#welcome to my sick and twisted mind im not normal about them all in case it wasn't clear

[ash-and-starlight]

Hello Ash.

I just finished She Who Became the Sun and I’m crying. Dying. Dead. Deceased. Thank you for jumpstarting the ripping out, stepping on, roasting, and eating of my heart that has just transpired.

Aside from the obvious Zhu and Ouyang, what’s your favorite character parallel in the first book?

HIII thank you THANK YOU im so happy the propaganda got you too <33 and HMM much to think about!! I will say that it's been a couple of years (I think?) since I read swbts so the details are fuzzy but one of my fave parallels are between Ouyang and Baoxiang, especially for how strong they become in hwdtw too. They are both seen as lesser and not conforming to the "male" mongol ideal, ouyang because he's a eunuch, wbx because he's not a warrior. They both go against their roles in a very explicit and performative way: ouyang by becoming a war machine and truly embodying the masculinity of a mongol warrior despite his inability to truly ever being considered one bc of his mutilation, wbx by refusing to become a warrior and acting super feminine (genuinely don't remember how much of it is genuine and how much is out of sheer spite but id say at some point the lines got blurred for him too. the guy has Problems.) Something something "femininity" being forced on someone vs being choosen and its Consequences. They hate each other. they're scheming together. they're scheming against each other. they loved Esen. they had to kill him. being gay is a curse. being gay is a game and i am winning. they fucked each other in a parallel reality. and most importantly they're twinks. this does not even begin to cover how insane their dynamic truly is.

[jean-does-not-have-a-horseface]

hi can i please request one where levi's s/o is sort of like him in personality but just melts whenever theres a baby. like she'll see a baby in town and will go from silent and moody to the heart eyes emoji but a person, or she'll babysit her neice or nephew or cousin and will be just so loving and bubbly? like its obvious that she wants to be a mum but she never brings it up because she doesnt think he wants kids and eventually they get pregnant + his reaction? sorry if this is too much (1/2)

ΑΝΟΟΟΟΝ IM BLUSHING THANK YOU SO MUCH. I really loved this request and it inspired me so I pushed before others because I had to get it out of my system. I hope you like this. It's super duper long also👉👈

Warnings: uhh pregnancy, mentions of anxiety

Tags: fluff, domestic Levi, pregnancy, modern au

Pairing: Levi/ Reader

Baby Fever

Your heartbeat grew louder with each passing second as Mike abused the door with one too many knocks. You didn't know if you could talk, or breath or do anything other than vomiting though this time from the anxiety building at the pits of your stomach and not due to your very recent event of morning sickness.

"Are you alright in there?"

You choke on your own voice as you try to huff a single response. It's not really up to your judgement of you're alright or not but rather in the small white object's that rests between the thumbs and pointer fingers of each of your hands. You contemplate if there's a way to not raise any more suspicion to the blond male, you're at his house for all that matters. Nanaba called you to take care of their their twins and you happily complied to your half sister's pleas because Mike had a very important job interview. Life had taken a toll on him lately, they couldn't afford a babysitter and he was just recently fired due to his company having to cut down expenses thanks to the pandemic. Amidst this pandemonium he had to find a way to provide for his family and help Nanaba with at least a short monthly salary. So babysitting your beloved niece and nephew wasn't much of a problem. Not until now.

At first it hadn't bothered you that your period was late, you had accepted the pcos lifestyle the hard way ever since you first got it. You would track down your period in hopes you could ever predict when it would come again but it always seemed to surprise you. Sometimes it would come in a months notice only to take four months to do a full circle. At twenty three, this was the most positive outturn as a resolution to your problem. Levi was pushing you to eat healthy and exercise to get a better grip of your situation, even though you knew it was in vain. And thus, overall it didn't bother you that you hadn't had your period still, fatigue and breast inflammation were also common problems due to hormonal abnormalities so you chose not to pay any attention to those early signs either.

What had driven you to urge Levi to drop you off to the drugstore next to Nanaba's house though was that you've been having symptoms of morning sickness for almost a week now, that you had tried to push aside for Levi not to notice. He would quarantine you on your on your own and go stay with Erwin and Hange had he any suspicion of you being down with the stomach flu. The stomach flu though didn't feel like that and you knew, you had been through it one too many times, this was something different and yet you cursed at yourself for overthinking it. You had bought the pregnancy test as something that was supposed to turn out negative, as a positive resolution that you weren't pregnant and that you should quest for whatever it was that was making your stomach turn and twist every morning.

Upon finally opening the door in an attempt not to delay Mike who wanted to attend his interview, the blond male inspected your form with a harsh gaze. "You shouldn't push yourself if you're sick. We could call my mother to watch over Eli and Blaire."

"No." You pushed it off. "I'm fine Mike, it's probably that weird mushroom soup I ate yesterday, Levi insisted on not buying it but I didn't listen."

"I see." Mike said scrunching his nose at the process. Sometimes you hated that he knew you so well that he could even smell you lying, but he was Nanaba's childhood friend before her mother married your father and had you; you had practically grown up with the blond duo so for all you knew, even if he was certainly aware that you were lying he didn't push things further. He simply placed a hand on your shoulder, the brother like nature of his touch as assuring as one can be. "If you need anything call me, I'll answer as soon as possible, drink lots of water and don't wear yourself down."

You bore your eyes into his and nodded simply. Mike greeted the twins with reluctance and let out a sigh before fixing his suit perfectly on his shoulders. The small kids smiled bubbly in return and waved at their father enthusiastically. As soon as the door closed and their father got out of sight both children jumped on you with loud giggles. The act alone was enough to curl your lips into an upward position.

By noon you had fed and lulled the kids to sleep, earning some significant time to sink into the crevices of the feathery soft sofa before Nanaba came back from her shift. As tiring as Eli and Blaire were you enjoyed their teeny company. You didn't mind their lack of ability to form full understandable sentences yet, you loved how they didn't even try to spare a second thought on what they bubbled on about and you did your best to provoke them to speak correctly. They would open their arms for you, their tiny palms signaling you to take them into long affectionate hugs as they called a baby spoken version of your nickname and you would melt at it every single time. Everyone knew you much you loved the chubby cheeked sweethearts, as much as it contrasted with your usual demeanor. There was something that truly made you feel like the best version of yourself when you were around them.

Babies seemed to be a hot topic in your group of friends for a couple of months now, ever since you started helping Nanaba in the house before Mike got fired. Levi seemed very unbothered by the subject in a way that saddened you almost; sure, you might have talked about it in the past, being that he was a little older than you and he might have understood that you longed to be a mother one day, but that was as far as that one conversation had gone. He still had that bored, stoic gaze that slipped off of yours when you would encounter a baby in the street, whereas you would basically make heart eyes and weird grimaces to any infant he would just click his tongue and avert his gaze away, to any other direction as if he disapproved off your fondness.

That memory alone left you hollowing inside as you recalled of the two very much pink lines on the screen of the test this morning. Naturally you would check with a doctor before jumping to conclusions, there still was a chance that the test was at fault and you wanted to bet on simply that. If the case was that you were actually pregnant though things were more complicated than you wanted them to be. For instance you were still in University, for your last year at that, but you had excessive amounts of studying to get your hands on your degree and Levi was cornered and ready to be squished by his job for being a vice president, which was unfair as he worked for Erwin. You understood the situation though as Erwin was struggling to keep the company going especially through these rough rough times. There was also the fact that you were terrified of Levi asking you to put the baby down, with pcos wearing your system down you were panicking that you wouldn't have a chance to conceive a baby later on. What if this was your only chance? You've always longed to be a mother so it didn't matter that it came to you this early right?

The sound of the front door clicking open shook you off your thoughts immediately. For better or for worse it was Nanaba that had finally returned, eager to strip herself of her clothes and face mask and run to the bathroom. She offered you small greeting to which you only nodded, your tired mind ordering your eyes to find comfort at small shapes in the ceiling. You didn't know how long your sister took in the bathroom, but judging by the lack of giggling coming from the babies' room you supposed it wasn't for long.

"You want to wait for Levi to come pick you up or should I give you a ride home when Mike's back? He should be home soon!" She spoke as she poured water in a red metallic boiler.

"I'll just walk. I need some air."

Nanaba emitted a soft hum in response "Are you alright? You seem off."

"Oh no." You brushed her off "I was just thinking about what I should wear at Erwin and Hange's anniversary dinner next week, and what gift to buy Levi now that his birthday is coming."

"Good, I see, just don't stress alright?"

___

The way home was longer than you had initially remembered, whether it was for your inability to walk with a steady pace or mostly because it was already getting dark and cold. You wondered if Levi would be getting home by now as you neared the apartment complex the two of you resided in. By the looks of your illuminated window he was already home as expected of him this certain hour. It probably was one of those days when he didn't have a strict deadline to attend to, which, under normal circumstances, only meant more cuddles and kisses for you. Yet, tonight was different.

"Hey Levs" Your voice lingered in his brain the moment you stepped inside.

"Hey brat, welcome home." The kiss you left on his cheek as you hurriedly headed to the bathroom was different, off almost, and he picked up on it immediately. "Did Nanaba drop you off? I had asked Mike to come by tonight, he said he'd bring some tea leaves he bought for me."

He leaned at the frame of the door as he watched you wash every crevice of your face thoroughly, paying enough attention to the insides of your outer nasal cavity. He was pretty meticulous about hygiene and especially at times like these with a hole pandemic going on he wasn't taking any chances, you knew, plus you were kind of disgusted of germs lately yourself, you thought you finally understood where he was coming from. He took a few steps ahead, away from your body in search of a clean face towel to hand out to you when you were done. You have it to him, even if he seemed cold as stone that domestic lifestyle was mesmerizing to you.

"Thanks baby, you're the best." You half smiled.

"You good?"

At this point you wondered if you seriously we're so easy to read. You supposed you were off, but you were always off and unresponsive to many things so what exactly was it about today that made everyone know you had a conflict in your mind.

"Yeah I'm just tired, I walked here."

Levi clicked his tongue at that "Nanaba's home is very far away from here, have a shower and I'll rub your legs and feet." With eyes that never left yours Levi watched as your face lit up a little more, he gave you a tiny of a smile on return.

"You prooomise Levs?" You knew teasing with him could only lead to one thing, yet you did it shamelessly.

"Tch, of course, hurry up, I'm making pancakes with eggs and bacon."

Normally at the very sound of this particular food your eyes would water and your mouth would drool but the unresponsive nature of your expression only sent a new wave of worry through Levi's chest. As much as he had wanted to convince himself you were just tired, he couldn't, not after this reaction to your favorite snack. He decided not to push you into saying anything you didn't want to though. Maybe it was that enormous amount of notes you had to memorize for your next exams in addition to your fatigue and any hormonal altercations.

"Yeah" you trailed off "babe, about that, can we have cocktail shrimp? And maybe fried rice and fries? Pretty pretty please?"

Ah, there it was. Although it was a rare occasion for you not to be in the mood of his infamous pancakes, you could still have a few different cravings from time to time. Levi let out a sigh of relief as he proceeded your order trying to figure of where he should order from, last night's mushroom soup had messed your stomach up, that he knew, but you seemed to be fine now so in theory that should be enough to prevent him from whining out his concerns.

As he closed the door to the bathroom he hummed his favorite tune to himself, softly enough as not to disturb you with your bath. He picked up his phone from the kitchen table with ease before collapsing on the couch, there was a limit to what his body could take and he had surpassed that by far these past few months. Endless deadlines that took turns one after another and extra hours at the office had been killing him, mentally and physically, making him a little more grumpy than usual. In great addition his back ached, his fingers were sore and his mind felt like canned alphabet soup every single night. Perhaps, seeing him in this state was taking a toll on you as well; you were always so protective over him, almost like a mother to her child, despite being younger, and he if he had to, he'd admit he enjoyed it a little too much than he should have.

When you came out of the bathroom he gazed over you briefly, you were sitting before the end of the dresser, standing in front of the full body mirror, examining your form. He seemed to be puzzled by your demeanor once again. Normally, or up until yesterday, you would have immediately shot out to where he was seated at to plough into his arms with wet hair, only to slightly irritate him for getting him wet, not that he didn't enjoy to smell your fresh scent anyway, but it was a game of routine for you by now. It was almost as if you were seeking to be scolded at for not rushing to dry your hair. He always wanted you as healthy as ever.

You couldn't shake off your head how soft Levi's chest is. There probably wasn't a reason as to why he's sleeping shirtless tonight, your apartment was very warm, given that it was the start of December already, but you didn't complain. The feeling of creamy, milky soft skin, perfectly excused by any coarse hair was slowly putting you to sleep. You loved how Levi was so soft everywhere you touched, it was so unlike what the world perceived of him, maybe your baby's skin was going to be as smooth and perfect as his and not as dry and oily as yours. Of course the baby's skin was going to be soft, ugh and those little arms and legs, you couldn't lie to your self, deep down you were just a tad excited to have a baby, if it meant that it would look like Levi you wouldn't want to give up on it for the world.

"Levi, does Kenny keep baby pictures of you?"

"What?" The onyx haired male raised a brow at your inquiry but didn't give you enough time to repeat yourself before he answered. "My mother had so many pictures of me so I guess that it's natural that he has some and well there probably are a few pictures from after my mother's death, I'm not that sure."

In response, he only earned a hum.

"Tch, can I lay on your chest? I want you to play with my hair." His eyes pleaded with you in the darkness. Of course you could never say no to such thing, you loved it even more when he was the one sleeping on you. Another sentence left his lips, this time with a yawn as he shifted himself on you, cooing like a small child. "I'll call Kenny tomorrow, sleep now I know you need it."

____

Under any other circumstance you would have loved seeing everyone's dumbfounded faces stating at you as if they had seen the dead rise from their graves. You had to pinch your arms to remind yourself this was indeed serious and you shouldn't let out a single chuckle.

"Please tell me you're joking" Nanaba pleaded, placing her hand on yours in disbelief.

"I'm going to screeeeeam! Shorty can't even hold it in, ghaaaa!"

"Hange he will hear you through the restroom."

Hange blinked her eyes rapidly at the sound of that. "You haven't told him?" She immediately seemed to lose her enthusiasm, something you hadn't intended to happen, especially at such a night, but you knew you didn't have a say in other people's emotions.

"Hange he never seemed too fond of the idea, why would I complicated things for him?"

Mike's eyes widened in disbelief. There was no way in hell he was having this. You were practically his little sister, seeing you so tormented as you were in the moment when you spoke those words ravaged his last nerve, causing anger to clench his hands into fists. He watched as you took a small bite of your food giving the rest to Eli who was comfortably sitting on your lap, tapping his little hands on the rim of your plate. Other than the fact you broke out such news to him, Nanaba Hange and Erwin and had expressed your fears on informing your significant other, you seemed quite bubbly. Children really did bring out such a soft side of you, he knew that was for sure.

"Hange" you spoke, unphased as ever "Levi's coming please stop screaming at me, i love you but it's only making me dizzy."

It felt as if a thousand pairs of eyes were burning holes through his whole body, his head, and everywhere around his personal space bubble. Levi could feel his pulse tense just a tad, Hange's unnerving gaze and her crippling smile were fixated especially on him, making his nose itchy. There was something very different in the atmosphere around him; Nanaba wasn't eating anymore, she was more fixated on her daughter than anyone else, Erwin was nervously staring between him and you and you and Mike were trying to clean Eli's hands from the food he had just touched. When the scenery wasn't something irregular, none of you dared look eachother in the eyes, beat it that Hange was staring only at him.

"Oi, what the fuck is wrong-"

"Levi, shorty! Does Eli look like he's enjoying himself in (y/n)'s arms?" Hange turned her sweetened gaze on you, making you choke on your words, you shot her an atrociously strict glare. "Remember when Nanaba gave birth? What do you think about babies? Maybe you think they smell a lot? But what about ackerbabies?"

"Way to be discreet Han, thank you!" Your lips puckered in anger as you brought your arms to cross under your chest.

"Wait what's going on shitty glasses?"

"Yada Yada shorty, you're not getting a word from me, my lips are sealed" Hange spoke and shut her eyes to emphasize the significance of her words.

You sighed in a pathetic attempt to relieve some tention of your chest. A tight knot had formed due to anxiety, fog had clouded over your brain and you were feeling so faint and exhausted that you just wanted to get it over with. You didn't mind standing there like a fish out of water after breaking the news to him, the tention in the air was in fact what was making you suffocate in your seat. With wobbly hands you pushed Eli off your lap, not caring about the moan of disagreement he made and you shot up from your seat, announcing you had to take some fresh air. Levi had to stop Nanaba mid tracks to be able to come after you, fast enough to be there when you got out.

Naturally, you stood seated at a bench that neared the restaurant. Your hands were covering your face scratching softly through your hair, probably in attempts to calm your self down. He approached you without any second thought, this time determined to know what was it with you. Your behavior these past week had been unnerving and overly concerning to say the least. Carefully he sat himself down next to you, his right arm come around your frame comfortingly while the left one came to caress underneath your cheek.

"You should probably talk to me."

Your voice came muffled from between your palms as you still hadn't dared to look him in the eye. "Levi, I'm, I'm so sorry it's just... I'm very anxious."

"I think I figured that, brat." His voice was so soothing, it felt as if he was speaking to you in the comfort of your private room, not on a bench outside a semi fancy restaurant

"You know when Hange talked about ackerbabies she uhm, she might have had a particular baby in mind."

Levi blinked erratically for a single second before his mouth, unable to compel to his brain's orders, formed the shape of an oh. Of course, in the moment it was hard to click with any other even but he attributed that to his lack of knowledge over the situation. Had he any clue or suspicion that you could be pregnant he would have been able to realise that it wasn't that your stress had been messing with your stomach every morning and that your extreme fatigue couldn't possible align with the erratically swift rhythm of your palms. Of course, of course it wasn't a thermometer that you had disposed of in the toilet, he wanted to slap himself for being so naive as to believe that. He was strict with recycling rules, you wouldn't have just straight up there s thermometer in the trash. Fuck now's not the time to think about recycling.

With the soft, chaste kiss at the top of your hair you finally decided to turn your gaze to him. Watery eyes met with an adoring grey gaze, a gaze you've never seen at this extreme before. "I love you, you know." Another kiss meant your head got to lift a little more, just to get closer to him. "I don't say it often but you don't have to worry, I'll try to tell our kid more often."

Your eyes shimmered with adoration at his words, despite the cold weather you couldn't bring yourself to feel not even a little tingle, Levi was keeping you so warm with his words. "Really? You want this?"

"Tch why wouldn't I, you thought I'd ever let you go and leave me lonely? I've always thought you knew we're sharing the same future."

Your lips attacked his in fiery passion. It was a natural reaction to his words, an ice melting kiss, a promise for the future. There were many reasons as to why you lived Levi but maybe the fact that you would have a little stoic faced baby running around your feet made you love him a little bit more.

[1-1snailxd-art]

Libraries are for Meetings

Master List ——  Chapter 4

Chapter 5 - I lost my friend at the library 

Warnings: Homophobia mentioned, it is implied that someone isn’t eating (not an eating disorder completely, but I thought I’d warn just in case) 

Summary: Patton admits his greatest fear; Katie reveals what is behind her sassy exterior; and Logan and Virgil are finally driving somewhere.

Note: reading on mobile can remove the paragraphing. Use desktop site or visit my Ao3 page if it bothers you as much as it bothers me.

______________________________________________________________

“You should have seen his face after the laptop hit the ground. I haven’t seen that shattered look since…since...”

Patton couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. Laying against Roman’s chest on the couch, Patton had already filled Roman in on how he had accidentally pulled the laptop down. Now, Roman was gently stroking Patton’s hair as the credits for ‘Brother Bear’ ran on the tv screen. Roman made no attempt to prompt Patton to continue, listening solely to the other’s breathing and making sure his own remained steady.

He used to find himself in Patton’s position often, though it was Katie or Jason that he was leaning against. The subtle stroking of hair and faint background noise was just what he needed to find and express how he was feeling.

 "It just feels like every time we get close to returning to normal, I mess something up."

Roman felt Patton's body tense up and Patton finally said his greatest fears out loud.

"I'm a bad omen, Roman. All I do is mess up Logan's life. You should leave me before I start messing yours up too."

"Hey, no, no, no" Roman wished he could pull Patton closer, but he was already squeezing him as tight as he could without causing any harm. There was so much guilt and pain pent up inside Patton's small body; though he rarely showed it.

"You are not a bad omen, Pat... It's ok. I'm not going anywhere."

 Roman was so focus on trying to calm Patton's sobs, that he didn't hear Katie enter.

*************

 The library didn't need much cleaning thanks to Virgil's relentless tidying during his prior shift. All it took was a quick vacuum and Katie was satisfied enough to set the alarms for the night. She was eager to get home and check on her boys after the day they had. Roman had passed on what he knew earlier, and Ellie had been messaging her ever since Katie tipped them off that Logan may have been heading their way.

It was all intuition. Logan had been avoiding all ties to Jason since the anniversary loomed over the horizon; but Katie had a feeling that Julie's Diner would be a comfort he would seek.

 E: They just left. Virgil seems nice.

Reelest: Virgil is a good kid. How was Logan?

E: Hes Logan. Im sorry katie. Im not good at reading him.

E: our conversation got cut short.

Reelest: How are you doing? Really?

E: *seen*

Reelest: e?

Reelest: Ellie?

Reelest: Ethan?

E: *seen*

 Katie sat in her car and contemplated driving to Julie's Diner to check on her young friend. She almost threw her phone when it loudly chimed for an incoming call.

"Do you need me to come over?" Katie immediately asked, desperate to be the supportive force she had become.

"Sorry, Katie. I just needed a moment to properly process your question." Ellie's voice cracked slightly, but otherwise was void of emotion.

"Don't apologise. Just tell me what you need."

"You shouldn't be helping me, though. Jason was your family. I should be the one working to comfort you; not the other way round."

"Who says what we should or shouldn't be doing. Screw that. If I went about doing what I should be doing, I wouldn't have raised Roman alone. I wouldn't have taken over the library. I wouldn't have connected with your family, which means I wouldn't have eaten for those first few weeks after Jason's death."

Katie paused and listened to Ellie's breathing on the other end of the line, patiently waiting for her words to sink in.

"I still feel guilty. Heck, I don't think I will ever stop feeling guilty, but... I think I understand. Thank you, Katie."

"You are most welcome. With that out of the way, what do you need?"

"... I think I'm... good for now. Seeing Logan was nice though. Do you think everyone would be up for a meeting before the actual anniversary?"

"Absolutely. Pitty picnic party?"

"Please. Can we have it on Friday, in the library? I’m working flat out every other day this week."

 Katie was about to agree when her mind flashed to Virgil. He had taken on all but two cleaning shifts, and she was sure he was just about living in the library full time. She didn't want to take his figurative home for the evening, but at the same time she knew they were all in need of a good debrief before the weekend.

 "Friday sounds great. I'll let the others know."

"Thanks again, Katie. I should get back to work. This talk really helped though."

 Driving home, Katie turned the music as loud as her speakers allowed her to; belting out her favourite songs as tears streamed down her face. She had to be the face and voice of reason, but alone in her car she could truly be herself. The sad and terrified girl she never got to be. When her parents disappeared, Katie was 21 and immediately put aside her dreams of travelling to look after her 14-year-old idiot of a brother. She was thankful when Jason graduated high school the following year and moved in with them. It meant there was someone else who could be the strong face when she felt broken. Someone else for Roman to turn to, and even someone she could use when she just wanted to talk.

Stopping at a red light an electronic noticeboard flashed the current temperature and date.

"Almost two years, Jason." she thought, leaning her head back against the car seat as 'Stand by you' by Rachel Platten started playing.

Katie laughed and wiped at her eyes, knowing she would be home soon.

"You can be pretty sick and twisted universe." she said aloud to no one in particular, before she joined in to sing the lyrics the rest of the way home.

 By the time she had the car parked and headed to the apartment building, Katie felt better. Anniversaries, be it her parents or Jason's, were never going to be easy; not that she'd ever let Roman see just how hard they were on her.

  *************

 Katie had expected to find Patton and Roman on the couch, but she hadn't expected to see Patton sobbing uncontrollably in Roman's arms. Quickly taking in the barely touched pizza sitting on the ottoman, Katie went straight into the kitchen and grabbed three popsicles from the freezer.

Roman didn't notice Katie until she walked in front of the pair.

"Alright, sit up boys."

Roman hated how much Katie could sound like his mother when she wanted; but she was immediately his sister again as she threw a popsicle at him the moment the pair had straightened.

"Truth time, Pat, have you eaten properly today?"

Arms wrapped tightly around his middle and hiccupping, Patton shook his head. Suddenly Roman felt very guilty for not noticing sooner. Though Patton had eaten the chocolate earlier, he hadn't touched the pizza at all; which was a clear indication that he wasn't in the best head space.

"Suck on this," Katie handed the unwrapped popsicle to Patton, who slowly started sucking it obediently. "Now, listen to Mamma Kay very carefully. Logan is fine, and you know he loves you in ways no one else will ever understand."

Patton nodded but kept his head bent low. Katie glanced up at Roman who was holding up his phone with the words 'bad omen' typed on a notes page. Phone messages were how the siblings use to insult each other behind their parents’ backs, but it was now proving to be a helpful tool as Katie quickly joined the dots.

 "Pat, do you remember the day we first met in person?" Patton nodded, sobbing settling the longer he was distracted by the frozen treat. "Remind me what happened that day."

"imsmavmdyoufonacar."

"Wanna try that again so I can actually hear you." Katie bit into her popsicle, causing Patton to cringe as he looked up from his own.

"I saved you from getting hit by a car." Roman climbed over the back of the couch to grab a box of tissues, thankful that Katie was helping keep Patton calm.

"That you did. Learnt my lesson to never try and impress others by wearing unfamiliar heels out in the streets."

Roman laughed as he jumped back onto the couch, "you always walk like a baby giraffe in heels."

Shooting Roman a look, Katie kept her voice calm for Patton. "And what happened on Roman's 17th birthday party?"

"I fixed the cake after the icing melted when the fridge broke down."

 A smile spread across Patton's face at the memory of Jason freaking out in the kitchen and Katie screaming into the phone for an electrician. A warm arm wrapped around his shoulders as Roman settled back into a comfortable position; placing the tissue box between them, before  leaning back to finish his popsicle. Breathing finally fully under control, Patton lent back and allowed himself to lean into Roman's hold.

 "That was a really good cake too," Roman commented, before placing a kiss on to Patton's head; curls tickling his nose as he did so.

"It looked like unicorn vomit before Patton got to it," Katie mused, chewing the final remains of her popsicle. "and let's not forget what you did for Logan the other week."

"Oh, yeah," Roman laughed, wooden popsicle stick hanging from his mouth, "I'm sure Spec's was freaking out when he got to the lab and found his notebook missing. If you hadn't of recognised it on the footpath, who knows what would have happened."

Katie was glad to see the smile spreading to Patton's eyes as he continued to lick is now melting popsicle.

 "Are you getting the picture, Patton?" pushing herself off the ground, Katie threw herself up onto the couch to sit on the other side of Patton. "One mistake can't outweigh all the good you do. You're a good person, Pat." "And don't you dare forget it again."

Patton turned his head to smile at the Reels siblings; their presence and kindness pushing his dark thoughts to the back of his mind. As much as he wished Logan was in the room with him too, Patton could live with that empty feeling for the moment; Katie and Roman were good substitutes for now.

 *************

 The drive started in silence. Virgil watched the streetlights reflect on the windscreen and listened intently to the smooth jazz Logan had on the radio.

“How old are you exactly, Virgil.” Logan’s voice was level and calm, “I recently turned 23 if that makes you feel more inclined to share.”

“Oh, um, 19 going on 20.” Virgil shifted in his seat slightly embarrassed, “I finished school a year later than most.”

“When I was 7, Patton was the new kid at my school. He became my best friend and we helped each other through everything the world threw at us. It was our Freshman year when Patton came out as gay and despite everything that happened, I was still proud to call him my friend.”

“What happened?” The words slipped out of Virgil’s mouth before he could register what he had said; thankfully Logan took it in his stride.

“People can be cruel sometimes, Virgil. They make assumptions and roll with them. Despite being in a relationship with a woman, rumours spread that I was Patton’s partner. I thought nothing of it until my parents confronted me and told me I needed to cut all ties with my friend to prove I wasn’t gay. They threw me out when I refused.”

 Virgil clenched his fists and stared down at his feet in anger and sadness.

“Why would they do that if you weren’t gay? Why couldn’t they just believe you?”

“They had a reputation and they felt the rumours were damaging it. I moved in with Patton and his family after that. It was a dark time for me. I broke up with my girlfriend and buried myself in school, work and sports. I only saw Patton when I came home. I’m ashamed to say I avoided him at school to spare myself the ridicule.”

“That sucks.”

“It did, and for a while that was my life. School, work, sport, avoid Patton, repeat. Then Jason found me ... Um, outside of the local library.”

“Jason? Who’s that?”

Virgil realised he wasn’t being fair to their game, but he didn’t care. He needed to know.

“He was a junior. Top of his class for literature, but terrible in all other areas. He was the man to beat on the track. I’d watched him train many times but never had the courage to approach him. His confidence scared me.”

“That’s relatable.” Virgil chuckled to himself and then realised Logan was looking at him. “I mean-“

Now it was Logan’s turn to laugh as he returned his eyes to the road. “I know, Virgil. That is why you remind me of myself.”

 The car slowed as Logan neared the address Virgil had given him.

“What do you mean I remind you of you?”

“Those were dark times for me. I didn’t want to be around anyone, and I certainly didn’t want to share my problems with anyone. Honestly, if my parents kicking me out hadn’t of been so public, I would have preferred to stay on the streets than accept Patton’s help. My feelings and troubles were my own and I wanted them to stay that way.”

Logan’s eyes remained straight ahead, despite pulling over outside a block of units. Virgil stared at the other, his mouth going dry.

“I didn’t want anyone’s help, but I needed it. When Jason... tumbled into my life it was weird, but he was just the person I needed to set me back onto the right path.” Logan turned and looked at Virgil, his eyes soft and void of the pity Virgil was sure would have been there. “Do correct me if I am wrong, but I think you are in a dark place too, Virgil. One similar, yet very different from my own. Jason helped me, and I will be forever grateful of his support. Should you need a guide to find your path again, I would be happy to provide the service.”

 Silence filled the car, despite the engine running and the radio still humming away. Neither moved. Logan too scared to move in case he upset Virgil, and Virgil too stunned to move an inch. He was overwhelmed with emotions, ranging from fear, to sadness, to anger and he didn’t know how to process everything. Somehow, this stranger had spent a few moments with him and broken him down so perfectly. He was angry at himself for being so readable, and afraid of how the world had been perceiving him this whole time. Finally, the weight of it all crashed down, and Virgil was quickly unbuckling his seatbelt and climbing out of the car.

Logan sighed, fearing the worst as he popped the boot to allow Virgil to retrieve his things. By the time he climbed out of the car, Virgil had his bags on, hood pulled low and was already walking up the street towards his former building.

Knowing it was best not to linger, Logan got back into his car and drove away. Virgil was thankful to watch the car lights disappear and turned away from the buildings to head in the direction of the library. Hot tears ran down his face, drying and cooling on his cheeks as he walked.

“I want help, Logan.” He whispered to the night, “but I’m too afraid to accept it from you.”

_______________________________

End Note

Hi, my name is Snail and I finally finished this chapter *band music playing* I was stuck for a looong while, so I ended up writing a 'flashback' chapter that was really messing with me and then came back to the current story. I think I just needed to see a key event in words before I could keep moving on.

Also, I got an idea for another fic that people on Tumblr seem interested in. I'm not leaving this behind (EVER), but this other fic may be an outlet for when I need a break from real life and want to dive into fantasy. Having a fantasy WIP may also help me delete the random dark paths that I had for this fic. LAFM wasn't meant to be dark, just angsty relationship building, love and acceptance...with a few punches thrown in.

_____________________________ 

Chapter 6   — Master List

What else have I done:

The Perfect Ring (oneshot - analogical proposal)

You Promised (oneshot - prinxiety angst/injury/near death) 

Sides of a Hero (Completed Fic - sides are fusions of impulses and aspects of Thomas. Virgil has a depressing past that he is forced to face thanks to Deceit and Rage. Was canon compliant at the time of completion)

The Shield to your Sword (WIP - A fantasy/magic au - Prinxiety (Royal Roman and orphan Virgil - they’ll admit to their love eventually), Virgil angst, non binary, healer Logan, *spoiler* Patton) 

Check out my other blog for random fandom reblogs and stuff @snail-giggles

[purge-that-urge-rhackathon]

-gently kicks thru the door- how did i only now find ur blog hot dang. hey if ur still doing requests or prompts.. consider... a thing where jack takes care of rhys. just like in whatever way u might want to take that. im thinking like rhys is sick and is 2 pitiful to take care of himself but u can totally... smut that up to ur own tastes should u so desire. yes the first time i interact w/ u its to ask for smut and no this is not out of character for me sdjgskhhffh im so srry

It’s a big internet out there and this blog is only 3 years old…. it happens heheheh xD And you caught me in an excellent mood SO:

This labeled as Assistance. Also on my ao3 here :) My masterlist archive of bullshit i write can be found linked at the top of the blog or here.

–

Rhys was frustrated.

Not just because he’d tripped over his own damn feet bringing Jack his morning coffee, nor from the resultant fracture to his left hand that the doctors told him to absolutely not use for the remaining two weeks as it healed nicely, and not even from the fact that his right hand needed recalibration after the embarrassing face-plant in front of the CEO’s desk.

No, he was frustrated because Jack– for all his teasing and braying laughter- was actually being nice about Rhys’ clumsy fall, had shunted off the majority of hand-intensive work to his secretary, and was being extra considerate and handsy with him in the office in ways that set Rhys’ heart beating faster.

In the very sense of the word, Rhys was getting desperate, and desperation lead to… creativity.

His cybernetic arm was a mechanical wonder of technology, yes, but even without the calibration it so sorely needed, it wasn’t quite the same– or welcoming- as his flesh hand.

He’d considered asking Jack to recalibrate it for him- more than a few times- but the idea of letting his boss into his subsystems and opening up his hardware was…. Well… Jack had a questionable attention span already, and coupled with his brilliant mind, Rhys was worried about what he could possibly put in there. Spyware. Weird voice commands. Or worse, with the connection to his echoeye, he might encounter all the very-specific searches Rhys had done about the man on the echonet.

Not worth it, in his opinion.

His right hand was… usable, yeah, but it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t what he’d call ambidextrous, and the lag in how his fingers worked– imperceptible to others but frustratingly off to him- made even the most enthusiastic jerking-session a lesson in persistence.

He was horny was the thing. Crazy horny. Unable-to-ignore and stressed-out-of-his-mind-and-required-release horny. Release was good, the relief itself a blessing, but he wasn’t satisfied. And the fact that his insanely-attractive boss almost seemed to be touching him more than normal in encouragement, watching him more keenly than usual in case he needed assistance, wasn’t helping matters.

Of course he could have just been being paranoid, and Jack himself was more observant than he was given credit for. But if Rhys didn’t figure out some way to get himself off that wasn’t shamefully sticking it in a sock and fucking between the mattress, then he was probably going to end up short-circuiting something.

And then he’d be out two hands and up one easily-encouraged boner and he could just kiss his professional reputation goodbye.

Not that he didn’t feel he was doing that already.

Jack had given him half days to rest– or more like half-weeks. Rhys spent some days working from the couch in his apartment– or his bed when feeling particularly lazy- and other days spent in the office with the CEO doing not much else than fetching coffee or looking pretty when Jack yelled at people.

He was doing that now, actually, listening to music and working remotely with his echotablet from bed to organize things for Jack’s meeting tomorrow.

Well speak of the devil. A notification popped up on his echoeye; the personal chat Jack had had him install mainly so he could write snarky comments to the younger man during meetings. Though it also proved very useful to quickly communicate since Rhys’ hands weren’t doing what he wanted them to these days.

→J4ckRule5: ive got some shit I need you to personally look through→J4ckRule5: stuff for 2morrow these idiots didnt send in the brief

Crap. What timing.

←Rhy5winz: Do you need me to come in?→J4ckRule5: nah ill drop it by your crappy little apartment after work→J4ckRule5: been meaning to see if that part of helios needs fumigating again :p←Rhy5winz: >>:|←Rhy5winz: Thanks for your kindness and consideration, sir.

There was a pause, and Rhys smirked to himself. Jack was probably laughing at his own jokes, but even more at Rhys’ overly polite response. They were hardly this courteous to one another anymore after working together so long, and his own way of handling his boss made him grin. Jack’s response met his expectations entirely; probably bored with nothing better to do than bug him.

→J4ckRule5: U mad? (:

Rhys smirked.

←Rhy5winz: I don’t know what you mean, sir.←Rhy5winz: Please take care when coming down here.←Rhy5winz: Don’t want any vermin biting our CEO.

Rhys was amused as he waited for Jack to get back to him, the CEO typing for ages it felt, when Rhys realized something.

Shit. He was getting hard over Jack’s playful messages. Really? Over a few innocent texts from his boss about work? Seriously? That’s what was getting him excited nowadays? Jesus he needed to take the edge off ASAP because this wasn’t just embarrassing, but downright insulting. Not to mention what it said about him to be getting all hot over Jack’s denigrating teasing.

Rhys stared at his tented boxer briefs with judgment as Jack’s response was overlaid right over the tip of his dick.

→J4ckRule5: dont get ur panties in a twist there pumpkin ;D

Rhys’ dick twitched at that.

Fuck.

Even as he was disappointed in his cock’s lack of taste in what was erotic, he was already palming himself through his underwear with his metallic hand. Maybe he could make this work.

→J4ckRule5: if u even own panties

Rhys’ brows shot up in interest and a spike of undue alarm at the thought that Jack knew what he was doing went through him– and made his cock harder.

→J4ckRule5: speaking of which:→J4ckRule5: do u own panties? (;

Rhys actually laughed, a husky sound as his cock liked this conversation very much so, and didn’t give much thought as to the appropriateness of the topic.

←Rhy5winz: You can’t bring up a topic and then say ‘speaking of which’, Jack.→J4ckRule5: i just did ;p→J4ckRule5: dont change the subject

Rhys’ chewed on his lips, his breathing deep and hips moving just a little of their own volition against his hand. He freed his cock from its confines and stroked himself, cursing the lag and responsiveness of his hand, but making do.

←Rhy5winz: Wouldn’t you like to know→J4ckRule5: i would ;D→J4ckRule5: answer the question kitten. im really bored here

Rhys allowed his mind to wander, to fantasize over any possible subtext. Bored. Right. The idea that Jack was bored and jerking off in his chair gave him a little thrill. That he was talking to Rhys of all people while possibly doing so made him very excited indeed.

←Rhy5winz: Sorry sir, that is classified information.←Rhy5winz: You don’t have access :p→J4ckRule5: brat→J4ckRule5: and how does one gain access? ;D

Okay, this was some next-level flirting for Jack; playing along and furthering the teasing. And that response was fast. He was either super bored and having a laugh at Rhys’ expense, or he was passing the time by playing a little five-on-one.

Good idea or not, Rhys wasn’t the one writing his responses to the older man so much as his cock was, and all the thoughts of Jack’s hands on him in the office– little innocent but overly familiar touches- was adding to the novelty of the experience.

←Rhy5winz: This is pretty privileged information←Rhy5winz: I don’t know. Maybe you should work harder→J4ckRule5: OH believe me cupcake im the hardest worker on this station

Rhys made a little noise at that, now certain Jack had his dick in hand and taking out his boredom at Rhys’ expense. Well, teasing the CEO back was probably safe at this point, right? He knew Jack appreciated some good word play, and though it was risky, he decided to let the older man know he knew what he was up to. It wasn’t like Jack didn’t make dirty jokes in the office constantly. Turnaround was fair play.

←Rhy5winz: I have no doubt you are ;)←Rhy5winz: Sucks having to take matters into your own hands

Jack was typing for several moments, Rhys’ heart beating and his cock pulsing as he awaited the response. It was shorter than all that typing lead him to expect, making him curious what the older man might’ve sent instead.

→J4ckRule5: ur killin me here cupcake

Rhys snickered at the response, waiting for more, but none came. Huh. Well, that was anticlimactic, though it was useful as he was harder than ever (or as hard as he’d been since the injury) and he quickly forgot about their conversation in lieu of inflating it for masturbation fantasies.

It was going pretty well, actually, and he’d have to thank Jack (in some roundabout way, of course… maybe a cheese and sausage basket to be funny) because he knew it wasn’t going to be a goddamn nightmare trying to get himself off this time. No lubed-up and ruined socks– which was a crime in itself- nor errant twitching of uncalibrated fingers to throw off his delicate movements on his poor neglected cock.

No, rubbing himself against his thighs was actually working pretty nicely, and the smooth metal of his fingers warmed with his body heat actually felt really good. Imagining Jack at his desk imagining Rhys was doing it for him, and rereading their conversation from earlier only added more substance to his fantasy.

So when Jack himself stuck his head around the corner of Rhys’ doorjamb, the younger man thought he was just getting really good at visualizing what he wanted– for approximately a quarter of a second.

Rhys made an impossible sound between a gulp and a squeak– impressive in Jack’s opinion- as he quickly pulled a pillow over himself, face crimson and speechless that Jack was in his apartment, let alone his bedroom.

“Heeeeey cupcake… Whatcha doin’?”

The dirty leer on Jack’s face told Rhys the older man knew exactly what he’d been doing. There was no way out of this, and Jack looked about as pleased as anyone finding someone else jerking their dick possibly could.

“H-How– How did you get in here? Why are you in here?!”

“Was gonna deliver that stuff to you but forgot it halfway after those dirty texts you sent me, kitten. Not to mention, the door locks on this level are ridiculously easy to hack.”

Jack’s grin was predatory, shark-like, and it did funny things to Rhys’ stomach, and furthermore, his cock beneath the pillow.

“This how you’ve been using these work-at-home days? It’s not like I’d stop you if you wanted to do this at the office, kiddo.”

Rhys whined, embarrassed, frustrated, tired, and goddamn horny and just wanting a little relief. His damn cock was still hard beneath the pillow.

It had flagged a little, yeah, but with the object of his fantasy right goddamn there and the way Jack was leering at him, well… Rhys’ cock was a dirty goddamn traitor and he wasn’t getting out of this situation gracefully.

“Cat got your tongue, kitten?”

Jack’s eyes were darting between his face and the pillow, interest and amusement there both but not yet moving closer, and Rhys was so close yet not, and so goddamn fucking frustrated he didn’t even care at this point and rambled quickly to the older man. “…I’ve had a rough week and shit timing and no sleep and I hate this damn cast and being useless and I can’t sleep-” he repeated, “-and nothing is working how it should and I can’t even do my job right and I feel useless here.”

“That it?” Jack asked smugly, still looking expectantly at the pillow.

Rhys knew he was not going to drop the topic, so he internally said fuck it and just blurted out: “…and I’m just really pent up and this isn’t fucking working and if I don’t get off I’m going to strangle someone… with someone else’s hands,” he growled.

A pleased shiver went up Jack’s back as a smirk took his face, and he moved closer as if his personal assistant’s dick wasn’t out and leaking beneath a Hyperion-branded pillow. “Babe, kitten, is that all? If you were horny you could’ve just said so. I’d have been down here ten minutes ago.”

Jack sat down next to him, a hand starting at his thigh and disappearing under the pillow. He heard the way Rhys’ breath hitched, the younger man’s face becoming less red with embarrassment and more pink with arousal, and his whole body very aware of the path Jack’s hand was taking. When it made contact with his shaft, Rhys made a mumbled sort of whimper in his throat, eyes shutting tightly as Jack’s big hand wrapped around his cock and gave him a gentle squeeze. Rhys whined pathetically, and Jack cozied up into his space to whisper smugly into the younger man’s ear.

“Baby,” Jack said, breath hot on Rhys’ skin as he allowed his face to touch Rhys’ own just barely. “I’m always up to get you what you need. Even if all you need is to get off.” He gave him a stroke and Rhys’ hand shot out to grab Jack at the man’s shoulder, bending a little at the waist towards Jack as it felt so damn good and was just what he needed and god he wanted Jack to stroke him.

Jack pressed his lips to Rhys’ neck where the younger man’s flesh was exposed to him, grinning and feeling his own cock rallying in his jeans as he played with Rhys.

The pillow was flung away, and Jack wrapped one arm around Rhys’ waist, the other giving him long, tight strokes that passed over his cockhead every few. It was rougher than Rhys was used to– but he was so on edge and it was so goddamn satisfying and it was Jack doing it to him- and he came relatively quickly with pleased little cries over the older man’s hand.

Jack wiped his hand on Rhys’ sheets before hooking a hand behind his neck and kissing the younger man senseless. It totally blew Rhys’ mind.

Sex was one thing, kissing was another, and Rhys was thrown through so many loops and twists and turns of defied expectations that he threw caution to the wind and wrapped his arms around his boss, the Handsome Jack, and kissed him back for all he was worth.

Jack’s heavy breathing and the way the older man’s kisses turned to nipping bites was already rallying Rhys’ cock for a second time, but he pulled away when Jack broke it, a filthy look of desire on his face that Rhys’ attention was only stolen from by the older man’s tented pants.

“Jack, I-I want to– to– fuck,” he cursed, wanting more than anything to return the favor and get his hands on his boss’s dick like something out of one of his fantasies. Neither of his hands were up to the job and the last thing he wanted to do was have the CEO think he was shit at handjobs, but the way Jack was tenting his own jeans was nothing to tease about. He’d done that to the CEO, and dammit, he really wanted to do something memorable to it.

“Maybe next time, sweet pea,” Jack laughed at Rhys’ words, a big hand on Rhys’ thigh as he bit at the younger man’s neck. “When you’re all healed up and I don’t have a meeting with distribution in an hour. Maybe in my big yellow chair, mm?”

Rhys’ eyes widened as he looked at the older man. Next time? Wait… he wanted to fuck him?

Jesus Antwerp Christ, Rhys must’ve actually fell on his head and not his hand, and he was having a coma-wet-dream right now, because that was right up there in his impossible bucket-list of imaginary jerk-off material.

“In the meantime baby, you don’t need your hands to give a blowjob, right?”

Rhys swallowed and his mouth watered, and at this point he didn’t give a shit about Jack’s smug look that said he knew he was going to get what he wanted, or that insufferable grin that knew how much Rhys wanted to give it to him.

No, the younger man slid off his unmade bed, cock still out at half-mast, to eagerly get between Jack’s knees while the older man chuckled with arousal and undid his belt and fly to remove his cock from his jeans.

It wasn’t the best blowjob he’d ever given, or even in the top five, but the way Jack moaned his name, carded fingers through his messy hair, and talked dirty to him as Rhys sucked him off definitely ranked it among the most memorable of experiences to boot. The strangled curses that left the older man’s lips as he’d come down Rhys’ throat was the best of all, and knowing he was one of the few privileged enough to know the sound of Handsome Jack being thoroughly wrecked was enough to get him through this hellish period until he got full use of his hands back.

“Jesus kiddo, if that’s what you can do without your hands, I can’t wait until you’re all fixed.” He swiped a thumb under Rhys’ swollen lower lip, teasing it over his mouth before applying the barest of pressure. Rhys sucked the digit into his mouth with a pleased hum, and Jack just chuckled, pleased. “Damn buttercup, you were pent up, huh baby?”

Rhys just nodded in agree– would agree to just about anything Jack said right now- and hopped back up on the bed when Jack patted it.

The older man kissed him into the mattress, hand already back on his cock which surprised Rhys enough to make a noise about it, and Jack just laughed until he’d jerked him to full hardness and through another orgasm.

Rhys’ sheets were a ruined mess, and he was more or less feeling the same. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction as Jack tucked his own spent cock back into his pants, redid zip and belt, and told Rhys his work for the day was excellent. It made them both laugh, and Jack moved to leave until he gave one last look at the younger man laying there, the very picture of contentment.

“Forget something?” Rhys asked, voice teasing but dripping with satisfaction.

“Yeah, I did.”

Jack came and bent at the waist to kiss him again, moving to his neck where he sucked and bit at the younger man. It felt good until Rhys yelped, and Jack rose with a laugh, moving Rhys’ hand that had moved to the spot where he’d bit him. There was a pretty decent hickey there. Rhys bruised up nicely.

“What the hell, Jack?”

“Just making sure you don’t forget about me, cupcake.”

Rhys gave him a frown. “We work together.”

“So, so well, sugar pie.” The glare Rhys sent his way had zero effect on the older man. “Okay pumpkin, see you tomorrow, bright and early. Same old same old. Or maybe not so much.”

Rhys snorted. His neck smarted, but he was already excited about work tomorrow, clear this little liaison was going to be continued, and pleased as fucking punch about it. “Lock up after yourself, will you? Don’t want any vermin getting in. There was a big rat in here that just bit the shit out of me.”

“You little brat,” Jack laughed, himself feeling ready for the dullery that was distribution, his own edge without his pretty PA well taken off. “But guess I don’t want anyone else taking a bite of my cheese.” Rhys snorted. “See ya babe.”

Rhys laid in bed for a while after, replaying everything in his head all giddy as hell. Dream come true? Yes please and thank you for seconds if you don’t mind.

He got up later with interest as his doorbell rang, wondering if it was Jack and if the older man had remembered his manners.

A special delivery from one of Helios’ most expensive boutiques was instead waiting for him to sign, the Hyperion-yellow lace of expensive panties inside with a note that said ‘Mystery solved -J.’

Rhys told himself he was going to spite the older man by not wearing them to work tomorrow, but Jack’s pleased laugh of surprise when his face was in Rhys’ lacey-crotch the next day was worth it.

With Jack’s special deliveries and their new work ethic, Rhys found that fracturing his hand wasn’t so bad in retrospect, and for every stormcloud, there was a Hyperion-yellow laced-lining to look forward to.

kofi | ao3

[shadowluverworks]

Unforeseen: Chapter 6

A wet washcloth was laid on the black forehead that was quickly becoming warmer, warmer than usual anyway. The bat sat next to the fainted creature for a second before getting up and walking back to the office desk where the Commander sat. The blue hedgehog sat in a chair across from the human, looking rather distraught, though he tried to remain calm. The Commander’s office was nicer than the others, a larger room with a window that sat behind the mahogany desk. Two chairs that could belong in a living room, and a couch near the wall where a dormant black hedgehog lay. After he had lost consciousness, the blue hedgehog had carried him to the office they currently sat in while the Scientist returned to the lab. The Commander came with the bat and hedgehogs, making sure they behaved themselves until their comrade regained consciousness.

As the bat returned to her chair, the human continued their conversation, “You said Shadow wasn’t feeling well? How long has that been going on?” The agent crossed a leg over the other, “About a month. He insists he’s fine, but I know better.” The hero’s ears seemed to perk up slightly as the bat continued, “I tried to get him to do something about it, but he wouldn’t listen to me. I’m a bit surprised he actually passed out though, I’ve never seen him do that before.” Worry shown on her face as the man across from them sighed slightly, “Well, I asked the lab to do some blood work before continuing the research to see if we can find out what’s wrong. If he is ill, then that could affect the research as well.”

The man turned his attention to the hero, “As for you.” The hero flashed a nervous grin. “Care to tell me why you decided to trespass onto GUN property?” The accused scratched behind his ear, “I, uh, needed ta talk ta Shadow. Found out he was working here full time now with Team Dark, so I decided to come find him. Guess I shoulda waited ‘till he was done with work.” The Commander seemed to roll his eyes slightly, “You did come in handy today. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.” The hedgehog saluted with another grin, “Yessir!”

A soft groan sounded across the room as the black hedgehog shifted slightly. The bat was quick to return to his side, dabbing the sweat away from his head with the towel. After twisting slightly, the alien stilled once more. Peach hands twiddled helplessly. Wish I could take ‘im home. Nothin’ I want more than ta take care of ‘im right now, but I can’t just steal ‘im. Rouge’d kill me. Plus, I dunno if he’s said anythin’ bout us or not. Prolly hasn’t even thought about that night. He made it pretty clear he didn’t want me here. The minutes seemed to tick by in slow motion as they waited for the blood test to return. It had already been a few hours since he’d first arrived, and the black hedgehog had hardly moved since he had collided with the floor.

Finally, a knock at the door was heard from the side door, followed by the Commander giving permission to enter. The lab’s Scientist from before had returned along with a woman, also dressed up in typical lab attire. The human at the desk rose from his seat, “Ah, glad you could join us, Doctor. Have you discovered anything?” The Scientist gave a short nod, “We have.” He seemed to glance nervously at the other two occupants in the room. Sensing he was not welcome to hear, the hero stood and joined Rouge at the other side of the room as the Commander and the two new entries seemed to form a tight circle and talk amongst themselves.

Sonic tapped his foot impatiently, a little miffed at not being able to hear what concerned the black hedgehog. He mumbled quietly to the bat, “Not like we’re not his friends. I don’t get why they gotta be so secretive over there.” The bat’s ear was turned behind her as she swatted at the other a little, “Shhhhh! If you stay quiet I might be able to hear what they’re saying!” The hero quickly shut his mouth, lowering to where she knelt next to the black hedgehog. He waited, at least he tried. “What’re they sayin’?” The agent mentally rolled her eyes, “...something about...high levels of hCG...the Commander asked if they were sure...they also found evidence of...PAPP-A.” The blue eyebrows furrowed, “Wassat  mean?” Turquoise eyes met his, “Do I look like a Doctor to you?!” The other pouted slightly, before standing up and walking back towards the group as Rouge silently cursed at him.

His presence was immediately noticed and the conversation stopped. The Leader turned to him, “Can I help you, Sonic?” Said hedgehog wore a look of determination, “What’s wrong with Shadow?” The two humans glanced at their superior, as the bat stood beside the hero. The man shook his head slightly, “I’m sorry. This is very personal information, and I’m not at liberty to discuss it with you without Shadow’s permission.” Rouge stepped forward slightly, “Sir, as Shadow’s teammate, I believe I have a right to know whether he can still be a member of Team Dark or if he needs to be taken care for the time being. I’m the closest thing to family Shadow has.” The human put a hand to his head as if a bit exasperated, “While that may be the case, I still cannot disclose such information. It would be best for him to take some time off and rest. Can you bring him home?” The bat shook her head, “He doesn’t have a home, he’s been staying with me every now and then, but unless you give me a reason to keep him there he’ll leave again. If he’s as ill as it seems he should not be wandering the streets at night in the rain.” The multicolored eyes flipped from Rouge to Sonic, as if considering her plight. Rouge took the hero by the arm, “I’ll need his help too. I alone can’t keep Shadow somewhere by myself, I’ll need him to help me. Plus he’s his friend.” Sonic was grateful to be included, she must have noticed his worry when the other fainted, “I care about Shadow a lot, I’ll make sure he gets the rest he needs.”

The man sighed, “I suppose while Shadow is still unconscious I don’t have much of a choice. Doctor, will you please explain?” The bat turned her attention to the woman. Her and Shadow were well known by the nurses and Doctors after their missions. Although Shadow for the most part resisted medical attention, Rouge had needed it several times. They had often conversed back and forth while her stay in the medical ward. Being told this news about her dear friend from someone she knew slightly more than her boss was well appreciated.

The Doctor stepped forward slightly, “We ran the blood test several times to confirm, but we know what’s plaguing Agent Shadow.” Rouge looked at her in worry, “Is he alright?! Is he sick?!” The woman smiled slightly to reassure her, “I know you care for him deeply, Agent Rouge. I assure you he’s alright. He just needs to rest. I want you two to keep an eye on him for the next week. Keep him in bed if you can. The important thing is that he gets the rest and nutrition he needs.” The bat’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, “He’s never slept that long before. I never even saw him sleep before a month ago. He hardly ever eats either.” The hero crossed his hands behind his head, “He told me he doesn’t need ta do much of either. His chaos energy makes it so he doesn’t need ta eat or sleep like we do.” The Doctor nodded, “That’s true. Normally that would cover the essentials for his body. However, now he needs to be eating as well as resting regularly to keep his energy levels up. At least for the time being.”

The blue hedgehog’s furrowed his eyebrows as well, “Did somethin’ happen to ‘im? Why does he need ta do all this stuff now?” The woman seemed to hesitate for a second, “As I told the Commander, we found high levels of hCG in his blood, as well as evidence of PAPP-A.” Sonic was growing a bit frustrated, “Yea, yea, we heard. But we ain’t doctors, Doc. Wassat mean?” After getting confirmation from the Leader with a nod, the Doctor continued, “These particular chemicals are only found in pregnant women.”

For several minutes the bat and hedgehog simply stared at the humans. It was as if time had stopped for a while. Finally, the blue legs could not continue to hold up their owner, and he wobbly moved backwards into a chair, “Th-That’s not possible!” The Scientist shrugged, “I ran the blood multiple times to be sure it was not contaminated. Apparently, there’s more to Project Shadow then we had originally thought. If we were able to properly examine Shadow, we might have been able to discover this sooner. Or the possibility of it.” The blue hedgehog was starting to almost hyperventilate in panic, his mind running rapid, “B-but...he said...he told me that...” The bat simply stared in shock. How is that possible?! I never thought that he could...I thought he was still a virgin! Who did he... Her short locks whipped in the air as she caught eyes with the hero, “...you...What did you do?!” The hedgehog looked as shocked as her, “W-What?! I-I...” The bat walked up towards him, pointing a finger at his chest, “It was you! A month ago when he showed up at my house drenched and acting strange...he had been with you!”

The humans looked on at the spectacle before the Commander spoke, “Sonic, is this true? Are you the father?” Said hedgehog began to sway slightly, looking a little faint. “Oh, no!” The bat grabbed the peach face, slapping his cheeks a bit, “You don’t get to pass out too, you have too much to explain! Plus, I need you to carry Shadow!” The fear of making her even more mad than she already was snapped the blue hedgehog awake. The Commander ran a hand through his short gray hair, “Why don’t you three head home. It’ll give you some time to...work things out. The Doctor will be available if you need help; just call.”

Taking his advice, the hero was able to steady himself enough to stand, and picked up the dormant alien hybrid. Rouge nodded, “Thank you, sir. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”  "Wait." The Doctor stopped them, handing Rouge a set of papers, "Show Shadow these. It's his blood results on paper. From what little I know of him, he seems to be someone who'll need to have proof." The spy took the papers, looking them over. It was all Greek to her, all sorts of terms and names she had never heard of. But she took the Doctor's advice, storing the papers in her pocket, "Thank you." The bat led the pair out of the room and down the hallway. When the door closed, the Commander was able to let out a breath he’d been holding. This new revelation was going to make things involving Team Dark a bit more complicated from now on.

After long twists and turns in the long hallways, the three mobians finally made it to the outside world once again. Sonic’s smile was a bit less enthusiastic as before, but still sincere, “Thanks Rouge. I’ll take him home and make sure he gets some rest.” The bat’s face was stern, “No. You both are coming with me. Shadow will be more comfortable if he wakes up in familiar surroundings, and you have a lot of explaining to do in the meantime.” His ears flattened a bit. Shadow was right. She is like a mother when she’s mad. The hero knew there was no way out of it and let out a little sigh, “Yes, Rouge.”

[shadowluver1242]

Unforeseen

CHAPTER 6:

A wet washcloth was laid on the black forehead that was quickly becoming warmer, warmer than usual anyway. The bat sat next to the fainted creature for a second before getting up and walking back to the office desk where the Commander sat. The blue hedgehog sat in a chair across from the human, looking rather distraught, though he tried to remain calm. The Commander’s office was nicer than the others, a larger room with a window that sat behind the mahogany desk. Two chairs that could belong in a living room, and a couch near the wall where a dormant black hedgehog lay. After he had lost consciousness, the blue hedgehog had carried him to the office they currently sat in while the Scientist returned to the lab. The Commander came with the bat and hedgehogs, making sure they behaved themselves until their comrade regained consciousness.

As the bat returned to her chair, the human continued their conversation, “You said Shadow wasn’t feeling well? How long has that been going on?” The agent crossed a leg over the other, “About a month. He insists he’s fine, but I know better.” The hero’s ears seemed to perk up slightly as the bat continued, “I tried to get him to do something about it, but he wouldn’t listen to me. I’m a bit surprised he actually passed out though, I’ve never seen him do that before.” Worry shown on her face as the man across from them sighed slightly, “Well, I asked the lab to do some blood work before continuing the research to see if we can find out what’s wrong. If he is ill, then that could affect the research as well.”

The man turned his attention to the hero, “As for you.” The hero flashed a nervous grin. “Care to tell me why you decided to trespass onto GUN property?” The accused scratched behind his ear, “I, uh, needed ta talk ta Shadow. Found out he was working here full time now with Team Dark, so I decided to come find him. Guess I shoulda waited ‘till he was done with work.” The Commander seemed to roll his eyes slightly, “You did come in handy today. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.” The hedgehog saluted with another grin, “Yessir!”

A soft groan sounded across the room as the black hedgehog shifted slightly. The bat was quick to return to his side, dabbing the sweat away from his head with the towel. After twisting slightly, the alien stilled once more. Peach hands twiddled helplessly. Wish I could take ‘im home. Nothin’ I want more than ta take care of ‘im right now, but I can’t just steal ‘im. Rouge’d kill me. Plus, I dunno if he’s said anythin’ bout us or not. Prolly hasn’t even thought about that night. He made it pretty clear he didn’t want me here. The minutes seemed to tick by in slow motion as they waited for the blood test to return. It had already been a few hours since he’d first arrived, and the black hedgehog had hardly moved since he had collided with the floor.

Finally, a knock at the door was heard from the side door, followed by the Commander giving permission to enter. The lab’s Scientist from before had returned along with a woman, also dressed up in typical lab attire. The human at the desk rose from his seat, “Ah, glad you could join us, Doctor. Have you discovered anything?” The Scientist gave a short nod, “We have.” He seemed to glance nervously at the other two occupants in the room. Sensing he was not welcome to hear, the hero stood and joined Rouge at the other side of the room as the Commander and the two new entries seemed to form a tight circle and talk amongst themselves.

Sonic tapped his foot impatiently, a little miffed at not being able to hear what concerned the black hedgehog. He mumbled quietly to the bat, “Not like we’re not his friends. I don’t get why they gotta be so secretive over there.” The bat’s ear was turned behind her as she swatted at the other a little, “Shhhhh! If you stay quiet I might be able to hear what they’re saying!” The hero quickly shut his mouth, lowering to where she knelt next to the black hedgehog. He waited, at least he tried. “What’re they sayin’?” The agent mentally rolled her eyes, “...something about...high levels of hCG...the Commander asked if they were sure...they also found evidence of...PAPP-A.” The blue eyebrows furrowed, “Wassat  mean?” Turquoise eyes met his, “Do I look like a Doctor to you?!” The other pouted slightly, before standing up and walking back towards the group as Rouge silently cursed at him.

His presence was immediately noticed and the conversation stopped. The Leader turned to him, “Can I help you, Sonic?” Said hedgehog wore a look of determination, “What’s wrong with Shadow?” The two humans glanced at their superior, as the bat stood beside the hero. The man shook his head slightly, “I’m sorry. This is very personal information, and I’m not at liberty to discuss it with you without Shadow’s permission.” Rouge stepped forward slightly, “Sir, as Shadow’s teammate, I believe I have a right to know whether he can still be a member of Team Dark or if he needs to be taken care for the time being. I’m the closest thing to family Shadow has.” The human put a hand to his head as if a bit exasperated, “While that may be the case, I still cannot disclose such information. It would be best for him to take some time off and rest. Can you bring him home?” The bat shook her head, “He doesn’t have a home, he’s been staying with me every now and then, but unless you give me a reason to keep him there he’ll leave again. If he’s as ill as it seems he should not be wandering the streets at night in the rain.” The multicolored eyes flipped from Rouge to Sonic, as if considering her plight. Rouge took the hero by the arm, “I’ll need his help too. I alone can’t keep Shadow somewhere by myself, I’ll need him to help me. Plus he’s his friend.” Sonic was grateful to be included, she must have noticed his worry when the other fainted, “I care about Shadow a lot, I’ll make sure he gets the rest he needs.”

The man sighed, “I suppose while Shadow is still unconscious I don’t have much of a choice. Doctor, will you please explain?” The bat turned her attention to the woman. Her and Shadow were well known by the nurses and Doctors after their missions. Although Shadow for the most part resisted medical attention, Rouge had needed it several times. They had often conversed back and forth while her stay in the medical ward. Being told this news about her dear friend from someone she knew slightly more than her boss was well appreciated.

The Doctor stepped forward slightly, “We ran the blood test several times to confirm, but we know what’s plaguing Agent Shadow.” Rouge looked at her in worry, “Is he alright?! Is he sick?!” The woman smiled slightly to reassure her, “I know you care for him deeply, Agent Rouge. I assure you he’s alright. He just needs to rest. I want you two to keep an eye on him for the next week. Keep him in bed if you can. The important thing is that he gets the rest and nutrition he needs.” The bat’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, “He’s never slept that long before. I never even saw him sleep before a month ago. He hardly ever eats either.” The hero crossed his hands behind his head, “He told me he doesn’t need ta do much of either. His chaos energy makes it so he doesn’t need ta eat or sleep like we do.” The Doctor nodded, “That’s true. Normally that would cover the essentials for his body. However, now he needs to be eating as well as resting regularly to keep his energy levels up. At least for the time being.”

The blue hedgehog’s furrowed his eyebrows as well, “Did somethin’ happen to ‘im? Why does he need ta do all this stuff now?” The woman seemed to hesitate for a second, “As I told the Commander, we found high levels of hCG in his blood, as well as evidence of PAPP-A.” Sonic was growing a bit frustrated, “Yea, yea, we heard. But we ain’t doctors, Doc. Wassat mean?” After getting confirmation from the Leader with a nod, the Doctor continued, “These particular chemicals are only found in pregnant women.”

For several minutes the bat and hedgehog simply stared at the humans. It was as if time had stopped for a while. Finally, the blue legs could not continue to hold up their owner, and he wobbly moved backwards into a chair, “Th-That’s not possible!” The Scientist shrugged, “I ran the blood multiple times to be sure it was not contaminated. Apparently, there’s more to Project Shadow then we had originally thought. If we were able to properly examine Shadow, we might have been able to discover this sooner. Or the possibility of it.” The blue hedgehog was starting to almost hyperventilate in panic, his mind running rapid, “B-but...he said...he told me that...” The bat simply stared in shock. How is that possible?! I never thought that he could...I thought he was still a virgin! Who did he... Her short locks whipped in the air as she caught eyes with the hero, “...you...What did you do?!” The hedgehog looked as shocked as her, “W-What?! I-I...” The bat walked up towards him, pointing a finger at his chest, “It was you! A month ago when he showed up at my house drenched and acting strange...he had been with you!”

The humans looked on at the spectacle before the Commander spoke, “Sonic, is this true? Are you the father?” Said hedgehog began to sway slightly, looking a little faint. “Oh, no!” The bat grabbed the peach face, slapping his cheeks a bit, “You don’t get to pass out too, you have too much to explain! Plus, I need you to carry Shadow!” The fear of making her even more mad than she already was snapped the blue hedgehog awake. The Commander ran a hand through his short gray hair, “Why don’t you three head home. It’ll give you some time to...work things out. The Doctor will be available if you need help; just call.”

Taking his advice, the hero was able to steady himself enough to stand, and picked up the dormant alien hybrid. Rouge nodded, “Thank you, sir. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”  "Wait." The Doctor stopped them, handing Rouge a set of papers, "Show Shadow these. It's his blood results on paper. From what little I know of him, he seems to be someone who'll need to have proof." The spy took the papers, looking them over. It was all Greek to her, all sorts of terms and names she had never heard of. But she took the Doctor's advice, storing the papers in her pocket, "Thank you." The bat led the pair out of the room and down the hallway. When the door closed, the Commander was able to let out a breath he’d been holding. This new revelation was going to make things involving Team Dark a bit more complicated from now on.

After long twists and turns in the long hallways, the three mobians finally made it to the outside world once again. Sonic’s smile was a bit less enthusiastic as before, but still sincere, “Thanks Rouge. I’ll take him home and make sure he gets some rest.” The bat’s face was stern, “No. You both are coming with me. Shadow will be more comfortable if he wakes up in familiar surroundings, and you have a lot of explaining to do in the meantime.” His ears flattened a bit. Shadow was right. She is like a mother when she’s mad. The hero knew there was no way out of it and let out a little sigh, “Yes, Rouge.”

[vortexboss-blog]

Who did this to ya?

Pairing/Finn Balor X Reader

Summary//It was no secret to the WWE locker room that you and Finn Balor were extremely close to each other. You both had developed feelings for one another over time, but kept it a secret from each other. Finn was in a match one day when you were attacked by someone, resulting in injury. Once Finn finds out he makes it his job to find out who hurt you. His behavior is so different that it makes you question him on why he’s being so overprotective, and that leads to you both admitting what you truly felt for one another.

Warnings/Fluff

This is my first imagine on here, so it’s going to be horrible

Thanks to @caguayo85 for the very first imagine request.

________________________________________________________

You stood with your arms crossed over your chest while you watched Finn make his entrance. You caught yourself cracking a smile as the camera men captured every inch of Finn, dressed in his tight ring gear along with that leather jacket of his.

Finn’s entrance was always so fun to watch and see how involved the crowd was with him. Although, you found yourself focusing more on Finn than anything else that appeared on screen.

You couldn’t quite remember the precise day and time, but you do recall developing a crush on the proclaimed ‘Demon King’ not to long ago. It was only a matter of time before those feelings finally made themselves present, whether it was an uncontrollable smile, or a feeling of absolute giddiness, you always found yourself wooing over Finn even when he wasn’t around.

You and Finn had developed a strong friendship since the day you both met, and you were pretty certain that it was going to stay that way, and that’s the way Finn would of wanted it as well. You did a pretty good job of concealing your feelings, especially when around him and the other talent backstage.

You know how the story goes.People find out about who your interested in, and boom, next thing you know that person, Finn in this case, finds out, and well the rest is pretty obvious to see.

Over the seemingly loud voice of Michael Cole’s commentary, you were able to hear what sounded like someone rushing towards you from behind. At first you figured it was just someone who was in a hurry to get somewhere, so you kept your attention on the TV.

The scuffing of shoes against the ground became more apparent which made your eyes shoot away from the small monitor, you couldn’t even turn your head to gaze over your shoulder as your body was shoved roughly onto the table where the monitor had now toppled over the opposite side of the wooden surface

You were being attacked by someone.

You attempted to turn your head again in the direction behind you, resulting in a hand clutching the back of your head and slamming it down onto the wooden table, nose first. Pain shot through your head, and nose as you quickly moved one of your hands to your face to make sure you didn’t shed any blood

The blow to your head had made you momentarily dizzy, but you were still able to feel the person viciously yanking you off the table.

You were able to hear them emit an audible grunt as they pulled your small body off the table, but you couldn’t quite identify who the grunt belonged to.

They held onto the back of your neck with a tight grip, while their other hand held onto the tights you were wearing from your match earlier this evening. It was like one of those holds you use on opponents outside of the ring when you’re trying to toss them back into the ring.

This time they tossed you against a large metal cabinet.

Your spine had contacted with the metal handles of the cabinet which resulted in a sharp pain shooting up your back. You slid your back down against the cold metal until your bum touched the floor, and you were in a seated position.

While seated, you hung your head down so you were looking at the floor, your hair had fallen in front of your face, so you still had an unblemished view of who had ambushed you.

As you were moving your head back to its normal straight forward position to catch a glimpse at who stood in front of you, a big plastic bin that was placed on top of the metal cabinet fell onto your already battered head.

The impact from you hitting the cabinet must of been enough to make that bin fall, which was quite surprising since the bin felt super heavy on impact.

A loud groan of pain escaped your lips, your head was violently throbbing in pain, for a second you actually forgot where you were.

When you could finally muster up the strength, you slowly tilted your head up so you were in view of your surroundings all while keeping a hand on the top of your head, where you knew for sure a bump would sprout soon.

No one was around, it was completely empty like before. There was no sign of who attacked you.

You weren’t entirely sure as to why no one was around, you would think there would be a camera man, guards, interview’s and other backstage personal floating around in every nook and craney, but there was no one to be found.

The throbbing in your head only became worse with every second that surpassed. Even when the throbbing began to cease, the pugnacious pain lingered only to make you more uncomfortable.

Your vision started to grow extremely blurry. Even though you tried to recuperate your normal vision, it just kept getting worse and worse.

Even through the culmination of blurriness, you could see what looked like two silhouette’s rushing over towards you. Your vision provided no clarification as to who they were or what they were doing.

Next thing you know you completely black out.

_

As you slowly started to come back from your black out, you could hear two male voices from a close vicinity. For the moment what you were hearing just sounded like gibberish, but as your body began to wake up more and more you could clearly tell whoever was with you wasn’t verbalizing some unknown language. Your eyes slowly began to open due to the sensitivity of the bright lights that hung in the ceiling. You didn’t want to strain your eyes, so you waited for them naturally adjust.

“Ah, she’s awake.”

A groggy groan pushes past your lips. You bring your hands up balling them up slightly to rub your sensitive eyes.

“Wha-what happened…” you wobbly ask the medics as both slowly help you to a seated position on the medical bed.

You blacked out and hit your head on the floor.” One medic confirms.

Your mouth gapped open, you hit your head for the third time today. That last one must of done you In for good.

“Miss Y/N, you have suffered a concussion somehow, which is oddly strange because you only hit your head once.” The doctor confusedly assumes.

You understood why the medics sounded so confused, they weren’t there to witness the other two times you took some blows to the head.

“Well actually…” You trail off causing both medics to shoot you a look of concern.

You do your best to explain what happened, and how your head was hit from being slammed on the table, and the bin of whatever fell onto your head as well.

“Well that explains why you have a concussion then,” The medic says in realization.

“How long am I going to be on the shelf?” You ask concern producing in your voice as you spoke.

“We’re looking at about roughly a month.” The medic who sat closest to you confirms. “Month and a half, maximum,” the other medic adds.

You let out a sigh of relief, thank god it wasn’t more than that. You probably would of gone crazy if you were out for more than a month and a half. This is your first time getting injured since being apart of WWE, so it was going to take awhile for this to click in your mind.

“Hey, is that guy still outside?” One of the medics asks the other.

“Im not sure, maybe.” The other one responds.

“What guy?” You ask, your curiosity peaking out of its shell.

The medics share a look before they both look back to you.

“A wrestler,” the medic furthest away from you says as he goes through some files, “He practically busted in the door about 10 minutes after we brought you in, and he was freaking out, asking if you would be ok, and what happened, but we didn’t say anything we kinda had to chase him out.”

“What did he look like?” You ask even though you were pretty sure you knew exactly who it was.

“Hmmm..he had a very nice physique, blue eyes, he was about 5 foot 10, oh and he’s an Irish fella.”

“Finn…” you mumble to yourself.

Of course Finn was going to be the one to go batshit crazy if he found out you were hurt. He had to be worried sick right now, and for him to have heard about this right after his match probably just added to his mental and physical exhaustion.

“Can I please go?” You ask, knowing you need to let Finn see that your ok and everything is going to be fine.

“Yeah go ahead just take it easy, and no more hitting your head, we’ll do a follow up later.” The medics jokingly says granting you permission to leave.

You nod and plant your feet on the ground making sure to steady yourself since you were still experiencing some light dizziness. You slowly walked over to the door grabbing onto the metal handle. You turn to the two men, “Thanks guy’s,” you wave to them.

“You welcome,” both say in unison.

You twist the handle and push door open, and move out into the narrow hallway. You quietly ease the door in your direction making sure it didn’t slam to hard when it closed. Once the door quietly shut, the sound of someone’s feet against the floor could be heard behind you. This time you turned around ready to fight whoever it was.

You were expecting that person who attacked you to come back again but turns out it was just a sweaty Finn who pulled you into his embrace. Despite how sweaty he was and how horrible he smelt, you couldn’t help but hug him back. Finn held you tight, as if someone were going to swoop down outta nowhere and take you away from him.

Finn reluctantly pulled away from the embrace allowing you get a full view of his body. If anything you should be the one worried about him right now. His milky white skin was covered in red marks, scratches, and welts from his match. His condition was just as worse as yours. At least that’s your own opinion.

You noticed Finn frown as he focused on something that was on your face. Finn’s hand went to gently graze a bump that formed on your hairline from one of three times you hit your head. It didn’t hurt bad, but once Finn’s fingers came into contact with it, you winced softly which made him draw his hand back to his side.

“Finn I-”

“Who did this to ya?” He cuts you off with his question.

Finn’s voice was low, his accent sounded thick, you knew he was pissed, you couldn’t just hear it in his voice, but just by looking into his eyes you could see he wasn’t very happy with the situation at hand.

“Who, Y/N?!” He asks a little louder this time startling you.

“I-I don’t know, Finn…” You answer back right as the last word left his mouth.

“How can ya not know Y/N!?” He scolds you causing you to step back a bit, “Ya were da one getting attacked and ya didn’t see who did it?!”

You rapidly shake your head no not wanting to speak. Finn just looks at you, his chest rising and dropping rapidly with every breath he took, his fists were balled up and his knuckles were a different shade of white compared to his already pale skin tone.

“If ya don’t know who did it then I guess I’m gonna have ta find out myself.”

Finn walked away in whatever direction with the intentions of finding whoever hurt you. You respected him for caring and all, but he was taking it to a whole other level. Plus you didn’t need him to fight your battles for you. You are perfectly capable of handling the situation correctly.

You darted after him in the direction he walked in catching up to him shortly after.

Once you caught up with him, you stepped your body out in front of his, but he didn’t stop, he simply just moved around you and kept going. You caught up with him again except his time you placed your hands on his hard chest trying to bring him to a halt to no avail. If Finn really wanted to, he could walk straight through you with no struggle, but you knew he wouldn’t hurt you intentionally.

“Finn it’s not that big a deal.” You try to convince him. In response he gave you the “are you serious” type of look.

Finn stalled out finally causing you to stumble backwards a bit.

“Not tha big a deal?!” He practically shouts. “Ya have a concussion, and yer gonna be out for a month an’ a half.” He says exaggerating the whole sentence making it seem like it was the end of the world.

“Wait, wait, wait.” You stop him sticking your finger up. “How do you know I have a concussion. I didn’t even mention anything about it yet?

“I may of have been listening while ya were with tha medics.“ He nonchalantly admits crossing his arms over his chest. You weren’t upset that he was listening, you were just confused as to how he knew your status.

“Finn what the hell are you going to do when you find out who did this to me.” You ask referring to the bump on your head.

“Not like you can go demon king on them.” You joke.

"If i have ta I will. I don’t care who they are what they did was a horrible act of violence tha was absolutely unnecessary.”

Before you could argue back Finn had turned his back on you and began walking in the direction you were coming from before. This time he walked much quicker.

You repeated your actions from before and place your hands on his chest again trying to stall him again. Only this time it was way harder since his pace was much quicker.

“Why do you care so much about what happened?” You question still trying to fight back against Finn. You had even tried planting your feet while pushing against his chest for leverage, but due to Finn’s strength he ended up pushing you instead.

Finn’s silence frustrated you, and you knew having a sour attitude wouldn’t make it any better.

“Why do you care so much about me?!” You question but shout at the same time.

This time you cocked your arms back ready to shove Finn due to your own frustration, but before you could Finn caught your wrists in his grasp preventing you from shoving him.

In one swift motion, Finn yanked you into his embrace. His arms wrapped around your waist while your hands laid on his chest.

“Finn wha-”

You were cut off by Finn’s lips crashing down against yours. At first you thought that you were dreaming, were you still unconscious in the medics room, and this was just some amazing dream you’d wake up from any second. It wasn’t until Finn’s hands gently squeezed your waist for you to realize that this wasn’t a dream, and you were wide awake and this was actually happening.

Finn disconnected your lips, but still held you against his body by your waist.

“Wanna ask why I care so much about ya again?” He asks with a small grin.

"Finn I-I’m so confused..” you trial off, you were absolutely bewildered by his actions. When it came to Finn, you always thought you were trapped in the friend zone with him.

“Y/N, I never made it obvious, but I have liked ya’ for da’ longest time, ever since we had gotten so close dats when I knew tha I felt more for ya than just being friends.”

Once again you were bewildered. You always thought that you and Finn would remain nothing more than friends, it never crossed your mind that Finn could have the same feelings back. That was something you’d only catch yourself imagining in a perfect world.

Finn noticed the time you were taking to respond, so he let you go and moved away to give you some space.

"If ya don’t feel tha same then it’s ok.” He nervously says scratching the back of his neck. His bicep flexing in the process. Your heart melted as he spoke, his nervousness was one of the many adorable things you noticed about him. He would go from this badass man, to a nervous and shy man which was a quality that you had noticed with him for quite some time.

“Finn of course I feel the same.” You clarify stopping him in his tracks. His eyes widen and the most surprised look fills his face.

You do?” He asks. His overly excited tone fueling your happiness.

“Yes Finn, everything you said was exactly the way I felt for so long. I hid my feelings from you and everyone else. Every moment we spent together was amazing and I just found my feelings growing even more every time I saw you. I guess I was just always scared that you wouldn’t feel the same way back…” you say trailing off in your sentence.

You let your head hang low feeling a bit feeling ashamed your eyes were looking at the valley that divided both of his muscular pecs.

“That’s not possible…” He says while taking your chin in between his index finger and thumb. “Because I love you, so much Y/N.”

"Will ya do me the biggest honor in the world and accept to go out on a date wit me?” He asks taking your tiny hands in his huge ones.

At this point you were practically spewing with happiness, Finn Balor. The most attractive man on the WWE Roster, at least in your opinion, had asked you on a date

"Yes, Yes Finn.” You say with a ginormous smile forming across your face.

Finn smiles as well and his hands gently trail down to your waist pulling you back into his embrace. You stared into his bright blue orbs as he cupped your face with one hand pulling you in for one more kiss. This time you kissed back, you hooked your arms under his arms bringing your hands to his shoulders.

Finn’s touch sent waves of electricity through your body, you felt as if your whole body went numb. Even the pain in your head was going numb.

Finn pulled away looking you right in your eyes.

Now lets go figure out who did this ta ya.” He smirks devilishly.

[spookysummersmores]

Mind Heist - Chapter 7

Word count: 4,310 (In the words of Grunkle Stan..."HOT BELGIAN WAFFLES!")

Author's note: Ohhh, wow...after two long months of brainstorming, editing, and writing additions to the original...this is it. The final chapter.

I know that, when I posted chapter 6 the other day, I said that there would be TWO more chapters left in the story. And that was originally going to be the case! But chapter 7 felt just...a bit too short to me...? And so I combined chapters 7 and 8 into one and ended up with this...4,000+ word long monster. xP

This one is almost entirely just pure fluff, which is always just...a delight to write. Pines family bonding for life. uwu

Also...stay vigilant. Once it seems like you've reached the end of the chapter...scroll a little further. There's a surprise hidden at the very end...

I'd just like to take the time to thank all of you who have supported Mind Heist - especially @raination and @choc-chip-pancakes - and provided such wonderful feedback. It means the world to both me and my bestie, and you provided me so much motivation and so many smiles throughout this whole process. Much obliged; you're sweethearts, the lot of you. 👍💕💞

The person I'd like to thank most, though, is my partner in crime, @ichipine​. This story originated from summer RP shenanigans between us two. It was you who gave me the go-ahead, it was you that gave me so much cute Mabel dialogue to work with and add onto, and it was you who came up with some of the best dreamscape battle tactics I've ever heard. Without your assistance and friendship, I wouldn't have a complete story. Thanks, big sib. Working with you was a BLAST and a half! ^0^ *MAJOR HUGS*

Well...I guess that's all for now. In terms of future fanfiction, I'll be going solo from now on - unless Kaylee or another good friend ever wants to work with me on a fic again, that is! Until next time...see you later, and I hope you enjoy this final chapter. Stay weird, my friends. ^-^ ❤

(As always, PLEASE do not tag any ships. Thank you.)

Dipper and Mabel were soon jolted out of sleep, and they both gasped as they bolted upright in unison. At long last, both of them were safe and sound in the attic of the good old Mystery Shack, and even THAT seemed brighter all of a sudden. Things were finally NORMAL again.

Well...okay, sort of normal.

Dipper immediately began coughing. "Ugh...well...I certainly didn't miss this..." he said hoarsely, sniffling.

Oh, God...it felt as though his head had been hit with a jackhammer. He hadn't had the time to worry about the effects of a mindscape war with a demon on a summer cold for long while in said mindscape. Now he certainly had something to report to his trusty journal about it once he felt up to it: 'If you're fortunate enough to...you know, not die, you'll definitely feel a heck of a lot worse than you did before going to sleep.'

He pulled his blanket up over himself for warmth and then turned to Mabel, giving her a small smile. "Mabel...you did it. I-if it hadn't been for you...Bill...he would've completely wrecked my mind or...or something worse that I...don't really want to think about." He shivered a bit - half from fever and half from the thought of Bill's twisted games. "The way I was feeling in there...I never would have been able to get him on my own. Thanks, Mabel..."

Mabel smiled wide. "Don't worry about it! There was no way I was letting him pick on my brother EVER again...the big bully. That guy just never learns," she said, hands on her hips. She got up off the floor and stretched out. She happened to notice that, even though it felt as though a whole day had passed them by, they'd only been gone for about an hour in the real world.

When she got a good look at her twin, concern set back in. She climbed up on the end of his bed and sat there. "You still seem...REALLY sick though. Like...more like miss-school-for-two-whole-WEEKS sick now. You doing okay?"

"In all honesty? N-not really..." Dipper started coughing again, and rather harshly at that.

Mabel quickly got his drink for him and felt his forehead. You could have used it in place of a kerosene heater. Bill really HAD done quite a number on him...

Luckily for Dipper, about 15 minutes later, the twins both heard Stan unlocking the front door downstairs. "Honey...I'm home!" he called jokingly from the first floor. He climbed the stairs and knocked on the attic door before immediately entering (which kind of defeats the purpose of knocking), grocery bags in hand. He walked in just as Mabel was changing out the cloth on Dipper's forehead. "Hey, kiddo...how're you doin'?" he asked quietly, sounding an awful lot gentler than usual.

"Terrible..." Dipper croaked out from underneath the covers.

"Yeesh." Stan set the bags down on the bed and sat once Mabel scooted off. "Well...I dunno if this'll make ya feel any better, but you're not alone. Apparently, it's goin' around. In the SUMMER. I was IN LINE with some punk who was practically coughin' his lungs up. Only in this weird hick town..." He sighed. "Okay...so I just about bought out the pharmacy."

"Bought it out, or stole everything?" Dipper whispered with a tiny smile and a sniffle. Even in his haze, he couldn't help but tease Stan just a little.

"Haha...very funny, y'little dork. You'd be gettin' noogied right about now if y'weren't so darn sick," Stan teased back, grinning at the boy. "Here we go now. F'real." He started unpacking the bags, and he'd only been half exaggerating about buying out the pharmacy. "Tissues, cough drops, cold pills-" He nonchalantly put a hand to Dipper's forehead as he spoke, but he forgot to hide his concern and stopped cold, eyes wide, when he felt how high the kid's temperature had gotten in such a short amount of time. "Which y'need RIGHT NOW. I could make an omelet on your head. Be right back. Mabel, keep an eye on 'im, will ya?" He popped out of the room, taking Dipper's juice glass with him.

Mabel flopped down on her own bed. "Oh, gosh...you're in really bad shape, huh?" she asked. "I'm awful glad Grunkle Stan's back."

"Same..." Dipper groaned a little and laid back on his pillow.

"Don't you worry, bro. I'll be by your side keepin' you company until you get better."

Dipper was happy to have her company...but he realized something. "Thanks, Mabel. Just...be careful, okay? Judging by what Grunkle Stan just said, you..." He sneezed mid-sentence. "Could catch it. Really easily. Wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy..."

'Then again, Bill would probably enjoy it. The weirdo,' he thought to himself with disgust.

"I'll try to be careful...don't worry." Mabel gave Dipper a grateful little smile. "And heck...quit worrying about me! You're the one Dad could probably use for a grill right now. Just relax."

Grunkle Stan soon stepped back in the room with a glass of water, cold pills, and an ice pack he'd wrapped in a washcloth. "Alllright, kiddo...get this in you before your head...spontaneously combusts or somethin'."

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan." Dipper sat up to take the medicine and went to pick his UFO blanket up when it fell to the floor. Stan put a stop to that, however, when both he and Mabel saw the child become dizzy the second he stepped out of bed.

"Excuuuse me; where d'ya think you're goin'?" Stan muttered to him, sternly, but gently.

"Aww, Dipper, you're supposed to rest..." Mabel stepped over and put a hand on his shoulder to gently lower him back into bed.

"I-I'm good...I'm good," Dipper insisted, though he immediately coughed again afterwards.

"C'mere, kiddo...thataboy..." Stan tucked the kid back in and gently placed the ice pack on his burning forehead. "Now...when I say don't move from that bed, I MEAN don't move from it. Not a big fan of the sound of ya there," Stan said in his gruff, but well-meaning, way. He backed out of the room with the rest of the grocery bags. "Mabel, keep an eye on 'im while I put stuff away...and if he falls asleep, come downstairs and just let 'im go, okay?"

Mabel nodded. "You got it, Grunkle Stan."

Stan nodded back and smiled at his niece. "Good. Rest up, kiddo," he said to Dipper softly.

Once Stan left, as Dipper laid there in his bed, bundled up in a little blanket cocoon, anxious thoughts popped back into his head...but much different ones than before. He hated admitting it to himself, but he was more than a bit wary about trying to go back to sleep. He knew full well that he and Mabel had just seen Bill disappear into the unknown for themselves. And yet...the thought of him possibly still lurking somewhere nearby just wouldn't leave his aching head. Nervous, he poked a hand out and gently began to pet Waddles, who had sensed Dipper's uneasiness and decided to curl up next to him as if to reassure him.

Mabel turned to Dipper, and without him even saying a word, she could immediately tell that he felt uneasy. "It's alright, bro-bro," she said, patting his head lightly to comfort him. "We got rid of Bill...we watched him poof away, remember? You should be safe now. Just worry about getting better...okay?"

Dipper hesitated before nodding slowly, though he still couldn't help but feel at least a little nervous. "Okay..." He sneezed again and cleared his throat. "I guess I'll try to sleep...my head is killing me. Maybe the meds'll kick in faster that way." He slowly pulled himself into an even smaller ball - he slept more comfortably that way - but turned back around for a second to whisper one last message out. "Oh, Mabel...? Thanks again. For everything."

Mabel smiled. "You're welcome!" She made sure her sibling was tucked in just right. "I'll check back later once you're asleep to see how you're doing, okay?"

The boy smiled a tiny bit and nodded as he watched his sister leave the room. Waddles, who had decided to make himself comfortable where he was, kneaded on the bed a bit like a cat would before spinning around and falling asleep at Dipper's feet. Dipper soon surprised himself by successfully clearing his mind and following the little pig to Dreamland.

For the rest of that day and night, Mabel checked up on Dipper and kept him company whenever she could. She made it her sworn duty as 'chief nursemaid and right-hand man of the renowned Dr. Waddles' to monitor his temperature and keep him supplied with fluids, tissues, and throat lozenges. At one point, late in the evening, once enough of Dipper's lightheadedness had subsided and he was waiting for his next dose of medicine to kick in, the twins even played a game in which they would take turns making up a story by drawing pictures on Mabel's dry-erase board. The town's plethora of oddities - supernatural and human alike - provided them with plenty of material to draw inspiration from, so they spun themselves quite a tale. It was around 10:00 when the twins turned in, and for the first night in almost a week, they BOTH found themselves sleeping peacefully that night.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Stan had come up sometime around midnight. He pulled up a rusty old lawn chair from the bowels of the attic storage, parked himself just outside the kids' bedroom door, and stayed there - occasionally nodding off, but never for long - until he'd heard them begin to stir early the next morning. He then made a break for it as soon as he knew that all was as well as it could possibly be.

Though he still had quite a bad cold, Dipper was at least much less feverish when he woke up the next morning. Mabel was immensely relieved and glad to see him feeling at least a little bit better - and Stan would never admit it out loud, but so was he.

Since Dipper was still confined to bed, Mabel's nurse duties continued well into that afternoon. Whenever she came to visit him, Dipper noticed that she wasn't her usual hyperactive self - in fact, she was being...oddly quiet that morning - but he immediately determined the reason why, or so he thought. He'd found himself in an odd state of mental exhaustion since he and Mabel had returned from their mindscape battle victorious, and he figured that his sister was feeling the same sort of fatigue.

At some point, Dipper drifted off to sleep in spite of himself. The next thing he knew, he was brought out of his impromptu nap by a strange sound - a sound that gave him a bad feeling, though he...honestly wasn't quite sure what the noise was at first. He'd only half-heard it.

Had...had he just heard a cat sneeze?

"Huh...wha...?" he mumbled out as he rolled over. "Mabel...did you say something?" He coughed and picked up his watch so he could check the time. It was nearly suppertime, to his dismay. "Aw, seriously? I slept all day?"

Mabel was seated on her bed, working on gluing bits and bobs to various pages of her beloved scrapbook, as she often did on quiet afternoons and rainy days. "Naww...i-it's okay, bro-bro," she reassured him quietly...though Dipper quickly noticed that she didn't sound quite like herself. "You need all the sleep...you can..." Her sentence was cut off when she sneezed again. She quickly hid her discomfort, not paying it any mind, but she could tell by the way her brother was looking at her that he'd seen her. "W-what? Why're you lookin' at me like that?" She laughed nervously.

Dipper sat up. Something was up, alright. She looked paler than he did, and just as flushed to boot. "Mabel...? Are you okay?"

"...Oh, no," she muttered to herself. It wasn't until then that Mabel fully realized what had happened. At least, she hadn't admitted it to herself until then. "Okay, Dipper...I think maybe I got sick, too.." Having admitted defeat, she groaned and plopped down on her bed.

"...Uh-oh."

'So that's what's going on. Should've known when SHE started being QUIET,' Dipper thought to himself.

He wrapped himself up in his blanket, walked over to Mabel's bed, sat beside her, and put a hand to her forehead. Sure enough..."Aw, no, you're burning up!"

Mabel frowned at the discovery. "Yeah...I feel pretty darn sick..." She began to cough, and she sounded quite awful. "H-how are you feeling?"

Dipper winced a little at the sound of her. "Pff, don't worry about me; I'm..." He sneezed. "Fine." He certainly wasn't fine yet, by any stretch of the imagination, but he was much more concerned about Mabel's well-being at that moment. He handed her the box of tissues that had been sitting beside him. "How long have you been feeling like this? How come you didn't tell me?"

Mabel grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. "N-not too long..." She had actually felt herself coming down with something longer than she liked to admit. "I just...didn't want you to get worried while YOU'RE getting better...you know?"

"Aw, sis..." Dipper sighed. "It means a heck of a lot that you've been taking care of me. I really appreciate it. But just...don't forget to take care of yourself, too. You definitely don't want to end up feeling as awful as I felt yesterday. Okay?" He gave her a caring smile.

Mabel smiled back a little and nodded in response. Sometimes, it was almost as if he took the role of a protective older brother rather than a twin.

"Don't worry. We'll get you fixed up. It's my turn to help YOU out. One sec..." Dipper then got up and tried to call down the stairs for their grunkle. That very quickly turned out to be a mistake, for the fire in his throat began to burn twice as much, and it induced another coughing fit.

"SHHH, careful!" Mabel whisper-yelled to him, sounding worried. "You're still sick too, goofus!"

"Wha- what's that now?" Stan hollered back from downstairs, not having heard clearly. "Dipper? That you? What're you doin' yellin', kid? You're gonna bust your voicebox or somethin', and I'm not bein' held responsible for that..." he called up the stairs as he approached the attic. His head soon peeked through the doorway. "Y'okay?"

"I'm about the same as before; don't worry," Dipper replied, sniffling. "Mabel, on the other hand..."

"Hi, Grunkle Stan." Her voice cracked a bit - something that usually only Dipper's voice did - and she cleared her throat.

Stan raised an eyebrow in concern. He could instantly see that she didn't feel well and began to worry when he saw that clearing her throat caused it to ache. "Mabel...c'mere, sweetie." He put a hand to her head -  "Aw, jeez..." - and immediately went to see if he had a second thermometer handy, one he hadn't already used on his nephew. Dipper stayed beside her with a comforting hand on her shoulder as she waited.

It wasn't long before the thermometer beeped and decided to be the bearer of bad news. 100 degrees even. Stan sighed. "Well, that's not good."

"Aw, man..." Mabel frowned.

Stan took a deep breath, then came out with an idea. "...Alrighty. That's it. The two of yas, grab your blankets and pillows and...pigs and what have ya. You're comin' downstairs," he announced. "At least y'can...y'know, watch TV down there." The real reason he wanted them downstairs was so he could keep a closer eye on them both, but he dared not say it.

Dipper put a hand to his head, but smiled a little anyway. "Sounds like a plan to me." He quickly grabbed his blanket and pillow.

Mabel followed suit, wrapping both herself and Waddles up in her blanket. "I'm ready!" she proclaimed softly with a sniffle.

"All good? M'kay. Here we go..." Stan picked his niblings up and draped one of them over each of his shoulders. "All aboard the Stan Train!"

Very, very carefully, Stan carried them down the stairs. The twins used his shoulders as head rests and felt warm and safe in their grunkle's strong arms. He found himself a bit sore by the time he arrived in the living room, but didn't say so, and honestly, he didn't mind.

"Next stop...couch." He gently plopped them both - and Waddles - down.

The kids smiled. "Thanks, Grunkle Stan."

"Yeah, yeah. It's nothin'." Stan brushed it off, but he smiled a little himself. "Now don'tcha move a muscle. I'll be right back." Off he went to fetch supplies for them both.

Mabel tried to help Dipper bundle himself, but he took it upon himself to help her bundle herself up first instead. "You okay?" he whispered, trying not to strain his voice anymore.

Mabel coughed. "I've been better...but I'm okay." She snuggled Waddles close to her for comfort.

Dipper gave her a little side hug. "Yeah. Sorry that I...got you sick..." Then, the twins ended up sneezing in unison, which they couldn't help but snicker at.

"It's okay...I think I would've gotten sick anyways." Mabel returned the side hug. "I liked taking care of you - it was fun! So...I don't mind," she said softly with a shrug.

Dipper smiled warmly at his sister's kindness, glad to have her by his side.

Suddenly, the twins heard talking outside the door to the living room.

"OUT."

"Aw, come on, man-" "But Mr. Pines-"

"No 'buts' except yours away from this door. This area's been quarantined. Now OUT, b'fore I sic the CDC on yas both!"

As the old door creaked open and Stan stepped through, the twins could see Soos and Wendy squeeze their faces through the opening as fast as they could, determined to get their message across.

"Aw, man...get better, dudes!" Soos called through the door, his voice muffled from squishing in between the door and the wall.

"Feel better, guys! We'll sneak stuff in to you later when Stan's not looking!" Wendy managed to yell to them just before - 'click' - Stan shut the door on them.

Dipper and Mabel couldn't help but giggle at their antics. "Bye, guys," the twins called back quietly, hoping the two of them could hear.

Stan dropped tissues and other such supplies on the coffee table with a sigh. "Alright...you knuckleheads both need meds, and I'm makin' soup. And later, I...may or may not be able to...spare some ice cream." He grinned.

Mabel gasped and smiled. "Yes! Ice cream!" she cheered softly before sneezing.

"Bless you," Dipper said...and then promptly sneezed himself.

Stan ruffled the kids' hair affectionately. "Consider yourselves lucky. I don't go sharin' my stash with just anyone, y'know!" He chuckled a little as he disappeared into the kitchen. He peeked back through the kitchen door, for just a second, to make sure they'd gotten settled before getting to work.

Later on that evening, after the little family had sat down together for ice cream and a movie, Stan unraveled himself from the blanket pile on the couch and left the room for just a minute to grab some coffee. When he came back...

"Hey, kiddos, it's gettin' late...whaddya say we-" He stopped as soon as he saw the kids and smiled warmly. "Ha...wouldja look at this..."

The sight before him was too adorable for words. Dipper and Mabel were fast asleep, leaning on each other for support. Waddles had stretched himself across both of their laps, as if he was determined to guard them as they slept.

Stan chuckled - not only because the sight of the twins sleeping was so sweet, but also because he found his mind wandering to the happier days of his youth. Distant and bittersweet as they now were, he remembered them fondly just then, as if they had only occurred a few days prior. Those were treasured days, worth their weight in gold, where, even if sickness kinda killed a fun weekend, it wasn't as bad when there was a good friend to keep you company.

He silently debated whether or not to move the kids upstairs and soon decided against it entirely. "Eh...just let 'em sleep, Stan," he mumbled to himself. "They're comfortable where they are. No use disturbin' 'em both."

He was about to turn the TV off and depart for his bedroom, but he hesitated. He just couldn't bring himself to leave the kids alone. So, he just sat on the opposite end of the couch - gently, so as not to wake them.

Just as he went to check the kids' foreheads, Mabel suddenly coughed a bit in her sleep, rolled over, and hugged Stan's arm. Dipper murmured something in his sleep, and his head fell over onto Mabel's shoulder.

"Awwww..." Stan put his arm around Mabel. "Sweet dreams, pumpkin." He slowly reached his arm over Mabel's head and ruffled Dipper's hair. "G'night to you too, kiddo."

Mabel smiled in her sleep, as if the message had gotten to her regardless of her slumber. Dipper did as well and wrapped one arm around Waddles, who oinked happily in response and went back to piggy-snoring.

Stan kept his arm around the kids for the rest of the night. He had had no intention of falling asleep, but the cuddle pile had a rather soothing effect, and so he soon joined his niblings in slumberland in spite of himself.

In another couple days, to Stan's relief, Dipper and Mabel bounced back from their colds completely. Almost immediately, the tween sleuths were back to exploring the gigantic oddity that was Gravity Falls, where countless other summer adventures - and misadventures - awaited them...somewhere in the woods...

the end

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