#still waiting on my gloria plush | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

misskikuwrites · 4 years

Text

A Helping Hand

Bederia Week 2021: Day 1 - First Impressions

Bede/Gloria (dressedinpinkshipping)

Tags: fluff, light angst, babysitting

Words: 7,612

@bede-x-gloria

Babysitting felt a world and a half away from training Pokemon. All her skills as the Champion were of no use here- there was no battle to be fought, nothing she could power through with brute force. She had to be delicate. Kind.

She had to figure out how to entertain a toddler when she'd never done anything like this by herself before. The living room was covered end-to-end in an array of miscellaneous toys, from plushies to colourful blocks and toy cars, none of which gave her any ideas for what to do. With Pokemon, they found ways to entertain themselves. She could explore with them. Battle with them. Train them. Even swishing a toy from side to side was a form of training with Pokemon, and the ball she’d lob across the campsite turned into a competition for her Pokemon to see who could retrieve it first. She couldn’t do any of that here- not with little Samuel. Not with his baby sister, Gracie, asleep in the nursery down the hall. Sitting on the carpet next to Samuel, Gloria tried to remember the times she'd accompanied her mother to watch over them. She’d tagged along for the fun of it, not expecting that one day she would find herself babysitting the two of them alone.

And, with Gloria's mother at work, she had no one else to turn too.

Samuel shuffled over to a crudely-made tower of blocks, immediately knocking them over. Gloria pursed her lips, stomach churning, and edged over to him.

"How about we build a tower?" she offered, and slowly began to reassemble the tower.

Samuel watched for a moment. He followed Gloria's movements as she stacked one block on top of another, balancing them precariously as the tower grew taller and taller. Without warning, he shoved the blocks again.

"Hey!" Gloria gasped in shock. "Don't do that, we're trying to build it, not-"

She paled as Samuel whimpered, his face scrunching up, cheeks beginning to flush…

"No, no, that's okay! You can knock it down!" Gloria hurriedly stacked another tower and deliberately toppled it. "See? That's loads of fun!"

Samuel squeaked a precious laugh. "Gen!" he said, staring at the blocks. "Gen!"

"Gen? Oh, you mean 'again?'"

"Gen!"

She could do that. Wrecking the towers Gloria painstakingly constructed was a simple and easy way to keep Samuel entertained- at least, it was for the first dozen or so towers.

"Gen!" Samuel said, his laughter trickling out. "Gen!"

"Again…?" Gloria sighed.

She'd lost count of how many she'd made - not that she'd been keeping track in the first place - and it had quickly become monotonous for her. How it still managed to amuse Samuel was beyond her.

"Why don't we do something else? Look, Mr Wooloo wants to play with us, too-"

She turned around to grab the Wooloo plush when Samuel let out a whine.

"Gen!"

"But I've already built a ton of towers-"

"Gen!" His whine turned into a wail. "Gen! Gen! Gen!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Wooloo plush thrown to the side, Gloria snatched the blocks off the carpet and stacked them for Samuel once more. "There, another tower!"

He knocked it over with glee, bubbling with laughter as the tower collapsed. His smile was so innocent and happy, Gloria couldn't help but stack tower after tower for him to knock down. As boring as it was, it kept Samuel occupied and - more importantly - content. She made another for him, and retrieved her drink bottle from her bag in the meantime. The tower collapsed, and Samuel burst into a fit of giggles as the blocks bounced left and right over the carpet.

His enjoyment was so simple, it made Gloria smile. She didn't understand what was so amusing about a tower of blocks falling over, but Samuel's laughter was sweet, his smile adorable, and she shucked off any grievances she had about repetitively making towers for him to knock over. It was worth it if it made him happy.

Soon enough, Gloria found ways to keep herself entertained as she made tower after tower for Samuel. She began adding different things to the tower- first, she placed the Wooloo plush on top out of sheer boredom. The blocks collapsed by themselves, and Samuel shrieked a laugh. When she went to build the next one, she stuck a toy car on top. Then the square-shaped toy ambulance in the middle of the next tower. Each odd addition made Samuel laugh, from the Rolycoly figure that wouldn't balance by itself, to the Wooloo plush Gloria placed on top of her head. He cackled when the Wooloo fell off Gloria's head, and she held back a snort of laughter.

Perhaps looking after Samuel wouldn't be so bad after all.

A slowly building cry reached Gloria's ears. She'd spoken - well, thought - too soon. Gracie had woken up. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told Gloria that it was well under the hour or two Mrs Jones had expected her daughter to sleep for. She got to her feet, swallowing her trepidation, and made for Gracie's room.

"I'll be back in a second," she told Samuel, "I'm just going to grab Gracie."

A whine followed her, silenced beneath the disgruntled cries coming from Gracie. Gloria braced herself before opening the door to the nursery, and was hit with a wall of noise. Gracie, still swaddled in her blanket and lying on her front, screamed for all her tiny lungs were worth. The tremendous volume that came from such a little girl was unbelievable, and Gloria had to stop herself from flinching as she swept the squirming baby out of her cot.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Gloria cooed, holding Gracie close to her chest and patting her back. "I'm here, you're alright."

She didn't know what else to say, what else to do, and dug through her memories to try and recall what her mother had done in situations like this.

The scream doubled in volume. No, that wasn't right- there was an echo now. A scream by her ear, another by her leg. Samuel had followed her, and was matching Gracie's efforts with his own wail. He planted his face against Gloria's leg, arms wrapped tightly around her, and howled.

Gloria's head spun. She tried to step towards the door, barely able to move and completely unbalanced by Samuel clinging to her. Both her hands were occupied by holding Gracie up. She had nothing to spare to calm Samuel, or even to try and pry him away from her leg so she could move more than an inch at a time.

"Samuel, what's wrong?" she asked, speaking over Gracie's cries in her ear with a grimace. "Hey?"

She couldn't kneel down with him stuck to her like a Komala on a log, and was paralyzed with one foot through the door. Despite everything in her body telling her not to, she forced the leg that Samuel was holding onto forward, tugging herself out of his grip. It made him scream louder, but Gloria had no choice. She hurried back to the lounge with Samuel howling at her heels.

"Look, look, we're back. I'll build you a tower again!" She knelt by the blocks, Gracie still crying against her front, and balanced the wailing baby on her lap so she had a free hand to stack blocks with.

Samuel stood, unbudging in the doorway, and cried.

"Sammy? Look, I've made a tower for you!"

He wasn't looking.

"Come on, I had to get Gracie up!" she pleaded with him, and resumed patting Gracie's back in a soothing rhythm when Samuel refused to look at her. "Shh, shh, it's okay," she said to Gracie.

Her head throbbed. Ears ringing.

Wait, no- that was her phone.

Now, of all times?!

In a split second of panic, she wondered if it was Mrs Jones calling to see how things were.

Gloria wanted to scream. She overpowered the urge to throw her own tantrum and tugged her phone out of her pocket. On the screen, accompanied by a candid photo of him taken in the Wild Area, was Bede's name.

Bede?!

She almost didn't answer it, wincing beneath the onslaught of cries piercing her ears, and decided she needed to brush Bede off quickly so he wouldn't call again. Distractions were the last thing she needed right now.

Gloria hiked Gracie higher in her arms and answered the call, her Rotom phone hovering by her ear.

"Sorry, Bede! Now's not a good time," she said quickly, and shuffled on her knees over to Samuel. "I'm kind of... in the middle of something!"

She patted Gracie's back in a firm, steady rhythm, trying to sooth Samuel at the same time by wiggling the Wooloo plush with her other hand.

"I can certainly hear that," came Bede's voice in her ear, drowned out by the cries in the room. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Gloria bit her bottom lip, the lump in her throat tightening in shame. Her inadequacy was crushing, dragging her heart into the pit of her stomach, and she didn't need, or want, Bede to find out.

She felt like a failure.

"Shh, shh, Gracie. Shh..." Gloria murmured, well aware that Bede could hear her, and kept trying to comfort the crying baby in her arms. Gracie hiccuped and whimpered, burying her face in Gloria's shirt. "There, there."

Samuel's wails got louder as Gracie's softened, and Gloria wished she had more arms to spare. She could only comfort one child at a time.

She could only talk to one person at a time.

"Look, Bede- I have to go," she said. Forced the words out. Pushed him away. "I've got my hands full right now."

Despite the throbbing of her heart, the need not to be alone.

"Sounds like you could do with some assistance."

Her brain short-circuited. "I- What?"

"I happen to have some spare time on my hands, so if you require some help-"

"Please!" Tears pricked her eyes. She held Gracie tighter, ready to crumble to the floor herself as her pride shattered, as her voice wobbled. "Please…"

A pause.

"Tell me where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Bede hung up, immediately calling a Sky Taxi for Wedgehurst. He exhaled a heavy sigh and dragged a hand through his hair as his racing heart began to settle.

That was not how he'd expected that call to go. The script he'd spent all morning preparing, the words he'd gone over again and again in his mind, had flown out the window the second Gloria had answered. Cries loud enough to make him flinch had wiped his brain clean. Desperation hidden in the Champion's voice had turned his attention away from the reason he'd called in the first place.

He couldn't very well ask her that when she was struggling enough for it to reveal itself in her voice. And, for a moment, it sounded as though she was on the verge of tears.

Bede climbed into the Sky Taxi as soon as it landed in Ballonlea, and repeated to the driver the address Gloria had given him for a house in Wedgehurst. His heart sank in trepidation as they took off. The question lingering on his tongue could wait- he would swallow it down for her until whatever was going on in that house was under control.

To reign in his desires was simple enough when it came to Gloria. For her, he would.

In the meantime, he had other things to worry about. Mainly, the screams of children he'd heard during his call with Gloria. He could only begin to imagine what was going on in that house, and hoped he'd arrive in time to prevent the chaos from getting any worse.

Gloria's heart lifted when she heard swift knocking on the front door.

"It's unlocked!" she called, hopefully loud enough to be heard over Samuel's tantrum. He refused to calm down, and Gracie was beginning to grizzle in her arms. She wouldn't stay put, squirming this way and that, and had taken to sucking on Gloria's shirt in her frustration.

The door swung open, and Bede strode into the lounge, his eyes widening at her. Gloria's breath caught. She stiffened beneath his gaze, waiting for his judgement in the form of a snarky comment, for him to scoff at her predicament. He said nothing, and walked over to her in silence.

"Here." He reached for Gracie and said, "give her to me." His eyes lingered on Gloria's for the moment it took for her to relinquish the baby to him.

He hefted Gracie into his arms and pulled her out of the blanket. He began to bounce her in a way Gloria had seen her own mother do in the past.

"Seems like she's hungry," Bede said, raising an eyebrow at the wet stain of slobber on Gloria's shirt. Gracie mouthed at Bede's Gym uniform shirt, as if to confirm his suspicions.

Gloria blinked, her brain taking a few seconds to catch up to reality, and she nodded.

"There's- uh, a note. In the kitchen." It was difficult to speak beneath her shock. "Her bottle's in the fridge."

"Alright. Leave that to me, then." He turned on his heels, Gracie having quietened completely in his arms, and made for the kitchen. "In the meantime, try making some faces and noises at him," Bede suggested, glancing over his shoulder at Samuel, who was now crying on the floor again. "The weirder, the better. I think you'd be good at that."

Gloria frowned at Bede, pursing her lips in confusion, before signing. He seemed to have a knack with Gracie, and she had little pride left to spare after failing spectacularly at babysitting, and so she wandered over to Samuel and sat beside him.

But… to make faces at him…?

Gloria quickly made sure she was out of Bede's line of sight, and took a deep breath.

Here goes nothing…

"Hey, Samuel. Look at this!"

Samuel sniffled and peeked up at her. His eyes fixed on Gloria's face. He blinked. Sniffled again, and then laughed. He pulled himself off the floor as Gloria smooshed her cheeks, poking her tongue out at the same time, and made whatever weird noises she could.

And it worked. Samuel laughed.

"What about this?"

Gloria dragged her palms down the sides of her face, pulling her cheeks and curling her lips into another strange expression. Again, he laughed. It wasn't long before Samuel had no tears left to shed. The room descended into amicable silence, into peace, and Gloria found that she could breathe again. She sighed, releasing the pent up tension in her chest all at once.

It was a miracle. No, more than that- Bede had worked some sort of magic. His mere presence had settled the torrent of nerves in her gut, and he'd known just what to do to calm Gracie down, picking up on the fact that she was hungry as well, and his suggestion for Gloria to pull faces at Samuel had worked like a charm. He'd gotten too much right for her to put it down to chance. This was more than luck. More than a good guess- Bede had experience with children.

He'd floored her completely. It was so unexpected, she didn't know where to start in order to comprehend what had happened. The chaos she'd been struggling under had lifted in an instant when Bede arrived. She sat on the carpet next to Samuel, pretending that the Wooloo plush was making weird noises and not her, with her gaze continuously drifting to the kitchen. Swift footsteps, the click of the fridge door, and the trickle of running water came from the room beyond what she could see. Her heart thumped warmly in her chest as her mind conjured images to fit the sounds that reached her.

She wanted to see, wanted to watch, Bede in action. This was a side to him she'd never seen before, and it set something fluttering away in her lungs. He never ceased to amaze her in ways she wouldn't have imagined when they first met. Who knew that the snobby, arrogant boy that had acted like everyone else was beneath him was hiding such skills? There were so many layers to Bede, so much she still didn't know. He continuously shattered the shallow first impression she'd had of him again and again, from their first battle, to meeting on the pitch in front of the world, to him leaving his past behind and taking up the role of the Fairy Gym Leader.

Bede had turned out to be so much more than she'd given him credit for.

Gloria was impressed, and grateful, but more than that- she was awestruck. Speechless in a way that left her breathless. Almost giddy. It made her smile like an idiot to herself. Her heart skipped when Bede returned to the lounge, with Gracie cradled in his arms and a bottle of warm milk in hand.

Arceus, it stole Gloria's breath away. She watched as he stepped over the discarded toys to the couch, and gracefully sank into it without jostling Gracie an inch. He lowered Gracie onto his lap so she rested against his arm, and brought the bottle to her mouth. She latched onto it and began to suckle away eagerly.

"If you keep gawking at me like that, I'm going to take offence," Bede huffed. His eyes lifted to meet Gloria's. She sucked in a sharp breath and snapped her attention back to Samuel.

"Sorry!" she squeaked as her cheeks began to flush.

She'd been staring. Gawking, as Bede had pointed out. How could she help it when he was tending to Gracie so expertly? She was struck once again by how skilled he was with babies, both Pokemon and human.

"I was just surprised, that's all," Gloria said quickly. She nuzzled the Wooloo plush into Samuel's side, making him giggle. "It's like she's your own child or something, with how easily you calmed her down."

"Are you insinuating something?" He raised an eyebrow at her, unamused.

"No!" She flushed darker, darker than before as her heart leapt into her throat. "No, I just mean that you're such a natural with kids, it's- y'know, impressive!"

Gloria breathed a panicked laugh. Coils of embarrassed heat tightens on her cheeks, and she knew she was blushing hard.

"You're way too young to have your own children, for sure." She waved that suggestion off quickly. "Well, I know you're almost eighteen so it's not completely impossible- but that's not the point," Gloria said that last part in a rush, almost stumbling over her words as she realised where her mind was going.

"I just- what I mean is-" She couldn't think past the blood rushing to her head.

"Take a breath, Gloria," Bede said. He cleared his throat, focusing on bottle-feeding Gracie.

Her heart pounded in her ears. Thoughts swirled into a mess in her mind, tangled on the idea of Bede having his own children and the insinuation behind that. She tried to follow his suggestion and catch her breath, to calm herself down in order to clear her muddied thoughts.

"How come you're so good with kids?" Gloria asked instead.

There was no point trying to figure out what she'd been trying to say in the first place, all she could think about was that in the future, perhaps Bede would be doing this with his own child. A baby with platinum blond hair like his, soft curls framing round, pink cheeks. It made her heart ache.

"Your wife will be super lucky…" she mumbled.

Bede coughed. "I don't have a wife."

"Y-You heard that?!"

"You're hardly quiet enough for me not to hear."

"Sorry…!" She peeked over her shoulder at him to see his gaze skip away from her. Pink coloured his cheeks, the sight making Gloria's blood sing through her veins as her breath caught.

Arceus. When he blushed like that, her heart danced something wild in her chest, fluttering and dizzy, and she wanted to fix that image into her mind forever.

It made her want to say something more.

"It's… it's true, isn't it?" Gloria continued, "since you're great at cooking and with kids, you'd make a great husband- unlike me! You've already seen my attempt at babysitting today, and I'm horrible in the kitchen." She laughed briefly at herself. "I'd need someone like you if I was ever going to get married, 'cause I'm hopeless otherwise!"

Bede's eyes shifted back to hers. He held her gaze for a moment of silence, and something unreadable in his expression made her pause.

"Woo woo," Samuel sounded, and Gloria turned to tickle him with the Wooloo plush.

"...Someone like me?"

It was the depth to his voice that stole Gloria's attention back. Bede's words were soft, his tone low and thick, and the intensity in his gaze made the Wooloo plush slip from her fingers when their eyes met. Heat swam behind those violets that pinned her to the spot.

What was he saying?

"Sorry?" Gloria blinked at him. Nerves flittered about in her stomach as though she was missing something. Something that she'd said, something that had happened, and it sent her heart racing.

"You said you'd need 'someone like me,' if you were to get married," Bede said slowly.

Silence fell. Gloria couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. There was so much more to his gaze, to his expression, than she'd realised.

"I…" Had she said that?

"Someone like me?"

It was a question. A deeper meaning to those three words. A suggestion.

Was there more to it?

An offer?

"It doesn't matter since I'm never getting married anyway," Gloria said quickly. She tore her eyes away from Bede, swallowing the lump in her throat and the rising panic building in her chest. "I promised I wouldn't, and I'm not going to break that."

"You promised?"

Shit.

She'd said too much.

Her heart plummeted. It drained the blood from her face, froze the nerves in her stomach, and bled ice through her veins. Chilled her to her core, to the marrow of her bones.

Heavy.

She felt heavy.

"Gloria?"

"Forget I said that." She stood. Turned her back to him.

"Why? Who did you promise that to?"

"I said- forget it!"

Too loud. Hands trembled into fists at her sides as Samuel whimpered. Pain prickled behind her eyes. Tears.

An apology lodged in her throat but she had no voice to give it life. Her lips wobbled. She pressed them tightly together for a moment, forcing her breath down. Held it in her lungs until it burned.

She exhaled it all at once.

"I shouldn't have said anything."

It hurt to speak, to step dangerously close to the precipice of what she'd buried for so long.

Terrified to fall.

"I can't- I don't want to talk about it," she said. The tremor in her voice began to fade. She shook her head, pressed her hands against her face with a breath of shame. "I'm going to the loo."

Gloria hurried away before Bede could reply- if he was going to say anything at all. She shut herself in the bathroom and doused her face in cold water until she could think again, until the shadows receded from her heart.

The promise she'd made years ago had surfaced as it did sometimes, but never had it hurt like this. Like a void had encapsulated her heart. It ached. Something had shifted, and what had been a lifelong promise that she'd always been eager to uphold now felt like a looming wave towering above her, about to crash over her life at any second. To destroy everything.

Gloria swallowed, letting water drip from her face as she measured her breathing. In and out, in and out.

Everything was fine. She was fine.

She wasn't in love with Bede, so there was nothing to worry about. Her promise was still in place, still intact. She hadn't broken anything.

The memory of that night came back to her. Her mother's tears. Being held too tight in trembling arms. Hearing those words, unable to comprehend what it meant, unable to believe it.

"He's gone."

The echo of her mother's voice tightened the knot in Gloria's throat. Droplets of water, of tears, fell from her cheeks.

"He's gone… Papa's gone…"

Air hissed through her teeth. She squeezed her eyes shut to force back the heat building behind her eyes.

"I'm here," her own voice replied. Ten years younger, it still sounded like her. "I won't go anywhere. I promise."

A simple promise made the trembling stop.

"I promise." Those words she would keep. "I'll stay with you forever… no matter what."

I won't leave you.

Gloria wiped the water off her face, stealing those memories away. A lingering ache in the hollow of her chest remained, but its blade had dulled. She could endure it.

She had to.

Even if it meant closing off her heart so she would never experience the pain of that day again, she would do it. She saw what it did to her mother. The kind of pain that love brings.

And Gloria wanted none of it.

The air was stiff and awkward in the lounge when Gloria returned. She sat beside Samuel as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't left at all. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that Gracie had finished her bottle and that Bede had propped her up on the couch using the cushions to steady her. She was currently sucking on a ring of brightly coloured plastic keys.

Gloria desperately wanted to break the silence, to say something, anything, but she didn't know where to begin. The weight of her memories remained over her shoulders. She'd snapped at Bede. Regret and shame swallowed her voice, guilt sitting in the back of her throat so she couldn't form any words.

He'd come to help her, gave up his free time out of his own volition, and she'd snapped at him. She couldn't get any more pathetic if she'd tried.

"What have you got there?" Gloria asked Samuel. He pushed a toy car back and forth over the carpet, trying to blow a raspberry between his lips to mimic the sound of the engine.

"Cah!" he said, before returning to his noise making.

Her heart throbbed. She picked up the angular ambulance and pushed it alongside Samuel's car, but her energy was spent. She couldn't fake enthusiasm when her chest felt so heavy.

"How did you end up with these two?" Bede asked.

Gloria looked at him out of reflex, out of surprise. He'd broken the silence so easily, and raised an eyebrow at her curiously.

"They obviously aren't your own children, and I assume you haven't acquired two new siblings in secret… which leads me to believe that you're babysitting for someone else."

She blinked at him, nodding slowly at how succinctly he'd come to the correct conclusion.

"Oh, right. I never explained, did I?" She pursed her lips sheepishly before gesturing to the two young kids. "This is Samuel and Gracie. They're the kids of my mum's friend, Mrs Jones. She needed someone to babysit on short notice since her sister went into labour a week early and there's no one else to take her into hospital. The rest of their family is in Kanto, and her sister's husband is away for work, so…"

Gloria shrugged. "I've helped my mum babysit them in the past, but she's at work, and Mrs Jones really needed someone… I've never looked after them on my own before."

"That much was fairly obvious. It was quite chaotic when I called you, from what I heard."

Gloria scoffed in indignation. "That's only because I had to get Gracie up! She was crying in her room and I had to leave Samuel to get her, and then he started crying too!"

She huffed at Bede, folding her arms in protest, when she spied the slight tilt to the corner of his mouth. It was the barest hint of a smirk. Soft amusement lit up his eyes, and it made Gloria realise what he was doing. Riling her up so she'd bark at him and fall into their natural rhythm. The air that had been suffocatingly thick had eased away, lifting the hold of silence over the atmosphere. Bede had coaxed her into speaking her mind to him again. Into returning to normal.

She sank in surprise, and the heat of her protest died. Finally, she could find the words that she wanted to say.

"Look, Bede, I'm… sorry about what happened before," Gloria said. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just… it's a subject I'm not comfortable with. I hadn't meant to say anything about it in the first place, but then…"

She trailed off with a sigh.

"That's alright. I see now that I shouldn't have pressed you about it," Bede said. "I'm sorry about that."

A sliver of pain dug into her heart at his words.

"The promise I made as a kid, it still means a lot to me, and…" She swallowed. Took a breath. "I know most people would probably think it's stupid and ridiculous, and it's hard for me to explain, I haven't told many people about it before-"

Her voice stuck in her throat.

"You don't have to explain," Bede said softly.

"But…"

"If it puts you on the verge of tears to even think about, you don't need to explain it to me."

He'd noticed the tears building in her eyes.

"I'm sorry…" It came out as a whisper, but in the quiet, she knew he'd hear it.

"For what? I can't see that you've done anything wrong here."

"You don't even know why I snapped at you and you're being so kind," Gloria sighed. "I feel like I owe you an explanation, at least."

"Only when you're ready for it." He shrugged and said, "everyone has something they're not comfortable talking about- I don't want you to have to force yourself to explain it to me because you feel like you should."

She nodded slowly.

"Besides, I may have an idea about what it is anyway, so I'm not completely in the dark as to why it upsets you so much."

Gloria blinked at him. He turned his gaze away from her to dangle the drool-coated keys in front of Gracie's grabbing hands.

"You do?" Somehow, the fact that he already knew something about it loosened the jumble of knots in her gut.

Gracie caught the fluorescent green key and tugged it towards her mouth as Bede nodded.

"You've mentioned a thing or two about it previously," he said, "if what I believe you're talking about is correct."

All the bits and pieces she'd let slip in the past. The words that had spilled out in vulnerable moments, hissed under her breath, fragments of pain that had broken through her walls.

He'd remembered them.

"Probably," she said quietly.

How much he knew, how much he'd pieced together, she couldn't tell. Perhaps he'd gotten the wrong idea completely- but knowing Bede, that was more than unlikely.

"Then I don't need to know any more," he said. "If it makes you uncomfortable to speak about, then don't force yourself on my account. I don't need to know every little thing about you in order to be your friend."

His words softened her heart. She filled with warmth, with a sense of peace, and it made her smile.

"Thanks, Bede," she said, tilting her head as she smiled at him. "That's really sweet of you to say."

His expression froze for a split second, and Gloria wondered if she'd said something wrong when he cleared his throat and focused on playing with Gracie, jangling the keys in front of her when they fell from her mouth again.

"How come you're so good with kids?" Gloria asked, realising she'd never got an answer from him when she'd asked previously.

It was like he knew exactly what to do- when to give in and let Gracie grab the keys, when to tug them away from her and keep up the challenge. The self-satisfied look he gave Gloria, the pride glinting in his eyes, made her heart skip. He was so damn attractive even when gloating, and she folded her arms as if that would protect her heart from the influence of his smile.

"This is nothing special," he said, and shrugged. As if his smirk didn't clearly say otherwise. "Just the basics everyone knows, really."

Gloria scoffed, despite the way her chest fluttered from the mirth in his voice. His words dripped with amusement, teasing her and making her heart dance like a puppet on a string, and Arceus, it made her pout at him in return. Protesting how easily she reacted to him, although she found that she didn't dislike how it made her feel. It was a rush, a spark of emotions through her body. Strange and foreign as it was, it wasn't a bad feeling. Not one she hated at all.

If anything, it actually felt pleasant.

"What does that make me, then, if I don't even know the basics?" Gloria said, throwing those words back at him with a huff. "Since everyone knows it?"

She raised an eyebrow pointedly at him, not about to let him off that easily without an explanation.

"I may have picked up a thing or two somewhere," Bede said.

"Uh-huh."

She gave him a blank stare. Unimpressed, unbudging. She wanted to know. Her curiosity had built into a fervour, a blooming desire to figure out this secret of Bede's that he was taunting her with. She feigned hurt, and turned back to Samuel. He burst into giggles when she pushed the toy ambulance up his back and let it topple forward off his shoulder. He picked it up and tried to place it where she had to make it fall again. Movement in the corner of her eyes made Gloria turn. Bede sat beside her, laying Gracie down gently on her back on the carpet, and placed the Wooloo plush square on her stomach. He gave the stuffed Pokemon a wiggle, making the legs flop wildly, and Gracie broke into a smile.

It was so unadulteratedly cute to see Bede play with Gracie like that, and Gloria's heart squeezed firmly in her chest as she watched. He glanced at her for the briefest of moments before focusing his attention on the wriggling baby in front of him. Gracie gave a squeak of laughter when he booped her nose with the Wooloo.

Gloria felt giddy just watching him.

"The orphanage was short-staffed at times," Bede began. He spoke while playing with Gracie, not once pulling his attention away from her. She was completely enraptured by the Wooloo plush. "Those of us old enough to take care of ourselves were enlisted to help with the younger children. It was easier to learn how to amuse them than be surrounded by screaming babies all day."

"Oh." She didn't know what else to say. His explanation, his experience, was far from anything she'd imagined, and a wave of guilt crashed over her for trying to drag that out of him.

Especially when he'd been so understanding to her.

"Children are easy enough to amuse. What works for one usually works for another," he said with a shrug, "as long as you aren't too worried about your pride."

He leant over Gracie and blew a raspberry at her, and she laughed. A sweet, innocent laugh that made Gloria want to melt. Her insides were turning into goo.

"You'll pick it up over time, don't worry." Bede turned to Gloria and quickly booped her nose with the Wooloo plush. Samuel laughed, and he received a boop as well.

Gloria bit back her laugh, her lips trembling with mirth. Bede looked so free, so full of life, that she didn't dare laugh - even out of adoration - in case he thought she was laughing at him. She wouldn't risk spoiling the moment.

"You think so?" she asked.

He looked at her, his violet eyes softening with his smile, and said, "of course I do. Anyone can learn how to take care of children, or how to cook. It just takes time- and a bit of advice."

Her mouth twitched into a smile, and without thinking about it, she leant over Gracie as Bede had done, and blew a raspberry of her own. It brought a string of giggles out of Gracie, and Gloria's heart lifted.

"You're a quick study," Bede noted.

She beamed at him in return. "It helps that I've got an expert teacher."

Time passed easier after that. There was no more crying, no more grizzling- Samuel and Gracie were content at last as Gloria fell into a natural pace with Bede. She followed his advice, taking note of the slight difference in the way he played with the two children. Often, they shared silent glances. A smile, a knowing look, as Gloria mimicked the little techniques that Bede used. After a while, he picked Gracie up when she'd had enough of lying on the carpet, and sat her in his lap. She jangled the plastic keys in her hands, happy once more.

Gloria's heart swooned in her chest. Bede was so utterly endearing with the kids, so sweet and kind and adoring that she could hardly take it any more. Her lungs were filled to the brim with delight, and Arceus, she was almost overcome with the desire to hug him. It was impossible to contain how she was feeling. Giddy and breathless and flustered all at once, she focused on making Gracie laugh by playing peekaboo behind the Wooloo plush instead.

Anything to keep her wandering gaze from returning to Bede. It was completely unfair how he made her feel- he was gorgeous and adorable at the same time, great with kids and skilled in the kitchen, seemingly perfect despite the flaws she knew he had.

He was so damn attractive in every way.

She huffed to herself and swallowed that thought.

This isn't a crush, she reminded herself. Stop thinking about how amazing he is and pay attention to the kids!

The fluttering in her chest refused to abate. It was a strange kind of nervousness, one that she hadn't felt before until recently, one that only occured around Bede. It made her lungs feel like they were too full of air, too light. She was weirdly self conscious. Overly aware of every movement, every gesture and noise Bede made, all her senses had honed in on him.

The space he occupied in her mind, in her heart, had grown immensely without her knowing.

Gloria couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.

Footsteps clicked up the driveway, stealing her and Bede's attention towards the front door. It swung open, and Samuel shot to his feet.

"Ma ma!"

He tottered over to his mother as she took in the surprise visitor in her house. Her eyebrows lifted curiously.

"Mrs Jones, this- this is Bede," Gloria said quickly.

"Oh, yes. I thought I recognised you!" Mrs Jones clasped her hands together as she nodded at him. She swiftly picked Samuel up and sat him against her hip, planting a kiss to the top of his brow. "You're the Fairy Gym Leader, right?"

Bede stood, carrying Gracie, and stepped over to Mrs Jones. He extended a hand to her politely.

"That's correct," he said. "It's lovely to meet you. We had no trouble with Samuel and Gracie at all- I hope you don't mind that I assisted Gloria while you were away."

Gloria got up and dusted herself off while Bede greeted Mrs Jones, slightly flustered by his white lie.

'No trouble at all' was not how she would've described the way things went before Bede arrived.

"I don't mind at all," Mrs Jones said. She set Samuel down and took Gracie from Bede. She smiled pleasantly, and Gloria was once again amazed at how easily Bede slipped into his Gym Leader persona. Polite, graceful and charming, he made first impressions count.

"My sister's husband caught the next flight back, so I was able to come home early," Mrs Jones continued, "but it looks like I didn't need to worry about these two at all."

Gloria beamed a smile, trying to make it as genuine as possible. Next to Bede's confidence, she felt too stiff and forced.

"Everything went well," Gloria said. "Gracie woke up a bit early, and had her bottle at… about eleven thirty, I think."

Mrs Jones nodded. "I'll make sure she has her afternoon nap, then."

She gave her daughter a kiss on her round cheeks, making Gracie smile. Samuel pottered around after his mother as Gloria gathered her bag and swung it over her shoulder. As foreboding as babysitting had felt when she'd first begun, she no longer wished to flee the two adorable children at a moment's notice. It had been an experience she wasn't likely to forget for some time. With Bede by her side, she felt like she could conquer anything.

Well, almost anything. The emotions fluttering in her gut weren't something she wanted to tackle, or acknowledge, for now.

After a quick goodbye to Mrs Jones and her two kids - Samuel whimpering when he realised they were leaving - Gloria and Bede exited the house and stepped into the streets of Wedgehurst. The lazy afternoon sun bathed them in warmth, and Gloria stretched her arms high above her head and breathed in the moment of peace.

"I'm glad that's over," she sighed.

They headed down the street, passing cozy houses adjourned with blooming gardens. In the distance, bleats from Wooloo and Dubwool filled the air.

"I don't know how I would've managed without you," Gloria said. She shot him a smile. "I thought you had terrible timing, calling me when you did, but it turned out to be perfect."

Bede stopped. "About that…"

Gloria turned to face him. A few feet behind her, he paused. "What is it?"

"The League Gala is happening the week after next." Bede held her gaze. His voice, softer than before, sent her heart racing. "Are you going with anyone?"

She froze, jaw hanging slightly open. Then swallowed, fumbling with her tongue to form an answer.

"Yes, I- I'm going with Hop," she said.

He looked away. "I see."

Gloria's heart plummeted into her churning stomach. "Why- Why do you ask?"

Did he not have anyone to go with?

Did he, perhaps, want to go with her…?

"I thought I'd ask in case you had forgotten about it," Bede said, shrugging. He continued walking, and passed her with quick strides. "You tend to get distracted quite easily, after all."

She skipped to catch up with him, and glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes as they walked.

"I wouldn't have forgotten about that," she said.

Gloria let out a huff. It was foolish to think that he'd brought up the Gala for any other reason. Foolish to think he'd ask her to go with him, when he'd be attending with Ms Opal as he had last year.

Besides, Hop had already agreed to go with her. The strange weight in her gut persisted, despite reasoning with herself that she was being ridiculous for getting worked up over it.

She wondered how she would have answered if he had asked. If she hadn't been babysitting, if Samuel and Gracie hadn't been screaming their lungs out when Bede called, would he have asked her?

Would she have wanted him to ask?

She slowed, gaze following Bede as he continued on ahead for a few steps. He stopped, and turned not a moment later when he'd realised she wasn't beside him. The question in his eyes gave her no answer to the thoughts clouding her mind. She shook them off, stepped up to Bede as though she'd never left his side.

Some questions aren't meant to be asked, she decided.

It was better this way. She already had enough to deal with- the warmth in her chest, the fluttery feeling that spread through her veins, returned as she walked beside him. She felt comfortable at his side. It felt natural, normal, to walk in amicable silence towards the station where Bede would catch a Sky Taxi to Ballonlea. The time they’d spent babysitting together had turned what could have been a disastrous and exhausting few hours into a cherished memory for her. It felt like she’d discovered some hidden nugget, a buried treasure, behind the carefully crafted walls Bede always functioned behind. He probably didn’t realise how much that meant to her, that he’d let down his guard - whether deliberately or not - and revealed another side to himself that few had ever seen.

It made her feel… special. Trusted. Valued, even. It reaffirmed in her mind what Bede truly was to her- a friend. He was someone she could rely on in a pinch, someone who wouldn’t judge her for her failings, for her idiosyncrasies, for the secrets she couldn’t yet voice. He may not have asked her to the gala, but she knew he would be there, and that fact alone eased the trepidation she felt towards it.

Gloria smiled to herself as they walked, cementing that feeling in her heart.

#bederia #bede #gloria #btyu #dressedinpinkshipping #bederiaweek2021 #bederia week 2021

33 notes · View notes

sylvie-writes · 4 years

Text

I Will Survive

Summary: During a rainy day marathon, you stumble upon a mini series which unbeknownst to you, stars your boyfriend. Going into the show, there is a person and voice all too familiar, but you can’t place a finger on it.

(Chris Evans x Reader)

I promise the title will make sense later lol

Disclaimer: I have never seen the show Opposite Sex, so i’m not gonna go into much detail about it, sorry ♥

Important a/n: I just found out that tumblr eats posts with links sometimes, so I had to remove it, but if you are curious as to what it is, just look up; “Chris Evans I Will Survive” on youtube.

Rainy days always mean staying in, where it’s nice and cozy. Somehow it all just makes you want to curl up on the couch and relax. So here you were, doing exactly that. Chris was in the office, on a conference call for the next few hours and you figured now would be the perfect time to plop on the couch, turn on the tv and just take a minute to breathe.

All cocooned in a luxurious, plush blanket, Dodger’s head peacefully resting on your lap, you were all set to start your rainy day marathon. About a good hour was spent doing the monotonous task that was mindlessly searching through the hundreds of tv shows before you had finally settled on a mini series called Opposite Sex. Too eager to start the show, you paid no attention to the cast list in which you would have seen your boyfriend's name. As you began watching, you realized that the character, Cary, looked eerily similar to someone you knew, but you just couldn't put a finger on it.

About halfway through the show you were so intrigued in the plot itself and figuring out who Cary was, that you didn’t even hear Chris yell from the hall, looking for you. After spotting your blanketed form on the couch, he came behind it and placed his hands on your shoulders, kissing your head. So caught up in the tv show, you just impulsively placed your hand on his for a short second, not even sparing him a glance. It was killing you! Who was the person, you just had to know.

“Hey babe! The call ended early, what are you w-.” Before he could even finish his sentence, an all too familiar voice came on the tv and he looked up towards it, finding exactly what he had expected. You were too busy watching the show and laughing that you were only half listening to what he was saying, really only catching some parts but it all went out the other ear in the end. Chris came up and sat beside you, enjoying your amusement but waiting for you to tease him about the scene that was currently playing.

“Whoever these guys are, they have guts.” You just giggled even more and Chris was surprised that you hadn’t uttered a word about him yet. There were three guys on the screen, one of them being him, all dolled up and dressed to the nines, singing I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor, while prancing around the stage to a crowd of screaming girls.

“You see that guy?” Slightly standing up, you pointed to Cary, before sitting back down and continuing to speak. You looked over at Chris who was wearing a weird expression. An indescribable emotion written on his handsome face. “I just can’t figure out who it is and i-.”

Before you could finish, Chris’ expression had changed to a bashful smile and that is when it hit you.

“It’s a Ricky Nelson look alike!” A smile of victory was on your face and a weight had been lifted your shoulders. Honestly, it was the best feeling in the world to remember something you had forgotten. Chris was laughing so hard at this point, his face was red.

“Why are you laughing?! You know I am right.” You crossed your arms over your chest and Chris just shook his head, placing his hands on your arms, still laughing. He took a deep breath so he could explain before you ripped him to pieces.

“Babe, that’s me!”

Your jaw must’ve dropped seven stories.

“Oh my gosh! You were so young, I didn’t even realize it was you.” Your eyes were wide and the realization hit you. Chris feigned offense and playfully gasped.

“Wow! I didn’t know I was that old.” Once the shock left your system, you just giggled and kissed his cheek.

“You aren’t that old, you big goof. But I would love to have seen you do that in person.”

“Sorry hon, but never again.”

“Aww.” A fake pout made its way on your lips, Chris leaned forward to kiss it.

“If you think that was funny, you should see Not Another Teen Movie.” He gritted his teeth and shuddered in disgust.

“Will you watch it with me?” Batting your eyelashes, you knew he could not resist.

Even though he was internally cringing, he agreed to do it for you. “Fine.”

“Wait, I have one condition.” You waved your index finger in the air before continuing.

“And what is that?”

“That you sing that song at our wedding.”

Chris let out a little huff, while you looked at him with hope in your eyes.

“We will see.”

“It wasn’t a no!”

Chris just laughed and shook his head before wrapping his arm around your back, causing you to snuggle into his side. Needless to say, you died laughing at the banana scene while Chris just cringed the whole way through. He’d do anything for you, even if it was at the cost of you teasing him about his choices as a youth for the rest of his life.

a/n: What can’t this man do? I mean he looks great in anything. The really sad part is that I can barely walk up stairs in heels and he is out here dancing in them.

#chris evans #chris evans x reader #chris evans imagine

105 notes · View notes

worryinglyinnocent · 4 years

Text

Fic: The Head That Wears The Crown

AU-gust Day Nine: Royalty AU Fandom: Stargate Universe Pairing: Nicholas Rush x Gloria Rush

Rated: G

Summary: After almost twenty years of avoiding Gloria’s heritage, a single phone call turns her and Nick’s world upside down, and they are forced to confront the fact that she is, in fact, a princess.

===

The Head That Wears The Crown

Nick knew that something was up from the moment that Gloria picked up her phone where it was innocently buzzing along the kitchen table. Having looked at the caller ID and gone as white as a ghost, her spoon dropped back down into her cereal bowl, sending milk and muesli across the table.

“Oh God.”

Nick grabbed a couple of sheets of kitchen paper to clean up. “Who is it?”

“My mother.”

Well, that was certainly a turn up for the books, and it certainly explained why Gloria had reacted the way she had. She hadn’t spoken to her mother for almost twenty years. She hadn’t spoken to anyone in her family for almost twenty years. Gloria’s family were never mentioned, the ultimate taboo between them.

“You’d probably better take it,” Nick observed. “She wouldn’t be calling you unless it was important.”

Gloria gave a slow nod, the phone continuing to vibrate in her hand as she made no move to answer it.

“Yes, I probably should.” The phone continued to buzz urgently, and Nick held out a hand.

“Do you want me to take it?”

“No, I don’t think that would help.” Gloria took a deep breath and answered just before it cut out to voicemail. “Good morning, Mother.”

Nick couldn’t hear what Gloria’s mother was saying, but since Gloria managed to go even whiter than she already was, it must have been something dramatic. When she got up from the table and vanished into the living room, closing the door firmly behind her, Nick knew that it was very, very serious. He sat back down at the table, his own breakfast completely forgotten in the knowledge that, likely as not, his entire life was about to get turned upside down.

When Nicholas Rush had first met Gloria Andrews, they’d both been studying at Oxford and had happened upon each other quite by chance at one of the rare social events that Nick had attended. A friendship had begun and turned into a relationship, and the relationship had turned into love and a proposal of marriage.

The proposal had opened a rather large can of worms, because for the previous two years of dating and sleeping together and eventually living together, Gloria had omitted to mention one very important fact, namely that she was heir to the throne of a small principality.

Nick hadn’t believed her at first, because surely if she was royalty then she’d be flanked by several bodyguards all the time and wouldn’t be hanging around in student bars in Oxford, and she certainly wouldn’t be doing something as mundane as playing the violin for a living. And surely she wouldn’t have a surname as commonplace as Andrews.

True, she had never shown any inclination for him to meet her family and he had no idea where she’d lived before going into halls of residence and then living with him. She’d always been rather vague about where she spent her holidays, and it had always been clear that she was in no way short of funds.

But the princess of a nation that he’d only vaguely heard of?

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how one looked at it, Gloria was telling the truth, and Nick found out that for the last two years he had been falling in love with Princess Gloria Catherine Anna di Marco, daughter of Prince André di Marco from whom she’d adopted her civilian surname.

Being the heir to the throne of a nation, however small that nation may have been, Gloria really wasn’t expected to marry a penniless Scottish astrophysicist, and upon the revelation of her true heritage, Nick had been fully expecting their relationship to come to an end.

He had not been expecting Gloria to go home to her father, argue with him about her life choices until he disinherited her, and then come back and marry him and live a happy and contented life as a music teacher, completely uncaring for the grandiose existence she had left behind.

Now, nearly twenty years later, that grandiose existence had suddenly made an appearance once more, reminding both of them that their lives were not as simple as they had hoped to keep them.

Nick sighed. There had been so many times over the last two decades when he had doubted his worth, knowing that he didn’t deserve someone like Gloria despite all the times she had reassured him that he was the only thing she wanted. She had given up so much to be with him and she had never once used that maliciously against him. She had never once wished for her royal life back or lamented how different things would have been if they had not stuck together. Nick knew that it was unfair to put all of the upheaval that they were about to face on Gloria. She had done her best to avoid it, and she would feel the stress of it just as much as he would.

At length – time had lost all sense of meaning – Gloria returned to the kitchen and sat back down, staring at her phone for a long time before she spoke. When she did, she didn’t meet Nick’s eyes.

“I have to go home,” she said. Her voice was measured but brittle, as if she was only keeping herself together through sheer force of will. “Actually, we both do.” She looked up at him then, and Nick could see that she’d been crying. “My father is dying, and he wants to see me. And you.”

Considering that Nick had never met any of Gloria’s family, much less her father, who was the ruler of a country, he thought that he was justified in feeling some trepidation at the prospect, and he felt guilty as he started mentally running through a thousand and one reasons why he would have to stay here.

He knew that he couldn’t. Even if none of Gloria’s family wanted anything to do with him, which was the stance they’d made clear when she’d first mentioned him to them, he needed to go with Gloria to support her whilst all this was going on. He’d lost his mother when he’d been too young to remember and his relationship with his father was strained at best, but he knew that he wouldn’t want to go through the loss alone.

“Right.”

For a long time, that was the only thing he could say. There were a hundred questions running through his head, most of them along the lines of does this mean you’ll have to run the country now and most of those followed by where does that leave us?

“I suppose I’d better start cancelling my lessons,” Gloria said. It was so practical and mundane that Nick couldn’t help but give a bark of laughter, alarming Gloria.

“I’m sorry. I think I’m still in shock.”

“Yeah.” Gloria sighed, and suddenly she looked very far away at the other end of the table. “Yeah, you and me both.”

Objectively, Nick knew that royal families generally had money to burn, but having lived on the breadline for most of his life and only gaining proper financial stability when he got academic tenure, the extent of wealth was difficult for him to comprehend – and he had wrapped his head around some of the most incomprehensible theoretical physics known to man.

Since getting off the plane, he and Gloria hadn’t had to lift a finger. There had been official people to meet them at every step of the way and a car waiting to whisk them away to the official family residence, and then another one waiting to take them to the hospital. Considering all he’d had to do was follow people along corridors and sit in the back of very luxurious cars, Nick was exhausted. All he wanted was to get back to his office and grade a few choice idiotic papers to take his mind off it all.

“Oh, Gloria!”

As they entered the private wing of the hospital where Prince André was receiving treatment, Gloria was bowled over by someone whom Nick recognised from photographs as her mother – twenty years older, of course, but still definitely the same woman. Even though Gloria was far more comfortable with invasions of personal space than Nick was, it was clear that she was rather taken aback by this sudden display of affection from someone she’d had no contact with for so many years. Eventually she relaxed into the hug and let her mother lead her down the corridor towards her father’s room.

Nick hung back, sitting down on one of the plush seats in the waiting area. He caught Gloria’s glance over her shoulder, almost a plea for deliverance, and he wondered what he should do. What could he do? He was the very definition of a fish out of water here, and Gloria herself wasn’t doing much better. People kept coming and asking if they could get him anything; it was the most surreal experience he’d ever had. Some kind soul sourced him some coffee and the caffeine helped him to focus a little, even if all he was focussing on was pretending to be somewhere else entirely.

It felt like an age before Gloria returned, sinking into the chair next to him.

“Gloria?” She looked blank, like she was miles away. “Gloria? Glo?”

She shook herself out of the stupor and turned to him.

“Hi. Sorry, I’m still trying to work out whether that just happened or if this is all just some weird dream.”

“What happened?”

Gloria shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not here, at least. God, I want to go home. Proper home, I mean. Our home. Oxford. Not here.” She pressed her hands over her face, leaning heavily on her knees. “I thought I’d left all this behind,” she mumbled behind her fingers. “I was happy to have left it all behind. This can’t be happening.”

No more was said on the subject until they got back to the house, and even then, Gloria spent a long time just wandering through rooms that had once been familiar. Nick trailed after her, unsure of what she needed. This wasn’t a problem that he could just apply maths to in order to solve.

“This was my bedroom when I was a kid.” She’d stopped in the doorway of a room that was at least the footprint of Nick’s entire childhood home and garden. Everything was covered in dust sheets, no sign of personalisation anywhere. Just as Gloria had made a clean break with her previous life, it seemed that her previous life had made a clean break with her as well.

“He wants to reinstate me,” she said suddenly, apropos of nothing. “He wants me to take the throne when he dies.”

Although Nick had suspected that this would be the case from the moment he’d known the situation, it was still something to hear it from Gloria herself and have it confirmed.

“Is this a situation where you can say no, or do you not really have a choice?”

Gloria shrugged. “I have no idea. The lawyer’s coming tomorrow to sort it all out, I guess I’ll find out then.”

“What happens if you don’t take it?”

“There’s a cousin in New Zealand. It’ll go to him.” Gloria sighed. “I’m so sorry, Nicholas. I don’t know who I was fooling when I thought that I could leave all this behind and it would never trouble us again. I’m an only child and my father’s not going to live forever, of course it would come back to bite me sooner rather than later. There was no way I could run from it forever. I’d just hoped that it would be over, done. He’s always been so stubborn. I thought that his first decision would be final. I never thought that he was one for deathbed regrets and trying to make amends. I suppose none of us know what we’re going to regret at the end until we get there ourselves. I’m so sorry.” She wiped away a fresh fall of tears on the back of her hand. “I’m so sorry, Nick. I know you didn’t sign up for all this.”

Nick didn’t reply. He didn’t know what to say, either to comfort Gloria or to try and make sense of his own position in the entire affair. He just put his arms around her, letting her lean in against him, holding her as she cried. He tried to reason that nothing was set in stone yet, that Gloria still had the choice to refuse the crown and everything could go back to the way it was before, that soon enough it would all be the cousin in New Zealand’s problem.

Deep down, though, he knew that it was not going to be as simple as that.

He didn’t think either of them slept that night, both of them caught up in their own thoughts. Nick stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything that he had to lose if Gloria were to take the throne and move their lives over here. The university, his professorship, his positions on all of the research committees he worked on. His office, his tenure, his students… Well, maybe he wouldn’t miss those as much.

Ultimately, though, he knew that the only thing he would really miss if he were to lose it was Gloria. He had started from scratch enough times and he had built himself up from the bare bones before. He could do it again. He could do his research anywhere. But if Gloria wanted to be here, then here was where he would be as well.

“Glo?” He reached across the bed to find her hand, squeezing tightly.

She rolled over, burrowing into his side. “Nick?”

“Whatever happens, whatever you decide, I’m right here with you. I love you. No matter what.”

She kissed him, fumbling and clumsy in the dark, and Nick felt wet on her cheeks.

“Thank you, Nick.”

#SGU #Stargate Universe #Nicholas Rush #Gloria Rush #Nick/Gloria #Royalty AU #AU-gust #Worry does AU-gust #Fic: The Head That Wears The Crown

14 notes · View notes

samsonet · 4 years

Text

There daily I wander as noon rises high,

This is how Raihan becomes Bede’s brother.

Title from Robert Burns’ “Afton Water”

Raihan isn’t used to watching the finals from the sidelines.

He tries to relax in his league-assigned seat, still feeling like any moment now someone will come to ask why he’s not on the pitch.

With every word the commentator says, the sense of wrongness only grows stronger. It should be him out there. It should be him planting his feet into the grass, summoning sandstorms and roaring at his opponent. For the past eight seasons, it has been him in that position, him on the pitch, him and Leon —

“Let's give a round of applause for Galar’s beloved champion, Gloria!”

The earth orbits around a new sun now.

“And on the other side of the pitch, the elite gym leader, the champion’s rival himself—”

Raihan—

“— Bede!”

Raihan sighs, not entirely sure what he’s feeling.

“A bit of sadness,” a voice says, “mixed with some excitement at seeing what these young ones can do. And some pride, too, perhaps.”

Raihan blinks, but he’s had enough experience with Opal to not jump at her sudden appearances.

“Why are you here? I thought you retired.”

“I did!” Opal hums happily. “Now I’m getting to enjoy my retirement — and what grandparent wouldn’t want the chance to see their grandchild battling the champion?”

Bede’s been training under her for what, three months? She jumped into the fairy godmother role pretty quick, didn’t she.

Opal says, “Perhaps it was a bit reckless of me to declare him my successor so quickly… But sometimes you can look at a person and know that you were meant to help them.”

On the pitch, Bede’s Rapidash lands a critical hit. Bede grins. Gloria grins. Raihan is abruptly reminded of his sixth battle against Leon, the first time he’d tried using a weather team. Leon won, of course, but instead of the usual sportsmanlike handshake, he’d given Raihan a full-bodied hug. After all, being the champion’s rival meant he was the champion’s friend, too.

Opal says, “Still, I do worry about whether I can properly care for him. I’m willing to listen to any troubles he has, of course, but he is a young boy, after all. He may not feel comfortable sharing everything with an old woman like me. If he had an older brother, perhaps...”

She looks at him meaningfully.

Raihan knows better than to offer his help; if the fairy queen wants a favor from him, she has to be direct about it.

But Opal doesn’t ask. She seems to feel like she’s said everything that needs to be said, and she merely sits back and watches the match.

The battle ends.

Gloria does not hug Bede.

Raihan pays more attention to Bede after that.

He would watch Bede’s matches anyway, because it’s only a matter of time before they’d have to face each other in a ranking tournament, but now Raihan’s observing the kid himself instead of just his battle style.

Bede’s history is no secret. During his challenge, the league milked the scrappy-orphan angle for all it was worth. A kid who came from nothing, fighting to earn a place in the world… It tugs at the heartstrings. Theoretically, anyway. While the PR people tried to spin Bede’s proud demeanor as a defense mechanism, a lot of the fans found challenger Bede unbearably smug.

Raihan grew up in a loving upper-class family with both parents and two sisters, so he doesn’t have family issues as an excuse. As a challenger, he’d been smug because he really thought he was all that. Well. He still is kinda cocky, and he still sorta is all that. Because the fans like it, because there’s nothing quite so satisfying as seeing a cocky bastard get taken down a peg or two.

The fans won’t get to see Raihan taken down a peg anymore. Sure, he’ll still be losing, to Gloria and Melony and who knows, maybe Bede too -- but that mixture of pride and humiliation is reserved for Leon and Leon only.

But Leon isn't the champion anymore.

Gloria seems to like battling Bede. Bede seems to like battling her. Their inexperience is obvious, though. Their battles seem to be fun and challenging for both of them, which is the important thing, but they haven’t quite gotten the hang of the performance part yet.

If he had an older brother, perhaps…

Is it an insult, that Opal would be so transparent in what she wants from Raihan? Or is it a show of respect, a way of saying that she’s not going to try to manipulate him? But even transparent manipulation is manipulation all the same…

Raihan leans back, putting a hand over his mouth in thought. He’s not the champion’s rival anymore. That was his place in Galar, his place in the league. He may still be the strongest gym leader, but the role feels empty now that Leon and Piers are gone.

Would the role be just as fulfilling if he became the big brother to the younger gym leaders?

He can try.

The next time Raihan sees Bede, it’s at one of the champion’s invite-only tournaments.

The champion has invited all her rivals, and between the battles the four of them stick together in the same corner. Raihan’s curious what they’re talking about, of course, but he gives them space. None of them are his little siblings, after all.

When the tournament finishes (with the champion victorious, naturally), Raihan walks out with the other participants.

Leon and Piers are waiting in the lobby. Raihan gives them a wave and they wave back, but it’s obvious they’re not there for him.

“Lee!”

Hop gives a running jump into his brother’s arms. Marnie has a more dignified motion as she walks toward Piers, but Raihan sees the way her mouth curls up at the corners. The little champion gives a wave goodbye to her rivals; she probably has some business to attend to in another city.

That leaves Bede as the list of the four, looking vaguely upset but not saying anything about it.

So Raihan does. “Hey, Leon, Piers. Whaddya say we take our little sibs to get something to eat? They fought hard, they deserve it. My treat.”

Piers raised his visible eyebrow, but he nods.

It’s Leon, always perceptive, that asks: “Our siblings?”

“Yep!” Raihan looks to Bede, reaching out a hand in invitation. “Bede, can you do me a favor and be my little bro for the afternoon? Leon’s not in the league anymore, but I still have to beat him in something.”

Bede gives him a look of offended confusion. Then he looks toward Leon and Hop.

Raihan sees Hop’s face, how he wears the same expression Leon does when the sponsors force him to drink chia juice.

Raihan sees Bede’s expression change, how his frown slowly turns into a knife cat smile.

Bede nods, reaching out and holding Raihan by the wrist. “I would love to.”

They go to McDucklett’s, one of the few places where people don’t look twice at a bunch of regional celebrities sitting down to eat.

Raihan’s the only one who orders a full meal. Leon and Piers get salads, the tossers. Hop and Marnie both want kids meals, with the potential tiny plush toy of a gym leader’s signature Pokémon. And Bede…

Bede’s staring at the menu, seemingly overwhelmed by all the choices. Has he really never been in a McDucklett’s before?

Oh. No, he probably hasn’t. Between the orphanage and Rose, fast food is probably the last kind of food he’s ever had the chance to try.

“Why don’t I get you some nuggets?” Raihan suggests.

Bede nods vigorously.

Raihan orders him a kids meal as well, and quietly asks the employee for a set of utensils to go with it.

While the grownups are eating their meals, the kids start by opening their toys. Hop has a tiny version of Milo’s Appletun, while Marnie gets Melony’s Lapras. By some coincidence or luck or fairy magic, Bede’s toy is an Alcremie.

He picks it up with something like reverence, lightly tracing its frosting swirls with one finger. He looks around the table, probably trying to find someplace to set it down, then puts it in his lap.

With the toys out of the way, Bede pulls out his box of nuggets. He stares at them as though unsure how they’re supposed to be eaten.

Raihan is torn between laughing at the kid’s hesitation and feeling sorry for him. Eventually, the latter wins out.

He swallows the bite of his burger and says, “There should be a knife and fork in there if you need ‘em. I know they’ve got a weird texture, but they’re pretty good.”

Bede follows his directions, spearing a nugget and taking a delicate bite.

Hop snorts. Raihan glares at him and is gratified to see Leon is giving an identical look. Big brother instincts.

The rest of the meal passes with minimal drama. Bede seems satisfied with nuggets and apple slices. That’s good. Raihan doesn’t want to imagine what would happen if Opal found out he’d sent Bede home hungry.

After the other pairs say their goodbyes and head out, Bede turns to Raihan and asks, “Can you watch Alcremie while I wash my hands?”

“Sure.”

Bede sets the doll on a dry spot on the table. “I know your hands are greasy, so don’t touch her. Just make sure nobody else takes her.”

“I got it, don’t worry.”

Bede heads to the restroom. Raihan examines the toy Alcremie, leaning in close to look in its sewn-on eyes.

“Is this what you wanted, Opal?” he asks. “Am I doing well?”

The Alcremie only stares back. It has a knowing smile on its face.

When Bede comes back, he insists that Raihan wash his hands, too. Raihan thought it was a euphemism, but no, apparently the kid really doesn’t like the idea of greasy fingers.

After that, he’s ready to go home. Raihan offers to at least walk him back to the station. Bede accepts without protest.

It’s when they’re halfway there that he says, with forced aloofness, “I know you’re only doing all of this because Opal told you to.”

“What?”

“Don’t lie to me. She told you I needed a big brother, right? She told me the same thing. Well, I don’t need anybody. I’m a gym leader now. I’ll be fine even when Opal… even when she d…”

And, oh shit, that is not something Raihan even thought of when wondering why Opal would ask him for this. He’s stunned speechless for a moment, mouth opening and closing as he tries to say something reassuring but not patronizing.

At last he says, “I mean… even if she did ask me, I asked you along ‘cause I wanted to. You’re going to be around for a while, right? It’s just smart to try to get on your good side.”

Bede doesn’t say anything to that.

Raihan continues: “And if I may — I gotta say, I see a lot of myself in you. The elite gym leader who rivals the champion? That’s been my life since I was sixteen. If there’s anyone who’ll beat Gloria, it’ll be you.”

He knows the counter the moment he says it, already imagining Bede saying the way you beat Leon? with a sneer on his face.

But to his surprise, Bede does not say that. He only tilts his head, his expression somewhere between flattered and confused.

Then he says, “If you want to stay on my ‘good side,’ you should take me to McDucklett’s again sometime.”

When they reach Ballonlea, Opal is waiting. She greets them with a smile, one long-nailed finger beckoning them in.

#ICYDNMSF #raihan pokemon #bede pokemon #opal pokemon

21 notes · View notes

vmheadquarters · 4 years

Text

We’re still playing our game of written hot potato! Dozens of your favorite authors are taking turns to tell a Veronica Mars mystery story. Each writer crafts their chapter and then “tosses” the story to the next person to continue the tale. No one knows what will happen, so expect the unexpected!

Follow the “vmhq presents” and “murder we wrote” tags for all the installments, or read the story as it develops on AO3. --Chapter Twenty of MURDER, WE WROTE is written by @beezlebobble. And stayed tuned next week for Ch.21 from @DRiver2u - tag, you’re it!

—————————————————————————————————— CHAPTER TWENTY by @beezlebobble a/k/a orionseyes

“Wallace!” Veronica exclaimed as she hobbled as quickly as possible, clutching Logan’s arm. Logan dropped her hand as he raced over to the staircase to bend down and check Wallace’s pulse. As Veronica finally neared, he helped her clumsily and painfully crouch down to check on any other injuries Wallace might have. The rest of the group huddled around a very still Wallace.

“He’s alive! But we’ll have to wait to find out if he’s broken anything. I don’t see signs of broken bones, but he must have hit his head and back pretty hard coming down that slide.”

“Looks like a wild ride. Wallace was Slip, Sliding, Away…Slip, Sliding, Away…” Dick crooned as Veronica reached out and smacked his nearest limb hard, which happened to be his leg.

And slide it was. What had been previously a normal, albeit ornately fussy, wood-paneled staircase, was now a long, slick, wooden slide. The steps had collapsed like a funhouse trick and Wallace had been taken completely by surprise.

“Dick, how can you?! Someone’s trying to kill us! And I might be next. They know I’m wearing my Louboutins and I can’t outrun them or walk in the snow! Anyway, they would get totally ruined. Oh God, I almost went upstairs to get something out of my bag, that could have been me! Walter’s unconscious, but I might have been killed!” Gia wailed as she turned and cast herself dramatically into a nearby Luke’s arms. He patted her back ineffectually while Susan and Carrie simultaneously rolled their eyes. They caught each other and started to giggle. Alexis sighed and clutched arms around her middle as she looked down on Wallace’s still form. Duncan and Cole hovered behind Susan and Carrie with concerned looks on their faces.

“For the last time you idiots, his name is Wallace! Veronica shouted. She glanced around the room and rubbed her chin, “This seemingly-luxurious mansion appears to have a ridiculous number of secret rooms and hidden mechanisms, like it was built for the stage or as a movie set. I think we need to figure out what exactly this house is, who owns it, and see if anyone can recall its history.” Veronica had that steely, intent investigator’s look in her eye that made Logan equal parts impressed and aroused. He reached out and pushed a wild lock of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear.

“Baby, this is why I love you. There isn’t a challenge you won’t face.” He stood up briskly and brushed his hands on his jeans. He then reached out a warm hand to help her rise to her shaky feet.

She gladly took it. It was a solid comfort and she realized that she looked forward to Logan actually being her partner in the future. “At some point, sweetheart, you’re going to have to find me something I can use as a cane. I’m not built for resting. Us Mars’ are hardy, peasant stock, not made for swanning on some low-slung couch like Gloria Swanson. Girls like me gotta give birth in the cornfields and get back to milking the cattle, you know.”

Logan grinned and bent down to sweep her off her feet. “Honey, you need to sit still for at least fifteen minutes while we gather our collective wits and sort this out. Let Daddy Logan make you nice and comfortable.” He carried her carefully back to the living area and deposited her on the plush, heavily upholstered sofa which had been moved aside for the mattresses.

“Hey Casey, you and Dick grab Wallace and move him out here. Lay him out on the mattress by the dining table and we’ll get to business,” Logan directed as he grabbed a blanket to lay over Veronica’s lap. “Wait here a second.” He got up and left the room. A minute later he returned hoisting a leather tufted ottoman that had been in the library.

“In case you want to move around and keep that foot elevated.” Veronica cupped his face and gave him a quick, tender kiss. She’d missed how much he was always taking care of her.

“OK, everyone, gather round! Mother Goose has some stories for you kiddies. First, let’s figure out this house situation. Has anyone heard of this house, been at this house, or known anyone else who has? You’re all Richie Riches, surely, some of you must have visited or heard something.”

“I have never heard of this place, and please don’t call me Shirley,” Dick piped up. Logan reached over and slapped him on the side of his head. “Ow, man, why did you smack me so hard?”

“Shut up and quit fooling around, Dick. There’s at least one dead man and multiple attempts on other people’s lives and you have to keep acting like a fucking donkey.”

Dick grumbled and plopped himself down on one of the mattresses. Everyone else had seated themselves around in a circle.

“My dad used to sail out this way sometimes, but I don’t think he landed on the island or knew the owners. I think I remember something about it being a hotel or inn?” Casey suggested.

“No, I don’t think it was a hotel. There are no exit signs, or a front desk, or a lobby. It doesn’t have that institutional, sterile feel. It feels like someone’s not-so-welcoming home,” Carrie stated. “I’m not sure if I could live here, but it looks like someone did. This island is not exactly inviting.”

“I think you’re right, but I guess it was long shot to think that any of us Southern Californians would have an idea about this place. If only we could boot up Mac’s computer or someone’s phone and try to find more info about this place.” Veronica mulled this over while she stroked the arm of the couch as she leaned back.

“If it helps, I was told that this place had been used for murder mysteries for a really long time. Like, maybe decades? That should help narrow down any search,” Mac offered.

“Did Jen know anything?” Veronica asked her.

“Maybe.” Mac shrugged. “She seemed like she had been doing this for a while, and that the house itself served that purpose for a lot of groups.”

“OK. First, we have to find Jen. For information and probably for her own safety. She might be in cahoots with the killer, or he might have already gotten to her. Regardless, she has info that we need. Second, we are partnering up if we need to leave this room, but otherwise staying put. I don’t think any of you are in cahoots with the killer, mainly because some of you are just not that clever. So that means, everyone keeps an eye on each other. We are all going to leave this island alive. Even Dick.” Dick glanced over and pointed both his pointer fingers at himself as if to say, who, me?

“We know that our suspect is a large male. He managed to drag Leo’s body in the snow to the stable. He tossed me off the balcony like a ragdoll. But it’s entirely possible that he’s just the muscle because the mastermind behind this must be our hostess!” Everyone in the circle nodded in agreement and Alexis shivered.

“The other thing we are going to do is figure out how many hidden rooms, cubbies, compartments are in this place. That means going room by room, tapping walls and pushing unusual looking panels, knots in the wood, carvings, knobs, handles, sconces, books in bookcases, and lifting statue-like things. You’ve all seen it in the movies, so use some of those as guides. I have a feeling our mastermind can’t resist watching us and is hiding somewhere in the recesses of this large, weird house.”

Logan leaned over and threw his arms around her. “My girlfriend is so smart and sexy. You all listen up. There’s no way we’re getting out without Veronica’s help.”

“Your girlfriend, huh?”

“Yup.” Logan popped his mouth to say. “The smartest, sexiest, peskiest girlfriend a lucky goofball like me could have.” He hugged her to him and kissed her firmly on her head.

“Unnnhhhh.” Everyone turned sharply around as Wallace moaned. He groaned again as he slowly sat up while clutching his head. “Oww, my head. Did the Hulk club me or something?”

Logan rushed over as Veronica looked gratefully at him. They truly were going to be a team and it made her heart almost burst to see him showing care for one of the most important people in her life.

“Now, Wallace, you need to be careful. I think you bumped your noggin pretty hard as you came sliding down.”

“Ugh, now I remember! I took the first step and the stairs just disappeared, and that was it.”

“OK, Wallace, you need to lay back down, you might have a concussion.” Logan tenderly helped Wallace lay prone as he gazed up at Logan with a bemused expression.

“Look at you, helping me. Veronica would be so proud.” He sighed and laid back as Logan covered him a soft, camel-colored throw.

“I am proud.” Veronica called out with a huge smile on her face, showing all the affection she felt for him. Logan turned towards her and grinned back. It felt so good to be in tune with each other. They were going to grow together and face whatever the fates would bring.

“I can’t stand it anymore!” Dick cried as he rushed past Casey and pushed him into Cole, who raced after him. He grabbed both handrails and yanked himself to the top of the landing. There was a cry from the next room.

“Yee-haw!” There were some squeaks and then a low rumble as Dick rolled from the base of the stairs into the living area and rose with a flourish. “Ta-da!” Casey took one look at him and took off for the stairs. The next few minutes were chock-full of sound of a flurry of idiots and donkeys racing up the slope that remained of the stairs and hurling themselves down.

“I’m hungry.” Gia whined. “I don’t want pop-tarts for dinner. I’ll just die if I don’t eat anything. My doctor says I’m anemic and should forage at least every two hours. I wonder if there’s anything paleo in this god-forsaken dump?”

“Right, we’re all hungry, but the food is being guarded by Madison's corpse. Do you really want to eat that?” Logan asked, looking around at the glum faces.

Dick chimed in. “I don’t care; if no one else does, we should go for it. Logan cooks a mean pasta. I mean, my doctor says I’m a growing boy and I gotta forage every hour.”

“But pasta is carbs!” Gia complained.

“Gia, god help me, just shut up for once. I think pasta is a safe bet and there’s probably enough down there to feed all of us.” Logan got up and pointed at Cole and Duncan. “You and you are coming with me. I’ll go into the pantry, grab supplies, and pass them to you. We all have to keep up our strength for what lies ahead.”

The three of them headed down to the basement as Veronica leaned back and sighed. This was not going to be easy. Her injury was going to make everything so much harder and really put her at a disadvantage against her two or possibly more hidden foes.

In her hideout, Della watched the screen closely and focused on Veronica. She did not trust that girl. She was always kind of skeevy. Look at the way she ordered Logan around. And he was literally waiting on her hand and foot. It really was disgusting. She would never make Logan do that. She would worship him, and cuddle him, and stroke his hair, and then make delicious pasta meals for him. Pasta, wait? That gave her an idea. She couldn’t do anything to what they were currently going to eat, but she could sneak down there after and prime some of their future meals. Hmm. This was going to be lots of fun. She had the perfect stuff to spike their food. She walked over to the small desk in the room and pulled on its only drawer. Inside was a bottle of just what the doctor ordered.

#veronica mars #veronica mars fanfic #vm fanfic #vmhq presents #murder we wrote #round robin

14 notes · View notes

papipopsicle · 5 years

Text

CLOUDS

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Teleporter!Reader

Genre: fluff, angst if you squint real hard

Summary: In which Y/N finds comfort in things, items owned by the people she trusts most. Nobody expected Bucky to be one of those people though. AU AWAY FROM IW&Endgame, ALSO THERE ARE X-MEN

Song: Clouds by BØRNS

Warnings: swearing

Words: 3K

a/n: this took me about three months to write, i’m so damn proud of it i hope you like it as much as i do!!

feedback is always appreciated

"You cold?" Tony nodded over to the figure on the plush couch. He knew it was Y/N without a second glance, of course she'd be sitting alone in the small nook to the side of the kitchen. It was the best view from the compound, she always liked to remind the team. The roof was an exception to that, she always added a beat later.

Y/N would find a way to feel freezing on the hottest day of the year, she couldn't stand the cold one bit.

It was late at night or early morning by now. Either way, the recreational floor only seemed to be inhabited at this time by those whose dreams are plagued to be nothing but a deathly desolate horror show. Tony was simply getting a glass of water for Pepper, since she argued fridge water tasted better than their bathroom tap water, though he never noticed the difference. At this point there was no use questioning it.

Y/N joined the disjointed family of broken superheroes six months ago, her existence uncovered after an operation went south and she teleported right into Iron Man's ruby red arms. He practically adopted her then and there. She kept to herself mostly, always quiet and kind whenever anyone spoke to her. Wanda sensed the torment in her mind though as soon as they met, hugging the girl tightly in comfort only to make her jump to the other side of the compound out of pure shock. Y/N couldn't remember the last time someone had touched her with such genuine compassion.

She'd become less skittish after a few months, only jumping away in truly uncomfortable moments; like when Steve walked into the med bay to find her mid-way through changing her clothes. The poor super soldier was probably more scarred from the memory than the y/h/c haired girl.

"I'm good, thanks though." Y/N responded simply, the burgundy hoodie hugging her torso feeling even softer and more comforting at the thought of being cold.

Tony lifted his head from the sink to find the scene playing out, and smiled contently as she snuggled into the plush sofa while some lighthearted sitcom played quietly in the background.

"Goodnight, Shortcut." The male called softly, knowing it was no use to corral her into bed. She'd either jump back a few seconds later when the coast was clear or find a new place to explore and settle in for the night. Y/N returned the greeting and let the scent of Tony's own aftershave lull her into a calm sleep.

"Night, Tone."

When morning finally shone through the large floor to ceiling windows, the teleporter found herself unusually warm. She let out a groggy noise resembling a grunt, and her nose was met with the delicious scent of her favourite fruit as she inhaled. Y/N blinked a few times, her hands coming into contact with the fluffy material of a cream coloured blanket before her eyes could fully focus on it.

"You were shivering, Angel. Couldn't let my favourite superhuman freeze to death." Bucky cut through her thoughts like a butterknife, Y/N's gaze tearing away from the soft fabric to find the veteran flipping pancakes nonchalantly.

His voice felt softer than usual, not blunt and sarcastic like when he'd talk to Sam or Natasha, nor did it feel natural like when it came to Steve. It was warm and raspy, not coddling and protective like Tony and Pepper's. Y/N decided she liked this and wanted to here it more.

She didn't know whether to ask for the time or how she was his 'favourite superhuman' when their conversations were less than four seconds long at best. His mellow attitude wasn't helping either and Y/N soon found her brows so furrowed they almost touched. But for some reason it put all her senses on high alert- rose tinting her cheeks at the thought of someone thinking about her in a good way with no reasoning.

She didn't really think anyone thought about her existence unless they needed something.

When she first arrived, Y/N noticed a lot of chatter behind her back. They were welcoming and made sure she was comfortable, but it was obvious they didn't trust her. She never took it to heart, they knew absolutely nothing about her. Sam had the decency to ask her everything whizzing through his mind, genuinely wanting to keep his friends safe and know if she was a threat. Maybe that's why Y/N liked him so much, he was honest but never made her nervous or self conscious.

The girl let the warmth of the blanket fall from her body as she jumped to the kitchen counter behind Bucky. He shifted at the small noise she made, sensing purple whirls of energy over his shoulder. The soldier turned with a half-smirk, holding a plate of delicious cherry pancakes out for Y/N. Bucky's smile faltered and he let out a chuckle as she continued to look down at the plate then up into his eyes in curiosity, "You see, Sweetheart- where I'm from - if someone offers you food, you take it and say thank you."

Y/N finally took the plate, not noticing Bucky's lingering gaze as he could practically hear the cogs whirring in her head, her expression adorably flustered.

"Thank you, James." She mumbled happily, head lowered to hide her pinkish cheeks. He picked her emotions up and dropped them half way between confusion and fascination.

The girl didn't grow up with parents as role models, and siblings to be friends with; she'd been genetically engineered by a small research team in Norway. Bucky didn't know much else, other than one day eight months ago the lab was attacked and Y/N escaped by jumping to New Zealand.

"How'd you know?" She asked after taming her racing heart, her hair flicking in every which direction while jumping down from the counter to retrieve cutlery. He hummed in response, showing he was listening while not wanting to take his eyes off of the newly simmering batter, "I don't think I've been able to hold a conversation long enough with you to ask an obligatory how're you, let alone tell you my favourite food."

Bucky let out a scoff and shook his head, the smile she'd given him not leaving his lips, "You have cherries with everything you can, you'd have them on a roast dinner if you could."

Y/N silently groaned to herself. Long gone was the brainwashed assassin, but years of regimented training lay etched into his mind still, of course he was more observant than most. It was the first food she found after her great escape. A cherry tree at the bottom of a fairytale garden. She didn't have the energy to find shelter after using her powers to such an extent, and so the next morning an elderly woman was given the shock of her life when she found a body sleeping under her cherry tree. Gloria, her name was, took Y/N under her wing and taught her how to act even remotely human.

Bucky stacked up his own fluffy pancakes and took to a chair at the breakfast bar, not having time to register the fast pace of his heart. While he waited for her response and began stuffing his face, Y/N furrowed her brows once again. She wasn't a soldier, that was for sure. She wore her heart on her sleeve and every emotion on her face. None of her teachers ever showed her how to hide things like that, she didn't know it was possible.

It was so easy for Bucky to tell what she was thinking; if she truly found something funny or was just laughing along to be polite. He saw the broken girl under her smile as soon as she'd arrived, but also the girl fighting to be free under that too.

"Well," Y/N shrugged as if the ex assassin hadn't just flicked through her thoughts and uncovered all her secrets, pulling a cherry stem from her mouth before pelting the small stone at the middle of his forehead, "you don't like gravy and you click your knuckles every twenty minutes, so, whose the real weirdo?"

The cherry stone hit Y/N in her cheek seconds later, "You always ask Friday to check on everyone and report back before falling asleep. If something's wrong then you stay with them until it's not anymore."

Her lips fell agape at that and blood rushed to her cheeks, "How could you possible know that? I was denied access to you by Friday."

Bucky stuffed his mouth once again with the fluffy food and watched her for a few seconds. He could stay like this forever if he was honest with himself, Y/N was extremely easy to get along with. She was innocent and all consuming to someone with as dark of a past as Bucky. Her wide eyes dug deeper into his grave, full of wonder and life and love.

"Sam and Nat don't shut up about you the next morning, apparently you know just the right thing to say to them. Plus, Steve keeps muttering about how Wanda's nearly always sleeping in because you cuddle with her."

The girl felt herself getting defensive as she pulled another cherry stem from between her teeth and launched the stone at Bucky's nose. How could he have possibly remembered this much about her? More so, why?

"She likes to be the little spoon, so what?" Y/N retorted, her head swimming in a sea of confusion.

Bucky all but beamed at her, he was enjoying this too much."You two together or something?"

"Only when she can't sleep."

It was here, both on there last pancake alone on the early spring morning, that the soldier wondered how human this girl before him truly was. She learnt social queues from a New Zealander in her eighties and a damaged band of superhumans. Had anyone even shown her kindness before now? Her bright ocean eyes and soft skin deserved love and happiness, but did she even know what they felt like?

"No-I mean are you two dating?" Bucky got up from the counter, taking both empty plates with him to the sink before Y/N appeared on the counter next to him with her usual intrigued eyes and pretty smile.

"James, women are truly beautiful creatures, but I'm not sexually attracted to them I know that much. Besides, I've never dated anyone before, not had the chance I guess." The girl shrugged, slipping off the counter and drying the dishes and cutlery Bucky had just washed up. He nodded thoughtfully at her response, taking the plates from her smaller hands and placing them back in the cupboard while she did the same with the knives and forks.

"Bucky." He said encouragingly with a warm smile gracing his features. Y/N's head perked up and it took everything in her not to jump to the opposite side of the compound as she found the most incredible thing.

The corner of James' eyes were crinkled slightly yet still shone bright, teeth creeping out just a bit as the low vibrations left his lips. She'd never felt this before, but before she could control herself she seemed to be smiling right back a the man in front of her, warmth flooding all of her senses.

"What?" She hummed happily. Suddenly, Y/N snapped out of her thoughts and took a step back. Blood rushed to her cheeks in embarrassment and she hoped to god that he hadn't noticed her staring.

If he had, he hid it well.

"You can call me Bucky, if you want." He paused and sent her the same stomach fluttering smile, "I just noticed you always call me James, everyone calls me Bucky, though."

But before she could even start to respond, Mantis and Pepper were entering the kitchen area giggling and chatting away, and Bucky felt a pulse of energy against his side, finding only purple whirls where the intriguing girl had stood seconds ago.

It wasn't until later that evening when he would find her next. She had a habit of popping up out of nowhere, even without using her powers. The team had eaten together, Scott and Clint were in charge of food tonight and it was a wonder anyone survived. But Y/N didn't show. At this point Bucky would probably admit he as a little disappointed she didn't jump in for even a few minutes, but she was probably tied up with something.

It wasn’t unusual though, he had to remind himself, Y/N didn’t always feel comfortable being around so many people, which was something Bucky understood well.

While on his walk back to his apartment, the soldier’s mind filled with beautiful images of Y/N’s elated expression, the way it contorted in confusion over the simplest act of kindness. He found it endearing, the raw innocence behind her wide eyes and bright smile warming his heart in a way he’d never felt before.

“Ow!” Y/N’s voice yelped, and Bucky blinked out of his hazy daydream, finding her smaller body sat uncomfortably on the floor before his feet. She looked up at him with that same wild yet sweet look of utter bashfulness.

“Jesus-” Bucky helped the teleporter to her feet, and he held onto her for a few moments more than necessary before letting go. He checked over her body for any signs of injury, worry flooding his features at the thought of causing her any more pain than she’d already lived through. “I’m so-so sorry, Bambi, are you okay? My mind was in the clouds I hadn’t even seen y-”

“Bambi?” Y/N questioned, seemingly not fazed by being knocked over by a very muscular super-soldier after the initial shock.

Bucky chuckled and allowed himself a second to memorise the look on her face, she was truly stunning, with dimples and mesmerising eyes. “Yeah.” He responded after a second, “It’s a Disney film about this little baby deer, you’d love it. Me and Steve saw it every chance we could back before all of this, I’d never have admitted that to a pretty girl back then though.”

“You think I’m pretty?” She gasped, choosing not to tease the two hundred pounds of muscle in front of her about his love for Disney because she physically couldn’t. Her body reacted on its own, cheeks burning and the words tumbling from her lips before she had the chance to catch them.

“Of course.” Bucky whispered matter of factly as if she was asking the easiest of questions. For him it was, they may not have had a friendship before today, and maybe it wouldn’t be friendship tomorrow, but to him she was the most stunning human this world had created.

“Of course I do.” He repeated ever so slightly louder, scared she hadn’t heard him the first time.

Y/N took his much larger flesh hand in her own, squeezing it and looking up at him with fondness and admiration etched onto her face.

“You’re pretty too, Bucky.” The girl hummed out with a shy smile, eyes now locked onto their intertwined fingers.

Bucky matched her grin, feeling the smooth skin of her hands cooling his burning palms, and it was only then that he took in how cold her body had felt when he helped her up off the ground.

“Y/N, you’re freezing.” He didn’t respond to her comment, yet kept it at the forefront of his mind because it felt important. Everything she said was important to him.

She registered his words and quickly withdrew her hand from his, shrugging her shoulders absentmindedly, “Sorry, it’s just part of me I guess, I’m fine- I should probably go.”

And just like earlier, Bucky was left with words stuck in his throat and purple tendrils of cold air curling around the space Y/N had inhabited. “Don’t apologise for being yourself.” He said into the air, shaking his head and entering his room for the night.

The teleporter’s mind was a mess of emotions and as much as she wanted to fall asleep in the comfort of the memory foam mattress Tony had supplied for her, her thoughts wouldn’t quieten. It wasn’t the usual ghosts from her past keeping her awake tonight, but the same chills greeted her body and she felt completely alone in the large dark room that was meant to bring solace to her worried head.

When the clock on her nightstand finally ticked over to two AM, she chose to go in search of Tony’s jumper she had left on the sofa last morning. Y/N jumped to the recreational level, just outside of the common area to make sure nobody was in there before she entered. After making her way over to the small nook, the blanket Bucky had lay over her was neatly folded in the corner and a smile pulled at her lips from the memory.

She hadn’t expected to see a small bundle in the opposite corner of the couch though, with a small handwritten note atop of it.

Don’t be sorry for feeling cold, I thought this might help a little though. James x

Y/N admired his script, expecting the tormented man to have scrawled writing, but instead she noticed it mirrored Steve’s. They must’ve learnt how to write together, she assumed.

She took off her own sweatshirt, pulling the soldiers top over her head and letting his scent calm her senses. It reminded her exactly of how his hand felt in hers- soothing and comforting in such an inexplicable way.

Bucky found her hours later, snuggled up on the plush sofa with his Henley practically falling off her, blanket engulfing her body as she hugged the teddy bear to her chest, blissfully unaware of how much the man wished he was holding her the same way.

#fanfic #fanfiction #bucky fandom #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes masterlist #bucky barnes imagine #bucky #bucky barnes #marvel fluff #marvel fanfic #marvel imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky imagine #bucky fluff #avengers endgame #avengers imagine #bucky x reader #bucky fanfic

236 notes · View notes

fanatic-scribe · 6 years

Text

Gasp

Chapter 2/? City Lights

Fandom: Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Word count: 1,641/5,564

Ao3: Here

Characters: Donatello (main), Everyone else are side characters.

Warnings: Not really character death, Heavy angst, Swearing, Vomiting but like not terrible.

Ch 1 / / Ch2 / /

Summary:

“'Twas a light that made darkness itself appear a thing of comfort.”

-Robert Southey

A/N: So really this wasn’t supposed to be a long fic but now I’m super inspired and planning to make so much more. A lot of the following fics will be Donnie’s recovery and everyone emotionally dealing with what has happened.

This work will be tagged with #gasp rottmnt

Mumbling. There was mumbling. Something is pressing on me. A pounding pressure. I am sore. I wanted them to stop. It hurts.

The pressing stops. The mumbling stops.

There was pressure on my face.

The pressure on my chest is back. It still hurts. Pushing and pushing. The mumbling is back but it’s louder now. Wait, that’s not mumbling. It’s a beat and a voice. Two voices, a high voice and a low voice. It stops again.

Pressure on my face again. No it's my lips.

The pumping is back, and the voices. If the agonizing pumping on my chest would stop I could hear the voices. Both of them. Donatello’s eyes slowly started to lull open, his vision blurry. He blinked his tired eyes and tried to focus.

“Msfdlakjfdls Go sakljdf Go. Wakldfj door. Just asfjkl now. Cause your not welcome anymore.” Wait a second. “Weren’t you the one who tried to break me with goodbyes.” Is that I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor?

Suddenly there was a lurching feeling deep in his chest, his eyes shot wide open as he turned to the side and start to cough. Water spilled from his lungs with every hacks and gags only managing small gasps between. Desperately his lunged twitched for air, only to cramp further expelling more liquid from, it burned and scratched at his throat. For a brief moment his chest rested before his lungs took in desperate rasps of air his convulsing throat making it hard to take a real breath. Hoping that was the end of it Donatello moved stone like limbs under him an managed to get to his elbows and knees. Then there was a familiar tightness and churning in his stomach, he shook knowing there was nothing he could do to stop this. A burning torrent of water poured from his mouth in in heaves, with each pull on his stomach the water lessoned and lessoned as it clawed passed is already raw throat. With his last heave a small amounts of blood joined the water and that night's dinner in the muddy grass under him, probably nothing. His body felt heavy and weak, he could feel his arms tremble as they tried to support his weight.

Now that Donatello had expelled the entirety of his stomach he began to fall into a harsh and unforgiving coughing fit. The exertion of his coughing and slight gasps between heaves forcing hot tears to stream down his face, even through tightly closed eyes. He crouched there cough, there was a deafening ringing in his head but he could still hear muffled shouts exclaiming, 'Donnie was ok.' Even while muffled Donatello could hear the sighs of ease and what he could only imagine were words of comfort. Eventually the coughing subsided but not without leaving his cheeks wet from tears. Finally, he took in greedy gulps filling his sore and desperate lungs with oxygen rich air. As he exhaled his first breath, the fresh air seemed to touched every nerve, muscle and bone gradually lifting the weights off his body and mind. Steadily, while taking slow, deep breaths, Donatello started to open his tear stung eyes, he blinked past the blurriness and tried to focus on the shapes around him.

Donatello reached a shaky hand to his eyes and attempting to gently rub out the haze, his mask was gone, as his vision cleared Raphael and April were first in his sight. April was kneeling a small distance away just in front of him, her hands covered her mouth and caught tears as they fell from her lashes, her shoulder's quaking. Raphael stayed sitting on his knees next to Donatello, his brother’s hand had already started rubbing his back calmingly, his own tears spilled from his eyes. Only then did Donatello notice he wasn't wearing his battle shell anymore, for a moment he wondered where it was and if they broke it trying to dislodge it. But only for a moment, he decided that it didn't really matter.

With shaky slow movements Donatello lifted himself up to sit on his knees, he did end up getting a little help from Raphael saw Leonardo was standing some distance away holding Michelangelo tightly and gaping at him. The two brother's made eye contact in the, Leonardo still had the after affect of despair on his being replaced slowly by a smile. Letting his arms loosening their hold on the orange clad turtle. Michelangelo, who seemed to be hyperventilating into his brother’s chest, shakily turned to look at his brother. He still seemed to be sniffing trying to stop the sobs from rolling over him as he gawked at Donatello. All of them looked bloody and battle bruised but they were alive. He was alive.

Everyone stood frozen in place, like statues in a museum. They just watched ad Donatello examined everyone his heavy breaths and Michelagelo's sniffing were the only noise as everyone waited for a sign move. “Leo.” Donatello said in a rough voice followed by a series of dull coughs, and gasps. Leonardo straighten up with worry as he watched his brother breath slowly and then swallow hard and looked back up at the red ear, “I've decided that we can call them spider monkeys. If you want. I don’t care.”

“You dumbass.” In a second Leonardo had raced over his brother and pulled him into a hug, careful not to hurt him, “You fucking died!" He clung desperately to his brother, "You died and that’s your big, ‘Back From The Other Side’ line?” He chuckled, "Lame." Donatello couldn’t see his face but he could hear the tears in his voice Leonardo tightened his hug only slightly. Seconds later Raphael had joined with a gentle bear hug, loudly declaring his love through streaming tears.

“You had us really worried Donnie.” His voice a trembling whisper, "I really thought I lost you there."

Donatello opened his mouth to respond but then the whole group was tackled by Michelangelo, tears already streaming down his face. He was babbling something incoherent passed his sobs, something about a song or something. Donatello had no idea what he was saying but just pulled him in closer, "It's ok Mikey. I'm fine." Michelangelo nodded trying to calm his breaths as he squeezed Donatello and Leonardo tighter. April also joined in rather slowly, finding a spot on Donatello's side between Raphael and Michelangelo. She had a smile on her face but her body was trembling, Donatello reached an arm around her to pull her closer and followed by Raphael's arms she was fully enveloped in the hug. Donatello's body was tender and sore while surrounded by everyone but he wanted them close.

"Alright time to call it." Raphael was the first to pull away encouraging everyone else to move, "We have to get back to the lair quickly."

"Yeah," Donatello agreed breathing a sigh of relief now that everyone was off him, "I need to start figuring out how I'm going to get my-"

"You are going to go home, wrap your leg and rest." Raphael said rigidly. As much as Donatello wanted to fight him on that he knew rest was a must after what he went through, he agreed. Everyone slowly pulled away, sniffing and wiping their noses. Despite his request to walk Donatello was just too weak to walk considering April and Raphael had to pull him back from death’s door, plush with his leg injury he was pretty much down for the count. Raphael ended up deciding the best option was for him to carry Donatello back to the lair. Leonardo stood beside him dragging the remains of Donatello's battle shell and tech gauntlet behind him, Donatello could see that the latches had ripped apart to get the shell of of him, most likely Raphael's doing.

He didn't care.

"Hey guys." He said past a his almost lacerated throat, everyone stopping to look at him, "I love you guys." He swallowed thickly, "I love you all." There was a slight pause before they all responded in unison,

"I love you too Don."

"Love ya' too D."

"I," Sniff. "I love you too bro."

"I also love me." Chuckle. "I love you too, twinzy."

As they walked away from the water Donatello couldn’t help but to look back at the water. It’s black swirling currents had nearly pulled him away, and it was nothing to the void of the water. It had almost swallowed him whole without even fighting. He looked down at his wrist, stilled chemically burnt and small cuts all caused by his fool proof, reliable tech. All his hard work to make it perfect, only for a few minor setback to almost turn into a lethal accident. He use to trusted his tech. Donatello swallowed against his scratched throat, a chill going through his spine at the thought of it all. He is alive. He is here. That is what matters.

Still as his eyes wondered the water and the bridge, his head was light and arched, his whole body burned at every nerve. His eyes landed on the lights of New York, the blindingly bright lights each stream of them was sharp enough to cut his eyes. Donatello closed his eyes and looked away because his head was starting to pound behind his eyes, everything was too loud and to harsh on his still spinning mind. Slowly he opened his eyes to look up, dark clouds streaked the dark night sky, the glow of the light pollution blocking out any and all stars. Only plane and helicopters lit up the endless black of the sky, with not even a single speck of star light it was a stretch to call it a 'night sky.' It was a dull and boring sight.

Nothing compared to the view from underwater.

#gasp rottmnt #tmnt #donatello #donnie #donatello 2018 #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles fanfic #rise of the tmnt fanfic

10 notes · View notes