#STUPID MACHINE DIDN'T WANT TO GET ME CHIPS | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

neoarchipelago · 1 year

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And they were Roommates (part 7)

A/N; Alright, fristly, thank you all so much for the love you're giving this fic. Seriously it warms my heart. This tag list is huge and it makes me want to cry. Also, i couldn't tag on the post cuz i had reached the word limit TT0TT I hope it works anyway

I'm getting more and more anxious to fail you guys, i just hope i'm not gonna fuck this up...

Again thank you for all your ideas and headcanons you guys are amazing!

Warnings: cursing?

The first month. You were in denial. You spent it overworking yourself, avoiding anything that could remind you of him. You had even put his stupid plush in his room, closing the door and keeping it closed. Laswell kept a close eye on you, you knew that.

You'd spend most of your time on base, only going home to sleep. And then. You were put on time off. Forcefully.

Laswell asked you to take a week off and to stay home. You had strongly fought over it but to no avail. So around the first week to the second month, your time off began. You thought you might go insane. But you received visits from your new neighbor who you learnt was named Peter. Peter was a nice guy, a bit shy. He'd pass by sometimes to drop one of your packages. You'd have small talk or conversations.

It made you feel less alone. Because not only did you miss… Simon. You also missed the rest of the squad. The house felt dead..during that week, your mind had started going downhill. By Thursday you had gone back to his room to fetch the little reaper. Now you'd spend your days on your couch, cuddling the damn thing.

Laswell had ordered you to work from home for the rest of the month. She passed by often. To check on you. She'd get in, not bothering to knock because you couldn't care anymore.

Once she walked in on you, sitting on the bathroom floor in front of the washing machine, eating chips, watching the plush inside spin around.

"What are you doing?"

"Reaper is taking a bath." You had answered with very little emotion.

During that month, Peter had spent a bit more time with you. He'd pass by to share some food, or to watch a movie. He seemed to have taken pity on you. Even though he picked up Reaper once and you had thrown him a murderous glare.

And then Laswell had passed by. A serious look on her face.

"The mission isn't going as planned. They're not coming home yet."

You had felt yourself break a bit more.

"Are they ok?"

"From our intel, they're ok."

You had sighed with relief. This was the third month they'd been gone. You didn't think you'd ever feel this type of sadness in your life. There was no point denying it. In such little time, Simon had managed to get his way through your heart and nest there.

Your recent coping mechanism was putting on his hoodie, and sleeping in his bed with Reaper. He'd be so pissed if he knew. You were hoping he'd come back so he could be pissed with you. At least he'd be here.

You'd spend your days at the base, this time your schedule was closely being watched by Laswell, and then you'd go home, absolutely hating it, trying not to cry.

A heart wrenching thought kept stammering your brain. What if he never came back… the last things you would have said to each other would have been said in anger. You didn't think you could live through that.

When the 4th month started, you had become unbearable for Laswell. You wanted to know everything about the mission. She kept refusing, reminding you it was a highly classified mission, as you replied you couldn't give a shit about classified or not.

You wanted squad 141 back. Or as you had almost screamed once 'your team'. You had seen Laswell wanting to correct you that it wasn't your team but she refrained, understanding how you were feeling.

She couldn't tell you about the mission but she made sure to keep you updated. They're fine. They've managed to get to the location. They've been ambushed but made it out.

You were torn in between hating her updates and feeling relieved. To keep you busy and from having a nervous breakdown she put you up on a mission. Some drug lord that used the dark web to sell and buy his merchandise. You were definitely not into it. But if you could pass your anger on that asshole you would.

You had easily infiltrated his little circle, managed to dismantle various locations, though he kept slipping through your fingers.

You had gone back home that night, around the middle of the fourth month, absolutely frustrated from everything.

"It's so fucking frustrating you know? It's like he's always a tiny step away."

You explained as you were unpacking your food order.

"He seems to know there's someone after his ass and I can't fucking get to him." You continued. "And Laswell is not letting me get onto the file for the mission the boys are on. GOD I could just … throw something on fire!"

You groaned looking straight in the eyes of your friend. The plush looked at you without moving.

You sighed. "I've been talking to an inanimate object." You said, putting your face in your hands. You dropped them on the table again.

"No offense Reaper." You apologized, turning your attention back to the food, the TV in the background filling up the silence a bit.

You kept munching on your food.

After you were done, you grabbed Reaper and sat on the couch, a blanket over you. You squished the fluffy death spawn in your hands. You missed him. You FUCKING missed him.

You didn't even know how you'd react when he'd be back. You were still furious at him. Deeply hurt. But you were also so worried, and so sad.

You groaned. You wanted him to be back. Even if it was to yell at him that he was an asshole.

A knock at the door was heard. You rolled your eyes. You got up, Reaper still in your arms as you went to open the door.

"Hey!"

You stared at Peter.

"Hi Peter." You replied without a single emotion on your face.

"Ah… bad day?"

"Bad existence."

He laughed. You walked inside, knowing he'd follow you.

"I came to check to see if you wanted to watch a movie."

You let yourself fall back down on the couch.

"Not really into it tonight. Sorry."

"Nah no problem I get it." He said sitting at the other end of the couch. "Is there something I can do to cheer you up?" .

You looked at him for a little minute. You shook your head. "Alright. Want a beer?"

"I hate beer."

"Fine. A shot of vodka?" He proposed.

You nodded.

That guy was a lightweight. 5 shots of vodka and he couldn't properly form a sentence. You had walked him back to his apartment, making sure he was in bed and locking his door. You were a bit drunk too but not enough to erase your thoughts.

You sighed. Walking into the hallway you stopped, looking right and left. You wanted to sleep in his bed again… you shouldn't. But you wanted to. You walked into the room looking at the bed. You remembered waking up in it, his body warm against yours. His morning voice was deeper. You liked it. You closed your eyes for a second before turning around and walking into your room.

The alcohol helped as you closed your eyes, you fell fast asleep.

The day after had been the same. And the day after as well. But the next was a bit different. You were concerned by something during your work. It seemed that the drug lord had also a hacker in his ranks. And not a bad one. You could probably outsmart him or her but you had been neglectful. Your mind had been more worried about another mission that wasn't yours.

You headed home after the day. You were exhausted. The fourth month was coming to an end. You didn't feel like eating. You didn't feel like anything. As you got home, you showered, drying your hair afterwards, slipping into one of Simon's black hoodies. You took Reaper with you, slipping under the covers of your bed. This time, you couldn't stop the tears from falling. You hugged the round fluffy thing against you, wishing he was there instead.

And it was with the tears that the Sandman took you away.

Around 6 am, your phone rang. You blinked your eyes open. Without checking, which had become a habit, you answered.

"Hello..?" You answered.

"Y/N."

"Laswell ? Kate… it's 6 am."

"We have news from squad 141."

You sat up in your bed.

"What is it…"

"They've completed their mission. The extraction was successful."

You closed your eyes, a shaky breath leaving your lips.

"They'll be back in a little over 24h."

"Thank you… really."

"No problem. Go back to sleep."

You chuckled. She hung up. You let yourself fall back into bed. They were ok. He was ok… you looked up at the ceiling. Now that you knew he was coming back, that he was safe. The worry, the anxiety had vanished. Pain and anger taking their place. How was he going to react? Will you be strangers? How will you react? One thing was for sure. You wouldn't be the one to give in. You wanted to… god you wanted to. You wanted to feel him near you. To hug him. But the way he left was printed in your memory. The way you felt when you got home, in an empty house. With not a single word from him.

Pushed by a rise of determination, you got out of bed, grabbing each hoodie you could find that was his. You took off the one you were wearing, and walked to the bathroom, throwing them all in the washing machine. You put it to wash. He wants his hoodies back? Fine. He'll have them. Brand New. Without any trace that you wore them.

And with that thought in mind you climbed back into bed.

You had flung yourself back into work the next day, trying to suppress the new anxiety that grew in you. You were still trying to figure out who the hacker working for the drug lord was. He seemed to be good at cleaning any trace of himself. You didn't want to go home. You glanced at your phone. 2 am. You were still at the base. You were surprised Laswell hadn't come to drag you home herself as she sat not too far from you.

You had been sitting here for the entire day, trying to figure out your little con's next move. It was infuriating. Driving you insane. You blinked.

Hi birdie.

You froze. What? No. It was a coincidence. You checked that your location or anything that could be used to track you down was locked away and secure.

You kept browsing the website deep in the dark web, shaking the odd feeling away. But this time, it was a whole sentence that made you frown.

On a little branch was a little bird. The little sparrow, unaware of the cat lurking by, sang its heart away.

You were sure. It was meant for you. That Goddamn hacker was taunting you.

"Laswell." You called.

"Yes?" She answered, stepping towards you.

You pointed at the screen, highlighting the little text with your mouse.

"Shit." She cursed. "what does it mean?"

You shrugged.

"It can mean various things. Obviously they know it's the Sparrow they are facing. But I've made sure my real identity was safe so I don't think they have that. My location is safe too, there was no hack attempt. These are just little messages scattered around the websites we're checking for their little trades." You explained.

"So what? They're threatening you?"

"I don't think so. It seems like they're trying to get on my nerves. Probably to distract me from something. Just got to find out what." You said with a sigh.

"Alright. If you have anything new, call me. Now go home." She said a little tap on your back.

You eyed the screen in front of you. This was interesting. If they truly were trying to distract you, it was a bit silly. You took a mental note to be more careful from now on.

You had scanned all the little messages around the web sites, trying to find something that would link them. Clearly, they were all aimed at you. Whoever it was kept calling you birdie. And it was highly annoying. You were growing tired yet you felt so giddy. You felt nervous. You closed your eyes, sighing. It was time to head home.

The night had been short. You were exhausted. You rolled around in bed. You closed your eyes. Silence.

Silence… and a laugh? You frowned.

You got up, taking Reaper in your arms. You slowly opened the door, peeking out. There were definitely voices whispering. You opened the door wider, stepping out and tip-toeing your way to the end of the hallway.

You looked around the corner and froze.

"God fucking damn it!" You cursed out loud.

You fully came into view now taking in the sight before you.

"Sparrow!!"

The man jumped, running to you and swaying you in his arms.

"God soap! You're squishing me and Reaper!" You complained.

"Who?" Gaz asked.

After putting you down you looked at soap, extending your arms to his face so he could be eye to eye with the plush.

"Oh. Alright. Sorry Reaper." He said with a wide smile.

You smiled jumping on him this time. They were back. They were safe!

"Hahaha!" He laughed.

He put you down again. Stepping aside to let you greet the rest of the team.

You hugged gaz. Then Price took you in his arms, staying like that for a little moment.

"Missed you dad" you whispered jokingly.

"Missed you sweety." He whispered in the same tone.

And then came his turn. Standing in front of each other, eye to eye. You wanted to run and hug him. Fuck you wanted to touch him to make sure this was real. Unfortunately for the both of you, the pain was deeper than anything else. He didn't move, no expression. Did he regret? Did he care? Had he already put aside anything feeling or affection you had towards each other? With a lump in your throat you spoke first.

"Lieutenant." You greeted.

He frowned.

"Sparrow." He answered.

Nothing else was said. It broke your heart. You could feel it. You turned around looking at the guys again, clearly sensing their discomfort.

"You were supposed to arrive a bit later, what happened?" You asked sitting down on the couch, the boys mimicking you. Ghost remained up, glancing at you from afar.

"We managed to wrap it up and we jumped on the plane back. We've been told someone has been worried about us." Gaz answered, sending you a knowing look.

"Really? Wonder who could it be…" you feigned innocence.

"Yes, it's odd, Laswell said she was pestered for weeks. " Price added.

"Truly curious." You added an innocent look and batted your lashes, making the men laugh.

"What about you? How's it going?" Soap asked.

"I'm fine." You lied.

"You look tired." Price noted.

Suddenly you felt watched.. Everyone was staring at you. Ghost looked more tense than the others.

"I've been working on a mission and it's been a bit complicated. I stayed at the base until pretty late- with Laswell." You looked at Price.

He smirked.

"What's complicated about it?" Gaz asked.

"It's… it was easy at first. But it seems that I'm facing someone like me…" you tried to explain without giving any details as the mission was confidential. "And he, or she, seems to always be a step ahead. And… mostly. It's been acting weird."

You frowned, losing yourself a bit in your own mind.

"Hey, Sparrow" soap called.

You looked at him.

"You got this."

You smiled at him. Nodding off.

"We brought breakfast. Ghost said you like muffins!" Price chimed.

You glanced at the man again, still glancing at you. If he thought it'd be that easy he was wrong.

You ate breakfast with the team, so thrilled to have them back. You felt as if life had been brought back into the apartment. The only thing that took away some of that happiness was the tension between you and Ghost.

After helping you clean out they offered to take you to base, and you accepted. You excused yourself to go get dressed quickly. Once you were ready, you opened your door falling face to face with a skull mask.

You stared at each other. You did your best to show an emotionless facade.

"You washed the hoodies."

"Yes."

"And you put them in my room."

"Correct."

Silence.

"Are you giving them back?"

"Affirmative."

"Fuck…" he cursed frowning. "Y/N-"

"Sparrow." You corrected.

He looked hurt for a second.

"Why?" He asked.

"A beg your pardon?" You asked frowning too.

"Why are you doing this?" He questioned. You could feel the frustration.

"Doing what? Isn't this what you wanted, Lieutenant? You wanted to erase everything and you wanted your hoodies back."

"Stop…"

"Stop what?"

He didn't answer. Your heart was beating so fast. It was torture not giving in. But this time you wouldn't let him get away with it. He couldn't just play with your feelings like this. He sighed, straightening up. He looked… embarrassed? For a second.

"Did… did you have to wash them?" He asked.

First you were confused. And then you remembered what he had said once.

"Everytime I take back one of my hoodies there's your scent on it…"

"What? I smell bad?" You laughed.

"Quite the opposite…"

You smirked. Walking out of your room slowly and closing your door behind you. You looked up at him.

"I wouldn't give you the pleasure of leaving my scent on it. You've lost that privilege." You finished with an innocent smile before turning away and walking away from him.

You very distinctly heard him curse. You smirked. If he wanted you back, he'd have to fight for it. And if he didn't… then you'd be settled on his feelings.

You had driven to the base with the squad. After getting out of the cars, you had all gathered.

"It feels good to be back! See Sparrow? We're all good! We can come back to annoy you in your apartment!" Soap joked.

"Don't you dare." Ghost had growled.

"It will be my pleasure." You countered, sending a side glance to Ghost as he frowned again. Soap was thrilled.

It was on a light note that you separated, the boys going their way to meet and start on the mission report, as you went back to your drug dealer.

Walking in the big room, you sat down at one of the tables facing an enormous screen. Various setups with their own screens were scattered around the room, where people worked. You greeted everyone. You received smiles and little good mornings.

You opened your laptop freezing on the spot. You blinked and gasped at the black screen. 'encrypted'.

"No..nonononoo…"

Laswell had immediately come to you.

"What's wrong?"

"My laptop is encrypted. Fuck!" You checked your phone. Also encrypted.

"What does it mean?"

"It means. Someone tried to get in. As a defense mechanism it encrypts itself, and the rest of the devices linked to it. It blocks anything or anyone from touching the data."

You tried to explain, already trying to decrypt your device.

"When did it happen?"

"I don't know, recently. My phone was fine 20 mins ago." You explained.

"Guys!" You called, gaining everyone's attention. "Any attack? Anything?"

"No ma'am. We did find three other sentences on websites that were not on our radar. We managed to find 3 domains where the trades were active." The boy explained.

"What…?" You were confused now.

"He flagged these websites? He literally showed them to us?" Laswell interrogated.

You looked at your screen as it slowly booted back into your home screen.

"Sparrow. What's going on."

You were still in shock. The words written in a small window opened on the home's screen seemed to laugh at you.

"Sparrow?" Laswell called again.

You turned the screen to her. She frowned.

"He served us these tips on a silver platter. And it wasn't to make a diversion on something big. Because he's not working with the drug lord. Not anymore."

You couldn't believe you were once again in this situation. Laswell sighed.

"It's official. You're his target."

You turned back to the screen, taking a deep breath rereading the words one last time.

You're mine birdie.

Laswell had driven you home that evening. She had walked you to your door and walked you inside. There she was again. The mama bear.

You sighed, dropping your bag on the floor, not even shocked to see the whole squad in the living room. You glared at soap.

"Put down Reaper." You ordered.

He immediately put it back on the couch, noticing your awful mood. Price had noted too, and had mostly noticed how Laswell was tense.

"What's going on?" He asked, turning to Laswell.

Before she could answer you chimed in, as you walked to grab a glass of water.

"A mission going south. Nothing unusual in our field." You said, throwing a knowing look at Laswell.

She looked pissed for a moment but brushed it off.

"Y/N." She said seriously. You choked on the water. She had just spoken your real name in front of everyone. Everyone went silent looking at you and Kate.

"You are not allowed to leave the base." She started.

"I'm already not allowed to leave the base." You protested.

"You are to be accompanied by someone each time you leave your apartment."

You opened your mouth in shock, wait. This was going too far. The boys had turned serious.

"You'll be closely watched by squad 141."

"Oh come on! They've just come back from a mission!" You debated again.

"No arguing." She ordered.

"You are overreacting Kate." You answered in the same tone.

"Hey hey. Intel." Price interupted, standing up.

"No! No. Absolutely not." You snapped. "You are overreacting Kate. It wasn't even a threat. I'll get to him before he can even guess the continent I'm in." You started.

"This isn't the first time Y/N! I'm not taking any chances." She tried to explain.

"There's no need to take a chance. I'm literally at the base. I go nowhere else. I haven't gone into a civilian zone since… I don't even remember!" You debated.

She crossed her arms.

"Kate. Do you think I'm unsafe here, at the base?" You asked.

"No." She was forced to admit.

"Then no problem. No close security, no babysitters." You asked.

She seemed to ponder. Then she sighed, relaxing a bit.

"I still want to know." Price asked again.

You rolled your eyes. You felt like you were being scolded by your parents. And God knows it hadn't happened in a very very long while.

"I'm working on a mission. I had a target and it was being helped by a skillful fucker. Turns out, that fucker betrayed the target and seems a lot more interested in me."

"Did he threaten you?" Soap asked. You had never seen him this serious.

"No-"

"Yes." Laswell interrupted. You rolled your eyes.

"Not. Really." You added. Glancing at Laswell. "It was some cryptic message. But he did try to hack me personally." You finally said sitting down at the counter. You sighed. You had to make sure to find him before Laswell and now, by the looks of it, Price, had a nervous breakdown.

"No need for the squad."

A shiver ran down your spine. You slowly turned to look at Simon.

"I'm not going anywhere."

You wanted to throw something at his face.

This bitch. You had looked at him in utter shock and disapproval. You were pacing around in your room. This was all too much. Your mind was a mix of so many things, emotions, thoughts. A soup. Your mind was soup. Wait. What?

You closed your eyes. You were going to go insane.

A knock on the door was heard. You rolled your eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time today.

"Yes?"

You had that funny feeling again as you saw him walk into your room, closing the door behind him.

Does he have any idea the hold he had on you? You glanced at his hand. You wanted to smile but bit your lip to avoid it. He had one of his hoodies in his hand.

"Do you want it?"

"You want me to wear it now? " You ask.

"Never said you couldn't. Just want them back."

"No thank you." You answered with a fake forced smile because clearly he was so cute.

He looked away with what seemed to be a smirk under his mask.

"Are you going to be mad forever?"

He asked.

The question made your blood boil, turning your mood back to something very sour.

"Why? This what you wanted no? Didn't think about the consequences when you'd be back?" You asked, stepping closer to him. "You put a single thought into what would happen if you'd be back? Or maybe you just thought I'd jump into your arms as if you hadn't broke me and stepped all over my FUCKING heart?" You finished, a few inches from him.

You blushed slightly. Your lips had moved faster than your brain. But you had been honest with him. He looked hurt for a second. Like he had the right to.

"Y/N. I'm sorry…" he said.

You bit your lip. No. Not so easily.

"Simon. Sorry isn't going to fix this…" you answered.

"What is then? Tell me." His voice lowered.

"You're going to have to make up your mind Simon. Do you want me in your life or not? I can't keep being hurt each time you feel like pushing me away." You said honestly.

He frowned. His fingers lifting up to your waist. The touch gave you goosebumps. You hadn't felt his touch since he arrived. And you craved it. For some reason, while looking into his eyes, you knew he did too. He just seemed afraid to scare you away. He leant down letting his forehead touch yours. The mask felt cold against your skin. His other hand joined your waist this time, more confidently. He wrapped his arms more tightly around you pulling you flushed against him. Your breath had quickened.

"Simon…" you whispered.

"I've been wanting to hold you since I arrived…" he growled.

"S-simon…" you tried, softly pushing on his chest with your hands.

"To touch you … fuck… you smell so good…"

"Is this what you really wanted… to hold me so your shirt smells like me…" you smirked.

He chuckled.

"Are you going to wear my hoodies…?"

"No…" you whispered.

He held you tighter.

You felt so warm, god you had missed him. There was still something in the back of your mind just repeating to you that he hurt you.

"You're not going to make it that easily Simon… you need to make up your mind.." you broke.

He stared into your eyes, so God damn close to you.

Knock knock knock.

"Hey guys! We're leaving, come say bye bye!"

You laughed at Soap's voice.

You separated with a curse.

"God damn it johnny…" Ghost said.

You cleared your throat.

"Seems like we have places to be." You said.

He grabbed your wrist, marking you look into his eyes.

"I'll apologize properly. I promise."

"Try to figure out what you want first..." you said, a heavy weight on your heart.

Once in the living room you hugged everyone goodbye. Laswell and Price were the first to leave. A bit later you and Ghost walked gaz and soap to the door.

"See you tomorrow then!" Soap cheered.

"Absolutely not." Ghost answered.

"It'll be lovely Soap." You countered. "Get home safely."

"Lose yourself on the way." Ghost added.

You smiled and rolled your eyes.

Behind Soap, a silhouette appeared.

"Hey Sparrow! Got you some-"

The squad turned to stare at the new arrival. You smirked, feeling Ghost lean closer to you.

"Hey Peter." You greeted.

"Hum…hi… so… you want the muffins?"

"We have muffins." You heard Ghost next to you.

"It will be lovely Peter, thank you." You smiled as you walked to him, grabbing the bag. He smiled at you sheepishly.

"Let me present to you the squad" you said, turning back to them.

"Ah… i-its not necessary… squad 141 is famous… especially… Humm.."

"Me." Ghost said. His voice had gotten darker.

You noticed how Peter seemed to be scared of Ghost.

"So… hum, which one is your roommate?" He asked, turning to you with a smile.

You smiled apologetically to him.

"Me." Ghost said again, this time grabbing the back of your pants and pulling you back closer to him. You gasped. What the…? (t

Soap and Gaz were trying not to laugh and Peter… had changed expression.

"Oh, Nice. Hum, I'm gonna go guys. Nice seeing you, Sparrow." He smiled at you.

Then he glanced up. If it wasn't for a tiny second you would have missed it. The cold and dark gaze Ghost and Peter sent each other.

#simon ghost riley #simon riley #simon ghost riley smut #simon riley x y/n #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #ghost cod #ghost smut #soap mw2 #john soap mactavish #kyle gaz garrick #gaz cod #john price #price cod #captain price #fanfics #fanfiction #cod mw2 #cod modern warfare

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ot9snumber1 · 6 months

Text

call me at midnight

hirai momo x blackpink!reader

summary: you think four best friends are enough to get you by in life. that is, until jennie introduces you to nayeon, and until nayeon introduces you to momo.

warnings: fluff, introverted reader, rushed bc i wanted to put it out for momo's bday <3 happy bday my best girl!

—

being friends with jennie means being friends with a lot of people. namely, the three other girls in your group—whom you met thanks to jennie forcing you to be social during your trainee days.

it all paid off, of course. debuting in a group with your four closest friends was a dream come true! you were convinced you needed nothing else in life.

until jennie introduces you to her other idol friends.

if being friends with jennie meant being friends with a lot of people, then being friends with nayeon meant being friends with half the world.

she was so friendly and energetic, you couldn't possibly stay still around her! (she even tells you that you remind her of one of her members.)

okay. your four best friends and one new friend, surely that was more than enough, right?

"and this is jeongyeon, sana, jihyo, mina, dahyun, chaeyoung, and tzuyu!" nayeon says energetically as she pointed to various members in the practice room.

you nod, trying to remember all their names. (you eye everyone carefully. jeongyeon, sara, ji...jiwoo?, miyeon, dahyun, chae...won, nevermind. you'd figure them all out eventually.)

"i thought twice was nine?" you ask nayeon, who seems to have a revelation when you mention that. nayeon snaps her fingers, "ah! momo hasn't come back from the bathroom!" she groans, "i bet she stopped by the vending machines for snacks again."

just then, a dark-haired girl with blunt bangs walked into the practice room, soda and a tiny bag of chips in hand. you swear you see nayeon's eye twitch, but you were a bit too distracted by the sudden wave of nervousness you felt from being in the mystery girl's presence.

the mystery girl who you realize is momo.

the momo who you spent about an hour talking her ear off after she offered some chips. (you tend to ramble when you get nervous, you tend to get nervous when you're around pretty girls. momo is a pretty girl.)

(...and nayeon's pissed you forgot to record the dance challenge she invited you over for. at least you can go back and see momo again?)

you develop a crush on momo a lot faster than you realize. you're always talking about her, making excuses to mention something she said or likes, comparing her to anything your members do.

it was very suspicious for you to talk about someone you only met once this much. naturally, your members find out about your crush before you do.

"you like momo, huh?" lisa suddenly pipes up while you're trying to stretch. "didn't know you were into dancers. you know, me and momo kind of have the same hair—"

"hold on, what the hell are you talking about me liking momo?" you resist the urge to smack lisa for flirting with you, but you've known her for years now. it was something you just grew to tolerate somehow.

"you talk about her all the time! especially about how cool her haircut is, or her voice, or some random habit you saw from the one minute you spent with her.

"..it was one hour."

"that doesn't make any difference." lisa crosses her arms and stands up straight in front of you. "i can't believe you don't realize how smitten you are with her."

"don't word it like that." you cross your arms too, like a kid retaliating against their playground bully. the two of you have a staring contest that you eventually lose because the stupid grin that appears on her face when you start blushing distracts you.

"you should ask for her number! mina says she's really sweet." lisa teases, you just shove her face away and get to practice.

of course the other three weren't immune to teasing you either.

rosé didn't bother you as much as lisa did, but her little comments about how you were buying more peaches recently or taking more dance classes never failed to make you blush.

and somehow, even with lisa teasing you, her witty attacks were nothing compared to what jennie and jisoo had in store.

"y/n-ah, i bought those drinks you wanted." jisoo says as she returned to the dorms, handing you the plastic bag while you barely leaned up from the couch to gracefully accept it. "thank youuuuu!" you sigh happily, hugging the three bottles before sitting up to drink one.

"i also dropped by twice's dorms to give something back to nayeon. momo says hi." you nearly spit out your drink and ruin the blanket you just bought.

weeks had gone by and you'd already endured the teasing from three members. jennie was awfully silent whenever momo would be brought up, which worried you even more. not knowing if she just didn't care or if she had the most sinister plan than all of them combined made your stomach flip uncomfortably.

it turned out to be the latter.

"y/n?" jennie yawns, walking into your room one night when you couldn't sleep. "forgot to give this to you." she mumbles, handing a piece of paper with glittery pink writing on it before saying goodnight and leaving.

after jennie shuts the door, you inspect the paper and nearly scream.

call me, y/n! i don't mind listening to you talk~ ♡ 모모

(maybe it wasn't an evil plan, but it sure was evil to casually give you a heart attack at 12 AM.)

you take momo's note a little too literally and call her number. you sink deep into your blanket out of nervousness and excitement. (and the realization that you were calling her this late!)

"hello?"

it was the first time you heard her voice since the day you met the rest of twice. surprisingly, she didn't sound tired at all.

"hi, momo!" you huff out, sounding completely out of breath. "jennie gave me your number just now."

you can hear an "oh!" and what you assume to be momo getting in bed. "well, what are you waiting for? tell me about your day!"

you smile, your nerves being eased by momo's comfortable aura. you could feel it through the phone, somehow.

"well, jisoo told me you said hi."

"i did!" you both chuckle quietly. "she was asking for nayeon, but nay wasn't home yet so i talked to her for a bit and she mentioned how you were doing."

you audibly gulp at the idea of that. knowing jisoo, you're almost 100% sure she was telling momo good things. still, it didn't hurt to confirm that.

"all good things, i hope."

"oh, yeah, don't worry. she kept going on and on about how you love dogs and how clingy you are when you're comfortable with someone.."

you bite your lip, was there such thing as too good? jisoo was trying to set you up with momo! shamelessly! and momo didn't notice!

"that's good." you take deep breaths as you hear silence from the other end of the call. "she bought me some drinks that i've been asking for, too. well, more like begging, but i did it really nicely!" you could hear momo struggle not to laugh, it makes you laugh too.

"anyway, she bought me this peach juice i've been wanting to try. then mango juice, and my favorite apple cider."

momo gasps, "you like apple cider?"

"of course!"

"me too!" you can practically hear the smile in her voice. "i'll bring you some next time i see you then."

"i'll be waiting!"

momo has tear stains on her cheeks from laughing so hard and her cheeks hurt from smiling so much by the time she goes to sleep that night.

momo loves talking to you.

#hirai momo x reader #momo x reader #twice x reader #twice imagines #hirai momo imagines #twice fluff

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i-am-baechu · 1 year

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♡ Summary: “A hopeless romantic all my life...” Yoongi and Y/N have always had this weird relationship. They weren’t together but it was clear to everyone that they liked each other, except for each other. That’s when Bts comes in and saves the day but sadly these cupids are so dumb.

♡ Rating: Pg-14

♡ Genre: Fluff, comedy, romance, small angst and a little spice

♡ Second part to; Lies

Yoongi doesn’t talk about his feelings all that much especially when it comes to his love life but that doesn’t mean others can’t see his feelings. You see, Yoongi is a man of action. He wouldn’t call himself a hopeless romantic but the other members thought otherwise. Y/N was sitting on the sidelines waiting for the guys to get finished with their photoshoot and he bit his lip. He walked towards his bag and took out a bag of chips with a small smile. He sat next to her dropping the bag into her lap making her look up from her phone.

“Yoon, you didn’t have to give me chips.”

“Who said it was just for you...”

She gave him a small smile putting her phone away. She opened the bag and pushed it towards him, “Take one.”

“No, you eat one first. I heard that you didn't have any breakfast.”

She pouted, bringing a chip to her mouth, “Jungkook needs to mind his business.”

“I ask him to keep an eye on you.”

She stopped herself from grabbing another chip and looked at him with her face suddenly feeling hot, “Yo-You do?”

He let out a small cough and took a chip, “Shut up...”

“They’re doing it again...”

Hoseok turned around, eyeing the “couple” with a small smile. He wrapped his arm around Jungkook’s shoulders, “It’s cute seeing Yoongi like that isn’t it.”

“It’s disgusting.”

Jimin let out a laugh glancing at them, “They’re so stupid.”

“Yeah, it's clear they're in love with each other.”

Jungkook nodded his head glancing at Taehyung with a small smirk, “He's liked her since I introduced her to you guys.”

Jin’s eyes widened at this as he looked at Jungkook, “That was years ago, are you telling me he liked her for this long and has done nothing!?”

Namjoon rolled his eyes with a sigh, “Guys just leave them alone. It takes time to form a relationship.”

“Or Hyung doesn't have game.”

“Or Y/N is too stupid to realize he likes her.”

Y/N let out a small laugh at Yoongi’s joke and glanced at the guys, “What do you think they're talking about?”

“Something stupid. Are you coming over tonight?”

“Of course, I love cooking with you, Yoon.”

༶•┈┈┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈┈•༶༶•┈┈┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈┈•༶

Y/N was at the cafe cleaning the coffee machines when she heard the door open. She glanced up to see Jungkook walking in with a smile. She raised her eyebrow at this while walking towards him, “You're lucky I’m the one closing or I would’ve kicked you out.”

He let out a small laugh and sat at a random table. He pulled down his mask to smile at her, “You love me too much to kick me out.”

“Don’t push it, Jeon. You want hot chocolate?”

“Sure, is it the recipe that your job made or is it Yoongi’s?”

She stopped in her tracks and felt her face get hot. She turned around and looked at him with an embarrassed look, “Why do you ask?”

“Because...you like Yoongi.”

She let out a small cough quickly turning towards the drinks, “So you want hot chocolate?”

Jungkook smirked to himself standing up from his table. He walked towards her and leaned against the countertop with his arms crossed, “You like Yoongi. No, you love him, don’t you.”

She dropped the lid to the plastic cup and let out a nervous laugh, “I don’t think we have the mix here. I have to go in the back for it.”

She went to move but Jungkook was already blocking her. She felt her face getting hotter by the minute and she tried to avoid his gaze. He let out a small laugh tilting his head at her, “You love him. I can’t believe you never told me, I’m your best friend.”

“Fine...I do love him. Don’t tell anyone.”

“Everyone knows Y/N.”

Her eyes widened at this and looked at him, “What do you mean everyone!?”

“You literally have heart eyes everytime you look at him. You're not really good at hiding.”

“That means Yoongi knows!”

“I doubt it...what if I help you with him?”

“I’m listening.”

Meanwhile, Yoongi was sitting in his studio working on his track when the door opened. Glancing up from his work he saw Hoseok with a smile and Namjoon with a bag of food. He turned around in his chair giving them his full attention with his signature straight-line smile, “Hey.”

Hobi plopped on the couch and set his shoes next to the other shoes, “You haven’t texted us.”

“Yeah, me and Hoseok decided to check on you.”

Namjoon sat the bag on the table and sat next to Hoseok. Yoongi stood up from his chair and stretched out his back before sitting across from them. He opened the bag and his stomach growled when the smell of chicken hit his nose, “I guess I could take a break...”

“What are you working on?”

Yoongi brought a piece of chicken to his mouth and glanced at Hoseok, “A song.”

“I know that hyung but for what?”

“A project...”

Namjoon wiped his mouth and let a small smile appear, “Is it for Y/N?”

Yoongi started choking on the piece of chicken glaring at Namjoon, “Why would you ask that?”

“Oh, come on hyung, everyone knows you like her.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes and took another bite of chicken, “I never said that.”

Hoseok scoffed and let out a small laugh, “You didn’t have to. Your actions are loud.”

Yoongi felt his face turn red but he shook his head, “I treat her the same...”

“Hyung, you cook for her almost every week, you give her your jacket, let her sleepover and you let her come into your studio when you're recording. You don’t even let us do that.”

“She doesn’t annoy me...”

Namjoon and Hoseok glanced at each other with a small smirk. Hoseok looked back at Yoongi and clapped his hands, “So you love her?”

Yoongi froze and dropped his chicken. The two younger members glanced at each other in worry as they watched their hyung freeze. Yoongi’s face was bright red and he stood up from the couch to stare at his computer with a blank face. Namjoon stood up and stood behind him with worry, “Hyung, are you okay?”

“I’m in love with her.”

“What?”

Yoongi turned towards Namjoon with his bright red face, “I’m in love with Y/N...holy shit, I’m in love with Y/N.”

Hoseok let out a small laugh and looked at Yoongi, “You're just now figuring that out?”

Yoongi sent a glare toward Hoseok and looked back at his computer, “Out.”

“But there’s still chicken”

“I need to figure something out for Y/N.”

Just then the door opened to reveal Jimin, Taehyung, and Jin, “We can help!”

“You guys will be banned from my studio.”

༶•┈┈┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈┈•༶༶•┈┈┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈┈•༶

Another Run Bts! and Y/N was on the sidelines watching them do crazy tasks. She wasn’t really focusing because she was thinking about the talk she had with Jungkook last night.

“You should try to ignore Yoongi?”

Y/N raised her eyebrow and took a sip of her water, “Why should I ignore him?”

“It will make him want more.”

“I mean...I can try. I don’t like ignoring him but if you think that can help.”

“Just try it out.”

She hated to ignore Yoongi because he was a big part of her everyday routine but Jungkook convinced her. If it could somehow bring them together then she would try anything. Seokjin nudged Yoongi lightly when the cameras were off of them and leaned towards his ear, “Are you going to do it today?”

Yoongi sighed and glanced at Y/N before answering Jin, “Yeah...do you think this is going to work?”

“Of course it will, I recommend it.”

“A cake saying I heart you is going to work?”

Jin rolled his eyes and nodded his head, “Yes.”

The group went to take a break and Jungkook ran up to Y/N with a smile, “You ignoring him today?”

“I’m trying...I just want to hug him.”

“Well you can’t today. It will bring him in.”

Y/N sighed and heard footsteps behind her. She quickly turned her head and she saw Yoongi holding something in his hand. She glanced at Jungkook and looked down at her. He grabbed her hand and walked away from the scene. Yoongi stopped in his tracks and frowned as he watched Y/N leave his sight. He turned to Jin with a frown, “She’s avoiding me today...I thought you said she liked me back.”

“She does, I-I don’t know why she's been avoiding you.”

Yoongi glanced down at the cake frowning, “I knew this was stupid.” He pushed the cake into Jin’s chest and walked away with his head hanging low. Jin watched him go back to his dressing room, “Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?”

Jin turned around to see Jungkook with a confused look, “Y/N and Yoongi...”

“What about them?”

“Y/N’s been avoiding him today and Yoongi’s been trying to confess his feelings to her.”

Jungkook’s mouth dropped and looked at Jin with wide eyes, “O-Oh...today?”

“Yeah, why? What did you do?”

Y/N walked towards Yoongi’s dressing room and placed her hand on the door with a frown. She wanted to knock on the door but she also really wanted to go through with Jungkook’s plan. She heard a soft melody playing on the other side of the wood. She placed her head against the wood and listened to the lyrics.

“I gave a second chance to Cupid

But now, I'm left here feeling stupid

Oh, the way she makes me feel

That love isn't real

Cupid is so dumb”

Y/N eyes widened at the lyrics and shook her head. She opened the door and Yoongi whipped his head towards the door. Y/N looked at him with a frown and ran towards him. Before he could say anything she wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him into a tight hug. He froze at the action but he eventually wrapped his arms around her waist bringing her in. They stayed like that for a few minutes before they backed away.

“Yoon...I’m sorry. I was just listening to Jungkook-”

“I knew that idiot had something to do with this.”

She let out a small laugh and intertwined their fingers together, “What were you holding?”

Yoongi’s face turned slightly red and looked away from her intense gaze, “I-It was stupid.”

“Nothing you do is stupid...tell me.”

He sighed and looked back at her, “I-I made you a cake.”

“Oh? What kind of cake?”

“Carrot cake but I wrote something on the cake...”

She tilted her head at him and he felt his face turn redder, “what did you write?”

“Fuck this is hard.”

“Why is-”

Yoongi leaned down, placing his lips on hers as she stood there with wide eyes. She slowly closed her eyes and turned her head to kiss him back. In a matter of seconds, their hands were everywhere. The room that was once filled with a soft melody was now filled with heavy breathing. Yoongi picked her up and placed her on the make up table as she held him tighter. They pulled away and he glanced down at her lips to see her lips shiny causing him to smile, “I love you, Y/N.”

Her eyes widened at this as she brought him in for another kiss. His fingers lifted up her shirt making her skin become covered in goosebumps as the cold air touched her. He gently rubbed her sides and moved down to her neck. He left soft kisses along her neck making her moan, “Yo-Yoon~.”

“I love you.” With each kiss he placed on her neck he whispered this confession into her skin. He pulled away as she brought her hands up to unbutton his shirt but stopped when the door slammed opened.

“Hyung! I’m sorry for ruining your...plan?”

The couple glanced at the door to see the members looking at them with blank expressions as Y/N hid her face into Yoongi’s shirt. Yoongi let out a frustrated sigh and glared at his members, “What do you guys want?”

Jungkook swallowed his spit and rubbed his neck, “I-I just wanted to say sorry for ruining your confession but it looked like it worked. You're welcome Y/N.”

“Get out!”

The members quickly left the room and Yoongi sighed. Y/N moved her head looking up at him with a smile, “I love you too...by the way.”

“Want to be my girlfriend?”

“Rather be your wife but I guess girlfriend can do.”

He smirked and leaned down, placing a kiss on her lips again. He pulled back and pressed his forehead against hers, “Oh, don’t worry about that Mrs. Min.”

Tag list:

@bangtan4everr

#bts reactions #bts scenarios #bts imagines #bts jungkook #bts namjoon #bts seokjin #bts taehyung #bts jimin #bts yoongi #bts x reader #Spotify #bts hoseok #Bts #yoongi x reader #bts yoongi x reader #ot7 x reader

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atimeofyourlife · 6 months

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Whumptober day 29

Steve blinked awake, squinting against the harsh lights of a hospital room. He had no idea what had happened this time to land him in hospital, but that didn't worry him too much. It was far from the first time he'd woken up in a hospital bed unable to remember what had caused him to be there. Everything seemed to ache, in ways he couldn't quite describe. He tried to move his hand, but his movements were restricted by the IV and wires trailing from him. There wasn't anyone in the room with him, and he wasn't sure if that was better or worse. It was better because he didn't have anyone there to immediately start berating him for whatever stupid actions had landed him in a hospital bed this time. It was worse because there was no one around to tell him what had happened, how he'd got hurt this time, how hurt he was. Between his aching body, and all the tubes and wires, he was only just able to reach the call button for the nurse.

"It's good to see you awake," The nurse said as she came in, "you've been out for a while."

"W-" Steve tried to speak, but the dryness in his mouth and throat

"Here," The nurse raised the head of his bed slightly, then spooned some ice chips into Steve's mouth from a cup that she'd brought in with her.

Steve let the ice melt in his mouth, the cool water providing instant relief. "What happened to me?"

"You've got a concussion, and a number of broken bones. It's going to be some time before you get to leave us, I'm afraid."

"How?" Steve mumbled, unable to figure out the vague blurry memories.

"We didn't get much information about that. Your friends who brought you in said they found you like that, they didn't know what had happened. Chief Hopper said he'd try to find out. But he's not told us anything yet."

"How long have I been here?" Steve asked, focused on the word 'yet'.

"It's been a couple of days. We kept you sedated to give you a chance to start to heal."

"And where are?" Steve glanced around the empty room, wondering why his friends weren't there.

"We had to ban them from coming in until you were awake. They kept causing trouble for staff and disturbing other patients." The nurse explained as she started to check Steve over. "Now you're awake, we can let Chief Hopper know, and I'm sure he will spread the word to your friends."

Now he was awake, Steve was aware of the nurses and doctors that were constantly coming and going. Checking the readings on the machines, checking that the IV was clear. Asking him questions about how he felt, and what he remembered of what had happened. It was a relief when the door opened to Hopper and Robin.

"Hey-" Was all he managed to get out before Robin was throwing herself at him.

"Dingus, we've been so worried."

"Carefully, Buckley. You heard the nurse, you don't want to make anything worse." Hopper said, coming to sit in a chair by the bed.

"Where's the others?" Steve asked.

"Not told them that they can come yet. The kids caused too much trouble, they'd probably get themselves kicked out again." Hopper explained.

"Yeah, and we didn't want them to make you feel worse. You know how loud those shitheads can get. Even being in a hospital doesn't get them to shut up." Robin added. "But, seriously, Steve. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit? I think I'd feel better if I'd been run over by a truck."

"Do you remember what happened?" Hopper asked, his tone becoming serious.

"No. I asked the nurse, and she said she didn't know, just that you found me hurt." Steve said.

"What's the last thing that you remember?"

"I'm not sure. I remember cleaning the house because my parents were planning on coming home." Steve screwed his face up as he thought, instantly regretting it as pain bloomed. "Why?"

"We're just trying to figure out the timeline." Robin replied quickly, but Steve knew her tells and could instantly see that she was lying.

"What happened to me?" Steve demanded, raising his voice slightly.

"Hey, Harrington. Kid. Calm down. You don't want to make yourself worse, you're hurt enough as it is." Hopper rushed in. He then hesitated for a second, before continuing. "The thing is, Steve. We think your parents might have been the ones that did this to you."

#whumptober2023 #no.29 #“what happened to me?”#stranger things #fic #steve harrington #steve harrington whump #robin buckley #platonic stobin #stobin #jim hopper #atimeofyourwrites

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queen-of-writing-bad-things · 3 months

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Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 3

Episode 5: The Trouble with Frittles

~In the Man Cave~

It was official, the city had gone insane. In the world's craziest PR stunt, the Frittle Company had decided to release two new chip flavours, Bodacious Blue Bacon and Raging Red Rhubarb. Both were wacky, both were weird and both had sent Swellview into a meltdown when the sneaky CEO announced that only one flavour would become a steady product. Now, everyone was bacon or rhubarb, red or blue.

It was the same in the Man Cave. Henry and (y/n) were Bodacious Blue Bacon all the way and Ray had found an ally in Jasper for Raging Red Rhubarb, not that the true fighting had begun yet.

"Hey, Schwoz." Ray greeted his funny little handyman as he and his girlfriend came down from the sprocket. He was munching on some red Frittles, but (y/n) wouldn't say anything, not yet. Bacon was way better than rhubarb, however, she loved her boyfriend and knew that he'd take her different opinion as the ultimate betrayal.

"What's the scoop?" (y/n) quipped as she watched Schwoz shovel oats into the auto-snacker with a small scooper. God, she loved puns, Schwoz though, not so much.

"I'm filling the snack machine with oats for my sister." He answered after rolling his eyes, making Ray groan. Not that damn horsewoman.

"Ugh, Winnie's still here?" He grumbled, which caused (y/n) to smack him on the arm. She didn't want him to be rude about Schow'z family, but then again, having an equine madwoman around the place did make having time for themselves tricky. She didn't have an understanding of boundaries.

"She's only been visiting for two days." Schwoz frowned, thinking that the large man was overreacting.

"I know, but...she looks like a horse and she freaks me out!" Ray whined, shoving another Frittle into his mouth. Those eyes; they followed him around the room and it made making out with his girl extremely freaky for him.

"Shhhhh! She's right over there." hushed Schwoz and the three looked over to see Winnie stood sleeping by the elevator, snorting and whinnying like a horse. "Schleeping." Schwoz smiled, she was his sister and he loved her even if she was odd.

"Ignore him, he's just cranky." (y/n) smiled at Ray and leant up to kiss him, but the man jerked his lips away when he saw Schwoz snacking on something repulsive over her head. Blue Frittles? What the fu...

"Hey, dude, uh...if you really like those...blue Frittles, you really gotta try these Raging Red Rhubarb ones, 'cause they're really good." Ray retched at the thought of the Bacon flavour and (y/n) pouted as he ignored her kiss for some dumb chips. Well, he definitely wouldn't like it when he found out what her preference was.

"Eh, (y/n) and I think the blue chips are better." Schwoz shrugged and the young woman gulped as she nervously looked at her boyfriend. He slammed his can of Frittles down and looked at her with annoyed eyes. Honestly, it's the ones that you love the most that hurt you the most.

"I mean, the rhubarb's nice, but the bacon is, y'know, nicer." She smiled shakily, but he wasn't impressed. His darling, sweet girl was in league with the blue Frittles? Ew.

"On Tuesday, you're both voting for the red chips," Ray told the two, making (y/n)'s smile drop instantly. He wanted her to do what now?

"Okay, A, don't tell me what to do, B, no, we're not and C, don't use that tone with me or you won't be getting any for the next four weeks." She replied sternly, moving to stand next to Schwoz with her hands on her hips. She loved him, always, but she wasn't going to get bullied into something. Her opinion was valid.

"The red chips are better." Ray insisted, looking at both of his friends with a serious face. He didn't want to go a whole month with no touch from his girl, but he wanted, no, he needed those rhubarb Frittles in his life and every vote counted.

"What's it like to be so stupid?" The small guy folded his arms and looked at his boss with as much disdain as the woman next to him. If they wanted to vote for blue, they were gonna vote blue.

"You shouldn't even be allowed to vote." Ray hissed back, making (y/n) step in front of her little friend protectively.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked him in a pissed off tone, staring at him with a hard gaze and folded arms. God, he was such a drama queen sometimes.

"You know exactly what that means, sweet girl," Ray growled at her softly and tried to walk away, mumbling something about Schwoz going back to his own country. Schwoz, being a small guy, wasn't one for extreme acts of violence, but being told to go back home over a damn chip got his dander up. He sprinted across the room and leapt onto Ray's back, strangling the startled man as they struggled.

"Seriously? All this over a chip flavour?!" (y/n) shouted at the men, who were spinning wildly across the room. She couldn't bear to watch as they knocked into the peaceful Winnie, setting her off into a frenzy. Geez, what a mess.

"Oh, for god's sake!" The young woman shrieked and tried to avoid getting clipped by Winnie's flailing arms as she made her way over to Ray and Schwoz. At this point, Ray had peeled Schwoz away from his back and was holding him under his arms like a child. It was quite a comical sight, not that Schwoz was laughing.

"Put me down!" He grunted, kicking his legs around in the air as he struggled to get free. It was a useless attempt though, Captain Man's clutches were strong and used to holding even the toughest of criminals. Puny Schwoz had no chance of escape.

"Nope, I know where to put you," Ray smirked and marched Schwoz over to the big barrel of oats he'd brought down for Winnie. He wasn't going to put him in there, was he?

"Raymond, don't be ridiculo---oh, god." (y/n) facepalmed as she watched her boyfriend plunge the poor repairman face-first into the oats, leaving nothing but his calves and feet sticking out of the top. It was an immature move that proved he'd won, but Ray couldn't help but feel like he'd gained one thing and lost another; the adoration of his sweet girl.

"Unbelievable." (y/n) hissed and walked off to grab the blue can of Frittles that Schwoz had left lying around. If he wanted a war, he could have won, he could stick her in with Schwoz if he wanted, she didn't care.

The couple were sat on opposite ends of the couch's crescent curve and each enjoyed their respective books and chips. Normally, the girl would be glued to his side and he'd press kisses to her head whenever she giggled at a funny line in her novel, but this wasn't normal. It was boyfriend versus girlfriend, red versus blue and neither were gonna back down, not even when the elevator dinged and Henry and Charlottes stepped onto the battlefield.

"Oh, hey guys," Ray smirked at the teens as they frowned at the scene. They couldn't discern which was weirder, Schwoz in a tub full of oats, or seeing the world's cuddliest couple sat so far apart. However, the sharp flick of (y/n) turning her page over (with sass) told them that she was pissed off and the presence of the Frittles said even more. All out couple war.

"Uhhhh, Ray? (y/n/n)?" Charlotte asked the couple nervously, wondering why they were both acting as though nothing was wrong. They should be kissing for the fiftieth time that day by now, not munching on Frittles.

"Yeah, what goes on?" The superhero asked cooly, not glancing up from his book, although (y/n) did sneak a peek. It reminded her of ten years earlier when she first came to the Man Cave and would study the features of his face from behind the safety of her book. It was never more than a glimpse since she didn't want to risk her handsome boss noticing and she always told herself that it wasn't checking him out, it was just an analysis. Little did she know that he too often gave her an "analysis" to memorise the way she bit her lip at the tense part or wiggled her toes when she got to the happy ending.

This wasn't like that though, she was observing the enemy, seeing if he was as uninterested as he sounded and she stuck her nose back in her book when she saw that he was. There was a small "analysis" on the side too though, she had to admit that she had never been very good at resisting those.

"Did you stuff Schwoz into a bucket of...oats?" Henry questioned as Charlotte dashed over to help the screaming man, making (y/n) chuckle humourlessly.

"No, I don't recall seeing Schwoz today." Ray brushed off the comment as popped another Frittle into his mouth as Henry went to help Charlotte yank him out.

"That's funny because I do, babe." (y/n) remarked, spitting out the pet name like it was nasty on her tongue. Ray didn't take it to heart though, he knew it was just fighting talk. Never in their history had she called him babe. Doofus? yes. Handsome? yes. Babe? no. It wasn't her style, she'd given him her names for him and they always fell from her lips with so much sweetness, it sent him crazy. It was cold and lonely without her, but it would be over in a few days, hopefully.

The couple's focus was stolen from the lines in their books as Henry and Charlotte pushed the oat bucket over, freeing Schwoz from his torture. He stood up furiously, shaking off the oats from up his sleeves and glared at his boss, but it was safe to say that Ray didn't give a toss.

"Oh, hey, Schwoz. Where you been all day?" Ray smirked and nibbled on another chip. That cocky smile, it both boiled (y/n)'s blood and made her shudder with desire.

"You know! You stuffed me in that bucket of oats!" Schwoz cried and Ray giggled at the reminder.

"Oh, yeah. Good for me." He chuckled, snapping his book shut as his girlfriend studied his every mood. When he wanted to be, he could be so damn annoying.

"(y/n), why didn't you help me?" Schwoz whined and stamped his foot, making the young woman lift an eyebrow. She wasn't cruel or uncaring and she wanted to help, but...

"Well, I wanted to, I really did, but Ray said he'd never kiss me again if I went near you. Don't get me wrong, Schwoz, you're great, but I'm not giving that up after waiting nine years so..." She trailed off when she witnessed the rage build in Schowz's eyes until it reached its boiling point. The small man wrapped an arm around Ray's neck and yanked him backwards in a chokehold, making Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) panic.

"No, no, no!" Henry freaked and dashed over to pull Schwoz away, but for such a small guy, he was quite strong. It must have been all the lugging and loading Ray made him do.

"Okay, Schwoz, let go now." (y/n) pleaded with the guy and put a knee on either side of Ray's hips so she could lean over him and prise Schwoz's fingers from his throat. Her boyfriend had been pissing her off all day, but she didn't want any actual fighting going on. She loosened his grip as Henry pulled him away, causing Ray to collapse on her as he gasped for air. The couple toppled onto the floor, with Ray panting into her neck as she winced at the rough landing, although having her boyfriend on top of her did have its perks.

"Schwoz! My spchoon is too schmall!" Winnie trotted into the Man Cave as her brother seethed and Ray sneakily pressed his lips to (y/n)'s neck, feeling her pulse under his lips. She giggled at him when he pulled back and his eyes crinkled with happiness as he took into her flushed cheeks and the rapid rising and falling of her chest. Chips or no chips, they were still dorks in love.

"Well, what am I supposed to do about it?" Schwoz asked his sister, not wanting to leave his argument unsettled.

"Go get your sister a bigger schpoon!" Henry told him and shoved him in the horsey lady's direction as Ray raised his body from (y/n)'s and balanced himself on his knees.

"Oh, schweet," Schwoz grumbled in his strange accent but complied anyway. He knew when to walk away, sort of.

"Why'd you shove Schwoz in a bucket of oats?" Charlotte asked the large man as (y/n) gazed at him with playful eyes, pushing her boobs out a little in a way to lure him to her side. It was tempting, very tempting, but rhubarb was just his vibe.

"Because I'm the boss around here! And he and (y/n) were talking about blue chips and how great they are." Ray grumbled, scrambling to his feet and offering a hand to his girl. Sure, she was a tease and the enemy in the battle, but he was a gentleman through and through and he wasn't going to leave his queen on the floor.

"They are great, way better than those icky red chips," Henry noted, screwing his nose up at the thought of the sour taste of the rhubarb Frittles, which didn't go down very well with the big, blue aficionado, Ray Manchester.

"What are you talking about?" Ray let go of (y/n)'s hand and stood straighter as he looked at Henry with disgust. Another blue? First, his sweet girl, now his faithful sidekick, his friends sure had bad taste.

"Here we go again..." The young woman groaned, pinching her nose as the boys glowered at each other.

"Oh, come on, you guys! This is so dumb!" Charlotte voiced her annoyance too, although she was more neutral than (y/n) since she didn't give a shit about red or blue. She thought the world had gone mad and she sure as hell wouldn't be voting for a winner.

"Dumb?" Ray gawped at the young girl with an incredulous expression. This wasn't dumb, this was the question of the century: red or blue?

"How can you say that?" Henry added, making Charlotte roll her eyes. Despite his calmer nature, Henry was as big of a drama queen as Ray, especially when it came to being competitive.

"'Cause, no matter which chip wins, nothing's gonna change! I mean, remember when they came out with nacho cheese-flavoured chips that everyone thought were gonna change the world? Well, they didn't. Then, they gave us sour cream and onion, nothing changed. Then, cool ranch, then salsa verde, every four years, it's another new, exciting flavour! But look around, people. Nothing's changed! Yeah, you ponder that." She exclaimed, making Ray and Henry think about her mini-speech.

She had a point. The entire situation was just nothing marketing ploy by a large company to fool suckers into buying their chips. But, they didn't have time to ponder any longer, because the alarm sounded, making their heads snap to the supercomputer

"Emergency!" Henry gasped, knowing that noise so well. He heard it in his sleep now.

"Oh goodie, it's a video call." (y/n) smiled as they dashed over, rubbing her hands together excitedly. She always loved it when they got to see who was calling, it made things more interesting.

"Put it on screen," Henry instructed Charlotte, who sat down at the controls and hovered her finger over the button.

"Wait! We're not in uniform." Ray mentioned, gesturing to their casual clothes. God, they couldn't show the person who Captain Man was under the mask, nor his sidekicks. That would be a disaster.

"She's not gonna turn on our camera, doofus." (y/n) rolled her eyes and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, but her amused smile let him know that she took his cautiousness in good humour.

"This my first day on the job?" Charlotte quipped, turning around to give Ray a raised eyebrow and a cynical look. Geez, some people just had no faith.

"No..." Ray mumbled, looking off to his right so he could avoid any eye contact. (y/n)'s smile was way more interesting anyway.

"Help! Please! Captain Man, Captain Man!" A terrified man appeared on the screen, shaking with fear as rocks crumbled around him. Well, this didn't look good.

"This is Captain Man, please state your emergency," Ray answered, leaning forward so he could hear everything. Plus, it was nice when (y/n) rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"Sure, I was climbing up Mount Swellview and there was an avalanche and I fell...ah! There's a big boulder on my leg and I can't move! Ah! More rocks are falling, please help, Captain Man, Kid Danger, Miss Danger, please, help!" The man groaned, clutching his broken leg as it throbbed under the boulder and he reached into his rucksack for a small comfort.

"All right, we're gonna be there in, wait...what did you just put in your mouth?!" Ray gasped when he saw a flash of blue across his screen and he knew just what corn-based snack the man was eating.

"Oh, it's a blue Frittle chip. They're so good." The man replied, making Ray huff like a child. So, he was a blue man?

"Oh, so on Tuesday, you'll be voting blue?" Ray prompted, making Henry and (y/n) look at him weirdly. It wasn't the time for the petty competition, this guy could die.

"Yeah, I guess." He said, quivering as more rocks tumbled from the cliff face.

"Oh, well, I guess you can just save yourself!" Ray hissed and slammed his hand down on the end-call-button, ignoring the man's protests. Well, there was no need for that.

"Are you not gonna help that dude just because he's voting for blue?" (y/n) gasped as Ray sulked and turned his back on her, Henry and Charlotte. The teens were equally disgusted and couldn't believe that Ray's childishness was triumphing over his sense of duty.

"Maybe." He muttered, folding his arms like a scolded child as he took in their hard stares.

"Okay...okay, then we're not gonna help anyone who votes red," Henry spoke for the both of them, making Ray let out a high-pitched squeal as (y/n) snapped her head to look at Henry. She didn't care about the chips, she just wanted to help people.

"Hey, speak for yourself!" She frowned at Henry, who gave her a begging look. He desperately needed her on his side if he was gonna strike out against Ray, but getting her to go against her boyfriend was immensely difficult.

"Whoa! You guys can't stop not helping people because they support a different chip than you." Charlotte chided the man, who wasn't about to take a dressing down from his youthful assistant.

"Really? 'Cause, I'm pretty sure I just did, Charlotte--" The superhero argued back, making (y/n) see red when he got all stroppy.

"Raymond Manchester!" She snapped, uttering his name with fury in her voice. She didn't normally raise her voice like that, not with him and not so angrily, but sometimes, he needed bringing back down with a sharp tongue.

"Oooh, busted," Henry smirked at how pale Ray went and the way he gulped at the young woman's outburst. He hated being on the receiving end of her rage, but he loved seeing her so animated and...hot.

"Our job is to help and protect the citizens of Swellview and that means everybody. No matter what damn chip colour they like. We don't judge and we don't discriminate, both of you should know that." She lectured them, making the smile on Henry's face drop. The boys felt like they were standing in front of their teacher and boy, it was scary.

"I know..." Ray scuffed his sneaker against the tiled floor, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout. He knew she was right and he felt guilty at how he'd gotten so caught up in the stupid chip voting.

"You can't tell us what to do..." Henry mumbled, not liking how he, a fifteen-year-old boy was being told off, even if he was being stupid.

"You wanna say that again?" (y/n) growled at him, stepping forward so she could hear every word that the boy dared to say. Talking back wasn't his brightest idea...

"Nothing." He quickly retracted his protest, standing straighter as the surprisingly intimidating woman looked him up and down. She wasn't the same (y/n) he'd met two years ago, she wouldn't say boo to a goose, but now, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

"Henry! (y/n)!" Schwoz shouted as he ran down into the Man Cave again. He must've found Winnie another schpoon.

"What?" Henry asked irritatedly, still feeling the sting of his telling off.

"Someone broke into the Frittle Factory and stole a whole load of Frittle chips!" The little man divulged, making the boys' eyes widen. They hadn't learnt their lesson and (y/n) sighed when the mention of the brand made them stand to attention.

"What colour chip?" Henry whispered, trying not to upset the girls, even though they could hear every word, loud and clear.

"Red," Schwoz answered as he typed away on his cell, making Henry smirk victoriously.

"No!" Ray cried, dreading the thought of the Raging Rhubarb having a disadvantage.

"All right, do I have to lecture you boys again? Charlotte's up for it too." (y/n) questioned and folded her arms as she and the girl crossed their arms.

"No, no, no." Ray and Henry quickly shook their heads, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her anger again. They'd had enough already.

"Good, so you go get that truck and Henry and I will go get that guy off the mountain." She smiled at her boyfriend, thinking it was a good idea to keep Captain 'I'm voting red and nothing else' Man away from the dude, who was a staunch Bodacious Bacon fan.

"Wait, where's my gumball tube?" Ray suddenly asked as Henry and (y/n) took out theirs. They were already chewing the gum, but he was still patting down his pockets.

"Oh, here, I made you a new one." Schwoz smiled sweetly at his boss and offered him the new tube. His smile suggested something sinister, but Ray didn't pick up on it. He was just eager to get dressed and go salvage the red chips. The three blew their bubbles and snapped into their uniforms, only, Ray wasn't in uniform, more like a beautiful white wedding dress.

"What the..." He gasped as he looked down at the flowing gown and Charlotte, Henry, Schwoz and (y/n) couldn't help but giggle.

"Schwoz! What did you do to my balls of gum?!" He growled at the man as the woman and teens laughed. It was pretty funny to see and his exposed chest and arms were not going unappreciated by (y/n).

"That's what you get for putting me in a bucket of oats!" Schwoz replied mirthfully, loving how sweet his revenge was. Karma was a bitch and she had hit Ray hard.

"You know, I always thought I'd be the one wearing the dress." (y/n) giggled, adjusting the strap of Ray's dress like she was his bridesmaid. Oh, she wished she had a camera right now, he was putting her scarlet and azure ensemble to shame.

Ray's cheeks flushed at her teasing, feeling all embarrassed at how she was loving every second of it. But her words weren't lost on him and the thought of her wanting to wear a white dress for him made his heart soar. It wasn't just him then, she wanted to be his forever too. The tender moment was cut devastatingly short though, as Winnie came galloping in and started to laugh or neigh at the hilarious sight of a man in a dress. Her reaction was infuriating for Ray, who didn't mind his girlfriend fawning over him, but Schwoz's sister? Ew, no.

"Oh, shut up." He grumbled, tugging at the white material that was making him look so foolish.

"Horse." (y/n) added on the end, not even bothering to disguise it with a cough or anything. God, that laugh/neigh was annoying and it proved to be too much for Ray to handle. He gathered his skirt and stormed off to the secret door, probably intent on manually putting on his super suit. Life was hard when someone messed with your balls.

~At the Frittle Factory~

"I am not talking to her." (y/n) seethed as Henry told her the bad news. He shuddered at her fury, but Ray was too busy with the factory workers to break it to her, even though he was the only one who could calm her nerves and anger.

"We have to. It's a TV interview!" Henry pleaded with her, trying to get her to come on camera with him. Evelyn Hall, KLVY News reporter and ex-flame of Captain Man, was begging the supers to give her a few words about their involvement with the Frittle Van rescue, but (y/n) didn't want to say anything to her, even if she was just doing her job.

"I don't care if it's a speech to the fucking U.N, Henry, I don't like her." She frowned, screwing her nose up at the thought of all those times she had to endure Ray and Evelyn flirt or kiss or whatever. She knew that her jealousy was unfounded and she trusted her boyfriend, of course she did, but she couldn't help but feel her insecurities rise to the surface. Meaningless or not, Ray had gone out with hundreds of girls, what if he suddenly realised that she wasn't what he thought she was? What if he called everything between them a mistake and reverted to his playboy lifestyle?

"Come on. She's coming over, just let me do the talking..." Henry rushed, dragging her to the camera crew despite her complaining and smiled politely at the pretty woman, although (y/n)'s was anything but polite. More of a sneer than a smile.

"I'm live at the Frittle Factory with Kid Danger and Miss Danger. Tell us how you caught the criminal who stole the Frittle truck." She started immediately, leaving the sidekicks to flounder as they thought of something to say.

"Uhhh...well, actually--" Henry stuttered, ready to admit that Ray had done all the hard work. They'd been on Mount Swellview just ten minutes before and had only arrived to see how Ray was doing. Speak of the devil, Captain Man himself sauntered up to his sidekicks and smirked into the camera, allowing them to give him the perfect introduction.

"Actually, it was Captain Man who did the rescuing of the truck and capturing of the criminal, so..." (y/n) gave Evelyn a half-assed smile, wishing that she was talking to anyone but her right now.

"But you helped." The woman pressed on, making Henry and (y/n) feel pretty awkward. They had literally just arrived on the scene, this was nothing to do with them.

"No, we were actually trying to save another guy, who fell off a mountain." Henry recounted the tale, impressing Miss Hall, who cosied up to the dashing young superhero. Now, wait just a second, had (y/n) missed something?

"Wow, you're the real hero." She flirted with Henry, making Miss Danger do a double-take. Had Evelyn Hall switched targets?

"Well..." Henry blushed, feeling flattered that the pretty reporter was lavishing the praise onto him. He did half the work, (y/n) deserved some recognition too, not that she minded, she was still processing the fact that Evelyn Hall wasn't flirting with her boyfriend.

"Uh, excuse me. Hi, hello." Ray nudged his way into the shot and Evelyn's smile fell. The superhero wasn't so super in her books and he wasn't a hero either, more like another guy who stood her up after promising he'd call her.

"Hi, uh...who are you?" She asked him, not caring that it made her seem like an idiot on national TV. She just wanted to see Captain Man squirm.

"I'm Captain Man, you know that everyone knows me, so..." He gulped at her sarcastic smile, not liking where this was going. He didn't want (y/n) to see this, not when they had been so happy together recently. One word from Evelyn could bring it all crashing down.

"Oh, right. The guy who took me out on two dates and then never called me again." She recalled bitterly, not caring that Kid Danger and Miss Danger were caught in the middle of their argument, the latter swallowing down the lump in her throat. It was never nice to meet the ex and with Ray, that was gonna be a very long line of disgruntled women.

"Do you wanna hear about how I recovered the stolen Frittle truck?" Ray asked her, hoping he could just do the interview and move on before Evelyn convinced (y/n) that he was some lousy jerk, who'd left a trail of broken hearts behind him as he pursued her. Just the sight of her fidgeting fingers was enough to make him nervous, was she thinking the worst already?

"I do not, I don't like being stood up." She smiled at him sweetly, making Ray stutter in panic. They couldn't leave it there, not when it made him look like the world's biggest asshole.

"Yeah, 'cause we all know how you like the reverse, Evelyn." (y/n) retorted, not being able to help the comment that slipped from her lips. She had nothing but disdain for the girl, she knew it was the wrong thing to feel for her, pity or sympathy was probably more apt, but she couldn't help it. It was a long seated grudge and it grew deeper when she made her boyfriend panic.

"B-back to you, Trent." Evelyn snivelled and scurried off in a tetchy mood. Oops, (y/n) had just made an enemy, not that she cared.

"I love you." Ray breathed out to the young woman next to him as she watched Evelyn storm away. He couldn't help it, he didn't know why. Maybe it was born from his panic that she'd leave him for someone with a cleaner slate and this was just his way of trying to hold onto her with the words he'd struggled to tell her for so long. Or maybe he was just in awe of how despite his regretful past, she still hadn't run a mile. Perhaps it was both.

"I know." She smiled at him, letting the phrase wash over her. She was the only one who got to hear those words and it warmed her heart to know that he'd picked her over everyone else.

"Captain Man! Captain Man! Miss Danger and Kid Danger." A short man called out after the superhero's preventing Ray from seizing his girl and kissing her honeyed lips like he wanted to. The guy was wearing an expensive-looking, bespoke suit and it was obvious that the guy was the Frittle CEO, basically the boss or head honcho.

"Hello there." Ray smiled at the important businessman, shaking his hand courteously even though he'd interrupted his moment with (y/n).

"Hi." Henry shook his hand too, trying to stay calm at meeting the face of Frittles. First, Evelyn flirting with him and now, this? It must've been his lucky day.

"Hiya...okaaay then." (y/n) held out her hand for him, thinking that he'd shake it as he'd done to Ray and Henry, but no. To her surprise and Ray's jealousy, he raised her gloved hand to his lips and graciously placed a fleeting kiss to the back of it, like he was bestowing his respect on a regal queen. It was a bit awkward for the young woman and made her look to her friends for help, but she just had to accept it, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend.

"I'm Jack Frittleman, chairman and CEO of Frittle snacks and I wanted to thank you personally for..." Mr Frittleman's gratitude was interrupted when one of his workers whispered something in his ear and handed him a sheet of paper.

"There a problem?" Henry asked the man as he noticed the frown on his face, not that Ray cared. He didn't think it was fair that Frittleman got to kiss his girl before he did, even if it was just a peck on her hand.

"Well, sort of. When the truck was stolen, it had four hundred cases of Raging Red Rhubarb Frittle chips." He read out the report, but the superheroes didn't see the problem.

"So?" Henry questioned as Ray scratched the back of his neck.

"So it seems that two cases of chips are missing. Weird. Wonder what happened to them." The CEO pondered, striking a thought up in (y/n). Huh, she knew someone who'd die for a steady supply of those damn chips...

"Raging Red Rhubarb did you say? Very weird..." She played it off like she had no suspicions, but there were too many correlating factors in it for her. Namely that Captain Man loved the red chips.

"Well, I suppose you'd have to ask the chips." Ray smiled at Mr Frittleman, ignoring how the woman was eyeing him carefully. Nothing to see here, not any stolen chips anyway.

"What's that mean?" The man asked, looking at Ray weirdly.

"Hmm?" Ray gulped, wondering how he was gonna excuse himself out of this one.

"Well, I can't ask the chips 'cause they're missing." Mr Frittleman noted, not seeing the bigger picture as Henry did.

"And even if he could, chips can't talk." The boy added, leaving Ray in a difficult spot to explain himself. Talk about throwing someone under a bus.

"Well, if chips could talk and were here, I'm sure they'd tell us." He replied, confusing everyone listening. He was getting deeper and deeper into the bullshit he was speaking.

"What's he saying?" Mr Frittleman asked his sidekicks, hoping they could shed some light on the superhero's odd choice of words, but they were just as lost as he was.

"Absolutely no clue." (y/n) shook her head, tapping Ray's arm to tell him that it was probably best for them to leave before he said something else weird.

"Bottom line is, you're welcome." The large man shook the chairman's hand again and gave him his most charming smile and turned to leave before a hoard of children came running in.

"Captain Man! Kid Danger! Miss Danger!" The gang screamed, Piper being at the front as she lead the way. The Man Fans were here and they were ready to see their heroes in all their glory, especially since it gave them a chance to see Miss Danger up close. A new addition to the Captain Man team? They'd happily welcome her in.

"Who are these children?" Mr Frittleman asked, feeling slightly startled by so many children bursting into his factory. Health and safety weren't very high on the list by the looks of things.

"Oh, that's my si----" Henry caught himself before he could name Piper as his sister, but his trailing tone made him sound crazy.

"Si---scissors! Has anyone seen my scissors?" He saved it at the end and even if it did sound bizarre, it was a lot better than revealing his secret identity.

"We're the Man Fans!" Piper introduced them proudly and she and Marla whipped out their Man Fan club cards.

"The official Fanclub of Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger!" Marla squealed, barely able to contain her excitement at the sight of Swellview's greatest crimefighters.

"We're verified," Piper added on the end, making (y/n) blush. It was nice to be included and to see so many happy faces, well, it was sweet.

"Hi, guys." Ray smiled at his club warmly, his hand curling around (y/n)'s as he sought out her touch. Did he care that people were watching his every move? No, he wanted the world to know that Captain Man had found his soulmate and he wasn't letting go.

"Hello." (y/n) greeted the kids, who weren't oblivious to how Captain Man and Miss Danger was holding hands. Ooooh, Captain Man and Miss Danger, sitting in a tree...

"Are you guys here to see the launch of the Frittle blimp?" Mr Frittleman asked the group, believing that they'd come across town to see his genius advertising idea.

"No. Kids hate blimps," Marla answered curtly, not caring about a big balloon in the sky, which was what a blimp was to anyone under the age of twenty-five.

"We gotta decide what Frittle to vote for on Tuesday, so we need to know!" Piper smiled at her heroes, who felt a bit put on the spot. What. the Man fans were told, they'd do; it didn't matter about their personal opinion, what their heroes said was the right thing to vote for.

"Need to know what?" Henry looked at the kids blankly, not seeing what they were getting at.

"Which chip Captain Man, Miss. Danger and Kid Danger are voting for." Piper explained, not realising that she was reigniting a burnout argument.

"We're gonna vote for whichever you guys tell us to." Oliver Pook added, making (y/n) stiffen. Did they have to bring that up? It had already blown up once, she didn't want it to happen again.

"Well, if you really wanna know, personally..."

"Well, I'm gonna go with.." Ray and Henry started, but an arm curled around their shoulders and they nervously looked to the side to see. (y/n) smiling at them pleasantly, or was it sinisterly?

"You say anything, I'll break your phone, you say anything and you're sleeping alone tonight." She hissed in their ears before letting them go and pushing them forward a bit. A few light threats always did the trick.

"Look, kids, Captain Man, Miss Danger and I do not get involved in snack politics, so you're just gonna---" Oh, Henry, he was such a good egg. The thing with Ray though, he wasn't and that was a problem. Mainly because he just sussed that he'd follow (y/n) to her bedroom and latch onto her until she gave in. No need for him to slumber in solitude.

"Vote red!" He yelled to the kids, making (y/n) growl and Henry gasp. So, he'd chosen death, not life, a bold choice.

"What?" The boy stuttered and was horrified to see the kids agree on voting for the gross rhubarb. Well, he wasn't having that.

"Kids, you like me. Captain Man says vote for the Raging Red Rhubarb Frittles!" He addressed the group, ignoring Henry's babbling for some sense.

"You're so gonna be eating those damn chips alone, Captain Man." (y/n) muttered, not liking how he was essentially rigging the voting. She thought it would be best for the kids to make their own decision, but no. Ray couldn't let this one go.

"No, you're not supposed to--vote blue!" Henry switched tactics and decided that if Ray was gonna play dirty, then so would he. Screw the moral argument, he wanted to chow down on Bodacious Blue Bacon for the rest of his life.

"Stop it! You can't tell them to vote blue--vote red!" Ray encouraged the children, who were now unsure of what to do. They couldn't vote for both and the way Captain Man and Kid Danger were arguing, it looks like they'd never get through to them.

"Okay, why don't you both just chill? Hmm? Kid Danger, go over there." (y/n) stepped in between her friends and forced Henry to back off. It was like trying to control two kids sometimes.

"You need to calm down." She turned to Ray and gave him her scolding face as she tried to control her stroppy boyfriend.

"Oh, so you're now telling me what I can and can't do like him?" He whined at her, not meaning to upset her, but his sneering voice ruffled her feathers.

"Oh, grow up." She hissed, stepping back from him. If he was going to act like a child then she'd leave him alone to cool off. She wasn't going to be jibed at and it looked like Henry wasn't either.

He'd grabbed one of the company's tube launchers and loaded up a can of blue Frittles. It probably wasn't the best idea to fire a tin of chips at your boss's face in front of a crowd of his adoring fans, but people do dumb things when they're mad.

"Okay..." Ray growled as Henry poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue, not caring about how furious the man looked. Ray went and grabbed the red launcher, making the boy gulp. He was a lot squishier and more vulnerable than Ray, surely this wasn't fair.

"Hey, he's not indestructible, you can't shoot--" (y/n)'s protests didn't matter, this was war and Ray Manchester took no prisoners. He fired a can of Red Frittles into Henry's abdomen, sending the kid to the floor with the forceful impact. Poor Mr Frittleman, he didn't want a brawl in his. factory, so he looked to Miss Danger for help.

"Guys, don't do this." She stood in the middle, but she was fighting a losing battle.

"Oh, he asked for this." Henry seethed and fired another can past (y/n). so it would hit Ray on the temple again. Ouch, that one had to have been painful and the pain was like adding wood to the fire. It made Ray even angrier.

"Okay! Say hello to my Frittle friend!" He quoted Scarface and yet another load of red frittles were sent Henry's way. It was slightly biased for a man as large as Ray to fight a skinny kid like Henry, who didn't have the weight to keep himself on his feet.

"Oh, right in the eye! So, that's how you wanna play?" Henry rubbed the pain away and reloaded his weapon. All (y/n) could do was keep the kids back and hope they didn't hurt each other or someone else.

"That's enough!" Ray told his sidekick, seeing panicked everyone was getting, especially the children, who were distressed to see the superheroes fight.

"Oh, that's enough? Let me just adjust the gauge right here..." Henry sassed Ray and flicked the switch on the side of the barrel. No more playing around, he wanted to finish this, but turning up the firing speed wasn't a good idea. Ray was hit by a can and then another and another until the weapon was firing hundreds of Frittle tubs per minute. Uh-oh, Henry couldn't control it and he looked at the malfunctioning thing in his hands.

"What did you do?" (y/n) shouted at the boy as she stopped Ray from hiding behind Piper and pushed the girl away from Henry's line of fire. For a superhero, he could be so daft sometimes, and if he wanted a human meat shield, he could use her.

"Stop being such a baby, you're indestructible," She rolled her eyes at him, wincing when a rogue can hit her shoulder. She was grateful for her super-regeneration, otherwise, the bruise would have stayed there for weeks. The worst wasn't over though, the catapulted Frittles hit some machinery at the back of the room, causing it to spark uncontrollably and an alarm to go off.

"What's happening?" Mr Frittleman asked his workers as they ran to save the machine, but it was too late. Henry had messed the whole thing up.

"Why's that light flashing?" Ray pointed to the red beacon and pulled (y/n) to his side. Whatever was going on, his gut told him it wasn't good and he wanted her right next to him where he could keep her safe.

"They jammed the system controls! Now, the corn compressors are building up an extreme amount of pressure and...they can't release the corn gas!" Everyone paled at the news. Pressure meant explosion and an explosion was very, very bad.

"Oh, well done, you two. Nice going, you've outdone yourselves this time." (y/n) clapped her companions sarcastically as she guessed that they were heading for a catastrophe and she had to hand it to them. This was their biggest fuck up of the year.

"Attention. This is Jack Frittleman...run!" The CEO announced over the tannoy and no sooner than he did, the crowd bolted for the exits. Ray, (y/n) and Henry herded them all out first, but not before running back to grab a few final cans of their favourite Frittles.

"Oh, sweet cheese, come on! This thing's gonna blow!" (y/n) shrieked at them as she waited in the doorway and the man and boy knew she was right. Forgoing any attempt to salvage the snacks, they legged it through the door and made it out with seconds to spare.

~In Junk-N-Stuff~

Back at the store, the Man Cave team were crowded around Jasper's PearPad as they watched the news report on the Frittle Factory Tragedy.

"And the explosion was felt all throughout Swellview and even some nearby cities, including Neighbourville, Bordertown and Rivalton," Trent reported in his usual prickly manner.

"But luckily, despite the magnitude of the blast, everyone important survived." Mary smiled, her pleasantness coming through the screen. The pair were like chalk and cheese, polar opposites.

"So the real victim is our own City of Swellview because, not only has the red versus blue contest been cancelled, but also CEO, Jack Frittleman, says it's going to take four years to rebuild the factory." The male anchor carried on, disappointing the city with his depressing news.

"Four years? That's a Frittle too long if you ask me." Mary quipped, smiling at her little pun, but like usual, Trent Overrunder wasn't going to let her stay happy for long.

"I wish you'd been in that factory, Mary." His cruel words choked the blonde up and (y/n) frowned as the clip ended.

"What a dick! One of these days I'm going to kick his ass." She scowled, but no one cared about poor Mary as she did. They just wanted to enjoy one more Frittle.

"Dang it. Man, I loved those blue Frittle chips." Henry sighed, missing the snack already and it had only been an hour.

"Me too." Schwoz whimpered, also feeling sad that the contest was kaput. Now, they'd never know which one was Swellview's favourite, well, not for another four years.

"Me three." (y/n) admitted, thinking that since the Frittles were gone, it wouldn't hurt to add in her voice. She liked the blues just as much as they did, even though she hid it well.

"I loved the red ones," Jasper commented, declaring that he, like Ray, preferred the rhubarb in all its artificial sour tang.

"I loved not caring," Charlotte smirked, loving that she was free of sadness or anger since she had been neutral from the start. Who was laughing now?

"Well, Henry, Schwoz, sweet girl...sucks for you guys." Ray walked over and wrapped his arms around (y/n) from behind as she stood in the middle of Henry and Schwoz. She frowned in thought as he rested his chin on top of her head, but after the thrill of the explosion, she couldn't put two and two together.

"What's got you all smiley, Mr Grumpy-Pants?" She asked him, wondering why a guy who'd been whining for days about the red chips was now happy that they were gone.

"Oh, you know, Raging Red Rhubarb Frittles, my love." He smiled down at her and lovingly pressed a clumsy kiss to her cheek, which made her feel embarrassed. None of this was making sense, apart from him being gross with the young woman.

"Yeah, well, that's too bad 'cause they all blew up." Henry reminded him, also finding his boss's cheery mood peculiar. He was way too dramatic to be pleased about this, unless...

"Did they?" Ray looked at the boy with a mischievous expression and untangled himself from (y/n) so he could move freely about the shop floor.

"Yeah, just on the news," Henry confirmed as they all looked at him in bewilderment. Little did they know that Ray had a trick up his sleeve.

"Did they?" He reiterated, adding to the confusion. He loved to build up the suspense, it played into her drama queen persona.

"We just watched it." Jasper frowned, falling into Ray's trap.

"Did we?" He pressed on, irritating (y/n) with his slowness.

"Are you drunk? Just get to the point, Raymond." She groaned, hating how he had to turn everything into The Ray Manchester Show.

"Ray, what do you know?" Henry asked his boss, also getting the feeling that Ray was toying with them and he just wanted to know what his game was.

"I know that when you're a superhero and you recover a stolen truck with four hundred cases of red Frittles inside, it's never a bad idea to snag a couple of cases for yourself." He chuckled at their flabbergasted faces, revealing his devious actions.

"That's stealing." Jasper pointed out, thinking that a superhero should've known better than to make an opportunistic looting just for his own benefit.

"Is it?" Ray shrugged and ignored the fervent yesses from his friends. Of course, it was stealing, but he'd overlook that since it got him a few months supply of Frittles.

"Yeah, all right." He conceded, but he didn't care, not when he knew that he'd be munching through his steal soon.

"Wait, you're saying that you were acting weird at the factory because there's two cases of Frittle Chips here?" (y/n) asked him, not believing that her sweet and goofy Ray would do something so sneaky. It was ingenious but sneaky.

"Yep, 'bout a half-mile down there, in the Man Cave." He smirked, feeling pretty good about himself as Jasper patted him on the shoulder. Looks like the reds won this one.

"Wait, my sister, Winnie, went down to the Man Cave to have a schnack and take a nap." Schwoz gulped as he realised that she'd probably eaten the lot since she literally had the appetite of a horse.

"You little shit, Schwoz!" Ray exclaimed angrily as everyone giggled. Captain Man had been outwitted by a horse lady.

"You know there's gonna be none left." (y/n) chuckled at him as he put his head in his hands and sighed, her hand rubbing his back soothingly.

Looks like no one had won after all.

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iammythmaker · 9 months

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WIP OF THE DAY

@setavvo I am surprised and confused, but I am very pleased. Thank you! This is a small WIP to my long fic.

"Rost tried to be a caring father, but sometimes it seemed to me …" She looked around, plunging into memories. "That he did not understand that the child needed not only a bowl of hot food and clothes with a bed. I never doubted his love. He loved me. As only he could. Protection. Shelter. Survival. Training without interruption. Sometimes I saw him take out a carved figure of a watcher, furtively rubbing it and examining it. You know, it was worn and chipped in many places, and the wood was slightly cracked where the tail and back joined. He hid it as soon as he saw me looking. I think the toy belonged to his daughter. It is possible that, despite the fact that part of him never lost love for his daughter and wife, he regretted that he was not with them, but were... well, where do they get to after death. Into the Void or into the Abyss. It doesn't matter. But the duty of the Mother of All is above all, as he told me. Apparently this and his love for me made him live and continue to breathe. But he just didn't find a place for… extra warmth between us. For frankness. For… I do not know how to explain it."

"He was hurt and he was lost. I'm glad he was able to take care of you. Need to have the courage to do this without relying on the past, no matter how much it hurts."

"Yes… but I… sometimes it was hard for me to accept his stubbornness. He believed in the Goddess. He did not accept the facts that indicated that the goddess did not exist. He talked about the stars, about the sun and about fire. About the path that the ancestors passed - Nora and why it is important. About the magic Mother's milk that spilled in the sky, so that children would always remember her maternal love. It was so important to him… I listened to these stories, taught them and repeated them word for word. I sang songs Nora. One day he led me to the wall, so that we would not be noticed. He left me alone in the grass and told me to listen. I listened to… poems and songs. It was sung by matriarchs and older women… it wasn't… important to me. They were about one thing: about motherhood, about military glory in protecting the tribe and in faith to the Mother Goddess. About how the earth and machines were born. There was nothing real about it, Kotallo. Rost said that I should know them, because I am a future woman from the Nora tribe." She smiled mirthlessly, pushing back the hair that hid her face from her forehead. She looked sideways and rubbed her neck, stirring the boiling water with herbs with her other hand. "I once told him that all his legends are mouse nonsense. Everything in them is not true, but this…" She touched her focus with her finger, "is the truth. He… became more silent than usual. Didn't talk to me, and then… left. Didn't come back until morning. Even more gloomy, and… He didn't talk to me for a long time. Only after a while did he say that I HAD to believe if I wanted to become part of the tribe. I was ten or so."

"I once heard the phrase, from Fashav: "Don't take away a person's faith, sometimes that's all they need to exist and live.""

She twisted her face, snorting indignantly.

"My rational mind doesn't quite understand that. You can live for other things: for a higher purpose. For the sake of saving the world." She appreciated the chuckle from his chest by nudging him. "Don't laugh, Marshal Who-Flying-on-the-wings-of-Ten. For… Revenge. Everyone is looking for what they like. But to believe in a creature or creatures that no one has seen… it's stupid. Irrational.

"You're right, you can't believe in GAIA either. According to this logic, it does not exist. Because no one, except our family, has seen it and cannot feel it. Well, or except for those with whom she spoke through focus. Do you get it, my wing?" Kotallo agreed and intercepted her hand, which was rushing to his shoulder. He kissed her knuckles and touched the inside of her warm palm with a smile. "How did we move from talking about your past to talking about higher powers?"

"You started provoking me." She grumbled.

"Sometimes songs… are songs. What the soul requires. Tenakth chose the word, but we sing if it's big celebrate, or we need to tune in to the battle or sing in honor of the Beginning of a new cycle. Each tribe has its own stories. And sometimes… you just have to listen and try to understand what is important to others. Here."

He touched the place where her heart was pounding.

"You're too wise for a man whose whole life is a battle."

"I can hear and have learned patience. In patience I learned to reason…"

She grunted, pulling him in for a kiss.

"I know… And I love you for that and for a thousand other reasons…"

@poulticepurse @poppypopp @hannahmationstudios @han-ban-bam @mancatrex @fogsblue but no pressure <3

#horizon forbidden west #aloy #kotaloy #kotallo

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wardenred · 8 months

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Whumptember 13: "You don't remember, do you?"

Started here, continued here, and I guess this is the conclusion.

First, there was the light hitting their eyes. Then, the dull, throbbing pain in their skull, just behind their left year. Next, a warm pressure of fingers against the pulse point on their wrist, right when a hazy, mostly white shape swam into their blurry vision. Finally, a voice, such a familiar, welcome voice, "Can you hear me, Rin?"

"N.." They had to pause and move their tongue around, forcing some saliva around their mouth. "Nadia?"

The firm mattress of the hospital bed dipped only slightly next to their hip. Rin caught a whiff of honey-sweet perfume mixed with terse medical chemicals and felt like crying. Their eyes still didn't cooperate very well, but it took minimum visual cues from reality to picture her soft, concerned smile. Except was it reality, truly? Or simply a seizure-induced hallucination?

"Welcome home," she said, leaning forward. Something smooth, almost tendril-like touched their lips. It took Rin a moment to realize it was a piece of IV tube dipped into a glass of water. They drank until she pulled the glass away, thirstier with each gulp.

"I'll get you more in ten minutes," Nadia promised, setting the glass aside. This sound was familiar, too: the click of glass against a plastic-lined surface. As Rin's awareness grew, they kept noticing new noises. The steady beeping of some sort of machine they were no doubt hooked to. The distant whisper of traffic outside. Somebody's footsteps in the corridor, beyond the curtained doorway.

"Is this..." They could hardly believe this could really be the infirmary in the Lost Underground. That life felt too far away. Imaginary.

Nadia nodded, and this time they could see the gesture perfectly well, even though the finer details of her face were still foggy. "You're Underground. We got you out. You and Dale both." She squeezed Rin's arm. "What you did was suicidally brave."

Rin didn't feel brave. They felt tired. And, above all, confused.

"How's Dale?" This was the important question. They braced themself for an answer and nearly choked on a breath of relief when it came.

"He's well. Hardly needed any patching up, beyond some work on his bruises. I imagine he'll show up soon to check up on you. Now, I know you've never liked the infirmary, but you'll have to stay for at least a few days, hear me? No escaping. I'll need to make sure there are no long-term effects to extracting that chip."

The chip. "Didn't it... disintegrate?"

Even through the strange haze, he noticed Nadia's dark eyebrows go up. "Why would it? That's not what this kind of tech does."

"But..." But he said it would. He said no one would find proof...

The music of the machine's beeping changed rhythm. Rin's throat constricted.

Stupid. Oh fuck, they've been so stupid. Why did they keep assuming the villain was telling them the truth? Why—

"Rin." Nadia's voice wasn't exactly harsh, but it left no room for their mind to wander. "Breathe. You've just woken up, I don't think you want me to put you under right away."

"N-no," they agreed. Breathing. Right. Breathing was probably the right thing to do. Except. How could they have been so stupid?

"It was the chip." Rin didn't know if they'd spoken aloud, or if they were just that predictable. Chances were, Nadia was simply that smart. "In addition to altering your behavior, it also messed with your perception of reality. It led you to believe everything that fucker told you, even when it contradicted what you knew. Like when he told you that our group didn't tolerate traitors in any shape or form and that we all believed you should have died before surrendering. You knew that wasn't true, but the chip made you overwrite your own memories and emotional experiences. Nasty piece of work, that. We'll see how certain people will enjoy the effect once I replicate it."

Rin licked their lips. "How—how do you even know what he told me?"

She took their hand again, cuddled their wrist between her palms. "You don't remember, do you? We've tried to establish contact with you so many times, in ways that would be safe for you. We kept planning extractions. Sometimes, we got to talk to you for a bit, but every time, that fucker intercepted us and he told you our people weren't there. And you..."

"I believed him," Rin finished for her, weakly. The memories were starting to float to the surface of his mind. Trying to focus on the details hurt, quite literally, but they were there.

"Don't strain yourself just yet," Nadia said, again in her best "I'm the doc here" tone. "I need you to work on staying as calm as you can, and if that doesn't work, you'll need to go back to sleep. The surgery went very well. Your vitals are normal. You're on the road to recovery, no doubts there. But you've spent months under a lot of stress, and you were in a neurogenic shock when we got you out. Being close to the epicenter of the explosion didn't help, either."

"Explosion?" They genuinely didn't remember.

"That's something that can wait until later. Let me get you more water." She stood up to refill the glass. "Don't dwell on the past just yet, or the future, or anything at all. The important thing is you're home."

Home. Free.

This sounded too good to be true.

#warden's random scribbles #whumptember2023 #original fiction #writeblr #writblr #my writing #writers on tumblr #flash fiction #snippet #cw: medical content #finally free #rescued

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wolfverse-stories · 8 months

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Falling Slowly

(Tim is the oldest au)

Chapter 1

Tim sighed as he walked through the empty hallway. They could have at least woken him up to say goodbye.

"No use in dwelling on it," Tim said to himself walking into the kitchen. He carefully looked through the cabinets trying to find something to eat.

'Looks like I'll have to go to the store' he noted as he pulled down half a bag of banana chips from Janet's last health kick.

There wasn't ever much food kept at the house since Tim was really the only one who ate there. His parents were away most of the time and when they were in Gotham they usually like to eat out with friends. Mrs. Mac would usually do the shopping but his mother had made it clear that she was not to be bothered this week

"Now Timothy Mrs. Mac had a family emergency this week so I don't want you to bother her" Janet warned as she packed her suitcase.

"Yes ma'am" Tim nodded helping to gather her things. His mother didn't care anything about 'The help', however, she was not about to have her reputation ruined by her thoughtless son being insensitive to the housekeeper.

That was okay. Tim had a small stash of cash for situations like these. He would simply go into Gotham tonight and get some groceries.

'It'll give me a chance to try out my new camera anyways' He smiled to himself as he plopped a handful of banana chips into his mouth.

"Yuck!" He scrunched up his nose forcing down the chips "Note to self no more banana chips" he stood up stuffing the bag back into the cabinet before walking over to the coffee maker.

'I still have six minutes' he thought to himself as he started the machine. After pouring himself a mug Tim walked over to the living room and turned on the TV before leaning back into the couch holding on tightly to the mug so as not to spill a single drop of the precious liquid.

He's parents wouldn't be happy if they had caught him bringing a drink into the living room. But right now they were gone and he was ahead in all his classes which meant he could watch some TV.

Public television, another thing his parents would surely scold him for. They were strongly against any form of entertainment that wasn't considered culturally enriching.

The worst were sitcoms, they believed that your brain would turn their brains to mush from just watching one episode. Which was pretty stupid considering Tim spent a lot of time watching them and was still top of his class.

Tim loved sitcoms, especially ones about families. His favorite by far had to be the Brady Buch. A show about two different families moving in together and becoming one big happy family. He loved the relationship between the siblings and how they all took care of each other.

Sometimes he'd even like to imagine that he was part of the family. He'd always thought it would be so cool to have a large family full of brothers and sisters. But his parents had made clear they didn't want another kid and that was probably for the best. After all, it's not like Tim could take care of a younger kid and his parents wouldn't be happy if they had to stay home all the time. Still, it was nice to imagine.