#suddenly they were all gone and i was like. my sandwich still has like 20 mins 💔

[risaonda]

GEHEHEHEHE

[hihomeghere]

Meet The Family: Part of the Tesoro Series

Five Hargreeves / F!Reader

Word Count : 3k Summary : Five finds a way to return to 2019, you both break your contract with the commission and you meet your in-laws for the first time. Aged up!Five, reader has the ability to shapeshift. Fluff with a lil bit of angst if you squint. ( I do not own the umbrella academy or any of it's characters ) Warnings : Cursing, drinking, allusions to sex, talking about death

“Do you trust me?” Five asked, both of you standing on the grassy knoll. You nodded, staring into his eyes.

“Of course I do.” He wet his lips nervously, looking around. 

“Okay,” he said, wiping his hands off on his pants. You grabbed his hand squeezing it.

“Hey,” he turned to look at you, “whatever happens we face it together, okay?” You squeezed his hand again, giving him a small smile. He nodded, returning the smile. Although his didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Hold onto me, okay?” He said holding your eye contact. You nodded, grabbing his bicep, gripping his gray coat sleeve. It definitely was a struggle, but slowly the blue portal opened. The wind whipped your hair in front of your face, Five’s yells grew louder. Suddenly his hands passed through the blue, with you following behind him. You felt your body warp as you pushed through. It was similar to changing, but your body wasn’t changing outwards, it felt like it was being turned in on yourself.

And then you were falling, fortunately for you, and unfortunately for Five, he broke your fall. You both groaned as you rolled off of him onto the wet pavement. You took in deep gasps of air, your hand coming to your chest as you closed your eyes. Tiny pebbles rubbed against your hands, getting stuck under your fingernails. You heard Five shuffle next to you, his feet scraping on the pavement as he stood up.

“Shit,” you snapped your eyes open, why did he sound so different? You gasped as your eyes fell on your husband. He was young, younger than when you had first met him. Early 20s, maybe? 

“Does anyone else see Number Five and some girl or is that just me?” A man’s voice said. You looked up staring at a group of people you quickly deciphered as Five’s siblings. You looked down at yourself, your hands were still scarred, but they looked fresh. Like they had looked when you first escaped the lab, you shook your head. If Five was younger, then that meant you must be too. You felt your face, the wrinkles around your eyes were gone. You were young again. 

“What’s the date? The exact date?” Five said walking around the kitchen. You felt yourself shrink under his siblings' gaze. Mainly Klaus who seemed enamored by you. You had already caught his gaze once and he had given you a strange little wave while criss crossed on the table. If he moved his knee the wrong way you were sure you would get to see a bit more than you wanted to of your new in-laws. 

“The 24th.” Vanya said, still in disbelief.

“Of what?” Five asked exasperated.

“Of March?” She said her eyes never leaving Five.

“Good.” He continued making his peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich. 

“So are we gonna talk about what just happened?” Luther spoke up, eyeing you warily, “And who the hell is this?” He whispered, leaning closer to Five. Five continued making his sandwich, refusing to meet Luther’s eyes.

“This is Y/n, my wife.” He said as though it was an obvious observation.

“Your wife?” Alison said, her head snapping to look at you.

“How’d you land her? Did you kidnap her?” Klaus snorted looking between you and Five. You smiled, looking down at your lap.

“We have bigger problems than Five’s girlfriend at the moment. It’s been 17 years!” Luther said standing up, Five scoffed turning to face him.

“It’s been a lot longer than that.” He said before he blinked behind him. “And she’s my wife, you’ll treat her as such, got it?” He said over his shoulder. 

“I haven’t missed that.” Luther sighed, staring forward where Five once was. You looked at all the siblings. Vanya was the closest to you, she seemed timid. Alison was next, standing up with her arms crossed. Then Klaus, and Diego, who was staring daggers at you at the moment before he turned his gaze to Five.

“Where’d you go?” Diego asked, his eyes returning to you. You gulped, returning your gaze to your hands. 

“The future. It’s shit by the way.” Five said grabbing marshmallows and blinking back to the table.

“Called it!” Klaus said, raising a finger.

“I should have listened to the old man.” Five sighed moving around the kitchen like he hadn’t been gone for more than a day. “You know jumping around space is one thing.” He opened the fridge door looking inside, “jumping through time is a toss of the dice.” He stood at the head of the table. “Nice dress.” He said, looking Klaus over.

“Oh, well danke!” Klaus smiled before Vanya cut him off.

“Wait, how did you get back?” She asked, putting her hands up, unable to comprehend Five’s nonchalant attitude.

“In the end I had to project my consciousness forward into a quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time.”

“That makes no sense.” Diego mumbled looking at the tile floor, “how did she get through.” His eyes flicked up toward you. You felt your face heat up, and you turned to look at Five.

“I opened the portal allowing her to follow, and it would make sense if you were smarter.” Diego jumped up, only being held back by Luther.

“How long were you there?” Luther asked.

“Forty five years. Give or take. Including my time spent at our old job.” The commission. You felt your blood run cold, how could you have forgotten? Did they already have a team out looking for you? Working long enough for the Handler you knew the workings of her mind. She could never get over the fact that you and Five were together. Call it jealousy, or call it the inability to completely control someone. You weren’t stupid, you saw how she looked at Five, it made your blood boil. She wouldn’t kill him, he was too valuable to her, you on the other hand were good as dead. 

“So what are you saying? You’re 58?” Luther asked, all his siblings having the same confused expression on their face.

“No, my consciousness is 58.” He said before putting a slice of bread over his sandwich monstrosity. “Apparently my body is now 20 again.”

“Wait, how does that even work?” Vanya asked, shaking her head. Five took a bite of his sandwich before turning back to you. He picked up the newspaper sitting on top of the table.

“Guess we missed the funeral.” He said, no discernible tone in his voice.

“How’d you know about that?” Luther asked his eyes never leaving Five.

“What part of the future do you not understand?” Five said furrowing his brows. You looked up, Alison was looking at you this time. She offered you a small smile which you returned. Although it felt more like a grimace.

“Heart failure, huh?”

“Yeah.” Diego said before being cut off by Luther.

“No.” Five clicked his tongue walking over to you.

“Nice to see nothings changed.” He said before turning to you. His cold fingers brushed against your arm, his brows furrowed seemingly deep in thought. He grabbed your hand leading you out of the kitchen.

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Alison asked, throwing her hands up in the air. As Five pulled you after him.

“What else is there to say? The circle of life.” He said looking over his shoulder.

-

“Five come to bed.” You said leaning on the spare bedroom door. You pulled your robe tighter around your body crossing your arms. Five stood in front of his whiteboard, equation after equation covering the board. He hadn’t even changed out of his work clothes yet. His tie hung loosely around his neck, you could just imagine how he had been pulling at it. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his top two buttons were unbuttoned.

“In a minute, dearest.” He waved at you, his face never leaving the board. You sighed walking up behind him, wrapping your arms around him. You laid your head against his back, moving with him every time he leaned forward to change something. The only sound in the room was his heart against your ear and the squeak of the pen. 

“Five,” you whined. He sighed, setting his pen down. He held your hands against his stomach.

“Yes tesoro?” He turned, moving you so you were standing in front of him. 

“I’m tired.”

“Then go to bed.” He said as though talking to a small child. You rolled your eyes, giving him a look. He smiled before kissing your head. His mustache bristled against your forehead.

“Not without you.” If he wanted to treat you like a child, fine. You stared up at him through your eyelashes, your lower lip jutting out. 

“Now that’s not fair.” He scolded, a smile on his face. You laughed breaking your pout, you took his hands leading him out of the room.

“Come on Mr. Hargreeves,” you cooed a smirk on your lips. He tried to glare at you, but slowly a smile crept on his face. 

“What will you give me, Mrs. Hargreeves?” He teased his hands finding the tie to your robe.

“Guess you’ll have to find out.” You leaned forward whispering against the shell of his ear. He chuckled lowly, letting you pull him into your shared bedroom

-

He blinked you both up into his old bedroom. You sat on his bed staring at your hands. He opened up his closet, muttering under his breath.

“Well, the first meeting with the in-laws wasn’t too bad.” You said watching his back.

“Mm.” He grumbled, rifling through the closet.

“Are you okay?” You asked, sliding off his bed to your feet.

“No!” He snapped, turning to look at you, “We’re stuck in these bodies! The world is about to end and I have no idea what to do!” He yelled, running a hand through his hair.

“Hey, it’s okay, we’ll figure it out, we always do.” You soothed approaching him like a cornered animal.

“Yeah, how'd that work the last time?” He scoffed a sarcastic smile on his face. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You asked, crossing your arms.

“It was the decimal! If I had had time to look over my equations I would have seen it.” He seethed, you recoiled.

“Are you saying this is my fault?” You furrowed your brows.

“Yes!” He threw his hands up, “If you wouldn’t have bothered me, we wouldn’t be in this situation!” He snarled his finger in your face. You grit your teeth, trying to keep your cool. 

“Obviously you need some time by yourself.” You said coolly, walking away from him.

“Fucking finally.” He scoffed, shaking his head as you slammed the door behind you.

-

You flew down the stairs, all but running into Vanya.

“Oh,” you said as you bumped into her, almost losing your balance, “sorry.” 

“It’s ok.” She says, “Are you ok?” She asks. You bite your lip, looking behind you.

“No.” You answer honestly, crossing your arms, “Your stupid brother is the biggest asshole I know.” You huffed.

“Yeah,” She smiled, chuckling slightly, “he can be a real pain the the ass.” You smiled looking back at her. You fell into an uncomfortable silence, before she said. “But he seems to really love you.” She gives you a smile.

“Well he’s got a funny way of showing it.” You shake your head.

“Five has never been the most emotionally mature person,” she chuckles, crossing her arms, “but none of us are, you saw that earlier.” You admired her honesty. 

“I appreciate it, Vanya.” You smiled, touching her arm.

“Listen, if you want to take the edge off, dads liquor cabinet is that way.” She points towards a room off the atrium.

“Thank you, I might take you up on that offer.” You nod heading that way, “see you around.” 

She smiles and nods as you walk into the living room. 

You groan, immediately face to face with a large oil painting of your husband.

“Yeah I feel that way about my siblings more often than not.” Klaus says stretching on the couch. You jump, your hand coming to your heart. “Oh woah!” He sits up looking at you. “Your hair! How did you do that!” He smirks pointing to his own head.

You smile softly, changing your hair back to your normal color.

“I was genetically altered as a kid.” You say looking back at the smug smile of your husband.

“Dang, heavy stuff.” He says leaning back on the plush couch. “Want to get drunk?” He asks with a grin spreading across his face.

“Hell yes.” You laugh, turning to look at him. He jumps up clapping his hands together.

“Great! I was looking for an excuse to get into the old man’s alcohol.” He moves to the bar, every movement he makes is extremely fluid. Like he’s floating everywhere. You walk up to the bar, sitting on one of the stools. “Now hang on, missy,” he says, holding out a finger towards you, “are you old enough to drink? Let me see your ID.” You laugh, shaking your head.

“Technically I’m 45,” you say a grin working its way onto your face, “and I don’t have an ID.”

“No way.” Klaus says leaning forward on the bar, his hands clasped together. “You, 45? What’s your secret?”

You giggle, shaking your head, “A time traveling husband helps.” You shrug.

“Hmm, guess I need to find me one of those,” he muses as he hands you a glass. You study the glass in your hands, watching the golden liquid swirl inside.

“So how long have you been with Five?” He asks, swirling the alcohol in his glass before downing it.

“Um,” you hum looking up, “about 25 years, we’ve been married for 21.” You sip the alcohol, it’s good, maybe a brandy?

“Jeez, you stuck with that old geezer for 21 years? More than any of us.” He says, chuckling to himself. You nod, your lips forming a tight line.

“Yep.” You tense your jaw, downing whatever is left in your glass. Grimacing as the alcohol burns your throat.

“Enough about Five.” Klaus says, “Tell me about you, Mrs. Hargreeves, I mean I would be an awful brother-in-law if I didn’t know anything about my new sister.” He grins walking around the bar to sit next to you on a stool.

“I’m really not that special,” you chuckle, setting your glass down on the bar top.

“Mrs. I change my hair color when I’m surprised, isn't special?” He asks tilting his head, “What, did Five tell you that?” His brows furrowed as he recoiled.

“No, no he would never say that.” You wave him off. 

“Well what else can you do missy?” He asked, leaning forward, a smirk pulling at his lips.

“Well, I can change my appearance to look like anyone I want. As long as I know what they look like.” You shrugged.

“Ooh! Do me! Do me!” He says, patting your arm excitedly. You smile before turning to face him.

He tried to stay still but his leg continues to bounce. You look him over once before you feel your body stretch. Your hair changes to a short curly brown, tattoos adorn your skin. Klaus’s grin grows by the minute.

“Holy smokes!” He exclaims looking at you, “Am I really that good looking?” You burst out laughing, maybe it was the brandy, maybe you were just having fun for the first time in a long time. 

You change back into yourself, wincing as your head throbs slightly. 

“Can I ask you a personal question?” He leans forward lowering his voice slightly.

“Klaus, I think every question you’ve asked me so far has been personal.”

“Have you ever,” he wiggles his eyebrows, “you know, changed in the bedroom?” You pull a grin on your face.

“Klaus!” You blush, feeling your cheeks heat up.

“Well? Have you?” He pushes his voice higher than before.

“No! Never!” You say waving him off.

“Oh come on! You don’t have to lie to me!” He pleads his hand resting on your arm.

“And I’m telling you Klaus, I’ve never changed during sex!” You whisper covering his hand with your own.

“Fine! Fine.” He says pulling away, “but if I find out you’re lying there will be hell to pay young lady!” He scolds half heartedly, you shake your head, a smile on your face.

“Yes sir.” 

“Y/n?” Five stands in the doorway, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Klaus groans, throwing his head back.

“What do you want?” He asks glaring at him.

FIve ignores his brother, he adjusts his jacket looking up at you.

“Can we talk?” He pleads, walking toward you. You let out a sigh and nod. 

“Yeah I’m going, I’m going.” Klaus says waving to the air, as if someone only he could see was pestering him. Once he’s past Five he turns flipping him off. You snicker, looking down at your feet. Five sits next to you at the bar, he reaches for you, taking your hand. You don’t pull away which he takes as a good sign.

You wait for him to talk, feeling his warm hand in yours. If you were anything, you were patient. Especially when Five came crawling to you on his knees.

“I’m an asshole.” 

“Yep.” You say nonchalantly.

“I shouldn't have snapped at you, I just-“ he sighed, shaking his head, “I just screwed this whole thing up. I missed the decimal and changed our bodies forever.” He looked at your glass, avoiding your gaze.

“Hey,” you said, reaching out and turning his head to look at you, “I’m not mad at you for what happened. This-,” you motioned to yourself “I took this risk, and I’d do it all over again.” You reached up holding his face in your hands.. He leaned into your touch, his own hand coming up to caress yours.

“What did I do to deserve you?” He asked, shaking his head. 

“Beats me.” You laughed, he rolled his eyes lightly shoving you. You smirked, pulling him closer, kissing him. He hummed smiling into the kiss, his hand wrapped around your waist. You cupped his cheek, rubbing your thumb over his jaw. You weren’t lying when you said it didn’t matter what happened, as long as you had Five next to you, you would be just fine.

[blizzard202]

Standing Still - Reuploaded to Tumblr: Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapter One - Archie

It feels like only moments ago when Archie and Ashton Larkson’s parents passed. The two children never received the details on how it happened. The police never care enough about anything when it comes to poor people. And just like that the 15 and 13 year old boys were kicked to the streets. All they can do to get by now is beg and steal.

4 years later, it’s late, Archie knows that as he’s dragged by his brother through the streets. All he can register is that his brother has stolen a loaf of bread and now they’re being chased by around eight scary-looking men. 

“Get back here, you rat-bastards!” One of them shouts. Archie’s feet drag against the cobblestone and ache terribly. Shops and people fly by in a blur. He thinks he can feel tears sting at his eyes, but he fights them back. Don’t be a sissy. Ashton’s voice echoes in his mind.

They turn a few corners. He can hear his brother swear under his breath. The grip on his wrist disappears before… he hits the ground. Hard. There’s a sharp, ringing pain in his head. He blinks up at the scary men. They grab his arms, though a few others continue to chase Ashton. Before Archie can do anything, his vision fades to black.

When Archie wakes, he’s in some sort of cell. Alone. Everything aches. He can feel dried, crusty blood on the back of his neck, on his shoulders and clothes and… where is he? He shivers. It’s cold. His stomach grumbles madly. How long has it been since he’s eaten? How long was he knocked out for? His head hurts. Everything does.

He looks around once more. There doesn’t seem to be a way out. There’s no toilet. He thinks he can see something move in the shadows. Archie inches towards whatever it is. It is, in fact, a rat. He lets out a yelp and it immediately scurries back off into the shadows. 

All Archie can do is tuck himself into the corner of this cold, dark room, curl up on his side like a dog and close his eyes. He fights back tears. What did I do wrong? Why did all of this have to happen? First ma and pa are gone and now… Archie doesn’t fall asleep for a long, long time. When he does, it’s a light, dreamless sleep, often interrupted by the scurrying of rats or the footsteps of more scary men like the ones that took him here. But he sleeps. Barely.

Chapter Two - Raymond

Raymond is sitting in the break room of his job, eating his dinner. He works as a cleaner at a tailor’s shop down the street from Jacobi’s Deli, where he bought a ham sandwich with the 3 cents he made on his job that day. Almost 9:00. He thinks, glancing at the clock on the wall every couple of seconds. 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2… He springs up from his seat, locks up the doors of the shop, and makes his way down the road, dodging carriages and newsboys walking back to their lodging houses. He accidentally nicks a kid’s hat off when shooting his wrapper into the garbage can.

“Ay’ whaddya think you’re doin’?” The kid seems much too old to be a newsie, probably in his 20s at that point. “Look, I’m sorry, you don’t gotta make a big deal about it.” Raymond says. The new face is slightly shorter than him, red hair, he looks tougher than Raymond though. “It is MY first day on my job wit’ The Bronx newsies, and I don’t need you ruinin’ it, dipwad!” The guy takes a swing, Raymond dodges and trips him, making him fall flat on his back. He starts running. Wasn’t planning on dyin’ today. 

Raymond looks back to see that he isn’t being chased, but he doesn’t look where he’s going, and bumps into an old woman, knocking her over. Luckily, he catches her and puts her back on her feet. “Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! Are you alright ma’am?” “Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking. I know it was an accident, it’s ok, things happen.” The two chat for a bit, then go their separate ways. That could’ve been way worse. 

Suddenly, a man dressed in clothes not seeming to fit the streets of Manhattan. “Excuse me child, do you not see what you just did?” The mysterious man asked. “Yes? I was runnin’ too fast and I accidentally bumped into a lady. Luckily I picked her up before she could hit the ground! She’s alright, I made sure-” “That isn’t what I saw.” The man tells Raymond. “Whaddya mean?” Raymond asks. “What I think just happened was an attempted murder. Don’t you know how old that woman is? If she hit the ground, she would have perished the second she came face-to-face with that concrete. Luckily, you noticed that people were around, and played it off as some kind of accident.” “What? You’re bein’ ridiculous! Why would I try to kill some poor old lady?” Raymond is flabbergasted, confused about what is entering his ears. “I don’t know, why would you? OFFICERS! TAKE HIM AWAY!”

“What? What are you doin’!? I- Get offa me! Stop! I didn’t do nothin’!” 

“Exactly kid. You didn’t do nothing, a double negative.” 

“What did I do to you to deserve this? Why are you being so mean?!” 

“Because I can. Wow! Two new inmates in one hour! We’re going to have a drink tonight boys!”

Great. Now I’m gonna rot in a cell because some ass thinks that capturing kids to put in your jail is just a fun game. He sits in a holding cell, feeling hopeless, until he looks to his side, and spots something in the corner. Another boy, about his age, maybe a year younger, curled up. He’s asleep. His curly, copper hair is tainted with a bit of blood, and there’s a small sort of gash in his head that’s barely visible through the thick curls.

Chapter Three - Archie

When Archie wakes again, a pair of dark eyes are peering back at him. He uncurls himself and presses against the cold wall of the strange, small room. The dull ache in his head is still there. His eyes take a moment to focus on the other boy. 

“Wha… who?” Archie’s speech is barely comprehensible as he slowly regains his senses. The other boy greets him.

“Hello? Are you ok?” The brown-haired boy’s concerned voice rings through the small room. It takes a few moments for Archie to even register what he said.

“I’m.. fine. Who- Who are you?” Archie tilts his head slightly and squints. It occurs to him that maybe he should introduce himself. 

Be polite, like Ma always said. “I’m Archie.” He offers a small, weak smile in an attempt to come off as friendly despite his situation.

The other boy blinks. “My name’s Raymond. You in here for somethin’ stupid too?” 

Archie winces. Something stupid? Sort of. He’d have to explain everything to this stranger, and from experience Archie knows it’s hard for him to stop talking once he starts. It’d be embarrassing to just spill his guts right here.

Don’t overthink. “Yeah, I guess so… do ya know where ‘here’ is?” Archie’s voice waivers a bit more than he’d prefer. He doesn’t want to seem weak. Raymond glances around.

“Seems like a prison? Dunno. I didn’t do anythin’ besides bump inta an old lady.” Raymond’s eyes land on the blood. 

“Are you ok? You’re definitely hurt… C’mere.” Archie hesitates before inching closer. Raymond pulls him the rest of the way and uses a hand to tilt Archie’s head downwards and to the side. It’s an awkward but not uncomfortable angle.

Raymond lets out a concerned “hm,” Archie can feel gentle fingers against his hair, seemingly clearing the way so his wound is more visible. Raymond’s fingers graze the raw, injured skin, which prompts Archie to suck in a sharp breath. He hasn’t been treated so gently since… well, since before his parents died. He’d received no such treatment from his brother.

Archie finds himself so lost in his thoughts that when Raymond pulls away, he takes a moment to open his eyes. He hadn’t even realized they were closed in the first place. 

“How bad does it hurt?” Raymond asks. It takes a short moment for Archie to reply. 

“Not… horribly? I’m bad with words. It’s like background noise but pain. Background pain.” Raymond laughs wryly, though he still looks concerned.

“What if you have a concussion or somethin’?” Ashton would have replied with a snarky, sarcastic reply. Archie doesn’t want to be like his brother, he’s realized that now. 

“I’m not sure… I’ll be fine, though. Uhm.. are you hurt at all?” Archie tilts his head. His eyes gleam with concern.

Raymond shakes his head. “I’m ok.” Archie is thankful Raymond hasn’t asked anything more about how he got here. As much as Archie would like the relief of crying into someone’s arms, he doesn’t want to scare this boy off. An awkward yet peaceful silence envelops the two. Archie ponders what Raymond could be thinking, and who Raymond is outside of this cold, dark cell. 

Chapter Four - Raymond

After a while, Archie starts explaining his story while Raymond creates a makeshift bandage by ripping off a piece of Archie’s shirt. Raymond has tried, and failed, to convince Archie to let him use his own shirt. 

“Thanks.” He says quietly. Raymond paces his way around, kicking a pebble around the cell, until he gets bored and slumps down against the wall next to Pup.

The two are sitting next to each other against the wall of the cell. A black, furry rat darts towards them but skitters the other way when it gets too close. Archie yelps loudly. Raymond snickers faintly, it’s a bit funny how timid Archie is, even if Raymond is concerned for the other boy. Raymond looks over to his left. 

“They’re just rats...” He says gently. There is a hint of amusement in his voice. Archie glances away and folds his arms. 

“But theys gonna bite me and I’ll get a disease!” He retorts. Raymond thinks he can see a hint of a smile on his face, though. 

“Just don’t bother them. They’re probably more afraid of you than you are of them.” Raymond places a hand on Archie’s shoulder. Archie smiles and looks back at Raymond, but his eyes still flicker back to the shadows every once and a while. 

After a few minutes, footsteps can be heard down what could be a hallway. The door opens. “Hey kids, you fellas gotta get in the room, boss says so.” A guard that seemed way too tired to work tells the two. He leads the two to a large room with about twenty sets of bunk beds. “There, that’s where you’re gonna sleep.” The man points at a bottom bunk. 

“…Which one?” Pup asks. 

The guard chuckles. “Are ya serious? Just be glad you aren’t in a three-kid bed!” The officer walks away, still chuckling to himself. 

“LIGHTS OUT!” The warden yells an hour later. 

Alrighty… Raymond thinks to himself. The two find themselves over to their bed after a while, they get affiliated with a couple other kids in the block: James, a young teen who didn't have a pinky finger, and Clippers, who said he does haircuts for kids who can’t afford them. Raymond feels a little uncomfortable in the rock-solid mattress, but after a while, he eventually falls asleep.

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

Original characters and story were created in collaboration with @no-i-wanna-go-down (Owner of Archie and Ashton) Any other characters (Excluding Raymond) are the product of dual creativity between the two authors, which entails equal ownership of the characters.

This doesn't need to be the end of your reading! There are much more chapters than these, but they are being reuploaded for the sake of promotion. If you would like to read on, please keep reading on AO3. There is a LOT more where that came from! (Spoiler alert: It's really gay)

[britcision]

So let me tell you what they do when you’re human and your RBC (red blood cell count) reaches 4 g/dL

1) you are required to report to the hospital for emergency blood transfusion. They did not call me; they called my emergency contacts, because apparently I should not have been driving

Drove myself to the blood test 15 hours before but shhh don’t think about that

Cuz yeah, 2) the lab calls directly

It doesn’t go to your doctor first

You get the call from the lab tech, the second the test has been run. Literally, my doctor was told after we were, because Time Is Of The Essence

I, bad at being up at 8am, kept trying to go back to bed. This was not permitted

3) you get your ass put through the ER at lightning speed, I have never gone through faster including for the chest cramps that I could not stop screaming through

Still haven’t been rushed in with an injury as opposed to chronic illness fucking me up though, so ymmv

I felt significantly better with the extreme anaemia, I was just tired and bad at stairs

I did not even believe I needed to be at the hospital that urgently (literally my dad didn’t wait for me to get dressed he got me out of bed and in the car)

4) they don’t wait for a bed they stick your ass in a chair in the hall it’s fine lying down is optional but blood is not

This may be due to it being the day after New Years, when a lot of people have made the poor hospital very busy from both Christmas and the new year

This is why it is Extra Bad when the local hospital is so underfunded they close their ER doors for the entire month of December and reopen January 3, Doug Ford

5) you get at least 600mL of new blood, sharpish. That’s two bags, and the Standard Blood In Speed is 4 hours per bag and the fastest they’ll go if you haven’t had a transfusion before.

Do not let them put the fucking needle in your hand because those veins are small and require slower speeds but lying bastards will tell you it won’t

They are lying

If you have had a transfusion before and were Good At Blood, you can get it at double speed so each bag only takes 2 hours and you aren’t in the hospital all day on your birthday

Unless aforementioned lying bastards put the needle in your hand, in which case double speed is the same 4 hours as Standard because they are dicks

You can listen to most of 20, 000 Leagues Under The Sea in 8 hours. Receiving blood transfusions does not enhance the experience

It may in fact be detrimental

6) the nurses will not believe you when you come back in 2 weeks after your first transfusion because you have noticed you’re having the same symptoms as the time you were RUSHED WITH ALL HASTE

The hospital will then do their own blood test to decide if they take you seriously, realise your RBC is now 6 g/dL as opposed to a healthy 12-16 g/dL, and suddenly move much faster

Pointing out you were there two weeks ago and they should already be seeing the old test results in your medical history does not help

7) noticeable symptoms of such severe anaemia include hot flashes, for which you should acquire ice cream sandwiches

Ice cream sandwiches are great for short hot flashes 10/10 recommend

Mint flavoured even better menthol tastes like cold

Tl;dr: blood is apparently underrated and you do in fact need a lot of it super urgently

Also red blood cells on their own live about 2 weeks and if your RBC goes right back down after that your bone marrow is no longer making red blood cells

You will not be able to tell where any of the buggers have gone because your RBC can get down to 4g/dL without any blood actually exiting your body so they’re probably re metabolised

[themorphine]

The Picnic-Feysand Date <3

So happy to announce that me and @wintersouldier57 teamed up and wrote a feysand fic in celebration of both hitting 100 followers! Go say congrats to @wintersouldier57 SHES AMAZING

It had been a long few weeks for the high lord and lady of the night court. Between their regularly scheduled meetings and taking care of Nyx, things had been hard. They had scarcely found any time for themselves in the midst of it, hardly any to just be together, enjoying each other’s presence. When Feyre wasn’t at a meeting, Rhys was in the Illyrian mountains handling the armies with Cassian. When Rhys was home, Feyre was at the art studio. Their schedules never seemed to line up.

They often spoke mentally, providing each other as much comfort as they could in that capacity, but they soon found that even psychic communication had its limits when it came to comforting one another. Feyre missed the way his arms felt around her, the way he would whisper soothing words into her ear when things became too much to handle. She understood that they had their responsibilities to their court. They were high lord and lady, after all. Still, she was restless. She wanted nothing more than to feel his embrace, nothing more than to drown in a pool of the transcendent love he offered her.

There was a dull ache in her heart that she knew only he could alleviate. She longed for him. She had not known desperation so deep since her days before coming to Prythian. That desperation, that hunger, had burned, but never like this. It had seared from the inside out, but never straight from the heart. Not like this did. This killed slowly, she thought, deliberately. She felt as though she had been traipsing around Velaris with half a soul, never quite able to get comfortable anywhere she went.

She would see him today. For the first time in weeks, everything lined up. Cassian and Azriel had agreed to take Nyx off their hands for the day for what Cassian called “much-needed uncle time”. They would pick him up as soon as she returned home for the day.

She was a bit surprised that Cassian had not said anything, no teasing. She didn't say anything though, she did not want to give him any ideas. He probably does not want to lose any time with Nyx, she thought, and chuckled silently.

“What’s so funny my High Lady? Rhysie has some good jokes for once?” Rhysand must have heard that from wherever he was, because he responded in Feyre’s and Cassian’s head, At least my jokes don't have every female in all of Prythian running for the hills Cassian. Feyre laughed harder, Cassian chuckling as well.

“Well have fun you two, and be sure to be home at a respectable time, and PLEASE use a sound barrier, I do not want to have to explain what noises are being heard all over this cauldron-damned city to this little one.” He said in his most “mother hen” voice, and tickled a giggling Nyx in his arms. Feyre glared at him while he laughed, and Rhys must have said something in his head, for he laughed even harder.

“BYE CASSIAN” Feyre shouted, making a beeline to the door. She could still hear Cassian's laughter,

Once she was outside, she took a deep breath of the fresh air. It was a nice day, perfect for a walk in the park or a trip to the market squares. Perhaps she and Rhys could take a walk when he returned. She would love nothing more than to walk through Velaris hand in hand with her mate. She missed simple intimacies like that, little touches.

You look simply delectable in that dress, Feyre darling.

He had spoken into her mind. Could he see her? Where was he? She looked around but could not find him. Suddenly, there was a pressure underneath her knees, lifting her into the air. She yelped, surprised that he had picked her up.After the initial surprise, she spoke;

“You should have given me some warning, you prick.”

He chuckled, “Now what would be the fun in that Feyre Darling?”

She tried her best to look unaffected by the nickname, and replied “The fun would be that I wouldn't have to scream and not fall on my face for all of Velaris to see.”

He put on a face of mock hurt. “You really think I would drop you darling? I would never!”

She glared. “Based on what you did last time, I won't trust you for another 1000 years, 900 if your lucky.”

He laughed harder, burrowing his face in my neck, to try and silence it. Once he calmed he breathed in my neck, savouring her smell.

“If I could bottle your smell I would drink it every day.” He sighed, hugging Feyre tightly, as if she could disappear any moment. And to be honest based on how long they had been apart, they both felt as if they would disappear, but thank the cauldron they wouldn't.

Finally, after all this time, they were together. She smiled as she nuzzled closer to his chest. Through the bond, she could feel the pure happiness coursing through Rhys. Her grin widened as she felt the wind blazing past them.

She wondered where he might be taking her. They hadn’t discussed their plans beyond spending the day together. Wherever they were headed, though, Feyre knew she would love it. She would love it because he would be there with her. For the first time in a long while, she was home. An unyielding warmth welled up in her heart in the place of the ravenous longing she had been experiencing before. She was with Rhys now, and all was well, at least for the day.

She looked down and watched the vibrant landscape of Velaris fly by beneath them. She could easily fly herself, but she didn’t want to. At least for now, she wanted to be held by him. Judging by the way his arms were wrapped around her more tightly than usual, it was clear that he was enjoying it too. There was something about him holding her like that. It always gave her butterflies, no matter how long they had been together. Even with the centuries stretching out before them, she could be sure that that would never change. Not this, and not the way they felt for each other. She would always look at him as though he had hung the very stars that shone above Ramiel on the Night Court’s insignia, and he would always look to her and see his darling mate, his salvation.

They continued their flight. When he landed and sat her on her feet, she mourned the close contact. She took in their surroundings. They stood on a hill overlooking the city. From the vantage point, she could see it all. She saw the rainbow and the Sidra, twinking as it reflected the sun’s light. What she took the most note of, though, was the blanket laid out on the grass, a small basket sitting at its center.

A picnic.

Rhys had planned a picnic.

She didn’t realize it was possible to love him more than she already did.

He watched her intently, taking in the shift in her expression. He grinned widely. He loved seeing her like this, happy and content. For once, she looked her age. She looked like the 20 year-old girl she was, and without eyes that looked haunted or scared. Their duties could wait. Right now, as they stood on this hill, things were for once simple. The world was quiet, save for the slight breeze that occasionally brushed against their ears. They were happy. War and politics be damned.

“Happy, my love?”

She looked down to find that her hand was glowing. It seemed that her body was speaking for itself. Instead of answering, she took a few steps toward him, placing her shining palm on the side of his face, stroking his cheek. His violet eyes were alight with the spark of love. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It wasn’t like things had been recently. It wasn’t the quick kiss of someone trying to make time between meetings or the kind of kiss she would give him as she passed him on the way to feed Nyx. The kiss they now shared was sweet, unhurried, as though they had all the time in the world to stand there and relish in what they were feeling.

After what felt like a millenia, he slowly pulled away from her, once again meeting her eyes.

“I’ve missed that,” he said.

“I’ve missed you,” Feyre replied, tears brimming in her eyes. But she was smiling, a broad, indestructible smile that made Rhys look at her in wonder

They stared at each other for a moment longer before Rhys motioned to the blanket.

“Let’s get more comfortable.”

They made their way over to the blanket and they sat next to one another. She leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. With his other arm, he reached for the basket, producing several sandwiches and a container of what she assumed was some sort of stew. He sat the food in front of them before he tilted his head and placed a soft kiss on her hair.

She knew she was likely still glowing. She didn’t need to look down to know. Rhys picked up one of the sandwiches and held it to her lips. She took a bite, savoring the taste. She quickly realized where she had tasted it before. It was one of the sandwiches from her favorite restaurant. She beamed. Her clever, loving mate had gone there and procured it for her, just to make her happy. She recalled a time when such a thing would have been an ordeal, a time when her former lover had refused to so much as let her leave the house. She wished more than anything that she could go back in time and tell that girl that this was waiting on the horizon, that such a love awaited her beyond all the turmoil.

He put a hand on her hair, lightly stroking it as he held up the sandwich once again for her. She took another bite, turning slightly.

“I can feed myself, you know,” she laughed.

“What kind of male would I be if I didn’t care for my lovely hardworking mate?”

She reached over, grabbing a sandwich and holding it up for him. They spent the rest of the picnic like that, feeding each other bits of food and staring into one another’s eyes. When they had finished their meal, Rhys put what remained back in the basket and pulled her closer, pushing her head down onto his lap as he continued to stroke her hair. They stayed like that for a while, him stroking her hair and occasionally leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. It had been going on for some time when he finally said, “I don’t know what I’ve done in this life to deserve this. To deserve you.”

She looked up at him. His eyes were tender.

“You do deserve this. You’ve done so much good in your life, Rhys. You deserve every bit of happiness.”

He smiled.

“You are my happiness,” he said, his voice shaky, pressing another kiss to her brow, “and I will spend the rest of this eternity showing you how much I treasure you, my love, my mate, my salvation.”

She looked into his eyes. She wanted to say something, but she was at a loss. No words in her vocabulary could accurately describe what she was feeling, the depth of her affection for the male in front of her. She hoped her face and the glow of her skin said enough. They seemed to, as a moment later he pulled her into a tight embrace.

“My Feyre,” he said, nuzzling her neck, “my light.”

“I love you,” she said. She had never meant anything more.

“I love you too,” he responded, pressing a kiss to her pulse point.

He continued trailing light kisses down the column of her throat, smiling into her neck as he heard her breath hitch slightly. He readjusted, laying her down on the blanket. Her face was flushed as he stared down at her. He knelt down on top of her, pressing a long kiss onto her collarbone.

“Now prepare yourself, darling,” he said, “I’m going to show you just how much I’ve missed you.”

She was not prepared.

Tag List:

@feysandandnyxsworld

@that-sociopathic-hufflepuff

@emikadreams

@highladysith

@cardansfae

@aelin-bitch-queen

tagging some ppl who wanted to be in my jealous rhysand fic just in case u wanna se thisss

@live-the-fangirl-life

@story-scribbler

[writingsnmusings]

Zoom Session

pairing: modern!ivar the boneless x reader

summary: classes have started back up for you which should be a nice distraction, but when are things ever that easy? 

a/n: i had no idea what gif to use of alex so here's this! also, here's my vikings masterlist!

gif credit- @therealcalicali​

To say you were an anxious mess was a severe understatement. It was a week into the lockdown and today was your first zoom session with your students. You missed them like crazy, but not knowing how all this would go down was nerve wracking; they were just 7 year olds after all.

“You look tense,” Ivar chuckled as he stood behind you. You rolled your eyes, not in the mood for his teasing.

“I am.”

The feeling of his hands on your shoulders made you jump slightly. God, you were a mess. “Take breath, Y/N.” He began massaging your shoulders which did ease you a bit. You were sure you’d given yourself about a dozen stress knots since receiving the email from your principal three days ago.

Your laptop was open on the zoom website, a countdown of how long till your students would be joining was on the screen. 1 minute. 60 seconds and you’d see 20 of your favorite 7 year olds.

“Alright,” You sighed, shrugging Ivar’s hands off you. “I have 30 seconds to mentally prepare myself.”

Your bestfriend laughed at your expense once again before leaning down and giving your temple a quick kiss. “You’ll be fine. You get a lunch at 12 and i’ll have something ready for you by then.”

You didn’t even process the words he spoke since all your brain could focus on was the way your skin tingled where his lips just were. Ivar was gone in a second, presumably going to his room where he’ll be holed up while you work. The wifi worked best at the island counter so that’s where you were set up.

A chorus of “Miss Y/N” soon rang in your ears and all thoughts of Ivar were gone. You gave these kids your undivided attention for the next three hours.

You were in the middle of explaining the math worksheet they had for homework when one of your boys asked a question. “Miss who’s behind you?”

Your brow furrowed as you turned your head, only to spot Ivar coming out of his room with his airpods in and phone in his hand. “Yes Floki, we got the masks Helga made. Y/N loves her marvel one so thank her for us please. All right, I need to start on lunch now.”

Ivar hadn’t looked up since he walked into the frame of your camera and you couldn’t lie and say you hadn’t stopped looking at him either.

“Miss Y/N, is that your boyfriend?”

As soon as the question left your students mouth, both yours and Ivar’s head snapped to the screen. So he had hung up with Floki already.

You cleared your throat, “Uh-no, Max, he’s um my roommate.” You stuttered your way through the short sentence, mentally scolding yourself.

Ivar smiled at the flustered mess you’d become. He took out his headphones as he came to your side. “Hello,” He waved at the kids who eagerly waved back. “I hope you all are behaving for Miss Y/N here.”

The overlapping chatter of ‘yes!’ and ‘of course sir!’ made you and Ivar laugh. “I’m starting lunch, any requests?” He asked, trying to keep his voice.

You shook your head, “I’m good with anything you make.”

Ivar nodded and winked your way before going around the counter and beginning to rummage through his thankfully fully stocked fridge. You had to tear your gaze away from him. Only 10 minutes till your lunch break. You could do this.

The way you talked to your students, so engaged and animated made Ivar feel something. Something he’d never felt with anybody else before. Hearing you laugh at something silly a kid said made his heart swell. He loved hearing you laugh. He had just finished plating the sandwich he made as you said your goodbye for the next 45 minutes.

“Okay guys, any questions before we go on lunch? Yes, Emma?” You smiled at the little girl who cleared her throat before speaking.

“Miss, my sister has a roommate too and they go on dates and kiss. Do you and your roommate do that too?” She asked so innocently that you couldn’t even scold her for asking such an intrusive question. All eyes, even Ivar’s were on you as they awaited your answer.

Ivar’s eyebrows raised as your cheeks flushed, a subtle smirk on his lips. He mouthed ‘answer her’ and pointed to the laptop.

“No honey, he is just my roommate. Boys and girls can be friends and not kiss and go on dates.” You plastered a smile on your face and willed the flush on your face to go away. “I will see you guys at 12:45!” You quickly ended the session and shut your laptop.

Ivar couldn’t hold in his laughter any longer. He legitimately was belly laughing which made you roll your eyes. “Shut it and give me my sandwich.” He slid the plate to you, but not before stealing a chip.

“Kids are hilarious.” He said as he cleaned up.

“Yeah,” You shook your head, “Sorry about that by the way. They really don’t know boundaries yet.”

“It didn’t bother me.” He shrugged, making your eyes widen. “What?” Ivar eyed your reaction, looking confused. “Y/N, this isn’t the first time someone’s thought we were together. Your students were just more vocal about it”

“Oh I mean, yeah you’re right. I just didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” You explained, suddenly feeling shy.

Ivar shook his head, “That would never make me feel uncomfortable.” He gave your shoulder a squeeze as he walked by, going back to his room. “We still watching Thor after you're done?”

“Of course.”

You had minutes left before your students were back on your screen and you needed to clear your mind of Ivar. Just two and a half hours and class would be over. Then it would be you and Ivar. Alone. Watching a movie. Together. Just the two of you.

Sighing, you clicked the button to begin the session again. Who knew a couple of questions from your students would send you into a spiral.

XXXXXX

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[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter 20: Second Assist

Characters: Captain Logan “Sy” Syverson, Shane Benton (OFC), various other original supporting/secondary characters

Summary: Shane reunites with friends and family, hashes out some feelings, and gets real with Sy. Can their relationship survive her trauma? And the threat that still looms above them?

Romance and Smut Abound HERE!

Word Count: 4500

Warnings: Mention of rape, alcoholic beverages, violent imagery…feels out the butt.

Author’s Note: You guys are so splendid and beautiful! I can’t thank you enough for your support and encouragement to finish this piece. First, welcome to new readers! I know poor Henry’s injury and subsequent physiotherapy has driven some of you here, and while I’m sorry for him, I’m glad I can consider myself something of a pioneer in this particular genre and provide you some help for your newfound thirst. To my OG readers, it is to you I owe this entire work, parts written and incomplete, and I hope an eventual book deal. I mean to mention you in my acknowledgements, should this ever reach a willing publisher. You’ve inspired me so supremely that I cannot quantify it, even with the words I hold so dear.

Since my last chapter was posted, we’ve said a relieved goodbye to 2020 and a tentative hello to 2021. To be honest, this year has started out worse than last year. Lots of bad weather in my area this winter, my sister is currently on her way to a new life in another state, and my grandmother, the last grandparent I had, passed away in February. Those last two things have been especially difficult to shake off and recover from, both coming to fruition pretty suddenly. Amongst all that, I’ve been pretty distracted by my other fandoms, especially Marvel, and I’ve been reading a killer book series that I’m utterly in love with. (The Throne of Glass novels by Sarah J. Maas. 10/10 recommend.) But I knew I needed to get back into Shane and Sy’s story, especially given the new and rekindled interest in the subject matter. In all honesty, I’ve had most of it written for months. It’s just been a matter of finishing it off to set up the rest of the story.

I really hope you all enjoy Chapter 20, Second Assist, and would love your feedback and notes. You are all so important to this story, and your notes, reblogs, and comments are cherished. Thank you so much for reading! Love from Hannah!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism. This is an original work by me, Hannah. Please reblog if you wish to share. Please do not repost either in whole or part, as the work of anyone but myself. Thanks so much for reading!

Tags:

@onlyhenrys @cavillryarchive​ @summersong69​ @titty-teetee​ @bloodyinspiredfuck​ @agniavateira@oddsnendsfanfics​ @omgkatinka​ @thisismysecretthirstblog @speakerforthedead0​ @tumblnewby  @suavechops​ @radkesgirl83​ @wheretheriversrunintothesea​ @heartfelt-pen​ @auds24  @geekycanuck @lunarstarknight​ @wilma-g  @coldmuffinbanditshoe @feralrunaway​  @sugarpenchant​ @bichibibi @mzchievous-blog @shesakillerkween @madbadidc7ed @foodieforthoughts @toomanyfandomsshreya @oqueequesentes-borboletas @kebabgirl67 @indigosaurus (some of you new readers didn’t ask, but I took the liberty. If you want me to remove you, I totally will without hard feelings.)

If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@

Shane woke in her warm bed, late morning sun streaming in through her sheer curtains, the heavier drapes parted to let in the light. She wished she'd remembered to close them before now. She really was not ready to be awake.

She was sore. Achy. Her sleep had been fitful and full of shadowy nightmares and muffled screams. Beyond that, she didn't try to remember images or events. She knew the general premise of the dreams. It would take a lot of time, effort, or a miracle to make her forget those traumas she'd been through in the last week. Not even forget. She knew she never would. But move on from them. Accept them. And heal from them…even that seemed a mighty obstacle. One she was not sure she could surmount.

Through the open bedroom door, she could hear Lynyrd Skynyrd and the clanging and sizzling of pans, and she could smell bacon and freshly brewed coffee. Sy had left the room, but had not, it seemed, gone far. She gingerly sat up, stood from the bed, and donned her robe as she walked out into the hall and down the corridor to the kitchen.

The sight before her warmed her heart. There was Sy. In only his boxers, daringly frying the notoriously dangerous breakfast meat. Upon her entry to the kitchen, she could also smell pancakes, and she thought syrup, as well. He seemed to be warming a bottle of the maple unction in a pot of hot water. He turned as she stepped on a squeaky floorboard, and grinned widely at her.

"Mornin' sunshine." And she was struck by the irony of someone with such a radiant smile calling her sunshine. Especially when she didn't feel much like beaming. But she couldn't help return the expression, even through her pain.

"Mornin' bear. Did you go to the store?" She knew she couldn't have any bacon in her fridge, and she doubted her eggs and milk were still good at this point. But she also couldn't think that he would leave her for any reason.

"Nah, some of the guys brought over some provisions. Matt worked on your car all night, too, and filled up the tank. It's as good as new. He and Nate brought ‘er over as well as the groceries. I just had ‘em get stuff I knew your family wouldn't be bringing later. They've had tons of food given to them this week, and they're ready to share. You should have seen your mom loading me down with sandwiches and chips and whatnot when I visited them."

"I still can't believe you met them. I really wanted to introduce you personally." Shane's face fell. She would never be able to get that back. She wanted to cry. Sy had poured her a cup of coffee and sat it in front of her with her favorite creamer.

"Darlin' I’m so sorry. I had to talk to them."

"I know." she sniffed. "I'm not mad. Not at you. Just…"she didn't want to say Elliott's name. "I'm disappointed that the experience was stolen from me." That so many things had been stolen from her. By that monster. There was no other way to describe him. Sy growled. As if he could read her mind. He really just knew her well enough and shared her thoughts.

"Well, don't worry, we'll have a nice dinner with them one of these days, and we can pretend. Sound good?"

"Yeah, and I can feign nervousness." she laughed.

"And I'll pretend too. That I'm scared to meet your dad." he chuckled. "What if he threatens me with his shotgun?"

"I'll pull the ol' 'Daddy, no, I loooooove him!' line, as I throw myself between you!"

"That oughta work." he laughed and kissed her on the forehead as he stepped toward the stove and flipped a pancake.

As they sat eating their late breakfast, Shane's mind wandered. Nothing had changed on the surface, but everything was different now. This cozily mundane breakfast with her boyfriend felt like an out of body experience. As delicious as it was, as wonderful and comforting as it should feel, her guard was up. Even through her amiable façade. She was not the person she was two weeks ago. She was not the same woman who said goodbye to Sy at the base. Maybe that was the real transformation. Maybe that was why nothing felt normal. It wasn't the world, but her own self coming back into it.

"Shane?" Sy asked, gently, but it felt like he was speaking through a megaphone directly into her ear. She was so startled, she nearly dropped the half full mug of coffee that was paused midway to her lips. A bit sloshed out onto the table and splashed her shirt.

"Shit!" she chided herself. It wasn't a big deal, but she felt stupid jumping at the sound of her own name.

Sy reached for the closest towel, hanging from the oven handle, grabbed it and started for her clothes with it. She stopped him. But she couldn't think about why the intimate act made her uncomfortable.

"No, don't, it's fine. These clothes have seen better days, anyway." She pulled the towel from him and began to mop up the small puddles of coffee around her plate.

Sy seemed to note the stains already present on the shirt, as if trying to divine their history. She was something of a messy eater, so the battle wounds of many a barbecue, spaghetti dinner, and hurried breakfast peppered the now off-white SATB club tee she'd gotten her second or third year in college choir. She thought back to a huge room with high ceilings. White, cinder block walls, flecked tile floors, a beautiful, glossy, black baby grand in front of a long whiteboard with black lines to resemble sheet music. She thought about the mnemonic device she'd learned to help her remember what notes appeared on each line, and in the spaces between them. She pondered the deeper meanings and implications of these devices. EGBDF…every good boy does fine. She thought about the "good boys" in her life. She knew many. Her dad, her brother Ethan, Sy, obviously, her many male coworkers and friends…and honestly they did far better than "fine." They were wonderful. But she was letting the "bad boys" she'd encountered dictate her mood. Permeate her psyche. Tear her down. She didn't want to be like this. Then FACE came to mind, and above their purpose of indicating the notes between the lines on the staff, they called her to action. To face these newly minted demons with all the strength she knew she possessed, and she too would "do fine." But as with almost all actions, this was easier said than done.

She felt a warm presence on her left hand which had paused it's torture of the now coffee-infused kitchen towel. Sy's hand was squeezing hers gently.

"Shane." he uttered, barely above a whisper this time. She looked at him through tears that she had not realized had formed. He continued.

"Shane, what can I do, darlin'? I'll do anything."

"Babe, you're doing everything you can, and more. This…this is all going to have to come from me. I…don't know when I'll be myself again…" she paused, tears streaming now. "I'm…I'm different."

"You're not though." he reached for her face, but she pulled away.

"I am, damn it! Sy, I was…" Words had power. And the one she was thinking of had more power than she thought was warranted. She knew that uttering it would take away it's power…and yet mustering the courage and strength to actually do so…seemed impossible. She took a deep breath, and disassociated herself from the statement, even though it was about her own past.

"I was raped." She refused to cry. She felt it all again. She had never said the words. She had never thought it necessary. Everyone understood. Sy, his friends, and she was sure her own loved ones had made the connection. But she knew she needed to say it now to drive home the points she was about to make.

Sy, looked at the table, nodding, not needing to be told in so many words something he already had surmised from the clear evidence. He remained silent. She went on.

"I love you, Sy. I have since the day we met, on one level or another, and I believe that I always will. But I…right now I can't be a proper girlfriend to you. I can't…be with you, touch you, be touched by you, in the way we used to be. In the way you deserve…and I don't know when…or even if…I ever will. Not that I don't want to. That's ALL I want in the world. To go back. To be the woman who fell in love with this…incredible man. To make love with you, but…I can't."

Sy's eyes were full of tears, their predecessors already descending his round cheeks and disappearing into his thick, dark beard.

"Sy, I don't want to lead you on and keep you tied to a relationship with no life in it. You deserve someone who's whole. Someone who can be a fully invested partner for you, and not this broken, damaged--"

"You stop that, Shane. I won't hear no more of this kinda talk. Y'hear? You're my girl. My woman. My person. No matter what. You gotta know I'd never leave ya just cuz you aren't ready for sex again. You don't think that I would, do ya?"

"Well, you went to Virginia…you took that job…knowing the distance it would put between us. Literally and figuratively."

"Biggest mistake of my life." Shane raised her eyebrows in surprise as Sy elaborated. "I couldn't focus on my classes without wishing you were there. Wishing I could team up with you for discussions and hand to hand combat training…that thought got me a little too excited, if you catch my drift." He smirked, pulling a sheepish smile from Shane. "Then in that forest. I dreamt about you every night. I thought of you constantly. I could barely breath sometimes, I missed ya so damned much. I was an idiot. I was insane to think that I needed anything other than you. Any MORE. There IS no more. You're it. You're the MOST! The most important thing in my life."

The declaration hung like vapors in the air, more felt than seen. Tangible yet ethereal.

"And when I found out that you were missing…I was…well, I think I looked like death…and not warmed over. You can ask the program director I met with after I got the news. She could tell I was just sick over it. And as I thought about it on the way home, pieced things together, started thinking about who'd taken you, I got murderous. Shane, I have been in dozens of battles, skirmishes, firefights, you name it. War. But…the sheer bloodlust I felt thinking about what you could be going through…I've never experienced anything like it. Everything was red. Everything. For days. Until I saw you, alive. And then it went red again when I saw the fear and damage on your face." she could tell he was doing his best not to talk about the farmhouse and that basement, but she still flashed back to the moments before and after his appearance there. The moments when she simultaneously prayed to live and hoped to die.

"You don't owe me anything, Shane. I just want you in my life, and I don't care what your presence looks like. Romantic, platonic, or somewhere in between. I'm here for you. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Shane felt the urge to wrap her arms around her boyfriend, but could not seem to move more than one arm to place her other hand on top of his. She hoped the gratitude and love behind the small, but heartfelt gesture landed. It was all she had in that moment, no matter how abundant her affection.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shane's family's arrival was a complete blur to her. It was joyous, tearful, and the happiest she'd been in a long time. The moment she opened the front door for them, she was surrounded, engulfed with hugs from her parents and siblings. They stood in their affectionate huddle for several moments before Peg waved Sy over with marked insistence. He'd been standing by, observing happily, but not wanting to intrude on the familial reunion.

When they finally dispersed, John asked the two younger men to help him bring in groceries. The women headed into Shane's bedroom for a more private setting in which to talk. Shane filled her mother and sister in the best she could given the rawness of the wounds left on her mind by the events.

She leaned against the headboard cuddling with Gabby while her mom rubbed her feet. She had insisted on doing this thing that had always comforted her children, and made them feel much better when they were younger.

"Well, I'm very proud of you, pumpkin." The girls both looked at their mother, who rather uncharacteristically hadn't spoken in some time. Shane was nonplussed. Peg elaborated.

"You survived something that many women don't. You're talking about it now, which even more women don't. You may think you're broken, but you're just a tree damaged by a storm, but standing stronger than ever." Trust her mom to lay such wisdom on her. When she felt like giving up. When she just wanted pity. When she could only see defeat. Her mother had always found a way to encourage and buoy her and show her the victory.

"Mom's right." Gabby affirmed, and it was Peg's turn to be nonplussed, as the two women, though similar in so many ways, never seemed to see eye to eye. "It's true. Shane I've seen a lot of women come into the clinic in shoes very much like yours. And trust me…some of them…they don't make it to this point. You've got a long way to go before you're fully recovered, don't get me wrong, but you'll get there. You have us. And you have Sy."

"And then there's Sy." She diverted. "How am I supposed to plan any sort of future with him when…" She looked at her mom, and hesitated. Peg rolled her eyes.

"Shane, I know what the two of you get up to when you're alone. You don't have to be shy with me."

"Still…" she took a breath and spoke. "When I can't bring myself to…sleep with him?"

"Look at him, you're kidding, right?" Gabby chided, insensitively, but recanted at the pained expression on Shane's face. "Sorry, sis. Trying to lighten the mood a touch. Too soon. But seriously, I don't think this reluctance you feel will be permanent."

"And even if it is," Peg took over, "that man is out-of-his-mind in love with you, Shaney." She kissed Shane's toe before putting a sock on her foot. "He almost seems to worship you. Now, you know how I feel about using that term outside of religious context, but that is exactly the kind of love I want for you. Devout, and unconditional."

"But, mom, I can't--"

"Did you hear me? I said 'unconditional,' sweetie." Peg interrupted. "No matter what. No matter the obstacle. No matter the distance. No matter the circumstances. Love unwavering. That's what Sy has for you. I've seen it in him. Trust the momma."

The insistence her mother placed on trust had always ruffled Shane's feathers. Gabby's too, who she could feel stiffen slightly beside her. But Shane, for once, really wanted to trust her mother, hoping against hope that she was right. And that she, herself  wouldn't screw up the best relationship she had ever been in or was likely to ever be in again.

The girls had begun talking about some of the coworkers who'd brought food in the past week, and Peg couldn't resist remarking on the character of her favorites and judging the ones she didn't care for…oddly enough, getting more or less, the correct measure of them, as Shane saw it.

After what must have been an hour from the time they'd arrived, they heard a knock on the slightly ajar bedroom door. John poked his head in.

"Ladies, we've put a casserole in the oven, and completed various manly projects around the house--"

"Oh, daddy, what projects?" She cringed. She hated that the men had felt the need to "fix" things.

"Babe, your guest bathroom had not one, but two leaky faucets, your kitchen table seemed to be more of a teeter-totter, and half the light bulbs in the living room were out. Among other tiny things. You're welcome." he smirked his crooked smirk so similar to her own, and she returned it as if he was looking in a mirror.

"Thanks, dad."

"Anyway, lunch is almost ready. So, when you've finished your confab, let's eat."

Dinner passed amiably, Shane found a reserve within herself to allow some quasi-normal behavior, as long as you didn’t look too closely. She was talking animatedly with her siblings, making their parents and Sy laugh riotously. Shane noticed some odd looks passing between Sy and her father, but chalked it up to paranoia. She wished at least Gabby and Ethan could stay, but Heather would be over soon, and she deserved her own dedicated time. Shane wanted to give that to her.

She said her farewells to her family with promises to visit them the next day, and at least one more time before her siblings went back home, if she could work it out.

Sy was so wonderful the whole time. Standing by her, a hand resting lightly on her shoulder as they waved goodbye to the departing vehicle. He made her feel so safe. They went into the kitchen and cleaned up from lunch. Well, Sy cleaned. Shane was texting Heather about when she'd be over.

"Heather says she'll be here in about a half hour. She's picking up wine and pizza." Shane told Sy without looking up from her phone. She could see out of the corner of her eye, though, that he had just closed the dishwasher and was selecting a cycle.

"Sounds great. Do you want me to get out of here? Give you guys some time, one on one?" He asked as he dried his hands, wet from preparing dishes for the machine.

She thought about it, and shuddered. She played a scene in her head that startled her. In her mind's eye, she saw Sy leave and then moments later heard a knock on the door. Presuming it was Heather, she opened the door with abandon, only to see Elliott standing there under a flickering porch light, smirking maliciously at her and ready to overpower and abduct her again. She shook the thought from her head, but remained uneasy as she answered his question.

"Uh, no. Thanks. I'm sure she'll want to talk to both of us. She likes you." Shane grinned softly at Sy in an attempt to mask her trepidation over the thought of him leaving her alone for any period of time. She thought it had worked.

"Okay, well, whatever you think, sunshine. I don't wanna get in the way." He was wiping down the countertops. She felt so impossibly full of love for him, she was starting to wonder how she hadn't yet burst with it. She couldn't bear the thought of holding him back from a fulfilling relationship. He deserved everything she couldn't give him right now. And she knew she should make him leave her. Cut him loose. But she was, as she'd been since she'd met him, a weak woman. She couldn't stand the thought of being without him. Of him no longer being hers. And somehow worse, of not being his, herself. She would always need him for so many reasons, not least of which being her love for him. Maybe one day, she'd recover from this trauma, and be able to be who he deserved. To give him what he needed.

"You're never in the way, bear." She walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed him as tight as she could. He placed a loving hand over hers, sighing and smiling, though she had no visual proof of the latter. It was just a feeling.

Heather's greeting was no less exuberant than that of Shane's family, but it was more joyful and less emotional, even though she was immensely relieved to see her best friend after so long. They talked as if no time had passed, and Shane mustered up the dregs of her former self to have one more interaction for the day. Thank God it was Heather and not someone who would require more. She wouldn't have it to give.

"I am so glad you're okay, Shane! Things around the clinic have been bleak as fuck. Susan is loosing her mind, Anita is beside herself with concern, and the rest of us just plain ol' miss the hell out of you. And not just because of all of the overtime everyone has been pulling to get your patients seen."

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize…wow, I'm awful. I didn't even think---"

"That you'd be missed? Think again, sister. The place would fall apart if you ever really left. But don't feel guilty. It's the least everyone can do, and they've all said it themselves. We all love you, and know that you'd do the same for any of us if you could at all. Hopefully you won't have to, though!"

Shane nodded, eyes wide in agreement. She wouldn't wish the last week of her life on her worst enemy. On the worst person in the world. Except maybe the people responsible. Tit for tat.

"Well, I'm sorry my absence has caused extra work for all of you." Shane looked into the deep glass of Chardonnay Sy had poured her from the bottle Heather had brought. She felt about as small as the air bubble making it's way up the sloping curve of the stemless vessel. She felt a guilt that she knew was fully void of logic. It made no sense for her to feel guilt for being kidnapped. But she had always had this notion, this nagging voice in her head that told her that her misfortunes were a direct result of her decisions. That she'd inadvertently stepped on the butterfly that resulted in the monsoon she was currently experiencing, and whatever cataclysmic events she would face next.

"Why in God's name are you apologizing for this, Shay?" Heather's tone was kind, but still mildly scolding.

"If I'd never been with Elliott, none of this would have--"

"Bitch, are you a fortune teller?"

"No, but--"

"Soothsayer?"

"No."

"Time traveler?"

"I wish!" Shane chuckled. But she really did wish.

"Have you any real and proven success at consistently predicting the future?"

"I don't, but--"

"No. No buts. No howevers. You had no idea what becoming involved with Elliott could have done. Were there signs, sure. But you can't look on the past as a rubric to judge the quality of your decisions. You know that. You can only learn from your mistakes. And you have."

"Heather's right, sunshine. You really have learned. You look for Elliott's behaviors in mine and shut me down quick if you see 'em. You're not going to let yourself go down that road again. And I'm proud of you for it."

Shane silently worried her wine glass. It was hard to argue with such truth. But it was hard to agree when her own feelings were in such stark opposition. So she did neither.

"Well, I've preached my sermon for the day." she laughed. "I've taken up enough of your time. Oh, your phone. It's in my purse. I think it's fully charged, but I turned it off."

Shane thanked her friend, then Heather hugged them both and took her leave.

"Y'okay, bug?" Sy asked her after what she surmised was several minutes of silence. Minutes she didn't notice as they passed.

"Mmm…" she trailed off.

"Can I do something for ya?" And she really thought about the question. He could probably do a lot of things for her. He could make love to her until she felt whole again, even if it hurt her at first. Not an ideal option. He could probably get them both some new identities and enough money to spirit her away to somewhere her past wouldn't follow. If she became someone new, literally, would she have to bring that old baggage, those old scars, with her? Again, suboptimal. But he could definitely take the source of all grief and turmoil in her life far into the Missouri back country, somewhere not even the hunters would venture, some fallow field or forgotten cistern, and end him. Snuff out his spark of life like a candle caught in a tornado. Spill a fatal amount of his monstrous blood onto the unforgiving earth and send him to the Hell to which he was undoubtedly destined. But did she want that? Did she want another soul as a scar on that of the man she so deeply cherished? He'd say it was worth it. He'd say he'd take a thousand more for her. A million. That was Sy.

"Nothing comes to mind." She lied. And he knew it was a lie, but didn't push it. She was so grateful that he respected her, not for the lie itself, but for the reason she wasn't giving him the whole truth just now.

His phone went off and he picked it up as he stood from his seat at the table. She could only hear that it was Matt, the guy she thought she understood had the car place, before she heard tension in Sy's voice. Even from the next room, she could tell something was wrong, though he was talking too quietly for her to make out words.

She heard him suddenly shout a stream of profanities that he rarely said at all around her, at least, let alone together. There was a bang, and the walls of her kitchen quaked like the tectonic plates beneath them were shifting.

Sy walked back in, his face was red, as were his knuckles. He was shaking an injury out of his hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked, deep concern at his appearance and demeanor, suddenly ominous.

"I need to fix your wall in there." he grumbled, evading, without success. She'd be doing therapy on his hand, next.

"What's really wrong?" she repeated, sternly.

"That was Matt. Elliott's…escaped, somehow. He's in the wind."

Shane's heart became so heavy, she could almost feel it smashing through the kitchen floor and burying itself deep in the cement floor of her basement.

"Oh, God! No! What if he goes to the police!?"

"Fuck that, I'm more concerned about him coming after you!"

The two stared, faces full of equal measures of concern for the other.

Up Next: Chapter 21-Patient Education

[charliedawn]

Imagine you're another being with the "shinning" and hunted by Rose Hat and her gang. Part 1.(my version of Doctor Sleep. Warning : gore. Horror movie. Also, you're a bad a**. 😉😂)

Little Danny loved to explore the hotel, he liked to think that it was an adventure. This is why that when the door of room 374 mysteriously opened on its own, he found himself inside before he could think about the consequences of his action. He looked around, it didn't seem any different from any other room, besides the fact that there was a huge mirror in the center of it. He approaches it and, finding his reflection funny, started making weird faces in front of it. However, his reflection quickly distorted, showing a little girl who was crying instead. Danny was a very curious little boy, and like many little boys as curious as him, he wanted to investigate. He sat on the ground and stared at the girl that hadn't noticed him yet and couldn't help but find her pretty. When she raised her eyes, they immediately made contact with the ones of Danny that smiled sympathetically at her.

" Why are you crying?"

He asked and she sniffled.

" My sister..She's done some terrible things..But I don't know what to do.."

He stared at the mirror for a moment before raising his index to his ear and whispered.

" What should I do, Tony ? She seems scared.."

The little girl raises an eyebrow at his strange gesture, but didn't interrupt him as he replied in another voice.

" I think she needs a friend.."

The boy smiled and nodded vividly in agreement before turning towards the girl again.

" Tony says I should probably be your friend. My name is Danny. What's yours ?"

The girl laughed a little before replying.

" Y/N..Where are you right now ?"

You asked, looking around him with a small frown. He seemed to be in some sort hotel..But, something felt off.

" I'm with my mom and my dad. We came here for his job.."

But, Danny didn't seem too happy about it and you decided to step a little closer to the mirror.

" You see bad things too.."

You said knowingly and Danny nodded frantically.

" I see them too.."

His eyes widened at your confession and he quickly asked.

" Really ? What do you see ?"

You seemed to look around, making sure that no one could hear you before leaning in and whispering.

" My sister..She has someone else with her, someone bad and that tells her what she has to do. This morning, she killed our dog..This is why I'm sad. The more the bad lady stays, the more my sister seems to change..I'm afraid that she will do something awful to my parents.."

Danny listened and put his thumb in his mouth, the only this that seemed to calm him down when he was worried or upset about something. He was afraid that you would find his odd behavior strange, but you only smiled before putting a strand of your hair in your mouth: your own calming process. He slowly took his thumb out and shared his own struggles.

" My father wanted to come here..but the hotel is bad. There are very bad things happening around and I'm afraid that he is going to hurt us.."

In a way, you both understood each other's struggles..But before you could talk more about it, you heard the voice of your sister calling you and freezed. She entered the room and her eyes were immediately drawn to the mirror. She smiled maliciously before standing in front of the glass.

" And who might you be, huh ?"

She asked, but Danny was too scared to speak..He had seen the old woman standing above her and her face suddenly distorted at the realization. She grimaced in anger and screamed.

" Get out of my house !"

The force of the scream was such that it send Danny flying against a wall. The connection stopped and Danny was on the verge of crying when he suddenly heard a door creak. He slowly turned his head towards the bathroom and his eyes widened as he saw someone in the bathtub. He stood up and seemed to be drawn in by the bathroom. He wanted to get out, but couldn't help walking forward, the door closing behind him..

A few years later :

You are walking towards the nearby cinema, unaware that you are being followed. You step in the cinema and buy a ticket before sitting down in one of the comfortable chairs of the dark room. There are other people, a blond girl and a man in his forties. You don't have to wonder about their relationship as the man puts his hand on the girl's thigh. You grimace and try to take a better look at the girl that seemed awfully young..You sigh loudly before looking up at the screen. They had entered together..maybe you were reading too much into this ? However, when you hear the small noises of pain, you stand up, ready to take the girl's hand and run..But imagine your surprise when you see that the moans of pain were coming from the man. You stay speechless, but quickly sit back down, looking at the girl that is whispering things in his ear, things that make the man physically shake. You look around, wondering if anyone else had noticed. Nobody seems to notice what's unfolding, only two people that seem to fix the girl with envy and..something else. You shiver as the eyes of the woman seem to stare straight at you. However, you pretend being as oblivious as everyone else by stuffing yourself with popcorn, making her grimace in disgust and look away promptly. At the end of the movie, you nearly run out of the cinema and enter the bus quickly. You see the two persons following..the blond girl from the cinema. She seems scared and you take multiple shaky breaths before running out of the bus. You curse yourself as you run past the two creeps to take the arm of the girl and put on your best fake smile.

" Hi girl ! The movie was sooo good, don't you think ?!"

The blond one frowns in incomprehension, but quickly understands when you significantly tilt your head backwards. She nods and smiles even wider before playing the game.

" I know ! I'm so sorry to have left you, but I really thought my date would show up !"

You glance backwards and see that the two have disappeared..But you don't feel like leaving the girl alone and whisper.

" My house is a few blocks away..You can hide there for a bit, just to make sure the two weirdos are truly gone.."

She looks back as well and finally nods in agreement. You arrive and lock the door behind you. You then turn towards the blond that is looking around curiously. You smile and look through the window to observe the street.

" Do you have any friends or family around here that you can stay at for the night ?"

You ask and the girl looks at her shoes sheepishly and shakes her head.

" No..I'm alone."

You feel her uneasiness and gaze back at her with a small reassuring smile.

" Don't worry, you can stay the night if you want. But, as I'm supposed to leave tomorrow..I need to know if you have anywhere to go ? A shelter maybe ? Do you want me to call child services ?"

At the mention of the latter, the girl looks up at you with frightened eyes and shakes her head negatively.

" No ! You won't take me there ! You'll allow me to stay here !"

The way she says it almost sounds like an order and you can see that she is trying to use the same trick on you than she did with the older man..but it doesn't work and you only sigh loudly.

" Fine. As I said, you can stay the night. But, tomorrow, I will be going to New Hampshire, so you better find something until then."

She slowly nods and you then make a sign for her to follow you. You open the guest room and she enters. She sits on the bed and seems happy enough. You smile and are about to tell her goodnight when she surprises you by telling you her name:

" Andi. My name is Andi."

You just realize now that you hadn't even asked for her name..You smile and respond.

" I'm Y/N."

Then you close the door and go to your own room.

The next day :

You wake up and get ready before preparing your breakfast. You enter Andi's room, but only find a neatly made bed. You feel a bit sad at the fact that she didn't even say goodbye..but that quickly goes away when you see that you are missing 20 dollars.

" Son of a..!"

You curse and sigh again..Well, it could have been worse. You take your car keys and get inside your car. You start driving towards New Hampshire while following a map. You are supposed to have an interview for the local newspaper and also..You kinda want to get away from the city for a while, too many entities there. You only stop halfway to get your sandwiches out of your bag. You search for through your stuff, but suddenly feel something moving on the backseat. You freeze and your brain starts gathering all the possible explanations..A raccoon ? A spirit ?..You wait and finally, a familiar fair-haired head peeks out from underneath a blanket.

"...Hey."

She greets you with an awkward smile and a small wave of her hand. You can't believe that she 1) actually slept through more than half of the road and 2) that she followed you ! Your shock passed6, you pinch the bridge of your nose in exasperation and ask on an intransigent tone.

" Andi. What are you doing here ?"

She doesn't answer, she just looks ahead with widened eyes and you grit your teeths..Is she actually ignoring you right now ?! You are about to start yelling when she points towards the road ahead. You sigh, but still look and your eyes widen as well when you see who is driving the small van ahead of you..the guys who was following Andi yesterday ! He seems to be following a young boy now. Your blood boils in your veins at the prospect that they were now actually attacking small children.

" Andi. Seat belt."

You say warningly, your hand gripping the steering wheel with such intensity that your knuckles turn white. Andi doesn't wait for you to ask twice and quickly buckles her seat belt. You see that the boy is about to get inside the car and suddenly hit the gas. You had a feeling, a feeling that this boy would never see the light of day again if you didn't stop them. You drive straight ahead and collide with van full force, continuing advancing even afterwards. You make them drive backwards and you glare straight into the other driver's eyes. He seems shocked at first, but when he recognizes you, he smiles. You grit your teeths and yell while raising your middle finger.

" Yeah ! Keep smiling, a**h*le !"

The boy is far away now. He will be able to get back to his parents safely. Andi doesn't scream, but can feel the anger radiating from you. The van drives away as well, and the front of your car may be in a disastrous state, but you don't care. When you're calm enough, you lean back against your seat and look back at Andi, making sure that she is alright.

" Everything's fine ?"

She nods affirmatively before looking at you with concern written all over her features.

" I know that they are creeps but..Wasn't it a bit too much ?"

You close your eyes and remember the screams of agony of a little girl that you had heard a few months ago..You don't know why, but the screams had suddenly reappeared in your head as you had seen the two individuals following Andi yesterday, and even louder with this kid. It is now your alarm when bad thing are about to happen. You hear the screams of this girl that seemed in such pain when she died..You had ran to get to her, but by the time you had arrived, she had disappeared completely. This is another one of the reasons why you had decided to leave your old town. You take a big breath before driving forward.

" You have to trust me on this. They deserved it."

You say confidently and Andi doesn't add anything. She only looks out the window silently for the rest of the way. When you finally arrive, you stop in front of a weird-looking house with dark-tinted windows and a bright red door. You had already seen it of course, but Andi hadn't. She pouts when she sees it and whines.

"Is that really where you're going to live ?"

You ark an eyebrow at the pronoun she uses and cough loudly for her to turn her attention towards you.

" Where WE are going to live, you mean ? You really think I'm going to let you go with those people out there ? Not in a million years. You stay with me, Missy. That you like it or not.."

Her eyes widen, but she quickly smiles excitedly.

" You mean it ?! I promise that I won't steal money from you again ! And I'll even give your watch back !"

" Yeah yeah..Don't get used to it though, as soon as the creeps are definitely off our backs, I'm finding you someone else to take care of you..Wait, what do you mean by giving my watch back ?!"

She smiles awkwardly and you look at your naked wrist and roll your eyes before extending your hand.

" Come on. Give it."

She immediately gets it out and gives it back to you with an apologetic smile. You both get out, and she even helps you with the luggage.

" No more stealing. I'll have a job and I'm sure it'll pay enough for the both of us."

She doesn't answer right away, but you suddenly turn around and wait with your arms crossed expectantly. She finally rolls her eyes and replies with her gaze lowered to the floor.

" Yes, "mom"."

You gasp in fake offense at her insinuation and she looks up at you with a small smirk.

" That's it, young lady. Come on. Get inside and tomorrow, I'll be sure to walk around and see if any schools can accept you. There is no way I'm leaving a fifteen-year old roam the street."

She seems to disapprove and says on an authorative tone, crossing her arms as well.

" I'm not going. In fact, you'll forget ever asking me to do so.."

She tries to use her powers on you again, but you resist her and sigh before entering the house. You don't answer her and she frowns, upset. However, she still enters after you and is agreeably surprised by the interior that is a lot prettier than the outside. You smile at her awed expression, however, you aren't that pleased to be back in this house..

" Home sweet home.."

You still remember how you thought that the walls were full of secrets and that the seemed to be whispering in your ears..They had warned you of what would happen, but you were only a child..What could you have done ? Andi gets you out of your thoughts by groaning loudly.

" I'm hungry.."

You sigh, of course she is..

" Okay, the money you stole from my wallet ? It was supposed to be used for buying groceries once here."

She looks at her shoes almost guiltily before admitting.

" I was hungry this morning..I used it to by a box of donuts and a milkshake.."

You want to be mad..but you can't. You only take out your wallet and open the door. She quickly follows you and you start walking, searching for a shop. You soon find one at the corner of a nearby street and enter. You start looking around for decent prices while Andy starts piling up sugary sweets upon sugary sweet in the...You turn in the soups alley and Andi grimaces in disgust at nearly every single soup on the shelves. You finally take some, ignoring Andi's complaining. You see that the last tomato soup is on sale and are about to take it when another hand shots up to get it. You turn towards the owner of the hand and see an Indian man with a nice smile. He gives you the soup while apologizing.

" My bad, you spot it first."

You smile back politely and take it. You are about to turn around and go when the man introduces himself while extending your hand towards you.

" I'm Billy. Billy Freeman."

You finally shake his hand with a small smile and nod in acknowledgement before replying.

" I'm Y/N. And this girl here is Andi."

However, the man frowns in confusion before looking behind you.

" Hum..Andi ?"

You turn around and see that Andi is gone. You sigh loudly before groaning.

" This girl I swear.."

You then flash your best apology smile towards Billy.

" It was a pleasure, Billy. But, I need to go."

You start walking towards the cashier, but Billy follows you before adding.

" Wait. I'll search with you."

You are about to refuse, but finally nod in agreement. You need all the help you can get to find the girl, hoping that one of those creepy guys didn't get to her first..You shiver just as the thought and feel the adrenaline rushing through your veins as you start yelling.

" Andi ! Andi ! Where are you ?!"

Billy calls her as well, but you finally have to go through the cashier.

" Please, I lost my...sister. Her name is Andi. Can you call her ?"

The lady only nods before making the call. You stay here, biting your nails out of frustration. One minute, and Andi had disappeared. You don't want admit it, but you like the blond midget. You don't want anything to happen to her until you find her a family or help in any case..Suddenly, the woman smiles and tilts her head towards one of the aisles where two individuals had just gotten out of. One is Andi, munching grumpily on a handful of crisps while the other person, a man, drags her forward. You sigh in relief before running towards them.

" Thank God ! Andi ! I was worried !"

She only rolls her eye dramatically before continuing eating, but you can see that she feels guilty when she whispers.

" Yeah..Sorry.."

You look up to thank the man that had found her and freeze on thee spot when your eyes meet. Somehow, you have this feeling to have already seen him somewhere.. However, he doesn't seem to feel the same way as he only smiles before tilting his head towards Andi.

" You're the sister of the little demon ?"

He asks with a small smile and you nod with a slight smile as well. He extends his hand towards you and you shake it accordingly. However, the moment your hand is in his, you feel as if electricity is coursing through your entire body. He seems to feel it too this time as he immediately steps away with a small frown of incomprehension. However, before you could say anything, Billy appears and takes him by the shoulders in a friendly way.

" Hey, Danny ! I see that you've met the new members !"

Danny ? The name is as familiar as the face, but Danny only shakes his head with a shy smile.

" Yeah. Just found the girl and decided to do a good deed..But, I have to come back to work. I'll see you around."

You don't know who he is addressing those last words too, but you still reply.

" I hope so.."

He looks one last time at you before leaving and suddenly, memories flash in your brain that makes you scream in agony in front of everyone. Andi is by your side in and instant and tries to calm you down, but you feel a painful pang in your chest. You open your eyes wide and feel as if you can't breathe..You thought you had locked her up..But, one glance at Danny, and your old demon got out of his prison. You feel cold arms around your neck as she whispers in your ear.

" hello, sister.."

End of part 1! Tell me what you think!

[wintersouldier57]

The Picnic - Feysand

So @thebonecarver and I wrote this to celebrate hitting 100 followers a few days ago!! Thank you to everyone who has followed us! 😊

It had been a long few weeks for the high lord and lady of the night court. Between their regularly scheduled meetings and taking care of Nyx, things had been hard. They had scarcely found any time for themselves in the midst of it, hardly any to just be together, enjoying each other’s presence. When Feyre wasn’t at a meeting, Rhys was in the Illyrian mountains handling the armies with Cassian. When Rhys was home, Feyre was at the art studio. Their schedules never seemed to line up.

They often spoke mentally, providing each other as much comfort as they could in that capacity, but they soon found that even psychic communication had its limits when it came to comforting one another. Feyre missed the way his arms felt around her, the way he would whisper soothing words into her ear when things became too much to handle. She understood that they had their responsibilities to their court. They were high lord and lady, after all. Still, she was restless. She wanted nothing more than to feel his embrace, nothing more than to drown in a pool of the transcendent love he offered her.

There was a dull ache in her heart that she knew only he could alleviate. She longed for him. She had not known desperation so deep since her days before coming to Prythian. That desperation, that hunger, had burned, but never like this. It had seared from the inside out, but never straight from the heart. Not like this did. This killed slowly, she thought, deliberately. She felt as though she had been traipsing around Velaris with half a soul, never quite able to get comfortable anywhere she went.

She would see him today. For the first time in weeks, everything lined up. Cassian and Azriel had agreed to take Nyx off their hands for the day for what Cassian called “much-needed uncle time”. They would pick him up as soon as she returned home for the day.

She was a bit surprised that Cassian had not said anything, no teasing. She didn't say anything though, she did not want to give him any ideas. He probably does not want to lose any time with Nyx, she thought, and chuckled silently.

“What’s so funny my High Lady? Rhysie has some good jokes for once?” Rhysand must have heard that from wherever he was, because he responded in Feyre’s and Cassian’s head, At least my jokes don't have every female in all of Prythian running for the hills Cassian. Feyre laughed harder, Cassian chuckling as well.

“Well have fun you two, and be sure to be home at a respectable time, and PLEASE use a sound barrier, I do not want to have to explain what noises are being heard all over this cauldron-damned city to this little one.” He said in his most “mother hen” voice, and tickled a giggling Nyx in his arms. Feyre glared at him while he laughed, and Rhys must have said something in his head, for he laughed even harder.

“BYE CASSIAN” Feyre shouted, making a beeline to the door. She could still hear Cassian's laughter,

Once she was outside, she took a deep breath of the fresh air. It was a nice day, perfect for a walk in the park or a trip to the market squares. Perhaps she and Rhys could take a walk when he returned. She would love nothing more than to walk through Velaris hand in hand with her mate. She missed simple intimacies like that, little touches.

You look simply delectable in that dress, Feyre darling.

He had spoken into her mind. Could he see her? Where was he? She looked around but could not find him. Suddenly, there was a pressure underneath her knees, lifting her into the air. She yelped, surprised that he had picked her up.After the initial surprise, she spoke;

“You should have given me some warning, you prick.”

He chuckled, “Now what would be the fun in that Feyre Darling?”

She tried her best to look unaffected by the nickname, and replied “The fun would be that I wouldn't have to scream and not fall on my face for all of Velaris to see.”

He put on a face of mock hurt. “You really think I would drop you darling? I would never!”

She glared. “Based on what you did last time, I won't trust you for another 1000 years, 900 if your lucky.”

He laughed harder, burrowing his face in my neck, to try and silence it. Once he calmed he breathed in my neck, savouring her smell.

“If I could bottle your smell I would drink it every day.” He sighed, hugging Feyre tightly, as if she could disappear any moment. And to be honest based on how long they had been apart, they both felt as if they would disappear, but thank the cauldron they wouldn't.

Finally, after all this time, they were together. She smiled as she nuzzled closer to his chest. Through the bond, she could feel the pure happiness coursing through Rhys. Her grin widened as she felt the wind blazing past them.

She wondered where he might be taking her. They hadn’t discussed their plans beyond spending the day together. Wherever they were headed, though, Feyre knew she would love it. She would love it because he would be there with her. For the first time in a long while, she was home. An unyielding warmth welled up in her heart in the place of the ravenous longing she had been experiencing before. She was with Rhys now, and all was well, at least for the day.

She looked down and watched the vibrant landscape of Velaris fly by beneath them. She could easily fly herself, but she didn’t want to. At least for now, she wanted to be held by him. Judging by the way his arms were wrapped around her more tightly than usual, it was clear that he was enjoying it too. There was something about him holding her like that. It always gave her butterflies, no matter how long they had been together. Even with the centuries stretching out before them, she could be sure that that would never change. Not this, and not the way they felt for each other. She would always look at him as though he had hung the very stars that shone above Ramiel on the Night Court’s insignia, and he would always look to her and see his darling mate, his salvation.

They continued their flight. When he landed and sat her on her feet, she mourned the close contact. She took in their surroundings. They stood on a hill overlooking the city. From the vantage point, she could see it all. She saw the rainbow and the Sidra, twinking as it reflected the sun’s light. What she took the most note of, though, was the blanket laid out on the grass, a small basket sitting at its center.

A picnic.

Rhys had planned a picnic.

She didn’t realize it was possible to love him more than she already did.

He watched her intently, taking in the shift in her expression. He grinned widely. He loved seeing her like this, happy and content. For once, she looked her age. She looked like the 20 year-old girl she was, and without eyes that looked haunted or scared. Their duties could wait. Right now, as they stood on this hill, things were for once simple. The world was quiet, save for the slight breeze that occasionally brushed against their ears. They were happy. War and politics be damned.

“Happy, my love?”

She looked down to find that her hand was glowing. It seemed that her body was speaking for itself. Instead of answering, she took a few steps toward him, placing her shining palm on the side of his face, stroking his cheek. His violet eyes were alight with the spark of love. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It wasn’t like things had been recently. It wasn’t the quick kiss of someone trying to make time between meetings or the kind of kiss she would give him as she passed him on the way to feed Nyx. The kiss they now shared was sweet, unhurried, as though they had all the time in the world to stand there and relish in what they were feeling.

After what felt like a millenia, he slowly pulled away from her, once again meeting her eyes.

“I’ve missed that,” he said.

“I’ve missed you,” Feyre replied, tears brimming in her eyes. But she was smiling, a broad, indestructible smile that made Rhys look at her in wonder

They stared at each other for a moment longer before Rhys motioned to the blanket.

“Let’s get more comfortable.”

They made their way over to the blanket and they sat next to one another. She leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. With his other arm, he reached for the basket, producing several sandwiches and a container of what she assumed was some sort of stew. He sat the food in front of them before he tilted his head and placed a soft kiss on her hair.

She knew she was likely still glowing. She didn’t need to look down to know. Rhys picked up one of the sandwiches and held it to her lips. She took a bite, savoring the taste. She quickly realized where she had tasted it before. It was one of the sandwiches from her favorite restaurant. She beamed. Her clever, loving mate had gone there and procured it for her, just to make her happy. She recalled a time when such a thing would have been an ordeal, a time when her former lover had refused to so much as let her leave the house. She wished more than anything that she could go back in time and tell that girl that this was waiting on the horizon, that such a love awaited her beyond all the turmoil.

He put a hand on her hair, lightly stroking it as he held up the sandwich once again for her. She took another bite, turning slightly.

“I can feed myself, you know,” she laughed.

“What kind of male would I be if I didn’t care for my lovely hardworking mate?”

She reached over, grabbing a sandwich and holding it up for him. They spent the rest of the picnic like that, feeding each other bits of food and staring into one another’s eyes. When they had finished their meal, Rhys put what remained back in the basket and pulled her closer, pushing her head down onto his lap as he continued to stroke her hair. They stayed like that for a while, him stroking her hair and occasionally leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. It had been going on for some time when he finally said, “I don’t know what I’ve done in this life to deserve this. To deserve you.”

She looked up at him. His eyes were tender.

“You do deserve this. You’ve done so much good in your life, Rhys. You deserve every bit of happiness.”

He smiled.

“You are my happiness,” he said, his voice shaky, pressing another kiss to her brow, “and I will spend the rest of this eternity showing you how much I treasure you, my love, my mate, my salvation.”

She looked into his eyes. She wanted to say something, but she was at a loss. No words in her vocabulary could accurately describe what she was feeling, the depth of her affection for the male in front of her. She hoped her face and the glow of her skin said enough. They seemed to, as a moment later he pulled her into a tight embrace.

“My Feyre,” he said, nuzzling her neck, “my light.”

“I love you,” she said. She had never meant anything more.

“I love you too,” he responded, pressing a kiss to her pulse point.

He continued trailing light kisses down the column of her throat, smiling into her neck as he heard her breath hitch slightly. He readjusted, laying her down on the blanket. Her face was flushed as he stared down at her. He knelt down on top of her, pressing a long kiss onto her collarbone.

“Now prepare yourself, darling,” he said, “I’m going to show you just how much I’ve missed you.”

She was not prepared.

[dragoqueen]

5 Times Bucky Helped out Peter + 1 Time Peter Returned the Favor

Summary: Peter may or may not be one of the best procrastinators there is. Which leads to some tricky situations when he has patrol late in the night and school in the morning. Luckily, Bucky is there to help him out. 

Words: 1790

Alright, so maybe procrastinating on his homework by going on patrol wasn’t the best idea when he had a 3 page paper on WWII due the next day. But, in his defense, he had already created a plan for it. The thing could practically write itself at this point, and if only it could. The real problem was that he left it on his desk, and he didn’t remember half of it.

So here he was, sitting at his desk in the dark, with a single lamp on, a large mug of coffee to his right, and a computer with a blank google doc pulled up, the blinking cursor reminding him of every second gone to waste of him not getting any work done. His eyes were dry from staring at the screen for a good half an hour, and he was about ready to give up and just accept the terrible grade.

Suddenly, a noise from the hallway pulls his attention away from the computer. Footsteps slowly approach his room, though his spidey sense doesn't alert him of any danger. A mental arm slides through the cracked doorway and slowly the rest of the door opens to reveal Bucky, blinking from the sudden exposure to light. Peter quickly turns the brightness on his computer down before turning back to the man who had already taken a seat on the bed. “What are you doing up so late?” he asks gruffly, though Peter can sense the well-meaning-ness behind the question. 

“Forgot I had a paper due tomorrow. It’s kinda important, can’t miss it.” he answers. 

“You know you’re supposed to do that kind of stuff over time, properly. That way it turns out nice. What’s the paper over?”

“World War Two heroes.”

He lets out a soft snort, “well that should be pretty easy. You have two of us living with you.”

“Yeah, but all of my research is currently sitting in my desk at school and this is due tomorrow! It’s going to take at least a few hours to write this.”

“Peter, you can’t be doing this. A growing boy like you needs his rest. Especially you, being a growing spiderling and all.”

“I know. I’m sorry if I woke you up, I’m just trying to get this done as quietly as possible. I already made a cup of coffee to keep me up so I should be fine, and I promise I’ll go to bed when I’m done if you want to go back to sleep.”

“No. I’ll help you. Research will take too long, I’ll provide information and fuel. Stay here.”

Bucky stands up, ruffling Peter’s hair before exiting the room. Peter awkwardly sits there, his chair angled towards the doorway, as he waits for Bucky to return. He’s just barely fighting against sleep when he hears Bucky’s footsteps approaching the room. Ha makes an attempt to sit up more, but decides to just prop his head up with one hand. 

Bucky pov

Bucky gives the kid a smile when he sees him. He was super adorable, and was definitely worth protecting. He’d pulled plenty of all-nighters before, mostly just from nightmares and his body refusing to sleep. His mind always returns back to his time in the army and with HYDRA. He’d only told Steve about these nightmares, and typically they’d get through it together. Especially since Steve had trouble sleeping as well after being frozen in the ice for so long. However, Steve hadn’t been up when Bucky’s body refused sleep, and he’d seen the light in the baby spider’s room. One thing led to another and here he was, handing him a large pitcher of ice water, a cup, and a plate containing four ham and turkey sandwiches cut into triangle halves. 

“Here’s the deal. You’re going to work and I’ll answer any questions that you have. If you finish at a reasonable time, I’ll make you a huge breakfast in the morning as a celebration. What hero did you choose? Steve… Peggy…?” 

“Oh, actually Mr. Winter Soldier White Wolf Bucky Barnes, sir. I chose to write about you.”

“Me…” Bucky’s baffled. He hadn’t viewed himself as a hero in the slightest. Especially with all of the Winter Soldier… stuff. Even during the war he was more of a sidekick than anything. One of “Captain America’s” many accomplices. The kid was sweet though. “I… okay. I guess helping you with this thing is going to be easier than I thought. Umm… What kind of information do you need, kid?” 

“One paragraph has to be general information about your life before the war, like where were you born, where did you go to school, what was your childhood like, etc. The second one has to be what was your contribution to the war, what you were mots known for, etc. And then the third one is about your affect on others and our everyday life, which is more based on me than research I need for you. All and all, pretty easy. Especially with your help, Mr. Bucky Barnes, sir. My research hadn't resulted in a lot of stuff because it's a "controversial topic at school," the kid actually used air quotes. He's so precious. "But, I did you anyway because you're really cool and more people need to realize it. Sorry if I ranted a bit there."

“It’s fine kid. Like you said, this shouldn’t be too hard. Also, you can just call me Bucky.”

“Alright Mr. Bucky. Let’s get started? I can just write down the information I need and then you can go to sleep-”

“Nope, we’re in this together. I’m staying up as long as you are so better get started.”

“Oh… alright then. I’m going to write a quick thesis and then maybe ask you a few questions based on the different paragraphs, if that’s all right?”

“Perfectly fine, kid.”

Peter writes out a quick thesis he’d been mulling over as he’d stared at the blank screen for so long. He thought it actually wasn’t half bad. Then, he begins filling in information on Mr. Barnes’ (he was still planning on calling him that in his head) childhood, adding in a few fillers here and there to make the essay fit the guidelines. Every once and a while he’ll take a long gulp of water or take a bite of one of the sandwiches. They were really good.

By the time the kid has gotten to his conclusion paragraph, he’s nearly fallen asleep multiple times, and the plate of food has long gone, though Bucky had continued to keep the pitcher full for the kid, despite his reassurance that he didn’t need it. Like heck he did. Finally, kid types the last sentence and turns it in, slumping over his desk on top of the recently closed laptop. Bucky chuckles, and grabs the dishes from the desk, assuming the kid would move to the bed by himself. Once he’s returned to make sure he’s asleep, the kid’s passed out, still over the desk. Bucky picks the kid up and moves him to the bed, Peter only letting out a small sigh in his sleep as protest. He pulls the covers over him before closing the doors behind him, moving back to his own room after finally feeling tired. 

Steve’s sitting at the edge of his bed when he returns, looking slightly worried. He grins when he sees his husband return, scooting over to allow him to sit down. “Sorry I wasn’t up, you know you could’ve woke me up, right?”

“I know. But I didn’t want to disturb you. After all, you looked so peaceful,” he teases. “And anyway, the kid was still up doing an assignment.”

“He get it finished?”

“Yeah, helped him a bit. Gonna have to make him breakfast in the morning as a reward.”

“Well aren’t you the parent.”

“Shut it punk. I want to sleep.”

“Alright.” They both return to the bed and end up passing out almost instantly. 

Bucky wakes up first the next morning, surprised to get some of the best sleep he’s gotten in a while. As promised, Bucky makes a large meal, fit for the endless void of food that was caused from the family of spies, gods, super soldiers, and other assorted bottomless pits. For the rest of them he whips up some pancakes, bacon, and eggs. However, for Peter he makes a couple of chocolate-drizzled croissants (a favorite of the spiderling) a chocolate flavored smoothie (with a bit of coffee mixed in for energy), and a small bowl of assorted fruits. 

Soon after the foot is done the team begins to trickle in at their own pace. Pepper and Natasha are up first, having breakfast together with a cup of coffee before moving off to their assorted morning duties. Sam, Clint, and the twins appear shortly after, fighting over the biggest pancakes like children. In the middle of it Steve appears, giving his husband a kiss on the cheek before sitting in between the two squabbling children. Sam and Clint give one last glare to each other before settling with the food on their plates. Tony and Bruce were at a science convention meeting, so they were currently at a hotel in Washington. Strange had taken a visit to Kamar-Taj, so he too was absent from their breakfast.  And Thor, Loki, and Carol were all off-world. 

Finally, the spiderling made an appearance, solidifying his child-like being by rubbing his eyes with his fist, blinking into the chaos of the morning. FRIDAY automatically dimmed the lights as he walked in, alerting everyone of his presence. Various greetings were exchanged as he sat down at their abnormally large table for his breakfast. He looks at Bucky curiously, to confirm that his breakfast would be a satisfying reward, his eyes growing bigger than they had thought humanly possible when the tray of food was set before him. “Wow, thank you Mr. Bucky. You really didn’t have to do this!”

“Hey! How come the kid gets a special breakfast?” Clint complains.

“Because the kid actually works hard for things in life, and this is a reward for him. Now eat up Peter, Happy will be here to pick you up in about 20 minutes.”

Peter nods his thanks before digging into the meal. It tastes even better than he could have imagined and by the time Happy comes to pick him up, he’s eaten it all and feels fresh and prepared for the coming school day. 

When he returns from school he happily tells everyone in the tower of how his teacher really enjoyed his WWII essay and had him read it aloud, which earns himself a proud smile from Bucky. 

[angelictaehyun]

PAIRING: guardian angel!taehyun x fem!reader

GENRE: guardian angel au, soulmate au, fluff, angst

WC. 3,000+

WARNINGS: minor alcohol usage, mild language, feeling of loneliness

SYNOPSIS: Kang Taehyun, a sassy, young guardian angel, didn’t think anyone could be more of an absolute mess… boy, was he mistaken.

PART ONE || PART TWO || INTERLUDE || PART THREE

.

As you sobbed into your pillow while simultaneously inhaling ice cream, Taehyun was a world away, absentmindedly picking a piece of lint from his left wing. Not long after, he was standing in front of Soobin, an elder, receiving yet another assignment to none other than you, Little Miss Crying Mess, who’d already gone through an entire box of Kleenex in an hour. 

His job was easy (and he’d be lying if he didn’t think himself a pro): silently look after you, keep you from harm, and do his absolute best to make you happy. But you would make that extremely difficult for him. When he glanced through your extensive profile, he didn’t think anyone could be more of an… in nicer terms...

Absolute fucking mess.

Like good God, yes, your boyfriend (ex-boyfriend, now) cheated on you, but that was a month and a half ago, and you weren’t even with him that long. So why could you not shut up and stop crying?

Taehyun wasn’t supposed to think this, guardian angel and all, but what was he supposed to do? You had raccoon eyes from your dried mascara and a pending noise complaint from your neighbor across the hall. 

Funnily, the first time he ever saw you, he felt his jaw drop. Although you were possibly the ugliest crier he’d ever seen (and he’d been alive for a millennium and a half), he saw past that. He awed over your piercing eyes which held so much life in them; your adorably round face that was puffy from all your crying; your silky hair which he wanted to run a hand through. 

He felt his heart yearn for you, like you were a magnet pulling him in. 

In his first week on the job, he felt nothing but pity and sadness for you. The way you seemed so lifeless and drained had him motivated to mend your aching heart. Of course, you didn’t see or feel his presence; he worked tirelessly and quietly, doing small stuff to make you smile. For example, he’d slip a $20 in your pocket every once in a while for you to find when doing laundry (you never found them, and he was out $80 by the end of the week). He also gradually refilled your bare fridge with your favorite food, hoping you’d eat them and feel a semblance of joy, but you never touched it. Instead, each meal was a piece of toast (and occasionally a handful of Goldfish) and an entire bottle of wine. 

He prayed for your liver. 

His second week, he felt even more determined to see your beautiful smile. However, without his help, you had finally decided to take a shower and mosey your way back into society, a decision he was grateful for since you were beginning to resemble a dying gerbil. He accompanied you to your local coffee shop, following closely behind as you weaved between people on the sidewalk, oblivious to you, of course. The day was going well for you; the barista accidentally sized up your order, the jazz band in the park played your favorite song, and you felt the warm sun on your face for the first time in a long while. That is, until you ran into an old friend and found out she recently became engaged. 

He practically saw your flip switch as you plastered on a fake smile and acted as if you were fine. When you finally left, you couldn’t even make it halfway to your apartment before you were breaking down once more. 

His third week was when he decided to take on a more drastic measure. When he re-read your profile to find a list of your core memories, he realized you had a lot of love for snow and snowfall. So he made it snow. 

In the middle of June. 

Nonetheless, he completely ignored the fact that it was a logistical nightmare, thinking it was a perfect idea, sure to bring a smile to your gorgeous face. When you woke up the next morning, feeling extra chilly, Taehyun felt giddy, especially as you moped over to your window and watched the crystalline snow fall from Heaven. He felt proud, especially when he noticed a single tear cascade down your cheek; he believed he overwhelmed you with such happiness, you cried. But when he heard you mumble something like a ‘Yeonjun loved snow,’ and crawl back into bed, he widened his eyes, plopped himself on your desk, and gave up. Not only did he have to deal with a crying you (again), he also had the entire city population wondering why the hell it was snowing in the middle of summer. 

Most of his fourth week was spent on your floor, playing with your dog, devising a new plan to cheer you up, and waiting for you to wake, as you spent most of your day sleeping… though he preferred you asleep since it meant you weren’t crying. Rather than feeling that pity and empathy from his first day on the job, each time you shed a tear, he found himself growing more and more irritated, so when you cried again for the eighth time that week, he had enough. He undid his glamour which kept him hidden and made himself visible to you. He fixed himself a sandwich, sat on your desk, and waited patiently for you to notice his presence. 

Much like any sane person, when you saw a random, unknown boy aggressively eating a sandwich and watching you from less than six feet away, you screamed bloody murder (which was the reason behind the second noise complaint from your neighbor). You scrambled to the opposite side of your bed and balled your hand into a fist while the other reached for a firm, weighty object, as if that was going to protect you from what you believed was about to be certain death. 

“STAY BACK!”

“Y/N, Y/N, it’s okay, it’s okay. Let me explain myself,” he tried reasoning as he slowly approached you as one would approach a flighty deer. You reached for every pillow you could and hurled them his way. As he busied himself dodging them, you sprinted from your bedroom to the front door, but just as you reached for the doorknob, he appeared from literal thin air in front of you, making you scream even louder.

He grabbed your shoulder in an attempt to calm you but that just heightened your fear. You thrashed around in an attempt to escape, ignoring how his grip on you was outrageously strong. 

Almost inhuman. 

When you finally took in his massive, iridescent wings, a small part of your brain put it all together. The other part of your brain, however, was on fire and assumed he was a nutjob hellbent on killing you. 

“Shh, it’s okay,” he whispered, letting go of your shoulder. 

You made another failed attempt at reaching for your doorknob. This time, he grabbed your hand. 

“I’m not here to kill you.”

Your eyes narrowed and your body relaxed (barely).

“My name is Taehyun and I’m an angel. Your angel, actually.” He spun around, showcasing his golden wings. 

You let out an inappropriate snort, which was quickly replaced by a choke as he began moving closer toward you. Your body stilled and you screwed your eyes shut. 

You felt nothing but the cool tip of his wing brush against your arm as he moved by you. After a long minute of silence, you took a deep breath to calm yourself and hesitantly opened one eye, just to be met with the sight of him comfortably spread across your couch. He mindlessly picked at the fabric of your favorite throw pillow and threw a leg across your coffee table. He seemed all too familiar with your apartment, which was a frightening realization. You watched him with bated breath as he merely glanced over your trembling figure, tilting an eyebrow. He seemed disinterested… almost bored. 

You shuffled behind your kitchen counter, making sure to put plenty of distance between you both, and once you were sure there was enough space, you took him in. He was breathtaking, to say the least. His perfectly pink lips, razor-sharp jaw, defined nose, bright eyes, and high cheekbones, it was like he was sculpted by God himself. You must’ve stared too long because you saw his lips lift into a smirk. You shifted your eyes away and folded your arms across your chest defensively, “Fine, I’ll play along. Why should I believe you’re an angel?” 

He tipped his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, “Are you blind? I literally have wings.”

“Which could be fake for all I know.”

He scoffed in disbelief, “I’ll have you know, these are most certainly real. Excuse me.”

You silently leaned back against the counter with a look of disinterest and pursed lips. He sighed before turning around, allowing you to see his wings begin to glow and suddenly disappear in a flash of bright light. You were left gaping as your mind ran wild, though only a single thought consumed you, “Why do I need a guardian angel? What could I possibly need one for?”

“Well, your life… um, it’s kind of ass,” he replied as if it were obvious. 

Now it was your turn to be offended, “Excuse me? Who the hell are you to tell me that?”

“Your guardian angel?! A-are you deaf? Why else would I be here? You think I’ve enjoyed watching you mope around your apartment for the past month? You shower, like, once a week, and honestly, you look like a soggy rat. All you do is cry and never shut up, I can’t believe you’re even still capable of forming a tear! Actually, aside from when you’re asleep, this is the longest I’ve seen you go without breaking down sobbing!” he scolded as you stood in your kitchen, insulted by his harsh rant. 

“They why stay? Go find someone else to bother, it’s not like I want you here anyway!”

You picked at a hangnail and anxiously nibbled on your bottom lip. You didn’t even know why you were so offended; he was a complete stranger. As if he knew, he shuffled over to you, close enough to reach for your hand, and surprising you both, you didn’t pull away. 

“Look, I’m sorry, but like I said, your life has been hard. When your mother passed away, you had to live on your own as soon as you graduated high school, and now you can barely afford college because all of your money goes to rent. Then your boyfriend does what he did? Not to bring up old scars, but you need all the support you can get. That’s what I’m here for.”

You yanked your hand away and scoffed. ‘Not to bring up old scars,’ he says, bringing up every single scar. 

“I’ve been doing perfectly fine on my own. I don’t need your help and I especially don’t need you lurking around. Please leave.” You pointed at your door before sulking back into your room. 

“You’re getting my help whether you like it or not!”

That was the last thing you heard before you slammed your door. 

· ──────────────────── ·

The following week was unpleasant, to say the least. Each and every morning, you woke to his annoyingly handsome yet smug face as he sat with his feet kicked up on your desk… and this morning was no different. 

“Good morning, Sunshine! You know, you’re quite the deep sleeper, your heinously loud snoring couldn’t even wake you… but it definitely woke the dead,” he cheerfully remarked, plastering on a self-satisfied smirk. You ignored him and pushed your way by his tall frame on your way to your bathroom sink. Much like the week before, he appeared from thin air and perched himself on your counter. Despite your lack of response, he continued, “We should do something fun today, maybe go get some sun? You’re looking a little… lifeless.”

He examined your body from head to toe. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought he seemed concerned, but he masked it well with his smugness. 

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you,” you mumbled hoarsely. 

“Then don’t go with me! Call a friend or go out by yourself, I really don’t care. Just please get out,” he whiny begged. He hated seeing you cooped up in your small, dinky apartment. He wished for you to experience life again, and he especially wished to see the light return to your eyes and the bright smile he knew you kept hidden. 

“No.”

Once you finished brushing your teeth, you climbed back into your warm bed and scrolled on your old phone. He clenched his jaw at your stubbornness, trying his best to stay calm. It was only 9:32 AM and you had already managed to piss him off. He knew you were headstrong, he didn’t need to read a profile on you to know that; just one day around you and he already picked up on your obstinance. He jumped off the countertop and climbed onto your bed to hover over your body. His breath fanned your nose as he trapped your body between him, wings draping over you both like a blanket. You were shocked and once again, left breathless just by being in his proximity, and you could feel your pulse rapidly increasing as he glanced down to your lips. 

He leaned closer and closer, and you nearly closed your eyes, until he snatched your phone from your hand. 

“You’re not getting this back until you go outside and do something. Anything. For the love of God,” he pleaded, pulling back quickly. The sudden lack of warmth snapped you out of your haze.

“Oh my God! Gimme!” you helplessly whined.

“Are you five? You know what you have to do to get your phone back.” He slapped your hand away as you tried to steal it back. 

You refrained from punching him, instead narrowing your eyes as he did the same. You both had an unspoken contest until you broke first. His harsh gaze pierced you; he was too intimidating. 

“Fine,” you snapped, making your way from bed to get ready for the day. 

· ──────────────────── ·

There was a small, quiet beach near your childhood home you loved visiting every once in a while. The tranquility of the ocean lapping at the shore always provided you with a feeling of peace. 

Until now.

You had chosen to go out by yourself, much like Taehyun had suggested, but your plan quickly faltered when he reminded you that he would be with you regardless, either glamoured or visible. Seeing as you didn’t necessarily like the idea of him invisibly lurking around, you opted to have him visibly by your side. You’d rather see his judgment rather than feel it from afar. 

So there you were, watching him smother an obnoxious amount of your expensive sunscreen onto his face as if he were a human and not a supernatural being that’s completely unaffected by UV. It’d been a week since he came into your life, or at least made his presence known, and he was already a pain in your ass. 

“I have to maintain my cover somehow.”

“What?” You didn’t know what cover he was trying to maintain, his pesky wings were hidden, and overlooking his outright godly features, he looked perfectly human. 

He did a poor job of rubbing the sunscreen into his skin and for the first time since meeting him, you felt a smile creep on your face. He looked like an idiot. You almost let him be since you were so amused, but you helped him out anyway. Standing on the balls of your feet and cupping his face, you began smoothing the sunscreen on. He held your waist, holding you steady, and you felt nervous from the proximity but you did your best to conceal it. He silently studied you, thinking you looked incredibly adorable as you focused on your small task, your eyes narrowing in concentration and your teeth biting into your soft lips. 

He couldn’t help the way his mouth tugged into a small smile. 

“All done! Now you don’t look like a ghost,” you mused. 

“Thank you,” he snorted, releasing his firm grip. Instinctually, he kept himself hovered around you, though, never really creating a noticeable distance. 

You were thankful he pushed you to leave your apartment, but you knew you could never tell him that. You just knew he was the type to constantly bombard you with ‘I told you so’, and you’d never hear the end of it. 

The rest of the day, he watched as you laid on your blanket and basked in the sunlight, eventually getting up to walk the shoreline. You kept yourself occupied as you searched the sand for pretty shells and dainty rocks, and Taehyun forced himself to keep his distance, not wanting to disturb your peace. This was the calmest he had seen you since he was first assigned and he felt so grateful; he didn’t show it but he couldn’t bear seeing you in pain. Yes, your crying was growing extremely irritating, and yes, the pile of used Kleenex beside your bed was beginning to disgust him, nonetheless, he wanted to see you happy. 

When you stopped to blankly stare at the vast ocean, he could’ve sworn he could feel your pain, the way your heart ached, the way your mind was heavy with despair. The pain he felt wasn’t one of heartbreak though, rather… loneliness. 

In fact, all of your pain stemmed from feeling completely alone. 

He quickly made his way over to your side and grabbed your much smaller hand in his—he wanted you to know you weren’t alone anymore. You didn’t turn to him, rather you kept your eyes trained on the sun beginning to set on the horizon. You leaned your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes, relishing in his warmth and the crisp tide washing over your feet. 

For reasons he still had yet to decipher, he yearned to always be by you, protecting you, making no harm ever came your way again. He tried shaking off the feeling as doing his job properly, but something in the back of his mind told him this was different. 

Something about you was different. 

And he could quite literally feel it in his heart.                                                  

Chapter Two >>                                                                         

[jobean12-blog]

Just like Heaven

Pairings: Bucky x reader

Word Count: 1,641

Summary: Bucky beard is a beautiful distratction when he catches you rockin’ out to 80s music. 

Author’s Note: This is for the HBC’s @the-ss-horniest-book-club continuation of drunk drabbles and the amazing prompt sent in below (that was literally written for me because BEARD!) and Music Era Monday! I was listening to my 80s playlist the whole time I wrote this and I still can’t stop smiling. I hope you enjoy this and it makes you smile! Thank you all for reading and much love always! ❤❤❤

Warnings: Fluffy fun, lots of singing, awesome 80s music, A TRUE LOVE FOR BUCKY’S BEARD! 😁

Bucky stands at your door, knocking for a second time. He can hear your very loud music and knows you most likely can’t hear him knocking.  Your singing rings out over the music and he chuckles, giving the door one more hard knock before opening it up.  

“She drives me crazy; I can’t help myself…” Your body moves in rhythm to the music, your hand grasping an incredibly old wooden spoon as you belt out the lyrics. Your ponytail is swinging back and forth while your head bops and your socked feet slide across the floor. “I can’t get any rest; people say I’m obsessed.” You haven’t looked up in who knows how long, shaking your hips as you move across the kitchen.

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” You let out a shrill scream when your back hits something hard, spinning so fast you whip Bucky with your hair and throw the spoon in his face. His very hairy face. “Oh Bucky! HOLY CRAP! I��m sorry, I didn’t hear or see you and then you were just there.” You’re yelling over the music, eyes wide.

Your focus moves back to very fluffy looking beard he has going on and you find your thoughts wandering. “Can we lower the music, doll?” Your eyes shoot back to his, your forehead creasing in confusion. “What?” Bucky just smiles and walks around you, hitting the power button on your speakers.

“I said. Can we lower the music?” he laughs. “Oh, yea, of course, thanks for shutting it, I couldn’t hear a damn thing.” Giving you a very “duh” look he holds up your wooden spoon. “Great mic! I think it might be older than me.” You stalk over and take it from his hand, “oh shut up. You mean you never sang into a spoon when you were little?”

Bucky watches your eyes flick back down to his beard. “Something on my face, doll?” Your cheeks warm and you pretend to fix your socks. “No, no. Um, anyway. Did you need me?” Bucky looks like he wants to say more but instead asks, “what were you listening to? It’s really fun!” Your whole face brightens as you grab your phone and show him your 80s playlist. “It’s all music from the 1980s and it is really fun! I’m glad you like it!”

He scrolls through your phone, stopping at ‘Take on Me.’ “There is a band with the name ‘A-ha’?” he questions, making a funny face at your phone. You take the moment to study his face again, his dark beard covering most of his cheeks, your fingers itching to touch it. “I wanna hear this one,” he says, pressing play and handing you back your phone.

Your eyes flick to his beard one last time before the synthesized piano kicks in.  Bucky smiles, tapping his foot to the music. You start singing, once again dancing around your room. Bucky takes your hand and twirls you. “Woooooo! Today's another day to find you shying away, I'll be coming for your love, okay?” You sing into your spoon much to Bucky’s amusement and delight.

He pulls you into his chest, circling one arm around your waist while his metal hand holds yours. “Oh my gosh, Buck, this is like the waltz. Not at all for the 80’s!” You laugh and throw your arms around his neck. “What am I supposed to do then, huh? You show me,” he asks before picking you up and spinning around. Your laughter rises over the music as you cling to him. “Not this either but it’s so fun!”

When he finally puts you down the next song has started, and you start to jump in happiness but quickly stumble from dizziness. “Woah, doll.” Bucky catches you in his arms, “sorry. Too many spins, huh?” You giggle and right yourself, your face now awfully close to his. Your hand inches up his chest and just as you’re about to stroke his beard you hear Steve’s voice over the AI.

“Bucky, what the hell. We were supposed to go for a run 20 minutes ago!” Bucky lets out an exasperated sigh. “All we do is run!” You laugh and go to lower the music again. “Did you need something?” Bucky’s phone buzzes and he picks it up, shouting into it, “I’m coming Steve, one sec!” He abruptly hangs up and smiles, “yeah actually. Do you have headphones I can borrow? I hate running without music and I can’t find mine anywhere.”

“Sure! I can send you my 80s playlist too, if you want, so you can give it a listen on your run?” He steals the spoon from your hand, saying, “only if I can bring this to sing.” Rolling your eyes you take his phone, setting up the playlist and handing him the headphones.

“All set! Enjoy your run. And gimme back my mic!” Holding out your hand you wait until he gives it back, running over and turning the volume back up. “Won’t you come see about me, I’ll be alone dancing, you know it baby” You give him a wave as he walks to the door, smiling the whole time. “See you later, doll.” Flipping your hair around you sing to him, “don’t you forget about me.”

With one final laugh he shuts the door and you put down your spoon. Leaning against the counter you take a long drink of water, your thoughts drifting back to how good he looks with the beard. “Shit,” you mutter, just as “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” starts to play.

Later that night you head to the common room, excited to find it empty. You plug in your phone, scrolling through your 80s playlist. You’ve been listening to it all day, loving it even more now that you shared it with Bucky. You decide on ‘Invisible Touch’ by Genesis and head to the kitchen. Since you don’t have your wooden spoon handy you grab one of Tony’s fancy spatulas, one you’re sure he’s never actually used before.

“And now it seems I’m falling, falling for her. She seems to have an invisible touch.” You whip around like Allison in The Breakfast Club, throwing your hands up. Wiggling over to the fridge you start pulling out the necessities for a sandwich. “Hey, wanna make me one while you’re at it?” You feel his presence more than hear his question, whipping around to find Bucky standing at the island.

Dancing over you lean into him, “did you say something?” He takes your phone and lowers the volume, smirking when he sees your playlist. “Invisible Touch, huh? I really like that one. The lyrics to these songs are great. I’ve been listening to your playlist nonstop today!” You squeal in happiness! “That’s awesome Bucky. I’m glad you’re enjoying it. And what did you say before?”

“Oh yea, do you mind making me a sandwich since you’re making one?” Picking up your spatula mic you dance back to the counter. “Not at all. Ham, cheese and mayo, right?” He gives you a thumbs up, turning the volume louder. ‘Hungry like the Wolf’ comes on and you give a loud whoop. “I LOVE THIS ONE!”

“Dark in the city, night is a wire,” you sing into your spatula. Bucky grabs a whisk and starts singing along, “woman, you want me, give me a sign. And catch my breathing even closer behind.” You can’t stop smiling as you sing together, the music moving through your body like the very blood in your veins.

When the song ends you finish up the sandwiches, placing Bucky’s down in front of him. “Let’s eat!” He grabs the sandwich and holds it up to his mouth but not before saying, “good, because I’m hungry like the wolf.” You almost spit out your bite at his corny line, grabbing your water to take a drink. “Wow, I’ve converted you in one day! Awesome!”

You eat while listening to Heart’s ‘These Dreams.’ You notice Bucky has some mayo on his beard. Reaching over the island you brush your thumb over the soft hair, your mouth parting at the contact. “There’s still more.” His tongue darts out to lick it off but he doesn’t get it all. “Gone?” he asks, his voice suddenly much deeper.

Shaking your head, you swipe your thumb over the spot once more, this time getting it all. You close your mouth to stop the moan that almost escapes and your thighs clench together as your mind once again races with thoughts of how good his beard would feel on your body. “Doll?” His voice pulls you from your thoughts and you sit down with a plop. ‘Crazy for You,’ comes on and Bucky’s eyes sparkle.

He rounds the island and gently picks you up off the stool, taking you in his arms and holding you close. “It’s all brand new, I’m crazy for you.” You laugh, loving that he already knows some of the lyrics. “So, am I crazy or are you a big fan of the beard?” You suck in a breath, surprised and a little embarrassed that he picked up on your (all too obvious) weakness over his facial hair.

“Soon we two are standing still in time. If you read my mind, you'll see, I’m crazy for you.” You sing the words quietly, hoping your meaning gets across. Bucky gets the message. His lips meet yours, softly at first and the light brush of his beard over your soft skin makes you moan into his mouth. ‘I'm crazy for you. Touch me once and you'll know it's true, I never wanted anyone like this. It's all brand new. You'll feel it in my…’ The lyrics fade away just as Bucky’s hand cradles the back of your neck, pulling you impossibly closer to deepen the kiss and it feels just like heaven.

@aesthetical-bucky @auro-ora @azurika-writes @book-dragon-13 @buckys-broody-muffin @bugsbucky @bucky-on-my-mind @eurynome827 @hiddles-rose @hailmary-yramliah @hawksmagnolia @ikaris-whore @itsunclebucky @imgaril-lindru @jhangelface0523 @jewels2876​ @loricameback​ @littledarlinhavefaithinme​ @littleredstarfish​ @mushyjellybeans​ @marvelandotherfandomimagines​ @marvelgirl7​ @nano--raptor​ @nerdypinupcrystal​ @randomfandompenguin​ @sallycanwait68​ @the-wayward-robot​ 

[anarchyduck]

Peas in a Pod

Day 20 Alt Prompt: De-Aged 

(posted it on AO3 yesterday, forgot to post it here oops) AO3

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

“So let me get this straight,” - Tony massages his temple in effort to soothe his growing headache - “There was a wizard.”

“Yeah,” Ned nods. “And he was shooting off fireballs, like real fireballs, and it was awesome and kinda scary and-”

“Ned. Ned. Find the shortcut to the point. Because nothing explains�� - Tony gestures towards the couch - “that.” 

Ned blushes with embarrassment and nods . “Right! Sorry, sir. So, uhm, Pete was fighting the wizard guy and he was doing really good! Was totally kicking his ass! And then the wizard like, shot him with some kind of purplish black energy ray stuff? Like it shot right out of his hands. Then the wizard was gone and Pete was… like this.” 

Tony eyes the kid on the couch. Same curly brown hair. Same doe brown eyes. It’s everything else that’s wrong. Peter is sixteen, a teenager, and this kid looks like he’s no more than five years old. 

As for Peter, well, he looks content watching videos on Ned’s phone. Some children’s cartoon about dogs or something, Tony didn’t quite catch it. But the kid likes it and he isn’t crying anymore so Tony counts that as a win. Judging from the confused state the kid was in upon arrival, it’s safe to assume Peter’s memories are wiped. Or, rather, memories of his life in the present day which is a problem in and of itself.  

“So,” Ned’s drawl catches his attention. “What are we going to do?”

Tony raises an eyebrow. “We?” he shakes his head. “No, no, you are going home.” 

“What about Peter?” 

Yeah Stark, what about Peter? 

“He’ll go with his aunt.” Tony says simply. Easy enough solution. 

“You mean you can’t like, fix him?” Ned asks. “What if he ends up staying like this forever?” 

Tony waves off the teen’s concerns. “He won’t.” he assures. “Whatever the wizard guy hit him with will probably wear off in a couple hours. Easy peasy.” After all, the kid couldn’t stay like this forever, could he? That is just absurd. 

----------

The effects don’t wear off. 

Two hours later and Peter is still a child. Ned is gone, reluctantly dragged out by Happy who also delivered clothes that fit the kid better so he’s no longer swimming in the Doctor Who shirt Tony assumed belonged to one of the boys. During that time, Tony contacts May to fill her in on what’s going on. The woman is stuck at work (“We’re incredibly short staffed today, it’s ridiculous.”) and unable to leave before her shift is over. 

It leaves Tony in charge of the kid which, while normally wouldn’t be an issue, he suddenly finds himself out of his depth. Teenagers, he can handle. No problem. They could be reasoned with. But small children? 

“Mr. Tony?” 

Tony jumps, spinning on hell with his hand pressed firmly against his heart. “Holy shit!” he gasps.

Peter flinches back, eyes wide and looking as startled as Tony feels. Then his bottom lip begins to quiver. 

“No no, don’t cry.” Tony says in a rush. “I didn’t mean to scare you, kid. You snuck up on me. Ought to put a bell on you someday.” 

That earns him a giggle which washes away the rising guilt. “Uncle Ben says that too.” Peter says. “Says I’m really good at sneaking.” 

“You are good at sneaking.” Tony affirms. “What are you doing down here anyway? Thought you were watching TV?” Least that’s where Tony left him. Kid was content with watching the cartoon with the dogs and he figured he could get some work done tracking down the wizard guy. 

“I was, but it’s over now.” Peter says dismissively, his eyes already wandering the workshop. Then he actually begins to wander. Tony watches him, contemplating on whether it’s a good idea to let a four year old wander his workshop. It isn’t exactly kid proof and if he knows anything about kids (which is very limited) it’s they like to touch everything. And put things in their mouths. 

“What’s that?” Peter asks and Tony leans to the side to look past the monitors and equipment to see what the boy is pointing at. 

“Oh that’s DUM-E.” 

The robot chirps in response, clicking it’s claw as it peers curiously at the boy. Tony takes a couple steps towards them, immediately thinking Peter might fear the robot. Much to his relief, the boy’s mouth is agape with wonder and eyes equally wide. 

“Wow!” he gasps. “Hi DUM-E. I’m Peter.” Peter reaches up to pet DUM-E’s extended arm, giggling as the robot chirps at him. “So is he a robot?”

“Yep. I made him.” 

“You made him?” Peter gives him the same look of wonder and amazement. “Wow. Are there other stuff you’ve made?” 

“I’ve made a lot of stuff.”

And so Tony gives the kid a proper tour of the workshop. Like his older self, Peter is sharp minded and incredibly smart. He asks questions Tony doesn’t think a four year old would know to ask and hangs onto every word Tony says. When he introduces Peter to FRIDAY, the kid is so ecstatic he can’t sit still. It warms his heart to know Peter keeps that same excitement as he aged. 

After the tour, Tony brings him into the kitchen to feed him a late lunch. The kid sits on the kitchen counter next to him, watching Tony’s every move. PB&J sandwiches are the easiest thing he can fix and turns out to be the kid’s favorite.

“So you’re a superhero?” Peter asks curiously. 

“Sometimes.” Tony replies as he spreads the peanut butter onto the bread. 

“Like Batman?” 

“Kiddo, I am way cooler and richer than Batman.”

Peter giggles and Tony thinks it might be the cutest goddamn thing he’s heard all day.

“My daddy is like you.” the kid says suddenly.

“Oh yeah? How so?” Tony asks, finding himself equally curious. He knows through his early research into Peter Parker that the boy’s parents are deceased. Father worked for OsCorp, mother worked for some type of law firm. Aside from the atrocious choice of working at OsCorp, both of them seemed relatively normal. 

“Because he makes stuff. B-But not robots like you do. He makes other stuff and-and he white wears a coat and he helps people.” Peter gives a long, wistful sigh then and adds, “I want my daddy and mommy.” 

Tony freezes, butter knife stuck in the jar of jelly. Quite suddenly he remembers something else about Peter’s parents. 

They both died in a plane crash. 

When Peter was four years old.

The man internally panics, mind going blank on what to do, what to say because what can you say? 

“Mr. Tony?” Peter’s little voice draws him from his internal crisis. He tilts his head, looking at him curiously and, dare Tony say it, concern. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah.” Tony sniffs and finishes up the kid’s sandwich. “Yeah, totally fine kiddo. A-OK. So you want this cut up?”

“Yes.” Peter replies, apparently moved on from the incident. Yet, as Tony puts the knife to bread in order to cut, the kid shouts, “No! No no, not like that! You have’ta make the X.” 

“Huh?” Tony looks a little helplessly from the kid to the bread.

“The X!” Peter leans over and traces an X on the sandwich. “Like that!” 

Tony cuts it up according to the kid’s desire and it’s only then that he sees what the kid means. “Yeah, guess it does look like an X when you cut it, huh? Well, here you go kiddo. Eat up.” He slides the plate to the boy’s side. 

Peter takes a large bite and hums with approval as he chews. “‘Ood yob!” he says around his mouthful. It’s the additional thumbs up that makes Tony chuckle. He grabs a juice box from the fridge for the kid, something teenage Peter would have rolled his eyes and grumbled about. Toddler Peter says a polite ‘thank you’ and picks it up with fingers covered in grape jelly. 

He decides to capture the moment for May and pulls out his phone. “Heads up, kiddo.” he says and takes a picture. Peter is caught in a half smile, peanut butter smeared on the corner of his mouth. There’s a glob of jelly on his shirt that’s run down the image of Thor’s hammer. 

“I wanna see! I wanna see!” Peter instantly demands. 

Tony moves to stand next to him and flips the phone for the kid to see the picture. Peter grins and immediately reaches for the phone. “Uh uh, sticky fingers.” Tony says, which gets the kid giggling about being called ‘sticky fingers’. He moves the phone out of reach and sends the image off to May. 

“So,” Tony says. “What do you want to do after lunch? TV? Go play with DUM-E? Whatever that wannabe Merlin did to you took away your powers, or maybe just suppressed them. Maybe we ought to run some tests to figure that out.” 

On second thought, maybe not. Teenager Peter detests needles; he imagines little Peter hates them just as much. 

“DUM-E!” Peter says excitedly. 

“You’re going to spoil that bot, kid.” 

---

“Thank you so much, Happy.” May says as she steps into the Tower’s elevator. “You really didn’t have to pick me up. I could have drove.”

Happy directs FRIDAY to take them to the penthouse then shakes his head. “It’s no problem.” he says. “Boss wanted to make sure you got here quickly and with that guy who attacked Peter still running around-”

“Right.” May sighs. “Well, guess he could have done worse things than turn Peter younger. At least him and Tony seem to be hitting it off.” She smiles fondly as she recalls the image Tony sent her. She only hopes Peter has been good while they wait for her.

“Yeah, well, the kid’s grown on him.” 

“I feel a little jealous, honestly.” May admits. “Peter was so cute when he was little.” 

The elevator comes to a stop, the doors slide open to the entrance of the penthouse. It’s oddly quiet inside and the lights are dimmed. “Tony?” Happy calls out as he and May walk through the foyer into the living room. 

It looks like a tornado hit it. There are papers thrown about with childish drawings covering them. A sheet covers the kitchen table which has been pulled away from the dining area and there are mini marshmallows covering the floor with some sticking to the large windows that overlook the city. A device that looks like a mini catapult sits on top of the table next to a pile of marshmallows and markers. 

May follows the chaos, finding the TV on with the Incredibles playing on a low volume and both Tony and Peter fast asleep on the couch. Peter is still a toddler in every way May remembers, sleeping with his head on Tony’s chest. There are stickers on their faces and she spots marker smears not only on Peter’s arm but also on the hand that’s resting on Peter’s back. 

“Did you find-” Happy starts, quietened as May shushes him. He comes to her side, expression softening at the sight. “Least they kept each other busy.” he remarks. 

May nods in agreement as she pulls out her phone to take a quick picture of the two. “Like two peas in a pod.” 

[karajaynetoday]

for the prompts, can I get “I’m so in love with her/him, I don’t know what do do.” with luke, pretty please?? tomorrow or next week is fine

Hi Shelbi! Thanks so much for this request, hope you enjoy this lil blurb xo

(and by lil I mean 1.6k words but I got carried away as per usual. anyway, enjoy some soft Luke weekend away in a cabin-based friends to lovers!)

(This is a fem reader insert blurb)

More writing here | send thoughts/feedback/suggestions here | if you’d like to be on my taglist go here

--

This weekend trip away to the lake with your close friend group had been in the works for months. The date had finally arrived, and all week your group chat had been buzzing with notifications from people  talking about the fun supplies they’d bought, or screenshots of the excellent weather forecast, or memes about bears (that, to be honest, made you a little nervous).

Luke had offered you a carpool spot in his car, along with Michael and Crystal, which you gladly accepted. Originally the idea of camping in tents had been floated, but you were definitely thankful when instead Crystal found an incredible cabin on Air BnB that had more than enough room for all of you, plus private lake access and heaps of nature trails and other activities nearby.

When you showed up at Luke’s, overnight bag in tow, you suddenly felt super nervous. These were all your best friends that you’d known for years, and it definitely wasn’t your first trip away together as a group, but lately things between you and Luke had been… different, somehow.

He’d always been a great friend to you, making sure you had a ride home after a night out, or buying your favourite snacks whenever he hosted an event at his house, or inviting you on walks with Petunia because he remembered you had a dog similar to her growing up and it helped with your homesickness. But lately, you found yourself thinking of him more often than not. In those moments where you’d slip into a daydream about your future, and envisaged travelling the world, or walking down the aisle, or settling down into a house with little ones of your own one day, the only person you could see by your side in those daydreams was Luke. But then reality would set in, and you’d have to remind yourself that he’d never really shown any interest in you beyond friendship, so you couldn’t get your hopes up too high.

Michael and Crystal were already there when you arrived, so you helped pack the remaining supplies into Luke’s car and got on the road as soon as you could. The lake was about a four hour drive away and you’d agreed to share the driving, so you all rotated through various seats in the car. For the final hour of the journey, sunset had passed and you were driving through darkness as you made your way through the wooded area leading towards the lake. Michael had offered to drive the final shift, and Luke sat next to him in the front passenger seat, leaving you and Crystal in the back. You’d both assured the boys that you’d keep them company, and you wouldn’t dare fall asleep, but the steady rhythm of the car quickly lulled you into sleep.

You couldn’t have been out for more than 20 minutes or so when you silently stirred and blinked furiously to try and wake yourself up more quickly. You were about to make a joke to Luke and Michael about definitely not falling asleep, when your ears picked up on them having a murmured conversation amongst themselves up the front.

“I’m so in love with her, Mike. I don’t know what to do.” Luke sounded exasperated, and you saw him run a hand through his mop of curls – a clear sign he was feeling anxious.

“Mate, I’m telling you, there is a solid 95% chance that the feeling is mutual. I see the way her face lit up when you offered her a lift to the cabin, or when you invite her on walks with Petunia, or when you have her favourite snacks at your house parties. I would bet a solid amount that she’s in the exact same boat as you.” Michael was trying to be patient and kind, but you could tell from his tone that he was a little amused by Luke’s predicament.

You froze when you realised they were talking about you. No. Surely not? Luke… Luke didn’t have feelings for you, did he? He couldn’t be IN LOVE with you? Plain, boring old you? Was this a dream? It has to be a dream. You pinched yourself, hard, and let out a small gasp at the pain before you could realise what you’d done. Luke’s head whipped around to the back seat, and you made eye contact.

“H-hey, sweetheart. How long have you been awake?” He asked, his tone wobbly and unsure.

“Oh, literally just woke up a second ago. Must’ve moved around in my sleep and bumped my elbow too hard, that’s why I gasped. Sorry if I gave you a fright!” You were desperately trying to sound as normal as possible.

Luke’s face visibly relaxed, and you knew you’d sold the lie well enough. Your heart was still pounding over what he said, but in this car right now was not the time to address it. You could see Michael eyeing you curiously in the rear-view mirror, almost like he didn’t believe a word of your elbow bump story, but you just flashed him a smile and focused your gaze out the window, even though you could barely see a thing in the darkness of night.

When you arrived at the cabin, the others in the group had beaten you there, and already started claiming bedrooms and stocking the kitchen, and they’d even used the outdoor grill for dinner which gave the area a delicious aroma. Stepping out of the car, you gave your arms a nice big stretch and took a deep breath in and out. You’d lived in a more rural area growing up, and being near the trees and the water really made you feel more at home.

Before you could protest, Luke was carrying your bag inside as well as his own, and you scurried along to claim a bedroom before they were all gone. You settled for a small bedroom that was more like a nook just off the kitchen, but it had a nice big window that you thought would give wonderful sunrise views of the lake when you woke up the next day, so its size and the single bed didn’t bother you.

After a welcome night cap and a brief discussion of plans for tomorrow (Calum offered to cook breakfast, Ashton was coordinating yoga down on the lake’s shore, Crystal and Sierra had mapped out some easy hikes, and Michael and Luke had organised boat hire and tubing), you all adjourned to your own rooms for some sleep. You’d been tossing and turning for what felt like hours, replaying Luke’s words that you overhead in the car in your head, when you heard someone step into the kitchen and open the fridge. You’d left your bedroom door slightly ajar because it was kind of warm in the cabin, so you were able to crawl up the bed and squint out into the kitchen to see who was on the hunt for a midnight snack. Even without your glasses on, you could tell the blurry, broad-shouldered, white-singlet clad kitchen intruder was Luke from a mile away.

You didn’t want to startle him, but you weren’t sure how many other chances you’d get this weekend to talk to him entirely alone. You pulled a sweater over your head, located your glasses and slowly shuffled over to the doorway.

“Hey, kitchen intruder. What’s on for midnight snack?” Your voice was soft, but Luke still jumped a mile and clutched at his chest, and you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you. To be fair, hearing the fridge open metres away from me unexpectedly was a bit of a heart stopper too, pal.” You teased, crossing across the kitchen to lean up against the counter next to where Luke was making a nutella sandwich.

“I guess that makes us even then, sweetheart.” Luke shot you a wink, and you felt your heart leap in your chest.

“Gonna make one for me too, or what?” You said, making grabby hands at Luke’s sandwich.

“Well considering you asked SO nicely…” Luke stuck his tongue out at you, but pulled out more slices of bread onto the cutting board and started making you a sandwich anyway.

You paused for a moment, and took Luke in. Even in the middle of the night, after a long and tiring drive, he still looked so damn good. And he was making you a chocolate-y snack. What a dream. A dream, that if you just took a little leap of faith, could maybe be part of your reality.

“Hey, Luke?” You half-whispered, almost not wanting him to hear you. His head perked up immediately, sparkling blue eyes meeting yours with a curious look.

“Yeah?” He half-whispered back.

“I know what you should do.” You spoke louder and more purposefully this time, the adrenaline taking over as you angled your body towards Luke’s.

“About what?” Luke countered, not moving an inch as you got a little closer.

“About the girl you’re in love with.”

Luke froze, dropping the butter knife covered in nutella onto the kitchen counter with a loud clang. He swallowed audibly, before fixing you with a look that you couldn’t quite read.

“Oh yeah? What should I do, do you reckon?” The mystery stare was gone, and the familiar mischievous glint you loved to see in Luke’s eyes replaced it, as he moved in and closed the gap between you, bringing you chest to chest.

“I think you should tell her. Mike gives good advice, there’s a pretty good chance she feels the same.” You could feel yourself smiling uncontrollably, as you glanced up and realised how close Luke’s face was to yours.

“I guess I’ll take my chances, then.”

Before you could respond, Luke cupped your face with both hands and kissed you, hard. You felt like your skin was on fire, and your heart was about to burst out of your chest, but kissing Luke also felt like coming home and finding everything you’d ever hoped and waited for.

The nutella sandwiches could wait. You had some making up for lost time to do first.

Taglist: If there’s a line through your name, I couldn’t tag you, so please message me to let me know your new URL or what the go is! Tumblr might just being dumb, who knows. @suchalonelysunflower @blackbutterfliescal @redrattlers @loveroflrh @spicycal @notinthesameguey @metalandboybands @cheekysos @ashton-trash  @another-lonely-heart @queenalienscherrypie  @becihadshawn  @allthestarsandthemoon 

[nsheetee]

when it rains, it pours

pairing: mafia boss!taeyong x mafia boss!reader

genre: mafia au || angst

summary: after unexpectedly running into lee taeyong, your childhood friend, you keep meeting up on small dates unknowing that you are both rival mafia bosses.

warnings: mentions of family troubles and poverty, depictions of guns, some swearing

seeing taeyong for the first time since elementary school felt like being splashed with a bucket of cool water

refreshing, eye-opening, and terrifying

everyone wants to forget something, and for you, that something is your childhood

taeyong is a reminder of that time in your life

the time when you walked the long way home from school to avoid your parents, the time that you would stay away the cafeteria at lunch time  since you couldn’t afford food, the time when every day felt like a battle in a never ending war

and taeyong was next to you in that period of your life

so that’s why it hurt when he all of a sudden disappeared

your one anchor, your trustworthy rock, was gone without a reason

and now, 20 years later, you’ll get your explanation

“taeyong?” you ask

the sandwich shop is bustling around you, but he still hears you from his spot in line and turns around

“y/n?” he repeats back in the same tone, looking just as shocked as you

his features are so sharp and cunning, you almost think this is the wrong taeyong

but his big eyes and soft voice assure you, this is your childhood friend

“wow, you look so different- good, different.” he stumbles over his words, still looking starstruck 

“what have you been doing?” taeyong laughs at your straightforwardness, moving with the line as people step up to give their order

“somethings really don’t change, huh? you’re still as direct as ever.”

“I was hardly direct that last time we were together,” you rolled your eyes, “I was 10. and you haven’t answered my question.”

the line keeps moving, you and taeyong eventually order and pay, then move to the side to continue your conversation

“I run a business now, something my dad left me...” the look on taeyong’s face paired with his tone in the last part of his sentence makes you soften

“I'm sorry.” you remember that taeyong’s dad was all he had left when you were younger

he’s an orphan now

it must be emotionally draining, no matter how old he is

“listen, I have to be somewhere soon, but I don’t want this to end here. how about I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?”

for a second, you don’t remember how to breath

and then taeyong gives you his digits, written on his receipt, and rushes out of the door with a wave

you find some air after he’s gone, his last words turning your stomach with nerves and excitement

-----------

one date turned to two, and two dates turned into weekly froyo dates, and soon taeyong was one of the top contact in your phone

tonight, you have another date planned

unlike all the others, this date seemed to have a different vibe to it

taeyong told you to dress up nice and that he’ll pick you up at 6

up to this point, all your dates have been pretty casual

you can’t help but think he’ll ask to be your boyfriend

you learned early in your life that assuming things like these will almost always end in you looking like a fool

but taeyong is just a bit too predictable for you

light rain sprinkles outside, some warm light illuminates your room as you check out your outfit in the mirror, putting on a jacket and anxiously playing with your hands

you practice saying “no” to his question in your head a million times, the thought of his hurt expression already sending pain to your heart

you truly enjoyed all the time spent with taeyong, and you wish you could get to know him better as more than a friend

but your line of work doesn’t allow for that type of luxury

suddenly, your phone rings, startling you from your spot in front of your mirror and prompting you to walk over and pick up the call, glancing at the caller id 

“what is it, doyoung? I told you not to call me tonight.” you grumble at your left-hand man, your partner in crime when it came to your job

“sorry, but this is important. it’s about that leader of the new mafia that came into town a few weeks ago,” you perk up at his words, “we’ve got some intel about who he is.”

some time ago, a mafia moved into your town

previously, everyone knew that this city is your territory, but apparently these new people don’t care about that

ever since, you and doyoung have been trying to figure out who their leader is, since the identity has been kept a tight secret

“and?”

“the leader goes by tyong, and he inherited his position from his father. not sure what their reasoning for moving here is yet.”

you let doyoung’s words sink in

tyong?

inherited from his father?

this all sounds too familiar to you

and you hate that your mind is immediately pointing fingers to your taeyong

“hello?” doyoung asks on the other side of the line, and you promptly hang up when you hear the sound of a car pulling up to your place 

your phone dings, no doubt taeyong texting you to say that he’s outside

you try to think fast

how do you face taeyong with this new information?

do you go on this date with someone who is potentially a rival mafia leader, or do you go on this date with your old friend

in the end, you think he’s one and the same

grabbing a handgun from your bedside table, you load it as you walk out of your place

the light rain has turned into a torrential downpour, but it doesn’t bother you as you walk through it and slide into taeyong’s passenger seat

“woah, where’s your umbrella? it’s raining cats and dogs-” taeyong shuts his mouth when you hold up the gun to his chest, the muzzle poking through his jacket

yes, you are pretty direct

“tyong?” you ask, and the look on his face proves your thoughts from earlier

part of you is glad that taeyong is tyong, or else you really would look like a fool right now

and a much bigger part of you hurts to know that your childhood friend, someone you trusted years ago and up until now, turned into your rival within a few seconds

“so, you were going to toy with my feelings and get close to me? was that your plan for taking over my city?” each word feels like it weights 100 pounds

but the truth weights a ton

“no. I had no idea who you were when we met in that sandwich shop. you were just y/n, my friend.” taeyong looks calm for having a gun aimed at his chest, his eyes not leaving yours as he speaks

“later, I found out who you are, but I couldn’t stay away. I missed you, a-and I fell... in love.”

“and what now? is love going to make everything okay?” you ask, pushing the gun further into his chest, beads of rain making your hair stick uncomfortably to your face

“it could. we could rule this town together. you don’t have to be alone.”

taeyong sits up straighter and leans in, a dangerous move for someone who is one pull of a trigger away from dying a bloody death

you actually take a moment to think about his preposition

what would working with taeyong be like? 

could you take the chance to share everything you have worked for by your own blood, sweat, and tears with someone who just inherited it from his father?

call yourself selfish, but you deserve everything you have now

and even if taeyong’s intentions are innocent (as innocent as you can get for mafia business) you still don’t feel like sharing your hard earned wealth

“no thanks. I work better alone.”

taeyong thinks you might pull the trigger now

if you had taken a moment to look into the future, you would’ve realized it would make your upcoming endeavors in business a lot more smoother

but, damn it, taeyong planted himself in your heart

not just in the past few weeks

but years and years ago

so you put down your gun, not knowing how much you’ll regret it in the future, but not being able to bare the weight of killing your childhood friend, and give taeyong one last look

“it was nice meeting you, tyong. I hope I never see you around again.”

and with that, you open your car door, slamming it shut behind you and walking into the pouring rain, out of his sight and towards your divided future as rivals

[swtltlmrvlgrl]

Is it Real? (Part 6)

Chapter Summary:  (Yes! I decided to post chapter summaries now instead of the story summary hehe took me a while to realize this)  In this chapter, you will get a glimpse of Steve's reason as to why he doesn't want the reader to fall in love with him when he is clearly in love with the reader. Steve discovers the talent that you've been hiding from him for 20 years. Tom tries to take you home because of a certain accident and someone prevents it from happening.

Pairing:  Steve Rogers  X Reader

Warning/s:  Confrontation with the ex; Anger; Drunk

Number of Words: 2,739

A/N:This is it the karaoke chapter! I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you all will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing! A fair reminder, I don't usually proofread my works so if you see any errors here and there, please forgive me (and notify me so that I can correct it).

Y/N = Your Name

Part 1 - Part 2- Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

“You look beautiful.” Steve comments while you twirl to show him your gray sweater tucked in your ripped denim pants. The bottom of your jeans were folded showing your bright yellow socks in your white adidas stan smith. “But I think…” he steps closer and reaches out for your head. He fixes the stray hair and tucked it neatly behind your ear. “You missed a spot.” He comments.

You smile at him. “You’re really out here trying to prove to the world that you’re the best boyfriend, huh.”

“I just fixed your hair Y/N. It doesn’t prove anything.”  Steve chuckles. “Are you ready to go?”

He stretches his hand and reaches out for yours, you give him your hand and wrap your fingers around his, you give him a light squeeze. “Let’s go.”

-----

Since the two of you came a little early, you decided to wait in front of the karaoke place. It’s a little cold but the warmth of Steve’s hand on yours gave the right amount of heat that you need to stay warm. 

“You’re shaking.” He said.

You sigh. “I thought you wouldn’t notice.”

Steve holds your hand a little tighter and moves in front of you and with his free hand, he reaches for your left hand.  “I’m here, okay?” 

Sound of footsteps walking towards your direction catches your attention. You turned towards the direction of the sound “Just about time -” You were expecting to see Natasha or at least Dot to arrive but it was Tom. You knew that Tom would be coming but his sudden appearance caught you by surprise that you unconsciously let go of Steve’s hand. 

Steve was confused by your actions but when he looked at the direction that you were looking at, he understood. He slips his hands on his pocket. “Tom.” His tone was monotonous and unwelcoming.

“Hey” Tom walks straight towards you. “I brought something for you.” From his backpack, he pulls out a bar of kitkat and he hands it to you. “I dropped by the convenience store on the way and saw this.” 

“This is my favorite!” You squealed. “I haven’t eaten one since…” the sound of your voice faded.

“We used to eat that during our cheat days.” Tom adds. “Are you still on the diet regimen I recommended you?”

Steve interrupts the conversation. “No. She’s happily eating whatever she wants and whenever she wants it.” 

The interaction between Steve and Tom would’ve gone longer but - “Y/N!” You hear Natasha’s voice calling you. She’s with Wanda and Dot, plus another guy (probably Dot’s boyfriend)

Their arrival distracted you momentarily from your feelings for Tom - feelings that you don’t want to allow yourself to feel. Not again. You thought that the impact would lessen after your first meeting but… it didn’t. 

After greeting everyone and introducing Steve to the group, you all went straight to the karaoke room. 

The room has three small couches around and a small table at the center. You and Steve sit next to each other, Dot and Arthur (her boyfriend) sit on the other couch, while Wanda, Nat and Tom sit on the couch across you.

Dot is inputting her song of choice using the tablet while the staff is serving your orders. You grab your pineapple juice. You hand Steve’s glass of beer. His mouth moves to say “thanks” but you can”t really hear it over Dot singing “Eye of the Tiger”, which really set the happy mood for the karaoke party.

Arthur and Dot sang “A Whole New World” right after. It looked like they were really forward to singing that. Wanda sang “Jenny” by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and everyone was headbanging in their seats. Next was Natasha who sang “This is Me” from the greatest showman. “A classic”, you tell Steve in his ears. Natasha pauses in the middle of the song.

“Y/N!” Natasha said over the microphone “You should sing Rewrite the Stars! with Tom! Wanda input the number!”

Your world suddenly fell silent after hearing that request from Nat but you can’t really say no to her, especially it’s not just her, ALL of them are urging the two of you to sing that duet. “You two have the most beautiful voice around here, I don’t even know why you’re not singing yet.” Dot adds. 

You reluctantly look at Steve. He wraps his hand around your clenched fist hiding under the sleeves of your sweater. He gives you a quick nod. 

“I didn’t know you could sing.” He whispers into your ear. 

You chuckle and reply, “Watch me.”

“You know I want you, it’s not a feeling I try to hide…” 

Tom starts singing. He’s  voice a bit shaky, probably a little nervous but his gaze on you never faltered. He’s looking at you so closely, so… intently, as if the lyrics were the exact words that he wants to tell you. 

“So who can stop me if I decide that you’re my destiny...”

Steve caresses his thumb over your hand whenever he senses your feelings of discomfort. 

“What if we rewrite the stars…”

Tom’s voice becomes more stable through the chorus part. He fixes his glasses and stands up. He starts walking and extends his free hand towards you, as if to invite you to stand with him. Just like the old days.

“Maybe the world could be ours tonight…”

You slowly stand up and slip your hand out of Steve’s grasp. You smile at his direction to reassure him that you’ll be okay. But of course, you’re NOT okay, you just can’t handle the pressure of all the people looking at you and expecting you to act a certain way. It’s your turn to sing. 

“You think it’s easy, you think I don’t wanna run to you…”

First few lines and Steve’s jaw drops. Twenty years. You’ve been friends with Steve for twenty years and he doesn’t know that you can sing. How were you able to hide that huge talent from him for twenty years? 

“And there are doors that we can’t walk through…”

Without taking his eyes off you, he takes a sip from his drink. Your voice is soft and smooth. The melody comes out of you naturally, it is like you’re inhaling air and exhaling music. 

“We’re gonna wake up and see that it’s not hopeless after all...”

Steve smiles. But it wasn’t because he’s happy, it was because he feels a bittersweet feeling in his stomach. 

“Everything keeps us apart. And I’m not the one you were meant to find.”

He shifts his attention to how you’re avoiding Tom’s gaze by looking closely at the karaoke monitor. How uncomfortable you look and yet, how steady you are standing. He will always be amazed at how you handle yourself, your feelings. You are clumsy and graceful at the same time. He places his glass of beer on the table and sees Tom moving closer beside you. From the way he looks at you, Tom still has feelings for you. 

“All I want is to fly with you…”

The duet part began. Maybe it’s muscle memory, or you got tired from avoiding Tom’s gaze but little by little you're looking at him too. Steve clenches his fist to stop himself from going between you and Tom. But what right does he have? Everything between you and Steve is just pretend.

“It feels impossible…”

Steve remembers the scene from five years ago. The way you stood still as he slowly stepped away from you. He wanted to believe that you would fight for your friendship. Fifteen years of friendship and you just let it walk away. He was waiting for you to stop him… he was waiting for you to… choose him. But you didn’t.

“Say that it’s possible…”

You chose Tom over Steve. And deep inside Steve is terrified of the thought that it could happen again. He’s scared of how easily you can let go of what the two of you had. How easily one person can break the two of you apart. And...

“Say you were made to be mine…”

And how difficult it is for Steve to make you -

Bzzt. Bzzzzzt.

The vibration from Steve’s pocket interrupts him from his thoughts. He pulls out the phone from his pocket. Clint is calling him. He excuses himself from the room and answers his phone.

“Changing the world to be ours…”

You look around the room and notice that Steve isn’t around. You continued singing your solo part but your mind is wandering. Where did he go? 

“But I can’t have you…”

Unknown to you, Tom is slowly moving towards you - attempting to slip his hand into yours. The moment he saw Steve leaving, he knew that he had to seize the chance to get closer to you again. 

“We’re bound to break and my hands are tied…”

The moment that you hit the last note, you placed the mic on the table and excused yourself from the group. You moved fast and snappy and Tom didn’t get his chance to hold you.

You see Steve typing something on his phone by the vending machine. He takes a deep sigh.

“I was that bad at singing, huh?” You ask while slowly approaching him.

Steve looks up, a little surprised to see you. “Y/N!” He walks towards you too. “No! You were great! You were wonderful. You sang beautifully, Y/N.” 

“Then, why’d you leave?”

“Well. I-” Steve touches his nape, something that he always does whenever he’s about to tell you something that he knows is going to hurt you. 

“You need to leave?” You ask. 

Steve sighed again. “I’m sorry, Y/N. Clint’s daughter… She got sick and I need to take over Clint’s shift.” 

You smile at Steve, but your smile doesn’t seem to reach your eyes. “I’ll be okay, Steve.” You reach for his hand and sandwich it between yours. “You’ve been helping me and we’ve been preparing for this. I’ll be okay.”

Steve frees his hand from your touch and uses it to caress your cheeks. “I already called Bucky. He said he’ll be here in two hours to pick you up.”

You respond with a breathy “Okay” you towards the vending machine. “You’re everyone’s hero, not just mine.” Two loud sounds were heard from the vending machine. You bent down to reach for two bottled water and hand one them over to Steve. “Here.” 

Steve tightly holds the one bottle of water. “Thank you, Y/N. For this and for… understanding.”

“Just promise me one thing.” You said. 

“What is it?” Steve asks.

“I’ll be in charge of movie night next week.” You wink.

Steve chuckles. “You are never NOT in charge of movie night.” Steve moves closer and gives you a hug. He kisses the top of your head, attempting to reassure you. “You’ll be okay. Y/N.”

“Yes. I will.”

———

The night would’ve gone well if you were paying attention to what you were drinking. But you were too busypretending to be okay that you didn’t notice that instead of your pineapple drink, you were drinking Steve’s beer. 

“Y/N, are you drunk?” Natasha asks after noticing that you’ve been restless and sleepy at the same time.

You try to put your energy to keep your eyes. “Drunk? I’m not.” Hiccup. “I don’t drink, remember?” Hiccup.

Natasha opens the light only to find out your glass of pineapple juice is still full and Steve’s glass of beer empty. “Oh god. Y/N, you drank Steve’s beer!”

Tom moves and sits beside you to try and catch your bobbing head with his shoulder. But subconsciously (maybe a little consciously) you avoid touching his shoulder no matter how heavy your head feels. He hands you a glass of water and you take a sip from it. 

“I think we should bring her home.” Wanda suggests.

“I’ll bring her home, I have the car parked just outside.” Tom volunteers.

“Okay that sounds good. Take good care of her Tom.” Dot says.

“I will.” 

With your hand across Tom’s shoulder and his hand wrapped around your waist. You make your way to Tom’s car in the parking area. You were probably asleep throughout the journey and at the exact moment that you realized that Tom is carrying you and putting you inside the car, a burst of adrenaline ran through your veins. With all the strength that you gathered, you push your body away from the car. “I don’t want to go with you” you exclaim.

“But Y/N, you’re drunk. You need to go home.” Tom says.

“I’ll just” You try to stand up but your shaky legs are betraying you. “Walk home.”

You almost fell down, but Tom catches you. “Come on, Y/N. You can’t go home like that.”

“Stop” Hiccup. “Telling me what to do.” You stand in front of him, as stable as you can. “You.” You point at him. “You left.” Hiccup. “You left me.”

“Y/N. I’m sorry about that.” Tom pauses. “But I don’t think what happened then has anything to do with what’s happening now.” Tom reaches for your hand. “And I’m here now. I won’t leave you now.”

“Let me go.” You pull your hand away. A tear fell down from your eye. “You left me.” You take a step back. “How dare you.” Hiccup. “Act like you didn’t do anything wrong.” Hiccup. “Make me feel that it’s all my fault for acting this way.”

“Y/N…” 

Tom was about to take a step forward, when he feels someone holding his shoulder and stopping him from moving any further. 

“Hey. The dame says she doesn't want to go with you.” The man says.

“Bucky!” You shout and try to run towards Bucky. You still don’t have the strength to walk straight that you almost fell down.Luckily, Bucky was fast enough to catch you.

“Y/N?! Are you drunk?!” Before you can even respond he grabs the collar of Tom’s shirt. “What did you do to Y/N?!”

Tom raises his hand in surrender. “Hey. Calm down. She accidentally drank Steve’s beer and got drunk. I just want to take her home.” Bucky looks at Tom intensely, scanning his face to see if he’s lying.

Bucky lets go and shifts his focus on you. “I’ll take you home now, doll.” He looks back at Tom. “I’LL take her home.” 

“Y/N. Hey. I’ll carry you to the car. Is it alright with you?” Bucky asks.

“Sure.” You answer. In one swift movement, you are now being carried like a princess. You wrap your arms around Bucky’s neck and rest your head on his shoulder.

Tom is frozen in his place. He stares at the two of you as you move farther away from him. When Bucky was sure that Tom can’t hear you any longer, he whispers. “Did he hurt you?”

You shake your head in disagreement. “No. Not really. But -” You continue. “Just looking at him, hurts me.” You point at the place where you think your heart is. “Right here.” He puts you down and opens the door and assists you inside the car. He pulls the seatbelt and secures it around you. “Just wait here, okay?” And closes the door.

Bucky walks towards Tom who is still standing where you left him and with his two hands, he grabs him by his collar. He is seething with anger. “How dare you show your face around here after what you did to Y/N.” His voice is low and his jaw is clenched, you can almost see his veins popping out. “I swear to god if  you hurt her again.” Bucky tightens his grip. “You won’t even have the strength to stand up.” He pushes Tom backwards. “STAY. AWAY. FROM. HER.”

Bucky could see you wiping your tears through the glass of the car and sighs. He opens the door of the car, sits down and slams the door to close. He hands you the bottle of water. “He’s a jerk.” He starts the engine of the car. “If you can’t hate him, then I will.”

You drink from the bottle of water. “Thanks, Buck.” You sniff. 

The last thing you can remember was Bucky arranging the car seat and putting a pillow under your head, caressing your forehead and whispering. “You did well today, Y/N.”

Part 7 

A/N:  Random trivia: I originally planned the duet to be "Lost Stars" but I can't resist the parallelism of "Rewrite the Stars" with Steve's and the reader's relationship. Did you notice it too? I hope you did! This is probably the longest chapter (for now) because I had fun writing it. I also thought of dividing it to two chapters but it didn't feel right to me so here it is. I wrote Tom as the type of guy that you wouldn't see as toxic at first but the more you notice his nuances and his words the more you realize the red flags. AND BUCKY BARNES! Let's not forget that Bucky is also part of the friendship too, he's as protective to the reader as Steve (probably more) so wanted to show that too.

FEEDBACKS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED! Leave a comment about what you feel or what you want to see in the future chapter.The next update might be the last chapter for this update. (I'm still thinking if last chapter or last two chapters, but this series will probably end soon)