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connorwhumpaddict · 2 years

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Deserving Of Pain (Part 5)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Epilogue

Summary: Reed is finally found out, but not before he manages to cause more damage to Connor.

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Chapter 5: Caught blue handed

Reed entered the transparent office space belonging to Captain Fowler. The burly man glanced up from his notes briefly before activating the opaque function of the glass around them, giving them some privacy. Fowler put aside his papers and silently gestured for Reed to take a seat opposite his desk, eyeing the detective as he did with an unreadable expression. Reed held his gaze firmly on the bronze plate with Fowler’s name and rank at the front of the desk, purposefully avoiding his commanding officer’s eyes. The captain crossed his arms and leaned heavily forward on his desk and took a deep breath, like he was steeling himself for the conversation that was surely going to follow.

“Look at me detective Reed.” Fowler demanded, his voice even, but still holding a firm authority.

Reed obeyed the request even though he would have preferred not to. However, he held up his usually scowling look of bored indifference. He didn’t want to give Fowler the satisfaction of seeing how small he really felt at this moment.

“I want you to tell me exactly what went wrong with you yesterday. You mismanaged a crucial assignment, by missing a child in the bomb threatened building, as leader of the evacuation team.” Fowler said, his voice calm but his eyes hard.

Reed swallowed hard. “I.. I was certain I’d cleared all areas, sir. I don’t have an explanation..” But he knew why. The thought of the Tin Can once again thinking it was special just because it had its fancy scanner and gadgets, thinking it was better than anyone else had pissed him off and occupied his thoughts and focus during the evac. A glorified computer shouldn’t even have been put in charge of such an important assignment! So.. Yeah, of course he’d been worried about its ability to administer such a task without blowing him up prematurely in the process! As he’d tried to make clear to his coworkers so many times before, an android with so little emotional and real-life experience is not able to make prober calculated, experienced decisions and is not suitable to have ones back in the field! So really it was the fucking Tin Can’s fault!

Fowler nodded solemnly. “I know you didn’t mean to cause any harm Reed, but this is a serious matter and there will be an investigation. Now I want you to know I’ll have your back and I don’t want you to worry, it’s mostly a formality. Thankfully Connor managed to rescue that girl, it avoids a lot of the complications that could have followed.”

Reed’s teeth clenched hard, he was never going to be grateful to that fucking android. “Am I dismissed sir?” He simply asked before his anger would show for real.

Fowler waved him off with a quick gesture while leaning back in his flexible office chair. “Of course, dismissed.”

Reed stood quickly from his seat and made his way out of the office and marched through the bullpen, ignoring the many looks he received on his way. He marched all the way out to a sealed off terrace to grab a smoke. He cursed fiercely as he struggled to get his lighter working against the wind. When he finally succeeded in lighting his cigarette he inhaled the smoke deeply into his lungs on his first drag, before exhaling slowly. He was hoping to calm the rage boiling inside him by numbing it with nicotine, but it was barely working. An investigation! And he was supposed to be grateful that fucking machine had saved the day! It was that fucking Tin Can’s fault to begin with!! It was probably even its intention all along to make him look like a fucking fool just to receive all glory and praise itself! And he was sure as hell not gonna stand by and let himself be made a fool of!

---

“Almost there just keep leaning on me, I got you.” John encouraged as he guided Connor through the front door of his and Hank’s home. The tech had one arm wrapped firmly around Connor’s torso, mindful of the still healing damage on the android’s lower back, while the other held Connor’s arm that in turn was draped across his own broad shoulders.

Connor had been admitted, treated and had one nights’ observations at the tech facility, but it had been clear he’d been very uncomfortable and unable to rest probably in the bare, sterile surroundings. Hank suspected it reminded the kid of the cold and harsh environment he’d had to endure when he’d still been in the service of Cyberlife, when his maintenance checks or repairs would mean a detached, emotionless, objectifying procedure with no regard for the kid’s comfort or security.

John had been fast to catch on to Connor’s discomfort as well. Without the kid having to even utter a single complaint John had been made arrangement with the tech staff, by showing his certification as an authorized technician and explaining his more than capable ability to take over Connor’s care from the comfort of his own home. So, with the promise to uphold a continued monitor for the next couple of days Connor had been released into the care of John, much to the android’s silent relief.

Which brought them to this moment as John carefully helped Connor to lay down on the couch in the living room. Hank had gone ahead of them to collect Sumo and lock him into the laundry room. The big oaf insisted on showing his love by basically tackling his targets to the ground and there were few people the giant dog loved more than his android master, but since Connor was still on the mend that was not a wanted scenario right now. Still recovering from a major procedure and his own self-healing programs working overtime on several of his inner and outer components meant that Connor’s energy and thirium levels depleted very fast and even the relatively short journey from the facility and walk from the car had already weakened and tired him out completely. This was the reason for his current need for the heavy support John was luckily happy to offer. Hank and his back felt very grateful too, that the DPD tech had the physic to basically carry the lethargic android with no difficulty.

Once John was satisfied his arrangement of the pillows offered Connor’s back and neck enough support and comfort the tech placed a warm blanket draped on the back cushions over the brunet’s legs, letting his hands rest there gently afterwards and looking at Connor with his soft caring eyes.

“There, now just rest here for a bit and don’t resist going into stasis if you need it. I’m just going on a quick errand to my lab and fetch some equipment to help me keep an eye on your vitals. Then I’m gonna swing by my own place to pack a bit of clothes and necessities and on the way back here I’ll be sure to pick some extra thirium packs, juts to be sure.”

“I can go pick up some thirium John, spare you a trip.” Hank offered.

The blonde shook his head gently. “No, I don’t want Connor to be alone. It’s no problem at all and don’t worry..” John turned his head back to look at Connor with a cheeky smirk. “I know what flavors you like.”

Connor offered a sleepy, but still warm smile at the tech. “Thank you, John. I really appreciate your help.”

“Always Con, I’ll be back in about an hour, okay?” John said, squeezing Connor’s legs once with reassurance.

Connor nodded in understanding. John offered him one last smile then aimed a smile and a nod in Hank’s direction before heading back out the door. Hank listened as John started the ignition on his truck, hearing the wheels graveling on the driveway as he backed out and drove away. Once the sound of the car engine had disappeared the lieutenant turned back to his incapacitated son, his arms planted in his sides.

“How you doing, kid?”

Connor let out a long sigh, his LED spinning a slow yellow.

“Physically.. Sore, tired, my back’s hurting a little, but I feel much better just being back home.. Emotionally.. I’m not so sure..”

Hank took a perch on the arm of the couch. “Well, you know the drill, talk it out.”

Conner looked at his father, looking conflicted. “Dad I.. I think I might.. Like John..”

Hank lowered his head but his eyes staying locked on his son. “Okay, you like John.. Now when you say like..” Hank trailed off.

Connor closed his eyes and let out another sigh, this time sounding slightly frustrated as he tried to explain, his LED spinning a faster yellow. “I mean I.. I think I..” Connor lifted his hands, as if he was physically trying to frame his thoughts. “I think I like him as.. More than a friend.. In a.. I guess.. Romantic.. Kind of way.. Maybe..”

Hank lifted his hand to cover his mouth in thought, but also to hide the smile growing on his face. Not that he found the situation funny, he knew Connor was struggling to figure out these new complex feelings and needed his support, but he couldn’t help feeling glad for all the exciting new experiences and joys this realization could bring along for him. And he couldn’t imagine anyone better or more suitable for his son than the kindhearted technician. From day one since John had been employed at the precinct, the tech had treated everyone with respect and kindness and taken especially care and consideration for his android colleagues/ patients. Hank was a seasoned detective and he prided himself with being an excellent judge of character, especially after he got sober again thanks to Connor, and John had made it straight to the lieutenant’s good graces right away as he watched how kind he was and how easily he’d connected with people. To be honest, he’d suspected John to have had an eye out for Connor for quite some time as well, but it was obvious the tech had been trying to stay professional since he’s also Connor’s technical caretaker. But Hank had also seen the positive chance in his son the last few months and he’d seen the signs of his attraction to the blonde tech, but it was good that the kid finally seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion on his own.

“Well sure son, I knew that already.” Hank answered casually with a smile.

Connor’s eyes widened at that. “You knew, how? I didn’t even know! I’m not even sure if I know now!!” The android exclaimed sitting up a bit further before hissing in discomfort as the action pulled in his back.

“Alright calm down! Don’t hurt yourself more.” Hank shushed as he moved to settle at the edge of the couch cushion closer to Connor, patting his chest to make him settle back down and eyeing him with a pointed look. “Now, it might have been many years since I was in the game, but I sure as hell remember the feeling. So answer me this..” Hank started counting on his fingers. “When you see John walk into the room, do you feel a rush of joy?”

Connor seemed to ponder the question for a moment before nodding slightly. “Yes.”

“When you’re with John, how do you feel?”

“I feel like.. It’s very easy to be with him. I feel like I can be myself around him. I enjoy and appreciate his company very much.”

Hank continued. “John has seen you at some of your worst and most vulnerable moments, how did he make you feel in those moments?”

Once again Connor took some time to ponder his father’s question. “I’ve.. always felt very safe and cared for whenever he’s aided me. Whenever I have suffered damage, no matter how big or small the injury has been he’s offered me not only great physically care but always been very focused on my emotional and mental wellbeing. He’s always gone to great lengths to make sure I’m comfortable in every way possible..” Connor paused as he recalled his and John’s conversation yesterday, when Connor had claimed to be a burden on the both the DPD and the tech himself for being incapacitated by his multiple malfunctions and how John had stopped his negative thoughts, then promised he’d make sure to make Connor see and believe his own worth with time. The memory brought a soft smile to the android’s face. “He’s.. Very patient, kind and understanding towards me.. Even when I feel at my lowest.. And very caring, beyond what should be excepted of him.. I feel lucky that he’s a part of my life and I feel like something would be missing without him in it.” Connor concluded looking back up at the smiling face of Hank.

The lieutenant placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and shook him gently. “Yep, you got it bad son.”

Connor groaned dramatically and buried his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do..”

“How about telling John how you feel?” Hank suggested.

“I can’t do that!!” The android cried out in slight alarm, lifting his head back up.

“Why not?”

“What if he doesn’t feel the same? I don’t want to put him in an awkward situation.. We work together.. He’s my primary technician! I probably shouldn’t even be thinking of him like this, it’s unethical I..”

“Easy kid, slow down!” Hank interrupted. “Love isn’t rational or logic. Sometimes you just gotta throw yourself out there and hope for the best.” Hank leaned a little closer. “But I wouldn’t worry that much if I were you.” He nudged Connor’s chin gently with his fist. “You’re a catch after all.”

Connor rolled his eyes slightly, leaning back fully on the softly arranged pillows below him. “You’re my dad, you have to say that.”

Hank clapped his hands on his thighs as he stood from his perch on the couch. “Maybe, but I mean it as well. Now, try not to worry too much about this because I promise you, there’s nothing to worry about. So, get some rest kid, I’m sure everything will work out, just wait and see.”

“Alright..” The android agreed. He could feel his eyes growing heavy as his body started to prepare for stasis. Sumo’s whines picked up and echoed down the hall. Connor tiredly turned his eyes to his father before he could go too far. “Could you let Sumo out, please? He won’t jump up when I’m laying down. I’d like to have him next to me while I sleep for a bit.”

Hank turned and smiled softly. “Of course.” And went down to let the big furball out of confinement. Sumo proceeded to sprint past his human master right to the couch where he could smell Connor was located. Hank huffed out in mock offense. “What am I? Hot air?”

But Sumo was already gone, making his way to the other side of the couch. As he neared the dog calmed down his eagerness to greet the bedridden android. It was as if the animal could sense Connor wasn’t well enough for their usual fervent petting sessions. Instead, the gentle giant slowed down and simply pressed his head into Connor’s awaiting right hand and licked his master’s other hand resting on his chest. Connor smiled and scratched behind Sumo’s ears, making his fluffy tail wag quickly back and forth.

“Good dog, Sumo. You know, I met a new friend yesterday who’d love to meet you. I hope you’ll get the chance soon, I know you’ll love her.”

Sumo let out a soft grunt before turning on the spot a few times to then settle on the carpet between the couch and coffee table. The giant dog settled in the middle, so that Connor could keep his hand buried and resting on the dog’s wide back. It wasn’t long before Connor followed by example as he could no longer keep his stasis at bay, closing his eyes, making his blue LED slow down into a calm, steady rhythm. Hank tiptoed near and pulled the blanket up higher on the kid to keep him warm and comfortable.

“Sleep well kid.” He whispered before turning to his dog. “You help keep an eye out for him boy.” The lieutenant asked the Bernard. Sumo let out another soft grunt, as if he wanted to communicate that he understood his assignment.

“Good boy.”

When John returned some time later, his arms stacked with equipment, supplies and luggage it was to the sight of Connor laying in a deep stasis with Sumo keeping close vigil over the resting brunette. The dog only spared John with a quick look with his drooping eyes as the tech arrived through the front door, knowing he was no threat. A basketball game on mute was playing on the tv and in the armchair besides the couch lay the sleeping form of lieutenant Anderson, snoring slightly.

John smiled at the heartwarming sight. He quickly put everything away to its rightful place. Then he went to gently pull a warm blanket over the sleeping lieutenant before taking a seat on the couch armrest next to the resting android’s head. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, the tech ran one hand gently through the soft brown locks, chuckling as the ever rough lock of hair fell right back down front. Beneath his hand Connor shifted unconsciously closer to the touch, making the tech draw back his hand swiftly. It wasn’t alright to touch Connor so familiarly when he wasn’t even conscious to refuse or set his own boundaries. John knew he was already taking more liberties with Connor than he should as a professional technician.. But it was getting harder and harder to suppress his ever growing affection towards the kind, brave and breathtakingly handsome detective. He had to admit Cyberlife knew what they were doing when they designed the RK800 model. But it was a pointless endeavor and the last thing Connor needed right now was dealing with his pining and unwanted attentions on top of all the other hardships the poor brunette was already suffering through lately. He needed to keep as professional and efficient as possible and make Connor’s healing and health his only priorities. Afterwards his focus must be fully devoted to finally figuring out the cause of Connor’s many painful and recurring malfunctions. Only after will he allow himself to consider his options to deal with his growing sentiments towards the android.

---

It'd been two long weeks for Connor, but each day he’d felt himself getting better and growing stronger. The incident and resulting injury had left him with a permanent scar on his back from the manual and slightly crude emergency welding on his framing, but otherwise he was fully mended. Much of the credit for his relatively speedy recovery was thanks to John’s intensive and attentive care, and the excessive time they’d spend together only further assured Connor of his growing feelings towards the kind technician. But despite his best efforts, and strong encouragements from Hank, he’d not been able to make himself admit to the blond how he felt. Connor was not convinced even admitting his crush was a good idea at all.. It didn’t seem fair to John, for him to unload his confused thoughts and feelings, if the tech did not return the sentiment and then would be trapped being his caretaker for the duration of his recovery and it was not something Connor was willing to risk either..

But he pushed the thoughts of the tech into the back of his mind for now since this morning was the first day since the explosion he was allowed back to work, and he was excited to finally return. John had gone ahead of them and hour earlier, saying he wanted extra time to do inventory on his lab stock since it had been used by a tempt while he’d aided Connor fulltime for the last two weeks.

As Hank and he walked through the reception area he noticed how empty it looked, not even Susan or Michael their android receptionist personal who always greeted him with his first smiles and good mornings each day, were at their usual desk which was odd. But the thought only had time to cross his mind briefly as he walked through the entrance to the bullpen and was immediately greeted with an outright roaring chorus..

“WELCOME BACK CONNOR!” The whole office erupted in a loud cheer.

Connor startled, though it only showed through his widening eyes and his LED making two spins of yellow. “W-What?” He looked around confused at the large gathering, finding Susan and Michael among the crowd, explaining their unoccupied post at the front desk, their faces each bearing big smiles. Connor’s heart skipped a beat as he quickly found John among the crowd as well, smiling bigger and brighter.

“We all just wanted to give you a proper welcome back Con, to show you how much we missed you and how happy we are you’re healed and feeling better.” Pearson offered followed by loud agreement from across the room.

Reed, sitting at his own desk, kept quiet. No one was paying enough attention to him to notice the daggers he stared at the android detective. His fist clenched so hard his nails were threatening to break the skin of his palms.

Hank who was right behind his as he followed through the doors clasped his hand heavily on his Connor’s shoulder. “Sorry kid, I know you don’t like a fuss, but I couldn’t persuade them not to do it.”

“Thank you, but you didn’t have to arrange all of this..” The android gestured to the arrangement of drinks, food and colorful decorations set out across the room. “I received all your thoughtful ‘get well’ cards, care packages and flowers while I recovered at home.” It was true, the living room at home was brimming with various cards and get-well gifts he’d received steadily throughout his recovery from both his colleagues and several members from New Jerico, including Marcus among others.

“I never doubted your well wishes for my recovery..” Connor’s LED shifted back to yellow, he was moved his coworkers had been so worried about him (once again) but he didn’t feel like he deserved or warranted all this attention offered.

“You did something extraordinary at that scene detective.” Captain Fowler stepped forward between the crowd, his hands resting at his belt and eyeing Connor with a serious look. “Not only did you manage a chaotic scene and assist our bomb squad in diffusing three bombs, but you willingly risked your life to save an innocent girl and kept her save and alive against all odds and at great cost to yourself. Welcoming you back properly is the least we could do, besides..” A small smile bloomed on the older man’s face. “It wasn’t completely our idea.”

The big man stepped aside along with most of the crowd revealing Olivia, jumping on the spot in excitement. The sweet girl was holding her plush dog Muffin in one hand and the other holding the hand of a tall, brown haired woman with gold rimmed glasses who smiled warmly at him.

“Connor!!” Olivia yelled in a happy squeal taking off in a run towards him.

Connor acted without thinking and kneeled with open arms to accept the flying hug as Olivia threw herself into his arms. He slowly stood back up and wrapped his arms tightly around the small girl, placing one hand on the back of her head as she burrowed her face into his neck, much in the same way he’d done when he’d tried to get her out of the building that day.

“I missed you..” Olivia stated first, her voice sounding emotional, the words coming out muffled in his neck.

Connor tightened his hold around her even more. His LED cycled yellow, and he felt his eyes growing damp as his own emotions were welling up inside him. “I missed you too Olivia, I’m happy you’re here.” He answered honestly.

The small girl pulled slightly back so she was able to look into the androids’ eyes, Connor let up his tight grip around her slightly to allow the motion as she pulled up the dog teddy in front of his face. “Muffin missed you too.. You made her very worried when you didn’t come up with us from the dark hole..” She said, her eyes big and bottom lip set in a small pout.

Connor kept his eyes locked with Olivia. “I’m very sorry I made her worry, I missed Muffin as well.”

Olivia locked her hands behind Connor’s neck, making Muffin dangle from one of her hands behind Connor’s back. “I wanted to come see you sooner, but mommy said you needed to get better before I was allowed.. So I asked your police friends if I could see you when you got back to work.. Does that mean the owie on your back is all better now?”

Connor smiled gently to reassure the young girl, she still sounded worried and unsure. “Yes, I’m all better. I promise.” He sent a quick look towards John’s direction. “I was taken very good care of.” He added, his eyes locked with the tech. John rewarded his subtle praise with a soft smile.

“I was a bit worried about you too..” She admitted gently.

Connor’s attention returned fully to Olivia as he reached up and stroked her thick, curly blonde hair back in a comforting gesture. “I’m sorry I made you worry. But I’m very happy you’re safe and sound. You’re a very brave and kind girl Olivia, when we were trapped, I could stay strong thanks to your high spirits and support. You were very heroic.”

Olivia hugged him tightly again. “You’re my hero Connor.”

All around the room the surrounding officers and coworkers witnessing the heartwarming scene turned to try and discreetly wipe their misty eyes and mute the soft sniffles.

“Olivia honey, do you think Connor could be persuaded to put you down for a moment so mommy can say thank you as well?” The tall woman, Olivia’s mom, came over to ask.

Connor had only just managed to put Olivia down before he was pulled into another tight embrace by her mom. He returned the embrace, a bit more apprehensively, he was still unused to other people offering him such big acts of affection.

“I don’t know how to thank you enough! Just.. Thank you for saving my little girl! You’re a godsend guardian angel! Thank you so, so much..” The woman babbled her voice wet with tears of gratitude as she thanked her daughter’s savior.

Unable to stand the wretched sight before him Reed slammed his hands into his desk and stood up in a fury. He aimed one last furious look in Connor’s direction before stomping out of the room.

The whole room had paused in surprise at the loud interruption and watched silently as the angry detective made his dramatic exit.

Connor felt very confused at his colleague’s apparent resurrected anger towards him. Lately he’d felt like Reed had been so amendable towards him, why now the sudden change back?

“Don’t mind him Connor, Reed’s just pissed he’s been benched while they’re doing the investigation detailing his actions and decision making on the day of the bombing.” Chris said.

“Enough Miller, that’s not a discussion suitable for now.” Fowler interjected, then looked to Connor. “I’ll fill you in on the details later Connor, but don’t worry about it now.”

Connor nodded, he’d had no idea an investigation had been ordered, but it made detective Reed’s anger if not justified, then at least a bit understandable. Connor had no doubt the detective had in no way willingly missed Olivia when he’d been leading the evac operation and no doubt the investigation would draw the same conclusion. Reed was probably mentally punishing himself enough as it was and if he needed someone to be angry with to get through this though time then Connor could understand and accept he’d have to bear the brunt of it.

“I understand why detective Reed might be affected and stressed out by the current situation, but I’m sure he’ll not be found at fault. I’m just happy Olivia is safe.”

“Thanks to you. Olivia haven’t stopped talking about you.” Olivia’s mom said, then added. “And a dog named Sumo she keeps insisting she wants to meet.”

Hank let out a joyful laugh at the mention of Sumo. “Tell you what Olivia, Sumo would just love to meet you as well. Anytime you want you can come visit us. I’m sure he’d like to say thanks to you for taking such good care of Connor as well. Connor is his favorite you see..” Hank said, making Olivia let out a cute giggle.

The older lieutenant knelt to be eyelevel with the blond girl and gave her a warm smile. “And I want to thank you as well, for helping my son. You’re a very special, kind girl.”

Olivia smiled a shy smile at the praise and grasped Connor’s hand tightly.

“That you are.” Connor agreed, also eyeing the girl with a soft smile and squeezed her small hand gently in his.

More sniffles and eye wiping were done throughout the room before Fowler clapped his hands loudly. “Alright enough, this is a happy occasion. Let’s grab a drink and make a toast..” Everyone did as their captain said and passed out drinks around the room. Fowler raised his glass, quickly joined by everyone else. “To Connor! You are an honor to the DPD and the city! I know I speak for all of us when we say we’re proud to call us your friends and colleagues. Cheers!”

“CHEERS!!” The whole room erupted.

Connor stood in the middle, starting to feel overwhelmed again by all the attention, when he felt a soft hand placed on his shoulder that brought him quickly back to earth. He turned to find the soft welcoming sight of John standing at his side, once again grounding him, holding up his own drink.

“I’ll drink to that.” The handsome tech added softly and clinked his glass with Connor’s thirium based drink.

Connor returned the smile and raised his own drink. After his sip he turned to the rest of the room, his eyes big and emotion filled. “Thank you..” He said simply. It wasn’t enough to truly express how much gratitude he was feeling at the moment, but it was the truest and only thing he could think of presently and he hoped that was enough for now.

---

“Fucking.Shit.Fuck!!” Reed cursed loudly as he slammed his fist repeatedly into the one way mirror in a the unused interrogation room furthest away from the open office where everyone were still busy attending the Tin Can’s welcome back reception. The glass began to crack, and his knuckles started bleeding from the repeating pounding, but he didn’t stop. Red hot anger was boiling in his veins! This was all wrong! This was not how things were supposed to go! How could people not see how fucked up this shit was?! Treating that plastic like it was a fucking hero? After he’d made sure everyone had seen it fail again and again without any form of consequence or reprimands? And when he failed just one fucking time he was placed under investigation and being questioned about his ability to do his job?! All the while he’s expected to just sit back and watch that piece of garbage receive a hero’s welcome? This was some kind of backwards world kind of bullshit and Reed was at his breaking point.

He continued to batter his hand against the glass, feeling like it was his best alternative to bashing in the Tin Can’s face. His knuckles bleed more and more, smearing the blood on the mirrored surface but he hardly felt the pain of it. All he felt was the white-hot anger burning. He was so lost in his own rage filled world that the detective didn’t hear the door to the room slide open behind him followed by a worry filled outburst;

“Detective Reed! Stop that, you’re hurting yourself!” Connor exclaimed as he rushed towards Reed and caught his arm in a firm hold as Reed pulled it back to land another punch. Even though the reception was still going on and Connor had been told not to fret, he’d still felt worried about Reed’s sudden departure and had made his was to find the other detective. Now he was glad he did.

It took a few moments to exit his angry haze, but once Reed registered who had interrupted his fit he could no longer contain his fake demeanor and allowed himself to fully unload on the cause of his anger and resentment. With little to no hesitation Reed pulled back his other fist that Connor wasn’t holding and aimed to land a hard punch to the android’s face. Connor however seemed to have anticipated his move and frustratingly easily caught his other fist with the hand not holding Reed’s arm.

“I understand that you’re angry Gavin, but I’m trying to be your friend. So please stop harming yourself and let me help you.” Connor offered in that fucking calming tenor voice.

“FUCK YOU!” Reed roared and twisted himself free from the android’s hold. His eyes were wild, almost feral as he pointed accusingly at Connor with his bloodied hand.

“Fuck you and all of those fuckers out there!” He pointed at the door. “You’re not my fucking friend or colleague or anything! You’re a MACHINE!!” He shouted the word with all the contempt he could muster, spit flying from his mouth. “A computer.. A tool.. A THING! You’re not a real cop or even human! And somehow, I’m the only sane person who can see how fucked up this shit is!!” He laughed in scorn.

Connor had taken a few steps back as he watched Reed become more and more deranged before his eyes and took steps to make himself as non-threatening as possible, treating the situation as he would a negotiating with a dangerous criminal.

“Okay.. I hear what you’re saying.. But hurting yourself isn’t the answer.”

“I know that!! That’s why I’ve been hurting you!!” Reed roared without thought.

“You’ve.. What?” Despite his professionalism Connor couldn’t hide his shock at the confession, making his LED circle in a fast yellow pace.

Reed yanked the white remote from his pocket and pointed it towards Connor as was it a gun.

“I’ve been showing all these idiots what a useless piece of junk you are! But they’re all so fucking blind! Even after seeing you fail again and again, they still treat you like you’re worth the time and attention and sympathy, it’s pathetic!!”

Despite not knowing for sure what the device pointing at him was Connor felt a tight knot of dread settle in his stomach as he slowly began to piece together what might have caused his multiple malfunctions the last couple of months.

“Gavin.. Calm down, lets just talk this through.” Connor tried to reason, his LED turning red, desperate to diffuse the situation. “I might be a machine, but I’m not your enemy.”

Reed kept his remote pointed towards the android, finding a great satisfaction in seeing it so nervous as it no doubt figured out what Reed was capable of.

“Wanna see how much of a tool you are?” Reed snickered as he placed his thumb on the display. “I can play you like a fucking violin on this thing by now.”

Connor reached out his hand slowly in a nervous, pacifying manner.

“No.. Please.. Gavin..”

But his plea fell on deaf ears as Reed expertly manipulated Connor’s visual components.

[R and L eye components deactivated]

Connor’s irises turned black, leaving the android completely blind. He stumbled a bit on the spot as his vison was completely robbed from him in one second. Connor felt his breath hitch and his stress levels increasing. The android reached out blindly towards Reed’s direction. “Please Reed, I know what you think of me and my kind, but even you have to understand that this.. Hurting me won’t accomplish anything.”

Reed sneered. “You can’t ‘hurt’ a machine. You can malfunction, be damaged.. Broken even.” He added with a menacing tone.

Connor took a tentative step forward in his blinded state, his own tone turning hard. “Reed this is madness! Snap out of this and let’s handle what differences we have in a civilized manner!”

“Oh, hell no, you do not get to speak to me like that you piece of junk!” Reed spat and turned the remote back up.

Connor tried to argue, sensing the other detective was about to manipulate his body again. “No Reed what are yo..!”

[Voice modulator deactivated]

Connor’s voice was cut off midsentence. The android lifted his hand and placed it on his throat where his voice modulator was placed inside. The LED in his temple started to spin red as Connor felt his stress levels rise even further. His vision and voice had now been efficiently stolen from him as easy as nothing. He was basically helpless, with a man who openly despised and hated him, who he now knew had put him through agony and torment in a deliberate effort to dehumanize him in front of their peers and who had utterly complete control over his whole body and being. Despite his still limited skill with understanding and identifying his own emotions Connor was sure of one thing.. In this moment.. He was scared..

“Now for the fun bit.” Reed grinned.

The words had hardly been spoken, filling Connor with a fresh weave of dread before Reed with a few quick flicks and taps unleashed hell on the deviant.

[Right leg component // Adjust tension setting // Current tension 5%]

A single swipe of a thumb.

[Current tension 85%]

The first thing that hit was an excruciating pain as the synthetic muscles along the entire of Connor’s right leg seized up much like the first time Reed had used the remote on him, making the android drop heavily onto the floor, knocking an office chair down with him in his fall. Connor’s eyes might be lifeless, but his expression still portrayed his agony clearly. The android tried to scream but all that came out were a strangled static as his decommissioned voice modulator were being stimulated but not able to let out clear sound.

The mangled static only worsened as only seconds later Connor felt the joint connecting his right arm to his shoulder were manipulated backwards by an invisible force until he both heard and felt a sickening pop as it snapped forcefully. In the background he vaguely registered Reed’s tormenting snicker.

“It made me sick you know. Giving you that fake apology, having to act like you were a real fucking person! I only did it to get close enough to make sure everybody got to see what a pathetic, useless machine you are! But everyone here are so fucking stupid! A year and a half ago everyone out there were just like me, seeing you like the equipment and tools you were designed to be! Your bloody brainwashing doesn’t’ work on me though..”

Pausing in his rant only to make the knee joint in the android’s left leg bend and snap as well, making it spasm violently followed by the pained muffled static because it’d now buried its head into the crook of its right elbow.

“And I’m done pretending and I’m not just gonna sit back and let you corrupt us all! I know I’m right!!” Reed pointed his remote ready to make his next move when the door to the integration room hissed open in front of him.

In walked Hank Anderson eyes locked at his phone screen as he entered “Hey kid, got your text but what is up with all those freaking typos? That’s not like yo..” Hank looked up at stopped abruptly taking in the scene in front of him.

Reed immediately realized his mistake. He’d forgotten to disconnect the Tincan’s cybernetic connection allowing it to reach out for help. Fuck!

It took an uncomfortable long time for Hank to process what he was seeing, the tense silence only broken by the painfilled static breathing coming from Connor on the floor. The lieutenant first eyed the white remote Reed had pointed as a weapon towards his son, then noticed the horrifyingly painful and unnatural angles of Connor’s arm and leg and his black, blinded irises, before returning to look directly at Reed. You could see the moment it clicked for the ageing detective what he was seeing. All Connor’s sudden and unexplainable malfunctions suddenly made perfect sense.

“You.Little.Shit..” Hank whispered before he jumped forward in blind rage.

Reed dropped the remote as he and Hank collided in an all-out fist fight that had been long coming. Despite his agony and lack of sight Connor managed to half crawl half drag himself to the edge of the room to avoid getting stomped on in the chaos and tried to cybernetically reach out to more officers to assist. It turned out he didn’t need to as the sudden ruckus had already alarmed the gathered crowd out in the offices.

In stormed Captain Fowler, Miller, Lewis and Pearson all quickly scanning the scene and situation and automatically sprang into action. Fowler and Miller immediately jumped forward to separate their brawling colleagues. It took several tries and immense effort, earning both numerous misplaced hits, kicks and bruises.

While the men struggled go get the fight under control Pearson’s attention was immediately turned to Connor lying in a heap on the floor. Her eyes widening and a horrified gasp escaping her at the sight of his twisted limbs where thirium had started to leak through the cracks in his frame, staining his clothes and the floor.

“Oh my God, Connor!” She dropped to his knees and rested a hand on his back. “Wha.. What happened to you?!”

Connor tried to answer, but the only sound he could make was the distorted static. He gestured weakly with his uninjured arm to his throat, trying to communicate his inability to reply.

“Okay, okay I understand you can’t talk, it’s okay don’t move anymore.. You’re.. Shit.. This is so.. How could this happen?” Pearson was trying to stay calm. She’d seen some horrible things in her career, but Connor was her friend, so it was impossible for her to react unaffected to the way his arm and leg were curled in such a painful and gruesome way, it was making her slightly nauseous.

Finally Miller, Lewis and Fowler succeeded in breaking up Reed and Anderson. Fowler had managed to get both his arms under Reed’s armpits and had his hands clasped tightly together behind his neck, holding the still cursing and kicking detective back, but just barely. Lewis and Miller were holding one of Anderson’s arms each and still had to dig in their heels to stop the raging lieutenant from advancing and jump Reed again. Both men already had large bruises starting to bloom across their faces, Reed had a split lip and Anderson a busted eyebrow.

“Let me go dammit!! It’s been that bastard all along!! He’s the one who has been messing Connor up all along and I’m gonna return the fucking favor right now!!” Hank roared, fighting in his hold.

“What the hell Hank? How would Reed even be able to cause all those malfunctions? There’ve been witnesses every time Connor has had an episode, we would have noticed.” Lewis argued with a grunt from the effort of holding Hank back.

“Because he’s a fucking devious, underhanded little coward and have been using some kind of remote to control and hurt the kid unnoticed!!” Hank spat angrily.

“Is this true Reed?!!” Fowler asked in a hard voice, tightening his hold on the detective further as he continued to trash in his grip.

Reed grunted once in discomfort at the manhandling but retaining his aggressiveness. “Fucking Tincan deserved it!! You were all so fucking blinded by its false looks and attempt to act human! It’s a fucking machine and all I did was open your eyes to the fact!! It’s unreliable and shame to the force!!”

“The only shameful motherfucker on this force is you, you vile sack of shit!!” Hank growled.

“Where is the remote Reed?!” Fowler barked harshly, trying to keep his priorities straight in the heated moment.

Reed answered only with defying silence, still shooting dagger with his eyes at Hank and Connor.

“It’s here!!” Pearson exclaimed as she spotted the white remote lying by the knocked over chair and reached for it. She fiddled with it slightly, but quickly figured out how to navigate the display. “Okay.. I think I got it..”

[Voice modulator activated]

The first clear sound to escape Connor’s mouth as he were finally given back his voice was a painfilled cry as his broken limbs pulsed and continued to leak thirium, and the synthetic muscles in his right leg were still cramping.

“M.. My.. Leg.. Turn it off.. P-Please..” He begged through gritted teeth.

“Your leg? Your.. Oh shit!!” She cursed as she realized he meant his cramping nonbroken leg and quickly adjusted the setting back down to a normal level.

[Current tension 5%]

Connor forced himself to take some deep breaths to try and keep his core temperature down. He felt relieved the pain in his right leg had decreased, but still in agony from his two other mangled limbs.

[R and L eye components activated]

He winched as his vision was returned abruptly as well as even the slightly dimmed lighting in the room still pierced his eyes, although they thankfully recalibrated quickly. He took the opportunity to look up and took in the scene before him. His gaze quickly shifted to Reed who still eyed him with a burning hatred in his eyes.

Suddenly an innocent voice was echoing down the hallway. “Connor? Where did you go?” Olivia called out. They could all hear her small footsteps approaching the door.

Connor turned his eyes quickly to Pearson who was still kneeling in front of him, his gaze a mixture of pained and alarmed. “D-Don’t let get in here. I don’t want her s-seeing me like this!”

“And find Ben and John and send them down here immediately!” Fowler added.

Pearson nodded quickly and jumped up and out the door instantly. Her exaggerated soothing voice resonated back into the room.

“Hey sweetie, you shouldn’t be down here all alone. Let’s get back to your mom.”

“I forgot to give Connor a drawing I made for him. I think he went this way.”

“Uh, you know what. I think he’s on a phone call right now, but come with me and we’ll put your drawing on his desk so he’ll find it later and it’ll be a nice surprise, ok?”

“Ok.” Olivia was heard agreeing reluctantly. Her and Pearson’s footsteps echoing back down the hallway.

Fowler was the one to break the silence once they were sure Olivia as out of earshot. “Fucking hell Reed! I knew you had issues. Countless times I’ve put my ass on the line to defend you and keep you on the force. You’ve always been a good detective, but I was gullible enough to believe that deep down you’d also turn out to be a good man. Never have I been this angry and disappointed in someone as I am in you this moment!!”

“I’M THE DISSAPOINTMENT?!” Reed shouted affronted.

“You shut your damn mouth!! I am DONE detective. Actually, that’s incorrect. Effective immediately you’re no longer a member of the DPD. You are now under arrest for the repeating assault and abuse of a police officer and obstruction of police investigation! Officer Miller and Lewis handcuff Reed and take him to a holding cell for now. I’ll personally deal with him later.” Fowler expertly changed his grip on Reed, allowing Miller to quickly snap his own handcuffs on his former colleague before he could resist further.

“WHAT?! You can’t be fucking serious?!” Reed bellowed.

Lewis was quick to join as both took a firm grip on either side of a thrashing Reed. Freed from his own hold Hank decided not to waste any more energy on the crude ex-detective, trusting Jeffery to make sure justice would be served. Instead, he turned his attention to Connor who was still laying on the floor, clearly trying to suppress his agony, but with little luck.

“Hey son.. It’s okay, help is coming! Just.. Stay still.. We’ll get you fixed up, don’t worry” Hank babbled, but feeling helpless to do anything else but offer what reassurance he could.

“You fucking morons! You’ll realize I’m right soon enough! Just you wait!! That machine will be the death of you all!!” Reed roared. John, Ben and Pearson just managed to storm through the doorway just as he was forcefully removed from the room.

“What the hell is going on?!” Ben asked confused. “Why is Gavin in handc- OH, Holy shit what happened to Connor?!!”

Barely a second passed before John had thrown himself to his knees in front of Connor, his eyes filled with worry. “Connor, listen don’t move to much it’ll destabilize your broken joints too much! Can you give me any status on your condition?”

“M.. My thirium levels are.. Nearing… C-Critical levels..” Connor offered weakly.

John eyed the still blooming pool of blue thirium spreading on the floor beneath Connor’s body from the two fractures on his frame. He looked into Connor’s painfilled brown irises with an apologetic look. He touched his face gently in what he hoped to be a comforting manner. “Con, I’m sorry but I need to slow your bleedings as fast as possible before you lose any more thirium. The only way I can do that is to reset your breaks.”

“Fuck, are you sure there’s no other way?” Hank cursed.

John shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid not. As long as the breaks are open, he’ll lose more blue blood than he’ll be able to reabsorb into his system.”

Connor nodded in understanding. “D-Do it!”

John took a firm hold on Connor’s leg. One hand on his thigh and one on his calve, ready to reset the fractured knee joint. His eyes never left Connor’s. “On three.” He said. Connor visibly steeled himself, but his eyes also stayed firmly on John.

“One.. Two..” With a quick jerk and a sickening crunch the knee was mostly back in place.

Connor let out the start of a scream, but quickly bit it off. Afraid Olivia might still be able to hear him somewhere in the station. He clenched his eyes tightly and reached out with his undamaged arm and squeezed Hanks hand that was offered him so hard that the bones grinded together. Hank however didn’t utter a complaint, even if Connor would end up snapping a finger or two he’d endure it if it offered his son just the smallest kind of relief.

“Anything we can do?” Ben asked, standing stiffly with his arms crossed, desperate to be helpful.

“Yes, once his shoulder is set I need you and Fowler to carry him to my lab so I can get him stabilized.” John offered without his eyes ever leaving Connor. “You’re doing great Connor, I know it hurts.. I’ll be quick I promise.”

“I know..” Connor hissed.

“Try to relax, it’ll help.”

“Y-You’re really bad at.. C-Counting by the way..”

In a flash John held down Connor’s collarbone and pushed his arm back, popping the shoulder back with another loud crunch to its original position. The motion was followed by another barely bitten off cry as Connor’s head dropped forward and landed on John’s own shoulder.

“I know, I’m sorry..” John offered weakly.

“Come on lad, we got you.” Fowler said as he and Ben immediately bent down to carry their injured friend as carefully as possible upstairs.

“I’ll go do some damage control in the office then I’ll be right up.” Hank offered. He had no idea how he was going to apologize to Olivia and her mom for Connor’s sudden disappearance without a goodbye, but he’d figure something out. And it was probably for the best not to reveal Reed’s arrest to the rest of the squad right away. They needed to clear up this mess a bit for it to make sense.

It was fucking heartbreaking to witness Connor in such an agonizing state when he’d barely had time to recover from his previous injury. His only comfort right now was finally knowing what and who was behind all the horrors and pain his son had to suffer through. And Hank had a feeling once the news got out, he wouldn’t be the only DPD member being eager for justice to be served!!

#dbh whump #dbh fandom #dbh connor #connorwhump #connor deserves happiness #hurt/comfort #connor rk800 #whump #whump fic #whump writing #androids feel pain #angst with fluff #angst with a happy ending #gavin reed #dbh gavin reed

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Text

In The Shadows

Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic (Lukanette Endgame)

Chapters

Prelude | Chp 1 | Chp 2 | Chp 3 | Chp 4 | Chp 5 | Chp 6 | Chp 7 | Chp 8 | Chp 9 | Chp 10 | Chp 11 | Chp 12 | Chp 13 | Chp 14 | Chp 15 | Chp 16 | Chp 17 | Chp 18 | Chp 19 | Epilogue | Worlds Not Our Own | Timeline

Chapter Ten: It’s a Small World (AO3 Link)

Chapter Snapshot

Marinette bit her glossy bottom lip for a second. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me tonight. My friend's having a birthday party and some of my friends don't think you're real."

She said it so matter-of-factly he had to laugh. "Well, I'd like to go." He remembered then that tonight he was meeting Ladybug again; it didn't seem like the thing he should miss out on. "I do have something else going on tonight, but when is it?"

"Oh, me too, so we won't be out too late," she rushed the words out quickly like they were bees she was desperate to escape from. "It starts at 6 tonight, and her dad will be there!"

Luka blinked. "Er…that's good, I think?"

She slapped a hand to her face and then swiveled around, not so stealthily checking for people around them. Marinette's hand grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie and pulled his ear to her mouth, a sudden thrill ran through him at her breath tickling his ear. "Her dad is Jagged Stone," she whispered, before quickly pulling away and whipping her head left and right as if people were waiting in the wings to pounce on her.

Malo was the kind of guy that needed a lot to do, and he ran his store in a way that would ensure he would never run out of new, fun stuff to mess around with. Luka found that his new boss wasn't just a good businessman, he was a fantastic musician and luthier. He only made guitars on commission, or when there wasn't much going on he would design and make them just to sell in the shop as one-of-a-kind models. For the most part, their bread and butter were in repairs. After two days of testing and pushing, Malo had found Luka to be willing, able, and qualified to do just about anything. Last hour, it was substituting for the guitar lesson that the normal teacher hadn't been able to make. Earlier, it had been helping Malo apply the bracing to the guitar he was working on in the back. Currently, he was making his services available to whatever crowd was in the store.

Luka weaved his way through the store, answering questions for a couple buying a piano for their son, an old man who seemed to stroll in on accident but stayed for the conversation, and a very excitable young girl looking to buy her first guitar and sign up for lessons. When he finally had a chance to look up, he could see Marinette. She was just a head of black hair occasionally bobbing in and out of view from the corner of the front window; she was eventually pushed into full view by a girl with red and chestnut-colored braids. Luka leaned on the counter and watched with a bemused smile on his lips as Marinette and her friend bickered by the window, Marinette's emotive face and wide gestures making his heart soft. Finally, her friend pointed at the window in his direction, and Marinette's eyes followed the finger, yipping when she saw him. He waggled his fingers at her, a grin spreading further on his face.

Marinette shoved her friend back out of view of the window and then rounded the corner once more with a resolved look on her face. She pushed open the door and marched up to the front counter, stopping in front of him. Luka waited a moment for her to speak, but she just stood there with her fists clenched, looking frozen.

"How you doing?" He asked, waiting for her to thaw out.

"Fine," she said back quickly. Marinette looked behind her out the window again; her friend had reappeared and was waving. She scowled at her and flipped back around.

"Your friend can come inside, you know," Luka said.

Marinette's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "Oh no, um, she's not here to--I had a…um…I had a question." She was interrupted by a customer behind her who wanted to pay for some guitar strings, so she moved off to the side and fiddled with her hands until Luka had finished.

"What's your question?" he asked, turning back towards her.

Marinette bit her glossy bottom lip for a second. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me tonight. My friend's having a birthday party and some of my friends don't think you're real."

"Oh, me too, so we won't be out too late," she rushed the words out quickly like they were bees she was desperate to escape from. "It starts at 6 tonight, and her dad will be there!"

Luka blinked. "Er…that's good, I think?"

"Oh--I didn't know he had a kid. Guess that's a rock star for you. But yeah, I can head over after closing here at 7. Do you want me to pick you up?"

Marinette flushed pink. "Oh, no no, that's fine, I'll already be there to help set up. I can text you where it is, though."

His lip quirked up in a smile--she continued to look the right amount of interested but not too interested in getting his number. Luka shook his head and grabbed a yellow post-it note from under the counter. He wrote his number down and then stuck it on her shirt. "I'm still not sure why you're so hung up on having it," he said, watching her grab it from her shirt and hold it with a satisfied smile on her face.

"And I'm not sure why you're so averse to texting like a normal person," she said back, nose in the air.

"Seeing you in person is far more gratifying." He tapped the end of his pen on her nose, feeling light as air as she babbled back at him, blushing up to her ears.

"I'll see you tonight, then," Marinette said. She tripped over her feet in an attempt to escape, nearly bowling over a customer in the process.

Right around 6, he got a text (the only text he'd ever gotten) on his phone, listing the address and how to get there because it was on a houseboat. Marinette hadn't said it was her, probably out of excitement or nerves. Luka smiled at the text, then shoved it back in his pocket and helped Malo with the last few customers before leaving at closing. Marinette had given him very thorough directions, and his feet walked the path to the letter. He'd really have to get a bike or something soon when he could afford it.

The boat was a monster of steel and color, every surface screaming individuality. A large smiling face with braces was painted on the front, with stacks of boxes and bins on deck for hair. A large structure was erected behind that; decorated with black and purple flags with skulls on them. Part of the long deck was covered with glass to form a classy, atmospheric room, a small tree coming out of the sunroom's roof. He walked down the length of the riverwalk towards the gangplank. As he made his way aboard, he was hailed by a loud voice coming from the deck.

"Ahoy there!" the woman shouted. Her shining gray hair was done in a long, thick braid, and she was outfitted like a pirate that had made it to shore in the 60s and got so high they forgot to sail away again. With chunky jewelry and jewel-tone colors, Anarka Couffaine made it a point to stand out in a sea of normalcy.

"Ahoy," he said back, returning her wave.

Marinette popped out from the glass-covered sitting room at the sound of his voice, "Luka! You found it alright!" Marinette scrambled over, tripping on a stray amp cord. "Anarka, this is my, uh, friend," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him further on deck.

"Ohh, I see," she said, a knowing glint in her eyes. She addressed him, "Luka. A good name. What's your last?"

Luka watched her covertly from several feet away, feet dangling over the edge of the river. He traced the line of her nose (Jules Couffaine, born in 1928), and the shape of her eyes (Christopher Couffaine, born in 1904, enlisted in the Navy in '22, married a Scotswoman in '26 just like his father had so long ago), the curve of her jaw (Aurélien Couffaine, who was born the same year Luka got to England, to the same man Luka had been sent to find).

They were there, either in her shape or in her blood, and all those people twisted between Luka and this girl, like a vine winding around a great tree. There were others, brothers and sisters who married out or passed away, either killed in World War I or who had simply become untraceable in the Panic of 1873 or the economic downturn that lasted from then to the War. So many lives had been lived in the space of his one, and now she was here.

His mouth went dry--last name--? Shit. "Sallow," he said, and in the back of his mind Wes let out a cry of indignation at the identity theft. If anyone noticed the brief pause or the way Luka had said it just a bit too quickly, no one said anything. Instead, Marinette pulled him along to introduce him to her friends. There were too many to have any hope of remembering their names, he focused instead on memorizing their faces and the way they carried themselves and hoped that would be enough of a foundation for later.

There were some names his brain easily burned into memory. Alya, Marinette's friend that he had seen pushing her along outside the music store. She was sharp, and she spoke with him like he was a friend but behind the veil of her eyes was clearly watching him carefully. Rose, Juleka's girlfriend. A girl with a fey face and tiny frame, she flit from place to place like a butterfly clothed in pink and white (he remembered her now, from that day at Rough Trade). Max and Markov, whom outside of his attachment to the others he met, had to be objectively the coolest--because you just can't beat a tall, attractive guy who had the intelligence to build a flying AI robot. Alix had also been easy to remember, her long coltish limbs stuck out every which way just like her red hair, and she'd bitten her lollipop in half saying, "Oh, fuck, he is real," when they'd been introduced.

And in the center of the hive was Juleka, a dark flower with bewitching beauty and a model's stance. She smiled at him, a bit reserved, and let Marinette introduce the two of them. Of course, she didn't recognize him at all, and this time he was introduced as Luka.

"Happy birthday," he said after Marinette had finished speaking. "Are those all yours?" he asked, looking back at the haphazard assemblage of instruments on the stage covered in the purple and black hanging flags.

"Mostly Mom's. I can't play them all," she replied, husky voice slightly embarrassed. "I like the bass. You play?"

"I do," he said. "Partial to the electric guitar."

Marinette jumped in, "He works at Paradis des Cordes, the shop across the way from the bakery!"

A soft smile of approval worked its way onto her face, and she stalked past him. "C'mon, you should play some," Juleka said, stepping onto the stage. "We're music junkies."

Luka looked down at Marinette for a moment, who had laid claim to his arm since he'd walked aboard. She seemed to remember that she'd been voraciously attached, because she quickly let go and giggled nervously, the strawberry flush he loved to see under the freckles on her nose working its way onto her face. "You should go play! I want to listen," she said, and as if she were a koala in need of something to grab onto, she latched herself to Alya instead.

Luka eagerly followed Juleka towards the huddle of instruments and took the purple Gibson electric she held out to him. Luka tested the strings and felt the knobs up to tune them ever so slightly. Anarka watched him, her own Pelham blue in her lap, arm draped over the guitar. A flutter of nerves flew up from his stomach, but he tamped them back down and positioned his fingers on the fretboard, working out what he wanted to play.

In 1984, Anarka Couffaine was 15. Just a kid who laughed too loud, yelled too much, and cursed with the nonchalance and ease of someone who'd come out of the womb screaming lyrics to the Sex Pistols. Lime green hair dye had faded dusty, and dark roots gave away the black head of hair beneath. Thick round glasses took up most of her face, with a wide smile that could turn to an angry grimace in a second taking up the rest of the real estate.

She sat on the bank of the Seine, fingers blitzing out Gang of Four's Natural's Not In It, fingers stuttering with occasional mistakes. She kept moving them back, forcing them right on the fretboard and trying again.

Anarka's eyes lit up as the familiar opening notes washed over the deck, and her fingers found the chords easily and began to work alongside him eagerly. The rough clipped notes flowed from guitar to guitar, going a minute or two until she paused. "What else ya got?" She hollered at him.

He thought for a moment. "Buzzcocks, Autonomy?"

"Aye, that'll play!" Anarka stood up and walked onto the stage. She reached down for a cord, plugging in her guitar to an amp. "Check by your feet, son," she said. "If you're gonna play, play loud--that's the Couffaine way."

Luka almost tripped over his own two feet when he backed up to grab the cord off the ground, his fingers stumbling slightly as he plugged it into the cord. Then he looked over at Anarka, and she was nodding, and then their feet began tapping out to the same drumbeat in their head. Their fingers took off in the same heartbeat, electric guitar blasting through the amps behind them, a rough and tumble wail of noise and energy. It had been too long since he'd played with someone else, it made his blood sing--his heart pumped to the beat of the sound, and it felt good, it felt right. Anarka yowled out the lyrics like Karen O, more for herself than for anyone else, and that felt right too.

They finished and tore through Good Grief because Juleka wanted to play and someone else wanted to play the drums. Anarka's face was one of feral joy, and Luka knew this was her down to her bones and DNA, this manic abandon to get completely lost in the sound--because it was in him, too. He wondered if the other Couffaine's felt this tug, this explosive need for musical release, the drive that was too sweet to call a curse.

Luka hadn't been expecting anything more than being Marinette's plus one (a worthy use of his time in any regard) what he had gotten was far better. And, of course, by the time they finished a few more songs, one lone police siren was howling by the gangplank.

Luka thought about talking to her, seeing if he could strike up a conversation, even for just a few minutes. It felt…wrong. Luka knew the connection, of course. He had spent months looking into it, just to have the answer as to what had actually happened to the man he'd been trying to find all those years ago. Who was he? What would his life have been like if they'd actually found each other? He tried not to fixate on it often, but after a hundred years some questions just kept begging to be answered.

A younger red-headed boy had toddled up to Anarka, a petulant frown on pale white skin, red hair combed back neatly. "You're gonna cause a disturbance, you know."

She snarled, not looking up from her finger placement as she started from the top. "Good. Bite my ass."

"I'll tell you on you."

"Leave me alone you little parasite, or I'll shove you in the Seine."

"You can't do that!"

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet? Come here, you little toady!"

Luka let them bicker, setting aside his wistful imaginings to lean back on his palms as he looked across the Seine. He let his mind and his thoughts drift along the river, the sound of water and people and play floating in one ear and out the other.

History had a funny way of repeating itself; and Luka knew that even when people were capable of great change, some patterns were too easy to fall back into if you ever moved out of them at all. And that was how on Juleka's 19th birthday, Officer Roger almost had a guitar broken over his head.

The sky was turning delicate tones of orange, purple, and a deep, kind blue. Stars gently began to dot the sky, their reflections meeting them in the placid water of the Seine. Marinette was deeply content; she focused on every sensation and feeling, trying to bookmark it in her brain for later. Alya caught her staring from the top deck where she'd gone to get extra chairs and ran up to meet her.

"Hey, get lost for a minute there?" she teased, taking one of the folding chairs from her.

Marinette shook her head, the easy smile not falling from her lips. "No, I was just…he fits, doesn't he?" Her eyes were glued to the whole scene below. After Officer Roger had been placated and Jagged Stone had finished his extravagant entrance, things had calmed. All her friends were together in one place, smiling and laughing, and in the middle of it was Luka, either exchanging easy banter with Alix or playing scraps of songs with Juleka and her parents. His fingers were practically surgically attached to the guitar Juleka had loaned him.

"He does. I can almost forgive him for not texting you for like a month." Alya's full lips tilted into a smirk.

Marinette huffed. "He managed to worm his way off the hook for that." Not that it had been hard; one look at the longing on his face and the way his lips found hers had been all she needed, loath as she was to admit it.

Alya leaned a hip up against the stair railing, looking up at her friend with careful eyes. "So, does this mean you've moved on from you-know-who?"

You-know-who wasn't here at the moment, but Marinette's eyes scanned the crowd for him, old reflexes still working hard against her. "I want to be, I think," she answered softly. "This is…whatever it is, it's not anything like how I felt about him."

Her heart was still tender towards Adrien, but that love had all the trappings of innocent first love. Adrien tied her tongue, made her loopy and stupid, and was the perfect dream husband for her perfect dream life. Luka (who also made her tongue-tied and made her loopy and stupid) was…different. Ever since their first kiss, when she thought about Luka she didn't think about a perfect dream future where there was a chaste happily ever after, she thought about very present needs that warranted handling with his very nice fingers and very warm lips, after which there would hopefully be many repeats. Adrien was a pink bubble gum dream; Luka was a deep red need right now. And another point in his favor, Luka seemed to want her just as much as she wanted him.

"You aren't going to do anything stupid, are you?"

"Me? Stupid? No!" Marinette squeaked, suddenly brought out of her non-PG13 thoughts.

Alya shook her head, stepping up the last stair to be on the same level as her friend. Her long ponytail of braids shifted over her shoulder and onto her back, and the bright yellow of her dress seemed to glow as the night grew darker. "Look, I'm just here to be a little angel over your shoulder--I'm not saying don't go get some," she said, a salacious smirk growing before her gaze softened. "Just be careful. You have a big heart and a tendency to get real attached real fast."

Marinette sighed softly. It wasn't that Alya was wrong, but her "big heart" very rarely gave her a choice in the matter. Before she had a chance to respond, Alya's hand gripped over her wrist, alert wrought in her eyes. "Uh oh. Speak of the devil."

Marinette frowned, following Alya's line of sight. Her stomach sank--she'd know that car anywhere. Just as easily as she'd know the head of hair that emerged out of it. Adrien. She never had the chance to tell Luka about her very widely known crush--what if someone said something weird? Or if he could tell that she acted weird around Adrien, and felt like she'd been lying to him and wanted nothing to do with her afterward? But maybe this was an opportunity, to prove to herself and to everyone else that she'd moved on, just as she had claimed she had.

Catastrophic levels of panic were hit when Marinette realized, to her horror, that she had completely missed the second blond head that had already boarded the ship. If there was anyone in this world who would delight in ruining something she had going for her, it would be Félix (after Chloé. Or Lila. Or Hawk Moth--okay, the list was longer than she'd like). Marinette practically fell down the stairs in her haste to get down them, because Luka was the exact person Félix had made a beeline for. She could see a quick wave of confusion pass over Luka's face when he heard Félix say something to him, but he covered it quickly at Marinette's clumsy entrance.

"I brought extra chairs!" she exclaimed, pushing through Félix to set up her folding chair next to Luka. She promptly sat in it, smiling sweetly (staring daggers) at Félix, daring him to say something while she was sitting there. "I didn't realize you would be joining us, Félix," Marinette said.

Something dark lurked in the depths of his green eyes, but he pulled back. Félix returned the faux smile. "I'm not. I was dropping Adrien off on my way elsewhere. I noticed a face I hadn't seen before, so I thought I'd say hello. Any friend of Adrien's, you know."

Is a friend of yours? Doubt it, Marinette grumbled in her mind.

Adrien had stopped to talk with Nino, but the two came up to the group now, Adrien weaving through to extract his cousin from whatever mess he'd made. "Juleka, happy birthday! Sorry I'm late," he said, handing her a bouquet of black roses and white daisies. Juleka smiled, although she did raise her eyebrows, a quiet signal that had come to mean What Is Félix Up to Now, Blink Twice If You Need Help.

Adrien grimaced a bit before turning to the rest of the group, eyes lighting on the one person he didn't know. Adrien's face turned to Marinette's, begging for an introduction. Her tongue did the thing where it turned to mush, and she couldn't trust it to weave a single intelligent word. She heard Alix snigger a bit but still couldn't make syllables come out of her stupid mouth. The closest she'd gotten was putting a hand on Luka's shoulder, a dumb "D'uh…" coming out.

"Luka, Marinette's friend," Luka said for her, an easy smile on his lips.

Adrien smiled back, Marinette feeling utterly helpless in the face of it all. "Totally over it", yeah, what a lie that had been. She was just as lost as she always was.

"Adrien, also Marinette's friend. Nice to meet you." He said it as if he really meant it. Marinette could see Alya behind Nino, biting a nail--which she rarely did--things must be bad, but she couldn't figure out why.

Somehow, Félix was the one who saved her. "I ought to be on my way," he said, throwing one last glance at her and turning on his heel. "The car will be yours later tonight, Adrien." Félix's exit took most of the tension with it, and Jagged and Anarka stole the spotlight back after that, falling into some argument that they took below deck to scream out. It wasn’t the victory she had been wanting, but Félix hadn't made an absolute disaster of things, so that had to count for something.

Adrien went to grab a suitable box to sit on and placed it across from her, nearly completing their semi-circle. Alya pushed Nino down next to Adrien on what space was left on the box and sat down to his left, fingers tapping on her jean-clad thigh. Silence stole over their little group again, and Alix’s eyes began to rove across the group from the spot she had claimed from Jagged.

“Sooo,” Alix said, unwrapping another lollipop that she’d filched from the bowl of candy to her side, “You ever been to Paris before?”

Luka started slightly, realizing she was talking to him. “A few times. It’s been a while.”

“How do you know Marinette?” Adrien asked.

“We met in New York,” Marinette said. Her mouth was finally working, for better or for worse.

“Oh.” Adrien was looking like he hadn’t expected that answer, although what he had been expecting she didn’t know. “So, how long are you staying then?”

Luka’s eyes drifted to hers, making magic in her chest where her heart started going triple the speed. “I don’t have plans on leaving anytime soon.”

Alix’s cracked her lollipop with another crunch, a few pieces of candy flying off on deck. “Uh, oops,” she muttered, kicking the pieces beneath her chair. Something passed between Alix and Alya, and Alix cleared her throat. “Travel a lot then?” Apparently, her best friend had given up on Marinette's ability to keep the conversation going in her current state and was relying on someone else to do the job.

Luka nodded, fingers drawing back to the guitar in his lap. “A lot, actually. I’ve been through most of Europe, China, and Australia, although I’ve spent most of my time recently in the States.”

Rose perked up from her place on Juleka’s lap. “Oh, have you ever been to Achu? I’ve always wanted to see it in person!”

“It’s been a while, but I swung through there. It’s nice—really hot though.”

“I wish I could travel more,” Marinette sighed, leaning back in her chair. “I’ve been to China once and to London to see my aunt, but that’s it. And it’s always for short trips, never long enough to actually do or see anything.”

Luka tilted his head, fingers plucking unconsciously at the strings of the guitar. “No? London’s pretty close though, enough for a day trip. We should go some time. I’ll show you around.”

Alya saved her the indignity of having to blabber out a response between fantasies of her and Luka going on romantic strolls through Regent’s Park or Camden market by kicking Nino’s foot.

He leapt to a very clumsy rescue. “You’re a music dude, right?”

The conversation quickly turned from anything she could intelligently comment on, and that was just fine with her. There were way fewer chances to embarrass herself if she didn’t say anything (who was she kidding, maybe that had been Alya’s plan the whole time). Another hour slipped by without her noticing, easy banter flowing around them. Adrien hadn’t said much since he had first arrived, although it probably didn’t help that anytime he asked Luka a question or said something, someone else would dive in with something that dovetailed the conversation away from it.

“So, what do you think?” Nino asked, nervously adjusting his hat on his head while Luka listened to the song he’d mixed.

Luka nodded appreciatively, handing back over Nino’s headphones. “Cool sound—very Endtroducing. I dig it.”

Nino’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yes! Exactly what I was going for!” He turned to Adrien, slapping him excitedly on the shoulder. “See dude, I told you someone would get it.” Nino scrolled through his homemade soundtrack on his phone. “You gotta listen to this one next, I made it for Alix, it’s totally her vibe and I really need someone who doesn’t know her to give me feedback on it—”

“You also DJ?” Adrien asked Luka.

Luka smiled, lips tugging to the left in a way that made him devilishly handsome (or so Marinette thought, anyway). “No, that’s not for me. I just like to keep up to date on music trends. DJ Shadow really blew people away in ’96, guess you can’t call that recent anymore.”

“It’s a bummer we never got another album like that one, but I get what he said, I wouldn’t want to be stuck doing the same thing forever either. Hey, have you ever listened to Ulver?”

Alya clamped a hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “Sorry, boys, but it’s past nine. Luka and Marinette have places to be. You can nerd out about your tunes later.”

"Oh, crap!" Marinette shot out of her chair, checking her phone for the time as if that would magically make the earth rotate backward. "I'm sorry, I let us get distracted," she looked down at Luka with a wince. Marinette had gotten so comfortable she hadn't even realized it was past nine—Viperion was probably already waiting for her.

"I think this one’s on me,” he said with a laugh, ducking his head beneath the guitar strap.

"Aw man, c'mon, the night's barely over, you’re leaving?” Jagged’s fingers roughed out a spastic guitar riff like an irritable child when he watched them get up from their circle, Anarka following behind him from their screaming match beneath deck. “There's so much more jammin' to do!"

Luka carefully set his borrowed guitar back on its stand on stage. "Thanks for letting me play," he said, smiling wistfully at Juleka. Jagged held him up awhile longer, and Marinette found Adrien's attention focused on her before she could go untangle Luka.

"You guys are leaving?" he asked.

Marinette blushed slightly despite herself. "We have other plans tonight. It was nice seeing you. I haven't gotten a chance to say thanks in person."

He blinked, confused, before remembering what she had to thank him for. "Oh, that was nothing--like I said, you did all the hard work. He was really impressed by your portfolio. You're an amazing designer," Adrien smiled at her, boyish charm seemingly kicked into overdrive. "So, where are you and Luka going?"

Luka untangled himself on his own, walking up to her with an expectant smile. "Ready?"

She wanted to answer Adrien's question (not with the truth, of course, they weren't really going anywhere together per se, but she couldn't tell him about her business as Ladybug, so she would have had to come up with some kind of lie), but Nino called Adrien back over, and she used that as an excuse to say goodbye to everyone with a big wave. Luka held out the crook of his arm for her and she took it. They walked across the gangplank and along the Seine, lingering more the further they got from the boat. They finally stopped beneath a bridge, the slow-moving water of the Seine rumbled by, hidden from the lamp light.

Luka turned to her, gently putting his free hand to her face, palm cupping her cheek. This thumb grazed her skin featherlight, arcing from her cheek to her lips and she felt every nerve in her body start singing, ready to come apart just from touch. "I don’t want to freak you out," he said, humor and a bit of reserve in his tone, "But I haven't been able to get you out of my head since the day we met."

Something in the back of her brain launched fireworks, and she heard herself babble, "Well, you know, kind of like the Small World song, I guess, there whether you want it to or not--"

Luka laughed, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead, lips whispering on her skin. "Your melody is much sweeter than It's a Small World." He pulled back, eyes intense and full of, God, is that what love looked like? Adoration? Is this what it felt like to be on the other end of it? Because she was totally lost in it, consumed in the burning build-up in her body, the blue glow in his eyes. "But I'm glad it's a small world because I got to meet you in it."

Marinette hoped he'd forgive her for not having anything to say; her brain was in overdrive, nerve endings buzzing, and she couldn't quite put into words just how glad she was, too. She nodded instead, blush growing. "Thanks for coming tonight. It meant a lot and…it made me really happy." Although something had been bugging her, something she wanted to address but she wasn't quite sure how. "I uh…I like you, um--more than a friend would, although I don't know your friends so I guess I don't know how they feel. Just, when I introduced you to--I panicked because I wasn't sure what…" Marinette stopped and bit her lip, hoping that would be enough to convey what she'd been wanting to say.

Luka shook his head, fondness still on his lips, dark blue hair shifting over his forehead. "I'm whatever you want me to be, for however long you want me to be."

If a human could become a complete puddle, she was ready to liquefy and float away on the Seine. He was a dreadful liar about being bad with words. "I want you," she said quickly, then frowned. "Uh, although--I'm definitely late by now."

Luka grimaced himself. "Yeah, same here." Then he shrugged. "But what's one more minute going to hurt?" he said. Luka's hand shifted to lift her chin up, stooping down to kiss her. Her first kiss had been one for the books, but the second was just as good. What started as something soft ended hungry, his teeth gently grazing her bottom lip as they pulled away. "I'll see you soon, right?" Luka's voice was thick, and if she had to nail an emotion, it would be desperate.

"Definitely," Marinette gasped back, still finding her breath. It didn't make it any easier that she'd just spent 3 and a half hours on The Liberty, and whenever she was finally off the constantly shifting boat it always felt like she was the one moving back and forth for at least an hour after.

Luka left, leaving her to try and put herself back together. Marinette realized after who knows how long that her phone was persistently ringing, and she opened her purse to find a very cross Tikki, who had been putting up with it for a while. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," she said, grabbing the phone and answering it without looking at who it was.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Alya screamed in a whisper, voice slightly tinny over the phone.

Alix pipped up from somewhere, further from the phone. “Suffocating! Absolutely—” Alya shushed her to give Marinette time to answer.

Marinette blinked. "Uh. No, definitely not." That was for once a very simple truth she could tell in her current addled state. Which way was the sky again? Left? Right? Up?

"I didn't think you did--are you alone yet? I've called like three times."

"I'm alone, now, sorry about that I was uh…"

"Were you getting some?"

Marinette curled her toes in her flats, "No!"

Alix sniggered in the background and Alya's tone pitched to a squeal, "Oh my god you were--okay, no, not important, but still related. Listen, I know you couldn't tell because your brain goes into Lala land, but you do realize Adrien was seething with jealousy, right?"

She didn’t think anything could snap her back to reality, but that did the trick. "What? Alya, you're crazy--wait, where even are you two?"

"In the bathroom," she said with a huffy sigh. "But I'm not crazy. Even Nino noticed, and he's Nino! Why do you think he kept interrupting the conversation?"

Marinette ran through the night again, trying to remember any hint of negativity from Adrien, but he looked like he always had to her. Polite, princely, kind--nothing seemed off.

"I'm not calling you to be like 'hey, Adrien seems interested now, you should go for it', because as far as I'm concerned—”

“It would be a dick move,” Alix interrupted.

“It would be kind of a dick move to be all politely disinterested in you or whatever until the second you might not be available, I just wanted to warn you. Because if we noticed, there's no way Luka didn't. Did he seem weird at all? Anything off?"

"Uh…" her brain raced, thinking about the walk home, the kiss, the talking, "I don't…I don't think so…?"

She heard a smacking sound on the other end of the line, possibly Alya facepalming. "Alright, tomorrow we are getting together for a deep dive of the night's events--I've gotta go."

Marinette checked the time again, her gut clenching when she realized she was now a whopping 30 minutes late, and she still wasn't even making her way there yet. If Viperion had been waiting for her this whole time, there was no way he wouldn't be majorly pissed. She hung up with Alya, rushing to find a place to transform. Her life could never just be quiet, could it?

#in the shadows mlb #alternate universe #lukanette #luka couffaine #alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng #anarka couffaine #alix kubdel #juleka couffaine #roger raincomprix #felix graham de vanily #adrien agreste #rose lavillant #nino lahiffe #jagged stone #Nat's Monster In The Box

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madam-wakefield · 4 months

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Open When... Chapter 15

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Summary:

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 When a few years into their relationship Bernie is asked to go back to the army and deploy Serena isn’t sure how she’s going to get through the nine months without her girlfriend. What she doesn’t expect is for it to be her girlfriend who has the perfect set of surprises to get her through both the best and the worst days. Canon divergent - Elinor lives (well actually the accident never happens), Raf lives, and Cameron isn’t a total ass! The staff of AAU also probably didn’t all work on there at the same time in canon but do in this! The fic is already fully written with the first few chapters having already been Beta’d. 27 chapters including the epilogue. Hoping to post every Monday and Friday!

Open when you need a hug…

She’s at work when she hears the news, over a radio one of the patients is listening to, a suicide bomber has struck town where Bernie is stationed. Serena feels her legs buckle then and there. She feels Raf’s arm come around her to steer her into the office. Their office. And it’s the second she’s through the door that the sobs escape, because what if Bernie is caught up in it all? What if Bernie is hurt? what if Bernie is dead?! She cannot lose her. She agreed to this because it was what Bernie needed but she cannot lose her.

“You won’t lose her.” It’s only then that she realises all her thoughts have been said out loud. “You know Bernie, tough as old boots and stubborn as a mule. I’m sure she learnt her lesson about not coming back exactly when she was meant to last time.”

Serena laughs then and it’s so out of place. Tears streaming down her cheeks, worried to the pit of her stomach about Bernie’s safety, laughing about two things that are so wholly Berenice Wolfe. Serena doesn’t cry at work! She doesn’t break down and lose it, not when her girlfriend is in the middle of a war zone facing so much worse. But she just can’t stop.

Raf moves them so they are both sat in the visitors’ chairs. Arm comfortingly around her shoulder. There is a noise as the office door is open and in walks Fletch with a steaming cup of coffee.

“Latte, double shot.” He says gently pushing it into her hand, before walking back out. It isn’t her normal drink, it’s Bernie’s usual drink and it’s perfect and just makes her cry more.

“God, I miss her so much. We haven’t spoken to her in two weeks, not properly. They’ve been doing things away from base, so it’s made phone and skype calls impossible. I just don’t know what I’d do if that’s the last time I ever get to speak to her!” The tears continue but she takes a sip of the drink, and it feels a little like Bernie herself is wrapping her arms around Serena.

“You know Serena, Bernie is probably caught up in all that.” And at Raf’s words Serena’s breath hitches. “But not in the way you think. Your girlfriend is the bravest and most selfless woman I know, especially when it comes to her job. We all know that. Bernie wouldn’t let herself get hurt, how the hell would she be able to be the extraordinary Majpr Wolfe and save people that really shouldn’t be able to be saved if she got herself hurt. She’ll be there now barking orders at her team of medics and soldiers making sure that every single person possible gets out of their alive.” And Serena smiles then because that’s exactly what she’d be doing, her big macho army medic.

“And pulling a twenty-four-hour shift on only four hours sleep if that what it takes her.” Is Serena’s reply and she knows that is what Bernie really will be doing and Serena smiles to herself feeling her heart calm a little.

She takes another sip of the coffee, feels Bernie’s arms around her again and just gives herself a minute.

“Trauma call,” Fletch says not even 2 minutes later.

“Do you want me to take it? I can ask Dr Duval to assist if you need.” Raf offers, hand squeezing her shoulder.

But Serena shakes her head. “No, I’ll lead. It’s exactly what Bernie would do if the roles were reversed, if she was the one sitting here. But give me one minute to compose myself and finish this.” She says lifting the latte to her lips. She is going to go out there and make Bernie proud in her own way.

And when the one under survives, Serena can’t help but think it’s thanks to the bit of Bernie she felt was with her. The part that made her be brave and make decisions that usually only Bernie would make. Bernie makes her brave and she can do this, she only has four months left and they’ll be back together. And if from that day on Serena sometimes make decisions Bernie would makes instead of the ones she might have normally made, well they all pay off.

Before she goes home, she takes a look in her box of envelopes, deciding that a day like today is the perfect day to need a hug.

Once she’s at home in her pyjamas and wrapped in the fluffy blanket on the sofa she turns her attention to the envelope.

My Dearest Serena,

You need a hug but I’m not there to give you one, and I can only apologise for that. Instead, I’ve tried to do the next best thing. Go into the kitchen and in the back of the pots and pans cupboard. You’ll find a red box and inside it is just the things you’ll need. Go now and open it before you carry on reading.

Serena complies with the request, she pads into the kitchen, Bernie’s slippers on her feet to keep them off the cold tiles of the kitchen floor. She opens the pots and pan cupboard and it’s only after a lot of rummaging that she finally finds the box in question, no wonder she hadn’t found it sooner.

She takes the box back to the living room, slipping back under the blanket as she does so. She slips the lid of the box off and smiles at what she finds inside. Inside is another smaller box with a clear lid, and inside is some chocolates that spell out the message ‘a hug for you’ along with candle and some matches, this part she doesn’t quite get, so she decides to read the rest of Bernie’s letter.

I guess that I don’t need to explain the chocolates they are pretty self-explanatory right, and when do you not like a good chocolate or two? The candle however I will explain, you always say how much you love the smell of my perfume when we hug, well, I had the candle made so that when you light it, it should match the smell of my perfume. I know it’s not quite the same as a physical hug for me but I hope it’s close enough for now. Hope that maybe it helps you miss me just a little bit less.

All My Love Bernie,

Your Big Macho Army Medic x

Serena lights the candle and the scent of Bernie really does fill the room. She spends a bit of time reading trying to take her mind off the worry and in the end, she falls asleep there on the sofa surrounded by her girlfriend.

It’s four days later that she finally hears from Bernie. She’d known Bernie was okay by the lack of communication from the army but that doesn’t mean that her heart doesn’t speed up when she catches sight of Bernie’s name on her phone screen. Even if she was blissfully asleep just seconds early.

“Hey,” she says breathlessly into the phone, desperate to hear Bernie’s voice in response.

“Hello Sweetheart,” and there it is. Utterly shattered but wholly Bernie. Serena has to wonder just how little sleep Bernie has been getting especially after the suicide bomb. “I hope I didn’t wake you, wanted to be sure I caught you before you needed to get ready for work.” Serena’s heart flutters at the fact Bernie, despite everything, remembers her shift pattern, that Serena often attaches to the e-blueys to make contact a little easier. And the fact that Bernie is worried about her when she’s had at least eight hours in a comfy bed make her heart swell, she really is the luckiest woman alive.

“You did,” she considered for a second lying but she can’t do it. Can’t lie to Bernie. “But it could have been 3am and you could have woken me, and I wouldn’t have cared if it meant I got to hear your voice like I am now.” And she just hopes Bernie can hear the smile in her voice because it’s currently threatening to split her face in half.

“How are you?” Bernie asks her gently, in a voice Serena knows is reserved just for her.

“I’m good, missing you like crazy. But all the better for hearing your voice.” It’s only as she says it that she realises Bernie has rung her and not Skyped her. Her sleep addled brain clearly not realising before. “No Skype today?”

Bernie sighs gently on the other end of the phone. “No, it’s the first bit of down time we’ve had since the incident.” And Serena knows what she’s referring to without clarification. “A couple of the younger lads just really needed to see a friendly face right now.” And Serena understands. It doesn’t mean Bernie doesn’t want to see her, doesn’t mean Bernie needs her any less than the boys need their family. But that Bernie is their Major and it’s her job to look out for their wellbeing, to ensure they stay emotionally as well as physically healthy. Understands that this is probably the furthest away from home the lads have been. Serena knows that Bernie has done this before, and while she knows it doesn’t make it easier per say, she knows Bernie has her own coping strategies to help her through.

“I love you.” Serena says in replies, to ensure Bernie knows she understands, that she gets it.

“I love you too, so much.” As Serena can hear the smile in Bernie’s voice, underneath the tiredness and she picture Bernie in her mind, smile reaching her very tired eyes at the thought of her.

“How are you?” She asks now, turning over and smiling at the picture of Bernie on her bedside table.

“I’m okay. Exhausted, aching, drained. We lost three of our men in the incident, so given the circumstances I don’t feel I have the right to complain.” Serena’s heart aches now with the need to wrap Bernie in her arms. She can’t, so instead she turns over and hugs Bernie’s pillow, breathes in deeply to smell her perfume, the one she insists on spraying there at least every other day.

“I love you,” Serena says again because she just needs Bernie to remember that above anything.

“I know and I love you too. How’s Jason?” Serena gets that the change in subject is Bernie’s way of telling her that she can’t talk about the loss anymore, that she just needs some positivity to help her through the day.

“He’s doing really well. Misses you like crazy, though I can’t say I blame him for that. He’s taken up almost all the space on the sky box, recording programs such as world’s strongest man and Mary Beard for you to watch together when you are home, God forbid I ever miss an episode of Jeremy Kyle and need to catch up.”

“You and I both know you can’t stand the programme so don’t even try that one.” They both laugh then, and it’s nice a little sense of normality while separated by three thousand miles. “I also think it’s sweet, tell Jason I am down for a few tv marathon sessions when I get home.”

“I will, though you can tell him in a letter too, right? You know he loves writing to you.”

“Of course, I just thought it might help him you know given the circumstances of this week if you told him before he receives my next letter. And that’s just another one of the reasons Serena loves Bernie, she accepts and understands Jason where so many others would never be willing to. It’s as she’s having this thought that Serena hears the muffled voice in the background of the phone call.

“I’ve got to go love,” Bernie says next. “Emergency being brought in, and I need to go make sure the team are ready. “Tell everyone on AAU that I said hello. Tell Jason the same and that I miss him. And most important of all I love you, I miss you so much and I’ll be back soon, remember that okay.”

“I love you too, and yes 116 days. Stay safe soldier.”

Serena has ended every Skype chat and letter in the same way. Knows Bernie can’t respond, can’t promise to come back safe, but she knows it’s an important sentiment. Serena hugs Bernie’s pillow again, tighter this time, allowing the scent to surround her before she gets up for the day. When she does pull herself out of bed five minutes later, her first job is to mark another day off the calendar, a day closer to having Bernie back in her arms.

“116 days.” She whispers.

#Open When #Berena #Bernie Wolfe #Serena Campbell #Madam Wakefield Writes #Holby #Holby City #Buckle Fandom #Berena Fanfic #Berena FF #Berena Fanfiction #Holby Fanfic #Holby City Fanfic

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gb-patch · 3 years

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Ask Answers: August 8th

Well, doing big posts all together worked for a while but lately I’ve been putting it off because it takes a long time to get them done. I think I’m gonna try switching back to answering asks whenever I can fit it in and posting them one at a time instead of waiting until I’ve filled out one of these major collections.

But for now, here’s more ask answers! Thank you for the questions and for all the kind words along with them ^^.

Hello!! I'm here to ask if its possible to get the game and its dlcs on steam and play it on android?

I’m afraid not. Steam doesn’t have Android builds on their own site and Steam is not cool with keys for other sites being given out for Steam purchases, so you don’t get the Itch version from buying on Steam.

Hello! Sorry to bother you but, I had a question, if we buy the Game on itchio do we get steam keys or would we need to purchase it twice?

You would have to buy it twice if you want it in both places, I’m sorry. To repeat myself a little, Steam doesn’t like the key trading thing. Itch may support giving keys for another site, but the reverse isn’t doable with Steam and Steam doesn’t even really want you to get a Steam key for buying somewhere else either. So we just don’t mess around with that.

hey, sorry if this is frequently asked, but is step 4 free dlc or paid for? some of your sources are contradicting each other.

It’s free! There’s a paid wedding DLC, but Step 4 itself is entirely unpaid.

Hello! I just had a quick question, for the Baxter and Derek DLC's will we be able to confess our feelings to them or let them confess to MC? or will it only be one way? (they confess to MC)

Both type of options will be available!

Hey there! I wanted to ask whether or not the Derek DLC is still on track to be released in August since on the steam discussion board it says it will be released mid 2021. I totally understand if it isn't, I'm just really looking forward to it! If you answer then ty! And keep up the amazing work :D

It’s not, aha. Unfortunately, 2021 wasn’t easier than 2020 as we hoped so things are still slower than planned. It’ll come out late 2021 or early 2022.

Hi! Firstly I just want to say that I LOVE Our Life. I have played a bit of similar games but this one instantly wins for the best one! Everything about it is amazing! I just wanted to ask if Derek would ever lose feelings for MC, like if they make the deal and then MC gets with Cove would he move on? and even if you don't, after "losing contact" would his feeling fade or would he still like MC?

If you don’t really keep in touch with him and clearly move on with your life, Derek will too and he’ll be over it. But if you are still close as best as you can be, he’ll still think the MC is special. Though, he’ll always support your relationship with someone else if that’s what’ll make you happy.

Hello! Sorry if you've answered this before but: 'How's Lee related to us? Though which momma? And does she share our player-chosen last names? Also, do you know if Noelani took Pam's last name or did it happen the other way round?

She’s related to Pamela and Pamela’s last name is the one they use, so the MC has the same last name as Lee.

Will we be able to choose which (they or he) we tend to call Qiu by more often, or will it randomly change depending on the moment?

Qiu knows which pronoun they’re comfortable with at a time and you’ll call them what they’re happy with. And it doesn’t change between lines, it takes multiple scenes or even full Steps for it to switch. So for extended periods Qiu will be totally a guy or fully agender.

Will Step 4 of OL2 have moments?

It’ll be an epilogue like it is in OL1, so it won’t have a bunch of different Moments.

Hello! Just a quick question, is Sunset bird from OL1 based on a real location? If so what's it called? I wanna visit it +_+

ps i love your games so much <3

It isn’t based on one specific town you can go to, but there are a lot of little coastal towns in Cali that have a similar vibe!

Heyaaa ( I hope you're all well ), umm… it might seem kinda stupid to ask but did Patreon members can have a key for the dlc's ( all the steps-released dlc ) even if they became a member this month or later ? (me? saying this cuz it's my case? maybe ;-;), and once again thanks for absolutely all the amazing works on all the games ! u-u

You wouldn’t get the DLCs for backing there. The Patreon is for extra bonus content/early access, rather than being a storefront to purchase the normal DLCs. Rarely we give them out as a side gift, but it hardly happens and if what you want is the DLCs it’s best to ignore the Patreon and buy keys for those directly from Itch or Steam. I’m sorry for the confusion.

Hey y'all, love what youre doing w/Terry. Trans rep outside of player customization is so rare and important to see more of so thank you so much. I do have a question and its that does he have a canon sexuality? I know Miranda was said to be straight ace but I dont believe anything was stated for Terry probably because he wasnt revealed to be a guy which changes things. Im also curious if well get answers on how long hes liked Miranda since he may have liked her in step 3 before she liked him

Terry likes women and Randy likes men! And he did like Miranda back in Step 3.

Will the Wedding Dlc release at the same time as Step 4?

They’ll come out separately with Step 4 releasing first.

I really love Our Life so much! I've spent over 20hours playing it even though I only got it a week ago! I was wondering if I could make a fangame for Our Life with a different love interest but same plot. Next-door neighbors romance, multiple steps, etc? I'll probably make it on Google Slides though-

Sure! I hope you have fun with it and I’m glad you love the game.

How does Cove feel about poly relationships?

He’s got nothing against them for the people they work for, but he’s 100% monogamous and would only be comfortable with a partner who was willing to be monogamous with him.

Idk if this has been answered before but will Step 4 include the option to advance your feelings towards Cove?

Yep, you’ll be able to determine your feelings and what your relationship is.

In step 4 will there be a chosen to say we live with Cove even as just friends?

Yeah, you can choose to live with Cove and that can be done when you’re friends.

I just played the game with the MC and Cove being best friends and omg it’s still so damn cute like the wholesomeness of it all is too much for my heart I swear ^.^ Now with that all said I was wondering can we still marry Cove? if we only love him as a friend like let’s say we’ve made deal with him similar to the one we can make with Derek because let’s real no one could compete with what the MC and Cove have even if they aren’t in love.

It’s great to hear you enjoyed the friendship story! You can live with Cove, but you can’t marry him platonically. Cove has familial affection for the MC if they’re best-est friends. He wouldn’t think to marry someone he loves like family and even grew up with as though they truly were siblings.

Are you still going to be making a DLC for XOBD? :]

Yes! We’re slowing adding voiced lines and fixing errors.

It makes me laugh that Shiloh's last name is Fields because that's what I put as my last name! So in Our Life when he talked about "Ms. Fields" picking him up I was extremely confused, lol. That dude mimics personalities so much that he stole my surname!

Oh, wow, that’s a very funny coincidence, haha.

hi !! i cant seem to be able to get the scene where mc is able to propose to cove despite being at the 'love' stage and telling him i'd want to get married, are there any other details that im missing out on? the options just dont appear at the end...

Maybe you missed telling Cove you were in love with him even if you mentioned wanting to get married or you might’ve accidentally said earlier in the game that you don’t want to progress your relationship further with Cove. We haven’t removed them, so you can get the scene again. It’s just kind of easy to miss since there’s multiple requirements. You can read a little guide in the FAQ.

wait what di you need to do to be able to propose to cove? I've been trying but haven't had much luck

You can check out the FAQ linked above!

does cove only develop a crush on the mc if the mc is also at crush/in love with him?

Technically, yes. We treat the non-romantic relationship options as truly non-romantic since we don’t want to bait and switch people. But there’s nothing wrong with headcanoning that Cove does have feelings developing for the MC even before the MC has.

Is there a way to make/allow Lee and Baxter to date?

No, they just don’t have enough time together.

We also got a group of asks related to Tamarack in OL2, but I’m afraid the way they talked about people with larger bodies made me not want to post their words, even if the person didn’t say they’re trying to be hurtful. I will separate out the core question and answer it though, so people can know that info.

Does Tamarack lose weight in later Steps?

No, she doesn’t. As for the other questions included, to be honest, I don’t have to explain/defend having romance options of different sizes. I’m sorry if you’re dealing with unhappiness that’s connected to body image, if that’s where the negative emotions are coming from, but even so I can’t meet you on that level and pretend it’s a problem that needs an answer. A girl who simply isn’t thin being a main love interest is just not an unreasonable concept. Also, Tamarack isn’t a lesbian. Yes, she can date a female MC, but that doesn’t undo her actual sexuality, so I’m not sure where that one part at the end was coming from.

I wonder... can we "fight" with Qiu over leader status? 👀

Not really, haha. No matter how cool your MC is, they’re never gonna replace Qiu for the other kids around. So you can either partner up with him, follow him too, or not be a part of all that group politics stuff.

So when I play the game, sometimes I mentally call Cove “Covie/Covey” and that made me wonder, how does Cove feel about being nicknamed? Not like Romeo/Space Cadet/etc. but like pet names relating to his actual name

It’d depend on his age, personality, and your relationship with him! When he’s younger he’d probably be embarrassed, when he was grown he’d probably be more casual or happy about it.

will you be able to date baxter in step 3 while at crush with cove (but not dating him ofc) sorry if this has been asked already. i really love baxters step 4 design btw!!

Yeah, you can be crushing on Cove and date Baxter if you weren’t already dating Cove. You just can’t be truly in love with Cove and then switch to Baxter.

I just got my friend into our life, and they adore shiloh and derek sooo will there be more of them in the second game?

I’m afraid not. But you can see plenty more of Shiloh in XOXO Droplets/XOXO Blood Droplets, haha.

I see you haven't gotten any xoxo droplets asks recently but I'm still obsessed with these boys!! I was just wondering if Nate would curse under any circumstance?

Yeah, Nate does use certain swear words (damn, hell, bastard) on very rare occasions.

Hi there! I have a question about the wedding dlc. Will we be able to plan a honeymoon during the planning stages of it or would it be something that Cove and the mc would rather plan later on? Thank you! Absolutly love the game by the way, definitely one of my favorite games!

The focus will be on the wedding day itself. The topic of the honeymoon might come up a bit, but there won’t be any choosing of the exact location and such.

Hi! I have two questions and it's completely understandable if you only answer one/neither and I'm sorry if you've already answered either before! First, is there a set year in which OL:B&A takes place (ex: Step 1 being set in 2010 & Step 2 being set in 2016, etc.) or is it simply up to interpretation? Second, have you guys thought about doing a coming-of-age game where the MC has a tough home life or upbringing? (like one of their parents is an addict, a parent being transphobic whilst the player has the option to be trans, or having friends that are influencing them to do drugs, etc.) That's all! Thanks for making beautiful games. <3

There is a set timeline!

Step 1: 2006 Step 2: 2011 Step 3: 2016 Step 4: 2021

And we don’t currently plan on making a game like that. The Our Life series exists to be a safer environment for people to play around in and if we did do a brand new series that was harsher edged it’d be something more fantastical and/or plot-driven instead of a different type of modern day slice-of-life growing up story. I’m sorry.

i don’t know if you’ve already answered this, but do you have a guess on when phase 4 will come out? as well as ol2? i’m so excited for both of them, the inclusivity in this game is amazing, you guys should be really proud of it!

Step 4 will be coming out very soon! OL2 is gonna take until 2023 to be anywhere near completion. But we might episodically release the Steps one at a time as they get done instead of waiting for three to be finished before launch like we did with the first game.

Hello, I was curious if there was an official or unofficial discord server for the game?

We do have a discord! You can join by clicking this link HERE.

how long do you plan to keep ol's patreon running?

Hopefully for at least a few more years.

Are you considering ever making merch?

Yeah, but I don’t know when it’ll happen or what exactly we’ll make, aha. It’s something we want do, just nothing is set.

hi! i just found out about your game a couple of days ago on tiktok (so sorry if you’ve already answered this question) and i was wondering if y’all are ever planning to release it on iOS?

I have no idea. It’s hard for a small group to get Apple approval and I honestly can’t say if it’ll ever happen or not. Maybe someday, though!

Hi, I love the art style of Our life and I would like to know if the artist has a Twitter? Also, could it be possible to fund more CGs for the game from him/her? So many times, I wish there was one like when the cutscene of the sunshower.

That’s nice of you to offer. He doesn’t have a Twitter, at least not one that’s public enough to be shared with me. And I’m afraid not. The issue is that the CGs take huge amounts of time rather than there not being a budget for it. He’s gotta make CGs for Step 4, the DLCs, and new character sprites, too. There isn’t space in the schedule for even more. Sorry for that.

Hi, how are you?!

Are you planning on accepting new writers or is it always the same people who write your stories??

Thanks!!

Our Life: Beginnings & Always won’t be getting new writers, but we will be hiring a new team of writers for Our Life: Now & Forever eventually!

perhaps this counts as nsfw and I'm sure it has been answered before but what does Cove prefer, chests/boobs or butts? or perhaps both :3c thank you for this wonderful game (and the patreon bonus moment, it was worth all the waiting and more ♥)

He’s a “chests of all shapes and sizes” kind of guy, haha.

i was wondering- did any of the writers actually grow up by the beach? as someone who's lived in a beach town all their life it really did feel nostalgic to play through our life 1

I was born and raised in Cali! Though, not right by the beach. We still had to make trips out, but the setting is based on my own childhood memories of small beach towns we went through.

In Derek’s upcoming DLC, will we be able to reference the pact we made as teens? (love olba and xod/xobd so much btw you’re literally amazing)

Yep, you will be able to talk about that!

Oh, sorry about the Cole being secretly L ask, then!

If you wanted context: Death Note is about this one guy who finds a notebook that kills anyone who you write the name of in there. The guy eventually develops a God Complex and starts mass killing criminals and stuff. L is the one trying to find out who is killing all these people.

Me and my sister first joked about it because I couldn't remember how to translate a word about the way Cove was sitting, so I just did the pose, and it looked a lot like how L himself sits! Then we just snowballed from there, with more and more nonsense connections.

That’s okay! Thanks for explaining. I’m sorry I didn’t know what you meant.

#our life #ask #gb patch #gb patch games

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redleavesinthewind · 2 years

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castiel’s guide to loving a human

for @emeraldcas‘ creator celebration 💚

part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / full version on ao3 / dean’s guide / the home guide

prompts: soft epilogue and “the sun will never shine as bright as you

step 4: tell him all that is important

They’re watching the sunset, sitting in Cas’ garden and taking advantage of the warmth the first weeks of spring bring. They’re drinking Dean’s famous homemade lemonade, which is according to Jack not quite sweet enough, but Cas thinks it’s just right. Dean’s smile was brilliant when Cas told him he couldn’t get enough of it.

There is a moment, a very short one, just before the sun disappears, when it shines brightest. Then it is gone, and the world becomes darker, though not less bright. Not when Dean is still sitting next to Cas.

“When did you know?” Dean asks.

“When did I know what?” Cas sets down his glass, turning to face Dean.

“That you love me?” Dean looks almost nervous as he asks, turning the glass between his hands, making the lemonade in it swirl around.

Cas thinks, trying to find the words to explain. “I guess, I’ve been in love with you since I first saw you in hell. Your soul was bright, brighter than anything I’d ever seen, and so beautiful despite the violence it was surrounded by and the corruption that threatened to creep in.”

Dean scoffs unbelieving, but Cas doesn’t let that stop him. “I will always remember when I sent you back to the past and pulled you back just as you saw your mother make that deal with Azazel, and I saw the pain in your face. And it hurt me too, to see it so plainly in your eyes. That’s when I realised that something was… different. That I was feeling things I shouldn’t.”

Cas wasn’t able to pinpoint the exact moment before, but it’s so clear in his mind now that he knows, that was the point of no return. “Of course I didn’t know it was love at that point. That came later.”

And Cas thinks of all the moments he realised he was in love with Dean. When he watched over him during his time with Lisa, and the longing became nearly unbearable. When Dean found him in purgatory and for one second, his relief and happiness at seeing him again was so great that it almost made him forget that they couldn’t be near each other. When he broke free of Naomi’s manipulation because he couldn’t—wouldn’t—keep hurting the man he loves.

Cas loved him through it all, when Dean descended into blind rage due to the Mark, when he was sacrificing himself to save the world. Even when Cas and Dean couldn’t look into each other’s eyes, angry and grieving and blaming each other for things they couldn’t change, when Cas left and Dean didn’t tell him to stay, there was still the all-encompassing, ever-present love in Cas’ heart.

He considers telling Dean all of this, but in the end, that’s not what’s important. Instead, he takes Dean’s face between his hands and kisses him. When they part, Dean smiles. “It was just a random morning.”

“What?” Cas frowns. Sometimes Dean starts sentences and just assumes Cas can read his mind to fill the gaps.

“It was just a random morning, when I realised I love you. I woke up and just knew. It’s been happening gradually, I think. The falling in love. And then one morning I just knew.”

Cas kisses Dean again, letting the world around them grow dark as Dean grows brighter.

“I love you.” Cas says, still holding on to Dean. “It feels like I’ve loved you my whole life. Even before I knew you.”

And when Dean’s soul lightens even more at that, Cas chuckles. “And I love how bright your soul is.”

Dean scoffs again, but it’s amused. “Dude, it can’t be that bright. Maybe you’re less sappy when the sun’s up again tomorrow.”

Cas laughs. “Would you believe me if I told you the sun will never shine as bright as you.”

Dean looks like he’s rendered speechless, but the kiss he lunges into is all Cas needs as an answer.

✨taglist (ask to be added/removed)

@t4tspirk @classycoffeecat @goiwantamuffin @bookworm-789 @emeraldcas @magickastiel @hellericarus @thefantasyfiend @blue-eyed-cutiepatootie

#and that is itttt day 4 and the last part of this fic! it was sooo fun!#i hope you like it #elliot writes #deancas #castiel #rambleoncas #sirlampselot #tuserpris #userjactingjoices #justcastiel #creativecaviar #(this part fought me so much but i'm pretty happy with how it turned out!)#emeraldcas2k

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lilacmeadows · 3 years

Text

Made For You pt.4

Whooo! The last part! Are You guys proud of me? I wanted to make it really sweet and solidify them as a non-toxic couple. Ugh I loved writing this reader. So happy to live and breath for Bucky (yes, ‘tis me). Requests are open, so if you ever miss her, and want a ‘Made For You’ drabble or epilogue or something, let me know.

BUCKY X READER

Summary: Hydra had just finished training you to be the Winter Soldier’s perfect mate when the Avengers saved him. But what’s going to happen to you now that Hydra has deleted your old life and left you with nothing but a soldier that needs to learn to love himself before he can love someone else.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

WARNINGS: explicit sexual content, explicit language, stockholm syndrome, slight dom/sub dynamics, mentions of captivity and kidnapping, mutual pining, SMUT, ORAL (f receiving), FLUFF, angst if you squint (must be 18+)

Bucky sauntered into the kitchen, happier than he has been in at least 70 years. Things seem like they’re looking up. Out of Hydra’s control, gorgeous girl who likes the way the carpet feels on her knees. He felt guilty, but he was happy. That is, he was happy until he saw Steve sitting on a kitchen barstool, and he was snapped back to the reality of his situation.

“Hey man. Do you know where the number to that Chinese place is?” Bucky asked Steve, not meeting his eyes as he rummaged through the drawers.

“Yeah, it’s on a menu in the drawer to your right.” Steve pointed to the drawer in question.

“Thanks.” Bucky replied, looking over the options and wondering what she would like. Bucky remembered how it was when he was first free from Hydra. He hadn’t had processed foods in decades, and his stomach couldn’t take it. He decided on nothing spicy, just some noodles with broccoli and beef. Then he doubled that order for himself. This made Steve’s brows perk up.

“Eating for two, Buck? Steve asked once his friend was off the phone.

“I told Y/n I’d order dinner while she showered.” He said, shrugging like he hadn’t just gotten a world class blowjob.

“Dinner? So what’s going on with you two? You barely talked to her on the ride here. Did something change?” Steve asked, as Sam walked into the kitchen, joining their conversation.

“Dinner? You and Y/n are having dinner?” He asked, trying to catch up, but Steve only knew as much as he did.

“We... talked. She’s nice. I just want her to be happy while she’s here because she’s got nowhere else to go.” Bucky shrugged. Pulling out two cups and filling them with ice and some fruity beverage- which both men noticed.

“”Buck, you’re not actually gonna pursue her are you?” Steve asked? This was what Bucky was dreading. He knew Y/n probably needed years of therapy and to be far away from him, but he also knew that he was happy, and Y/n looked so at peace when she made him happy. So why can’t they both just be happy together?

“I don’t know man. I mean, she really likes me, and I don’t have to hide anything from her. She makes me seem like the sane one.

“But Buck, she needs help. She’s been in captivity for a decade only thinking about pleasing you. How are you okay with that?” Steve looked disappointed in him, but he knew Bucky wasn’t trying to take advantage of the situation, he wanted to be happy.

“Shit, I’m okay with it. Do you know what I would do to have a girl that looks like that look at me the way she looks at Bucky? And without all the annoying things women do. Aye, I think if she’s happy making you happy, what’s so wrong about it?” Sam finished. Steve thought it over for a second. He still didn’t love the idea, but had to admit Y/n really wanted to be around Bucky. Keeping her from him would only make her miserable.

“I never wanted to take advantage of her. But she literally begs. What am I supposed to do? Be an asshole? Not to mention, I’m happy too. It’s nice having someone really care about you, you know?” Steve gave him a look. “I know you idiots care about me, but I mean a woman. It’s not like I’m gonna do much better than Y/n. Beautiful women aren’t lining up to date a 85 year old, ex-murderer with a metal arm.” And he was right. Where would he find better than a woman Hydra made just for him?

The doorbell rang, and Bucky paid for the food. He picked up the drinks he prepared and said goodbye to his friends. Bucky knew the whole situation was kinda fucked, but he also found himself missing Y/n in the time he was in the kitchen, and that feeling was only eased by the knowledge that she’s in her room, waiting for him to return.

But when he got there, it took everything in him to not drop the food where he stood. She was sitting crisscrossed on the bed, knitting, in just a t-shirt he gave her. Her pussy was on display for him the minute he walked in the door.

“I- I got- the umm... The food is here.” He said as he walked in and placed it on the table.

“Thank you, Bucky.” She said as she put the needles down and walked over to the table. “It smells good.” She said, looking at different labels and the cups of juice.

“Yeah.” He said, zoning out a little at the sight of her bare legs. Much more of them were exposed than earlier. He could see the shape of her hips, and he watched her nipples harden under his gaze- his cock twitched in response. “You didn’t like the sweatpants?”

“Not really, I was too warm. And pants feel weird in between my legs.” She responded, looking up at him with big eyes. He groaned. It’s like her responses turned him on when she wasn’t even trying to. He assumed they trained her to be so seductive, but he swears part of it almost seemed natural. Like for some reason he couldn’t help but be turned on by her.

The two of them shared their meals together at the little table. He could tell she was a little nervous around him, but also happy to be in his company. Bucky also noticed how good she is at making conversation. Always polite, but she knew exactly the right things to say.

“So you’re definitely gonna knit me a sweater right?” He jested, empty takeout boxes discarded in the trash.

“I’d love to. But it’s gonna take a whole lot of yarn. I don’t know if anyone told you, Bucky, but you’re kinda broad.” She said with light in her eyes.

“I’ll get you all the yarn you want, Y/n.”

“What color do you want it?” She asked.

“You pick, Babydoll.” He said, pulling her chair a little closer to himself. He couldn’t help wanting to be closer to her.

“I want yarn the color of your eyes, Bucky. Sir, you’re so beautiful.” In their proximity, she definitely noticed his reaction to her calling him ‘Sir’. Feeling emboldened, she continued. “Do you like when I call you sir?” She asked.

“Yeah, Babydoll.” He breathed, they were pulling each other in like magnets. Everything felt like it was coming into place for the two of them.

“Then why do you tell me to call you Bucky?” Her giggles were cut off by a bruising kiss. She immediately felt his tongue demanding entry that she was too happy to allow. He picked her up from her chair, and placed her on his lap, straddling him.

“Because I can’t think straight when you call me that.” He said, standing with her legs around his waist. He could feel her wet, pantie-less pussy rubbing against his abs, and groaned in frustration. He was hard as steel.

He sat her gently on the bed, and started sliding down her body.

“You’re only gonna wear my clothes, okay?” He ordered. He knew she would do whatever he asked of her, but he would never ask her to do anything bad. Just seeing her in nothing but his shirt did something to him.

He pushed up the shirt, and kissed all the newly exposed skin. His cold, metal arm felt heavenly on her hard nipples. He kissed and licked all the way down her belly until he reached where she wanted him most.

“What are you doing, Sir?” She asked him when he started separating her folds.

“I’m about to eat this pretty pussy, Babydoll.” He looked at her from in between her legs.

“Ohhh. Why?” She asked. She didn’t want to sound dumb in front of him, but in her studies, she never saw anything being reciprocated. She assumed her body was just for his pleasure. But if this is what he wanted, who was she to complain.

“Because it’s soaking wet, beautiful, and I want a taste. Plus, how else am I gonna fit in here if I don’t get you ready? I can’t break my shiny new toy on the first day. My shiny Babydoll.” He said before taking a long lick from her entrance to her clit. “Mmm tastes so sweet. Like sugar water.”

“They only let me drink water and cranberry juice.” She giggled, glad to see him enjoying something she worked so hard for.

“Damn, if we didn’t kill Hydra, I’d have to write them a thank you card.” He joked, putting a finger in her hole and sucking her clit. She was moaning quite uncontrollably, she never felt pleasure like this (or really at all), and it was overwhelming for her.

But then he stopped all of a sudden. He kissed back up her body, and left his finger inside of her- something clawing at his mind.

“They- Hydra didn’t touch you did they? Did they touch my Babydoll?” He asked, looking her deep in the eyes. Just the thought of them touching his girl brought rage to his chest.

“N- no, Sir. They wanted me t-to, to be untouched for my S-Soldat.” She was finally able to muster. He wasn’t helping her concentration. After he ask his question, he added another finger and started stroking her walls. Upon her answer, he hummed and pulled her into a kiss.

“Y/n, You’re so good for me, Babydoll. But I don’t think I can take another minute not inside you.” He said, pulling off his clothes with one hand, the other knuckle deep in her pussy. As his hand increased speed, and his thumb pressed on her clit, she clenched around his two fingers and came. He pressed his tip into her entrance before she even came down.

“Sir, you’re so big.” She squealed.

“Babydoll, I’m barely in you yet.” He laughed before he drove home. Her legs wrapped around him as she screamed. The pain disappeared after the initial shock, help by the powerful orgasm she just had. But that orgasm seemed like nothing compared to the one he was currently brewing inside her with every hit to her cervix.

“So goddamn tight, Babydoll. Like you were Made For Me™️. I’m gonna cum so deep inside you, Y/n. Do you want that? Want me to claim you right here?” He pressed his hand on her belly, where he could feel himself bulging out of her from his size.

“Yes! Bucky, Yes!” She shouted, the knot deep inside her about to snap. “Please, make me yours, Sir” She moaned out his name like a prayer.

“Yes, good Y/n. My precious Babydoll. I’m about to cum baby. Cum with me, Y/n.” He said, grinding his pelvis in every thrust to rub against her clit. One of his arms supported his body while the other massaged her sensitive nipples.

Her orgasm was explosive, and the tightness around him felt so good, he followed her into the abyss. She shook and shuddered, while he stroked her hair, not ready to pull out of her just yet. They didn’t say anything until after he left to get her a washcloth to clean up her sopping, sensitive pussy. He was damn near mesmerized by the way she jumped a little from the overstimulation, and loved how his cum gushed out of her a little every time she breathed. He knew he needed this girl in his life forever.

“Bucky, I always wondered what happened to the women in those videos after her job was done.” She whispered against his lips when he came back up and put his arms around her.

“I doubt they got the special treatment like you do, but you deserve it for being my shiny Babydoll.” He told her and kissed her nose.

“Why do you call me that?” She asked.

“Because you look like a doll and you’re my favorite new toy.” He chuckled against her lips. Lazy kisses being exchanged between the two.

“So you’re gonna keep me?” She beamed at him.

“Of course I’m gonna keep ya, silly girl. You’re absolutely perfect. And it would be pretty rude to not keep a gift made just for me.” He kissed her one last time before she tucked her face into his neck and fell asleep.

He knew he’d have to teach her all the compassionate things about a relationship Hydra never did, but he was happy knowing that he’d protect her the way he had all those years ago. And that being with him is all she wanted.

~ if you wanna join my tag list/ be removed just let me know!!! My asks, replies, and messages are always open.

@austynparksandpizza @dracris33 @crzcorgi @musicheaux @little-moonbeam-666 @andydre4m @anakinravageme @hydrasbitches @bl4ckglitt3r @wondergirl556 @wannamonster @cremedelabrulee @buckybarnes-bitch @yazzyu

#bucky barnes smut #bucky x reader #bucky #bucky barnes #bucky fanfic #bucky fluff #bucky imagine #bucky x y/n #steve rodgers smut #chubby!bucky #winter soldier smut #winter solider x reader #the avengers smut #the avengers #captian america

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pascalslittlebrat · 3 years

Text

What Hurts the Most~Epilogue

Rating: T

Pairing: Marcus Pike x F!Reader

Word Count: ~2000

Warnings: none honestly, this is just full on sweet fluff

A/N: I started this series in March in an attempt to process something very real and something very painful I went through. I went through this series having days where it mentally drained me to get such emotions out. I had days I didn’t even think I’d be able to give these two a happy ending. But here we are and I’m thankful for each sweet comment I’ve received that helped push me on to creating and finishing this off. I cannot deny I shed tears writing this, knowing after this long angsty journey that these two big dummies time has come to an end. I hope it touches y’alls hearts as much as it did mine xo

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Series Masterlist

Masterlist Taglist (if you signed up before please resign up if you haven’t google forms glitched and deleted responses)

Credit to @pajamasecrets for the Pedro gif

There’s a flash, blazing arcs in the sky before the explosion of light and color. There’s a sparkle of gold, red, and orange shimmering down after the pop before dimming, matching the scene projected on the castle in front of them. There’s the oohs and ahs of the crowd as they watch the scene in front of them change with the melody, clapping as more fireworks fill the sky, sometimes in multiple bursts, in flashes, or like a shooting star across the sky. The mixture of light and smoke to give each scene the ambience it needed to make you feel a part of it.

Children gasped, screaming out each character they saw in excitement, and he couldn’t deny it was a bit crowded in front of the castle for his liking but Marcus didn’t mind. Not when he had you in front of him looking like a child that was just handed the best gift on Christmas. Marcus watches as you look on in awe, the flash of each explosion making your sequined Mickey Mouse ears shimmer, reflecting the different colors lighting the sky.

You’re smiling up at the sky and in Marcus’ eyes shining almost as bright as the fireworks. You seemed to glow under the light and he couldn’t deny he was paying more attention to the beautiful sight of you in front of him than the show going on around you both. This was your favorite part of each visit and he loved the way you always reacted as if it was your first time, just as the children were. You were so at ease here, not afraid to let the childlike love you have for Disney come out when you both visited and he loved to watch it unfold.

Your reactions were as pure and excited as the kids watching the display and it tugged at something in his heart. It made him want to see this on repeat over and over again, these moments where you gave off so much warmth that he wanted to just hold you and soak it in. A memory, a piece of home, he can carry with him everywhere he went.

As Marcus watches you beam up at him, he couldn’t believe you were his, that he had been deemed worthy to have the love you had given him, to be able to share moments like this. You press your lips against him, smiling brightly as you wrap your arms around his neck, “I love you.”

His heart flutters, you were emitting so much happiness and love as you stared into his eyes that it practically took his breath away. “I love you too sweetheart,” he says against your lips before pressing another soft kiss to your lips.

You can’t help but grin against his soft lips, running a hand over scruff, feeling the most content you had in your life. You turn around to face the light show again, pressing your back against his chest, feeling a fluttering in your heart as you feel his hand on your hip, keeping you close. You can’t help but take in the moment, feeling lucky to have someone like Marcus that didn’t mind going to parks like this with you even when you were both in your thirties.

Marcus smiles to himself, glad you were so focused on the fireworks and music that you hadn’t noticed the way he was starting to shift side to side from his nerves, hand in his pocket fidgeting with the velvet pouch that felt heavier than it truly was. The show would only last so much longer and then the time would come, the moment he had planned. He watches you sing along to the songs, chuckling as you sing off key. It reminded him of the moments you used to be afraid to sing around him, when you both had first become friends, when you’d turn to look out his window during car drives to hum to yourself. He hold back a laugh at the fond memory, feeling his nerves calming some as he thinks of all you both had gone through, how you both were here at this point. A moment he had been waiting for after the year you both had spent truly together.

He takes a deep breath wrapping an arm around your waist, leaning down to lay his head on your shoulder, just a few more minutes. He closes his eyes, smiling as he listens to your voice, he starts swaying you both back and forth, feeling himself visibly relax as he inhales the soft scent of your shampoo and perfume. Marcus chuckles as the castle turns purple and blue, you starting to belt out “Love is an Open Door”, the music trails off and everyone aws as the castle changes color again, a projection of Simba and Nala coming across it and Marcus immediately knows exactly what song is to come, excitement running through him.

You let out a soft squeak as Marcus turns you around to face him, a lopsided grin on his face that makes your heart race as he looks down at you in admiration. The start of “Can you Feel the Love Tonight” begins to play and you burst into laughter as Marcus reaches up to cup your cheek, “Can you feeeel the love tonighttttt, you needn’t look farrr” he belts out closing his eyes and swaying you both. You join him, not caring as people look at you both sing. He spins you around the crowded area making you giggle.

“Cause you'll be in my heart, yes, you'll be in my heart,” Marcus continues to sing as the song changes. He pulls you back against him, arm around your waist, moving you both side to side. Something about his own off key notes and the extra dramatics he was adding, had you smiling so big you felt like your cheeks would be hurting. It made you feel like a love struck teenager. “From this day on, now and forever more, you'll be in my heart,” you both sing, both of your hands coming up to your mouths like imaginary microphones.

Marcus can’t help but laugh before bowing to you and giving you one last spin. He pulls you flush against him and your eyes twinkling under the fireworks and he knows that though he should still be feeling his nerves, that he wouldn’t choose any other moment than this. He presses a kiss to your forehead, before turning you back around to face the castle again. He nips at your shoulder and you turn to face him shaking your head as you give him a bemused expression, “What was that?”

“That’s how lions say I love you,” Marcus answers, watching as you turn around and get on your tippy toes.

“I’ll bite you later and show you how much I do too then my lion,” you say into his ear, before pressing a kiss to his neck, giving him a cheshire smile and turning back around. Marcus feels a shiver run down his spine, thinking of just what you both will have to celebrate once the show is over.

He holds you close to him as the show draws to a close. You both continuing your antics of singing along to each song or at least Marcus trying his best to for every movie he could remember from the movie nights you both would have. His hand slips into his pocket, fidgeting with the pouch as he pulls out the cool, round metal. He feels his heart start to race, the moment coming as he hears Walts voice come over the speakers. And so, our journey comes to an end. But yours continues on. Grab hold of your dreams and make them come true.

“Sweetheart?” Marcus says over the crowd, making you turn around and smile at him, eyes crinkling.

“Yes Markie?”

He holds up his phone with one hand, the other still hiding in his pocket, “Can you turn around for me to get a picture of you with the castle behind you.”

“Marcussss,” you whine but know you’ll still do it for him, “You already have one from the past few times.”

Marcus presses his finger to your nose in a boop, “Yes and I would love one for this time, please?” He pouts at you and you laugh as he looks at you with pleading eyes.

You scrunch up your nose as you poke his side, grinning as he tries to swat your hand away, “Fine, only because you asked so nicely.”

You turn around and Marcus feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest. For you are the key to unlocking your own magic. Now go.

Marcus turns to the woman beside him, “Can you video this for me please?” She gasps as he hands her his phone, showing her the ring in his hand. She nods, grinning at him brightly.

Marcus takes a deep breath, getting down on his knee behind you, watching as the diamond sparkles under the lights. Let your dreams guide you. Reach out and find your Happily Ever After.

You hear cheers as the final fireworks get released in the sky, clapping as you watch them burst, the last of the colors cascading down. There are gasps around you and turn around to ask Marcus what was going on. Your hands immediately come up to your mouth as you see Marcus kneeling on the ground behind you, a ring in his hand.

You feel the tears brimming in your eyes as Marcus looks up at you, that beaming smile on his face, brown eyes reflecting nothing but love. He says your name, silence seeming to fall upon everyone watching, waiting to see your reaction. He takes your hand, pressing a kiss to your palm.

Marcus feels his nerves coming back as the next words come out, “This is me reaching out for my happily ever after. Ever since you came into my life, I have felt like I have known you for years. You have seen me at my best, at my worst. You’ve helped me from myself, from others. You’ve helped me become a better man, when I’m around you...I feel like I’m home, like I’ve found my place in this chaotic world. I’ve lived without you and I can’t ever imagine not having you at my side again. Everyday with you feels like magic. When I see you smile, it’s like you’ve hung up the stars in this night sky, you bring so much light to my life. I can’t believe I’ve been deemed worthy enough to have someone as wonderful as you placed in my life. Will you do me the honor and marry me?”

You feel the tears start to stream down your face, knees wobbly as you hear his confession. Your mind takes you back to nine years before when you had told him it was your dream to be proposed to in front of Cinderella’s castle since you were a kid. The tears flowed more freely knowing even after all this time he had remembered. You let out a soft sob, nodding, watching as Marcus’ own eyes start to shine with tears. “Yes?” Marcus asks as if he’s waiting for you to change your mind.

You smile at him wiping your eyes with your free hand, “Y-Yes….Yes!” You both hear the crowd cheer, Marcus slipping the ring on your finger. He stands up, immediately lifting you in his arms and swinging you around as you laugh, placing both hands on his cheeks as you kiss his lips. The crowd starts clapping around you both, a unison of awws erupting, you pull away grinning at him, “I love you Marcus Miguel, I’ll never forget this.”

Marcus presses his forehead against yours, smiling against your lips, feeling as if it’s just you both in that moment, “I love you too my queen. I can’t wait for forever with you.”

As you stare into his soft eyes, his lips pressing against yours again for a sweet kiss, you feel the immense amount of love between you both, anything left unspoken being shared in the soft yet desperate kiss. The world melts away, just you both in this little moment that was yours and no one else's. As you stand there in his arms, the crowd forgotten, you know just as him, you wouldn’t want to spend forever with anyone else.

WHtM taglist: @silverwolf319 @metalarmsandmanbuns @waywardimpalawriter @martinsmomo @hellovanessax @alberta-sunrise @evelynseventyr @mishasminion360 @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi @phoenixpascal @a-bang-for-your-bucky @hunnybadger-naps @sara-alonso @giselatropicana @sweet-creature98 @maryfanson

Taglist: @purplepascal042 @ezrasbirdie @starlightmornings @danniburgh @mothandpidgeon @charnelhouse @wyn-n-tonic @mesmorales @221bshrlocked @agos-505 @skvatnavle @pintsizemama @starvel-3000 @agentmoonshine1 @sleepylunarwolf @greeneyedblondie44 @a-skov @prettylilhalforc @beskarboobs @stevie75 @starwarslove16 @pedrostories @chronic-nosebleed @ceniington @littlemisspascal @xxxroxsxxx @vibin-hippie @spanishmossmagnolia @kesskirata @amneris21 @punkerthanpascal @morena-doing-stuff @wantingpedropascal @rebel-fanfare @dindjxrinslover @janebby @what-iwish-you-knew @hauntedmama

#marcus pike #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x you #marcus pike x y/n #the mentalist #the mentalist fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal character fanfiction

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 3 years

Text

Dead Man’s Cell Phone--Chapter 4

Summary: When Emma Swan starts getting phone calls and texts from an unfamiliar number, she decides to check it out–only to discover the number belongs to a Killian Jones, who was killed in a robbery gone wrong six months ago. With some help from a medium, Merlin Emrys, Emma hopes to find out why a dead guy is contacting her–and why she feels such a strong pull to someone she has never met before.

Rating: K+

Welcome to my entry for the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer! A big thank you to @cssns, the ladies on the Discord! Thank you also to @eastwesthomeisbest, my artist and my beta @veryverynotgood!

Other Chapters: Prologue 1 2 3 Epilogue

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Killian felt as though he were swimming up from the bottom of the ocean. Everything was dark and still, the sounds around him muffled, as though he were hearing them through the water. And then suddenly the water cleared and he pushed through the surface.

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was her face, her beautiful radiant face looking down on him with hope and perhaps a bit of trepidation.

"Swan, at last!" he whispered past a throat as dry as sandpaper.

How he knew her name he had no idea, but know it he did, just as he had the strangest feeling he knew her--had communicated with her, had a connection with her.

Given the standoffish way she'd treated their one previous encounter, he expected her to pull away, to become defensive at his familiar use of her name, but she surprised him. Instead of shying away, she smiled at him, let her hand linger on his cheek a moment longer and simply said, "Welcome back."

A nurse came in at that moment, and Killian looked around in surprise. For the first time, he realized he was in a hospital.

"What--" he croaked before taking a sip of water the nurse brought him. "What happened?"

"We were rather hoping you could tell us that," replied a handsome black man who stood at a discreet distance.

"Killian, I'd like you to meet Merlin Emrys," Emma said. "It's thanks to him we were able to find you."

Killian held out his hand, and shook Merlin's. "You have my thanks."

"You're most welcome," Merlin said with a smile, "but I assure you I was only a small part of the puzzle. You owe your waking to Miss Swan here--to her and to the connection you share."

It was odd, Killian thought, that neither he nor Emma had introduced themselves to each other; it was even more odd that it felt as though such an introduction would be redundant. What had happened to them to make them feel as though they'd known each other for decades?

Soulmates, a small voice inside of him insisted.

"You have my deepest gratitude," Killian said, looking around at the two people with him, "both of you."

Emma took his hand, squeezing it gently. "Do you remember anything about...whatever it was that brought you here?"

Killian thought intently for a moment, closing his eyes to help himself concentrate. "I remember…" He looked up at Emma. "I remember you, love. I remember running into you, quite literally, and then I came across a scuffle in an alley. I tried to intervene and was struck from behind, and then...nothing."

"Killian," Emma said gently, "that was half a year ago. You were declared dead, and your family interred you in the family mausoleum. Do you know how that could have happened?"

Killian shook his head. "I have no idea, love. It is a mystery--"

Suddenly the flower vase on the bedside table crashed to the floor, making Killian jump.

"What the hell?!" Emma exclaimed.

It was me!

Killian jumped in the bed. He’d heard the voice as clearly as he’d heard Emma’s exclamation, but the voice wasn’t in the room; it was in his head.

“Did you….did you hear that?” he asked, eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline.

“Yeah, I think so,” she said. She looked as disconcerted as he felt. “Merlin? What’s happening?”

Killian turned to look at the other man in the room, but he wasn’t paying them any mind. His attention was focused near the nightstand and the shattered vase. For a moment, he merely stared intently, and then he nodded, as though acknowledging someone--or something--neither Killian nor Emma could see.

“Emma,” Merlin said, finally turning back toward the bed, “do you remember when you first came to me, I sensed another spirit with us? An angry and quite desperate one?”

Emma furrowed her brows. “Um...yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“He’s with us now,” Merlin said. “He’s the voice you heard, and he’s responsible for the broken vase.”

“Okay…”

“Killian,” Merlin said, “his name is Arthur. Arthur Pendragon. He says he made a terrible decision. He borrowed a good deal of money from the mobster known as Hades. The business venture he’d gambled the money on fell through, and to put it mildly, Hades was not pleased.”

“Clearly things went rather badly for him after that if he’s a ghost,” Killian said slowly, “but I’m afraid I don’t follow. What does this Arthur Pendragon have to do with any of us?”

It was me!!

This time the shout in his head was so loud it was nearly deafening. Killian scowled, glaring in the general direction of the nightstand where he assumed the spirit was standing--or whatever it is that spirits do when they’re haunting the living.

“Seems like someone’s impatient,” Emma said dryly. “Merlin, how about you stop with the vagueness and just spit it out. Who is -or I guess who was- Arthur, and why does he insist on yelling at us?”

“Arthur Pendragon is haunting you both because he was the man in the alley, the man you tried to save, Killian.”

Killian blew out a long breath. “Clearly my attempts were fruitless.”

Merlin shook his head. “No, you weren’t able to save his life, but he’s here for a reason. Maybe you can help him now, help him move on, help him find peace.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, I’m at his disposal,” Killian said, “but why the bloody hell does he keep repeating ‘it was me’?”

Merlin turned toward the nightstand and listened for another moment, and then he turned back to the bed, smiling.

“It would seem Arthur Pendragon is the solution to the mystery you face,” Merlin said. “It was Arthur’s body the authorities found in the alley. Your phone, Killian, was found beside him. Given the fact that he was beaten until he was unrecognizable, and given the fact that he bore a rather uncanny resemblance to you in life, it was believed he was you. It was his body that was shipped back to England.”

Emma whistled. “That’s quite the mistake.”

“Indeed,” Merlin agreed.

“So, how can we help him?” Killian asked. “How can we move him toward the light?”

“Arthur wishes his body to be returned back home,” Merlin said, “and he wishes a message be conveyed to his widow, Guinevere.”

“I can manage that,” Killian said. “What precisely is the message?”

“Arthur wishes to tell Gwen, as he calls her, that he’s sorry,” Merlin said. “He knows his obsession wounded his wife deeply, and he wishes more than anything that he’d been a better husband to her. He wants to thank her for her constant love and faithfulness, even when he was not worthy of it, but now she should follow her heart with his blessing. Lance du Lac is a good man, and Arthur hopes they are happy together.”

“I promise you, Arthur,” Emma said, taking Killian’s hand, “I’ll find your wife, and I’ll pass on your message.”

Killian felt a whoosh of coldness pass him, and then it was gone. Suddenly the room felt warmer, lighter.

Emptier.

“He’s moved on,” Merlin said. “Thanks to the both of you, a man who was very troubled--both in life and in death--was able to find peace.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

3 days later

Emma knocked softly on the doorframe, and then stepped inside Killian’s hospital room. He looked up from his seat in the plush chair in the corner, and his entire face lit up at the sight of her.

It made the butterflies dance in her stomach. He was gorgeous when he smiled like that, and she had to admit, the dark-wash jeans, blue button-up and black leather jacket didn’t hurt either. Lying in the bed in a hospital gown he was easy on the eyes, but up and dressed--woah!

His delighted grin turned knowing, and Emma felt her face flame. She was quite sure she hadn’t been this ridiculously attracted to someone since...well, she wasn’t sure it’d ever been like this.

“Looks like someone’s eager to get out of the hospital,” Emma said.

“Aye,” Killian agreed with a nod. “I believe I’ve spent more than enough time in this small room. I’m eager to make the most of my last day in the States.”

After waking from the coma and learning the truth of what happened to him, Killian had made an immediate call to his brother, Liam, paying no mind to the time difference that made it the middle of the night in England.

“Brother?” Killian said as soon as the call connected. “Are you sitting down?”

Emma had gotten up to leave then, not wanting to intrude on a private family moment, but Killian stopped her, squeezing her hand and begging her with his expressive eyes to stay.

Liam had offered to jump on the next plane to the States, but Killian had refused. “It’s been six months, Liam,” he’d said. “If my calculations are correct, my small niece or nephew is to be born any day. Elsa needs you now more than I do.”

Killian listened for a moment before grinning at Emma and rolling his eyes. “Stop fussing, Liam,” he murmured affectionately. “I’m not a lad anymore. I can manage alone.”

“You won’t be alone,” Emma said with conviction. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

And she had. She’d spent every free moment here with him at the hospital over the ensuing three days until the doctor had agreed to release him. Emma had long since stopped wondering about the connection she felt to Killian, had stopped fighting against the pull she felt toward him. Whatever odd twist of fate had brought the two of them together, together they were, and Emma found she had no desire to fight against the warmth and happiness being with him brought.

But now, well now, it was all about to come to an end. Killian’s flight was first thing in the morning, and afterward, there would be an entire ocean between them.

Emma’s heart plummeted. There were far too many obstacles for a “relationship”--or whatever you’d call what they had--that had lasted all of a week. She didn’t even know if he felt the same way about her that she did about him. In less than twenty-four hours, she’d have to say goodbye to the man who had somehow managed to burrow his way into her heart, and for all she knew that goodbye would be permanent.

“The doctor should be here any minute for a last check, and then you’re out of here,” Emma said, forcing the dismal thoughts from her mind. Killian being released from the hospital was a good thing. She wasn’t going to ruin the moment by being glum.

“I must admit, I’ll be pleased to be rid of this place,” Killian said with a wry grin. “How the devil is one expected to convalesce and get his rest when the nurses come to poke and prod every five minutes?”

Emma laughed. “Quit complaining,” she said. “You know you had all the nurses eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“They seem to have adopted me as their pet over the past few months, haven’t they? Even if the brigands who attacked me rather knocked the handsome out of me.”

Emma grinned. “No one’s that powerful.”

He enjoyed her flirting, if his pleased grin was any indication. After a moment, he sobered. “I want to thank you, Swan, for saving me, pulling me from the coma.”

She smiled gently. “Did you really think I’d let you waste away in here if I could help it?”

“I’d hardly blame you if you did,” he answered. “After all, we were strangers. Not one person in a hundred who received a phone call from a dead man would put in half the effort you did to track it down.”

Emma shrugged. “It was weird. I had the strangest feeling of connection to you, even though as far as I knew at the time, I’d never even seen you before. No way I could have just let you languish here.”

The doctor came in at that moment, and their conversation was put on hold as he did his final examination before declaring Killian fit to go about his normal life.

“So, I went ahead and booked you a room at Granny’s Bed and Breakfast,” Emma said when they were once again at home. “Granny put you in the same room you’d been in during your vacation, before, you know, everything happened.”

“I greatly appreciate it, love.”

“I guess, um,” she said, “we should go. I’ll drop you off and let you enjoy your last day in Storybrooke however you’d like.”

Emma turned to leave the room, but Killian stopped her with a hand to her arm. “Do you know how I’d most like to spend my last day in the States?”

She shook her head.

“I’d like to spend it with you,” he said with a gentle smile. “Would you allow me to buy you lunch?”

Her heart pounded. “Are you...are you asking me out?”

He nodded, taking her hand and lacing their fingers. “If you’re amenable, aye, I’m absolutely asking you out. What do you say?”

Emma stepped into his space, cupped the back of his head with her free hand, and brought his lips down to hers. If he was surprised at the kiss, he didn’t show it, responding as soon as her lips touched his.

And gods did he know how to kiss. Emma was more than tempted to scrap their lunch date and simply stay here making out all day. Food was overrated compared to this.

“Alright, Mr. Jones, you’re good to--oh, I’m sorry! Let me just leave this with you--”

Emma pulled away, grinning as the embarrassed nurse laid a handful of forms on the bedside table and then scurried out the door.

“That was a yes, by the way,” Emma said when they were again alone. “How about we go get that lunch you promised me before we scandalize any more nurses?”

Notes:

--Well there you have it! Mystery solved and happy endings all around.

--All that’s left is a fluffy epilogue in which a few surprise guests show up at an important event in Emma and Killian’s lives.

Next Chapter-->

#cssns21 #captain swan supernatural summer #cs ghost story au #(although not really a ghost story)#my fanfiction #dead man's cell phone

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dialovers-translations · 2 years

Text

DIABOLIK LOVERS DAYLIGHT Vol.12 Tsukinami Shin [TRACK 2]

Original title: 侵入者

Source: Diabolik Lovers Daylight Vol. 12 Tsukinami Shin

Audio: N/A

Seiyuu: Morikubo Shoutaro

Track 1 ll Track 2 ll Track 3 ll Track 4 ll Track 5 + Epilogue

→ LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

TRACK 2: INTRUDER

*HOOOOOWL*

The Familiars rush outside as you startle awake.

*Rustle*

You get up from the bed and leave the room in search of Shin.

*Thud*

*SCENE SHIFT*

You walk up to Shin’s room.

*Knock knock*

You call out for him.

[00:40] “...Is it you? Come on in.”

You enter the room.

“I bet you can’t sleep because you’re worried about what’s going down outside, right?”

You nod and ask him what is happening.

“It’s not just our Familiars making a fuss. More than half of those wolves are from the Wolf Clan.”

You frown.

“They suddenly entered the woods surrounding Banmaden. Usually this would never happen.”

You tilt your head to the side.

“This area is obviously part of Founder territory, so we don’t allow other species to set foot on it without permission.”

You ask why they did that.

[01:33] “Who knows? I’d love to know their reasoning as well. However…They’re the ones who broke the law. Therefore, they can’t complain if we decide to strike back.”

You seem worried.

“I know. I’ve talked it over with Nii-san as well. For now, we’ll use our Familiars to give them a warning and try to scare them off.”

*HOOOOOOWL*

“...!! This is bad!”

Shin suddenly bursts out of the room, leaving you startled before you decide to follow after him.

*SCENE SHIFT*

The two of you are running through the forest.

*HOOOOWL*

[02:38] “...!! What are you doing? It’s dangerous, so go back to your room.”

You ask him for an explanation first.

“Haah…Well, guess I have no other choice. The distant howling from earlier indicated an open fire. In other words, simply trying to intimidate them with the Familiars did not work. So I’ll go settle the conflict instead…”

*WOOSH*

You ask Shin why he transformed.

[03:11] “I can run faster in my Wolf form. I have to get this over with sooner rather than later.”

You try to change his mind.

“Listen. We’re past the ‘let’s talk it out’ phase. It’s their fault for not backing down after we gave them a warning. We have to show them what we’re capable of, or else they’ll look down on us. I can’t let that happen. I’m a Founder after all! …If you’re scared, just wait in my room, okay? I’ll get going now.”

Shin runs off.

*TIMESKIP*

Shin arrives on the battlefield.

[03:59] “Oi, you lotー! You’ve got a lot of audacity, don’t you think?”

*Groooowl*

“Oh? You’re not gonna run away? Guess you don’t know what’s good for you. In that case, I’ll show you what a Founder is made of!”

He begins to fight with the Wolves.

[04:20] ( Every time I struck down an opponent with my daunting claws or sharp fangs, I could feel my blood boil with excitement. Wild bodies moving vigorously, an overwhelming feeling of exaltation. Everything I have been looking for, I can find right here. On the battlefield. The feeling I get from defeating these Wolves one by one…Exactly, I am strong. This is what it means to be powerful. Being able to force your opponent into submission defines true strength. )

The opposing Wolves eventually run off.

*HOOOOOWL*

*TIMESKIP*

You sit up at the sound of approaching footsteps.

*Creaak*

*Thud*

You run up to Shin and embrace him.

*Rustle*

[05:25] “...!? Woah there…Now this is what I’d call a warm welcome. I didn’t think you’d jump straight in my arms. Were you that eager for my return?”

You admit to having been worried about him.

“Oh come on, you’re exaggerating. You really think a Founder would lose to some Wolves? No need to worry.”

You apologize.

“Hehe…But well, it really shows how strongly you feel for me.”

*Smooch*

[06:00] “Still, I think you’re too cowardly. I wish you wouldn’t think so lightly of me. …Hm? Aren’t your hands a little colder than usual? Seems like you’re feeling a bit under the weather again, aren’t you? Whenever you’re worried about something, it always affects your health right away, doesn’t it?”

“You’re probably lacking sleep as well, don’t you think? Things have calmed down again, so go ahead and get some nice rest, okay? I’ll even let you borrow my bed.”

You seem happy.

[06:37] “Go and sleep alone for now, okay? I’ll be back in a bit.”

You ask where he is going.

“There’s something I have to talk about with Nii-san. I can’t pretend this conflict with the Wolves never happened. We have to settle this once and for all.”

You frown.

[06:59] “Geez, there you go making that face again. Rest assured. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure that it won’t affect you.”

You nod.

“Okay. …Let’s get you tucked into bed then, okay?”

You walk towards the bed and crawl underneath the covers.

*Rustle*

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #shin tsukinami #diabolik lovers daylight #diabolik lovers drama cd #drama cd

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lovewillthaw-j · 3 years

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Elsa’s powers appreciation (part 2 of 3) - Freezing

To recap, I’d like to classify Elsa’s powers into 3 categories and 3 posts - making things out of ice/snow (part 1), freezing (and melting) and movement/kinetic energy.

Before I dive into part 2 - I received some comments on the first post about Elsa’s ice decorations on Arendelle castle, which I missed out on. I would classify them as medium sized objects that she creates out of ice =)

What is the difference between part 1 and part 2? Well, I make a distinction between her creating something that was not there, versus her freezing (ie lowering the temperature of) something that is already there. Of course this is just my opinion and some are arguable, such as the snowstorms - you could say she created it or you could say she froze the weather.

1. Small-scale freezing

In the first row, she freezes window sills both as a child and as Queen: in between, she is freezing the scepter and orb before the coronation (and also during the coronation itself).

In the second row, she freezes water under her foot and discovers she can walk on water. To the right, are 2 contrasting examples of her freezing the water fountain. In the first, she physically touched the fountain; in the second, she has “levelled up” and can freeze the fountain without physical touch.

2. Freezing the room she is in + the floor of the Enchanted forest

In the first row, she freezes the floor of the great hall (and the whole hall too); next to it is the sad scene after her parents’ funeral, which she didn’t dare to attend for fear of hurting everyone in her grief; rightmost, she is freezing the room within the ice palace and causing a mini snowstorm. (for snowstorms, she also uses her kinetic powers which I will cover in the third post)

In the second row are the two times she froze the forest floor, first to stop the Northuldra and Mattias’ soldiers; second during her fight with Bruni.

3. Further lowering the temperature of an already cold place

I want to point this out cos she does it quite a lot. Her powers are just THAT awesome! In the first row, in her anguish from hurting Anna, she lowers the temperature of the already cold great hall, causing more ice to form on the already icy floor and to spread up the walls (2nd pic) Next to it, in the ice palace, as she despairs while talking to Anna, we hear the sound of ice forming and we see more ice fractals appearing in the castle walls (which are made of ice and are already cold).

In the second row, with the castle glowing red, again more ice fractals appear and icy spikes form on the walls. On the right is a screencap from the dungeon scene showing more ice forming on the walls as Elsa’s emotions cause the temperature to drop further.

4. Freezing an entire geographical area + weather

This hardly needs description. She freezes the entire fjord and causes it to snow in summer in Arendelle.

Later on, after breaking out of the dungeon, her panic causes a massive snowstorm to form around her (again, snowstorms also involve her kinetic powers), engulfing the castle and lowering the temperature even further, such that huge spikes of ice block Olaf and Anna’s path inside the castle; also, so much snow blankets the castle that Anna is able to slide down the side of the castle safely to the ground. The storm also causes the fjord to freeze even colder; some of the ships move as a result of the warping ice and one of them topples and almost falls on Kristoff and Sven.

In the final image (post Great Thaw), Elsa has got it under control and is able to make it snow in a controlled manner and only in the castle courtyard.

Not shown is the epilogue of F2 where she has frozen the Dark Sea and gallops over it on Nokk.

5. Her hair

Haha, now for something light hearted. You can argue that this is a separate power, but I’d like to think that she froze parts of her hair in place to give her iconic hair do. Watch the progression of the screencaps - her long locks by the side of her face initially drape down, and with a sweep of her right and then left hand, they get plastered to the side of her head. Magic frozen hairspray...

6. Uniquely Olaf

Have you ever stopped to consider that the magical personal “flurry” that Elsa made for Olaf is pretty mindblowing? She literally made a mobile, perpetual freezer! ie, a localized zone of cold temperature that is cold enough to snow and keep Olaf from melting, AND follows him everywhere! To put it another way, in 1840s Arendelle, Elsa has invented a fridge! (that follows you) Wouldn’t every household want one of their own for those hot summer days?

Olaf’s permafrost is similar and a little bit frightening if you see it as Elsa “encasing” you in ice. She can permafrost all her sentient creations including Marshmallow and the snowgies now.

7. Freezing head and heart

This is one of the darkest sides of Elsa’s powers. She is able to send her freezing powers “into” a person and if it is the head - knock the person unconscious and turn some hair white; if it is the heart, the person freezes from within and their hair will turn all white like Elsa’s, prior to becoming an immobile statue of ice. Do you know what this reminds me of? I watched a nature documentary on certain parasites which infect insects and take over their mind before killing them from within. Could Elsa control your mind? I think Evil Elsa could...and would...(Hell, if Nattmara could...why not Elsa. -FoS)

I like to think that during the fight with Weaseltown’s men, she was falling to the dark side and if that had not been arrested, she could have easily unleashed her powers and frozen the hearts of all her assailants.

BTW, I did not realize before that when she hit Anna in the head, you can see a snowflake impact Anna’s head briefly. (captured in my screencap)

In the second row, I want to point out that frozen Anna’s body was SO COLD that Hans’ sword frosted up before the sword made contact and shattered. And this brings me to the next point...

8. Freeze metal and stone to ultra low temperature that they break

So I did some research and some metals can shatter once it is colder than a specific temperature called the “ductile to brittle transition temperature”. Cheap non-alloyed steel can shatter at about -30 degrees Celsius. Alloyed steel can withstand much colder temperatures. This is important when building metal structures eg ships and rigs for use in the Arctic or Antarctic. I’m no materials scientist so I’ll let people chip in on this if they wish.

The point is, our Queen CAN FREEZE TO COLDER THAN -30 DEGREES!!! And she sure has superhuman invulnerability to cold! Human skin sticks to cold surfaces.

In the rightmost screencap, Elsa has broken out of a solid stone dungeon! Maybe she blasted it open (we don’t know) but this too is freaking amazing! I did some brief research and this is called frost weathering or frost shattering. Essentially she could break through stone by rapidly freezing all the water in it since water expands on freezing. (again, I’m no expert)

It is my belief that in F2, she could have destroyed the dam singlehandedly. Earth Giants pffft. And she would have stopped the water at the source too.

Elsa is definitely impervious to her own cold - she hugs frozen Anna (who is cold enough to break metal) cheek to cheek and is unscathed.

Interestingly, in F2 Anna holds the ice sword that Elsa made without being hurt by the cold - perhaps Anna gained some cold tolerance after coming back from being frozen herself. And she hugs Olaf all the time too.

9. The Nokk + Magic Freezing Thighs

Elsa is pretty fearsome in combat - I will touch more on this in the third post. Here, she figures out pretty rapidly how to stop the Nokk by freezing him. In the epilogue of F2, one of the most beautiful FX scenes - she freezes the Nokk and he willingly obliges and becomes a beautiful ice horse that can travel on land.

Have you ever wondered how Elsa stays on the Nokk “bareback”??? (bareback referring to Nokk...although Elsa’s dark sea gown is pretty bare in the back too lol) I know @super-mam-te-moc and I have!

Look at these 3 screencaps - on the left, the Nokk is bucking and thrashing around, trying to shake Elsa off; in the middle, she is riding the Nokk at a speed faster than the tsunami of water; and on the right, the Nokk is rearing up on hind legs while Elsa makes the huge ice wall with her hands in the air. In all these situations Elsa stays firmly on the Nokk and never falls off or slides off!

Our conclusion is - she has magic freezing thighs that help her stick to the Nokk...LOL

10. Melting

Lastly, Elsa is able to melt everything she made. With the help of Anna’s great love (lovethawmode) she melted the entire fjord and Arendelle. (kinetic powers are at play here too as she makes everything float into the sky and coalesce into a giant snowflake)

In F2, she also demonstrates melting the ice floor that she froze.

What we don’t know yet is whether she can melt “natural” snow that she didn’t make herself, or whether she can reverse a natural winter and turn it into summer. Let’s wait for more out of this world powers in future shorts, movies or series!

#elsa #frozen #frozen 2 #disney frozen #disneyfeverdaily #frozensnetwork #frozensource #disney

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alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer · 3 years

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all gone, all gone, all gone

part 5: i gotta get away from myself, i gotta get help

this is the last part before the epilogue! I hope you enjoyed it! i borrowed a few lines from leigh bardugo, i hope she doesn't mind :)

this is mostly resolution, but there is obviously still discussion of a suicide attempt! i would also say there's a bit of implied ableism that's not supported by the story

happy early birthday to @littlx-songbxrd!!!! the thomastair part is for you

Cordelia took a deep breath and opened the door.

Will, Sophie, the Consul, and the Inquisitor appeared to be in the middle of their discussion. Solemn expressions rested on their faces, with the exception of Maurice Bridgestock, who appeared utterly disinterested.

The Inquisitor glared when she entered. “You cannot be in here, young lady.”

“You can’t send him away. You can’t send him to the Basilias.”

“That decision is not yours to make, Ms. Herondale,” Maurice said.

“I’m not naive. I know that he needs help. I understand that. But he won’t find it in the Basilias; you know that as well as I. He needs to be here. He needs to be with his family. Barely two days after our father died, Belial went to Alastair and threatened his life. He altered his mind and ordered him to do terrible things. That is fact. What he was doing when Belial sought him out is irrelevant. Acquit him and allow us to handle the rest as a personal matter.”

“When it leads to consorting with a Prince of Hell to carry out acts of evil, it can no longer be considered a personal matter. Your brother is a risk to himself and everyone around him.”

She wanted to scream. Why weren’t the rest of them saying anything? Why would they not defend him? “Please. If it were Matthew, what would you do?”

“Ms. Herondale! That is uncalled for,” Bridgestock scolded. “And you are intruding on a private matter of the Nephilim Council.”

Cordelia continued. “You cannot truly tell me that it is unreasonable to imagine Matthew in a similar situation, if he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. You see Alastair as a risk because you do not wish to be responsible for him. It is easier for you to send him away, but it will not be easier for him, nor for our family. If you truly care for my family as you claim to-”

“That is enough,” Inquisitor Bridgestock interrupted.

Cordelia wasn’t finished. There was so much more she wished to say. She wanted to ask Will why he and Tessa were so blind to what was truly happening within her family. Why they never asked questions. Why, even after her father’s arrest, they still refused to see it. Why the most there was to offer was Will’s comment about his own father. She wanted to ask him what she should think now, now that her own father was dead, now that the evidence of his harm was laid out before them. Was he merely human? Was that supposed to make any of the irreparable harm he caused not only Alastair, but her, too, any better? Was it supposed to be placating? She even wanted to ask the Consul how she could raise such a callous son, a son who began a relationship with someone who was a child while he was an adult. A son who made her brother feel undeserving of anything good. As she attempted to collect her thoughts, it no longer became necessary.

“She’s right,” Sophie said. “Alastair made a mistake, but it was made under horrible, bizarre circumstances. Irreplicable circumstances, most likely. Anything he did that is punishable by Nephilim law was done under magical control by Belial. The best place for him to recover is with his family.”

“I find it very irresponsible-” Bridgestock continued, but Sophie interrupted.

“He will be taken off of active duties until he is deemed both physically and mentally ready to return to them. I could meet with him each week, assess how he is doing and how much of a risk he is, as Inquisitor Bridgestock put it. Consider it a recompense for my indiscretion.”

Will was oddly silent, something Cordelia hadn’t known he could be before. Finally, the Consul spoke. “I find those terms to be reasonable. Thank you, Sophie. If he agrees to them, I don’t see any reason to send him anywhere but back home.”

The Inquisitor seemed like he was about to object, but Will spoke up, “I agree.”

Cordelia sighed in relief as the Inquisitor backed down. Perhaps, somehow, this story could have a happy ending after all.

* * *

Alastair looked away the moment Thomas entered the infirmary. His memories of the past two weeks were strange, as if someone else had been controlling his body while he merely watched on, while at the same time not. Regardless, he could remember every moment of it. There was no way he could ever look him in the eyes again after all that he’d revealed back in that warehouse, not after looking into his beautiful hazel eyes with the sole intention of crushing him, not after making him weep. Perhaps he’d not been able to raise his blade against Thomas, but he hurt him all the same, and he could never forgive himself for that.

“You look like you’re doing better,” Thomas offered.

“Thank you,” he replied. “I feel very well-rested after my coma.”

Thomas hesitated, then added, “Well, if that’s all it took, why didn’t you try that ages ago?”

Alastair exhaled, glad that he understood his humor, however bleak. “Are you saying I usually look tired?” He bit the inside of his cheek. This was far too close to flirting for comfort.

“No more than the rest of us. Perhaps I should try it next.”

"I have a feeling your mother wouldn't appreciate that." He thought of the terms he agreed to earlier. “Didn’t you hear? She’s meant to counsel me. I’d prefer her in good spirits.”

“True enough.” Thomas hesitated for a moment. “Why won’t you look at me?”

Alastair allowed himself to look up for one brief moment before looking back down. Thomas’ eyes were worried. “I think you know the answer to that.”

“No one blames you for what happened. I certainly don’t.”

He exhaled. “I don’t need your pity, Thomas. I don’t want it. Yours or anyone else’s. You hated me before this whole ordeal and you should still. I’ve done many terrible things, not just those under Belial’s influence. I deserve your disdain. The only reason you look at me differently now, the only reason any of you have given me a second glance is because you can finally see me for what I am: broken. So don’t come here offering me your pity and your kindness and your support when all you truly see me as is something to fix. I apologize for everything I’ve done, for all the ways I’ve hurt you, directly or not. Let us leave it at that. I know what I said in the warehouse, but-”

“You don’t need saving. You never did,” Thomas finished for him. “I know you feel vulnerable and exposed right now. You clung to this visage of cruelty and unfeeling as protection. Words were your armor, but it's fragile stuff, all show. It’s not what you’re made of. What’s underneath it, that’s adamas. Tougher than diamond, rare and beautiful, brave and resilient, utterly unbreakable. And it doesn’t need fixing.

“I know we’ve both made mistakes. I know you need time to heal. But I… I care for you, Alastair. I have for a long time, even when I was trying so hard to deny it. I don’t know which parts of the things you said were truthful and which were lies and I don’t need to. All I need to know is whether or not you’ll take me as your friend. Perhaps, one day, if we both so desire it, something more, but for now, I can think of nothing I want more than to be your friend.”

Alastair only nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Thomas reached then, slowly, to cup his cheeks in his hands, giving him the opportunity to pull away if he wanted to. He did not. For a moment, he thought Thomas was going to lean in to kiss him, despite his insistence a few moments earlier that for the time being they would only be friends. Instead, he gently pulled Alastair’s head towards his chest, wrapping his arms firmly around him, strong and steady. In that moment, Alastair knew only one thing with complete certainty: he never wanted Thomas to let go.

* * *

Alastair didn’t know how long Thomas stayed, but at some point he fell asleep, and when he woke, Thomas was gone. He felt a pang in his chest at the realization. He selfishly, dangerously wanted him back beside him. He noticed a book beside his bed that he was certain was not there before. He opened it and found a short note inside. He recognized the handwriting before reading the signature: it was from Thomas. Alastair despised the warmth in his chest when he realized this, but mainly because he feared it.

I don’t know if you like poetry, but I enjoyed these. They comforted me when I felt alone, and I thought perhaps they could keep you company while you’re in the infirmary. -Tom

Flipping through it, he could see that it was a collection of poems, most in Farsi but a few in Arabic as well. He was certain he’d mocked Cordelia for reading the same poems at some point, back when he believed love to be cold and pointless. Perhaps what he believed was love was never truly love at all. Perhaps now he could attempt to find out.

He shut the book as he heard the door to the infirmary open. Sophie Lightwood appeared.

“Hello, Alastair. I hope I’m not disturbing you.” He shook his head. “Good. I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. That was entirely inappropriate of me.”

“It’s alright. You needed to know. You needed to be sure. I would have done the same thing.”

“I- That doesn’t make it right, but thank you for understanding.” She paused. “I thought it would be helpful to discuss our arrangement, as well as what you plan to tell your mother about what’s happened.”

Alastair had expected the first part, but his mother? “What?”

“I suspect you’ve not told her the truth, have you? Do you plan to?”

“I-” he swallowed anxiously. “Cordelia told her I got sent out of town.”

“Alastair, you’re not in any trouble. What you choose to tell her and not tell her is not mine to judge. I simply believe it would be helpful to be prepared.”

“We’re- we’re not supposed to cause her any extra stress because of the baby.”

“Do you wish to tell her the truth?”

He thought for a moment. “I don’t want any more secrets.” He had enough of them to contend with.

“I think that’s wise. Your mother is strong, and so is the baby. If telling her the truth will help you, it will help her. I believe that more than anything, she wishes to know that you’re okay. There is just as much stress in secrecy as there is in truth.”

He thought for a moment. “How am I meant to explain this to her?” His voice broke as he spoke.

She considered it, sat down, and considered it some more. “I don’t know.”

“Why are you helping me? And don’t tell me it’s because you asked a single question during my interrogation.”

There was silence for a moment. “Alastair, Shadowhunters are people of scars. Many of them are sustained in battle, but not all of them are. Perhaps not even most. The way I see it, there are three types of people. There are those who see battle scars as the only true sign of wound, such as the Inquisitor. All else is merely a weakness in constitution. It is that belief that is built into Nephilim society, and it is the view that most hold.

“There are also those who understand that other types of scars exist, ones that are sustained at home, but they do not know that hurt personally, and they do not truly understand it. I see people like Will falling into this category.

“Finally, there are those of us who are not haunted by demons because we know that there is so much more to fear. We know that scars sustained outside of battle, both physical and not, often run much deeper than that of a demon’s claw. Those wounds cannot be healed by runes or magic. You cannot do it alone. I don’t know how much you know about my past, but when Charlotte found me, I was broken and alone. The Silent Brothers healed me physically, but the rest took time and support. It took many people who refused to turn their back on me, and I will not turn my back on you.”

“I… I don’t deserve it,” was all he could think to respond.

“Perhaps it is not something deserved, then, but simply something given.”

“In school, I spread terrible rumors about you, your husband, the Consul… I said-”

“I don’t care. Whatever you said, it doesn’t matter. I am an adult, Alastair. Whatever lies you repeated as a child don’t bother me. Your past doesn’t define you. It merely gives you a chance to be better, to learn.”

Alastair didn’t respond. He’d never thought of it from that perspective.

“I should go. You need time to rest. But consider what I’ve said, alright? I’ll be in touch again and we can arrange times to meet, perhaps over tea.”

He nodded. “Thank you.” He hadn’t meant to say it, he wasn’t even entirely certain what he was grateful for, but he knew the words were true.

She gave him a small smile. “Take care, Alastair.”

thanks so much for reading! taglist: @jem-nasium @littlx-songbxrd @fortheloveofthecarstairs @cant-think-of-anything @shadowrunner2000 @writeforjordelia @jurdan-my-beloved

#alastair carstairs #thomastair week #thomas lightwood #sophie collins #cordelia carstairs #tlh #the last hours #therapist!sophie is where it's at #cw suicide #all gone fic

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gb-patch · 3 years

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Ask Answers: May 15th Part 1

It’s been longer than usual since our last answer session, so I’m answering a ton of questions today! It’s so big I split it into two parts. Thank you for the patience on getting a response to these.

Thanks for reaching out to us with your questions and kind words ^^!

Sorry if this has been asked before or isn't something you can say but is there anyway for Cove to confess in step 4? I wanted him to confess in step 3 and followed all the steps to make him do it but ended up texting my family instead of Cove at the end.

Yeah, Cove can confess in Step 4!

Hello! I heard that Cove is on the spectrum, albeit undiagnosed. As someone who is ND, this makes me UNBELIEVABLY happy. I literally was brought to tears! Thank you for that!

Out of curiosity, will Cove be diagnosed in Step 4? I have a strong feeling y’all won’t make it a HUGE deal/make it out to be negative, so I’m not worried about that whatsoever! I’m just curious just he’ll off handedly mention it? Or will it just not be touched upon at all (which is ok!)?

Either way is ok, I’m just curious!

I’m happy it made you happy! Admittedly, Cove simply being someone with autism that grew up not being diagnosed was something I included for myself. I didn’t really think anyone would notice or ask about it, aha. But players did start to have questions about his traits, so I started to talk about it outside of the game. It’s great to see it get such a positive response and now I do feel like having it be a non-topic may have been the wrong choice and bringing it up would’ve been good in terms of having positive representation for that. I don’t know if I’ll find a way to mention it in Step 4 now, with how far along the game is, but I am at least thinking about it when originally it wasn’t something I really even considered.

Hey! Just wanted to say thank you for Our Life. It's been a bright spot and a needed escape in what's otherwise been a crummy year. I know you just did a Q&A post but I figured I'd ask anyway. Was just curious about Step 4. Will it be similar to the other Steps in that it consists of several different moments or will it just be one long sequence?

Step 4 is shorter than the prior Steps because it’s just an epilogue rather than a full arc of a story. It’ll consist of scenes that all happen in a set row one after the other. There won’t be a collection of Moments to choose from. But it’ll still be very sweet and fun.

¡hola!, you see, first I want to say that I love Our Life! (°◡°♡) and I have 2 important questions, would Cove cry watching titanic? and what is the saddest part according to him? (sorry for my english)

Titanic would make him cry. He’d probably think the parts showing people who aren’t able to make it to the life boats/are choosing to stay and go down with the ship were the saddest.

Hello, I wanted to ask how much you earn with creating games? Like is it possible to make a living? Thank you >< <3

How much I earn varies a lot month to month based on Steam sales, Patreon backers, and how many projects are in full production at the time. It’s also hard to say how much I make historically, since that also changes dramatically year by year. But I do earn enough to work on these games full time! I really appreciate all the support that allows me to do that.

Hey!! I was wondering for the 18+ Our Life moment, will there be an emphasis on safety/comfort for all involved? I feel like there would be just going off of what the rest of the game is like, but I wanted to ask

Yes! Cove is a nervous boy himself and also super cautious about doing anything the MC doesn’t like, so clear consent from both is absolutely needed for anything to happen. It’s a conversational sexy times Moment with stops/starts so the two can talk about how they’re feeling, rather than a heat of the moment just going for it kind of thing.

Hey!! I was wondering how long the wedding dlc would be? Will it be broken up into moments, or just one big event?

It’s one long series of scenes all in a row rather than a collection of Moments to pick from. It’s the shortest and the least expensive of all the DLCs. It’s not super crucial to get and those who aren’t into big weddings can totally skip it without worry.

HELLO AMAZING DEVS 👋 i am hopelessly in love with the worst guy ever (jeremy king) and because of this i have a really stupid question: does he really hate people who are nice to him? TvT he’s too cute to be mean to istg it’s a miracle JB held the urge to be consistently nice to him bc just look at his FACE he is so cute! thank you for jeremy’s route it’s so lovely (and awful bc he’s scum 11/10) it gave me so much laughs LMAO i hope you guys have a good day!!

Haha, thank you. He doesn’t hate them but he’s certainly not pleased with them. Jeremy is either uncomfortable with or annoyed by people being sweet on him, depending on how they approach it. He’s far more comfortable with jerkiness. It lets him relax and he can be himself without it being a problem, since he’s also a jerk. He feels a level of guilt being such a little punk to kind people, not enough to be a better person but still.

Has Cove dated or been interested in someone other than MC?

Nope! He stays single over the course of the game if he’s not with the MC.

Is Step 4 more mature? Or it's gonna be set in similar atmosphere as Step 3?

Step 4 is a similar atmosphere as Step 3. Though, it’s actually kind of less mature-topic heavy than Step 3 since it’s just a ‘hey, let’s check in on the gang to see what they’re up to’ style epilogue rather than a story arc with serious issues.

will there be new music for now and forever?? or will the old our life music be reused?

It’s gonna be a brand new soundtrack. We’ll be opening up a job position for that soon.

Hi, is it okay if we use the assets in Our Life (like the sprites) for fanworks or fan content content, like edits?

Sure! Just as long as you don’t use the assets made by those artists to make money.

Quick clarification on Step 3 choices: I hope I didn't come off rude (because I LOVE the game, really!!), I was just curious because the intro threw me off at times. For example, you could choose how you felt about Elizabeth in Step 2 (Dinner), but during the Step 3 intro, it says that you got closer to Liz and I didn't get a choice in it.

For the example, it can’t be helped that you’re closer to Liz in Step 3 than you were in Step 2 because she’s inherently closer to the MC regardless of whether you liked her or not in Step 2. Her feelings are out of your control and the game isn’t so dramatic that you can push her affection away and not let her bond with you, haha. But ‘being closer’ can still be relative. For some people maybe that means you’re best buds now and for others it might just mean you’re not fighting all the time any more. If there’s other parts you want to mention, feel free to let us know.

Did the illustrator for Our Life change?

We have many OL artists! The main artists who set the game’s style haven’t changed, but there’s multiple other artists who help finish assets.

So Miranda's type is confident and outgoing, huh? So...does that mean Terri's her type?? 👀

Haha, sorry for the late reply on this. As you might’ve seen in our post yesterday- yeah that is her type.

Hey! First, I just want to say I've really enjoyed how detailed OL got with gender identity and sexuality and how respectful the topics were handled! It's been so wonderful to play since the experiences could be close to my own (I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up at parts). Second, I was wondering, would future games explore the topic of polyamory? I'd love to see more visual novels allow room for that and I saw you've explored the topic before.

Keep up the amazing work! ♡

Thank you! We do want to include polyamory in at least some of our future projects. Floret Bond, which might be what you’re referring to when mentioning how we’ve explored the topic before, is on hold unfortunately. So right now I’m not sure when something might release or what will be the first game of ours to come out with poly relationships (we might do something else before FB is done). We’ll have see how things ends up coming together.

Hey um. I feel like im not allowed to ask this on the private discord cuz people will yell at me but why is there so much focus on OL2 and not finishing OL1 stuff? I like the new people but i kind of want to finish cove's story and get derek and baxter stuff first. didn't people pay for it?

I’m sorry, I don’t understand entirely what’s making that situation a concern. There’s a channel in the discord for critique where no one is allowed to comment back. People can voice things they’re worried about without any way for others to push back on it. And the two teams working on the OL games are different. We try to post pretty often about how we’re hiring brand new people to start on Our Life: Now & Forever. The OL1 team is all still working on OL1 like normal. There’s only more updates on the Patreon for OL2 because the expansions to the first game are mostly script-based at this point while OL2 is just starting to get all its art, which means there’s a lot more to show off as previews.

Also, there was a Kickstarter for the first Our Life, if that’s what you mean by people paying for it. But one of the stretch goals was to start Our Life 2 early, before fully completing Our Life 1, so that the new game could be out sooner. It wouldn’t make sense to stop doing OL2 work because that would be going against what backers were promised. Maybe you didn’t get the full story before and hopefully this clears it up!

Hello! I know it's up to every player but.. What is your recommendation for playing order? Did you ever had any timeline events planned?

I didn’t make the events with a planned timeline. The events got made simply as I had ideas for them and then I just kind of organized them from left to right on the screen in an order to space out more dramatic ones between more lighthearted ones. Any order the player wants to go with is totally valid!

Hi! It's Step 4 a paid dlc or update? And how long it's planned to be? Ps. Love the game!

The Step 4 epilogue is free! The Cove Wedding DLC does cost money, though. Those are planned to be shorter than the usual Steps/DLCs.

Will we have options for what sort of job the MC might have by the time step 4 takes place?

Yeah, you can. It’s not super exact or detailed, but there are options about it.

Is there a pandemic in Our Life world, or is it just in a better timeline with no pestilence?

Our Life is pandemic-free! That didn’t exist when we began working on the project and it’s not something we’d like to feature in this story now that it has unfortunately come along, aha.

Hi, you said that you can play tic-tac-toe or hangman with Cove in Boating if you're sick/scared but I keep getting tic-tac-toe. Am I doing something wrong?

After being sick/scared you have to continue to be upset/unwell. If you calm down and decide to just chill you’ll end up playing tic-tac-toe.

Hi, GB Patch! Since Lee was initially commissioned to only appear in two Steps does this mean she won't appear in the Wedding DLC? I really like her character so it'll be a little weird to not have our cousin at our wedding, aha.

She is gonna be in Step 4/the wedding DLC after all! We’re still working with her creator to make sure it fits with what they wanted.

Is Sunset Bird based on a real place? Asking for a friend, not trying to move there or anything. 👀

It’s based on small beach towns in So-Cal, but not one specific town you could go see in real life, I’m afraid. It’d be nice if it was real, though.

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