in which you had to simply move on and as he hovered over you, the soft warmth of his sweater pressed against your bare skin, you couldn’t remember anymore why you had wanted to leave this world.  Or him.  For so long, you had fought for it. To escape the Night Market and start a life somewhere.  

Start a life.

That was always what you had said.

You held onto that notion so tight that somewhere along the way, you hadn’t realized that your life had started long ago.

“Ahem.” Both of you jumped, tearing your eyes from each other. Hazel stood in the doorway, a small smile tugging at her lips.  You practically push Malcolm to the floor in an effort to get to her, wincing as your side pulls. Hazel rolls her eyes and came to you instead, wrapping her arms around you tightly.  “My hero,” she whispers.

You wrap your arms firmly around her, hauling her close. “Are you alright? Did they hurt you? I’ll kill Tandri.  There was no reason to arrest you and… fuck I left Rat and Neve at your apothecary.”

Malcolm, from his position on the floor, shook his head. “Just thought of that, huh?”

Pulling back, Hazel cups your cheek.  “Everything is fine.  Neve took Rat back to her place.  The apothecary is shut up tight. And prison wasn’t so bad,” her smile was wane.  “I mean, it's dark, but they didn’t hurt me.  They just tossed me in a cell with no communication. I was only in there for a few hours.”

“Few hours too long,” you mutter.

Leaning forward, she places a soft kiss on my cheek.  “So,” she said, turning to her brother.  “I thought we would all be pretty hungry tonight.  And since we are lying low I can’t really go back to the apothecary yet and deal with everything.”

“Wait, why are we lying low if she made bail?” There was something Malcolm wasn’t telling you.  Or maybe the situation was worse than you thought.  Most likely, though, the two of them were once against standing in solidarity against your own fuck ups.

“Hazel made bail,” Malcolm stated calmly. “You didn’t.”

“So,” Hazel said, her voice pitching a bit higher. “I thought I would go out through the tunnels. Get a few basics. Bring it back here and cook for us all.  No decisions or plans on how we’re going to do deal with the Baron of the Mists is going to be made on an empty stomach.”  The look she gave both of us was significant. “I’ll be gone for say, three hours?”

“Four,” Malcolm smirked.

“Are you sure it’s safe for her to…”

“My bail was bought. My name is clear. Besides, I provide most of those guards with herbal supplements. No one wanted me there except Tandri. She’s always had it out for me.”

“Probably because you didn’t want to date her,” you say. 

Malcolm’s eyes went wide. “Excuse me?”

Hazel waved him off, checking your wound and tutting under her breath before rising from the bed. “I’ll be back soon.  Malcolm, they are still hurt. Please keep that in mind.”

Malcolm stared after her as she grabbed her shawl and secured it around her shoulder. There was a small drop near the back of the apartment. A trap door that led to the underground tunnels that ran along the underbelly of the city.

“Tandri wanted to date her? When?”  Malcolm didn’t even wait for his sister to be out of earshot before grilling you.

“When did she not.” From what you remember, Tandri had always had it bad for Hazel. But Hazel didn’t like cruelty in any amount, and Tandri’s was past intolerable.  “Are we really going to talk about Tandri, though?”

Malcolm crawled up on the bed, sweeping the covers aside. It was the first time you realized you were stripped bare, clothes tossed aside somewhere from when he had patched up your wounds. He hovers over you for a moment, still fully clothed, drinking in the sight of you splayed before him. You feel your skin flush, your fingers curling in the moss green sheets beneath you.  It had only been a week since you had fallen against his desk. Since you were inside him for the first time in a year.  Malcolm had always been home. From the time you were young. Never again would you allow that home to be shattered like it had been for so long now.

Reaching up, you grab the back of his head, taking a fist full of his hair and pulling him flush against you. You seek out his lips with a desperate need, wanting to get closer. Desperate to feel every inch of him against you.  Bracing himself on either side of your body, he stares down at you, and you feel your motions slow.  Suddenly, your touch turns softer as you begin exploring him.  Your heart pounds against your chest as you lock eyes with his own, suddenly feeling as if this was the first all over again. Back when the two of you were young and scared of the world, clinging to each other in the dark, aching for understanding that you only could find in each other's arms.

Cupping your cheek, he runs a thumb under your eye, pressing his finger to the corner.  Then, leaning down, he captures your lips with his, kissing you in a slow and soft breath that has your chest rising and falling with emotion.  Ever so slowly, his hands began to trace your side, lingering around your hips, ghosting across you in a shuddering moan.  Tilting your head back, you gasp, falling into the comfort that was Malcolm Albright

~~~~~

After, you lean heavily against him, your sweaty cheek pressed to his, his hand running absently up and down your back.  Golden shafts of sun drift through in dizzying motes and for a brief moment, tucked far away, it was just the two of you once more.

“Your turn,” he rasps, his voice rough with pleasure.

“My turn what?” you look down at your spent bodies, the bruises forming around his collarbone, the red scratches you felt against your own jaw.  “I think I was very good at taking turns,” you murmur.

He pinches your hip.  “How did you fall in love with me?” he asks.  “When did you know?”

You look up at him. That was the thing about Malcolm. He had always been there. From the time you were a grubby little kid, wandering the streets, trying desperately not to be terrified.  Then, as you grew, as you learned, he had always been around, him and Hazel, the two of them your rock in a world that had never quite been kind to you. You don’t remember when you fell in love with him. Why it had been him over Hazel.  You just knew without a doubt one day that you were. You accepted it as easy as the air you breathed.

“I don’t think I ever fell in love with you,” you say quietly. “I think I entered the Night Market lost. I was alone and I was scared. Then I met you, and that part of me that had felt hollow since the day I was born was no longer there.  So, I never fell in love with you, Malcolm.  Because you were always just a part of me.  I just had to find you.”

There is nothing to say at the whispered confession.  Malcolm only curls you closer, pulling the blanket up over your rapidly cooling bodies and entwining his legs with yours.  With your arms around his waist, and his draped across your shoulder, the two of you lie in bed together, eyes cast towards the enchanted window, watching as the sunlight begins setting on the garden just outside.  

The day was done.  Tomorrow, dawn would light the sky with a deepening night.  The lamplight that cast its spell across the Night Market, would continue to sway. And you, would have to walk the streets, fate rolling out beneath your feet.  You only wondered if the lights above you would guide you to a safe end.

Voting closed! Part 27 here

Wake in the morning and discuss with Hazel and Malcolm what to do.

Sneak away in the middle of the night to confront the Baron. Leave Hazel and Malcolm out of this.

Try to leave the Night Market to keep them safe.

We are coming to the end, as you can probably tell. I have all the feelings guys. All the feelings.

If you want the full scene (aka, want to read the sex scene, head over to my Patreon. It is posted there so my kiddos can't find it online. LOL)

If you haven't seen, Chapter Two of the Night Market is now out! It is linked below if you're interested. Reblogs and feedback are also love! Also, there is a Paper Lanterns discord now. Click the link below to join.

Patreon || Ko-fi || Demo || Discord

[nevertheless-moving]

Invisible Hand Chaos AU x 2

Star Wars Time Travel AU #31

Continuation from HERE

Anakin whirled to face his Master, “Did you know Yoda had a baby?” he asked incredulous and slightly betrayed.

“What? No. Also he could just be another of Yoda’s species. Obviously.” Internally Obi-Wan thought about the still unnamed larva in a hidden aquatic creche, but the Mandalorian’s associate even called him Baby Yoda...

“Unbelievable,” Dooku muttered. “That little green hypocrite.”

“Did you know about this?” Anakin asked the Sith Lord, temporarily forgetting about the fight in favor of the revelation that Yoda might also have a secret family.

“Of course not, the troll never tells anyone anything,” Dooku ranted, deliberately setting aside the fight in favor of unloading decades of suppressed irritation with his former Master.

“I feel we might be jumping to conclusions here-” Obi-Wan offered weakly. 

Anakin scoffed. “He literally just called him Baby Yoda,”

“Loathe as I am to admit it, your apprentice is correct. It would seem the Grandmaster of the order has been keeping some secrets.”

“This is absurd!” Obi-Wan protested as the small child on the balcony above tilted his head curiously, watching the conversation below with interest from the safety of his Buir’s arms. 

“I agree.” Anakin said self-righteously. “If Yoda can have a baby then- then everyone in the order should be allowed a family.”

“Anakin...”

“Anakin, as interesting is this all is, I’m still in somewhat of a bind over here,” the Chancellor called across the hall, irritated and somewhat alarmed by the sudden outbreak of peace in the room.

“We’ll be right with you Chancellor, don’t worry!” Obi-Wan called back. 

“We just need a minute to figure some Jedi business out!” Anakin added. 

“You there- Mandalorian” Dooku called up sharply. 

“...Yeah?” the Besker-clad warrior answered uncertainly.

“What is the parentage of the child in your arms? How did you come to possess him?” The count's question cut through everything else in the room, and the two Jedi held their breath as they waited for the answer.

The Mandalorian pulled Grogu in closer, “He is a foundling. I know his name as my child.”

“Mandalorians,” Obi-Wan and Dooku muttered, Obi-Wan fondly, Dooku with exasperation.

“What?” Anakin asked bewildered.

“The Mandalorian adopted him- hold on a second, I’m going to try something.” Obi-Wan said.

“Mando! Forgive me- Have you already attempted to return your foundling to his people and been denied? If not, we can show you where to find an elder of his kind.”

The Mandalorian stiffened. “I already found one of his people. It took a great deal of time; neither of us knew there were any others left in the galaxy. By the time I met Luke...the child was mine and we would not be parted long. The three of us began traveling together. He acted as mentor to Grogu, though he is too young to be considered the boy’s senior. In time...we decided it would be simpler to raise him as a warrior together. We are one.”

“Oh. How wonderful.” Obi-Wan said weakly. 

Anakin’s brow furrowed furiously and he lowered his voice “Master did I get that right? This guy is really good friend’s with one of Yoda’s people but the friend is not the Child’s biological father and they don’t know anyone else from the species?”

“He actually said he was married to one of one of Yoda’s people but other than that your conclusions are correct. Very good Padawan.” Obi-Wan nodded, attempting to wrap his head around the various implications.

Dooku made a triumphant hum, “Then, by simple inductive reasoning, and in the absence of an alternative candidate, we can assume that the Child is, in-fact, Yoda’s offspring.”

“Exactly!” Anakin agreed with Dooku excitedly. 

“Interesting that he would give the spawn to a Mandalorian, rather than the creche. Embarrassment, perhaps.” the Count mused. 

“Unbelievable.” Anakin agreed indignantly. 

“Ok, now hold on. Foundling is pretty literal most of the time-” Obi-Wan interrupted. “Mando- was the child entrusted to you or did was there a rescuing involved?”

“...I was assigned to find him as part of a bounty, but found the imps who I was supposed to give him to...unpleasant.”

“Imps?” Anakin asked. 

“There you go!” Obi-Wan said, with just a tinge of hysteria. “Yoda didn’t abandon the child- not that it necessarily is Yoda’s child- he was kidnapped.”

Anakin gasped, “Master! We have to save him!”

“Hold on now, Anakin- He seems perfectly safe at this point and we were here for the Chancellor remember?”

“You won’t be leaving here with the Chancellor or the child.” Dooku sneered. “I can sense the force potential- and I am in want of a new apprentice.”

“Over my dead body,” Anakin snarled.

“That can be arranged.”

“Hey Luke-” the Mandalorian said into the comm as the three swordsman began circling one another “-it looks like two of the Jedi are attacking the other- do you want me to get involved?”

“...Din, by any chance, are any of the laser swords red?”

“Yeah, the fanciest dressed one has a red lightsaber, the other guys are blue. Does it matter?”

“...Red lightsaber means not Jedi. I- hold on, I think I see you!”

The three combatants jumped apart again, looking up at the slight comm echo to the sound of footsteps and the absolutely blinding force presence of the approaching Jedi. 

Had he never learned shielding? Obi-Wan thought hysterically. “Or was he just so powerful that he never bothered restraining himself?”

He tried to exchange a glance with Anakin, but his padawan was too focused on straining to see the incoming Master force user of some kind- light, but not necessarily Jedi. He instead looked over at Dooku, shrugging in confusion. Dooku grimaced back at him in solidarity.

The being finally entered. He was- significantly taller and less green than Obi-Wan was expecting, but still probably shorter than anyone else in the room.

“Din- are you two alright?” The soft-faced man asked in a remarkably gently voice, appearance somewhat at odds with the overbearing power he exuded.

“We’re fine, Luke but look! More Jedi!” He gestured below. 

Luke peered over the balcony, eyes growing wide as they passed over the faces of everyone below. “hoLY KRIFF!” He shouted.

The ship shuddered and Obi-Wan glanced nervously out the view ports, suddenly remembered that the damaged ship only had so long before it fell out of orbit.

“Do you know them?” Din asked. 

“Do I- for fuck’s sake Din, I love you but I have literally shown you holopics of my father before.” Luke whispered furiously. The room unfortunately was utterly quiet and remarkably acoustic, meaning his words carried easily to the listeners below.

“FATHER!” Anakin yelled, causing Luke to wince, slapping a gloved hand to his face.

“FATHER!” He repeated loudly, head ping-ponging between Obi-Wan and Dooku as if trying to find a resemblance, before gasping to stare at the Chancellor, before gasping again to squint at Obi-Wan. 

“DOES EVERYONE HAVE A SECRET FAMILY!” He shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

“Oh for force sake- I do not have a secret son. Honestly, Anakin, he’s clearly in his 20s, be reasonable. His birth would however fit into the timeline of Dooku’s withdraw from the order.” Obi-Wan said, raising a brow.

Dooku puffed out his chest, “I did not fail to meet the Code, like so many of the pathetic masses. Before I left the Order I followed the rules precisely. When my disagreements grew too great, and my attempt for structured reform were repeatedly rejected, I left for ethical reasons, not personal ones. I looked at the code and decided it was failing the Jedi.”

He smirked and lifted his chin at the chancellor, who was watching the proceedings with an inscrutable expression, “My, my Chancellor, this is an interesting surprise.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “We’re not idiots, Dooku. Obviously the boy’s parents were force sensitive, look at him.” 

Dooku’s smirk grew wider.

“This is absurd! Again!” Obi-Wan threw up his arms and lifted his head to address the dark-robed young human, “Hello there, Luke, was it?” 

“Uh, yes. I’m Luke.” The powerhouse responded nervously. 

“My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi-”

“Yes, I know who you are.” Luke responded drily.

Anakin gasped. 

“He is not my son.” Obi-Wan muttered.

“I’m not Obi-Wan’s son.” Luke called down cheerfully.

“Oh.” Anakin slouched, oddly disappointed. He liked this guy for some reason, felt- connected to him. Maybe it was the dark robes, or the force signature that nearly rivaled his own (though it was somewhat lighter), or even the gloved hand that he suspected was mechanical. If he was Obi-Wan’s son than that would make him practically his brother! The Chancellor might be neat but Dooku...ugh.

“Would you be so kind as to tell us whose son you are? I realize its none of my business but you’ve peaked our curiosity. And then afterwards, regardless of your parentage, we would not mind help in rescuing the Chancellor of the Republic from this slowly crashing ship.”

“Right. Right.” Luke nodded. “Would you give me a second?”

He pressed his head to the side of Din’s helmet and started whispering rapidly, to quiet for anyone else to hear. 

The group below exchanged glances, beginning to tense up again. After a few seconds, the Mandalorian nodded and spoke, “Let’s do it. I trust your judgement.” Luke grinned and returned to the edge of the balcony. 

“Ok, I can help with the first, but not the second.”

“Perfectly understandable.” Obi-Wan replied.

Anakin bristled. “So Dooku is your father.”

Luke smiled at Anakin. “No. You are my father.”

Anakin blinked as Obi-Wan’s face twisted in confusion. “No...” he said slowly. “No, that’s not true. That’s impossible.”

Luke’s smile grew wider, “Search your feelings,” he said urgently, with the full weight of his force presence screaming honesty with every word, “You know it to be true.”

Anakin gasped as he reached out into the force to find...his son. Impossible, but true. The ground trembled, either with the immensity of the realization, or catastrophic engine failure.

“No.” Obi-Wan said clearly to Luke on the balcony.

“No.” He repeated firmly, snapping a finger in Anakin’s face to try and break him out of the trance he seemed to be in. “It’s not true.” He said to the room in general, incredulous it even needed to be said.

Dooku began slowly backing away. The confrontation was rapidly spinning out of his or his Master’s control; he had only stayed this long to indulge vain curiosity. Regardless if the boy was insane, lying, or a time-traveler, he was clearly powerful. The ship’s orbit was gradually decaying and with any luck he could use his dead man’s switch to speed up the crash as he departed, neatly killing everyone who could stand against him in one stroke.

“Anakin,” the lunatic on the balcony continued, “You can destroy the emperor. He has forseen this. It is your destiny! Join me, and together-”

Din cleared his throat.

Luke stopped and smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry! Sorry. Got a little...carried away there.” He coughed awkwardly into his fist.

“Anyway- yeah. I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m from the future, I guess we... time-traveled accidentally somehow? I uh- was kind-of quoting something you said to me once and you kept going along with it and... yeah, definitely got carried away. Sorry, I really don’t know how we got here but, weird stuff happens around me- one time I was on Yavin IV and these ghosts started- anyway. Long story. Surprise!”

Obi-Wan took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ok...I might believe you’re Anakin’s son.”

Dooku had nearly reached a side door when his treacherous Master called out- “Anakin! Master Kenobi! Dooku- he’s getting away.”

Skywalker’s- Anakin Skywalker’s- attention snapped over to the Count and with a outstretched arm, he crumpled the steel door, throwing a beam across it for good measure. The ship moaned alarmingly and several more red lights began blinking at the navigation panel, unnoticed by anyone.

“Luke- son- I don’t know what Emperor you’re talking about, but help us defeat Count Dooku and save Chancellor Palpatine! After that- after that I’m happy to, um, join you? And meet your... husband? And padawan? Sorry, we were kind-of in the middle of something...” 

“Wow. Ok. I’m not sure if-” Luke started to respond before being interrupted by the Mandalorian.

“Wait, Dooku! I know that name!” Din said suddenly. “The covert hated him! He was the evil Sif Emperor you defeated, right?”

“...Sith Emperor. Din, darling and light of my life, as always, your grasp of history and recent current events never fails to amaze me.” Luke sighed.

“You must stop him, before he becomes Emperor,” Palpatine shouted desperately. 

Luke sighed again, more heavily. “Fine. FINE! Kriff the timeline, I didn’t ask to be born anyway. Din- go help capture...Emperor Dooku. Grogu- Pod. I’ll go- free the Chancellor.” The floor beneath them gave a lurch. “Before this ship breaks apart. Go!” 

Luke and Din jumped off the balcony as a shiny metal pod with a transparisteel view screen closed around Grogu, hovering between them, well off easy reach of the ground.

Din landed between Obi-Wan and Anakin, helmet turning to face each of them in turn, “...I’ll follow your lead.” He finally said, arming his weapons.

Obi-Wan grinned fiercely, “Excellent, Anakin, stay with me.”

“I was just about to say the same thing.”

“Mando, you- Is that the DARKSABER- ARE Yoouu- ugh you know what, I will ask after the fight. I will ask after the fight. How did the Mand'alor- NEVERMIND. Let’s just- FORCE I have so many questions-” 

“No time, Master!”

And the battle began. 

[iheartgracie]

shannon lynch and joey lynch quotes in binding 13

“I knew that when I hurt, Joey hurt too. I didn’t want to be a burden around his neck, someone he was constantly having to look out for, but it had been that way since as far back as I could remember.”

“As per usual, it was just Joey and me. The two amigos.

"Do you think I'll fit in, Joey?" I asked, voicing my concerns aloud. I could do that with Joey. He was the only one in our family I felt I could talk to and confide in. I looked down at my uniform and shrugged helplessly. His eyes burned with unspoken emotion as he stared down at me, and I knew he was up this early not because he was desperate to use the bathroom, but because he wanted to see me off on my first day.”

“I'm so fucking proud of you, Shan," Joey said in a voice that was thick with emotion. "You don’t even realize how brave you are.”

“Joey nodded, then pulled me in for a hug. "You are going to be grand," he whispered in my ear, hugging me so tight I wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince or console”

“I can do this, Joey," I whispered, casting a quick glance to where he was leaning against the bannister, watching me with concerned eyes. "I can."

"I know you can." His voice was low and pained. "I just…I'm here for you, okay?" he finished with a heavy exhale. "Always here for you."

This was hard for my brother, I realized, as I watched him wave me off to school like an anxious parent would their firstborn. He was always fighting my battles, always jumping in to defend me and pull me to safety. I wanted him to be proud of me, to see me as more than a little girl that needed his constant protection.”

“Joey walked over to where I was standing, feet frozen to the floor, and playfully nudged my cheek with his knuckles. It was a tender display of affection and a silent show of solidarity.”

“Joe?" I whispered when my eyes landed on him. He was sitting on the edge of his bed in his boxer shorts, holding a wad of toilet paper to his mouth. "You okay?"

"I'm grand, Shan," he bit out, tone sharp, as he dabbed the tissue against his bottom lip. "You should go to bed."

"You're bleeding," I strangled out, eyes locked on the stream of blood stained tissue.

"It's just a busted lip," he shot back, sounding a little irritated. "Just go back to your room."

I didn’t. I couldn’t. I must have hovered at his door for a long time because when Joey looked up at me, his expression was resigned. Sighing heavily, he ran a hand through his hair and then patted the mattress beside him. "Come on."

Bolting over to him, I collapsed down on the bed and wrapped my arms around my brother's neck, clinging to him like he was the only thing holding my world together. Sometimes I thought that might be true.

"It's okay, Shan," he whispered, comforting me.”

“I don’t want to be here anymore, Joe."

"Me either."

"I'm sick of feeling scared all the time."

"I know." He patted my back and then stood. "One of these days, everything will be better. I promise.”

“Hey, Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

He tipped his chin up, letting me know he was listening.

"Please don’t do to me what Darren did to us." Folding my hands under my cheek, I whispered, "Don’t leave me."

"I won't," my brother vowed, tone laced with grit and sincerity. "I won't ever leave you here with him.”

“you and me? We stick together." He turned his face to me and said, "When I get out of this shithole, and I will get out, I'm taking you with me.”

“I'll get out of here, Shannon. I'll get you out of here. I can fucking promise you that."

"I believe you," I told him.”

[jamielea81]

Conversations

Bonus Chapter: Colorado

Description: Takes place a year and a half after the first bonus chapter Back to the Beginning. The reader and Chris are married with life changes ahead. Original description for the series Conversations: You accompany your friends on a day trip to Animal Kingdom Theme Park where you meet Scott Evans by chance. This one afternoon leads to a year long friendship with both Chris and Scott over text messages and phone calls.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader, Scott Evans

Warning: Slightly NSFW (18+ only!), cursing, talk of pregnancy, fluff, Grumpy and Sassy shenanigans. 

A/N: Look who finally wrote a bonus chapter for Conversations! This girl, right here! Just a little timestamp in the reader and Chris’ life. And of course we needed some Scott time. You do not have to read the series to read this one shot, but it doesn’t hurt. Reblogs, comments, asks, what have you, I enjoy. 

Italics are internal thoughts

**

“Honestly, love, it’s fine,” you spoke softly into the phone, trying your best to keep your voice even. The last thing you want is for him to feel worse than he already does.

“I don’t know…” Chris trailed off. “Usually, when women say the word fine, they really don’t mean, fine.”

“Such a guy,” you chuckle. “I promise, Scott and I are going to have a terrific time. He’s taking care of me and promised not to get us into any trouble.” You raise an eyebrow at your travel companion seated next to you in the hired car.

Chris laughed and then followed it up with a groan. “That does not make me feel better. Put me on speaker.”

You rolled your eyes but did as he asked or rather demanded. “Okay, you’re on speaker.”

“Scott, you better take care of my wife. She’s precious cargo. And she’s carrying precious cargo. So, it’s extra precious cargo.”

You laughed; hand automatically going to your stomach. You were four months along and just starting to show. Family and close friends knew the two of you were expecting your first child, but the tabloids had not caught wind. The two of you had been going back and forth on whether to let People Magazine do an exclusive cover shoot when baby Evans is born. The money earned from People would be donated to charity which was the only reason you were even considering it. Plus, the whole you two breaking the news rather than the public finding out when you weren’t ready. Chris wanted to be the one to introduce his child to the world rather than having paparazzi sneaking into your backyard to get a picture. You couldn’t argue with him there.

“Would you relax! You’re going to give yourself a coronary and then I’d have to take care of both precious cargos and you don’t want that.” Scott shouted.

I really hope the driver doesn’t recognize Scott.

You smacked his arm, taking the call off speaker and bringing it back to your ear. “Chris, we are both going to be just fine. The plane ride was as relaxing as any plane ride can be and we are almost to the hotel. Scott and I are going to pamper ourselves and eat lots of great food. Work is important and I completely understand.”

Chris got called back to Los Angeles for reshoots that he couldn’t get out of. He planned a couple of mini babymoons and this was going to be the first one. Because of your advanced age – insert eyeroll – your doctor had mentioned it may not be safe to travel a lot once you were six months along. Chris took this seriously and booked a trip to Colorado at a gorgeous snowy mountain resort. There wouldn’t be any skiing, just loads of alone time and cuddling by the fireplace. When Chris had to cancel, Scott stepped in and volunteered the cuddles.

“This is one of the many reasons I love you. I’m just disappointed our romantic getaway is now being shared with Scott. My brother,” he said, voice in mock disgust.

“It’s fine. Scott and I haven’t hung out just the two of us in forever.” Scott reached for your hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Alright, sweetheart. Have a great time and rest please.”

“You know I will. I love you, babe. Say hi to Pedro for me,” you said, smile evident in your voice.

“I will. Love you too.”

**

“Mr. and Mrs. Evans?” The check in clerk, Barbara according to her nametag asked.

“That’s right,” Scott chimed in, wrapping an arm around your waist. “Newlyweds.”

You forced a smile and bit the inside of your cheek so that you wouldn’t laugh.

“Congratulations!” she replied with a sweet smile on her face.

She tapped her chin with her index finger before going back to her keyboard. “Let’s see what I can do here,” Barbara replied, typing away on the computer in front of her. “We have you in a one-bedroom suite with a mountain view, but,” she paused for dramatic effect. “I’m moving the two of you to one of our honeymoon suites.”

Scott gasped and slapped his hand on the countertop. “That’s mighty nice of you,” he spoke in a fake southern accent.

Where did that come from?

“Me and the misses really appreciate it. Don’t we honey?” he asked, turning his attention back to you.

“My pleasure,” Barbara said before you could reply, laying two room keycards on the counter next to Scott’s hand.

You smiled brightly but kept your mouth closed, so afraid of letting a chuckle out or saying the wrong thing. Scott steered you away from the counter, placing a hand on your bottom.

Once you turned the corner to the bank of elevators, you yanked Scott’s hand off your behind.

“Newlyweds. Really?”

“It got us an upgrade, didn’t it dear?”

**

The first night you were fine. Scott kept you occupied with stories of the single life and the wonders of online dating. You weren’t sure how he did it. Or rather, how he didn’t. After he told you about the guy who wore Barney the dinosaur underwear in a child’s size husky, you laughed until you cried.

“But did you still sleep with him?” you asked wiping the tears from your cheeks.

“Sassy! Of course not. Barneeeeyyyy,” he drawled out.

Shrugging your shoulders, you got up to grab yourself a tissue from the bathroom. Coming back in the room, Scott was on his phone, fingers swiping feverously. You plopped down on the couch, tucking one leg under yourself.

“Here,” Scott said, handing you his phone. On screen was what you would refer to as tall, dark, and handsome.

“He’s hot,” you said, passing the phone back to him.

“Barney.”

“No,” you gasped.

Scott sighed before he started to laugh which got you going once again.

**

The second day you weren’t so fine. The two of you ordered breakfast in the suite. Pancakes dripping with syrup, crispy thick cut bacon, sausage links, a bowl of mixed fruit, and decaf coffee because Scott was in solidarity with you on your caffeine hiatus.

“Let’s go for a walk. There are tons of trails that the resort clears of snow. I need to work off this breakfast,” Scott said patting his stomach.

“You and me both,” you said, getting up to put on actual clothes instead of the pajamas you were still wearing.

“You are so lucky. Get to eat whatever you want and can just blame it on the baby.”

Stopping in your tracks, you turned around to face him, lower lip slightly wobbling. Since the minute you found out you were pregnant, you found it really hard to control your emotions. You knew Scott didn’t mean anything by the commit, but your brain couldn’t help itself.

“I have to work really hard to be healthy. It’s bad enough the doctor said I’m old.” A sob escapes your lips. The tears already starting to roll down your cheeks. “I can’t have any caffeine, can’t eat a lot of my favorite foods, have to cut back on my salt. My salt! You know fries are my jam. Doesn’t help that my husband is built like a fucking Greek God. I’m not a model or an actress. I already feel like Dodger’s poo compared to him.”

Scott was out of his seat before you could utter another word. Strong arm pulling you to his chest while one hand cradled your head.

“Stop that. You are fucking beautiful and frankly my bonehead brother is lucky you agreed to marry him. Do you even know how many times I have had to leave the room in the last two months when he starts talking about you growing his child inside you and that it turns him on?” Scott pulls away slightly an emulates puking.

“Stop,” you said, burying your head in his neck.

“Why is my neck wet, Sassy.”

“It’s snot,” you said with a chuckle, wrapping your arm around him and holding on tight.

“You two are meant for each other.”

After a minute he pulled away and grasped both of your hands. “I’m with you in any way you need. If you need a healthy eating buddy, I am your man. If you want to say ‘to hell with it’, I’ll pick up McDonalds for the two of us every day if you like.”

You wiped at your eyes and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I love you Grumpy.”

“Love you too,” he replied and then clapped his hands together. “So, are we napping or are we walking?”

“Walking,” you stated, making your way into the bedroom to finally get changed.

That evening, the two of you got dressed up and went to your dinner reservation at the hotel where you were addressed as Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Scott stuck to sparkling water even though you encouraged him to get an alcoholic beverage.

“I don’t need to drink to be the life of the party. You know that.”

He wasn’t wrong. He’d kept you entertained even without the raspberry liquor he force fed you years ago.

“I think we need a dance party when we get back to the room. For old time sakes. Before I am too big to shake it.”

“Done and done.”

The night ended in a bubble bath with both you and Scott in your swimsuits in an oversized soaking tub. Dozens of pictures were taken with many going to your husband. Rather than a text in return, he called.

“What is this? My brother movin’ in on my wife?”

“Babe! You know that it was me and Scott from the start,” you teased.

Chris chuckled. “You go away for a couple of days and it’s like that.”

“You know you are my one and only. Scott’s just making me smile.”

“I know baby. I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” you said.

**

The next day you were weepy. As much as you tried to put on a happy face, you were missing Chris. Pregnancy hormones or not, Chris had been working a lot and you had barely seen each other. This romantic babymoon wasn’t what you had in mind. Yes, spending it with your best friend was great, but it wasn’t the same.

The fire place was roaring while Magic Mike was queued up on the flat screen. You and Scott were dressed in jeans and cable knit sweaters with fuzzy socks on your feet. The snow was coming down heavy which was fine with you since neither of you had any place to be.

Pop in hand, though you wouldn’t let Scott hear you call soda that, diet for you, regular for him, the only thing you were needing was Dodger’s wet nose on your stomach and Chris.

“You know, Chris can do that,” you said pointing at the screen where one of the dancers picked up an audience member like she weighed a pound.

“No. Stop. Do not ruin this movie for me. I do not need to picture what you and my brother do.”

“Scott, you do know where babies come from, right?”

“Gross.”

You chuckled, standing up to excuse yourself to the bathroom. Why you brought up Chris when you already cried twice this morning was beyond you. After using the bathroom, you cleaned up your face and stepped back into the living room of your suite.

Scott draped himself over the couch, phone in hand, eyes shifting between the screen of his phone and the TV.

“I think I’m going to take another bath. Need to relax a little bit.”

Scott looked up. “Not too hot.”

“Yes, dad,” you said, offering him a mock salute.

You kept the bath water warm, but added extra oils and bubbles to make it feel more luxurious. The lights were off but a few candles were lit and your phone played 90s R&B. You snapped a pic of your soapy legs and sent it to Chris. Within a few minutes you had a reply.

Chris: My brother better not be in there

Y/N: I’m all alone

Chris: We can’t have that

You heard the door open and you scolded yourself for not locking the door. This text conversation seemed to be heading into rated R territory. You did not need Scott to witness that.

“Scott,” you drawled out. “I’m not wearing my suit tonight. Get out of here.”

When you heard the distinct sound of a belt buckle, you turned around. Rather than Scott dropping his pants, it was Chris.

You gasped, mouth hanging open.

“Room for one more sweetheart?”

You nodded your head unable to form words but those tears had no trouble forming.

Chris continued to undress while you tried your best to compose yourself. He joined you a moment later slipping in behind you.

“How? I thought you were working.”

“I put in some long hours so that I could get to you. I was miserable without you.”

“I know that feeling,” you replied, leaning your head against his chest. Chris lightly rubbing your stomach before sliding his hands up to your breasts, fingers tips rubbing against your nipples. “Babe, did you lock the door?” you asked.

“Don’t worry, I got Scott another room.”

You reached your left hand behind you grabbing on to Chris’ head bringing his mouth to yours. Chris kissed you deeply, your back automatically arching at the taste of his tongue.

“Was he mad?” you asked.

“I don’t even care,” he replied, rubbing his nose against yours.

“Neither do I.”

Tagging: @tanelle83 @pinknerdpanda @allaboutthebooz @estillion14 @panicfob @patzammit @xoxabs88xox @heartislubbingdubbing @twittytelly @linki-locks11 @ab-baybay @impalaimages @jesseswartzwelder @rainbowkisses31 @xostephanie @smoothdogsgirl @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @xxloki81xx @firstangeldragonranch @soitmightgetweird @maeleeme @denisemarieangelina @rvgrsbrns @icanfeelastormbrewing @kitkat1690 @smilexcaptainx @dangerouslovefanfic@kelbabyblue @sweetlittlegingy @dont-need-another-fandom @chrisevansforever @evansxxx @southerngracela @bitterstar88 @squirrelnotsam @kitkatd7 @marvelislove10 @the-doctors-fallen-angel @hista-girl @cocomel0613 @also-fangirlinsweden @mustangshelby04 @bellaireland1981 @carolina-thiell @straightforwardly @torntaltos @denise1605 @mcuclintasha @iam-cj @trynnabemultifandom @chrisevansforever @kelbabyblue @broadwayandnetflix @kyjey @thevelvetseries​ @i-just-feel-like @daddieslittlefangirl @stankface @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @whymalu @mariswritingforfun @tessabb7​ @lakamaa12​ @deidrashouseofpain @the-murder-strut-murdered-me @greyeyedsmile14 @dangerouslovefanfic @ripvandrinkle @bitterstar88 @zestygingergirl @hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall @onceuponathreetwoone @supraveng @michelehansel @fanfictionaffair @agirlcanstilldream @what-is-your-plan-today @jessyballet @capstopavenger @wiczer @titty-teetee

[desertno3]

everything comes back to you (sean wallace x fem!reader)

Sean Wallace is the love of your life and had been ever since you were both sixteen. This is why, in the aftermath of his father’s murder, you do everything you can to make sure no one lays a hand him.

5.4k words.

A/N: To think this all came from me watching this scene of Joe from Volume (2012) and thought… I need to write about bb Sean. There’s also this post which is mostly what was in my head when I wrote this. Also, I was going to say Sean being soft around the people he loves is my own personal headcanon but like… it is actual canon, lmao. It’s so easy to forget because the man is cold most of the time. Anyway, I clearly have too many thoughts about this character. Enjoy. (also formatting on tumblr is shit so if you want to read this with the formatting I intended, head over here to AO3)

prologue.

“What the hell are you up to?” Sean demands as he watches you bustle around your shared bedroom, effectively turning it upside down as you stuff your belongings into a travel bag.

“Business,” You say, hardly pausing to look at him.

“Business?” He scoffs like he doesn’t believe you. You don’t blame him. Finn died mere days ago and every day since then you’d been acting strange. Between consoling Sean and helping the Wallace family with the funeral arrangements, you’d been answering calls at random hours of the day and going off to meetings even though nearly all business operations under the Wallace Corporation had been halted. Sean had been too caught up in everything to question it but now that you’d just told him that you were flying off to god knows where for alleged business, he was suspicious.

“You know something, don’t you?”

You don’t reply.

“Tell me.”

When you remain silent, you see his jaw clench in anger but that’s not what makes your heart squeeze painfully in your chest. What gets to you is the hurt you can see in his eyes, hurt that his fiancé of all people is keeping things from him. You know it’s unfair to be doing this to him right now but you had no choice.

You walk up to him, taking his face in your hands.

“You just have to trust me on this, Sean,” You say softly. “Please.”

“I can’t trust anyone right now, y/n.” He says it like a plea. He needs you to be the one person he can trust one hundred percent, wants to be able to put you apart from the rest of the world who seemingly had it out for his family right now. He can’t do that when you’re acting like this.

The statement doesn’t hurt you in the slightest. You understand where he’s coming from, understand why he can’t even trust you, but still, you wish he did.

“You can always trust me,” You tell him but you know it won’t be enough. That’s confirmed when his gaze goes steely and he pries your hands from his cheeks.

“If you step out that door, don’t bother coming home.”

You step back like you’d been burned by the ultimatum. “Sean, don’t-”

He shakes his head.

“Whatever you’re doing, I hope it’s worth it.”

_________________________________________________

one.

“It’s just so annoying, you know?” You huff, falling back onto Sean’s bed and pressing the heels of your palms into your eyelids. You’re sixteen and in the throes of teen angst, irritated by the confines of your parents’ demands regarding what you currently could and couldn’t do at that age.

“Yeah, I know,” Sean replies in solidarity from where he stands near the window.

You let out a sigh, the anger that was bubbling in your chest starting to dissipate now that you’d finished venting about it.

You’re so lost in your own thoughts that you don’t realise Sean has moved from his spot across the room to the bed beside you. The mattress dips a little as he sits and slowly lies back so he’s parallel to you.

You move your hands away from your eyes and your heart jolts when you crane your neck to look at him and realise how close he is.

“Thanks for listening to my ranting,” You murmur, starting to feel guilty that you’d come over to hang out only for it to end up being just him listening to your tirade.

He lets out a small chuckle. “Anytime.”

You smile gratefully, your heart rate accelerating as you continue to stare into his eyes. God, you like him so much. You have for a while now. As he inches closer, and you don’t know whether it’s deliberate on his part or not, you wonder what it would be like if you just kissed him right there.

“Y/n…” He says hesitantly, his gaze flicking down to your lips for a fraction of a second. “Can I-”

“Ooooh, Sean and y/n,” Billy sing-songs obnoxiously from the doorway - the doorway that both you and Sean had forgotten was wide open.

Sean leaps up from the bed and growls at his brother, who continues to tease him unfazed.

“Fuck off, Billy!”

He slams the door shut and everything descends into silence once more. You sit up and watch as Sean remains at the door, his shoulders tense. You get up and make your way over to him, feeling bolder than you ever have in your life.

“Sean,” You say softly, grabbing his attention.

He turns to you, the look in his eyes hesitant, and you use that opportunity to press your lips to his. You pull away just as quickly, gauging his reaction, but then he pulls you towards him again and this time the kiss is deeper, needier. Your hands steady yourself against his chest as his own move up to cup your jaw.

You’re both breathless when you pull away, sporting matching shy smiles as you look at each other.

“I really like you, y/n,” Sean confesses and your heart feels like it could burst.

“I really like you, too, Sean.”

~

When you and Sean get accepted into different universities, it worries you more than you let on. It would be the furthest away you’d ever lived from him and you were worried about what that meant for you both. You’d spent your last years of high school falling deeper and deeper in love with him and you weren’t ready to let him go. Not now, not ever.

“Hey,” He murmurs, noticing you’d spaced out again. “What’s wrong?”

You shrug it off but he’s not buying it. He shifts on the couch so that he’s sitting facing you and takes your hands in his.

"Talk to me.”

You end up telling him everything. How you don’t like that you’re not going to be able to see him as often as you do now, how you’re worried that the distance might put a strain on the relationship, how you really, really don’t like the idea of breaking up with him.

You half expect him to brush it off or to tell you that you’ve got nothing to worry about but he doesn’t.

“I don’t like it either,” He admits. “It’s going to be awful being so far away from you but it’s only a couple of years, yeah? We can do that. And then I’ll start working for my dad and you’ll start working for some cool startup and we can move into a flat in London. You and me.”

While your boyfriend’s vision of your future together warms your heart, you’re still hung up on the ‘couple of years’ you were going to be a good distance from each other.

“Babe,” He says, bringing your attention back to him. “We’re going to be okay.”

You nod, finally relenting and agreeing with him. There was no point in letting yourself get eaten alive with worry, not when he clearly loved you just as much as you loved him. It was going to be okay.

“I love you,” You tell him and he smiles, pressing a kiss to the back of your hand.

“I love you too.”

~

Sean’s vision of the future wasn’t too far off. You manage to secure a flat just before you both graduate and by the end of the summer, you’d moved in. Sean starts working immediately alongside Alex at the Wallace Corporation and you spend about eight months working for a new tech startup on the other side of London before Finn Wallace offers you a job. It goes over with Sean just as well as you expected it would - which was not well at all.

“Are you really going to throw away everything you’ve worked hard for? To be my dad’s fucking assistant?”

You sigh in exasperation. “I’m not throwing away anything, Sean! Do you think I’m that stupid? I’m going to use more of what I learned at uni as Finn’s assistant than I am now at that fucking sad excuse for startup and you know it!”

Sean knows you’re miserable where you currently work so you don’t know why he’s so against this.

“You don’t want me working with you, is that it?”

He sighs, palms pressing against his eyelids in frustration.

“No,” He says eventually. “No, it’s not that. It’s just… I don’t want my dad having a hold on the both of us. You’re supposed to be free from all the Wallace Corporation shit, out doing your own thing.”

Oh.

You step towards him and he instinctively wraps his arms around your waist. You press a light kiss to his lips, your fingers ghosting over the facial hair he had recently started sporting.

“Sorry to tell you this, Sean, but your dad’s had a hold on the both of us the moment we started dating. Maybe even before that. I’m sure if he didn’t approve of me, I would’ve been out of your life a long time ago.”

Sean grumbles at the realisation but he knows it's true.

You lovingly run your thumb over his cheek. "Nothing in London is out of Finn Wallace's reach."

You’re not a fool. You know Finn offered you this job for a very specific reason. If you were going to continue being with Sean, and at this point, everyone knew that was absolutely going to be the case, you were going to have to know how the company worked. And you weren’t against it. If Sean was to be the CEO one day, you refused to be the kind of wife who was oblivious to their husband’s dealings.

~

Gone is the youthful innocence of the lanky boy you fell in love with when you were sixteen. Sean is filled out and a lot more serious, trying to be more than what he is for his father’s sake. You suppose you're the same, too. It's not easy, being primed to eventually take over a multi-million dollar organisation (connected to an insidious underground one to boot) and Finn put just as much pressure on you as he did his son.

“It’s not my blood,” You mumble when Sean walks into the bathroom to find you soaking in the tub, the water around you a deep red. “Mostly.”

Wordlessly, he comes over and drains it before filling it back up with fresh water. You don’t move as he does so, still shaken and borderline catatonic from having just killed somebody for the first time. Sean doesn’t have to ask, he can just tell that’s what you’ve come back from. As he silently washes the blood from your skin, you look over to see his lips set in a tight line. You know he’s mad. Not at you. At his father, maybe. But there’s nothing he can do now. There’s no going back from this.

~

Everyone thinks you’re the power couple of the Wallace Corporation, steely and unfeeling, and you suppose in many ways you are but you also know that in other ways, you’re still the teenagers you were before, still completely and utterly smitten with one another.

“Hey,” Sean greets you, kissing your cheek before pulling out a chair and sitting beside you in the empty boardroom.

You look at him in surprise as he starts digging into some pre-packaged salad. “Hi. What are you doing?”

“Thought I’d have lunch with you.”

“It’s three in the afternoon.”

“The meeting ran overtime.”

You give him a sympathetic look and he rolls his eyes. “It’s fine. C’mere.”

You shuffle closer to him and let him tuck you under one arm while he forked salad into his mouth with the other.

“What have you been up to, hm?”

You let out an exhale, resting your head against his shoulder. “Meetings, same as you.”

You’re interrupted when Alex pops his head in with an apologetic look on his face, knowing he was disrupting a rare moment between you and Sean. Usually, the both of you would be so busy you’d only see each other in passing at work.

“Finn’s looking for you, y/n,” He tells you before disappearing again.

You sigh, getting up but not before kissing Sean on the cheek.

“I’ll see you at home.”

“Mm, see you.” He mumbles, swallowing his mouthful of salad before his hand shoots out to grab your wrist. “Wait, give me a proper kiss.”

You smile and comply, laughing when Sean pulls you back in for another and another.

“I have to go, Sean!”

“Alright, alright,” He says, letting you go. “I’ll see you later.”

~

"What's all this?" Sean asks when he comes home one night to find you in the kitchen looking like you’re in the middle of making a more elaborate dinner than usual.

"Just something to celebrate you finishing up that contract," You say, smiling when his arms circle your waist and his lips press a kiss to your cheek. "I was also thinking now that the contract's done, you've got all the time in the world to fuck me."

You all but squeal when he picks you up and carries you to the bedroom without a second thought.

"The food, Sean!"

"The food can wait," He murmurs, dropping you onto the bed. You giggle when he moves to hover above you, his lips brushing against yours. "I've got to take care of my fiancé first."

~

It’s those memories of your relationship with Sean that flood your mind as you lean against the brick wall of a Soho back alley, the hand pressing against the wound on your side not doing much to stop the blood seeping from your body faster than you would like.

Dread had filled you the moment you heard about Finn’s death and it had less to do with what happened to him and everything to do with the man you were engaged to, the one who was set to take over the company in his father’s wake. Despite Sean being the clear successor to the business, you knew Finn’s death would still leave a power vacuum in both London’s corporate and criminal worlds. You knew people would be out for Sean, trying to off him so that they could step up and take Finn’s place. And so, since the day Finn had died, you’d done everything you could to ensure Sean wouldn’t be harmed. Even after Sean’s heartbreaking ultimatum, you’d left and had been all over the country and London trying to stop the people that needed to be stopped. This last job you’d just carried out would have been it. It would have sealed the deal and would have kept Sean safe for good. Too bad you were probably going to die because of it.

You wince as your back slides further down the wall, your legs giving out and leaving you to drop unceremoniously onto the concrete. Each inhale felt like a billion knives entering your side and you knew you weren’t going to last much longer.

It was worth it, you think to yourself. It’s the last thought you have before your eyelids get too heavy to keep open, Sean’s last words to you echoing back in your mind. It may have cost you your life but was worth it if it meant you’d just ensured Sean would keep his for a long while.

_________________________________________________

two.

Despite the number of people crammed into your hospital room, the only sound to be heard is the steady beeping of the machines that had been attached to you. It had been a hell of a night for all of them and one that wasn’t over yet. Jacqueline’s frantic call to Sean about seeing you get wheeled into emergency surgery had cut short the tense discussion the Wallaces and Dumanis were having around the dining table. Sean had all but sped to the hospital, everyone else trailing behind him. Despite everything that had just been revealed to him that night, it all became secondary in comparison to the fact that Jacqueline had told him you were practically dying.

Everyone but Sean looks up when Ed steps back into the room, shoving his phone into his pocket.

“That was Jevan,” Ed announces to all of them. “Things have changed.”

“What things?” Marian asks, the tone in her voice still bitter. It’s a wonder neither she nor Sean have kicked the Dumanis out of the room but it was because there was still so much to be discussed - especially now that you were back in the picture and what happened to you remained unclear.

“The investors now want to keep Sean alive.”

A silence settles over the room at Ed’s revelation. It was mere hours ago that Alex had revealed it was the investors who wanted Sean dead.

“She knew,” Sean mutters, finally speaking up. His eyes raking over your nearly-lifeless face as you lay unconscious on the hospital bed and his mind thinks back to the last conversation he had with you. Business, you had told him then. Now, he had no doubt you had something to do with the investors’ most recent decision. “She knew they wanted me dead.”

“How?” It’s Alex who asks, vocalising the same thought Sean had been turning over and over in his mind. “How did she know where to find them? Who to talk to?”

No one has an answer. The machines beep steadily, filling in the silence until Ed sighs, a realisation dawning on him.

“Finn,” He states like that alone makes the answer clear. “She would’ve known through Finn. Think about it. When she was his assistant, he made her go with him to nearly every meeting he had.”

Everyone in the room was aware of the latter, of course. It was part of your job. It had even been a point of contention between Sean and his father at one point, why you were let in on meetings that he should’ve been in on too if he was going to take over the company one day. "She’s just there to make the coffee, son," Finn had laughed but that wasn’t true in the slightest. You were the one who took down the minutes, noted down anything of importance, kept tabs on any and all of Finn’s dealings with everybody. That was your job and through it, you ended up knowing more about the business than anyone else and you didn’t even realise it. You didn’t realise just how much you knew, how much knowledge you could use as leverage, as blackmail, until Sean’s life was on the line.

After Finn died, you did wonder whether he knew what he was setting you up for when he hired you, wondered if he always knew Sean would eventually need protecting and knew that you would do it without hesitation if you had the capability to do so.

It’s Ed, here in the hospital room, who comes to the realisation that he absolutely did.

“She knows more about Finn’s dealings with the investors than all of us in this room combined,” He continues. “Because he never actually needed her to be his assistant. He needed her to be someone who would know how to talk to them. To protect the company and its successor from them if need be.”

“Successor?” Marian asks. “You mean Sean?”

Ed nods and everyone jumps as Sean suddenly throws his fist against the bedside table in anger before whirling on the older man.

“You knew about this,” He seethes. “You knew he was doing this and you just let it happen.”

“I didn’t know this was his reasoning behind it, Sean, I promise you. But it makes sense. As his son, protecting you was a priority. Through her, Finn made sure you’d be kept safe.”

"Fuck that.” Sean spits in anger. “Fuck that. She's a priority too. You hear me? She needs to be kept safe too because if she's not alive I may as well be fucking dead."

_________________________________________________

three.

“I should’ve fucking realised that’s what she was up to. I should’ve fucking known,” Sean mutters as he looks at you, still lying there unconscious. “She risked everything for me.”

“Are you surprised?” Marian asks him. It’s just the two of them in the room now.

She, for one, isn’t surprised in the slightest. Having known you most of your life, she knew you had it in you. Maybe Finn saw that too, since it was what he ended up priming you for.

Sean sighs. He’s not surprised either. What he mostly feels is anger - at his late father for putting you in that position to begin with - and shame. He’s ashamed that while you were bending over backwards to try and keep him alive, he was doing fuck all for you. He'd even broken your fucking heart in the process. He’d regretted it the second you’d left the flat but he couldn’t get into contact with you afterwards. Either you’d changed your number or you weren’t answering his calls. He’d even hired a fucking private investigator to find out where you’d gone and what you were up to but they hadn’t come back with anything solid enough that could lead him to you. It was like you’d disappeared off the face of the earth.

"She paid you off,” Sean says bluntly the moment the PI enters the hospital room. It’s not a question. After everything that had surfaced in the last twenty-four hours, it clicked into Sean’s mind the reason the private investigator couldn’t find anything on you.

"She did,” They confirm.

Sean swears under his breath. He curses that fact that you were too good at this and curses the fact that it was probably Finn that taught you how, the same way Finn taught him. He should’ve fought harder to stop you from accepting his dad’s job offer. All those years ago.

“She paid me off,” The PI says. "But that doesn’t mean I didn't do my job."

Sean is handed a folder full of notes on your movements and a flash drive full of photos they’d snapped from a distance.

"You are a very lucky man, Sean Wallace. To have someone like her in your life."

_________________________________________________

four.

To say you’re surprised when you open your eyes to a sterile hospital room is an understatement. You were so sure you had no chance of getting out of that alley alive. Still groggy, you briefly wonder if it was the investors who managed to get you here in time - the strange puppet masters that they were - but your train of thought is halted when you realise Sean’s sister is in the room with you, sitting beside your hospital bed.

“About time you woke up,” Jacqueline says softly, a kind smile on her face. “How’re you feeling?”

Her question brings your attention to the relentless ache you feel all over your body.

“Like shit.”

She hums. “Well, you’re lucky you aren’t dead. You gave us all a scare getting wheeled in here the way you did.”

You shift a little, trying to get yourself in a position that would ease the pain somewhat. “How’s Sean?”

Jacqueline has to stop herself from rolling her eyes because of course that’s what’s on your mind right now. You coming back from the verge of death asking about Sean ran in a similar vein to the way Sean had been adamant about not leaving the hospital since you’d been admitted. Like two peas in a pod, she thinks. Always have been.

“He’s just out in the hall, actually,” She informs you. “On the phone to mum. He’s not going to be pleased he wasn’t here when you woke up.”

“But he’s okay?” You ask her.

“He’s okay.”

You let out the breath you didn’t realise you were holding, your head sinking further into the pillow.

“Good,” You say, shutting your eyes in relief. “That’s good.”

Only a few seconds pass before you hear the door open and shut and a heart-achingly familiar voice break the silence.

“How is she?”

Again, Jacqueline has to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Her brother would always ask that same question every time he returned to the room, no matter if he was gone for an hour or for just a couple of minutes. At least this time, she was glad to give him an answer other than ‘she’s the same as she was when you left’.

“She’s awake.”

Your eyelids flutter open and your heart jumps when your gaze lands on Sean.

“I’ll leave you both to it,” Jacqueline smiles when she looks between her brother and yourself. She comes over and rests her hand on yours. “I’m really glad you’re alive, y/n.”

You give her a grateful smile and watch her leave before your eyes flicker back to the man standing at the door. He looks healthy, you note to yourself. Exhausted, but healthy.

“Sean,” You whisper, breaking the silence.

“Hey,” He says softly, approaching your bedside. You slowly sit up and tears start to pool in your eyes at the sight of him here, so close to you. Safe and alive. He notices and reaches out to wipe away the stray tears that had rolled down your cheeks.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” He murmurs and you have to hold back a sob.

"I did it for you, Sean," You can barely get the sentence out, your voice catching as you start to get choked up by emotion. "Everything I did-"

"I know," He says, cupping your face tenderly. His eyes are glassy too. "I know."

“I couldn’t let them hurt you. I couldn’t-”

You stop as your tears start to flow uncontrollably. You’d kept so much of your emotions at bay as you dealt with everything and now that it was all done, they were spilling over in waves. He gently pulls you into his embrace as you cry, mindful of your injuries. One hand strokes your hair comfortingly as you cling to him, soaking the front of his shirt with your tears. You keep muttering apologies into his chest and he has to tell you to stop because you have nothing to be sorry for. He should be the one apologising, he thinks. No matter what he does for you for the rest of his life nothing would come close enough in magnitude to what you’d just done for him.

You sniffle as your sobs finally start to subside but you don’t let go of him just yet.

“I want to come home, Sean,” You say quietly, your cheek still pressed against his chest.

“You are home,” He assures you, his arms affectionately squeezing you ever so slightly. "You're here with me. You're already home."

_________________________________________________

epilogue.

Sean barely leaves your side while you recover - not for business, not for anything.

“The company needs you, Sean.”

He shakes his head. “Alex has it covered. You need me.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Believe me, I know. But still. In sickness and in health, right?”

You snort. “We’re not married yet.”

His arms wrap around your waist.

“But we will be,” He murmurs. “I would’ve married you a long time ago if I had it my way.”

“My mother would’ve murdered you.”

Sean chuckles, all too aware of it.

It was about a year and a half into your university lives that Sean decided he genuinely wanted to marry you and, of course, he had run it by your mother.

“I’ll give you my blessing, Sean,” She had told him. “But only if you promise me you’ll give it a few years until you propose.”

“Just trust me on this, okay?” She said after Sean had frowned and asked her why. “I know you love her and I know she loves you but there’s no need to rush.”

Sean had agreed reluctantly but now, years later, he understands where she was coming from. At the time, he had naively been sure there was nothing the two of you couldn’t handle. You’d both handled being at different universities so well, after all. Now, he cringes at the fact that that was his metric but he figures he couldn’t blame himself. At that age, he definitely never anticipated having to deal with all the shit life had thrown at you both in the last few months alone. He’s somewhat grateful your mum told him to wait because now, after everything, he’s more sure than he ever was about the fact that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you.

~

You’re finally back home, in your own bed, lying on your back because it’s the only comfortable way you can lay down with all your stitches and injuries yet to fully heal. You turn your head to look at Sean and you smile. He’s on his back as well, the both of you craning your necks awkwardly to look at each other.

“What?” He asks.

“This is very familiar.”

He snorts, knowing exactly what you’re referring to. He props himself up on his elbow and looks down at you.

“At least this time I’m not scared to do this.”

Your eyelids flutter close as he leans down to press his lips to yours. You reciprocate, leaning up to deepen the kiss before pain shoots up your side, making you hiss.

“Sorry,” He murmurs, pulling away.

“It’s fine, just the stitches.”

His thumb grazes over your cheek. “Rest.”

He smiles at the way you huff. You never did like staying still.

~

You let out a content sigh, sinking back in your office chair. It had felt like a lifetime since you’d been in here and finally being back felt like you were putting in the final piece in the puzzle. It was the last thing you needed to feel like everything was starting to go back to normal.

A knock on the door grabs your attention, Sean popping in to check on you. “You ready?”

You nod, gingerly getting up and following him to the boardroom for the family meeting.

~

“So you know Alex and I have been talking,” Sean says to you once everyone had filed in and taken their seats. “About what will be best for the business going forward.”

You nod.

“Things have settled down and we’ve managed to broker temporary agreements with everyone to keep them in line. However, we need to guarantee they won’t act out in the future. So we need someone heading the company who they will listen to, someone who they trust. Alex wants to continue doing the finances and I’m better off sticking to making the buildings so… we were wondering if you would be the CEO.”

Your expression goes slack in shock. “What?”

“We’ve run it by Ed and mum and they agree, too. You’re our best bet.”

You look between everyone in the room, bewildered. “Why?”

“Because you know more about dealing with the investors and shareholders than any of us,” Alex says. “You saw first-hand how Finn did his business with them, something me and Sean rarely did. And they not only know you personally but they trust you, too.”

“Y/n,” Ed pipes up. “Whether he did it deliberately or not, Finn taught you everything he knew about the most important part of running this corporation. Alex knows finance and sales, Sean knows property and asset management but you? He specifically taught you how to bargain. And bargaining and making deals is part of what keeps the Wallace Corporation on top.”

“All our shareholders, the investors, they’ll be okay with this?” You ask.

Ed gives you a look, “You tell us.”

The weight of the responsibility hits you in full force but you’re surprised when you don’t feel scared. You feel sure. They were all right, you’d been doing this already.

You nod. “They will be.”

And it’s not a threat so much as it’s just pure confidence on your part. You knew their strengths, their weaknesses, you knew you would be able to keep them in line with your words, either finding mutual ground or using certain things as leverage to get what the company needed. You could bargain with them the same way you’d bargained for Sean’s life. You could do this.

You meet Sean’s eyes across the boardroom table and he smiles at you, pride blooming in his chest at the thought of his girl, the one he had fallen head-over-heels for at sixteen, being the CEO of his dad’s company. You smile in return. God, you loved him. Your entire world, your whole heart, belonged to him. And his to you. It always had been, and it always would be.

_________________________________________________

End notes: The first kiss setting in one. I took straight from Volume, lol, and then two. is set after that meeting scene at the end of Episode 7 of Gangs but I’ve taken some liberties with that meeting and diverged from canon right before Ed tells them Finn never wanted Sean near the business because Sean’s reaction to that hurts my heart. So that’s not a thing in my fic world. Anyway! Too many thoughts about this show. Let me know if you enjoyed this fic!

[coldflame96]

A Moment’s Peace

Summary: Hajime just wants to some peace and quiet so he can study for his entrance exam. His siblings are determined to make sure he doesn’t get it. 

Rating: T (only for Hajime’s teenage boy mouth)

Also on AO3 

Two in one day but I just wanted Hajime to suffer as the eldest sibling (solidarity!). It’s still Father’s Day so we also get some good dad Kyo. 

Hajime wondered if moving in with Kinu would give him more peace than he ever got here. He just wanted to study for his entrance exams. But god forbid he ever gets a moment's quiet. 

He heard the door open and pinched his nose in frustration. 

He turned around and saw Kyoko standing in his door, panting. "Hide me, Haji-nii!" 

He scoffed. "Why? And what have I told you about coming in here without knocking?" 

"You have to hide me!" Of course she was ignoring him. "Kazu-nii’s gonna find me!"

"What, are you playing hide and seek?" 

"Kyo-chan!" He heard their brother call from down the hall and the little girl squeaked in fear, jumping in his bed and burying herself under his covers. I just made that bed, dammit! 

He was about to kick her out before his door opened again and his brother stormed in, looking mad as hell and holding...a broken model airplane. The one he’d gotten for his birthday. The expensive one. That must be why she's hiding. It took a lot to piss Kazuya off.

"Nii-san, have you seen Kyoko?" He demanded. 

His eyes flicked over to his bed where their little sister somehow managed to blend in with his pillows. 

"No,” he lied. “Now quit bugging me. I'm trying to study." 

Kazuya huffed, muttering, "I can't believe her. When I find her she's dead." 

He closed the door behind him a little too loud and it was once he heard the retreating footsteps he rolled his eyes and called out, "You can come out now." 

He watched the small girl raise her head sheepishly, orange hair spilling over his blanket. 

"Haji-nii, can I stay in here?" 

"No." 

"Why?" She whined. 

"Because you're noisy and I'm trying to study." 

"But if I leave, Kazu-nii’s gonna kill me. He said so himself!" 

"Well, you shouldn't have broken his plane then. Stop being a baby and go apologize." 

She pouted. "I didn't do it on purpose." 

"Doesn't matter. You still broke it and it wasn't yours. Now go say you're sorry and stop bothering me." 

She surprisingly did actually leave, though reluctantly, and it was once the door was closed and he waited a minute or so that he breathed a sigh of relief. 

Maybe now he could-

The door slammed open again. “Haji-nii!” Kyoko cried. God dammit. 

He slammed the pencil down. “What now?” he gritted. 

“Kazu-nii hit me!” she sniffled. 

“Well, yeah, you broke his plane. I would’ve hit you too.”

Her eyes practically inflated with tears and he had to force himself to look away and not cave. “But I did what you said!”

“That’s not my problem! Why are you even coming to me anyway? Where are Mom and Dad?”

“Mommy’s at work and Daddy’s in the yard.”

“Go harass him then!” 

“Kyoko.” Speak of the man and he shall appear. His dad was standing in the doorway. “Why are you in here bothering your brother?” Kyoko immediately took her opportunity to run over and hug him. 

“Daddy, Kazu-nii’s being mean to me!” she whined. 

“Don’t fall for it, Dad!” Kazuya piped in from behind because of course he did. Why not just bring Mom here and have a whole party? It’s not like this exam was important or anything. “She broke my plane!”

“Kyoko, is that true?” he heard Dad ask. 

There was a pause and then a sheepish, “Yeah.” 

“You should apologize.”

“But I already did! And then he hit me!”

Why were they doing this in his room of all places? For fuck’s sake! 

“Seriously?” he heard his dad say in an unimpressed tone. “She’s half your size.”

“She broke my plane.”

“Then you come to me about it, you don’t hit your little sister. Now say you’re sorry.”

Seriously, why the hell were they still in here? His pencil snapped in his hand and he could feel the veins popping. 

“Sorry, Kyo-chan,” Kazuya muttered. 

“Good. Now you.” Hajime assumed he was talking to Kyoko now but he didn’t care because he just wanted them to leave. “You apologize too.”

“But I already did!” she whined. 

“You shouldn’t have gone in his room without-” he couldn’t fucking take this anymore. 

“Can you guys get out?!” he burst out, turning to them, who almost looked shocked that he was even here which just pissed him off even more. “Geez, I have an exam in like 3 days and I can’t get anything done with you people coming in here and bothering me every five seconds!”

His dad and brother atleast had the decency to look sheepish. “Sorry.” Dad steered both of his siblings, who were glaring daggers at each other, out. “C’mon, let’s let your brother work.”

He tsked and sat back down with a huff. 

Finally. 

Maybe Dad could atleast keep those two busy for a while. 

He stiffened when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. He turned slightly, the heat rushing to his face from the sudden affection and felt his dad rest his chin on the top of his head. How did I not hear him come back in? Dad’s face was unreadable but he almost looked...sad. 

“Dad?” he questioned softly. “Are you okay?” He knew he had a temper. Did he go too far?

Dad kissed the top of his head like he did all the time when he was a kid and he blushed. 

“Yeah, I’m okay.” he heard in his ear, and then the arms let go and the room felt a little chillier. 

His dad smirked and ruffled his hair, and he batted the hands away in protest. “Don’t work too hard,” he said as he finally left the room

Hajime blinked in confusion when the door closed. That was weird. It wasn’t unusual for his dad to be affectionate or anything, but that particular instance felt...different, somehow.

He shook his head. Whatever. His family was weird. 

But, he thought as he smiled to himself, I’m really gonna miss them. 

[jesswritesthat]

Miya Atsumu: Rumours

Fandom: Haikyuu!! — [ Masterlist ]

Summary: A little fluff

• Gossip can ruin a reputation and with some uncerimonious lies threatening yours, Atsumu steps in to help - even if it risks more than it saves.

Warnings: Mature language, rumours

>>>>——————————>

"Alright, who the fuck did it?!"

All attention was on you at this point, your deadpanning shout enough to knock the entire team into silence after flinging open the doors only seconds prior as you stood patiently in your position, arms crossed expectantly as more familiar members regained their wit.

"Did what?" Osamu called back on behalf of the team who were collectively wondering the same, his sincere perplexity actually puzzling you slightly.

"You mean you don't... Wait, how do you not know?" Any hostility in your posture morphed into defeated concern as you realised you'd have to explain the rather embarrassing situation to the entire team.

Atsumu raised a brow at your uncharacteristic behaviour, prying further into whatever mysterious issue you'd encountered that day, as to his recollection, you weren't inconvenienced earlier that morning.

"Yer gonna have to be more specific (Y/n)-chan."

"The rumour, you mean? The entire school thinks you slept with Miya." Suna intervened with a relaxed tone, though you could see he was thinking of a snarky remark to throw at you.

"Osamu?" Kita blandly inquired but it was enough to display his concern, viewing it as the best case scenario, alas your playful demeanour suggested otherwise.

"If it was 'Samu I wouldn't be complaining."

"Hey!" The team were bemused with your snarky comment with Atsumus' instant offence only fuelling his brothers teasing despite the seriousness of the problem.

"Hah, loser."

"Enough, you alright (L/n)?" Aran silenced the two with a disapproving sigh, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder in aid of displaying his teams solidarity toward you since you were basically one of their own.

"Of course not! The hot guy in my class finally asked me on a date after y of flirting and then this came up so he cancelled on me thinking I'll sleep with anyone." You huffed in annoyance, once more taking a jab at Atsumu as a distorted form of revenge.

"Again, hey!" The blonde twin emphasised his presence, assuring that he could in fact hear you, not that such a thing would deter the teasing.

"Not now Atsumu, you know you've got a reputation." Kita haphazardly waved off, his usual bluntness present whilst the blonde twin added his justification.

"Half of the stuff isn't true, here's a prime example."

"I promise I didn't sleep with Atsumu, you're the only ones I've got who'll believe me." You were pleading now, partly confident they wouldn't trust the rumour anyway considering they knew the two of you on a personal level and Aran only cemented that.

"No sweat (Y/n), we know you've got standards."

"Hey?! Do I get any compassion here?" Atsumu once again suffered from the teasing of his team, however he took it all - if only to brighten your mood but he'd never admit that.

"No, you'd be lucky to ever have (Y/n)." Suna chimed in, again amusing Osamu mostly.

———

As you expected, the team offered their support the best they could, if they passed you in the halls they checked on your well-being and ultimately deterred any suggestive looks you received.

However, even as the Inarizaki Volleyball Club Manager, being around the twins was complicated but you weren't willing to sacrifice your friendship over something so petty. You had the pleasure of Atsumus' company this time, as he leant against the lockers waiting to walk with you to practice.

"One upside is that no man dares touch ya now, at least if I’m anywhere in sight." He smugly grinned, noticing a fellow second year checking you out before scampering off the moment he saw the twin. It was like you’d suddenly become contimantied goods, or rather they didn’t wish to interfere with Atsumus ‘partner’ only fearing the consequences.

"How is that an upside?" You deadpanned, slamming your locker shut and mindlessly turning your attention to students filtering past behind you.

"We don't have to worry about some idiot breaking yer heart." The blonde lazily shrugged whilst speaking in regards to the team and closed his eyes to beam at you already predicting your sarcastic remark - your tone remaining bleakly unimpressed.

"Aren't I lucky to have friends like you."

"Friends with benefits you mean." Naturally, he replied with finesse, proud of his nonexistent accomplishment if only to get a reaction.

"It was apparently only once, according to the stories." You gave a gentle laugh now enamoured with the playful conversation, correcting the false truth of the rumour as you strolled toward the gymnasium.

"Aw, were ya so bad that I didn't come back for more?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing." As always, he admired your ability to keep up with his banter even in the more degrading of circumstances - his gaze lingering whilst you walked away, chuckling to himself before jogging after you.

———

About 2 weeks had passed and much to your chagrin the rumour still held prominence in the gossiping hallways due to its scandalous premise - this time only a metre or so away from your current position.

"Do you think they're still at it then - I thought it was a one time thing?"

"I mean they're friends so I guess there's no feelings involved, whatever they're doing."

With a clashing snap of your locker, the disruption startled the group of gossips who were met with the dangerous, emotionless gaze of Atsumu who’d appeared beside you, the Setter practically daring them to continue but, by good sense, they scattered.

The twin turned his attention back to your discontented figure with a sympathetic smile - he knew you weren't phased by it, your friends and grades had remained intact but overhearing it so consistently was slowly rattling your patience.

"Y’know, the best revenge would be to prove ‘em right, I mean whoever started it did so thinkin' I'm too hot for ya or vice versa. Probably the first one though." The way he’d began signalled devious intent and the evaluation only puzzled you, flicking to him as you attempted to attach motive to it.

"Uh huh, so what? I should screw you for the hell of it?"

"I wouldn't say no, but I had more of a scheme in mind."

The mischievous smirk on his features reminded you that pranks like these were what the twins specialised in, though not necessarily on such an all-encompassing scale. Even so, you encourage him to elaborate, nodding along to display interest as he continued.

"We fake date and make a show of it, that'll piss 'em off since I don't do relationships and I've fallen for the person they tried to embarrass."

Admittedly his idea wasn't completely ludicrous and it would be an entertaining form of revenge, hopefully tactical enough to discover who started the distasteful rumour in the first place and thus save whatever reputation you had left too.

"I'm shocked ‘Tsumu - there is something you won't do." You feigned shock, a hand on your heart for additional dramatics once you'd contemplated the implications.

"I didn't do you, remember?" Atsumu bit back with a smug grin and nudge to your shoulder as you mockingly laughed at his antics.

"Alright sorry, when do we start?"

Atsumu smirked at that, graciously tugging you toward him by the waist before placing a chasté kiss to your forehead and winked at your surprised expression.

"Right now babe."

Almost instantly you heard the whispers of passing students who'd witnessed the affectionate act as he left, Atsumu was never one for subtlety in matters like these, and you could only throw your head back against the locker with an exasperated groan.

It's gonna be a long year...

<——————————<<<<

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |

[ Masterlist ]

[prettyyoungandbored]

All I’ve Got [Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee]

Pairing: Nikki Sixx x Sister!Reader, Tommy Lee & Sixx Sister!Reader

Request: hi! i’m the anon who asked about you writing for the dirt, do you think you could write something where the reader is nikki’s sister and dating tommy and she’s with tommy when they see on the tv that nikki is dead??? and they find out later he isn’t dead and the reader begs him to get his shit together cuz he’s the only family she has??? sorry it’s so specific lmao thank you!!💕

Warnings: Mentions of an overdose

Tommy insisted on spending Christmas with his parents, something Y/N was more than happy to do. Up until the boys came along in her life, her and Nikki didn’t really celebrate the holidays. Even when they lived with their grandparents, the holidays were just another day. 

She and Tommy begged Nikki to come along, but he refused. Y/N couldn’t understand why, but she had feeling Nikki had plans with someone named heroin. His addiction was growing stronger everyday, besides pleas from Y/N to get help before it was too late. 

Angered by her brother’s carelessness and selfishness, she refused to let it effect her time at Tommy’s house. 

Tommy’s mom and Y/N decorated the house, talking and laughing the entire time. Tommy’s mom treated her with the warmth and love that Deanna, Y/N and Nikki’s real mom, never gave her. She and Tommy’s father made sure Y/N always felt comfortable, and there weren’t enough words in the English language to describe just how grateful Y/N was for them.

The night before Christmas Eve, Tommy, Y/N, and Tommy’s parents and sister were sitting around, enjoying some hot chocolate when Tommy’s father picked up the remote from the coffee table.

“I think they have ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ playing on Channel 3,” he said, turning it on. 

He found the Channel 3 and just as the opening credits began to play, they were cut off by a ‘Breaking News’ graphic. 

“What’s going on?” Tommy’s mom inquired, turning to her husband. 

The camera fixated on the female anchor. 

“Good evening. I’m Robin Carlisle with some breaking news out of Hollywood. We’ve just received unconfirmed reports that Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx has died this evening of an apparent drug overdose.”

Y/N dropped her cup of hot chocolate on the floor, her blood running ice cold. Her mouth hung open as the world around her froze. She couldn’t hear Tommy hold her in his arms as he sobbed violently. 

She felt like a huge part of her had just been ripped away without warning. Nikki was her only family, her protector from their mother and her creepy boyfriends. He was her best friend and her partner-in-crime. 

Now, he was gone and she was sure it was her fault. 

She tried multiple times to get him to stop, but he wouldn’t budge. She was all talk and no action, afraid of what her brother would do if she took away his needles and heroin. 

But this is what her fear got her. 

She crumbled to the ground, Tommy holding her tightly in his arm as she cried on his chest. As devastated as he was that he lost his best friends, a part of hi was furious at Nikki. How could do this, even after his sister begged and pleaded with him multiple times? How could he leave her like this? 

He opens his mouth in an attempt to tell her it’s gonna be ok, but he loves her too much to lie. 

“Vince called,” Tommy’s father said, coming back from the kitchen. “He says Nikki’s at Cedars-Sinai.” 

Tommy nodded. “Thanks Pop.” He turned to Y/N who wiped her eyes. “It’s up to you, babe.” 

“I need to go,” she sniffled. “I have to go.” 

He wasn’t going to argue with her so he helped her up, grabbed his keys, and the two of them made their way. 

Tommy tried to drive as fast as he can while Y/N tried to keep herself together in the passenger seat. She almost reached out to turn on the radio, just to quiet the thoughts in her head but she knew that would be useless considering all of them would just have Christmas songs playing and that was the last thing she needed to hear.

She buried her face in her hands. Tommy glancesd over at her and used one hand to stroke her hair, a silent reassurance that he was here for her.

When they arrived at the hospital, a swarm of paparazzi stood outside. Tommy grabbed Y/N’s hand as she lowered her head. Just as her nightmare couldn’t get any worse, cameras and screams from those behind them, made her jump.

‘Y/N did you know about your brother’s addiction?!’

‘Are you taking over his assets?’

‘What’s gonna happen to Mötley Crüe?’

‘Is it true he had a prostitute in the room when he died?’

“Can you all seriously fuck off?!” Tommy barked at them.

She tightened her grip on Tommy as the paparazzi continued to scream at her. She rushed inside followed by Tommy.

They made their way to the front desk, not caring about the people in the waiting area staring at them. The nurse at the front desk looked at Y/N and Tommy.

“You’re here for Nikki Sixx, I assume?” She asked.

Y/N nodded and the nurse gave her a warm, sympathetic smile. “You’re just in time. The doctor is in there with him right now. He apparently woke up not too long ago?”

Y/N’s head shot up, eyes widening. “He...he what?!”

“He what?” Tommy asked.

“Did Mr. Neil not tell you?” the nurse questioned. “Our EMTs revived him on the way here. He’s been-.”

“What room is he in?” Y/N cut her off.

“Third floor. Room 7.”

Y/N thanked her as she and Tommy rushed into the elevator. Hope and relief radiated through her that when she and Tommy were alone, she found herself clutching onto’s Tommy shirt, crying.

Tommy was relived, to say the very least. It also made him realize his current lifestyle had consequences and that if he ever wanted a real future with Y/N, he had to make some serious changes.

When they got to the third floor, Y/N and Tommy booked it to Room 7, pushing through nurses and other staffers to get to the room.

Upon reaching Room 7, Y/N burst through the door to find her older brother button up his jeans. He looked up and froze when he saw his little sister.

Y/N and Nikki stood there face-to-face. His face softened at the sight of his baby sister’s blood shot eyes. 

Nikki’s pale state brought out the dried blood spots on his chest from where the needles were injected as well as his under eye bags.

“Y/N-.” 

Y/N stomped toward him and slapped him across the face. He stumbled back, surprised by her actions.

“Ow,” he grumbled.

“I thought I lost you tonight,” she trembled. “I thought I lost my best friend and my brother.”

Nikki swallowed hard, his hands leaving the spot where she slapped him. “Y/N, I’m so sorry.”

She threw her hands up. “Is that all you have to say to me?! You’re sorry?!”

She eyed the telephone on his night side, pointing at it. “You couldn’t even have the decency to call me or Tommy and tell us you were fine?! I gave you his family’s house phone number for a reason!”

She wiped her eyes with her sleeves. “You were going to runaway, weren’t you? You were going to run from the doctor.”

“Y/N-.”

“No, no I don’t wanna hear it, ok? You’re gonna stay in here and I’m gonna stay here until you are formally discharged. After that, I’m staying at the house and you and I and Doc are gonna talk about rehab.”

Nikki rolled his eyes. “You’re overreacting.”

Y/N’s eyes widened as Tommy, realizing what was about to happen, stepped back. She slapped her brother again.

“Jesus Christ, Y/N!” he snapped.

“You’re all I have, Nikki!” she spat. “You’re my only family left. I can’t lose you. Please, I am begging you, please stop this and get clean.”

Nikki lowered his head, realizing his actions had more serious consequences than he believed. Y/N wiped her eyes and nose on the sleeve of her sweater.

“Please don’t leave me,” she whimpered.

Nikki made eye contact with Tommy, who lowered his gaze in solidarity with his girlfriend. Nikki then opened his arms, wrapping them around her as she sobbed.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” he whispered. “I’m really sorry.”

He knew changes had to be made if not for him, but for the sake of the only family he had left.

[pink-imagines]

change of style

request: Hey, I was wondering if there was a chance is we could get a reaction out of Deku, Bakugo, Todoroki etc of the reader coming to school dressed an E-Girl or a Soft Girl or something like that 😂

a/n: since they do have a dress coded school, i decided to change your request just a bit! i don’t know how to implement the aesthetics into the uniforms without breaking some sort of dress code i added cottage core to this too, to mix it up a bit!

warnings: fluff and slight sexual tension but no nsfw

masterlist

Izuku Midoriya.

It was all Toru’s idea. And though it was supposed to be a prank on Izuku, but it felt more like a prank on you. You didn’t really know how the conversation got there but suddenly the girls were going to dress you in cottage core attire to see Izuku’s reaction on you going out of your comfort zone a bit. A few in the class were going out that day to the park for a picnic, since the weather had been so nice lately. So they put you in a light blue, angelic-looking, dress that Momo just had lying around for some reason. The dress ended above your ankles, so you could still see the brown leather shoes which you matched it with. In your hair they put a matching light blue bow on the back of your head. To keep warm you put on a creamy white knitted cardigan, which Momo made on the spot when you asked about the slightly chilly breeze. Ochaco was in charge of putting on make up, so she went out to grab some of her stuff. When she came back she only put on very light, natural make up. But with a bit extra blush on the apple of your cheeks and on the tip of your nose.

Once it was done you looked yourself in the mirror. You looked right about ready to go to your cottage in the forest to take care of your cats and water your flowers... and you kind of... liked it?

Either way it was time to go, and the girls made you carry the picnic basket to really complete the look. And right before you were going into the common room, Mina leaned into and whispered: “Kind of looks like a wedding dress, don’t you think?” Your cheeks heated up at just the thought of that.

“Mina!”, you squealed as you watched her run away cackling.

You walked into the room last, kind of hiding behind the other girls though everyone could still see you... you stuck out like a sore thumb. Some of the girls had put on dresses too, in solidarity... well mostly because it was hot outside and you begged them to do it. But it was the fact that you looked like you belonged in a fairytale that made you stand out.

“Why are you so dolled up?”, Kirishima asked with a big smile. You were about to say something when Mina and Ochaco slapped their hands over your mouth.

“Just ‘cuz!”, they smiled.

“I take it that they forced you, then.”, he chuckled. You gave him a nervous nod. Kirishima was in many ways like the big brother you never had. He was actually the one who helped you get together with Izuku, since both of you were to nervous to say anything about it.

“It’s alright, it suits you.”, he smiled, “I’m sure Midoriya will be all over you.”, he teased.

“Shut up!”, you slapped him lightly on the arm and tried to ignore the blush creeping up on your face again. Your eyes looked around the room to try to find Izuku, and Kirishima seemed to notice.

“He’s just been out training, we’re gonna wait for him here.”, he looked to the rest of the group, “Hey! Why don’t the rest of you go set the things up at the park and Sero and I will wait for Midoriya?” Everyone agreed and the group got moving.

Once the stuff was put up in the park, right by the lake and the big oak tree, you saw Sero, Kirishima and Izuku walk towards the group. You were sitting on the rock by the lake, drinking a bottle of water to stay hydrated in the heat of the sun. When you saw him your heart skipped a beat. His curls were still damp, since he probably didn’t have time to dry his hair fully after his shower. And even though he was wearing what he usually wore there was something different... maybe it was the lighting... or the way he was looking at you. His eyes were slightly raised in surprise and his jaw was slack with his lips parted slightly. You stood up, forgetting what you were wearing as you were just happy to see him, and sprinted up to him. His slack jaw tensed up as he started to smile brightly.

“Woah, woah...”, he chuckled as you practically ran into his chest, making him stumble back a bit. Kirishima and Sero snickered as they kept on walking.

“Hi.”, you grinned.

“Hi.”, he replied sweetly, “You look... very pretty.” A pink tint dusted across his cheeks as he said so.

“Thank you.”, you smiled and took his hand, “You’re very pretty too.” The way your cheeks grew tomato red made him snort to try to contain his laughter.

“Let’s go, princess.”, he smiled and started to walk to the rest of the group with his hand still in yours. Princess... that’s a new one. You decided on the spot that it was your new favorite.

Katsuki Bakugo.

Everyone knows that Katsuki has a huge soft spot for you, but not a lot of people know that he’s not as mean as he acts and looks. At least not to you, again; he had a bit of a sweet spot for you. Yes, he could still have one hell of an attitude and he definitely had anger issues... but the important part was that he was trying for you. So he already had a soft spot for you, so of course your friends wanted to get a real reaction out of him. What if we turn the soft spot even more soft? They put you in a short, light brown, plaid skirt that flaired out and accentuated your hips. Along with that they put you in one of Katsuki’s white button ups, which you had stolen from him because it smelled like him (and you might’ve slept in it), and over that they layered a knitted sweater in a shade of light pink which was tucked into the skirt. Mina gave you a pair of her chunky white sneakers to pair with the outfit.

“You look so cute!”, Ochaco exclaimed as Mina started doing your make up.

“Guys, I don’t know if I can go out in this... he’s probably not going to react anyways.”, you sighed.

“I did not put in this much effort for you to back out now.”, Jirou stared you down.

“Exactly.”, Momo and Tsu nodded.

“Even if he doesn’t react, you look very cute!”, Toru assured you. After the girls pleaded with you, you decided to go through with it.

You walked over to the common area, where Katsuki was trying to read his book while Denki and Kirishima was playing videogames on the same couch. The way he furrowed his eyebrows to try to focus better was somehow the most adorable thing you had ever seen in your life. You looked back at the girls who were watching you from the stairs up to the dorm rooms. With a sigh, you started walking past... he didn’t even look up from his book. You looked back at the girls again and Ochaco mouthed “Plan B” at you, so you started walking to the kitchen. The thing was that you really wanted no one else to see you like this except for your boyfriend... and if you called on him, Kirishima and Denki would look up too... but you did promise the girls...

“Hey, Katsuki!”, you said from the cupboards as you tried to reach the top shelf, “Could you help me get a glass?” Katsuki looked up from his book and took a double look at you. After just a few seconds his face was completely red. After not answering for a while it caught the other boys’ attention and they looked over at him. When they saw that his face started to resemble Kirishima’s hair they looked over at you, though you didn’t notice since you were still trying to reach a glass. Denki let out a low whistle, without thinking, and at the speed of lightning a red pair of eyes stared him down. You finally looked over at them, with blushing cheeks. Katsuki was walking over to you as Denki stared at him like a scared puppy. Katsuki positioned himself behind you, one hand on your waist and one hand reaching up to grab a glass for you. He pressed a kiss to your cheek and whispered:

“Is that the shirt I’ve been looking for?”, he pulled at the collar of the white button-up.

“Maybe...”, you whispered back, quite enjoying the attention you were getting from him.

“Well... you do look really fucking good in it, but I’m gonna need that back. Come to my room later?”, he let his hand slowly slip down from your waist before taking his hand completely off of you.

“Okay.”, you choked out, now it was your turn to blush like crazy.

“Great.”, he smiled and walked back to the couch to get back to reading, “What the fuck are you looking at!?”, he shouted at the guys and they quickly looked back to their game. Well... it worked.

Shoto Todoroki

You and Shoto weren’t a very open couple, in the means that you didn’t show each other off that much. It didn’t mean that you didn’t appreciate each other, you were just both kind of awkward about it. People didn’t even know that you were dating until you casually said something about it a few months ago, even though you had dated for over a year suddenly everyone wanted to see you two together.  That’s why you were here now, in Jirou’s room. Some of the girls were looking through her warderobe for your outfit.

“Tell me why we’re doing this again?”, you sighed as you got more comfortable on Jirou’s bed.

“You don’t usually dress like this, so...”, Mina picked up a skirt, “We think that it’ll get a reaction out of your boyfriend.”

“Why do you have to get a reaction out of him?”, you flop down on your back.

“Because it’s not fair that only you get to see the super cute stuff you two do.”, Toru argued.

“Isn’t that what a relationship is, though? Being comfortable with each other?”, you sighed.

“Don’t you want to show him off a little, though? You’re dating one of the most attractive boys in UA.”, Ochaco sat down next to you on the bed.

“... maybe.”, you muttered.

“Then let’s get going, we don’t have all day!”, Momo exclaimed happily.

You actually found something that you would be semi-confident in. It was a short, tight, plaid skirt and a studded black leather belt. The skirt was dark blue and black, along with a bit of white. The top, however, was a bit harder for you to accept. It was just a black tube top, but it was very cropped and that was a little too much for you. So you went to your room and grabbed the jean jacket that Shoto had let you borrow and you had just forgotten about giving it back. When you came back Mina was ready with make up in her hands and Jirou showed you a pair of leather boots which you could borrow. With a sigh you sat down in front of Mina and let her to your make up.

After your make over the girls followed you as you walked down the stairs to the common area. You were supposed to go with Shoto to get cold soba together, so he was waiting for you there. He looked up as he saw you walk down the stairs and his jaw dropped to the floor as his eyes widened.

“Ready to go?”, you smiled innocently.

“Um... yeah... yeah, let’s go.”, he nodded.

During the entire date he didn’t look away from you, he didn’t even care if someone else was looking at you. He just wrapped an arm around you or took your hand in his. Almost like he was saying: “you can look but she’s all mine”, which if you were being honest felt a little bit nice...

When you got back at the dorms you were smiling like crazy, and even Shoto wore a small smile on his lips. You said goodnight and Shoto was about to walk up the stairs when you stopped him.

“Wait!”, you exclaimed, “Your jacket.”, you took off the jean jacket and handed it to him. This was really just an excuse to see him for a bit longer.

“Thank you but...”, he wrapped the jacket around you again and kept his hands on your shoulders, “... I think it suits you.” He pulled you in by the collar of the jacket and placed a kiss on your lips ever so softly and longingly. You kept your eyes closed for a bit after he pulled a way, which earned you a chuckle from Shoto. He gave you a little peck to your lips and this time it was your turn to chuckle.

“You looked very cute today...”, he leaned his forehead against yours, “... but don’t feel the need to dress up for me. I love you no matter what.” That was the first time he’d ever said he loved you.

“I love you too.”, you whispered as you rested your palms against his chest, “... no matter what.” He gave you another quick but loving kiss.

“Keep the jacket.”, he whispered against your lips. You watched him hesitantely pull away from you and start to walk up the stairs.

“Goodnight.”, you said.

“Goodnight.”, he replied.

Once you were in your room you threw yourself on your bed after kicking Jirou’s shoes off your feet. A squeal escaped your lips as you thought back to what just happened. A buzz from your phone interupted your wandering thoughts. Just hand me the clothes tomorrow, here are some pics ;)

It was Jirou. Along with the text a few pictures followed... of you and Shoto right now in the lobby. A smile spread across your lips as youmade sure to screenshot all of them.

--

permanent taglist: @theoceanphoenixhasrisen | @raven-r0ses | @darkbeautyswife | @sondering-thoughts | @gowoneandonlyone | @bnhabadass | @queenblackcat | @jayetheanimefreek101 | @witchy-anna 

[crimsonandcloverwrites]

bhah ch8 reread as fast as i can before ch11 arrives help

aww Dani nervous for Jamie’s big race is so cute

i love Dani’s whole photography thing n her wanting to document their lives it’s so sweet

i’m suddenly stuck on the whole blue as a theme thing n now I’m noticing it everywhere/remembering their tent was blue and now their school colours are blue and Dani’s car is blue and I think Jamie’s house is blue. and of course THE SCRUNCHIE

god I love track star Jamie

flip these two are cute together

‘a favour for good luck’ god idk why this gets me so much I think like... Dani giving her this little piece of herself is so wholesome but weirdly loaded i just love it

the carson eddie banter is so funny sdkdhfgj

Dani is such a lil ball of emotions I’m obsessed w her feeling a million things while she watches Jamie

she’s a winner baby!!

also love that this is her setting the record that was mentioned in the prev chapter we love lil details being followed through

Jamie going straight for Dani when she won god that’s so cute

aw Jamie gets a kiss (and a whole gay crisis lol) for her win how sweet

oh no the beginnings of Dani and Eddie

pls this is so soft Carson and Judy so proud of Jamie

I just ate so many carbs I am finally properly fueled for this reading sprint (solidarity w Jamie)

aw Nan quietly proud of her

fkjdfh Dani and Jamie playing footsies at the table

god Nan n Jamie are such a force together truly terrifying to be stuck in the middle of I’m sure. Also fuuuck cld u imagine grown up Jamie and Nan interacting and Jamie in particular being a bit more chilled out and them getting along a lot better but finding their way back to silly little bickering arguments that are really just them knowing they can do that w each other and still be ok at the end of the day bc they love each other ouch it hurts to think about :(

lmao Jamie losing her mind at the sight of Dani in a towel lol I can just imagine her having the same reaction when they’re together too

oooh is the watch from Jamie’s great uncle (? Nan’s brother that she was named for right?) that’s so cool

ugh I want Dani to get her travel adventures so bad

god everytime Dani touches Jamie or says something really sweet or just gives her a look Jamie is suffering so bad

THE MIXTAPE (LITTLE BLUE DUDE SCREAMING AT THE SKY.MEME)

oh god they’re really just gonna curl up in Jamie’s bed and listen to this declaration of love mixtape while Jamie plays with Dani’s hair hold on a minute wait a second

oh no the eddie of it all

aw he brought her flowers (like I am not here for their relationship overall but he does do some sweet things sometimes and he does clearly care abt her)

ugh of course Jamie helped pick them out tho this whole situation is so complicated

god I’m so sad for both of them that their relationship ended up like this. Dani loses that friendship she cherishes so much when it becomes something else she never wanted and Eddie is in love w a girl who will never love him back that way. it really is heartbreaking

oh god the house party time for chaos

Jamie my beloved. sdkjfhsdkjfh and Roger trying to put the moves on her pls this will never stop being funny to me

ugh Dani already feeling so trapped in this life I hate it I hate it

Jamie fiddling w the coin necklace while she watches Dani n Eddie together feels like... she knows she’s losing Dani on some level ouch my heart

is this when Jamie was telling Ed of for letting Dani get drunk wdjkfhdj always the protector aw

she’s still wearing Dani’s scrunchie oh my god. u may have her hand ed but u will never have her hair ties

Dani’s dress MORE BLUE

this is such an interesting event w them like they’re best friends and they’re together so much but they avoid each other for half the party it’s so like... indicative I guess of things changing between them hmmmm

cursed spin the bottle. poor Dani

the zippo lighter. i love seeing things from the box in these chapters. like a gay scavenger hunt

the inadvertent cigarette kiss oh my god. also a little bit like... Jamie just leaning into the pain huh??? I get to put my lips where her lips were but it’s around this thing that has the potential to kill me. god the implications

a little fireside cuddling w ur soulmate ur never gonna kiss how romantic

the sandalwood. I fuckin love that she held onto this scent after Dani told her she smells nice one time. gays really do be like that huh

god this really is the softest moment

christ that almost kiss is so intense how did they just carry on as normal after that I would have died

lol “did i interrupt something?” bro........

dsfkjhdkj Jamie GROWLING at him hahhahahahhaha

oof Dani just wants more of her. I love there was the mention of her carefully constructed walls crumbling and now she’s just like... in this little bubble of almost with her n trying so hard to hold onto that in any way she can

and now she’s back w eddie ouch I hate watching the things she wants slipping out of her grasp

lmao Eddie not putting his arm around Dani when Jamie is there. she really put the fear of god in him I love this angry little lesbian so much

poor Carson being dragged to sports games like “no I’m gay I can’t”

lmao the pair of them trying to be sneaky smoking around the corner (and also having more Moments god the tension of it all)

oooh this Orpheus and Eurydice ref spicy (also fuck this was the beginning of her actually losing Jamie huh god the storytelling... *chef’s kiss*)

oh no Nan :(

god Karen is so awful how could u just break the news to your kid like that

it’s only pain hours from here on out huh

poor Jamie god my heart breaks

something about Dani saying she’s sorry and Jamie just saying she has to go put Mikey to bed fucking breaks me. the fact she’s just lost everything, her home and the stability she was missing from her childhood that she got to have for such a short time, and she can probably barely even process it but all she knows is she has to take care of Mikey. fuck

god her destroying her bike because she’s just so devestated but anger and destruction is easier to feel than being sad.... ouch

“You don’t - you don’t have to feel anything right now. I’ll feel it for you. For the both of us” how dare u make me cry like this

god Jamie giving the scrunchie back feels like such a fucking sad little acknowledgement of her deciding she has to do everything on her own noooo

Dani trying to confront her mom god this is all so much for them to be dealing with I am so sad

tiny mikey saying “want nana” so much pain

Jamie just clinging to Dani when they’re sitting in the pew bc it’s the only way she can ask for help right now ow

“Don’t fight me” my fcking heart this chapter is so sad I need a drink

Jamie is far too young to be self-medicating her way through this god this hurts to read.

this chapter has such a melancholic loss of innocence vibe like going from the teenage parties and boys and track meets and only really having to worry about themselves to this massive amount of responsibility on their shoulders when nan dies (like as much as Jamie tries to push her away Dani takes on a huge burden in trying to help her too) it’s so fucking saaaad

Jamie just breaking and finally crying all this out in Dani’s arms holyyyy shit that will never not break my heart

god Jamie just. determined to raise Mikey on her own cause god knows what the alternative is :(

oof the thread of Jamie determined to fix things. baby sometimes u just cant.

Dani trying so hard to hold things together in the ways that she can :*(

god this ending I am in pain. i know it’s ultimately for the best like Jamie and Mikey absolutely could not carry on like that but.... bro... bro..... ouch

ok gonna go cry in the shower for a bit n then i’ll be back for ch9

[rhapsodyhills]

Mayans M.C S3 EP06 Reaction

 “You Can’t Pray a Lie”

Here’s my episode reaction that no one asked for that I forced myself to write because none of my friends watch Mayans M.C., and I needed to get all my opinions out somewhere. 

 so Spoilers below cut

Not gonna lie, this episode was probably my favorite episode of this season so far. I just feel like with each episode, we’re seeing more and more of everyone’s backstory and relationships, which I honestly value way more than the drama. 

So, first, Gaby and EZ are so fucking cute. I was kind of skeptical of Gaby because she is literally so fucking sweet, and you know that good characters   are undercover cops, or they’re gonna die. I saw someone on twitter say that Gaby was a cop, but I honestly do not see it at all. I feel like there was way too much shit with her parents and the other gang for all that to have just been some sort of set up to get EZ to trust her. I was also very annoyed with her reaction to EZ’s PTSD, but she’s good in my book for now.

So, Bishop. This episode was really hard because Bishop, surprisingly, became one of my favorite characters (my faves are ranked EZ, Angel, Bishop, then Coco. honorable mention to Chucky and Taza). I’m glad we get to see more of him and his background, but fuck. I also just realized what that tattoo on his arm was, and that literally made me so much sadder. I can’t imagine how he feels, especially when Antonia seems to have moved on with her new wife and child and he’s still in the past all alone, and trying to get past it but also keep the memory of his child alive ? I just hope Bishop gets a fucking love interest because he literally has no one and he’s gonna slip when he learns about Coco’s drug use and what Taza did. He’s already reeling from Alvarez. (Also, on Alvarez, he either needs to be in Mayans business or not cause he can’t just pick sides when he wants. I get that the Mayans are still his shit, but you can’t make decisions like he did without knowing only one side) Let’s hope Bishop gets some pussy and love because his ass needs and deserves it. 

Next, Angel. I’m not gonna lie, Angel was definitely serving up some guard dog/ protective dad teas in this fucking episode and I loved it. Angel’s ass literally snapped on so many people, even Bishop, when he saw no one was doing shit to make things even. When he called Nestor a french- braided little bitch (i think that’s what it was) I was fucking crying. 

Side note: I’m glad Nestor finally abandoned them damn grandfather frames, he looks so much better without them. 

The hospital scene where Gaby walks in and the club leaves, and Taza says hi, was so heartwarming for no reason at all. Taza seems like such a warm person (besides when he suffocates his friends in the name of payback) and him saying hi to Gaby when everyone else just stared at her, was so nice. (I like the most simplest shit when it comes to character interactions and that’s an issue) Also, Angel thanking Gaby was so sweet.

(Does anyone else know why the guy that tried to kill EZ got hit with a car ? Was that like a random driver reacting to him just randomly running into the street?)

Anyway, I love when Angel rages, (” you can’t smoke in here” *pulls out gun*) so I enjoyed every scene with him in it. I saw on Twitter that someone says he is finally being a good brother, and maybe I’m dense but I always thought he was a good brother, he just holds heavy resentment towards EZ and his dad for how they made him feel inferior. I honestly think that I get Angel because of how I feel living with my mom and my brother (who have the most annoying form of libra solidarity that always paints me as the angry scorpio, but that’s enough on that). 

On the topic of zodiacs, I honestly expected Coco to be an Aries, but knowing he’s a virgo, makes so much sense. He reminds me a lot of all the virgos I know: thoughtful, chaotic, funny, always preaching some bullshit about philosophy.

I honestly think that if Hope and Coco get clean and escape this cult shit, they could actually be a really cool couple. They’re both very philosophical and deep thinking people that could probably go hours talking about shit like conspiracies or the meaning of the fucking universe.

I kind of see Hope and Gaby being old ladies (do the Mayans even call the wives/ gfs that ?) to Coco and EZ. I honestly just think that EZ and Gaby look so good together, and balance each other out so well (if she could just be a tiny bit more sensitive to his PTSD), that I don’t want them to break up. Maybe it’s because I don’t see an end to them that doesn’t result in EZ being fucking destroyed. And Gaby is like the cutest person ever. I think that if the writers do make her a regular, they would probably make it so over time, Gaby loses her sweetness and turns bad or kinda numb. This girl has been on the show for like what six episodes, why am I already so fucking invested in her character?

Also, someone said that Gaby and EZ remind them of Tara and Jax. Please, no.

Anyway, this shit is getting long so lemme wrap it up.

Emily’s face when she saw Gaby, was fucking amazing. Her realizing she’s not gonna always have EZ was such a great moment. And, “You’re very pretty.”, girl what ? Bishop is kinda wild for what he said to Antonia, but I get his emotional turmoil and how he feels like the last of his family is leaving him. EZ taking Gaby to the beach for the first time ? Love that. And the phone call between EZ and Felipe was so emotional and spoke a lot of words without speaking .. a lot of words. The Minnie and Adelita reunion was so heart warming and Adelita saying they need to be prepared has me worried for whatever tf she’s gonna do.

[violetwolfraven]

eek also this is a lot but ikeshot for 7, 14, 26, 33, 39 or 43?

Angst in general.

Nightmares.

You have a scar and I asked about it and it’s really angsty.

I thought I lost you and you need to be more careful you dumbass.

and

You fought me (verbally or physically) and I am s h o o k.

*cracks knuckes* aight then.

I haven’t written ikeshot yet! This’ll be my first time figuring out how I wanna portray their dynamic, so we’ll see how it goes.

I’m gonna do all of them except 33 cause that one doesn’t really work with the idea I have but I can combine all the others.

...

This wasn’t the first time Ike had stayed the night in Brooklyn, but it was the first he’d been woken up by a jolt.

It had taken him months to get this far, the point where he was sharing a bed with a Brooklyn boy, where he was pretty sure he was in love with said Brooklyn boy, where he was even welcome in Brooklyn after dark.

It had been a long and confusing road, starting a couple weeks after they won the strike.

See, Mike did this thing with his lover where they were super paranoid about getting caught. And yeah, that was good for safety, when courting a boy could get you killed or arrested, but Mike and Jojo took it to a whole new level, almost never even sitting on the same side of a room while outside the Lodging House.

And as much as Ike liked that his brother was keeping safe, this was also really fucking annoying, because it meant he had to deal with the pining.

So, he’d asked to tag along to Sheepshead with Race for a day, figuring a day of alone time with his boy might tone down Mike’s annoyingness a little. And Race occasionally took a partner to Brooklyn with him, anyway. He hadn’t done it in a while, but nothing bad had happened before.

And besides, since the strike, inter-borough relations had been better than ever out of a proud kind of solidarity. No big deal, right?

Wrong. They’d split up for maximum efficiency, and barely an hour later Ike was getting dragged away from the entrance to the races he was staking out and into an alley across the street, by which time he was getting thrown against a wall before he even got a look at who was dragging him.

Then he’d looked up, already raising his fists, and seen probably the tallest boy in New York.

Ike had remembered seeing him at the rally, this kid about his age who usually stuck pretty close to Spot Conlon, and he’d made the mistake of lowering his guard.

“Hey! I remember you! You’s Brooklyn’s second, right? What was your name again? Uh... Heat?”

This kid smirked, “Hotshot.”

Then he’d punched Ike in the face.

It was hard enough that Ike was knocked to the ground, but he was on his feet again in an instant, raising his fists again.

“I’m Ike,” he panted, “And I’m here—“

He’d been cut off by having to dodge another punch, trying to throw one of his own, but only getting kneed in the stomach after Hotshot blocked it.

Still, he’d raised his fists again, coughing as he tried to ignore the urge to curl in on himself.

“Don’t know when to give up, do ya?”

Ike smiled, still gasping for breath, “Nope! Don’t mean we have to fight, though.”

Hotshot just punched him again, “You’re on the wrong side of the bridge, Manhattan boy.”

“And that’s grounds enough to soak someone?”

“Hey!”

At that point, Hotshot froze, turning to see Race running into the alley.

“He’s with me, Hotshot! Jeez!”

“Well, he didn’t say—“

“Ya didn’t give me a chance to,” Ike interrupted.

Race had helped Ike up, glaring at the Brooklyn boy despite how Hotshot was much taller and stronger.

“I ain’t gonna tell on you, but kid, you need to learn to think before ya start swingin’. If Spot asks about me, I’m sellin’ with Albert today.”

Race had helped Ike get home, then actually gone to sell with Albert, but on the way back, he’d answered Ike’s questions, about how someone that young and hotheaded could help lead the biggest borough in New York.

“Hotshot’s young, you’re right. He’s your age, actually—14. And yeah, he’s defensive. But I’s known him a while, and there’s more to him than that. The short version is that he’s either a good friend or a bad enemy. Once ya got his loyalty, ya got it forever. That’s why he’s Brooklyn’s second. He’s one of the few Spot actually trusts.”

With that description combined with the way Ike had honestly never met anyone who punched that hard, he was just a little intrigued. Maybe it wasn’t smart, but he’d went back to Brooklyn a week later, not selling this time, but just looking for that one Brooklyn boy.

He’d found him, selling at Coney. And Brooklyn boys usually didn’t sell with partners, so Ike hadn’t had trouble sneaking up on him.

“Hey.”

That was the only warning he gave before putting a hand on Hotshot’s shoulder to spin him around and punch him in the face.

Hotshot had wheeled back, raising his own fist.

“You got ‘bout four hits on me for no reason—I thinks I deserve one free shot!”

Slowly, Hotshot had lowered his hand, still glaring at him, but not as much.

“Fair is fair. Now go back to Manhattan.”

Ike was going to, honestly, but then figured, ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ and didn’t.

“So, how often do ya beat up kids from other boroughs without askin’ for their story?”

“Are you completely fearless, or just stupid?”

“Both, probably. Ya gonna answer the question, or punch my daylights out?”

“I ain’t decided yet.”

“Well, while you’re decidin’, I heard you’re close with Spot Conlon. What’s he really like? Is he always that scary, or is it just an act?”

For the next several weeks, it was like that. It was Ike coming over, finding Hotshot wherever he was, and annoying the hell out of him.

And Hotshot always said he was going to punch him, but he never did. Slowly, he started actually answering Ike’s questions, at least a few of them, and asking a few in return. Ike wouldn’t necessarily call them friends, but they definitely knew each other better, now.

“One of these days, I’m actually gonna punch ya,” Hotshot grumbled once, when Ike asked a question a little too personal.

“Every time ya say that, I believe you less,” Ike said cheerfully, “Anyway, I’s heard Brooklyn’s got great sunrises. Is that true?”

Hotshot actually smiled a little, “I dunno if it’s any better than Manhattan, but yeah, we’s gotten some pretty nice ones over here.”

It took a couple months, but Ike started figuring out that by even talking to him, Hotshot was letting down his guard, little by little. He let it down a bit more as he started letting Ike touch him, allowing a handshake when they met up, or a punch in the shoulder in a friendly way.

Once he realized how much Hotshot was trusting him by doing those little things, Ike realized that against his better judgement, he trusted him, too. He liked spending time with Hotshot, probably too much.

Definitely too much, with how he was stupid enough to walk through a November rainstorm months after they met just to see him.

By the time he got to Brooklyn, he was freezing, wet, and disoriented enough that he’d ended up passing out in front of a random store, just so the awning would keep the rain off.

He’d woken up in the Brooklyn Lodging House in the middle of the night, with Hotshot holding him in a bed.

Actually, he’d kind of jolted awake, and apparently woken up Hotshot with him as the Brooklyn boy whispered an explanation to him.

“Hildy found ya damn near frozen. By the time she got ya back here, you were almost dead and needed body heat bad.”

“Oh,” Ike whispered back, almost too terrified to move or even speak.

“That’s all ya got to say, you idiot?” Hotshot hissed, clearly angry as his arm around Ike’s waist tightened, “What were you thinkin’, walkin’ here in a storm?”

Ike was still pretty confused, and for once, he couldn’t even think of something to say.

Then Hotshot sighed, “I thought you were gonna die.”

Oh. So that was what this was about. He wasn’t angry—not at Ike, really, at least.

Ike had finally let himself relax against the taller boy’s chest, enjoying how warm Hotshot actually was.

“Ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

Hotshot had exhaled kind of sharply, and Ike was praying to a god he didn’t believe in that he wasn’t misreading things, but he’d rolled over so he was facing Brooklyn’s second, their faces barely inches apart, though it was so dark that Ike couldn’t really see him.

Beyond that, he hadn’t wanted to make the first move, mostly out of fear. In Manhattan, it was pretty common knowledge that many of them liked the same sex, but Brooklyn was different. It was less of a family and more of almost a gang. Ike wasn’t sure how Hotshot would react if he did anything.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to do anything, because yes, Ike liked boys, and he’d made peace with that, but being with one made it dangerous. Mike wasn’t the only was who was terrified of getting caught, for good reason.

Then Hotshot’s hand had come up to touch a scar on the side of Ike’s face. One he guessed he’d probably never noticed before because their faces had never been this close.

It had been from a pretty bad wound, but was so faded that it looked minor now, because he’d gotten it so long ago.

“I didn’t give you this, did I?”

Ike shook his head, “No. I’ve had that scar since I was 8.”

“How’d ya get a scar so bad it still shows now when you were 8?”

Ike had taken a deep breath, forced down panic over events he’d rather forget, and decided to tell him the truth.

“My brother and me,” he whispered, “Our parents died when we were really young. So’s we got brought up by our mom’s sister and her lover... her lover who was... also a woman.”

Ike paused there, waiting for Hotshot’s reaction.

There really wasn’t one, and he’d felt a bit of relief at that.

“They was good at bein’ subtle,” Ike continued, “So nobody suspected anythin’ for a long while. But then when me and Mike were 8... some bad people figured it out and... and those men came in the night and set the house on fire. I guess we’s lucky to have made it out at all—our aunts weren’t that lucky—but...”

His voice trailed off. Ike didn’t like admitting that he wasn’t this happy-go-lucky kid all the time. He hadn’t told anyone about this, ever. Mike had told Jack, years ago, to explain why they had bad days sometimes, but Ike had never been able to talk about it.

He’d felt Hotshot take a deep breath, and then the other boy had pulled him closer, right against his chest. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination when, later, once Ike was halfway into a dream, he thought he might have felt a kiss being pressed to his hair.

Ike had known right there that something had changed between them, and though Mike gave him hell for staying out all night the next morning, he couldn’t say it wasn’t worth it.

He didn’t know if they were... what, did you call it courting? He didn’t know if what they were doing had a label or if spending a significant amount of their free time together qualified as being together.

But, after that first night, Ike did spend the night in Brooklyn a few more times, sharing a bed with Hotshot under the excuse that he’d lost track of time the Brooklyn Lodging House didn’t have one to spare. In reality, he stayed over because sharing a bed, sharing warmth with Brooklyn’s second... it was nice. It was somehow different from crawling in with Mike if nightmares got bad or huddling on the fire escape with Crutchie and Jack if he didn’t make enough to pay for his bed one night.

Sharing a bed with Hotshot was comforting even when nothing was actually wrong. It was safe and warm and it made Ike feel all fuzzy inside and...

Not that he knew how to say it, not that he could say it, but Ike was pretty sure this was what falling in love felt like.

It was scary, but he didn’t want to stop falling.

Of course, he wasn’t planning on telling Hotshot how he felt. Not unless the other boy made the first move. Or unless they decided to get drunk for some reason. Or if it happened to come up in conversation.

Okay... maybe Ike really wanted to tell him, but he just didn’t know how to go about it.

Well, he’d been sitting on this for a long while already, so Ike still really didn’t know when he was going to tell him, but he still felt the need to follow when he felt Hotshot jolt awake, just before rolling out of bed and leaving the room.

“Hotshot?”

Ike followed him out onto the fire escape, finding the taller boy staring down over the edge, a death grip on the railing.

“Hotshot, are you okay?”

Ike moved to stand next to him, making sure it was clear and visible what he was doing as he put a hand over Hotshot’s on the railing.

For a few seconds, he didn’t react. He didn’t even give a sign that he’d heard or even felt Ike touching him.

Then, slowly, he let go of the railing, flipping his hand over so he could intertwine their fingers.

Hotshot exhaled shakily, most of the tension leaving his frame. Ike took that as a sign that it was okay to lean his head against his shoulder.

“Ya gonna tell me what this is about?”

For a minute, he thought he wasn’t going to.

Then Hotshot took a wavering breath and spoke, still staring over the edge of the fire escape.

“Ya once asked how many kids I’s beat up for no reason,” he said quietly, “I don’t know. I get in fights a lot. I get angry and... and usually, Spot tells me where to aim it, but it ain’t always enough. I always have more and if I don’t put it somewhere, it’ll just build till I... till I explode.”

Ike nodded. He understood. He already knew this about Hotshot. He’d figured out that anger was his drive a long time ago.

“I... I learned that from my folks.”

Ike froze. In all their conversations over the last few months, Hotshot had never shared any personal information beyond the fact that he saw Spot as an older brother.

“They’d get angry,” Hotshot said shakily, “And when they’d explode, they’d...”

His voice faltered, and Ike touched his arm with his free hand, trying to ground him. He could read between the lines and though it made him angry and sad as hell, he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

“I... I got myself out when I was 12,” he mumbled, “Finally just couldn’t take it anymore and ran like hell—ended up here. And I know it’s been a couple years, now, but... but I still go back there some nights, when I’m sleepin’.”

His voice was shaking a little, by the end of that, and Ike tugged on his arm gently so he could turn Hotshot to face him.

He wasn’t sure he was going to allow it, but to his relief, Hotshot hugged him back, leaning down to bury his face in Ike’s shoulder.

“You’re here,” Ike whispered, “They can’t hurt ya here, Hotshot. You’re safe.”

Hotshot wasn’t crying, but he was shaking a little in the cold. It was winter, for crying out loud. Winter at night. And though the Brooklyn kids did wear sleeves like reasonable people in winter, most of them didn’t sleep in their shirts.

“Can we take this inside?” Ike asked, knowing that he was cold, even being a little more dressed for the weather than Hotshot was.

The taller boy nodded shakily and they went inside, curling up together in that bunk, the closeness for comfort as much as warmth.

Feeling brave for a minute, Ike leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the Hotshot’s forehead.

Hotshot went rigid, but the expression on his face was pure surprise, not any kind of disgust, and he didn’t pull away.

Ike offered him a small smile before rolling over, so as not to push things.

He definitely wasn’t complaining when Hotshot pulled him against his chest to sleep for the rest of the night.

[murdershegoat]

nothing's sweeter than summertime and american honey

(written under the influence)

(also on ao3)

lena thinks she might be hallucinating, because there is no way kara danvers is skateboarding in the luthor family pool.

wait. go back a step.

why is the luthor family pool empty??

it’s the second last week of summer, and lena stands on the back porch, her arms now self-consciously folded across her half-naked body. she stares in confusion as kara danvers appears on one side of the pool and then promptly disappears, only to pop up at the other end moments later.

‘kara, can you quit it?’ comes a gruff, familiar voice. alex danvers from ap bio is fiddling with some pool equipment at the edge of the yard. ‘this is a huge job for dad and you’re gonna get us fired.’ neither girl has noticed lena yet, for which she is very thankful.

‘take a chill pill,’ comes kara’s reply. ‘you just wanna finish quickly so you can go see maggie.’

even from her distance, lena can see how red alex’s face goes. ‘shut up! we’re just friends.’

kara snorts. ‘sure, jt and britney are also “just friends.” just admit you like her.’

lena assumes they’re talking about maggie sawyer, who had transferred into alex’s grade late last year. alex grumbles something in response that isn’t a denial, and lena feels her heart soar. alex danvers is a l-- she likes girls?? lena bites her lip.

this summer has been a nightmare of loneliness, even more so than usual. her mother hasn’t been home in a month and lex had flown in yesterday and spent the day with her, only to fly out early this morning before she woke up. she’s spent the summer sending emails to her penpal jack, lazing by the pool, and clearing her search history of questionable googles. she’s also been grappling with a huge secret, something she can’t tell anybody (not that she has anybody to tell in the first place.) her secret is this: she really wants to kiss somebody. and that somebody happens to be in her grade. and that somebody happens to be a girl.

it happens to be the girl who is now skateboarding in the suspiciously empty luthor pool, the girl who’s impossibly smart and funny and kind. the only person at Midvale High who’s not seemingly shit scared of lena.

the realization has been haunting her all summer, refusing to give her a single moment of peace. and now, knowing that alex is, is also like she is, and hearing the way kara gently teases her about it... well, lena doesn’t feel as lonely anymore. she wants to say hello to the sisters, to ask alex a million questions and ask kara how her summer is going and if she wants to maybe, like, hang out together or something. but just the thought of either thing makes lena’s heart race uncomfortably fast and her mouth go all dry. she turns around and slams open the sliding glass door, but apparently she doesn’t know her own strength. as she steps into the doorway, the door ricochets against the the end of its track and bounces back, hitting her in the side of the head.

‘FUCK,’ she screams, before turning white and whirling around.

both danvers sisters are staring at her. kara looks concerned and alex looks livid.

‘yo, luthor,’ kara calls out. ‘you okay?’

lena wants to say yes, but then she feels something sticky on her temple, and brushes her hand against it.

great. she’s bleeding.

next thing she knows kara has her sitting on one of the deck chairs, and lena’s not sure if she’s got a concussion or if kara just looks extra.... phenomenal today. she’s wearing a basketball jersey and shorts and lena keeps catching glimpses of her sports bra. kara takes off her baseball cap and wipes her brow. 

lena frowns. ‘you cut your hair.’

kara’s gorgeous long hair is no longer, instead it’s short around the sides with a messy tuft on top. 

‘you don’t like it?’ kara asks, running her hand through it. 

‘it looks... dope,’ she replies, immediately regretting her choice of words.

‘i did it out of solidarity with alex,’ kara says, grinning. ‘she wanted to get a buzz cut but she was a bit self conscious.’

alex comes back into view, carrying a first aid kit with her. her hair, too, is shorter than lena remembers it being. alex cleans up the side of lena’s head.

‘look, i don’t think you have a concussion, but you can hang out with kara and i while we finish the pool and i can keep an eye on you.’

‘alex is a junior EMT now,’ kara says proudly. ‘she’s also pretty much single handedly running our dad’s pool company this summer.’

right. the pool. that’s why they’re here.

‘why were you skateboarding in it?’ lena asks.

‘it won’t leave any marks,’ alex says quickly. ‘i promise. don’t worry about a thing.’

‘no,’ lena says, wincing as alex keeps prodding her tender head. ‘i mean, why is it empty in the first place?’

alex averts her eyes. ‘it was empty when we got here. we just gave it a scrub and an acid wash to get rid of some of the, uh, stains at the bottom.’ 

okay. lena thinks she knows what that means. and it also explains why lex left so early this morning. he fucking killed someone in the pool and needs to clean up after himself. fuck. she’s so damn stupid, thinking he’d actually come home to spend time with her. and she feels so embarrassed, having to explain how she’s used to her brother killing people so she’s not surprised or shocked by this.

kara lays a hand on her shoulder and smiles down at her. lena thinks she’s about to comfort her in some way, and she feels her heart start to race again.

‘can i grab something to eat?’ is what kara says instead, and lena’s face falls at the same time Alex whacks her sister’s arm.

‘kara, that’s unprofessional.’ but lena just smiles.

‘what do you want?’

///

lena didn’t think her day would be spent watching the danvers sisters fill her pool and eat sandwiches prepared by bertha the luthors’ cook, but here she is. kara sits on the grass across from lena, her toes digging into the green grass. she has what lena can only assume is a birkenstocks foot tan -- four fat white strips of skin on an otherwise perfectly browned body.

the pool is filling behind them, and alex sits on the other side of the yard, whispering into her cell phone.

‘how’s your summer been?’ kara asks with a mouthful of turkey sandwich.

‘quiet,’ lena replies. ‘my family’s been busy and not around much. i’ve hung out with our staff, but i don’t think it counts if they’re paid to spend time with you.’ she laughs, trying to detract from how sad it sounds. ‘how is yours?’

‘busy. my dad’s been, uh, he’s sick. so alex and i have been doing all the pool jobs. not much time to hang out with friends.’

‘and alex... she’s... with maggie sawyer?’

kara chokes on her sandwich. 

swallowing painfully, she lowers her voice. ‘could you, like, not say anything? i was teasing her and she’s freaking out because she’s not sure if you heard anything or not and it’s still... new and our parents don’t really know and if the school finds out---’

‘don’t worry,’ lena assures her. ‘i won’t say a word.’ her chest swells at the way kara smiles gratefully and lena realises she’s an absolute goner, head over heels for someone who could never like her back. lena almost wants to tell her the truth. maybe it’s the sun beating down on them or the welcoming scratch of grass against her legs or the summer feeling that has finally settled over luthor mansion. but before she can say anything, alex calls out.

‘kara, come help me finish treating the water!’

///

‘it should be good for swimming after about twenty four hours,’ alex says, packing the last of their equipment into the truck. lena hands them both the envelope lex had left, plus a hefty tip for each of them.

‘we can’t accept this,’ kara says, shoving the notes back into lena’s hand. alex doesn’t follow suit.

‘don’t be dumb,’ lena rolls her eyes. ‘my brother left it here for you, and i don’t want it.’ she hands it back to kara, who pockets it angrily. alex looks pleased her sister’s conscience hasn’t cost her the cash.

they climb into the truck and it rumbles to life.

‘catch you later, luthor,’ alex says, giving her a little salute.

‘hey,’ lena says, before she can talk herself out of it. ‘did you guys wanna come hang out tomorrow? the pool’s all clean and it feels like it’s a waste if i’m the only one using it. and you can bring ma-- a friend, if you’d like,’ she directs the last part to just alex.

alex’s eyes bore straight through her, trying to size her up.

‘we should be finished work by the afternoon,’ she says finally. ‘we’ll see you then?’

lena grins. ‘awesome.’

///

the last few weeks of summer fly by with a new routine in place. the danvers sisters finish work in the early afternoon and make their way to lena’s house, picking up maggie on the way. they lounge around the pool and bertha makes them mountains of food and her husband michael teaches them how to barbecue and lena finally understands what summer is supposed to feel like.

alex and maggie give up whatever pretense they were holding onto a few days into the routine, holding hands and stealing kisses whenever they thought the others weren’t looking. kara pretends to be grossed out but lena sees the happy gleam in her eyes as she does so. she wonders if kara can see the wistful look in hers.

spending time with kara feels like a dream. she tries to teach lena how to skateboard on the long, winding driveway that leads up to the house. lena stands as rigid as can be on the board and kara holds onto her waist and guides her along, assuring her that she won’t fall, catching her when she inevitably does. in return, lena teaches kara the basics of fencing because kara seems oddly excited to learn, and it’s the only thing that lena can actually teach her. kara’s skill-set seems exhaustive and incredulous. it’s like she’s a superhero or something. after just a couple of afternoons of practice, she’s better than some of the people lena’s been fencing with for years.

kara, lena is learning, is impossibly great. like, she’s known that for years; they’ve been in the same homeroom for two years, and are in lots of other classes together. she’s seen kara’s brain in action, and her humor and her kindness. but now she’s learned of a different kara, one that isn’t always in a great mood, one that isn’t always trying to please people.

kara still has walls up, lena’s sure of it, but she’s letting lena into the inner fortress, one layer at a time. and in turn, lena welcomes kara into her own heart, desperate to know the girl, and in turn, be known by her.

///

‘you know i’m... i’m... gay, right?’ 

it’s the first time lena’s said it out loud, and the sound of it alone makes her feel warm and comfortable in a way she’s never imagined. it’s a few days before school goes back and they’re floating alone in the pool -- maggie and alex taking the afternoon for themselves. she doesn’t quite know why she’s telling kara; maybe it’s because she knows how accepting kara is of alex and maggie, maybe it’s because she needs kara to figure out her big, overwhelming feelings.

‘i didn’t know,’ kara says with a small smile. ‘but thank you for telling me. i’m glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me.’

‘nobody else knows,’ lena confesses. ‘i mean, i barely know. i only really figured it out earlier in the summer.’

‘what made you realise?’ kara asks, before shaking her head. ‘sorry. you don’t have to answer that.’

‘it’s okay... i just... i realised that the feelings i had for this girl felt more... urgent? than i’ve felt about people before? like, i needed to be near her in a way i don’t usually need to be around friends.’

‘what’s she like?’ kara asks, and lena blushes.

‘she’s beautiful. and she’s wickedly smart. i feel like she would’ve been a handful as a kid, but she’s learned how to balance out that recklessness a bit. and she makes me laugh a lot.’

‘she sounds great,’ kara says, and lena laughs.

‘you have no idea.’

a lull settles between them as they float side by side. the sun begins to disappear behind the woods at the back of the property, and with it goes the warmth of day.

‘you know...’ kara says. ‘alex told me she thought you were gay. said she got a vibe.’

‘really?’ lena doesn’t know if she should be embarrassed or scared or proud.

‘yeah. she also said something else.’

‘what’s that?’

kara leans forward, no longer floating on her back. lena does the same and faces her.

‘she said... she said she thinks you like me.’

lena wonders if drowning herself is a viable way to get out of this conversation. or maybe she can just... swim to the other side of the pool.

‘lena?’ kara prompts.

‘yes?’

‘is she. is alex. is she right?’

lena looks at the water, unable to meet kara’s eyes.

‘yes.’ she says, in an impossibly small voice.

kara closes the space between them. she rests a finger under lena’s chin and tilts her head up. lena bites her lip as she looks into kara’s annoyingly blue eyes.

and before she can register anything else, kara is kissing her. she tastes like chlorine and sunscreen and cola lipsmacker and lena has never tasted anything quite as good. lena’s hands find kara’s neck and kara’s find lena’s hips and they stay like that -- making out in the pool -- until the sun is no longer in the sky and they’re both just slightly shivering.

‘do you want,’ lena says, slightly breathless. ‘do you wanna maybe go up to my room?’

kara grins and kisses her again, chaste and quick. ‘can we stop by the kitchen first?’

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Everlasting Peace (Favored Ones, Part 30.)

Series description: Many things were surely fucked up in the year 2038, but no-one ever told anyone how all of it went down. What happened before a group of people left for Seattle to handle personal matters? Why did one girl refuse to leave all of it be? And why there were so many dead in the end?

Quote for the chapter: “ Now. We are one. In everlasting peace.” - Radiohead

Part summary: Finally, you were at the last stop of your journey - and just as you told Lev, you didn’t plan to let Abby die. But you also knew that you will be walking on mighty thin ice when you’ll be trying to change Joel and Tommy’s mind.

A/N: Well, we have one last chapter in front of us and it feels good to be almost finished with the series after all the hard work that went into it. But I already feel it’s dragging a lot.

Warnings: Depiction of torture, bone breaking, depiciton of blood and manslaughter, anxiety, rage, anger

Word count: 3.5 K

Tagging:   @nemodoren @xxgoldenhour @missdictatorme @davnwillcome @pickleriiick @jodiereedus22 @gladiosamicitias @tamkashi @eternallyvenus @avengerssstuff @fangirl-inthe-us @avery-miller @mikah-writes @mad-hatter-98 @sadiaafrin99 @flavorishy @gabymiller

Series master list: H E R E

Joel Miller’s playlist for the bonfire occasions: H E R E

Youtube playlists: JACKSON DAYS | SEATTLE DAYS

Seattle, day three - midnight:

You were back in the next few minutes, putting the bow safe into the boy's arms, making sure the kid's holding it. Frantically, you told him to try it out - you needed to know that no matter what happens in the next ten minutes, at least he will walk out of the situation on his own. It was a strange feeling of wicked solidarity. If everything would be going as planned, you wouldn't feel anything against the enemy. But your brain already realized that the boy is a lot of things, but lastly, he's something like your enemy. It was just a damn kid in this apocalyptic world. 

How did you plan to save Abby's life? You hadn't got a single idea. You didn't understand how could you do something as bad as saving her damn life - well, it wasn't exactly bad to save someone's life, but your brain still kept on remaining you this fucking woman sat you down on a chair and beaten you up with her friends. Just like Owen told you, you were surely losing your mind.

One thing you did know. You knew that once this will be all said and done, you needed to pack and leave the whole place at once after it. Tommy's reaction was unpredictable - this man demanded to seek your revenge even when you told him that you've already been through enough. In some way, Tommy was more or less obsessed with the goal that led you to the city in the first place. And now, when he had a chance to get his hands on a woman because of whom his leg and arm got irreversibly damaged, you were sure he wouldn't just let her go. And what Joel thought about the whole situation now, you didn't know. Whether he was just making sure you won't be hurt by Abby again or if he was caring more about himself - all you were sure of was that the man was in there with his brother... And Abby. And you also knew that he has his revolver tucked behind his belt on the small of his back.

"We'll go for her, okay?" - You whispered to Lev, hoping that somehow, no-one else will get hurt apart for Abby. - "You'll stick behind me and you won't aim at anyone. I will handle the situation since it's mine... It's my fault you're here." - You weren't sorry for what happened, not exactly. You were just sorry for Abby and Lev, let alone Mel, for coming back after you. But Lev didn't say a word, he just caught your elbow in his palm. He was a vulnerable kid - and his gaze told you everything you needed to know.

Lev could understand why did you use him as a shield against Abby. It wasn't a personal thing - you just knew that these two knew each other in one way or another and that if she cared about the boy, she wouldn't be physically able to hurt him. If you would be in that situation and someone would be holding Ellie, Dina, Joel, or Tommy under their necks, you wouldn't shoot at them under any circumstance. Abby did exactly what was expected of her, she acted just like you wanted her to react. For which, she was now paying in one way or another. - "Let's go." - You told yourself to hype your mind in some way, wiggling from under Lev's warm touch.

Abby's screams were accompanying your journey through the upper floors of the theatre. Just like before, Joel didn't see sense in hurting Mel - but it was clever to put the woman in a nearby room, showing her what could happen to her too without actually giving her some visual interpretation. The door to the room where they first dragged Abby into was opened up - they had taken her to another room. There was another unlocked storeroom at the end of the floor - and your suspicion of Abby's presence was confirmed by a low growl and a blunt blow, probably from some kind of a bat or another kind of wood. Just when you put your palm on the doorknob, you turned to the kid once more, sighing from the depths of your lungs.

"You're not going in there, we clear?" - You asked quietly, getting yourself ready for seeing Joel in action. Now, you've already seen Joel killing other human beings, yes, but you've never seen him hurting someone for the sake of torturing. - "Listen, I know you want to save Abby because she's your friend... But these men are my friends too, okay? Abby didn't do only good things and neither do we do good things, understood? I'll signal you and you'll cover me, but until then..." - "I'll be here, in cover, making sure no-one's coming." - Lev stepped away from you, nodding at you as he kneeled. By giving your bow to Lev, you showed him that you mean it with the boy. And the weapon was better than his last bow. This one was perfectly balanced and the boy could feel the wood responding to every small movement of the strings.

With that, you finally opened up the door, making both of the men inside the room freak out a bit. Tommy put a palm on his chest and Joel quickly looked away from you, having a suspicion of why you were there with them. But you stopped your gaze on beaten up Abby. You were right - they were beating her up with a wooden cue. How long was it since you talked? Half an hour, roughly an hour? You wouldn't be able to recognize her now - his face was slowly swelling, blood was dripping from a small rip on her lips, and another one on her cheek. They were just about to try something else, but to you, even the cure thing was more than brutal. Surely, they put Abby in the same position you were in when you were at Baldwin - her tugged out top was indicating that they had already punched her stomach like a punching fucking bag.

With a short sigh, you looked at Joel, making sure his back is in your reach every time. Of course, you didn't let your eyes wander down to the man's lower back. You weren't that dumb to give yourself away so quickly, since you felt Tommy's gaze on your face. So you quickly looked back at him, looking tired as ever. - "Whatcha doin' here, huh? I thought you don't wanna have anythin' common with this." - Your brother-in-law cleaned his palms, furrowing at you. Yeah, you did tell him that. - "Have you change your mind, girl?" - Tommy sighed and precisely tidied up the things laying on the table.

You knew that Tommy isn't a fucking psychopath and you were even able to understand what was most likely going on in his mind. From his point of view, this was completely understandable, basically a logical response to everything that happened in the last few months. Tommy was simply in a dark place now. Let alone he was alone for the last couple of weeks - he was alone until Ellie and Jesse bumped into him. He had nothing but a mess in his head at the moment. But that wasn't an excuse to continue the rampage. If you hadn't seen what this seeking of revenge can put you into by massacring Owen in the aquarium, you would be probably in the same mindset the man was in too.

What happened the day earlier showed how did Seattle corrupt the way you were perceiving the reality. You felt emotionless, empty, and cold until Owen made you realized what a monster you had inside your head - which, naturally, made you conclude that whatever this was, it has to stop already. You have done precisely what you wanted to do - Abby was alone, vulnerable and she quite literally didn't have anyone and anything. But Tommy didn't see it at all. Joel most likely understood both sides of the problem, but he carried on with killing Abby before siding up with you.

"I had changed my mind, yeah." - You nodded, putting your palms on your hips as you marched in front of Abby, catching her jaws in your fingers to look her in the eyes. All she did was that she gave you back a grin as the fought for another breath. - "I change my mind." - With a furrow, you looked her in the eyes and that was precisely when she saw it. The small hint of humanity, of that so-called solidarity. Funny. You were very funny.

"You deserve it, kid, come on. Let's strike back." - Tommy tried to hype you up - and to Abby's surprise, she saw the hint of unwillingness and slight despair in your face as you thought about what you should tell the man back. And because you weren't dumb and you knew perfectly that Joel registred that your hesitation, no matter how slight it was. Slowly, you let her face go, gritting your teeth as you turned to Tommy, still making sure to stand close enough to Joel.

Simply, you shook your head as you stared into Tommy's eyes without a single drop of emotion on your face. To show Tommy that you're not playing along with his small game, you crossed your arms on your chest, slowly moving in front of the woman, yet still keeping Joel in the radius. - "No-one's dying tonight. Not me, not you, not Joel, not the kid, not Mel... And certainly not Abigail." - And ever since, there was the tension building up in the air. - "This needs to stop... Right now, Tommy. It's not fun anymore." - "This was never fun." - The man answered quietly.

He was trying to figure out if you're just fucking with him or if you're for real about the words falling out of your mouth. Sure, Tommy did agree to leave Abby alone and to leave Seattle with you, but you hadn't talked about the instance of this woman coming to you on her own. This, in his eyes, was enough to reason why he was allowed to do what he came to do. - "She killed Jesse, huh? Don't you remember?" - Tommy answered. Now, Joel almost wanted to leave the room - he didn't want to be dragged into a fight going on between his girlfriend and his baby brother.

"And we killed everyone who was hinted to know her, come on. We made maybe double, even triple the damage. Jesse was my friend, yes, and I will miss him very fucking much - but death was something we all signed up for by coming to Seattle, did you forget?" - Now, you were putting up one of your mocking tones with which you tried to get a hold on the situation. And Joel could see and feel you keeping him around and keeping him close for a reason. He didn't know whether he was too afraid to move, in case he would attract your attention, or if you were feeling better when having him that close, but he more or less just leaned his back into one of the walls, waiting for the whole situation to play out. - "It wouldn't matter if I would die, if Ellie would or if we would kill the little kid who is here with Abby... The outcome would still be the same. Someone would be dead. Some life would be lost." - You tried to reason with Tommy, being grateful for the whole situation not going downhill... At the moment.

"What is your point? If I remember correctly, you and Ellie were the ones who wanted to leave. Why did you want to see this one dead, huh? Because she wants my damn brother dead, who, if I may remind you, is your lover by the way." - Tommy pointed a knife he was holding in his palm in Abby's direction, growling at you in the process. - "What were you talking about? We all knew what we were signing up for? This is what you signed up for. We're... This close to finishing it. She's here." - The man pointed at Abby once more, trying to get his point across more clearly than you did. Yet in the meanwhile, Abby was starting to grasping what in the world was going on inside the room. For some unknown reason which just... Crossed your mind all of a sudden, you were refusing to kill her for the sake of your redemption. Which was sweet and all...

Yet Tommy was a realist. Tommy had seen, talked, and worked with people who were like Abigail Anderson - who had told her cute daddy story to them as well. The woman, as soon as she would get better would come for you again... And again... And again. She would get closer and closer each day until she would slice your throat. And sure, maybe it was naïve of you to trust some strange boy, but you did put your trust into him.

"I'm kinda getting bored with you and me going back and forth, again and again, Miller." - That was all that you said just seconds before you finally revealed why did you keep Joel so close the whole time. Your palm tugged the loaded revolver from his jeans as you defused it right away, putting the barrel right to Miller's face.

This was maybe too fast and too harsh, but you didn't want to go through the same debate you've had yesterday. Your hands were shaking, yes, but there was no way Tommy or Joel wouldn't believe you that you'd shoot one of them in case anything would go off the rails. - "Because we already talked about this, Miller. What do you feel now, huh?" - You asked and moved away from Joel to keep him inside your frame as well. - "Speak or shit letters, come on."

"What the fuck are you trying to do?" - Abby sighed from under you and without hesitation, you gently kicked into her leg to keep her silent. You were most likely going crazy, who could know? But aside from that, both the men were quiet for a moment, both holding their palms up in the air to let you know they aren't armed or dangerous. - "Baby girl, that's enough, huh?" - Joel rose both his eyebrows, making the first step forward to take the gun away from you. - "If you wanna leave, fuck, let's just leave together now. But now, you're dangerous, come on, come to me." - One of his palms patted a small place next to his heart to let you know he means it. - "We've talked about it and you know I understand you. You're not a monster, are you, huh? We're goin' back to Jackson." - Sure, you almost fell for your man trying to lower your attention enough for Tommy to circle the room before taking the gun out of your palms - but suddenly, you looked at the other brother, letting him know that Joel failed with his mission.

"I understand what you're going through now, Tommy, I do. Because we're on the same page here, remember? You've told it yourself - we left for Seattle because of the same reasons. And I was at the same place you were at. I had to lose it with Owen before to everything click in place. Because I don't feel anything now. I would shoot you and feel absolutely anything. And Joel? He went just because he knew I'd get killed without him." - Quickly, you acknowledged everything Joel was doing for you in the past few days, nodding at him. Slowly, you aimed the gun into the ground - but you still let both the man know about the revolver being defused. - "Joel, yeah, he was scared of a possibility that there's someone who is after him and he was terrified of the someone coming after his family..." - Joel opened up his mouth to oppose you, but you just gave him a tired look. - "Shut up, will you?

And I thought I was coming here to kill this woman, but... That isn't it. I came here for a conclusion. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't walk, I was messed up. I didn't realize what I was doing... How many lives I've impacted and fucked up by killing one person - let alone how many I ended up killing in the end. This isn't a solution. Killing Abby won't make you feel better. It won't make you forget about what happened. It won't heal you, it won't do shit." - Now, you finally fused the gun and defused it right away, playing with it as you spoke. - "You don't know the last thing about me or him, girl. So don't try to play someone who knows everythin', will you?" - Tommy answered to make concentrated on something else, while Joel watched your fingers on the fuse of the gun. - "Forgiveness will free you. I swear." - You promised, looking at your brother-in-law. And just at the moment when you fused the gun again, Joel quite literally ripped it out from you.

You watched the man dragging you from his brother, holding his arms around you as he did so. All he was trying was to stop you from freaking out. But the tighter he held you, the more you try to wiggle out - at least, the gun fell on the ground, so Joel's baby brother wasn't now in danger. Joel was telling you something, but you were still gritting your teeth, trying to push him off of you. You wouldn't be able to walk out of the room and look Lev in the eyes if they'd simply murdered Abby.

"And you? What is even on your mind, huh?" - You got out when you finally calmed down enough to just hang from Joel's arms which were circled your chest. - "Go on, Joel, speak. I hadn't heard any of your thoughts in the past few days... I had heard some, but now, you have time so speak." - Finally, you felt the man letting you go. But he was just staring back at you. Tommy stayed quiet in the corner of the room, watching it playing our while Abby was slowly gaining back her strength to at least breathe.

"I see, Miller, I see." - You nodded before putting your palm on his heart, concentrating on the rhythm of his heartbeat to feel it. It was calming you down most of the time - but this was a definite exception. Jesus, you couldn't believe that you're about to sink so love. Emotional extortion as the last source was maybe too far and very lame too, but honestly, you didn't know any other way to stop this from happening. - "Lemme tell you this... Yea? If she dies, we're done here." - And as far as it seemed, you seemed to be serious.

This dirty move threw Joel off the rails. Usually, he was the one using emotions as extortion. He used emotion as an excuse for murdering a whole hospital of Fireflies, he used emotion to still keep the relationship with Ellie alive. Joel was an emotionally abusive person when it came to him being threatened in some way - he proved this time of his persona time after time with Ellie and the Fireflies. But never had happened that someone would be as smart as him, pulling the emotional card as well. But you were standing in front of him, staring him in the eyes, showing him that you can pull out the same card as he did. - "This is just fuckin' ridiculous. You can't be serious." - Tommy called you out on the shitty, shad move - about which you knew is shitty and shady.

But if you had at least one chance with saving Abby, you needed to direct the chance on Joel. He was the one you had to put pressure on -mainly because Tommy was already knee-deep in the shit he was doing. But as you were looking at each other, Joel knew that you were perfectly serious. - "You can be better than you are now, Joel. Come on. Walk away from it and let her live. We proved ourselves and Abby has two, almost three, people to protect now. And these people will die if you kill her. Think about that. Now, it's on you." - You pulled him in for one last kiss, not knowing how it plays out as you were leaving the room and Seattle as a whole.

[yutaya]

Iron Fist Rewatch 1x05: Under Leaf Pluck Lotus

I like this shot. The way the women are shown reflected in the wall first. Also lol quintessential synchronized female power strut

Why wait until you’re IN the office to move your wedding ring?? Or to unbutton your shirt? Well, that one I can understand - let all the people who see you heading INTO the office see the shirt still buttoned up. The ring, though - unless the POINT is to be seen moving it? Imply that you’re open to cheating or something? Ugh.

This is so sketchy.

Danny’s employees be like: “Having? My voice heard? At work? Having? My opinion? Be valued? My? Contribution? Being? Acknowledged? Personally??? ??? ??? What is happening????? ??????” And then it’s the “the worthy leader’s people love and are completely loyal to them” trope (aka one of my greatest weaknesses) forever. <3

Lmao Joy you’re cold.

“Is that heroin? You bring drugs into my office?” *Laughing/sobbing*

Ward just staring blankly while Danny name drops a bunch of triad stuff like Ward is supposed to know what that is. Danny: “...It’s a criminal syndicate.” Ward: *heavy sigh*

Danny, continuing: “So I was talking to the criminals with the hatchets and asked them for intel. They sent me a box, which was clearly a message!” Ward: “You 👏 sound 👏 in 👏 sane. 👏” Danny: “No, look, the proof is that the symbol on this heroin looks like the undying dragon that made me a living weapon!”

Lol “Harold said so himself” no faster way to turn Ward off a plan, sorry Danny

Danny. How do you manage to make half your conversations sound sketchy as hell?

Joy: *brings up the Hatchet men and Red Hook right after Danny was telling Ward about it in relation to the Hand* Ward: *alarm bells ringing because HAS DANNY BEEN TELLING JOY ALL THE THINGS WE SPECIFICALLY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TELL JOY?* Joy: Anyway, about Dad’s cancer... Ward: Oh, ok then.

Siiiiiiigh this conversation where Ward reassures Joy that she’s a good person making the right decision when she feels bad about doing something but does it anyway - to protect their own company and personal interests - and adds on a load of “also you don’t really feel guilty because you think this is wrong, you just feel sad because you’re remembering Dad, don’t mix it up”

Colleen to Claire, Iron Fist 1x05: “Oh what was that? Come on, hit me.” Colleen to Misty, Luke Cage 2x03: *hitting directly on Misty’s stump while Misty yells at her to stop* “You came to me. I’m not easy. You don’t like that?”

Claire: “I guess I got tired of people doing things for me all the time.” Claire was a helpful nurse in Daredevil, and a friend with medical knowledge in Luke Cage - Iron Fist is where she says “I am tired of being reactionary”

LOL Danny’s cute little smile when he comes in to see Colleen doing her normal thing, training a student, just - it’s so loving and adorable even though they BARELY KNOW EACH OTHER YET

Claire just giving Colleen knowing looks ahahahaha

This scene is SO CUTE Jessica and Finn do such a great job playing all the body language and speech cadences like two teenagers with crushes on each other

DANNY ordering takeout for a talk with someone without even checking to see if they’re free first is SO PRESUMPTUOUS what if she wasn’t free (which she WASN’T) or didn’t want to talk or had already eaten/already had meal plans?

I’m literally laughing out loud hahahaha takeout hahahaha

Claire is laughing at them too. This fumbling “date?” conversation is too adorable I can’t

LMAO Claire knows EXACTLY how much she is third wheeling them right now but she doesn’t care because Damn that food looks good. Girl knows what she wants. (Also a little bit of female solidarity helping to buffer when your friend has literally said “no” to the guy - but in this particular case it’s SO OBVIOUS that Colleen likes him back that I read she’s leaning more towards the ‘it’s just to make sure but also that food looks REALLY good’ - then again, especially with all the things Claire has seen there really is no such thing as ‘too cautious’... let’s go with the way she hints is an opening and when Colleen leaps on the opportunity for Claire to stay it becomes ‘yep, I’m definitely doing this, Colleen doesn’t want to be alone with the dude: confirmed’)

Ward is looking at the problem as what it is: a set-up, and they don’t fall for traps. Joy goes “Remember that I am better at public perception than you - there are more factors here to consider than what everyone involved in this particular case knows. I’M thinking long term about potential future ramifications.”

“He’s in a completely different world, Joy.” “He lives in ours, now.”

That awkward moment when you’re already digging in and someone starts praying

The way Danny just goes shutters down mode when Claire starts probing about how harsh life in the monastery was

Colleen, brainwaving to Claire: ‘YOU BITCH DON’T LEAVE ME HERE’ Claire, brainwaving right back: ‘”Vow of chastity.” I’m good. You’re on your own, girl.’ She does do one last check in to make sure Colleen really isn’t worried though which I appreciate.

Danny. You lovable buffoon. You think Ward’s problem is that he doesn’t believe you? And that if he did believe this was happening he would of course immediately take action to shut it down? Colleen to Ward, sometime in the future: “Danny has Always had way more faith in you than you deserve.” ToT

Colleen: “Ok soooo I’m still not seeing the part where you had to come tell me this? Am I just your favorite sounding board or...?” Danny: “Well, I want you to come stakeout and possibly getting killed WITH me, of course.” Colleen: “Wait, is this a date?” Danny: “What? No! I mean. Unless you want it to be?” Colleen: “No!” Danny: “No. No, uh, definitely, uh, not a date. Heh.” Colleen: “Good.” Danny: “Good.” *both nod*

Of course the argument that gets to Colleen is how this will endanger her students.

DANNY trying to convince someone to do something and then when they hesitate dropping “by the way I’m your new landlord” on them is SKETCHY you foolish foolish boy. How do you manage to come across so sketchy all the time?!

Ward: *cheerfully throwing Danny under the bus* Joy: *warning Look* Ward: *sighhhhhh you ruin all my fun Joy*

Joy: *radiating ‘just wait til we’re alone’ vibes at Ward* “:) I will back up my brother wholeheartedly because we are a united front and I refuse to let the board see any cracks to even try and exploit :)” *’JUST YOU WAIT WARD YOUR ASS IS GRASS’*

Ahahaha “Ward has always led our company to greatness with his mad genius” when Ward knows most of those decisions were actually Harold I’m cry

Danny. That’s Colleen’s private property Danny. It’s very presumptuous to order takeout, buy her building, and start playing with her katana, Danny.

Martial art style teasing rivalry culture I love it

They’re too cute

AI YA

“suck on that, Dad” Ward be like “yeah i went against everything smart that Joy and board were arguing for me to do just to make your precious company look bad DAD whatchu gonna do, huh? gonna send me more vaguely threatening text messages about how not a single moment in my life is private from you, huh, DAD? fuck you”

Danny: “it’s just nice, having someone to count on.” Colleen: “You have the Meachums.” Danny: *remains silent* IT’S SO DAMNING ahahaha Colleen has so many reasons to hate the Meachums hahahaha

Danny: “I don’t even know what I’m doing or saying until it’s taken the wrong way,” Well, I’m glad you realize that, Danny. You’ve seen how many times in the last TWO EPISODES ALONE people have recoiled slightly and gone “woah, woah, what are you doing?” Oh buddy.

Danny: “Ok, look, this stakeout is dangerous, but it’s not ILLEGAL. Technically, I own that pier, so it’s not trespassing or anything.” Radovan: “No hospitals! I’m a wanted man in several countries.”

High Ward T_T and the two different conversations Ward and Joy are having right now T_T and the way Joy doesn’t have the information to even begin to know what Ward is talking about but how she can FEEL that it’s BAD and - T___T

High Ward with his walls down cuddling Joy’s arm and saying “you stood by me” and Joy scared as hell but not hesitating on “we’re family,” as her explanation T________T

“The Hand.” - Danny knew this was The Hand going in. Claire is freaking out because SHE LEFT HELL’S KITCHEN TO GET AWAY FROM THE HAND FUCK THAT HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO HER? Colleen is freaking out for an entirely different reason. :(

“The Hand is everywhere.” Cut from Claire and Danny to a new shot of Colleen looking on in the background.

Claire: “This is not something a rich kid from the Upper West Side can just ‘handle’, ok? This is a job that requires someone with special.... skills.” Ahahahaa poor Claire how DOES this keep happening to her?

Danny, with utmost conviction: “I am the ONLY one who can defeat them.” Claire: *long, defeated sigh. How many freaking times has she heard this before and how many times will she hear it again?*

Colleen: “This is my choice.” Danny hears: “because it’s the right thing to do and I care about the people of this city especially my kids who are highly likely to be effected and also I maybe care about you too.” Colleen means: “because this is the Bad Hand that is sullying my family’s good name and I will not let that stand. I will work together with my family and we will defeat this.”

Gao: “’His hands’. Are you sure it wasn’t his fist?” Guard: “Ummmmm what’s the difference”

CULTS ARE SO SCARY HE REALLY JUST KNELT THERE AAAAAH