#we’ve had a chill day and we were just doing legos so it didn’t really interfere

[otamotone-dnp]

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[qitwrites]

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Momo is 13 when she gets her first period.

Her parents had talked to her about it of course, told her it was completely natural and normal and healthy, and to come to them when it happens.

What nobody was prepared for was the pain.

She’s in the family garden creating some Lego blocks for herself when a bout of cramps, sharp and intense, roils through her abdomen and up her left leg. It’s so sudden she can barely call for help, and by the time the guards reach her, she’s on the ground sobbing, clutching her stomach and shakily taking in gasps of air.

They tell her it’s a combination of her diet and her genes. The high-fat diet has consequences, no matter how much she uses her quirk to balance it out and her father’s side of the family has a history of debilitating period pains. It’s just really bad luck, or so they tell her.

Of course, this doesn’t deter Momo from her plans of becoming a pro-hero. It’s all she wants. So, it’s what she chases and works for and earns.

The period pains get worse.

Class 1A doesn’t notice for the longest time. Momo is good at hiding it, at hiding how often she uses the loo for the first two days, how much pain she’s biting back in class, how badly she’s performing in training. She practices her smile in the mirror, sits through hours of class and training and socializing with a smile plastered on her face, and screams into her pillow at night. She spends those nights on her bathroom floor, alternating between throwing up and enjoying the cool feeling of the tiles underneath her.

Nobody realizes until Momo doesn’t show up for class one day.

Of course, everyone is immediately concerned- Momo isn’t one to skip. She takes the best notes, has perfect attendance, submits her assignments on time, the works. First period passes like that, and Aizawa even brings it up but nobody knows where she is. She hasn’t messaged a soul or called anyone about anything.

They’re on break after second period when Todoroki finds her on the staircase landing between the first and second floor.

Momo is on the ground, laying on her side. Her hand is in her mouth, blood dripping down her skin as she clenches it tightly between her teeth. Her other hand is wrapped around her abdomen, squeezing tightly. Tears stream down her face continuously, like an endless river. She’s muffling her screams, and it’s almost like she can’t even see Todoroki, her gaze piercing straight through him.

Todoroki is immediately alarmed, getting to his knees in front of her. He looks over her and can’t see any physical injuries, any signs of trauma.

‘Yaoyorozu,’ he says urgently, ‘what’s going on?’

Momo blinks at him, some of the tears dispelling. She finally sees him, recognizes him, and gasps. She pulls her hand away and the tears spill again.

‘I can’t-‘ she starts and sucks in a sharp breath ‘-I can’t breathe. I can’t- there’s too much pain fuck.’ Todoroki raises his brows- Momo never curses. Never. Not even when she stubbed her toe against the dining table and broke it.

‘We have to get you to recovery girl,’ Todoroki says, moving to help her up.

‘Wait,’ she groans. ‘I need- dammit, Todoroki let me borrow your left hand for a moment please.’

Todoroki complies without question, and watches as she takes it and places it on her abdomen above her uniform.

‘As hot as you can go,’ she says, ‘without burning my uniform. Please.’

Todoroki has no idea what’s going on, but he does as she asks. The effect is almost immediate- her breathing evens out, her eyes focus again, her body stops jerking in pain. It’s almost like she’s been sedated.

After nearly 2 minutes of sitting in silence, she gently takes Todoroki’s hand and places it on his own knee. She sits up gingerly and wipes away her tears, smearing some of the blood on her cheeks instead. Todoroki watches her carefully, ready to step in if she asks for help.

‘What happened?’

Momo looks at him with sad eyes. ‘It’s just my period cramps Todoroki. I’m ok, I’ll be alright.’

Todoroki quirks a brow. ‘You’re not ok Yaoyorozu, even I can tell just by looking at you.’

Momo is about to voice another protest when the door to the stairwell bursts open. Bakugou and Kirishima walk through with vending machine drinks in their hands and stop when they spot the pair on the floor.

‘Yaomomo?’ Kirishima shouts, running towards them. Bakugou trails just behind, eyebrows furrowed.

Momo plasters a smile on her face, trying to hide her bloodied hand.

‘What happened?’ Kirishima yells, crouching down with a concerned look in his eyes.

‘I-‘

‘She said it’s period cramps,’ Todoroki interrupts. In all honesty, he never grew up around his mother or his sister, so he has limited knowledge of periods in general. But with that limited knowledge also came the lack of a stigma towards periods in general. He doesn’t think anything of talking about it.

Kirishima’s concerned look melts into one of sad understanding.

‘Oh man,’ he says, ‘that sucks Yaomomo. They’re that bad, huh?’

Momo keeps her smile in place. ‘Really, I’m fine, it’s nothing I cannot handle, I’m ok-‘

A hand, absurdly gentle, pulls her bloodied one away from where she’s hiding it. Momo startles when she sees Bakugou holding her hand, giving her a tight look. He drops it gently and sighs. With a grunt, Bakugou sits down next to her, back leaning into the wall. Kirishima sits cross legged in front of her while Todoroki sits on her other side.

‘My old hag,’ Bakugou grumbles, ‘has period pains. More like period torture, I guess. She threw up every month on the first day. She’d have dark circles from the lack of sleep, and she’d slap hot water bags to her stomach 24/7. She even burned the skin there a few times. Painkillers didn’t do shit, there were no surgical options, not even birth control made much of a dent. She’d just grit her teeth and bare it every month.’

Momo listens silently, her hands slowly unclenching.

‘My moms,’ Kirishima pitches in, ‘are pretty chill with it. Well, Mama’s get really bad sometimes, but mom is usually ok. I’ve seen them bring each other ice-cream or squeeze each other’s shoulders. They sync up a lot too! Mama would always tell me to be nicer to mom, and mom would always tell me to give mama a kiss. They’re both so manly when they battle their periods every month.’ He offers Momo a gentle smile.

Todoroki hums. ‘I admit, I don’t know much beyond the biological part of it. But from what I can see, Yaoyorozu, this isn’t very normal, is it? This level of pain?’

Momo sighs, brushing away the fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

‘I, between my quirk and my genes, I have received the shorter end of the stick. Of course, I have looked into treatments. There’s nothing I can fix with surgery, and painkillers are usually ineffective. I have tried birth control measures, but they interfere with my quirk.’

Momo looks up at the ceiling. ‘I don’t think we talk about this enough, about heroes that menstruate. I can’t stop being a hero on the days I have my period, but sometimes, I’m in so much pain I can’t see straight. I-‘ she sucks in a stuttering breath ‘-I don’t know what to do sometimes. I want to stand on equal footing with my peers.’

Bakugou scoffs. ‘You shitting me? You’re top of the class, your quirk can make fucking canons, you tutored our fuckwit classmates into not failing miserably, and you did it all through this shit? What part of that is not equal with your peers?’

Kirishima nods in agreement. ‘I mean, Mina has some cramps too, so I usually bring her hot water bags when she asks. I read somewhere that spinach is great for period health, so I make us both protein shakes with spinach and banana! She says it helps.’

‘The iron in spinach must be beneficial,’ Momo muses, her face breaking into the first genuine smile of the day. ‘I usually up my iron intake as well. It does help.’

‘You’re right though,’ Todoroki adds, eyebrows furrowed, ‘we don’t talk enough about heroes that menstruate. Plus, the fact that you can’t seem to find a way to manage your pain without it affecting your life is proof that they haven’t put much thought into it, isn’t it?’

Bakugou grunts in agreement. ‘My hag volunteers at women’s shelters and tries to raise funds for pain meds and hygiene supplies and shit. It’s ridiculous. All of that shit should be free. No one asks to have a period every month.’

‘We can change that though,’ Kirishima pipes in, always the voice of positivity. ‘Look at the four of us, talking about it! Yaomomo, I’m sorry.’

Momo blinks, ‘What for Kirishima?’

‘For not noticing! You must’ve been in so much pain all this time, huh? I’m sorry for not noticing and doing more.’

Momo feels something cold press against her arm. She looks down to see Bakugou pushing his unopened drink into her elbow.

‘Take it, staying hydrated helps with the cramps.’ He stands up and brushes his pants. ‘Think you can stand?’

Momo takes a sip of the drink, relishing the cold fizzy burn as it slides down her throat. She takes a deep breath and stands, stumbling a little before catching herself. Todoroki steadies her around the elbow.

‘Can we take you to recovery girl?’

Momo smiles warmly. ‘I’ve been already. We’ve been working together on some remedies. It’ll take time, but I hope we can come up with something.’ Momo hums. ‘I should put more work into this. I can’t be the only hero that faces such bad period pains.’

‘That’s so manly Yaomomo!’ Kirishima beams. ‘I’m kinda dumb so I don’t think I can help with the research but let me know if there’s anything else I can do.’

Momo giggles into the back of her hand and they start moving towards class together. As they reach the top of the stairs another bout of cramps settles into her gut, and she clenches the railing with a white knuckled grip.

The boys stand around, guarding her, supporting her, giving her small smiles and reassuring nods. Todoroki offers her his hand again, and she quickly makes a heating pad and hands it to him, so she can continue to use it during class. Bakugou urges her to drink more water, and Kirishima keeps telling her how manly she is.

When they get to class, everyone crowds around her and she laughs softly, promising to explain everything later. The rest of the day passes by with little incident, and throughout it all, Todoroki takes the heating pad from her, heats it up and hands it back, hour after hour.

They talk about it in the dorms after class, and recounting her episode opens the floodgates for all the girls.

‘I get really bad migraines,’ Uraraka sighs, rubbing at her temples as if in anticipation. ‘It makes the nausea from my quirk even more unbearable.’

Jirou nods. ‘I get you. I have leg cramps, makes it impossible to use my legs during heartbeat surround. The speakers are too painful to use, and I’m never as stable as I’d like to be.’ She gives Kirishima a pointed look. ‘I’ll join you at the gym next time, teach me some leg moves. I want to get stronger.’ Kirishima gives her a huge thumbs up and a blinding grin.

‘My back gives out sometimes,’ Mina says. ‘I have this pain that burns in my lower back on a few occasions, it’s the worst.’

‘I don’t have a lot of physical symptoms,’ Hagakure pipes in, ‘but I do have PMS and depressive episodes. I’ve been trying to figure out a good med balance to fix it.’ All the girls nod at that, squeezing her arms and shoulders in silent support.

The teachers are brought into the loop too, and Aizawa gently berates Momo for not coming to him sooner.

‘We’re here to help,’ he says, eyes the gentlest she’s ever seen. ‘Learn to rely on your teachers more, will you? Such troublemakers , the lot of you.’

Momo makes hot packs for the girls after that, and the teachers don’t blink when one of them passes it to Todoroki in the middle of class as the boy just heats it the appropriate amount before passing it back without so much as a hiccup in his work.

Bakugou sends Momo articles and tips from his mom about pain management and dealing with cramps. He says it’s because he wants her to be in top condition when he beats her for #1, otherwise it won’t, in his eloquent words, mean jack shit. Momo tries some stuff out, happily surprised when her symptoms are even the slightest bit reduced. Kirishima offers to make them all spinach shakes, and they take him up on that every so often, complimenting his limited cooking abilities.

And on the days Momo is back on the bathroom floor heaving into the toilet, Jirou holds her hair back. Mina cuddles her on the couch when her hands are clenched as she bites back tears, and Ojiro sits by her feet, a reassuring presence to depend on if she ever needs something.

They’ve still got a long way to go as a society, but it’s a start. And a damn good one at that.

[themetaphorgirl]

I asked for cute and cuddly things so I could write something adorable!! I tried to combine as many as possible!

@therestisconfettis​ : “the psolc babies making a pillow fort!!”

@birds-are-better-than-you​ : “My brain immediately goes to people actually listening to him talk instead of cutting him off, but thats just rooted in sadness”

@fragolinaa​ : “I just want people cuddling him, maybe someone who hasn't yet like Emily or Dave?”

@purpleturtle31extra : “Spending an off day exploring music together! Like showing him songs that remind you of him or a certain memory..”

anonymous: “cute cuddly idea: u mentioned Emily and Dave getting Spencer legos. Write a little thing of a rainy day or whatever and everyone’s just chilling building random shit with legos and then there’s gonna be Spencer actually building something with proper ratios and actual potential urban planning and everyone else is just like “hmm... I have built something vaguely resembling a plane”

anonymous: “omg cuddly mom alex?? maybe spencer napping with her and he has a nightmare??”

I hope I touched on everything!! I think I captured at least a little bit of everything!!!

----------

“Hey,” Emily said. “Are you feeling okay?”

Spencer dragged his fork around his plate, his chin resting heavily in his hand. “I’m not hungry,” he said dully.

“This is your last day to eat whatever you want,” she pointed out. “Go get something sugary. Donuts or something.”

He shrugged, and she bit back a sigh. Everyone else had left on Wednesday afternoon to spend Thanksgiving break with their respective families- literally everyone, even Hotch- and while they’d had a nice Thanksgiving at James’s house, and she was enjoying having her room all to herself, she and Spencer had been left behind, and the kid was moping like it was his job. She was starting to figure out that while he liked doing things on his own, he needed the security of knowing that everyone else was nearby.

“I guess I’ll go get some chocolate milk or something,” Spencer sighed, sliding down from his chair. 

“See? There you go,” she said. “Treat yourself.”

As soon as he slid down from his chair and trudged away she pulled out her phone.

the cause of hotchner’s headaches

9:09am

You guys need to help w the kid hes so sad i dont know what to do

James texted back first, which didn’t surprise her.

doctor james, medicine man

9:10am

Is he okay? 

the cause of hotchner’s headaches

9:10am

HES SAD I CANT HANDLE IT COME HELP ME

spaghetti grandpa

9:11am

He’ll be fine. He knows everybodys coming back today right?

the cause of hotchner’s headaches

9:12am

HE IS SAD NOW COME OVER

She set her phone aside as Spencer walked back up to the table with a carton of chocolate milk in his hands. “Can you open this for me, please?” he asked. 

She did and handed it back, but he didn’t drink it. “How about we go watch a movie or something?” she suggested. “While we’re waiting for everybody to get back on campus. That’ll be fun, right?”

He shrugged. “I guess,” he said. “What time is it?”

“A little after nine.”

He scrunched up his face, calculating. “Who do you think will be back first?” he asked.

“I don’t know, babe, we’ll have to see,” she said. “Drink your milk and we’ll get out of here.”

He sighed. “I don’t think I want it anymore,” he said. She shot him her best impression of Alex’s mom look. He rolled his eyes, but he drank it anyway.

Outside the dining hall it was cold and gray and dreary, rain falling just steadily enough to be irritating. She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and made Spencer put his purple galaxy-print raincoat on over his his sweater before they walked down the steps. 

“Do you think the weather will ground planes?” he asked anxiously. 

“Your guess is as good as mine, squirt,” she said. “It’ll definitely rain all day, but I don’t know if it’ll affect planes. You’ll probably know better than me.”

He said nothing, but he slipped his small hand into hers. She squeezed back gently. The kid had been perfectly well-behaved the whole time she’d been left to watch him, but it was frustrating to see him so sad and quiet and droopy. She didn’t think it was possible to be homesick for other people, but Spencer definitely had a bad case of it.

They settled in the common room, but the cozy space seemed cavernous and empty without the rest of the group. Spencer left his coat and his shoes in his room and settled into Alex’s usual spot on the couch, leaning on the armrest. 

“So what do you want to do, kiddo?” she said. He raised and lowered one shoulder. She huffed. “I’ll just pick something then.”

“Nothing scary, please,” he said, his chin resting on his folded arms.

“No, don’t worry, I learned my lesson,” she said. She grabbed a Star Wars off the shelf- she wasn’t sure which one it was, but she figured she couldn’t go wrong with something sci fi.

“Hotch’s plane lands at eleven, right?” he said as she plunked down on the opposite end of the couch.

“I think so,” she said. She reached over and ruffled his hair lightly. “Stop overthinking, you’re going to blow a fuse in there. Everyone will be home soon, don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not worried,” he mumbled.

They got about halfway through Star Wars (she still wasn’t entirely sure which one it was) when they heard Dave and James on the stairs. “Hey, guys!” Dave called. “We’ve got presents!”

Emily paused the movie. “What do you mean, presents?” she said. “What’d you bring me?”

James and Dave each held large plastic tubs that they dropped with heavy clatters on the floor. “Spencer, you’ve been having fun with the legos we got you for your birthday, right?” James said.

Spencer raised his head. “Yeah,” he said slowly.

“Well, we decided to dig around for our old lego collections you can have your own giant collection,” Dave said. 

He slid off the couch. “Really?” he said.

“Yeah, absolutely,” James said. “Go get yours, we’ll put them all together.”

Spencer’s eyes lit up. “Okay!” he said, darting off to his room.

“Oh my god, thank goodness you two are here,” Emily said. 

“You know, you said he was sad, and I didn’t believe it till I saw him,” Dave said, wrenching the lid off the first bin. “He looks like a deflated balloon.”

“See? I wasn’t lying,” Emily said. “Poor kid has been moping all week.”

James checked his phone. “Hopefully everybody will get in without any problems,” he said. “Alex texted me a little bit ago and said they delayed her flight by an hour.” 

“Oh, yikes,” Emily said. “She’d better get back here soon. And don’t tell the kid that, he’ll worry more.”

Spencer ran back into the room with his legos. “How should I organize them?” he asked. “Color first or size first?”

“How about we, you know, build something?” Dave suggested as he sat down on the couch. “C’mere, passerotto, I think I have all the pieces to the batcave.”

“Ooh, which version?” James asked as Spencer sat down on the floor in front of Dave.

“I don’t know. I think I built it once when I was Spencer’s age and then never touched it again.”

Emily leaned over James and scooped up a handful of plastic pieces. “What are you going to build?” she asked.

“Hey, don’t copy me!”

They worked on their projects mostly in companionable silence, sometimes absent chatter. Rain continued to tap at the windows. At least Spencer seemed distracted at last, focused on his projects.

Lightning cracked, white light shining through the window for a brief moment, and everyone jumped; Spencer knocked over one of his structures. “Holy shit,” Emily said. “That was terrifying.”

“You okay?” Dave asked, touching Spencer’s arm lightly.

He nodded, leaning against Dave until he lifted him onto his lap. “Do you think everybody’s okay?” he asked. “Planes can’t always fly in this sort of weather.”

“I’m sure everybody’s fine,” Dave reassured him. Spencer bit his lip, still staring out the window. “So what have you been building?”

“Scale model of campus,” he said. “Well, it’s not exactly to scale. But it’s pretty close.”

James held up a lump of legos. “This was supposed to be a plane,” he said. “But it doesn’t look particularly aerodynamic.”

Spencer laughed. “What kind of plane is it supposed to be?” he asked. “It looks like an off-kilter Cessna.”

“I don’t know. Just...a plane,” James said. 

“I’m trying to see how tall I can build this thing without it falling over,” Emily said. “Not much success yet.”

“I’m sure you know, caro,” Dave said, poking Spencer lightly in the side. “How tall is the tallest lego structure ever?”

“The tallest one is in Milan, it’s a hundred and fourteen feet, eleven inches tall,” he said. “The previous tallest was just a hundred and fourteen feet tall, in Budapest.”

“Milan, hm?” Dave said. “Maybe I’ll go see it next time I’m over there.”

“There’s one in Tel Aviv that was built to be four feet taller but-”

Lightning cracked again and Spencer jumped. Dave rubbed his back lightly. “It’s okay, it’s just a bad storm,” he said. It was too late, though- the attempts at distraction had failed, and Spencer was clearly back to worrying, the corners of his mouth tugging down.

Dave looked over at Emily. What should we do? he mouthed. She shrugged helplessly.

Thankfully, right at that moment heavy footsteps echoed on the stairs. Spencer raised his head. Please let it be one of our group, please let it be one of our group, Emily thought fervently.

A tall figure in a rain-soaked coat made it to the top of the stairs, almost terrifying for a split second, but he threw back his hood and shook his head. “Jesus, that was a nightmare,” he said. 

Spencer scrambled to his feet and ran towards him, nearly kicking Dave in his haste. “Hotch!” he shrieked, throwing his arms around his waist.

“Hey, kiddo!” Hotch said, bending to hug him. “Hey, careful, it’s raining really hard out there, I’m drenched and I don’t want you to get wet.” 

“How was your flight?” James asked.

Spencer, undeterred, still clung to Hotch; Hotch ran his fingers through his thick short curls. “Unbelievably shitty,” he said. “Flights were getting canceled left and right, it’s just storming bad everywhere. If I hadn’t gotten such an early flight, I might not’ve made it back.”

“That’s what we’ve been worrying about,” Emily said. “And when I say we I mean Spencer.”

Hotch tugged him back so he could see his face. “Hey, stop worrying,” he said. “Everybody will get back eventually. I promise.” 

“I can’t help worrying,” Spencer said. “What if everybody’s flights get delayed? What if something happens to their planes. What if-”

Hotch scooped him up. “Hey, I think the dining hall’s open for lunch,” he said. “Anybody else hungry? I didn’t have time for breakfast before my flight and all they gave me was one packet of pretzels.”

“They stopped giving away peanuts because of allergies becoming more common,” Spencer said, leaning his cheek against Hotch’s shoulder even though his coat was soaked with rain.

“Yeah?” Hotch said. “How about you go get your coat and your shoes, okay? I’m starving.”

“Okay,” Spencer said reluctantly. Hotch set him back down on his feet and he ran down the hall to his room.

“I am so glad you’re back, Hotchner,” Emily said, sweeping her lego tower back into the bin. “He’s been so sad with everybody gone.”

“I can tell,” he said. “Has he been like this the whole time?”

“Oh, yeah,” Emily said. “I’ve barely been able to get two words out of him.”

“Even when they came over for Thanksgiving he wasn’t talking much,” James added.

Hotch sighed. “I didn’t even think about this,” he said. “Poor kid.”

Emily’s phone buzzed. “Oh, it’s Penelope,” she said. “I’ll put her on speaker. Hey, Pen, how’s it going?”

“Terrible!” Penelope said, her voice crackling over the line. “I made the flight from California to Texas for my layover, but they canceled my connecting flight. It’s storming too bad.”

“Oh, yikes,” Dave said. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she sighed. “They have me booked for a flight first thing in the morning, and the airline is putting me up in a hotel for the night, but it’s so frustrating.”

“I’m sure,” James said. “Stay safe, okay? Do you need anything?”

“Are you kidding? The hotel has like a million channels and room service, I’m doing great!” Penelope said. “I’ll call you guys in the morning before my flight, okay? Talk to you soon!”

Emily sighed as the call ended. “Well, that’s one down,” she said.

“Penelope’s not coming?”

Spencer peeked out of the hall, his rainboots on and his coat dragging from his hand. “Yeah, her connecting flight got canceled,” Dave said. “But she’s safe, and she’ll be on a flight tomorrow, okay? So don’t worry.”

Judging by the way he pressed his mouth together, he definitely was worried. Emily pushed herself up from the floor. “Let’s go get lunch, okay?” she said. “Before Hotch starves.”

The rain had gotten decidedly worse, coming down in heavy sheets and flooding patches of the courtyard. Her umbrella helped a little but not much; Dave complained loudly the entire walk over. Spencer stayed glued to Hotch’s side, clinging tightly to his hand even once they made it to the warm safety of the dining hall. 

Hotch pulled Spencer’s hood down as they got in line. “What do you want?” he asked. 

“I’m not hungry,” he said.

He frowned, then covered Spencer’s ears. “Emily, be honest,” he said. “Did he eat while we were gone?”

“Not for lack of trying,” she said. “I kept putting shit on his plate and he barely touched it.”

“Did he just eat ice cream and candy?”

“He didn’t even want sweets. Or coffee, even.”

Hotch’s frown deepened. “Well, shit,” he said. He dropped his hands to Spencer’s shoulders. “Okay, kid, you have to eat something. If you don’t pick, I’ll pick for you.”

Spencer shrugged. “That’s fine,” he said. 

Hotch met Emily’s gaze, eyebrows raised. “I told you,” she said. 

She followed Hotch down the cafeteria line as he filled up two plates. Spencer stayed so close he ran the risk of getting stepped on, his small hand clinging to the hem of Hotch’s jacket.

Dave and James had beaten them to their usual table, and neither of them looked particularly happy. “Bad news,” James said. “JJ just called. Her parents rescheduled her flight. They were worried about the storms, so she’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.”

Emily glanced over at Spencer. “But she’s okay?” he said anxiously.

“She’s fine, caro,” Dave said. “And she’ll be here tomorrow.”

“What about Derek and Alex?” he asked. “Have they called? Or texted.”

“Not yet,” James said. “Maybe they’re already on their flights, though. I”m sure we’ll hear from them soon.”

Hotch set the tray down on the table, then picked Spencer up and set him down in his chair. “They’ll be fine,” he said. “So how did Thanksgiving go for you guys?”

Even with their attempts at changing the subject and trying to draw him into the conversation, Spencer seemed to sink further into himself, his legs tucked up under him and his chin resting in his hand, his plate still mostly untouched. Emily couldn’t blame him for being sad. All week it had been just the two of them in the nearly-deserted dining hall, and even with the boys there it seemed wrong without the rest of the group- Penelope shrieking about something that didn’t need to be shrieked about, Derek regaling them with stories from football practice, JJ’s pretty laugh bubbling over, Alex keeping the peace and stopping cups and plates from getting knocked over and tilted onto the ground.

Hotch didn’t make much headway getting Spencer to eat, but at least he ate a little bit, and their little group braved the storm to get back to Lincoln House. “What have you guys been up to?” he asked as they settled in the common room again, coats and umbrellas hung up to dry.

“Legos,” James said. “This was supposed to be a plane.”

Hotch laughed. “Yikes,” he said. “I’m glad you’re not planning on going into engineering.”

“Yeah, probably for the best,” he said ruefully. “I-”

“Hold on, hold on,” Dave interrupted. “Did you guys see the group chat?”

Emily fumbled for her phone. “No, I didn’t, I...oh.”

“What’s wrong?” Hotch asked.

“Derek’s flight got canceled too,” James said. “He says it got delayed and he sat on the tarmac for three hours, but they pulled everybody off the plane. His mom’s already picked him up, so he’s fine.”

Emily glanced over at Spencer. He curled himself up smaller, his knees tucked up to his chest, chewing on his thumbnail. “But he’ll be here tomorrow?” he said. 

“Yeah, he’ll be here tomorrow,” Dave reassured him.

Spencer lifted his head. “Can we call Alex?” he asked quietly. 

“Yeah, of course,” Emily said, immediately pulling Alex’s contact info on the screen. “Here, kiddo. Just press-”

Lightning cracked, and with a sharp pop the common room went dark.

“Holy shit!” Emily shrieked, the phone falling from her hand.

“Did a fuse blow?” Dave said.

James got up and looked out the window. “Well, judging by the other buildings on campus...I think the power’s out everywhere,” he said.

“Well, fuck,” Hotch said.

Emily raised an eyebrow. “Watch your language!” she said in mock horror.

“Oh, shut up,” Hotch said good-naturedly. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait for the power to come back on. Spencer, do you want to go ahead and call Alex? She’ll probably be glad to miss the power outage.”

“I think the tower’s down too,” Spencer said in a small voice. “There’s no signal.” He held the phone back out to Emily. “Thanks anyway.”

She reached for the phone, and as the lock screen flickered she caught the faint mark of tears on his cheek. “Oh, no,” she said. “Oh, fuck. Spencer, don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying,” he said, but there was a distinct wobble in his voice.

“Spencer, it’s going to be okay,” Hotch said. “The power’s going to come back on, and everyone will be home soon.”

It was too dark to see, but she could hear Spencer sniffling in a valiant effort to keep form crying. “I know,” he said. “But I-”

Hotch picked Spencer up and placed him in Emily’s lap. “Stay here with Em for a second,” he said. “James, Dave, come with me.”

Spencer dropped his head against Emily’s collarbone as she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t be sorry,” she said. “It’s been a rough week, dude. You didn’t get to go home and see your family, and you miss everybody. And you’re worried because of the storms. It makes sense.” She kissed the top of his head. “And now we’ve got all this power outage shit. But it’ll be okay.”

Hotch dumped an armload of stuff onto the nearest armchair. “Thank goodness for Penelope’s illegal candle stash,” he said. 

Emily twined one of Spencer’s short curls around her finger. “What’s with all of the pillows and blankets?” she asked.

In the dim light she could see Hotch grin. “We’re going to make a blanket fort,” he said. “C’mere, Spencer, I could use your brain for this.”

Emily set Spencer on his feet as James and Dave brought in their collections of pillows and blankets. She busied herself lighting candles and placing them in safe places around the room as Spencer directed the older boys in their construction. He seemed to perk up a little bit with something to focus on, especially as they let him be in charge.

“Okay, I’ve made some blanket forts in my day, but this one is pretty cool,” James said. 

“That’s because Penelope has about eight million blankets and they’re all soft as baby puppies,” Emily said as she crawled into the fort. “I claim the blue pillow!”

All five of them fit comfortably inside, the interior lit with a string of battery operated fairy lights, also taken from Penelope’s room. Spencer nestled himself between Hotch and Emily. “Are we going to tell Penelope that we borrowed all of her stuff?” he asked. 

Hotch handed him his favorite blanket. “I think if we leave the fort up till she gets back, she won’t mind as long as she gets to hang out in here,” he said. 

“What should we do?” Dave asked. “Power’s still out, and there’s no wifi either.”

“Oh!” Emily said. “Okay, I’ve been trying to get you to listen to this album for weeks. Now is the perfect time! You’re a captive audience.”

They took turns passing each other’s phones back and forth, listening to different songs in the comfort of the handmade blanket fort, playfully arguing over each other’s tastes in music as the warm glow of the fairy lights cast soft shadows. Spencer seemed a little less tense now, snuggled safely between Hotch and Emily with his blanket hugged to his chest.

She hadn’t kept track of time, but it was at least two hours before the power switched back on, the overhead lights suddenly way too bright after the dimmness of the tent. “There we go,” Dave said, sitting up and checking his phone. “And we’ve got signal again!” He stretched his arm over James and Emily to hold out the phone to Spencer. “Here, passerotto, see if you can call Alex.”

He took it eagerly and tapped at the screen to bring up her info, but his excitement faded almost instantly. “It went right to voicemail,” he said. “Thanks anyway.”

James scrambled ungracefully to his feet. “Hey, since the power’s back, who wants to watch a movie?” he said. 

“Not a Star War, please,” Emily called. “I can’t tell any of them apart.”

Hotch propped himself up on his elbow. “Hey, Spence,” he said. “It’s okay. I’m sure Alex is fine.”

“Yeah,” Spencer said. He turned to Hotch, one corner of his mouth tugging up in a rueful little half smile. “I bet her flight got canceled too. It’s okay.”

James flipped the overhead lights off, leaving them back in the glow of the candles and the string lights, and crawled back into the fort with the remote in his hand. “All right, if anyone has objections, y’all can get up yourself and change it,” he said.

Emily settled back as the movie started. Spencer was quiet beside her, but after a while he rolled over onto his stomach, his forehead pressed against Hotch’s arm and his blanket tangled around his legs, and she smiled when she heard his first little snore.

“Hotchner,” she whispered. “This blanket fort idea was genius.”

Hotch grinned. “Sean made me make one for him while I was home,” he said. “I figured Spencer might like it too.” He paused. “Is he asleep?” Emily nodded. “Thank god.”

James sat up and pushed his hair out of his eyes. “Guys, I still haven’t heard from Alex,” he said. “It’s still going right to voicemail when I call her and she hasn’t answered any texts.”

“Maybe her signal’s out too,” Dave said. “Don’t worry about it. Alex can take care of herself.”

James pouted. “Yeah, but...I might be a little worried about her,” he said. “It’s not like her to not answer.”

“Awww, you miss your girlfriend,” Emily teased. 

“I do! I do miss her!” James said. 

“Guys, if any of you wake up Spencer, I will murder you,” Hotch hissed. 

“I’m sorry!” James whispered back. “I just- I think I need to be worried about Alex.”

Suddenly a familiar person knelt down and leaned into the tent. “You’re worried about me?” Alex said, her long red hair hanging loose around her shoulders. “That’s so sweet!”

James scrambled up, smacking Dave in the face in his haste. “Oh my god, I missed you!” he said. He tugged her closer, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her deeply. “Oh my god. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she laughed, running her fingers through his hair. “My phone died and I didn’t pack any of my portable chargers in my carryon. Where’s everybody else?”

“Everybody’s flights are delayed,” Emily said. “Spencer’s been beside himself.”

“Oh, poor thing,” she said. “Is he sleeping? I don’t want to wake him up.”

“Yeah, he just dozed off,” Hotch said. “He’s going to be so relieved to see you.”

Emily scooted over to make room. “C’mere, the movie hasn’t been on for very long,” she said. 

“Hey!” James protested. “She’s my girlfriend, shouldn’t she be next to me?”

“Well, she’s my roommate, and I’ve had her for longer,” Emily said. Alex laughed as she settled between her and Spencer, busying herself with snuggling him against her side and tucking him in. Emily leaned over to whisper in James’s ear. “Besides, we all know you two are gonna go fool around the second you get a chance. You’ll get your quality time, don’t worry.”

Even in the dim light she could see him turn red. “What are you guys whispering about?” Alex asked. 

“Nothing!” James squeaked. Emily made a rude hand gesture and he smacked her arm. “Emily! Stop it!”

She snickered as she leaned her head against Alex’s shoulder. “How was your week being in charge?” Alex asked as she adjusted Spencer’s blanket around him.

“Could have been worse...could have been a lot better,” Emily said. “He was so sad. I’m not good with sad kids.”

“I’m sure you did great,” Alex reassured her.

The movie was almost over when Spencer began to shift and whimper in his sleep. “Is he okay?” Emily asked.

“He’s-” Hotch winced as Spencer kicked him in the shins. “Ow. Bad dream, I think.”

Alex sat up. “Okay, I’m going to wake him up,” she said. 

“Careful, he can be pretty feisty,” Hotch warned.

Alex stroked his hair back from his forehead as he tried to pull away from her. “Spencer, wake up,” she called gently, her hand resting on his chest. “Come on, darling.”

She kept coaxing him until his eyes finally opened. “What’s going on?” he mumbled.

“You had a bad dream,” she said. 

He blinked. “Alex?” he said sleepily. “Did your plane land safely?”

Hotch laughed. “Yeah, kiddo, her plane landed safely,” he said. “Get the sleep out of your eyes.”

Spencer rubbed his face and blinked again. “Alex!” he yelped, throwing himself into her arms. 

“Hi, baby,” she said. “Did you miss me?”

“A little bit,” he said, tilting his face so she could kiss his cheek. “Was your flight okay? Was there a lot of turbulence?”

“Everything was fine,” she reassured him as she cuddled him against her side. “Now, sh, I think Dave is getting invested in the movie.”

“No, I’m not,” he said absently.

“Yes, he is,” Emily teased.

Spencer settled down with his head on Alex’s knees; Hotch tugged his blanket around him. “Everybody else will be here tomorrow,” he said. “Penelope’s connecting flight got canceled, and Derek’s got canceled, and JJ’s parents rescheduled her.”

“That’s good,” she said, stroking her fingers through his hair. “Go back to sleep, darling. You look so tired. And everything’s going to be okay, nothing to worry about.”

The rain had settled back into a light tapping on the window; the thunder and lightning had long since stopped. Emily leaned back against her pillows, smiling in contented relief. Alex was right. Everything was going to be okay.

[youllneverknowrac]

Oscar Diaz-Six

(MBS)

“I took the pill.” You complain to Oscar,”I told you we should have been using condoms.” You say and run you hand down your face in annoyance, Oscar standing there with a victorious smile,”You did this to me! Again!”

“If I remember correctly it takes two to make a baby.” He chuckles and places the positive pregnancy test down on the dresser,”You weren’t complaining about me not wearing a condom when I was hitting it the other day.”

“Ugh, shut up.” You groan and pull your hair into a messy bun,”You won, congratulations. I’m having another one of your kids.” You weren’t mad, you knew you could have been smarter in preventing yourself from getting pregnant but the truth was you hated what birth control did to your body and you did not like the way a condom felt. You were just annoyed that Oscar was going to rub this in your face forever,”You fucked yourself, because now we’re going to have three kids in our room, you get to explain that to Angel. He already hates sharing the bed with Alex.”

“Those two have a shared room upstairs, and their own beds. So by the time my little girl gets here they are going to be well trained on sleeping by themselves.” Oscar says simply,”They have a few more months left until we have to kick them out.”

“Girl? Ha!” You laugh as you throw one of the couch pillows at him,”I’m positive it’s another boy seeing as we’ve already done this five times.”

“Hormones already changing?” He teases as he lets the pillow hit him in the chest and fall to the ground,”How far along do you think you are with my princesa?”

“Oscar, I swear to you if I have to carry another one of your boys I’m getting my tubes tied.” You pout, ignoring his question

“Mami, you don’t have to worry. It’s a girl, it has to be.” He says as he walks over to you and pulls you into his arms,”Six kids, it’ll be more than perfect.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see if your right. Probably not.”

“I will be, try and get an appointment in as fast as you can okay? I want to know how far along you are so we can start planning.”

“I can’t be more than eight weeks, I just took notice in my body changing, but who knows since you almost never manage to pull out in time.” You say smartly

“It’s harder than you think, and it’s not exactly what I’m focused on when I’m trying to finish.” He defends

“Whatever, your pull out game is weak. I’ve known this since you got me pregnant after the first time we ever did anything. Best five minutes of my life.”

“I was sixteen that does not count.” He laughs,”It was more like seven if you want to be technical.”

“You keep telling yourself that papi.” You say with a shake of your head,”Go pick up the kids from you brothers house, I’ll get dinner started. Looks like we got some big news to tell them.”

“Okay.” He says and pecks your lips,”Make sure you eat enough for my bebecita. She’s gonna have a appetite like her daddy.”

“Go away!” You laugh and lightly push him towards the front door,”I’m going to get the last laugh when we find out it’s most definitely not a girl.”

“Wanna bet money?” He challenges as he grabs his keys off the hook.

“Your money is my money, and my money is my money.” You grin

“Niña mimada.” He teases, giving you another kiss,”See you in a bit, love you.” He mutters against your mouth.

“I love you. Drive safe.” You say, not shutting the door until he’s in the car and out of the drive way.

~

“Mommy!” Angel says as runs into the house and hugs your leg tightly”I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” You say and lower the heat on the final smothered pork chops you were making. The sides already done and waiting to be served,”Did you have fun at Uncle Cesar’s?” You ask him, the rest of your family coming in.

“Yeah! We stayed up all night and watched movies.”

“It was not all night. Angel passed out at 10.” Anthony replies amusingly before sending you a wave,”Hi mom.” He says, coming over to give you a side hug,”I’m gonna go put my stuff away.” He informs before heading up the stairs with his over night bag.

“I missed you mommy.” Carlos says, his turn to hug you now,”It smells really good, did you make macaroni?” He asks with a toothy grin.

“Yup. There’s also mashed potatoes and cheesy broccoli.” You tell him as you run your fingers through his hair,”So go upstairs and put your things away, the food will be ready in a few minutes.”

“You got it.” He says, giving you one more squeeze before taking off.

You pick up Angel, checking on the food one last time before heading to the living room, Junior and Oscar in conversation as your husband holds Alexander,”Too old to come say hi to your mom?” You say to your eldest, who was home for the weekend like always. So you were a bit sad when he decided to go over to Cesar’s last night since you only had limited time with him.

“Never.” He grins, towering over you as he gives you a big embrace,”Missed you mom.”

“Hm, what did you get up to last night?” You ask, knowing that out of all of your kids he was the closest with his uncle. Only because they were so close in age and you all lived together up until Cesar hit legal age and moved out.

“Nothing.” He shrugged,”Just chilled with Cesar.”

“Uncle Cesar.” Angel corrects him

“Yeah, yeah, Uncle Cesar.” He chuckles,”Smells good mom, like always.” He compliments, grabbing his own bag as well as the bag that you packed for the two little ones,”I’ll take it to their room.”

“Thank you.” You smile and turn to your husband,”Did your brother say anything about Alex?”

“Just that he was stuck on Monse’s hip all night. Only wanted to be fed, changed, and put to bed by her.”

“Ladies man.” You laugh and swap kids with Oscar, pressing a kiss to your still bald babies head.

“Just like his daddy.” Oscar says amusingly

“Excuse me?” You say with a raised eyebrow,”We’ve been together since we were teenagers. You were never a ladies man. I’m your only lady.”

“I had game before you. That’s how I pulled you so easily.”

“You were trying to get at me since I was 12, I didn’t cave till I was 15.” You respond knowingly, the two of you heading into the dining room so you can sit the boys down in their individual chairs,”And the two girls you did try to show off to make me jealous we’re not even on my level papi.”

“I was still pulling though.” He chuckles as he secures Alexander in the high chair.

“Yeah so was I, remember Javier Gomez? He was in your grade...He was why I didn’t give you the time of the day.” You smirk, Oscar knowing about the little crush you had many years ago.

“Man, you always got to bring him up.” Oscar says with a smack of his lips,”You should have married him if you liked him that much.”

You quickly fix Angel’s hair after he’s in the booster, tying it back in his usual curly ponytail,”See that was my plan.” You start, going to the kitchen to serve the plates,”But another tattooed, muscle shirt wearing cholo got my attention and ended up trapping me with a baby.”

“More like you trapped me.” Oscar says, pressing himself behind you as you put food on all of the plates,”You climbed onto me, we were suppose to be watching tv.” He reminds, pressing a small kiss to the side of your neck, his hands wrapping around you and resting on your stomach,”Now here we are, 20 years later with almost six kids.”

You grin and lean back into him,”Hmh.” You hum, grabbing two of the finished plates and turn around so he can take them to the table,”I’m sure Javier would have given me my daughter by now.” You say, shoving the plates towards him.

“Alright I’m sorry, I was never a ladies man. Please stop bringing his ass up.” Oscar says as he grabs the items with a pout.

You smile and peck his cheek,”Fine, now go put those down and come back for more.”

Oscar nods and does as you say,”Come eat!” You shout, serving more plates as Oscar takes them to the table when they’re ready.

“Thanks mom!” Anthony says as he zooms past you and to his usual seat.

“Mac and cheese!” Carols cheers as he does the same.

“Thanks for cooking.” Junior smiles and takes the last plate to the table for you. You grab the pitcher of water and bring it over to the table, sitting down as you all begin to eat. Alexander just eating the mashed potatoes with his hands, the only thing you served him along with his bottle of milk.

After while when most of the kids are near finished you clear your throat to grab their attention,”So, I have some news. Well me and your dad do.” You start

“Oh god, your pregnant again aren’t you?” Junior guesses,”I’ve been through this conversation four times and you always start it off like that.”

“Three times for me.” Anthony chimes in before taking the final bite off of his plate.

“Are you mommy? Are you having another baby?”Carlos asks excitedly

“Well yes, thanks for that Junior.” You laugh,”I took a test this morning so I don’t know how far along I am exactly.”

“Hey, I’m just saying. I’m use to this.” He shrugs,”Still, congratulations mom. Dad, glad to see your not getting too old.” He jokes as he stands up with his dishes, taking his younger brothers as well.

“You’re not to gown to get smacked around fool.” Oscar jokes as he tosses his balled up napkin at him, Junior laughing as he goes to rinse off the plates.

“Baby?” Angel says, confusion etched on to his face,”Alex is baby.”

“Yes he is a baby, and now mommy has another baby in her belly.” You explain

“Two babies?” He asks with furrowed brows

“Yes, two babies.” You confirm

“No thank you mommy. No more babies.” He decides with a shake of his head

“Well it’s too late for that mijo.” Oscar chuckles, reaching over with a new napkin to clean off Alexander.

“No more brothers.” Angel disagrees

“What if it’s a girl? A sister?” You ask him as you stand up to let him out of his booster chair.

“Yeah! A sister.” Anthony and Carlos say with glee.

“Girl?” Angel repeats, thinking it over,”Okay mommy. Only baby sister, no brother.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.” You laugh and let him run away after setting him down, the other two boys getting up and joining him in the living room to play with the LEGO’s.

“So is this the last one?” Junior asks, coming back for more plates

“See I want to say no, but seeing as all of you guys -besides Alex- were surprises I’m just going to say maybe.”

“It would have been cool if you could have had a baby closer to my age.” Junior says as he takes your plate along with Oscar’s.

“Are you crazy? We were too young and besides we had Cesar to take care of too. He’s practically your hermano.” Oscar answers as he gets up with the baby.

“Still.” Junior shrugs, heading over to the kitchen again to empty his hands.

“Besides you got to enjoy us all by your self, and I got to enjoy my first baby.” You say and bump his side with yours playfully.

“I guess your right.” He smiles as he cleans,”It was fun, sometimes I wish we could go back to the old house and relive the days when it was just us and Cesar.”

“It was fun. I miss it too sometimes.” You admit,”But the future is always better, at least for us it was and is...I’ll finish up. Go study or get some work done.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, go.” You nod and take over, Oscar going ahead and putting Alexander in the bath.

It doesn’t take too long until the kitchen is once again spotless, sending Carlos and Anthony up stairs to get ready for bed. Angel following you into the bedroom,”I take shower with you.” He says, already pulling off his t-shirt and putting it into the hamper.

“Okay.” You laugh, the two of you walking into the bathroom to find Oscar drying off the baby,”All clean?”

“All clean.” He reply’s, reaching for the lotion and lathering up Alex from head to toe.

You don’t reply and run the water, Angel getting completely undressed and running over to his potty chair that sat in the corner.

“All done.” He says aloud, you already in the shower and Oscar dressing Alex.

“Hurry up, before the water gets out.” You urge, pushing open the glass door and letting him step in with you. The two of you taking a quick shower before getting out and drying off. Angel leaving to his room to grab his pajamas and a night pull up.

“You look like your already showing.” Oscar says from where he lays on the bed, Alexander already asleep on his chest.

“I’m just fat.” You laugh as you walk over to the closet, pulling on a over sized tee and a pair of underwear,”I’ve always had this belly.”

“Nah, I know your body. That’s definitely a pregnant belly.” He chuckles, a now dressed Angel coming back into the room and closing the door behind him.

“Scoot over daddy.” He sighs,”You knew I was coming.”

“My fault.” Oscar reply’s, scooting over to his side so Angel could lay in the middle. You shake your head and turn the light off, sliding in the bed and turning some cartoons on for him to fall asleep too.

“I can fit the baby right here.” Oscar informs you, patting his chest,”If it comes down to it.”

“Be quiet.” You laugh

“Sólo estoy diciendo la verdad.”

“We can not co-sleep with three kids. So like I said earlier, you better have these two in their own room by the time this thing inside of me gets here.”

“Yes mam.” Oscar says teasingly,”I can do that easily.”

“It’ll be a walk in the park.” You say sarcastically, already knowing that this was not going to be a easy task to complete. Nothing in your life being a easy task to complete when it came to your family,”I’ll call the doctor in the morning, I’m sure she can schedule me in sometime this week.” You add, referring to the same doctor that you used for all of your kids.

“Just let me know, I’ll try to call off of work.” Oscar says happily.

“Okay.” You yawn, your mind still processing that you were once again creating another human life. That the love between you and Oscar already blossomed 5 amazing boys. That you guys had enough love left to be able to give it one more go. Even if it wasn’t exactly planned on your part you knew that baby was going to bring much more joy into your family’s life. Your lucky little six.

[susiequaz12]

Carrot Top- 14: Afraid

Woooh! Another update! I didn’t expect this one to come so soon, but it did, so here yah go. Time to also meet some new people!

CW: Medical whump, restraints, blood/knives/torture mention, non con (nonsexual) touch mention, possessive/creepy whumper.

Tag list: @imagination1reality0, @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi, @thehopelessopus

Masterlist here.

The small girl burst into the Doctor’s office, dragging a boy behind her by the hand. 

“Dr. Tusik!” She called. “Tusik!” She threw out her arms, releasing the boy’s hand as the Doctor turned around from his stack of papers he was investigation. “It’s been far too long! We definitely have to do something.”

The doctor set a paper down and looked at the girl, speaking in a slow voice, with an accent long faded of his home country. “Slow down vnuchka, is this about what I think it is?”

“Andrew!” She cried. The doctor nodded. The boy standing in the doorway dropped into a seat behind them in the small office. 

“This is not like him.” She continued. “I mean, sometimes he’ll hold a grudge- and, and we’ve all argued before, but usually you just, give him a day, you give him some space and he’ll be fine. Dr.- It’s been five days.”

“Slow down now child, just breathe. We’ve sure to find an explanation.” The old man pushed his glasses up his nose. He adjusted the papers on his desk and took the stethoscope off from around his neck, placing it on the messy pile of paperwork and writings.

“An explanation for why Andrew’s been mia for almost a week?” The boy asked. “I’m sorry Dr Tusik, but what kind of good explanation could there possibly be for something like that?”

The girl spoke again. “Justin’s right, where could he have gone? He lives with us for goodness sake, he hasn’t answered his phone, his mom’s is too far away and he doesn’t have a car, there’s- I don’t know where else he could be! There isn’t anywhere else he could be!” 

“Ali, calm down, pozhaluysta, please.” Dr. Tusik stated gently. “It’d do good to remember you’re not the only ones with concerns for the boy.”

At the shouting and the noise, a figure had stood in the doorway behind the two. They turned around to find a young girl. Younger than Ali by a few years, but much taller and ganglier. She had beautiful curly auburn hair that tangled itself up no matter what you did, and freckles across her nose. You couldn’t mistake who she was related to- it was obvious. 

Andrew’s sister. 

Her eyes were red and she held a crumpled tissue in her fist. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, and then smiled. 

“Hey guys.” She stepped into the small office. 

“Mickie- hey.” Ali stated. She approached the younger girl and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

They all sat down in chairs around the small office while Tusik explained.

“Mickie came in a few minutes earlier with the same concerns. She’s visited a few times now, and we’ve previously discussed some things. Possible explanations, and solutions.”

“I just can’t get it out of my head that he’s really mad at us.” Justin stated. “I mean, I feel like I kinda pushed him over the edge a little that night- it’s understandable if he’d want to ignore us.”

Mickie shook her head. “Andrew doesn’t ignore people. He’s too kind for that.” She sniffled. “We’ve literally gotten into some of the worst arguments you could imagine growing up. I mean, he shoved me in a suitcase once that ‘accidentally’ fell down the stairs, all because I’d broken his Star Wars Lego set. We didn’t talk for the rest of the day but after that we were fine.” She turned to Justin. “He doesn’t hold grudges. Andrew’s not mad at you, so don’t blame yourselves.”

Ali kept a hand on the girl’s shoulder. She changed the subject. “So have you heard from him? When was the last time you guys talked?” 

She shrugged her shoulders and got quiet, wringing the bottom of her t-shirt in between her hands. “Just that night. We were texting and I could tell he was getting frustrated with you guys-”

Justin interrupted. “I knew it, I knew he was mad at me, I should have given him that ride home, I shouldn’t have-”

“Justin shut up.” Mickie stated. Justin stopped abruptly. She brought a hand to her face. “Sorry, I- he wasn’t mad at you okay? Just frustrated- trust me.” She sighed and fiddled with the crumpled tissue in her hands. “He talked to me more than anyone. Sure, he lives with you guys, but put yourselves in his shoes. You have each other to hang out with. When you’re spending all your time making him feel like the third wheel it’s understandable for him to get a little frustrated. He wasn’t mad, I promise. Just tired. He was saying how he needed to clear his head, just walk, spend a bit by himself.”

Dr. Tusik began to speak, breaking the silence that had begun to fill the room. “Mickie and I have previously discussed where he could be- potential theories and such, as well as our ideas as to how to solve the problem.”

“Oh?” Ali asked.

“Andrew and I talked almost constantly. I mean he’s not just my big brother, but he- he’s my best friend. He’s not- he’s not ignoring anyone, he couldn’t be, so- he... he-” Mickie’s voice began to break. Ali rubbed her back as she began to cry.

Tusik finished for her. “He was taken.”

Mickie regained her composure quickly, dabbing at her eyes with the torn up tissue. “There’s no other explanation. Why else would he ignore us all for so long? He probably- he probably feels just as bad about it as we do.”

“But who? Who possibly could have taken him?” As Justin asked the question, silence filled the room once more. They all knew the answer immediately after the idea had been posed. The man had been looking for them for a while now, ever since they all discovered their abilities. 

No one wanted to admit that that was where he was right now. 

- - - 

Andrew twisted his own fingers in his hands as he sat. He twisted the bottom hem of his shirt up, wrinkling it between his fingers.

His ears popped as a yawn got trapped in his mouth. It was late at night, after dinner. He knew because he hadn’t been fed- his stomach growled ever so slightly. He had been left alone all day, and had fallen asleep only to be awoken roughly to be dragged down to another one of these rooms.

There were often times he’d be dragged down here, and spend all day in an endless misery. 

Those days were the worst.

They were the days he was taken in to be tested- to be poked, prodded, examined. Rough hands grabbing at him, stabbing him with things, treating him like a lab rat incapable of cohesive thought.

One day he was forced to run on a treadmill until he passed out or threw up. They were testing his heart rate apparently.

Another day they cut into his muscles. Poking at them to “see how they worked”. Other times they just sat and stared. 

So when Splice said that the doctors had a new drug they wanted to try, anything could have been possible.

He was placed in the medical chair as Splice sat on a stool next to him, waiting for the “Doctors” to come in. They were called Doctors, but for all intents and purposes, they were just people curious about how peculiari worked- hired to treat them like lab rats using whatever unconventional methods they saw fit. 

When they came into the room a wave of cold chills instantly ran over Andrew’s body. There were three people- all wearing medical masks in white coats and gloves. They didn’t acknowledge Andrew as they walked in and set a massive amount of supplies down on the counters. 

Splice stood up from his stool while one of the doctors spoke to him in regards as to what could be expected from this procedure. Andrew tried to pay attention, but it was difficult when the other two doctors were surrounding him where he sat. 

His wrists were grabbed and strapped down to the armrests of the chair- his ankles restrained in a similar fashion. He felt the mechanical humming of the chair through his muscles as it was lowered until Anrew was laying nearly flat on his back. Then a thick strap came to wrap across his forehead as well, keeping his head in place.

He tried to remember to breathe as he began lose track of what was happening around him. 

He felt something tight around his bicep, cutting off circulation, and then something cold and wet wiped across the crook of his arm. This was followed by the sharp sting of a needle before an iv was slid into his vein. 

The cuts on his other arm were quickly cleaned and bandaged without a second glance. 

He flinched, as cold gloved hands reached under his shirt, placing several small patches onto his chest. They connected to wires that stuck out of his shirt and tangled around him, leading to machines that surrounded the chair he was strapped to.

The third doctor quickly finished explaining things to Splice, and the man sat back on the stool, content with whatever was about to happen to the boy in front of him. 

A cart was rolled over with a massive amount of different knives, tools, vials, and bottles. Andrew shivered- thankful at least for the small protection of his shirt.

The actual administration of the drug went quickly. It was slid into the iv and Splice and the doctors sat with clipboards, simply waiting.

At first Andrew didn’t feel anything. 

And then all of a sudden everything was closing in on him. The world started spinning around his head- he felt cold chills up and down his spine and sweat started dripping down his face. His eyes couldn’t focus on any specific thing as shapes distorted, growing larger and smaller, spinning around and flying through the air. Any slight movement around the room seemed to fly at his head, causing him to flinch and recoil back at the foreign objects.

He thought he heard voices but they were muffled. Just sounds that echoed in his ears and throughout his brain. Undecipherable, but loud and invasive.

And then out of nowhere, his heart seemed to betray him.

Without a second warning, his heart sped up, pumping as fast as it could. He heard harsh, shrill beepings around him as it felt like his heart would explode out of his chest. His breathing got heavier and he felt a weight on his chest. Like all 350 pounds were suddenly on top of him again and he couldn’t breathe. 

And then he had a singular, prominent thought. It spoke so loudly, and so clearly in his mind.

I’m going to die.

The fear of that thought struck into him and he suddenly had the image of Splice coming towards him, knife in one hand, whip in the other. Then the man was on top of him, and his hands marked ownership- gripping at the collar, grabbing at his hair and face. He saw the whip crashing down over his body, the knife tearing through his skin. His limbs began to feel warm and sticky as he felt his blood pooling over his sides, washing down him in rivers, splashing onto his face as Splice began to beat him senseless.

And Andrew screamed.

Though he was muzzled, you could still hear his terrified cries as he truly believed that his tormentor was carving him open and beating him to death at that moment.

Though at that moment- Splice was still sitting on the stool next to the Doctors, watching Andrew thrash about on the bed. He smirked as the screams tore at Andrew’s throat, coming up empty behind the muzzle surrounding his face. 

“That’s genius.” The man stated. “You said it mimics fear?”

The doctor closest to Splice nodded. “The drug triggers the body’s natural responses to fear, making them actually think they’re in danger. We’re hoping with some alterations it will cause more extreme hallucinations and paranoia. Of course this is just a test run.”

“It’s brilliant.” Splice stated.

Andrew’s eyes were clenched shut tightly as tears and sweat poured down his blood-stained face. His body shook, knuckles white as he mumbled incoherently through the muzzle. 

He suddenly arched back as if in recoil from pain, his chest heaving in the air, legs scrambling to try and curl into himself. 

And he screamed once more. 

It was harsh, and loud, and guttural, and brutal. He choked on his own spit before bursting back into a series of sobs. The whole time his body continued to shake and thrash about, eyes occasionally shooting open, only to be clenched tightly once more.

They waited maybe an hour or two to try and see the full effects of the drug from beginning to end. Andrew didn’t know how long it had been, and Splice didn’t care to know himself. The boy had periods where he would flare up with terror, the shock and phantom pains taking over his face and body. And then for long stretches of time he would lie there, quietly sobbing to himself as tears streamed from his eyes. 

Sweat dripped from his forehead and chills wracked his body as his temperature spiked. His wrists and ankles were raw and red from where he’d struggled against the restraints.

His reactions were getting slower as the drug began to wear off.

They watched the boy suffer for a few more minutes before one of the doctors inserted new fluids into his iv. The fluids ran through and within a couple more minutes the drug had been completely flushed out of his system.

Andrew lay in a broken mess where he was restrained in the chair. The doctors pulled off his restraints, and Splice chuckled as the boy flinched at every hand that came near his face, and every jostled movement of his body.

After a couple more minutes, the iv was removed, the machines turned off, and Andrew was being pulled to his feet. Splice stood in front of him, hands bracing his shoulders to keep the boy from toppling over. 

Andrew fell forward, his head lolling into the man’s chest. Splice rested a hand on the back of his head, gently carding through the pale locks of hair. 

“I want full updates on the progress of this drug. I expect an updated version within the week.” Splice stated. He tilted the boy’s head up by the chin to look him in the eyes. They looked blurry and unfocused.

“How nice it will be to be able to hurt you without getting my hands dirty.”

He let Andrew’s head fall back to his chest.

Splice began to guide the boy towards the door when a guard burst into the room. The man look disheveled, clearly in pain, and a little confused.

“Sir!” He cried.

“What is it- what’s happened?” Splice asked.

“There’s been a break in. We have intruders in the building.”

A look of shock washed over Splice’s face, followed by a small smile. The man gripped Andrew by the shoulders and looked down at the boy. “Well, let’s go meet our guests, shall we?”

[whockeywhore]

Best Kept Secrets feat. Johnny Gaudreau

“John, stop. What if someone sees us?” 

He dropped his head to kiss my neck, sliding his hand over the thigh high slit in my dress. I felt my resolve crumble a bit and leaned into him, stopping when the DJ began speaking in the next room. 

“Allison, baby-” 

“We’re about to go out!” 

“We’ve got a minute.” I pressed a hand against his chest and he set his own on top of it, giving mine a gentle squeeze. “Fine, I’ll quit it. But you in that dress...” 

He trailed off as his eyes dropped to the low neckline and I rolled my eyes, moving to take my place behind the rest of the bridesmaids. He joined the groomsmen, found his other half for the line up, and turned towards me for one last look. I bit back a smile and reached out, holding up the key card to my hotel room. 

“I think you dropped this.” 

“I didn’t-” He moved to grab his from his pocket and stopped short, a wide smile breaking out on his face. “Thank you. That was a close one.” 

“No problem.” 

We were announced ahead of the bride and groom and I stepped out with my partner for the evening, one of the groom’s friends named Daniel. He had a solid foot of height on me and I had to crane my neck to look up at him as we danced together. The song was quick, a choreographed number until the newlyweds took the floor, and I found myself searching for Johnny in the crowd. 

I took my seat next to Sean and smiled, leaning over for a quick hug. He introduced his date for the wedding and she shook my hand with a wide grin. 

“Allison.” 

“Annie. It’s so nice to meet you.” She took a sip of her wine and wrapped an arm around Sean. “I’m so excited to come to Tahoe with you guys. I can’t wait to be on the lake.” 

“Me neither! I’ve been counting the days.” 

“What about you, Johnny?” Annie nodded over my shoulder and I turned to where he’d sat down. “Are you all ready?” 

“Haven’t packed a thing. Figured I’d just go with the flow tomorrow.” 

“I’ve been packed since the day we booked and I swear Gaudreau, if you make us late-” 

“Keep your clothes on Figueroa, I’ll be ready.” He nodded to my dress and shook his head. “Speaking of, don’t people usually dress up for weddings? Don’t you think that dress is a bit inappropriate?” 

“Talk to the bride. And I wouldn’t say anything if I were you.” I reached out to tug at the haphazard knot in his tie and frowned. “Did you tie this yourself? I didn’t know the BabyGap made tuxedos.” 

Annie stifled a laugh and Sean groaned, taking a long sip of his beer before turning to scold us. “I’m not doing this. I’m not driving six hours with you two if you’re gonna fight the whole time!” 

“Chill out man. Just some gentle chirping between friends. Right Fig?” 

I ignored his elbow to the side and turned to Sean. “I’ve got ten audiobooks to listen to the whole way there. You won’t hear a peep out of me. And I’m sure I can find some Legos or an action figure for OshKosh B’gosh over here.” 

“Allison!” 

I raised my hands in an apology and turned my attention to the plate in front of me, ravenous as soon as I took the first bite. Sean and Annie both finished their dinner and got up to dance, leaving John and I alone. I felt him staring at me and nodded to his meal. 

“Are you gonna eat?” 

“You look beautiful.” I snorted a laugh and reached out to spear a roasted baby potato from his plate. He pushed it towards me and kept watching. “Have you eaten today?” 

I shook my head and pointed to my outfit. “Too tight. Couldn’t eat before pictures.” 

“Are you serious? That’s insane.” He leaned in and his lips brushed the corner of my jaw, warm breath jarring me for a moment. “You look damn good though.”

I snorted a laugh and looked down, taking in the deep olive green dress, gold trim around the high slit in the skirt, the low neckline, and the even lower cut back. The memory of the day Lauren had dragged me to a bridal shop and picked it out brought a shiver to my spine and I washed it away with a sip of wine. 

“Are you cold?” He didn’t wait for an answer before he stood, slipping his suit jacket off and draping it over my shoulders. I pulled it close around me and thanked him. “Don’t mention it.” 

We sat in silence for a long minute, finishing our dinner and our drinks while the world spun around us. The lights in the ballroom dimmed and a slow song began, the bride and groom taking the floor before the DJ welcomed everyone to join. I nudged Johnny with my foot and raised an eyebrow. 

“Wanna dance?” 

He reached out a hand and I took hit, following him as he wove through the tables of people. We took a spot in a secluded corner and started to sway. His hand found my lower back and he held me close, skin warm where it met mine. I could feel his heart beat when I set my hand on his chest and he turned his head to kiss my temple lightly. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Shoot.” 

“Why can’t you be sweet like this all the time?” I looked up at him and waited for an answer, continuing as he mulled it over. “Wouldn’t it be easier? We wouldn’t have to sneak around or lie to Sean.” 

“Where’s the fun in that?” 

“I’m serious, Johnny. Why can’t we just... be like this?” 

“Because you’re cute when you’re angry. And I thought you liked sneaking around.” 

“I don’t hate it, I just... wouldn’t it be nice to just get it all out in the open?”

“Yeah, I can picture it now. ‘Hey Sean, really excited to spend a week at the lake. By the way, we don’t need a third bed because I’ve been casually fucking your ex girlfriend for the past two months.’”

“Sounds perfect.” 

“Yeah, cause you’re not the one getting your ass kicked.” 

“Sean and I dated for six months, four years ago. I’m over it.” I nodded to he and Annie sucking face on the other side of the room and John’s eyes followed. “He’s gotta be over it.” 

“But what if he’s not?” 

“But what if he is?” 

“But what if he’s not?” 

I didn’t want to press the issue so I dropped it, keeping my arms around him until the DJ started to clear the dance floor. The caterers rolled a cake in front of everyone and we took our seats again, watching them cut it and devouring it as soon as it got to our table. 

“Hungry?” 

“Starving.” Sean slid his cake in front of me and I started in on it, savoring every bite. Johnny was watching me and I shot him a glare. “What?” 

“You- c’mere.” He leaned in wiped at a bit of icing on the bottom of my lip. The act was innocent and sweet until he licked his thumb clean, holding my gaze the entire time. My skin warmed and I shifted in my chair, suddenly craving something else. I thanked him quietly and he nodded, pulling the key card I’d given him out of his pocket and tapped it on the table. “I think I’m gonna head out. We’ve got an early day tomorrow.” 

“We’re leaving at seven.” 

“I’ve already got my alarm set.” He clapped Sean on the back and slipped away. I watched him go and counted to three hundred before pushing my chair back. 

“Are you leaving too?” 

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna order a pizza and eat it in bed.” 

“Wow Allison, quite the party animal.” He protested as I grabbed his drink, finishing the Scotch and covering my scowl by wiping my mouth. It burned all the way down and I pressed the glass into his hand. “Hey, I paid for that.” 

“And I appreciate that. Have a good night Annie.” 

“Night, Allison.” 

“You two be safe.” I shot them a wink before leaving the ballroom, anticipation and excitement pushing me towards the elevator. The ride felt like an hour and I fumbled with my key card, dropping it twice before slipping it into the door lock successfully. The light flashed green and I slipped into the dark room to find John sprawled out on the bed. 

“Took you long enough.”

[elwenn-dreaming]

The Truth

@friendly-neighborhood-exchange

For @lbigreyhound13, prompt: Peter and Tony got kidnapped.

This is my first fanfiction ever, so I do hope you enjoy. Also no beta, we die like men, which is to say very undignifiedly. And hopefully without too many grammar mistakes.

A dripping sound. That’s the first thing that came to Peter’s mind. Funny, how his hearing comes to awareness first, when there was so many more important informations to be obtained otherwise. For example, by concentrating on his smell he could have identified that distinctive scent of wet dirt and closed space characteristic of cellars, as well as a faint smell of rain. Touch could have informed him of a clay floor littered with gravels that dug in his back and thighs and of the length of rough rope tied around his wrists and ankles. And his sight would have told him of grey stone walls, of a small barred window underneath the roof wich seemed to be on floor level, and near a gutter judging by the irregular flow of water running down the wall and the aforementioned dripping sound, and of Tony Stark’s prone form on the ground. So really, hearing wasn’t that primordial, thought Peter.

Wait. He froze. Prone form?

‘Mr Stark? Can you hear me?’

Well fuck. Prone he was, and prone he stayed. Still. Unmoving. Unresponsive. You get the idea.

Peter sat up, a task quite complicated by his hands tied behind his back and his fuzzy head. The world swam before his eyes and he had to close his eyes, swallowing to keep back the nausea. He then crawled to the man’s side, letting out a shaky breath at the sight of his chest rising and falling, though slowly, at least regularly. Peter sat himself against the wall and thought.

They were not here voluntarily, and were in fact both tied up. Most likely kidnapped, then. He had been uncounscious, but not for too long, as it was still day outside. He doubted he could have been unconscious until the next day, as their unknown captors had no mean to know he was spiderman, they would not have adjusted the drug dose. Which explained why he was conscious while Mr Stark was not. That was good news, too, it meant said man’s state was not preoccupying. Probably not.

This being said, there was still the matter of getting out of here. On the bright side, their captors didn’t know his secret identity, and that put him at an advantage. On the less bright side, he didn’t think he could go very far while carrying an unconscious Iron Man on the back. Even with his super strength and enhanced healing factor, he would have to wait a bit until the world went back to a reasonably stable state, so breaking out of an unknown place with Mr Stark out cold to carry and potential baddies all around was out of the question. He studied their cell to pass the time. The ceiling was about ten feet high, and the window quite narrow. An adult man would not be able to pass through. A teenager, maybe. The rain bothered him, but he could not place why. Maybe because the humidity was filling the cell and infiltrating into his very bones, chilling the April air, so that he soon began to shiver. Everything was slightly damp. The door. Why had he not thought about the door sooner? Maybe, just maybe, if he was lucky, the kidnappers, not knowing of his super strength, would have made a door weak enough that he could kick it down when they would be ready to leave. He glanced hopefully. Nope, the wooden door looked thick enough, and he couldn’t see any lock, which meant it was probably barred (because what kidnapper would leave an open door, right?) and more importantly, that they couldn’t pick it. He sighed dejectedly.

Peter didn’t know how long he had been sitting there for. It was still day, so it couldn’t have been that long as it should have been at least mid-afternoon when he woke up. It felt longer though. His head had cleared up, so there was that. He heard a groan.

‘Mr Stark? It’s me, Peter, we’re in a cell I think, but it’s not a prison cell don’t worry. Actually it means we’ve been kidnapped so maybe it should worry you more. i’m just rambling, soory. Are you awake?

- No I’m not. Hmph. Head feels all funny.’

Tony wriggled unsuccessfully.

‘I’m tied up. Why am I tied up?

- That might be the kidnapping part.

- Oh. Right.’

Peter promptly filled him in, though it did seem to him that Tony was not yet fully aware of everything. Drugs do that to you.

‘I’m pretty sure I can break that rope, they didn’t take spidey into account. I don’t quite know about going out though.’

He let out a small groan. The rope was no match to his enhanced strength, but the position was not ideal and it dug painfully in the flesh of his wrists. He then quickly undid his and his mentor’s ties.

‘I don’t think we can go far until your dizziness has passed at the very least.

- Dizziness? I’m perfectly fine, let’s get out of here.’

Tony tried to stand up, but he was not half way up that he felt lightheaded, and would have fallen much ungracefully were it not for Peter, steadying him and gently guiding him to sit on the floor next to him.

‘We can wait you know. Nothing’s urgent, laughed Peter.

- Yeah. Yeah of course.’

Tony’s voice was quavering, breath shallow.

‘Mr Stark? Mr Stark, are you okay?’

Cold. The cold was slithering through his flesh, nesting in his bones, hissing in his hears. Or maybe it was just the voices, the pain in his chest, and the water, head in the water, dripping on the walls, and so, so cold.

‘… ay? Do … me?’

Tony became aware of a hand shaking his arm, and the hands were gripping him and forcing him under the water and… No. No. He had to breathe. It was Peter right next to him, he had to put his shit together before he noticed and…

‘I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Just got a little dizzy, you were right. Can still feel the efects of whatever it was they drugged us with. Which is completely unfair, how come you are all fresh as a daisy while I get to feel like someone let a toddler play legos with my bowels?’

Peter stared at him for longer than he would have liked, but eventually seemed to accept it.

‘Right! So, about getting out… no lock to pick and I don’t quite think I could break it open. I mean, I can try, but it’s likely barred, and it’s solid oak.

- No, you’re right, we should try that window instead.

- No offense Mr Stark but I don’t think you could pass through it.

- Are you calling me fat, young man?’

Peter blushed and avoided his eyes. ‘I didn’t... that’s not what I meant, it’s just that...

- Stop, Pete! Just joking! I can’t pass through, but you can. So you climb that wall with those sticky fingers of yours, you get out of here and find help to arrest our new would-be supervillains, and get me out too.

- I’m not leaving you here alone!

- Right, because the both of us freezing to death in here is so much better. That was not a suggestion, Peter.’

The teenager looked ready to object, but gave in to his mentor’s stern gaze. He obligedly climbed to the opening in the wall and put his hands on the windowsill. And stopped dead. He let himself fall to the ground, landing gracefully on his feet and turning towards the older mark.

‘Looks like I won’t be able to pass either. It’s one of those windows that are wide from the inside and getting thinner on the outside. The wall is also much thicker than I expected, at least 3 feet thick.

- The door it is then. Kick it down, kid!’

The teenager then broughed his shoulder to a not-quite-gentle contact with the door, which did not budge one bit. He repeated the action several times, but to no avail, until finally the hard wood started to splinter. He tore down the door as he could, and stopped dead.

‘Kid? What is it?’

Tony scrambled to his feet and walked – well, stumbled would be a more accurate term but not one he would ever admit to – to the door, a liitle pale after the few steps that brought the opening in his line of sight. He resigned himself to lean on Peter’s shoulder, as it was still slightly more dignified than falling on his ass.

‘What. The. Fuck.’

Behind the thick plancks of oak was a brick wall, which, if it did contrast to the old grey stone of the cell, looked like it had been there for quite some time, and was solid enough.

‘Seriously? The window, then that? Who the fuck does that?

- Yeah but, Mr Stark, if the door is not a door and the window is not large enough… How did we get here? A secret door?

- You know what? Probably.’ He laughed. ‘A secret door. I love secret doors. Although putting a false door on top of it is a bit of an overshoot, don’t you think?

- Definitly. No sense of style, said Peter in a very serious tone.

- Better go and find it then. Now, if I were a secret door, where would I go?’

It was only after a long search that they had to admit to the evidence, there was no secret door.

Tony let himself slide down the wall. Although the effects of the drug had past, he still felt uneasy at the thought of being stuck. He looked at his hand in wonder. It was trembling slightly. Now that he thought about it, his whole body was in fact shivering. A rythmic sound was echoing in his ears. Only after a while did he understand that it was his teeth chattering. The cold and damp spring day air seemed to be sucking all the warmth out of him. On the other side of the room was Peter, eyes closed, also sitting against the wall. Only his fingers tapping against his knee betrayed that he was not asleep. He seemed to be unbothered by the cold. Which was really unfair in Tony’s opinion. Cold and damp spring day air. Tony froze, thoughts twirling around his mind like fireflies, too quick for him to grasp but fragments, eventually all coming together to form a picture out the jigsaw puzzle pieces. In front of him Peter suddenly jumped to his feet and all but shouted :

‘Something’s wrong!

- Yeah. The light. We have been searching for at least two hours, and I was awake for maybe an hour before. And you have been awake for even longer.

- At least an hour, maybe two I’d say. And it was around three or four pm that we were taken.

- Which leads us to a bare minimum of seven pm, given that we don’t know how long you’ve been out for. Given your metabolism and the time I spend uncounscious alone, it is unlikely that it be more than two hours. So somewhere between eight and eleven pm.

- And it’s still day.

- Furthermore, it wasn’t raining anywhere around New York. Not in a 200 mile radius.

- And the walls. Where do you even find walls that thick in the US?

- And nobody in their right mind would build that type of window on floor level.’

They shared a long glance.

‘There is no door, they said at the same time.

- We cannot be here. And yet here we are, mused Tony.

- Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

- I didn’t know you read Sherlock Holmes. But that would mean…

- We are, in fact, not here, said Peter. And there was steel in his voice, an unstoppable result.

- Then where are we? And why do we think we are here?

- I don’t know, a simulation? A magical illusion? Can’t be a drug, we would not hallucinate together. More important, how do we get out of it? Do you have a red pill or something?’

Tony woke with a gasp. He was shirtless, in dimly lit, narrow space. Electrodes were linked to his temples, chest and arms. He tried to shake himslef free of them, but his wrist were bound to the bottom of the sarcophagus-like box he was in. He felt panic rise, trying harder and harder to get himself out of his restraints, but only succeeding in wounding the skin of his wrists. His breaths were shallow and frenetic, and tears began to stream down his face, uncontrollable. He tried to force himself to count, but the numbers were drowned by the voices of long-gone people, and how could he breathe anyway, when there was water around him, and in his nose and his mouth, and there was no air in space, and he was gasping uselessly. He could not move and he watched helplessly as his arc reactor was taken from his chest. The lid was ripped open, and hands were gently removing, and freeing his wrists. He raised them, trying to protect his chest, to push away the hands that were forcing him underwater. To his suprise they retreated immediately, and there was a voice, asking him to breathe, and counting again. His breathing slowed down eventually, and he felt the hands on his back, helping him out of wretched box. He stumbled, and someone was here, catching him, and lowerig gim to sit on the ground.

‘Peter…?

- It’s me Mr Stark. You’re okay. We’re out of it now. We should hurry though. I knocked out the guy that was here, but others might come. Can you stand now?’

Tony felt himself blush in shame. Now was really not the time, and Peter shouldn’t have had to deal with that.

‘I’m good.’

He grabbed the hand Peter lend him nonetheless, and quickly got on his feet.

"Let’s get out of here. And… kid… Thanks.’

Peter looked at him, and then smiled. ‘Let’s kick some baddies’ asses!

- Language!

-I’m gonna do as if you didn’t just say that Mr Stark.’

He ruffled Peter’s hair affectionately. He grabbed the torn door and smiled. It was high time they escaped, they didn’t want to stain their statistics.

[admiralty-xfd]

I wonder what is Bill's opinion about Scully's runaway with Mulder and then living with him. Ohhh and what he thinks about William

Hi, anon! I don’t think he liked it very much. At all. I’ve written a scene post-IWTB where I tackle this and I’ll include it here for your reading pleasure. (Source: This Woman’s Work). 

It rarely snowed this time of year in DC, but as Scully looked out the front window of her mother’s house she could see it beginning. A white Christmas, in spite of everything. It felt like a sign of something hopeful.

Mulder came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Your mom says dinner is ready,” he said into her ear. She had no intention of moving an inch, and he stood there with her, both of them just watching the first few flakes begin to fall.

“We haven’t had a white Christmas in twenty years,” Scully observed.

“Really? Is this Fun Weather Facts with Dr. Scully?” Mulder chuckled.

She gently elbowed him in the chest. “It’s true. My mom and I were talking about it earlier. Seems so right that it would happen this year. It’s like a fresh start for us.”

She took his hand and held it close to her heart, closing her eyes and taking it all in. They were free, and safe. The FBI wasn’t after him anymore. He’d proposed to her in the Maldives. They married shortly after.

He was her husband now. Mulder.

“I just want to enjoy this,” she told him. “Everything feels perfect right now.”

“It really does,” he agreed. “It’s a nice change.” He leaned around to kiss her temple.

“Is Bill behaving himself?” she ventured, not really wanting to know the answer. She felt him shrug.

“He’s Bill. He hates me.”

She laughed. “Tara and Matty like you. My mom likes you.” She turned around in his arms and kissed him softly, slowly. “I like you.”

“Matty only likes me because of the Sasquatch.”

Scully smiled. Mulder had picked out the stuffed animal and it had ended up being her nephew’s favorite present, much to Bill Jr.’s annoyance.

“Kids are easy,” he continued. “Big brothers are impossible.”

She didn’t say anything, cognizant that Mulder must be thinking about Samantha. She knew Mulder put up with Bill’s nonsense as best as he could, but it still irked her. It probably always would.

“Shall we?” he offered his arm and she took it.

Maggie settled everyone into their seats and dinner began. After a couple courses, the topic of Mulder and Scully’s engagement came up. It had been a long time since they’d seen Bill’s family, and hadn’t had the chance to talk about it with them yet.

“So, Fox- I mean, Mulder,” Tara corrected herself. “Maggie mentioned you said you’d asked Dana several times before she said yes. How’d you finally do it?”

“Well, she was just waiting for the right moment, I think,” he smiled. “I’m sure she knew deep down I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Maggie and Tara laughed. Bill cleared his throat loudly and looked at his plate, not making eye contact with anyone.

“Anyway, we were in the Maldives. I had promised to take her somewhere… far away. We haven’t really had a chance to go on vacation before.”

“Hmph.” Bill snorted. “Wonder why that was?”

Scully glared at him. Mulder politely ignored him, or at least tried to, as he usually did, and continued with the story.

“We wanted to find a place that was as far away from… well, here, as we could get. We took a globe and found the spot that came as close to matching that description as we could and we both said ‘that’s the place.’”

She put her hand on his thigh underneath the table. As far away from the darkness as they could get. He’d delivered on that promise, in full.

“We were just lying there on the beach and I knew it was time,” he said, and looked over at her. They rarely had the opportunity to be affectionate with one another around other people. It was unusual, but to Scully, it felt good. “I was right, too, because she said yes.”

“I didn’t say yes,” Scully shook her head and sipped her wine. “I believe what I actually said was ‘okay.’”

Maggie and Tara laughed again, and Mulder nodded, conceding that point.

“Okay, true. But you still ended up marrying me, so the joke’s on you, Scully.” He grinned at her and she smiled back. “We went down to the courthouse as soon as we got home.”

“So... you two kind of had your honeymoon before your wedding,” Tara pointed out.

“We did everything else backwards, so we figured why break with tradition?” Mulder replied.

He winked at Scully and all she could do was gaze at him; her partner Mulder, who, against every possible likely outcome was somehow now her husband, here in her mother’s house on Christmas. Mulder as a husband was something she’d never really pictured and now here he was, a reality.

“This is so wonderful,” Maggie said, clasping her hands together. “I’m so happy you and your family were able to make it up from San Diego this year, Bill. What an amazing gift to have you all here, and now that both Dana and Fox are in the mix again it truly feels like a real family gathering for the first time in a long time.”

She put her hand on Matthew’s head and ruffled his hair. “And having my grandson here is just icing on the cake!”

Bill piped up again. “Would have had one more around the table, too, if things had gone differently.”

The room went dead silent. A chill ran up Scully’s spine. Her body tensed, and Mulder noticed. His hand immediately went to hers underneath the table and held it tight. She couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. But Mulder could.

“What did you say?” he challenged.

“I think you heard me,” Bill replied. His face looked so goddamn smug Scully wondered if he actually got some kind of sick pleasure out of hurting her this way.

She knew Bill's comment was less about William and more about Mulder. She was so tired of this endless one-way battle her brother had waged against Mulder since the day he met him. He had endured Bill’s bullshit with dignity for years. She’d always assumed Mulder was just trying to keep the peace and she was grateful for that; most of the time he’d been in attendance as her partner, or as her friend. She knew it must have been awkward for him.

But now, however, it seemed to Scully like he’d had enough. Maybe it was the freeing knowledge that she was now his wife; their relationship had never been so clearly defined within the walls of the Scully home. Or maybe it was because Bill’s snide comment had been about William, the most painful topic he could possibly have dredged up.

More than likely, it was just that smug fucking expression on Bill’s face that did it. For the first time ever, it seemed Mulder wasn't going to let Bill get away with his behavior.

“What’s your problem, Bill? Why would you say something like that?” Mulder asked.

Bill shrugged. “I’m just calling it like I see it.”

Mulder looked him dead in the eyes. “Well, the way I see it is you’re an asshole. Why would you want to hurt your sister like that? And on Christmas? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Scully could see her mother tense up out of the corner of her eye. Tara put her fork down and corralled Matthew out of the dining room, knowing this wasn’t leading anywhere child-friendly.

“You’ve given me a hard time for years," Mulder continued. "I’ve stayed quiet because to be honest, I think I’ve deserved a lot of it. But Dana doesn’t deserve this vitriol, not from you.”

Bill was clearly in the mood for a fight. “She had to give away her own kid. Because of you. All of it is because of you.”

Scully had tried to explain her decision regarding William to Bill, she really had. Nowhere in her explanation had Mulder’s name even come up. It didn’t matter to her brother, maybe it never would. He’d never accept Mulder into their family, not ever.

“It was a very difficult time, for both of us-” Mulder began to explain.

“Why are you still here? Hanging around with my sister? You don’t work together anymore. She’s paid her dues with you, more than paid them. What more can you possibly want from her?”

Mulder stood up then, and glared at his brother-in-law. Scully didn’t want this to escalate any further. She reached for his hand and pulled softly.

“It’s okay, Mulder. Just leave it.”

“No,” he said. “It’s not okay. It’s not okay at all.” He turned his attention back to Bill. “I don’t want anything from your sister. Why is she still with me? Because I asked her to be with me and she said yes. I don’t feel like I should have to tell you this, Bill, but you should support your sister when she’s in pain, not make it worse.”

The air was as tense as Scully had ever felt it, and there had been many a tense evening in this house.

“My sister was taken from me when I was just a kid. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about her, and wish I could have her back for just one more day,” Mulder revealed. He’d never talked about Samantha to her family before. She was fairly sure they knew, but him bringing it up made it more real.

Bill had the good grace to appear chastised, at least for the moment.

“I know you lost a sister too, Bill. Believe me. I don’t want you to lose another one.”

Scully pulled on his hand again and he sat.

“Bill, enough is enough. This has to stop,” her mother finally spoke. “Fox isn’t going anywhere, and as long as you’re in my house I’d ask you to show him the same respect you’d give any member of our family.”

Bill looked at his mother, silently stood up, threw his napkin on the table and left the room. Everyone listened as he grabbed his coat and his keys and waited for the door to slam. Tara spoke first, having left Matthew in the other room with his Legos.

“I’m so sorry about him. I don’t know why he won’t just let all this go.”

Mulder shook his head. “No, I’m sorry for causing drama every time I come over. I wish I could set it all right again.”

Maggie turned to Mulder. “Fox, you are as much a part of this family as Bill is. You have every right to be here. And you have nothing to apologize for.”

Mulder smiled at her and Scully squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“Thanks, Mrs. Scully.”

“And we’ve known each other for a long time. I think of you as my own son. If you’re comfortable, I’d like it if you called me Maggie, okay?”

Scully felt Mulder twitch involuntarily, sensing the enormity of the moment. He appeared touched. Perhaps it was because he’d lost his own mother years ago. Perhaps it was because Maggie had stood up for him the way she did. Maybe it was only because it was Christmas. But what Mulder said next surprised her.

“Thanks, Mom,” he smiled.

Maggie smiled back, tears in her eyes. Scully felt like the watch they’d bought her for Christmas no longer mattered; this was the gift she’d really wanted.

***

“I don’t think you’ve ever been upstairs in my mom’s house, have you, Mulder?”

“No, I don’t think I have,” he said.

She led him down the hallway. “We moved here from Annapolis just after high school,” she explained. “I lived here while I was at UMD.”

She pushed one of the bedroom doors open. “We’re staying in here.”

She gave him a mischievous grin and pulled him inside. The bedroom door closed and Mulder pushed her back against it. Their lips met and he took her hands in his, moving them up above her head and holding them there.

“Are you telling me young college coed Dana Katherine Scully used to sleep in this room?”

“Not this room,” she mumbled into his mouth. “This was where Bill stayed, actually.”

He pulled back, his face already flushed, and gave her that look that made her feel her heart beating throughout her entire body. “Oh, is that so?”

Scully nodded, licking her lips. Her mother had turned this room into a guest room long ago, but the information seemed pertinent at the moment.

She closed her eyes and shuddered as his mouth moved to her earlobe and whispered softly. “I think I know a great way to stick it to him, Scully.”

“What, you want to have sex in my brother’s old room?”

“I was going to suggest sugar in his gas tank but your idea sounds more fun.”

She smiled and he released her hands, reached under her backside and lifted her up into him, pushing her backwards so she was wedged between him and the door. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he kissed her again, his tongue moving against hers in a rhythm they both knew by heart. God, he was so good at this. So good. They’d honed and perfected this particular dance so well he knew every little thing she wanted, responded to every urge she had whether she asked or not. He’d made it a personal quest of his over the past few years. It was times like these she stopped being annoyed by his obsessive nature and just fucking loved him for it.

He walked backwards to the bed, with her still wrapped around him, and sat down on the edge. Her hands were gripping his hair and she was practically mauling his face. Thinking about how he’d finally given Bill a taste of his own medicine and how he’d done it all for her got her incredibly turned on. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit she’d gotten a little thrill when he’d referred to her as Dana, too. It rarely happened.

“I’ve never had sex in this house before,” she breathed into his ear. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to my old bedroom instead?”

He shook his head. “Defiling your brother’s old bed sounds more fun, doesn’t it?” He started to unzip the back of her dress and she shifted her body to better sit in his lap, pulling the dress up around her waist.

“I don't actually think this is his, I’m pretty sure my mom replaced it at some point.”

“Hmm. Oddly enough, I am undeterred. We can do it in your bedroom next Christmas.”

“Thanksgiving is sooner,” she smiled as his lips captured hers again. For a few minutes they made out like teenagers and she reveled in how good it still felt to do that. Maybe it was because they’d denied themselves this physical affection for so many years, but even the foreplay was always a wonderful journey for them. And it always built to something even more amazing than before. It seemed like each and every time was better than the last. They’d certainly been blessed in that regard, she thought, as his hands slipped inside the back of her dress, exploring.

She wanted to focus on his touch but the conflict downstairs was still on her mind. “He’s such a fucking asshole, Mulder,” she said between kisses. “Why do you put up with that? Why would you even come here with me?”

His eyes softened and he leaned back to look at her. “Because your mom invited me.” He kissed her again behind her ear. “I have a soft spot for you Scully women.”

“You know what would be really scandalous?” she offered. It was something she’d always wanted to try during sex, and they never had. She could hardly believe it, now that she thought about it.

“You mean, besides what we’re already doing right now? Lay it on me.” He started to pull her dress down over her shoulders, kissing them as he did so.

“Well, we’re in my mother’s house, in my brother’s old room, on Christmas, and my family is downstairs.”

“Exactly,” he murmured into her hair. “That’s varsity-level, Scully. What could be more scandalous?”

She put her hands on either side of his face and held his forehead to hers. She kissed him purposefully, then whispered it into his ear.

“Call me Dana.”

He pulled away, looking at her, and raised an eyebrow. “That is scandalous.” He tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear and grinned. “Have you been holding out on me? Is this some deep, dark fantasy you’ve never told me about?”

“No, actually,” she said, blushing a bit. “Honestly I always thought it might be weird. But I’m curious.”

“Now I am, too,” he admitted. He slipped a finger underneath her bra strap and gently pulled and released, snapping it. His voice dropped an octave. “Okay. Dana.”

Something fluttered deep inside her. It was a strange sensation, which she could identify as arousal but there was something else. They were already as close a pair as could possibly exist, she knew this. But something about doing something new that involved her given name made her feel like they’d taken a step even closer to each other. That alone was a huge turn on.

Who was she kidding? Anything that came out of his mouth was a turn on, especially during sex.

She wanted to laugh that something so ordinary like being called by her first name could be so scandalous. She closed her eyes and enjoyed this odd feeling of being normal with Mulder. Suddenly she wanted to get a step even closer. She didn’t know what he would think but from the state of his own arousal which she could feel beneath her, she figured the odds were good he wouldn’t deny her anything at the moment.

"Can I call you Fox?”

He closed his eyes, considering it. “Just this once,” she clarified. “Just tonight.” She ran her fingers through his hair, and then leaned in and bit his lower lip to sweeten the deal.

He was quiet for a second, then: “You can call me whatever the hell you want, as long as you keep doing that.”

She laughed and he laughed and it was one of those perfect moments she knew she’d always remember, in spite of the dust up with Bill, and in spite of everything else they’d been through. Right now, with him, she was perfectly happy.

“I love you,” he said. It was as if he knew just then this was an important moment for them, too.

“I love you too, Mulder,” she whispered. Then she grabbed him by the sides of his face and looked him directly in the eye, smiling mischeviously. “Now fuck me in my brother’s old room.”

“Whatever you say, Dana,” he grinned as she pushed him backwards onto the bed.

***

She awoke with his arms around her. It was just after midnight. It occurred to her that, other than the Maldives, it had been years since she’d woken up in a bed that wasn’t their own.

It smelled like home in here, and she smiled. It was a happy memory, and combining the scent with the feel of Mulder’s arms surrounding her made her even happier.

Suddenly thirsty, she slipped out of his arms quietly and threw on her robe to go downstairs.

As she got to the bottom of the stairs she stood looking at the tree for a bit, remembering Christmases past, so many happy memories from back when things were simple.

She thought about her father, but mostly she missed Melissa. She smiled, thinking of a conversation they’d had long ago about Mulder. It made her feel a twinge of sadness that Missy wasn’t here now, to see how right she’d been about the two of them. To laugh with them and be an ally in the face of all of Bill’s nonsense.

Just then she noticed Bill, through the window, sitting on the porch. She wondered how long he’d been out there in the cold.

She threw on her mother’s overcoat, hanging by the front door, and went out to sit with him. It was freezing outside, and Scully shivered and wondered how quickly she’d regret this decision.

“Have you been out here the whole time?” she asked him.

Bill puffed on a cigar. “No. Drove around a bit. Went to Spanky’s for a drink.”

“It was open? On Christmas?”

“You’d be surprised,” he said, staring straight ahead.

She wasn’t out here to make small talk. She wanted them to be okay. This all seemed so silly. They were family, after all.

Bill shook his head, staring straight forward. “I just don’t get it, Dana. What is it about that guy? What do you see in him? What could possibly make all this worth it?”

Scully wanted him to understand. What could she possibly say that could make him okay with all this? She could think of only one thing to say, something she’d never had the confidence to say to him before.

“We love each other,” she said, as she tilted her head to look at him. Bill still didn’t turn, and just sighed.

After a couple minutes of silence, the chill in the air started to get to her. “We don’t get many chances in life to do the right thing," she said to him. "We can try, but there just isn’t enough time.” He still wouldn’t face her.

“Look at me, Bill,” she said. He finally did. “This is it. We are all we have. Dad is gone, Melissa is gone. William is gone. Charlie is… who knows where.” Tears started to form in her eyes. “You, me, Mom. That’s it.”

He kept looking at her but still said nothing.

“And Mulder didn’t give up our child, Bill. It was my decision. If you want to hate someone, if you want to blame someone, make it me.”

“I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry I did.”

She could see his eyes starting to soften and wondered if something had gotten through.

“I was angry when Melissa was killed,” he admitted. “I wanted to blame someone, and I didn’t want it to be you. So I blamed him. Then everything that happened to you… I feel like so much changed. He’s the cause. He’s the cause of all of it.”

“Bill, you have to know Mulder didn’t ask for any of this. Especially what happened to me, and our sister. He’s lost more than you know.”

“I do know that, Dana. But you deserve better than him.”

Scully wondered if that were true. She came to the conclusion instantly that even if it were, it wouldn’t matter. “You don’t have to worry about me, you know. I’m happy. He makes me happy.”

She knew he’d never approve of Mulder, she’d never get him there. But if they could get to a place where they could have some peace, she’d be content with that.

“You once said to me we have a responsibility not only to ourselves but to the people in our lives,” she continued. “You may not like it, but he’s in my life too. He is a person in my life. And I have a responsibility to him.”

He said nothing more. Things may never get to where she wanted them; there was too much anger there, too much animosity. But she’d said what she’d needed to say.

She sighed and got up. “It’s cold, I’m going inside.” He turned away again to look out at the street. As she reached the door she turned back to look at him and was struck by how much he looked like her father, sitting in his chair, smoking a cigar.

She smiled at the memory. Then she opened the door and went inside where it was warm, where Mulder’s arms would be waiting for her.

Two months later, Bill and his family were stationed in Germany. They rarely crossed paths again.

[ushitrash]

what could have been

pairing: daichi x fem!reader

genre: angst, high school/college au

warnings: none :3

word count: 5.3k+

a/n: i wanted to write an angst that would’ve ended all angsts, but it’s been a while since i wrote one, so it’s a bit shabby. yoroshiku onegai~!

I sometimes wonder if following you around back then was worth it. By going up to you whenever I had the chance, to make my feelings a tiny bit more obvious. Maybe if I did things differently would we be better now? Worse? I can’t say for sure. Neither will you. But since when did wondering about the past make the present better, right?

-

You let out a laugh. It’s been years since everything happened. Strange for you to suddenly think about this, to talk to him in your head even though you knew he couldn’t hear you.

Was it the candle burning in the kitchen? Or the dinner you had thirty minutes ago.. No, it must have been the song that randomly queued on Spotify while you were folding your clothes.

Whatever it was, it brought you back years. Whether you liked it or not, the memories of him hit you one by one.

-

Your family moved into a new neighborhood. You weren’t particularly shy, but you weren’t obnoxiously loud, either. You were very curious, but not enough to be rude. You were trying to find the box with your plush bunnies and froggies, but you couldn’t. What could a five year old do with a taped box anyway, even if she did find it?

So you decided to ask your mom or dad, but they were outside talking to the people helping you move in. You didn’t want to bother them, so you plopped down onto the grass, eyes pointed at the sky. You heard a voice.

“What’s your name?”

You weren’t sure if they were talking to you, but you turned your head around anyway.

“Y/N.”

“Oh really? I’m Daichi. Wanna play with us?”

He pointed to two boys behind him.

You weren’t sure, but then one of them spoke up.

“We’re not scary! In fact, you’re probably stronger than Asahi.”

The last boy tried to deny it, but all that came out was stutters.

“See?,” the second boy said proudly, “Join us! We’ll show you how to build the best Lego castle ever.”

Daichi bent his knees and reached out his hand. “Wanna come?”

You nodded and grabbed his hand. He pulled you up and led you to his house, which was right next to yours.

After sitting down and drinking some juice, the loud one introduced himself.

“I’m Koushi! Koushi Sugawara. You can call me Koushi or Suga for short. Either works.”

You nod. 

“And I’m Asahi. But don’t try to scare me on purpose, because although I don’t want to admit it, I get scared easily like Suga said.”

Suga beamed. 

Daichi added, “We’re seven years old. How old are you?”

“I’m five.”

“Nice! Okay, do you like blue or red? For the first layer of the castle? You can do that first. I wanna make the bridge.”

“Suga, I think we should let her choose what she wants to do-”

You didn’t mind. You were happy, actually. 

“I’ll do the first layer! Thank you Daichi Onii-chan, Suga Onii-chan, Asahi Onii-chan hehe”

You were too busy picking out the blue Legos to notice that their faces turned red.

And well, everything was history from there.

-

Uhh..not really.

You guys grew up together. You followed the trio around everywhere you could. If you thought you were being annoying in the slightest, however, you knew to leave them alone. But that didn’t hide the fact that you were crushing on Daichi. There was no specific moment when you realized, and no moment of denial about it. It was natural for you to like him, essentially. You didn’t tell anyone, though, because he was actually pretty popular in school. Girls went up to you asking what his type was, or if you could pass on a note or snack to him for them. You didn’t mind. You guys were best friends, after all.

-

You were hoping for something different when high school started, though. Who wouldn’t? The new uniforms, bigger campus, and the cherry blossoms falling on everyone would even make a rock want to romanticize everything. So you made a promise to yourself. If he didn’t like anyone by the time he graduated, you’d confess. Maybe. Actually, you weren’t too sure for it to be a promise, but it was a start. 

-

As school started, each day was the same, yet so different. Seeing him was a routine. A regular routine might have been boring for anyone else. But for you, it wasn’t. If you were panicking about the textbook you left at home, he’d ask someone for you and place it in your locker. If he saw you looking at the vending machine disappointingly, he’d open your hand and place a few quarters on it so you can buy the juice box. If you were running to the cafeteria with your friends, and accidentally trip on your own feet, he’d catch that too. He’d give you a bandage and ask if your knee is alright before class would start.

-

You knew that he knows you best. You knew that he always looks out for you. Because you’re his younger sister. So you forced it down. Don’t think about it in that way. He’d also act that way towards Suga and Asahi if they were girls. 

But you noticed him and his surroundings, too. You saw the girl who asked if she could meet him outside after school because she had something to say. You saw another girl purposely trying to get his attention by faking a headache. And you saw that girl slipping a note in his locker with a hopeful look on her face. You wouldn’t mind if it stopped at that. But it’s Daichi we’re talking about here. Patient, kind, and generous. He gave all of those girls the time and attention they were seeking. Because he’s nice. 

-

The first semester was a few weeks short of being finished, and it was almost time for finals. You had a habit of tugging a piece of hair whenever you were stressed, and yes, you were doing that habit of yours while reading your notebook in the empty classroom. You heard a knock on the open door, so you looked up.

“My oh my, look who it is. Ain’t it Queen of Pulling All My Hair Out Before a Test Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Suga, maybe you can’t see with those terrible eyes of yours, but I’m clearly trying to study here.”

He laughed.

“I know you hate me for saying this, but I will never stop even when I die. You need to chill sometimes.”

“Then don’t say it!”

“Ok well, I wasn’t going to stay long anyways, because I have to go to volleyball practice.”

“Have fun. Imma go to your house, take your place, and stuff myself at dinner.”

He stuck a tongue out at you.

“Wait, before I leave. I have something else to say.”

“Go ahead.”

“Suck it up and tell Daichi already.”

You tried to play it off by asking what he was talking about.

“Oh, I know. So don’t act like you don’t have a soft spot for him. We only have one semester left before we leave, and with all these girls flocking towards him, it’ll be a matter of time before he says yes to one of them.”

You didn’t try to deny it. If Daichi was the caring one, Suga was the all-knowing, teasing one. 

“But you know he doesn’t see me in that way.”

“You never know. Daichi and I don’t share every single little thought we have, you know. Do you want to see him spend his time with a random girl we’ve never talked to? You don’t. I don’t either. I’d rather have you next to him way more than someone else.”

You just looked down at your notebook, not realizing you underlined the definition of an acid base redox reaction a countless number of times. 

“Maybe,” you whispered.

“I can’t hear you. The Y/N I know does not give up on things she wants.”

“Alright, alright. Hurry up and go to volleyball.”

He smiled and walked out of the classroom.

You let out a breath. You didn’t know what to do. But you knew Suga was right. You had to do something.

-

Finals were over and winter break started. You tried to make your feelings more obvious to him. The four of you went hiking on a snowy mountain. You packed him an extra hand warmer. The boys practiced volleyball while you watched. You gave only him a towel. There were also anime nights at your place, but Asahi would always be the first one to fall asleep so those nights ended quickly. But you still bid good night to Daichi a bit sweeter than to the other two. He was very attentive to you, but not to the extent of noticing those details,

The new semester started, and things were pretty much the same. Daichi got confessions every week, while you just watched. He still took time out of his day to make sure you were alright, and if you needed anything. You honestly thought your efforts weren’t making a difference, but you still tried. You made sure to go to all of their volleyball games. When he hugged you after each one, you made sure to hug him back an extra bit harder. On Valentine’s Day, you made him brownies, while you gave the other two store-bought chocolate. You hoped the other two didn’t notice. But in fact they did. Daichi was the only one who didn’t.

-

Weeks passed. Then it was the day you were dreading the most. Their graduation day. You sat among the audience, biting your lip from the nervousness. Even throughout the ceremony, you couldn’t pay attention, because you were thinking of all the reactions he could ever give you to your confession. You were shaking your leg so hard that your mom sitting next to you put her hand on it to make it stop. It seemed only five minutes passed, but all of a sudden the ceremony was over. You stood up to go outside and to wait for the graduates to go to their families.

You were pacing back and forth, tugging a piece of your hair, and biting your lip when you felt a hand on your shoulder. You jump from the surprise, and you hear a laugh from behind you.

“I’m sorry for scaring you. Is something on your mind? I could see you pacing even from inside the building.”

You knew it was him. The hand gave him away. The gentle, yet sturdy feeling that comforted you immediately. You turned around.

“Congrats Daichi! I’m so proud of you. Don’t forget all of us when you’re at college, okay?”

He laughs. “I’ve never said this, but I miss you calling me Onii-chan. Why don’t you do that anymore?”

“It’s weird and embarrassing to say that in high school,” you say with a blush.

He smiles at you again.

There was a pause. Which was strange because there were no pauses ever between you two. 

He cleared his throat.

The both of you said something at the same time. But being the gentleman he was, he insisted you go first.

But you were scared. This was foreign. You guys were never awkward, so that pause scared you.

“No, you go first. We’re celebrating you today, so it’s rude for me to interrupt you.”

“Haha alright. Well..We still have the summer, but I’ll miss you a lot when I leave, Y/N.”

You nod.

“Please be honest. Have you ever thought of me as more than.. friends?”

You were speechless. Never in a million years did you expect him to bring this topic up first.

You hesitated. You didn’t know why. You knew you had to say something, but words wouldn’t form.

“If not, then forget me asking. I don’t know what came over me-”

“Wait-”

“DAICHI~~! WE’RE GOING TO TAKE A FAMILY PICTURE!”

He looked back to his family, and turned back to you.

“Talk to you later?”

You nodded slowly, and he left.

You sat down on the grass dumbfounded.

Why didn’t you say anything? It seemed like there was something there. A sliver of hope in his voice when he asked you. But now it just seemed like he was the fool for asking. No. You needed to tell him how you felt, so you stood up and jogged to where he was. But of course. You’re too late, like always. Girls surrounded him, giving him flowers, candy, etc. You stood from afar, watching him thank them.

-

You went back home after the day was over. It was quite hectic, because of all of the picture taking and the dinner afterwards. You were actually so tired that you would’ve slept right away once you went to your room, but you heard someone call you as you were taking your shoes off at the front door.

“Y/N?”

Your head turned to the voice.

“I’m sorry we were interrupted earlier. Do you have time now?”

There he was. Still in his dress shirt and pants. You smiled at him. “Of course.”

You guys walked to the park five minutes away from your houses and sat on the nearest bench.

There was another pause.

“Um,” you say first. It seemed like he was intending for you to speak before he did.

So you continued.

“I don’t know what you think, Daichi. Despite you being the easiest man to read, I still can’t read you. Even though I’ve known you the longest, besides Suga and Asahi, I get confused every day. But however you respond, I want to tell you this before you leave.”

You took a deep breath.

“I like you. I’ve always liked you. Ever since that day you pulled me up so we could make that Lego castle. I liked you even more when you helped me find my plush toys I thought I lost. I liked you even when you left for middle school while I was still in 5th grade. You still helped me with my homework even though it was obvious other boys wanted you to play volleyball with them. I still liked you even when girls would come up to me asking what your ideal type was. I still liked you even though you spent hours day in and out at volleyball, not knowing when you’d finish. I wanted to make every single thing you did for me special. Even though I knew that I’m just a little sister to you.”

You were trying so hard not to see his reaction. You didn’t even know what to expect from him. Shock? Disappointment? Regret? Or maybe something else?

“So I tried to do something about it. Because I know if I didn’t, then I’ll regret not doing anything. I don’t know if you noticed or not, but all those little things I did just for you were to show you my feelings.”

You felt a hand on your head. You turned to him and he has a look on his face you’ve never seen before. A look you couldn’t decipher even though you knew him for 10+ years.

“I did notice, Y/N.”

He noticed.

“How could I not? You were always greedy with the hand warmers, and you said you didn’t like approaching guys who were sweaty. You would also be the next one to fall asleep after Asahi at your house, but you would be wide awake even after the anime was done. You only baked brownies for your parents, and once in three years for us. So when I saw that Suga and Asahi got chocolate, how could I not notice?”

You looked down at your hands that were picking at the hem of your skirt.

“But I’m sorry.”

You couldn’t help but lift your head to face him.

“I’m afraid I can’t return your feelings.”

Tears you held for who knows how long slipped down your face.

“I’m being a jerk just by saying this, but could you wait for me?” You were confused. He was never a jerk, and he will never be one.

“What do you mean?” “I don’t want to make a promise that will eventually hurt both of us. But could you wait for me until after you graduate high school?”

You understood, so you nodded.

He squeezed your hand. “Good girl.”

He always called you that whenever you did something right. When you aced your tests, or finally understood a concept you were struggling with for weeks. When you bragged that you did your laundry early this week instead of dragging it on until you had no clothes left. When you helped pick up the volleyballs whenever the trio would practice at the park by themselves. 

But what was so right about pushing your feelings down yet again? He stood up and said one last thing before suggesting going back home.

“You’ll always be the one for me, you know that Y/N?”

Of course. His sister, his friend. Someone who’d listen to everything on his mind, no matter how random and small it was.

“I was always happy when you started school with us. But we’d leave after one year, and you’d be alone again. That part made me sad, but we still hung out often, right?”

Right. But would he know that those two years in elementary and middle school, and now high school, were harder on you?

“But now we’re leaving you again. I’m sorry. That we were born two years apart.”

The tears kept streaming down.

“But it’s different now,” you managed to mutter.

He bent down before you and wiped your tears away.

“I know.. But I’ll come home every summer and winter break, so I’ll make sure to bother you then. Bother you so much that you’d want me to move permanently back to Tokyo.”

He somehow knew how to make you laugh, and you did. And as you guys were leaving the park and heading home, you forgot the past conversation and acted like nothing happened.

“I’d never say that to you.”

“Oh, but you definitely would to Suga and Asahi.”

“I wouldn’t to Asahi! He’s so nice to me.”

“Haha, I’m telling Suga.”

“Ugh, he’s going to give me the silent treatment for years.”

And you both laughed, because that’s who you guys were. Friends who made each other feel better.

-

Five years later.

Another graduation. Except it was in Tokyo. This one was bigger, louder, and longer. And this time, you changed. It wasn’t a day full of being nervous and anxious. Despite the loud environment, you were calm and composed. When Daichi’s name was called, you cheered for him, but not how you would’ve five years ago. You still loved him, but not in that way anymore. You were different, and he was too.

-

You were researching colleges to apply to in your senior year. You weren’t sure which ones, because there were too many that all looked the same to you. Part of you wanted to stay home, because that was safe and comfortable to you. Another part wanted you to leave. Tokyo? Kyoto? Maybe even somewhere else entirely? But then Daichi called you, asking how school was going, and he suggested you visit his college and see how it was. Five year old you would’ve had no hesitation. 18 year old you did. But you said yes anyway, because you were curious about the school, and him.

-

You pull your suitcase out from the trunk of the taxi, and you see him jogging towards you.

“Y/N,” he said as he hugged you.

“Daichi-”

“Give me the suitcase. I’ll take it.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.”

“Did you grow taller?”

“I think like 5 cm? Not that much haha”

“I knew it. You look like you’re doing well.”

“You too.”

His hair was a bit longer. He wore clothes he didn’t usually before. It’s been a while since you saw him, so it was obvious he looked different.

“I told my kouhai to meet us at the front of the college entrance. She’s pretty excited to meet you.”

“Oh, that’s nice. I hope I’m not bothering her by staying at her place.”

“Don’t worry about that at all. She doesn’t mind in the slightest.”

There was something else that changed about him that you didn’t want to admit.

You should’ve realized when he said he couldn’t come back for winter break that year. And the summer break after that. And the winter break after that. He was busy, he said. And you believed him, because the Daichi you knew never lied. 

But you admit now that he’s changed, and the look on his face when he talked about that girl was new. He never looked like that when you saw him getting chocolates from other girls. Heck, he never even talked to you like that before. 

But you reminded yourself that the main reason why you agreed to go was to see the school. And if this kouhai was someone reliable who could answer any question you had about the school, then so be it. 

You met her at the college entrance as promised, and she was indeed happy to see you. 

She was pretty, kind, and generous. Characteristics mirrored in Daichi. You couldn’t hate her or be jealous of her. She made sure you had answers to every question you had, food that you really enjoyed, and a place to call home for the next few days. After the first day of touring around, you both went to the dorm and got ready to sleep.

“How was everything today?”

“It was fun! It’s not like I didn’t have any expectations, but I understand why Daichi chose here and how happy he is.”

“Right? It’s so nice here. You’re so lucky to have known Daichi-san for a long time.”

“Haha, yeah, he’s a really great person.”

“He is! He’s really popular, too. You can tell by the crowd of girls waiting outside of his classroom so they can talk to him.”

Oh wow, I guess girls are the same everywhere you go.

“How did you guys meet?”

“Oh, I wasn’t sure what to major at the time, but my friend’s boyfriend is a friend of his, so he helped me find what I wanted to do. We became friends after that.”

But you could tell that in her eyes that she wanted him to be more than that.

“If Daichi is so popular, why isn’t he dating anyone?”

You knew him well, but you still wanted to prod.

“He always laughs it off whenever someone asks him, saying he’s not wanting anything like that.”

You nod. 

“Also, the only girl he actually talks most about is you.”

You were pulling out your skincare products from your suitcase but stopped mid-motion.

“Me? Why?”

“Oh, he’s so proud of you. All of his friends know about you, because he shares all your achievements with us. Anyone can tell he adores you a lot.”

You were guilty. It was obvious he liked her, and she liked him, but you were the one in between because of what you said two years ago.

“Haha, it’s nothing. I’m just a little sister he never had. That’s weird and gross if people misunderstand things between us,” you said as you fake laughed it off.

You said you’re going to the bathroom and shut the door. You weren’t sure how to feel, and you didn’t like the uncertainty. After a few minutes, you made your mind that you were going to talk to him about this tomorrow.

-

You pulled Daichi away from the crowd and sat him on a chair.

“What’s wrong? Is something bothering you?”

“No. Well kinda, but not in the way you’re thinking.”

He had a confused look on his face.

You sat next to him.

“You like her, don’t you.”

If you didn’t know him well, you wouldn’t have noticed the blush on his cheeks. But you did.

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You sighed out of frustration and said, “She likes you, too.”

“What?”

“If you’re trying to ignore your true feelings because of what we said two years ago, you can forget the past conversation.”

“What do you mean-”

You stood up and faced him. You were getting a bit angry at him, which was a first.

“I don’t want to be the one blocking you from doing what you want to do. Okay? Who am I to make you stuck in the past even though you never even saw me in that way? Are you doing this to hold your reputation? That you’re Daichi and you have to keep promises because that’s who you are? Don’t. Because I don’t like you anymore. And I will never ever like someone who is so fixated on the past even though they didn’t mean what they said. And get it right. The only reason I came here was to see the school, not you. I was too selfish and annoying my first year of high school, and if I had the chance, I would’ve never said those things to you. Never would I have made you brownies if I knew you were like this now. But I can’t regret anything, because there’s no use in that. So just tell her you like her already, because I can’t stand being in the middle of you guys.”

He was hurt. You knew that look. That look whenever he lost a volleyball game. That look whenever he lost something important to him. You knew at that moment he lost you. That whatever he was thinking and feeling before this was gone. Because of what you said. The things you spat out that you didn’t mean. 

He stood up.

“I’m sorry you felt that way. And for breaking the promise I made to you that day. Whatever happens, I still care for you a ton, Y/N. You know that you’ll always be number one to me. No matter what happens, if you call, I’ll run to you first. Okay?”

Lies. You knew they were lies. Since when did he get so good at lying?

But you nodded, because that’s what he wanted you to hear. 

So you turned around and left first. You continued the next few days without him, exploring the campus, and meeting new people. It was a really good school, but you decided it wasn’t for you.

After the trip, you were unpacking your suitcase when you found a bag with your name on it.

You opened it, and there was a candle. A note on it said, “I admire your candle collection. I hope you can use this one next?”

Then there was a gift card to a restaurant you tried in Tokyo when you were 10 that you really liked. “I heard that you liked their food. When you visit me, call me, so we can eat together.”

Then there was a CD. “Your favorite singer came to sing live on campus, so I thought I’d buy you the recording. I hope we can listen to it together soon.”

And one last note fluttered out of the bag when you shook it.

“I was planning to give these to you when you graduated, but I think I was looking too far ahead. I know these aren’t much, but it’d be a lie saying that I wasn’t looking forward to what could’ve been. I know I didn’t give you a direct answer that day, but I guess I’ll write it down here. I liked you, too. And more than just friends. I didn’t say anything because you deserve the world, if not more. When you confessed, I felt like the world was on my side, but not completely, because I was leaving for Tokyo soon then. I also couldn’t say anything because I knew you’d be hurting alone without me next to you. I was surprised when you told me that I like her. Because I was sure that I liked you. I’m sorry that you were the one to point it out to me. And it’s true I was fixated on the past, because that’s where you were to me. But I can move on now. I’m glad you moved on before I did. And, what I said earlier is true. You’ll always be first to me. If you’re sick, I’ll run to Miyagi even if I have to. Because that’s who you are in my life. Let’s keep in touch, okay?

Love, Daichi.”

Your eyes blurred. Of course, he’d do this. He always brought you back souvenirs from his vacations before. Why did you think he wouldn’t this time?

What you said to him a few days ago were all lies. You still liked him, and you did want to visit the school to see him. Even if he wasn’t nice to you all those years, you still would’ve made him brownies and listened to everything he had to say. You would never regret liking him ever. But you knew it was over. You couldn’t go back on your words even if your life depended on it, because it would hurt him.

-

You were sandwiched between Suga and Asahi during the graduation ceremony. Suga was being loud as always, so your right ear was getting busted. You were pleading to Asahi quietly to switch seats with you, but for some reason, he just wouldn’t make eye contact with you. 

Anyway, the ceremony ended so everyone was leaving. You guys decided to meet Daichi outside the venue near the grass area. He came after a few minutes.

“Guys!”

You were happy to see him. He was happy and content. Even more so that you’ve seen him before. But then you saw someone else behind him.

It was her, and they were holding hands. And there was a ring on her finger. You thought you were over it. You believed the lie you told yourself until you saw them. But you knew you couldn’t cry. It was their day, not yours. After talking for a bit, you excused yourself to the bathroom when you couldn’t see them anymore.

You stare at the mirror.

Why her? Not you? You were always there for him, yet he chose someone he only knew for one year. And now they’re already engaged. You felt dumb for liking your childhood friend. Out of all the possibilities, you were the side character of a movie.

After washing your face with water, you left the bathroom.

“Y/N.”

And of course Suga was waiting for you.

“Hey, did you need to use the bathroom, too?”

“Why are you acting so tough? Especially in front of me?”

“You know I have to be. Or else Daichi..”

“Whatever he feels, it’s not his responsibility to worry about you now.”

That hurt you.

You mustered up a smile and said, “Can we go get food? Just the three of us? Daichi probably wants to spend time with her more than us.”

He laughed. “Do you still have that gift card for that restaurant you were constantly raving about since you were 10? I, Koushi Sugawara, need to know what it was that made Y/N fall in love.”

“Hey, it’s my gift card, not yours!”

“Well, it’s ours now.”

You roll your eyes. At least you still had them two. 

-

You realized you turned on the TV, but you weren’t watching any of it. You stood up and blew out the candle and turned off the song. Of course there were days, in fact years, when you reminisced about what could have been if it weren’t for what you said to him that day in Tokyo. But you knew he was happy now. Whenever you visited them, they were happy. His children were happy. But you couldn’t help and wonder what would have happened if you did something differently. You couldn’t help but ask yourself “What could have been?” 

[thisyearingaming]

1997 - This Year in Gaming

Muggins here was born in ‘97, and can’t really remember much of it, natch. But there were some good things released this year - I’ve played every one of these, and have missed so many more.

Diablo - Windows, January 3rd

We start with dungeon-crawl-em-up and well-loved out of season April Fool’s Joke, Diablo. I’ll be totally honest - I don’t like Diablo that much. It’s absolutely fine, I just can’t get into it. The writing, setting and characters are all very good especially since this year only marks the beginning of games being seen as a bit more adult and intelligent. Check out this gameplay from Hour of Oblivion on YouTube, and marvel at the faux-Scottish accent on Griswold the blacksmith.

Mario Kart 64 - Nintendo 64, February 10th

Compared to its more recent versions, Mario Kart 64 is a veritable bloody relic of the past - solid controls and a quirky style mean it’s still a crowd pleaser to this day, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone right now that would die on the hill of it being their favourite single-player racing experience. It’s also got some of the deepest, impenetrable lore in any medium known to the human race - why exactly is Marty the Thwomp locked up here?

Blast Corps - Nintendo 64, February 28th

February’s position as most boring month of the year is shaken up a bit by having a uniquely designed Rare game slammed into its 28-day long face. Blast Corps is the puzzle-action game where you take control of several vehicles to destroy homes and buildings in order to prevent a nuclear warhead exploding in the coolest incarnation of Cold War politicking ever seen in a video game. Calling Blast Corps a “hidden gem” these days is like calling Celeste a hidden gem - it impresses nobody and makes you look like a dick. 

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - Nintendo 64, March 4th 

The N64 was home to a surprisingly large number of above-average shooters despite its muddy graphics and small cartridge space - Turok is one of these, a great FPS game where you shoot the SHIT out of dinosaurs. Brett Atwood of Billboard said it was like Doom and Tomb Raider mixed - Doom Raider, if you will. I say it isn’t - there’s no demons, and there’s no polygonal breasts to poke dinosaurs’ eyes out with! 

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Sony PlayStation, March 20th

What is a retrospective? A miserable little pile of opinions. I’ve only recently played through SotN for the very first time on a TOTALLY LEGITIMATE copy with a CRT filter. Bloody good (geddit?) game, that takes the repetition of its predecessors, improves on it in basically every conceivable way, and combines it with special effects and graphics that even 23 years later had me going “ooh, that looks quite good!” Symphony’s music and audio design are wonderfully paired with a deeply enjoyable experience that’ll have you saying “mm, maybe just one more room?”

Tekken 3 - Sony PlayStation, March 20th

Also releasing from the Land of the Rising Sun that day was Tekken 3, which many believe is still one of the best fighters ever made. Tekken 3′s combat is so fast and responsive that it’s better than some games made today. T3 is also the best and easiest way to knock seven shades of absolute shite out of your friends without risking a massive head injury or a trip to the headmaster’s office... where you could also challenge him, but only if he plays as my favourite Not-Guile-or-Ken character in gaming, Paul. 

Sonic Jam - Sega Saturn, June 20th

The moment Sega realised that re-packaging old Mega Drive games would net them serious cash - although unlike later collections, this is a strictly Sonic affair, and has a neat little 3D world to run around in as a sort of hub world. Sonic X-Treme proved that Sonic Team would have to work hard at getting the fastest thing alive into 3D space properly: Jam is the sort of test ground for it too. It features some genuinely good emulation work for 1997, although it’s basically the gaming equivalent of going round to your grandparents at Christmas only for them to give you the exact same gifts you got in 1991, 1992 and 1994 but wrapped in a bow to make you think it’s different. What are you lookin’ at, you little blue devil?

Star Fox 64 - Nintendo 64, June 30th

So there’s this German company, right, called StarVox. Nintendo look at Europe and say “shit, we don’t want another lawsuit... after all, we’ve done three this year!”. So they give us in the PAL region the exciting title of Lylat Wars which as far as I know means absolutely fucking nothing in the context of the game. They’re still called Star Fox in-game too so what was the point? Anyway, fun 3D shooter with graphics that’ll make you do a barrel roll off the sofa and onto the power button to make the brown and green blurs a little easier on the eyes. Hello 2007, I’ve come back to make old references with you!

Carmageddon - Windows, July 30th

The game so scary it was BANNED in the UK! More like the game so fucking shit it was banned. Carmageddon is so deeply boring to play on PC that I can only imagine that Stainless Games made it tasteless by 90s standards simply to ramp up demand - much like another game we’ll be covering soon. 

Herc’s Adventures - Sony PlayStation, July 31st

“And they said Kratos was the best hero? Shish... they got it wrong, sister! Hercules is clearly better... he even has a coconut weapon.” A surprisingly fun overhead action game that most people only know for... well, I’ll just embed it.

Mega Man X4 - Sony Playstation, August 1st

A few years ago I tried playing every Mega Man game there is - I gave up at X3 because I was getting bored. Even still, Mega Man bores me - but at least the level design is good. Stay away from the Windows port. Pictured: me in the background yawning.

GoldenEye 007 - Nintendo 64, August 25th 

The name’s Intro. Overused intro which I also managed to fuck up twice through the deeply editable medium of text. GoldenEye is like the Seinfeld of console shooters - playing it nowadays you’re unlikely to be amazed but holy shit there’s some absolute greatness in this game. Every sound and every piece of music in GoldenEye is permanently seared into my brain - sometimes I’ll just hear Facility or Frigate in my head alongside the door opening sound and the gentle PEW of the PP7. I mean come on, fucking listen to this and tell me Grant Kirkhope isn’t cool as all hell.

LEGO Island - Windows, September 26th

The first open world experience I ever had was LEGO Island. It’s still quite good today, utterly deranged animation from the likes of the Infomaniac and Brickster - a cautionary tale for children that giving pizza to high-profile criminals is disastrous for the human LEGO race. 

Fallout - Windows, October 10th

War never changes, but franchises do. Fallout’s legendary status in the industry is exemplified in how different it feels. Yes, we had the game Wasteland nine years prior, but until September 97 there was nothing quite like Fallout. From the chilling introduction sequence showing the ruins of the United States to the tragic ending, Fallout is an exercise in pure human misery with the brightest spots of hope it can possibly muster thrown in for good measure. What begins as a tedious isometric point-and-click RPG ends as a minigun-wielding power fantasy, before your entire worth is stripped from you at the finish line. You have 500 days to find a water chip before it’s too late, but you’re constantly being fought by terrifying Super Mutants, irradiated animals, and the biggest monster of all - humanity. See what I did there? If anything, humanity in Fallout’s setting would be the greatest unifying force possible against the horror of the outside world. But how is it? It’s dull, it’s sluggish, and it’s really hard to get into even if you’re already a fan - but push through that and it’s worthwhile to see exactly how far the series got before Todd Howard said “eh fuck it” and had the whole thing dipped into an FEV vat.

Grand Theft Auto - Sony PlayStation, October 21st

To put it simply, the first in the GTA series is now nothing but a novelty. It has an irritating camera, wonky controls, poor graphics and deeply repetitive gameplay. But thank fuck it exists, because without it the Rockstar story may have been very different indeed. It’s quintessential cops and robbers gameplay, spanning across Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas in one game, but with maps so far removed from their modern incarnations they may as well be named “Not New York, Possibly Bristol and Orange Town”. People really fucking hated Hare Krishnas in the 20th Century, didn’t they?

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - Sony PlayStation, October 31

A hard one to talk about, honestly - it’s more Crash and better than the first one. It looks great, and Crash controls so well compared to his first outing. It’ll also keep you playing for 100%, fiendishly addictive and unashamedly difficult. Had a weird cover that moved with your head. 

PaRappa the Rapper - Sony PlayStation, November 17th

Type type type the words into the box! (Type, type, type - uh oh - the box?)

PaRappa is a gorgeously stylised rhythm game about rapping to steal the heart of the girl of your dreams - which involves learning karate, getting your driver’s license, selling bottle caps and frogs, making a cake, desperately trying not to shit yourself, and finally performing live on stage. Every one of its segments is so well-produced that they’d genuinely sell like ghost cookies in this era of shite rap. Notable for producing the greatest Jay-Z backing track ever made.

Sonic R - Sega Saturn, November 18th

Sonic R is absolutely FINE with vibrant textures, interesting levels, neat gimmicks and decent controls. But I’m gonna talk about its fucking AWESOME soundtrack by Richard Jacques and T.J. Davis, an eclectic mix of Europop and New Jack Swing - even thinking about it is bringing tears of absolute joy to my eyes hearing Super Sonic Racing in my head. You’ve got the main theme, Living in the City, Can You Feel the Sunshine, Back in Time, Diamond in the Sky, Work It Out and Number One - all of these are absolute club bangers and genuinely wouldn’t be out of place in a 90s disco. 

Tomb Raider II - Sony PlayStation, November 18th

Lara Croft returns to single-handedly endanger every species on Earth. TR2 is really good, the exploration and puzzle-solving aspects of the first game expanded upon here and the gunplay remaining just as punchy. Lara’s got a fully-functioning ponytail which absolutely boggles the fucking mind - a lot of work went into Lara’s hair for the 2013 reboot, so I can’t imagine the amount of man hours it took to get fluid(ish, come on, it’s the PS1 we’re talking about) hair movements in 1997. 

And really, that’s all I played from 1997. I’ve left out big hitters like Quake II, Gran Turismo and Diddy Kong Racing, but I simply haven’t formed an opinion on them yet. Maybe in a future post. 

Thanks for reading.

[marvellous-fangirl]

Stark’s Child

You meet your dad’s new intern and he’s a lot cuter than you expected

Promises Chapter 1 Prev // Next

Word Count: 2,252

Pairings: Peter x Reader, Dad!Tony x Reader

Warnings: Plain fluff

A/N: The start of a hopefully long series :)

You yawned as you tugged on your jeans, which were covered in engine grease and paint. You grabbed some coffee from the kitchen and headed to your lab to work on the new ‘intern’s’ suit. So much had been happening at the compound you couldn’t face talking to anyone. After the whole deal with the Sokovia accords and the civil war, you just wanted to take your mind off it all with some good old fashioned hard work. The compound was abandoned to your relief, your dad was probably out somewhere doing something official. You saw a note left on the intern’s suit. ‘Finish this - picking up new intern today. Dad’ You choked on your coffee slightly and threw the note over your shoulder. You had a lot of work to do. 

You were working on the final adjustments on the Iron Spider suit, when FRIDAY announced: “Y/N, Mr Stark has arrived with Mr Parker and I believe he is requesting the suit.” You nodded and grumbled as a pointless response. You lifted the suit over to the small elevator that would take you and the suit upstairs and grabbed a tool out of your back pocket to sort out a small piece of nanotech that was slightly faulty. The lift began to rise and the doors opened to reveal your father and a boy who looked around your age. “And this is my [daughter/son], Y/N.” Tony said. You waved. The boy looked dumbstruck. “Oh and this is your new suit.” He said and you chuckled as his eyes widened. You looked at the suit, expecting to see the eyes light up as you had planned but they were dark. You pounded the suit on the arm with your fist and it flickered into life. Tony had his eyebrows raised. “I was pushed for time.” You smiled sheepishly. You looked at the boy but noticed his gaze was fixed on you rather than the suit. “Uh.. I’m Peter by the way. Peter Parker.” He looked conflicted as to whether he should hold out his hand for you to shake but he stopped himself and pinned his arm to his side. You chuckled. He was cute. “I’ll uh.. work on this.” You said, finding that you were struggling with your words for some reason. Tony was looking between the two of you with a large smirk plastered on his face. “Y/N would you like to show Peter the compound? His room’s next to Vision’s.” You nodded and smiled at Peter, gesturing for him to follow you. 

“So this is the gym.” You explained, pushing open the door later on their tour. “I can’t say I use it much for pleasure, more just for compulsory training sessions.” Peter nodded, looking at you more than the equipment. You felt a flush gradually creep into your cheeks. “Anyway.” You coughed. “I’ll show you where your room is.” He snapped out of his trance and nodded. 

“Um so yeah this is your room.” “WoAH.” Peter said, eyes wide, staring at the furnishings. There was a large double bed in the centre of the room, a desk with a brand new Stark computer sleeping on it, a TV on one wall with beanbags of blue and red colour opposite it, gaming consoles resting beneath the screen, Star Wars Lego Sets and a stacks of games and DVDs resting on the dresser. “HoLy shIt.” He said, running over to the bed and flopping onto it backwards. “All of this is mine?” He asked, incredulously. You nodded and grinned. “And Mr Stark did this?” “He uh asked me to do most of it.” Peter leapt up from the bed. “Really which bits?!” He asked, beaming. “Uh..” You smiled sheepishly. “The games, the movies, most of the furniture and I uh actually built that computer myself.” “HOly shIt.” He said again and you laughed. “Oh and the Lego sets too.” Peter charged at you and scooped you into a large hug, lifting your feet off the ground with unexpected strength. “Thank you so so so so so so so so much!” He practically screeched. You were laughing. Peter tripped backwards, causing you to fall on top of him on the bed. You both stopped laughed and went bright red, scrambling away from each other. “Uh yeah I heard you like Star Wars so I chose all of my favourite sets.” You said, scratching the back of your neck and avoiding eye contact. “Hey you like those old movies too?” Peter asked. “Um of course?!” You grinned. Peter clapped his hands like a toddler. “That’s so cool!” He grinned. “We should have a movie marathon of all of them soon.” You smiled. Peter paused. “By release date or chronologically?” He asked, looking serious. “Well if you’re showing them to someone for the first time then by release but for a marathon, chronologically.” “Perfect!” He grinned and you laughed. 

“Are you staying tonight?” You asked after the Star Wars fangirling had dialled down. “Yeah I’m staying for the week. Aunt May thinks I’m doing an internship thing rather than doing stuff with the Avengers.” He beamed as he said the last sentence. You laughed. “What’s your name again? Spider Boy?” Peter pouted. “Spider MAn.” He said. “I know I know I’m just pulling your leg.” You giggled. “Yeah Mr Stark does that a lot.” He smiled slightly. “Sorry if my dad annoys you.” He looked up, eyes wide. “No no no! Mr Stark has done so much for me. Plus it’s just a joke it’s fine!” You raised your hands. “Hey chill.” You grinned. Peter smiled. “Anyway I need to go and shower.” You smiled as you stood from the beanbag you were slouched in. “If you need me, my room is down the hall between Buck and Loki.” You waved as you shut the door behind you and noticed how fast your heart was beating, deciding to ignore it. 

Two days later, you slumped out of your dad’s lab and bumped into Peter, waiting outside. “Hey you alright?” Peter asked, catching your eye. “Hm? Oh yeah we’ll talk once you’re done with him.” “Kid you can come in, this isn’t the principal’s office.” Tony called and you laughed, clapping Peter on the back as he scooted into the lab. 

Peter came to find you sitting on the sofa after he had spoken to Tony. “Mr Stark told me everything!” He smiled. You mumbled incoherently. “Why’s it a bad thing?” He asked. “You’re joining my school!” You grimaced. “Yeah it’s just I like being homeschooled. I mean by Dr Bruce Banner! With seven PhDs! And I’m so bad at socialising and meeting new people. And I’d have to wear proper clothes other than sweats and I’d have to-“ Peter was holding his hands up to stop you. You buried your face in your hands and felt Peter tentatively rest a hand on your back. “The reason Mr Stark wanted to talk to me was because he was worried that you’d worry like this so he asked me to stick with you when you start next semester.” You looked up and stared him straight in the eyes. “Will you?” Peter nodded and smiled. “Promise? Do you promise you won’t leave?” Peter nodded again. “I promise I won’t leave.” You smiled gratefully and Peter hesitated before wrapping his arms around you and you rested your head on his chest. 

Later that day, You heard Peter squeal in his room and ran inside. He was holding a huge Lego box. “A lEgO dEaTh sTaR!” He squeaked and you grinned in relief, having thought he was in trouble. “Yeah it‘s my favourite set.” Peter squealed again. “Ned got one of these and we built it together but he got to keep it! Now I have my own!” He laughed like a pleased toddler. You were about to turn out of the room when Peter stopped you. “Hey Y/N. Do you uh.. wanna build it with me?” You turned and smiled. “Sure Pete.” You scooped the pair of beanbags out of the way and sat down on the floor. Peter carefully pried open the box and poured the bags onto the floor. You watched Peter’s face and it crinkled with concentration, as his tongue stuck out between his lips. 

Hours later, with your team effort, the Death Star sat before them. Peter looked at the small Emperor figure in his hand and held it out to you, smiling. “You can do the honours.” He smiled and you smirked, clipping its feet onto the top of the construction. Peter grinned and you laughed, relieved and exhausted. 

“Hey Pete.” You asked, knocking on his open bedroom door. “What do I need for school?” He turned in his desk chair. “Just the normal stuff you would need for any school.” You shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah about that... I’ve never been to a.. uh.. school.” Peter froze. “Yeah uh.. dad actually adopted me when I was six and I’ve been homeschooled by Bruce since then.” “Oh my God I’m so sorry I didn’t think about that.” Peter said and you rubbed the back of your neck. He jumped out of his seat. “I’ll help you get everything you need.” He smiled and you returned it.

You packed everything into your new bag after your shopping trip. “Thanks Pete.” You sighed with relief. “Oh shoot what do I wear.” “Y/N don’t worry about that now we have weeks until you start at Midtown.” You grumbled and Peter laughed. You still looked slightly anxious so Peter said “Hey how about I catch you up on everything we’ve gone through this year so you’re ready when we get there.” And you smiled tiredly in response. “Ok Y/N. How much do you know about quantum mechanics?” Peter asked and you grinned. You began to explain everything you knew, leading to Peter’s expression turning from impressed to slightly scared. “Y/N you’re two years ahead of us!” He gaped and you grinned with relief. “That’s good to hear.”

You were talking to the other Avengers when you heard a small gasp on the other side of the room. You looked over to see Peter with his eyes lit up and his mouth slightly open yet again. You grinned and called him over and he did his best not to skip. “Everyone this is Peter. You met him at the airport.” “Oh you’re the Spider boy!” Sam exclaimed and Bucky smiled. Peter’s grin faded slightly. “I’m.. Spider..man.” He mumbled and Sam and Bucky burst into laughter. Bucky clapped a hand on Peters shoulder. “We’re only messing with you kid.” He chuckled. Steve laughed and Peter looked up. “Oh my God.” He whispered. “You’re Captain America!” Steve laughed. “It’s nice to meet you Peter.” Thor slammed down his drink. “Ah it is the spider boy! I am Thor! God of Thunder!” And he clapped Peter on the back like Bucky did, but this time with so much force that Peter stumbled forward and you had to catch him. Everyone laughed, including Peter, who was over the moon. “Nice to meet you Peter.” Scott grinned. “Hey you know we could shrink down and explore your Lego Death Star if you want? I’ve heard a lot about it.” You winced at the misunderstanding of Peter’s powers. You shook your head at Scott as Peter tried to summon an answer. Scott took the signals and quickly corrected himself. “Or you know, I could make it big and we could explore it then. Y/N could come too.” You smiled as Peter’s eyes lit up. You shot Scott a thumbs up as someone else introduced themselves. You left Peter to it and went over to Loki, who was leaning against the wall, arms folded. “Hey Loki you alright?” You asked, leaning next to him. He titled his head. “I’m not sure.” You raised an eyebrow. “I feel a sense of fondness towards the Spider boy.” He continued and you grinned. “Aww you should say hi.” Loki looked at you with an exasperated look then turned back to watch the others. “There’s something strangely endearing about the boy.” Loki finished. You grinned and yelled for Peter to come over. Loki looked betrayed and you winked at him. “Peter this is L-” You began. “Oh my god! You’re Loki!” Peter interrupted, taking you both by surprise. “Thor’s told me so much about you! You’re so cool!” He continued, eyes shining. Loki looked like he might cry, so you left them to it.

At the end of the week, you and Peter walked back to his apartment just as the sun was setting. Peter knocked on the front door and a kind looking woman opened it.  “Hi May!” Peter smiled, accepting her hug.  “How was the internship?” May asked, then noticed you and pulled away from Peter. “Who’s this?” She asked, giving Peter a knowing look. He blushed immediately.  “No no! It’s not like that. We’re just friends. This is uh..” he started, flustered and you smirked.  “I’m Y/N Stark. I’m working with Peter on the internship.” You said, deciding to weigh in.  “Oh Tony’s [daughter/son]! What a lovely man.” May said, smiling and Peter looked slightly concerned.  “Yeah Y/N’s joining Midtown next semester.” He smiled, recovering. May smiled kindly.  “That’s so nice! Hey I was planning on going to get Thai food for tonight. Do you want to join us Y/N?” May asked and Peter looked at you hopefully. “I’d love to.” You said, with a grin.

[wwwafflewrites]

The Not-So-French Mistake

Chapter 3: Fallen Ashes to Angels

In the cool shelter of the house, Castiel guarded Sydney as covertly as possible. The Winchesters and Bobby were present, but he felt it necessary he patrol the girl he had first gathered. His posture was ramrod straight and his shoulders were square to his spine; although, his muscles eventually tired from his stationary position. Humanity, he reasoned, cannot simply sit and be content. Their muscles exhaust too rapidly. This was where their impatience originated from, he supposed.

After an hour of waking only to supervise, he had noticed an aching emptiness centered within the pit of his stomach. Startled by the unpleasant experience, he had casually hunched into the couch as his stomach begged and craved food. He had, of course, once experienced this foreign desire when they had encountered Famine, but he had never become accustomed to such.

No one among him had seemed to satisfy their own hunger, so he assumed that it was a typical pain at this early hour. However, he found that throughout the day nobody mentioned any food of sorts, and the dull grumble of hunger grew into a slow starvation. He was inclined to slouch further into the couch cushions but decided against it. With a cautious eye pinned to the girl browsing their library, he entered the kitchen with an intent to raid the fridge.

Dean questioned his purpose, as always. “What's got you in such a hurry?”

Upon opening the fridge to find it bare, Castiel was experiencing a taste of humanity's impatience, and his clipped voice represented this. “Dean, there is a deep greed I have felt for several hours now. I have a great desire to ingest food, and I must eat or I will further suffer hunger.” Was this himself speaking? He hadn't meant his words to be bitter.

Dean’s lips curled upward in entertainment. “You know, you could say you're hungry like a normal person, Cas.” He sighed, “Yeah, we can eat. Hey, Sam; how about we go to the local diner for lunch? Cas here is getting hangry.”

“Hangry?” Castiel baffled in his own irritable way. “I believe it's pronounced―”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sam interrupted.

Castiel quieted when nobody acknowledged his question. He was only curious as to why Dean deliberately stressed the word hangry when he had said hungry only seconds before. Had he done so purposely? The English language was rather complex, he decided. Humans love to complicate their languages. Enochian was much more straightforward.

They looked expectantly to Sydney, who was uncertain. “I... I might stay back and research.” She extended the book she was skimming in an attempt to strengthen her plea.

Dean vetoed that. “No, no, sweetcheeks. We aren't losing you from our sight. Loco angels, remember?”

Castiel sent a sad, apologetic smile to Sydney from behind Dean's shoulder; it was his species, after all.

Bobby nodded to her. “Go on. Nothing here except the phones. We’ll dig into it further once you've had something to eat. I'll stay behind in case somebody calls.”

She squinted, yielding to the hunters’ hidden demand. While their politeness covered it neatly, it all broke down to the fact that she had to accompany them. She set her jaw and nodded grudgingly. Four against one was no fair argument.

She and Castiel trailed behind the Winchesters, the angel clarifying that she was under his surveillance. “Hangry?" he whispered to himself, wondering.

Sydney chuckled at the angel's innocence. If she wasn't currently a prisoner, she’d have found him to be good company. “Dean combined the words hungry and angry.”

“Oh, I see,” he said, though not really seeing.

●●●

The immediate rise of the temperature outside was alarming. Heat surged down fervidly onto the group. They were practically baking in their jackets... and a specific trench coat.

“Dog days this late, hm?” Dean was skeptical. “Well, take off your jackets or you will fry in the car. The air conditioning takes a few minutes to kick in.” He shrugged off his dad's old jacket, taking care to form it into a neat fold. His shirt hugged his form, showing his toned physique and aged scars.

Dean grasped the handle of the car door and hissed in pain when it seared with heat. The sun radiated off the car's reflection. “Jesus!” He exclaimed, inspecting his palm, which was thankfully free of burns. “That is hot.”

“We know you love your car, Dean.” Castiel chortled courteously, expecting his friend to have been joking. It was usual Dean-personality.

“No, that thing is hotter than the pits of hell. And I've been there.” Dean was sincere. His hand was now a light, sore pink, but thankfully the skin was intact. He cradled it momentarily. Using his shirt as a barrier for his hand, he wrenched the door open awkwardly. Hot air blasted out like a dragon breathing fire. “Well, get in.”

After several minutes of uncomfortable fidgeting in the oven-like seats and complaining over the fiery seatbelts, they took off with the windows cranked at their full capacity. With the constant whoosh of humid air rushing through the windows, so the car was merely warm. A rattle of Legos in the vent synched with rhythm of Sydney's heartbeat.

“So... Sydney. To hit two birds with one stone, we're going to the town we found you in. We’ve heard evidence of murder, and they haven't found the bodies,” Sam informed her delicately.

Dean turned down the radio a notch so he could speak and be heard over the windows and blasting rock music. “Y-ep. The creepy part? There, reportedly, had been a huge community bonfire exactly the night after they went missing. I'm going on a hunch here, but I'll take it the fire smelled like burning flesh and nonconsensual sacrifices.” Dean informed, glancing in his rearview mirror. “Hey, Cas, could you stick with her for the day? Sam and I just have this one case to look into.” Dean wrung his sweaty palms on his steering wheel and muttered, “Or maybe two if this sun thing doesn't chill out.”

Castiel nodded. He had been doing so since she had arrived, anyway. “I planned on it,” he replied happily.

Dean made a turn on the road and fidgeted miserably when the sun's light hit his lap, pooling heat onto his legs. “Okay,” he said finally, speaking over the open windows as he drove, “what is it with the supersun? It's almost fall. I feel like one of the ants we held magnifying glasses over when we were kids. This thing is microwaving us.” He briefly wondered if he could bake a pie in this weather. It surely would pay off for all their previous efforts among any work they accomplished.

Castiel considered the possibility. “You may be correct. Something could be magnifying the sun to create havoc.”

Dean’s eyes were fixated on the road, but he couldn't help glancing back in tired disbelief. Man, their lives just got weirder and weirder. “So what could we be looking at? Witches? Satanic worshipers? Demons? Monsters? A summoning? What do we got?”

Castiel brooded. “It takes a great amount of effort to reign the Sun, Dean. I'm not sure.” He shuffled, shirt clammy with sweat. “They would need to be incredibly powerful.”

“Right.”

Oddly enough, as they entered the town, traffic had not seemed to accumulate. The roads were barren of any vehicles, and as they approached the town, they promptly discovered why.

Pedestrians riddled the sidewalks under the grilling sun, their faces flushed and dehydrated. There were at several people arguably ill to heat stroke.

Dean parked the car abruptly, eyes widening at the disorder of people. He turned to his friends: "Scratch everything I said. Some of these folks need to get to the hospital. Now. The murders can wait before more deaths occur because of our overly sociable sun.” Not a dot of leniency stood in his tone, expecting their immediate service to secure the town, which was reasonable.

Sam looked ready to protest, but Dean shut him right up. “Sam,” he spoke dangerously, “something screwy is going on with that sun, and if we don't act now, there won’t be a town to save! Cas, Sam, Pug-face, I need you to gather some townspeople, and watch her, Cas. I have to park this baby in the shade before we haul these strangers to the nearest hospital.”

There was no time to dwell, so with Sydney's shrunken, annoyed pip of, “Pug-face?”, everyone was scrambling out of the car. Cas and Sydney headed to the left while Sam sprinted right. They didn't bother checking for traffic; the asphalt had been deserted once people realized they could griddle an omelet on its surface.

The town was in a fragile state. The sky had become stale, altering from a beryl blue to an ashen grey as the sun cloaked the atmosphere with a withering glare. Ruddy, rich soil had crisped into a cinder-like dust. The budding, lush greens of trees had faded to a tarnished, mossy hue. As the heat elevated, the saturation crumbled.

Sam found his shoes sticky with softened bitumen from the road. He dashed toward a feverous woman, a victim to the cruel weather. She swayed, rocking on their heels in misery. With a parched, dry mouth, she begged, “Water. Please―”

Sam promised almost pitifully, “We'll get you water. We’ll get you water, okay? They'll have water at the hospital. I swear.” He prayed that to be true and that the curse had only struck upon this town. If the entire globe was suffering against a Hulked-out, mammoth sun, an immense epidemic would occur, and it would become outside of the Winchester's hands to solve it.

Sam supported the woman as she staggered clumsily. Her sweat dripped and sizzled on the concrete, and her brow was furrowed into a distressing, hazy determination as she struggled to remain conscious.

Across the street, Cas and Sydney had their hands full. Cas was carrying a frail child in his arms, her face flushed and scarlet. Sydney provided assistance to a young man; his steps wavered, so overtaken by blistering temperatures it ached to focus upon the mere idea of walking.

Dean had fortunately parked in some nearby shade, and the chattering of the engine echoed like an impish cat. The heat couldn’t have been good for Dean's beloved car, but he had set aside materialistic issues and had dug into the true stakes at hand: the lives of innocent civilians and children.

Now with the heat-stricken people stuffed inside the Impala, Dean took charge. He spoke through the window, voice sharp and commanding, “You guys help the rest of the people get shelter and water, and help yourselves too. I mean it―I don't want to come back and drag you all to the hospital as well, you understand?”

His friends nodded in unison, and Dean then mirrored the action. “Okay. I should be back soon. Don't do anything stupid!” He aimed a finger pointedly at Sydney. “Especially you, Sparky.” With that, he revved the engine, and then drove off.

They got straight to business, heading toward the groups of people who had scarcely kept from stewing in the daylight.

However, as Sydney drew nearer to her assignment, she slowed as the sun flushed heat against her sweaty back. The people about her were in such grave conditions, but she couldn't find it in herself to care much at the moment. “I'm going to go…” she pointed lazily, “uh… get water...” she let them know sluggishly, endeavoring to sound as casual as allowed at that moment.

Castiel looked sternly to her, seeing past her weak facade. “Dean does not want us doing something regrettable. Especially you. I believe going on your own counts as such.”

Hearing Dean's snarky words through the angel's mouth was comedic. The comment became totally unlike Dean: uncertain and... unusually gentle.

Sydney almost chuckled, but she was too exhausted, hot, and dehydrated to manage it. God, I feel sick, she thought miserably as her stomach twisted and clenched in nausea, not realizing her apparent prayer. “Cas. I really―”

Then, he was in the way, blocking her path stubbornly. She feebly pushed but found him encouraging her to rest on the sidewalk amongst the townsfolk and lean against a shaded, brick wall.

A habit of saying or thinking his Father's name in vain usually lead to accidental prayers. “Sam will do so. You are growing ill.”

She searched for her voice, and once she’d found it, she weakly argued, croaking, “But I want to help―”.

“I have been assigned to serve amongst the ill, and now you are included amongst them, so I shall tend to you.” He asserted faithfully, concern clouding his features. “I wish I could heal you.” 

He found his predicament highly counterproductive. If only he could have utilized his wasted grace upon the suffering people in this town. If only he had clutched further onto it before it snuck past his impatient fingers. The circumstance made him resentful and upset, realizing he could have accomplished something just yesterday.

A time as simply distant as 24 hours ago, yet he could do nothing now.

[flapperfromthefuture]

I’ve been experimenting with a couple of new ways to beat the winter blues—baking with such frenzy that I have to buy the 18 egg cartons and the person at the register asks me, “Big weekend plans?” every. single. time, and expanding my horizons with such gusto that I nearly got dropkicked by a jazz enthusiast.

Let me explain.

After watching a beautiful tombstone-grey sunset at 3:30 one October afternoon, I had the urge to bake because “You can’t stick your head in the oven if there’s other stuff in there.”

So I have been baking. Like, obsessively.

I’ve even gotten fancy. I made a povitica, the Aaron Burr of breads, with raspberry and then apricot jam (very sticky, but tasty). Then I wanted to try a savory challah, so I experimented with adding different amounts of cardamom and THEN za’atar.

I tried making challah with harissa because it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was super messy working the harissa into the dough and then braiding it before the whole loaf could fall apart, but the end result was delicious and made my kitchen smell like a spice market in the midst of somewhere warm that is not Michigan.

I made two Bienenstich, or bee sting cakes, which I hadn’t attempted since my brioche class. I managed not to overdo the topping this time! No almond-induced structural collapses here.

Then I made this gigantic cinnamon roll, which the recipe claimed was an Estonian Kringla, and since the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever had was in Estonia, I tried it out. And it was pretty good, but didn’t quite get me to pre-winter euphoria levels, aka enough energy to stay awake past mid-afternoon because it’s so dark outside.

My sister really wanted to make Halloween desserts together, which translated into me buying all the supplies and then baking everything myself while she lay on the floor.

She had just run a half-marathon . . . five days earlier.

I don’t like making Rice Krispie treats as they are a tactile nightmare. Everything you touch sticks to you forever and then continues to stick to you even after you die. I also gravely miscalculated how many marshmallows to buy (because weight and volume are different, apparently? School never covered that) and my mom will not let me live it down—anyone who stops by the house is asked, “Do you want something to drink? Or maybe some marshmallows? Elizabeth bought a thousand.”

Stella likes to say, “God knew you’d be too powerful if you were good at math.”

I don’t enjoy cooking as much as baking, but I made my yearly stab at sides for Thanksgiving. These harissa sweet potatoes looked beautiful but were a little too spicy for my weak-ass family.

(I also may have put in too much harissa. But it’s expensive and I wanted to use it all!).

A and I are officially in the throes of cabin fever, and when our beloved Midnight Madness rolled around, she decided that we needed to mix things up and elected to check out a jazz club downtown that we had never visited. Our friend Julia was with us and her mom was in town from the East Coast, so A thought we’d show them a sophisticated time . . . after visiting the holiday petting zoo, of course, and making a quick stop in the Himalayan Bazaar to see if the Yeti was around—he was not, because he never is, BUT I WILL SEE HIM NEXT YEAR SO HELP ME. 

Stella did not join us for Midnight Madness, electing instead to stay in and watch The Crown, which in hindsight, was too much of a gamble to take without supervision.

We swept into the jazz club with our heavy coats and dorky beanies and I immediately felt way too square to chill with the jazz cats. Everyone had sleek scarves and trendy eyewear and even the gorgeous modern light fixtures seemed to judge us as we sat at our table.

There was a lady wearing sunglasses inside. At night. In winter.

It was below freezing out. I thought, “Is this an awards show?”

I had only eaten roasted almonds and hot chocolate for dinner so I needed something revitalizing . . . or barring that, mozzarella sticks.

This jazz club did not have mozzarella sticks. Mozzarella sticks aren’t cool. They had charcuterie plates, pate, foie gras PB&J (why?), and charred baby octopus (WHY?), and everything was super expensive, but there was a jazz quintet onstage that seemed really legit, so I was excited to get some culture, even at the expense of mozzarella sticks.

A stared down at the menu like she could intimidate it into submission. She will eat anything, but draws the line at baby animals that have been set on fire.

“I don’t know what to get,” she said. “This never happens to me.”

“What are you guys ordering?” I asked Julia and her mom.

And then, out of nowhere, SLAM, a hand smacked our table loud enough to make me jump. An older man glared at me and said, “I’m not paying to hear you talk.”

He looked a lot like Santa, which made it even more distressing. I don’t want to get in trouble with Santa!

A is from Chicago and doesn’t take anyone’s shit (which is good for me, because to quote John Mulaney, “You could pour soup into my lap and I’d apologize to you“), so she looked Santa right in the eye and said, very calmly, “You don’t need to take that tone. We’ve never been here before and we’re trying to figure out what to order.”

Santa scowled and said, “Just be quiet.” Like we were children, which we are not. We patronize jazz clubs!

Just so we’re clear, A was the most well-behaved child who ever childed and practically showed up to preschool with a briefcase. No one has ever told her, “Just be quiet.” And I was so hyperfocused on craft kits and Legos that no one ever told me that either. In fact, adults scolded me to be less quiet because “You’re like a little ninja.”

“That wasn’t very Midwestern,” said Julia. “Don’t get the wrong idea, Mom. People in Ann Arbor are usually very chill.”

“He’s probably a boomer,” said Julia’s mom, who is a boomer herself, and incredibly cool.

We ordered our drinks and tried to enjoy the jazz.

Here’s the thing about jazz. People think they enjoy it, because music, right? Who doesn’t like music? Everyone loved La La Land, and there was jazz in that, right?

But what you don’t know about jazz, until you’re trapped in a jazz club with incinerated child octopi and furious boomers, is that the average jazz song is about fifteen minutes long. There’s the normal part, that sounds like a song and tells a story you can follow and enjoy, and then the improv starts. Every musician starts playing scales or hitting the drums in a way that should be exciting but really isn’t, and should build to something musically but really doesn’t, and then when they’re done the audience claps and the next person does the same thing, but it’s like listening to several minutes of joke set-ups with no punchlines. Over and over, until they just stop and then the next song starts.

“Are they going to do this for every song?” I thought about saying, but then did not, because I didn’t want to anger the man.

Instead, I checked my phone for a quick primer on jazz appreciation.

I still hadn’t eaten anything and A had declared that we wouldn’t be ordering any food so we could leave sooner . . . but not soon enough.

Other people were chatting and eating and enjoying the music, but I wasn’t doing any of those things.

A was glaring daggers into the back of Santa’s head.

Julia and her mom weren’t super into it either, to the point that Julia claimed that if she rushed the stage and pretended to be the next act by riffing on a triangle, no one would question it. Her mom was supportive of this, so it was time to go.

We said good-bye outside, relieved at finally being allowed to speak freely.

“That drum solo went on FOREVER,” said Julia.

“I thought the cymbal crash meant it was over but it just kept going!” said A.

“I really liked La La Land an hour ago and now I hate it,” I said.

So my journey to find something that will beat seasonal affective disorder back to whence it came continues. Will I go complicated and attempt to make my first panettone, which can take 24 HOURS to bake?

Or keep it simple and just get some mozzarella sticks?

          Baking vs. Jazz: Holiday Showdown I’ve been experimenting with a couple of new ways to beat the winter blues—baking with such frenzy that I have to buy the 18 egg cartons and the person at the register asks me, "Big weekend plans?" every.

[theinsideoutmermaid]

Chapter 1: Tony

Marvel high school AU

Words: 2337

***

“Tony. Tony. Tony. Toneeeeeeeee—”

Tony Stark laboriously lifted himself from his exquisitely nonchalant backpack-supported bus seat slouch. Sighing, he clicked off his phone.

“What is it, Parker?”

Several rows in front of him, in the uncool front half of the bus where underclassmen are obligated to sit, Peter Parker was dangling over the back of his seat. He isn’t a bad kid, really, thought Tony, he’s even pretty smart. He’s just impossibly annoying. Peter looked positively beside himself at having gotten Tony’s attention.

“You had Ross for math, right?” said Peter, just slightly over the volume required for trans-bus communication.

“No need to yell, Petey, jeez. And yes.” They’d been over this several times, actually.

“Ev’rybody siddown,” drawled the bus driver, glancing at Peter in the mirror.

“Oh! Sorry!” Peter dropped back into his seat and instead leaned around the side, into the aisle, apparently comfortable with lying full-out across his best friend Ned. “So anyway, do you remember the logs and exponentials test? Ours is in two days and I wanted to know is it hard? I mean I’ve done well on the quizzes and I think I understood the homework but y’know transformations? I feel like I haven’t really gotten the hang of those and so anyway I wanted to ask was it hard?”

Tony spared a brief glance across the aisle at his friend Bruce, who offered the appropriate amused-but-exasperated eye roll. “I took it two years ago, bud, so I don’t even remember anymore. There was probably like one transformation. You’ll be fine, Ross is an easy grader,” Tony said, and returned to his phone.

“Oh. . . Thanks!” Peter clambered back into his seat, earning a few yelps from Ned. Tony flashed a peace sign above his head in response.

Bruce swung his legs into the aisle, leaning across to talk to Tony. “You know the kid idolizes you, right?”

“Pssh,” said Tony, not looking up from his phone. In fact, he did know, and if he was honest with himself, he even felt a little flattered at times. Mostly, though, he wished his devotee would be someone a little more chill and with a slightly lower-pitched voice. If you go onto thesaurus.com, Peter Parker is listed under antonyms of chill. Tony didn’t know whether he wanted to help the kid or shut him inside a locker, so mostly he just ignored him.

Bruce seemed to be able to read some of this in his face. When Tony looked up again, Bruce was watching him with a half-smirk. Tony flipped him the bird. It turned into a full smirk, and Bruce went back to annotating Crime and Punishment.

The bus turned a sharp corner. “I think we’re here,” yelled Peter.

“Thank you for the enlightening announcement, Parker,” said a pair of Air Jordans extending from the seat behind him. This was Shuri, who, despite being a sophomore, was indisputably the most popular person in the whole school. Also probably the smartest. She exuded an effortless cool even Tony could appreciate.

“Okay, kids, make sure you have all your things and then follow me. Will someone grab the football?” asked Dr. Selvig, AP Physics teacher and coach of the Lee High School Quiz Bowl team.

“I got it, Doc,” said Ned. As the team filed out, he grabbed the black plastic briefcase which was neither a football nor a container of nuclear codes but rather held the buzzers and timers used in the game.

Inside DCHS, the LHS kids exchanged curious glances with the strange students of their rival high school. This bit, the in between bus ride and match bit, always felt odd to Tony. Other schools were like a dimension he wasn’t shaped to inhabit. He hastily broke eye contact with the DCHS girl who had just met his stare and pretended to do something on his phone. A teacher stationed in the front lobby had told them that their home base would be room L402 and then gave directions which Tony had completely ignored. He instead followed the sound of Ned and Peter excitedly discussing Peter’s new Endor Base LEGO set (“It includes a walker and the base has sliding doors!” “Noooo waaaayy!”)

“Are four levels really necessary?” complained Bruce, stomping up the final flight of stairs before they reached L402. “We do just fine with two.”

“Yeah, well, we have 1600 kids and they have, what, 4000? And the lot’s pretty small so expanding up is the only way to go, I guess,” Tony replied.

In L402, the students dumped their backpacks in a corner. Ned and Peter set to work dragging the desks into two lines of five, then Jane and Helen set up the buzzers and the lockbox. Darcy eagerly tested each buzzer, letting off beep after beep while Shuri reset the box. Doc Selvig rummaged in his bag, tossing several pads of yellow lined paper onto a nearby desk and pulling out a stack of name cards. As he read off the names, each team member retrieved their cards.

“Bruce — Darcy — Shuri — Ned — Tony — Stephen - sorry, I mean Strange — Peter — Viz — Jane — Helen,” recited Doc Selvig.

“Can you get that— thanks, Bruce,” called Helen, who was stuck behind the desks untangling some buzzer wires.

“Alrighty then, kids, it’s the first match of the season, and we want to start off strong! We were so close to state last year—” A dreamy look crept over Selvig’s eyes, as if he were reminiscing, and the team waited patiently until he began to talk again. “-- And I think we have a real shot at making it this time. We’ve got a great team, very strong. I think we can beat DCHS, but they’ve historically been a bit tough, so I need to play our strongest members to begin with. If we’ve got a comfortable lead towards the end, I’ll sub the rest of you in. Remember, I want all of you to get playing time, but we also have to think practically. For our starters today. . . Tony, you be captain. Strange, I want you on his right and Jane on the left. Shuri and Helen get the last two spots.” Tony felt a gleam of pride. Captain. Captain Stark. It had a nice ring to it. He slid into the center seat and carefully arranged his name card and buzzer towards the front.

“Some final reminders,” continued Doc Selvig, “be quick and don’t be afraid to jump in on a toss-up, but also be sure to gauge the other team’s response time. The questions are pyramidal, so they get more specific as time goes on. Do not blurt out answers to the bonuses. Tony will report for the team unless he defers. And finally. Do not break the Cardinal Rule!” At this, everyone turned to look at Ned, who shrank two inches to hide behind his precalculus textbook.

The DCHS team arrived and filled their assigned seats; their coach sat at the head desk next to Dr. Selvig. He flipped open the question packet and slid his glasses to the end of his nose, turning to look at the assembled teams.

“Since LHS are the guests here, why don’t they go first at introductions? Please ring in and say your name,” said the DCHS coach.

Introductions were a time-honored tradition of Quiz Bowl. Tony actually had a running list of interesting ways to do introductions, some of which required rehearsal on the bus beforehand. It’s an intimidation technique, he had once explained to his friend Rhodey, who was not on the team and could not grasp why Tony had whipped out his phone during lunch to make a note of “reverse alphabetical order of middle name.” The more complicated your intro, the smarter the other team thinks you are.

Tony pressed his buzzer, watching the little bulb light up green. “My name is Tony, and I am captain—”

“Co-captain,” muttered Strange next to him. Tony paused and made a face like he was trying to inhale a grapefruit through his nostril.

“-- co-captain of the LHS Quiz Bowl team.” Technically it was true; they had voted during practice a few weeks ago and he had tied with Strange. Why there was any dispute Tony couldn’t imagine, because he was cool and smart and interesting, whereas Strange was a smart but also arrogant, condescending, stuck-up little—

He wrenched his thoughts back to the present with an effort.

“My teammates will introduce themselves in order of ascending longitude,” he concluded. Because of the orientation of the school, this was really just a fancy way of saying left-to-right, but it certainly sounded smart. Tony had checked Google Maps and worked it out with the other starters before DCHS arrived.

The other team went for the overused “buzzer speed” introduction. Amateurs, thought Tony. He sized up their captain, a reedy white dude named Josh who looked uncreative enough to have resorted to buzzer speed.

“Before we start, can we get a sc— oh, you’re already there,” said Doc Selvig, noting Viz, the ever-diligent scorekeeper, stationed by the whiteboard. He had made a perfectly perpendicular t-chart with DCHS and LHS printed on either side in his font-like handwriting.

The DCHS coach settled his glasses higher on his nose and squinted at the question packet. “Welcome to the first match of this year’s varsity Quiz Bowl tournament. Good luck to you all. Okay. . . toss-up number one. You will have ten seconds to ring in after I finish the question.” Tony positioned his finger carefully over the buzzer button, seeing his teammates do the same in his peripheral vision. “Science. The Shannon index describes this quantity entropically, incorporating evenness and abundance. The alpha type of this quantity is measured at one—”

BZZZ. The coach looked up. “Um. . . Helen.”

You got this, Helen, thought Tony. Bio was her thing.

“Biodiversity,” she answered calmly.

“That is. . .” the coach said, scanning to the bottom of the question, “correct. Ten points to LHS.”

Tony breathed out a small sigh of relief, feeling a surge of pleasure as Viz scribed a tally on the LHS side of the scoreboard. He shot a wink at Helen, mouthing “nice one.” She grinned back.

“Bonus number one to LHS,” continued the coach. “Math.” Tony sat up a little straighter. “Let p be a prime number greater than three. For ten points each. . . One: because it is not divisible by two, p must have this property.”

“Oddness,” said Tony immediately, not even bothering to confer with his teammates.

“Correct. Two: what two remainders are possible when dividing p by 6?”

Tony thought for a second. “One and five.”

“Correct again. Finally, what theorem states that three to the p, divided by p, must have a remainder of three?”

“Fermat’s little theorem,” blurted Tony.

The DCHS coach gave him a grudging nod, saying, “And that’s a sweep for LHS. Toss-up number two. . .”

Strange kicked Tony’s calf under the desks. “You’re supposed to confer with us for the bonuses,” he hissed.

Tony gave him a winning smile. “Well, I didn’t need to. I knew all the answers.”

“But what if you didn’t?”

“Shhhhh. . . the question is starting,” Tony said, his smile brightening as Strange’s glower darkened.

LHS had worked up a comfortable lead by halftime, thanks to the abundance of science- and math-related questions. Jane and Helen were able to bolster them a bit on history and literature, because they actually paid attention in those classes, but everyone in the lineup was a STEM kid first and foremost.

Doc Selvig checked the questions packet, then checked the scoreboard. “A hundred twenty. . . Okay, guys, I think I can make some substitutions here. Ned, you go in for Helen, and Peter, you go in for Strange.”

Several things happened at once: Strange coughed indignantly, Peter seemed to float a few inches off the ground, and Tony spontaneously developed a throbbing headache.

“Doctor, don’t you think that as co-captain I should—” began Strange in the smarmy voice Tony hated.

“--cheer on the team and be supportive and cooperative,” finished Selvig, giving Strange a look. “I think Peter will be very useful in this half.” Peter’s grin looked like it might rip his face in half. Tony’s headache throbbed harder. He slid into his seat once again, trying to ignore the stream-of-consciousness chatter coming from the sophomore next to him.

“I can’t believe Doc put me in here, I mean I’m nowhere near as good as Strange, but maybe he thinks I am? Wow, could you imagine, I mean this is so cool I’m like your right-hand man, well I guess if you want, I mean—”

“I’ll make sure to defer to you if there’s a question about Endor Base, how ‘bout that,” said Tony, rubbing his temples.

“Really?! That’s sweet, I mean that’s sick, I’ll do my best. Co-captain’s seat. . .” Peter turned and flashed a thumbs-up to Ned, who was looking incredibly nervous.

It got close around question 17, but LHS pulled ahead in the end. It turned out that Ned actually liked to read a lot and was somehow a geek for both Star Wars and Shakespeare. Peter knew way more pop culture than Tony cared to learn, and, surprisingly, a ton of chemistry.

“What science class are you taking this year?” Tony asked Peter when the match was over. Peter hastily gulped down the mouthful of fruit snacks he had been chewing on.

“AP Chem. They let me test into it,” he replied, a hesitant sort of pride manifesting on his face.

“Really?” Tony tried to keep himself from looking impressed. After a few moments of warring impulses, he softened. “That’s pretty cool, Parker.” The kid turned the color of a tomato, stuttered a sort of thanks, and dashed off to relay the whole interaction to Ned.

Bruce drew up beside Tony, smirking again. “He’ll pop the question any day now.”

“Shut up,” Tony said, punching Bruce in the shoulder. But he smiled when he was sure no one was watching.

[irondadheadcanons]

Peter has spider instincts and he can control them eighty percent of the time of course Peter hasn't told Tony of this Tony finds out when Peter comes back in to the compound kitchen covered in blood and a look of extreme satisfaction on his face (he ate a deer and fought a bear) and after Peter's shower they have a talk

(QUICK NOTE: We wrote this at 4:30 am. Just… just remember that, okay?)

–

(italics are kat/@losingmymindtonight and regular is shannon/@parkrstark) 

Okay… so… there’s a lot to unpack here.

First of all: why would a spider FIGHT A BEAR

Where did he FIND A BEAR in NYC??

Was he upstate already?

Did he kill the deer himself or did he steal the deerfrom a bear and that’s why he fought one?

Do spiders even eat deer?

I love how serious you’re going into this

This is IMPORTANT STUFF SHANNON

Listen. If Peter can control his spider instincts 80% ofthe time then that means that 20% of his life he CAN’T

Which means he spends about 73 days a year just… punchingbears and eating deer

I’m concerned

He should get that checked out

“Bruce… Bruce we’ve got a teenie little problem”

Okay okay so I looked into it and the biggest animal Ican find record of a spider eating is a bird or a rat so i’m not sure how wegot a deer here

WHY ARE YOU LOOKING THIS UP. YOUR BROWSER HISTORY IS ALREADYQUESTIONABLE FROM YOUR WHUMP RESEARCH

So Upstate New York’s black bear population is currentlyestimated at 6,000-8,000. That means that if Peter kills a black bear everytime he loses control of his “spider instincts,” it will take him about 83years to eradicate the entire population (assuming that the bears aren’treproducing)

Significantly less if he can knock out two each episode

What the fuck

Do you like my science Shannon?

#1 I think that’s math #2 I could be wrong about #1 becauseI always skipped science class #3 why are you like this

I imagine that Tony thought #3 too when Peter camewaltzing into the Compound covered in blood and deer guts

On that note: CAN YOU BELIEVE TONY LET HIM TAKE A SHOWERBEFORE TALKING ABOUT THIS

IM SORRY SHANNON

BUT IF YOU ROLLED INTO MY HOUSE COVERED IN BITS OF DEAD DEER

THE SHOWER CAN WAIT

WE HAVIN A TALK FIRST

I can assure you, I will never come to your house covered indead deer

And also

Why did he eat the deer but not the bear

SEE NOW YOU’RE GETTING INTO THE SPIRIT

Do deer taste better than bears?

Let me ask Google

I await a response with baited breath

Truly how did I live before knowing the answer to thisquestion

So apparently bear meat can taste pretty nasty if thebear has been eating a lot of salmon or carrion

So maybe it was just a really nasty bear

And Peter was like “nah. Let me get at that raw deer meatinstead”

So maybe Peter tracks the bear’s diet before attacking it

Do you think he kills the bear or does he just

Like

Roundhouse kick it in the jaw

I was wondering that

“I’M THE CAPTAIN NOW”

And the bear is just like “yessir”

Maybe he just knocks it out and then… calls it a day

Maybe he’s already full from the deer???

Which came first: the deer or the bear

Does he just… get the urge to fight bears??? Or does heget the urge to eat deer and therefore fights bears for their deer carcasses???

Maybe the deer guts on him attracted the bear so he had tofight off the bear. He didn’t want to kill it, it was just self defense

Because even in spider instinct mode, Peter is still achill bro

I just googled “is there a bear-fighting spider”

There isn’t, but apparently there IS a sport known asspider fighting

Which is exactly what it sounds like

Spiders fighting each other?

Yep

For what purpose?

Is it like a game?? A mating ritual??

DIRECTLY FROM WIKIPEDIA: “In the United States, spider-fighting is also prevalentin prisons in Florida, where inmates catch them and keep them in boxes as pets.In 2002, a fight between three inmates over the theft of a pet spider resultedin life-threatening skull injuries to one inmate and additional charges to theother two.”

SHANNON I CANT BREATHE

Life gets rough in the big house

You have to rely on spider fights

“Life threatening skull injuries”

That must have been one hell of a spider, to warrant that

Also, the ambiguity of “they have a talk” is just………there’s so much option there

There is NO info about Tony’s reaction AT ALL

I’d hope his reaction involves some concern

“Comes back to the kitchen” also means that they were justchilling in the kitchen, probably talking about some cool suit upgrades, whenPeter was suddenly like, “hold on, fam, spider instincts, gotta eat a deer” andthen goes out and comes back after however long it takes him to do this

“Peter? What did you even DO?!”

“Oh, you know. Killed a deer, fought a bear.”

“You fought a WHAT NOW?!”

“Spider instincts”

“There is not a species of spider ALIVE that does thisshit, Peter. THIS IS NOT NORMAL WHAT THE FUCK”

“WAIT. DID YOU EAT RAW, UNPROCESSED DEER MEAT??? DEARGOD. BRUCE??? PETER NEEDS A RABIES SHOT ASAP”

“Some spiders hibernate, some eat deer.”

Listen. We as a society need to accept ALL types ofspiders, strange bear fighting habits and all

And this conversation happens after the shower… does Tonyask or does he just shove him right into the bathroom?

Does he think it’s human blood at first??????

“Do we need this hide a body??? PETER??? DO WE NEED TOHIDE A BODY???”

IMMEDIATE SUPPORT FROM IRONDAD

If he has a satisfied look on his face, does that meanthat Peter’s spider instincts are still going off or does the normal humanPeter just see…… no problem with this turn of events???

Is he satisfied with the taste of the deer or the outcome ofthe bear fight?????

Maybe he’s used to it and he’s just riding that spiderinstinct high for a little while longer

Does Peter’s bucket list just look like:

1. Meet Mark Hamill2. Build a Lego Death Star3. Go to Comic Con4. Fight a fucking bear5. Pet a Dalmation

Okay but the concept of the instincts being like a highis HELLA amusing to me

“Yeah hi my name is Peter and I get high off of DECKINGBEARS and MURDERING DEER with my BARE HANDS”

Does he always eat deer? Or is it this like steadyprogression of animals. Maybe he started small with like squirrels and slowlymoves his way up the animal kingdom

The endgame is a blue whale

“Mr. Stark, can we go on a cruise?”

“…… why?”

“No reason”

Just, for a sec, imagine Peter fighting a blue whale

How do you even fight something that big???

Does he nibble on it slowly and the whale doesn’t evenrealize it

Or does he fucking pick it up by the tail and bodyslam itback and forth

BOTH IMAGES ARE GLORIOUS

“Happy? Where’s the kid?”

“I thought you had him?”

“Ah shit. He’s trying to eat a damn whale again.”

IM CRYING

So now Tony knows the 20% of Peter’s life where he losescontrol…..what does he do??? Does he lock him in the Compound with some cookeddeer meat? Does he let him loose with a really long leash? Does he follow himaround spray bottle filled with water for when he tries going after the wronganimals?

Peter sees a squirrel and starts foaming at the mouth andTony just pulls out a spray bottle and sprays him in the face

“No! Bad Peter! Leave it!”

“If you’re good I’ve got some raw bison waiting at homewith your name on it”

“This time I won’t try hiding vegetables in the rottingcarcass.”

“No, you still have to eat them! You’re still a growingspider…boy…thing”

I love how we just assume that Tony would just look atthis situation and go “…this is fine”

Actual footage of Tony

Maybe he’s afraid he’ll be the next snack if he upsets Peter

Peter just starts gnawing on one of the receptionists andTony runs over with the spray bottle like “SPIT IT OUT”

…. we’re getting into dangerous territory now

“DAMNIT PETER. I CAN’T LOSE ANOTHER WORKER. NOT AGAIN.”

“NOT AGAIN”

Poor Jenny Carter came into work wearing her fox coat. Shewas never seen again.

You know what? Serves her right for supporting the peltindustry

Peter wears Jenna like a coat

Oh GOD

But only when he’s high on spider juices

Tony has an important business meeting and the other personkeeps staring down at Tony’s leg in concern. Peter is gnawing at his anklebecause that last deer just wasn’t enough.

Tony’s like “WHAT’S THE MATTER YOU NEVER SEEN A SPIDERFEEDING BEFORE”

Peter never actually hurts Tony because even as a highspider, the irondad bond is too strong. And Tony trusts him enough to let ithappen

…… are you making this cute right now

It seems I am

Tony keeps a bag full of dried strips of meat on him tolet Peter chew on during his “episodes”

Happy mistakes it for jerky one day

Poor Happy

HAPPY WOULD BE SO FUCKING DONE

*Peter is chewing on Tony’s shoulder*

“TONY THIS IS NOT NORMAL”

“But look how cute he is”

“TONY HE’S TRYING TO EAT YOU”

“He’s giving me kisses. What a good son”

“WHAT THE FUCK”

“THIS WAS NOT IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION TONY”

Happy is disrupting Peter’s peace so when he’s complainingto Tony, Peter gets really close and Happy flinches expecting to lose an armbut Peter just slaps him across the face with his dried meat strip

“Bad Happy”

Tony’s grinning. “That’s right, buddy. Bad Happy. Shameon you, Hap. Look at him. He’s an angel”

“Spray.”

“You’re right, kiddo. Bad Happy needs a spray.”

“Tony, don’t you.. I swear to god if you—”

TONY GETS SO USED TO USING THE SPRAY BOTTLE THAT ONE DAYIN A MEETING HE JUST BUSTS IT OUT WHEN ONE OF THE STOCKHOLDERS IS BEINGDIFFICULT AND SPRAYS HIM IN THE FACE

So what state does Peter revert to while he’s in this spiderkilling mode… what kind of state of mind does he have? Like he’s high? He’sdrunk? He’s a toddler? He’s a dog?

He seems like a mix between a toddler/a dog/and a dogaddict

*drug addict

I meant drug addict

Sorry, I was just projecting there

He’s addicted to petting puppies

And chewing on them…. There was that one reallyunfortunate incident at the animal shelter….

They don’t talk about that… Lucky gets by with three legsfine now.

Shannon do you realize this is the most elaborateheadcanon we’ve ever done

This may be my favorite one yet

… Shannon we can do crack now too

Crack, whump, and fluff: THE HOLY TRINITY

This is our legacy

[fanfic-inator795]

Lego Batman Oneshot: Sick Sidekick

Plot: It was just the common cold. It was just something that he would get over in a couple days, a week at most. Nothing dangerous, certainly nothing lethal. Everything would be fine. ...That was what the Batman side of his brain told him anyway. The Batdad side, on the other hand...

((Heyyyy! It’s been a while since I’ve written a Lego Batman story, but all the cold weather we’ve been getting lately gave me an idea! Enjoy! ^v^))

The ‘secret’ hideout honestly hadn’t been too much of a secret. As soon as they felt the temperature drop and saw the frost along the outer walls of the warehouse, they knew that they had found him.

“You ready?” Batman asked, glancing behind him at the newly-built second seat within the Bat Jet.

Robin nodded, quickly putting on his determined, ‘serious’ face (though it did little to hide his usual excitement for their missions). “I’m ready when you are, Padre!”

“Okay.” Turning to the front again, Batman quickly tied the controls with some Bat-Rope, allowing the jet to fly in ‘auto pilot’ mode. Once that was taken care of, he kicked open the door, and the dynamic duo jumped out, using their capes to glide safely onto the roof of the warehouse.

Getting in through an emergency exit was a breeze, as was climbing down into the building - a building that, by this point, felt more like a freezer than storage. Robin tried his best not to shiver too much, and wrapped his cape around him the best he could. Maybe he should’ve actually worn pants for this one...

“We just have to find that freeze machine...” Batman whispered, already getting out a bat-a-rang, “Keep sharp.”

“R-Right...” Robin looked around. With how dark everything was, it was hard to see what they were surrounded by. Nothing looked too dangerous though. Just a lot of crates and a couple broken conveyor belts. The boy then glanced up towards the ceiling of the warehouse, where a cat walk and a couple rows of broken out lights hung. “Broken lights... Heh, no w-wonder this place is so-”

Suddenly, Robin froze (though thankfully, not literally). One of the light’s was filled, not with broken glass, but with something solid and cone shaped. And next to it was a pair of small, red, glaring eyes.

“BATMAN!” Robin cried out, instantly getting his father’s attention, “Up there!” The object immediately fired, and the duo jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding the chilling blast.

“Freeze!” Batman called out, narrowing his eyes, “I was wondering when you’d get here.”

“Hmph, so much for the element of surprise...” a booming, monotonous voice replied. Taking his freeze ray out of the light fixture, Mr. Freeze then used a rope and pulley system to lower himself down just enough for the two heroes to see him. 

“So what are you planning this time, Freeze?” Batman asked, “Another ‘freeze the city’ scheme?”

“In due time, perhaps,” Mr. Freeze answered, “I am still working out the details. For you see, Batman, I have decided to ‘switch things up’, as it were.”

Both heroes looked at him curiously. “W-What do you mean?” Robin asked.

“Well, every time I try to initiate one of my plans, you two are always there to stop me,” Mr. Freeze flatly explained, “It really has gotten quite annoying, you know. So, because you trying to stop me no matter what I do has become an absolute, I figured my only chance of success was to ice you both before I could initiate any plans. And, what better way to do that, than in my own element?” 

He gestured to their frozen surroundings. Snow and ice covered floors, plenty of spots to hang deadly icicles from, and very little light to see by. Batman and Robin may have been great fighters, but Freeze still clearly had a battlefield advantage.

But despite the situation, Batman and Robin both glared at him. “Yeah, not gonna happen,” the Dark Knight retorted before throwing an exploding bat-a-rang up towards the stoic supervillain.

It got pretty close, but Freeze still managed to blast it just in time, forcing the now-frozen weapon to fall to the floor like a rock. Freeze then smirked, just a little. “We shall see...” 

And so, the fight was on!

With Freeze on the offense, most of what the two heroes were doing were just dodging and looking for an opening. Well, that and, just trying to stay on their feet without slipping. Even a natural acrobat like Robin still had to (literally) stay on his toes, and sometimes just barely managed to avoid falling! 

“Give it up,” Mr. Freeze told them as he fired another shot, “You will not beat me this time, bat...”

Batman tried to duck behind a nearby crate, but the beam ended up hitting the end of his cape, freezing it instantly. Gritting his teeth, the hero quickly abandoned the cape. Sure it was cool and it helped with the whole ‘striking fear’ thing, but he could live without it for now - especially since he still had one OTHER important part of his costume. 

“I think it’s about time, you give up, Freeze!” Batman retorted, coming out from his cover just enough to throw a bat-a-rang that flew right towards Freeze-! ...And completely missed.

The super villain gave a monotonous laugh. “Really?”

But Batman just smirked. “Wait for it...” 

With all the icicles, there were quite a few things for the bat-a-rang to bounce off of, and by the time Mr. Freeze turned to see just what his enemy was going on about, the bat-shaped weapon had already ricochet back towards his platform, cutting one of the ropes! Freeze gave a small gasp, quickly grabbing onto the other rope.

Sliding to a stop, Robin gave his father a grin. “Nice shot, Batdad!”

“Heh, yeah! I-” “Hmph.” The two heroes turned their attention back to Freeze, who was still holding on. “Nice, indeed... But-” He hopped down, using his ice beam to create a couple steps for him to use to help him get down. “Still not a defeat.”

“Trust us, we’re getting there!” Robin shouted as he started skating towards Freeze, preparing an attack of his own, “Just give us a sec!”

Freeze sneered, firing his icy weapon once more. But Robin managed to leap up just in time, giving him the perfect opportunity to kick the villain in the chest, knocking him off his feet. Getting ready to stick his landing, the Boy Wonder couldn’t help but cheer a bit at his successful shot. 

...Unfortunately, his actual landing (which happened to be on a newly-formed spot of ice, something he should have honestly expected but still didn’t realize was there) ended up being less than successful. It wasn’t a total fall, thankfully, but he did lose his footing a bit, forcing him to stand still just to try and keep his balance. “Robin?” he heard his father ask.

“Don’t worry, Batdad, I’m-” “LOOK OUT!” 

It all happened so quickly. Robin had turned around, just managing to catch the sight of Batman rushing towards Freeze, who had managed to get on his knees, his ray gun still held tightly in his hands. 

But in an instant, his view became nothing but icy wind. And as he quickly moved his arms to shield his face, the lower part of his body began to feel stiff and cold. VERY cold. If his teeth weren’t chattering before, they certainly were now! 

Soon enough the wind cleared, and as the ice around his legs and torso solidified, Robin could see both Batman and Freeze looking at him (or, in Freeze’s case, smirking at him). “Perhaps you should have flown south for the winter, Bird Boy,” the villain taunted. 

“Y-Yeah well, n-not all r-r-robins mirg-grate so, so there!” Robin managed to retort, though it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Instead, Batman had his eyes on Freeze, glaring at him. “You won’t get away with this, Freeze,” he growled.

“Hmph.” Freeze simply pointed the gun at Batman. “We shall see, Bat.” With that, he fired. Of course, Batman had been ready, and easily jumped out of the way. But the supervillain had been expecting this. Really, all Mr. Freeze needed was a distraction so he could run to the next room (and hopefully escape) without getting pelted by bat-a-rangs. 

And so, that was just what he did, while Batman was left with a choice... Go after Freeze, or stay behind and free Robin, giving Freeze the opportunity to escape.  “H-Hurry, P-Padre!” Robin shouted, “Y-You can’t let him g-get away!”

“I know I can’t!” Batman replied, clenching his fists, “But I also can’t just-!”

“I’ll be f-f-fine!” his son insisted, “I-I still have my arms, s-so maybe I can b-break myself out! So, so just go g-get Freeze! Hurry!”

“...” Batman looked at him, and then at the doorway Freeze had ran into, and then back at Robin. “...I promise I’ll be right back,” he told him. And with that, Batman ran further into the chilling warehouse.

“O-Okay... I, I c-can do this,” Robin mumbled, “Gosh...” He had only been in ice a minute or so, and his hands were already shaking. Biting his lip, he started to hit the ice surrounding him, hoping to break it. But of course, it was no use. He needed a weapon. Like- “L-Like my staff!”

And, unlike the rest of his weapons that were on his utility belt (and therefore, on ice at the moment), his staff had a holster on his back! So, he was able to easily reach over his shoulder and get it out. “Y-Yes!” Once the staff was extended, he began striking the ice. Over and over, hitting it as hard as he could! ...But it was still no use. 

“Aww, s-s-seriously?!” He winced. The ice was starting to become painful now. He had to get out! But how? “...” Deciding to try one last thing before giving up and waiting for his father to return, Robin placed the end of the staff on his floor. Using any and all arm strength he had left, he tried to pull himself up and out of the ice. At the very least, maybe he could tip himself over, cracking the ice a bit. 

It took a couple minutes, but with enough effort and patience, the Boy Wonder could feel himself start to move. “Y-Yes! Y-Yes! P-Please! J-Just a bit more-!” There was a loud *CRACK!*, and he fell forward, the ice still around him finally breaking away from its base. They were numb, but he could now move his feet, just a little. 

Grinning now, Robin sat up as best he could, and went back to hitting the ice head-on. One hit, two hits, three, four-! More cracks appeared as he chipped away at his restraints, and before long- *SMASH!* He was freed!

“A-ALRIGHT!” he cheered, “Woo-hoo! I di- ow! Owowow!” Okay, maybe he wasn’t COMPLETELY freed yet. His legs were still pretty numb, not to mention sore. “C-Come on, legs!” he mumbled as he limped towards the next room in the warehouse, “D-Don’t fail me n-now...”

Being closer to Freeze’s ice generators, the next storage room was much, MUCH colder than the first... Though, neither Freeze nor Batman paid much attention to the temperature. They just kept fighting, each one of them determined to bring the other down.

“Back to only running and dodging?” Freeze questioned, “Perhaps I have given you brain-freeze.”

“You know, it’s super easy to make ice puns,” Batman shot back at him, just before ducking to avoid being frozen, “Anyone can do it! You’re not clever!”

“...” Holding himself close, Robin stuck to the shadows, and quietly moved around the room, staying as hidden as possible and remembering each piece of ‘stealth mode’ advice his padre had given him. Blend into your surroundings... Use the naturally dark parts of your costume... Hide every part of yourself, physically and emotionally...

“You know, I’m sure your sidekick does not have much time left, Batman,” Freeze began to taunt, “Why we call this a night so you can go free him? It would be easier to do that than to find a new sidekick, don’t you think?”

Batman narrowed his eyes, saying nothing in return. He knew he had to do something, but-! 

And that was when he saw his son, nearly behind Freeze now, his staff at the ready. “...Hmph, all I care about is bringing you down!” Batman finally replied as he got out another bat-a-rang, making sure he had all of the villain’s attention. “Besides, why do you want ME to give up? What, don’t think you can do the job yourself?”

Now it was Freeze’s turn to glare. “I was only trying to show you mercy. After all, your brain could still prove to be some use if it was under some control. But-” He began to take aim, and Batman didn’t move an inch. “It looks like both you and your sidekick will be given a frozen grave tonight!” The ice ray prepared to fire, and-

“Don’t count on it!” As soon as he made his position known, Robin crouched down, swinging his staff and he sweeping Freeze right off his feet! The villain let out a yelp, but as he tried to regain his footing, he felt another strike in his back, sending him to the floor. And, with one foot now on Freeze’s shoulder so he couldn’t get up, Robin used his staff to knock the ray across the icy surface like a hockey pock, sending it straight to Batman!

“NO!” Freeze tried to get up, but it was too late. Batman stomped down on the ray, breaking it into pieces. “NO! You, you brat! I’ll-I’ll-!”

“I would think about surrendering now,” Batman told him, crossing his arms, “Especially since we, you know, just destroyed your only weapon.” Freeze glared at him, but sighed, knowing that the hero was right. 

Once Mr. Freeze was in Bat-Cuffs, it didn’t take long for the duo to turn off his ice machines and drop him off at Arkham using the Bat Jet. “Nice job tonight, kid,” Batman told Robin, smiling as they flew away from the infamous asylum.

Robin gave him a weak yet still genuine smile in return. “Heh, t-thanks Padre. I, I guess all my stealth t-training is starting to pay off, huh?”

“Definitely!” Batman nodded, “A couple more years, and you’ll be able to sneak up on anybody! ...Well, anyone that’s not me.”

“Heh, that’s good...” As they flew around the city, keeping an eye out for other possible crimes or criminals, Robin moved closer to his father, keeping mostly quiet and just wanting to be near him. He wasn’t holding on to him or anything, just leaning on him. 

But, every once in a while, Batman would hear sniffling from the boy. But, whenever he looked over at his son, he didn’t see any tears. Heck, Robin didn’t even look upset! Just a bit tired. So, Batman just patted his shoulder or ruffled his hair, allowing him to keep using his shoulder as a pillow as they continued their patrol. 

Eventually though, it was time for them to head home - and good thing too. Dick was already yawning by the time they reached the Bat-Cave. 

But even so- “Hey, I think Alfred said he was making some of those pizza bagel things you like for supper,” Batman told him as they changed into their pajamas and house robe respectively, “Why don’t we warm a few of them up, and maybe watch some tv before calling it a night?”

Dick gave another weak smile, but shook his head. “Thanks, Dad, but... I think I’m just gonna head to bed now. I’ll just have them tomorrow for lunch.” 

“Oh. Well, alright,” Batman nodded, watching his son walk to the elevator, “Sleep tight, kiddo.”

“Mm, g’night, Batdad,” Dick sleepily nodded. The metal doors closed, and he was gone, leaving Batman all alone.

“...Hmm...” Even on their really late nights, the two of them always at least ate something together before heading to bed, whether it was leftovers from supper or even just a quick bowl of cereal. ...Then again, Dick had never really fought Freeze much before tonight. He was probably just worn out from that. Yeah, that was probably it.

“He’ll be fine,” Batman told himself, ignoring the small nagging feeling in the back of his cowl, “He’ll be fine...”

()()()()()()()()()()

It was about noon when Batman decided to wake up and get out of bed (figuring that most dads probably didn’t sleep past two all the time). Giving a small yawn, he tied his robe and headed downstairs, more than ready for some brunch. 

...However, as he walked through the manor, he couldn’t help but feel like something was off. Different, but not necessarily threatening. “Huh...” It was weird. Nothing looked dangerous, or was even moved. No strange ticking sounds (barely any sounds at all, actually) or weird smells. 

Even Alfred was the same, dusting the dining room the same way he always did. “Ah, good afternoon, Master Bruce,” Alfred said, giving him a small nod, “Shall I get you something to eat?”

“Yeah, thanks Alfred,” Batman replied, sitting down at the head of the long table. There was already a plate in front of him, as well as a copy of the Gotham Gazette. Picking the paper up, Batman then began taking it apart. He always preferred reading the business and entertainment sections first anyway. Besides, Dick always liked to look at the comics-

Wait. ...So THAT was it! “Hey, Alfred!”

The butler poked his head through the double doors that led to the kitchen. “Yes, Master Bruce?”

“Where’s Dick?” Batman asked, glancing around, “Is he visiting Flash’s kid or somethin’ today?”

“Actually Master Bruce, I believe he upstairs resting,” Alfred answered before heading back into the kitchen.

Batman blinked. “Resting?” he repeated, getting out of his chair and heading towards the kitchen himself, “But that kid’s usually up by eight, no matter how late we stay out!” And, as he pushed through the double doors, a look of concern crossed his cowl-covered face. “Is, is he alright?”

Looking up from the plate of scrambled eggs he had been preparing, Alfred gave his master an assuring smile. “Master Dick should be fine. I checked on him this morning, and it looked like it was only a cold. Nothing a bit of rest and some warm honey tea shouldn’t cure.”

“Oh,” Batman said simply, his expression unchanged. Of course he was relieved but, well... This was the first time he had ever seen his sidekick/son bedridden. Even when Dick occasionally got hurt or even broke a limb, the kid still smiled and ran around jumping and climbing on things like nothing was even wrong! None of those injuries or instances could bring him down, but a ‘simple cold’ apparently could? “...I think I’m going to check on him myself.”

“Very well. Your brunch will be waiting for you when you get back,” he heard his butler reply as left the kitchen. Quickening his pace just a little (not that he was worried, of course not. He just wanted to get there quickly, that was all), Batman headed upstairs and went straight to Dick’s bedroom.  

Unsurprisingly, the lights in the large spare-guestroom-turned-boy’s-bedroom had been dimmed. A humidifier had been brought in as well as a pitcher of water and some dry toast. And, in the middle of the soft, red and yellow canopy bed, was Dick. A bit pale with a slightly red nose, but otherwise still asleep. 

“...” Curious, Batman lurked in the doorway for several seconds before silently moving into the room like a shadow, looming over the child and looking him over. He may have been silent, but his mind certainly wasn’t. Has he ate or drank anything today? Were sick kids supposed to be this pale? Has he had any medicine lately? What if he’s gotten worse and Alfred hasn’t noticed yet? What-?

Suddenly, Dick groaned, making his father flinch. Before Batman could even say anything, Dick slowly opened his eyes. “...Batdad?” he mumbled, “What’re you doin’ here...?”

“Oh, I uh, well, I just woke up and uh, I heard you weren’t doing so good today,” Batman said quickly, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, “So I just figured I’d check on you. You know, just to make sure you’re alright. ...I mean, I know you’re not TOTALLY alright cause you’re sick but-”

“Oh, okay...” Dick nodded before sniffling, “Ugh... I hope I can still-” he interrupted himself with a couple coughs, and while they didn’t sound too bad, Batman still took notice of them. “-I-I hope I can still go on patrol tonight...”

“We’ll see,” was all Batman said as he pressed a gentle hand against his son’s forehead. He wasn’t sweating, but Dick still felt a bit hot. “Yeah, we’ll see. But, until then, just get some more rest. Okay, kid?”

“Mm, okay...” With that, Dick burrowed himself back under the blankets, his head just barely visible now. Batman watched him for just a couple seconds more before finally leaving, racing back downstairs to the dining room.

“Alfred, you were right about the cold,” the vigilante began, his brows furrowed in thought, “But I think it may be turning into more than just that. We should get him more fluids, and more medicine. It felt like he was starting to get a fever too, so-”

“Yes, a fever of a hundred and one degrees, to be precise,” Alfred nodded, setting the plate of scrambled eggs down, “And I’ve already provided Master Dick with the medicine for that, as well. I believe his next dose of medicine will be three hours from now. Until then, all he needs to do is rest and let his body take care of the rest.”

“...Oh.” Batman glanced away from his butler, taking an immediate interest in his eggs. (Because of course Alfred would already have everything taken care of. Of course.) “Right, right... Uh, good job, Alfred.” 

Alfred quickly thanked him for the compliment before returning to his long list of daily chores, leaving his master to only pick at his food...

It was just the common cold. Okay, a cold and a small fever, but still mostly a cold. It was just something that Dick would get over in a couple days, a week at most! Nothing dangerous, certainly nothing lethal. Everything would be fine. 

...That was what Batman had to keep reminding himself, anyways. 

()()()()()()()

Slow days were a common annoyance for the Dark Knight. Really, unless he had a ton of meetings at Wayne Tower or a huge criminal case to do research on, Batman spent most of his days simply waiting for them to end. T’was the price of being a super awesome night-stalking vigilante, it would seem.

This had changed a bit once Dick came along though, with his days now sometimes consisting of things like going to his son’s school for some parent volunteer thing, attending concerts or performances or other extra-curricular activities, or even just having a day out with ice cream and trips to an arcade or the movies. 

...However, with Dick stuck in bed and nothing else to occupy his mind at the moment, this day just seemed like that slowest. one. EVER. 

Batman sighed, refreshing his email again. No new messages from Wayne Enterprises, and no urgent messages from Commissioner Barbara. Just like there hadn’t been any new messages for the past hour. 

In between waiting for something - anything - to happen, Batman tried to keep himself busy as best he could. Taking inventory on his bat-a-rangs to make sure none were missing, doing a bit of editing on some of his latest rap tracks, and even taking some time to design a new costume for Dick - one that would be perfect for any Freezing Villain related missions.

...And wasn’t that the real problem he was facing up against? (And totally losing against, not that he would ever admit it.) No matter what he did, he just kept directing his attention back to his sick son.

“...” The vigilante glanced back up towards the ceiling of the Bat Cave, narrowing his eyes. “...It’s been about an hour, right? ...Yeah, I should probably check on him again. Just to make sure.” 

The trip from the Bat Cave to ‘Bruce Wayne’s attic’ took barely any time at all, and before he knew it he was back in Dick’s room. “Hey kiddo,” he said quietly, poking his head through the door, “How are you doing?” A couple coughs was his only reply. “Still sick, huh? Well, do you need anything? I mean, I’ll probably be heading downstairs again anyway so, I just figured I’d ask.”

“Nah, i’m good,” Dick replied, his voice muffled by the blanket, “Thanks anyway, Padre...”

“Yeah, no problem, buddy,” Batman nodded, closing the door. 

Dick sighed, sniffling a few times before closing his eyes once more. He just needed a bit more sleep... Maybe some soup too. Warm soup, like what his mom used to make. That definitely sounded nice... And maybe a bubble bath too. But not now. Right now he just needed a little more-

He felt something touch his forehead, and immediately his eyes were open again. “Oh, sorry,” Batman told him, though he still kept his hand on the boy’s forehead, “Just double checking. Wouldn’t want your fever going up, you know?”

“Ugh, right...” Thankfully his father didn’t take too long to check his temperature, but by the time Dick managed to fall back asleep, he was interrupted again. Though this time, it was by his butler/grandpa.

“Pardon me, Master Dick,” he heard Alfred say, “But I believe it’s time for your next dose of medicine.” Dick groaned, but sat up anyway, knowing that he needed it. “So, how are you feeling, Master Dick?”

“Tired mostly...” Dick mumbled, rubbing his eyes, “Still feel sorta hot... My nose isn’t as stuffy but-” He coughed a couple times, his voice a bit raspier now, “But my throat still sorta hurts...”

Alfred smiled, gently patting him on the head. “I’ll be sure to pour you some tea to go with your supper. I believe you wanted soup?” Dick gave him a small smile as a reply. “Very good, Sir. Now, here-” He handed him a small cup of medicine, which the boy quickly took despite it’s terrible taste. 

Once that was done, Dick laid back down, already closing his eyes. “Thank you, Master Dick,” he heard his grandpa quietly say as he stood up and headed towards the door, “Now, get some rest. I’ll make your supper around 7, but if you decide that you want it earlier, you only need to call and I’ll-” The door was opened, and the butler paused. “...Master Bruce, do you need something?”

“Nah, I’m fine. Just, you know, checking in on Dick.” ...Again.

Hearing his youngest master sigh from his bed, Alfred tried to step in. “I just checked on him, sir. His condition hasn’t changed much since this morning, but I can assure you that he will be alri-”

“Right, right, thanks Alfred,” Batman told him as he walked past him, “Hey kiddo! You need anything?”

“Nooo...” Dick replied, making it seem more like a moan than an answer.

“You sure?” Batman asked, sitting down on the bed, “Cause, I don’t mind-”

“Yeah, dad, I’m sure.” The boy was scowling slightly now. 

“Okay, okay. ...But you know, if you want me to just stay around here and-”

“Ughhhhh.” Dick grabbed his covers and pulled them over his head as he sunk further into his bed. “Bruce, just go awaaaaaay...!” A muffled, still slightly voice added.

Batman blinked, more surprised than actually offended. "Oh. ...Uh, yeah. Sure thing.” So, that’s what he did. He stood up, and followed Alfred out of the bedroom, making sure to close the door behind him.

“...You know, Master Bruce,” Alfred started to say before Batman could start to leave, “Most children don’t have much patience while they’re sick, so I wouldn’t take Master Dick’s snapping too personally-”

“I’m not, I’m not. It’s just-” The vigilante sighed, shaking his head. “I was being dumb. I don’t even blame him for snapping at me. I just wanted to make sure- Ugh, but I was just bothering him all day! Treating him like, what, someone who was ‘gravely injured’ or whatever? What is wrong with me? Why did I-?”

He then felt a firm yet gentle hand on his shoulder. Glancing over, he saw Alfred smirking at him slightly. The old butler was certainly amused, but there was warmth as well.

“It’s called being a parent, Master Bruce. And, for the record, most new parents become just as - if not more - concerned the first time their child is sick.” 

“...” Batman stared at him, not really having a response to that and still admittedly feeling just a bit foolish. Still, he did manage a small nod.

Alfred nodded back at him. “Now, it’s still a few hours until dusk. And I believe I remember you saying something a while ago about possibly adding a few more features to the Bat-Dune Buggy?”

“Yeah... Sounds good, Alfred.” Though, really, he had finished those new features a couple weeks back. But even so, Batman starting heading back downstairs, fairly certain that he could still find something to keep him busy. “Just... Make sure to call me if he starts getting really sick or, or something like that. Okay?”

“Of course,” Alfred agreed, watching as his master walked away. 

()()()()()()()()()()

The night hadn’t been too exciting. No big supervillain schemes, at least. Just some small-time stuff. A few robberies, a couple gang fights, and one runaway bus. Definitely a bit boring for Gotham, but part of him was glad he didn’t have to tell Dick that he had missed out on some big, awesome, incredible save-the-day moment.  

...Still, along with being a bit boring, crime fighting had also been a bit quieter than usual without the chatty Boy Wonder by his side...

Giving a small sigh, Batman stretched for a moment before hoping out of his Batmobile. It had been several hours. No calls from Alfred. Nothing to be worried about. ...And yet... “Okay, one last time,” he told himself, not even bothering to change before stepping into the elevator, “Then I’ll go back to leaving him alone.”

The manor was dark, practically silent. Then again, that was to be expected for two in the morning. But even the stairs refused to creak as he made his way back up to his son’s bedroom. Slowly, he opened the door, and peeked inside.

A lamp had been left on, giving the room a sort of warm, peaceful glow. Next to the bed were a couple of dirty dishes and, while he was pretty much in the same sleeping position as before, Dick was wearing a new pair of pajamas. He still sniffled a bit in his sleep, but his face wasn’t as pale nor were his cheeks and nose as red.

Feeling relief flood into his chest, Batman smiled. Just as Alfred had said. Nothing to worry about. So, he closed the door-

“Dad?”

The vigilante’s body froze. He could hear the shuffling of blankets, and as he opened the door back up, he saw Dick staring back at him.

“...Yeah. Uh, sorry,” Batman mumbled, “I, I was trying not to- Look, just go back to-”

“It’s okay,” Dick told him, giving a small smile, “Heh, I’m actually kinda feeling awake now. Guess that’s what happens when you sleep pretty much all day, huh?”

“...” His father gave a small chuckle, smiling back at him as he moved further into the room. “Yep, guess so.”

“Heh. ...Still, sorry I couldn’t go out on patrol tonight.” Dick frowned a bit at that, but Batman just patted him on the shoulder. 

“Hey, it’s fine. You didn’t miss much. Just some robbers and a couple fights. Just the usual, nothing too exciting.”

“Well, still... Oh! But I’m feeling better now!” Sitting up, Dick cleared his throat before continuing. “I mean, my throat still sorta hurts, and my nose is still sorta stuffy. But I don’t feel nearly as bad as I did before.”

Batman grinned. “Hey, that’s great, buddy! Glad to hear it.”

“Heh, I thought you would,” the boy beamed, “Now you don’t have to worry about me as much, even if I still have to stay in bed another day or so.”

Batman flinched, glancing away. “Er, what? Tc’ch, come on, kid. I wasn’t worried! Batman never worries! He’s always calm and cool and-” He stopped, catching the flat look his son was giving him. “...Okay fine, maybe I was worried. Just a little. Not that much. But, still-” He pulled Dick into a one-armed hug, “Glad to hear you’re doing alright.”

Dick giggled returning the hug. “Thanks, Padre. ...Heh, I guess next time we fight Mr. Freeze, I should bring a coat or something so this doesn’t happen again.”

“Yeah, I guess. ...Orrrr-” Batman gave him a smirk, “You could just wear the new super-cool but also super-warm super suit that I’m designing for you. And yes, before you ask, it still has a sparkly cape.”

“Alright! WOO HOO!” Dick cheered, giving his father another hug. “I can’t believe it! My first alternate hero costume!” Maybe one day he’d have a whole closet full of cool alternate super-suits, just like his batdad! “Thanks, dad.”

“Heh, yeah,” Batman nodded, smiling just as much as his son was, “No problem, kid.” 

The two ended up talking for several more minutes. Batman might have been the worried one, but Dick had still missed his father after not seeing him for most of the day. So, they sat in the bed, talking about whatever came to mind and simply enjoying each other’s company. 

But eventually, Dick did start to doze off once more, so Batman decided to finally make his leave. Besides, he had his own late night/early morning routine to get to, if the growling in his stomach was any indication. Still, before he left, he did make sure to tuck Dick in, making sure he was comfortable and even giving him a quick kiss on the head before leaving him be. “Sleep well, Dick,” he said quietly, giving the sleeping boy a warm smile before shutting the door.

And, with both his mind and heart now at ease, it was now time to deal with his stomach! “I wonder if Alfred bought any more of those crab cakes,” Batman wondered out loud as he walked down the long staircase, “Man, those things are almost as good as lobs-”

He stopped, coughing a bit as he felt a slight tickle in his throat. “...ter. Huh. That was weird.” Almost immediately, a single thought came to his mind. But, as quickly as it came, Batman pushed it away. “Eh, just a random cough. I mean, come on, Batman doesn’t get sick! And even if he did, it would take WAY more than contagious cough to take him dow-”

He stopped, coughing again - this time, a bit harder. And once he finished, he did sniffle, just a little. “...down. Hmph.” Okay, but he still didn’t have a cold. DEFINITELY not a cold! Batman never gets sick!

...But, maybe he would still take a bit of medicine with his supper, just in case.

THE END

((Hope you all enjoyed this! It’s been a while since I’ve written anything Lego Batman so, I hope it was alright. Thanks for reading! ^v^))