#who has been his toughest teammate so far?

[petit-papillion]

"I don't think you will see fireworks. I think they've both got tremendous respect for each other. They're both fast. They're both very clean drivers. I think how they go about their racing is different to how others would go about it.

I think Charles has proven he's definitely one of the fastest guys that can pull a lap out of a car. Can he do that over the course of every Grand Prix? I think you can see that probably only Max and Lewis have been able to do that recently. Fernando is probably another one out there, with that extra bit where you can pull race wins out of nothing.

I'm interested to see whether Charles can go on top of it, maybe Charles will lift himself with the pressure, but there's one thing for sure, it's going to be the hardest team-mate that he's had to go up against. I'm sure Lewis doesn't fear going up against Charles. I think the biggest thing is getting that Italian culture around them, but Lewis has been around this business a long time and he knows this."

Paul di Resta about Charles and Lewis

Source: Stats Perform via mykhel.com

[dontexpectmuch]

next to you - chris brown ft. justin bieber.

you will always stay by his side, even when one day the sky comes falling down.

***

you two have always dreamed of this moment, picturing any possible scenario of this exact outcome.

jude always told you how far away this dream of his seemed, how winning the champions league is not something everyone can witness. he told you many times that it was one of his biggest dreams ever since he was just a little boy. smiling at you as you laid in his arms, jude promised you to win it one day, not only for himself, but also for you, the one thatt always stayed by his side and helped him get through the toughest times during his career.

i pray to god everyday, that you keep that smile.

those times now feel like a distant dream, a memory that you cherish to visit whenever you think of jude and your past relationship. everything was perfect, the two of you fit together like nothing else.

but you were also young, naīve and insecure. being together with one of the best youngsters, who also happened to be quite handsome came with many difficulties that you did not know about before. jude always tried to remind you of how you were the only one for him, his dream person and the one he would go any length for.

you are my dream, there’s not a thing i won’t do, i’ll give my life up for you. ‘cause you are my dream.

even though you were mentally prepared, the break up still hurt like hell. it was a mutual decision, jude no longer wanted to keep you hurting with all the attention he got due to bis rising popularity. and you could no longer handle all the mean comments made about you inline day by day. silent tears and desperation between your words filled the air as you got up to pack your things you had brought for the weekend. his parents and brother were gone and you wanted to spend some alone time together before he got busy again.

the tension was thick, no one dares to say anything, unsure of what to do next. your heart was beating so loud that your ears started to hurt, you felt hot and cold and your hands were shaking as you put the last piece inside your bag. shouldering it you moved to the front door, looking back one last time before leaving your now ex boyfriend, probably for ever.

jude sat down on the couch in the living room, blankly staring at the floor. he promised you to stay next to you no matter what, and now he feels angry at himself for not keeping this promise. his heart feels like it is being poked by a dagger over and over again. yet it would not pierce through, not granting him any kind of relief from this immense feeling of pain and loss.

i’ll be there when you’re insecure, let you know that you’re always lovely, ‘cause you are the only thing that i got right now.

now it has been a year since the last time he got to hold you, bury his nose in your hair and close his eyes in the comfort of his own bed.

it has been a year full of ups and downs, important decisions and big changes. he finally made his dream come true by signing for real madrid. he played one of his best, if not the best, season of his life and met incredible people and players who helped him improve a lot.

the best part of this year definitely is hearing the final whistle of the match, signaling that he indeed won his very first champions league match against his former club. the cheers around him, from both the fans and his teammates filled his ears as he fell down to his knees, his heart racing against his chest. tears sting his eyes as he slowly realized what actually just had happened. he fulfilled one of his biggest childhood dreams. not only that, but he also was able to do this while his parents and brother were watching him.

you were also there, he knew.

of course you were, you promised him that you would be there for him if he was ever reaching the final. you texted him first, congratulating him when he won the semi-final.

one day, when the sky is fallin’, i’ll be standing right next to you, right next to you.

he offered you tickets to watch him play, alongside his family like the old times. you wanted to decline, though jude was very stubborn and even told his mother to tell you that you have to accept his offer, which you then did after denise talked to you.

your eyes were following him as he walks towards were you and his family were standing, gold medal adoring his neck, his smile reaching his ears and eyes shining bright. you feel yourself smiling as well, happy for him as if you had one the league yourself.

his family let you know that they are going down to meet him, asking if you wanted to tag along, which you politely declined. you didn’t want to be seen next to him, if you were honest. the past comments about you back then still haunted you at times. you were happy with just watching him enjoy his time, past feelings for him resurfacing.

your eyes meet, he just stands there, his arms hanging by his side as he look at you intensely. you mirrored his gaze, taking in his muscular body. he was still the same jude that you fell for all those years ago, just more mature and handsome. he was still the same jude you dreamed of the past year, the one whose pictures you looked at when you deeply missed his presence in your day.

his gaze softened, and he took a step forward, as if wanting to get closer to you.

nothing will ever come between us, ‘cause i’ll be standing right next to you, right next to you.

he came to a halt when jobe jumped on him, arms around his neck and shoulders as he congratulated his elder brother. judes gaze went to him, his smile widening even more if that was possible as he returned his brothers hug. his parents also hugged him, the family shared their happiness together on the field.

you smiled at that sight, remembering the times when you were part of their group hugs.

seeing him win was all you wanted, and now that you did, you decide it is finally time for you to leave. you had a long way back home and wanted to go to bed as soon as possible. so, without any further delay, you turn around and leave the stadium, carefully trying not to bump into any cheering fans.

and with your back turned away at the field, you do not see judes desperate eyes following your body, wishing that you were also here to celebrate with him.

i’ll be there, i’ll be there.

——————————————————————

happy for jude! so a cute drabble for you! comments are appreciated 🥹

[chequeredandreas]

The Upcoming Singapore Grand Prix

Facts

The Singapore Grand Prix has been held yearly at the Marina Bay Street Circuit (aka Singapore Street Circuit) since 2008. The first Singaporean Grand Prix was held in 1966 at the Thomson Road, it was the first ever F1 race held at nighttime. It remained on the race calendar until 1973 before rejoining the calendar in 2008.

There are 62 laps in the current circuit, with 19 turns. With a track length of 4.940km (3.070 mi) long, and a race length of 306.143km (190.228 mi) in total.

For 2024, they added a 4th DRS zone to the track. This is the second track in F1 history to feature as many as four DRS zones.

This is a track dominated by Ferrari, being the team with the most wins. The driver with the most wins in the Singapore Grand Prix so far is Sebastian Vettel. He has 5 victories in total. Lewis Hamilton follows with a total of 4.

The Singapore Grand Prix has been held 22 times before this year.

The Singapore Grand Prix is also well known as one of the toughest races in the F1 calendar because drivers undergo much strain due to factors like high humidity and high heat causing the drivers to feel hot and even dehydrated.

(Not-So)Fun Fact: Did you know that the Marina Bay Street Circuit is also known for featuring at least 1 safety car per race? In 2008, during the inaugural Grand Prix on the circuit, Fernando Alonso won while driving for Renault (now known as Alpine), this became controversial as it was revealed a year later that Nelson Piquet Jr. (who was Alonso's teammate then) was ordered to crash in order to bring out a safety car at a certain time to benefit the Spaniard, earning him a win. This went down in history as the Crashgate incident.

Thoughts

The Marina Bay Street Circuit is a track dominated by Ferrari. Although the Red Bulls also have had their podium moments, with Perez taking the win last 2022, Verstappen is yet to win in this track showing us that this isn't a track that heavily favors the Red Bulls.

Last year, we saw Sainz dominate the Grand Prix and eventually win! Norris took second place, while Hamilton took third. George Russell also almost took a podium spot if only he hadn't crashed on the last lap.

Putting all of that into thought, we are likely to see another Ferrari-McLaren dominance. Maybe even another Carlando podium.

Sainz and Leclerc have done well in this track previously, with both having been on podium a few times. Leclerc is good in street circuits, having proven that countless of times, even taking P2 after a race in the streets of Baku. We could see him aiming for P1 once more.

Simultaneously, his teammate is also talented in this circuit. Let's not forget that Sainz became the only non-Red Bull winner of 2023 after winning the Singapore GP that year. El matador it is. After crashing out in Baku, I'm sure he'll be aiming for better results in this Grand Prix.

The McLarens could also possibly win this race. Norris took P2 last year, and with McLaren's current pace, we could see him dominating this round. Being second in the current WDC, he'll be doing everything to close in on Verstappen.

Furthermore, Piastri is consistently improving, even winning ahead of the Ferraris and the Red Bulls last race. If he keeps that same pace, he could be taking back-to-back wins and the third victory in his F1 career.

At any rate, the two Papaya drivers have proved themselves to be fast, and they're not slowing down anytime soon.

The Mercs are also a possible wild card, Hamilton might be able to match Vettel's 5 Singapore GP victories should he win this year's round. On the other hand, Russell could've had a podium spot last year as well, but he crashed on the last lap. Maybe we could see the Mercs competing for another win this year.

The Red Bulls have been out of the podium since Zandvoort, with Perez losing his chances of podium last race after the incident with Sainz. Verstappen is still leading the championship, but he needs to hurry or Norris will be able to catch up to him. Could we have a new WDC this year?

But enough of the podium talk!

I’m excited to see how Williams will perform in this race. This isn’t a team that we see dominating often, but last race we got to see Albon and Colapinto scoring a total of 10 points. What other tricks up their sleeves could these two be hiding? With only a few more races left, rookie Colapinto is putting his best foot forward.

Meanwhile, with a back-to-back DNF for Tsunoda (both caused by colliding with another driver), I am hoping he stays away from incidents in Singapore and that we can see him actually perform. There are rumors circulating that the future of his teammate will be announced after the Grand Prix, will we still see Ricciardo next year? I sure hope so.

Stroll also had to retire his car in the Azerbaijan GP and wasn’t able to finish but was in P17 respectively before doing so. With Adrian Newey onboard, could we see a better result from the Canadian like we did from Alonso, in the last race?

Lastly, Kevin Magnussen is back! With 0 points now, he is definitely itching to gain any before this season ends. We will undoubtedly see him put on a show.

This Grand Prix will be a must-watch for sure. Stay tuned for future updates!

For more content like this, please follow me on Tumblr as @chequeredandreas. I am also on Instagram and Threads as @chequeredandreas.

[slightlystupidhun]

Dahlia Dynamites

Summary: a Baseball AU brought about by @belsw06 !! The renown baseball team, Dahlia Dynamites, find themselves in one of the toughest seasons of their lives. The team is almost all completely new and fresh. Can they pull of the World Series title?

CW: Cursing, Suggestive

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The Dahlia Dynamites first game went extremely well. They got into a early lead when Vincent hit a home run with the bases loaded. David struck two others out and Tank caught a ball that went far into the outfield. They had gained a crushing first victory, and morale was up quite a bit. Not to mention that David and Tanks relationship had gotten substantially better. The whole teams relationship had gotten better.

Asher had an amazing game today he caught three balls that were hit over to him, and had tagged two people out. He was feeling so pumped up and just wanted to run over to his partner who was waiting outside. Unfortunately for him, he’d have to wait. Many reporters were waiting to interview him and David.

“So Asher, what is it like being a part of a team who, as a whole, is considerably fresh.” The reporter spoke moving the mic towards him.

“It’s, you know, it’s really nice. We all are hungry and really ready and willing to put ourselves out there” He replied putting on his cap, on his sweaty hair.

“Amazing! As an extremely strong player, what would you say your greatest motivation is?” They continued.

“Oh!” He cheered finally getting the opportunity to talk about his partner. “I would say you know, my team, I want to do well for all of them. They are all exemplary players and they challenge me to be better. Asp my family, my grandma and my sister got me through a lot and I want to make them proud. But most of all.” He paused and smiled at the camera. “My amazing partner! I want to come home a winner to them! I want to make them proud!”

“Thank you so much Asher. And one final question. You have a new team mate that you got, just two months before the season started. They previously played one season for the Sunnyvale Vamps. What is it like having a metaphorical hand-me-down.” At that Asher’s head snapped up his expression extremely confused. He saw Tank, who had come back to retrieve their forgotten cap, freeze in place before shrinking in on themself and walking away. Asher could feel the hurt emanating off his teammate and felt a new kind of rage. He quickly gritted his teeth and gave a sinister smile to the camera.

“Tank is an amazing player and we are lucky to have them. ANY team would be lucky to have them. You know, every team is a different team so you get a new experience. I believe I speak for my whole team when I say, we don’t view them as a hand me down, we view them as an asset. I think that sums up our interview.” He spoke quickly, and clearly. He was extremely firm in his position. Walking off into the locker room to change, he ran into Tank. Bumping into his shoulder they quickly apologized before walking off.

“Tank!” Asher called out to them, stopping them in their tracks. They felt a chill run down their spine and the room began to feel the coldness in the room. “You. You did great tonight. Thanks for playing hard.” He smiled at them and the cold room suddenly felt warmed. They shot him a small grin.

“Yeah well it’s my job.” They shrugged before walking off. Apparently David had finished his interview before Tank as they met up with him in the hallway as they were walking out. When they stepped out they saw David’s gaze lock on a smaller figure outside of the stadium. “That your partner?” They asked nudging him.

“Yeah it is.” He did a terrible job at hiding his soft smile.

“Wow! David Shaw has been domesticated!” They gasped at him as they saw the smaller figure begin to walk over to them. He turned to glare at them.

“Oh, is that your doctor?” He grinned at the panicked look they had as their head whipped around to follow David’s gaze. It was in fact, their doctor. “Wow! Tanker you’ve been domesticated.” He quipped throwing their words back in their face.

“Shut up.” They muttered as they walked off towards Sam, David walking over to Angel.

———

“Sweetheart, what happened?” Milo spoke walking into their living room, wrapping his arms around his Sweetheart and resting his head on their shoulder.

“First game of the Season and they’re already jumping down Tanks throat. I don’t doubt Quinn has got something to do with this.” They said crossing their arms.

“I know. People are shit.” He said kissing their cheek. “We’ll prove em wrong. Don’t worry.”

“I know. I know Hun.” They smiled, turning around to face him. The house was still full of boxes. Not yet fully moved into, but it was theirs. They felt warm with him. He made them happy.

“Hello there.” He beamed at them. “Did I do a good job, Manager.” He teased.

“Very good, though, the view I get of you from the box is a little distracting.” They grinned at him.

“Oh? Why don’t you show me how distracted I get ya?” He moved impossibly closer and set them on the cold marble doubter behind them.

————

They’d done it. Made it to the semi finals. Today they were playing the Keaton Wolves. Both teams stepped out on the field, crouching down getting ready to play. Unfortunately, Keaton was up to bay first, which meant that they had to start ready to catch, throw, and get them to strike out.

In the stands Babe and Angel sat down next to each other, leaning forward elbows braced on their knees. Angel worked at a large news outlet managing the sponsorship side of the business. Babe, a sportswear designer. In fact, they’d designed the very jerseys the Dahlia Dynamites were wearing. They felt all the anxiety that their partners felt together. They were almost inseparable. They’re the best of friends, especially since David and Asher are always hanging out.

David stuck his foot firmly in the ground as he prepared to pitch. He wound up and threw his first ball. A strong slider that met perfectly into Milo’s glove.

“Strike one!” The ref called out. David rolled his shoulders and neck preparing to make another pitch. This one was going to be a cutter. The ball was fast but picked up speed as it dropped into Milo’s gloved hand. “Strike two.” After another strong pitch from David the Dynamites earned their first out.

The next batter was much better and able to make contact with the ball. It moved fast into the outfield and Tank was quick to retrieve it and send it soaring over to Asher. By the time he caught it the player had reached the base.

The next batter decided to go for a bunt near Arden. She ran over and collected the ball throwing it to Brooks on second. The ball connected with brooks hand and they held it firmly against the runners leg.

“OUT!” The ref called. Now they had two outs one on base. David pitched to the batter, “Strike One!” He threw again, but this time the batter connected and the ball soared. It headed right over to Tank. Their metal cleats dug at the grass. Gaining traction they pushed their glove into the air easily catching the ball and throwing it over to Brooks.

“OUT!” The ref called. It was time to switch bottom of the first.

Lovely was up first. They swung a few practice swings before stepping up to bat. They planted their feet and prepared themself for the swing. The first pitch that was thrown was a foul ball. The next a strike.

“Shake it off Lovely!” Vincent called out to them.

“Yeah ‘Lovely’” the catcher mocked. Lovely shot him a quick look before preparing to swing again. They locked their eyes on the ball as the pitcher threw a curve. They hit the ball to the far left corner causing their outfielder to chase. They took off, dust clouding in their wake. Passing the first base, they took off for second as their outfielder fumbled with the ball. They decided to risk going for third. They sped up as the third baseman got the ball and ran at them. He dove to catch them but they leapt over him and got to third. It truly was an amazing play. The audience leapt to their feet and cheered.

Next was Fred, who managed to hit the ball gaining a base and lovely running home. The next batter was out after gaining three strikes. The batter after that was able to get to first. Bright was able to hit the ball but it was caught. It was 2 outs and 2 on base. Vincent was after him planting his feet and preparing to swing. At this point Fred had stolen a base and was on third. The pitcher threw the ball exactly how Vincent had hoped he would. Vincent swung and the ball soared over the field and into the stands. It had fallen right into Angel’s glove and they cheered loud. He blew David a kiss before running all the way home.

By the time the game finished the score was 7-22. The Dahlia Dynamites would be moving onto finals. They would, unfortunately be playing against the Sunnyvale Vamps.

[myimaginarywonderland]

No because could you imagine if Lewis doesn't win another championship and breaks Michaels record?

His entire career was formed around Lewis being possibly the best. Nearly winning it in his rookie year, winning a race every season, beating a two time world champion, going against the beat drivers of the late 2000s and early 2010s and being the best.

He could have been a 10 times world champion, has that ever sunken in? Just 2 more points and he would have won in his rookie year. In 2016 he just lost out after his possibly toughest season (up until last year maybe) to his childhood best friend who he completely fell our with. One less DNF and he could have won it. And last year the title was taken from his hands because the FIA has decided that it is not motorsport anymore but an entertainment show.

Lewis has given everything to this sport, gone above and beyond, broken records people thought would never be broken yet the FIA denied him to be greatest of all time because they simply wanted entertainment. They can't bare to see a black men be the goat.

And imagine if this is truly it.

With the regulation change and the gap from Mercedes to RedBull (because Ferrari will never be a threat) there's no way unless next years season is like 2021. And whose to say they won't do it again? Whose to say that if it came down to it the FIA wouldn't do exactly the same maybe this time in favour of George or Max once again?

The simple reason why Lewis isn't the greatest is because this sport decide that they couldn't have a black man represent them but rather one of the dirtiest drivers (nothing Lewis has done has ever come close to the moves Michael pulled to ensure a championship. I still think he is a great driver but that's not the point.)

Lewis was destined to be the greatest since his first season when he had to come to spain and face people that did black face yet the entire organisation brushed it off and said "Man up, this just happens because they're passionate fans and your teammate who should reprimand them because they are his fans , has his home race here." They brushed Lewis off when they said it was because of sport rivalry yet no rivalry has ever had the horrible fan behaviour that any rivalry Lewis has had did. No one ever had to sit there and watch people make monkey noise, threaten violence at you, use slurs to discredit you, hell even go so far that since you were a child your dad took you aside to a class where you could learn to protect yourself when one person would physically assault you.

Lewis was destined to be the greatest when he was one point of from winning the championship in his rookie season and best the previous two time world champion who happened to be his teammate.

Lewis was destined to be the greatest when he saw his child hood friendship turn so sour that it took a toll on both of them to the point where losing the championship to Nico was probably his lowest point at that time and yet when Nico left he still talked about him with an awe of childhood adoration.

Lewis was destined to be the greatest when people booed him because the incredible combo of him and one, if not the fastest car, was so unbeatable that nothing could come close.

Lewis was destined to be the greatest when he had to watch people like him get murdered daily in a country where they raced in for years. He was destined to be the greatest when he finally found the courage to speak up and was immediately shushed because how dare he?

He was destined to be the greatest when he had to stand next to drivers on the grid who refused to show their solidarity with him in a simple gestures for (insert bullshit excuse) because to actually be against racism is not something they were capable of.

Lewis was destined to beat records when he had to again and again watch the FIA use hollow words because he knew that they would never support him.

Lewis was destined to break the record when he was leading the race but the FIA decided that no, he wouldn't win this and they would do everything to ensure that.

He should have broken the record in Abu Dhabi yet he watched as the championship was ripped out of his hands in the last minute as the entire world saw him losing the title that was destined to be his since the the moment he stepped in the car.

He had to watch his potential legacy be shattered as the entire world watched the sport that so many loved become entertainment.

He had to be graceful while he watched the guy whose team had done everything to make him, a black man, look violent and talentless, win the championship that was supposed to be to one that finally made everyone realise that he was the greatest of all time, that he deserved that spot.

And now, he may never get the crown that was his and the title that was destined to be his from the moment he beat some of the most experienced drivers in the field.

He may never break the record and he may have to watch as people will claim that X driver will break it, knowing that they can simply because they are white and would never be used in the way F1 has used him.

He way never win another championship and he has to sit and watch there as the team who he put his entire trust in builds a car that is genuinely so bad he comes home with pain every weekend.

Lewis may never win another world championship and that is the most heart breaking thing that could happen because he's the only driver, the only person in the history of racing, who had a championship denied from him because it would be better to let the driver win who was used by racists to push an agenda of white supremacy.

Lewis is the only who in F1 has had the championship taken from him because the FIA decided that entertainment was better than fairness and safety.

And even then, people will never use him in the way they use Michael as a pedestal simply because Lewis is black.

Imagine if Lewis leaves in 2025 or something and the last thing he will be remembered for is Abu Dhabi 2021 because that was the day he become a tool for the FIA to make F1 bigger than a sport. And yet, that day he lost everything that should have been his.

[tommyspeakycap]

next to you

rúben dias x reader

you’re new to the team and hate flying. rúben wants to make sure you feel safe and welcome.

my first ruben fic! i hope it’s not awful :)

The first day nerves of travelling with the team had mostly settled - mostly. But there is still that very evident element of new job fear that plagued you especially when you have to travel with them and make sure nobody gets left behind or forgets anything like they most certainly would if not reminded.

It’s not been too hard so far. Pep seems to have drilled very good behaviour into these lads despite their rowdiness. Although of course you have not yet clocked on to the secretive behaviours of one tall Portuguese defender who had been discretely scolding his teammates into not fucking up and making your new job any harder than it already is to grasp. You’ve gotten the hang of it so far in his opinion, watching you scuttle about making sure everyone gets where they need to be when they need to be there. It’s not too difficult for the premier league, being junior media assistant. You take them to their interviews, stand them in front of the right board and give them a quick little pep talk before they start speaking then you lead them back off, or cut off stupid reporter questions before they get to ask them. You’ll do more as you work your way up, but for now you’re just getting to grips with managing multiple players at once. It’s the first you’ve ever had to do this.

Rúben recognises that, has from the get go. He was the first to get to know you really, intrigued to know who the new member of the team was. It wasn’t long before he knew he was in deep, unfortunately. He stuck his foot right in it and now his palms sweat a little around you and he feels his heart pick up every so slightly. He noticed that you were nervous around the guys, always worrying about how well you were doing your job and if you were doing enough to keep it. They all loved you too. John and Kyle think you’re hysterical which is truly the biggest honour you can get because those two themselves have some jokes between them. You make them all feel quite at ease, relaxed before they have to give their post match or pre march interviews when their minds are a little boggled by everything.

But with Rúben it’s just different.

He always wants to be talking with you, around you, laughing with you. When he isn’t with you, he just constantly wishes he was. Seeing you on the touch line after games, cheering them on and hearing your congratulations when they win; all of those things are his favourite things. He finds himself actually actively searching for you at the end, shouldering through the crowds so you can be the first person he wraps his arms around after whatever game they play, win or lose.

He likes to sit next to you on the plane now, it’s his new favourite thing. It feels so normal, like he isn’t who he is and like you don’t work for him. The guys tease him about it, but one hard shot glare is usually enough to quieten them down considering they all know Rúben is one of the toughest of the lot of them and could very likely lay most of them out flat in one swell motion. Rúben doesn’t care that they have to say about it. He knows he probably looks as stupid as they come.

But you get nervous on planes, he’s certain, so he doesn’t care if they snigger about him being smitten behind his back. The centre back wants you to feel safe and he enjoys nothing more than sitting next to you getting to hear your stories and having your eyes flutter very nearly shut just inches away from his shoulder, each day inching closer together. It’s like each day you grow more and more comfortable with him, more comforted in his presence as he becomes something of a very close friend to you.

Well, the kind of friend you text your best friends about. The kind of one that makes you blush and hide your face and then those friends of yours who come round to your new flat in Manchester to tease the living hell out of you over glasses of wine and gossip; namely about that tall defender you’ve taken a fancy to.

“Careful Rúben,” John teases, messing up his mates hair as he walks passed the man submerged up to his abdomen in the ice bath. “Here comes your girl-”

Ruben just his arm out from where he was leaning against the metal bath, thudding against John’s stomach to earn a groan from him just as you enter the room with a little bounce in your step. “Hi guys.” You chime, “You alright John?” Your quirk an eyebrow, your frame completely drowned in the size of Rúben’s huge light blue city winter jacket that the substitutes usually wear when it’s cold on the bench. It was freezing tonight and he absolutely despised the fact you were shivering away just sitting there without a coat, so he draped it over you at half time, zipped you up tight and tucked your ears into one the sky blue city crested hat. “You’ll catch a cold.” He had muttered almost under his breath as he made sure the zip was tight right the way up so it even covers your chin, mouth and almost your nose. For many other people, you might’ve giggled and told them that was actually an old wives tale.

But this isn’t just anyone. This is Rúben Dias. This is him showing you little subtle drabs of his love language. This is him keeping you warm from the winter wind and making sure you don’t get poorly. So instead, your whole heart fills up with warmth and your face had been tingling every since from the soft brush of his fingers when he fixed your hat.

“Yeah,” John grunts in response to your gently placed query towards his wincing frame from Rúben’s midriff jab. “Watch out,” John hisses in your ear as he walks past, “He’s feeling rather punch-y today.”

You roll your eyes with a slight chuckle, shaking your head. “What was that about?”

Rúben shrugs in faux confusion. “It’s John.” He retorts, the corner of his lip tugging up, “Who knows.” Rúben leans forward in the ice bath so he can lean both of his strong forearms on the edge, resting his chin down on top of his arms. You laugh at that, looking down at your phone to check the time. “You’d better hurry though,” you tease, “Else we’ll leave without you and i’ll get the sack.”

That’s very much the last thing that Rúben Dias ever wants happen. He’s actually not sure what he’ll do if you do stay here after your trial year. Undoubtedly, other people will be after you. It’s whether or not they can keep you that will be the question. Rúben hopes to be a deciding factor in that, seeing as he’s literally falling in love with you a little more each day.

——-

Your gentle apprehension for the plane always begins to show on the tarmac. Through customs, past the baggage check and through all the duty free, it’s mostly fine because you have to be making sure the guys aren’t getting lose or left. But once everyone is on the tarmac walking towards the plane, that’s when your nerves start to kick in. The sight of the huge metal contraption that was going to transport you from Germany to Manchester. It’s only roughly four hours, but the rate of your heart thundering in your chest and the spinning of your mind still makes you wonder if it’s even worth it, or if you should turn and run, lose your job and try book a coach with all the tourists returning home.

That’s why your feet feel glued to the runway, hands sweating and heart racing. “Are you alright?” A voice sounds from behind you, his towering presence coming into view around your side. The concern is evident in his voice, just as it always is for you when it comes to flying around. You reckon he’s cottoned on to the fact you’re petrified for your life every time you even think about it and embarrassed as that makes you, there’s nothing you can do to try and shrug off his concern right now. You can barely speak. Usually, you don’t let anyone see you like this. It’s embarrassing for you. Normally you go on and then Rúben spots you nervously fiddling with your hands, and he’ll sit next to you and start telling stories about something funny that happened on the pitch during the game. Today he’s caught you in the process of trying to convince yourself on. Today, you’re a lot more tired than usual and the nerves are always enhanced when you’re tired. You honestly feel as though you might cry.

“Yeah I’m,” You pause to clear your throat, “I’m fine.” Voice trembling on every word, you try to avoid those deep chocolate brown eyes of his that attempt to catch yours in order to drag the truth out of you. “Just uh-”

“Don’t like flying?” Rúben offers, tilting his head gently as his hair blows gently in the wind. You nod sheepishly, letting out an awkward laugh. “Sorry.” You mutter quietly, making Rúben shake his head firmly, “Don’t be stupid,” he refutes as he easily snags your carry on bag from between your shaking fingers to sling it over his broad shoulder. “Take a deep breath with me,” The centre back encourages, taking hold of both your hands after moving to stand in front of you. The rest of the guys are still mulling around somewhere else, half of them still in duty free definitely going to be marginally late to arrive, so it’s fine for him to take this moment just to be with you without anyone seeing. He doesn’t care who sees him, but he worries that you wouldn’t want anyone to see you like this.

Right now, Rúben briefly remembers how many times you’ve been there for him and every other member of the team. They all panic before post match interviews and some definitely more than others. John gets skittish before them incase he answers wrong or gets stupid questions, so you can always be found making jokes on the way to said interviews rather than dwelling on what was to come. For every member of the team you take a different approach. When Rúben was still pretty new shortly after you arrived, he was still learning English. So whenever he got a little confused during interviews, he could flick his eyes to you standing behind the reporter to mouth whatever it was he should say or try to silently explain what he was being asked. You are a constant source of steady support for each and every member of the team, catering differently to each individuals need. Rarely do they get to repay you, so even if the brunette wasn’t smitten with you - which he very much is - then he would still have jumped at the opportunity to help you out.

Rúben makes an exaggerated gesture of breathing, puffing out his chest and encouraging you to do the same to catch your jumping breath. A few moments of deep breath in through your nose and out through mouth encouraged repeatedly by the gently spoken words of the centre back who just eases the nerves right out of you. “It’s silly to say don’t worry,” he acknowledges, “But i’ll be with you the whole time, yeah?” You nod, letting go of one more breath before letting him wrap his arm around your shoulder to lead you onto the plane. He sits you both pretty close to the back so you’re hidden away, allowing you the window seat with the blind pulled down.

He takes you for the entirety of the take off from the runway, managing to keep his head even when you were gripping tightly to his hand in a way he could only have dreamt of.

“Sorry about all that.” You breath out nervously after the plane has steadied in the air, the entire thing pretty silent bar the half snores of all the sleeping players. Rúben turns to you, furrows his brows. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he shakes his head affirmatively. “You help all of us every single say. I owe to you for not making me look like an idiot in my post matches.” He laughs softly, bumping your shoulder slightly with his. “Yeah,” You sigh, admittedly a little dejected, “But-”

“No buts.” He shakes his head again, “I, uh…I like you.” His cheeks tint pink, “I like spending time with you, too. In work and out.” He tries to explain, stumbling over his words like he never learned English, as though he isn’t fluent. Your cheeks blush furiously red. “Really? I like being with you too Rúben.”

The tall brunette has to crane his neck a little, but he leans down so he can cup your cheek to gently brush his lips against yours in the slowest and most amazing kiss you’ve ever had. “You should sleep.” He mumbles against your lips, fingers gently stroking over your cheek to smooth your hair behind your ear. “Or at least try.” You nod your head, leaning back against the chair until Rúben frowns, “Come here.” He instructs, tucking you under his arm so you’re leaning against his side, eyes fluttering shut against him. This will be the first time you’ve ever actually managed to sleep on a plane. The first time you’ve ever felt safe enough and it doesn’t come as a surprise that this happens in the reassuring hold of the man you’ve come to love so quickly.

As you doze off in his arms, feeling his chest rise and fall softly with the steady beat of his heart, it’s easy to feel so safe and so at home.

And you could’ve sworn you hear him utter something you don’t quite understand, but definitely hear.

“Você não tem ideia do quanto eu te amo.”

[flyersheartbreaker]

Forever By Your Side| Isaac Ratcliffe

a/n: this is my first imagine that I am officially publishing! I am very excited to share all of my writing content and series with you guys :)

Pair: Isaac Ratcliffe x reader

Summary: Watching your boyfriend Isaac get seriously hurt during one of his home games and watching him battle through the toughest injury a hockey player could battle, so he can continue on with dream playing in the NHL

Warnings: Hockey Injuries, Cussing, Cute Fluff

Word Count: 3,321 words

It was just another ordinary Sunday afternoon watching a game live from the PPL center here in Allentown, Pennsylvania or so I thought. The game was going really well with the Phantoms up 3-1 on the Hershey Bears half way through the second period. There was your beloved star-studded boyfriend number 19 carrying the puck up against the boards through the neutral zone when suddenly bam everything went to complete silence, except for that shear sound that you wish you could so badly get out of you head.

I jumped out of my seat and darted up the stairs from the lower-level seats that I was sitting in with some of the other girlfriends. I can hear the god-awful scream ringing in my ears over and over again that was coming down from ice level. The crowd was silent, so quiet that you could probably hear a pin drop and when that happens you know for a fact that it isn’t good. Nothing ever good comes from silence at a time like this and I needed to get down to the locker rooms as quick as possible.

Isaac got hit hard up against the boards and fell awkwardly down to the ground, and his right foot looked like it twisted the wrong way. He's had rough collisions before, but never like this. Isaac is a big dude that you surely didn’t want to ending up colliding with, but this time it looked like Isaac got the wrong end of the play. I never in my life ever heard him yell in absolute pain like the wat he was when the trainers and his teammates were trying to help his 6-foot-6 body off of the ice.

My heart was in my stomach as I was racing down the stairs that would lead me to the home locker rooms. I quickly flashed my team badge to the security guard Frank without saying a word. He must have known it wasn’t good either, as he told me to breathe and be careful myself as I jumped down the last few steps.

If Isaac had a season ending injury, it would kill him. He was just heating up and playing his best hockey yet and working his ass off day in and day out so he could eventually make the Flyers roster within this season or even next season for sure. But if his season is over that means his chances of getting to the NHL level could be too and that would just destroy him completely.

As soon as I rounded the corner to the trainer's office, I saw him being helped on to the examine table. His face was as red as a cherry, and he was in a lot of pain. The trainers quickly started icing the area the best that they could as they slowly untied his skate and too it off of him.

“He is definitely going to need some X-Rays done immediately and possibly an MRI as well depending on what the results of the X-Rays are.” The Phantoms trainer Brian Grogesky said to Neil who was one of the Phantoms physicians.

“Jeff and Robert are on their way down from the press box and getting the emergency X-Ray equipment ready. In the mean time you need to relax the best that you can Isaac.” Neil said to Isaac as Isaac tried his best laying down comfortably on the examine table.

Both Brian and Neil noticed me standing outside of the door of the trainer's room and signaled me to come on in, in hopes that Isaac could ease up and relax a little bit more with me by his side.

“Hello, y/n! Looks like we got a live one here and that big boy landed pretty hard on that ankle of his.” Brian said trying to make light of the situation.

Isaac sat up on his elbow and looked me dead in the eyes. I can see and feel the pan behind them, my heart sank even more for him. I just want him to be okay, I want him to be able to play the rest of this season, he worked way too fucking hard for this to happen to him.

“Hey babes, how is the pain?” I said walking over to Isaac and grabbing his hand while kissing him ever so lightly and carefully.

“It's a bitch babe if I am being honest. I’m trying not to think of the worst, but I can’t help it. This isn’t fair, why me? Why fucking me?” Isaac said in more frustration.

“Isaac, don’t get too far ahead of yourself. We don’t know the actual results just yet. But whatever the outcome is you can come back from it stronger than ever. Hockey injuries is sometimes apart of the game as silly and stupid as it sounds, but you’re a fighter and you got this.” Neil said as he placed another bag of ice on Isaac’s ankle.

“They are right babe, your team trainers, physicians and any other doctors have your best interests. Let’s get you into the X-Ray room and then go from there okay big guy.” I said while planting another kiss onto Isaac’s lips.

Jeff brought in some crutches for Isaac to use, so they can take him down the hall to get the X-Rays taking care of. I am hoping that is all that Isaac is going to need and that whatever it is, it's a quick recovery.

After a few short minutes Isaac was crutching back out of the X-Ray room with a look of disappointment on his face.

“Oh no babe...how bad is it?” I asked him while he collects himself.

“It’s not broken...but they are sending me for an MRI early tomorrow morning to see if that shows up with anything and then go from there.” He said in a low tone.

“Well, that is a plus sign that it isn’t broken. You got to be positive about this honey, you need to be optimistic. You can't be negative. Everything is going to work out for the best. Hopefully it's just a minor sprain and you will be back on the ice in no time.” You told Isaac as you wrapped yourself around his side.

All of Isaac’s staff and trainers helped Isaac out of the arena and to his car and safety got him into the passenger seat while, I got into Isaac’s driver's seat.

“Alright, make sure when you get home you put more ice on that ankle for at least 15-20 mins on and then same time off. Do it throughout the night if you can and also, make sure you are using the crutches as much as possible and for the love of God Isaac do not put any pressure on that ankle until after we get the MRI results and see exactly what is going on. We don’t want to make the injury any worse than what it could already be. Try to get some much-needed rest and we will see you in the morning.” Brian said closing the passenger door.

The ride back to Isaac’s apartment complex was extremely quiet. I didn’t know what to say or what to do, so I just let Isaac sit there and pounder in his thoughts alone without me distracting him. Which probably wasn’t a good idea, because I know my boyfriend, I know for a fact that he is thinking the worst possible scenario that he could think of right now.

I helped Isaac out of the car and into the elevators up to his apartment and got him comfortably settled on the couch with his foot/ankle elevated and two ice packs placed on the injured area.

“Do you want or need anything? You want me to bring out another pair of comfy clothes for you?” You asked Isaac as you placed a pillow behind his head/back and placed a blanket right by him as well.

“No, I’m fine...” He whispered as scrolled on his iPad to rewatch the ending of the game and rewatch highlights and the moment of his injury.

You so badly, wanted to say something along the lines to him like "babe don’t be watching that now, it wasn’t your fault, there was nothing that you could have done to prevented that from happening, so on and on.” But deep down you knew nothing would make him feel better until he knew what the main results were. And as the night went on, you could see the realization hit him that this was going to keep him out for a while. He just looked sad, and drained.

After a couple of hours, another X-Ray, and an MRI later, you and Isaac were sitting there waiting in the trainer's office for the results from both the trainer and team doctors.

Both Brian and Jeff walk in with a folder which I assume held the test results for Isaac’s ankle/foot.

“Well, the good news is the second X-Ray that we took this morning once again showed that there was no brake in both the ankle and the foot.” Brian said.

“And what about the MRI? What did the MRI show?” Isaac asked nervously.

I grabbed Isaac’s hand and interlocked his fingers with mine. I could see the look on both Brian’s, Jeff’s, and even Coach Gordon’s face that this news that they are about to give doesn’t seem to be very promising.

Jeff cleared his throat ever so calmly and spoke. “The MRI came back with a high ankle sprain injury which means we really don’t have a timetable for you to return to at this point of time. This type of injury is extremely difficult to recover from quickly. So, with that being said we need to place you on injury reserve indefinitely until we get more of a clear view on this injury.”

“Out indefinitely...so that could mean that I might be done for the season?” Isaac ever so softly spoke.

“Unfortunately, yes Rat...I am so sorry and with it being late into the season already we don’t want to risk anything further and do anymore damage to the ankle. Brian, Jeff and myself all agreed on shutting you down for the remainder of this year. So, it’s better for you to take this time to heal carefully and properly and then eventually rehab it back to full strength without any other necessary tests or worse case scenario surgeries. Then once you have healed properly, we can train and get you back to 100 percent for next year's rookie and training camp.” Coach Scott Gordon said while looking at both Isaac and myself.

My heart broke ever so much for Isaac, this isn’t fair. I know injuries can be a part of the game sometimes, but why did this have to happen to Isaac and why now?! He has been killing it day in and day out since being drafted in 2017. He deserves his chance at playing at the NHL and now with this setback is he ever going to make it to that level?

The ride to Isaac’s apartment was once again a quiet one and this time I don’t blame him. I mean how is he supposed to react to something like this? What is he supposed to say or do when your head coach, trainer and team doctor shut you completely down for God knows how long.

Isaac settled down on the couch and tossed his crutches to side and unstrapped his high ankle boot so he can comfortably rest his ankle on the pillow in front him.

"Baby, I am so fucking sorry that is happening, it’s not right nor is it fair to you." I said, resting my head on his shoulder while getting cozy next to him.

"What if this is it for me? What if I can't play anymore after this?" He asks, eyes filling with tears.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't say that.  You being negative will only make that happen. You are a fighter Rat...you are one tough, strong as hell hockey player who will power through this. I promise you that." I said grabbing his hand and interlocking our fingers together, while placing a kiss on his hand.

A tear rolls down his cheek ever so slightly. "All I wanted to do was be that excitement that both the Lehigh and Philly fans need. All I wanted ever so badly was to have my chance to make it to the NHL level and it got taken away from me. Why do bad things happen to good people?" Isaac asked broken and frustrated.

Once he started crying, I had lost it. Nothing I could do, or say would take that pain away from him and it just broke my heart. I went into the kitchen and I just cried as grabbed him more ice packs from the freezer. How am I supposed to look at the man that I love, and not have my heart shatter like glass when I look into those eyes that were once so shiny, and bright, but now shows nothing at all?  I have no idea the pain he is going through or the frustrating emotions he is now going through as well and I feel terrible.

I eventually collected myself and walked back out into the living room and ever so easily and softly place the ice packs on the injured area and took my seat back on the couch next to Isaac.

"That's the crappy thing about life.” I breathed as I took a deep breathe myself and continued on. “For some reason, it always attacks the good ones, and praises the hell out of the bad ones." I sob, wiping away not only my own tears but also his tears once again. "We'll get through this. I promise. It'll be hard, and it'll be long, but we're going to pull through this." I tell him as I run my hand through his hair.

He squeezes my other hand tightly. "What if during my time out things don’t get better and I need to get surgery, and it's worse than they thought? That could happen. What if they see that my injury is worse than what they thought and that I am out on the shelf even longer and I completely miss this upcoming season as well? Or worse they tell me that I can't do this anymore?" He asks, gasping for air. "I don't want that to happen and I'm scared to death that it will."

I snuggled beside him even more then I already was, resting my head on his chest, sobbing harder than I was before, because I honestly hate when he thinks that he isn’t good enough or he thinks his career is over because of a minor setback or in this case a possible major setback. "Then we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, okay? Just for now, it's a bump in the road. No journey to greatness is a smooth one Isaac. Whatever the hell happens next, we'll face it together as a team, because I am not leaving your side and letting you fight this injury alone. I know that you so badly want to break and that you feel like this the end of the road, but you need to keep pushing and listen to the training staff and follow their instructions."

"I love you so much." He tells me, sniffling. "Thank you for helping me with this, baby, I couldn’t do this without you" Isaac said while planting a soft and slow kiss on my lips

"I'll help you through anything. No matter what." I said while smiling and kissing him softly back.

It was battle to get Isaac’s ankle back to a healthy, normal, and stable ankle for a hockey player at his height and weight but we were able to do it. It was a long road and journey until Isaac was back out on the ice skating again and preparing himself for this upcoming training camp season.

Isaac looked and felt good, until one day right before the Flyers condensed training camp something didn’t seem right with him.

Isaac met up with Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin and after a deep examination we found out that Isaac was suffering from a fractured rib and a collapsed lung. We don’t know how exactly this had happen or when it happened. It could have been from when he fell during his ankle injury or from being hit during Rookie Camp, we don’t have the answers right now. And once again, here I am watching my boyfriend being completely destroyed and devastated all over again.

Isaac became instantly depressed, and much worst this time around because he knew there was no chance of making the Flyers squad this season and who knew when he could lace up for the Phantoms season as well. But thank God for Jim McCrossin who helped Isaac get the right and special care that he needed and got him completely healthy so he could play for the rest of this Phantoms season as well.

Isaac was getting game day dressed for a home game here in Allentown. I sat on the bed and watched/admire him as he fixes his tie in the mirror.

"Try not to worry about tonight so much baby, you are going to absolutely kill it out there like always. Once you get out on that ice, I have no doubt in my mind you will play just like how you used to before all of these setbacks. And just remember that no matter how easy, or how hard tonight’s game is going to be I'll be here for you always. But also, please promise me one thing, that if you don’t feel right to let your staff know immediately because I never want to see you get hurt like this again.” I said walking up behind him and wrapping my arms around his torso.

"I promise babe, I know that I need to take my health more seriously and whatever happens, happens. One day I will make my dream a reality and officially play in the NHL, but for the time being I got to focus on the now and my health." He said as he spun around and kissed me.

Watching Isaac warm up made my heart race and beat fast. But it was all worth seeing him back out there skating with the team and his boys. He looked so good and happy out on the ice and that is all that I could ever ask for.

The journey was extremely hard and long this past summer and fall for both Isaac and I, but in the end it definitely made us a stronger unit in our relationship and it has totally made Isaac a stronger hockey player both physically and mentally.

After the game, I bolted down to the locker room this time excitedly to see my boyfriend, not in a complete shear panic like last time and waited for Isaac to come out after he was done with the media.

The door swung open and I immediately saw Isaac and jumped right into arms like a little high school girl. “Babeee, you were beyond amazing tonight! I am so very proud of you, how are you feeling?” I asked nervously but giddy at the same time.

Isaac picked me up and kissed me ever so passionately before answering any of my questions that I just threw at him. “I felt good and still feel good. It was awesome to be back out on that ice again playing with the boys in front of our home crowd, their excitement and energy helped out a lot. But truthfully, I couldn’t have done any of this without you, y/n. I love you so much and I can’t wait to continue this amazing hockey journey with you right by myside.”

[solarwonux]

Autumn Leaves 

campus crush!jeonghan x f!reader

w.c: 3.1k

warnings: language, angst, suggestive

note: don’t mind me I’m just starting to re-upload all my old works onto tumblr again. This time last year I uploaded this story so I thought it was very fitting to re-upload it again around the same time. I hope you enjoy let me know your thoughts. 

masterlist

The first time you ever laid eyes on Yoon Jeonghan, the leaves had just started to change color. The dull greens slowly fading away as the days went by being replaced by the bright hues of oranges and reds. The leaves that had managed to fall due to their dying cause left a lovely trail behind as you made your way to your first class of the day.

That’s when you saw him, right in between the law building and the library. There he was laying down underneath a tree full of autumn leaves. Paying no attention to the boy who was talking rather animatedly next to him. He was looking up at the sky covered in leaves, an arm tucked underneath his head. You watched as a single bright colored leaf fell upon his chest. How he picked it up and twirled it between his thumb and middle finger. How he nodded absentmindedly at what the boy next to him was saying. How he threw the leaf he was holding to the side and sat up on his forearms. How his eyes met yours for a brief second and you knew you were done for.

You scrambled around trying to pick a different point to focus your attention on. You told yourself to get moving, that your class was waiting and being late was never an option no matter what. Yet, you couldn’t tear your eyes away from his perfect brown ones. When he smiled at you curiously before point towards the law building, almost as if he were telling you to get going before you were late. You didn’t know why you did it, but you nodded before turning and walking away. The single sound of his laughter ringing in your eyes as you approached your destination.

The rest of the day and so on your thoughts were invaded by him. The way the sunlight had hit his perfect features making him look ethereal. How his laughter had managed to heat up your checks as well as your heart. And for the remainder of the semester, you made sure to leave your dorm room extra early, every Monday and Wednesday. In hopes of catching the blonde boy that had managed to capture your heart. But the more the weather grew colder, the less hope you had in ever seeing him again.

And as the days bleed on you had started to forget about him slowly.

That was until the grueling snow had finally melted and the springtime began. The flowers had just started growing, making the campus look like a garden of tulips. The dead trees slowly gaining their leaves, blossoming into perfection as they regained their life once again.

You had promised to sit in on Jihoon’s soccer practice. “I’m going to make captain this year, I can feel it.” Your best friend exclaimed excitedly over the phone. You smiled and nodded while walking to the library.

“Ahh, I know you will, that’s why we’ll go out to celebrate afterward.” You suggested.

“Sounds like a plan, I’ll meet you by the locker rooms when practice is over.” He added before saying quick goodbye and hanging up.

That’s how you ended up sitting on the bleachers. Trying to keep your focus on Jihoon who was bursting with excitement ever since the coach had named him team captain. And you supposed that the universe had its ways of working against your favor. Because just as you started to shift your attention on something else that wasn’t him.

He was back, his hair color had changed from the unnatural platinum blonde you had first seen him into a soft brown. Back then you were sure he couldn’t have looked better. Until you saw the sun rays of the setting sun hitting him at just the right angle that made your heart want to burst from how hard it was beating.

In his sweating form, he looked beautiful, like a fallen angel that had made its way down to Earth. In order to capture the hearts of innocents as he had captured yours. You tried to shift your attention to your best friend or anyone else for that matter. Your attempts being deemed as unsuccessful.

For the remainder of Jihoon’s practice, you fought with yourself for acting like an idiot. For getting all giddy inside whenever you heard his voice shout an obscene amount of insults at his teammates jokingly. For letting your legs grow weak whenever his laughter found its way into your veins making you choke on air. Bottom line you were a nervous mess and you weren’t sure how you managed to survive the rest of the practice without fainting.

As you waited for Jihoon while sitting on a bench in front of the locker room. You tried to keep yourself distracted by checking all social media. Even platforms you hadn’t seen yourself checking since freshman year of high school. Literally, anything to keep your mind off of a sweaty breath-taking brunette boy who had come to own your heart without his knowledge.

“Hey, I hope you don’t mind the guys want to come along with us,” Jihoon said, breaking your train of thought. You looked up meeting your best friend’s eyes, while the rest of his teammates acted like fools behind him unaware of your presence.

“Yeah, I don’t mind.” You answered before you could really process what he was asking you. You watched as Jihoon’s grinned widened as he hugged you tightly. Deep down you knew you were in for an overwhelming and anxiety-induced night. But for Jihoon you would go to the end of the Earth twice in order to make him happy.

Dinner was interesting, you ended up sitting in between Jeonghan and Mingyu, who you recognized as the boy that was with him the first time you saw him. And who seemed to dislike each other greatly. At least that’s what you had concluded by the end of the night. One minute they were talking and laughing with one another. When suddenly they’d start arguing about something stupid, with you stuck in the middle.

“Mingyu you’re not listening to me; Messi is not the greatest soccer player that has ever lived.” Jeonghan had practically spat in Mingyu’s direction. Mingyu scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Han honestly you’re entitled to your opinion but it’s obviously wrong,” Mingyu answered taking a spoonful from the rice in front of him. You could feel Jeonghan fuming next to you. His body heat lingering in the air making your nerves spiral out of control.

Needless to say, dinner was interesting.

Despite all the bickering going on between Jeonghan and Mingyu and you arguing with Jihoon to let you pay for your own mean. In which he ended up winning. Dinner had gone rather smoothly.

Now you stood waiting outside as the guys each bid each other a farewell. Which took an eternity because of the fact that they’d come up with excuses to continue talking to one another. It was cute though and you found yourself wishing you had a friendship bond as close as those boys had to one another. Of course, you had Jihoon, who had been with you through the toughest times of your life. But your bond with him wasn’t anything like the bond he had with the guys. In other words, in your eyes it was magical.

The way they cared for and supported one another. The way they stuck to one another through thick and thin. The way you had to physically pull them apart in order to get them to stop talking so they could go home. It was all fascinating and you felt yourself wishing your friends were anything like Jihoon’s. Sadly, they weren’t which made your longing grow deeper.

“Seokmin wants to show me a new game he bought, and the guys want to play it, is it okay if I don’t walk you home tonight?” Jihoon tapped your shoulder and smiled at you shyly.

“It’s fine campus isn’t far from here anyway.” You said nodding your head.

“You’re the best, I’ll see you later okay?” Jihoon asked rather than stating. You nodded your head and wrapped your arms around him giving him the tightest hug. Although the two of you had been friends since childhood, hugs still felt awkward between the two of you.

“Congratulations on making team captain Woozi.” You said pulling away and ruffling his hair causing him to groan angrily.

“Whatever loser, text me when you get home.” He said firmly before turning around and running back to his teammates that had started to argue on who gets to play the game first.

You shook your head smiling before turning around and heading towards campus.

“Wait.” You heard someone call out making you stop walking. You closed your eyes as your mind registered who the voice belonged to. “I’ll walk with you,” Jeonghan said when he was finally next to you.

You gripped the strap of your cross-body bag tightly. Of course, luck was never on your side, to begin with, and maybe the universe was working with you. But right now, it felt like it was working against you.

“Aren’t you going to Seokmin’s?” You asked keeping your focus ahead as you started walking again.

“Have an 8 am class tomorrow.” He shrugged and continued walking next to you. His gym bag strapped across his white shirt and his hands stuffed nonchalantly into his red joggers.

“oh.” Was all you managed to say as you tried your best not to let the tension growing between the two of you overpower your senses.

The two of you walked in silence. The only sound that was heard was your feet against the pavement and the over blaring sound of the car horns surrounding the two of you. Neither one of you threatened to speak or cut the tension that was bubbling up between the two of you as you got closer to campus. From your peripherals you caught him staring at you curiously. And the more the two of you walked the closer he had started to get to you. Soon you were breathing in his body scent and it was driving you crazy.

“Thanks for walking me, you didn’t have to.” You said as you stopped right in front of your dorm room. He leaned against the wall beside your door eyeing you closely as you look for your key in your bag.

“I wanted too.” He shrugged as you finally found it, inserting it in the lock and just before you could turn the doorknob a hand stopped you. You turned to face the curious boy that had patiently waited for you to get inside. His eyes pleading as if he were to ask you something and just before he could let the words out. His instinct took over and he kissed you deeply. Kissed you like you were the only person that mattered to him.

He wrapped his arms around you tightly bringing you in closer, finally cutting the tension that had grown between the two of you over the past four hours. He pinned you against your door as you responded to his feverish kiss. Feeling right at home as his hands trailed down your back in search of your doorknob.

The second he found it and opened the door he pushed you inside softly. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled against your lips as he walked you backward. “Don’t be.” You said breathlessly as you pulled away taking your hand in his and leading him into your bedroom.

The next morning when you woke up, you were alone. The ache between your legs reminding you of the sinful act you had committed the night before. Any traces of Jeonghan gone with him. The only thing that remained were the ghost touches of his fingertips against your fragile skin. That day you cried, cried for the loss of innocence. And cried because you felt betrayed. You don’t know what you were expecting as you let him touch you the way you wanted to be touched but it wasn’t the emptiness you were currently experiencing.

For the rest of the semester, you avoided going to Jihoon’s practices and games as if they were the plague. Every excuse in the worldwide book of excuses, you had used at least twice. Until one day his pleas and calls stopped coming. And you knew you had let a boy come in between the years of friendship Jihoon and you had under your belts.

You had spent weeks crying over your lost friendship. Whenever you reached out to him he would leave you on read or send your phone call to voicemail, you felt your heart shatter. You knew you had brought this upon yourself, you knew you were wasting your tears since this had been entirely your wrongdoing. But you couldn’t help but feel helpless and alone.

Then one Sunday morning after a night of spilling saddened tears for Jihoon and angry tears for Jeonghan. You had woken up feeling like the wave of sadness had finally passed. Summer was in full bloom which meant the scorching heat was back. But you felt okay and that’s all that mattered at least in that moment. You had somewhat returned to normal. You had stopped dreading getting out of bed every morning and your interest in your classes had been regained.

You spent that entire summer with your other friends. Your bond had grown closer as they watched you break before their very eyes’ months before. They were there for you bringing you the worst movies and all the ice cream you could ever ask for.

The peace had finally been restored in your life, only for it to be ruined one Friday night when Yoon Jeonghan showed up at your door before the start of the fall semester.

You had decided to have a night in. Your friends had tried to convince you to go out with them for drinks. But you hadn’t had a relaxing night to yourself in months. So, you decided to stay in with your Netflix account and a cheap bottle of wine you had bought on your way home from the corner store.

Just as you were about to sit down, you heard someone knocking on your apartment door. You looked up at the clock that sat on top of the tv, that had never worked once. But somehow you had developed this annoying habit of looking at it whenever you wondered what time it was. Groaning annoyed with yourself you set down your wine bottle and wine glass down on the coffee table. You made your way to your front door and looked through the peephole.

Your heart started to race as the ghost of that unforgettable night stood on the other side of the door looking like he had just finished running a marathon. You let out a tiny squeak as you leaned your back against the door. You closed your eyes contemplating whether you should open the door or not. But when the knocking came back and became more desperate than before. You knew you had to open the door because something in the back of your mind told you he wouldn’t stop until you did.

You unlocked your door and placed your hand on top of the doorknob. Inhaling deeply before you opened your front. Once your door was open, Jeonghan pushed past you and walked in leaving you dumbfounded as he pulled on the roots of his hair. You closed the door before turning to face him and watched as he paced back and forth almost as if he were arguing with himself.

“Please tell me you felt it too?” He asked looking at you with pleading eyes. His hands shaking slightly as he ran them desperately through his hair.

“W-What are you talking about?” You asked confused leaning your back against the door. He turned to face you and closed the distance he had created between the two of you. You held out your arm asking him to stop before he could get any closer.

“That night please tell me you felt it too?”

You stopped breathing upon hearing his question. Because whatever he was talking about, you had felt it. You had felt it that day when you first saw him underneath the autumn leaves. You had felt it when he first kissed you and pinned you against your front door. You had felt it when you pushed him down on to your bed and straddled his lap. You had felt it when he looked into your eyes deeply before asking you for permission to continue. When he had pinned you down underneath him and taken your clothes off. When your skin felt like it was on fire underneath his lips.

You had felt that wave of overwhelming emotions as he rutted into you with everything in his being. Like letting you go was the last thing he ever wanted to do. As he looked into your eyes with a passion you never once had seen in anyone else. That night, despite the suffering that had come afterward, was irreplaceable.

“Y-Yes.” You finally choked out, his pleading eyes softening as he let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry, I left that morning, I’m sorry I never called, but you overwhelmed my senses. I couldn’t think clearly from that day on. And I’m the coward that got scared with everything I was feeling.” He confessed leaning his forehead against yours. “You’re a force to be reckoned with and I’ve been hating myself since that night for leaving you the way I did.” He finished closing his eyes as he planted a soft kiss on your forehead.

You let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding in. And wrapped your arms around your neck leaning into his touch. “Yoon Jeonghan, do you have any idea what you’ve put my poor heart through these past few months?”

“Believe me, I made myself go through the same suffering. Jihoon literally had to slap me for being an idiot today after practice.” He said wrapping his arms around your waist lightly. “I’m sorry.” He finished smiling softly. The same smile you had fallen for months before.

You shook your head smiling before you shoved him lightly. “I don’t know why I can’t say no to you.” You said pecking his lips before he had any chance to react.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” He asked curiously raising an eyebrow before leaning down and hovering his lips over yours.

“I haven’t decided yet.” You said before kissing him lightly.

The two of you holding onto one another tightly not knowing what the universe would have in store for the two of you.

[cosmiclatte28]

Baseball (Jeno x you)

a/n : the setting is similar to the previous Jeno story (Single), but the plot and the people are different. Don’t get this mixed hahaha

for @neopalette and all Jeno stan out there! Enjoy this semi angst semi fluff friendship to lover Jeno (hopefully to lover, you got to choose)

casts : Jeno, Renjun, Yuta (just a cameo), (y/n)

“Ready for today Capt?” Your teammate nudges your ribcage and you toss a glance to her.

No you're not ready, the final game in winter quads, the final game where your team have strived so hard to reach this point. Your heart is not okay but can you tell that to your team members? No.

With a professional lie, you nod and pat her shoulder “We can do this, we'll try our best!” You smile and turn away.

It's the final round of the regional baseball game, your team has wonderfully played along the winter and this is the last game with the toughest enemy. You know your team doesn’t have a big chance, but seeing them trying their best, you play your part as a captain nicely.

“Good luck!” Yuta, the school's favorite leader of the men baseball team, pats your shoulder when he passes you on his way to watch the game.

“Oh Yuta-senpai.” You bow a little to honor him (using senpai because he came from Japan) and he smiles “(y/n)-chan, you're a great captain okay? Show them what you got!” he ruffles a bit of your hair and if this was last year, you'd melt into a puddle.

No, your heart no longer desires Yuta. He is just too hard to reach, wanting Yuta means fighting with all the girls in this neighborhood.  Yes neighborhood!

Your steps bring you to the familiar field. You wait for your turn while daydreaming. Someone has been bothering your mind lately. Jeno Lee, the school’s favorite athlete who sadly is no longer playing in the games because he shades the other players’ talent. Jeno Lee, your childhood best friend, your neighbor, your eternal bestfriend. He’s been distant lately, with his new hobby. Painting, Jeno Lee doing arts is something you never thought of, but all of this happened since he met Renjun.

Is Jeno not going to cheer on you? He never missed your games, but lately he’s so caught up In the art room with that new talented painter, Huang Renjun.

“It’s your turn (y/n)! You’re our last hope. Please score one to tie, or we’ll lose.” Your team all root for you but you’re caught in a daydream.

“Don’t worry guys, I got this.” You smile at them and walk to the base. Your heart beats faster the second you run your eyes through the audience.

“Fighting (y/n)!!” Jeno screams to you with his painting apron still attached on his uniform as he waves and smiles to you.

Your heart was beating fast because of him, not from the pressure of the game. So, Jeno did not forget you after all-

You spoke too soon, of course Renjun has to be there. There next to him, Renjun comes shouting for you too and rooting for you. Why must it be Renjun and Jeno, why. Out of all your friends, why Jeno and out of all possibilities of snatching Jeno away, why Renjun. It’s annoying how Renjun can talk about painting with Jeno heart to heart. You did not even realize Jeno is fascinated about arts that much! Unlike you who’s like a misfit, they both look like a fitting puzzle piece when they talk about arts.

The whistle is blown, your first strike.

You hold your bat tighter, you never miss a pitch, what’s wrong with you.

“Strike 2!” the referee blows the whistle again.

Jeno shoots you a concern look, but you did not miss the third shot. It’s not the best shot, you could do better but you run. Your emotion is burning your passion to run and run and ignore all the pain chasing you whenever memories with Jeno comes flooding your mind.

It was you who usually make him laugh, it was you who sits on the bench during lunch together. It was you who watched all of his games but now all he has in his schedule is Renjun and Renjun and Renjun!

You pass the first post, your legs still bring you to the second post and without having a clear mind you make your final run. Wouldn’t it be cool to finish with a home run?

“Stop!” your friends screamed at the top of their lungs but your ears are closed.

“Lee Jeno, let me show you who I am.” You grit your teeth as you make a slide to the home base only to bulge your eyes when you see the ball already touched the ground first before your leg did.

“I make our team lose.” Was all that is ringing in your head.

“Ouch that must hurt.” Renjun closes his eyes when he sees the dramatic ending and how you fall on the sledding process.

Jeno gulps, he knows something is not right. You were training for this super hard and he knows you’re the best player. What is bothering you today?

--

“It’s okay, we had great memories. Don’t be too hard on yourself.” One of your teammate consoles you when both of you are walking down the street to go home.

You nod your head “I am sorry for making the team lose.” You bow a little bit to her, she shakes it off

“Don’t worry, people make mistakes.” She smiles, then taps your shoulder “I can go home by myself from here,” she sounds rushed, you try to stop her “Your boyfriend is waiting.” She juts her chin to the dark road ahead of you and you can see a silhouette walking to you. Who could it be? You’re single

She runs quickly to the other path, leaving you alone in the empty street to wait and see the street lamp shining on the man’s face.

“Why are you walking home, your ankle is swollen. Babo-ya” Jeno squats and you’re frozen in track.

“Jump, I’ll carry you home. You did  this once for me in elementary when  I fell and you brought me home while also crying because you’re sorry for me.” He smiles to you sincerely “Let me pay you back.”

You jump into his back, and Jeno takes off your right shoes. “I have ice, hold the cold okay?” he wraps an ice pack to your swollen ankle and your eyes can no longer stay dry.

You cry, cross it out brawl like a baby who just got their candy taken away.

“How did you walk that far in this swollen ankle? You don’t want to play baseball again?” Jeno asks you as he walks down the starry night with a crying mess on his back.

“I lost! The team lost because of me and I am now carried on your back with a swollen ankle crying. I am such a mess Jeno.” You cry harder into his shoulder and he just laughs a little bit “When was the last time I see you cry? Maybe it was that night you carried me on your back because you accidentally pushed me down the monkey bars. I remembered I twisted an ankle too and you carried me home.”

You smile in your crying state, touched that Jeno still remembers what you did to him as a child. And now he is doing this to you, like a payback. Though you sincerely did that for him.

“You were doing great on practice, what’s wrong?” Jeno questions when he hears your sniffling slowing down.

You hit his back “It’s because of you!!”

“Eoh? What did I do?”

You bite your lips and cry again when you remember how happy he and Renjun always look together.

“You forgot me and hang out with Renjun all the time.” You pout knowing you sound so silly right now, but you’re sad.

Jeno chuckles “So, you are jealous?” he hoists you up his back when he feels you’re slipping off.

“I am not.” You deny it though you clearly is jealous.

“Fine. You’re not jealous. If you’re not jealous why did you lose focus earlier and hurt yourself?”

“I- I was distracted.” That is embarrassing.

Jeno smirks “Ah yeah distracted by me and Renjun standing on your side cheering for you.”

You smack his shoulder “Babo, that’s wrong!” “Whatever, are you alone at home again?” Jeno asks when your house is already in sight.

You nod “Yes everyone is away, they’re working hard for me.”

Jeno knows that, he knows your parents are too busy with their careers and you’re left alone in the house. He wonders how you can feel okay with living by yourself. If that is Jeno he’d already beg to join them instead.

“Why are you still here then?” Jeno mindlessly asks as he brings you to his living room and helps you sit on the sofa. He greets his mom, and you also know her like your own mom.

She lets you have your time with Jeno and Jeno returns after a short moment with a first aid kit.

You ask yourself why are you still here? You could’ve joined them and leave this small town, but here you are still seated in the same house of the neighbor you grew up with!

“You ask me why? Well this town has many memories to me Jeno.” You wince when he presses some soothing cream to your ankle

Jeno smiles when you start to ramble about stories of the younger days, embarrassing one like how Jeno and you were caught red handed trying to bring a cat home when both your parents forbid you. Cute memories like how you accidentally kissed Jeno’s cheek when playing around. Touching one like when you carried Jeno all the way back from the park to the home. Annoying one where he teases you when you had your first crush on the school’s prince; Na Jaemin. Everything always include Jeno in your story, or at least the ones you remember by heart.

“We sure do have lots of memories together! Is it me that makes you stay?” Jeno throws this question as a joke, but you think of this seriously. Yes, he is actually the reason why you stay here.

“I guess that is almost true. I stayed for you, my best friend, technically the one who saw me grow up and share memories with me.” You glance to your nicely bandaged foot, he put on some herbal powder there you didn’t know the name, but Jeno is an expert in sports injuries.

“There, tomorrow it’s going to turn blue, but you can use it a little.” He takes a seat next to you.

You watch him takes care of you, for you this is romantic but does he also feel it that way?

“JJa- take care of yourself better next time. Don’t hurt yourself again.” He ruffles your hair, but when you see his eye smile, you suddenly remember the conversation that has been haunting you for the past month.

--

Flashback

Renjun and Jeno were in the art room, talking in low voice as they paint a vase of flowers.

“So, I see you’re very close to (y/n),” Renjun said

Jeno smiles, the same eye smile he always gives whenever he is thinking about you, “I mean figuratively and literally. We’re neighbours.” Jeno glances to the window, it’s almost noon are you done with your practice? His mind wonders.

“Then she really means a lot to you right?” Renjun asks once again.

Jeno pauses and thinks, after a while he shrugs his shoulder “She’s a little sister I should take care of.”

You happen to be eavesdropping them and for once you hate yourself for eavesdropping. You know you should never eavesdrop, now you are the one in pain right?

With that, you leave them and walk home by yourself for the first time.

--

You go back to your house after Jeno’s mom feeds you a proper meal. You meet his sister when she enters the house and you’re leaving. She looks surprised to find you there, it’s been awhile since you visit their house despite being their neighbor.

You just say hi and quickly hide in your room, why? To cry of course. Because of the game, because of Jeno’s sweet actions, and the truth that he sees you up to “friends” only.

You tried to encourage yourself and think that there is a small chance… but the cynic side of you won and you sleep with a wet pillow that night.

But when he picks you up the next day with his bike, and helps you go up the stairs to reach your class then bids you farewell and picks you up for break times…. The flowers In your heart blooms again and the butterflies are filling your stomach.

If this is the feeling of falling in love with Jeno, you’d do this over and over again even if it means pain or it means happy ever after.

end

[flightlessangelwings]

Protect

Billy Russo x Powered!Reader (fem, she/her pronouns)

Chapter 1

“We got some new recruits today, Mr Russo. They look promising.”

Billy watched the room full of recruits from his vantage point on the upper balcony. Most of them looked like the usual people who applied to work for Anvil: hair buzzed, muscles abound, a take-no-shit attitude. But there was one in particular who caught Billy Russo’s eye.

You stood among the others as you waited for your performance evaluation. Billy knew better than to judge someone based on appearance, but you looked so unassuming that he wondered what you had hidden behind your eyes. He didn’t have to wait long as you were up next. Your opponent was the toughest trainer Billy had, and he was nearly twice your size. But you didn’t look intimidated at all.

With a smirk, you sparred with the trainer as Billy watched with an intense gaze. He noticed your patterns fairly quickly, and he could tell you picked up on the guy’s weak spots right away. You put up more of a fight than the other guys thought you would, and soon you had him on the defensive. He tried to turn the tide on you, though, and pushed back at you until he backed you up against the wall. He kept his aggressive moves up until your back slammed against the wall and his hands wrapped around your neck.

The other guys cheered him on, but Billy stayed silent. He saw the fire in your eyes that everyone else missed. The man you fought smirked; he thought he had won. But you stayed still and waited for the smile on his face to fade. Slowly, his gaze dropped down to finally notice the knife you held against his stomach. He didn’t even see you pull it out. The only one who noticed was Billy.

The trainer backed off and raised his hands in surrender until you shielded your knife, then he reached his hand out to shake yours. You had kept your guard up the entire time, but for the first time you let yourself relax. With a soft smile, you accept his hand with a strong handshake.

“No one has ever been able to beat me before. Well done…”

You gave him your name as you straightened your posture again, “Thank you sir.”

“We’ll have to get the final word from the boss,” he motioned up to where Billy watched from the second floor overlook, “But I’d be happy to welcome you to Anvil.”

Of course, Billy immediately offered you the job and before you knew it, you found yourself alone with him in his office.

“I don’t normally have newbies in my office so fast, but there’s something about you that I really like,” Billy said with an alluring smile on his face as he handed you a drink, “That fight was impressive.”

You accepted the drink but kept your guard up, “I see your reputation precedes you, Mr Russo,” your words were light, as if you were playing a game with him.

“I hope you mean my reputation for being delightfully charming,” he cocked an eyebrow and flashed you a devilish smile.

You took a sip of your drink and relished how smooth it was, “More like I did my research. I don’t go into anything unprepared.”

“Smart woman,” he quipped back with a wink.

You furrowed your brows for a moment. It was one thing to hear about Billy Russo’s exploits and flirty nature but it was another to have it directed right at you. You weren’t used to someone acting like this with you, especially so soon after you met. Part of you thought it was flattering, but you pushed the thought down, “It’s kept me alive all this time,” your voice was heavier this time.

He noticed the change in your demeanor so he changed the subject, “What branch were you?”

“Marines,” you answered simply.

Billy’s face lit up, “I knew there was a reason I liked you,” he refilled both your glasses and raised his to clank them together before he took another drink. “What’s your story?”

You smiled at him as you drank with your new boss, and you got the feeling this would be a regular thing, “I joined when I was 18. The whole pay for college, see the world, get opportunities deal, you know,” it wasn’t the whole story, but you still weren’t exactly sure why you told him that. Yet, you felt comfortable with him. You wondered what his story was like as you finished off your second refill.

And Billy was definitely curious about you, “Where were you deployed? Iraq? Afghanistan? Somewhere else?”

Your face dropped as the playfulness disappeared from your demeanor, “I can’t tell you.”

He noticed the frown on your face and decided not to push it. He knew all too well the horrors that stay with you, “I understand,” Billy took a deep breath, “Either way, I’m happy to have you with us now. I think your skills will be a great asset,” he paused to take a sip of his drink, “And if you don’t mind my asking, what brought you to Anvil?”

“Thank you, Mr Russo,” you replied with a faint smile, “I just wanted to use my skills to do some good, you know? I tried the whole ‘normal life’ thing and it didn’t work out. So I thought, I have the means to protect people, might as well put it to good use. Someone recommended Anvil to me at a support group I was in.” The fire in your eyes was gone, replaced with a vacant expression. If he only knew the weight that your words carried. 

Billy found himself completely intrigued about what you had gone through to affect you like this. He had only just met you, but he could tell that you were a strong person, and you had a good head on your shoulders. You didn’t strike him as the type to take any shit from anyone or to break down easily. Yet, you completely closed off when he asked just a simple question about your past.

We all have our demons, he thought.

Time went by in a blur and before you knew it, you had been at Anvil for almost two months. You quickly impressed everyone around you, and Billy always looked forward to seeing you. In fact, you had done so well for a new recruit that you were already assigned to your first protection detail.

Billy led the squad of course, and you followed with several others to the hotel where you all were tasked with protecting a visiting ambassador. Word was that there was a threat to his life, and Anvil was the first call the ambassador’s people made. You and the others were all in the lobby, dressed in your tactical gear with your weapons ready as you waited for your next instructions.  

“We pair up and cover the building,” Billy spoke to the group in an authoritative tone, “Ludgate and I will stay at the ambassador’s side,” he motioned to you and said your last name, “you and Maxwell cover the stairwell,” he went on and assigned each pair a position before the group broke and took their positions throughout the hotel.

You stood alert at the stairwell door with your partner, Maxwell. He was a quiet guy but he seemed ok. He was nothing compared to Billy though. Wait, where did that thought come from? You spoke to Billy pretty much every day since you had drinks with him in his office, and he left you confused about your feelings after almost every time he spoke to you. But, now was not the time to dwell on your boss. You were here for a job, and you had to be focused.

Everything was quiet so far, no sign of any threats. The team at the doors checked over every person who entered the building and the team had eyes everywhere. Comms were clear, and you started to wonder if the information they were given was a false lead.

Then, out of nowhere, an explosion from the roof shook everyone off balance. The previous calm was gone and replaced by shouts through your comms and people in a panicked state. The men placed throughout the lobby quickly worked to evacuate the civilians out while those placed around the perimeters kept their guard up for the next wave of attack.

“They’re coming from the top,” someone shouted through the comms, and half the team in the lobby rushed up to meet their enemies.

“Shit, they hid in the rooms,” another said.

“Fuck,” you muttered under your breath. You and Maxwell stayed at your post, which was now more important than ever. You positioned yourself to face the stairwell door while you let your partner watch the lobby when another explosion tore through the lobby.

Smoke filled the area as a group of men wearing masks and dressed in all black rushed in. You and Maxwell raised your guns and easily shot down any of the threats who tried to reach the stairwell. You could hear the shouts of your other teammates in your earpiece and it sounded like the men also got in from the roof to cause a distraction before their reinforcements burst into the lobby. 

That meant that your job was more important than you thought, and you and Maxwell had to protect the stairwell and make sure none of your enemies' backup made it up the stairs. You clenched your jaw as you thought about how it was just Billy and just a few others up there with the ambassador and they most likely would need more backup.

“Maxwell,” you shouted over the sounds of gunfire, “I’m going up the stairs to help Russo. Guard the door.”

“You don’t get to give me orders,” he raised his voice to you in reply. 

He glanced over at you, but that split second was all it took for him to become distracted. In that one moment, one of the infiltrators fired directly at him. You kept your focus, so you were quick to react. 

You pushed Maxwell aside and once your body blocked his field of vision, you raised your hand and formed a small energy circle in front of you. A subtle hue of blue and silver formed in your hand that created an indestructible barrier. The bullet hit your small shield and you immediately recalled the energy to keep your power hidden. In another swift movement, you fired your gun and hit the man right in the head.

With a heavy exhale, you turned to him, “You ok?”

Maxwell looked at you wide eyed; he clearly did not expect that from you, “Go,” he said after a nod, “I’ve got the door.”

“Thanks,” you replied, “Make sure no one gets by,”

“You got it,” he said as he raised his weapon. You then disappeared into the stairwell and once you were gone, a scowl came across his face. Maxwell glanced behind him and noticed something odd: there was no bullet lodged in the wall. If you pushed him out of the way, it should have hit the wall. Instead, he looked down to find the shell on the floor right at his feet. He furrowed his brows as he tabled his inquiry for later.

As soon as the door closed behind you, you raised one of your hands to ready your powers while the other held a firm grip on your gun. You also kept your knife strapped to your waist so you could easily grab it if you needed it. The echoes of gunshots could be heard from the upper levels and you ran up as fast as you could. You made it up almost five flights before bullets started to rain down on you.

You were ready, and you raised your arm above you and called on your energy shield to block the hail of bullets. The men who shot at you cursed loudly, frustrated that they couldn’t hit you no matter how hard they tried. They were so wrapped up in their anger that they didn’t even notice the soft blue and silver glow of your energy shield above you. 

As soon as there was a break in their shots, you raised your gun and hit one right in the face. The other man dodged, and immediately shot back. You raised your shield again as you waited for another window. When it didn’t come, you decided on a different strategy. You pulled out your knife and concentrated your energy into the tip of your weapon. It was a newer trick you learned, and the knife helped you to focus your energy to push it forward like a whip or a bullet. With a flick of your wrist, you lashed your energy up towards the man, which glowed a deep blue in its more concentrated form.

He knew he was done for, and right before your burst of energy hit him, he pulled out a grenade and tossed it down towards you. You didn’t see it until it blew up a couple floors above you, and with a deep breath, you raised your energy shield again. In your earpiece, you could hear yells from your team but you ignored it to focus all your strength into your shield. You pushed forward to get yourself out of the stairwell, but it was harder now that you had railing and concrete to hold up with your powers.

With a grunt, you finally made it to the door and pushed yourself through. You crashed through the door, and completely pushed it off its hinges in your rush to get out of the stairwell. All your breath was forced out of your body as you landed on your side on top of the door. Luckily, you dropped your shield before you burst through because a familiar voice greeted you with your name in the hallway.

When he heard the pound at the door, Billy raised his gun in anticipation of unwelcome company, but immediately relaxed when he saw it was you. “What are you doing here?” his voice was tough, but you could hear the concern as he rushed over to help you up.

“Thought you could use some backup,” you strained as you stood to your feet. You noticed right away that it was just Billy and the client alone in the hallway, “Looks like I thought right. Where’s Ludgate?”

“He’s injured. He ducked into one of the open rooms,” Billy replied with a frown, “So yeah, I could use your help,” he added in a lighter tone.

Luckily for you all, the majority of the attackers were already taken care of by the time you reached Billy and the ambassador and the two of you easily took out any stragglers who tried to come at you as the two of you led him down to the lobby. You and Billy seemed to read each other’s minds and easily anticipated each other’s action. It was refreshing how well you worked together.

Once all the threats were taken care of and the ambassador was confirmed safe, Billy finally relaxed. He put on his usual charm as he spoke to the ambassador and some other men you didn’t recognize but guessed were high ranking officials. With a final handshake, Billy sent them off on their way before he came to speak to you.

“I should say something about leaving your post,” he said your name, “But I couldn’t have gotten this job done without you. So, well done,” Billy extended his hand to you.

With a soft smile, you took it, and you were grateful that he couldn’t feel the surge of energy that pulsed through your hand.

~

Notes: I’m a little nervous about this because I really want to get this story right, but I’m also really excited for this little series. This was originally supposed to only be one or two chapters but it got away from me while I was working on it, so as of now I’ve got it outlined at 5 chapters. Next chapter will be some fluff and cuteness, since this was a pretty explosive opening to the story lol. As always, let me know if you’d like to be added to my Billy Russo taglist

Billy Russo taglist: @witchygagirl​ @runawayolives​ @morriganwarrior 

[pleom]

Hi :) May I request a fluff with kevin where you both like each other and the members rat him out pls? Thx

wc: 2.1k | CW: one (1) mention of weed

Saturday called your name. You had to wait painfully as the day dragged its feet through presentations and lectures. By the time the school day ended, you held no more excitement for the weekend as you sat in one of the university’s lounges waiting for your friend to drive you home.

All tuckered out from discussing and convincing your classmates of topics neither of you particularly cared about, you almost ignored Kevin when he approached you, phone two-inches from your face, headphones blaring in your ears at maximum volume, but then you remembered that he’s Kevin Moon, and when he’s got something to say, you listen. 

“Sorry to interrupt you there,” he started, and from his backpack he pulled out a small container of—, “Brownies. I had baked them this morning and wanted to give some to you as thanks.”

“Oh,” was all you squeaked out, though it wasn’t a sound of disappointment or even mild surprise. You had heard about Kevin’s godly baking skills, from the full mouths of those he generously gave them to. Usually his classmates, sometimes the professors, and it was enough to instill that hope that maybe you'll be one of  the receivers one day. Today, it seemed like an arbitrary gift. “Thanks for what?”

“For helping me with my group project.”

“Oh...Oh, yeah!” You gently took the container from Kevin’s hands. Soft confusion still lingering in your mind. “It wasn’t that big of a deal, I barely helped.”

“We got an A because of you!”

“Are you sure it was me? Because last I remembered, you guys did all the brute work, I just filled in the minor details.”

“Aren’t minor details the toughest part?”

You shrugged. You took a single brownie out of the container and put the rest in your bag. Kevin watched as you bit into it, humming a gleeful tune at the way you melted. It tasted even better than you expected. “This is too good to eat for free. How much do you want? Twenty dollars? Fifty?”

Kevin bit down a smile and waved his hand, sheepish. You noticed a brown mark on the back of his hand that wasn’t there the last time you saw him. You figured he must’ve burned himself. 

“You’re just gassing my head.” 

“No, I’m serious.” Kevin looked pleased to see you finish his brownie. “Did the others get some?”

The others being Sunwoo, Jacob, and Juyeon, the three who were assigned to the same project. You were actually called to help by Sunwoo, who pleaded and whined and bargained after your many attempts to say no, you had too much on your plate. Then, as a last resort, he began naming his teammates; guilted you with Jacob, tried to lure you in with Juyeon, and finally—the nail in the coffin—mentioned Kevin. You could imagine the cocky face Sunwoo must’ve had when he realized he had reeled you in. 

You gave up on trying to deny his accusations. You wouldn’t say you had a full-blown crush on Kevin Moon, but you were definitely fond of him in a way that could be described as infatuation. 

Now that the project’s done, you would see to Sunwoo’s promised reparations for the emotional damages he dealt. You were pretty sure he owed you five free milk tea bobas. 

“The others?” Kevin’s face contorted in confusion for a split moment, like he had already forgotten who had worked diligently on the project with him. He didn’t sound completely sure of himself when he answered, “yes, they did. I baked an extra large batch for everyone involved. Even gave some to the professor.”

“Is that why you have that burn mark?”

Kevin looked down at his hand before covering it with the other. “Oh, that. Yeah, this is what happens when you have an oven only as big enough as you can afford.”

“When I say I feel that…” You became increasingly aware of the dwindling topics to speak about, so before an awkward silence has time to settle in, you stand up from your seat and raise a hand for Kevin to shake. “My friend is probably waiting outside for me right now. Thank you again for the treat, really appreciate it! I’ll make sure to share some with her to spread the love around. Seriously, you should patent that recipe.”

“Learned from the best,” Kevin chuckled. “Thank you for helping. See ya later.”

“See ya!” And you were outside less than a minute later. 

Maybe you were the one that owed Sunwoo free drinks.

-

Saturday called and you answered, a bit more jubilant this time. Now that you had finished most of your homework and spent an hour cursing yourself to sleep over missed interactions with Kevin, you felt revitalized. 

You took the bus to Sunwoo’s dorm and let yourself in. On weekends, Sunwoo’s dorm room was rarely locked, considering that it took the name as the unofficial common room of the apartment building. Today, it was less crowded than usual, which to you was a relief. That meant there were less people you had to fight for access to Sunwoo’s computer. At times, you felt silly for acting so starved, but when you’re a broke college student with only one shitty laptop to your name, you had to take your graces as they came. 

Juyeon and Eric lied by the foot of the couch, competing with each other over some game displayed on Sunwoo’s TV. Sangyeon snacked by himself in the kitchen, and you spotted Changmin, Sunwoo’s roommate, quietly moving from room to room down by the hall. 

You decided to head into the kitchen first, whether to steal change off counters or food from the fridge. 

The fridge was destination number one, and frankly, it was empty. It was normally the usual sight, but you still had the faint taste of chocolate fudge on your lips that led you to ask, “you guys finished the brownies already?”

“What brownies?” 

“The ones Kevin made yesterday.”

“Ah, man, Kevin made brownies?!” Eric shouted from his seat. He screamed a second later, which was followed by Juyeon’s laughter, then rose to his feet to mirror you at the fridge door. “I told him to wait till Haknyeon gave me my $20 back! Can’t believe he made edibles and handed them out without me.”

“They weren’t edibles. Kevin made regular brownies for me, Juyeon, Jacob, and Sunwoo. Said it was because we worked on a project together due last Monday,” you said. You found a seat by Sangyeon on the kitchen island. Juyeon, who had set down his controller to stroll in after Eric, looked puzzled.

“Huh? Kevin didn’t give me any brownies.”

“Kevin made brownies? Where the hell is he?” Sunwoo barged loudly into the room thereafter, with mussed hair and grease-stained shirt and looking wholly comfortable up till he heard the commotion in the kitchen. He swept the room and the living room for signs of the boy, and brushed aside ingredients in the fridge for a confectionary he apparently did not receive. He came back empty-handed and confused; you were no different.

“Uh, didn’t you get them yesterday?” You asked. You were met with Sunwoo’s blank stare. “He said he baked them for all of you. I have a few left back at my house.”

“Yeah, as far as we know, there are none,” Juyeon peeped, though he didn’t look half as bothered as Sunwoo did.

“Are we sure you’re not playing us right now?” Sunwoo narrowed his eyes at you. He looked just about ready to kick you out. Changmin walked in, eyes wide but mischievous. It’s obvious that he’d been listening this whole time, and something in his gaze said that he knew much more than both of you, and that he was withholding it for the sake of drama. 

“Why would I lie?!”

“I dunno, to brag? To make us look like second-rate friends? You’re not even in any of Kevin’s classes!”

“Maybe he pulled a raffle…” Changmin said not-so-absentmindedly.

Sunwoo’s face was contorted with semi-offense. He patted his pockets before turning to dash down the hall to his bedroom, just in time for the front door to open and reveal the star in question. Kevin entered the room with exasperation etched clearly on his face. He didn’t seem to register you, his eyes glazing over people’s faces in search of one in particular.

Changmin, this time wide-eyed with panic, darted to hide behind the island.

“Hey, is Changmin here?”

“No!” Changmin yelled, slightly muffled. “But Changmin did relay a message. He said that he’s really, really sorry for any unfortunate events his actions may have caused. But he requests an extension on—”

“I’m too tired for this, Changmin. Just give me my—”

“Kevin, that burn mark still hasn’t healed?” You found yourself speaking without ever really considering what to say. You spoke on pure reflex, when Kevin came and leaned over the island kitchen with his hands curled around the edge, and the mark had turned less brown than inflamed red; the sight made you wince. 

“Is that…!?” Eric’s jaw dropped when he laid eyes on the same sight. He dramatically fell against one of the kitchen stools. “Oh man, he really did bake brownies without telling us.”

Sunwoo came back just in time to witness the climax of Kevin’s-secret-brownie-adventure story. Kevin looked like a deer in headlights. Changmin took the moment to crawl out from beneath the island to escape into his room. Sunwoo looked genuinely betrayed by Kevin’s arrival.

“Yeah, sorry bro, but that constitutes a two week ban from our place unless you pay us back in both brownies and cookies with interest.”

“I don’t even care about the brownies itself anymore,” Eric said, still curled up over a stool. “How come they got to have some but not us?”

Something about Eric’s question set something off in Sunwoo. Suddenly, his dramatics cooled down, and he looked at Kevin slyly. 

“No idea,” you said. At this point, as confusing as the whole thing was, you quickly grew tired of it. It became too much trouble for what seemed like a simple act of gratitude by Kevin, which was never out of character for him. And to top it off, now Kevin seemed to actively avoid looking at you, and the following disappointment was hard for you to swallow.

“I have some idea,” Sunwoo said, but he made no attempt to follow up on that statement. He sat down on one of the kitchen stools, pleased with himself.

“I do, too.” Juyeon said and sounded like he had an epiphany.  “I think Kevin must really like (Y/N) to be able to do that!”

Silence. All eyes in the room shifted from you to Kevin. Too scared to look directly at the boy himself, you peeked at him from the corner of your eye and saw the look of pure devastation on his face. Juyeon seemed oblivious to it all. Sunwoo, luckily, was there to reel it in. 

“Hey, Juyeon, can I borrow you for a second?”

“Gah!” Unfortunately, the damage had been dealt. Kevin hightailed it out over Sunwoo’s apartment with you hot on his tracks.

“Kevin wait!”

You found him sitting out on the apartment steps, face buried in his hands. He didn’t respond when you called out his name, nor when you sat down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. The sight broke your heart, so you thought of ways you could help soothe his panic.

Reaching down you pulled Kevin’s hand into yours, the one with the bright red burn, and massaged it with the pads of your fingers.

“To be fair, I don’t think Juyeon’s assessment really holds any weight, so please, don’t worry about it,” you said. Kevin took a while to respond, but eventually he lifted his head. He didn’t look you in the eyes when he spoke.

“It does though,” he sighed. “I was going to wait for the right time to confess.”

His words made you halt.

“Confess?” You shot up straight, dropping his hand into your lap. “Kev,  do you actually mean that?”

You watched as his ears and cheeks began to redden. He chanced a shy glance your way, and you could feel his fingers flex in your lap.

“Uh...depending on your reaction, hopefully…?”

Returning your hand on his, you pulled it closer to you. You traced around his injury, keeping an eye on his reaction in case he pulled back or winced with pain. Then, bravely, you interlocked both of your fingers and inhaled with relief when he tightened his grip. 

You did it all without ever breaking eye contact, and with a small smile, you asked, “do you want to give it a try at least?”

Kevin’s stress seemed to have dissolved from him completely then. He mirrored your smile.

In the back of your mind, you hoped Sunwoo wasn’t scolding Juyeon too hard.

----

me mentioning sangyeon in the kitchen once before dropping him entirely from the fic 🤡🤡 anyways anon thank u for requesting!! this was kinda cringe but also kinda fun to write so lol

[short-wooloo]

Why RWBY Won

There have been some people questioning Team RWBY’s victory against the ACE-OPs, claiming that they aren’t skilled enough compared to the premier team of Atlas, which is both a misunderstanding of what determines the outcome of a fight and attempts to pin it on a sole factor (interestingly enough I’ve also seen people use the same flawed line of reasoning a year ago to say that Adam should have won because he’s “strong”)

The outcomes of fights are decided by a combination of skill, experience, strength, environment, intelligence, mental state, preexisting advantages/disadvantages or weaknesses and the exploitation of such, and in cases of multiple combatants on the same side, teamwork

With this in mind it certainly may seem like ACE-OPs is more skilled, experienced, and stronger given that they’re adult graduated Hunters, who are “the best in Atlas” (are the truly the best? Or are they just the best who would not question orders?), but other than that every indication is that they have had a run of the mill schooling and experiences as Hunters, yes RWBY is technically only second or third years, but that’s just what they would be in the academies relative to their ages, Team RWBY’s experiences have been anything but ordinary, that fact is the plot of the show, they have been fighting terrorists, esoteric legendary Grimm, and facing villains with far-scoping grand plans at a young age, Team RWBY is simply not comparable to other Hunters in their age range

With that in mind we should get to the main reason RWBY won: Teamwork

Throughout the fight RWBY was very clearly working with each other, they watched each other’s backs, and aided in defeating opponents, but for ACE-OPs, there’s almost no semblance of cooperation, Marrow was reluctant to fight, Harriet was violent and aggressive, and even Elm and Vine, the ones who worked together the most during the fight were divided in approach, Elm opting for more lethal force and Vine trying to restrain while fighting together meant they were as much against themselves as they were against Bumbleby, speaking of which, it was cooperation by Blake and Yang that beat Vine then Elm, and though Ruby and Weiss weren't directly aiding each other (the nature of their opponents mean they had to keep them isolated from the larger battle), they supported and helped where they could, Ruby defending Weiss, which also lead to further division in ACE-OPs as this drew Harriet back into the office, where she and Marrow got into a spat over methods and use of force, and later Weiss bring the fight with Harriet to an end with efficiency

Next we have weaknesses, advantages, and disadvantages: In this area Team RWBY very much played to their strengths with their opponents,

Ruby faced off against the speedster Harriet and thus keeping her from attacking WBY, and more importantly despite the similarities of their semblances, the functional difference of Ruby’s is that it allows her to go incorporeal and does not need solid footing on the ground to work, thus allowing Ruby to dodge and wriggle out of Harriet’s grasp, important as Harriet is a close range fighter with no discernible long-range weapon, furthermore, and this is something that I think gets missed but Ruby’s line to Harriet about how RWBY is now better is more than just a justified boast, its psychological tactics, Harriet is competitive, she needs to win, and Ruby played to that, by taunting Harriet, Ruby got into Harriet’s head, threw her off balance, Ruby distracted Harriet from the larger fight (which Harriet could have been a major influencing factor on the outcome if she just worked with her teammates), by goading her into a personal grudge, Ruby targeted Harriet’s focus and made her get caught up in something personal, oh the irony

Yang squaring up against the heavy-hitter Elm, as she is not only the toughest of RWBY and therefore can take more/harder hits, but she has semblance that specifically requires taking hits as a power up, that and Yang nullified the advantage of Elm’s semblance by exploiting its logical weakness of requiring solid ground

Blake took on Vine, and honestly, he was probably the most screwed over in his opponent, we still don’t know what Vine’s weapon (if he has one) is, and his semblance works by stretching out and grabbing things, which isn’t so useful against an opponent with a weapon and style that not only works at different ranges, but alternates and switches between them rapidly during combat, and Blake’s semblance is perfect for the fight, as in practice it works as short range teleportation whilst not immediately indicating where Blake has gone, and the semi-solid nature of Blake’s shadows makes for excellent distraction/bait against someone who’s fighting style is based on grasping/catching enemies

And finally we have Weiss and Marrow, like with Vine, the logical weakness of Marrow’s semblance was exploited, Weiss kept herself and her summon separate, depriving Marrow of his ability to end the fight quickly as he can only freeze those in his line of site (side note: good on Team RWBY for quickly getting away from Marrow and therefore keeping him from affecting the rest of the battle), any time Marrow froze one he was opened to attack from the other, eventually he was overwhelmed

And there’s one more reason why I’d like to add for why RWBY won: willingness to use violence

Now what I mean by this is that RWBY was on the same page on what they would do to win, they aimed to incapacitate, not hurt, half of ACE-OPs was committed and willing to use lethal force, 1/4 was trying not to hurt, but clearly wasn’t afraid to do so if it came to it, and only poor Marrow seemed to have any real opposition to lethal means,

What is it that makes this important?  Creativity and ingenuity

As I recall reading at some point, what makes superheroes who do not kill or are not willing to kill outside of extreme circumstances better fighters than heroes that are willing to kill/villains, is frankly that humans (and in this case Faunus since the anatomy is almost the same) are remarkably easy to kill, maim, and damge, heroes who do not kill have to be careful and creative to non-lethally incapacitate their opponents, particularly if the heroes have superpowers and they’re against normal humans, thus the need to be smart and efficient at problem-solving, as opposed to lethal force which is easy to implement and does not require much brainpower to use, therefore RWBY did more than physically beat ACE-OPs, they beat them in the mind as well

[lesbian-deadpool]

Don’t Say Goodbye

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Words: 2,193

Warnings: Blood, injury, panic, implied smut, friends with benefits situation, anger, heartbreak. I think that's it!

Request: For @viarogers​ who donated to the Australian Bushfires.

Summary: What a shit show.

A/N: I really hope you enjoy this!

(Not my GIF)

***

Well, this has gone terribly.

No.

Oh, no-no.

This was worse than terrible.

This was a disaster. And it had been from the moment it started.

The mission was a complete failure.

However, that’s not where it started.

(Seven months ago)

“Natasha?” You asked in the cold dead night, staring up at your bedroom ceiling. Eyes used to the dark of the room. The sun would be rising soon, anyway. You knew you wouldn’t be getting any sleep, so it was fruitless for you to even try.

“Hmm?” Natasha hummed, as she sat at the edge of your bed, pulling on her clothes.

You couldn’t bare to look at her. If you did, it was certain you would surely break down.

“Why do we keep doing this?”

Natasha chuckled, totally blanking the far off drawl to your voice.

“Because sex is fun,” she said, jumping up and down as she pulled on her jeans. Before turning to face you, leaning over your face, “And you’re a good lay.”

With that, Natasha pressed a hard kiss onto your lips, one that she did not notice that you had not reciprocated.

“I’ll see you later, baby,” she smiled over her shoulder, moving to leave the room, “Let’s do this again later.” With her back facing the door, Natasha shook her hips, with a teasing smirk on her face. “Maybe a quickie in the storage closet.”

“I’m a good lay?” You asked, still stuck on her words.

“Well, yeah.”

“Is that all I am to you?”

Natasha stopped fixing her hair, to turn and look at you once again.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“Answer my question,” you ordered.

“No. You’re not just a lay to me.”

“Then what am I?”

“Y/N,” Natasha said slowly, crawling onto the bed next to you, hand caressing your chest. Your body unmoving, eyes still locked upon the ceiling. “You’re my best friend.”

“That you sometimes sleep with.”

“I don’t think ‘sometimes’ is the most accurate word,” Natasha chuckled.

“Natasha,” your voice was firm but sad.

“Okay… you wanna be serious now?” Natasha asked sceptical, “Because that is so unlike you.”

“I’m allowed to be serious, Natasha.”

Folding her arms under herself, to rest her chin upon them, still looking at you. Natasha clarified, “I know you can. It’s just that you don’t, normally… you can’t even look at me.”

“That’s because it hurts.”

“It hurts to look at me?” Natasha asked sadly.

“Yes.”

“Y/N,” she tried, “Y/N?”

Kicking her leg over your waist, she leaned over you. Hands on your cheeks, face obscuring your view, but still unable to tear your eyes away from the ceiling above.

“Y/N, please look at me. Please,” Natasha begged.

“I can’t.”

“Why, Y/N? Why does it hurt you to look at me?”

“Because I’m in fucking love with you, and I can’t bring myself to look you in the eyes, when you only see me as your friend,” you admitted. Finally.

“Fine,” Natasha spat. She thought you were lying to get her to drop it faster. Because of course, why would she believe anyone could ever be in love with her, “Don’t tell me. You know what? Don’t even fucking talk to me.”

Storming to the door, she threw it open, before slamming it behind her.

You were right.

You didn’t sleep.

When you went out to grab breakfast not even an hour later, the whole team gave you pitying looks.

They knew of your and Natasha’s strange relationship. It’s not like either of you tried to hide it. All of them finding you in more than compromising positions, too many times for any of them to count.

Natasha was nowhere to be seen, presumably locked away in her room, allowing anger to consume her.

You hadn’t spoken since then.

Not once.

Not when the team had, as Tony liked to call ‘em, “Family dinners”. Let's just say the name stuck, and that’s what everyone called it now.

Not when it was just you two left at the compound.

Not during a mission, a briefing, nor the debriefing.

You didn’t even fight. There was no contact. Almost as if you were to say “hi” to the other, you would keel over.

You had gone on many missions like this with one another. It was only an amount of time before a mission like this was bound to happen.

It had been disastrous, from start to finish.

You were bombarded by HYDRA Agents as soon as you had stepped off the Quinjet. More than had been expected. Forcing you to retreat further into the surrounding forest, and rework the mission on the spot. Luckily it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. You were The Avengers, you were always ready to think on your feet when you needed too.

The HYDRA Agents surrounded the jet, and your team was nowhere near it.

So the new objective was to wait for back up, and try to clear most of the enemy Agents away from the jet, to retreat back to base, and rework your plan accordingly.

A difficult mission. But easy enough to understand.

But things were only to get worse.

***

You were always level headed, making jokes, and keeping things light and happy. Never one to raise your voice -other than to gain attention, or for important reasons-, to snap at anyone. You were the embodiment of calm serene nature. Always trying to make the team calm down and spirits high.

Peter had, on more than one occasion, called you “chill”, to define the energy you radiated.

It was obvious to everyone that no one feared you, even if you were a skilled agent of SHIELD and an Avenger. And you liked it that way. Who would ever want to be feared?

You felt anger -of course, you did- you just found it pointless to show it and start an unnecessary fight.

Maybe you had some emotional issues to work through. But who out of your team didn’t?

So, it was only understandable how the rest of the Avengers would react when you finally lost it.

The mission was tough. The toughest yet in your year and a half on the superhero team.

“Can we get some medical assistance over here?!” Your voice called through the comms.

“On its way,” Maria wired through from base, “Should be there in twenty.”

“Gonna need it faster than that, Maria,” you almost chided through the comms.

“There’s nothing we can do, Y/N,” Maria chided right back at you.

“Fuck,” you hissed.

The sticky red substance oozed through your fingers and flowed over the ground below her, from the wound in her abdomen. There was so much blood. Too much. The bullet had hit something vital, that much was sure. But how long the woman below you had, was not.

Natasha gripped your wrist, making you snap your attention to her tear-filled eyes. Seeing the absolute openness within them, her walls had fallen. And it was almost like that was all she had to say.

She didn’t need to verbally say anything to you. You knew exactly what she wanted to say.

I’m scared.

Please don’t let me go.

Don’t leave me.

I’m sorry.

I wish I had more time with you.

To make things right.

And that’s when you broke.

“Maria, get the med-team down here now!” you roared down the comms, unknowingly making everyone's eyes go wide with shock, of how angry you sounded, some of your teammates stumbling in their current task because of it. 

Even Natasha’s eyes, which were exponentially weaker than they were a few moments ago, grew slightly wider at your sudden outburst. Her hand, however, still gripping onto you tightly.

“Holy shit, Y/N,” Tony finally regained his composure, and was able to mutter into the comms, his voice soft with worry as he continued, “How bad is it, really?”

You didn’t reply, knowing you would break down and cry if you did, already feeling that sore burn in the back of your throat, chin wobbling as you tensed your neck.

Instead, you decided to ask, with your voice hard with worry, “Maria?”

“I’ve told them to speed things up. They should be with you in exactly six minutes.”

Sparing a glance back up to Natasha’s increasingly paling face, you knew it still wasn’t fast enough.

Natasha knew it too, if the was she smiled sadly at you was anything to go by.

“That still doesn’t work for me, Maria,” you said while pressing harder onto the still seeping bullet wound, causing the red-head you whine out in pain, “We need it faster than that.”

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Maria replied weakly.

“God fucking- Damnit!” Your sentence began off weak before it turned into a loud frustrated yell.

You were helpless. You literally could do nothing to help her. Everyone knew that. And you hated that.

“Y/N?”

You were pulled out of your own mind, with the whisper of your name. Thankful to have been aided in your escape from the swimming thoughts. Until that is, you saw the look on Natasha’s face.

It was pitying almost. She was so sorry. Tears streaming down her face, and a sad smile on her face.

“I’m sorry-”

“Don’t,” you interrupted her, “Please. Don’t.”

“Y/N, please just let me say this,” she begged. Which you nodded at her, giving her the go-ahead, to continue, “I’m so sorry. I should have stayed that night. I should have talked to you. I wish I did... I wish we had more time...”

“Please don’t do this,” you cried, chest shaking as you tried to hold in your sobs.

Natasha tugged lightly on your wrist, indicating that she wanted you to move closer to her.

“Just- Just hold me, please?”

“Of course.” You nodded. Removing one of your hands from her gaping wound, to slide it under her neck, causing Natasha to groan at the movement. You kissed in between her eyebrows, as you laid beside her. Whispering for her to try and hold on just a little while longer.

If only she had listened to your pleas. As her eyes fluttered closed, and you couldn't wake her when you shook her. Just as the quintet whirred above you, in its landing.

***

It had been fifty-seven hours since the mission.

And you had not left the hospital since you had gotten back to base.

Your hand clasped in the red-heads clammy one, eyes trained on either her chest to make sure she was still breathing, or her face to give you the confirmation you needed that she was, still in fact, here.

Natasha was still not awake.

The doctors said that it was normal with an induced coma. However, that didn’t stop your worry. You didn’t think that it would leave you until Natasha was fully back on her feet. But you knew that there would still be that little voice in the back of your head, reminding you of this. Keeping the knowledge of her mortality with you for the rest of your life.

As you stared at her face, that had regained most of its colour back, you kept on thinking back to when Natasha had become limp and lifeless in your arms. And the emergency blood transfusion you had given on the medical-evac, as medics swarmed Natasha, trying to stop the, somehow, still bleeding wound.

You hadn't noticed that you were staring blankly at your entwined hands until you felt yours being squeezed.

Looking up, you saw Natasha awake, abet groggy, and smiling at you.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“Oh, thank God you’re okay.” The relief that you felt was next to extraordinary, the weight upon your shoulders mostly leaving you, allowing you to breathe freely for the first time since the mission.

“Thank God you’re here.”

“Like I’d be anywhere else.”

The corner of Natasha’s lip twitched up, as she weakly tugged you closer to her body. Both of you relishing in the soft kiss you shared, the one that was long overdue thanks to your shared stubbornness, and obliviousness.

“What was that for?” you whispered against her lips, moving to carefully sit next to her bandaged abdomen on the bed, still caressing her hand on your lap. Your other arm holding you up on the other side of the hospital bed, as you leaned over her, Natasha’s empty hand resting on your upper arm.

If anyone were to walk into the room right now, they would instantly know that they had interrupted something so intimate and private, that they would be quick to rush out of the room.

Which is exactly what Tony did. Deciding instead it was best to fetch a doctor to check on Natasha, while you two spoke.

“I love you, too.”

“What?” you asked shell shocked.

“You-” Natasha started anxiously, her voice uncharistically small, “You still love me, don't you?”

“Of course I do.”

Natasha let out a relieved sigh.

“If you say yes, I’d really like to try again. Have a real relationship this time? Actually, try the dating thing.”

You smiled leaning down to whisper, just before you kissed her once again, “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

[pinballwitxh]

reach for me - request - spencer reid x oc

@prettyboyspenerrr​

summary: they had done such a good job of hiding what they had, no one on the team had any clue how close they really were.  the team takes on a serious case and spencer is sent into the thick of the fight, along with jj and morgan.  emotions are pushed to the limit and truths are revealed when the lives of the team become threatened.

warnings: violence, cursing, people getting hurt including bby boy Spencer, 

a/n: this request has already been a favorite of mine, I love dramatic and intense scenes!  I hope this doesn’t seem to rushed or anything but I loved writing this and I hope you enjoy!

- - -

Hotch briefed the team gathered behind the S.W.A.T. vehicles, reluctant to say who would be storming the premises.  Strauss had given him strict orders and he knew he needed to follow them, one of the toughest parts of his job.

Her breath hitched in her throat as Spencer’s name was said but instantly she steadied her breathing.  It was almost habit for her to contain these emotions, now.  So far she had gotten so good that none of her teammates expected a thing.  She barely heard Morgan and JJ’s name also being mentioned before they were dismissed to gear up.

Before going into Garcia’s mobile setup she trailed behind Spencer slowly, keeping her head buried in the files in her hands but making sure his figure was in her line of sight.  

She entered the S.W.A.T. vehicle and shut the door behind her quietly, turning to face Spencer after locking it.

“You shouldn’t be in here,”

“I just want to hug you before you go in,” she said quietly.

His gaze on her softened as he turned and shrugged his cardigan off.  She sighed as he shook his head, “We can’t start being risky, now”

She did not head his warning and ran into his unsuspecting arms.  He stumbled back a bit from the force, but eventually he hugged her back just as tight.  For a minute they stood there, tightly pressed against one another and breathing deeply.  It was one of the few spontaneous moments they could enjoy.

“Kick some ass like I know you can, Reid.”

“We’ll be in contact the whole time, I won’t be out of your sight.” he paused, “Not really, anyway.”

She chuckled, “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

- - -

Garcia and Prentiss stared at the many screens in front of them as their teammates followed behind the S.W.A.T. team.  Hotch and Rossi were stationed outside with the rest of the local police force, shielded behind the many vehicles with flashing lights.  Gunshots interrupted the silence and rang out from inside the building.

She contained her worried gasp but gripped her pistol even tighter, “They’re gonna have to go in, now,”

Hotch nodded and gave the order to storm the building.  The S.W.A.T. team and BAU members picked up their pace and headed in different directions around the building.  Morgan lead the way into the front entrance, JJ and Spencer taking opposite sides of the building.

He was out of her sight now.

She crouched lower behind the vehicle as Morgan kicked the door down without so much as even a sweat, not surprisingly.  It was silent as he disappeared into the darkness with the S.W.A.T. team trailing behind him.

“I don’t see anything.  Reid, JJ?”

“Nothing from my side,” Spencer responded in her ear.

There was silence as they waited for JJ’s response, but it didn’t come.

Apparently there was some sort of commotion inside and more gunshots were fired.  They could only see the quick flashes of gunfire behind the windows and more screaming from the hostages inside.  She held her position, fighting back the lunges of fear she was feeling.

“I’ve got eyes on him!” JJ finally spoke.

“Do any of you have a good shot?” Hotch asked.

Before there could be any responses more commotion rung out from inside.  The itching in her chest wouldn’t go away and she had a feeling this was far from over.  Every second that passed with no response from her teammates and with each shot fired made her want to scream.

“Shit-” Morgan’s voice cursed over their comms.

“Is that-?”

“Get out!  Spencer!”

She recognized the frantic voice of JJ and looked around the building wildly, searching for any sign of her teammates.  She took a step out from behind the vehicle but was harshly pulled back by Rossi.

“Do not leave your position!”

“We have to go in!” she all but screamed at Hotch.

He glared at her, “Stand down, agent.”

There were more gunshots inside and she fought against Rossi’s hold, “You heard JJ, we can’t leave Spencer to fend for himself!”

Her heart was absolutely pounding and the fear that had taken hold of her was almost unbearable.  She couldn’t control her emotions much longer and she knew that if she had to wait one more minute, it would all be lost.  They had done so well in the shadows of their teammates, it was going so well.  With his life on the line it was testing every inch of self-control she had.

“He isn’t by himself!” Hotch yelled, “Pull yourself together, now!”

“I am not going to sit around and watch him die!” she screamed with tears in her eyes.  

Rossi pulled her tightly to him and she winced at the hold he had on her arms, “That’s enough, you wait here until you’re told otherwise-”

The ground shook before she could feel the heat from the blast.  Rossi was cut off as a resounding boom echoed throughout the vicinity and before they knew it they were thrown back from their cover behind the police cars.  

Car horns and sirens went off and rolled away from the building, glass flew everywhere and there was no time to think.

When she woke up on her side all she could think about was how grateful she was to Rossi for pulling her back.

Her ears rung something awful and it was all she could focus on.  Her vision was hazy and slowly returning, but the waves of nausea rolling throughout her body made her screw her eyes back shut.  

A few feet from her lay Hotch and Rossi, both equally as dazed from the surprise explosion.  This was not something they had profiled from the beginning, they had no clue this unsub was capable of creating mass trauma, let alone wanting it.

Someone rolled her over and she finally opened her eyes back up, it was a medic that she didn’t recognize.  He repeated her name over and over, waving a hand in front of her eyes until she sat up and blinked away her confusion.

“They’re still in there. . .where did that explosion. . .can’t hear anything. . .”

Bits and pieces of Hotch’s worried voice came to her ears and she couldn’t even piece together what had just happened.  She was even having a hard time remembering what they were doing there.  Rossi lifted her up and held her to his side, steadying her swaying body.  Ambulances and medical staff swarmed the area along with the entire fire department.  

Garcia and Prentiss came running to their sides, asking her so many questions that she was nearly reeling at Rossi’s side.  At the mention of Spencer, everything flooded back completely.  Her eyes widened and she shook her head, “I-I don’t know what happened.  I-It just, e-exploded!  Oh, Jesus. . .”

She turned and broke free from Rossi’s hold, despite their protests.  Prentiss followed closely behind her as she retraced Spencer’s steps down the side of the building.  She ignored every word Prentiss was saying, searching for him.

Frantically she began to call out his name with no sense of direction.  She entered the nearly-collapsed building and was met with a tremendous amount of smoke.  Prentiss tugged on her arm but she fought back, continuing down the hall calling out for him.

It was chaos inside, people were screaming and crying out for help but she couldn’t see anyone, she was blind to where they were.  Along the way she lost Prentiss somewhere but she didn’t care as she made her way down every single disheveled hallway.  The explosion had not happened on the main level, thank god, but coming from the second level sure left a lot of damage and injuries, still.

A portion of the floor had completely bottomed out from the force of the blast and that was where she caught a glimpse of a S.W.A.T. member’s vest.  The floor beneath them was not a far fall down and she saw a glimmer of hope when the debris began to move.

Glass and pieces of the floor covered them, rendering them unable to move for the time being.  She leaned down and began to pull the pieces off of them, thankful to hear groans of pain beneath her.

She called out his name one more time before he answered her, “I’m here,” his raspy and barely-there voice replied.

Quickly she moved over to his side and began to pull away every bit of debris that covered him.  His hair was littered with soot and glass, and his face was nearly unrecognizable from the smoke and dust.  

“Reach for me, Spence!”

His shaky hand met hers and she nearly sobbed at the warmth she felt from it.  She smiled to herself and thanked whatever God above there was before she began to pull.  He cried out in pain at the tugging but she insisted that he just needed to push himself up.

“I can’t, it’s too hard-”

“Damnit, Spencer, I am not letting go until I see your entire body now PUSH!” she screamed at him.

With more grunts and groans she managed to pull him out of the debris pile entirely.  He collapsed into her hold barely held onto her.  She tore a piece of her shirt off and covered his mouth and nose with it, “Keep breathing, Spence, I need you to keep breathing until we’re outside.”

She tried to pick him up but he was too tall and heavy, causing them to fall back to the ground in a painful heap.  She cried out for help desperately, coughing as more smoke filled her chest and throat. By the time Hotch and Prentiss found them her throat felt like it was on fire and her breathing was uneven.  

Spencer had passed out in her lap as she held him.

- - -

They took Spencer to the hospital, along with JJ and Morgan in following ambulances.  Hotch helped her into the front seat of his SUV and unbeknownst to her, told the rest of the team to ride separately.  

She was jittery and unable to focus as he started driving.  The worry was evident on her face but it was worry for only one person.

Spencer.

“You need to tell me what’s really going on,” he said as they trailed behind the flashing ambulance.

She shook her head, “What makes you think something is going on?  Jesus, Hotch, we just nearly lost half our team-”

“How long have you and Spencer been seeing each other?”

She glared at him, “What the hell, Hotch?  Why would you even suggest-”

“How long?” he asked again, sternly and with his famous frown.

She rolled her eyes and slunk lower in her seat.  He knew he had her cornered now and he wasn’t going to stop, “We aren’t leaving the vehicle until you tell me.”

“It’s only been seven months.”

“Only seven months?  Do you know how dangerous it is to pursue a workplace relationship with our jobs?” he looked at her, “Why didn’t either of you tell any of us?”

She scoffed, “Because of this!  We were being smart, no one knew about anything, it was safe.”

Hotch was silent for a few more minutes, the sound of the sirens filling the car.  Tears pooled in her eyes as they neared the hospital and she slunk even lower into her seat.  Once they arrived she left the car with no more words to Hotch, sprinting in after the gurneys that carried her friends.

She stood alone at the end of the emergency ward hallway, silently staring through the windows of the doors they had just wheeled Spencer down.  A friendly hand laid on her shoulder and she turned in fright to see Garcia smiling sadly at her.

“He’s gonna be okay, you know?”

She nodded.

“He’s gonna be so happy to see you when he wakes up,”

She smiled, “He’ll be okay,” she repeated to herself.

“I’m happy for you both,”

The techie squeezed her shoulder before she left to join the others in the waiting room.  Tears streamed down her face because then she knew that everyone knew.  

- - -

“You’re waking up, finally,”

Spencer blinked his eyes open, the light making his head hurt when he opened them completely.  Off to the side he could see a familiar figure sitting on the chair next to his bed.  He turned to face her before completely opening his eyes and the relief flooded his entire being.

“You’re okay,” he whispered as she leaned closer to him.

She sobbed as she held his hand, squeezing it so tightly he never thought she would let go.  Her forehead met his and he cried with her, both from relief and sadness.

She kissed his scabbed knuckles, “We’re both okay,”

He reached towards her and wiped the tears from underneath her eyes, “I don’t care if anyone sees us,” he whispered before leaning forward to capture her lips in his own chapped ones.  A small sob came from her throat as his lips claimed hers; any fear she held was now gone.

They pulled away and he was surprised to see she was chuckling to herself.  He stroked her cheek with his thumb, “What’s so funny?”

She leaned back in her chair but still held his hand, “We don’t have to hide anymore,”

His eyes widened, “Oh god, did you tell them?  How did they find out?  How are we going to-”

She silenced his worries with a second kiss that took him by surprise, but felt good anyway.  He sighed and melted back into his pillows as she kissed him deeply and slowly.  She pulled away and ran her fingers through his messy curls, tucking the strands behind his ears.

“It’s okay, Spence,” she smiled, “They’re all happy for us and it’s all okay.”

He shut his eyes and took it all in, humming to himself in thought, “I guess it’s better than keeping secrets.”

She took his hand and squeezed it once more, “It’s about time we told them, anyway.”

“LOVER BOY IS AWAKE!”

Spencer screwed his eyes shut and groaned, “But now I’ll have to deal with this annoying nickname of his. . .”

“Hey, I mean no harm by it because it is about damn time the two of you got together.”

“I agree with that statement,” Prentiss said as she followed behind Morgan into the room.

“Y’all had no idea, so shut up,” she said as she playfully stuck her tongue out to her friends.  Resounding laughter flooded the room and made Spencer smile.  

[vagrantblvrd]

maybe some more superhero content where matt is the tech guy but his super power is actually really great for super villains (he can force apathy on people or something). he is never cleared for field duty because hes really good at computers and look at all the donuts he eats, no way hes going in the field. shit happens and he is and he just wipes the floor with the villan of the week. and everyones like "fluke!" and he keeps doing it. "like its hard" and everyone is :(((( because its matt

Oooh, yes, but also, also. Whilst wandering the wilds of Superpower Wiki I came across Fear Manifestation?

Matt who can see both his and other people’s fears and bring them to life.

Just.

Imagine a wee little Matt Bragg discovering that’s his power?

This sweet little kid, all adorable and the whatnot and idk, maybe he saw a scary movie he was way too damn young to watch.

Or maybe a family member’s watching a horror flick thinking Matt’s asleep. Maybe he’s at a friend’s for a sleepover and one of their family members is watching the horror movie, whatever it is, Matt gets up in the middle of the night for a drink of water and sees this horrible, slavering thing on the screen and he has nightmares about it for ages, right?

Knows it’s not real, tells himself over and over again the way his parents did when they realized what was going on with him. Reminds himself it’s just a movie monster and can’t hurt him. Rubber and plastic and fake fur and fake blood and an actor in a suit, you know?

Same as some of his favorite characters in other movies and shows and nothing to worry about.

Except for that time it was?

Matt at a relative’s house for the weekend/summer and strange place – let’s make a farm with lots of trees and other things to cast strange, spooky shadows at night. Skeletal branches scraping against the glass of the spare room he’s sleeping in and owls and other night birds and animals going about their business and strange and unsettling to a city kid like him.

Has a nightmare about the monster, running, and running and running in the dark woods like in the movie. Stupid kid legs too short, slow, and it’s gaining on him and the last thing he sees before he snaps awake is the monster leaping on him, jaws opened wide and blood on its fangs from its last kill and where are his parents????

Poor, wee little Matt Bragg freaking right the fuck out and stumbling out of bed, steps slowing, faltering when he remembers where he is.

At his grandparent’s farm, miles and miles away from home and the closest city.

Dark spooky woods just beyond the farmyard on one side, cornfields on another. Big old barn behind a vegetable patch, and chickens and so on. Long winding dirt driveway leading to a small road and a couple of miles from the next farm over.

The farmhouse is unfamiliar to him, but he thinks he remembers the way to his grandparent’s bedroom. Knows they won’t be mad at him for waking him even at this late an hour, and even if they were he wouldn’t mind because it’s mean they’re safe, he’s safe.

Only.

The hallway doesn’t look, feel, right when he steps outside his room?

Ceiling too tall  and he’s small still, a kid, but it’s not right.

The wallpaper’s different, not the pastel blue with pink roses his grandmother told him his grandfather picked because she loves roses. The light fixtures are different too? Not the polished brass and frosted glass but something colder, harder.

And -

There’s no window overlooking the vegetable patch at the end of the hallway, nothing he recognizes from his grandparent’s farmhouse.

“Oh,” he says, small little voice in a big, dark hallway, “oh, no.”

He does recognize it, because it’s from that movie he knows he wasn’t old enough to see any part of.

The one with the creaky floorboards under his feet and that light further down that flickers like a dying heartbeat.

Glowing red eyes that take form between one and the next.

Red and mean and this low snarl that rolls into a growl.

Click of the monster’s claws on smooth hardwood as it moves toward him, that slow, slow stalk of a predator that’s seen prey and poor, wee little Mat Bragg is frozen to the spot because this can’t be real.

But it is.

Or at least real enough that when the monster snarls again and launches itself down the hall at him he screams bloody murder and runs.

All the way back to the spare room he’s staying in where he slams the door shut and hides in the closet.

Hears it collide with the door, snapping and snarling and clawing at the wood while he curls down into corner of the closet and squeezes his eyes shut hoping it will give up, go away, that it’ll stop.

Claps his hands over his hears and recites the rules to the last game he learned to himself, card game his grandparents taught him before dinner.

He can hear yelling, so he presses his hands to his ears harder, but he can still hear the yelling. And then a gunshot, big, booming thing he recognizes, knows.

And his fear for his grandparents, his grandfather and that shotgun of his, has Matt uncurling, getting to  his feet.

Worried about them, and he’s reaching for the doorknob to the closet door when the door to the bedroom slams open. Draws a yelp out of Matt and has him ck backpedaling as footsteps come his way and the closet door is ripped open -

“Matt?”

It’s his grandfather, looking as scared as Matt’s ever seen him, shotgun in his hands and staring at Matt like he can’t believe he’s okay.

And then, okay, and then.

Matt’s grandfather coaxes him out of the closet, promises him it’s safe and Matt believes him because his grandfather’s one of the strongest, toughest people he knows next to his grandmother and mom, and  when he steps into the bedroom -

“…”

Because the room is untouched, sure, but the door?

Almost broken in two, clawed in two, huge gaping wounds in the wood where the monster tried to claw its way in.

The hallway beyond is the same Matt remembers from before, pastel blue and pink with touches of yellow and green, and the same light fixtures.

Seems the way he remembers it, normal farmhouse in rural South Carolina, and just.

Yes.

So, that’s how Matt discovers his powers and it’s not something he ever forgets, you know?

Gets worse as he gets older, realizes he can do that but with other people’s fears?

Like.

Slightly older Matt Bragg at school and bullies and this menacing figure with ham-sized fists and a rough voice and angry words and Matt’s bullies look so small next to them?

Things like that, and it’s.

He collects them, too.

Each new one slotting itself into his head, making a new home for themselves and sometimes he wakes up screaming because he’s dreaming someone else’s nightmare, fear.

(If he’s lucky, it stays a dream. Sometimes, though, sometimes they crawl out of his head into the real world and things, people, get hurt.)

Matt’s grandparents talk to his mom, his dad, the take him to specialists who teach him how to control it, because it’s that or lose his damn mind.

So he learns to control it.

Slips up from time to time, because he’s still a kid and feelings are hard, but eventually he learns to adapt.

Gets weird looks from people for being as easy-going as he is, weirdly apathetic sometimes?

But it is what it is.

He ends up working with small superhero teams here and there, a knack for computers and tech and people like him are always in demand, you know?

Superhero teams would be lost with out their techies and support staff and Matt gains a reputation as one of the better ones out there.

Catches the eye of a team in one of them big cities people are always talking about?

“Matt, what the fuck?”

Because Jeremy and old friends from way back. One of the minor league teams Matt worked for and this asshole with the impenetrable skin and bullheaded stubbornness to match. Jeremy’s new team needs another techie seeing as how they’re getting to be a little too much for one poor bastard to look after?

So Matt packs up his belongs and moves to the big city – “You’re impossible,” - and gets a tour from Gavin who’s far too relieved to meet him.

“Oh, thank God, you have no idea what it’s like,” like he really believes that.

(Matt’s known Jeremy for years, if what the asshole’s been telling Matt about his new team is even a little bit true, if they’re all like him in the worst possible ways then yeah, Matt fucking well knows.)

Anyway.

Matt starts working for this new team, big league players as these things go. Fight top-tier supervillains and a whole slew of lesser ones jockeying for position among the worst of the worst.

Have a whole city under their protection and a shiny space station all their own that should be fully repaired by the end of the year.

(Platform for an orbital death-ray in a past life, and Ryan and Trevor are quick to reassure everyone the death-ray is no more. Really, guys. :D?)

Anyway, anyway.

New team and all these new fears taking up residence in Matt’s head, you know?

Hi, hello, and I’ll just be living here now, right next to that monster that still gives you nightmares even now, don’t mind me.

Aside from all that, fears and nightmares living inside his head and all, Matt’s pretty easygoing? Affable.

Learns to put up with Gavin’s shit and loves giving it right back to him, the two of them kindred spirits in the way they sometimes want to throttle their fucking teammates?

Like.

Maybe don’t automatically resort to Heroic Sacrifice when there’s still time to come up with alternatives? Don’t be that asshole, okay? It’s a goddamned downer, and that’s before the funeral.

Should be a little worried (horrified?) at the fact that Gavin has secretly had the entire team and support staff microchipped, but when someone gets abducted or goes MIA it cuts down on the Drama and techie-side dramatically.

(Legal? Probably not, but everyone turns a blind eye to it seeing as how useful it is, and really, if Gavin went supervillain on them? The fact he could pinpoint their exact location whenever he wanted would be the least of their worries, so. Yes.)

Anyway, anyway.

Matt settles into the team incredibly quickly, realizes he likes it there?

Like.

Before all this he was just working a job, no real attachment or sentiment to go along with it. Dealt with some real assholes, all ego and no substance and all that over the years. Good people who stayed silent when they should have used their voices to do good and all that, just about everything you could think of, he’s seen it, dealt with it.

But these assholes?

He’s personally invested in them.

To the point he makes an effort to address their fears, see what he can do because some of them -

It’s not fixing them, not whatever horrifically simplified way of talking about it you’d think, just.

Stuff.

Things.

Something?

Something.

Little pushes here, a pointed question there. Outside perspective, non-judgment and that space their fears have made for themselves in his head...shift.

Go from something truly awful, something that could break a person who never deserved it into something smaller, more manageable.

And then, okay, and then???

All those lesser villains and supervillains, well sometimes one of them has real potential, you know? The makings of greatness, and everyone knows being great doesn’t always equate to being good.

Comes in and picks members of the team off one by one, clever and patient about it. So much so no one realizes it’s a concerted effort until it’s almost too late?

Incidents and accidents and seeming bad luck that takes out their heavy hitters at the start, has them calling on reserve members, has Gavin in the field which is a rare fucking occurrence, and not something the others like to see?

But, again, heavy hitters down for the count or missing altogether and their ranks thinned down to near nothing.

Gavin’s a little like Matt – not the same category regarding their powers, God no, just.

Gets underestimated far too often.

Doesn’t look intimidating like some of the others, isn’t some musclebound brute of a figure or anything, but he’s smart.

Clever.

Enough to know there were things Matt wasn’t saying, those long nights in the base nerve center worrying about the others where they’d talk about powers and such.

Little hypotheticals Matt would propose to counter Gavin’s and just.

Something to what he didn’t say, and anyway, anyway.

There’s a call, trouble in the city their team is sworn to protect and they’re the only two in the base who aren’t badly injured, off on what they all know is another wild goose chase searching for the asshole behind all this hurt.

Just the two of them and Gavin takes out a coin he carries around for some reason.

Ryan knows, though, doesn’t he. Gets this little half-smile when he sees Gavin rolling it across his knuckles and a story Matt’s only heard bits and pieces of from the others.

Trevor’s laugh and a glance up, up, up at wherever that shiny space station is in orbit at the time.

Michael’s heavy sigh and put upon scowl, thumbnail rubbing at at scar on his eyebrow in unconscious habit.

Lindsay fucking losing her shit, wheezing something about fucking idiots and...catsuits?

(Either literal catsuits, which, uh, no thanks? Or the kind that Gavin has hanging up in his closet, puts on when the team goes all-out in training and drag Gavin out even though he’s better suited for shadows and stealth rather than head-on tactics.)

And on and on, and one day, one day Matt will get the whole story out of these assholes.

Gavin takes out that coin of his and gives Matt this little grin, smirk.

Just the two of them in the base’s nerve center, lights down low and dread weighing heavy over all of them.

(Sometimes good doesn’t triumph over evil, sometimes the bad guys win. It’s happened in other cities before, will again because that’s how these things go, isn’t it.)

Gavin flips his coin, hand coming down to cover it before Matt can make out if it’s heads or tails and laughs as he heads to his quarters to suit up.

It’s a thing of theirs, that coin flip.

Loser grabs the coffee, or delivers bad news to an overworked and understandably cranky team. Goes and does the thing no one else wants to, can.

Something shifts in Matt’s head, big and mean and angry. Slavering jaws and glowing red eyes and claws that can tear through steel. (Matt’s seen it.)

“Back in a jiff!” Gavin says, suited up and ready to head into the city (their city) with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes and he’s a goddamned liar because he doesn’t come back, does he?

No he does not, the asshole.

Leaves behind in the dark, all these fears and nightmares in his head.

That monster from his nightmares as a kid? First one he remembers and with him all this time later, less a nightmare and something like a constant...constant.

Something help ground himself when he loses control and can’t tell nightmare from reality and the other way around.

Movie monster made real, and something he’s lived with for a long damn time, learned to make his peace with and all that.

Besides.

He has all these new fears now, doesn’t he? Less fantastical in some ways but no less horrifying to contemplate, because.

This, his team? (Family?) They play a big part of his newest ones.

Still.

No time to think about that, not with some asshole broadcasting some stupid diabolical scheme to the entire city. Cruel and smug and gloating, and Matt’s missing teammates strung up behind him awaiting death by public execution or whatever it is he’s babbling about.

And Matt, okay, Matt.

Doesn’t have a suit or mask to call his own, never really needed one, you know?

Techie like him?

Yeah, no.

No suit, no armor.

Just Matt and a head full of fears and nightmares, and people don’t give him a second glance between good old Matt making his way to the asshole’s lair and the whole city in peril deal.

The ones who do? Hired goons and personal henchmen in matching uniforms? Well, wouldn’t you know what interesting fear they all have?

There are a few you’d expect, dying old and alone and heartbreaking in that respect, but others?

They’re things that step out of the shadows, slither in some cases, with big teeth and claws and the screaming just gets them more excited.

Matt doesn’t kill them, those hired goons and personal henchmen, God no, but they won’t be getting up anytime soon.

(Fear will do that to people, sometimes.)

Works his way up, up, up to a building rooftop and why, Matt wonders, why do they all have to be so goddamned theatrical about this shit?

Anyway, though.

There’s Matt in his hoodie and jeans and worn sneakers he swears he’ll replace soon, really.

There’s Matt, and then there are more hired goons, personal henchmen, and his team, all strung up. The asshole behind this bullshit.

And then, you know, and then.

That nightmare monster that’s been with Matt all these years?

Stalks out of the shadows with its glowing red eyes and sharp fangs and sharp claws.

Stands at Matt’s shoulder, rumbling growl and -

There’s screaming, because there always is, you know?

Big fucking thing like that appearing out of nowhere?

Yeah.

Matt looks up at it, and he knows, he knows, mercy, but in all honesty he’s not really feeling it after all the bullshit this asshole’s put his family through, and yet?

“Try not to kill them,” Matt tells his nightmare monster, and turns his attention to the asshole in the dumb suit.

Smiles when he hears it snarl, rush of displaced air as it races towards the line of stunned hired goons and personal henchmen and then he’s got other things to worry about.

It’s not graceful, not dignified what happens next because Matt doesn’t have the training, skills, the rest of his team does, you know?

At best he’s picked up enough to defend himself if some dick tried to mug him when he’s out and about, but he’s no hand-to-hand specialist. No martial arts master. Nothing fancy like that.

Gets knocked around a little, which, ha, part of his genius plan because fist to cheek and bingo.

“Oh,” Matt says, smiles up at the asshole through bloody teeth. “That’s a nasty fear you have, huh?”

Something about an aching, yawning void, and anger? Voices that claw at the mind, unravel sanity and the poor, stupid bastard who thought he was clever enough to outwit whatever dwells at its heart.

A deal struck out of arrogance and something close to ignorance, and a debt long owed and it shouldn’t exist in their dimension, you know? Impossible, because there are rules, and yet -

It’s the poor stupid bastard’s worst nightmare come to life, and Matt’s powers and there they are.

A furious scream, and clumsy rush like the asshole thinks he can put a stop to his fate if he just kills Matt, but he doesn’t.

Trips, a spot of bad luck or something else, and Matt sidesteps and there’s that aching, yawning void and all that anger.

Swallows him right up before it vanishes, space where it is rippling and warping and Matt has to look away because it isn’t right, how the world works and then it’s gone and it’s just.

Matt and his asshole team scattered about and groaning and unconscious hired goons and personal henchmen and -

“Hey,” Matt says, woozy, exhausted. “Good job.”

Matt’s nightmare monster snorts, tosses its head and fades away.

He feels it settling in the back of his mind as he passes out, familiar weight in the back of his head.

AND THEN.

Everyone collectively loses their shit because what the actual fuck, Matt Bragg?

Matt being like, “So, uh, hey, there’s a thing I forgot to mention?”

And the whole story about his powers comes out and, uh.

The thing where Matt saves the day again and again with his nightmare monster buddy/using some baddie’s fears against them and the others are like “We had that, Matt Bragg” which is a blatant lie as they were about to be lasered in half or whatever, idk.

Yes???

This totally got away from me and I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, but yes???

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #500: Survivor (RWBY)

12:55 p.m. at the Streets of Atlas, Right In Front of a Bar

Buff Bodyguard: Welcome to the Salty Survivors' Club. How tough are ya?

Oscar: Well.......I did survived from getting fatally shot not too long ago....

Buff Bodyguard: ('Scoffs') Please, kid. Everyone of us in this bar got shot at one point in our lives. What makes you so different?

Oscar: The person who shot me was Ironwood.

'Record Scratch'

Buff Bodyguard: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) Wait. Did.....Did I hear that right? Y-You're telling me that you....was shot...by Ironwood?

Oscar: Yep.

Buff Bodyguard: James Ironwood?

Oscar: The very same.

Buff Bodyguard: The literal Tin-Man, Ironwood?!

Oscar: (Sighs Heavily at the Thought of Ironwood Shooting him Down Earlier) Uh-huh. That the guy....

'Silence'

Buff Bodyguard: Uhh......(Immediately Let's Oscar Through the Bar) Right this way, kid. S-Sorry about the inconveniences.

Oscar: (Walks Inside the Bar) Uh Thanks...

Ozpin: (Did you have to tell him all of that?)

Oscar: (Shrugged as he Finds Himself a Seat) I have to tell him something. He wouldn't let me in otherwise.

Ozpin: ('Sigh') (I suppose you make up a good point....As long as you're able to get yourself something to eat is good enough for me.)

Waitress: (Makes his Way to Oscar's Table) Welcome to Salty Survivor's Club. Where only the toughest could survive through anything. The name's Jessica and I'll be your waitress for the time being. I take it you're this Oscar kid that everyone here is already talkin' about.

Oscar: (Smiles a Little) Yep. It's nice to meet you, Jessica.

Jessica: (Gives Oscar a Casual, Friendly Smirk) Likewise. Just wanna let you know right now that since your the only kid in this club, we can't serve you any alcoholic beverages. But we can serve you other drinks like water and junk.

Oscar: Oh. Well, do you guys sell any lemonade here by any chance?

Jessica: You've guessed it. I'll get it for you right a way. In the meantime, feel free to check out our menu. (Walks Away from the Table) The choices there certainly won't disappoint.

Oscar: (Takes a Look at the Menu in Front of Him) Will do, ma'am.

Jessica: (Abruptly Stop in his Tracks) Oh and uh, kid?

Oscar: (Looks up from the Menu) Hm?

Jessica: No matter tough life can get at times.....(Smiles Brightly while Giving Oscar a Thumbs Up) All you gotta do is keep on living to the very end.

Oscar: (Smiles Back While Nodding in Agreement) I'm already planning on it. Thanks again.

Jessica: (Gives Oscar a Single Nodded Before Walking Away to get his Drink)

Oscar: (Sighs a bit Relaxingly Before Resuming Back to Looking Through the Menu) You know, I gotta say, these are some pretty tasty looking meals here on the menu.

Ozpin: (I agree. Even the non expensive meals seems quite interesting. It's best the you get one of those instead to save the rest of your money.)

Oscar: Alright.

Ozpin: (Oscar?)

Oscar: Hm?

Ozpin: (Is....... Everything okay?)

Oscar: (A bit Confused) Huh? W-What makes you think that?

Ozpin: (I've noticed something has been bothering you ever since we've arrived here. Are you....by any chance, still upset at Ironwood for what he did?)

Oscar: (Begins to Frown While Looking Down on his Table) Not..... Entirely.

Ozpin: ("Not entirely?")

Oscar: I-I mean, I am definitely not happy for what he did. Far from it. It's just....Well..... I'm actually more mad at myself than anything right now.....

Ozpin: (Couldn't Believe What He is Hearing) (What?....... O-Oscar, why on Earth would you be upset at yourself?)

Oscar: It's because of me trusting me him is the reason why we're in this mess. I even let Cinder and that Neo girl get away with the relic. ('Sighs Heavily') Guess I'm really am a lost cause of the team after-

Ozpin: (Oscar Pine!)

Oscar: (Startled a bit by Oz's Sudden Outburst in his Inner Thought) Y-Yeah?!

Ozpin: (I don't ever want to hear you put yourself down like that ever again. You are certainly not a lost cause to anyone. Especially not to me and the others.)

Oscar: (Still a bit Unsure) You're..... really sure about that?

Ozpin: (Of course I'm sure, Oscar. You've grown a lot since our first meeting together back at your farm. You were able to defend yourself from any Grimm attacks rather nicely, you were willing to try and find the best in people and trust them regardless of their lack of gratitude, and even after Ironwood shot you to your near death, you're still willing to do whatever you can to keep living and fighting for what's right. In a way.....You've even inspired me to stop hiding and face the music head on.)

Oscar: (Thinks and Takes Everything of what Ozpin Said to Heart Which Genuinely Surprised Himself in a Way) Huh. I....guess I really did came a long way, haven't I?

Ozpin: (That you have. And I couldn't be anymore prouder of you than I already was before. I promise Ruby and the others would feel the same way as well.... Wherever they are....)

Oscar: I'm sure we'll find them eventually. In the meantime.....(Smiles in a bit of Determination) I meant it when said that I wanna save this place. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do.... Right after I eat something.

Ozpin: (Smiles Softly in his Self Conscious) (Well said, my boy.)

Jessica: (Arrived Back at Oscar Table with his Drink) I'm back with your lemonade, sweetheart.

Oscar: (Smiles Softly Towards the Waiter) Thanks again, Ms. Jessica.

Jessica: (Chuckles Lightly as he Puts Oscar's Drink Down on the Table) Please. Being called "Miss" is completely old fashioned. Just Jessica is fine.

Oscar: Oh. Okay. Sure thing.

Jessica: So......I hope you don't mind me asking and all, but....What was it like surviving a gunshot from the general? Must've been pretty scary, huh?

Oscar: (Chuckles Lightly while Rubbing the Back of his Head Back and Forth) True. But it was pretty exhilarating now that I think about-

('CRASH')

Jessica: (Startled by an Unexpected Noise) What the hell?!

Oscar: (Startled as Well While Having Long Memory with Him in Defense) What the heck was that?!

Everyone in the bars turns to see the culprit of the crash, which was none other than.........

????: (Outside of the Bar) Where. Is. My. BABYYY?!!!!!

???: Nora, would please calm down already? You're already making a sense!

?????: I am so sorry about Nora, sir. We were just looking for our friend and teammate and we kinda thought he would be in this bar.

????: He's a our precious farm boi and we loved him so much!!

Buff Bodyguard: (Outside) "Farm Boy"? You're talking about that farm kid who walked in here and said he was shot by that general Ironwood?

????: HE WAS WHAT?!!!!!

Jessica: (Whispers to Oscar) I think they're talkin' about you, kiddo.

Oscar: (Immediately Got up and Recognize those Very Familiar Voices from Outside) Guys?

@keyenuta

@albion-93

@miki-13

@ma-lemons

@rozanime

@littlemisssquiggles

@maripr

@optimisticfruitcup