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livelaughwhump · 4 months

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Worthless - Part 20

Masterlist | Previous

Content: ATTEMPTED NONCON (not explicit), mention of past noncon, mention of past captivity, threat of gun violence, crude language, dehumanization, degradation, self-hatred, self-deprecation, former pet whumpee

"So how long are you planning to stay?" Lyra asked.

Colleen shrugged. "I have to be back home to pick up the kids and sign the divorce papers with Andrey on Monday, so I was hoping to stay for the whole weekend. Now that I've seen how things are going though, I understand if you want me to leave."

All eyes turned to Karine curiously, expecting her to deliver her final verdict, but the leader merely shrugged. "That's a discussion for all of us to have, and one of us isn't currently present. I don't want to make any decisions without Elliot's input."

Colleen nodded. "I suppose that's fair. Then, would you mind if I stayed for the day until all of you come to a decision?"

Karine shrugged again and folded her arms securely over her chest. "I don't see why not."

"Why don't we just make a decision now?" Yvonne wondered aloud. "Elliot's just in his room. What's the harm in having a group discussion now?"

"The harm is that Elliot's probably still a little sensitive and exhausted from his breakdown earlier," Karine stated.

"Exactly," Lyra added. "Think of it from his perspective. Imagine you just had a panic attack and then are suddenly pulled into a team meeting. It could really stress him out."

Yvonne nodded. "Fair, but I'm worried about leaving him alone in his room all day. Shouldn't someone go and check on him?"

Broderick rubbed a gentle hand over Yvonne's knee. "He's fine, Yve, don't worry. Why don't you and I check on him in a bit? Right now, he needs a bit of space."

Yvonne smiled at Broderick and rested her hand atop his. "Thanks, Rick. You're right. I just worry about him so much."

"We all do," Lyra said. "But Broderick is right. We can't suffocate him. We need to respect his boundaries."

Each present member of the team nodded their heads in agreement. Colleen smiled at the sight. "You know, it's refreshing to see how much you all care about one another."

Karine smiled back. "Of course we do. We're a family."

Colleen sighed, her smile wobbling. "It's good to know that Landon has found such a great family. Makes me a little jealous though, to be honest."

Landon scoffed and wrapped an arm around his little sister's shoulders. "You have nothing to be jealous of, Coll. I can't stand these people."

Landon laughed at his joke while Karine scoffed and kicked him in the shin. "Oh, is that right? Guess I'll be turning your room into my home gym, then."

"Why do you get dibs on Landon's room?" Broderick chimed in. "Wouldn't a medical center be a better use of the space?"

Yvonne giggled. "Personally, I've always wanted a home library."

"No one is doing anything to my room!" Landon yelled.

The room erupted into laughter, each present team member talking over one another; their voices grew louder with each word. Through the utter chaos, no one noticed the complete silence behind Elliot's door, nor the icy chill creeping in through his open window.

. . .

Elliot trudged down the quiet pavement, his once-fluffy socks completely soaked through from the snow. His t-shirt and sweatpants did little to shield him from the cold. His arms were wrapped tightly around his shivering body as tears froze on his rosy cheeks.

He had no idea where he was going, nor what had compelled him to leave the safehouse. He hadn't been outside since his rescue. Had it always been so bright?

Elliot wiped the tears and snot from his face and tried to quiet his unrelenting sobs.

Do you have any idea how pathetic you look right now? Imagine what people would think if they saw you like this. Maybe a new master will find you and take pity on you

Elliot clamped his eyes shut and furiously scrubbed at the tears on his face.

I bet your friends haven't even noticed you're gone. Even if they have, it's not like they'd come looking for you. Rescuing you is the biggest mistake they've ever made

A quiet whimper escaped Elliot's throat as a massive shiver scurried down his spine. Goosebumps rose on his exposed arms and the tear tracks on his face froze.

Elliot had been keeping his head low the whole time to avoid drying out his eyes in the icy wind. When he lifted his head to check where he was going, he raised his eyes just in time for a massive brick wall to appear in his path.

Elliot gasped as he collided with it, falling onto his backside in the snow. He held a hand to his aching forehead and burst into tears. What was he doing? Where did he think he was going? What was his plan?

Elliot curled up into a pathetic ball at the base of the brick wall and leaned back against it. He wrapped his quivering arms around himself and buried his face between his knees. "Wh-What am I d-doing?" He whispered to himself. Maybe the vicious voice in his head was right. Maybe a nice owner would stumble across him and take pity on a stupid, ugly mutt like him. Maybe he'd finally find a place where he could belong.

. . .

As the hours ticked by and there was still no sign of Elliot, Lyra began to grow worried. If he was sleeping, they didn't want to disturb him, but surely he must've been getting hungry. Yvonne was almost finished with supper and Elliot hadn't so much as shown his face once since they left him.

Lyra couldn't help but imagine the worst. What if Christian had come back for him and simply waited for him to be left alone? What if he was already gone and no one had any idea?

In that moment, Lyra had made up her mind. They needed to check on him. They needed to know that he was safe and healthy, just to give themself some peace of mind.

With the sounds of raucous laughter penetrating the walls from the next room over, Lyra stood before Elliot's door and gave it a gentle knock. "Sunshine? It's just me. Can I come in?" When nothing but silence answered, panic began to seep into Lyra's chest, little by little. Their first thought was that he was asleep, but they couldn't help but imagine the worst.

In order to ease their growing anxiety, Lyra gently pushed the door open and peered into the quiet stillness of Elliot's room. As their gaze fell upon his empty bed, their stomach dropped. "Elliot?" They called out as they stepped further into his room. Their panic gripped their stomach and squeezed.

Not again. Please, not again

"Elliot?" Their voice was shakier now. "Please, come out. It's just me; it's Lyra. I just wanted to check on you. I promise everything is okay. Please just come out."

Nothing.

The only sound in the room was that of the winter wind whistling as it crept into the room. It was only then that Lyra noticed the open window and the flurries of snow drifting onto the floor in front of it.

The blood drained from Lyra's face and her breathing ceased completely. "No," she whispered to herself. Her knees weakened and her mind went white.

No, no, no, no, no

"Lyra?" Yvonne's concerned voice said as she knelt beside her panicking friend. In their panicked state, Lyra hadn't even noticed that they'd fallen, nor had they noticed when Yvonne arrived. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Lyra's breathing was erratic and their heart was pounding so loud that they nearly missed what Yvonne had said.

"He's-He's gone. Elliot's gone. I-I can't find him. He's gone!" It was with those words that Lyra's resolve completely collapsed and they burst into tears. They wrapped their shaking arms around themself and released a guttural scream of frustration and grief.

. . .

Elliot didn't know how long he'd been gone. After a short rest beside that brick wall, he had since resumed his endless wandering. Cars rushed by him and people milled all around him, some sending judgemental glances his way. Time seemed to move in slow motion the longer Elliot walked.

His thoughts were muddled and his movements were sluggish. Nothing around him seemed real and he began to wonder if this was all just another nightmare.

With that thought bouncing around his otherwise silent mind, a tall man harshly brushed against his shoulder.

"Watch it, kid!" The man shouted.

Elliot had to regain his balance, the momentum nearly knocking him off his feet. He looked up at the man and cringed at the sound of his booming voice. "S-Sorry, Sir. I-I wasn't looking."

The man's face twisted and he studied Elliot with curious eyes. "Do I know you?"

Elliot's skin prickled under the man's gaze. "I-I don't th-think so, S-Sir."

The man stalked closer and Elliot nearly whimpered in fear, but he caught himself.

"You look really familiar. What's your name?"

"E-Elliot, S-Sir." The thought to lie hadn't even crossed his mind until after the words left his lips.

The man shook his head and pursed his lips. "I don't know any Elliots. You sure that's your name?"

Elliot nodded, keeping his eyes trained on the ground. "I-I think so, S-Sir. It's what e-everyone c-calls me."

"Why do you keep calling me 'Sir'?" The moment the words left the man's lips, his eyes widened with recognition. "Oh shit. I know exactly who you are." Elliot shrunk beneath the man's scathing glare and devilish grin. "You're Christian's little whore, aren't you."

Elliot gasped and his eyes grew round as saucers. Tears flooded his eyes. He'd been so worried about running into Master all this time that he never even considered the possibility of running into one of Master's friends.

His voice was shaking uncontrollably as he said, "I-I don't know what you're t-talking about."

The man chuckled darkly and took another step toward Elliot. "I barely recognized you with all those clothes on, but it's definitely you. I've been wondering when Chris was gonna invite us over for another play session with you."

Hot tears trickled down Elliot's half-frozen cheeks.

"Where is your master, anyway? A pretty little thing like you shouldn't be wandering out here all alone. Maybe I should take you home to your master."

Elliot gasped. "N-No, p-please! I-I can't go back there! He was s-so c-cruel to me. P-Please, Sir. I'll do a-anything."

The man's devilish grin grew sadistic and Elliot's stomach dropped. "I really hope you mean that."

"I-I do, I s-swear. I'll do a-anything you want, just please don't t-take me b-back to him."

The man chuckled. "You know, I haven't been able to stop thinking about what your little mouth can do." Elliot's insides churned. "Maybe you should service me and I'll consider being generous if you do a good job."

Elliot instantly dropped to his knees. "I-I will! I'll be good, I promise!"

The man sharply grabbed Elliot by his bicep and hauled him to his feet. "Not here, you stupid slut!" He hissed through gritted teeth. Elliot squeaked as the man's fingernails dug into his soft skin. "There are too many people here. Follow me." The man yanked him down a narrow alleyway, where he sharply smacked Elliot's backside and shoved him back down to his knees. "There. Now, be a good boy and maybe I'll let you go free."

Elliot nodded frantically. "Y-Yes, Sir." Despite his best efforts, Elliot couldn't help the dread pooling in the pit of his stomach as the man began to unbuckle his belt.

It won't take long. Just have to let him do what he wants and he'll let me go. Then this will never have to happen again

Elliot's mind clouded over, his thoughts lost in the fog, and despite his best efforts, he started to cry.

As the man discarded his leather belt, Elliot flinched and whimpered, which alerted the man to his distress.

"Oh, you poor thing," the man said, his tone sounding genuine. His large hand gently grasped Elliot's chin and tilted his head up. Elliot looked into the man's hazel eyes, though his tears distorted the image. "Don't cry, pet." The man wiped away the younger man's fallen tears with his free hand. "I'm not gonna hurt you. In fact, I'll tell you what; if you do a good job, I might just consider taking you home with me."

Elliot sniffled. Those words did nothing to ease his distress. "R-Really, Sir?"

The man nodded and smiled. "Sure. I mean, how could I, in good conscience, leave such a pretty thing like you to become a stray?" He ran his fingers through Elliot's hair and gently caressed his cheek. "You'd be eaten alive out here. You'd be much safer, and more useful as my slave." The man's grip tightened on the back of Elliot's head, his fist knotting in Elliot's long hair. "Now, be a good toy and—"

"Elliot!"

Both Elliot and his assailant turned their heads in the direction of the voice, only to see several large individuals barreling down the alleyway.

Elliot gasped.

They noticed I was gone?

As they came into focus, Elliot recognized every one of his friends. Even Colleen was there, though she stayed near the back, wearing a worried expression and holding her hands over her mouth in shock.

Lyra was at the front of the group, a hand gun clasped between both of her hands. "Get away from him!" They shouted, aiming their gun at the man's forehead.

The man's grip tightened on Elliot's hair and he threw the boy against the back wall of the alley. Elliot yelped and crumpled to the ground in a pile of snow, hot tears thawing his half-frozen cheeks.

Lyra leveled their finger on the trigger, their hands as steady as stone. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but you're gonna step away from my brother before I paint these brick walls with your blood."

Elliot's eyes widened.

Brother?

The man scoffed. "No offense, lady, but you must be mistaken. If you're looking for your brother, he's not here." He gestured to Elliot. "This is just some common whore that belongs to a friend of mine."

Elliot's face turned bright red and a loud sob escaped his throat.

Lyra's eyes narrowed. "Christian Whitlock?"

The man raised a brow. "You know him?"

Lyra's brows narrowed. "Yeah, I know him. He's the monster that kidnapped, tortured, and raped my little brother."

Elliot completely broke down at that. He'd never wanted Lyra to know. He'd never wanted anyone to know. Now, everything was out in the open. There were no more secrets. It was all over. He buried his face in his hands and wept.

The man looked genuinely perplexed at this revelation. "That's—That's not true. Chris said he bought it. He said it sold itself to him."

A fiery anger burned behind Lyra's eyes. "Let my brother go."

The man shook his head. "Wait, hold on. You're telling me that Chris—"

Lyra clicked the bullet into place. "Now!"

The man flinched and raised his hands above his head. "Okay, okay, fine. Just don't shoot." Keeping his eyes on Lyra, the man gently helped Elliot to his feet. Elliot was trembling and sobbing. He was soaked to the bone and shivering uncontrollably on top of his terrified shaking. The man nudged Elliot in Lyra's direction, but the moment he let go of him, Elliot fell to his knees, weeping and hugging himself as tight as physically possible.

Lyra lowered her gun and instantly dropped to their knees beside Elliot, wrapping him in a loving embrace. "Oh, sunshine, are you okay? Are you hurt? I was so worried."

Elliot could hardly speak through the heavy sobs that wracked his small, underfed body. He kept his eyes clamped tightly shut, too distraught to even look at Lyra.

Broderick kneeled beside them and set a soft hand on Lyra's shoulder. "Lye? Let's get him to the car. I can check him for injuries there."

Lyra nodded. "Elliot? I'm gonna pick you up, okay?" Elliot didn't respond, so Lyra went ahead and gently lifted him into their arms. Almost instantly, he clung to them like a child to their mother, sobbing into her shoulder. Lyra gently rubbed his back. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here. I've got you. We're going home now."

The man watched them, still aghast by the news he'd been given. As Lyra carried Elliot to the waiting vehicle, Karine approached the man at the back of the alley. "What's your name?"

The man shook the fog from his mind and said, "Uh...R-Ryan Cooper."

Karine quietly repeated the name back to herself once before she said, "Great, thanks. I'll be reporting you to the authorities for sexual assault and accessory to kidnapping." Karine turned to leave without another word.

Ryan's eyes widened. "Wait, I swear I didn't know." Karine glanced back at him over her shoulder. "Christian told me the kid was a sex worker. He told all of us that. We had no idea he'd been kidnapped."

Karine's expression didn't change. "Save your excuses for the jury." She turned to leave again, but Ryan grabbed her arm to hold her back.

"Wait! Please!" Karine glowered at him and he instantly released his grip on her. He held his hands up placatingly. "I'm sorry, but I can help. As long as you don't report me, please."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

Ryan didn't even have to think about it before he blurted, "I can tell you where Christian is."

Karine's hard expression softened ever-so-slightly. "I'm listening."

Chapter 20 is finally here!! Sorry for the long wait, but seeing as this is my 20th chapter, I wanted it to be a little more whumpy than my normal chapters. I was really unhappy with how it was coming along, so that's part of the reason why it's been so long. The other main reason is holidays and traveling put writing on the backburner a bit.

Next up is a drabble request that's been sitting in my inbox for months, and I'm so excited to finally get to it! So stay tuned for that!

Taglist:

@l-antre-des-merveilles @pigeonwhumps @nicolepascaline @burningkittypoet @whumpinggrounds @suffering-and-misery @make-them-scream @honeycollectswhump @rabass @whumpdreamz @clairelsonao3 @ofclrosewriteswhump @cepheusgalaxy @pinkraindropsfell @mj-or-say10 @considerablecolors @whatamidoingherehelpme @whumped4whumplover @ladybizarre96 @theaustralianfrog

If anyone wants to be added to or removed from the taglist, please let me know!😊

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a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all · 2 years

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Ice Cold

Whumptober 2022: 7. The Way You Shake and Shiver, 21. You’re Safe Now Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, f!reader, Reader is Iceman's Daughter Word Count: 760 TW: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Freezing, Death Note: Thank you to @marvelousmermaid for looking this over for me 💖

You were so cold. Colder than you could ever remember being before in your life. You were shivering from the inside out and you were worried you’d chip a tooth if your teeth didn’t stop chattering so fiercely. But at least your body had gone so numb that the injuries from your crash didn’t hurt anymore.

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on you. In a way, it was poetic that Iceman’s daughter, code name Snowflake, was slowly freezing to death. But after your plane went down, you were too injured to find cover from the cold or to build a fire. You barely had enough strength to drag yourself away from your plane in case a fuel line caused an explosion. At this point, you were hoping for one. Explosions meant fire, and fire meant heat.

Unless that happened, your only hope was a rescue team located you soon. Maverick had been your team leader for this mission and you knew he wouldn’t stop until he found you. Your godfather had never failed you before, so you just needed to hold out a little longer. Knowing him, he’d have rangled together every available airman to help with the search.

It was becoming more difficult to breathe as the cold air stabbed at your throat and burned your lungs with each breath. Your vision began to blur and all you could see was the blanket of white stretching in front of you against the inky darkness of the night.

But suddenly, something else came into your field of vision. Struggling to bring the world back into focus, you finally made out a pair of combat boots standing before you, and the person wearing them squatted down to your level. Giving you a sad smile, he said, “Hey, baby.”

“D-Dad…” you breathed in astonishment. “Wh-what are you d-doing here?”

“Where else would I be?” Iceman asked. “I had to come get my girl.”

You managed a small chuckle before your body was racked with another intense shivering fit that you felt down to your bones. Weakly, you chattered, “Dad…. I’m s-s-so c-cold.”

He rested his hand on your cheek. “I know, but don’t worry. I’ll get you someplace warm real soon. You’ve done good, kid. Now it’s time to take you home.”

Bending down, he scooped you up into his arms just like he used to when you were a little girl. And as you leaned your head against his chest, you already felt his warmth radiating throughout your body.

You hummed as you snuggled in closer to him, your shivering slowly fading away. “I feel better already.” For the first time, you looked up and really took in the man carrying you. What you saw made you smile. “You look good, Dad.”

He returned your smile and said, “So do you, baby. Now, close your eyes. It’s all going to be okay.”

You nodded softly, suddenly overwhelmingly tired. With the warmth from your father wrapping around you like a blanket and the steady beat of his heart serenading you, you closed your eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

Maverick was the first one to spot you about a hundred feet from where your plane had crashed. The second he saw the drag marks in the snow, he had taken off running but because of the fresh layer of snow, he had almost tripped over your snow-covered body.

Dropping to his knees beside you, he desperately tried to wake you, to find a pulse. But, despite his efforts, it was painfully clear by your blue-tinted lips and ice-cold skin that you were gone. That he had been too late.

He collapsed back into the snow and buried his head in his hands even as the emergency team began examining you. However, he knew there was nothing they could do.

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he silently begged Ice for forgiveness. Since they had met at Top Gun decades ago, Ice had saved Maverick’s career more times than he could count. And the only thing in all that time that Ice had ever asked in return was that Mav keep his daughter safe. It had been the last thing Ice had said to him before he died over a year ago and, now, Mav had failed him. He had failed you.

And as he stared up into the night sky where the snow and stars seemed to merge into one, Maverick just hoped that wherever the two of you were now, you were together once more.

Taglist: @nik2blog, @dumb-fawkin-bitch, @valoraxxx-blog, @m3laniehearts, @autumnleaves1991-blog, @rule107, @vintageleather, @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak, @slutforadambanks, @americaarse, @reneki, @ynbutbetter , @sugarcoated-lame, @imagineadream, @sadpetalsstuff, @salty-thembo, @rachelizabethgraham, @duckandrobin, @queenbbarnes, @grincheveryday, @uselesslyromantic, @choochoo284, @littlebadariell, @blue-aconite, @thescarletknight2014

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a-reader-and-a-writer · 2 years

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Ice Cold

“D-Dad…” you breathed in astonishment. “Wh-what are you d-doing here?”

“Where else would I be?” Iceman asked. “I had to come get my girl.”

You managed a small chuckle before your body was racked with another intense shivering fit that you felt down to your bones. Weakly, you chattered, “Dad…. I’m s-s-so c-cold.”

He rested his hand on your cheek. “I know, but don’t worry. I’ll get you someplace warm real soon. You’ve done good, kid. Now it’s time to take you home.”

He returned your smile and said, “So do you, baby. Now, close your eyes. It’s all going to be okay.”

He collapsed back into the snow and buried his head in his hands even as the emergency team began examining you. However, he knew there was nothing they could do.

And as he stared up into the night sky where the snow and stars seemed to merge into one, Maverick just hoped that wherever the two of you were now, you were together once more.

Taglist: @loverhymeswith, @babblydrabbly, @green-socks, @11thstreetvigilante, @merlehs, @sunshineflowerchild789, @wildbornsiren, @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy, @the-untamed-soul, @inglourious-imagines, @airhogger, @piscesvancouverite, @straightforwardly, @bonnieelizabethparker, @srry-itshockeyszn, @flyinlove, @fandomhopped, @sweetheartlizzie07, @yjwnoot, @wanderdreamer, @callsign-fox, @imjess-themess

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random-genshin-things · 2 years

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Saviour

(Childe x Medic Reader) Ch 1

Random thought: Medic reader saves Childe’s life without really knowing who he is and just thinks that’s that. However, Childe, who only vaguely remembers the reader in a semi-conscious fever dream-like state, is almost obsessed with trying to find her because he’s kind of fallen completely, like love at first sight, for the sweet stranger that saved his life. Set before the Liyue Chapter 2 Arc.

The first thing you thought when you awoke was that this was not how you were going to die: at the bottom of a cliff on Dragonspine. You refuse to let this be the end of you especially when you were so close to finishing your thesis and graduating from the Akademiya.

Medicine has been your main focus. As a child, you wished to become a doctor. Doctors and healers were the most incredible people in Teyvat in your innocent child's eyes. Giving every effort you could to help save people’s lives and heal their wounds was the most noble cause in your opinion. You had always respected the way that doctors and nurses would carefully tend to their patients. Your goal was to become the kind of doctor that anyone, regardless of wealth, status or any other factor, could come to know that they would be treated with the finest care to the best of your abilities. Monika, your closest friend at the Akademiya, liked to claim you were going to be the best doctor in Sumeru, maybe in all of Teyvat. Every time she proclaimed your greatness, you couldn’t help but chuckle. You knew you had a long way to go and lacked vital experience. Learning in a classroom was all fine and good, but it could not replace real hands-on experience.

You’d been volunteering at a local clinic that your professor ran when Monika said she was going on an expedition to Dragonspine and needed a medic. How could you refuse?

Monika, like yourself, was from Mondstadt. Her main focus at the Akademiya was trying to discover a better way to store and transport perishable foods. More specifically, she was researching ways to keep food better for longer and transport them across large distances without spoiling. Monika had spent a lot of time studying the effects of mist flowers but had run into a dead end. The flowers would wilt after a certain amount of time, meaning that they could not provide a long term solution. Dragonspine had been her new field location of choice. Monika had hoped to study the effects of freezing perishables and perfect her latest idea: a new machine she called the Freeze-r. You remember laughing at the name when she first introduced the machine to you, but the idea was a good one.

Just a week ago you had gathered and packed all of your supplies: bandages, gauze, medicinal herbs and salves, slings; Anything that you thought you could need in case of an emergency. Being from Mondstadt meant you were well acquainted with the conditions of Dragonspine, and you also knew that if something went terribly wrong your only hope of rescue would be if an adventure team stumbled upon you. That was a big “if.”

You were not going to let the lives of your team rest on the off chance that someone else would be on the mountain. By the end of your packing, your bag had been slightly heavier than intended but nothing that you couldn’t carry. Another scholar from Fontaine working with Monika, Jean-Pierre, had offered to carry your bag when the expedition started. Right now, you were incredibly grateful you had not taken him up on that offer. Had Jean-Pierre been carrying your bag when the avalanche hit, then you would have been left with nothing.

Laying in the snow at the bottom of a cliff had not been part of your plan, but neither was the avalanche that separated you from your team. It was just so sudden. You felt the slight rumble of the ground under foot and looked up just in time to see a harsh blanket of white. Your team was several paces ahead and there was no way you could outrun the wave of snow and ice rushing towards you. You didn’t even try to fight it, instead focusing all of your efforts on protecting your head and vital organs. When you reached the bottom you felt grateful to even be alive.

It was always cold on Dragonspine, you could see the condensation of your own breath as you glanced around trying to take in your new surroundings and grasp any semblance of bearings. Your ankle was definitely sprained if not entirely broken and you could feel a hot, dull pain as it throbbed in your boot. One of your wrists was most likely fractured, luckily on your non-dominant arm. Honestly, you were immensely lucky not to be more injured.

Archons, you were lucky to be alive.

Looking around you seemed to be in a buried camp, or more accurately what was left of a camp. It seemed to be fatui based on the colors and design on what little was left unearthed of a tattered tent. As you started to slowly sit up, you gathered more of your bearings and observed more of the camp. It didn’t look to be that old but the frost of Dragonspine has a way of preserving things so it was hard to really tell how old the camp was. You adjust your pack to look for a sling for your arm and your heart just about stopped when you saw it: A figure barely peeking out of the pristine white snow.

Oh Archons you were right.

This camp hadn’t been abandoned. There were people here.

In a panic you rushed to your feet and nearly collapsed back to the ground as a flash of hot pain enveloped your being. The weight of your pack combined with your sprained ankle sent a searing pain through your leg. It almost felt as if the local blacksmith had shoved an iron straight from the stove into your leg, but your resolve didn’t waver. You needed to get to that person. You needed to see if they were still alive. Throwing off your pack, which unceremoniously crashed to the ground, you wrenched yourself from it and stumbled towards the figure. You collapse in front of the figure which you could now identify to be a man.

He was young. Archons, he couldn’t have been much older than you. His messy ginger hair obscured almost half of his face but a single beaded red earring was visible on his left side. The red jewel and the gold holding it glimmered slightly in what little light broke through the canopy of clouds. The avalanche had buried his body from the chest down but you could tell he was wearing a thick white coat lined with black fur and a red scarf. The coat was a good quality thick wool and the fur that adorned it couldn’t have been cheap. The scarf looked well worn almost as if he had gone with him everywhere, and you suspected that it might have had a sentimental value beyond the practicality. The high quality of the coat and the fur told you that he must have been well off, or at least of a high enough rank that the Fatui spent some decent mora on his uniform. He must have been Fatui but you couldn’t see a mask. More importantly, you could see the slight rise and fall of his chest as short shallow breaths came from his mouth.

He was breathing. He was still alive.

You rushed to dig him out of the snow before he succumbed to frostbite. The tips of your fingers were beginning to tingle with the biting cold and loose feeling. Your injured wrist was in the most pain you had ever felt, but you kept digging. This man was still alive and you knew you were his only hope of surviving, so you kept digging even as your wrist and ankle burned with jolts of pain, and your body shook and shivered from the cold.

When you finally pulled him from the snow embankment, you noticed it. The intricate red mask just feet away from him.

It was slightly broken but it was a gorgeous pattern of tangled red branches lined with gold. It was also the most terrifying object in that moment and the pit of your stomach filled with dread as the realisation of who this man was washed over you. That mask could only mean one thing:

Harbinger.

The man that you had just pulled out of his encased coffin of snow was a Fatui Harbinger!

Your thoughts swirled with the voices of your friends and family, with images of the run ins that they had had with the fatui. You knew what they would tell you if they were here. You could almost hear Monika’s voice in your head,

“A Harbinger! Let the bastard die then!”

…… But you couldn’t. You’re a doctor and it’s a doctor's job to help people, to save people!

Regardless of who this man was, his life was now in your hands. If you didn’t do something to at least try to save him, he would die before morning…..

If you didn’t help him then did you really have the right to call yourself a doctor…..?

…… With a sharp intake of breath you hardened your revolve. You had made up your mind. It didn’t matter who this man was.

You were going to save him!

A/N: If anyone thinks this is good I’ll keep writing.

Edit: link to Ch 2

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elendiliel · 1 year

Text

Operation: Rescue

(Again, the divisions between fics don't quite match the series; this one is mostly "Persuasion", plus the pre-credits sequence from "Synthesis".)

More than usual, inspiration credits to @justawannabearchaeologist's "TFP Wheeljack in TFA" series, which I highly recommend.

---

Ratchet was gone.

Not dead, Glitch was pretty sure even before Arcee wrangled that clarification out of a still-not-quite-with-it Bulkhead. Over the comm from Hangar E, the Wrecker sounded dazed and confused, but not sad or angry, or even empty, as people often seemed as they processed a loved one’s death. (During her training, the young field-tech had seen that all too many times.) But the senior medibot was still missing, and almost certainly in Decepticon servos. Having been in that position herself, Glitch didn’t want to think about what Ratchet might be going through, not while she had no way of helping him.

So as the bulk of Team Prime’s Autobots waited for a groundbridge back to base from Antarctica, she did her best to think of something she could do to help, and her fatigue-addled processor latched on to a fact the team’s youngest member had once let slip. Kneeling down, she scooped up a double servoful of snow, compacting it into a neat sphere and adding to it until it was about the right size. The marks of her delicate digits were obvious to her sharp optics, but there was nothing to be done about that. She held it out to her leader with the cryptic explanation, “for Raf.”

Optimus Prime looked at her in confusion for a moment, then took the snowball from her; it fitted neatly into one of his much larger servos. “Ah, yes. I did promise, before an expedition to the Arctic. I did not know he had mentioned that to you.”

“Only in passing. He doesn’t blame you; he knows you had more important things on your processor. But I thought it might cheer him up.” Raf was almost as close to Ratchet as he was to Bumblebee, his partner and best friend; the medic’s capture was sure to hit him hard.

“Good thinking.” Just then, Bulkhead and Smokescreen finally figured out how to operate the groundbridge, quite possibly helped by Raf and/or by Arcee haranguing them over the comm. The Autobot away team were at last able to leave the frozen wastes for the now-damaged hangar they still called home, already preparing to bring their missing comrade back.

***

As Optimus began his part of the search for clues as to the whereabouts of his oldest friend, he found his path blocked by what appeared to be a bronze statue around a third of his height. Glitch was standing in front of him, arms folded, immovable as the Hall of Records, and probably about as amenable to reason. “With respect, sir, you need to get your skidplate on my repair table. Now.”

Her strange dark blue eyes bored into his – very unusual, for her – and her face was set in an expression peculiar to medics, one that, without being threatening, promised severe consequences if one did not comply. Optimus had seen it on his Amica’s face many times, sometimes – though by no means always – directed at him, and should have known better than to disregard it. But with Ratchet’s life at risk, the difference between should and did was quite substantial. “I have to search…”

“The others can do that. They didn’t take such a pasting from a Predacon.” Her face and voice softened slightly; her resolve, Optimus was sure, had not. “You’ll be of far more use to Ratchet without dents in your armour the size of my head and I don’t know how much internal damage. We all need you in full working order, especially him.”

A very palpable hit, Optimus thought as he gave in and made his way over to the medical bay. (One factor in his decision might have been her logical next move, threatening to take him there herself using her magnets; she not only could but would do so, and being carried around like a bundle of L-beams was hardly consonant with the dignity of a Prime.) He had always had an appreciation for the uses of words in place of weapons. Orion Pax had had no formal combat training, though Megatronus had tried to teach him the basics, and, one way and another, Megatron had taught Optimus Prime far more. He had grown up surrounded by words, and his own words had earned him the title of Prime long before Primus set his seal on the Council’s decision, while Megatron’s had brought so many mecha to his cause, convincing them that it was just. Most of his followers, and even more of Optimus’, had joined with the Allspark as a result. Megatron himself had so nearly done the same, and Optimus knew he would have mourned his former friend. Their planet was dead, and its best hope of resurrection was in the hands of an insane warmonger, all because of their words. But words could also calm, comfort, encourage, inspire, and heal, among much else. They could be deadly weapons, but also powerful tools, like the ones Glitch intended to use on him.

“How did you know that would work?” he asked her as he made himself comfortable on her repair table. (She had a point, he realised; now that he was no longer ignoring his injuries, a habit for which Ratchet had so often scolded him, his whole frame ached from his battle with Predaking.)

“You’re more like your counterpart than you let on.” He knew that was high praise. She spoke often of her universe’s Optimus Prime, always with deep respect and sincere affection; Optimus was sure he would like his alternate, should they ever meet. By her account, the other Prime (who was not the leader of all Autobots, merely of a maintenance crew, as a result of a tragic accident and his own sense of honour) was kind and gentle, immensely brave and unswervingly loyal, a master tactician and a powerful warrior when he needed to be. Compassionate enough to give sanctuary to a wounded former Decepticon, despite her semi-arachnid nature and his deep-seated fear of spiders (something of which Optimus had learned on Glitch’s first day in his reality, when Miko had seen a spider in the base and the newcomer had stopped Wheeljack from killing it, instead coaxing the “tiny friend” onto her hand as she apparently did “back home”, laughing as it ran all over her arm before she managed to release it outside). Forgiving enough to cover for a former friend who had done nothing but insult and belittle him for centuries. Still young, still making mistakes, but willing to learn from them and to ask for help doing so. Optimus was sure he would make a fine leader of his Cybertron given the chance. (He noted, too, the shift in her choice of words – “your counterpart”, not “my Optimus”. She was starting to consider his universe and Hangar E another home, and Team Prime another family.) “He’d be tearing his helmet fins off by now if something like this had happened on his watch.” She grimaced. “Perhaps literally. Which would at least distract both him and whichever medic happened to be nearest, with a lecture about irresponsibility.”

“I can imagine.” A little too well; Optimus sought to change the subject slightly. “Was… the other… Ratchet ever captured?”

“Once. In the war. Bounty hunter named Lockdown. Nasty piece of work – former Autobot and cyber-ninja, now mostly works for the Decepticons. Takes his victims’ mods as trophies.” She sighed, her already low mood falling still further. “Ratchet wasn’t even his target. Arcee was; she had intel the Autobots needed and the ‘Cons wanted. Ratchet just happened to be there. And he was the one she asked to wipe her memory to protect the intel. She got her wish – much against his will.” Glitch seemed to shake herself mentally. “Ratchet got them both out of there, though. And while it took him four million stellar-cycles and Sari’s technopathy, he brought her memories back, as well.”

“I am glad to hear that.” Although it reminded him of their current situation. “I can only hope that our Ratchet fares as well.”

“I’m sure he will. Some things are constant across the multiverse; Optimi are kind and brave, Bumblebees are fast and loyal, Starscreams can’t shut up and keep trying and failing to kill their Megatrons, Soundwaves have overly high opinions of themselves… Ratchets are clever and resilient. By the time we find him – and we will – I wouldn’t be surprised if he were partway through his own escape.”

“Nor would I,” Optimus agreed. It would probably help that Ultra Magnus and Glitch had, between them, significantly wounded the Decepticons’ chief scientist Shockwave – in fact, the field-tech still had a few traces of his Energon clinging to her shell, as well as some dents the Prime would have to persuade her to have fixed – which would keep both him and their medic Knock Out busy for a while, and thus delay any interrogation of their prisoner. Optimus hastily put that thought from his mind, focusing on the best way to rescue said prisoner as swiftly as possible.

Once he was fully repaired, of course, although that would not take long. While not yet in Ratchet’s league, Glitch was a competent medic, and more like her senior colleague than Optimus had entirely realised before – Ratchet in reverse, perhaps. Beneath the cynical, pessimistic exterior, Optimus knew his Amica cared at least as deeply as the Prime himself did – for his fellow ‘bots, for their humans, and of course for Cybertron. Their aeons-long war had taught him to keep that potential weakness hidden, bottled up until it could no longer be contained, but showed itself in a single outburst – “like the quietest volcano ever,” Rafael had once said. Glitch, conversely, had one of the most open, compassionate sparks Optimus had ever known. She would reach out even to a Decepticon who had violated her mind, purely because he needed someone to do so. Her skill in combat, both verbal and physical, came as quite a surprise to anyone who crossed her. How had Nurse Darby put it, that time the field-tech was scolding Smokescreen for concealing and exacerbating an injury, even as she repaired him? “It’s like being attacked by a swan. You know it’s possible, but you never really see it coming.” (Optimus’ experience with Earth waterfowl was decidedly limited, so he had taken her word for it.)

That skill would surely be of much use very soon. Once the team had located Ratchet, and thus the warship on which he was presumably being held, they would need every advantage they possessed to rescue their friend and put a stop to Megatron’s latest attempt to cyberform Earth. Optimus did not think anyone could prevent Glitch from taking part in that operation if they tried. Although she hid it well, her face a mask of professional calm and her hands perfectly steady, Optimus saw the same deep, simmering, controlled anger in her that he felt himself (and not just because, on returning to base, she had, carefully and deliberately, put a deep dent in one of the handrails of the stairs to Agent Fowler’s office with a reverse roundhouse kick). Being a field medic, she had trained as a protector as well as a healer, and she had demonstrated a level of resistance to Soundwave’s sonic attacks while the Decepticon was their prisoner. She felt that she should have stayed behind to help guard him; that Ratchet’s capture was her fault. Optimus knew that it was not – that, if anything, it was his fault – but saying as much would only cause her to lash out, then feel even more guilty, so he remained silent and allowed everyone else to do their jobs.

***

“It would stand to reason that Ratchet must possess something the Decepticons want.” Well, I thought that was obvious, Glitch thought, watching Prime, Arcee, Smokescreen, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus compare notes on the available data – and lack thereof – on Ratchet’s whereabouts. She was perched on her own repair table, allowing Wheeljack – at Prime’s insistence – to take care of the dents in her armour left by a Predacon attack and subsequent collision with a wall. Her saddle had absorbed most of the latter impact, and her self-repair module was equal to a little circuitry damage, but Prime had been right; they all needed to be on top form to get their friend back.

“Well, whatever the ‘Cons are after, Ratch won’t give it up… right?”

“Not willingly.” Glitch qualified Bulkhead’s statement. “But once Shockwave patches in to his processor… I couldn’t keep Knock Out out of mine altogether, and the patch wasn’t designed for ‘bots like me. And Shockwave invented the flipping thing, remember. Even Ratchet won’t stand a chance.”

“Good point,” Wheeljack agreed. He had as much experience of the cortical psychic patch as she did. “You and Magnus sent ol’ tank-brain off leaking pretty badly, which should buy us some time, but we’d still better move fast. I don’t like the thought of Sunshine in ‘Con hands any more than you do.” Sunshine? The engineer-turned-Wrecker still defied full understanding.

“Synthetic Energon,” Ultra Magnus said, apparently out of nowhere. He must have been considering Arcee’s question about why the Decepticons only took Ratchet. “Only he and Glitch have any detailed knowledge of its composition, and as I understand the matter the Decepticons only associate him with it. And there were boxes that could have contained synthetic Energon in Shockwave’s laboratory, were there not?” That last part was directed at Wheeljack, who had destroyed said lab with Magnus’ approval.

“Sure were. Made for one Pit of an explosion.”

“And Shockwave was very interested in the results,” Glitch recalled. She had returned to the area shortly after the incident, to recover Magnus’ signature weapon and what was left of his dominant servo. “Something that looked a lot like cybermatter. Synth-En must be an ingredient. The Decepticons can’t perfect it themselves, so they kidnapped an expert.” As her universe’s Bulkhead had been kidnapped for his space-bridge expertise. Classic ‘Con move.

“This is all very interesting,” Agent Fowler broke in, “but has nobody else noticed that the Decepticons now know exactly where our base is? Their fleet could be on its way as we speak.”

“A valid point,” Prime acknowledged. “Can you organise aerial surveillance to give us advance warning, should they mount an attack?”

“Already done, as best I can. You know what the higher-ups are like – or maybe you don’t, seeing as how you are a higher-up, in more ways than one.”

Prime’s stature notwithstanding, the joke still went right over his head. As ever, he stayed focused on practical matters. “Your own air squadron, even with my help, could not hold back Starscream’s Seeker Armada without risk to human lives. But perhaps we can safeguard this base another way…”

Misdirection, maybe. Glitch thought suddenly of a Decepticon who had hidden in plain sight in Autobot society for centuries, fooling even her. Of a wrongly convicted mech’s desperate attempt at revenge, changing places with the ‘bot who reported him. Of another Optimus infiltrating a group of Decepticon agents. Of another Bulkhead tricking an unscrupulous businessman into admitting that the cars he had based on Bulk’s alt were “gas-guzzling death traps” – on camera. And, of course, of the general stupidity of ‘Cons, and, frankly, most people in one way or another, herself included. “Do we have any paint lying around?”

A few circuit-shredding hours of waiting later, just as the rest of the team remarked on the general lack of ‘Connery and Ultra Magnus started to plan a more proactive strategy, their precautions proved necessary. Starscream’s fleet was coming in fast. Unit E’s Skystrikers were scrambled in response, but only succeeded in holding them back for a short time before a pair of missiles found their target and blew it to scrap.

“Mess hall sure is a mess,” Smokescreen commented as the Autobots watched the hangar’s remains burn. We could do with Optimus – the other one, Glitch thought. Or Heatwave.

“We are fortunate the Decepticons could be fooled by a simple paint job,” Ultra Magnus remarked.

“Hardly anybody looks beyond the obvious,” Glitch added. A sentiment that applied to people as well as to aircraft hangars. Others frequently judged her on her small stature (by Cybertronian standards), her slender build, her museum-piece alt. Or her academic’s accent, old-fashioned customs and formal speech patterns. They didn’t see her planet-sized spark, her sharp mind or even, too often, her medical mods. Even her bronze plating went against the unwritten rule that medics wore red and white. (If a rule weren’t written down, how the helium was a ‘bot supposed to read it?) And the fact that she looked even younger than she was didn’t help when she needed to be taken seriously. Being used to such treatment didn’t make it any less annoying.

Returning to the still-intact Hangar E, Wheeljack took another look at the fragment of Soundwave’s drone Laserbeak that Smokescreen had managed to sever during the Mini-‘Con’s rescue of its master. It turned out to be a piece of transponder – ideal for analysis by Raf and Glitch. Mostly Raf, really; Glitch was used to Autobot and Decepticon systems from her home universe, and Raf was a natural at picking up anything computer-related, even Bumblebee’s audial code. Ratchet had been teaching him Cybertronian computer code, and the decryption process reminded the human painfully of his mentor and friend. Glitch knew just how he felt. She hadn’t seen her mentor in months.

There wasn’t much time to dwell on the subject before Wheeljack came up with another of his crazy ideas. Giving the chunk of ‘Con wings and letting it fly home. Glitch could have kicked herself for not thinking of that. Maybe that was one reason why the Wrecker and the field-tech got on so well, despite one being an explosives expert and the other a part-time chemist who specialised in preventing explosions; they shared a direct but unorthodox approach to life.

“Now there’s something you don’t see every day,” Smokescreen said, referring to Wheeljack collaborating with Raf and Glitch on their homemade drone. As Bulkhead explained that, “being a Wrecker was all about the team,” Glitch shook her head slightly. Wheeljack had been a scientist before he was a soldier, and scientists didn’t work alone. (Well, Shockwave did, but he had gone past “unhinged” and all the way to “flat on the floor”.) She would, however, have been happier about working with him were he not constantly borrowing her tools without asking. (Or, in fairness, realising.)

“A-ba-ba-ba, what d’you think you’re doing?” she demanded, rescuing her sonic screwdriver before Wheeljack could use the wrong setting to try to uncross a few wires. His reply was drowned out by Raf, doing his best Ratchet impression, telling Miko that, “I needed that!”

“Three of ‘em,” Smokescreen sighed. You didn’t know when you were well off, Glitch thought, though she knew he wouldn’t get the reference.

In spite of Miko’s well-meant attempts to help, the drone (named “Chip” by Raf) came together pretty quickly, although only Glitch’s reflexes and magnets kept it away from Agent Fowler and Jack, who were having a private conversation up on the platform by the agent’s office. The remote still had some bugs in it.

Soon afterwards, though, those last few problems had been solved and Chip was ready for launch. Soundwave would have spotted a GPS beacon a hic away, so the team was using a physical tracker – Prime. With good enough cloud cover – usually easy to find on Earth – he should be able to get close to the Decepticon warship before they knew he was there. (Unless someone became curious about the reappearance of Laserbeak’s signal, of course, but they would jump that bridge if they came to it.) After a round of encouraging farewells to Prime (Glitch’s contribution was, “look after yourself”) and once OP himself had complimented Raf on his work, the budding engineer launched his latest creation and the Autobot flier took off after it. Operation: Rescue had begun in earnest.

#transformers prime #transformers animated #fanfic #autobot oc #tfp optimus prime #tfp raf #tfp wheeljack #tfp ultra magnus #tfp bulkhead #tfp smokescreen #misplaced medic au

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saiilorstars · 2 years

Photo

Ch.21: Oh Secret, my Secret

Pairings: Barry Allen x OFC

Current Masterlist | Previous Story

Pronunciation of OC: Bell-en. The last syllable has an emphasis so it’s not pronounced like ‘Helen’ would be.

Taglist: @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @antonybridgertons @foxesandmagic

[If you’d like to be part of this OC’s taglist, let me know!

The road to recovery for everyone involved with STAR Labs was a long one and a difficult one. Their momentary win - which was to rescue Jesse Wells - had come at a mighty big cost...the death of Jay Garrick. No one took that part worse than Caitlin Snow who felt like she'd been thrown into the same old, awful story from last year. She'd gotten close to someone and they were ripped apart from her just like that. Again.

On that note, Barry couldn't stop blaming himself. If he hadn't been distracted, maybe he could have done something. Zoom wouldn't have gotten the last laugh if he'd been on the job. There was too much to focus on, he kept telling himself as a means to console himself. Because it was true. The first thing he saw when he returned to his world was the face of his girlfriend, the same girlfriend he had to battle against in another world; the same girlfriend who was hell bent on killing his version of a girlfriend. That was a lot to take in. It was why he opted, at least for the moment, not to share everything from Earth 2 with the team. As far as anyone knew besides Cisco, Harry and Jesse, Datura had never revealed her true identity. She was still just a crazy siphoner to the rest.

"Are you sure you didn't see anything that could help me?" Belén would follow Barry around asking the same questions hoping he would suddenly remember a crucial detail about Datura that would help her fight. Because in Belén's mind, that final showdown was inevitable.

"Nope, sorry, can't think of anything," Barry would shrug and quickly try to change the topic.

Belén would just shake her head and turn to someone else who could help her. Harry didn't have any problems lying to her, and with his usual cold manners, Belén didn't insist too much with him. Cisco was a tougher one to manage but Barry made him see that for the moment it was better for Belén not to know the truth.

Jesse Wells was another story.

Because Jesse had gotten to know Datura a little bit more than most civilians would care to, it was hard not to attribute the woman's personality to Earth 1 Belén. Every time Belén would come near Jesse, whether it was to see how the girl was doing after moving permanently to Earth 1, Jesse would flinch away from Belén. The terrible fear in her eyes was not one Belén could ignore. Jesse tried to remember the fact this was another woman and not Datura. It wasn't the same metahuman who took pleasure in scaring her. It wasn't the same sick woman. No. This Belén seemed kind, seemed a bit out of it sometimes, and shy. This Belén was a metahuman who did good to her city.

Barry thanked Jesse over and over for doing her best around Belén. He was confident that with time Jesse would learn that his Bells was nothing like her doppelganger. She could never be. But he sincerely hoped that her contrasting personality wouldn't become her weakness if she ever came face to face with Datura. It could be dangerous, and these thoughts were the ones that plagued Barry so often. They usually occurred when Belén seemed at her most innocent. Those usually turned out to be when she was asleep.

Lately, he had been sleeping over at her place.

Belén of course didn't question it. He seemed out of it for the longest of times, and she really only wanted to help however she could. Plus, she liked when he stayed over. Unfortunately, she didn't have the entire story.

Nights full of thoughts prevented Barry from sleeping, so he often laid with his eyes open and with a distant expression. Different scenes from Earth 2 would fill his mind, all usually surrounding Datura. He felt a terrible pit of guilt in his stomach every time he thought about her. He hadn't helped her yet and he hadn't told Belén about her. What a great boyfriend he was.

He turned on the bed when Belén shifted in her sleep. She was fast asleep, exhaling soft hums every now and then that indicated she was probably dreaming. Barry thought she looked peaceful, and he really wished he could keep it that way. What was the point in burdening her with Datura?

He put an arm over her and slowly scooted closer to her. There was a need in him to just hold her, to know that she was okay and certainly not evil and...sick. Belén made it easier when she once again shifted but this time in his direction. Barry smiled and got comfortable, snuggling to Belén, and resting his chin over her head. It was peaceful enough...hopefully it would foster some sleep in him.

~ 0 ~

When Belén woke up, she was a bit surprised to find that she was alone (again). It became even more of a surprise when she saw that it was very early. If there was one thing Belén knew about Barry, it was that he did not like getting up early. The only times he was up before his alarm was when he had somewhere to be or he couldn't sleep. Knowing it was absolutely the latter, Belén got up from her bed and looked around, listening intently.

"Living room," she decided after a minute. She walked out into the living room and sure enough found Barry there, surrounded by different chemistry and biology books. Papers she saw with complicated equations were scattered on the floor and some falling from the table.

"What...is all this…?" she bent down to pick a paper up but Barry quickly swiped it from her hands.

"Don't!"

She blinked in surprise. She felt it chilly in the air and hugged herself, thanking for her long-sleeved shirt choice but scolding herself for not taking her blanket with her. "Did I interrupt some super geeky moment of yours?"

Barry lowered the book he was currently holding and smiled. "Sort of, yeah...sorry…" He was suddenly self-conscious about the mess he created in her living room. There was a ping of guilt in his chest additionally from the fact that it was all for a specific cure...for a specific doppelganger...

Belén raised her eyebrows and chuckled. "It's 7 a.m, Barry. I'm finding it really hard to be attracted to you right now."

Barry opened his mouth to retort sarcastically but took into consideration the way he looked and the mess he had around him...and nodded his head. "Yeah, alright."

A soft laugh reverberated from Belén as she took a seat on the couch arm rest. "So what is my super geeky boyfriend up to at-" she yawned, "-seven a.m in the morning?"

"U-uh...just some...things…" Barry grabbed some papers off the floor and shuffled them to organize them. He relished, for once, in the lack of understanding Belén had for all the equations and information.

"Is this for your speed?" Belén opened a biology book and carelessly flipped through the pages.

"Uh...yes, yes it is," Barry nodded, not doubting for a second.

Belén yawned and closed the book. "God just looking at the pages makes me wanna fall asleep."

"Why don't you go do that, then?" Barry asked and immediately realized how that sounded. Belén was giving him a sarcastic offended face. "Not like that!" Barry quickly said, throwing the papers in his hands to turn to her. "I just m-meant...you know...because you're tired! And...it's very early...and...I love you?"

"Hm…" Belén slid down from the armrest to sit next to him. "You just don't want me around. Don't think I haven't noticed how weird you've been acting ever since you came back from Earth 2. And I know-" she added fast when Barry opened his mouth to speak, "-that a lot's happened. Jay getting murdered and then that huge, weird King Shark thing...but I get the feeling it's me that you have a problem with."

"What?" if Barry hadn't already been sitting down he would've fallen back. "You think...what?" Oh god, here he was...messing things up even when he told himself he wouldn't!

Belén nodded her head. "Every time you look at me there's...something in your eyes that...I don't know. I just feel like there's something new. And it makes me feel like I've done something."

"You did absolutely nothing wrong!" Barry went first to ease her guilt. "If anyone has done wrong it's me and only me. You've been incredible as usual and I'm just...being a completely horrible boyfriend as usual."

"Don't say that…" Belén smiled playfully. "You're not horrible you just have that annoying habit of bottling things up. Won't you please tell me what's gotten into you? I bet it's got to be from Earth 2, huh?"

Barry figured he couldn't keep hiding everything but...he also wasn't prepared to tell her the entire truth. Still, his head nodded without his consent.

"What happened there? I mean all we know is that you met Caitlin and Ronnie's doppelgangers who turned out to be evil...oh and Cisco's too," Belén said with some thought put into it. "What else did you see? Or who else? Is that what's bothering you? People you saw there?"

"Sort of…" Barry sighed and considered how to go about this for the meanwhile. "I saw Joe over there...practically get killed."

"Oh my God," Belén put a hand to her mouth. "What happened?"

"Killer Frost and Deathstorm happened."

"Oh my...and the...the Iris from there...did you…"

"My doppelganger knew her so, yeah…" Barry nodded, now avoiding her look for a moment. "Joe pushed her out of the way and he took the blow. Iris was devastated but...she took control and she helped us find Zoom."

"Really?" Belén asked, sounding unsure.

"She was a cop," Barry said to help her better picture it.

"Really!?" Belén was now smiling at the idea. "She wanted to be a cop here but her dad said no…"

"Yeah, well, she didn't take 'no' for an answer over there and she became the only Detective West on that planet. Joe was a jazz singer."

Belén chuckled. "No way. What else happened? Or who did you see? Did you see me? Cos...well, you saw everyone but...you haven't mentioned me. Did I exist? Did I know your doppelganger? Or did I know someone at least of our group?"

"Um…" Barry rubbed the side of his neck, hoping to be quick and come up with something easy and simple.

"You can tell me," Belén scooted closer to him, aware there was something holding him back. "Is this the problem? It has to do with the other me?"

"N-no!" Barry found himself saying before he could think rationally. "I mean, it's just...I saw you…" he began carefully, "And...and you were different…"

That was an understatement, he thought.

"What was different?"

Barry took a long breath, eyes flickering from her and down to his lap. "Your hair, um...it was dark. No blonde tips."

Belén's hands went to her loose (and messy) bed hair. "Really? Hm, I can't see myself with that...I've always liked dying my hair. Did I look okay though? The other me, I meant."

"Yeah…" Barry said without a second thought. Underneath that evil cockiness Earth 2 Belén wore, she was still a youthful beauty. She would probably get anyone to do anything for her if she just asked (psychopaths like Zoom didn't count of course).

"And did I…did I know any of you guys?" Belén couldn't help continue to be curious about her other self.

"Yeah...you did…" Barry looked at her in the eyes, "...you and I...we were actually, um...married…" And technically that wasn't a lie. Their doppelgangers were still - technically - married since Belén wasn't dead.

A bright red spread around Belén's face from the news. Her eyes, widened, blinked fast. "W-we were?" her hand came up to her cheek. "Like...like with the whole vows and everything? Rings too?"

Barry nodded his head. "Mhm. Everything. Even saw a picture of us. Well done by the way."

Belén laughed. "Thanks, I guess? Oh I can't believe it! We were married!"

Barry tried to look as happy as she did but it was impossible when he knew the full version of the story. He wouldn't let her know it for the meantime, not until he had come up with a cure or a way to re-open one breech.

"Is that why you've been looking at me weird?" Belén leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'd be weird too if I'd seen your doppelganger, honestly. What was hE he like?"

"Dorky," Barry made a face.

"Oh, so nothing's different then."

Barry did a double take at her, making her laugh. "Oh, you're nice." He put an arm around her and used his grip to bring her over to his lap. "I was a 'dork' but a CSI too…"

"So definitely the same," Belén laughed again.

"Yeah, whatever…"

Belén slowly sobered to get back to the issue she'd first asked about. "So then...you're better now? This was why you were weird…?"

"Yes," Barry did his best to look convincing for her.

Apparently he did because she was smiling quite proudly. She grabbed his face and planted a kiss on him. "Can we go back to sleep now? It's really early."

Thinking it was probably for the best, Barry agreed. He took her hands - which were cold but he would never tell - and took them back to Belén's bedroom where they would hopefully get some more sleep.

~ 0 ~

At work, Belén was deeply focused on her computer. She'd been inspired to write a new article - a lengthy one - that would hopefully inspire a new sense of hope for metahumans that were just like her. Her fingers danced over her keyboard to the point where she earned several looks from her co-workers passing by.

"You are going to break that keyboard," Iris laughed when she stopped by. She might have also leaned forwards just to see if there was any smoke coming from the keyboard. "Watch out Flash."

Belén rolled her eyes and lifted her hands off the keyboard. "Ha, ha, so funny."

"I am," Iris proudly said. "So, can I know what this new article is about that's nearly costing you a computer?"

"I've been doing some thinking lately about my..." Belén's eyes did a quick scan of the place to make sure none of their co-workers were listening to them, but still whispered her next word, "...metahuman side." She leaned back against her chair, hands coming together on her lap. "I realize that it has taken me forever to get a handle on my powers. And the only reason I even got there is because Shivhan showed me the Green."

"That's not the only reason and you know it," Iris put her hands on her hips, not about to let Belén once again belittle her own work. "Shivhan may have shown you the Green but you're the one who worked her ass off. You put Poison Ivy away."

Belén couldn't help the smile that spread across her face just from remembering that detail. She put Poison Ivy away. She'd taken down the vicious metahuman despite her shortcomings in regards to powers. It did make her a bit proud of herself. "Alright, my point here is that...the Green taught me a lot. It's also given me this sense of...belonging. It's where I come from."

"I'm glad you did," Iris smiled softly at her friend. She loved seeing Belén like this - they only had rare moments of happiness after all.

"I want other metahumans like me to know that there's a place where they can get a handle on their powers, where they can meet people like them. Plus, a lot of them are afraid of Datura and if they learn about the Green, then they learn how to defend themselves."

"That all sounds really good..."

"I sense there's a 'but' coming there," Belén raised an eyebrow at Iris (who had scrunched her face out of guilt). "What is it?"

"It's a really good idea," Iris began, which was just another warning that the 'but' was coming. "I think it would definitely help people-"

"-get on with it," Belén made a gesture with her hand.

Iris sighed deeply. "But...I don't think you'll get Scott to publish it." Belén rolled her eyes at the mention of their picky editor. "You saw how difficult it was to pass my Flash vs Zoom story last week. And I thought it was a pretty good one."

"It was," Belén assured her. She remembered how hard Iris had to fight with Scott just to pass the article that only pointed out Zoom's disappearance from the city, indicating that perhaps the Flash was responsible for it. Iris thought it would provide the public with a feeling of safety, but Scott thought it was just another fluff piece for the Flash.

Sometimes, Belén really hated Scott.

"I think you should talk about it with Scott first before you continue writing what promises to be a masterpiece," Iris made a gesture at the computer where she could see several pages of Belén's new-coming article.

Belén nodded silently. It was a good suggestion but she didn't exactly know how to go about it.

~ 0 ~

Barry and the others in STAR Labs returned to the building after a failed training session. In his defense, though, the training session had involved him running acorss a huge canyon with a very deep fall. He almost plummeted to his death had it not been for a drone.

Jesse, who had stayed behind and taken advantage to learn a little more about this world, curiously glanced at the incoming group. "So how'd it go?"

"Scooch," Cisco motioned her to get out of the seat she was in. Rolling her eyes, Jesse obeyed but also had her popcorn stolen by Cisco.

"Hey!" Belén came into the cortex a few seconds later. "How'd the training go?" her eyes laid on Barry but he looked away almost as soon as she'd turned her attention on him. "Not...not good?"

"He's not a red splat on the side of a mountain," Harry answered when he set his things down on a nearby table.

"Oh..."

"So, you didn't make the canyon jump?" Jesse then turned to Barry who had shaken his head disappointingly.

"No," he muttered then called to the others. "What else can we try?"

"A bigger canyon?" Cisco retorted and promptly received a smack upside the head from Belén. She hadn't exactly been in favor of the first canyon jump idea. "Okay, fine, no more canyons," he then amended and rubbed the back of his head.

"I know I can crack this. I've just been going about it wrong," Barry told himself, out loud, for some motivation. "I need to find my leg up. Have we factored in drag? Wells, can we rerun the simulation?"

Harry shook his head, seeming weary. "Let it go for now."

That did not sit well with Barry. "Zoom's still out there. He's terrorizing a whole world full of people, your world. You know, I'm not doing this for fun."

"Barry, we've been working on this all week," Caitlin joined in on the idea. "You're tired, we're tired."

Cisco turned on his chair, already garnering some excitement as he got up. "Yeah, what we need is some downtime. Downtime leads to increased productivity, ergo we have to have fun!"

"You couldn't have just said we 'needed a break'?" Belén raised an eyebrow at him.

"Shush!" Cisco pointed a finger at her and continued with his direction. "And the best way to have fun is for us to go out to the club! Am I right, Team Flash? Let's get turnt!"

"I am not going anywhere with you if you say 'turnt' again," Belén warned.

Cisco got serious then. "Fine. We need a break. Happy?"

"The English vocabulary thanks you."

"She can't come," Cisco told Barry and jerked his thumb at Belén.

The woman in question made a noise of offence as Cisco walked out of the room. "I can...I can still go right?" Barry and Caitlin exchanged amused looks but Belén was serious. "He was just kidding right?" Her hand flung to her forehead. "Oh my God I was mean. I'm gonna go apologize. Cisco!" Barry didn't even try to stop her. She rambled onto herself about her apology as she hurried after Cisco.

Jesse was staring in a dumbfounded way after Belén, still unable to believe she was the doppelganger of Datura. "If I had met her first, I wouldn't have been afraid of Datura."

Caitlin glanced at the younger woman, confused. "What?"

Barry quickly turned to Jesse, making a cutting motion across his neck. Jesse stuttered but ultimately made an excuse for herself.

"Everyone on this Earth is just so soft. It would've been hard to take anyone seriously on my Earth," Jesse nervously smiled. Caitlin hummed and started to leave as well.

"Please, you've got to be more careful," Barry said to Jesse when Caitlin was finally gone.

"I know, I'm sorry! It's just hard trying to separate the woman who terrorized me for three months from this version," Jesse gestured after Belén. "Remind me again why we can't tell her anything?"

"Because he thinks it'll somehow help fighting against Datura," Harry carried off his duffel bag of tools. "I don't need to actually tell you how that's not gonna work out, right?"

Barry rolled his eyes. He heard this lecture from him already, plus Cisco. He definitely was not aiming to go for a third time. "I'm trying to think of a way to say it right."

"There is no way to say it right," Harry flatly said. "Rip it off like a bandage, Allen. The earlier Belén knows, the better it'll be for her later on."

Barry hated that it was true. "I know," he sighed. "I'm gonna tell her, just...not tonight."

"Or the next one, or the next one…" Jesse smirked teasingly. "And probably not the next one either…"

Barry tried to ignore her teasing but Jesse turned out to be a lot better at that than at keeping the secrets.

~ 0 ~

Later that night, the group got ready to meet at the club that'd been decided by...someone. While they waited for Iris and Wally to join them, the group - and Jesse - got seated at the bar counter to get some drinks.

"Not exactly karaoke themed, huh…?" Belén flashed both Barry and Caitlin some smirks. She didn't know who looked more mortified: Barry or Caitlin.

"Belén, don't," Barry pointed a finger at her, but the woman laughed to herself.

"Did someone say karaoke?" Shivhan popped in behind them, eyes flickering between the pair curiously. "I hate karaoke - who loves that?"

"Barry and Caitlin," Belén didn't hesitate to say.

"Belén!" exclaimed Barry.

"What? What is it?" Jesse excitedly asked her instead, ignoring Barry's pleading motion not to keep going. Caitlin just had that mother's disappointment look but Belén was good at ignoring those.

"Let's just say that Caitlin should stick to her scientist job because as a singer…" Belén pursed her lips together and waited for Caitlin to do something.

Jesse glanced at Caitlin on her left. "I regret getting drunk," was all Caitlin was going to say.

"And then Barry…" Belén put a hand on her boyfriend's arm, "...turns out he could leave his job for the singing life." Jesse and Shivhan laughed together, almost becoming instant friends over the one matter. "Do you want to see the video I took of them? It's hilarious!"

"I will literally pay to see that!" Shivhan had to get near the table to support her body with it because her laughter was too strong.

"Dude," Cisco shook his head at Barry, leaving the speedster even more mortified than before.

Just as Belén began digging into her purse, Barry saw the bartender putting down their drinks in front of them and took his chance. "Oh, hey! Drinks! Here!"

Belén received her small glass with abruptness but ultimately smiled and waited for the others to get their drinks too. "Toast?" she asked happily.

"To Jay," Caitlin said after raising her drink first. Everyone repeated their friend's name and raised their glasses to the air. Caitlin lowered her hand, a thoughtful expression sitting on her face. "I wonder what Jay would say if he was here right now."

"What's a Kamikaze'?" Cisco imitated Jay's voice for a moment. "And then you'd spend ten minutes explaining it. And he'd say, 'Just kidding. We have those on Earth-2.'"

Jesse playfully rolled her eyes and neared her glass to her lips. "Yeah, well, we don't have those, so…"

Just as she was about to take a drink, Shivhan leaned over and took the glass from her. "Eh-eh, I'm sorry, Miss Underage."

"Ah!" Jesse tried holding onto her drink in vain.

"Sorry, it's the bartender in me," Shivhan gladly drank Jesse's cup until it was completely empty. "Also, I'm a professional drinker." She whistled for the bartender to come by again. "Another one, please!"

Jesse forgot all about her stolen drink due to the fact her watch was beeping nonstop. "Ah, this thing's annoying. I'll be back." She hurried through the crowds and was lost within the minute.

"She's cute," Shivhan said afterwards. "You should probably keep her away from me cos, you know." She had accepted her new drink and gestured to it as an example. "I like me some drinks."

"She's really nice but honestly, sometimes I get the feeling she doesn't like me very much," Belén admitted now that it was just them. She missed Barry and Cisco nearly choking on their drinks while she was wallowing in her moment. "I feel like I scare her or something."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Caitlin assured her. "She's just gone through a lot and she's probably adjusting still."

"Plus, kids are weird," Shivhan thought her input was a truly important detail that no one should overlook. "Who knows what's going on inside her head."

"Probably how weird you are," Cisco shook his head. "Hey Cait, I know I'm practically your brother, and I'm, like, half Jay's size, but you want to dance?" He thought it'd be a good way to steer the conversation away from Belén and Jesse. Barry sure seemed grateful for it.

Caitlin swayed her head thoughtfully then smiled. "Sure. C'mon, let's go."

"Shivhan?" Cisco motioned the woman brunette to come along as well. She did, but not without her drink in hand.

Belén laughed to herself as she and Barry watched the trio go towards the dance floor. "That'll be a sight to see." True to her words, Cisco almost immediately began to throw out some odd moves that had poor Caitlin looked around with embarrassment.

Barry nearly lost it when Shivhan raised her free hand and said "Absolutely not!" then walked away with her drink.

"You know, when we almost dated...Cisco asked if I wanted to go on a dancing date…" Belén said in-between her laughs, "I am so glad I said 'no'."

"So am I," Barry put his glass down. He rested his arms on the table and looked at Belén. He noticed her ever-lasting smile and her constant shifting. "You okay?"

"Um…" Belén scratched her head, "...I'm fine, I'm just…" she shook her head, still smiling but now with a twinge of embarrassment.

"What?" Barry nudged her on the side with his arm.

Belén chuckled, and if it hadn't been for the multiple lights in the club Barry would have noticed her blush. "It's weird…"

"Well, we're all weird, so...c'mon…" Barry nudged her again and shared a small laugh with her.

"It's just...what you told me this morning...about us…" Belén sheepishly looked at him, "...being married in another world...it's just weird," she ended up laughing again.

You have no idea, Barry thought and cleared his throat.

Belén released a big breath but ended up chuckling again. "It's weird, you know? Like...like someone else is living our lives...ahead of us. What do you think our doppelgangers are doing right now?"

"Probably Earth-2's equivalent of 'Netflix and chill,'" Barry blurted thinking about the ideal marriage life he would like to have but then he thought of the true nature of Datura and Earth 2 Barry's relationship. She's evil and he's in hiding, he reminded himself. That was not what he envisioned as the married life with Belén.

However, since Belén didn't know about the real situation of their doppelgangers, she laughed. "Right…sounds nice…" she glanced with a sly smile on her face. "For them...I meant…"

"Right," Barry mocked her for a second. He leaned closer to her, coyness on his face. "For them?"

"For them…" Belén lightly nodded her head.

"You sure…?" Barry stopped just in front of her. His eyes would flicker from her eyes to her lips.

"This is most certainly not the place to be discussing this," Belén said but her tone implied a sauciness that Barry just could not ignore.

"Your fault for looking extra good tonight," Barry said plainly. "Had I known that option was on the table, I would've never come here."

"Ooh…" Belén let her lips brush over his, "...well you should have said something."

A huge smirk was visible on Barry's face before he kissed her. Belén snaked an arm around his neck to keep him right with her. Barry was all for pleasing her so he leaned in closer, deepening their kiss. It was almost like they were forgetting where they were.

Fortunately they had someone to remind them.

"I never imagined I would see Barry in a club and much less making out with a hot girl," Iris laughed when she and Wally approached the table. Barry threw her a sarcastically annoyed glance while Belén just leaned on him, embarrassed. "Now I hope I never see that again," Iris finished with a second laugh.

"Hi, Iris," Belén greeted shyly, letting Barry away them a little. "Hi, Wally."

"Hey, interesting choice of venue. The tic-tac-toe theme is cool," Wally said in an effort to move on from the awkwardness.

"Cisco picked it," Barry went fast, leaving Belén's answer to go a bit after.

"Barry picked it!"

Barry looked down at her, offended she'd rat him out like that. "I...for real?"

Belén nodded, not seeming a bit bothered. "I know what you can't do now: pick places to have fun. That's what you can't leave your job for."

Barry gave in with a sigh. "Yeah, alright. I picked it. I don't go out much. It had four stars on Yelp, so…"

"Yelp," Belén repeated and struggled not to laugh. "Iris, you ruined him!"

"What!?" Iris incredulously responded, close to laughing herself. "Me!?"

"You were supposed to get him out of the house! Sneak out and try new places?"

"I am standing right here," Barry cut their small argument off. He looked between them both, utterly offended.

They barely got another laugh when something strong rushed through the place. The four were momentarily pushed in different directions as something - or rather someone - sped from one place to the next.

"It was the Flash!" a random woman cried when the speedster had left.

"My wallet's gone!" went another woman.

"HEY! They stole my drink!" Shivhan's enraged voice overpowered the others. Her empty hand was now balled and ready to throw some punches.

Belén quickly searched for her own purse and scowled when she saw it was gone. She held onto her left hand which still, thankfully, had her promise ring. "My purse is gone too," she glanced back but Barry was already gone after the mysterious metahuman.

Caitlin and Cisco came rushing out of the dance floor, both missing valuable items as well. They would later learn from Barry that it was indeed another speedster but, unfortunately, one who seemed impossibly faster than him as well.

~0~

The next day, at CC Picture News, Iris stopped by Belén's desk with some new information. She'd visited the crime scene earlier that morning to see what else she could find out. Things were not looking good.

"I spoke to a woman that was there and she snapped a photo of the red blur," Iris handed her phone to Belén so she could see the image. "Look familiar?"

"Oh, crap," Belén sighed as she gazed at almost the same image Iris had once had taken a year ago. "Same angle and everything…" she gave Iris her phone back.

"Mhm," Iris put her phone away.

"Iris, we can't show that to anyone," Belén said, eyeing some of their co-workers passing by.

"That's gonna be a little hard…" Iris apologized beforehand.

Because five minutes later, their editor Scott Evans called for a meeting. The picture had already made its round online. He proudly turned a laptop around for all the writers to see.

"Here it is, people: evidence that the Flash has gone rogue!"

"It could be a different speedster, obviously," Belén didn't hesitate to remark from her spot. She had a face that said she was not going to keep her opinions quiet.

Evans seemed to be expecting it. He made a round on the table, upholding Belén's stare. "The photo speaks for itself. No helmet glare that would have been given if it was the other Speedster we saw a couple weeks ago."

"So then who's to say it's not another?"

"Who's to say that it isn't?"

Belén stared at him for a good long minute. The rest of the workers, including Iris, awkwardly glanced from Belén to Evans, waiting to see who would break eye contact first.

"The picture could be any speedster with a red trail," Belén finally spoke again. "True or false?"

"True. But since there hasn't been any records, right now we're going to assume that it is the Flash. Got it?" Evans asked in a sort of authoritative tone, as if to remind her that she worked for him. Belén didn't answer. She focused on her papers instead. Evans then began to hand out assignments for the rest of the table. "McKay, I want you at the police department getting any interview you can. Williams, eyewitness encounters. The people of this city need to know what it feels like to be robbed by a hero. West, Palayta, I want you both to do a piece on it from your perspectives. You were there last night. You've seen him in action."

Belén was about to snap so Iris quickly jumped in. "Okay, but why would the Flash need to make off with a couple of hundred bucks when he's saved so many lives? I mean, he is actually a hero. It doesn't make sense."

"Iris, you're a smart woman. You can't be that naive. We live in a city full of meta-humans who continually do whatever they want, the Flash included. I wouldn't be surprised if the Azalea robbed the bank tomorrow," Evans responded back. Iris would have remarked about that but she saw Belén was close to snapping her pencil in two. "Write it up, his journey from streak to freak, due on my desk tomorrow."

The workers dispersed to get started on their respective assignments but Belén and Iris lagged to get to their desks. Safe to say the omber-blonde was fuming.

"He is out of his damn mind if he thinks I am writing that garbage," she placed her work on her desk just a bit too loud. "What?" she hissed at some of the odd stares she got because of it.

Iris blocked her view to avoid further problems. "You need to calm down before you end up losing your job."

"I'm not writing that-"

"Well, we have a day until it's die so that means we have a day to figure out who the real criminal is."

Belén agreed with a nod. "Fine, but I still hate him."

"Why don't you take off instead? Evans will think you're just gonna go do that assignment away from here," Iris didn't exactly wait for Belén to respond because she was already getting Belén's purse off the desk.

"You're afraid I'm gonna beat the crap out of him, aren't you?"

"Yes," Iris held the purse out and smiled.

A small laugh erupted from Belén's lips. "50% close to it, not gonna lie."

"Go!" Iris exclaimed and pointed her to the door. "And maybe you can think about a way to approach him about that article you want to publish?"

Belén's face fell when she remembered that. Turns out, she might just need to be nice to the guy now.

~0~

Being the only sound place she could think of, Belén went to STAR Labs to see how her friends were doing with their case. Just as she was coming out of the elevator, she saw Barry and Cisco walking down from the other end of the corridor.

"Hey, you're early," Barry noted as they met each other halfway.

"Yeah, well, Iris thought it would be better if I stayed away from CCPN for the rest of the day…"

"Why?"

"Hm, because I am so close to snapping my boss in two," Belén sounded like she was promising, even raising her index finger to her thumb to show just how close she was to doing it.

Cisco couldn't help awkwardly laugh and say, "You sounded just like-" but Barry caught him and abruptly whacked him on the stomach.

Of course Belén saw it and became confused. "I sounded like what?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all," Cisco couldn't stop smiling so Belén wouldn't buy his excuse.

"No, say it," she demanded. "That's the second time you say something like that and act all...weird. Even more weird than you usually do."

"Bells, he's just messing around," Barry took her hand to lead her into the cortex.

"Yeah, well, I'm not liking it!"

Barry threw Cisco a 'get it together' look to which Cisco meekly smiled back.

"Hey Bells," Caitlin greeted and, unknowingly, took some of the heat off Cisco.

"Hi, Caitlin," Belén greeted with a sigh and took the seat next to her. "Any news on the speedster? Because I'm about to lose my job over it."

"Nope," Caitlin shook her head, although afterwards she (along with Barry and Cisco) gave Belén an odd look for her choice of words.

"Our editor Evans wants me and Iris to do a piece that would basically bash on the Flash."

Cisco let out a giggle. "Hey, that rhymed."

"Shut up!" snapped Belén, rolling her eyes. "I mean it. And what's worse is that I have to be nice to him if I want my next idea published." Once more, she received the same confused stares from her friends. "I just came up with this new idea for an article that would be all about introducing the Green to botanical metahumans, explaining to them that there's this place that can help them control their powers, learn new abilities and just a place where they can meet others like them."

"That sounds really nice, Bells," Barry smiled at her softly. It'd been a while since she'd been inspired that passionately and he didn't want anyone to ruin it, especially that Evans guy. He'd heard from Iris that Evans wasn't so nice. "It would definitely help botanical metahumans."

"Yeah but Evans won't pass it," Belén sighed. "He already thinks that I favor metahumans a lot—"

"Which you do," Cisco chimed in, thinking it was only a fair point to admit a fact. "But it's not bad!"

Belén playfully rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I already have a good portion written and I have more ideas...I just don't know how I'm gonna convince Evans, especially when I tell him I'm not writing his stupid piece."

"Yeah, that'll make it harder," Caitlin bit her lower lip, only offering Belén an apologetic smile because none of them really know what to do to help Belén.

Belén chuckled. "I have to figure something out."

"And you will," Barry moved behind her chair and lowered to kiss her head. "Nothing stands in the Azalea's way."

Belén happily took his comforting kisses. She'd noticed that he'd been a bit more...clingy lately. And 'clingy' wasn't exactly the word she would use, but it started there. Barry would hug her more, sometimes for no reason, surprise her with kisses (all types of kisses) and sometimes she would catch him giving her some odd looks that she just couldn't figure out. It was nice having all the extra attention, but she couldn't help feel like she was missing something.

"So what do we have on this new speedster, then?" Barry had moved the conversation along, nonethewiser about what was running through Belén's head at the moment. His hands were resting over her shoulders, rubbing circles over her skin.

"We've double-checked to make sure that the breaches are closed and...they are," Cisco sighed, sparing his computer a glance as if things would be different that time.

"So how do we know this isn't another of Zoom's henchmen that just has the power to open breaches?" Belén looked at the three scientists for a good explanation. "I mean, Cisco, you said your doppelganger could do all sorts of manipulations with energy. Or…" she drawled, swaying her head, "...how do we know that our fellow siphoner hasn't found that power yet?"

Once more, Cisco got some heat when he choked on his coffee. Barry felt like he would end up speeding Cisco into the pipeline just so that he wouldn't mess things up again.

"She's got a point there," Caitlin, being the only of the two scientists to not know about Datura and Belén, begun to think about it herself. "If Datura could actually manage to siphon a meta with breacher powers, she could very well be using it to bring metahumans over here like Zoom."

"She's not!" Barry said, a tad sharply too. Belén looked between him and Cisco with a confused expression yet increasingly turning annoyed. "I-I mean, Datura was really sick the last time we saw her. I mean, really sick. I doubt she'll be siphoning anytime soon." Belén's gaze still lingered on him, something that made Barry shift on his feet even more.

"The only other way to become a speedster is from a particle accelerator explosion," Cisco ventured to once more take Belén's attention. "But even then, it doesn't make sense because why would they make themselves known now?"

"Actually," Caitlin looked up from the computers, "There is another way."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked.

"Caitlin…" Belén murmured, now attracting suspicious looks from Barry and Cisco.

Caitlin got up from her chair to go retrieve what was left of Velocity nine. She came back with the only vial left. "It's called Velocity-9…"

"Ooh, that's a sexy-ass name," Cisco remarked.

"What is it?" Barry eyed the odd red liquid in the vial.

"It's a speed drug. Jay took it when you were on Earth-2 to save the city from a meta-human."

Barry opened his mouth but, from his surprise, nothing really came out. He glanced at Belén to see what she had to say but she didn't want to look him in the eyes. "H-how...how could you not tell me this? Either of you?"

"I promised Jay I wouldn't," Caitlin said.

"Jay, what do you... why?"

"Because Jay knew how dangerous this drug is," Harry came in with a duffel bag over his shoulder. "I should know, Barry; Snow and I worked on it together."

Barry was bordering between confusion and anger. "Guys, I have been busting my butt out there, pushing myself to the limit, trying to get better, trying to be faster, and you're telling me that there's been something this whole time that could've helped me?"

"It's a drug, Barry," Belén finally spoke up. "Do we really need to explain to you why we didn't say anything?"

"Jay was sick," Caitlin added, her voice shaking a bit. "The drug that he took to regain his speed was also causing cellular degeneration. It was killing him. I tried to help, I tried to find a cure, but in all my experiments, the effects were just temporary. The V-9 is deadly."

"Why not tell me this?" Barry insisted, frankly feeling a little betrayed. The again, when he looked at Belén's guilty face he saw flashes of her doppelganger and remembered his secret.

"Because it's dangerous," Belén saw nothing of his guilt. She got up from her seat and turned to him. "If it's dangerous, I didn't want it near you. I'm sorry."

The guilt was rising. Barry took her hand from his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin's sudden question made everyone see that Cisco was in that lost, distant moment he usually got into when he…

"Did you vibe?" asked Harry.

Cisco was standing beside Jay's helmet under the glass casing. "Uh…" Cisco barely got himself out of his vibe when the metahuman alert went off. "Metahuman!" he dashed for the desk. "Yeah, social media app for the win. Bad Flash is back." He caught himself after a second and shook his head. "Bad Flash... what? No. I'm losing my touch over here."

"I'll get him," Barry said and sped out of the place.

"Thanks for the head's up with Velocity-9," Belén mumbled to Caitlin.

"Sorry," went the brunette.

"He's coming up on Fifth and Everett," Cisco was guiding Barry through the streets. "You can use the alley to cut him off."

But Barry wasn't able to cut them off, because she had thrown him over the top of a cab. Barry toppled over and fell to the roadside with glass shattering all around him. The speedster, turning out to be a petite, dark-haired woman in a red and yellow suit stopped only to smugly smile at Barry.

~ 0 ~

Cisco went ballistic with joy after hearing what Barry had to say about their new speedster. "A lady speedster!" he couldn't stop laughing despite standing by Caitlin who was taking care of Barry's injuries. "It only took us two years, but we finally got one, a lady speedster."

Not everyone shared his laugh.

Cisco put his hands together and moved closer to Barry. "Hey, here's a question for you, purely scientific, was she good-looking?"

"Yeah," Belén pushed Cisco to the side and gave Barry a rather threatening stare, "Was she?"

"You know, I was a little busy getting my ass handed to me, so I didn't really notice anything," Barry told them both but did flash Belén a little smile. "Not that I would have wanted to."

"Good answer."

"Right, right, right, but, you know, next time, for science?" Cisco still persisted.

"Okay, yeah, next time she punches me in the face, I'll be sure to get her number."

"And that'd be the last thing you'd do," Belén's smirk made Barry rethink about even joking about. He swore that she was purposely acting like her doppelganger would...or maybe that was just the guilt talking?

"Hey," Veronica walked into the cortex to see the bad sight that was Barry's face. "Ouch, that had to hurt. Did it hurt though? Cos of your, you know...fast healing and all?"

Barry, amused, smiled. "A bit."

"Alright, well, CCPD has zero idea who this speedster is and now all the fingers are pointing at..." Veronica's finger landed on Barry, apologetically smiling at him. "Joe's trying to do damage control right now but...we really need to figure out who the speedster is."

"She's a she," Cisco giggled, earning himself a strange look from Veronica.

"Seriously, you need a date," Belén patted his shoulder.

"Maybe we could run her face through facial recognition?" Veronica asked, but they all shook their heads.

"She had a mask on," Barry explained.

Caitlin stepped back when she finished with his cut on his cheek. Barry thanked her and started back for the cortex, dropping a kiss on Belén's hair just to get on her good side.

"What was her suit like?" Cisco kept asking much to the annoyance of the others save Harry.

"Hey," Caitlin gave him a scolding look.

"It's a valid question," Cisco raised his hands in defense.

"It is, actually," Harry spoke up to agree then asked Barry himself. "How was her suit constructed?"

"It was good," Barry admitted as he thought back to the suit of the woman. "It was very good. It was like mine. It was made by somebody who understands the needs of a speedster."

"So she has to be a scientist, then?" Belén theorized. "Or at least know someone in the field?"

"Access to tech and a lab," Harry pointed at her.

Caitlin suddenly went wide-eyed when she realized something. "Oh, no. I'm having a very bad thought." She hurried over to the desk to pull something up from the computers. In no time she had pulled up the profile of a young, brunette woman for them to see. "When I designed V-9, I was having trouble formatting the extracellular matrix, so I called a colleague of mine at Mercury Labs for some assistance, Eliza Harmon."

"She knows how to make this speed drug?" Barry asked, not liking where this was going.

"No, I followed the protocols of information compartmentalization. I only gave her three of the eight components necessary for V-9's structure."

"Okay, so she didn't have the full recipe…"

"Unless she reverse engineered her own V-9," Harry chimed in.

"Eliza's a genius, but that's way out of character for her," Caitlin didn't want to think her own friend was using something so dangerous to steal.

"Well, it's worth taking a look," Veronica resolved.

"I'll go see her," Caitlin took responsibility and shut the computer off. She wanted to see Eliza for herself and hoped to God that her friend wouldn't lie to her face.

"Can I come?" Belén suddenly asked. She wasn't even surprised with the other's puzzled looks. "I just...you know...I want to start the article that's going to bash the new speedster instead of you, Barry."

"Right," Veronica nodded as she cast a suspicious gaze on her daughter. "You won't be able to talk to her, though."

"That's okay," Belén dismissed the crucial detail that would craft her article. She grabbed her bag off the desk and hurried after her mother and Caitlin.

~0~

When the trio of women arrived at Mercury Labs, Belén was all for going inside until her mother pulled her back and told Caitlin to go ahead.

"Why aren't we going in?" Belén asked her mother once Caitlin had crossed through the entrance doors of the building.

"Because you obviously can't talk to me if I'm interrogating some other woman," Veronica motioned her daughter to return to the car and while Belén did, she did with confusion.

"But...we can't just leave Caitlin-"

"-don't worry about it, I texted Joe before coming. He's already waiting inside."

"You said he was doing damage control at the precinct!"

"Yeah, now I owe him so-" Veronica leaned against the side of her car and crossed her arms, "-why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"

Belén blinked and nearly laughed for being read so easily. "I'm not...there's nothing in my...what?" Veronica raised an eyebrow at her, staring at her until Belén stopped laughing. "Okay fine, maybe there is," she lowered her head, feeling like a child who'd been caught. "How did you know?"

"It's on your face," Veronica said. "I've actually began learning how to read them." Veronica had said that in a bittersweetness that Belén picked up on straightaway. She knew she should've learned how to read Belén's expressions long ago, like when she was a child. But to have learned that, she should've been with her daughter and other children from the start. Veronica deeply regretted it and it would always be her biggest regret.

"You're doing good, Mom," Belén said after a few seconds, offering her mother a kind smile. It did make Veronica feel a bit better.

"Alright so tell me what's going on?"

Belén sighed. "If I knew, I wouldn't be here. Barry's been acting strange ever since he got back from Earth 2."

"I would think so considering the things he saw and went through in that other world..."

"I know but...I just think there's something else," Belén folded her arms and thought about the weird moments she'd had so far with him. "He's been extra attentive lately. I get all these extra hugs and kisses and...he's just extra there for me."

"Hey, if a man wants to give you more attention, then you let it happen," Veronica shrugged. "Your father used to shower me with gifts whenever he royally screwed up."

Belén chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like him."

"All I'm saying is, maybe the reason Barry's acting like that is because of what happened on Earth 2. He said he almost didn't make it back. That can make him really appreciate what he has on this Earth."

Belén nodded. She could definitely understand that logic but it wasn't enough to quench her suspicions. "There's more, Mom. He's kind of...secretive? Sometimes I see him very focused on his work but when he sees me...he scrambles to close things and get my attention off it. And when I ask him about the work, he gives me obscure answer and then really tries to get my attention somewhere else."

"Okay, maybe that's cause for alarm. Usually when somebody doesn't want you to see something of theirs it's because it's wrong. Either that or they're cheating..."

Belén's eyes widened in terrible alarm. "What—!?"

"But he's not!" Veronica quickly said, motioning with her hands for Belén not to even go down that road. "Barry is not that type. From what you've told me, he could barely talk to you on a date. It's not that sweetie."

Belén shook her head. Of course it couldn't be that. She had to stop being so dramatic. "Okay, but you agree that there is something going on with him, right?" she came to stand next to her mother, leaning against the car too. "I'm not worrying over nothing?"

"I'm not saying that you should worry. Sometimes scientists just really get into their work - I also say that from experience," Veronica rolled her eyes, making Belén laugh as she wondered what her father used to do with his work that would have Veronica so upset. "Who knows, maybe Barry's just working on some CCPD stuff. He is, after all, the forensics. Some of the cases are just too gruesome and I wouldn't want you to see them either."

"So what do you think I should do?" Belén bit her lower lip.

"Honestly? The most logical thing you can do: talk to him?"

"Yeah, I had a feeling you might say that," Belén said but offered her mother another smile. "But thanks for listening to me. It's nice having my Mom to talk to about these things."

Veronica smiled back and put an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "I know I've missed out on a lot of them but I promise I'm going to be here from now on. Until the day I die and I plan on living a very long life, so..." she swayed her head, "I might be here for the grandkids' problems."

"Oh!" Belén laughed with flushed cheeks. "Right!"

~ 0 ~

When Belén and Caitlin returned, they found Cisco working quietly in the cortex. Belén put a finger over her mouth, warning Caitlin not to make a noise as they stepped in. Caitlin smiled, barely able to restrain her laugh as Belén tip-toed up to Cisco's chair.

"HEY CISCO!"

"Jesus!" Cisco's arms flailed in the air from fear. He jumped right out of his chair and faced the two laughing women. "That was - that was not funny!"

"Then why are we laughing?" Belén had an arm around her stomach from how hard she was laughing.

Cisco's face fell flat. "You are very bad friends."

"Would a bad friend bring you new twizzlers?" Belén asked and motioned to her bag where said candy would be.

Cisco's eyes flickered between the bag and Belén. "...all is forgiven but show me the candy." He walked up to her while Caitlin went to go leave her things at the desk. Something on Cisco's computer caught her attention, though.

"Alright, alright, don't go digging through my things," Belén swatted Cisco's hand away so she could pull out the new packet of twizzlers.

"Glorious!" Cisco cheered when he had the packet in his hand. He didn't waste a second and ripped it open.

"I've never seen anyone so happy over twizzlers," Belén shook her head. Cisco already had a piece of a Twizzler in his mouth by then.

"Hey Cisco, what are you working on exactly?" Caitlin called from the desk. Now that she'd taken a better look at the computer screen, she was puzzled and, frankly, a bit curious.

Cisco's eyes widened in alarm. He dashed for the desk, yelling a her to get away from it. "It's just something I was looking into!"

Caitlin raised an eyebrow and checked to see Belén's reaction. The ombre-blonde nodded her head. There was something fishy going on.

"J-just something," Cisco repeated after turning the screen off. He turned around with a wide smile on his face as he offered them the Twizzler bag. "Twizzler?"

"I'll take one," Belén held her hand out for the packet. Cisco gladly walked over to her to change the subject only when he did, Caitlin dashed back for the desk and turned the computer screen back on.

"Caitlin!" Cisco exclaimed when he caught onto the trick.

"Stop right there, mister!" Belén chucked a vine at him to keep him in place.

"Are you seriously vine-ing me right now!?" Cisco had his arms pressed against his sides, no way he was getting out of it until Belén decided.

"You're acting very suspicious," Belén pointed at his current situation. "It was called for." She moved up to the desk and waited for Caitlin to finish skimming whatever was on the screen, though the more she read the more confused she looked. "Cait?" Belén called after a moment. "What is it?"

"Caitlin, don't say anything," Cisco resorted to pleads with the intention of explaining to Caitlin a bit later when Belén wasn't in the room.

"Are you serious?" Caitlin, naturally, threw him a look for his request. "This is a basis for a cure."

"A cure?" Belén repeated, cocking her head to the side.

"Caitlin, please," Cisco begged again but Caitlin shook her head. She had no idea what was going on but she couldn't be a part of it.

"The gene codes are meant for a botanical metahuman," Caitlin met Belén's gaze, both sorry and still confused. "Specifically for cells that are absorbing and deteriorating..."

That made Belén stop. "Absorb energy?" Caitlin nodded silently. Belén's head snapped in Cisco's direction, making the man gulp. She was looking positively angry already. "Francisco Ramon tell me this isn't what I'm thinking?"

"Bells, I was just doing a favor..."

Belén's hands shot up, making him stop talking. "He's been waking up so early lately...all the books...the secret work..." she felt her chest losing air despite there being a limitless amount in the room.

"I don't understand what's going on," Caitlin admitted, and partly in case Belén wanted to direct some of that anger towards her too.

"I know you don't," Belén muttered. "Because you look just as lost as I am. Barry's been acting very strange ever since he got back from Earth 2 and now I'm going to figure out exactly why." She stormed out of the cortex, ignoring Cisco's calls for her to release him.

"What did you guys do?" Caitlin asked him with a heavy sigh. The last thing they needed right now was for there to be a division amongst the group.

~ 0 ~

When Belén came into the portal room, Barry was already in the middle of another heated argument with Harry over the velocity-9 he'd taken. This, however, did not matter for Belén.

"Get out!" she rudely said to Harry. She would probably end up apologizing for that one later to him when she was better. Right now, all she wanted was to get answers.

"Excuse me?" Harry found it amusing instead of offensive.

"Actually…" Belén began to think a little more, "...stay. Maybe you can tell me why my boyfriend is attempting to create a cure for the woman who wants to kill me."

Harry was nowhere near surprised. Instead, he glanced at Barry with an 'I told you' face and promptly waited to hear what Barry would come up with.

Barry was seriously kicking himself right about now. Velocity-9 was forgotten now that his furious girlfriend was waiting for him with a tapping foot. "Bells…"

"Yes, Barry?"

He winced at her sharp voice. "I can explain…"

"Great, cos I can't wait to hear it," Belén crossed her arms and leaned on one hip.

"But you're not gonna like it."

"I'm not liking things now."

"I told you so," Harry mumbled to Barry.

"You know," Belén pointed at him. "And so does Cisco. I just caught him doing the work for the stupid cure."

"It was my call—"

"Surprising," Belén frowned at Barry. "I don't understand because last time I heard, Datura was on a rampage to kill me. You remember that, right? She's a metahuman, with siphoning powers, and she wants to kill me."

Barry opened his mouth several times to tell her the truth but every time he did, nothing came out. It was a lot harder than he thought. And with each second he didn't talk, Belén became even more angry.

"She kidnapped my family!" she started shouting. "She's hurt me so many times and you want to help her!? The only help I'm gonna give her is a way into the pipeline!"

"Just say it, Allen," Harry said plainly. "Rip it off like a bandage."

"It's not that easy!" Barry managed to tell him.

"Why?" demanded Belén. "What makes this woman so special enough to have you making a cure for her? What? Does she have Poison Ivy's trick of controlling pheromones too?"

"She doesn't need that, trust me," Harry found the moment to say with a hint of a smile.

"For real?" Barry turned on him, giving him a weary expression.

Belén looked close to murdering. "What does that mean?"

"Bells, look, yes, I am making a cure for Datura but I have a good reason, honest," but Barry still couldn't find the words to say why.

"What is it?"

"You're not going to like it, alright? In fact, it's probably going to do you harm and that's why I didn't tell you straightaway. I was trying to think of the best way to tell you but-"

"I told you it was impossible," Harry cut him off. "There is no way anyone could take that in a good way."

"Alright, I need you to be quiet!" Barry snapped. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath before he spoke to Belén again. "I met Datura on Earth 2 way before I saw Zoom. I thought...I thought she…" Barry released another breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"You thought she what?" Belén asked, bordering the line of confusion there.

"Honestly? I thought she had...killed your doppelganger…" Barry watched the horror cross her face.

"Excuse me?" Belén scrunched her face. "You said you met my doppelganger. You said she was married to yours—"

"And they did! Well, they are...technically…"

"Barry, I'm not understanding and that's saying something because when I came here I thought I understood nothing."

"Get on with it," Harry urged Barry.

This is still the easy part to tell, Barry thought. "Before we crossed to Earth 2 my doppelganger thought your doppelganger was dead. He thought his wife was dead."

"Thought…?"

"I was mad, I was...I was furious...when I read that Datura had been a suspect of that crime so naturally I sought to find Datura and demand to know why she'd hurt your doppelganger…" and this is where Barry lost his courage. Belén recognized a true terror on his face and couldn't decide what it was for. "I found something completely different. She wasn't dead. She was living, breathing, and walking..."

"...and terrorizing…" Harry mumbled under his breath.

"Alright—" Barry had enough of his inputs and went to take him out when Belén called to him again, clapping her hands for their attention.

"You tell me right now what this is all about or I'm gonna poison you!"

"Bells, your doppelganger lives because she's...she's…" Barry took another pause, this time deciding he was going to force himself to say it in one go. Like a bandage. "Earth 2's Belén is Datura."

It was fairly quick how Belén lost the color in her face. Her eyes nearly bulged from her head the way they widened. She was close to laughing, really, as a first response, because she thought it was a joke. It had to be a joke. It was a cruel, sinister joke that Harry had probably thought of…

"You've got to tell me the truth right now…" she demanded again, but Barry gave her the nod that he was telling the truth. She swallowed hard and stepped back. "You are joking."

"Bells…"

"No," she pointed at him, warning him to get on with the actual truth. "You need to tell me right now, or…" but she trailed off when she saw the inevitable sadness in his eyes. It was the same concern he showed for her. It was the same care. "I-I'm not...she's not…" her eyes flickered to Harry who, not doubt, would confirm it without hesitation.

"Yes, she is," he said. "She is and she's sick. So of course Barry here thought if he made the cure for her she would stop with all the murdering and go back to being the woman she was before."

Belén put a hand to her forehead, trying to think rationally about what she was hearing. Her doppelganger was evil? She was a murderer? Absolutely not. It couldn't be. "I-I'm not...no!" she shouted suddenly. "You're lying!"

"I wouldn't lie to you about something like this—" Barry tried to say but she cut him off.

"Who knows what you're making up instead! You just don't want to tell me!"

"Bells—"

"But Poison Ivy would tell me," she thought on her own. Her eyes flickered to the side. "If there's anyone who would love to tell me the bitter truth it's her."

"Bells, you don't have to do this," Barry walked towards her but she had already started to leave. "Belén!"

"If you stop me right now it'll be the last thing you do!" she warned him.

"Belén, c'mon, think about this! Why would I lie? I hate telling you this but it's the truth. I'm sorry!"

Belén's eyes were already shining with tears but she would not let them fall. "No, maybe you made a mistake. Maybe she just took my form." She strode into the pipeline with Barry right behind her. "She siphons powers so maybe she just siphoned a shapeshifter."

"I wish she did but she wasn't," Barry stopped her just before her hand could touch the control pad of the pods. "She was you. She was you with your...with your pretty face…"

"Don't say that," Belén shook her head.

"She has your eyes, your voice, your hair...she's you."

Belén couldn't look him in the eyes. It was like she felt embarrassment but how could she? She hadn't done anything wrong. Her hand pressed the control, and her tissue print was confirmed.

Barry sighed as the pipeline began to open up. Poison Ivy's prison pod was brought to view and the ginger greeted them with her trademark sinister smirk.

"Trouble in paradise?" she noticed right off the bad. "You should know, I don't do couples' therapy."

Belén sniffled and glared at her. "I'm going to ask this once and you better answer." Poison Ivy raised an eyebrow, her smirk only widening. "Is she me? Is...is Datura me? My doppelganger?"

Poison Ivy laughed shortly and met Barry's gaze. "You finally told her? Took you long enough you coward!"

Belén put her hands together and pressed them to the bridge of her nose. "Oh my God, it's true" she said in utter horror.

"Okay, we're done!" Barry reached for the control pad but Belén pulled his hand back. "Bells!"

"What's wrong with her!?" she demanded from Poison Ivy. "Why is she the way she is? Why does she want to kill me!?"

Poison Ivy leaned forwards on the wall of her pod. "Barry here knows. After all, he has come down to visit me over the past couple of weeks." At the new revelation, Belén cast Barry another irritated glance. "She's sick, haven't you heard? She's been sick for a long time now. I tried to help her but...nothing worked. And then Zoom discovered the breaches and we saw the chance. She heard of her doppelganger here and decided to test you."

"By 'test' you mean shoot me?" Belén scoffed. "She nearly killed me."

"That was the idiot of Atom Smasher. We wanted to know if you possessed abilities like her. She was mighty disappointed to see how weak you were," Poison Ivy gave her a condescending look-over. "But, since you were her doppelganger and you did possess a similar base power...we thought we could use you as the cure."

"See that? I'm your crucial ingredient," Belén sarcastically told Barry. "Were you planning on drawing blood from me while I was asleep?"

"No, I wouldn't have!" Barry snapped, offended she would think that of him.

"Oh, don't be too hard on him," Poison Ivy mocked them with a pout. "Datura looks exactly like you - prettier of course and with better hair - but all in all you are identical. I'm sure Barry couldn't stand the idea of a version of you that was dying. Isn't that right?"

Belén briefly glanced at Barry to see his reaction. Of course, it did seem to ring some truth in him. For a moment, she debated what she would have done if roles were reversed. She thought little on it because her anger was overriding it.

"Well you know what? Datura can die for all I care. She hurt my family, she hurt my friends, and she's nearly killed me."

Poison Ivy growled and slammed a hand on the pod. "You won't defeat her! It's impossible!"

"Ha, watch me. Or better yet, I'll just let her decay until she dies on her own! Either way, I'll make sure to send you what's left of her so she can keep you company - dead or alive!"

Poison Ivy shouted all sorts of threats while Belén closed the pipeline down. Barry honestly didn't know if Belén had been only saying those words to get a rile out of Poison Ivy or because she actually meant them. The latter scared him.

"Belén…" he tried to reach for her but she stepped away.

She pushed her hair behind her shoulders, taking a deep breath in while the tears began to roll down her cheeks. "She's me! She's actually me!"

"I'm so sorry," Barry couldn't find more words to say at the moment.

"Did she hurt him?" she asked in-between her sniffles. "Did she hurt Barry from Earth 2?"

"No, she couldn't," Barry reassured fast, for her sake. "Actually, if anything, I think he gave her some of her humanity back. They hadn't seen each other in about a year or so."

"What happened to him?"

"He's...in hiding…"

Belén released a noise of a looming sob.

"Not because she was going to hurt him!" Barry quickly added. "She told him to go into hiding because of Zoom. Belén, whatever world, whoever we are, it doesn't change between us. They still loved each other. Her name? Datura? He gave her the flower she now wears. The name is from him."

"But she's still a murderer! She's hurt people! She - she terrorized Jesse!" Belén was now beginning to understand the odd stares Jesse would give her often. "No wonder she looked afraid of me! I wear the same face of the woman who used to terrorize her!"

"Okay, but she gets that it's not you! You're a whole other person, Belén!"

"Yeah?" Belén raised an eyebrow. "If I'm a whole other person then why are you making a cure for her? She's someone else, isn't she?"

"Don't do that, please. I saw her in her weakest moments. She's - she's sick, and she needs help. Belén, that's another version of you and I can't just sit here knowing that she's going to die—"

"Well I say let her!" Belén shouted.

"But Bel—"

"My doppelganger, my call!" she snapped, just as loud as if she were still shouting. "So I say let her die and pay for what she's done! And I swear to God if you keep working on that cure, I will never forgive you!"

"You don't mean that, you're mad - and with great reason - but you would never let anyone die if you could help them."

But right now, Belén wasn't sure what she was going to do with Datura. "We'll find out, won't we?"

#ocappreciation #arrowverseocs #ocfairygodmother #fd: the flash #the flash #barry allen #the flash fics #barry allen fics #the flash imagines #barry allen imagines #arrowverse fics #arrowverse imagines #oc: Belén Palayta #oc: Belen Palayta #fic: rise up

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dravid-writes · 3 months

Text

"Thorn?"

But the moment I call out, Thorn immediately sprints away, not even glancing in my direction.

"Thorn! Wait!" I run after them, up the rocky slope, struggling to keep up. Rushing up the mountain path and panting for breath, I turn a corner just in time to see Thorn trip on a stray rock and fall off the edge. "Thorn!!"

I look down the cliff, and spot Thorn lying still at the bottom. No, no no no, this is exactly what I was trying to prevent!

I scramble back down the mountain. It wasn't that far of a drop, they might be alright. But they're probably injured, maybe a broken bone. What if they're hurt really badly? Should I bring them to a town? If I don't, they could die, but if I do…

I finally reach them, and I check over their body. They're breathing, thank Groudon, and I don't see any blood. Before I can think about what to do next, they groan and start to sit up.

"Oh! Thorn, are you okay? Hang on, I have an oran berry- Um, please don't run away! I- I'm sorry about what happened, but I want to help you, so please just hear me out!"

Thorn looks at me for a long while… "Do I know you?"

"… What?"

"Also, where am I, exactly?"

"Did… Did you… lose your memory? Again?"

"Again? Is amnesia a regular thing for me? Because that would explain a lot. Speaking of explaining, could you please do that?"

"Right, um, so, your name is Thorn- Well, technically that's not your real name, but anyway, you're a rescuer- Er, you were, but right now… A lot is happening…"

"Oh. That sounds important. So, what's happening right now? What were we doing before I suddenly lost my memory?"

Oh jeez, where do I even begin? And how do I explain that I betrayed them…

Wait. They don't remember that I betrayed them.

"… Okay, so, you were falsely accused of a crime, and now everyone is chasing after you. We need to find the truth so we can set things right."

"Okay, okay… So, what about you? You said I'm the one being chased, so… why are you with me?"

"Oh, um, well… I'm… I'm Compass, and I… I was your teammate."

"Hmm…" Thorn thinks over my story. Can they tell I'm lying? I mean I'm technically not, but I'm hiding the truth, and they're really good at reading me, and they've been thinking for a long time and they definitely see right through me- "Okay, got it. So what's the plan?"

"… Huh?"

"The plan. For how we'll find the truth."

"Oh. Um. I don't really know…"

"Well I'm certainly not gonna be any help, so you better think of something, partner."

"…"

"… Partner?"

"R-right! I'll make a plan, and we'll figure this out together!"

As we travel around, I fill in Thorn on more of the details; the Ninetales legend, the world's balance, our work as a rescue team, everything I can, with one exception. Fortunately, that topic never comes up.

"So, I used to be a human? Yeah, that sounds right. Pretty unfortunate how that matches up with the legend."

"Once we find Ninetales, we'll be able to prove your innocence."

"Sure hope we find them soon, this cold is killing me…" Thorn suddenly snaps to attention, grabbing my arm and pulling me off the path and behind a bush. Before I can say a word, they shush me with a finger, remaining still and silent.

I follow their example. Soon enough, I hear voices coming down the path; a rescue team.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, the snow DOES look kinda melted. Do all fire-types leave footprints like that in snow?"

"Most of them, yeah."

"And that shape looks like- Ah, darn it, they went off the path!"

"Don't worry, the tracks are fresh, they should still be nearby-"

Thorn leaps out from the bush, just barely missing one of the rescuers with a swing of their club!

"WHOA! Uh, yeah, definitely nearby!" The team takes a fighting stance-

"Wait!" I run out after Thorn. "We don't want to fight!"

The rescuer looks at Thorn. "You don't?"

Thorn looks at me. "We don't?"

"No, we don't. We're here searching for Ninetales, so that we can get the truth and clear Thorn's name."

The pair exchange a baffled glance. "You're out here, in the wilderness, alone with the human? You KNOW what happened to their last partner."

"No, I don't, none of us do! We don't know whether Thorn is the human from the legend. We need to know the whole truth before doing anything drastic. Jumping to conclusions will just get people hurt!"

"'Jumping to conclusions'? You're saying that, you of all people-"

The moment I realize where the conversation is headed, I shoot a bolt of fire to interrupt them. Thorn immediately dashes forward to bonk them on the head.

So much for avoiding the fight…

Once the team is down, we retreat into the frosty forest and find a safe hiding place to rest. I hadn't realized that keeping my… past actions a secret would be so difficult. "Thorn, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Got a few bruises, but nothing serious. I kept trying to kick them with my stubby legs. Must be a human instinct. You alright?"

I nod. "I'm fine…"

"… So, about that conversation…"

Oh no!

"You don't actually know that I'm innocent?"

"Oh. Well, um, no. Not even you knew, actually, because of your amnesia."

"So I might actually be the human from the legend…"

… I want to say no. I want to reassure them, tell them I think they're innocent, but… I don't know. What if they are the human? What if when we find Ninetales, they curse Thorn like they meant to, or worse?! What if I'm leading them to their death?.. No. I won't let that happen. "Whatever happens, I'll stay by your side, Thorn. Even if you are the human from the legend, then we'll find some other way to restore the world's balance. I won't abandon you."

Thorn… smiles. "Thanks. I'm glad I'm not doing this alone."

After many travels and many battles, we finally find ourselves far above the world, ready to climb Sky Tower and meet Rayquaza. We know so much now that we couldn't have even imagined back then. But something's been weighing on me the whole way… "Um, Thorn? I know this probably… definitely isn't the best time, but… Well… Maybe it's selfish of me to wait until now to say it… And I probably shouldn't distract you before such an important job-"

"Hey. It's okay. After risking your life fighting a god, I think you deserve to be a little selfish."

"Okay… Well… Remember how you were falsely accused? I… didn't exactly tell you everything-"

"I know."

"Huh?" I meet Thorn's gaze. "You… know?" They know. I can see it in their eyes. Did they recover their memory? When? How long have they known? And… why are they smiling?

"I forgive you, Compass."

"… I… You…"

"Come on, partner, we've got another god to chat with, and I have a feeling this one won't be any friendlier than the last."

"… Y-yeah. You're right." I thought letting the truth out would hang over us, but now… I feel lighter than I have in a month.

#rtr short #pmd

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cherrymills92 · 2 years

Text

Htc Hero - Magically Smart Phone

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#FAIRY TAIL

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christinesficrecs · 3 years

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A very long list of updated snowed in fic recs for @starsandmoony 💜

On my Way by Gia279 | 17.9K

Huge black paws smacked the window, followed by a fuzzy face smooshing up against it.

He scrambled over the gear shift, tipping into the passenger seat. Bear, he thought hysterically. It had to be a bear, a freaking bear.

A big pink tongue rolled out, lips pulling back as the creature panted.

I’ve got chills... They’re multiplying! by DropsOfAddiction | 12.3K | Explicit

Derek is literally wrapped around him, one heavy leg and one heavy arm pinning him tight to Derek‘s front.

Warm and steady breaths tickle the back of Stiles’ neck. He tries not to freak out and he wonders how he’s going to extract himself without waking Derek. He totally isn’t ready to face into this conversation.

Stiles stretches gently and Derek grumbles clutching him tighter in his sleep. Stiles tries not to yelp when Derek buries his face in the back of his neck.

Well fuck.

One Star Awake by zjofierose | 9.5K

When Stiles gets stranded in the snow one dark and snowy night, he's in real danger. Fortunately, he gets rescued by a man on a horse.

Emergency Contact by bewarethesmirk | 1.2K

“Derek here hasn’t left your side,” the nurse coos, and Derek glares at her back. “You’re so lucky to have such an adoring husband.”

snow day by kellifer_fic | 8.3K

“It’s not a big deal. It just happens when I’m… cold,” Stiles offers, scratching gingerly at his head with a claw and then grimacing at it like it’s betraying him.

“Are you serious?”

“Hey, who are you to judge, wolfman?”

Your love warms me up by Smowkie | 1.2K

“At least it’s slowing down,” Stiles said, his lips slightly blue tinted and his teeth clacking.

“Yeah,” Derek said. Stiles had his arm hooked with Derek’s, and he was stumbling a little as they walked. “Come on, keep walking, keep warm.”

“Yeah, keep walking,” Stiles agreed.

Derek didn’t like how weak he sounded.

In the Dark Midwinter, Light by rhysiana | 3.7K | Mature

Really, Derek and Stiles being sent to an empty druid's cabin to fetch a book for Deaton and then getting snowed in could have gone so, so much worse.

it doesn't have to be a snowman by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren) | 4.9K

The Beacon Beans coffee shop is what Stiles would refer to as a lifesaver. They supply his dose of sugar whenever he needs it, they don't ask questions, and their hot chocolate is delicious.

And now they're running a snowman building competition where the grand prize would get him an entire year's worth of drinks. Really, all he needs is a partner to team up with. Only everyone else from the pack already seems to have paired up.

three words have never come easy by the_problem_with_stardust | 1.5K | Mature

If someone had told Derek five years ago that Stiles Stilinski would be the one living in a secluded cabin in the woods, Derek never would have believed them. Even now, he had a hard time reconciling his memories of Stiles as a high schooler with the young man who preferred the quiet found amongst the trees.

Whenever he’d inquired, Stiles had just smiled that enigmatic smile, so like Deaton or Morrell, and said something about being unable to think around the bustle of town.

“Don’t you dare throw that snowba-, goddammit!” by jadore_hale | 2.3K

“I’m sorry,” Stiles sighed heavily, coming back down to earth, “But when you woke me up this morning and said that we needed to go out into the woods and find the evil Snow Witch that brought this shit here, I thought that was your emotionally stunted way of saying come build a snowman with me.”

In The Arms of A Werewolf by literaryoblivion | 9.2K

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Stiles is flabbergasted. How is this even possible? Werewolves he can take. Poisonous lizard creatures, sure. Once dead, now living creepy werewolf uncles, bit of a stretch but he can roll with it. Sacrificing ancient druids that masquerade as teachers, okay fine. But this?

An honest to god abominable snowman? In Beacon Hills, California no less?

Nope.

Winter Storm Stiles by 42hrb | 2K

Stiles isn’t looking forward to weathering his first snow storm on his own, then he meets a handsome stranger at the grocery store who might be able to help.

Find Me Sitting Fireside by kaistrex (weishen) | 13.2K

With the news that an Alpha wants Beacon Hills for their own, Derek and Stiles are forced to attend a couples retreat at a ski resort to learn their enemy’s identity. However, the threat is the least of Derek’s problems when he’s expected to fake a relationship, share a bed and suffer through candlelit dinners with the man he’s secretly been in love with for the past four years.

Waiting for Winter by Twice_Shy (notboldly) | 3.2K

Everyone had a soulmark, a special shape on their body that formed during childhood and was meant to lead each person to their soulmate.

Unfortunately, Derek’s soulmark is shaped like a snowflake, and that fact has been actively ruining his life since he was six years old.

world tilts by wearing_tearing | 1.5K

The guy is gorgeous as hell, and Stiles kind of wishes he could stare at him forever.

He figures he deserves a treat after almost slipping to his death.

Wait, What? by wangler | 5.3K

When a significant portion of the Beacon Hills Preserve ends up coated in three entire inches of snow, the pack looks into it. If by looking into it one means packing a bunch of garbage bags and huge Tupperware lids into the back of Stiles’ Jeep to go look for a decent sledding hill. Things go sideways, because of course they do.

A Very Sterek Christmas by TobyRosetta | 13.5K

It’s actually snowing in Beacon Hills, and it’s got everyone out of whack. Out of the kindness of his own heart, Stiles decides to take some things up to the the old Hale Mansion for old Sourwolf himself. But when the storm kicks up and snows them both in, the night takes an interesting turn.

Blanketed by got_the_bite | 3.3K

“Stiles, where are you?” Derek demands again. His voice is higher than usual Stiles notes.

“You would be such a nice tenor if you joined a choir,” Stiles thinks aloud.

But In Case I Stand One Little Chance by mikkimouse | 8.6K

Stiles’s Jeep breaks down in the middle of the snowstorm. He’s rescued by his high school crush, and as the cherry on top, is trapped in a cabin with said crush until the roads clear.

Fuck his life.

Snow Flirting by thepsychicclam | 11,396

As Beacon Hills get pounded with foot after foot of snow, single dad Stiles can't quite keep up with his four year old, his job, and shoveling his driveway. Derek makes his teenage son shovel Stiles' walk, and that just leads to Derek helping Stiles out with a whole bunch of other tasks. That's okay with Derek, though, cause any chance to be with Stiles is okay with him.

Baby, It's Cold Outside by Jebiwonkenobi | 2,791

Beacon Hills has a snow storm. Totally-not-cuddling happens.

Come Fly With Me (Or Don't) by stilinskisparkles | 15,325

Stiles is overworked and stressed out when his flight home gets delayed due to copious amounts of snow. He finds entertainment with one Derek Hale, whom he hasn't seen since high school but really doesn't mind getting reacquainted with.

Especially when it turns out Derek is surprisingly hilarious and will reluctantly play snap with him. And can walk on his hands.

The Man in the Snow by mikkimouse | 15,894

Derek finds a young man injured in a ravine on the border of his ranch. That's strange enough, but the mystery only deepens when the young man wakes up without any memory of what he was doing out there.

Blizzard Boyfriend by literaryoblivion | 1,897

With a record-breaking snowstorm on the horizon, threatening a city shutdown for a few days, Stiles gets the bright idea to put an ad up on craigslist for someone to spend his snow days with that would be filled with cuddling, movies, alcohol, and potential makeouts or more.

It's a joke until someone responds.

and home before dark by verity | 3,175

The mystery of the absent Hale brother was hardly a mystery at all until he appeared at last, set on taking up residence out in the woods.

(In which Derek is a hedgewitch. With a cat.)

Let it snow! Let it snow! (but please let it stop eventually) by relenafanel | 19,123

Stiles grew up with his bedroom window overlooking Derek's bedroom, so when he returns home for the holidays he's surprised to find a stranger in his nerdy neighbour's bedroom.

Only, he's not much of a stranger.

It is Derek Hale, the guy who is going to be his new step brother, if the rumours are true.

Red Against the Snow by Ember | 34,219

Stiles is trapped for the holidays in the cabin of a strange man/hermit named Derek. A strangely friendly wolf befriends Stiles during his stay. It's up to the teenager to find out why Derek has secluded himself from society, what the feelings he's beginning to have means, and what the connection between the mysterious man and the mysterious black wolf is.

an exaltation of larks by llassah | 25,370

All Derek wants is to get through the lambing season with his body and spirit intact. He had thought that the blizzards would be the main danger, not a highborn omega with beautiful eyes and a stubborn streak.

The flamingo in the yard by Vendelin | 6,107

It isn't fair that Stiles needs to work Christmas, when his dad is on the other side of the country. Or that his really hot, next door neighbour is around for the holidays as well. Or that there's a power outage that makes things even worse. Or better.

(Fake) Winter Weather Brings Us Together by tylerfucklin (zimothy) | 10,535

So naked cuddling with Derek while suffering from hypothermia wasn't really on Stiles' to-do list for the week, but neither was that kiss--so who was Stiles to complain?

It's a Wild Pitch (But He's a Contact Hitter) by jettiebettie | 11,828

They're combating supernatural forces with blunt instruments now. Seems legit. As long as Stiles doesn't end up getting frostbite, he's willing to roll with it. Not that his friends have to worry about that. Fucking werewolves.

Abominable by Revenant | 20,277

Where Derek buys a secluded cabin halfway up a mountain, meets a yeti and falls in love with Stiles, but not necessarily in that order.

stilinski v. a. snowman | tumblr ficlet

This fic was inspired by this prompt: ‘we’re stuck in a log cabin overnight during a snowstorm bc of some stupid school team building exercise and it’s freEzing and I can’t sleep and you can hear me shivering in the next bed so you pick me up and dump in your bed and good grief you are hot in every sense of the word’ au

#sterek fics #ficrecs #snowed in #winter #winter fics #snowstorms #this is so long #🤦🏻‍♀️#starsandmoony

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bvccy · 3 years

Note

Friend, if you are still open for request, can you please do Heliotrope with the Winter Soldier? 🥺 please thank you 💛💛💛

My dear 😭 I am so so sorry for how long this took! I just hope you can enjoy the fic. It’s a little bit spooky at the beginning, but WS is soft and so is our reader. And they get their happy-ever-after 💗

Thank you very much for this prompt also! 🌺🌺🌺

— PAIRING: soft!Winter Soldier x female!Reader — PROMPT: Heliotrope - walking in the sun, and losing each other — LINKS: Masterlist • love stones prompt list — WORDCOUNT: 2.1k

They had been living in darkness for months, and the oppressive cold that battered against the walls with fierce winds all day, and hungry howls at night — not that one could tell night from day in the sunless vastness, except by the ticking of the clock.

Hydra had installed that arctic facility at the mouth of a crater, covered by ice over the ages to conceal its dubious treasure. It was clear to the Soldier that the treasure was not made up of precious things, but it was only when the crew finished digging all the way down that he understood why all the scientists were there...

It was difficult for him to tell who the shuttle belonged to. It might have been some advanced technology from America, but then how did it get so deep down, so quickly? Maybe it was an old German prototype from the war, but it didn't look like any he'd seen before. Or maybe Hydra was just recovering their old property from past attempts... It didn't matter, he was just there to guard the scientists while they did the work.

The other soldiers stationed with him stopped taking the job seriously after the first three months, but he kept watch, and paid attention, and didn't miss the odd slimes that seeped across the floor out of those metal shells, nor the odd crunch as the scientists cut into something that looked soft and milky, but held like bone. And the smells, the cold metallic smells like iron dipped in silver... It sometimes felt like home, but he knew better than to let that grip him. And he kept watch.

The one chemist that doubled as the chef didn't make particularly good meals, but they were hearty, and if he was being honest, he was eating better at this isolated station than he did at the Base — felt freer too, almost in charge of his destiny, if one didn't count the frozen wastes he'd have to survive if he ever wanted to run. But the Soldier couldn't imagine why he'd ever wish to run.

Especially when she was here.

Studying the files of all the scientists on the mission, her portrait stood out as particularly sad, morose, with a bit of a death glare toward the cameraman. But when he actually saw her, she seemed sweet like a spring day and even happy to be there. She looked up into his eyes as she walked into the protected area to study their find, blinking up from beneath a mess of furs and protective equipment, but there was a smile crinkling around her gaze. As the months drew on and everyone got more bored with staying there, and loose with themselves, they'd sometimes play some music in the lab, and the Soldier didn't know why he liked it so much or felt the need to dance with someone.

The military staff initially had their own mess hall, a small room with a kitchenette where they could eat together, but then one of the doctors needed it to test the effects of temperature changes on some of the samples, and the place was... contaminated every since. Now, they all ate together. The girl who'd caught his eye tended to eat with her own team, the Geologists, but he could feel her looking at him sometimes, he noticed her lingering when he was around even if she was about to leave, and a few times she even dared approach him — under the excuse of getting the jar of sugar that was on his other side rather than reaching for the one next to her, or leaning down to get some plate she didn't need from right by his knees. It wasn't until she tried to reach a glass above his head, beyond her grasp, that he gave in and acknowledged her.

"Thank you," she said as he handed her the cup — the first time she'd ever said anything to him. Her voice suited her, but beyond its soft tones the Soldier was struck by being thanked at all. When was the last time that happened? What did one say in response?

"You're welcome?"

And he seemed so unsure saying it that he made her giggle.

She was inevitable after that, not because she was trying to be found but because he allowed himself to be around her, to guard her door while she chipped at stones and studied them, to sit near her during lunch — not right beside her, the Soldier still had a lingering shyness about that, but at least on the table opposite, from which they could look at each other if they wanted.

The long night was almost over, four months into their stay at this forsaken place, and the pair had taken to something really dangerous: in the small barn attached to the base, where some dry supplies were kept along with canisters of fuel, they escaped together while everyone else slept. He had led her there first, asking timidly whether she'd...

"Want to see something new?"

"Always," the girl grinned.

And so they found themselves piled on top of one another like firewood, almost not feeling each other beneath the layers of fur that kept them warm, but just being in each other's presence was... something. It was quiet without being quiet, with another real soul there, thinking its own thoughts in harmony with you.

The Asset wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep, though he did close his eyes sometimes and let the girl relax against him, and doze off, and during those times he allowed his arm to come down from where it propped his head up and wrap itself around her, holding her still — as if she were in danger of falling off some imaginary bed.

Nobody ever seemed to wonder where they both disappeared to, nobody noticed, which was why he was all the more surprised to hear shouting on that day. The Soldier didn't move, just tightened his arm around his little partner more. But when a bloodcurdling cry echoed through the vastness, he shook her awake.

"Wha—"

"Get up. The base is under attack," he muttered, reaching for the rifle laid beside him.

"That's crazy, who would attack us all the way out here?"

He didn't want to tell her what he thought, but only made her hide out in the shed while he went out to scout the area. Turning his radio on, nothing came through. There were no helicopters around, no trucks, no marks in the snow that anyone had attacked — at least, not from the outside. On the horizon, just the rays of a reluctant dawn were shining.

There was silence for a while, and then another symphony of screams rang out, muffled by the walls and the desperate shots of whoever was left inside, glass and metal knocked over, broken, and silence once again. Stepping away slowly, then more hurriedly, the Soldier returned to where he'd left the girl and picked her up by the elbow.

"Come on, we're leaving."

"Leaving where?" she cried out, confused and even slightly angry. "What's going on?"

"We're under attack."

"But our research..."

The Soldier dragged her to where the trucks were parked, and after the first flush of confusion she went along quietly. He gave her the rifle to hold while he looked in the back, making sure they had enough supplies for whatever drive awaited them — gas was there, some blankets too, and more ammunition. It would have to do. And without sparing another moment, he got in beside her and drove off. Against the rumbling of the engine as it drifted on the ice, a shrill scream cut through the frozen air and reached them, not sounding human nor animal nor like anything in the world, except perhaps a demon. The girl didn't look back, she wouldn't dare, she just looked quietly at the Soldier as she slowly understood. They drove into the sunrise as its rays burned away everything behind, and the snowdrifts buried it.

They didn't stop until the sky was bright as a midday, many hours later.

"Are we slowing down?" the girl mumbled sleepily.

"We're nearing a town," he said, eyes on the GPS. "Need to check that the road is clear. And that we are, too."

She stretched the shivers from her bones, but deep down she trusted the Soldier to keep them safe.

Getting out in what-felt-like days, frozen stiff, muscles aching from the shot of fear that penetrated down to her bones, the girl got out and reached for the sky with all she had. The air felt freer and fresher than ever before, even though it still hurt her lungs when it reached to their very bottom, but she loved such a pain — it felt like life.

The Asset walked slowly to her, just watching silently and smiling a half-smile at the sight of her all ruffled and soft, and safe.

"What do you think happened to the base?"

"Guess it's a mess by now," he hummed, bringing one gloved hand to feel around her head, her shoulders, down her arms, but always gently.

"We woke that thing up, didn't we?"

"You're the smart one, you tell me."

Her lips pursed — she never liked it when he teased her, but she tried never to reproach him for it, loving this sign of his personality shining through. "Are we far enough away now?"

"I don't know," he sighed, finally looking back into her eyes. "Are we?"

"The sun would kill it."

"How do you know that?"

She didn't answer but wouldn't look away either, and her determined gaze was enough for him. She did know more than he did, she'd spent months studying whatever that was, and that was fine by him. So long as none of it had managed to sneak on board.

"Stay close to me."

They walked around the car together and he checked the back, the wheels, then climbed on top and checked there too. Through the clearness of the day, he could even see the edges of a road that must've lead to that town. The car seemed clean, but they were close enough to a rescue that he'd rather not take any risks, and so picking up just a few useful things and one backpack, they started walking.

The snow got less deep and crunched beneath their boots, the wind was gentler downhill and even moved through the tendrils loosened from their hoods, shaking off the frost. In the distance, one tree stood tall, thin and dark and barren but alive, and over all of them the sun kept shining.

"We're almost at the road," said the Soldier, spotting a black snaking line a few meters ahead. He turned his head when he didn't hear anything back, but there was only the glint of sunlight on the snow.

Amorphous fog covered the horizons, and hills and dales of white, and suddenly the light felt very hot and burned his body as he turned frantically around and called for her. With mad fear, he traced back their steps up the snowy hill, nearly swimming through it as he called for her, terrified of the unthinkable.

Then, as if from the sea, a lone hand reached up and waved at him. Within one breath, he'd reached her, sitting in the snow just a few feet away.

"I'm so tired..." she huffed, burrowing like a rabbit. "Can't we rest a while?"

"You didn't rest enough in the car? Get up," he grumbled, pulling her up to her feet. He regretted snapping as soon as he saw her sad little face, and sighed. "I'm sorry. I was worried."

"I'm sorry too, for being so weak..."

Before thinking, he pulled her in and kissed the snow off her mouth. "None of that," he smiled as their lips parted. "Come on, we're so close. I'll carry you a bit if you want."

The girl shook her head mutely, face already flushed from frost but now truly heated. To be cared for, and worried about, and searched like that, and kissed... It put the life right back into her.

He kept his word and carried her in his arms at one point, but they both walked in the town together. Nobody knew who they were or where they came from and some had a few murmured questions, but by the time Hydra sent an extraction team for them, it didn't matter — they were gone, lost in the wind like two rays of sunshine.

#wint3r-h3art #Bucky Barnes #James Buchanan Barnes #Winter Soldier #Sebastian Stan #marvel #mcu #Bucky Barnes imagine #Bucky Barnes fanfiction #Bucky Barnes x reader #Sebastian Stan fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #Winter Soldier fanfiction #Winter Soldier imagine #Winter Soldier x reader #bv;fanfiction #bv;oneshots #bv;answers

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tomtenadia · 3 years

Text

A Little Braver - 24

Hello everyone! Here we are with chapter 24

It’s winter in Orynth and the guys have a busy day. Rowan and Lorcan enjoy their ride with the team and we also have some Elorcan gossip.

Rowan and Lorcan also talk and we discover something about Lyria...

Have fun!

The following morning Aelin woke up abruptly and missed the warm body at her side and curled under the duvet in a human burrito.

“Ro?” She called with just her head peeking from under her cover.

A moment later he sat down in bed offering her a cup of coffee.

“Cold.”

He leaned over to kiss her “it snowed last night. There’s over a metre of snow outside.”

“Lovely,” she protested “heaters fires, accidents, roof collapses due to snow, slips, more road accidents, pile ups.”

“Doom and gloom this early in the morning?”

She groaned and grabbed the coffee, sitting up with still the duvet all around her “I love snow and winter, but on my day off.” She took a sip of her coffee “house fires increase wildly. All those mantlepieces not properly attended. Electrical fires because too many appliances are connected to an outlet. And let’s not forget carbon monoxide related deaths. Such a magical time.”

“We’ll build a snowman when you are off shift.”

Then he offered her a plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon.

“You definitely know how to woo a woman.” She grabbed the plate and tucked in happily.

“You and Lorcan need to stay on the truck. No matter what’s going on outside.”

Rowan nodded “we will.” And he kissed her head. He was really looking forward to ride with the team.

An hour later they were walking across the yard in front of the station when Lorcan and Elide arrived as well. Together. Hand in hand.

Aelin tugged Rowan gently and he nodded.

“Arriving together?” Joked Aelin “naughty, naughty girl.”

Elide smiled “yes, I slept at Lorcan’s. Guilty.”

“Hey, I am just happy for you two.”

The four walked into the station and while Elide and Aelin went to get changed, the two men went to the common room where some members of the team were already there.

“The posh boys are here.” Shouted Aedion as soon as they stepped in.

Rowan bowed “indeed we are.” Then he noticed two new women and went to introduce himself “Hi, I am Rowan.”

“This is Borte, our new truck candidate,” Aedion went to the woman’s side and made the introductions “he is the captain’s flying boy,” then he pointed at Lorcan “grumpy pants over here is Lorcan. He grunts a lot but does not bite. And he’s Elide’s.”

Rowan burst out laughing.

“This young lady here is Evangeline.” And he moved to the side of the blonde-haired woman “she is our paramedic in training. She is riding with Lys and Elide.”

Rowan greeted her back and she gave him a timid smile.

Aelin arrived a moment later and went to give a kiss on the cheek of her cousin “did you remove all the snow from the entrance all alone?”

“No, he had two minions.” Said Brullo sprawled on the sofa watching tv “the man is a tyrant.”

“My arms are useless.” Complained Ress.

Aelin patted both on the shoulders “well, better get ready for a busy day. From the pile of reports I have on my desk from second shift it looks like we are in for a treat.”

“Are truck and engine all stocked up and ready?”

Aedion nodded “I did a check and we are good.”

“Lys and Elide are doing a final check on the ambulance for supplies.”

In that instant dispatch alarm went off calling all units of east station on site for a structure fire.

“Here we go guys.” They all scrambled, wore their gear and reached the trucks.

“You two, in there and stay put, ok?”

The two men nodded.

The trucks left the station and Rowan felt a thrill run through his spine.

“What’s a structure fire?”

“Bad news,” joked Brullo at Rowan’s side.

“Or usually, what we call Monday.” Added Aelin never averting the eyes from the road.

Rowan stared at Nox driving and was impressed at the skill. He navigated busy intersections with confidence.

Aelin honked the horn a few times “move, you idiots.” The traffic peeled to the side and the engine resumed its run swiftly.

Once they arrived at the site Rowan gasped. The fire had enveloped the entire house.

“That is a structure fire,” said Aelin and the team got off truck and engine and Aelin started to give orders.

“Manon, Luca, venting the back.”

“Wes you are taking second floor with me. Aedion, Kyllian, Nox, you go to the first floor. Borte you go with them and stick to Aedion. Asterin, Ansel, you do ground floor. Brullo, Ren you are at the water lines. We need to be quick.”

Both Rowan and Lorcan were watching the scene speechless.

“I know she does this on a daily basis, but seeing her jumping into a building on fire is different than just imagining it.”

Dorian arrived on the scene a moment later and got an update from Brullo and Ren who were ready with the water lines.

“Chief, captain, you have two minutes to finish primary search and rescue then you all evacuate.” He looked up at the fire and flinched “Manon, how’s that venting going?”

“Venting now, sir.”

Temporary relief washed over him when he saw Nox run out with a woman in tow.

Lorcan’s eyes set on Elide, jumping in the woman’s rescue with Lysandra.

Rowan stared as more firefighters came out with people but never Aelin. He noticed Dorian staring at the fire nervously “Evacuate now.” He ordered over the radio. The chief must have noticed a change in the fire to call for abandoning the rescue. Rowan followed in fascination trying to remember some of the thing about fire he had read in Aelin’s books.

Aelin was walking low, almost crawling looking for people hiding below the smoke “fire department call out.”

“I am all clear, we need to go.” Said Wesley at her back.

Aelin had a last look around and was about to leave the room when she heard a voice “Wes, get out. I got this.”

“Cap, we need to go. The chief ordered us to evacuate.”

“Wes, get out.” She shouted and left, running to the locked door where she heard the voice coming from.

She gave her back to the door and kicked it open. Then she turned and saw a crib and inside there was a toddler.

“Aelin, get the hell out now.” Dorian’s voice came over the radio. She picked up the boy and squeezed him in her fire jacket and held him close for protection.

“Come on… come on…” Rowan heard Dorian’s order and his heart was racing painfully. Why wasn’t she listening?

Then he saw it the flareup in her floor and shouted “Aelin, please…”

Aelin looked around the room and realised the flashover had cut off her only exit route. Then ran to the window and with her elbow she smashed the glass all while holding the infant.

“There!” shouted someone from a lower level.

“Ress, move the aerial to her.”

Aelin leaned over and sat astride on the window ledge.

Aedion ran up the aerial and grabbed the toddler “I got him, get your arse in here.”

She was about to fully climb over when another flashover rocked the house and Aelin got thrown off balance and grabbed the ledge with her hands and hung there.

Aedion saw her and ran back up “give me a hand.” The man grabbed a hand and pulled her over on the aerial.

“You are fucking crazy.” He told her quietly.

She followed him down and she was on the street again.

“I said evacuate.” Shouted Dorian.

“Don’t.” She bit back “I saved that boy’s life.”

“Sit.” Dorian ordered her. Aelin removed her mask and marched off to sit against the truck, rotating her shoulders to ease the pain.

Lysandra passed her a bottle of water “are you okay?”

Aelin nodded while drinking eagerly and watching while the rest of the team put the fire out.

Rowan opened the door of the engine and went to her “you are insane. And I think I almost lost it in there.”

“I am fine.” She told him quietly extending her hand to him.

He marched back in the engine, joining Lorcan.

“Do you still think women can’t do dangerous jobs?” He bit back. A part of him was a bit mad at Aelin. What she did had been insane. But he could not ignore the deep sense of pride he had in her. He was utterly in love with a super badass woman. He watched as the team slowly wrapped up their jobs. Dorian had called for a secondary search and they were getting out the burnt down house right now. Aelin still sitting on the front bumper of the truck grounded by Dorian.

He looked at her and smiled. She was covered in soot but she still looked stunning to him. Rowan turned his head and saw Lorcan still studying Elide while she went from victim to victim and checked them out with Lysandra.

“I think I am badly in love with Elide.” He said very, very quietly.

“You what?”

“You heard me, Whitethorn. Don’t make me say it twice.”

“Would it be so bad?” Asked Rowan, sitting beside him.

“I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“Well, don’t.” In that instant the door opened and the team climbed back in. He took a seat behind Aelin and with his hand extended he brushed her cheek and she took his hand gently “did you enjoy the show?”

“It was literally terrifying.”

“Main to all units. Car accident on Southside. Multiple vehicles involved.”

“Copy that main, east station is en route. Dispatch an ambulance on site. Our one is on its way to Orynth general.” Replied Aelin over the radio.

“Copy that east. We are sending an ambulance to assist.”

“Punch it, Nox.”

“You two boys are in for a ride. A nice fire and a car pile-up. We just need a chemical spillage and most of the fun is complete.”

“Don’t jink it,” said Asterin from behind.

They drove for a short distance and at the site Rowan looked out of the window and saw a few cars all smashed against each other.

Aelin and the team got off engine and truck and she patted at his window and blew him a kiss and ran away.

Seeing her in action he suddenly realised why she ate so much.

“Luca, you come with me we’ll take the upturned car.” She shouted at the youngster “Aedion, take the red one with Ansel and Borte. Everyone spread and take the other cars. Remember fuel leaks.”

Luca grabbed his tools and started trying to pry open the door.

Aelin kneeled down and checked the woman “I need a c-collar,” she screamed to the paramedics.

The woman’s head was bloodied, she checked the pulse through the cracked window and found it weak and she was not breathing.

Luca finally did manage to get the door open and together they pulled it away. Aelin sneaked into the front of the car and pulled the collar around the woman’s neck.

Lysandra and Elide were back from the hospital run and joined them ready and waiting for their patient.

“Aelin, you need to pull her out quickly.”

“I know,” snapped Aelin trying to cut the belt. Once the belt was free she realised the woman’s legs were stuck.

“Luca, I need spreaders. Right now.” She told him and the young man ran to the truck to grab the tool. He came back and with some acrobatics Aelin placed the tool in the area where the pedals were and started separating the metal. “As soon as she is free grab her.”

The metal slowly bent and freed the woman’s legs. “Go.” Luca took the woman and passed her in the care of the paramedics.

“Evangeline, grab an intubation kit and intubate the woman.”

The young woman nodded and Aelin stared with worry.

Once she was intubated Elide and Lysandra continued to do all possible to revive the woman. Aelin and Luca towered over them ready to help if needed.

She saw them use a defibrillator.

“Pushing epi.” She heard Elide say and Aelin knew from her emergency medical training that it was bad.

She paced nervously running a hand in her dirty hair. She took stock of the situation and noticed a few people out of the cars and being helped out and looked after by the other ambulances. Good at least the others did manage to save someone.

Aelin heard the long continuous beep of a flat line and realised the woman did not make it. Then she heard Lysandra calling it.

“Sorry, Aelin.”

Luca was at her side in an instant “cap, we did all we could.”

“Well, it was not enough.” She snapped while in her head she started going through all she could have done differently.

“Aelin,” Lysandra stood to face her friend “there was very little you could have done differently.” Knowing exactly where her friend’s mind had wandered off “She was in bad shape already. We did all we could, as Luca said.”

Dorian joined them a moment later “Aelin, come.”

They moved to the side “Get it out of the system quickly. Yes, you lost one person and it hurts, but I kept an eye on you and you haven’t done anything that I wouldn’t have done myself. You tried. But that was the car in worst shape.” He patted her shoulder “think about the boy you saved from the fire. Think about the second chance you gave him.”

Aelin nodded and walked away and joined her team in packing up all the gear once they were done.

Once she climbed back on the engine she looked at Rowan and his expression was full of worry for her. Gods, she just wanted to melt in his arms for ten minutes and shut down everything. She felt his hand sneak in the space between seat and door and try to grab hers. He didn’t say anything. He just held her hand.

They arrived back at the station not long after.

Aelin got off the engine and started removing her turnout gear.

“Aedion, take Borte and show her the checks to do to the engines after a call. I’ll take the equipment. Before heading to their duties they all ran to the bathrooms to remove the layers of soot and dirt from the two calls.

Once everyone had stored their gear Aelin hid in the room for equipment and began doing her checks and clean it. She needed some time alone.

Ten minutes later a head of silver hair peeked through the open door “hey,” he said quietly.

“Come in,” she said to him and Rowan took a step in and sat on the bench at her side.

“I am in awe.” His knuckles brushed her cheek “I had an idea of what you guys did, but seeing it for real. I was amazed. But also utterly terrified.”

“I could not help that woman, though.” She said sadly, placing a mask on the ground “she died.”

“Fireheart, I heard what Dorian said and I agree. I am sure you did all you could. Her car looked in pretty banged up state from my corner. If she survived it would have been a big damn miracle.”

“I know,” she let out a loose breath “I know.” Her head heavy against a jacket “it’s just not easy. I knew she was in bad conditions but I still wanted to save her.”

“Come here.” He pulled her to him “I have a piece of gossip for you.”

Her head whipped to him and he saw a smile finally appear.

“Lorcan admitted to me he thinks he is badly in love with Elide.”

Aelin’s hand went to her mouth in surprise “this is big.”

Rowan nodded “I don’t think he told her yet. He is just worried he will mess it up.”

“He’d better not. Elide has strong feelings for him as well. He breaks her heart and I will have his head.”

He nodded “I have been keeping an eye on him.”

“Good, now go back to the others and let me finish.”

He leaned forward and kissed her deeply. Aelin dropped what she had in her hands and once free they grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer to her and then on top of her as she leaned back on the bench. He caged her head between his arms and was about to kiss her again when dispatch alarm went off.

“Really?” She stood quickly and kisses him “stay at the station.” He nodded and she ran out. And he walked out slowly and joined Lorcan and both men stared at the vehicles leave the floor.

“Are they alway this busy? They have been back for forty minutes.”

Rowan sighed “Aelin mentioned this morning that with snow, things tend to get busier.” Then he had an idea “ever built a snowman?”

Lorcan rolled his eyes “yes, I was a kid once too, remember?”

“Get your coat back on and come with me.”

Once both men were ready with warm clothes Rowan walked outside to the front of the fire station near the entrance “Here.” Said Rowan pointing at the spot.

“Here what?”

“The snowman. To cheer them up. They had a stressful morning and probably it will not slow down.”

Lorcan tied his hair and started rolling the snow to form a ball for the body. Rowan smiled and joined him, preparing a second one. Once Lorcan had the bottom part ready, Rowan lifted the second one on top and both started fixing the body to give it an even shape. Then Rowan created a smaller ball for the head. Once done he lifted the final piece and took a step back to look at their work “not too bad.”

Lorcan removed his scarf and placed it around the snowman’s neck. Then Rowan ran back inside in Aelin’s office and grabbed the plastic fake firefighter hat he had won the day they did drills, got back and placed it on the snowman. Finally they gave him eyes and a mouth and Lorcan added some wooden sticks at the side so that they looked like arms.

Rowan looked around and then spotted something more he could add. He ran to a corner and picked up an abandoned tool.

“What is that?”

Rowan lifted the tool “I think Aelin called it an Halligan bar. The guys use it to pry open things.” He explained placing it near the sticky hand of the snowman “now he looks perfect.”

Once they were done the two men went back into the station and decided to prepare a meal for them “they must be famished.”

Lorcan nodded “I agree. Let’s prepare a nice meal.”

They were halfway through making lunch when they heard the trucks finally return and both ran outside, and only truck and engine appeared. The ambulance must have gone to the hospital.

Rowan’s eyes landed on a wet Aelin, her body wrapped in a few thick blankets. He ran to her and wrapped his arms around her frame. She was freezing and he felt her shiver and her teeth clattering “What happened?” His hands brushed her back quickly.

“We had two calls. Another fire and then a kid who fell in the water while skating on the frozen lake in a park. Aelin grabbed the kid but fell in when the rope dropped.” Explained Aedion.

As on pure instinct Rowan got into action. He took Aelin and dragged her to her quarters “we need to get you out of those wet clothes.”

She stood in front of him shaking and hugging the blankets against her body. Slowly he helped her remove all the layers until she was stark naked in front of him.

“Any..” teeth clattering “any excuse to get me naked.” Her tone was deep with tiredness.

He chuckled and went to the shower block to grab some towels and once back he begun drying her up.

“I’ll be back in a second.” Rowan disappeared once more and this time went to Aedion “do you have any spare clothes for Aelin?”

The man nodded and he was back a few minutes later with a pile of dry clothes in his hands “how is she doing?”

“Trying to warm her up.” He was about to move away when he turned to the man “what the heck happened?”

“Aelin wanted Borte to practice with the ropes in a real situation so she had Borte drop her in the ice crack to help the boy. The girl lost hold of the rope. It happened so fast that I was not quick enough to grab her,” he explained “She kept diving in in the cold water until she grabbed the boy. Only once he was safe she let us help her out.”

“You should have taken her to the hospital.” Rowan bit back annoyed.

“Don’t you think we tried?” Aedion matched him in tone “she is stubborn. She refused treatment.”

Rowan growled and grabbed the clothes “thanks for this.” And ran back to her quarters.

Aelin was sitting on her bed, the blankets still wrapped around her.

“I have dry clothes for you.”

“I have spare bra and knickers in my locker. The combination is your birthday.” Her speech was slow and he could feel her exhaustion.

Rowan gave her a smirk and rushed out once again and returning not long after with the garments.

“My underwear doesn’t scare you anymore?”

Rowan chuckled “we live together and I have seen enough of your daring lingerie not to be affected.”

Aelin slowly dressed up again and when she was done Rowan pulled back the blankets and pushed her legs under and finished drying her hair “now you relax, I’ll see if I can get some hot food for you.” A gentle kiss on her head.

Rowan then went to Lorcan and asked him to make something hot for her. She was still shivering hard and he was getting very nervous.

He was back in her quarters when Lysandra popped in with a bag in her hands “do you mind if I check on her?”

He stood “no, please.”

Lysandra took her temperature “still 33 degrees. It was 32 when we took her out.” She grabbed the transparent bag at her side “this is an IV of warm saline, it will help her and should bring her temperature up.”

“Lorcan is making something hot for her.”

Lysandra nodded “have water at her side as well.” And Rowan nodded “it might take a while before her temperature goes up again and she will be exhausted.”

The woman then hanged the IV bag against the edge of her closet and left.

Dispatch alarm went off again and Aelin made a move but Rowan stopped her “you are not going anywhere.”

“I-I am the cap-captain. I have to.” She was still shivering from the cold.

He ran to the apparatus floor “Aedion, Aelin is not coming. She is still cold.”

“I was not expecting her to. I told Dorian she is out for today.”

“Thank you.”

The man nodded.

“Stay safe, all of you.”

Lorcan met him halfway “I am making soup.”

Rowan patted his arm “thank you.”

“Lorcan is making you soup.” He announced as he got back to her “we’ll go home as soon as you are feeling warmer.”

“I am fine.”

“No,” he brushed his hand through her hair “you are still shivery. You eat something hot. Warm up and then we’ll see.”

“I should be with the guys.”

Rowan shook his head “Aedion alerted Dorian and told him you are out for the day.”

Aelin was about to reply but Lorcan joined them carrying a bowl with hot soup.

“How is our fearless leader doing?” He asked while placing the bowl on her night stand with a spoon on the side.

“Still feeling cold.”

“I hope you’ll like the soup. I made it the other night for Elide and she loved it.”

“Thank you, Lorcan.”

He gave her a quick salute and a tight smile and disappeared.

“Are we sure he is the same man?”

Rowan shrugged and grabbed the bowl but Aelin snatched it from his hands “don’t you dare and try to spoon feed me. Stop fussing, captain.”

“Fine.” He stood “I’ll leave you to it.” And left.

He reached Lorcan who was sitting on the sofa watching tv.

“You okay?” He sat beside him.

“Yeah. I put the food away until they are back.” He sighed “I thought we had it bad in our last mission but the guys don’t seem to have too much downtime either.”

“Yeah, today is pretty bad. I saw them on slow days when they have even time to play games. Today has been hell.”

“How’s Aelin doing?”

Rowan’s head snapped in his direction “this is the first time you finally call her with her name. It’s always the captain or your woman.”

Lorcan cleared his voice almost embarrassed “I am starting to like her.”

“Good because I am planning on keeping her around.”

“At least she is not whiny.”

Rowan sighed. He knew Lorcan never liked Lyria. He was the only person who had been the most vocal about his disagreement in him marrying the woman. His other friends were not her fans but had shown him support when he proposed and after. Lorcan had always made his opinion clear. He had told him in his face that he was marrying the wrong woman.

“Well, at least you approve of this one.”

Lorcan snorted “damn man, there is no comparison. Lyria used the marriage to try and change you into her puppet and when it did not work she lost it and became this jealous bitch.” He stood and paced “she came to me and begged me to invent an excuse to fire you.”

“I did not know.”

“I never told you because for some crazy reason you seemed attached to her. Truth is… the woman was toxic.” He stopped in front of Rowan “Essar told me she saw her a few times in a club with another man, while we were away.”

Rowan leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes “that I suspected, just as much as I suspected that the baby was not mine.” He confessed “before we deployed for the mission in which I had to go home for her funeral I found the divorce paper she had ready.”

“And you still grieved.”

“She was my wife.” He almost shouted “yes, she was not perfect but I loved her.”

“Loved her as much as you love Aelin? Because in all the time I have known you I have never seen you with a woman the way you are with Aelin.”

“No, not even close.”

“Would you marry her?”

Rowan only indulged on that thought once. It was far too early. They had just started to actually build their relationship. He was happy where they were right now.

“Not while I am still on active duty. I promised myself that next time I get married I will not be an absent husband again. And I want a family one day. I just need to hold on for a bit. Less than five years and the prison is over.”

“I can make a few calls and get you a full time position at pilot school. I know you have been having issue with the force recently but your skills are vital.”

Rowan shook his head “Thanks but no. Once I retire I will be out forever and I have another path in mind. I want to train to become a paramedic and work in a firehouse.”

“Well, I guess your time as nurse Whitethorn will come handy on your application.”

Rowan flipped him off and patted his leg “let me go and check on Aelin.”

He left Lorcan and joined Aelin and found her wrapped under the blankets with just her face peeking out. Her phone against the head of the bed. He smiled when he saw the bowl completely empty. Good.

“Hey you,” he sat her side and brushed her head “how are you feeling?”

“Not great and I can’t seem to shake the cold from my bones and I feel so tired.”

He lay down at her side and tucked her against his body and looked at the saline bag “the IV is almost finished.”

“You need skin to skin to keep me warm.”

He flipped her nose “we can’t do that here at the fire station so this is it for now.”

“I am going to write a review on the sexy nurse website that sent you and complain that I am not satisfied with the service.”

“Menace.”

“Are the guys still out?”

Rowan nodded “Lorcan prepared lunch for everyone and I hope they will have time to sit down and eat when they come back.”

Rowan nodded “what were you watching?” He asked as he noticed her phone playing a movie.

“I don’t know a random fantasy series Netflix recommended. I wasn’t paying much attention.”

He bent his legs and placed the phone against them and put an arm around her shoulder “well, let’s watch trash tv together.” He made sure she was all tucked in and cozy.

Eventually he heard the squad come back in the station, turned his head and noticed Aelin napping. He stood and joined the team at the front. They all looked exhausted and he hoped Lorcan’s meal would be enough to cheer them up.

“I saw our new frozen candidate.” Joked Brullo while shedding his turnout gear.

“Lorcan and I thought it would cheer you up guys.”

The tall dark-haired man joined them as well “I have loads of food ready. Come and eat before you get called again.”

The team cheered and scrambled into the kitchen. Aedion joined Rowan “how is she doing?”

“Warming up but tired. She is sleeping now.”

“How was the last call?” Asked Lorcan curious.

“Drunken driver. Crashed into a car with a family. The father is a goner and one of the kids is in bad shape.” Explained Manon reining in her rage.

Lorcan cursed savagely “the bastard.”

The conversation died after that, the topic too hard to even add anything else.

“Thank you for lunch, both of you,” said Elide, giving a smile to both Lorcan and Rowan.

“Honestly, it was all Lorcan, I was busy playing nurse.” Added Rowan.

In that moment Dorian popped in.

“Chief!” Shouted Ren “come have food.”

The chief sat down and joined the team “how are you all doing? You guys had a long day.”

No one said much “I went at the hospital and checked on the last family you saved from the drunken driver. The doctors are confident the boy will make a full recovery with time.”

Everyone sighed in relief.

He took a bite “how is Aelin doing?”

“She is in her bunk, sleeping under a pile of blankets. She is very tired and cold.” Rowan explained.

“Is she warming up now?”asked Lysandra “she was showing some very early stages of hypothermia. Her temperature was around 32 degree when we pulled her out.”

“She did not accept to be taken to the hospital.” Pointed out Aedion with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

“I heard that.” Continued Dorian “we should have pushed her. Aelin can be stubborn.”

A few snorts echoed in the room.

In that instant Aelin walked into the room with her hoodie on and a blanket around her.

“Hey,” Rowan stood and went to her “what are you doing here?”

“I didn’t want to be alone.” And she sat heavily in Rowan’s lap, never letting the blanket go.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hungry,” she croaked.

Everyone laughed and Rowan gave her his seat and placed a plate in front of her. Lysandra sneaked in and took her temperature very quickly “35.5 you are almost back to normal. Do you still feel cold?”

Aelin took a bite “I still don’t feel great.”

“That is normal. Your body went through a lot of shock.” Explained Elide.

“Captain Whitethorn, make sure she takes tomorrow off. This is an order.” Said Dorian staring at the other man.

“I am getting used to play nurse.”

Lorcan snorted “you can ask Lysandra or Elide to give you a ride in the ambulance, paramedic Whitethorn.” Rowan glared at him. That was something he had confessed only to Aelin and Lorcan.

“What is he talking about?” Asked Brullo curiously.

“I…” Rowan sighed “when I retire from the TAF in less than five years I want to retrain as a paramedic and work in a firehouse.”

“That is awesome,” shouted Asterin, sipping on her tea.

“You know that women will pretend to be sick to be treated by you?” Joked Ansel winking at him.

“Over my dead body.” Added Aelin while eating her food.

“If you need help to get into the program you let me know. I know it’s still a long time away, but, I work closely with the board and some of the trainers.” Added Dorian with a big smile.

Rowan nodded “thank you, sir. I will keep it in mind.”

“Are you sure you will be okay with leaving the airforce?” Asked Nox.

“I already did 12 years and signed up for five more a while ago. I will have no regrets when I retire.” He explained

Aedion was about to add something when dispatch alarm went off.

Dorian stood “come on guys. It’s one of those days.” Then he looked at Rowan “take her home.”

They all disappeared and Aelin sighed and drank more hot tea. Rowan and Lorcan tidied up the table and the kitchen.

It was an hour later when Rowan and Aelin got back home. He took her to the bedroom and she curled in bed hugging bird Rowan.

“Go under the blankets,” he said, pulling the duvet over her head “I can make you some tea.”

Aelin nodded “green tea, please?”

He kissed her head “yes, milady.”

Rowan came back five minutes later with a pot of tea and a cup “here you go.” Then he touched her forehead with his hand “you seem to get warmer.” Another kiss on her head “that is good.”

He climbed in bed and opened his laptop and started Netflix “Fancy watching something silly?”

“Can we watch a stupid movie that we can make fun of?”

Rowan chuckled and browsed a few titles “what do you think?” He pointed at a movie “this one seems quite silly.”

Aelin nodded and he placed the laptop on their legs, bird Rowan tucked between them and then his arm went around Aelin’s and pulled her to him.

“You got a day off tomorrow. We can go to the theatre if you feel like it.”

Aelin’s head snapped toward him and she smiled “I’d love to.” She grabbed her phone and showed him something “have you seen this play?”

Rowan had a look on her phone and nodded and her saddened face broke his heart “hey,” he took her hand “we can go and see it. The first time I went I was on my own and I had no one with whom to enjoy it with.” She gave him a smile “I want to go with you. Also, it was another production. So it won’t be the same play.”

Aelin grabbed bird Rowan “yes, captain.” She said in a funny voice “I want to go to the theatre with you.” She brushed the toy in Rowan’s face “are you my boyfriend, sexy man?”

Rowan took the toy “you are actually cuter than your owner.”

“You are a mean man.” She hit him with a pillow.

“What do you think, birdie? She is also violent.” He hugged the toy “you and I we need to stick together, partner. Such a tyrant.”

“Well, I’ll let you two make out and I’ll go and make out with the last few chocolate brownies left.” She got off the bed and walked away swaying her hips on purpose to taunt Rowan “they are better boyfriend material than the current one.”

Rowan growled and got off the bed and padded quickly to the kitchen lifted her in his arms and placed her on the counter, his arms at either side of her.

Aelin’s stare was mischievous and she leaned over for a kiss but he moved away and Aelin pulled him back to her “come here, Whitethorn. Stop annoying me.”

“I should have really read the terms and conditions of this relationship.” He teased her moving a bit closer, reducing the space between their bodies.

“You might eventually get out of the airforce, but you are not getting out of this.” She whispered against his lips. Then tensed for a brief second realising the enormity of what she had just said. Truth was she did not want let go of him. A part of her, one that she kept still hidden, desired that they would one day become more. And those thoughts terrified her. She had gone from hating the man, to wishing he would never leave her. It was crazy but her heart was telling that what she was feeling was real.

Rowan stared at her, his pine green eyes on her and an expression that she could not read. Terror seeping through her that she had gone too far and ruined the moment.

“Is that a promise?” His voice low, almost hopeful, his gaze never averting hers.

Aelin’s heart raced madly “if you want it.” She shook her head “I am sorry, it just came out.”

His hand joined hers on her knee and twinned his fingers to hers “did you mean it, though?”

Aelin slowly nodded and he smiled at her. His lips tugged up and the smile reached his eyes in a way that never fully happened before. The result left her breathless. Gods, he was even more stunning than usual. And she knew she had just seen a side of Rowan probably no one ever saw before. He smiled with others but she knew they were not full smiles. But this one… this one was something rare.

“And that’s all it matters for now.” His free hand brushed her face “there’s no hurry and I am loving this. Getting to know you. Spending time together. Spoiling you.”

“I am loving it too. So very much.” Her body inched closer “are you finally going to kiss me or you placed me on the counter to brag that you are taller than me?”

Rowan closed the distance and the kiss was everything but gentle. His hand shifted and grabbed her buttocks pulling her close while Aelin hands found their target on his back.

“We shouldn’t.” He pulled away “you need to rest.”

Aelin grabbed the collar of his t-shirt “you get me all wet and then back away? A nice energetic tumble in the sheets will get me all exhausted and ready for bed.”

Rowan did not answer, he just lifted her in his arms and her legs wrapped around his back and he carried her to the bedroom.

“Good boy.” She whispered.

And Rowan realised, while leaning forward to steal a kiss from her, that if he could do this for the rest of his existence, he’d be the happiest man of earth.