#the doctor is showing her space and time but she still circles back to ask him how he manages desite everything

[eternally-tired-cryptid]

Ruby cares so deeply I adore her

[mrsmaxwelllord]

INFATURATION - The Reunion

Pairing: Laszlo Kreizler x Fem!Reader

Summary: After years of solitude, protected by the wall of a house you were forced to call your own, you open the doors to welcome your stepdaughter. Only to see her bring in the man who cause all your misfortune.

A/N: There isn't any warnings bc this chapter only introduces the plot and briefly narrates the reunion of Laszlo and his former lover.

But this is a Persuasion-inspired fic — meaning it is a second-change romance.

I think this is all, for now.

Enjoy!

.

 It is unthinkable.

 The grimace on your face was caught by your company when the stranger’s silhouette took shape. But that was no stranger at all, you could tell, even in the distance when his face was yet to be revealed.

 The brown hair, the bright eyes, the cane... 

 This must be a dream, a terrible nightmare — was your first thought when you recognized the figure.

 You gasped for air, tightening your hold on Edwinas arm. You could hear her calling your name, but it was as low as a whisper. Barely there, mixed with the loud waves.

 The silhouette doubled, forming a second figure, one that you couldn’t quite place. It was of no consequence, you were transfixed by the approaching man.

 Step by ungainly step on the sand he shortened the space between the two of you. In no time his features became visible, demanding attention. The bright brown eyes above anything else, but the matching hair still had its charm even now, curling behind his ears.

 When his eyes finally meet yours it is in wonder, but it feels like being punched in the stomach. Hard and painful.  There was a knot in your throat and you couldn't breathe properly. 

 His lips opened to whisper your name.

 It was only with a scream you broke out of the devil’s spell.

 Daniel, the reason for your oh so tard visit to the beach, was the one to scream and so snape you back to reality. Demanding your attention to the funny shell he found by the Ocean.

 You turn around to face him, baffled still.

 “Ma’am, are you well?” questioned the governess at the same time Danny screamed “Mama” at the top of his lungs. Your ears were buzzing and, truth be told, you were definitely not in full control of your mental abilities yet.

 You did not know to whom you should answer first, the maid or the bubbling infant,  but the dripping clothes of the child way too close to the Ocean's waves gave you the directions you needed.

 “That is enough, young man” you said, calling your son closer to you. 

 “Yes, mister,” Edwina agreed upon seeing the deed. “That isn’t proper behaviour.”

 He laughs and doesn't shake at your objection, but runs to you and shows the shell holding out his tiny hands.

“M’Sorry” he murmurs “I wanted you to see this. It’s a present, you see?”

You take the shell and thanks for the gift, another addition to your collection.

“Ma’am, how are you feeling?” 

You face Edwina, still much aware of the strangers, and force a smile.

“I’m much better. Thank you.”

“You looked so sick just now,” she says.

“No need to worry about it, Edwina.” You look at the couple from the corner of your eye, noticing that they have their arms lined.

She hums and Danny rounds circles around you.

“Oh, what a delightful surprise” Professor Stratton greets you.

 You turn around abruptly.

 In your terror, you did not recognize the figure beside Doctor Laszlo Kreizler, but now you could tell who it was. Miss Stratton was correct, what a surprise! — you just couldn’t agree with the delightfulness. Miss Stratton was to arrive the very first thing tomorrow morning, but you guessed the ship did not care for men's assumptions.

 “Karen” you smile, “you arrived early!”

  Her smile was just as bright and contagious as you remember it, and she looked very satisfied. Karen took your hands between hers gently, squeezing it, and, when Daniel very carefully not to be heard whispered a question to Edwina, she gasped.

 “Oh, that can’t be!” she turned to him, then asked. “Is this the tiny baby I held in my arms not five years ago? Is this Danny?”

 Despite being very excited and anxious about the arrival of his half-sister and not being able to stop talking about her to anyone listening in the previous weeks, Daniel fell silent with her attention. Suddenly very shy.

 “Go ahead, Danny” you encouraged him, stretching out your hand so he could hold it and come closer. “Say hello to Karen, she was very excited to see you again.”

 “Were you?” he asked, timid.

 Dr Keizler stood in silence, flabbergasted, watching the scene before him evolve. Both because nobody introduced or talked to him and he simply could not believe his eyes.

 He looked at you and the boy with gushing curiosity, a feeling he couldn't quite describe, but relish. Yearn. He wished you would look him in the eyes, but you were focused on the chatting.

 Professor Stratton chatted to the kid she called Danny for a good pair of minutes before turning back to him. 

 “How can I be so rude?” She faced Laszlo. “Mrs. Stratton,  Mrs. Smith, Danny, this is the friend I talked about. Dr Laszlo Kreizler.”

 “It is a pleasure, sir,” said Edwina.

 Danny promptly, and exaggeratedly, bowed in greeting. Giggling like only a kid could.

 You weren’t sure what to do. You already knew Dr Kreizler so the introduction wasn’t necessary, but you also did not know if you wanted everybody to be aware of it.

 Before you could do or say anything about it, Karen recalled:

 “She originally is from New York, Laszlo. Perhaps you've even seen each other around the city.”

 “Indeed. We already met” Laszlo answered, without taking his eyes off of you. 

.

So, this is it. The first chapter of the fic I talked about months ago. I haven't finished it as I hoped I'd by now, but I really wanted to post this. The Daniel Brühl's fandom is so quiet lately, I miss the old days.

Oh, yes, I did name the kid Daniel!!!! couldn't help it.

I hope you liked it!!

xoxo

[songofsoma]

all you need is love (and salt)

happy valentine's day!!!! <33

fandom: the wayhaven chronicles pairing: ava du mortain x f!detective (cecilia beck) words:  rating: general

read it on ao3

She had circled the date multiple times in red ink on her little desk calendar. February 14th, a momentous holiday for lovers and to her, for the last nine-hundred-something years, an ordinary Tuesday or whatever day it happened to fall on.

Ava drummed her fingers on the surface of her desk. The only time she had even realized Valentine’s Day had come and passed was when Farah came back with bags full of half-priced candy that she swore would last her until candy went on sale again after Easter—it never did.  

That prospect on the so-called holiday changed once Ava landed herself something she had thought she wouldn’t have to worry about. A girlfriend. And just her luck, it happened to be a girlfriend who adored Valentine’s Day. 

Since the end of January, Cecilia’s apartment had been full of vases of flowers and various heart-shaped decorations. Ava swore she decorated more for this than Christmas which was saying a lot. For a virtually unimportant holiday, the woman even had heart-shaped plates in various shades of reds and pinks she had Ava help her bring from storage so she could use over February.

“I just love Valentine’s Day,” Cecilia sighed dreamily as she replaced her normal plates with the festive ones. “I think it’s my favorite. I just love love.”

From that moment, Ava knew she was in trouble. 

“You’re still worried about this?” Farah chided as she followed Nat into the room who at least had the decency to knock before entering. 

Ava turned in her chair, annoyed at the invasion of her bedroom. She thought that maybe she might find some privacy in her personal space, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Nat’s help had been enlisted before in the matter of what to do about Valentine’s Day. She was the one that had actually dated people over the years and was more knowledgeable about human traditions. Ava always thought of being interested in the human world had the equivalent of watching a couple of ants interact. Unimportant and fleeting given how short mortal lives tended to be. Then she just had to go and fall in love with a human so now she begrudgingly knows things like who Doja Cat is and that teenagers no longer aspire to be doctors but instead want to blow up on the Tiktok. She still wasn’t exactly sure how shaking one’s posterior meant getting rich, but that was neither here nor there. 

“Yes,” she growled, angrily scrolling through an article titled 50 Valentine Gifts for Her. Ava should’ve clicked off upon seeing the first thing on the list which was matching His and Hers shirts. “Excuse me for trying to give my girlfriend the perfect Valentine’s Day.”

Farah plopped down on the edge of Ava’s bed. “Why are you looking at sites meant for middle-aged men? You think you’re going to find your answer there?”

“At least it’s a start,” Nat tried to add to quench Ava’s visible annoyance. 

Ava slammed her laptop shut, burying her face in her hands to muffle a groan. “This is ridiculous. Human holidays are absurd.”

“You just hate fun,” Farah teased, picking at the end of a bright purple nail. 

“Why don’t you just ask Cecilia what she wants?” Nat asked, resting a hand on the back of her desk chair.

“Because then she knows that I’m clueless and terrible at this!”

Nat pursed her lips. “What are her favorite flowers?”

“Lilies!” Farah yelled before Ava had a chance to answer. “And you should get one of those stuffed bears that are like huge!” She jumped back onto her feet to show them both about how tall the bear was. “You know, with a card that says I’m sorry I suck at being romantic. Here’s a giant bear. I love you, Cecilia.” Farah then proceeded to turn her back and make kissing noises, her arms wrapping around herself and hands groping her back. 

Nat wrinkled her nose before turning her back to Farah, stepping in front of Ava’s line of sight of her. “What Farah is trying to say is get Cecilia her favorite flowers, maybe put them in a nice vase to match her stuff. Why don’t you two do something together? Cook her favorite meal or take her to a museum.”

“No!” Farah cried from behind them. 

Ava looked down at her sheet of ideas and ran a hand over her hair, the loose ends tickling the skin exposed by her tank top. “I can cook.”

Farah groaned in despair while Nat smiled cheerfully. 

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

When Cecilia opened the door to her apartment, she was immediately hit with the smell of fish. 

She covered her nose with the sleeve of her sweater as she blinked in confusion. It wasn’t that she didn’t like fish, it was just that she wasn’t expecting it. She hadn’t bought any type of fish in ages because of the way it stinks up her little apartment and having little windows that barely opened made the task of ridding the stench even harder. 

“Hello?” she called out in confusion, dropping her purse before venturing further into the apartment. There were only a few people who had spare keys to her apartment so the options on who it was were limited. But the last thing she ever expected to find was Ava du Mortain in her kitchen cooking. 

It accounted for the fishy smell as the sound of salmon sizzling in a pan filled the space of the kitchen as she stood in the doorway. Ava clearly hadn’t heard her come in, which was unusual. Normally, she could tell where Cecilia was from outside the building. But the intense look of concentration on her face acted as an explanation. 

The entire thing was an abnormality.

Cecilia gently set the package she was holding on the counter and approached, wrapping her arms around Ava’s broad torso. “Are you my housewife now?” she teased, kissing the shoulder that didn’t have a towel slung over it.

Ava jumped a bit, startled at her appearance. She recovered quickly, turning to hold Cecilia properly. And when she did, she bent down and gave her the sweetest kiss. “Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” she murmured, her voice wonderfully low and husky.

She smiled. “You remembered!”

Blonde brows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, almost sounding offended. 

Cecilia shrugged, moving to lean on the counter beside the stove. “It’s a human holiday. I know you don’t celebrate them.”

“Well,” Ava started and cupped her cheek, directing Cecilia’s gaze to the tiny round dining table where a vase of rose lilies sat. “I wanted to do it for you.”

She gasped and hurried to the table, immediately smelling the flowers before stumbling upon the card and a box of chocolates. “You got me flowers and chocolate?” she said, nearly bouncing in excitement. 

“And I wanted to cook you dinner. But there’s also something in the bedroom for you.” Cecilia raised a brow. “The bedroom?” she said haughtily. 

Ava chuckled.

She didn’t wait for an explanation before crossing the living room to stand in the doorway of her room. “Holy shit. It’s huge!”

On the bed sat a teddy bear that had to be close to her height. It was absolutely massive, nearly taking up most of her full-sized mattress. She ran her hand across its fur, noticing how soft it was, and admiring the red ribbon tied in a bow around its neck. 

When she stepped out of the bedroom and came back to the kitchen, Ava was smiling a bit shyer than normal. “It was Farah’s idea.”

Cecilia shook her head and grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling Ava down to kiss her. “God, I love you.” She relished in the way the tips of Ava’s ears reddened. 

Dinner was soon done and Ava set her plate in front of where Cecilia sat at the table. She had really gone all out. Candles framing the bouquet as the centerpiece, and an expensive bottle of white wine the worker swore up and down complimented the salmon wonderfully. She had even made sure to dish everything out on Cecilia’s favorite holiday heart-shaped plates. 

Cecilia stole one last kiss before Ava stood up. “This looks delicious,” she commented as Ava poured her a glass of wine. 

“I hope it tastes okay,” she said, sitting across from her to pour her own glass.

“I’m sure it will.” She smiled and cut into the fish. But when she began to chew, it took everything in her to keep her face the same. Cecilia didn’t know what on earth Ava had done, but it was somehow overpoweringly fishy whilst bland at the same time. “Oh, wow. That is delicious.” She took another bite as Ava watched her expectantly.

Thankfully, she didn’t catch the lie because her shoulders relaxed and a pleased look covered her face. 

She hurriedly took a drink of her wine, hoping to chase the taste away. 

It was a battle to get through the meal but Cecilia really loved Ava and her gratitude for the attempt made trumped how truly disgusting the food was. Plus, the wine helped ease it all down and Ava seemed happy with herself.

“Oh! Before I forget!” Cecilia jumped up, running to retrieve the package that she had been hiding at the station. She handed it to Ava. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Ava looked between her and the parcel for a long second before beginning to open it. Cecilia watched excitedly as she pulled out something in a glass casing. When she flipped it over, her eyes widened. “Cecilia,” she gasped.

“I can’t get you the real thing, but I found this and thought you would like it just as much.” She stayed beside Ava to watch her marvel at the model car encased in the glass.

It was the car she had mentioned to be her “dream car.” A 1965 Jaguar in the most gorgeous shade of green. 

Ava turned to look at her wide-eyed. “You remembered?”

“Of course I did, silly.” She kissed her forehead with a giggle. “I commit everything you tell me about yourself to memory because I’m obsessed with you.”

She rolled her eyes, but the smile didn’t disappear from her lips. “Come here.” Ava tugged on Cecilia’s hand to pull her onto her lap, the display car being safely sat on the table. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am undeserving.”

Their foreheads pressed together, noses barely brushing as Cecilia smiled. “Is this a good holiday now, then?”

Ava nodded. “Most definitely. I understand it now,” she whispered before stealing Cecilia’s future words with a kiss. 

[ask-sunshine-the-hedgehog]

Sunshine stands frozen in surprise for a moment, blinking in confusion as he takes in his suddenly new surroundings. What had just happened? A moment ago he had been making his way up one of the enormous towers that had sprouted forth from the ground and now he was suddenly standing in a seemingly endless red void, feeling like he was being pulled along toward an unknown goal. He decided to follow the strange force wherever it was trying to guide him since it might be his only lead to figure out what was going on and how to get out of this place.

He didn't know how long he had been walking or how far he had gone when he finally spotted Tails, Knuckles, and Amy together ahead of him. The hedgehog sprinted to them, only to stop dead in his tracks when he discovered what his friends were gathered around.

It was Starlight.

The normally bright and energetic hedgehog stood ridged and still, static and unblinking like a statue staring into space.

"Sonic...? What happened to him? Where are we?"

Sunshine questions as he joins up with the rest of the group, hoping that at least one of them would be able to give him some answers about their current situation and about what was wrong with his husband.

"He must have taken on so much cyber energy that it corrupted him. He's stuck between realities because he took on our corruption to save us..." Tails replies sadly as Sunshine looks down at his own body, realizing that he had regained his corporeal form along with all of their friends.

"Sonic no!" Amy gasps, hands covering her mouth and tears filling her eyes "We have to fix this!" The pink hedgehog cries out while Sunshine places a hand on his husband's cheek, feeling a fuzzy static sensation coming off of him like an old TV screen.

"You have to return to cyberspace, quickly!" Sage's voice finally catches the hedgehog's attention as she speaks to her creator, small hands placed on the side of the scientist's hovercraft.

"What? Why? I just got out!" The human replies to his AI daughter. How long had the two of them been there?

"Because you'll be destroyed if you're still here when it gets out!" She says fearfully, concerned for her father's safety.

"When what gets ou-?" Eggman begins to ask, only to be interrupted by a rumbling roar that seemed to fill the sky, followed by an equally powerful voice:

"Since time immemorial I have languished here. The locks are broken. Now I shall tear down the walls between dimensions and consume all!"

"Oh no you don't! This is my world to conquer! I'll mobilize the Eggfleet and blow you right out of the sky!" Eggman shouts at the unseen entity, shaking his fist at the sky.

"It won't be enough! It defeated the Ancients and their advanced technology, your weaponry wouldn't stand a chance against that kind of power! My simulations show a success rate of zero percent! Please let me fulfill my function, let me protect you!" Sage warns him, begging the doctor to flee to safety.

"Starlight worked too hard for us to give up now! There has to be a way to push back the corruption and bring him back to us! Restoring our physical forms is what did this to him, maybe us going back into cyberspace will reverse the affects of the corruption?" Sunshine theorizes, his hand now resting on the blue hedgehog's shoulder.

"That might work, even if only enough to restore his consciousness. We have to try something, sitting here doing nothing and awaiting our demise won't solve anything" Tails says, holding his hands out for his friends to take. Sunshine nods and takes one of the fox's hands in his own while Knuckles takes his other hand and Amy closes the circle by taking the echidna's and the fox's outstretched hands.

"Anything for Sonic!" "We're even after all this!" Amy and Knuckles state in unison as all four of them shut their eyes and focus on fighting back Starlight's corruption. Their bodies begin to flicker and fade out again as the corruption starts to vanish from the blue hedgehog's body, restoring his mental and physical state, although some of the corruption still remained. All of them except for Sunshine. While Amy, Tails, and Knuckles were now returned to their cyber hologram stat while Sunshine's body remained in his normal form. "Sonic, are you okay? Did it work?" He questions, pulling his husband into a tight embrace.

"I'm fine now thanks to all of you guys. Thank you" The blue hedgehog grins at his partner and their friends.

"This is our chance! I never simulated a scenario where Sonic and his friends helped since you never authorized me to even consider the possibility!" Sage pipes up excitedly as she addresses her creator.

"I still don't want to..." Eggman grumbles angrily, arms crossed as he looks past his creation to glare at the group of Mobians. "Please, father! This might be our only chance to succeed!" The AI girl pleads desperately.

"Fine...ahem, I hereby temporarily induct the lot of you into the Eggman Empire and order you to save us all! This is not an alliance, understand?" The man huffs.

"Sure, if you say so" Sunshine rolls his eyes while Starlight grins smugly at his longtime enemy "Whatever you say, Dr.Ego-man" The blue hedgehog laughs.

"Sage, you stay with me to help me bypass the Ancient's security systems and access their database so we can try and figure out just what exactly this creature is and possibly how to defeat or contain it" Eggman orders his creation.

"As you command, father!" Sage nods "But first I must speak to Sonic and his friends, there is something important that must be addressed before we proceed with the plan" She says, turning to the Mobians "Of my millions of calculations, there was one so remote and unlikely I did not consider it as a viable option. However, as things stand, it could be the scenario to save us all"

"Well we've beaten the odds more times than we can count! What's the plan?" Starlight asks, still as optimistic and cheerful as ever despite his lingering cyber corruption.

"I can stabilize your corruption for a brief time by transferring a portion of it to your partner and guide you both on how to convert that corruption into power that you will use to end this conflict and save father" Sage explains.

"And save the world too, right?" Sunshine questions, amused and somewhat endeared by the AI's dedication to her father.

"It is his world to conquer, so yes" Sage replies matter of factly, causing the two hedgehogs to sigh and shake their heads.

"Wait a minute, hold on. Isn't there another way to do this that doesn't involve Sunshine being corrupted too? I don't want to put him through that, especially after what it did to me" Starlight interrupts, concerned for his husband's well-being.

"I'll be fine, love. You took on the full brunt of it for us, the least I can do is take on some of that burden and fight at your side. Please let me do this with you" Sunshine assures the other hedgehog "I want to be there for you. You don't have to do this alone, we're a team"

"You're right, let's do this together" Starlight grins at his spouse, taking his hand and squeezing it firmly. "Ready when you are!" Sunshine smiles back at him.

Sage floats down to hover in front of the couple, a ball of glitching white light appearing in her hands. She shuts her eyes and the ball of light splits in two before surging forward into the two hedgehogs, causing searing pain to shoot through their bodies as some of Starlight's cyber corruption spreads into his husband. Sunshine stumbles and falls onto his knees, one hand clamped over his mouth and the other clutching at his middle as a wave of nausea washes over him. The feeling soon passes, leaving both of them dizzy and disoriented as they catch their breath to steady themselves.

Sunshine feels a static sensation running up and down his back in a soothing motion, he smiles a bit when he realizes that it was Amy attempting to comfort him by rubbing his back to the best of her capability "Thanks, Amy...you guys are the best, y'know that? I mean it" He says, slowly standing up and helping Starlight to his feet.

"Alright, I know it's been rough since we all came here and things are still pretty confusing, but I need you guys to just follow my lead" Starlight says, looking to Amy, Tails, and Knuckles "I need you three to find the Chaos Emeralds while Sunny and I take care of this corruption, okay?"

"Alright, we trust you two" Amy nods with an assuring smile. "You can count on us!" Tails chimes in. "This'll be a piece of cake!" Knuckles boasts.

"We must hurry! There isn't much time before the threat arrives, follow me!" Sage warns, motioning for the married couple to come with her as the other three Mobians split up to find the Chaos Emeralds "I will return to assist you after I complete my current objective, father" The AI assures her creator before heading towards the first tower with Sunshine and Starlight in tow.

"Be careful...my dear daughter" Eggman mutters softly, watching his digital child leave.

[aerodaltonimperial]

Hi so if you are still up for additional scenes

I need the 6 of them checking in on each other in there own ways or just feeling the need to know where the other 5 are at all times because they then know no corpse doctors have them

Reluctant friends bonded by trauma please

(LITERALLY ALWAYS UP FOR ADDITIONAL SCENES)

Hook gives up on trying to sleep after about ten minutes. Nothing about the hotel bed is comfortable, and the air conditioning unit is too loud. He tosses and turns on the flat pillows that even punching won't hep to fluff before he sighs and surrenders, turning the television back on. At this time of night, there isn't much on besides 90s movies and infomercials, but the sound helps fill the dead space.

Hook stares at the colors dancing across the flatscreen until there's a knock at his door.

He thinks about not answering. No one should be outside his room at this hour—no one he wants to let in, anyway. But something prods at his legs, propelling him towards the sound. He peers through the peephole to see platinum blonde hair falling out from beneath a black baseball cap.

It's surprise, really, that makes him open it, because he's never seen Julia without her make-up and with something so innocuous as that cap on.

"Hook," she says, by way of greeting. Then she offers nothing else. Truth is, she doesn't need to; Hook gets it. He cracks the door wider and nods within, relieved when she doesn't argue and slips in quietly.

"You look terrible," she tells him, once he's shut the door again, and he's starting to understand this bluntness of hers, this sharpness. It doesn't really contain the edge he always thought it does. She's merely stating the truth, because Hook is well aware of how rough he looks.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks. Something happen?"

"Nothing new." She glances at the armchair in the corner. "Do you mind...?"

"No." He's oddly glad for the company. As Julia sits, there's another rap against the door. This time, Hook isn't surprised when he opens it to find Anna on the other side. She's in her pajamas, hugging her torso like she's desperate for the warmth.

She doesn't say anything, just grimaces, like she hadn't even meant to show up there, like her feet somehow carried her through the hotel halls on their own. Hook gets that, too. She must know he isn't going to turn her away. Honestly, she looks even more raw than Hook does when he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror: dark circles around her eyes like bruises.

Anna appears to relax somewhat when she gets into the room and spies Julia already on the other side.

Hook doesn't bother to close the door after her. He waits with his fingers curled around the edge until the last two show up, together.

"Hey," Jack says.

"Last ones," Hook tells him.

Jack shrugs. "Somebody had to be convinced to leave his room."

"Whatever." Darby sighs.

"Get in, so I can lock the door," Hook says, and doesn't waste any time in latching the deadbolt after the two of them slip inside. It feels better with the others there—more secure, steadier. Hook doesn't have to pretend to be okay, or put on his normal mask around them, and it's been such a long time since he's found people like that. He hates that the reason is such a dark coil in his stomach.

"Wanna watch something?" Jack asks, like the TV isn't already on.

"Something funny," Anna says.

Jack narrows his eyes at her. It almost looks as though he thinks about reaching for her face, an old habit that's been slow to dissipate. "Trouble sleeping?"

"Can't," Anna replies. Her arms tighten around her chest.

"At all?" he asks.

When she shakes her head, Darby reaches into the pocket of his oversized coat, that dumb thing he wears around all the time that dwarfs him and reminds Hook of the Army surplus store. He holds out a yellow prescription pill bottle.

Anna takes it, gingerly, reading the label. "Pain meds?"

"Pain meds that will make you sleep," Darby says.

She grimaces, but pops open the cap. "Thanks."

"You can get comfortable," Hook says, gesturing to the bed. It's a king—he'd have to splay out like a starfish to even get close to the other side. And it speaks volumes that Anna doesn't even hesitate after throwing the pill back and swallowing it dry. She has to be exhausted. As she pulls the blankets up around her, Julia scoots her chair closer to the side until the air presses up against the mattress.

Darby settles onto the floor at the foot of the bed. "Shoulder hurts when I lay flat."

Jack catches Hook's gaze. There's too much there for Hook to properly identify. "Okay."

He sits next to Darby, and once Hook returns to his side of the bed, all he can see is the bits of Jack's hair that have caught on the edge of the comforter. Then they sit in silence, watching the television. It's one of those obnoxious teen movies; maybe it's funny, but Hook hasn't laughed in awhile, so he can't be sure.

"I know this is a dumb question," Jack starts, "but is everyone...okay?"

"You're right, that was dumb," Darby says.

"Really regretting ripping that arrow out of your shoulder."

Hook dims the lights. From the side of the bed, Julia offers, "I haven't felt anything nearby."

"Anything like...creepy nightmares trying to murder us?" Hook asks.

Even in the low lighting, Hook can see her roll her eyes a little. "Yes, Hook, no creepy nightmares trying to murder us."

"That's good, right?" Jack asks.

"It's better than the alternative," she replies.

Hook blinks a few times. His eyes are tired enough to have gone bone-dry. "You said these things were contained."

"I did."

"So who is containing them? And is there a way to...contact them?"

Julia is quiet for longer than Hook would like before she answers. "There are always ways to contact them."

It's the tone of her voice that gets him—he's starting to put the pieces together. Julia knows more about things than she should, and alerting the anonymous authorities of the entities that had tried to kill them would also alert whoever they are about her.

"We don't have to," Hook tries. It's lame even as the words leave his mouth, but oh well.

"Someone will eventually find those things...right?" Jack says.

"Maybe." Julia sounds dubious.

Another stretch of quiet. Anna's breathing has evened out on the other side of the bed, and Hook's glad. Maybe she'll finally get some much-needed rest.

"We should probably just stick together," Darby says, very, very quietly. "Just in case."

Hook wonders how much that suggestion cost him.

"Yeah," Jack agrees.

It's the last any of them talk again before Hook's eyes flutter closed, and sleep claims him.

++

He wakes a few hours later, chest heaving and blood shrieking. Another nightmare, another sting of fear behind him in the woods. Another laugh from the doctor hellbent on tearing the darkness out of Hook's heart with his wires and tubes. Hook grabs for his hair just to feel something real, yanks at it until the pain laces across his skull. Then he waits as the panic recedes. Somehow, his violent reaction didn't wake any of the others. Anna is still asleep, her breathing deep and regular; on the chair, Julia has slumped over so her head pillows on Anna's arm, the cap pushed off her head and onto the floor.

Hook slinks out of bed and goes to fetch the spare blankets from the coat closet as quietly as he can. He puts one over Julia's shoulders. Darby and Jack are still at the foot of the bed, necks in the most uncomfortable position back onto the mattress possible, the sort of thing they'll regret tomorrow, but when Hook approaches with the last blanket, Jack blinks at him a bit.

Hook puts a finger to his mouth, and Jack nods. One of his hands has tangled with Darby's at some point; he doesn't remove it, just reaches out with his other for the other blanket.

Hook turns the television off, plunging the room black. Then he slides back into the bed.

He'll probably wake up in another hour or two, and just hopes he manages to avoid waking up the others a second time.

But as he settles into the pillow once more, a hand slides over his cheek. The touch is warm and solid—gentle.

"Sleep, Hook," comes the whisper against his temple, and Hook complies.

He has no more nightmares that night.

[screechthemighty]

*holds my hand out like I'm summoning a cat* hey mithan fans psspsspsspss guess what fic update time (If any of this feels familiar, that's because it's a re-write of the anniversary chapter in milestones. And by "re-write" I mean "there's a lot of copy-pasting from that chapter," lol. Hope you enjoy it regardless!)

catch me floating circles in my fish bowl - part five:

May 28, 2021:

“You ready?”

He wasn’t. He thought he’d be. Ethan had been dreaming about this moment for weeks. That didn’t stop him from hesitating.

Irrational as it was, things had been going a little too well lately. He didn’t need so many injections. He’d been sleeping better. Things were great between him and Mia, all things considered. Finally having that talk hadn’t erased everything wrong in the relationship, or their individual lives, but there was no longer that barrier between them. They could work on things together. It was a relief.

So, of course, he was bracing himself for something to go wrong. For the other shoe to drop. Or, more specifically, for him to stand up and somehow spontaneously break his leg the second he tried to walk on his own.

Come on. Don’t be a wimp. Ethan took a deep breath and braced his hands against the wheelchair. Mia’s waiting for you.

That thought spurred him to stand. Tom was ready with the walker. It was the one concession Ethan had made, weighing how much the use of it counted as walking on his own against the chance of falling on his face in front of Mia on their anniversary. It suddenly didn’t feel like enough support. His hands would’ve been shaking if he wasn’t gripping the walker so tightly.

“Are you in any pain?” Tom asked.

“No.” The word came out with a shaky laugh. “Just nerves.”

Tom nodded. “You can do this. You’ve gotten a lot stronger since you started, and all your medical scans say you’re structurally sound. Trust me, I wouldn’t be okaying this if I was worried.”

Ethan nodded. He took a deep breath. “Time to go see my wife,” he said quietly.

Time to put all of that work to good use.

Ethan fixed his eyes forward and took his first steps.

.

It felt like their last truly normal anniversary celebration had been before Dulvey; what today lacked in normalcy, it made up for in pure effort. Carlos and Jill had Rose, and the people around Blue Umbrella had managed to get their hands on proper dinner for them. Mia didn’t know how, or who had set up a private dining space for them in one of the garden areas. Every time she asked Marshal, he told her it was a group effort. Enough of her things had been recovered for her to wear a dress and some makeup. She didn’t know what Ethan was wearing—he’d told her that he’d meet her down there—but he could’ve showed up still in hospital clothes and she would’ve been happy.

He was alive. He was there. He was staying. It was more than she could’ve hoped for.

As she sat at the table, Mia noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. A shape became clearer through the slightly distorted glass. It was Ethan. He was walking. She could just make out the shape of someone else in the hallway, probably one of the doctors, but whoever it was, they stayed a respectful enough distance away that they must have felt confident he wouldn’t fall. Mia jumped to her feet and met him at the door. Ethan was wearing a simple button-up and slacks, and someone had trimmed his hair back. He was using a walker, but Mia was glad to see he’d accepted the help. Ethan’s eyes widened as she opened the door. “…hey,” he said softly.

“Hey,” Mia responded. She was so caught up in how healthy he was now that she almost missed the look in his eyes—soft, gentle, the kind of look that usually preceded him telling her how beautiful she looked. He always seemed to get that look when she hadn’t tried to look beautiful, or when she didn’t feel like she was especially beautiful. She’d never been able to figure out what he saw in her in those moments. She especially couldn’t figure it out now. “You’re walking.”

“More or less, yeah. I’m not going to be breaking any speed records, but…”

Mia cut him off with a hug. The surge of emotion that swept through her was nearly enough to make her need a walker. He’d been inches from death only a few months ago. She’d been so close to losing everything. But he’d clawed his way back to her, to Rose. He had come back to her. Seeing him standing there just made it all real.

She wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. She might forget that later, but in that moment, it was the truest thing in her life.

Ethan hugged her back tightly. His voice trembled slightly when he spoke: “Guess I managed to surprise you, huh?”

“Just a little.” Mia let go, kissing him on the cheek as she pulled away. “Here, come in. They’ve got everything set up.”

Mia was so wrapped up in her own elation that she almost missed Ethan sighing in relief when he sat down. “Are you okay?” she asked once she’d realized.

“Yeah, yeah, I was just kind of worried I’d eat dirt in the home stretch, you know?” Ethan laughed sheepishly. “If it was going to happen, it’d either happen when you first saw me or when we both got too comfortable.” His face softened again as he looked at her. “I didn’t know you still had that dress.”

“I’m just lucky that they brought any of my dresses. You might’ve had to see me in my best pajama pants.”

“You’d still be beautiful, though.” Ethan reached his intact hand across the table to squeeze hers before he picked up his fork. “I think we’re going to owe Blue Umbrella a lot of thank-you cards.”

Mia laughed quietly as she picked hers up. “Yeah. We definitely are.” They’d given Mia her husband back. She was never going to be able to repay them for that.

The conversation wasn’t one they’d usually have on a night like this. Instead of talking about work, they were talking about the developments with Ethan’s future prosthetic. By all accounts, his nerves had healed enough to allow for an experimental full-use prosthetic. It would require more regular visits from Blue Umbrella, just to be sure that it worked the way it should, but, as Ethan pointed out, “I get to be a cyborg, so that’s not the worst trade-off.”

“Just promise me you won’t go super hardcore into…what’s it called? The thing that the guy from your old job was into?”

“Trans-humanism?” Ethan laughed. “Shit, I’d almost forgotten about him.”

“Well, you weren’t the one he was trying to impress.” Mia rolled her eyes at the memory. “He’s permanently filed in my memory under kinds of men to avoid.”

“That’s fair. Shit, what do you think everyone back in Texas is up to these days?”

“Same old, probably.” Mia wondered if any of them ever thought of the Winters, or if they’d just become distant memories. Footnotes in a random documentary about strange disappearances. “I’ll tell you one thing, all of this has made me miss those office jobs.”

“Tell me about it. My boss never turned into a dragon…” Ethan paused. “Kind of felt like he might a few times, though.”

Mia couldn’t help laughing. She knew exactly what he meant. “What do you think you’ll do once we’re out?” she asked. There was a strange thrill at being able to even think about that future, no matter how strange it might be. She’d take any future with him and Rose.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I haven’t thought that far ahead.” Ethan shrugged as he poked at the last bites of his food. “I’ll probably have to find something remote. Or get into pro wrestling.”

“Pro…Ethan!”

“What? With a face like this, I’d make a great heel.”

“I…I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

“…I’m mostly joking.”

Mia started laughing again. It felt like the most she’d laughed in months, maybe years. “I see your point,” she said, “but for what it’s worth, I like your face.”

“Even after all of this?”

“Even after all of this,” Mia confirmed. She reached across the table to touch his cheek. “Always and forever.”

Ethan smiled at her and leaned into the touch. The length of the table suddenly felt too far a distance. Mia moved her chair around so she was right next to him. As she did, Ethan pulled something out from under his shirt. It was his wedding ring. He’d been wearing it on a necklace all this time. Mia wondered now if he had planned on wearing it on the proposed mechanical hand, or was just waiting for his right hand to recover more fully. Fine tune motor control could still be hit or miss. “Why are you supposed to wear this on your left hand?” he asked.

“Tradition,” Mia said. She rested her head on his shoulder. Even with their reconciliation, there was something strange about the gesture, almost awkward. The ease of casual touch was slowly coming back, but she couldn’t help noticing he hadn’t gained back all his lost weight. He’s doing better, though. One day at a time. “They used to think there was a vein that ran from the ring finger directly to the heart.”

“Really?”

“Hmm. All your fingers connect to the heart, but it’s a nice thought.”

“That does sound more like what I learned in high school bio class,” Ethan said. “So, it…doesn’t really matter if I wear it on the other hand? Because if we’re going to be integrating back into society soon, I need people to know I’m taken. I don’t want to be beating off unwanted attention.” Mia laughed again. “What? I’m a catch. Everyone knows it.”

“You are,” Mia agreed. “I was lucky to grab you before someone else did.”

“To be fair, you were the only one who saw it back then.” Mia scoffed. “No, it’s true. I feel like at least half the people in that office didn’t know who I was.”

The thing was, Mia believed it. She even understood why, to a degree. Ethan had been low-drama in the office. He showed up for his scheduled hours, did his job highly competently, didn’t bother anyone, didn’t start anything. It was actually that lack that had made him stand out to her. She’d dealt with enough adults acting like high schoolers in her lifetime. Someone who behaved himself felt extraordinary.

“Why did you say yes, anyway?” Ethan asked suddenly.

Mia was caught off-guard by the question. It didn’t help that 2009 had been so long ago. Sometimes she felt like that part of her life had happened to someone else. “To the first date, or to marrying you?”

“Both.”

She started with the first one after digging through her memories. “Well, for the first one, you’re cute. Yes, even in the company-labeled polos.” Ethan groaned in mock pain. Mia bit back a laugh. They had not been flattering polos, but he’d made it work somehow. “And opening with do you like jellyfish caught my attention.”

“So, good looks and an air of mystery. Got it.” Ethan rested his cheek against the top of her head. “And when I proposed?”

She remembered that much more clearly. “I loved you. I loved you because…you were stable. You were reliable. You showed up. I’d never had someone care about me the way you did.” If she’d only known what that caring would lead to. “Do you remember when my car broke down during that freak cold snap? I thought you were going to stay on the phone with me until the tow truck got there, but you drove all the way out there so I wouldn’t be alone.”

Ethan laughed quietly. “Yeah, I remember. I was just surprised I beat the tow truck.”

“I’m not.” That was classic Ethan. He was always there for her, one way or another. “Honestly, if you hadn’t asked me when you did, I probably would’ve asked you.”

Ethan looked surprised. His expression now was almost the same as when she’d said yes back then. “Wait, is that why I barely got my speech out before you said yes?”

 “Yeah.”

“Shit. And there I was nervous you’d say no.”

She almost wanted to laugh again. How could there have ever been a doubt in his mind? Why wouldn’t she say yes? The more accurate question was…

“Why did you ask me?” What about me was so special? She was afraid to ask, in a way, but she couldn’t help it. She had to know.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re funny, smart, beautiful…never give up kind of girl. I know how rough all those temp jobs were for you, but even when you were angry about it, you didn’t let it keep you down for long. And before you forget, you were the one who helped me deal with two moves and a major job change in two years. It wasn’t just me showing up.”

Mia did remember. He might have seen it as gumption, but not giving up had never been an option for her. If she didn’t fight for herself, no one else would…until him, of course. She’d always just thought that doing the same for him was the bare minimum. “You could’ve handled that on your own.”

“Maybe, but I didn’t want to. You were there for me, every time. It kept me sane.” His eyes defocused slightly, as if he were digging something up from the deepest parts of his memory, and a fond smile drifted onto his face. “It was the second move, when I was waiting to hear back about the new job. I had that storage shelf I couldn’t figure out because I hadn’t slept, so I called you for backup.”

“Oh, that thing.” Funny how she had so many holes in her memory, but she could remember her resentment towards that piece of shit pretty well. “I swore at the instructions, right?”

“You did, but it was very endearing swearing. And I was in the kitchen getting us both pizza, and…I don’t know. I just realized this was how I wanted it to be. You and me, together. I thought about asking right then, but with the job still up in the air, y’know, I wanted to make sure everything was stable on my end, first.” He ran his thumb along the ring’s surface. “But that was when I knew.”

He had waited a few months to ask her, if her memory was right. Mia wondered how he’d been able to keep it in all that time. She’d barely been able to keep from asking him more than once. She’d felt the same way for so long, even if she didn’t have a name for it, and that feeling had never faded. Not once.

“I don’t think I can get this back on without dropping it,” Ethan said quietly. “Give me a hand?”

Mia’s breath caught in her chest, just for a second. She was a little worried she would drop the ring as she pulled away to take the ring and slip it onto his ring finger. There was a moment where she wondered if it would still fit after all the damage and rehabilitation his hand had been through, but it slid on perfectly. As if he’d never taken it off.

“That’s better.” Ethan took Mia’s hand and kissed it gently. “Here’s to ten more years, huh?”

Tears welled up in Mia’s eyes, but she blinked them away. Today wasn’t a day for tears. Today was a celebration, and not just of their marriage. They were both still alive, against all odds. Still together. Still a team.

She wasn’t going to let anything bring them apart ever again.

“Ten more years,” Mia agreed. “I love you, Ethan.”

“I love you, too.” Ethan’s forehead rested against hers. For a while, they sat in silence, just reveling in the proximity to each other. Ethan was the one who pulled away first. “Oh, I almost forgot…”

“What?” Mia had to pull away so he could reach into his jacket. “What is it?”

“Jill gave me something before I came down here. Said it was from the three of them and that I should wait until I see you?” It was a plain envelope, not very thick but all the more mysterious for it. “I have no idea what it is and Carlos wouldn’t look at me, so I’m assuming it’s a pretty big surprise.”

“Well, now I’m curious.” Ethan held out the envelope to Mia, who opened it carefully. The exterior was a pretty standard anniversary card—cartoon otters holding hands, cursive font congratulating them on their marriage. When Mia opened it, though, something was taped to the inside left. A photograph of a house, out in what looked like either the countryside or an underdeveloped area.

Is that…?

Ethan read the hand-written message aloud: “We’re finishing up the final details with this. Once it’s settled and the docs give the go-ahead, you’ll…” His voice broke. “…you’ll have someplace to go. More details incoming, all the best…”

Mia put the card down and hugged Ethan tightly. He hugged her back, his body trembling with tears of happiness.

They could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it had never looked brighter.

[pastthebutterflies]

Through the Vents to Grandmother’s House

Part one of a silly little au I’ve had in the back of my head for years now. Webby and the triplets have swapped places in a sense and yes, I would absolutely love to ramble about this au, thanks for asking!

Ao3

When Webby first arrives at McDuck manor, she can’t quite believe her eyes.

The main foyer alone is enough to make her jaw drop, never mind the rest of the house, including her bedroom.

When Granny went missing, Webby wasn’t sure what she had expected to happen. Most likely, she would have been shipped off to one of Granny’s former partners from her old business until she had been found and safely returned home. She could have stayed with Mr. Drake or maybe Doctor Hooter, from accounting.

However, what she hadn’t expected (not today, not yesterday. Not ever, if she was honest) was to be dropped at the doorstep of Scrooge McDuck, patriarch of the renowned adventuring family, the richest duck in the world, and, apparently, dear old friend to one Bentina Beakley.

She clutches her suitcase (the only thing she had been able to pack in time) a little tighter as she stares up at the driver who had picked her up- a talkative, red-haired man. Launchpad, apparently- and who Webby was pretty sure was the Della Duck staring down at her from the doorway.

“Hey, kiddo,” Della said, awkwardly waving at her like she wasn’t quite sure what else to do. And yeah, that was most definitely her, Webby had heard her voice enough times on Granny’s old radio, reliving adventures from her childhood, to know.

Now though, that same voice, usually so excited and lilting, is tinged with nerves Webby didn’t know she posessed. Della and Launchpad exchange a glance that Webby is pretty sure she isn’t supposed to catch, then look back to her. Launchpad clears his throat.

“So! If you’ll follow me, Mr. McD has a room set up for you until we find your grandm- ack!” Launchpad winces harshly as Della’s elbow meets his ribcage, sharp enough that Webby can practically hear the thud from where she stands.

“Let’s find that room, huh?”

They trail down the hall and up a flight of stairs, then circle through a maze of more hallways, all lined with lightly swinging doors, until they reach the only one still locked tight. Here, Launchpad slips off, leaving Della with a small, rounded key and a nod to Webby, his lumbering footsteps fading behind them.

“You can decorate however you want,” Della says as she turns the key in the lock. “I don’t know what you were able to bring, but we can pick up whatever you’re missing, or see if the boys have it, they won’t mind.”

“The boys?” She asks. Webby knew Della had sons, but after continuous threats from old enemies of Scrooge’s, they had largely been kept from the public eye. Rumor had it they sometimes popped up in town, but nothing substantial had ever come from it and, by now, no one knew them well enough to recognize the three if they did.

Della brightens. She lets the door swing open and together, they step inside.

“My sons,” she explains. “They should be in their rooms right now, finishing their lessons, but you’ll see them later. Dinner is in a few hours, take some time to settle in and explore if you want.”

It’s a bigger space than Webby is used to. At home, her room was at least half the size with her bed in one corner and a cluster of shelves stuffed with books and old notepads under the window. It was small, but it was hers and some nights, if she was quiet, she could hear Granny sparring down the hall.

Now though, the silence is deafening and she is reminded all over again how utterly alone she is here. Della and the others, as nice as they appear, weren’t her grandmother. Granny may have trusted Scrooge to look after Webby in her absence, but Scrooge has yet to show his face, much less help her or Granny get back where they belong.

“Hey,” Della says. She kneels and gently rests a hand on Webby’s shoulder. “Your grandma is a tough lady, we’re gonna bring her home.”

Della’s tone is sincere, polished off with a small smile, different from the ones she’s seen in photos over the years. More genuine, like it has been reserved just for her. Something about it tells Webby that she means it. Della, and the rest of the family, she hopes, are going to help her fix this. One way or another.

Webby just isn’t sure how long she’s willing to wait.

Della leaves Webby to her devices soon after.

Her bag is slumped next to the door. She hadn’t had time to pack much before Launchpad had arrived, so she mostly has clothes and a few odds and ends she remembered to take before she left.

She drags it across the carpet and to the dresser, laying out shirts and skirts and sweaters in neat rows like she would any other day. The room, even as she fills it with her presence, feels cavernous and overwhelming, like she could shout and hear the echo all through the night, a stark reminder that, no matter how nice it may be, this room, this house, isn’t where she belongs.

Tears well up in her eyes as the realization hits her. Webby slumps against the dresser, pulls her knees to her chest, and sighs. She keeps her eyes shut tight against the tips of her knees. Granny has never been the type to disappear, not without a good reason. She’s gone on long trips before, sure, mostly to help old friends out of a bind. But she always came back and never would have left without telling Webby. What happened today- it wasn’t like her. Granny had left the night before, she wasn’t supposed to be gone longer than a night.

But only Launchpad had been waiting when Webby had returned from school.

There was a mishap, he said. Granny was gone. No one knew where she went, much less where to find her. Granny was, for all intents and purposes, gone. Webby doesn’t quite know what to do with that.

Suddenly, before Webby can sink further into the hole she finds herself spiraling into, a creak echoes across the room. She freezes.

Granny raised her with a stark paranoia surrounding the rest of the world. Every bump in the night had been a risk if left unchecked and Webby had given endless lessons on self defense as a result. Blocks to kicks to flips, drilling her over and over again until Webby could fight a grown duck in her sleep.

As another creak sounds, Webby shoots to her feet, hands balled into fists as the metal grate covering the vent in front of her falls to the floor.

There’s a pause, followed by an explosion of angry whispers as three ducks spill out of the vent in a tangle of limbs.

“Dude, ow.”

“Hey!”

“Move.”

The duck on the top of the pile is the first to roll off. He falls to one side and leaps to his feet as his friends continue their struggle on the floor.

He glances around, eyes wide until he lands on Webby. He grins.

“Guys! ” The duck blindly flaps a hand at his friends as he bounds up to Webby. “Hi! You must be Webby, welcome home! Well, not home, I guess, more like home for now- or forever, maybe? Are you-”

“Hey, let her breathe,” says the duck in red. He puts a hand on the other’s shoulder and pulls him back. Then, to Webby, “sorry about Dewey- he gets excited.”

The one in green snorts, “that’s one way to put it.”

“I’m Webby,” she says because she is certain any other response would just come out as a verbal key smash right now.

“I told you,” the blue one shouts.

“No one doubted you?”

“Both of you, cut it out,” the red one says.

The three start to argue amongst themselves, each of them struggles to shout over the others which causes a cacophony of noise to once again fill her room. She isn’t entirely sure what it is they’re fighting about and honestly, she doesn’t really care to find out.

All she knows is that the noise is attacking her eardrums in a way that leaves Webby covering her ears and scrunching up her eyes again. She isn’t great with so much input all at once, never has been. So the sudden attack coupled with the heaviness of the day- any more and she might have to start throwing books.

“Stop!” She yells after a moment, and they all fall quiet.

“Ooh, guys, she’s upset.” Says the blue one as realization dawns on his face.

“Yeah, Dewey, we got that,” says the green one, not glancing toward his brother, but sending a sympathetic glance her way.

“Thank you.” Webby scrubs at her eyes. Granny wouldn’t want her breaking down like this, not over a little thing like homesickness. Or noise. She could deal with that later, right now, there were more important problems at hand. Such as the three boys crowding around her.

“Ignore them,” the third steps forward. “I’m Huey, these are my brothers, Dewey and Louie. I’d say they aren’t always like this, but that would be a lie.”

She laughs. The anxiety ebbs at the edges of her mind, still disconcerting and all too present, but beginning to fade. In its place, a small bubble of excitement starts to take up residence. “Do you guys always go through the vents like that?”

“Duh, it’s the only way to get around.”

“That and it’s way quicker than dealing with people,” Louie tells her. He pulls out his phone, where he shows her what looks like a map of the entire ventilation system throughout the mansion. “Huey made it, I navigate, Dewey...narrates. We have a system.”

“Uncle Donald said to give you space, but we figured you could use some company,” Dewey says.

They glance around the room, taking in their surroundings for the first time. “Isn’t this Scrooge’s old library?”

“No way.”

“Scrooge would never-”

Webby frowns, actually, he’s not wrong. On closer inspection, that may be exactly what this is.

Her bed, which is propped up high above their heads, is lined with shelves that lift up her mattress and mold themselves into two out of the four walls, with a ladder propped against one side. The far wall looks out over the front yard, giving a wide view of all of Duckburg. The fourth, where the door sits, still propped halfway open, is decorated with wallpaper and outdated wood paneling.

Overall, removing the addition of her bed and a dresser, the room largely resembles a long-forgotten library.

Webby crosses to one of the shelves that make up her bedframe and pulls off a thick, dust-coated book, titled “The (Current) Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, circa 1946” and opens to the first page.

The others crowd around her as she flips through the pages, carefully lifting each one as she goes, wary of the way the paper seems to crumble under her fingertips.

“Jeez,” Louie mutters. “He never lets us in here, what makes you so special?”

The book goes back where she found it and she shrugs. “Your mom said Granny used to be close with Mr. McDuck, maybe that has something to do with it?”

“I didn’t realize Scrooge had friends outside the mansion.”

“I didn’t realize Scrooge had friends.”

“They used to work together, I think. It’s funny, Granny never mentioned him.”

Already distracted, Huey turns from where he kneels by the window, notepad in hand as he jots something down. “We all know Scrooge has his secrets, after Mom...I wouldn’t be surprised if there was more we didn’t know about.”

“Where did they say your grandma was, again?”

“They didn’t,” she says.

“Oh,” awkward. “Well...you wanna go crawl through some vents?”

Ten minutes later, Webby is on her hands and knees crawling through the- surprisingly clean- ventilation system that connects all of the mansion. Louie leads the way, with Huey hot on his heels, shouting directions. In the back, Dewey gives a hushed tour of the mansion, pointing out their bedroom, the living room, as well as several rooms seemingly dedicated solely to storage. Most appeared to be filled with old gear and memorabilia; old swords, glimmering gemstones, specially molded shields. She has only ever seen so many amassed artifacts at the Duckburg National History Museum and even they couldn’t compare to the sheer mass of what they pass over.

“Someday,” Dewey whispers as the others carry on. “Huey wants to get all of this transferred to a museum or something, says it’s sad, seeing so many learning opportunities locked away like this. Better than sitting here forever, I guess.”

And it is sad, in its own way. Everything is stacked carefully, with cards under each pedestal to commemorate the item’s history, according to Dewey. But most of the items look as though they hadn’t seen the light of day in decades. She pictures striking out on epic adventures as often as the McDucks used to, with grandiose speeches of impending peril and bravery, bringing home priceless artifacts, only to turn around and stow it away the same way it had been before they had found it, and shivers. Huey may be onto something.

They move on after that, leaving the treasures to gather dust. Up ahead, Louie and Huey start arguing over where to go next, until Dewey joins in, suggesting a new idea entirely, which sets them all off again. None of them seem to realize that, as they continue to move, they end up following Louie’s lead.

Relatively certain she can follow their voices to catch up later, Webby pauses outside the nearest grate and lets the fresh air rise up to greet her. Despite being dangerously close to summer, the vents are much warmer than she had expected them to be. This hadn’t been exactly how she planned to spend her day, but when the only alternative is sitting alone in her new room, she finds that she is more than content with this.

The triplets are exactly what she would expect from the McDucks. Growing up, everyone in Duckburg was familiar with the stories surrounding Scrooge and his family. Donald and Della had come to stay with him as kids and from there, a legacy was born. The adventures they undertook were the stuff of legends. Della, wild and largely unpredictable, had been their pilot. She had led the way across every continent up until the day she had announced her three eggs. Donald, on the other hand, had always been right alongside Scrooge, stomping his way out of any situation if it meant keeping his family safe. And Scrooge, right at the head, had led the way, each and every time, until the day he just...Stopped. Some say it was to protect his great-nephews, others suspect a greater conspiracy. Most don’t care.

Webby has always followed them closely. With the kind of history they carried, how could she not? The entire family is like a walking, talking mystery, waiting to be solved. Waiting for her to solve. Even now, as she listens to her new friends fade into the distance, the idea sends an excited jolt up her spine. The answers to the greatest mystery in town- right at her fingertips.

A new wave of energy passes through her and she shifts to go join the others when she pauses.

Whispers begin to drift up through the grate at her feet as she passes over what Dewey had said is Scrooge’s personal office (“we are not allowed in there, under any circumstances. Wanna see what I stole from it?”)

“There’s something off about this, Uncle Scrooge, you know her better than any of us, you can’t sit there and pretend this is like her. Beakley was always more careful than that, especially with her granddaughter on the line. She’d never be that sloppy.”

As Webby peers down, she sees Della sitting across from Scrooge himself, looking tired. She leans back in the leather chair, one hand dragging across her jaw as she stares over at him. Scrooge, to his credit, looks every bit the duck Webby remembers seeing in the papers, if several years older, now. Even so, he strikes an imposing figure as he hunches over his desk and glares a hole through the carpet.

“Aye, this isn’t like Agent twenty-two. I was under the impression that she gave this life up,” he snorts. “For protection, she said.”

Webby pauses, ducking just out of the way of the grate. Below, the conversation continues.

“She was looking out for the only family she has left, I seem to remember you doing the same thing when the boys were still ducklings.”

“And I turned to my family! She could’a done the same and we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”

Suddenly, she hears a gasp and scuttles further back, only to find Dewey staring back at her. “Find some gossip?” Dewey leans further over the grate to stare down at the two and grins.

“Agent twenty-two,” Webby whispers to herself. They were talking about Granny, right? Who else could they be discussing? But that didn’t make any sense-

“Wait,” Dewey frowns. “Why are they-? Webby, we should go. Now.”

Before she can protest, Dewey is dragging her further into the ducts and away from the conversation.

“And Webby?” She hears as they go.

“We honor Bentina’s wishes.”

Then, they turn the corner and the conversation drifts out of earshot.

[ozma914]

Santa After Christmas

(Bonus points if you can identify all the TV shows referenced.)

           Santa Claus had a ritual, one he followed every year after delivering gifts for all little boys and girls. It involved whiskey.

          His main elf assistant, Evergreen Iciclepears, poured him a shot, and started to walk away with the bottle. Santa snapped his fingers. “Keep ‘em coming, Iciclepears. I just delivered 1.4 billion presents.”

           (Evergreen Iciclepears’ real name was Charles Anders. But Mrs. Claus, who was always sound asleep when Santa got home from his big business trip, had renamed all the elves to make them sound more festive. The Elves accepted this because North Pole work paid well and had great benefits – including dental – but privately they called Mrs. Claus Cranberry Cuddlecane.)

           Alcohol was not all of Santa’s routine, of course. After taking care of the reindeer he plodded to his big easy chair, pulled off his boots, and stuck his aching tootsies in a tub of hot Epsom salt water. Then he took three ibuprofen, which always waited for him on a tray full of other items, brought by Nutmeg Sugarlights and placed right by his chair. (Her real name was Josephine Hendrickson.) 

  The other stuff including soothing eye drops, because the screaming wind dried his eyes out. Then there was a cough drop, for similar reasons, and some antacid, because in the space of twenty-four hours he’d eaten approximately 423,000,000 pieces of candy and cookies.

Once Santa settled, Forest Tinselstockings came in with the anti-static brush. (His name actually was Forrest – Forrest Gump, no relation. Since that Tom Hanks movie came out he kind of liked his new name.)

Santa delivers all those presents by means of a space-time wormhole tesseract, a device given to him in 1032. At the time Santa, using his magical reindeer, could easily get around and deliver gifts to all the good children. Just the same, a strange man arrived at Santa’s home in the Forest of Burzee – literally inside his home, materializing in a small blue box and calling himself The Doctor.

The Doctor informed Santa that he’d someday need time saving devices, and gave him a Bag of Holding (which proved to be bigger on the inside) as well as the tesseract. All he asked in return was for Santa to make him a power tool that could open doors and make routine physics calculations, but that would still fit in his pocket.

I asked one of those AI sites to give me an image of The Doctor ... and I have to admit to being a little freaked out. There are at least three Doctors mixed into the results.

 Santa came to realize he’d need those items. First, he didn’t have the heart to give toys only to good kids, despite the protests of his Chief Naughty Judge, Toadstool Chocolatecake. Soon out of a job, Toadstool moved south to England, where he fell upon hard times and took a servant job after changing back to his original name, Dobby.

Second, Santa could not predict the ability of the human race to … shall we say, expand. He originally served a population of a 250,000,000, which seems like a lot until you subtract adults and bad kids. The Viking kids almost never got presents, but up north they appreciated the coal.

As a result of the devices, Forest – Forest Tinselstockins – had to use the anti-static brush every December 26th. It not only helped static, it also removed tachyon particles that became attached to Santa’s wool clothing and beard during the trip. If not for that treatment, at random intervals Santa would find himself flung to a very hot planet circling the star 40 Eridani A, where absolutely no one believed in Santa and his jolly nature was seen as quite illogical. Getting back to Earth was a pain.

My point is that Christmas was a stressful time for Santa Claus, even more stressful than for anyone else. At least Santa had a team, led by the trusted Merry Toffeebaubles, to get the lights untangled and strung up. (Merry’s real name is Mary; she considers herself lucky, especially since her last name used to be Weirenkawoski.) 

"One light goes out and they all go out!"  So he had his Jack Daniels, his over the counter meds, his foot bath, and his combing. He relaxed with a couple of glasses of the good stuff while listening to gentle, soothing songs sung by Blueberry Embercane (previously known as Elvis). Planning for next Christmas started on December 27th, so the relaxation time was very important.

Later he’d be checked over by Dr. Gingercane, who had a degree, maybe ironically, from The University of Hawaii. Santa always had various scratches, bruises, and the occasional burn, and dog bites weren’t out of the question. He hadn’t been seriously injured since Saddam Hussein tried to shoot him down in 1989, and that was just a little shrapnel.

“Merry Christmas, Santa!” said Evergreen Iciclepears after Santa had, shall we say, warmed up a bit. “Preliminary indications are that it went very well this year.”

“Well, I got back with all the reindeer,” Santa replied. “So yes – Merry Christmas, indeed. Is breakfast almost ready?”

“Oh, absolutely. Partridge Emberwine is cooking up all your favorites. So, do you have any New Year’s resolutions?

”Santa paused to think. “Well, back in 1914 I resolved not to give gifts to bad kids anymore, but I just couldn’t stick with it. In 1964 I resolved to lose weight, but the wife wouldn’t allow it. ‘The kids expect a fat Santa!’ she kept saying. Who could foresee this health craze? Now she wants me to get a Wii Fit.”

Leaning back, he sighed. “I guess I’ll just resolve to keep going … and maybe, someday, if they come to understand giving enough, more of the bad kids will become good kids.

“Now, let’s get to that breakfast – I’ve got my early massage scheduled.” 

The annual appearance of Emily's Wreath Of Kahn

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Remember, reading books in January is far safer then sledding, whether you have reindeer or not.

[incomingalbatross]

Okay, but consider:

When Amy and Rory get stuck in New York, they try to leave at first. I mean, of course they do, they’re not idiots. If the Doctor can’t come here, why can’t they just get out of the center of the paradox? And even if he still can’t pick them up....well, no reason not to see some of the world by the slow path.

It’s just not that simple. As it turns out, the contortions of time and the way it’s adhered to them trap them physically, not just temporally. When they try to leave NYC, time goes...weird. They find themselves back where they started, or time slows to a crawl, or starts skipping and fracturing for them. They wait for trains that never arrive, or drive all day and get nowhere, or walk and find their strength sapped away. You get the picture. So...they stay. They poke their boundaries every so often, but mostly they just stay.

It’s not so bad. If you had to pick one place to be stuck in for the rest of your lives, New York City from the 1930s onward certainly won’t be boring. And River can visit, occasionally, even if the Doctor can’t. (Sometimes she leaves them gadgets to keep them equipped for any timey-wiminess that may arise, like the thing that looks like an egg timer and detects artron anergy within the city confines. They always wonder if she has a Reason for these things, but they don’t ask.)

They build their lives. Rory stays in medicine, of course, even if being a male nurse is a little more unusual in this period. Amy writes, fantasy stories about little lost girls and brave boys and strange wizards with funny blue houses.

(In her stories, children always find their way home in the end.)

After WWII they adopt a little war-orphan baby named Anthony. He, more than anything, anchors them. Life goes on. They settle, like the foundations of a house.

Until one day in the 60s when Amy (older, but not slowed down yet) bursts into the house, grabs Rory, and says “She’s going to be HERE.”

“What?” says Rory.

“1969. The Moon.” Amy waves a copy of a magazine with headlines about the space program at him. “MELODY.”

“...OH.”

Whether or not they’ll try to find her is barely even a question, after that—potential damage to the space-time continuum, versus the fact that their little girl will be out there alone and hurting and in danger right now?

They’re Pond-Williamses. You know how this story goes.

So they start trying, again, to escape. They’re in New York, and she’ll be in Florida; they even know exactly when and where they’ll be able to find her. They’re so close.

But they can’t. get. out.

They try and try and keep on trying, as the next few years pass and the city feels more like a prison than it ever has. They do everything they can think of—which isn’t much, sadly, because they don’t have the Doctor and they can’t reliably contact River, and she doesn’t show up for these years. (They wonder if that’s a good or bad sign.) So their options are limited, and mostly consist of the blind, dogged obstinacy that’s a family trait. But...it doesn’t seem to pay off, this time.

They watch the moon landing through tears, at home on the couch, holding each other.

(They’re going to keep trying, of course, but...they won’t know where she is now. They’re back where they were when they first lost her, in a way, and it feels like reliving Demons Run.)

The next few months are...strange. Empty, almost. Listless, even as they keep testing their boundaries—because is there really a point anymore? They had their chance—their daughter’s chance—and they blew it.

And then, one night, the egg timer starts wailing. Not the usual even chime that signals River’s popped into this time, but an earsplitting wail that makes itself heard through the walls.

They stare at each other, baffled. A silent agreement passes between them. They grab the artron energy detector, head out the door, and start driving.

It’s a long, frustrating game of “hot or cold” circling through the city and arguing over whether the gadget they’re holding between them—which has dropped in volume to a quieter, fluctuating sort of alarm—is getting louder or softer. They both know they won’t go home as long as there’s any noise at all, though. Whatever this is—the Doctor? River in trouble?—they can’t ignore it.

And, finally, they find a dirty alleyway, with a little girl lying on the ground. The artron energy detector stabilizes into one long, steady keen as they near her, and Rory finally shuts the thing off. The little girl, crumpled and still, hadn’t even stirred at the noise, but he can’t take it anymore.

As he kneels down beside her, though, one hand reaching to steady her head while he checks for a pulse—then, as he gently touches her, the little girl stirs. Her eyes open, oddly fearless given the circumstances, and fixed on his. She raises her head a little, leaning toward him, and he adjusts to support her.

Then, as this little girl sits up and looks from him to Amy, her lips part, and a little breath of gold escapes.

Amy gasps, suddenly, the breath punched out of her. (Although, really, part of her already knew. But she hasn’t seen that gold in a long time.)

Their little girl smiles. “Mummy,” she breathes, and then she looks back to Rory with those same bright, fearless (trusting) eyes. “Daddy.”

And Amy falls to her knees beside Rory, and Melody flies into the circle of their arms.

“But how? How did you know where to find us?”

Melody laughs, delighted in her discovery and in being able to share it, as she was/is/will be at every age. “I read your books,” she answers. “I read Lost Songs, and Summer Falls, and the Garden of Forgetfulness. I knew it was you, Mummy. I knew your stories.”

(After all, Melody—as befitted the weapon of the Silence—had been born with a very good memory. And during those days at Demons Run, when it was only them, Amy had been the one to tell Melody her very first stories.)

So they take her home. They introduce her to Anthony, who’s in college now and takes his big sister River being reintroduced as his little sister Melody remarkably in stride. And...always wondering when the paradox might strike...they keep her.

They try not to tell her too much about her future, specifically. Spoilers, you know. But they keep her safe and well and happy, as she grows (more slowly than other children, but that’s all right). And they tell her there’s a long and twisting road ahead, but they will be there, one way or another. And she will find happiness there, and she will make them proud, always.

And they tell her that they love her. That she will always be loved.

And that’s enough, for a good while. But they’re getting older, just as Melody is. On Rory’s 82nd birthday, Melody catches him apologizing softly to Amy. She smiles and calls him an idiot, but there are tears in her eyes.

He dies at 82, and when Amy reaches 87 and suddenly starts putting her affairs in order, Melody and Anthony have an idea of what’s coming.

(It’s hard, sometimes, having parents who know the future. Even harder when they can’t change it.)

But what actually happens that year is a car accident. Amy doesn’t make it.

Melody, who was driving, doesn’t either.

At least, she doesn’t live through it.

“I don’t want you!” the little girl shrieks, twisting in her now-much-older brother’s arms. “I want Mummy and Daddy!”

“They aren’t here, Mel,” Anthony says desperately. (Last week, she was a young adult. He didn’t think this was how regeneration was supposed to work.) “They’re gone. I’m sorry, honey, but they just can’t be here.”

“I want them!” she insists. “Let’s find them!” And the tears start up again. “They said...they said they’d always be here.”

Anthony frowns.

Left to himself, he wouldn’t have thought of it—he’s an adult, after all, nearly fifty, and he can survive the loss of his parents. But the little girl in his arms...well, she shouldn’t have to.

And maybe that’s what makes several childhood stories click together in his head. Some told by his parents, and some dropped by River when she hadn’t known he was listening.

(Maybe it’s just that his sister is a bad influence, he thinks in amusement.)

“Okay, then,” he says. “Let’s find them.”

The tears stop. “Really?” the little voice says, suddenly quiet and hesitant.

“Really,” Anthony says, hoisting her more securely into his arms. “Do you remember Mum and Dad ever telling you about a sleepy little town called Leadworth?”

And that’s how, in 1994, an American named Anthony Zimmerman and his adopted little girl Mel (”I was close to her parents”) settled in Leadworth, England. Mel was a little spitfire, but she promptly befriended the neighbors’ girl of the same age, Amelia. They played together, shared secrets, and when Amelia developed her obsession with her imaginary Doctor, Mels was the most eager audience for her stories.

After all, Amelia had always been Melody’s first storyteller. And Melody had always been Amelia’s first listener.

Because the most important thing about Amelia’s stories—even if Amelia didn’t know it yet—was that, in the end, the children always found their way home.

---

(AN: full disclosure is that I’m sure I got the bit with Amy’s books guiding Melody home from some other fic where she writes them in order to help Melody--although I don’t think it worked there? Not sure. I’m definitely not the first one to use that idea, anyway, though I do love it.)

[plentyoffandoms]

Everybody's Free (Part 19)

Wardlow x f/Reader

Just like all my other stories, this has not been proofread, but please enjoy.

Gifs & photos do not belong to me.

Warnings: Some swearing.

Main Masterlist ♡ AEW Masterlist ♡ Wardlow Masterlist ♡ Everybody's Free Masterlist

Summary: F/Reader is friends with Sammy & everyone in the Inner Circle. She is also a member of his vlog squad. They found out she has a secret boyfriend & they try to figure out who it is.

Daniel - Cash Wheeler ☆ David - Dax Harwood ☆ Ronnie - Shawn Spears ☆ Miguel- Ortiz ☆ Mike - Santana

Sammy Guevara's POV:

The news of YN and Wardlow getting married travelled fast through work and I tried not to pay attention.

"It was beautiful and just so perfect." Is what everyone was saying. That they announced that they were having twins, a boy and girl.

The day of their wedding, Tay found me actually pouting in the hotel pool. She tried to cheer me up, but nothing and I mean nothing was working.

So I decided to take a few weeks off. I needed space to clear my head of all this.

I never once thought our friendship would end like this. I always thought she would be at my wedding and I at hers.

That our children would grow up together and be best friends just like us, but then she had to fall in love with Wardlow.

To me, it still doesn't make sense. She knew how I felt about him and still saw him behind my back.

I even brought that up to Tay. "You can't help who you love Sammy." Was all my girlfriend said to me.

I know her and YN got a long well, but Tay has stood by my side through all of this. Unlike Mike and Miguel.

Those two traitors actually went to the wedding and then left The Inner Circle to join Eddie, who I heard walked her down the aisle.

Which brought me back to when her Grandpa passed away and we were talking about what a great man he was.

"I have no one to walk me down the aisle if I ever get married Sammy. That is the one thing he said he was going to do." YN said as she cried.

"Don't worry YN, I'll walk you down the aisle."

I was pulled away from my memories by a few fans coming up and asking for a photo and autograph.

Wardlow's POV:

Even though we couldn't fly to our dream honeymoon spot, I did book us at a beautiful place called The Sanderling Resort & Spa.

It was still on the beach and we still had our privacy with one another. I do believe I made love to my very pregnant wife on every single surface I possibly could.

Made sure to request a fresh big bowl of strawberries be brought with our lunch each day just for her.

But now we are back home in Ohio. Been home for a few days in our finished home and I have been doing the final touches on the nursery.

YN and I decided that we would have the two of them in the same room until they a bit older and then they will each get their own room.

And that is where she found me most days when I am not with her. I just finished putting together a dresser and I heard her call my name, saying it is time for lunch.

She was sitting at the counter, her hand on her stomach as she happily ate her Turkey burger.

I kissed her on her cheek and then leaned down and kissed her stomach. I could feel the babies moving around.

I was nervous about leaving her alone. After we came back from our honeymoon, we had a Doctors appointment and she told us that YN should be staying home and not travel.

At first YN started to complain because she was hoping she had a bit more time being on the road, but she really only has about a month and half left and hopefully the two of them will not show up too early.

So right now, we are just trying to make the best of it all. Even though I know she hasn't said anything, this is bothering her.

But I am not going to bring it up because I did already and she told me that she was fine.

"What time is your flight?" She asked me, pulling me from my thoughts.

"4 am." She just nodded her head as she took another bite of her sandwhich.

"My Mom says she will be here by 9."

"What for?"

I guess YN forgot. This pregnancy brain is the real thing. "To take you shopping. You mentioned we need a family friendly car."

"Oh yeah." I could tell she was getting upset. YN has handled this pregnancy well. The puking, the cravings, the insatiable sex, everything she had handled with ease.

But her forgetting things has her frustrated more than she will ever care to admit.

"Do you care which one we pick out?"

"No, as long as you are happy with it, that is all that matters."

I already called my Mom and gave her a heads up about where the two of them will be going and that a Taxi will be taking them there.

I also called the car dealership and gave them my information and card details so that way the two of them can just drive off the lot with it.

The two of us finished eating and I quickly cleaned up the kitchen.

I found YN sitting in our livingroom, with a bowl of strawberries and grapes resting on her stomach.

She was watching The Breakfast Club. It was her go to movie when she is sad.

I knelt down in front of her and she paused the movie. I gently cupped her face and she had tears in her eyes.

"What is the matter baby? I know you're sad."

"I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to either but I do have to go to work for a bit."

"I know, it's just I am going to be alone in our home until you come back."

I was going to say that my Mom is coming around but YN beat me to it.

"I know your Mom won't be far, and I know I can call your sisters but they aren't you Michael."

"I will facetime you every chance I get."

"I know, but I just need you here with me."

"Look baby, I am only gone for two weeks. Then after that, I will be home and you are stuck with me until the babies are born."

My mom will be moving in once the babies are born to help YN when I am not here. It is only temporary but YN and I both know she will need help.

"Lets not be sad anymore. Why don't we go out for an early dinner and then go out for dessert." I said to her.

"How about The Cheesecake Factory?"

"Sounds good to me. Why don't we finish watching the movie and then once it is done, we can head out." I said to her as I finally joined her on the couch, popping one of her strawberries into my mouth.

~

I woke up early the next morning and just held onto her as I had a few moments to spare before I had to get up and start to get ready.

I had a quick shower and double checked that I had everything. I went downstairs to the kitchen to grab something to take with me for the ride to the airport, but there was my wife, packing me breakfast at 2 am.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and told her thank you as I kissed her neck.

"Do not start something you can not finish Mister. Go, the airport taxi is waiting."

She walked me to the front door and we kissed each other goodbye. Me promising her that I will call her the moment I land.

"Love you Michael. Have a safe trip."

"Love you too baby. Get some more sleep."

I knew she was watching me as I walked to the taxi and got in. I had the driver wait until she closed the door behind her and I could clearly see that the hallway light was turned off and the lamp in our room got turned off a few moment later.

~

The moment I landed in California, I called YN just like I promised. She answered the phone on the second ring and she told me my Mom was there.

The three of us talked a bit but then they had to leave. I told YN I would call her later that night and text her throughout the day.

~

It took a bit but I am finally out of the airport and on my way to the hotel, where I met up with Ronnie, David and Daniel.

"There he is. How was the honeymoon?" Ronnie asked me as he patted me on the back.

"It was amazing. Glad we found it. Just the perfect spot." I told them honestly.

"How is she doing?" David asked me. He is the only one out of the group who understands as he has travelled before when his wife was pregnant.

"She is upset she got told to stay home. YN is used to travelling and being with me or anyone of us actually."

"So what is she doing?" Daniel asked as we headed to go and the meeting that Tony was holding in one of the hotel conference rooms.

"Well right now she is going to buy a new car because she needs one for her and the babies." I smiled at the thought of our babies.

The conversation shifted to different topics as we walked, but then I heard his annoying voice.

"Well well well, if it isn't Michael. So nice to see you back. How was the honeymoon?" I didn't answer Sammy, I just kept walking.

"I hear congratulations are in order. Twins? A boy and a girl. Oh how sweet...but I do wonder, are they yours?"

I stopped walking. I heard Ronnie say shit as I turned, ready to knock the shit out of Sammy, but Daniel and David were holding me back.

"Sammy, if I was you, I would walk away before the Big Man puts you in the hospital, yeah?" Max said as he walked towards us, with Colten and Austin not far behind him.

Sammy just smirked at me, knowing he got to me and walked past us but Max had the final word.

"Oh Sammy?" He stopped and turned to look at Max.

"What?"

"If you ever and I mean ever hear you say something like that again about YN, Mike or their children, you won't just have to worry about Mike."

"Is that a threat?"

"Take it how you want, but you have been warned."

It looked like Sammy wanted to say something but all he did was flip us off and walked into the room.

Today is going to be one long day.

Part 20

Tag List: if you would like to be added, please let me know. @lghockey @ecarroll1978 @wardlow @anaeve @crowleysqueenofhell @thewrestlingbitch @thenerdybaker523 @hungmanhorsecarriagge @brie-mode-activated @louisianalady @daddyslittlevillain @baybay-boom @lilred91 @1dnhhsmk @ladyviperrko @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @kawaiikels @wwenhlimagines

[heliotropehotch]

ours - a.h. x fem!reader

request: Hi!! Can I request something with Dad!Hotch? Maybe him and fem!reader talk about/are expanding their family and are having a family day with Jack? Or something? (anon)

a/n: for the sake of this request, lets pretend this scene was when jj was having michael, not henry

masterlist

join the discord

author: abby<3

words: 1089

cw: pregnancy, talks of having a child, going into labor

It started with JJ, not so subtly, going into labor.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am not a doctor - I don’t even play one on TV but I believe young JJ’s going into labor,” Penelope’s own shaky voice echoed through the break room. Y/N’s hand reached out to grab Hotch’s wrist in shock. His eyes met hers, widened slightly. He cleared his throat, setting down the coffee pot.

“I’ll get the car.” Her eyes followed his body’s steady pace down the hall to the elevator, a soft smile against their mouth.

Y/N moved to buzz around JJ’s form, a gentle hand resting against her back alongside Emily and Garcia’s. JJ’s voice was nervous as her friends fluttered around her, “I need to call Will.”

Y/N chuckled, hand rubbing small circles against her spine. “We can call from the car, Jayje, but right now we need to get to the hospital.”

The SUV was already parked at the curb, Hotch holding the passenger door open.

Always the gentlemen.

JJ’s huffed breathing filled the front of the car while Emily, Garcia, and Y/N were all stuffed in the backseat. Aaron’s eyes flitted from the road to the mirrors, to the heaving pregnant coworker in his passenger seat. “Just breathe JJ.”

“I am, Hotch,” she winced, a hand rubbing over her protruding belly. “But please don’t kill us with your reckless driving.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, smile flitting to the rear view reflection to meet Y/N’s eyes. Her face matched his. He soothed further. “We’re almost there okay? Just hold on tight.”

Her heart thrummed in her chest, his affection for his subordinates peaking through the exterior he usually put on for show at the office. His concerned gaze following JJ’s movements next to him, a small smile permanently on his face.

Will’s concerned face paced the entrance to the hospital, black dress shoes had to be wearing the sidewalk thin.

“Honey,” his panicked voice called out as the SUV pulled to a stop. His hands fell to her back, pressing a kiss to her smiling lips. “I’m fine, Will.”

Y/N and Aaron stood at the parked car, watching as their friends ushered JJ inside. His own hand moved to rest on her back. “Should we go in there?”

“They’ll be fine without us.” He smiled, palm rubbing calming circles against their spine. “They don’t need us crowding them even more.”

She pouted slightly, before nodding her head. “Do we have to go back to the office?”

“No,” he laughed, moving back to the driver’s door. “I’m giving us the weekend off.”

~~~~~~

It was hard to tell who was more excited to spend time with each other at home - Jack or his parents. Aaron had slept in as late as possible, waking up at 8 to put a pot of coffee on for himself, a kettle heating on the stove for his wife.

Sock-clad feet shuffled against the floorboards to the kitchen, arms wrapped around Aaron’s middle. Y/N hummed against his back, “Good morning.”

“Morning, love,” the deep timber of his voice vibrated through his chest. “Is Jack awake yet?”

She chuckled as she pulled away from the warmth of his body. “Do you really think he would be awake this early if he didn’t have to be?”

“...No.” He laughed as he poured a spoonful of honey into her tea. “Here you go sweetheart.”

“Thank you, baby,” she pecked his lips with hers. “Do you have plans for today?”

He hummed, settling into the seat next to her. “We’ll see what Jack wants to do. We’ve got two days.”

As if his own small ears were burning, Jack’s feet thumped down the stairs. “Where’s Aunt Jess?”

“Good morning, baby,” Y/N hummed, pulling her stepson into her side. “We don’t have to go to work today.”

His eyes went wide, a large smile creeping up on his face. “Really? We get to hang out today?”

“Yeah, bud,” Aaron smiled over to him. “What do you wanna do today?”

He paused for a second, a dramatic sigh leaving his chest - one far too big for his small form. “Can we do a movie day?”

Y/N’s eyes flitted to her husbands. “You just wanna stay here?”

He nodded against her chest. “Maybe we can make a fort?”

“I think we can do that.”

~~~~~~~

The fort was something of an architectural masterpiece. Aaron and Jack had somehow made it tall enough for the adults to kneel in, blankets and pillows covering the floor of the living room.

Jack has chosen to watch Captain America(again), his ultimate joy finding itself in the one liners and fighting scenes of Steve Rogers. The small family had huddled together, all of their bodies pressing into each other.

“Can we ask Aunt JJ if Henry can have a sleepover soon?” Y/N made eyes over to her husband, a small smile resting on her rested face.

“Sure, honey, but things might be a little different now,” she almost laughed as his little face scrunched under the glow of the TV.

“What do you mean?” Her fingers carded through his dusty blonde hair.

“Well, Aunt J had her baby,” Aaron said softly. “Henry’s got a little baby brother now.”

“A brother?” His eyes went wide. “Whoa.”

Jack’s parents chuckled against their son, his reaction more dramatic then they had been expecting. He continued. “I want one.”

“Want what?”

“A brother- or a sister would be cool too.”

If Jack noticed the pause in the air, he didn’t mention it. Their laughter stilled, a mixture of shocked expressions resting on their faces. “Would-” Aaron cleared his throat as she stuttered. “Would you really want that?”

“Yeah,” he said excitedly. “I’ve wanted one for like 3 years, Dad.”

Aaron sputtered as his wife laughed on the ground. Her fingers went to his sides, Jack’s giggle echoing against the blanket walls. “Oh really?” She laughed. “You’ve wanted one for years, huh? Wanna be a big brother huh?”

Aaron’s chuckled mingled with his son’s cradling him to his chest as his wife blew raspberries against his belly. Only when he was near tears did his stepmother let up. She pressed him to her chest, happy smiles resting on both of their faces. Aaron pulled her to his side. “We’ll see what we can do about that.”

Y/N’s head shot up from it’s resting place on Jack’s head, a bright smile lighting the small space. “Really?”

He smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Yeah baby, really.”

[heresathreebee]

The One Where She Got A Dog

Yelena Belova X Reader

Summary: how Yelena became a dog mom Masterlist Part 2

Tags: E | 1.8k words | scary movie, winter, secret pasts, sapphic

AN: Black Widow movie really got me in my feelings about those characters, Yelena in particular. I havent watched The Thing in almost a year please look the other way if movie events are out of order.

Pretty Russian girls are not usually your type, but fuck if you weren't absolutely obsessed with this one. You laughed when she told you she was from Ohio.  She laughed when you said you were too. 

Aquavit and your grandma's biscuit recipe brought her into your cabin on the edge of the world where she admitted to you she had never seen John Carpenter's The Thing before. You turned it on just as the snow storm set in and wrapped up in your thickest blankets with her. You're trying not to get your hopes too high but she's not shy about asking you to scoot closer. 

"Skäl," you cheer just as the ominous opening credits end and they find the mysterious ship in the frozen wasteland of antarctica. 

"Have you ever been?," Yelena asked. 

You grimace at the strong taste of aquavit. It's like vodka but with caraway for 'flavor'. You look at her from the side and poor yourself a second shot. "Been…?" 

"There." She points at the screen. 

"I have actually," you admit in a way you hope is flat and uninteresting, "have you?" 

Yelena shook her head. It's possible she might think you're being sarcastic (you cross your fingers under the blanket and hope she does). She's smiling at you, thinking something (but still watching the screen with interest). 

She drops the subject until you have to pause the movie to pee. You unwrap yourself from the cocoon of blankets and as you stand she asks you another question. 

"What were you doing there? in Antarctica, I mean." 

You sigh and pretend to brush something off of your pants. "Science trip with my parents. Shitty vacation for me I'd rather be in the Bahamas." 

You resist the urge to look at her. After taking care of business, you come back just in time to put the biscuits in the oven. You hear Yelena lean into the kitchen archway as the floors creak immensely here. 

"No timer?," she asked. 

"No timer," you confirm. "I use the timer of my heart." 

Yelena scoffs. "Please don't burn them, I'm curious about these… what are they– pastries?" 

"Something like that." 

The two of you went back to the movie just as the gang on screen is trying to decipher who is human and who is not. You feel like something between you has changed and sadly not for the better. 

But she can't know. 

"I hate this part," you say, making absolutely no move to avert your gaze. 

Yelena is startled when the doctor's arms become trapped in the bear trap belly mouth of the "man" on the table. She quickly covers her eyes and giggles manically, slapping your chest for the vague and unhelpful warning. You realize she's not as close to you as before…

There's 20 minutes left of this movie and you haven't seen a single thing on screen. Yelena stopped asking you questions when you stopped being coherent with your answers. All you can think about is telling her. 

But you can't tell her. She would never understand. You barely understand and it's about you. 

"I lied." Your heart beats in your throat as you see her face you but you can't look at her directly for fear of losing your nerve. "About the science expedition? That's not why I was in Antarctica…" 

Yelena seems to wait for you to continue but… 

"Eh, no offense but, " you gesture with your hand, "I don't really know you like that." 

Yelena gave your reply a single nod. "I suppose that's fair." 

You can't help but fidget in your seat. "Idliketo" 

"What was that?" 

You cleared your throat. "I said… I said I'd like to. Know you like that, I mean…" 

Yelena gives you a smile. "I would like to know you like that, too." 

The movie ends, the biscuits are not burnt but buttery soft and golden brown, and the blizzard outside has subsided some. It's still going but at least it's not buffering the doors and windows like before. 

"How can you watch that film in a place like this?" Yelena cannot get enough of those biscuits, stuffing them in her mouth 2 at a time. "Does it make you paranoid?" 

"Yes it does," you say, putting your coat on, "I think that's what makes it so much scarier–  looking outside and being scared every person you come across ain't who they say they are. Sometimes its not a bad thing though... I think it is rather… poetic, too." 

Yelena's eyebrows furrow. "Where are you going?" 

You put on your boots and hope the duct tape stays on the hole you covered earlier. "Dogs are out in the shed. It's heated and they have food, but not for days and I'd rather have 'em in the house where I can take care of them." 

As you finished your sentence you reached for the door,  but stopped when you noticed Yelena getting dressed too. She gives you a nod as soon as her hood comes up, and you give this brave thing an appreciative once over. 

The snow that nearly all melted before is up to your knees now. Fresh, white, and fluffy. It muffles sound like the world's sidelong turning. The odd snowflake wafts lazily from the sky, but for the most part it's died down. You teach back and take Yelena's gloved hand to keep from staying too far apart. 

"You know I always wanted a dog," she said. She could have said it in a whisper from 100 yards away and you still would have heard her–  that is how eerily quiet it is. 

Yelena squeezes your hand and you squeeze back. She's probably remembering the movie. You try to distract her by saying, "Oh yeah? You can have one of mine then." 

Yelena laughs, then stops. "You serious?" 

"As a heart attack." You finally reach the door to the shed and unlatch the door. A chorus of barks begin and you charge forward to nudge them back to give Yelena space to come in as well. "I do some breeding up here–  just a side job. They're usually working dogs but they can be pets too." 

Buck licks your face from chin to forehead and you push him back. "Down, boy! Show some respect!" 

Yelena has two of the mongrels circling her, sniffing all her clothes and demanding to be pet. "That's Burt, Barney, and Bella. Buck's my stud, but these heathens are going to a farm. They've got sheep to watch." 

Yelena chuckles as her hands get covered in slobber. "I love them." 

They're almost grown, three quarters the height of their father. Buck didn't even look in Yelena's direction because he knows you give him treats. You take your scarf off as the heat of the shed threatens to smother you and search your pockets for jerky.  

"She's in there with the new puppies." You point to a darkened closet. "Don't get too close now, she's still a little protective." 

Yelena creeps closer. You see her look at you from the corner of her eye. Probably terrified by the morphing dog scene from the movie. You give her an encouraging smile and tell her where to find the light. It's a pull cord and it bathes the room in a warm golden yellow light. 

Yelena's heavy, controlled breathing turns into a coo. Mama dog is laying on her side watching the newcomer closely. There's a pup asleep in the nest of her legs, another chewing on the hay that litters the ground, and the last one is biting their mother's ear. Yelena looks back at you with an adorable pout on her lip. 

"So cute…" 

You chuckle and put your arm around her. Buck knows to steer clear of mama dog and slinks off. You make your guest walk closer with you to show mama she's got your confidence. 

"Yelena, this is Beyonce." Mama dog's ears perk at the sound of her name. "Beyonce, this is Yelena. Be nice." 

You reach down and scoop up the hay eating puppy at your feet. "This one's always hungry." 

You put the pup in her arms and scoop up the biter. "This one likes to play. All the time. Got more energy than the blue Energizer bunny actually." 

The pup in question is literally trying to wriggle out of your hands in its eagerness to climb you and eat your hair. 

"And that one sleeps a lot?" Yelena nodded her head at the last pup. 

"Pretty much." You put the writhing excited puppy down before it hurts itself and look up into the rafters. "And then there's the climber…" 

You both turn your heads when you hear a tiny bark. A cute little face stares down at you from the rafters and there's a feather stuck to its nose. You shake your head knowing this pup got it from ripping up pillows in another part of the dog house. 

"Better go get her," you said, not moving an inch to do so.  

Yelena sees your challenge and rises to it. As if trained to do exactly so, she assesses the wooden interior for foot and hand holds. You can see the wheels turning in her head as she calculates what will and won't support her weight. In the sweep of a single moment, she rises from the door and swings herself into the rafters using a build up a momentum to propel her fast in an upperward direction. She completes the climb and balances with ease, reaching out to collect the happy wagging miscreant from her mountain top, tucks her in her jacket and climbs a different way down. 

You stare at her. "Were you raised by trapeze artists?" 

Yelena laughs. "I thought everybody was." 

The pup is safe and happy and eager to explore its new friend. Yelena lets her lick, sniff, and scratch at her skin, her clothes, her hair. The pup catches Yelena with a tiny lick right on the tip of her nose and Yelena looks back at you with adoring eyes. 

You smile. "Got a name for her already don't you?" 

"Yes," Yelena whines, "no, are you sure about this? I should probably tell you I've never had a dog before…" 

"I can tell your good people," you reply. "And smart as a whip. You'll adapt, just call me if you ever need anything." 

~

Three weeks later you get a phone call from an unknown number. It's Yelena giving you an address and making you swear never to tell anybody about it. You don't have any friends so it's an easy secret to keep. 

You drive a few miles south and stumble upon a stationary trailer in the middle of nowhere, nothing but clearings and trees and sky. Actually very similar to your own home. 

The door opens and Yelena greets you with a beer and the pup under her arm, already almost a foot bigger than she was before. 

"Her name is Fanny." You both laugh yourselves hoarse and pile into the trailer to puppy proof the place. 

[frenchpuppycormier]

HI ZOË!!! angst #16 for that sentence starter post if you're still up for some writing. i love getting my feelings hurt 🤡

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Then why are there bruises all over your face?"

—

Kara doesn't have a mean bone in her body.

She waves at every animal she sees on her daily walks and patrols at night. She gives and gives to people without expecting anything in return. When someone is having a bad day or just really needs to talk, she listens, even criminals. Most of them aren't any different than the average person, they simply were dealt the wrong hand. She's extremely loyal and doesn't take anything personally. One time, Kara saved a fly that was trapped in a spider's web.

So yeah, Kara doesn't have a mean bone in her body. Which is why today is such an anomaly.

She's in the kitchen still dressed in her navy chinos and baby pink button up with palm trees from when she came home from work. Andrea made her rewrite an article thrice, Jeremy from accounting had broken the copier machine and politely asked for her help in fixing it, she stopped a bank robbery a few blocks down from CatCo when she realized the police wouldn't get there in time, and to top it all off she unwillingly skipped lunch after someone stole her sandwich from the staff fridge.

To say she was exhausted and starving was an understatement. Changing into her pajamas meant she had to walk all the way to the bedroom and Kara was too lazy, even for superspeed.

As she stirs her homemade tomato sauce she taps her phone screen and checks the time. 6:35 pm. Frowning, Kara doesn't see any missed messages or calls from Lena letting her know she's going to be late.

She shrugs to herself and thinks Lena must've gotten caught up in her lab and lost track of time. It happens more often than not, and Kara doesn't think it'll ever change, much to her chagrin. It's bad enough Lena forgets to eat lunch most days, but to continuously forget her phone and watch in her office? Kara knows her wife's a workaholic, but she wasn't aware until now, the fourth night this week, that it was getting this bad.

Kara strains the pasta and cuts the garlic bread while periodically stirring the sauce and checking her phone. She decides to finally turn on some music when the silence of the penthouse becomes too stifling and daunting.

She's in the middle of dancing to ABBA and plating the food when she hears a familiar heartbeat walking down the hall. Kara tries not to listen to it too often—she doesn't want Lena to feel like her privacy has been invaded—but sometimes she can't help it. Her wife's heartbeat is one of the most soothing sounds she's ever heard, and ever since she heard it for the first time, she's just been naturally drawn to it, like a moth to a flame.

Kara smiles as she hears it get closer until Lena's opening the door and walking through. "Hey, babe! I'm in the kitchen!" she yells, her energetic voice reverberating throughout the house.

There's no verbal response like there usually is, which is the first warning sign. The second is when Lena walks by—she has to in order to go to their room—it's with quick steps and careful avoidance. But Kara's been able to read her like a book since they've known each other, and she knows something's amiss by the way Lena doesn't even greet her with a kiss. She always does.

"Lena?"

Her wife stops frozen in her tracks, head angled down, hair covering her face like a curtain. Lena's heart ticks up a beat, leaving Kara wildly concerned.

"Lena?" she steps around the island and stands in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she mumbles.

Kara tilts her head to make eye contact, but Lena moves her head so she can't. "Then why won't you let me look at you?"

"It's nothing, I-I'm fine."

"And why does that not convince me?" Kara sighs. Lena doesn't move a muscle and she keeps quiet. "Are you hurt?"

"No." She still shows no signs of moving. It's like she's decided her next career move is becoming one of those marble sculptures at the museum people love to gawk at.

"Lena...you're scaring me." She tentatively reaches out and grasps Lena's fingers, tremendously thankful when she doesn't pull away. If there's one thing her wife is bad at, it's letting people in. But she also knows when she's feeling stressed or overwhelmed that holding her hand relaxes and grounds her. "Please..."

Finally, after standing there in an awkward and probably painful way with the way Lena's neck is positioned, she slowly looks up. Kara audibly gasps when she sees her, and what she sees ignites a fire in her chest and a fury in her eyes. "If you're not hurt, then why are there bruises all over your face?"

"Kara.."

"Lena," she breathes and lifts her hands to gently cup her face, tears pooling in her eyes. Her breathing is significantly more ragged than before, and she mentally takes note of why that is. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," she repeats.

Kara frowns and backs away, crossing her arms. "Who did this to you?"

"Please, Kara. I don't want to make a big deal—"

"Who?" her voice is lower and angrier, sending chills down Lena's back. She grits her teeth, "Lena, tell me who did this to you now, so I can kill them."

"Kara, this isn't you," she reaches forward to calm her down, but Kara starts pacing.

"The hell it isn't!" Kara exclaims, fists clenching at her sides. "My wife was beaten for all I know, and she's acting like it's just another day at the office!" she gestures at Lena, exasperatedly. "How would you expect me to act?"

Lena flinches at her tone.

Kara notices, because she always notices when Lena's in distress, and she deflates. "Lena, you're the love of my life, my person, and when you're hurt I can't help how I act. I'm sorry if I seem like I'm overreacting or if I'm yelling, but it's you." She walks back into her space and places her hands over Lena's face, thumbs lightly grazing her cheekbones, careful not to bump her wounds. "It's you," she whispers.

Lena swallows thickly, and when she speaks her voice is soft and afraid. "It was an accident."

"Did someone do this to you?" Kara's jaw clenches as she lets go. She doesn't stray far though, crossing her arms in front of her chest to try and calm down.

"Kara, no," Lena sighs, tears pooling in her eyes. "I...I did it to myself."

"What?" Kara's arms drop to her sides. "What are you talking about?"

"I was in a board meeting," she clears her throat. "Um...I was presenting a new prototype for...for," Lena shakes her head and frowns tensely. She rubs her eyes with tight fists and with a shaky breath, she cries, "Kara, I—I can't remember!"

Kara steps forward and grasps her hands. "Hey, it's okay. Take your time." She rubs soothing circles over her knuckles with her thumbs.

Lena takes a deep breath and tries again. "I was in a board meeting, and I vaguely recall getting a terrible migraine. Everything after that is fuzzy," she sniffles and takes her hands back to wipe her eyes. "Jess said I fell and hit my head on the table on the way down."

Kara inhales shakily, "What?"

"I had a seizure, I guess," she says it with a slight lilt at the end like it's a question she doesn't want answered. "Uh, it lasted about five minutes until the paramedics arrived. They said I was lucky I wasn't doing something else, like driving. It could've been a lot worse."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't anyone call me?," Kara looks at her with pleading but sorrowful eyes.

"I didn't want you to worry."

"We promised each other, remember?" squeezes her hands. "For better or worse," she says with all the conviction she has. Kara kisses her knuckles and asks, "What did the doctors say?"

Lena sniffles and bows her head. "They ran all these tests on me, but couldn't find anything serious as to why I had a seizure. It could be any number of things, but they can't really do anything for me until I have another one," she looks up at her wife, lips wobbling.

"Kara, I'm scared," she whispers. "This is—" her words catch in her throat, and it's hard for her to breathe. "This is—my mom," she cries hysterically, covering her mouth with her hands, "This is how my mom died, she—she had a seizure while she was in the lake and she drowned. I can't—I can't believe this is—this is happening," she hiccups into another sob.

"Shhh," Kara envelops her in a hug and rubs soothing hands along her back. Lena bawls uncontrollably into her neck, hands gripped tightly to the back of Kara's shirt. "I'm so sorry, Lena," she kisses her on the head and murmurs into her hair, "We're gonna figure this out, I promise."

"What if I have what she had?" Lena questions, voice muffled and watery. "Kara...I don't wanna die," her mind begins to fill with thousands of different scenarios and she spirals into a panic, her whole body shaking, "I don't wanna die, Kara!"

"Honey, no," Kara hugs her tighter, as much as she can without harming her, then pulls back and kisses her on the forehead. She pointedly looks into her eyes when she says, "You're not dying. Okay? Not today, not anytime soon, alright?" Lena's face is red and splotchy. She tries to reign in control of her emotions, and she exhales a shaky breath while managing to give a slight nod. "Good. We'll figure out what's wrong with you, and if we can't do that here, then...we'll go to Argo. Their advances in science are way ahead of Earth's, and if that's not enough then I'll personally travel to other earths or other planets until I find a solution. You're not going anywhere if I have anything to say about it."

"Promise?"

Kara palms the underside of her jaw and rests their foreheads together, Lena's puffs of breath hitting her lips. "I promise," she presses their lips together in a chaste kiss and mumbles, "I love you." Kara kisses her again, "More than anything."

"I love you, too," Lena replies and buries her face in Kara's chest, her arms wrapped around her waist tight and what would be restricting if not for Kara’s invulnerable body. A calming minute passes for them in the aftermath of Lena's breakdown, when Lena quietly asks, "Is something burning?"

Lena feels her wife stiffen in her arms. "Shit!"

She pulls back and raises her eyebrows curiously, an amused glint in her eyes as she asks, "Did you just swear?"

Kara extracts herself from Lena's hold and stutters, "N-no, I said sh-sheet," she fumbles over to the stove and turns off the burner. Kara leans over the pot and frowns at the wreckage.

Lena chuckles with such fondness it's almost like their previous conversation has been forgotten. Kara beams at the sound, one of the reasons she fell in love with Lena in the first place; that girl can make laughter sound like music. Even her out-of-control snort laughs are adorable. At least to Kara's ears.

"There's no point in denying it, love, I heard you loud and clear," Lena smirks and joins her in the kitchen, poking her in the side. Kara squeals and feigns hurting by falling to the floor dramatically.

Lena playfully rolls her eyes and holds out her hand. "Baby, get up, the floor is a mess." Kara easily obeys and jumps to her feet with barely any help from Lena. "I married a weirdo," she shakes her head.

"Do you regret it?"

"Never," Lena states firmly. "You're my weirdo, forever."

"I like the sound of that," Kara blushes. Even after being married for five years, and knowing each other even longer, Lena still possesses the ability to fluster Kara on a daily basis.

"C'mon, let's order Chinese."

"You're speaking my language!" Kara kisses Lena on the nose and watches with pure affection as it scrunches. She grabs the takeout menu from the junk drawer before twining her fingers through Lena's and snuggling with her on the couch.

No matter her diagnosis, not matter the outcome, Lena will be more than okay with Kara by her side.

[fandom-blackhole]

hello my sweet, i hope you're having a lovely day 💕💕💕

for the requests could I ask for Post Sarlacc Boba and Scars please????

Of course you can! I think we all need a little soft Boba from time to time, so here we go....

96. Scars  

Post Sarlacc!Boba Fett x Reader

Boba Fett had never even once taken his helmet or even his gloves off around you. Even after working as the palaces doctor for the past three years. At first you had assumed he was like silver mandalorian that came and went, not able to show his face to others, but after making an off hand comment about it while looking at Fennec's prosthetics you had learned that was very much not the case.

Now knowing the truth, you often found your eyes trailing after Boba’s figure wondering quietly to yourself what lay underneath the green painted armor. And you figured you never would so you allowed your mind to wander and try and imagine the man, nothing ever felt right though.

The curiosity only got worse, when the gifts and soft words started. Boba never came to you for medical help, but you often found him stopping by to ask if you needed anything or if anyone was causing you trouble. That slowly turned into Boba showing up to the med center you were provided, and silently helps you clean things up for the night and walk you to your room just a few halls away, never failing to leave you with out a quiet, and rumbling, "Goodnight little doctor."

And the gifts, oh the gifts. They started showing up randomly. Anything from expensive medical equipment you had mentioned offhandly saying it would make somethings easier, or little gifts of treats or clothes that were some how exactly your size. Each gift never came with a note or any indication of who it was from, but with the way Boba always sized you up in the clothes, and gave off an air of pride when you talked about the gifts, it wasn't too hard to figure out who the gifts were from.

You couldn't help but feel affection grow for the gruff man, and you knew you were a complete goner for the man who you had never seen when Fennec started teasing you for your lingering looks. And while you flushed under her good natured teasing, you never denied the feelings you had developed for the man.

Then late one evening Boba did not show up at the medical room, and you instantly felt yourself fall into worry. You knew he was in the palace, he always told you when he'd be leaving, and Boba had never once missed a night to walk you to your room. So after waiting roughly fifteen minutes after you had finished clean up, you went in search of him, which eventually lead you to the throne room. The room was still packed even for the late hour, so it was relatively easy to slip in and blend in with the other's crowding the room, and your heart panged in relief when you saw Boba up on the throne, looking fine and unharmed at first glance. You decided to stick around for a few minutes, something nagging at you not to leave yet.

Then you saw it, it was small and something the untrained eye wouldn't necessarily notice, but Boba had gently reached over and rubbed at his forearm and wrist like they were bothering him. Shortly after you watched his hand twitch, before rubbing against his knee, and you knew then that he was obviously hurting, and that was most likely the reason he had not come to visit you, always the worrier and never letting you worry about him. You clenched your jaw, trying to think of a way to get him to let you help, when you caught Fennec's gaze. You panicked at first, thinking she was going to blow your cover and whisper to Boba about your presence, but instead she motioned discreetly to Boba and gave you a look that said clear as day, he needs help but isn't going to ask for it.

It was then that you made your decision. Slowly you made your way to the cleared area in front of the throne, bowing your head and allowing the worry to show on your face in hopes to sell the act you were about to put on.

"My king, if I could have a second of you time?"

The response you recieved was only a grunt of acknowledgement, which you took as a yes. You lifted your head, and held your hands behind your back as you looked up at Boba’s helmeted face.

"My king, if you would, there is something down in the medical space that I think you should really take a look at. That is if you have the time of course."

You watched as Boba’s chest rose in a deep breath before he nodded, and said, "Lead the way doctor."

You shot him a smile of thanks, and bowed your head again, and taking note of how he clenched his hands as he stood up, and walked down to where you stood. Quickly, the two of you made your way through the halls, and your felt your heart pang as you saw Boba slip and show a slight limp a few times on your way there.

The second you walked into the room, you started switching on the lights again, as Boba followed you in, quietly asking, "What was it your needed to show me, little one?"

Instead, you turned to him with a stern look and pointed to a medical cot and said, "Sit."

You could feel the confusion radiating from Boba, but he did not fight you following what you told him to do.

"You are hurting," you said bluntly, knowing that with Boba it would be better just to get to the point, "Why didn't you come to me?"

You heard the man let out a heavy sigh, before he rubbed at his knee again and said, "They are nothing but old injuries, nothing much you can do."

You said his name softly, and walked forward until you were standing if front of him. "I can ease some of the pain, please let me help."

Boba did not say anything in agreement, but he also did not say anything to say no, so you turned and grabbed tub of ointment, it contained a small level of bacta that soaked into old scars and help ease pain, something you used yourself on occasion. Turning around, you smiled softly, and said, "Here, rub this on the spots that hurt, it'll help make the pain fade to the point of being more bearable."

Boba looked at you for a few minutes, before letting out a sigh, and saying, "Thank you, little one, but you are going to need alot more than that to help with my pain....."

You just looked at him confused, and worried. Was he in more pain than you thought? You started thinking through what ease you could do for him, when Boba had shocked you completely. Slowly he reached up, and took of the helmet, allowing you to take in his face for the very first time, and maker was he handsome, his brown eyes that seemed to look deep inside of your soul and full lips pulled tight in worry of your reaction, and the scars, oh the scars. They did not take away from Boba’s rough beauty, infact you found that to you they added to it, they showed what all he had fought through during his life and made you understand what was causing his pain.

"The scars, the ugly things, are everywhere, to cover them all you would need more of that stuff."

You pursed your lips, and thought for a second, taking in Boba’s face, and his guarded eyes which were waiting for your disgust or rejection. Instead, you took a step forward and opened the jar, scooping out some of the gel and smoothing it over the the biggest scar covering his forehead, and relishing in the soft sigh that came from Boba's lips. Then you spoke up and said, "Well, we can start with the ones that hurt the most for now, and stock up on this stuff......and my king, the scars are not ugly...they add character, they show how hard you have fought in this life, and I.....I think they add to how handsome you are."

Boba watched you for a few seconds before dipping his head and saying, "My knees and back are what hurt me most, and... today my right arm has been bothering me."

You nodded, and gave him a smile, happy that he was letting you help him, so you asked, "Do you want me to help you, or would you rather take the jar and do it yourself?"

Boba didn't really answer, well not verbally. Instead, he looked into your eyes, and took in your open and earnest face, before reaching down and starting to strip off his armor. Feeling heat raise in your face, you turned to give him a little bit of privacy, and only turned when he grunted that he was ready. When you turned around you knew he was going to be pretty much naked, but you were not prepared for much the sight of his body was going to affect you. Gulping, your tried to push the heat simmering in your belly aside, as you smiled and swallowed thickly.

Gently, you walked behind him, and started smearing the gel along his shoulders before moving downwards. The entire time, you could help but take advantage of feeling the rippling muscles moving and relaxing beneath your fingers, you took in how perfectly built and wide his shoulders and back were, cherishing each bump and scar that marred his tanned flesh. When you were done with that, you moved back around and kneeled in front of Boba, refusing to meet his eyes, as you worked on spreading the gel across his knees. When you were finished, you swallowed, and bit your lip as you grabbed onto Boba’s thick, muscled forearm and gently slid it towards you. Carefully you rubbed gentle circles along his forearm, before flipping it over and down the same with the other side. Then, with a last minute impulsive decision, you worked the gel along his fingers and palm, taking extra care at each knuckle, before switching to repeat the entire process with his other arm. When you were finished, you took a second to watch the way his fingers twitched, before you started to raise your gaze. "There is more in the jar, is there any-"

You were immediately cut off by Boba’s hand reaching under your chin and lifting your face to meet his own in a kiss that took your breath away. It wasn't hurried, nor was it passionate, but I was soft and slow, and held more feeling than you had been expecting from the crime lord. When he pulled away, your eyes stayed closed for a second, before sliding open and making contact with his own.

"Thank you, doc."

Send me Tropes

[bellakitse]

To Love is to Know You

“Carlitos got hurt at work,” she whispers, her face pale and frightened. “He got shot, and they are rushing him to the hospital.”

+

When Carlos gets hurt on the job, his parents find out about the important parts of his life he’s been keeping from them, mainly the man he’s in love with.

Gabriel Reyes' POV

*there is accidental outing in this since this isn’t how Carlos planned on telling his parents.

6.3k

They’ve settled in for the night and are in the middle of watching a movie their son recommended when the phone rings.

“Carlos really likes this?” he questions skeptically as more blood goes spraying across the screen.

His wife chuckles at his tone even as she winces at the scream the protagonist lets out for the 100th time.

“He’s young, Gabriel. I don’t think we’re actually supposed to like what Carlitos likes,” she tells him as she leans across the couch, reaching for her phone. She turns to him with a smile as she shows him the caller ID. “Hablando del diablo,” she says fondly before pressing talk on their son calling.

“Tell him I’m questioning his choices,” Gabriel jokes, pausing the movie as Andrea says hello with a smile. He watches as that smile quickly drops, his heart seizing in his throat as she lets out a gasp and a shaky ‘what?’ to whoever she’s speaking to. It’s obvious now that it’s not their boy.

He waits for her to end the call with a fearful ‘we’ll be there soon’ before she turns to him with tears in her eyes.

Even before she speaks, he knows, and his hands shake as they reach for hers.

“Carlitos got hurt at work,” she whispers, her face pale and frightened. “He got shot, and they are rushing him to the hospital.”

 ֎֎֎

 The drive to the hospital is both short and the longest drive Gabriel Reyes has ever had behind the wheel. Next to him, Andrea grips the rosary his mama gave her after they got married. She doesn’t pray, though, and he thinks she’s too worried to remember any prayer at the moment.

“He’s going to be okay,” he tells her, his voice rougher than he would typically use with his sweetheart, but he can see her starting to spiral, and he needs her to focus on his voice and not on all the troubling thoughts he knows are running through her head at the moment. “Carlos is young and strong. He’s going to be fine, he –”

“Is our baby boy,” she whispers, looking at him with those big brown eyes, so like Carlos’ when he was little, looking at him to make everything okay.

“El va estar bien, amor,” he tells her softly, willing himself to believe it too.

He pulls into the hospital parking lot. They quickly exit the car, holding hands as they rush towards the doors and the front desk. He’s sure they both look a fright as they ask the girl behind the counter for information.

“Mr. and Mrs. Reyes,” calls out a tired voice to them, and when they turn around, they find a familiar-looking young man with brown hair and green eyes standing before them in an EMS uniform.

Gabriel is struck by his eyes. They’re wide, the worry in them plain to see, and it’s obvious he’s been crying by how pink and puffy they are.

“I’ve been waiting for you both; I didn’t want you to get lost,” he tells them, pointing to a door at the far end of the hall to the left. “We’re in there.”

“How’s Carlitos?” his wife asks at the same time as he says. “We’ve met you before.”

“Uh – yes – you have, sir. I’m TK,” he answers with a grimace. Gabriel knows it is the young man’s effort to smile but just can’t. “We met at the farmer’s market about nine months ago.”

TK turns to Andrea, his expression softening instantly. “They took Carlos to the back when we got here, ma’am, but we haven’t heard anything yet.”

“What happened?” he asks TK and is struck again by how expressive his eyes are. Gabriel sees pain, fear, frustration, and anger cross his face.

“We were answering a call to a disturbance; a man was threatening to set fire to his ex-bosses place and was holding them hostage inside. He was armed, so Carlos and the rest of APD went in first,” TK takes a pause, swallowing hard, and Gabriel is struck by how the young man is keeping it together when it’s undeniable that it’s difficult for him to do so. “Shots were exchanged, and the suspect was neutralized but not before he hit Carlos.”

“Where?” he asks, hoping against hope that his son was wearing his vest. TK’s face, scared and apologetic, tells him it doesn’t matter.

“T – the,” TK clears his throat, lifting a hand to run through his hair. Gabriel catches the slight shake of it. It’s not the only thing he spots on them. Though mostly clean, Gabriel notices specks of blood on them. Looking him over once more, he sees some on his uniform too. “The neck, sir.”

Andrea lets out a gasp, bringing her hand to her mouth to try and muffle the sound.

“You worked on him,” Gabriel realizes. He needs to focus on something other than the information they’ve just been given.

“Yes,” TK answers, biting down on his lip to the point that Gabriel wants to wince at how painful it looks. Given the redness of his mouth, the kid has probably been doing it a while now. “My Captain didn’t want it to be me – ” TK stops.

He takes a breath, collecting himself. “We stabilized him on the field and then brought him over. My Captain is here if you want to speak with her while we wait for the doctors.”

They follow the young man down the hall into a private room, and Gabriel is shocked to see how full it is with first responders, most still in uniform like TK. Everyone seems to turn to look at them when they walk in.

“These are Carlos’ parents,” TK explains to the crowd before turning to a tall woman with a sympathetic but no-nonsense look on her face. “Captain Vega, could you – ” he gestures towards them.

The Captain nods, standing from her seat to walk over to them. She has a bag with her that she hands over to TK.

“Nancy brought your stuff from your locker,” she says to the kid with a kind smile. She places her hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Why don’t you go change while I speak with Carlos’ parents.”

TK nods, looking relieved. “Yeah, Cap, thanks.” He turns towards them, looking like he wants to say something else but doesn’t. Instead, he gives them a small nod and walks away, leaving them with his Captain.

Gabriel focuses on her, reaching out to hold his wife’s hand as Captain Vega goes through the emergency in more detail. She’s compassionate but honest as she breaks down her assessment of Carlos’s injuries on the scene and their handling of it.

“TK is one of the finest medics I have ever worked with,” she tells them, with something akin to pride in her voice. “And it’s Carlos. He wasn’t about to lose him,” she continues softly, knowing. “We got him here, and they’ve had him in the back for the last hour. I’m sure they’ll come out and tell us something soon. All we can do now is wait, unfortunately.”

“And pray,” Andrea whispers thickly.

“Never a bad idea,” she says with a small, understanding smile. She looks away from them when someone calls her name, an older man in uniform walking towards them.

“Tommy, any word? Where’s TK?” he asks, rushed.

“Nothing yet,” she answers the man whose uniform says, Captain Strand. “And TK is changing. We didn’t want him to still be in the uniform that – “ she pauses, her eyes drifting to them.

“Right,” Captain Strand nods before his blue eyes turn towards them. Gabriel watches as he quickly recognizes who they are. “Mr. and Mrs. Reyes?” he questions, exhaling loudly when he answers him with a nod.

“Owen Strand, TK’s dad,” he says, extending his hand to Andrea first and then him. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m sorry it can’t be under better circumstances.”

Gabriel cocks his head at the peculiar comment.

“You work with our son?” Andrea asks politely, probably trying to distract herself from the worry she’s feeling.

“Often,” Owen gives them an honest smile. “He’s one hell of a police officer, good instincts, good head on his shoulders, strong,” he tells them intentionally. “He’s going to come through this just fine.”

Gabriel appreciates the comment, if anything, because it makes Andrea smile for the first time since they heard the news.

“Why don’t we sit down,” Owen continues. “We’re going to be here a while,” he points towards three firefighters with the same 126 insignia he has on his clothes, and they quickly get up, giving them the space. “Maybe we can get you some coffee or tea?”

He shakes his head but nods towards Andrea. “Some tea might be good for your nerves, vieja.”

Andrea nods absently, and Owen turns his head towards the trio who gave them their seats. “Strickland, Marwani, Chavez – “

“On it, Cap,” says the young Latino whose chest tag says, Chavez. “We’ll get for everyone.”

Owen offers the kid a grateful smile. “Get TK a sandwich. I know he hasn’t eaten.”

“He might not want to,” says the other man in the group with a deliberate look.

“We’ll sit on him and force him if we have to,” answers the young woman in the headscarf with a glint in her eyes that tells him she’s not joking. Gabriel watches them leave the room.

“They’re good kids,” Owen comments, catching his gaze. “They care about Carlos very much,” he says with a soft laugh. “Probably because he’s always feeding them when they hang out at his place.”

Andrea smiles at the comment, but Gabriel finds it curious. He doesn’t find it strange that his son would be welcoming. Like his mother, Carlos has always strived to make everyone feel at home. He is just surprised that his son is so close with this particular firehouse and its members.

TK comes back into the room in a hoodie and sweats, looking around. Gabriel watches as his eyes land on them before moving over to his father. He watches as the kid’s shoulders drop at the sight of his dad and quickly makes his way over, almost plowing into him as Captain Strand stands with his arms open, circling them around his boy.

“He’s gonna be okay,” he hears him whisper into his son’s ear. “Carlos wouldn’t leave you, you know that.”

Gabriel takes a sharp breath at the words; he looks over at his wife, seeing that her eyes have gone wide as she stares at the father and son with a newfound gaze, and he knows she’s caught it too.

Before they can come to terms with what it might mean, a doctor in green-colored scrubs walks in with a manila folder in hand. “I’m looking for Officer Reyes’ family?” he questions, startling as everyone stands or looks over at him.

Gabriel is surprised himself but warmed by the idea that so many people care about his son. “Over here,” he calls the doctor over. “We’re his parents.”

The doctor nods in response, crossing the distance between them until he’s standing in front of them, TK and his father joining in. “We’ve stabilized your son enough to move him,” the doctor starts. “He’s in the O.R. now; we’re repairing the damage. He was lucky that the bullet didn’t hit his carotid artery.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Andrea rushes to ask, fear coloring her question.

“We’re doing everything we can, ma’am,” the doctor answers softly with a sympathetic look. “He’s holding strong and was brought in quickly.”

“When can we see him?” he asks, his heart dropping at the shake of the doctor’s head.

“It’s going to be a while,” he answers. “We’re not sure how long it will be in the O.R., and then in recovery, it’s going to be a couple of hours.”

Gabriel feels the room deflate around him at the answer and feels the same.

“For now, I need his next of kin to sign off on some waivers,” the doctor continues as he looks inside his folder, reading out of it. “Who is Tyler Kennedy Strand?” he asks, the question filling the room with sudden tension.

“Uhh – me,” TK stammers, his eyes going to him and Andrea awkwardly. “But his parents – “

The doctor cuts him off with a shake of his head. “Officer Reyes’ work forms have you as the one with the power of attorney over any medical decisions on his behalf. You are aware of this, yes?”

TK looks pained and uncomfortable, apologetic even as he looks at Andrea before nodding. “Yes,” he says softly. “Carlos and I spoke about it a few months ago.”

“Then I need you to come with me, Mr. Strand,” the doctor answers, his eyes shifting over to them as well. “It’s just a formality, you understand.”

TK nods again, gesturing for the doctor to go first, following him out of the room, leaving the rest of them in silence, and he and Andrea stunned.

“They’re involved,” he states, not sure to who, but he catches Captain Strand’s slight wince.

“TK will explain when he comes back in,” he assures them, though Gabriel isn’t sure what he would have to explain. It’s pretty obvious the kid is someone important enough to his son that he would leave him in charge of his care if anything happened to him, and he and his wife know nothing about him.

Andrea reaches for his hand. When he looks at her, he sees the same confusion and hurt in her eyes he’s feeling. He squeezes it reassuringly as they retake their seats, neither knowing what to say.

They stay like that, silently waiting for TK or the doctor to come back. Owen walks away from them, drifting towards the other Captain.

After a few minutes, the ones who walk in are the trio of firefighters the Captain sent out for a snack.

“Te de manzanilla,” Chavez says with a boyish smile as he hands the cup of tea to Andrea. “My Abuela says it’s good for nerves.”

Andrea takes it but doesn’t drink right away. “Thank you – um?”

“Oh! I’m Mateo,” he answers before pointing at the other two who are finishing handing out bottles of water and coffees. “That’s Paul and Marjan. We’re friends of Carlos,” he says with another friendly smile as they come over to them.

“Nice to meet you all,” Andrea answers, elbowing him in the side to do the same.

Gabriel checks out, his mind drifting while his wife picks up the slack and chats with the trio, exchanging small talk. He only tunes in when Mateo asks about their new filly.

“You know about Sally?” he questions, frowning, confused. He gets a few nods from all of them and smiles.

“Carlos showed us pictures of her the last time we were over at his and TK’s place for dinner.”

Gabriel can’t help the sharp breath he takes at the comment.

“They live together?” Andrea asks, shocked, her voice above a whisper.

“Oh,” Paul says softly, his eyes widening with realization at their lack of knowledge. He exchanges worried looks with the young woman Mateo called Marjan. Both open their mouth as if to speak and then stop at a loss for words. Luckily for them, TK walks back into the room, making his way towards them.

“Guys, could you give me a second with Mr. and Mrs. Reyes?” he asks politely but firmly.

“Yeah, of course, man,” Paul says quickly, while Marjan tugs on Mateo to stand, moving away. Paul starts to follow them, only to stop and look at TK, speaking again with an apologetic look on his face. “We’re sorry, we didn’t know – “

TK waves him off, a half a smile on his tired face. “Don’t worry about it, Paul.”

Paul gives him a nod, looks at them, and nods again before walking away.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” TK tells them softly, biting down on his lip for a moment before taking a breath, straightening his shoulders. “I’ll do my best to answer them. Should we find somewhere a little more private?”

He looks over at his wife and finds her studying TK with a curious eye. He’s not surprised. He’s more than curious himself about this man who is important enough in his son’s life to be making decisions of life and death for him and apparently living with him. “I think that might be best.”

TK nods mostly to himself, motioning for them to follow him.

He leads them out into the hallway and into another room that Gabriel realizes is the chapel.

“Is this okay?” TK questions nervously. “I don’t want to be disrespectful,” he gestures towards the altar.

“It’s fine, TK,” Andrea assures him.

They take a seat together towards the back of the room, TK sitting across from them.

Nobody says anything for a long moment. He sits watching TK as he taps his foot, and Andrea plays with her hands, struck by the similar nervous motions. He recognizes as TK looks at them with a worried wrinkle between his brow, he doesn’t know where to start, and Gabriel is struck by how young he looks like this. It reminds him of Carlos’ nervous habits growing up, so concerned with disappointing them.

“How long have you and our son been together?” he questions, ripping off the bandaid.

“We’ve been dating for over a year,” he answers honestly, wincing when Andrea lets out a shocked sound. “But we’ve known each other for over a year and a half. It took a while for us to get – us, right.”

“A year?” Andrea questions, surprised and more than a little sad. “He’s kept this from us for a year?”

“He didn’t mean to,” TK rushes to explain – to defend their son to them, Gabriel realizes. He stops looking nervous, and Gabriel can honestly feel the wave of protectiveness coming off the young man.

While the part of him that isn’t still shocked at this sudden news is pleased that Carlos has found someone obviously loyal to him, another part of him is at a loss at being someone this young man thinks he needs to protect his son from. It leaves an unpleasant feeling in his stomach he tries to push down before he reacts in a way that he’ll regret later.

“Then what did he mean?” he questions, trying to understand. “Because if you guys have been dating for a year, that means you two were together when we met you at the market, and he called you a friend from work.”

He feels bad as his words cause the kid to flinch, and a small cynical smile twists his lips upward for a second.

“Yeah, that caused a big fight between us,” he answers dryly. “Look, this is something you need to talk about with Carlos when he comes to. We both knew it was a long time coming, and trust me, he’s been working up the nerve to tell you both about us.”

“Why would he need to work up the nerve?” Andrea questions while Gabriel watches as TK’s eyes flash, his hands curling for a moment. He’s struck by the fleeting anger he sees there – at them.

“Because you’re both more traditional, and he didn’t want to rub your noses in our relationship,” he answers tightly, making Andrea gasp.

Gabriel feels his hackles raise at the resentment he hears in the words. “Hey now, you don’t get – “

“Carlos’ own words,” TK interrupts, his voice sharp enough to stop him. TK stops too, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

“I apologize,” he starts again, his voice calmer. “It’s not my place at all, and Carlos needs to be the one to explain this to you.”

Gabriel exchanges a glance with his wife, letting out a sigh when she gives him a serious look. He turns towards TK again, taking a calming breath of his own. “But he’s not here right now, and we’d like to understand.”

TK lets out a sigh, nodding at them after a moment. “You’re right,” he agrees quietly, running a hand through his hair. “I just really wish he was here, though,” he pauses, the pain and love in his eyes as he speaks striking a core with him. This man loves his son. That much is clear.

“Okay, first things first. Carlos loves you both so much,” he tells them reassuringly. “He speaks of both of you with so much respect and admiration. Please don’t doubt that for one second. He didn’t keep us a secret from you because he doesn’t love or respect you.”

“Then why?” Andrea asks, trying to understand.

TK presses his lips together, giving her a helpless shrug of his shoulder. “Because he was scared of upsetting you, of disturbing the tentative peace that the three of you have had since he rocked your world by telling you he was gay at 17, and then none of you ever spoke about it again. He didn’t want to disappoint you.”

By TK’s expression, Gabriel knows that he hasn’t just spoken with any malice, yet he still feels his words hit him like a punch.

“But – that’s,” he stumbles at a loss for words. “Carlos could never disappoint us,” he looks at Andrea to find her with tears in her eyes. “We love our son.”

TK gives him a smile; it’s kind and understanding. “I don’t doubt that,” he tells them, looking at Andrea. “He’s so easy to love, of course, you love him.”

“You love him,” Andrea says in awe, still crying, but it feels different than before, almost happy in the middle of the hurt.

TK’s eyes fill with tears; they spill over even as he gives them a bright smile. “More than I have ever loved anyone in my life, ma’am. He is everything to me.”

Gabriel hears how much he means it in his voice and instantly remembers something from earlier. “You worked on him at the scene,” he exhales over a dull ache in his chest at the thought. “Jesus Christ, kid, how did you – “

“The worst moment of my life,” TK whispers, losing his smile, his bottom lip trembling. “And life has thrown some curveballs my way,” he inhales deeply in an effort to control his emotions. “But I wasn’t about to lose him, not like that and not now. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and I plan to spend mine with your son.”

Gabriel hears the conviction and the subtle threat he’s issuing them. He’s telling them he’s not going anywhere, and while a small part of him wants to be annoyed at the warning, Gabriel finds himself mostly impressed. He finds himself liking the kid despite the situation.

“You love him so much,” Andrea whispers, shaking her head to herself. Knowing his wife, she’s mourning the fact that they’ve missed out on seeing it. “And he loves you?”

TK nods quickly. “He never lets me doubt it, not for one single second,” he swallows before another smile takes over his face, soft and involuntary. “He’s wonderful.”

“I’m so sorry we’ve missed it,” she tells him, and Gabriel smiles to himself at how easy he can still read her. “It was never our intent to make Carlos feel like he couldn’t share with us his life. When he told us he was gay, yes, it was a surprise, but we never loved him less,” she frowns, letting out a soft breath. “We wanted him to feel like nothing had changed, and instead, we made him feel like he couldn’t talk to us.”

“But he can,” he continues for Andrea, hoping TK will understand.

Andrea nods in agreement. “He can,” she repeats. “We want to be part of the life he’s building with you.”

TK smiles. It’s wobbly but iridescent as it lights up the room. “He – we would like that very much,” he tells them, chuckling softly. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to know you both. You need to tell him when he wakes up.”

Andrea looks fearful again as she turns from TK to him and back again. “What if – “

“No,” TK answers resolutely. He holds out his hand for Andrea, covering it when she places it in his. “Carlos is going to be fine. He’s not leaving us.”

Gabriel watches them hold each other’s hands, his wife taking comfort from the man in love with their son, and hopes, for all their sakes, that he will turn out to be right.

 ֎֎֎

 The next three days are the longest of Gabriel’s life. After over seven hours of surgery and recovery, they’re allowed to see a sleeping Carlos.

If there was any doubt in his mind about TK’s feelings for his son, they’re wiped out the moment he sees him at his bedside. The way he takes his hand in his, holding it for dear life as he whispers in his ear that he loves him and that he’s there, that they all are.

They wait, hours and hours they wait for Carlos to wake up. The doctors tell them the surgery was successful, and now they just have to wait for Carlos’ body to recover enough for him to wake up. They’re not sure when that’ll be.

He walks into his son’s hospital room after taking a call from work to find TK alone with Carlos, his wife nowhere in sight.

“You know, sweetheart, if this is payback for the time I got shot and ended up in a coma, then message received,” TK talks to a sleeping Carlos, bringing his hand to his lips. “You can wake up now because I’ve learned my lesson.”

“You were shot?” he questions, raising an eyebrow, wondering exactly what these two have been through.

TK blinks up at him. He lowers Carlos’ hand but doesn’t let go. “Yeah,” he nods, clearing his throat. “Before Carlos and I officially got together, it was a house disturbance gone wrong, an accident, but I got hit in the chest and ended up in an eight-day coma. Carlos had to sit through it, the eight worse days of his life, he likes to remind me,” he turns back to Carlos, his expression softening. “I really didn’t need to learn the hard way how this feels.”

Gabriel makes a sound at the back of his throat. He takes the seat he’d been occupying next to Andrea, finding her purse still there.

“She went to the restroom and to get something to drink,” TK tells him. “I told her I would stay with Carlos.”

Gabriel nods in understanding, and the room goes quiet as neither says anything else. They both just watch Carlos, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest. His eyes stray to TK —his focus on Carlos, the way he reaches out to touch his skin like he can’t bear letting him go for a moment for fear he’ll slip away. The last few days, he and Andrea have gotten to know the kid better, along with the rest of his crew.

Their love for each other and their love for Carlos is evident in every gesture and kind word they have to say about him. It still hurts him to know he and Andrea have missed so much. As he laid in bed holding his crying wife, more than a few tears slipped his own eyes at the lost time. Every day that passes, he promises to fix it when his son wakes up.

“You know, when he was around ten, he convinced his cousin to help him up the stallion at the farm,” he starts telling him, lost in the memory. “And this was a rough horse, even I didn’t ride him much, but he got on, and the thing, of course, sent him flying,” he shakes his head to himself. “He was knocked out maybe five minutes, but they were the longest five minutes of my life.”

“Was he okay?” TK questions, concerned even though it obviously turned out okay in the end.

“A fractured arm,” he answers, chuckling. “As soon as the cast was off, he was right back at it – this time bribing the horse with apples, carrots, and beetroots until he won him over. By the end, it would only let Carlos ride him. He was so smug about it, tipping his hat at us as he rode him.”

TK grins from ear to ear. “Tell me there are pictures of him in the hat.”

Gabriel stands, pulling out his wallet. He fishes out an old worn picture, passing it over to TK. He watches as the boy takes gentle care, running his index finger over the image as he smiles down at it.

“Damn, that’s cute,” he murmurs, handing back the picture after a moment longer. “You know, he won me over with patience too.”

Gabriel raises an eyebrow at the comment, waiting for him to continue.

“When he and I met, I wasn’t in a good place emotionally,” TK starts to tell him as he looks back at Carlos, reaching up to brush his hair back. “I’d gotten out of a relationship that left me messed up, and I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I hurt his feelings at the beginning, and honestly, he should have just cut his losses.”

He looks over at him. “But Carlos doesn’t give up on people, especially when they’re hurting, so he became my friend, someone I could trust with the not-so-great parts of me. He never judged. He just cared about me more, making sure I knew that I was worth the effort even when I wasn’t so sure of that myself,” he smiles as he retakes Carlos’ hand. “He loves me even when I don’t always love myself.”

“I’m sure you do the same for him,” Gabriel answers. Even with Carlos asleep, he’s seen enough to know the two of them genuinely love each other. Now he just wants his son to wake up so he can see it for real.

“I try,” TK answers. “He makes it easy.”

“Do you think he’ll forgive us?” he can’t help but ask, the question playing in his head the last few days as he learned more of the parts of his life Carlos felt the need to keep to himself for their comfort.

TK frowns as he looks at him, shaking his head slowly. “Carlos will tell you there is nothing to forgive. He doesn’t blame you.”

“He should, though,” he can’t help but argue, feeling frustrated, angry tears at the back of his throat. Fear clawing its way back after three days of waiting for his boy to open his eyes and wondering if it will ever happen. “He was 17, a kid, scared but brave as he told us his truth, and while we accepted it at that moment, we didn’t make sure he knew that it would always be okay with us. That’s on us. We should have done better.”

“Do better now, Gabriel,” TK says to him quietly, shrugging his shoulder when he looks at him, his expression nothing but kind. “Forgive yourself, because Carlos never blamed you to begin with, and do better now.”

“Are you always so wise, kid?” he asks, smiling when TK lets out a bark of laughter.

“That is the last word anyone who knows me would use to describe me,” he shakes his head, still giggling. “Usually, it’s stubborn or reckless. Carlos has been known to call me a brat quite a few times,” he says fondly as he looks down at the bed.

“Because you always get your way,” Carlos rasps out, eyes still closed.

Gabriel isn’t sure who’s gasp is louder, his or TK’s as they both stand to get closer.

“Carlos? Sweetheart?” TK asks, cautious but hopeful, and Gabriel holds his breath as he waits to see if Carlos is genuinely back with them.

It takes a minute, maybe two, maybe three, but slowly Carlos opens his eyes.

“Hi, sweetheart,” TK whispers, tears falling even as he smiles widely down at Carlos.

Gabriel watches as his son frowns as he tries to weakly reach up to touch TK’s face. TK helps him, lifting his hand and holding it against his cheek.

“Don’t – cry, Ty,” Carlos gets out slowly, brushing his thumb under TK’s eye, earning a wet laugh from him.

“I love you so much,” he says to him, and though he’s obviously tired and in pain, the smile Carlos gives TK is the brightest Gabriel has ever seen.

“Love you too, amor,” his son whispers back to his boyfriend, sounding just as hopelessly in love with him. It reminds Gabriel of him and Andrea, and he can’t help the small sound that escapes his throat.

“Dad – “ Carlos says softly, surprised as his eyes find him; they shift back to TK, concern coloring his expression.

“It’s okay, babe. I promise,” TK assures him with a smile as he gives his hand a squeeze.

“It is mijo,” Gabriel tells him, hoping to wipe away the slight fear he sees in his son’s eyes. He never wants to be the cause for that look again.

TK looks over to him, smiling at him reassuringly, and Gabriel remembers what he said to him moments before Carlos woke up. Forgive and be better.

“I’m gonna go find Andrea and a doctor,” TK declares, giving him a nod. He turns back to Carlos, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

TK steps away from Carlos, squeezing Gabriel’s arm as he walks by him before leaving the room, leaving him alone with his son.

Turning back to Carlos, he finds him still looking concerned as he stares at him, and that simply won’t do for him. He shifts over to where TK had been standing, now next to Carlos. “How do you feel?” he questions gently, getting a tiny shrug back.

“Tired,” Carlos gets out, his voice raspy. “Thirsty.”

“Oh! Of course,” Gabriel says quickly, turning to grab the pitcher of water on the bedside counter and a cup. Filling it, he turns back to Carlos, raising his bed a bit before bringing the straw to his lips. “Slowly, mijo.”

Carlos does as he asks, all the while looking at him. After he’s had his fill, Gabriel pulls the cup away, putting it back on the counter. He reaches out to his son, running a hand over his curls like he would do when he was a little boy.

“You scared the hell out of us, kid,” he whispers, swallowing hard as the last couple of days catch up to him. “We were so scared we were gonna lose you.”

Carlos leans into his touch. As he closes his eyes, a tear rolls down his cheek. “Sorry, pop.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Gabriel shakes his head. He takes Carlos’ hand. “These last few days have shown your mom and me how much of your life we have missed, and we’re so sorry.”

“Dad – “ Carlos tries. “I – “

“We messed up, Carlos,” he continues, needing to get it out. “We thought we were keeping things normal by not making a big deal out of you coming out, and instead, what we did was make you believe that you needed to keep parts of your life a secret for us to be comfortable. But our comfort isn’t the most important thing. Your happiness is, and as long as you’re happy, so are we.”

Carlos’ eyes fill with more tears, and Gabriel is struck by how young he seems as he looks up at him hopeful.

“We met your boyfriend,” Gabriel chuckles fondly. “I mean, obviously. He’s pretty special, Carlitos. You picked a good one.”

Carlos laughs. It’s wet from tears but joyful. “I picked the best one.”

Gabriel smiles at the pride he hears in his son’s voice. “We’d like to get to know him, son,” he says. It’s a hope and a request in one. “Your mom and I, we’d like to know him and you,” he swallows hard as his eyes burn. “We love you so much, but loving someone isn’t always knowing them. If it’s okay with you, we’d like a chance to fix that now.”

Carlos stares at him, mouth open, and there is the slightest tremble of his bottom lip.

“Carlitos.”

He and Carlos turn their heads to the door where Andrea and TK stand together. Carlos smiles at his mom, the smile growing when he notices that she’s holding hands with TK.

“Mami,” he says softly.

Andrea walks towards them, tugging TK along with her. Reaching the bed, she reaches out to touch his face. “Baby,” she whispers, shaking her head as she tries not to cry. “Please never scare us like this again.”

Carlos lets out an amused huff, closing his eyes for a second. “I’ll try, Ma.”

“Good,” Andrea grins at him, amused by his tone. “And you better be ready to be smothered for a while. TK and I have been making plans. We’re not letting you out of our sight.”

“We have a shifts chart,” TK teases him, sharing a grin with Andrea.

Gabriel watches with amusement as Carlos looks scared again, this time at the team he sees being created before his very eyes. He laughs, happy and relieved, when Carlos turns to him for support.

“I wouldn’t fight it, kid,” he warns him. “You know how your mother is, and your boyfriend seems just as bad; just accept it. They’re bonded. We all have.”

Carlos looks around at all three of them, the contentment he sees in his son’s expression, a blessing, and Gabriel knows it’s going to be okay. There is still a lot of time that he and Andrea will have to make up for. Conversations that will still need to be had.

But his son is alive; he’s safe, happy, and in love with a good man. He and Andrea haven’t missed it all, and they don’t plan to miss anything else when it comes to their boy ever again.

Carlos grins at him. “I think I’m okay with that, dad.”

Gabriel smiles back. He’s okay with it too.

[mrsmaybank]

Honey - Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Spencer and the reader were very much in love during Reid’s brief stint in Pasadena. When he has to see her again on a case, he is super nervous. 

a/n: first section is inspired by such great heights 

C/W: Swearing

PASADENA - 2002 

A note from the love of your life is a lovely way to wake up. 

------

When you can understand everything but yourself, finding somebody who does is like seeing a comet; disappointingly rare. My shaky hands can only be stilled by the smile of my most incandescent--in every connotation--creature, and that is you. The universe always seems to know what it is doing even if humanity does not. The stars align and move in patterns we as it’s audience do not fully understand. I think we have watched the stars so much the universe has aligned us as a favor to our poor, overestimated souls. I am so grateful!  Tolstoy noted that "We are asleep until we fall in love!” And I thank you for waking me up.

However I thought it best the favor not be returned this particular morning. You were up late last night, and looked too cute to disrupt. Do not kill me, I am getting coffee. 

I love you and do not leave the bed.  

-Spencer

------

Only Spencer Reid would write that on a sticky note, and only for you would he do so. 

You heard the rattling of keys and a door being opened and shut as Spencer made his way back to your bedroom. The smile you saw on his face was the start of a story that ended on the upturn of your lips, revealing the two protagonists in a mad frenzy of love. As soon as he reached you, your lips pressed to his in a desperation to be impossibly closer. 

“Hi.” he said. 

I am thinking it's a sign

That the freckles in our eyes

Are mirror images

And when we kiss they're perfectly aligned

“Hey love.” you tucked a loose brown hair back behind his ear for a closer look at the face you adored. “Please get back in bed.” 

He sighed but crawled in next to you, big nimble hands making their way across your torso to diminish the space in between you two. You nuzzled into his chest. 

“Your note was beautiful.” you whispered into his ear.

A big, goofy grin spread along his face.

“I meant every word.” his voice so sweet, it sounded dipped in honey. 

Honey is incredibly sticky. 

-----

There had to have been a world where it all worked out. 

In this world, my things never got old, and the ice cubes in my coffee never melted. I could listen to that song over and over again without draining the life out of it and I could like my hair style for more than three months. 

Spencer had read to me the greatest works of the world. Words of the greatest thinkers, authors, and minds. He had an appreciation for them greater than those of the average passerby and I adored that, because so did I. Truly, our similarities are what connected us. Our minds were correlated perfectly when it came to subjectivity. 

In accordance to human nature however, certain matters were never agreed upon. In particular, we argued about the future. The canyon of discrepancy so vast it tore us and our love in two. I didn’t think that was possible.

I wanted to write the book and watch the film as I lived my life and he and his arrogant over-practically thought that impossible. He thought himself an oneirocritic, but my dreams were not looking for critiques. 

Like I said, Spencer read to me the greatest works of the world. And years would pass and the heartbreak and sorrow would fade, but I would always find it ironic how the last thing I ever heard in that honey soaked voice was a work of Confucius.  “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.”

Spencer chose to go to Washington. He took his heart and a piece of mine with him.

-----

BAU JET - 2011

Seaver must’ve noticed my flinch when the sound of her name resonated through the jet. I’d never liked going to California, but this...this had never happened.  “That name mean something to you Reid?” She smiled, “You look kind of horrified.” 

I ran my hands through my hair in a futile attempt to ground myself. “No. I just...I used to know her.” 

In between the fine lines of love and hate, fell a blurry midsection where feelings came before logic and screams and whispers sounded the same. She ruled over this midsection of chaotic emotional fury. 

Morgan spoke, and I quickly realized I might be falling into a conversation I really did not want to be having. “How the hell d’you know her pretty boy?” 

There was no point in lying on a plane completely occupied by profilers. My best option was to clumsily dodge any direct questions about just how well I knew her.

“I’m from the West coast.” 

“So are over 50 million people. You mean to tell me you know all of them?” he laughed.

“The exact estimation is actually 53,492,270. And no, I’m not saying I know all of them, Morgan. I lived in Pasadena for a year after I graduated from Caltech.”

“Okay?” Morgan questioned my previous statements relevancy. 

“She went to USC. We were in the same social circle.” 

Morgan laughed again, “You had a social circle?” 

Emily, next to us, was presumably combing through her file.

“You, ultimate three doctorate dorky dork, were in the same circle as a film major?” she asked. “

What the hell is ‘doctorate dorky dork’ supposed to mean?

“She double majored actually. Film and political science.”

Emily double checked the file, “And Reid’s right. Per usual.” 

“Reid and Prentiss, Y/L/N has agreed to talk to us in her home. She lives in the Hills. When we land, you guys go talk to her.” Hotch stated. 

“Why?” I said before I could stop myself. The team sat in confused silence in reaction to my bluntness, but Hotch, like always, was not having it. 

“Because we have a serial killer that is reenacting the murders in her movie, Reid.” his tone was stern and swift, with a patronizing sarcasm I supposed I deserved. 

“Sorry,” I got out, “I guess I just meant..why me?” 

“Well, you know her don’t you?” Rossi asked. 

I was not ready to divulge the personal details between me and this girl to my entire team, so I just pursed my lips and nodded. 

“Right. Sorry.” 

----

Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament. George Santayana. I was in the biggest fucking predicament I’d ever encountered in my life. 

Nothing could slow the incessant, double time pounding in my chest. I was showing symptoms of the beginning of a heart attack. Hopefully I would die and never have to face this.

Fuck, don’t think that.

Have the seats in these cars always been this uncomfortable? God, is California always this hot?

I looked at Emily for half a second, and instantly recognized that keeping quiet from her was proving to be dysfunctional. I could feel her eyes burning into my brain with every profiling skill she knew.

“What are you not saying Reid?” 

I sighed. “Do I have to tell you?” 

“Yeah. Unless you want me to just find out on my own. It’ll be a lot less delicate.” 

Here goes nothing. 

“I dated her. For two years. I was very much in love with her. It ended....abruptly. I haven’t spoken to her since, and now, nine years later, I am on my way to her house. I might have a heart attack.” 

Emily's eyes widened, “Shit..” She laughed a little, “Reunited at last?.” 

I answered with a glare. Hard no.

“Fine, sorry.” She said, masking a giggle with a cough.

I shifted in my seat and I could practically see the gears in Emily’s profiler cerebrum spin. She knew exactly the question to ask. “Is it nerves?”  

I nodded my head, “I was a very different person back then.” 

“Nothing like time and the bureau can change somebody.” she said. “But, hey..”She smiled again and my eyes widened when I realized what I’d revealed. “I asked you if you were nervous. I didn’t-” 

“Emily..” I started. 

“Are you nervous she won’t like you now? Do you still like her?” her mouth hung open, “Oh my god Reid!” 

I shook my head, “No, I don’t still like her! I don’t even know her anymore! I just..I’d never loved somebody the way I loved her.” 

Emily had figured me out at the same time I had. “And you still haven’t.” 

Fuck.

“Correct.” 

The car pulled into her driveway, and conversations from all those years ago started to replay in my head. 

“When we get a house, can we paint our front door bright blue?” 

“I want a lemon tree in the front yard.” 

“Windows. Huge windows. It’s a must.” 

All these things I’d promised her in our future home she’d gotten for herself. Good. 

Fontaine said “Sadness flies away on the wings of time”, but the pain I felt from the loss of her was as prominent as ever. 

Here goes nothing. 

---

Thank you for reading!

a/n2 :  this is completely unedited so if its sucks dick i am sorry :/ i just wanted to post it lol

A/n 3: the typos oh my fuck. I wanna Kick myself for letting this cute fic  be up in that state for so long. Anyway, fixed! :)