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dccomicsimagines · 3 years

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What’s Lost is Found - Batfamily Imagine - Part Eleven

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Six.Five Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten

***

“Now look at how beautiful it is today,” Dick said as he pushed your wheelchair out of the manor and into the gardens.

You covered your eyes, giving them a moment to adjust. “I guess.” You rubbed the AV fistula in your arm.

“Are you feeling okay? The dialysis didn’t make you sick again?” Dick rubbed your shoulder with one hand. You swallowed hard. How could your life have changed so much?

“I’m fine.” You smiled when Dick pushed you around a corner to find Kori and Alfred. “Hi.”

“(Y/N), my love.” Kori waddled toward you, kissing your cheek. Her belly was huge. The baby was supposed to arrive any day now. “Come, we decided to have a picnic outside.”

Alfred was setting the picnic table. “Master Dick, will you go get us more ice please?” Dick parked you near the picnic table before running back to the manor. Trees shaded the area, keeping it cool from the summer sun’s blazing gaze. You got to your feet and slowly walked to the table. Alfred watched you worriedly.

“I’m okay. I just have to get used to walking again.” You waved him off. Two months in a coma weakened you. Not to mention your failing kidneys and your bad arm. You eyed your thin, ghostly arm. The cast had come off the day after you woke up. They told you it took two surgeries to correct it.

Alfred hummed, pouring you a cup of lemonade. Kori sat across from you. She rubbed her belly. “The baby is kicking again.”

You perked up. “Can I feel?” She leaned over to take your hand and pressed it against her belly. The baby kicked hard. “Wow.”

Kori smiled. “They must know you’re here.”

“How are you such an imbecile that you didn’t know where the ice was located, Grayson?!” Damian’s voice came from around the corner. You pulled away from Kori’s belly.

“Damian’s here? I thought he’d be at the penthouse.” You took a sip of lemonade. Dick and Damian came around the corner with the ice.

“Master Damian said he’d stop by.” Alfred finished laying out the sandwiches and salads. “Master Tim, Miss Stephanie, and everyone else will be here for dinner.”

Dick put the ice in the cooler. Damian sat down next to you, glancing you over before he relaxed. You were touched by his concern. “Is Jon back from space yet?” You bumped Damian’s arm.

“TT, no, he is not.” Damian growled. “Don’t worry about him. He’s an idiot.” He piled food onto his plate.

You frowned. Alfred started to fill your plate for you, passive aggressively hinting that you should eat. Dick sat down next to Kori. “He’ll be back soon, sweetheart. Superman wouldn’t have sent him to space if he knew you would wake up three days after he left,” Kori said.

“Yeah, sure.” You picked at your food. Alfred sat down at the end of the table in a folding chair.

“Young Mr. Kent was here all the time. His parents sent him away to give him some distance.” Alfred patted your hand. “It hurt him to leave you.”

“Couldn’t get him out of the house,” Dick mumbled. “I can’t tell you the number of times we found him sleeping on the floor of your room.”

Damian huffed, rolling his eyes. You smiled. Your heart ached to see Jon. He was the one person you hadn’t seen yet. Part of you was afraid something happened to him and no one was telling you. “When are you moving back to your swampland?” Damian asked with a smirk.

Dick rolled his eyes. Kori answered for him. “We are going to wait for the baby to be born and for (Y/N) to receive their new kidney.” Your eyes widened.

“New kidney?!” You gasped. Alfred, Dick, and Damian winced. Kori looked at them, confused.

“What? (Y/N) needs to know they’re going to get a new kidney.” Kori shook her head at the men. She reached over to rub your arm.

“We were going to tell them at dinner.” Dick bit his lip, studying you. You sighed. A headache blossomed in your temple.

You felt sick to your stomach. “Who is it from?”

Damian swore under his breath. “Like it matters.”

“Master Damian.” Alfred glared at him. Damian blushed and looked away. You shook your head. Everything had changed so much.

“I need some space.” You slowly got to your feet and walked off.

Dick got up to follow you. “(Y/N), don’t walk off on your own.”

“I’m just going over here! You can see me!” You walked over to a bench a few yards away. “Let me breathe, will you?!” Dick stopped in his tracks. You made it to the bench, panting. Frustration formed a lump in your throat. You were so out of shape.

Dick hovered from where he stopped. You glared at him. His mouth twitched. “Don’t give me that look,” he snapped, marching over to you. “You don’t walk off. Do you understand me?” He grabbed your bad arm.

“Shut up.” You jerked away from him, but he gripped your arm tighter. You gasped in pain.

Dick let go, but he pointed his finger in your face. “Do you know how much you scared us all?! You walked off and literally handed yourself over to the enemy! We all thought you were dead until we received word about the auction!” Dick’s hand trembled. The guilt crashed down on you, soaking you with that terrible sinking feeling. “You don’t get to act this way! Not now! Not after everything!”

Kori came to Dick’s side. “Dick, sweetheart. Stop.” She pulled his hand out of your face. You looked away, hiding the quiver of your lips. Your eyes burned with tears.

Dick took a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.” He walked off further into the garden. “Give me a minute.” Kori watched him go, tears in her eyes as well. She followed him after a moment. You watched them go.

“And you were saying I have no decorum, Pennyworth,” Damian retorted from the table. Alfred hushed him. You buried your face into your hands, leaning down over your knees.

Alfred approached with his short, slow steps. He settled on the bench beside you, rubbing your back. “Mx. (Y/N), try to not get too upset. Master Dick shouldn’t have exploded like he did. He was just expressing the worry we all had for you.”

“TT.” Damian wandered over. He stood in front of you. You sat up to meet his eye.

“Master Damian, you are not one to talk, so don’t even start.” Alfred shot Damian a look so cold, it almost made you think the warm summer day suddenly turned to winter. “You both were reckless and irresponsible. Too much like your father.”

You smiled sadly. “I know,” you said. Damian raised an eyebrow.

“I would like to point out if Jon and I did not do what we did, (Y/N)’s condition probably would be worse.” Damian nudged your foot with his.

“Once again reckless.” Alfred shook his head. “You both pushed Master Dick to the brink. With Miss Kori recovering from her injuries, to finding Mx. (Y/N) gone, then Master Damian.” He kept rubbing your back soothingly. “Try to not push him, Mx. (Y/N). He is coming to terms with everything.”

“I know, but he’s hovering again.” You blinked back tears, refusing to cry in front of Damian.

Alfred nodded. “I will speak to him. Just understand he does it all out of love and concern.” Alfred got back to his feet. “Now come back to the table. You both need to eat.”

Damian took your hand and helped you to your feet. “Do you notice he scolds me more than he scolds you?”

“It’s probably because you’re Batman.” You poked his side teasingly. Damian let you walk on your own, but stayed nearby in case you needed him. You made it to the table, exhausted. Damian, Alfred, and you went back to eating. Dick and Kori joined you minutes later and the meal continued peacefully.

***

“So it turns out, we’re a match,” Tim said from his seat across the dining room table. Steph sat down next to him, holding his hand.

“Tim, you can’t give me a kidney.” You shook your head in disbelief.

Damian huffed, leaning back in his chair. “TT, like (Y/N) would want your inferior kidney?” He glared over at Tim. “And why are you a match when I am (Y/N)’s blood brother?”

Tim pursed his lips, clearly holding back a snarky retort. Steph spoke up before Tim could. “(Y/N) and you may be biological siblings, but you have too much diversity in your DNA to be a match. Besides, turns out you, (Y/N), and Tim are sixth cousins.” Steph giggled, smirking at the shock on Damian’s face.

“I guess that makes sense.” You smiled at Damian’s dropped jaw. “I mean the Drakes are part of Gotham’s high society and they married each other all the time. That’s how we’re related to the Kanes too.” You reached over to close Damian’s jaw. “Besides, sixth cousins means we’re barely related anyway.”

“However, I’m still a match and I want to give you a kidney.” Tim smiled, leaning his elbows onto the table.

“Did I miss it?” Jason ran into the room, looking at Damian. “Damn it, I missed it. I told you to wait until I got here before you told him you’re sixth cousins.”

Steph rolled her eyes. “We can’t help it if you’re slow.”

Jason flicked her forehead before sitting down next to you. “So you’re taking Tim’s kidney? Guess that means you’d be blood siblings.”

You shook your head. “That’s not how it works.”

Horror dawned on Damian’s face. “No, I refuse to allow this to happen.” He pointed at Tim. “I will not let you pollute the Wayne bloodline with your fucking incompetence.”

Tim opened his mouth, but Steph stopped him. “Let me.” She smiled before laying into Damian. They argued loudly and within minutes, Damian was flying over the table to tackle Steph. Jason egged them on. Tim moved out of the way, coming over to your side.

“I think Steph is enjoying this too much.” Tim bit his lip.

“To be fair, Damian had it coming.” You blinked back tears. “Tim, you don’t have to give me a kidney.”

“I know I don’t have to.” Tim smiled, taking your hand. “But I want to.” He tapped your nose like he used to do when you were really young. “We’re siblings. Besides, I don’t think I could live with myself knowing you were on dialysis for the rest of your life when I could have just given you one of mine.”

You squeezed his hand. “But what about Red Robin? You’ll have to be careful with only one kidney.”

Tim chuckled. “I was actually thinking about retiring.” Your jaw dropped, making Tim laugh harder. “I’ll still investigate and help Damian out, but I won’t go into the field. With Wayne Enterprises, it’s just too much.” He ran a hand through his hair. A move you all inherited from Dick. “Yesterday, I fell asleep during a board meeting. Lucius had to kick me under the table to wake me up.”

You laughed. Steph and Damian broke a vase on the table by the wall. Dick ran into the room. “What the hell are you two doing?!” He pulled them apart, scolding them like they were two small children.

“I can’t believe Batman is wrestling with Spoiler.” Duke laughed, coming in with Cass and Alfred. They were carrying plates to set the table.

“Luckily, preparing dinner took shorter than expected. I would hate to have more casualties,” Alfred said, eyeing the broken vase. Cass clicked her tongue, smiling. She patted your shoulder as she passed. Tim got up to help them. You stayed where you were, startled by the warm feeling in your chest. It felt like you were home at last.

***

Two weeks later, you strolled the gardens by yourself. You were getting stronger. The doctors said in a week, you should be ready for the kidney transplant.

You sat down on a stone bench under the Northern Red Oak Alfred always told you had been planted when the first Waynes moved into the manor over two hundred years ago.

Closing your eyes, you breathed in the fresh air. It surprised you that you found you missed the humidity of Florida. Maybe it was a home to you after all?

A sonic boom cracked the air. You flinched. Birds went flying, squawking loudly. “What?” You stood up only to suddenly find yourself off your feet and in someone’s arms. Lips pressed against yours. Jon’s scent hit your nose. You kissed him, closing your eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re awake.” Jon was spinning you around. You laughed, squeezing your eyes shut to avoid getting dizzy.

“Jon, stop.” You wrapped your arms around his neck. He stopped to kiss you again. You melted into him. “I missed you.” You pulled away to get a good look at him.

His hair was longer. A glance at the ground told you he grew another inch as well. Did his shoulders fill out? Your face burned. You definitely didn’t grow any. Probably looked worse. Lost a lot of weight and so weak. Jon studied you. “You look so beautiful.” He kissed you again, sitting down on the bench with you in his lap.

“Now I know you’re lying.” You leaned against him, soaking in his warmth. “I look like I got hit by a truck.”

Jon blinked. “No, you’re beautiful.” He grinned, tilting his head like a puppy dog. You ran your hands through his longer hair. “I flew here as soon as they told me.”

“When did you get back?” You kissed his cheek, laughing when he turned to catch your lips with his.

“Five minutes ago.” He smirked. “We just arrived at the Watchtower and Dad met me in the hanger bay. I zoomed out of there so fast, I’m sure I gave the Flash whiplash.”

You smiled as you kept running your fingers through his hair. Jon smiled back at you before frowning. “Something is happened in the house.”

“What?” You glanced back at the manor curiously. “Oh, I bet Kori went into labor. She was complaining of back pain this morning.”

Jon paled slightly. “Dick is losing his mind.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah? He loses his mind at everything.” You nodded to the manor. “I suppose we should go see.”

“Do we have to? I mean what if the baby is coming fast or they want privacy...” Jon tightened his arms around you.

You got out of his lap and took his hand. “Don’t tell me Superboy is scared of childbirth? It’s really not that bad.” You rolled your eyes when Jon didn’t get up. “Come on, it’s early labor. Let’s just say goodbye before they head to the Watchtower for the delivery.”

“How are you not nervous?” Jon followed you, squeezing your hand gently.

“During the Joker infection a few years ago, I had to help a woman give birth. She was crying in one of the old apartments in the Bowery. I found her and had to keep her calm with thousands of laughing jokerized people outside.” You shivered. “Honesty, this is nothing compared to that.”

Jon stopped. You turned to look at him only to find him studying you in awe. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”

You bit back a smile. “Maybe. The woman named her kid after me. Robin Maria de León. She should be about two now.” You pulled Jon to keep walking. “They moved out of Gotham after the attack.”

Jon shook his head, kissing your temple as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders. The two of you entered the manor and followed the noise to one of the dens. Kori was sitting on the couch, quite relaxed. “Oh Jon, you have returned. (Y/N) was missing you,” Kori said, flipping through a magazine.

“How is she so calm?” Jon remarked. You moved to sit next to her.

“Is it time?” you asked, leaving Jon to keep his distance. He was acting like Kori had an infectious disease instead of going into labor.

“It is.” Kori sighed when a loud bang came from upstairs. “Dick is not handling it well.” She set down the magazine. “(Y/N), will you go help him get my bag? Jon, stay here and tell me about your adventure to space.”

Jon swallowed hard. You patted his arm as you passed. “You’ll be fine. It’s just Kori.”

It took you a full minute to get up the stairs. You panted at the top, slowly making your way to Dick and Kori’s room. At least you weren’t as wiped out as you were a few days ago. Progress.

“Where is the damn thing?” Dick slammed a drawer shut before ripping open another. Clothes were scattered about the room.

“Kori is going to be pissed if she comes back to find the room like this.” You leaned against the door frame to rest. Dick looked up at you worriedly.

“I’ll clean it up. I just have to find it before we go.” Dick turned away once he was satisfied you were alright.

“Yeah.” You moved into the bedroom once you caught your breath, picking up and folding the clothes. “What are you looking for?”

Dick swore under his breath. “I’m looking for Sitka.”

You blinked, stacking the clothes on the bed. “Sitka?”

“My stuffed elephant that I had when I was a kid. I wanted the baby to have it right away.” Dick ran a hand through his hair, glancing around. “I thought I left it here, but maybe I did take it down to Florida.” He shook his head and grabbed Kori’s bag. “I guess I’ll have to go without it.”

“I’m sure it will turn up.” You smiled when Dick hugged you tightly, kissing your forehead.

Dick hummed. “I’ll keep you updated. Be good. Unless you want to come with us? It’s going to be a few hours at the least.” He pulled away to look you in the eye.

“I’ll wait. Jon’s here.” You bit your lip when Dick’s eyes flashed at your words.

“Tell him that if he sonic booms over the manor again, I’ll break out Bruce’s kryptonite ring.” Dick ran a hand through your hair.

You smirked. “Sure, you will.”

Dick chuckled before a shout from below made you both freeze. “Gotta go.” Dick rushed out of the room and back downstairs. You followed slowly, shaking your head at the chaos below.

***

“If you were a sentimental fool, where would you leave it?” You mumbled, glancing around Dick and Kori’s bedroom at their house in Florida.

“I would have probably left it on my bed or something,” Jon said, checking under the bed. He pulled out a box, opening it before quickly shutting it again. His face burned redder than you ever seen it before.

You frowned, crossing your arms. “What was that?”

“Nothing you would want to know about.” Jon gagged. “I can’t unsee it.” He covered his eyes with his hands.

Shaking your head, you opened the closet door and checked in there again. “It wasn’t at the manor, so it has to be here.”

“I know you want to do this for him, but shouldn’t we be going to the watchtower? Dick called you an hour ago.” Jon pushed the box back under the bed with disgust.

“No, not until we find it.” You hummed. “We still haven’t checked the attic.” You headed out to the hallway and pulled down the staircase. Jon followed, frowning. “Come on.” Taking out your phone, you turned on the flashlight and climbed up. You ran out of breath at the top.

“Rest.” Jon pushed you to sit on the top of the stairs. “I’ll take a look.” He took your phone and wandered into the dark attic.

“I know Dick put the Christmas stuff up here and some of my boxes.” You leaned back on your hands, closing your eyes. “It should be up here. He had stuff up here already when I brought up mine.”

Jon hummed, opening a box. “Decorations.” He closed it and went to another one. “Why couldn’t you label anything?”

You smiled, getting up to point to the side of the box. It was neatly labeled in your handwriting. “We did.”

“Damian’s right. I am blind even with supersight.” He shook his head and moving deeper into the attic. The attic ceiling was low. You both had to duck down uncomfortably just to move around.

After searching for a while, you found a box in the far back. It was covered in dust. No one had touched it in years. You wrinkled your nose, blowing off dust to read the label written in Dick’s messy handwriting. “Stuff. No wonder he can’t find anything if he just labels it ‘stuff’.”

Jon came over with your phone to give you more light. You opened the box, sending dust everywhere. Jon sneezed. “So much dust.”

You shook your head, peering inside. Right on top was Sitka. “Found it.” You took out the worn, old elephant.

Jon raised an eyebrow. “We probably should wash it before we give it to the baby.”

“Probably.” You handed it to him, frowning at the painting under Sitka. It looked familiar. “Oh my, he kept it.” You pulled it out. It was the painting you made years ago, back when Dick was Batman and you were his kid. “My ‘Jackson Pollock’.”

“Who’s Jackson Pollock?” Jon settled down next to you, wrapping an arm around you. You leaned into him, tired from moving around. The painting was just how you remembered it.

“A painter. I read about him and copied his work when I was little. I gave this one to Dick.” You shook your head. “I thought he would have gotten rid of it.”

Jon hummed. “Judging by what we dug through, Dick doesn’t throw things away.”

A frown pulled at your lips. Dick never threw anything or anyone away, even when they hurt him. You swallowed hard. “Yeah.” You dug through the box, finding more treasures from the year Dick was your parent. It hurt and pleased at the same time. ”I’m always mean to him. I don’t know why he cares.”

“Because he loves you.” Jon kissed your temple. “And you’re not always mean to him. I think you’re one of the kindest people I’ve met.”

“That’s a lie.” You closed the box. Your stomach twisted uncomfortably.

“No, it’s not.” Jon kissed your cheek. “A mean person wouldn’t have spent all this time trying to find a stuffed elephant.”

You snorted. Dust got into your nose. You sneezed hard. “Okay, we got to get out of here.” Your eyes watered.

Jon nodded, helping you up. The two of you left the dark, dusty attic behind.

***

Hours later, you were alone on the watchtower. It was quiet and dark, being nighttime for most of the league members. Jon had went home after he dropped you off here.

A dull ache came back to your bad arm as it seemed to do every night. You wondered if it would ever go away. Space was so deathly silent. You felt like you had to hold your breath. Sitka was under your arm, dust free and clean for the baby.

It took you a good few minutes to find Kori’s room in the medbay. She was fast asleep with a bassinet next to her. You tiptoed inside and peeked inside the bassinet. “Wow,” you gasped quietly, smiling at the tiny little baby inside. Tufts of dark hair, same color as Dick’s, stuck out from under the blanket they was swaddled in. Their little hand twitched in their sleep was the same golden orange as Kori’s.

You stared at the baby for a long time. Of course, you had seen babies before. Even helped someone deliver one, but you had to admit, you never saw a more beautiful baby.

Carefully, you set Sitka in the far corner of the bassinet where the baby could see it when they woke up. You blinked, realizing at this moment you didn’t know if the baby was a boy or girl. Dick only said the baby was born and for you to come, nothing else. You glanced at Kori, who was still asleep.

After a few minutes of gazing at the baby some more, you pulled yourself away and slipped out of the room. You turned the corner to head back to the teleporter only to come face to face with Dick.

“Now you show up.” Dick took a step back, sipping a cup of coffee. Dark circles were under his eyes making him look older than his years. His hair was a mess. You resisted the urge to fix it. “I called you hours ago.”

“I was busy.” You bit your lip. His mouth twitched. Eyebrows furrowed. He was angry. Why was he angry?

Dick took a moment to swallow before walking around you and back down the hall. You followed, concerned. “I was waiting for you.” He spun around to face you. His lips pulled into a frown.

“I know, but I was busy.” You raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? You should be happy. The baby is beautiful.”

Dick’s face softened. He glanced inside the window of the medbay at Kori and the bassinet. “We wanted you to be here, you know? To meet your niece for the first time.”

“She’s a girl.” You smiled, peeking around the corner. “I should have known. She has so much hair already.” You looked back at Dick, catching loss of focus in his eyes, the slight droop of his lower eyelid. “Oh, so you’re not mad? You’re sad I didn’t get here right away.” You smiled when Dick’s eyes widened. “I learned from the best, you know.”

Dick took a sip of coffee, sensing you were mocking him with the ‘you know’. Of course, you were. “I guess I’m worried what you would think of adding a baby to our little family. A baby changes things.”

You shrugged. “Not that many things.” Your eyes stayed on the bassinet.

“I suppose not.” Dick studied you. “Do you want to hold her? We’ll have to be careful if she’s asleep.”

Fear stuck you like lightning. It was one thing to look at the baby, but another thing to hold one. “I don’t...I mean...” You bit your lip.

Dick chuckled. “You won’t drop her.” He went into the room, setting his coffee down on a table before looking into the bassinet. You held your breath when you saw him pause, knowing he saw Sitka. He looked back at you, raising an eyebrow and holding up the elephant. Your face heated up. You looked away.

“Come on, Mar’i. You need to meet (Y/N).” Dick came out with the bundle in his arms. You froze, terror chilled you to the core. “Don’t be scared, (Y/N).” Dick nodded to your arms. You swallowed hard, copying his. He slipped Mar’i right into yours. You gasped. She was awake, staring up at you with brilliant green eyes.

“Hi.” You smiled bigger than you had in a long time. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Dick taking a picture on his phone. You ignored him. Mar’i just blinked. “So her name is Mar’i?”

“Mar’i (Y/N) Grayson.” Dick smirked when you looked at him in surprise. “I mean it fits, don’t you think?”

You bit your lip, looking down at Mar’i. “I guess it does.” You rocked her. She dozed off in your arms.

“Thank you for getting Sitka for me.” Dick leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes. “I suppose that’s why you didn’t come right away, huh? That’s why I can never stay mad at you. Always sneaking up and doing something sweet.”

You sighed, leaning down to kiss Mar’i’s head. She smelled of baby powder and sunshine. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Dick raised an eyebrow, opening his eyes to look at you.

“Everything.” Alfred’s words echoed through your head. Guilt soured your stomach once again. “I shouldn’t have handed myself over to Bane’s son. I threw my life away and I know that hurt you.”

Dick blinked. “I forgive you, sweetheart.” He stepped over to you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. You leaned into him, using him to help support Mar’i‘s weight. It started to strain your arms. “Just don’t ever do it again.”

You snorted. “I don’t plan on it.” Dick kissed your temple, chuckling as you looked down at Mar’i’s perfect little face.

***

“Now don’t panic.” Jason poked at your arm as you laid in the hospital bed. Nurses moved around you, prepping you for surgery. “You’re going to have Tim’s kidney inside of you, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be a stick-in-the-mud like him.”

“Geez, thanks,” Tim said from across the room, where he was also being prepped for surgery.

You laughed. “Stop it.” You batted Jason’s hand away. “Dick and Kori will be here when I wake up, won’t they?”

Jason gasped, pressing his hand against his chest like you shot him. “What about me? I’m here, giving my support.”

“More like a headache,” Tim grumbled.

“Yes, they will be here. They just have to handle the baby first.” Jason kissed your cheek. “Little Mar’ionster.”

You smirked. “Don’t call her that. You don’t want Kori firing star bolts at you again, do you?”

“Like she could hit me.” Jason matched your smirk and leaned back in his chair.

“We’ll take them in now,” the nurse said, gesturing for Jason to leave. “You may wait in the waiting room.”

“Sure, sure.” Jason kissed the top of your head. “Be good.” He went over to Tim. Tim glared at him, daring him to do something. “Ah, don’t be like that, Timbo.” He ruffled Tim’s hair, much to Tim’s despair.

Tim knocked his hand away. “Get out of here already.” Jason left, laughing his head off. The nurses rolled your bed into the operating room across the hall. You frowned at the bright lights.

Tim was parked a little ways from you. “You okay?” He asked, smiling when he met your eye.

“Fine. You?” You swallowed hard, suddenly scared.

“Good.” He winked at you. “We’ll be fine. Once we’re out, we can laze around and watch cartoons like we used to.”

“Ninja Turtles?” You smiled. The tension drained out of you.

Tim nodded, turning away when the anesthesiologist spoke to him. You gripped at the blanket covering you.

“Relax, (Y/N). You’ll be fine.” A nurse rubbed your arm. You gave her a shaky smile.

The anesthesiologist left Tim and came over to you. “I want you to count down from one hundred for me,” he said soothingly as he injected something into your IV. You closed your eyes, counting only to pass out at ninety seven.

***

“I can’t believe I haven’t watch this before,” Jon remarked, sitting by your feet and leaning back against the couch. You lifted your legs to rest on his shoulders. He kissed the side of your knee, hugging your lower legs.

“You never watched Ninja Turtles?” Your fingers played with his hair. “That’s it. Can’t be together anymore.”

Tim snorted from his spot on the couch next to you. “If that was the case, I would have broken up with Steph a long time ago.”

“Did I hear my name?” Steph walked in with a tray of healthy snacks Alfred prepared. “Speak of the devil and she should appear.”

She set the tray down on the coffee table, handing a small bowl of popcorn to Tim and you. You munched happily. Jon tilted his head back with his mouth open. You fed him a piece. “Thanks,” he said, tilting his head back to the tv.

Your recovery was going good. You had only a little pain and your body was accepting Tim’s kidney the best it could. The medications weren’t fun and came with their own restrictions, but you were happy to not have dialysis three times a week.

Tim was recovering as well if not better than you were. He was still on the same healthy diet as you, but at least he didn’t have the same medications you did.

The four of you watched cartoons and snacked away. Eventually, Tim and Steph left to go back to their apartment. You and Jon kept watching until Jon fell asleep and your legs went numb from laying over his shoulders.

“Ouch.” You folded your legs back, wincing at the pins and needles. The remote laid next to you. You put on the news out of habit.

“Today, the court decided the fate of Tourne Wu-San, otherwise known as Bane. Two weeks ago, the court confirmed Wu-San guilty on charges of terrorism.” You froze, shocked that you didn’t hear about this before. Why didn’t anyone tell you? “Wu-San’s sentencing was held off after much conflict from Santa Prisca’s embassy. However, after confirmation of Wu-San’s dual citizenship, the court sentenced Tourne Wu-San to death by lethal injection.”

“What?!” You jumped to your feet only to fall back onto the couch. Your legs were still asleep. The blood drained out of your face. Jon jerked awake, looking around.

“What’s wrong?” He focused on you, frowning deeply. “Woah, hey. You look like you seen a ghost.”

Your hands shook. “They’re going to kill him.” Jon took your hand. His hand radiated warmth. You pulled away, unable to accept the comfort. “It’s all my fault. He’s going to die because of what I did.”

“Sweetheart, what are you talking about?” Jon kissed your arm, moving to sit on the couch beside you.

You shook your head, pointing at the screen. The TV was playing a My Pillow commercial. “Bane’s son. They sentenced him to die.”

Jon swallowed hard. His face paled. “That’s rough.”

“Rough? He’s going to die and it’s all my fault.” You jumped to your feet and paced the room. “I have to help him.”

“It’s not your fault, (Y/N). He made his own choices.” Jon stood in front of you, forcing you to stop pacing. “He has to pay for what he did. If the courts decided that, we can’t change it.”

Tears ran down your cheeks. The surge of emotions raged through you, but you knew you couldn’t live if Bane’s son was killed. “Yes, we can. We can break him out and free him.”

“Are you crazy?!” Jon threw his hands up in the air. “He almost killed you.” He leaned close to your face. “You had to get a kidney transplant because of him! People lost their lives and homes because of him!”

You screamed. Jon jerked away from you. “He’s like us, Jon!” You pushed Jon away from you. “He’s like Damian and me! All three of us lost parents that day! We can’t let it continue!”

“What the hell is going on in here?!” Dick burst through the door. “I’m trying to get Mar’i to sleep and all I can hear is yelling!” Jon blushed. You panted before storming past Dick. Dick caught your arm. “Hey, what’s wrong?” His voice dropped to a soothing whisper. You were confused until you realized you were still crying.

“Nothing.” You yanked your arm away from Dick. “Just leave me alone.” You ran upstairs and slammed your bedroom door shut behind you. Only then did you allow yourself to break down completely.

***

“Have you lost your mind? He’s a criminal.” Damian folded his hands in front of him as he sat in his batcomputer chair like it was a throne. You glanced around the batcave he had made for himself under Wayne Tower and admitted the chair was a throne in a way. This was Damian’s kingdom he built on his own.

“Damian, we can’t let him die.” You rocked on your feet. Jon hovered behind you. Despite the fact he hadn’t said a word, his disapproval burned into you. “We can’t let the cycle of death continue.”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Bane killed Dad, then I killed Bane.” You swallowed hard. Those words would always carry a heavy weight for you. “Bane’s son almost killed me and if we allow him to be executed, what’s to stop someone from Santa Prisca to come after us and Gotham again?” You crossed your arms, shivering. “We have to stop the cycle. No more death.”

“Interesting notion.” Damian rubbed his chin. He spun in his chair and typed on his computer.

You waited, watching his screens. A smile pulled at your lips when Damian brought up the schematics of Blackgate Prison where Bane’s son was being held. “Damian, you can’t be serious,” Jon said, going to Damian’s side. “He almost killed (Y/N).”

“Yes, but he didn’t, did he?” Damian kept working. “He could have killed (Y/N) right after they handed themselves over, but he didn’t.” Damian glanced back at you. “He could have killed them during the three weeks they held them, but he didn’t. When he caused (Y/N) to overdose, he knew we would get to them in time to prevent cardiac failure.” You smiled. “I say he didn’t want to kill (Y/N) just as much as (Y/N) doesn’t want to see him executed.”

Jon glanced between the two of you. “Nope. This is not happening.” He crossed his arms. “I love you, (Y/N) and Damian, you’re my best friend, but I’m not letting you do this. I’ll tell my dad and Dick if I have to.”

Damian snorted. “I guess we’ll have to do this quickly then.” In a move so fast, you almost missed it, Damian landed a punch to Jon’s jaw. Jon fell like a rock. You gasped, running to him. “TT, he’s fine. Just repaying him for the time he did that to me.”

“He’s unconscious.” You felt the lump on his jaw. “Damn it, Damian. A bit more pressure and you would have broken his jaw.” Damian huffed, taking off the kryptonite ring and putting back into his belt.

“I know what I am doing.” Damian cracked his knuckles and walked over to his changing area. “Come along. We have to be done before he wakes up.”

You were torn between Jon and Damian, but you knew you had to save Bane’s son. Kissing Jon’s head, you got him a pillow and a blanket before following Damian.

***

Pursing your lips, you gripped the stirring wheel of Damian’s flying batmobile. It was in camouflage mode, hovering only a few meters above the prison. You held your breath, counting to ten, then releasing it. Damian entered the prison twenty minutes ago. Where was he?

You glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning now. At your best estimate, Jon would wake up in another half an hour. You had to be back before then.

A flash of red light came from the roof of Blackgate. You sighed in relief, lowering the batmobile until it was a few feet above the roof. It rocked as two forms climbed to the cockpit.

“I don’t understand why you would do this,” Bane’s son said, confused. Damian pushed him to sit in the backseat before climbing up to join you at the front.

“Shut up.” Damian growled in his Batman voice. You shook your head, feeling Bane’s son’s eyes on you. You hit the gas, flying the batmobile away from the prison. “I think we need to provide some more funding. Blackgate’s security has too many holes.”

“Says someone on the outside.” Bane’s son looked out the window. “Where are you taking me? Are you planning to kill me?”

You glanced back at him. He didn’t have his mask on. Your heart jumped into your throat. “We’re ending this.”

Damian huffed. “TT, now it sounds like we’re going to kill him.”

Bane’s son chuckled. “It does.”

“I didn’t mean that.” You smiled. It was odd to have the man who was your captor for three long weeks and forced you to overdose, sitting behind you, making a joke. “I meant that we’re going to end the cycle of death. All three of us have suffered enough. We couldn’t allow you to lose your life when you should get a chance to move on.”

“And how am I supposed to do that? They will search for me.” Bane’s son shook his head. “Not to mention they will know it was you who set me free.”

Damian glared at him. “What do you take us for? Idiots?” He smirked dangerously. “They may suspect we have something to do with it, but no one will know as long as they never find you.”

“That is not reassuring me that you aren’t going to kill me.” Bane’s son sighed. “I never wanted this.”

“None of us did.” You bit your lip. “But we can let it go now. No more killing, no more pain, no more death.”

You landed the batmobile on the shoreline in the outskirts of Gotham. All three of you got out. Damian helped you. He squeezed your arm, reminding you to take it easy. Bane’s son studied you as if he could already see the damage he had done to you.

“What now?” he asked, pulling his gaze away from you.

“TT.” Damian went to the shoreline. He pressed a button on his gauntlet to reveal a camouflaged boat. “Your escape.” He narrowed his eyes at Bane’s son. “It’s autopilot will take you to Canada. Inside is money and documents for your new identity.”

Bane’s son blinked in surprise. “You are really letting me go? After everything I did to your city and to you?” He pointed to you. “They told me I put you in a coma for two months.”

“Like I said. I’m letting it go and I hope you can too.” You held out a hand. “Go live the life you wanted to live before I forced you to fight your father’s battles.”

Bane’s son eyed your hand. He paused before taking it. “Let bygones be bygones.” He smiled. “Thank you.”

Relief washed over you. The tension you didn’t realized you had for so long drained out of you. “You’re welcome.” Bane’s son pulled his hand away. He nodded to Damian before running to the boat.

You and Damian watched as the boat disappeared into the distance. “We have to go. Kent will be awake soon.” Damian helped you back into the batmobile, taking the pilot’s seat this time.

“We did good.” You closed your eyes, exhausted.

“TT. Only time will tell, I suppose, but you are right.” Damian flew the batmobile back to the city. “It feels like we did the right thing.”

***

You sat on Damian’s couch with Jon’s head on your lap. Your hand lazily ran through his hair. He hadn’t woken up yet, much to your relief. You kissed his forehead. Tears filled your eyes. You knew he probably won’t forgive you for this.

“TT.” Damian walked by. “Stop being emotional.”

“Shut up.” You glared at him only to turn back to Jon when you felt him stir in your lap.

Jon groaned, opening his eyes. His hand came up to rub his jaw. “What happened?”

“Payback.” Damian retorted, tossing an icepack onto Jon’s lap.

You shook your head. “Damian punched you.” You took the ice pack and pressed it gently against Jon’s jaw. Jon looked at you, drinking in the tears in your eyes. He probably could feel the guilt dripping off you.

“You did it, didn’t you?” His voice was a whisper as he looked into your eyes. Biting your lip, you nodded. Jon sighed and closed his eyes. “You look like there is a weight off your shoulders.”

“What?” You twisted a strand of his hair around your finger. He opened his eyes.

“When I first saw you at Christmas, you looked like you had this backpack of rocks hanging off you at all times. Even when I made you laugh, you still had it.” Jon smiled sadly. “But now it looks like it’s gone. You seem...happier.”

Damian huffed, taking a seat nearby. “That was put as eloquently as you could manage, Kent.”

“Shut up, Damian.” Jon glared at Damian before looking back at you. “I’m sorry I tried to stand in your way.”

You grinned, leaning down to kiss his lips. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

Jon moaned into the kiss. “You’re the amazing one.”

“Stop it! I’m sitting right here!” Damian threw a pillow at you. You caught it easily with one hand. Jon kept kissing you. You never felt so relieved in your life.

***

Time passed. You recovered from your transplant, thriving the best you could even with the side effects from all the medications. The rest of the family seemed to know you and Damian had something to do with Bane’s son’s escape, but didn’t act on their suspicions.

After three long months, you, Dick, Kori, and baby Mar’i were moving back down to Florida. Luckily, you were able to make up enough work to graduate from high school like you planned. You were going to a small college nearby for at least the first year. After everything, you did want to be near family for now.

The car was packed for the drive home. However, you insisted on one last stop. “Are you sure you want to go alone?” Dick asked, getting out of the car. You nodded your head.

“I’m good.” You walked into the cemetery. Dick’s gaze weighed on you. It brought you some comfort as you remembered how messed up you were when you came here the first time.

Mar’i started to cry in the distance. Kori soothed her. You walked past graves. Their noise faded until you got to the one you were looking for.

“Hi Dad.” You knelt down in front of the simple tombstone. The silence was deafening. “I’m doing like I promised. I’m living my life.” You smiled sadly. “And I repaired my mistakes. Damian, Bane’s son, and I are free from the events of that one night.” Your face burned. “Well, I will always carry the burden, but it won’t dominate my life anymore.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t come earlier. It’s still hard to think that you’re here.” Tears filled your eyes. “I’ve got to stop crying so much. I feel like that’s all I do.” You rested your forehead on the tombstone. “I’m being nice to Dick and Kori.” You sighed deeply. “Mar’i is beautiful too. You’d like her. She’s got your grumpy look.”

A laugh escaped you. “I love you so much, Dad.” You pressed a kiss to the tombstone before pulling away. “I hope I do you proud.” Slowly, you got to your feet. “Goodbye, Dad.” You let your hand rest on the tombstone for a moment. “Thank you for everything.” Almost painfully, you let your hand drop away and started back toward the car.

Dick and Kori were outside, waiting for you. Mar’i was in Kori’s arms, looking at you with those beautiful green eyes. You went to them, allowing yourself to be pulled into Dick’s arms. Kori wrapped one arm around the two of you. You sighed, enjoying the hug. “We can go home now,” you said firmly. You knew truly what was lost had been found.

#batfamily #batfamily imagine #batfamily x reader #dick grayson #dick grayson iamgine #nightwing #nightwing imagine #kori anders #kori anders imagine #starfire #starfire imagine #dc comics imagines #dc reader insert #jon kent #jon kent x reader #jon kent imagine #superboy #superboy x reader #superboy imagine

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yurtletheturtlehenderson · 3 years

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COSMIC - S3:E3; Chapter Three, The Case Of The Missing Lifeguard - [Pt. 4]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

𝘌𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘋&𝘋. 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳��𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦.

⚠️: character death, gore, jazzercise, and small mentions of El having a panic attack [will include markers]

📝: the character death and gore is a flashback from last season cause apparently making us watch Bob die once wasn't enough 🥲 also sorry the code cracking scene was so bad, it was kinda hard to write

||𝟑𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

It hadn't taken long to get El ready for her next trip to the void. El found a spot on the ground, dry enough to sit, and began constructing a familiar device with goggles and duct tape they had miraculously found laying around. El had been kicking herself for leaving her headband at home, she should have known she'd need it. But this would do. And it reminded her of her conversation with Joyce that night; the first time someone had helped her through her fears of the void. Y/n and Max got to work behind her, turning on each of the showers to create the white noise El needed.

When they had finished, they took a seat on either side of their friend who now sat before the photo. Drawing in a deep breath, she placed the goggles over her face and began her search.

It was cold and lonely like it always was. Again, she tried to remind herself her friends were with her but it did little to lull the growing fears of what she might find next.

A mailbox was her only clue this time. It wasn't too far away, but the way it stood alone in the distance, waiting for her, unsettled her somehow. Maybe that was just the void, but that felt like a lie she kept trying to tell herself to get through it all.

It bore the numbers 1438, and it was sprinkled in rain. When she finally reached it, she carefully reached out her hand. She could almost feel the tin under her fingertips when suddenly a crimson smoke manifested out of thin air just feet away. It didn't take long for the smoke to build and the picture to form.

"What do you see?" Max asked, after some time.

"A door," El answered, her voice obstructed from the goggles over her nose. "A red door,"

It sat there, waiting for her to move. El knew she had to, and when she did that awful feeling in her gut grew stronger. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she reached for the handle, and it took all she had not to waver as it slowly swung open.

El's frown grew at the sight waiting for her on the other side. A ways away sat a bright white bathtub. She wasn't at all eager to find out what was inside, but when she did, she wished she could say she was surprised.

Ice. Just ice.

Just like with Billy, but the ice hadn't melted yet. The tub was almost overflowing with it and—

El jumped back when a girl shot up from within so suddenly. It was Heather. She was pink-faced and trembling, but something told El it wasn't from the cold. The droplets of water covering her face had easily disguised the tears slipping down her face, and the look in her glassy eyes was pleading up at her.

"Help me," she sobbed.

El didn't have time to react before Heather was pulled violently back under. El shrieked, immediately diving after her only to be met with the watery floor. She was panting for breath, trying so desperately to calm her racing heart but she realized she didn't have time to. Heather was still there, in need of her help and she was quickly disappearing under the water that separated them.

El cried out to her, desperate to reach her but something was stopping her. She could scream and claw at the surface of water separating them, but by the time she found a way to duck her head and arm in after her, it was too late. El watched helplessly in horror as Heather was pulled into the deep black abyss of her watery grave, crying out for help.

"NO!"

■■■■■■■■■■■■■

El threw the goggles off her head in an instant, her shoulders heaving as she gulped down breaths of air.

"What happened?" Max asks immediately, her hand flying to El's shoulder for comfort. "El!"

El didn't answer. With a haunted look in her eyes, she gaped between her friends. Worried, to say the least, Max and Y/n looked to one another afraid as she buries her head in her hands. El didn't say a word and instead collapsed into shaky sobs as she tried to come down.

Y/n recognized the panic attack, and in an instant she had thrown herself to the floor beside El, laying her hand on her back and began rubbing soothing circles.

"Hey, you're okay. You're okay. Take my hand," She whispers, carefully taking El's left hand in her own. She knew it was a good sign when El squeezed back, despite her heaving breaths. It was a sign she was responding. "We're here, it's okay. Just breath. Deep breaths, in and out,"

El's breathing barely slowed, but Y/n kept encouraging her. As they found themselves doing more and more, Max and Y/n lock eyes, their faces horror-stricken for their friend. El doesn't notice. She merely squeezed Y/n's hand tighter and allowed the sobs to come.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

HAWKINS NATIONAL LABORATORY

Once a place thriving with life and secret agency was now a desolate wasteland; a grave for rot and chaos that lay untouched for months.

The sign once erected on the outer gates now lay dented and scuffed among the mud and rain, forgotten like the rest of the laboratory.

RESTRICTED AREA

NO TRESPASSING

U.S. GOVERNMENT

PROPERTY

Hoppers truck comes to a screeching halt outside the lab's doors. Grabbing their bolt cutters and flashlights, Joyce and Hopper make their way to the abandoned laboratory that had caused them so much pain.

Joyce couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. She knew it was silly to be so worried about faulty magnets, but she didn't regret her actions. The last two times she had this unshakeable feeling in her core, she had been right to listen. The first being the moment she found Will's bed empty on the morning of November 7th, 1983. The second being Halloween night, the following year. And each time she felt it, untold horrors had followed.

And now? So far, those instincts hadn't failed her yet.

One visit to Scott Clarke about the town's sudden faulty magnets and her doubts were confirmed. And according to him, the only way an unstable electromagnetic field big enough to reach over all of Hawkins would have cost billions of dollars, and likely government-funded.

This had the lab written all over it. This had to do with the Upside Down and those monsters with it. It just had to. And she wasn't about to sit around and wait for it take her boy again. Or anybody else for that matter.

So here she was, nothing but a flashlight in hand and a fierce determination in her as she stormed the gates of Hawkins Lab, Hopper in toe.

The lab was just as they had left it that night. Glass was shattered among the floors from the busted windows, the chill seeping in from all sides; still as sharp as it was that night.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

The only answer the duo receives is the echo of Hopper's voice bouncing back to them as they step inside.

"We come in peace."

As she stood here now, Joyce realized everything was as she had last left it. That is... all but one thing.

One person.

Bob Newby. Superhero.

《•••》

He stood, the warmest of smiles gracing his face as he looked at the woman he loved. She was safe.

The next thing he felt was a harsh thud in his spine and skull as he was thrown to the floor.

All he knew was fear as he stared death in the face; its haunches in the air and its faceless head peeled away to reveal several rows of sharp thorny teeth as it pinned the man to the floors.

Joyce jumps back at the sight, her horrified screams blending with his own. The creature towers over Bob, and despite the man's best efforts he cannot quite match the beast's strength. It raises a single lean arm into the air, and in one swift motion its talons glide down to meet his left kidney. As its claws sink further into his sides, a cloud of deep crimson stains his scrubs, and a guttural cry of pain tears from deep within his chest.

"No!"

Joyce's cries of anguish alert the chief, who comes in all too late. He draws his rifle, now more in tune with the weapon without a still unconscious Will over his shoulder. But even then, it is far too late when the bullets hit the thing attacking Bob. Life has already begun to drain from the man, and in a matter of seconds, his chest had been torn to shreds.

"No!" She cries, fighting against Hopper's grip, unable to tear her teary eyes away from Bob.

"Go!"

As she is pulled around the corner, her one free arm stretches out after the man who had risked so much.

"Bob!"

The last thing she sees before the scene disappears from her view altogether is Bob's trembling and bloody hand reaching out for her in his remaining moments.

"No!"

《•••》

"Joyce,"

Her eyes are far away and haunted when she finally looks at Hopper. It looked to him as if she was pulling herself out of a memory, and he didn't have to wonder which. Hopper had a hunch this would happen, but he was in no place to blame her.

"You okay?" He asks.

But she was already burying it. Again, something he anticipated.

"I'm fine," she says quickly.

"You wanna wait in the car?"

Joyce all but scoffed and marched ahead.

"I said I'm fine."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Hours. They had been at this. For hours. At least... Well, that's what it felt like to Steve and Dustin as they continued their search.

Really it had only been a little over one.

Spycraft could be pretty boring, they quickly realized.

Their mission was beginning to feel a bit silly as the longer time wore on. After all, what were the odds they'd find an actual evil Russian waltzing around in broad daylight?

"Target acquired," Dustin gasped.

Okay, so maybe the odds were pretty decent.

"Where?"

"Ten o'clock. Sam Goody's,"

"Give me that," Steve says, taking hold of the binoculars.

Sure enough, just as Dustin had said, a towering man in shades, long blonde hair, was carrying a duffle bag as he strode through the crowd.

"Shit. Duffle bag,"

Lowering the binoculars, the duo look to one another with grave faces as it dawns on them.

-"Evil Russian"

He wasn't at all hard to spot in their sudden chase. His all-black jumpsuit stood out among the sea of neon around him as he ascended the escalator.

Despite his casted looks at his surroundings, the man didn't seem to notice the two boys close on his tail.

"Slow down," Dustin warned, as they squeezed through a group of girls.

"We're losin' him,"

"You're getting too close,"

Steve's shoulder suddenly collided with a guy not much older than him, who turned to scowl at him.

"Watch it, dickwad!"

The target slowed, peering curiously over his shoulder. Steve and Dustin fall back against the wall; Steve behind a plant that didn't exactly hide him or his bright blue uniform and Dustin ran for the payphone. He picked it up, immediately speaking into it in a monotone voice he would cringe at later.

"Hello. Yes. I am fine. How are you?"

But he didn't seem to notice, the target had already moved on. He seemed to be in a hurry.

When they were certain he had no reason to spot them, they fell back into a scurry on his tail which carried them all the way to...

Jazzercise?

Peering around the corner, Steve and Dustin watched bewildered as the man hurried to the front of the class.

"All right, everyone, listen up!" He yells.

Their minds raced as he threw the duffle bag onto the counter with an impressive thud before pulling back the zipper.

"I just have one question for you."

What evil did this man have in mind for this poor, unsuspecting group of women?

"Who..."

He rips his glasses off, and reaches into the duffle bag-

"is ready to sweat?"

-and pulls out a boombox.

Simultaneously, their faces fall into small 'o's as they gape at the unexpected turn of events.

The ladies clad in neon tights and leg warmers bounce happily on their mats, and a chorus of agreements ring out throughout the class.

"That's right!" Cheers the non-Russian. With a blindingly white smile, he presses play on the boombox and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go begins to burst from the speakers. Stepping onto a mat of his own, he unzips his black jumpsuit — which they now realized was a tracksuit — to reveal an equally neon, dangerously thin, muscle tee. "Okay! Let's start nice and easy now."

A grimace falls over Steve and Dustin as they watch the sight unfold.

"Let's move our thighs. Yeah!"

The women cheer as he begins to grind the air.

"Yeah, ladies, warm it up."

They begin to copy his motions.

"Bring it down to your hips. Start feeling that burn, everywhere, down in the loins, right?"

Steve just blinks.

"Slow now. Just isolate."

The man begins thrusting his hips, and Dustin watches horrified.

Okay, so maybe this mission wouldn't be so easy.

But if they were going to find anything, he was sure it would be easier to handle than this.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"The week is long," Robin mutters. "The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west. A trip to China sounds nice if you tread lightly."

She takes a thoughtful sip of her soda, eyes raking over her notepad with the now fully translated message. Turns out, translation went a lot faster without those idiots trying to help. But something was still nagging at her.

"Tread lightly," she mumbles, discarding her drink and beginning to thumb through the translation book.

Had she gotten it wrong? She didn't think she had, but why else would it be bothering her?

She was pulled from her thoughts at the sudden sound of knocking on the back door. In a haste, she unhooks the headphones from her neck and squeezes through the partition window before yanking open the back door.

"Delivery for you,"

"Thank you," she says, grabbing for the package.

It was heavy, but that was to be expected. It must be the new shipment in from Michigan, she thought. With a huff, she drops it onto the break table before turning back to the waiting delivery man.

She scratched her signature in before handing the pen and clipboard back, and that's when her eyes linger on his uniform.

LYNX TRANSPORTATION

That nagging feeling was back, but more than anything it felt like an itch had finally been scratched.

It couldn't be, could it?

"Have a nice day,"

"Yeah, you too," she mumbles.

She could hear the wheels of his hand truck carrying down the hall and that's when Robin peered out after him.

A hint of a smirk grew on her face when she laid eyes on the insignia painted over the back of his uniform.

"Silver cat." She gasps. "Silver. Cat."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"Hey, Robin, you're not gonna believe who Dustin thought was a Russian," Steve grumbled as they strode back into Scoops Ahoy.

Dustin shoved his arm.

"You did too."

"No, I did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I did not."

But Robin wasn't listening. She had shoved herself right past them without so much as a glance in their direction.

Out of breath in exhilaration, Robin finds herself on the ledge of the topiary in the very heart of Starcourt. Her eyes scoured the shops and she can feel everything falling into place.

"A trip to China sounds nice," she mutters. "A trip to China... sounds... nice..."

If Lynx Transportation was the Silver Cat, something in this mall — a store in this mall — then that meant...

Imperial Panda.

Her grin returns.

"A trip to China sounds nice."

She checks her notes again.

'If you tread lightly'

It had to be something with shoes...

How about Kauffman shoes?

"If you tread lightly,"

Now blue and yellow... what could that be — where had she seen that?

"When blue meets yellow..."

Her eyes fly across the walls, and for a moment she wonders if it's somewhere deeper in the mall out of sight. But that didn't make sense. What did make sense were the two clock hands at the center of the mall she had glanced at almost every hour of every shift.

"in the west."

"Robin?"

Steve and Dustin reach her side, peering up at her with a questioning look.

"What are you doing?"

"I cracked it," is all she can say.

"Cracked what?"

No longer able to contain her excitement, she jumped down from the ledge and her lips split into a small, shaky smile.

"I cracked the code."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Stepping through the airlock doors that separated the world from the gate to the Upside Down was not as daunting as it once had been.

For one, the airlock obviously was no longer functioning, nor was anything else in the building and above all, it all felt... empty. It looked more like an abandoned hospital than a notoriously evil government lab dedicated to the study of alternate dimensions and psychic child weapons.

And what once had been a gaping hole that lowered into a stories-high rift to another dimension was now just a slab of fresh concrete. The gate, and any way of reaching it, had long since been sealed.

Hopper gives a definitive, hollow knock on the plaster when they reach the wall, and turns to Joyce, "Nobody's home," and paces away.

"All the cavities have been filled. I watched 'em do it, Joyce."

At the very least, it was hard to swallow. For so long the truth had always led back here. Everything led back here.

The mind flayer, the demodogs. Will himself.

How could this not be the lab? Or at the very least, the Upside Down?

"It's over," Hopper concludes, seemingly reading her thoughts. Sharing a collective sigh with Joyce, Hopper looks around at the remains as she takes a seat on a nearby lift. "It's over,"

"I feel like I'm looking my mind," she says.

"You're not losing your mind," Hopper assures, nervously beginning to pace. "Not any more than I am."

He nibbles on the inside of his cheek as he nervously kicks a loose piece of rubble.

"You know, the other day, I almost shot Betsy Payne's dog because it came rushing at me from behind this fence, and I... I swear to God I thought it was one of those things."

The look in Joyce's eyes was all too familiar. It was a look he knew he had been wearing as long as she had

"You know that I'm keeping a close eye on things, right?"

"Yeah,"

"Because it is important to me." Hopper all but chokes. "It is important to me that you feel safe. That you and your family feel safe. I want you to feel like this can still be your home."

Joyce winces.

"What?" He asks somberly, already knowing the answer. "You didn't think I'd find out about that? Gary called me. He's said he's fixing up your house to put on the market."

Joyce makes no effort to deny his claims and Hopper realizes he never really expected her to. He didn't know what he was expecting. But the Byers leaving Hawkins was something he considered unthinkable.

And knowing that family, he wasn't the only one who'd miss them.

"The kids know yet?"

Joyce doesn't say a word, but it's all the answer he needed. The look on her face says it all; she didn't want to. She was afraid to. But she was also afraid to be in Hawkins. Afraid for her boys being in Hawkins.

And Hopper knew that feeling all too well.

"After Sarah..." he sighs, taking a seat on the ground beside her. "I had to get away... I had to get the hell out of that place, you know? Outrun those, uh... those memories, I guess."

Hopper tries to summon the words but they were having a hard time through the lump in his throat. There wasn't a day that went by he didn't think about his little girl. About what life would have been like had she still been around, how she and El would get along... All of it. But that wasn't the truth, and he knew it.

"I mean, why do you think I ended up back in this shithole?"

Eyes brimming with tears, Hopper peers up at the woman who had wormed her way into his heart all those years ago. She let out a pathetic chuckle, as he did and all he can do is smile weakly up at her.

"But you have something that I never had. You have people that know what you've been through. You have people that care about you. Right here. In Hawkins."

"You mean," she begins, her voice soft and cracked. "You mean, people like Scott Clarke?"

There's a painful silence that Joyce finally puts out of its misery.

"That was a joke," she smiled.

Hopper releases a sharp breath, his eyes fluttering closed in relief and her smile widens just a little further.

"Mm," he groans softly, giving a small laugh.

Lost in the moment and each other's company, they had nearly forgotten where they were had it not been for the sudden clang echoing down the nearby halls.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The Okra Project:

AAIP Mental Health Association

Black Trans Lives Matter Carrd

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them."

Taglist:

@dickkwad @iblesstherainsdown-in-africa @miscellaneoustoasts @happyandlonely-blog @peeperparkour @ba-responds @bibliophilesquared @blogforhoes @witch-of-all-things-soft @shawkneecaps @whothefuckstolemykeds @daughter-of-the-stars11 @stranger-things4 @kpopanimegirl @nightbu-g @lozzybowe @gizmofishersupremacy @spiderbitch69420

❥ Let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist! ❥

#cosmic #cosmic 3 #will byers x fem!reader #will byers x reader #stranger things #stranger things 3 #the case of the missing lifeguard #3x03 #st 3x03

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coveredinsweetpea · 4 years

Note

you should do a smut blurb where sweet pea and the reader are studying together and he keeps trying to distract her and begs her to let him give her head. with fluff at the end please 👩🏻‍🦲👩🏻‍🦲 love ur writing 🥺❤️

I went a bit overboard and it’s 2k long and I’m too lazy to edit but i hope it’s not too bad!

"- so the renal filtration rate is not only affected by the volume of blood but also by the effectiveness of the heart muscle, ok?" you said, drawing yet another arrow, this time connecting the kidney to the right atrium of the heart. Your eyes were focused on the diagram in front of you, taking in how good it actually came out. "Can you tell me how the power of the heart muscle influences the urine filtration?"

It was as if you were talking by yourself, as if there was no one else in the room with you. Rolling your eyes, you turned to look at Sweet Pea, who was busy folding one of his notes into a paper airplane.

"SWEET PEA" you yelled, startling him, which resulted in him dropping the airplane and hurrying to meet your eyes with a confused expression.

"Yeah?"

"The fuck are you doing, oh my god" you scoffed, and walked over to him. Without any kind of notice, you grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the bed where your atlas and all your notebooks were neatly arranged, and motioned for him to lay down.

He did so without too much complaining, and you thought this time he'd actually listen. You explained the mechanism of the vasoactive hormones and their effect on kidneys, and then looked at him again, "Did you understand that?"

"Yea, I did" he said softly, "It's not that difficult, you know"

"Oh, I know" you laughed, "But I'm not the one who's failing this class"

"I'm failing because I didn't go, not because I'm stupid"

"All your friends are down at the docks, while you're here, learning about pee. Tell me again how you're not stupid"

"You're here with me" Sweet Pea grinned, nudging you in the side. His eyes traveled a down your body a bit, before looking at you again. "Don't you wanna-"

"Pea!" you exclaimed, "No, stop trying to distract me. It's enough that you're already distracted, if I am too, then we will never finish this. Ever"

"So..." he teased, "If I'm distracted, I should do something to get my head back into the game, right?"

"What do you wanna do...?" you asked, even though you were already pretty sure you were going to be against that anyway. It wasn't only Sweet Pea missing the party at the docks, so were you. And also the fact that he is wasting all his potential on beer and street fights. It was a shame and you were determined to get him back on track.

"Come here" he whined, throwing his arm around your neck, and pulling you into a kiss. You didn't even get to part your lips before his hands started roaming all over your body. Without effort, he rolled onto his back and pulled up on top of him, hungrily kissing your lips as if you had deprived him of them for too long. And it almost worked, almost had you caving and forgetting about studying.

"Sweet Pea" you scoffed, crawling off of him, faking annoyance, "Stop! Pay attention to this! It's the last chapter, please"

"Ok" he sighed defeated, "I will, for you"

"Thank you" you laughed.

Five minutes later, you were explaining to him the active mechanism of absorption, when you felt Sweet Pea place his hand on your ass.

You turned to look at him confused, but he just sent you a sweet smile, "I'm paying attention. Sodium and Chloride, go on"

Glad he was finally listening, you leaned in for a quick peck on the lips, and then resumed the idea. About 30 seconds later, his hand started moving, roaming around your ass, gripping tightly before he made his way between your legs.

"Why are you like this?" you whined.

"Like what?" Sweet Pea taunted, "You know I was listening to you"

"But if you keep doing that, I'm not gonna be able to concentrate"

"Perfect" he chuckled, slapping your ass.

His fingers dug into your skin, and the pain between your legs was starting to get more and more real. "Stop touching my ass"

"No" he shrugged amused, and moved his hand lower between your legs to apply pressure over your clothed opening, "Come on, you know you like it"

"Of course I like it" you rolled your eyes, "But we have to get this done, please!"

"I know you want my fingers fucking your pussy" Sweet Pea said with a devious smile, his dark eye boring into yours, almost hypnotizing you.

"Pea..."

"What about my tongue, hm?" he suggested, pressing down harder against your clit, "I know you want it real bad, baby girl"

"Let's finish studying and we'll see after" you said weakly, and it was obvious you were more trying to convince yourself rather than him.

"Let me eat you out, angel. I want your pussy" he begged, and his words set you ablaze.

He knew perfectly well what he was doing. "I just wanna taste you," Sweet Pea grinned, and seeing how you weren't declining his offer anymore, he moved to the side and grabbed the waist band of your leggings. He kept his hand in place for a second, and looked up to meet your eyes, "I bet you're so fucking wet thinking about me tongue fucking that pussy, why are you holding back? I know you're dripping"

"Of course I want it, Pea" you panted, and rubbed your thighs together, "But I also want you to pass this class"

"I make you cum, and then you make me smart" he laughed, "Deal?"

You contemplated for a second, and then rolled your eyes, not being able to resist him anymore, "Ok..."

"That's my girl!" Sweet Pea exclaimed with enthusiasm, and then grabbed your hips, pulling your legging and panties off in one swift motion.

You spread your legs for him, and a sweet, hungry smile appeared on his lips, "You're so fucking beautiful" he shook his head and then lowered himself. At first, his lips connected to the soft skin of your inner thighs, as he kissed his was up. His touch was feather light, in perfect contrast with the way his nails dug into your skin. When he reached your core and you felt his breath against your opening, goosebumps appeared all over your skin.

"You really are so wet" Sweet Pea smiled, dragging his pointed finger up your folds.

By this point, you were drunk with anticipation. He was taking his sweet time, as if you weren't riled up enough already. "Come on, Pea. Please" you moaned.

"Look who's begging me now" he smirked, and even though it seemed like he was about to carry on with his teasing, while looking into your eyes, he pushed to fingers inside of you.

The eagerness of his actions made you let out a loud moan as you arched your back, "Pea..."

"Yes?" he smiled, twisting his fingers around, proudly stretching up your walls and knowingly driving you insane.

"Feels real good" you whimpered, already starting to adjust and get used to his fingers.

"Gonna feel way better"

While continuing to fuck you with his fingers, he bent down and attacked your clit with his lips. He created the perfect amount of pressure as he sucked against your bundle of nerves. His fingers kept doing, furiously thrusting in and out of you. Instinctively, you bent your knees and brought your thighs together on either side of Sweet Pea's head. The feeling of his tongue lapping at your core was slowly starting to be too much, and you curled your fingers into his raven hair, gripping his roots to relieve some of the pressure building up inside you.

Out of nowhere, he stopped, and pulled away. As he spoke, his breath fanned against your pussy, giving you an electrifying vibe. "If I could choose how I wanna die, I definitely going for being suffocated between your legs"

"Shit sorry" you laughed, forcing yourself to relax you legs and lay them back down on the bed.

"It's fine, love" he teased, kissing your thigh, "I fucking love it"

Soon after, he was back at it, full force. Pleasure was starting to tickle you all over your body, and it was getting impossible to keep quiet. Moan after moan slipped past your lips, as you struggled to keep your breathing regulated. Just when you thought you couldn't feel any better, Sweet Pea added another finger, and the feeling became to much. You barely got a chance to get accustomed to the feeling before you started to feel your high enveloping you.

"Pea-" you panted, "I'm close"

He pulled away just for a second, "Cum on my lips, love, come on"

When his lips met your clit again, pleasure took over. His name rolled off your lips as you allowed yourself to drown in the mind blowing orgasm he forced upon you. Every muscle of your body spasmed and Sweet Pea kept going until he felt you relax and fall limply against the mattress.

"Fuck..."

"It was good, wasn't it?" he grinned, wiping his chin with the back of his hand. Slowly, he crawled over to you, and laid down by your side, "You have no idea how good you fucking taste."

"Show me" you smiled, and grabbed him by the collar to pull him in for a kiss. When his tongue pushed past your lips, your own taste enveloped your mouth, and the simple thought of it drove you crazy all over again.

After pulling away from him, you wanted to close your eyes and cuddle into his chest, but much to your surprise, he stopped you. "Come on, babe, let's finish that chapter"

His words took you aback and your eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Sweet Pea hesitated, "I realize I may have been a little bit of an asshole"

"No, baby" you whined, cupping his cheek, "Why?"

"You just wanted to help me" he sighed, slowly blinking as regret was visible in his eyes, "And for almost two hours I didn't even listen to you talk"

"That's ok, Pea" you said sincerely, "I get that you're not in the mood to study, don't worry, please"

"It's not even your grade, but you still came here instead of going out, and all I did was completely waste your time"

"Stop" you whined, lovingly kissing his lips to prove not one single part of you was mad at him, "You'll pass this class, and this will all be over with, and I swear to god, Pea, I don't regret not going out tonight"

"How do I thank you?" he asked sweetly, "What do you want in return for being the most awesome human being ever?"

"Just pass the class, babe" you laughed.

"No, I really wanna thank you. Tell me something you want"

"Hm.." you pouted and then smiled shyly, "A kiss"

"A thousand kisses maybe" Sweet Pea shook his head, "But I'm serious, tell me"

"I don't know" you whined, not finding a way out of this. After thinking about it for a few seconds, you settled on something, "A night in. Me and you, pizza, wine and weed. That's all"

"But, Y/n" Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, "We already to that a lot, like two times a week, at least"

"Well-" you excused yourself, "I love it, that's all I want"

He seemed to have a hard time believing your words, but eventually his eyes started to sparkle, "I have an idea!"

You nodded for him to continue.

"I'll rent one of those hippie vans and we'll do everything you said, but not in this shitty house. We'll go out, like out of the city so we can see the stars and all that cheesy stuff you love"

"Pea.." you whined, "That's too much! And I'd love to say you don't have to, but I really want that"

He looked down at you in awe for a second, before kissing your lips, "I fucking love you, baby girl"

"And I love you, Pea"

#sweet pea #sweet pea imagine #sweet pea smut #riverdale #riverdale imagine #riverdale imagines #sweet pea fanfiction #riverdale fic #riverdale fanfiction #sweet pea fanfic #sweet pea fluff #sweet pea fic #sweet pea blurb #sweet pea writing

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thebluenoteblog · 4 years

Text

Security

Summary: When some guy starts getting a little handsy with you while the guys are warming up, Colton takes it upon himself to handle the situation.

Player: Colton Parayko

Word Count: 1.6k

Requested: can you do a joel edmundson or colton parayko and go to a game with the other wags and some guys come up to you during the game and start to talk to you and wont leave you alone and starts to touch you and then colton or joel slams into the boards and yells at the man till he leaves you alone and after the game he seems really upset and you comfort him and tell him how much you love him

“I swear, if it gets any busier, I’m going to throw my hat in and call it,” you said before taking a drink from your water bottle.

Cris nodded, “I feel you. Sort of. I mean I don’t get the whole nurse thing, but I get the running around like a chicken with your head cut off thing.”

“You don’t have to be a nurse to understand being swamped at work,” you said, screwing the cap back onto your water bottle. You only turned away from Cris as the boys started to filter out onto the ice for warm ups.

“At least you got the night off,” Molly said, leaning around Cris to look at you. “Even I didn’t want to miss this one and I’ve been to so many hockey games that they star in my dreams.”

You laughed, “Yeah, you’ve got to love when the Blues play the Preds. It’s always a good match up, especially this late in the season.”

Jayne smiled, “Such a good match up that we all got babysitters, so we could go out tonight. You’re coming right?”

“Of course,” you said, “Wouldn’t miss it.”

You were distracted from Cris’s reply by someone coming up beside you. He took a seat next to you and turned in your direction. He smiled, “Are you sitting here for the game or just down for warm ups?”

You smiled politely back at him, “For the game,” then turned back to Cris.

You were about to restart your conversation with her when you felt a tap on your shoulder. Jayne looked around the two of you at the man. Maybe she was curious who was disrupting your evening, maybe she was hoping that he would recognize her and put two and two together, then back off. If her goal was the latter, it failed.

He continued to tap until you turned to face him again. You gave him another polite smile, “Yes?”

“I was wondering if I could get your name?” He asked, “After all, we will be sitting by each other all night.”

You frowned, but being the good conflict avoiding midwestern girl that you were, you answered him, “(Y/N),” you said, and immediately regretted it when his eyes lit up.

He held out a hand, “It’s nice to meet you, (Y/N). I’m Tom.”

You begrudgingly took the hand and after releasing it, halfway turned in your seat before he spoke again. “So how did you afford these tickets?” He asked.

Did you avoid conflict? Yes. Was this an exception? Also, yes. You narrowed your eyes at him. This was your way out. You should have told him the truth. You were Colton Parayko’s girlfriend of two years. You were at every home game that you weren’t working or sleeping through after a twelve-hour shift, like the supportive girlfriend that you were. He bought your season pass.

However, the implication that for some reason you shouldn’t be able to afford these seats? Oh, no. Oh. No. “Why shouldn’t I be able to afford them?”

He paused for a moment, face flushing before responding, “I was just saying that I practically had to sell a kidney for this ticket. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

You nodded slowly, pretending to believe him. “Okay,” you had made your point. He knew he’d made a mistake. You tried to turn back to the group and he grabbed your shoulder, forcing you to face him. You took a deep breath and bit the inside of your cheek. You could practically feel the women behind you shifting uncomfortably in their seats, unsure of whether or not to make a scene yet.

“So, what do you do for a living?” He asked.

You sighed heavily, “I’m a nurse practitioner.”

He nodded, “That’s really cool. I work construction.”

You nodded but didn’t say anything. You also didn’t try to turn away from him because his hand was still on your shoulder. He slid it lower, now resting dangerously close to your breast. You attempted to flinch away, and you heard Molly finally say something behind you, but it was completely drowned out by what sounded like a car crashing into the boards.

Tom jerked his hand away in surprise and stared wide eyed at the player who had just rammed himself into the glass right in front of you. You stared in surprise as Colton slammed the side of his fist against the glass. “Leave her alone!” He yelled.

You, and all of the women sitting beside you sat in shocked silence as he stared Tom down. The look Tom was getting, was honestly turning you on a little bit. However, if you had been the one on the receiving end of it, you probably would have gotten up out of your seat and left until warm ups were over.

That was exactly what Tom did after about thirty seconds of this stare down. Colton watched him retreat with harsh eyes. When he had disappeared, Colton turned to you, his eyes softer, but you could still see his jaw working. He was still clearly angry.

He smiled at you then nodded his head and skated away.

Ten minutes later a security guard was standing at the end of your row. He didn’t leave once throughout the entire game.

<><><><><><>

Colton wasn’t typically clingy. He wasn’t usually clung to your side, following you to the bar when you went to get a drink. He had never walked you to the bathroom before. He wasn’t typically possessive. He didn’t make a show out of kissing you in an explicit way anytime he caught another guy looking in your direction, even his single friends. He usually didn’t keep and arm around you at all times, even when you were clearly getting annoyed because you were trying to move through a tight space. This is how you knew something was wrong.

It was after you had spent an extra five minutes pushing your way through the crowd in an effort to get to the bar because he was clung to your side, only to have him pull you into a lip bruising kiss when you got there that you finally broke. When he pulled away, arms still around your waist, you looked up at him and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

His eyebrows came together, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You crossed your arms which was one interesting task because you were still pressed against his chest. “You don’t know what I’m talking about? Really?”

He shook his head, “Really.”

“Okay, let me fill you in. You’re acting like I’m a helium balloon, for starters,” you said.

He snorted, “What?”

“Like I’m going to float away if you take your hands off of me,” you waved a hand through the air exaggeratedly.

He frowned, “I am not.”

“Then let me go,” you said, attempting to take a step back.

He dropped his hands from around your waist but took your hand in his before ever losing contact with you. You didn’t say anything about it, just turned and walked toward the exit. You knew he would follow. “Where are we going?”

“Outside to talk,” you said. “There’s to many people in here, I can hardly hear you.”

You pushed your way through the door and the cool February air hit you like a truck. You sucked in a breath and he noticed right away, “(Y/N), let’s go back inside. It’s cold out here.”

“I’m fine. It isn’t that bad,” you said, turning to face him. “Now tell me what’s wrong.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Colton said quietly as he stepped around you to block the wind.

You brushed your fingers over his jaw, “Colt, please. Just tell me. If you’re planning to act like this forever, then I guess I don’t mind too much but it’s going to get really inconvenient.”

He sighed and reached up to play with a strand of hair that the wind had blown into your face before he had moved to protect you from it just like he had been trying to protect you all night. “I didn’t like it.”

“What didn’t you like?” You asked, continuing to stroke your thumb over his jaw.

His head tilted to the side and his eyes scanned over your face. Studying? Assessing? “He was harassing you. I was watching it happen the whole time and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

“You did stop it though,” you said.

He nodded slowly, “Yeah, but he didn’t have to listen to me. I couldn’t have done anything to him from the other side of the boards. If I could have, I would probably be looking at an interesting suspension right now.”

You pulled your lip between your teeth and looked away from him before saying, “I really don’t believe you. You have more self-control than that.”

He placed both hands on your waist and tugged you against him, “We both know that I have no self-control when it comes to you, (Y/N).”

You laughed softly, “You have enough not to hit someone over me.”

He didn’t look so convinced but he nodded, “Whatever you say.”

You stood up on your toes and pulled him down to you. He pressed his lips to yours and this kiss was unlike any of the others that you had shared that night. It wasn’t possessive or designed to put on a show. It was slow and sweet and just for the two of you. When he pulled away, he had a smile on his face. “I love you,” he said, brushing his hand over your neck, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” you said, “More than you know.”

#colton parayko #colton parayko imagine #colton parayko imagines #hockey imagines #nhl imagine

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unichrome · 3 years

Text

I’ve been wanting to write down as much as I can remember from the month at the hospital in April, and this tumblr blog is the only thing I have that even remotely resembles a journal. So here it is, feel free to read and comment if you’d like, but please don’t reblog.

I was living in Copenhagen when this happened.

A few weeks prior, I started a new medication, an antipsychotic so the usual side effect was to be expected: tiredness. But I’ve been in this carousel before, I know the worst is over after a week or so. I did indeed become extremely tired, and this was during working-from-home corona days so most shifts I ended up napping in the couch at any chance I got. Easily slept 12+ hours per night. It kept getting worse, I couldn’t stay awake during the days, became extremely lethargic. And it didn’t get better after a week, it just kept getting worse. So I called my psychiatrist and told her the medication wasn’t working and I felt so very bad and tired.

I got a new appointment with her, which I can’t even remember really. She got worried and sent me off to the psychiatric ward, where they did the standard blood test. Then sent me off to a room. Luckily I had anticipated for something like this to happen, so I had brought the work phone as well as chargers, so I could call in sick to work. A while later, three people suddenly entered and told me I had to go to the hospital right now, two of them were from the hospital transport. They took me to Amager hospital, I was so confused and not really present at all. I don’t know what they told me, but I needed a blood transfusion immediately. I stayed there for a night, the only thing I can remember is going to the bathroom once.

The Amager hospital apparently wasn’t capable of providing the care I needed, I was transported yet again, to Rigshospitalet. The memories from here on are very blurry and sporadic. Eventually I heard that both of my kidneys were failing, when I was admitted on April 22nd, my kidney functionality was around 18%. If it drops under 20% it becomes lethal. Kidneys are also responsible for the production of blood, which wasn’t happening anymore and I had a very dangerously low count of red blood cells.

I’m super difficult to get blood from if the first attempt isn’t successful, as the poor nurses became painfully aware of after failing on the first try. During one of the first days there, when the daily blood test was to be taken, they didn’t succeed. Three nurses tried, eventually they called for a narcosis doctor to try with a ultrasound machine to find my veins, but it didn’t work very well either. They stung me all around the body, down to my feet and it took at least an hour to get the sample and my body had pretty much gone into shock since medical procedures and needles of any kind are one of my worst fears. Because of this it was decided to install a port for draining blood so this wouldn’t have to be repeated every day.

A kidney biopsy was ordered as well as more detailed blood tests to figure out why this kidney failure was happening. I would also have to call my parents in Sweden and tell them what was happening, and the fact that they couldn’t come and visit me, at all. I was in a quarantined zone of the hospital where no visitors were allowed, not even family. But also Denmark had closed its borders at the time, so they couldn’t even enter the country in the first place.

My only contact with the outside world was my phone that I treated as the most precious thing in the entire world, it was also pretty much the only thing I had with me. I would have long calls with my family talking about the most mundane and boring things but it was such a blessing to hear about, I would drag out the subjects as much as I could and so would they. I’d often cry after having to stop the calls.

The biopsy and tests revealed that I had antibodies that shouldn’t be there. My immune system was attacking the body, pretty much. This autoimmune disease is very rare, Microscopic Polyangiitis, and will cause kidney failure (and other organ failures) if not discovered and treated in time. Since I barely had any prior symtoms, it wasn’t discovered in time. My lungs were also examined as the disease usually targets kidneys and/or lungs, but no significant damage was found there luckily.

I was put on steroids (prednisone 60 mg) that would support the kidneys and dampen the damage from the antibodies as well as chemotherapy (Sendoxan 100 mg) that would shut down the immune system almost completely. Synthetic hormone injections every week to stimulate the production of red blood cells.

Every morning a blood test was done a 6:00, as well as checking the temperature and blood pressure. I was forced to drink 3 liters of fluid every day (which I logged on a paper meticulously - every ml counted) and I could only pick between water, disgusting orange juice or disgusting apple juice. Except during lunch, when I got a small package of milk - this became pretty much the highlight of my day. One glass of milk. That was like pure joy, it tasted so divine. In just a few days your entire world shifts in such a way that this package of milk is what you look forward to the next day.

All day I was bedbound and in a haze, time was entirely dependent on medicine, meal and test times like a work schedule, from the 6:00 tests to the final 23:00 medications, that left 7 hours of rest that was robbed from me because prednisone makes you unable to sleep well, even with the sleep aids I got. Despite being in bed almost all day every day, I was constantly sleepy and tired but I would never get any rest. Couldn’t even pee normally either, had to collect everything in a bottle for them to log.

But of course it would get worse. After about 6 days, my doctor came in and told me that the treatment didn’t seem to be working fast enough. My kidney functionality kept dropping, now at 13%, creatinine levels above 400 (it should never be above 80 for women, around 200 is kidney failure). They had one more weapon to combat this - plasmapheresis. This would mean connecting me to a machine that would take out my blood, clean it from the harmful antibodies, and put it back in again. Hopefully this would buy me time for the treatment to win. To do this, they had to cut up my throat to insert two tubes that would take in and out the blood. I had to be awake during the whole procedure to control the breathing as instructed.

I wasn’t connected to the machine all the time. A few hours every other day. It was noisy, sounded like a miniature washing machine, and I hated it so much. The tubes in my throat, blood going in and out of me, it was just pure terror even if the procedure itself didn’t hurt. I got some mild sedatives but they were way too mild and didn’t do shit. The fact that I didn’t have to be connected to the machine every other day became yet another highlight like the milk. I’d talk about how today was such a good day because it was a no machine day, like a holiday.

Showering was horrible too. Because of the tubes I had to avoid getting them wet as much as possible while still somehow washing the hair. Then the tape around the tubes had to be changed and I hated anyone touching that area. I went for as long as I could between the showers, up to 9 days.

I was quickly becoming very weak, as the medications and chemo ate away at my bones and muscles. My legs have always been strong, I’ve had no problems doing squats with a grown man hanging on my back. But one day when I was in the bathroom, I spilled some toothpaste on the floor. I squat down to wipe it, but I couldn’t get back up again. My legs were way too weak. I ended up having to drag myself up via the toilet and sink, it felt so humiliating I refused to use the button to call for help. I bet it took several minutes to get back up standing.

It was still very unsure if I would make it, the plasmapheresis wasn’t a guaranteed help. One day a psychologist came to talk to me, but the only thing I remember is that he asked if I was afraid of death. I told him that my current biggest fear was the damn tubes in my neck, the constant needles, every day the touching and prodding of my body, but it didn’t seem like it got through to him. Maybe because my Danish was so damn shitty too, I could barely articulate myself and what I felt in Swedish, much less in English or Danish, I think I was mostly rambling incoherently.

In the meantime my parents had been writing the hospital for updates and visitation possibilities, and eventually the kind nurses and doctors there started fighting for getting my parents to visit. They got granted an exception by the hospital to visit my room once per day, but they still couldn’t get into the country. My parents contacted the Danish police asking if an exception could be made since it now was entirely possible that this could be the last time they’d see me. They were eventually granted permission and now the final hindrance remained - getting there. Since they live far up north, the transportation options are limited especially during corona. There were essentially no flights, so the second best option was train for about 2 days.

As luck would have it, the plasmapheresis did help, my kidneys were slowly recovering and once I got up to around 25% functionality, I was free from the damn machine and the medications now had the upper hand against my stupid immune system. In the final days at the hospital, my parents arrived. And we could actually be happy because it seemed like the danger was over. I begged the doctor to release me and let my parents help me at home instead. I knew how to take the medications by now and it wouldn’t be necessary for daily tests anymore. She agreed but I had to come to the hospital every few days for a checkup.

And that concluded my first chapter of this disease and kidney failure. Thank you for reading all the way to here, I appreciate it.

#njursvikt #sjukhus

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eds-zebra-warrior · 3 years

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2021 Ehlers Danlos Society Awareness Month (Day 3 Prompt: Symptoms)

Unbeknownst to most people in the community and even many in the medical community as most medical personnel never learned about EDS in school or if they have were only taught the very most basic information about it but Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is a systemic condition and predisposes those with it to over 250 other conditions so it's not unusual for someone with EDS to have 20, 30 or even more other conditions caused by it which are called comorbid conditions or comorbidities.

EDS is a genetic condition that affects the structure of connective tissue. There are multiple types of connective tissue but there are also multiple types of EDS so one or more types of connective tissue can be impacted. Connective tissue also makes up at least part of every part of the body so when your connective tissue is faulty and prone to damage that also means so is everywhere connective tissue is located including but not limited to the skin, cartilage, the brain, heart, lungs, GI system, liver, kidneys, bladder, Mesentery system which is the stringy organ that is around your abdominal organs that eases then and holds them in place, lymph nodes, lymph ducts, nerves, blood vessels, blood cells, nerves, bones, bone marrow, joints, tendons, ligaments, muscle sheathing, eyes, ears, nails, hair follicles, spinal cord, sweat glands, respiratory system etc. You name it, it contains connective tissue so anything can go wrong with any part of the body leaving many patients diagnosed with conditions such as conversion disorder, meaning that all of your symptoms are in your head and you're fine for years and more often, decades because we usually get diagnosed with a lot of these comorbidities before we finally find that one doctor who can put the pieces together and say, this isn't in your head, you have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and those other conditions are very real because EDS is what caused all of them.

Now that we have discussed comorbidities I have dealt with countless symptoms over my life. As a kid it started with chronic pain, migraine headaches, and issues resulting from a compromised immune system because I caught everything going around and usually more than once. I don't remember a holiday as a kid where I wasn't sick or hurt. I was extremely clumsy, unable to run correctly until high-school with the very extensive help of my gym teacher. I was always falling, rolling my ankle, and just in general looking awkward with my body movements. I had multiple gym teachers who would agree that there was something physically wrong with me long before I could get any doctors to listen to my mom or as an adult, myself. I had to take special reading and writing classes because even to this day I cannot hold a pencil well or write with control because my fingers are too hypermobile to control a pencil so my writing is often illegible. I had a very severe failure to thrive, also called juvenile dwarfism, not even growing an inch between the ages of 2 and 12. My parents were told when I was 2 years old that I would be 6’4’’because I was so tall as at one and two years old that people would criticize my mom for carrying me out in public thinking I was 4 or 5 years old when I was only a year or two years old. I was 3’2” from the age of 2 to the age of 12 and of course when I was 12 I was extremely short and was bullied for my size as well as my weight which increased due to inflammation from undiagnosed celiac disease. There were multiple incidences with medical personnel and social workers as a kid because I always had such severe bruising all over my body and they believed I was abused. I didn't lose my teeth, losing only one on my own and at the age of 8 my dentist began pulling out my teeth which left me with dental crowding and requiring braces which were removed prematurely. I dealt with Learning disabilities and have been in glasses since age 4. I would pass out all the time as a kid, starting at 8 years old.

Bullying was a huge issue for me as a kid because I was socially awkward showing signs of OCD as well as being more mature than my peers due to my medical experiences and history with my siblings that forced me to grow up more quickly. That combined with issues such as my clumsiness and height made me the perfect target for bullying. I got what I believe was my first Traumatic Brain Injury when I was 9 years old while hanging upside down on the monkey bars. My bully had another student who had Down Syndrome, climb to the top of the monkey bars and lift my legs so I fell off onto my head.

My second was in the 6th grade. The same bully would bully other kids to help her bully a bigger target of hers which was me. One day I was at my locker between classes. Our lockers were assigned in alphabetical order by last name, of course my bully's last name came right before mine so her locker was directly to the left of mine. My mom tried to get it changed but the school refused. She shoved me down between classes while I was exchanging my books and the two kids with the locker to the right of mine she had help her roll me onto my stomach on the ground, one sat on my butt and held my feet down, the other sat on my back and held my arms down under her feet. my bully yanked my head up so my forehead was on the floor of my locker and I was trying to get out so she had the girl on my back use one of her hands to hold my head down. My bully then kicked my locker door shut on my head over and over again and I went unconscious. There were two teachers in the hall at the time but they just waked into the classroom when it started. I woke up and the hall was empty. I went to the office and told them I needed them to call my mom, I needed to go home and explained what happened. They called my mom and instead of telling her the truth they told her she needed to pick me up because I was acting strange. She came and got me and found out what happened getting me treatment.

She then took me to the school a few days later since the doctor didn't want me to return for so long (I apologize I don't remember a lot from the two weeks following this so I'm going off what I was told so the exact time I was out of school, I believe was around two weeks but I'm not sure. Anyhow at the school, we met with the principal and office staff who denied any teachers were in the hall or that any of this happened. My mom demanded to see the recordings on the cameras as a hall came in at a T right behind my locker so that camera faced my locker as well as one at each end of the hall my locker was in. They tried to tell her all three cameras were broken. My mom wasn't buying it so they tried then saying the recordings were gone. they went round and round and the school flat out refused to show her the video. My mom demanded that the girl who did this be punished because she has been asking for the school to help me since I was in the first grade and this girl started bullying me but they always fail to do anything.

They tried to then give me an in school suspension which my mom refused to let them do. They still went behind her back when I returned and made me take peanut butter sandwiches to the kids in detention during my lunch as punishment because they were mad my mom came in to question the incident. They refused to punish my bully in any way and when my mom demanded to know why, they said her mom and grandmother graduated from the school so she has a lot of history with the school which years later we found out after me and 9 other kids that I know of and who knows how many others, ended up being pulled out of the same school because of her bullying that having history at the school actually turned out to mean, she was black and they would not punish her because of her color. At the end of the school year my mom pulled me out of the school not sure what to do since back then they didn't have any kind of free online schooling so pretty much everything costed money which is when my grandma stepped up and told my mom she would help because there was no way I would be going back to deal with more bullying.

I had a ton of intestinal issues having to start colonics at around 10 years old and get my first colonoscopy around the same time. As a teen I really went down hill, struggling to eat because I had very severe nausea and cramping pain upon eating which made many of my friends believe I was anorexic but I went years without being diagnosed with gastroparesis. I started having thyroid issues and finally diagnosed with food allergies at age 14, Chest pain, palpitations, arrhythmias and trouble breathing around age 15 and seizures and cardiac arrest events at age 17.

At age 19, right before starting college I lost the ability to walk with no reason why and was sent to physical therapy to learn to walk again. The hospital visits continued in college from the seizures, emergencies from my thyroid levels going sky high or bottoming out, I started having issues with low sugar, rectal bleeding and more GI and Muscular Skeletal issues that again came to the attention of a physical education professor I had in college. The cardiac arrests continued to happen and I got an emergency pacemaker put in at age 23. Also lost the ability to walk a second time and re learned during this time.

After graduating and starting working I really went down hill. My nerve pain got so bad I could hardly tolerate it and had a lot of issues with muscle spasticity. Passing out and dizzy spells got worse, seizure meds aren't working muscle weakness got again worse in my legs and I started literally wondering if I was dying, I had such severe fatigue that I slept every moment I wasn't working, bleed very badly during my period or with just mild trauma worrying my dentist so badly that he sent a letter to my doctor suggesting a possible bleeding disorder. I was going into shakes from low sugar and low sodium frequently but at the time had no idea why I would start shaking multiple times a day. Myoclonic epilepsy started and has progressively gotten worse, Dystonia started up, I started getting intestinal obstructions more often and more gastroparesis symptoms with the nausea and vomiting, sometimes cyclic vomiting. I developed a limp and went onto forearm crutches which eventually progressed to paralysis.

I have always had issues with dislocations of joints and spinal manifestations like scoliosis, Craniocervical and Atlantoaxial instability. I’m prone to non cancerous masses that could be cancerous one day including masses in my breasts, heals and between the vertebrates in my spine. My memory has deteriorated and I now have issues which I call temporary blindness when I turn my head a certain way which pinches my already compressed brainstem kinking it off so my vision is interrupted. With Systemic Mastocitosis I deal with allergic reaction type symptoms such as anaphylaxis, overproduction of mucus, coughing, hives, swelling, rashes, itching, hot flashes, flushing and more. I overheat and have hyperhidrosis. I have muscle spasms from the paralysis, dry mouth from the meds, in addition to the heart arrhythmias and trouble controlling my body temperature from the damage to my autonomic nervous system failure I have swelling of my abdomen, extreme thirst, bladder retention, abdominal cramping and more.

There are endless symptoms associated with EDS and it’s comorbidities which has a huge impact on your social life. You can't do the things you used to do and may come up with new hobbies and later deal with the grief associated with losing the ability to do those hobbies, in turn having to find new hobbies. You lose all or almost all of your friends because they don't like what you have become, the things you used to be able to do with them and no longer can, they don't understand if you need to cancel plans, when you lose the ability to drive they drop you cold because they don't want to pick you up many of us deal with the realization of how badly we wanted friends growing up due to our social awkwardness that resulted from our illness, time spent in the hospital, maturing more quickly, as well as the result of decades of medical abuse and neglect which in most of us has resulted in complex PTSD.

Almost all EDS patients are either on the Autism Spectrum, diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which some associate with social awkwardness and also the intense need for us to please people meaning many EDS patients were known as extremely hard and dedicated workers when working or in school as well as very dedicated to friends and families. We basically give our friends the clothes off of our backs meaning that most of us unknowingly befriend people who use us and are in take take take relationships where we give everything we have into a friendship or relationship while the other person gives little back resulting in most of us losing all or almost every friend we had when we get sick and no longer have anything to give. When we are no longer able to do for others those people quickly jump ship leaving us with no friends. Most of us have this very similar personality type due to our history of growing up quickly along with the shared comorbidity of Autism, OCD, and Complex PTSD.

There are countless symptoms associated with EDS and they are different for each individual. Even in my case alone these are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to symptoms I have experienced alone so EDS isn't an easy condition to live with physically or emotionally and the diagnosis can be quite the pill to swallow with little understanding from friends, sometimes family or even the medical community.

#MyEDSChallenge #MyHSDChallenge

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omeliaendgame · 4 years

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The rain, the deer and the tree

Hey Omelia-Fans :-) This fanfiction is about Amelia having a car accident. I wrote this mainly at night, so please forgive me for possible errors ;-) I hope you like it!

Amelia finally finished her work at the hospital. Now she could drive home and get some sleep; even if Owen wouldn´t be home, because he had a night shift. Amelia walked out of the hospital and ran to her car through the pouring rain. It had rained all day and now a thunderstorm was supposed to come, so Amelia wanted to get home quickly. She took the road through the woods, because there usually weren´t other cars or persons, so she would not end up in a traffic jam. It was already very dark outside, but at one point a deer appeared in Amelia´s headlights. She put her foot on the brake abruptly. But the car didn´t find any hold on the wet road and began to skid. The deer ran away panicky and Amelia tried to gain control of her car again. But it didn´t work. The car skidded towards the edge and kept getting faster. Panic overtook Amelia. She grabbed the steering wheel and then... she only felt her car crashing into a big tree. The airbag deployed and the windows shattered. Silence. Then everything around her went black.

Amelia opened her eyes slightly. Where was she? What happened? She beheld the tree in front of her. The rain...The deer… Amelia remembered. She couldn´t move. Was it just the shock?! Or was she paralyzed? Amelia´s head was pounding, and she touched it with her fingers. There was blood. She tried to find out where else she was injured, but she couldn´t feel any pain. She knew that it was very probably just because of the adrenaline, but she tried to move a little. She turned her head slowly. There were shards everywere. It seemed like she crashed into the tree laterally, because her car was smashed especially on the left side. That was not good. She could be seriously injured. She grabbed her phone and wanted to call an ambulance. But she realized her phone was broken, too. She straightened up slowly and opened the door of her car, which was smashed. She got outside and tried to walk. Her legs were shaky but after some seconds it became better. She as if she was in a bubble – everything around her seemed so unreal. She just wanted to get help. It was still raining heavily and she walked down the street, towards the hospital. She hoped that someone would come, but the street was empty. She had to get to the hospital. She felt a wave of sickness overcome her and that her legs would give way in a few seconds. No! She had to hold on! Only up to the hospital. She forced herself to walk faster. After some minutes she could see the hospital. She was almost there! And then there would be someone to help her. Amelia´s strength was wearing out more and more. The effect of the adrenaline abated slowly. Amelia felt a severe pain in her abdomen. She groaned weak but continued walking. When she finally entered the emergency department, Richard saw her right away. He looked at her dripping clothes and at her face, which was covered in blood. „Amelia, oh my god, what happened?!“, he exclaimed horrified and rushed to her. Amelia barely could keep her eyes open and her legs started to fail. Richard caught her. „Car accident...“, Amelia whispered. „I need help here!“, Richard shouted, „Amelia, stay here with me! Where does it hurt?!“ „Everywhere. B-belly...“, Amelia answered weakly and fainted then. Jo came over with a gurney and Richard laid Amelia on it. „Let´s go into a trauma room!“, he instructed Jo. „What the hell happened?!“, Jo asked. „She said she had a car accident.“, Richard told her. „We need to call Owen!“, Jo said worried. „He was in surgery earlier. I don´t know if he´s ready. And we don´t have time. We need to do a CT now! Can you page Koracick?“, Richard said and looked at the monitors. He frowned and added: „And page Dr. Altman.“ Jo nodded and they brought Amelia to the CT.

Only 15 minutes later, Amelia was in surgery. Teddy, Tom and Richard operated on her. Shortly after they opened her abdomen and head to fix the bleedings, the monitor started beeping. Cardiac arrest. „Give me the paddles!“, Teddy exclaimed. „Damn it, Shepherd!“, Richard said anxiously, „don´t do this.“ Tom focused the monitor. They had a heart beat again! Teddy got her back. Everyone in the O.R. exhaled and looked at Teddy. „Let´s continue.“, she said, still uptight. „Dr. Wilson, you need to find Meredith, Maggie and Owen.“, Richard instructed Jo and she nodded. If it was another patient, she would be disappointed not to be in surgery, but now she would leave that to the attendings.

After she talked to Meredith and Maggie and brought them to the waiting room, she entered the emergency department. Owen rushed to her with a phone in his hand. „Wilson. Here is someone from the towing service. There is a car on River Road, which crashed into a tree. There is no driver, but he should be seriously injured. Did they bring him here while I was in surgery?“, he asked her. Jo lowered her eyes. „Tell them the driver is here“, she said. „He is?“, Owen asked, but transmitted it through the phone. „They need a name. Did the driver have his identity card or something?“, Owen asked her then. Jo closed her eyes for a second and swallowed. „Amelia Shepherd.“, she whispered and avoided looking into Owen´s eyes. He stared at her. „Hello? Do you have a name?“, the voice at the phone asked. Jo grabbed the phone and answered: „The drivers name is Amelia Shepherd.“ Owen´s lower lip started trembling. „I´m sorry, Dr. Hunt.“, Jo said compassionately. „Where is she?“, he asked monotonously. „She´s in surgery. We don´t know what happened exactly. Dr. Webber, Dr. Altman and Dr. Koracick are taking care of her.“, Jo answered. Owen ran his hand through his hair and looked at her. „Dr. Hunt,… you should go to the waiting room. Meredith and Maggie are there, too.“ Owen didn´t move. „What´s your status? Is it bad?“, he almost whispered. Jo grabbed his arm to bring him to the waiting room. „She has haemorrhages at the liver, kidney and spleen and a cerebral hemorrhage. Two ribs and the sternum are broken, which damaged her heart. That´s what we have now.“ Jo hesitated. „She… flatlined earlier. But we got her back. I will go back to the O.R. and update you, okay?“, she said a little softer. Tears came into Owen´s eyes but he nodded slowly.

In the waiting area, Maggie walked back and forth restively while Meredith sat on a chair with her head propped up on her hand. „Could you stop that, Maggie“, she asked, „You´re making me nervous.“ „No, no. Amelia is in surgery and I can´t sit still, because then...“, Maggie answered with a shaky voice, but didn´t continue. She breathed out and stopped walking. She sat down next to Meredith. „What if… if“, she started, but Meredith interrupted her. „No! We are not thinking about that. Nobody is dying.“ She looked at Maggie depressed and swallowed. She didn´t want to spell that out. She looked over to Owen, who was staring at the door, which led to the O.R.. He didn´t want to hear anything like that. Amelia was the strongest person he knew and he couldn´t lose her. She already had to go through so much pain, why, why did everything bad has to happen to her?! She didn´t deserve that. „Owen? Should we call her family?“, Maggie asked carefully. He considered briefly and shook his head. „I don´t think she would want that.“, he said, but wasn´t sure. He wasn´t sure about anything. He hated that they could just wait. They didn´t know what was going on in surgery, but he needed to know that Amelia would be okay.

When Richard, Teddy and Tom stepped into the waiting room some hours later, Owen stood up expectantly. „She´s stable now. She´s okay.“, Teddy said and saw Owen´s, Meredith´s and Maggie´s relief. Owen fell on her neck and whispered: „Thank you!“ She smiled. She could never be the one to tell Owen his wife was dead. „We put her into a drug-induced coma until tomorrow; her body needs time. But you can go and see her.“, Richard explained. They went to Amelia´s room in the intensive care unit and Owen sat down next to her bed. Everywhere were tubes. He focused the monitor, reassuring Amelia´s vitals were good. She looked lifeless and pale. Owen grabbed her hand as if she could leave him if he would not hold her. Meredith and Maggie sat down too and looked at each other. But noone said something.

A little while later, Owen´s smartphone rang and he saw it was his mother. „Mom?“, he said. „Owen! Teddy told me what happened. I´m so sorry… Is she okay?“, she asked worried. „She´s stable. They are going to wake her up tomorrow“, Owen answered. „How are you? Did you eat something? Did you sleep? It´s already 1 am.“, Evelyn asked him. God, was that the time?! Owen looked at the clock. Really, it was 1 am. Owen totally forgot about the time. He asked himself if Bailey had looked for a replacement for his night shift. He couldn´t work now. „Owen, talk to me? Are you at home? Or at the hospital?“, Evelyn said as he didn´t say something. „Mom! I´m okay… I´m great, thank you“, he said a little ironically and annoyed. Evelyn didn´t answer. „Sorry, it was just… a hard day.“, Owen apologized for his tone. His mom was just worried. „I know. I just wanted to hear if you need anything. Should I come and visit you? How long does Amelia have to stay at the hospital?“, she said a little less intrusive. „They said at least 10 days. Maybe longer.“, Owen said. „You know what, I´ll call you the next days again, then you can tell me more. Now sleep a little. You can´t do something until tomorrow“, Evelyn told him. „Yeah… thank you, mom.“, he answered and hung up. He put his phone away and leaned back to sleep.

The next day Owen woke up from his phone. He got a text from his mom: „Hey Owen. I´m at the hospital, where can I find you?“ His mom was here?! He didn´t expect her to come. But he texted her the number of Amelia´s room and only one minute later she was there. She stepped in and looked at Amelia, whose chest rose and fell slightly from the respirator. „Hey“, she said softly and touched Owen´s shoulder. „Hi mom“, he said, „I didn´t know you´d come.“ „I wanted to see you… and Amelia. You said they are going to wake her up today?“, Evelyn explained. „Yes, they should come soon.“, he sighed. „Is this where you slept tonight?“, she asked him. „Well, honestly I couldn´t sleep that much“, he answered and suddenly felt very tired. But the door opened and Tom, Richard and Teddy came in with Meredith and Maggie. „Evelyn!“, Teddy said and smiled slightly. Evelyn greeted her and the others and looked at them expectantly. „We´re gonna reduce the medication step by step throughout the day. We hope that she will wake up this evening, but we can´t predict that exactly. We´re going to look after her regularly.“, Richard explained them. When they finished the first checks, Owen decided to go home, take a shower and pack a bag for Amelia. He needed some time, but he wanted to be at the hospital as soon as possible. He wanted to be there when Amelia would wake up.

Amelia opened her eyes slowly. She saw light. Bright light. She narrowed her eyes and gradually she became accustomed to the light. She saw people around her. Where was she? „Amelia?“, she heard a female voice. Who talked to her? Someone grabbed her hand. Another person hold a rod in front of her eyes. „Could you follow the light?“ That meant she probably was at the hospital. She followed the light. „Very good.“, the doctor said and Amelia recognized Koracick. Wait, was it a tumor again?! „Amelia, do you remember what happened?“, the female voice from earlier asked. Amelia saw Teddy´s head above her. She shook her head slightly. „You had a car accident.“, Teddy told her. Amelia tried to remember. A car accident? Then a picture came to her mind. The rain... The deer… The tree. Slowly she understood. „Amelia, are you okay? Do you need something?“, another voice asked. She turned her head and saw Owen´s worried face. He held her hand and next to him sat Evelyn. Amelia felt that her head was pounding and that her belly hurt. She sighed and opened her mouth. „I-it´s o-kay“, she muttered. „Let´s give her some time now“, Richard said and left the room with Tom and Teddy. Owen stroked her head gently. „I´m so glad you´re awake.“, he said. Amelia smiled slightly. „When… did it happen? I… mean, what day do we have?“, Amelia asked slowly. „Your accident was on Monday evening. We have Wednesday now.“, Evelyn explained. „Am I okay?“, Amelia asked. „You need to tell us. But you´re gonna be okay.“, Owen answered and squeezed her hand. She looked into his eyes, which were filled with worry. „I´m okay“, she whispered and closed her eyes exhausted. „I love you“, he said gently, „I´m gonna stay here with you.“ Amelia smiled half asleep. She loved this man too. But she couldn´t tell him anymore. And she didn´t need to. The only thing Owen wanted to hear from her, was that she was okay.

She was okay. She would recover. That was what mattered right now.

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chicgeekgirl89 · 4 years

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Mercy is Out of Your Reach: Chap. 3

Fandom: SEAL Team

Characters: Sonny Quinn, Clay Spenser, Lisa Davis, Jason Hayes, and the rest of the team

Read Chapters 1-3 Here

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Clay wasn’t a doctor, but he could tell Sonny was in bad shape. It had been a little over forty-eight hours, by his best estimate, since they’d been taken, and his buddy looked like he was going downhill fast. Sonny’s clothes still weren’t completely dry from the initial soaking and subsequent near drowning. He was propped against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as if he was trying to keep himself warm, and his breathing seemed labored.

His own back was bruised and hurting from the minor beating he’d taken, but he was doing fine by comparison. At least they’d been pretty well left alone since their initial chat with Farhad. Maybe he had too many other things on his bad guy agenda to pay attention to his American prisoners. Although Clay suspected that wasn’t going to last much longer. “You all right?” he asked.

“Right as rain,” Sonny grunted, but he didn’t lift his head.

“You got a plan yet for getting us out of here?” Clay asked, switching topics since Sonny didn’t seem interested in talking about himself.

Sonny squinted at him. “You asking me that cuz you really want to know? Or cuz you’ve already got one and you want to show off?”

He wished he had a plan. If he did they’d be out of here by now. But so far everything he’d come up with wasn’t feasible. Not while they were locked in this cell with armed guards all up and down the hall. Not with Sonny so sick. But maybe together they could come up with something. “Guards come by every half hour. Always in twos,” he said.

“There were six more cells and four doors between here and that room they took us to.”

Clay nodded; he’d noticed the same thing. “The girl who dropped the water off.”

That had been sometime yesterday. She’d been young, afraid. The guards waited outside while she set down the bucket and two plates of food. There had been no direct eye contact and when Clay had attempted to speak to her she’d flinched away and out the door as fast as she could.

“Could be somebody’s daughter,” Sonny said before coughing into his elbow.

“Hey you need to drink more man,” Clay said, taking in Sonny’s gray pallor.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“Don’t matter how I look.” Sonny offered up a weak smirk. “‘Sides, you heard Farhad. You’re the pretty one anyway.”

The cell door clanged open and four guards stepped in. “We doing this again?” Sonny asked as the weapons were pointed at them and a command issued that clearly meant, “Get up.”

Back down the same hall, back into the same room. This time they didn’t waste a second; Sonny was dragged immediately over to the tub and dunked under. “Hey!” Clay struggled against the guards holding him and received several blows to his kidneys for his trouble. “Leave him alone!”

They pulled Sonny up and he made a horrible gasping, retching sound before they plunged him back under. In desperation Clay lashed out and managed to knock down one of his captors, the other thrown off balance, his grip going loose. Clay pulled away and made it about two feet toward Sonny before all his muscles seized at once and he collapsed. It was only when the excruciating pain finally hit that he realized what had happened. A stun gun. They’d struck him with a stun gun.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, but by the time he was coherent again he could only lay groaning on the floor. There was a wet slap beside him and was able to turn his head enough to find Sonny in a similar position, coughing as if his lungs were trying to leave his body. “We’re just tourists,” Clay managed to gasp out. “We don’t know what you want. Please let us go.”

“I don’t believe you,” Farhad said. “You are American military. Stop trying to make me think otherwise.”

“Man please, please just let us go,” Clay begged.

It got him a boot to his ribs. “Tell me what you were doing in that café.”

“We were just eating man! My buddy’s got a cold, we got him some tea!”

Another kick that had him curling in on himself in pain. “I am losing my patience!” Farhad spat. “As I said before, I only need one of you. If you won’t talk, perhaps your wet friend over here will.”

Clay watched in horror as they pulled Sonny off the ground. One man pinned his arms behind his back while the other drew back his fist and punched him in the mouth. Sonny let out a sickened moan, blood dribbling onto the floor as they sank a second punch into his gut.

“Hey, hey stop it!” Clay yelled. “Leave him alone! He’s sick! Leave him alone!”

“Tell me what I want to know.” Farhad’s eyes were menacing.

Clay clenched his teeth. “We’re just tourists.”

“Fine then. I’m going to give you one more night to think about it. Tomorrow, I won’t care so much if either of you live. Or if your face stays too pretty for the Navy.”

Clay couldn’t tell if Sonny was conscious or not as they were dragged back to the cell. He waited for the door to shut before dragging himself over to his friend. “Sonny! Sonny hey! Hey look at me. Talk to me.”

Sonny remained listless, eyes fluttering and then mumbled something unintelligible. Clay shook him, trying not to hurt him any further, but needing him to be conscious.

“‘m ‘wake,” Sonny mumbled, rolling onto his side and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

“How bad are you hurt?”

“Not bad.” He coughed and it sounded painful.

“Drink some water.” Clay reached for the bucket with aching, trembling muscles and pushed it toward him.

“Don’t need—“

“Damn it Sonny, drink some water!” Clay said desperately. He didn’t have any other way to help his brother and he was grasping at straws. The least Sonny could do was listen.

“You drink some,” Sonny rasped. “I just drank half a damn swimming pool. You’re the one that got hit with a stun gun. Probably still can’t feel your feet.”

It was true, he couldn’t. His head ached and the muscle in his left calf kept cramping, along with his back and shoulders. “We’ll both drink some.”

He waited for Sonny to take a couple sips and then took his own. Sonny coughed painfully again and let his head fall back against the wall, struggling to get a full breath. Clay swallowed hard and closed his eyes. They needed to be found. Soon.

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His lungs ached. Every inhale was like breathing through a straw and every cough made sent fire through his chest. He couldn’t remember ever being this sick. What had just been a cold had definitely turned into something far worse.

He knew Jason and the team were searching for them. But he also knew that their abduction had come out of nowhere and there was a good chance that they might not find them in time.

Or ever.

He was grateful that so far they’d gone easier on Clay. He was the senior man, the brunt of whatever was happening should fall to him. But damn it would be nice if they stopped giving him so many baths.

Something caught in his chest and he hacked out a cough into his elbow, gasping for air and taking a sip of water to soothe his raw throat and burning lungs. When he looked up Clay was watching him.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

Sonny shook his head, suppressing another cough as much as he could. “Not bad.”

“Sonny.”

“Don’t matter. Ain’t nothing you can do about it anyway.”

“You’re shivering.”

“Stone floor.” Sonny tapped it with his fist. “Cold as ice. Even in the summer.”

Clay slid closer so they were side by side and put a hand to Sonny’s forehead. “You’ve got a fever.”

No wonder his joints ached and his head felt like a bag of wet cement. “Little fever never hurt anybody.”

“Yeah except for the part where it could kill you or fry your brain like an egg.”

“Eh, not much up there anyway,” Sonny said with a grin, wincing when it made his split lip pull and start bleeding again. With how painful each breath was he’d almost forgotten that they’d thrown a couple sucker punches in for good medicine.

“Sonny—“

“So tell me about Rebecca.”

Clay raised his eyebrows at the abrupt change of subject. “You don’t like Rebecca.”

“But I like you.” Sonny tried to settle into a more comfortable position and then gave up. Everything was uncomfortable when you couldn’t breathe. “And you like her. Sell her to me.”

“Sell her to you?”

“You know what I mean. Tell me what’s good about her. Give me all the dirty details.”

“I’m not—“ Clay shook his head. “She’s smart.”

“Well I figured that Mr. ‘War and Peace is Bedtime Reading.’ You’re always going for the hot and nerdy ones.”

“She’s passionate.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Clay rolled his eyes. “I mean about her job. She really cares, you know? Wants to make change.”

“Ah, one of those.”

“Yeah one of those. But she means it. I can tell. She makes me feel…like maybe I can do something more, you know? Be better. Make the world a better place.”

Sonny shrugged. “Kinda thought you already did that.”

“You know what I mean. In a different way. A bigger way.”

“You want bigger I’ll let you handle the explosives next time we need ‘em.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Well, I can appreciate wanting to make things better.” He squinted at his friend. “Don’t tell me the looks don’t have anything to do with it though.”

Clay tried and failed to cover up his smirk. “She is definitely…nice to look at.”

“Ha! I knew it!” The laugh cost him and he started coughing again. “Damn it.”

He took a shaky breath trying to get under control. “You all right?” Clay asked.

“I’m fine. Fine as I’m gonna be.” Every breath felt like knives, but sure. He was fine.

“So what about you and Davis?”

Just the mention of her name and it felt like he’d been shot directly through the heart. “What about it?”

Clay looked at him. “You never really told me all that happened there.”

He didn’t want to talk about this now. Or maybe ever. “We were together, then we weren’t. Job got in the way.”

“But when you were together, it was good?”

“Best thing I’ve ever had,” Sonny said, throat feeling tight as memories flitted through his mind.

“D’you love her?”

Sonny fiddled with a stray string on his shirt. “We loved each other.”

The use of past tense felt like a lie even as it passed his lips. Sitting here in this filthy hellhole he knew: he still had feelings for her. He’d probably always have feelings for her. Their’s was a story left unfinished and now…it looked like they might never get a shot at a happy ending.

#SEAL Team #Clay Spenser #Sonny Quinn #Lisa Davis #Jason Hayes #Mercy is Out of Your Reach #Chapter 3 #Clay Spenser Whump #Sonny Quinn Whump #Beating #Illness #Fever #Fanfiction #Clay Spenser Fanfic #Sonny Quinn Fanfic

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archerofthemists · 4 years

Text

Althea and Tyrian oneshot.

ANGST. Blood, gore. Near death experiences. Love realization. You have been warned.

I'll use you as a warning sign

That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

In the time since she had joined them, Althea and Tyrian had become one of the most lethal teams in Remnant. With Salem's order, Tyrian had trained Althea in better hand to hand combat, which she was grateful for. Her bow, Death's Sigh was all but useless when she was close to an opponent. She became skilled with a set of curved knives and she made some alterations to her main weapon.

The task should have been simple and easy. It would be four of them, Tyrian, Althea, Watts and Hazel. Tyrian and Althea after one target, Watts and Hazel after another in another part of the city. Grimm had come in acting as a perfect distraction. The deaths of their important targets would spread discourse through the people and bring even more Grimm. So easy…

And yet…

Althea's aura was low and Tyrian's was almost broken, not that he stopped fighting. They had been unexpectedly outnumbered and the toughest of the group had a Semblance that blocked all emotions. Althea had to admit, it was a nice Semblance when fighting. No one could get under your skin with banter and it could let you do certain things without flinching.

But considering it made her own Semblance useless against him, it really pissed her off.

She and Tyrian had taken down most of the team, who lay dead or badly injured. The only two left standing were their target and her emotionless teammate.

Althea had lost her daggers while taking down the other three opponents and she had no opportunity to retrieve them so she'd fallen back on her bow despite the closeness of her enemies.

Althea drew back her bowstring and turned to aim it at their original target, who was swinging her dust battle axe, ready for the arrow.

Tyrian had turned to attack the emotion blocking hunter, stinger whipping around ready to bury itself in his opponent's chest.

She heard the sound of a weapon breaking through the air just a second before she felt the impact from behind. The pain was immediate, spreading through Althea's side.

She never got the chance to release her arrow. Althea looked down to see the end of a jagged spear protruding from her lower abdomen. Blood seeped through her clothing and trickled down her leg as she dropped her bow.

Her mind went to Tyrian, and she glanced over her shoulder and felt her stomach clench.

The spear belonged to the emotionless behemoth. He had thrown it before Tyrian leapt to attack him.

The spear had pierced Tyrian's side before it had hit Althea through the back. Now here they stood, a long, jagged glass spear buried in them both.

Althea knew heavy internal damage had been done and she hardly felt it as she fell to the ground, too weak to stand her ground.

Her ears hardly register the sound of her enemies fleeting footsteps and the sound of Grimm attacking the city.

What did cut through the haze were Tyrian's soft whimpers of pain and wheezing.

Althea managed to turn over to face him, it hurt like something otherworldly but she did it.

"Tyr…" she reached out and took his free hand. The other was pressed against his deep and ragged wound.

And I'll use you as a focal point

So I don't lose sight of what I want

Tyrian barely felt the wound as he lay there in shock. Althea's gentle hand made him flinch before he looked to her.

"We...failed…" he choked out. "We failed...our Queen…"

"I know...I know…" Althea gasps out. The pain was excruciating and she could hardly think. "We did...the best...we could…"

"Not enough...we weren't good enough…" Tyrian whimpers. His wound hadn't neared any internal organs but the flesh wound was deep and he was losing blood.

Althea managed to crawl to him, closing the distance completely and gently taking Tyrian's cheek in her bloody hand.

"Don't worry about that now...ok?" She says softly, her green eyes never leaving his golden ones, which were starting to fill with tears.

Tyrian wondered if her eyes had always been such a beautiful green…so full of life even as she lay dying beside him.

He could hear his heart thudding in his ears and he let his bloody hand leave his wound to gently rest on Althea's.

Death didn't seem so bad when you weren't dying all alone. If there was another side, maybe he would see her there…

And I've moved further than I thought I could

But I missed you more than I thought I would

"Where ARE THEY?!" Watt's and Hazel were at the rendezvous point. They needed to leave the city NOW.

They couldn't get a response over their earpieces, and they knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Watt's first instinct was to just leave the city with Hazel and get back home to Evernight Castle, but he knew there was a high risk of Salem's wrath if they did that. Returning with only half the team and not knowing if the second target had been eliminated? Unforgivable failure.

And not that Watts would admit it, but he would feel guilty leaving his teammates behind, not knowing what had become of them.

"Let's go find them." Hazel stood, looking determined.

It truly didn't take long to accomplish that. Watts and Hazel already knew what section of the city Tyrian and Althea were supposed to be in for their ambush, so it was just a question of looking in every alley and street.

It was Hazel who found them. He was sure they were already dead by the looks of them. Curled together in a large pool of their mingling blood.

"DOCTOR!"

Watts swallowed hard at the sight and he shoved his feelings aside, letting himself slip into the zone that doctors had to get into in emergency situations.

Althea was unconscious and her pulse was almost non existent. Tyrian's body jolted when Watts checked for his pulse and his eyes fluttered open a little. He groaned deeply as he felt the doctors hands probe and assess his wound which wasn't nearly as severe as Althea's. Watts worried that one of her kidneys could have been punctured.

"Hazel, do you think you can carry them both out of here?" Watts asks as he opens his medicine bag and desperately tried to get Althea stable with what he had.

"I'll carry em all the way back home if you need me to." Hazel tried to keep a poker face but eventually he had to look away from the bloody scene.

And I'll use you as a warning sign

That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

It was like floating. Floating on an ocean as the pain rose and fell with the current. Tyrian felt hands on his body, and they were hurting him, but he didn't have an ounce of strength to fight off the enemy. He was already dying so what more could they do to him?

He accepted the pain, it was a good and familiar friend to him.

Soon his head felt fuzzy, like his brain had been removed and replaced with cotton. Tyrian could hardly put a coherent thought together in his head, and that was a hard enough task when he was conscious.

He felt numb and weak but safe. He was somewhere familiar and warm.

When his eyes finally open his vision is blurry. Well, blurrier than it normally is. The only light was from the moon shining in through the window above his bed.

This isn't his room, he knows that immediately; there weren't any windows in his room.

It took Tyrian a long while to get his bearings at all.

He now could tell he was in Watts lab, in the little recovery room that sat just off where the doctor did experiments and surgeries. Tyrian had woken up in this bed plenty of times in the past, considering how often he could seriously hurt himself sometimes.

IV needles stuck out of his arms, feeding blood and fluids into his veins. Tyrian hissed softly. He could handle pain, loved it sometimes but needles always made his skin crawl. He wanted to yank them out but his limbs felt too heavy and his fingers wouldn't cooperate.

He huffs as he lets his head fall back against the pillow.

His mind was still foggy and he couldn't quite remember how he had ended up here…

The mission...his target...He remembered fighting, killing, the blood and screaming…what else?

The alley.

The ambush.

The spear.

Althea…

Tyrian suddenly felt very sobered as he forced himself into a sitting position. His side protested and he groaned, feeling the fresh bandages wrapped around his lower midsection.

His hair was unbraided, falling in oak brown waves over his shoulders and along his face.

His head swam for a moment, which he wouldn't have minded if he didn't have more important things to worry about.

He finally managed to swing his legs over the side of the bed and reached out and gripped the white dividing curtain and tore it aside.

Tyrian released a breath he hadn't realized he'd even been holding.

There, in the other hospital bed, Althea was hooked up to even more IVs and machines than Tyrian. She wore the same bandages across her middle and her breathing was ragged, a tube across her nose forced oxygen into her lungs.

Tyrian let his body relax as he sat on the edge of his bed and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

He wasn't sure how he'd gotten back or how Watt's had managed to save them both. Even if Tyrian's wound hadn't been as bad, he knew he'd lost a lot of blood. But honestly Tyrian didn't care. They were both alive and nothing else mattered.

However as Tyrian sat there, watching Althea's chest rise and fall, he began to realize that they had failed the mission given by their Goddess. His heart began to pound as he wondered what punishment they may face. Merely disappointing her was bad enough.

He realized that he was more worried about Althea - her condition and her possible punishment- more than anything. But why? Why was Tyrain so worried anyway? Why had he been so frantic to know if she was alive?

Why was watching her bleed to death beside him one of the most heart wrenching things he'd witnessed?

Was this love? Actual love he was feeling? No of course not, Tyrian knew what love felt like. He loved his Goddess. Loved causing chaos and killing.

So why did this feel so much different? So strong, that his chest ached?

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

He swallowed the lump in his throat and he realized tears had begun to spill down his cheeks. He wipes them away with the back of his hand and chokes softly. No this couldn't be right…

But he looks back at her, looking so weak and vulnerable.

He cautiously slipped out of bed, his tail peeking out under the hem of the stiff hospital gown he'd been dressed in and he managed to crawl into Althea's bed, gently, not wanting to wake her.

As Tyrian settled down close to her all he could picture was her dying next to him. How calm she had been, even calming him.

He gently touched his bandage and mused at how they'd have complementary scars.

Althea whimpered in her sleep and Tyrian slipped his arms around her as tight as he dared and let her head lay on his chest. Althea murmured softly and Tyrian heard his name on her lips.

"I'm here…" he whispered against her ear. "I'm right here."

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

#rwby tyrian #tyrian callows #tyrian #althea lynch #althea #poison arrow #oc #myoc #rwbyoc #oneshot #angst #near death #near death experience #i found #amber run #lyrics #music #music inspiration #rwby althea

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thosekidswhohuntmonsters · 5 years

Photo

Seriously Hurt

Summary: This time when Wade Wilson breaks into the Avenger’s Tower it isn’t just to piss Tony off, it’s to save the readers life. As the team, especially Tony, learns more about the reader they reach a crossroads. Can a person’s past be forgiven? Is it who you are now and not who you were then, that matters? Do people deserve a second chance? Bucky seems to think so.

Word Count: 2708

Authors note: This will be a mini-series! I’m so excited!! If you want to be tagged either comment below, or go to my ask!

For my “spicy ;)” content click: here

***if you reblog/comment on my fics there’s now a 110% chance you’ve made my heart flutter****

Tony rolled his eyes as he watched Wade enter the room. This was the third time Wade had broken into the tower, despite the top of the line security system that he himself had programmed.

“Well aren’t you the gift that keeps on giving”. Wade was unfazed by Tony’s sarcasm, besides he knew Tony secretly love their little game of cat and mouse. Stepping to the side Wade revealed the true reason for his visit.

He looked to Tony, “Don’t get your panties in a twist R2D2, I ain’t here for me today”. As Wade nudged your side you knew this was your turn to talk. Now, not only was Tony looking at you but both Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.

“I’m (y/n), and don’t worry I’m not nearly as much of a dick as Wade is”, you said before turning to wink at Wade. The room remained silent, everyone trying to understand where you fit in all of this.

Tony sipped from his coffee, “If he’s holding you against your will blink twice”. It was kinda strange to have all eyes on you, especially the eyes of such impressive people. You felt almost like an animal on display.

Wade began to double over in fake laughter, “Wow I didn’t know robots could make jokes! As much as I’d love to continue comedy hour, I’m going to cut to the chase here. I have a bad guy to fuck up, think the love child of Bin Laden and whoever made the ‘What does the Fox say’ song, and I need to know (y/n) here is safe”.

It was entertaining to see everyone try not to smile at Wade’s jokes, but fail miserably. As much as people loved to say that Wade was a lot of handle, it seemed as though they secretly felt that he was a lot better than most.

Placing down his mug Tony joked,“So I’m now a bed and breakfast? Stark’s Suites?”. You watched as Steve Rogers placed down the newspaper he’d been reading, obviously annoyed. He began to reason with Tony, “We can keep her safe Tony, why not?”.

The man you knew as the Winter Soldier began to smirk, “and besides she already told as us she’s not as much of a dick as Wade”. You began to smile yourself, they were being so welcoming to you.

Tony was still weary, “And why can’t she accompany your ‘lovely’ ass?”. Wade refrained from making a joke, even though Tony had kinda set himself up there. Instead he explained, “Because she’s what the twisted fuck wants, and I ain’t gonna allow that”.

It was a long story, and if it was told by Wade, it was even longer. He loved being dramatic. A picture is worth a thousand words, so you figured that showing would be better than telling.

You closed your eyes and slowly summoned your powers. Feeling a little dramatic yourself you decided to give them all a show. You began to feel the electricity in the tips of your fingers.

The men hadn’t yet realized, but you were changing the very makeup of the air around you. If you wanted you could make it thunder, you could engulf the room in flames, or you could make the room crumble to brick and ash with the snap of your fingers.

In order to not destroy the very place you were hoping to hide out in, you settled on your manipulation abilities. When you can change the manifestations of energy down to an atomic level, controlling minds is a piece of cake.

With only your mind you pulled Tony forward until he stood a few feet in front of you, conjured up an electrical current, and surrounded him in circle of electricity. Steve and Bucky both tensed, until they realized that Tony looked as calm as ever.

You’d placed him under a trance, in his mind he was on the most peaceful beach the world had to offer drinking mimosas with Pepper. For effect you slowly began to turn the electricity into flames, allowing them to flow downward from the top of the circle you’d created.

It was strangely beautiful, as the flames flowed like water, and it was like nothing anyone in the room had seen before. The men watched in amazement as you turned what looked like lighting into fire, and then let it fade completely before the flames could reach the floor.

With the flick of your wrist Tony awoke, “Okay.. F.R.I.D.A.Y. run back the security footage of the last minute please”. Tony projected a screen from his wrist, and watched your little show.

For a moment his mouth hung open, you’d rendered the man who always had something sarcastic to say, speechless. While he’d been out cold he’d had the most vivid dreams, but in reality you're engulfed him in a ring of fire and electricity that was nearly as high as the ceiling.

He turned to you, “You play with elements as if they’re nothing….I can see why someone would want to take advantage of that”. It was true, when they wrong people knew what you were capable of it had the potential to be catastrophic.

“Control the party in your pants, just let me know whether she’ll be safe here or not.”. As much as Wade loved to joke around, he was honestly concerned about your well being. He’d wanted you as far away from the fight as possible.

Of course Tony knew he was going to let you stay the moment after Wade first asked, but true to his nature he liked to bush buttons. He smirked, “With her Jedi mind-tricks, I don't think I have a choice”.

That was Tony’s version of a warm welcome. Immediately Wade pulled you into a hug, “Alright dickhead, give daddypool a nice goodbye hug”. And that was Wade’s version of a heartfelt goodbye.

Much to his dismay you kissed his cheek, “Tell Domino I say hi, and to make sure your uglyass doesn’t die on me. If you’re gone, who’s gonna scare the kids on halloween?”. You could hear Bucky try to stifle a laugh, and it cut through the tension of the moment.

Wade began to make his exit, “We could always show the kiddos what you look like before your morning coffee, that’s enough to make Trump crawl back to the hellhole he came from with his tail between his legs”.

That time it was Steve trying to hold back a laugh. Letting out a sigh you put on a smile and tried to pretend that Wade wasn’t about to get himself possibly killed..and all for you. Tony surprisingly came to your rescue, “Steve and I have a debriefing to attend, but Bucky can show you to your room”.

You gripped the straps of your backpack a little harder, “I was expecting a couch, knowing you a couch that costs more than both my kidneys, but a couch”. Tony smirked once again, he was really liking your sense of humor.

He placed his now empty coffee mug in the sink, “You’ve spent the past couple of months living with Wade Wilson, I think you deserve an actual bed”. Knowing went to quit, you simply nodded your head and thanked him.

Steve got up from the table, “It was nice meeting you (y/n), if you need anything don’t be afraid to ask”. So they weren’t just rumors, Steve Rogers was an actual angel sent down from heaven itself.

“And if you ever need any marshmallows toasted, I’m your girl”.

This time Steve didn’t hold back his laughter, and you realized that he was even more beautiful than people said. You could feel that the way everyone had been treating you was genuine and it made a world of a difference.

Once Steve and Tony left the kitchen, it was just you and Bucky. For a moment you just stood there unsure of what to say or do. It had finally settled in that Wade was off to go fight and you were left with strangers, kind and generous strangers, but strangers nonetheless.

Bucky got up from the table, “Why don’t I show you your room so you can put your things down, and then if you’re up for it we can have some real breakfast. No pressure”. You let out a sigh, that did sound like a good offer.

“Only if there’s waffles involved, yes pressure” you teased. Bucky smiled and you felt your heart begin to flutter. Between both him and Steve you’d have a heart attack by the end of the day.

Bucky began to lead you out of the kitchen, “There’s a reason waffles and win both begin with a ‘w’ doll”. Slowly but surely you felt yourself getting more comfortable. You couldn’t tell if you were flirting, or doll was 40’s slang for dude, but it was definitely distracting you.

As you walked through the tower you felt like you were in the most luxury maze the world had to offer. Everything looked too expensive to ever breath on, but it somehow managed to also feel cozy.

Suddenly becoming an avenger sounded more and more appealing. After what felt like forever, Bucky stopped in front of a room labeled “Little Witch”. Slowly he opened the door, “It used to be Wanda’s but her and Vision moved out”.

You’d heard about Wanda before, and in all honesty she’d sounded kickass. Her room was the perfect mixture of cozy and minimalistic. There was a tv, artwork on the walls, a guitar, a beautiful bed, and a desk.

“Well this sure beats sharing a bed with someone who snores like a fighter jet”.

While you weren’t completely lying, you knew that in reality you’d miss the company of sleeping next to Wade. He was the only one who could make your nightmares vanish with one bad joke.

Bucky walked toward the window, “How long have you and Wade known each other?”. It was half curiosity, and half wondering if he’d been flirting with a taken woman. He watched as you laughed to yourself.

You began to reminisce, “Too long...but not that long..everything after the lab just feels like a whole new world”. Bucky wasn’t sure if he’d heard you correctly. Had you both been more connected than he’d thought?

Reading your body language he could tell that you’d felt as though you've shared too much and let something big slip. So maybe he had heard you correctly. Anyways, he’d never pry, he’d experienced enough of people poking and prodding to ever do it himself.

Trying to switch subjects you placed your bag down onto your new bed and asked, “So I was promised waffles?”. Bucky let things smoothly transition, and internally you let out a sigh of relief. He grinned, “You’re looking at the best waffle maker in all of Brooklyn”.

Bucky was going to cook you breakfast? Maybe you’d really went to the fight with Wade, died, and gone to heaven. You could feel your stomach beginning to grumble with the mention of food, “Wow, I didn’t know I was in the presence of such royalty”.

Teasingly he bowed, “It’s okay doll, I’m not holding my diamond-encrusted spatula so how were you supposed to know?”. To have the conversation flow so smoothly calmed your nerves.

You’d been afraid that the avengers were as uptight as Wade joked. Humor, especially the self-deprecating kind, was the key to handling all the complete and utter bullshit life threw your way.

If there was anything you’d learned from Wade it was that jokes were like a liferaft in a sea of despair. Either you can let sadness swallow you whole, or laugh in its face. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth trying.

“Well your highness, however shall I repay you for my ungracious naivety?”.

Bucky grinned, were you flirting with him in old english? He found you surprisingly intoxicating. He tried to look regal, “Hmm since it was an honest mistake, and clearly not out of malice, I believe all would be forgiven over a movie ”.

You both were back out into the hallway now, “A movie?”. Was he already asking you on a date? For the first time in a long time you felt butterflies in your stomach. Bucky continued to lead you back toward the kitchen, “Preferably Disney”.

Although the world knew him as a trained assassin, his closest friends knew him as a huge disney fan. Bucky secretly blamed Steve for it, but the movies were so good that he couldn’t truly complain.

You jumped up and sat on the kitchen counter, “Lilo and Stitch?”. Bucky had begun to get the various ingredients from the fridge, and as his back was now to you, you couldn’t see his smile.

“Good choice”.

The kitchen was filled with laughter, the both of you enjoying how it felt to get along so effortlessly. It was rare that Bucky could feel comfortable around someone he’d just met, let alone really begin to like them.

You watched as he began to make the mix from scratch. You were amazed, “Wow so you’re not just a pretty face”. It was somewhat forward of you, but you were testing the waters. Bucky took the bait, “Just you wait and see doll”.

He’d matched your forwardness, and thus you both knew how interested the other was. Plus, now you knew doll was the same thing as babygirl or princess. But it sounded a lot better leaving his lips, as if he knew exactly how to drive a girl wild.

“I’m starting to think you’re a huge flirt and that whole cold and aloof assassin vibe is just a front”.

Bucky’s smirk grew. He enjoyed your teasing, “Oh doll, you should’ve seen me back in the day”. As he reminisced he started to laugh softly to himself. It was nice to feel like that part of his life wasn’t so far away for once.

Flirting with you had rekindled something deep within himself. You watched in delight as he finally poured the mix into the maker. Your stomach was louder than Wade’s snoring by now.

“If that waffle tastes as good as it smells, then I can only imagine how much of a lady killer you were”.

With the sound of footsteps you were both awoken from your little love trance. Sam hadn’t meant to ruin the moment, but he’d needed to find Bucky. He apologized, “Sorry, but Steve said he needs both of us in the conference room asap”.

Bucky turned to you, “Guess I’ll need a raincheck on that movie then (y/n)”. You nodded your head and smiled, trying to ignore how much you hated the thought of Bucky already leaving.

Sam looked truly sad, “It was nice to meet you (y/n)”. You told him the same and allowed him to leave the kitchen with Bucky. Although you were now alone, at least the waffles would be done in a minute or so.

With a sigh you tried to pull yourself up and remind yourself how great of a start this had already been. Bucky was more wonderful than you could’ve imagined, and he seemed to really like you too.

As much as this situation sucked, it seemed like the beginning of something good. Maybe the universe had finally felt bad for constantly handing you the shit- end of the stick, maybe for once things were about to change for the better.

“Steve, we can’t keep her here and you know that. She was in Pierce’s back pocket and in case you’ve forgotten that was the man who infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. in the name of HYDRA”.

Steve sighed, he wished that Tony had never done that digging because it had changed everything. It had revealed that you had some skeletons in your closet, some big ones, and that you possibly weren’t as innocent as you seemed.

They had reached a crossroads and were left wondering if you were just another Hydra assassin, or just an innocent person caught in the crossfire. Things were about to get serious, and some people were about to get seriously hurt.

if you enjoyed this fic please leave a comment! Or reblog! It lets me know that I should keep doing what I’m doing! Thanks for reading!!

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storiesofwildfire · 4 years

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So, this past weekend has been very difficult for me. I mentioned a few weeks ago that one of my cats was sick and it was the source of a lot of my stress. Unfortunately, earlier this morning, she passed away, and it’s been... extremely difficult on me and my family.

This has been really devastating and I’ve cried a lot. While I’m processing this, I may be very spotty on here. If I have muse and energy to write, I will try to be on, but I don’t want to force myself when something like this is really hurting my heart. For this same reason, my ooc communication may be slow as well. I’m not ignoring you, I promise, I’m just grieving, and some days may be harder for me than others.

I’m going to post some pictures and some details about Pooter below a read more. Please be aware that there are sensitive details below the cut and if you cannot handle the topic, tread with caution, but I owe it to my baby to express just how much I love her and just how much I’m going to miss her.

Thank you all for your continued patience. I know the last several months ( or more ) have been really hard on me, so my activity here has been hit or miss, but I am so thankful to all of you lovely people who stick around and let me do things on my own time.

Last Friday ( Feb 28th ), I found out that my eldest cat, Pooter, was dying of severe kidney disease. She’d been sick for a little over a month with what appeared to be an upper respiratory infection. We took her into the vet a couple of times, tried a few antibiotics, and while she did kind of go in an upward swing a couple of times, she never actually seemed to get better. It was because her kidneys were shutting down and failing, so she wasn’t able to filter toxins out of her body and ultimately, her immune system shut down, so she couldn’t get better.

This news was... absolutely devastating.

Ever since I got Pooter, we’ve had a very special bond. She took to me right away, grew distressed when I wasn’t around, and always seemed to favor me over anyone else. People told me I was Her Person and she was very much My Cat in every sense of the word. While I’ve had and lost other pets in the past, and I loved all of them greatly, Pooter was always different. I had such a strong bond with her that the idea of not having her in my life was hard to wrap my mind around.

She’s been there for me for many, many years. Most of my teenage years and all of my adult years. She witnessed every high and every low crash and she had an uncanny ability to know exactly when I needed her. Even when we found out how bad her condition truly was, she tried so hard to be strong for me. She was so tired and weak from being sick and from not eating unless being forced to eat, but she dragged herself up onto my bed, sat beside me, and started kneading like she always did whenever she was happy and content.

I like to think she was trying to tell me that she was happy... That I had done everything I possibly could have for her, and that things were going to be okay. She would always be with me because I would carry her with me forever.

But that doesn’t make the loss any easier. I love her so much and she has been such a strong companion, not only for me, but for my dad, and even my roommates that she pretended not to like. Whenever the going got rough, she was always there, like this presence that couldn’t be faltered or wavered.

She passed away this morning ( March 2nd ). We had an appointment to put her down tomorrow because neither my dad nor myself, could bear to watch her suffer or wither away. She didn’t make it to the appointment. My dad knocked on my door a little past 7am and told me that she just passed away. It was very peaceful. He sat on the couch to pet her before work and while he was petting her, she just... stopped breathing. She was with someone who loved her in the comfort of her own home and that just felt better than having someone who didn’t really know her well put her to sleep. I spent most of the night with her, holding her, petting her, and telling her how much I loved her. It was almost like she just... knew, but she wanted to wait for my dad to wake up so she could see him one last time too.

It’s kind of surreal right now. My mind is having a really hard processing that she’s actually gone. I am relieved that she isn’t hurting and that her ailment wasn’t long and drawn out, but I miss her so damned much already. She was always so strong for me and always such a constant presence in my life, she never let anyone overlook her. I relied on her to cheer me up more than I ever realized, and I gave her the very best life I possibly could have.

I will miss her every day, I’m sure. Pooter was my cat, my best friend, my companion, my comfort, and a source of light when things seemed really dark. I was her human, her person, the one person in her entire life that she never seemed to get tired of. I’ve never known a bond like that and even now that she’s no longer physically here with me, I still feel that bond as strong as ever.

I love you, Pooter. I told you that many times throughout your life. I told you that multiple times a day, no doubt, but it would never be enough. I spent the last few days telling you how much I love you, how much I’m going to miss you, and how thankful that I am for having you in my life. You helped me through so much just by laying on my shoulder and purring. You never let me be sad for long, and honestly, I’m not quite sure how I’m going to adjust to life without you, but please know, my life was better because of you. Thank you for everything and rest well. My heart will be with you always and you will always be in mine.

With all my love, Your Human

#outofmagic #pooter #index; mun #filed under; about the blogger #filed under; mun things #tw; pet health #tw; pet death #tw; depression #tw; mental health #{ i hope you all can understand why I may be hit or miss around here for a little while #this just... really hit me hard and I know the healing process is going to take a long time #I will be as present as I can be #and I will try to keep up my ooc communication as best I can #but I just... I just need time to grieve and heal }

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captainlordauditor · 4 years

Text

300x3, 6:01

[does a dance] I think this is a new record for how long I’ve kept up a challenge! 300 words, 3 times a week, and post excerpts to be held Accountable

More from Earth 988, a direct continuation of 503. For the first time in maybe ever I feel like the action parts of this scene are coming to me more easily than the dialogue, which is very weird. Regardless, have 832 words.

Warnings: some minor violence, homophobia, nazis, homophobic + antisemitic slurs. It all turns out okay.

Baldy stands there, sputtering, blinking egg from his eyes. Dick takes the opportunity to deliver a kick to the kidneys; Baldy flees after his friend, leaving Dick to take care of Maybe-Reichsadler. The fucker is doing a good job of pissing off his opponent, whose swings are going wild. Dick shoves her out of the way and grabs Maybe-Reichsadler’s wrist on his next punch, twisting him onto the ground. It’s the easiest maneuver in the world, but it’s not until then that Dick sees that the fucker has a knife in his other hand. The woman steps on his wrist, forcing him to let go, then bends down to pick it up. It’s not that needful; the guy has no leverage from his current position, but Dick appreciates it nonetheless.

Goddamnit, it’s only been three months since he went after one of Gotham’s most wanted and won. He shouldn’t be this out of it.

Dick kneels over his captive, noting the tattoo; definitely a nazi. His grip gets harder. He wants to break a finger, but resists the urge. It’s not needful. Instead he grabs the nazi by the hair and hauls him up, pressing him against the brick wall and leaning against his ear.

“You done here? You and your friends aren’t gonna cause any more trouble?” Don’t enjoy this don’t enjoy this don’t enjoy this-

“Fag.” He tries to spit at Dick but the angle fails him.

Any desire to continue abiding by the code of a man he abandoned vanishes. Fuck Batman and fuck his no unnecessary injuries rule. Dick lets go of the nazi’s wrist just long enough to grab his middle finger and force it back. He ignores the scream of pain. “I’m a kike, too,” he tells the human monster before him. “A kike fag, and I can do this in four inch stilettos without breaking a sweat. Next time, I break your wrist. So I’m gonna ask you again: You done here?”

A nod.

Dick lets him go with a shove and watches him run off, trying to catch his breath.

“Shit.” The woman’s voice reminds Dick that she’s there, prompting him to look at her. She’s a girl, really, not much more than eighteen or so. What he sees first is her hair, what was recently a bright green mohawk but has brown roots and fuzz on the sides. She’s wearing a black leather jacket, covered in red and orange pins. Her collar’s lined in bright yellow, falling open over a red button that reads I’M ONE.

Dick stares at her, at her colors, not quite comprehending her. Bludhaven has seemed so dull since he moved here, all beiges, browns and blue greys. What bright colors he’s seen seem to mock him, but not this girl. Maybe it’s the adrenaline messing with his brain, getting his blood pumped from the fight and reminding him what it’s like to be alive.

Is this what people saw when they looked at him as Robin?

“You were like the fucking Batman there.” She wipes blood from her lip, and Dick can’t help but remember Jason’s first fight.

Dick bites back his first response, yeah, I did fuck Batman. “Thanks.” He looks at her face; it doesn’t look too bad, but her lip needs cleaning and her eye should get some ice on it. “I’m no Batman, though. You okay?”

“Yeah.” She gives him a funny look. “You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

“Nobody else was gonna do it.” Dick pushes himself off the wall he was leaning against.

“Doesn’t mean you had to do it.” The girl goes to the mouth of the alley and starts picking up Dick’s scattered food items. “I ruined your groceries, too. Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault.” Dick starts picking through the bag that contained the eggs. Unfortunately, he realizes that most of his food can be salvaged, since it’s prepackaged or frozen. He winces at what that says about his life. “Your eye’s gonna need some ice, if you help me carry these home I can-”

“No,” she says quickly. “I’m good. I have to get to work, anyway.”

Oh. Right. Dick suddenly remembers he’s not in Starling uniform, all fishnets and glitter, and he guesses she didn’t hear what he said to the last thug. Instead he’s in the least conspicuous clothing of all time, though maybe it’s a bit early for the sweatshirt. He even cut off all his hair a month ago, and right now he plans on keeping it short. “My ex boyfriend used to get into fights all the time, and I’d patch him up.” Not strictly true. “I got pretty good at it.” True.

The tension releases from her shoulders a bit as she hands Dick the bag. “I really do gotta get to work.”

“At least let me walk you there?” Dick bites his tongue. Dammit. He’s still not Starling, it’s weird to do that. “Sorry, it’s just….”

#300x3 #e988 #fic writing #brudick #theres a mention of it so im tagging it #sour dark and perfect #batcest

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tanadrin · 4 years

Text

Reordberend

(part 29 of 30; first; previous; next)

Leofe woke perhaps an hour later; Katherine heard her roll over, then a groggy question emerged from the bed behind her.

“What are you doing?”

Katherine finished tying her hair back; it was shorter now, but still too long for this. But she didn’t have time to cut it. She felt with her fingers down the back of her neck, trying to figure out where to press the awl. It was a shitty substitute for a proper neural probe, but it was all she could find at short notice in the hall.

“I’m just--shit!” She pushed it home, and there was a dull thud inside her skull as the emergency reboot protocol started. She pulled her hand back; her fingertips were covered in blood. Nothing for that now, unfortunately. “Just rebooting my cybernetics.”

“Isn’t that a bad idea?”

“Yes. It’s a very bad idea. It’s the sort of thing you only do in life or death situations.” Katherine stood up, and went over to the door, where Hraefn’s shield was leaning against the wall, next to one of her hunting spears. Leofe’s eyes went wide.

“Katherine, what are you doing?”

“I’m going--I’m going after the dragon. I talked to Eadwig. The bird I gave him, do you remember? I took it from the corpse of the second dragon. It’s likely… it’s likely it was a lot less damaged than its brother. And I think, whatever it is, the dragon has some way of tracking it, and wants it back. I think whatever tracking device it has built into it was meant to help recover the memory core, and I think I fucked up by removing it. And I got people killed. And I’m so, so sorry Leofe. I want you to know that. And I want you to tell the others. I’m going to go down to the Lower Settlement, and take the bird back. Then I’m going to go find the dragon. If I can’t find a way to reattach it, I’ll just have to find a way to kill it.”

“Now wait, you can’t--” Leofe tried to sit up, and that’s when she realized Katherine had tied both her hands to the bedpost.

“I’m sorry. You can’t stop me. Stubborn, remember? You can yell, but I don’t think anyone will hear you from outside the hall. And by the time someone comes looking for you, I’ll be in the hills.”

Katherine hefted Hraefn’s shield, then picked up the spear. Leofe’s eyes were wide; funny, Katherine thought she’d be more pissed than surprised at this point.

“Listen, you can’t--”

“Shh. Leofe. I caused this mess. I came here, I disrupted your people’s existence, I got some of them killed. Before anybody else dies, I have to do everything in my power to make that right.”

“You’ll be killed!”

Katherine looked down at the ground.

“Then I’ll be killed. But at least I tried. Please tell the others I’m sorry. If you can get a message to the outside world--have somebody tell my parents I’m sorry, too.”

“Katherine! Don’t you dare leave without untying me!”

Katherine pulled her hood close about her face, and strode out of the room.

“Katherine!”

* * *

She slipped out of High Settlement and made the two-hour walk to the Lower Settlement in the dark. Eadwig’s house was easy enough to find; the bird was still sitting on a workbench, next to his stoneworking tools. She slipped it into her pocket, and was gone before anyone noticed her. From there, it was another two hour walk back up the valley, and when she was almost at the place where the path turned off toward High Settlement, she turned left instead of right, and headed up into the hills.

It was only then, stepping off the road, that something turned over in her brain, the adrenaline began to fade or whatever, and she started to feel her hands shake. She really should have eaten breakfast. Her mother always said it was important. Don’t go to school without breakfast, dear. Don’t go slaying dragons on an empty stomach.

The little observer inside her head, the little voice that was always watching her actions and critiquing what she did and telling her what she could do better, was screaming at her now, asking her if she was crazy, if she was suicidal, if she was stupid. She ignored it. She might be crazy. She certainly didn’t want to die. There were, in fact, few things in this existence that scared her more than the possibility of it ending, of plunging headlong into the great void of nonexistence, of contemplating what it would be like to be one with Unbeing, to be not, to become nothing. There were times when the certain knowledge of her one day death filled her with an icy cold terror. Today wasn’t one of those days, which was funny. Because she was pretty sure she was going to die.

She should turn back. It was the only reasonable course of action. But the one thing that scared her more than dying at this point was what would happen to the others if she failed. If she couldn’t reattach the bird to the thing, or at least get her to recognize she had given it back, it might keep looking. It might stomp all up and down the Valleys, until it had ground every village to dust, and it might keep going until it broke down. And she couldn’t have that on her conscience. She couldn’t be the one that destroyed them.

So she kept climbing into the hills. As she climbed, she did her best to hack together a self-diagnostic. Already, her head was starting to hurt in an ominous way. But if she had any chance of surviving this, she needed every edge she could get, and barely-functioning cybernetics was better than nothing.

She needed three things, she decided. She needed a way to mute pain signals. A headache was fine. Even a bad one she could live with. But burns, broken bones, anything truly incapacitating, needed to be reduced or eliminated. She also needed to get every last ounce of strength out of her muscles, even if she risked damaging them. She knew if you pushed your muscles too hard you could damage them, and that could cause kidney failure, but it would take a lot longer for kidney failure to kill her than a laser borer, or getting crushed to death. And the other thing she needed was better reflexes. That was probably gonna be the least likely to get working, because it involved core neurological function, which seemed to be exactly the part of her neural lace that was most damaged. But she had to do her best.

Finally she cape to the top of a ridgeline, and leaned against an outcropping to catch her breath. Damn, she thought. I wonder what my friends would say if they could see me now. She’d like to think they’d think she was a badass. They’d probably side with Leofe, though. If anything, she probably looked a bit ridiculous in the heavy coat, with the hunting spear and the shield. Like a squat black shrub with delusions of martial grandeur. She made a mental note, for if she survived this. Tell Hraefn to make her a bitchin’ suit of armor. Something with pauldrons and spikes. Something you could airbrush onto the side of a van.

She thought of a large green pyramid on the ground. The emergency startup sequence for her prosthetics engaged, and her headache got a lot worse. She gritted her teeth. “Neural lace console mode,” she said. A flashing indicator appeared to the left of her vision, and a shimmering, ghostly outline of a keyboard in the air in front of her. She raised her hand and made typing motions.

God, she felt like a dumbass. At least none of the others could see her right now.

Katherine was no programmer, and she was no neurologist. She did remember a few commands from the user manual of the salvaged dragon. Dampening pain signals only took about a dozen keystrokes. A loud warning tone sounded in her ears--well, probably her auditory cortex--warning that what she was about to do overrode almost every safety built into the lace, and its warranty. She hit confirm. Then she did the same thing with the musculoskeletal support system. More loud, horrible warning tones, this time with messages that featured the word “DEATH” in flashing letters. Literally, neon-green flashing letters. Yes, yes. Get on with it. She tried get into the actual neurological support system, but this time a big yellow ACCESS DENIED message stopped her cold.

“What the fuck?”

User access to the neurological support system is denied. Please consult a medical professional if you desire to… god dammit. Okay, so that option was out. She had her wits. She had a weapon. She had a shield. And she had every last ounce of physical strength she’d be able to muster. God, she hoped it was enough.

* * *

An hour later, she crested another ridgeline, and she saw it, hunkered down in a hollow below her. The dragon.

She exhaled slowly. She wasn’t sure what she had imagined. Lying on the valley floor, half buried by the landslide, they had looked so mechanical. Inert. Obviously the work of human hands; and, if she was honest with herself, she had thought that the People’s insistence on calling them “dragons” was kind of stupid. But now she could see why they did. This thing--hunched on four enormous legs, curled around an enormous stone outcropping like a beast of mythology--did not look like a machine any longer. The hundreds of metal plates that formed its skin slid neatly over one another as its head swung one way and the other; the instruments and receivers along its back bristles, like spines or the outlines of skeletal wings, and, yes, there was a furious red glow from deep within its belly. It was enormous--easily two hundred meters long. It moved forward slowly, almost glacially, testing the ground with each foot.

Well then. Maybe she could sneak up on it. Niiiice and easy. After all, somebody had to do maintenance on this thing, right? It was designed with that in mind? Maybe it would let her climb right up on top of it, find a nice hatch she could pop open, and she could drop down inside, plug her brain into a control panel, and press the “off” button. Yeah. That sounded like a great plan.

Katherine took a step forward. She looked down. Something was glowing inside her coat. She pulled it out; it was the bird. The flaw in the middle, that seemed to be where the homing device was. It glowed with a sharp, almost radioactive blue light. Katherine looked down at the dragon.

Well, shit. Its head, if that was what you wanted to call it, was looking right at her. She slipped the bird back into her coat and picked up her spear. She waited to see what it would do next. Metal plates began to slide past each other, and something not unlike a maw began to gape. And there was a grim red light shining from within it.

“Ohhhh fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfff-” Katherine took of sprinting down the ridgeline, as an enormous blast of something hit the spot where she had been standing a moment ago. There was a spray of rocks and dirt, and the force of the blast knocked her forward, but she did not fall. She glanced back over her shoulder, and caught a glimpse of glowing red rocks.

“Whyyy,” she screamed down at the beast. “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT. I’m trying to give this BACK to you!” She fished around inside her coat, and then held up the bird, so it could see it.

“Here it is! Take it! Take it and go! Leave these nice people alone!”

The dragon looked at her dully. She had a thought, an insane one perhaps, but she was having an insane kind of morning. She stood up, reared back, and pitched the bird as hard as she could down toward the dragon. It arced through the air, and fell hilariously short, skipping down the slope until it came to rest about half way between her and it.

“There! All yours!” she yelled. The dragon did not look at it, though it glowed as brightly as before. It just started opening its maw again.

“God DAMMIT,” Katherine screamed. She jumped down the slope, just as the boring laser blasted another Katherine-sized hole in the landscape, and slid down the scree toward the bird. She stumbled, fell, rolled, and tried to stand before falling again. The dragon’s head was tracking her, but it was slow. She could hear the machinery inside it whirring from where she was. She finally got close enough to the bird to pick it up, and took of running parallel to the dragon again, hoping she could move faster than its head could turn. Another hideous glare lit up the landscape around her; another blast hurled fragments of rock into the air.

Katherine needed to think, and she couldn’t do that very well while running. And her headache was getting worse and worse and worse and the last thing she needed was a critical failure of her cybernetics while eighteen hundred tons of pain had her classified as Threat Numero Uno. There was a larger stone outcropping ahead; she skidded to a halt behind that, and considered her options.

One, try to get closer. Running directly at it was suicide, but if she could get on its back, she was pretty sure it could not reach her. Maybe then she could get inside. Maybe. Two, try to get away. Ha ha, fat chance, and that didn’t solve her original problem. Three, try to… she looked down at the spear in her hand. Poke it? She considered throwing it away, but she couldn’t bring herself to. God you’re an idiot, Katherine, she thought to herself.

She had to get closer. She glanced around the side of the outcropping. The dragon was opening its jaw again. She took off running. It was a good thing, too; the outcropping exploded into fragments and the borer tore into the side of the mountain like it wasn’t even there. Some big chunks of rock hit Katherine on the back and head while she ran, but they weren’t big enough to knock her down, and the pain suppression was doing its job.

Now she ran down the slope, at a forty-five degree angle toward the base of the monster. Its feet were massive, nearly the size of one of the houses in the village, and the nearest one began rising in the air as she approached, as the creature took another slow step toward her. Crunch. It smashed the earth flat below it as it came down, but Katherine saw what she needed in the glow of another laser blast: an access ladder, reaching down to ground level.

It took a good seven or eight seconds at least between laser blasts. If she could escape one more, she could probably run straight at it and close the distance in that time. She began running parallel to the thing again, this time in the opposite direction; it fired, she pivoted ninety degrees, and fell flat on her face.

She scrambled to her feet; its mouth was already open again. A wild, elemental terror filled her body, and she sprinted blindly; there was another explosion, and she felt something go into her right leg. She stumbled again, but did not fall; but now her right leg was only halfheartedly obeying her commands.

Nothing for it, she thought. Just fucking run.

She made it to the leg just as it was rising into the air again, and leapt up to grab the handhold; the dragon froze, its leg in the air, as if confused, and Katherine scrambled up onto the ladder, and started climbing as quickly as she could with her shield and spear. She remembered where the access hatch had been on the other one: middle of the back, high up, near where the neck met the shoulder-ish part. The dragon’s head swung right, then left; haha fucker, she thought. Can’t laser me now. What she had not counted on was that the motion of the thing’s body made it extremely difficult to keep her grip; even as she came to the almost-flat part of the back, she had to cling to the ladder to keep from being flung off.

Finally, she found the hatch and the access panel. She used the end of the spear to pop it open, and found the neural interface on the first try. Then she saw the readout on the panel.

THREAT ELIMINATION MODE ACTIVE - DO NOT ATTEMPT ACCESS

Katherine froze. She’d heard stories--back before these things were more strictly regulated--of security protocols that could fry neural laces, even induce crippling brain damage. It wasn’t hard, if you had complete, unfettered access to someone’s brain and you were an epic asshole, to do them real harm, or just straight up kill them. That kind of thing was usually banned now. But it hadn’t always been. Katherine frowned. She tapped the physical interface of the control panel.

“DO NOT ATTEMPT ACCESS!” flashed more brightly.

“Fuck you,” she whispered to herself. She tapped it again, to see if she could get some sort of override input to come up.

PROXIMITY DEFENSE SYSTEM ENGAGED

A smaller hatch opened nearby, and something popped up out of it. Something that looked suspiciously like a miniature version of a laser borer. It swiveled to face Katherine.

“Oh come on!”

She let go of her handhold, sliding back down the side of the dragon as a second laser sliced the air above her. The dragon bucked, and she went flying off the side. There was a crunch, and a sharp pain signal, quickly muted, in her left arm. She groaned, and rolled over; the shield was still strapped to it, but her left forearm was definitely broken. She looked down at her leg. Her calf was sliced open, a deep, jagged cut. Her spear had fallen to the ground perhaps twenty feet away, and the dragon was turning, slowly, to face her.

I tried, she thought to herself. I really tried. At least it will be a quick death. The bird will probably be destroyed. I don’t know what the dragon will do after that. And I don’t know what idiot designed this thing, and what stupid fucking regulatory agency got bribed to approve it, but perhaps maybe then it will back off. And I can’t say I didn’t try.

She swallowed a lump in her throat. Fuck, was this really how it was going to end? She had survived the water and the ice and the darkness and all the rest, just to die in a flash of fire? The jaws of the dragon opened; a red glow filled the air.

It wasn’t even really a conscious decision at this point. Pure instinct. She curled herself up behind her shield, and did her best to make herself as small as possible. There was a terrific noise, a sensation of terrible heat and then--nothing. She looked up. She was alive. She looked down at her shield. It was glowing red-hot in the middle, and there was an awful stench of burned meat where the back of her hand was touching it; she flung it away, and looked up at the dragon.

The mirror finish had reflected enough of the laser to score a deep gash in it, running from the side of its head, back through its shoulder, deep into the machinery of its belly. Its jaw was shattered, hanging limply, even as its head swung left and right, like it was trying to make sense of what had happened.

“FUCK YOU YOU OVERGROWN POSTHOLE DIGGER!” Katherine screamed. She ran over to her spear and snatched it up. She could see, as the beast moved now, the way the machinery in its belly held it up, pistons moving back and forth to balance it, what looked like a supply of hydraulic fluid to move its legs. Most of it was solid metal, nothing she could do anything about, but there was one spot, exposed by the blast of the laser, still glowing from its heat, where she could see what looked like an important tank of something made out of plastic. And maybe, just maybe, she could immobilize it if she could cut it open.

“Okay, asshole,” she said to herself. “One last go.” She broke into a run straight toward the dragon. Its head swung in an arc directly down toward her, as if trying to flatten her into the stones; she turned, avoided it, but her foot caught a rock and she stumbled--but did not fall. As she came up underneath it, it began to move its legs apart, bringing its body down as if to flatten her; but this worked to Katherine’s favor, dropping her target until it was almost directly above her head. She leapt directly up, using every ounce of her cybernetically enhanced strength, and drove the spear home as hard as it could. For a brief moment, she thought it would bounce harmlessly off; but it caught some imperfection in the molded surface, and sank deep inside. The pressurized tank exploded, and a reeking, slick, chemical solution gushed out, drenching her from head to toe.

She fell to the ground, as the dragon loomed over her, and staggered. Something was terribly wrong now; her eyes were burning, and her nose, and the headache from her neural lace felt like it was going split her skull open. She watched the dragon flail for a moment, then slow--then still.

Oh God, she thought. Was it enough? Is it over? Are they safe?

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