#he seems. well. frantic when he gets caught trying to leave asap. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-gay-prometheus · 3 years

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Frankenstein AU Segment - “A Time to Mourn” Part 1

Uh- hi - I couldn’t figure out a better title for this one so. We’re stuck with this for now until I think of something better.

Anyways.

This one takes place quite a while after the segment called 'Try.' There's a bit of context missing because of this but... Hopefully it's not too confusing.

A bit of background on this. I knew for a while that I wanted to introduce Ernest and Elizabeth into the main story by having Victor, Henry, and Agape visit William’s grave and be found entirely by accident, but I wasn’t really sure how I wanted to make that happen. And then, in my brain’s infinite wisdom, I came up with.... whatever the hell this is.

Fun fact - part of the writing process for this legitimately had me physically sobbing. Which is kind of sad considering... this isn’t even close to the most painful part of the AU as a whole. Point is though, it took me way longer to write because how in the world do you put into words something that there are no words to describe? I know for sure I still wasn’t able to do it justice despite spending weeks thinking it over and writing and rewriting it, but I think I got it as close as I could possibly get.

Now on to the somewhat disappointing part: this segment is technically going to be posted in two parts. I didn’t intend for it to end up being another two-parter, but what ended up happening was that I suddenly realized I had five pages of content written for it already despite still having more to write and, if I had ended up introducing Ernest the way I originally wanted to, that would have taken up another page or two at least. That would have ended up being a nine to ten page segment - which is waaaay too long if you ask me. This does unfortunately mean that Ernest’s true introduction is going to be delayed, but....

There is a bright side to this, though! I have a new idea for the full introduction of Ernest, and this means that Ernest will actually be getting a segment that is primarily focused on himself way sooner than I originally anticipated. I think he deserves as much, to be honest.

...All of that out of the way, on to the story.

A few warnings for this one: Mentions of blood, death of a child, and breaking bones (if you catch any I missed, please let me know asap!)

As always, likes, reblogs, and comments of any kind are highly appreciated!

It was before the sun rose that Victor awoke, somehow feeling entirely alert despite having only slept a few hours. He sat up in bed, staring at the wall in silence as he prepared himself for the day and the journey ahead. Henry stirred beside him, and though Victor hushed him quietly, his hazel eyes shuttered open. Still half asleep, he yawned and wriggled slightly, pulling the blanket over himself more before slowly starting to half sit upright. “Mm… it’s not already time for you to leave yet, is it?” he grumbled, voice raspy from sleep.

“If I want to make this as quick a trip as possible, yes,” Victor sighed in return, reaching over and taking Henry’s hand.

“And you promise you’ll be back in two days at most?”

“I promise,” Victor answered quietly, lifting his hand and gingerly kissing the back of it. Henry smiled slightly, shifting his grip and returning the kiss with one of his own on the back of Victor’s hand. Victor smiled back, but the expression soon faded into a more solemn one. “Do you promise you’ll keep him here until I come back?” Henry nodded.

“I promise. We’ll… probably go climbing or something,” he replied, sitting more upright and leaning his head on Victor’s shoulder. Victor rested his head against Henry’s, staring ahead once again.

“You should probably talk to him today, while you’re at it,” he suggested. Henry glanced up at him.

“Only if he brings it up. I don’t think he’d take it well if I was the one to bring it up.” Victor was silent, but nodded after a moment. With great effort, he pried himself away from Henry and slipped out of bed to prepare himself for the journey ahead. As he dressed himself, Henry stretched and pulled himself out of bed, walking over and wrapping his arms around Victor from behind once he was fully dressed in his traveling clothes. Victor leaned back into him as Henry placed his chin on his shoulder, raising one hand and placing his palm on Henry’s cheek. “I wish I could come with you,” Henry murmured quietly.

“I know,” Victor replied, “but someone needs to stay and make sure Agape doesn’t leave.” He sighed softly. “In a perfect world you could come with me and I could trust he wouldn’t follow but… we both know him. He’d follow even if he promised not to.” Henry nodded.

“You’re right. But I’ll still miss you.” Victor smiled, pulling back and turning to face him. He stood on his toes and rested his arms on Henry’s shoulders before kissing him softly, Henry reciprocating as he wrapped his arms back around him.

“I know,” Victor answered as he pulled back again. “I’ll miss you too.” Despite Henry’s reluctance to let him go, Victor moved to grab his black coat from the hook by the bedroom door.

“Please take care of yourself while you’re gone,” Henry requested, walking over and helping him to put the coat on. Victor nodded, popping the collar up.

“I will, as best as I’m able.” Just as he opened the door, Henry took hold of his arm and pulled him in for one last kiss, which Victor certainly didn’t protest to. After a moment, he gently tapped Henry’s shoulder, and Henry begrudgingly broke away, a sort of pouting expression in his eyes that made Victor smile. He walked out of the room, silently opening the front door and stepping outside. Henry followed him to the door, standing in the doorway as Victor took a moment to look up at the starry morning sky, admiring how the black of night had begun to lighten around the horizon with the coming sunrise.

“Victor?” Henry called as he watched his husband begin to make his way toward the trail that would lead down the mountain. Victor paused and turned.

“Hm?”

“I love you.” Victor smiled.

“I love you too. I’ll be back before you know it.” With that, he turned again, and disappeared into the trees.

---

“Agape?” Henry called out, worry in his voice as he trudged through the forest, frantically searching in every direction. “Agape?!” After Victor left, he had crawled back into bed and - despite intending to only sleep until just after the sun fully rose, he had managed to sleep in until noon. When he awoke, he realized that his son was nowhere to be found. Though he tried to keep calm, he was terrified. After all, he promised Victor that he wouldn’t let him leave, but now he couldn’t even find him. He searched each of Agape’s usual favorite thinking spots - the pool in the mossy clearing, the circle of stones that looked like they had been intentionally placed in the middle of a stand of silver fir, the grove of collapsed larches from some long-past avalanche, the massive waterfall that dropped from the edge of a cliff and left the forest around it coated in mist - he was still nowhere to be found. The final place he could think to check was the alpine meadow on the other end of the forest, and as he passed through the final tangle of branches, he breathed a sigh of relief as he caught sight of the one he was looking for. Agape stood very still, his long black hair and dark cloak gently billowing in the mountain breeze as he overlooked the peaks on the horizon. Henry approached him slowly and solemnly, standing at his side and staring off in the same direction. “Agape I… I was hoping you would have come and talked to me this morning.”

“You were still asleep when I awoke,” Agape replied after a moment’s silence. “I did not wish to wake you.”

“Instead you worried me half sick,” Henry pointed out, turning his eyes to him.

“That was not my intention.” As he stared out over the distant heights, Henry searched his expression for how he was feeling. “I needed some time to… think.”

“About?” Henry asked, sitting on the grass and motioning for him to sit as well. Agape looked down at him, and hesitated for a moment before sitting beside him.

“I required time to think about what I should do,” he concluded, looking down as he brushed his fingers through the grass around him. He turned, his eyes settling on a patch of wildflowers further down the slope. “I… wish to pay my respects.” Henry tensed.

“That’s… that’s a wonderful idea Agape but, well-” He paused, unsure of how to word it and worried he might take it the wrong way. “Well… Victor- he… See, that’s- that’s where Victor is off to at the moment. And he specifically requested to be-” He cut himself off as Agape suddenly stood, and began walking over to the patch of wildflowers. “Agape?” The tall figure bent down, and began plucking a few of the flowers. Curious, Henry stood and walked over to him. As he walked over, Agape straightened himself upright, and held out a small handful of the flowers for Henry to see.

“As I recall, flowers are a customary gift for the dead, correct?” he asked. Henry was about to reply, when he caught sight of the flowers that Agape held. They were small, pale blue, and grew in clusters on long, vibrant green stems. “Myosotis alpestris,” he recited, recalling the scientific name from one of his and Victor’s many excursions to this spot. “Commonly known as-”

“Forget-me-nots,” Henry breathed, looking up at him. Agape nodded.

“Indeed. They seem… most appropriate.” Suddenly Henry was conflicted. On one hand, he knew Victor needed time to grieve alone. After all, it had been two years, and all that time, he never really had a moment to spend truly grieving. But on the other hand… there was Agape. Clearly seeking something, likely closure or forgiveness, and who was he to deny him that? “If I wish to arrive there in a timely fashion I should leave presently,” Agape continued, breaking him from his thoughts.

“I’m coming with you,” Henry blurted out before he could consider trying to change his son’s mind. Agape gave him an odd, yet comforted look.

“I would much appreciate your accompaniment, Henry, but if that is the case then we truly must leave right away unless you intend for me to carry you.” Henry shook his head.

“That won’t be necessary,” he answered. “Though I may take you up on that offer on the way back.” Agape nodded.

“I understand. In which case, let us be on our way.”

---

By the time Victor arrived at his family’s cemetery, it was well into the night and the full moon coated the land in an eerie pale gleam. Throughout his journey he had felt strangely numb, as though the reality of it all still hadn’t set in yet - which was especially strange, considering it had been two years now. Still, as he stepped beyond the gate, it seemed as though the weight of every body that lay beneath was piled on top of him and for a moment he struggled to breathe. Memories flooded back of his time in Ingolstadt, digging through graves in the middle of the night, sorting through corpses, picking and choosing which parts he would take and which he would leave behind. Although he knew he had nothing to fear, a chill ran down his spine as he felt like a hundred spirits had gathered around him to judge him for his actions. He shook the thought away, gripping at the collar of his coat and pulling it to cover his face as he walked onward. Searching through the names he once played amongst as a child, he finally came across the headstone he was looking for, and upon seeing it he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Resting serenely beneath a willow was a small granite stone that read ‘William Frankenstein ~ Tragically murdered on May 7th aged 8 years.’ It felt like a nightmare. It felt like it shouldn’t be real. Even after all this time, he couldn’t picture it. The last time he had seen his brother, he was no more than an infant, and he couldn’t fathom what the body six feet beneath where he stood might have looked like. Though his throat was suddenly dry, he shuddered and swallowed hard as he reached out and placed a hand on the cold stone.

“I-” His voice cracked as he began to speak. “I don’t… I don’t know what to say to you. I… I don’t have the words.” He hesitated, clenching his eyes shut. “How, William- how have I continued on knowing that your innocent blood is on my hands? I’m... I never should have-” He sucked in a shaky breath, then suddenly recoiled as a horrible vision swam in his mind. He could see it clearly: his creation’s horrible hand upon the throat of a child, yellow eyes burning with fury as he squeezed the life out of his infant brother. A squeak of disgust escaped his throat at the thought, and he trembled. “I never should have done it. I never should have created it. I- If I hadn’t you would still be alive and- and-” His trembling worsened and he broke into a cold sweat. “Good god William, what the hell am I doing? That thing, that demon, he slaughtered you with his bare hand, and here I am playing the father figure. You, my own brother, perished from his malice and I have been treating him with dignity he most certainly doesn’t deserve!” he exclaimed, his voice hoarse. “How blinded by my own fear of what he might do have I been? How insulting it must be to see me treat your murderer with such care.” He nearly fell as his trembling worsened, and he caught his fall upon the edge of the headstone with a gasp. Slowly, he recovered and stood. “How-” he was cut off by the sound of footsteps, and for a moment fear gripped him until he turned. Walking into the cemetery were two familiar shapes, and though in other circumstances he might have been glad to see them, in this particular moment he felt his blood boil with rage. “You’ve got an awful lot of nerve to follow me here,” he seethed as they approached, his eyes narrowed as he glared at them. Henry sighed, glancing away as he stopped just a few feet from where Victor stood.

“I know- I’m sorry but-”

“No, Henry,’” Victor snapped, clenching his fists. “You. Promised.”

“Yes, I did, and I shouldn’t have. This isn’t about me and it isn’t about you either. He-” Agape slowly walked forward, his expression seemingly blank as his yellow eyes stared down at the headstone. Victor felt rage coursing through him at the sight, his mind still reeling from the dreadful vision he had witnessed only moments ago.

“Get the hell out of my sight,” Victor snarled at the creature, his hand shaking as he forcefully pointed toward the exit. Agape didn’t respond, instead simply taking another silent step. Henry wanted to speak up, but kept his mouth shut, knowing nothing he would say could possibly help. “How dare you come here! After what you did to him you-” He cut himself off as the creature took another step. “Are you listening to me? Get. Out!” he cried, pointing once again toward the exit. Another step. “I swear if you take one more step I will not be responsible for my actions,” he hissed. Another step, suddenly more unsteady this time. Victor felt fury swell within him and he suddenly lunged toward his creation. Henry grabbed him before he could lay so much as a finger on Agape, and Victor in turn was about to push him away to make another attempt at striking the creature, when his eyes caught sight of pale blue clutched between his creation’s boney hands. He hesitated suddenly, his vision focusing to realize that Agape held a small bouquet of various wildflowers he had plucked along the journey to the cemetery, though most numerous in the assortment was forget-me-nots. His eyes widened and he felt some of his rage dissipate as Agape took another faltering step. Henry, seeing that Agape was struggling, instinctively moved to help him, but Victor raised an arm and stopped him. “Agape?” Victor managed to hoarsely call out. The creature did not answer, and simply took another step, now standing directly over the grave. All seemed unnaturally silent, no rustling of branches in the breeze or calls of nocturnal creatures, just silence. Victor felt his heart sink as he beheld his creation suddenly tense hard. “...Agape-”

There was a war suddenly raging within the creature’s heart. Such was his anguish at the thought of his crimes that he felt as though every stitch was tearing out of its seam. His memory flooded with dreaded images he had tried so hard to suppress, and it overwhelmed him. As he tried to keep his composure, his grasp on the flowers tightened. Terror gripped him as the soft crumpling of the stems sounded more like sickening cracks in his ears and the damp feeling of now crushed stalks felt more like blood covering his hands. Though they were only wilted flowers, in the vision of his troubled mind, he held the broken neck of a young boy, and in horror he released his grip. He stared down at his hands, shaking violently, before suddenly collapsing to his knees. An indescribably banshee-like scream of pure agony escaped him as he threaded his fingers through his long black hair and gripped the locks tightly as though he were ready to rip them from his own skull. Both Victor and Henry flinched at the dreadful noise, Henry turning away and Victor struggling to hold back a sob of his own. Tears gushed from Agape’s eyes, falling heavy into the grass below, and he struggled to breathe between the cries of despair that escaped him.

As Victor took in a shaky breath, he felt himself tremble as his thoughts flooded with everything he had just said. After all this time, he had never really considered how Agape might have been reflecting on his own actions, or how he too might have been hiding just how much emotional pain he was in regarding that fateful event. And, if this was still the cold hearted murderer he had considered his creation might be, then why would he be in such clearly torturous distress over the death over the one he himself had killed? Worse yet, he knew better - he had seen just how far Agape had come in coping with his emotions and relating to others. He had seen the amount of care and sympathy this miraculous creature showed toward Henry and himself, how selfless he had always been. After all, even though Victor wished that perhaps he had stayed dead, it was out of a deep familial love that Agape had used the very elixir and device that was meant to create an everlasting companion for himself to instead restore his creator - his father - to life. And, in a very real sense, Agape was still a child. For a child to spend two years silently coping with a trauma so intense, though it may have been a trauma the child himself caused, was a burden that Victor could barely comprehend. All at once, whatever malice he still held for his creation within him melted away, and, making the first move, he walked toward his son and shakily placed a hand on his shoulder.

Agape had finally begun to quiet himself while Victor had been hesitating to make any movement, but as soon as he felt the hand of his father placed gently upon him, he felt a sudden swell of heartbreaking pain and he lurched with a sob. In his mind, he deserved no sympathy, and feeling that this man who had just moments prior hurled threats at him was moved so deeply by his grief that he might entirely change his own damaged perspective, shattered his already guilt ridden soul. Victor himself could no longer hold back his emotions, breaking into tears of his own. He flinched slightly as he suddenly felt a hand placed on his shoulder, and exhaled a shaky breath as he recognized the gentle touch as his husband’s. Henry lingered there behind him for a moment, but slowly moved to his son’s other side, kneeling beside him and resting a hand gently upon his back. Though he opened his mouth to speak, he was shocked into silence as Victor spoke instead.

“I am so-” He hesitated, tensing and shuddering before inhaling sharply and continuing. “So sorry.” The words hurt to say, there was no denying that. The moment they left his lips it felt like a dagger cutting into his chest and a fire burning in his throat. Agape’s still tear-filled eyes widened as he heard them, but he stayed silent, not daring to speak in fear of even the slightest chance that his words may only serve to condemn himself more. Once he regained his composure, Victor went on. “I may be cursed with the knowledge of what happened, with knowing that what I did played a part in sealing his fate, but you…” He swallowed hard, and knelt down beside him, reaching out and turning Agape’s face toward him though his son’s yellow eyes averted from his gaze. “You who have changed and grown, who I have watched make such strides of progress toward returning to the kind and gentle soul you once possessed-” Agape winced at his words, strands of his long black hair falling over his face and hiding his eyes. Victor gently pushed the locks away, tucking them behind his ear. “To be forever stained with vivid memories of what you once did, and to hide the pain it must have caused you as you came to realize that action was such a grievous atrocity for the sake of keeping peace - I can only imagine what a living hell it must have been for all that time.” Picking up one of the flowers, though damaged, he held it up and inspected the pale blue of its tiny petals. “I thought maybe you had simply… forgotten. That maybe to you it had been such an inconsequential action, that maybe all it was, was a means to an end.” He placed the flower down in front of the headstone, and gazed upon the engraving. “It doesn’t make logical sense, though, to think that you might have forgotten, given your… impeccable memory. So maybe that was a lie I told myself - to make blaming you and resenting you justifiable.” He glanced over at Henry, who was staring at him from Agape’s other side with a kind, compassionate smile despite the tears still rolling down his freckled cheeks, and in an instant his guilt and regret melted away into a gentle warmth that seeped through him and turned his pained expression into a similarly soft smile. Agape’s immense frame trembled with a long, labored exhale.

“I am undeserving of your sympathy, Victor. The crime I committed was unforgivable.”

“He never said that your crime was forgiven,” Henry pointed out gently. Agape gave him a pained glance. “Killing a child for the sake of gaining compassion by force is unforgivable, it’s true. But no matter how unforgivable an action may be, no man is born or created innately knowing what is forgivable and what is not. It’s what he chooses to do with the knowledge of his actions that determines whether he himself is worthy of forgiveness or not.” There was a long pause as Agape considered what Henry said.

“Given all I have done and everything I am, would I be considered worthy? Was his murder not so damning that I should be forever condemned? Is there any stride I could make that could in some way restore my dignity of one worth the forgiveness of those he so grievously harmed?” He struggled to steady his voice between each still labored breath, each pulse within him carrying a dull ache of still ever-growing guilt and shame.

“Well,” Victor began, reaching out to him and wiping the tears from his eyes. “All things considered, I would say-” He cut himself off as he perceived in his peripheral vision a gleaming light that seemed to be quickly approaching. He looked to Henry, who seemed to be staring out at the glow with squinted eyes. “Henry,” he whispered somewhat harshly. Henry turned his gaze back down to him. “What is it?”

“Someone is coming,” Henry whispered back. Agape flinched at his words and made a quiet noise almost like a yelp, suddenly clutching at the edges of his cloak and pulling it tighter around himself. Both Victor and Henry hushed him softly, though they looked to each other with concern.

“What do we do?” Footsteps could be heard approaching through the grass beyond - two steps and a gentle tap with each stride. Henry lifted his eyes back up toward the approaching figure.

“...I’ll handle it,” he muttered. “Besides, we can’t risk… you know,” he added, gesturing toward Agape. Victor nodded silently, dropping his eyes to the ground and placing a hand back up onto Agape’s shoulder and squeezing tightly - half to reassure him, and half to give himself something to hold on to as he tried not to imagine the worst. Gently pulling the hood of Agape’s cloak over his head, Henry stood, turning toward the figure and trying to determine who it might be. The voice that called out from beyond sent a sudden chill through Victor’s veins and a new fear gripped at his heart. He wasn’t ready for this. Not here. Not now.

“Hello? Who’s there?”

#frankenstein au #tw blood mention #tw broken bones mention #tw death mention #I actually attempted proofreading on this lmao. we'll see if it made much of a difference or not but there were things i ended up changing!#so... good for me! i call that character development on my part i think lmao

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nananaptime · 4 years

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In Life And Death

Another one which took way too long to write...

Also, bear with me, this is the first Mafia AU I’ve ever written so it’s not the best xD

Masterlist Rules

Requested

Genre: Mafia AU, I would say angst but Idek

Word count: 2 485

Summary: Loving someone from a rivaling gang is a recipe for disaster...

“Y/N!” The door slammed open as Johnny entered, Mark and Ten in tow dragging a near-unconscious Yangyang behind them. I was quick to my feet and ran for the first-aid kit all the while ordering the boys to put their injured friend on the couch and not let him faint. I could figure out with my pinky toe that the wound was caused by a bullet and therefore I grabbed everything I needed to treat it as best as I could. I had been going through school to become a doctor when my brother Mark managed to drag me into his drama and I had to save his ass. I have yet to spot an out but at the moment, making sure my brother remained alive was worth the danger his occupation brought. Not that I would be any safer on the outside anyway, considering my name was nearly as widely known as Mark’s in the darker circles of the country.

Yangyang was laying on the couch when I re-entered the living room, trying to keep the pain from showing on his face and not succeeding too well. I sighed in sympathy before rushing over and getting to work. It was merely a flesh wound, hence it was easier to treat, the pain, however, was still as present for the poor boy.

Yangyang was the newest member to join their group, meaning he was slightly inexperienced regarding the fieldwork. This was his first every mission and you would think the current circumstances would scare him away from going near any type of weapons again but as I finished up with his wound, he sat up on the couch and asked Johnny when they were planning on going in again. Johnny looked at him like he was insane.

“You’re not coming with us until your arm is healed, not just because I care about your well being, which I do, but also because your impaired skills will, without a doubt, slow us down and put everyone in danger. I need to be able to trust that all of you can do your part during a mission and in your state, you can’t.” Yangyang pouted slightly but nodded, understanding Johnny’s concerns. Then his look darkened and he caught Johnny’s eyes with his.

“Just promise me to get that bastard the next time.” Johnny merely nodded before sending Yangyang away to rest and get better. As Yangyang disappeared from our sight, Johnny sighed and buried his face in his hands, frustrated with the evening’s events. They were only supposed to collect a debt. I grazed his shoulder with my fingers, hoping to calm him slightly. He lifted his head and rested his chin against his now interlaced fingers.

“Johnny?” It came out as a whisper. “What happened out there? I thought the introductory mission was going to be a mild one.”

“It was supposed to be.” His voice came out raspy, slow. “It was an ambush. The guy was just about to hand over the money when Dongyoung and his crew came out of nowhere with their guns pointed at us, the only reason no one died is because Dongyoung likes the sound of his voice too much. Apparently, the guy had given them intel on us in hopes of being protected from the debt which he was buried in.” Another sigh left his lips. “We didn’t prepare Yangyang for that kind of pressure so he shot to protect himself, causing more shots to be fired which attracted the attention of nearby police. They dispersed fast once they realised the authorities were on to us, so did we but Yangyang had managed to be shot shortly before that in the messy state of the situation.” He looked at me, relief evident in his eyes. “Thank you, for helping him, and thank goodness for it not being worse.” I didn’t have the time to acknowledge his gratefulness before he stood up. “I can’t let this go unaccounted for. Jeno will pay.” At the mention of his name, my blood ran cold and before Johnny had even called out the order I had made my way out the door without making a sound.

As I hurried down on the street I texted Jeno to meet me at the café by the train station asap. Without even checking for an answer I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I ran to save him.

Jeno was looking around frantically as I rounded the corner, the worried look in his eyes was soon gone as I greeted him with slaps to his arm.

“Ow! OW! Babe! Stop!” He managed to grab my hands in my aggravated state and forced me to look at him. “What is going on?” At that question, I tried hitting him again, even though there was no way of me escaping his steel grip.

“Why the heck would you shoot him!? You know how vengeful Johnny can be!” Realisation overcame him as he pulled me into his chest, keeping me there until I’d calmed down. With his hand moving in soothing motions over my back, he comforted as my panicked state subdued. Then he pushed me away slightly to look at me.

“He shot first, what was I going to do, just watch while my friends got killed? It’s not like I shot him fatally, I’ve promised you that.”

“It doesn’t matter, Johnny only sees the fact that he was wounded and now he’s coming for you.” Jeno just shrugged at my statement with a small smile on his face.

“Dongyoung can handle him.” I hit him again.

“You have to warn your crew, I want as little bloodshed as possible, not just because I would be the one to clean up the wounds but also because I want you and my friends alive.” He kissed me as I finished my sentence, a kiss filled with love. His look had changed to a serious one when he pulled away.

“I love how much you care about people. I will warn them, but I don’t want you anywhere near the headquarters.” I nodded before pressing my lips against his once again, wishing for him and everyone else to survive what was about to go down.

Johnny and the rest were just about to leave the house when I returned. Mark grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to the side. I opened my mouth to speak but he hushed me with a frantic hand gesture.

“Listen, I am going to try to get your boyfriend out of this but I can’t promise anything. I’m assuming you’ve warned him?” I nodded. “Okay, good, hopefully, we’ll find the quarters empty. I don’t want you to stay in the house no matter what, take care of Yangyang, his arm needs to heal before he can go on any more missions.” Johnny called his name in the distance.” I have to go, you listen to me, okay. Love you, bye.” He hugged me before jogging after the rest of the boys.

Yangyang was laying in his bed when I checked in with him, snoozing away. I smiled slightly before going to make some food, knowing both of us needed the nutrition. It wasn’t long before I got a bad feeling in the bottom of my belly, and mind you, my gut has never been wrong. I ran upstairs, suspecting the worst and, after a quick check in Yangyang’s bed, confirmed them. After making sure the stove was turned off I threw myself out the door and ran for Dongyoung’s headquarters.

It was dead quiet once I arrived, causing an eerie feeling to settle over me. I walked around the house, looking for a way in which I could sneak through without being noticed. I didn’t get far before I felt the cold touch of a gun to the back of my head. I froze, not daring to breathe as I heard a dark chuckle being emitted from the person behind me.

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” I recognised the voice to belong to Renjun, one of the scariest of Dongyoung’s crew. I took a deep sigh, albeit a shaky one. “Hmm, I guess I shouldn’t kill you the first thing I do, considering you are the one who warned us about the attack which was coming. I would also enjoy the drama of killing you in front of your brother and his friends before ending them as well.” He chuckled at the thought and I felt a tear drop from the corner of my eye. He then forced me to walk into the house through the back door, the gun still aimed at the back of my head.

The sight I was met with in the living room made me cry out and run for my brother, but I was stopped by Renjun, who grabbed my arm and pulled me to his chest, the gun now pointed to my temple.

Mark was on the floor, clutching his shoulder with Jaemin above him, aiming his own gun at my brother’s figure. Yangyang was passed out on the floor, along with Chenle while Yoonoh and Ten were both backed into a corner, their guns discarded on the floor with Dejun and Kun keeping them against the wall. Johnny was standing in the middle of this, aiming his gun at Dongyoung who was aiming his own gun at Johnny. It was a stand-down between the leaders. Both their heads turned to me at the sound of my outburst, Johnny’s eyes burned with rage while Dongyoung seemed to find the whole situation amusing.

“Oh, we have an audience, how nice.” Renjun pressed the gun closer to my head. Johnny was stunned.

“Leave them out of this, they have nothing to do with this!” Dongyoung laughed out loud as Johnny’s rage increased.

“Nothing to do with this? Oh, you have no idea what your members are up to, do you? Your little doctor over there has been sleeping with the enemy.” He laughed even louder. “They were the one who warned us that you were coming, in hope that they could spare everyone’s lives, isn’t that cute.” His eyes then darkened. “This is how we’re going to do it. You’re going to put your gun down and get on the floor. Then you’re going to take the bullet from this gun to your head without fuss and we may let the rest of your crew live. Given that they won't avenge you, of course.” I tried shaking my head, signalling to Johnny that he shouldn’t do it. I’m not worth dying for, not like this.

Johnny hesitated, his hands starting to shake, he would never be able to make a shot in that state no matter what happened next.

“No?” Dongyoung sighed, feigning disappointment. Then he turned to Renjun. “Kill them.”

“Noooooo!”

There was a shot and the gun dropped from Renjun’s hand before he had the chance to pull the trigger and he dropped to his knees, clutching his leg. There was a silence before chaos erupted.

Yoonoh and Ten had thrown themselves for their guns while Mark had managed to overthrow Jaemin and was now the one holding the gun to his head. In a couple of seconds, the standstill had taken a turn. Dongyoung looked around the room, assessing the situation. Renjun was on the floor, bleeding from his leg where the bullet had penetrated. Jeno was standing behind him, holding a gun, ready to shoot anyone who made any sudden movements. Dongyoung scoffed.

“Love does trump all, huh?” Then, in a flash, he aimed the gun at me and pulled the trigger. I expected a sharp pain, I expected to pass out, I expected to die. Instead, I found Jeno in front of me, clutching his side as he tried staying conscious. I threw myself down on him and tried getting him out of the room as the shooting erupted.

That evening, believe it or not, all of Johnny’s group was gathered in the living room. Yangyang sat on the couch, face in his hands, Chenle was sitting beside him, an icepack to his head. Yoonoh and Ten were sitting on the second couch, waiting to see how the next couple of minutes would play out. Mark was standing with bandages pressed to his shoulder, where he had been shot earlier in the evening by Jaemin. I was tending to Jeno’s wound in his side, which was serious, but he was alive, he was even conscious on the floor where we had laid him down. Johnny said nothing, he wouldn’t even look at me. To be honest, I would’ve preferred him yelling.

“So, how long have you been dating now?” Ten was finding the entire ordeal a bit too amusing. I sighed and glared at him, in sync with Johnny who did not share Ten’s attitude towards the situation. He then turned towards me.

“What were you thinking?” Still no yelling.

“I met him before I got involved in all this, okay. I met him in college.” Johnny just shook his head. “Had I told you, you would’ve killed him with no second though because it would’ve meant a weakness within your group, and we couldn’t have that now could we.” He looked down on the floor and turned away from me again.

“We should let him stay here.” I’ve never seen Johnny turn on someone as quickly as he just turned on Mark.

“What did you just say?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure Jeno isn’t going to do anything that puts Y/N in danger and that means by default us as well, he also knows all of Dongyoung’s secrets which we really need and Dongyoung is most likely pissed off so he has no chance of going back there. Not after he shot Renjun, the killer machine, in the leg. We could use him.”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” All eyes turned towards Jeno who had been silent ever since I’d fixed up his wound. “I would rather not die at the hands of my former leader.” Johnny turned towards Mark again.

“Having him here will only make Dongyoung more determined to have us all dead.”

“He is anyway, this doesn’t change anything.” Johnny sighed, frustrated.

“Fine! But I want eyes on him at all times, he is never to be left alone.” Then he left the room, slamming the door in the process. I turned back to Jeno, checking his bandage one more time.

“It’s fine, he’ll come to trust you eventually.” I felt a finger under my chin, forcing me to look into Jeno’s eyes.

“I don’t need his trust at the moment, only your love.” Then he kissed me, long, on the lips.

“Okay! That’s my cue to leave!” And with that, Mark left the room as well, making puking sounds along the way.

#nct #nct scenarios #kpop #kpop scenarios #nct dream #nct dream scenarios #scenarios #jeno #lee jeno #nct jeno #nctzen #music #nananaptime

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kirishwima · 4 years

Note

Heeeeey you miss me? 🥰 I’m in a funk currently and need some cute headcanons for the RFA and Seran. (Situation: MC worked themselves to near death, so now they’re taking a few weeks to recover from over working. How would the RFA [individually] respond??) Dont feel pressured to, do it if your able. Thanks love! ~Corvus

awe hey fluff!! I’m replying this a little late, but hope it’ll still cheer you up a little!! Hang in there ^^

YOOSUNG:

* He’d noticed MC has been more tired than usual, how they’d come home from work a sluggish mess, refusing to even drink or eat anything-merely dropping onto the couch and falling asleep within minutes.

* Yoosung was so worried, but he didn’t know what to do-of course he took care of MC whilst they were home, cooking them dinner and sitting with them to keep them awake until they ate at least a little bit, carrying them to bed when they fell asleep on the couch...he tried telling them to take a break from their work for a few days, but MC wouldn’t hear it, insisting they had to keep going as much as they could.

* Well, the day they’d crash came sooner than they’d think-one moment they were fine, working like usual, the next they were passed out cold on the floor, their co-workers rushing around them and frantically calling an ambulance.

* Luckily MC had assigned Yoosung as their emergency contact so he immediatly got a call from the hospital about MC’s condition-even though he was in class, at that moment he shot out of the lecture room, running to the hospital until his knees gave out.

* The doctors explained the situation to him-a mix of burnout syndrome with dehydration, which led to a perfect combo of MC’s blood pressure dropping low enough to make them dizzy and pass out.

* They explained to him that MC would need to take at least a couple of weeks off of work to recover, that they should rest as much as possible and try to relax-think about their work as little as possible, do some more enjoyable activities when they have the strength to.

* Yoosung took every word of the doctors to heart-once he took MC back home, he called his university to say he’d be unable to attend classes for a few days, and spent his time looking after MC-from making sure they’re drinking water every hour, to eating three full meals a day and relaxing in bed-the moment they tried to get up to do some chores he’d pick them up and carry them back to bed with a disapproving frown-MC giggled, but didn’t tell him how much like a mom he felt at that instant.

* They were just grateful to have a boyfriend that cared so much about them.

ZEN:

* Being a fellow work-a-holic, he’s been through burnout syndrome more than a couple times-so when he saw MC’s fatigue, how they’d barely have the energy to talk when they came back home, he knew instantly what’s up.

* He begged MC to take some time off, but they simply shook their head with a tired smile, telling him it’d be fine, that they would be good as new after a goodnight’s rest.

* Well, MC couldn’t be more wrong. See, when you’re stressed to the bone, your body reacts, of course it does. And one of the ways it reacts is to lower its immune system, making you all the more prone to colds and flus.

* By morning, when Zen shifted in bed to caress MC’s cheek and gently wake them up, he found their skin burning, a clammy sheen of sweat on their forehead.

* Scared, he shook them awake, jumping out of bed to look around for a thermometer. MC was drowsy and woke up with a hacking dry cough, one they had for a few days now but kept trying to surpress when around Zen.

* Sure enough, MC was burning up. Without a second thought, Zen picked MC up like a ragged doll, helped them get changed and dressed into something warm, and dashed them to the emergency room, catching the eye of every doctor and nurse in there.

* It took little time for a doctor to examine MC-the problem was clear, they had a bad cold, but it was more than that, the doctor informed Zen. They seemed way more fatigued than the average cold should turn them into, and their blood results were a mess-everything was in the lows, along with more medical jargon Zen didn’t really understand-he just wanted to know what’s wrong with his MC, asap.

* “To put it simply”, the doctor continued, MC’s lab results in their hands, “given the hours they told us they’ve been working, it’s most likely they’ve been suffering from burnout syndrome, which eventually led to them getting this seasonal flu. They’ll be fine, we’ll prescribe some mild medications for the cough and fever, and with enough rest they should make a speedy recovery.”

* Zen was the gentlest he could be whilst watching over MC until their cold passed-he was the one to call their workspace and tell everyone about their condition, and then called his own workspace-MC begged him to go to work as usual, they’d hate to be the cause of him missing a role-but Zen shooed their worries away with a quick kiss.

* “Your well-being is more important than any role could ever be baby” he promised them, and it was true-nothing mattered to him more than MC. And he’d make sure to prove that to them in the upcoming days.

JAEHEE:

* Honestly, Jaehee’s no fool-of course she’s worked herself to the point of passing out before, and she’d be damned if she let the same thing happen to her MC.

* The moment MC came home a tired sleepy mess two days in a row, Jaehee knew they’d be on the downhill of fatigue and burnout within a matter of days. She explained all that to MC, who was slouched on the couch with their eyes half-shut, but MC tried to brush it away as nonsense.

* Well, Jaehee wouldn’t have it. She apologised to MC, but leaned over MC on the couch, snaking her hands around their waist...

* ...and snatched MC’s phone from their back pocket. She sent a short yet polite message to MC’s workspace about their condition and how they’d be unable to go to work for a few days, even though MC groaned and grumbled about it for hours, but soon enough their boss replied, saying it’s fine as they gave a heads-up notice, and that someone else would be replacing them for a few days.

* Jahee still had to go to work as usual, but before she left in the morning, she made sure there’s a hearty breakfast ready for MC along with grinded coffee beans, and told Jumin about the situation so she could leave work earlier than usual to go back to MC-say what you will about Jumin, but he also cared about his friends’ well-being, and of course allowed Jaehee to leave, even telling her if she can work from home she’s more than welcome to not come into the office the next day.

* Jaehe took Jumin’s offer, and the next morning when MC woke up, they woke up to the pleasant scent of coffee and waffles, and as they staggered into the kitchen they saw the loveliest of sights-Jaehee, an apron tied around her waist, the sun beaming through as she cooked and hummed a happy tune, her lips pursed into a small smile.

* MC couldn’t help it-they were so in love with this woman, they just had to dash up to her and wrap their arms around her waist, kiss the heck out of her as a thank you for everything; and Jaehee’s little shy giggle only made their heart flutter further.

JUMIN:

* He wasn’t home for a couple of days as he was also busy with work, so he wasn’t there to see MC’s condition deteriorate-how their work hours lengthened, how they came home dead to the world each night.

* Of course he talked with them via texts daily, and they seemed as cheerful as usual in their messages-he’d love nothing more than to call MC and hear their voice, but as they were busy and he had a day packed with meetings, he never got the chance to.

* One day his phone rang from an odd number-it was Yoosung, and before picking up, he noticed the flutter of notifications from the RFA messenger on his phone, wondering what this’d be about.

* Yoosung was frantic on the phone-he told Jumin how they’d been looking for MC all day and they wouldn’t reply to anyone’s texts, and that when they decided to check MC’s workspace, they found out from their co-workers that MC had passed out during their shift and was rushed to the hospital where they were at right now, the whole RFA there with them.

* Jumin dropped everything. In that instant, that was the very first time he felt this breath-shuddering feeling, the one that makes your heart still-fear.

* He ran out of the conference room and into the car-he didn’t even wait for Driver Kim to come drive him, no, he instead grabbed the car and drove like a madman to the hospital, nearly crashing at every turn, and definitely bumping into another car whilst parking-he didn’t care, not right then, when his MC was in danger, their life on the line-

* Well, okay, their life wasn’t really on the line, but for Jumin, any little thing that could happen to MC was life-or-death to him.

* He ran to their room, and found MC, awake and alert albeit a little tired, the rest of the RFA gathered around them-they had an IV hooked to their arm, but otherwise they seemed okay.

* He collapsed beside them on his knees as he saw their small smile, hiding his face in his hands.

* “I was so worried..” he whispered to himself, and only looked up when he felt MC shift and run their free hand through his hair; they seemed sad even though they were smiling down at him.

* “I’m sorry I worried you” they said and Jumin shook his head, grabbing their hand in his and kissing their wrist.

* “No, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I promise you, I’ll never leave you alone again. Never.”

* He wasn’t exaggerating-the moment MC was back in the penthouse he took two weeks off, and called MC’s work to tell them they’d be resting for the following month-and well, no one could say anything to one Jumin Han, now could they?

* He spent mornings cooking them both breakfast, something he was surprisingly good at-he’d bring MC fresh tea and breakfast in bed, would spend the day with them and made sure they were resting while he caught up with what work he could on his computer.

* He’d never admit how scared he was, but MC knew-there was no need for words. They took care of him as much as he took care of them, and slowly, they’d both be able to put this behind them-and MC vowed they’d care for themself more, for Jumin’s sake at least.

SEVEN/LUCIEL/SAEYOUNG:

* He got worried when MC came home from work silent as a mouse for a few days, barely nodding to him in response to his greetings. They seemed so tired, they refused to eat and simply staggered up to their bedroom to fall asleep in their day clothes, much to Seven’s dismay-he hated seeing MC like that, but he had no idea what to do.

* One morning he woke up later than usual, which was normal-MC had to get up earlier for work, but with his scedhule being as flexible as it was, he’d sometimes wake up with them, or sometimes he’d sleep in, after workign late into the night.

* Only this time as he woke, he felt MC still sleeping next to him-but it was a workday. Did they oversleep? Should he wake them?

* Gingerly, he shook MC awake, and his heart got caught in his throat-though they were breathing, as much as he shook them MC wouldn’t rouse. He ended up pinching them to get a reaction, and even then it was barely a small groan, their eyes fluttering half-open.

* “Baby, are you okay?? What’s wrong?!” he asked, cuppign their face between his hands.

* MC seemed deleriously drowsy. “I’m-I can’t move I’m so-tired” they trailed off, their eyes fluttering back shut.

* Seven frowned. He didn’t know what to do, so he decided to consult the internet while he let MC sleep some more-their symptoms seemed to match up with burnout syndrome, something he’d experienced often too, after days of being wide awake and working away on his laptop.

* He decided to let MC sleep in, and messaged their work through MC’s phone to let them know they were sick and would have to stay home for a few days.

* By late afternoon, MC woke up-they were still drowsy, and more than panicked when they checked the time-but Seven was there to calm them down, running his hand through their hair as he gave them a cup of tea to drink.

* For the next few days he took care of them in every way he knew, how he once took care of his beloved twin-he’d make sure they ate properly, that they drank enough water, and when they seemed a little better, that they took a walk out together for fresh air.

* He’d never show MC how scared he was; but with the way MC held his hand, squeezing tight, he knew they knew. And he knew they’d never let their health get this bad ever again.

SAERAN/RAY/UNKNOWN:

* Honestly, he’d been nagging at MC for days on end to take it easy-they’d been coming home from work so tired, and it broke his heart to see them this way. He tried to talk to them, firm but gentle when he said they should take it easy, but MC merely brushed him off, insisting they’d be fine-they could take care of their health.

* Well, if that’s the way they wanted it, fine-Saeran wouldn’t intervene. He simply kept a watchful eye on them.

* Until one day, as MC staggered back home from work, their gait unsteady-the moment Saeran came to greet them at the door and took in their disshelved state, he knew something was wrong.

* He had little time to react-one moment they were standing there, their hand on the door, the next they were falling to the floor like a raggedy doll, and Saeran barely managed to dash and catch them before their head hit the floor;

* He was panicked, his eyes wide, his heartbeat stammering in his chest-but instinctively, he knew what to do.

* A short while later MC fluttered their eyes open, taking in their surroundings-they were on the couch laying down, yet in their peripheral vision they could see Saeran-he was sitting beside them, holding their legs up from the knees, his face the picture of panic.

* When he saw MC awoke he let their legs fall, leaning over them to cusp their face. “MC? Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

* MC nodded, weak but alert. Saeran sighed, relief flooding him as he leaned his head onto MC’s belly, letting his shuddering breath and tear-filled eyes hide on the fabric of their shirt.

* “I’ll call your work. You’re staying home for the remaining week, wether you want to or not”. He tried to sound convincingly menacing, yet the tremor of his voice betrayed him. MC nodded nontheless-it was the first time they saw Saeran this shaken up, and they didn’t want to make him feel any worse.

* He looked up, letting MC see his reddened eyes. “Don’t do that again please just-you mean so much to me. I can’t MC, please don’t-please look after yourself. Please.”

* MC tried to sit up-Saeran shifted to stop them at first, but when they frowned at him he sighed, helping them sit up on the couch. They brought their hands around his neck, one sliding down to his back as they laid their head on the crook of his neck. “I’m sorry”, they whispered on his skin.

* Saeran shook. “No, no don’t be sorry-Just be healthy. Please, that’s all I ask of you. Don’t leave me.”

* “Never Sae, I’ll never leave you-we’ll stay home together for a few days, gather our strength. How’s that sound?”

* Saeran shifted away from them, eyeing them with a small tired smile. “Yeah. Yeah” he said as he leaned close, kissing their lips between every few words “I’ll take good care of you MC. I’ll nurse you back to full health, I promise.”

* And he did. He’d cook them meals, even though most ended up burnt or undercooked-MC loved them nontheless. He’d bring them flowers from the garden and sit beside them in bed as they talked for hours, would watch over MC when they fell asleep midway through a conversation-his heart stilled until he heart their breathing even out, scared every time they went silent.

* And thye’d get better. Healthy again, back to the bright MC Saeran loved. And they’d thank him for taking such good care of them, but Saeran would shake his head with a blush, insisting he did nothing-he was just glad MC was okay.

* “I love you”, was the underlying message, but neither of them had to say it-they knew already. They knew.

-send me a mystic messenger headcanon/prompt for characters reactions!-

#wow i rarely write for Saeran i should do so more often #mysme #mystic messenger #asks #prompts #mysme prompts #mystic messenger headcanons #jumin han #yoosung kim #jahee kang #saeran choi #luciel choi #saeyoung choi #zen #hyun ryu #thefluffwriter

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authorbarbie · 4 years

Text

Exit Wounds

Summary: A simple recon mission with Poe is derailed by a frightened villager and a group of trigger happy Stormtroopers.

It was supposed to be your day off.

You had planned on simply lounging around the base, maybe visiting Jessika or Kaydel as they worked and grabbing some lunch with Poe like you had been meaning to for days now.

All of those plans went out the window when General Organa had called you and Poe into her office.

She set both of you the task of travelling to Takodana, a planet located in the Mid Rim, with the intention of gathering information from a CI on what the First Order were planning after the destruction of Starkiller Base. It was a simple enough mission, and you both promised you’d be back by nightfall the next day before setting off with BB-8 in tow. After all, wherever Poe went, his loyal droid followed.

As you and Poe left the briefing room to get ready, he gave you a confident grin.

“This should be easy.”

● ● ●

It wasn’t easy.

Well, it was at first. Although the village you were visiting was occupied by Stormtroopers, you and Poe had managed to avoid their watchful gaze with simple disguises and successfully met up with your CI. Poe had transferred the sensitive information onto his datapad which you carefully stored in the bag you had slung over your shoulder, and you had already begun to make your way back to the ship where BB-8 was waiting.

“Piece of cake, huh?” Poe grinned, playfully knocking his arm against yours as you weaved your way through the crowds.

You chanced a quick look over your shoulder. “Maybe don’t speak so soon.”

“What is it?” Poe asked, keeping his eyes on you. He was smart enough not to risk rousing further suspicion by taking a look himself.

“A trooper is talking to one of the locals,” you said as you subconsciously moved closer to him and your grip on the bag tightened. “Could be nothing but they were looking in this direction.”

“Okay,” Poe nodded. “Just act casual. No reason to panic just ye—”

His words are cut short by a shot from a blaster hitting the wall you had just passed by, pieces of damaged brick spraying outwards. The locals nearby shriek at the sound and immediately begin to scatter at the first sign of a potential scuffle. It seems they’ve grown used to the unrest that Stormtroopers bring and know how to act accordingly.

With wide eyes, you reached out to grab Poe’s arm.

“Can we panic now?” you asked fervently.

“Go!”

Acting quickly, you both broke out into a sprint, eyes forward as you pushed through the panicked crowds. Poe didn’t have to check to see if you were keeping up with his pace; he knew you’d stay close. You carefully swerved out of the way of an oncoming blast, legs pumping and hands darting up to protect your face. A piece of wood from a broken stall left a scrape just below your eye, causing you to flinch.

“Poe!” you called, hand reaching out to catch his attention.

Pounding footsteps were quickly catching up with you, but despite the pain appearing in your abdomen and lungs that were working in overtime, you pushed yourself further and further. Kriff, you were getting out of shape.

“Just keep moving!” Poe encouraged.

“Poe!” you yelled again, pulling the precious datapad from your bag and pushing it into his arms. He faltered for a moment in surprise but gripped it tight, slipping it into his own satchel. “You take it!”

You knew you wouldn’t be able to keep up with Poe. While he was able to use the adrenaline that came with this type of mission to fuel himself, to keep himself going, you were finding it harder and harder with each frantic step. If you got caught, at least the First Order wouldn’t get their hands on what you had learned.

There was no time to argue. Poe lifted his communicator, relaying to BB-8 to get their ship ready to go at any moment. You had both decided not to bring the droid with you to your meet-up, agreeing that he would’ve drawn far too much unwanted attention… The irony was almost palpable now.

You had almost reached the alcove where the ship had been left, could see the familiar street taunting you in the distance, when a rough hand grabbed your arm and pulled you back with a hard tug. You fell to the floor with a yelp, face hitting the dirt beneath you.

Poe froze at the sound, turning to look with wide eyes.

“I got one!” yelled one of the villagers to the duo of Stormtroopers who were catching up to the scene. The man pulled you to your feet unceremoniously.

“Go!” you shouted to Poe who looked ready to spring into action.

“I’m not leaving you!”

“You have to!” you pleaded, thrashing in the man’s hold. A stinging pain went straight through your leg as a trooper shot its blaster and you buckled, knees hitting the ground. “Poe, you have to leave!”

He didn’t have a choice.

“I’ll come back!” Poe told you, already beginning to move away as the Stormtroopers approached. “I’ll come back for you, I promise!”

With that determined look in his eye, you almost believed him.

● ● ●

Poe had gotten to the ship mere moments after you were hauled away (BB-8 beeping in concern when you hadn’t returned with him) and had ran to the pilot’s seat to get in the air. His heart was racing against his chest, not just from all the running, but from what he quickly realised was fear. A chilling, bone-numbing fear he hadn’t felt since he had been brutally tortured by the infamous Kylo Ren.

The First Order had taken you.

His hands hovered over the controls but he made no move to jump into hyperspace. Instead, after a few seconds of deliberation, he flew to a separate, deserted area of the planet and turned to his awaiting droid.

“Alright, bud,” said Poe as he crouched down and began to hook his datapad up to one of BB-8’s vacant ports. “I need you to send this info back to the Resistance ASAP.”

As BB-8 beeped and got straight to work, Poe pulled out his holopad and placed it on the table at the back of the ship. A blue image appeared seconds later, of a concerned General Leia. He noticed a few other familiar faces gathering in the background.

“Commander,” greeted the General. “Is everything alright?”

“No, ma’am,” Poe said, hands on his hips. “We got what we came for; it should be with you within a few minutes. Beebee is working on it.”

“Then what seems to be the problem?” Leia’s brows furrowed.

“The Stormtroopers were alerted to our presence. One of the locals, they…” Poe paused to huff out a frustrated breath. He knew the locals were afraid, that they were living in a war zone, but if he ever got his hands on the man who had given you up, he wasn’t sure what he would do. After all, the Resistance was trying to help people like them; help the galaxy. “They got the Lieutenant, ma’am.”

Leia froze. “Do you have any idea where they could be keeping her?”

Poe began to shake his head, but after a few beeps from BB-8, he shrugged uncertainly instead. “Beebee seems to think they’d keep her close to their base, near the middle of the city.”

“You think you can find her?” Leia asked.

“I know I can.”

“Wait a minute,” said a voice from behind the General. The image of Reed, a man that constantly irritated Poe to the edge of the galaxy and back, appeared in view. Poe had to resist the strong urge to roll his eyes at the sight of him. “He’s not going to find her because she’s probably dead! It’s a wild bantha chase! There’s no point in risking—”

“Take it back,” said Poe sternly, jaw clenching in anger.

“What?” Reed asked with a dismissive scoff.

“What you just said,” the pilot replied slowly, an underlying threat coating his words. “Take it back.”

“Reed, that’s enough,” Leia held a hand up to stop the man from replying. Ignoring his offended look, her eyes met Poe’s and an understanding passed between the two. “Commander… Do what you have to do.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

● ● ●

Your head ached from the harsh hit one of the troopers had given you with the end of his blaster, the blood that dripped from the wound matting your hair to your skin. Your muscles were stiff due to being held in tight restraints for the last few hours.

Despite constant questioning and beatings, you refused to give the troopers any information, and found yourself thanking the maker that you had thought to give your datapad to Poe during the struggle.

You stayed silent when the troopers had asked where your “companion” was. You glared daggers when they demanded to know the location of the Resistance base. You gritted your teeth when they jabbed at the gash in your leg, the layer of blood that had coagulated being broken through once more. You resisted and resisted as much as you could… But hell, it was getting harder to handle with each passing minute.

Currently, you were alone in the small, dark room; the troopers being called to an apparent disturbance outside the building just moments before. You gratefully took the reprieve, returning to your efforts to break free from the implement you were strapped to, though the attempts remained futile.

The sound of heavy bodies hitting the floor and scuffling feet against the ground barely registered with you until a familiar voice called out.

“Poe?” you mumbled in shock before repeating yourself, louder, your voice cracking slightly. “Poe!”

A series of happy beeps and boops grew louder as a certain orange and white spherical droid got closer, whirling into the room with Poe a few steps behind.

“Get her out of those restraints, bud,” Poe called to BB-8 as he jumped into action, running forward to better assess your wounds. BB-8 obeyed immediately, using his arc welder to open the straps around your wrists and ankles.

Poe quickly reached out to ensure you didn’t fall, delicately throwing one of your arms around his shoulders while the other went around your waist. You winced as he helped you stand on solid ground, the movement pulling at the wound in your leg.

“You shouldn’t have come back for me,” you told him. If he got caught now, you would never forgive yourself.

“Yeah, right,” Poe dismissed the thought immediately, the hand that was around your waist loosely holding his blaster. BB-8 lead the way outside, ready to fight back against any enemies that may pop up. “I made you a promise, didn’t I? There is nothing in this world that could ever make me want to give up on you.”

You were in no mood to argue and mumbled something unintelligible to his ears, your head falling against his shoulder. (When he asked you later what you had said, heat rushed to your cheeks and you were fast to change the subject. Poe made a note to come back to the topic once you were in a better condition.)

Blackness surrounded your vision, making you stumble every now and again as you struggled to make your way outside. BB-8 only had to electrocute a few more troopers before the bright light of the sun hit your face, making you flinch and avert your gaze almost immediately. Your mouth still tasted faintly like metallic from the blood that had surfaced inside but you did your best to ignore it, allowing yourself to be led back to the ship.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” Poe said as lightheartedly as he could, head lowering to press a comforting kiss to your bloody forehead. “We’re goin’ home.”

#poe dameron x reader #poe dameron imagine #star wars imagine #bb-8 is the real mvp #i also have no idea if this is good or not but here it is #mine

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shadowsof-thenight · 4 years

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When she least expects it - 2

Summary: When Rebecca’s relationship comes to an abrupt and painful end, she finds herself without a home. With her brother currently stationed in Iraq, she turns to the one person she knew she can always depend on—Steve Rogers.

Warnings: Angst, heartbreak, sadness, mentions of cheating

Ship: Steve Rogers x OFC—Rebecca Barnes

A/n: This was written for Star’s Follower Celebration. The prompt was a roommate AU.

Series Masterlist

***

Chapter two

A few blissful moments of ignorance were all Rebecca got when she woke up the following morning. She stretched her sleepy limbs with her eyes still closed—her mind still empty and peaceful. For those moments she was infinitely content. Then she dropped her arms on the pillows that surrounded her head, and she picked up the scent of freshly washed linen. This was not her brand, she realised, and reality came crashing down in painful waves. She quickly opened her eyes and recognised the apartment as that of her brother—the off-white walls would most certainly not have been her choice for this space. Her heart instantly hammered in her chest as she remembered all that had happened, and she tried to distract herself by taking in the room. There was a significant lack of personal items and too many of his things were still stored in boxes. She knew why—he’d spent shockingly little time in this apartment since he and Steve had bought it. It had been nearly two years since then, but Bucky had spent two thirds of that overseas. Six months ago, Steve opted to train new cadets as his next career move. It gave his life more stability and Rebecca had welcomed his more consistent presence in her daily life with open arms. Bucky had not been ready for the change, and she still wondered when he would be.

She glanced at the nightstand to her right, expecting to find a picture there—one of her and Bucky—and found it to be missing. Nothing but an alarm clock remained on the clean surface. It occurred to her that he must have brought it with him, and it sent a jolt through her aching heart, acting like a balm for the broken pieces—he valued it as much as she did. No matter how lonely she felt or where life took her, she knew she was never truly alone. Her brother would be there. Or brothers really, since Steve had shown no intention of leaving, and after more than 20 years, she didn’t think that would ever change.

Rebecca allowed herself a few moments to wallow in all the emotions that were coursing through her body. There was still so much to be grateful for—she knew that—but it was hard to ignore the pain this early in the morning. She was in a safe and comfortable place, if not exactly where she had hoped to be at 25. With a groan, she pulled one of the pillows tight over her face to muffle the scream that had been building in her throat. She was angry at her circumstances, but even more so with herself, and she was actually straining to keep herself from screaming repeatedly. However, she did not want to wake the wonderful, generous man that resided in the room down the hall.

Finally she got up from the bed and grabbed the warm sweater she had discarded last night, pulling it over the tank top she had slept in. Checking the time, she wondered briefly if Steve’s routine had remained the same since changing positions. He would often get up at ungodly hours to run laps in the nearby park. She reckoned he still did, and that meant that he would be back by now, so she braced herself to greet his concerned face. Life could not be ignored, and she figured she’d better face the music swiftly.

Steve was patient and kind; he would not press too much. However, he would eventually expect a better explanation than the “he fell out of love with me” shtick she’d pulled last night. She was not the kind of person to put things off, just because they were hard, though she had become a master at evading talking about her deepest emotions. She would much rather keep up a mask, pretend she was fine. Not that she had any qualms about Steve falling for it though; he always did see right through her. The perks of knowing one another for so long. She wondered how he would react to the story and wondered briefly if she could lie to him. It had never been her strong suit, but the truth seemed a little too much to share. Perhaps she could find a happy middle and hope he would not dig any deeper.

“Hey.” His deep voice greeted her as soon as she stepped into the living room. He stood by the counter, throwing his favourite cereal in a bowl before adding milk. He was still dressed for a work out, though he had discarded his shoes—they were likely dropped by the front door. He never wore shoes inside. The deep blue of his damp shirt brought out the brightness of his eyes and she admired it for a short moment. His skin was glistening and she realised he must have only returned moments before. She was surprised that he had not deviated from his routine after their late night chat. The clock had only just struck eight—he must have gotten very little sleep.

“Hi,” Rebecca replied, her voice still groggy with sleep.

She walked up behind him, reaching to grab a glass from the cupboard by his head. Steve dutifully stood stock still for her, an amused smile on his lips. She filled the glass with water and chugged it. Steve said nothing—he just grabbed a spoon from the drawer to his left and turned to lean against the counter. In silence, he observed Rebecca as she moved around the small space, careful to avoid stepping on his bare feet. She had never been known for her light steps. She downed a second glass of water and turned to the fridge to check it’s contents. She had never been big on breakfast, and after finding nothing to entice her, she opted for an apple. She knew better than to try Steve’s tasteless, though undoubtedly healthy, grains. She needed something a little easier on the taste buds. When she moved past him to make her way to the couch, she still had not said a word.

“Sleep well?” He finally asked as he followed her out of the kitchen.

Plopping down, she pulled her legs under herself and curled up in a corner as she munched on the apple. Steve chose a different approach. He stacked some pillows and, half sitting against them, stretched out on the long side of the couch. She chuckled. Knowing him, he had pushed his muscles to the limit—he would need to lie there for a minute.

“Sure.” She shrugged, choosing not to tell him of the uneasy hours filled with twisting and turning. It took a long time before she’d finally succumbed to a restless sleep, and even then it had been filled with unintelligible dreams. She’d woken up far too quickly.

Steve sighed, pushing out a humourless chuckle as he took in her evasive behaviour. She never outright lied, but he could tell when she wasn’t telling him the whole story. She’d always been a master of it, dancing around subjects and twisting truths. It had gotten them out of trouble quite a few times when they were younger. He knew better than to let her get away with it now, but he wasn’t as confrontational as her brother would have been, and he didn’t know if his approach would work best. Still, it was all they had until Bucky returned in a few months’ time, and he certainly wasn’t planning on waiting that long to get answers.

“Talk to me,” he said softly. “Please!”

With his breakfast done, he placed the bowl on the table and shifted to look directly at her. A sigh escaped her lips as she struggled to find the right words to tell him. She didn’t want to blurt it all out, fearing regret, worrying he might get angry. Finally, she opened her mouth, ready to spout a little white lie to hold him off until she was ready to dive deeper into the subject, but then they were interrupted.

Frantic knocking resounded through the hallway, drifting into the living room. They shared a confused look. Whoever was at the door was impatient. It was far too early to deal with that, she thought. Steve grumbled, annoyed with the interruption, and he stood to answer. Rebecca listened intently, trying to figure out who it was without having to go look. However, no words were spoken and seconds later, Rebecca had to jump up when someone burst into the room. An angry redhead pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, angrily telling her off for not calling her. Rebecca needed a moment to figure out why she was supposed to have called Natasha. That was until she realised that her friend had known where to find her. She must have been made aware of the break-up, which confused Rebecca—Steve would not have told her yet, and why on earth would Jack even try to get in touch with her in the first place?

She leaned into the hug, returning it as she tried to suppress an amused smile at Natasha’s apparent inability to decide between comforting and chastising. Rebecca caught Steve’s stare over Natasha’s shoulder and saw her amusement reflected in his eyes. He was struggling to keep from laughing.

Natasha was always a force of nature—intense, a tad unpredictable at times, strong willed, and fiery—but she also had a killer poker face. And she was one of the most loyal people in the world. Rebecca was incredibly lucky to have her as a best friend.

“How did you know where I was?” Rebecca asked when Natasha finally stopped grumbling. They stepped back from one another and Rebecca dropped back on the couch, resuming her previous position. Natasha sat beside her, and Steve moved to the kitchen and began brewing a pot of coffee for Natasha and himself, along with some tea for Rebecca.

“Jack called me,” Natasha offered, and Rebecca could see the anger brimming under the calm facade her friend showed. Foolishly, Rebecca momentarily wondered if Jack regretted his decision. Natasha’s next words put a stopper to that. “He wanted to tell you that you needed to pick up your things ASAP.”

“And he called you?” Steve asked, incredulous. He wasn’t aware that Rebecca had turned off her phone the moment she had left her house last night. His house really. Though she had called the apartment home for quite some time, her name had never been on the papers. A stupid decision, she realised now. It meant she had lost the roof over her head, while he lost nothing. And he deserved some inconvenience after his appalling behaviour.

“That’s what caught your attention?” Natasha countered, before turning to Rebecca. “He seemed in an awful hurry—seeing as you were still an item 24 hours ago. Care to tell me what happened?”

Steve went into high gear as he poured the drinks and handed them to the women before sitting down on the couch again. As he sat, he stared intensely at the beautiful brunette that had turned up so unexpectedly the night before. He was increasingly curious to know what had happened.

Knowing she would not be able to avoid answering the two people in front of her—they were a great interrogation team— Rebecca settled in, tea in hand. Memories instantly flashed through her mind as she tried to grasp the moment where everything had changed.

Jack was a good-looking guy; women turned their heads when he walked by, and Rebecca had been surprised that he even noticed her. She wasn’t insecure, merely realistic. She was pretty on a good day, not beautiful like him. All too soon, she’d noticed his arrogance, but she’d also noticed his boundless humour. He always managed to make her laugh, even on a bad day. When they had first started dating, sparks flew. They quickly fell in love and had a hard time keeping their hands off one another. The problem with sparks was that they either faded quickly or ignited a fire, and with the combination of their characters, it was mostly the latter. The fire had been so beautiful, all consuming, wild and entirely uncontrollable. Rebecca didn’t understand why it had taken them so long to combust, or why she had not gotten out sooner. She had allowed herself to get burned, and she would have to carry that with her.

In the years they had been together, their good times had been as bountiful as the bad. They’d been like cats and dogs—unparalleled shouting matches would resound in their home, followed by equally passionate make-up sessions. Those had been enough to make the most stoic person blush.

Jack had been jealous—he even had trouble accepting Steve in her life—and he was a little controlling at times, while Rebecca had a desire to feel free, and her sharp tongue had all too often aggravated him. Looking back, they really hadn’t been a good match. Hindsight. Their fights had never gotten physical, but they were still intense and draining. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he moved on, but it had been. Especially since he had forgotten to tell her. In fact he had forgotten to do so for months.

With his desire to rid his place of all things Rebecca, she realised that he was already thinking of letting another woman into it. That was a hard pill to swallow. She could not understand how his feelings had so easily changed. They had been together for years and until the very end, they had been…passionate. Damaging and wrong as well, yes, but the passion had not diminished—not even those last few months. She should be happy to be rid of him, she knew, but it would take some time for her feelings to catch up to that knowledge.

The first step would be to inform her friends of the information she had found out last night; Jack had been having an affair for the past four months. He hadn’t told her—she had found some receipts she couldn’t account for. He hadn’t even blinked when she confronted him, and he’d simply admitted that he was over her. There had been no emotion, no care, and that was what had truly broken her heart. She had invested so much of her heart into this relationship. Her relationship had not been perfect, she was well aware of that, but to have it end as it did—it was hard.

Rebecca didn’t spare herself as she recounted the gritty details, and tears were streaming down her face by the time she finished her tale. It had not been easy to do; she felt too much like a failure, and she had more pride than was good for her. The people sitting with her knew her so well, and she couldn’t hide her feelings from them. Which was why she had laid it all out for them, despite how tough that was. There was no putting on a brave face with Natasha and Steve—they would see right through it. They asked questions, prodded a little deeper, and broke down her walls.

Natasha pulled her close in a sideways hug, while Steve dropped to the floor in front of her and grasped onto her hands with a gentleness that only increased the flow of tears. They were so kind and understanding, but they didn’t understand the failure that seeped in her veins. Still, they would support and love her through this, and she knew this was the best place she could be right now. The only thing to make it better would have been her brother coming home. Alas, she would have to wait a few more months.

***

The days after her confession were spent in a whirlwind of emotions. Rebecca could not remember when she’d last cried this often. Nor had she ever before switched between emotions quite so easy. Anger, sadness, and bitterness swapped each other out in such quick procession that it took her by surprise.

Three days after leaving the place she had called home, Rebecca made plans to pack up her belongings. With the help of Steve, Natasha, and Natasha’s boyfriend Sam, this was all to be done in a single afternoon. Too fast to grasp it, but it was all she was willing to give it. Jack had promised to steer clear of the place, and she was happy for that much at least. She wouldn’t have felt certain that Steve would not attack him. The blond soldier was so angry with Jack. For her, he had been a saint though. Through her erratic behaviour, through her flailing emotions, he had remained the same protective, patient friend. Even then though, she cussed him out over the most ridiculous things—the other day she had gotten angry at him for cleaning the apartment. She had left papers strewn all over the place, and he had stacked them into a neat pile on the table next to her laptop. Rebecca had always been more messy than the two men, but she always told them that there was a system to the clutter, and when he had cleaned, Steve had paid no mind to her system.

She knew she had been wrong the moment she had opened her mouth, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. He didn’t deserve it, and she would have to find a way to make it up to him later on. But, Steve had just accepted her anger, almost taking it in stride. He pushed back the bare minimum and remained eerily calm—at the time, this had pissed her off even more. Now she just wanted to know how he had managed it—perhaps he had some tips on anger management he could share with her.

Steve found himself shocked by her behaviour; he had never seen her like this, and though he tried to be understanding, it was hard. He accepted her anger and her pain, going back and forth between consoling and pushing back gently. However, it was putting a strain on him, and he hoped it would get better soon. He didn’t know how he could best help her—he was a fixer and he couldn’t fix this for her. She wasn’t talking about her feelings, at least not to him, and his hands were tied. She would need to work through these phases of grief on her own, and it was hard to watch—even though he understood that this was what she needed.

He was incredibly happy when he finally noticed her return to her normal self, slowly but surely, over the course of weeks. Her emotions levelled out, and she started to find little things to laugh at again. The sadness came less and less and her teasing nature returned. She teased him mercilessly and Steve couldn’t have been happier to be embarrassed.

#Steve Rogers #Steve Rogers Fanfiction #Steve Rogers x OFC #MCU fanfiction #When she least expects it

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lilulo-12fanfiction · 4 years

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Flicker, Fade- Part 2

It’s finally done! This is Part 2 of a combo of two requests. Word count is 11,800. Soooo not as long as the first part...but long winded none the less.

Original requests: @justkending requested a Steve Rogers x Reader with prompts: “I warned you about him, yet again you didn’t listen.” and “It’s 6am- you’re not having vodka. @asgardiangurll requested a Steve Rogers x Reader with with prompts:”I’m never going to stop protecting you.”“You are seriously like a man child”

There will definitely be a Part 3. I’m not sure if I’ll be going beyond that. It depends on where the next part takes me. I always know where I want to end up, it’s just how long it takes me to get there.

I hope everyone is healthy and doing well. All of this COVID-19 business is crazy. Stay safe friends. ♥️

As always likes, comments and reblogs are SO APPRECIATED. Requests are open (Avengers, Supernatural, TVD/The Originals. I do dabble in some Green Arrow and The Flash (DC TV Only please). Prompt list can be found here.

Please let me know if you would like to be added to this tag list or one of my others.

Flicker, Fade Part 1

Avengers Masterlist

Avengers Tag List: @shreddedparchment @fanfictionjunkie1112 @this-is-mycrisis @geeksareunique @mikariell95 @gabethelobster @captured-memory

Steve had scooped you up in his arms and ran to the safe house. He had never ran so fast in his life. The heavy rain making it almost impossible for him to see. He was just grateful that it was so warm. As he approached the door, a simple fingerprint scan gave him access to the house. He couldn’t imagine maneuvering a key and the door in that rain while carrying you. He didn’t understand why you couldn’t heal yourself. Once he got you settled on the bed he was calling Tony. He frantically gave him the abridged version of the night’s events.

“Rogers, listen to me and listen carefully. I need you to open the top desk drawers. In there are supplies. Pull out the long cotton swab. You’re going to have to get me a sample of blood from the wound. They must have had something on that blade that would stop her healing, unless throwing the force field drained her, but I don’t think that is the case. If it were that she would experience a fluctuation in her powers any time she used them. There are glass slides in that same drawer. Swab the blood on that and then you’re going to stick it in that little machine that is on the far left end of the desk. It will transmit the results to me here.“

“Oh- okay.” Steve stuttered. It always amazed him how advanced Tony’s technology was and how smart he was. Tony and Bruce consistently blew him away. He and Bruce were a power house.

“I have activated the camera that is there. Put me on speaker phone, I can see you.” Steve set the phone down after he put it on speaker and got to work. “Steve you’re going to have to cut her dress so you can get to her stomach. And don’t be a fumbling idiot. I know you’re all shy and gentleman like, but this is survival.” Steve found a pair of scissors and cut away the dress near the stab wound. He had never been more thankful for the spandex shorts you had put on under that dress. You had been prepared for a fight. You were always ready for a fight. He worked quickly to get your blood sample over to Tony. “Okay, now you need to clean it like we normally would. Once it’s clean, in the fridge there are pre-filled syringes. It’s an antibiotic. Inject it near the site of the stab wound. Then stitch her up.” The bleeding had finally slowed. The dried blood caked to your dress and abdomen was substantial. Steve’s hands shook as he worked.

“Tony how long until you can get us out of here? She’s burning up.” Your whole body felt like it was on fire. Steve couldn’t look at your face. He wouldn’t be able to focus if he did. He pinched the skin on your stomach to inject the antibiotic.

“What the hell did those assholes give her? That’s a quick acting infection unless maybe it’s just because of how hot it is there. The humidity has to be abrasive.” Steve knew Tony was nervous by how he was rambling. “I don’t know when we can get there Cap. Nothing is going in or out. The storm is even affecting us in New York. I have her blood sample now. Give me a little bit. Just hang tight.”

Steve took his time slowly stitching your stomach, hoping to not leave you with a nasty scar. He was slightly impressed with his work, though it wasn’t nearly as good as Bruce’s stitching. It seemed like a century passed from when Steve started stitching you up to when he finally heard from Tony again.

"She's going to be okay. Whatever Cobb developed is slowing down her healing ability, but didn’t eliminate it. I think she’s so warm because her body is working over time to try and heal itself. He didn’t want her dead. I have a feeling he wanted her to experiment with her healing abilities. I wish I had know Cobb was connected to Dr. Yablowski. I never would have let her go on this mission.” Steve had been pressing a cold wash cloth to your forehead. The humidity was almost unbearable.

“I should have done better. I should have protected her, instead she was protecting me. Even when she was bleeding out she shots that bastard in the head.” Tony hummed.

“She does have incredible aim. This is NOT your fault. So get out of your head and focus on taking care of her. That’s how you repay her. You keep her alive. Keep her as cool as you can. Whatever was on that blade is causing an infection essentially. She needs and IV but there’s no way you’re going to be able to do that. Once she comes to, get her hydrated. Probably wouldn’t hurt to give her some pain meds. There are two different kinds where the medications are. Give her a torodol and then the morphine.”

"I’m just worried about Cobb’s men finding the safe house. I'm sure the storm has slowed them down, I don't know if they found that Nick guy yet. But when they do, they'll come looking for us."

"They won’t be able to find you. I equipped our safe houses with the same stealth technology I put on the Quinjet. She'll be okay Steve. She's tough." "I know she is. Tony...Cobb isn’t dealing drugs or with illegal fire arms. It’s something bigger than that.”

"I know. I’m guessing it’s biochemical. I have a feeling he’s made more serums like the one she’s been injected with. I also think she isn’t the only one out there. I think she’s the only one that got away. She was the first one they injected. The doctor that let her go made a HUGE mistake. I found her when she was hiding out. Maybe if I didn’t bring her into they wouldn’t have found her“

“Now who’s blaming themselves?” Tony chuckled.

“I’ll check back in if I don’t hear from you soon. Take care of my girl.” Then the line went dead. Steve finally studied your face. The color had drained from it completely. He got up to get the meds Tony told him to give you and one of his T-Shirts. After he gave you the meds he slipped the shirt over your head and gently pulled your arms through. Once you were covered he slid his hands underneath your back and undid the back of what used to be your dress. He slowly slid it off of you to not disturb the wound. There was so much dried blood on it, the top part of the dress was stiff. He threw it out and got a fresh cool compress to put on your forehead. All he could do now was watch and wait.It had been a few hours since Steve had talked to Tony. The storm wasn’t letting up. He was going absolutely stir crazy. He was keeping an eye on the wound and it seemed to be healing incredibly slow. He had taken to pacing the room, worried that Cobb and his associates would come and he would be outnumbered and it would be easy for them to surround the safe house. He was standing by the back door, looking out at the storm when he heard you groan.

"Steve?" your hoarse voice came out almost as a whisper. He rushed over to you to help pull you up so you could lean against the headboard.

"Cami...Jesus....how do you feel?"

"Like I took a giant blade to the gut." You groaned. You slowly pulled the hem of his t-shirt up to look at your stomach. "You do this hack job?" When he looked up at you, you had a tiny hint of a smile in your eyes.

"Shut up." He laughed.

"Nick?" was all you asked.

"Dead. Bucky is going to be proud."

"Do we know what the hell happened?"

"As far as Tony can tell...there was something on that blade made just for you. It slowed down your healing abilities. He seems to think Cobb wanted to get his hands on you to experiment different substances that would stop your healing completely." He gauged your reaction, which there wasn't much of one, so he continued. "He also thinks that he's making serums, similar to the one that he gave you and selling them on the black market." That caught your attention. You started to move to get out of the bed. "Cami...no, stay."

"I need to stand, just help me up." He slowly pulled you to your feet and you were hunched over slightly and made it to the desk chair. You had eyed your purse on the desk, you grabbed your phone out of the purse and dialed.

"Cam?!" Tony's voice rang out over the speaker.

"Yeah...I'm still kicking."

"Oh Thank God. Listen-"

"No, you listen. You need to get on Martin Cobb and whatever his operation is ASAP. I overheard him and his goon talking. They said I was the first. There has to be more. More like me or with different abilities. We can't let this slip. From what Nick said, he is looking for people circling the drain. If the serum he gives them makes them live, then great. But if it doesn't, or actually kills them instead of their injuries...then well no one will really dig deeper into the cause of death."

"We're already on it. Right now, you need to rest until we can get you out of there."

"I'm fine. I'll be fine. I just want to get this guy. If he has a network of enhanced individuals this could be a disaster. I was smart enough to run, but if he got his hooks into the others...God only knows what he's planning."

"I promise you, we're going to get him. Okay? Now please, go lay down until we can get you out of there."

"Okay, okay. I will."

"Cam?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"I love you kid. I don't know what hell Pepper and I would do if something happened to you." The emotion in his throat was thick.

"Me too Tony. I'll see you soon." You ended the call and wiped your eyes. You felt Steve's hand on your waist. You leaned into the comfort of his touch.

"C'mon...come sit back down." You let him lead you over to the bed and get you settled. He sat down and you could tell he wanted to ask you something, he had that look in his eyes.

"Just ask."

"He called you Y/N Y/L/N."

"That's not really a questions.” You teased. "That was my name...before all of this happened. When I woke up in that hospital...and nothing hurt. And I looked completely different I knew someone did something to me. So I kept my mouth shut and got out of there as fast as I could. When I got home, I found out that Dr. Yablowski was looking for me. So I had to disappear. I buried my family...my baby sister...and I faked my own death and ran. I changed my name, I changed everything about myself. It wasn't easy and it cost me a ton of money, but I did it. I flew under the radar until that gunman. The little girl I saved...she reminded me so much of my sister. Her innocent laugh, her excitement. Same hair, same color eyes. I swear, if reincarnation is a thing, that was my sister reborn. I didn't know that I could create force fields. I never had been exposed to any sort of threat that would require it, until that day. I was getting ready to run, to find a way to start over again, to hopefully hide. I knew if anyone saw, if the news caught it, they would find me. Tony found me and gave me a fresh start. But Cobb and Yablowski knew it was me once they started seeing me on TV with you guys. He's been working on this plan for a while." The sadness in your voice broke Steve's heart. You wouldn't look at him while you were talking about your sister.

"Should we call you Y/N?" Steve asked. Now that the cat was out of the bag, you didn't need a new identity anymore.

"No. Y/N Y/L/N died 5 years ago. If they hadn't injected me, I probably would be dead. I'm not that person anymore. I can't be that person anymore. You and Tony are the only ones that know my former name."

"Not even Bucky?"

"No. Not even him." You sighed. "Steve...you should get some rest."

"No...you're compromised and they could find us."

"They're not going to storm our castle Steve. It's not his style. Just sleep a little. There's no way they're even out looking for us in this weather. If it starts to ease up, I'll wake you. I promise." Steve could feel the exhaustion hitting him like a freight train. He climbed into the bed next to you.

"You sense anything, you wake me up, okay?" You nodded. As he settled into the bed he felt you absentmindedly run your fingers through his hair. He looked up at you, but you were staring ahead, a million miles away. He felt the sleep slowly taking over him. His last thought was how he was going to find Martin Cobb for you if it was the last thing he did.It was late in the morning the next day when the Quinjet landed to bring you and Steve home. Steve had gotten some solid sleep, you had stayed awake the rest of the night. You couldn't sleep. Your brain would not shut off to allow you to rest. You were still incredibly sore but you were improving. Whatever Cobb had created to put on that blade was strong, your resolve was stronger.

***

"CAM!" Bucky rushed to you as soon as you stepped onto the jet and pulled you into an embrace. "You're never going on a mission without me again." He pulled back and looked at your face and saw a sea of emotions behind your eyes. "You good?"

"I'll be fine. I just want to get the hell out of here." You could stand straight, but were moving slowly, favoring your left side where your wound still was. At the rate you were healing, hopefully the stitches could be removed that evening. They were what was giving you the hardest time moving. Bucky led you over to a seat and helped you strap in. Steve was carrying your supplies onto the jet a few moments later. Bucky clapped him on the back of the shoulder.

"Just a recon mission huh? I can't let the two of you out of my sight for a second." Steve laughed.

"That's what I get for opening my mouth and jinxing the mission." Steve had felt guilty for sleeping the whole night. You waved off his guilt. There was no reason the both of you should be awake. You were alert enough for the both of you. Your mind was swimming too hard against the current to let you rest. Steve moved to the front of the jet with Bucky near the controls.

"She looks like shit. Did she sleep at all? She looks exhausted." Steve cringed with guilt again.

"No. She was only supposed to let me sleep for a few hours and then wake me, but she let me sleep the whole damn night. She's putting on a brave face, but this stirred up a lot of her past and she's having a harder time than she's letting on."

"I can tell by her eyes. We'll talk to Tony when we get back. Between the three of us maybe we can convince her to let him give her something to sleep once we're in the safety of the compound. Don't look at me like that. I know how stubborn she is." Steve and Bucky's silent communication abilities were as strong as ever. Bucky glanced over his shoulder at you, a far away look on your face.

“She looks..” Steve finished Bucky’s sentence for him.

“Haunted Buck...she looks haunted. The look on her face when she saw that Doctor...I’ve never seen her react like that. She’s so tough. Nothing rattles her, at least not like that. How did we miss this? The tips that came in about this. How could there have been nothing they pointed towards her accident? How did we not know this was about her?” Bucky glanced back at you again before he looked at Steve.

“Because we kept everything a secret. If the team had known...if maybe at least Nat had known we would have pieced it together. No one knew about the accident, her family or how she basically reinvented herself. None of you ever asked her because Tony and I made it clear it was off limits. I wasn’t following up on the tips. You and Nat were on that. Tony did some, but not enough to piece anything together. This guy is good. I should have pushed her more to tell you guys.” Steve sighed, the weight of the world weighing down on his shoulders again.

“There are so many things we all could have done differently. Especially me. But now we DO know and we protect her and bring him down. She might not like it, but the team will need to know the full story. We can’t stop him if they don’t know. And I hate that she has to share her story. It’s just another way for him to violate her. But there’s no other way for us to protect her or stop him.”

“Let me just say this. Now, before we get back and get into it. I know you and Tony will move Heaven and Earth to keep her safe both physically and emotionally. I can say that if you or Tony try to bench her on this she’ll go rouge and God only knows what will happen. She will not sit this one out. Even if she is too close to the situation. Honestly, it’s my first instinct too. Keeping her away from him and this seems like the logical step. But I know her so we have to be smart about this. I don’t want her going off on her own and getting herself killed or doing something she can’t take back.” Steve let out a big breath of air.

“You’re right. That’s what I want to do. And Tony will too. You’re also right that she won’t accept it. I can’t say that I blame her though. I wouldn’t either.” Steve’s understanding of how you felt wasn’t surprising to Bucky. The two of you were very alike in some ways. Bucky sat down at the controls and started the Quinjet.

“Go sit with her, I got this.” Steve nodded and headed back to where you were seated.

Steve made his way and sat next to you, but you were so engrossed in your thoughts you didn’t even notice him. He took the moment to study your profile and really see you. The curve of your face and the slope of your nose. The shape of your face and the illumination of your purple eyes. He could stare at you forever. You finally noticed him sitting next to you. Your eyes met his and you gave him a half smile, but he could see the weariness in your eyes. You reached out and took his hand, hoping they he could anchor you down as you felt your inner turmoil pulling you away.

“We’ll be home soon.” You nodded, not trusting your voice not to crack. The more you thought about what Nick said...the more anxious you were becoming. How many people had they done this to? How many people were dead because of it. And then there was the idea that Cobb was selling these serums on the black market. What if he wasn’t selling the serum but the people he injected. Steve could see your mind taking you down the rabbit hole of despair. You felt his thumb comfortingly rubbing over the top of your hand. You looked back at him and stared into his eyes. They reminded you of the ocean and you wanted to drown in it. “I got you.” He tried to comfort you. You nodded at him and looked forward again but intertwined your fingers with his to keep a tight grip on his hand. Bucky glanced back and saw you and Steve in your own little world. Your world might be in fire, Bucky thought to himself, but maybe those flames would bring his two best friends together.

***

“She’s resting now.” Bruce walked back out into the common area. He and Tony had used your blood sample to create an injection to counter act whatever was on the blade that stabbed you.

“Did she let you give her something to help her sleep?” Steve was weary from the trip back. His head was pounding from over thinking.

“Yes. I told her she needs to sleep to heal properly and once she’s bounced back she can get back to work but that no one will let her do anything if she doesn't take care of herself first. It was hard for her to say no to that. She did mutter something before she fell asleep, I don’t know what it means but I’m assuming you three do.” Bruce looked between Tony, Bucky and Steve. “She said she doesn’t think the accident was an accident.” Both Tony and Bucky looked alarmed, but Steve knew exactly what you were talking about.

“I think she’s right.” Steve’s voice was solemn. “We didn't talk about it, but I was thinking about it the entire way back here. The way that guy was talking. She said that Nick told Cobb they could make more and to let her go. There’s no way they could be on the scene of multiple accidents like that. They had to be creating them.” Bucky paled.

“Her survivors guilt has to be in over drive. She had it before, but if they targeted her family to take her? She won’t get over that. I’ve got to call Nat and tell her I can’t meet her. I was going to go to Clint's for a few days and then bring her back to the compound.” Bucky ran his hand down his face.

“No Bucky, go and get Nat. Camille will appreciate having her here. Just call her and tell her what's going on and only spend the night at Clint's. You’ll be back by tomorrow evening. She’ll probably sleep until then with the pain meds and the sedatives Bruce gave her. Rogers and I are here. We’ve got her.” Steve was still impressed by the progress Tony and Bucky had made. Their mutual affection for you had really brought them together.

“He’s right Buck. Go get Nat. . I’ll keep a a close eye on her and let her know you'll be back tomorrow night.” Bucky contemplated Steve.

“You’ll call me if she needs me?”

“Of course. We got this, okay?” Bucky nodded. He didn’t want to leave Nat hanging but he didn’t want to abandon you. Steve could see the conflict all over his face. “I promise.” Bucky nodded and hurried off to get his bag. The sooner he got to Natasha, the sooner he could get her home.

Steve looked back to Tony after Bucky was gone. Tony studied Steve’s face for a moment. He saw a lot of things in his eyes, the most apparent was his worry and his affection for you.

“So uh...you and Cam...” Steve snapped his eyes up to Tony’s. Tony watched as he paled for a moment and then his cheeks turned a deep red. “Look, we all know you have a thing for her. I’m like 99% sure it’s mutual. The two of you just refuse to accept it, acknowledge it and or deal with it. You have trauma from being frozen for almost a century. She has her own trauma. You’re both scared. I get that. Man do I get that. Pull your head out of your ass Rogers. This life? Nothing is guaranteed. You know that first hand. Stop wasting time. Oh and you’re going to have to make the first move because she is absolutely terrified of letting anyone get close to her again. You and I both know loss. But Cam...she was 18 years old and watched her whole family die and then had to leave the life she knew to hide. She was smart enough to know what would happen to her. She spent 3 years isolating herself before i barged into her life and brought her here. She needs you to break down the last of the walls she has built around herself. You were there for her, Barnes told me what happened. The fact that she told you what she told you is huge progress for her. She never wants anyone to feel sorry for her and she doesn’t ever want to feel vulnerable or weak. You are the most honorable man I know. Honorable to a fault if I’m being honest. You’re a good man and I think you’re what she needs. She needs someone to love her.”

“She has people that love her. She doesn’t need me. I don’t think she needs anyone. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. She opened up to me because she didn’t think she had a choice but to tell me. I think she could do without me.”

“You’re an idiot if you believe any of what you just said other than her being so strong. She is, she’s tough as nails. Don’t think for one second she would have told you jack shit if she didn’t want to. She would have told you to mind your own business. She deserves to be happy. You deserve to be happy. Just get out of your own way and be happy together.” It wasn’t often that Tony’s advice wasn’t laced with sarcasm and sass. Tony took Steve’s lack of response as acceptance. “Go watch over our girl.” Tony turned and headed in the direction of his lab. Steve watched as her paused for a moment and turned back to Steve.

“Just know Cap that if you hurt her, there isn’t a serum strong enough to protect you.” Tony gave Steve a pointed look and then left the room. Steve leaned against the counter considering Tony’s words. Your bright smile and melodic laugh were echoing in his mind as he made his way to your bedroom to check on you. Tony was right. Bucky was right. Of course they were right; the only other people that knew him just as well were Nat and Sam, but Bucky and Tony could see through him in a way that no one else could. It was easier to keep you at arms length. He didn’t want to admit that you were under his skin, that you had infiltrated his entire being. It was easier to keep his feelings veiled by self-righteousness and irritation than to let them in. You challenged him, kept him on his toes, just like Peggy had. And how had that turned out? He couldn’t couldn’t lose another woman he loved. Deep down, in the part of him that he didn’t allow to see the light of day, he knew he was in love with you. How could he not be?

Personality wise he had a type, that much was obvious. You were fierce and weren’t afraid to tell him he was wrong. That first mission you told him it was a set up and he was sure you were wrong. Anyone else, any new recruit at SHIELD, they would never dream to challenge his orders let alone get in his face after his orders blew up in his face. Your passion to save those who couldn’t save themselves, the fury that literally flickered in your eyes had made him feel things. Things he never thought he would feel for any other woman again. He had felt like he had to shut it down before it started.

You were beautiful. Anyone with eyes could see that. The way the shine of your black hair would sparkle in the sun. Your eyes, your damn eyes, were intoxicating. They weren’t exactly purple. The violet had a touch of grey that gave them a natural look. He hated when you wore your contacts and covered them up. They had been necessary when you were on mission to see through the appearance enhancer technology, but you wore them more often than not. Steve knew you desperately wanted to feel normal, come off as normal. You were anything but. Even before the serum, Steve knew you were extraordinary. He vowed to himself that he would make you realize how special you were. How he loved the way the magenta sparked in your eyes. He wanted to help you love it too.

He slowly opened your door. Tony had made sure Friday kept it unlocked for the time being so they could check on you. There you were, dark hair splayed out across your pillows. You seemed to be blissfully and peacefully asleep. Steve knew that it was the sedatives. Inside you were full of turmoil. He leaned over to brush the hair off of your face and kissed your forehead. He pulled the arm chair you had in the corner of your room closer to the bed and took a seat. He didn’t want you to wake up alone.

He looked around your room. As much as you tried to hide the purple in your eyes, it was on full display in your personal space. Steve wasn’t sure if you even realized you had done it. Your walls, like most of the walls in the compound were a dove gray. Your bed spread was a shade of bluish-purple and your sheets were light violet. The chair he was sitting in matched your bed spread. No doubt the work of Tony Stark. You had a large black book shelf that was chock full of books of every genre. Classics like Moby Dick, 1984 and Jane Eyre. You had every single Harry Potter book and books that you liked to call your guilty pleasures like the Pretty Little Liars series. Grimm’s Fairy Tales and stories by Gregory Maguire occupied almost a full shelf. They were some of your favorites. You loved fairy tales and you loved his spin on them. He remembered how thrilled you had been last Christmas when Tony had gifted you a few you didn’t have yet. You had a tattered copy of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland next to your bed, but Steve had seen an almost brand new copy in your hands a few weeks ago. Steve didn’t want to invade your privacy so he stopped himself from picking up the copy next to your bed. He knew there was a story there. He realized reading was your way to escape. To forget the horrors you had experienced, even for a little while.

You had a matching black desk and lined up on it were a handful of leather journals in varying shades of purple. Steve was itching to read them, he had seen you sitting outside furiously writing in them. Yet he would never invade your most private of thoughts. It would be like someone tearing through his sketch books without his permission.

Steve stood to take a look at the handful of pictures you had framed in your room. He hadn’t ever spent a lot of time in here so he never got a chance to really look. As he studied them, he felt himself smile. While you had lost your family, you had made a new one here. Tony Stark made an appearance in quite a few of the framed photos. You had a picture of Tony and Pepper taken from one of the parties Tony was famous for. They weren’t looking at the camera or posing for the picture. It had been taken from the side as they looked and smiled at each other. The love and happiness radiating from both of their eyes. Steve could only hope that one day you would look at him like that, if he hadn’t messed things up beyond repair with you. There was a picture of you, Tony and Pepper taken during your first New Years at the compound. Pepper was laughing as you and Tony wore “Happy New Years” tiaras and the obnoxious glasses that were in the shape of the year and a bunch of beaded necklaces. Then there was one of just you and Tony. It was just a random night at the compound and you had snapped the picture of the two of you. Tony and Pepper had truly become the parental figures you had needed. Not that they took the place of your parents but they had help fill the hole in your heart just a bit.

One of Steve’s favorites was of you and Bucky. It had been the 4th of July. The two of you were wearing American Flag shorts and matching Captain America T-Shirts just to tease Steve. You had red, white and blue ribbons braided into your hair and you had somehow convinced Bucky to paint his face red, white and blue. Sam was in the background double over in laughter as you stood in a “super hero pose” completed with an American flag cape. The final picture on your desk took him by surprise. It was a picture of Steve and Bucky. Taken similarly like the one of Tony and Pepper. It could have been the same night. They were both wearing Tuxedos. Bucky’s hair was still long and he had it neatly slicked back. They were both staring in the same direction.

“I love that picture.” Your voice came out in a hoarse whisper. Steve set the picture down and turned to you. You still looked hazy from the medication Bruce had given you. Your skin was still a ghostly white, your hair tussled by sleep.

“Sorry. It just caught my eye.” You smiled softly and rubbed your face.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. It was sitting on my desk, you weren’t rifling through my stuff.” Steve walked over and sat on the edge of your bed.

“I’m surprised you’re awake. Bruce said he gave you a heavy sedative.”

“Medication seems to work through my system more quickly than a normal person. The advanced healing and what not”

“Can I see?” Steve motioned to your stomach. You nodded and pulled your t-shirt up so he could see your stomach. Bruce had taken out the stitches Steve had done and you had an angry red mark. Steve ran his finger over it and he watched goose bumps pop up all over your skin. He met your eyes and he saw a slight blush on your cheeks.

“Bruce said the scar should slowly fade since whatever they stabbed me with seemed to just slow my healing so your janky stitches shouldn’t leave a mark.” You had a hint of your signature teasing smirk on your face. Steve laughed lightly and took your hand.

“You really scared me. I thought I, that we were going to lose you.”

“It was a good reminder that I’m not invincible. I tend to think that nothing can touch me. Thank you for taking care of me. Not just after I was stabbed, but before too.”

“Anytime. You should get some rest. I’ll stay with you.”

“Did Bucky go for Nat?” You ignored Steve’s urging for you to get rest.

“He did.” He studied your face as you grabbed your phone off of the night stand and were furiously typing with your thumbs. “What’s happening?” You set the phone back down.

“I asked him to tell Nat. I don’t think I can keep telling the story. Tony can tell everyone else.” Steve saw a small tear slip from the corner of your eye. You slowly pulled yourself up into a sitting position, waving Steve off as he tried to help you.

“I think that Martin Cobb has been causing the accidents to create more people like me.”

“I know. You said something to Bruce before the sedative knocked you out. I agree.”

“You do? You don’t think I’m being crazy.” Steve laughed.

“I think we both know by now that you’re incredibly intuitive. You’re also rarely wrong. There’s also no way he could happen upon that many random accidents, not if he's been slowly trying to build an army. Cam, I promise you that we will find him, find the others and stop him. But you have to recover first. You have to be firing on all cylinders. I need you at 100%. And we have to find him first. It won’t be easy.” When Steve looked at your face you were grinning. “What?”

“Say it again.”

“What?”

“That I’m always right.”

“No, no...I said you’re rarely wrong. There’s a big difference.” You rolled your eyes. “Good to see you feeling more like yourself.” Steve moved to sit next to you and rested his back against your head board. He froze for a moment when you rested your head on his shoulder. He hesitated for a moment and then wrapped his arm around you. He smiled slightly as you moved into him and rested your head on his chest.

"I was thinking too how we thought he was trafficking drugs and then jumped to him trafficking the serums. What if he's not giving out the serums, but trying to sell the individuals he's enhanced."

"That’s...that's horrifying. And entirely possible." Steve let the idea sink in.

"Cam...we're gonna figure all of this out and stop him, regardless of what he's doing. I promise."

“I’m scared. I haven't felt scared like this since the accident. I’m terrified of what he's done, of what he's going to do. I can't get the idea of innocent people being manufactured as weapons, the same way Bucky was. I’m afraid to go to sleep because I know the nightmares are going to come again. I thought I left them behind.”

“I could have Bruce give you something to help you sleep again.”

“It makes it worse. I can’t wake myself up from the nightmare. It’s like I’m trapped. All I can see is the lifeless faces of my family, the smell of their blood...now faceless people suffering at Martin Cobb's hands” your voice trailed off.

“Then I’ll be here to wake you up.” He felt you nod your head against him. You turned on your side and wrapped your arms around his waist, your ear resting against his chest. He was certain you could hear his heart pounding. He brought his hand up and slowly started running his fingers through your dark locks until he felt your breathing even out and you were asleep again.

***

You slowly started getting back into a routine. You kept your distance from most of the team, not wanting to talk about the events that transpired. Tony was desperately trying to find Martin Cobb but he was as elusive as ever. Any time he got close to an idea of where he was hiding, something changed and he lost him again. No one could figure out how he was targeting individuals, what he was pushing on the side. It was a mystery. If Tony couldn't find him, if the resources and SHIELD couldn't find him, how could he be stopped? You spent a lot of time working out. Pounding on the treadmill or a heavy bag was how you let out most of your pent up aggression. You didn't even want spar with Bucky. For the first time in a very long time, you just wanted to be left alone, with the exception of Steve Rogers. Even Steve was only acceptable in minimal doses. You ran with him around the compound in the morning after breakfast, the two of you often ate a silent dinner together and then went for a walk at night to help you wind down. While you wouldn't talk about what you were feeling, Steve knew you had pent up frustration, anxiety and anger that you had to try and work it out of your body. Every night, Steve came to your room to go to sleep and as promised woke you up from every single nightmare. Everyone in the compound had silently agreed to give you ample space. If they noticed what was happening with you and Steve, they didn’t say anything, with the exception of Bucky.

It was early on a Thursday morning that Bucky came upon Steve in the kitchen. He was standing at the counter in front of the coffee maker, staring off into space. The lack of sleep since the two of you had gotten back was getting to him. He was trying to figure out a way to get you to open up more without pushing too hard. Talking about what was on your mind might help lessen your nightmares. He would go without sleep for the rest of his life for you, but he could tell the constant waking up was affecting you too. Last night Steve had come in to your room to go to sleep and you had thrown your worn "Alice in Wonderland" book into the drawer of your night stand and wordlessly turned on a movie to fall asleep to. Steve didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to make you feel better. He just wanted to help you. Bucky jolted Steve from his thoughts when he slammed his hand down on the counter.

“I need to talk to you.” Bucky had his arms crossed over his chest. Steve turned and saw the serious expression on his friends face.

“What’s going on Buck?”

“You tell me.”

“Bucky...I’m tired, I’m going to need you to spell it out for me.”

“Late nights with Camille wearing you out?” His tone was laced with accusations.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve gone to her room literally every night for the past week. I’ve seen you. I usually go in to check on her, especially after what happened but you’re already in there. I know I told you to wake up to your feelings about her but is now really the time for you to start sleeping with her?” Steve scoffed.

“I’m not sleeping with her! I’m not involved with her like that. Have we gotten closer? Yeah of course we have, how could we not after everything? I was there when this all went down, for whatever reason she feels the most comfortable around me, I'm not going to rock that boat on her, I would NEVER take advantage of her, or anyone else for that matter. She’s having a hard time sleeping. Her nightmares are back. I promised her I’d wake her up every time. That’s why I’ve been staying with her. I’d think you’d know me better than that. And not for nothing you’re the one that told me to ponder my feelings for her!” Steve took a defensive stance.

“God, I’m an asshole. I’m sorry." Bucky ran his hand down his face in frustration. He had been worried sick about you and you had been pushing him away and closing yourself off. "My over protective side kicked in. I know you aren’t like that. Jesus I’m sorry. I haven’t wanted to push her into talking. It's driving me crazy not knowing what's going on with her. I had no idea her nightmares were back. If you're staying up with her, that explains why you look like shit.” Steve laughed and shook his head.

“She’s having like 2 or 3 a night. I don’t know what to do for her. She doesn’t want to talk about it. I know Tony is hunting for Cobb but won’t let her help until she’s back on her feet 100%. Physically she's there, but mentally she isn't and that's why he's keeping her away from it. She’s going crazy. She’s in the gym now beating the crap out of a heavy bag. I’m not sure her training with anyone else is a good idea. She’s got so much rage in her, she might not be able to stop.”

“I swear to God I’m going to kill that man with my bare hands.” Steve could see the rage in Bucky’s features. “Mostly because I don’t want her to do it and have it open more wounds. There’s no way she’s going to let him walk away from this.”

“Murder isn’t the answer.” Steve knew Bucky was right, you were going to try to end Martin Cobb's life. “We have to convince her to let us take him in.” “Well you let me know how that goes for you.”

“Buck.”

“Steve, not everyone deserves to live. Some people deserve to be dead.”

“But we can’t be the ones to make the choice! That makes us no better than them. It’s one thing I’d someone dies in battle. But we can’t go around executing people. We just can’t.”

“I know. You’re right. I just can’t deal with anyone getting away with hurting her.” Bucky looked around to make sure no one was coming. “She told me you kissed her. And if you say it was for the mission I’m going to punch you.” The heat rushed to Steve’s face.

“Fine...I was looking for an excuse. Once I finally let my guard down to her...I don’t know, she’s just...I just want to be near her. But now I don’t want to act on it because she’s not in the right head space.”

“So just be there for her. You guys are like two different people than the ones that went on that mission. Sticking by her through this, the right time will present itself.” Steve hummed in agreement. “She feels the same way, she admitted it when she told me about the kiss. So don’t go convincing yourself she doesn’t. Also- I frigging told you so.” Bucky clapped Steve on the back and left him to his much needed coffee.

***

You had just gotten out of the shower and were laying on your bed in a pair of leggings and a baggy t-shirt, your hair braided around your head. Your mind was like a battlefield. All you wanted to do was quiet the noise. A loud knock at your door shook you out of your thoughts. Before you could even answer, Tony strolled in.

“Okay. I know you’re in a bad place but I’m not letting you mope or angrily stomp around. We’re going to get Cobb, take down his whole operation and help whoever else he juiced up. But in the mean time, you have to live. So get up and get dressed. Wear something nice.”

“No Tony. I’m not in the mood to go out or party or anything along those lines.”

“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound optional. In exactly 1 hour Captain Rogers will come in this room to get you. You can make yourself look presentable or he can drag you out of here in that get up looking homeless. It’s your choice.” You groaned and threw yourself back on your bed and stared up at the ceiling. You wallowed for a few more moments and dragged yourself out of your bed and went into your bathroom to do your makeup and fix your hair. Your wardrobe was an entirely different issue. You had no desire to wear something that wasn’t in the realm of pajamas. But you also knew that Tony wasn't lying about Steve dragging you out of this room. Steve had been begging you to go out and do something for the entire week. He knew it wasn't good for you to sit around and stew in your emotions.

A little while later you were standing in front of your full length mirror in black shorts and a gold sequined V-Neck T-shirt and black heeled gladiator sandals. Your cherry red toenails gleaming under the light of your room. You had taken your hair out of it's braid and piled it on top of your head in a messy up-do. The summer heat was getting to you and your hair felt like a blanket most of the time.

Never one to be late, you heard Steve Rogers knock on your door. You gave Friday the command to open the door and Steve strolled in wearing black dress pants and a blue shirt that made his eyes pop and was tight across the chest and his biceps. It really wasn't fair for one man to be so perfect looking. He smiled at you. "Wow. You look beautiful." You were never great at taking compliments, but his made you feel fuzzy.

"Well my homeless look wasn't doing much for Tony. What is he making me do?" Steve smirked as you crossed your arms in front of you and jutted your hip out demanding answers.

"I've been instructed to tell you nothing. And I don't really feel like having to fight Tony in his suit tonight. It causes a lot of damage and clean up is always a bitch." Your laugh rang through the room. Steve reached his hand out and you took a few steps forward and placed yours in his so he could lead you out of the room. The change in your relationship in the weeks since your mission was astounding. Never in a million years would you have believed anyone if they told you Steve Rogers was the one keeping your nightmares at bay and taking care of you. It was nice. Being close to him physically and emotionally was really nice. You worried that it was only because of what happened and not because he wanted to be there and be close to you as a person. Part of you, your brain, was screaming to run and protect yourself, yet your heart wanted to stick around and find out. Your heart was winning the war. You silently prayed that the risk would be worth the reward. You also knew that if this crashed and burned you would probably not let anyone else in ever again.

Steve led you to the party room in the compound that Tony had built specifically for events. It had a large, spacious dance floor, a lounge area, a beautiful and fully stocked bar, a wrap around balcony with seating areas to look out at the sky and a gorgeous outdoor patio that displayed every single star in the sky on a clear night with a breathtaking stone fire pit. Steve felt you stop and jolt him back. He turned to look at you as panic, terror and a little bit of anger crossed over your features.

"Steve...if this is a surprise party for my birthday. I...I don't want to go in. I can't. I can't do this."

"How Tony thought he could pull this off without you figuring it out before hand is beyond me." Steve stepped back towards you and cupped your face in his hands. "Camille...you can do this. I know what happened was awful. It was a lifetimes worth of awful on the one day that should always be your happiest. You can't live in that place forever. You deserve happiness and to be celebrated. We're your family and we love you...we want to celebrate you. Let us do that. You deserve it more than anyone. I know it's hard. But you told Bucky that maybe it was time for you to stop mourning that day. So let me walk you through those doors and let us all be grateful for the day you came into this world. I will be right there with you the whole time." Steve's thumb stroked your cheek. Your felt like your stomach had dropped out of your body with how his blue eyes were piercing into yours. You took a deep breath and reveled in the feeling of his hands on your face and turned your cheek slightly into his palm. He watched as your eyes flashed a little magenta. Whatever you were feeling it was strong.

"Okay Steve." He smiled at you. You knew at that moment you would never be able to deny him anything he asked of you ever again. He slid his hands down to your shoulders and then your arms. He rested one hand on the small of your back and slowly led you into the room. You couldn't even help but smile with happy tears when your friends and your newly formed family yelled out surprise.

The room was filled with not only the Avengers but SHIELD agents and people who worked for Stark Industries. You let Steve lead you over to the bar where Bucky, Nat, Sam and Tony were waiting for you.

"You didn't run." Bucky greeted you with a smile and a hug.

"No- our friend was pretty convincing."

"It's good to see you smile again. It's all going to be okay." Bucky whispered in your ear before he let you go so you could hug Nat and then Sam. You wanted to smack Tony's grin off of his face. He was gloating.

"I knew he could get you here. I'm also glad you decided to change." You wrapped your arms around his waist and he engulfed you in a hug. "You deserve this. Enjoy yourself. Don't think about the bad stuff, we can think about that tomorrow okay?" He felt you nod against his chest. "Go...have fun." He shoved you towards Steve slightly and went off to Rhodey and Happy who were across the room.

"Camille!" You knew who the booming voice belonged to before you even turned around. Steve watched as your face erupted into a smile.

"Thor!" You spun around and ran to hug him. Steve knew there was nothing to your reaction. Everyone loved Thor. Yet, seeing him scoop you up in a hug sent the tiny pang to white hot jealousy coursing through his veins.

"Maybe you should do something about that." Natasha was leaning against the bar grinning at Steve.

"She's going through too much. It's not the right time." Nat scoffed.

"Yeah, I heard about Bucky's freak out. Don't listen to him. Look...there's always something going on in our lives. Someone is always dealing with some sort of trauma. If you wait until things settle...you'll be waiting for the rest of your life. You out of anyone should know how precious time is and how we can't waste it. And quite honestly I'm sick of listening to you two bicker and then pine after each other. It's annoying. If you want to be with her, tell her." Nat pushed off the bar and went to join Bucky who had drifted over to the lounge area bickering with Sam.

Steve kept his distance for a good portion of the night, stuck in his head, trying to decide what he should do. The two of you had made progress in your relationship. You were friends now. He wanted more. Everyone told him that you wanted more. He was psyching himself out. Watching you laugh and place your hand on Thor's arm was making his insides churn. Steve watched as Thor kissed you on the cheek and headed away from you. He wanted to punch something until you turned and smiled your best smile at him. His breath caught in his throat as he watched you walk over to him. Never had that smile been for him. Never before had you looked at him like he was the only person in the room.

"Where have you been all night? You vanished, I was hoping to spend the party with you." Your head was cocked to the side as you leaned against the bar, still smiling at him.

"You were with Thor. I figured you hadn't seen him in a while so I wanted to give you your space." He watched confusion pass over your face, and then a tiny spark of realization.

"That's true. But I still wish you had joined us." You looked down for a moment and then looked up at him through your dark lashes. Steve took a step closer to you and placed his hand on the side of your face and stroked your cheek with his thumb like he had done so many times in the past few weeks.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you." You looked nervous. You were seemingly just as nervous as he was. It was the best kind of nervous.

"You could make it up to me."

"Oh yeah? How so?" You were both in your own little world. You didn't even notices Bucky and Natasha watching you shyly flirt back and forth. The two of you together were like a baby doe. If they approached, they would ruin the moment and you would both run for it.

"You could dance with me." You put your hand out, palm up. He hesitated for a moment. You didn't know what the idea of dancing with someone meant to him. He shook his ghosts away and smiled at you, taking your hand in his.

"I'd love to." He led you hand and hand out to the dance floor, and while to the two of you it seemed the stars were aligning as the music slowed down, the reality of the situation was that everyone was waiting for you two to get together and took advantage of you approaching the dance floor to slow the music down. Steve's hand found the small of your back, a place that felt like home to him, a place where he found himself touching almost ever day. He pulled you close to him, the heels your were wearing brought you closer to his height, but definitely not to eye level. You were tall enough to be able to wrap your arm over his shoulder and place your hand at the back of his neck as he held your other hand in is. Feeling your body pressed up against his, you hadn't realized what you had been missing since you met him; since you had been fighting to keep him at arms length, struggling to keep him and your great big feelings at bay. Once again, your pesky little heart was drowning out the unnecessary screams of your brain to run.

The two of you moved in sync with the music silently for a while, just enjoying being close to one another. You felt the side of Steve's head drop a little to press against yours so he could whisper in your ear.

"Happy Birthday sweetheart." The endearing term had your heart pounding. You normally hated nicknames like that. The only person that got away with anything like that was Bucky when he called you doll; only because half of the time he didn't even realize he was doing it. But you could listen to Steve calling you sweetheart for the rest of your life. You felt a chill run down your spine as his lips brushed against your ear.

"I never wanted to celebrate. I didn't feel like I had a reason to celebrate. Not until now." Steve pulled his head up so he could look into your eyes. He studied your expression for a moment. With the way he was looking at you, you were certain he was going to kiss you. Really kiss you, not as some poor excuse to save a mission. Just when it seemed like he was going to lean down, the entire room went dark. You felt Steve's grip on you tighten as you both turned to a video being projected on the wall. You had no idea where it was coming from. Then, Martin Cobb's smug face was grinning at the room and you felt a wave of nausea and then rage surge through you.

"Well hello Avengers, Shield agents, friends of Y/N...I mean Camille." You visibly winced when he used your real name. "I keep forgetting that you changed everything about yourself after I changed you. I hear Happy Birthday is in order. Well belated, you were busy murdering one of my best men on your birthday. Though I'm sure he had it coming and he gave you cause. I hope you're okay after that stab wound you got. You never know harmful a dirty blade can be." Your jaw clenched at the implication. You wanted to rip this man to shreds.

"How the hell did he know you were stabbed?" Steve whispered to you, but you couldn't respond. You couldn't take your eyes off the man that had ruined your life. You waited for him to continue.

"I had NO idea that the day we crossed paths so many years ago was your birthday. What a gift I gave you! The ability to heal yourself, those around you, those fancy little force fields. And I hear that now you're quite the fighter. I'm assuming from your training with our mass murdering friend The Winter Solider. Yes, my dear Camille, I know all about you. What you've done since you escaped my grasp. I am so sorry about your family. Unfortunate collateral damage. Though if I'm being honest I had really hoped that we would have gotten you AND your sister...or at least your sister. You proved my point to Dr. Yablowski that the younger the subjects are, the better. The more impressionable they are. You ran, you hid your abilities until Stark dragged you out of wherever hole you had dug for yourself. You know, I really have to thank you Tony. I sincerely thought our dear girl was actually dead until I caught video footage of her working with the Avengers. It didn't take me long to infiltrate and get all the information I needed. And Camille, your Houdini Act allowed me to change my strategy. I'm building myself quite a team of child soldiers. Taking their parents from them at a young age. Orphans are SO GRATEFUL to generous benefactors after they lose everything. Oh...I fear I've said too much. I know you're looking for me, but you wont find me. Not until we're ready. Then, we'll be coming for you. Happy Birthday Y/N."

The room went dark again and you could hear the frantic murmurs from the crowd. When the lights finally came on Steve could see the range of emotions on your face. Rage, fear, sadness ad determination. Tony and Bucky were quickly approaching the two of you. Tony had a hard time meeting your eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know how he got through my systems. I'm so sorry I brought you here. They never would have found you..." Your eyes snapped to Tony.

"He always would have found me. Some how, some way. Don't you dare blame yourself. You gave me my life back, a purpose, a family." A few tears slipped from your eyes.

"Guys..." Bucky interrupted. "We have a bigger problem. Cobb has someone on the inside. And we need to figure out who the hell it is."

Tony quickly cleared out the party, Steve had led you outside to get some air, his arm firmly around your waist holding you up. It was taking all of your strength not to fall apart. He was targeting children, taking away everything they knew and loved so he could mold them into something else, a weapon. You would die before you let him succeed. Steve had stood himself in front of the door to signal to everyone else that you needed space. You were sitting on the bench looking out at the clear summer sky. The stars were mocking you with their sparkle. Everyone must have got the message about bothering you as Steve had moved away from the door and closer to you. You felt his hand slide over your shoulder and he slowly turned you to look at him.

“Listen to me. We are going to find him. We are going to rescue those kids. I promise you that. This is all going to be okay. It might take some time but we always get there. C’mon sit down.” He led you over to the bench a little further down so he could sit next to you, your bodies angled towards each other so that your knee was touching his. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small wrapped box. “I got this for you. Tony pulled this party together pretty quickly. I was lucky I found what I wanted." He paused for a moment to consider his words. "I know this is probably the worst time to tell you this. I just can't wait anymore. I just...I regret all the time we wasted, I wasted not being close to you. Keeping you at arms length. I don’t know how you feel. I just know that I feel something. I have for a while and it was easier to push you away than to let you in. I think I didn’t want to risk loosing another person I cared about. Like I said, I know this isn’t the best time and that you’re going through a lot. I don’t want you to feel pressured. I just want you to know that I’m here for you, in whatever capacity you need me or want me to be. And when you're ready we can talk more about how I feel about you. I don't want another moment to go by without you knowing that you mean something to me.”

Your hands shook slightly as you peeled the tape off of the small rectangular box. You knew it was some piece of jewelry by the grey-blue velvet box. You slowly popped it open. Inside was a white gold dream catcher necklace. There were three solid feathers hanging from the circular webbing. Inside the circle, scattered through the webbing were tiny diamonds with one small diamond directly in the center. You looked up at Steve as he studied your face in anticipation. “In case I’m not there to keep the nightmares away. I hope you like it.”

You were speechless. Normally he would make a crack about your lack of response but now wasn’t the time. Your eyes met his and you placed your hand on his cheek and rubbed it with your thumb, the same gesture he had done so many times since your trip to South America. You couldn’t properly put together a sentence that could accurately describe how you were feeling. He watched as you shifted yourself and sat on his lap, keeping your hand on his face. You silently searched his eyes for a moment and then you were pressing your lips against his. It was the only way for you to show him exactly how you felt. He shifted and pulled you closer to him and depended the kiss. After a few moments you were both breathless so you pulled away and rested your forehead against his.

“Thank you.” You whispered. “I love this. So much.” You pulled back slightly so you could look him in the eyes. “I feel something for you too. I think I always have. But like you I’ve been so damn scared. I don’t know if my heart could take loosing another person I loved. Letting Tony in was the hardest thing I’ve done and then Bucky. I had steeled myself against letting anyone close to me. And then I met you, and I knew I was in trouble.” You saw his eyes crinkle with a smile, you couldn’t help but smile back. “It was easier for me to let you think I was this brat that had to have her way. That I couldn’t take orders. I wanted you to not like me, so then I would end up not liking you. It didn’t work. Even when you were yelling at me all I wanted to do was kiss your stupid perfect lips. You’re a good man. You’re kind, generous, you put others first, always. Even when I thought you hated me I knew you would sacrifice yourself for me.”

“You were kind of a brat.” You laughed and pressed your lips against his in a chaste kiss.

“I don’t know where this is going to take us, but I don’t want to waste any more time not being with you, I don’t want to push you away anymore either. I need you. I know I’m going to need you to get through this. It’s- it’s going to bring up a lot of bad stuff for me, more than it already has. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I don’t want to do this alone.” Steve watched as you got emotional and your panic started to rise.

“Hey, hey. Listen to me. You’ve never been alone. Not for one second. You will always have this family. Tony and Pepper, they love you like a daughter. When Tony assigned your training to Bucky...you gave him a purpose. And even when I wanted to throttle you, you had me. You have Sam, Nat, Bruce, Rhodey and Thor. We are all here for you. I am here for you, whatever you need.”

“Just hold me.” You whispered. He pulled you close to him and buried his face in your neck as you rested your chin on his shoulder. If only you hadn’t pushed him away for so long, you could have felt like this sooner. He made you feel safe. He made you feel like everything was going to be okay even though deep down you knew it would be, not for a while anwyay.

“C’mon- let‘s get inside and get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.” You nodded and let Steve lead you into the compound to your room. You wanted to pretend, at least for one night that your world wasn't on fire. You wanted to take one night to not think about how Martin Cobb had robbed you of your family and was doing the same thing to other kids. You didn't want to think about him trying to sell any of those kids to the highest bidder to be their weapon. Steve was right, tomorrow and the days to follow until this was done would be long. You knew wouldn’t rest again until you found Martin Cobb and put a bullet in his head.

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paulieshore · 4 years

Text

The Dynamic Duo

Characters: MC, Gavin, Minor, Victor (Mentions: Anna and Willow)

Words: 1903

Warnings: Minor threats

Part Three: Respect

Parting from the boys just moments ago, you didn’t know what to expect … Being honest to yourself you knew you had to get it over with. Gavin and Minor gave you a pep talk before entering the building, telling you to keep your cool and call them later. Grateful was the very least you felt for those two guys, especially Minor lately. He was really stepping up in and around the company.

You entered the elevator of LFG, every time you’ve ever been in here seemed like a life time to get to where you needed, tonight though felt the fastest its ever gone. All but dragging your feet towards Victors office, scarcely anyone was left in the enterprise... Checking your watch, nearly 9pm. Gosh, usually you were home in your pyjamas by now, instead you’re standing infront of Victors door. Holding your breath, you knock...

tap - tap - tap

“Come in”

Pressing down the handle you enter slowly, Victor still staring at the file in hand waves you forward. You approach cautiously, considering how things were earlier you decided to wait until he spoke to you.

Just standing there…

Minutes went by before Victor set down his file, looking to you, “Well, I suppose if you’re not going to talk then ill start. Today’s events were chaotic, unacceptable, and unprofessional. For that, I’m Sorry.”

It hadn’t quite registered with you yet, blankly staring at Victor.

He raises his brow, “It seems perhaps an apology isn’t enough to excuse myself for earlier, I’ll buy dinner. Have you eaten? Right before i forget, your subordinate, what’s his name? The one who clearly doesn’t care if he still has a job tomorrow?” Victor asks nonchalantly.

Speechless, you just sort of shook your head at him. You envisioned this conversation to go quite the opposite direction, this moment of reprieve swelled up something from deep within.

“You’re angry with me, right? I jumped to conclusions and…”

“Stop.” Finally speaking… “I don’t want your apology.”

Victor’s eyes widened.

“You ridiculed me in-front of my staff and guests, you didn’t even try to understand the situation I was in. I came here terrified of what was going to unfold but none the less ready for it… And y-you act as if nothing has happened? I don’t want dinner with you, what I want is ……. I want respect.” The tears that threatened you today were back again, this time falling down your face.

It was obvious seeing you cry unsettled Victor; he rose from his chair and in the very same moment you took a step back. Silence engulfed his office, all of today's emotions began exploding inside of you. You choked back desperately not to sob in-front of your boss, bringing your head down, you turned and started to leave.

“Mc...” The moment Victor opened his mouth, your feet took off on their own accord.

You managed to get inside the elevator moments before he did, doors closing on the sight of him reaching out to you. “Wait!?”

After the doors shut, you immediately pull out your phone and sent a text to Victor - Please excuse me, I’m exhausted, lets reschedule - *Thinking, I was just demanding respect then ran away like a child. *

Stopping the elevator couple floors from the lobby, taking the stairs the rest of the way down, the objective was to avoid Victor. You were NOT ready for this, you felt compromised with emotions. Peaking around the corner, it seemed safe and you made quick steps to the exit.

Meanwhile, Victor just stared at the text he received. Sitting on the floor of the second elevator, seeing you cry was like a blow to his heart. Once today you teared up in front of him, he took it too far then before your employee stepped in …

Perhaps that’s why…

It was rare for Victor to feel remorseful.

Gavin was just picking up take out when he got the call from you. Instantly taking to air when he heard your shaky voice, when he landed again it was only couple yards from where you stood. He could see that you were crying, “Didn’t go so well did it?” Wiping the remanent of what tears that still stained your cheeks.

“I didn’t stay calm Gavin, maybe I am not cut out to do this.” Avoiding eye contact, you stared at your feet. You called him to talk, not expecting him minutes later to be right there. Typical Gavin you thought, smiling inwards at the thought.

In that moment you were embraced into warm arms and a solid chest, “I don’t know a thing about producing but your amazing Mc, truly. You’ve never been a quitter, so don’t give up now.” His voice was soft like faux fur.

Your senses were heightened, you felt extremely warm, and smelled - noodles?? This caused your stomach to growl loudly. Staring doe eyed at Gavin when he released you.

Laughing, “Hungry huh? Good thing I always pick up food for two then.” Showing you the take out bag.

Next day, you woke up and started getting ready. This afternoon you had a meeting scheduled with Barner Wors heads, trying to figure out compensation for both sides during this halt. Gavin was going to continue his investigation with Minor, today Minor was off. You asked Minor last night to assist him, which he was more then thrilled to help ‘his boy’ on his day off.

When Gavin awoke from his little cat nap (sleep was something he barely got these days) he was receiving a call from the department. The call was brief, files were being emailed to him whilst he took the call, turns out his intuition was paying off. Just as he was reading through Nicole Kissman’s file, his phone began to ring again - Minor. He wanted to decline the call but considering that you seemed at peace with Minor helping him, he notioned; keeping Minor close may help in some way.

“Hey”

“GAVVVVVVVV- BRO, Chris – The lead for the show is in hospital! I just got a text from my friend, whose cousin texted her, whose roommate called him, that apparently spotted Mr. Heartthrob being taken in by ambulance!” Minor screaming into Gavin’s ear.

“And??”

“AND!! I decided to come to the hospital to check myself, AND INDEED HE’S HERE! Now I came incognito and decided to snoop around, there saying food poisoning. Now I’m no expert but! I did some digging on Chris; he’s a vegan, man don’t eat no meat, however! I was able to get hold of his papers by the desk and get this, his co star the one and only Madam Kissman stated after eating a hamburger he just got sick. Now correct me if I’m wrong but, he’s a vegan and food poisoning doesn’t take affect that quickly!” Minor was practically gasping for air after that explanation.

Silence followed, the only thing heard was Minor dying on one end and Gavin letting out a slight hmmm on the other.

“Nice one Minor, get out of there and meet me out front.” Gavin hung up the phone, the plot was thickening. If his police training and investigation films taught him anything, it was actors will sometimes do whatever it takes to shine.

You were just entering your company doors when Anna frantically came running to you with news, about the actor Chris.

Food poisoning, oh dear…

This joint production really was becoming a series of unfortunate events, you thought. Then Anna handed you a letter, normally you had a team that look after this sort of stuff. After examining the front of the envelop you knew why. In big black bold letters ‘TO BE HANDLED BY MC’, okay? You made your way to your office quickly running Anna up to speed of everything and having her make notes for preparations of this afternoons meeting. Sitting in your desk mid-sentence; you froze, you had opened the envelope and glanced at the contents inside…

Images of your outside apartment caught you off guard. Anna noticed something the matter so she peaks over and was too shocked by the findings. Your hands began to shake as you flipped through the photos, one photo in particular had writing on the back of it.

It read….

We know where you live. If you love your job, and do not want more ‘unfortunate’ things to happen and ruin your ‘reputation’ - drop the case.

Or else.

The picture after the note was an image of your company, completely scribbled out. So much that the pen used left deep in-grooves and in some areas punctured right through. A shiver went straight up your spine, Anna spoke up, “this isn’t just a coincidence anymore. Someone is playing seriously dirty...”

All you could do is nod your head…

What do you do?

You stared at Anna, neither of you spoke, till Willow burst through the doors.

“Victor is downstairs!!!”

The day was just beginning and already you wanted to go home. You sent Gavin a quick text ‘SOS office ASAP’ and stood up. Fixing your skirt, you took a deep breath; tucking the photos away in your top drawer. You raised your chin up, and made your way to meet Victor. Considering your demand for respect yesterday, you had to be respectful.

You had a lot of crap on your plate, and Victor was one of them.

Gavin arrived at the hospital and seen Minor, oh dear god is that what he meant by ‘incognito’ he wondered.

Minor stood at the bottom of the entrance stairs leaning against the rail. He was wearing a backwards pink hat and dark sunglasses. If that wasn’t enough, he had on the biggest yellow sweater I swear he could find; that read ‘Bronies’ on the front of it. The tightest white jeans known to man, and a tooth pick sticking out of his mouth. Gavin was stunned stupid; Minor was one to easily annoy him back in school, and even now he still had that gift.

“Minor…. You have about three seconds to sort yourself out, before I knock you out!”

Minor didn’t notice when Gavin appeared, nearly falling over at his aggressive demeaner. “Bro, respect! It’s my disguise yo, can’t have people snitchin’ who I am. Don’t need boss stressin’ even more if my covers blown yo!”

Gavin rubbed his temples, reminding himself, ‘don’t hit him, don’t hit him’ before speaking. “First off, I’m not your ‘bro’. Secondly, stop talking like that. Third, you look like a walking highlighter. You’re not blending in; you stick out like a sore thumb. If I didn’t know you, and I saw someone dressed like you; snooping round my hospital.. Attention is exactly what you’re going to get and not in the good way!”

“Alright, alright, alright…. Man can’t a bro catch a break, I’m trying here!” Minor takes off the sunglasses and fixes the hat.

“Minor, the more you try the worse you get. Just relax, or it’ll be you next; checking in.” Gavin signals Minor to walk with him as he enters the hospital doors. Before pointing out, “and for the record, stealing other people’s information in the hospital is invasion of privacy. That’s breaking the law, you could be done for that.”

Minor grins at Gavin, “Yea but, I was incognito. No one knows it was me!”

It took everything in Gavin not to knock him out at this point, they’re both trying to help MC he repeated again and again...

To Be Continued

Master-list for Parts

#mr love queen's choice #mr love gavin #mr love victor #mr love minor #mlqc #mlqc victor #mlqc gavin #mlqc minor #dynamic duo #walking highlighter #incognito #respect #minor just wants love #hes trying #part three #love and producer

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space-helen · 5 years

Text

Unaware

Words: 1512

Pairing: Spock x reader

Summary: Reader is caught unaware and held hostage for data. Spock strives to save them.

A/N: I really need to write more Spock! This was kinda written in a rush I’m sorry. Hope you enjoy!

_______________

A shipwide alert had been engaged on the ship, everyone had been ordered to report to their stations immediately. You quickly slipped your boots, on picked up a PADD and ran out of your quarters. Getting to the turbolift you began to swipe through the PADD, looking at different analytics. You looked up at the turbolift, it was taking a lot longer than it should before a voice came over the communications channel “Lieutenant Y/L/N, where are you?” it was the captain's voice.

“I’m waiting for the turbolift, which is taking longer than normal. I will be up to the bridge shortly.”

“Very well, we need you up here ASAP. Spock is on that floor, I’ll send him over to check if the lift is broken. Stay alert.”

You continued to look at the statistics on the PADD and let a smile flicker onto your face at the thought of seeing Spock, as of recently you’d warmed up to the man and had a feeling that he’d warmed up to you too.

Seeing the lift open in your peripheral vision you took a step towards the lift, eyes still concentration on the PADD. As your foot hit the turbolift you were quickly pulled inside, two large arms wrapped around you, you began to struggle, dropping the PADD in the process you screamed a hand came up to your mouth before you felt what you thought was a phaser pressed to your side. You froze, dropping your arms from clawing at your assailants.

“Lieutenant Y/L/N I believe?” the low dark voice came from beside you, you nodded in response.

“Excellent, you’re coming with us.” With that, you began to struggle against the man but it was no use. You began to get frantic when you felt the but of the phaser come into contact with the back of your head. Your body going limp and vision becoming dark.

Your captures dragged your body out of the turbolift and to the transporter room, entering the room they quickly got onto the transporter pad and beamed their group, and you, back to their ship.

Spock walked down the corridor at his regular pace, he rounded the corner to the turbolift and to his surprise you weren't there, the turbolift doors opened and he entered, assuming you were already on the bridge until he looked down to see the heavily damaged PADD on the floor of the lift. Kneeling he picked it before realising who’s it was. “Spock to bridge.”

“Pike here, everything ok?”

“Is Lieutenant Y/L/N on the bridge?”

“No, she is not.”

Dropping the PADD he stood. “Captain I believe something has happened to the Lieutenant, her PADD has been discarded and is badly damaged in the turbo lift.”

The Captain quickly ordered a shipwide red alert before running all the analytics of the turbolift to see where it had stopped. Spock entered the bridge and walked up to the captain, PADD in hand. “Do you have any updates on Lieutenant Y/L/N?” he asked, worry set in his eyes yet not present elsewhere on his face.

“From looking at where the turbolift had stopped and activity on that deck we can assume that. She’s been beamed somewhere else. The party who beamed out had 7 members, one of those was the Lieutenant.”

“Captain, do we know if she is in danger?”

“Considering the condition of the PADD and the fact several of the transporter room staff were held at phaser point to do as commanded, I would say the assailants are hostile.”

Sock turned and made his way to his station, “We must find her immediately.”

You awoke sat in a chair arms bound behind your back and you could feel the bruises on your biceps where the men had grabbed and dragged you roughly. Sitting up you raised your head to see 2 large silhouettes in front of you. “Y/L/N, you’re awake.”

“What do you want?”

The man laughed before approaching you and crouching in front of you, bringing his hand to the side of your face, you flinched away from it and he dropped it to his side before rising again. “I’m looking for information, either you can give it to me or the enterprise will.”

“Why me? The enterprise would never give you the information!” you raised your voice, struggling against the binds.

“You run most of the ship’s data. If you don’t give us the information the Enterprise will because we have you, the Enterprise may have some of Starfleet's best but they also care too much about those they love.” The man turned away from you before turning back. “We’ve been watching the enterprise for a while, we know you probably won’t give up the information willingly.” he paused “Set up a communication channel with the enterprise and bring them on screen.”

The enterprise was hard at work trying to figure out where you were until the bridge froze when the attempt at communication came through, Spock moved to by the side of the Captain. “On screen.”

Spock was shocked yet relieved at the picture on the screen, there were several large men on the screen with you in the background of the picture, he was relieved to see that you were somewhat uninjured.

“Captain Pike it’s nice to meet you” the low voice spoke your head whipped up to the screen to see the Captain and Spock on it your chest filled with hope. You blocked out the words around you before hearing sudden movement, looking to the side of the screen your jaw dropped one of the men unsheathed a huge curved sword, you’d never seen anything like it, you started to struggle as the man walked towards you. “Captain, you have an hour. You can guess what will happen in an hour.”

One of the other men in the room came towards you and yanked you backwards by the hair and another stood in front of you and punched you in the face. This is the last thing the enterprise saw before the screen went blank. The transmission was over.

The bridge was silent for a second. “Start transmitting the data.” The Captain announced

“Captain you cannot be serious,” Spock questioned for beside him.

The captain looked at Spock before making demands on the bridge. “Transmit the correct data but at a very slow pace, ensure they basically get nothing but it appears they’re getting the data they want. Spock, you’re coming with me we’re going to get the Lieutenant.”

Spock’s mouth fell open slightly before he snapped back into it. “Very well sir.” with that they turned and exited the bridge.

The assault on you hadn’t lasted much longer than the end of the transmission, they only wanted to scare the enterprise into giving them the data. You’d been sat waiting for god knows how long, your captures mumbling about the data, you couldn't believe it they were really giving them the data. One of the party came up to you and roughly grabbed your face, forcing you to look at them, “I told you we didn’t need you to give us the information.”

They tightened their grip on your face as the door to the room you were in blew open, Pike and Spock entering phasers in hand, they fired a couple of warning shots before Spock rushed to you ripping the man off of you and undoing your bonds. Quickly standing he offered you his hand and you grabbed it, a strange action from the man.

He guided you out of the room to what seemed to be this ships transporter room while pike followed behind you firing at the angry crowd following you. As he got into the room he sealed it from the inside and before long you were transported back to the enterprise.

As soon as you saw the enterprise transporter room you quickly turned around to hug Spock, “Thank you”pulling away and looking at the captain you thanked him as well.

“Lieutenant, I’m glad you’re ok. Please report to medbay for them to look over your injuries.” the captain spoke, Spock standing observing you.

“I’m fine captain. Why did you give them the data?”

Spock took a step forward and spoke. “We did not give it to them.”

The captain nodded at Spock before leaving. “What do you mean?”

“We started sending them irrelevant data at a slow rate in order to surprise them when we came to retrieve you.”

“Thank you,” you said thoughtfully.

“We must get you to medbay.”

You nodded and began to walk towards the door, Spock following next to you, his arm hovering behind you as if to guide you. He was glad you were back on the enterprise and you were glad he was with you, scared of the halls of the enterprise since you were caught so unaware.

However, you took comfort in having people who cared about you around you.

Tag List: (open)

All Fics: @allthetrek @mrscasnovak @carrie-85

Spock: @endlesssummerfun @cynthianokamaria

#spock x reader #star trek discovery x reader #star trek x reader #writing

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badsext · 5 years

Text

The Substance of Love - Chapter 3: Klaus x Female Reader

Chapter 1 is here

Chapter 2 is here

Word count: ~ 1950

Warnings: This is where the tender, loving SMUT is.

_________________________________________________________

“So you finished it?,” Klaus inquired, his mouth full of instant noodles.

“Yeah”

“And….”

“Oh my god, it’s so epic. I never thought I’d root so hard for the antichrist….Heaven is full of hard ass warmongers…The devil is a deadbeat dad. That shit is priceless! And, of course, Azirafale and Crowley are so perfect together. I’d ship them.”

“I really like you, Y/N.“ Klaus said, his eyes focused on you.

"Aren’t you, uh?…You stammered.

"What?" He grinned, still staring and enjoying your embarrassment a little.

"I mean, I’m not completely…either, but I thought…” Your voice got caught in your throat and your cheeks grew hot.

“Never mind. What I meant to say is, me too, Klaus. I like you too.” You started frantically checking around the pillows on the couch. “Oh for fuck’s sake - Where is the remote? I still need to show you my favorite movie.”

“Since when do you swear this much?,” Klaus teased.

You bopped him in the face with one of the pillows then settled into a comfortable position.

“I guess the ghosts decided to give you a break, hu?”

“Oh no. We’re definitely not alone. It’s like listening to two or more conversations at once. My brother, Ben is here. He’s a real chatty bitch.”

“Is he the one with the…" You mime a creature bursting out of your chest.

Klaus laughed. “Yeah. You know he can see you.”

“Oh, right…I’m just saying ‘Aliens’ might not be the best choice of movies.”

Your phone buzzed with a text from Kendra. It said ‘call me - important.’

“Ooh. I’ve gotta make a quick call.”

“Alright, I’ll go outside for a smoke,” he said. You narrowed your eyes at him. “Just a smoke,” he assured you.

“Okay. Give me five minutes." Klaus shut the door and you turned your attention to Kendra.

"Hey Kendra, what’s so important?”

“Is Klaus there?" Her tone of voice made you nervous.

"He went out for a smoke, why?”

“I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you this….She paused and took a deep breath. "Klaus and I have been seeing each other. I know you two are close. Has he mentioned it to you?

"Um, no." You reply, still processing the information.

"That’s what I was afraid of. I just hope he’s not giving you the wrong idea. He’s also been telling me things. He told me why you got fired from Mount Saini. I just wanted to warn you, before you got too involved. He’s not who you think he is, Y/N. Just be careful.

"Okay, I appreciate you telling me." You wiped the tears that had already formed on your face as Klaus opened the door. He noticed immediately that something was wrong.

"What is it? What happened?" He rushed over and tried to comfort you, but you just stared at the ground with your arms wrapped tightly around yourself, hurt but not wanting to confront him. You were embarrassed for thinking Klaus might have romantic feelings for you.

"I have a job interview in the morning. I think you should go,” was all you could manage to say without crying.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” he pleaded. His hands gripped the back of his neck and he looked as if he was about to cry himself. The more he insisted, the more you felt like you were being played. Kendra’s words still rang in your ears.

“I don’t owe you an explanation. Just get the fuck out,” you said, effectively ending the argument. Klaus searched your eyes for a compromise, but he found them unrelenting. Instead of slamming the door, as you may have expected, Klaus closed the door so carefully it barely made a sound, which was somehow worse. You started crying as soon as he was gone.

A few minutes into your breakdown, just as a headache was beginning to form, you went into the kitchen for some water and it dawned on you. Maybe Kendra was lying. Klaus looked genuinely confused and upset. After leaving your place, Klaus would have gone to Kendra’s or to the club to score drugs. If you found him at the club, that could mean he wasn’t with Kendra after all. It was worth a shot.

You headed downtown to the spot he always talked about in group, 'The Shark Tank.' You were so conflicted. Part of you wanted to find him there, suggesting that maybe he did have feelings for you and not Kendra. Another part of you was devastated to think of him using again and that you had something to do with it. You were so torn, you thought about buying some street pills and just getting high. This is the point when you would have called your sponsor, which reminded you that you needed a new sponsor ASAP.

Klaus’ description the club in group really flattered the place. It was actually a grimy hole in the wall, chock full of sweaty club kids. It would seem that at thirty, Klaus had outgrown it. But then there he was, leaning against the wall looking despondent. You were relieved to see him there, but still anxious about what you might learn. He looked up at you confused. The music was so loud you had to get close and practically yell into his ear.

“Did you take anything?" Klaus just opened his hand. In it was a standard little plastic baggie of amphetamines. He looked up at you, clearly feeling the blunt force of his emotions. He was clean.

"What stopped you?" You asked, wondering how he had the strength.

"I guess I didn’t want to disappoint you." The significance of this made your heart jump, but you couldn’t let it stop you from your purpose.

"Klaus, I have to ask you something."

"Please! I have to know what you’re mad about. I seriously have no clue.”

“Kendra knows about my past, not about my power, but she knows the reason I was fired from the hospital…You didn’t -”

“No, I didn’t tell her that! I wonder how she would-”

“You’re not sleeping with Kendra, are you?”

“God, no! I haven’t talked to her since the last NA meeting. She came onto me, but I wasn’t into it. I turned her down and she didn’t take it well, but I didn’t think she’d try anything like this,” Klaus replied, looking genuinely distraught.

You looked into those haunted green eyes and you knew you believed him. Klaus was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a liar. Kendra had raised some doubt during a moment of weakness, but she was manipulating you. You had real, tangible feelings for Klaus and it was time he knew it.

You held his head in your hands and kissed him delicately on the lips. Then you pulled back holding your breath for his reaction. A split second passed which felt like a millennia while he sorted his thoughts. Then he smiled, pulled you close, and kissed you with an intensity that affirmed everything you had hoped for. His passion persuaded you to move your body to the music with his. Dancing was something you had rarely, if ever done sober. But it felt so good to finally have your body pressed against his that the rhythm came naturally to you. His hands were wrapped around your waist and yours had found their way to the back of his neck. Klaus nuzzled into your ear and whispered, “Wanna get outta here?”

Buy the time you got to your apartment, you were so desperate for each other, you barely made it through the door without tumbling onto the floor. You each began shedding your clothes. Your eyes raked over his smooth skin and lean muscles, adding to the growing wet heat between your legs. He was likewise aroused by the sight of you removing your sundress. His tight leather pants were made tighter by the sight of your naked silhouette. You grabbed teasingly at his bulge while he explored your mouth with his tongue. “Let me help you with this,” you said into his lips, as your fingers fumbled with his fly. He trailed sensual kisses down your neck and shoulders.

When his pants fell down around his ankles he kicked them off then lifted you off the ground to straddle him. Your breath caught in you throat as he spun you around towards the bed. He put you down gently and trailed his fingertips softly through the hollow between your breasts, over the soft curve of your stomach, and down to your aching pleasure center. He looked into your eyes as his fingers danced and played with your sensitive flesh. You gasped and moaned, reacting to his subtle and not so subtle movements. He dragged his lips down to your breast and sucked your nipple into his mouth while he slipped his fingers into your tight wet void. You bucked forward and he swirled his thumb against your swollen bundle of nerves. There was no holding back, you came before you even realized what was happening, moaning and twitching and spasming around Klaus’ fingers.

“We haven’t even gotten to the best part,” he said, withdrawing his fingers and giving them a little taste.

You reached up, wrapping one hand gently around his neck and purred, “I need you now, Klaus.”

That was all he needed. You felt his throat muscles clench and his erection press harder against your belly. He slipped into you so easily and filled you completely. Then he began thrusting, grinding, and building friction exactly where you wanted it. Another orgasm pulsed through you, and Klaus watched your body arch and react. He cracked a proud little smile as he continued. After riding out your climax, you seized his shoulders and rolled on top of him. You wanted to make him feel the way he made you feel. You rocked your hips forward until he was buried to the hilt. You intuitively wrapped your hands around his neck and squeezed lightly as you bounced up and down. It wasn’t long before Klaus was bucking and releasing himself deep inside you.

“Wow, that was….”

“Um hm.”

You dismounted carefully and rested your head on the pillow next to him. You laid there together a moment, just catching your breath. He grabbed your hand and laced your fingers together.

“So, this is going to sound random …My father died a few weeks ago. You were still in rehab. I went back home for the funeral and saw all my brothers and sisters. It got me thinking.”

“Oh god, that’s right. I remember seeing it in the news. I’m so sorry, Klaus. I can’t believe I didn’t even acknowledge it.”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it…He will not be missed…The point I was trying to make is that if you’re interested, I ‘d like to take you home…to meet my family.”

“Oh my god, Klaus, yes!” You peppered his face with featherlight kisses, then you settled in behind him, one arm under the pillow and the other slung over his hip.

“Oh, wait. I really do have a job interview in the morning.” You suddenly remembered and leaned over to set your alarm. “And let’s confront Kendra at the next meeting. She shouldn’t get away with this shit and I’d love to know where she got her information.”

“Mmm,” Klaus writhed against you. “You’re sexy when you plot revenge.”

“Go to sleep,” you chuckled, kissing his curls.

Want more?

@moorehollandplz @helena-way07 @bubblyani @yeetskeetbuddy @zoemassingale @zohrayoung @ohyoubringmejoy @mywinterivy @waywardtrashfam @fiowersnack @becka1703 @zohargreeves @slutonside @klaushollandyoung @bekindbeslutty @hmblergah @justahufflebird @salty9winter9adult @kit-kat-is-me-lol @victor-criss-bish

#klaus x reader #klaus hargreeves imagine #klaus hargreeves X reader #klaus hargreeves series #klaus hargreeves angst #tua imagine #tua fanfic #tua smut #tua #robert sheehan imagine #tua series #The Umbrella Academy #umbrella academy imagine #robert sheehan x reader #number 4 #klaus hargreeves smut

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a-table-of-fics · 4 years

Text

Cull to Adventure, Chapter 3, Draft 1

Cull shouldn’t have been surprised. But here he was, caught flat-footed by five Octotroopers on a pyramid of boxes. They didn’t even hesitate to open fire – clearly the one with the phone had everyone on alert now.

He hid back around the corner, wincing as some of the splash from the purple ink landed on him and sent little stings up his legs.

Okay, so. Higher ground, five of them, and they were all prepared for an Inkling to come through. Not a good spot to be in. Cull wondered why he agreed to this. He never joined in Turf Wars. He didn’t know how to fight – He struggled against just one opponent. He heard several Inklings brag about how they wiped the walls with entire teams single-handedly, but a single tentacle could easily overpower him.

Cull instinctively grabbed to tug his beanie downwards, but it wasn’t there. Did he take the Agent title away from someone who could get the Zapfish in minutes?

“HEY! Is the mic busted?”

“H-huh?”

“I said, I think I saw some closer cover. See if you can get to that half-wall over there.”

Cull risked a peek out into the area. Before he ducked back away from the barrage of Octarian gunfire, he indeed saw another wall. It was closer to his enemies, but might offer him a better look. Cull took one last look for another way around. There really wasn’t one.

He swallowed hard, and opened fire. Hopefully he could at least make a path there first.

Unfortunately, as inky projectiles turned the green to purple, the Octarians obviously had other ideas.

Cull stared blankly at the trail of purple for a moment, before regaining what composure he had. He noticed they didn’t take out the green closer to Cull, instead focusing on the end of Cull’s aim. As he had been making paths by shooting by his feet and slowly firing outwards, this presented a problem. Could he even make a way there?

“What’s the holdup, Agent 4? The spread on that thing should give you plenty of time! Just go for the other wall!”

Shaky hands once again prepared to shoot, but this time they aimed directly at the half-wall from the get-go. Score! The Octarians only shot at the destination.

Now there was the issue of getting there. Cull sighed, and sunk into the ink. His nerves screamed at him to swim faster and get out of there ASAP, but there was no sense trying if all he could manage were pathetic splashes the enemy would definitely notice. So it was a slow, awkward, painful way to the other side, but he made it silently.

Now what?

He could throw another bomb to at least strip them of the high ground, but would that give his position away? He risked a peek; they didn’t seem to be on hovercraft, but on turrets. They couldn’t move to attack even if he brought them down to his level, right? But they could just run up to him and beat him up that way… Or capture him… or…

Well, he didn’t really have any other options. It was either this or fleeing, and Cull wasn’t sure he could even attempt that at this point.

He kept his back glued to the wall, readying another Splat Bomb. Hoping for the best, he hurled it behind himself, making sure to pull his hand back into cover before it got soaked in Octo ink.

He heard the explosion go off and saw bits of wood fly overhead. When the blast cleared, there were loud and furious splashes to accompany loud and furious Octarian shouts. Cull risked a peek, and yes, all their turrets were sunk in green, with the Octos pulling and struggling to keep them afloat.

However, all of them still had their tentacles on the controls, and their aim was still squarely on Cull. When they looked up from the ink puddles they were stuck in, Cull yelped and took cover again, watching as yet more shots flew over his head. Okay, no problem, he just had to wait for his ink tank to fill enough for another bomb.

Waiting felt so much longer when you knew there were people nearby who wanted your head on a plate.

Then Cull realized – the shouts and splashes stopped, being replaced with a brief sound not unlike a high-powered faucet, and then silence. Cull looked and the turrets were standing on puddles of purple, as if they were never disrupted. Frantically, Cull grabbed at the spot on his ink tank to produce another bomb. He had just barely enough, luckily.

Ten green eyes turned to follow the bomb. The Octotroopers swiveled their platforms to take aim, firing in the vain hope of doing something to stop the bomb. Cull averted his eyes instinctively; ink splashes in the eye weren’t pleasant, and he wasn’t yet used to splatting anyone.

Once the bomb went off, Cull only had one more enemy to deal with. He went forward to finish them off, and prepared to fire, forgetting that he used the last of his ink to clear out the other four.

He realized his mistake at the same time the Octotrooper did.

So there Cull was, hiding behind the wall again, covered in purple and waiting for his armor and ink to recharge again. At least it was easier with the ink puddle that remained behind cover. Soon, the pain and general physical discomfort stopped, only leaving the more general worry and inexperience.

A few more shots and the Octotrooper was splatted, which somehow caused a nearby launchpad to activate. Cull didn’t wonder about that right now, but if he did, he would have guessed there was some kind of pressure switch or something.

Next, Cull saw the slope ahead was well-coated in purple, but there was something large, rubbery and green in the middle.

“Pop that Balloon Fish!” Marie said. “The Octoslobs keep ink in ‘em; they’ll pick the ink color that hits them and POW!”

Under her breath, she added “shoddy tech, if you ask me…”

Shoddy or not, Marie was otherwise right about the Balloon Fish. A few shots, and Cull was glad to see a ramp coated in green ink. He ran up, but heard a slurping sound behind him. He turned to see that another Balloon Fish had formed and inflated on the stand of the previous one, sucking up some of the surrounding green ink to do so.

Huh.

Well, two patrolling Octotroopers were driving around… a metal cylinder. It had large golden lock on it… Cull could only assume the Zapfish was in there.

“If there’s a vault, there’s a key,” Marie said. “See if one of those Octoslobs have one.”

Cull nodded, squidforming to try and creep up on them. He was thankful this was an easy slope. He didn’t have to struggle so much to swim. Soon, he was up to the large pool of purple his enemies were circling around in. He waited for one of them to be on the other side of the vault, then slowly came out of the ink to open fire.

Spray-and-pray aiming wasn’t an issue at this range. Sadly, it meant the other Octotrooper was immediately on alert. Even worse, the recently-splatted enemy did not have the key. This was Cull’s cue to dive directly into the green ink left by his fallen foe. He could hide and recover ink before taking the other guard on.

It worked for a moment, up until the Octotrooper came up to where Cull was. They didn’t seem to have seen him, but they did notice all the green in their path. The nozzle pointed downwards, and Agent 4 yelped, shooting out of the ink. Doused in purple, he made short work of his accidental assailant.

“Hmm…” Marie mused, as Cull shook the ink off with a grimace. “He didn’t have the key either…”

“Well,” Cull looked around, “now what?”

“Come on, kid! You think they would keep that vault around if they threw the key away? Knowing the Octarians, it should be around here somewhere…”

He looked around. There were apparently two storage rooms on either side, with plenty of crates in them, and a grate to protect each. Picking one at random, he went left and quickly squidformed through.

“Wow, wasn’t expecting you to do that so quickly,” Marie remarked. “There something I should know…?”

“…Graffiti artist,” Cull explained, after an awkward pause.

“Ah. I’ve worked with worse; I was just curious.”

Cull nodded sheepishly, looking around. There was a large pile of crates here, but also a Balloon Fish…

He fired, and the Balloon Fish burst all the crates at once. Not only was there no key to see, several Octarians were apparently hiding in the crates.

Cull had already had quite a day; he wasn’t in the mood to question that.

He fired wildly, hoping his spray-and-pray approach still worked. Unfortunately, as he ran forward, the Balloon Fish re-inflated behind him, knocking him down onto his stomach. He kept a tight grip on the Splattershot this time, but that surprise still knocked the wind out of him. He took a moment to recompose himself, but that was a moment the Octotroopers could fire at him. Not having time to get up, he had to roll out of harm’s way.

It was too late to dodge two of the shots, though – Cull winced as his armor broke again. He was just glad he could get out of the way before the third shot—

His eyes widened in realization, turning back to see the Balloon Fish get hit. The green on its back quickly changed to purple, and as it expanded, Cull could only hope diving into the ink was enough to save him.

BANG! SPLAT!

It wasn’t.

Cull’s “heart” struggled to swim up, away from the enemy ink. He moved haltingly, as even in this form, he had severed and badly cut tentacles. This only compounded the issues caused by not having ink to breathe through. Thankfully, he could sense nearby safety. Green ink, though most of it wasn’t concentrated enough to help. But wait! Back there, ink a-plenty! Cull was completely unable to think of anything except to head there.

It only took about ten seconds, but Cull felt like he was out for an eternity. He clutched his head, slumping onto his knees. He couldn’t even remember anything that happened after the Balloon Fish burst. He looked around, and he seemed to be back at the bottom of the ramp leading up to the vault.

“…First time?” Marie asked, not unkindly.

Cull whimpered in response. He took long, shaky breaths. He had heard that the first splat is the most difficult, of course; it was definitely taught in school. But nothing could have prepared him for the real thing. He quickly patted around himself; his new ink body seemed identical to the old one – right down to his clothing and weapon.

“…You need to leave?” Marie asked, carefully.

He shook his head, slowly standing back up.

“I-I made it t-too far,” he said. “I c-can’t just leave if the Zapfish is s-so close…”

“…”

Cull walked back up, and the vault was once again guarded by two Octarians. They must have re-formed too. Luckily, Cull could still throw Splat Bombs. Unfortunately for him, the next one he threw landed right on top of the vault. The blast still put some ink on them, causing them to yelp in surprise, but it wasn’t nearly enough to defeat them.

Cull hesitated, but ran up to finish the fight quickly, before the ink faded. He stopped to look at the Balloon Fish, and popped it. Running back and forth, still only having a vague concept of aim, he was able to take the guards down a second time.

Well, the left was a bust in more ways than one. Cull sent to the right, and no Balloon Fish was in sight. Instead, an inflatable bumper stood before the mass of boxes. It was odd, but it seemed big enough for an Inkling to hide behind.

He prepared to clear all the boxes here with another bomb, but…no. For all he knew, there were other Octos packed in all these crates, for some reason. He didn’t need to be ambushed again.

As such, he headed to the left, and started to break the boxes individually with his Splattershot. After a couple of Octarians, he found a large orange crate wrapped in packing tape, which made it harder to break. Still, the haphazard reinforcement allowed some ink to seep through and break the wood down. It took a while, but soon the crate shattered, revealing a large, impossible-to-miss key with a crablike design on it. Cull sighed in relief; he was finally going to open that vault and release…

…Another launchpad. He wasn’t done.

“Yeah, sorry, kid. Listen, if you wanna bail…”

Cull shook his head, but inched ahead to the launchpad slowly, leaning back like it would jump up and bite him.

“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about those, at least. Launchpads are designed for safe landings, you know.”

As Cull safely landed, he saw multiple Octotroopers up ahead, and backed up a little.

“Hey, I finally have some good news, Agent! The Zapfish is on our radar! It’s still a bit of distance, but…”

He didn’t acknowledge this at all. All he could think was how awful it would be if he went down when he was this close. Maybe there’d be something other than Power Eggs in these crates. Not that they weren’t helpful in an energy crisis, or easy to pocket, of course. They just wouldn’t be much help in a fight.

He opened one to find…a black case? He opened it up to reveal it was full of…was this translucent ink?

“That’s a set of armor! Should help you out here…”

Cull smiled a little. Finally, some great news. He felt the armor bond with his form, and chose to make the surplus ink this made look like a hardhat, like the Jellies back home always wore. With this, he felt he had a chance!

***

About two minutes later, he was on the other side, panting. Not only was his armor gone, but his suit was once again broken.

“Well…” Marie said, and Cull could swear he heard that forced smile he saw with people who knew about his tentacles, “At least you’re through. Just take care of this guy and we’ll be one step closer to that Zapfish!”

Another shielded Octarian, and there was no running around this guy. They were on a ledge higher up, their back was against the wall, and they were guarded by a wall on either side of them. Cull had no real choices but to try the Splat Bomb again. He doubted his chances with inking that shield up.

Remembering the last one, he decided to aim higher. He grunted as he threw this Splat Bomb, but as he rolled his shoulder, he saw that he hurled it too high. It landed on the ledge above the Octotrooper, and they didn’t seem to notice it, assuming Agent 4 had missed entirely. Cull moved to dodge return fire, using the last of his ink on the shield. It held fast, but this gave the Splat Bomb time to tip over, right into the Octarian’s lap. They shook frantically as the bomb beeped, but to no avail.

Splat!

“Nice one, Agent 4!” Marie remarked. “You sure know how to use the area!”

“…S-sure,” Cull replied, weakly smiling while the platform raised to the green-splattered outpost. “Plan…Planned it a-all along!”

He saw the launchpad on the wall, and looked at the walls thoughtfully. He had tagged unusual places before, and this actually seemed like an easy place to climb, compared to some spots he went to. He just needed to keep his hands and feet on opposite walls, like that one time he clambered down a well. This was far wet, and therefore less dangerous and stupid, so it shouldn’t be too hard.

It was slow to start, but Cull was steadily ascending, and this would be a lot easier than swimming up a wall. At least, for him.

“Uh, Agent 4…? Not that I’m not impressed, but…”

Cull stopped as Marie started to question. He was about a third of the way up, he guessed. But this gave him a moment to look down.

Not the best thing when climbing.

“…Wouldn’t it be a bit easier to ink the wall and climb that way?”

“N-n…”

As Cull thought about how to explain this, he could feel himself slide down a little. He quickly adjusted himself. It looked stupid, and Cull would die if someone saw him like this, but he held fast.

“Ah, y’know what, never mind, kid. You do you. Just stay safe, kay?”

Cull nodded, slowly starting to shuffle up again. Yeah, maybe this was weird, and a little slower than most Inklings swimming upwards, but it was less exhausting, and Cull didn’t need another reminder of his cut tentacles. He just wished he wasn’t wearing gloves today. Still, he soon made it to the top, and found a crate containing a chunk of fish-shaped metal.

“Ooh, nice find!” Marie said. “I’m sure that Sardinium will come in handy!”

Cull pocketed the metal and looked back down to the ledge. This should be easy at least; just a swing down and a quick squidform. He carefully clambered down, letting his body dangle. Thankfully, this meant he was right up against the launchpad. It only took a second for him to be heading off to the next area.

“This crazy plan might work after all!” Marie remarked, more to herself than to Agent 4.

Cull swallowed. She expected failure, just like he did? What if he were to fail now? Oh Cod, he could die doing this! What then? Did he seriously follow someone who claimed to be a celebrity on her word that the Octarians stole the Zapfish? And someone who didn’t expect any of this to work?

Marie must have caught onto Cull’s hesitation, as she was quick to clarify: “…I meant getting someone to help me out here. You’re doing fine, really!”

Not that Cull believed her; he recognized that tone all too well. Still, there wasn’t much he could reasonably do except push forward.

Here, he had to walk over a narrow bridge. It wasn’t forcing Cull to balance, but he took it easy all the same. It looked all too easy to plummet.

“Don’t look down,” Marie said, helpfully.

Cull immediately did, and didn’t immediately regret it. There were hundreds of cramped…well, Cull could only assume they were Octo houses. They were earthly-toned, rounded, and warped in a way that vaguely reminded Cull of coral. Gazing at the unique architecture, it was easy to forget it was a thousand-foot drop between here and there.

“...Or do, whatever.” Marie shrugged. “Just remember this is a rescue mission.”

Agent 4 nodded, carefully walking to the other side, where he could see several crates serving as a barrier to the one opening in the building. He readied his Splattershot once more..

…and stopped. Surely, if he went through here, he would have a bunch of Octarians waiting for him, with weird nozzle-cannons loaded and ready. No, it would be better to look around for another way. There wasn’t much to look at, but Cull did notice a crate haphazardly placed on a ledge below. Not only could he bypass a potential box ambush, but he might have something handy to give him the edge!

When he climbed down there, though, all he found was a tattered paper, with a couple of photographs on it and something written in Inklish. Odd.

He looked it over, and the note talked about a shockwave at a Youth Folk Singing contest from quite a long time ago. But the young girl in the picture looked familiar… Was that Pearl?

This whole paper raised more questions than Cull was comfortable seeking out the answers to. Besides, this just reminded him of a couple years ago, when he had a crush on Pearl. That was…well, looking back, it was just an embarrassing period of his life.

Still, might be worth bringing back. If Marie turned out to be sane and right about the Octarians, maybe she’d know why they’d keep information like this.

Anyway, where to go from here…?

The trip to the next launchpad wasn’t terribly eventful. Cull snuck past the one shielded Octotrooper on patrol, and clambered over the boxes rather than breaking them, being careful not to disturb the Balloon Fish.

But there was no way he was going to be able to sneak past what he saw when he landed. This new area had tons of Octarians in tight little patrols around multiple vaults. No cover, and the floors were coated in purple.

Cull gulped as he looked down at what he was going to face. While Marie did say that inking should come before thinking, this seemed a little much. No cover, no safe ground…And he doubted his slow-to-refill Splat Bombs would get them before they got him. All he had other than what he brought with him wasn’t going to help with combat, unless the Octarians were easily distracted by Power Eggs. There were a couple of small boxes up here, but it’s not like any of them have been much good for Cull, either containing yet more Power Eggs to pocket or more Octarians to battle. The best they did for him was form a bit of weak cover, and these crates were far too small to fill that role.

Actually, that gave him an idea…

Cull began to pull the boxes apart. Maybe he could fashion something like a shield or armor out of the planks and – wait, what was this can? It had a label with an image that looked like a rocket launcher. He couldn’t read what it said, but he had the feeling this was a special of some kind. People talked about them a lot, but he hadn’t seen one up close before.

“Tenta Missiles!” Marie exclaimed. “Stewin’ these stooges should be easy now!”

Cull looked down at what he had made so far for a shield.

“Hey, now,” Marie said, gently. “That wasn’t a bad idea, either!”

Agent 4 shook his head and opened the can, pulling out two very rubbery rocket launchers. A bracelet appeared on his wrist as some more clear ink went into his hands. A big red button appeared on it as the launchers seemed to fade away into Cull.

Tentatively, he pressed the button, and a targeting reticule suddenly appeared in front of his eye and the launchers appeared at full size in his arms. He nearly fell over from the sudden weight, and he had to work to keep himself stable. Suddenly, four different markers appeared in his vision. Unsure of what else to do, he squeezed both triggers. His awkward stance was not enough to keep the recoil from flinging him to the ground, but he was able to see eight inky streaks fly across the sky, and plummet to one of the platforms. Multiple splashy explosion sounds could be heard.

He got up and saw that there was a lot more green on that platform, and no Octotroopers. One of them dropped a key, and he opened the vault to find another can of Tenta Missiles. He looked down to where the sizable squadron was still guarding three different vaults. Looks like he could get eight targets with this. Hopefully he could deal with any remaining foes.

It still took effort to keep standing, but he managed to keep both launchers somewhat upright as he fired more rockets. He kept his eyes shut as he kept steady.

When he opened them, both missile launchers had melted away along with the bracelet and targeting reticule. He heard several panicked Octos from the platform ahead, but it sounded like it was fewer than the squadron Cull had seen. He ran up to check, and yep, the number had thinned down to around five very confused Octotroopers, trying to clean up the splotches of green on their once-perfect purple flooring. In their panic, they missed the two keys their splatted had dropped.

“Now’s your chance, Agent 4! The Zapfish is close!”

Cull nodded, quickly running forward and dropping onto the platform. He hoped he could find the Zapfish quick; it was horribly cruel to keep one in a vault like this…

He opened one, and they were protecting… a can of Power Eggs? Really? He kept firing, making a trail in front of himself as he ran to another vault. Another launchpad. Cull groaned; this was just going to take him into another firefight, wasn’t it? So the Zapfish must be in the final—

“Hey, Agent 4? Where you going? That’ll take you to the Zapfish!”

Cull stopped, taking a second to sidestep an enemy shot, unfortunately back into enemy ink.

“W-w-ow-will it?”

He really didn’t want to be here any longer than needed. He felt like he already wasted enough valuable time on one Zapfish. He painfully stomped through the purple muck to get to the launchpad, and escaped the by-now-enraged Octarians.

He landed once again on a strange floating platform. This one was smaller, with what looked like a massive lightbulb. In it, a Zapfish, struggling against the light clamps that held her by the whiskers. Poor guy – Marie was right. It wasn’t Miffens, but Cull was sure he had seen this little fish around, what with her green-pupiled eyes and strange blue stripe on her lip.

So, he found one. What was he supposed to do now? There was an energy field that swirled around the fish, and it felt quite solid (as well as warm to the touch).

Well, this seemed like as good a time as any to ink. It was pretty much the solution to all of Cull’s problems thus far.

The field around the Zapfish absorbed the ink, but the ink started to swirl within it, and it expanded slightly. Agent 4 kept firing, and the field kept expanding, until it was more liquid than energy, and finally the ink was dense enough to dissipate the field. The last bits of energy had one last surge, causing the ink bubble to burst with a pop!

“Well done, Agent 4.”

Cull gently opened the clamps, and lifted the Zapfish into his arms. She struggled and writhed, but Cull was quick to comfort her with head-petting and quietly going “Shhh…” He figured if the Zapfish bolted now, it would just be trouble, and she would just get taken here again.

While preoccupied with the Zapfish, Cull missed the hum of a motor powering down. What he didn’t miss, however, was the ground he was standing on starting to move. After the initial jolt, he looked around worriedly, his pets and soothes unconsciously getting more frantic. He could do little more but watch while he tried to keep the fish somewhat more at ease than he was.

The platform glided lazily along, finally pivoting to face… the place where Cull started?

“All right,” Marie chirped, “you ready to blow this takoyaki stand?”

#cull goes to octo canyon #chapter 3 #draft 1 #cull to adventure full chapter

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inkribbon796 · 4 years

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The Heart and Soul of Egoton Ch 2

Summary: Looking for clues, the heroes hold a meeting to trade information and meet a couple friendly faces they haven’t met in a while.

A/N: Continuation of chapter 1.

Chapter 2: Meeting in the Middle

Inside the meeting room everyone was talking, Virgil felt a little nervous. Dr. Iplier helped Virgil get a chair at the edge of the table. Silver and Jackie had been friendly to him but they tended to get more than a bit loud and Virgil was glad he wasn’t seated between even people he knew. Even if Patton was trying to save a seat for him.

Silver walked out to take a call before coming back in. “Okay, so Amy isn’t coming in, she wants to take care of something in town, but told me to take notes for her.”

“That’s fair,” Jack shrugged. “She sure she doesn’t need help.”

“I offered, she said she had enough hands on deck,” Silver reported.

“Well at least we’re all not here letting Egoton tear itself apart,” Abe yelled, he was at a large cork board putting stuff up all over it with Bing and Joan. There were pictures and papers all over the cork board, dozens of colored string connecting them.

“We picked a slow day for a reason,” Silver reminded. “Wil’s out of town and Nate seems to have taken his doppelganger with him. This is the best chance we’ve got to do this.”

“Doesn’t mean I like it,” Abe responded. “I should be out there chasing Warfstache, hell only knows what he’s up to.”

“Fookin’ married folk and killin’ people,” Chase answered. “Exactly the same thin’ he’s always doin’.”

Abe motioned with his hands to Chase and gave Mark one of his wide-eyed expectant stares.

“We’ll make it short and you can start chasing him,” Mark promised.

“I better get out of here ASAP,” Abe decided.

“Hey, wise guy,” Marvin walked in with Robbie who immediately hobbled over excitedly to Henrik who, much like a mother hen, frantically checked to see if he was still all in one piece. The German doctor glared at Marvin when he saw that his ear was in danger of falling off. “We all got shit ta do.”

“Vhat did you do to him?” Henrik barked.

“Calm yer shit, mom,” Marvin rolled his eyes, even if no one could really see it through the mask, it could almost be heard in his voice. “He came to me like that, don’t know what he was up to.”

“I help Marv,” Robbie smiled.

Marvin glared at the zombie, sighing, “When ye say it like that, it’s like I’m the bad guy.”

Henrik was still glaring at him.

“I didn’t do anythin’ to him,” Marv defended, taking a seat that let him put the table in-between the magician and the two doctors. “I wouldn’t.”

“I do good?” Robbie asked as Henrik directed him to sit next to him.

“Ja, ja,” Henrik sighed and started stitching his ear back on. “Sit still vill you?”

“I tried,” Marvin told Henrik. Then he leaned back in his chair to look up and down the table. Even standing up a bit to get another good luck at everyone at the table.

The magician’s eyes couldn’t be seen that well, but Virgil knew a hostile stance when he saw one.

“What’s up Marv?” Chase asked, he and J.J were directly across the table from him. J.J’s pocket watch in his hand, as if braced for something to happen.

“S’nothin’,” Marvin decided, sitting back down, watching J.J intently. “Prolly just my imagination.”

J.J was still turning the pocket watch around. Marvin did pass him a message under the table that read, “Do that again, and I’ll eat all your cheetos, you arse”.

J.J snickered to himself in amusement, pocketing the note so even Chase didn’t have the opportunity to read.”

“What?” Chase asked.

“Nothing,” J.J sighed. “Marvin is funny.”

After about fifteen minutes, Logan came in looking like he’d been running at a full sprint and was frantically trying not to show it. The Host followed at a much slower pace.

“The Host said we would be on time,” the Host smiled.

“Inexcusable,” Logan straightened his tie and glasses. “We are late. I am not a tardy person.”

Marvin leaned back in his chair, Virgil noticed that he looked like he wanted to say something but kept quiet.

“If it eases Logic’s conscious, he can blame the Host, he was distracted and did not keep travel time in mind,” the Host talked as he walked over to the end of the table where King was. Taking his usual seat directly across from Dr. Iplier. He was muttering narrations as he went. Most of his comments were listing off people who were muttering under their breath or looking at him and Logan.

“Lo, it wasn’t that long, we haven’t even started yet,” Patton tried to calm Logan.

“One minute is tardy, the Host and I are inexcusably late,” Logan corrected. “This meeting should have begun without us.”

“Too bad,” Marvin finally spoke up, his tone firm and a bit hostile.

Logan gave him a questioning and confused look as he went to sit in-between Host and King.

“Alright, so we’re all here?” Abe finally said. “Good, sooner we get all this done, the better. First order of business is this eyesore.”

The detective stomped over to point at Bing’s picture on the wall. He was close to the center of the mess on the cork board. It looked like a theater head shot. “This little asshole is part of the League, and Dark is covering for him to keep him from being identified.”

“How sure are we that he’s the Dorm 5 Killer?” Jack asked. “Cause the sooner we put that bastard away the better.”

“If it’s not him, it’s Dark and Wilford combined and the D5’s M.O is nowhere close to theirs. They’d just announce themselves and be done with it and we’d know.”

“What do we need to actually put this guy behind bars? Cause the last time we tried to take someone in on what we thought was enough evidence, they got to walk.” Ethan reminded, picking at his lip. “I don’t want that again.”

“As gruesome as it sounds?” Mark intervened. “A body? A murder weapon? We need something other than they just ran away. A case can be made for two of the guys, but we’ve got four people who are just gone that their families and their friends swear up and down that they would never run away. Something happened to them, they have too much to run away from.”

“What exactly do we know about this guy?” Bob asked. “I leave for a couple months and suddenly we’ve got a serial killer on our hands?”

“As far as the news an’ public know he’s been operatin’ fer about five months,” Jackie answered. “But he’s probably been at this fer longer. We don’t know how long.”

“Five bucks said he’s been preying on the homeless and transient people in the city,” King agreed. “Not even I know how many people come and go unnoticed in the city. And I’ve only been at my job for two years. Anyone could be killing or taking advantage of them and people would never know.”

“Ugh, that’s depressin’,” Jack took a steadying breath. All the heroes looking varying mixes of guilty and uncomfortable.

“Is there anyone who would have tabs on this trimmer guy Trimmer?” Wade asked.

“Warfstache,” Abe proposed. “He’s under the same media umbrella as Wil, but he probably wouldn’t be able to tell us anything before stabbing us. Plus, if he is his kid and under Dark’s protection, the last thing we want to do is alert Dark that we’re tailing the kid.”

“That’s still wild,” Ethan rubbed at his face. “I can’t see him with a kid.”

“Damn right,” Abe agreed. “Look, I’ve been chasing Wil’s ass since I joined the force, an’ let me tell you, the man’s not the fatherly type. It amazes me that this kid even survived to adulthood.”

“Probably no credit to that maniac,” Wade scoffed.

King actively bit his tongue and glared at his hands.

“Dark is most likely the reason he’s alive,” Dr. Iplier spoke up. “He’s anal-retentive enough to step on Wilford’s toes if he does something he doesn’t like.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me if this kid isn’t the end of it, Wil’s got other kids and for some reason Dark cares about this one,” Abe leaned over the table. “Probably has some superpower and the others just don’t.”

“They might not know, or something could have happened to them,” Roman answered.

“Could be,” Joan agreed. “Not much we can do about the kid until we can get a hold of him to answer him? Have we been able to get a hold of him?”

“Every time we’ve tried he’s either been on set or absolutely nowhere, cause we can’t find him,” Marvin groaned. “His aura dead ends mid-room. Prolly Dark portin’ him out.”

“Ye know,” Chase began. “We might be able ta get a backdoor if we can catch Wilford with Damien. Still need to find a way to check in on that one. If he’s not drumin’ ta Dark’s beat, we can at least have that off the table.”

“How are we going to prove that?” Mark shouted.

“I could do it,” Ethan offered. “If I’ve got time to brace even Dark can’t see me. So there’s no reason why Wilford should spot me.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” King asked.

“The Host agrees with King,” Host interjected. “What Crank suggests can only lead to a violent confrontation.”

“Come on, it’s Damien, what have I got to be afraid of?” Ethan scoffed.

“Here, we can come up with some kind of a shield he can break out if he’s caught by one of them,” Marvin spoke up. “I want some loose ends tied off.”

The Host’s mouth became a thin line, his bandages starting to dark with blood. “That . . . might just be enough.”

“Okay, so I’ve got Damien, what are we going to do about Ed?” Ethan asked. “Cause I’m not comfortable with the fact that I used to live by a child trafficking ring. Like, at all.”

“Run us through exactly what Ed said,” Mark looked at Patton.

“To wash the site, and some of his guys didn’t like that,” Patton answered. “Ed ordered them to do it because Dark wanted it taken care of, even if it was an L.O site. Whatever that is.”

“Okay,” Mark seemed to thinking through something in his head. “Was there any clue about what that meant?”

Patton shook his head.

“Mean love?” Robbie inquired, looking at Bing.

“If it does, I’ll eat my entire microprocessor, dude,” Bing answered.

“Hey, hot shot,” Joan looked over at King, their head tilting. “Do you remember anything in the books you used to manage about a L.O?”

“Unless it’s a name, no?” The animal magnet answered. “Cause those are the types of books I worked. I did inventory and reports on people, but I only know them by their initials, not by their faces or actual names. Dark never worked like that. At best, he used code names and hell I never learned what some of those meant, I just had to track what resources they had.”

“How many do you remember?” Ethan drumming his fingers once or twice.

“Probably about five names, but it sounds like you’re looking for an it, not a who.” King looked at the board full of papers and strings. “Maybe it’s a designation. You guys said That Ed was there, maybe it just part of his absolutely awful trafficking ring and less to do with Dark.”

“Then why would Dark order the site destroyed if it was disturbed,” Bob asked. “Dark doesn’t do anything unless it benefits him. I know, I used to get into fights with him and Warfstache. Wil and Anti are impulsive, Dark isn’t.”

“Perhaps there’s some book that could be traced back to him in the building or in an underground basement,” Logan suggested. “If Ed’s network could be traced back to specific areas Dark owns it gives us and the police grounds to have the place searched.”

“As if we don’t already,” Roman refuted. “He launders money and moves illegal firearms through the city and to the rest of the country. What difference does child trafficking make in the face of all the people he’s killed and the children he’s left orphaned. Dark and his cronies are enough of scumbags?”

“Well there must be some reason,” Logan looked back at Roman, the creative Side’s eyes scrutinizing him. “Dark is a creature of habit, he is observed doing and being at places on a daily basis. There must be some greater reason. The influencing needs must be either: emotional, physical, or monetary. We know he is an enemy of the public, so he must have ordered the site’s termination for some reason.”

“Dark’s only known emotions are rage and spite,” Mark scoffed.

“There must be some reason,” Logan seemed to get frustrated with something. “There has to be.”

Then Logan seemed to think on it, “Why would Dark take in a child and cultivate that child to adulthood? Perhaps we are asking the wrong question.”

“Well, I’ve got a crackpot theory that might mean nothing, but I’ll shoot,” Iplier answered. “I’ve been talking with the Detective and he might be doing it to have more control over Wilford and the town.”

“Vhy?” Henrik looked at his colleague. “Doesn’t he have zat zrough nepotism already.”

“If the paper trail’s wrong, nothing changes,” Iplier sighed. “If it’s right, Dark could sweep up even more of Egoton, so long as Trimmer is Wil’s kid, and Wil is a Barnum.”

“Fuck!” Mark swore, cradling his head in his hands. “No! Tell me you’re joking me.”

Iplier looked at Abe. Ethan, Bob, and Wade seemed equally distressed.

“Okay, is this an Egoton thing because that name’s not ringing any bells,” Patton smiled.

“Alright, long story,” Mark warned. “There’s three big rich families that all kinda disappeared about the same time. Barnum, Doomstrum, and Iplier.”

“Iplier?” Logan looked over at Dr. Iplier.

The American doctor shrugged dismissively, “My dad married in. Iplier might as well be a dead name.”

“So, the Doomstrums, the ones who owned the lake, were practicing some really shady stuff,” Mark relayed. “They might have even been the ones to bring Dark to Egoton in the first place. But they took all their wealth, and all the Barnum’s wealth and kinda time capsuled it with blood magic. Don’t know why, maybe because they knew Dark was on his way? But if a Barnum could access it, that combined wealth is a ridiculous amount of money, enough to buy up whatever parts of the city Dark doesn’t already have, and probably parts of the rest of all the other sectors with little resistance.”

Jack paled at that, “I can already think of three gangs who would jump ship at that.”

King looked over at Host, whispering, “Did you know about this?”

“The Author did not,” Host answered. “The Host does.”

“Why the wait?” Logan leaped out of his chair, as if he couldn’t stand being contained by it anymore. “If his aim is more accrued wealth, why not have Warfstache access it decades ago?”

“Don’t know,” Iplier asked. “We just found this out. Maybe the person who unlocks it has to be a Doomstrum too, maybe that’s why Dark kept this kid and not any other and Dark bought the mom off?”

Suddenly, Patton had an idea. He could almost audibly hear the light bulb going off in his head. “It’s Celine.”

Everyone snapped to look at him.

“What?” Jack asked.

“Think about it,” Patton began to ramble. “If Celine’s the mom that explains why she was here a couple months ago instead of when her kid was plastered all over the news. How Damien could be involved without Dark having to pay him off. He’s not being bribed, he’s probably being threatened. Because if, like the Doc said and he needs a Doomstrum too, then he needs the mom close enough to give him the kiddo in the first place, but easy to push out of the way.”

“That’s a lot of ifs,” Mark reminded.

“Celine is working with Dark, I don’t know how to prove it but she is,” Patton began to spiral. “Call it intuition or gut, but I can feel it.”

“Okay, well, feelings aren’t going to arrest someone who is, by all accounts, not in town anymore,” Mark said.

“I could find out,” Logan blurted out.

The room went quiet.

“How?” Marvin hyper focused on the logical Side.

“I’m probably the only one who could figure out,” Logan began to ramble under his breath, as if he didn’t hear the magician. “My position would certainly help me look, even if it is

A risky venture.”

“Hey, genius, what’s that supposed ta mean?” Marvin demanded.

J.J set his pocket watch on the table, loudly knocking to get everyone attention. Then he started signing where everyone could see. “We need to end the meeting. I don’t want to have this meeting a third time.”

“Third time?” Joan repeated in confusion and concern.

“Come on,” Marvin argued. “Ye can’t be serious.”

J.J stood up and signed something at Logan, Chase needing to translate it when it was clear Logan couldn’t understand it. “Return to work. Be careful.”

Logan stopped his rambling, and signed one of the few things he actually knew in sign language. “Thank you.”

Then he seemed to collect himself, speaking, “Your right, I’m probably just tired.”

Finally Logan left, Patton racing after him. “Lo, wait up.”

Roman stood up, “We have anything else to talk about?”

“We’re probably good enough,” Mark looked over at Abe and scanned the rest of the room. “Inheritance scheme or not, we need to get back to work.”

“Yeah, that bubblegum maniac won’t catch himself,” Abe agreed. “We can leave this up for everyone else.

Slowly the room began to pack up except for the cork board. The tension in the room between Marvin and the Host almost palpable.

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screensirenfic · 5 years

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Black Leather - Chapter 15

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit.

One repeated cuss that had become my mantra for the past five hours.

When I flew into the police station like the devil was on my heels, Flo had assumed the worst; her wrinkled eyes blown wide at the sight of a near frantic Hopper careering towards her.

“Flo, Flo; is my dad here?” I’d near demanded; my messy blonde hair sticking to my forehead in an unsightly mess.

“No, Lola; he’s out on patrol. Can I help you with anything sweetheart; you look worried?” She’d asked with all the softness of the grandmother I’d never had, her hands reaching out to steady me.

“No, no. I just really need to speak to my dad...” I tried to reassure her, but my near panting did little to steady the nerves.

“Well; I can try his radio Lola, but are you sure there’s nothing I can do for you?” Flo continued to insist, even as she trotted over to the comms desk, her short legs surprisingly nimble at her age.

“No, no. Just; if you could get through to him, that would be great...” I replied, eager to speak to my dad ASAP.

She picked up the radio, first tuning into my dad’s frequency, before speaking into it.

“Chief Hopper; do you come in? This is the station...” Flo called, her voice steady as she waited for a response.

Nothing?

“I have Lola with me Jim; do you come in?” She asked, but still silence.

We both waited on baited breathe as the silence seemed to stretch on eternal.

Flo took her thumb off the button.

“Sweetie; I don’t think he’s gonna answer.” Flo said; her eyes softly sympathetic, but she must’ve seen the wild look in my eye and mistook it for fear.

“But we can try again...” She nodded, pressing her thumb down on the button once more.

————————————————-

I always thought the discovery that a child was missing would be the worst part; that one moment when time seemed to slow to a stop and realisation hit you faster than a freight train, but I was wrong.

It was the waiting that was killer.

Rocking back and forth on the edge of a worn couch, unable to sit comfortably, because goddamnit; she was somewhere out there! Chewing nails down to the beds, the taste of blood on my tongue, because already my mind had jumped to the worst case scenario, and that thought made bile rise up from my stomach.

Dad was no better; pacing up and down like a caged bear, contributing to the steadily growing pile of cigarette butts on the kitchen ashtray.

When he’d pulled up to the police station, his face cycled through the seven stages of grief; all sorts of wild and painful theories on why I’d called him crossing his mind.

I never rang him at work; not even when I fell off my bike and had to get twelve stitches in my left thigh.

There was very little a Hopper couldn’t deal with by themselves; so for me to call in for backup meant that the truly unthinkable had happened.

He’d rushed towards me; an unsettling mix of relief, confusion and concern passing over his face, because yes; I was okay, but I’d still called him, and that meant some serious shit had happened.

“Thank God!” Dad exclaimed, pulling me to his chest in the best attempt of a hug a Hopper could reach for.

“Are you alright Lo? What happened?” He asked as he pulled away, hands still resting on my flushed cheeks.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” I insisted; my pulse finally slowing a little now I knew I wouldn’t be alone in this.

“But we need to go home ...” I insisted; my voice firm.

“Now.” I gave him a look, conscious of Flo’s worried form standing mere feet away.

“Of course.” He nodded, already reading between the lines and making his way back to his car; me following close behind.

“Wait Hop; where are you going?” Flo asked, picking up on our sudden exit.

“Family emergency. Got to clock out early.” He gruffly explained already unlocking his car.

I climbed into the passenger seat, knowing I could come back for my bike later, and that I really needed to give dad the lowdown on what to expect when we got home.

“But what do I tell Joyce Byers? She’s been calling all morning...” Flo hounded my dad as he climbed into his truck; our family’s ever illusive nature clearly losing its charm for her.

“Shit. Right...” Dad hissed, pausing to rapidly switch between his dad hat to his Chief hat.

“Tell her I’ll call her from home when I’ve sorted out this mess.” He said, giving Flo a look that let her know he wasn’t just saying it to keep her out of his hair.

“Alright Hop. But you best keep your word.” Flo conceded, before slamming the door shut for him.

Dad turned over the engine, the truck roaring to life, before he quickly spun it around in the parking lot; probably breaking several traffic laws in that manoeuvre alone.

He bombed it out of the parking lot, speeding onto the street as if we were hot in pursuit.

“Tell me what happened.” Dad demanded, all business as he refused to take his eyes off the road for even a minute.

I took a deep breath, before launching into a word for word account on what I’d found when I’d gotten home that afternoon.

——————————————————

Sitting in that cabin felt as close to torture as I was probably gonna get; the oppressive silence near stifling, because dad refused to do anything besides smoke and brood since he’d finished tearing the house apart.

And he wondered where we got it from?!

I’d really expected more finesse from an acting police chief, but apparently searching for clues looked a hell of a lot like having a tantrum, and I got a glimpse at what might’ve happened if I’d ever decided to call his bluff and run away to Steve’s one day.

The whole thing wasn’t pretty, and once dad had resolved that Eleven wasn’t actually hiding beneath any of the furnishings; he’d resorted to the Hopper Family’s most favoured pastime; simmering in absolute broodiness.

I heard footsteps outside; so light it could’ve been a hallucination, if not for the thunderous ones that followed.

The door opened and I looked up; relief flooding my system in a rush of endorphins that left me running over to her, encompassing her in a tight hug.

“Thank God...” I sighed into her hair, unable to stop myself from running my fingers through the curls, because yes; I wasn’t hallucinating and she really was okay.

“I was so damn worried about you.” I said with a pained smile, pulling away to take a good look at her, just in case she was in fact an illusion.

She smiled back at; the familiar warmth removing all doubts from my mind, only to be ripped away with the angry slam of a door.

“Friends don’t lie...” Dad spat; his face the picture of fury as he loomed in the doorway, his gaze nearly burning holes into Eleven’s skin.

“Isn’t that your bullshit saying?”

“Dad; give her a break...” I petitioned from the floor, still kneeling at Eleven’s height.

“After she deliberately disobeyed me?!” Dad asked incredulously; his eyes switching to shoot their venom at me.

“No; that’s not happening.”

Eleven was a smart kid, and pissed off to boot, so she took the first initiative and headed to her room.

“El...” I called after her, following close behind, because as much as I understood her desire to run away from this; I knew dad wasn’t going to make this that easy for her.

“Hey! Don’t you walk away from me...” Dad growled, charging towards us both with adamant ferocity.

El attempted to throw the door shut on him, but he caught it, storming into the room with his accusations blazing.

“Where’d you go on your little field trip; huh?” He interrogated, blocking the door as if she was about to make a break for it any minute.

“Where?!”

“C’mon dad...” I petitioned, stepping between them, because if this came to blows; I really didn’t want to be the one cleaning up.

“No; Lola. I want an explanation.” Dad cut in; his stony face making it clear he would not be argued with on this.

He turned his attention back to Eleven, who was currently stripping out of her coat; her face the silent image of petulance at the humble age of thirteen.

“Did you see Mike?” Dad asked; his tone making it seem more of an accusation than a question.

“He didn’t see me.” Eleven insisted, finally breaking her silence in order to engage him at the most basic of levels.

“Yeah... well; that mother and daughter did...” He retaliated, sweeping further into the room to confront her.

“And they called the cops...”

El didn’t respond; just gave him a look that harboured such bitterness, I doubted even I could match it.

“Now; did anyone else see you? Anyone at all?” He interrogated, getting up in her face as if she was some dirtbag in the cells.

“Dad...” I cautioned; I could see El’s gears were already grinding, but it didn’t matter.

“Come on; I need you to think...” Dad yelled; his face turning red.

“Nobody saw me.” El hissed; her eyes dark with a cold fury, but that didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered to dad.

“You put us in danger...” Dad began to lecture; his anger barely contained beneath accusatory words.

“You put Lola in danger. You understand that right?”

But no; she didn’t understand that. She was a kid; she just wanted to get some air, but I don’t think that mattered to Dad.

“You promised... I go....” Eleven yelled; the words getting caught in her throat as she screamed them at him.

“And I never leave! Nothing ever happens!”

“Nothing ever happens and you stay safe!” Dad roared, meeting her word for word in red faced fury.

He reached up to pinch his nose; the clear sign a headache was coming on and that maybe he should give it a rest.

“Come on Dad...” I soothed gently, reaching out to touch his arm. “That’s enough.”

He didn’t say anything; just sighed and rubbed his eyes in a worn tiredness, drawing attention to the fine lines across his face.

But Eleven wasn’t to be cowed so easily; teenage hormones alongside a general sense of indignation a nasty fuel for the anger within.

“You lie!” She spat; marching over to dad like she could take him on singlehandedly, and knowing her powers, she probably could.

“I don’t lie. I protect and I feed and I teach...” Dad ranted; his blooming headache forgotten in the slight of her insubordination.

“And all I ask of you is that you follow three simple rules! Three rules! And you know what?! You can’t even do that!” He yelled; his face turning from red to purple in the dim cabin light.

“Dad; that’s enough...” I stepped forward; once more taking my place between them because this was getting too heated, too fast.

“You’re grounded!” Dad yelled; ignoring me in favour of sticking an ultimatum on her before storming out of the room; his face that of a man on a warpath.

Eleven swung her foot into the drawers, kicking it with a loud thump that told me it must’ve hurt more than she was letting on.

“You know what that means?” Dad asked; his voice echoing from the other room as I crouched down in an attempt to soothe Eleven, well aware she was a ticking time bomb about to blow.

“That means no Eggos...” Dad ranted, and I could hear the fridge door open and close, then the sound of boxes being tossed into the trash.

“Really dad?” I asked; looking up at him incredulously, because he was really gonna do this like this?

He didn’t take any notice, already half way across the living room and making a beeline for the TV. Eleven spotted him first, striding past me to the doorway to make her stand.

“And no TV for a week.” Dad barked, attempting to lift the set in its entirety, but it wouldn’t budge.

Not when Eleven stood there holding it down with her mind; and what did he really think was gonna happen?!

“Alright; knock it off.” Dad said, straightening up to look her in the eye.

“Let go.”

Eleven shook her head; a thin stream of blood trickling from her nose in the effort, because goddamnit; we were nothing if not stubborn!

Dad tried to pull the TV up again, refusing to budge on her punishment, no matter how much she resisted.

“Okay. Two weeks.” Dad stated, before attempting to rip up the TV from the ground with sheer brute force.

“Dad; this is getting ridiculous...” I reasoned, but it didn’t matter.

Reason and ridicule were nothing when faced with Jim Hopper’s wrath.

“Let go...” Dad growled at Eleven, shooting daggers at her.

She just shook her head again.

“A month!” He announced, but that was finally too much for El.

“No!” She argued back; blood now trickling down across her lips and into her mouth.

“Well; congratulations. You just went from no TV for a month, to no TV at all.” He declared, marching over to the plug socket and wrenching the plug from the wall.

“No!” El screamed despair, rushing over to the TV in attempt to revive what was her sole companion most of the time.

“Eleven; sweetie, it’s okay...” I tried to reassure her as she desperately fiddled with the TV switch, unsuccessfully trying to turn it on.

“Don’t comfort her!” He demanded, shooting me a cutting look that had all my hackles on the rise.

“She’s got to understand that there are consequences to her actions...”

“She’s a child!” I reminded him, because someone here had to remember that.

He opened his mouth to spit something back, when Eleven interrupted.

“You are just like papa.” Eleven spat; tears in her dark eyes, blood trickling down her chin.

“Really? I’m like that psychotic son of a bitch?” Dad muttered, rubbing his brow frustratedly.

“You wanna go back to the lab?” He challenged her; eyes cold and unfeeling.

“Dad; don’t say that...” I warned coldly; already seeing he was leading himself down a path he didn’t want to tread.

“No; if that’s what she wants...” Dad interrupted; his eyes returning to Eleven, staring her down accusingly. “Because I can make that happen.”

“Dad; stop.” I warned; raising my voice, because I’d been here before on different circumstances, and I knew he was going to say something he’d regret.

“I hate you!” Eleven screamed; bitterness heavy in her voice.

“Well I’m not too crazy about you either.” Dad retorted, and I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to stop this; but my god, if I weren’t gonna try.

“Dad; that’s enough...” I cautioned, but he was on a roll where all paths ended at Eleven.

“You wanna know why? You’re a brat!” He snarled, digging the knife in a little deeper with every word.

“You know what that word means? Brat?”

He pulled a dictionary off the bookshelf, flicking through the pages with sardonic dedication.

“Well; that can be your word of the day. Let’s look it up...” He continued, tearing through the pages with vicious efficiency.

“Dad—“ I tried, but he interrupted, holding a hand up for silence.

“B-R-A-T. Brat.” He repeated, tossing the dictionary towards her, but she stopped it midair, allowing it to hover menacingly.

“Eleven; put that down...” I instructed, because I knew that look in her eye, and it didn’t mean anything good.

She tossed it back towards him, narrowly missing his head as it fell to the floor in a loud thump.

“Hey?! What the hell is wrong with you?!” He grilled, striding through the room towards her.

She used her mind to pull the couch forward, striking him hard in the shin.

“Hey?!” Dad exclaimed, but Eleven was already storming off to her room.

“Eleven...” I called after her, but dad had already beaten me to it, following after her at military speed.

“Hey!” He shouted, as a bookcase toppled down onto him, narrowly stopped by his outstretched arm.

“Hey! Hey!” He yelled after her as she slammed her bedroom door, causing the house to shake for the second time that night.

“Dad; stop...” I petitioned, making my way over to him as he attempted to open her door to no avail.

“Open this door!” He yelled, shaking the doorknob vigorously, despite knowing it would do nothing.

“Dad; come on, please...” I asked, finally reaching him and attempting to pry his hand off the doorknob.

He snatched it away angrily, before pounding on the door, yelling repeatedly.

“Open this door! Open this damn door!” He roared, pummeling the wood with his fists, and I swear I could hear sobbing on the other side.

“You wanna go out in the world?! You better grow up!” He spat, and I honestly couldn’t believe I was hearing such spite from my father; a grown man, for Christ’s sake!

“Grow. The. Hell. Up!” He screamed, slamming his fists into the door with every syllable.

“Dad; stop!” I yell; squeezing myself between him and the door, because I was honestly worried he was about to break the thing down.

I stared into his red face; his eyes ablaze with a fury I’d never seen before, and for a split second, I thought he might hit me.

Then Eleven screamed.

An ear piercing shriek that made your ears feel like they’re about to start bleeding. I clamped my hands over my head, trying to stop the sound from splitting my skull in two.

Both dad and I fell to our knees, and I could make out the sound of glass shattering and then beginning to fall down on us.

Dad sheltered me from the most of it; tiny shards spilling onto the floor in a mosaic of crystal.

And just when I thought my brain would burst from the pressure; it stopped, Eleven’s screams dimming into a sob through the wood.

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