#this catastrophe of a train of though was kicked off a when I decided to zoom in on the dash a vertibird out of curiosity and discover that

[typosandtea]

Vertibirds. 🚁⚙️🗡️🪽

So every wastelander and his dog know that the fallout 4 vertibirds crash more than settlements need help. But why is that? Here's my 2 caps on the matter. (Or: Bethesda doesn't understand aviation very well I think)

( So uh this is way longer than I expected, I was possessed🚁☢️:] )

TLDR: Horrific conditions for aviation, the difficulties of wasteland heavy maintenance, inexperienced pilots AND mechanics, and the WORST damn instrument layout I’ve ever seen

The Vertibird is designed as a fictional tilt rotor VTOL/STOL(Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing) aircraft which makes a ton of sense in the wasteland where suitable runways are rarer than hens teeth. One of Bethesda's primary visual design influences for the vertibird I suspect is the bell boeing v-22 Osprey.

This funky creature \/

This photo is from the Wikipedia page >Here< [ID: a photo of a v22 osprey aircraft in flight as seen from below and to the right, the aircraft is a medium tilt rotor aircraft with very large propellers, the aircraft is current in vertical take off or landing with the engines pointed straight up. The landing gear is extended, the aircraft is painted in air-force grey with the faint decal “marines” and the American army star on horizontal stripes and the squadron and registration barley visible on the empennage. The cargo and forward doors are open and a soldier is hanging out the front. End ID]

Now the Osprey has a bit of a reputation among people I’ve met who’ve flown in them, I've personally been told things like "if it's not leaking hydraulic fluid, that means you're out of fluid" and "its terrifying to fly in".

My screenshot. [ID: A screenshot of a fallout 4 vertibird, seen from front left in flight over bushland. the Player is manning the minigun and Paladin Danse is a Passenger. End ID]

Looking at the Vertibirds themselves we can make a few assumptions here.

The shape of the cowling and the noise they make indicates that the engines are some form of turboprop engine, likely requiring liquid fuel akin to Avtur(Aviation turbine fuel). Confirmed by the Instruments visible in the cockpit.

The most weight efficient way to move big parts is hydraulics so, they likely have complex hydraulic systems for wing positioning / AOA(Angle Of Attack) / engine angle. Likely also for landing gear since they have retractable gear in fallout 4.

That the BoS has modified them from the original design at least partially, allowing attachment to the Prydwen, likely other modifications too.

I strongly suspect that they have an APU(Auxiliary Power Unit) in the aft fuselage / empennage somewhere, since they have a massive air intake scoop on the top fuselage, they can self start their primary engines which either requires a ridiculous amount of electricity / amps or a source of bleed air. Bleed air is the most likely candidate for self start and is reasonably common on real turbine aircraft, APUs also allows for ground power without having primary engines running. Also confirmed by the instruments in the cockpit.

All of these points are well and good and common in aviation, even modifications (ie. STOL kits, survey aircraft, agricultural mods, skiis, ect). But modern aviation has some advantages that the BoS doesn't have: access to new off the shelf parts, proper verified documentation, proper test processes & facilities, and experienced personnel.

Don't get me wrong, I think Proctor Ingram is awesome, very knowledgeable and practically a miracle worker (especially with that one terminal entry about an engine failure field recovery she pulls off!!), but one chief engineer cannot maintain an entire fleet AND the Prydwen, she comments on how things are breaking often on the ship that she is very busy! Training of new engineers takes *years* to even get to basic level! Ingram can’t train anyone she is too busy keeping everyone in the air 24/7! So who is training all of these scribes? There must be a huge amount of time teaching and supervising even simple tasks! Even at their best the BoS wouldn’t be able to hope to be near the prewar standards of training! Even Ingram or other senior scribes would not be thaaaaat experienced, 10 years is not a long time to completely learn a new aircraft and implement systems & processes of maintenance. The point here is that there are inexperienced scribes maintaining these aircraft.

WOLRDS BEST CHEIF ENGINEER ❤️ \/

My Screenshot. [ID: A screenshot of proctor Ingram from fallout 4, she is standing in the Liberty prime control area. She is smiling. She is wearing her usual modified power armour frame. Preston is visible in the background with a clipboard and pen, he is wearing woody’s outfit from toy story. End ID]

Heavy maintenance in the wasteland, especially in an active combat zone would be an absolute nightmare, are the poor scribes doing overhauls on the flight deck?? Not really possible, so the BoS must have a ground facility at the airport somewhere. Also side note where is the rest of Boston airport? There is more to an airport than a terminal and 1 runway, where are all the hangars?? Likely underwater but still, no ruins??

Back to maintenance, aircraft need a huge amount of care, way way way more than cars do. light civilian aircraft IRL need a full inspection every 100 hours of flight time, which adds up incredibly quickly! For example if you have a one hour commute twice a day that’s MR(Maintenance Release) hours reached in 50 days! You legally cannot fly out of hours. And a service for small aircraft takes about 3 personnel / 2 days and that’s without any major repairs or ADs (Airworthiness Directives) to address! $$$$! Aircraft operating in adverse conditions also need additional maintenance, and coastal areas like Boston, are considered adverse conditions since the salt air corrodes aluminum and steel like nothing else! Corrosion untreated will damage your aircraft and if left too long can destroy the structural integrity of aluminum parts. The spars of aircraft are aluminum often!

My photo. [ID: The inside of a Cessna 172 wing trailing edge is shown looking inboard at the aft root rib, which is primer green, it is backlit by torchlight, the fuselage and a orange scat hose are visible behind it, it has 3 irregular shaped holes in it, 2 are by design but the third medium sized hole in the center of the image is eaten away by corrosion. End ID]

Vertibirds, between being shot at constantly and having a complex deign with a lot of precision moving parts will need a lot of repairs; moving parts means lots of upkeep, grease and inspections! The BoS by 2287 must have some sort of manufacturing back in capital, they cannot still be using old parts from the enclave after 10 years of maintenance, that’s a lot of grease, paint and hydraulic fluid!!!

The BoS must also have a refinery of some kind because Avtur is a refined fuel with some important additives like biocide. Manufacture and storage of fuel is very important since fuel contamination will bring down an aircraft! (and has multiple times IRL! :[ ). Water, microbes, and algae are real dangers to engines, with free water being the most common. Poorly sealed tanks or improper fuel storage combined with a incomplete or missed pre-flight inspection can lead to fuel starvation, since water is heavier than fuel and tank outlets are at the bottom of the tank. If you loose an engine on a twin, may God help you.

This image is from Concordia Bioscience >Here< [ID: A photo of a sample of pale yellow Jet fuel in a clear container, the sample is contaminated with water and microbes and has separated into layers with water at the bottom, then microorganisms, and then Fuel at the top, the image is labeled as such. End ID]

Getting to the most likely crash reasons now (finally), In my opinion that is inexperienced pilots and; a horrific instrument layout.

While there must be some lancers in the BoS that have been flying for the whole 10 years that they’ve had Vertibirds, I think that is likely the exception not the rule, even if they crashed a fraction of the time that do in game that’s still A LOT of downed aircraft!

Experience is only gained in practice, and unfortunately for the BoS they are (self-declared) at war so resources are thin and safe zones are thinner. I suspect that there are a lot of very inexperienced pilots without the time for the experienced pilots to really teach.

Linking to my final point, experience on an airframe itself is also important, you want to be familiar with your aircraft, even among a group of the same model aircraft they will each have quirks, like slightly different instrument layouts, slightly different handling/feel i.e. "this one flies heavier / slower" (at least that's my experience with smaller civilian aircraft) I imagine that the apocalypse did nothing for improving manufacturing tolerances!

FINAL AND MOST DAMNING POINT:

Experience can only help lancers so much when veritibirds have such a strange instrument panel layout:

My screenshot. [ID: a screenshot of a instrument panel from a Fallout 4 vertibird. it is slanted on a approximately 30 degree angle. End ID]

A bit weird looking yeah? For reference Pilot is left seat and copilot is always right seat, this applies globally even in right hand drive countries.

lets take a closer look:

My Screenshots. [IDs: Three screenshots of the same Instrument panel as above, but zoomed in using a sniper rifle scope to get a better look. The first screen shot is the pilots side, the second the center, and the third the copilots side. End ID]

All righty! So reading from top to bottom, then left to right we have:

On the pilots side: A Rotor%RPM gauge, a VOR(Very high frequency Omni-directional Range) indicator, a DG(Directional Gyro), a HSI(Horizontal Situation Indicator), and then a huge AI(Attitude Indicator),

In the center section we have: presumably light clusters (likely master warnings & cautions, gear indicators, and other status lights), a second VOR gauge, likely magnetic compass as they are usually top centre (though I can’t see it being at all accurate with all of the steel around!), the engine instruments cluster, and the APU status / control panel at the bottom. unsure of what the 3 clusters of horizontal buttons are suppose to be other than input of some kind?

In the Engine cluster: Torque%, XMSN(transmission) oil temp / pressure dual gauge, a gas producer % RPM gauge with small integrated single percent dial (like having a seconds dial on your watch for accuracy) meaning the engines have free turbines (compressor not attached to the power turbine), a dual load / fuel psi gauge, a dual engine oil pressure and temperature gauge, fuel quantity in pounds, a turbine output temperature gauge (the hottest part of your engine), and a clock.

On the copilots side: a second Rotor%RPM dual gauge, a third VOR indicator, Airspeed in Knots and MPH, a RMI(Radio Magnetic Indicator) which uses VOR and ADF(Automatic Direction Finder) on compass, a second DG, a second HSI, and a teeny tiny altimeter right in the outboard corner.

the 4 instruments on the lower copilots panel are completely unlabeled

some things of note that are from game limitations:

most of the engine instruments don't have needles at all

the DGs and the RMI use the same background asset, resulting in the DG wrongly having 'VOR' and 'ASI' on its face, DGs are self contained air driven instruments that work on gyroscopic precession, not any outside data input.

all of the instruments with a compass face all say north despite this vertibird not quite facing north.

the AI is showing wings level despite this vertibird being crashed and on a ~30 degree angle

there are not engine controls at all not even flat assets, only flight controls.

There are a lot of instruments here and most of them are reasonably OK read individually, BUT there at least 1 key instrument missing and the layout outs emphasis on completely the wrong things:

WHERE IS THE VERTICAL SPEED INDICATOR(VSI)????? That's a pretty important gauge in a VERTICAL take off / landing aircraft!!!!!!!!!! It's one of the basic six pack!!! how was it omitted??? Speaking of the six pack why is there only one ASI and Altimeter?? and why are they tiny and ON THE COPILOTS SIDE ONLY???? the altimeter is LITERALLY the furthest instrument from the pilot in a vertibird, it should be right in front of the pilot!!! the easy to miss altimeter would make IFR(Instrument Flight Rules) flying incredibly dangerous! Also why are there four VOR based navigational instruments? VOR IS GROUND BASED NAVIGATION!!! unless the BoS has rebooted the multiple ground beacons for them to navigate from that's THREE dead instruments taking up space on the panel! the RMI is slightly more useful as ADF can tune to commercial radio frequencies, though these would need to be strong!

These poor inexperienced lancers are having to look all over the whole unnecessarily crowded cockpit for basic information that should be right in front of them, causing reaction delays and possible confusion. That delay could be the difference between whether or not they are flying home today.

-> Bethesda doesn't understand what half the instruments do and while they did a good job with most of the assets, in their quest to make it retro-future / visibly different from actual aircraft, they have completely destroyed any use of logic in the layout.

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Thanks for reading! Here’s a video of me yeeting Danse with the ‘Get out of my face mod’ as compensation haha

My Video. [ID: a video capture from fallout 4 in first person. It is night and is at oberland station facing the water treatment plant. The player is wearing power armour and the HUD is visible. The player is very close to Paladin Danse, he turns away from them and they shove him with the voice line “stay out of my way”. Danse flys a long way away while rag-dolling. The Gamer’s laughter can be heard while Danse is flying. The player follows Danse’s fall with the crosshairs. The player then walks backwards. End ID]

[helix-enterprises117]

Halo Reloaded: Momma Linda

Linda stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection with a mix of disbelief and resignation. Her once streamlined figure had given way to the unmistakable curve of a seven-month baby bump—well, more like two baby bumps that decided to merge forces and wage a campaign on her torso. Her snug tank top, which had always been a reliable piece of clothing, now stretched to its limits, clinging to her like an old friend that didn’t know when to let go. She tugged at it absentmindedly, trying to get it to sit right, but the fabric had other plans. “God, I look like I swallowed a beach ball,” Linda muttered to herself, running a hand over her belly as one of the twins gave her a solid kick to the ribs. “Correction: two beach balls.”

As if on cue, the door to the room slid open with a soft hiss, and Kelly strode in, grinning like she’d just found the last slice of cake in the mess hall. Her short blond hair bounced as she practically skipped over to Linda, and there was that familiar twinkle in her green eyes—the one that always meant trouble.

“Good morning, Mama Bear!” Kelly chirped, her voice laced with the kind of cheerfulness that only came from someone who wasn’t carrying two future Spartans around. She made a beeline for Linda, who was already bracing herself for whatever shenanigans Kelly had up her sleeve. Without missing a beat, Kelly wrapped an arm around Linda’s shoulders, pulling her into a half-hug that was more supportive than it was comforting. “Look at you, getting all round and adorable!”

Linda shot her a look, one that would’ve sent a recruit running for cover, but Kelly was a veteran of the Spartan kind and knew better. “Adorable isn’t exactly what I was going for, Kelly.”

“Oh, sure it is,” Kelly said, waving off Linda’s glare with the ease of someone who’d seen it a thousand times. She stepped back, giving Linda a once-over like she was appraising a piece of art, though her grin suggested it was more of a circus attraction.

“Come on, admit it. You’re absolutely killing this whole ‘pregnant sniper’ look. I bet you could take down a target from a mile away and still have time for a nap.”

Linda crossed her arms over her chest—or at least tried to. Her belly got in the way, and she had to settle for a slightly more awkward stance, which only seemed to amuse Kelly more. “I feel like I’m carrying a pair of grenades that could go off at any second. ‘Adorable’ isn’t really in my vocabulary right now.”

Kelly laughed, the sound bright and unapologetic. “You’ve got to lighten up, Linda. Seriously, how many Spartans can say they’re expecting twins? You’re like a walking, talking miracle. Well, walking might be generous, but you get the idea.”

Linda snorted, despite herself. It was hard to stay grumpy around Kelly, who had a way of making even the most dire situations seem less catastrophic. “I never imagined this would be my life. It’s… different.”

“Different? It’s downright insane,” Kelly agreed, moving to stand beside Linda, both of them facing the mirror now. She reached out, placing a hand on Linda’s belly, and felt a kick. Her eyes widened in mock horror. “Whoa, did one of them just try to punch me? These little guys are already ready for combat.”

Linda sighed, but there was a hint of a smile playing at her lips. “Yeah, they’re active, that’s for sure. It’s like they’re training for their first mission in there.”

Kelly’s expression softened, just for a moment, as she looked at her friend. “You know, Linda, when I first heard you were pregnant, I didn’t know what to think. I mean, you’re the most badass person I know. But seeing you like this? It’s… well, it’s kinda amazing. You’re like the Spartan version of a goddess or something.”

Linda rolled her eyes, but there was warmth in them now. “Please, I’m just trying not to fall over when I walk. I’ve had to readjust my center of gravity so many times, I feel like a tank that’s missing a tread.”

“Oh, come on. You’re doing great, and you know it,” Kelly said, giving her a gentle nudge. “And John? That guy’s head over heels. He looks at you like you’re made of stardust. I mean, he’s always been a bit obsessed with you, but now it’s on a whole new level.”

Linda’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked down at her belly, her fingers tracing absent circles. “He’s been… overprotective, to say the least. Keeps asking if I need anything, if I’m comfortable, if the room temperature is right. I think he’s taken ‘hovering husband’ to a whole new level.”

Kelly laughed, a full-on belly laugh this time, as she imagined the usually stoic John fretting over Linda like a mother hen. “Oh man, I’d pay good money to see that. The big, bad Master Chief turning into a worrywart dad. Classic.”

Linda couldn’t help but chuckle along, the sound light and almost unfamiliar to her own ears. “Yeah, it’s definitely a change. But honestly? I’m glad he’s here. I don’t know what I’d do without him right now. This is all so… new.”

“Hey, you’re not doing this alone, okay?” Kelly said, her voice suddenly serious as she turned to look Linda in the eye. “You’ve got all of us. And those little Spartans in there? They’re going to be just as tough as their mom. No doubt about it.”

Linda nodded, the tension in her shoulders easing just a little. “Thanks, Kelly. Really. I guess I needed to hear that.”

Kelly grinned, her usual mischief returning. “Anytime. Now, let’s get you some food before those two start a mutiny in there. I’ve seen what happens when you don’t eat on time, and I’m not ready for that level of carnage today.”

Linda raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching upward. “You’re just using me as an excuse to raid the kitchen again, aren’t you?”

“Guilty as charged,” Kelly admitted with a shrug. “But hey, I’m doing it in the name of Spartan solidarity. We can’t have our best sniper starving, can we?”

With a sigh that was more playful than exasperated, Linda finally gave in, allowing Kelly to lead her out of the room. As they walked down the corridor, Kelly kept up a steady stream of chatter, occasionally tossing in a joke or two about what they should name the twins. Linda didn’t respond to all of it, but she didn’t need to. Just being with Kelly, feeling her friend’s unwavering support and humor, made everything a little easier to bear.

As they headed toward the mess hall, Kelly couldn’t resist glancing back at Linda, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Linda, the sniper with nerves of steel, was facing one of the most unpredictable challenges of her life. And while it might not have been the battlefield they were used to, Kelly was pretty damn sure Linda was going to conquer this one just the same.

Because if there was one thing Kelly knew for sure, it was that Linda was as tough as they came—even when she was waddling instead of walking, and carrying two future Spartans who were clearly already itching for action.

[kivaember]

APV Character Bios

Since I'm bored and want to talk about my Armoured Core 6 blorbos, here're the character bios of some of the main characters so far (621, Rusty, Flatwell, Iguazu and Walter) in my fic alis propriis volat! I've linked their designs as well, which were all drawn by Mango! (I recommend checking their stuff out!)

C4-621

Name: ****

Callsign: Raven

Aliases: Asset 04, C4-621, 621, Walter's Hound, Raven

Age: ???

Homeworld: ???

Augmentations: Allegedly Gen Four

Gender: Male

Sexuality: ???

Occupation: Mercenary

Backstory: Once a black ops agent of Coral Integrated Technologies (CIT), a Pre-Fires research group that operated mostly from Earth and focused more on the medical advances Coral could grant humanity. Suffered a catastrophic injury to his throat on a mission that resulted in total memory loss and the inability to speak. Was sold on from CIT after a mission went terribly wrong, and was purchased by Walter 30 years later from a black market auctioneer.

While on first meeting, many think of him as cold and distant, C4-621 is simply poorly socialised and struggles in expressing himself - both emotionally and in conversation (the mutism doesn't help). He has difficulty with understanding his own identity as well, and has periods where he thinks of himself more as his AC than an actual human pilot, that that is what people actually care about, not him. Understandly, most are put off or weirded out by C4-621's behaviour and odd habits, making him seem almost... alien.

His past is shrouded in mystery, and it seems he knows more than he admits when directly questioned about it. He continuously plays dumb about his life before being purchased by Walter, or only gives vague non-answers in response. Most people on Rubicon know to let sleeping dogs lie, though, and it's not as if C4-621's past is relevant to the Coral war on Rubicon... right?

RUSTY

Name: ****

Callsign: Rusty

Aliases: Rusty, V.IV Rusty, V.IV, Ortus, Raven (APV)

Age: 32 years old

Homeworld: Rubicon-3

Augmentations: Allegedly Gen Eight

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual

Occupation: Freedom Fighter

Backstory: Born on Rubicon almost 20 years after the Fires, Rusty grew up on a harsh world where survival was something that was fought for almost every day. After the settlement he lived in was destroyed by the PCA for the crimes of possessing and using Coral technologies (actually an old terraformer powered by Coral that granted refertilised soil and potable water), he was taken in by Flatwell when he was a young preteen.

The attack on the settlement left him with extensive burn scars across most of his body, though these are usually hidden beneath his clothes. His violent experiences, however, radicalised him to liberate Rubicon at any cost, to ensure that no one suffered like him in the future. He all but threw himself into AC piloting training, and even consented to having very risky black market augmentations - his dedication and determination paid off, however.

Once he'd proved himself as the most skilled AC pilot on Rubicon, and cutting his teeth against the PCA and the Corporate expedition forces probing Rubicon's ashes for Coral remnents, Flatwell chose him as his successor for his corporate espionage duties while Flatwell focused on the Liberation Front's military operations on Rubicon. This allowed Rusty to eventually infiltrate the Vespers and climb the ranks to V.IV.

Now that he's back with the Liberation Front, however, he's more determined that ever to kick the corporations off his home and allow the Rubiconians to decide their own fate.

FLATWELL

Name: ****

Callsign: Middle Flatwell

Aliases: Flatwell, Middle Flatwell, Uncle, Chief

Age: 69 years old

Homeworld: Rubicon-3

Augmentations: Gen Three

Gender: Male

Sexuality: ???

Occupation: De Facto Leader of the Rubicon Liberation Front

Backstory: Once an augmented AC pilot for the Rubicon Milita, whose day-to-day job had been chasing off corporate saboteurs from the Coral refineries in what is today known as the Central Ice Fields, Flatwell is a survivor of the Fires of Ibis and one of the main founders of the Liberation Front.

Due to his Gen Three augmentations slowing his aging rate, Flatwell is still rather spry for his age and a capable AC pilot. He spent a considerable amount of time off-world as a corporate spy, gathering resources and connections required to maintain a rebel force on a blockaded planet. As such, Flatwell has many contacts, both unsavoury and not, across the galaxy, and is one of the main reasons why the RLF still exist today, despite the PCA's and the Corps' attempts to crush them.

Has done a somewhat subtle takeover of the RLF ever since Father Dolmayan and Ring Freddie vanished one day (killed by C4-621, though whether he's aware of this or not, he keeps close to his chest). By APV time, Flatwell is the main leader of the RLF, and is very adept at what he does. He's widely respected for his experience and dedication to Rubicon's liberation, and is fondly referred to as 'Uncle' by the younger Liberation Front members, and 'Chief' by the older ones.

IGUAZU

Name: ****

Callsign: G5 Iguazu

Aliases: G5, Iguazu

Age: 27 years old

Homeworld: Earth

Augmentations: Gen Four (Experimental)

Gender: Male

Sexuality: ???

Occupation: Corporate Mercenary

Backstory: Having fallen deep into debt after consecutive losses on the gambling circuit on Earth, Iguazu was forced to enter another risky gamble to have his debts to the aggressive loan sharks paid off. By agreeing to a highly experimental Gen Four augmentation procedure from a rather shady black market augmentation surgeon, the aforementioned surgeon will pay off the debts... provided he survived.

Since brutal death by criminal loansharks seemed more certain than possible death by risky surgery, Iguazu took the gamble, and it paid off. The surgeon kept to his word, and Iguazu, buoyed by his success and the new advantages the augmentations gave him, dove right back into the gambling circuit.

And lost. Again. More critically, this time, as he made bigger bets.

In the midst of his life burning down once again, Iguazu had a fateful encounter with the Hero of Jupiter himself: Michigan. Said encounter earned him a long hospital stay, permanent physical disfigurement... and a ten year contract with the Redguns, where his debts would be paid off by the end.

This time, his gamble didn't pay off, as everything went wrong when the Redguns went to Rubicon, seven years into his contract. Now, he's in custody of Arquebus, shipped off to their Re-Education Camp, while in his head a mysterious, nameless voice that refers to itself as "us" and "we" continues to speak to him.

HANDLER WALTER

Name: Walter Kohler

Callsign: Handler Walter

Aliases: Handler

Age: 63 years old

Homeworld: Rubicon-3

Augmentations: None

Gender: Male

Sexuality: ???

Occupation: Independent Mercenary Handler

Backstory: Born on Rubicon to two Coral researchers, Walter grew up mostly within Lab Alpha - the birthplace of Coral Augmentations. While his life was initially lonely, being mostly surrounded by adult scientists day in, day out, Walter was mostly happy - until the day his father began to spiral into insanity regarding the potential of Human-Coral integration.

His mother volunteered to be the first test subject for what is known as Gen Zero augmentations, and while it was initially successful, her health and mental state rapidly degraded after a few months, resulting in her untimely death. The green light had already been given to the project, however, and his father, driven by determination to ensure that his sacrifice hadn't been in vain, threw himself into his work, creating, in Walter's words, a carnival of horrors.

It had a severe impact on Walter, who only internalised the dangers that Coral represented to humans. After the Fires, he and Carla managed to escape Rubicon in time, and ended up on Ganymede, a colony based on one of Jupiter's moons. From there, Walter worked his way up from the slums that many Rubiconian refugees ended up in, taking on a sponsorship from Furlong Dynamics to become an AC pilot, hoping it would grant him the foothold he needed to listen out for any whispers of Coral amongst the corporations.

His time in the AC academy allowed him to cross paths with Michigan, where they struck a strange relationship that was a mix of rivalry, friendship and genuine affection. Walter, however, cut things off almost twenty five years before the events of AC6, vanishing into the outer regions of space to begin his work for landing on Rubicon and burning the Coral for good.

It was during this preperatory phase that he began buying his 'Hounds' and sending them off to do his work. A year before he landed on Rubicon, he managed to buy one last Hound, a strange Gen Four that didn't come with any sort of name, past or identification.

Beggars can't be choosers, though, so Walter gave him the identity C4-621 and took him to Rubicon-3...

[atlas-of-the-universe]

Home (Sequel to Vision’s Powers)

Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes

Word Count: 4,912

---

There was actually a lot that could have gone better in the situation you were in. You could have moved your feet a little quicker or maybe steadied your breathing so help your balance; but to your dismay, it proved useless. While Bucky swung unimaginably hard fists at the punching bag a few feet away from you, Natasha took you by surprise once again, knocking you off of your feet and onto the mat with a hardy slap. Your back hit the floor and sent a wave of discomfort through you. You were sweaty, thirsty, and worst of all, you were getting frustrated with the work that you were doing. Once again, you and Natasha had decided to stay late to practice your training. The consistent thwacks to the poor punching bad to the left of you echoed in the room. Bucky was barely breaking a sweat.

When your head hit the mat again, you let out a hardy groan and turned your head upwards to face Natasha. She had a light gleam of sweat around her face, but she still looked stunning. The black t-shirt she was wearing clung to her skin and her grey shorts dangled from her hips. Had it been any other situation, you may have been able to admire how she looked and how effortlessly she landed her punches and attacks. Alas, your line of sight was blurred from your eyelashes catching your sweat. It may have been a signal to stop, but your determination was a force to be reckoned with. You knew that Nat was able to see that, so you also knew she was just pushing as hard as you were willing to go. Even so, a break wouldn’t have killed you.

“Always keep your eyes on your opponent,” Nat stated. “Never look away.” Nat offered you her hand to get up and you took it. As she pulled you off the ground, you grimaced at a new pain in your lower back and groaned standing up. She dusted you off and gave you a once over before nodding. “You okay?”

You nodded and reached around to hold the lower portion of your back. “Yeah, I think I probably pulled something. I’ll be fine, but do you think we can take a but of a break for now? I should probably put some ice on this so I can be better by tomorrow.”

Natasha’s eyes furrowed and she gestured to your back. “Do you want me to take a look?” She asked. She looked concerned.

“If you could, I’d appreciate it,” You said and turned your back to her.

Nat gingerly took ahold of the back of your shirt and lifted it up. It was a little nerve-wracking, feeling her small movements, especially facing away from her. Even so, you had been through the same situation a week prior to this with Vision. Perhaps you were getting more comfortable being the newest Avenger, and the team was finally beginning to see you as an equal. With that thought in mind, you made a note of the fact that Natasha had offered to do this herself; you didn’t even really have to ask. That must show some amount of trust if she’s checking you for injuries. She placed a palm on the small of your back and pushed lightly. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t feel comfortable. Your breathing hitched and you controlled a sigh.

“Does that hurt?” She asked.

You shook your head and chuckled. “It doesn’t feel great.”

She hummed a bit and placed her hand on your side. It was a shocking feeling at first, and if you were honest, reminded you a little too much of the Vision situation that unfolded last week. She pushed her hand into your side and her fingers curled a bit. Of course you didn’t mean to, but you jumped and let out a surprised noise.

“Sorry,” Natasha said. “Just had to see for myself.”

She must have been talking about your pain, right? You smiled and pulled down your shirt, turning to face her. She had a small smirk on her lips, but she looked more curious than devious. “See my pain?” You joked, trying to feign some sort of innocence in hope that she hadn’t figured out your little weakness. “That’s a bit sadistic of you, Nat.”

You heard Bucky chuckle to the left of you. He never missed a beat with his punches, so you decided to stay about fifteen feet out of range of the wildly swinging punching bag. Nat glanced over at him but redirected her attention to you. “Tony mentioned yesterday at the monthly debrief that you and Vision had worked on an experiment together,” She said. “Remind me to tell Tony that it’s time to include you in those meetings. It’s only fair.”

Your heart dropped. You had known that of anyone, Tony would have been the one to tell. He was just that petty. To be honest, the fear of them finding out had slipped your mind until now. You knew that Vision knew (obviously) and so did Tony, but when you asked Tony not to tell, it would have been hard enough to keep that a secret for him. Tony loved to have his fun at the tower, especially if there wasn’t some world-wide-threatening catastrophe in place. However, with a “weakness” of the sort, you felt as though you couldn’t afford to have the rest of the Avengers know about something as childish as that. Even so, you noticed that Natasha didn’t say anything. There was still a chance that, maybe, by the grace of the Gods, just maybe he hadn’t told them. You made sure not to keep that hope to close to you. It was unlikely.

You chuckled nervously. “Yeah, they needed help,” You said. It was inconspicuous enough.

Nat chuckled and wiped off dust from the sides of your arms before giving you a look-over. Besides your hunched stance because of the discomfort in your back, you looked fine. Sweaty, but fine. “Don’t worry about it too much. Everyone has something that can knock them back a few pegs,” Natasha teased. She winked at you and folded her arms. You felt your heart sink once again. Guess Tony told them after all. “Besides, it’s cute. Actually, if we wanted to use it during your training to help you build up a tolerance to it, we could.”

Of course, Nat was all business and little play. Her and you had a very close bond and you knew that she wasn’t someone to push past a friend’s comfort-zone. You appreciated it but chuckled nonetheless and shook your head. “So, I guess everyone knows at this point?” You asked.

“Yeah,” She said chuckling. “Pretty much.”

Shit.

---

           After your training with Natasha, you decided to go back to your room to hopefully shower and relax. Your arms and legs were sticky with dried sweat, and you felt completely exhausted. As much as you loved working with Nat, you knew that she tended to push you to your limit. It was necessary, but it still left you feeling drained.

You threw your bag of equipment to the side of your bed and collapsed into your sheets. You planned to stay there for a few minutes before going to shower; if you spent any more time on your feet, you were sure that you’d probably end up falling in the shower. That is certainly the last thing you needed now that your secret was out to the rest of the team. Fucking Tony. You groaned at the thought and rolled over to face the ceiling of your room with your arm draped over your eyes. Okay, so they know your secret. Now what? You stumbled through possible reactions and encounters that could take place because of it. You didn’t think they’d kick you off the team because of it, but it was still embarrassing and, to you, felt a little unbecoming of a superhero. Were you considered a super-hero at this point? Were superheroes ticklish? You chuckled at the thought and tried to imagine the big and mighty Thor rolling on the floor laughing with glee. It was a little ridiculous, but it made you giggle.

About an hour had passed since you had gotten to your room. You finally managed to get up and take a shower and resumed your original position of lying on your bed with your phone in your hand. To be honest, you had started to get hungry and remembered that you hadn’t eaten since lunch. Probably not the best course of action. You glanced at the time and grimaced: 8:27. It wouldn’t be too late to have dinner, but Natasha always advised you against eating after 8. It always made training less bearable. However, since your blood sugar was getting low, you stood up from your bed, your muscles still exhausted. It took just about everything in you to open your door and walk to the kitchen.

The last thing you had expected was to see Vision and Wanda in the kitchen together, Wanda cooking in a large saucepan. From where you stood, it looked like she was making some sort of fried rice, and a ton of it too. You took a step into the room and smiled at Wanda, who in turned smiled at you. The kitchen was brimming with the smell of fresh cooked onions and garlic and plumes of pillowy steam wafted up from the food. “Hey, (Y/N),” Wanda spoke. “Can you do me a quick favor and hand me that bowl of peppers?” You nodded, but before you were able to take it, she made a small noise which sounded surprised. “Actually, never mind,” She said. She had a smile on her face and with her powers, the small bowl of chopped green peppers floated towards her and finally spilled over into the sauce pan. “I forget I can do that sometimes.”

You chuckled. “Anything that I can help with?”

Vision at the opposite end of the island in the middle of the kitchen smiled and waved at you, “Hello (Y/N).”

“Hey, Vis,” You responded and waved.

“Listen, I’m sorry about Mr. Stark. I did my best to dissuade him from telling anyone. I didn’t expect him to say anything at our conference. I hope you can forgive me.”

You appreciated Vision’s apology. To be fair, it wasn’t even Vision’s fault, it was Tony’s. That being said, you weren’t mad at Tony either, nor were you at Vision. “Don’t worry about it,” You said, waving off his apology. “What are you guys doing in here? It’s a bit late to be making dinner.”

“We can ask you the same question!” A voice that you immediately recognized as Steve said from the couches in the corner of the room. You glanced over to see Steve, Natasha, Tony, Sam, Peter, and Thor pressed up against the couches, the light of the television screen lighting up all of their faces with a dim blue light that was ever shifting. “We were waiting on you,” Steve said, resting his arm on the back of the couch.

You smiled but became suddenly aware of your presence in the room compared to all of them. You felt meek and a bit shy suddenly. You opted to take a stool at the kitchen island rather than try to find a seat for yourself in the middle of everyone. “I’m surprised that Bucky isn’t here. Is he okay?” You asked, looking to Natasha for an answer. Just an hour ago or so, he had been with you both in the training room, knocking the hell out of those poor punching bags. “Should I go try to find him?”

“Don’t worry about it,” A voice said from behind you while a hand placed itself on your head, messing your hair around. You spun on the stool to see Bucky’s smiling face. “Glad to know that someone missed me,” He said. You felt good for a bit, knowing that you made him feel good. His black leather jacket stretched around his body and creaked with all of his movements. Maybe he had gone out for a drive or to go to the bar; it had become his main place to be since finding his own apartment. He put his hand down and looked at the rest of the group.

You turned away from Bucky to get a look at everyone else. They were all in casual clothing, a sight you normally would not have ever gotten to see. Under usual circumstances, everyone would be dressed in their “super-hero” attire, consisting of flashy colors, hard metal shields and weapons, and especially form fitted so everything went where it needed to and they wouldn’t have to worry about anything but the fighting. Seeing everyone in pajamas, sweats, and t-shirts certainly was not the first thing you expected to see. Even so, it felt homely and welcoming to see everyone relaxed. There were several bright red (courtesy of Tony, of course) leather couches and a dark wood table set in front of the three seater, and a few recliners in the same color sat in a large “U” shape around the flat screen television. You recalled the first day you arrived at the facility:

           You had arrived hand in hand with Natasha who had been giving you a guide around the tower. Your past was not something that you were ready to discuss with anyone, all they had known is that you were found during a series of raids in Russia. Natasha had been assigned to work undercover for a terrorist organization. You were grateful, but to be honest, you weren’t necessarily ready to deal with your past either. Your raggedy clothes had been stripped away and replaced with a clean and ironed out t-shirt that Steve had offered you. You were in no position to say no, especially considering that your clothes were just about ready to fall off. After the tour and getting your first shower in weeks, Natasha had lead you to the room you were in now: the living room. You both sat there for hours, watching Disney movies and bad rom-coms while eating take-out. Natasha had been the first one there for you, and even helped you begin your training. She was the person you trusted the most, and every ounce of you was grateful.

           Currently, Natasha was sat on the left side of the couch furthest from the television, Steve on the right side. On the other couch furthest to the back wall, Peter sat on the ottoman in front of Tony and Sam, while Thor sat comfortable in his own recliner. There were also three more recliners available, but you made a point in your head to save those for Bucky, Vision, and Wanda. But…where would you sit? I mean, you thought, I don’t mind sitting on the floor. The floor was completely clean, of course. It wouldn’t make for that much of an issue. However, scanning over the room again, you noticed a wide gap between Steve and Natasha. Natasha glanced at you and smiled, patting the open space with her hand. She gestured to come over to her with her head, and you gladly did so, making sure to be quiet and polite about sitting down. Honestly, it didn’t seem like anyone was paying much attention to the movie, whatever it was. Everyone was either chatting or on their phone. Maybe they had done this…for you? You had never seen them gather like this, and Steve did mention that they had been waiting on you. Even with that thought in mind, you pushed it off and stared straight at the television. There was a subtle fear in you over making eye contact with the others, so you kept your gaze away from the others faces.

           Peter was too lost in a one-sided conversation with Thor to notice your presence in the room. You watched how his hands flailed when he was excitedly speaking and how he barely ever broke eye contact except to think. It was admirable, especially for someone his age in comparison to everyone around you. He seemed to be speaking about this new experiment that Vision, Tony and him had been working on, but something about it seemed a little too familiar. Something about his words made your ears perk up, until…

           “Yeah!” Peter exclaimed, nodding eagerly. “I thought it would have been painful, it just tickled.”

           You froze and looked at Tony, who was smirking. He shifted his gaze to you and bumped his eyebrows. In reaction, you immediately cast your gaze down to your knees and felt your face heat. You guessed that it had been possible that Tony did need more “test-subjects” rather than just yourself…but did he need to be so obvious about it?

           “Oh, uh, that reminds me,” Tony said. Peter instantly hushed. “(Y/N), you worked on the experiment with us. Did you enjoy it?”

           The fact that no one paid any attention to Peter’s indirect admission into being ticklish made you a little bit more comfortable, but it was still embarrassing. Your eyes darted to everyone in the room as they looked at you with soft smiles. You nodded and let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah,” you said. “It really wasn’t painful. Ah, pretty much just what Peter said.”

           “Oh?” Tony said, jerking his head up. “Did it feel weird or anything?” Tony shook his head with each word he spoke with pursed lips.

           You knew exactly what he was trying to do. You went through the list of scenarios that were in your head, mostly possible outcomes of different responses, but some were images of you being scorned, excluded, or mocked because of this little weakness of yours. You cleared your throat and nodded with a nervous laugh. “Yeah, same as Peter, really,” you said. Tony looked at your to further elaborate on your answer. “Just tickled.”

           Next to Tony, Sam let out a rather loud groan and threw his head back onto the back of the couch. A pit immediately grew in your stomach; these were the kinds of reactions that you had been hoping to avoid. “Tony, leave the kid alone. She doesn’t need you being a creep on top of everything else.”

           Tony put his hand to his chest in mock surprise. “Me?” He asked overzealously. “Come on, this place could use a little excitement.”

           “She’s had enough excitement to last her a lifetime,” Natasha chimed in from next to you. You smiled at her, but she stared directly at Tony. “Plus, her skills in combat are getting impressive. I imagine she’d be able to take you on.”

           Once again, the pit in your stomach grew and your heart rate spiked. There was no rhyme or reason why you would want to take on any one of these people in a fight. Natasha was the only person you had sparred with in the past few days, and thus, the only person you felt comfortable even beating in a fight. Your mouth spoke before your head was able to catch up, simply because of the panic. “No, no,” You said, your hands up in defense. “I don’t think I-”

           “Sure you can!” Thor chimed in with a grin from his recliner (that he looked way too large for). “We’ve trained and battled warriors even smaller than you across the nine realms. Some of them put up a very good fight.” It was supposed to be a compliment, so you smiled at him in thanks.

           “What do you think, (Y/N)?” Steve asked. You looked over to Bucky and watched his eyes dart between you, Steve, and Natasha. It was normal for Bucky, Steve, Nat and you to have lengthy conversations in the training room but truth be told, you had never participated in a larger group discussion with them. The feeling in the room felt devious, but you kept your cool and did you best to steel your face the way that Natasha had taught you. “Think you’d be able to take us in a fight?”

           You smiled and gathered up the courage to be apart of the conversation, rather than the shy feelings that you displayed. “I think I’d rather fight next to you guys than against you.”

           “Good answer,” Bucky said with a smile and patted your shoulder.

           “Kiss ass,” Tony remarked. You chuckled but decided to ultimately ignore it.

           Once the energy of the room had died down, you returned your gaze to see exactly what movie had been put on for you. Maybe if you had had time in the last few years to sit down and watch television, even just the commercials, you would have had an idea of what it could be. A large gymnasium filled to the brim with teenage girls was on screen, the camera focusing on a particular one who seemed nervous to be there. There wasn’t much point in asking what you were watching; no one was really paying much attention anyways. Peter went back to excitedly explaining his latest science project and how a test that he had coupling the project was coming up in a few days. He was confident, but a little on edge. He mentioned how studying would probably help him---

           Your thoughts were cut off by a quick jab to both of your ribs, and your body flung backwards into the couch to guard yourself. A little giggle escaped your lips and your elbows flew to your sides. You looked behind you to see Bucky with a rather devious smirk as he leaned onto the headrest of the couch. You didn’t even notice him stand up, let alone get behind you.

           “Had to test the waters,” he said, his smile not leaving his face. “Oops.”

           “Lot worse than we thought, huh?” Steve said and smiled at you. You looked up at Bucky who was hovering directly over your face, barely even a foot away. Your stomach fluttered with nerves and you turned away to make sure he wouldn’t be able to see the blush on your cheeks. Before you could utter out a response to this not-so-sudden attack, you felt fingers on your side give a light squeeze. You squeaked, pushed further into the couch, and fell into a short burst of giggling before opening your eyes to see Steve’s hand inches from your torso. “Guess so!” He exclaimed, laughing.

           There wasn’t really much time to be able to compose yourself between Bucky’s little attach and Steve’s. Soft giggles already flowed from your lips and your eyebrows furrowed up into a worried look. Your body smushed itself into the couch as far as you could possibly go and pinned your arms to your sides to prevent anymore attacks. With your hands in front of you, you attempted to steady your giggles, however, your words were interlaced with the subtle shake of mirth. “Wait, wait, wait, this isn’t a great idea—”

           Peter turned to face you from his ottoman and laughed, giving your knee a squeeze which didn’t do anything to help your cause. If anything, it just made you jolt and your giggles get louder. He smiled at you with raised eyebrows. “I’m just glad I’m not on the receiving end of this,” He stated.

           “Don’t get your hopes up, boy genius,” Tony said, standing up from his seat. “Just because we have a new victim doesn’t mean you don’t exist anymore.”

           Peters face flushed but he chuckled. “Trust me,” he said. “I’m grateful.”

           Between your nerves from having three people tickle you, it took you a second to register what Peter had just conversed about. Had something like this happened before? To be fair, it was easier to imagine Peter getting tickle-attacked here than anyone else. After all, he was still a bit childish. Granted, so were you so… that didn’t necessarily leave you in a good spot.

It was interesting though; when you had first heard of the Avengers, you saw them on television when you were younger. Watching them fight side by side against the Chitauri was inspiring, but this was years later. Of course, you never would have guessed that you would have been part of the team yourself. Let alone, you never would have guessed that the Avengers were actually quite playful.

The confusion slipped your mind as Bucky fluttered his fingers on the side of your neck, which automatically renewed your giggles. You scrunched up your shoulders and grabbed at his wrists, which ultimately did nothing. It was also a very strange sort of tickle, considering that one hand, or arm rather, was completely made of metal. He had cold (literally) and calculated movements, and his fingers fluttered up to the back of your ears. You squealed and held your hands up to your ears in a less than desperate attempt to stop the attack. Had it been another situation, a noise coming like that from an Avenger would have been embarrassing, but your mind was too busy focusing on the feeling.

“Bucky!” You shouted, dissolving further into your laughter, and sinking further in the couch.

Not slow enough for your mind to register what was happening, a new squeezing tickle sparked to life on your left side and you hunched over. You let out a small involuntary scream and hunched your body towards the left. You realized that Steve had taken it upon himself to help Bucky out, and really, you shouldn’t be surprised. The zapping sort of feeling in your sides and the light fluttering on your neck were almost too much to bear, and your laughter hitched. You debated on taking your hands away from your ears and neck, but that would only help Bucky. However, if you didn’t, then that would just give Steve more of an opening. Instead, your body took control, and slid down even further until your head was placed a few inches on Steve’s lap. You curled in on yourself as Steve moved his hand to your right side, which was now exposed. Bucky’s fingers switched to what he could get at in your position, which happened to be your ribs. You rolled onto your back in a feeble attempt to stop their fingers, but it only made them switch to your stomach. Once again, your laughter hitched. Deep belly laughs mixed with squeals echoed over the sound of the television. There were few thoughts bouncing around your head as you were tickled to pieces. Don’t kick Nat. Can everyone hear the movie over me? PLEASE don’t kick Nat. How long have they been going? How long are they planning this? Was anyone paying attention anymore? Guard yourself. If this was an enemy, you’d be screwed. Oh god, please don’t let Natasha use this in training. This is embarrassing. Who’s that laughing? Why is this…kind of fun?

“Guys, PLEHEHEASE!” You begged. You could hear a few scattered chuckles over your own laughter, but it was hard to focus on who they were coming from.

“Alright, alright,” Steve said, stopping his movements and resting his palm on your forehead. Bucky stopped as well. “I think she’s had enough for one day.”

You were grateful for the air that flooded its way into your lungs. You were panting, but scattered giggles escaped from your lips. To be honest, you didn’t care much about the fact that your head was resting on one of the founding members of the Avengers. If anything, he was the one who decided to tickle you, so he had to deal with the consequences that came with it. When you opened your eyes, the team around you were in giggle fits themselves. Bucky was still peering over at you from behind the couch, his arms hoisting him up on the back rest. He had a wide smile on his face. Scattered conversations here and there let you know that most of the attention was off of you at this point, which you were kind of grateful for. You pushed yourself off of Steve’s lap and playfully pushed Bucky’s head out of the way so you could sit up. He laughed and ruffled your hair, before finding his own recliner and sitting down. Steve let out a laugh and looked you up and down.

“You look like you just got out of training,” he said.

Grateful for the playfulness of his tone, you laughed at what he said. “I feel like it too.”

Next to you, Natasha poked you in the ribs. Your defenses automatically went up again before she placed her hand on your shoulder. It was her way of telling you that you could relax now. At least, that’s what she did during training. “Welcome to the real Avengers.”

“Real?” Sam said from his seat. “If I remember correctly, we’ve saved the world too many times to count. That’s real.”

“Lighten up, hotshot,” Tony spoke. “We can still be the Avengers without having a stick in our ass. Maybe you need the America dream team over there to teach you how to do that too.”

“You touch me and I’ll kill you,” Sam said with a smile on his face.

Maybe you were wrong. Maybe this place was a lot more familial than you thought. And maybe, just maybe, you could find this place becoming a permanent home for you.

[daringyounggrayson]

whumptober day 5: misunderstanding + broken nose (AO3)

Working as vigilantes, Dick and Bruce have made a lot of enemies. Most people they fight just want to get away, maybe get a few punches in just to be able to say they did, but some have a vendetta against them. For these people, it’s not that they want to carry out their plans without worrying about the Bat intervening, it’s that their plan has become causing him and anyone he works with to suffer.

And tonight, they’re dealing with those people.

They enter a warehouse, and drug-filled darts immediately rain down around them. Dick flings himself into a back handspring to dodge them, then shoots himself into the rafters, trying to get out of sight. Bruce stays on the ground and looks around for their attackers, but the darts are coming from all over—booby traps, possibly operated by remote. Luckily, Bruce’s thick armor means he can afford to be seen, can afford not to dodge every single dart.

Dick drops some smoke bombs to give them cover, then escapes through a window. He does a perimeter check around the budling and spots their attacker. He crouches down and taps through the settings on his mask, using the camera to zoom in. He sees a tiny controller in the man’s hand—Dick was right, then, the darts are being released by remote.

Ensuring that no one else is around, Dick leaps out and takes the man down by surprise. He quickly gags him and ties his hands together before attaching him to a telephone pole. He picks up the remote, looking it over quickly before powering it down and taking it apart.

Bruce still hasn’t met up with him, so Dick radios him. “Batman?” he calls into the comm. “I took down the dart commander. What’s your status?”

No answer.

“Batman, what’s your location?”

No answer.

Dick pulls up Bruce’s location from the tracker in his suit and finds that he’s still in the warehouse. He doubles back and takes a peek through his escape window. Four armed men are circled around Batman, and one of them is poking him with some kind of metal pole. Bruce isn’t reacting at all—some of the darts must have made it through his suit, or maybe he’s hurt. Possibly both.

Either way, this isn’t good.

Dick crouches beneath the window, trying to think of a plan. He’s taken down four men at once before, but not while trying to defend an unconscious Batman. Plus, he doesn’t know what to expect. These guys could be metas, or they could be on some kind of venom. There’s a rumor going around that Bane’s been getting into retail.

Dick takes another peek: still no movement, but he needs to make a plan, and fast.

His priority is getting Bruce out of there. He sends Alfred an update, and Alfred informs him that Bruce’s vitals are fine, as if he were asleep. Once that’s done, Dick slips back in through the window and ducks behind a crate a few yards away from Bruce. He’s restrained now, but his captors are silent, waiting.

Dick freezes when he hears a truck pull up outside. One of the men moves to open the doors, and it slowly but surely makes its way in.

Heart hammering, Dick forces himself to stay still. Running in and trying to take them done now would be stupid. At this range, he’d be shot for sure, and besides, they have access to an easy getaway. He’ll have to let them take Batman.

oOo

After placing one of the darts in an evidence bag and calling the police to pick up the guy Dick tied to the telephone pole, he follows the truck on his bike. The secondary location ends up being an abandoned apartment complex about twenty miles south.

Dick quickly surveys the area and enters through a basement window. He sticks to the shadows as he follows the disembodied voices. So far there are only two men, and he takes them down with a couple of nerve pinches. He restrains them with zip-ties and moves on.

He takes a lucky turn down a hallway and finds the two more men guarding a room—that must be where they’re keeping Bruce.

Dick tosses a few more smoke pellets and charges at them, disarming them and taking them down in a matter of minutes. Once they’re tied up, he kicks the door down and runs to Bruce’s side.

“Alright, big guy, let’s get out of here,” Dick says as he works on freeing Bruce. He doesn’t look too bad; aside from the drugs, they’re probably looking at some minor bruising.

Dick cuts the rope connecting Bruce’s hands, and the second his arm is free, Bruce swings at Dick.

“Aah!” Dick yelps as the fist makes contact with his nose, cracking it instantly. He quickly presses his hand against his nose, and blood runs over his glove.

Bruce moves to take another swing at Dick, but this time Dick is ready, and he dodges it like it’s nothing.

“Batman, stop, it’s me,” he says in a firm, even voice. “It’s me.”

Bruce looks at him, really looks at him, but he doesn’t seem to recognize him. Not entirely. “Robin?” he asks with an unsure voice and a confused expression.

Dick forces a grin. “Who else would it be?”

Bruce doesn’t answer, just slumps over, unconscious.

oOo

It’s a struggle, but Dick manages to get Bruce out of the basement and into the Batmobile Alfred had directed to their location. From there, he puts his bike in the trunk and drives Bruce back to the Cave, where Alfred is waiting for them.

An hour later, they confirm that Bruce will live. The drugs in the darts were fairly harmless and were probably selected for their sedative properties. Bruce will probably feel a little hungover come morning, but it won’t be anything he hasn’t dealt with before.

Alfred sets Dick’s nose and forces an icepack on him, and then the two of them work together to get Bruce up to his bed, where Dick insists on watching him until he wakes up.

Come afternoon, Dick finds himself lounging at the foot of Bruce’s bed, snacking on some grapes and reading a random Hardy Boys book he found on Bruce’s bookshelf. He used to read them to Dick all the time when he was younger, and he still enjoys the series.

Bruce groans, and Dick shoots up, relief flooding him.

“It’s about time,” Dick says, flopping sideways to land by Bruce’s head. “You were asleep forever.” He’d been worried—more worried than he should have been, honestly. But it’s easy to catastrophize when the last time Bruce had been conscious he’d barely recognized Dick. Plus, the man had been asleep for nearly fourteen hours. It was disturbing.

“Dick?” Bruce is frowning at him, eyebrows pinched in confusion and maybe a headache.

Dick grins. “Who else would it be?”

Bruce pushes himself into a sitting position. “You’re hurt.”

Dick raises his hand to cover his nose, then drops it. “I’m okay.” He sits up. “How are you feeling? Should I get Alfred?”

Bruce ignores him, cups Dick’s face. “I hurt you.”

Dick shrugs, pushes Bruce’s hand away. “You probably thought I was one of the kidnappers,” he explains. “And who can blame you? You were drugged. It’s not your fault.”

Bruce squeezes his eyes shut, rubs at his temples. Dick hops off the bed and grabs the Tylenol, passing it to Bruce along with a water bottle. Bruce accepts them with a grunt.

Dick sits down on the edge of the bed. “Do you want me to get Alfred?” Dick asks again.

Bruce grunts. No.

Dick bites his lip, trying to decide if he should listen to Bruce or not.

“Don’t do that,” Bruce says, tugging on Dick’s sleeve until he complies.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Dick asks.

“I’m fine, Dick.”

It’s stupid. Dick knows Bruce is fine; this is probably the best shape either of them have ever been in post-kidnapping. But Bruce had been taken, and it had been Dick’s fault. Dick had left his side, and in those minutes he’d been gone, Bruce could’ve been killed. It would’ve been his fault.

“Does it hurt?”

“Huh?” Dick snaps his head around to look at Bruce.

“Your nose.”

“Oh. Not too bad. Can’t breathe out of it though, so that’s kind of annoying.” Dick doesn’t understand why Bruce feels so guilty. At least he can blame it on the drugs. Dick has nothing—he’d just abandoned his partner and didn’t even try to stop the kidnappers as they loaded him into that truck. “But if you want to be sorry about something, you should apologize for making me lug your heavy ass up a whole flight of stairs. My arms still feel like jelly—I could barely hold up my book.”

Dick grins to show Bruce that he’s joking, merely exaggerating at Bruce’s expense.

“I’m sorry that you’re not stronger. I’ll adjust your training regimen accordingly.”

“Hey!” Dick throws a pillow at him, and Bruce chuckles when it hits him in the face. Dick lies back down with an exaggerated huff. Then, in a quiet voice, Dick says, “Sorry I let them take you.”

“You did everything right, chum. You should be proud of yourself for handling things as well as you did.”

“You don’t know what happened,” Dick says, a touch of anger in his voice. “You weren’t even conscious.”

“No, but you got us home safely. That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah, well. I guess so.”

He knows Bruce has a point, but he still feels like he could’ve done more. Bruce probably feels the same.

Dick decides to shelve the conversation, for both of their sakes. They can deal with their guilt complexes another day.

He reaches for his book, asks, “Do you remember when you used to read me the Hardy Boys?”

“Of course.”

“Good, because I don’t want to start over.” Dick clears his throat and starts reading.

[nice-kill-tanaka]

🌄Karasuno 3rd Years + Confessions🌌

A/N: lowkey, these turned into crush scenarios too 😭can’t blame me for getting carried away. these beautiful boys are too perfect ❤️

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🎋Daichi Sawamura🎋

If I'm being honest? Daichi would probably take an agonizingly long time to realize and act on his feelings for you

My dude literally never noticed Michimiya's feelings for him, so do you really expect him to be that in touch with his own feelings?? Nah, he's too busy parenting approximately ten teammates (eleven if you count Suga in his more chaotic moments)

He would have to have known you for more than three months for a crush to form

And even more time after that to get it through his thick skull that what he’s feeling isn’t just immense respect for you

But, once Daichi realizes that he wants to date you, he’s gonna be very careful about his approach. I.e. presenting himself as boyfriend material rather than friend material

Offering to walk you home, giving you moral support with your hobbies, hell, even making you lunch once every few days!

In his head, he’s got his official confession all planned out:

He’d take you on a walk around town (Or a jog, depending on your athletic prowess)

And at the end of said activity, you’d both stop at a place where you can see a beautiful sunset. And you would sit there while you cooled down

Dude brought snacks and everything 😪

And while you guys ate and talked about whatever, he would find a good stall in the conversation to explain his feelings

“You know...I’ve liked you for good while. You’re everything I never knew I needed in my life. If you don’t feel the same way, we can keep being friends and that’ll be fine. But, I want to be closer to you. So...how does a date sound...?”

However, if you decide to confess first, sure he’ll look fine on the outside. But, his train of thought just had a literal catastrophic crash

He wanted to be the one to make the first move

Wait...his crush on you was reciprocated??

Wtf??

He’ll snap out of his surprised stupor when you ask if he wants to go out and watch a movie at some point

“...Hm? Oh- yeah! I’d...I’d love to go out with you.”

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

🍄Koushi Sugawara🍄

I honestly think it would be SO HARD to tell if Suga had a crush on you

You can’t go off of his regular acts of sweetness, since he’s that way towards everyone

But, there will be a change in his behavior. You just have to be observant

First, he’s still gonna make sure you’re taking care of yourself on a regular basis. However, instead of the situation looking like a parent scolding a child for not taking their vitamins or whatever, he gets on your level and lets you know he genuinely cares about you and wants to see you healthy. Lots of soft looks and touches 🤧

And y’know how Suga gets a bit flustered when people praise him? Amp that up about fivefold when it’s you that’s praising him. He’ll say “Oh- really?!” with that cute little voice crack and get incredibly red over your compliment. But, his friendly crooked smile is what usually makes those moments fly under your radar

Lastly, he’ll want to involve you in a lot of his mischief-making with the underclassmen (You’d have to be close to the team to really get in good with Suga). If he feels comfortable enough around you to not act so responsible, he’ll show you the “tequila” part of his “tequila aunt” reputation real quick

I feel like if he wanted to confess to you, he’d want you to feel as comfortable as possible before dropping the bombshell of feelings

He’ll ask if you want to hang out at his place on a Friday or something when you both have no homework

And it’s agreed that you’ll bring the snacks, and he’ll set up the place with every blanket and pillow in existence

Surprise! It’s a movie night! (A Pixar movie night to be exact)

It’s in the middle of watching Wall-E, when the lights are dimmed low and you both are sharing a blanket and a bag of chips, when he tells you

After his small speech, he goes: “...So, what do ya say, Eva? Let me be your Wall-E...?”

Ofc you said yes (With an asterisks because of how adorably corny he was about it)

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

🐻Asahi Azumane🐻

Two seconds in, and I can already tell this wreck is gonna need some help expressing his feelings for you 💀

The moment he gets that warm and fuzzy sensation in the pit of his stomach when you give him your perfectly imperfect smile, he probably assumes that you’d never date someone like him. Someone who hardly lives up to the big tough guy image people seem to pin on him 

Either that, or you’re just plain scared of him and too afraid to say something about it

Suga and Daichi try their darnedest to explain that Asahi’s worries are not the case at all. And if Asahi just pulled his head out of the sand for once and told you the truth, that you’d at least understand and react respectfully

But, doing so can be tricky when anxiety is kicking your butt over the worst case scenario

Really and truly, you would’ve confessed to Asahi, had he not given you the impression that he never wanted to be around you. He’d always get so visibly nervous around you and make a sad excuse to leave the room

“So, what to do about this stalemate of love?” Thought Suga and Daichi in this most perplexing dilemma. You and Asahi both clearly liked each other, but what would give you two that nudge you needed?

Well, it took a lot of consideration, but Suga and Daichi decided that they needed to bring in someone else: Yuu Nishinoya, to be exact. Appealing to Asahi’s fear of his crush being exposed without being able to properly explain his feelings would definitely work

And it did! Asahi was so terrified of Noya bluntly outing him, that he promised to confess to you by 2:00 tomorrow. No later

Well, come tomorrow, it seemed Asahi was stalling for time, letting his fears get the better of him. But, he managed to catch you in the hallway at exactly 1:59

Asahi showed himself friendly, trying to drum up small talk before dropping the big thing. And you blushed and went along with it, unaware of what was about to happen. Before the big moment, Asahi stumbled over his words:

“I uh...well, you see- I just, y’know, wanted to...to tell you that I- well...I may or may not-”

“Asahi’s got a big fat crush on you and he’s been too big of a chicken to say it for the whole year!”

Asahi tried to hide his face in his hands while your body was internally burning up. Gee, thanks Noya

In your embarrassment, you stepped forward and took Asahi’s hand, asking if Noya was right. Asahi gave a quiet “Yeah...you’re amazing. How could I not like you?”

Romance bloomed that day between you two, and Suga and Daichi were just around the corner snickering about it

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[🌌Take this for your travels, bud. Don’t worry about paying me or anything, everything’s on the house! Though 🍁likes🍁 and ☘️reblogs☘️ are appreciated!🌄] — Reagan

[ficforce]

After You, No, After You

Konro and Benimaru x Reader SFW

“Stay still, Waka,” Benimaru grumbled under his breath as the woman’s fingers combed through his hair at the back of his head and he gave a grunt as he felt the strands pulled from his scalp, “Sorry, it’s really stuck in there… you’re gonna have to wash it out. It’s practically syrup.” The twins were hiding behind Konro as they watched her try to get the gooey remains of their sweets out of the Captain’s hair – they swore it was an accident. With a sigh, she stood up and patted the dust off of her pants, “Maybe it’s a good thing, you’ve been working pretty hard this week – take a break, Waka, a decent bath might do you some good.” Her hand reached down to pat his shoulder but at the last moment the man avoided the touch, he got up and stalked past her mumbling about not being a little kid. The twins ran off after him and Y/N watched after him in confusion before looking to Konro, he couldn’t help but defend him, “He’s been a little frustrated lately.” “I know…” she sighed, “It feels like he’s mad at me though. I guess I baby him a little, even though we’re not that far apart in age. He just has so much to deal with and sometimes I think it really gets to him. Not that he would ever admit it.” All she wanted was to make things a little easier on him, feeling Konro’s hand on her arm she turned her gaze up to his, “Is this where you treat me like a kid?” He smiled at her question and gave her arm a comforting squeeze, “You’re too grown up to be treated like a little girl, Y/N.” Konro couldn’t ignore that she was a grown woman any more than Benimaru could, he had seen crimson eyes follow her around too often to ignore, the walls were thin in the Guardhouse and the Lieutenant wasn’t deaf to the younger man moaning her name quietly in. It wasn’t so different from the way Konro looked at her or fantasised about her…

“I think he wants you to see him as a man rather than someone to look after – so he takes it personally when you try to soothe him like that.”

Her fingers locked together and she tried to keep her voice steady, “…You make it sound like he, ya know… likes me.” “Would that be so bad?” She noticed that he was having trouble keeping eye contact with her now and he shifted his body slightly away until his hand fell back to his side, “Waka’s really grown, he’s reliable and you know the cold attitude is just for show – you’d make a good pair.” Konro didn’t say much more than that, he made his excuses and headed out. Did Benimaru like her? They worked well together, she was a fire soldier third generation and had started off as a regular Hikeshi, her abilities didn’t kick in until after her twentieth birthday. She got on with her Captain and wasn’t afraid to pick on him, though not many Asakusians were afraid of him unless they were up to no good, he always invited her for drinks and when he decided to gamble – which he was bad at – he relied on her intuition. Her fighting style was basic, trusting her ability to get the job done but Benimaru still insisted on training with her every now and then, he wasn’t gentle and she was always bruised afterwards. He complained when she pet his hair after a few too many drinks and he didn’t like when she tried to tell him to take a break, eat something or drink something. All she wanted to do was thank him for all his hard work… it was a way to stay close to him too. Konro’s words gave her butterflies and Y/N wondered if he was right. Konro was always right, she looked up to him and admired him. He always seemed to be the one to help her get control of her fire when she lost control because of her inexperience, Y/N knew he could be dangerous and that he wasn’t one to shy away from a fight; he just tended to be smarter about picking them. He always made her feel warm. Her heart often fluttered at the sight of Konro in the same way it did for Benimaru… wouldn’t it be nice to have both  — - “Y/N!” Her head tilted up toward the smokey sky at the call of her name, Benimaru was above on his matoi and he pointed south, “There’s a couple of kids hiding down that alley.” “On it, Waka!” Y/N ran off, she was careful to avoid the stray fireworks whistling through the streets from the warehouse that had caught fire. There was no Infernal this time, just a couple of idiot teenagers who had caused flames to spread over half the block, “Anyone down here?!” Crying could be heard coming from behind a tower of crates, “Hey, it’s okay, come one, let’s get out of here.” Y/N took the toddler from the little boy who had been trying to look after her, “Hold onto my coat and stay close.” A loud bang made her jump and a wall of fire blocked the three of them into the alley. The boy buried his head into her side and she tried to keep the little girl from the heat. “Y/N!” “Lieutenant!” Through the brief gaps in the yellow and orange flames, she caught glimpses of the man. “I’m… I’m gonna try to part it so I can hand the kids through!” If she had been alone she would have just run through the blaze but the children would be burnt, her eyes illuminated as she concentrated on pulling the fire apart until there was an opportunity to thrust the toddler into Konro’s arms. The man called the boy to run through, giving him enough courage to brave the flames and join him. Konro handed both of them to another Hikeshi and told him to get them out of the danger zone, the space closed and he lost sight of her, “Y/N… Oi! Come on!” She wasn’t paying attention to her powers and the blaze began to spread up to the roofs of the other houses, “Get it under control!” The Hikeshi panicked as she watched it spread because of her, Konro’s call made it worse as she could only imagine how disappointed he was at her failure. “Forget controlling it, Y/N, just run through!” Konro let out a relieved breath as she appeared through the flames in one piece, her clothes let off a few billows of smoke but otherwise, she was fine, “We’ll deal with this, head to the river and make sure the civilians are safe.” Later, when everything was put out and rebuilding had started,

Y/N was surprised when Benimaru sat down beside her and shoved a box of mochi onto her crossed legs, “You look like a kicked dog.” “Rude.” Once she had opened the box he dived straight in to grab one, she noted it was the least sweet one in there and tutted at him, “Did you get this because you wanted that one or because you were a brat earlier?” He shrugged one shoulder, “Who cares - why you looking so miserable?” Benimaru chewed his mochi as he waited for her to tell him, she was usually straight forward with him but as he swallowed he realised she hadn’t touched the snack and she was yet to answer him - that wasn’t so usual. “Is it because you made that fire way worse?” “I wasn’t good enough, I had the kids and I panicked… I screwed it up and the Lieutenant had to deal with my mess.” Y/N dropped her head into her hands, she felt utterly defeated and it was all because she caused trouble for Konro, “I’ll be better next time, I’ll work until I pass out if I have to.” “Good.” The Captain took the box of mochi from her lap before shifting himself on the mat and resting his head on her thigh, “Is it your lack of skill or disappointing Konro that’s got you down?” He looked up at her and smirked, Y/N’s expression was surprised at his position on her lap but she didn’t seem like she would push him off, “You like him, right?” Y/N’s eyes widened a little and she cleared her throat before answering, “O-of course! He’s my Lieutenant and… and everyone likes Konro…” “Don’t play dumb, Y/N, you know I mean,” the man picked up a piece of mochi and shoved it in her mouth, “He likes you too, he’s just being a coward. If you like him you should tell him… Konro will look after you, he’s not mad that you lost control earlier - he was just worried.” He closed his eyes then, “You’d make a good pair.” His words parroted what Konro had said that morning and Y/N could sense the same unusual discomfort in Benimaru that Know had had earlier. It was as if they wanted to support the other but were giving up something they wanted to do it. “Benimaru…” his eyes opened at the sound of her voice, she couldn’t help but think that he had a beauty to him, his crimson eyes always caught her attention, “Konro said the same thing about us.” “Tch!” He sat himself up and pushed his hair out of his face, “Course he did - that idiot! You don’t even look at me the way you do with him, Konro’s a better man, ya know, you should just tell him.” Benimaru got up and headed out before she could find the words to answer him. Benimaru had as good as told her that he had feelings for her but in the same breath told her to be with Konro. Y/N exhaled loudly and tried to calm her beating heart - did this mean they both liked her the same way she did them? Did she have to choose? Of course, she did… It wasn’t likely they would want to share, if she chose one over the other it could change everything, either they would resent one another or she would lose someone she adored, “Fuck.” — - The next three days were busy with rebuilding and preparation for a festival, they were fortunate that no Infernals appeared and the fireworks disaster wasn’t too catastrophic, it gave her a chance to practice and Y/N was taking advantage of it. Feeling her lungs squeeze painfully the Hikeshi fell to her knees in exhaustion, it was getting harder to take in air and her limbs were shaking from overusing her ability, it wasn’t time to give up so she forced herself back up straight and glared at the metal barrel she had started a fire in. She kept it up until her knees gave out and she tasted dirt in her mouth. Her vision blurred and she couldn’t even move her arms under her to get up, she knew she’d burned herself out but she figured it would pass soon enough. Y/N wasn’t sure when she had passed out so she was confused when her eyes opened and the world was moving, the ceiling and walls were passing by and as she blinked groggily up she realised that Konro was carrying her through the Guardhouse, “‘m not done…” “Yes you are,” he murmured back, “You’re out of firepower, Y/N,

don’t force it.” Konro adjusted her in his hold and slid the door open with his foot, he placed her down onto the futon in his room and then headed out briefly to grab a damp flannel to clean the dirt on her face. He could see she had pushed herself a little too far. “She okay?” Y/N turned her head to the man leaning against the doorway, her eyes couldn’t focus on Benimaru so she let them slip closed again. “Burned herself out, Waka. You should sit with her for a while…” Benimaru looked away from them, “You’re better suited.” Her head was pounding and she felt like something was pressing down on her, Y/N really wasn’t in the mood to listen to then argue who should sit with her and it was out of character for them. She’d been agonising over the situation for days - Benimaru liked her, Konro liked her, and she liked them both equally but for different reasons. In the end, she decided she would be better off not choosing. “I don’t want either of you!” The Hikeshi sat up from the futon, batting Konro’s hand away as he tried to get her to go back down, she then forced herself up onto her feet, wobbling as her oxygen-starved muscles protested, “One of the things I admire about you both is the way you go for what you want - how you fight for it. You both told me that the other likes me and you’re trying to push me onto the other like I’m not worth the effort!” That’s what really bothered her, the fact they were willing to give her up. Konro and Benimaru were close and she understood them not wanting to hurt each other but she wished they would see it from her point of view too. “If I’m not worth fighting for then don’t bother! I don’t want reasons why you’re not good enough… I want you to tell me why I shouldn’t throw you both out of here right now!” “It’s my room.” “It’s literally Konro’s room.” Heat flared up inside as her temper rose, it hadn’t been intentional on her part to call up her flames but as they were too weak to do more than make her too hot it didn’t cause the men too much of an issue. The issue was that her body lost all strength in it and she fell, luckily, into Konro’s arms, “Y/N!” He got her back on the futon and sighed, “I get what you’re saying, Y/N, we didn’t expect to both fall for the same girl and in the same way.” “It’s not like we can share you either.” Benimaru pushed his hand through his hair and sat down beside her, “I want you to be happy and I think Konro would make you happier than I could, I want him to be happy too… you deserve at least that, Konro.” “Beni…” the Lieutenant’s voice was soft and he wanted to argue with him but his voice was momentarily silenced. He felt the same way, he wanted Benimaru to steal a little bit of happiness too. Y/N managed to get her vision to focus on them, they were pretty dumb when it came to these kinds of things, if they couldn’t fight it then they tended to struggle, she reached out and grabbed them, catching Benimaru’s pant leg and Konro’s sleeve, “Why can’t we share?” She smirked as they did a double-take of her, “It’ll take two of you to handle me anyway.”

[missscarletta7]

The Broken Crown- Chapter 1

Hello! So this is my first Peaky Blinders Fanfiction.  I own nothing, except for the few OCs I created. 

This story is also on Wattpad and FF.net under the same title if you want to read it there as well--- however be warned it is not as edited as this post and I changed the name of one of the characters because I thought it was a better fit... lol!

Summary: All Margaret Shelby ever wanted, was the opportunity to write her own story. Only now is she beginning to realize that her brother may have already written it for her...

  Enjoy!

OoOoOo

"He's a ghost, he's a god, He's a man, He's a guru,

You're one microscopic cog, In his catastrophic plan

Designed and directed by his red right hand"

~Red Right Hand~

1919

She had that dream again, the one where she had to decide which door she would open. Both doors were identical in every way. Yet, she just stands in the empty room lit as if by candles; frozen in place; The weight of the decision ultimately waking her out of-

No, that wouldn't do, a dark-haired girl thought as she scratched out the words she had just written down. In a small bedroom on the second floor of number Seventeen Watery Lane, sixteen-year-old Margaret Shelby sat on her bed, or rather the bed she shared with her older sister. Dressed in the long white nightgown that had once belonged to her mother and with a pen in hand, she scribbled down more words in her brown leather-bound journal resting on her lap. The journal was gifted to her by her Aunt Polly on her most previous birthday. Upon receiving it she couldn't wait to fill its pages. She liked writing, ever since she learned how to form her words into a cohesive sentence on paper. It had been an outlet, a distraction from the "shit-hole" that was Small Heath, Birmingham.

As a child, she had the fondest memories of taking the drawings her eldest brother Arthur would sketch and would accompany his rendering with an original story. She took pride in how much he would always be so impressed and relished when he called her “his little genius". As the years passed, she believed if she could write and publish a story that was good enough, then maybe one day she could provide for her family. Give them a way out of their current situation. Not that she knew much of how dire their situation really was. To their credit, her family tried their best to shield her, as well as her youngest brother Finn, from feeling the effects of living a life in the slums. She was lucky in that way, most of the girls her age had dropped out of school and had a child of their own already.

Her thoughts of prose were soon interrupted by familiar sounds causing the pit of her stomach to sink. Even after three months of him being back, she doubted she would ever get used to it. Opposite from her bed, through the thin wall with floral green wallpaper which had been peeling off for years, muffled cries could be heard. Maggie knew exactly who it was, her brother, Tommy.

She placed her journal onto the thin cotton sheets and traveled into the hallway. Before she knew it, she was standing outside the door of her older sibling. Taking a deep breath, she decided against knocking and slowly opened the door.

"Tommy?" she whispered into his candlelit room. She could see he was awake. Lying flat on his back in bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Go back to bed, Mags," the second oldest Shelby ordered, but the girl hesitated.

"I thought I heard yelling," she sounded apologetic, before taking a whiff of the air. "Do you smell that?"

"I said back to your bloody bed," his harsh tone surprised her.

This time she did listen, gently she closed her brother's door and made her way back to the empty bedroom she once was in.

OoOoOo

The next day, Margaret exited the small school she attended that was located right on the edge of Small Heath with her best friend Cara Ryan by her side. The girls had played together for as long as their memories had served them. Cara was a stylish and talkative girl who stood at a height of five feet and six inches. Dazzling green eyes sparkled and her straight honey blonde hair fell upon her shoulders. Her family did better than most, the Ryan's own a dress shop that is very popular amongst the younger women, Ada, in fact, is a frequent customer of the establishment. Though the word 'customer' was a loose term, the Ryan's like most shop owners in the area were obliged to give anyone with relations to the Peaky Blinders whatever they wanted. Mrs. Ryan's and the two oldest sisters operated it, and in her spare time, Cara could often be found working in the backroom, sewing buttons and beads to fabrics. The family had a deal, in a year's time Cara would come to work for the shop full time, but until then Cara could continue her education.

"Can't believe Henrietta's having a baby," Maggie said aloud, as shorter and younger students ran past them excitedly.

"I can," Cara replied smugly. "That girl would open her legs up for any sod that gave her a second glance."

"I feel bad for her." She admitted thinking of the fifteen-year-old whose life was now forever changed.

Cara shook her head, "Don't it's her own bloody fault."

After rounding the corner, they both saw Ross Murray. A thin nineteen-year-old with dark hair standing at five feet and eleven inches, resting his back against the dull red brick wall, smoking a cigarette. Cara stopped them in their tracks and waved at the young man. "All right, Ross?!"

Maggie smiled at her friend, she liked Ross, he'd always looked out for her and Cara like they were his own sisters. They had all been in school together up until the moment Ross was kicked out for beating up another boy named Jonah Smith. In all likelihood Jonah may have had it coming. He never had the ability to let go. For example, just last year Maggie would have to constantly have to turn down his advances for over a month. Due to the reputation of her family, attention from boys was a rare occurrence. Which she didn't mind, she never really felt romantic feelings for anyone. However, Jonah took advantage of her brothers absence. One day he even cornered her when she went back to the classroom to grab the jumper she left behind. Thankfully Jonah eventually stopped, and never bothered her again.

Getting kicked out of school didn't seem to bother Ross though. Once he turned eighteen, he enlisted to help with the war effort. He completed basic training within the required three months, and according to the letters he would send her and Cara, he was held in high esteem with all of his commanding officers. Just as he was about to be shipped to France, an armistice was declared. He'd managed to find a job working at the BSA factory rather quickly, but when he came back into town Maggie could tell he had changed. He now had this mentality that made him seem as though he was ready for a battle, yet had no one to fight.

"Cara, Margaret," he acknowledged, stubbing out his cigarette on the bricks he had rested his back upon "Where are you two heading, aye?"

"Just going home," Maggie told him, readjusting the bag on her shoulder.

He came closer to them, "I'll walk with you. Birmingham hasn't been the safest place now that all these blokes with fucked up brains are back."

"Look at that Mags," Cara said happily, and he allowed her to take his arm. "The only gentleman in Small Heath"

Maggie smiled knowingly at the sight. Since Cara was ten years old, she had been smitten with the dark-haired boy. Cara would frequently turn down other offers in hopes that Ross would one day ask her to be his girl. They both hoped that it would happen soon, because in Cara's words "She wasn't getting any younger".

"Don't know what you two keep going to school for," He expressed to them, as they began to walk in the direction the girls needed to travel. "What more is there to learn?"

His comment made Maggie shrug, "It's something to do."

"Yeah, most girls our age who aren't in school are either whores or mothers." She agreed.  "Or both."

They continued chatting about their school day as they walked closer into town. The canal that ran nearby as well as the different establishments were coming into view. "Mags, is that your brother?" Ross asked, pointing to a couple of boys.

Maggie turned her head to where her friend was pointing. He was right, her younger brother Finn, was running around in front of the pharmacy with Isaiah Jesus. He must have skipped school again. "Oi!" Maggie called out angrily, and Finn froze in place "What have you been up to all day, hm?"

"Please don't tell Tommy," the ten-year-old begged.

Maggie was about to tell him off, but she was caught off guard by the arrival of a person exiting Compton's, "Ada?"

"Oh, hello." The dark-haired beauty clutched the paper parcel tighter in her hands, clearly caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her younger siblings. "Heading home then?"

Maggie nodded and Ada continued, "I'll join you." The older sister then turned to her brother "Right Finn?" The boy scowled, but nodded all the same.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Maggie told her friends, still trying to process what her sister was up to.

Cara didn't seem to mind her best friends' announcement to depart. Turning to the hazel-eyed boy she asked, "Fancy accompanying me to the confectionery?"

He looked over to the Shelby family first, "Will you three be alright by yourself?"

Ada looked amused at his worry, "We'll be fine. I doubt anyone would mess with us." He accepted her answer with a nod and led Cara to the candy shop.

As the water rushed in the cut, Ada and Maggie walked down the sidewalk arm in arm. Finn wasn't too far in front of them. He was running and jumping around like a madman. That boy always had so much energy, Maggie found herself thinking. No wonder he skipped school, the poor thing probably could not sit still.

"That Murray boy has aged well hasn't he," Ada commented, finally breaking the silence, "Have you two?"

"Ada!" The younger sister cried out in surprise.

"Just asking." She shrugged, "Jesus you're a prude"

"Everyone's a prude compared to you" she retorted, "What were you doing at the pharmacy?"

Ada didn't reply though, instead opting to purse her lips. They were almost home now; Maggie could even see Pol heading to the house, traveling towards them. She was about to wave at her aunt until she was distracted by Finn, who ran around in front of his sisters. Her heart clenched when she noticed a black metal object in his hand.

"Finn, where did you get that gun?" she questioned, yet the youngest Shelby only giggled in response. 

"Oi! Quit messing around," Ada scolded, moving forward in an attempt to take the weapon away. "You shouldn't b-"

BANG! The sisters screamed and Aunt Polly, who had witnessed the whole event transpire, rushed over from down the street. Both the girls tried to catch their breath and a shocked Finn looked like he was trying to mentally process what had just happened. 

"The hell were you thinking?!" Polly scolded, snatching the gun from his hand. "Where did you get this?!

"He nearly fucking killed me!" Ada screeched pointing to her brother.

"I-I found it on the sideboard of the shop." Finn spit out as they watched his face concave and he soon began weeping in fear. "I-I thought it was empty. I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

His tears pulled on Maggie's heartstrings, but Polly wasn't having it. She pushed the sobbing boy towards Maggie ordering, "Take him home, and no more playing with guns. Next time you leave them be." 

The young boy nodded and allowed his sister to lead him back home."I didn't know Mags, I swear" he cried out again.

"I know you. You can apologize to Ada once she's feeling more forgiving" she expressed, her arms wrapped around his small shoulders.

OoOoOo

Childhood had molded her into the person she had become. Now she understood that...

Maggie internally groaned and scratched out what she had just written. No, that was definitely not good enough. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a chuckle. Her eyes were taken off the page by Ada, who was getting ready for her date with some mystery man.

"What's so funny?" the younger sister grumbled.

"You," Ada smiled as she brushed her hair in front of the small vanity mirror, "And how seriously you take yourself."

Quickly she closed her journal, wanting to change the subject "So, what was the family meeting about?" Maggie asked, not genuinely curious.

"New copper’s coming to town," Ada replied unbothered, more interested in fastening her shoe buckle.

"When I went downstairs, I caught Finn trying to listen through the door. Told him off for eavesdropping," the younger sister snickered .

"Can you believe that little tosser?" Ada said, putting on her paste earring. "I don't know what's gotten into him lately. He could have killed me today!"

"It was an accident, Ada." She reasoned, opening her journal once more, "Pol already told him and John off, what more can you do?"

"I can still bitch," the older sister huffed, before looking at the book in her sisters' hands. "Are you ever gonna tell me what you're writing about?" Ada asked pointedly, now completely dressed in a white fur coat that rested over her dress.

"Are you ever gonna tell me who you've been going out to see the last few months?" Maggie shot back jokingly. 

Ada responded by pantomiming the locking of her lips, which only made the younger sister smile. "Cover for me?"

"As always," The girl assured Ada before she quietly opened and closed the bedroom door.

It was about an hour later when Maggie began to hear the familiar muffled cries. Feeling hopeless as she stared at the green papered wall.

OoOoOo

The following day was mostly uneventful for Margaret. She'd gone to school and heard all about Cara's "date" with Ross. According to Cara, he was a complete "gentleman", much to the blonde's disappointment, though she still clung onto hope. 

Now she stood in the kitchen with her Aunt and sister making dinner, continuously kneading some dough until her skinny arms began to burn. Hopefully, this batch of bread would last long enough for her to enjoy. Last time she made bread her siblings had eaten it all, not saving any for her. Upon hearing the door slam, she and her aunt stopped to glance over to the door.

"Holy Shit!" The girl exclaimed, witnessing her eldest brother who was bloody and beaten, being assisted by John into a wooden chair.

"Finn, go find Tommy and tell him what happened," Polly commanded. Like a shot, Finn was running out of the room, but not before Pol hurriedly added, "And tell him we need a shit ton of more alcohol!"

Polly then immediately began to gather gauze and rods of wood to make a splint, "Margaret, start heating up water, then cut this cloth up in stripes." Nodding at the directive, the girl began to do just that.

"The fuck happened?" Ada interrogated, arms crossing in front of her chest.

"Was told some of the men found him like this outside the cinema," John explained.

"Do you know who?" Maggie heard her sister continue as she put the kettle over the flame, but Arthur remained silent.

"I'd like to know as well," An aggravated Polly chimed in.

This time Arthur did speak. “That Belfast copper,” the mustached man spit out, "I'll discuss it more once Tom gets here."

They all fell into silence, the only noise coming from Maggie who pulled out a chair to sit next to her brother, and quietly began cutting the cloth Polly left for her on the table. "Do you think this is enough?" Maggie asked her aunt after she finished.

"Should be plenty, love," Pol told her, taking one of the strips to start mending his hand.

"John, wipe the blood out of his eye," Ada told the third eldest sibling who was just watching the ladies scrabble around as they tended to Arthur.

"Since when did you give orders?" John asked incredulously.

"I'm a trained nurse." The sister stated.

Though seeing as John wasn't budging Maggie rose from her seat and began to wipe the blood herself.

"Don't make me laugh. It hurts my face," Arthur joked as Polly bandaged him up. "You're a nurse like Mags here is a writer."

His comment caused more annoyance than Maggie cared to admit. With her index finger, she pressed onto a forming bruise on his cheek with great pressure, instigating a string of curses to come out of the eldest man's mouth.

"Oops," Maggie said insincerely. This caused Arthur to look to his aunt, wondering if any reprimanding would be given to the girl, but Polly just gave her brother a 'like you weren't asking for it' look.

 "I bloody am!" The older Shelby girl whined to John.

"You went to one first aid class in the church hall and got thrown out for giggling," John corrected her.

"Not before I learnt how to stop somebody from choking," she shot back.

"I'm not bloody choking, am I?" Arthur spoke gruffly.

"You will be when I wrap this cloth around your neck." She told him as she poured hot water from the kettle into the bowl.

"Let me see him." Tommy's voice was heard as he entered the kitchen. "Well, have this" Tommy passed the bottle of rum and Arthur took a swig. Grabbing a rag, he immediately got to work tending to his brother's face.

"He said Mr. Churchill sent him to Birmingham. 'National interest', he said. Something about a robbery." Arthur explained. "He said he wants us to help him"

"We don't help coppers," John said immediately, disgusted at the thought.

"He knew all about our war records. He said we're patriots like him. He wants us to be his eyes and ears. I said -" He paused a moment before continuing, "I said we'd have a family meeting and take a vote".

Everyone remained silent, and frankly, that was enough of an answer to the eldest. "Why not? We have no truck with Fenians or communist," Arthur said exasperated, before heatedly asking Tommy. "What's wrong with you?"

Tommy continued to stare back at him, before asking his aunt, "What the fuck is wrong with him lately?"

"If I knew I'd buy the cure from Compton's Chemist," Polly answered, staring at Tom who stared right back.

OoOoOo

Being alone at night was something Maggie had gotten used to now. The cries next door, however, that was something entirely different. Sighing to herself, she decided to give it another go. Once again, she rose from her bed, and ventured into the hallway. This time though she brought her journal with her. Not long she stood in front of her brother's door, allowing herself to open it. 

Again, in the candlelit room, she saw him lying in his bed staring at the ceiling, though she couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. "Still awake?" she asked.

"Can't seem to fall asleep," Tommy mumbled calmly. She took his stillness as permission to enter.

"Do you remember when I was a little girl and you used to read me books to make me fall asleep?" she asked, moving closer to the bed, "I used to love those voices you'd do for all the different characters from the picture books."

He nodded and he couldn't help the ghost of a smile while thinking of the memory. Unlike his other siblings, Maggie was the only one who would beg him to read to her. It was something they bonded over.

"If you want," she continued, motioning her hand to hold the journal up. "I can read you my story." Tommy was silent as he looked at the journal for a moment, before Maggie added, "I just thought maybe I could try to help you sleep like you did for me."

"Only if you do voices" he stressed jokingly, then shifted his body to make room for her on the small mattress.

"Remember," she squished next to him leaning her back against his bed frame. "This is a work in progress."

"I won't judge you too harshly" he replied, watching her open the journal that lay on her lap.

"Long ago when she was young, she believed that what she saw in her dreams could be a vision of what was to come. It was only now she understood that it was just an amalgamation of-"

"A what?" He interrupted.

"An amalgamation" she repeated. "Do you not know what an amalgamation means?"

"No, I do. Didn't think you did."

"Shut up. You're supposed to allow my words to lull you to sleep."

"Sorry, please continue"

"It was only now she understood that it was just an amalgamation of all her childhood aspirations, fears, and perhaps a little  too much whiskey. With this knowledge she found herself yearning for-"

By this point, Tommy had closed his eyes and was half-listening to the words his sister read from her journal. It wasn't half bad what she wrote. He reckoned by the time she was his age she'd actually make something of herself all with those stories in her head. Perhaps make a career out of it, possibly even get out of Small Heath. It was to be the start of a new decade, a new time, who knows what would happen? When he finally made it back from France, her face was the first face that caught his attention on the station platform. It shocked him. No more was the little girl he would read stories to, but in her place stood a smiling young woman. She had changed so much during the time he was gone.

Come to think of it, they'd all changed. Arthur was head of the family, in charge of the business, and had done a decent job of it. But that was before France, he was different now. He quickly noticed the change in his brother and how he couldn't think straight anymore. Arthur's personality became more explosive, as well as violent. John, well he had become more reckless, especially after a few drinks got into him, and since Martha's passing the drinking had only increased. 

As for him, well he was the one who had changed the most. He used to be carefree, joke and laugh, but now he was more solemn and even more protective of his family. Constantly worrying about how Arthur couldn't handle the business anymore, how John couldn't be alone anymore, and him? Well, he couldn't stand to see his family scrape and scrounge in the slums of Small Heath in order to survive any longer. No, not anymore. New copper sniffing about or not. No matter what Polly said, Tommy saw an opportunity with these guns. He wasn't about to turn it down. He just had to play it smart. As Maggie continued her reading, Tommy could feel himself slowly begin to drift out of consciousness and into a dreamless sleep.

[vannahfanfics]

What Heroes Do

Category: Action, Drama

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Eijirou Kirishima

Hello, everyone! I’m super excited to post my piece for the @kirishimabigbang​! I hope you all enjoy this action-packed piece about how Eijirou adjusts to life as a pro hero!

A low growl rumbled in Eijirou’s throat as sweat beaded on his flushed skin and his muscles ached with exertion. Even with his full body hardened, he could not escape the effects of the strain he was forced to endure at the moment. He struggled to keep his breathing steady, letting out little puffs of air before sucking fresh breaths in. Easy does it, Eijirou. Come on, body! Don’t quit on me now! he encouraged himself, his feet sliding a little across the concrete as he braced himself better. His biceps flexed powerfully as they strained to continue holding up the fire-engine-red automobile he currently had lifted up by its bumper. 

Whatever you do, you can’t drop this car! He thought as he clenched his teeth, his vermillion eyes flickering to the pair of legs sticking out from the underside of the car. Though Eijirou preached “mind over matter” to himself like a mantra, his body had reached its limit after holding up the automobile for a nearly hour-long operation. His arms began to quake, and the car squeaked a little as he dropped it a good six inches. He groaned loudly, hunching down into a squat and pushing his palms into the underside of the bumper so hard that his hardened skin scratched the paint. Just as he was about to warn that his strength was going to give out, the would-be mechanic pushed himself out from underneath the vehicle. 

“Phew! Thank ya, Red Riot. I can’t believe I forgot the jack at home. What a day to get an oil leak, eh?” The civilian laughed as he wiped oil off his brow, smudging the thick brown-black liquid across his forehead. Eijirou released a wheedling breath as he half-dropped, half-set the car back down on the ground. Using the trunk of the vehicle to support his weight, he took a minute to catch his breath, sucking in big gulps of air. He managed to find the strength to give the man a dismissive wave. 

“No… No problem…” he wheezed, deactivating his Quirk. He flinched at the all-too-familiar sensation of sweat sticking to his hot skin. “That’s what heroes are for, after all… No problem’s too small…” He smiled charmingly as he flicked his sweat-soaked bangs out of his face and looked up at the man. When the civilian opened the driver’s side door, ensuring that everything was in proper order, Eijirou muttered several curses under his breath and allowed the pain pulsing through his muscles to show through an agonized scowl. As soon as the man turned back, he painted that cheesy shark-toothed smile on his face. 

“I can’t thank you enough,” the man insisted, his face shining pink with both exertion and gratitude. “Is there anything I can do for you, sir? A coffee, perhaps, or some lunch?” 

Eijirou’s weary smile widened and he gave another nonchalant wave, finally finding the strength to straighten up to his full— and impressive— height. Clearly unnerved by Eijirou’s six-foot-something musclebound figure, the small civilian compulsively straightened as well, though his head probably only just barely brushed the underside of the hero's metal faceplate-bound chin. 

“No, that isn’t necessary. Just get home safe,” Eijirou replied with a laugh, falling into a lunge to work out his aching calf and thigh muscles. After a bit of stretching, the fierce burn in his body dwindled a bit, and he gave the man a jovial wave. “All right, I’m off. Watch that car of yours, okay?” He winked before whirling on his heel to trot down the sidewalk. The man called after him, though Eijirou didn’t hear what he said. 

As soon as he turned the corner into a deserted alleyway, he stopped to heave a sigh and plank against the grimy, damp wall. A muffled scream leaked out between his clenched teeth, and the iron of his face plate banged against the brick as he hit his forehead against the wall a few times. The frustration that had bubbled up inside his body dwindled as soon as it came, leaving him achy and blue. With lidded eyes, he gazed down at the fabric of his pants and his metal-plated shoes. 

“I never imagined I would be using my totally manly Quirk and costume to help guys fix holes in their oil tanks on the side of the road,” he grumbled, and a flush of guilt immediately followed. With another sigh, he flopped around so his back was now to the wall; the brick scraped his skin as he slowly sunk down into a crouch, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palms. 

He knew that he shouldn’t be complaining; he’d only graduated a short time ago, after all, so it made sense that he would be sent out to do the grunt work while the higher-ups tackled the big jobs. Nonetheless, Eijirou just couldn’t help but feel unfulfilled. The most exciting thing he’d seen in the several months since he’d joined the agency was a stick-up of a candy store because some thirteen-year-old with a very realistic water gun wanted to nick some chocolate bars without paying. He knew it was wrong of him to wish trouble on anyone, but he craved the adrenaline, the thrill of the chase and the takedown. Groaning, he tipped his head back to look up at the sky. The sun was sinking towards the horizon, meaning his shift would be ending soon. 

“So ends another day in paradise.” He smiled wanly before pushing himself to his feet and trudging down the path back towards the agency. 

His return was just as uneventful as the rest of his hero duty, so he soon found himself showered, changed, and on the bullet train home. He blinked sleepily as he clutched the silver handrail above his head. In his state of exhaustion, the gently rocking of the train car and the hum of conversation lulled him into drowsiness. His eyes drooped and he stifled a yawn with his free hand. I can’t wait to get in bed, he thought, smiling sleepily as he envisioned the embrace of his mattress and comforter. Just as his eyes shut and his body began to sway with the onset of sleep, the train lurched violently. 

“What the—?” His exclamation was drowned out by the startled screams of the other passengers. Eijirou expected to hear the screeching of the brakes echoing through the bullet train tunnel, but instead, he felt the train lurch the other way— it was speeding up? As his mind whirled with confusion, the overhead speaker system buzzed to life. 

“Attention passengers. This is not your captain speaking.” 

A confused and frightened hush descended over the train car. His instincts buzzing, Eijirou gripped the handle as he leaned forward, eyes narrowed as he trained his ears on the voice echoing down from the gray speaker just above the door. 

“You are now our hostages.” 

Another chorus of screams and gasps rippled across the crowd. Children looked to their mothers in fright, tears beading in their eyes as they began to bawl and cling to sleeves and skirts. Many of the stout men paled as nervous sweat appeared on their foreheads, and quite a few of them clasped the hands of their significant others to squeeze them painfully tight. An old woman seemed unbothered by the threat, continuing her sudoku puzzle as if it were just another evening train ride. 

“This train is now hurtling at rising speed. Inevitably, it will derail, causing catastrophic damage and countless casualties. Most, if not all, of you will perish in a maelstrom of steel and fire.” As more of the civilians began to openly weep, Eijirou felt his body flush hot with anger at the trainjacker’s mocking theatrics. The young hero also felt a cold rush of guilt follow, quenching the heat to turn his blood to ice. That selfish, selfish part of him had wished for something like this— and, even worse, he was enjoying it. His body sung with adrenaline, pumping through his veins to send every part of him on high-alert. He twitched incessantly, gripping the handlebar above his head and involuntarily activating his Quirk. Sparks rained down in his hair as his hardened skin scraped the metal. 

Hurry up and finish your speech already, jerk, so I can kick your ass! 

“What can you do? The answer is nothing. We have taken the train engineers hostage, and within each train car are several of my henchmen who are ready to deal with anyone who decides to get… rowdy. I advise you all to simply sit quietly and ponder whether the Japanese government considers your lives worth several hundred million yen.” With a cruel laugh, the villain cut off the speaker feed, leaving the train car deathly quiet. A few broken sobs and petulant whispers echoed in the metal box as the civilians looked around, wondering which of them could be the devils in disguise. 

Eijirou dropped his arms to roll his shoulders, craning his head to the left and right to crack his vertebrae. He bounced on his heels, grinning widely as he allowed the adrenaline to overtake him. There was no time to worry about his selfish wishes and the universe’s dramatic answer… Right now, there were people who needed saving. As he extended his back, groaning in satisfaction as his vertebrae popped, a large man in a beanie, gray sweater, black cargo pants, and combat boots rose from where he was sitting. The fabric of his hat brushed the top of the roof as he squinted at Eijirou, who straightened up with a smirk. 

“And what do you think you’re doing?” the stranger growled.

“Gettin’ rowdy,” the redhead replied cheerfully before socking the villain right in the jaw with a hardened fist. The man spun on his heel, his head snapping to the side with an audible crack. His jaw dangled uselessly as he stumbled in place in a daze before he crumpled to the floor, unconscious. It seemed he was the only villain stationed in this train car because no one rose to avenge him— or they simply were too frightened to bother after Eijirou had cold-cocked the hulking man without flinching. As shocked gasps, sobs of relief, and nervous reproach rippled through the train car, Eijirou rose his hands placatingly.

“It’s all right, everyone! I’m a pro hero!” he assured them with his signature shark-toothed grin. “Everything is going to be all right.” While a few of them sank into their seats in relief, most of them looked at the eighteen-year-old with doubt. Eijirou tried to hide the droop in his smile as he debated on what to do. The hostage negotiators were probably bickering with the villains, but there was no guarantee that they would succeed; worse, it could all be one big farce, and the psychopaths could have no intentions of letting anyone escape the train alive. The only sure-fire way to know what’s going on is to head to the front of the train! he decided. 

“Are you gonna go fight the bad guys?” a little boy piped up as Eijirou began moving toward the door adjoining the next car. Grinning, Eijirou spun around to give the child a thumbs-up. 

“That’s right! That’s what heroes do, after all!” 

The little boy sucked in an awed breath, his eyes blowing wide with admiration. Invigorated by the plucky lad, Eijirou’s chest swelled as he strutted confidently up to the door, pausing to peer through the window. Another lone man stood in the middle of the aisle, with a strange purple gas floating around them. All the passengers were slumped over in their seats or crumpled to the floor, apparently asleep. 

That’s one way to keep people from getting rowdy, Eijirou frowned, ripping off a large chunk of his tee shirt. A couple of high school girls sitting near him could barely suppress their squeals as the action revealed the chiseled planes of his abs, and he tossed them a wink before tying the fabric around the bottom half of his face. It wouldn’t prevent all of the strange mist from entering his system, but would hopefully buy him enough time to subdue the enemy and slip into the next train car. 

He carefully watched the man’s movements until he inevitably turned his back. Sucking in a breath, Eijirou swung the car door open and bum-rushed the man, charging down the aisle like a linebacker. By the time the villain had turned around, Eijirou was driving his hardened elbow right into his solar plexus. The man wheezed, eyes rolling into the back of his head and spittle flying from his mouth as the breath was knocked from his body. He flew backward, slamming into the door with his head colliding with the glass window. As it shattered around the crown of his scalp, he crumpled, bleeding and unconscious. 

The noise attracted the attention of the occupants of the next car, including the villain’s lackeys; Eijirou wasted no time, careening down the aisle and throwing the next door open. He vaulted over the unconscious man to land in the middle of the aisle, grabbing the two startled men by their heads to knock them together. As they reeled, eyes rolling, Eijirou shoved one to the ground to punch the other in the face. The villain howled as blood spurted from his nose— so Eijirou punched him until he stopped howling and flopped back, only held up by Eijirou’s grip on his shirt. 

When Eijirou dropped the villain to look down at the other, who was still lying on the floor, the man slowly raised his arms in surrender. 

“Look, man, they just told me I was gonna get paid.” 

“I advise looking into a new career field,” Eijirou snorted and gave him a stern point. “Don’t make me come back here.” The man nodded vigorously at the warning, so Eijirou decided to let him be, stomping off down the aisle to the next door. He paused as the windows, which had previously shown the dark gray-black walls of the tunnel they were traveling through, suddenly blared with bright light. The picturesque countryside now stretched on before him, but he could barely enjoy it as the scenery was nothing but smudged green. The train was already precariously hurtling, gaining speed with every passing second and inching closer to fiery catastrophe. 

“Damn lunatics,” he grumbled as he opened the door. 

For a group capable of successfully hijacking a bullet train, Eijirou found their manpower sorely lacking. He proceeded from one train car to the next with little difficulty, either dispatching his enemies or frightening them into submission with his raw displays of power. He’d reached the front one-third of the passenger train before the loudspeaker screeched to life again, and he paused in the middle of pummeling another lackey to listen. 

“It has come to my attention that we have a young pro hero on board. My apologies for not addressing you sooner; I don’t know of many pro heroes so poor that they have to take public transportation.” 

Eijirou scowled at the blatant insult, unconsciously wrapping his hand tighter around the villain’s throat. He was oblivious to the man’s squirms and whimpers, too honed in on the calm and sadistic voice bleeding from the speaker above his head. 

“It seems you are hell-bent on making it to the front of this train. I admire your grit, so I have pulled all of my underlings into the engineers’ room in the car attached to the control room. If you manage to fight your way through my entire group of henchmen, then I suppose you’ve earned the right to challenge the final boss, little hero. Good luck.” 

As the speaker cut off, Eijirou released the villain, who sunk to the ground and gulped down greedy breaths. Smirking and tugging down the strip of tee-shirt he still had tied around his slightly sweaty face, the young hero grinned defiantly. 

“All right then, asshole. Challenge accepted.” 

As promised, there were no villains occupying the anterior cars of the train. Eijirou still skulked through them suspiciously, his red eyes searching the sea of passengers in case one of them was a villain in disguise looking to get the jump on him. His keen gaze saw no hostility, only fear, anxiety, and— when they clapped eyes on the unassuming hero— hope. Their expressions of trust and adoration filled Eijirou with vigor, prompting him to increase his stride and head toward the engineer’s car with as much speed as he could manage without exhausting himself. As he reached the final car— at least, what he thought to be as he noticed the lights were off in the next one— he paused as he realized something. 

I’ve seen that expression countless times before. And it wasn’t just in crises like this— he’d seen it on the man’s face when he walked up to his car pulled up on the side of the road today. He’d seen it on a little girl’s face last week when he helped her find her lost cat. He’d seen it on an old woman’s face, too, when he helped her bring her groceries to her car across the entire supermarket parking lot. Hope, relief, trust… These were emotions he saw every single day as humble citizens looked to him to serve all their needs, big or small. 

Smiling ruefully, Eijirou leaned his forehead against the door. I’ve been a big, fat idiot, haven’t I? All this time I’ve been too caught up in the glory that I totally forgot what matters… How unmanly. Taking a moment for the epiphany to sink in, he closed his eyes, feeling the way his muscles were humming and his blood vessels were singing with epinephrine. Sure, the high was nice, but… He also really wished he could be in his bed, enjoying a cup of something warm to drink while he watched the news report on some mundane event from the day. Right now, the populace was probably glued to the screens watching the train hijacking unfold in real-time. 

From this moment on, Eijirou was going to wish that every day was as boring as it possibly could be— because boredom meant peace, and peace meant security for the most vulnerable, the most in need of saving. 

And the only way to restore peace is to give this jerk and his lackeys a good old-fashioned Red Riot walloping! Eijirou grinned devilishly, stepping back and throwing the door open. In the gloom of the engineer’s car, which only housed modest wall-mounted cots, a mini-fridge, and some other odds and ends, about a dozen and a half plainclothes bozos turned their gaze upon him. 

“All right, then. Who’s first?” Eijirou chirped. 

They all sprang at him. 

“Hey, hey, hey, that’s not fair!” the redhead cried, ducking a swing and delivering a blow to an assailant. Eijirou grimaced at the familiar thunk of Kevlar against his fist; so, this lot was a bit more prepared than the goons occupying the latter portion of the train. Grunting, Eijirou danced around another grunt who lashed out at him, her fingernails morphed into wicked-sharp, several-inch-long claws. He hopped up onto a cot and grabbed the curtain railing attached to the ceiling, pulling himself up to kick out both his legs. His boots plowed into the middle of two of the lackey’s faces, sending them stumbling back into the crowd. Another five surged forward to take their place. 

“Man, this is a lot more exhausting than in the action movies!” Eijirou puffed as he dropped down onto the cloth to avoid the onslaught of quills a porcupine-like Quirk user had shot at him. He yanked one out of the wall to jab another in the nose, making him yowl and whip his head around. The lackeys all gave a wide berth to avoid being poked, allowing Eijirou to wrench the minifridge out of the wall and heft it over his head. 

“Snack time!” he grinned before chucking it. It beamed one guy in the chest before bouncing off and crashing on another’s foot. As the first lackey collapsed against one of the beds, holding his likely cracked ribs, the other howled in pain and pushed the minifridge off his foot so he could cradle it, bouncing around in a circle on the other. All it took was an accidental shove for him to trip over his compatriot and bang his head against a pole, knocking him out cold. 

All of the villains looked at him, then at Eijirou, who ran a hand through his sweat-slicked hair and made a “come on” gesture. 

“I ain’t got all day, ya know!” he challenged. 

“Do you think we’re getting paid enough to deal with this?” one of the grunts huffed, making Eijirou rear back in surprise. A ripple of unease traveled through the small group before another, a short blond-haired youth who looked like he wasn’t even out of high school, dropped the crowbar he had been wielding. 

“Come to think of it, did he ever tell you guys how much he was gonna pay us?” The young man frowned. Another ripple of mutters and grumbles went around before a few of them tentatively shook their heads. In utter disbelief, Eijirou couldn’t help but speak up. 

“Wait, wait, wait— you guys hijacked a train for this guy even though you had no idea how much you were getting paid?” he blurted, mouth falling open. 

“We didn’t even know we were hijacking the train until we were on the train! He just told us he needed some grunts for a job!” one of the men complained, kicking the floor with the toe of his boot. “Man, I just wanted some cash to buy my daughter a nice birthday present…” 

“I wanted to buy my lady some flowers,” another sighed wistfully, “and maybe one of those big giant teddy bears that are super squishy and soft…” 

Eijirou reeled in confusion, reeling from the whiplash effect of the sudden development. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he held up his hand as if he could stop time to allow him to process what the hell was happening. 

“Look, you guys… Whatever your motives are, you do realize that, if this train doesn’t stop, as soon as we hit a curve in the tracks it’ll derail, and there won’t be any cash because everyone will be dead or dying?” He sighed, cracking an eye open to see them gaping uncomprehendingly at him. 

“But… The boss won’t let that happen, right? He just wants the ransom.” 

“Are you sure about that? Have any of you seen him on a phone call? Hell, you don’t even know what he’s promising you, so it sounds kind of fishy to me.” 

“The beefcake has a point.” A young woman frowned, rubbing her chin. 

“Are ya telling me we’ve been conned?!” another man growled, stamping his foot with steam blowing out of his nose as his face reddened darkly. Probably, if this guy could talk you simpletons into hijacking a train without promising a solid figure of money, Eijirou thought, but he held his tongue; he was winning the villains over, after all, so he didn’t need to go and piss them off. They were beginning to dissolve into a mutinous uproar, yelling and shouting and fuming. 

“All right, all right,” Eijirou shouted over the din, waving his hands in a placating gesture. “Let’s not get all bent out of shape, now.” He looked nervously to the door leading to the adjacent car, worried their superior heard the outburst. When no one came through, he continued in a quiet voice, “I’m sure none of you really want to be involved in a mass murder— right?” Staring owlishly at him, all of them feverishly shook their heads. Thank goodness, Eijirou thought with an inward groan, keeping the saccharine smile on his face. “So, I’ll cut you all a deal. If you let me pass to deal with this guy, I’ll downplay your involvement to the authorities. We can get you set up real nice— rehab programs, halfway houses, you know, ways to make your life better, yeah? How’s that sound?” 

The crowd of grunts looked at one another uncertainly, then back at Eijirou, who was smiling so hard in his attempt to seem genuine and helpful that his facial muscles ached. He wasn’t lying anyway, but it was critical that he won them over, because he really was wasting time. Out of the corners of his eyes, he watched the landscape shooting by beyond the windows; the gray smudges against the horizon were probably mountains, which meant the tracks were going to begin to curve. Hitting them at this speed would be disastrous, so Eijirou had to stop the runaway train as soon as possible. 

He breathed a small sigh of relief as the lackeys parted, giving him a wide berth to the door. 

“Thank you, guys. You’re doing the right thing,” he encouraged brightly, patting them on the shoulders as he passed. A few of them blushed and shuffled their feet shyly; it made Eijirou burn with anger, the knowledge that someone manipulated downtrodden souls for such nefarious ends. As he got to the door, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, loosening up his body for the final fight. He sucked in a breath, then pulled the door to the control room open. 

He found a man in khaki slacks, a white button-up, polished shoes, and wire-rimmed glasses holding a gun to the train engineer’s head. 

“Well, well,” the man quipped and used his free hand to push his glasses up his nose, “I didn’t realize I was being besieged by an upstart.” 

“Who are you callin’ an upstart?!” 

“My, what a brute you are. There’s no need to yell.” 

“I’m yellin’ ‘cuz you hijacked a train!” Eijirou fumed, a vein bulging in his forehead. The man rolled his eyes as if Eijirou’s ire was completely unwarranted, casually flicking his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Whatever! Slow down this train, right now!” he ordered, taking a step towards him. The man immediately pointed his gun at him, making him freeze in his tracks. He knew his Quirk would reflect the bullet, but in these close quarters, there was no guarantee the ricochet wouldn’t kill the hostage, or the villain, for that matter. 

“No, that won’t do. You see, I absolutely need this train to derail.” 

Eijirou looked at him dumbfoundedly. 

“You mean… You have no intentions of stopping? You want to kill everyone on board?” 

“Yes, precisely,” the man said disinterestedly. Eijirou blinked as his head swam, struggling to process the ludicrous notion. “I can see you’re having difficulty comprehending why someone would want to cold-bloodedly end the lives of hundreds of men, women, and children, so I’ll spell it out for you, so you can have some closure before you perish.” The man smiled like he was doing Eijirou a favor. A chill traveled down the redhead’s spine; even though he’d fought monsters like the League of Villains, he’d never seen such open malice. 

This guy was a true sociopath. 

“You see, I’m just a humble office worker,” the man said, flourishing his arm as he continued to point the pistol at Eijirou; he kept his peripheral vision on the engineer, a silent warning not to tamper with the controls under any circumstances. “I grew up with a loving mother and father, the middle child of three. I went to an average high school, had average grades, went to an average college and graduated with an average degree, and got an average-paying desk job. By all respects, I suppose you could call me more successful than some.” He shrugged, his tone betraying the fact he didn’t believe his words at all. 

“That’s just it. My life is so average that it’s unfulfilling. I have no special talents or interests. I’m too plain for anyone to notice; I’m passed over for promotions, and I don’t catch girls’ attention. Do you realize how infuriating it is to see everyone parading how special and unique they are? Everyone is always talking about the need to fit in, yet, when you fit in too well, you don’t fit in at all.” 

“I won’t be remembered when I die— at least, not living the life I have. But you know what people always remember? Tragedies, catastrophes, major accidents. You know who people remember? Great minds, villains of heinous proportions. So you see, young hero, I will be remembered now. They’re going to remember me as the mastermind who hijacked this train and led its occupants to a fiery death,” he said as a sickeningly elated grin spread across his face and his eyes lit with twisted pride. 

“You’re vile,” Eijirou breathed, shaking his head with a completely amazed expression.

“Perhaps, but they remember vile people, too.” The man shrugged and pulled the trigger. 

Eijirou managed to harden his chest just in time. The bullet bounced off his rock-hard skin, and he dove for the engineer on instinct, smooshing him against the control panel. The small compartment rang with a series of dings as the bullet bounced off the metal walls, and then the gun-wielding man let out pained yelp. Eijirou glanced down to see him curled up on the ground, clutching his thigh as it bled profusely and stained his pressed slacks a dark burgundy.

Eijirou kicked the gun away, sending it skittering to the far side of the room, before planting his foot on the office worker’s back. 

“Stay down, if you know what’s good for you,” he snarled before pulling himself off the engineer. The train worker shook his head, a little dazed, before fluttering his hands over the controls. 

“No! I won’t let you!” the villain screeched. His burst of fury and adrenaline allowed him to temporarily overpower Eijirou. He lunged up and grabbed the lever controlling the train’s speed, bending it at an odd angle and snapping it in half. Eijirou shoved him to the ground and wrenched his hand behind his back, but it was too late. 

“Oh no! It’s jammed!” the train manager wailed, wrenching on the small stub of lever still remaining; in his effort, his hand slipped, and the jagged metal sliced open his palm. Red blood splashed across the controls as he curled in on himself, whimpering. Eijirou stepped off the villain, who was cackling maniacally, to rush to the window; he could see the curve leading into the mountains fast approaching. “We can’t stop the train now… He tore out the wires for the emergency brake system as well!” the train engineer lamented, pointing at a busted panel in the control bench with wires sticking out of it. 

“Can you rewire it?” Eijirou asked as he looked back, eyebrows cinched with concern as his mind whirled. When the man shook his head, his heart plummeted and a sense of doom began to fill his belly. 

“I can.” 

Eijirou whirled around with a gasp to see the young blond-haired villain from earlier sauntering in, crowbar resting on his shoulder. The office worker, now pale from blood loss as it continued to leak out of his leg, looked at his former lackey in betrayal. “I’ve been hotwiring cars since I was eleven.” The youth grinned, thumbing the underside of his nose. “I should be able to get it working again, no problem.” 

“Even if you manage to get it working, if we don’t have enough track between us and the curve and still hit it too fast, we’re doomed! The train is traveling upwards of 250 miles an hour right now!” the engineer cried as the boy squatted down and began fiddling with the wires. 

“We just need to slow it down enough for me to get in front of it!” Eijirou said, watching the young man play with the wires. His deft fingers carefully entwined them back together, sparks jumping near the pads of his fingers. “If we can slow it down, I can use my Quirk and—”

“Got it!” the young boy cried, and the engineer immediately slammed down on a large blue button on the control panel. Eijirou looked up as a digital screen lit up, displaying a green schematic of the train deploying air resistance panels on its roof. The train immediately jerked back as the wind slammed against the large metal panels, and Eijirou saw the speedometer jump down below two hundred miles per hour. 

“It’s working!” the engineer declared in glee. Eijirou planted his foot on the office worker’s back as he began to squirm. 

“My Quirk allows me to harden my body. How slow does the train need to be going to make sure I don’t get squashed trying to push it to a stop?” 

“I-I’m not sure, but, I would say at least under one hundred and fifty miles an hour, but that’s still incredibly fast—” the engineer muttered uncertainly, scratching his head. Eijirou ignored his apprehension, red eyes glued to the speedometer. As soon as the twitching dial reached the “150” marker, Eijirou whipped around to yank open the control car window. 

The wind immediately rushed in, snatching at their clothes and hair. Eijirou stuck out his head, squinting as the fierce gale blasted into his face; through the tears welling up in his stinging eyes, he managed to make out the fast-approaching bend in the tracks as they snaked into the mountain range. Come on, Ei! You can do this! You have to slow the train! He encouraged himself, sucking in a breath and bouncing on his heels to psych himself up. Even with his Quirk, it was still pretty terrifying to be climbing on the front of a speeding bullet train. After a few seconds, he hauled himself up to sit in the window before he could change his mind. 

“All right. Easy does it,” he grunted, kicking off his shoes and socks before hardening his fingers and toes into jagged, sharp edges. He reached up to dig his fingers into the metal side of the train; the smooth steel crunched under his grip, allowing him to get purchase on the otherwise sleek vehicle. After ensuring that both his hands wouldn’t slip with a few vigorous tugs, he swung his legs out the window. He yelped as the wind snatched at them, leaving him desperately kicking against the train until he managed to drive his hardened feet into the metal. He took a minute to collect himself, sweat dripping down his face, before slowly inching around to the front of the train. 

Soon enough he was splayed out on the curved front of the train, with the wind blasting against him as he wondered how things could have possibly turned out this way. He sucked in a few breaths as the anxiety threatened to take over, using the cool wind to slow the nervous sweat blooming on his skin. It’s all good, Ei, he told himself with a weak smile as he hardened his entire body, the ridges of his skin bulging against his clothes. You just gotta drop down and slow the train. It’s fine. It’s cool. It’ll be one of those super-manly action scenes you see in the movies! You can tell everyone all about it! It’ll make a great story! Now, get… down… there!

Before he could stop himself, he slid down the front of the train. He caught himself at the last minute by slamming his hands into the metal, wincing at the heat bleeding out from the overheated engine. His feet slammed down into the wooden slats of the tracks and into the fresh earth beneath; the wood splintered immediately as Eijirou’s legs plowed through them, leaving bits of wood and scours in the earth in his wake. 

A keening groan slipped through his clenched teeth as his entire body jarred, rattling his bones and shaking his brain around in his skull. Still, he held fast, throwing his weight against the train and digging in his feet until bits of earth and wood were flying around his calves. The massive vehicle groaned and whined at the assault, but Eijirou could hear the wheels squealing as they slowed. It’s working! He thought, relief making him almost euphoric— or, perhaps, it was his brain turning to jelly from behind knocked around in his cranium. 

Above the squealing train, the buffeting wind, and the snapping wood, Eijirou thought he heard the whirling of helicopter blades. Sure enough, when he glanced out of the corners of his eyes, he saw the ovoid black form in his peripherals, keeping speed with the front of the train. It then reared up, coming over the top of the train, and Eijirou craned his head back as a lithe, blonde figure hopped down onto the roof. 

“Hey, kiddo! Need a hand?” Mt. Lady winked at him. Eijirou couldn’t manage a response with how violently his body was shaking, but the pro hero wasn’t seeking one. As she grew to her gargantuan size, she slid off the side of the train to plant her feet down on the earth and wrap her arms around the vehicle. As she slid, she uprooted trees and bushes as her feet dug great trenches into the ground. Eijirou cried out as the train gave a mighty jerk backward, slowing ten or twenty miles per hour already. With Mt. Lady’s help, it didn’t take long for the train to smoothly glide to a stop, just a few yards from the bend in the curve leading into the mountains. 

Eijirou slid bonelessly to a heap, trembling as his muscles burned from the strain. After shrinking down to her normal size, Mt. Lady rounded the front of the train to see him lying in a crumpled mess, panting heavily and shining with sweat. “You all right, kid?” she smiled down at him, hands planted on her hips. He gave a half-hearted flop of his hand in answer, making her chuckle. “You did a good job holding your own while we were on our way. The helicopter couldn’t match the speed of the train. If you hadn’t slowed it down for us, who knows what would have happened!” she said as she squatted down beside him. 

Eijirou rolled his head to the side as he heard more helicopter blades and crunching tires. The bullet train was now surrounded by an entire fleet of personnel— military vehicles and soldiers, police officers and pro heroes, government officials. Although his entire body felt like a melted pile of goop, Eijirou forced himself to roll over and half-stumble, half walk around the front of the train. 

“Hey, hey, wait!” he called hoarsely as they were unloading handcuffed villains from the engineer car. “Not those guys. Those guys are good.” 

“What?” the officer asked with a look of bewilderment. Several other higher-ranking officials came to listen while Eijirou explained. Thankfully, there wasn’t too much argument; the Hero Commission representatives agreed to uphold Eijirou’s promise, and led them away uncuffed to hopefully a better future. The blond-haired kid threw him a wink and a thumbs up as he was paraded by. 

“Phew! I’m tired,” Eijirou groaned as he flopped against the train. He cracked an eye open as the mastermind of the entire operation was wheeled out on a stretcher, stoically blank-faced. When he caught Eijirou’s eye, however, he grinned widely. 

“They’ll remember me still, won’t they?” 

Eijirou stared at him a second, then looked down the train, where the rattled passengers were being led to safety by the first responders. They probably would remember, but Eijirou didn’t want to give the sicko the satisfaction. 

“Nope,” he quipped, looking back at him with a stony expression. “In time, all bad things are replaced by good things instead. You’ll be nothing but an afterthought.” 

The man stared at him incredulously for a minute, mouth hanging open. Then, with a screech, he started bucking up against the leather restraints holding him down to the stretcher. The EMTs wordlessly wheeled him to the ambulance, giving no heed to his deranged ramblings. Sighing, Eijirou slumped back against the train, leaning his head and enjoying the way the metal cooled his sweaty, heated skin. He found himself drifting into a light doze, exhausted from all the chaos of the train ride. 

He imagined the embrace of soft sheets, a warm comforter, and a fluffy pillow, making him smile dreamily. There was nothing like crawling into bed after a day like this. But… I’d much rather crawl in bed after a peaceful day, he thought drowsily, peeking at the crowd of civilians who’d had to endure the fruits of his selfish beseech to the heavens. When they crawled into bed tonight, would their sleep be plagued by nightmares? Would they have to hold their loved ones close to feel safe? 

Indeed, Eijirou had been remiss in wishing for something exciting, but that was okay. He’d make up for it by being the best hero he could be. He’d put his all into every task at hand—whether it be rescuing a cat from a tree or preventing catastrophic destruction—because, regardless, that meant saving the day for somebody. He would attend to everyone in need, no matter if that need was big or small, because that’s what heroes do. 

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[lizacstuff]

Can’t wait to read you thoughts on this episode. Eda and Serkan are getting engaged! ngl seeing the rings did something to me, I haven’t recovered yet.

I KNOW!!!!! I missed the rings so much. When folks were upset during the filming of 20 when it became apparent he wasn't wearing the ring anymore, I remember saying that they have to take them off so they can put them back on for real, and it will be oh so sweet when they do. Flashforward six weeks and YES!!!! Just seeing those rings again is sweet we're going to die when they actually slip them on during the next episode. I'm not attached to any of my own jewelry the way I'm attached to their rings, lmao.

As a whole this episode was very enjoyable for me.  The new writers clearly realized they needed a mood change after episode 25, and I was thrilled to see the show return to its roots. The tone felt more like the first batch of episodes than any in recent memory. What a relief. Also I've said prior to this that I suspected that where we would feel Ayse's absence was in the humor and lack of sparkle.  Well I thought this episode had plenty of both, so I stand corrected. The first Edser scene with Serkan gliding by Eda without saying a word and then having his trusty sidekick Leyla keep an eye on what they were doing outside set the light comedic tone and put everything on the right footing from the get go. 

More later on Edser, let's start with all the nonsense they use to fill the rest of the 2+ hours. 

(continue under the read more)

What in the frack is Babaanne's endgame?  Does she have one?  Is it to take revenge on Serkan? To get Eda back in her orbit? Or just to cause chaos? Or is she testing them? Not sure. 

I enjoyed the scene between mom and son, Aydan and Serkan's relationship has really become one of the best on the show, certainly better than recent Eda/Ayfer.  Which is interesting, because in the pilot they established that while Serkan may be rich with material things, he was lacking in love and emotional familial support, while Eda was poor in regards to material things, but was surrounded by love in the form of her family/friends. Though perhaps one of the greatest gifts Eda's given Serkan is an improved relationship with his mother, and the impetus to distance himself from his unloving father. While Serkan has inspired her growing independence from her aunt. 

Speaking of them, let's move on to Aydan and Ayfer. PLEASE MADE THIS CHEF NONSENSE END! Good grief. I really don't enjoy watching these two ladies making total asses of themselves over this douche. Both of them trying to catch him on his jog and then going along with his aikido nonsense. It feels like he's just playing with them for his own amusement. Both deserve better and I don't even like Ayfer. Also if my boss gave me a single red rose for being employee of the month, I'd find that both creepy and hella disappointing (crash prizes please.) 

Meanwhile Ayfer is still testing my last nerve. When Aydan and Seyfi show up and inform her that they've found out that Serkan and Eda broke up and she responds with, "Were they even together to break up?" I wanted to slap her upside the head. Whatever official relationship status Eda and Serkan have, they have been connected and in a romantic relationship this entire time. The bit of time jump at the start of 15 before she goes back to work for Efe, is really the only section of time since they've met where they weren't in a relationship. And while Eda isn't all that forthcoming with Ayfer when it comes to Serkan, she hasn't really hidden it well. It was at Ayfer's birthday when they were on the ice together being very romantic, Ayfer was at Aydan's 70s party and could very well see Eda and Serkan attached at the hip all night and wound around one another intimately slow dancing, Ayfer knows Eda spent the night at Serkan's when she left because of Babaanne, Ayfer was at the NY party and saw them together there. Not to mention Ayfer knows Serkan saved her business and why, she knows Serkan was still wearing his ring, and she knows Eda looked completely shattered over leaving Serkan as Ayfer heartlessly reacted with glee in the last episode. 

So asking "were they even together" just completely diminishes what Eda is currently going through, as if parting with him is no big deal because there was nothing there to begin with, when she knows better. When she's seen it with her own two eyes. Seriously.. fuck her. Every other character who is a friend of Eda and Serkan all know that they're a unit. I don't even feel bad that she came to ArtLife to beg for Eda's company, but Eda ended up blowing her off. Surprising Serkan with a proposal was a much better use of her time.

Engin and Piril, yeeesh, I feel for Piril, trying to put off this meeting. I'm sure she's thinking it's for Engin's own good, but her flipping into total bitch mode when they're newlyweds... not great. Not an auspicious start to the marriage. Even if she wants to keep Engin away from her father, she ought to confide in Engin and tell him why she's freaked. I'm assuming we'll get more of that in the next episode since Engin is looking rough in those promo stills. 

My favorite side plot was probably Grandog's henchman's (what is his name?) crush on Melo. Melo deserves to be crushed on, and I love that she is so uninterested that she doesn't see it.  Much more fun to have him chasing her, and her being oblivious. Poor Leyla, trying in vain to get his attention when he only has eyes for Melo. Enjoyed that Melo and Leyla made the agreement that Melo would help Leyla get the dude and Leyla would help get rid of Erdem. I'm looking forward to see where this goes. 

Ceren and Ferit... were there too. 

Now onto the A story (and let's be real the only one that matters) Eda and Serkan. Obviously 25 left us off in a very sad, heartbroken place. I'm not sure what decisions were made, when or why, but at some point TPTB decided they needed to get back to their roots and thank goodness. Episode 25 was just so dark, Eda was miserable the entire episode, as was Serkan, and that's not fun to watch for 2 hours. The way they handled them here is much better. 

I know some feel the tone shift was too much. To that I would say, it was so dark in ep 25, I'm happy to do a 180, no matter the reason, to get back to a place where watching is fun, and also I think of the breakup as Eda throwing the breaks on a runaway train and once she did, and she was sure the train was stopped at least for the time being, then she could take a moment, reassess the situation and potentially decide it wasn’t as dire as she thought. In the last episode, every moment Eda delayed giving that old bitty what she wanted, something catastrophic befell Serkan, his business, or his family. The pressure mounted, the stakes were high and in the end she had to do whatever was necessary to stop Babaanne's assault on Serkan. 

This episode we saw her catch her breath and then formulate a plan. I think a tone shift fits with that. Of course she feels lighter knowing that even though she hurt Serkan, he's protected for the moment. Now that that's taken care of, she's ready for next steps. So it works that the next morning we see her telling Melo and Ceren that she's not going to give up Serkan, and outlining her plan around getting close to Babaanne in order to get something on her. Good girl!  

As I said above, I just adored that first scene outside ArtLife. The girls gathered around, trying to warn Eda that Serkan was coming, and then his walk by where he KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING when he got right up in Eda's business without even looking at her.  He knows what makes her weak in the knees. And I love that Serkan decided to play it like this. HE KNOWS. He knows she loves him, he knows there's more to the breakup, and he knows how to deal with it. Drive her crazy until she cracks and tells him everything. OR drive her crazy until they end in a passionate, possessive sex explosion. One or the other.  

Quick poll, who didn't love watching Serkan take back the reigns of his company? This gal did. YAAAAAAAAAAASSSSS. Alpha Serkan is back. Kick the old bag's throne to the curb. Kick the old bag's creepy client to the curb. Now we just have to kick the old bag and her deranged, obsessed sidekick to the curb as well.  But for now, I loved seeing him at the end of the table, making decisions, not brooking opposition. The team squabbling over his decision, but he just sits back, unbothered. Total power move. I appreciate Ferit questioning the decision, questioning it is the right thing to do in his position, but he may have gotten a little too pissy about it. Dude, this entire company IS Serkan. The success of the company is due to his talent, his vision, his business acumen. I get they're all worried he's making a decision because of Eda, but he's got a proven track record of, you know, being right, so there's no reason to get shirty. If Serkan doesn't want to work with someone, his instinct is probably on target.

Eda getting Babaanne to stand down warmed me from the inside out. I find it interesting that she used the argument that they were pushing him too hard and he didn't deserve it, and Babaanne bought it. For one I think Eda was worried Serkan was going to snap and do something that might start Babs' Bolat revenge cycle again. For two, she just wants the love of her life to win and be calm. However, if anyone in that room didn't catch onto what happened there, that Eda and BigB leave and then come back a minute later and BigB has done a 180, I question their competence. *cough* Ferit *cough* He's just not the sharpest tool in the shed. However, obviously, Serkan knew. 

On another note, they've gotten pretty murky with the line between ArtLife and the holding.  Babaanne has 45% of the Holding, not ArtLife. Ferit has 5% of the holding, not ArtLife. So which company was working with the Prince?  Since it was a project to design a house, seems like that should be ArtLife? But Babs and Ferit seemed to think they had a vote which they shouldn't if it's ArtLife.  Who knows... whatever. 

Have you ever seen anything cuter than Eda in her coat and boots and protective helmet, leaning over, clutching her chest, exhausted after climbing all those stairs?  I mean she's an adorable bean just bent over and huffing and puffing, but the fact that she just climbed up goodness knows how many flights of stairs (judging by that view, an impossible number, but we'll allow it) just to see Serkan?  We giggle at her excuse that she did that because he gave her too much work. Eda, he's not going to buy that, luckily none of us want him to buy it. These two, they can't stay away from each other. Ever. She was also probably worried after the foreman told her he'd been up there for hours. Again, I think she's concerned that she's pushed him too far. So now she's in Serkan's shoes after the first breakup. Navigating that push pull of wanting to be with him, but sticking to the decision to end it for his sake. 

It's nice to see that her claustrophobia was not "cured" after going up in the elevator with Serkan one-time. On her own, she's still not able to face it. I'm sure she could do it again with him, but there's more work to be done before she can face it without him. 

Serkan was surprisingly vulnerable in both his conversation with Engin and with Eda on the top of that skyscraper. Even just telling Engin he was too out of sorts to join him for lunch, tells us that while he knows what he's doing, he knows there's more to the story, but he's still hurting and unsettled after the breakup. Then, "I create to make people happy, but I myself can't be happy. It's strange." Oh Serkan. I think you ripped my heart out with that... Eda's too. 

Eda was so discombobulated by Serkan's attitude. Whatever she expected from him, his acceptance of the break up, wasn't it. His proposal that they be "friends" threw her and she looked so distressed when he said, "Everyone will live their own life." Alarm bells started going off for her, much as they did for him at the top of ep 19 when Eda said she was going to start living her life. She did NOT like the idea of Serkan Bolat out there living a life that didn't include her, lmao. 

It's crazy to me that Eda has a friend like Fifi, who probably breaks and enters for a living, and yet she chooses Melo for a clandestine operation. Come on, Eda, you got to choose the right person for the job, lmao. I also question Eda's choice of cat burglar wardrobe. Seemed a bit... restricting and flashy. Though her skin-tight, snakeskin breaking-and-entering dress and fashionable trespassing boots did make it easier to transition to fine dining and driving your man towards rambunctious breakup/makeup/jealousy sex.  Not much to say about the restaurant scenes. The prince is creepy af, and was that the most awkward dance.... ever? The looks back and forth between Edser were excellent, so much tension and longing and jealousy. But boy is it hard to watch a scene with Balca in it, ugh she makes my skin crawl and I don’t even like looking at her. Also the deliberate way the actress has chosen to speak is irritating. Anyway, we now know Balca is pretty much capable of anything, if she’s capable of essentially poisoning the man she thinks she loves. Yikes. Did Nana realize that Balca poisoned him? I have to believe she did, because him being sick seemed part of the plan. THEY'RE ALL FULL EVIL!!! .

One thing I don't believe is that Eda Yildiz would ever walk out of that restaurant with Serkan looking that bad. No way she leaves him to Balca's care, or anyone else's for that matter. Nope, regardless of who was watching she would have insisted on taking him to the doctor herself.  But I get they were setting up the plot, so they sacrificed that bit. 

These villains are really bad at driving a wedge between two people who love each other. AngryGran is all like, "I know a foolproof plan, let's put them in the same room and get 'em all riled up with jealousy, then make Serkan sick so Eda's worried, then I'll convince her to go check on him and let's see what happens!" LMAO. Cheers to you, dumbasses, you brought us a whole heaping plate full of S.E.X. They were really banking that Eda was going to fly off the handle and think that Serkan went from an allergic reaction to sexing up the new obsessed employee very quickly. It's great that they all underestimate Eda and Serkan's relationship and connection, that should continue to help Edser as long as these fools continue to meddle. 

Eda was, wait for it, LEGENDARY, in her smackdown of Balca. QUEEEEEEEN. I'll never be over the, "You can only be with a statue of Serkan, darling." BWAHAHAHAHA. Yes! Throw her creepy, inappropriate present back in her face. And Balca's gall asking Eda to leave and then continually lecture Eda that they'd broken up. That takes either big cajones or huge helpings of delusion, because Balca has very little information when it comes to their relationship, yet she's playing her hand like she knows it all and like she doesn't care what gets back to Serkan. However, got to hand it to Balca for keeping her composure once Eda saw through her little staged production, because her story was painfully weak. Let's say for real that you're at your boss's house, the boss is sick so you're hanging around downstairs by yourself just to make sure everything is okay. What's the problem with just... you know... wearing your outfit with a coffee stain?  Unless you had a massive big gulp sized coffee and poured it over your head, why even change? Don't you just... live with the stain? It's not like you're making a presentation to the board of directors in 5 minutes.  For the love of god you're sitting there and no one else is around. Weak alibi.  

Poor Serkan, he's just there trying to sleep off having his allergies maliciously triggered, and he completely misses out on the love of his life fighting for him downstairs. Oh how he would have loved to see that. But oh what a way to wake up, with Eda Yildiz standing over him, looking magnificent, and rousing him with a scolding tone. I've already talked about how HOT the jealousy and possessiveness was here, so I'll focus on the scene itself. 

Let’s talk about the fragman first. Due to the short production timeline of this show, when they create a trailer they're doing it from the dailies, not from the show itself. That part of the show usually hasn't even been edited yet so the fragman exists before the episode. That means often there are scenes or angles that appear in the fragman, but not in the episode. It happened bigtime with the shower scene in 19, it happened randomly with the fragman for 20, they showed that really great shot of heartbroken Serkan in red, but didn't show the full thing in the episode, (when giffing it I had to use the fragman) and here, several of the best shots of Eda and Serkan ripping each other's clothes off were in the fragman and didn't make the episode. We can live with it for a lonely Serkan shot, but it's quite a bait and switch in this instance. Especially when pretty much every member of the cast (except Hande, Kerem didn't post anything either, but he did appear in that IGlive where the cast mercilessly teased him about it) promoted the scene. Not cool. I realize that they're dealing with sensors and may have had to cut things in order to avoid fines and such, but then they probably should have found a way to release the uncut scene on the internet as I've read other Turkish shows have done and like they did with episode 13. If you're gonna put something like this in the fragman to entice viewers, and have the cast promote it, you need to be willing to deliver. Badly done on the part of both Fox and MF Yapim.

That being said, one of the great things about the tighter restrictions this show has to adhere to, is they really show the intimacy instead. On an American show, these characters would have started eating each other's faces off and then tumbled into bed. There is something very hot, though, about them just invading each other's space, breathing each other's scent, nose to nose, nose to neck, nose to cheek... without breaching. Plus we got to see him carry her to the bed... even if they darkened it to the point you can barely see. I saw enough. HOT. The scene was short, but more tantalizing than lots of love scenes I've seen.

I was sad she left while he still slept in the morning. For him not to feel her get out of bed, she must have worn him out! It really would have been nice to see them wake up together, but I'm sure that will come. Plus it gave us the tension filled scene in the office. The knocked over lamp in the background was a delicious detail. Things got rambunctious! I'm glad Eda got to return the sentiment that only she can touch him, if only Serkan had heard it! Another thing that would have made him so happy if only he knew about it.

Melo is all of us upon learning about their night of passion. She's a whole cheerleader for them, and I love it. 

The post-sex scenes at the office were amazing. For several seconds I thought that he really did think it was a dream. Panic started to set in until she admitted she'd had it too. Phew. No hiding for Eda. I'm glad he flirted, instead of getting offended, and that she was at least honest about there being something she needed to do before they could really be together. Eda also handled the office conversation with Balca well. Love that she didn't show any reaction to her claim about Paris, just wished her a good trip. I felt that deep breath she took before going into his office. Yes, girl, calm down before you march in and accuse him of something, good thing he immediately invited her. I just about melted at, "I don't want to argue... you're precious to me." Serkan is gradually learning how to head off her fits of pique. 

The proposal... I... just... okay... my heart... I need a minute... still not over it. 

It was perfect. She made a surprise for him!!!!  After he asked her for a surprise a few episodes ago she did it and surpassed even his wildest dreams. It was quite a surprise for us too! Thank you for not spoiling it, show!  Serkan has told Eda he loves her about 3 dozen different ways, he's made it clear how he feels and what he wants ("Eda Bolat, sounds nice."). There is no doubt that he was ready to propose the moment he felt she'd be receptive, so it was wonderful that she threw caution to the wind and did it. Both Serkan and the audience needed to see exactly how much she loves him, and this was a wonderful way to do that. It's pretty much the biggest thing she could have done.  Also for those of us in other parts of the world (I'm in the US) it might not be too out of the ordinary for a woman to propose, but from what I understand it's rare and possibly non-existent on Turkish shows. That's pretty cool.

Did you see his face!?!? He was so happy at first when he registered that she was actually standing in front of him and then just totally gobsmacked when he saw the rings and realized what was happening. As for Eda, she was just glowing. GLOWING. And don't even get me started on the plane. That trip on the day after they met is such an important part of their love story and the call back here is wonderful. The first time around he thought she was there for him, this time he can't believe that she's there for him.  

Can't wait to see the way the full conversation/proposal plays out, do ya'll think he'll say yes? (hee)

[spencerspecifics]

Badass lady from SWAT coming and Spence always gets nervous about seeing her even though it’s painfully obviously that she feels the same way :) but Spencer is just baby af 🥺

I think this idea is so cute, and I hope I did you justice!! Thank you for requesting, i made it a fem!reader x Spencer fic :)! (So sorry this took forever!)

———————————————————————

SWAT

———————————————————————

You walked into the bureau building tiredly, you were grateful the events of yesterday had somehow wrapped themself up into a neat little bow. But now, you had the aftermath to deal with.

The aftermath of beauacracies, of files and paperwork, of court hearings. Because yesterday was a lot. There was an attempted bombing in downtown Quantico. Key word being attempted, thankfully though- it never happened. And your SWAT team had a big hand in helping.

So yeah, now you were here, meeting up with the BAU- who had lended your team a helping hand in finding where the bomber was located.

~

You entered into the bureau building, making your way up to the BAU’s floor through the elevator. As the machine whirred to life, taking you up to the floor- you were suddenly hit with the fatigue.

You were tired, you had worked nonstop yesterday to prevent a catastrophe, and then when you got home, you couldn’t sleep- who could expect you to? Especially after something like that, your mind was racing. You did eventually get to sleep at around 3 in the morning, but that didn’t help much considering you had to meet with agent Aaron Hotchner at 8 a.m. sharp.

So, fuck. The adrenaline and anxiety of the events had passed, and now you were feeling tired.

It’s not like you could do much about how sleepy you were, though. You had to talk to Hotchner, then you had to speak to their technical analyst to help you input your files into VICAP (SWAT’s computer system wasn’t as fancy as the bureau’s, so you weren’t fully familiar with the system.) but then, maybe after you spoke to the analyst you could get some coffee and go home. That would be nice.

~

The elevator got to your stop, and you stepped out with ease. You hadn’t been in the BAU’s office before, but the layout was simple. Bullpen was straight forward, there was a hallway past that (but you weren’t sure where that exactly led to, you supposed you’d find that answer out when the time came.) and you could see the larger offices past the bullpen, you were guessing that’s where you needed to go.

You entered through the glass doors into the bullpen, there were a few agents sat behind their desks, on phone calls or typing out on their computers- after all, the aftermath was always a lot of work.

~

You didn’t really know anyone in the BAU, except for Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, and one very awkward guy- Doctor Spencer Reid.

You met Spencer a while ago, a few cases back when there was a local robbery turned hostage situation. That’s when your teams first interacted. As a local law enforcement group, you weren’t used to working with the feds- but the BAU was surprisingly tolerable. They let you and the police do what was necessary, all they did was observe and figure things out.

But how they figured things out, you’d never understand. You’d especially never understand Spencer, he would walk into a crime scene and be able to figure out the unsub’s mental state just by how the room was organized. It was surprising, and it was fascinating.

Though, that wasn’t the only reason Spencer especially took your attention when you first met the BAU. The other agents you met were very cut and dry, their personalities were kept mostly separate from their work. Spencer wasn’t like that, his work self and his regular self were one and the same. It was refreshing to see an agent so personable, you found it as a handsome quality.

He was awkward at times as well, which you thought was also an adorable quality. He’d go on to in depth explain a behavioral trait and how that probably meant the unsub was abused as a child or something, and before you knew it the conversation somehow shifted into his favorite medieval weaponry.

So whenever you got the chance to work with the BAU, you embraced it. Mostly because of the cute and awkward doctor, but also because if that meant you could solve a case and arrest a sick son of a bitch, you would.

~

You walked through the bullpen, making your way up the stairs to the larger offices you had seen earlier. You looked for a sign on the door to tell you whose office was whose, and thankfully the first door you saw said in simple lettering “SSA Aaron Hotchner”.

You knocked, hearing agent Hotchner’s voice say a simple “come in”. You opened the door, stepping into his large office.

“Agent Hotchner, good morning.” You said, a polite smile on your face as you made your way to the nearest seat across from his desk, Hotchner rose from his seat to give you a handshake. All these manners and rules were so tiring to do, but you could understand why- especially in such a beauracractic setting. Maybe that’s why you loved being in SWAT, though. There was no time for niceties or manners. You just got to go in, kick ass, and go.

“Good morning, y/n.” He replied as he sat back down into his chair, he reached down to a desk drawer, pulling out a fresh file.

“We just have to recount everything from your point of view, just so the bureau understands what the SWAT’s role was in our investigation.” He spoke as he reached for a nearby audio recorder on his desk, pressing the button on its side to turn it on.

“Sounds good.” You nodded, “Great, I’ll be taking some notes within the file as well. Just start talking.” Hotchner explained simply, before quieting down. You took a breath in before starting to speak, after all- the story was a long one.

~

Once you finished with Hotchner, you decided to wait on going to their technical analyst. After all, they were probably swamped at the moment. So, as you headed out of Hotch’s office, you weren’t sure what to do.

But then, it hit you.

It literally did hit you, and by “it”, it was Spencer. He was walking past Hotchner’s office at the same time you were exiting- you both practically collapsed into each other as the unexpected forces pushed against each other.

“Oh- shit! Sorry.” You apologized almost immediately, trying your best to pull yourself together. You were running on only about four hours of sleep, you were well aware you looked like shit- you were just hoping Spencer couldn’t tell.

“Y/n, I’m sorry- I was on my way to Rossi’s, I didn’t mean to-“ Spencer started, rambling again. And as much as you found it endearing, you didn’t want him to apologize.

“Don’t even worry about it, Spencer- you alright?” You asked him as you stepped back a bit to give him more room. He nodded, you’d swear there was a small blush on his face, but maybe it was the terrible fluorescent lighting off the office that was making it appear that way.

“I’m alright, thank you.” He smiled sheepishly, looking down to adjust the strap on his messenger bag.

“Thanks for your help with yesterday, by the way. I still have no clue how geoprofiling works, but it saved the day.” You complimented him, his sheepish smile only got larger.

“Well, we still couldn’t have done it without your SWAT team. I didn’t go in to stop the bomber- you did. That takes courage.”

Now you felt yourself blushing, maybe it was because you were so sleep deprived. But you had a feeling it might be for another reason as well. You just shrugged, though, doing your best to be casual about it.

“That’s what I train for, all part of a day’s work.”

Spencer nodded, “Still, though. It doesn’t make you any less courageous.”

You broke into a small grin, god- you’ve only spoken to this guy a handful of times. But you really enjoyed talking to him, and he seemed interested in talking to you.

“What are your plans after work?” You found yourself asking, mouth moving too fast for your brain to tell it to shut up in time.

“Uh, I don’t know..” Spencer started, awkwardly fumbling with his hands. “I just had to talk to Rossi, but then after that I’m free to go.”

“You already did all your paperwork?” You asked him curiously, surprised at how fast he could get it done. He nodded simply, “Yes, I didn’t really sleep a lot last night- so I got a head start.”

You frowned slightly, “How much sleep did you end up getting?” Spencer shrugged, “A couple hours.” You nodded silently, before the gears in your mind started turning.

“What do you think about coffee?” You asked him after a beat of silence, Spencer’s face twisted into a confused look.

“The concept of coffee?” He was lost, and it was adorable. You chuckled, “No- I meant, do you wanna get coffee with me after you finish talking to Rossi? I didn’t sleep enough last night either.”

Spencer nodded almost immediately in response, “Yes- yeah. That would be great, I would really enjoy that- you could, um, wait down in the bullpen if you want.” He offered, obviously unsure of what to do now.

You just found that once again, endearing, as you smiled at him kindly. “Sounds good, I’m excited.” You told him, he gave you one last smile before turning to go into Rossi’s office.

With that, you turned to go back to go down to the bullpen, waiting for Doctor Spencer Reid.

———————————————————————

[thepeakyfckingblinders]

White Lies || Thomas Shelby x reader

⤠ MASTERLIST⤟

Anon requested: “ Can you do 10&13 with tommy please? I obsessed with your writing” (Thank you honey, hope this won’t let you down ♡ )

Summary: n.10 & 13 from prompt list: “I swear to God, I’ll blind you” + “Don’t leave” Warnings: swearing, May Carleton insert, basically jealous reader, Tommy being the absolute cocky bastard he always is, me loving him even more

Author’s notes:

Behind each one of these works there are sleepless nights and something really close to multiple mental breakdowns, so, please, take a minute to send me a message about it, I need actual feedbacks to understand how to improve my skills and grow ♡

So, May appears in this piece too, even if she’s never been his lover.   Is Tommy Shelby going to generate a mass murder with his cock? Maybe.

I’m sorry for being this late, but I’ve been really busy in the past days and writing is never just easy, it demands concentration and effort, plus I don’t want you to be disappointed, so I’m always extra accurate while working. I hope this is worth the wait!

If you want to be added to my tag list, please, directly message me

I’m Italian, English isn’t my first language, so I apologize for every possible mistake I made. Also, please, help me improve my writing by telling me if there’s something wrong

ENJOY!

Your sugar paper dress in lace and tulle gracefully fluttered in the wind, as you walked towards the Garrison, head up, a kind smile on your face and your right arm firmly placed on John’s left one.  That same morning, Tommy’s new horse had won his third race in a row, for which reason the Shelbys had decided to have a little party at their pub, so that they could celebrate those amazing successes with their friends and closest fellows from Birmingham, seizing, at the same time, the opportunity to show to the whole town how the family was getting more and more powerful. Therefore, Finn, Michael and John were now escorting you and Polly to the tavern, where the rest of the Peaky Blinders had already got the festivities started. “If you ever get tired of Tommy, keep in mind that I’m here waiting for you, darling” The middle brother playfully whispered those flirty words into your ear, even though he was truly enchanted by the way you looked that night; you immediately glimpsed in his direction, seeing him keep an alluring smirk on his wonderful face and a toothpick held between his rose lips, just like always. A genuine chuckle spilled from your mouth because of his joke, a slight blush instantly covering your sweet face, while your lips promptly left a noisy kiss on his cheek. “Don’t worry about him, Johnny, we can keep it as our little secret” You blinked at him, still giggling out loud, as you entered the Garrison arm in arm, finding a whole crowd of half-drunk people joyfully cheering for the increasing greatness and fortune of the Shelby Brothers Limited. “And that’s Thomas’s definition of small refreshment?” Polly’s usual sarcastic tone prickly referred to the massive amount of guests your fiancé had apparently invited; she lit a cigarette, carelessly throwing the used match on the floor, before her free forearm fondly stretched out to Michael, in a silent invitation to accompany her towards the table where Arthur had already made himself comfortable. Finn, on the other hand, immediately spotted Isaiah amidst the throng, for it took him a scant moment to literally run in his direction, eager as he was to finally spend a night out with his best mate, forgetting about work for a while. “Would you mind helping me find your perennially busy brother, mh?” You asked John, since you were now alone, standing at the entrance like two complete idiots, withouth a clue about what to do next. “Why don’t you come home with me instead?” His eyebrows quickly raised and lowered several times, in an intentionally droll attempt to make that indecent proposal sound tempting, his usual cocky smile never leaving his face. “Oh, shut up now!” you heartily laughed, jokingly punching his shoulder in the process “Let’s just find him, and then you’ll look for a pretty girl to dance with”

“No need to look for girls, love, they throw themselves at me” Your almost-brother-in-law defiantly stated that, while adjusting his houndstooth suit in one swift move, his large shoulders lifted along with his lower lip, giving life to an expression of pure smugness, which esponentially boosted when he found his way to the middle of the pub, performing his usual, cheeky, extremely bold walk. John’s lean and solid body shielded yours as you passed through that enormous amount of people, until you eventually reached for the cluttered counter; your watchful eye immediately caught Tommy’s figure standing with his back turned, a loving grin inadvertently springing upon your red lips, for he had left early that morning without waking you up, and, although it may seem corny, you had shamelessly missed him. Nevertheless, your jaw nearly dropped when, taking a few more steps in his direction, a beautiful woman entered your line of sight: she was talking to him, her clearly infatuated stare burning with desire, one of her palms randily caressing his bony cheek, but the worst part was that Thomas didn’t make a single move to stop her, he just stood there, listening to what she was saying, letting her pet his face. “Oh, fucking hell” John muttered, foreseeing a catastrophic epilogue to that risky situation, indeed, he was perfectly aware that you had no idea of who May was, moreover he could plainly tell she was without a doubt attracted to his brother, which meant no good, considering that you were in the same country as her. Still, before he had the chance to stop you from doing anything, you had already covered the gap between you and them, approaching your fiancé and heavily tapping on his shoulder covered by an elegant black jacket.

Tom’s icy eyes imperceptibly widened as he turned to you and realized how misunderstandable that scene could look; however, within a fraction of a second, he composed himself and regained all of his customary confidence, curving his mouth into an impertinent smirk and placing a hand behind your back, so to guide you in front of the mysterious lady. “Oh, you must be y/n, Tommy’s told me a lot about you! I’m May, May Carleton” Her falsely excited voice brusted out, preceding both of you, and that alone could’ve been enough to set you off, you were aching to ruthlessly punch her in the face, right there and then, yet your strong common sense led you to simply send her a long, eloquent death glare. “Well, he didn’t tell me anything about you, not a word” Perceptible hostility towards that woman infected your tone, still, while you spat that rancorous reply, your killer attention was utterly focused on Thomas, who, for his part, kept looking at you with amusement, blatantly revelling in your jealous little scene. “I didn’t have a chance to” His husky voice nonchalantly spilled from his full lips, whereon he was unchastely sliding a cigarette filter, his piercing black pupils continued to defiantly nail yours as he aimed to provoke you with that silly, senseless remark. Teeth sinking into the warm flesh of your inner cheek, while you tried your best to avoid a beastly outburst in front of everyone; sadly, hardly any moment later, May unwisely decided to throw more salt on your already stinging wounds. “How funny, I’ve been training your horses for three months now” a galling laugh of mockery eurpted from her throat and, once she was sure she had your attention, you noticed raw mischief twinkling in her brown irises “With excellent results, I might add”

She raised the glass of champagne she was holding, along with a hint of her head in Tommy’s direction, inviting him to make a toast to their incredible series of victories; a shrill tinkle filled your ears when his crystal cup joined hers, almost making your skin crawl, you watched speechless and powerless as a seductive expression deliberately contaminated his stunning features. “Obviously. Nothing but the best for my horses”

You just couldn’t believe your eyes, nor your ears; an alarming amount of emotions assaulting your defenseless mind, as you eventually figured out how many lies he had been feeding you during those past months. Soon after he had brought his first mare at the auction, Tommy specifically talked to you about how many expectations and resources he had placed on that brand new project, to the point of actually enlisting an expensive horse trainer, one of their comrades from France, a man they could trust, he did say. Your brain franticly reviewed all of the episodes in which he had called you to inform that he would’ve been late, for he had to stop by the stables in order to check on his beasts; a grievous boulder growing inside your chest, brutally crushing your heart, at the very thought of what could’ve effectively happened in those evenings, your breathing sharply stopped for endless instants, until you regained control of your body, blinking a few times to stop the world from spinning around you. Not a single world escaped your mouth, you only looked at them for one last time, before you hastened to turn tail and run away from that obnoxious situation. Only then, Thomas factually realized he’d gone too far with you, his vigilant stare followed your silhouette quickly moving amidst that mob of drunken yokels, while he briefly took leave of May, without even glimpsing at her once. Pushing and kicking his way through the crowd, he reached for you when you were practically one step away from the main door.

“C’mon, y/n, wait! Hey, don’t leave” Tom delicately grabbed your forearm in an attempt to hold you back, but, as soon as you saw him touching you, a calamitous rage exploded in your belly, leading you to violently yank your arm away. “Take your hands off me, or I swear to God, I’ll bind you with your own fucking cap!” Eyelids squeezing with autentic ire as you snarled in his face, fiercely smacking his hand several times and managing to get out of his grasp; yet, when you tried to leave the pub afresh, his imposing frame promptly interposed between you and the exit, his left palm firmly leaning against the jamb, so to cover the whole open space and preclude you every possibility to find your way out. “Get out of the fucking way, I said!” Frustration filled your yells, you had recourse to all your strength in a restless effort to shove him off, continuing to insult him and punch his chest, still your blows felt like nothing more than tickling to him. Thomas rolled his orbs and, at the same time, raised both his eyebrows, in a plan expression of his nuisance. “I think you’re being a bit overdramatic, love” Thomas was perfectly aware that he was being a total asshole, afterall, he had never even thought of May in such a way, but, for some strange reason, he wanted to tease you that night, he wanted to see you detonate. His imperturbable tone, together with his absurd words, totally made you lose your temper, you sensed your knuckles itching to crash with his perfect jaw, again and again and again. “Overdramatic?!” your voice raising of a couple octaves “You bloody bastard! You lied to me, God only knows what the hell’s been going on between you and that bitch. What’s more, you let her fucking flirt with you, in front of me!” Hot tears were now forming in your eyes while you kept shouting till you felt your throat hurt, Tommy simply kept watching you, not daring to pronounce a single syllable, but never changing his stoic countenance, nor moving from the doorway. “You were flirting back, letting her touch you that way, you fucking humiliated me, Thomas! In my place, you would’ve killed any man, without even thinking ‘bout it!” Tom’s look somehow softened as he observed your features contract with anger and sorrow, he knew he had unnecessarily and foolishly hurt you, he only was too proud to say it out loud; so, he kept his mouth shut and just came closer to you, carefully attempting to stroke your shoulders with tenderness. Nevertheless, you were too full of wrath and delusion to let him make it up to you that easily: actually, you desperately needed to cry, your cheeks were flushing with resentment, blind choler streaming in your veins. And, suddenly, a dull smack resounded in your and his ears. You slapped him so hard, that his head automatically tilted in the opposite direction, leaving both you and him speechless for a full minute; Thomas remained in that forced position, frozen, without going back to face you, consequently giving you the opportunity to finally pull him aside. “You don’t fuck with me, Mr. Shelby” That was all that you hissed, then leaving the Garrison and not looking back.

tag list:  @spidey-pal, @shadow-of-wonder, @mclfoybaby, @peachlle, @livvtheangel, @myjbphase, @namelesslosers, @crazyonesarethebest

[tagsecretsanta]

From @Thundergeek59

to @little-old-rachel

Secret Santa does not own this work, full credit to the author mentioned above!

AN: This is only my second fic and I thought it was only going to be a couple of paragraphs, however, Jeff decided to take this over totally and ran away with it. I now know what you writers mean when you say your characters take over!  I hope you like it, I had fun writing it

Rating: Gen/Family fun

Wordcount: 2900 ish

Jeff sat up and swing his legs over the side of the bed, toeing on his slippers.  It was still dark as he reached for his cane and shrugged his dressing gown round his shoulders. “May as well get up as toss and turn in bed”.  Stuffing his communicator cuff in his pocket, he padded out his door and headed to the kitchen.  

Grabbing a small bottle of juice and a couple of biscuits he headed out towards the pool deck and sat on one of the loungers.  Idly munching the biscuit he gazed at the pool, lit up by the underwater lights, and his mind wandering back to Gordon’s pre-Olympic training when he used to time him with his stopwatch, then chuckling as he remembered having to dive-bomb his little fishie in a vain effort to get him out of the pool, several hours later. 

“Oh Lucy, our little fish is all grown and you’d be so proud of him – of all of them”

With a sigh, he pulled himself up on his cane and continued walking down the path to the beach where Virgil had thoughtfully built a bench for him so he didn’t have to sit on the sand, which only thinly covered the sharp volcanic rock.  From here he could look out to the bird colony on Mateo.  He remembered his first few weeks back home,  when easily overwhelmed by boys and noise, he had sought the solitude by the beach.  Just listening to the waves ebb and flow calmed his mind.  

He looked to the red glint just gracing the edges of the horizon and realised Gordon would be up soon to power though his pool routine while Scott would be just behind, setting off round the island on his daily run.  Eight years and some things never changed while others were irredeemably different.

It was Virgil who caught him by surprise with a hand gently placed on his shoulder. “Hey dad, we’re going to get the tree now, do you want to come along?”  “Thanks for the offer but I think I better stay and help your Grandma with dinner preparations.” He declined. “You sure?  We’d love you to join us and anyway, Max is there to help in the kitchen and Ridley and Kayo will be available to fix any potential culinary catastrophes”.

“I’d only be a hindrance with this”  he replied, waving his stick.  “Actually dad, I have an idea I think you might like”.  Intrigued, Jeff let himself be persuaded, hoping he wouldn’t regret it.

As soon as Virgil had set down Two at the edge of the forest, Scott and John set about configuring a suitable pod.  With Gordon awaiting the arrival of Lady Penelope and Alan still in bed, the party consisted of Jeff and his three eldest and he was looking forward to just doing something social with his boys, a nice change from being ferried to hospital appointments.  He was, however, starting to wonder what form Virgil’s surprise idea would take when he heard a soft cough behind him, announcing said son’s arrival.

The sight that greeted him as he turned around was not what he was expecting.  In front of Virgil was a fully functioning hoversleigh, complete with T2’s green livery with the addition of red flames down the side, a red padded seat with a matching throw.  Words failed him, causing a worried frown to appear between Virgil’s brows, until a deep chuckle rose from Jeff, and a smile twitched at the corner of Virgil’s mouth, pleased that his dad had felt comfortable enough to let his lighter side out.  “Certainly is different” laughed Jeff as Virgil helped him into the sleigh.

Scott and John’s faces were a picture as the hatch descended with Virgil and their father.   “Oh my word, you really did it!” John exclaimed as both brothers tried to stifle their guffaws when they saw their father with a green bobble hat and gloves, looking like one of Santa’s helpers sitting in the sleigh.

“Well, I’d been tinkering with the old hover bikes back at the ranch and decided to see how far I could take the modifications and, well, here she is...”

“Well, let’s see what this baby can do” said Jeff as he pushed the controller forward and... nothing.  A quizzical look at Virgil “Safety feature.  You gotta push the red button first but be careful, I haven’t fully tested.....” He couldn’t finish the sentence due to the cloud of snow covering him. 

“WooHooooo” Jeff whooped as he surged forward down the track, leaving them all brushing snow off themselves.

“You do remember that he likes to go very, very fast” Scott said

“Yep, better jump in the pod and catch him before he heads out of sight” added John. ‘C’mon Virg, hop on”.

Scott steered the pod at speed, following the trail of snow kicked up by the sleigh. After several hair-raising twists and turns Jeff had managed to turn the sleigh into a clearing and was doing doughnut spins, thoroughly enjoying himself.  Finally he came screeching to a halt mere inches from his sons, who were once more coated with a dusting of snow.  “Gee Virgil, that’s gotta be the best fun I’ve had in years!  Reminds me of that time Lee and I tested out the moon rover on Alfie.”

“I’m pleased you had fun, but I hadn’t got around to telling giving you the low-down on all it’s features”.  

“Well, as an Airforce pilot you kinda just learn on the job, part of the fun really, isn’t that right Scott”.   “Sure dad, but you just about gave me a heart attack back there.”  “Ah sorry, Scotty, but you gotta admit, if it had been you trying her out, you’d have done the exact same thing”.  “I guess so” Scott conceded.

While Jeff and Scott had been talking, John had been surveying area, seeking out the perfect tree.  “That one, over there, what do you think Vigil”.  “Looks good to me, lemme bring the pod into position” Virgil replied as he hopped up onto the pod and drove it over to the tree, Scott and Jeff following in it’s wake.  

“Ok guys let’s do this.  John, you take that side.  Virgil, get into position with the saw and dad and I will be over here to tell you when to stop cutting and get the pod grapples ready”  Pure IR commander front and centre. “Yes, and I’ll be shouting encouragement from the sidelines” chuckled Jeff.  He’d had time to see his boys work together over the past few months and marvelled at how seamlessly they all fitted together, deferring to each other’s greater expertise.  He’d learnt from bitter experience that his opinions on the best way for them to do something, more often than not screwed with their well oil system and got them second-guessing themselves, which was not what was needed in the field.

 He was fortunate, so fortunate that his boys had developed the way they had, working in the way they did and in the process, turning IR into something more than what he had originally envisaged.  He’d been away from it all for too long to be able to step back in and run it the way he had and he was coming to terms with that, despite how much his pride and sense of usefulness had been hurt.

“You’d have loved this Lucy – just look at our boys working so well together, just like they did when they were little”. 

“You ok dad?” John was first to notice the faraway look in his fathers’ eyes.  “Yes, I’m fine, just  telling your mother about you all”.  John gave Scott a look, who in turn quirked an eyebrow at Virgil. Virgil imperceptibly shook is head.  Jeff, watching the exchange and remembering how they had been doing this since they were children – saying so much without uttering a word.  “I know those looks, and no, I’m not crazy, you gotta remember that for 8 years I only had your mother to talk to, so it’s got to be a bit of a habit.”  

The boys looked anywhere but at their father, feeling caught out with muffled apologies.  “C’mon lets get this tree strapped onto the pod and back home” Virgil successfully diverted the conversation to the matter in hand.

It didn’t take too long to get back to Thunderbird 2, Jeff taking a slightly more sedate pace on the return journey.  What the boys didn’t know was that the reason for the slower pace would make itself apparent as soon as they exited the pod.

Whooooosh...... splat!  A perfect hit and a whoop of joy from the elf in the sleigh.  Scott looked down at the remains of the snowball that was gracing his uniform.  “You did not just snowball me, did you? Scott scooped up a handful himself “You know what that means.....”   “You wouldn’t hit an old man in a sleigh?” Words were barely out of his mouth when Whumph... direct shot to the sleigh, there followed a rapid volley from the sleigh to the other two sons. Virgil and John only had time to cast a quick glance at each other when they realised what was going on before  Boooooffffff..... fluuuuufffff.......Thwaaaak!  

In the meantime, Scott was building a small cache of snowballs, ever prepared, ready to dive into the fray.  He decided that his chances were better if he and Jeff teamed up against Virgil and John.  Whilst  Jeff could quickly manoeuvre the sleigh out of some of the shots, not all could be avoided.  Virgil had the strength and John had the trajectory calculations going on in his head, weighing up the best type of snowball for the distances involved – enough to make a good splatter but not hard enough to cause damage to sleigh or person. The were quite a formidable team against age and experience.

“Okay, okay, I concede defeat” Jeff laughed as one final snowball splattered against his gloved hands raised in mock surrender.  It had been a long time since he’d seen them rosy cheeked in the cold air, just enjoying themselves, “Well, I think it’s definitely time to head back to the Island” John shivered as they loaded pod, Christmas tree and sleigh onto Two’s elevator.   “But we need to make a quick stop off en-route” added Virgil.  “What could we possibly need on Christmas eve that we haven’t already got” Jeff queried.  “Wait and see” was his reply.

Thunderbird Two took off as soon as everyone was strapped in.  Virgil and Scott in the pilot and co-pilot seats with Jeff and John behind in the passenger seats.  Jeff regarded his middle son who was staring out of the window “Penny for your thoughts” he said.  “Hmm? Oh it’s nothing, just daydreaming really”.  “Uh huh, and would that daydream have anything to do with a lovely young astronaut that’s waiting for you back home?” asked Jeff. 

 John could feel the heat creeping up to his cheeks  “Maybe, just idly looking forward to having a few days downtime together.  Our schedules rarely coincide, so it’ll be nice to spend a few days dirtside with her”.  “You thinking of bringing her into the family business?” Jeff asked.   John had not seen that one coming and, clearly agitated, tried to steer the conversation away. Truth be told, he had thought about it but that would imply a whole load of commitment he wasn’t sure either of them could give right now.  

“Not really thought about it to be honest” was all he offered.  “You sure could do with some additional help up there on Five and she is a fully trained astronaut ....and... well, I like her”  You could have knocked John down with a feather.  What the heck had happened to his father and who was this amiable alien who had taken over his body!

Vigil raised and eyebrow at Scott while all this conversation was going on, realising it was touching on a subject neither of them had even dared ask John about.  Scott quirked an eyebrow back, a small smile dancing at the corner of his mouth.  He’d love to stay and listen in but felt it was getting into personal territory that neither of them had a right to enter without invitation.

“Just stopping off here for a few minutes guys.  Scott, wanna come with?” Virgil asked, the please remained unsaid but was clear from his expression.  “Sure, we’ll be back in no time, no need to get up you two.” Scott replied as they both exited the cockpit.

“Ok, I know, it’s not my place to interfere” Jeff continued “but take it from someone who’s been there, when you find someone you just feel totally comfortable with, you don’t just let it slip away.  I’ve seen you two together John, the way you interact, believe me, I’ve never seen you look so comfortable with anybody outside this family, with the exception perhaps of  Penny.” 

Clearly blindsided, John being John, wanted a bit more clarification “Dad, when you said family business, you didn’t just mean International Rescue, did you?”  “Well son, that would be up to you” Jeff left the ball in John’s court. 

 “This thing we have, it’s quite new and we’re having to work round rotas, so we haven’t actually had a great deal of time together. Certainly not enough to make as big a decision as I think you’re suggesting”.    “Son, sometimes you just gotta trust your gut and leave your head and logic to one side. That’s all I’m saying”. 

Their conversation was interrupted by Scott and Virgil entering the cockpit with several boxes carrying the logo of a well known Swiss chocolatier and four steaming takeaway cups.  “Thought we could all use some hot chocolate” Virgil passed out the cups to welcoming hands. “Just what we needed. Got anything in these boxes to go with the cocoa?” Jeff asked. “Sadly, these are for home. I promised Kayo we’d pick up some goodies for everyone to enjoy with our Christmas mimosas and I’d hate to be the one to tell her they didn’t make it home.” Replied Virgil.  “Well it’s a good job I popped into the patisserie down the road while you were busy getting the drinks and got these”  Scott beamed, clearly collecting extra brownie points as he carefully opened the smaller box, revealing the most wonderful choux pastry creations liberally topped with dark and white chocolate ganache, lightly dusted with edible glitter and gold leaf.  “Wondered where you’d wandered off to” mumbled Virgil mid-chew, trying not to spray glitter everywhere.  “You’re not the only one who knows the little out of the way places” 

“Neither of you would know about either of those places if Eos and I hadn’t scoped them out first” John huffed.  He was pleased the conversation had moved on from the rather uncomfortable personal probing of earlier and was quite happy to keep it that way.

 “Call it teamwork” Virgil added as he slipped into the pilot’s chair.  “Well, from what I see, teamwork is certainly something you boys excel at and I couldn’t be prouder” Jeff added as he raised his hot chocolate in salute to his eldest three.

Waiting to meet them in the hangar were the two youngest, Alan bouncing on the balls of his feet, Gordon trying unsuccessfully to hide his delight at the size of the tree that was appearing from Two.  What they hadn’t expected to see was hidden behind the tree. “Oh my God!” Gordon exclaimed as he caught a glimpse of green and red.  He and Alan ran over to check out what had caught his eye and of course, check out the tree.  

Wow, it’s a beaut” enthused Gordon, gently stroking the machine.  “I thought you were all talk when you were going on about fixing up one of the old hover bikes”.  Virgil just shrugged, enjoying the youngster’s reaction to his handiwork. “You even painted on the flames!” Alan shrieked in delight.

“Well, hello to you too” said Jeff, slightly miffed but totally understanding of their enthusiasm for the new piece of kit rather than welcoming him back.

“Oh, hi dad” Alan finally waved, not taking his eyes off the machine. “You know, I was the one your brother allowed to test drive that thing” Jeff added.  That got their attention.  “Aw Virgil, I thought I was your favourite brother” whined Gordon “You know it’s always been me” replied Alan as they both turned towards there father, their interest piqued.  Virgil just rolled his eyes.  “So, how was she? Was she fast? Did you fall out? Did you test it to it’s limits?” so many questions tumbled from Alan who was now more interested in what his father had to say. “Walk me to the elevator and I’ll tell you all about it” said Jeff putting an arm around Alan’s shoulder.  “C’mon Gordon” Alan gestured for his brother to join him.  Gordon ran over, slipping quietly under Jeff’s other arm.  Jeff positively beamed as he finally had their full attention and a new tale to enthral them.  

The three older brothers looked at each other and smiled.  It’d been a long time since they’d seen their dad so relaxed and happy. 

Definitely the best day he’d had since returning from the Oort cloud and perhaps a new Christmas precedent had been set with the hoversleigh for future tree collecting.

End

[thinkyoureholy]

Vox Populi [1]

[so I decided to combine the first and second chapter together😬]

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Pairing : Park Seonghwa / [fem] Reader

Genre : Angst, Violence, Fluff, Smut, Post Apocalypse/ Dystopia! AU

Words : 4.4k

Previous Chapter. - Next Chapter.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

-3rd Person P.O.V ; 2135-

Soldiers, hundreds of thousands of them all fought for their lives, for their country. So many were blinded by the vile words spewed out by the crooked presidents or prime ministers that ran their oh so beloved country, while there were some that didn’t believe in this war but had no say in whether they wanted to participate or not. Their country’s laws are set in stone, normal law abiding citizens had no power to argue and were many times forced to follow the laws they don’t agree with. Many signed up willingly for this war, others were drafted, every country involved sending thousands of men and women to die for a war that would lead to nothing in the end. 

A woman cried out as she lunged at the man that had shot at her hand, forcing her to let go of the gun she was using. All she had was a knife while he was still fully armed but that didn’t stop her, she was fighting for her life. The man looked at her with wide eyes, her words not registering in his mind, the language she was speaking foreign to him but one thing he could understand was the murder in her eyes. She was out to kill. As shaken as he was at being thrust into this war at such a young age he knew there was only one thing he had to do to survive. It was either kill or be killed, and he wanted to make it back home alive. So with a cry of his own he began to fire just as the woman got within arm’s reach and in the next second she dropped dead at his feet. The man, no, the child, a boy no older than seventeen stood above her, terrified of what he had just done. He looked around, bewildered, not knowing what to do next.

“Get moving, soldier!” A woman that was about the same age as his mother yelled out to him, her uniform the same as his, “Move if you want to live!”

She grabbed a tight hold of his vest, pulling him along with her to get him to move. He stumbled over his own feet but her tight hold refused to let him fall. She grit her teeth as she dragged him along, ignoring the pain that spread across her side, her blood seeping through her clothes. She could have easily left him behind and gone to camp on her own but seeing him standing in the middle of a battlefield, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car she sprung into action before she could stop herself.

“Do you know how to get back to camp?!” She asked, shouting over the sounds of guns firing and people crying out in pain.

He didn’t respond, still shellshocked. She cursed under her breath, knowing he’d be helpless on his own. She thought back to her own family back home, the laughter of her youngest son ringing in her ears. Her eyes welled up with tears, the blood loss already making her light headed. She knew she wasn’t making it back home but if she could save this one boy then that’d be enough for her. So she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and dragged the boy behind her to camp, her wish to go home to her children thrown out the window.

……

“Sir, we’ve lost too many soldiers. We need to bring them home so we can regroup, think of a better strategy.” The general urged the secretary of defense, the president sitting there in silence.

“We’ll just do another draft-”

“I don’t want any more children! The youngest one I just saw was sixteen! We’re sending them out there to die when they haven’t even properly experienced living!” The general shouted, losing his composure.

“Then what is it you suggest we do, general?” The president asked, speaking up for the first time since the meeting started, “Don’t tell me you’re trying to suggest we surrender and back out of this war entirely?”

“Sir, there’s no way we’ll win this war anymore. When it first started yes, we had a big chance of winning but now? We’ll be buried alive.” The general argued, his voice softer but still firm.

“We’re not backing down, General Scott. We’re the most powerful country in the world and if we back down-”

“Sir with all due respect the power we once held means nothing now.” The general cut him off, trying not to lose his composure once again but if they continued to insist he doesn’t know how long he’ll be able to hold back for.

“What if we could turn the tide, general?” 

The general furrowed his brows, confused, “How?”

“Secretary, how many missiles can you get ready by this afternoon?” The president asked like he was asking about the daily value menu at his favorite restaurant.

“I can have them all ready within the next hour.”

The president nodded, opening his mouth to speak but the general beat him to it, his voice panicked as he spoke, “You’re not seriously saying you’re going to nuke them. The radiation will kill us all! Is your pride really more important than the millions of lives you’re prepared to kill?!?!”

“If it means we win this war then I’ll do whatever I deem is necessary.” The president spoke without a hint of remorse in his voice.

The general stared at him with wide eyes, mortified. He opened his mouth to continue arguing but he shut it just as quickly. Grinding his teeth he tore off the patch on his arm that displayed his rank. Along with that he took off his hat and threw them down onto the table in front of him.

“I won’t be a part of this any longer. Find yourself a new general, I’m going home.” 

The two watched him leave in silence, not bothering to stop him. Without a word the president nodded at the secretary, giving him the go ahead to get the missiles ready. What the general didn’t know is that these missiles weren’t toxic...but the damage they would inflict on not just the overall population but the planet would be catastrophic. It would take centuries for humanity to get back onto their feet and even then  it would never be the same as it was before.

-Y/N’s P.O.V : 2650-

I groaned, writhing around on the ground at the pain that bloomed from my back. I looked up at him through narrowed eyes, slapping his hand away as he held it out to help me up. I heard him chuckle softly under his breath. He crouched down in front of me and ruffled my hair and I slapped his hand away again.

“C’mon Y/N, don’t be a sore loser. You’re the one that asked me to train you.” He said, reaching out to grab my arm, helping me sit up.

I shrugged out of his hold, rolling my shoulders back as I tried to alleviate the pain, “You could’ve at least gone easy on me.”

He smirked, placing his hand on my shoulder but this time I didn’t move to shrug his hand off of me, “If I went easy on you then you wouldn’t learn anything.”

“But I’m your daughter!” I whined like a child, a fond smile replacing the smirk on his lips.

“And because you’re my daughter I don’t hold back. Anyone trying to kill you won’t hold back and you need to learn how to defend yourself properly.” He explained, helping me to my feet. 

He looked like he wanted to say something else but a voice coming from our right stopped him, “You’re as ruthless as always, Marcus.”

We turned to look for the source of the voice, already knowing who it was. Park Junhyuk accompanied by his son Seonghwa came up to us. Junhyuk had a gentle smile on his face while Seonghwa merely looked around, watching the others in the room spar. I could see the fascination in his eyes, knowing just how much he loved to fight. I find it a bit unfair that he not only was a genius but he could also hold his own in a fight. I chuckled under my breath at seeing the look on his face, drawing his eyes to me. The moment he met my gaze a soft smile tugged at his lips. He sent a quick greeting to my father before making his way over to me.

“Training?”

“More like getting my ass handed to me.” I grumbled as I dusted myself off.

He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest, “It's rare to see you lose in a fight, serious or not.”

I scoffed as I shoved at his shoulder lightly, “Shuddup. I’d like to see you win against my dad in a fight. He isn’t the commander of our guard for nothing.”

Even though I was grumbling there was a bit of pride in my voice. My father was the best fighter, the best hunter, the best shooter, the list goes on and on. It was a mystery to me why he wasn’t the one leading us but when I did ask him that one time curiosity got the better of me he simply told me he wasn’t built for politics. He was more than content training his fellow officers, hunting outside of the walls, and keeping the peace.

“Oi Y/N!” 

My head immediately looked for the source of the voice, already knowing who it belonged to. Just the sight of him had me sighing heavily. The moment he reached me he slung his arm over my shoulders, hugging me close to him. I grit my teeth at the gesture, unaware of the annoyed look that crossed Seonghwa’s features for a second before it vanished when I elbowed Nikolai in the gut.

“What do you want, Nikki?” I asked, slightly irritated but not enough to be genuinely angry with him.

Nikolai was a few years older than I was, one of the few ‘Russians’ in Liszto. He grew up a few doors down from us so we had known each other for quite a long time. I didn’t particularly hate him but he always found a way to leave me wanting to wring his neck with my bare hands every time he talked to me. But, as much as he annoyed me I was still fond of him, he was like that older brother I never had.

“Wanna spar? I have some free time and I’m just itching to kick your ass.” He taunted, rubbing his hands together with a shit eating grin on his face.

At his taunt my lips curled upwards as I rolled my shoulders, “Oh ho, you’re on. Get ready to eat your words, Volkov.”

He chuckled as he slipped out of his jacket, throwing it over a nearby chair as he rolled his own shoulders. He began to jump in place, loosening up, the grin never falling off of his face. I rolled my eyes at the giddy look on his face but I was also excited to spar with him. The only one that could get me on my ass within seconds was my father and the only one that stood as an equal with me in terms of skills was Nikki, all our officers were nothing but child’s play to me. Nikki and I had spared a fair amount of times and not once had they ended with either of us being the victor. Just as I was about to get into it I stopped, suddenly remembering that Seonghwa was standing right there and we were in the middle of talking when Nikki interrupted us.

“Ah...Seonghwa I-”

Seonghwa stopped me before I could continue with a shake of his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, “Go ahead, I’ll still be here when you’re done.”

I beamed back at him, my excitement returning. I turned on my heel and got into the makeshift ‘ring’ with Nikki. The moment the other officers saw us standing in the ‘ring’ a chorus of murmurs were heard before they gathered around. 

“C’mon, Nikki. I’ll let you throw the first punch since you’re the one who challenged me.” I taunted, fixing the fingerless gloves on my hands.

He let out something that was a mix of a scoff and a laugh, the sound airy but he offered no reply, instead he took a step forward. He brought his hands up and I did the same. Just before it all started I slowly exhaled through my mouth, relaxing. Nikki circled, trying to get around me to get me from behind but I met him step by step, not allowing him to. Nikki threw the first punch, one I easily dodged. He threw another and another and I dodged and blocked every one. If I were anybody else I would think he’s not much of a fighter but I’ve gone up against him enough times to know he was just warming up.

We went on like that for a few minutes, that is until I swung for the first time but not with my arm. I bent down low and swiped at his legs. Nikki quickly jumped back, my leg narrowly missing him. Staying low to the ground I charged at him. As soon as I got close he brought a fist down. I dug my heels into the ground and pulled back, grabbing onto his wrist as I did so. With a smirk I pulled on his arm, swinging a leg at his stomach but I never made contact. He swiftly blocked my kick, his hand grabbing onto my ankle.

“Your kicks are as annoying as ever.” He huffed out, his grip on my ankle tightening slightly but not enough to hurt.

I smirked, my eyes shining brightly, “They’re reserved solely for you.”

And with that I jumped up, kicking at his chest with my other foot. He instantly let go of me, stumbling back as he gasped for breath. I didn’t give him much time to recover as I charged at him. I swung at his legs, successful in kicking them out from under him this time. He groaned as he landed on the ground but he didn’t stay down. With his arm he swiped at my legs. And just like him I landed on the ground. Before I could even recollect myself he was hovering over me. He brought his fist down, intent on landing a punch to my face but I moved out of the way just in time. I grabbed onto his wrist and brought my legs up, squeezing his bicep with my thighs and forced him to the ground. Pushing his shoulders and torso down with my legs I hyperextended his arm, laying flat against the ground. I felt him claw at my legs but I refused to let go. The next thing I knew I was being lifted up from the ground, no longer feeling the hard surface. 

“No way…” I murmured under my breath. 

Knowing what he was about to do I loosened my grip, trying to get away but I wasn’t quick enough. Within the next second he had slammed me back down onto the ground, the air leaving my lungs. My grip all but disappeared as I clawed at my chest, gasping for air. I withered on the floor, mistakenly rolling into my stomach. I realized my mistake when I felt him on me, his arm wrapping around my throat from behind, putting me in a chokehold. I had already been struggling to breath with being slammed into the ground but now it was impossible to get any air with the chokehold he had me in. I clawed at his arms but that only had him tighten his hold, a breathy chuckle falling from his lips. 

“I think this’ll be my win, doll.” He teased in a strained voice. 

I clicked my tongue, continuing to claw at his arm but it was no use. I wasn’t going to get out of this easily. Just as I was about to lose consciousness I saw some shuffling from my right. I looked over to see Seonghwa had taken a few steps towards us but stopped the moment my eyes met his. I gave him a glare, silently warning him to stay back. He hesitated but didn’t move to take another step. I could tell he was worried but Nikki and I had never given each other injuries that couldn’t be taken care of with a bag of ice and some rest. Gritting my teeth I dug my nails into Nikki’s arm, bringing my head forward and snapped it back. Nikki cursed loudly, his hold on me disappearing. I brought my arms up and propped myself up, pushing him off of me. I turned around to land the finishing blow and he went to do the same. We froze at that exact moment, my fist inches from his face and his inches from my ribs. Seconds passed before we each broke into a smile.

“Ah...I think you broke my nose with that headbutt.” Nikki groaned out with a chuckle, wiping the blood that had flowed out of his nose.

I rolled my eyes and scooted over to him, grabbing his face in my hands. I moved his head from side to side, inspecting his nose to see it was in fact crooked. I frowned, feeling guilty that I actually broke it. I moved my thumbs to the sides of his nose, mumbling an apology under my breath before snapping the cartilage back into place. 

“I thought we’re not supposed to break anything…” He whined, pulling my hands away from his face.

“I’m sorry.” I said under my breath but flicked his forehead lightly, “You’re the one who put me in a choke hold! What was I supposed to do?”

“Tap out!” He cried out dramatically with a pout, gingerly touching his nose, “You’re ruining my good looks.”

“Oh please, you're pretty enough that a crooked nose won’t do anything damage to your dating life.” I scoffed without giving it much thought, missing the way a small blush bloomed on his cheeks as I got up.

I held out a hand to help him up. The instant he was on his feet he ruffled my hair like he used to when we were younger and like then I shoved his hand away, punching at his arm lightly. While this was going on I was unaware of the look Seonghwa had on his face as he watched this all go down. In fact I was so busy screwing around with Nikki I didn’t even notice Seonghwa had left in the middle of it.

“That was some nice fighting skills.” Junhyuk said, walking over to Nikki and I with my father in tow.

My father had a proud smile on his face, placing a hand on Nikki’s and I’s shoulders, “They’re the best fighters I have at my disposal, though this one needs a little more work,” My father said, shaking me lightly.

“Oh c’mon, not even Nikki can beat you.” 

“No but he doesn’t give up like you do when I knock you down.” He shot back, Nikki giving me a smug grin.

I scoffed with a roll of my eyes, “There’s no point in me wasting my energy when I know what the outcome will be.” 

“I see you’re not getting the message your old man is trying to drill into your brain.” Nikki said, digging a knuckle into the side of my head.

I glared at him as I shoved his hand away from me, Junhyuk’s laugh drawing my eyes to him. Looking at him like this reminded me how much he and Seonghwa looked alike. Speaking of Seonghwa I looked around only to find that he was nowhere in sight. I furrowed my brows, frowning. 

“Alright, get going to the mess hall you two. I have a few more things to discuss with Junhyuk. Get Adonis a plate.” My father said, directing that last part to me.

Nikki saluted my father in a bit of a mocking way before slinging his arm over my shoulders and walking the both of us out. I didn’t shove him off of me this time, thinking back to where Seonghwa could’ve gone. I tried to rack my brain to figure out when exactly he left but I kept coming up empty. I was so lost in thought I didn’t hear Nikki calling out to me until he pulled on my ear, snapping me out of my stupor. I cursed and swatted his hand away, elbowing him in the gut.

“What the hell?!”

“What are you spacing out for?” He asked, rubbing at his side, “You’re gonna burn out your brain if you keep thinking so hard.”

I didn’t even have the energy to bicker with him as my mind made its way back to Seonghwa. Maybe he left after trying to step in. Was he angry that I started to fight while in the middle of a conversation with him? He seemed fine at first, he even said he’d be there when I was done. Maybe he had something urgent came up. Whatever it was I’ll just have to wait to ask him all this when I saw him again.

-Nikolai’s P.O.V-

I glanced at her from time to time as we walked, noticing that she still had that far away look in her eyes. I knew what she was thinking, she was always thinking about him. Ever since we were teenagers he’s all that occupied her mind in her free time, I hated it. I sighed heavily, knowing there was nothing I could do to get her mind off of him, it’s like she tuned out the whole world any time he was involved.

I glanced at her once more, frowning at the dirt that had smudged across her cheek. Without thinking I reached over and gingerly wiped the dirt away, the simple action finally drawing her out of her thoughts. She pulled away from my fingers, her hand grabbing onto my wrist to stop me.

“What are you doing?” She asked, clearly confused over the action.

Her words seemed to snap me out of it, realizing what I had just done. My eyes went wide for a moment, a blush coating my cheeks as I pulled my hand out of her grasp. I took a step away from her, the arm I had slung over her shoulders now falling back to my side. I opened my mouth to offer her an explanation but no words came out. She waited patiently for an answer but since I didn’t give her one she let a soft smile tug at her lips, her fingers touching the side of her face that had been smudged with dirt. She pulled back to inspect her dirty fingers, chuckling softly.

“You dote on me too much.” She said under her breath, barely loud enough for me to hear.

I scoffed as a reflex, combing my fingers through my hair as I tried to answer as nonchalantly as I could, “Well, duh. Who else is supposed to do it if not me?”

She rolled her eyes, hugging her arms to her body as a gust of wind blew past, “Careful, the ones basically throwing themselves at your feet on a daily basis will eat me alive if they hear you talking like that.”

I relaxed at her words, a little hurt by them. Sure I caught the attention of some people in this city but the one I wanted to notice me wouldn’t even so much as look my way...well at least not the way I want her to. I inhaled sharply before exhaling slowly, slipping out of my jacket and draping it across her shoulders to warm her up.

“If they have a problem with you then I’ll deal with them,” I mumbled as I began to walk towards the mess hall again.

I hadn’t even taken more than two steps when I saw him standing outside of the hall, his hands shoved into his pocket as he looked over at us. Y/N hadn’t noticed him yet, going to start walking when I reached out and stopped her, turning her around so she had her back to him. She gave me another puzzled look, about to ask why I stopped her when I suddenly pulled her into me, hugging her tightly to my chest.

“Nikki!? What are you doing now?” She asked, her voice muffled by my shoulder.

As I hugged her tightly to me I glared over at Seonghwa, his eyes glaring back. Even from where I was standing I could see his jaw clench, his hands now out of his pockets and balled into fists at his sides. I smirked at seeing the reaction I wanted. 

Y/N had pulled away slightly, looking up at me with worry filled eyes, “What’s gotten into you? Are you alright?”

I let a fond look cross my features as I pulled her into the hug again, “Nothing, I’m fine. I’m just feeling sentimental all of a sudden and I wanted a hug.”

I felt her sigh heavily, relaxing in my hold as she wrapped her own arms around my waist, “It’s been awhile since you’ve needed a hug. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me, savoring the hug as I gave Seonghwa a sly grin. I only kept her in my arms for another few seconds before finally pulled away, placing my hands on her shoulders.

“Okay, hug over, I’m good now.” I said, returning to my old self.

She laughed, shaking her head at my behavior. She still had yet to notice Seonghwa so I went on ahead, the look on my face a stern one. Seonghwa just stared at me without saying a word, his arms crossed over his chest. Just as I reached him he spoke.

“Watch yourself, Volkov.” He spat through clenched teeth.

“I should be saying that to you, Park. You and I both know who’d win if we ever fought.” I said in a low tone, giving him a once over from head to toe, a teasing smirk on my face, “ байстрюк.”

I spat that last word out with as much hatred as I could, bumping my shoulder harshly against his as I passed by.

[байстрюк = bastard]

.

[a/n : I’ll be trying to insert as many languages as I can into this but I’m only fluent in two and can barely pass with this new third one I just recently learned. I will be using google translate for the rest so if its wrong please don’t hesitate to correct me]

[just-dreaming-marvel]

FORTY THREE - THE ACCORDS

LEGACY: A Tony Stark Daughter Story

MASTERLIST

< previous

Word Count: 2,250ish

Summary: The Team learns about the Accords.

 “Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass… I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives… but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some… who would prefer the word ‘vigilantes’.” Secretary Ross stated.

“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” Natasha cut in, snarkily.

“How about ‘dangerous'? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?” Secretary Ross said, activating the screen behind him. It started playing news reels from past Avengers and SHIELD matters. “New York.”  The Chitauri invasion. “Washington DC.” When SHIELD fell. 

“Sokovia.” Ultron, I shuddered. “Lagos.” Their most recent mission. I could tell Wanda wasn’t taking all this well.

“Okay,” Steve said, obviously noticing Wanda reaction as well. “That’s enough.” Ross turned off the screen. 

“For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.” Ross said and he threw a thick book on the table. “The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries… it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary. The Accords will also require anyone who is enhanced to be put on a registry.” Ross stated.

“Like me?” Wanda wondered, “Like Bailey?” She glanced at Tony, who refused to look at her. “We’d be put on a list so that you can watch our every move? Maybe even experiment on us?”

“No it’s not like that. It’s—“ Ross paused. “Wait a minute. Who the hell is Bailey?” Ross quickly glared at Tony. “Are you hiding enhanced people here?” Tony sat there, staring at the ground, not saying a word. I waited for him to defend me or something. But nothing happened. So Steve quickly chimed in. 

“No. Bailey is someone we were thinking about recruiting. She’s not unofficial member of the team and she’s not enhanced.” Phew, at least Steve has my back. I felt bad that he had to lie though, and I immediately felt that Ross hadn’t fully believed him. He changed the subject quickly. “The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we’ve done that.”

“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?” Steve merely looked at Ross, unable to answer the question. Thor was probably on Asgard and no one had seen or heard from Bruce since Sokovia, a year ago. “If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes, you can bet there’d be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That’s how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.”

“So, there are contingencies,” Rhodey spoke up. 

“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords.” I noticed Steve and Tony briefly make eye contact and Tony quickly look back down. That floor must be really interesting, interesting enough for a man who never shuts up to stop talking. 

 “Talk it over,” Ross continued.

“And if we come to a decision you don’t like?” Nat asked.

“Then you retire.” Ross answered. Everyone kinda glanced at each other. “Let me know what you guys decide.” And with that, Ross left. 

I sat in the security room watching, waiting for Tony to speak up. But nothing. He just got up and walked out. I switched the cameras so that I could see where he was going. He went to the main gathering area, took off his jacket and tie and then laid down on the couch. Everyone else slowly followed. Sam and Rhodey were bickering back and forth about the Accords while Steve had grabbed the Accords themselves and was looking through them. They listened to Sam and Rhodey go at it for a while until Vision spoke up.

“I have an equation,” Vision stated.

“Oh, this will clear it up.” Sam grumbled sarcastically. 

“In the six years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man,” Vision started, “the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.”

“Are you saying it’s our fault?” Steve questioned, as he looked up from the Accords.

“I’m saying there may be a causality,” Vision answered. “Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict… breeds catastrophe. Oversight… Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.”

“Boom,” Rhodey said.

“Tony…” Nat said. “You’re uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal.” Tony moved his hand off from over his face and looked at Nat. She was right. He’s always very open about his opinion. Something was definitely off if he was keeping his mouth shut.

“It’s because he’s already made up his mind.” Steve stated.

“Boy, you know me so well,” Tony said sarcastically. Tony stood up and walked into the kitchen, he rubbed the back of his head as he went. “Actually, I’m nursing an electromagnetic headache.” He opened a cabinet and grabbed a mug. “That’s what’s going on, Cap. It’s just pain. It’s discomfort.” Tony looked into the sink. “Who’s putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed-and-breakfast for a biker gang?” 

Oops, that was me. I quickly mad a mental note that I needed to stop doing that. He tried to causally pull up a holographic image on his phone. 

“Oh, that’s Charles Spencer by the way,” Tony continued. “He’s a great kid. Computer engineering degree. 3.6 GPA. Had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul, before he parked it behind a desk. See the world, maybe be of service. Charlie didn’t want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn’t go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer, building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia.” I could feel the emotional shift in the room from where I was. “He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won’t know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass.” Tony threw some pills in his mouth and took a drink before continuing. “There’s no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I’m game. If we can’t accept limitations, we’re boundary less, we’re no better than the bad guys.” 

“Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up,” Steve stated.

“Who said we’re giving up?” Tony questioned. 

“We are, if we’re not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame.”

“Sorry,” Rhodey interrupted, “Steve, that, that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we’re talking about. It’s not the World Security Council, it’s not SHIELD, it’s not HYDRA.” 

“No, but it’s run by people with agendas and agents change,” Steve stated.

“That’s good. That’s why I’m here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing them,” Tony said back. 

“Tony. You chose to do that. If we sign these, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there’s somewhere we need to go, and they don’t let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.” 

“If we don’t do this now, it’s gonna be done to us later. That’s a fact. That won’t be pretty.”

“You’re saying they’ll come for me… for Bailey.” Wanda whispered.

“We’ll protect you,” Vision promised, looking at Wanda. I sensed him caring, but in a different way than I had ever felt from the android. A way that shouldn’t have been possible. It was almost… human. “Both of you."

“Do want them to be taken away, Tony?” Steve stood up to face Tony. “Do you want Bailey to be taken away?” I could feel Steve’s emotions acutely as he asked those questions. He was terrified that the government really would take me away and worried that Tony was willing to take that chance. 

“Don’t bring her into this!” Tony slapped the counter top. “She’s different, she’s not a part of this. She’s not an official member of the team and they don’t even know about her.”

“She is apart of this, Tony! She’s trained, gone on missions. She’s enhanced! Do you want them to know what powers she has? If they find out that she has healing abilities, they would run tests on her to create some sort of super drug! And then there’s her super strength and what about her—”

“You don’t think I know that?! I have thought about every possibility! I have…” Tony looked up at Steve, the glimmer of tears in his eyes was obvious. “She is all I think about. She is the reason I am doing this. Bailey is the reason I do anything. She is my kid! And no one here has a say about what happens to her except me!”

I burst into tears as I sat there listening to everything that was being said. I shook my head and ran out of the security room, down the stairs, and out the back doors. I went straight to the facility fence line, collapsing against it as I continued to cry. When Tony first found me, I was being tested on. When my parents and others found out about my abilities, I was sought out for. My parents were paid a lot of money to sell me to, what we now know was, HYDRA. I was 4 years old when I was sold, just 4 years old. Kept in a cage, poked and cut open, blood drawn. Then I was kidnapped. Now, the government could put me on a list and could possibly do the same things that HYDRA had done to me. I agree that the Avengers need to be put in check, but not at the risk of those who are enhanced. 

While I was crying across the compound grounds, things were still heated inside.

“I signed the Accords to protect her,” Tony continued. “To protect all of us.”

“Steve, maybe Tony’s right,” Nat suggested. “If we have one hand on the wheel we can still steer.”

“Aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?” Sam asked. 

“I’m just raiding the terrain,” Natasha answered. “We’ve made some very public mistakes, we need to win their trust back.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony interrupted, the hint of surprise in his voice, “Did I just miss hear you or did you just say that you agree with me?” 

“Oh, I want to take it back—“ Nat quickly shook her head. 

“No no no,” Tony said, as he shook his finger. “You can’t retracted it.” 

Natasha looked at everyone around the room. They were all tense. She knew that continuing this conversation would get them no where. Especially with Tony and Steve going at each other about me. It frustrated her that Tony didn’t know what was going on between Steve and I. But she understood that it needed to be kept a secret from Tony for now.

“I think we need to take a break and rethink things. We can talk about this once we all have cool heads,” Nat suggested.

Tony marched out, immediately in search of me since he hadn’t seen me in weeks. Steve sat down and put his face in his hands. Nat went over and put her hand on his back. She glanced at everyone else in the room. They all got the hint and then left. 

“You can’t be serious about this Nat,” Steve said, once everyone else was gone. 

 “They’re going to put them on a list. They’re going to put her on a list. I can’t—“ He took in a harsh breath. “I can’t let that happen. She’s already been through so much, too much. I have to do what I can to prevent more from happening to her.”

“I know you love her Steve, but you have no say in the matter. Tony’s her father and you’re her secret boyfriend. Until it’s out in the open, you’re just going to have to deal with having no say.”

“I know,” he sighed.

“He’s just trying his best.”

“I know.”

“We need to ride this out, see what happens. But you should go talk to her. We both know she heard the whole thing.”

“I can’t be the one to talk to her first. Tony needs to… I’ll just have to pick up the pieces of that conversation.”

next >

[yikeswtfmate]

The Duck Debacle

Summary: Bucky is trying to finish writing an essay, but Y/N has other plans.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (College AU)

Warnings: swearing; more dumbassery

A/N: Yuhhhhhhhh I’m on a roll these days. I guess this is what happens when you’re unemployed and no one is hiring in the middle of December! 

Happening a few years later after this.

masterlist // Watermelon Sugar - another part

Bucky nearly falls off his chair when his phone starts vibrating on his desk. One thing he has learned through his four years of studying law at college was to always completely turn off his phone when he's about to immerse himself in writing an important paper that he knows will take all night. Unfortunately, he forgot this time and his train of thought is entirely lost right when he had only 5 sentences left to write in the conclusion. He sighs and starts digging through books, papers and notebooks, cursing his luck because he knows there is no way in hell that particular train of thought will come back to him. Not even after the last 3 coffees he's drank since 2 am.

He finally finds the phone under a book on skills and reasoning, a wrap with a half eaten sandwich and what might've been a chocolate muffin that right now just looks like mush. Y/N's name flashes on the screen and he looks at the clock with a frown. It's 5 in the morning, which means she either hasn't gone to sleep yet or is going through one of her "productive" phases again when she joins Steve for his runs.

"I fucked up." She says, before Bucky can even open his mouth.

He sighs and rubs his eyes, suddenly feeling all the tiredness that eluded him until now through a miraculous mix of caffeine, anxiety, and focus.

"On a scale of The Faucet Fiasco to That Time We're Not Allowed to Mention, how badly did you fuck up?"

"Uh, remember The Chair Catastrophe? Around maybe the same level?" The uncertainty in her voice doesn't help ease the alertness that starts coursing through his veins.

"Shit." Bucky stands up and makes his way to the door of the apartment, picking his keys, wallet and shoes as quietly as possible so as not to wake up Sam, although the idiot deserves it after blasting music until midnight.

"Where are you?"

He climbs in his car, and already starts driving towards the hospital she indicates. She rambles on about a duck for some reason, but Bucky doesn't really listen to her, focusing on driving as fast as the speed limit allows him. He's not sure whether letting her speak helps more with her nerves or his, but he manages to end the call after he promises he'll see her in a second.

The nurse at the reception directs him to a room on the ground floor, which is honestly useless, because he can already hear her laugh through one of the closed doors.

The first thing he can see is Steve in the chair next to her. The smile on his face is immediately erased by a panicked look when he sees Bucky fuming in the doorway. Getting up from his chair, he steps towards his friend with his hands raised.

"What the fuck happened now?" Bucky demands.

"Buck, I swear it wasn't my fault this time." Steve tries to reason, but Bucky ignores him and stalks towards the bed, where Y/N is hiding under the cover. He can only see her eyes peeking out, a purple bruise on her forehead and he hopes he imagined the cast on her left leg.

"What did you do now?" His voice is accusatory, but all three of them know Bucky can never stay mad at her.

"In my defence, I was left unsupervised." Even though her voice is muffled by the blanket, he can hear her pout.

"Explain. Now, or I'll start kicking Steve." Bucky warns.

Y/N's eyes widen and she shuffles in her bed so as to better show him the cast. Steve takes it as his cue to leave them alone and gets out of the room with some muttered excuse.

"I fell in the lake." Now Bucky hopes even more that he hadn't heard her properly.

"You- you fell..."

"In the lake, yes." She confirms.

"Care to elaborate on that?"

"I already told you on the phone!" Y/N whines and tugs the cover back up to her eyes.

Bucky sits on the vacated chair with a sigh. He looks at her expectantly, waiting for an explanation. He is way too tired for this. On the other hand, he thinks idly, he should've expected something like this to happen. She was left unsupervised after all, even though Steve apparently was there.

"I went for a run with Stevie. When I got to the bridge, he was way ahead of me." Bucky nods in understanding, of course Steve left her behind, the man shows no mercy when it comes to his runs. "And there was this small little duck just passing by and I wanted to say hi so I leant over the railing and fell in the water, spraining my ankle in the process."

"You wanted to say hi to the duck."

Y/N nods her head vigorously. He crosses his arms, unable to form an appropriate response. He's shocked into realising that he's more grateful that she didn't drown or worse, like it is known to have happened, rather than worried about her lack of common sense. To be fair, after knowing her for all these years, he's more than accustomed to her dumb ass, so this doesn't come as a surprise.

"What's with the bruise on your forehead though?"

"Oh, that? I walked into a glass door yesterday."

Bucky lets out the longest exhale known to man.

"I'm sorry I bothered you while you were finishing your essay, although I told you not to pull an all-nighter. Wanna lie down for a bit?" She looks at him with a tentative smile and scuttles over in the bed.

Slowly, and feeling as if his every single joint decided to let him know they did not appreciate the 12 hours of sitting in a chair, he stretches on the small bed. He puts an arm around Y/N, her head and arm on his chest. Bucky flicks her nose with his free hand and she yelps.

"I can't let you by yourself for even an hour."

Steve comes back with three coffees that he's more than sure will taste of bitter brown water. When he enters the room he finds them sleeping, their faces almost touching. He shakes his head and wonders when will they get their shit together already. He snaps a picture of them and sends it to the group chat with the caption 'Idiots.' Two hours later, Bucky makes that photo his lock screen.