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sprite-writes · 1 year

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all I want for christmas (is you)

Leonard “Bones” McCoy/Reader (Original Female Character)

Summary: McCoy finds himself wrapped up in the Enterprise annual gift exchange, and for some reason, this Christmas gift feels a hell of a lot more important than just a Christmas gift.

Maybe it’s got something to do with who it’s for.

Word Count: 6,463

A/N: guys I swear this was suppose to be a 2000 word drabble for the holidays but its a whole chapter now idk, I hope you enjoy! as always special thanks to @lightning-writes

“Lieutenant, is there a reason you haven’t drawn a name yet?”

“I need to feel all the papers! That’s how you pick the best one– duh.” She swirls her hand around the bowl once more, rubbing the notes between her fingers. Spock stares patiently.

“Is there a best one to be picked? My understanding of the secret Santa tradition was to be given a random partner.”

“There sure is, and it’s... this one!” she says as she finally plucks the blue sticky note. “It was calling to me.” She unfolds the paper like it's about to self-destruct, and it reveals its neat loopy handwriting.

CMO McCoy

She blinks.

Oh. Leonard.

She blinks again.

It’s Leonard!

She laughs to herself, and Spock raises an eyebrow.

“I assume you’re happy with your choice?”

Her heart beats a little quicker. “Oh, definitely. I told you I had to feel all the papers.” She smiles and rocks on her heels.

I’m Leonards's secret Santa!

Spock nods politely and returns the bowl back to himself. “Thank you for your participation, Lieutenant. I hope your exchange goes well.”

“You too, Spock! Merry Christmas.”

She pats his shoulder and returns her gaze to the piece of paper. Spock makes his way back to his station when something settles in the pit of her stomach.

Oh god, I’m Leonards's secret Santa.

“I’m not doing a gift exchange.”

“Bones, hear me out.”

“No.”

“All the other senior officers are doing it, Even Spock!”

“And? Good for them.”

Leonard doesn’t look up from his PADD, and Kirk fitfully shakes the bowl of papers.

“What will it take for you to do this?” he pleads. Leonard halts, his eyes narrowing, and his hands folding on his desk.

“What are you offering?”

When Kirk sighs, “I mean, whatever if it’s reasonable,” he knows he’s got Kirk right where he wants him.

“You show up for your next two physicals, get up to date on your vaccines, stop flirting with Nurse Walker – then I’ll buy someone a candle or something.”

Kirk glare,s but it does nothing to deter his friend.

“ I think Walker really likes me—“

“Jim.”

“Fine! Fine, you win, just pick a name.”

The doctor rolls his eyes and plucks the first paper off the top of the pile. It’s yellow, and he hopes to god it doesn’t say Spock.

It doesn’t; its pristine sharpie work stains the paper.

Operations Manager A. Sunshine

He stares and squints, all while Kirk watches him intently. A tight, nervous feeling begins to bloom in his chest.

Sunshine. Christ.

“Well?” Kirk prompts. Leonard folds the paper again and shoves it in his uniform pocket.

“Yeah, I got it,” he waves Kirk off. “You can leave my office now. Not like I got patients to attend to or anything.”

Kirk laughs, and it’s blindingly bright.

“I’ll leave you to it, Bones. Remember - two weeks until the exchange!”

Two weeks until the exchange. God help me.

“Okay, what about a jacket? Or a sweater?”

“Nyota, we wear a uniform every day. When is he gonna wear a sweater?”

Sunshine paces back and forth on the sidewalk, chewing on her nails. They’re an hour into their recreational shore leave, with four stores under her belt, and she’s no closer to a gift.

“You want my help or not?” Nyota crosses her arms and stops Sunshine in her path.

“Sorry, I’m being mean, aren’t I?” She receives a pointed look. “I don’t mean to, I just really want this to be…”

“Perfect?” Nyota finishes.

“Perfect?” Sunshine repeats the word, rolling it over in her mouth. “No, not exactly. I just want it to be… right? I guess? I feel like there's an answer, and I’m just not seeing it.”

She sighs. The entire endeavor begins to feel a bit hopeless, and she wonders if she's doomed to just be the shittiest secret Santa the enterprise's annual gift exchange has ever seen. She imagines Leonard's face opening a sweater he’ll never wear, feigning appreciation, and her stomach flips.

Nyota locks her arm with Sunshine’s and gives her all the seriousness she would a Starfleet mission. “If there's an answer on this starbase, we’re gonna find it.”

“You think so?”

She smiles, “Not a doubt in my mind.”

“Bones, you can’t just get a woman makeup, you have to know her shade,” he plucks the tube of lipstick from Leonard's hands, whose eye twitches.

“She wears this color every day, Kirk.”

“She does?” He examines the tube. “Oh, yeah, I guess she does. Still shouldn't get it for her though, what if it’s not her brand?”

“Her brand?”

Kirk looks at Leonard like he’s a child asking perpetually asking why.

“Yes, Bones, her brand. This stuff is very elaborate.”

“Well, I don’t see you coming up with any bright ideas,” he hisses, shoving the lipstick back into its holder like it offended him. Kirk shrugs.

Leonard wants to scream. From the moment he unwrapped that damn yellow paper he knew this would be a disaster. Why couldn't he have gotten Chapel? Or Sulu? Or Chekov? Or even Kirk? Instead, he gets Sunshine, who he can't bear to disappoint with the candle that's been sitting in his bedside drawer since two Christmases ago. She deserves more, a lot more… he just has no idea what more looks like.

“This is impossible.” he concedes, his hope having run dry after four stores and three makeup departments.

“It is not, we just need to get creative. I think you’re looking at this wrong, Bones,” Kirk begins to weave his way through the retail-maze. “You’ve got to think more… Sunshine. Not just some generic Christmas gift.”

Kirk's words make their way around his head, and unfortunately, he has a great point. Perhaps, maybe, there is a tiny chance that he was carried away by the daunting expectation of what a holiday gift should be. The answer is staring him in the face now - he isn’t getting a Christmas gift, he is getting a Sunshine gift. This, he could work with.

“You might be onto something, Jim.” He snaps his fingers. “With me–I’ve got an idea.”

Sunshine has always been partial to mint chocolate chip, and it's not like there's much of it in space. So, the cone in her hand is indeed a necessity and not a distraction.

“No more pit stops after this,” Nyota says, sweet yet stern, as she holds the door open for Sunshine.

“I completely agree, so quit trying to get us sidetracked,” she quips and takes a long lick of her mint chip.

Ever the patient one, Nyota rolls her eyes with a smile. “So sorry, Lieutenant. I'll try to stay on task.”

Sunshine laughs, links their arms, and they walk down the strip. The impending sugar rush raises her spirits, and she is more than ready for the next bout of stores.

“Okay, so I'm thinking we stop up here and try--”

“Oh, look, It's Jim and Leonard,” Nyota says casually, and nervousness shoots through Sunshine.

“It's what!?” Sunshine hisses, her head shooting left and right for a store to dive into. It’s too late, Jim is already waving, and nudging Leonard, who does his polite little half-wave—awww.

“Shit, it’s too late, we were seen,” she sucks in a breath. “Okay, okay, act natural, Nyota. Don’t give anything away!”

She lobs the rest of her ice cream in the nearest trash, straightens her clothes, and skirts backward until her back is against the nearest wall. She has just enough time to pull Nyota next to her and prop her foot against the wall before the pair approach—and just like that, she’s as natural as ever.

“Hello boys,” she hums. She doesn’t even spare them a glance at first, choosing to stare at her nails, and be incredibly casual. She’s met with silence and the prickling feeling of someone staring at her.

They all are.

“Er—hi, Sunshine,” Kirk says slowly, like it's a question. She inches her gaze away from her hand. Kirk has that crease between his brows that he gets when he’s thinking, and Leonards's arms are crossed over his chest, and suddenly this interaction is anything but natural. She plants her foot back on the ground.

“Everythin’ alright?” Leonard asks, in his concerned doctor voice that she knows all too well. She prays the interaction is salvageable.

“Of course it is, everything is normal, as it usually is – right, Nyota?” She juts her elbow into her friend's side, who does not take the gesture kindly. With a hard glare, Nyota nods.

“Just enjoying the day off,” she says tightly, and Sunshine envies her talent for socializing.

There's a suffocatingly awkward pause, where Sunshine sweats and looks at anything other than Leonard – who, in turn, stares at her like he’s trying to solve a math problem.

“Well, uh, we should get back to it, I guess,” Kirk breaks the silence, still confused as ever.

“Yeah! Yeah, of course, us too,” she blurts, and pushes herself off of the wall, “Have fun! Be safe! See you at work!” And with that, she's locking her arm with Nyota once more and hauling ass away from the two. She walks so fast, they’re out of earshot in seconds.

“You know that went terribly, right?” Nyota says flatly.

“I do, and I’m willing to take some of the blame.”

“Some?”

“Most of the blame, maybe,” Sunshine cringes. “It really was that bad, wasn’t it?”

She knows the answer already, but instead of a hearty yes, Nyota bursts into laughter, and keeps laughing until Sunshine joins her.

“It was terrible, awful,” she says, trying to catch her breath. “You’ve really got it bad, huh?”

Sunshine giggles, and leans on her friend. “Ha, got what bad?”

Nyota pauses, curiously observing her friend's seriousness. “Nothing. Here, I’ve heard good things about this store.”

Leonard stares at Sunshine's back as she retreats, thinking about what the hell he just watched unfold.

“Any idea what that was?” Kirk asks, his head tilted so far, he could hurt his neck.

“Not a damn clue.”

Another hour passes, and Sunshine is close to hysterics, and the shopkeeper is hearing all about it.

“So, I pick the name out of the bowl,” she brandishes the crumpled blue paper, “and I’m like, ‘oh, perfect’ because, like I said, we’re great friends, like super close, but now, I actually have to get the gift. And it’s impossible! Everything is too ordinary or not thoughtful enough or just useless! We’ve been at this for hours, and I’m at my wits end here.” Sunshine’s legs swing from her place perched on the countertop.

“So, this friend of yours,” the assistant manager, Tina, begins, “he doesn’t have any hobbies? Or interests?” Customers pass, and Sunshine sighs.

“Hobbies? Not really. I mean, all we do is work, and he works a lot– did I mention he’s CMO? Yeah, I mean, he’s passionate about his work! He loves being a doctor, he acts all jaded about it, but he’s actually a huge softie, loves helping people.” She pauses and sucks in a breath, while Tina nods like she’s keeping up. “He doesn’t love doing it in space, though. That’s what he’s mostly jaded about. I mean, he did his dissertation in med school on deep space diseases, so it makes sense but –”

“Well, where’s he from?” Tina interrupts.

“Oh, he’s from Earth; I am too.” Sunshine points to Nyota, who is rifling through the cologne section in her stead, “So is my friend.”

“You know, there’s a little earth-themed shop just around the corner…”

This piques Sunshine’s interest, and it fills her with hope.

“Earth-themed?” she repeats. Tina nods while she restocks the shelf behind the counter.

“It’s an antique shop; they have trinkets from everywhere but mostly earth. Maybe you’ll find something there?”

Sunshine grins, and she feels a weight being lifted off her chest. “Tina, you’re a godsend, thank you so much,” she hops off the counter with renewed vigor. “C’mon, Nyota! I think we’ve got our answer!” Nyota is halfway through the stack of samples in her hand when she’s rushed out of the store. She fleetingly wonders why she puts up with this.

—

Leonard barely looks up from his PADD the entire way back to the ship. It takes Kirk, attached to his side, to weave him through crowds and assure no accidents or injuries. The enterprise is quiet upon arriving, and Kirk is ushered into Leonard's office.

“Alright! Game time, Bones, tell me whatcha got,” Kirk claps his hand on Leonard’s shoulder—it reminds him of a high school football coach.

“Right, we’re gonna need to abuse your authority. “

“…for a Christmas gift?”

Leonard rifles through his drawers.

“Well, what else would it be for? Listen, go ask the head nurse–should be Nurse Bennet– tell her you need access to the medical imaging equipment, and grab the camera in Drawer B, got it?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess?”

Leonard shoos him out of the room. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he uses the moment of solitude to clear his head.

He really hopes this isn't a stupid idea.

—

In the antique store, Sunshine elects to not sit on any of the countertops.

The entire place seems fragile to her, with shelves lined high with old-world things she didn't recognize and floors littered with boxes. It was eclectic, to say the least. To say the most, it was downright cramped. And tiny.

Definitely no countertop sitting for her.

Her eyes trail across the room, and she gets an odd nostalgic feeling, like she isn’t quite in space anymore. It feels like her mom's old house. The feeling sweeps her up like a hug, and she almost forgets why she’s there as her eyes roam. Nyota recenters her with a nudge and points to the back of the store.

“Hello!” Sunshine calls and catches the attention of the man behind the register. He’s older, with deep smile lines, and an overly large coat. He looks kind, she thinks. He waves in return for her hello.

Nyota slips between two shelves, already scouring for ideas, while Sunshine approaches the shopkeep.

“Somethin’ I can do for you?” he asks, his accent familiar, and strikes her with a sudden longing feeling.

“If it's not too much trouble, I really need some help finding a gift for my friend,”she says, uncharacteristically beginning to feel shy. “And there's a bit of a story to it too, if you have the time.”

He stares at her curiously, and she hopes she hasn't overstepped.

“Sure.” He shrugs.

He gestures for her to come around the counter, and she can see a wooden chair peeking from behind it. She accepts his invitation and makes herself comfortable in the old-looking wooden rocking chair. Dust flies from it when she sits. He continues counting the register and waits for her to begin.

“So,” she fiddles with the blue sticky note that has lost its stickiness, “I joined Starfleet like, a little over a year ago, and there's this Doctor…”

—

The captain clears his throat and clears it again, running a hand through his hair because he’s just not sure what to say.

“So, I gathered you both here for a reason, which is very important… but I also cannot provide much information about why it’s important - very… classified stuff, but I assure you-”

Leonard is too impatient for his own good, and he’s rolling his eyes and grumbling mere seconds into the captain's fake speech.

“I’ll take it from here, Jim,” he interjects, “I can’t watch you flounder like a fish out of water anymore.”

The captain's patience wavers, but Leonard takes no mind to this.

“Henly, Donavan, stand next to each other and smile. We’re doing a Starfleet scrapbook or something,” he says, voice filled to the brim with sarcasm. He brings the camera to his face, and the two girls look at one another with confused, pinched faces.

“We don't have all day, Ensigns,” he mumbles. Henley and Donavan turn their confused frowns into tentative smiles, and he snaps the picture. He throws a thumbs up their way.

“Great. You’re dismissed.” Leonard turns around, sights set on their next stop already. Kirk, however, scrambles to leave this interaction on a politer note.

Kirk calls, “What he means is thank you so much for participating ladies, and you look great by the way, can’t wait for you to see the scrapbook!” but they were already retreating, whispering and giggling to one another. He sighs.

“So, now that I’ve abused my authority for the sake of a Christmas gift, do I get to know what the gift is?” he demands.

“We’re not done abusing your authority, just so you’re aware,” Leonard says pointedly, “and fine, but we walk and talk.”

That’s fine with Jim, he’ll walk wherever, talk to whoever, if he finally gets to know what’s going on.

“One year, for Pam and I’s anniversary, she got me this holoframe, piled high with a bunch of pictures of us. The thing’d flip through them all day, like a highlight reel while our marriage fell apart.” Leonard stays five steps ahead and doesn’t look back at Kirk. It’s an odd place to be vulnerable, the enterprise hallways, and Kirk has no idea how this fits into anything.

“Okay…”

“I hated the damn thing. Not the sentimental type, but what you said, about getting a more, Sunshine gift, somethin’ clicked,” he snaps his fingers. “Can’t think of anything she likes more than the crew, and I’ll go out on a limb and say she’s the sentimental type.”

Kirk pauses thoughtfully and suddenly feels touched by the gesture that isn't even for him.

“So, we are making a Starfleet scrapbook? But of all Sunshine's favorite people?”

“Do not go around saying we’re making a scrapbook like we’re a couple of grade schoolers.”

Kirk catches up with his friend with a newfound dedication to this endeavor.

“Sorry, holoframe,” he grins.

—

Sunshine and Nyota are both perched behind the shop counter now. Sunshine slumped down into the rocking chair, Nyota rested on the arm of it.

“...after I told Tina all of this, she sent me here and said maybe you could help—oh, well, actually, she never said that, I just sort of roped you into this on my own accord, sorry about that– but, on the way here, I wrote down this list of facts about Leonard to maybe help find him something?” She pulls out a crumpled receipt with sharpie on the back.

“You brought…a list?” the shopkeep drawls, and it makes her blush.

“Yeah it’s—I thought it might help,” she says sheepishly.

“She is very prepared,” Nyota supplies with a comforting pat on her shoulder.

“Alright, then let's see it.” He holds out his hand, and she lays the receipt flat on his palm. It feels like she's handing something over much more important than the record of her ice cream purchase, but she doesn't put her finger on why.

She waits as the man reads, and she rocks in the chair. She thinks about what a whirlwind of a day it's been but still feels at ease.

“He’s from Georgia?” the shopkeep finally says. She perks up.

“Yeah! He’s, like, a country boy,” she cringes. “Well, like, he's from the country, he grew up on a farm, I just don't know what the actual word for it is.”

Thankfully, the man just chuckles and doesn’t correct her. It's a win in her book.

“He ever miss home?” he asks, eyes still on the paper.

“Oh, only all the time,” she scoffs, “ he’s really not a fan of space.” She buzzes with excitement— she can tell he’s onto something. When he finally speaks, Sunshine has to restrain herself from leaping up and hugging him right there in the store.

“Yeah, I think I got a few things he’d be interested in… Georgians ought to help each other out anyways.”

—

Three fake emergencies and six photos later, both men are exhausted.

Leonard hopes no one enters the rec room for the next hour. He fears the image of him and the captain sprawled on the couch looking through photos of various crew members may be hard to explain.

“Are we done now? Please tell me we’re done.” Kirk shifts, really he wiggles, to prop his feet on the chair beside him. Leonard fiddles with the camera as he replies.

“Just waiting for Uhura to be back from shopping, and that should be it.” Kirk sighs and sinks lower into the couch. Since starting this whole thing, Leonard's anxiety has grown steadily, like a snowball rolling down a hill. Aside from the task of wrangling crew members, and then inventing explanations for his actions, the real challenge is convincing himself that this is even a good idea in the first place. He thinks about that tube of lipstick, and if it was her brand, and wishes this whole thing could be simpler.

“Do you think Spock’s still mad?” Kirk asks, and Leonard barely hears it over his own thoughts.

“He’s forgiven you for a lot worse, I wouldn't get too wound up about it,” he replies absently, hands still fidgeting. “Y’know, Jim, I appreciate you running all over hell's half acre for me. God knows you didn't have to.”

“Bones, I have no idea what that means, but you’re welcome.” His friend smiles, and it quells some deep nervousness. “Totally gonna be worth it, anyway,” Kirk adds.

Leonard isn’t all that sure what he means, but still, he agrees.

“Yeah, I think it will.”

Leonard doesn't see the smirk on Kirk’s face, nor does he pick up on the mischievous cadence of his voice, or even the way they're on completely different pages. Kirk thinks perhaps that's for the best.

—

The gift sits on her desk for three days before she wraps it.

She carefully maneuvers her work around it, avoiding touching the object like it was some precious gem. On occasion, her eyes would drift to it while she sits in her quarters, and her cheeks would heat without reason. She makes an effort not to think about it too much or get too excited, and to definitely not touch it. She finds lately that a bit of effort is required to get her mind off of many things related to the CMO, and it takes even more effort not to think about why that was.

She wraps the gift on the day of the exchange—because it's the easiest way to avoid thinking about it.

—

Leonard gets the damn thing out of his sight as soon as possible.

The gift had been finished – pictures uploaded, running on a ten-second loop – hidden away in a gift bag, out of sight out of mind. He is protecting his peace—leaving it out in the open will only restart the cycle of doubt in his head. So, he pulls doubles, up until the holiday party, if only just to get his goddamn mind off of this stupid exchange he shouldn’t have ever done in the first place—

He works until Chapel won't let him in the medbay anymore, and when she doesn't, he slots his time with other tasks. Hell, he even wonders if he should’ve gone back for the lipstick, the day after they leave the port. He goes as far as to bother Nyota about it, who waves him off and tells him she's sure Sunshine will love her gift—her reassurance helps more than he anticipated.

He almost gets himself to forget the whole thing, lost in the medbay chaos, until he feels the scrap paper crushed in his pocket.

The gift stays hidden away until just a few minutes before he has to meet her, and his palms sweat when he picks it up.

—

Lieutenant Jameson calls out the day of the holiday party— Dakitoan Flu.

Without much choice, Sunshine takes his rounds. She doesn’t think she’s ever completed a task faster in her life. Complete is even a strong word—it's more like half-ass. She’s all too aware of how she’ll have to repeat most of the work again tomorrow, correcting her own mistakes. But she doesn't care. She’s been stressing out about this party for two entire weeks, she’d be damned if she misses it.

When she does finally rush to the rec room, the blue-wrapped gift in hand, there are few people left, and her heart sinks a bit.

There's a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, with only one present left beneath it, and a few red and green ribbons are strewn about. She spots Spock first, already wiping down tables and cleaning up the festivities. He catches her eye, and he must see how her posture is wound tight with nervousness—or her pink cheeks, or her frazzled hair, or the way she obviously ran here. Spock doesn’t quite smile, but his gaze softens in some way she doesn’t see often, and he nods toward a table in the far corner. She follows, and—

Oh! It’s Leonard!

Spock gets a double thumbs up for his help.

Leonard sits with Jim, both of them with glasses of some dark liquid in hand. She wishes she could have had a drink before this. She smoothes down her hair before she approaches.

Kirk notices her first and smiles — it reminds her how nice it is to have someone in her corner.

“Sunny! You made it!” He cheers. She grins back and lets it sink in, yeah I did make it, and the thing she’d been fussing over for weeks is finally coming to an end.

Leonard is much more reserved, he always is. He sees her, and his posture relaxes—he does that a lot. Almost like he’s holding his breath for some reason.

“Captain, Doctor,” she greets the two, still catching her breath. “I’m sorry I missed the party, you have no idea how insane my shift has been —I mean, no idea, but it's over now, and I’m so glad I caught you guys.”

“We had to convince Spock to leave the Christmas tree up until you got here, he’s been cleaning damn near since the party started,” Leonard tuts, and she laughs.

“Aw, I’m glad he did…” She looks at the pine tree, which is bare of ornaments and lights, and raises her eyebrows.

“Well, he sort of did,” Leonard amends. “It was a compromise.”

“A compromise that leaves me with putting the decorations back in storage, so I’d call it more of a trade,” Kirk complains.

“Master negotiator, huh?” she teases and has every intention of teasing him more, maybe even calling Christmas his new Kobayashi Maru, but she waits a beat too long.

“Anyways, Jim, don’t you think you should be getting to it?” Leonard says, as if the conversation didn’t just start.

Jim doesn't say anything at first, just stares at Leonard while Leonard stares at him. It’s all very… intense, she thinks. They exchange pointed looks like they’re engaged in a silent conversation– actually, she’s pretty positive they are. Awkwardness begins to prick at her skin.

“Is there something—”

“Wow, I didn't even notice the time, better get to it, just like you said,” he springs to his feet with alarming speed.

“Oh, do you have to go?” she asks with disappointment.

“I do, duty calls, or something.” He holds her by the shoulders looking at her with enough intensity to make her squint. “Have fun,” he says meaningfully, and smiles, and then, he's gone, leaving with a friendly pat on her back.

She hesitates a moment before taking Kirk's seat.

“Is he…okay?”

“That's a loaded question,” Leonard deadpans, and despite her confusion, she laughs.

“So I have something-”

“Anyways, there's this-”

Their sentences crash into each other, and they both freeze.

“You first,” she offers. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just purses his lips and avoids eye contact.

“Just—Don’t move, I’ll be right back,” he grits out and leaves her at the table. It's abrupt and leaves her wondering why this interaction is going like this. She wraps her arms around herself and waits.

Behind her, he picks up the last present left under the tree, which has been waiting there for her all day. Yellow bag with yellow paper stuffed inside. He places it on the table, and sits back down, hands wringing together. She wants to ask what's got him so worked up.

“I’m your secret… Christmas person or whatever the hell it is,” he grumbles and doesn’t meet her gaze. Not until he hears her stifle a giggle, which then bubbles into a laugh. She doesn’t mean to, but the whole thing just comes together too perfectly for her to contain herself.

“You’re my Secret Santa?” she asks, alight with excitement, and he nods at her slowly.

“Yeah, if that’s the name—” He’s cut off with another laugh, and she eagerly puts her gift in front of him—blue paper with a blue bow.

“Leonard, I’m your Secret Santa!” She beams, “We picked each other! What are the odds?”

He stares at her, then at the gift, and says quietly, bewildered, “What are the odds?”

She doesn’t catch what he means, but she’s too excited to harp on it.

“Well?” she prompts and inches the blue box towards him. “Are you gonna open it?”

Curiously enough, she’s not nearly as nervous anymore.

He blinks and shakes his head like he’s clearing his thoughts. “Yeah, yeah of course,” he says distractedly.

He opens the box carefully, it's like he’s doing an operation. When he looks down at the gift, the gift, he pauses and gets this expression that Sunshine doesn’t think she's ever seen on him.

“Len?”

“Sunshine, is this…?”

“It’s a postcard! From Georgia!” She grins, “A real one from Earth, It’s an antique.” She reaches over the table and taps on the glass of the frame in his hand. “See? There's a little stamp of authenticity. Isn’t that neat?”

Neat. It’s about the neatest thing Leonard’s ever seen.

She settles back in her seat. “I thought it might make you a little less homesick,” she adds, much quieter, as if the statement itself needed privacy.

Leonard stares at the postcard. It's got a picture of a peach orchard, on a perfect summer day, he can tell by the blossoms that line the trees. Greetings from Georgia! it reads. It looks like something he would have seen hanging in his Ma’s house. He thinks of the red door of his childhood home, and how the branches of his family's own peach tree framed it. The smell of his Ma’s cooking and the feeling of coming home— his chest fills with familiarity and longing. He stares for a while and doesn't say anything for even longer.

He doesn’t realize he’s been silent until Sunshine clears her throat. It feels like he forgot he was on the Enterprise for a moment.

“Sunshine this is…” Damn near perfect. “Nice. Thank you.” He says it and cringes. There's so many more feelings and thoughts under the surface. He wishes he could make a sentence out of them. But Sunshine, like she knows his inner thoughts, accepts the weak compliment like it's the best thing she's ever heard.

“Aw, Leonard!” She tucks her hair behind her ear and flushes – or maybe it's the lighting. “I'm so glad you like it. You have no idea the hell I put Nyota through to find it.”

He’s not sure what Nyota had to do with it, and he doesn't ask either. “I’ll thank her too then,” he says weakly, but he definitely won’t. With a deep breath to quell his nerves, he pushes her gift toward her.

“Your turn,” he says with bated breath.

Being so wrapped up in her own Christmas shopping, she almost forgot she gets a gift too. She tears through the tissue paper with the same unrestrained excitement she had picking her secret Santa just a few weeks ago.

“I still think it's so crazy we got each other, this makes the gift-giving thing like, ten times better,” she tells him. He nods curtly, and she can tell he’s wound tighter than a spring–or at least that’s how he would say it.

“Relax, Len, I’ll like whatever’s in the bag– heck, I’d like it even if you gave me a rock.”

She dives her hand into the bag, the tips of her fingers touching cool metal. At first, she has no idea what she’s looking at. A… little screen? A flat little screen with a cool blue border? She opens her mouth, a question on her tongue, when—

“The power buttons on the side,” Leonard says. He doesn’t give her a chance to move, leaning over the table and clicking the button for her.

The screen comes to life with a picture of Sulu and Chekov, both donning awkward thumbs up… and is that in Kirk’s room? She blinks, and it changes again, this time to Scotty and Keenser sitting among a mess of wires in engineering but smiling brightly nonetheless. Another second passes, and she's looking at Spock and Nyota, sitting beside each other in the rec room loveseat looking equally poised yet annoyed. Sunshine laughs before she can stop herself.

“Len is this—?” The picture flickers again, and the sight of it stops Sunshine's words in their tracks. It's Leonard and Jim, on that same rec room loveseat. Jim’s practically beaming—face lit up and an arm looped tightly around Leonard’s shoulders. Leonard, shit. He’s got that soft and reserved smile on his face—like the one he has when he talks about home or his friends, where his eyes are just filled with this warm something.

Sunshine’s face turns hot, and her chest becomes unbearably heavy with emotions.

“Leonard, this is so fucking sweet—” She cuts herself off with a wet laugh, and she realizes she’s got tears in her eyes.

Leonard, however, looks mortified, as he watches her face become red and tears fall down her cheeks.

“Shit—Damn it, I’m sorry—You weren't supposed to cry!” he stutters in a panic. Sunshine laughs again and hiccups over it with a sob.

“They’re happy tears, Len!” she insists, wiping her cheeks. “This… I think this is the nicest gift I've ever gotten.” She can’t bring herself to look away. The pictures are just the slightest bit grainy—like the camera her mom used to take pictures of her. The thought starts the waterworks all over again.

“It is?”

She sniffles, scrubbing her tears with her sleeve. As Sunshine traces the edges of the frame, and watches the photos loop again, she knows for certain this is the sweetest, most thoughtful gift she's ever gotten. She thinks about how curious it is that it's from someone she’s known only a year—a coworker, no less.

Then, she thinks, maybe, it's not all that curious at all.

“We should do this every year,” she tells him. She’s positive, actually, that, as much of a headache as this exchange has been, she would do it again in a heartbeat.

“Secret Santa?”

“Yeah, but not so…secret next time, and… just us, maybe.”

She doesn’t look at him when she says it, for both their sakes.

“Sure,” he says, and she can hear the tightness in his voice. “I’ll try not to make you cry next time.”

She laughs, “No, do it! It’s more fun that way. Maybe I’ll make you cry.”

“Uh-huh.”

He seems less nervous now, like his smile is coming a bit easier.

“We should get going before Spock sticks us with the rest of the cleaning,” he says, gathering the discarded paper from the table, “and I know you had a long day, Jameson told me you covered for him.”

She doesn’t want to leave, but she knows he’s right. She wonders if he feels the same pull to stay.

“Yeah, but it’s fine,” she tries to say casually. She leaves her chair as he does. “You know me, I don't mind.”

“Doesn’t make it a good thing, you pull about as many doubles as—”

“As you?” she interrupts cheekily, and he rolls his eyes with a smile.

“Yeah, as me.”

The paper goes in the trash, and they’re left with nothing to do but bid each other goodnight. It’s the last thing she wants to do.

“Thank you again, Len. The pictures—It’s perfect. I love it.” She tries not to cry again, mostly for his sake.

“No problem, and you too,” he tells her simply. His cheeks are still tinged pink, and seeing him hold the present she labored over in his hands, with all that warmth in his eyes, it's almost more than she can stand.

Fuck it. She thinks to herself, and before her nerves can stop her, she wraps her arms around Leonard's neck. It's an awkward angle, and she has to pull him down to her height a bit—and she’s still got the frame in her hand and everything. As far as hugs go, it's not great, but in other ways, it's perfect. Leonard doesn’t react for a moment, but finally, his arms encircle her waist, after a fair bit of hesitation.

It’s really nice, she thinks.

“No, really, thank you,” she says into his shoulder. The fabric of his uniform is soft, and she can smell his apple shampoo.

“You too, Sunshine,” he mutters. The sincerity in his voice feels nearly tangible. Leonard pats her back, maybe because he feels awkward or maybe because it's time for the hug to end; either way, she lets him go.

“Have a good night,” he says, and he can't quite meet her eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she answers softly.

They share a long parting glance, as they head in opposite directions to their quarters.

Unbeknownst to the pair, their senior officers are perched just around the corner.

“...and he knew her shade, Spock. The exact shade of lipstick she wears. He was so… dedicated to the whole thing. I half-thought he might give her a candle or a necklace or something but this?”

Spock nods thoughtfully. “She treated the exchange with similar enthusiasm, from what Nyota has told me.”

“You’re a genius for setting this thing up,” Kirk shakes his head, “even if I did have to copy Sunshine’s signature on 20 different sticky notes.”

“Well, it was your influence that caused me to—”

Kirk waves him off.

“You don’t have to justify it, Spock. Hell, everyone can see how bad they’ve got it for each other. Can’t blame you for wanting to move it along.”

“Indeed they do, Captain.”

#leonard mccoy x reader #Leonard McCoy #james t kirk #star trek #star trek alternate original series #reader insert #on a cloudy day #bones x reader #original female character #star trek imagine #Idc that they dont celebrate christmas in space #they do now #spirk

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cascowriteswords · 11 months

Text

hi everyone 👋 i wrote something [[the one where i found this in my google docs from months and months ago and finally finished it and accidentally created a teeny tiny fwb au]]

“Is this why you invited me over?”

Lexa humphs. She tries to take her phone back from Clarke’s grabby little hands but no luck; Clarke uses her shoulder to block her, shoulders rounding as she leans over the phone possessively like Gollum with a ring.

“It’s not, but - oh, wow, Lex. These are - these are really bad.” Clarke can barely get her words out around the laughter bubbling up from her chest. Lexa’s ears burn and her cheeks pink as she collapses back against the couch, half wishing the cushion would just swallow her whole. She crosses her arms and tucks her chin against her sternum, the definition of sulking while Clarke ridicules her dating profile. She swipes through profile pictures - the main one with Lexa proudly holding an 8lb bass she’d caught last summer, the next of her locked in an arm-wrestling match with Anya, another posing with Lincoln’s golden retriever puppy in the middle of a baseball diamond.

Lexa thought the pictures were good, making her look attractive and showcasing some of her personality - outdoorsy, athletic, good with animals.

Clarke apparently doesn’t share her opinion.

“The fish pictures. What is it with the fish pictures? I thought it was a straight white boy thing but. Well, you don’t quite fit that bill.“

“I’ve gotten a lot of matches and compliments on my pictures, thanks. Especially on the one with the bass. Can I have my phone back now?”

“Yeah, I see that. Hm, here - Kylie Jones. Has a boyfriend but wants to experiment if you can be discreet. She’s excited to have found a lesbian that isn’t so ‘butchy’ - her words, definitely not mine. And then Dana Walters, who has a Let’s Go Brandon t-shirt on in her profile pic. Really reeling in the all-around 10s I can see.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Lexa lurches forward and catches Clarke by surprise enough to wrest her phone out of her hands. She promptly hits the lock button and slips it back into her pocket. “They’re not all like that. I’ve gotten plenty of perfectly nice, fully vaccinated girls replying too.”

“Why are you even on Tinder?” Clarke changes her line of questioning. “I’ve never heard of anything good coming from it. People just use it to hook up.”

Lexa shrugs. “Maybe that’s all I’m looking for. I’m not searching for love.”

Because she’s already found it. She exchanges a meaningful look with Clarke, who undoubtedly picks up on her unspoken thought. But Clarke had told her she isn’t ready to be with anyone, not yet. 6 months ago. And Lexa’s willing to wait - she knows that Clarke’s ex-boyfriend had cheated on her and understands that she isn’t ready to jump back into dating right away. But she’s also human and has needs and 6 months is a long time. So, Tinder.

Clarke looks thoughtful. She keeps staring at Lexa and Lexa stares back, not quite sure why her heart is beating a little faster in her chest. “So you’re just looking for meaningless sex? No strings attached?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I can do that.” Clarke looks completely serious but Lexa’s certain she must be joking. She’d rejected her when she'd asked her out on a date all those months ago and they’ve been platonic friends ever since, and now this? She’s offering sex? Cannot compute. “You don’t need to go out and meet these random strangers. That doesn’t sound safe, or fun.”

Lexa can think of a dozen reasons that’s a horrible idea, starting with the fact that she’s in love with Clarke and Clarke is not in love with her. It’s a recipe for a disaster. “Uh, it’s nice of you to offer but -”

“Are you horny right now?” Clarke interrupts, effectively shutting Lexa up. “Because if I’m honest you’ve been driving me nuts in those jeans all day.” Her eyes rake up and down Lexa’s body and Lexa swallows, mouth suddenly dry. Clarke’s hand is on her knee now and she isn’t sure how or when it got there.

“Clarke, we really shouldn’t,” she says, but she’s unable to keep the hitch out of her breath when Clarke scoots a little closer, slides her hand a little higher. It could be a trick of the light but it looks like her pupils have gotten bigger, infiltrating normally-blue territory.

“You don’t want to?”

“You know I do,” Lexa laments. “It’s just that -”

“Feelings. I know,” Clarke sighs. She’s rubbing circles over the faded denim covering Lexa’s inner thigh now, absentmindedly. “So you’d really rather fuck some stranger?”

“Not at all,” Lexa admits. “But…”

“Maybe it would be easier than you think. To separate the physical from feelings?” Clarke suggests. Lexa’s pretty sure sex would just compound her feelings. She bites her lip, torn and uncertain. Her heart and her body want one thing but her head is warning her against it. “Okay. Okay, I’ll stop pushing, I’m sorry. I’m being an asshole. You said no.” Clarke says, smiling in a sweetly apologetic way. She pulls away and returns to her separate space on the couch, sighing, looking adorably flustered.

Flustered because she wants Lexa. Fuck. And Lexa wants her. So what are they even doing, sitting here feeling tortured? Her resolve breaks quickly. “Okay,” she says. Clarke’s eyes snap up to meet hers, full of question. “I know you said you’re not ready for a relationship right now, but if you feel like you’re ready to sleep together then we can try -”

Clarke is across the couch and in Lexa’s lap so quickly it almost knocks the wind out of her. Lexa had thought she was the only one pining and wanting and lusting after her best friend but despite Clarke’s rejection, she seems equally as desperate and frantic as she crushes her lips to Lexa’s. And fuck, it’s even better than Lexa had imagined it would be. Clarke’s lips taste like her vanilla chapstick and she winds her fingers through Lexa’s hair and Lexa has never felt so consumed by a kiss. So wholly unable to think of anything else, her pulse fluttering wildly as her hands find and settle on Clarke’s hips. Clarke reacts to the touch and grinds down and Lexa is briefly embarrassed by the moan that flies out of her mouth, until Clarke mumbles, “Fuck, that’s so hot,” against her lips. She nips at Lexa’s lower lip then, pulling it between her teeth and biting down just hard enough to sting, eliciting another moan.

Lexa normally prefers to maintain a little bit more control during sexual encounters, but with Clarke in her lap kissing her furiously and rocking her hips she finds herself more than willing to relinquish some control. Things move fast and slow simultaneously from there, time blurring as they lose themselves in one another, all roaming hands and hungry mouths. After an indeterminate amount of time Clarke reaches down and deftly undoes the button of Lexa’s jeans. Following a quick check-in to which Lexa very quickly consents, Clarke slips her hand under the elastic of Lexa’s underwear and runs her fingers through her, finding her already slick with anticipation.

“Fuck, Clarke,” Lexa gasps at the sensation, hips jerking involuntarily.

“I’ve got you,” Clarke murmurs softly, stilling long enough that Lexa opens her eyes, not quite remembering when she’d shut them in the first place. She’s not prepared for what she sees; the softness in Clarke’s eyes as they search hers, the lust and want clear in them but also something…else. Something she can’t quite put her finger on, and she doesn’t have time because Clarke starts moving again and renders her incapable of thinking of anything other than how fucking good that feels.

“I’ve got you,” Clarke says again, before leaning back in to swallow Lexa’s groans.

Lexa is fucked - literally and figuratively. Because the more Clarke says that, and the more Clarke keeps touching her like that, the more she realizes that ready for her or not, she’s already very much Clarke’s.

#what could go wrong!!#nothing of course #this was a very good idea #clexa #clexa au

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crushedgraham · 7 months

Note

A fic with Mercy x fem!Reader where reader is afraid of needles and only agrees to let Angela give her the shot she needs to get instead of her actual doctor? 🤍

You're My Silver Lining

sorry for the really inconsistent updating! im slowly getting through requests but work and school have been taking up most of my time 😞 enjoy :3

Training season and new recruits were right around the corner which was unfortunately your least favorite time of the year. Everything was too hot and busy but above all; you had to get your shots.

Vaccines were a top priority during these times to ward off flu's and sicknesses from the close proximities of trainees working with one another. They were the bane of your existence.

The entire process made you feel sicker than a flu would - everything from the smell of the sanitary products to the gleaming needle. Angela was the only silver lining in these situations. Before you had gotten together, you would always see your appointments as opportunities to get close to the doctor (cough only scheduling when she was free cough cough).

But lately the newer recruits have been getting a little too desperate for her attention, she was completely booked which meant you would have to get through the shots without her support - you were fucked.

Your hands fidgeted, clammy fingertips picking at the paper sheet on the medical bed. The unfamiliar environment made things worse. Once your bond with Angela grew, she started doing your shots in her office because it was a lot cozier. Now you were stuck in the fluorescent lit white room that reeked of chemicals.

The sudden knock on the door makes you jump, your heart skipping a beat as it slowly opens to reveal a younger woman in a long doctors coat.

"Hello Agent L/N, I'll be your doctor for today"

You don't meet her eyes instead focusing on her creased white sneakers. The sound of the doctor's palms rubbing hand sanitizer into the skin and the snap from her latex gloves twists your stomach in knots.

"We're just going to be doing two shots, a general vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine."

The needle between her fingers approaches you sending ice throughout your veins. Suddenly you're panicking because who was this stranger that's trying to give you a shot? That's a task that only Angela was allowed to do. Then before you know it, you're arm is dodging the needle, twisting your body away from the doctor.

"Angela."

"Excuse me...?"

"I need Angela. Dr. Ziegler."

The doctor gives you a strange look, almost judgmental.

"Dr. Ziegler's unavailable at the moment"

"Please, just tell her my name and that it's an emergency"

The woman huffs and sets the needle back down on the sterilized tray. She throws her gloves into the trashcan and you watch her back as she leaves the room. A wave of relief washes over you and you drum your fingers lightly against the thin bed to pass the time.

When the door flings open and you see Angela with a worried expression your heart skips a beat again but this time it's from love not fear.

"Liebling? What's wrong? Dr. Choi told me there was an emergency. Are you hurt??"

She pushes herself in between your thighs, her hands run across your body to check for any injuries that might've been the cause of your outburst. Blue eyes, gleaming behind her glasses, scan your own worriedly.

"...I guess I got so used to you being there to comfort me that I forgot how scary shots normally are."

Angela gives you a look of disbelief and puts her face in her hands with a small laugh of relief. Then she meets your eyes once more with a more serious look. She pinches at your cheeks with furrowed eyebrows.

"Du hast mich erschreckt! I thought you were hurt!"

You whine and push at her hands in pain.

"I am hurt! Emotionally"

She lets out a chuckle while shaking her head. You watch as she goes through the same process of sanitizing her hands then putting gloves on.

"Righttt"

Angela picks up a new needle and stabs it into a small glass jar, filling it with the vaccine. She approaches you, sparing you a knowing look as you cower away when she places her left hand on your arm.

"Take deep breaths for me Liebling"

Your heart rate kicks up but you close your eyes and follow her instructions. Her hand moves up to caress your face when suddenly a mix of sensations flood your body. Though the sting from the shot doesn't compare to the soft kiss she quickly placed on your lips at the same time.

The doctor discards of the empty needle and returns back between your thighs. You throw your arms around her waist while burying your head into the collar of her coat.

"That was mean!"

Angela laughs while placing her own arms around your neck, mindlessly playing with the ends of your hair.

"But it was a good distraction, no?"

You don't respond because you both know she's right so you just stay there, content to lay in her arms.

"Liebling? We still have another shot to do"

"Ugh no!"

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

Liebling - Darling

Du hast mich erschreckt - You scared me

#overwatch #overwatch x reader #mercy x reader #angela ziegler x reader #angela ziegler #mercy overwatch #mercy ow

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wendytestabrat · 6 days

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the main problem with kyle in the new episodes

ok this is what RLLY bothers me abt kyle in modern south park ESPECIALLY in seasons 24-26 and i think a lot of people are getting annoyed with this shit too. i hate how they’ve been showing repeatedly how cartman’s getting better and acting nicer in the new episodes so like why TF is kyle still being a dick to him and treating him like a monster???? i mean for YEARS kyle has been going out of his way to help cartman and change cartman and making it clear he wants cartman to be a better person and make better choices, so then when cartman finally does he’s just like 😴. like idc if u ship kyman or not it’s rlly out of character for kyle. they’re still canonically close friends so it feels like a missed opportunity for character development on kyle’s end for them not to show kyle reciprocating or appreciating cartman doing better. i guess it’s bc matt & trey are trying to show kyle has been the toxic one and the jealous snake friend all along, but still even tho kyle is an asshole they don’t have to make him THAT big of an asshole. i think a lot of people like seeing kyle’s caring codependent side come out bc that’s the good side of kyle as a person how big-hearted and empathetic he can be. and there def have been some modern episodes where they DO get this right like especially in “the streaming wars” when kyle helped cartman out with his mom’s ‘surgery’ (even tho kyle deadass only helps cartman or feels bad for him when cartman is lying just to fuck himself over which i had talked abt before how he always gets the timing wrong with cartman for those who are caught up on your wendytestabrat lore). i also feel like an episode that DEF got things right with kyle was “help my teenager hates me” from s25. i loved that moment where cartman was crying abt how everything sucks and he lives in a hot dog and kyle is just like “ru okay cartman?” like bitch we need more moments like THAT. even if kyman doesn’t happen, idc like i just wanna see more moments of kyle being a good friend to cartman back (bc they def have given us A LOT of moments of cartman being there for kyle) is that too much to ask? but yeah in the images i used above are from the specials “post covid” (part 1), “south parq vaccination special”, “not suitable for children” and “joining the panderverse” and in literally every single one of these specials kyle’s being a dick and jumping down cartman’s throat when he aint doing anything wrong lol. in post covid he’s all mad at cartman for being a rabbi, even tho we all know cartman wasn’t faking it and was genuinely happy. in “south parq vaccination special” he gets all pissy throughout the whole thing when all cartman is trying to do is save the broship, in “not suitable for children” he’s getting all mad at cartman for making his own cred affinity group which last i checked aint a crime (and we all know he was just mad bc cartman wasn’t letting him in the group), and in “joining the panderverse” he’s getting all mad and annoyed over cartman being replaced by a black woman and he acts like cartman is making it up even tho cartman was telling the truth and there was this real parallel universe shit happening. like this shit needs to stop it’s getting soooo old and all it’s doing is making kyle unlikable af and annoying everyone who used to love kyle lol. like ok we get it matt & trey kyle can be just as toxic as cartman, now can we also see that he can be just as caring and nice as cartman too?

and btw this is why there have been less kyman rants:

#that baby sitting there on fire had me dying LOL #that’s the testies waiting for more kyman rants #south park #kyman #KYMANRANTGARBAGE

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miss-atena · 9 months

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Hellooo, hope you are having a nice day! I discovered your work not long ago, but I already liked it a lot! I'd like to order a Cody/X Virus x Reader, in which the Reader is a biology nerd who is enthralled by Cody's skills and knowledge! Just the two of them being adorable nerds together!! 👉👈🤧💕

((it's so hard to find content about Cody, and it makes me particularly sad because he's my favorite creepypasta! 🥹🥹🥹))

Anyway, thank you in advance!! 💞

HIHII! I'm so sorry for the long wait, my life has been wild this last couple of weeks, but I'm back at writing and YES CODY'S FANS RISE UP!! Love me when he is a psychopathic scientist lol. Hope you enjoy this!

X Virus x Biology Nerd Reader

Cody normally keeps to himself in his lab, and is not really used to having people besides EJ or Toby around. So when he gets assigned a lab partner, he got skeptical.

He couldn't understand if this was some wild scheme from the others to make him interact more, or if you were actually someone with enough knowledge to work with him, but he couldn't complain since it was orders from the proxies.

You were going to be Cody's lab partner due to your area of knowledge on biology being similar in level to his, and you were certainly excited to find someone with an interest similar than yours, from what you heard of him.

When you did come to the lab, and looked around the place, you were certainly excited with the amount of biology related stuff. It was all you ever wanted, and it made your love for the subject bubble out.

Cody met you right there, on the lab, and at first he was REALLY skeptical, because you looked decent.

'since when does a scientist looks decent? They will not understand at all what I'm doing'

But the moment you opened your mouth and started accurately guessing what each thing he had was, his eyes sparkled. No way...

"Oh my god, you have a guide to the human cardiovascular system! Do you use it often? I bet you do, look at the amount of stuff that needs an intravenous application..."

"Wait, you actually know what you're talking about?"

It didn't take long to Cody to open up about his current researches and projects, like his experiments with the xelymtopa virus, or how he was experimenting on the maximization of effects on cyanide based poisons.

You were excited and eager to know, even bringing your own hypothesis on what could happen depending on the person he experiments on, which he appreciates.

Soon enough you were one of Cody's closest friends (and maybe he had a bit of a crush on you too), and were together everywhere, freaking everyone out by your casual talks about deadly diseases and poisonous animals.

Cody, while doing his work on the infirmary with EJ, opened up about how he felt close to you in a deeper level than anything, but he couldn't put a finger on what exactly he felt. EJ advised him to be open with you besides the work talk.

Cody felt confused and even a bit scarred. Open up about feelings? That is not like him at all...

His mind went in circles on how this was a bad idea and how he would lose your friendship, and you were the only one that actually understood what he said for once, but... EJ never wronged him. Why would he be wrong this time, right?

The next day, on the lab, you were working on one of your projects, some vaccines for one of the many viruses samples Cody had, when he came inside the labe with something behind his back.

"Hey, uh, I hope I'm not interrupting but... Can I talk to you for a second?"

After you looked at him and nodded, he basically dumped all of his feelings for you at once, and you couldn't help but giggle at how the usually confident in himself Cody was a blushing and rambling mess.

You did feel the same towards him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He did have something to give you, your very own test subject. It was a golden poison frog, which was being securely held in a small vivarium.

Let's just say that both of you are probably the deadliest couple in the manor, and that if anyone bothers one of you, the other is very capable of performing inhumane tests on them just out of spite.

Hope you enjoyed it! I am not particularly knowledgeable on Biology, never had very good teachers on the subject, but it was certainly fun to write this. We need more Cody love in the world fr fr.

#creepypasta #creepypasta fanfic #creepypasta x reader #x virus #x virus x reader #tena writing #gihzinha #thanks for the request!#i love cody so much me and my friends r such simps of him shsjsbksns

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fortuna-et-cataclysmos · 1 year

Text

This episode was a manifesto on post-truth society and I DIG IT.

I'll go ahead and overanalyse.

First, on the radicalising role of social media. We, as the watchers, know that the Monarch is the villain, right? It should have been obvious to the Parisians with all the akumatisations too? Well, apparently not. Here are the translations of some of the in-universe social media comments and why they are problematic within the context of the show (the show isn't problematic, in fact, it is brilliant for incorporating them!)

The Monarch only wants the Miraculouses to make a wish, and many people think that he wants to wish world peace. But Ladybug and Chat Noir don't want that because then no one would need them.

This one is wrong at three counts: first of all, the whole argument is based on an opinion, not a fact ("many people think that"), but also, just because "many people" agree on something, it doesn't make it right (looking at you, Nazi Germany). In addition, we see a good example of echo chamber here: in Strike Back, thousands of Parisians took the streets to show support to our heroes. So we know that the "many people" here aren't as many as they claim to be (not that it would have made them right in any case). Lastly, we, as the watchers, know especially well the superhero role is an immense burden on Ladybug and Chat Noir. The recognition on the hardships of being a superhero comes from Lila of all people in Multiplication, when she says somewhat condescendingly that Ladybug is young and we shouldn't put so much responsability on her. Moving on to the next.

Who is Ladybug really? Why does she wear a mask? If she had nothing to hide, she wouldn't hide behind a mask.

This one seems to refer to the discourse used by groups who want to favour "security" and state control over personal rights and privacy. Personal rights (and privacy) are, rights. Doh, you say. What I mean by that is that, they are supposed to be non-breachable: every human being has a right to live their own life without someone continuously monitoring them or breaching into their peaceful existence. Ladybug included. You can say that her case is different because she is, in a way, a civil servant (she isn't: technically she is a vigilante, but her and the heroes' monopoly over the superpowers are recognised by the public authorities). But that also makes her unveiling her identity even more dangerous: one must acknowledge that the heroes are still humans, and if the Monarch knew their true identities, he could easily monitor their private life and attack their weaknesses, a no brainer really. Besides, the argument can go both ways: if the Monarch is so benevolent, then why is he hiding behind a mask?

So we see that there is a toxic social media culture in the ml universe which antagonise the heroes despite all the good they did. Here is a post I made specifically expanding on this antagonism by drawing upon similarities between Ladybug and Joan of Arc.

But to continue with post-truth: now let's take Jalil more specifically. The lexicon he uses when arguing with his father is very much associated with alt-right discourse.

Jalil: Ladybug enlisted [Alix] in a crusade that's not ours.

-> Speech with military and religious terms.

Jalil: Alix got brainwashed by Ladybug.

-> I guess this one goes without saying.

Jalil: Don't you see that it doesn't hold?

-> Admittedly, this one doesn't sound too loaded when translated. But it is basically along the lines of refuting other narratives. Think of it this context: "if vaccines make you immune to illness, then why do vaccinated people still get ill? It doesn't hold!"

Jalil: Father, open your eyes!

-> "Wake up, sheeple!"

Jalil: people are talking about this! Listen!

-> Again, argumentum ad populum. Others say so too so it must be true.

And his father's reaction to these:

Mr. Kubdel: social media is affecting your judgment!

It very much is.

And how does Jalil get deakumatised? By getting convinced that he had been tricked, and not by force: Ladybug and Chat Noir don't break his akuma, Jalil frees himself. Because you cannot counter hate speech and extreme narratives by force, it will only give them more legitimacy. In this sense, Ladybug's Lucky Charm is extremely fitting: a pen. "The pen is mightier than the sword" is even implied when Joan of Arc refers to Ladybug's pen as a "ridiculous sword".

In the end, the Miraculous universe has something that completely refutes all the post-truth narratives: the Book of Truth. When Jalil realises that all the social media arguments in favour of the Monarch were unrefutable lies, he deakumatises himself.

Unfortunately in the real world, we have no Book of Truth. Even the most trustworthy sources can be wrong, new information may emerge and prove our previously checked facts wrong. That's why we can't as simply bring the extremist people in our world to their senses. Our only way is critical thinking and judgement based on our moral compass.

But I love that the show is tackling all these manipulation techniques and toxicity of social media in a critical light. It implicitly informs the viewers on the dangers of social media.

#I feel like I'll lose some followers because of this post but I don't care #miraculous ladybug #ml season 5 #ml spoilers #ml reunion #from fortuna #ml meta #ml analysis

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vickysaurus · 2 years

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If you’ve finished watching Prehistoric Planet, caught the dino bug, and want to watch more, well, I’ve got recommendations for some fantastic older Mesozoic documentaries and shows! I’m only gonna list my faves, but if you have good ones to add, feel free to do so!

Walking With Dinosaurs (1999)

The classic, the one I grew up with. A six episode miniseries that spans the entire Mesozoic, from the Triassic to the Cretaceous. Each episode focuses on a specific location and usually has one specific animal that’s more or less the main character, while also showing off others as they are encountered. The science and effects are 23 years old by now, so don’t expect much fluff or great CGI, but they used what they had very well. It helps a lot that the close-up shots are done using incredibly charming animatronics rather than CGI. The gorgeous music and Kenneth Branagh’s narration add a ton more personality to everything. You will cry about an Ornithocheirus at the end of his journey. There were three special bonus episodes released over the next few years that have Nigel Marven (more on him later) time travelling to see the dinosaurs in person. There are also two sequel series: Walking With Beasts and Walking With Monsters. WWM explores the Paleozoic but went through it too fast and suffers from some ‘Awesomebro-yness’ in my opinion but there’s not much else to turn to if you wanna see the Paleozoic unfortunately. WWB explores the Cenozoic and is every bit as good as WWD. When I had my recovery day after my third covid vaccine I put on all three in chronological order and just marathoned them and the various little aches didn’t bother me all day as I watched the history of the Earth from the Cambrian to the Quaternary.

Prehistoric Park (2006)

Time-travelling Nigel Marven returns from the Walking With Dinosaurs specials to bring back extinct animals to the present. As you might guess, it’s a bit more on the fictional side, but all the animals are really well done and scientific, as are the ecosystems they travel back to. The modern day parts are much more about actually properly running a zoo, including things like enrichment, proper animal care, and cranky zookeepers with a heart of gold becoming Ornithomimus parents than Jurassic Park type scenarios. Nigel doesn’t just get dinosaurs; he goes to the Cenozoic several times and even takes a trip to the Carboniferous for its giant arthropods. Recent enough that feathers are starting to appear on some dinosaurs, particularly the adorable Microraptors. Nigel is an absolute menace and I don’t know who gave him access to a time portal but i’m glad they did. The recent game Prehistoric Kingdom was strongly inspired by this one, to the point of having Nigel voice the tutorials and trailers. Features a friendly herd of Titanosaurs with a disregard for fences causing more havoc than any carnivores ever could.

When Dinosaurs Roamed America (2001)

America’s answer to Walking With Dinosaurs. A single two-hour long documentary spanning the whole of Mesozoic America and really focussing on how the dinosaurs developed between its segments. The only time I ever remember seeing the Early Jurassic depicted, and the only one on this list to treat the end-Permian and end-Triassic extinctions and how important they were for dinosaur evolution. Though it does blame asteroids for them. Very good stuff, aside from a scene where Velociraptors continue eating their prey even as a forest fire sets them on fire. It’s very America-centric, but that’s no weakness. John Goodman makes for a surprisingly good narrator and throws in a sneaky Flintstones joke or two.

Dinosaur Revolution (2011)

This is a bit of an odd one, and it might or might not be your jam, but it certainly is mine. It is essentially a mashup between a dinosaur documentary and dinosaur Looney Tunes. Very silly slapstick segments focussing on specific dinosaurs with somewhat anthropomorphic behaviours get intercut with scientists explaining the latest of 2011 paleontology. The animation is a bit naff but the designs are really good and there’s a lot of feathers. It highlights behavioural traits like intelligence and parental care a lot. Two of its episodes cover pretty much the whole Mesozoic in no particular order, two episodes do Walking With Dinosaurs style covering of a single animal’s story in a single ecosystem. Shunosaurus eats mushrooms and has a bad trip. Lots of mammals go flying after getting thrown about. In a true Blackadder Goes Forth type pivot, the final episode of this very silly slapsticky show has the most haunting and tragic depiction of the K-Pg extinction I’ve ever seen.

#prehistoric planet #walking with dinosaurs #prehistoric park #when dinosaurs roamed america #dinosaur revolution #dinosaur documentaries #feel free to add more

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nova--spark · 4 months

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All I can think of is June having to explain biology to a bunch of bots that only have knowledge of it either through biology texts, offhand comments from a bunch of high schoolers, and educated guesses.

Lots of incidents of the bots being caught entirely unprepared by the feeling of being hungry, forgetting to drink water, overheating, and generally being hot messes.

The first time a cold gets passed around the base, there's a full on panic after Ratchet, who is one of the oldest, struggles to get rid of it while Bee and Smokescreen barely notice they are sick.

Also, VACCINES! There's a dozen unvaccinated, presumably immunocompromised adults running around Jasper. (I am just going to presume that they are immunocompromised just because Quintessa is a jerk like that) add the petri dish that is a public high school, and Ratchet, Ultra Magnus, and Optimus are going to be CONSTANTLY sick with some flu, cold, or stomach bug that's infected Jasper high. It doesn't matter if the kids use every precaution (they won't even think to do so). The bots are going to be miserable at some point.

Oh my dear sweet bots, they're going to be in heavy need of full medical check ins from June and everything is chaos.

With the variety of ages, they ALL needed vaccines, so sore arms all around, especially Smokescreen and Bee who needed the most being the youngest.

Somehow, Optimus is the hardiest if only because of the Matrix, because though his biology change, he is still plenty healthy and strong.

After that? June had to take quite a few weeks off work, but then again, now that she worked as Unit: E's nurse [ with a more than healthy salary thanks to the government ], she could do it and spend that time telling the bots all about human biology and what to expect from a medical aspect.

Safe to say, some talks were awkward, some were intriguing, and some were downright gross.

Ratchet actually was quick to learn, and with the old memories of when Raf was injured all those years ago, picked up all the knowledge he could in order to help June care for his team.

Though, of course, when colds, flus, and other smaller sicknesses hit, there was hell to be had as they tried to get through them.

Bee and Smoke would be done with it in a few days, whereas Ratchet and Optimus had harder times with things.

Changes of clothes were acquired by many a trip to local thrift stores, and thankfully avoided most of the overheating under the Nevada sun, though the kids also always made sure everyone had a water bottle [ Miko had spend an entire day decorating sturdy metal ones for each teammate ] and were reminded to hydrate as necessary.

Each meal was had as a family, and the bots were quite delighted to taste foods of all kinds. Jack and June would make many a standard American meal, Rafael got a hold of his mother's Latin American recipes and so made many fun meals, Fowler pitched in with some old Southern soul foods , and Miko had a blast teaching them all how to use chopsticks to eat ramen, sushi, udon and many a Japanese meal.

It was gonna take getting used to, but...well, it was certainly fun regardless, to adjust to being a full blown human huh?

#transformers #maccadam #maccadams #mortal machines #TFP: TIMESKIP | RID15 AU #tfp #transformers prime #tf prime #tf rid 2015 #tf rid15 #nova writings

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layce2015 · 7 months

Text

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

The Devil You Know

Masterlist pt 1

Masterlist pt 2

The boys and I followed a doctor through a hospital full of very sick patience, putting on face masks to protect us and them. "Check it out...I look like the king of pop." Dean said, as he gestures to his masked face. Sam and I sigh at this while Dean chuckles. "Too soon?" He asked. "Too soon." Sam replied. "Yeah, c'mon, I'm still not over that. Been listening to Thriller nonstop." I grumbled.

"Don't get me wrong...I'm glad the CDC is here, but what we really need is vaccine." The doctor said, stopping and turning around to look at us. "You got that right." I muttered, looking around at all the sick people sitting in the waiting room. "Well, tell me, have you noticed anything unusual about the strain...Any signs of behavioral change, like aggression, maybe?" Sam asked the doctor. "Excuse me?" She asked, confused.

"Have the flu victims shown any signs of, uh, homicidal tendencies?" Dean asked. The doctor look between us and chuckles. "uh...Symptomatically speaking, we're looking at a relatively mild case of swine flu here. Probably add up to a miserable week off of work, and that's about it." She said. "So nothing unusual." I said, questionable. "Hmm. Day and a half ago, we didn't have a single case. Now we're looking at over 70. The infectious equivalent of a briefcase bomb. So, yeah, I might call that a little unusual." The doctor explained as she signs something for another doctor.

"Day and a half?" Sam said to Dean and I. "That's the same time those statues started crying." I said. "Yep." Sam replied. "I'm sorry. What was that?" The doctor asked. "What was what?" I asked. "Did you just say a bunch of statues started crying?" The doctor asked.

"What?" Sam asked then laughs. "Why, no. No. W-who would..." He said. "Who would say that, huh? Crazy people." Dean said. "Exactly." Sam said. "Yeah, which we are not." I said. "No." Sam said. The doctor looks between us, confused. "Just...Get us some vaccine." She said, we nodded and she walks off with the other doctor.

Later, we were driving down a dark road in the Impala, while Bobby talks on speakerphone. "Let me guess...another steamin'-hot pile of swine flu." He said. "Yep." Dean replied. "Doesn't make any sense, Bobby. Pestilence touched down here. I'm sure of it." Sam said, certain.

"But why is he dealing them soft serve like swine flu when he's got the croatoan virus up his sleeve? I-I-I don't get it." Dean said. "Doesn't matter what the sick son of a bitch is doing. What matters is this is the fourth town he's hit. That we know of and we're still eating his dust. Did you get anything? We got even a snowball at probable next target?" Bobby asked. "Uh, no pattern we can see." I said and Bobby sighs.

"Okay. Hold on." He said, we then heard a squeaky noise from his wheelchair. "Well, far as I can tell, he's still heading East, So...Head East, I guess." He said, unsure. "East?" The boys and I said in unison. "Bobby, we're in West Nevada. East is practically all there is." Dean said. "Yeah, well, you better get to drivin'." Bobby replied and Sam hangs up the phone and sighs.

"Say..." A voice said and I jump, rearing to the left behind Dean as Crowley was now suddenly sitting in the backseat beside me. "I've got an idea." He said. The tires screech as Dean swerves, slamming on the brakes. Sam tries to stab Crowley with Ruby's knife, but only stabs the seat of the Impala.

"Did you get him?" Dean asked. "He's gone." I replied then we hear a tap on Sam's window. Sam pulls the knife out of the seat and we look to see Crowley was now standing outside the car. "Fancy a fag and a chat?" He asked but then the boys and I get out of the car. "You're upset. We should discuss it. Not here, but..." Crowley said, backing up as Sam and I stalk after him.

"You want to talk? After what you did to us?" Sam asked. "After what I...what I did to you?! I gave you the Colt!" Crowley said, now standing in front of Dean. "Yeah, and you knew it wouldn't work against the devil!" Sam growled. "I never!" Crowley said, sounding offended. "You set us up. We lost people on that suicide run! GOOD people!" I exclaimed, angrily. "Who you take on the ride is your own business!" Crowley said.

Crowley then he turns to look at Dean. "Look, everything is still the same. W-we're all still in this together." He said, grinning. "Sure we are." Sam said and he attempts to stab Crowley again, but Crowley teleports behind him. "Call your dog off, please." Crowley said to Dean. Sam was about to advance on Crowley again but Dean grabs his arms, stopping him. "Give us one good reason." I said. "I can give you Pestilence." Crowley replied.

"What do you know about Pestilence?" Dean asked. "I know how to get him." Crowley said and Dean and I look at him surprised. That's got your interest, doesn't it?" Crowley asked, noticing our looks. Sam looks between Dean and I. "Are you actually listening to this?" He asked us. "Sam..." I try to say. "Are you friggin' nuts?!" Sam exclaimed. "Shut up for a second, Sam!" Dean growled.

"Shut up, the lot of you! Look...I swear...I thought the Colt would work. It's an honest mistake. It's all part of the learning process. But nothing's changed. I still want the devil dead. Well...one thing's changed. Now the devil knows that I want him dead. Which, by the way, makes me the most buggered son in all of creation." Crowley explained. "Holy crap. We don't care." Dean grumbled and Crowley looks at him, offended. "They burnt down my house!" He said, no one says anything. "THEY ATE MY TAILOR!" He yelled, Dean just rolls his eyes.

"Two months under a rock, like a bloody salamander! Every demon on hell and Earth's got his eyes out for me! And yet...Here I am...Last place I should be...In the road, talking to Sam and Dean Winchester and their little sidekick, (y/n) (l/n), under a freaking SPOTLIGHT!" Crowley yelled, then he gestures to the light above us and it explodes. "So come with me. Please." He pleaded after composing himself.

The boys and I continue staring at him, not moving or say anything. "Do you want the horsemen rings or not? Yes, I know all about that. Shall we?" Crowley asked. The boys and I exchanged, warily, looks.

We let Crowley back in the Impala and he gave us directions to an abandoned house. Crowley sighs as we enter the house. "Here we are. My life on the lam. How the mighty have fallen. Single-pane glass, Used contraception in the fireplace." He said lighting the fire with just a hand gesture.

"The water damage alone." Crowley said, turning around to face us. "My heart's bleeding for you. Now, how do you know about the rings?" I asked. "Well, now...I've been keeping a close eye on you lot." Crowley said. "We got hex bags. We're hidden from demons." I said. "All but one." Crowley said, holding up his index finger then points to himself.

"That night you broke into my house, our first date, my valet hid a tracking device in your car. A magical coin that easily trumps your little bags o' bones. It allows me to hear things, too. And, my, the things I've heard." Crowley said before he chuckles then looks at me and Dean. "I'd have to say the little break-up conversation you two had, left me heartbroken. Oscar worthy." Crowley said and my hands start to shake with anger. "Unless you want to keep your tongue, I'd suggest you shut up." I growled and Crowley gives me an impressed look.

"My, my, my....feisty one." He mutters, teasingly, then he turns to Dean. "No wonder you like her so much." He said and I could see Dean clenching his jaw. "So!" Crowley said, getting our attention. "You want to cram the devil back in the box? Cunning scheme. I want in." He said. "You said you could get us Pestilence." Dean said.

"Well, now...I don't know where Pestilence is...Per Se. But I do know the demon who does. He's what you might call the horsemen's stable boy. He handles their itineraries, their personal needs. He's who you want believe me. He'll tell us where Sneezy's at." Crowley explained. "Well, how do we get him to spill? Rip out his toenails?" I asked. "No. Nuts at his pay grade don't crack. We bring him here, then I sell him." Crowley replied. "Sell him?" Sam asked.

"Please. I've sold sin to saints for centuries. Think I can't close one little demon?" Crowley said. "All right, so where's this demon of yours?" I asked.

Later, the boys and I were loading our guns in a duffel bag when Sam turns to us. "Why are we even listening to him, guys? This is totally insane." Sam said. "I don't disagree." Dean muttered. "Me either." I said then Crowley claps his hands together getting our attention. "One big happy family, are we, then? Fantastic." He said. "You ready to go?" I asked him. "Yes. Yes. I am. Sam, keep the home fires burning." Crowley said, we look at him confused.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Sam's not coming." Crowley replied. "And why the hell not?" Sam asked. "Because I don't like you...I don't trust you...And oh, yes. You keep trying to kill me." Crowley said. "There's no damn way. This isn't gonna happen!" Sam growled. "I'm not asking you, am I? 'cause you're not invited. I'm asking them." Crowley said, pointing at Dean and I.

"What's it gonna be?" He asked us. Sam look at us then back at Crowley, who scoffs. "Lady, gentlemen...Enjoy your last few sunsets." He said, turning and walking away. "Wait." Dean said, getting him to stop.

Dean looks to me and I nod. "We'll go." He said, grabbing the duffle back and throwing it over his shoulder. "What can we say? We believe the guy." Dean said to Sam before following him to the door.

Sam then turns to me. "(Y/n)..." He said. I look down, walking to the doorway where I stop and turn back to him. "Sam, we don't have much of a choice. We gotta try something." I said and Sam stares at me not say anything. I sigh and turn to follow Dean and Crowley to the Impala.

Dean and I were using binoculars to watch the Niveus Pharmaceuticals building from the Impala. "Demons." Dean said, lowering his binoculars. "Nah. Human shields. The demons are up top. 12th floor." Crowley said, from the backseat. "All right, then. We'll have to find a way in through the back." I said, lowering my binoculars away. "You (l/n)s and Winchesters make everything so complicated." Crowley said then disappears. "Ah, crap." Dean grumbled. "I don't like that." I said.

Dean and I look through our binoculars again to see Crowley reappearing in the building behind the security guard. He waved to us then slits the guard's throat. "Oh, crap. Crap! Crap!" Dean said as we get out of the car and run to the door of the building.

Once we get there, Dean knocks on the door. "Door's open!" Crowley yelled and we enter the building to see the other guard is dead. Dean and I gesture to Crowley like 'what the hell?'

"What?" Crowley asked, cleaning his knife. "You killed them?" I asked. Crowley sniffs and puts his knife away then steps over the other guards. "We're on a tight schedule. Come on." He said turning us away and walks us to the elevator. I look over my shoulder at the guard. "Now you're squeamish? Please." Crowley said, making me turn away.

Dean and I step inside the elevator but Crowley does not. Instead he just hits the 12th button for us. "Go get 'em, tigers." He said.

The elevator door starts to shut but Dean held out his hand to stop it. "Wh...You're not coming?" Dean asked. "Oh, no. It's not safe up there. There's demons." Crowley replied. "Yeah, we get that." I said, annoyed. "Look, just do what I told you, a-and try to be convincing. It'll work like a charm. Trust me." Crowley said, pushing Dean back so the door could close. Crowley smiles and waves goodbye before the door shuts and the elevator carries us up.

Arriving on the 12th floor, Dean and I kill the demons guarding the office door when suddenly the door opens on it's own. Inside the office, a demon sits at a desk. "Dean Winchester. (Y/n) (l/n). What, no appointment?" He asked us. "Kind of an 11th-hour thing, you know?" Dean replied as we step over the bodies to enter the office. "Well, then, you're just on time." The demon said, closing the door with a gesture. "Have a seat." He said, turning the chairs in front of his desk with a gesture. "How's your brother?" he asked Dean.

Dean doesn't say anything and we take a seat in the chairs, turning them towards the desk. "Well, down to business, then. What can I do for you?" The demon asked, closing his laptop and smiling at us. "Actually, it's about what we can do for you." I said. "Really?" The demon asked.

"Us and Sam dropped two of your jockeys. I think you know that." Dean said. "Yes. I got the memo." The demon replied. "Well, we kept their, uh, secret power rings. Which is why we're here. We heard some folks saying that you wanted them back and you were willing to pay." I said.

The demon leans back in his chair, thinking. "Hmm. Where are they?" He asked. "Not here. But you want them, you'll come with us. Nice and civil. We'll get out of your little batcave here, and we'll discuss a transaction." Dean said.

"Who says I want them?" The demon asked, makng Dean and I look at him confused. "What?" Dean and I asked. "Who...Says...I want them?" He asked. "You know...Folks." I replied, shrugging. The demon smiles at us and we, nervously, smile back.

"See..." The demon said, he clears throat and stood up, walking around his desk to sit on it in front of us. "War and Famine, even if I could cram the rings back on their bony fingers, I doubt it would do much good. They're withered husks right now. Fetal position on the floor. All thanks to you. So I don't want the rings. What I want is retribution. And I'm gonna rip it right out of your assess!" He growls then he throws us out through the office door, crashing on the floor.

"This...is so good." The demon said walking over to Dean and I as we struggle to get up. The demon kicks us each in the stomach, keeping us down, and he chuckles. "...Therapeutic, for sure. You know, guys, I really owe you one, buddies, 'cause I feel..." The demon said as he kicks us again. "So...Much..." He kicks us again. "Better!" And kicks us again. The demon let's out a breath as he fixes his hair.

Dean and I laid on the floor, groaning in pain, until we eventually managed to escape the demon and ran to the elevator. I push the buttons repeatedly as the demon calls out to us. "Guys, where are you going? We're just getting started!"

The elevator door closes and carries us down to the ground floor, it dings and the door opens. We exit the elevator cautiously, seeing now one in sight. Suddenly something hits me on the back of my head and I fell to the ground and slide across the floor along with Dean. "Good meeting, guys. You know, I'm excited." The demon said. Then Crowley approaches from behind, and drops a sack covered in a devil's trap over the demon's head, then bashes his head with a crowbar.

"Evening, Uncle." Crowley said, then starts hitting the demon a couple more times on the head with the crowbar, until the demon drop to the floor.

Dean and I look at the demon lying unconscious on the floor then up at Crowley, who smiles. "What the hell was that?" Dean asked, helping me up as he stands. "That was perfect." Crowley said. "Perfect? He didn't want the rings. He wanted us." I said. "Imagine the surprise on your faces." Crowley said. "What?" I asked, confused. "Your ignorance and misinformation. I mean, completely authentic. You can't fake that." Crowley said and we glared back at him.

"What? I-it went like clockwork." He said. "Not for us, you son of a bitch!" Dean growled. "That's what you get working with a demon." Crowley said, pointing at him with the crowbar and grinning.

Later, we were driving back towards the abandon house as I was wiping the blood off mine and Dean's faces. Crowley was carving a sigil into the demon's torso. "Hey, hot stuff, watch the upholstery!" Dean said to Crowley. "Up yours, mate. This bit of carving will tie our friend here down. No zapping off, no smoking out. Locked in the meat suit...An important piece of our bargaining strategy. Now, up here, we don't want I-50. Take 93 north." Crowley said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Look, we can't take this guy back to Sam." Crowley said. "Why the hell not?" Dean asked, but Crowley doesn't answer. "Crowley!" I exclaimed. "They got history, all right?" Crowley said. Dean angrily screeches the Impala to a halt. "You want to go anywhere, you start talking. What history?" He asked.

*3rd Person P.O.V*

Back at the abandoned house, Sam was sitting on a bed waiting. He hears The Impala approaching and finds Crowley downstairs. "Where's Dean and (y/n)?" He asked, warily.

"Now...For the record, I'm against this. Negotiating a high-level defection. It's very delicate business." Crowley said. Sam narrows his eyes and tries to go into the other room, but Crowley held up his hand, stopping him. "What are you talking about?" Sam asked. "I begged Dean and (y/n) not to come back. We should be miles away...from you. Your brother replied with a colorful rejoinder about my 'corn chute.'" Crowley said and Sam scoffs.

"So, go ahead. Go ruin our last best hope." Crowley said. Sam stares at him for a moment then slips pass him. "It's only the end of the world." Crowley said as Sam goes into the other room.

*(y/n)'s POV*

Sam enters the room where Dean and I have the demon still hooded and tied to a chair in a devil's trap. "Sam." I said, walking up to him as Dean finishes tightening the rope. "What's going on, guys?" Sam asked, wary. "We need you to stay on mission, okay? Focused." I said, firmly. "I don't understand. What's all this about?" Sam asked. "We're doing this 'cause we trust you." Dean said, walking around the demon to join me. "Trust me to what?" Sam asked.

"Sam?" the demon said, before Dean or I could say anything. Sam looks at the hooded man, confused, as the demon clears throat. "Sam, is that you?" He asked. Dean removes the hood for Sam to see. "Brady?" Sam muttered, surprise, and Brady chuckles. "Brady hasn't been Brady in years. Not since, oh...middle of our sophomore year?" He said and Sam's eyes widen.

"What?" He asked. "That's right." Brady said. Sam glances at me and Dean then, quickly, back to Brady. "You had a devil on your shoulder even back then. All right, now, let it all sink in." Brady said. "You son of a bitch." Sam whispered. "You son of a bitch!" He yelled, approaching Brady. "YOU INTRODUCED ME TO JESS!" He shouted as Dean and I hold him back. "Ding, ding! I think he's got it!" Brady said.

Sam struggles to push past us to get to Brady. "Damn it, Sam!" Dean growled. "I'm gonna kill you!" Sam growled at Brady as Dean and I push Sam out of the room, while Brady laughs.

Dean shoves Sam into the living room and Sam sighs then turns trying to go back but Dean pushes him back. "HEY! That's enough." Dean said, firmly. "Get out of my way." Sam said, calmly. "No." I said, firmly. Sam grits his teeth as he tries to stay calm. "Get out of my way, guys." He said.

"There is only one way to win, and it ain't by killing that thing in there." Dean said as Crowley walks up. "Well...sounds like you got him nice and fluffed. Thanks so much." Crowley said before he walks off to talk to Brady.

"Listen to me. We need Pestilence to get at the devil, and we need Brady to get to Pestilence." Dean said. "Why? Because Crowley said so? Because we trust him now? Like I trusted Ruby? Or like I trusted Brady back at school?" Sam asked.

"Sam, listen. I get it, you're pissed but you have to trust us when we say we need him. Brady is our only lead to Pestilence, okay?" I said and Sam looks over at me. I walk up to him and place a hand on his shoulder. "This gets us one step closer to taking down Lucifer. And once we find out where Pestilence is, then you can kill him in any way, shape or form you want to." I said and Sam stares at me before he looks down.

*3rd Person POV*

Meanwhile, Crowley brought a chair over to Brady and straddles it. "Look...Do the math yourself. If Lucifer wins, he'll turn this place into his kingdom. When the morningstar cleans house, we all get the mop." Crowley said. "He created us. Why would he destroy us? That makes no sense." Brady said.

"Look at who...at what he is. Then take a look at what we are." Crowley said. "Maybe you should be a little less worried about our necks and be a little more worried about yours." Brady replied. "Has crossed my mind. That's not really the point." Crowley said. "Actually, Crowley, that is the point. No one will know greater torment than you. Lucifer is never gonna let you die. As for me, I know the score. I'm dead, whether I tell you anything or not. So I think I'll die on the winning side, thanks." Brady said. "Good talk. Cheers." Crowley said, getting up.

*(y/n)'s POV*

Dean and I were sitting at the table, having a beer when Crowley comes back in. "Well, how'd it go? He buy your girl scout cookies?" Dean asked. "Not yet." Crowley said then he noticed that Sam was gone. "Where's your moose?" Crowley asked. "He's cooling off." I replied. "All right, then. Get bent." Crowley said. "You going somewhere?" Dean asked. "Well, he won't budge, so now I go stick my neck out." Crowley said.

"What are you gonna do?" I asked, worried. "Exactly the kind of desperate swashbuckle I've been trying to avoid. Now I go kick open a hive of demons. This whole bloody ring business better work." Crowley said and he disappears.

Later, Dean goes into the bathroom to wash his face and I walk up beside him. "Dean...?" I asked and he hums at me. "Be honest...is this the right thing to do?" I asked. Dean sighs then turning off the sink and stands up to look at me. "No, not really. But..." he started to say but then the door shuts behind us. "Sam?" I called out and I go up the door, and grabbed the knob.

"He's locked us in!" I growled and Dean comes up next to me and tries the door.

*3rd Person POV*

Sam had shut the door and put a chair against the doorknob, preventing Dean and (y/n) from exiting, as they stood and talked in the bathroom. "Sam?" (Y/n) called out as he hears the door knob jiggle. "Come on, Sam! Don't do this!" Dean growled as the two bang on door. Sam ignores them and takes out Ruby's knife. "Sam, come on! Hey! Open the door! Open the door!" Dean and (y/n) shout as Sam leaves the two of them trap and goes to Brady.

"Well, here we go. We doing last words or no?" Brady asked. "Sophomore year, huh?" Sam asked, walking around to stand in front of him. "Brady, here, he was a good kid. Straight arrow. I mean, your best friend, really. Perfect point of access." The demon said. "Thanksgiving." Sam said, questioning.

"Yes, sir. Remember when I came back from break all messed up...Dropped out of pre-med, the drugs, the bitches?" Brady asked and Sam smiles, tightly, as he nods. "That was the new Brady. That was me." He said and Sam glares at him.

"Remember how much time you spent trying to get me back on the right track? You really were a good friend. But ol' yellow eyes didn't send me back to be your friend. No, we could tell we were starting to lose you. You were becoming a mild-mannered, worthless sack of piss. Now, come on. We couldn't have that. You were our favorite. Well, one of our favorites. Azazel also had a soft spot for your friend, (y/n), as well. She was coming along nicely...except for the fact she was always around her Daddy, her weak spot at that point in time." Brady explained, grinning.

Sam breathes in, slowly, and exhales slower, trying so hard to keep himself together. "So he dealt with her father, personally, while I hooked you up with a pure, sweet, innocent piece of tail. And then I toasted her on the ceiling." Brady said as Sam looks down, his hand twitching around the knife as he grips it, tightly.

"That's right...Azazel might have put the hit out on Jessica, but, man, I got to have all the fun!" Brady exclaimed then he laughs. "You know, she thought we were friends, too. Let me right in. She was baking cookies." He taunted and Sam breathes, faster, as his anger starts to take him over.

Brady laughs "She was so surprised...So hurt when I started in on her." Brady said, which set off that spark in Sam. He lunges forward, grabbing Brady by his jacket and holding the knife to his throat.

But Brady just laughs. "Come on! Do it, if it'll make you feel better!" Brady yelled and Sam nicks his throat with the knife. "Do it, Sammy! Do it! Come on! Come on." Brady yelled. Sam glares down at him as he face twitches in anger. Then he let's Brady go and steps back and Brady laughs again. "Ohhhhh." He said, chuckling and sighs. Sam leaves the room walking back to the bathroom.

*(Y/n)'s P.O.V*

Dean paces for a moment while I lean against the sink. "You don't think he'd go through with it, do you?" I asked him, worried. "I don't know what to think anymore." He said then he bangs on the door again. "Hey, hey, hey! All right! Wait! I'm gonna open it." Sam said.

Dean steps back and the door opens, letting us out. "What happened?" I asked. "Nothing." Sam replied. "My ass." Dean growled and we walk back towards the room. "Guys, I'm fine." Sam said. "Yeah? And what about Brady?" I asked and Sam sighs. "Like you guys said...We need him." He said as we reach the room to see Brady is still alive.

"God." a voice said and we jump and turn around to see Crowley, with some blood on him and his suit ripped. "The day I've had." He said, slipping pass us and walking up to Brady. "Good news. You're going to live forever." He said and Brady stares at him. "What did you do?" Brady asked.

"Went over to a demons' nest had a little massacre. Must be losing my touch, though. Let one of the little toads live. Oops. Also might have given said toad the impression that you left your post last night because you and I are wait for it...Lovers in league against Satan." Crowley explained then chuckles and Brady sighs.

"Hello, darling." Crowley said, smiling down at him. "So, now Death is off the table. Now you get to be on the boss's eternal-torment list with little old me." He said. "Oh, no, no, no, no. No." Brady said, shaking his head. "Something else we have in common apart from our torrid passion, of course Craven self-preservation. So, now, why don't you tell me where Pestilence is at?" Crowley asked. Brady open his mouth to say something but stops when we hear howling in the far off distance.

Dean breathes in, sharply, and looks around. "Oh, God, Crowley." Brady said. "Was that a hellhound?" Dean asked Crowley. "I'd say it was." Crowley replied. "Why was that a hellhound?" Dean asked Crowley, who groans and pulls out a coin.

"What's that?" Sam asked. "Remember I was telling you about my crafty little tracking device?" Crowley asked. "Yeah." Sam and I replied. "Demons planted one on me." Crowley said, holding up the coin. "You're saying a hellhound followed you here?" I asked, agitated. "Well, technically, he followed this." Crowley said, waving the coin.

"Get me out of here. I'll tell you anything you want." Brady said. "Shut up." Sam said to him. "Okay, well, then we should go." Dean said. "Sorry, gang. No one knows more about the hounds than I. You're long past the point of go." Crowley said and he tosses the coin to Dean, who catches it.

When we look up Crowley was gone. "Damn it." Dean growled. "I told you!" Sam exclaimed. "Oh, well, good for you." Dean said, mockingly. "Luckily, we have salt in the kitchen." I said, walking towards the kitchen. "We'll watch Brady." Sam said and Brady scoffs. "Watch me? Get me the hell OUT OF HERE!" He yelled, panicked.

The howling and snarling continued as I spotted the salt on the counter. But before I could reach it, a window shatters as the Hellhounds break through. I run out of the kitchen, shutting the door to try and slow the invisible beast down. Of course the hellhound just burst right through the door and I pick up the shotgun and fire at the hellhound to keep it back. I began backing up towards the room when I shout. "Boys!" Then I heard footsteps and I look over to see Dean coming up besides me with his own shotgun.

He fires in direction I was shooting at as we came back into the room, seeing Sam untying Brady. "Salt?" He asked. Neither Dean or I say anything and just reloaded our shotguns as the hellhound growls. "Damn it, get me out of here!" Brady yelled, fearfully. "Shut up!" The boys and I said in unison. "Great. Just great." Brady grumbled.

I pumped my shotgun about to fire on the hellhound until I hear a voice. "Hey!" Crowley yelled, standing in the living room. "You're back?" I asked as I turn to him. "I'm invested. Currently." Crowley replied then a new hellhound barks. "Stay!" Crowley ordered, looking to his right.

"You can control them?" Dean asked. "Not that one." Crowley said, pointing towards me and Dean. "I brought my own." He said, patting the invisible hellhound beside him. "Mine's bigger. SIC HIM, BOY!"

The hellhounds bark and growl as they fight each other, breaking everything in sight. Dean scratches the devil trap with his knife as Sam removes the rope around Brady. "Go, go go go!" Dean said and we run outside and to the Impala, where Crowley already was standing on the passenger side.

"I'll wager $1,000 my pup wins." He said, laughing as he gets in the car. I shoved Brady into the backseat and join the two demons there while the boys sat in front. We drive away as the hellhounds continued, viciously, fight each other.

In an alleyway, Brady hands Crowley a piece of paper. "Yeah. I'm sure Pestilence will be there. Thanks." Brady said. "What do you think?" I asked Crowley. "It's good." Crowley replied, handing Dean the piece of paper.

Crowley turns to look back at Brady. "You got no reason to lie, have you? Like I said before, you're in my boat now." He said. "You've screwed me...for eternity." Brady said. "Nah. Won't last that long. Trust me." Crowley said.

Crowley follows Dean and I down the alley past Sam who is standing, staring at Brady. "Where are you going?" Brady asked. I bend down and begin to pour a salt-line behind Sam. "I'm going to do you a favor." Crowley said to Brady, then turn to Sam. "I expect we'll be in touch." He said, walking away.

I was about to reach the end of the alley, but stop to let Crowley pass. The demon smiles at me as he slips on by then disappears. I then close the salt-line. "What is this?" Brady asked.

"All those angels, all those demons, all those sons of bitches...They just don't get it, do they, boys?" I said. "No, they don't, (y/n)." Sam said. "You see, Brady...We're the ones you should be afraid of." Dean said. Brady scoffs as Sam approaches Brady with Ruby's knife.

"I bet this is a real moment for you, big boy. Gonna make you feel all better?" Brady asask.him. "It's a start." Sam said. Brady starts backing up as Sam continues approaching.

"Gonna make up for all the times that we yanked your chain...Yellow eyes, Ruby, me? But it wasn't all our fault, was it? No, no, no, no. You're the one who trusted us. You're the one who let us into your life, let us whisper in your ear over and over and over again. Ever wonder why that is, Sammy? Ever wonder why we were so in your blind spot? Maybe it's because we got the same stuff in our veins and, deep down, you know you're just like us." Brady explained, grinning at Sam.

Brady lunges at Sam, who nicks him with the blade. Sam pushes him back against the wall and Brady pants in pain, turning around to face him. "Maybe you hate us so much because you hate what you see every time you look in the mirror. You ever think of that?!" Brady asked but Sam doesn't say anything and Brady laughs at his silence. "Maybe the only difference between you and a demon...is your hell is right here." Brady said.

Then Sam stabs Brady hard in the stomach until he dies. He takes the knife out and lets Brady's body slump down to the ground. "Interesting theory." Sam mutters and he walks out the alley, past us. Dean and I turn and watch him leave, worried.

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bruciemilf · 1 year

Note

Talking about your Alfred's poor parenting skills, it reminds of how Gotham (Tv show) Alfred just randomly got thrust in with a child and literally didn't know exactly what to do with him

And as much as he is trying his best to parent Bruce, Bruce only ever seen him as a friend, so the man lets the kid lead his own life because that's what Bruce's father wants him to do, so I'm not surprised if Bruce's the one who suggested he wants to be vaccinated/shots all at once and Alfred's just lets him as long as Bruce didn't injured himself and lets Alfred supervised him the whole time

Like how in the show he just parkours the whole city and Alfred's is just "Guess, this is a thing now ://"

Also, he started the whole "do not kill" thing with Bruce while outrightly said to the boy he's the one who can kill in this family, which sounds bad in context but the intention was sweet and hilarious still when you understand it

Alfred literally marched Bruce up to some aristocrat house and told him to give his bully brain damage and honestly? King shit. Not responsible parenting but the parenting we respect <3

#asks #alfred pennyworth #bruce wayne

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metalmonki · 6 months

Text

Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited) Part 2

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

4.5k word count

Summary After completely ignoring Deans warning you find yourself reunited with the Winchesters after a perplexing case brings them back down under.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers

Warnings mention and description of death

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

It has been a year since I met the Winchesters. I tried so hard to get back to life as it was before the Winchesters but knowing there were things out there that could kill me at any moment made it difficult for me to concentrate on anything else. So, I decided to hit the road. I packed up my most important belongings into my car, dropped out of university and began looking for other hunters. It’s not like the Winchesters left me a how-to guide on hunting monsters. I travelled around leaving messages for hunters everywhere I could think of monster books in libraries, on notice boards, online chat boards everywhere. It took 2 months, but I was finally contacted by a guy named Johnny. Johnny owned a roadhouse out near Broken Hill which was one of many hubs for hunters. Johnny gave me a list of known hunters’ hubs, a list of tools I would need and a job to get me started. ‘An easy find and burn’ he said. He recommended I stick to jobs at the hubs for now and that I would slowly learn what to look for to find my own jobs. Which is how I got to the job I was working today.

I had driven through the night to get back to Sydney to the suburb of Blacktown where my story began. This was the first time I had been back since everything that happened with the boys. It was also a similar case that brought me back. A ghost was causing accidents at the local pool and had so far caused 11 deaths. Something needed to be done soon. The latest incident occurred the week before. A kid who was paraplegic had seemingly stood up from her wheelchair climbed up onto a diving board and drove headfirst onto the cement below. The ghost was ramping up putting the case at the top of my list. Before I got working on the case though I wanted to book into a hotel, have a hot shower, eat and sleep. I found a hotel close to the pool with vaccines and pulled in. I pulled up to the office and hopped out of my car. I walked in and managed to book a room quite quickly without much fuss. I walked back out to my car and drove over to my given room. As I parked a certain car caught my eye. Everything else was quickly forgotten as I ran to the room the car was parked in front of. I stopped to catch my breath before knocking on the door.

“Well, well look who we have here” Dean crossed his arms as he opened the door smirk on his face.

“Hay Dean” I smiled.

“Y/N is that you?” Sam asked.

“In the flesh,” I said, “What brings you two back to town?”

“Working this case, a friend of ours called us after he got a call from a friend here, some ghost killing a bunch of people at a pool,” Dean said.

“What a coincidence I’m working that case too, it’s been on my radar for the last 3 months but it’s really ramped up in the last month so I figured I should probably get my ass back here and take care of it”.

“I thought I told you to stay away from all this” Dean suddenly got mad.

“I tried Dean, I really did I just couldn’t shake it, I was second-guessing everything and everyone and I felt like I needed to do this to feel safe” I recoiled at his words.

“I told you there were other people like us doing this job so you could be safe, trust me this isn’t the life you want”.

“You packed up and went back to the States, you left me here where there are barely any hunters what do you expect me to do?” I snapped back.

“I expected you to listen to me” Dean yelled jabbing a finger to the ground.

I flinched away from Dean. Something he immediately noticed. I could tell from the look on his face that Dean regretted his actions. He tried reaching out to touch my arm, but I moved back away from him. He sighed and moved out of the doorway allowing me into the room. Sam motioned for me to come over to the sole table in the room where he was busy working away on his laptop. Dean on the other hand moved to sit on his bed on the opposite side of the room. Sam ran me through everything they had found so far. He told me about a friend of theirs named Bobby who had been contacted by a hunter here who was in over their heads on the case. It was something I had noticed too and had only served to motivate me more to become a hunter. I had found myself over the last year picking up the harder cases that other hunters struggled to complete. I had made contacts in all the hunters’ roadhouses in Australia and had hardly had a day to myself since. I told Sam about Johnny a name he instantly recognised, apparently, he had been the one to call Bobby to request the boy's help after many other hunters had come up short.

“What have you found so far?” I asked Sam.

“Well, I found out that the earliest accident recorded at the pool was 2 months after it opened,” Sam said.

“I found that too during my initial research, she was running, slipped on the wet floor and became impaled on a sign pole, not a nice way to go but doesn’t seem like something to create a vengeful spirit either”.

“My thoughts exactly” Sam sighed “But I can’t find anything about the place being built on a burial ground or sacred site or anything”.

“So, what you saying is there is no reason for these deaths to be amping up at this joint?” Dean finally joined the conversation.

“Well, none we can find” I said, “This is why I avoid the case for so long, every time I’ve looked at it I haven’t been able to find a reason, nothing I know of could be causing this, nothing Johnny knows of could be causing this, maybe Bobby might know something?”

“I’ll call him,” Sam said.

Sam grabbed his phone and left the room. I looked at Dean with confusion. We were working this case together so why would Sam leave the room? Dean mumbled something about Sam thinking best when he was walking around. I just shrugged and stayed at the table waiting for Sam to come back. Dean and I had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. I knew he wasn’t happy with me being here and giving everything up to be a hunter, but I didn’t see any other choice. I knew the dangers; I knew a life as a hunter was a short life but if it meant I made a difference while I was still here then so be it. Dean needed to know this.

“Dean…”

“Save it, I know I’m not going to be able to change your mind, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you leave my side” Dean looked over at me “I wanted to save you from this life, I wanted you to walk away and never look back, I don’t want you to end up broken like me”.

“It’s not like I have anything to lose, my father abandoned me, my mother and I barely talk, and I don’t exactly have any other family, just friends and as far as they know I came into a small fortune and I’m off travelling the world” I sighed.

“Sounds like every hunter origin story I’ve heard before” Dean chuckled coldly.

“Why what’s your story?” I asked.

“Mum died, Dad abandoned us then he died, I’m one of the lucky ones though because I got Sammy and I guess now I have your dumbass to look out for too”. Dean smiled over at me.

“You make that sound like a bad thing” I laughed.

“Oh, it is, you’re a pain in my ass” Dean laughed too.

“Who me? Nah I’m delightful”.

It was then that Sam walked back into the room. He was greeted by the site of Dean and I laughing our asses off completely different from how he had left us. He looked between us before awkwardly starting to explain that Bobby would investigate the situation, contact some other hunters in the area he knew and call Sam back if he found anything. Until then Dean decided it would be best if we grabbed some food and called it a night. Dean left Sam and me to clean up the table while he went to get the world’s smallest McDonald’s burgers. Sam and I just shook our heads at him and continued to clean the table. We talked about what the guys had been up to since they were last here and everything I had done. He was quite impressed at just how quickly I had learnt to look for signs that something was out of the ordinary and my ability to research and remove the problem. Turns out they had heard from Bobby that there was a badass new hunter on the scene out here but had no clue it was me. It didn’t take us long to clean off the table and for Dean to return with food. He dumped the bags on the table and began tossing burgers at each of us. He then started cursing when he reached for the fries to find they had all fallen out in the bag. Sam and I just shook our heads at Dean and started on our burgers while Dean fixed the fries. After we had eaten, we all agreed that we should get some sleep while we waited for Bobby to get back to us. Sam went off to shower first while Dean kicked off his shoes and flopped into bed. I on the other hand moved for the door planning on sleeping in my car for the night.

“Where are you staying?” Dean suddenly asked stopping me in my tracks.

“Probably going to sleep in my car until this one is over why?” I asked turning towards Dean.

“You can’t be serious”.

“Well, normally I would look for a free camping ground but we’re in the middle of a city, luckily I recently found this really cool blow-up bed thing, you move your seats forward and put it in the back seat and it acts like a real bed, it's comfy to sleep on too” I started to ramble.

“Like hell you’re sleeping in your car, take my bed and I’ll take the couch” Dean grumbled getting up from his bed.

“Dean I can’t kick you to the lounge again” I sighed.

“Nonsense hunters need a safe place to sleep”.

“We don’t exactly get paid Dean; I do odd jobs in the towns I’m in between or sometimes even during hunts just to get enough to eat and to put fuel in my car I can’t afford a hotel room”.

“And that’s where credit card scams come into it” Dean smirked.

“How? I mean you would need fake IDs and birth certificates not to mention the limits, eventually they would cut the card off”.

“Bobby hooks us up with a whole host of fake IDs cops, FBI, CIA, you name it, the trick with credit cards is to get the card with the highest amount of money on it, for instance, a card with a limit of $10,000 before repayments are needed then use it for the case and before you get out of dodge you withdraw the remain amount, that way when they come looking for Mr Hector Rodriguez it looks like he never left the town”

“Jesus Dean that’s insane”.

“That’s the life” Dean shrugged making himself comfy on the lounge.

I took my shoes off and made myself comfy on the bed while waiting for Sam to be done with the shower. The plan was to use the bathroom to change but I guess I must have been more tired than I thought because I nodded off. I awoke the next morning to an empty room. Dean’s Impala was gone too. They must have heard back from Bobby and had headed off to chase a lead. Kinda sucked that they didn’t wake me up first but nothing I could do about that now. I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV mostly for background noise before heading to my car to grab a change of clothes. Clothes in hand I headed for the shower. I always found the shower to be the best place to organise my day. I turned the water on, making the heat as high as possible before it became intolerable. As the shower screen fogged I began to write out my plan for the day. First I would need to find some breakfast, then I would need to find the guys. The hang-up there was I didn’t have either of their numbers to call them and I certainly wasn’t going to be driving aimlessly around a huge ass city to find them. I washed myself down and begrudgingly turned off the water. I exited the shower and went to grab a towel when to my horror I realized there were only 2 towels. I dug through the room but came up empty-handed when it came to another towel. I returned to the bathroom and looked at the two towels on the rack. At this point, I was almost dry so I grabbed the obviously unused towel and quickly dried what wasn’t dry, hanging the towel back up as neat as possible when I was done. Once I was dry and dressed I grabbed my phone and keys before heading out to my car. I was honestly quite surprised that Dean had managed to pick which car was his and which was mine. The engine revved to life as I made myself comfortable in the car. I drove to Mcdonalds' to grab a breakfast deal. Once I had a full stomach I figured I might as well continue investigating the case on my own. I went through the drive-through and was told to wait for my food to be ready. As I was waiting I pulled out my phone to continue my research. It was then I noticed I had a text message from Dean which caught me off guard considering I never put his number in my phone.

Hay sleeping beauty when you get this give me a call. If I don’t answer I put Sammy’s number in your phone too.

I chuckled to myself before hitting the dial. After a couple of rings, Dean picked up.

“Hay enjoy your sleep?” Dean laughed

“It was great thank you, your bed is very comfy”

“At least someone is enjoying my bed” Dean chuckled

“Yeah you should really try it sometime, it's so comfy and warm, would put you straight to sleep” I taunted

“Pfft who would want an awesome bed when they have a perfect lounge to sleep on”

“Where are you anyway?” I laughed on the phone

“About to head to the pool” Dean sighed “We’ve exhausted the library they have nothing on the pool that we didn’t already know so seems the only place left is the pool”

“Have fun with that, I’m getting breakfast, oh look and here it comes” I squealed winding down the window

“Yeah, yeah stuff your face then get your ass over here” Dean chuckled hanging up the phone

I took my food with a thank you before pulling around into the parking lot. I parked my car before starting my breakfast. It didn’t take me long to finish my food. I tossed my rubbish in a close by bin and began the short drive to the pool. When I arrived I parked towards the back of the lot and headed inside. It annoyed me more than it should of that I had to pay to enter the pool even though I had no intention of swimming. But being that I was on my own it would have been weird to pay to watch. I walked down the ramp into the main pool area which consisted of a wave pool, splash pool and two 25 meter pools. It wasn’t overly busy so it didn’t take any more than a quick glance to spot Sam and Dean. It also helped that they were the only people in the build in suits. They were standing near the wave pool controls speaking to a lifeguard. I started making my way towards it but was quickly halted when I heard the lifeguard giggle. It was a giggle I would know anywhere, it sent an ice-cold shiver down my spine. I almost wanted to turn around and run back to the safety of my car and wait for Sam and Dean to be done. The only thing that stopped me was that Dean had spotted me and gave me a wink causing the lifeguard to look over her shoulder towards me. I tucked my shoulders back, held my head high and wandered over to them. Upon reaching them, however, my mouth began spewing out words before my brain could filter them.

“Hay Babe” I pushed myself against Dean's side “I thought I would come for a swim while you do what you need to do but I don’t have any swimmer” Oh the cringe I cringed. “Oh hi Rachel haven’t seen you since graduation, still lifeguarding I see”

“Y/n yes I am it pays quite good money how did you end up with such a handsome man?” She crossed her arms and gave me a dirty look

“Oh well as you probably heard I’ve been travelling the world and it was during a trip through America that I found this handsome man” I smiled up at Dean

“Lucky you” Rachel scoffed

“Yeah lucky me” I smiled up at Dean

“Anyway baby here is my card go get yourself some swimmers and have a good time”

“Thank you” I took the card and gave Dean a quick peck on the cheek before running off.

“Now if you don’t mind we would like to ask all the staff about the incident” I heard Dean say before I was out of earshot.

I went to the main counter and purchased a swimsuit. It was honestly one of the things I left behind when I packed up and left because I didn’t think it was something I would ever use again. Once I had the swimsuit in hand I went to find Sam and Dean again to return his card thank him for the help and apologise for putting him on the spot like that. I wandered back into the main pool area and began looking for Sam and Dean again. I quickly found Dean standing at the edge of the splash pool speaking with a lifeguard. I was about to start walking towards him when a hand suddenly came down on my shoulder. I jumped and spun around ready to punch whoever had touched me.

“Wow easy there” Sam chuckled

“Sam why would you do that” I slapped him on the chest

“I didn’t mean to scare you just figured I should fill you in before you blow anymore of our cover story”

“Yeah sorry about that” I dropped my head

“Oh it’s fine no harm done” Sam smiled “Anyway we were researching the deaths this morning and one of them happened to be a young girl on a holiday from America so Dean and I thought we could come in and ask some questions under the guise of being from the American Embassy investigating on behalf of the parents”

“That’s actually pretty smart, I will go change into these swimmers then and stay out of your way, oh also can you give Dean back his card” I handed it off to Sam “I feel kinda bad for taking it”

“Well it’s not our money anyway so nothing to feel bad about” Sam smirked

I laughed at that statement and walked away with a wave towards the female changing room. Only two other people were in the changing room when I walked in. Two young girls likely no older than 18. It looked like they had been for their swim and were getting ready to shower and change. I ducked into an empty changing booth on the opposite side of the changing room from them. They were giggling and whispering between themselves when I walked by. If only they knew what was happening here. Happening in the world. I quickly slipped into the swimsuit, no easy feat when you and the suit are both dryer than the Sahara desert. Just as I bundled my clothes up in my arms and was about to open the door the room was suddenly filled with a blood-curdling scream. I dropped my clothes and quickly threw open the door. One of the girls from earlier was now pressed up against the wall on the opposite side of the room while the other girl lay motionless on the floor. I ran over to the girl on the floor dropping down by her side. I assessed her for any signs of life. She was gone, her neck broken. I stood up and walked over to the other girl as other people began pushing their way into the bathroom. Sam and Dean were among them. When they saw what had happened they began pushing people back from the room and asking for someone to call emergency services. I took the other girl into my arms and shielded her face from the sight encouraging her to look away while nodding to Sam and Dean. I knew they would have to leave the building quickly but quietly while I stayed behind to answer questions. I tried asking the girl what happened but all I could get was the word why spoken in a whisper between sobs. I just stood there holding her rubbing circles into her back while waiting for help to arrive.

It seemed to take forever but was likely no more than 15 minutes before the police and ambulance were on the scene. The police stood back and allowed the paramedics to do their thing. Once they had confirmed there was nothing they could do for the girl on the floor they turned to her friend. They checked her over before walking her out of the building to a waiting ambulance. The police followed them making sure I stayed put in the room first. I went back to where I had discarded my clothes. I gathered them up and sat on the bench that was running the length of the room. I held my clothes to my chest suddenly feeling naked in the now empty room. This wasn’t the first time I had seen a dead body and living the life I chose I knew it wouldn’t be the last. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t still jarring to the sense. The absolute motionlessness of her body. No rise and fall of her chest, no little jerks that would be expected from someone playing dead, the normal pink hue you see in living people gone, just like that in the blink of an eye. I closed my eyes and prayed she went quickly.

The quiet of the room was soon broken by footsteps. I looked up to see crime scene techs and coroners entering the room. They completely ignored my presence and went about looking over the dead girl and the room. The only contact any of them had with me was a woman who came over and asked me for my clothes. I asked her why in confusion since they had been nowhere near the girl but she insisted it was needed just in case and they would get them back to me as soon as possible. I handed her my clothes with a sigh and filled in the paperwork she handed me in return. I had no choice but to give her my mother's address to return the clothes to as I had nowhere else to send them. I watched as the coroner bagged the girl's body up and removed her from the room while the techs continued to take pictures and talk amongst themselves about theories of what had happened.

Eventually, after what must have been 30 minutes the police came back into the room to speak to me. They asked me many questions but they all blurred together. Did you know the victim? No. Did you see what happened? No. Do you know Samantha? Was that the other girl, no. What where you doing here? Changing to swim. On and on, question after question. For an hour or more, they questioned me. It was a waste of their time though I knew nothing, I saw nothing. Before they let me go I asked them what the other girl, Samantha had said had happened. They gave me the usual we can’t tell you much but before telling me what they were told finishing with the investigation will tell us the truth line.

I thanked the officers and left the room. I went into a sort of autopilot mode at that moment. Before I knew it I had walked out of the pool, climbed into the car and driven back to the hotel without so much as remembering a second of the trip. I parked next to Dean Impala. As soon as the engine shut off I began to shake. I took a few shaky breaths and squeezed the steering wheel between my hands. I climbed out of the car and walked over to the room door. I knocked and waited for someone to answer. When the door finally did open it was Dean standing on the other side.

“They took my clothes” was all I managed to get out before the weight of the day hit me. In my year doing cases I’d never once seen someone die or had to look at a body. I had only read all about it making it easy to distance myself from the true horrors. But I guess it was only a matter of time. The only dead body I had seen before this was that of my grandmother. She was the first and I had hoped the only person I would have to see die in my life. Today had brought back all those memories for me and emotions I tried so hard to bury. As I broke Dean pulled me into the room and closed the door. He pulled me into his arms creating a safe, warm place for me to let my emotions go.

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