#but. i still saw my dad unconscious in a hospital bed hooked up to like a million tubes and | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

justmeinadaze · 2 months

Text

Little Girl Gone Part 4 (Steddie X You)

Warnings: Officer Steve harrington/ Gangster Eddie munson & Doctor fem submissive Y/N, SMUT, degrading, some spanking, LOTS of dirty talk, handcuffs, slight overstimulation, after care of course.

ANGST, Jason causing problems before the meeting with his dad. Mentions of explosions and shooting. Eddie being sexily intimidating <3, Steve's dad makes a cameo and undermines the readers profession like a dick. Slight cliffhanger ending...I guess. Idk lol

Word Count: 5993

Last Chapter Here

“Last chance, sweetheart. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Your hold on Eddie’s arm tightens as you exhale out your nerves. This entire week had been rough not just on you but them as well. You were ready for it all to be over so you could just enjoy being with the new men in your life. If this is what you needed to do for that to be done so be it.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

As you smile up at him, he leans down to kiss your lips making you laugh as you quickly wipe away the lipstick that lingered on his mouth.

Both your demeanors hardened as the door to the venue was opened and Eddie led you inside.

***

The gangster ran into the hospital room with you trailing behind, glancing at the chart that was attached to the wall as Steve stood by Chrissy’s bed side.

“What happened?!”

“Witnesses say they don’t know. Just, suddenly, her store was fire.”, the officer relayed with a sigh. “It’s all gone, Ed.”

“It says here she should be fine…physically at least.”, you add as your sad eyes shift towards the unconsciously girl in front of them.

“We-we can rebuild her store. That won’t be an issue—”

“EMS found a note pinned to her sweater.”

Steve handed him the slightly charred piece of paper that Eddie read aloud.

“No, Kiddo, this moment…this is me at my most masochistic.

Three.”

“The fuck does that even mean?”

“It’s a quote from Kill Bill. Everything but the three. I don’t know what that means.”, you answered, trying to hide the fear and worry.

Placing his hands on his hips, Eddie begins to pace.

“I really think you two should stay in my apartment until we get this resolved.”

“You and I both know I can’t do that.”, Steve murmurs as his face scrunches in thought. “And we both know she’s not because of her patients.”

A knowing smirk flashes along your features as you shrug.

“I don’t like this. I still think—”

“I know what you think, Ed, and I’m telling you no.”, the officer cut him off. “You already went and attacked him once and look what’s happening.”

“I feel weak, Steve. Like I’m letting him get away with this bullshit.”

“You’re not weak. If anything, he’s weak for reacting this way.”, you respond as you wrap your arm around his waist and in response he kisses your forehead.

“I just… I’m still going to have some of my guys watching over you two. Y/N, Gareth will be in the clinic with you and Steve, Jeff can linger out of the way so he isn’t seen.”

#########

“Jesus, ALL of Hawkins High Society is here.”, you murmur as you two enter the garish ballroom style area where extremely well-dressed people had gathered.

Eddie had taken you shopping and bought you a beautiful (expensive) red evening dress that flowed to your ankles but had a slit up to just below your hip. He had bought you some equally expensive jewelry to match except for the bracelet around your wrist.

“I know it’s not as lavish as what Tony Montana here got you but I saw it in the store and it made me think of you.”, Steve blushed as he hooked the bracelet to you and spun it around. It was a simple silver chain but in the middle was what looked like a heartbeat reading you see on ECG machines at work. “Since you, ya know, stole the other half of my heart.”

“Wow, Steve Harrington. That was smooth.”, Eddie chuckled. “Um, here. Here’s MY other half as well.”, he grinned softly as he slides one of his rings onto your finger.

“Yeah like you said before, ‘rich people trying to make themselves feel better.’.”

Eddie insisted you both should stand out so not only would people see you together and know you’re his but it would draw the eye of Mr. Carver so he’d hopefully come talk to you two. His suit matched your outfit with a red button up but every other piece on him was a crisp black that made him seem even more handsome.

While your hair was down around your shoulders, his was up and pulled back so you could see his face a bit more. Occasionally during the car ride, you would lean over and kiss his cheek just because you could making him beam over at you as he squeezed your hand.

Leading you to the bar, he ordered you both a glass of champagne making you giggle as you watch him chug it down and ask for another.

“Nervous?”

“Uh a little but not for the reason you might think. I’ve never met Steve’s parents. I’ve heard stories and of course they don’t know about us but for some reason I still want them to kind of like me.”, he playfully winces making you laugh harder.

“That’s normal, baby. You love him so you want them to like you; to approve.”

Grinning in your direction, Eddie leans down to kiss your cheek while you were taking a sip from your glass.

“What was that for?”

“I’m just so glad we met you. I wish it was under different circumstances but—”

“One bourbon, straight, please and thank you.”, Steve sighs heavily as he leans over the counter waiting for his drink. “My parents are on their bullshit tonight.”

“I’m sorry, honey.”, you whisper with a smile as he thanks the bartender again and knocks back his drink.

“Steven, I thought you were bringing everyone back something.”, a man practically whined as he came up behind him.

“I was. Dad, this is Dr. Y/N Y/L/N and—”

“Edward Munson, sir. Nice to meet you.”, Eddie greeted as he enthusiastically extended his hand for him to shake.

As the officer turns to grab the drinks and hide his smirk, you subtly bumped him with your hip.

“Hm. I’ve heard your name around town. Very prominent young man. What do you do exactly?”

“Management you could say sir.”

“And you young lady? Are you a real doctor or just one of those professor types?”

“Um, I own my own clinic and treat patients.”

“Oh yeah? Where?”

“It’s Hawkins Virtue Clinic on the lower west side.”

“Ah on the crime riddled side of town where people can’t even afford napkins from a restaurant let alone healthcare.”

Your gaze shifts to Steve who tilts his glass towards you in a cheer gesture with a little smile as he knocks back its contents.

“I guess you could say that. That’s why I don’t charge them more than they can afford.”

“How do you make money then?”

“It’s not always about money. For me, all that matters is people can live long healthy lives.”

“Not in Hawkins, honey, but it’s a cute dream. Come on, Steve, your mother is waiting.”

“I’ll see you peasants later.”, he teases as he winks and follows his father.

“Well, that was a good test run.”, you joke as you turn to face Eddie.

“Yeah, hopefully George isn’t that cynical.”

#############

“Thank you for keeping an eye on me these past few days.”, you beam at Gareth as you both walk to your car.

“Of course. It’s actually been oddly exciting. I learned that green is never really a good color especially on or IN your skin unless its vegetables, obviously.” He grins when you laugh. “I also learned that sick kids are VERY loud and nurses deal with way too much.

“They really do. I try to give them raises as much as I can to show my appreciation but it’s hard with my lack of funds.”

“I’m sure Eddie could help if you asked.”

“Oh, no. I couldn’t impose.”

Your guard paused, holding his arm out to stop you as well.

“Stay here.” Drawing his gun, he slowly walked forward towards your car, scanning the interior and around the side. Noticing a note tapped to the door handle, he carefully pulls it off and reads the contents before his wide eyes meet yours.

“Y/N RUN!”

As he starts sprinting your way, you suddenly feel heat and a strong wind that knocks you off your feet as your car explodes.

***

Eddie’s tires skid as he slams on his breaks when he arrives at your clinic. Bypassing all the fire fighters and EMS, he entered the building hunting for you.

“What happened?! Baby, are you alright?”

Silently, Steve grabbed his partner’s arm and dragged him off to the side. Digging into his pocket, he handed Eddie the note that was taped to your car.

“I'm not gonna kill you. Your job will be to tell the rest of them that death is coming for them, tonight. Two.”

“I looked it up, it’s a quote from another movie involving revenge. And I’m assuming—”

“He’s counting down.”, Eddie interrupts. “I’m going to fucking kill that son of a bitch.”

“No, hey. We have a plan, remember? Right now, she needs you.”

After coming back around the corner, Steve shoos the EMS people away as he sits beside you in your waiting area with his pencil and pad pretending to take your statement while the gangster takes a seat on your other side.

“Princess, look at me. Are you ok? Did you get hurt?”

“Uh, no. Gareth, he, um, he did though.”, you respond as your tear-filled eyes meet his. “I tried to do what I could, Eddie. H-He was badly burned. I-I-I don’t have stuff here for those kinds of burns.”

Tilting you against him, he presses your head to his chest as you sob.

“EMS said that he will most likely be ok and if you hadn’t been there he would have died. Honey, you saved him.”

“H-He saved me, Steve.”

“You’re both staying with me. No arguments.”, Eddie announced as you nodded.

“I have to go in and fill out my report—”

“Steven…”

“I know, I know. I’m probably next but there’s nothing I can do, Eddie. I have to go in and do this. Plus, I have Jeff and a station full of cops. I’ll be ok.”

############

“I’m going to go smoke a cigarette, sweetheart, ok? Don’t go far.”

You nod as you watch him reach into his pocket and pull out his pack as he disappears out on the nearby patio. Glancing at all the people around you, you suddenly feel extremely isolated completely unsure of what you should be doing.

“Don’t let them see you crumble.”, an older man chuckles as he steps closer to you. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I know what it’s like to walk into this sea of rich people and feel completely out of place. When my father and I moved here, we had nothing but a few pennies in our pocket but he knew how to finagle. Networked his way to his first 100K and used that to start an empire.”

“That’s amazing. My, uh, my grandparents were the same. They said personality goes a long way in any business. My grandma opened a tutoring center on the east side and helped so many underprivileged kids go on to college. My dad thought she was ridiculous. ‘You’re barely making ends meet, ma!’”, you roll your eyes.

“Ah, one of those.”, the man smiles. “I inherited my father’s company and then gave it to my son. Did your grandmother do the same?”

“Oh, no. She got sick pretty early on in her life and I moved in with them to help take care of her. It’s what actually sparked my interest in medicine. I’m a doctor and I run my own clinic, Hawkins Virtue.”

“Oh! I’ve heard of that place. You help a lot of people who are struggling.”

“I try.”, you grin, happy to meet someone who seems to genuinely find interest.

“Do you need funding? I’d love to come by and see what you do.”

Shifting your gaze, you notice Steve watching you intensely from beside his parents.

“I would like that very much. I’m Dr. Y/N Y/L/N.”, you introduce as you offer him your hand that he takes and kisses the back off.

“George. George Carver.”

***

Steve sighs as he heads out of the police station to go home. Placing the ear bud in his ear, he taped his phone to immediately call Eddie.

“What’s going on?? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, babe. I’m fine. I’m on my way now.”

“Ok, stay on the phone with me till you’re almost here.”

“Heh. I love when you get protective.”

Eddie listens to every footstep with anticipation as the officer heads towards his car.

“You’re my Paladin, babe, but I’m the Master. I can take care of you to.”

“You’re such a nerd.”, he chuckles, pausing at the sight of the note on his windshield.

Trying not to startle his boyfriend, he carefully removed it as he backed away from his car.

“Killing's got to be accepted. Murder was the only way that everybody stayed in line. You got out of line, you got whacked. Everybody knew the rules. One.”

Something suddenly whizzed passed him, shattering his driver’s side window.

“Fuck me.” As soon as he hit the ground, multiple rounds of gunfire went off around him. Steve could barely hear Eddie in his ear as he crawled behind a nearby vehicle and waited.

“STEVEN! ANSWER ME GODDAMN IT!”

“I’m ok! I’m ok!”

Pointing his gun towards the car, he fired a few rounds before it disappeared around the corner.

***

Eddie paced as you cleaned the cuts on Steve’s hand he had received from all the glass on concrete. The gangster was on edge since he had to wait for police to scope the scene and take the officer’s statement.

“Fucking asshole. Steve, I’m sorry but I can’t let this slide. Two of my friends are in the hospital and he almost killed you two.”

“No. He wants to kill us in front of you remember. This was just to toy with you and us.”

“I don’t like the casual way you said that.”, Steve teased as he pokes your nose with his free hand.

“Excuse me. Not a joke here!”

“You’re right, baby. Talking with his father won’t be enough. He crossed a line but we need to focus on this first to keep Y/N safe. After we handle that, then we can handle him.”

“I may have an idea that won’t upset his father IF we get that approval and will get your message across.”, you announce as they give you their attention.

############

“Mr. Carver.”

“Ah, Mr. Munson or should I saw Edward. We don’t want to confuse you with your father now do we?”, the man laughs light-heartedly as your gangster circles a protective arm around you. “Do you know Dr. Y/L/N here?”

“Oh, please, sir. You can call me Y/N.”, you beam trying to remain as calm as possible.

“Yes, sir. I met Y/N when she saved me from a nasty wound I got. I had heard of all the things she’s done for the community so, of course, I had to get to know her better.”, he grins as he pulls you closer.

“That ‘nasty wound’ wouldn’t have been inflicted by my son per chance?” Eddie stiffened a bit beside you as the man gave him a once over. “Yeah, I know you and Jason don’t get along but that doesn’t give you the right to invade his turf and kill his best friend.”

“If I may, Mr. Carver, is there a private place we can talk?”

“No, you may not. Whatever is going on between you and him doesn’t involve me. You two are in charge now. Handle it.”

As he starts to walk away, you reach out to grab the man’s bicep.

“Please, sir. So many innocent people have gotten hurt just in this week alone. Your son is throwing a tantrum over something he started and is upset because Eddie didn’t let it go like his father used to. Please, just listen to what he has to say. We don’t want anything in return or anything like that. Just…listen.”

Jason’s father sighs as he glances you over.

“You would even decline the generous donation I was thinking of giving to your clinic? That’s a lot of funds that could help a lot of people.”

“This will help more.”

At your sentence, he blinked and stood up straighter.

“Ok. Ok, Mr. Munson. Let’s talk.”

***

Jason exhaled as he took off his tie and laid his gun on the kitchen counter with his keys as he headed towards his living room.

“Long night?”

“Jesus Christ, dad!”, the man jumped as he clutched his chest. “You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. I thought you were going to the fundraiser event tonight.”

“I was busy.”

“I hope you weren’t busy with anything involving the Munson crew.”

As his father rose to his feet, Jason stood up straighter.

“I told you. That asshole killed Andrew—”

“After you broke into his girlfriend’s house and pulled a gun on him?”

“He killed Patrick and my friends!”

“AFTER you kidnapped his friend WHO IS A COP and beat him up! You stupid idiot!”, his dad growls as his son flinches. “What’s this I hear about you starting fires, blowing up cars, and doing shootings outside of a police station?! And leaving these moronic notes like this is some gangster movie!”, George shouts as he grumbles the papers he was given and tossed them his way. “This is not how we run our business, Jason.”

“Edward Munson needs to be taken out.”, he seethes.

“Edward Munson will be left alone and so will his crew. That includes Steve Harrington and Y/N Y/L/N. Do you understand me, son?”

“Are you kidding!? He just gets away with killing my friends?!”

“BE GLAD I DON’T KILL YOU! Sit down!” Jason cowers at his father’s anger as he sits on the couch. “If you weren’t my son, I’d have gotten rid of you for how sloppy you’ve been. That being said you still need to understand that there are consequences to your actions.” Looking past him, George addresses the darkness behind his son’s ear. “He’s all yours.”

Something sharp stings the gangster’s neck as his world begins to spin.

“I trust whatever you come up with, Mr. Munson, the punishment will fit the crime.”

As you and Eddie come into view, Jason’s world goes dark.

#################

“Good morning, sunshine.”, Eddie jests as Jason’s eyes flutter open. “I wouldn’t wiggle too much if I were you. The view up here is pretty great but not when you’re falling down eight stories.”

The rival gangster’s eyes finally adjust to see the other man in front of him with you and Steve on either side. He tried to move but soon realized he was bound to a chair with duct tape over his mouth, completely at your mercy as he was perched near the edge of a tall building.

“You know, I’m a fan of movies myself. The one thing my father and I could connect on was The Godfather trilogy. Did you ever see those, Jason?” The man’s only response is trying to tug at his restraints. “No? That’s ok. The third one is utter garbage but that second one. Oof…so good. There’s one line in there that always stood out to me. ‘Chiedi di me ai tuoi amici del quartiere. Ti diranno che so come ricambiare un favore.’”

Stepping forward with his hands in his pockets he continues.

“It’s Italian. ‘Ask your friends in the neighborhood about me. They'll tell you I know how to return a favor.’”

The rival gangster’s eyes widen as Eddie kneels to his level, balancing on his heels as he speaks to him again is a soft tone laced subtle venom.

“You crossed a line, Carver. If it were up to me I would have killed you and your entire enterprise after hurting Steve and threatening Y/N. After the stunts you pulled this week, I almost did. You can thank this young lady here for talking me out of it.”

Jason’s eyes flick to your angry ones before looking at the other man again.

“She also suggested we talk to your father which was a brilliant idea. He’s very levelheaded and kind of funny. Right, guys?”

“Hysterical. He thought what you did at the police station was so amusing he recommended I take you in and throw you in a cell with Allen since you miss him so much.”, Steve quipped with a smirk.

“After blowing up my car and breaking into my apartment, he thought I should use some of things I learned at medical school as a punishment. Oddly enough, castration was the first thing to came to his mind. I told him I didn’t think you had any balls to remove since you were acting like a five-year-old.”, you add making Eddie’s smile widen.

“He also suggested we make the punishment fit the crime thus you’re ours for the next week, buddy!” As the gangster lightly taps his face, Jason starts to cry. “But, Carver, I’m not going to do that. Do you know why? I’m not my father and I’m not like you. I don’t kill for pleasure and I don’t like hurting people. I want this to stop. But make no mistake…” Eddie reaches for Jason’s throat and squeezes it between his ringed fingers. “If you ever threaten or hurt these two again or even fucking think of coming on to my side of Hawkins, I will burn your side to the ground and make you regret ever being born let alone taking your father’s mantle. Am I being clear?”

Ripping away the tape his lips, the gangster squeaks as he continues to cry.

“Yes! I understand. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Eddie.” After tapping his cheek again, Eddie turns taking your hand in his as you three head for the door to leave the roof of the building. “Hey! What about me?!”

“Oh, we’ll call the building super in the morning. Just…don’t lean back.”, Steve answers with a sarcastic thumbs up as the door closes behind him.

##################

You giggled in Eddie’s arms as he held you to him, kissing your lips with vigor as he carried you up the stairs with Steve trailing right behind.

“You…are…amazing.”, he cooed between each breath as he fell with you onto the bed.

“You really are.” Steve added as he threw himself beside you and began sucking on your neck.

Ringed fingers glided hastily up the slit in your dress, moving the silk blocking your core, and effortlessly pushed into your entrance, pumping in and out so quickly the sound of your arousal filled the room.

“Fuck, Eddie.”

“You got me so hard, sweetheart, watching the way you took control talking to George. Jesus and in that beautiful fucking dress.” Your hand floated down to cling to his as his digits inside of you moved at a relentless pace. “I had to keep telling myself to focus because all I wanted to do was push you against that wall and fuck you till you couldn’t walk straight.”

Steve gripped your chin turning you so your lips could meet his as the gangster’s head fell into the nook between your head and shoulder.

“You’re a bad girl now, baby. OUR bad girl.”

“Tr-treat me like one.”

The officer chuckled at your needy tone as you panted into his mouth.

“Yeah? You want us to show you how bad girls get treated?”

“P-Please…please. Fuck I’m gonna cum.”

“Ask nicely, Y/N.”

Leaning your head against the gangster’s, you murmured consistent pleas, begging for relief that he granted as the coil snapped and you practically screamed his name. Offering his fingers to his partner, Steve licked them clean before leaning over you so their lips could mingle together.

After digging in one of his drawers, Eddie produced some handcuffs and passed them over to Steve who took hold of your wrists restraining you to the headboard.

“These are my own set so they should feel more comfortable on your skin than his steel ones.”, Eddie grinned as he kissed your lips.

“Babe, you forgot to take off her dress.”

“Fuck, silly me.” Grabbing the slit in the fabric, he yanked it apart tearing it up the middle till it split in half and fell away. “There we go.”

“No bra, honey? Definitely bad girl behavior.”

“Eddie told me not to wear one.”, you whine as Steve’s gaze shifts his way.

“What? I like her tits. Sue me.”

While Eddie removed his suit, the officer yanked down your panties and tossed them onto the floor while he kissed your lips.

“I bet you want to suck my cock, don’t you dirty girl?”

“I do. Please.”

“I like that. Keep beginning me like that.”

Jumping back into bed, the gangster took hold of one of your legs and lifted it over his shoulder before guiding his cock into your entrance.”

“Oh my god.”

Fingers circled tightly around your neck as your eyes met Steve’s anger filled ones.

“I said beg me for my dick, little girl.”

“P-Please, Steve. I wanna—fuck, Eddie—I wanna choke on your cock. Please! I need it!”

Quickly, he unbuckled his belt and shimmied down his pants enough to free his length, allowing it to hover over your lips.

“Tap three times loudly if you need to stop, ok?”

“Yes, yes sir.”

“Oh, look at that, Eds. Little girl found her manners.”

Eddie smirked as he continued to slam his hips into yours at a rough pace, his thick fingers digging into your thigh as he used it for leverage.

Opening your mouth, you prepared for some the things they had been teaching you. Flattening your tongue you waited, mewling when he finally gave you what you were begging for. As his cock slid down your throat, his fingers tangled in your hair and you focused on the feeling as he slowly thrust his hips.

“Good…good girl. That’s it. Shit, baby. That’s it. You’re almost taking all of me.” Feeling your body tremble, Steve holds you still, allowing you choke and gag around him as you cum. “Yes! You’re ok, baby. Just a couple more seconds.”

Tapping once, you signal you need air and he immediately pulls out to pet your head, murmuring praises as Eddie slows his rhythm to almost a complete stop as he caresses your leg comfortingly.

“Good girl, honey. You did so fucking good. It took all my energy not to cum to but I want to cum inside your tight pussy, pretty girl. So beautiful. What color are we at, Y/N?”

“Green, baby. Green.”

At the word, the gangster lifts your other leg, pushing them together as he slowly thrusts his cock deep inside you.

As your eyes roll back and you moan, Steve kisses away your tears before murmuring against your lips, “Do you still want my dick, baby girl? Do you want me to fuck your pretty little throat? Feel us both deep inside you. I wonder if I can feel myself here.”, he coos as he gently places his hand on your neck. “I know I can feel Eddie fucking you so good. Right, honey?”

His large palm trails down your skin till you feel him press on your lower belly making you whimper louder as your back arches and you tug on your restraints.

“Yeah, he’s right here, nice and deep.”

Eddie grunts as his pace hastens, his partners words amping him up as Steve smiles. Lifting up on his knees once more, the officer holds his tip just above your lips, chuckling as your tongue needily reaches for him.

“Don’t forget what we talked about. Tap if you need to breathe or stop, baby. I’m gonna fuck your throat hard, ok?”

“Y-Yes. Please—fuck—please.”

Sliding his dick into your mouth, your eyes squeezed shut as he did what he said, constantly hitting the back of your throat over and over as the obscene sound of you gagging and drooling filled their ears. Both men became almost feral at the noise, Eddie shaking the bed as he pounded into you and Steve tugging harshly on your hair while mumbling under his breath.

“That’s it, little girl. Jesus. Your mouth feels so fucking good. Atta girl. Choke on my cock, you dirty little whore making a fucking mess. Mmm!”

Your legs abruptly hit the mattress as Eddie fell on top of you, wrapping his arms around your back as he rolled his hips into yours. The officer pulled back, stroking himself with his hand as he watched you both cum together. The gangster laid still trying to catch his breath as Steve reached down to play his hair.

“Fuck me. This pussy is too good.”, Eddie groaned as he sat up and lightly spanked your behind. “I’m glad it’s ours.”

After pulling out of you, both men shared a passionate filled kiss as they switched places, Steve wiggling underneath you so your back was on his chest. While the officer ran his palms over your breasts and along your sides, Eddie took hold of his partners cock, spitting over the tip before running it between your folds, teasing you both as it grazed your clit.

“Please.”, you whine.

Smirking, he did what you asked as the two of you groaned. Steve’s hands gripped your thighs, holding your legs open as he planted his feet into the mattress and thrust up into you.

“Fuck.”

“God, sweetheart, I wish you could see you both from my angle.”, the gangster moaned as he watched his boyfriend’s cock disappear inside you as he stretched you open. “Fuck me. Stevie didn’t even have the patience to take off the rest of his clothes.”, he chuckles, faltering the man’s rhythm as Eddie tugs his pants that had been pooled at his ankles the rest of the way.

Dropping your legs, one of Steve’s hands pulled your hair back as his other roughly kneaded your breast.

“Move your hips.”, he growled as you mewled, trying your best to bounce and roll your waist. “Harder, little girl. Make yourself cum again.” He continued to grumble with a rough tone in your ear, commanding you to move faster repeatedly while smacking your tits with his palm. Screaming his name, you stopped moving as your body shook against him and you pulled hard on the cuffs above you. “Atta girl. Fuck, I can feel your pussy quivering around me. You’re gonna give me one more and I’m gonna cum with you.”

“I…I can’t.”

“Color, princess?”, Eddie whispers as he presses his nose to your cheek.

“Green.”, you mumble as the tears stream down your face.

“Yeah? Fuck you look so beautiful like this with your make up running down like this. Fuck, baby. You can do it. You can give us one more.”

Steve starts moving again with purpose knowing he won’t last long and you most likely will spent after this. After licking his fingers, the long-haired man places them on your clit, rubbing circles into your nub as your sweaty head leans back while the other man clings to your waist.

“There you go, Y/N. Come on, baby! One more. You can do it!”, Eddie encourages, both men moving so fast you don’t even realize it’s coming till your orgasm hits you like a freight train. “Good girl! Good fucking girl.”

Circling his arms around you, Steve’s pace becomes sloppy till you feel him warm your insides as he grunts in your ear.

“Please…please…no…no more. I can’t.”

“No, sweetheart. You did so good. I’m going to uncuff you ok?” You nod as the gangster releases you from your binds and you wince at your sore muscles as you slowly bring your arms down. Steve carefully turns you both onto your side before pulling out of you, mumbling soft apologies as he tries not to hurt you. “Whenever you’re ready, we’re going to take a bath, ok? It will feel good on your body.”

After a few minutes of them smiling tenderly at you as they caressed and kissed parts of your skin, you signaled you were ready and Eddie lifted you into his arms as Steve ran the water. Doing what had become the norm, the gangster lit a cigarette as he sat behind you on the edge of the tub with his feet in the water as he began to clean you. What was new was when the officer pulled a wet wipe from a bag and kneeled beside you to clean your face.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, um, makeup remover. I bought it a while ago before all the bullshit happened for when you spend the night with us. Chrissy said this was a good brand for girl’s skin but if you have another just let me know.” It took him a moment to realize you two were staring at him with small smiles on your lips. “What? Hey, I’m a nice guy!”

“Yes, you are, pretty boy.”, Eddie coos sassily as he leans over to give him a peck as the man rolls his eyes.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

His eyes remain downcast as he throws it away and places the bag on the counter.

“I know I don’t have to. I want to. WE want to…want you to be comfortable…and happy. Are you? Happy I mean.”

Tilting his chin, you kiss his lips as well making his smile grow.

“I am happy. Thank you for everything. It means a lot to me.”

Eddie’s already prepared when you lean your head back to kiss his lips as well making you giggle when he lingers making a loud mwah sound.

“Just because we settled the stuff with Jason doesn’t mean I’m out of danger does it?”

Both men freeze in place as they blink before Steve climbs into the bath in front of you and Eddie slides in behind you.

“No, it doesn’t. There’s always going to be people that want to challenge me and just because we scared Carver doesn’t mean he won’t fuck up again.”

“And like I told you before, now that people know you’re with Eddie, it may cause some ears to perk up with the police which may put more eyes on you than you’re used to.”

“But, sweetheart, we promise you we will do everything we can to keep you safe. I’d hurt or kill to protect you just like with Steve.”

“And, honey, I would hide evidence or lie to anyone in the department to protect you. Not just from people but any kind of jail time.”

“You’re ours, Y/N, and we will take care of you no matter what.”

You can feel their eyes penetrate you as your own remain off to the side as you absorb what they are saying.

Gently, fingers grip your chin, turning you to meet Steve’s soft honey hues.

“You can still leave if you want to. We can come up with a story to explain the party if you still want to have some…semblance of normalcy.”

“Whoa. Steve Harrington is breaking out the big words.”

You laughed at Eddie’s joke as the officer narrowed his eyes in playful annoyance.

“I don’t want to leave. I…”

You want to say it so bad. You want to tell them that you love them. But it’s only been a couple of months and they’ve been together for almost a year. No. You don’t want to scare them away after everything they just did to keep you safe. No…

“I…I trust you both.”

When you flash them a smile both men grin back as Eddie hugs you against his chest and Steve kisses your forehead.

##############

@5tud10-54r4h @munsonzgf @eddiesguitarskills @supraveng

@lilaclazer @ima1986 @micheledawn1975 @foreverminliv @corkadymu

@lemme-slytherin-that-dick @joannamuns9n @dashingdeb16 @sashaphantomhive @corrodedcoffincumslut @aactuaaltraash @nailbatanddungeon

207 notes · View notes

tinyboxxtink · 3 years

Text

"Weird Secret Friends" *Chapter 12*

Chapter 11

(i fucked this up by editing on my phone and now I have to post the next chapter link like this. )

Whoooo buddy! The angst is REAL, y'all.

I apologize for this, but also I really don't. And I made it normal length to make up for that short shitty one earlier.

Enjoy!!!! Mwahahahahha

Tag List

@madamsnape921

@lolliepopsicle

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@gibbs274

@sassyada

@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

@thatesqcrush

@shittanyy

@mrsrafaelbarba

---------

It seemed like forever for the ambulance to get there, Rafael just sat there trembling and crying while you started to convulse in his arms. Finally the door busted open and EMT’s threw you on a gurney and took you downstairs. Rafael sprinted behind them and jumped in the back of the ambulance as it sped away.

“Y/N….Carino please, please don’t die on me…” Rafael stroked your hair as you were hooked up to oxygen and anti drug meds. It was like literal hell having to watch this all over again, even worse that it was someone he actually...loved.

“Please, please don’t die…” He looked up to the sky.

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

Rafael paced the hospital waiting area furiously, they wouldn’t let him go back with you once the ambulance got you both there. When he saw Sonny running up the hallway towards him, he grabbed him by the neck and shoved him up against the wall.

“I TOLD YOU!!!!” He screamed violently, while several nurses ran over and pulled them apart.

“Rafael! Jesus Christ--” Sonny was breathing heavily while he tried to recover from Rafael’s ambush.

“I told you something was wrong, I told you I knew her better than you did!” He tried to wrestle away from the nurses.

“Okay I’m sorry, I’m sorry alright?!” Sonny yelled, tears starting to fill his eyes. “I should have listened to you--”

“You’re god damn right you should have!!!” Rafael continued to scream.“ She could die right now, do you realize that?”

“Of course I realize that!” Sonny screamed back while looking around them, trying not to make a scene.

“God dammit Carisi, she knew better than you. Why didn't you listen to her?!” Rafael was beginning to cry; he was so upset.

“Barba I--” Sonny started to apologize.

“Excuse me, is Miss Y/L/N’s family here?” An orderly came out from the back.

“I am!” Sonny forgot about Rafael and ran over to the man, Rafael did the same.

“I’m sorry sir but this is really just a family conversation--” He started to dismiss Rafael, but Sonny put his hand up.

“He’s fine,” He assured the doctor.

“Right, well--” He cleared his throat as he led them to a more quiet area. “The damage to Y/N’s body is pretty bad,”

“....God,” Sonny muttered, putting a hand over his forehead.

“The mouthwash has several chemicals that aren’t in traditional grain alcohols, mostly lethal. And her pancreas, liver and gallbladder were already severely damaged from the years of alcohol abuse,” He explained as he looked gravely between the two men.

“No…” Rafael put his hands over his face.

Flashbacks of a very similar conversation happening between a doctor and his mother filled his mind. The way his mother fell against the wall when she heard the doctor say there was a good chance his father was never waking up.

“How bad is it, doc?” Sonny’s voice quivered, and Rafael instinctively took his hand.

“Well, we had to completely remove the gallbladder, and parts of her pancreas so she’s most likely going to develop diabetes,” He further explained. “...And she most likely will need a liver transplant, depending on how the next 24 hours go,”

“Christ…” Sonny whipped his hand from Rafael’s touch and put both of his hands over his head while he paced.

“Can we see her?” Rafael asked.

“Yes, you know your daughter is very lucky to be alive,” The doctor informed them.

“...Excuse me?” Sonny asked while he and Rafael exchanged confused looks.

“...Are you two not her dads?” The doctor waved his pen between the two men.

“Oh my god,” Rafael muttered in horror, wanting to vomit right there.

“Uh, no sir-- no we’re not,” Sonny shook his head. “I’m her uncle and this is my partner,”

“Excuse me?!” Rafael practically screamed in disgust.

“...Do you want them to let you back there to see her or not, honey?” Sonny said through his teeth.

“Right,” Rafael nodded uncomfortably, taking Sonny’s hand once more. “We’re her...Uncles,” He tried not to grimace.

“Oh, right. So sorry sirs,” The doctor apologized once more as he led your “Uncles” to the room you were in. You were unconscious, but breathing on your own.

“She might be out a while from the meds, if you’d like to come back tomorrow,” The doctor informed them once more.

“Uh, I think we’ll wait at least for a little while, if you don’t mind doc,” Sonny replied while Rafael walked up to your sleeping body and just stroked your hair lovingly.

“Whatever you two want to do is fine with me,” He nodded. “I have other patients to see, if you’ll excuse me,”

Sonny nodded to him and he walked out of the room leaving the three of you alone. Sonny ran his hands through his hair while Rafael pulled a chair up next to your bed, still stroking your hair.

“...Barba I think you should leave,” Sonny said softly.

“...What?” He laughed. “Are you...are you fucking joking me, Carisi?”

“No look,” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, I’m sorry I didn’t hear her. And I’m sorry that I just...gave up, protecting her,”

“Yeah well--”

“But I hear you now, and-- and she’s going to need to go away,” He looked at your sleeping body sadly.

“She’s in no shape to go anywhere, Carisi,” Rafael clutched your hand as if he was protecting you.

“Not now, no,” Sonny agreed. “But when she’s better--”

“We don’t know if she’s going to get better!” Rafael suddenly stood up and walked towards him; Sonny backed up as he approached, afraid Rafael was going to grab him again.

“Even more reason you shouldn’t be here!” Sonny argued.

“What?”

“Barba look,” He cautiously put a hand on Rafael’s shoulder. “I...I get that you two have some kind of-- I don’t know, connection,” He glanced at you.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that you barely know her, and she barely knows you. You have a job and a life waiting for you tomorrow, you can’t be sitting here sitting vigil for some girl you slept with once,”

“How dare you fucking say that to me, Carisi,” Rafael’s eyes narrowed as he snapped his shoulder from Sonny’s grasp.

“How fucking dare you. First you don’t want me anywhere near her, then you tell her she’s nothing to me, then suddenly you think that I’m in love with her, and-- and now that I’m finally...attached to her-- you want me to just leave her alone again?”

“No, I never wanted you near her because of this exact situation!” Sonny hissed, trying not to wake you. “I told you straight up that she was complicated, and that you weren’t about that life,”

“I am about that life-- I’m serious, about her,” Rafael corrected himself, rolling his eyes at the terms Sonny used.

“Well I don’t think you should be,” Sonny crossed his arms.

“This is the jealousy thing again, isn’t it?” Rafael licked his lips angrily. “You and your stupid ego can’t stand the fact that we--”

“That is NOT it Rafael and you fucking know it,” Sonny narrowed his eyes.

“Then what is it?” Rafael crossed his arms. “It’s clearly not because it’s too much for me, because I’m flat out telling you it’s not,”

“Rafael--” Sonny placed his hands over his face. “I have spent my life protecting this girl, okay? And I may have dropped the ball here, but that just means that I will sure as hell not do it again. And that means that I have to have her best interest at heart,”

“What does that even mean?” Rafael looked at him quizzically.

“Her whole world is different now, Barba!” Sonny gestured to you. “You heard the doc. She has no gallbladder, whatever the fuck that means, she will probably get diabetes, god knows what will happen even if she needs a liver transplant, but my guess is it ain’t good!”

“...Well she won’t be able to drink alcohol,” Rafael said softly.

“Which will make her sobriety that much more urgent and permanent, Barba,” Sonny stepped towards your bed.

“She’s gonna have a long hard road ahead of herself no matter which way this goes right now, and keeping her on track is the only way she is gonna get through it. You think she’s gonna be able to focus on anything but you if you stay here?”

“I can help her--” Rafael insisted, glancing down at your innocent sleeping face. It broke his heart you were hurting, now all he wanted to do was take care of you and make sure you never hurt again.

“You don’t have the time or the freedom to do that, Rafael,” Sonny said sternly. “And you know it,” Sonny’s statement brought him back to reality.

“And you do?” He looked back up at Sonny.

“I’m a detective, Barba. It’s not like I do that much,” Sonny shrugged. “And I have enough PTO for a bit to take care of her. And she’s my responsibility! She’s MY family, Liv will understand that. What she won’t understand is you sitting Shiva at some young girl’s bedside who you barely know,”

“....And what are you going to do when she gets better?” Rafael ran a finger down your bare arm, wishing you would wake up and stop this nonsense your cousin was spewing.

“I’ll ask around,” Sonny now sat next to your bed. “I’ll find her a good place, somewhere she can be taken care of the right way, not some creepy mental hospital,”

“...Alright fine,” He sighed, looking at his watch. It was getting late, and he had an early court date.

“I’m coming back--”

“No, you’re not,” Sonny shook his head. “Look I promise you if she gets worse and needs your emergency liver or kidney or somethin’, I’ll let you know. Other than that, just-- leave her be,”

Rafael flashed back to the last time Sonny had used those words, and how as soon as he agreed, you heard him and it destroyed you. He couldn’t do that again, what if you could still hear him?

“No, I’m coming back--”

“Barba if you come back here I’m gonna tell the nurses that we broke up and you are no family member of hers,”

“You,” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t do that--”

“If it keeps you away from her, I’ll do anything right now Barba, I’m sorry,” Sonny gave him a sympathetic look.

“...She’ll never forgive you for this, Carisi,” He warned Sonny. “When she finds out you kept us apart she will never forgive you,”

“What are you Romeo and Juliet all of a sudden, counselor?” Sonny scoffed. “Give me a friggin break. I’m sure she’ll get over it, when she’s clean and sober and thinking straight,”

“I’ll never forgive you for this,” he growled with a death glare.

“...Yeah, well--” Sonny stood up and started escorting Rafael out the door. “I guess that’s something I’ll just have to live with,”

Rafael glared at him once more before turning on his heels and stomping down the hall, just as you stirred from your med nap.

“Sunshine?” Sonny quickly ran to your bedside.

“Rafa..?” You sleepily asked, you swore you heard his voice just moments ago.

“It’s Sonny,” He nervously looked back at the door, making sure Rafael hadn’t heard you wake up and came running in again.

“Oh,” You blinked several times, trying to get your vision back. When the blur in your pupils resolved, you saw Sonny’s smiling face beaming at you.

“Hey there,” He kissed your forehead. “You scared the shit outta me there, Sunshine,”

“...I’m so sorry, Sonny,” You began to cry in remorse.

“Hey hey hey,” Sonny took you in his arms and shushed you while he rocked you. “Shh shh shh, you’re alright. I’m sorry I didn’t hear you when you were asking for help, I just--I just let you go,”

“...But Rafael didn’t,” You sniffled as you looked around the room for him. “Where is he?”

“He uh--” Sonny stammered. “He left, Sunshine. Early court meeting tomorrow, y’know. Lawyer stuff,”

“Right,” You nodded.

“...He said he wouldn’t be coming back,” Sonny added with a sympathetic look.

“What?” You blinked in disbelief. Had he really just taken off? Without even saying goodbye?

“Well it’s just,” Sonny took your hands. “Honey you’re-- you’re gonna have a lot to go through these next few weeks, maybe months. And Rafael--”

“He doesn’t have time for that,” You finished for him, accepting the truth.

“Yeah,” Sonny nodded slowly.

“Right,” You picked at your blanket as you stared down at it morosely. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything more than him dropping me here. He tried telling me that he was--”

“He was what?” Sonny quirked an eyebrow. You thought about telling him that Rafael had said he was in love with you, but you weren’t entirely sure that happened anymore, given how out of it you were at the apartment.

“...He was ready for a relationship,” You lied. “But I guess he wasn’t ready for a dumpster fire of a girlfriend,”

“You’re not a dumpster fire, Sunshine,” Sonny assured you.

“...Yeah clearly this doesn’t scream ‘damaged goods’,” You gestured to all the wires you were hooked up to.

“You’re not--” Sonny sighed and shook his head as he wrapped his arms back around you. “You’ll find someone,”

“...Not someone like him,” You whispered sadly, tears dripping down onto your IV tube.

“Well hey,” Sonny coughed as he tried to change the subject. “I better get goin’ make sure you get some good sleep,”

“...But I was just--” You tried to say you had been sleeping this whole time.

“I’ll come check on you tomorrow, kay?” Sonny kissed your head and started heading towards the door. He hated to do this, but he had to keep you safe. He turned around and gave you a sad smile.

“Hey, Sunshine?”

“Yeah, Son?”

“I uh, I don’t wanna rub it in or nothin’, I just--” Sonny cleared his throat. “Barba wanted me to tell you not to contact him anymore,”

“...Oh,” You looked over at your phone, which was charging on the table next to your bed.

“He just thought it would be easier, y’know? Clean break and all,” Sonny lied with a sad smile.

“Yeah, sure no of course,” You nodded, trying to keep it together.

“Alright well, I’ll see ya,” He nodded one more time before shutting the door, leaving you alone.

You immediately grabbed your phone and began typing a message to Rafael, telling him how you were sorry and that you never should have tried to kick him out, and that he saved your life and that you knew you were a huge mess, but that you would clean yourself and do everything in your power to be good enough for him if he just let you--and you just stared at it.

You re-read it a thousand times, tears streaming down your cheeks. You couldn’t send this, it was pathetic. He already made his choice, he tried to tell you he loved you and you had blown him off by almost dying in his arms. And he ran. You couldn’t blame him either, you’d run away faster than a Kenyan track star if you were him.

After going through all that bullshit with his dad, he’d never want to relive that with you, some girl he barely knew. There was no way. And begging him to come back to you after all the shit you said to him at your apartment was just pitiful.

You deleted the message and then started to delete his contact info, but you knew you needed to be drastic. If it was a clean break he wanted, you’d have to give it to him. You’d already put him through way too much stress and punishment than he deserved, you had to be stopped. You highlighted his number and hit “BLOCK NUMBER”, before deleting it from your phone.

There. Now there was no way you could find him, or vice versa. Clean break. You put the phone down next to you and laid down, realizing what you had just done. You had just deleted the potential love of your life from your existence, forever. You cried yourself to sleep, only dreaming of Rafael.

=============

Rafael laid down in his bed after getting home and showering the bad day off of him. He opened the text thread of your messages, and saw the ellipsis light up, signaling that you were typing. It was there for a long time, he became more and more anxious as they just flashed in the darkness, taunting him. He was so happy you were okay, he had to tell you what Sonny said but that he would never be able to keep him from you. He waited and waited, and then the dots were gone. He waited a moment for you to send it, but soon got impatient and just texted you

“Y/N I’m so glad you’re okay, you had me so worried. I miss you,”

He hit SEND, but was met with the most horrifying response:

“The number you have texted has blocked you from contacting them.”

“No…” He muttered alone in the dark. “No, this can’t be happening,”

Did Sonny have your phone? Did he do this? Did he tell you something to make you do this? Did you do this on your own when you realized he had left. Sonny had to have told you something bad, something diabolical. He had no way of contacting you now, and he would never get into the hospital to see you.

What was going on?

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

The next morning after his court session, Rafael headed over to the precinct to talk to Sonny. He practically sprinted through the door into the bullpen, to find it empty.

“...Where’s the SVU squad?” Rafael asked a cop at the front desk.

“Do I look like a concierge, Barba?” The cop rolled his eyes. “Does my badge say ‘doorman’? I don’t keep tabs on you people!”

“Thanks Louie,” Rafael rolled his eyes as he walked out of the station, dialing Sonny’s number on his phone.

“Hello?”

“What did you do?”

“Barba?”

“What did you do, Carisi?!”

“What do you mean?”

“Y/N blocked my number,”

“Well good--”

“NO, not good. Carisi. What did you say to her?”

“Y’know Barba, maybe you should take the hint and move on,”

“Oh fuck you, Carisi,” He growled into the phone. “I’m going to the hospital,”

“Yeah well, good luck getting in here counselor,” Sonny shook his head with a small laugh, glancing over at you in your room, while he stood outside. “I’ve told the nurses you were a deadbeat dad who wanted to kidnap our niece for yourself, so they’re on alert not to let you anywhere near her,”

“You’re evil,” His voice was low and horrified.

“I’m doing what’s best for my baby cousin, Barba. If that makes me the bad guy, so be it,” Sonny spoke like a mob boss, tracing the glass on the window to your room.

“I’ll see her when she gets out,” Rafael sneered.

“Well that might be difficult, seeing as I’ve found her a very nice place to go as soon as she gets outta here. Somewhere far away from here, and you,” Sonny couldn’t help but smirk.

“No, Carisi don’t do this,” Rafael became desperate, his angry threats turned to pathetic pleas. “Please don’t send her away-- I love her,”

“If you love her you’ll let her go, Rafael,” Sonny simply said, ending the call before Rafael could say anything else.

“GOD DAMMIT!!!!” Rafael screamed in the middle of the foot traffic, making people turn and stare at him.

He had to fix this. He couldn’t let you leave thinking he didn’t want you. He couldn’t lose you, not now. Not after everything.

Was he going to lose you forever?

#rafael barba #rafael barba angst #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba x you #rafael barba fanficton #law and order svu #sonny carisi #sonny carisi angst #law and order svu fanfiction #weird secret friends

37 notes · View notes

elianamarie-blog · 3 years

Text

The Things You Give Pt 14

Steven Hyde x Read

Happy Holidays and New Years everyone! I can’t believe we’re already 14 parts in. I’m so glad you guys are loving the story! Tag list is open if you want to be a part of it :)

Beep, beep, beep.

The sound of the heart monitor was the only noise resourcing from the room. Hyde sat beside y/n, watching as her chest gently rose and fell, and listened to Red interrogate Eric from the hallway.

“What do you mean you don’t know what happened?!” Red asked him in his usual gruff tone.

“I don’t, Dad!” Eric defended. “All I saw is that she was sick and she was trying to get Fez and Hyde to stop fighting and she just dropped!”

“And you didn’t catch her?” Red fumed. “She could’ve gotten hurt!”

“Well, I didn’t expect her to fall!” he responded.

“Red, honey, your yelling isn’t making anything easier,” Kitty said quietly.

“For me it is!”

“Red,” she said more sternly.

“Well, have they figured out what’s wrong with her?” the worried father asked impatiently.

“No, they haven’t,” Kitty answered calmly.

“What’s taking them so long?” he grumbled. “We’ve been here for hours!”

Kitty blinked at her husband. “We’ve been here for twenty-five minutes.”

“And our daughter has been unconscious for forty! My little girl is in there now and I want answers, dammit!”

“Red, she’s fine,” Kitty said, trying to soothe him. “She’s tucked in a bed right now with monitoring and her breathing is normal. They drew her blood and we’re just waiting on the test results.”

“They need to come faster!” he shouted, causing Kitty to frantically look around and smile nervously as her coworkers stared at them.

“Hey, Mom, if Dad has another heart attack, at least it’ll save us another ambulance bill since we’re already at a hospital,” Eric said grinning, sarcasm bleeding into his tone.

“Can it, dumbass!” Red snarled.

Inside the room, y/n groaned, hearing the arguing from outside and slowly opened her eyes, seeing nothing but white. Her head felt someone was taking a jack hammer to her skull. Steven noticed and waited anxiously by her side.

“Why do they have to be so loud?” she mumbled.

Steven sighed in relief and grabbed her hand. “Are you okay? How’re you feeling?”

“I think so,” she croaked. “I feel like crap and I’m tired.”

Hyde chuckled softly and leaned over, kissing her head softly. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“What happened? Am I in the hospital?” she asked, not letting go of his hand.

Hyde paused, searching her face. “You don’t—? You fainted and hit the ground pretty hard. They think you may have gotten a concussion.”

“Well, that explains my headache,” she grumbled and rubbed her head. She looked at Steven who was still looking at her with worried eyes. “Where is everyone?”

“Your parents are out in the hall with your brother, Fez is here but went to find ice cream.” He rolled his eyes at the thought but continued. “And everyone else is on their way.”

“How long have I been out?”

“About forty-five minutes. I’m glad you’re okay,” he answered and pulled her hand up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss.

If it wasn’t for her head screaming at her, her heart would be fluttering away like butterflies, but all she wanted to do was numb the pain. A sharp pain surged through her skull, causing her to hiss.

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” he asked her.

She tried to nod, but that caused more pain to her skull. “My head hurts. A lot.”

“That’s what happens when you smack your head on concrete,” he answered. “You have a pretty good-sized knot on your head.”

Y/n reached up and felt her scalp until she felt a painful bump behind the side of her head. She winced at her own touched. “Ow.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t do that,” Hyde chuckled. “I’m going to go get something to drink. Do you want anything?”

Her stomach churned at the thought of liquids and scrunched up her nose. “No, but I probably should. I’ll take a ginger ale if they have any.”

“You got it, doll,” he said and walked out just as the doctor was stepping in.

“Good afternoon, Miss Forman,” the middle-aged, dark haired man said. “I’m Dr. Kipp. I’ve been looking over you while you were out. How are you feeling?”

“Not gonna lie, Doc, I feel pretty lousy,” Y/n responded. “I’ve been sick for the last couple of days. Not being able to keep anything down, I’m achy all over…I’m starting to wonder if I have the stomach flu or something. On top of that, my head is killing me.”

“Well, you passed out due to your blood pressure dropping which caused a lack of blood to the brain, but it’s definitely not the stomach flu,” Dr. Kipp answered casually, setting down his clipboard as he went over to the sink to wash his hands.

“How do you know that?” Y/n questioned him.

“Well, it can’t be because you’re pregnant.”

--Time Skip—

“How’s y/n doing?” Donna asked as she got to the waiting room, flowers in hand.

“Oh, that’s so sweet that you got her flowers!” Kitty gushed, making Donna smile. “And she’s awake. The doctor is in there right now with her.”

“Oh, good,” she said and sat down next to Fez who was quietly eating ice cream. “Where did you get the ice cream?”

“Oh, I told them that y/n was my wife and they let me get ice cream!” he replied stoically.

“So, you’re telling me that you hit on her and now you’re telling people she’s your wife?” Hyde seethed, holding a cup of coffee in one and a ginger ale can in the other.

“Can you kids not fight for five damn minutes please?” Red asked impatiently. “It’s bad enough that we’re here, I don’t want to have to hear about your petty drama.”

“Hey, don’t get mad at me. You’re the reason she’s here in the first place,” said Fez.

“Why would it be your fault?” Kitty asked Hyde.

“It’s not!” Hyde replied. “He’s just saying crap so I can knock his teeth in.”

Kitty and Red squinted their eyes at the teens for a moment. “What on earth is going on here?” Kitty asked, growing frustrated.

“Nothing,” Hyde answered through gritted, glaring daggers at Fez.

Fez returned the glare. “You know, Hyde, I often wonder what it would be like to hook up with my best friend’s sister. Don’t you?”

Hyde’s expression hardened. “It’s a good thing we’re in a hospital because when I break your bones, you’re already here!” Hyde aggressively moved towards Fez, but was stopped short by Eric getting in between them.

“Okay! That’s enough,” he sang-song. “Hyde, why don’t you sit over there quietly and don’t beat up Fez.” He turned to Fez. “And Fez? Shut the hell up.”

Hyde jerked himself away. “I’m going to go give this to y/n.”

Back in the room, y/n felt like the wind had been knocked out of her lungs. “I’m…what?”

“Pregnant,” he responded in a faux enthusiastic voice. “That was through the blood test. We’re going to have you take urine test as well. So,” he pulled out a plastic cup. “You’re going to pee in this cup and when you’re finished, pull the string and a nurse will come in and collect it. Then, we’ll do a full examination on you to make sure your head is okay.”

Y/n nodded numbly and mindlessly grabbed the cup in her hand. “Okay…”

“Probably not the news you were expecting, huh?” he asked.

Y/n chuckled weakly. “No. Not at all.”

“Well, I’ll be back soon with your test results.”

He walked out the door, leaving y/n alone in the room. Her hands felt numb and she felt like there was static all around her. How could she be pregnant? How did she let this happen? And oh God, what was she going to say to Steven? Her eyes widened. Her parents?!

A sudden heavy weight was shattered onto her chest and her eyes began to water. How was she going to tell everyone? What if her dream came true and she truly was alone? Could she raise a baby on her own? Where would she live? What job would she have to do to support her baby? Was she even going to be a good mom? Will her children grow up to be decent people? What if they’re born with health conditions? Or they fall ill? Can she even count on herself to get out of bed at 2 AM to go to the 24 hour store to buy cough medicine when they get sick? How do you even change a poopy diaper? How is she going to react when they’re teenagers and they’re learning how to drive or get their first boyfriend or girlfriend? What kind of mom was she going to be? What kind father was Steven going to be? Will he even stick around?

With all these questions swimming through her head, she didn’t notice Steven walk back in. “I got that ginger ale you—hey, you okay?”

Y/n snapped her head up as she was yanked out of her thoughts, which she silently thanked heaven above for. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure?” he asked as he set down the drink on the table next to her. “You don’t look fine. In fact, you look kinda pale.”

“Yeah, um,” she stuttered, swallowing hard and waved her hand casually. “The doctor says I passed out due to lack of blood to the brain. Blood tests came back normal, but he wants me to take a urine test just to be sure.” Not a total lie. Just left out a part.

“Oh, okay. Do you need help getting to the bathroom?”

“I think I got it,” she answered truthfully and slowly got out of bed, barley able to feel her legs. She ambled her way to the bathroom, dragging the IV along with her. She felt Steven’s stare burning a hole in the back of her head, but she couldn’t think of what he was thinking right now. She couldn’t. It would drive her to an anxiety attack.

She closed the door quietly and baby stepped her way to the toilet. She passed by the mirror and did a double take to her reflection. Her ponytail was a complete rats nest, her eyes had dark circles under them, and her normally rosy cheeks had lost all color. She looked half dead and she wanted to cringe away. She turned her head to the side and saw the swelled up bump on her skull. She winced when she saw it and let out a sigh. She really wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep for 72 hours.

She made her way to the toilet and shakily did her business in the cup. When she was finished, she left in on the counter in the bathroom and pulled the string. After she was finished washing up, she walked out to meet Steven sitting in the chair.

“Hey,” he said gently whispered.

“Hey,” she answered in the same manner. “Where is everyone?”

“In the waiting room. Do you want to see them?”

Her heart dropped, but she needed to play it cool. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

He nodded and opened the door to call them in. She got back in bed with Hyde’s help, making sure her IV wouldn’t get pulled out of her arm.

“Oh, y/n,” Kitty sobbed and rushed over to y/n who was sitting up fully and wrapped her arms around her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Y/n barley reciprocated the hug. “I’m okay, Mom.”

“When we saw you being loaded up into the ambulance, I thought I was going to die right there,” Kitty responded, stepping away from her daughter.

“I’m fine, Mom. Really.”

“What did the doctor say?” she pried.

“Uh…they don’t know yet,” Y/n replied. “They’re taking a urine sample.”

“Well, a person fainting is never a good thing,” Kitty stated matter-of-factly. “It means your blood pressure dropped and you weren’t getting enough blood flow to the brain. Those things just don’t happen.”

“I know. They’re running tests right now,” Y/n said and leaned back against the pillows.

“When will we find out?” Red pushed.

“I don’t know,” Y/n responded growing annoyed. “I don’t know anything.” Lie, lie, LIE.

“Well, we better find out soon,” Red said. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“If you wanna leave, you can. I’m a big girl, I can leave on my own,” Y/n responded.

“No, no, I wanna be here in this room when the doctor comes and tells us what’s wrong,” Kitty said stubbornly.

Y/n’s heart and stomach dropped. There was no way anyone was going to be in this room when the doctor came back with the results. Positive or not, she didn’t need her parents asking questions and then finding out about her and Steven.

She kept her face and voice as calm as possible. “No, no it’s okay. Really. I don’t know if I want everyone in here anyway. In fact, it’s probably best that I’m alone.”

“Oh, nonsense. I—”

“Kitty, if she wants to be alone, then we’ll leave her alone. She’s an adult now. She doesn’t need us in here,” Red said, signaling to his wife that they leave. “Besides, the Packers’s game is on and I wanna go home.”

Kitty sighed, annoyed. “Fine. Fine, I’ll leave, but I want to hear everything, missy.”

Y/n’s eyes widened a fraction and her heart beat violently against her blood cage. She could practically feel her blood pumping through her veins. She nodded numbly. “Okay.”

Kitty nodded and kissed y/n on the head before leaving. She felt some tension leave her body as she watched her parents leave. She leaned her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes, feeling completely drained.

“Are you okay?” Donna asked.

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “Just…feeling depleted.”

“Well, you can’t go to sleep yet,” Hyde said. “You might have a concussion.”

“I want sleep,” she whined.

“I know, but I’d rather you be exhausted than not wake up at all,” he responded.

She glared at him through half open eye lids and grumbled, “I hate you.”

He chuckled lightly. “I know.”

The door to the room opened revealing Kelso, Fez and Jackie.

“Hey, y/n, how are you feeling?” Kelso asked.

“Bout as great as I look,” she replied, a weak smile playing her lips.

“So, super sexy,” Fez responded cheekily but that smile quickly faded when Hyde punched his shoulder. “Ow.”

“Remember: Respect,” was all Hyde said before sitting back down.

“I heard what happened,” Kelso responded. “And Brooke made me bring you these.” He handed her a small bouquet of yellow daisies and lilies.

Y/n chuckled, accepting the flowers. “Tell Brooke I said thank you for the nice gesture. And tell her to bring the baby around soon. I want to meet my niece.”

Kelso’s face brightened. “You…you really think of her that way?”

Y/n nodded. “Why wouldn’t I? We’ve all been best friends since we were little and it only makes sense that we look at each other more than just friends now.”

“Like lovers?” Fez asked her seductively.

“Do you have a death wish?” Hyde spat.

“Okay, Steven that’s enough,” Y/n said as sternly as she could. “And Fez, shut up.”

Fez pouted and went and sat in the corner of the room.

“You know what? My mind is made up,” Kelso said. Y/n stared at him curiously, everyone joining in.

“Kelso, in order for your mind to be made up, you have to have a brain,” Eric commented.

Kelso shot Eric a glare before turning his head back towards y/n and Hyde. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with Betsy lately and Brooke is really starting to trust me.”

“Okay, and that makes up your mind for?” Y/n asked him.

“Hang on, just let me finish,” he said smiling. “Brooke is starting to trust me so much she’s even allowing me to pick the godparents.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Y/n gleefully responded. “I’m so happy for you.”

“And there’s only one rule. It can’t be Fez,” Kelso added on.

Fez nodded. “That is a good rule.”

“Godparents?” Donna mumbled to Eric. “Like we need any more responsibilities.”

“I know,” Eric whispered back, rolling his eyes. “Such a burden.”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot and it’s a big deal. So,” Kelso said, stepping closer to the bed where Eric and Donna sat. “Eric, Donna.”

“Uh, oh,” Eric sang-song.

“Please scooch over so I can ask Hyde and y/n if they’ll be Betsy’s godparents?”

Y/n looked at Hyde with excited eyes. “Really?!”

“What the hell?!” Eric exclaimed.

“Hyde and y/n?” Donna asked insulted.

“You picked Hyde and y/n?” Jackie asked, equally insulted. “Why didn’t you ask someone else? Like me?”

“Because you’re single,” Kelso deadpanned.

Jackie crossed her arms. “And?”

“And you need to be in a relationship to be a godparent,” Kelso responded slowly like he was scared to continue speaking. “That’s why they call it godparents. You can’t be single and be a godparent. That’s just stupid.” He laughed and rolled his eyes.

Jackie stared at him in disbelief, trying to make sense of what he said. “That barley makes any sense, you moron.”

“Hey, hey, hey, he chose us. Let him speak,” Y/n said not trying to contain her glee. “Not that I’m questioning your choice because, you know, you chose us, but why us?”

“Because I really trust you and I think you’d be fantastic with Betsy,” he responded sweetly.

“And you don’t think we won’t?” Eric asked.

“Yeah, you don’t trust us?” Donna chimed in.

“Well, to be fair, I’ve seen you drop almost everything you’ve held in your hands,” Kelso responded. “And you’ve never really taken care of a baby.”

“Yes we have!” Donna defended. “Remember that time last year when Laurie had to babysit that one baby and I ended up changing her diaper when she couldn’t? I was a freakin’ natural!”

“Yeah, I mean, if you gave me the honor of being godmother, I would be popular, head cheerleader, and voted best legs. This would give me another title,” Jackie argued.

“Would you guys relax?” Hyde asked everyone. “It’s not that big of deal.”

“Yeah, it’s not like he’s shunning you guys,” Y/n responded.

“You’re all still going to be aunts and uncles,” Kelso defended.

“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say,” Jackie grumbled and joined Fez in the back.

“We can be good godparents,” Eric argued. “You can trust us.”

“Eric, remember Goldie, the goldfish?” Y/n asked.

“Yeah,” he responded.

“Remember how you killed Goldie by taking him out of the fish bowl?”

“I needed to hug something,” Eric answered coldly. “Besides, I’m not going to have to flush a baby down the toilet!”

“Either way, man, thanks. I’m honored,” Hyde said and clapped his hand with Kelso’s and pulled him in for a bro hug.

“If I have another kid, I’ll make you two godparents. I promise,” Kelso said.

Eric huffed. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Alright, I have to take a leak,” Hyde announced.

“And I’m going to go find some more ice cream,” Fez said.

“Can you guys make sure y/n doesn’t fall asleep?” Hyde continued.

“You got it pal!” Kelso responded and watched as Hyde and Fez walked out.

“I’m not a child,” Y/n responded once they were out of ear shot. “I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you.”

“Kelso!” Fez called out and barged back into the room. “Kelso, come quick! There’s a hot nurse fight happening downstairs! Hurry before it ends!”

“See ya,” Kelso said and scrambled out the room, leaving Jackie, Eric, and Donna alone.

“Yeah, I’m leaving too,” Jackie said pouting. “I don’t want to sit here and be reminded that I wasn’t picked for godparent. I may have to do some shopping therapy to get over it. Bye!” She squealed and walked out, leaving just the twins and Donna.

“Do you need anything sis?” Eric asked. “Some water? Fluff up your pillows? Relinquish your title of godparent over to me?”

Y/n gave her twin a look before scoffing. “No, thanks. I’m fine.”

“Fine. I’ll just go see if they have any teddy bears in the gift shop that reads ‘Not Quite the Best Godparents’ and maybe it’ll be tear absorbent!” With that, he stormed out the room, leaving Elena in stunned silence.

Donna rolled her eyes. “I better go after him. Last time I left him alone while he was upset, he thought I didn’t care about him anymore and didn’t speak to me for three days.”

She left, leaving y/n alone in the room. Again. She leaned back once more, enjoying the silence, but now that she was alone again, she realized just how loud the silence was. All she could think was pregnant, pregnant, pregnant.

“What am I going to do?” she mumbled to herself.

The door to the room opened again; Dr. Kipp entering once more.

“Hi Miss. Forman,” Dr. Kipp greeted. “We got your test results back.”

She gulped. “And?”

He sat down on the stool next to her bed and looked her in the eyes. “It’s positive.”

Her heart dropped completely, and it felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. “I’m pregnant?”

“I know this is a lot to take in, but we need to gather some more information from you so we can determine how far along you are. But first the basics. What’s your full name?”

“Y/f/n y/m/n Forman.”

He scratched her answer down on his clipboard. “Birthday?”

“May 18, 1959.”

“So, that makes you eighteen years old, correct?”

Y/n nodded.

“Okay, and your current address?”

“416 Edlebrook Ave.”

“Beautiful,” the doctor responded and looked up from his clipboard. “Do you know who the father is?”

Tears started to burn her eyes as she nodded her head. “I do.”

“What’s his name?”

“Steven James Hyde.”

“When was your last menstrual cycle?”

“Somewhere in mid September.”

“And today is October 19,” he said more to himself. “So, you are about three weeks along. Now, I’m going to give this information to the nurse and have her give you a pamphlet and a referral to an OB/GYN. I’ll have them give you a call to set up an appointment. Do we have permission to leave a message with someone if you’re not available?”

“Uh…no, just me is fine, thanks. I’m not ready to tell people yet.”

He nods. “Understandable. Now, let’s look at your head and see how you’re doing.” As he took out a flashlight and started examining her eyes, Hyde walked back in the room.

“Hey, Doc. How’s she doing?” he asked.

“Well, I’m not seeing any signs of concussion, so that’s good.” He turned off the light and started feeling around underneath her jaw to the back of her head where he felt her bump. She winced and he took note of it. “She seems great besides that nasty bump. Just put some ice on it if it starts to hurt and take some aspirin for the pain. Otherwise, you’re good to go.”

“What about her test results?”

Dr. Kipp glanced at y/n and saw her terrified look. He glanced back at Steven who looked worried. “Test results came back normal and she’s perfectly healthy.” He noticed Steven visibly relax. “Anything else, she may discuss with you at her discretion.”

Y/n mouthed a thank you to the doctor who gave her a subtle nod and finished writing his notes on his clipboard. “I’ll have a nurse discharge you. You have a good rest of your night and rest up.”

Y/n nodded. “Thank you.”

With that, he left the room, leaving y/n wanting to vomit—and not from feeling sick this time. She continued to sit in her bed, not being able to properly process the information. Her world felt fuzzy and she felt like she was going to pass out for a second time. She could hear Steven talking to her, but it was all garbled and muffled as if she were underwater. Was her dream right? Was she going to be disowned by her family? Is she going to disappoint her mother? Oh no, how is Red going to take this? She and Steven are dead. Dead like road kill.

She heard Steven’s muffled voice again, but this time louder. She blinked and looked up at Steven. “I’m sorry, what?”

He knitted his eyebrows at her. “I said, are you okay? Do you need help getting dressed?”

She shook her heavy head and slowly slid out of bed. “I should be okay.” She untied her hospital gown, allowing it to pool around her feet. She shivered as the cold air hit her bare skin and turned to see her clothes balled up in a plastic bag. She slowly started dressing herself and felt Hyde’s eyes burn into her the whole time.

She finally looked up at him as she finished putting on her pajama top. “What’s up?”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re acting different.”

She nodded, not being able to look him in the eye. “Yeah, I think so. Just still not feeling well and feeling a little disoriented from the fall. But I think I’m good.”

He eyed her for a minute. “Okay,” he responded slowly. “As long as you don’t pass out on me again.”

She chuckled. “I think I’ll be okay.”

A knock came at the door and the nurse walked in. “Okay, Miss Forman. Here are your doctor’s notes to help you feel better. Plenty of rest and fluids. And—” She noticed Steven listening to her and she looked back down at the pamphlet in her hands and slid the doctor’s notes over it. “Here’s everything you else need to know. If you have any questions, there’s a number you can call and if you don’t get better or start to feel worse, come on back in.”

Y/n thanked her and quietly gathered the rest of her stuff and headed out with Steven. He guided her slowly into the camino and started up the car. She rested her elbow on the windowsill of the door and leaned her head into her hand, feeling like sleep will overtake her any minute now. Hyde placed a gentle hand on her thigh and lovingly rubber circles with his thumb.

“Let’s get you back in bed, yeah?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, not being able to form words in fear she would start crying.

The drive home was deathly quiet as rain started to fall. The only noise emitting was outside as the rain fell onto the windshield. Not being able to handle the silence, Hyde reached over and turned on the radio, allowing the music to softly fill the car. It eased the tension slightly, allowing y/n to relax.

He pulled up in front of a supermarket and put the car in park.

“What are we doing here?” she croaked.

“Do you want some soup?”

She gave him a small smile. “That would be nice. Thank you.”

He nodded and got out of the car, leaving it on so the heater would warm up y/n. Ever since the hospital, she’d been cold and not able to heat up as fast as she normally would. She shivered, realizing she didn’t bring a jacket or her robe. She looked around the car and noticed a blanket behind the driver’s seat. She wrapped her cold fingers around the soft material and realized it was their sex blanket. She crunched up her nose a little, noticing some stains. “Ugh, gross,” she murmured before placing the clean side on her. The stench of sex filled her nostrils, but luckily it didn’t upset her stomach more than it already was.

She waited in the car for a few more minutes with the blanket pulled up to her chin and listened to the music. Paul Anka came on, singing (You’re) Having My Baby.

“Would you look at that,” she grumbled and changed the station. Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely was on playing. “What the…” she grumbled and changed it to another station. A country song this time was playing. One that y/n didn’t know, but it was better than the others, so she left it on. She listened to the lyrics as they went:

The girls in New York City, they all march for women's lib And better homes and garden shows, the modern way to live And the pill may change the world tomorrow, but meanwhile, today Here in Topeka, the flies are a buzzin' The dog is a barkin' and the floor needs a scrubbin' One needs a spankin' and one needs a huggin' Lord, one's on the way

Oh gee, I hope it ain't twins, again.

“Are you kidding me?” She reached over and turned off the radio, choosing to sit in silence.

Just then the driver’s door opened and Steven clambered inside with a container of chicken soup in one hand and a pack of cigarettes in the other. “Here you go, doll.”

“Awe, thank you, baby.” She grabbed the container from his hands and allowed the warmth to thaw her icy ones.

“You turned off the music?” he questioned and started to beat the pack against the heel of his hand.

“Yeah, there was nothing good on.” Technically not a lie.

“Ah, makes sense,” he responded and noticed the blanket. He snorted teasingly. “Cold?”

“No, no, I’m burning up actually. The blanket was so I could feel like I’m in hell.”

He threw his add head back laughing. “Take it easy, Firecracker. If I hada known you were cold, I would’ve given you my jacket.”

She smirked at him. “Nah, this is fine. Thanks. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to be cold.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said and stuck a cigarette between his lips.

Y/n’s eyes widened and quickly ripped it from him mouth.

“What the hell, y/n?”

“Uh, I’m still not feeling well enough. I don’t want hurl all over your car.”

He scrunched up his nose at her. “Fine. Fair point. But I’m smoking when I get back!”

Y/n shook her head at him. “What a rebel.”

“Damn straight,” he responded and turned the car on. “Don’t forget who you’re with.”

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

He smiled at her before backing up and driving them home for the night.

--Time Skip—

The next couple of days were brutal for y/n. Kitty wouldn’t stop interrogating her and y/n finally told something made up to get her off her back. Kitty didn’t believe her, but she backed off knowing she’ll be back again. She wanted so badly to tell Steven about her pregnancy, but every time she tried, it would come out a different sentence.

“I’m,” she would start, but right when she would look into his baby blue eyes, she would panic. “hungry. I’m hungry, starving! Can we go get something to eat?”

He would give her a weird look before agreeing and leaving to buy her food.

On top of that, morning sickness would rear its ugly head and she would end up being sick at the most random of times. She would be sitting down in the basement with her friends, feeling fine, but then she would feel her lunch coming back up and she would have to haul ass to the nearest restroom.

Everyone was worried about her, trying to get her to go back to the doctor, but she already knew. She had secretly made the appointment with the OB/GYN and wasn’t going to be able to see her until two weeks out. Until then, she had to keep lying and making excuses.

“It’s been almost a week,” Eric said one afternoon as they were all huddled into the basement. “You really should go back to the doctor.”

“I’d rather not,” Y/n said. “Going to the doctors for every sniff and cough is not my thing.”

“But it’s not just a sniffle or a cough,” he pointed out. “It’s like one minute you’re fine and then the next you’re throwing up Mom’s tuna casserole.”

“That was a long night,” she countered, remembering that night as she had to lay on the floor next to the toilet for hours because she couldn’t stop throwing up.

“Well, can you still keep down fluids?” Donna asked. “Like, chicken broth, orange juice, and tea?”

“Yeah, those are fine,” Y/n responded. “I just can’t seem to digest solid foods. But I was able to drink apple juice the other day with some bread. I’m also not nauseas all day anymore. I think I’m getting better.”

“Well, if you’re feeling better, wanna go shoot some hoops?” Kelso asked.

“Nah, but you guys can,” Y/n responded. “Me and Donna can just sit and ogle.”

“I knew you were checking me out,” Kelso purred and rubbed his chest.

“Not you, you dork,” Y/n said. “Hyde and Eric.”

“You ogle at me?” Eric said disgusted. “That’s gross.”

“No! Donna is, you dumbass!” Y/n said and stood up while Eric laughed. “Moron.”

She walked outside to the driveway with everyone behind her. As they reached the driveway, the boys split up into their group while Donna and y/n moved away to watch from the porch.

“So, Hyde, how’s it been with you and y/n?” Kelso asked under his breath, making sure the girls couldn’t hear.

“You know, things are going good, but with her being sick this past week, it’s been kinda hard not getting any action,” Hyde responded.

“Ewwwww! Could you please not?” Eric exclaimed. “I told you I don’t wanna hear it.”

“I know, that’s why I did it,” Hyde laughed and tossed the ball to Eric. “Your play. Go.”

The girls watched from the porch, admiring the way their men looked. Y/n wanted so badly to jump Hyde’s bones, but didn’t want to puke in the middle of it and ruin the mood. She and Donna chatted idly as they watched their men get sweaty and hot.

“Look, I know he’s your brother, but damn does he look hot when he’s all concentrated,” Donna swooned as she watched Eric block Fez’s slam dunk.

“Really? I think he looks constipated,” Y/n laughed.

In the middle of the play, Eric turned, facing them while trying to block Kelso from making his shot. The concentration he wore on his face made Donna drool but laugh.

“You’re right, he does look constipated,” she agreed and laughed even more.

“I know you don’t think so, but Steven just looks so good when he’s moving around like that,” Y/n said and stared at her boyfriend. “I mean, when he gets all sweaty and flushed, it makes me want him so bad.”

Donna chuckled. “So, how have you guys been?”

“We’ve been good. You know with me being this sick, we haven’t really gotten the time to do it or anything.”

“From the looks of it earlier and hearing Eric scream ‘ew’ makes me believe that Hyde already said something like that to him,” Donna laughed once more.

Y/n chuckled. “Sounds about right.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the four boys play basketball. The entire time, y/n’s heart was hammering against her chest, debating on telling Donna right there. She couldn’t take keeping a secret this big from her best friend. Besides, if she wasn’t going to tell someone soon, she was going to explode.

“Donna,” she said shakily. “I have something to tell you.”

Seeing how serious her tone was, Donna perked up. “What?”

“I need you to promise me that you’re not going to freak out. Because if you do, everyone will hear it and I can’t have that right now.”

Donna’s heart started beating wildly against her own ribcage, now nervous and worried. “Okay?”

“And whatever happens, promise me you’ll still be my friend?”

“Of course! What’s going on?”

Y/n took a deep breath before looking Donna in the eye. At that moment, she wanted to crawl up in a bawl and just cry. But she knew she couldn’t; She had to be strong. So instead she let out a shaky breath.

“I’m pregnant.”

@lieswithoutfairytales @mdittyz123 @n-dg-wm @undead-sierra @random-thoughts-003 @taysirene

#that 70s show #That '70s Show #that 70's show fanfic #Steven Hyde #steven hyde x reader #steven hyde x y/n #Eric Forman #red forman #kitty forman #Donna Pinciotti #fez #jackie burkhart #Michael Kelso

164 notes · View notes

drazzilder · 3 years

Text

A Hellish Encounter

By Drazzilder

ChaPeter 22: The Present

It’s been a day since the fight; Enji and his children are still in a waiting room. After the horn pierced your chest, you were rushed to the best hospital Japan has. Enji is doing his best to hold it together with the help of Fuyumi. Everyone just sits waiting for word from the doctor.

F: “Dad, he is going to be ok.”

N: “He has handled more before, like Fuyumi said he will be fine.”

E: “I don’t want to lose him.” he says trying not to cry. “The problem is I saw his eyes, they stopped glowing. I don’t know what that means but I know it’s not good.”

S: “I think I hear the doctor coming.”

D: “Me. Todoroki, I have some good news and some bad news.” He says as he walks through the door.

E: “(Y/N) is alive!?”

D: “Yes, but the bad news is we don’t know for how long; he is fully paralyzed and unconscious. If he does manage to live, he will never walk again. You might want to contact his family.”

E: “We are all he has. Can we see him?”

D: “Yes but I must warn you, seeing him in this state might be a shock, even for you.”

Enji’s family comes into your room. Once they open the door, they see what the doctor warned them about. There is about a dozen or so machines hooked up to you. Pipes and wires criss cross over your body and you lay there motionless. The only sounds are coming from the machines beeping and breathing for you. Enji walks next to your bed and falls to his knees. He tries to grab your hand but it is covered in sensors. Putting a hand to your head, first touching the newly formed horns but he then pets your head. He can’t hold it in any longer has he starts to cry on the bed. The only word coming out of his mouth is your name. The children are further back when Shoto notices a large figure sitting in the corner, crying.

S: “Zaheer?”

F: “What? How are you here? Shouldn’t you be inside of (Y/N)?”

Z: “I can’t, even if I tried.”

N: “Zaheer, what’s happening.”

Z: “Brilron put a curse on that horn. I have seen it only once before. It is a curse to separate me from (Y/N).”

F: “Well, can’t you go back in (Y/N)?”

Z: “It doesn’t work that way. The curse keeps us separated. I’m not sure how to break it. The big problem is that without me, (Y/N) will die.”

E: “WHAT?” He says finally breaking away from the bed.

Z: “I have to tell you a secret he has been keeping from all of you. The more he uses my powers, the more demon he becomes. His left eye is mine but is right eye shows the demon energy he is containing. We only discovered this after the stadium.”

E: “He was fine until now?”

Z: “I tried to stop him but when he saw you almost die, he gave into the power. DAMN IT!” He pounds his fist against his knee, causing the room to shake. “Why didn’t he listen to me? I never wanted to let this happen! I never wanted to hurt him!”

F: “What’s going on? Zaheer, tell us.”

Z: “Right now he is as fully demon as he can be. It has great power but it has a huge risk. If the power gets too much, it can over take him. Plus, if I leave his body permanently, he will die. It’s because of that cruel curse that demon put on him. I can’t go back, I can’t save (Y/N)!” He says looking at you lying in the bed.

N: “We saw you fight the demon and go back inside (Y/N).”

Z: “That’s more like a projection, and it is limited. When I am in that form my power is split in half between (Y/N) and I. I can split myself into multiples of myself, that’s the first time I tried using that power to leave one half inside of someone. It uses a lot of energy but it was the only thing I could think of to make sure the power wasn’t too much for him. I’m surprised he survived this long. The only thing keeping him alive right now is his will power but that can’t hold on forever.”

E: “The doctor said he was paralyzed, the horn didn’t hit is spine, did it? Or was the power too much?”

Z: “That’s the other secret he kept from you. The stadium incident took more of a toll on his body then he led on. Adam had no idea that what he was doing was hurting (Y/N). The amount of energy that was entering his body vaporized his spinal cord.”

S: “But he has been walking and moving this entire time!”

Z: With a sigh “He has been using his power of mind and body control. He uses it differently in his body, using it more like a puppet with strings of energy. It is basically a new spinal cord he created. Even if he somehow lives, without my power he will never walk.”

E: “You are telling me he has been using a quirk for 6 years straight. That’s impossible!”

Z: “That is correct. If his will power was strong enough to resist me, he has the will power to keep that quirk going for that long. That’s why his eye was always glowing, it’s because he was always using his power. It does have a drawback; he has to actively think about every move he makes, every single muscle individually. The amount of concentration it takes most people can’t even fathom. Even breathing has to be forced. When he teleports, he has to stop breathing to free up enough his brain. He can teleport just like he can at the stadium, he just can’t stop breathing long enough to do it. He even learned to think about breathing in his sleep. He didn’t want to tell you because he knew you would worry. I’m sorry you have to find out about it like this.” He says as tears begin to well up in Enji’s eyes.

E: Turning back to you still crying “(Y/N), why didn’t you tell me. I could have helped…”

During all of this, Sanji walks into the room and hands Fuyumi some papers. She apologizes for interrupting but says the family needed to see the papers and leaves. Fuyumi opens them and starts to read them as everyone awaits an answer.

F: “It’s…. it’s adoption papers.”

Everyone: “What?”

F: “It says here that (Y/N) has petitioned to adopt us as his kids.”

E: “Why would he do that?”

Z: “(Y/N) was going to ask you to marry him, Enji.”

E: “Really? When?”

Z: “After that day at Disney World when Shoto said he wasn’t family, (Y/N) wanted to change that. He went to adopt the kids. It took till now because he was working on becoming a citizen. He got the adoption forms filled out but he still had to wait. Before the paperwork came back, he went to have a wedding band made for you. It was made of a special alloy that changed color with a level of heat that only you could create.”

E: “He wanted to marry….me?”

Z: “He really does love you, more than anyone.”

Enji starts crying again, this time clinging to your arm. He is there for a few minutes while his children start hugging Zaheer while crying as well. No one notices the door open behind them.

“Enji, please don’t cry.”

He can only say one word: “Rei?”

Next Chapter

#A Hellish Encounter #endeavor x male reader #endeavor stan #endeavor fluff #enji x you #my hero academia enji #mha enji #enji x reader #enji x y/n #enji todoroki #endeavor

22 notes · View notes

maree-ff · 3 years

Text

Walk by Faith, Not by Sight

CAMILA

Opening the blinds to let in the slightest amount of light I glanced over my shoulder. Andre’s been out for four days since the surgery and I’m growing impatient. I’ve prayed every morning and night since the shooting with hopes that he will wake up soon. The kids have been rotating their stays here with me but I always send them home before their bedtime rolls around. I can’t fathom staying home right now so Divya is taking my place.

A soft knock on the door reverted my attention from Andre to the entrance of his room. Elaine, the night shift nurse, walked in the room with a fresh set of towels, linen, flowers and medication.

Smiling gently at her I met her halfway to take some of the items off of her hands. “Good morning and thank you for bringing these in.” I began.

“Good morning to you. Don’t mention it honey, any updates for me?” She inquired.

Inhaling soundly I shook my head and parted ways with her to put the towels aside. “I’m doing all that I can to stay positive but I’m starting to worry.” The uneasiness in my tone earned me some encouraging words from Elaine. After I adjusted the temperature in the room I took a seat, watching in silence as she finished out her shift. She prepped Andre with a new morphine bag, took his vitals and tidied up the room. As Elaine began to wrap up her work a thought came to me.

“Elaine..” I called out to her. Rising from my chair I set my journal and planner aside, walking to her side of the room. “I know your shift is pretty much over but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind praying with me? It would mean the world to me.” I twiddled my fingers awaiting her response.

Elaine’s prayer over Andre’s health, recovery and my willpower brought me to tears. I said my temporary farewell to her and did my part in Andre’s upkeep. Once I was all done I sat down beside his bed studying the monitor watching his heart beat steadily. My mind must’ve gone blank for quite some time. I found myself listening to my cell phone vibrate within my bag and the rain began to downpour.

“I remember when you came down with the flu and Zoe stayed up all night trying to take care of you. She was yawning every two minutes..” I chuckled lightly at the memory. “She kept trying to convince herself that she wasn’t tired and you were too weak to argue with her. That’s when Kenja stepped in to drag her out of our bed and into their room. I listened to them bicker for a solid twenty minutes or so about how best to care for you when they got home from school the next day.” Using my thumbs to dab underneath my eyes I made the slightest turn of my head surprised at what I’m seeing.

Andre’s eyes fluttered open and closed before settling on remaining half open.

“Andre..” I said gently. Turning around I minimized the distance between us to get a closer look at him. His gaze met mine and a very shy smile set itself up on his face. I’m bubbling over with inquisition but I can’t overwhelm him at a time like this. “Andre? Honey, if you can feel this..nod your head for me please.” Tucking my hair behind my ear I exposed one of his feet to run my fingernail along his sole.

He nodded reluctantly prompting me to keep testing his senses. We went five rounds of this, easing my nerves about serious loss of sensation. “Can you hear me okay? Am I being too loud?” I asked.

“Yes and no.” He mumbled with ease. “How long have....I been here?” He shifted around, rotating a tad on his side. A tear rolled over his right cheek as he took a deep breath in and out.

“Four days.” I sighed. “Tell me what you remember.” I pulled my chair up to his bedside, leaning forward to clutch his hands. He struggled but successfully managed to intertwine our fingers. “I’m not rushing you. Take your time, sweetie.”

“Where’s Jo? Is he hurt? Are the girls okay?” I can see the deep concern for our children in his eyes and I can feel it passing through me.

“Jo is doing just fine baby, not a hair missing or a scratch on him. The girls are alright too. You can’t get your heart rate up or you’ll go into shock. Deep breaths okay? Can you tell me what you remember?” I asked again.

“Jo and I were outside getting the mail. Next thing I know, I heard the shot. I didn’t let him go.” Caressing the back of my hand, Andre fidgeted from underneath the blankets. “He was asking for you.”

I lowered my head as my brain flooded itself with the scene I was faced with when I walked out of our front door four days ago. To see my son shielded by his unconscious father who was bleeding out on the concrete scared me nearly to death. My mother’s voice flooded my brain to advise me against killing April point blank. My lawyer told me that if I had aimed just centimeters off of where I did shoot April, she’d be dead and I would be behind bars. That’s a mighty uncanny coincidence being that if the bullet from April’s gun had ended up just centimeters from where Andre was shot, he’d be dead. I owe God my never ending faith and obedience for sparing the lives of my boys.

“Hey..” he called out to me. Andre found some strength to squeeze the fists my hands turned into. I raised my head to see him kissing my hands. He bore into my eyes to say, “my hero yet again. When do I get the chance to save you?” He smirked.

I blinked rapidly to rid my eyes of tears. “I was so scared. My mind froze and my heart was racing but my body was doing all of the work. I didn’t think to pay attention to my surroundings because I was so focused on you and Jo.” I took a moment to reign in my feelings before continuing to share my point of view. “I didn’t even blink when I fired. I shoved the gun in the back of my pants, ran over to you guys and balled my eyes out trying to get Jorden from underneath you. The look on his face is burned into memory. The girls were screaming on the phone with 911, Jorden was foaming at the mouth with questions and your mom...she was hysterical.” I explained. The last thing I want to do is freak him out or upset him but I’m confident that he wants to hear my perspective.

“Come here, lay with me..” Andre created as much space for me on the bed as he could allowing me to stretch out beside him.

“I thought you died. For eight hours my mind had convinced me that I lost you. That we lost you.” I confessed. More tears sprang forward admitting the truth. “After Jo was finished being monitored he kept asking for you. Not one answer that I gave him was good enough.” I told him.

“Camila,” Andre ushered me to look him in the eye. “Thank you for saving our son’s life and mine. I don’t take the sacrifice you took regarding your freedom lightly.”

I nodded graciously. “How do you feel?” I quizzed.

“I’m worried about you more than myself right now. I can hold a long conversation. I’m not that weak.” Andre’s familiar snicker put a smile on my face. “Talk to me.” His hands on my face brought more tears to my eyes. “Baby, I’m okay and I’ll heal just fine. Our family is safe thanks to you. Where is my little boy?”

“He’s at home with your mom. You want me to call her and have her bring him here? It’s his day. He and the girls have been taking turns staying here with me. He needs to see you. He’s been very distant, curious and angry about what happened. He doesn’t understand why April did what she did.” I sniffled.

“Call her.” He uttered sharply. I urgently called his mom and she answered on the first round of rings.

“Camila? Is everything alright?” She panicked.

“That mommy? I wanna talk!!!” Jorden exclaimed.

“Hey mama, he’s awake.” I smiled. Divya began to cry and repeat her vocalized gratitude for Andre coming out of his four day coma. We agreed to talk later as she handed the phone to Jorden who’s still babbling with anticipation. “Jorden, baby, take a breath for mama please. Talk slow.” I advised him.

“Mommy, where’s papa? I wanna talk to him.” Jorden said boldly. Not arguing I handed Andre my phone.

“Jo?” Andre began.

Jorden went quiet on his end. “Are you okay?” He spoke up after a brief pause.

“Yeah, I’m alright. How are you feeling buddy?” Andre looked down at me, lowering his eyebrows to minimize the tension in his face.

“Sad. I want to see you papa, can I come back? Please. It’s my turn.” Jorden begged.

“Of course you can. Mama and I are waiting for you.” Andre spoke briefly to his mother agreeing that she would bring Jorden back to the hospital. In the meantime we shared our last moments alone before I had to bring the nurse and doctor in to examine Andre. They tested him to the fullest extent, talked in grave detail about the surgery and the blood transfusion. By the time they were done, I heard Jorden rambling from outside the door. I invited Jo and Divya inside, shutting the door behind them.

Jorden clung to me once he saw his father. It saddened me because I know Jorden is just confused by his dad’s current health status. He doesn’t quite understand the complexity of this matter. While I emphasize with him, I also want to comfort my little boy.

“Mommy..” Jorden pulled at my sweater, asking to be held. I hooked him on my hip holding him close. He and Andre stared at one another in silence. “Is daddy okay?” He whispered.

“Daddy’s okay. He’s been waiting to see you.” Looking down at my son I searched his eyes, confident he would settle down. Cautiously I walked over to the bed, sat down and waited for Jorden to let go of me.

“Hey man, you’re not scared of me are you?” Andre went to stretch out his bad arm, wincing in pain.

Jorden’s face twisted up in agony watching his dad reorient himself back to comfort. “Where does it hurt, dad?” That was Jorden’s cue to play doctor and tend to his father as best he can. Stepping away to allow Andre and Jorden their long awaited reunion, Divya and I stepped into the hallway. The minute I shut the door I threw my arms around her needing a moment to be selfish. She consoled me with the utmost love and empathy. She didn’t speak either. My mother-in-law simply allowed me time to cry, count my blessings and openly praise God for saving Andre’s life.

I used another couple of minutes to finish releasing these emotions before backing up to stand on my own two feet.

“I bet you feel so much better now.” She smiled warmly. A tissue appeared and she used it to dry my teary eyes.

Nodding with a growing smile on my face I fixed my sweater. “Much. I still have more left in me but I’ll be okay for now. Has Jo been terrorizing you or the house?”

“He’s been hostile but I know it’s only because he was confused about what happened. I’m sure that not seeing Andre for days after what went down has scarred Jorden to some capacity. It has scarred the girls and I, too. How are you feeling now?” Divya was quick to stop me from going back into the room. I know why and I’m grateful that she wants to check on me. I’m grateful that she cares for how I’m feeling mentally and emotionally.

“I just feel relieved. I hope that I never again have to answer the question of “where’s daddy” or “any updates on dad” or anything close to it. I’ve been telling Andre for quite some time now that I want the drama to be over. The girls have been through enough, Andre has been through more than enough and now Jorden…” shaking my head in disbelief at the trauma this family has faced I straightened out my top. “This has to be the end of it. I can’t take any more police reports and hospital visits. I may even talk to Andre about relocating. I think it would do all of us good.”

“Moving? Where to?!” Divya’s shock ruffled my feathers. I found her concern humorous.

“Not too far away mama I promise. Besides, it’s just an idea for now. Just to a better city where no one knows us. I just want the kids to be safe. I want for all of us to feel safe and at ease.” Divya and I went back into the room to find Jorden and Andre chest to chest. They look like they're asleep but I know this is how they are all the time at home.

Andre opened his eyes to smile at us.

“How are you feeling, honey?” Divya asked. She set her purse down to go over and greet her son.

“A little out of touch with reality but having you guys here is helping a l-lot.” He stumbled over his words freaking me out to the max. With Jorden front and center I have to remain calm. Jorden picks up on the slightest adjustment in attitudes and tones.

“Dre..” I hesitated to ask because I also don’t want to freak his mother out. Andre must have caught my drift because when he met my stare he smiled again.

“I’m okay. I just got tongue tied. I promise.” His sentence was crystal clear this time around so I had no choice but to take a deep breath and enjoy this time. God has yet again shown this family never ending mercy. Now is not the time to be ungrateful for God’s effort to bring the love of my life back to me. Back to earth and this family.

#maree-ff #short reads #short story #fiction

17 notes · View notes

pizza-soup · 3 years

Text

Sorry I've been missing in action.

Long story short I got very injured at the labs, but I've been making a fast recovery. For the more detailed, graphic version, you can read below. Warning: Mention of hospital, blood, car accident.

As I mentioned, I got really injured at work beginning on February 21 at around 9 PM. It was during a routine check at some of the sites, one in particular needed our higher clearance because there had been a breach at a fence that past week, so I, and two other guards went to check out any tampering of the fence again. They say it might be vandals but a lot of them say it was some kind of large animal. The road to those sites are a single path through the woods, lit with a few lights, no curves, just a flat road with a hill on one side. It hadn't snowed that week either, so no fear of ice or anything. It was just a routine jeep trek.

It happened so fast. Our vehicle was knocked over, I'm not even sure how, but we were rolling in the dark down a hill, hitting trees. I remember the shouting, holding fast, and the glass. I remember crawling toward a tree and trying to sit up against it or maybe I was put there by the other guard, Dolores, I remember her telling me to stay awake. I asked her if I was dreaming. It didn't feel real. I asked what was happening to me because I couldn't move right, everything felt so slow and muffled. I passed out by the time they got us into the medical ward. I don't remember them putting me in a gown or putting in an IV. I woke up later, I buzzed the call button out of fear and pain. My whole left side was throbbing. A nurse was relieved I finally came to. She gave me pain meds and called the doctor in.

I was told there had been an accident, that much I already knew, but no one was killed, just injured. I lost a lot of blood, my uniform was soaked in it and they had to cut it off me. Part of the metal from the door frame folded in and pieced my left shoulder and I had minor cuts on my hands and arms from the glass. My blood pressure dropped so low they were scared my heart might've stopped. I was given blood, hooked up to a lot of things and I would have to stay under watch for a few days. There was a lot of tests they needed to do to figure out just how bad my injuries were.

For the next few days I was just sleeping, I couldn't sit up without feeling dizzy. I had to lay semi flat, my blood pressure was still very low. My left side was still throbbing and the stitches itched. A lot of bruises developed from being tossed around like I was, mostly on my arms because I was shielding my face and head. My minor glass cuts stung while batheing. Nurses came in every few hours to check my vitals, help me use the restroom, shower, help me eat, ect. I got so tired from the smallest things. I couldn't call anyone, my phone was in my locker. I finally got someone to help me call my brother to tell him what happened. My brother was naturally scared, he thought something happened to me and he was sad to know he was right. He wanted to see me, but he couldn't, I was in the medical ward on lab property. He wanted to call our mom to tell her but I told him to wait, there was a possibility that I might be transferred to a local hospital where they can visit me, and I didn't want her panicking and trying to drive up here in bad weather. It's best she waited til things cleared up.

After the first week I was transferred to a local hospital after getting a bunch of tests done. No brain trauma, no broken bones, no blood sugar issues or thyroid problems. I could sit up in bed by then and eat on my own. I still couldn't walk very well without feeling really dizzy, again, low blood pressure. A lot of minor bruises were fading away. I never had my anemia officially confirmed, but they confirmed it and had me take daily iron and placed on a blood building diet in the new hospital. I was tested for covid, I came out clear.

My brother and mom visited me daily, and the other doctor said I was recovering really quickly, that gave us a lot of hope. I could be out of there by a few days, though my blood pressure was worrying her. Seems it wasn't so much the blood loss, but that it might have been an underlying condition already linked to my untreated anemia. She would get the in-house dietitian to include a bit more natural sea salt to my iron rich diet, as well as tell me what I should eat at home and that I need to drink a lot more water than I normally did. This is a problem I've had for awhile, I forget to drink enough water. The doctor warned me I better remedy that immediately especially with low BP. My mom was already taking notes. She really wanted to just take me home already. I really liked her being there, I'm not that shy about my body, but I honestly felt better having my mom bathe me and comb my hair instead of strangers doing that. She was also a lot more gentle around my stitches and bruises.

Eventually I did come home, I still needed a lot of rest and help getting out of bed. I had to fight the urge to clean house, help with groceries, ect. I'm so used to being self sufficient. I felt so frustrated that just walking around the room would tire me out, when I'd hike for miles just a few months ago. I was tired of sleeping and sitting down. But there wasn't much else I could do. I did a lot of origami, my bro got me a coloring book, I watched a lot of movies, took my iron -which is nasty btw-, ate meals that were saltier than I normally would prepare but my taste buds would have to adjust. I was happy my new diet included a lot of fish though.

I did have some close calls. I really thought I could stand up in the shower instead of sitting, and wound up calling for my mom to help me up after collapsing. I collapsed again when I was trying to cook dinner for myself. My face, according to my mom, was drained of color and my breathing was shallow. I felt so dizzy and nauseated. She nearly wanted to call the hospital again. My bro said I was pushing myself too hard and I always had a problem with not asking for help. That I needed to learn to stop being so damn stubborn and rest. To anyone else, that sounds harsh, but he knows me way too well, probably better than our mom. I do have that problem, I do push myself too much. After that, I decided to be more patient with myself. I was sick and might be sick for awhile.

This week I'm doing a lot better. I can do my daily things now, I even went to get groceries and take a little walk to the river. But I can't over do it, I can't stand up or walk for too long, and I can't lift anything heavy, otherwise I get bouts of dizziness and need to sit down. The pain isn't as bad on my back anymore though it's still very sore, my arms, especially my left side, have a dull pain. I can't sleep on my back and left side, only my right and on my stomach. A lot of the cuts on the back of my arms and hands have scabbed over, minor bruises are gone but major ones on my shoulder and neck are still pretty dark and tender. I'm still finding glue spots on my chest and stomach from the medical tape and the EKG patches they put on me, but a bit of lotion is taking it off. My stitching, according to my mom, is definitely going to leave a pretty bad scar above my shoulder blade, but it's fine. My body has a lot of scars here and there from close calls, but I consider them ' Marks of Life'. They're proof I survived and thrived.

It'll take time for me to really feel like I'm back to normal. My mom refuses to go back home until I make a full recovery. She hasn't tended to me like this for a long time, mainly because I rarely get sick. I trait from my dad's side. We don't get colds or flus for years, no history of cancer, heart issues or diabetes, and his family usually remain active to their elderly years, not to mention our graceful aging. My dad used to say it was our native blood, we're just built tougher. The only thing that could kill us is getting injured like this. God, he'd be so worried about me though. I remember how he'd fuss over me when I skinned my knee as a child or got my allergies. If he was alive, he'd probably refuse to let me do anything out of bed, but then that's exactly what I should be doing anyway.

I got a report on the other guards health yesterday. Dolores and Elijah. She was the least hurt out of all of us, just a dislocated arm, mild whiplash, and some really bad glass cuts on her chest and arms, she's home recovering with her husband and kids. Elijah was the driver and got knocked unconscious with a bad concussion, his entire left arm was sliced by glass and metal, he lost a lot of blood like me and is recovering just as slow as I am. He opted to stay in the lab medical ward because he doubts his roommate can care for him at home, he's on a lot of pain meds, so he sounded distant on the phone. I think out of all of us, he's going to take the most time to recover. I told him I'd pray for him and if he wants, I can visit. He appreciated that a lot. I thanked Dolores for helping us that night, she was the one trying her best to keep us alive and sent the distress signal on our ARK devices so they could find us in the dark. Without her, I think we would've bled to death.

God, it feels like a distant nightmare. I still can't figure out how we were knocked off the road like that. Something hit us out there and it was strong. I felt the impact in the backseat, but I didn't see it. Dolores says it looked like a bear, but bears aren't that strong. Eli says he saw horns, so maybe a bison. Bison are that strong, especially against a little jeep. The incident is still under investigation. The lab is also very concerned about how this happened. It's possible the same thing that hit us, has been tampering with the fence.

One less thing to worry about is the hospital bill, the accident happened on lab grounds, everything is taken care of through them, probably because they don't want to get sued. They are giving us another two weeks before we report back in to the doctor for another round of tests and physical tests, as well as check to see if my stitches were still secure. Our return to work solely depends on our results, we may not be able to come back until late April. They really want to be sure we're okay. Because I'm an 'Ophanim' aka Tier 3 guard, I'll also be given a mental test before being hooked back into Selene. They just want to be sure there's no cognition issues and I can sync properly to her. I may have to do a refresher since I've been away for so long, but I'll worry about that when it comes.

Well, if you read this far, thanks. I hope I didn't scare you all too much. I am doing a lot a better though, I promise. I'm getting stronger everyday, though activity on this blog will be slow. Send me some prayers, good vibes, whatever. I'd really appreciate anything. Hope you've had a good month, better than mine hopefully.

#Update #medical trauma #accident tw #injury tw #daily update

16 notes · View notes

watchtower-feed · 4 years

Text

Death Do We Part (Part 15)

SSA Spin-off ✧ Jason Todd ✧ Physical Link ✧ 1 ✧ 2 ✧ 3 ✧ 4 ✧ 5 ✧ 6 ✧ 7 ✧ 8 ✧ 9 ✧ 10 ✧ 11 ✧ 12 ✧ 13 ✧ 14 ✧ 15 ✧ Words: 2,700+

You rest your head on your knees as you look at Tim. Your lips tremble as you watch him struggle with his thoughts.

He stares at his hands with narrowed eyes before you hear his broken voice.

“... I don’t know if I want to be Robin anymore.”

The morning dragged on agonizingly slow with Tim hiding in your room, Bruce nursing a drink in the kitchen, and Alfred sitting beside him. But when Bruce’s phone rang and the hospital told him that his son, Richard Grayson, was just admitted into Gotham General, everything sped past like a blur.

The city traffic buzzing through the car’s window. The loud reporters hounding you at the entrance. The doctor’s mouth moving in silence as he reads from a chart, explaining Dick’s condition. You were only picking up words like critical and surgery.

The first thing you became conscious of was Alfred’s hand on your shoulder. “Y/N. He’s going to be okay.” You didn’t even notice your tears until he was wiping them away.

It’s past midnight in the hospital room. Tim is sleeping on the couch. Alfred is in an extra bed. Bruce had just stepped out for coffee. And you’re still awake, curling up in the armchair closest to Dick. You’re holding his hand and looking at the fringes of his hair lying on his forehead. Slowly you loosen your grip to brush them back, but Dick’s fingers curl around yours.

You’re too busy staring at his hand when he opens his eyes.

“Hi…”

You cover your mouth to trap the sob that’s lodged in your throat. “Dick--”

He smiles. “H-hey hey. I’m okay.” He sounds exhausted but he still tries to laugh. “It’s just-- what? Like broken ribs again?”

You frown at him, “One punctured your spleen, Dick. They had to stitch it up during surgery.”

Dick chuckles, “Another one? Man. I swear I get one every other month. I probably passed out on Jason.”

“You were with Jason?” your voice hitched a little but you lower it right away and check on Alfred and Tim.

“Oh yeah… we had a nice little chat…” Dick’s looking at you now while frowning. “So… you’re leaving.”

You pause and then look down when you answer, “I don’t know. I haven’t heard from Jason since yesterday morning.”

Dick raises one eyebrow and teases you, “The morning after?”

“Shut up,” you snap at him in a whisper, making him snicker quietly. You blush but you can’t help give a small laugh as well.

Dick smiles at you.

“He told me you were leaving and I was hoping to charm the two of you into staying.” He gives you a look, one that’s both sad and disappointed. “But I don’t really think that’s an option, huh.”

Dick squeezes your hand and your voice is a lot softer when you answer, “He killed the Joker, Dick. In front of Bruce.”

“Yeah. He told me.”

“And you almost died, too.”

Dick laughs, “Ye of little faith in me, Y/N. I had those guys--”

“But the bomb. That one was real--”

Dick shushes you. “Jason’s friends got me off the bridge before it went off. Guess you guys were too busy watching Jay and Bruce’s fight.”

Dick slumps back against the pillows and stares at the point where the ceiling and the wall meet. “I hate to say it but Jason thought of everything.”

Tim grumbles in his sleep and you both turn to him. Once the rise and fall of his chest becomes even, Dick speaks again.

“This must be hard on Tim, huh?”

Tim has been tossing and turning in his sleep. When he was in your room, he checked on his wound and was surprised to find that Jason had changed his bandages when he was unconscious.

You watched Tim’s surprised look slowly morph into one of anguish. He didn’t know how to believe that Jason and the Red Hood were one and the same. Or is he just a persona Jason created to do what he can’t do. To protect the hard truths he wanted Bruce to realize.

You close your eyes and slowly climb into the bed next to Dick. He makes room for you and you carefully curl up next to him.

“He told me he didn’t want to be Robin anymore,” you whisper.

Dick pats your head and hums to himself.

“If I was Jason and Tim-- I was them. I was Robin and I always thought… I always saw Bruce as more than just Batman. He was my dad and my friend. He was my protector.”

When Dick’s hand stops moving, you wrap your arms across his chest and hug him tightly. You can feel the even breaths he’s trying to maintain but failing.

“But after what Jason did--” you can hear him clenching his teeth as he speaks, “After realizing that Bruce will always be Batman--to everyone-- more than anything else in the world… it shatters something in you, like you’re not special...”

Before your life turned into this living tragedy, you always thought Batman was just a myth. You’ve seen him sure, leaping and gliding over rooftops from your window and from the streets, but you always knew he was just a man playing pretend. Maybe a police officer finally fed up with the red tapes and the joke that is the Gotham justice system.

You always thought Batman was just another Gothamite who just got sick of being battered and bruised.

“It doesn’t mean I agree with Jason, though.” Dick’s voice is a little lower. He’s giving you a long look with the same sad and disappointed expression. “His heart’s in the right place but Y/N, he’s the one who doesn’t understand.

“When Bruce first brought me in, my parents were murdered by this guy-- Tony Zucco-- just a typical low life mobster in Gotham you know-- no one like the Joker. But when I became Robin, Bruce’s greatest concern was whether I would seek vengeance against that guy.”

Dick’s gaze strays away from you. He’s looking somewhere past his feet, seeing something that’s not there.

“I had him, Y/N. I tied him up and suspended him over a ten-story building, half hoping he would die, or break every bone in his body from that height and live out the rest of his days as a vegetable.

“Then Batman came out of the shadows. He didn’t stop me. He didn’t talk to me-- he just put his hand on my shoulder the whole time, while I stood there and held this man’s lifeline in my hands.”

Dick closes his eyes and takes a deep breath but he doesn’t open them again. The skin at the corner of his eyes crease and there are folds in his brows. When he speaks again, it’s rushed and he sounds exhausted.

“In the end, I couldn’t do it. I dropped him from the third floor. He broke a few bones and that was it. It didn’t make me feel better. Killing him wouldn’t have brought my parents back-- it also wouldn’t prevent another family from ever being murdered…

“Jason thinks he can get rid of evil in the world by killing criminals but he can’t. Because everyone is nursing evil inside of them-- I have something evil inside me.”

Dick’s lips are quivering when he opens his eyes again.

“Batman is the only one that doesn’t because all he wants to do is protect... everyone.”

Bruce has heard enough. He’s been standing outside the hospital room with his hand on the handle when Dick started talking about avenging his parents. Desperately, he wants to go in there and join you and Dick. But the writing on your arm pushes him to visit the rooftop instead.

He steps out to meet Gotham’s foggy air and reaches the end of the ledge when he calls out, “Worried about Dick?” He doesn’t turn around. He doesn’t hear Jason’s footsteps approaching him from the shadows, but he knows he’s there. “You should be. He’s here because of you.”

Jason stops abruptly and clenches his fist. “Wrong. He’s hurt because of your self-righteous courtesy toward the psychotic filth of Gotham.”

Bruce turns around. Jason doesn’t have his helmet or his mask. He’s wearing a black trench coat but Bruce can still see the Red Hood symbol peeking from his chest. Bruce lifts one corner of his lips. “How does it feel?”

To Jason it looks like a smirk on its ways to becoming a snarl. Any semblance of a smile on Bruce is unsettling.

Bruce faces him fully with his hands in his pants pockets. “Now that you’ve killed half of the inmates in Arkham, how does it make you feel?” He watches Jason and lowers his brows and his mouth turns into a straight line. “Like it’s not enough. Right? Like there’s still a few more loose ends-- and you just have to be sure.

“I know you went after Penguin and Dent after the club last night. I also know you’re still after Harley.” Bruce eyes his clothes.

Jason tips his head to the side and replies to Bruce with a small smile.

Bruce tries to control the urge to arrest Jason then and there. He tries to stop being Batman for just one second before he loses his son for good. He takes in a breath and releases it like a sigh. He takes out his hands to gesture to Jason.

“If I could give you one last piece of advice. As a father. As a friend. Ask yourself if this is the type of person you want Y/N’s soulmate to be. Do you want her to be with a murderer?”

Jason didn’t expect that. He was ready to have another go at Bruce, maybe their last showdown before he leaves town, but now he just feels insulted.

“Fuck you, Bruce. I just want her safe-- To do a better job than you did for me. Be better than you.”

Bruce shakes his head. “You can do that without taking another person’s life, Jason. Killing people will only put your lives in more danger.” He points to Jason’s chest. “And you-- the Red Hood-- are a testament to that.”

Jason looks down, the crimson symbol on his chest peeking at him from his loose coat. The Red Hood is supposed to be just a means to an end. A myth strong enough to withstand the Bat’s. A new player to hook in the Arkham villains. Not someone who’ll join their ranks.

Jason looks back to glare at Bruce.

“I didn’t come here for a lecture.”

The pause Jason gave didn’t go unnoticed to Bruce.

“I assume you’re here to see Y/N,” Bruce replies. “She’s talking to Dick. She hasn’t noticed your message yet.”

Bruce walks up to Jason and sizes him up. Jason watches as his demeanor changes. Bruce stands taller, his shoulders seem to go wider. Jason doesn’t need to see the cape to know who’s standing in front of him now.

“Leave Gotham before sunrise.”

Jason can see himself reflected in Batman’s eyes. He suddenly looks like a child. The kid sleeping on the streets of Gotham. Scavenging in the garbage just to get by. Stealing to survive.

Bruce sees his own reflection in Jason’s and it terrifies him. He relaxes his shoulders and leaves his eyes half-lidded. Slowly, he lifts his hand and places it on Jason’s shoulder.

“Take care of each other, son.”

Bruce takes back his hand and starts walking to the door but Jason slaps something against his chest. Bruce looks down and sees that it’s an envelope. He looks back at Jason but he’s looking away from him.

“Give it to Alfred… please.”

Bruce smiles. He gives Jason a small nod before he takes the letter and leaves the hospital rooftop.

When Jason hears the doors close shut behind him, he lets the panic settle in. He first feels its claws scratching at his throat on its way up to his mouth, prying it open, making him gasp for air. Jason jumps when the door slams open.

You see your soulmate standing on the rooftop.

“Jason?”

You run to him and wrap your arms around his shoulder, as far as you can reach. He bends down and you hold him tighter. “You’re okay!” you exclaim against his coat. “I passed Bruce on the way here and I thought--”

“Y/N.”

Jason’s voice is shaky. You pull away to take a look at him but he holds you tight against him. You feel it now, the way his lungs are expanding rapidly and his heart is beating hard against his chest. He’s gripping your clothes as he pulls your body closer to him, afraid to let go. Afraid you’ll let go.

“I want to stay…”

The Joker had killed him and it killed you. The League had planned on using you against Jason. Scarecrow poisoned you. But now they’re gone. Dead. The Joker. Scarecrow. Black Mask. Bane. Croc. Clayface. Penguin and Dent.

Jason killed them all.

“You told me to find a better life. Away from all of this, remember? And I wanted that.” Jason hides his face on your shoulder and you can feel his tears seeping through your shirt. “I wanted that for both of us. But how could I do that if we have so many enemies? How could I do that if they can come after us at any second?”

Battered and bruised.

Dick’s wrong. Jason doesn’t have evil inside of him. None of them do. Everyone is just broken. Cracked under the pressure of the city’s heavy fog and manipulated into playing a never ending game of survival.

You glare at the horizon of the drab cityscape. Yellow lights left on all night. Sirens blaring at every corner. Sewer stench wafting toward the roofs. If Gotham hasn’t broken you yet, it will tomorrow.

You hold on to Jason tightly.

“It’s okay, Jason. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“It’s not, Y/N. We can’t stay-- I can’t stay.”

“I know…”

You rub Jason’s back to soothe him.

“It’s not just the Joker,” you whisper. “Gotham did this to us. It’s taken something beautiful from us-- our link-- and used it to abuse us. It tore us apart and made us forget who we are.

“We can’t stay here. We need to leave Gotham not because we’re not welcome. But because we need to heal, Jason.”

Slowly, you pull away from Jason to take off his coat. He watches as you unzip his kevlar vest and lets you take it off of him.

You stare at the symbol in your hands and silently thank it. Then you drop it on the floor. Jason is too stunned to stop you when you reach for one of his guns inside his coat. You fire two shots into the vest.

This is something you feel you need to do. Jason got to kill the Joker, the phantom menace that has haunted your dreams and waking moments. You only get this. The barrel is still smoking when you return it to him.

You pick up the vest and walk to the ledge of the roof. You pull back to gather as much momentum as you can and throw the vest out and down into the busy streets. You watch the Red Hood fall to its death until you can’t see it anymore.

Jason holds your hand and you turn to face him. He watches the look on your face, determined and unmoving. As if you hold all the cards and you know exactly where to go. He’s never seen such an expression on you.

He squeezes your hand

“I’ll go anywhere with you, Y/N.”

Just before the sun rises over, you’re already on a bus heading West, far enough away that even Wayne tower’s shadow can’t reach you. You pat the bag on your lap that has some clothes and your new identities.

As the bus crosses the bridge, Jason is watching the subtle pink and orange light peeking over the ocean that meets Gotham harbor. It’s a rare sight and one you’ll both miss. He turns to you.

“Hey,” Jason calls. “Look at your arm.” He takes out a pen. You watch as Jason writes on his arm and finally finishes his last words to you.

I love you.

END.

✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧

#ssa #jason todd #red hood #superhero soulmate au #DC imagines #DC fanfiction #DC reader insert #Jason Todd imagine #Jason Todd fanfiction #Jason Todd x reader #Red Hood imagine #Red Hood fanfiction #Red Hood x reader #watchtower-feed #atbucud

213 notes · View notes

ilovefandoms102 · 4 years

Text

Part 8

Summary: The Pogues take JJ to the hospital. Afterword, JJ isn’t taking things all that serious.

Taglist:

@ma10427 @lasnaro @certainstatesmantoadartisan @iamaunicorn4704 @riverdaleserpent04 @justcallmesams @sspidermanss @tangledinsparkles @jellyfishbeansontoast @hurricane-abigail @poguesnobx

Edited by author

Part 7 Part 9

Note: Things get a little steamy towards the end so if you’re under 18 close your eyes!

=====================================

It felt like the world was crashing down on top of me. JJ was barely breathing, I was hysterically crying, and the others were still fighting with the Kooks. Kie coming to console me, Sarah screaming at her brother, my brother getting in Topper’s face, and Pope eyeing Kelce. I looked at Rafe with pure hatred, and the son of a bitch smirked at me.

Suddenly I was standing in front of Rafe, pushing Sarah out of the way. I didn’t even remember getting up. And I smacked him in the face so hard he fell to the ground. I used that to my advantage and kicked him in the side, his goons trying to come at me, but my brother and Pope kept them away from me.

“You-asshole-fuck-you” I said, kicking him again and again after every word.

He tried to grab at my leg, but I stepped on his hand hard. He screamed, pleading me to stop.

“Oh, you want me to stop Rafe?” I asked sarcastically. He whimpered on the ground and I smiled menacingly.

“That’s enough” Sarah said, trying to put a hand on my shoulder. I knocked her away from me, glaring holes into her.

“Fuck off Sarah go back to daddy if you can’t handle the fight,” I spat at her. I turned back to Rafe and kicked him hard in the face, blood gushing out of his nose.

“Sis, come on please, we have to get JJ to the hospital.” JB pleaded, pulling on my arm.

John B and Pope managed to get JJ into the van, his head laying on my lap. Kie and Pope riding in the back with me while my brother drove with Sarah in the passenger seat. I started to become hysterical again when JJ’s breathing became more erratic. He started wheezing, taking more shallow breaths.

“Birdie please hurry! H-he’s barely breathing!” I sobbed, my body shaking so hard it was making JJ’s head move with me.

“Pleas JJ, don’t leave me, please baby, please. We have to have our happy ending.” I cried, Kie and Pope stared at me, not knowing what to do to console me.

We finally pulled up to the ER, all of us piling out with Pope, John B, and I carrying a very unconscious JJ. The nurses rushed at us taking JJ on a gurney, and instructing us to stay put in the waiting room. I couldn’t sit still...I paced back and forth in the waiting room. My brother tried to get me to sit down and relax, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t sit idly while my JJ was in there. God knows what all those Kooks probably broke. His poor face mangled and his erratic breathing definitely meant a broken rib at least.

Kie and Pope’s parents came and made them go home. So left in the waiting room was my brother, Sarah, and I.

“He’s going to be fine,” John B said, coming to hug me. I broke down in my brother’s arms. He shushed me and rubbed my back, trying to calm me down.

“You didn't hear how he was breathing Birdie, I can’t lose him” I sobbed into his shoulder.

“We have all been in plenty of fights-” JB started.

“John B there were three of them punching and kicking him at the same time! All I could do was fucking sit there and watch! He got hurt because I was too weak fighting back!” I screamed, my brother hugged me tighter to him.

“I told him people like us don’t get happy endings..I said that to him right before the Kooks came. I said that fucked up shit right to his face JB.” I sobbed, my voice croaking from the amount of screaming that I’ve done in the past few hours.

“JJ Maybank?” a voice asked.

We turned and saw a doctor standing by the door, and rushed over immediately.

“He’s very lucky, he has a broken rib that almost punctured his lungs. We had to operate to move that part of his rib back down. I’d like for him to stay the night so we can observe him. He can go home tomorrow after we take another x-ray to make sure his rib hasn’t moved. You all may see him now.” the doctor said, leading us to his room.

We walked into his room and it took everything in me to not start crying again. His face was pretty much bandaged everywhere, hooked up to machines, and oxygen tubes in his nose. I walked over to the side of his bed that didn’t have all the machines, and pulled up a chair next to him.

“Hi honey bear,” I whispered squeezing his hand a little.

“I’m going to take Sarah home, call me when he’s being released and I’ll pick you up ok?” John B said, I nodded at him looking back at JJ.

I was in and out of sleep the whole night. I got paranoid anytime a machine beeped or a nurse came in to check his vitals. I tried to talk to him some, not knowing if he could hear me or not.

“I’m so sorry JJ, I feel like this is all my fault. From the Kooks and what we were arguing about beforehand. I hate myself for what I said and making you think for even a second you aren’t anything less than perfect for me. You have a heart of gold JJ Maybank. A heart of gold that’s mine and I fucked up. I said some really fucked up shit to you. I wish more than anything I could take it back.” I started, crying again putting my head down by his hand.

I felt something brush against my hair, I looked up and JJ was looking back at me. He was trying to lift his hand to my cheek, so I helped him the rest of the way. I held his hand there, tears still flowing down my face.

“None of this is-your fault-baby.” JJ rasped.

I got him a cup of water and held the straw for him. Now fully aware of himself, JJ cupped my face in his hands and pulled me down for a kiss. I pulled away, not wanting to hurt him, causing JJ to pout at me. I let out a watery laugh and gave in to his kiss.

“I know you did everything you could to help me.There was nothing anyone in that situation could have done better, you-” he said.

“I could have fought harder J, I-” I said firmly.

“You did everything you could baby, get this in your head now. Nothing was your fault. What happened to us is all on the Kooks, and they will pay for what they did.” JJ said, holding my face close to his.

=====================================

I helped JJ inside the chateau, laying him on my bed. I made sure he was properly elevated and had plenty of blankets.

“So all I have to do is get a broken rib to be treated like a king?” JJ teased.

“If you weren’t hurt Maybank, I’d hit you” I said, smiling at him.

“Does this mean I get to have a celebratory kegger for my gracious return?” he asked, smiling back at me.

“You are confined to that bed sir until I see fit” I said, raising a brow at him.

“I’m fine baby, I broke my rib not my whole body..my dad’s done worse to me,” he said nonchalantly.

“JJ stop it” I said, not wanting to hear about his dad beating him. I started to leave the room when his hand shot out grabbing mine.

“No baby, please stay I’m sorry” JJ said, grunting at his movements.

I laid in bed with him until we both fell asleep. Waking up to the front door shutting. My brother came in my room, seeing both of us were up.

“I say we have a kegger in honor of you J” John B said.

“Absolutely not!” I said.

“Hell yeah that’s my boy!” JJ said, getting up to hug my brother.

“This is definitely not a good idea..” I said.

“I’ve already got it filled and ready to go” my brother smirked. I glared at him, this was not something to celebrate.

“You do realize you could have fucking died right JJ?” I asked starting to become angrier by the second. “The doctor said your rib was so fucked it almost punctured your lung. How is going and getting black out drunk evenly remotely smart? Go on, I’ll wait.” I said leaning against my desk.

Both boys stared at me, my brother looking extremely uncomfortable with the situation, and JJ looking at my brother for help.

“Sweetheart-” JJ started.

“I don’t agree with this at all. I just spent the last 24 hours worried as fuck if you were even going to make it out of that operating room JJ. I’m not going to watch you hurt yourself more. You know what? I can’t be here right now. I’m leaving, to where, I don’t know. I can’t stand to look at either of you right now.” I stomped out of my room. I grabbed my bag and the keys to the van. They can find their own fucking ride since they want to do dumb shit. And my luck would have it that Sarah fucking Cameron was sitting on my porch.

“Hey,” she said. I looked at her confused. “Um, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I-” she started.

“I can’t do this right now Sarah, I’m not in the head space to have a civil conversation right now. Can we talk later?” I wanted to give her a chance after she stood up to her brother for us.

“Uh yeah, sure” she said.

The screen door slammed shut behind me, I heard someone following me and I turned to see JJ stalking up to me.

“Didn’t I just say I didn’t want to talk to you? I feel like I made that pretty clear Maybank.” I said still making my way towards the van.

“And when do I ever listen to you sweets?” JJ asked. I could feel even with my back turned to him that he was smiling at me. I rolled my eyes getting into the van with JJ following suit.

I drove with no destination in mind, but somehow ended up at the beach. Something about the ocean has always calmed me. The waves crashing on the shore lull me into a calm state. If I could, I’d build a house right by the ocean. Feeling the sand between my toes, and the smell of ocean water being a constant every moment. I got out of the van grabbing my beach bag, surf board, and stuffing some of JJ’s things into my bag. JJ grabbed his board and we made our way down to the ocean.

I laid out an old bed sheet, using some of our things to keep it in place since it was a little windy. I shed my clothes leaving me in my bathing suit, I could feel JJ watching me. I made a little show of it to get back at him.

“You aren’t playing fair baby,” JJ said I could feel his gaze burning into every inch of my body.

“I’m not doing anything honey bear,” I said bending down to take my shorts off.

In the next instance JJ grabbed my jaw right above my neck and yanked me to him. I smirked at him knowing I got to him.

“You better quit the bullshit baby, or all these people will see you with a tan hide when I’m done with you.” JJ said through gritted teeth.

I pushed him away and made a show of picking up my surf board and ran out to the ocean before JJ could catch me. I plunged myself into the first wave I hit coming up and paddling out to where the bigger waves would be. I sat up on my board looking out at the ocean wishing I could stay like this forever. I felt a splash next to me and saw JJ coming up next to me. I saw the bruises on his body and it broke my heart. The pain this boy has been through from his dad, and now from me, it tore me apart. I felt like those marks on him were my fault. I looked away from him.

“Baby-” JJ started. I ignored him and went after the upcoming wave. It was a big one, and I was a little nervous going to it. “Baby, please be careful!” JJ yelled. Knowing I’m not a fan of the bigger waves, but I was acting on impulse.

I started off on a good note, gliding back and forth. Then my foot slipped and I went sailing. I crashed into the ocean rolling deeper into the blue abyss. I felt arms come up under my armpits, pulling me to the surface. I came up coughing due to the water surging up my nose. Still being caught in the wave, I felt myself being pulled further out to not be right in the crash zone.

“You scared the shit out of me!” JJ yelled pushing his hair back out of his face.

“You act like that was my first wipe out J” I rolled my eyes at him, swimming to grab my board.

“Can we please talk about this babe, stop running from me!” JJ pulled himself back on his board following me back to the shore.

“I don’t know what else there is to talk about JJ! I told you how I felt about this fucking thing and I know you are still going to do it because you’re a fucking idiot!” I yelled throwing my board down by our stuff.

“You are making a bigger deal of this than it actually is sweets.” JJ said.

“What because I care about you? JJ I watched them beat you to a pulp! I-” I started.

“I KNOW I WAS FUCKING THERE I FELT THAT SHIT DAMMIT!” JJ screamed at me, my eyes widening. “I..I thought I was going to die last night. I could feel my breathing becoming harder and harder. I am not going to live life in constant fear anymore. This is the only life we have, and I want to have fun.” JJ said staring into my eyes.

I looked down at my feet, not being able to handle his intense gaze.

“Alright J, let’s party” I said smiling at him.

JJ picked me up, spinning me around in his arms. I giggled at him holding his face in my hands. He put me down, his arms still around me. He smiled, putting his hands on my cheeks leaning down to kiss me. I kissed him back, throwing my arms around him. He touched his tongue to mine, and I moaned in response. His hands roamed around my back just as mine did his. I grasped at his sides as his hand came closer to my breast just resting on the side of it. He rubbed his thumb over my nipple through my bathing suit, I gasped into his mouth loving the feeling. He suddenly pulled away and I pouted at him. He smirked at me leaning down towards me again.

“Later, I promise” he whispered against my lips. I leaned towards his ear brushing my lips against it.

“You better hold yourself to that Maybank” I whispered into his ear nibbling on it. He grunted, squeezing my hips.

=====================================

Hope you guys liked this!

192 notes · View notes

abraxos-is-toothless · 4 years

Text

Surprises

Chapter 11 a day early because I couldn’t resist. A bit of a longer one this is too:)

Thank you @bryaxisthefaceofnightmares for checking this over for me😘

Full Masterlist.

Previous Chapter.

Surprises Masterlist.

I had no gif for this one because I don’t want to give things away😏

Chapter 11

—————

Cassian thought that today was going to be a quiet day with his brothers...until the girls came back with arms full of bags and a long story about each item they had bought.

He was wrong, so very wrong.

After the girls had disappeared out of the door, they had spent the first hour on cleaning up so their mother wouldn’t have to do anything when she got back from her shift at the hospital. People used to bully him often at being adopted, throwing words such as ‘bastard’ and ‘orphan’ at him, but he didn’t care. This was the best home he’d ever had, and no amount of verbal abuse would make him resent it. Ever.

It was now mid-afternoon and the girls still hadn’t come back when they were usually done by lunch, so he and his brothers decided to watch a movie, and Cassian smirked as he listened to Rhys and Az grumbling since it was his turn to pick.

“Cass, we’ve watched Mission Impossible so many times already. Can’t we watch something else?” Azriel groaned.

“It’s my turn to choose and this is what we’re watching.”

Rhys just threw a handful of popcorn at him, which he ate one by one, and relaxed in the chair as he accepted his fate.

Thirty minutes later, there was a muffled bang of the front door before feet were stomping down the stairs to the basement. He turned his head away from the TV in time to see Nesta turn the corner.

“Hey sweet-“

He stopped talking once he got a look at the murderous rage written across her face.

“You’re a dead man.”

She said it with such calmness that it actually gave Cassian chills, but she wasn’t looking at him nor Rhys - who had once been on the receiving end of her anger when she had caught him in a very compromising position with Feyre. No, this time that anger was directed at Azriel, and when he turned to look at his brother, he stood staring back - his face as white as a sheet. Before he could question her about what was wrong, his girlfriend had crossed the room, landed a right hook to his brother’s face, and had pinned him against the wall within the next second.

He moved fast then, hooking an arm around Nesta’s waist to pull her back against him and out of reach of Az, while Rhys fussed over their wounded brother.

“Nes, sweetheart, you need to calm down and use your words.”

She had stopped struggling when she realised he wasn’t letting go, but she was still tense in his arms and he flinched when she dug her nails into his forearm as she began to speak.

“He and Elain only started dating around a month ago, so I want him to explain to me how my sister is about four and a half months pregnant.”

He stilled at that and watched as Rhys turned to look at Nesta full of shock - as if he didn’t believe her at all. Azriel’s expression was full of guilt as he tried and failed to explain.

“I- We just-,” a sigh, as if he was accepting defeat. “How do you know? I- it happened at that party we threw here. The two of us were drunk and we left to go to my room when I noticed how uncomfortable she was when Cass started a game of spin the bottle. We were going to tell everyone, but we just weren’t ready.”

Fuck, it was true. His brother had knocked up the sweetest girl in existence.

“Elain was in one of the fitting rooms trying on things Feyre picked when she collapsed. She wasn’t responding and she was unconscious by the time we got the door open and I had to call an ambulance.”

Azriel was on his feet faster than a speeding bullet, scarred hands shaking as he struggled to breathe.

“Is she alright? Are they alright?” He was near sobbing as he asked.

Nesta just stared blank faced at him and both he and Rhys flinched when Az, someone that had never raised his voice in anger, shouted;

“Fucking tell me, Nesta!”

“She collapsed from dehydration, so they’ve got her hooked up to an IV to get some fluids into her.”

“What about the baby?” Az asked. His voice was soft and shaky. Cassian had never seen his brother so scared, not even when he turned up at the door bloody and burnt all those years ago.

“The baby is fine.”

He felt his heart ache slightly then when Azriel really did start sobbing, one hand clutching Rhys’ shoulder and the other covering his face. It all sunk in fully at the sight and despite the tension in the room, he grinned.

“Lainy is having a baby? I’m going to be an Uncle?”

His girlfriend turned in his arms and stared at him for a moment before closing her eyes and grimacing.

Not good.

“Not if my Father has anything to do with it. He’s on his way to the hospital and if he’s off the rails again...this will not end well.”

Really, really not good.

oOoOo

Elain had barely spoken since she had woken up in the hospital to the sound of Nesta’s angry voice and Feyre’s soothing tones.

She blinked slowly trying to open her eyes, and was met with bright lights that had her squinting. Nesta was shouting but she didn’t know who or what she was shouting at.

“What the fuck do you mean she’s pregnant?”

Oh shit, shit, shit.

Feyre’s voice was soft as she tried to calm their sister down but it didn’t seem to be working from what she could tell.

“Nes calm down and let him speak.”

The doctor was visible now and, despite how bored he sounded, she could tell that he was slightly scared of Nesta. Who wouldn’t be when faced with the person everyone called the ‘she devil’?

“I’m sorry Miss. Archeron, but your sister really is pregnant. About four months and a few weeks along, actually.”

Nesta was already storming out of the room when she finally made her mouth work.

“Fey? I di-...I was going to tell you.”

Her sister was by her side in an instant, cradling her face between her palms.

“Shh, it’s alright El. She’ll come around but, uh, Dad is on his way.”

No, no, no.

“But he’ll-...he’s going to make me-“

“Elain, listen to me. You and Azriel have clearly made a decision. I will not let him take that from you. None of us will.”

She sobbed in her sister's arms then, sobbed until her voice was hoarse and she fell asleep from exhaustion.

Now she was sitting in her hospital bed waiting for a nurse to come in to take her for an ultrasound. They wanted to double check that everything with the baby was fine, so as much as she wanted to get out of the place, she would stay. For her baby, she would do everything that was necessary. Feyre was sitting in the chair on the other side of the room reading a magazine, and Elain was just about to ask if she could have a glass of water when there was a light knock at the door and a nurse walked in with her head down.

“Now Mis- wait Archeron? Elain?”

Elain’s head snapped up to see Rhys’ mother, Azriel and Cassian’s adoptive mother, Elysia, wide-eyed and gaping slightly in the doorway. As soon as she realised it really was who was written down, she rushed over to the bed, her ‘mom mode’ dial turned right up, fretting over her and lifting a hand to cup one side of her face.

“Gods, Elain, I had no idea you were here. If I had known I’d have come right away. This says you’re pregnant, is that, is it true?"

“Yes.”

She said it as a whisper, knowing what question would come next and silently bracing herself for the woman’s next reaction.

“Who’s the father? Is it Lucien?”

This is going to be fun.

“No ma’am, it’s not. The father is Azriel.”

She expected to see anger and disappointment on Elysia’s face, but instead she saw shock and surprise. It looked like she had no idea that Elain and Az were together, but there was a smile on her face as she spoke again.

“I’m going to be a Grandma? And what’s all of this ‘ma’am’ business? How many times do I have to tell you girls to call me Lys?”

All she could do was smile warily and nod, and then the next thing she knew, she was brought into a bone crushing hug.

“I haven’t had a chance to have a real conversation with the boys in weeks with all of the overtime and extra shifts, I had no idea you were together. I’m going to be right here every step of the way now though, although I do wish you’d waited a while longer.”

“I’m sorry, Lys.”

“Nonsense. Now, let me get that ultrasound done, yes? Once they realise what I am to you they won’t let me do another, but you’ll be waiting forever for another nurse.”

While Elysia fiddled around with the machine, Feyre came over with a grin and helped her adjust her shirt ready. Before she had the horribly cold gel squeezed onto her abdomen, Elysia asked her one final question that Elain had no idea would scare her so much, but make her so incredibly excited all at once.

“Before we start, would you like to know the gender of your baby?”

Yes, yes she would.

oOoOo

It had been half an hour since Feyre had phoned Nesta to say they were on the way home, the Archeron’s home, and Azriel had run straight to his car, eager to meet them there. The others had followed, because of course they would. Nesta had told him that his mother knew now, as she had ended up being Elain’s nurse, and that their father had never turned up at the hospital. His brothers were almost vibrating with energy, obviously hoping to witness the scolding he would surely soon receive from their mother.

He was now pacing in front of the steps to the house, waiting for his mother’s familiar car to pull into the driveway and by the time he did see it, he was surprised he hadn’t burned a hole into the floor. As soon as Elain had stepped out of the car and began walking towards the house, he was running and he didn’t stop until he’d reached her and lifted her into his arms.

“Gods, you scared me so fucking much Ellie. You’re not leaving my sight again.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He put her back onto her feet, but didn’t let go of her, keeping her tucked into his chest. He kissed all over her face before reluctantly pulling back and linking their hands together.

“But, you’re alright now though? Everything’s okay?”

“Yes, I’m alright, I promise.”

He didn’t want to ask the next question, but he had to. He had to know or he’d drive himself mad with worry.

“And the baby?”

Elain smiled at him then. That wide and beautifully bright smile that made him feel as if his legs would give out under him.

“Yes, she’s fine too.”

She. A girl.

He was going to have a girl, a beautiful little girl. He cried then, in front of everyone, lifting Elain back into his arms as he breathed out three little words that he hadn’t realised he’d felt until that moment.

“I love you. God, I love you.”

Azriel heard the catch in her breath before she crashed her mouth into his. It was hard and rough before he slowed it down, making it gentler. Their families were watching, but, in that moment, he didn’t care. He parted her lips with his as he tangled a hand in her hair, swallowing her moan as he ran his tongue across the roof of her mouth. She bit his lip and pulled before letting go and he felt the words as she spoke them... making it feel so much more intimate.

“I love you too.”

He tucked her face into the crook of his neck and then looked over her shoulder to see his mother with tears in her eyes, grinning widely at them both. Just as he was about to smile back, the sound of a car engine stopped him, and they all turned to see a car speeding into the drive, watching as it almost swerved into a wall. It pulled to a screeching stop, and then the girls’ father was stumbling out of the driver’s door, clearly drunk as he swayed from side to side with a half empty beer bottle in his hand. When he caught sight of Elain in Azriel’s arms, his face turned murderous.

And then he was coming at them, and Az only had a second to push Elain behind him before her father pulled back his arm with the bottle in his hand.

—————

*peeks from my hidey hole* I want you all to remember that I love you😬 Let me know if you want to be removed/added to the tags💙

Tags: @starlitfangirl @starsauroras @drunken-starz @myfriendscallmeraba @thesirenwashere @empress-sei @elrielllll @stars-falling @cirieael @verifiefangirl @theshadowsinger-and-thefawn @fancyclodpaintercookie @acourtofterrasenandvelaris @silver-flames @queen-of-glass @bamchickawowow @empress-ofbloodshed @sleeping-and-books @b00kworm @kvi-arts @rhysandhlcor @tswaney17 @awkward-avocado-s @judexcardanxgreenbriar @junkiejosten10 @mu-si-ca-l @agem10 @harmonyindark245 @slightly-sane-fangirl @tanaquilpriscilla

#acotar #acotar fic #elain archeron #azriel #elain x azriel #elriel #surprises #surprises fic #feyre archeron #nesta archeron #rhysand #cassian #cassian pov #my fic #rhys’ mother is here #i gave her a name #haz writes

79 notes · View notes

prettyyoungandbored · 4 years

Text

Always There [Nikki Sixx]

Pairing: Nikki Sixx x Reader

Request: Can you do a one-shot where the reader’s the 5th member of Mötley Crüe? It follows the storyline of the movie The Dirt. She’s their rhythm guitarist. She’s Nikki’s girlfriend and was in London with him. They have similar upbringings. Her dad left when she was 3, her mom was a neglectful alcoholic and she called the cops and had her arrested and was in a juvenile home until she was 18. She and Nikki get addicted to heroin. From there, it goes down the same as the movie. No smut, please.

Warning: Drug usage and death.

Author’s Note: I hope you don’t mind but I kind of went a different way with it. Either way, I hope you like it.

Y/N had always heard that when you die, your brain goes through a montage of your life. Of course, she’d scoff at the idea and, in all honestly, it was understandable. When your entire existence had been spent scrapping by and making it through hellfire without a scratch, you start to believe you’re invincible and can survive anything.

But here was she, sitting in what felt like an empty, pitch black movie theatre staring at a huge screen in front of her. The countdown clock ticking.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The montage started black and white and oddly quick. It was as if there was a rush to get through it because it didn’t exactly matter.

Memories of a broken homes flashing one right after the other. Her mother, drink in one hand and cigarette in the other, screaming. She chucks the glass at the wall, pointing a finger and reminding Y/N that she was the reason her father left.

Then there were there were the revolving door of her mother’s boyfriends, each worse than the other. There was the slapper, the alcoholic, the harasser, the pervert, and the all-in-one.

Then came the glorious memory, the one that never left her mind for all these years. The day 10-year-old Y/N called the cops after she took the piece of broken glass her mother threw against the wall and jabbed it into her hand. She told the cops her mother did it and the last time she ever saw her mother was in the back of a cop car.

The memories that followed turned sepia. The various memories of growing up in the juvenile home. Then there was Roger, an employee at the juvenile home. The only one who showed Y/N kindness and treated her with respect. He taught her to play guitar and for her birthday, bought her her first guitar. He was the only adult who understood her and the only one she’d ever trusted.

Then came the one memory that haunted her for years to come. It was the day the head of the juvenile home told her that Roger was killed in a fire at his apartment complex. From then on, Y/N held onto the guitar with her own life, vowing to make something of herself with it in honor of the one person she’d respected the most.

The sepia continued as Y/N watched the day she turned 18-years-old and walked out of the juvenile home. She used the last of her money to catch a bus to Los Angeles.

The second she stepped on the Sunset Strip, she grabbed a newspaper and began looking for bands to join. She found an ad for a rhythm guitarist and went to the address.

She watched as the men scoffed at her, wondering why the hell an 18-year-old chick would even thimble to audition. But then she played and their looks of confusion and disgust turned into amazement.

Then in came the dark-haired bassist who watched her with a smirk on his mouth. While everyone was in sepia, he was in color.

“So am I in?” she asked.

“Fuck yeah you are,” the bassist said. “What’s your name?”

“Y/N.”

“I’m Nikki. Nikki Sixx.”

She could still feel her heart flutter the second he touched her hand and she prayed his eyes wouldn’t leave hers.

What followed were memories of them in full color. The night of their first show, the night they got to know each other and discovered they shared the same upbringing...

and then the night he grabbed her backstage before a show and kissed her.

The way his hands held onto his face as he kissed her urgently. Their tongues fought for dominance until he pulled back and whispered, “I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”

“Me too, Sixx. Me too.”

The chaotic wild manchild had brought her a sense of security and peace. With him everything was easy and it fell to place.

They were soulmates with a bond no one could dare break.

When Nikki left London, Y/N was right behind him. When he started up Mötley Crüe, Y/N was right there giving input to potential band mates.

To Vince, Tommy, and Mick, Y/N was one of the boys and was not to be messed with. Not only would Nikki kill anyone who laid a finger on her, but she wasn’t afraid to beat the living shit out of someone herself.

When a fight broke out at their first concert, Mick watched in awe as Y/N bashed a guy’s face with her own fist.

What followed after was the slow but incredible rise of Mötley Crüe. The intense shows, the after parties that seemed to pass by due to the amount of drugs and alcohol she consumed.

Those memories were foggy, but still somewhat clear. The only clear thing was Nikki.

They’d run down the halls of hotels during their first tour, drugged out of their mind. One drunken night they went skinny dipping.

They’d gone from rags to riches together and with more money came more chaos. Their house on the beach wasn’t the only massive expense.

They had a whole room dedicated to drugs. It was their “special room”. Nikki had gotten hooked on heroin and it wasn’t long before Y/N got hooked herself.

They’d lie on the ground, two broken souls, feeling all the love they’d never felt as children. They’d hold hands and trip together.

After all, the couple who does drugs together stayed together, right? At least that’s what Y/N thought.

But soon the heroin became a dependence. The both of them needed something to feel and their love wasn’t doing it. Nikki needed to feel accepted while Y/N needed to feel loved.

One shot in the arm and suddenly the world was tolerable place for them.

Shooting heroin became like breathing air or drinking water - a necessity.

Even in an unconscious state, watching her memories of her drugged up times made her feel as though she was slipping away from everything else around her.

Then came that night.

Nikki had coaxed her into going to a small party. By then, Y/N was too exhausted to go, but once he told her there was heroin, she agreed.

It was a small and private gathering with rock stars and dealers everywhere. Nikki and Y/N sat next to each other as the dealer injected Nikki. Meanwhile, Y/N injected herself.

It was then she turned around and saw Nikki only the floor, unconscious. Her body stopped, blood running cold.

“Nikki?” she asked, shaking him. “Nikki? NIKKI WAKE UP! NIKKI!”

Everything around her was black and white, including Nikki, who had been the sunshine in her dark world.

But suddenly her body gave out and the film went black.

That was it. That was her life.

That was until a bright light shone. It moved closer, slowly but surely as a voice in the distant called her name.

“Y/N...Y/N...c’mon Y/N. It’s time to come home.”

Accepting her fate, she headed toward the light only to wake up to Nikki’s face. Y/N let out a large gasp as she leaned up in the bed. She looked around, finding herself in the hospital bed before turning to see Nikki.

He was pale with the exception of his blotchy red eyes.

“I thought I lost you,” Y/N whispered.

“I thought I lost you too.”

He held her in his arms as she clung onto him. “I dreamed of you,” she whispered. “I dreamed of my life and everything was in black and white...” She pulled back. “Except for you.”

Nikki smiled, cradling her face in his hands. “Me too.”

He then pulled back and took her hands. “Let’s get out of here.”

“One thing,” she said, grabbing his hand back. “Promise me, we’re never ever going to do this again. I’m not losing you again.”

He smiled and held out his pinky. “I swear on my life.”

With that, she pulled the covers off of her and the two ran out of the hospital hand-in-hand.

Their story may not have been over yet, but whatever was bound to come, at least they had each other.

#nikki sixx x reader #douglasbooth!nikki sixx x reader #mötley crüe #motley crüe imagine #nikki sixx

137 notes · View notes

talietikasero · 3 years

Text

Aria of the Sol

So, this is a preview (with brief context before each scene) for something I’ve been working on for a while. This is a “what if" scenario following the "Aria was revived” ending (/ original implication?). Set in the three-week gap between Revelator and Strive.

[Check it out on AO3]

Scene 1 (Chapter 1): Aria wakes up in the hospital and meets her daughter and son-in-law. [Inspired by “Ch’io mi scordi di te?” by rex101111]

[November 25. Illyrian Royal Medical Center, Patient Room 107. 11:02 am] Approximately five days had passed since she was checked in as a patient. If only she knew the collective shock from the medical staff and those who were waiting to visit their family members when they saw her unconscious form being brought into the facility by Sol nearly kicking the doors off, who had Ky and Sin trailing right behind. Those standing outside were treated to the sight of the Gullinkambi Dark acting as the group's transport, with Daryl's fleet right behind as they were all returning to Eastern Illyria.

“She gonna be alright?”

“Let’s hope so.”

“You’re good to go, Johnny. Thanks for the lift.”

“Anytime.”

“Daryl, drop the girls at my home. Dizzy will be waiting outside.”

“Understood.”

Inside her head, memories of who she was started flooding in from two clashing sources. Source A had recent memories about her days figuring out what it’s like to be human. People tracking her down, one annoyed she got away, another insisting she take off the mask so he could see her face. Source B saw nothing but death and destruction, whether it was from her hands or not. Humanity hated her for this, but she didn’t care. Those foolish “knights" who dared oppose her. That grumpy old man who, against all odds, survived fighting her on seventeen different occasions. Out of those eleven brave souls who participated in the tournament that led to her release, one stood above the rest. When she saw him, it was then that she remembered herself —who they were – before taking her final breath.

“H… How could I have forgotten you? If only we could have talked one last time… Just the three of us…”

“…Justice…? That’s right… The man who created us… our boss! I won’t rest until you lie writhing in agony before me!!”

Vision hazy, she stood alone in a void that seemed all too familiar before seeing two others in front of her. This strange woman with a halo and a pumpkin motif who mirrored her in physical appearance down to the face simply smiled, where the armored monster who she admittedly was frightened by stood idly and stared before nodding. They faced each other, joining their hands before merging as one. She saw her own reflection, still dressed in her researcher clothes. Her identity became clear.

She is Aria Hale, one of the key researchers assigned to the Gear Project.

Various figures and faces she couldn’t put names to appear one by one, two of which appeared to be her old colleagues still dressed in their white lab coats. She wanted to call out to them before refraining as they changed into strange attire. One was covered from head to toe in a hooded robe that looked more like a straitjacket than anything, where the other was clad in red, black, and white, and was the reason for her demise seven years prior. Was this truly how they were in her absence? Everything suddenly went blinding white.

Aria had regained consciousness. Nose crinkling at the sterile "lemon" scent, her eyes slowly opened to see the dimmed fluorescent light above. "Nnnngh, where am I?" Her sudden awakening startled the nurse who was doing her hourly check-in, causing her to rush out the door and call for one of the main physicians. Whoops. Curious about her surroundings, she saw that she was dressed in a light blue hospital gown and had been hooked up to a system that tracked her life signs. This wasn’t the project complex infirmary. Where exactly was she?

When the nurse returned following a doctor, Aria apologized for the unintended scare, to which the latter understood and said she overreacted. After a series of questions regarding any possible issues and if she had any dietary restrictions, the doctor had another staff member bring her something to eat and drink. She wasn’t listening to what they were discussing but did catch “well now that she’s up, please contact his majesty.”

[1:15 pm]

“That was unexpected.” The breakfast she ate wasn’t the subpar hospital food she recalled from back then. Rather, she was given a bowl of freshly chopped fruits, some toast and berry cream cheese, and a mug of coffee with sweet cinnamon cream and sugar mixed in. As an afternoon treat, she was also left a fruit tart, along with a kettle of hot water, a small assortment of tea, and two cups.

Aria was passing time with a copy of the local newspaper in hand while the radio played music, trying to wrap her head around what she was reading. The main story reported that there was this worldwide battle ranging from Illyria to the Japanese Colony. The article detailed various heroes fighting against someone named Ariels's forces; assassins, pirates, a doctor (with a paper bag on his head? What in the hell), some soldiers (oh my god just how large is that man with the helm?), and... is that a girl with wings? What exactly did she miss? Despite not knowing who this blue-haired girl was, she couldn't help but feel a little proud of her, reading the positive things the people were saying. "She saved my life!"

"She refused to abandon us."

"She's like an angel! No, a goddess!”

“If she were Queen, she’d make a perfect match for King Ky.” The hospital's usual noise of medical staff chatting or yelling life-saving orders, wheels on carts and beds rolling, and footsteps were present, but she heard what sounded like a group of people headed towards her room. She folded the paper and placed it on the table next to her bedside, figuring she'd finish reading it later. If there was something that caught her attention, it was the weekly news recap radio broadcast stating that the Gear Maker has turned himself in.

“The ‘Gear Maker’… Asuka’s been arrested?”

"Ah, here we are."

"Thank you."

"Thanks, doc."

"This is exciting! I can't wait to meet her." Was her head playing tricks on her? Those muffled voices on the other side of the door sound familiar yet entirely foreign. Still listening, she saw herself in the mirror the nurse had left earlier. "Well, if they come in here, I can't look disheveled." She lowly muttered as she touched up her appearance; it wasn't too bad, just a light sign of tiredness (she wanted a haircut too.) “…When did my hair become… two-tone…?”

First, she heard a soft, feminine voice. "I think it'd be best if she saw you first. I don't want to scare her. D-don't give me that look, Dad!" Scare her? How could that happen when she'd already seen the worst horrors imaginable?

"Dizzy, look at me. You're not scary. But I see what you're getting at." Whoever the second person in this conversation was, she could sense they were reassuring her of something. It sounded like they were together in some way. "I think she'd be happy to see you." Her eyes widened as the third voice caught her off guard. Is that who she thinks it is? Is it really ---? "Incredible, Sol. Your soft side is showing." "Shut it, Ky." Dizzy? Sol? Ky? Who are these people? "I'd say it's normal to forget someone from before, but you know all three of them. Or at least I did. ~" Who the hell was that? Now there's a voice in her head? Great. She just wanted to sleep again and tell those three to come back later. Now was not the time for having to get answers for every question that may pop up. "Heh. Doctor, could you do the honor?" "Oh, of course." There was a gentle knock on the door. "Ma'am?" "Y-yes?" Aria put the mirror away and adjusted her blanket. "You have a couple of visitors. Is it okay to come in?" "Yes. Please enter." The sound of the door slowly creaking open was harsh compared to the steady beeps of her vitals monitors. She wondered who would step in first but kept her hopes at bay. A blond young man dressed in blue and white was the first to enter. Had she seen him somewhere before? He was older now but lacked the fierce and determined gaze she remembered. Neutral bordering on welcoming, this man bowed as he introduced himself. "Good afternoon, madam. My name is Ky Kiske. I'm the King of Illyria." Oh god, what did she do? How was she supposed to greet royalty, let alone the man who's in charge of everything? Unsure of how to do so, she politely nodded and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, your highness. To what do I owe the honor of a visit?" "It's been a few days but what a relief it is to see you're awake. I hope you don’t mind as my wife wanted to come along, and we brought an old ‘friend’ of yours." "I appreciate the concern." "We're sorry to show up unannounced, but we came as soon as we could." Dizzy was the second to enter the room, taking a seat close to her. "I know this may come off as a shock, but it's nice to finally meet you, Mom." Aria took a moment to study Dizzy's appearance. Features remarkably like her own, mainly in the eyes and face shape. Long blue hair tied with yellow ribbons, a tail, red eyes, and wings. The realization hit her like a freight train as this was who she had just read about. This heroine, the queen, was her daughter. How the child of two stressed-out scientists from over one hundred and seventy years ago ended up as one of the most powerful women on Earth is an answer for another time. For now, she was trying to think of a conversation starter. “Nice to meet you too.”

“It wasn’t until our college years that I met your father.”

“You two weren’t high school sweethearts?”

“If we knew each other back then, something might’ve come out of it. He is two years older than I am.”

“Oh. So, with that if you were a sophomore, he was a senior?” Dizzy may have the mind of a woman in her mid- to late-twenties, but she never had the chance to attend an actual school. She did have an idea about how education systems worked.

“Precisely, though I might’ve been bumped up to the same student standing now that I think about it. Though that would’ve been unlikely as I earned my PhD in my late teens. Our studies differed, with my focus on cytology, and his in magic particle physics, but the two of us were recruited to work for the same project group after graduating. He was confused as to how I could be interested in someone like him – an extrovert and an introvert, respectively. Aside from me and our mutual colleague, he didn’t have very many friends – if any at all.” Aria noticed the expression on Ky’s face, indicating that he already knew about her partner’s lack of social skills. “I guess he wanted to be around me so much that he asked to be transferred to the team I was with, rather than work on his original assignment. All jokes aside, it was really because of how much significance the project held. I think he was tasked on researching some powerful spell. Saint Oratorio, I believe it was called.”

Dizzy turned to Ky, asking something that popped into her head. “Isn’t that what they fired that day?” Ky nodded, remembering the argument on if another energy blast should’ve been used or not. Aria noticed the couple sneaking in a quick glance at the door, then exchanging a knowing look at each other.

“Excuse me for a second.” Ky rose from his seat and headed out the door. “Get in here and talk to her, you moron!”

“I told you I’d go in when I was ready!”

“And when would that be, huh?”

“When you and Dizzy left! Let go of me! AGH!”

The door swung open with Ky dragging a familiar face into the room by the lapel of his jacket. Dark brown hair, olive skin, and those bold rectangular eyes she vividly remembers. The world knew him by a nom de guerre – Sol Badguy. His real identity wasn’t common knowledge, only being known by a handful of individuals – Asuka, Paradigm, presumably Ky, Leo, and the Valentines, and her. He displayed no significant signs of aging despite the time that passed since she last saw him, still appearing to be in his mid-twenties. Aria’s grip on the blanket tightened as she murmured his name. “…Frederick?”

____________________________________

Scene 2: After being discharged from the hospital, Dizzy takes Aria out on a shopping trip. Aria meets a friendly time traveler.

[December 2. Downtown Shopping District. 12:15 pm]

“Let’s get going. There’s more shops to browse."

Although the public started to trust her, Dizzy and Aria went out with two members of the Convict Hammer team as their escort. Thankfully, the citizens were nice enough to give the Queen her space and greeted her whenever she passed by. There were some who gave her “thank you” gifts, ranging from goody baskets filled with sweets and teas to flowers and handmade trinkets, all of which were given to their escorts to carry.

Weather today was a cool 60 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly overcast with scattered clouds. Aria recalled something regarding her accessory choice on a past date. “You gotta be some kind of eccentric to wear a hat on a day like today.” The promenade was bustling with the usual crowds, some people were getting ideas for what gifts to buy for those special in their lives as Christmas was approaching. Aria noticed a family of three walking past a toy store, seeing the child point out what was in the window to their parents. Glancing at Dizzy, who was busy meeting and greeting the people she protected during the recent attacks, she thought to herself “if only I – no, we were there for you back then. That could’ve been the three of us.” It made her chuckle that their escort had to explain everyone needed to wait their turn to speak with her daughter – she is technically a celebrity.

Aria couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. She stood still, noticing everything froze similarly to that fateful day. Out of nowhere, a man with long blond hair, wearing a blue shirt, black pants, a varsity jacket, and a black bandana appeared next to her. His sudden presence nearly made her jump out of her skin. Just like Ky, Aria vaguely remembers seeing him before too. He simply smiled and waved in a friendly manner. “You have nothin’ to worry about. Name’s Axl. I’m a friend of Fre—I mean, Sol’s.” One more person to add to the list of who knows his real name. “He asked me to check on you today. Glad to see you’re doing well.”

Aria blinked at him owlishly. “I’m sorry but did you just say check on me?”

“Yeah, he’s got other business to attend to – can’t say exactly what it is either.” He shrugged, giving her a look that she couldn’t decipher. “He told me to tell you he’s sorry for being gone, but he did add something about making it up to you. We’ll meet again sometime.” Axl raised his right hand, making a peace sign. “See ya ‘round, Ari.”

“W-wait!” Time resumed, leaving her standing in the middle of the sidewalk confused about what she just heard. She tried to find Axl, her head turning to all possible directions, and no trace of him was to be seen as if he vanished into thin air. Her motions bordered on frantic as some passersby gave her puzzled looks. “He doesn’t have the decency to see me in person, yet he sends a friend to say hi and watch over me. Sometimes, I just don’t understand you, Frederick…”

“Madam Hale, is everything alright?” One Convict Hammer asked regarding her wellbeing. “You seem like something's troubling you.”

“I’m fine, really. I spaced out for a bit.” Aria rubbed the back of her neck in attempt to brush aside what just happened. “Sorry.”

____________________________________

Scene 3: Ky takes Aria to the castle. She meets the other Kings and has something to ask one of them.

[December 3. Illyria Castle War Room, 9:45 am]

“The last time I saw this many people staring at screens and tapping away at keys was during a project crunch.” Coffee cup in hand, Aria commented on the operator crew stationed around what looked like a throne on the lower floor. “It was either from a sooner deadline or everyone just decided to make last minute changes on their data. It wasn’t odd to see at least one or two people running down the complex’s halls with a sizeable stack of papers.”

“Not too different from the crew here, but what can you do? We’re only human. Normally, civilians aren’t allowed in here, but I’ll make an exception.”

“He’s right about the ‘no civilian' policy.” A boisterous voice came from the burly man that approached them. “Ky, who is this?”

“Aria, this is Leo Whitefang, the Second King. Leo, this is Aria Hale. You know, my mother-in-law and you-know-who’s partner.”

She nervously smiled at him. “Hi?” Fitting name considering he has a hairstyle reminiscent of a lion’s mane. He towered over them, standing with a sturdy frame at six feet and five inches. She noticed the difference in the two kings’ fashion choices; Ky wore lighter clothes with his jacket placed over his shoulders, where Leo had a heavy coat with a furry lining.

“Oh, my apologies.” Leo apologizing wasn’t something anyone saw often. He gave Ky a side-eyed glare. “A heads up would’ve been nice.”

“One of the few times I decide to drop by, and the God of War's better half is here.” A man who looked to be exactly the midpoint of Ky and Leo's age gap approached the three, briefly bowing as he stood near them. “Good morning, Ms. Hale.”

"Daryl?" Kiske and Whitefang asked in unison. “What are you doing here?”

“With the G4 summit next week, I thought I’d at least consult with you two in person before I go. It’d be a terrible idea if all three of us went, wouldn’t you agree?”

Aria wondered what the Three Kings had for a planned course of action regarding the conference. At the moment, she remembered what she and Ky had discussed on the trip to the castle. She tapped his shoulder and leaned in to whisper “did you forget my idea?”

“Ah, right. That’s one of the reasons why I brought you here. Leo, Aria has something to ask.”

“And that would be?” She didn’t speak, only bumping her fists together. “You want us to do what now?" Leo asked as he crossed his arms. He had an idea of what she meant but would rather hear it from her. "Teach me how to fight. I can't be reliant on others to defend me." "Okay." Ky chimed in. "Okay!?! You're telling me that the woman who used to be Just--- OW!" Aria punched Leo in the stomach as hard as she could. "Don't call me that."

“AUGH! Was that necessary!?” Ky couldn't help but laugh at Leo's expense. "And we're off to a good start. Look at it this way, it's not like we’re placing her in a big role like Ramlethal."

"Dammit, bambino! You have a point. Fine. Report back here at 0900 tomorrow. Your training will begin then." Leo’s communicator went active. Holding a finger up to his ear, he answered and looked towards the hallway. “Hm? Yeah. Alright, I’ll be right there. I’ll get you access.” Click. “That was Ram. Did you not authorize her entry to the armory?” Ky shook his head – the task referred to was Leo’s job. “Before I go, what’s your preferred style? Sword? Shield? Bare hands?”

“You’ll find out when you start teaching me.” Aria replied with a hint of playful snark.

“You really are Sol’s girlfriend.” As Leo walked away, Aria turned to see what looked to be a girl wearing a white body-length cape with red bandages on her left limbs waiting for him. The mysterious girl seemed to be hovering a few inches off the ground and was accompanied by two small flying creatures.

“He’s a bit of a hardass, but you learn to tolerate it.”

“I heard that! There’s a multitude of reasons you’re not as popular as us and that’s one of them!”

“See what I mean. Also, this is for you.“ Daryl handed Aria a medium sized gift bag with pink and purple tissue paper sticking out. Printed with an art nouveau floral pattern, there was a sun emblem on the lower right corner, not-so subtly hinting at who dropped it off. “I didn’t know which flavor you’d like, so I put both chocolate and strawberry desserts inside, on top of your actual gift. Don’t worry, I didn’t look.”

[Kiske Residence, Aria’s room. 5:15 pm]

“If you ever stop by, I hope you like what I picked out…” Aria placed the folded bag in the drawer and slid it shut. She looked to the closet where the other clothing she bought was stored, including a dress and hat like what she owned in the past. Hopefully, she’ll be able to wear it sometime.

“Ram, are you sure about this? We haven’t introduced ourselves yet! She might think we’re being rude.”

“I’m certain, El. At least let me try and speak with her. I’m only the messenger here.”

“Hey, are ya talking about Sol’s gal? Ya know, I was the first Valentine’s companion.”

“Ugh, stay out of this, you big balloon creep!”

“Lucifero. Self-destruct. Why must you follow me everywhere?”

“You’re getting better at this whole showing emotion thing, but you’re terrible at small talk! …okay. I’ll be waiting in our room until you’re done.”

Following the fading footsteps, a rhythmic knock-knock-knock preceded a monotone voice. “Miss Aria? May I come in?”

“It's unlocked.” Her attention was turned to the same young girl from this morning standing in the doorway. She wore a dark blue and white sailor dress with a mint green bow, had amber eyes, brown skin, and cream white hair. “I don’t think we’ve met before, but you’re Ramlethal, right?”

“Of course you two have met! Just not like this! ~”

“Correct. As you may have learned, I am a Valentine, and as such my sister and I were created from you.”

“’Valentine'? Created… from… me?”

“Mother used you as a template for our existence. I can see why now but telling you this isn’t why I’m here.”

“Then why are you? Do you… want to chat? You look like you could use someone to talk to.”

Ramlethal's blank expression shifted to a soft smile. “Perhaps another time, but there’s something I have to do first.” She walked up to Aria and hugged her. “This is from him. Thank you for returning. Sol is much happier than he was before.” She let go and left, gently closing the door behind her.

Aria stood there dumbfounded at what had just occurred. “He’s… happier?”

She took a seat at the desk where she placed her gift from earlier. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she decided to open it. “I know it’s from you, but what exactly did you get me?” Removing the tissue paper and the extra gift desserts, she pulled out a black box. Placed inside was a brown teddy bear dressed as Sol – removable headband included – holding a heart and rose, along with a card that had “to Aria” written on it. Opening it, she read the message.

“Cute plushie, isn’t he? I got this custom made just for you. Even comes with a change of clothes: a purple shirt, black slacks, and a lab coat. Hope you’re not too worried about me. I promise I’ll see you soon. Okay? 🖤”

Aria finally has friends and family, yet without Frederick, she felt alone. Opening the container with the strawberry pudding, she picked up a spoon, and placed a scoop of the sweet in her mouth. “I’ll hold you to that… Really wanted to share this with you too.”

____________________________________

Scene 4: Aria meets her other genetic copy and her grandson. Song used: “Pirates” by Caravan Palace.

[December 5. 6:30 pm]

Reorganizing her belongings, the soft melody from the song currently playing on the phonograph filled the room.

Do me, beauty. Rock me up, yup go once again. Hug me, beauty. Oop, the way this life is clearing into my brains. Fool me, beauty. Let me think of home once again. Hear me, beauty. You gotta hide away the secret of your low bone this man.

“Miss Aria. It’s me, Ram. Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

“I hope I’m not intruding on anything.” Ramlethal was carrying her puppy in her arms to keep it from barging in.

“You weren’t. I was just cleaning up. What brings you to my room?”

“I, uh, wanted to tell you I think your skills are developing nicely.” She chose her words carefully, trying not to sound off-putting. Holding a conversation is something she’s still working on. “I had some downtime and observed again.”

Aria's training today consisted of testing her agility and competence to read and react to opponents. During a brief cooldown period, she did notice the small group of people watching included more. “Who were those two standing next to you, Dizzy, and the others?”

“My younger sister and your grandson. They’re,” Ram paused for a second, “actually waiting outside because they would like to talk to you as well.”

Aria's attention went to the open door, seeing a grey-haired girl and a blond boy with an eyepatch sticking their heads in. “Come on in, you two.”

Elphelt and Sin entered, both taking note of how grand the royal residence's guest room was designed. The younger Valentine was nowhere near as reserved as her sister when it came to talking about something – the first thing that came out of her mouth after seeing Hale was “oh, she’s even prettier in person! I see where Miss Dizzy got her looks from! And by extension, me!”

“Like looking into a mirror, isn’t it? Even more so since you got a new hairdo. ~”

“Weirdly familiar, like I’ve seen you before.” Sin poked his chin, trying to recall. “I remember now, there was the first one with the winged hat who tried to kill the Old Man! She had a freaky Gear form and managed to brainwash me for a bit too. But I can tell you aren’t her since she’s gone.” He was jabbed in the arms by the sisters. “Ouch, what was that for!?”

“You had a brain to begin with, you dope?!”

“El, don’t be rude!”

As the three were fighting amongst themselves, Aria found herself thinking “what in the hell happened.”

[7:43 pm]

“I’m glad I had the chance to speak with you. Is this what is referred to as ‘therapy'?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it that, but let’s say yes for the time being. Hey, what’s wrong? Was it something I said?”

“N-no. It wasn’t. You just seem more like a mother to me than my ‘actual' one. I am aware I’m not human, and she created me as an emotionless doll she threw away when I had no further use.” Ramlethal tried to soothe herself by smoothing out her bandages. Part of her wanted to tell Aria about what happened in Scandiva, yet she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Her magehound started snuggling next to her, sensing the mood drop. “She… she called me a failure.”

Aria grabbed a tissue and wiped the tear that ran down Ram's cheek. After disposing of it – and picking up the Sol bear – she kneeled in front of the Valentine, holding the plush in front of her own face. Using one of the bear's limbs to tap her knee, she had her attention. “Listen to me. She’s the failure, not you.”

Peeking up from behind the toy, Aria was treated to the sight of her genetic copy struggling to keep herself from giggling.

____________________________________

Scene 5 (Chapter 2): Day trip date. Aria brings up a very sensitive subject later that night. (Note: this was written with the game’s implication of a pregnancy. Also, I did some level of research and figured the stage I picked is approximately where Italy's Amalfi Coast is.)

[December 9. L'oro di Illyria. 5:45 pm]

A few hours later, they went for a leisurely trip down south, dressed in their best attempts at incognito clothing. Emphasis on attempt as the suppressor was a dead giveaway (it was worth a shot). Aria was wearing that dress and hat she purchased a week prior, paired with leggings, fuzzy boots, and a warm winter coat. A callback to how he dressed himself in the past, Frederick was wearing a black button-up shirt with a tank top underneath, dark blue jeans, and a pair of Chelsea boots. He also had a mid-long jacket that she brought along just in case, placed under the sidecar’s seat.

“Oh, I remember this place! Heaven’s Edge! It’s where we met for the first time after I left the Sanctuary to get some fresh air. Ah, memories. ~ Or am I remembering wrong? Those sword monoliths look very familiar.”

There’s that childlike voice again. It changed to a mature tone mid-sentence.

“Just who are you? And how can your voice change like that!?”

“Oops, I’m sorry. You see, I’m the previous owner of your current body. My name is J—”

Before this disembodied voice could say her name, Aria’s attention went elsewhere. “You alright?”

“Uh, yeah. This isn’t what I thought you meant by going out, but at least the trip here was fun.” The highway they took was through inner Italy and had passed through numerous towns, of which contained convenience shops to obtain refreshments here and there. “Built that bike yourself, didn’t you?”

“Designed for one so that’s why I made a sidecar for you.”

“Can it turn into a minibike if I wanted it to?”

“What? You’re psychic now? I’m still working on that part.”

“Hey, chief! Ari!”

“Axl? What are you doing here?”

“I was in the area. Thought I’d drop by and say ‘ello. Almost didn’t recognize the two of ya.” He wasn’t used to seeing Frederick, let alone anybody, in anything so casual. Aria, on the other hand, wore that dress nicely. He couldn’t help but feel a slight hint of sadness, as the last woman he saw in a similar clothing article was M— he mentally shook his head and put on a smile. “That outfit looks lovely. Ain’t you a lucky guy?”

“Thank you. Nice to see you in real time and not during a time freeze.”

“Ah, yeah. I wanted to avoid trying to talk in a crowd. My bad if you were annoyed by my choice.” Axl had the power to jump to any point in time and any dimension, yet he’s been frequently visiting for some reason only he knows. “I got something to tell you.”

“I could use a quick snack.” Aria wasn’t paying attention to Low and spotted the outdoor marketplace, noticing the large ship cruising by. “I’ll be over by that fruit vendor. Don’t be too long, alright?”

As Aria left, the two men watched her reach into her purse, taking out a few W$ to purchase an apple. It amused them as she tried to fight the kind vendor about giving her a free apple, insisting that she pay for it as it’s only fair for business. Not only did she end up with a free fruit, but she was also given a bag containing two additional and a bottle of cream soda with a straw. She didn’t look back at them; her attention went to admiring the colorful cliffside residential buildings.

“Do you think I could get a free piece of fruit and a drink too or is she a special case?”

“You might scare the living daylight out of him.”

[9:15 pm]

"So, um, about Dizzy." Aria clasped her hands together and twiddled her thumbs, avoiding eye contact while staring at the paved stone walkway. "I was trying not to bring her up, but what about her?" "I..." She took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "I didn't know how to tell you." She didn't hear a response, worrying her about what Frederick was thinking. A moment later, she felt a hand rubbing her back, taking this as a sign that he's listening while trying to soothe her. "I already experienced how you reacted when I told you I was sick with that infection, but I didn't want to make that worse by telling you you're going to be a father. I don’t recall how far along I was, but you shouldn’t have had to live with knowing you’ll never see your unborn after I was gone either." He remained quiet a bit longer before reaching to wrap his arm around and pull her closer. Not too suddenly as he didn't want to give off the wrong idea, but once he saw her ease into him, he placed a kiss on the crown of her head. “Do you remember your birthday where I showed you that programming ‘error'?”

“You mean the ring? Of course I do. I didn’t mind that you didn’t have the real one because your method was so cute. It was so… you. If neither of us killed the mood, I would’ve told you I was looking forward to changing my name to Aria Bulsara.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn't occasionally think of some alternate time where we truly settled down. We were still scientists and met under the same circumstances, but there was no Gear project or magic, and you didn't have an illness. Or at least one you didn't tell me about near your last days." "Wha--... really?" "Yeah. Then all this shit happened." His voice was deceptively calm, yet she could sense the rage beneath it all. "My conversion and the resulting amnesia, your conveniently timed 'disappearance', and the destruction of the complex with countless deaths were the beginning." "Then decades later I lost control of my mind and body and waged war against the world. That stubborn geezer never quit, but then Ky and you showed up to seal 'me' away. I don't think I felt it, but during my imprisonment, that's when I gave birth?" "Sounds about right. We're living in one of those stories I used to read when I was bored. The reader turns out to be the hero, where someone very close to them was used as a twist villain."

____________________________________

Scene 6 (Chapter 3): Aria takes up the offer of becoming a bounty hunter, taking up the alias “Luna". Her new outfit is a blue, black, and white version of Sol's, with a pair of blue goggles in place of a headband. Song used: “Seven Seas of Rhye” by Queen.

[December 10. Somewhere in the Illyrian outskirts. Midday.]

“No targets today, so do you wanna just relax? I think there’s a beach just up ahead.”

“We’ve been on the road for a few hours, so a rest period at a beach sounds perfect right now.” She noticed what song was currently playing, having already passed the bridge. “Oh, I know this one! It’s one of my favorites.” Clearing her throat, she began singing along. “Storm the master-marathon, I’ll fly through.”

He couldn’t help but smile and continue. “By flash and thunder-fire and I'll survive (I'll survive, I'll survive).”

“Then I'll defy the laws of nature and come out alive,” she pointed a finger at him. “Then I'll get you!”

“Be gone with you, you shod and shady senators.”

“Give out the good, leave out the bad evil cries.”

He clenched his fist and held it up. “I challenge the mighty Titan and his troubadours.”

She placed her index fingers at the ends of her mouth. “And with a smile.”

He pointed towards the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea as they sang the last line together. “I'll take you to the Seven Seas of Rhye!”

[Nighttime.]

A cool 55 degrees, the night sky was clear as the stars strewn throughout were in full display. They sat by a bonfire, sharing drinks and leaning back against the Firewheel Mk.2, enjoying the other's company. There was a brief squabble on whether they should find an actual motel room to stay in for the night, with Aria winning as she convinced Frederick to sleep in a bed as opposed to the ground.

Fire crackling paired with sounds from the nearby wildlife, she thought of a conversation topic. “Hey, do you wanna hear something weird?”

“Shoot.”

“Before I woke up, I saw myself, Justice, and someone else.”

“Oh yeah?”

“It was unnerving. She looked just like me but had a halo and her hair was the inverse of mine. My first day at Ky and Dizzy's, I scrounged around and found a cracked one that looked just like what I saw. Along with an iron mask, a crux ansata, black heels and gloves, and a white jumpsuit. It all fit me perfectly! I was considering wearing that instead of this.”

“Jack-O.”

“Huh?”

He took a drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out before continuing. “To bring you back, a special Valentine was made that contained the other half of your soul. Her name was Jack-O.” He butted the cigarette before tossing it into the fire. “Ram, Sin, and I chased her down before any additional damage could've been done. Then a few days later, she reappeared with Asuka, and struck a deal with us. Said something like ‘if you can get me close enough, I can fuse with Justice to revive, well, you.’ I thought they were full of it. Turned out they were telling the truth.”

“He's right! ~ I took off my mask and told him I was literally half of you. Nearly lost his mind right there. Sorry about the forced mind override, but you refused to accept it, and he wasn’t going to back down. ~”

“That explains the voice in my head. I wonder how her stuff got into my room though.”

“She’s still in there?” He gently poked her forehead. “I can imagine when you wear these, she also sees life through blue tinted lenses.”

“You’ve got puns now? I knew I should’ve gone with a pink color scheme.”

“Blue’s more your color.”

#guilty gear #aria hale #only tagging her since she's the main character of this little project #i wasn't much of a fan of ggst's story so here's my idea #this is a sol / aria story but i tried including a good amount of supporting cast #it's not perfect but i've been trying to write while doing like five other things #nat's fanfics #wip #sorry if everyone sounds even slightly ooc #i tried to get everyone's speech patterns right #even asked one of my friends and he said i did a good job #criticism welcome #i dunno when this will be done to my liking #so i'll post this preview #i'll probably receive my ao3 invite before i'm done lmao

1 note · View note

luci-in-trenchcoats · 4 years

Text

Dazed and Confused (Part 7)

Summary: Dean Winchester grew up wanting to be a cop. When he gets kicked out of the police academy on a fluke though, he turns to a life of crime. After breaking up with Dean and seeing him committing a crime in the act, the reader becomes an officer herself and eventually a detective. Four years after that day, the reader is sent undercover to figure out what Dean is up to. Only she has no idea how far Dean is willing to go to keep her from finding out the truth…

Pairing: AU!Dean x reader

Masterlist

Word Count: 2,800ish

Warnings: language, scary situations, violence, murder, etc.

A/N: This series has been on Ao3 only for awhile now and I am finally reposting here as well. It’s not new but it may be new to you. Please enjoy!...

______

When you got to the hospital, the entire department was there, lingering around the hallways, the side eyed glances you’d gotten just days earlier when people came to visit you all but gone, replaced with apologetic looks.

“Someone is targeting my people,” said John, speaking to the most senior members of the department. “I want everyone on high alert and…Y/N. Sam.”

“Hey dad,” said Sam, John pulling him into a hug, Sam tense at the contact but he could easily pass it off as being worried for his friend. “I heard about Jack.”

“He had an Uncle listed as his emergency contact but we haven’t been able to get in touch with him yet,” said John. “I don’t think the kid has much in the way of family.”

“Yeah he does,” you said, glancing around, John nodding. “What happened?”

“We got a call about an unconscious stabbing vic just down the street from his apartment from a neighbor coming home around 8. He lost a lot of blood. Serious injuries. He might not wake up,” said John, glancing toward the room down the hall.

“Can I see him?” you asked.

“Yeah,” he said, waving Sam along with you. “Just be prepared.”

You grimaced when you turned the corner into his room, seeing Jack hooked up to a million different machines, bandages everywhere on his body.

“Y/N, you have no clue how those drugs got in your system. Someone nearly killed Jack tonight,” said John, turning to Sam. “If you see or hear from your brother, you call the police immediately, understand? Someone is attacking officers and we just helped a federal investigation on him. I can’t think of anyone else that would-”

“Fuck you,” said Sam, storming off down the hall, John going after him. You sighed, knowing Sam was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, no matter how pissed John got him.

“Hey, Jack,” you said quietly, walking over beside the bed, doing your best to think of him as a vic and not a friend. As soon as you got that perspective, you nearly lost it.

His injuries were identical to those on Mary. Maybe the cuts hadn’t been as deep. Maybe John didn’t have time to finish what he started but it didn’t matter. You’d stared at her file enough the past day that you knew whoever attacked Jack killed Mary.

“Hang in there, Jackie,” you said, patting the top of his head. “We’re going to get him. I promise.”

Out in the hall, Sam looked like he’d settled down, John looking calmer as they spoke quietly.

“Everything alright out here?” you said.

“Dean is our number one suspect. I’d like if you were on protective duty for Sam,” said John, Sam rolling his eyes. “Something you want to say, Sam?”

“No, sir,” muttered Sam, glancing at you and then the ground.

“Keep him in your sight at all times,” said John. “Please.”

“What are you going to do?” you asked.

“Bobby and the senior boys will work the scene. Everyone else we’ll send out on a manhunt. Check old buildings, out buildings, abandoned businesses...Dean’s got to be around here somewhere,” said John.

“I’ll keep Sam safe,” you said.

“Take him back to your apartment. Sam, you do exactly what Y/N says, got it?” asked John.

“Yes, sir,” said Sam, walking towards the elevators without you, John scoffing.

“He has no idea how hard this is for me. He just thinks I hate his brother,” said John. “I’m only trying to keep him and everyone else safe.”

“I’ll talk to him,” you said, John nodding his head. “Can you post someone here at the hospital? For Jack?”

“Yeah,” said John. “We’ll make sure whoever did that doesn’t come back.”

“Thanks,” you said, meeting Sam at the elevator, Sam shaking when the doors were shut.

“Y/N,” said Sam with a croak.

“We’ll stop your dad, I promise,” you said.

“What if Jack dies?” he said in a whisper. “He should have been with us. The runt was no match for dad. Hell, our dad killed his dad.”

“Sam,” you said, grabbing his hand. “I need you to calm down for me. The doctor’s will do what they can for Jack and he’s tough. We need to stay focused, keep ourselves safe and give Dean a heads up to find a better hiding place.”

“How are you so calm?” asked Sam.

“I’m going to take care of you, that’s why,” you said, Sam taking a few deep breaths. “We aren’t going back to my apartment Sam. Your dad must have gotten the knife to go after Jack with.”

“We know exactly where it is,” said Sam. “But wouldn’t he have made it look like Dean did it?”

“Yeah, which is why we need that knife. If he doesn’t have it, he can’t incriminate Dean,” you said. “At least not concretely.”

“How do we stop dad?” asked Sam.

“One problem at a time, Sam,” you said. “Now buck up. We got a job to do still.”

“Where the hell is it?” asked Sam, both of you staring dumbfounded at Dean’s room.

“I don’t…” you said, the sound of a door opening downstairs shutting you both up.

“It’s me,” said Dean, holding up his hands as you went to the top of the stairs. He lowered them when he saw you cocking your head. “Dad’s not going to check his own house for me.”

“Go to my apartment,” you said. “Hide out there. It’s safer.”

“Any luck finding it?” asked Dean.

“No. He might have it on him still. Go now Dean. We’ll do one last check and meet you there,” you said. Dean was out of the house quickly, Sam sighing as he lay on Dean’s old bed. “Sammy, we should get going soon too.”

“We both know Dad was after me. You could walk away from this,” said Sam, sitting up with a short smile. “Just go and be safe from our crap.”

“Sam,” you said, grabbing his hand, pulling him to his feet. “I got crap too. I’m not leaving my boys.”

“Do you have a father that murdered your mother? Tried to murder you?” asked Sam with a scoff.

“Actually, yeah,” you said. Sam blinked down at you, shaking his head. “Not the time or place but yes Sam. I understand. Now let’s go.”

Sam was quiet the whole way back to your apartment, Dean poking his head out from your bedroom with a tiny wave when you got there.

“Your apartment’s nice,” said Dean.

“You climb up the fire escape?” you asked. Dean nodded, Sam going straight for your liquor cabinet and pulling out a bottle. “Easy Sammy. We’re still on red alert.”

“Did she tell you her dad’s a psycho too?” said Sam, Dean pursing his lips.

“A while ago, yeah,” said Dean. “I told you mom was your fault to keep you away. I told her the same thing pretty much.”

“Only difference is…” you said, reaching for the bottle, keeping it away from Sam.

“You don’t have to tell this story, Y/N,” said Dean.

“It’s Sam,” you said with a smile. “It’s okay.”

“So what did happen?” asked Sam, hopping up on your counter, watching you slide into a barstool, Dean doing the same.

“My dad just snapped one day. We never saw it coming. He brought us down to the basement, killed her, tried to kill me and...I killed him before he got the chance,” you said.

“You...you killed him?” asked Sam.

“I might have been just a kid but a gun’s a gun,” you said. “It was self-defense but...shit stays with you.”

“But you seem so...normal,” said Sam.

“I wasn’t going to let that asshole ruin my life,” you said. “You guys aren’t going to let your dad ruin yours either.”

“Sammy, get some rest,” said Dean, stealing his undrunk glass away.

“Dean,” he said, Dean pouring the alcohol back in the bottle, putting it on the shelf. “Dean.”

“No booze from anybody. We got to be sharp and that means rest. You two have barely slept in days,” said Dean, grabbing Sam by the arm and tugging him over to your couch.

“Seriously? Now you’re going big brother on me?” asked Sam.

“Yup,” said Dean, pushing Sam down on the couch, pulling off his shoes and tossing them by the front door. He grabbed a blanket from nearby, threw it over Sam and moved one of your kitchen chairs behind your door.

“Dean, come on, I’m-”

“Sleep, Sammy,” said Dean, ruffling his hair, shutting off the light. “Come on, Y/N. Your turn.”

“Night, Sam,” you said, walking down the hall to your room, Dean smiling at you. “I don’t need to get tucked into bed.”

“I was hoping you’d let me crash in here with you. I haven’t slept on a mattress in over a week,” he said.

“Yeah,” you said, patting his old side of the bed before you moved around, shredding your clothes and throwing on your pajama shirt, Dean cocking his head when you spun around to find him in his boxers and shirt. “What?”

“Is that mine?” he asked.

“Your shirts were always comfy,” you said, crawling into bed, Dean laying on top of the covers. “Dude, get under.”

“Is that appropriate?” he asked.

“We used to have sex. All the time. We can sleep under the same covers, Dean,” you said. He shifted around until he was underneath, his leg brushing up against yours as he chuckled. He moved his foot on top of yours.

“Your feet are still freezing,” he said.

“Some things didn’t change,” you said. He nodded and pulled his foot away, sliding to the edge of the bed, turning his back to you. “I forgive you.”

“What?” he said, turning onto his back, twisting his head to face yours.

“I forgive you. For what you said. For what you did. I understand and I forgive you,” you said.

“I don’t accept,” said Dean, your hand catching his arm. “I’ll never forgive myself for destroying your lives.”

“If you’d never joined the FBI, Sam and I wouldn’t have done what we did. Your dad would have gotten away with what he did and maybe one day you’d wake up with Sam gone and your dad having pinned it all on you. What would we have done then?” you asked.

“I don’t know,” said Dean, staring up at the ceiling, quiet for a long time before he spoke again. “Why do you always have to do that? Make me feel better when I just want to feel like shit?”

“It’s a skill,” you said, finding his hand and interlacing your fingers with his. “This morning, before Jack showed up...I wanted to talk to you...about us.”

“What about us?” he asked, not bothering to look at you.

“Did you maybe want to try again?” you asked.

“You know the answer to that,” said Dean.

“I asked what you want,” you said.

“I told you,” he said.

“No you didn’t,” you said.

“I am not the same person I was,” he said.

“Neither am I,” you said.

“You don’t know me,” he said.

“Deep down I do,” you said.

“Do you have any idea how screwed up I am? I’m not normal anymore,” he said.

“When have any of us ever been normal? We fit because we aren’t normal. I can deal with your crap. You can deal with mine,” you said.

“I can’t protect you,” he said.

“It’s not your job,” you said.

“Yes, it is,” he said, finally twisting his head around. “No one ever protected you.”

“No one protected you,” you said. “Are we going to do this all night, Dean? I get it. You’re different. But why did you come to me in the first place? You trusted me. If you’re going to protect me, I’m going to protect you.”

“Jack’s dying in a hospital bed. Sammy’s on his hit list. You might be next. Sam was right. I never should have brought you into this,” said Dean, swallowing thickly. “Leave and be safe. I’ll take care of Sam. We’ll find a way to catch dad. It’s not your fight, Y/N.”

You flung yourself out of bed and went to your closet, Dean sitting up, probably half-hoping you were packing up a bag and leaving. Instead you pulled out a box you’d debated throwing away half a dozen times but never could. You tore off the lid, pulling out the envelope and letter on top, tossing them over at Dean.

“Do you remember that?” you asked, Dean squinting his eyes in the dim light.

“Where did you find this?” he asked, shoving the letter back in the envelope, handing it back over.

“You packed up so quickly you forgot about that,” you said, putting the letter back in its place. “I didn’t find it until a few months later when I moved out. It was behind your dresser.”

“It’s just a letter, Y/N,” said Dean.

“No. It’s not,” you said. “Why would you write a letter like that and hide it from me? You were never good at the big romantic speeches, that’s why. You had to write it down, cross things out, make it perfect until you had it memorized and could pull it out when you finally got up the courage to ask.”

“It’s been four years,” he said. “People change.”

“I bet you could recite it word for word right now,” you said.

“I’m not-”

“You were in love with me. You wanted to marry me. You wrote a damn speech, Dean. You’re right, it’s been years. All I am asking, all I want to know right now, is if you want to start over. Do you want to try and be happy again?” you asked.

He was rigid, eyes focused on his lap but the smallest nod of his head made you crawl back into bed with him.

“Alright,” you said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, pulling him flush against you. He was like putty, the tension out of his body once and for all, his head resting on your pillow, nose brushed against yours.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“I know, baby,” you said, Dean wincing like the name burned him. “It’ll be okay.”

“We need to sleep,” he said, nuzzling his body closer to yours like he could hide away in it.

“Go ahead. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Except when you woke up about six hours later, Dean was shaking you awake, hands covered in blood.

“Y/N,” said Dean, voice trembling. “S-Sammy…”

You shot out of bed, Sam taking ragged breaths on your blood covered couch.

“C-Call the police,” said Dean, shoving your cell phone in your hands. “G-Get him s-safe.”

“What-”

“I heard, I thought S-Sammy was up, so I got up to check and I saw...it had to be dad. T-Through the fire escape. He took off,” said Dean, throwing on his clothes. “I gotta run. I gotta...I gotta stop dad. No matter what. I gotta stop him.”

“Dean,” you said, watching as he ran over to Sam, running a hand over his head.

“You’re gonna be okay, Sammy,” said Dean. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“You t-think I’m gonna d-die or something,” coughed out Sam with a smile. “Go. Y/N’s g-got this. You just stop…”

“I will,” said Dean. “Y/N. Watch your fucking back until I end this once and for all.”

“Dean. If you kill...you’re giving him what he wants…” you said.

“I’ll catch him. Call an ambulance. Now. I’ll...I’ll call you when I got him cornered.”

______

A/N: Read Part 8 here!

#supernatural #spn #dean x reader #dean winchester #au #spn fanfiction #series

73 notes · View notes

sorceress-coffee · 4 years

Text

The Battle of Two Bridges

AO3 Link

As consciousness returned slowly, I could make out a soft beeping, playing to a steady rhythm above my head. Another soft rhythm playing to my right. I tried to sit up, only to be pushed back slowly onto the bed. When did I get home?

“You need to take it slow; you were burnt pretty bad.” A voice called out.

My eyes opened to a room shrouded in darkness, the blurred form of Claire was the one who had pushed me back. Shifting my head to the right I could see Jim in a hospital bed hooked up to a few machines, the heart monitor had been the soft beeping. “What happened?” I croaked, trying to get up again.

Claire sighed, helping me sit up gently, moving the back of the hospital bed into a sitting position. “Do you remember anything?” She asked, handing me a glass of water.

Taking it, I nodded slowly before gulping it down. My entire body felt like it was burnt raw. “Goblins in the woods… Jim’s amulet was fake. Burning…” I trailed off glancing at Claire’s hands that had been bandaged. “You tried to help. Then, Jim’s armor.” I finished, frowning at her bandages. “I’m so sorry Claire.”

Claire smiled softly, waving it off. “They’re not that bad, minor compared to whatever happened to you.” She explained, gesturing to my arms covered in bandages, I could feel more around my torso and legs as well. “You started to glow when Jim called for the amulet. It must’ve been painful.” She sighed, “Jim finished off the goblins and then a pink monster- troll- attacked us. I ran to get help, by the time we got back both you and Jim were unconscious. My dad called for ambulances and you were rushed here.” She explained, watching Jim’s chest slowly rise and fall with his steady breaths.

I smiled softly, shifting my arm to hold her hand. “Thank you.” Looking over the bandages I groaned, “Think there’s a way we can explain this without telling everyone about Trolls?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t possible.

Claire frowned, looking over both our bandages, “Not sure, I told them we were attacked by animals in the woods, but I couldn’t place what they were. It won’t account for the burns though.” She explained. “So, what is going on? Jim is kind of obvious, magic armor equals magic destiny, but what about you?”

Sighing, I reached out my hand, summoning Midnight in a flash of light. “It’s magic,” I held out the collapsed weapon for her to take. “I’ve been studying in Trollmarket.” I shrugged.

Claire’s eyes widened, taking the weapon carefully. “Can anyone learn?” She asked quickly, keeping her excitement down as to not wake Jim.

I paused, thinking over what Vendel has taught me so far. “Not entirely sure. Vendel, my teacher, said I was born with magic. Blinky, Jim’s trainer, has mentioned that Jim doesn’t have magic in his blood. So, I guess if someone had magic in their bloodline, they could learn magic?” I explained, not too sure how it worked myself.

She nodded, tracing the crystal veining in thought. “So, you’re a mage, Jim is a ‘Trollhunter,’ is that what I saw in your basement?” She asked before turning bright red, realizing she admitted to breaking into our house.

Laughing softly, I nodded, “That was Draal, he protects our home when Jim has to go on missions.” I explained. “The basement is his room.”

Claire’s jaw dropped, “Wait. Draal, as in your boyfriend? That Draal? The one that gave Jim advice for the kissing scene?” She asked quickly, sitting on the edge of her seat.

My face burned scarlet, remembering my slip up when Jim was wearing the Grit-Shaka, “Yeah, that’s my Draal.” I told her, rubbing the back of my neck, “Sorry about that by the way.”

Claire shook her head quickly. “No, no, I just… You’re dating a Troll?” She asked confused. “Isn’t that difficult as a human?”

“Well, I’m not a human, so I’ve got that going for me,” I explained, hoping she wouldn’t freak out on me. “Sorcerers, Wizards, Witches, whatever you want to call it, have the appearance of a human, but they’re made of magic and are more Troll-like than Human-like.”

Claire nodded slowly, processing my explanation, “So, exactly how are you different besides the whole magic thing?” She asked, setting Midnight next to my covered legs.

I hummed, collecting my thoughts, “I don’t know much honestly, this is still new to me. I do know I’m more durable, I’ll age extremely slow like I’ll be centuries old and still young. There are also different magic abilities from wizard to wizard. I can wield daylight, which is only carried in Merlin’s bloodline. I can enhance my physical strength, heal, and teleport as well.” I sighed, realizing I knew next to nothing about wizards. “Look, Vendel would be better at answering your questions, I’ve only known for a couple of months now.”

Claire nodded, “Does that mean I get to go to Trollmarket?” She asked, a hopeful glint in her eye.

I laughed softly and nodded. “Why not? Jim takes Toby already. I’m sure one more fleshbag won’t cause too much excitement.”

Claire giggled at the use of ‘Fleshbag,’ “Is that what they call us?”

“Oh yes, and you will hear it a lot,” I confirmed with a grin.

Claire smiled before looking over my bandages again, “So, if you can heal, why haven’t you tried to?”

I winced looking down, the pain our conversation had dulled being pulled to the front of my mind. “It would be suspicious if I came in with burns and they mysteriously disappeared overnight,” I explained, holding out my hands to her, palm up. “Hands.” I nodded to her own bandaged ones.

Claire glanced at her hands before carefully setting them in mine. I smiled softly and began the healing incantation, eyes, and palms glowing a soft blue as warmth spread to Claire’s hands, healing the burns under her bandages. I dropped my hands after, smiling. “That should do it.”

Claire was eyeing her hands, stretching them out slowly. She jumped out of her chair when she realized the pain was gone. “That’s amazing!” She exclaimed, covering her mouth quickly and glancing at Jim.

I smiled at Jim, still resting quietly. “Nomura did a number on him…” I trailed off, “I’ll be able to heal us when we get discharged.” I told Claire, trying to dispel her worries.

She smiled softly as the rain began to pour outside. “I’ll leave you two to rest, it’s been a long night. Thank you for your help.” I smiled, waving her off as she left for home.

Jim awoke as the world began moving with the morning, rain still pelting our hospital room window. Holding his head, he slowly sat up. “Did a bus hit me?” He asked, trying to focus.

“Nah, just Nomura,” I spoke up, snickering when Jim jumped at my voice.

His eyes locked onto my frame, focusing slowly, “What the hell happened to you?” He asked, noting all the bandages.

I shrugged, “Something to do with the amulet I think, other than that, no clue. How’s your head?” I asked worried Nomura may have done actual damage.

“Fuzzy, sound hurts a bit, but at least it’s still attached,” he tried to joke, using the remote to raise the head of his hospital bed. His phone lighting up on the table between our beds. He picked it up frowning at a single missed call and voice mail.

“What’s up?” I asked at his confused stare. Trying to get a peek of his phone screen.

“Voice mail, from Strickler,” He replied, showing me the screen.

I tensed seeing the teacher’s contact on the voice mail. “I don’t like this.”

Jim let out a sigh, eyeing his phone, “Nomura said I had to open the bridge, they can’t do it without me.” He explained that was the only reason he hadn’t been killed last night.

I nodded to his phone, “Shouldn’t you listen?”

He nodding, starting the voicemail on speaker, Blinky’s voice coming from the phone. “Master Jim,” Blinky sounded stressed on the other line, Jim and I exchanged a look of panic, “you must listen to me very carefully.” He paused for a moment, “They have captured me and you to come to the Bridge, “he trailed off, sighing before his voice continued, “alone.” I twisted on the bed, throwing my legs to hang over the edge, trying to get up as I stared at Jim’s phone. Jim held a hand up trying to get me to stop, listening to the voice mail intently. “Don’t come! It’s a trap!” He yelled out! “River Ee-” his voice became muffled.

“Give me that!” Strickler snarled out, having taken the phone from Blinky. “It appears things have grown awkward, Mr. Lake.” He began, Blinky’s muffled protests fading out. “Meet me in the alley beside the theater if you ever want to see your friend again.”

We could hear a crash as Blinky’s voice cut through again, “Don’t open the Bridge! Under no circumstan-” and the voice mail cut off.

Jim and I stared at the phone, trying to process everything that was said. “They have Blinky,” was all Jim could get out at the moment.

I carefully got up, walking over to him slowly. Jim shifter over so there was room for me to sit with him on the bed. I climbed in, minding the bandages covering most of my limbs. “He’s going to be okay. We’ll figure something out Jim.” I tried to comfort him, mind spinning over all the details.

Jim held my hand, careful of the burns, he replayed the voice mail, over and over again. Focusing on different parts each time until Toby knocked on the door.

Toby walked in, frowning at the extend of mine and Jim’s injuries. “Are you two alright? You look like someone just died.” He said, standing next to Jim.

Jim sighed, playing the voice mail for Toby. “I’ve listened to it a hundred times now, and I still don’t know what to do.” He said, throwing his phone down onto the bed.

“You don’t have to do this alone. You’ve got Arrrgh, Draal, River, and me.” Toby explained, trying to help Jim.

“They said I had to be alone.” Jim snapped. “If I’m not, what do you think they’ll do to Blinky?” He asked.

“Blinky made it clear. ‘Under no circumstances.’” Toby tried to defend.

Jim squeezed my hand glaring at his phone. “Enough friends have gotten hurt because of me. River’s covered in burns because the amulet was stolen. No more.” Jim told him.

“Really? Because Strickler was the one who stole it right? We also have no idea if that’s why, whatever happened in the woods, happened.” I argued back, pulling his hand to look at me. “People aren’t getting hurt because of you. They’re getting hurt because of Gunmar.” I snapped.

Toby sighed, pulling something out of his bag, “Well, Jim, It's your call. You’re the Trollhunter.” He handed the amulet to Jim. “Here. I picked it up in the woods after you two were dragged away. I thought since we all found it together, we’d always be in this together.” He pointed out to Jim.

Mom came walking into the room with a clipboard, smiling at us. “Hello, Toby.” She greeted.

“Hey, Dr. Lake,” Toby greeted as Jim hid the amulet. “I was just leaving, they’re all yours.” He said, running around Mom quickly. “Can you believe it? Coyotes!” He asked, running out the door.

Mom closed the hospital curtain, walking back over to us. “You both have good friends; one even stayed all night.” She smiled, sitting with us.

“Yeah, there’s really no one like Toby.” Jim chuckled, adjusting in the bed.

I snickered; Jim had no idea how much Claire cared about him.

Mom smiled at me before addressing Jim again. “Actually, it was a girl. She said her name was Claire,” she explained, checking over Jim’s scratches.

Jim’s eyes widened as he glanced to me, I only shrugged back causing him to let out a flustered laugh.

Mom looked between us before sighing, “I want you to talk to me and I expect to hear the truth.” She told us, voice going stern. “What were you doing in the woods?” She asked us.

Jim glanced at me before thinking of what Toby had said, “Well,” He started, “Claire thought she heard her brother crying in the woods, so we went in.”

“And something attacked us. They looked like weird dogs, so we thought it might be coyotes.” I finished, trying to be convincing.

“The truth.” Mom ground out. “Your scratches,” She turned to me, gesturing to the bandages, “you have burns. Those weren’t from coyotes.” She pulled up Jim’s scratched arm, glancing at the scratches again.

“I swear! You can ask Claire.” Jim tried again, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

I winced, shifting away when he brushed against my burnt leg. Mom frowned seeing I was still in pain. “Stop lying to me!” She snapped, checking my bandages. “You both come home from school covered in bruises, sneak out in the middle of the night, get arrested for a silly Chubby Tracker?” She asked, standing from the bed.

“I know you’re angry but!” Jim tried again, mom grabbing our hands quickly, carefully holding mine.

“Angry? I’m not angry and I’m long past worried. I’m terrified.” She explained. Holding our hands close as she continued. “You’re young and you think you’re invincible, but one of these days, you’re gonna… find out you’re not. We all do,” she sighed out, staring at our clasped hands. “Please, tell me what is happening to my kids.” She pleaded, looking between us.

When Jim looked away, mom pulled back to take out the letter he had written before his fight with Draal. I winced at the memory, glad to see the letter was still closed. “Jim’s letter?” I asked her.

Mom nodded, looking up to Jim. “I found this in a cookbook.” She explained, holding it out to Jim.

“It’s… Still sealed.” Jim noted, looking from the letter to mom.

“Whatever is happening, whatever it is you’re afraid to say, I want you to tell me, face to face,” She explained, reaching out to hold Jim’s face. “There was a time when you used to share everything with me. Both of you did.”

Jim smiled softly before looking away, frowning at the hospital bed. We both knew this was something we wanted to protect her from. I sighed, clasping my hands in my lap, keeping my eyes locked on them as mom turned her attention on me.

“Fine,” Mom finally spoke, getting up to grab her clipboard, back facing us. “If that’s the way you feel, your doctor has discharged you both. Mr. Lake, help get Ms. Wyllt home,” She instructed, waking from the room quickly.

I winced, grabbing Jim’s hand as the door shut behind mom. “Jim, I know we want to protect her, but won’t this be worse?” I asked, worried about how worried mom will be from now on.

“We can’t risk her getting involved, Toby’s just as involved as we are, and now Claire knows too.” He sighed, getting up and grabbing out stuff. “The fewer people that know, the better. Besides, if mom did know, you think she’d just let us keep going to Trollmarket? Let us fight Bular and Changelings?” He asked as he helped me up, getting us out of the hospital as soon as possible.

“Alright, I’ll concede on that one,” I huffed, wincing as we took a cab home due to the rain.

Once we were home, Jim helped me up the steps and into the house where Draal was pacing. Spotting us, he rushed over, carefully assessing the bandages. “What happened? The Toby said you had been attacked last night saving the Claire.” He asked quickly.

Jim smiled softly, letting Draal take over helping me into the house. “We’re not exactly sure. The goblins were after Claire, we found out that the amulet was a fake, I called the real one to me, I think River reacted to it too, her magic went crazy, and then Nomura tried to kidnap me.” He babbled on, trying to get us much information out in one breath as possible.

Draal’s jaw tightened at the mention of my magic getting out of hand, sneering when Jim mentioned Nomura trying to kidnap him. “Impure.” He ground out, looking down over my bandages. “Why did your magic ‘go crazy’?” he asked, helping me sit on the kitchen counter as Jim began looking for something.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think it had to do with whatever Jim did to summon the amulet,” I explained before starting the healing incantation, a soft glow covering my arms, torso, and legs.

Draal turned to Jim, frowning. “That shouldn’t have been possible. If the amulet is stolen, it shouldn’t be able to make it’s way back to you.”

Jim nodded, pausing in his search, “Blinky mentioned that when Chompsky stole it, I wasn’t able to summon it then, why was I able to now?” He asked, worried.

I hummed softly as the glow fade, burns now healed. “Well, Merlin made it, made because I share his blood?” I asked, “I mean if I can use daylight, and the sword and armor are made of daylight…” I trailed off as Draal and Jim both turned to me.

Draal thought it over, “Blinky may know, or Vendel.” He suggested.

Jim sighed, taking out his phone. “Blinky’s been captured by Strickler, I have to go help him.”

Draal’s jaw dropped, turning to Jim. “How do we know that?” Jim played the voicemail for him, waiting to see his reaction. As Blinky’s messaged played, Draal tensed staring at the phone. “Play it again,” he instructed. Jim started it over again.

Blinky’s voice filled the kitchen again, “They have captured me and you to come to the Bridge… alone. Don’t come! It’s a trap! River Ee-”

“There!” Draal snapped, “What was he saying to River?” He asked Jim.

I frowned, listening close to the message again. Focusing on the muffled parts, “It almost sounds like,” I trailed off, eyes going wide. “It’s Eemeli.”

Jim frowned at the phone, “Does that mean they have him too? Why would they take him?”

“What’s the plan?” I asked Jim, knowing we were going after Blinky and Eemeli.

“Your plan,” He stated, searching through the kitchen again. “Well, your goblin plan.” He clarified.

“The Chubby Tracker?” I asked grinning.

“Yup, I’ll go meet with Strickler while you two get Arrrgh and Toby, you’ll track my location, and once you’re certain we are at the bridge, you’ll bust in and help me get Blinky and Eemeli back.” Jim grinned up at Draal and me.

Draal snarled, “I don’t understand. Why do you need to go it alone?” He asked Jim, worried for him.

“Because this is the only way it will work. You have to trust me on this, Draal. Jim answered, searching through the cabinets.

Draal sighed, leaning against the counter next to me. “I trust you, but I also fear for you.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he continued. “You are walking into a den of death. For What? Blinky?” He asked. Worried for Jim’s safety.

“I’d do the same for you,” Jim responded right away, causing all fight to leave Draal instantly, finally locating the Chubby Tracker. “Just get Toby and Arrrgh. Be ready.” Jim told him, pausing before leaving to look back at Draal. “If anything goes wrong, if it means anything, I hope you’re the next Trollhunter.” He said before taking off into the rain.

Draal sighed as we watched Jim leave, “And I hope it won’t come to that.” He spoke softly. I hugged his arm, watching Jim disappear in the rain.

“Let’s go, we should start tacking him,” I said pulling Draal over to Toby’s house quickly.

“River! Draal!” Toby greeted as we piled into Nana’s garage. “Where’s Jimbo?” He asked, worried he took off alone.

“We need you to track the Chubby Tracker,” I explained Jim’s plan quickly to Toby and Arrrgh. “Wherever he ends up, we need to be ready to fight.”

Toby nodded quickly, handing me his phone to keep an eye on as he grabbed somethings to make armor out of, Arrrgh helping him reach a platter. “So, we track Jim, bust in, fight Bular and Changelings, rescue Blinky, and make it out in time for Jim’s play!” He rattled off, grabbing his phone and taping it to the platter, strapping that to his chest. He finally grabbed an old pot and a baseball bat. “Ready to go!” He grinned up at us.

I nodded, looking at the phone strapped to the board, “They’re moving from the alley! Let’s go.” Summoning Midnight, we took off into the city, thankful it was raining heavily, and that no one was out during the storm.

Toby continued to update us on Jim’s movements as we headed into town. We paused near the park gazebo, waiting for the tracker to update. “Uh… I don’t know if this is right,” Toby spoke up, gaining all of our attention.

“What’s going on, Tobes?” I asked quickly, worried the app wasn’t registering.

Toby turned to show me his screen, “If that’s where the bridge is, then wouldn’t that mean they moved it back?” He asked, pinching at the screen to zoom in on Jim’s location.

“They took it back to the museum!” I hissed out, taking off quickly, Draal running on all fours next to me. Arrrgh lifted Toby onto his back as he caught up with me. We avoided what little traffic has gathered and entered the museum quietly.

I motioned for the guys to silent, waving them along as I made my way to the roped-off section the bridge had been residing in. As we neared the plastic curtains, we could hear several voices, most notable were Jim’s and Blinky’s.

“Oh, Master Jim, why did you not heed my warning?” Blinky asked, trying to sound like a stern parent only to come off as worried sick that Jim had shown.

“You promised we’d build that Vespa together. Remember.” Came Jim’s voice, I could hear him hesitate for a moment, “Where is Eemeli? Let them go,” He demanded.

I could hear Bular chuckle at that, “Still in the dark?” He asked Jim, the sound of his sword unsheathing. “Open the Bridge. I will not ask again.”

I could barely make out NotEnrique’s voice as Jim’s steps drifted further from the plastic curtains. Blinky began to yell at Jim, trying to get him to run away, not to risk releasing Gunmar for his safety. “Master Jim! One Troll’s life isn’t worth the risk! Think about Trollmarket! Your friends! Your family” He yelled.

I frowned hearing Blinky’s words. “One troll,” I mumbled out, something didn’t feel right. What had Bular meant by still in the dark?

Draal nudged me when I began to mumble, worry evident on his face. He tilted his head to the side in a silent question.

I drew closer to him, keeping my voice as low as possible, “Blinky said we’d be risking everything for ‘One Troll,’ he never mentioned Eemeli or a human being kept here. Something is wrong,” I spoke quickly, eyeing the plastic.

Draal’s jaw tightened and I could see gears turning in his head, he thought of something. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know, Eemeli could be held somewhere else, left for dead, or Bular could’ve eaten him. I gripped Draal’s arm tight, trying to reign in my panic. Draal, nuzzled his nose against my cheek, helping me calm as our attention was ripped back to the curtain, the tracker sounding off on Jim’s arm.

Nomura’s voice cut in with a sneer, “He’s wearing a tracking device. You said the Trollhunter was alone!”

Jim’s voice cut out over the others, “Not Trollhunter. Trollhunters!” He yelled out as Arrrgh tore down the plastic curtain.

Toby was positioned in front of us, bat raised to the ceiling. “I am Toby! Grandson of Nana! Fan of hard rock!” Announced, similar to how Vendel greeting him when they first met. He tapped his phone and soft Jazz began to fill the room.

As everyone was distracted by the Jazz music, I glanced around the room quickly, trying to assess the fight ahead. Blinky was hanging upside down near the bridge, he seemed to be in once piece, and very confused over Toby’s choice in music. Bular was looking between Jim and our group, a single sword drawn for the moment as he tried to wrap his head around the music. Jim was standing in front of Bular on some scaffolding, which could be dangerous if it got knocked over. Strickler and Nomura were positioned directly in front of us, Strickler I would have to keep an eye one, I’ve never seen him in a fight. NotEnrique was perched behind them, sneering at our group until he locked eyes with me, his sneer quickly falling to a frown.

In front of the bridge opening, next to the scaffolding back, was a large ruby-colored Troll, or Changeling, that I’ve never seen before. Our eyes locked, and a twisted grin split his face as the music finally changed to Papa Skull. Jim summoned his armor as Bular yelled for our death.

Draal took off with a roar and Bular cut down, aiming for Jim’s head. Daylight barely stopped Bular’s blade as Draal spun up the scaffolding, slamming into Bular, claiming his opponent for the time being. We broke off quickly as the changelings and goblins recovered from Draal’s rampage. The goblins began to swarm Jim, Arrrgh and Nomura were locked in combat, and Toby went for Strickler’s Gronk-nuks before going to cut Blinky down. NotEnrique was attacking the goblins acting as if it was an accident.

The ruby changeling came charging after me, that twisted smile never leaving his face. I activated Midnight as he drew near, using my teleportation spell, I was behind him in a flash of light. He hesitated the moment I disappeared. Using the opening it granted, I charged Midnight with enough magic to stun Draal, and launched at his back, piercing his left shoulder.

The changeling snarled but otherwise seemed unaffected by the attack as he grabbed Midnight from his shoulder, yanking it out roughly. His grin grew as he turned to face me, holding Midnight out of reach. “I was hoping we’d get to fight again. I wasn’t allowed to break you before.” He snarled out.

My blood froze at the sound of his voice, Eemeli’s thick accent penetrated the troll-like gravel. Eemeli was a changeling, that’s why he had taken the Troll news so well. I took a step back, trying to steel myself. Eemeli was not a friend right now, he was an enemy who helped kidnap Blinky. My jaw tightened as I bared my teeth at him, “Who’s next? Should I expect Coach Lawrence?” I snarled at him, holding my left hand out as Midnight tore from his grasp, returning to me.

Eemeli and I were circling each other now, he seemed to be satisfied with taunting me at the moment. “Coach? No, he you don’t have to worry about. Did you honestly have no idea? Some random foreigner moves to your city, your school, as you’re looking for Changelings, doesn’t freak out about Trolls, and is quick to join your little hunting party.” He smirked, “and the little Witch is oh so happy for him to join. To be honest, pissing your mate off was fun.”

I growled, realizing Eemeli had been scenting me to distract Draal. “The more changelings I meet, the more I realize Jim and Draal may have been right,” I spoke, alluding to the fight Eemeli had witnessed between Draal and me.

Pain flashed across his face before he let out a roar, charging after me again. “What does a witch know about us?” He yelled, slamming his horned head into my torso, knocking me back.

I yelped, rolling over as soon as my back hit the floor, getting up quickly. “I know you weren’t born a Changeling,” I growled back as he charged again. This time, I was ready. I hooked Midnight’s blade on one of his horns, using all my modified strength to throw him back against the bridge. “I know a witch created the process of turning Trolls into Changelings.”

Bular and Draal smashed through the lower half of the scaffolding, it to fall towards Eemeli and me. I froze, wanting to help Eemeli and knowing I should just move. I heard Eemeli yell out as he ran into me full force, throwing of us out of the way. He snarled, getting up, falling back into a fighting stance.

I sat up, shocked that he ended up helping me instead, I frowned watching him. I could see he was fighting himself, making himself continue the fight. “and I’m sorry. I’m sorry you were taken so young. I’m sorry a Witch tortured you, changed you. I’m sorry Gunmar has control. I’m so sorry Eemeli.” I told him, flipping Midnight blade down and impaling the ground. This wasn’t a fight I could finish. “Changeling or human, I hope you’re still Eemeli,” I told him, standing up to face him as Strickler used Jim to open the Bridge.

I quickly grabbed Midnight’s staff as the portal opened, pulling debris in quickly. Eemeli’s claws sunk into the floor keeping him grounded. I looked past him and into the portal, color draining from my face as I could make out Gunmar’s from on the other side. My eyes began to burn bright as my magic responded to the Amulet, I let out a pained scream as my grip tightened on Midnight. The Amulet was pulling magic from me, quickening the process of opening the bridge.

NotEnrique climbed up the side of the Bridge to the Amulet, trying to pull it out. The magic began seemed to electrocute him before he shot off onto the balcony of the museum. Draal let out a deafening roar as he abandoned his fight with Nomura and ran for the bridge. Quickly climbing up to the Amulet he began to pry it out, yelling as the magic began to burn him.

At his yells, my eyes snapped open in time to see Nomura attack him, trying to pull him away from the Amulet. I forced my magic towards the Amulet, the resulting overflow slammed into Nomura, throwing her off of Draal, next to Eemeli and me.

As the portal began to pull her in, she snarled, catching my ankle and sinking her claws into my flesh. I shrieked as her claws tore through my flesh, letting of Midnight as the pain of having my skin flayed overtook my senses. Nomura released my ankle now that I was being pulled toward the portal along with her.

I could faintly hear someone yell my name as red overtook my vision. Suddenly I was sent rolling across the floor. Eemeli had moved to save me again. He slammed into me with such force that it sent both of rolling until he crashed into one of the concrete pillars. Falling over me, he sunk his claws into the ground, keeping me pinned so I wouldn’t get pulled into the portal again.

As I saw Bular pull free from Arrrgh, a burning sensation surged through my skin as the Draal was encased in a blinding light, pulling the Amulet free. As soon as the Amulet had been pulled from the bridge, the residual magic exploded within the Bridge. Eemeli lowered himself to shield me as debris shot past us until only a pile of rubble remained. My eyes slowly returned to normal and the burning sensation calmed as the dust settled around us.

Eemeli slowly stood, helping me up to stand as he surveyed the damage. My eyes shot to Draal, he laid near the plastic curtain, his right arm had turned to stone, falling off his body. “Draal!” I screamed, flashing to him immediately. I forced magic into my palms, reciting the healing incantation, praying to anyone that he would be okay.

Jim slowly rose from the rubble of the bridge, “huh?” He paused, eyes landing on me, frantically pouring everything I had into the healing spell. “Draal!” He howled, running to us. He slowed near Draal’s arm as it crumbled, revealing the Amulet that had been in his palm. Jim let out a pained sigh as he picked up the Amulet. Both of us had been on the verge of tears as soon as we saw the state Draal was in.

A labored groan reeled us both in, hovering near Draal’s face, I held my breath, watching as he slowly opened his eyes. “I’d hand you the amulet, but,” he began, I cut him off hugging him as tight as I could.

Tears had started to roll off my cheeks like streamers. I pulled back just enough to kiss him, summoning all my worry, relief, and happiness that he was alive, and burning it into the kiss. Draal had been in shock at the move, recalling Jim’s explanation of kissing. He leaned into the kiss enough to return it, still unsure of anything other than smashing faces together, and too groggy from the explosion to try anything else.

Jim choked, startled by the sudden show of affection but chose not to comment on it as I pulled away from Draal. “You’re alive!” Was all he could get out, surprise, relief, and exhaustion overriding his brain at the moment.

Bular’s roar ripped through the moment. Blinky and Arrrgh were uncovering the sewer grate as a means of escape. “Master Jim, we must leave at once!” Blinky yelled to us.

“Help me, Arrrgh!” Jim asked, trying to get Draal on his feet, causing Draal to groan out in pain, still injured from the explosion.

Eemeli came up next to me and nodded to Draal in a silent question. I nodded quickly, “Please,” I asked. He slid Draal’s injured arm into his helping him up as Arrrgh rushed over, getting Draal back on his feet.

As Bular broke through the rubble we made our way to the sewer, rushing water filling the entire tunnel. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” Jim yelled at the water, looking around for another way out.

“No way! I’m not gonna jump in the sewer! There’s gotta be a chicken surprise down there! Maybe two!” Toby yelled, disgusted with our choice of exit.

I followed Arrrgh and Eemeli helping Draal over, pulling Midnight from the ground as we passed it. While the boys were arguing I looked back to see Bular getting out of the rubble. Without a second thought, or waiting for the boys to make up their minds, I jumped into the water. I used Midnight to light up the tunnel as the water pulled me further from the museum. Thrusting the blade deep into the concrete wall I was able to stop myself from being pulled further. Arrrgh noticed the light from Midnight and was able to ground himself near me. He caught Blinky and Draal and they were swept by, holding them tight. As Toby was hurtling past Arrrgh, he used his teeth to snag the bike tire holding the chest plate board, keeping Toby with us.

Eemeli wasn’t as heavy as Arrrgh and was pulled through the current quickly past them. I reached out, barely grabbing hold of his clawed hand. Once I stopped his movement, he was able to sink his claws in the concrete sewer, keeping him in place for the time being.

Jim careened past us, slipping through Toby’s hands. As Eemeli reached out for him, Bular slammed into Jim, sending them into a canal exit and out of sight. As soon as Jim disappeared, Arrrgh began slowly moving towards the canal exit, being careful not to let anyone go.

I tugged Eemeli’s arm to gain his attention as Arrrgh passed up. Inhuman or not, I was running out of air and needed to move, if I didn’t know if I could teleport far enough to get out of the sewer of if I had enough energy to try. Eemeli quickly turned to me, I nodded to his claws, stuck in the concrete, then down to Midnight, still impaled in the bottom of the sewer. Eemeli quickly caught on, grabbing my arm tight, his claws retracted until he was our combined arms’ length away, sinking them into the wall again. I pulled Midnight from the ground, waiting until the water couldn’t pull me further and impaled the blade into the floor again. Eemeli and I repeated, able to keep up with Arrrgh as we slowly made our way out of the canal.

As we breached the water, I gasped for air quickly. Eemeli was using his claws to climb out of the canal. Arrrgh had gotten Draal and Blinky up the slope of the canal when we surface. I tried to teleport onto the slope as the current pushed me past Eemeli, but it seemed that healing Draal had used most, if not all, of my energy. As Arrrgh was pushing Toby up the slope, he caught sight of my exhausted form slipping back under the water. With a snarl he shoved Toby to Blinky before launching himself after me, pulling me out of the water as he climbed the slope himself.

I gasped for air again, not realizing I had breathed in the water when I drifted under again. Two voiced were calling my name but Blinky’s cut through my daze, “Jim! Oh, no!” He bellowed, all six eyes trained on the bridge where Bular had Jim pinned, crushing him.

I felt, more than saw, as Jim’s ripped the amulet from the armor, impaling Bular with daylight as my body surged with heat, causing Arrrgh to drop me onto the slope as I had burned his arm, reacting to the surge in the Amulets magic.

Draal and Eemeli rushed over as the magic faded, both worried at the fall. Arrrgh grumbled, picking me up when it was safe. He nosed the top of my head gently, “Sorry, burning.” He apologized.

I waved him off, smiling to Draal and Eemeli with a thumbs up to let them know I was okay. “No big deal. I know how much that hurts.” I winced as the pain from this morning flashed in my mind.

We made it onto the bridge as Jim slowly pulled himself off the ledge, flopping onto the sidewalk, too tired to care.

Toby took off running to him, laughing in relief at seeing Jim. “You’re alive!” He exclaimed, tacking Jim in a hug.

“Master Jim!” Blinky yelled, appearing to be on the verge of tears as he hugged both boys tight with all four arms.

Arrrgh gently set me on feet when we reached them. “Happy,” was all he said as he lifted everyone in a group hug, effectively squishing Jim and me the most.

Jim groaned out a laugh, grinning, “Guys, I was almost squeezed to death. Ease up a little.” He spoke, though he was content with the hug.

I nodded, squished under Draal’s chin, “I would request breathing,” I told Arrrgh, happy everyone was alive, wincing at tonight’s ever-present burn in my lungs.

Arrrgh set us down gently, Toby was jumping with excitement, “I can’t believe it. You killed Bular, the son of Gunmar, man!” He shouted.

Draal took a deep breath, “My father has been avenged. Thank you, Trollhunter.” He smiled as Jim turned, patting Draal’s intact shoulder.

Jim turned to look over everyone, making sure there weren’t any more serious injuries. His eyes landed on Eemeli, awkwardly standing near Draal and I, in Troll form, “Wait, didn’t he attack us?” He asked, his attention cut between the goblins and Strickler during the fight.

I leaned against Draal, ankle still thrashed from Nomura’s claws, slowly letting the air fill my lungs as Eemeli fidgeted under everyone’s gaze. “That would be Eemeli,” I spoke up, Draal grumbled, pulling me closer to him. “He saved me twice tonight. More like three times.” I looked up at Draal, nuzzling under his chin.

Toby had his arms crossed, glaring at Eemeli, pissed off at being tricked by the Changeling. “Oh yeah? Does that makeup for him helping the others kidnap Blinky or, I don’t know, trying to kill all of us?” He shouted.

“No,” I looked to Eemeli, “as far as we know, he did help with Blinky’s kidnapping, and at first he seemed to be out for blood.” I grasped Toby’s shoulder, pulling him back to look at me. “But, when the scaffolding crashed down, he pulled me out of the way. When the bridge opened, Nomura was being pulled in, and she tore me away from Midnight, into the portal with her, if Eemeli hadn’t caught me, I’d be in the Darklands right now.” I sighed out, looking to Eemeli. “He could’ve left me in the sewer as well, I didn’t have enough energy to teleport out, but instead, he helped me get to the canal where Arrrgh could pull me out of the water.”

Blinky hesitated, looking between Eemeli and me before speaking, “Lady River, do you trust him then?” He asked, unsure of how to feel about Eemeli himself, after being hung upside down for so long.

I shook my head, frowning, “I trusted Eemeli as a human, and everything was an act. You,” I directed to Eemeli, “I don’t know yet. You helped me today, but after everything,” I gestured from Blinky, in regards to the kidnapping, Jim for forcing him into a situation that almost released Gunmar, and to Draal, for trying to distract and get between us. “It might be possible, but I don’t know how you’ll earn that trust again.” I finished.

Eemeli nodded, shifting back to his human form. Hesitating as he looked over the group, landing on me again, “You… apologized, it wasn’t you, so… why” He asked, still processing everything that happened during out fight.

I smiled softly, looking at my hands, “We don’t always have a choice in who we are, some more than others. I didn’t know of magic or the world of trolls until a couple of months ago. To find out about what I am, and what one of my kind can, and has done, to young trolls… it’s heartbreaking. I can’t imagine having your identity stripped from you and living under Gunmar’s rule.” I explained.

“Empathize,” Draal grunted out, recalling my use of the term when we spoke briefly of our parents.

Eemeli hung his head, trying to process everything, “Thank you, if you require a Changeling, well… you still have my number for the project.” He stated, running off quickly.

Blinky began to yell after him. “You can’t just leave!” He griped out.

Arrrgh held onto Blinky’s overall straps, keeping him from running Eemeli down, “Needs time.” He told the four-armed Troll. Said troll, huffing in annoyance.

Toby, having perked up when Eemeli decided to leave, grinned taking out his phone, “We destroyed the bridge and defeated Bular! And with minutes before your play starts!” His grin fell to horror, “Oh, no, the play!” He yelled out.

Jim jumped at the reminder, “The play! I almost forgot!” He groaned, hitting his head with an armored hand.

Blinky grinned, grasping Jim’s shoulder. “Hurry, Master Jim! Leave Killahead to us.” He gestured between Arrrgh and himself.

A growl from the bridge alerted us as Bular, quickly turning to stone, pulled himself up, over Toby. He raised both fists to strike Toby as his body turned to stone, the forward momentum kept the attack going. Arrrgh’s eye glowed, the whites turning black as the grooves in his body lit up. He rushed forward, covering Toby as he slammed his fist through Bular, shattering him.

As Arrrgh calmed, the glow faded. “Arrrgh, your oath…” Toby gasped out, still in shock from Bular’s attack.

Arrrgh glanced at his arm, shaking his head, “Your life more important. Not pet. Wingman.” He explained, holding his fist out to Toby with a grin.

Toby sniffled, bumping his knuckles with Arrrgh. “Ditto buddy,” He said, hugging his fist. Arrrgh picked Toby up so he could stand in his palm. “Now, let’s go take care of that bridge and make sure it never opens again,” Toby announced from his perch.

Blinky grinned, turning to Jim, “And, you, Master Jim,” He paused, giving Jim a proud smile. “The play must go on.” He shooed Jim and Toby off quickly so Jim would make call time. “Alright everyone, let's get back to the museum quickly.”

I laughed, shaking my head, “I’ll have to sit this one out, literally,” I pointed to my combat boot, caked in blood from Nomura’s claws.

Arrrgh lifted my up, careful not to jostle my ankle as he set me on Draal’s shoulder. “Get Vendel.”

Blinky nodded quickly, “Excellent idea Arrrgh! We’ll need help moving the Bridge, and you both can tend to your wounds.”

Draal winced at the thought of going back to Trollmarket, “I can’t,” he argued, glancing at my ankle, worried about the wound.

I scratched softly between his horns, hoping to ease some of his anxiety. “We just helped defeat the last Gumm-Gumm running free. If they try giving either of us shit, I’ll stab ‘em.” I told him. Grinning as I felt him chuckle.

Draal nodded to Blinky and Arrrgh, taking a Horngazle from Blinky, he headed back into the canal, staying out of the water as he drew the portal. I held on tight to his horns as he jumped through, landing awkwardly as he adjusted to only having a single arm.

As we headed down into the market, most Trolls had enough sense to stay out of way. A few whispered and jeered at Draal and his injury, but one snarl from me and they went running. “for however old these Trolls are, they act like middle schoolers.” I spoke up from my perch.

Draal chuckled, “How young would that make them?” He asked, unsure of when a human went to middle school.

I tapped my chin in thought, “Between 10 and 13 years old, usually.” I told him, snickering, “so, children, or whelps.”

Draal barked a laugh as we entered the Heartstone, heading to Vendel’s study. “If that were the case, they would have no control over their bowels.” He teased.

I smirked, hanging over his horns to look him in the eyes, “If we scared them bad enough, they wouldn’t have control over their bowls now.” I grinned, a wicked shine to my eyes.

A huffing Vendel pulled our attention back to the task at hand. He was standing in the doorway of his study, glaring us down. “What is going on out here?” He asked, before taking in our injuries. “You miss one lesson, and you return bloodied, exhausted, and you" he waved to Draal, "are missing an entire arm!” He lectured, exasperated with Draal and me instantly. “What did you do?” He ground out, all but shoving Draal into his study to care for our injuries.

“Well, first, we saved a kidnapped Blinky, disrupted the Changelings in Arcadia, Killahead Bridge exploded, that’s what hurt Draal, and we defeated Bular!” I counted on my fingers before sliding off of Draal’s shoulder. “Which reminds me, Blinky and Arrrgh need help clearing the remains of the Bridge. They’re at the museum.” I explained.

Vendel’s jaw continuously dropped lower during my explanation until he was staring at us, slack-jawed in disbelief, “Bular’s gone? We have the Bridge? And the Trollhunter?” He asked slowly, trying to recover from the shock.

I nodded, leaning against Draal’s arm. “Jim had a human event he had to run off to or he’d be here,” I reassured him.

This seemed to snap Vendel out of his stupor. He quickly pulled my thrashed boot from my injured foot. Cleaning the wounds in silence before wrapping them. He finally spoke up again as he moved on to smoothing Draal’s injured arm. “Then we have reason to celebrate! Once the Trollhunter returns from his human duties, of course!” He grinned, taking measurements of Draal’s arm. “We should have a prosthetic available that will fit…” He hummed in thought, calling in a troll to send out for the prosthetic and to tell others to head to the human museum.

Draal sighed in relief now that the jagged ends of his injured arm were smoothed out. I nuzzled against his shoulder, “How are you feeling?” I asked him softly, this was the first moment we had that we weren’t rushing to escape or get help.

Draal hummed softly, extending the stump, “Better now that it’s not stabbing me.” He turned, nuzzling the top of my head, “I have a feeling if not for your healing, I’d be in worse shape than I am.”

I frowned, thinking over what happened when the amulet was drawing on my magic. “I think I made it worse.” I sighed out, “The amulet was siphoning my magic while the bridge was activated like I was an extra battery for it.” I shuddered; ghosts of my magic being pulled from me was an unwelcome sensation.

Draal curled his arm around me, pulling me tighter to him. “Is that what happened last night? When you came home covered in burns?” He asked worried, still upset that he couldn’t do anything while Jim and I were stuck in the hospital.

“You what?!” Vendel cried out, walking in when Draal mentioned the burns. “Why were you burned?” He asked quickly, checking over to see if he had missed any injuries.

I sighed, curling tighter against Draal, “I think it had something to do with the amulet. Strickler stole it, and Jim was able to summon it. When he did, it was like my body was burning from the inside out. My veins lit up with magic, they were glowing! Is that another sorcerer thing?” I asked, confused about what was happening. Uneasy seeing how worried Vendel was.

Vendel frowned, examining the visible veins on my wrists. “No, I’ve never heard or read of a sorcerer who ‘lit up’ with magic… That’s a Trollish trait.” He explained, nodding to himself when he doesn’t find any more injuries. “You’re both exhausted. You should rest here for the time being.” He stated, allowing Draal and me to stay.

Draal nodded, keeping me close to him. “Thank you Vendel,” He spoke, finally letting the exhaustion sink in. His shoulders sagged, almost caging me in against his chest.

Vendel hummed, going about his study until a large orange troll walked in with a mechanical prosthetic arm. The Troll’s gawked at the sight of Draal curled around me on the stone table. Vendel took the arm quickly, shooing the Troll out before they could do or say anything. Vendel carried the arm to Draal’s stump, fitting the holding mechanism into his stone skin. Once the holding mechanism was properly adjusted, Vendel began to attach the arm. “Try lifting your arm,” he instructed to Draal, making minor adjustments until it moved fluidly. “Alright, try the hand and fingers.” Vendel went through adjustments, grip, and minor strength tests with Draal while I dozed off in his lap into the early morning.

Loud cheering erupted through Trollmarket, drawing closer to the Heartstone. I quickly shook off sleep, wondering if the news of Bular’s demise and taking the Bridge had spread through the market. I sat up, still on Draal’s lap as metal footsteps caught our attention.

Jim quickly ran into the study, excitement and relief crossing his face as he saw Draal and I were patched up. “How are you two holding up?” He asked quickly going to stand by Vendel as he and Draal finished adjusting the prosthetic arm.

Rubbing the last of the sleep from my face, I grinned at Jim, motioning to my ankle. “Patched up, I’ll heal it up the rest of the way once I get some more rest,” I explained. Nudging Draal’s jaw with a smirk.

Draal nodded to Jim, stretching out his new arm. “Banged up, but we’re breathing,” he chuckled. Getting up with me cradled in his stone arm, he nodded his head to the doorway. “Trollmarket is celebrating.”

Jim nodded quickly, “I know! It’s insane! Blinky, Arrrgh, and Toby are waiting for us at the bar. That is if you’re feeling up to celebrating.” Jim smiled knowing Draal and I had taken the most damage today.

Draal hummed, looking down at me for an answer. I smiled nodding to him, “I’ll be useless on a dance floor, but I could hang out to celebrate our victory.” I teased, kicking Jim’s shoulder with my uninjured foot.

Face splitting in a grin, Jim’s excitement returned immediately. He led us out of Vendel’s study and out to the bar. As we entered, the bar erupted in more cheers for all of us. Arrrgh waved us to their usual table, already filled with drinks, human and troll safe. Draal laughed, taking a seat next to Blinky keeping me on his lap.

Bagdwella lifted her mug to Jim, “All hail Jim! The Bular slayer!” She yelled out in a toast as shouts, and cheers of agreement surround us.

“Hey! Who wants tacos?” Toby yelled out, as he ran towards our table, shoving a taco in Draal’s prosthetic hand before running around to shove another in my hands. “Taco for you. Taco for you.” He called out, running back into the crowd of trolls, still dispensing tacos to everyone.

Draal laughed, throwing the taco in his mouth. “Mmm, taste like the ones from our ‘date’,” he chuckled.

I smirked, taking a bite of mine, “Yup! These are definitely from Stuart’s Taco Truck.” I grinned, eating quickly.

Blinky’s voice cut through my momentary food high, “Don’t let it go to your head, Master Jim. You still have training to do.” He instructed. “Hero’s forger is unforgiving to those who are not afraid.”

“Don’t forget midterms,” Jim laughed, glad to have some semblance of normalcy with Bular gone.

Vendel passed behind the boys, chuckling as he stopped, “Lighten up, Blinkous. Why do you always have to be such a grump?” He asked the six-eyed troll, his drinks were definitely taking effect. “We have the Bridge. Trollmarket is safe once again,” he cheered.

Blinky nodded, glancing at a distracted Jim, then to me, “But their teacher changeling is still at large.” He explained to Vendel, rightfully worried.

Vendel grinned, grasping Blinky’s shoulder. “I trust our Trollhunter can handle it,” he laughed. “He has an excellent trainer.” A warm smiled covered Blinky’s face at the compliment, turning a proud smile to Jim.

As the party died down and tacos ran out, Jim and Toby helped me hobble out to sit on the steps, overlooking the Heartstone to get a little quiet time.

“Well, you said you wanted adventure and something more.” Toby started, finishing off the last taco. “Did that amulet help you find it?” He asked Jim.

Jim hummed softly as he leaned back next to me, pulling the amulet out. “No,” he stated, causing Toby to choke.

“Really? No?” I asked as Toby recovered.

“You did.” Jim smiled at both of us.

Toby smiled, trying not to get teary. “I knew you needed me,” He laughed out.

Jim’s face grew stern as he leaned forward, staring out at the Heartstone. “I’m going to need you both now more than ever, Tobes.” He sighed, gripping the amulet tight. “I don’t know how, but we are gonna get Claire’s brother back.”

Toby’s Jaw dropped, “That place is huge, Jim! Enrique could be anywhere!” He said, throwing his arms out, gesturing the entirety of Trollmarket, as if I didn’t cover a fraction of the Darklands. “I wouldn’t even know where to start looking.” He sighed.

“Not to mention we’d be walking directly into Gunmar,” I spoke up, worried for Enrique now that NotEnrique was useless to the Gumm-gumms.

“We’ll figure it out,” Jim shrugged, smiling at us. “We always do.”

#Trollhunters #trollhunters fanfiction #trollhuntersoc #trollhunters oc #trollhunters draal #Draal #draal the deadly #DraalxRiver #DraalxOC #River Marie Lake #River Marie Wyllt #river of arcadia #episode 13 #the battle of two bridges

15 notes · View notes