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princecharmingmendes · 3 years

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Heart by Heart | Chapter I | Raul Mendes

*secret agent AU*

Y/N and Raul have been friends ever since they could remember. And falling in love with your best friend can be pretty tricky and messy 99% of the times, add that to the fact they're constantly risking their lives side by side on the field since they're both secret agents, and the best team that's ever existed. Perfect recipe for disaster.

Helloo, this is the first chapter of this series and I'm super excited about it. Please read the warnings on this one, if you don't feel comfortable with the contents listed on the "warnings" section, please read something else, there are a lot of other works on my masterlist and on the "fic rec" hashtag on my blog. I plan on posting a chapter weekly, which means new chapter every Thursday (and maybe a sneak peak every monday). Please give me some feedback and I hope you guys like it as much as I did. I'll stop rambling now, byee. Happy Reading!

masterpost | next chapter

*Word Count: 3.4K+;

*Warnings: cursing, descriptions of violence, blood, injuries, hostage situation and a whole lot of teasing. Please don’t read it if any of this subjects make you uncomfortable, feel free to check my masterlist for other writings.

*Posted: July 1st, 2021.

-*-

Raul Mendes was a pain in the ass. Y/N loves him way too much for her own good, but he was a pain in the nonetheless.

He was the only person she knew who could be in a possible life-or-death situation and still make fun of her through their communicators. And sure, that made the whole thing lighter and less scary, and sure, he was the best agent she’s ever met, but damn did he get on her nerves. And Raul always knew how to get her frustrated or squirming, he enjoyed it more than he was willing to admit. Sure, they’ve been friends for a long time and she should be used to him, but it never got easier. The fact he had a killer smile, the looks of a legit greek god and had this whole tough guy exterior, but secretly had a soft spot for her did not make her case any less complicated.

Y/N and Raul knew each other ever since they’re basically born. Their parents met when they worked together at a company of secret agents, it was only a small corporation back then, and they were known as the best agents at the time. After they retired from field missions and eventually desk jobs, they became only advisers and emergency contacts. But despite that, they kept their friendship going though all the years and that’s how Y/N was introduced to the triplets. They’re always together, doing everything with each other and protecting themselves. And of course she loved Peter and Shawn with her whole heart, they’re like family to her, but Raul was different. Y/N wished it wasn’t, but there are certain things in life you can’t exactly control. Like falling in love with your best friend.

And it’s not like she stood a chance, to be honest. Regardless of his looks, he treated her like she hung the moon and stars on the sky. Sure, he was a tough guy, who rode motorcycles and wore leather jackets, and wouldn’t admit alive that he cried while watching Lion King. But he took care of her when she was upset or having a bad period, he would take her driving around town at midnight on random occasions just because he knew it would make her feel better, and would always be so mindful of everything involving her. And yeah, he teased her endlessly, but it was part of it and in reality, Y/N didn’t mind it that much.

So when they started growing older and decided to follow their parents career, it only made sense they trained their asses off and got the job together. The company their parents worked for grew a lot, a team that was originally formed by 15 agents turned into a massive business, with over 100 employees, doing various functions. Shawn was picked for a more diplomatic field, always in meetings with important people and traveling around the world. Peter became a tech engineer, developing the coolest gadgets and weapons imaginable, something out of Totally Spies! Raul was clearly a field agent, an expert on body combat and weapons, best out of the four when it came to their physical test. And Y/N was the one who guided the operations, the hacker and responsible for strategies, also for the tech part and best sniper out of the three of them.

That made her and Raul an unbeatable team and the best duo ever. Their chemistry on the field was recognized by their bosses on the first week, basically glueing them together for every future mission and it worked. For the company. But it only dug her little crush deeper on Y/N’s heart. And obviously no one knew it. She was a spy for fucks sake, she knew how to lie and she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. Raul didn’t date, working on this field made everyone’s love life a bit harder than it was already, and he never seemed interested enough in anyone with the same career to have a long lasting relationship with. That didn’t mean there where a lot of people interested, which made Y/N’s heart twist in her chest.

“Sweetheart, you still with me?” Raul’s voice came through her earpiece bringing her back to reality.

“Of course I am, you idiot, I take this job really seriously” Y/N replied rolling her eyes as if she didn’t just daydreamed a bit.

“Oh sorry, doll, didn’t mean to insult you hard working” he chuckled “but could you please check in the corridor number 6, half the team is heading down there right now”

“Sure” she quickly typed on her computer changing cameras really quickly, perks of being Peter’s best friend is that she could usually take extra stuff and the newest gadgets on the market “It’s clear and, by the way, you look pathetic with this glasses”

Raul laughed clearly amused, throwing his middle finger up in the air in the direction of the security camera he found “Oh really? Tell that to Peter, he’s the one who created them”

“Technically their still a prototype, so make sure to let him know”

Raul scoffed playfully as he climbed another set of stairs, the man and woman with him following without questioning, used to his ways of leading “Of course, I’m sure he’ll like to hear your fashion critiques to his million dollar glasses”

“I’ll write it down, now careful, you’re approaching the level where they’re at”

“Sure, mom, I’m always careful” he said in a hushed tone signaling to his teammates to keep quiet and try to find the possible security team they left to watch the hostage.

“Shut up” Y/N said trying to hold back the smile from stretching her lips, already letting the airway team know to be ready to pick them up as they approached their target.

They’re currently in the middle of a mission where they needed to recover another agent who got caught up in an ambush two weeks ago, and now they’re being kept as a hostage. Raul’s leading a team to retrieve the agent as quickly and as silently as they could, two with him and three other on the opposite side to meet halfway. All that while Y/N’s on the under construction building across the street seated among her gear, gun in hand following their every step and guiding them through the camera system and the big windows that other building had. It’s not the worst mission they’ve ever been, no apparent violence or blood bath, just a simple rescue mission, but they still felt a little jittery and always worried about each other’s lives. And through the years, they noticed that their copying mechanism to make this less stressful (at least a tiny bit) was through light banter and jokes. That somehow brought a bit of normality to their very non ordinary job.

Y/N did her best to keep them hidden while they crashed into the building as quietly as possible, trying go unnoticeable since they didn’t have enough munition or people on the tactic team. It would also prevent them from moving the target around or opening fire. And despite the fact Raul kept on trying to joke around and that she’s been doing this for at least four years, the fact that they’re working with a less experienced and fresh out of the academy crew made her a little jittery. Not that she didn’t trust Raul to command everything and boss everyone around if things got messy, she just didn’t want him to get in the middle of a crossfire again.

He had the terrible habit of playing the hero in the most inconvenient times, like when they were little and a guy twice his size, with three friends mocked her pigtails. He didn’t stand a chance, but he went after them anyway. They ended up having to run as fast as they could so they wouldn’t end up with a black eye or something. And that was nothing compared to the stupid shit he could do on field. And Y/N couldn’t be more pissed whenever he came home with more bruises then he should just to play Superman or something. Sure, that was admirable and the fact that he put everyone on his team on his top priority was definitely something fantastic for a captain, but not for Y/N’s heart.

And for that reason, she was always extra careful, but when he had a newbie joining him on the field, Y/N tripled the attention to avoid putting the kid in danger, and, consequently her best friend.

Raul was quick to take down two man on their level without raising much alarm, grabbing their munition, dragging the unconscious bodies away from where they’d be easily seen and moving forward to another set of stairs. He was a very skillful agent, with great physical development and worked great under pressure, with quick thinking and a natural leader. So it didn’t shock her when he was able to do that as if it was the most natural thing in the planet. While Raul was more of a passionate person, Y/N was more rational, was analyzing every possibility and coming up with creative solution, she was also really cold on work (she just had one exception) and was a quick thinker, great person to rely on. It’s almost as if the complimented each other and that’s why it worked. That’s why when she tells him to shoot, he does without thinking, or to jump, he wouldn’t blink before doing it head first.

And that’s why they’re able to reach the hostage without much trouble.

“Told you to chill out, I knew we could make it” he murmured through their coms and she giggled, shaking her head incredulously.

“You should watch the entrances while your teammates take care of the hostage”

“That’s why I have you, sweetheart” he said with his infamous smirk stretching his annoyingly pink lips.

Y/N shook her head when she felt her face warming up a bit, stupid boy “Well, actually I’m pretty busy calling for our ride, so watch your own back this time, you’re a big boy, I’m sure you can do it”

Raul scoffed but did as she say either way “fine, are we clear?”

“On your floor yes, climb three more levels and meet me on this side of the street, don’t stall champ, they’re going to notice there’s something wrong with the cameras and their man who aren’t responding, so be quick”

Raul chuckled as he helped balance the hostage on Roman’s arms and signaling them to climb the stairs again “Yes, ma’am, anything to keep you from frowning and scolding my ass”

Y/N rolled her eyes smiling, sighing in relief that half of their mission was done and it went as smoothly as it could have been “Great, now get your ass out of there now, Raul”

The tactic team started moving to the floor they’d have access to jump, and everything was going too smoothly to be true, not even a minor inconvenience. And that was not normal, at all. That’s when Y/N started getting worried.

Everything was great until Seth, from loosing a lot of blood and being severely dehydrated, started loosing his conscious, making Roman’s job a lot more complicated and making everyone move slower. And while that was happening, Y/N saw when one of the guys saw his partners laying limply on the corner of a hallway and finally the pieces clicked. Luckily she was able to caught it quickly enough to be able to mess up their coms, so instead of a dozen men, they’d have to deal with two. She was also quick to let Raul know, so he jumped into action, telling everyone to rush and grabbing Seth’s right side, basically carrying him alongside Roman up the stairwell.

But as they’re almost reaching the door, Raul heard footsteps rather close, rushing Roman up the rest of the way, warning he’d be right behind him, that he was only to be a bit far back so he could hold whoever was coming.

He ran downstairs, quickly blocking the door to the staircase with a fire extinguisher, running all the way upstairs to reach his teammates and jump to go home. But as he had just reached the door, his colleagues waiting for him with their gear (and also his) ready to cross to the other building, he felt the barrel of a gun touching the back of his head. Raul raised his hands in surrender, his teammates staring at him with horror in their eyes as they aimed their guns to whoever was behind him, but he knew they couldn’t do much before he got shot. He also knew they’re too young, apart from Roman and Cara, who were both holding Seth up, they weren’t experienced enough to do something like that. But before the person could pull the trigger, they grunted in pain and Raul felt the barrel slipping away.

He turned around to watch the guy on his back in the floor, clutching to his left ribs, a little pool of blood already forming underneath him and gun long forgotten. Raul looked around to see if it was anyone from this guy’s side or anyone on the stairs, only to be met with silence and a single security camera with the green dot on, meaning Y/N was still in their system. He shook his head in disbelief, dragging the whining man outside of the room, quacking his gun down the stairs and managing to lock the door so they could escape safely.

“Still with me, baby?” Y/N’s voice teased mimicking the way he said it earlier.

Raul shook his head with a smirk on his lips, before moving to where his teammates stood still a bit shocked with all that happened in front of them “Wouldn’t dream of leaving you, sweetheart”

“Alright boys, the helicopters are coming for us, meet you all on the roof in three” Y/N said through the coms for the whole team, quickly shifting to a line only the captain, Raul, could hear “and if you dare be late just to make a big entrance or another dramatic scheme you can think about, I swear to God I’ll leave you behind”

“You wouldn’t dare”

“Try me” Y/N sing sang picking up her stuff and quickly shoving them down in her backpack, gathering the rest in her hands before turning around to climb to the rooftop.

As she climbed the last set of stairs, Y/N saw their helicopters approaching as the seven agents she was waiting for used a special gun to shoot a line to her building, before locking them in place before zip-lining their way to meet her. She helped Seth, the agent that was kept hostage climb up the little wall since he was in a pretty bad shape, throwing his arm across her shoulders and basically dragging him to where they thrown the stair to climb up to the helicopter with the medical team waiting for him. Cara and Roman climbed first since they’re going to report what they saw and assist Seth as best as they could. Roman grabbed him and the rope stair, shouting to pull them up so he could be taken care of.

Raul was the last one to arrive, as always staying behind to insure everyone got there safely and no one would try to kill them or anything. He graciously climbed the all as if it was nothing, pulling the gun from the string and cutting it so no one could follow them up there that quickly. Raul told everyone to climb onto the helicopter and they’re quick to follow his order, only one person stubbornly waiting for him, as always. He held back the relieved smile from stretching across his features, noticing how warm and relaxed he felt only by seeing Y/N standing besides the hope ladder. She looked worried, a frown on her beautiful face and Raul wanted to smooth his fingers over it as if it would ease all of her troubles away.

She nodded as soon as he was close enough, Raul being quick to pick up the heavy backpack she was carrying and leaving the rest to her “Are you okay?”

“What? Of course, Why do you ask?” he knew why she was asking, hell, his heartbeat was still a bit too fast to be normal, and yeah, partially was because he was standing in front of Y/N, but on the other hand he almost got killed. She only arched her brow at him and he sighed in defeat “Of course I am, doll, you know me, I’m always okay”

“That’s what’s scares me the most” she said with a sad chuckle and started climbing the rope ladder to the helicopter and Raul was quick to follow behind.

“Dude, that was insane, I can’t believe you didn’t miss or accidentally shot Raul from across the street!” the youngest guy from the mission shouted as soon as they reached them on the vehicle, Raul closing the door behind them.

Y/N only giggled in response “yeah, a bit crazy, isn’t it?”

“That’s because she’s the best, Tommy, but she won’t believe it” Raul said as he sat on one of the vacant seats, waiting for her to join him.

“Oh shut it” she said unable to stop the smile from forming.

They kept on talking about the mission for a while, Tommy and the other two kids who recently joined still high from the adrenaline, but Y/N couldn’t be more worn out and Raul was quick to catch it. He leaned closer to her and she automatically laid her head on his shoulder, a movement that was almost mechanic to both of them. He gently grabbed her hand that was placed on her knee and interlaced their fingers together, letting her play with his hand to pass the time.

Y/N sighed and mumbled after a while, when most of the kids were too distracted to pay attention “Are you really okay? Don’t say that you’re always fine, I mean it”

Raul had mastered the art of the poker face. He could easily be having the worst time of his life, but he would never let it showcase always with a quick sarcastic remark and an easy smirk on his lips, ready to flirt with anyone to distract them from the real problem. Raul was not the best when dealing with feelings and emotions, always thought it was easier to push them away, but Y/N saw right through him. She always did, ever since they were little. After that, he never tried to hide it again from her, always being as honest as he could with her about how he was, and obviously it didn’t always work, but she understood and respected it. It’s not like he needed to say anything for her to know.

But at the same time, she didn’t know that he would always be fine, as long as she was safe and right next to him, the rest didn’t matter.

“I promise you I’m fine, you saved my beautiful ass and we’re going home, I’d say we’re fantastic” he said after a while, pressing a long kiss to the back of their laced hands.

That seemed to be enough to convince Y/N, since she huffed through her nose and let out a tiny giggle, before leaning closer to him and Raul took it as a sign to drape his arm over her shoulder pulling her closer to his chest “your beautiful ass is really annoying, you know that, right?”

“Oh, I do, but you love it anyway” he said with a giggle, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, as she just showed him her middle finger, making him laugh even more.

Yeah, he was definitely fine. For now.

-*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

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gabxbyr · 3 years

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See You Again (English version) Newt x Reader

(English is not my native language so excuse me if there is any mistake)

Finally they had made it. The Right Arm, the end of the Scorch, the end of hell, the end of WICKED. They didn't believe in it anymore and yet here they were, all sitting on the rocks high above the ground, contemplating the people who were gradually packing up the camp in order to leave tomorrow at dawn.

Y/N had delicately placed her head on Newt's shoulder in order to make the most of their newly acquired freedom. She could finally allow herself this simple gesture without having the impression that it was not the moment. Indeed the blond had confessed his love for her just before they fought the grievers to get out of the Maze but with the battle, Chuck's death -at this thought the girl's heart tightened- and the crossing of the Scorch they had never had the opportunity to live their relationship fully. And here, with her cheek on his warm skin and her nostrils impregnated with his masculine scent, she felt like she belonged. On top of that she was with her friends and that's all that mattered. Rather with a part of her friends sadistically reminded her brain as if to tarnish her sudden joy... It is true that many of her companions had died so that they could get there and she could not forget it. First there was Ben, a close friend of Minho and her, as they were all runners; then it was Alby's turn, their leader and their guide, to disappear. Then Chuck's sacrifice, which she still had a hard time getting over -maybe not as hard as Thomas, but still- and at the same time Gally's death, which saddened her, and then the last death, Winston's. Y/N still remembered his death and the way he had been treated. Y/N still remembered his screams when those damn cranks had lacerated his belly and that tragic gunshot that meant the death of their friend. At the thought she couldn't suppress a shiver.

-Y/N, Newt's voice suddenly rang out, waking her from her lethargy. Are you all right ?

He was surely aware of her silence and her shivers.

-Yes do not worry, she answered by playing gently with the fingers of the blond whom she fixed with a nostalgic face. I just thought of all the sacrifices which we had to endure to arrive here and of all the close ones that we lost.

Newt looked at the girl pressed up against him with a mixture of love, compassion and sadness in his brown orbs. He understood exactly what she was getting at, after all Alby was one of his best friends and he would never know they were out of the Maze. Yet he also knew that if he could do it again he wouldn't change a thing if it meant he could be here with her. It was with this thought that he gently lifted her face with his fingers under her chin to plunge his eyes into her Y/E/C ones.

-I know how you feel, we all feel it here. But you know as well as I do that we wouldn't be here without them, and maybe what I'm about to say will sound completely selfish, but I'm glad we're both here.

As an answer she gave him one of her sincere and radiant smiles that illuminated her beautiful face damaged by the dust and the sun. The blond wanted to bend down to kiss her sweet lips but Minho didn't count on it and took the girl by the armpits and made her turn in the air.

-Did I hear Princess depressed ?

-Minho ! Y/N shouted, ripped from the sweet embrace of the former second in command. Put me down right now or I swear I'll throw up on you !

-Better you throw up on me than on your loser boyfriend's mouth, said the asian boy proud of him. Don't you think ?

-Her loser boyfriend fucks you.

Newt had wanted to take a stern voice but he failed miserably far too happy to see his girlfriend and his best friend playing like children and laughing so lightly. It reminded him of the happy times he had spent on the Glade away from the horror of the outside world. Frypan must have been thinking the same thing because while the two of them were still running around behind each other the former Galder's cook approached the blond.

-I miss the Glade.

-Me too, Newt admitted. But now that it's all over I'm happy.

-Yes, it's all over, Fry murmured with a smile.

As the two troublemakers returned to sit with them breathless from their childishness Thomas arrived to join them, Chuck's statuette clutched in his fingers. There was a sudden silence as nostalgic thoughts undoubtedly resurfaced.

-If only Chuck could have seen this.

It was the brown man's voice, full of immeasurable sadness. Slowly Y/N put his hand on his shoulder in compassion as Newt cleared his throat.

-He would be so proud of you, Tommy.

The nickname made Thomas smile softly as he murmured a "yeah" in response. He missed little Chuck terribly, but was grateful to have Newt, Minho, Y/N, Frypan and Teresa by his side. He wondered where Teresa could be. He felt the need to see her and to hold her in his arms as the blond did with his friend. He was going to ask where she was but he was cut by Frypan who greeted Aris by shouting.

-l kinda like that kid.

Minho gave a septic look to Fry showing his disagreement with him.

-Yeah. I still don't trust him, though.

His remark made the blockards laugh, recognizing the typical suspicious behavior of the Asian.

-Minho in all his splendor, ladies and gentlemen.

The former keeper of the runners looked at the only girl of the group by raising his eyebrows then he smirked which never announces anything good.

-You, he began, pointing at her. Believe me I smell you ! You smell like klunk !

Suddenly a mini scream was heard coming out of his mouth as Y/N had just hit him in the shoulder.

-I call mistreatment of Asians racism, Frypan said.

-Thank you bro, Minho thanked him, pretending to cry. We understand each other !

After a new laugh from the blockards, Thomas remembered the question he wanted to ask before they debated Aris. He then turned his jet-black eyes towards his comrades.

-Hey, where's Teresa ?

Y/N frowned a little at the name. From the moment this girl arrived, she had found her strange and her doubts had been reinforced during their crossing of the Scorched Earth, but except for Minho and Newt, whenever she talked about it with someone, they told her that her suspicions were simply based on a feeling of jealousy because she was no longer the only girl in the group. Nonsense! The proof was that she got along very well with Brenda. But the girl with Y/H/C hair preferred to keep quiet and ignore the question unlike her boyfriend.

-Yeah, the blonde answered, pointing to a sharp rock in the distance behind them. She went up there.

The brunet thanked him with a nod before leaving hurriedly to meet her. They were all aware of Thomas' feelings towards his blue-eyed goddess and although the others didn't care -except maybe Minho who didn't hold Teresa in his heart- Y/N had a bad feeling.

This was confirmed when shortly afterwards bergs belonging to the WICKED began to arrive in the distance. The girl's heart began to pound ferociously as adrenaline and fear mingled within her. They had only just regained their fucking freedom!

The gladers only reacted when the first bombs hit the camp floor.

-Let's get moving, Minho yelled at them as he got up and headed downhill right into the action.

Y/N followed him after a last loving and fearful glance at Newt. Screams, blood and fire surrounded them now as they made their way to Harriet and Vince in search of weapons to fight with. Vince handed the gladers guns.

-Can you use these ?

They nodded and prepared to fire.

-Cover me, shouted the leader of the Right Arm.

So it was with fear but adrenaline that they stood around the van containing the machine gun and began firing at the WICKED soldiers. The rage of life they felt left little room for guilt, even though they would have deaths on their conscience.

-There are too many of them, Minho despaired.

They were running out of munitions and the asian's realization gave them an extra wave of fear... This was the end, WICKED was winning. As Y/N searched her pockets for ammunition she heard Vince's deep voice ringing in her ears just before she felt a wave of electricity run through every inch of her body and then she fell into unconsciousness.

When they woke up, the gladers were in a line, among the other WICKED subjects, kneeling and weakened. Y/N stood between Minho and Newt and looked at Rat Man with all the rage she felt. She had to look away, however, when a soldier came up behind her, scanned her neck and announced.

-A3.

This is what she was reduced to. A fucking number, like an animal. They were dehumanizing them as if they were nothing more than livestock. WICKED was intentionally forgetting that they were just teenagers. This realization made her clench her fists and teeth. Her impulsiveness was getting the better of her.

-Where's Thomas, she heard Rat Man ask.

And before she could stop herself, her rebellious and impulsive side surfaced.

-Up your ass, you rat-faced bastard !

A silence was created on the battlefield. Newt looked at her reproachfully as Janson turned red with anger. He approached the girl and before the gladers could react Rat Man took her by the arm and threw her into the middle of them all. And as she tried to get up from the ground, she was kicked in the abdomen, making her regret her stupid behavior.

-You want to play it smart ? Well you're going to regret it kid, he then turned to one of his colleagues. Did you say that we had almost all of them ?

Y/N saw the guard nod as she began to get really scared.

-Good, Janson seemed to be pleased as he loaded his gun and pointed it at her. I guess no one will mind if I kill one of them then ?

The salt-and-pepper haired man was preparing to shoot under the incessant shouting of the gladers and the threats of Newt when Thomas appeared.

-I'm here.

Janson then diverted his attention from the young girl who went to snuggle in the arms of her boyfriend. The latter held her against him as if his life depended on it.

-Everything's fine, he whispered in her ear, trying to reassure himself. I am there.

During this time the brown one also took a blow of the part of the Rat Man then was placed at the sides of Minho who looked at him dazed.

-Why didn't you run ?

-I'm tired of running.

His statement seemed to cast a sort of veil of hope over the blockards and Y/N lifted herself a little from the blond to give Thomas a discreet smile. He was right, they should stop running. However, her smile quickly faded when another berg appeared and landed a few meters away from their position, bringing a sense of fear back to the group.

Ava Paige. The woman with platinum blonde hair who was supposedly dead and was the head of the WICKED. Their worst enemy was standing in front of them, staring at them like the test subjects they were in her eyes. She ordered Janson to start the boarding and that's how the different teenagers were dragged towards the berg. So far, none of the gladers had been taken. However, Ava stopped in front of them and made Thomas stand up.

-Good evening, Thomas.

Was she making fun of him? She put him in a damn Maze, sent him to a city full of cranks and hunted him down to say a simple good evening ? The only thing the brunette could think at that moment was "go to hell" but he preferred to keep quiet and look at her, a defiant glare stuck to his face. However all trace of insolence flew away when Teresa appeared at the side of this woman.

-I don't believe it, said Minho, standing up.

-Teresa, Frypan murmured in astonishment.

-But what's going on here ? asked Newt lost.

-She's with the enemy, Thomas suddenly said in a voice devoid of emotion.

Y/N couldn't stop a nervous laugh from coming out of her lips as a huge hatred took place in her heart.

-I knew it, she whispered, realizing she was right all along. You are a fucking traitor !

The blond realizing that his girlfriend was once again going to put herself in a sensitive situation placed his arm in front of her as if to protect her and prevent anyone from hurting her. He would not allow it.

That was the moment Janson chose to intervene.

-Teresa's always had an evolved appreciation of the greater good. Once we restored her memories, it was only a matter of time.

-I'm sorry, she began as the gladers looked at her accusingly. I had no choice. This is the only way. We have to find a cure.

Thomas lowered his head feeling his heart tear as the girl he was in love with drove the stake of betrayal deeper into his heart. He wanted so badly for this to be just a nightmare yet he knew it was real.

-And a cure for your bullshit ? Minho interjected with his usual sarcasm. Didn't you find it ?

-Drop it, Minho, added Y/N. All it would take is a little loyalty and humanity.

The dark-haired girl looked down but ignored them royally as Ava confirmed her words. The latter was trying to convince them that she was not a monster and that she just needed more time. But Marie, the camp doctor, spoke up.

-And more blood !

-Hello, Marie, said the blonde woman as the female doctor approached. I hoped we'd meet again. I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances.

-I'm sorry about a lot of things too, Marie cut her off. But not this. At least my conscience is clear.

Unlike Teresa, Y/N thought furtively before concentrating on Ava's answer.

-So is mine.

A shot rang out, cutting short the exchange between the two women. And the said Mary collapsed on the ground under the desperate cries of Vince and the murderous glance of Janson. While looking at this scene with teary eyes, Thomas understood what he had to do. At this thought his breathing became more panting and the tension in his muscles more oppressive. He waited for the WICKED to begin boarding them before pulling out a bomb and threatening to detonate it.

-Everyone stand back, Janson ordered his soldiers, his stress mounting. Hold your fire !

-Let them all go, Thomas shouted as Rat Man tried to talk him down.

Janson, Ava, and even Teresa all began to talk to him to make him listen to reason, not realizing that they were only reassuring him of his decision. Moreover, the gladers, at first overwhelmed by the events, began to understand why their friend was doing this and it was resigned that Minho came to Thomas' side and nodded to show his support. He was followed closely by Frypan, Newt and Y/N who hold hands with the blond man.

-We're with you, Thomas, said the latter, taking his girlfriend in his arms for a last embrace.

-Do it Thomas, added the asian to cover the protests of Teresa and Ava.

-We are ready, made Fry by holding the shoulder of the brown.

-It's the end, finished Y/N by pressing a little more strongly the blond in her arms.

After a last glance towards his friends Thomas turned to Teresa.

-We're not going back there, he declared while shaking before preparing to release the bomb. It's the only way.

Suddenly, as Ava Paige's scream resonated as if to prevent the explosion, a horn went off, stopping Thomas in his tracks. It was Jorge who drove like a madman into one of the WICKED helicopters, leaving the members of the Right Arm the opportunity to disperse and defend themselves.

-Are you all right ? asked Newt, concerned about the well-being of his beloved.

For all answer Y/N nodded her head before joining the others and suddenly getting down on the ground while Thomas had just thrown the bomb on the members of the inter-governmental organization. As they got up, they went in search of weapons to fight with. Brenda was defending them from the top of the cliffs like a sniper. She had managed to hit Janson in the shoulder, which made Y/N smile and find a gun. Hope made her heart beat again and gave her enough adrenaline to fight.

As for Vince, he went back to his machine gun, shooting at the WICKED soldiers and at the same time quenching his thirst for revenge for Marie's death. It was total chaos. The gladers were running for cover, covered by Minho and Y/N who were the only two of the group to have acquired weapons. They found some debris to hide behind about hundred meters away.

-Keep going, the asian shouted. We got you !

-Be careful ! Newt asked worriedly as they ran to their hiding place.

-Don't worry about us, the girl tried to reassure him.

Thomas suddenly arrived running, he passed behind his two friends to join the others. It was the last one they could retreat. Y/N then began to run towards her friends when she realized that the asian did not follow her.

-Minho, what are you doing ? she shouted to him already six meters away from him.

-Go ahead, go ahead, he replied, shooting at a soldier. I'll catch up with you !

She continued her race trusting her best friend when she saw him taking an electrifying ball of the WICKED and falling on the ground shaking of spasms. She shouted his name and asked him to get up and join her. She heard her friends in the distance doing the same but the former keeper of the runners was close to sink in the unconsciousness. She then turned her gaze to her friends in the distance and then to Mihno who was beginning to be carried away. One last time she looked into Newt's chocolate eyes and mouthed a final "I love you" as he understood her intention and shouted at her to stop. It was too late, she had made her decision, we don't abandon our friends. She then faced the asian and started to run towards him as fast as she could. She could feel her heart racing as she shot at the two guards holding her friend. Once she reached him she let out a sigh of relief and with great effort and a few more drops of sweat she managed to lift Minho off the ground. She then looked up at her friends' hiding place and began to sprint. However, as she saw the hopeful looks on her friends' and Newt's faces, she felt an excruciating sting in her back and electricity paralyzing her. She then fell on the sand and dust while letting out a cry of agony which was replaced very quickly by the cry of despair of her favorite blond boy.

The latter seeing the girl he loved being taken away by the WICKED wanted to intervene but his friends understanding that it was over held him back with tears in their eyes and their hearts in pieces. And it was under their desperate looks that the berg enclosing their friends started to fly away while Janson threw them a last triumphant smile while holding firmly the unconscious body of Y/N in his arms.

-Bastards, Newt shouted, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. You bastards ! Bring them back ! Come back ! Give her back to me !

Thomas went over to him to put his hand on his shoulder, but as surprising as it may seem, the blond threw himself into his arms and cried against his shoulder. Usually the second in command kept everything to himself and did not share his sorrows. He never expressed his sadness, but this was too much for him to bear. When Y/N had arrived in the block just after his suicide attempt, she had been a breath of fresh air for him. She had been his little dose of hope and he needed her. He couldn't lose her.

-Tommy, he said in a firm voice, looking into Thomas' wet eyes. Promise me we'll get them back.

-I promise, Newt.

Masterlist

#newt x reader #newt x y/n #newt imagine #newt x oc #tmr newt #newt #the maze runner #the scorch trials #the death cure #the maze runner imagine

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sergeant-spoons · 3 years

Text

30. Look Before You Leap

Verity/Victor Rich

Taglist: @thoughpoppiesblow @vintagelavenderskies @wexhappyxfew @50svibes @tvserie-s-world @adamantiumdragonfly @ask-you-what-sir @whovian45810 @brokennerdalert

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Verity felt like she had a whole other person draped on top of her, pack, rifle, munitions, and all- and this wasn't even the most gear she would be straddled with as a paratrooper. Around her, on stiff metal benches that rattled with the vibrating of the plane- she wondered (not without concern) if an important bolt somewhere had come loose -sat the men she'd trained with since the beginning of last summer, equally decked out with their supplies. Her buddy George had made a big show of having to carry a radio up into the plane, even though it was only a prop one and could be spared in case something went awry. She felt bad he had that extra fifty pounds to lug around, but on the flip side, there was no one she'd rather have on that radio once they were truly in the thick of it.

That would not be for some time, Sergeant Lipton reminded the men, always the voice of reason and reassurance, as he offered each a hand up into the metal belly of the beast.

Fifteen minutes had passed since. Now, they soared through the skies on what could just as well be the most important determinant of their Airborne career yet. Five jumps. Just five attempts to tumble through the air, keep your bearings all the while, and disassociate yourself from your parachute lest you be tangled (or even harmed) by its many ropes. Verity could feel the adrenaline burning through her companions from the first breath she took inside that plane. She was not exempt from the jitters. Her knee bounced and she leaned her elbow on it to halt the fidgeting, but then her other knee began to act up as if in detached retribution.

The atmosphere, despite the importance of the occasion and the unspoken communal anxiety, was a lively one. Friends chattered above the rumbling of the engines and the roaring of the air. Verity had thought it would be more of a whistling or rushing sound, like when one drove in a car with open windows or no roof, and had given a real start when the wind first crashed against the side of the aircraft. Of course, she corrected herself presently, it was not the air against the plane, but the plane against the air, for today was not one of the winds.

"See those clouds?" Gene remarked, needing to lean so close for her to hear him their helmets clacked together, "Looks like it may rain."

"I hope not." She pursed her lips, thinking. "If it did, they'd move this whole thing to next week."

Her friend, who was seated beside her, tipped his head just a little to one side, silently denoting that he had heard her. Although he had such extra weight with his medic's supplies as George did his radio, she'd noticed Gene hadn't complained of it. She would have found it peculiar if he had; such a reaction would seem to her quite out of line with his even-keeled temperament.

"We're almost there," Lieutenant Winters shouted above the din, and the soldiers under his command immediately quieted. "Keep your heads about you and you'll be just fine. You're good soldiers with good minds and hearts, and you know your training to the dime." A firm nod, though not an unkind one. "Good luck."

"See," Verity contemplated aloud, "that's the kind of respect Sobel wants from us, but what's he done to earn it?"

Webster scoffed, "Nothing!" on her left, and on her right, past Gene, George chimed in, "If anything, he's done the opposite."

"Exactly." Verity shook her head, leaning back against the sloped wall. She was glad her pack gave her some semblance of cushioning despite her early perturbance against its weight. "Gene, didn't he order you to skip your medical lecture yesterday to come to his own?"

"An' then he said nothin' worthwhile," her friend affirmed.

"What’s a Gene?" asked a creased-brow Webster, totally derailing the conversation.

Verity, not in the mood for one of his selective bouts of foolishness, fired back without missing a beat, "Half a pair o' pants. As I was saying, there's gotta be a better- what?"

Gene's expression had caught her attention. He looked positively aggrieved by the whole world, frowning so much he'd forced his eyes closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The sigh he gave, though inaudible, was as heavy and obvious in meaning as any vocal response: why, God, why. Amusingly enough, on his other side, George was pretending to wipe a tear from his eye, beaming with pride. Verity groaned, leaning back on her seat, and just as she was about to redirect the conversation to where it had been- the shortfalls of Captain Sobel, hardly an exhaustible topic -Lieutenant Winters rose from beside the open door and waved one hand, gripping to the side of the plane with the other so he didn't fall.

That, along with the call he now gave, was their signal to rise, and she leaned back, using the force of her pack's weight to launch her upright. Though she stumbled, it worked, and she was consequently the first on her feet, along with Bull Randleman, who was simply strong enough to carry all his gear without much strain. Lieutenant Winters offered her a brief smile, then glanced at his wristwatch and gave the next order to hook up. The wire hummed with the clipping and slinging of metal upon metal as the paratroopers arranged themselves up accordingly.

"Equipment check!"

Verity examined Gene's gear, careful to make sure he wasn't leaving anything behind. As she was behind him in the lineup, she'd had to learn to recognize his extra equipment and its whereabouts on her person, though she herself was not a medic. Gene was required to do the same with George, a radioman, directly in front of him. The numbers came down the line until Verity felt a hard pat on her pack and heard Webster cry in a voice that was a little hoarse:

"Eight okay!"

"Seven okay!" Verity yelped.

"Six okay!" That was Gene.

"Five okay!" And George.

The next three troopers cried out their numbers and Lieutenant Winters was the last to go, crying, "One okay!" He turned to the door.

Verity waited with bated breath and only when the light turned green did she gasp in a breath.

Winters was out the door in a flash. Sergeant Lipton went next, then Pat Christenson, then Shifty Powers, and George stepped up next. He clapped the side of the plane with his fist, a sort of 'let's do this' gesture, before he made a flying leap out into the air. Gene followed suit, crossing himself, then was gone into the sky, and Verity lurched up to the doorframe. No time to think, no time to fear, just jump.

These men are relying on you. Go, go, go.

The wind tickled her face and she giggled, her exhilaration getting the better of her despite the gravity of her situation (both figuratively and literally). This weightlessness was absolutely terrifying, and Verity knew that if she wasn't absolutely assured of her safety, she would be screaming herself voiceless. She had to trust her equipment to keep her safe all the way down, and then turn that faith and loyalty to her comrades-in-arms once she was on solid ground again. Her breath caught in her throat the moment her chute snagged the air, just as she knew it would, and she was slung back up into the grey Georgia sky.

Even down south, Verity reflected wryly, though she really didn't have the focus to spare, the January heavens turn bleak.

She maneuvered herself as she'd been taught, watching the ground coming up to meet her, a woman mesmerized by what should have been her natural doom yet threatened her so little. Her hands moved nearly automatically, her training well-engrained in her mind, and as her mental count met the 'four-thousand!' mark, she drew her legs up and braced herself. A jolt ran through her body as it met the earth and she rolled, stumbling to her feet. The parachute ruffled and billowed in even the slightest breeze as she pulled it to her, careful to avoid the ropes weaving around her feet like the garden snakes she used to watch with the wide eyes of childhood awe. The ground tugged at her boots and she began to laugh as she realized she'd landed in a muddy patch.

"Vee!"

The call came from behind her, and as she turned around, her amusement died on her lips, for she could see Gene pulling someone up to the top of a bluff blanketed by clovers, using his free hand to wave to her. She promptly slung her rifle over her shoulder and hoofed it up the slope, scrambling for her footing once or twice but otherwise alright. The sight that met her gave her pause, both at the summit of the rise and beyond it. A marsh spread before her eyes, small but significant, and she gasped a curse at how this could have gone overlooked in the jump plans. Landing in such a spot could be deadly for a paratrooper.

Dropping to her knees, she examined George Luz, who was soaked from the waist down, as he tried to wave her off, insisting that he was fine and only needed to catch his breath. Gene explained that he'd heard splashing from over this very bluff and hurried over to find George floundering, waist-deep in the marsh. His parachute, though the breeze was slight, had enough strength to tug him further toward the depths, and it was doing precisely that before Gene waded in and grabbed George's arms. They got the parachute off, but it was now uselessly waterlogged, so they'd left it where it lay and stumbled out of there.

"I was only dropping down for a breather," George insisted, climbing to his feet with the aid of his companions, "and this fool-" He meant Gene, though the epitaph did not come ungratefully. "-thought I was hurt, so he decided to drag me up the whole hill."

Verity chuckled, a little weakly. "I would think you'd appreciate that, being quite the dramatic yourself."

George scoffed, leaning on her shoulder, and she could tell by how much of his weight balanced upon her that he was truly wearied, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"Who the hell," Gene questioned the sky, "made this our DZ?"

"Ten bucks it was Sobel," George volunteered, but Verity shook her head.

"No, he wouldn't be involved in the designation of the drop zone." As she pulled out her compass, taking note of which direction they needed to start walking in, she considered. "Nixon's part of intel, he wouldn't make this decision. Winters had nothin' to do with it. Even if either of 'em were, they're too smart to miss this. Somebody in CP messed up big time."

"Yeah," Gene muttered, "they really fucked up."

It wasn't until his uncharacteristic use of profanity that Verity realized just how pissed off her friend was, and she laid her hand briefly on his shoulder, a reassurance.

"Where is that bastard, after all?" George shook his legs as if that would dry them any quicker. "If there's anybody who deserved to land in a bog, it's him, not me."

"At least he'll give CP hell when he hears 'bout this."

Verity sighed. "I doubt it. He's more likely to tell us to 'toughen up' or some bullshit." She threw her arms up in frustration and nearly knocked George, still half-leaning on her, off-balance. "And after you coulda drowned!"

"Hey, now," her waterlogged friend objected, "I can swim just fine-"

"Not with a hundred pounds strapped t' your back and legs," Gene reminded grimly, and George fell quiet, knowing he was right.

"Well," Verity spoke up after a moment of silence between the trio, "if we can be sure o' one thing, it's that Winters won't let this go unnoticed. He'll take it straight to Sink if Sobel won't." A slight laugh, all but humorless. "Hell, he'll take it straight to Sink even if Sobel will."

"No one better to break the news of the near-loss of beloved George Luz," the man of such a name muttered, and Verity was glad to see him returning to his usual humor.

"Which woulda been a tragedy of the highest degree," she added, nudging his side, and even Gene chimed in.

"A national day o' mournin', all for you."

George preened quite like a peacock. "All the girls, weepin' around the coffin, wrapped in a flag as big as the goddamn plane I jumped outta."

Verity snorted a laugh. "What girls? And why are they wrapped in a big ass flag?"

"Oh, c'mon-" George swatted her arm. "-give a guy a break. I coulda drowned, you know!"

"So now the mockingjay sings a different tune," Verity teased, and her friend rolled his eyes.

"Red, if not for that Gene joke you made in the plane, I'd have pushed you down this hill by now."

Their companion took several steps to the side, distancing himself as he narrowed his eyes at them, and Verity couldn't help a small laugh.

"It's over with, anyway." George gave a cheery tilt of his chin one way, then the other. "One jump down, four to go."

"Preferably without another marsh involved."

"Nor the same one!" He snorted a laugh. "Imagine that, twice in one day."

Verity sighed, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, don't jinx it."

He winked at her, a sly, familiar grin creeping onto his lips. "Me? Jinx it?" A laugh. "I'm the luckiest sonuva gun in the whole company!"

"Says the man who just landed in the only body of water for miles and miles."

"Touché."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#verity/victor rich #verity/victor rich ficlet #verity/vic rich #verity/victor rich 30: look before you leap #band of brothers #band of brothers oc #band of brothers oc ficlet #band of brothers ficlet #hbo war show #hbo war #hbo war oc ficlet #hbo war oc #hbo war ficlet #hbo war show ficlet #hbo war show oc #hbo war show oc ficlet #in defense of chicanery

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janspar · 3 years

Text

The First Engagement

My dear Cousin,

My dealings have been busy this last while. Let me tell you of the adventures I and the Nomad have had.

My first few forays as commander of the Nomad were distinguished by nothing more than the sheer joy of having a fine vessel and a crew of able hands under my command. Cutting the clouds in any craft makes one's heart soar, but the emotion I feel when it does so under my own instruction – ah, it is like no other!

Shepherding regular supply runs and trade convoys is safe work, no doubt, as there lurk few bandits and pirates in the Vikol province these days. Such work has occupied much of my time since my last letter. Nonetheless, it was a necessary period to get to know the hands and the officers, and to test their aptitude for navigation and gunnery. I have run exercises on the batteries every morning and evening – at some personal expense, as one cannot fire so much at length under the munitions allowance given to the ships. I must provide the extra ammunition from my own coffers. Fear not, cousin dear, my finances are still in fine condition – my officers' pay, some outstanding credit in my name, and some sure investments awaiting return will keep me flush.

But let me relay to you the most exciting engagement I have had so far! You may have heard how the Company is buying up the contracts for the recovery of bounties in many of the outlying towns and territories. A bold innovation, a fine example of the Temar spirit! In any case, my duties now extend to hunting miscreants and lowlifes of all sorts in the southern reach of the province. My first such assignment was completed just today, a thrilling engagement that I simply must relate.

Curious it was – the miscreants in question were a gang of free agents, themselves veterans of the securities and bounties trade hereabouts. Despite the new arrangements the Company has undertaken, this vessel, the Haggard, has persisted in its attempts to ply its trade in breach of the new laws and treaties. Naturally, we could not allow such competition to undermine our authority, but nonetheless it was curious – the thief-takers themselves reduced to common thieves

Based on intelligence of their position, we cruised along the Lestye valley. On the fourth day of our search, we spotted them low over the Eastern horizon, no doubt having seen our vessel and trying to slip away into the glare of the rising sun. We follow in dogged pursuit, our superior craft gaining on them easily. No strangers to such activities, they dropped behind a ridge and attempted to lose us in a tangle of forested canyons. Having lost sight of our prey, we rose and kept a circle of the area, watching for any sight of them trying to slip away, or any sign of encampment. I told the crew I'd award a month's wages and extra rations to the first hand to recover sight of them. Sure enough, after half a watch they were spotted in a gorge, attempting to conceal themselves by moving slowly in the shadows of the surrounding hills. We feigned ignorance of their position until they had approached a sharp corner in the gorge, where they would be forced to navigate slowly. And then we struck! Diving quickly, we iintended to board them and take both vessel and crew as prize. They opened with a well aimed but weak battery as we drew within range – dealing some damage to our own lower battery and killing two of the crew. We had no choice but to return fire, and here my gunnery practice paid off dear cousin! We crippled their upper battery directly, and on the second salvo sundered their dvint, forcing them to ground.

Landing nearby, and trusting the vessel to the command of my Mate, I personally led a detachment of marines and willing hands to their location. Their defense was half-hearted, a small crew shaken by their sudden grounding and unable to resist our superior numbers. We quickly overwhelmed them with minimal casualties on their part and no further deaths on ours.

The captain was a brave old buzzard, though fitting to her ship's name. An Abheski of fine local stock and heritage, she accepted our victory with admirable stoicism and dignity. Her log reveals a long history of thrilling engagements and adventures, lasting many years back. Had she signed up as a Company agent she could yet be working her trade, making money still and securing her future. A fine asset to the Company she could have been. But the fate that awaits her now is indentiture, or whatever else the Court-Mercantile might decide.

The Haggard was too damaged to make a worthy prize, though we salvaged its cargo and stripped it for parts and materials. Her fourteen remaining crew were bound and confined to the brig, and we shall return them to the Depot in quick order. Then I must simply await confirmation of the bounty, which, with charges of banditry, unlawful operation of arms, and much more to the Haggard's name, is sure to be considerable. The hands too have calculated their due and are eagerly awaiting the payout.

With such valour in my report, I shall be sure to be granted an independent cruise! Or perhaps even a full captaincy awaits!

I do hope all is well in Mirsvr. I will visit you as soon as I can, and we shall dine upon the proceeds of my daring!

Yours,

Yar te Yarllen, Lieutenant (Assigned Commander), Patrol Vessel Nomad, Temar Company

#artifexian #podcast #temar company #mirsvr #lansk #ycairn #romance #planetary romance #handwavia #lestye valley #abhesk

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crazyunsexycool · 18 days

Text

Heart's Munition

reader appreciation week

A/N: Make sure you send an ask as part of my reader appreciation ask game!! Here's a little extra requested by @talesofadragon

Fight for you and hold me close

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Prompt:

From the Lover Being Hurt prompt/Seeing their lover getting hurt ignited a fire full of rage inside of them that nothing could’ve held them back.

What if, after reader and Steve fell in love, someone thought the best way to get to Steve would be through our reader. What would that man do when she’s hurt?

BONUS PROMPT

Okay, so I know this technically wasn’t in there, but the fluff list got me thinking, what about His Head on Your Chest?

I’ve always been a sucker for big, strong men who put their heads on their lover’s chest and feel safe in their arms. It’s so vulnerable, the pinnacle of emotional intimacy, allowing themselves to show their girl the hold she really has on them.

Extra points for our reader because she gets to admire Mafia Stevie’s strong back and shoulders, play with his pretty hair, and feel his breath on her collarbone/neck.

Warnings: blood, mentions of fighting and other injuries

Series Masterlist

Steve was kneeling over your unconscious form. You were laying on the floor in a pool of your own blood in the middle of a closed down nightclub. To say that he was enraged was an understatement.

“Baby,” Steve cups your face. “C’mon open your eyes for me.” He kissed your forehead while feeling for a pulse. It was there but barely.

He called for Clint and Scott to take you home and get you medical attention while he dealt with whoever had decided it was a good idea to touch you.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you.” The voice came from the shadows. Some wannabe steps into the light.

“Was this you?”

“I needed to get your attention, Rogers.” The man who had taken you says with a smile. “Since you wouldn’t answer my calls I thought taking your whore would do, and I was right.”

“Barton, Lang get her out of here.” Steve barks at his men, he watches as they grab you and take you out. “I don’t know who you think you are but you won’t leave this place alive.”

He takes his gun out of his holster and drops it to the floor. Then he removes his suit jacket and rolls up his sleeves.

“What are you going to do, try to hit me?”

“I’m going to beat the life out of you.”

A few men step around Steve and some of his people, including Sam and Bucky, also step up to ensure no one interferes. Steve advances on the man that hurt you and he doesn't let up. It’s brutal and bloody but Steve will spill the same amount of blood that was taken from you. It’s a primal sort of rage that drives Steve. A lesson needs to be taught to everyone that opposes him. No one touches you and gets away with it. The men around Steve were also dead by the time he was done with the piece of shit that hurt you.

“Go, we’ll clean this mess up.” Bucky pushes Steve toward the door where Nat was waiting for him. Steve left quickly, knowing his friends had his back and that the love of his life was fighting for her life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You stirred and groaned at the stiffness in your body. It felt like you hadn’t moved in years. After taking a deep breath and coughing you start to regain more consciousness. There are voices above you. Low but quick murmurs reach your ears. You struggle to open your eyes but once you do everything is blurry. There’s someone touching your face and you try to fight them off but your arms feel heavy.

“You’re safe, you don’t have to fight me.” A gentle voice says. “You’re home.”

“Eli? Steve?”

“Eli is sleeping, baby. I just checked on him myself.” Steve’s voice comes from your left and you want to cry from relief. Your memory is hazy but you do know someone had taken you.

“She needs to rest but it’s a good sign that she’s conscious. I’ll come back later to check in on her again.”

You hear footsteps retreating and Steve’s relieved sigh. His hand takes yours and brings it up to his mouth pressing a gentle kiss.

Permanent taglist:

@rebekahdawkins

@cjand10

@nalny5

@Sturchling

@angywritesstuff

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series taglist:

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#heart's munition extra #heart's munition ask #mob boss!Steve rogers x maid!reader #Steve rogers x reader

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walker-journal · 4 years

Text

Dutiful Sons (Adam +Winn)

Summary: After Winn confesses his past murders, Adam feels that the Code allows him only one option.

Location: Main Street Arena

Content Warning: Gun Use

Adam had first learned the proper preparation of silver bullets from his mother Leah. Due to its lower density, silver munitions have less overall power than the simpler lead bullet. Likewise silver’s hardness makes it far more resistant to the rifling within a gun barrel, resulting in bullets that are slower and less accurate then standard. This combined with the price of silver and the intense heat required to melt them down for molding made silver bullets a bitch and a half to utilize efficiently without proper training.

Of course, those silver bullets hadn’t been meant for Werewolves. Leah had shown her children how to weaponize silver in order to combat the neverending threat of ghouls and alghouls in the Negev desert. When taking up firing positions with his siblings at chokepoints in lonely wasteland canyons, Adam couldn’t have ever imagined that one day he’d be gunning down friends instead of rabid corpse eaters.

It might seem weird to think holding a position against ravenous packs of alghouls as ‘blissful’, but at least then Adam’s perception of the world was crystal clear.

Perhaps going through garage sales and thrifts stores to pick up cheap silver heirlooms to melt down for bullets was emblematic of what it meant to be a Hunter. Just more sacrifices in a war without end.

So there Adam was, crouched with a rifle just outside a blindspot in the Main Street Arena’s security cameras, prepared to destroy another beautiful thing for the long war.

When Adrien Harlow had asked Winn for extra practice, Winn had been… hesitant. It wasn’t only the full moon energizing his blood, makin’ him more aggressive than usual, wakin’ him up from the cobwebs and sleep of the past month. No, Winn knew that there was a target on his back, and the idea of puttin’ anyone else at risk for his past… It made him sick to his stomach. But Adam wouldn’t… Winn knew that Adam wouldn’t even think about hurtin’ a human, not for one werewolf.

Not for one friend.

If Winn could just talk to Adam, he could fix things. Adam wasn’t a bad man. Winn wasn’t a bad werewolf. There were shades of gray and, as much as Winn didn’t regret the decisions he had made, not anymore, he knew he wouldn’t make those decisions again. There was a long chain, and it connected Adam and Winn to death. But it didn’t have to. All they had to do was try.

But what if Adam didn’t want to talk? Winn’d turned the problem over in his head. There was running. Winn could do it. It was like breathin’ — so damn easy, so instinctual, that Winn had almost packed a bag. But he’d made promises, and he intended to keep them. No more running. Not from his past, not from himself.

Winn hadn’t been able to tell Noah. There was so much unsaid between them, that it had been easier to say nothin’ at all. His mouth could be put to better uses. He’d woken up, after, to the nearly full moon casting shadow over Noah’s sleeping form. And he’d thought, This is it. This is where I’m supposed to be. There were other things he hadn’t been able to tell Noah. Feelings that scared him with their intensity, feelings that it felt wrong, somehow, to say in the heat of the moment, or even in the afterglow. But there was no question for him now.

The air was cooling, the wind was changing. Winn could change with it. He would change with it. There were people here now, for him. Friends, family, pack. He had so much left to do.

“Hey, baby,” Winn said into his phone, locking up the Arena behind him. He’d sent Adrien on ahead, wanting him to get home before the sun was down. White Crest wasn’t safe. Noah’s phone had gone to voicemail. “Figure you’re sleepin’ off the moon, but I’m gonna hit my dad’s real quick to grab Denny and then head over to you and Kea. If you wake up, text me what you want to eat. Otherwise, you’re gettin’ pizza again. ‘S like a hangover: Carbs’ll make you feel better.” He laughed, gentle, and then, before he could stop it: “I love you.” A pause, a cough. “See you soon.”

If he could get home quickly enough, he could make sure the first time Noah heard him say that wasn’t over voicemail.

When in kneeling position with a rifle, you’ll often notice that the scope’s reticle bounces with your heartbeat. Controlling breathing was a critical part of marksmanship, but you also want to fire between heartbeats, specifically the downbeat of the heart when you’ll be most accurate. Adam had been trained by sheer repetition of the years to screen out both fear and eagerness while aiming. He’d been taught a mantra that personal feelings had no place in a Hunter’s duty.

Hatred, revenge, and cruel sport were all impure emotions that tainted a Hunter’s purpose. There was only a duty to protect humanity by whatever means necessary, the act of taking life just one more mission to fulfill.

But even though he’d confirmed that Winn Woods was a threat to humanity, with a confession no less, Adam’s heart was racing. There should be no feeling or uncertainty now. The Code and Adam’s duty were clear beyond the faintest shadow of a doubt. This wasn’t about what Adam wanted anymore. It was out of his hands now.

But the scope’s reticle was bouncing across Winn’s distant face anyway, as if to mock the dissonance of Adam’s body, heart, and mind. If he was so sure, why was he shaking? Why was his heart beating so fast? Why did some part of Adam still wish that Winn hadn’t confessed to him, allowing him some excuse of plausible deniability?

It would be so easy just to walk away. Who would know? Why uphold a Code he’d already broken? Why kill and die for those who’d never forgive Adam if they knew the truth?

Adam’s finger eased off the trigger for a moment as the urge to walk away from everything caused his eyes to grow hot and wet. Winn’s face blurred in the scope.

But this wasn’t about what Adam wanted.

Adam blinked the tears away, there was a silence between heartbeats, and a shot rang out.

#packsbeforesnacks

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danviers · 3 years

Text

‘ BORN BLUE. ’

@flashborn asked: ‘ someone could really hurt you. ’

Insomuch as everything in Alex wanted to deny Barry’s assertion, that her willpower alone ( her vehement, volatile, blustering desperation to stop pacing the room and grab a tac vest and pair of guns from the DEO’s mobile munitions dump and just go, no questions asked ) wasn’t enough to get her through the firestorm that’d begun to break out everywhere she looked, in her heart of hearts she knew someone could.

One wrong move, one single misplaced step, and she could be reduced to nothing more than a drifting cloud of pink mist and blood --- and Supergirl wouldn’t stand a chance. One misfire, and their kryptonite wielding enemies would have won.

And Alex would have failed her.

“ You don’t understand this helplessness, ” she shot back, every knifelike syllable thick with raw and untapped fear, with a heart-stopping, roiling kind of panic that not even the fury in her tear-stricken eyes, the almost painful clench of her jaw nor the sharp, reproachful jab of her finger could eradicate. Unlike Barry, Kal El, J’onn, her strength had nothing to do with extra-normal power. But if she did nothing --- Kara could die, and no amount of artificial sunlight would get her through. “ And I am not losing my sister. ”

#flashborn #danviers ; asks #; life doesn't give us purpose. we give life purpose. / alex & barry

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avasharpe · 4 years

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Sugar and Salt

Chapter: Two of ?

Summary: When Sin is bullied on the bus ride home Sara meets with their teacher Ava. The two butt heads on the best possible course of action, but later realize the other might not be so bad.

Fandom: DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Relationship: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe.

Characters: Sara Lance, Ava Sharpe, Kendra Saunders, Sin, Amaya Jiwe, Zari Tomaz, Behrad Tomaz, Kuasa, Aldus Boardman, Mona Wu, Nora Darhk, Mick Rory, Quentin Lance, and Laurel Lance.

Chapter Rating: General Audiences.

Additional Tags: Bakery and Coffee Shop, Teacher AU, Mutual Pining, Parent-Teacher AU, Non-binary character, Trans Character.

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

Special thanks to @canaryatlaw for editing this for me.

……………………………………………………………………

Sara bounced from one foot to the other and rubbed her arms. It was an unusually cold day for early March in Star City, dropping below the average 40 degrees to 33 degrees. There was frost on the trees and the plants along the sidewalk of the apartment building when she saw Sin off on the school bus from the bakery that morning, although it had melted when the sun chose to shine that afternoon.

Sara checked her watch again, yep, the bus was late. A whole ten minutes late. She’d been pacing in and out of the small foyer to the steps and the sidewalk, before deciding to just stick it out on the curb. She could wait inside the entryway for the bus to pull up, but she felt the need to sit out on the sidewalk and freeze because she missed her kid that damn much.

It was Monday, so not her usual day off as the bakery and cafe was open on weekdays, but an entitled asshole had come in to pick up their online order of cupcakes and had insisted on a discount they didn’t have. The role of kicking them out usually fell to Amaya and Sara, and Amaya was out delivering a wedding cake leaving Sara to deal with them alone. It didn't go well. It was one of the few times that she was thankful her dad was a cop. Quentin had dropped everything to rush over to the shop after that asshole got violent and took a swing at her.

After Amaya got back, she insisted Sara take the rest of the day off and go spend some time with Sin. Sara tried to switch with Kendra and pick up the kids, babysitting until four when they closed, but they all but pushed her out of the shop and told her to go home. Her plan was to take Sin to the skate park then, rent that new superhero movie, pop some popcorn, and settle in for a quiet night.

Finally, the yellow, number thirteen, Glades Elementary school bus turned up the street and stopped in front of her, the doors swinging open. Sara smiled as she saw Sin’s black pants and matching converse at the top of the stairs, her little punk rocker. The bus driver Mona, stepped out of her seat behind them with her hand on Sin's shoulder. As she followed them down the stairs, Sara's smile fell when she saw Sin step off the bus.

Their usual happy face was somber, with red eyes that sparkled with tears. Their hands were straight at their sides and clenched into fists. Sara rushed to them, kneeling down to their level and placing her hands on their shoulders.

“Sin what happened?” Sara tried to keep her voice even, but her heart broke at the sight of them crying, and her mind rushed to the worst case scenario.

Sin didn't even look at her. Instead, they stared down at the ground then, they quickly brushed off Sara's hands and ran past her, up the stairs and into the apartment.

Sara stood up in disbelief and looked at Mona with pleading eyes. “What happened?”

“Some of the other kids were bullying Sin.” Mona said, then quickly added. “I stopped it as soon as I noticed it happening and pulled the other kids to the front of the bus.”

“Do you know what it was about?” Sara asked, still in disbelief. Nothing like this had ever happened before, not even when Sin had come out as non-binary over the summer.

“I'm not exactly sure, but the girls were calling them unintelligent. They used the R word. I radioed the school to let them know what happened and they'll probably want to meet with you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Sara said. Still in disbelief, she started to turn away.

“Sin’s a great kid, so I don't know what they're talking about,” Mona said, giving her a small smile.

“Thank you,” Sara said nodding, with a tight lipped smile of her own.

Mona let her go and she rushed up the stairs and into the apartment building, not bothering to take the elevator to the third floor. The apartment door was left swinging open in Sin’s haste, and Sara quickly closed and locked it. She headed over to Sin's room and grabbed the tissue box along the way. The door was closed and Sara hesitated, knocked under the letters that spell out Sin’s name, painted Black with silver spikes.

“I’m coming in,” Sara announced when she heard no response and opened the door to see Sin sprawled out on their bed face down sobbing with their backpack and shoes still on.

“Oh baby,” Sara sighed, walking forward and sitting on the bed next to them. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around them, backpack and all.

“They.. they called me stupid... and… and… dumb... and...” Sin said through tears, their voice shaking.

“I’m so sorry baby. They should've never said that to you. You didn't deserve that.” Sara whispered in their ear.

“It's all her fault!” Sin yelled.

“Whose fault honey? Tell me, it's okay.”

“Ms. Sharpe.”

“What?” Sara was shocked at Sin’s revelation. Although she had only met the 4th grade teacher a few times before on orientation night, parent’s night, and stuff, she really seemed to care about her students. Sure she could be strict, but she was kind and Sin had always come home from school happy, going on about how great school was.

“Come here” Sara said, pulling Sin up. She wiped away their tears and slipped their backpack off, leaving it on the floor. “Why don’t we grab some ice cream from the freezer and you can tell me the whole story, okay?”

“It's too cold,” Sin whined.

“Then we’ll make hot chocolate, with the big marshmallows.”

“On the stove, like Papa Quentin makes?”

“Of course!”

Sin nodded and Sara pulled them up, carrying them out into the hall. Sin barely weighed 60lbs, but they weren't a toddler anymore. Sara specifically worked out just so she could still do this, even if the times she did had become few and far between.

Sara set them on the counter, then got to work pulling out the chocolate chips and the double boiler. They made the hot chocolate with extra big marshmallows and once they got settled on the couch with their favorite mugs, Sara waited for them to start.

“I didn’t do my math homework from this weekend,” Sin admitted with defeat. “I just don’t like it, it’s too hard!”

“Okay,” Sara said, choosing to ignore the admission in favor of hearing the whole story.

“Well, Ms. Sharpe has this hour at the end of the day for us to work on homework and stuff, and she talked to me about it. She showed me how to do long division, but I just didn’t get it. Then she said I would have to go to the special ed class, because I’m re….”

“Sin,” Sara said softly stopping them there. “You are not the word that the kids on the school bus called you. Everyone struggles with math at some point. I know I did. You are capable of anything and we can figure this out together. I promise!”

Sin nodded, drawing strength from Sara and sitting up straighter. “Will I have to go to the special ed class?”

Sara knew her kid, and she knew that with a little extra help Sin could catch back up to her class.

“You will remain in your class with your friends and I’ll try and work things out with your teacher.” Sara assured them, “In the meantime, I’m gonna help you with your homework and we’ll get it done together.”

“Us against the world?” Sin asked with a smile.

“Us against the world,” Sara said, matching their smile and holding out her fist. Sin enthusiastically fist bumps her, making the explosion noise afterwards.

……………………………………………………………………

Sara paced back and forth in the hall, holding her phone to her ear, waiting for Kendra to pick up. She caught Sin looking over at her from their spot at the kitchen table and sent them a smile and a thumbs up, before turning back to the dark green walls. She didn't know why their landlord wouldn't let her paint, even with the extra floor lamp Sara had squeezed in by the door, the dark hallway was never lit enough.

“Hey you,” Kendra said, finally picking up and enthusiastically greeting Sara.

“Did you know that she has them doing long division with three digit numbers?” Sara whisper yelled into the phone.

“Umm,” Kendra hesitated before Sara heard her yell at Carter. “Honey, is Hector doing three digit long division?”

Sara didn't hear his reply, but a second later Kendra gave her an answer. “Yes.”

Sara sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Why didn’t I start helping her out when it was just division?”

Kendra chuckled, “If it makes you feel better I can’t do it either and I thought Laurel was helping Sin with their homework?”

“Yeah apparently they were telling Laurel that I was helping them, so they were giving both of us the runaround.”

That night Laurel was planning to head out with friends so it would be just the two of them. Sara was hesitant to move in with her sister after she and Nyssa were forced apart two years ago, but Laurel helped her out a lot. She was always there for them. Sara tried to return the favor by doing more than her fair share of the housework and making sure Laurel didn’t drown herself in work.

“Well at least you're helping them now,” Kendra said, and Sara just shook her head.

“Not by much, It’s been an hour and we’re only halfway through this worksheet that was supposed to take twenty munites.”

“Why don’t you come over now and Carter can help you two get a hold of it?”

“Thanks, you're a lifesaver,” Sara said, grabbing her coat and Sin’s from their hooks. “We’ll be there in five and can we come over tomorrow as well? I’ll bring dinner.”

“Yeah, sounds good. So what clued you into the fact that Sin was lying about who was helping them with their homework?”

Sara sighed, leaning up against the wall. “Sin came home in tears today after a couple of kids were bullying them on the bus. Apparently, they overheard Ms. Sharpe telling Sin they might need to go to the special ed room for math help.”

“What? She said that?” Kendra said in disbelief.

“I know right! How dare she tell Sin that before even consulting with me!” Sara tried to keep her voice down, but she was just so angry. “I have a meeting with her tomorrow morning so I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

“Yeah, thanks again.”

“No problem.”

Sara hung up and then walked back into the kitchen. “Hey so I called Auntie Kendra and she said that we could come over and Uncle Carter is gonna help us get your homework done.”

Sin nodded and gathered their papers in their backpack, Sara pulled on her coat and held out Sin’s coat for them to put on. Sin ran out the door and down the hall pressing the button on the elevator as Sara locked the door behind them.

“Mom, how come I have other aunts and uncles?” Sin asked once Sara had joined them waiting for the elevator.

“What?” Sara asked, still thinking about that last math problem.

“You know like how Auntie Laurel is your sister, and Aunt Lisa was Dad’s sister, but Auntie Kendra and Uncle Nate, they aren’t related to us?”

“Well,” Sara said, putting her arm around them and leading them onto the elevator. “Auntie Kendra, Uncle Mick, and the others became my family when I was in college and when I had you, they became your family too.”

“Were they Dad’s family too?” Sin asked.

Sara smiled, but she felt a familiar pain in her heart. Talking about Leonard, Sin’s father and her then-boyfriend had gotten easier since he had died six years ago.

“Yes, your Dad and Uncle Mick used to get into all sorts of trouble.”

“Really?”

“Yes, like there was this one time…”

……………………………………………………………………

Sara walked the halls of Sin’s school with Sin by her side that morning. She felt confident as she went over what she was going to say to Ms. Sharpe in her head. The night before Carter had walked her through the steps on how to do long division. They were able to get the homework done in time to be in bed at a reasonable hour. Working with Carter had solidified Sara's belief that Sin just needed a little extra help.

Now all Sara had to do was talk to Ms. Sharpe and things would be taken care of. Sin could go back to class without being bothered and Sara could spend the rest of the day knowing her kid was happy and taken care of. Sara hesitated at the door to Sin’s classroom, peering in the window to see that Ms. Sharpe was sitting at her desk. She had to be civil about this if she wanted it to go anywhere. She felt Sin squeeze her hand and looked down, so she gave them a smile and squeezed Sin’s hand in return. Then she took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and plastered her fake customer service smile on her face.

Sara would never admit it but, she kind of had the hots for Ms. Sharpe. She was tall, with soft blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and an oval face that had soft features. Not usually Sara’s type, but then again she never really considered herself to have a specific body type, she was bisexual. However, she did like people who were confident and passionate, if not a little wild. These days she just wanted someone who was kind and treated her and her child with respect.

“Hello, Ms. Sharpe, I'm Mrs. Lance, Sin’s mother.”

Ms. Sharpe stood up and straightened her white button up shirt and buttoned her suit jacket. “Mrs. Lance, a pleasure as always. I didn't know you were bringing Sin along.”

“They are the reason we're here,” Sara said, placing her hands on Sin’s shoulders and leading them over to Ms. Sharpe’s desk.

Ms. Sharpe gave her a tight smile, and Sara knew that most teachers prefered to have meetings without the children present, but nonetheless she gestured to the thankfully adult-sized chair in front of her desk. “Please have a seat, Mrs. Lance and then why don't you grab a chair as well Sin.”

While Sin grabbed a chair from the nearest desk, Sara took a moment to look around the classroom. The morning sun peeked in through the blinds, casting its glow over the desks. They were pushed together in groups of four at the front of the classroom, facing the projector and white board. The side of the board listed the schedule, as well as the topics for that day's lessons. There had been talk of getting smart boards, but Sara knew it wasn't in the budget; regardless, Ms. Sharpe worked well with what she had. In the back she had child sized comfy chairs with a floor lamp that looks like the one they had in their apartment hallway surrounded by wooden bookshelves.

It wasn’t like the classrooms of Sara’s childhood, there were no bright colors or boards filled with the same kids projects, colorful maps and bright alphabets. Instead, there were lots of plants, succulents and other little house plants lined the shelves, there was one palm tree in the corner about halfway to the ceiling.

There was a large map of the U.S. in greens and browns, and a list of words were organized with magnets on the left whiteboard that Sara had seen some of the kids use many times. The other wall was filled with artwork and each child's abstract picture was unique with different colors, styles, and shapes. The way it was displayed on the wall was more alike to a parent putting their kids pictures on the fridge than an overt display of work. The only bright and colorful things were fish in the large tank at the back of the room. All in all, the classroom looked homey.

“Well, let's get right into it,” Ms. Sharpe began, once they were both seated. “I’ve been informed that Sin was verbally assaulted by Cassandra Savage and Freydís Eriksson on the bus ride home yesterday. I've spoken with both the girl's parents and with the principal over the phone this morning and rest assured it will not happen again. I've moved Sin’s desk away from the two girls and Mona has agreed to keep the kids separate while they're on the bus and when she’s helping in the classroom. Going forward, I will be keeping an eye on the situation and I will not let it happen again under my watch.”

“That's good,” Sara said, letting go of some of the stress she had and partially relaxed back into the chair. “When can we expect an apology from the girls?”

“They will write an apology and present it to Sin this afternoon.”

“They’re gonna be at school today?” Sin asked, suddenly timid.

“I thought they’d get suspended?” Sara asked.

“That's not the school’s policy. We believe in having the children face up to what they have done, with more appropriate methods, such as the apology letter and a true understanding of why what they did was wrong. Not a vacation from school. Kids like Cassandra and Freydís will benefit from being here more than at home.”

“Having a tough home life doesn’t excuse their behavior,” Sara said.

“I'm not excusing it. I'm telling you why, and what I'm doing to try and help everyone.”

Sara huffed. “That makes sense, but you really shouldn't be openly talking about your student’s home life like that.”

“I never said anything about...” Ms. Sharpe started, then paused and gave Sara a look like she wanted to continue, but instead, she took a deep breath and straightened her jacket again.

Sin tugged on Sara’s arm and gave her a nervous look, “Mom do I have to go to the special ed classroom?”

Sara wrapped an arm around them and tugged their chair closer to her and whispered to them. “No, it’ll be okay.”

“You have nothing to fear Sin, this class is a safe place for you.” Ms. Sharpe said, having assumed that was what they were whispering about.

“Yeah, about that,” Sara started, taking a less than amused tone. “Yesterday Sin said that you wanted to place them in the special ed classroom after they struggled to finish the math assignment that you gave them.”

“I said that…”

“Why would you say that without talking to me first?” Sara demanded.

“Let me explain.”

“Oh please do!”

Ms. Sharpe looked away from Sara to Sin, who still sat at Sara’s side, leaning into her and gripping her arm, while bouncing their leg.

“Sin, Miss. Nora is in the library setting up for today, I’d bet she’d love your help!” Ms. Sharpe offered.

Sin looked up at Sara, who just gave them a squeeze and turned back to Ms. Sharpe. “Anything you want to say to me you can say to Sin.”

Ms. Sharpe took a deep breath before speaking. “I believe Sin may have Dyscalculia. It’s a learning disability like Dyslexia, but it involves numbers rather than letters. It’s characterized in children who have difficulty organizing and memorizing numbers and other math concepts, even telling time can be a struggle. I had a few examples of Sin’s work that highlights these aspects if you'd like to see.”

She held out some of the math work Sin had done and Sara took it from her and quickly glanced over. “I believe Sin would benefit from going over to the special education classroom or getting some extra math time with one of our Paraeducators like Mona, for the last hour of class and receiving some extra guidance in this area a few times a week.”

“Sin doesn't have any learning disabilities.”

“I know this is hard to hear.”

“I know for sure!” Sara said. “After their father died, I took Sin to therapy to help them. The therapists noticed something just like you did and thought it would be wise to have her tested as well. We went through the whole process and nothing came of it. The school should know about it, Sin’s teacher knew and we kept the school in the loop. What we did find was that Sin just started making more mistakes when they felt nervous. Which isn't so unusual for any kid.”

At that point, Sara was surprised that Ms. Sharpe gave her a confused look. “I never saw or heard anything like that when I went over Sin’s file at the start of the year.”

“Well I'll have the paperwork sent over to you,” Sara said, with more malice than was necessary.

“Well, I'd be happy to read it,” Ms. Sharpe said, giving Sara every ounce of sass right back to her.

“Great.”

“Great. I think we're done here,” Ms. Sharpe said standing up and offering her hand to Sara.

Sara remained seated and she could feel Sin glanced over at her but there was one more thing she wanted from Ms. Sharpe.

“I believe you owe me and my child an apology, especially since your words were the reason Cassandra and Freya were bullying them.” Sara said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Ms. Sharpe clenched her teeth, but nonetheless looked down. “I didn’t know that’s why they were bothering you Sin.”

Her words were sincere, then she looked back up, looking them in the eye. “I am sorry for what I said to you in front of the other children. It should have been discussed in private.”

“Thank you,” Sin said, standing up and offering her hand for Ms. Sharpe to shake. Sara’s eyes bugged out as they did so, they had done the mature thing and forgiven Ms. Sharpe.

“Of course,” Ms. Sharpe replied with a smile that Sin returned.

Sara decided to do the right thing and shake Ms. Sharpe’s hand as well. She stood up and went to leave with Sin.

“You could stay if you wanted to,” Ms. Sharpe said. “I usually open up my classroom for the early kids right about now.”

“We’ve still got a half hour or so and I figured we could play on the playground. That sound fun to you kiddo?” Sara said.

“Yeah,” Sin said excitedly, grabbed her arm and raced ahead of her.

In the hallway Sara put her arm around Sin’s shoulder, giving them a side hug.

“I'm really proud of you holding your hand out to shake your teacher’s hand and accepting her apology. That's what I mean when I ask you to be the bigger person sometimes.”

“Thanks Mom. I'm proud of you too, you stood up for me.”

“I am always on your side,” Sara said. Then she switched to her ‘monster Mom’ voice wrapping her arms around Sin and swiping them up in a hug. “Because I love you so freaking much.”

“Mom,” Sin complained, trying to sound angry at her. “You're ruining my hair.”

“Right, sorry,” Sara said, returning to her normal voice and setting them down.

Sara grabbed the compact mirror from Sin’s backpack and held it up so they could fix their hair. Sin ran their fingers through it, styling their short black hair into a spiky swept back style. Their Uncle Nate had helped them cut it and learn to style it when they had first cut it short. Sara was grateful for friends in their lives who were there for both of them like family.

It was almost time for school and there were several kids in the hallways milling about and talking with other teachers and kids. Sara figured she could play on the playground with Sin for a few minutes before sending them back into the classroom. However, once they got outside, they hesitated instead of running towards the playground as they usually did.

“Mom, do I have to go to school today?”

Sara followed their line of sight to where Cassandra and Freydís were playing on the playground.

“I think we could take a mental health day and spend it at the skatepark if you wanted to?”

“Can we?” Sin asked in a way that made Sara's heartbreak as she heard the pain and need in her child's voice.

“Of course,” she said, putting her arm around them again and leading them over to the car.

……………………………………………………………………

The second the door closed behind Sin and her mother, Ava slumped back into her chair. In her ten years of teaching, she had never had a parent come after her like that, although there were several who had been particularly terrible. Parents never wanted to hear about their child's potential disability or struggles in class. She wished they were more open about it, as they were only hurting the child they were so desperate to protect.

But maybe Ava was wrong, maybe Sin didn't have a disability like she thought. She sighed and looked over Sin’s homework again, as she looked over the little mistakes the child had made. It could have simply been because they were stressed, or there could be something more to it. Honestly it could go either way, and Ava would have preferred to have a more professional opinion, but without Mrs. Lance's approval, she knew she would never get that answer.

Ava looked up at the clock on the wall. School wouldn't start for another hour and the majority of her early students wouldn’t be there for a couple more minutes and they probably wouldn't mind hanging around in the halls or on the playground. She grabbed her keys and locked her room but, before she headed over to the library, she peeked in the classroom of her grade neighbor and brother, Nate Heywood, to check on her son Gary. She smiled when she saw him completely absorbed in one of his adventure books. Nate saw her and waved her in, but Ava declined with a shake of her head, not wanting to disturb Gary during his favorite pastime.

She turned around and headed down to the hall, quickly finding Nora among the shelves as she put away the books that had been returned the previous day. The library was mostly empty, save for a couple of students in the reading nook around the corner.

“Hey,” Nora said when she saw Ava approach her.

“I just got the tongue lashing of a lifetime from one of my student’s mothers,” Ava whispered to her.

“Oh?” Nora said pausing. “What for?”

Ava looked around, all of the bookshelves were no taller than her rib cage and the other kids over at the reading nook could easily overhear them.

“Let's go to my office,” Nora said, putting the book away and wheeling the cart down the aisle.

After being seated in one of Nora's comfy chairs, Nora brought Ava a cup of tea and waited for her to start.

“Okay, so I said something to one of my students about introducing them to Ray so they could get a little extra help understanding math. My plan was to have Ray drop by at the end of class if he had some extra time to give her a little extra tutoring, with their parent’s consent, of course, but now that's never going to happen. And just to be clear that was all I said, nothing more, but everyone knows that Ray is one of the special ed teachers. So some of the other children in my class overheard what I said and on the bus ride home yesterday they started teasing this child.”

“Oh that’s terrible,” Nora said, tilting her head. “But that's not your fault.”

“I know!” Ava said, raising her voice a little, but it felt good to talk this through with Nora and get all her emotions out. “So this child goes home in tears and tells the parent that it's my fault because they thought I wanted to have them placed in the special ed classroom, which is something I would never do; it's much more helpful to have the kids stay in their own classrooms with their peers.”

“Um hum,” Nora nodded, having heard both Ray and Ava discuss the benefits of such on multiple occasions.

“So I got a phone call about what happened on the bus and I set up a meeting with the parent through the online appointment system the school has and they came this morning. We all sit down and at first, it goes great. I tell them how I'm handling the bullying and everything's going great until this mother insists that I apologize to their child for what I said. She won't even let me fully explain myself, she just insists that it's all my fault. So I just tried to explain why I wanted them to get some help from Ray, and I pulled up some of the child’s work to try and show the parent that maybe their child should be tested for a learning disability. And the parent just goes off insisting that it's because the child just stressed about math, which I guess is a possibility, but I've been observing this kid for months I think they could really benefit from at least a little one-on-one time with either Ray or Mona.”

“Did you get a chance to explain to the parent about all of this?” Nora asked.

“Oh no, she just got so defensive saying she already had her child tested, but that was years ago, things change, new things come to light. Anyway, I think what I'm going to do is just try and give this kid a little extra one-on-one time during my study hour at the end of the day. I'll just keep observing them and helping them and if things don't improve, I’ll meet with the parent again at parent-teacher conferences in April.”

Ava finally let out a breath and slumped back into her chair. “Thanks for letting me rant a little.”

Nora giggled, “It was more like a lot, but I'm happy to listen.”

“At least none of the kids are getting bulled for being queer,” Ava said taking a sip of her tea for the first time. “I feel like I could handle that, I mean I am a trans woman and a lesbian, I’ve faced my fair share of homophobes.”

Nora giggled, “Yeah I remember that time we were at the department store, buying clothes with Gary and that lady kept flowing us around and whispering, ‘lesbians can’t raise a son.’ in that confused and angry tone and you just spun around and laid into her. I thought she’d die of embarrassment.”

“Yeah, that felt pretty good.” Ava looked up at the clock, realizing that she had fifteen minutes before school started. “I should get going.”

Just then Mona peeked in like she usually did after she had parked her bus to the depot and returned to the school for her shift as Paraeducator. “Hey, I'm glad I caught you both, are we still on for book club tonight after school? Also, the secretary told me to tell you that Sin Lance won’t be in class today. ”

“Thanks Mona,” Ava said. She should have known that Mrs. Lance would pull her out of class that morning, but she was glad that she at least had Sin’s trust back and could help her student further.

She returned to her class after checking on Gary again to find several of her students waiting for her in the hall. They all greeted her with big smiles and happy hellos, and she gave them all hugs or high fives as she let them in the classroom, smiling as they all filtered in and went to their desks. This was why she got into teaching, because she loved watching all these little kids learn and grow, and the joy they admitted whenever they accomplished something, filling her with pride. Apart from being a mom, to her, it was the best job in the world.

……………………………………………………………………

Sara and Sin had rushed home to the apartment to grab their skateboard and head out to the skatepark. By the time they got there, all the high school students had left and they enjoyed the freedom of the empty skatepark. Sara had been riding a skateboard since middle school, and when Sin was three years old she put them on a board and her toddler had taken off. If it was up to them, they would have never gotten off.

After spending the morning going up and down the pipes and riding along the rails they grabbed some lunch at Big Belly Burger, calling Laurel beforehand and agreeing to meet her at Quentin's precinct.

“Papa!” Sin called out the moment they stepped off the elevator, running in between the cops and detectives towards Quentin's office. Most of her dad's coworkers were used to Sin’s antics and just smiled as they ran past them.

Sara followed behind, choosing to walk through the bullpen and leaned up against the door to her Dad’s office.

“Shouldn't you be in school, you rascal?” Quentin playfully asked as he had Sin wrapped up in a bear hug.

“Mom said I could take the day off and we went to the skatepark,” Sin answered as they pulled back.

“Oh did she now?” Quentin asked looking up at Sara. “Hey kiddo.”

“Hi Daddy,” Sara said, walking over and leaning down to give him a hug as well as depositing the bags on his desk.

“Yeah, it's cuz Cassandra and Freydís were mean to me on the bus yesterday,” Sin said quietly, looking down at their hands.

“Oh, I'm sorry to hear that,” he said, he still had his arms around Sin and gave them an extra squeeze.

“We worked it out with their teacher this morning,” Sara said, sitting in one of the chairs across from him. “But they just didn't want to go back yet.”

“Hey, hope I didn't miss much,” Laurel said, appearing in the doorway and dropping her purse and herself into the chair next to Sara.

Sin immediately ran from her place at Quentin’s side to hug Laurel, who gave them a tight squeeze.

“There’s my favorite Niblet,” Laurel said, using the gender-neutral nickname for Nibbling she had started using when Sin came out.

“Auntie Laurel, I'm your only Niblet.”

“Yes, and therefore my favorite,” Laurel said bopping their nose as they both giggled.

“You know ever since I had a kid, I always feel like you guys love them more than me,” Sara said with a pout.

“That's not true,” Quentin insisted.

“Yes it is,” Laurel said, with a sly smile.

“Rude,” Sara replied, waving her finger at Laurel.

“Be nice,” Quentin said, while Sin just giggled. “You know for Christmas I think the only thing I'm going to ask for is for a whole day where my daughters don't fight.”

“That's completely unrealistic,” Sara said.

“Yeah that's not going to happen,” Laurel added, before the two of them burst into laughter.

Quentin and Sin joined in laughing and they all dug into the burgers and fries Sara had brought.

……………………………………………………………………

“I don't want you to go to work tomorrow!” Sin whined as they stood at their desk in their classroom.

Sara took a deep breath, closed her eyes and counted to ten before responding to Sin. This was the argument that they had been having ever since Sara had told her yesterday that they would be opening the bakery and cafe on Saturdays.

“Saturday is our day!” Sin insisted.

Sara opened her eyes and kneeled down so that she was at Sin’s level, putting her hands on their shoulders. “I know. I know you don't want me to go to work. I know you want me to just stay home and hang out with you all day long.”

She poked their stomach trying to get them to giggle while using an exaggerated voice, but Sin didn’t respond as they usually did. Sara tried to keep smiling, but she was at her wits end. They had been fighting all day yesterday, and this morning Sin had dug their heels in and wouldn't let the issue go. Sara thought that driving them to school and dropping them off herself would help so that they could spend some extra time together, but clearly it hadn't worked.

Sara looked around and spotted a glitter jar on one of the shelves. She quickly ran over and grabbed two, brought it back and handed one to Sin. “I know you’re mad, so take all your anger, push it into the jar, and shake it out.”

Sara shook up the jar as hard as she could, watching as Sin did the same. They shook the jars for a few moments and then Sin stopped to watch the glitter in the bottle spin around. After several minutes they looked up at Sara.

“Do you have to go to work Saturday?”

“I do kiddo, and I'll drop you off at Aunt Zari’s around the time you would go to school in the morning, but before I leave we can try to go to the skate park.”

Sin still looked disappointed and their face scrunched up, as they shook the jar again so hard Sara thought it would break.

“Do you know why?” Sara asked, just wishing she could take some of the hurt feelings away.

“No,” Sin said, as they stopped shaking the bottle and continued to gaze into it. Like it held all the answers to their problems.

“Because your aunts and I are not just making pies and cakes, we’re helping the Wedding Fairy,” Sara said in an absolutely serious voice, it was a thing they said around the bakery quite often especially as of late, as it was an epithet for over the top brides and mothers. However to the kids the wedding fairy was very real.

“Really?” Sin asked, looking over at her.

“Yeah,” Sara said with a smile on her. “You see, wedding fairy needs some extra help making some special treats for some special people, her kitchen is just too small to try and do it all this year.”

It was partially true, they were swamped with June and May weddings and all the last minute wedding planners flooding them with orders. With the wedding season rush kicking into gear as spring approached and the bakery and cafe being so popular, they had to add an extra day to their schedule if they wanted to be able to take on the new orders. Amaya hated turning people away, especially if they were cute couples in love. It would only be until spring break and summer, and in an effort to avoid the insane cost of childcare, they were alternating Saturdays so that one of the four of them could watch the kids.

The business had always made just enough money for everyone to live comfortably. Amaya’s hope was that with the extra orders, everyone would be able to splurge that year. Sara agreed to it because she wanted to be able to afford a good summer vacation for Sin. Of course, Sara didn’t tell Sin any of this, as she didn't want them to worry about money.

“The wedding fairy isn't real.”

Sara turned around to see Cassandra Savage standing next to them, but before she could say anything Ms. Sharpe approached them. “Yes she is and I'm sure she's very thankful to have Ms. Lances’ help.”

Cassandra sneered and looked like she was about to say something else but Ms. Sharpe led her away, talking to her on the other side of the room.

“Why can't I help the wedding fairy?” Sin asked, with curiosity rather than disappointment.

“You can! How about tonight you and I work on thank you cards for all of the orders!”

Sin thought it over and nodded. Sara sighed in relief and smiled, then leaned up and kissed Sin’s forehead.

“Have I told you that I love you and that you're the best kid in the world?”

“Yeah, you say that every day,” Sin teased, rolling their eyes.

“Well I mean it every day,” Sara teased her back, then tucked a stray strand of hair behind their ear. “Are you going to be okay today?”

“Yeah,” Sin said, with a somber nod.

“You want me to go or stay a little longer?” Sara asked, her eyebrows knitting together, she couldn’t help but worry, especially when it came to Sin.

Sin looked around before answering, they still had a few minutes before class started and most of the kids were already there milling around. Sara looked around as well and saw Hector wave at them from his desk. They both smiled and waved back.

“You're picking me up today, right?”

“Yep.”

“Okay,” Sin said and then took off their backpack and walked over to talk to Hector.

Sara smiled and watched them for another minute before heading out. She stopped in the doorway, realizing that she was still holding the glitter bottle.

“You can take it if you want to,” Ms. Sharpe said, catching her at the door. “I'm sure Sin would love to have one at home.”

“Thanks,” Sara said.

“I keep the bottles around for situations like this and I'm glad you were able to use them. You handled that really well,” Ms. Sharpe replied.

“Thank you,” Sara said, surprised at her genuine words. The two had been exchanging petty notes and words since their meeting a week before.

Ms. Sharpe gave her a genuine smile before turning back to her classroom. Sara took one last peek at Sin, who was laughing with Hector before leaving. She looked back over at Ms. Sharpe who was talking with one of the other students, maybe Sara had her pegged wrong, maybe she should give the teacher another chance.

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 4 years

Text

Pieces of the People We Love, Part 6. (The Borderlands Series)

Description: Not many people had the chance to see a vault or to mean anything in the world of Pandora. Will a hardly built relationship in the loneliness of the desert have the potential to change anything in the world of anarchy and chaos - or will the friends try to murder each other?

Chapter description: The journey is destined to be - or at least, so it seems. Alongside Scooter and your two favorite bandits, you had to leave the Hells Cauldron behind your back.

Warnings: A lot of guns, violence, reader is a tough badass - not a vault hunter tho. They’re badass and don’t give a fuck. And Scooter is a dumb bitch, as always. All Psychos and Fanatics are various Vine references - oh, what luck that reader can understand them since she is friends with Bandits.

Word count: 2.1 K

Tagging: @notaliteraltoad, @nemodoren

Series master list: H E R E

Shortly after what Walrus had told you, the Bandits lead you to their monstrous truck. At least he made Blindy and Rayray go with you and not some random idiots.

As Peter promised, they even packed you some food, money, and munition to go with. But there was something weirdly odd about Peter being so nice - if you would come alone, he would never help you. You were one hundred percent sure of that.

"What you're after, Walrus?" - You asked him quietly, aside from the boys, just before you were set to go on your journey. - "You don't do any of this just to warm your heart, do you? You're not such a good person. I know you, my man."

"Vaults are rumored to hold treasures with enormous value. Be a dear and grab me some while you'll be at it, will you?" - Walrus patted your shoulder with a fatherly smile. Of course. That motherfucker. He was a sly one - not caring that much about Scooter, his well being and meeting with his friends. All he cared about was the vault. And its treasures.

"I am not a VH, how many times I'm going to tell you? Scooter isn't one either, he's just... A local mechanic. That's what he truly is." - You tried to talk him down to let you just take your hands off the whole deal. But you knew how much could Peter be persistent.

"But you were aspiring to be one when you listened to all the podcasts on your ECHO from that guy named Tyron or what... Or am I wrong? Correct me." - The midget looked you right in the eyes. You could just murder him, take the car and then leave Scooter alone to continue his journey.

"I was ten, Peter. Vault Hunters aren't nothing but a bunch of posers. And you know that. How anyone like me ever got the chance to at least get closer to a thing like a vault?" - You mumbled, moving your metal arm uncomfortably. Vault hunters were a great part of the reason why did you had your metal arm in the first place. Damn monster hunting.

"Come on. It's an adventure, it's fun and you have a hell of debt in my bank. You have to do this. And if you'll be a naughty girl, Cowboy, my boys will drag you back to me." - He smiled and with his guards, four extra-armed psychos turned back to The Throne Room. You wanted to yell, shout, shot and kill something. Or somebody.

But you kept it all in and turned to crawl into their truck, to sit on one of the benches. You looked at Rayray who seemed to be extremely happy. Was there a reason for that?

"What? You reached the fourth quarter or what's your problem?" - You mumbled while Blindy and Scooter were settling down in the front of the car. Scooter seemed to be overly fascinated by their car type, so you just rolled your eyes and let him be.

"Back at it at Krispy Kreme." - He answered simply and you closed your eyes, laid down on the bench and prepared yourself for some sleep. It was only proper since it was already around midnight.

"Oh yeah, this is going to be a hell of a road trip, I tell you that." - You answered ironically and closed your eyes.

The next four days were a hell of a time to think. You were changing on the steering wheel pretty periodically - you were driving from the morning to midday, Scooter took the wheel after lunch to evening, Rayray was driving until midnight and Blindy himself was driving until you woke up.

You had... Fun. That was as unnatural as it seemed, but you had some fun. Sometimes, they randomly stopped from the quest to find Janey Springs, the most famous rocket engineer on Pandora, when they saw an interesting lookout. One night, you even took a short break in a local pub to have some beer and small talk. Rayray wasn't too happy about that since he had to stay sober.

To your surprise, these guys were fun. They were telling you stories and answered every question you had - you played poker with them one night. And Scooter himself wasn't too bad. He even snatched your playlist from the car you drove into Ham's Creek, so you could jam around to Rapture while driving.

You drove through deserts, forests, mountains which were snowy and even through the miles and miles of Eridium-cracked lands, where Eridium was in huge rocks around the way. And then you drove through even more deserts. It got repetitive over the week, yeah, but as you checked, the COV was still preparing to set to Athenas. Wherever Scooter's vault hunters were, they still didn't have the chance to kill them. Which was good.

After a whole week in their car, you finally reached the destination. It was a town in a cave, very far away from where you started your journey. Its name was Hollow Point and your rocket engineer was supposed to be there.

"Okay man, I will take ya to ma old workshop which I owned with Janey before I, you know, died. Be nice to them, okay?" - Scooter looked especially at you and you rolled your eyes. You weren't about to chew their heads away or anything. You just wanted that damn rocket.

"Fine. I won't try to kill her if she looks at me. Happy?" - You rolled your eyes like a professional and Scooter sighed at your behavior. You were now allies - you weren't friends, but wouldn't get him killed either. It was a thin ice situation, but at least it was something.

"Ya can try, but her girlfriend won't approve that and maybe cuts ya skull opened up with her shield. She's like scary-scary shit. Be aware. Ya shotgun won't help ya against Athena." - He warned you and your small party slowly went down the hill to Hollow Point. It was a silent town - there was a human being here and there, but overall, nothing was happening.

It was almost a ghost town. There was a small pub which you walked as far away from as you possibly could because of its stink and exterior. There was a doctor's office and a gun shop - but it was people you never heard of. Some sister Nina and Mrs. Gunslinger.

Suddenly, everyone stopped in front of a closed mechanic's garage. There was Scooter's name on it, but the light wasn't shining. The shop looked to be closed for a long time now, full of boxes and webs. You didn't like that feeling that anyone's home.

"Is Janey totally supposed to be here?" - You looked inside and made sure that the hat won't fall off your head. There was no one. - "Scooter, did you just dragged us through the whole Pandora to look at your old, abandoned workshop?"

"No, no, no, I swear to God! She's here, man. I'm super duper sure." - Scooter looked scared at you because he knew that you're furious at that moment.

"You think I'm gonna believe you such bullshit? Oh, you're so in trouble now. I thought we're allies!" - You rose your eyebrows and demanded the explanation with the way you stood.

"We are! Janey is here, we just need to find her. Be patient, Cowboy." - He was still walking backward, and now, you for him in a tight corner. An ideal place to kill him. And you were about to.

"Imma about to kill you, Scooterboy, Imma about to kill you so hard." - You rose your hand to pick up the shotgun on your back, clenching your jaws together. Just as you loaded the gun, something flew next to your head, you were barely able to somehow jump to the side.

"What are you two doing here? We don't kill people here since three years ago." - A robotic voice spoke to you from the darkness. You tried to search for the source, but that someone was hidden in the shadows. - "The mayor doesn't have enough money to rent the Hyperion machines. What are you doing in front of my garage?" - The person put their hand high and a red light started to shine on her forearm. The thing flew directly back and clicked silently at that moment.

"See? I told ya that Janey and Athena would still be here, man." - Scooter got up from the corner and ran away from you as possible. - "Thanks for savin' ma life, Athena. Nice to see ya, ya still kissin' a lot with Janey?" - He disappeared to the darkness to greet someone. When he came back to your small group again, a woman was standing next to him.

She looked dangerous in some way. Let's face it - she was terrifying. But staying in your character, you just pressed your lips together and furrowed at her.

The woman, whom Scooterboy was calling Athena, had violet hair and a cute face. But the cute face and big eyes weren't making her any less not dangerous looking. She may be thin, but those thighs were enough to snap your neck instantly. You took a few steps back and fused the shotgun again.

"Is it you, Scooter?" - She snapped the next moment and wondered. Then Athena put a hand on his shoulder and carefully scanned his face with her eyes. - "We thought you're dead, oh my lord?" - She mumbled unbelievably and hugged him. She truly knew him, but no way she had something with Scooter. Athena was out of his league.

"And no way I'm going to answer your question. And don't ever touch me again, please." - She mumbled and turned at you, Blindy and Rayray standing in the background. You were pretty taken away by the way Athena embraced Scooter. - "Who that?"

"Ma new friends, Athena, say hi. That's Cowboy and she has a few temper issues and a hothead. Those men, they are Bandits, but like... Cool ones, ya get it? One name's Rayray and the other one's Blindy. They saved me and help me to find you two." - Scooter pointed all of you proudly and you nodded to Athena, clipping the shotgun back on your back. Boys were clearly too scared of her, so they just acknowledged her person.

"Nice to meet y'all. I suppose you're searching for Janey?" - Athena walked to one of the building's door and opened up the door. There was some music playing inside while Scooter and Athena were chatting. Athena seemed to be in a good mood just because Scooter showed up.

Your deal with Walrus suddenly came upon your mind - maybe Scooter was a truly close friend of the vault hunters and could get you close, after all? That would be nice. Janey and Athena could ride back home just like that. That would be incredible.

Janey was in the back dancing in a rhythm of some rock song, not paying attention that someone entered the building. She had a messy garage, you needed to say that - oil was everywhere, just as her stuff tossed around like wrenches and shit. Janey was a genius at her worst - genius, but messy as fuck.

"I bring you a surprise, dear." - Athena sighed and trailed off to the next door, leaving you there with Janey.

From under the car, a blonde woman rolled on a small skateboard or whatever it was. You noticed the scars on her uncovered belly, neck and arm; she was probably set on fire or some other shit. That was freaking you out a bit. Janey was apparently a strong woman.

But when she stood up to look at you, she looked like a little loving pure ball of smile and energy.

"Hey, what can I do for ya?" - Janey cleaned up her fingers with a cloth thrown over her shoulder. Her stare almost ended up on you, but then she noticed Scooter standing there. She was amazed and wonderstruck since she stopped and looked only at him. - "Have I fell asleep again?"

Then they also went into a tight hug so Janey would definitely know that he's real-real. It was a nice, friendly moment. The last thing you needed to do was to convince Janey - to build you a rocket.

#borderlands #after the tales from the borderlands #borderlands 3 #athena #janey springs #scooter #scooter x reader #here we go again

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